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haledamage · 1 year

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OKAY. Now that I'm home: Dragon Age questions Essentials 7 + 8, Life 3, 6, 10, Party 7, Codex 10 + 11 for all of them, and then whichever question you'd like to answer most for each of them from the game-specific sections. :3

Essentials: 7. How do they dress in their downtime, while fighting, in formal settings, etc.?

Cait Cousland: in her downtime, she's a basic shirt-and-breeches girl. low effort, easy to move in. she usually wears her Grey Warden armor while fighting, leather with a light metal breastplate and chainmail, and she also has basic leather armor for when she needs to appear unaffiliated. but she's still a noblewoman, and knows how to dress to impress; she has a collection of nice dresses for fancy needs (mostly blue or grey, the girl has a color palette and is sticking with it), as well as a few suits for when she prefers to be fancy but also wear pants.

Carah Amell: robes. robes, robes, robes for every occasion. comfy robes for downtime, fancy robes for formal settings, slightly-armored robes for combat that bear the Grey Warden insignia. there is a reason mages where robes and that reason is that they are comfortable as hell. her colors are green and blue

Evie Hawke: Evie likes to have fun with clothes. no real preference between pants and dresses, but she's definitely the type to wear sneakers with her formalwear or show up to the Hanged Man way overdressed for a card game. and she's a mage, so she doesn't differentiate much between "day clothes" and "fight clothes". her colors are red, black, and orange

Bran Trevelyan: despite the big hammer and androgynous name, Branwyn is the girliest of all of them. she wears heavy armor while fighting, though usually scalemail rather than full plate, for the sake of mobility, but outside of combat she loves a pretty dress or a velvet waistcoat. in game, she wears the Venture Capital variation. her colors are pink and white

Essentials: 8. Do they have any notable scars, markings, tattoos, etc.?

Cait is covered in scars, but the most significant are the one on her forehead (from the Landsmeet. Shield Bash sucks when you are on the receiving end), one below her left collarbone (darkspawn arrow, Ostagar), and a sort of Lichtenberg figure-like scar up her spine from the Archdemon (I headcanon that even though Morrigan's ritual kept the Wardens from dying, the Archdemon's death still left a physical mark on all the Wardens near it when it died)

Carah is a Spirit Healer, so she doesn't have many scars. the only one she really has is the same Archdemon one Cait has. but as far as "markings" go, what she lacks in scars she makes up for in freckles. just. so many

Evie has the same freckles as her cousin, as well as the same magical specialization, so she only has one major scar (well, two: an entrance wound and an exit wound. she got lightly stabbed by a certain Arishok. lightly). I feel like she has tattoos of some kind, but I've never really figured out what they are beyond the fact of their existence

Bran has a few scars on her face (one that crosses her right eye and another across the left side of her lips) that she got by taking a really stupid dare as a kid. she also has a nasty scar along her right hip and thigh from That One Fall when Corypheus attacks Haven. and, y'know, her left arm is amputated below the elbow post-Tresspasser. but considering that she's a career soldier, she has surprisingly few scars. she also has a tattoo that takes up most of her right bicep, it's a knotwork variation on the Trevelyan family crest, and has a series of green dots tattooed around her left eye that she got after she joined the Inquisition

Life: 3. How many languages do they speak? Do they have any sort of accent?

Cait speaks Ferelden, Common, and knows a tiny bit of Orlesian and Antivan, but that's really it. She has a pretty standard Ferelden accent, though it still gives away her noble background even though she hasn't been a noble for a decade now

Carah speaks Common, Ferelden, Orlesian, Ander, Antivan, Tevene, and a bit of Elvish. you've gotta find some way to occupy yourself in the Circle. she has what I call a "Circle accent" which is vaguely Ferelden in her case, but with bits of other accents picked up from other mages.

Evie speaks Common, Ferelden, Orlesian, and a little Tevene. Free Marches languages, essentially. she has a Ferelden accent, though it goes a bit Marcher after a decade in Kirkwall

Bran speaks Common, Ferelden, and Orlesian, and has a thick Marcher (Scottish) accent, like Sebastian's.

gonna put the rest under a cut because this got really long 😅

Life: 6. Which aspects of the culture they were born into holds the most significance for them?

Carah and Evie don't have much attachment to their birth cultures. Carah doesn't remember the Free Marches, and everything she knows about Ferelden she learned after she became a Warden. Evie has always lived expecting to either have to run away or get taken away when people find out she's a mage, so she never let herself get attached to Ferelden or its people much.

Cait and Bran are both very proud of where they're from. Cait shares her country's love of dogs and freedom and the stubborn prejudice against all things Orlesian, and she loves the rainy season even when it rains for two weeks nonstop. Bran shares the Marches love of independence, but specifically Ostwick seems to have a love of whimsy and drama that she shares.

Life: 10. Have they ever been seriously injured? What was the outcome?

I answered this for Cait here!

I don't think Carah's ever been seriously injured, actually. except for at Ostagar, of course.

The Arishok kicked Evie's ass. to this day, she still has no idea how she won that duel

Bran almost died escaping Corypheus's assault on Haven, and got pretty fucked up during both the mages' and templars' recruitment (yes, I headcanon that she recruited both. peace should have been an option, dammit. I think it would have been more interesting if both Samson and Calpernia were there as well)

Party: 7. How did their relationship progress? If they’re a canon romance option, is their story different from the way the game presents it?

Carah was smitten with Leliana from the moment she first saw her. there's no real drama or issues with them when it comes to romance, they just slowly fell in love while on a mission to save the world. wlw fairytale romance stuff, fluffy and sweet

I did all the DA2 romances with Evie, and I love all of them, but I think her canon romance is with Fenris. which was... rocky, to say the least. every time they tried to get together, something came in and tore them apart. but they never hid or shied away from how they felt, and they do eventually find their way to a happy ending

Bran and Blackwall are very flirtatious from the beginning. the most sexually charged, even more than Cait/Zev. she takes the whole Rainier reveal pretty calmly, all things considered, but Blackwall/Thom insists that they start over after the truth about him comes out. so Bran, lucky lady that she is, gets courted twice; once by Warden-Constable Gordan Blackwall and once by Thom Rainier

(I also ship Bran/Barris, but I haven't figured out many details about that other than THEY'D BE REALLY CUTE OKAY)

I put Cait last just because she has 3 "canon" romances and I can't pick which one I like best. her actual-in-game-canon-romance is Zevran, who she falls into bed with pretty much immediately. they fall in love much more slowly, and are even slower to admit it.

not-possible-in-game-romance #1 is Nathaniel Howe, who Cait was romantically involved with when they were teenagers until he went to the Free Marches. he comes home to find his home belongs to the Wardens, and the one in charge is his old girlfriend. childhood friends to lovers to enemies to friends to lovers

not-possible-in-game-romance #2 is Loghain Mac Tir, who Cait ends up befriending accidentally after she spares him at the Landsmeet. they have similar bleak practical outlooks on the world and get along surprisingly well, leading to a close friendship neither of them expected. it takes a long time to admit any romantic feelings, for lots of reasons (like the fact that they've tried to kill each other several times, and the huge age difference), but they get there eventually

Codex: 10. Are there any animals they have a particular love or hatred for?

answered here for Cait!

Carah loves cats. and nugs. she and Leliana probably have a ridiculous amount of both

Evie is also a cat lover (and of course loves her mabari, Rex). hates deepstalkers so so so much. their faces are creepy and they sneak around in the dark and just... gross. no thanks

Bran specifically hates Lord Woolsley. bloody demon goat bastard.

Codex: 11. Do they have any interest in folk tales or folk songs?

Carah does! not just because her girlfriend's a bard, but she's always enjoyed poetry and songs and the stories people tell to explain the unexplainable

Cait has always liked war stories, or stories of great heroes. except the ones people started writing about her. could do with less of those

Evie knows a bawdy tavern song or two but beyond that her favorite stories are always Varric's

Bran also likes Varric's stories, and Maryden's songs, but she's recently gained a particular appreciation for "less popular" stories about famous heroes. not the stories of the grand things they did, but stories of little things. the day to day lives of people before they became famous.

AND THEN, for a specific question for each of them:

Cait Cousland:

Origins: 17. What did they think of Anora? How did they feel about her betraying them?

Cait adores Anora. she's shrewd and intelligent and a good queen, who understands the balance she has to maintain between what the people want and what the country needs. the two of them become good friends

and Anora didn't betray Cait at the Landsmeet. Cait followed through on the promises she made Anora, and Anora returned the favor. funny how that works

Carah Amell:

Origins: 13. Did they help protect Redcliffe? What happened to Connor? How did they deal with Jowan?

look, you know I had to do the Jowan question 😁

Carah protected Redcliffe, and managed to keep everyone alive overnight. for Connor, she brought in mages from the Circle, and went into the Fade herself to get him un-possessed

for Jowan, I go a little off-canon. she convinces him to leave while she deals with the Connor situation (because she doesn't want the Circle getting their hands on him), and then they meet up again later and he travels with the party for a while. he's her oldest and best friend, and she's going to protect him dammit

Evie Hawke:

DA2: 5. What was their remaining sibling’s fate?

Carver became a Grey Warden, and he and Cait become besties (after a bit of an initial personality clash). he also, once he has time to grow up outside of his big sister's shadow, becomes a great leader in his own right, and mends his relationship with Evie

bonus, DA2: 12. How did they feel about becoming the Champion of Kirkwall?

Bran Trevelyan:

Inquisition: 4. Do they approach the Mages or the Templars for help? Did they conscript or ally themselves with their respective faction? How do they feel about their rival (Calpernia or Samson)?

as I said, I headcanon that she was able to ally with both factions and then literally sits down with Fiona, Barris, and her advisors (and maybe Cassandra and her sister Moira, who is a mage and part of her inner circle) and forces them to have an adult conversation and reach an actual compromise

but in-game, Bran sides with the templars. while I personally think the mages are the "right" side, I like the templar quest better, and I find Calpernia and Barris more compelling characters than Fiona and Samson. she choses to ally with them, not conscript them, and she understands Calpernia's motivations and sympathizes with her. they manage to part of peaceful terms, and I like to think maybe become penpals someday after Calpernia returns to Tevinter

and also Inquisition: 8. What did their Nightmare appear as in the Fade? What was on their gravestone?

The Nightmare: Branwyn... the leader of the Inquisition. Herald of Andraste. Do you think this will finally get your parents to notice you? They haven't even realized you're gone...

and her gravestone reads: Branwyn: Uselessness

#cait cousland #carah amell #evie hawke #bran trevelyan #carah 🤝 trinne: jowan defense squad #(irt bran's nightmare: she's the youngest of six children and felt overshadowed by her siblings most of her life #its a Thing with her)#EDITED BECAUSE I'M A DUMMY and forgot bran's face tattoo that I can literally see in every single screenshot of her oops

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chanticle · 1 year

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As mentioned in my pinned, even if it isn’t on their character pages, I probably have a vague sketch of ( insert verse ) for my muse, especially if it’s fantasy or science fiction. I thought it would be helpful to have all these vague sketches gathered up here, perhaps to be reblogged as needed. This post is specifically for ASOIAF / F&B / HOTD / GOT verses. Bear in mind I’m picking my way through F&B and haven’t read GOT since high school, so again, vague, but since I’m following / getting follows from these blogs I figured I’d make this post. Under the cut, since it gets a bit long.

Enjoy!

ANNIA: Hers is already outlined some on her page, but she’s the Dornish step-daughter of a lord from the Stormlands. Their holding is still called Ostwick, because I think that still works. She aspires to be a septa, and after some battle in either era destroys a sept that she was praying in, leaving her the only survivor, she begins to gain a following as a kind of religious leader among the smallfolk.

AVERIL: The daughter of a runaway noblewoman and a man rumored to practic magic, after her family’s home and farm is destroyed in whichever conflict, takes to mercenary work with her own little band, including her surviving sister. She’s got Northern energy.

BEAU: Honestly kind of at a loss here, she’s definitely a young septa who ends up leaving as the war(s) erode her trust in institutions? Likely found in a small village sept on the coast, her father is likely from somewhere in Essos. Not sure how to throw her into everything but she’d still make a nice spy if you’d like.

CAIT: Honestly the best analog for Cait would be for her to be sent to the Wall, but she’s not allowed there, so! A capable warrior, she fought for a place among soldiers - too lowborn to think of being a knight - and ended up maimed in some battle. When she returned home to her family she found their home destroyed and maybe . . . she’s looking for them? A mercenary, maybe.

CIAN: Easy peasy lemon-squeezy. A lowborn stable boy caught thieving to pay his mother’s debts, he pleads to take the Black and gets sent to the Wall rather than jail or whatever they’d do to him otherwise.

LADY ELEGANT: Don’t need to change much for her, honestly. A former prostitute and courtesan, she married a wealthy minor lord and is now one of the toasts of society - to an extent. She seems like she’d live in King’s Landing, though I’m not sure any royalty would deign to visit her parties ( even though they’re the best ).

HÉLOÏSE: This is where using Oona Chaplin in her role in GOT gets tricky, because . . . it’s a very similar situation. A bastard, raised by her uncle to be married off and instead blackmailed him into paying for her education to be a healer/surgeon/whatever the fuck they’re called in this universe. I know her name doesn’t exactly lend itself to GOT but I don’t want to think of another one.

JAYNE: In all verses, the Couslands are bannermen to the Starks. They just have Northern energy. Honestly there are so many ways Jayne can be implemented - in ASOIAF her parents were heroes in Robert’s Rebellion and again, Howe attacks as the war begins to break out, hoping to gain more land in the confusion. In HOTD I can see her being in KL as a companion to Alicent’s children, receiving a courtly education. There’s even room for a crossover verse where she’s an ambassador from Ferelden which is ( waves hand ) and there representing them in Westeros, idk. May turn to witchcraft after her family’s deaths, teehee.

TANJA: Works best in F&B/HOTD because there are . . . more dragons around, but she’s a draconologist along with her partner, they’re likely in the employ of the Targaryens or there at their leisure at the very least. Kind of like their own personal vet, in a sense? In ASOIAF/GOT she probably travels to where she hears Dany is just to get a glimpse of dragons. Also a pretty good artist.

WILLA: Similar to Cait and Averil, though her father teaches her how to wield magic for protection. When he dies and the conflicts trample her village, she seeks to protect her family by providing for them through mercenary work.

#ALTERNATE UNIVERSE.#ALL.

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yeoldes · 9 months

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all muses are open to interaction, but muse will fluctuate - some will get more attention than others, et cetera. an important note is that many of these will need plotting beforehand for threads. you're welcome to send a meme at any time to test the waters.

arthuriana : • the lady of the lake - rumored fae queen, advisor to arthur

dragon age : • beau - ex-chantry sister, inquisition spy • cait hawke - hero of ferelden • cian of redcliffe - hero of ferelden • elegant - socialite, potions seller • héloïse - surgeon • jayne cousland - lady of highever • julia valisti - assassin • livia herathinos - blood mage, mother, companion • willa hawke - champion of kirkwall, herald of andraste

dungeons and dragons : • edyth thorn - proprietor of thorn's horticulture, a shop • talen valir - warlock wizard

english folklore : • guy of gisborne - knight • marian fitzwalter - lady of arlingford • will scarlet - the best swordsman in the north

elder scrolls • elisif the fair - queen of skyrim

fire & blood : • jeyne arryn - the maiden of the vale • sara snow - an alleged stark bastard

#PINNED.

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allisondraste · 5 years

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👌 late to the party, but I suggest a Liss/Nate/Cait sandwich

My favorite sandwich, if we’re being honest here.

#nathaniel howe #couslands #dragon age #liss #cait #nait #friends ocs #my ocs #fanart #my art #this is so cute my heart is going to burst #haledamage

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hoochieblues · 3 years

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Tag Game: The Song Stuck in Their Head

tagged by @aria-i-adagio - ty! <3

Pick a song that fits your OC’s headspace, but think less about lyrics and more about sound. What gets at their general mood without words.

Corda Amell: You're Not God - Anna Calvi

Refis Brosca: Vortex - Nova Twins

Isobel Cousland: Soft Stud - Black Belt Eagle Scout

Robin Cousland: Pomegranate Bleeding - Idaho

Merien Tabris: Oracle of the Maritimes - Neko Case

Nikir Tabris: Favourite Thing - ShitKid

Cait Hawke: Death Wish - Noah Roth

Farah Hawke: Some Velvet Morning - Slowdive

Tobias Hawke: Hangover Halo - Gin Wigmore

Meda Adaar: Touch the Leather - Fat White Family

Beren Cadash: out of your mind - Adrianne Lenker

Pihla Lavellan: Red Vines - Aimee Mann

Jason Trevelyan: Get Out of my Head - Sofia Bolt

This is absurdly fun. Tagging (with love and no pressure) @cleverblackcat, @dismalzelenka, @oxygenforthewicked, @roguelioness, @dreadfutures, @emerald-amidst-gold and anyone else who wants to play!

#my head apparently needs a census #music #also #i've just realised how few of these ocs i talk about or have actually written fic for #oh no #i should fix that #dragon age

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jedimasteramell · 7 years

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Alternate Endings

By game canon, all thr origins happen, just the one you pick is the one where Duncan steps in to save you, otherwise the rest die.

As I am a huge fan of that not happening and love building extended worlds for my canon, Ive been thinking about what happens with the other potentials when Sheridan is the Warden.

Ellana Cousland is with her parents when the gates fall, the horrible wrenching sound that signals the end to everything she’s ever known. She can hear screaming, from whom she doesn’t know and the sounds of clashing swords and angry barks. The nearby battle stills and she draws the family sword, ready to run through any who enter the pantry. Instead of Howe’s soldiers, it is her Mabari, half leading, half dragging, a pale and bloodied Ser Gilmore. It takes all of Bryce and Eleanor’s pleas to convince the knight to help their daughter to safety, to find Fergus, and inform the King. Ellana has to be pried away from her parents to escape out the secret exit, and out into the shadows of Highever Castle burning. Together she and Rory are on the run for weeks, tracked relentlessly by Howe’s soldiers as they travel deeper and deeper into the Bannorn. It is by a chance encounter that while battling off darkspawn, that Sheridan and company found them and welcomed the two warriors and their pup into her party.

Chanda Aeducan takes a long hard look at the endless abyss of the Deep Roads and decides to survive. She well remembers the maps of the Deep Roads she’d poured over again and again, if she could trust the Stone she knows she can find an outpost of the Legion of the Dead. She wasn’t made Commander for nothing. Old axe in hand, and desperately wishing for her old armor and Gorim at her side, Chanda sets off through the dark caverns, letting the comforting hum of the Stone guide her feet. It’s surreal being alone in the grand darkness, nothing but the vaguely lit pockets of lava and indecipherable sounds of the earth for company. She’s passing through a centuries-lost outpost when she spots…

Lyrie Brosca had been in the Deep Roads exactly never. And why should she? Casteless arent even good enough to wander the ancient abandoned darkspawn-blighted halls of their forefathers, let alone leave Dust Town. But she’d opened her big stupid mouth again and instead of just accepting what would have been a quick death to satisfy Jarvia and the stone-sodding Deshyr’s, she’d proclaimed joining the Legion of the Dead. If Leske hadn’t slipped away before she’d been spotted he’d half laughed himself stupid. This is what you get when Casteless read. So there she was, in the pitch black with a dagger and a handful of dried deep mushroom, not sure how long it’d been down here, and hoping whatever came along would at least kill her before eating her. But instead of being a genlock, she came face to face with another dwarf who looked strangely like… Ancestors! What was Princess Aeducan doing down here?!? Together the pair opted to team up and they both eventually made it to the Legion and a propper meal. Both survived long enough to march with Kardol on the surface against the 5th Blight.

Kellas Mahariel is not from Clan Sabrae in this canon, at least not initially. Born of the clan, but traded during the last Arlathvhen to Zathrian’s Clan. There he’s a determined hunter and one of the first to discover the werewolves. It is during that period when he meets the Warden and her entourage, a cluster of humans he bares little trust for. He is, however, curious of the blond, accented elf that journeys with them. Intrigued by meeting one of his own people so wildly different than all those he knew. With Lanaya’s permission, he joins the Warden’s group with the intent to learn and observe, but rather finds himself falling for Zevran’s wily charms. He becomes more of an envoy to the Dalish clans after the Battle of Denerim, content to explore and to spend time with his new partner on the run from the Crows.

Nadia Tabris had long been a thief and a killer before she cut the heart out of Vaughn Kendall in retribution. For years she’d been sneaking out of the Alienage, terrorizing and wreaking havoc on the humans that hurt her people. She was an assassin, a mercenary, a vandal, or a theif as she pleased. Escaping from the Denerim prison after faking her own death, Nadia returned to the Alienage ready to destroy anyone who dared try anything against the elves of Denerim. It was during Loghain and Howe’s upheval that she was brought to the attention of both the Friends of Red Jenny and Master Ignacio and his Ferelden-based Crows. Taking jobs from both, but joining neither, Nadia was working outside the city whrn she got wind of the events at the Alienage. Though she hardly trusted the Warden, being a human as she was, Nadia approved of the harsh way she handled the Tevinter slavers, as well as the kindness by which Sheridan helped the other elves. Eventually, Nadia signed on properly with the Friends of Red Jenny, and though incorrectly, many believe her to have been the Dark Wolf.

#cait plays #dragon age origins #oc stuff #ellana cousland #nadia tabris #lyrie brosca #kellas mahariel #chanda aeducan

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molliehaswords · 4 years

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A, J, and U for the ask meme!

Oh boy! Thanks for asking! Let’s see....

A: Of the fanfic you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?

Uff da... I suppose right now it’s Don’t Write Checks You’re Not Prepared to Cash, because it’s the most recently published and I’m actually very proud of it. But I have WIPs brewing for Maeryn Cousland/Alistair, Zoe Shepard/Kaidan Alenko, DeaCready, and my Dual Survivors that I really like too, they’re just all really half-formed right now. I’m also proud of a completely non-romantic Fallout 4 fic that has stalled because I’m trying to shove too many things into it (you probably know which one, but for some reason I feel like keeping it a secret from the world until publication).

J: What’s your favorite fanfic trope? Have you written it?

Is forehead touching a trope? :P Because you know I’m a sucker for the close intimacy of being really close without kissing either because the pair needs to breathe or they’re being dramatic about whether they should kiss. I’m not sure I’ve actually written it though? At least not in anything I’ve published? I can’t remember... Mac & Deacon might do it in Mutfruit Trick and Sian Hawke and Isabela might do it in Isabela’s chapter of The Night Fenris Left, but I’m not confident that it happened...

U: Is there a pairing you would like to write, but haven’t tried yet?

Ooooooh... yes. Once I finish ME3, I want to put some actual effort into writing my Shepard and Kaidan Alenko, but I also want to explore Garrus/Tali. That ship seems NEAT.

However, the one I’m most excited/nervous to start writing is Cait/Glory for my Dual Survivors story. I’ve never really written femslash and I’ve never written something with so much built-in angst/sadness.

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brycecousland · 5 years

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🥚 ((do it, I totally have a "trainer card" I saved somewhere for Cait))

get a poke from Prof. Cousland

Litwick

Its flame is usually out, but it starts shining when it absorbs life force from people or Pokémon.

small and cute but can be rather horrifying when it starts shining. when around caitlin the flame would usually be off but start right up if anyone came close that might harm her or just strangers... cause yummy life source.

also, great evolutions, as the warden grows, so does this little friend.

#greyeyedgriffin

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haledamage · 1 year

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6-8 of essentials and the protagonist specific questions for cait!

Essentials:

6. Do they have a preferred weapon they always use?

daggers! my girl is made of knives. she's always carrying at least four more knives than you can see on her, and trying to disarm her can become absolutely comical

she learns how to fight with a sword and shield after being a Warden for a few years, and I like the idea of her eventually switching classes to warrior, but I don't think she'd ever stop being a knife lady.

7. How do they dress in their downtime, while fighting, in formal settings, etc.?

answered here!

8. Do they have any notable scars, markings, tattoos, etc.?

answered here!

Protagonist-Specific Questions for DA: Origins:

under the cut because it got a bit long 😅

1. What was your Warden’s origin like? What happened and how did it affect them?

she's a Cousland, so her origin was... bad. she was really close to all of her family, and Duncan had to literally drag her away from Highever to prevent her from dying with them

she dealt with her grief by being very angry at everything. I tend to compare her to a wildfire in Origins, burning herself out and trying to take everyone else with her. she was angry, and bitter, and had a bit of a death wish but somehow kept surviving everything thrown at her

2. How did they feel about being recruited into the Grey Wardens? What were Ostagar and the Korcari Wilds like for them?

bitter! Cait didn't have any illusions about her recruitment. Duncan didn't "save" her, he just offered her a different way to die

her memories of Ostagar are dark, but she has trouble differentiating if that's because of what happened there or the circumstances that brought her there. she wanted to wallow in her grief, or just blindly throw herself into a fight she couldn't win, but Duncan kept finding chores and errands she needed to do instead... (much, much later, she recognizes what he was trying to do, and appreciates it. he saved her life in more ways than one)

3. What did they think of King Cailan and Duncan? How did they react to their deaths?

she wasn't feeling especially charitable at the time, so she thought Cailan was an idiot and Duncan was a busybody who should've just left her alone

later, she understands Duncan better, why he made the choices he did and what he was trying to do for her, and she comes to appreciate and respect him (far too late)

but her opinion of Cailan remains... uncharitable. she thinks Cailan was naive, and overly cocky. he should've listened to Loghain, or Duncan, or both. he didn't see the big picture and was more concerned with his own personal glory and what was happening in the moment, and that got him and a lot of other people killed

4. How bad are their nightmares as a Warden? What do they think of the Calling?

she has nightmares almost every night, but they aren't all due to being a Warden. she just has a lot of Trauma. she's lucky, at least, that she doesn't often remember her dreams, she just frequently wakes up terrified in the middle of the night

Cait thinks the Calling is stupid and unnecessary. Wardens have known about the side effects of the Joining for centuries, they haven't figured out a way around it? why make recruits undergo the Joining at all, unless there's a Blight? why keep everything a secret?

between the Architect's experiments that freed some darkspawn from the Archdemon's call, and Avernus surviving centuries without losing his mind to the Calling, and with Corypheus creating a false Calling, Cait is determined to find a cure for the taint and save herself and the people she loves from ever having to take that walk

5. What did they think of Flemeth?

answered here!

6. What did they name their Mabari?

his name is Byron! I originally picked this name because I thought Caitie would want to give her dog a fancy name because he's nobility just as much as she is

but then I learned that there's actually a Byron Howe who fought alongside Maric and Loghain in the rebellion, so I decided that she just really likes war stories and named him after a hero (not realizing that she would grow up to be friends with Loghain and also with one of Byron's descendants)

7. Did they do much in Lothering, or pass right through? How did they feel about its destruction?

she did all the quests because I'm a completionist, but also because she wanted to help people as much as she could. she feels terrible that she wasn't able to do more, and that most if not all of those people died anyway. just another thing to feel guilty about

8. How does your Warden feel about Loghain painting the Wardens as traitors?

honestly, she would've done the same in his shoes. it's a smart play. she uses it to her advantage when she can, and tries to ignore it when she can't.

otherwise, she's not really bothered by it; she knows the truth of it, and she knows Loghain, paranoid as he is, is terrified of the day his lies come to light. she forges that into another weapon that she eventually turns against him

9. At the Circle, did they side with Cullen or save the mages?

saved the mages. killing a bunch of people because a couple of them might, someday, be demons? absolutely not

10. What was their nightmare in the Fade during Broken Circle?

answered here!

11. What do they think about Andraste’s ashes and the cult? Do they keep any of the ashes after healing Arl Eamon?

cults are crazy and do crazy things ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ she thought Haven was creepy, but the cult itself didn't bother her so much.

the ashes themselves, and the gauntlet to get to them, were another story. they gave her... not a crisis of faith, exactly, but something like it. she found the whole thing very moving, and inspiring

but she didn't keep any of the ashes after healing Eamon. it felt disrespectful to carry around a piece of a dead woman, no matter how important or powerful said dead woman was

12. How did they react to seeing a loved one at the Temple of Sacred Ashes?

that was the first time she cried about her family's murders. she broke down completely, and begged her father's ghost for forgiveness

13. Did they help protect Redcliffe? What happened to Connor? How did they deal with Jowan?

she didn't hesitate to help protect Redcliffe, and managed to get through it without losing anyone.

in her canons that have her as the only Warden, she brings in the mages to save Conner and I think convinced Morrigan to go into the Fade. and she tried to convince Jowan to leave and save himself, but he stayed to try and help

in her canon where Carah Amell is there too, Carah's the one that goes into the Fade, and Carah convinces Jowan to travel with them because they're besties

14. How did they resolve the conflict in the Brecilian Forest? Did they side with the werewolves, the elves, or did they reach a truce?

Cait talked the werewolves and elves into compromising, everyone lives happily ever after. except the Lady of the Forest and Zathrian, I guess

15. Who rules Orzammar, Bhelen or Harrowmont? How did your Warden make their decision?

answered here!

16. Did they support Caridin or Branka in the Deep Roads? What happened to the Anvil?

she supported Caridan, and destroyed the Anvil. the mistakes of the past don't need to be repeated

17. What did they think of Anora? How did they feel about her betraying them?

answered here!

18. If they were captured, did the Warden and Alistair escape on their own, or did someone help rescue them?

I've done it both ways, but I think in my canon versions I always have the others rescue them. because shenanigans

19. What was the outcome of the Landsmeet? Whose claim for the throne did they support and why?

Cait won the debate, and then she dueled and ultimately defeated Loghain. in 2 out of her 3 "canons", she convinces Anora and Alistair to get married, and recruits Loghain into the Wardens. in her 3rd canon, Anora rules alone and she recruits Loghain

20. How did they deal with Loghain?

answered here!

21. Did your Warden survive the events of the Fifth Blight? Did someone make the ultimate sacrifice, or was Morrigan’s ritual performed?

Cait convinced Loghain (somehow, she still has no idea how) to perform the ritual with Morrigan, so none of the Wardens died killing the Archdemon. except poor Riordan

22. If your Warden survived, did they continue to serve the Grey Wardens? What is their life like after the Blight?

she continued to serve the Grey Wardens until the events of Inquisition. in the canon where she and Carah are both recruited, Carah becomes Warden-Commander and Cait is her second in command and eventually promoted to Warden-Constable. in canons where she's the only one, she becomes Warden-Commander

in the time between Awakening and Inquisition, her life is pretty quiet actually. she trains new recruits, she helps Anora keep the nobility in line, she probably gets married (when varies wildly depending on which canon we're talking about), and she starts researched a cure for the taint and the Calling

23. If your Warden survived and remained a Warden, what boon did they ask of the new ruler of Ferelden?

she becomes Chancellor to the Queen (or King and Queen, depending), though I do sometimes wish I'd had her made Teyrna of Gwaren (even though she has zero interest in more titles thank you) because of the potential for shenanigans

24. What gifts would raise their approval rating if they were a companion?

I feel like her big plot-specific gift would be a dagger of some time. one with the Cousland crest on it, maybe? or a copy of The Ballad of Cathain, which is the story about the warrior woman she was named after

for more general gifts... knives, and more knives, and also any of the maps that are technically Loghain-gifts

25. How did your Warden resolve Warden’s Keep? Stone Prisoner? The Golems of Amgarrak?

answered here!

26. What happened at the end of Witch Hunt? Did your Warden allow Morrigan to go through the Eluvian?

she let Morrigan leave. she only undertook the hunt for her because she wanted to make sure her friend was okay. though she is disappointed she didn't get to meet Kieran (until much, much later, post-Inquisition)

27. Did the warden you used for Awakening kill the Architect or spare him? What happened to Amaranthine and Vigil’s Keep?

she ultimately ended up sparing him, though she still isn't sure if it was the right decision

Amaranthine and Vigil's Keep both survived the battle fairly unscathed. the Keep was reinforced and rebuilt to within an inch of its life, and she and her team went to Amaranthine to protect it

#cait cousland #(the ballad of cathain is a reference to the witchblade tv series from 2001. that's where I got her name from. it's also an actual song!)

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ranalaure · 7 years

Text

oc headcanon

When Caitriona Cousland was ten, she badly injured her right ankle (doing something stupid like jumping off a high place). Her ankle healed, but it has been sensitive ever since. Walking long distances is especially painful. Which made her travels during the Blight not so much fun. Thank the Maker for Wynne, who helped relieve the pain every night.

Cait acquired several scars during Howe's attack - specifically, in the initial fight, before she was able to equip her gear. The most prominent is a several-inch gash across her left forearm. Forgetting she had no shield, she raised her left arm instinctively to block an attack. It wa difficult to hold her shield for days afterward. To this day, the scar reminds Cait of her parents, of their strength and their sacrifice, and of what it took for her to escape from that nightmare. The sight of it strengthens her resolve, and helps her keep fighting.

#oc: caitriona cousland #dragon age #cousland #text post #oc headcanon

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scrptrx · 7 years

Text

OC Faceclaim Meme

I was tagged by @thatonecurlygurl! I have a ton of OCs, so below are pics which I thankfully had ready. I’ve separated them by fandom and universe.

and I’m tagging @solarpowered @fereldanwench @nebularogue @dawnofakatosh and anyone else who wants to do this :D

Hero Series (Skyrim) is posted here

Healer Series (Skyrim):

Dragon Age:

Esmé Cousland (Barbara Meier), Conall Hawke (Tyler Hoechlin)

Cait Hawke (Ronda Rousey), Elianora Trevelyan (Cate Blanchett)

Irshi Adaar (Jessie Williams), Amet Aeducan (Natalie Weaver)

Dila Hawke (Adri), Alekto Tabris (Vica Kerekes)

Mass Effect:

Sidney Shepard (Waris Dirie), Eloise Shepard (Tabrett Bethell)

#long post #original characters

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haledamage · 1 year

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5s for your Cousland?👀

Essentials: 5. What do they specialize in within their class?

in the DAI/DA2 style where you can only choose one specialization, Cait is definitely an assassin! in DAO where they let you choose a few, she was assassin/duelist/shadow. basically, she's just very good at stabbing people

Life: 5. What religion were they born into? Do they still follow it?

she was raised Andrastian, as I imagine most nobles were, but I'd put her firmly in the "agnostic" camp. She believes Andraste existed, there's historical proof of that (plus she, y'know, found her ashes), but she isn't sure she believes that she was really the Maker's prophet, or even that the Maker really exists. but she does believe that faith can be a powerful thing on its own, so she's willing to give the benefit of the doubt

Life: 10. Have they ever been seriously injured? What was the outcome?

Caitie gets seriously injured a lot, actually. she's a rogue that thinks she's a warrior, and tends to throw herself head first into fights. good thing she knows so many competent healers. but two in particular stand out:

she almost died in the Landsmeet duel from blood loss. Loghain nicked an artery just above her elbow while attempting to disarm her. She still carries the scar from it (and so does he, because she returned the favor)

she also almost died to the Archdemon, but not in the traditional Grey-Warden-who-kills-the-archdemon way, more in a thrown-off-a-building-by-an-ancient-blighted-dragon way. she wasn't even conscious when Loghain killed it (though everyone still gives her credit for it. which she hates)

Party: 5. Did they do companion quests? What were the outcomes of those?

she did all her companions' quests (because I'm a completionist), and to mostly positive outcomes iirc. she tried to choose the peaceful solution as often as possible (though she did kill Flemeth. and Taliesen, but you don't have a choice there)

Codex: 5. How do they feel about darkspawn?

she doesn't really feel anything about them. she doesn't hate them for following their nature, she doesn't feel sorry for them. she was a little skeeved out by the broodmother, but mostly because of the circumstances surrounding her creation. she doesn't really feel anything about killing them either, it's just part of the job; they try to kill her, she tries to kill them first, may the best man win.

Codex: 10. Are there any animals they have a particular love or hatred for?

she loves her mabari, Byron. he's the bestest boy and fiercest Grey Warden that ever lived, obviously. she really, really hates giant spiders, but that's mostly due to the Overwhelm ability

Origins: 5. What did they think of Flemeth?

she hates Flemeth for the abuse Morrigan suffered at her hand, and for trying to manipulate her into lying to her friend. If she knew Flemeth was still alive, she'd hunt her down and kill her again

Origins: 10. What was their nightmare in the Fade during Broken Circle?

Cait was back home in Highever. Her family was dead, but they didn't seem to know that. They were all walking corpses, talking to her like nothing had ever happened.

Origins: 15. Who rules Orzammar, Bhelen or Harrowmont? How did your Warden make their decision?

Bhelen. Cait appreciates the changes he wants to make, especially those to the caste system and the way casteless are treated, and she isn't bothered by his ruthlessness or ambition

Origins: 20. How did they deal with Loghain?

she spared him and recruited him into the Grey Wardens. Cait's a practical woman, and knew more Wardens was better than less, and she doesn't have any illusions about the kind of people that the Wardens recruit or about what it means to become one. it's a death sentence the same as any other, it just takes a little longer

in two of her three "canons", she and Loghain become very close friends. in the third one, they become lovers and she eventually marries him. so, y'know, not the worst decision she's ever made ;)

Origins: 25. How did your Warden resolve Warden’s Keep? Stone Prisoner? The Golems of Amgarrak?

oooh, it's been a while, let me see if I remember.

I know for Stone Prisoner, she recruited Shale and helped her regain her memories and they became friends. if Shale's in a good mood, she might even admit it

Warden's Keep, she killed Sophia Dryden and spared Avernus, let Avernus continue his research (but ethically), and I think she drank the blood potion thing. what's a little blood magic between friends?

I think I've only done Golems once because it was really fucking difficult, but I know I completed it and that I hate Harvesters so very, very much

#cait cousland #I did multiples of 5 instead of just 5s because why not :3

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