#like literally even all the way back in Origins she flirts with the Warden by being like 'Hey god wants me to eat your pussy' | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mageglory · 3 years

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Dragon Age Redemption (of a Plot) Part 2

And here we go with the continuation, folks. I still tag @dalishious since I started this after a rewatch organized by her blog before disappearing in the world of exams. Part 3, the last part, is already done and will arrive for the end of the day. Are we done? Let's go.

-After Josmael heals his wound and accuses Tallis of stabbing him, Tallis does her "I've proven a point by stabbing you" bit and Josmael, who's kind but not going to validate this, says "and this was the best way?" but ultimately follows them because he wants to help his clan.

-Cairn does his "I'm not working with an apostate they are evil" bit but when he says "my job is to lock them up or exterminate them" Josmael points up his hypocrisy (and also points up that tecnically he is NOT an Apostate, he's part of a different religion. He's a First) Cairn obviously ignores him/tells him to shut up, then Tallis goes "well you two will have to keep an eye on the other and follow me them" because she's so neutral and wise /s

-"We hoped the elder of our clan Yeven escaped the Chantry" "nobody escapes the Templars" "The Sarebaas did" brings out the "The Chantry killed him?!?" "No he was being examined" piece and in answer Josmael tells that humans sometimes attack dalish who wander too far away from the clan and torture them (like we see the templars do in da2 and in many other occasions). Cairn takes offence and Josmael answers that "examined" is just torture so he has no right to talk. Tallis points out the Sarebaas involvement and tells Cairn to keep up and Josmael gives Cairn a silent sideye.

-They still have the conversation when Cairn tells Josmael that it's better his loved ones died when he was young "feels less painful this way". Josmael starts answering coldly, but he's immediatey interrupted by Tallis qun wisdom before he can tell anything. Josmael answers, angrily, that love doesn't makes people selfish but it's what matters in the world and to help the casual DA fan to get who's right the conversation mirrors the romancing Warden and Wynne dialogue from Origins, with Tallis saying duty is all that matters and Josmael saying it's better to love and loose that not love at all. But we skip the Cairn x Tallis bit yes? yes. He just say love matters and that they are old. The duo laughs at that and say they are half the age of the dalish elders, and Josmael looks at them and says "I did not meant age. You are old inside".

-We skip the "Templars aren't allowed to marry bit" because WHAT IS SER WEASLEY THEN BIOWARE.

-The gang ambushes Sarebaas in the cave, still busy doing his "magic is unknown even to mages and what is a little blood for a lot of power" bit. That was a bit cliche but cool, a classic villain monologue and I can appreciate the classics.

-The battle starts and I laugh at the special effects used for magic, but basically it goes as in canon there, with Nyree the Reaver defeating Cairn and breaking the philactery. The mask of Fen'Harel activates. Also the scene where Tallis shows Sarebaas his collar and his "never again" stays, because it's cool, but Sarebaas is shown recoil on instinctive fear at it because we are gonna point out that he's the main villain but his hate of the Qun is justified. The bad guys get away and the "good" guys (lmao Josmael is the only good one there) + Nyree are trapped in the cave.

-The new episode opens up with Josmael being the only one to clear the rabble because "responsable" for them being trapped (which is a ridicolous argument but w/) while Cairn interrogates Nyree. When Nyree says that as mercenary she does not talk and Cairn hits her, Nyree laughs and asks Cairn if that's what he does to mages and if so he should put more energy in it because he's pathetic. When Cairn attacks again he's stopped by Tallis that tells him that Nyree is a reaver and it was a trap to make him angrier since she gets more powerful with more pain. And also because I like to think that Nyree like Zevran is a decent person so while she was totally provoking him the dab at the Templars was honest. #MageRights

-Cairn says to Tallis that the philactery is now broken and the two have a fight that deranges in something that can be summed up as "what kind of chantry fool lets our best way to get our Sarebaas back be destroyed" "shutup knife ears" and Nyree laughs at them and say she knows what the Sarebaas is going to do. Tallis pays handsomely Nyree to side with them and shamelessy confess to have stolen from the Keeper wagon. Josmael retorts, in a baffled/horripilates tone, that those money belong to the clan and should br used to help them all and she had no right to it.

-Tallis answers that capturing Sarebaas will help them all and basically ignores all of Josmael rightful anger. Cairn yells at the apostate that he would have totally killed Sarebaas if not for Josmael incompetence.

-Nyree proves that Cairn was basically torturing mages, remembering him from the prison. Josmael, still angry, sides with Nyree but Cairn is unrepentant. Tallis cuts off the discussion and the gang discovers that Sarebaas is going to Sundermount. Josmael rightfull is in anxiety at the idea of the woman he loves being killed for a blood magic sacrifice.

-Josmael looks at them broodingly/angrily in silence while they talk but then sighs and tells them of the shortcut.

-"What you know of this ruins?" "It's an ancient place of power from our people time" and Tallis goes with her "not our, yours". I shake my fist angrily at Bioware dividing elves but let it pass since honestly Tallis they are better without you get off that high horse.

-Lmao I forgot Nyree asks if Sarebaas could destroy qunari and chantry using the mask to call an army of demons. That's kinda of one my Tevinter ocs plan *toasts a drink to my gloriously evil woman*

-Nyree rightfully points out that Sarebaas was hurt and enslaved all his life and wants revenge but instead of saying "he's pissed at the world" she more openly says that the Qun made this. Tallis answers the usual propaganda of the qun piece of Sarebaas needing control and that's the only piece where I allow some Tallis x Cairn and only in a sarcastic sense. Nyree looks at them and tells Tallis she's no better than the Templars, even if she thinks she is and sarcastically adds "you two would make a great couple, killing kids together for their magic"

-They reach the conveniently placed carboard of an inn in the middle of nowhere instead that near abitations of roads. I'm sure they make great buisness.

-They talk while eating and Nyree informs them and us that she's from Nevarra, which explains why she is more open to magic than many others. If you are a casual DA fan don't worry, because Cairn will try to take a dab at the Mortalitasi, calling them "wicked necromancers" and trying to insult Nyree which gives our favourite woman in the group the occasion to shut him up and also briefly talk about the mortalitasi and say "the grip of the Chantry is weaker there".

-Then they talk about the Reavers abilities and at least there everyone is like "wow cool" because yes reavers are great and we should have knightly orders of reavers instead of chevaliers.

-Obbligatory Cassandra Allegra Portia Calogera Filomena mention (<3) that part stays the same because I hate how Tallis tries to get in Nyree head but Nyree is perfectly capable to shut her up without my help.

-Josmael asks about Tallis mission, Tallis talks about qunari titles and how she was demoted and how she killed an orlesian slaver. Literally the only vaguely bonding part of the gang, if we ignore the Cairn and Tallis romance subplot (and we do, it doesn't exist. He still compliments her but not in a romancey way)

-For clarity Tallis still can/does vaguely flirt with Cairn in this scene but it is the typical spy flirt she does with Hawke too since the start and it is obvious both to Cairn and the audience than theres no romance and it's just part of Tallis personality (and as long as she doesn't stab mages Tallis can do what she wants)

-The "do you have to flirt all the time?" "no but I like it" bit is useful to make Nyree joke about the other two members of the group to Josmael. Because their friendship is amazing and I love them more than Cairn and Tallis.

-Then we got to the fighty part in the inn and both me and Galria Brosca cry of happiness at the existance of such a (Cailain voice) GLORIOUS rubber-made warhammer.

#dragon age redemption #dragon age #rewrites #tallis

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pastelrainbow1002 · 5 years

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Nanbaka: Upa x Nico’s Hyper Sister! Reader

Originally from my Nanbaka oneshots on Wattpad. If you would like to read them my Wattpad is in the links on my page

Ever since my brother Nico and I got separated into different prisons Ive been escaping every single one trying to find him. I mean we would escape together before that, but that's because the medication were needles. I don't do well with needles and my brother Nico doesn't like them because it hurts him. Over the years I've lived in random apartments from time to time until the police caught me again and usually the only way the catch me again is because I get caught stealing anime merch, or even killing people for rare merch that comes out. Especially if I don't take my meds soon enough. In a way i'm like my brother except i'm shorter and almost a year younger. 11 months to be exact.

ANYWAYS! Remember how I told you I killed people for anime merch. Yeah well that just happened and i'm currently being sent to Nanba prison that is located in the middle of an ocean. Yeah you heard me! It’s quite literally on a giant rock somewhere just off the coast of Japan. Everyone said that it's supposed to be a prison for boys, but they didn't really know what else to do with me. I've already escaped the top security prisons on land, so the police just ended up talking to the warden of Nanba prison. Obviously she decided to make an exception for me. I had to meet her about a week ago so that way she could approve of my prison sentence there. She told me that I had to go on birth control just in case, because most of the inmates are perverted. I was just told by the guards on the helicopter with me that my inmate number is 24 and i'll staying in block 5 cell 8. I wonder how big it is?

(Third p.o.v)

"Cell 5! You're getting a new cell mate!" Samon yelled as some of the other guards walked in with a prison bed and set it down for you.

"Wait who?" Liang asked curiously.

"I don't know I just know that they are some kind of escape artist. Oh! and apparently they like anime a lot." Samon spoke closing the cell door once the guards were out so the three inmates inside wouldn't leave.

"Nico!?" Upa shouted shivering at the thought having to share a cell with him.

"No. you wouldn't know them. The inmate is coming here on a helicopter right now." Simon answered Upa's question.

"So is the inmate nice?" Qi asked finally speaking.

"I don't know." Simon spoke again.

"Is he good with fighting skills?" Liang then asked.

"I don't know." Samon said growing irritated by the questions at this point.

"Is this inmate going to be annoying?" Upa asked making Samon officially explode in anger.

"I said I don't know! I already told you everything I was told!!!" Samon shouted at the boys before storming off.

“Damn. What crawled up his ass and died today?” Qi asked like he didn’t just annoy the hell out of the supervisor.

(YOU POV)

Once I arrived I gasped in suprise at how amazing the prison looked. I suddenly noticed this monkey looking guard waiting for me to get off the Helicopter. He had a tail and everything!

"Hiya! OH MY GOSH! Are you actually part monkey!? Is your tail real!?! You're like a real life anime character huh!?" I shouted trying to grab his tail. surprisingly it swayed away from me before I could even touch it.

“Hey! Don’t you know its rude to walk up to someone and touch them without permission!? Who even are you anyways!?" The money looking guard asked a bit rudely. I just ignored his irritation.

"Oh, I'm (y/n)... The new inmate? Where you not informed of me?" I suddenly said confused. He looked at the men who brought me here to see if this was serious. They just nodded and he turned to me clearing his throat. He blushed in embarrassment.

"Very well. Right this way... My name is Samon and i'm the supervisor for block 5. I’m also the assistant for the warden." Monkey man introduced himself and starting to escort me to my cell. or well I assumed.

"That's cool! So you'll be watching me, huh?" I asked not realizing how creepy that sounded. He just nodded before saying.

"Sorry about how i reacted to meeting you. It's just this prison doesn’t have any girls and. i DO NOT! Like my tail being touched." I noticed we turned into a hall with a bunch of cells.

"Oh its okay I totally understand!! It's not every day a girl is in this prison especially an inmate." I answered paying more attention to the decor of the prison than the actual conversation.

"So is there anything I should know that the warden might not have told me?" He asked. I thought for a few minutes.

"Um.. I need to take meds every day or I go crazy and out of control. Also the warden said I need to take birth control just in case." I stated as we stopped walking infront of a cell. He just said a simple “Okay” before opening the door.

"Well here's your new cell mate boys!" Samon shouted to the inmates that were already in the cell, gaining their attention. The three boys looked at me in complete shocked. They were all pretty cute, but there was one that stood out the most. His green hair and pale white skin made him look like a porcelain doll.

"Hey! And no funny business!!" Samon yelled as a reminder before closing the door and leaving. They were all staring at me still. I felt a bit embarrassed now so I decided to say something.

"Hi! My names (Y/n)! What are yours!?" I asked enthusiastically. The older one in the room shook his head smirking while putting down whatever it was he was smoking and walked over to me. He grabbed my hand and kissed the back of it.

"How rude of me to not introduce myself to such a lovely lady. My name i-." He got smacked upside the head by the Green haired boy.

"Sorry about him. My names Upa. That's Liang. And this trash is, Qi." He said clearly annoyed by the other male. Did he just call him trash? I stiffled a laugh not trying to seem rude.

"I could have introduced myself!" The two other boys yelled glaring at the small male.

"It's nice to meet you all." I said with a sweet smile before going over to my side of the room. Once I finished putting up my stuff on my bed and night stand I stood on said bed in triumph. I was only allowed to have this stuff because I forced them to let me bring it. What really grabbed my attention was the fact that Upa was now floating. I gasped and jumped onto his bed that he was floating above.

"Can you teach me how to do that!!? I want to float too!" I shouted. He looked at me slightly annoyed.

“You can’t just randomly jump onto my bed!! It’s my personal space!! and its not floating its called Qigong!” He answered me. I ignored his statement about personal space and got super close to his face.

“Please, please, please teach me!” I begged him with puppy dog eyes. he sighed and looked away from me with a blush on his face.

“I suppose I could try to teach you.. but that doesn't mean you'll be able to do it.” He said.

"I can totally do it!" I shouted with determination.

"You’re actually really cute when you're so devoted to something..." He mumbled. i don’t know if he meant for me to hear that, but I did. A small blush covered my face.

“What?” I whispered just enough for him to hear me.

"I.. I mean! Its very nice to see you with determination!! I dont think you’re cute! no way! Its not like I like you! How could i? I don’t even know you!" He said a little too fast.

"Would you two stop flirting? I'm trying to concentrate on learning some new moves." Laing directed over to us.

"We're not flirting!" we yelled back at him. Laughter was then heard from Qi as he said.

"Yeah sure." I was about to say something when I realized the moves Laing was trying to learn.

"Wait! I can do that!"

"Really?" Laing asked suddenly interested in what I had to say.

"Yes I learned it from an anime!" I said totally serious. The boys just started laughing making me pout a bit. They thought i was joking. Suddenly there was a loud bang and four different inmates fell onto the floor of our cell.

"See I told you I saw a girl inmate!" The boy with black and red hair yelled.

"A girl!" Two of the four boys yelled together.

"What are you doing in our cell!?" Upa shouted.

"We came to see the girl inmate that Jyugo saw walking with the monkey." A boy said with blonde and pink braided hair. I wasn't really paying attention though because I noticed something. The boy with green hair was my big brother!

"Baby sis/Big brother!!!!" We screeched to each other. I jump in his arms and he spun me around.

"I missed you!" We yelled in unison again. Everyone was staring at us in silence. Upa was the first to break it.

"She's your sister!?” Nico and I just nodded while giggling.

"We were separated into different prisons because they thought we would stop breaking out afterwards." Nico said happily clinging to me.

"Yeah, but we obviously didn't. So the judge's plan didn't really work out." I explained some more.

"So why are you in this one!?" The one with a pink and blonde braid asked getting way too close to me.

"Um... Well I kind of stole and maybe killed a man for rare anime merch. I trespass a lot, but only because I like wandering. Plus if I don't have meds I go crazy like my brother here." I said getting out of my brother's hug and stepping back so the guy wasn't so close.

"Except she is worse." Nico started. The three inmate's that came in with my brother shivered in fear.

"So you’re saying she’ll bite us if she doesnt get her meds?" The black haired boy with red at the end of his hair said.

"No I bite. She will probably try to rip your leg off." Nico said. Everyone looked terrified, but Nico and I acted like it was the most normal thing which for us it was.

"Baby sis! Let me introduce my friends. The boy with black hair is named Jyugo, The one with the braid is Uno, and the purple haired one is Rock." Nico said smiling introducing everyone. I smiled at the boys.

"Do you like food?" Rock suddenly asked.

"Of course!! Food is literally life. If I had an endless supply of food, anime, and drinks I would be good for the rest of my life!" I yelled energeticly and giving them my adorable smile.

"Why did you never tell us you had a sister?" Upa asked.

"A beautiful one at that." Laing add. Nico stared at Laing intensely. I could tell from the look on his face that he wasn’t too happy Laing was flirting. He has always been overprotective.

"Because it was a sensitive topic and.. she's my baby sister." He said the last part a deadly aura around.

"I-I can tell." Laing said putting his hands up defensively. Upa was suddenly right by me and I jump a little not excepting him to be there so quickly.

"How did you do that!?" I asked astonished because he was on the other side of the room only seconds ago.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He stated with a small smirk.

"Is it that Qigong thing you do?" I asked. My brother turned to Upa and picked him up. Pulling him in a tight hug him.

"Master!" He shouted happily.

"Put me down!" Upa yelled at my brother.

"I wanna hold him now!" I said taking him away from my brother and snuggling him like he was a teddy bear.

"Oi!! I didn't say you would pick me up either!" Upa yelled. I just snuggled into him more.

"Baby sis! Put him down." Nico tried to command me.

"Aww. But I don't wanna. You get to hold him and I don't. Thats not fair!" I said pouting.

"I'm not a damn baby!!" Upa yelled trying to get out of my arms.

"That's because i'm older and I don't want my baby sis hugging boys, no matter how cute and innocent they look." Nico said trying to steal him away from me. Upa stopped squirming and glared at my brother.

"I am not cute! And I am most definitely not innocent!" Upa shouted as everyone else was just laughing at the situation or being jealous that I wasn't snuggling them.

"See! Master isn't innocent more reason to put him down." Nico stated. I sighed in defeat and put him down.

"You know i'm the only girl in this place besides for the warden right, big brother?" I asked.

"The warden is a girl!?" Uno suddenly got heart eyes. I nodded before saying.

"She's the reason i'm here. Since I'm a super good escape artist and all. Honestly I think she has a thing for someone named Hajime because she was fantasizing about them when I met her." I stated only for Uno to fall flat on his face in disappointment.

"OI! What are you four doing in here!?" I heard the guard Samon yell stomping over. "Doesn't the gorilla know how to keep you in your cell!?"

"We came to see the girl inmate! Only to find out she is Nico's sister!! How crazy is that!?" Rock said obviously happy to meet me. In a shorter way to say they ended up having to leave with the help of Samon. I turned to Upa and smiled before picking him up again.

"You are totally cute by the way." I said holding him to my chest again. Upa's face turned bright red and he pushed his face away from me before shouting.

"Geez woman! You're going to suffocate me."

"Put him down before I come over there!!" I heard my brother yell from down the hallway.

"How did he know...?" I asked more so to myself before putting Upa down again.

#nanbaka #upa #nico #juygo #rock #uno #laing #qi #samon #inmates #xreader #upaxreader #nanbakaxreader #nanbaprison

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felassan · 5 years

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Faces of Thedas Part 1

(Part 2 is here)

Soooo I came across what seems to be the whole of Faces of Thedas free online. 0:

I’m picking through it and there’s some cool/interesting stuff in there. these parts were the highlights and most notable bits for me so far. not suggesting this is all new or that these things are all good, just that they were what stood out most to me.

- it specifically notes that it’s a useful guide to their characters, with their histories and personalities carefully researched and detailed. i.e. it’s official information. I do have to say there are quite a few typos (Par Vallon? Kal-shirok? Teveinter? Bartran? Sa arebas? bit sloppy) and even several lore-errors in it. not a big deal, just you’d think it’s the kind of thing they would have caught during editing and proof-reads

- blond hair and blue eyes are distinctive features of Anderfels mountain men

- Leliana’s features are very Fereldan

- it describes Cass as a “cactus patch” LOL, dragon-hunting as a limited field with just two classes of practitioners - “skilled” and “deceased” - and lists Anders’ Awakening-era equipment as including Ser Pounce-a-lot (yey!) and dried mackerel (yuk). includes notable quotes from some of the characters; Dog’s is “Woof!” (of course). Varric is totally making Cass a character in his next bestseller. Cole’s equipment list ends “and an unusual hat”. Stitches is one of the best healers in Ferelden. Dalish the Charger is a flirt. Varric’s allegiances include “the Champion of Kirkwall”. ;__; Harding’s role is “Adorably Sarcastic Lead Scout”, and her family mabari Contessa weighs 170 pounds. an aside, but descriptions of Origins-era Anders cause him to strike me as an Enneagram 7

- if Hawke killed Anders for his actions at the end of DAII, disciples (like-minded mages) elevated him to martyrdom for his valiant blow against their oppressors. if Anders lived, after the Kirkwall Rebellion he’s not only a pariah but arguably the most universally despised person alive in all of Thedas. even among the Rebel Mages he’s considered an extremist, and there’s apparently hardly a mage alive who’s in any way pleased with his actions 8| according to this book, hundreds died when Kirkwall Chantry blew up

- one of Alistair’s few indulgences as King was commissioning a custom pike designed specially for him. it’s a masterwork ironbark twohanded spear, and was inspired by Oghren’s old off-color jokes about pike-twirling.

- “Alistair is one of the few truly good people in Thedas”

- he sees siring Morrigan’s child as a fate worse than death

- whatever her outcome, Anora remains a Queen of Ferelden in her heart

- Leliana is still the girl that had a pet nug she named Schmooples, despite it all

- after the Fifth Blight, Dog was allowed to rest/retire, settle down, find a mate, and produce many Mabari pups. these pups share the ferocity of their father, and could prove equally valuable companions to those worthy of their loyalty. after his passing, there’s a good chance that interested parties would be after his bones to display them as a prize or curio.

- far from just using the network of mirrors to hamper both sides in the Orlesian Civil War, back when Briala had control of the eluvians she also used them to bring food to alienages, gaining the support of City Elves in the process, and to aid elves in other ways too. she’s also noted to have been doing what she could to gain the support of the Dalish, and that her logic was that the longer she could drag out and harry the Orlesian war effort, the more time she would have to free her People from their bonds. her goals are for all of the elves of Orlais, City and Dalish both, and she’s making efforts to bring unity between the two. in the Orlesian court she spends time, through intrigue, supporting nobles who support elves and tearing down those who do not. Briala is bae ok I added that last bit myself

- “Many Dalish don’t see city elves as being truly elves and so don’t see any particular reason to help them, and for that matter why would anyone want to have equality with a shem?”

- in need of an Inquisitor to head up their soon-to-be-hatched recreation of the Inquisition of old, and potential allies of the Chantry and the Divine, Leliana had set out in search of the Hero of Ferelden while Cassandra sought Hawke.

- rogue Seekers as well as the templars and rebel mages were in attendance at the Conclave. before the sky opened, Cassandra and Varric were supposed to address the Conclave, so that Varric could recount his tale of the Champion

- I like this snippet on Cass’s development: “introspection is a difficult skill to learn, however, and her brash impulsiveness often leaves her deeply chagrined or ashamed of mistakes that could have been avoided had she taken time to consider before rushing to judgement. Or to paraphrase her own recriminations, recent events taught her anything, it’s the extent of her own ignorance and short-sightedness.” I like to think this sort of reflection and development applies to her looking back on some of the ill-thought comments she made early in the course of DA:I, like asking Lavellan “Isn’t there room for another god?” and similar.

- Cass and Galyan could never make a stable, serious relationship, but they did get together when they could and harbored feelings for each other right up until he died at the Conclave Q.Q

- “Celene does, in fact, have sympathy for the elves,” ಠ_ಠ

- Cole perceives pain as very nearly a physical thing with which he can interact. his unhesitating stream-of-consciousness recounting of peoples’ most painful memories occurs because he wants to excise the pain by exposing it and helping his subject through it

- This part on how Dorian can potentially be used by GMs in campaigns: “Dorian provides a strong candidate for a high-society Tevinter who would employ the heroes. Due to his position in Tevinter nobility as well as his experience in researching arcane lore, he would be able to provide access to Tevinter archives or artifacts in return for tasks the party performs for him.” Echoes of Dorian’s role in Dragon Age 4, perhaps?

- idk i just really like the parallels in the Grey Warden order recalling Fiona to Weisshaupt and making the shocking discovery that she was cured of the Taint, and the order recalling the Hero of Ferelden upon learning that no Warden died to deal the killing blow on the Archdemon, if Morrigan’s ritual was completed

- literally everything about Fiona

- Fiona’s silverite battlemage staff is emblazoned with the Theirin coat of arms.. my heart...

- the lil section on romancing Harding

- bit more insight into Qunari views on gender and trans people

- an alternate version of the story of Flemeth and Conabar; Flemeth was betrothed to the poet Osen, but they were very poor. The nobleman Conabar struck a deal with Osen to buy her. she agreed but Conabar recanted, claiming he had no money to pay. he killed Osen and imprisoned her. she called upon the demon to aid her, but it only became her guide and never possessed her. she killed Conabar and fled.

- Harding’s calling cards in guerrilla warfare are latrines booby-trapped with Antivan Fire or hornet nests. a former bard and fellow scout even immortalized one such escapade in a spectacularly graphic limerick

- Josie’s dangerousness, hardworkingness, talent, formidableness and high sense of personal responsibility/ethics is emphasized 👏 “she is one of the most gifted communicators and stateswomen alive”!!

- the Charger Dalish “hails from a secret group of elves. It has long been thought that the elves had regained the secrets to lost magic, and Dalish is living proof”.

#dragon age #bioware #dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #video games #cassandra pentaghast #alistair theirin #morrigan #cole #feels #lul #queen of my heart #my lady paladin #fav warden #spirit boy

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secretsfromwholecloth · 4 years

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Dragon Age: Origins (and DLCs), day 12.

Aw, Varel. Bless you, you did good.

The “little self-righteous baby of Justice crawling around the Fade” line makes me laugh, I’ll admit.

The squishies were fine, it was Justice of all people who went down at one point during the fighting. Come on, dead boy, do keep up.

Anyway. There’s no way I’m getting Oghren’s approval high enough to finish his quest, not without going to trouble I don’t care to go to, so off to go pay the Mother a visit it is.

OK, yeah, the Architect is pretty stretchy. Original-Recipe Stretchy Man it is.

Decision time: Kill the Architect or ally with him? I allied with him last time, but both are tempting, and the companions who’d be able to influence his opinion are split. Like, yes, stopping all Blights forever is an excellent cause, but a) do we believe he’s telling the truth, b) do we believe success is possible, and c) that’s a darkspawn.

...I tried to talk myself into killing him, but I couldn’t. If my Amell survives into Awakening, I can have her do it (though if she doesn’t, the Andras I’ll be sending in is definitely the type to ally with him).

I’m very nearly certain that my Inquisitor this run will be packing Blackwall off to the Wardens; if he ends up at the Vigil, he’ll be in for quite a surprise to see the order he so idolized led by an angry, guilt-ridden Dalish who found it in him to make friends with darkspawn and allow them to requisition Wardens’ blood.

Mother time.

Whose idea was it for her to look like that, anyway, considering what every other broodmother in the series looks like? What was the idea behind that? Whoever you were, please get in the trash can.

We all remember how this went last time, right? Three rogues and Anders, Sigrun doing her best to tank and kind of failing, Mother eventually taken down by archers. Let’s see if this party does better. Or differently, anyway.

Justice, don’t be smug, it’s not a good look. Too late to do much about this, anyway.

Welp. Like last time, Nathaniel was the last companion left standing, because a) he’s badass like that and b) aggro management meant most enemies were leaving him alone and attacking Daiwen, who could take it. Unlike last time, I only needed the healing tower once, nearly at the end of the fight when it was only the Mother left to take down, and that more as a precaution (and a way of speeding up the rest of the fight) than because Daiwen and Nate couldn’t have hacked it by themselves. I didn’t even use the other three towers, though I did throw one of Dworkin’s grenades.

Endings: Architect does the thing, anti-Warden sentiment and conspiracy theories about the burning of Amaranthine being some kind of elven revenge plot that end up with another uprising (though public opinions of the Wardens is better in the rural areas), the Vigil as a more important trade center than Amaranthine, “But prosperity bred scheming and treachery between merchants and nobles” oh Maker more politics, Alec founding a knightly order, Dworkin gone into hiding, the Silver Order being super awesome, Velanna’s killings still causing bad blood between Dalish and humans, Kal’Hirol resettled, the Blackmarsh also resettled, Anders came back after an attempt to bang out, Velanna stuck around for a while and started being nicer to humans but eventually disappeared to chase after Seranni, Nathaniel threw himself into Wardening, saved Fergus Cousland, and got what I’m sure was a very nice statue at his nephew’s new castle, Justice stuck around until Aura got too disgusted with the state of his body then disappeared, Sigrun was induced to stay around with a string of totally important and urgent assignments, Oghren kept right on Oghrening and his relationship with Felsi and their child eventually dissolved, and game, are you quite sure about this “banged out of the Wardens and fucked off to Antiva to chase after Zevran” thing? Pretty sure that’s a rumor they started to throw people off the scent. Pretty sure Daiwen will still be on the books as Warden-Commander by the time of Inquisition, for one, and it’d be far more like him to bring Zev to rejoin his clan if he did have to go to ground.

Anyway, time for Witch Hunt. Should be fairly quick.

So, who do we say got twitchy and sent Daiwen on this mission? Loghain, through Anora? The leadership at Weisshaupt, having heard something about eluvians? Either makes more sense than Daiwen giving enough of a shit to track Morrigan down.

Good to see you again, doggie.

Hello, Ariane. Wow, you’re a lot friendlier to a Dalish Warden.

Daiwen never exactly loved Morrigan, but this business with the book has him wanting to punch her in the face. And hey, this time she no longer falls under “ally, do not punch.” :D

So, uh, my party for this DLC is apparently going to be three warriors and a mage. Hope we don’t come across anything that needs unlocking!

Circle tower: *is full of locked doors and chests*

That business about the lady pirate and the three greased nugs is a scurrilous rumor, girls. And I suspect you’d be surprised to learn who that is in the armor walking past you.

Ooh, a fourth specialization? For me? You shouldn’t have. And I can’t help reading “flirt with inhabitants of the Fade” literally and giggling.

Ah, yes, Witch Hunt, a whole DLC of random humans running rings around the Dalish when it comes to researching and reclaiming their own past. Not annoying in the least, of course not, what would give you that idea?

On that note, no, I am absolutely not giving Finn the Keeper specialization.

See, the thing is, I’m not here to kill Morrigan. I’m here to punch her in the face. And there’s no dialogue option for that.

And Morrigan has been given a good stabbing. I suspect she’ll recover, considering her role in Inquisition.

Golems of Amgarrak is too frustrating to bother with again, so now on to II!

And since we’re saying goodbye to Daiwen, a picture of the baby.

#dragon age #dragon age: origins #daiwen mahariel

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criptochecca · 4 years

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no one asked but heres the lore of all my 6 canon wardens

Human Mage, shapeshifter and arcane warrior

Terein’s father was original of Kirkwall, from the noble house of Amell, the older brother of Leandra and Gamlen Amell, while his mother was a noblewoman of Nevarran origins. Being from Kirkwall and especially of a very prominent family, when Terein showed magic abilities his parents immediately sent him away to the Circle of Kinloch Hold in Ferelden because they wanted the scandal of having a mage son as far away from them as possible. (After Leandra married Hawke and left for Ferelden, eventually Terein’s father passed away and his mother moved back to Nevarra to remarry and so the Amell/Hawke family goes on as you know). Because of this Terein holds a strong grudge against his parents and, unlike many other mages, find the Circle to be much more of a home for him than Kirkwall ever was. This of course doesn’t stop him from thinking that Circles should be reformed and that mages should have the right to self govern themselves, and sees nothing wrong with mages who wish to live outside the Circle.

He’s conscripted into the Grey Wardens when he’s 24 years old.

Terein is tendentially level headed and diplomatic, likes to study and doesn’t like unnecessary conflict. But he also loves to joke around and make fun of stressful situations (something he really has in common with his cousin Hawke), not to mention that hes a big flirt (something that he shares with the love of his life, Zevran). He especially love to gently poke fun at this best friend, Alistair, and to ruthlessy judge people together with his other best friend Morrigan, who also taught him how to be a shapeshifter.

He had a child with Morrigan and didn’t have the heart to make his best friend king against his wishes. But despite the strong respect he has for Grey Wardens, he never felt particularly attached to them so when the Blight is completely over and hes sure there is no more need of him, he leaves the Amaranthine Keep on Alistair and Nathaniel’s hands and leaves with Zevran. During his trips he learns how to shapeshift into a dragon and keeps up with strong interest in his cousin adventures in Kirkwall, even exchanging letters from time to time. After the civil war he even helps Hawke and his friends escape the city.

During the events of Inquisition he’s currently travelling west with Zevran to search for a cure for the Calling.

(the Hawke of his timeline is a force mage who romances Fenris and sided with the mages but didnt condone Anders actions. Carver is a Grey Warden. the Inquisitor is Ashur Adaar, a knight enchanter who romanced Sera and disbanded the Inquisition)

Elf mage, blood mage and keeper

Igmael’s parents were rivaini merchants who transferred to Ferelden before she was born and went to live in Denerim’s alienage. When Igmael showed the first signs of magic, her parents did everything in their power to keep it a secret, but after the Templars saw her sending innocent sparkles from her fingers while she was playing with other children, they literally tore her away from her parents arms and sent her to Kinloch Hold. She was very young when this happened and with time she could barely even remember how her parents looked like. This made her hate the circle, the chantry, but especially the templars for what they did to her and to countless other mages. While she never tried to escape, she grew a fascination for apostates, witches and mages in dalish clans, and even started study bloog magic along with her strong interest for entropic magic.

She always demonstrated a strong power and natural abilities, such that she took her harrowing when she was only 18.

Igmael is a free spirit. She’s often cheerful, likes to joke but sometimes can be a little mean in her sarcasm. She’s head over heels in love for Alistair who, in return, is head over heels in love with her. In the short time he knew him she also grew really close to Duncan who she considers her savior from giving her an opportunity to escape the Circle without consequences. She loves being a Grey Warden and she considers them a family just like Alistair does. She will even let Amaranthine burn because she cannot fathom the idea of losing the Keep which is basically the only home shes had in almost 15 years. She will later strongly regret this decision, realizing that she was given too much power and responsibilities when she and even Alistair were far too young (considering she became Warden Commander of Ferelden when she was nineteen) and will take the following years to help the people of her Bann as much as she can, becoming also renowned for being a protector of apostates and mages fleeing from the Circle.

She got particularly close with Velanna, who she sees as an older sister and who taught her about the magic of dalish and keepers.

Once the Blight has ended she will also try - and succeed - to find her parents, who transferred away from Denerim since they couldn’t stand the thought of living there without their child.

After the events of Kirkwall she sends Nathaniel to look for Anders to give him safety and maybe his role back as a Grey Warden and once they both get back to Amaranthine, the three of them starts a journey to the West to find a cure for the Calling.

(the Hawke of her timeline is a woman blood mage who romanced Isabela, sided with the mages and protected Anders. Carver is a grey warden. The inquisitor is Lorcan Trevelyan, a necromancer who romanced Dorian and kept the Inquisition)

Elf rogue, ranger and duelist

Growing in Denerim’s alienage, Rhian developed over the years a strong hatred for humans, especially human nobles, and the Chantry. She was very close to her cousin Shianni and just like her, she dreamt of Dalish and never put aside the dream of going to the forest to live with them. She eventually set her mind on fleeing Denerim and looking for the Dalish when she is 21 and asked to marry a man she doesnt know. Life has other plans though, and when she slaughter Vaughan and his friends for what they did to Shianni and is about to be arrested by the guards, she is saved by Duncan and conscripted into the Grey Wardens.

Rhian is a pretty impatient person and can be really grumpy and mean at times. At first she doesn’t click with anyone in her group, especially Leliana, who she finds a stuck up chantry shem and wants to hold her role as a grey warden after Ostagar only so she can save the elves of Ferelden and especially those living in the Denerim’s alienage. With time she will eventually mellow a little bit, and after starting to talk with Leliana and listening to all the stories she has to tell about the Dalish and recognizing that, despite all, she is truly a sweet woman who wants to do and learn as much as she can, she falls in love and starts a romantic relationship with her.

Her priorities do not change, tho. She sides with the dalish clan against the werewolves. She kills Loghain for letting the Tevinter slavers kidnap the elves and make Alistair and Anora marry because she knows it will be the best choice for Denerim’s alienage and hopefully all the elves in Ferelden.

Even with all the gratitude she has towards the Grey Warden and Duncan, she does not want to stay and, when the Blight is completely over, she leaves the Grey Warden in Nathaniel and Velanna’s hands and leaves to look for the dalish, learn about their culture and possibly find the home she always looked for.

In this period, her and Leliana’s relationship begin to struggle: Rhian wants to stay with the Dalish and Leliana is getting more and more invested with the higher levels of the Chantry. After a discussion they part ways but not without a profound regret for what happened from both parts.

Rhian eventually finds clan Lavellan (where she also meets the future Inquisitor), study their story and their traditions and after a certain time she officially becomes a Lavellan herself.

Rather than travelling to find meand to stop the Calling, during Inquisition she will leave the clan to investigate what is happening with the wardens and eventually reach out to Leliana to help the Inquisitor. This brings back old scars and Leliana decide that when everything is over she will do what she can to get back together with Rhian (they will get back together after the breach is closed).

(the Hawke of this timeline is a male hawke who romanced Anders, sided with the mages and protected him after Kirkwall. Carver is a grey warden. The Inquisitor is Firane Lavellan, a rift mage who is also secretly a blood mage, who romanced Josephyne and dismantled the Inquisition)

Human warrior, templar and champion

Second son of Bryce and Eleanor, Lennox never had a knack for politics or the like of them nor an interest for war and glory, despite loving the stories of heroes and great men who came before him. He is a rather shy and calm guy, who likes to read and is a devoted Andrastian, a little bit of a chantry boy. He loves his brother and is saddened to know that he will have to leave for the war at Ostagar.

The night that Howe attacks Highever, when he’s just 22, he gets wounded on his face, which will leave a scar that will accompany him for the rest of his life, and is physically forced by Duncan to leave his parents and run away. He will find himself completely lost, without home, without parents, unable to contact his brother and, eventually, even without Duncan, the only stable thing that was left in his life. This is why he and Alistair got really closed together since they were basically going through the same and eventually he fell in love with him. Thinking that Alistair was straight, though, he suppressed his feelings and got eventually closer with Zevran, with whom he started a relationship.

Lennox is the one who changes more during the Blight. Left his secure haven in Highever he is forced to deal with a world that is not at all nice like his home: encountering Dalish and city elves and mages, even just speaking with Alistair and his experiences, he realizes the wrong in the world and, while remaining faithful to the Maker and Andraste, he becomes really critical or the Chantry and what it represents.

With time he becomes less shy and gets out of his shell more, becoming more open about liking only men. This will eventually end in a talk between him and Alistair and without talking to much about it, basically he, Alistair and Zevran are now all three together.

He makes Alistair king alone, while he stays with the Grey Wardens which he dedicates his life to. He’s the first of my wardens to kill the Architect.

During the events of Inquisition he and Zevran and travelling west, in search for a cure for the Calling.

(hawke and the inquisitor are not set yet but hawke will be a femhawe rogue in a romance with merril and the inquisitor will likely be a trevelyan rogue as well)

Dwarf commoner rogue, assassin and legionnaire scout

Growing up castless in Orzammar didn’t give Gwenel much chances to show weaknesses, affection and sympathy for others. The only people who count in her life - apart from herself - are her sister Rica and Leske and the only think that matters to Gwenel is to rise enough in the Karta so to give her sister a more decent life.

When she has to decide between death, exile in the Deep Roads or joining the Wardens - at the age of 27 - she reluctantly joins the Wardens and follows Duncan outside Orzammar and her old life.

Gwenel is a woman of action. She does not think twice when taking someone’s life and has no qualm when it comes to hurting rich people and nobles. She believes the end often excuses the means and is ready to take hard decisions when she has to - like letting Isolde kill Connor rather than go in the fade in the vague hope to save him from the demon possessing him. Even if she was given very little choice in joining the Wardens, she decides she will do anything in her power to stop the Blight. because she can and she’s not afraid of anything.

But despite all her ruthlessness, even against her will she does often find empathy for the mistreated by society, especially if no one of her companions can see her doing acts of generosity: she always has a coin for the beggar and refuses to cooperate with templars and slavers.

The person she’s most closed to is Morrigan, probably because they are really similar and in other circumstances something could have born between them if they weren’t both too busy masking their feelings and distancing themselves from any form of affection.

When the Blight is ended she stays with the Wardens and take on the fight against the darkspawn. She stays true to her beliefs and kills the Architect along with burning Amaranthine rather than let the Keep be destroyed by Darkspawn.

After sending Anders an heartfelt letters where she congratulate him for the guts it took him to make the Chantry of Kirkwall explode, she leaves the Keep in Nathaniel hands and travels with Velanna and Sigrun to find a cure for the Calling

Faer is, poor soul, the one i have less things to say about since I only played his origin so far and I don’t know when i’ll continue his run, but I do know that hes gonna be a ranger + bard and romance Zevran.

Faer is a pretty serious and silent guy and one could mistake this for either stupidity or even arrogance. In truth Faer is just bad at communicating and often thinks too much about what to say, giving people terrible first impressions. The only people who seem to understand him are his best friend Merril and his boyfriend Tamlen.

When Tamlen touches the Eluvian and disappear Faer enters a shock state. He’s distraught by the disappearence of his lover and by the fact that he’s forced to abandon hid clan. He refuses to speak for several days and only warms up a bit because of Alistair’s kindness, who reminds him a lot of Merril. He enters similar shock states after the defeat in Ostagar and, much later on, when he’s forced to kill Tamlen who has become a ghoul. This time he gets better only thanks to Zevran who will stay by his side after Tamlen’s death and that he will eventually fall for.

+ non canon are Shami Amell and Lea Cousland. Shami is a blood mage and spirit healer, a kind soul who always has a nice word for everyone except for templars that she hates more than anything else. Lea Cousland is just an excuse to have a ruthless warden to make decisions i would never take in any other playthrough and to have the warden do the ultimate sacrifice.

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eluvianarts · 5 years

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Oh, my heart.

As I’ve mentioned before, Dragon Age Inquisition was my introductory game to the world of Thedas. I can honestly say that if I had started with Dragon Age Origins I would’ve been much less likely to play the other games, but it’s not for the reason you think.

It’s my own fault.

((For the quick version just read the last two paragraphs)).

My first playthrough of Origins I was a female elven mage, (aka - my usual). I romance males, & being that Alistair is the only male romance option for what felt like most of the game at the time, I naturally chose him as my LI. Then Zevran finally entered the picture & I flirted with him because it seemed harmless enough until I read online that you gain high disapproval if you flirt for a lengthy period of time before confirming who your one LI is.

So I told Zev that maybe he’s getting the wrong idea. Got that disapproval knockdown, which I managed to bring back up later, but then all our conversations were the “friendly”/”non-flirty” options. Ok.

Then came the time to make Alistair king. I knew from Inquisition the repercussions of letting him stay with the Wardens, so to save his own skin, (because I knew I wasn’t sacrificing my Hawke although I was yet to play DA2 at the time), I had to make him king. I’m also strongly against “hardening” characters, so I didn’t choose that one specific dialogue choice after meeting Goldanna. I pronounce him king and then....

Wait, you can’t marry an elf? We literally had this conversation when we first started dating! I asked if it would be a problem & you said no! Sooooo... where does that leave me? Oh, now you’re only using the “friendly” dialogue options. Great. Guess that’s that. Fine. Well.... if one of us has to die to kill this Archdemon it might as well be me since you gotta rule Thedas. Saving your skin again.

Then Morrigan. I wanted to like her, I really really did! But when push comes to shove & you announce that Flemeth only saved the two of us so you could make an old-god baby, I’m confused. Why would your mother save a female? I can’t produce an old-god baby, (or maybe I can, but you didn’t give me the option). Meaning, the only reason Flemeth saved me was so I could romance Alistair & have an emotional connection to him so you could use that as leverage to get me to agree to you not only sleeping with my man, (excuse me, “ex”-man), but to product an heir with him, which according to Grey Warden facts, I cannot?! That’s really awful, Morrigan! So no! I’m going to die to save Thedas from this Blight & you can go away empty-handed you deceiver! I wanted to be frieeendss!

“You know how I feel about you. I won’t let you die. Not while I can do something about it...”

Wait, Alistair wont let me kill the archdemon?! He dies anyway?!

Zevrannnn! I’m so mad at everything! Are you at all interested in me? ... Oh, we’re now stuck as “just friends” even though I would��ve dated you from the start had I known you were gonna show up! ... I have made some poor decisions.

In summary, because I romanced Alistair as an elf in DAO, the end of my Warden’s story was completely maddening & unfruitful to me, so if that’s what I had come to expect from the Dragon Age games, I probably wouldn’t have continued playing them. (For the record, I replayed as a female elven rogue, romanced Zevran, & suddenly Alistair seemed like such an ungrateful crybaby, so he made that old-god baby, became king, & I got to continue being epic with Zevran!)

All of that to say - With Dragon Age 4 officially announced, & many many MANY hints at the Solavellan romance ending in utter & complete heartbreak... I’m fearful. I know real life isn’t always “happily ever after”, but that’s why we watch movies, play games, & read books; to experience the happy endings! Having romanced Mass Effect’s Thane as well, gosh am I suffering at the thought of my Lavellan fighting so hard, staying so strong, only to have something entirely awful happen - like a red-lyrium-corrupted Solas going mad, Lavellan never actually being a part of the next game so she simply never sees Solas again, or the unavoidable slaying of her love either by herself or by another (because the game wont progress until you do). Please let there be some way, any way at all, that a Solavellan romance can end without tragedy! Just please!

#Thane deserved better #Lavellan deserves better #Dragon Age #DA4 #thedreadwolfrises #Dragon Age Origins #Dragon Age Inquisition #Solavellan #Alistair #Zevran #Solas #Bioware #Thane #Alistair Therin #Zevran Arainai #Dread Wolf #Fen'harel #Thane Krios #Lavellan

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elveny · 6 years

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Fictober - Day 17

Fandom: Dragon Age Origins Pairing: female Warden / Zevran Arainai Prompt: “I’ll tell you but you’re not gonna like it.” Warnings: none Words: 1109

Fian looked down at the man before her. He hadn’t even tried to get up, but had answered every question unwaveringly despite the uncomfortable position he found himself in. Oh, he knew how to use his charms, that much was obvious but then she didn’t expect anything less from someone trained as an assassin. It was a gift born of necessity that was only too familiar to her. The reading of someone’s mood and preferences to adjust her own behaviour as to be seen as less of a threat was something she had used herself quite a few times in the alienage. Just like he did everything to try and sell them his services but not once tried to move.

The way he talked and flirted told her more than he probably had wanted to show. She knew her emotions were being manipulated but despite that she felt pity for him. ‘But don’t let my sad story influence you’, he had said as if that would just erase what he had told them. Bought as a child and trained to be an assassin, and while seemingly provided with luxuries not even paid for his gruesome services. It sounded like slavery to her even if they might not call it that. And from what he said, he would literally do anything to stay alive.

She swirled her dagger in one hand and his eyes darted to the weapon. He didn’t show any sign of fear and she had to confess that it impressed her. It was nearly as if he didn’t mind what happened to him, whether she decided to spare him or not. Sure, she could hear the hope in his voice as he bargained for his life but it was faint, as if he didn’t even dare to admit its existence to himself.

“Very well,” she said quietly. “I accept your offer.”

“What?!” Alistair exclaimed, disbelief written all over his face, “you’re taking the assassin with us now? Does that really seem like a good idea?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Fian answered, without taking her eyes off Zevran who stared back at her as if he couldn’t quite believe himself that she had actually decided not to kill him, “we could use him.”

She offered her hand to the elf still laying before her and after a second of hesitation, the Antivan took it and got up. Alistair seemed not convinced but after a moment of contemplation grumbled, “Alright, I see your point. Still, if there was a sign we were desperate, I think it just knocked on the door and said hello.”

She couldn’t argue with that but it didn’t matter. They were desperate.

Zevran still looked at Fian, his eyes serious as he said, “I hereby pledge my loyalty to you, until such a time as you choose to release me from it. I am your man, without reservation… this I swear.”

His grip tightened for a moment, then he let go again and Fian gave him a careful smile. “Welcome to our group of desperates, Zevran.” She gave the others a sign and they gathered their weapons and what useful things they had looted from their attackers and started the way back to their little caravan.

Zevran waited until she indicated for him to join them before he fell into place next to her. Fian introduced the others before she added, “I hope you don’t mind that I keep your daggers for the time being.”

Something like amusement flashed over his face and he inclined his head. “Ah, I knew you were a smart woman from the moment you decided to keep me.”

She stopped dead in her tracks and grabbed his arm. “Let me make one thing perfectly clear,” she said, a sharp note in her voice. Zevran stopped as well, wariness written all over his face. His body was tense but he did not try to free himself from her grip. Fian locked eyes with him. “There is no ‘keeping you’. I’m not keeping you.” His eyebrows went up at her words but when she continued, the alarm she could see in his features changed to surprise. “Nobody here is ‘keeping’ you. You’re not a pet, not a slave. Nobody here will use you for - what was it? Bedwarming or shining armor or whatever you said you’d do. You are your own man. And you will be judged by your actions. So, that means you play your part in keeping us all alive and fed and help in setting up oder breaking camp. But there is no ‘keeping’ you.”

Something softened in his eyes at her words but when she was finished, all he did was sigh dramatically. “A pity. About the bedwarming, I mean.”

He gave her a flirtatious wink and she rolled her eyes as she let go of his arm. “You’re still not getting your daggers.”

Zevran laughed softly as they started to walk again.

It was no surprise that everyone was weary around Zevran this first evening but he barely seemed to notice. It was hard to keep up a distrustful atmosphere when he so easily and naturally inserted himself into their group, offering a helping hand here or there, flirting with everyone and not once making a suspicious movement. When they all had settled down after their meal, injuries tended to and tents being ready, Fian found herself watching him at the other side of the fire, sitting just a little bit off. She was cleaning her daggers when Leliana sat down next to her a bit too casual to be coincidence.

Fian raised her eyebrows and Leliana grinned. “So, tell me, my dear Warden, what is the true reason you spared him?”

“What do you mean?” she answered evasively and turned her gaze back to her weapons.

“Oh, come on. ‘We could use him’? Really? Alistair might fall for that but I won’t.” There was amusement in Leliana’s voice. “What was it? His thighs? The smile? The general handsomeness?”

“Leliana!” Fian exclaimed, the tips of her ears turning red just the tiniest bit and her friend laughed. “You can tell me!” she assured her and the Warden sighed.

“Alright. I’ll tell you but you’re not gonna like it,” she said, lowering her voice when she saw Zevran looking over to them. He gave her another wink and slightly inclined his head to her and she quickly looked back to Leliana. “I pitied him,” she admitted quietly.

The amusement on Leliana’s face softened to something Fian couldn’t quite interpret. “You’re wrong,” the woman said after a pause and gave her friend a smile. “I do like your answer.”

#fictober18 #fictober #zevran x warden #zevran arainai #dan #dragon age #my writing #oc: fian tabris

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runespoor7 · 6 years

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Plum Aeducan Returns (spoilers for Orzammar)

*blows off dust after more than a year the playthrough went languishing*

Let’s start with a classic round of talking to the companions.

I’d forgotten how much Sten loves Plum. He’s the companion with the highest approval, we’re at “kadan” terms of endearment, and everything.

...I’d also forgotten Plum apparently “started a romance” with Zevran when I wasn’t paying attention. (By start a romance I mean she flirted, it’s not supposed to mean anything or go anywhere in her mind. It’s just cheerfully grim semi-professional flirting. gallows flirting.) This Bears Watching TM as I could see her actually going for it and ditching Alistair - and I cannot overstate how much she isn’t supposed to ditch Alistair. (not to mention that Zevran is turning out to be quite the attraction to several other wardens I have planned, and I prefer to have a wide range of LI across varied playthroughs). So that’s gonna be a fun loss of approval as well!

She’s not as close to Morrigan as Iris is, but she finds Morrigan rather charming. She’s witty and full of arcane knowledge that seems very useful. And she’s very kind: Plum certainly wasn’t expecting Morrigan to extend sympathies when Plum told her that her mom died a long time ago.

And then it’s on the way to Orzammar, because I’ve got that and Denerim+Brother Genitivi left, and… Plum’s been thinking about returning to Orzammar, and she’s a bit doubtful about this “sacred ashes” thing. Maybe if she returns in Redcliffe with a dwarven army, she can circumvent the problem of needing Arl Eamon awake and convince Teagan to call the Landsmeet now.

At the Frostback mountains, I realize that Sten doesn’t have his sword yet, if the dialogue with the guy who sold it is any indication, and that I was probably planning on bringing Sten along for this part, because it would be fun. I don’t want to reload, though, so instead Plum navigates the conversation by getting the info she wants and demanding 3 sovereigns for not mentioning him to Sten when she tells Sten where to find his sword. Funding a war is expensive.

Also at this point - just above Orzammar, where she’s returning for the first time - Leliana chooses this moment to have such a relevant banter for a moment I was confused and thought she was speaking to my Aeducan.

> Leliana: There are many great tales of lost kings who return to their lands to reign in glory...

> Alistair: I am not lost. Nor, for that matter, a king. And there is nothing glorious about me.

> Leliana: You are Maric's son; you are the rightful king of Ferelden.

> Alistair: I am the son of a star-struck maid and an indiscreet man who just happened to be king. Look, I can't be king. Some days I have trouble figuring out which boot goes on which foot.

> Leliana: Complete fools are made leaders of kingdoms all the time, and you're not a complete fool.

> Alistair: What an utter relief.

> Leliana: And don't worry about the boots. Kings don't need to dress themselves. that's what advisors are for, isn't it?

> Alistair: And star-struck maids, apparently.

that was amazingly on point, it literally couldn’t drop at a more pertinent moment.

It also reinforced my determination for Plum’s ending, so that’s great. Leliana, you’re a pal.

Upon arriving at the entrance of Orzammar, she learns confirmation that Bhelen didn’t manage to get himself crowned king, which falls somewhere between baffling and exasperating. Stone, he’d managed to get rid of both Trian and her! What more did he need? She could stomach her brother sending her in exile for the crown - exile hurt, but the Blight is a distraction (a vocation?) - but not for nothing!

then Loghain’s messenger jumps on the news that she ‘killed her elder brother’ and starts calling her “kinslayer”, to which Plum tells him that if he does so again she’ll kill him, and the guard thinks she means him. Gah.

at the end she does get in, but she kills the messenger just like she’d been itching to since the first time he called her “kinslayer”. Usually she’s not half so kill-happy, but he deserved it. Surfacers should know better than to look down upon Orzammar, even an exile such as her.

Fun fact: the Captain of the Guard who tends to make a good impression on outsider wardens (at least he’s unimpressed with both candidates and just wants things to function) when you enter is super unpleasant when you’re an Aeducan!

Plum thought she knew what exile meant; she didn’t think that she’d never feel more of an exile back in Orzammar. People call her Warden when they don’t insult her. (This is all because Bhelen botched the job enough that he couldn’t land the crown, she’s disappointed, after he set her up there was no doubt in her mind he was an excellent politician.)

Meeting Nerav Helmi is enlightening! First, Nerav seems to believe Plum wants Harrowmont to have the throne - but then, Nerav supports Harrowmont, and Nerav and Plum were on good terms. Second, Bhelen lost the support of part of the Assembly - his supporters now only amount to exactly half the deshyrs. Nerav does confirm that House Aeducan stands behind Bhelen, though. Once they wanted Plum on the throne, but they wouldn’t consider “taking it back” to vote her queen. That’s actually a good thing: Plum’s got a Blight to fight, and fighting darkspawn was always her stronger focus. House Aeducan standing united behind Bhelen is good. Third, some believe Bhelen killed the king; of course, given the circumstances, Harrowmont might have done it. But more importantly, Harrowmont isn’t brave enough to accuse Bhelen himself. So it gives off the impression that the common is fighting Harrowmont’s battles for him despite Harrowmont pretending it’s fine. Not that surprising, but still a terrible look. Oh, and apparently Plum’s father named Harrowmont his heir based on suspicions that Bhelen was behind Trian’s death and Plum’s exile. (this wasn’t the right thing to do, father. smashing down our house doesn’t fix anything. you do not lay down before a mouse because your cat scratched you. It doesn’t fix Plum’s exile, and it weakens House Aeducan, so Plum isn’t getting any less bitter about her father. Old age turning him into a soft old fool.)

ALSO I MET THE MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTER OF ORZAMMAR, that is to say, Dagna. (so young! baby Dagna of Origins aaaaah) ...who wants to go to the surface. to the Circle. To which Plum has major objections, because 1)you want to leave Orzammar, 2)funny story about the Circle… so I was already anticipating having to turn down Dagna (and breaking my own heart in the process), but then Dagna: “It would be a valuable exchange. Orzammar would learn of one of the great natural forces of the surface.”

Plum, whose failure to save Irving and have magic at her disposal to fight the Blight hounds her to this day: “......KEEP TALKING.”

Harrowmont supporters are hilarious. “Lord Harrowmont is such a good, caring man. He’ll make a great king.” Plum: Commoners, I swear. You can see they have no idea how cutthroat politics are.

It’s less hilarious when Plum comes across Lord Helmi, who has incredibly forward, equalitarian views on castes, and reluctantly supports Harrowmont on the grounds that he “looks a bit more forgiving,” whereas Bhelen looks like “nothing matters to him more than winning.” :( Bhelen used to be so overlooked and popular, what happened there. Also Plum’s willing to vouch for Bhelen having progressive sympathies.

Moving on, blablah, Vartag Gavorn is an ass, also Plum really doesn’t like the way he talks to her, but that’s still better than Harrowmont’s captain being all “yea Lord Harrowmont always was very fond of you because he’s too good for this world, too pure, but I know you Aeducans, you ain’t meeting him without proving you mean it”, which. Okay sure Plum is working with Bhelen and would “betray” Harrowmont without thinking twice about it (look, Harrowmont has no business running for king, also he’s too soft for it. also his politics are backwards, that hasn’t changed since the last time Plum rolled her eyes real hard when her father nodded at Harrowmont’s advice), but Bhelen framed her, how does it make sense that she’d work with him now???? (Harrowmont captain: *knows Aeducans*)

At least meeting Harrowmont’s captain told her that Bhelen is also interfering with Harrowmont’s champions at the Proving. Well that’s good, she was starting to be concerned he was being passive about the whole affair.

SO ratting Lord Harrowmont’s “””proposal””” to two noble Houses it is, then. Quotation marks because Plum swinged by the Shaperate to check on things, and learned that Bhelen had the papers altered. Clever. Here’s to hoping the Shaperate knows better than to get involved in politics, Plum didn’t say who gave her the papers, of course, but it’s already common gossip she’s working with Bhelen. Eh, win some, lose some. Also worth noting: warrior caste girl hoping to be proved a noble. If Plum lands that, it’ll be one more voice cast correctly in the Assembly…

Lord Helmi acts a bit disgusted with the reveal, but mostly disgusted that he’s going to have to work, instead of lounding around Tapsters doing nothing but drink ale and act the Dashing Disreputable Noble Son. Plum tactically keeps her eyeroll to herself. He leaves the conversation muttering that he needs to take a second look at Bhelen, if he’s worth Plum’s loyalty, which isn’t exactly where she was going when she told him she just wanted to keep the throne in Aeducan House, but that’s the same result.

Other things Plum did: flatly walk out of Brother Burkel’s speech about opening a Chantry. Send Carta thugs running. Witness with pleasure Leliana’s awestruck delight at the beauty of Orzammar.

Kiss Alistair in full view of the ancestors and the Stone (and oh, her heart gets softer when he looks at her like so)

start into the Deep Roads back to Aeducan Thaig to get Lord Dace to renege on Harrowmont’s false promises, fond fond trauma memories.

Things she didn’t do: protest her innocence at any point. It would be undignified. And it’s better if she’s the clear murderer in people’s minds. Less chances for Harrowmont to also get Bhelen discredited. She’d prefer not to be thought one, but if it’s the sacrifice required of her to get this city back on track, then by the Stone she’ll shoulder it.

#warden plum aeducan #i don't have one single warden that isn't a disaster

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gelato-hearts · 7 years

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So…

I just finished my complete play through of Dragon Age: Origins (actually played it 3 times before playing Inquisition) and Dragon Age Inquisition, but not Dragon Age II because it’s not freakin’ backwards compatible. So please allow me this little rant and p.s it may be long so I apologize ahead if time. [Also may contain spoilers if you have never played before]

During my play throughs of DA:O I played as a human/mage, human/rouge, and elf/rouge. Everything was fine so far! The more you play the annoying bits like going into the Fade and travelling the Deep Roads, the faster you get at beating them and the less they annoy you. But let me tell you what never stopped being annoying, the freaking Revenant. First of all,

HOW DARE YOU!!!

We’re not friends and you’re not my mom! How dare you yolk me up like a misbehaving child! I felt so disrespected, and to make it worse he would seek me out in the crowd, extending his hand to drag me though hordes of enemies and my friends just to smack me down.

Now to the ending of Origins. In all my world states, I romanced Alistair because it’s Alistair and he’s a total gem. So, by the end I knew I couldn’t romance him with my mage and I knew that if i didn’t harden him he would be a Warden and not be upset about. In my human rouge playthough I decided I wanted to be queen and took the necessary steps to do so. Then, I wanted to see what it was like to try and go for the mistress ending with my elf and I messed up.

“I will never hurt you.” She stated as she took Alistair’s hand gently.

“Nor I you.” Alistair whispers sweetly as he brings the Wardens hand to his lips, gently placing a kiss on her knuckles.

Well that was all thrown out the window when I didn’t put in the right dialogue and he dumped me. You could have gone back you are probably thinking, but alas it wasn’t meant to be. I was so upset that when I went to load the previous save, I accidentally saved the game instead.

“Lies!” You cry out in the distance

No, this isn’t the first time I have been distracted and accidentally saved the game when i meant to load a previous save. So too late in the game to romance someone else, I just plowed through the rest of the end game, missing the chance to save my warden, thus killing her in the end. And to me that felt like a fitting end for my elf warden.

Now let’s jump to DA: I. I had only vaguely heard about this game and I wanted to keep it that way, no spoilers or anything. I have only had one playthough so far and I brought my warden mage world state over and decided to make a human mage. Let me give you the run down of what went on.

Didn’t know how to pick up items for about an hour, remembered Cullen and immediately went to romance him, accidentally hardened Leliana within the first 5mins and didn’t realize it, looked at Solas and Blackwall and thought “man these boys are sketchy af”, Bottles on the Wall, flirted with Cassandra the entire game because why not, Cassandra becoming the Divine even though I was trying to make Leliana the Divine, never letting Vivienne out if the house because she needs to get her attitude in check, Dragon Hunting with Iron Bull, color coding each classes outfits, but making sure the warriors had Dawnstone because Iron Bull liked pink, Wicked Grace, dancing with Cullen, loving all the dialogue between the companions, trying to climb everything, Mythal, that flower crown though, Cole the sweet lamb, and much more.

Now for the bad things. By golly miss Molly these spiders are huge, a giant has thrown me half way across the map and I don’t know how to get back, are these really the only options, Wardens are you really that stupid, the Revenant is back and he is alittle too handsy, falling/jumping off every cliff because I’m clumsy, hey where is my fancy dress, so we’re just gonna let Corypheus pull an archdemon out of his butt, Morrigan why do you have to be like this, that giant spider came out of no where literally, pride demons evil laugh, bears are upon us and you guys don’t care, behind the wall they will stay because path finding didnt know about the wall, and etc.

Now for the ending of my long tale. Because I kept Alistair as a Warden in my 1st Origin game he was there and I was happy. He talked about my Warden with such love i almost cried. So imagine how I felt when I was stuck in the Fade with Hawke and Alistair and only one could leave. Obviously I picked Hawke because I never met her and she was ultimately me and I would risk my life for Alistair’s anyway, but Varric was sad and that made me upset.

Now as I had listed above about them sketchy boys, my speculation were correct. I knew something was off but Blackwall’s identity theft and Solas playing The Sound of Silence and Its Tough to be a God at the same time made me question my friendship with them, but I still trusted them both to have my back and they were my favorite companions so I looked past their faults and mistakes.

WELL….boy was I wrong about trusting Solas. I outfitted all my companions with the best I could find because I didn’t known how this fight would go down, even giving Solas my favorite and only witch staff. He was with me in the final battle against Red Lyrium in robes but then he disappeared with all the stuff I gave him INCLUDING my witch staff! Between him and the Revenant, I have never felt so disrespected.

After the all the problems and sadness, I really enjoyed these games. I wish I could play DA: II but oh well. Now onward to the DLCs! Oh and if you read the whole thing, that is some dedication and I applaud you, thank you, and ask that you stay for drinks! And if you didn’t read the entire thing then that’s okay you can stay for drinks too!

[Once again sorry for the insanely long post.]

#dragon age inquisition #dragon age ii #dragon age origins #ardent blossom #i love these games and i look forward to the 4th game #alistair x warden #f!hawke #cullen x inquisitor #everything that could have gone wrong probably did and i didnt know #all the lovely companions #lets dance #red lyrium dragon #mythal #let me rant because i dont have anyone else to talk to #now who wants some wine?#corypheus

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sapphic-quarian · 7 years

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Bioware and wlw

(No pics since I’m on mobile..booo) So, we’ve all probably seen Cora Harper at this point. And she is pretty! She worked with asari commandos! She’s a romance option! Yay! But there’s one thing I’m wondering (besides her possible relationship to the Illusive Man). Is she just a romance just for BroRyder, or can SisRyder romance her too? Considering Bioware’s history with characters like her, she probably can’t. Now, going just by appearances and the little we know about her, Cora seems queer. She’s got that whole “shaved side” look that screams “butch” (not trying to say all wlw are butch or all girls that look like that are wlw, Cora’s appearance is just similar to stereotypical perceptions of a lesbian.) She is also connected to the asari, which are a LITERAL RACE OF BISEXUAL WOMEN. But let’s look at wlw in bioware’s past games.

I’m gonna start with Jack, cause I played ME2 recently and feelings about Jack are fresh in my mind. Jack is a badass. The galaxy’s strongest biotic, a master criminal, and also a bisexual woman. “But Kate,” you cry, “Jack was only a romance option for male Shep!” Yes, yes she was. But if you talk to Jack about her criminal past, she mentions a couple she used to “share a bed with.” So Jack has canonically had a relationship with a woman. A poly relationship with her and man, but still. And let’s take a look at Jack’s appearance. Like Cora, she has masculine look to her, with the shaved head and bound breasts. Jack would not be out of place at a gay bar. And yet, she’s still presented as exclusively heterosexual, and rebuffs a female shep’s advances.

And, going back to Bioware’s early days, their very first non-heterosexual romance, is Juhani, from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Juhani is a “romance”, but her feelings towards a female PC are only vaguely referenced in one conversation, as opposed to the fleshed-out romances male and female PCs get with Bastilla and Carth, respectively. Now, this has a simple explanation. This game was co-developed with LucasArts. George Lucas was vehemently against any queer characters in Star Wars, and had his fair share of complaints about Han/Luke fanfics back in the day (they published gay fanfic in magazines! Respect.) So Juhani’s treatment is more the best Bioware could do while still meeting LucasArt’s wishes than intentional portrayal of f/f relationships as meaningless.

And then we come to the asari! Everyone loves the asari right? It’s a race of sexy blue bisexual women! While I could write a whole other meta on the asari and femininity, right now I’ll focus on their sexuality. Liara T'Soni, in Mass Effect 1, is the only bisexual romance, being available to both genders of Shep. But the femshep version has one big difference. Liara assures Shepard that their relationship is okay, because asari are a monogendered, female-presenting race. She’s basically saying “I’m not REALLY a woman, so it’s totally not gay if we kiss each other.” When i heard that, I went back and romanced Kaidan instead. I did not need to go through this feeling like my sexuality was being invalidated. And Samara in Mass Effect 2 is no better. While both genders of Shepard are rejected when attempting to romance her, Samara serves as a weird cautionary tale-thing to asari. She was the product of a marriage between two asari, and she married another asari who also had two asari parents. Their daughters were asari afflicted with a genetic condition, known as Ardat-Yakshi, that caused them to consume their partner’s nervous systems when they mated. Two of her daughters agreed to basically become prisoners-slash-nuns, but one of them escaped. Samara’s loyalty mission involves you tracking the third daughter down, and killing her. Morinth, the third daughter, is a textbook example of the perception of wlw as predatory. She’s literally a space vampire in a leather catsuit. You find a journal from her latest victim, a girl named Nef, and she describes how Morinth seduced her, implies Morinth convinced her to take drugs, and eventually killed her. Once you find Morinth, you then have to seduce her. Then, her mother kills her, or you recruit her. If you recruit her, she flirts with Shepard and you can eventually sleep with her. Of course, your nervous system melts. The idea of the Ardat-Yakshi only being born through a union of two asari makes no sense from an evolutionary point of view. In their home world, asari are the only sapient species, therefore it makes no sense to have breeding with other species being a safer option. The only way it would make sense is if they evolved alongside another sentient species. Basically, asari are all feminine, and they are discouraged from beginning and given consequences for having a relationship with another asari. The idea that cross-species relationships are healthier kind of gives off the “a child with two moms can’t develop well argument.” Then we move to Kelly Chambers. Kelly is your yeoman in Mass Effect 2. Basically, she tells you when your squadmates want to talk to you and when you have mail. She’s also the closest thing the game has to a same-sex romance. Kelly’s pan, and she’ll take all kinds. She frequently gushes about how attractive the alien members of the crew are, and Shepard can lightly flirt with her throughout the game. At a certain point, you can invite Kelly to Shepard’s cabin for dinner. A brief scene of her dancing for Shepard and cuddling ensues, and that’s it. No achievement, no other conversations, nothing. It doesn’t even conflict with existing romances. You can be romancing someone and still invite Kelly upstairs. Her only function, besides informing you about who you need to talk to and that brief moment, is being dissolved by the Collectors if you don’t come for the crew right after they’re taken. She plays a smaller role in the third game, where you can either get her killed, convince her to change her identity, or convince her to change her identity and start a relationship, which only adds a few conversations and the inability to romance anyone else. Then, there’s Samantha Traynor. Samantha’s a lesbian and the Normandy’s comm specialist in Mass Effect 3. She serves the same purpose as Kelly in Mass Effect 3 (informing you about mail and missions) except she can be romanced only by a female Shepard, and she has a full, fleshed out romance. My only complaint about Traynor is that she should have been introduced earlier. She was a good character and I would have liked to see her in more than one game. Now, we go to Bioware’s other cash cow franchise: Dragon Age. Specifically, Dragon Age Origins. Our female love interest for a female Warden is Leliana, a spy-turned-nun. Admittedly, Leliana is a pretty good character in terms of representation. She’s not predatory or overly violent in terms of our setting. However, there’s her former mentor, Marjolaine. Marjolaine embodies the predatory, manipulative wlw stereotype, as shown when she had a relationship with the sixteen-year-old Leliana. Marjolaine’s age is not stated, but she is older than Leliana by a good amount seeing as she had been married once before meeting Leliana. She groomed Leliana into becoming a bard, which in Dragon Age is a spy who can also double as an assassin. She then betrays Leliana and frames her for treason. Later, when Leliana asks the Warden to check up on Marjolaine, Marjolaine plays the victim, and tries to convince the Warden Leliana is not to be trusted. In Dragon Age II, we have two bisexual female characters, Isabella and Merrill. Both are great characters with facets and unique flaws. Honestly, there’s nothing negative to say about them as bisexual women. In Dragon Age Inquisition, we have a trio of lesbian characters. Sera is an elf who’s part of a vigilante group called the Friends of Red Jenny. While Sera is on your side, if a female elf inquisitor tries to pursue a romance with her, it gets a little difficult. Sera berates the inquisitor for being “too elfy”, and at one point breaks off the relationship if they don’t admit the eleven gods were demons. None of the other romances have something like this, where one choice can ruin the relationship, so why does Sera’s romance get it? There’s also Celene and Briala. Celene is the empress of Orlais, which is Dragon Age’s equivalent to France. There’s no other way of putting this, so I’m just gonna say it. Celene is a racist manipulative bitch. She oppresses the elves of Orlais, hurls racist insults towards her handmaiden and lover, Briala, and actually had Briala’s parents killed to maintain her grip on the throne. So, yeah, not a nice lady. But what’s the happy ending of the segment she and Briala appear? Getting them back together! Briala had left her after she did nothing for her people, the elves, and because she couldn’t take Celene’s abuse anymore. I will give Inquisition this, it’s bisexual women, Harding and Josephine, are better written. And in Dragon Age II and Inquisition, last but not least, there’s Cassandra Pentaghast. She’s only available to a male Inquisitor in Inquisition. However, depending on how far you take it, she actually can gain approval from a female Inquisitor’s flirting. “But Kate,” you say again, “Cassandra probably just think’s the Inquisitor’s joking and rejects you when you go too far!” we see in her romance with a male Inquisitor that’s she’s a romantic at heart. Flowers, candles, poetry and all that mushy stuff. She’s probably rejecting a female Inquisitor if she flirts too much, cause she wants a fairytale romance. Also, have you seen Cassandra? For the same reasons as Jack and Cora, that’s a gay if I ever saw one. So that’s why I don’t have too much hope in Cora being a bi romance. Just related to Bioware’s track record of including wlw. We can still dream tho. (In case someone asks why I didn’t include mlm in this meta too, as they arguably receive worse treatment in Bioware games 1. I am not a man attracted to other men, so I would feel like I was talking over actual mlm, and 2. This is already long enough. This was just supposed to cover Cassandra and Jack but I got carried away.)

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blighted-cinda · 7 years

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Okay so my friend and I were discussing the timeline between Origins and DA2

And what the frick-frack-paddy-whack-give-a-dog-a-bone is hAPPENING????

I know tons of people have gone through just how impossible it is that Anders ended up in Kirkwall by the time Hawke meets him, but let's go through the main points, and THEN I'll explain my ridiculous headcanon of how the heck he did it.

Okay, first off: TIMELINE

- The wiki lists 9:30 Dragon as the beginning of the Blight, so let's assume it starts right at the beginning: the first day of Verimensis/Wintersmarch (also the holiday First Day) 9:30.

- It also lists 9:31 as the defeat of Archdemon Urthemiel, and the Warden canonically defeated the Blight within a year, so let's say the Blight ended after exactly a year, on First Day in 9:31, and Hawke's year of servitude ended a negligible amount of time afterwards.

- The events of Awakening begin six months afterward, putting the attack on Vigil's Keep on the First of Solis/Solace: Anders is at the Keep on this day. - It's unclear exactly how long Awakening takes in-universe, but the general consensus seems to be six months, putting the death of the Mother on First Day 9:32, meaning Anders is still with the Warden-Commander at the beginning of 9:32. This ALREADY puts the timeline out the window because the wiki lists the Deep Roads Expedition as occurring in 9:31, and Anders is recruited by Hawke by this point.

Even assuming Anders lost his cat and left the Keep IMMEDIATELY after the Mother's death, the EARLIEST he could have been in Kirkwall at all, let alone a well-known healer, is halfway through Wintersmarch 9:32, by which point the expedition would be almost if not totally finished.

So... teleportation??

NOPE STRAP INTO THE CRAZY TRAIN KIDDOS

Two words: Duplicate. Anders.

I KNOW, I KNOW, JUST BEAR WITH ME

Let's take a look at a few epilogue possibilities in Awakening:

Anders

Anders will remain with the Grey Wardens to train the Order's next generation of mages. When he is called by the Circle of Magi to deliver a lecture on the nature of the Architect - much to the templars' dismay -, he tells the Commander of the Grey that his time with the Wardens is over. However, not two months later, he returns and the Wardens remain his home and lasting companions.

If left to defend the Keep, Anders will be hailed a hero by the few survivors of Vigil's Keep by using his magic to hold off hundreds of darkspawn. He gets invited by the men to engage in a drinking contest. He loses.

If Anders' companion quest is not complete, he will be captured again when he resigns from the Wardens (whenever he did in the first option, which seems like a few months at least). With his phylactery secure, he is unable to evade the templars. After two subsequent escape attempts, he vanishes for a third and final time.

If left to defend the Keep without enough upgrades to it, he is found dead with an arrow through his neck with hundreds of darkspawn dead in a circle around him; none were touched with a blade, but all were felled by magic.

Justice

(I'll leave some unfinished after they refute DA2's version)

Justice serves with the Order for many years, keeping in touch with Kristoff's wife, Aura, during his stay...

...he will serve the Order for many years, fighting darkspawn resistance pockets...

Once the darkspawn threat was ended, Justice left the Grey Wardens to pursue other injustices. Years later he appeared on the doorstep of Kristoff's widow and, smiling, simply dropped dead...

...Justice will fight valiantly, but, before the victory horn is sounded, a darkspawn sword removes Kristoff's head. It is unknown whether the spirit perishes or simply departs...

...Justice will stand in the ruins of Vigil's Keep looking in to the sun and saying "Now I know what to do." The ghost then disappears leaving behind the rotten body of Kristoff...

...Justice is killed by the Warden. It is unknown whether the spirit survived...

A mysterious figure in Grey Warden armor is occasionally seen in the marsh, erecting gravestones to honor villagers of old...

So Anders either "dies" (which I believe is explained away in DA2), escapes (there is no way he escaped three times in a short enough timeframe to get to Kirkwall) or remains with the Wardens, and Justice stays with the Wardens, loses Kristoff's body during Awakening, runs off with his body, or stays in the Blackmarsh and never travels with Anders. They CANNOT have merged and left for Kirkwall by the time Hawke's expedition leaves, if ever, in at least several if not most worldstates that might be imported.

Now we COULD just say that the devs changed their minds and rewrote the timeline and the Awakening epilogues aren't really canon and Awakening was shorter than six months and Anders just got to Kirkwall really fast.

BUT THAT'S NO FUN SO LET'S MAKE A REALLY CONVOLUTED EXPLANATION AND TRY TO PROVE IT WAS ALL INTENTIONAL

My theory:

When the Commander's party (which we'll assume contained Anders) escapes the Fade in Blackmarsh, the magic at work drew spirits towards the point of the escape. Spirits tend to imprint and alter based on their surroundings, so what if the spirits were affected by the magic at just the moment they were adapting and then pulled through with the party? And WHAT IF they were affected in such a way that they FULLY imprinted on the minds of the party, making DUPLICATES (or at least very close copies) of the party's minds? And then, when taking on forms in the physical world, they each unknowingly took on the forms of the member they imprinted on, creating full copies, body and mind, of the companions?

The escape happens in the Baroness's courtyard, returning the minds of Party1 to their bodies in Kristoff's clearing. The SPIRITS (Party2) are not limited to those bodies, and so are pulled through in the courtyard. It's possible that, since time is not a concept in the Fade, Party2 didn't actually take form until AFTER Party1 had left Blackmarsh. They may have known they were duplicates, or they may not have, but eventually they would have figured it out. And Justice2, with the memories of at least one spirit, might have guessed that the forms were not stable and would eventually disappear. SO, depending on the personality of each companion, the duplicates might have sought out Party1 (especially the Warden), and since they knew they would disappear anyway within months or years or whatever, they took the place of the originals. They would know that Person2 would vanish within months or years, giving Person1 enough time to go off on their own without being tracked. But Cinda, there’s no way the Warden would/could just disa-

...A few years later, the Warden vanishes...

...After a number of years, however, neither she nor Alistair were seen again...

...But some years later the Warden vanishes...

...But a few years later, the Warden vanishes, and nobody knows why...

...he never returns to Vigil's Keep again...

...might simply just vanish for reasons unknown...

Etc. etc. The Warden vanishes in pretty much every epilogue. Key word: vanishes. How does the Hero of Amaranthine, Commander of the Grey, likely the Hero of Ferelden, and possibly the fucking king or queen just up and vanish?? Unless that’s exactly what they did - they literally vanished. At least, the duplicate Warden did, possibly being able to go back into the Fade. The original, however, was long gone, using the extra time to head off on other adventures without being tracked.

But Anders2, he wouldn’t want to switch. Why would he want to go back to the Wardens and the Templars? He’s like “oh I’m finally free!!” because the Wardens and Templars both think he’s at the Keep, AND his phylactery (if not destroyed) probably wouldn’t track a spirit in Anders’s shape, so he could not be tracked. But he knows he’ll vanish, so that’s one of the reasons he merges with Justice2 - they think it might stabilize them both for a time and give them the time they need to get justice for the mages. So Kirkwall Anders is the duplicate, which explains the timeline (he left before the end of Awakening) and maybe some of the personality changes that can’t be explained just by Justice, like the really weird flirting things.

The spirits are both still degrading, so even at the beginning his mind is already under some psychosis, which only gets worse and more unstable as the years go on. So by the time the Chantry happens, Anders2 is in full on degradation. He knows that he’ll disappear soon, so he needs to do something BIG - no more one-drop-at-a-time stuff, he needs to make a STATEMENT. So in his psychosis and desperation, he decides on the Chantry. All while Anders1 (who is still snarky and hates Templars, but is not nearly as much of an asshole as Anders2 - Anders1 would probably want to open that clinic if he could) is living or rotting in his epilogue.

B O O M

Okay, that’s enough conspiracy theorizing for one day. Thank you. *gets down off of soapbox*

#dragon age #dragon age 2 #dragon age awakening #anders

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cloudmonstachopper · 7 years

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biiig chiimquisitor update!

With a few cameos about my warden, Cloudy (and maybe about my champion Mishka too)

Leliana says something about Briala having had a past with Celenne and Chiim is basically like DIRTY COURT GOSSIP???? TELL ME MORE shameless

When asked who to bring along, it basically went like this: I can’t NOT take Vivienne to a BALL please!! And Dorian? Oh, he’ll love it! He deserves a treat anyways, I’ve dragged him through such “dreadful” areas. And Varric! He’ll be sure to wind some fun tales from the evening.

Chiim in formal clothes was amazing. But like. Vivienne trying to wrestle them into it. Dorian dying of laughter on the couch in the background. Chiim: WHY IS THIS JUST A SEVEN FOOT LENGTH OF BLUE FABRIC. WHAT DO I DO WITH IT. IS IT TO TIE UP MY ENEMIES? Vivienne: nO INQUISITOR THAT IS YOUR SASH AND CUMBERBUND M A K E R PLS They manage to finally get Chiim into the tunic. But they weren’t having it with the pants, Chiim won the battle and got to wear thigh-high travel-worn boots with like. Kneepads. Amazing. Truly a LookTM. Chiim fashion at its finest.

Josie: Before you enter the ballroom... you EVERY WORD AND ACTION WILL BE JUDGED SO YOU’D BEST BE ON YOUR BEST BEHAVIOR Chiim: sooo no jumping on the furniture like a goat then, I take it? Josie: *nearly has a stroke* please don’t

Empress: We look forward to watching you dance Chiim: *internally* “we look forward to watching you dance” yeah they just wanna be assholes and see how in the wooooorld someone dances with such ‘heavy monstrosities’ on their head hAVE THEY EVEN SEEN THEIR OWN HATS y’all just racist assholes what a pile of pricks Chiim: A pleasure. If you’ll excuse me *bows gracefully and scuttles away*

Chiim: So, Yvette, any FUN STORIES ABOUT JOSIE???? *nearly bouncing up and down in excitement* Yvette: oh, there was that time when we were ten- Josie: NO Yvette: or how about that time you accidentally melted- Josie: STOP Yvette: or that time you spilt sauce all over- Josie: YveTTE Yvette: she still plays with her dolls when no one’s looking!! Josie: *covering yvette’s mouth and laughing* I DON’T KNOW WHAT SHE’S TALKING ABOUT

Apparently full white masks were used in orlesian theater for roles with no clear gender. I mean I know they’re talking about spirits. But. I’m just saying. If Chiim had an orlesian mask, it would be a full white one.

Chiim: oh look, cullen is surrounded by ladies. Ladies: would you like a drink? a dance? Cullen: No thank you, I’m not thirsty. Chiim: and he has no idea they’re flirting with him in the SLIGHTEST. I’d best go save him.

Chiim: *wandering the balconies* an awful lot of drinks and bottles scattered around on this table for an empty balcony... hrm... I SUSPECT A MEETING HAS OCCURRED HERE it later turned out that’s where gaspard hangs out so he probs met with florianne there

Chiim: these elvhen servants are literally leaving blood tracks behind I mean seriously????? even I can tell???? I thought the game was supposed to be subtle

Dorian: *reminiscing about tevinter balls* It’s lacking only a few sacrificial slaves and some blood magic! But the night IS young Chiim: *just raises eyebrow* Dorian: ooh, but you ought to dance with me before we go Chiim: *is SO OVER IT bc still reeling from WOW ORLESIAN ASSHOLES* hm Dorian: *cajoles* Chiim: okay, m a y b e Dorian: you sure you don’t want to dance with the evil magister? it’d certainly be s h o c k i n g~ Chiim: mmm tempting Dorian: if you could find me ten silk scarves I’ve got a dance that would REALLY shock them *wink wonk* Chiim: good thing I’m a rogue and every lady is wearing twenty-seven then, I’ll be back in a jiffy ;D

Chiim: psssst dorian, distract everybody in this courtyard while I climb this terrace! Dorian: that’ll need to be quite a big distraction then, to pry everyone away from the qunari inquisitor, IN dress clothes, climbing a terrace during the great ball NOT TO MENTION providing everyone with a great view of dat ass Chiim: so? Dorian: already on it dear

Leliana’s obsession with shoes is very intelligent and I love her. In other news: !!!!!! M O R R I G A N AHHHHHH

Chiim: *is impatient and jumps on a couch to reach some incriminating papers on the table* Courtiers: ooh that inquisitor, he must have some sort of... strength to make up for his BOORISH manners *loses a point of approval* Chiim: Josie’s gonna kill me

Chiim plays the politics game, does really nice. Back at the keep everyone is like !!! wow, I was really impressed!! I didn’t know you could pull that off???? Chiim: heh, yeah, Dorian and Vivienne and Leliana coached me in niceties and playacting (and Leliana in some added ShenanigansTM) Josie: AND YOU STILL JUMPED ON THE FURNITURE Chiim: *deadpan* you can take the ox outta the qunari, but you can’t take the gOAT OUTTA THE CHIIMQUISITOR *runs* Josie: *proceeds to ream chiimquisitor out for approx. 2hr*

Florianne: do you know who can be trusted? Chiim, a person who naturally trusts almost everyone and is weak to growing attached to people: *lies through their teeth* if there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s to trust no one

At the ball, and Josie’s all “ohooo! You’ll be the talk of the court for months! We should take you dancing more often!” Chiim: clearly she hasn’t heard about my furniture jumping escapades yet

“Are we going to sneak around the empress’ unmentionables NOW? haha, just how drunk are you, boss?” Varric has officially adopted the Chiimquisitor #CONFIRMED

Chiim: *hears screams for help in the next room* Chiim: *busts into next room, finds harlequin assassin about to take out an elf* Chiim: *just straight up KICKS THE HARLEQUIN OUT THE WINDOW NBD* Chiim: Are you okay? Sorry bout that, my protection instincts kicked in and I just... well. I did say they *kicked* in. Heh. Heheheheh. Varric: Andraste’s bloomers but that was a bad one

Chiim: *fucks things up and talks to morrigan and feels SLIGHTLY better bc liason but also fucked up things for the elves* Dorian: *side-eyes morrigan SO HARD as he walks in WHO IS FLIRTING WITH HIS CHIIMQUISITOR N O W GDI* Dorian: so you charmed the dowager and she wants to marry you to one of her daughters. Told her you’d already left Chiim: (oh thank god) Dorian: You can thank me later. Or now. But you look lost in thought. Something on your mind? Chiim: I fucked up, Dorian. I fucked up bad and now I’m sad but I’ve made the best of a shitty situation. *hunches in on themselves, sighs* Dorian: clearly you need to be distracted. Let’s dance? Chiim: *isn’t a dancer, is so OVER dancing, and the game, and all this shit, but... maybe it’s what they need, and they’ll give it a shot... for Dorian* Chiim: *looks up and tries a smile* I thought you’d never ask.

Chiim gets back to skyhold and IMMEDIATELY mother giselle is all up in everybody’s business and like INQUISITOR CAN I HAVE A MOMENT Chiim, internally: LET ME MOURN MY FUCKUP. LET ME MOURN IT IN PEACE. Chiim: *sighs and puts on a placating smile and tone* How can I help you, revered mother? ... Josie: yes, and we’ll take care of it LATER right now give the Chiimquisitor a BREAK Chiim: bless u, josie. b l e s s y o u

Chiim immediately bonds greatly with Morrigan, mostly over talking about her son. Chiim likes her son. Morrigan is a bit cagey about him, but also likes to talk about him. She’s a proud mother.

(Fun fact: Keiran is probs also trans because Cloudy is dfab and had babbu with Morrigan which means SHENANIGANS were at play and what I’m saying here is that Keiran takes after his trans father) (Speaking of Cloudy shenanigans, he and Zevran have a daughter. She is very cute. During the pregnancy Cloudy refused to see anyone and they disappeared off the map for about 9 months. But afterwards Cloudy comes back and is like !!!!! LOOK AT THIS SMOL!!! I MADE HER!! Zevran helped I guess WOW SHE’S SO CUTE AND GREAT AND SMART) (she grows up to be an absolute terror. Daughter of the warden commander and the leader of the antivan crows, daughter of TWO rogues, one of whom doubles as an assassin? oh pranks and things going missing FOR D A Y S ON END shenanigans never stop) (I have a lot more hcs and things about Cloudy & Zevran’s child - who has a ~mysterious~ older half-brother in keiran - but this is a chiimquisitor post so we continue with the chiimquisition) (sidebar mishka and anders don’t have any kids of their own but they totally adopt like every single child, dog, and cat that comes anywhere near them, their house is super big and always crazy and it’s fantastic; there’s also a chicken. The kids named the chicken cupcake. Main suspects for the chicken’s origin is Aunt Merrill but there have been no confirmations.)

Chiim: Will his... father, be joining us as well? Morrigan: *thinks about cloudy gallivanting off with zevran for a cure to the calling* tis... most unlikely (At that point in time, Cloudy was also experiencing the feeling of the fake calling, but was pregnant with daughter, and just blamed it on the hormones. And Zevran, of course, being neither a warden nor someone who experiences the monthly upheaval that is periods let ALONE pregnancy, just takes his word for it. Sigrun acts as their cover story, telling everyone’ they’re off investigating the calling. Totally works.) (There’s a reason Cloudy’s letter to the inquisition basically read “sounds cool but not my fight have fun I’ll vaguely support from a distance”)

Josie: so. Uh. After the events at the grand ball, apparently Florianne’s trade routes got all tied up, so they sent her over for... judgement. Chiim: Are you SERIOUS??? She’s dead! Box: *flies buzz* Josie: ...and that was the time allotted for a rebuttal. There is- forgive me. *coughs* there is... an odor. Chiim: *clears throat* WHAT FRESH LEVEL OF BULLSHITTERY Chiim: anyways I guess there’s a precedence for this so let’s just send the routes back to them aND GET RID OF THAT BOX (Chiim has clearly been spending Way Too Much time in the library with Dorian if they know about this rANDOMASS PRECEDENCE)

Chiim: I’m worried about my gardening buddy, Blackwall. Josie: Oh? Why’s that? Chiim: he took me out for drinks and then told me about how a dog was killed in his childhood and he didn’t do anything about it???? and then he got weirdly quiet and just left???? like Blackwall. What. The fuck????? Josie: that is strange Chiim: he left a letter on his rockinggriffon. I’m gonna track him down. Josie: please do. I worry about him sometimes.

(side note: if blackwall ever finishes that rockinggriffon it can be a baby shower gift for Cloudy & Zevran and their new bundle of joy heh)

Cassandra: blah blah divine I don’t know what to do but I know what i SHOULD do Chiim: hold up, if neither of you are priestesses and you can be divine, why can’t I be the divine? Cassandra: Well, you’re a man, for one. Plus I think they’re afraid of you. Chiim: Cassandra. My dear. It was a joke. I’m an atheist, tal-vashoth qunari. You couldn’t PAY me enough to be the divine.

(In all honesty though Chiim would have made for a fantastic scout, like WHO decided Chiim ought to be in charge of Politics and all these Important Things???? Cassandra why are we letting u make these decisions)

Sera: Ugh, that place. Should have thrown in some bees and slammed the door. Chiim: I dunno, seems more like a job for earwigs to me. Sera: Y E S

Chiim: *hanging out on the roof* Hey, Sera, what do you think of Dorian? Sera: You’re having it off with him, you don’t need me talking. (But I do anyway ;D) Chiim: *laughs* more than one thing is having off when I’m with him, harr harr Sera: Ew, gross! *laughs and happily bumps shoulders with Chiim*

So you know how elfroot has been lore/meta confirmed for being a recreational drug? And you know how it’s confirmed that the inquisitor has a strange obsession with it? Yeah, well only those in the inner circle know how laughable it is that Chiim indulges in the stuff: the only indulging happening here is haPPY GARDENING. heh.

Chiim: *talks to solas, mentions how much they’re torn up about briala* Solas: ... what? why do I care? oooh the elf thing, yeah, I don’t think of myself as an elf so... Chiim: I try to have a moment, why do i even try, it’s SOLAS, he’s a shitbag...

Chiim: What’s your thoughts on elvhen culture? Solas: ... ask Sera, she’s got... opinions. Chiim: I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS SERA BASHING YOU RUDEASS SHITHOLE Solas: sorry. I’m just... jealous. Sorry. Chiim: damn right.

ps when Chiim was first learning to be an assassin 100% they would stealth, sneak up behind unsuspecting companions, stab them in the ankle with a butter knife and yell “I STAB U IN THE LEG AND ABSCOND” and laugh hysterically as they run away Dorian is just standing there like “did u just poke me with your fingernail??”

Vivienne wants the heart of this wyvern, and won’t tell Chiim what for... Chiim is slightly suspicious, but is gonna do it anyways. Meanwhile, I’m sitting here like THIS BETTER NOT BE AN ANDERS BETRAYAL AGAIN DOn’T YOU DO THAT TO ME VIVIENNE

Dorian: and now you’ve got an empress eating out of your hand, makes for a perfect mental image Chiim: (dorian what are you thinking??? is this a kink thing????) Dorian: all this dancing, murder, politics, almost makes me a bit homesick Chiim: so we should do that kind of thing again? Dorian: watch as you twist an entire empire around your little finger? *bedroom voice* ABSOLUTELY. Chiim: so it.... IS a kink thing??? I don’t get it, but ok. ... Chiim: wanna makeout against this dragon statue over here? Dorian: sure, I’m down Chiim: nice

#chiimquisitor #secret gardener's club #only a tiny bit but still #da #dai #cloudy cousland #since I've got that lil dao bit

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eluvianarts · 6 years

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My Solavellan Isn’t Hell - Here’s Why

It would first be important for me to note that I was late to the Dragon Age party, & started with Inquisition in 2017. Since then I have, of course, picked up & played all three titles multiple times, but my first playthrough with Inquisition introduced me to the world of Thedas, thus my understanding of terms like “the Fade”, “Grey Wardens”, & “the Rite of Tranquility” were shaped by this game first. It may also be noteworthy to mention that I always play my OCs as my own self - I design them to look like I do, react like I do, make decisions that I would make, etc. (So if I say “I” instead of “Lavellan”, this is the reason).

The first time I first heard the term “Solavellan Hell” I thought it was such a negative sounding reference to such a powerful romance. “Hell?”, I thought, though I had indeed finished the game & all DLCs. “Hell produces pain, suffering, & anguish. None of which I experienced in a concentrated enough amount to be considered hell.” But scrolling through tags I quickly understood where my experience differed from others, & I intended for quite some time to share my thoughts. Let me explain...

[This is the part where I warn the reader that spoilers are bound to follow under the cut]

[[Short version - Just read the last two paragraphs.]]

My inquisitor, Visériel Lavellan, was immediately enamored with Solas from the start. (I literally flung my arms in the air & said to my husband “I don’t even care that he’s bald!”). The way he described his journeys in the fade, (remember, I had no prior experience of the fade from the other games). To Visériel, the fade was a wonder just as Solas described; “It is the fade. They are all real.” ... Also that iambic pentameter. But I digress...

Visériel had eyes for no one else, & her flirting was saved only for Solas. When she stole a kiss in the fade, & it was returned with such passion, she knew they were bound to be a powerful couple, feeding off each other’s strengths, building up each other’s weaknesses, all while maintaining an air of dignity. This bond is important because she believes they are on equal grounds even if one or the other has strengths or weaknesses the other does not, (this feeling doesn’t change after Trespasser either - see below for reasons why Visériel feels she is meant for more).

She was not the big, brave, leader that the Inquisition seemed to position her as, but she took the role seriously, (albeit casually with her friends,) judged with mercy & forgiveness, made responsible tactical moves, (including going the long way about saving the Montilyet name in Orlais), & stood as it’s face even when she denied knowing whether or not the Maker had sent her, (she sees that knowledge has been tainted over the years, & believes that all peoples may be partially correct & partially incorrect). This is important because as more known “truths” concerning the Maker, the Divine, the Dalish gods, & the history of the Chantry are uncovered & found to be inaccurate, or flat out lies, she is not shocked, nor her faith rattled. (However, Sera greatly irritated Visériel because of her disrespectful attitude toward others’ beliefs).

Later on the balcony, when Solas mentions that she is not what he expected, asking if he had misjudged the Dalish, she replies with, “The Dalish didn’t make me like this. The decisions were mine”, because though she loves her family, she is her own person. Visériel had always thought of herself as not-quite-an-outsider, but not-quite-an-insider. Besides her wariness to believe another’s theory without any sort of analysis, she always felt she was meant for something higher. Becoming Inquisitor had partially given her what she felt she was missing, but it also sometimes felt wrong for her to be the face of those who had previously looked so far down their noses at her. This is important because when more is revealed about how the Elvhen used to be, she sees it as how she was always meant to be, especially in Trespasser when she travels the Eluvians, she is amazed at how wonderful it all is & the knowledge to be gained! (Also, Abelas, don’t you point your finger at me “You are not my people!”. Rude!) This is also important because when she discovers that Solas is Fen’Harel, she doesn’t bat an eye, because it only makes sense that she, having always felt she was meant for more, would fall for someone who was in fact “more”.

When Cole panics about his possible possession, & begs Solas to bind him, Visériel listens to the kid & reasons with him. Though she sees Varric’s side of the argument that Cole is also “strangely like a person”, she cannot ignore the fact that he is also like a spirit, & she would rather see him safe than sorry, & give him the protection he needs. She also generally leads with compassion & peace, so when confronting the Templar who killed Cole, she encourages him to forgive the man. One of the biggest reasons Cole is one of her best friends is because of his desire to help others, & she encourages him to look for many resolves to a situation, & not to take lives. This is important because she believes spirits can learn & that coexisting is possible & desirable.

When learning of Inquisitor Ameridan & his tragic romance with Telana, Visériel couldn’t help but wonder why Telana seemingly gave up on him. She spent the rest of her life searching for him in the fade when Visériel & her companions only had to find the metal spikes that Telana knew about & free him. Even if she knew it would release the dragon, she then should’ve spent her years learning how to kill it, or to release the spell’s hold on Ameridan, not simply dreaming & waiting for nothing to happen! This is important because when Solas leaves her, she is determined to do something useful, not just wait around for him to return on his own.

Discoveries at the Temple of Mythal, differing from what the Dalish currently believe, didn’t shock Visériel, but instead excited her! She loved finding the truth! Especially when it answered questions that she had been debating. Wanting to keep the peace, & to gain favor with the ancient elves, Visériel made the deal with Abelas even after his uppity behavior, (”You are not my people” Rude!). Honestly, Visériel wanted to destroy the well rather than let anyone have it, which seems contrary to her usual quest for the truth, but everyone was uncomfortable with the well, & if Solas was so adamant about himself not drinking from it, she surely wouldn’t risk it, so Morrigan drinks. When he asks what she will do with the power after the war she replies, “I’ll try to help this world move forward”, & when he responds angrily asking what she would do if it ends up worsening things, she says, “I’ll take a breath, see where things went wrong, and then try again”. This is important because Visériel keeps her head high, & is a beacon of hope even when the world is, (quite literally), falling apart. She prides herself on taking a breath, & moving forward.

During the Crestwood vallaslin scene, Visériel chooses to remove the markings since she trusts Solas’ word & knowledge. She would rather move forward without the vallaslin, now knowing the truth behind what they stand for, rather than keep them as some form of sentiment. No matter if she originally got them for another reason, the truth is more important, & “my people vowed never to submit to slavery”, though she does express remorse that the Dalish were wrong once again. Her emotional responses are often either hope, agreement, or sadness.

On the breakup part, I thought the dialogue choice, “I don’t want to lose you” would be more hopeful than a sad cry of “Solas!”. Then given that the dialogue choices were either a hopeful, “I believe in us”, or a sad, “I love you”, she really just wanted those three words said out loud, so I chose the sad dialogue, but a cross between the two choices would’ve been more accurate.

And this is where Visériel’s unshakable faith & fierce tenacity come in. Solas won’t explain to her about the breakup right away, but promises “everything will be made clear” after the defeat of Corypheus. So she is patient, waiting to get her answer, because she trusts him to keep his word. But of course, we know that he doesn’t follow through. When his orb breaks he is lost again, unsure of how to next move forward, & so he runs, to rethink, to replan, & Lavellan is left confused & troubled. Visériel believed something very important must’ve altered his course especially after his somber words of “it was not supposed to happen this way” & “what we had was real”, especially since they had been a force of power together. At Leliana’s gentle words that, “Perhaps he had no choice? He might return at any moment”, Visériel gave a shy smile, hopeful again.

She then used her resources to search for Solas, & as they years passed she grew less certain that he was even alive. Her time as Inquisitor was less appealing without him around, but she continued to try to better the lives of everyone she met. When the Exalted Council had to meet she was embittered at the resounding lack of thanks she was getting for all her hard work. But seeing her friends again brought back good memories, & when Cassandra lets slip that she thinks Lavellan is going to propose, she responds with, “I might get married. I’ve thought about it.”, because even after all these years she hasn’t lost hope that perhaps he may return.

Discovering new knowledge through the Eluvians excited her once more, made her feel part of something real again, but as her arm begins greatly paining her, she cries that she doesn’t want to die, followed by “not knowing the world still needed me”, but what she kept to herself was, “not knowing if Solas is still alive”. Venturing further through the Eluvians she pieces together that Solas is the Dread Wolf, & even more, she realizes he’s the one who’s been fighting the Qunari, which quickens her pace further, now knowing that he is alive & more powerful than she had ever imagined. (I should also mention that I 100% games, so I search every nook & cranny for every shred of information, dialogue, & quest). She wants to find him as soon as possible, to ask him about everything, only hoping that he’ll still look at her like he did on the balcony. Nothing else matters anymore - she is dying, Solas is alive, & the Inquisition is no longer of any use.

“We have to save him!”

Hearing his voice again, & seeing him look at her with even more care & kindness than he had before, all Visériel wanted to do was wrap her arms around him, so thankful that she hadn’t given up on him, nor he on her. (I wish the dialogue option for “You’re the Dread Wolf” wasn’t so accusatory sounding).

“What is the old Dalish curse? ‘May the Dread Wolf take you’?”, he says, afraid she now sees him as all the others do, with disdain, distrust, & disgust.

“Our legends about you are wrong. I saw the truth as we traveled the crossroads.”, she exclaims, filled with the revelation that what once seemed questionable to her now made so much more sense!

“If you had just told me... Ma ghilana, vhenan!”

Visériel, having always believed she could analyze & interpret quite well, tosses aside what others may think of her, fully understanding that the world had been a marvel & could see it’s former glory again if the veil returned magic as it once was, & though it would take a long time for them to first stop mindlessly fighting one another, she believed men & spirits can coexist, as seen with her relationship with Colr. Ready to follow Solas as he had once followed her, & add her strengths to his, she believed that the world would be better in the end if his plan succeeded.

He tells her everything, letting her gain all the knowledge & all the explanation that she was due.

“Let me help you, Solas!”

“I cannot do that to you, vhenan.”

“But you would do it to yourself? I cannot bear to think of you alone.”

But when time runs out, & her mark flares up again, Solas chooses to save her, but leave her again, hoping it would in fact save her life.

“Solas, var lath vir suledin!”, she confidently declares.

“I wish it could, vhenan. My love...” he whispers, resigned to go against her wishes. “I will never forget you.”. Then he disappears through the Eluvian.

The end of Trespasser is the second time he leaves her, but what has now taken place changes everything to her! The first time he left without a word, without explanation. She had no idea how he felt, why he left, what he was doing, or if she would ever see him again. Now she knows exactly how he feels, the reason he’s left, what he is up to, & she is fully determined to see him again! Last time she took deep breaths to keep her hope intact, searching for any sign of him, but now her hope is in full force, because she knows that he loves her, & she loves him, & she’s going to show him once again that they are stronger together than apart. Visériel disbands the Inquisition, not to sift out the agents of Fen’Harel (as the screen indicates), but because clearly the Inquisition is no longer needed, & she would rather have a handful of reliable friends at her side than an army of possible turncoats, especially when she knows she will be greatly opposed when she announces to her companions that she intends to help Solas against his enemies.

All in all, what I’ve taken away from why I didn’t consider my experience to be Solavellan “Hell”, is that I was always so skeptical of the information given to me, (be it about beliefs, persons, or history), hopeful in what could be, & persistent in going after the truth, & what I wanted. I have heard that Solas takes from Lavellan her beliefs in her gods, (which to my Lavellan only confirmed what she guessed at previously), her connection to her clan via the vallaslin, (if you remove it, which my Lavellan did, because she believes the truth is more important than some heritage marking), & her physical arm, (how can this one be bad? Either remove her arm to save her life or let her die? How about take my arm!). Needless to say, I’m very excited for the next installation of Dragon Age, even if it doesn’t bear the fruit that I hope for. Here’s to possibilities! *and to all Solasmancers*

#Dragon Age #Dragon Age Inquisition #Spoilers #Trespasser #Lavellan #Solavellan #Inquisitor Lavellan #Solas #Dread Wolf #Fen'Harel #Visériel #Visériel Lavellan #Solavellan Hell #Viseriel Lavellan #Viseriel

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