#i've always played templars sorry not sorry
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Sibling Rivalry - DA2
I'm probably not the only person to wonder the degree to which Bethany and Carver's approval score affects their disposition toward Hawke in the game. So I got it into my head to search the game files to see every instance in which the game checks their approval score and... it's not much!
A couple things.
There's always a small chance that there's some other line of dialogue in the game that's been coded in some fuckstupid nonstandard way that my search didn't catch, but this should be everything.
Unlike the game's full companions, which have major milestones at 50 and 100 approval points and can sometimes behave accordingly, Bethany and Carver are always at a flat check to determine if their approval is either above or below zero. There's no further benefit to changing their approval more than +-1 point from neutral.
Approval scores for Bethany and Carver really only ever come into play in Acts 2 and 3. There are basically no approval checks in Act 1, and none in the base game.
There's not a lot of approval-related dialogue in the base game, and it's all for warden siblings -- in the Act 2 climax and in the optional Act 3 sidequest Finding Nathaniel. Templar Carver and circle mage Bethany do not have any approval-specific dialogue in the base game... and the majority of approval-specific dialogue in the DLC still goes to their warden counterparts.
I'll be posting additional posts with the dialogue from MotA and Legacy in separate posts, to keep the length manageable, which will be found under the #sibling rivalry tag. Here's the base game dialogue:
Act 2 - Demands of the Qun (Warden Bethany)
Blue Hawke: [Are you all right?] Are you injured? Are there more of you?
[friendly]
Bethany: This is everyone. Thank you.
[rival]
Bethany: We're fine. Everyone's here.
---
Purple Hawke: [I live here.] Last time I checked, you'd moved on from Kirkwall.
[friendly]
Bethany: I'm a Warden now. We go where we're needed.
[rival]
Bethany: We're here on Grey Warden business.
---
Red Hawke: [You're welcome.] A "thank you" might be in order, don't you think?
[friendly]
Bethany: I must say, it's less painful than the last time you saved my life.
[rival]
Bethany: I knew you didn't go to so much trouble to save me, just to throw it away now.
---
Hawke: [You're leaving, Bethany?] But you just got here.
[friendly]
Bethany: You gave me this life… I'm just doing the best I can to live it.
[rival]
Bethany: I've been here for six days.
---
Hawke: [Bethany, Mother's gone.] Wait—I need to tell you about Mother.
[friendly]
Bethany: I know. When we got the news, the Wardens helped me hold a wake. I'm… glad you were with her. In her final moments.
[rival]
Bethany: I know what happened. I waited and waited for you to tell me yourself. Did you hold a funeral, or was there not enough left?
Act 2 - Demands of the Qun (Warden Carver)
Blue Hawke: [Are you all right?] Are you injured? Are there more of you?
[friendly]
Carver: I'm good, but we're not the help you need.
[rival]
Carver: I'm fine. We're fine. And no, this is all of us.
---
Purple Hawke: [I live here.] Last time I checked, you'd moved on from Kirkwall.
[friendly]
Carver: Things change. But… I can't stay.
[rival]
Carver: We're here on Grey Warden business.
---
Red Hawke: [You're welcome.] A "thank you" might be in order, don't you think?
[friendly]
Carver: Sorry. A bit distracted by all the friends you've made since I left.
[rival]
Carver: Pardon my manners. You save me so often I sometimes forget.
---
Hawke: [You're leaving, Carver?] But you just got here.
[friendly]
Carver: Another time, perhaps.
[rival]
Carver: I've been here for six days.
---
Hawke: [Carver, Mother's gone.] Wait—I need to tell you about Mother.
[any]
Carver: I already know what happened. I'm sure you did your best.
Act 3 - Finding Nathaniel (Warden Bethany)
Hawke: Bethany? Is that really you?
[friendly]
Bethany: Why would you come back here if you didn't have to?
[rival]
Bethany: Are you here to "save" me again?
---
Blue Hawke: [Are you all right?] You don't look well, Bethany. Are you injured?
Bethany: Injured? I have the darkspawn taint forever in my veins, barely held in check by the Wardens' rituals.
[friendly]
Bethany : I'm sorry. You did the best you could.
Hawke: I wish there'd been a better way.
[rival]
Bethany: I will never be well again.
Hawke: Where there's life, there's hope.
---
Purple Hawke: [Cheer up, Sis.] A little smile for me, Sister? It's been years. I've missed you.
[friendly]
Bethany: If I let myself miss you… and Carver… and Mother… I couldn't go on.
Bethany: It's better not to feel.
Hawke: I, ah, won't try to cheer you up, then.
[rival]
Bethany: I have kept track of your doings. I'm glad you've done well for yourself, though perhaps too late for Mother.
Bethany: But I am a Warden now. We have no families.
Hawke: They say it's always darkest before the dawn.
---
Red Hawke: [Pull yourself together.] You're not dead yet. Shake it off! There's work to be done.
[friendly]
Bethany: You never change, do you?
Hawke: Enough, Bethany. We need your help here or we'll all die.
[rival]
Bethany: You sound just like Ser Fenley—before the Children devoured him.
Hawke: Enough, Bethany. We need your help here or we'll all die.
Act 3 - Finding Nathaniel (Warden Carver)
Hawke: Carver?
[friendly]
Carver: Well, just like old times.
Carver: Still coming to the rescue after all these years? I have it under control, but thanks.
[rival]
Carver: What are you doing here?
Carver: Just like always, no cause is too small for you to stick your nose in. I have this under control.
---
[friendly]
Blue Hawke: [I'm glad you're doing well.] It's good to see you. I hope the years have been kind.
Carver: I can't say that. The Blight is long over, but the threat never really goes away.
Carver: I don't know if you can understand that. Maybe someday.
[rival]
Blue Hawke: [I'm glad you're doing well.] It's been years, Carver. We can't be civil?
Carver: I almost died in your shadow. I don't appreciate you showing up to take my thunder.
Hawke: If my shadow made it down here, you brought it.
---
[friendly]
Purple Hawke: [Why are you down here?] Don't you have Archdemons to hunt or something?
Carver: There's a considerable gap between Blights, you know. Apparently, just long enough for people to forget.
Carver: We Wardens don't have that luxury, though.
[rival]
Purple Hawke: [A little thanks, maybe?] You know, the average person saves a life, they might expect some gratitude.
Carver: I've seen too much of the world to be impressed by this.
Carver: It's just kind of sad.
Hawke: What is?
Carver: That your world has stayed so small.
---
[friendly]
Red Hawke: [Still hold a grudge?] So, do you still blame all of this on me?
Carver: Do you still expect me to? I'd like to think we've both changed.
Carver: I guess we'll have to wait and see, won't we?
[rival]
Red Hawke: [Still angry, Carver?] Nothing's changed between us after all these years?
Carver: I've seen a lot, Brother. Our little squabble, it doesn't matter.
Hawke: Your tone says otherwise, Warden.
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Oooh, 5, 8, 7, and 24 for the love your fandom asks! c:
thank you for the ask friend <3
spread some positivity with a "love your fandom" ask!
5. something you see in fics a lot and love
Multiple PCs!! I love when people write "all origins" fics, or double Hawke AUs, or have all the possible Inquisitors show up during DAI. Or when people bring potential PCs from previous games (that weren't actually the HoF or Hawke) and have them show up in later instances! I was just rereading a fic earlier where Cadash is a lyrium smuggler, Trevelyan is a Templar with the Inquisition, etc, an dI love that sort of thing.
7. your favorite tropes to read/write/draw
Oh man oh man oh man, I always struggle to identify "tropes" that I like to write 😂 I suppose canon divergence, is that a trope? I also like enemies/idiots to lovers and Not Actually Unrequited Love
8. you hope more people will come to appreciate ___ (a ship, a trope, an episode, etc)
Platonic ships!! Genfic my beloved 😭💖😭 romance is all well and good, but friendships and non-romantic relationships (my Sibling Bias™️, augh) are just so so so precious to me. Especially in games like DA where the world is constantly ending, what else do you have during the apocalypse besides the people around you? 🥺
24. how has fandom positively impacted your life?
In entirely immeasurable ways😭💖💖 Most of the people I count among my closest friends, I've met via the DA fandom in the past two years. They've supported me and hyped me and helped me face insecurities and self-directed negativity that I never thought I would get through. With them I've found acceptance and community and love that makes me want to crush the distance between us.
Speaking of community, that's the other positive impact I've found in fandom! The DA community is alive and well and full of bright and brilliant people. I love the mutual hype, the crazy fan theories, the feeding frenzy that starts every time we get even a scrap of DA4 news. And writing exchanges! What a fun thing to participate in.
At the time that I picked up DAI, we were mid-pandemic and I had just moved back home from college and socializing was either nonexistent for safety or hard to find. I'm a true introvert and often at peace with just my own company, but even for me it was a lonely and isolating time. The Tumblr and especially Discord communities I've found here have connected me to Other People more than I've felt since living in college dorms years ago.
A lot of that is due to a friend I made by commenting on her fic on ao3 - without her as my guide, I probably would have been too scared to step into the communities that I love so dearly now, or even into the roles I play within those communities. I might not even be posting writing, which is insane! And our first conversation was about, like, the proper way to use hyphens when writing dialogue lol.
Anyway the POINT of that is: find your guide! Comment on fics, reblog things with nice tags, reply to posts when you smile and think "wow that's cool" and say that! Accept the awkward first messages of friendship and you'll find a bridge to wonderful places within fandom. Community is what you make of it - if you never talk to anyone, they won't talk to you. But if you reach out and talk to people, in one form or another, there are so many positive, uplifting communities out there to join and enjoy <3
(sorry to proselytize, I just 😭😭 I love it here)
#SORRY that last one got long but I started thinking about it and god this fandom has meant so much to me I can't even really articulate#how different my life would be if I hadn't joined dadwc#if blue hadn't scooped me up out of her comments and folded me into good spaces#I would be in a much worse place mentally and I can't measure how much that is worth to me#ask game#dragon age#fandom positivity#long post
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Prompt: Spin the Bottle for any characters :D :D :D
I really had to dig through my prompts to find this one! Sorry it's taken so long to answer. I had a lot of fun working on this so thank you for sending it!
2372 words. Anders/Male Hawke is the main pairing but everyone is kissing everyone here, or almost everyone. There's a brief description of an accidental injury involving broken glass but it doesn't go into any real detail.
for @dadrunkwriting
"Do you not think this is a little juvenile?" said Anders as he stared at the bottle on the carpet in the centre of Hawke's living room. He couldn't quite keep himself from casting a nervous look at Hawke, then glancing away just as quickly. He doubted he was fooling anyone about what had really been on his mind since Isabela had suggested the game, but he figured he could at least try to be less obvious about it.
"What sort of question is that?" Isabela scoffed. "Juvenile... I'm sorry. I'd forgotten you were allergic to fun."
"I'm not allergic to fun." Anders bristled and tried not to look at Hawke again. "I just... You know, apprentices play this game in the Circle—at least until a templar comes along and sends them all back into their own bunks. My point is, it's for kids."
"Well, not everyone can say the same. Merrill never played it." Anders supposed that must be the reason they were all being subjected to it now. Isabela never missed an opportunity to indulge any of Merrill's whims.
"I've never played it, either," said Hawke, giving Anders a real excuse to look at him at last. His expression was eager and when he caught Anders' eye, he wiggled his eyebrows in a suggestive way that Anders was intent on ignoring. Maker help him... this was the last thing he needed.
Not that he could entirely help that little stirring of hope inside him at the possibility that they might get matched. After all, it was just a game; a chance to have the very thing he'd been thinking about for years without it having to mean anything. The problem was how little he'd be able to keep himself from wanting it to mean something. But given how he lived with that feeling constantly, it hardly seemed to matter.
"Really?" Merrill was asking. "But you always seem like the kind of person who's tried everything."
"Hardly," Hawke laughed. "Living as an apostate doesn't give much opportunity for making large groups of friends. Most of my company growing up came from the twins and I wasn't exactly trying this sort of thing with them."
"Hmm I suppose that makes sense. Then I'm glad we're friends now, so we can both try these sorts of games." Merrill looked so cheerful at the thought, it was quite a contrast to how Anders was feeling, or how Fenris and Aveline both looked. He was surprised either of them had gone along with it. Surely he couldn't be the only person who objected.
Not that he particularly wanted to keep objecting now that he knew Hawke wanted to try it too. And since no one else was bothering to speak up, he supposed they really were doing this.
"Could you explain the rules again?" said Merrill.
"It's simple, Kitten," Isabela obliged. "You spin the bottle while everyone sits in a circle around it, and whoever it points to, you have to kiss. If anyone refuses, they have to do a forfeit, like telling us a secret, or downing their drink or something like that."
Merrill's expression was bright and eager. "You're right, that does sound simple."
"Then who wants to go first? Shall I?" Isabela's eyes gleamed and Anders couldn't keep from rolling his. Of course Isabela would love this game.
She leaned in, reaching for the empty wine bottle and with a flick of her wrist, set it spinning on its side.
Round and round it went for several seconds and the group braced themselves as it began to slow. When finally it came to a stop, all eyes trailed from the mouth of the bottle and along the carpeted floor to find it directly pointing at Aveline.
Aveline sighed. "Remind me why I agreed to this again."
Isabela just grinned. "Pucker up, Big Girl!"
Aveline just sat there, looking resigned to her fate as Isabela crossed the small circle on her hands and knees and kissed her square on the mouth. To be fair, it was far more restrained than Anders had expected from Isabela. Perhaps she just knew how likely she was to end up with a smack if she took it any further than a brief but firm kiss on the lips.
"And that's how it's done," Isabela said to Merrill.
Merrill seemed fascinated. "Should I go next then?"
She took her turn spinning the bottle and Anders couldn't quite believe it when it landed on Isabela. Merrill looked delighted. "I suppose I'll have to kiss you now."
There was no need for either of them to move since they were sitting next to one another. Merrill leaned in and pressed her lips against Isabela's, soft at first, and then they seemed to get a bit carried away. Anders glanced around the circle to see what the others made of this. Hawke was grinning, and brought his fingers to his lips to let out a wolf whistle. Aveline, if anything, looked relieved, like she was amazed she got away with the brief kiss Isabela had given her. Fenris appeared slightly apprehensive, though it was difficult to make out from his usual displeased expression. Varric simply looked entertained by it all.
It was Hawke's turn next. Anders tried to ignore that half hopeful, half apprehensive feeling as he watched it spin, before it disappeared into a rather more difficult to ignore disappointment as it landed on Varric. Hawke, at least, seemed pleased with this result. "Finally some action!" he cheered, already reaching for Varric. "Come here you!"
"Not on the lips, Hawke!" Varric protested weakly, as Hawke wrapped a bulky pair of arms around him and didn't seem to care much where his lips landed. "Mmmwah!"
Next it was Anders' turn. There was no point in pretending he didn't hope it would land on Hawke. Even if he did want it a bit more than was probably appropriate for a lighthearted game like this. He reached out and spun and his heart sank as it landed pointing directly at Fenris.
"No," said Fenris bluntly, at the same time that Anders let out, "You've got to be kidding me!"
"Oh, come on!" said Isabela. "This is exactly what we've all been waiting for."
"Then you will have to learn to live with the disappointment," said Fenris drily and, honestly, Anders had to appreciate him being firm enough that he barely had to bother protesting himself.
"Does that mean they have to do a forfeit?" asked Merrill.
"A truth from each of you, then," Isabela instructed.
"Pass," said Fenris. Anders wondered why he'd even agreed to play if he was going to be like that. Not that he particularly relished the idea of having a truth forced out of him either. It would be the last thing he wanted to admit, no doubt.
"I don't suppose I can convince you to take off your shirt? Oh, alright then—drink!"
Fenris tipped his head back and finished the contents of his glass. Isabela looked disappointed, at least until she turned to Anders and smirked as she held up her own bottle of rum. Between that and sitting here in his smallclothes, Anders decided he'd prefer the rum. Justice might not like it but one night was hardly going to hurt him. He took a decent gulp before handing the bottle back to Isabela.
Next up was Varric, who received a rather more chaste kiss on the cheek from Merrill than the one she'd given to Isabela, then he got another from Fenris, who rolled his eyes before applying the briefest touch of his lips to the top of his head.
The next forfeit came when Aveline's spin landed on Hawke. He seemed rather put out when she refused him, saying she’d prefer not to be tackled to the floor and smothered by him. “I’ll be a perfect gentleman,” Hawke insisted but Aveline decided she’d rather have the rest of her pint. Anders watched, unable to help but feel a little impressed as she gulped the whole thing down.
“Think I needed that if I’m going to put up with you lot for the rest of the night.”
Isabela winked at her. “You know you love us, really.” Anders wondered if she was pleased that she’d got a kiss while Hawke hadn’t.
Anders received his first kiss of the night with Isabela’s next spin. He couldn’t help the way his face heated up at the first brush of lips against his own he’d felt in years. He’d missed it more than he really wanted to admit and for all his earlier complaints, he didn’t protest when Isabela pushed the kiss quite a bit further than the relatively chaste one she’d shared with Aveline. He chanced a glance at Hawke after, who looked away quickly when their eyes met.
Round they went again, and every time Anders or Hawke took a turn, Anders couldn’t help but hope the bottle would land on one of them. He didn’t bother to deny it to himself anymore. If everyone was going to be kissing everyone else, then Anders might as well get what he really wanted out of it. But every time the bottle pointed somewhere other than where he wanted it to. There was the occasional forfeit, the occasional quick chaste kiss (Anders was surprised to notice that Fenris didn’t refuse when Aveline leaned in to give him an awkward peck on the cheek) and a few that were even bordering on passionate.
Merrill and Hawke kissed, with more enthusiasm than Anders thought was strictly necessary. As they pulled away, Merrill looked flushed and far too pleased with herself and Anders had to resist the urge to shoot a small bolt of lighting in her direction. It was only a game, he reminded himself. And, besides, he knew he wouldn’t get away with it.
But still, every time it was Anders’ turn to spin, the bloody thing refused to land on Hawke.
It was Hawke’s turn next and he’d decided that if he had no luck this time, he was giving up.
Hawke reached down, a look of concentration on his face, as though that would help anything, and he set the bottle spinning. A second later, something odd happened, the bottle started spinning faster, and then it jerked strangely out of control. Then the whole thing shattered, sending a shard of glass soaring right between himself and Varric.
“What the—?” he exclaimed
“Shit,” said Hawke.
“Ouch!” said Merrill, who had apparently been hit.
The others leapt back from the circle with various cries of surprise.
A moment later, Anders was on his feet, crossing the short distance toward Merrill, to see to her injury.
“That doesn’t normally happen, does it?” she asked.
“Not usually, no,” Isabela replied, giving Anders a suspicious look. Anders frowned back at her. She didn’t think that was him, did she?
But it wasn’t like he had time to argue if she wanted him to help Merrill. He rolled up the sleeve of her green tunic to find the shard of glass still buried in her arm.
“I need something to get this out of her before I can heal the wound.”
He looked over at Hawke, hoping he wouldn’t have to make the trip down to his clinic.
“Fenris!” Isabela exclaimed and Anders looked at her in puzzlement. “He can do his magical fisting thing. You know, like that story I mentioned with my old crewmate…”
Anders didn’t have a clue what she meant, but he looked over at Fenris anyway, who sighed and reluctantly made his way over.
“Hold out your arm,” he said to Merrill and she did as instructed. Then she grimaced as Fenris’s hand briefly turned incorporeal and the tips of his fingers sank beneath her skin. Anders watched in amazement as he plucked the shard of glass clean from her arm.
“Wow,” Anders couldn’t help but comment. “That’s pretty useful, actually.”
Fenris smirked slightly and went to drop the glass in the pile Hawke was carefully gathering from around the room, with a distinctly guilty look on his face. Aveline was helping him, so Anders left them to it and looked to see if anyone else was injured.
When the chaos had subsided, they were all in agreement not to try another round of the game and settled down with a fresh round of drinks instead. Anders pulled Hawke aside, as he was the only one he hadn’t yet got around to checking over for injuries. He found one, a small cut on his cheek, mostly hidden by his beard. Anders reached up and couldn’t quite help letting his hand linger as he called up the creation magic he needed to heal the wound.
“So,” he began conversationally, “who were you trying to get it to land on?”
“What?” asked Hawke. But Anders was too close not to see the way his cheeks flushed red as he realised Anders was on to him.
“Force magic to help the bottle to stop where you want it to? I’ve seen it plenty of times before. It takes a little more finesse than you might expect.”
Hawke’s blush deepened. “Ah,” he let out an awkward chuckle, “you caught me.”
“I knew it.” Anders smirked. “So who was it?”
“Pretty sure you know already.” Hawke looked him straight in the eyes and there was a particular glimmer in his that Anders had always liked.
It seemed silly then that he’d spent the whole night waiting for a spinning bottle of all things to tell him to kiss this man. If he wanted it that badly then he didn’t need to leave it up to chance. Not when Hawke was standing right here in front of him, still wearing that slightly sheepish grin after being caught trying to get the bottle to land on Anders.
It might not have gone quite to plan, but who was Anders to deny him what he wanted, when he wanted it so very much himself?
Anders’ own grin widened, before letting the hand still lingering on Hawke’s cheek slip around to the base of his skull and pulling him forward into the kiss he’d been after all night.
#anders x hawke#m!handers#handers#anders#male hawke#da drunk writing circle#dadwc#dragon age 2#dragon age fanfic
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so i finished act 2 and started act 3 this afternoon
i'm pretty sure this is the only playthrough of da2 in which i did not have a high enough relationship with my bb isabela to get her to return with the tome which feels a little wrong, ngl. but i have been playing rhiannon a lot more on the lawful good side (vs the more chaotic good during her initial conception when she and isabela were friends with benefits) and I've mostly been using varric and sebastian as my rogues so i guess that's how the cookie crumbles
i even had rhiannon offer to find isabela and turn her over to the arishok which AHHHHHHH that obviously isn't a path if isabela doesn't return, but just the thought of it hurts me
i have been having a lot of fun playing rhiannon as a sort of a "I'm not like other apostates" apostate, which was somewhat there with her first iteration, too, but not to this extent. tries extra hard to be a model citizen, overly eager to help templars to curry their favor, is kind of a fucking asshole and did send a few mages back to the circle (she eventually let feynriel go to tevinter, but he had to go to the circle the first time around, sorry bud).
it's been an interesting blend of cognitive dissonance and a certain degree of delusion that she'll never wind up in the gallows because she's such A Good Mage (although that does start to crack come act 3)
anyway, i think her friendship with merrill is gonna tank in this act as well--initially she empathized with merrill having to leave her home to go live in the shithole that is lowtown (i mean obvs their situations aren't identical but there's a connection there), but rhiannon was never cool with blood magic and is extra uncool with it after what happened to leandra so... 😬😬😬
but the fenris romance! omg it has been such a treat. it is a friend-mance, and fenris showing his tender side just makes me djfhgjdkgdfgfd the little cheek stroke he gives hawke if you choose the "I'm always here for you" option after danarius is so fuckgn cute and his soft "i am yours" when you click on him in your party IT'S TOO MUCH
it's been fun having a canon ship, too, because it's been a while since I've been this fond of a character i can properly woo, lmao. i love the freedom of a non-canon ship, but sometimes it is nice to just have the romance already done for you
i think i'm gonna start the legacy DLC tomorrow (i did MOTA during act 2) and I guess I'll have this wrapped up probably by next weekend. it's also been really nice to play a smaller-scale RPG and get through the whole thing in just 20-30 hours versus close to 100 lmao
and it's been so nice enjoying a dragon age game this deeply, because it's been a while. I've tried replaying DAO and DAI in the past few years, but could never finish either, and I've just felt so cynical about the series' future (and I still am tbh) but goddamn DA2 just hits so many chords for me.
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Sorry you don't mind me asking a few 5, 9, 11, 18, and 23 from the video game ask.
Thank you.
I don't mind at all! 💖
Game(s) coming out that you’re looking forward to
You know at one point in time I would have said Final Fantasy XVI, but everything I've heard for months about it has been a never-ending trash fire so now I'm mostly looking forward to it to see how bad it is.
I'm kind of interested in the new Prince of Persia game that they just announced, though? That could be interesting -- it's the first Prince of Persia they've put out in more than a decade at this point, since the Sands of Time Remake has been mired in development hell, and while I'm forever bitter they didn't continue the story from 2008, this one looks very stylish and could be worth looking into.
Also: Hades II.
A game you played completely blind with no prior knowledge of and enjoyed/loved
For recent games, I might actually have to go with God of War 2018 and God of War: Ragnarok again for this one, because it's very hard to go into games blind anymore. It used to be the norm, but spoilers are everywhere at this point: I knew the time travel twist of Awakening years before I played it, and the same is true of Breath of the Wild since I was so late to the party there. But God of War isn't a franchise I followed, so I knew nothing about the 2018 installment before I picked it up, and was blown away by what they did with it -- then I started Ragnarok on Release Day and blazed through it as fast as I could. I had no idea what was coming, and it was a glorious experience.
For older games, though...I'm going to say Assassin's Creed III, in part because of the tutorial chapters and how that reveal five hours in that you've been playing as a Templar sets up the core ethos of the game so well: that the Assassins and the Templars aren't as different as they claim to be. No heroes, only flawed and complicated human beings doing what they feel is right to try and make a better world, and how they don't always succeed despite their best intentions.
Do you prefer ‘blank slate’ main characters you make yourself or otherwise project onto, or characters with a set personality and backstory?
I think it really depends on the game. Some stories really benefit from having a character with a set personality and backstory because it informs how they interact within the setting: Kratos with his history in Greece and his war against the pantheon is ideally suited for the story of God of War 2018, because those experiences guide how he interacts with his son -- and growing out of that mold, learning to be more open with Atreus and be better than the man he used to be is part of the game's emotional core. That wouldn't work with a blank slate character, because they won't necessarily have that baggage to work through that makes the story so impactful.
By contrast, there are games where a blank slate protagonist is a great choice. Games with dialogue options are a great place to explore this because they let the player project themselves or their vision of the character into the world better than set scenes would otherwise allow. My understanding is that Dragon Age does this well, but I haven't played that one, so I have to fall back on Elder Scrolls and my boy The Worst Dragonborn who keeps forgetting about the main questline because he'd rather read every book in the Whiterun Library and get suckered into helping every little old lady that needs to cross the street rather than. Y'know. Figure out what the deal is with the dragons. Very fun having so many options for what to do and who to join, lots of great character-building potential.
A game location you really like
There are so many places in games that I really love. Honestly one of my oldest favorites is probably the first Assassin's Creed, specifically Jerusalem: the golden glow of that city, especially compared to the cold and dreary grey of Acre, was just glorious, and I loved the view of the Dome of the Rock.
Honorable mention to basically all of Wind Waker, though. I love the sailing in that game, the water has so much character in that game (the stormy seas, the way you'll rise and fall with the waves, the texture changes between little white wave caps and still dappled waters). I've never had as much fun sailing in another game, and I was hooked on the Assassin's Creed: Black Flag sea shanties -- sailing in that game was just a chore that the shanties made more bearable.
A “Wow” moment of awe
All of Journey? So much of journey. That sand slide passage, silhouetted against the setting sun against a sea of shining gold...and the ascendance at the end, too, from the top of the mountain up above the clouds (something that's even more glorious with a companion).
Also: end of Okami, with Issun spreading his paintings and restoring mankind's belief in the gods to give Ammy the power to defeat Yami. I have my issues with the ending of Okami and the sudden tonal shift from Japanese folklore to high-tech aliens, but that particular scene hits perfectly even now. I inevitably tear up at that part.
🎮 Video Game Asks 🎮
#answered#alerawolf#video game asks#cut for length because it got so long#i have a lot to say about video games#i've played a lot and there's even more i own and need to start
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Your comment about how there were many people who would want/benefit from Justinia's death reminded me of my Warden (well, my 'main' Warden) who absolutely hates her. Not for any big political reasons, but personal ones. He can't forgive her for what she did to Leliana, essentially pulling her back into a life she'd desperately pulled herself out of. I guess it's supposed to be okay because Justinia was sorry about it and Leliana wasn't mad, but I always felt my Warden, who loved Leliana like family, would never be okay with it. The fact that he's a Dalish elf definitely adds to his resentment, of course.
I don't know, maybe I don't have enough context since I've only played the games, but I really feel like all of Leliana's character development post Leliana's Song is just erased.
What really annoys me is that her character arc is... basically the same fucking arc she had in Origins. You can either soften her or harden her, with her starting hardened for... reasons. Presumably related to what Justinia used her for. It's just really lazy writing. And yeah, Leliana finally got out of the spymaster/bard thing that was clearly bad for her and started spending more time with people who love her for her and not what she can be used for... and Justinia drags her right back rather than finding someone who's still part of the Game. "Oh, Justinia was sorry about it-" if she was sorry she wouldn't have fucking done it.
But honestly for all they go on and on about how wonderful Justinia was all I remember is her presence in DA2 and The Last Court. I mean, in DA2 she's planning a fucking Exalted March because the mages are getting upset about being tortured, raped and murdered on the daily! In The Last Court she decides to throw the weight of feeding and housing all the people she's bringing to the Conclave on a tiny marquisate so far west that it's barely in Orlais (and also is so far out of her way it's not even funny) and that has been largely cut off from wider society (so probably limited trade routes and resources) for the last three generations so that they can "prove" that they're not bad people... which they supposedly are because their great-grandfather was an apostate. Like, Justinia is mostly a negative force in the lives of the characters we actually interact with and play as! She dragged Leliana back into a life she desperately wants to escape, she's an active threat to the entire DA2 cast because she's starting to plan a war against the city because the mages (which would likely include the two/three mages in that cast) don't like being tortured, she forced the Marquis of Serault to support her entire retinue on land that's constantly one bad day away from collapsing around them, and oh yeah, she's the head of the religion that makes half the cast of each game's lives hell. Hell, the thing that causes her death is her trying to push the mages and Templars into some sort of compromise when no such compromise could be morally supported; I mean, what does compromise look like when one side wants nothing less than the total subjugation of the other for being born? Basically for all that DAI tries to tell us that Justinia was super nice and progressive and wanted to do the right thing what we're shown across the previous games is that she at best wasn't willing to actually take risks in defence of the people oppressed by the Chantry and at worst was just a really good liar who pretended to be progressive to win people over without having to do anything. DAI continues to fail at this entire conflict.
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If I ever restart DA inquisition again I think it would be really funny to play a human who Is In Fact Christian- sorry andrastean whatever- and fully believes they ARE the herald. Cuz I always play non human warriors who are like "leave me alone I don't even go here I'll do the leadership thing-" to some extent, depending on character- "but shut up about Jesus" like. Hell what about a rogue, which is one thing I've never played,
"Local Pickpocket Embraces Messianism, Now Believes It's God's Will To Destroy The Police" (I'm not doing templars line you can't make me). Hell choose a really scandalous romance like.
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You just had to make me hooked on a new rare pair...
Your series is incredible and now I'm planning an AU where Finn and Ariane are the ones recruited by Duncan, among one or two others.
What other characters do you think are underrated? I'm going for the Wardens being a ragtag group of outcasts and semi-sane people.
Sorry... You kinda got me back into Dragon Age after six years.
Ahhhh, I'm so happy that I've been successful in spreading my Ariane/Finn rarepair agenda! 😊 Your AU idea sounds really cool, I'd love to read it someday. <3
More underrated DAO characters, now that's an interesting question. I don’t think there are any I’m as invested in as Ariane and Finn. And most of these won’t fit your criteria I fear, but for simplicity's sake I'll just list anyone that comes to mind right now:
I always thought Aneirin, Wynne's former apprentice, is really interesting as a character. A hell of a life that he's had, from the Alienage to the Circle to the Dalish and never quite fitting in anywhere, as fond as he is of his rescuers.
There's hardly any characterization there, but I really liked the Ash Warriors as a whole and it's sad they never popped up again in DA.
I'm really fond of Slim Couldry, he's half elven, he's a good-hearted fence trying to get back at the corrupt nobility, a whole character, but a majority of Wardens won't ever see him in their games :/
In a tragic way, I find Keili very interesting. She's an apprentice at the Circle who has been so thoroughly religiously brainwashed that she's filled with self-loathing and fervently prays to be rid of her "curse", even going as far as saying that the templars should kill them all for being mages. As unrealistic as it is considering what we know about the Circle, I like to imagine a journey of healing and unlearning that toxic mindset is possible. :(
Lily. I was more or less indifferent to her during the mage origin, but her World of Thedas excerpt really made me feel for her and wish that her story continued.
Piggybacking off of that, Jowan himself, of course. Though I guess he’s popular enough and as such not underrated.
Shianni by virtue of me loving her so much that any adoration she receives is still underrating her.
Also, Soris. I think his relationship with the Tabris warden is compelling and I found it interesting that he ends up with a human wife in one of the epilogues (how did that come about?)
I feel like Gorim could have been more than the guy who yells ‘dwarven crafts’ on repeat, considering everything that went down in the Aeducan origin
It’s been a million years since I played the DLC, but I remember liking Sketch a lot (and Tug, RIP)
Velanna is massively underrated imo, but she has her role in Awakening, so...
Yeah, I’m definitely forgetting people and this list is likely not very helpful to you, but that’s all I can think of right now. Sorry :o
And please don’t apologize for reaching out, I’m always happy to hear from others. Tbh, DA has never not been on my mind in some way over the last eleven years, but I probably wouldn’t have gone as hard and made this blog without getting invested in Ariane/Finn last year. So I totally get it. :)
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Bethany is so effing interesting tbh, as to me, she is the only "ordinary mage" companion we get in the series.
Everyone else is sort of involved in something Grand, more so than themselves to a degree. Nobles, Ancient magics and politics. Bethany?
Bethany is just an ordinary girl. She wants a normal, steady life that's quiet with her family. But she's a mage. She's doesn't get to HAVE that. She feels her family is always on the run because of her, always hiding because of her.
So she looks at her magic and hates it, and I LOVE her arc about it if you play it tbh. (Fenris also likes Bethany, which is interesting)
You'd love Bethany a lot. I feel it in my bones.
Hi! Sorry for the late response😅😅
BUT UHH, WOW! I will admit, I know next to nothing about Bethany outside of reading her banter with a few characters while I was looking at their wikis for writing refs. I always thought she sounded sweet, but I don't think I ever got a good idea of what her personality and story was actually like.
But this??? I must say, I am very intrigued 👀 I am so very fond of mages who are just regular people, but thus far I've pretty much only experienced that through OCs. I would LOVE to see how that could play out in a game 🥺
I like Carver quite a bit but the vibes seem veeeery different, of course.😅 Though I had Carver become a templar by accident in my first playthrough and I'll have him become one on purpose in my current one so I'm not completely sure what his personality is like as a warden... I assume still very different lol
Perhaps when I'm done with my fic for the Big Bang and have more tune I'll boot up a new playthrough :D I am on my second mage playthrough atm but I kiiiiiiiiiiinda wanna add a little rogue playthrough on the side just so I can see her and get to know her!! I think she seems fun.
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“you really don’t have to do that, not for me.”
@celerem
"And what would you have me do, Wally?" It wasn't his intention to snap at the speedster, but Dio was at his breaking limit and couldn't take much more, in fact, the whole being a good person was as far from his mind as he could be. "I know you said there's no problem, but the hard truth here is that there are many issues with this whole situation. And that... that right there, inside that room, is one of them. I'll never be good enough. No matter how much I try to help or show that maybe I can do some good. It'll always be Corvus, the shady one."
"I came here to ask for help to solve my father's murder... and I know you all have a lot in your plates with international metahuman traffickers and bad guys, but I've never been dismissed so fast not even by my own superiors, who are, perhaps, the worst of the worst I've ever met." Dio had to have a long pause to his words to calm himself down, before he really lost his center and control over his own abilities, something he knew to happen when he got angry. "Look, I tried. I really tried, Wally, but... It's time we're honest with ourselves. You're a hero. You save people, you inspire them and save their lives time and again. I can't do that. I'm not good. I'm a weapon. And weapons don't have sides, they are just aimed at a target and sent to kill it." It cut his heart to say such things, even if to Dio, at that right moment, it was all true.
"I can't be something I'm not. I can't continue to play this part..." He stepped back and put his full face mask on to cover the tears of mournful sorrow, regret and anger that formed on the corners of his eyes as he renounced all the chances to maybe have something good with the redhead. "I'm sorry, KF. Whatever we had, from this moment on, it's over." Thank goodness the voice modulator in his get-up made his voice emotionless, otherwise the cracking would've been heard as Dio turned around speaking those words.
He couldn't continue to be related to Wally if he wanted to seek vengeance for his father's life. Templars and Brotherhood were not keen on leaving targets and their related people alive, even if they were heroes or villains of any kind... and so, this was a battle he'd fight alone from that point on. He tried to ask for help and do the right thing, to seek justice in a better way, but if heroes were too occupied to even glance at him, then, Dio would do this with his own hands, resources and the only way he knew how.
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DWC Prompt: Ghil/Solas, “Make me”
This didn’t go how I thought it was going to. Not totally happy with the tone of it, set shortly after Ghilanel finishes her specialization training, ~1500 words. For @dadrunkwriting.
“Make me,” and the ice around her ankles creaked in protest as the tension it held increased, tightening the hold.
“I think the decision you made may be dangerously short-sighted and I wish you would have taken more consultation before making it.”
She sighed and leaned forward on the cold stone rail of the balcony, arms folded to support her as she watched the mages’ banner being raised and mounted on the newly refurbished tower. “You think I haven’t sufficiently earned their trust yet.” She’d made them equals, given them a unifying purpose and a safe gathering place, even dedicated a portion of Skyhold exclusively to their use. Was this really such a betrayal? She was only one person.
Solas stepped forward to stand next to her. His presence at her side was normally reassuring but right now there was a distance. “I think you underestimate their fear and their skills of observation. Do you think myself, Dorian, and Vivienne are the only mages sensitive enough to realize what’s changed about you? The mages you’ve gathered are more than familiar with templars. They’ve seen the trainers arrive and they’ve seen them now assimilate into the castle’s regular population so they know whatever choice you made, it’s finished now.”
“If they already know then why do I need to address it?” Even asking the question made her stomach sink; Ghilanel knew the answer, but speaking before the entirety of the Inquisition, or even just of its mages, made her sick to think about. Cullen and Fiona were far more skilled at things like this but she couldn’t expect them to handle something this personal.
“The longer you leave this unspoken, the greater the suspicion will grow, and while the Inquisition is strong, it will not survive the departure of the mages or worse, their mutiny. You cannot allow this to go unremarked upon much longer, Inquisitor. Your people must know who they’re following.”
The title made her cringe but it also proved his point. Ghilanel turned to look at Solas over her shoulder. The sympathy on his face eased her concern a little. “I’ll come up with something. I won’t leave them in the dark, Solas. They’ve followed me this far, they deserve to know.”
It had been several days since then, however, and the well of ideas remained dry. Cullen hadn’t told the troops he was going through lyrium withdrawal. Cassandra and Leliana kept their crises of faith as private as possible; it was only Ghilanel’s position that gave her the privilege of knowing their minds. The line between being a trustworthy leader and being too open with the people who followed her seemed finer all the time and there was no example in the Inquisition for her to use as a guide.
Then, as he had done so many months earlier on a mountain path near Haven, Solas forced her hand.
She gathered her circle at the gates to depart for the Western Approach, with herself, Solas, Blackwall, Cassandra, and Alistair as the forward party. Her mind was elsewhere, on getting answers from the Wardens and what it might mean for two of the men riding with her, when she felt the temperature plummet. That and the thrumming she was now hyperaware of were all the warning Ghilanel had before her boots were encased in ice.
The air among those in the courtyard might as well have frozen too, silent as it was. Every head turned, however, to the source of the spell.
“Solas! What is the meaning of this?” Cassandra’s voice was confused somewhere behind Ghilanel’s left shoulder. At the moment, all she could follow was sound, her vision stuck somewhere in the middle distance as she processed what was happening. Noise spread out from Cassandra after she spoke, the assembly starting to react. The horses were spooked but she could hear Blackwall trying to calm them, calling over a couple of soldiers to help lead the animals away from what was happening. The last thing they needed was a panicked horse further complicating what was already a very precarious situation.
“There is a matter the Inquisitor must resolve before we can leave Skyhold, Seeker.” Solas was far enough that she couldn’t reach him with her sword. Not that she would ever try, but the effect wasn’t lost on her. Her normal methods of conflict resolution would not work here. She twisted her hips, testing the strength of the ice holding her in place. No less than she expected. She wasn’t going anywhere just yet.
“Whatever that matter is, this cannot be the best way to handle it.” The surprise and concern in Cassandra’s tone warmed Ghilanel, not for her own sake but because it meant there was no way Cassandra had anticipated something like this from Solas. Perhaps now he’d see how much Cassandra genuinely trusted him. Not that it mattered right now. Right now she knew all Cassandra saw was Solas pinning her in place with spikes of ice.
“Perhaps not, but it is the most direct and efficient. The Inquisitor knows what she needs to do.” His tone was even, level, not antagonistic in the least, but Ghilanel still heard Cassandra approaching. That was what made her lift her hand and finally focus her vision. Solas had his staff in his hand and his legs bent, clearly prepared to cast again. His face was a mask, unreadable but for the intention in his eyes. Despite herself, Ghilanel couldn’t help but feel she’d disappointed him by not taking action sooner. She’d brought this on herself.
“Solas. This is not the time or the place. Please release me.” She knew his intention, but no one else here did, and the longer she stood with her legs frozen, the larger the crowd gathering to watch grew. It contained both mages and templars, and the implications of the outcome of this for all of them were staggering. She had to handle this flawlessly.
“On the contrary, there is no better place and no more time to lose. I will not release you; you must release yourself. And be warned, should you draw your sword and attempt to use it on the ice, you will only damage your blade.” Naturally Solas would provide supernaturally hard ice for this as well. He never did anything by half. Ghilanel stared at him and shook her head.
“You are doing more harm than good right now. Think about how this looks and let me go.”
“No.” This time Ghilanel had to raise both hands as a murmur swelled from the assembled crowd and she saw several of the templars among them reaching for weapons or beginning to gather their focus. Creators, what a disaster that would be, for the mages she’d worked so hard to incorporate into this effort to see the templars around them converge on someone like Solas. She had no rubric against which to measure things like this but she’d seen Solas in the field, unbowed by half a dozen rogue templars engaging with him at once. If they tried it here, he would only humiliate them in front of the people they were meant to be protecting.
“Solas. Free me.”
“Inquisitor.” His eyes softened a little, imploring her silently, and in the moment she was shocked at her own resentment. “Make me,” and the ice around her ankles creaked in protest as the tension it held increased, tightening the hold.
“No. I will not.” Ghilanel closed her eyes, lowered her arms, and raised her voice. Best to simply get it over with. “I have sought the powers of a templar for one singular purpose, and that is to defeat Corypheus. There are templars enough among you, templars who answer to the Commander and to me. I will not allow their power to exist here unchecked and should every mage in this castle come for my life, I will never turn my powers on you. So release me or not, Solas, the choice is yours, but make it.” She opened her eyes again and settled her gaze on Solas, her speech slow and deliberate. She was done. “We are wasting daylight.”
The pitch of the crowd’s murmurs rose, curiosity outweighing anxiety as they turned their attention to Solas. For his part, he wasted no further time; the ice at her ankles burst into a cloud of snow and was quickly swept away. He slipped his staff into the straps on his back and shifted his posture straight again, moving in a moment from a challenger to the humble apostate most of the Inquisition saw him to be. “Thank you, Inquisitor.”
Ghilanel drew a deep breath and turned toward where Blackwall held the horses, refusing to acknowledge the dozens of eyes on her, including Cassandra’s and Alistair’s. She had meant her statement about wasting daylight and right now all she wanted was to start putting miles between herself and this courtyard. She gave just a few directions–Alistair to take point, she and Blackwall in the middle, and Cassandra and Solas to ride at the rear–and the party was silent as they departed Skyhold. Any conversations to be had about what just happened, and she knew there would have to be several, would wait until that night’s camp.
#dadwc#my writing#ghilanel lavellan#solas#solavellan#watch as i make characterization solution to gameplay choices#i've always played templars sorry not sorry#suchanadorer#this is such a draft#i'm happy with how she comports herself#but not with how the situation comes to pass in the first place#afasdfnwdsfgr hrmph#ANYWAY TAKE THIS
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Let's talk about DRAGON AGE 2 !
I've been DYING to talk about this fuck fest since I played it, I don't even know where to startttt, I wanna do serious critique about it like story and character wise, the graphics the choices and blah blah blahhhhhhhh, so these are purely my opinions on this game sooo yeah y'all probably don't care so let's just dive right into it ! Also the pictures stop half way cause apparently there's a 10 pictures limited which is WACK >:-(
Things I despise about the game
First and foremost is the fact that you can't choose a race other than human, yeah yeah this point has been talked to shit but let me throw my own quarter for what it's worth. Considering that picking a race in origins -the game that came first and before DA2- it is odd that the only option for this game is exclusively human, like Hawke's backstory is that they and their family had to flee their home due to the fifth blight, an event that could happen to both humans and elves, hell even dwarfs, so I don't really see why it had to be so limited. Even if for this or that the backstory wouldn't work for an elf or a dwarf it would have been preferable to like add another backstory rather than take away the ability to play as other races. Some may argue that doing so would take away the incredible loose connection between DA:O and DA2 but really would anyone even care ? I certainly didn't catch the connection on my first play through, and it's not like an apocalyptic even would be the only reason for someone to go to Kirkwall LIKE THE BACKSTORY FOR A DWARF HAWKE IS LITERALLY RIGHT THERE I DON'T GET IT. I'm sorry I got heated but I'm biased, I always want to play as an elf :-P
The aesthetics, maker is this game ugly, Kirkwall is definitely...interesting. from the muted colours to the repeating dungeons and locations, this game is incredibly dull and just downright ugly. Like even compared to DA:O that came several years earlier, the graphics don't get that much better. It's worth to mention that I played this game on PS3, it might have nothing to do with the rendering of the aesthetics but nevertheless I played it on console. So let's start with the environment and then I'll move to the character models, the locations areeeee for the lack of a better word FUCKING UGLY, kirkwall is a brown on brown dull mess of randomly placed buildings and randomly placed spikes for some unholy reason, cause yes places with high poverty obvi has spikes on the stairs and the ground, and don't think that the "open world" gets any better cause it doesn't.
The other locations just get repeated over and over again like all of the caves and dungeons are the same ? I have no excuse other than the fact that this game was obviously incredibly rushed, if I remember correctly I think it was finished in two (2) years ? Which is just, such a short time, it's mostly EA's fault for rushing this game so much so I'll give them a pass on this but fr if I see this cave ONE more time. On a good note though, since this was mostly a one area game, it was pretty easy to memorize the layout of Kirkwall so I'll give them that !. Now, oh now, let's talk about the character models, they're mostly fine although the in game animations are a bit jumpy and stiff but what would you expect from a game released in 2011-ish. It did get some getting used to to the like emoting of the characters idk how to describe it if you played it you know how it is. Also y'all get a -20 for what you did to my boy zevran.
Now for my biggest complain, it's that, you don't really have an impact to the story, your choices don't really matter as every event ends the way the game wants it to. Unlike origins and inquisition, replaying this game to have different outcomes was incredibly anti climactic, simply cause it was all the same, Meredith still Meredithed, varrics brother still betrayed you, your mother still dies, Orsino still turns into an abomination whether you supported the mages or the templars, no matter whether you played as a purple or red hawke, a mage or a rogue, romanced Merrill or Anders, outside of companion events or companion's opinions of you, your choices don't matter. There's no big turning point, a big "what to do" choice like in origins, like the choice to kill Loghain or not, with the urn of sacred ashes, the right of annulment at the circle and I don't want to compare DA2's choices with inquisition's cause it came after it, but inquisition has great dilemmas too. The biggest choices you'll have to make in DA2 imo is a) whether to support the mages or Templars, a choice you'll have to make at the very end of the story, which in the end doesn't even matter cause like i mentioned, Orsino still turns into an abomination no matter what and Meredith still Merediths at the end, and b) whether to staby staby Anders or let him go or let him stay, which again doesn't really matter cause the chantry is already in tiny burning pieces and really, whether he is alive or not makes literally 0 difference in the games story AND future-cause he doesn't even make a cameo in DAI he is only mentioned by varric and hawke- the only thing that that choice affected was my mental health, like yeah what he did was bad but he is my healer I literally can't win a battle without him. lastly the other "big" choice you have to make is the fate or ugh carver or the obvious better sibling Bethany, a choice you don't even have to make if you don't take them with you into the deep roads.
The characters
I feel like my opinions on the characters should be a category of its own so here we goooo !!!
Obviously we gotta start with Hawke's siblings. First we have carver which I STRONGLY dislike, a disclaimer should be that I've never actually interacted with carver as I haven't played as a mage Hawke so my opinion in him is completely based on videos I've seen of him and things I've read. So the fact that he becomes a Templar when his sibling is a fucking mage ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ dude what are you doinggggg, he is overall mean and annoying which I think is what the developers where going forrr, they did a good job. NOW FOR THE WOMAN OF THE HOUR BETHANYYYY, I fucking love Bethany so much, she's so nice and she actually fits very good in my party, we overall agreed on most things and was the first person I got full friendship with !! :-D I was actually so sad when she had to leave tho :-(.
Next up we have Aveline ! Who I have very mixed feelings about. Truth be told I didn't reallyyyy go and talk to her that much through out my game play but overall the interactions I had with her felt so...real, like yea we didn't really see eye to eye in a lot of different things but she always had my back and I had hers, we were old friends that went through a lot of shit together and those experiences created a bond between us.Her character was really well written but my stance on her is neutral, I nether like her nor dislike her.
Isabela, this one is a thought one, like yea at first I really liked her but I never managed to get her friendship high enough in order for her to come back after the arishok fight so I never really got the chance to interact with her on a deeper level.
Next we have Merrill :-D, so most people don't like Merrill due to her personality or her constant use of blood magic and that obsession with the eluvian, but I actually quite like her, she was the person I chose to romance and it was so cute how awkward our interactions were like she got flushed when I flirted with her and I got flushed behind the screen when she said nice stuff to me, I might have actually revealed how much of a loser I am lol. Her whole story, or downfall, when it came to the eluvian was actually really interesting, watching her trying to have both her clan and mirror only to come to the harsh realisation that she can't have both is heartbreaking, also like we had to kill her whole clan omg I was in shockkkk. And I also wanted to know more about the eluvian since it appeared in DAI :-P. Further more I like how she always had my back, she was easy to get along with, at least for me, even if I did openly disapproved of her use of blood magic, she was also a key component of my party, she was actually really useful ! I just really like her tehe, she's adorable.
Varric up nextt, not much to say about him, I agree with the public opinion, I love him. he's so scary here haha
Next, I guess we'll leave the one I have the most to say for last so let's do fenris, I actually tried so hard to get along with him but he always gave me rivalry points no matter what I did :'-), even when I was trying to be nice he disapproved cause he "didn't want to be cradled like a baby" I suppose. Ofc I sympathised with him and helped with his sister and stuff but overall I just never got along with him, he is like that one person that one of ur friends from your friend group hangs out with and ur friend constantly invite them over when y'all hang and it's all awkward and you don't have anything in common with that person so you just want them to leave you alone, if that makes sense. So overall compelling character with a great character arc even if I don't agree with his views on mages, also a key component of my party, oh also his banter with Anders is the funniest thing ever lolz.
I don't think I'm missing anyone so let's do the man of the hour,the myth, the legend, the fucking psychoooo Anders!!!!. Anders oh Anders, I don't know where to start, I hate his guts but he is also my favourite character. From the way I see it, dragon age 2 is ander's game, we as Hawke watch this man turn from a healer that only wants to help the refugees and citizens of darktown to a terrorist that kick-started a wat between the mages and the chantry, so let's take it from the start. We first see Anders in his clinic helping a boy blah blah he was a grey warden ? Wow how interesting, u help him "save" Karl and then he joins your party, here is where he confesses that he has a spirit inside of him, justice/vengeance, ( which I have theories about which I'll probably write about later ). SO he seems nice at first, just a funky nurse trying to do his best, but then he opens his mouth lol. He has,,, let's just say very strong opinions, which I sometimes totally agree with, about mage rights, that mages should be free of the circle but he also has strong opinions about templars, mainly that they all should die lol. Anders' world is very black and white, with mages as the good guys and templars the bad and I totally understand his point of view since he has been oppressed by the templars his whole life, but his opinions blind him to other issues mainly that mages ARE dangerous- something that the game reminds us so many times with the excessive amount of blood mages lol - now don't get me wrong Anders opposes blood magic openly and harshly everytime Merrill uses it - and that the Templar order is sadly needed but it has been severely corrupted. He has good intentions sure but he just, goes about it the wrong way, picking fights with I think everyone in the group because they don't agree with his views and um you know, the incident. But honestly that's what I love about him, about his character, he is like a bolder that no one can move, no one can change his mind, not even the one that he would and I quote "drown us in blood to keep you safe", and he won't back down from a opportunity to change someone's mind, he has a goal and is determined to reach it, by all means necessary, he won't back down and he doesn't, he just keeps pushing and pushing until he finally reaches the well...but he doesn't drink from it, he blows up the chantry and he starts a war that he just, doesn't want to fight ?! He owns up to it sure but he just so easily gives up, leaving his fate at the hands of Hawke, it's the one time he backs down and stops pushing, instead he pulls, asking Hawke to do with him as they want, now that is just, I don't even know a word to describe it. Anders is a compelling, complex and very well written character, he is the star of the show, it's HIS show, I mean it's the only companion that actively lies and deceives the player in such a dramatic degree, a betrayal you just can't see coming, well I didn't see it coming I was so happy to help him get rid of justice lol but wkfnwkdj WHAT THE FUCK ANDWRSKSSS YOU BROKE MY HEARTTTTTT. Yea um he sucks and I love him, also his romance route is so dramatic and it fits the story perfectly, like his romance was MADE for this story. But I still hate him.
Now for what I like :-D
I know I just flamed the shit out of this game but contrary to what you've witnessed I actually like this game haha.
• first, a kinda controversial opinion maybe ?, I really really enjoyed the side quests ! I finished all of them and didn't even notice, it's so nice that they all have like an individual story, while some of them connect to the main story some don't at all and I quite love that cause it makes the world more real ! Like yes the big issue is there but there are other secluded problems within the community. Basically I love how everyone is minding their business and have their own problems.
• next I actually really really like the story !! THE ANGST THE DRAMA THE PLOT TWISTS GIVE THEM TO MEEEEEEEEEEEE :-0. I don't have much to say I just really like the story
• the characters ! They're all so well written and they all have some kind of arc and like personal things they have going for them ! No interaction ever felt forced while playing and - even if I didn't like someone - I enjoyed talking and interacting with everyone
That was my extra long review, now that I read it back the things I like look super underwhelming lol.
#dragon age#dragon age inquisition#dragon age 2#dragon age origins#dragon age community#review#video game reviews#da2
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Writing prompts
2021-10-31: Not actively taking prompts. I'll update whenever that changes! Just been way too busy to write fic lately.
I'm currently accepting writing prompts! If you send me a DA one, it'll likely be filled on Friday for DA Drunk Writing Circle.
I write in English and French, and I'm comfortable-ish writing dialogue in Spanish. (if you're looking for a french-english translator for a fic, hmu?)
I take any kind of prompt. If you need inspiration, here are a few lists I like: classical literature prompts, DA prompts, DA dialogue prompts, DA codex prompts 1, DA codex prompts 2, Trans Bingo cards, fic title prompts (send me a new title and I'll write a summary, or send me one I've already written a summary for and I'll write an excerpt)
I post prompted fics on Tumblr and repost them on AO3. Please let me know if you want to be credited anonymously on either platform, otherwise I will credit you for the prompt :)
Main DA pairings and topics
Feryn Aeducan x Leliana
Alistair x Dael Mahariel
Anders x Hamish Hawke
Anders x Nathaniel Howe
Branna Cadash x Lace Harding
Branna Cadash x Josephine Montilyet
Gaël x Marfisa Trevelyan
Bethany Hawke x Marijke Kader
Marian Hawke x Isabela
Marian Hawke x Isabela x Merrill
Marian Hawke x Merrill
Nathaniel Howe x Velanna
Isabela x Merrill
Dael Mahariel x Merrill
Josephine Montilyet x Rafael Trevelyan
Dorian Pavus x Rafael Trevelyan
Sigrun x Velanna
Marfisa Trevelyan & Rafael Trevelyan
The Bull's Chargers, Inquisition agents, multiplayer characters (Dalish/Skinner, Charter/Tessa, open to other ships)
Gen: team bonding (especially DA2 cast)
Gen: mage resistance/rebellion stuff
Gen: post-Inquisition Solas-hunting shenanigans (Tevinter Nights vibes)
Gen: crossovers and AUs (I've written Exandria AU and modern AU stuff before, feel free to suggest others)
More details & other fandoms under the cut
I can also write other people's OCs or a generic/ambiguous PC, and certain other characters and ships; don't be afraid to ask! A few notes:
I won't write anything focused on Aveline, Cullen, Oghren, or Sten (unless it's critical of them), or anything pro-templar, sorry.
I'm also not very experienced writing certain characters, such as red!Hawke, Sera, and Vivienne. But I'm up for a challenge!
I am always, always down to write characters as trans. I write Fenris as transmasc and Hawke as AFAB nonbinary unless otherwise specified. My Hawkes, Mahariel, Trevelyan and Kader are all trans.
I headcanon Josephine as ace, so I'm not comfortable writing smut for her.
If you send me a NSFW prompt, I may tone it down to my comfort zone. I'm new to writing smut and prefer vanilla stuff.
Other topics I'm currently open to writing
Check, Please! (Bitty/Jack, Holster/Ransom, Lardo/Shitty)
Critical Role (Allura/Kima, Beau/Jester/Yasha, Caleb/Essek, Caleb/Molly, Fjord/Jester, Keyleth/Vax, Percy/Vex; used to write Caduceus/Fjord and always down to write them as friends or queerplatonic nowadays; OC blood hunter siblings Sol & Hala)
Lovelink (MC x Adam, Ana, Blake, Charlie, Cpt. Muffin['s human], Dahlia, Dominic, Dr. Vile, Jake, Keanu, Milena, Nicholas, Rose, Ruby, Sage, Tiros, Vitoria, Zayn)
Star Wars (Finn/Poe/Rey, Finn/Rose, Greer/Joph, Black Squadron fun times)
The Witcher (maybe? I'm familiar with TW3 and started watching the Netflix show. Geralt/Yennefer or Geralt/Triss)
Bullet-point/short paragraph meta or headcanons (things like "headcanons about the M9's favourite foods" or "which DA story choice do you prefer out of these options and why")
Poetry (free verse or haiku; you can try sonnet, blank verse, etc. prompts, but no promises lol)
Short original fiction (especially high fantasy, fairytale-inspired, historical fantasy, near-future sci-fi, space opera, dystopian)
Very short plays and monologues (I tend toward postmodern/postdramatic/poetic stuff)
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I've seen you reblog more than one Asscreed post; which game(s) was your fave?
Assassin’s Creed 3, without a doubt. I was a senior in high school when it was released. I remember the “Radioactive” trailer and I sure as hell remember “fans” shitting on Connor’s character.
I love the story. I love that you start the game off by playing as Haytham (also a kickass character) and how the player get thrown into a loop when it’s revealed that he’s a Templar grandmaster. The story sucked me in.
In the previous games, it was black and white: Assassins = Good and Templars = Bad. With this game, it was more of a grey area and that’s what made the game so different at the time.
Every time I start a new game, I think I can get through Haytham’s death unscathed. Nope. The emotional toll is still there. :’) And then I read the novel “Assassin’s Creed: Forsaken” and I got destroyed.
Sorry for going on like this. I’ve seen so many give this game and Connor undeserved flack. I will always defend it.
Some other favorite of mine include “Black Flag” (gotta love those Kenways), “Syndicate”, “Origins”, “Rogue”, and “Revelations”
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What Stays and What Fades Away
My first chapter with the amazing @wardsarefunctioning as beta! A thousand thousand thank yous.
Contains awkward flirting and Drunk!Hawke.
Chapter 27: Juliet
It had been a week since Tanner's abrupt departure, and Juliet still felt ill when she thought about the way things had ended. She chafed to be away in Crestwood, where Hawke was doubtless already waiting for them.
But the Inquisition had become a large organisation, and large organisations seldom moved quickly. While Hawke could travel alone and in relative anonymity, Juliet's expeditions must be scouted, provisioned and planned to the smallest detail. So instead she was stuck here in Skyhold, surrounded by a thousand small reminders of her indiscretion.
She sat at a table in the hall poring over a pile of documents that never seemed to get smaller: requisitions, reports, requests for the Inquisition's help from all over Southern Thedas. Scout Harding was already on the way to Crestwood, but she had left Juliet a map and pages covered in her small, neat handwriting: the location of the village and fort, a brief history of the place and its flooding during the blight, even a few credible rift sightings. A potential logging site? That would help in rebuilding -
"Inquisitor?" The messenger gave a quick salute and handed her a roll of paper. "Plans for the mage tower, milady."
The mage tower. She waited until the man was gone before letting out a groan, burying her head in her hands.
"Pining for your soldier, Freckles?"
Juliet spun in her chair to glare at Varric.
"Firstly," she said, "I'm not bloody pining . Secondly, can we pretend just for a minute that I have some kind of private life?"
The dwarf threw up his hands. "Sorry, Inquisitor," he said, hopping up into the seat next to her. "You're one of the most important figures in Thedas right now. Definitely the most important in Skyhold. Your inner circle has at least three spies, and a mind-reading spirit boy." He patted her on the back. "Keeping secrets is hard."
She stared at him a moment longer, her lips pursed. "Thirdly -"
"I'll change your names."
"Do not -"
"And titles."
"Put this -"
"And location."
"In a book," she finished. "Or I'll throw you to Cassandra."
"Oh, come on Freckles! It's got everything: deception, mistaken identity, star-crossed lovers…"
"I think you're reading a little more into it than actually happened."
"Of course I am. I'm a writer."
Conceding defeat, Juliet looked back to the documents spread out in front of her; the lines on the vellum seemed to blur and dance, Harding's meticulous text reduced to gibberish. She blinked hard, twice, but her eyes refused to cooperate.
"Why not take a break?" Varric asked and added, too casually, "Take a walk in the garden."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Why the garden, Varric?"
"Why so suspicious, Freckles?" He grinned, hazel eyes glinting with mischief. "It's a beautiful day. The fresh air will do you good. See how your herbs are growing!"
"I need to plan this…" she protested weakly.
"Do you trust yourself to make good plans right now?"
"Fine." She bundled up the documents, shoving them unceremoniously into a nugskin folder. "I'll go to the garden." In response to Varric's waggling eyebrows, she snapped, "but only because I've got no bloody place better to be."
With a smirk he propped his feet up on the table. "Enjoy the scenery, Inquisitor."
"Thin ice, Tethras," she shot back over her shoulder.
It was close to midday, and she had to admit that the sunlight on her face and the smell of freshly-turned soil did much to clear her head. The air was fragrant with blooming herbs, all of which somehow seemed to thrive here despite the varying climates from which they had been plucked. She wished she could put down roots so easily.
Male laughter caught her attention; the voice was familiar, if not the sound. Beneath the gazebo a small table and two chairs were set up. Dorian faced the Commander over a chess board, hexagonal in the Northern style. The two men were too engrossed in the game to notice her approach and she took a moment to appreciate Cullen's relaxed posture, his easy demeanour as he rolled his eyes in response to Dorian's gentle ribbing.
"Why do I even…" He finally saw her and broke off mid-sentence, half rising out of his chair. "Inquisitor."
Dorian flashed a charming smile in her direction before turning his attention back to Cullen. "Leaving, are you?" The mage's voice, much like his skin, was smooth as honey. "Does this mean I win?"
It was jarring to see the Commander so comfortable in the presence of Dorian, of all people. Despite his wit and charm, or perhaps because of it, he didn't always rub people the right way. Plus he was a Tevinter, and an unapologetic mage. Was there some other reason than magic, then, for Cullen's reticence with her?
Wary of spoiling the mood, she motioned Cullen to sit and tried to match Dorian's light tone. "Are you two playing nice?"
"I'm always nice," Dorian lied without skipping a beat. He put his tower down with a decisive thunk and crossed his arms; impressively muscled for a mage, Juliet could never help but notice. If he'd been differently inclined, she was sure she could have put those muscles to good use. "You need to come to terms with my inevitable victory," he declared to Cullen. "You'll feel much better."
"Really?" Cullen pounced, shifting his tower from a black square to a white. "Because I just won," he said with a low chuckle, "and I feel fine."
Dorian raised one perfect eyebrow and smiled, impeccably gracious in defeat. "Don't get smug." He rose from his chair with the fluidity of a cat. "There will be no living with you."
Juliet shifted to let him pass and as she did so, his silken voice reached her in a pitch too low for Cullen to catch.
"He's all yours, Inquisitor," he purred. "You lucky thing."
She felt her ears burn crimson, unfortunately catching Cullen's eye at the same time. Embarrassment painted a foolish smile across her face and the Commander looked at her with some confusion.
"I should return to my duties as well…" he said, adding hesitantly, "unless you would care for a game?"
Me? she nearly said. Did everyone else in Thedas die and nobody told me? Then she remembered the hand that had lingered on hers a moment too long after he helped her onto her horse, and a heat swept through her that had nothing at all to do with embarrassment.
She maintained her composure enough to give him a tight smile. "Prepare the board, Commander."
Oblivious to the fire that raged inside the woman opposite him, Cullen was conversational as he laid out the carved pieces. "As a child, I played this with my sister. She would get this stuck-up grin whenever she won, which was all the time." He glanced up at her, a rarely seen flash of mischief in his eyes. "My brother and I practiced together for weeks…the look on her facethe day I finally won…"
Juliet caught a glimpse of the boy he had been in his smirk, before a little frown marred his features.
"Between serving the templars and the inquisition, I haven't seen them in years," he said regretfully. "I wonder if she still plays."
It was easy to forget that Templars, too, could become separated from their families. She doubted Michael had ever recounted such fond memories of her. But she felt a pang when she thought of Lavinia, and of Alec, whose child must have been born by now.
"You have siblings?"
He seemed surprised by her enthusiasm. "Two sisters, and a brother."
"We're the same!" Juliet paused. "I mean, my family. Two boys, and two girls." She shifted, nudging Cullen's foot beneath the table. It went unacknowledged by both of them as they adjusted their postures, but she was aware now of his proximity; she could swear she felt the heat of his knee close to her own.
"Really?" Leaning forward on his elbows, he graced her with a warm smile. "Michael I know, but…"
Juliet couldn't suppress an eye roll at the mention of her Templar brother. "Alec is the eldest. He's…well, he's unlike Michael. And Lavinia is between Michael and I in age. Terribly frivolous and always has her foot in her mouth, but she means well." Unexpected tears sprang to her eyes as she thought of them; on waking in Haven to the news that she'd been publicly disowned, she hadn't dared to contact them. "Tell me about yours," she said with forced cheerfulness.
"Mia," he replied with a smile, "is the one I told you of. Branson is my brother, and the youngest is Rosalie."
She wished suddenly, fiercely, that she might some day meet them. "Where are they now?"
"They moved to South Reach after the Blight…" A flash of pain reached Cullen's amber eyes. "I do not write to them as often as I should." Staring at the board, his gaze seemed to come back into focus. "Ah, it's my turn."
"Alright," she said with a grin, "let's see what you've got."
He paused, looking at her for the longest time before shaking his head. Leaning in to make his move, he said softly, "You always seem as if you're laughing at a joke nobody else understands."
"I thought everybody understood," she said lightly. "I'm the joke."
"No." His stare, however glancing, pierced her to the core. "You are far from a joke. You're the reason we are all here."
"And who am I?" she countered. "Someone else would have led. Hawke, if Cassandra could have found her."
"Hawke." His wry smile made a mockery of the idea.
"Nobody should take themselves too seriously." Pondering a moment, she moved a pawn into the path of his mage. "The more power you have, the lessseriously you should take yourself."
Cullen's gaze raked her. Surely, she thought, he must sense the shifting restlessness his mere proximity woke in her. Finally he shook his head. "Are you sure that doesn't do a disservice to those who choose to follow you?"
"The opposite." She countered his move. "Power without humility lead to tyranny."
For a moment he looked startled. Then he laughed, shaking his head. "Of all people, I should know that."
"So you and Dorian…" she began tentatively.
"Dorian and I…?" Cullen's eyebrows shot up. "I assure you, there's nothing of that sort -"
"Oh no, I just meant…you seemed to be getting along so well! It's not a friendship I would have expected."
"I ran into him in the library. Varric asked me to find a book for him." At her quizzical look, he chuckled. "I think he's trying to avoid Cassandra."
"I can't say I've ever seen Cassandra in the library."
"No point in taking chances, were his words. Anyway, Dorian…" Considering his next move, he twirled a stone piece in his fingers. Such long, clever fingers…he caught her eyes suddenly and she shut her mouth with a painfully audible snap . "He just seems lost, you know. He's a long way from home."
"Don't let him think you pity him," Juliet advised. "He won't thank you for it."
"It's not pity," he said, surprised. "Sympathy, yes, but I do enjoy his company." He caught her look of puzzlement. "Is that so unusual?"
"Only," she floundered, searching about for the right words, "because of, you know, what he is."
"What he is?" Cullen's voice held faint disapproval. "I'm not sure I take your meaning."
Oh, Maker, now she'd offended him. "Only that I thought it might make you feel uncomfortable. Threatened, even."
"Threatened?" Cullen sat back in his chair, arms folded as he studied her face. "Why should I feel threatened?"
Could we build a lesser amulet? she thought desperately.One that would take me back to before this line of conversation began. "You wouldn't be the only one. I know several people are concerned with his presence…" Biting her lip, she trailed off as Cullen drummed his fingers on the chair arm with evident annoyance.
"I know that some people harbour foolish prejudices," he began, "but I certainly didn't think you would be amongst them, Inquisitor."
"Me?" she answered indignantly. "Why in Thedas would I be prejudiced against Dorian? I'm the same as he is!"
Cullen gaped. "You are?"
She couldn't understand his reaction; this was by no means new information for the Commander. "Well, yes. I mean I'm not from Tevinter, but essentially…"
They realised their mistake at the same time. Juliet groaned, covering her face; Cullen rubbed the back of his neck as he grinned sheepishly. "You meant…"
"Yes. And you thought…"
"I did." His grin slipped. "But you're wrong to think Dorian's magic should make me uncomfortable. I mean, you're a mage and I'm not uncomfortable with you."
"You're not?"
She must have sounded a touch too incredulous, because Cullen looked at her sharply. Then he smiled, staring down at his hands. "I don't know if you've noticed, Inquisitor, but I can be somewhat…awkward…at times."
"No," she answered, laughing. "Really? It had completely escaped my notice."
"If I seem that way around you, please know that it's not because of the fact that you're a mage. It's because, well…"
Juliet's mouth went dry. "Yes?"
"It's just the way I am," he finished quickly.
Hope gave way to sharp disappointment. Surprised by the intensity of her reaction, she hid her feelings in contemplating the next move. "Your turn," she said finally. His pawn joined the small crowd of pieces on the tabletop.
He studied the board, frowning. "You're no stranger to this game."
"My mentor in the Circle, Lydia," she swallowed hard at the memory, "didn't believe in idle hands. Or minds. When the study of magic didn't take up our time she had us learn history, geography, strategy, mathematics…" An opening became apparent and she swiftly dispatched one of his mages. "Chess."
At the mention of her Circle, Cullen's expression became shuttered. "It seems that was time well spent," he said stiffly. "I wish…" He shook his head, apparently clearing some stray thought. "Your move, Inquisitor."
Always Inquisitor. What was it about him - or about her - that drove her to keep needling him? He was too proper, too authoritative. It made her keep trying to crack open that facade of stiff professionalism, even if she felt like a bird hopelessly battering its wings against a window pane. It made her blurt out, even as her rational mind told her it was a terrible idea, "So…tell me about you and Hawke."
Cullen's smile vanished. "How do you…? Never mind," he said, somewhat curtly. "I would rather not." With exaggerated carefulness he finished his move, putting his knight down with the barest tap of stone on stone. Without meeting her eyes, he elaborated, "It was a mistake."
"Oh." A mistake. Her chest suddenly tight, she attempted what she hoped was a smile. "You have regrets?"
Cullen's answering smile was more of a grimace. "I regret the entire thing. Now, really…I'd prefer if we moved on."
"I'm sorry," she said with forced cheerfulness. "It seems my sister's not the only one capable of putting her foot in it." She saw the opportunity to take his queen, and considered letting it pass; then, with an apologetic smile and a half-shrug, she toppled the piece with her mage.
"There," Cullen said. "That's Mia's look."
Juliet laughed. "I wasn't aiming for stuck-up, but I suppose I've earned the right to gloat a little."
"It's not over yet," he countered. Thoughtful, he glanced at her through sandy eyelashes. "This may be the longest we've gone without discussing the Inquisition - or related matters. To be honest, I appreciate the distraction."
"I aim to please." Impulsively, she added, "We should spend more time together."
Another misstep in a conversation littered with them. Wasn't Cullen supposed to be the awkward one? But there was no awkwardness in his heavy-lidded gaze. "I would… like that," he said, and his low voice sent a pleasant shiver through her body. She could only smile back inanely, until he shook himself and turned his attention back to the board.
"We should…finish our game," he stammered. "Right. My turn?"
They sat in companionable silence. Stone tapped against stone, and the low hum of insects and murmured conversations played around them. Finally Cullen played the only move that was open to him, and it was checkmate. He smiled wryly.
"I believe this one is yours. Well played." He leaned back, rolling his shoulders in a way that distracted Juliet entirely from her victory. "We shall have to try again some time." Standing, he offered her a small bow. "Inquisitor."
"Juliet," she said. "Please."
"Juliet." It was only her imagination, adding that low, husky timbre to his voice, the flash in his molten gold eyes. It was just her name; there was no reason for it to feel like a caress.
And yet long after he had taken his leave she sat, fingers playing around her lips as if the memory of a kiss lingered there.
"Still here?" Dorian startled her from her reverie. He ensconced himself in the chair opposite, fingers steepled and a knowing gleam in his eye. "Do I sense a romance blooming? I would so love to attend a provincial wedding."
"Did you and Varric orchestrate this?" she demanded.
"Varric?" he said, affronted. "Perish the thought, dear cousin. Our Commander wandered into my library and I took pity on him. He seemed so…" The mage twirled his hand theatricality. "Lost."
"How terribly kind of you to keep him entertained."
"Obviously, darling Juliet, I resent the implication to my very core." Dorian plucked an imaginary piece of lint from his trouser leg, examining it between thumb and forefinger. "But I did rather enjoy the game…and the view."
"You don't find our little garden too provincial?"
"Now, now," he chastised her. "We both know I wasn't talking about the garden. My question remains: are you two delightful creatures going to give all of us, your proud and loving family, the news we wait so impatiently to hear? Or must Varric's prize pool grow ever larger?"
"Bloody Varric," she muttered.
"Well?" Dorian crossed an elegant ankle over his leg.
"I'm going to have to disappoint you."
"Oh." Dorian did, indeed, sound disappointed. "Tell cousin Dorian absolutely everything."
Juliet sighed. I regret the entire thing. Somewhere in the Hinterlands, Tanner would be thinking the same about her. "There's really nothing to tell." She turned her hand palm up; the Anchor pulsed faintly green. "I just don't want to be anyone else's mistake."
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(1/2) Hi! I've recently binged some of your fics on AO3 and I like how you play with different scenariios with Cullen romance... And you are open for prompts and I have one idea that I did not see in fics yet? What if Cullen met his love after Tresspaser? Everything was the same like in game, Inquisitor was his friend and told Cullen to not take lyrium and 3-4 years later he is still the Commander or have Templar recovery clinic . And he endured the worst and is far less broken
(2/2) How a romance between Evelyn and Cullen would be if they first met after Tresspaser? Maybe have templar sibling or her family allies with Inqusition? Happier Cullen who is much closer to left his past behind and all. I love Cullen romance and how Quizzie is for sure big inspiration for his to fight withdrawals and do better, but I also love that unromanced Cullen also have a happy ending and is a strong person able to endure it all by himself and find purpose in life anyway.
Hi Nonny! Sorry for the delay getting back to you, I’ve been busy with real life for once, but now that the holidays have calmed down I have more of a chance to give you an answer!
First off - thank you so much for reading, and I’m so happy that you’ve enjoyed the fics! I know my Cullen/Evelyn stuff has been put on the back burner for the moment, even though I still love them so much as a pairing. They’re my original OTP. I just haven’t been feeling the muse for them, and I don’t want to force updates just to update. So with some patience I’ll get back to them, but in the meantime I’m so thrilled people are still discovering them and reading them. Thank you thank you!
And yes, of all the AUs for them one that I haven’t really ever thought about is one where Cullen doesn’t meet his LI until post-Trespasser when he’s happy and healthy and has the clinic. I’ve seen it done (sorry I don’t have fic rec links at the moment but if anyone does, feel free to leave them on this post! All the author/fic love!) but I know it’s not a super saturated AU niche and it could use some more love.
The main reason I’ve never really attempted it is because of Evelyn’s background and canon, and I’m not entirely sure how I would twist that with her not becoming Inquisitor. The only canon-setting AU where she doesn’t become the Inquisitor is Miss Grey, and that’s because she’s Tranquil and the focus was on their tragic romance and not really the events of DA:I. But a lot of Evelyn’s character growth is tied into her becoming the Inquisitor and their relationship developing because of how they support one another (even pre-romance like in Eye of the Storm) once she acquires the Anchor.
Without her becoming the Inquisitor, she’d likely stay the same shy, anxiety-riddled young mage with very little family, because that’s her base canon. Her brother’s death features in every single one of her AUs, because it’s an important event in her past and something that affects her character growth. The same with her mother’s suicide (although in the modern AUs I changed this simply because I didn’t treat the Circle as the same as it is in canon). Even her appearance in the Abby/Rylen Avvar AU I’m currently writing features her brother’s death, because that’s just how it always is. Evelyn has a brother she was very close to, and he dies, and there’s always some guilt tangled up in her with his death. These events affect her father too, and so his involvement with the Inquisition is tied and limited to wanting to see Evelyn again after years of not saying a word to one another.
So when I think about how I could get Cullen and Evelyn together post-Trespasser...I don’t know. Their relationship would be more imbalanced, she really would just be some young, naive mage, instead of following the character arc I gave her with becoming Inquisitor (in Eye of the Storm and After Rain) or through her trials as she faces them pre-Inquisition in Moments Passed and What Are the Odds. It’s funny to think about how much I love Evelyn because I do seem to torture her quite a bit with her backstory - but that’s all to give her room to grow. She’s naturally shy, and introverted, and in most AUs hasn’t experienced any of the world around her, which leaves her with a certain wide-eyed naivete and hesitation. I took that as a basis and threw her into the fire by making her the Herald or putting her through other shit she had to overcome so that she could find her inner strength and really learn that she is capable of more. That coupled with her insistent willingness to see the good in people when they can’t see it themselves is why I thought she was a good fit for Cullen, not just because she was some young thing and I have an age kink (also a little true, but that’s not the point here, and never has been with their relationship).
Maybe one day I’d have an idea for how to handle that AU, but for the time being I feel guilty enough with the few that I have left unfinished for them. Hopefully the muse comes back and helps me finish them this year. That would be nice.
Again, thank you for reading Nonny and so sorry for the rambling answer xD For not having written Cullen/Evelyn fics (except as supporting characters) I still do have quite a bit of feelings for them and the canon that I’ve built around them. Feel free to drop by my inbox or messages again any time with questions about the fics or things I’m working on/that you’d like for me to work on!
Shameless self-promotion of my Lightning Struck series.
xx
#thank you!#this ask cheered me up when I saw it#sorry for the wait answering#holidays were crazy#and i've been low on spoons#cullen/evelyn#lightning struck series#my ocs#my writing#aus#so many wips jfc#but so happy you enjoy them!#that makes me happy#Nonny
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