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anneapocalypse · 1 year

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Why I Love the Hinterlands

The Hinterlands in Dragon Age: Inquisition get kind of a bad rap, and for kind of understandable reasons. For anybody who doesn't know the story, some context. The Hinterlands are the first open world area that unlocks for the player, a vast and highly explorable map full of quests, worldbuilding, and NPCs. So what was the problem? The problem was that the Dragon Age series had set two games' worth of precedent that the player could get locked out of an area and lose access to sidequests and other content—and the devs seemed not to fully realize they were fighting this precedent, or how strong it was, until the game came out and completionist players were getting exhausted and annoyed running around this huge map trying frantically to knock out all the side content before moving on. We still make jokes about devs on twitter trying to tell players that they could leave the Hinterlands. Lines were later patched in for the starting companions urging the player to go to Val Royeaux and advance the plot; you'll hear those lines if you play the game today, but they weren't there in the beginning.

The game's executive producer Mark Darrah has even spoken about this problem in his Dragon Age: Inquisition Memories and Lessons video on YouTube. From a game design perspective I do not dispute this issue. It definitely represents an oversight in the way the area is presented to players and the context they are given for what they should do next.

All that said… I love the Hinterlands, and with every replay (I have beaten the game four times at this point) my appreciation for this area and what it brings to the story has deepened. And as recent polls have raised discussion about the merits of various maps, I've felt moved to rise to their defense, so... here's why I think the Hinterlands are Good Actually.

Every map in Inquisition has its own overarching story, introduced by Scout Harding when the map unlocks and revealing itself through exploration and completing the quests within. Crestwood has the story of the flood during the Blight. The Exalted Plains have the story of the Orlesian Civil War. The Hissing Wastes have the story of Fairel and the surface thaig. And so forth. For this reason, I've come to feel that once you've progressed far enough in the main quest to have collected most or all of your companions, the most rewarding way to experience each area is at one go, as much as possible. Popping in and out of maps to complete one quest at time is, in my opinion, really detrimental to exploration and makes it harder to see the big picture. This is also one place where I really appreciate the invisible approval meter, because it discourages me from always stacking my party to game approval, the way I pretty much always play DA2.

At first glance, the story of the Hinterlands is the story of the ongoing war between the rebel mages and the renegade templars. This is one reason the Inquisitor may go there: to make contact with the rebel mages. They have been offered refuge in Redcliffe and are presently entrenched in the castle and adjoining village; the templars continue to attack the mages' position, and thus there is concentrated fighting in this region. Splinter factions of both mages and templars are also entrenched elsewhere in the area.

But this is just the setup. What the Hinterlands is about, its real story, is the common people.

The Inquisitor is first sent to the Hinterlands to make contact with Mother Giselle, in hopes of gaining some Chantry support. Seeking her out requires the Inquisitor to fight their way through the conflict to reach the Crossroads, where many refugees have gathered.

In these big, sweeping stories about heroes and villains, I think it's easy for the perspectives of common people to get kind of lost. One thing I do appreciate about the Dragon Age series is that every game does make a real effort to give voice to the commoner perspective. Origins has its city elf and casteless dwarf origin stories, and the player encounters many commoners throughout the game and gets to hear a bit of their perspective. Dragon Age 2 wouldn't be Dragon Age 2 without Darktown and Lowtown and the elven alienage and our interactions with the people who inhabit those parts of the city. Oddly enough, though, every human character we've ever had the chance to play in Dragon Age has come from a noble family; sure, Hawke starts out living as a commoner, but doesn't stay that way for long.

In Inquisition especially, we don't have the option of a commoner prologue to really drive home that perspective and carry it through the story. And while a Dalish elf, a Carta dwarf, a qunari mercenary, and a Circle mage certainly live very different lives than a human noble, they also live very different lives than Giles the farmer—not necessarily more privileged, but still different, with differing priorities and different stakes in this conflict. Bron the farmhand has no reason to be at the Conclave; he's here mucking out stalls, knowing the horses still need to be fed even if there is a rift spewing demons over there in the middle of the neighbor's pasture. Elaina the farmer is putting away cabbages for winter and hoping the barn doesn't get burned down by a stray fireball. And Elaina is one of the fortunate ones: her family's home and livelihood are still intact, for now. The Crossroads now hold many ordinary people who through no fault of their own have lost their homes, their crops, even family members.

Theirs is the perspective we get in the Hinterlands.

You don't have to stick around for all that. You can take Mother Giselle’s advice immediately, go to Val Royeaux, go deal with bigger and more important things and people. You will need 4 Power to go to Val Royeaux, but Power is easy to come by. Close a few rifts, and you’re good to go. You don’t have to care about these refugees and their problems.

But you know, something I notice is that the founders of the Inquisition spend a whole lot of breath talking about "the people." How they have to restore order for the people. How the people are looking to us—to you, Your Worship. The people need you. The people need to believe in you. That’s why we’re raising an army and building a cult around you! For the people.

Well, here are the people.

And if you talk to the people at the Crossroads, it turns out that what they actually need is less faith in Andraste’s chosen, and more blankets for the cold nights, medicine for the sick and injured, and food so they don’t starve. They need the war ended and the Breach closed so that they can return to what’s left of their homes and salvage what crops and livestock they can.

It is easy to feel a bit smothered by the Inquisition’s overwhelming Andrastian-ness, especially when playing a character who has their own religious beliefs, or none at all. We have a lot of characters trying to tell us about the importance of faith—their faith, specifically. We’re told that the people need to believe, and that’s why we have to play the role of this figurehead. And you can run with that idea and play it straight, if you want to. But there is, in fact, a different story to be found here, if you want to look for it—a story told in the world itself and the people who who inhabit it: people cannot eat faith.

And Mother Giselle, the person we are sent to the Hinterlands to find, knows this. She is certainly a devout Andrastian and deeply influenced by a life in the Chantry—but she also chooses to be on the ground helping people in need rather than arguing with her fellow clerics in Val Royeaux. After the attack on Haven, Mother Giselle and the Inquisitor have a conversation about faith, in which the Inquisitor points out, in one way or another, that faith may not be enough. Giselle may seem to disagree. Yet it is she who then leads the survivors in a song that does not mention the Maker or Andraste even once. The much-maligned “The Dawn Will Come” is so frequently assumed to be a Chantry hymn because it is Mother Giselle who starts it; even the fan wiki lists it as such. But I hear something much more akin to a folk song, a marching tune—not a high holy chorus for a cathedral choir, but a song with a simple tune and repetitive lyrics, about hope in dark times.

Perhaps she was rather more persuaded than she appeared.

When you ask your ambassador Josephine, “What do the people make of us?” she tells you how many noble allies you’ve gathered. And that’s not unimportant; this boots on the ground shit costs money, and most of that is coming out of noble coffers. But when you ask Mother Giselle, “How are the people?” she speaks of the terror and suffering of the people in the Hinterlands, and warns of mass starvation if the farmers cannot return to their fields.

This is the story of the Hinterlands.

And the density of side quests on this map reflects that. In addition to aiding the refugees with food, blankets, and medicine, there are so many more opportunities to help people in small but meaningful ways. An elven widower who cannot reach his wife’s grave through the fighting asks the Inquisitor to bring flowers there as is his custom. A grieving widow asks for the retrieval of her husband’s wedding ring from the templars who murdered him. A beloved ram has gone missing. A mage mourns her templar lover and the war that has come between them. A note speaks of two brothers, templar and apostate, torn apart by the war. A son has gone off to join the cult in the hills (no, not our cult in the hills, another one), and his mother needs the special remedy for her breathing problems that only he knows how to make. And so many more. Even the Winterwatch cult itself asks us to consider what it is the people truly need: the Inquisitor can enlist them as Inquisition agents, or ask them to aid the refugees.

Are all these sidequests vital to the plot? No. You can skip them if you want to. Are they relevant to the plot? Absolutely. Are they meaningful? To me, yes. Maybe they didn't change the whole world, but they changed something for these people.

It is so important to me that we get to actually meet the common people whose lives are depending on us. Whatever you think of the Inquisition itself, people actually are dying because of both the rifts and the war, and many more will die if these problems aren’t resolved. Meeting them, giving them names and faces and side quests dealing with their more mundane needs is so much more meaningful to me than standing around back at base being told “People are starving in the Hinterlands.”

It's understandable that the Hinterlands had to fight the precedent set by Lothering getting locked off, because in many ways the Hinterlands serves the same narrative purpose as Lothering: showing the effects of the present crisis on the common people and what's at stake for them.

I should note that the Hinterlands are not the only part of the game that addresses the impact on common people—far from it, in fact. The Exalted Plains give us a taste of how many have died for the Gaspard's attempted coup; Emprise du Lion shows us commoners kidnapped and tortured by Red Templars; the Winter Palace puts the bloody reality of the "Grand Game" in stark contrast to its gilded veneer with the indiscriminate murder of servants for expediency.

But it’s important that we are introduced to the suffering of the common people early in the game, when the Herald—not yet the Inquisitor—may still feel pretty shaky on their motivations for even sticking around.

While I've mostly been talking about non-mage commoners here, I do want to say a few words about the rebel mages as well, since they too are a part of the story of the Hinterlands. I hope that no one reading thinks I am blaming the rebel mages as a whole for what's happening in the Hinterlands, for what the common people here have suffered. The templars, notably, are not entrenched in the Hinterlands. Their present stronghold is Therinfal Redoubt, an old Seeker fortress, which is a significant distance from Redcliffe. The fact that the bulk of the fighting is taking place near Redcliffe, while we've no evidence of a mage offensive against Therinfal, makes it pretty clear that it is the templars who are pursuing the mages at this point, not the other way around. Certainly some in the region may not bother to make that distinction while their crops are on fire, but let's be clear about the story the map is telling us: it is the mages who are under attack here, not the templars. It is sometimes said that Inquisition deliberately draws a false equivalence between the mages and templars in this war. I would like to point to this piece of environmental storytelling as evidence that that is not entirely true.

Sometimes, it seems like pointing out that collateral damage happens is read as condemning an oppressed people for defending themselves. I want to make it clear that this is not what I am saying. I simply feel that those characters who have lost homes and livelihoods in this conflict are also worth seeing, and talking about. But I also don’t think it’s an accident that this is the map whose story is all about the suffering of ordinary people, and it is also the rebel mages who have their base on this map; the templars do not.

So, that’s why I think the Hinterlands are Good Actually! They contain an absolute wealth of worldbuilding, and their story frames the game’s central conflicts around the people suffering for them, early in the game when that perspective is most needed.

#the hinterlands #dragon age inquisition #dragon age #dragon age meta #blunders of thedas

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high-dragon-bait · 2 years

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See. What frustrates me most with the mage/templar thing in Dragon Age is that I completely understand what they were trying to do

On paper, the mage/templar debate reads like this: "There are a group of people who are inherently dangerous, and because of this they are locked away and hated. That hate is often exaggerated, and based in religion, but it is undeniable that the danger is still there. So what do you do? Is it fair to lock up these people for something they can't control? Is it fair to let them loose where they pose a very real threat to defenseless people? What do you do?"

On paper, that is a genuinely very interesting concept. It makes you think! It sparks a debate in your brain! I get what they were trying to do, I don't fault them for that

The problem is. Entirely in the execution, and in the language used around it.

Because it takes an ethical dilemma and treats it exactly like a civil rights issue and those are not the same thing

An ethical dilemma is what I described above. You have two options. Neither are ideal. You need to decide between the lesser of two evils. Which does the most good? Which causes the least harm? The trolley problem. The self-driving cars decision.

That is a far cry from a civil rights issue

In actual real-world civil rights, there has never been a group of people who had to fight for rights that posed some sort of inherent danger. The only danger was bigotry, and that danger is towards them. Real civil rights aren't an issue because the oppressed group has a chance of turning into a blood thirsty fire-monster at any giving second, they're an issue because a different group of people have decided that they are superior to that group for no other reason than the differences they can find. That's it

Now, it does annoy me when people talk about the mage/templar debate like it is a real life civil rights issue. I don't think those discussions are productive, because it... isn't. There is no real mage rights campaign. But the handling of it in the game just has very unfortunate implications for how the writers think oppression works, be it intentional or not.

They wanted to make their issue interesting by giving "both sides a point." And unfortuntely this implies that in real life "both sides" should be taken into consideration in a civil rights issue. But they shouldn't. Because when the fight is based in bigotry, "both sides" are not equal. One is right and one is wrong. The shades of grey come from how the bigotry is presented and who it comes from, but the bigotry itself never "has a point." It's hate. It's hate based in one group's need for superiority and nothing else

An ethical dilemma angle is still a very hard concept to execute properly when you are using people at the core of your ethical dilemma. In this case, it's not "who gets run over by the trolley" it's "who is the trolley." You have to be EXTREMELY careful with that not to end up with, well, what the final product was. Clearly, Dragon Age wasn't

And obviously, even if the mage/templar thing had dropped the civil-rights language and been treated just as an ethical dilemma, the ethical thing to do is still not to lock up the mages. You can't punish people for a crime they might commit. But at least the argument would make more sense and be less frustrating

If they even just adjusted the language, didn't use words like "oppression" didn't call it the "mage rights movement." Didn't directly mirror the language and atrocities committed by Nazis in the Holocaust that's already an improvement. It's not perfect, but it's an improvement.

I believe there could've been a way to do the mage/templar debate right. I honestly think that with careful writing, it still has a chance to be "fixed" and "done right" in the upcoming games. I don't hope for that, I just think it's possible

So yeah, that's the biggest thing for me. I don't think the concept of the mage/templar conflict is a bad one. I get what they wanted to do, but the execution has been fumbled in the lightest of terms.

Cool concept! Badly handled

#dragon age #dragon age 2 #this will be the last mage/templar debate post i will ever make. i have now said everything i could ever say on it #until dreadwolf comes out at least #i might delete this i'm not sure i'm getting my point across perfectly but i wanted to get it off my chest for now

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wifihunters · 2 years

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not to Dragon Age Preemptively but

there's been so much (valid) worry that da4 isnt going to handle the issues that are inevitable if the game is headed into Tevinter and like? Honestly? I think it comes from the games trying so hard to make everything feel like a devil's advocate moment in defense of roleplay rather than like. An actual choice.

In Origins you could do some absolutely heinous things. You could do some heinous things without realizing! Depending on your origin, your reaction to the templars, Vaughan, Bhelen, etc... most of us probably fucked something up our first playthrough just based on information variation. Still, with few exceptions, there are weighted 'good' options in most areas.

That... felt like good roleplay. The mission was simple (you were fighting an evil zombie dragon. If you really needed to ally with it to feel complete, there was a dlc for that) and how much you wrecked the world on the way to that objective was up to you, but you definitely know when you're doing an evil dao run.

Dragon Age 2 is a game I enjoy, but its a dating simulator on rpg rails. Hawke is doomed to fail, you just pick who you fail on good terms with. It doesn't have a place in this argument because it's the most pessimistic game so far.

Inquisition seemed to try to combine the two but... failed?

Corypheus is the 'archdemon' 2.0, Samson and Calpernia feel like less involved Meredith and Orsino except they're just mutually exclusive. The Inquisitor is Hawke but destined to succeed no matter what.

Every world choice doesn't change your character's morality, it just reskins the setting with thin paint. My wife going to the mages felt shadier than my (purposeful attempt at an evil run?) run with the templars, really for no reason other than making both sides equal. If DAI was your first game (it was my wife's) you didn't feel any ramifications for this other than which 'boss' attacks Haven. I barely noticed Fiona and I knew who she was.

And the thin reskins and 'equality', 'everyone is morally grey', makes it so the developer can't write an actual stance. Every companion and character needs a "true, however---" check in place so they can't overtake the player's moral godhood. If that was the goal, writing things like genocide and slavery, cultural destruction and bodily autonomy.... shouldn't be on the table as plot points. Go smaller or make an animalistic evil god again.

#where's that dude who had to solo awakening bc he did a lawful evil run lmao #he probably liked inquisition #i hope he'll hate da4 #tbh i was hoping we'd KO solas in the first 15 and get something fresh for the rest but uh

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vigilskeep · 1 year

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Hello! I was wondering how Keir ended up handling the choices in the legacy dlc? Who he ended up siding with and how he felt about everything? I always love hearing what you have to say about him:), thanks in advanced!

thank you so much for this ask, i loved the legacy dlc for keir and i went slightly unhinged on this blog at the time but i dont think i was super clear about his choices. disclaimer this response got so long im so sorry

my poor lad had a MISERABLE time in the legacy dlc. first off, keir is afraid of darkspawn. not for himself, exactly, but they immediately up his protective anxiety to 300% (it’s characteristically always at 100%). he was at ostagar and then the darkspawn killed his little brother, so sure, let’s lock him and three of the most important people in his life in an enclosed fortress full of darkspawn, that’s fine and he can handle it. for sure. then you throw on top of that: bethany is here. keir adores bethany but the distance between them has only grown since she was taken to the circle. she’s increasingly frustrated by the way he acts and he barely knows how to talk to her at all. both keir and anders in canon dialogue try to persuade her to make a run for it during this dlc, leading me to suspect this was the whole point of keir bringing her out at all, in all likelihood a trip he’s had to make a costly bargain with meredith for, so that’s got to be a huge tension the entire time. not to mention, again, the darkspawn: bethany here with the darkspawn is the very thing he left her behind in act 1 to avoid, and she got taken by the templars because of it, and somehow they still ended up here where he could lose her like he lost carver

then on top of that you have anders. keir is afraid of losing his loved ones to the darkspawn, and in this dlc not only is that basic threat to life thrown at him, but it’s made very painfully clear (with a whole corrupted warden showing up just to underline the THIS IS YOUR FUTURE point) that, just like with bethany, with anders we will always end up here. anders is a grey warden and this is how grey wardens die, and there is precisely nothing keir can do about that, ever, except i guess fucking beat him up when he and justice struggle with corypheus, because that’s not going to do any permanent psychic damage (at least there will never be a situation again where anyone expects him to harm anders haha because who would ever expect him to do that twould be crazy haha its not like anders himself believes keir would willingly do this again haha 🙃)

(edit: i’m adding a cut this is so stupid long)

so already keir’s having what you might call a Bad Time. then there’s the malcolm’s will quest. because why not throw ALL his dead or dying loved ones in his face at this point. the malcolm that keir knew was fiercely set against blood magic. keir has much fewer qualms with blood magic himself than malcolm did, but that’s always been one more failure of his character in comparison to his father. he’s not upset his father was a blood mage, he is upset that his father was a hypocrite who claimed otherwise, and who was so weak in strength and will that he could have been forced to blood magic by circumstances. a red hawke refers to malcolm as strict, with high expectations. keir has held himself to those high standards his entire life because they were placed on him by malcolm, and he has always harshly criticised himself for not living up to the guy. the promises he made to malcolm that he has not been able to fulfil are like the centrepiece on which all his issues hinge. he made himself a reaver, a very irreversible process and weighty choice that continues to cause him pain most days, so he could do better. to find out that malcolm had broken all those standards himself first, and been too ashamed to even admit to it like a man? there goes keir’s entire worldview i guess! because he’s not having a bad enough day already

anyway, that was a three paragraph sidetrack to explain the emotional setup. choices. keir sides with larius... initially. keir has already established larius in his head as What Is Going To Happen To Anders and thus leans towards defending him, bethany votes larius and invokes malcolm’s memory to do it (keir is trying to make common ground with bethany and really trying to have faith in malcolm right now), anders votes larius and uses the warden-commander as an example of what not to do (keir has invented a mild unspecific grudge against the warden-commander based on hearsay evidence), and furthermore corypheus’ influence threatened keir’s family and made him fight anders so whatever the guy is, keir leans towards fucking killing him. so he does side with larius at that point. HOWEVER, despite all that, it’s not an open and shut decision. keir has a tendency to trust the intelligence of mages with big ideas, so dismissing janeka isn’t natural and obvious to him. what’s more, she’s talking about the end of the blights. the end of what killed his brother and the threat that’s been terrifying him this whole trip. he turns it down but he’s sure as hell not comfortable doing it and it’s tearing at him a little that he did

and then you get to the final bit where janeka throws it in your face that larius threatened leandra to force malcolm to blood magic. so keir’s already doubting his choice and in a very keyed up emotional state and then larius becomes the threat to his family and the one responsible for how keir feels about malcolm right now. on all that angry impulse, he switches sides. janeka immediately kills larius—REAL punch to the gut of immediate regret because of the whole That’s Future Anders thing—but it’s too late now. they try to free corypheus. It Goes Bad. anders and bethany both get knocked down like the squishy mages they are and varric only narrowly missed doing the same so that’s all terrifying

but eventually they kill corypheus. so, hey. horrible horrible trip maybe one of the most miserable days of his life and he’s questioning a lot of things but ultimately, he can drag everyone he loves out of there alive, and that’s what matters. and it’s not like setting corypheus loose will have any lasting consequences. right?

#LONG response but i loved legacy. keir did not share my enthusiasm #anyway did you know that the aggressive response to janeka afterwards #is to straight up seriously tell her to kill herself. because i did not know that when i selected it #keir hawke

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curiouslavellan · 10 months

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Heya! For the character opinions thing, Cole and Morrigan? :3

Thank you!!

Cole

First impression

"omg why does he move like that I love him"

my first playthrough I sided with mages, so I didn't get Cole or even really know about him until he showed up during the attack on Haven. I remember being really struck by how flighty he is even physically, there's a moment where he points very dramatically at Corypheus in the distance and it almost feels like he's on a stage

Impression now

FAVE. Cole is probably my favorite companion ever. I've never not taken him for at least part of a playthough and I can't make an OC who doesn't like him.

Favorite moment

His introduction in the templar storyline is iconic, I always want to side with the mages but I get bummed every time it means I can't meet Cole inside my character's own head. Also the follow up in Haven where he just bamfs onto the table in the war room with no warning

Idea for a story

well my main WIP about my formerly tranquil Inquisitor is a Colemance so...

Unpopular opinion

Guys I know Cole is Baby(TM) but also like, he's not. First of all he's canonically a serial killer, but even moving past that I think most people see him as very childish and innocent where I see his confusion on some topics more as a fish out of water (spirit out of fade) thing

Favorite relationship

Cole and Iron Bull are so interesting, the way Bull starts off afraid of him and comes to care about him, the way Cole's banters push Bull to open up about his feelings. "You might be a weird, squirrelly kid, but you're my weird, squirrelly kid" is perfect

Favorite headcanon

Cassandra has, more than once, attempted to get Cole to spoil Varric's next book for her

Morrigan

First impression

50/50 split on "wow I'm bisexual" and "where is your coat?!" it looks cold in Ferelden

Impression now

She's so so interesting in the way she's grown from an insecure and isolated young woman under the thumb of her mother to a very confident mother herself, I honestly really like her arc from the first game to where we are currently

Favorite moment

This is kind of a smaller moment but I really like it when I played a male Warden who never flirted with her and she questioned that, it felt like legitimate confusion on her part and I love how important it is for her to build genuine platonic relationships (also the terrible dramatic irony when it's not your first playthrough and you know about the Dark Ritual during this convo)

Idea for a story

I wouldn't want to write this myself but honestly I want all the stories from Morrigan raising Kieran, he must have been so weird

Unpopular opinion

Um is it unpopular to say she didn't betray you? Like yes haha, betraying mage meme, but being serious Morrigan didn't really do that. She gave you an option and told you the consequences of both sides, then you pick and she follows through on what she said

Favorite relationship

Romantically, Morrigan/Surana is my canon romance for her and I really liked it, two sides of the mage issue eventually falling and love and raising their child, something neither of them thought they'd get to do for various reasons. Platonically / in general, her and Alistair have some truly hilarious banter, they are so catty

Favorite headcanon

Morrigan commissioned that dress in Inquisition based on Leliana's comments during Origins on purpose, thinking it'd be funny, then got embarrassed the day of and that's why she and Leliana don't really interact during WEWH. Morrigan is avoiding her.

#ask game #layalu #cole #morrigan

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ziskandra · 1 year

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hi ziskandra! some ao3 wrapped questions for you:

(05) What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?

(15) What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

(19) What’s one pairing you want to explore next year?

05. a work that got more feedback than expected! Honestly, probably both of my Cullen & Orsino fics (the morning after & paying it forward). I'm used to gen fic not getting as much attention as shipfic, so I was surprised that they outperformed my Meresino fics by a substantial margin.

Then again, Meresino is a... bit of a controversial pairing, and Cullen and Orsino are both popular characters who don't have much content together despite being in the same location for several years, so perhaps I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was. It was a lot of fun bouncing them off one another, and I would definitely be down to write more in that universe in the future! 15. what WIP am i taking into next year?

Basically everything that's in my WIP folder is getting slowly rotated in my brain forever; it's not uncommon behaviour for me to write half a fic, forget about it for several years, and come back to it and finish it off! I only excise things from my WIP folder (into a 'discontinued' folder), if I'm certain I have no interesting in thinking about that story anymore. There's a couple of Ace Attorney things featuring the von Karmas, but I'm gonna focus on Dragon Age for now bc otherwise I'd be here all day! Anyway, it's mostly Meresino at the moment, featuring: 1. A continuation of All's Fair, which covers Orsino and Meredith's arranged marriage over the years and how them having a deeper understanding of one another's psyches means Orsino actually has a fighting chance of stopping Meredith before it's too late (a lot of other people get roped into this scheme, because nothing can ever go right for Orsino) 2. Prequel to Precipice, featuring Meredith and Orsino's relationship when they were younger -- I really want to dive into how it's harder to leave institutions when you actually have something to lose, but also all the intersectional issues that come up with being both an elf and a mage in the Dragon Age setting. Because, like, a lot of my Meresino thoughts come from my experiences in being in interracial relationships with people who have more systemic power in comparison to me, and navigating that space between loving a person and hating what they represent, and realising at what point someone needs to like... stop trying to change them. 3. A Meredith backstory fic (gen flavour this time), basically set in the same universe as the blackest night. I had a lot of thoughts related to that fic that I simply did not have time to include due to the short nature of the writing period, and I REALLY want to get into the nitty gritty of how Meredith's trauma and implied neurodiversity led her to a no-win situation and her eventual spiral into despair. (And also my thoughts on her relationship with Ser Wentworth, and how she basically spent her early templar years as a carer while staring down the unavoidable implications of her own future, as well as Knight Commander Guylian and everything that happened with the templars' conflict with Viscount Threnhold). 4. Lastly, a sequel to Side Effects, featuring tentacles bc @sharksister prompted me and who am I to say no?

19. A pairing I want to explore next year Hawkedith! I have a few ideas I've been toying with, but I was finding it hard to focus on them with Mersino occupying so much of my brain space. Maybe once I finish some of the above, I'll have time to pivot... we'll see! Ao3 Wrapped [Writer's Edition]

#dragon age #meredith stannard #knight-commander meredith #meresino #asha answers #asha writing rambles #syrupwit #thank you for the ask!!#unsurprisingly it turns out i have a lot of thoughts on meresino.... who knew...#i still have no idea how this happened but oh well #ao3 wrapped

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dragonageconfessions · 2 years

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CONFESSION:

Something that has always bothered me about this fandom is how angry people get about the morally grey choices in the game. And yes. Grey. I've seen so many posts and gotten into dead end arguments about how the choices are meant to be difficult to see a right and wrong. Some answers are only "the correct" one because of foresight, and knowing the end results. Harrowmont and Bhelen for example, Harrowmont seems like the morally correct answer, until the end of the game when it shows Bhelen opens up the dwarves to the surface and fixes some of the class issues.

The mages vs templars thing is so much more complicated, I've had people call my templar playthroughs my "evil" playthroughs, if this fandom needs to learn anything, its to look at things from all sides. Fenris and Anders show both sides perfectly, imo. Fenris is overly cautious of mages because hes seen the damage they can do. And Anders is a mage who only wants his freedom, and you should be able to sympathize with both sides, that's the point. Anders digs a hole for mages by showing WHY they're dangerous.

But Fenris also shows how far caution can turn to prejudice, and unjust hate. (My heart always hurts when I have a mage hawk/Fenris romance and he yells at you about magic ruining everything) There is no right answer. Different choices to what you chose doesn't mean 'evil.'

#Dragon Age Confessions #BioWare #Dragon Age Series #game choices #DA Fandom Critical

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dalishious · 2 years

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So I'm having a debate on a discord server regarding the mages vs templar debacle. And they made some weird and infuriating points.

Me: One thing I hate about Inquisition is that they tried to force "Grey Morality" on the Mage-Templar War, a very black-and-white conflict. That and suddenly painting the Chantry as the "good guys" and everyone else being either morally dubious or evil.

Person 1: No war is black and white. And I think that’s what they were going for. There are always those who commit atrocities and always those who think they are right in doing so, no matter which side of the conflict they are on. And many innocents get caught in the middle of any conflict, which is another focus of the mage/Templar conflict.

Me: I get that, and it is true that innocents were caught in the crossfire.

That's not what I have issue with. The issue is BioWare trying to portray both Mages and Templars being morally dubious factions from the start. Despite the former being systematically oppressed for thousands of years by the latter

Person 1: I’m probably the wrong person to talk to about this because I very much am pro-Templars were just tools who had no agency because of lyrium dependency and burn down the Chantry hierarchy who made that decision So I can totally feel for those who felt pity for the Templars and anger for the mages who Took Things Too Far.

Me: It is true that the Templars are victims to a degree as well, however, the Chantry purposefully picks candidates that have strong beliefs in the Chant of Light. They believe that magic is a sin bestowed on mages and they must be imprisoned "for the greater good", and hold the belief that dwarfs and elves are sub-human, etc. The ones that become templars generally have these beliefs already

Person 1: Sure. But do we blame people who fall for indoctrination? Or blame the institution that indoctrinates them in the first place? And when it comes to the war, the mages were the aggressors (whether in the right or not is not the point) and the Templars were just doing what they thought was right. I never blame the people; I blame the institutions that failed to educate them properly and relied on this ignorance to foster hate.

Person 2: A lot of templars become templars because they want to protect people, and there were people in the Chantry who were working to change it. Whether or not that's something they can actually achieve is another issue. I don't think we can talk about how messy BioWare's writing of oppression is without acknowledging that there's no direct analogy to real world oppression where magic is concerned. Marginalized people in the real world can't destroy cities with their minds. _____________________________________________________________

It makes me mad. For reference, person 1 is US military, not sure if that impacts anything. What makes me irritated is that they say the Templars were leashed and left to rot by the Chantry, so that means their crimes mean as much. While I get the point of indoctrination, those Templars still chose to be abusive, it doesn't change that! It's the same as saying "They're following orders" Great, still doesn't justify their actions. The second person's point of protection just feels flimsy. Doing something under the guise of 'protection' is thrown around a lot. Just look at what the US did to foreign countries under the guise of "protection from communism." It was anything but, and it caused a shit ton more problems than it ever "solved" And their second point of there not being a real-world analogy to mages since magic isn't real doesn't mean what the mages go through is okay. I don't get their point!

I want to scream! Sorry for the rant

(Oh boy, the US Military supporter thing explains everything...)

I'd say there's no point in trying to argue with people like that, honestly. But if you're truly invested, some things you could point out, if you haven't already:

The mage rebellion is not a war. It is a group of oppressed people uprising against their oppressors. There is a huge difference between that and two or more nations fighting for power.

"The Templars were just doing what they thought was right." Oh, and the US Military supporter rears its head! Good god, that is a horrible excuse. The Templars thinking it's right to oppress people is wrong. And to dismiss all responsibility onto the Chantry is no better than, like you said, the excuse of "just following orders". Especially when we have actual examples of Templars who did recognize what they were doing was wrong. They're not machines, they have their own thoughts and actions and choices, and the choices they made were wrong.

#ask #anti templar

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heniareth · 3 years

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I was really curious about what your opinions on the DAO companions are :) I know we have talked about some, but I'd love to hear more and about the others as well :D I hope it's ok to pose this as an ask :)

Sure! That sounds like a ton of fun. This might be a long one tho. Mind you, this is not the finished version of the answer. I'd like to link stuff and add a cut, but rn that's not possible. I'll update it when I can.

Edit: I have updated it ^^

Let's go alphabetically bc why not.

Alistair:

Sweet guy. So sweet. There was a moment when I was hard pressed chosing between him and Zevran (alas, Zevran won). Also, he's weirdly tall according to the wiki? How did I not notice that before?

Let's get a bit more serious now, Alistair is a great guy. The only reason he's not the hero of the story is because he doesn't want to. He has all the qualities of a leader: he's good at dealing with conflict (as evident with the conversation with the mage at the beginning. He gets where he wants to get without antagonizing the mage, but without allowing him to trample all over him). He's a solid tactitian and knows how to make allies (he suggests to use the Grey Warden treaties, after all). I bet if he was in the leadership position, he'd even not bicker with Morrigan. His moral code is pretty tight; some might say too tight, but I think it's less about the moral code and more about learning to judge people by their actions, not by the labels they fit into (Morrigan is a proud apostate and therefore bad. Wynne is a humble circle mage and therefore good). He also has a bit of a black-and-white way of seeing the world. I empathize a lot with Alistair, especially with his experience with the Chantry and his subsequent reluctance to deal with it. I really wish I had gotten to know more about concrete experiences he had during his training as templar, but he seems reluctant to talk about it (gee, I wonder why).

Since I've only played the game once, I haven't really picked up on Arl Eamon's abuse towards him, which apparently exists (Isolde, however... I mean, even if he were Eamon's illegitimate son, he's a kid, ma'am, he didn't exactly get to chose his parents. So that's so not okay). Alistair's way of speaking about them both, however, is either sign that he has not come within a hundred miles of acknowledging how much it hurt him, or that he's already gone through the whole process and has decided to forgive them. The latter shows a very strong character; yes, he relies on the approval and leadership of others, he has his issues, but he's already started working on them.

That being said, irl Alistair would be like a little brother to me. I'd tease him relentlessly (all in good fun and I promise to stop if it makes him uncomfortable, but he's just so teasable). I still wish the videogame gave him the chance to take important decisions for himself. But that, of course, would somewhat defeat the point of the game.

Leliana:

Another sweet, sweet person. Her singing voice is amazing. Her belief in the Maker inspires me (I'm a religious person and seeing religious characters represented in a positive light is Very Cool. It's also sometimes a source of discomfort, because the Church has done a lot of very messed up stuff and positive representation can sometimes veer into apologetics for things that should not be excused, but that's a whole other can of worms. The bottom line is that religious characters sometimes work for me and other times don't and Leliana works for me very much bc she's an outsider inside the Chantry).

Leliana is best friend material, tbh. I'd love to get to know her irl, discuss theology and philosophy and maybe even politics? She makes mistakes and has prejudices, but, tbh, so do I. And I do get the feeling that she tries her best to learn. From the times she intervenes in a conversation between the Warden and an NPC, she shows herself to be compassionate and open to the needs of others. What I get from her character is that she genuinely wants to help, which is something that I adore of her. I suspect that she sometimes has a hard time deciding wether she's a good person or not. She has killed and seduced and worked for a morally dubious person, and she doesn't show the same nonchalance about it as Zevran (though they both do discuss their line of work in very... professional terms). This is, however, more of a headcanon than actual factual canon.

I also very much enjoy her girly side, like her interest in shoes and dresses. She's one badass woman who also looses her cool about the latest fashions in Val Royeaux. I like that. Between her and Alistair, a non human noble Warden has as good a help to navigate the Fereldan court as they're going to get. Leliana is also, I can't forget that, clever and insightful. It'd be easy to write her off as the innocent chantry girl, but she's so much more than that. Her kindness is paired with foresight, I think. She knows that taking on the trouble to help now can go a long way in the future. I just have a lot of respect for her.

Loghain:

This one's gonna be short bc I didn't recruit him. He's an amazing villain and would probably be a great Warden as well. He reminds me of Denerhor from LOTR; once a hero/stewart of his people, ambition and desperation have driven them both down a terrible path. I have also only little idea about his past. People say he lost a lot, and I believe it wholeheartedly; it doesn't excuse the fact that he plunged the country into a civil war in the middle of a Blight. I don't have a lot of sympathy for short-sighted politicians. I wish he hadn't made himself regent. That's what I take away from his character.

Edit: One thing I forgot to mention that really impressed me was his death. I had Alistair duel him (that was a rough duel), and then it kinda just jumped to a cutscene of my Warden nodding and Alistair executing him. That didn't sit well with me. I didn't want to kill Loghain, and less so in front of Anora. But what impressed me was that Loghain just accepted it. That takes a whole lot of guts. Compare that to Howe's death, and how he screams out that he deserved (more, probably, or anything but death) and it's crystal clear who the more noble of the two is. Loghain strikes me as very lawful neutral, and any neutral alignment has the particularity that it can be dragged towards good or bad, sometimes without the characters noticing it (which is interesting from a DnD perspective; neutral is often concieved of as just as stable as good or evil, but that may not be true. But that's a different post). Anyway, Loghain's death was impactful.

Morrigan:

I could kick myself for not maxing out her approval in the first play-through. I got to enjoy a bit of her friendship by the end of it and boy was even that little bit worth it. Friendship with Morrigan is something that is hard-won. It's all the more precious because of that.

Morrigan is full of paradoxes, I think. She's incredibly wise in some ways, yet also very short-sighted (”just kill them, don't solve their problems”. Morrigan, dear, I'm not going to gain a lot of allies if I kill everybody who poses a problem to me). She is so intelligent, but emotionally... not so. She knows so much about some things, and very little about the next. She's incredibly wilful and knows what she wants, but follows Flemeth's orders all the time through. She hungers for power and independence, yet craves closeness, but won't allow herself to have it. She asks you to prove yourself to her and is extremely critical of your actions, I think, because she's afraid. She bites the hand that feeds her because it might hit her next.

Like with Eamon, I haven't managed to catch the undercurrent of abuse that seems to permeate Flemeth's relationship with Morrigan. Except there are signs, because there must be something Morrigan is scared of and who has instilled all that rage in her, and that's Flemeth. Also, she clearly hates/does not care about her and wants her dead (unless killing Flemeth was part of Flemeth's plan as well? Hm.)

Morrigan is that one person who you are nice to, continuously, because nobody else is. And suddenly she becomes less cold. And then friendly. And suddenly you're asking yourself why everybody hates her, because she's a really good friend! I just wish the other companions came to a similar conclusion, especially Alistair and Wynne.

Oghren:

They did this man dirty. He has such great lines and I'm convinced he was a great person before Branka disappeared. He has that dwarven warrior spirit, and while he looks like Gimli, some of his most impactful lines remind me of Dwalin or even Thorin Oakenshield himself. He could be so noble had he gotten some character development, damnit!

Oghren as he is written is somewhat disgusting. I hate the lechering comments and the drunkenness. And still, I don't hate him because of those amazing lines he has when he's actually sober. It's frustrating and I'll give him that character development myself if the game won't. I strongly associate the song Whiskey Lullaby with him, bc that's how he would have ended up if the Warden hadn't taken him along (warning: the song talks about suicide and alcoholism). Like I said, they could have done such cool things with his character. As he is written now... it's just sad. Moments of lucidity drowned in alcohol and creepy jokes. As you can see, I don't blame the character for either. The alcoholism happens all too often irl. The creepy jokes... I put that one on the writers' tab.

I actually think Oghren could have been a great mentor figure (I know, I shock myself as well sometimes). Next to the Grey Wardens, the ones who know most about fighting darkspawn are the dwarves because they have to deal with them constantly. Especially a warrior caste dwarf like Oghren could have brought a lot of that invaluable knowledge to the team, especially since there are no Grey Wardens in Ferelden but two extremely green recruits. Next, you get the chance to give Oghren the command of the teammates you leave behind in the battle of Denerim with the reason that he has lead men into battle before. Where did that suddenly come from? Oghren should have been right up there telling my Warden that they were doing this wrong, that they needed more food (and booze) and a confident leader to keep the armies they've called together going. Oghren should have been able to tell my civilian city elf who got recruited into the Grey Wardens a six months ago how one leads an army. How one presents oneself to inspire confidence, how one doesn't crack under the pressure, how one gets the leaders of said armies (some who hate each others guts i.e. Dalish elves and humans) to work together. And, last but not least, Oghren could have had a great story about grief. This is a man who has lost most of what made him (and what he hasn't lost he's spilling down the drain with every mug of ale). This is a man who, if you take him into the Deep Roads, has to see what his wife did to his family, how his wife got absolutely obsessed, and can be forced to kill said wife or watch her die. All Wardens loose their home and families at the start of the story. It would really have rounded the whole narrative out if the Warden and Oghren could have recognised their grief in each other and hashed it out somehow. Such as it is, Oghren is a depressed drunkard and there is nothing we can do about that. I find that frustrating.

Rascal (a.k.a. Dog):

Best boy. 100/10. I wish we had gotten to see the reaction of the different origins to the mabari (because elves probably have a whole different experience with them from mages or humans. And dwarves just... I think they straight up have none? XD). Other than that, no complaints. The name Rascal was the one I gave my dog because you have to be a right rascal to survive what he did and play the pranks he plays. Smartest breed in the world indeed.

Shale:

Shale is one of those characters that I recruited rather late in the game, so I haven't had the chance to explore their personality and worldview, really. I didn't even get to take them to the Deep Roads (this will be ammended in playthrough nr. 2). As such, I don't have particularly strong opinions on them (or her? The wiki refers to Shale as 'it', but that sounds weird). But, because I know so little about Shale, I have a lot of questions. First, what were they like before they were a golem? Shayle, as she was called then, was the best warrior of her time if I remember correctly. Why did she become a golem? Was it to be able to eternally protect her people? Was the sarcasm the golem Shale exhibits also part of the dwarven warrior Shayle or did that come later (if for thirty years you have nobody to talk to but yourself, you better be entertaining. And I can imagine how it could make somebody terribly jaded as well).

Next, how attached is Shale to their golem form, exactly? According to the banter, they infinitely prefer it to a squishy fleshy form. If that is the case, however, why go to Tevinter to try and become a squishy dwarf again? It's not like that process could be reversed if they wanted to become a golem again; if Shale survives to the end of the game, the Anvil of the Void is destroyed and Caridin is dead. Was the whole spiel about their indestructible form a façade? It might have been, but not because Shale actually disliked their form. I think it would have more to do with the loss of their memories and with the very invasive experiments and alterations of Shale's body made by the mage Wilhelm. The loss of memories means that Shale is unable to remember life as a fleshy creature. They might be deflecting by pretending that they didn't care for that experience anyway because of the superiority of their golem form. The modifications made to their form by Wilhelm would have alienated them from their body. In light of this, it's significant that Shale asks the Warden to decorate their form with crystals.

All of this is, of course, pure speculation. I may have easily missed or forgotten details that would disprove the above thoughts. All in all, I like Shale and I hope we meet them again in DA4 (given that it's mostly set in Tevinter). It's a liking from a respectful distance, because Shale is tall and made out of rock and also way more experienced than I will ever be (they are literally the oldest member of the Warden's little Blight fighting squad).

Sten:

Sten is another person I'd keep a respectful distance from physically. That seems to be the what he would prefer, at least. I've enjoyed his character a lot, especially because he seems pretty clear-cut at first, but slowly lets the nuance of his person show (gruff and stoic, but then he has an eye for art, a sweet tooth and he likes cute animals). It's also very interesting that there's no moment when you learn "the truth" about him the way you do with Zevran or Leliana. There's no big reveal about his life under the Qun before coming to Ferelden. He says he was sent to monitor the Blight, but honestly? If neither Ferelden nor Orlais knew there was a Blight, how could the Qunari know? I think he's lying, and he takes his secrets back with him when he leaves Ferelden. And yet I think I know him enough to say that a Warden who has become friends with him has nothing to fear from Sten.

One thing I find very interesting about Sten is how he thinks. His conversation about how women can't be soldiers has been analysed a lot on this page I think. He seems to be arguing based on a different paradigma than the one the Warden has. He also seems to have a very clear-cut view of the world. What is fascinating to me is that, when arguing with the Warden and learning about their culture, he is not necessarily becoming more lax about his worldview. I think it's more likely that he is expanding his paradigma, the structure of thought through which he understands the world. I don't think that he is now convinced that women can be warriors as well. I think he rather understands that, in Ferelden, the relationship between occupation and gender is different than under the Qun. Which of the two he thinks is more right or more agreeable, I have no idea. I'm also not very interested in that. But I find it fascinating how he always seems to be looking on quietly, gathering data, classifying it and trying to fit it into his understanding of how the world works. I wouldn't be surprised at all if his original party was a scouting party to see how vulnerable Ferelden was at that moment to outside forces. One thing I don't understand with all of this is why he urges the Warden to meet the Blight head on. No smart soldier would suggest that, except if they are foolishly proud (and Sten doesn't seem like that kind of guy tbh). I get that the Warden takes way longer to gather allies than expected because they first have to solve all of their allies' problems. But surely Sten sees the need to have allies? Is he just that impatient? Does he have a death wish (à la, I lost my sword and am without honour, better to die sooner than later and in glorious battle)? Was he his group's previous commander and is he now having trouble following somebody else's orders? Or maybe it's his way to make sure the Warden knows what they are doing? To push them into becoming the self-assured commander their allies will need once they're all gathered? I really don't know. I like the last option best, however.

For me, Sten is my fellow, more experienced soldier. Like Alistair, he can potentially be the Warden's brother in arms, but he's definitely the older brother here. He probably doesn't take kindly to tearful confessions of how hard everything is, but I feel like he's otherwise a solid rock to lean on. I feel like the Warden can trust him to do what is necessary and count on him no matter what, especially after they get his sword back. His devotion from that point on is honestly so powerful.

Wynne:

Wynne was such a support for my Warden (except with the whole conversation about love vs. duty and that she may have to choose between Zevran and ending the Blight and that she should therefore break up with him. Wynne had a point. Astala was so not willing to sacrifice her relationship with Zevran. But the whole conversation came at a point where she was already so disillusioned that she blew up in Wynne's face (”can i please just have one (1) nice thing????”)). But all in all, Wynne is great.

She has a lot of flaws. She was very marked by her life in the Cricle and, for all her age, she has little experience living outside of it. She is also a conformist despite her strong moral core. In a way, her ability to find peace with her lot in life impresses me deeply because it speaks to a lot of strength of character. Sadly, however, strength can be ill applied and used to suppress. I think she has convinced herself that the Chantry is right under (almost) all circumstances to be able to rationalize the life that mages live. She's had her son taken away from her as a baby and an apprentice killed. Her reaction seems to have been to convince herself that this was right, or for the greater good (and now I'm thinking about the Guardian's question at the temple of Andraste's Ashes; are you wise or do you just repeat what others have told you? The answer is not as clear-cut as it might be). This is why she is so irritated by Zevran and Morrigan. By aligning herself with the Chantry, she is, in her eyes, good. Zevran and Morrigan are not; they do not conform to Chantry morality and they defend themselves tooth and nails against somebody who would try and convert them. This is something Wynne never allowed herself to do; she always did the "right" thing and it has cost her so much. I'm not saying she was right (it would probably have done her some good to rebel from time to time, and to trust her own gut instinct more), but in light of this, it hardly surprises me that she's so judgamental. She has to be, or she would be forced to confront all the evil she has not fought against all those years and all the hurt that has been caused to her by the very institution she protects (and thank God she only tries to argue and can appreciate it when people have found a good life outside of her comfort zone. If she tried to convince by force or, for example, drag her former apprentice back to the Circle... boy oh boy that would get ugly). If you think about it, Wynne really is a good example for what happens if you live by a philosophy of always choosing the lesser evil.

Something that I keep forgetting over her grandmotherly and dignified character is how damn powerful she is. She has escaped the carnage at Ostagar; HOW!? She protected those mage apprentices in the Circle tower for God knows how long. In the battle of Denerim, she wades through an army and comes out alive on the other side. The wiki lists her age at 40, I think, but that doesn't make a lick of sense unless 75 years of age are the Fereldan equivalent to 100. This lady, about whom people make grandmother jokes, did all that. It's impressive.

Zevran:

You know, I would really love to know what Wynne thinks about the events at Kirkwall in DA2. It might be a disaster for her, or it might pave the way for one last bit of character development. She certainly didn't want to return to the Circle after fighting the Blight. That may be an indicator of some change in her stance on the Circle of Magi.

Edit: I forgot that she is what the Circle considers a literal abomination! Holy cow, how could I forget that?? Anyway, her conversation about what being an abomination means is so... heartbreaking, actually. It's so tentative. So careful. "Am I an abomination? Am I the same thing that has killed my students? The same thing as Uldred? Am I lost and damned? Did I invite this spirit in? Is this my fault?" Like wow, Wynne is going through something huge right there. I love it. I have to continue playing the game to see what it ends up as, but it's fascinating and such a huge thing that she allows the Warden in on that.

Ah, Zevran, my beloved (he has stolen my heart so much it's not even funny anymore). He's funny, he's charming, he's so so loyal and it breaks my heart. Zevran is the one about whom I've read most meta: these three wonderful posts for instance, as well as this one about his possible lack of scars, and this one about his lack of freedom. All of these have influenced my opinion of him and they are great reads.

I have talked about Zevran with you before, so I'll just skip to the new stuff. I have come to conclusion that Zevran is an artist at heart. This is totally not biased by the fact that I also do art, but hear me out. One of his preferred gifts are bars of silver and gold. While those have the obvious utility of basically functioning as money (they can be sold to any silversmith or goldsmith and their value is pretty stable through time and in different countries), there's also this from his codex: "Zevran shows an affinity for the finer things in life—hardly surprising for an Antivan Crow—but his appreciation can be more poetic than he lets on. A simple bar of refined silver or gold, uncomplicated by a craftsman's hammer, is elegantly valuable." Tell me that is not an artist's eye that sees that gold and sees the beauty in it. Then, there's also the meta about Zevran the Seducer which I linked above and link here again. It talks specifically about how he lets himself enjoy the target and be seen in his enjoyment. Tell me that is not an artist's eye that beholds the beauty of something he is set out to destroy. Even his talk about his assassinations show this. He talks about it as an art, the way somebody would talk about the brutal intervention in stone that produces a sculpture. Yes, it's a rationalization of the act of killing and yes killing is still wrong. But he doesn't go on about it on a moral tangent the way Alistair or Wynne would (”this person was bad, killing them was necessary”) or even through the argument of survival like Morrigan would (”it was either them or me and it sure as Hell wasn't going to be me”). He talks about the pleasure of a job well done, of the satisfaction of striking the precise point and executing a plan to the perfection so as to minimize chances of discovery and to make a clean death possible. And pleasure in seeing and in doing, this I firmly believe, is absolutely fundamental for an artist.

My favourite part about my Warden and Zevran as a pairing is that Zevran precisely brings out that ability to take your pleasures as they come and to really savour them. Fighting the Blight is tough; it's so important to find good things amidst the chaos to stay sane. If Astala saves Zevran from himself by offering him a place to stay and a purpose, Zevran saves Astala from herself by keeping her from running herself into the ground trying to save the world.

There are some things I don't like about Zev. The incessant flirting, for example, sometimes makes me uncomfortable (it becomes enjoyable for me once the Warden and him are in a relationship, but before that? Nah, no thanks). I wish he would also leave the other female characters alone (and there's so many more shameless comments of his aimed at Morrigan, Leliana or Wynne than at Alistair or maybe even Sten).

---

And that's my take on the Origins companions (this was rather long. Whew ^^' I hope it was still readable and that you enjoyed it!!) Thank you so much for the ask!! It's been a joy thinking about this. I was worrying at first that the less prominent companions like Sten or Shale wouldn't get as much content but... well XD

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felassan · 3 years

Text

Some DA trivia and dev commentary from Twitter

There’s a lot of different tweets, so I’m just pasting and linking to the source rather than screencapping them all or making several different posts or something. Post under cut for length.

User: Was dragon age 2 your favourite in the franchise?

David Gaider: DA2 was the project where my writing team was firing on all cylinders, and they wrote like the wind- because they had to! Second draft? Pfft. Plot reviews? Pfft. I was so proud of what we all accomplished in such a brief time. I didn't think it was possible. [source] DA2 is, however, also where the goal posts kept moving. Things kept getting cut, even while we worked. I had to write that dialogue where Orsino turned even if you sided with him, because his boss battle had been cut and there was no time to fix the plot. A real WTF moment. >:( [source]

Mike Rousseau: I remember bugging that! And then being told it wasn't a bug, and being so confused. Doing QA for DA2 was an experience. Trial by fire. [source]

DG: So I think it's safe to say DA2 is my favorite entry in the DA franchise and also the sort of thing I never want to live through ever again. Mixed feelings galore. [source]

User: (I personally blame whoever it was for ruining most romance arcs in other games for me; they don't live up to Fenris's romance storyline)

DG: I wrote Fenris, so uh - me, I guess? Or maybe his cinematic designer, who put in the puppy dog eyes. [source]

User: If DA2 had just been an expansion, do you think it would have been better received? There was a lot of great stuff in there, and I think my initial dislike of it was because of the zone reuse. If it hadn't needed to be a full game, would that issue not have arisen?

DG: Hard to say. It was either going to be an over-scoped expansion or an under-scoped sequel. If it had stayed an expansion, it might never have received the resources/push it DID get. [source]

User: I'd love to visit the universe where you had an extra year or so to work on it. You did a very good job as it stands, but it definitely had rough edges. Not just the writing team either. The whole game had hit and miss moments, that just a little more dev time could have fixed.

DG: On one hand, DA2 existed to fill a hole in the release schedule. More time was never in the cards. DA2 was originally planned as an expansion! On the other, if we had more time, would we have started doing that thing where we second guess/iterate ourselves into mediocrity? [shrug emoji] [source]

Jennifer Hepler: This is what I love about DA2. Personally, I greatly prefer something that's rough and raw and sincere to something that's had all the soul polished out of it. Extra time would have helped for art and levels, but it would have lost something too. [source]

DG: Right? I think we could have used some time for peer reviews (and fewer cuts), but I think the rawness of the writing lent a certain spark that we usually polished out. [source]

JH: Definitely. I think the structure (more character-driven) and the tightness of the timeframe let each individual writer's voice really come through. Polish can be very homogenizing. [source]

DG: I should add I'm not, by any means, against iteration. Some iteration is good and necessary. The problem that BioWare often had is that we never knew when to stop. Like a goldfish, we would fill the space given to us by constantly re-iterating on things that were "good enough". [source]

Patrick Weekes: I appreciate your incredibly diplomatic use of the past tense on "had". :D [source]

User: DA2 was my gateway into the series and I’m so happy it is. I love the game the way that it is. It’s one of my favorites of all time. But I am also aware of everything that was said here. If it were remastered, do you think it would change?

DG: I'd be surprised if it was ever remastered. If it was, do you really think they'd change things? Do remasters do that? No idea. [source]

User: Both sides got undercut as I recall. Didn't that whole sequence also end with the mage leader embracing blood magic? It was very much "a plague on both your houses" moment, at least for me.

DG: Yep. Orsino was supposed to have his own version of Meredith's end battle, which only happened if you sided with the templars. That got cut, but the team still wanted to use the model we'd made for him. So... that happened. [source]

DG: I would personally say that DA2 is a fantastic game hidden under a mountain of compromises, cut corners, and tight deadlines. If you can see past all that, you'll see a fantastic game. I don't doubt, however, that it's very difficult for most to do that. [source]

PW: I love DAI with all my selfish "I worked on this" heart, but DA2's follower arcs and relationships are probably my favorite in the series. [source]

User: As I've expressed many times, I love the game, especially it's writing and characters but, for me, the most impressive aspect of it, in consideration of it's lack of time for drafts and revisions, is the 2nd act with Arishok. What amazingly complex character and fantastic duel

User: Just played it again and I have to agree. Though he is bound by the harsher tenants of the Qun, he makes valid points about free marcher society. Though it is obvious that he and Hawke will come to blows eventually, the tension builds gradually and understandably

DG: Luke did such a fantastic job with the Arishok I found myself sometimes wishing the Qunari plot had just been THE plot. [source]

User: What do you think would have changed, story wise, if you had more time for DA2?

DG: I would have taken out that thing where Meredith gets the idol. It was forced on me because she needed to be "super-powered" with red lyrium for her final battle. Being "crazy", however, robbed her side of the mage/templar argument of any legitimacy. I hated hated hated that. [source]

User: I deeply lament that there wasn't/couldn't be some sort of DA2 equivalent of Throne of Bhaal's Ascension mod.

DG: I'd have done it, if DA2 had allowed for anything but the most rudimentary of modding. ;) [source]

User: I mean, and I think I understand where you were trying, but how much legitimacy did the Templars and her as top Templar have after they're keeping the mages locked up against their will in the old slave quarters? Feel free to not reply.

DG: I think it's the kind of discussion which requires nuance, and which discussions on the Internet are not prone to. [source]

User: Was a compromise that the quest lines don’t branch? It felt like it was supposed to be that way but then you end up in the same place later regardless of what you pick. Like I hoodwinked the templars so good to help the apostates escape but in Act II they were caught anyway.

DG: I remember us having a lot more branching in the initial planning yes. Most of this got trimmed out in the first or second wave of cuts, in an effort to not cut the plots altogether. [source]

DG: "If you could Zack Snyder DA2, what would you change?" Wow. I'm willing to bet Mark or Mike (or anyone else on the team) would give very different answers than me, but it's enough to give a sober man pause, because that was THE Project of Multiple Regrets. [source] I mean, it's the most hypothetical of hypotheticals. It's never gonna happen. I wouldn't be surprised if EA considered DA2 its embarrassing red-headed stepchild. We'd also need to ignore that in many ways DA2 was as good as it was bad BECAUSE of how it was made. But that aside? [source] First, either restore the progressive changes to Kirkwall we'd planned over the passing of in-game years or reduce the time between acts to months instead of years... which, in hindsight, probably should have been done as soon as the progressive stuff was cut. [source] I'm sure you're like "get rid of repeated levels!" ...but I don't care about that. All I wanted was for Kirkwall to feel like a bigger city. Way more crowded. More alive! Fewer blood mages. [source] I'd want to restore the plot where a mage Hawke came THIS close to becoming an abomination. An entire story spent trapped in one's own head while trapped on the edge of possession. Why? Because Hawke is the only mage who apparently never struggles with this. It was a hard cut. [source]

User: I would LOVE to hear more details about this! I don’t suppose there’s any chance of a short story?

DG: I don't even remember the details of the story, sorry. There was a fight, and you caught the bad guy and then realized none of it was real and woke up idk [source]

DG: I'd want to restore all those alternate lines we cut, meaning people forget they'd met you. Or that they knew you were a mage. Or, oh god, that maybe they'd romanced you in DAO. So much carnage. [source] I'd want to restore the Act 3 plots we cut only because they were worked on too late, but which would have made the buildup to the mage/templar clash less sudden. Though I don't remember what they were, now. Some never got beyond being index cards posted on the wall. [grimace emoji] [source] As I mentioned elsewhere, I'd want to restore Orsino's end battle so he wouldn't need to turn on you even if you sided with him. And I'd want an end fight with the templars that didn't require Meredith to have red lyrium and go full Tetsuo. [source] Heck, maybe an end decision where you sided with neither the mages nor the templars. Because it certainly ended up feeling like you could brand both sides as batshit pretty legitimately, no? That was never planned, tho. No idea how to make that feel like an actual path atm. [source] Maybe an option to go "umm, Anders... what are you DOING?" 👀 [source] And, of course, a Varric romance, because Mary took that "slimy car salesman" character we'd planned and did the impossible with him. I can feel Mary glaring at me for even suggesting this, tho. [source] Lastly, the original expanded opening to the game which allowed you to spend time with Bethany and Carver BEFORE the darkspawn attacked. And, um, that's about it off the top of my head. Zack Snyder, WHAT PANDORA'S BOX HAVE YOU OPENED. [source] Shit, I remembered two more things: 1) Restore the "Varric exaggerates the heck out of the story" at the beginning of every Act, until Cassandra calls him on it. Yes, that was a thing. 2) Make DA: Exodus. Yes, I am still bitter. [source] God damn it, I meant "Make DA: Exalted March". The DA2 expansion, NOT Exodus since that was DA2's original name and makes no sense. Because the expansion ended with Varric dying, and that will always be on my "things left undone" list. [source]

User: Whaaaat?

DG: Well, you know that scene in Wrath of Khan where Spock goes into the dilithium chamber because he's a Vulcan? Well, imagine that but with Varric and red lyrium and because he's a dwarf. ;) [source]

John Epler: I distinctly remember referencing the bit from MGS4 where you crawl through the microwave corridor in the split screen, while cinematic battle rages on the other half. [source]

DG: It would have been glorious, John. Glorious. [source]

JE: I don't think I've ever been so certain what a shot should look like as I did Hawke coming in and finding Varric in the broken throne, just like when he was telling Cassandra his story. [source]

DG: It would have come full circle! Auggghh, it still kills me. [source]

User: Lord, you folks are a little too good at this.

JE: The true secret behind videogame narrative is knowing how to make yourself seem a lot more clever than you actually are. [source] 'Oh, we TOTALLY planned that.' [source]

User: Ok, this thread [the DA2 regrets thread, which is the big chunks above] but Inquisition.

DG: My regrets about Inquisition are, more or less, the normal kind. Nothing so dramatic, I'm afraid. [source]

User: You can keep your Varric romance, I want a Flemeth romance goddamnit!

DG: I would allow for one flirt option, and then a recording of Kate Mulgrew laughing for three minutes straight. [source]

User: I had a hypothesis about the repetitive caves in DA2. They're repetitive because it's Varric telling the story and he didn't consider them important. They're like sets in a play. (Okay, I really suspect it was a time/money/resources thing but I like my fake explanation better.)

DG: Hang a lampshade on it, maybe? Cassandra: "But that's the exact cave you were in last time?" Varric: "Whatever. They all look the same, I'm not THAT kind of dwarf. Can we move on?" [source]

User: that makes sense, hypothetically to make Varric romanceable and keep his arc—that had to happen for the main plot—I imagine you would have to make double the content (or more)? which would've been a tall order given the time/budget constraints the game was under

DG: Right. When it comes to "romance arc" vs. "follower story arc", we generally only had time to do one or the other. Never both. Romancing Varric would have meant not getting the story of his that you did. [source]

Mary Kirby: The one exaggeration I really, REALLY wanted, that we never got to do was Varric narrating his own death scene with Hawke weeping over him, then cutting to Cassandra's pissed off glaring at him. [source]

DG: Haha! The one I wanted was Varric's plot where he takes on the baddies single-handedly, sliding across the floor like Jet Lee, action movie-style, until finally Cassandra gets irritated and he has to admit Hawke & the rest of the party showed up to help. [source]

MK: We did that one! (He didn't do any Jet Lee moves, though.) Jepler gave him letterboxing to get The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly showdown vibes while he shot a ton of mooks single-handed. [source]

DG: Wow. Shows how much I remember. [source]

JE: I found it! I remember seeing this sequence as my treat for doing a bunch of much more challenging work. It was fun to see how far I could push our limited library of animations. [link] [source]

DG: Heh awesome. I could have sworn it was cut, honestly. I think I was even in that meeting. [source]

User: no disrespect but that’s surprising and rich of Mary “Hard in Hightown” Kirby to think DA2 shouldn’t have had a Varric romance when she wrote an entire book of Varric’s self-insert character pining over his Hawke insert character… HIH is the reason we had VHawke Summer 2018

DG: I can't *really* speak for Mary, or how she feels about it now compared to back then. I only know how she felt about it back then, and I'm not sure it was as much the concept of the romance but that Varric's entire story would be bent to "romance arc" ...a very different thing. [source]

JH: I remember pushing to have the first DLC start with Hawke having an option to ask Varric, "Did you tell Cassandra about us?" and if you picked it, Varric would answer, "Of course not, baby. I told her you were sleeping with X..." and then proceed as if you had had a full romance. [source]

DG: I still wonder how that would have gone over. x) [source]

JE: Okay, one more DA2 thing. Putting together the cinematics for this scene was a blast. [link] [source]

MK: These lines are my greatest legacy. I want "Make sure the world knows I died... at Chateau Haine!" inscribed on my tombstone. [source]

JE: I was so glad no one said 'no' to the crane shot. [source]

MK: It needs that crane shot. It's the perfect icing on that cake made from solid cheese. [source]

DG: The designers were all "we need more combat" and I think we were all "I think you underestimate just HOW interesting we can make this dinner party". [source]

JE: And finally. I think @SherylChee wrote the one-liner. I think we had a collection of like, 20. [link] [source]

Sheryl Chee: Yeah! Something like that! I remember submitted a whole bunch and Frank said you only needed one. Wish I'd kept the other fifteen. [source]

JE: A random chooser where, each time through the scene, you get a different one-liner. [source]

JE: DA2 is the project I'm the proudest of. I also absolutely get that it didn't land for a lot of people. But I don't think it's inaccurate to say that, in a lot of ways, DA2 defined my career. [source] Everyone spent a year working at their maximum ability. I was a fresh cinematic designer and was given all of Varric's content, as well as the Act 1 Finale mission. It was a lot for someone who had been doing the Cinematics thing for literally 6 months. [source] There's some stuff in there I can't look at without wincing. And there's some stuff I'm genuinely proud of. Not to mention, it was my introduction to most of the writing team. Several of whom I'm still working with today! Albeit in a different capacity [source] Also, weirdly, one of my most enduring memories of Dragon Age 2 is how much Bad Company 2 we'd play at lunch. It was a LOT. [source] Every game I've worked on has a game I played attached to it. ME2 is Borderlands. DA2 is Bad Company 2. DAI is DayZ. I, hmm. There's a progression there. I don't know how I feel about it. [source]

User: Is DA4 going to be tarkov then?

JE: I've kind of churned out of Tarkov for now. Probably Hunt Showdown, at least right now. [source]

User: I think people also don't take nuance into consideration -- like I FULLY acknowledge the flaws in my favorite games and will openly criticize them, but that doesn't mean they're not my favorite games anymore??? You can like and thing and still be critical of it.

JE: A lot of my favourite shit is deeply flawed! I acknowledge it and I think it's interesting to dissect the flaws. [source]

User: I still wish Justice was an actual character in DA2 rather than a plot point.

DG: There was a moment during DAI where we *almost* put in you running into Justice with the Grey Wardens, and he's all "Kirkwall? I never went to Kirkwall" [source]

User: Does that imply that Justice was shoehorned in to DA2?

DG: Nah, it was an in-joke where we thought it'd be fun to suggest that "Justice" was simply some demon that tricked Anders in DA2. Wooo those tricky demons! We didn't do it, though. [source]

User: [about templars] except, I don't think it had very much legitimacy to begin with. keep in mind, we interact with other characters with the same argument. The one that comes to mind is Cullen, a sane templar in power. The templar's side of the argument is inherently flawed.

DG: I don't doubt that many people agree with you, and yet people can and do argue on behalf of the templars as well. My place isn't to pick a side, but to provide evidence that players can interpret for themselves [source]

User: Can you shed some light for us on how DA was able to do multiple same-sex romance options for different genders but the Mass Effect team treated them like the plague? What process existed for your team that just wasn't their for the other tentpole franchise?

DG: Different people making the decisions, almost different cultures. I don't know what it's like now, but for many years the Mass Effect team and the Dragon Age team were almost like two different studios working within the same building. [source]

User: It truly boggles the mind. Kudos for doing demonstrably better on consistent queer representation than the ME teams. Y'all never needed us to make petitions to try to get the studio's attention and ask them to do better by us. That's the fight we're once again embroiled in now.

DG: Honestly, I don't feel like tut-tutting the Mass Effect team. They did their part, and if they were a bit later to the show than the DA team they certainly did more than almost every other game out there -- and willingly. [source]

Updates begin here

User: So what was the reason for naming Dragon age 2 "Dragon age II" and not using a subtitle?

DG: As I recall, that was purely a publisher decision. I think they wanted to avoid the impression it was an expansion. [source]

User: Is there no chance of ever remaking DA2 under better circumstances? -Somehow remove the repetitiveness of gameplay by making changes and updating the tech and adding much more to the storyline. It could almost be a new very exciting game.

DG: I'd say there's zero chance of that. Let's keep our hopes up for the next DA title instead. [source]

User: I am a little confused here, help me out here please! How exactly was the cut boss battle with Orsino supposed to work out? How it would've kept him from turning against the player?

DG: It means that, if you sided with the templars, the entire boss bottle at the end would have been against Orsino and the mages. No fight against Meredith. The end decision would have been more divergent. [source]

User: I do remember that one of the reasons going around for that, was that resources were going to the transition to Frostbite. I'm still not fully sold on that having been a good choice. I felt that more time should have been given for that transition considering it was made for FPSs

DG: We didn't transition to Frostbite until DAI. Given our time frame for DA2, I don't think we *could* have transitioned to a new engine. [source]

User: Since your talking about the what could have been for DA2. Could you say what your script was for Anthem? Cause I remember reading that you wrote the plot on that game.

DG: I created a setting for Anthem and scripted out a plot - but, as I understand it, almost none of that ended up being used. So it's a bit pointless to talk about what I'd planned, as that'd be for some completely different type of game. [source]

User: [in reference to the exchange above where DG said “Being "crazy", however, robbed her side of the mage/templar argument of any legitimacy. I hated hated hated that.” re: Meredith] except, I don't think it had very much legitimacy to begin with. keep in mind, we interact with other characters with the same argument. The one that comes to mind is Cullen, a sane templar in power. The templar's side of the argument is inherently flawed.

If I missed a tweet, got the wrong source link or included a tweet twice, feel free to let me know and I’ll correct.

Edit / Update: Post update 22nd April

#dragon age #bioware #video games #fenris #the Fenaissance #long post #longpost #cassandra pentaghast #my lady paladin #dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #da4 #mass effect

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trisexyual · 2 years

Text

I feel so weird saying this but I genuinely believe that the Templars are the better option to side with in inquisition.

Before you raise the pitch forks and torches: hear me out.

I think the mages should be free. What the Templar order and chantry have done to mages is horrible and inexcusable, and a lot of Templars are truly evil people to the mages under them.

But in inquisition, the rules of Thedas are no longer what we have had up until this point. The circles are gone. There is no divine. There is no Seeker order, and the chantry is close to falling apart altogether. It's just you, a random gaggle of intelligent and skilled people along with the two remaining hands of the previous divine, and the other kingdom leaders up against

• a horde of demons,

• an ancient magister,

• and the literal collapse of the fade (aka the breach and the open rifts spread throughout everywhere)

So why side with the templars despite their terrible treatment of mages and historical corruption and brutality?

Templars are trained specifically to fight / dispel magic. Mages know magic yes, but they are taught how to control their magic to keep it from being a danger to them and others (specifically circle mages). Templars are also trained to fight demons. They know all about the different types of demons and their weaknesses and the best ways to defeat them.

And what is coming out of every hole in the face across thedas during inquisition? A fuck ton of demons.

After various conversations with Cassandra, you find out she desperately wants to rebuild the Seeker order to be what it was meant to be. She's frustrated with the corruption and how they've strayed from the path of what they were supposed to stand for. And Barris feels the exact same way with the Templar order.

And that's the thing-- if you side with the Templars during the game, most of them die. And most of those who do die, are the red ones, and you spend the rest of the game killing then, no matter who you side with before Corypheus shows up.

And if you make the right war table choices, you can make Barris the leader of the Order. Within 5 seconds of meeting this dude, you can already guess he could flip the order on its head. He has no tolerance for political bs, and makes so many comments about how too many Templars these days are too susceptible to corruption and cruelty and laments how horrible he finds it when Templars can't or don't protect the mages under their watch.

So wouldn't you rather save the remaining Templars from corruption (who are specially trained demon hunters as well as dampening or dispelling magic--which if you've played the game comes in very handy when trying to close fade rifts) who actually want to do what a Templar is supposed to do, and protect the mages? Protect the people who don't know how when magic gets out of control, because it is dangerous and very deadly in the hands of the untrained or corrupt?

And if you go to the Templars, you stop the majority of the red ones getting out into Thedas. Less red lyrium out in the world is starting to look like a very, very good thing considering ever since Hawke and Varric brought the idol out from the deep roads, Thedas has been getting worse and worse. And BioWare has already confirmed that the idol is gonna be a big part of da4's plot.

No to mention, that we now know how to heal both abominations AND Tranquility.

Mages are made tranquil to avoid becoming abominations. But according to Asunder and Cassandra's discovery that the Vigil Seekers undergo is actually just the rite of tranquility, but then followed by touching the fade -- which is how you heal abominations.

Cassandra said that Seekers are immune to being possessed as well as blood magic mind-control because of the Vigil. So if instead of the harrowing, mages are put through the Vigil, they can literally avoid the entire issue of why mages are confined to the towers in the first place -- they would no longer be able to become possessed ie; no more abominations.

So if you side with the Templars, you are left with a small bunch of trained fighters, who know how to dispel magic, know about demons and how to hunt them, and who have the morals and beliefs of what Templars are supposed to stand for. Protectors.

So what about the lyrium issue? The potential for Templars to turn red if exposed to red lyrium? Well guess what -- Seekers can do basically everything that Templars can do without the lyrium.

To avoid the potential for new red Templars, and to solve the problem of all Templars basically being drug addicts to lyrium, wane them off it like Cullen until they no longer need it, and then make them complete the Vigil. They'll be immune to mind control via blood magic as well as possession.

So my point: You get to keep the good Templars, saving them from a horrible death or forced corruption, and therefore keeping generations of knowledge on how to fight against magic and hunt demons (both of which are major problems in the world during dai) and basically with certain other decisions later in the game, can set up a world where Templars are no longer easily corruptible and no longer dependent on lyrium.

Plus, you get Calpernia as your enemy instead of Samson.

1. Calpernia is actually not really a villain. You can basically redeem her by completing her questline prior to the Temple of Mythal by finding out Corypheus is just using her by lying to her.

2. Calpernia spends her life freeing slaves. She was a slave herself. If you convince her not to fight you, she'll leave. And then just continuing freeing slaves. Everyone should be doing what she's doing.

3. Samson dies either way. Also, imo, Calpernia's story is so much more interesting than Samson's. Samson left the kirkwall Templars bc of corruption then ran straight into Corypheus's arms to further corrupt the Order and himself? Okay BioWare. Nice character continuity.

Also if your argument is that siding with the Templars will just make the mages prisoners again, that's not a thing.

Even if you rebuild the Templars, if you make Leliana divine, she disbands the Circle. She makes mages free.

• Vivienne brings back the basic idea of the Circle if Leliana is Divine, but makes it more like a college than a prison. A place for mages who want to learn, and who want to know how to keep their magic in control.

And if you Make Cassandra divine, she brings the circles back, but if you've saved the Templar order and made Barris it's leader, there's so much less of a chance of the Templars ending up like the corrupt cops they are at the start of inquisition.

((Not to mention, if you side with the mages you find out even with Alexius using time magic to get there sooner, Fiona choose to become indentured to him and the Venatori. Literally, it's basic Fereldan gossip that most Tevinter magisters are fucked up and evil and the second that Fiona is introduced to one she decides to off-brand enslave all of her people to a Tevinter magister??))

I just think siding with the Templars in inquisition makes more sense than going to the mages. Based on what we face in the game and how we can reshape the world with the knowledge we find and the choices we make, it seems like a better option than asking a bunch of students who likely haven't even left their towers your allies in fighting the magic holes spitting demons in the sky.

Plus, if you still can't get past the poor treatment of a lot of mages by the Templars, you can instead 'save' them and then just be like nope. You're my prisoners now, and then your character has total control over what happens to the remaining Templars for punishment. Idk.

#dragon age #dragon age meta #if you read this whole thing regardless of agreeing with me or not I'm giving you a kiss directly on the mouth #dragon age inquisition #champions of the just #in hushed whispers #don't kill me for this post please ✌🏻#dai #lavellan #adaar #trevelyan #cadash #inquisitor #mage rights #mages vs templars

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vakarians-babe · 3 years

Text

Inquisitor as Companion, La’ara Lavellan

Inquisitor’s Name: La’ara Lavellan (she/they)

Alternate Name: If the Inquisitor is also of Clan Lavellan, they will have an opportunity to specify that La’ara was or was not of their clan, as part of her introductory cutscene. If La’ara was not of their clan, then her alternate clan is Clan ó Cathasaigh, which becomes locked in.

Race: Dalish Elf

Class: Mage

Specialization: Lightning mage, Knight Enchanter

Varric’s Nickname for them: Lightningbug

Default Tarot Card: The Page of Wands. This card symbolizes enthusiasm, discovery, and exploration. The card represents a free-spirited creative individual, who is artistic and adventurous. The card’s reversal signals confusion, miscommunication, and conflict, which are both La’ara’s fears and the result of her stubbornness.

How they are recruited:

After the Inquisitor travels to Val Royeaux, they will receive a letter at Haven, requesting aid for a small group of Dalish hunters on the Storm Coast, who are attempting to hold a rift shut, but cannot close it entirely. On arrival, the Inquisitor finds La’ara holding a lightning cage around the rift, triggering a brief cutscene. In the cutscene, if of Dalish origin, the Inquisitor can either recognize La’ara and the others as members of another clan who joined Clan Lavellan following the Blight, and greet them warmly; or have no knowledge of them, at which point they explain they are the remnants of Clan ó Cathasaigh. The Inquisitor can choose to press the group for answers as to why they are there, and why they didn’t just leave the rift’s area for safety, though they will receive no straight answers. If the Inquisitor questions them long enough, La’ara will grow exhausted, and drop the cage, becoming incapacitated for the following fight. Should the Inquisitor opt instead to prepare and then fight before interrogating the group, La’ara will drop the cage and join the fight.

Following the fight and the closing of the rift, if the Inquisitor presses the issue of why the group of hunters did not just leave the rift, La’ara explains that there is a village nearby, and that it was the right thing to do. When asked again about why the group is there on the Storm Coast, La’ara states that they have been searching for clan artifacts from the period of the Blight. If La’ara has been locked in as a member of the Inquisitor’s clan, this will trigger an additional bit of dialogue, where the Inquisitor hints that they know this is a lie. Otherwise, they will then ask where the group will go from there. At this point, La’ara and the others offer their service, with La’ara saying that the Breach poses a danger none of them can ignore, and this is as much their fight as anyone’s. If the Inquisitor accepts, the other hunters in the group become agents of the Inquisition, granting points in the Combat perks at the War Table, and La’ara returns to Haven, where she stays by the frozen lake, between the practicing soldiers and the stables. Should the Inquisitor refuse the offer, there will later be a War Table mission to assist La’ara’s group in building new wells for a Storm Coast village still affected by the Blight, showing that the group stayed in the area.

Where they are in Skyhold:

La’ara’s default location in Skyhold is in the gardens, where she sits with a sketchbook. For certain romance, friendship, or rival scenes, she will be found instead on the battlements, where she walks when she is nervous or stressed. Should she enter into a default relationship with Cullen, Cullen will join her for a battlement scene, and the Inquisitor can catch La’ara leaving Cullen’s bedroom following Halamshiral.

Things they Generally Approve of:

Supporting Elves

Taking measured approaches towards the Templar and Mage conflict

General support for Mages

Showing interest in the Dalish

Completing side-quests with an emphasis on helping locals

Things they Generally Disapprove of:

Cruelty

Siding carte-blanche with the Templars

Criticizing the Dalish

Criticizing the Wardens

Major Decisions:

In Hushed Whispers

Mages made full allies: Approves

Mages made prisoners: Slightly Approves

La’ara will Approve the decision to follow the In Hushed Whispers questline, regardless of the outcome and the ultimate choice, saying the Mages are too powerful and dangerous on their own to ignore them. Following the quest’s completion, a cutscene triggers, where the Inquisitor can justify or explain their choices, netting either a Great Approval, Approval, or Disapproval from La’ara.

From the Ashes

Standing for Thedas as a non-human Inquisitor: Approves

Standing for Thedas as a Mage Inquisitor: Greatly Approves

Leading the Inquisition for the sake of faith: Slightly Disapproves

Leading the Inquisition for the sake of order: Neutral

Leading the Inquisition for the sake of right: Approves

Leading the Inquisition to stop Corypheus: Approves

Leading the Inquisition for the sake of vengeance: Slightly Disapproves

Leading the Inquisition for the sake of power: Greatly Disapproves

Champions of the Just

Partner with the Templars: Greatly Disapproves

Disband: Slightly Approves

She will also Slightly Disapprove or Disapprove (based on dialogue) should the Inquisitor choose this quest over In Hushed Whispers, no matter what the final decision may be. She will see it as an insult to Fiona’s request for help, especially should the Inquisitor have investigated Redcliffe. Leaving the Mages in the hands of Tevinter angers her. A cutscene will trigger after Champions of the Just is completed, where the Inquisitor’s justification of their choices can result either in La’ara Approving, Disapproving, or Greatly Disapproving.

Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts

Celene rules alone: Greatly Disapproves

Celene rules with Briala: Greatly Disapproves (This option will trigger a cutscene where La’ara accuses the Inquisitor of leaving Briala helpless in the grip of a snake. Should the Inquisitor be Dalish, she will view it as a betrayal, and it will net an additional Greatly Disapproves. If the Inquisitor apologizes, La’ara Slightly Approves.)

Gaspard rules alone: Disapproves

Gaspard rules with Briala: Greatly Approves

Truce forced: Approves

Here Lies the Abyss

Wardens exiled: Greatly Disapproves

Wardens allied: Greatly Approves

What Pride Had Wrought

Inquisitor drinks from the well: if the Inquisitor is Dalish, La’ara Approves; if the Inquisitor is not Dalish, La’ara Disapproves

Morrigan drinks from the well: Disapproves

Friends in the Inquisition: Varric, Cullen, Josephine, Dorian

Rivals in the Inquisition: Solas, Sera, Leliana (if hardened)

Small side mission:

La’ara’s small side mission, For the Pain, consists of delivering bundles of healing herbs to numerous groups of refugees throughout Thedas, with the type of healing herb depending on the region’s resources. After completing it, the Inquisitor gains Great Approval from La’ara.

Companion quest:

What Lies Beneath (main companion quest)

After completing Cleaning House, arriving at Skyhold, and reaching 60 approval points, the Inquisitor finds a note pinned to the door of their quarters. The note reads:

Inquisitor. You asked me why I was on the Storm Coast. Please meet me on the battlements, above the garden. I will explain.

La’ara will be waiting on the battlements above the garden, near the tower. Speaking with her enters into a cutscene where, distressed and pacing, she explains that her original clan, Clan ó Cathasaigh, lived on the Storm Coast during the period of the Blight. As they prepared to cross the Waking Sea, they were plagued with setbacks, and continuously delayed, to the point the Blight overtook them. As the Wardens fought the Archdemon in Denerim, straggling Darkspawn set upon her clan. If Inquisitor Lavellan locked in La’ara as a member of their clan, they can interject and state that they know all this. Regardless, the Inquisitor will say that they still don’t understand why La’ara and the others were on the Storm Coast a decade after the Blight.

At this, La’ara becomes visibly more upset, and wrings her hands, pausing before answering that a number of her clanmates infected with the Taint during the attack. After another pause, she explains that much of their clan died there that day, and they couldn’t leave the area with all of their halla dead or driven off, and so those who were infected waited to die in the same place, where they were all hastily buried before the survivors had to flee across the sea. The Inquisitor here can either become frustrated, asking what this has to do with anything, demanding a straight answer, which causes La’ara to Disapprove, stay silent, netting no approval change, or be understanding, stepping forward to place a hand on La’ara’s shoulder and tell her to take her time, which causes her to Approve. After a moment, La’ara will continue, explaining that with the rifts, they had heard rumors of spirits reinhabiting bodies, and a small group of her clan had set out to find the graves of their dead, ensure they hadn’t been possessed, and to bury them properly. However, they ran into trouble finding the location, and the rifts were especially plentiful in the area, breaking off their search.

La’ara reveals she’s spent her time with the Inquisition trying to pinpoint the location, and that she’s finally found it, by a particularly volatile rift on the Storm Coast. She asks the Inquisitor to go with her, and if approval is high enough, she entreats them as a friend. Should the Inquisitor refuse, she will leave the Inquisition immediately. When the Inquisitor accepts, she will beg to leave at once for the Storm Coast.

On arriving at the special area of the Storm Coast, marked on the world map as Cliffside Grove, a cutscene triggers, with La’ara spotting the glow of the rift in a small copse of trees and running towards it. The Inquisitor calls out for her to wait, and then runs after her. Catching up, they will see La’ara standing in front of a shade, reaching out a hand, with tears in her eyes. The shade struggles to speak, and seems to be fighting against the urge to attack. As La’ara speaks with it, the Inquisitor has two choices: to throw La’ara aside and fight the shade, or to let her speak to the spirit.

If option one is chosen, the Inquisitor and their companions immediately enter into combat, without La’ara’s assistance. When combat is ended, La’ara rushes forward as the shade disintegrates, crying out that she never got her answers, never got to say goodbye. The Inquisitor responds that the shade was never her friend, it was just a spirit pretending to be her, and that La’ara was in danger. This makes La’ara angry, and she lashes out at the Inquisitor, raising her staff, but is stopped by the other companions. She blames the Inquisitor for keeping her from whatever closure she might have had, and tells them to leave, that she will care for her clanmates herself and meet them at Skyhold.

If option two is chosen, La’ara and the shade converse for several moments. The shade mentions feeling “her” love in the earth, and being drawn there, but she has faded much. Little is left of her, and the shade cannot hold on too much longer. La’ara appears crestfallen, and asks if “she” was ever truly here, or if the rifts could have brought “her” back. The shade tells her no, but that it knows that it was never La’ara’s fault. At this point, the shade dissipates, whispering “Slán, dheirfiúr bheag,” and La’ara turns back to the others. The Inquisitor offers whatever help they can, and together the party sets about caring for the remains of her La’ara’s clanmates.

After both options are chosen, La’ara temporarily becomes unavailable as a party member until you complete the followup cutscene in Skyhold’s gardens.

Rest at Last (companion quest epilogue)

After completing La’ara’s main companion quest, to garner her approval or disapproval for the choices at the end of What Lies Beneath, and to bring her on more missions, the Inquisitor must seek her out in Skyhold’s gardens.

If option one was chosen, and La’ara was kept from speaking with the shade, she will be angry, pacing the garden and approaching the Inquisitor harshly. There are two conversation branches, depending on how high her approval was before the quest. If her approval was higher, the Inquisitor can say that they didn’t mean to hurt her, and were only trying to protect her. The Inquisitor can apologize, saying that they see now they interfered with something they shouldn’t have, which will grant Approval, or double down and insist they did nothing wrong, which results in Disapproval. If approval before the quest was on the lower end, La’ara will accuse the Inquisitor of not even wanting to try understanding spirits; if the Inquisitor agrees with her, professing ignorance and apologizing for it, La’ara will be surprised, and Slightly Approve. If the Inquisitor says that there is no point in trying to understand spirits, and that whatever La’ara was searching for was long gone, La’ara will Greatly Disapprove. No matter how angry or calm she is, the Inquisitor can then ask La’ara why she cared so much, who she thought the shade was that she would risk such danger/be so foolish, and she will answer that it was a friend she loved, who died protecting her. She will then leave, and the cutscene ends, with her companion tarot changing to the ten of wands.

If option two was chosen, and La’ara was able to speak with the shade, she is pensive when the Inquisitor finds her, sitting in the garden with a sketchbook. In it is a drawing of a young Dalish woman, though she quickly shuts the book. The Inquisitor can ask if La’ara is all right, and when she responds, deflecting, they now have the option to show romantic interest by saying that her happiness matters to them. Otherwise, they can change the subject, asking who she was drawing. La’ara will take a moment, and then open the sketchbook again. She explains how she grew up with another girl in her clan, Dubheasa, who was like an older sister to her. When La’ara’s magic first manifested, she decided focus on healing magic. It was useful until the Blight, when even her magic did little to help. When the Darkspawn attacked, that day, on her sixteenth birthday, La’ara was practically powerless in the fight. Dubheasa leaped forward, throwing herself between a Hurlock and La’ara, and though the wound was minor at first, she was infected with the Taint, like so many others in the clan. La’ara watched, unable to help, as her healing magic failed her, and her clan members and family died around her. But she felt most guilty, she explains to the Inquisitor, for Dubheasa’s death, because La’ara had decided to study healing magic, and not only did that leave her vulnerable, in need of Dubheasa’s help to the point that Dubheasa received the wound that killed her, but that it wasn’t even enough to cure the Taint. The Inquisitor can then ask if the shade was talking about Dubheasa, to which La’ara responds that it was. Here, the Inquisitor can tell La’ara either that it was never her fault, which causes her to Greatly Approve, that the past is the past and she shouldn’t waste her time worrying about it, which causes her to Disapprove, or that they’re glad it all worked out but wish she had said something earlier, which causes her to only Slightly Approve. The Inquisitor will stand to go, and La’ara will ask why they stayed to listen, and why they helped. In response, the Inquisitor can respond kindly, saying that they think of La’ara as a friend and want to help her when they can, neutrally, saying that they need all their people in working order, or romantically, saying that they would do anything for her, and all she has to do is ask. As the Inquisitor leaves, the cutscene ends.

Romanceable:

La’ara is romanceable, with no restrictions based on race or gender, though her demisexuality and biromanticism influence her romance track. If neither she nor Cullen are romanced, the two of them will strike up a relationship, revealed through companion banter and by exploring Skyhold. If the Inquisitor is locked into another romance or if they take La’ara and Dorian and/or Varric with them on enough outings, Cullen and La’ara’s default relationship will advance, with Dorian and Varric’s banter encouraging La’ara to make a move and then her banter back revealing that she has. There is a short amount of time where the Inquisitor can choose to divert and enter into a relationship with Cullen after this banter has been activated if they are still single, generating another banter with La’ara and Varric and/or Dorian where she mentions it didn’t work out. After two trips back and forth from Skyhold, however, following either Varric and Dorian’s encouragement banter or the Inquisitor entering into a relationship, the Inquisitor will encounter La’ara and Cullen embracing on the battlements, reuniting after the party’s return to Skyhold, in a nighttime cutscene. Later, after Halamshiral, a cutscene triggers where the Inquisitor spots La’ara leaving Cullen’s bedroom while they are on their way to meet with him. At this point, the Inquisitor can either encourage the pair (La’ara Approves), or disapprove, which will anger La’ara (La’ara Greatly Disapproves), causing her to storm off. Cullen reacts accordingly, behaving bashfully should the Inquisitor approve, and coldly should the Inquisitor judge them. At this point, however, the Inquisitor cannot stop the pair from engaging in their romance. Should La’ara have stormed off, a later cutscene will trigger wherein the Inquisitor can mend fences with her, or anger her further. In Trespasser, if Cullen and La’ara are together, they will be married. Dialogue with La’ara will reveal that she is pregnant, but doesn’t know how or when to tell Cullen.

Should the Inquisitor choose to romance La’ara, they will be able to flirt with her only after they have completed her companion quest and its epilogue, and only if she is able to speak to the shade at the Cliffside Grove. In conversation with her after, the Inquisitor has the option to continually show interest in her feelings, asking how she’s doing, if she’s feeling lonely, and while the flirts begin more friendly, they grow more romantic as she appears to become more comfortable with them.

After her companion quest, if you have flirted with her at least once, a cutscene can be triggered in the Skyhold gardens, where the Inquisitor cannot find La’ara. They move to the battlements, where they spot her looking out over the mountains, scribbling at her sketchbook in frustration. When the Inquisitor approaches to ask what’s wrong, they will startle her, causing her to drop her pencil and several pages, which the two will scramble together to pick up. Their hands will meet, and La’ara will look away bashfully. The Inquisitor has the option to either flirt, reaching for her hand again, on purpose, or to keep it friendly, picking up the rest of the papers and handing them to her. They ask what’s got her so bothered, and La’ara explains that it’s the lack of clarity they’re all facing in the fight against Corypheus, and that she’s struggling to imagine how they’ll all stay grounded when the future is so uncertain. The Inquisitor can flirt again here, asking if there’s anything she would like to be for certain, to which La’ara will stammer in reply. Otherwise, the Inquisitor can say that either they can find certainty in friendship, or certainty in the Inquisition. La’ara asks if the Inquisitor will stay with her a little while longer while she draws, as she could use the company, and the Inquisitor can either flirt, saying there’s nowhere else they’d rather be, accept in a friendly manner, or refuse.

To lock in La’ara’s romance, the Inquisitor then must go speak to her in the Skyhold gardens. When they select the option to ‘talk about us’, a cutscene will trigger. La’ara will look visibly anxious, pacing and wringing her hands as she asks what the Inquisitor wants to speak about, exactly. The Inquisitor can here say that they think they’ve been giving her the wrong idea, and they want to simply remain friends, to which she will respond with a mixture of relief and disappointment. Or, they can say that they haven’t been able to stop thinking about her. La’ara appears nervous in response, and says that there’s some things she doesn’t know if she can give the Inquisitor yet. In response, the Inquisitor can say that they feel the same way, that that doesn’t matter and they’re happy to wait, or that it will just make it more special when the day comes. After this, the Inquisitor has the option to kiss her, on the cheek or on the lips, and the relationship is locked in.

If Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts has not yet been completed at this point, the court will be abuzz with rumors about the Inquisitor and the Dalish mage. La’ara will be seen confidently refusing offers to dance if she is brought along. Later, La’ara will approach the Inquisitor on the balcony and express worry that they’ve been up all night without a chance to rest, or a chance for her to take care of them. The Inquisitor can either stand and gaze at the stars with her, or ask her to dance.

If Here Lies the Abyss has not yet been completed at this point, La’ara’s fear in the cemetery will read ‘Losing the Inquisitor’.

Following What Pride Had Wrought, a cutscene will trigger when the Inquisitor returns to their chambers. La’ara will knock at the door, and when she enters the room, she will stand awkwardly at the top of the stairs. If the Inquisitor drank from the well, she will first express worry for their wellbeing. If Morrigan drank, she will make a comment about Morrigan’s health. If the Inquisitor is Dalish, La’ara will add that it can’t have been easy or simple to go to the temple, and that she’s still struggling with it herself. After the Inquisitor asks what’s wrong and why she’s there, La’ara admits that she truly thought she would lose the Inquisitor in the Arbor Wilds, and that she’s not ready to let them go without letting them know what they really mean to her. The Inquisitor has a choice of whether to keep their romance chaste or not here, but regardless, La’ara confesses that she loves them, and the two of them kiss, before La’ara spends the night with the Inquisitor.

In the epilogue, La’ara has already snuck up to the Inquisitor’s chambers by the time they make it away from the party. She explains that she loved spending time with the others, but that there was only one person she really wanted to celebrate with. The two of them will briefly discuss the future before they move to stand in each other’s arms on the balcony.

In Trespasser, La’ara and the Inquisitor can be married, though La’ara will insist that her vows are Dalish, no matter what the Inquisitor’s vows may be. The Inquisitor has the option to discuss having children, either of their own or adopting, about which La’ara is enthusiastic; if the relationship is not chaste and the Inquisitor is amab, she will hint that it might be happening sooner than the Inquisitor expects, revealing that she is pregnant, giving a chance for the Inquisitor to kiss her and celebrate briefly.

Tarot Card Changes

Ten of wands: Pain, failure. If La’ara is kept from speaking with the shade, her past and guilt over the death of her friend consume her.

Nine of wands: Victory, good health. If La’ara is given the chance to speak with the shade, she finds it within herself to move on from the past. Her companion tarot changes to the nine of wands.

Queen of Wands: Fondness, attraction. If La’ara is romanced, her companion tarot shifts to represent her newfound confidence.

Thanks for sticking around to the end! I know this is pretty long past, but I had fun with it. Original template here, and maybe I’ll do the second part with banter some day.

#inquisitor as companion #la'ara lavellan #long post #might do part two at some point lmao

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inquisimer · 2 years

Note

Just gonna keep simping Cullen x Acacia. Would love to see "smoke me down like a bad habit // choke you down like i gotta have it" from the song lyric prompts 👀

you simp, i simp, we all simp for acacia x cullen

i wish i had more than a generic outline for their story lol😅

for @dadrunkwriting

~~~

Drew warned her, he said there were issues she didn’t know about, a history she couldn’t even begin to guess at. But what could be worse than her own past? She’d killed people to earn her safety, bought her own security at the price of her clients’ victims. Whatever Drew thought she was getting herself into, she’d undoubtedly been in deeper shit.

Of course she knew it was a bad idea, but not for her. It was Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes-Chantry-Boy who was going to regret everything a few months down the line, to be sure. She was what? A drifter? A vagabond? The Inquisitor’s little sister? That goodwill would wear off sooner rather than later, no doubt. And he would regret their dalliance and cast her aside like every well-to-do associate had in the past.

But that wasn’t going to stop her.

She slipped into Cullen’s office just as a gaggle of his runners were exiting. They dipped their heads in acknowledgement while she just watched them go by, no interest in the rumors they would spread about her being there. She walked up and perched on the side of his desk and waited until he turned and came close enough that she could cup one hand against his unshaven cheek.

“Do you have a moment?” she murmured. His smile pulled at the bags under his eyes.

“For you? Always.”

-:-:-:-:-

It was a terrible idea, worse than even a degenerate Kirkwall templar being in charge of the forces for political and religious change. Cullen reminded himself of that at least twelve times a day, not the least of which when he was under the Inquisitor’s watchful eye at war councils. What kind of brother would want a lackluster, washed-up failure for their sister? And what mage would want their sister involved with a Templar? Former or no? It was doomed from the start.

But he was hopeless.

The barest touch to his wrist and he followed her out to the battlements, wrapped her in his embrace, and kissed her in full view of the populace of Skyhold. The could stay the void out of his business, but they still should know that she was taken. And he was hers.

As long as she would have him, anyway. She knew some of his demons, but eventually it would be too much—wasn’t it always? There were hardships of her own to face, and he would undoubtedly fail to keep his shortcomings at bay.

She was intoxicating in a way the lyrium never was. When he was near her, his heart raced and it had nothing to do with the withdrawals. It wasn’t even remotely healthy to replace one addiction with another, but he was rapidly becoming addicted to Acacia, and the smirk and glint she got in her eye when she looked at him.

Even Cassandra warned him it was a bad idea. She goes out with the Inquisitor often, the Seeker reminded him, and on her own even more. Would he survive the report that said she’d taken her effort just a bit too far? He pointedly didn’t think of how terrible his reaction had been when they thought her lost with Haven.

That kind of denial served them both, in the short run at least.

-:-:-:-:-

“There you are. Everyone’s been looking for you.”

He found her on the balcony, after things had calmed down. Somewhat. As much as they ever did in the heart of Orlais. Her dress was shredded from her efforts in the royal wing, more resemblant of a grass skirt than a ballgown at this point, but she wore it no less gracefully. At some point she’d cut the sleeves off with a dagger and the tattered edges fluttered around her shoulders in the evening breeze. Most of her hair had come loose from Josephine’s updo, remnants of a braided crown tracing her face while wisps escaped, framing her face like a halo.

She looked beautiful, of course. She always did. Not that he was allowed to say it to her—that’s not what this was, they’d been very clear. It was a terrible idea, the middle of a war, both of them with responsibilities greater than the whims of their hearts. His heart. He wouldn’t presume to speak for her. But…neither was strong enough to choke back the desire, not when it burned hotter than an inferno, when ignoring it was equally distracting as giving in and the latter had far more benefits.

It had been a long night, though. Even if her brother had done most of the dancing, and jumping through hoops. She’d been just as on-the-spot, if not more so, for her personal history. Orlesians loved a scandal, loved to pick one apart with no thought to the consequences. So maybe she was rubbed raw enough to forgive a little extra affection tonight.

He joined her in leaning against the railing and snaked his arm around her waist, drawing her close against his side. She smelled mostly of sweat and battle, with the faintest tinge of the perfume the handmaidens had liberally applied at the start of the night. The silver fabric of her dress shimmered in the moonlight, fluid like mercury and cut at random intervals with bloodstains. She wore it as well as any armor—and it was, in a way.

“Fuck this place,” she muttered. She tilted her head against his shoulder without any of her usual restraint. Maybe they were both a little deeper in denial than usual, tonight. He took full advantage, running his hand up and down her arm and committing every feeling, every scent to memory, to hold for later when she remembered the boundaries she’d set between them for a reason.

“I’m glad it’s over,” he admitted.

“I wish I could have done more,” she said. For you, he hears, and he feels the anger in her body, even in the soft tone of her voice. They’re both thinking of the frilly skirts and ostentatious masks that had crowded him all night. There’d been more than one moment where he would have given her the okay to run all of them through with her daggers—and she would have, without hesitation, he knew.

Thankfully, she’d been off stabbing other fanatics at the moment.

“You did plenty,” he assured her. Hesitation colored his voice, but if he was pushing his luck, he might as well push it all the way. “I—it was foolish, but…I was worried about you tonight.”

“Oh?” Anyone else may have heard her as merely curious, but he’s spent a shameful number of hours analyzing the way she sounds when she speaks to him. If he was right, she was pleased with the revelation—and he’d had just enough of that champagne since Florianne’s execution to feel like he might be right.

It was a terrible idea. But he thought of how Cassandra teased him when Acacia watched them train, how Leliana gave him such knowing looks when she came to give reports to the council. How even her brother seemed to suspect there was something more going on, when Cullen knew she’d explicitly outlined the situation for the Inquisitor. But—to hell with outlines. They might drive each other to the absolute edge, but he had never felt things in half measures. This should be no different.

“May I have this dance, my lady?” he asked, relinquishing their embrace to extend one hand toward her. Acacia raised one brow and appraised him, not quite able to keep a small smile from tugging at her lips.

“I thought you didn’t dance?” she replied, slipping her hand in his. He drew her close, far closer than any of the instruction they’d received, but she didn’t object. He leaned his forehead against hers and spun them softly to an invisible tune.

“For you, I’ll try,” he murmured.

He was only setting himself up for heartbreak. But like any bad habit, it felt much better to give in than to try and break it. The pain of the disaster was a problem for future Cullen. As were so many other things.

For now, with her head resting against his heartbeat, damn the consequences.

#dadwc #my writing #oc: acacia trevelyan #acacia x cullen #cullen x trevelyan #dragon age #dai

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keibea · 2 years

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update on my dragon age II playthrough that no one asked for and no one cares about ( SPOILERS AHEAD )

WARNING: a lot of random ranting and probably a thousand spelling and grammar mistakes..sorry

first and foremost that bitch fenris, who I still love regardless since I'm obsessed with fixing people, left my hawke (and therefore me) after they had swex the asshole

secondly, meril pissed me off. i mean if even the keeper doesn't want you to fix the bloody mirror, the leader of your people with the want to restore as much knowledge as possible, you should probably leave the bloody mirror alone. now we're rivals because I did the smart thing fjdndjendnt

THE FADE SERIOUSLY I hated it in dao and I hated it here WHYYYYYYYYYY would you do that bloody faynriel at least he's with the tevinters now hopefully that doesn't come back to bite me in the ass...

STOP WITH THE SPIDERS I LIVE IN AUSTRALIA I DEAL WITH ENOUGH SPIDERS ALREADY YOU ASSHOLES

also the dragons are really small??? like not even dragonlings just straight dragons are tiny what's up with that

our mother is dead wtfrick like are you trying to kill off every single remember of my family on purpose orrrr???? and she died as a zombie thing? seriously?? Haven't we been through enough??? luckily Bethany is still alive, although she's being a bitch to us even tho we saved her life the asshat

ALISTAIR IS BACK BBY OH MY GOSH I LOVE HIM I GOT SO EXCITEDDDD EEEEEE. in mine he's part of the grey wardens because I think he'd make a sucky king so...i saw him and it was everything OH MY GOSH. still looked a bit crusty even with mods BUT ILL TAKE IT

so a slight qunari issue am i right 😅 I tried to be on their side because honestly everyone was being mean to them when they're just trying to live their lives and still they end up killing everyone like waaaaatttt

AND BLODDY Isabela like SERIOUSLY GIRL I'm your friend. when you steal a historically and religiously important relic from a someone you bet your ass they're gonna wanna kill you for it. And then the bitch RAN albeit she did come back BUT STILL COME ON ASSHOLE

I killed the arishok...Yeah well I didn't want him to take isabela no matter how much of a selfish asshole she was so he's dead now...I have a feeling that's going to seriously bite me in the ass at some point

also someone help please, do I side with the mages or Templars what did you guys do??? cause I understand both sides and I think they're both right in some areas and incredibly flawed in others, particularly the Templars but idkkkkk also Meredith is a bit shifty I don't like her.. (im at the start of act 3 so no spoilers please! just interpretations if that's okay? although tbh I already know what happens since I played inquisition first then went back to the older games)

and LOL for a long part of the time, when I met orsino I was panicked thinking OH MY GOSH is Irving dead?? NO I LOVE IRVING I ALSO SAVED HIS ASS and then I remembered that this is like a completely different place LOL

I also absolutely adore varric like what a sweetheart! My Hawke and him are like the best of friends and honestly it's the cutest shiz ever

other than that I forgave fenris and I think we're a thing now?? idk. mostly because he's hot and also because you know he's like this sweet broken toy that I just wanna love and care for although HE MAKES THE WORSE REMARKS AT THE WORST TIME like read the bloody room fenris GOSH

lastly, ive just met zevran AKA the love of my wardens life in my dao playthrough and what the actual frick frack did they do to my baby I'm PISSED

anyway that was all, just really needed to get it out there since I know LITTERALLY NO ONE ELSE who plays this incredible game. Any thoughts I'd be really interested to hear. If I offended you because of my thoughts on a character, I apologise, i meant no harm this is just my opinion on them :)))

#dragon age #dao #da2 #dragon age 2 #dragon age origins #fenris #jessie babbles #non sims #just ramblings of a crazy person

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other-cullen-ficrecs · 3 years

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MLM!Cullen Fic Rec List

Inspired by this post. Here is my fic rec list of some of my favorite fics with queer Cullen. Happy Pride :) 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍🌈

Cullen/Dorian

Only True in Fairy Tales by Dragonflies_and_Katydids

Summary: In which Dorian is a special forces operative, Bull is his partner, and Cullen is the guy they're sent to rescue. Hijinks ensue. // Words: 110150

Modern AU. Dragonflies_and_Katydids makes me read the weirdest stuff. But their work is always captivating. The more ridiculous set up the better outcome, I promise. This one is both ridiculous and absolutely perfect. And somehow one of the very few modern au fics in which Cullen's lyrium addiction is well transfered without making it literal.

Fashionably Late by tsurai

For the tumblr prompt: Cullen/Dorian Soulmates AU? <3 "Maker’s breath, this is absolutely the worst timing, he thinks distantly." // Words: 1038

This is but a tiny thing but I'm a sucker for a soulmate AU. Would I love it more if it was 150,000 words? Yes. But I'm just greedy.

COLD HANDS, WARM HEART by spicyshimmy, stonelions

Summary: Cullen and Dorian's friendship deepens. Cullen is a romantic. Dorian is literally cold. Cullen is no longer certain what he would consider surprising. Mages and Templars working in perfect cooperation, perhaps. Evil and corruption disappearing into the ground along with the blight, blood magic falling so far out of favor it ceased to be. A united Thedas: that would be a surprise. // Words: 25369

I think this is most recced Cullrian fic and for a good reason. Slow burn, drama, all the delights.

Light In This Darken'd Time Breaks by RamonaDecember

Summary: Cullen wouldn't say he hates mages, not anymore, but he can't see himself ever trusting one again. Dorian is no exception. The mage is off-color, self-important, and all together too much for Cullen to deal with. So why is it that every time Cullen is at his lowest, Dorian seems to be the only person by his side? // Words: 121289

Slow burn with 121289 words, what more do you want?

Cullen/Bull

Jump In by Dragonflies_and_Katydids

Summary: In which Cullen is almost terminally awkward, Bull and Dorian are literally brothers (because why not?), and Bull tries really hard to be good. Or: In which Dorian tries to set up his brother and his roommate, if he can avoid killing them for being so clueless. (You might get cavities from reading it. Don't say I didn't warn you.) // Words: 33700

What did I say about Dragonflies_and_Katydids and ridiculous premises? But if you're as delighted with awkward Cullen as am I - enjoy.

Dragons from Stars in an Empty Sky by Midna_Ronoa

Summary: The one in which Bull takes Cullen dragon-hunting. // Words: 10423

Fluff and smut and dragons!

Stuck on the Puzzle by thespectaclesofthor

Summary: Once, back in Kirkwall, Cullen had an arrangement with a member of the city guard that satisfied his needs. But time changed all things, and he despaired of ever finding a similar arrangement again - that was, until he met The Iron Bull. Problem being that Bull seemed to care far more about sorting out the nitty-gritty of such an arrangement than Cullen ever has. // Words: 235586

No fic rec lists that can involve Bullen canot do without Stuck on the Puzzle. If you haven't read it - please give it a try. As far as I'm concerned - the best fic in the fandom. And definately one of the best fics in general. <3

Cullen/Dorian/Bull

Exit Light by Dragonflies_and_Katydids

Summary: In which Cullen is suicidally depressed, Dorian is a high-functioning alcoholic, and Bull just wants them both to be happy, except when he wants to crack their heads together for being emotionally stunted idiots. // Words: 77427

This premise is actually very close to canon, compared to some other stories by the same author recced here. The angst? Delightful. The smut? Delicious. The exploration of issues? Delectable! Cheff kisses all around.

to burn cool and collected by toomanyhometowns

Summary: Dorian hums. "Here is the function of the spell: Upon invocationne, ye caster's spyryt shal sterte to ye form of whomsoever mofte recently achieved releafe by hys hande." He taps the page in punctuation and looks back up. "And then there's a lot of text about the vast joys we may experience together, et cetera, et cetera." // Words: 16121

Ok, this list shows more than anything that my main delight is issues and angst wrapped in with porn. Anyway - cracky premise (body swap!), and angsty, sexy outcome.

Hold by queeniegalore

Summary: Everyone knows Cullen doesn't trust magic. But he trusts Dorian and Bull, so maybe they can make this work. // Words: 6654

Issues? Trauma? Kink? I'm a one trick pony when it comes to recs.

Cullen/Cole

Okay now that we’ve gotten the obvious out, let’s enjoy the trully unexpected enjoyment.

Into The Light (Cole/Cullen Ficlets) by Sinister_Kid

Summary: A series of what I hope are tasteful Cole/Cullen fics that don't exploit or overly sexualize Cole's developing character. Based on a prompt I filled out of boredom in which I imagined the spirit actually hearing someone's pain like a physical noise in his ears that caused discomfort. Explores the option of making Cole more human, with my own original take on how that affects him as a character, and depicts Cole developing romantic feelings for the Commander as he discovers what it means to be human. // Words: 20454

I admit I don't often read Cole shippy fics but this one stays true to the info in the summary and it is careful and tasteful. Also Cullen learning to speak with Cole properly - <333

Cullen/Varric

Verse & Volley Triptych by boycoffin

Summary: POSSIBLE TITLES: This Shit Was Even Weirder: A Surprisingly Not-Doomed Romance In The Shadow of the Apocalypse The Commander and the Rogue already taken, Antivan maritime smut with an elf girl in it How The Hell I Ended Up With That Guy: A Tale for The People Who Keep Asking Me About It In Bars The Short and Curlies that's just terrible Love Among the tropey garbage A Tale of Two Names pretentious and unclear The Penman's Paramour Memoirs of a Moron (That He's Going to Regret Publishing and Will Never Hear The End Of for As Long As He Lives) // Words: 133354

One of the very few fics in which I can not only accept but love 1st person POV. Crack. Slow-burn. Pennames. Lovable OCs. DELICIOUS. Also a fic that made me start this blog, so love all around.

Cullen/Krem

Last but not least, my delightful fave (maybe, possibly, probably) and involving a shameless self-plug because it’s the month of pride.

Swordplay by orphan_account

Summary: The Bull's Chargers are undisciplined, untested, and unprofessional; but Cullen can't stop thinking about their lieutenant. // Words: 3910

I have a soft spot for whoever Krem being shipped with not knowing he's trans at first. But also oblivious, pining Cullen <3

If you have been starving, a creature of bone by missivesfromghosts

Summary: Cullen is content with where he is. He has a life and a purpose. He’s doing the Maker’s work and he’s cut the Chantry’s leash on him. He barely thinks about the fact that he’s trans anymore. The last person who knew he was born anything different, barring his sister Mia, died during the Blight. This works for him. That is, until he starts falling for Krem. // Words: 769

A tiny thing but I have a soft spot for the idea. Also what's better than a ship with trans character? A ship with two trans characters. Keep that in mind for further recs actually.

Sweet, Merciful Andraste by Tainaron

Summary: PWP. Honestly, Cullen should invest in walls and a ceiling that don't have holes if he's going to keep having such loud sex. Pure, unapologetic smut between trans men who love each other. // Words: 4187

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ What more do you want from me? Sometimes porn is just porn. Enjoy.

Champions of the Just by Tainaron

Summary: En route to Griffin Wing Keep before the battle of Adamant, Cullen falls prey to an injury that reveals a shameful secret about his trauma with magic. As Cullen struggles with his past, his duty to the Inquisition, and his love life, he becomes increasingly uncertain if he’s the target of an assassination attempt or just his own personal demons. // Words: 67885

Well, I also have some plottier and angstier fics in my rec disposal. This one actually explores the problems Krem and Cullen could encounter in their relationship and all within the canon plot line. Plus bonus points of Cullen actually interacting with other Chargers.

cabbage: a love story by psikeval

Summary: Krem’s grin fades into a quiet smirk, his eyes warm and amused, and Cullen does not forget how to move his legs because he is a grown man, a leader of soldiers, commander of the Inquisition’s army. He breaks the silence by coughing loudly, because he is also an imbecile. // Words: 18932

Creme de la creme of Krem/Cullen fics <3 Fluff, crack, porn <3 This delightful series has it all!

#fic rec #pride month #dragon age #dragon age inquisition #cullen rutherford #bi cullen #cullen/krem #bullen #cullen/bull #culrian #cullen/dorian #culric #cullen/varric #cullen/cole #rec list

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