#..or Solas nerding out over magic with Dorian.. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cityandking · 2 months

Note

mindfulness, wisdom, learning, citizenship, & meaning for minah, vesper + dai!

thanks tabby!! // positive psychology ask meme

MINDFULLNESS– Do they live in the moment? What keeps them present?

MINAH — mostly! she exists in a general state of fear of the past and uncertainty about the future, so the present moment is the best place to be. VESPER — vesper's default is to take the here-and-now and extrapolate it into various facets of what-ifs about the future and recontextualizations of the past, so the moment is sometimes hard to hold onto. her inner circle helps keep her grounded, and so does the need to stay fully present to avoid getting stabbed, shot, or fireballed. DAI — dai spends way too much time and energy worrying about the future, though he’s gotten better about staying in the moment—mostly because the future has become increasingly inhospitable and uncertain and it’s simply not tenable to keep so much of his focus on an ever-shifting array of what-ifs

WISDOM– Are they open to other people’s perspectives? Do they look to history and past mistakes? What kinds of internal dialogue do they have about difficult situations?

MINAH — she's certainly willing to listen to an alternate perspective, but she's less likely to act on any advice that might be provided. she is often looking to history and past mistakes. her internal dialogue in difficult situations tends to be variations of "how the fuck do I get out of this" VESPER — vesper is open to other people's perspectives to a fault. she is often listening to and accepting feedback and criticism that she simply does not need to take. she doesn't dwell on past mistakes, but she'll often look to history in the hopes of learning something from it. her internal dialogue in problem-difficult scenarios reminds her to stay calm and collected and problem solve. (her internal dialogue in annoying-difficult situations is a long drawn out "ugh" peppered with reminders to behave appropriately) DAI — daichi is open to listening to and understanding other perspectives, but he keeps his own judgement and isn't particularly open to other people's advice. he used to chew over past mistakes, but he's better at not doing that these days (mostly because his head full of other nightmarish worries and the past is kind of small in the face of the looming future). when things get difficult he doubles down and grounds himself, and his internal dialogue tends to be full of no-nonsense goal-oriented planning/problem solving.

LEARNING– What are they interesting in learning about, if anything? What hobbies and skills do they have? Do they know how to make themselves happy?

MINAH — minah's got a couple of questions she wants answered. her hobbies/skills include music, acting, acrobatics, breaking into places, lying, and stealing shit. she knows how to keep herself distracted; she doesn't know how to make herself happy VESPER — she's always been interested in magic and the fade and the past. she loves getting to spend an afternoon with solas (and dorian, and sometimes even viv or morrigan) talking about magical theory and the fade and all that fun stuff (what a nerd). as a hobby, she designs magical glyphs and wards. she also enjoys cooking, reading, and riding horses. she knows how to find joy, though she isn't always good at actually doing that. DAI — would love to know how to stop the void from consuming all the worlds, etc. I'm actually not entirely sure about his hobbies (rip) but he's pretty good with household handcrafts—sewing, mending, that sort of thing. I think he could get really into writing; there's an endgame where he writes everything down for posterity. he's not sure how to make himself happy, but he's committed to learning.

CITIZENSHIP– Do they prefer to look out for themselves or be part of a community? Are they willing to work with others fairly to reach a shared goal?

MINAH — minah prefers to be part of a community, though she can look after herself when necessary. she's willing to work with others; the fairness depends on the situation, but she defaults to fair-ish. she's not the kind to go out of her way to backstab her friends and allies, she's just a little preoccupied with taking care of herself. (she is more of a team player than one might expect) VESPER — vesper prefers to be part of a community, though she could look after herself if she had to. she's big on communal work and goals, and she'll work fairly to achieve those goals. if anything she'll work too hard to reach a shared goal. DAI — dai's also a community guy—he would be lost on his own. he's big on fairness too, and he's willing to work with pretty much anyone, even people he can't stand, in pursuit of a shared goal.

MEANING– Where do they believe they fit in the world around them? What provides them comfort? Do they think about their daily life and routine? Are they satisfied?

MINAH — minah moves through the world the same way she moves through a house she's burgling: trying to leave as passing an impression as she can, a little startled and uncomfortable at being seen and remembered. she doesn't think a lot about her daily life/routine except for when it changes (she thinks a lot about being a warden). she'd say she's satisfied if anyone asked, but she doesn't really know what satisfaction looks like to her and she's pretty sure that if she did, this wouldn't be it (but maybe it could be? she's not sure). she's a being of creature comforts, though she doesn't admit it too often; besides that, she's most at ease with money in her pocket and an easy exit. VESPER — vesper sees herself as meant to work for the world around her, slightly in a magic is meant to serve man way but mostly because she just cares a lot and wants to help and do good. in the circle she tried not to think too hard about the quotidian—it was depressing to be stuck living the same pattern forever—but she thinks about it post-circle. being safe brings her comfort, and so does good food, and good friends, and knowing the people she cares about are safe. she's got some things she'd change if she could, but she's satisfied enough. DAI — dai feels an immense responsibility to the world around him and sees himself as serving the needs of the many, be that as a healer or by standing between the innocent and the dangers of the world. (to be honest, these days he tends to drag that obligation around like a yoke; he hasn't had nearly enough (read: any) time to process Dying For His Cause and isn't sure where that leaves him/how that feels/what that means). he thinks about his daily routine/life a lot right now, post-abyss. he's comforted by the presence of the people he cares about and the work he has to do—it's something of a balm to have tasks and a structure in the uncertainty of everything else. end of the world aside, he's satisfied. (he doesn't let himself think too hard about how true that will be if they get through this alive.)

#tyyyyyy sorry for the delay with this #brain machine broke you know how it is #having lots of feelings about post-abyss daichi rn <3 #memery #minah #vesper #daichi

3 notes · View notes

seraandthebees · 1 year

Text

Find the words

Tagged by @mxkelsifer to find the words flame, mischief, sun, and alone.

No pressure tagging @spindleweedss @mullethawke @hawkeharel @breadedsinner and your words are breathe, night, close, and doubt

Flame:

The candle burned low, flickering as if complaining about its lack of wax and grasping for the person sitting at the large wooden desk, using its light, to notice and feed the flame.

Herah, however, was completely oblivious to the plight of the poor candle, focused her gaze on own source of fuel, her shoulders hunched over as she leaned awkwardly on a desk that was not designed for Qunari height. Her eyes were trained on a textbook detailing a theory on the exact manipulation of the Veil behind lightning magic. This particular author did not hold back her criticisms of other existing theories - theories of which Herah's prior reading had consisted - as she pushed mercilessly for her own theory.

There was, however, reason for her confidence, Herah thought, as there seemed to be good evidence in support of her stance, and many of the points she made filled in the gaps left by other scholars. And yet Herah still felt that there was something missing from the explanation.

Something that she couldn't quite place in that moment.

Perhaps it was getting too late, she realised, as she at last noticed the dimming light of the candle, its flame almost nonexistent. Perhaps she would be able to make better sense of the vying theories after some rest and time to consider what she had consumed.

Mischief:

“Amatus! Come quickly!” Dorian called from the en-suite adjourning Solas’ room, his voice insistent.

Solas ran in immediately, scouting the room for danger. “What’s wrong?”

“Why would anything be wrong? I simply found the perfect outfit for you to wear when we announce our relationship to the rest of the Inquisition,” Dorian grinned mischievously.

“Oh, for... Dorian, we’ve spoken about this.”

“Yes, yes, I need to be less captivating and overall more boring. Look at it,” he thrust a t-shirt into his hands.

Solas sighed but unfolded the garment regardless. He was curious to see what had gotten his boyfriend so excited, but when he saw it his face blanched. It was a white top with the words ‘fade nerd in the streets, dread wolf in the sheets’ scrawled across it in a large, bold font.

“No,” he refused.

Sun:

The first thing he noticed when he awoke was the hushed voices of people above him. They sounded worried, he thought distantly, but it felt like the thought was not his own as the lightheaded sensation from earlier returned. His limbs ached as if he had fallen down some stairs. Had he fallen? He couldn’t remember.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. He was glad that they seemed to be out of the sun, but confused about how he’d gotten here. It appeared he was in a tent so he assumed that they’d managed to set up camp. His eyes immediately were confronted with Dorian’s concerned face hovering over his own.

“You’re awake,” he said softly, his usual mask of self-confidence and indifference gone.

“What happened?” Solas asked, his voice raspy from dehydration.

“You fainted.” Dorian paused to pick up a wet cloth and apply it to the elven apostate’s forehead. Solas hummed in appreciation. It was pleasantly cool on his overheated forehead.

Alone:

“You have hopes for reform, correct? To do so would require you to actually go to Tevinter at least for some time. I would go with you, if you allow it,” he replied, sounding very much serious.

“Amatus, it’s hardly the safest place for elves. I cannot encourage you to enter a place where you’re very existence would lead to your persecution,” he sighed.

“Firstly,” Solas huffed, now looking somewhat annoyed, “elves are persecuted everywhere. Yes the dangers are greater in Tevinter, but the opportunity to change the Magisterium, to aid the elven slaves who need me most- it is too great a reward to sniff at. Secondly, Tevinter is hardly the safest place for you either. You will suffer degradations at the hands of your fellow countrymen. You say you cannot allow me to go somewhere I will suffer. Well, I will not allow you to suffer alone. We can face whatever prejudices we encounter together.”

#writing tag games #oc: herah adaar #solrian #solas x dorian #a lot of them ended up being from my various works for that ship!#I’ve missed talking about them

8 notes · View notes

ir0n-angel · 2 years

Text

In no particular order,

1. Hudson (Disney’s Gargoyles): Date, platonic. Dinner and maybe a stroll around the castle while we talk about history and the new books he’s learned how to read. That old soldier would have lots of stories and wisdom to share, and I want to hear them all.

2. Optimus Prime (Transformers G1 or Prime): Date, platonic. Same as above, though he probably wouldn’t appreciate my hero worship as much. This character has been the biggest influence on my life out of all I’ve ever known, and still a father-figure to me. “Be strong enough to be gentle.” I don’t know what we’d talk about, but I’m down to listen to anything. Or we could just take a quiet drive. For all the I do not like living in the desert, it does have some lovely roads to drive on at night.

3. Edward Deegan (Fallout 4, my fic version of him): Date, not so platonic. So, uh, this one is a bit embarrassing to admit because he’s an NPC that got maybe fifteen minutes of screen time, and since no one else was doing much with him (at the time), I kinda sorta took him for my own. Meaning I projected a lot of my ideals and a few of my own personality traits onto him. Cooking dinner together, dancing in the living room, long walks and talks, and then see where the evening goes from there.

4. Dorian (Dragon Age: Inquisition): Date, platonic. It was a tough choice between him and Solas, but Dorian wins out because he strikes me as the more fun of the two. I want to sit and listen to this boy nerd out over magical theory, and discuss the latest fashion trends in clothing and food. Or just the unimportant things in life to distract from Everything Is Awful for a few hours.

5. Al-An (Subnautica: Below Zero): Date, platonic. I’m seeing a trend here. Same as all the others above, I want to have long talks with this one and learn about everything they know. They would probably be the most fascinating of the lot, having lived the longest and traveled the furthest through space and time. And they’d probably be the most contentious, since they’re not shy about criticizing humans’ limitations. I’d still want to try, regardless.

#asks #Top 5 #top 5 fictional people I'd take out - date or death #I'm a demi and romance really doesn't register until I get to know a someone really well

2 notes · View notes

tevinterblights · 3 years

Text

back in my inquisition feels and missing my best girl Eleri so have some details:

- she’s in her late thirties

- she was a spy/lookout for her clan; she moves like a silent shadow

- this is made all the more ironic when she decides to become a tempest fighter; she chooses to specialize in it because she already has experience in assassinations and is a moderate artificer herself. early on she is garbage at it, but eventually gets used to smashing elements on her body and becoming a whirlwind of fiery or icy blades. bottled lightning is her absolute favorite

- she always wanted to see the world but also wanted to do her duty to her clan; volunteered for the Conclave mission since that seemed like the most intriguing way to get involved. she was an outlier even among her people, and didn’t have many close friends among them; her one childhood friend died of darkspawn corruption

- does believe in the elven pantheon and was known as a protector for the clan, so took Mythal’s vallaslin at age 25

- she loves history, not just elven, but human and dwarven and even Qunari. she’s a giant nerd who spends a lot of time in the Skyhold library in an attempt to “catch up” with her advisors and be worthy of the inquisitor title (not just because a certain other nerdy elf also resides there)

- she gets along fairly well with most people, since she is gracious and well-mannered, but has very few close friends. the only one to truly bring down her walls is Dorian - they trade books and try to out-quip each other over wine. she also is fascinated by magic, even having none of her own, so enjoys his tales of Minrathous and Qarinus

- early on, she expresses to Solas how interested she is in magic, and he tries to help her to manifest her own on multiple occasions; but nothing ever materializes. she is disappointed each time, but in an attempt to cheer her up after one session they switch to practicing Orlesian to help her prepare for the Winter Palace. she picks it up easily and even quicker than he does, so they switch to Antivan. she outpaces him there as well and it becomes a game of wits. some days he will greet her in Qunlat, and she will respond in ancient Tevene. flirting happens in every language, but bedroom talk is all Elven.

- she is more afraid than she will admit that history will be unkind to her, particularly human history. this only increases after learning of the last Inquisition and inquisitor.

- she loves tea. it is one of the only areas where she and Solas bitterly disagree. the other significant area is discussions on whether wearing a silly-looking accessory to a party because it has historical context that essentially gives nobility the middle finger (but comes with no guarantee they will make that connection, she argues) punishes you or them more.

#sorry I just love her so much #she’s my favorite OC cause she’s so competent and mature #dai #dragon age inquisition #lavellan #Solavellan #eleri #elerilavellan

8 notes · View notes

sapphim · 3 years

Text

@rainwolfheart oh dorian has such fantastically intense grad student energy. I could easily see him doing something incredibly high level and conceptual with math or physics given that he and gereon just like??? invented time travel magic???? my dear, dear beloved nerd

in academia au he's a classical history grad student (given he also seems to spend a great deal of time in game researching tevinter history). he's also the extremely long-suffering TA for solas, a tenured ancient history professor who is here to publish papers and give lectures but really can't be bothered to teach. so dorian ends up covering most of his office hours and injesting too much caffeine.

vivienne, meanwhile, is over in the college of law, and knows the ins and outs of corporate law forwards and backwards.

#ask me about my AUs

10 notes · View notes

inquisitoracorn · 4 years

Text

(Just some magic nerds nerding it out)

Dorian peered down over the railing to check on the current state of affairs downstairs. He and Solas hadn't exactly been on the friendliest of terms and if Dorian wanted to solicit his help it was probably best he didn't interrupt something critical. Like when Sera decided to have some fun while Solas was placing pigment on wet plaster. That particular disaster almost set the curtains of the Throne Room on fire and lead to the premature demise of about a hundred bees. As such, Dorian would not be disturbing the creative process of one of Solas's precious frescoes, not when he needed his help and especially not with the imminent risk of setting his quiff on fire. Besides, those frescoes really were quite remarkable.

As he looked down, Dorian got a glimpse of a shiny reflective scalp and a pair of ears hunched over a desk full of papers, notes and open books, scribbling away. What an outstanding spot, he thought, for someone who prefers to go unnoticed. Anyways, nothing too important then.

"Solas? Are you busy?"

Solas didn't lift his head, nor make any move to acknowledge the interruption.

"Yes, though I would rather not have you pointedly looming over me every five minutes while you wait for me to finish my work." He spoke in a level voice, but the tension was evident and purposeful.

Right, he's irritated. Perfect, predictable start.

Dorian made a scandalised scoff.

"Nonsense! I can wait!" Truly, everyone assumed the worst of him, Solas most proficiently. Alright, second only to Mother Giselle, perhaps...

Solas let off a sarcastic huff but he set down the pen back into its holder once he finished writing his sentence. He took his time to get up, angle his chair against the table and clasp his hands at his back in his usual manner. Fair game to make him wait a bit longer, he supposed.

"Is there something you would like to discuss? Preferably not yelling it hunched over a balcony like some tawdry theatre?"

"Ah, you're no fun. My place or yours?", said Dorian cheerfully.

After a pause, Solas sighed and made towards the stairs. Dorian will win him over just yet.

Once Solas reached him he decided not to delay the matter any further.

"Don't worry, I'll won't keep you long. I had some questions, I hear you like those? I was thinking about one of the spells you use in battle. You do this thing where you send a wave of energy that scatters fully armoured soldiers like flower petals. How do you do that? Is it a sort of elemental magic or Fade magic? Is it through gathering environmental magical residue? Or are you just exploding mana?"

Ask him a question, and you'll be met with Professor Solas, all calm and patient and offensively knowledgeable, all other potential Solases nowhere to be found. He looses himself in the fluency of his words when he speaks about magic, as if loosening a tap fixed to the wall of a large dam. It seemed to take a significant amount of control for him not to say too much. Dorian had never met a man so enraptured by his own words. Well, other than himself, that is.

"It is slightly more subtle than that." Of course it was. "Though it appears as a physical manifestation of the elements, it is in fact a spell of the mind. Indeed, it is based on focusing energy, sheer will, like building up and releasing a tide, but what affects them most is not the force of it, but its effects that sabotage their stance, disabling their spirit. The force itself is minimal. So in a way, it is not like any which you mentioned, but a bit of everything."

Dorian hummed in thinking. That would make his experiment harder than he would have liked. He continued, "Would one theoretically be able to strip away these disabling effects? Keeping only the physical push so to speak?"

Solas raised an eyebrow. "And render the spell as effective as a particularly vicious summer breeze? Perhaps? You want to change its purpose?"

"I'm researching some ground-breaking new applications. For the benefit of the Inquisition, of course! You said you can raise up the energy like a tide, yes? Theoretically, is it possible to control its direction? Make it targeted rather than have yourself as the epicentre of a shock wave?"

"Usually if I am using this spell it means I am surrounded, so I have never expended much energy into channeling this force accurately. Directing it would require focus that is unavailable during critical moments of a fight."

"But... possible?", Dorian asked hopefully.

"May be. What do you wish for it to do?"

"I want to change its direction. Pull instead of push. Well, first of all I needed to know if it was indeed juggling environmental magic rather than shooting it out, which should have theoretically made things easier. But given that's not the case, I need to know if it's possible to concentrate the energy to a different point of reference. Then all I would need is a way to control the force. If it is directed that should increase force, shouldn't it, rather than spilling it all over the place?"

Dorian pretended he didn't notice how comfortable he felt now, having fallen once again in the grasp of captivating magical debate. It has been a while. Solas didn't even seem to mind his rambling. In fact, he seemed he had become interested in whatever it was Dorian was trying to achieve here.

Solas considered for a moment and replied cautiously, "I cannot say I have ever tried it, and I am unsure whether it is even compatible with the purpose of such a spell. You would have to rethink it completely, and shift to focus rather than will. That will definitely curtail its effectiveness."

"I suppose that's fair. But in terms of control, rather than artlessly changing direction by shifting the point of reference to the target instead of yourself, choosing the wall against which to raise the tide so to speak, I'd rather have it reversed. Keep myself as a point of focus and have the magic flow towards me. Is that possible?"

Solas was, for once, the one with a puzzled look on his face. What was the purpose of this?

"There is another spell that could help you with that, which draws on the power of the Fade directly, creating a vortex to pull enemies in its range. That one however has no control over direction. Anything in the vicinity will be pulled towards that point, or uh, yourself."

"No, no no. I definitely need something that would work on varied ranges too. And on one target."

"One particular target?"

"Maybe I can make a magical lasso, or something like it... Or I could just freeze him in place, that will do. No, wait, that could be bad. Ugh. What a headache. The mind spell, would you teach it to me? As well as any practical applications you have on pulling magic? I'll be the most diligent student."

"What is this for, Dorian?"

"Trevelyan. He will kill himself falling off a cliff one of these days and my barriers won't cut it anymore. FOUR TIMES, he fell on our last trip to the Storm Coast! Twice, I even caught him! Once, he ruined a perfectly tailored cloak! He is as swift footed as a newborn halla!"

"Actually-"

"Can you imagine that as the heroic ending they'll write about in history books?! How would it go, ‘The Inquisitor, leader of the faithful, beacon of hope, the most powerful man in all of Thedas, murdered by the whims of a slippery rock!’"

Solas laughed with a snort, recognition finally smoothing the lines of his face.

"You're quite right. There is no cure for clumsiness".

Bonus:

Suddenly, a flash of white darted downwards right beside them, over the railing. Something suspiciously Inquisitor-shaped, falling hard with a loud thump on Solas's busy desk. Everyone in the library heard a pained groan and looked in shock down at the Inquisitor, who was slow to rise from the fall.

"I'm perfectly fine! Nothing to see here!"

Solas frowned at the fresh mess of ink that now claimed his papers, but was otherwise quite impressed. Dorian had just about enough energy to take a deep breath.

Maker, give me strength.

32 notes · View notes

wiisagi-maiingan · 4 years

Note

Hiya! I just saw your post about microaggressions in media, and I was wondering if you'd be willing to explain a little bit more about how Dragon Age negatively represented indigenous peoples; personally, I saw how the parallel was drawn, but I'd like to understand the difference between metaphor/symbolism and negative derivement. If you don't wanna, that's ok! Thank you for your time : )

Sorry if you wanted this to be replied to privately. I’ve gotten a few other questions about it so I just decided to do a masterpost.

I do feel obligated to mention that I have a Dragon Age tag and that I’ve gone into detail about the issues with the games here and here.

Now, with that being said. . . I’m going to put this under a cut because this is an important topic to me and I’ve never gone into as much detail as I should have. I’ll also give a basic but long rundown for people who haven’t played Dragon Age and aren’t aware of the context. I’ll try to make it obvious where that part ends for people who just want to skip right past it.

Disclaimer that I never really played Origins so this will only focus on DA 2 and Inquisition.

This is gonna be really fucking long and I apologize for that.

For anyone who isn’t familiar with the Dragon Age franchise, here’s some basic information relevant to this topic. There are four fantasy “races” in the game; the humans, the elves, the dwarves, and the qunari. For the purposes of this conversation, we will not go into the dwarves and the qunari.

Humans are the dominant race in the game, with control over every government in the continent that the franchise focuses on, Thedas. They follow a religion called Andrastianism, which is centered around the Maker (a vague and featureless single god who is almost always referred to as male) and Andraste, the Maker’s mortal wife and prophet who was executed and burned at the stake. In other words, it’s Fantasy Christianity™. The religion is separated into two branches, with one being led by men and only being common in one country in Thedas and the other being led by women and being common in the rest of Thedas. Just like Christianity, it is very heavily focused on converting people. As far as I’m aware, it is the state religion of every country featured in the franchise. For the purposes of this conversation, I will be referring to this religion as the Chantry, the in-game equivalent of the Church being used for Christianity.

Elves, on the other hand, are exactly what they sound like. They’re elves, but not traditional Tolkien elves. They have the same lifespan as humans and don’t seem to be particularly special. The important thing to note is that they are very much an oppressed group and most racism you encounter in the franchise is aimed at the. They were the original peoples of many parts of Thedas, indigenous to several parts of the continent before they were violently massacred in wars and outright genocide, all in the name of Andraste. Here’s some information about the main attacks on the elves, in the form of the second Exalted March, a form of religious crusade. Cultural sites, including burial grounds and religious temples, were pillaged and destroyed. Historical records were confiscated and edited, language and culture records purposely destroyed, and countless artifacts were stolen and sold to wealthy humans. This happened long before the events of the games, but are ongoing issues, which I’ll get into later.

Modern elves in the game are separated into two main groups: city elves and the Dalish.

City elves are elves who are disconnected from their cultures and live in human settlements, where they’re often forced to live in slums (called alienages), pushed into dangerous and poorly paid work, and face violent abuse and mistreatment from humans in the cities. City elves are usually Andrastian, just like disconnected Natives are often Christian, though they cannot hold positions in the Chantry.

The Dalish, on the other hand, are elves immersed in their cultures, living in nomadic clans led by their Keepers. The majority of Dalish elves follow the Evanuris, the Elven pantheon which is made up of nine deities that each represent different aspects of Elven life. According to Dalish lore, these deities are not active in the world anymore because they were tricked by the ninth deity, Fen’Harel, a trickster god who sealed away the rest of the gods from the world. When Dalish elves reach maturity, they undergo a ritual that involves receiving their vallaslin (blood writing), which are intricate facial tattoos that represent different deities in the pantheon and, supposedly, reflect that person’s role in their community. I suppose the Native equivalent is finding out what clan you’re in. Dalish communities are centered are around halla, a type of deer that the Dalish see as sacred and use as a form of travel (they pull aravels, a kind of wagon), food (milk and meat), clothing, companionship, and guidance. The parallels to bison should not be lost.

Elves are also frequently enslaved, particularly in Tevinter where slavery is still completely legal.

Now. Humans, elves, and qunari all have a connection to the Fade, the origin of all magic, spirits, and demons. That means that they all have the potential to have mages, people born with magic and a deeper connection to the Fade; they’re the DA equivalent of sorcerers in D&D for all you nerds out there. Across the board, mages are heavily oppressed (with the exception of mages in Tevinter).

Because they can be possessed by demons and potentially use blood magic, they’re seen as inherently dangerous and forced into Circles, isolated areas where they’re under constant surveillance as they learn to control their magic, and that surveillance is done by Templars, an order of warriors trained to be able to repress a person’s magic. Any mage that doesn’t have absolute control over their magic is made Tranquil, which cuts off their connection to the Fade and, along with removing their ability to use magic, also removes their ability to feel emotions, have desires, and experience dreams. It’s essentially a fantasy lobotomy. In some Circles, this is done on the whims of Templars to any mage that causes the slightest issue for them. Other forms of abuse are also incredibly common in Circles.

So! That’s the end of the context explanations! Let’s move onto the indigenous-coding in the game!

The coded group in question are the elves, particularly the Dalish. They’re also coded as Jewish and Romani, which makes the information that’s going to follow even worse. Despite popular belief, this coding is not actually up for debate and has been directly confirmed by David Gaider (scroll a bit, and be warned that he uses the g-slur). Since I’ve already explained what Dalish elves and city elves are, I doubt I have to get into how exactly they’re Native-coded and I don’t really feel like doing that anyway. So let’s just get right into the issues with this coding.

The first issue is the elves themselves. Elves are cool, I love elves. But it’s really fucking shitty to make the Christian-coded group human while the group coded as indigenous, Jewish, and Romani is inhuman. It’s a really common trope in fantasy and sci-fi and directly contributes to the dehumanization of our communities. It also gives fans the ability to brush off criticisms of their depictions because they’re “just elves”, something I see in the fandom a lot.

We also have to think of how elves in media are depicted in general. They’re usually magical beings with unnaturally close ties to nature, and as a Native person who has been asked if I can speak to eagles and if I live in a tipi in the woods, that is not a stereotype that needs to be further associated with indigenous groups.

Elves are degraded constantly by every character in the series, and the narrative depicts Dalish elves especially in a terrible light. There is only one companion in the entire series who actually genuinely cares about the Dalish, and that because Merrill is Dalish herself, having left her clan to live in the city; she’s also frequently mocked and depicted as naive and ignorant despite being a grown-ass woman and her rivalmance is dangerously unhealthy and toxic. In Dragon Age: Inquisition, you can have two elf companions, both of who explicitly hate the Dalish and disapprove of any pro-Dalish stances. One of those companions, Sera, also hates elves in general and frequently distances herself from them. Solas is a whole other can of worms.

If you play as a Dalish Inquisitor in DA:I, you are faced with constant mockery and scorn at every angle. Dorian, a Tevinter mage, explicitly tells you that slavery is better than being poor and that his family treats their slaves “very kindly”. You cannot call him out on this; he says his piece and then the conversation ends and can literally never be mentioned again, even if you romance him. Cassandra, who is very pro-Chantry, asks you why you can’t just “make room” for worshipping the Maker alongside the Elven deities. Any support of the Dalish earns you immediate disapproval from all of your companions. You cannot be openly Dalish without being directly punished by the game.

I mentioned earlier that Dalish elves and city elves both live in tightly-knit and isolated communities, Dalish elves in the form of nomadic clans and city elves in the form of alienages. There’s safety in numbers, but when you’re surrounded by enemies, that can also be incredibly dangerous. At multiple points in the series, entire alienages and clans are massacred. More often than not, this is completely unavoidable, and when it can be avoided, it’s extremely difficult to do so.

In Inquisition, if you play as a Dalish Inquisitor, you will start to receive war table quests regarding your clan. If you make even one wrong choice (and there are several choices you have to make, most of which are misleading), then your entire clan is massacred along with the elves in the city they’re settled by. The incident leading to their possible deaths is actually caused by a human noble poisoning other humans in the city and blaming the elves, since the alienage had a different water source and there was a clan settled near the city.

In Dragon Age 2, you can directly massacre Merrill’s entire clan. Even if you choose not to do so, the clan suffers heavily, losing their First (the future Keeper) to the city and then losing their Keeper to demons. They end up stranded in that area due to their halla dying, which means that their aravel couldn’t be pulled.

At another point in Inquisition, you encounter a clan that suffers heavily as well when a huge swath of them are massacred by Red Templars. You can do absolutely nothing to prevent this.

In the same area that the last clan I mentioned is found in, there are several quests regarding it, several of which stick out to me.

One requires you to literally desecrate a Dalish burial site to finish the quest (The Spoils of Desecration, it’s literally in the name).

Another quest gives you the task of finding a sacred golden halla, a legendary spiritual and religious figure to the Dalish, and guiding it to the unnamed Dalish clan. In this quest, you can also choose to just straight up kill it (The Golden Halla).

There’s a main storyline quest that involves going through a historical site to discover the truth about a massacre that had always been blamed solely on elves. At the end of the quest, you can choose to give these new records to either the clan I talked about or to the Chantry, who, if I remember correctly, modify the records to be about the Dalish becoming violent after one of their clan members converted to Andrastianism (The Knights’ Tomb). If you choose to give the records to the Dalish, a follow-up quest involves the clan asking for your help gifting a halla to the human village that was part of the incident, which you need to either trick or force the village into accepting (Bestow Mourning Halla).

Moving on. . .

In the quest Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts, you meet the human empress of Orlais, Celene, who you have to protect from assassins. You also meet her handmaid, spymaster, and former lover, an elf woman named Briala. And of course, Celene’s terrible cousin Gaspard, who is not really relevant for this discussion. Just know that he’s awful.

In this quest, you have to uncover information about these three people and use that information to manipulate the situation and get your desired ending. There are several possible endings you can choose, but we’re going to focus on one specific one for right now, namely the one where you can choose to help Celene and Briala reconcile and become lovers again, with Celene ruling Orlais and Briala being her partner and advisor. Sounds great, right? The lovely women get their happily ever after and everyone is happy.

Except that the game doesn’t give you the full story. Not in the slightest. Instead, it depends solely on you having read The Masked Empire, a book that is completely separate from the game and that many players don’t even know exist. It gives a very different context to this game, and especially to Celene and Briala’s relationship. I recommend reading this post from @dalishious because I cannot possibly explain the situation better than they have on their blog. If you’re into Dragon Age, I recommend giving them a follow in general because they offer some really great perspectives on DA as a Mi'kmaw person who knows a hell of a lot more about the franchise than I do.

(The quest also tries to convince you that Briala is on the same level as Celene and Gaspard. That is complete bullshit, as dalishious gets into here.)

So, to add to its very long list of crimes, Bioware purposely withholds information from the player in order to trick you into getting an elf back together with her violently racist and incredibly dangerous abuser.

And if I remember correctly, you can also discover a hidden room in Celene’s palace which is filled with broken Elven artifacts that Celene was experimenting with.

In Inquisition, you also encounter at least two Dalish elves who explicitly talk about being kicked out of their clans for being mages, left to make it on their own or die. Which is. . . absurd and doesn’t fit pre-existing lore at all, since clan Keepers and their apprentices are literally mages themselves AND it’s already been shown that if a clan cannot support or doesn’t need people with specific skills (not just mages but also crafters, traders, hunters, etc), then it will actually send those people to other clans to live with them. Merrill, the Dalish companion mentioned earlier, is one such case, with her original clan having an excess of mages and sending her to a different clan who needed a mage to train as a first. Changing that to say that clans now outright abandon mages, especially as children, was a ridiculous choice and makes me feel like it was done purely to show them as ~savage~.

(I personally headcanon that it was a lie spread purposely by clans to protect themselves, playing off of racist ideas of what they were like. No templar would go up against an entire clan just to drag two or three mages off to the Circle, but multiple mages? Five mages? A dozen? Now that would be worth the risk.)

And now it’s time to get into the worst part of the games, by far.

Trespasser.

In this DLC, you discover that one of your elf companions, Solas, is actually the god Fen’Harel, and that he’s essentially trying to destroy the entire world to “reset it”.

You also discover that your gods are false.

That’s right. Bioware based this community and culture off of Jewish, Romani, and Native peoples. And then made the gods fake. Explicitly told players that the Dalish are wrong about everything they’ve ever known, that their religion is all fake, and that it’s their own fault because they dared try to recreate their culture with the scraps they had left.

Oh, but it doesn’t end there, no. The gods aren’t just fake, they were actually slave owners! They were rulers of an ancient civilization and the vallaslin, those beautiful markings that represent a Dalish elf’s pride in their culture and their place in their community, are actually slave markings to show who your owner is!

I need you all to take a moment to process this. To think about the implications of basing a fictional culture off of oppressed communities in the real world, as a foil to the Fantasy Christianity™ that you as the player are constantly shoved towards, and then making that culture’s religion into something so terrible and warped.

Have you thought about it? Because I have. I’ve thought about it a lot.

So yeah. There’s my extremely long rant about indigenous coding in Dragon Age. I hope it helps the very few people who manage to get to the end without getting sick of it lmao

#dragon age #dalish #dalish elves #indigenous representation #indigenous coding #long post #i am so fucking sorry to everyone on mobile #jamesissosogay

412 notes · View notes

ranawaytothedas · 5 years

Photo

So fun HC for this little post Dragon Slaying scene with Bull... First big one is, I think this is the first time that Tamaris has been properly drunk in her life, she is about 30 which makes it all the more amusing. I think that Mathras is the drinker of the twins, Tamaris never really got into it because she was afraid that it would leave her open to being possessed. The reason she even drinking in the first place is Bull insists and our girl Tamaris has a bit of a problem saying “no” because she doesn’t want Bull to think she is some weak little thing. So she drinks... and she is a featherweight... but a happy drunk. She spends hours talking with Bull over drinks about the Qun and Bull’s life with the Chargers. Tamaris ends up passing out on the bar at one point...because she tries to keep up shot for shot with Bull. So Bull tries to pick her up to help her back into Skyhold, this wakes her up and Tamaris protests (loudly) as Bull tries to carry her. He ends up setting her back down, and Tamaris stumbles...falling flat on her face. Bull says enough she is gonna hurt herself and Solas would probably kill him if that happened, and picks her up tossing her like a rag doll over her shoulder. Tamaris is screaming that she is fine and can absolutely walk. Bull tells her to just be quite and she will thank him later, after she recovers from the Dragon sized hangover she will have. He takes her to the Rotunda, where Solas and Dorian are debating some theoretical magic (because they are both nerds and nerd out together), Dorian is highly amused by Tamaris being so drunk... Solas is actually fairly amused as well because it’s so far from anything he expected her to do. Bull explains what happened. Dorian... not Solas... ends up being the one to take care of Tamaris while she is drunk. Not because Solas didn’t try but because Dorian explains he has far more experience with dealing with what she will be dealing with in the morning. She ends up sleeping on the couch in the rotunda, Dorian sleeps in a chair next to her. Watching over her to make sure she is okay and any time she stirs he makes her drink some water. In the morning he makes her coffee and brings her toast. He even makes her some special “ancient Tevinter hangover cure”. Bull 1000% comes to check on Tamaris in the morning to make sure she is still alive.... but if Tamaris was asked if she was alive she just groans “No... I am dead...very dead...” before passing out again. I think she had a several day hangover after that night.

#inkies:tamaris #inquisitor hc #the iron bull #iron bull #dragon age headcanons #headcanon #do it for the queue

18 notes · View notes

vickyvicarious · 4 years

Text

HP/DA:I

So let's just say Inquisition team falls through an eluvian and out the other side of the mirror of Erised or something, just for fun. Some thoughts on what follows:

Dorian is very much a Cool Nerd. I forsee him being wildly popular with the students for being cool, doing wordless magic, just straight up whacking people with his staff before they can react in an exhibition duel or whatever. He in turn is fascinated by time-turners, apparition, and transfiguration in particular. When he realizes no one knows HOW they do what they do, he flips a little bit. Buries himself in the library and snarks to seemingly competent teachers. Is summarily adopted by adoring Ravenclaws probably. Also mentions necromancy/blood magic, freaks some folks out, snarks about the familiar doubt of the evil Tevinter when they make nervous Dark magic noises.

Iron Bull intimidates the hell out of the wizards but Hagrid bonds with him very quickly. They bond over appreciating giant deadly animals (albeit in vastly different ways) and get drunk together.

Solas is somewhat like Dorian regarding interest in the way their magic works except rather... distressed/snobbish at the whole human supremacy deal and lack of elves. Also worried about if he can still reach the Fade. Primarily works on figuring out the eluvian/Erised deal to get back.

Morrigan also works on mirrors. Weirds out students, has quite an odd conversation with Luna, and through some series of event bonds with McGonagall because they turn into animals. Except Morrigan can do more than one and people are jealous. Also I feel Snape would recognize a fellow drama queen/significant pauses aficionado and there would be an unspoken respect there.

Sera is just gone. Surfaces like two days later, bosom buddies with Peeves. No one is surprised, but they are afraid.

Cole also sort of vanishes, but doing his usual thing trying to help students and everyone with their issues. Has a nice moment with Neville. Acquires a curious retinue of ghosts because they are immune to his forgetting thing and very confused by him. Trelawney does see him, thinks he will bring her visions probably, is thought of as weird by most everyone.

Blackwall is a little awkward with it all. Starts sort of just helping out with Hagrid's duties since he wants to be useful somehow. Offers to teach self-defence to students.

Vivienne fits into pure blood society like nobody's business. Has the Malfoys writing her respectful invitations to tea, refuses them and makes it look their fault effortlessly. All the Slytherin girls want to be her when they grow up.

Varric writing it allll down. Getting all the gossip indiscriminately, aka developing a nice information network via storytime with the students. Cassandra attempts to keep him under control and ends up getting goaded into playing Quidditch somehow. Blocks a Bludger basically barehanded and earns the Weasley twins' lifelong admiration.

Advisors talk shop with Dumbledore/the Order and are not impressed. Cullen suggests actual combat tactics, Leliana figures out Horcruxes in record time, and Josephine somehow manages to get Fudge/whoever to give the Inquisition government funding for very unspecific purposes. Dumbledore is more than a little bemused.

Inquisitor depends on race/personality etc. but I expect would find a thestral or hippogriff mount in the Forbidden Forest, and probably open a rift right on Voldemort at some point.

Speaking of some more group/general stuff:

Sera, Varric, and maybe Cole and Solas join SPEW.

Cullen, Cole, and Sera get very pissed about what's happening to Muggles and want to just go murder Voldemort in person. Why is that not an option again?

Vivienne and Cullen in particular have deep concerns about the whole magic school setup and just the hidden magic world in general. Trying not to be too obvious about it but at some point the "do your students just never get taken over by demons and slaughter everyone?" question does come up.

At some point there is a battle with Death Eaters, and after realizing they need them Cole just sneaks up and takes wands away. Cullen or Cassandra smite them which freaks them the fuck out, being temporarily turned into muggles.

Varric freelances for the Quibbler; sales skyrocket.

Hogwarts people fighting over where the DA characters would be sorted, with varying degrees of discreetness.

DA characters fanboying over hippogriffs, especially Blackwall. Josephine negotiating a deal to bring a herd back through the mirror (possibly thinking of a diplomatic gift to King Alistair?)

Cole would figure out the Horcrux in Harry thing basically right away, and maybe lightly murder him to get it out? Potential diplomatic difficulties there.

Death Eaters really into the idea of blood magic. Really really into it. DA team really into just killing them in battle which... maybe also causes diplomatic difficulties?

Cullen and Varric very impressed by Muggle tech, way more than all the wizard stuff. Do not understand why they would not want cars and electric lighting, wind up bonding with Arthur Weasley.

The Golden Trio being highly suspicious for a while, except Ron thinks Dorian is really cool and wants fire spells now, Hermione respects all the studying into magical theory and also everyone who validates SPEW, and Harry sees Sera prank Snape and get away with it. So there is a certain admiration there instead before long.

#hp #dragon age #dai #harry potter #crossover #just for fun #crossovers

3 notes · View notes

mahalzevran · 5 years

Note

What about your OCs, who are their closest friends? What are their favorite things about each other? Was there a moment they realized how much they meant to each other or did it happen before they knew it?

I’m just gonna answer for my DA ocs but if anyone wants to know about my ME ocs then lmk!

This went on longer than I realized so it’s under a read more

For Rhian, it would be a tie between Alistair and Anders.

She and Alistair really relate to each other over many things. For example the whole “not knowing where you belong” thing. Alistair can’t really belong with the commoners because he’s an illegitimate child and he can’t fit in with the nobles for the same reason. Rhian’s also in an in between state of identity because she grew up in the Circle where of course there’s prejudice towards elves, no matter how much they advertise equality between humans and elves. So she doesn’t feel elfy enough but she also can’t fit in with shems. Rhian really likes that they relate to each other a lot because she never had that connection with someone before. As for Alistair, he could probably write a book on his favorite things about Rhian since he’s low-key (high-key) in love with her. One of his faves is that she’s really emphatic (empathetic?). She cares a lot about people. They realized how much they meant to each other in different ways. For Rhian, it was more gradual. It happened before she knew it. I hc that Ostagar took longer than the game implies, maybe a week or so? So Alistair had already spent a considerable amount of time with Rhian by the time they got to Lothering. He realized he had a crush on her then, like he talks about when he gives you the rose. But I he didn’t realize how much she meant to him until she agreed to find Goldanna and how she tried to comfort him afterwards.

Rhian’s relationship with Anders didn’t really deepen until Amaranthine. In the Circle, they looked out for each other (Anders more so than Rhian since he was older) and they were kinda friends but they mostly kept some distance since getting close with the other apprentices was discouraged. Rhian realized he meant a lot to her after Broken Circle. She thought he had died then and got really upset. I think Anders realized how much he cared for her when they met again at Amaranthine because of how relieved he was to see her again and how she did everything in her power to protect him from the Templars.

Kaia gets pretty close with the mage companions because she’s been trying to hide her magic her whole life and it was nice to meet other mages besides Bethany and her dad. But she’s the closest to Anders. She loves how passionate he is and how much he cares about others. He likes how well meaning she is and how loyal she is towards friends and family. There wasn’t a moment when they realized how much they meant to each other, it happened before they knew it.

Alden’s closest friend is none other than Fenris. His favorite thing about Fenris is how thoughtful he is. There’s always an intention behind everything he says and does. Fenris loves how dedicated Alden is to his friends and family and how carefree he is. Fenris realized how much Alden meant to him when Alden respected Fenris’ need for space and how that didn’t stop him from helping him with Varania and Danarius anyway. Alden realized he was in love with Fenris when he first showed up and ripped that guy’s heart out. In all seriousness though, it was when he and Fenris first got together after the meeting with Orana (don’t judge Alden he’s a romantic). Isabela gets an honorable mention because she and him just vibe really well.

Lu’s closest friends would be Dorian and Merrill. She did have two friends in her own clan, but they died in the conclave explosion (I’d talk more about them but I’m lazy and haven’t developed much about them yet).

At first, she was wary of Dorian because of him being Tevinter and her being both Seheron and an elf. But she grew to love and care for him over time. Especially since she’d go to him for necromancy tips, they’re both big Nerds™, and they’re both brown. Dorian realized how much Lu meant to him when she helped him with his dad. Lu really likes how she can just nerd out with Dorian and Dorian likes how confident Lu is about herself.

Merrill is one of the last few things has from her old life before becoming Inquisitor. They met during an arlathvhen when they were young and always kept touch. Both of them bonded over the people in their clans not really understanding them and so kind of ostracizing them, though their situations are different. Merrill for reasons that were shown in da2 and Lu because her personality isn’t exactly friendly (hence why she only had two friends in her clan). Both of them are really into dalish history and preserving their culture. Lu had always had a small crush on Merrill, so her feelings developed from there. The moment they realized how much they meant to each other was not too long after Marethari died. Lu’s clan happened to be passing by so she visited and comforted Merrill. They fell in love in the time between dai and trespasser because Lu was more free to visit her so she helped Merrill help the Kirkwall Alienage. They didn’t officially go into a relationship until after Trespasser though.

Actually, now that I think about it, Solas should be on this list too. Lu was first drawn to Solas because he was kind of the only other elf in the Inquisition, and plus he was a mage, so Lu thought there’d be solidarity between them. It got a little shaky though because Solas kept trashing the dalish. But they became really close over time, mostly because Lu liked talking about elvhen history with him and also the Fade because she likes to learn. Lu’s favorite thing about Solas was that she could go to him to talk about anything and nothing. They used to have conversations all night. She liked how much thought he put into things and the fact that he cared about the little people. Solas likes how confident Lu is and that she doesn’t really take shit from people. She’s passionate about the things she cares about. He also likes how protective she is towards the people close to her. Solas liked her first, but the moment he realized how much she meant to him was after his personal quest when he leaves the party for a moment. Lu fell in love with him over time, but the moment she realized it was when they were storming the Old Temple during Jaws of Hakkon. She absolutely hates the cold so the ice magic affected her a bit more than the others. Solas noticed her shivering really bad so he put his arms around her to try to warm her up a little.

Bolin didn’t have a lot of friends while he was in the carta because of reasons I talked about before so his first real and proper friend was Sera. They just really vibed the minute they met. She helped Bolin get out of his shell and is his wingman. Bolin really likes Sera’s way of thinking because she points out things that he wouldn’t have noticed. It’s also really helpful tactically. He also likes that she cares about the little people. Sera’s favorite thing about Bolin is that from the start, he didn’t look down on her like other tend to. He actually takes her seriously. There wasn’t really a moment they realized they cared for each other. It happened before they knew it.

#thanks for giving me a chance to rant abt my ocs!#rhian surana #kaia hawke #alden hawke #luwalhati lavellan #bolin cadash #acepavus #ask #long post #bc apparently read mores dont show up in asks on mobile?

1 note · View note

dragonagecompanionsreact · 7 years

Note

I read an ask wondering what some of the fandoms the mods were into, and it got me curious as to what fandoms the Inquisition companions and advisors would be into ... if that hasn't already been answered. :3

Oh YES, perfect prompt for starting my attempts to pull myself out of my slump, thanks.

Cassandra: She’s a giant closet weeb. She will adamantly deny being a weeaboo as she hides her manga under her bed. She’s a closet fan of Inuyasha in particular. She also likes shows like Castle and Grey’s Anatomy.

Blackwall: He’s not picky about what he watches, but he does like Game of Thrones. He’s also partial to Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon, which he picked up from Cole. Also The Walking Dead.

Iron Bull: Is a weeb that doesn’t hide that he’s a weeb. Iron Bull doesn’t give a fuck, he enjoys what he wants. He also likes playing Fallout and Overwatch. Resident Evil is also another favorite of his, as is Dark Souls.

Sera: She’s into cartoons; she remains a fan of Invader Zim and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy to this day. She’s also partial to Teen Titans. Outside of cartoons, she likes Pokemon and Splatoon, among others.

Cole: He likes My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic for its lighthearted, colorful content. He has mixed feelings about the fandom, though. He also likes Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons, but most of all, Animal Crossing. “I’m helping!” he says as he helps yet another villager with a task.

Varric: He fucking LOVES Ace Attorney, so much. He also likes CSI and sometimes watches Castle just to tease Cassandra. He also sort of likes Twin Peaks, especially when watching with Cole, who makes cryptic comments throughout it. He’s also partial to Black Mirror and Stranger Things.

Solas: He claims to not be interested in any such things, but Cole almost once claims that he weeps over The Wolf Children and Miyazaki films. Solas coughs, loudly, and gets him to stop, barely. EDIT: And also The Last Airbender.

Vivienne: She doesn’t indulge much in what would be typically considered fandom, but she does have a taste for Desperate Housewives. Sera’s caught her playing Civilization a few times, too, and rather aggressively.

Dorian: Watches True Blood, but denies it vehemently if anyone asks. He’s also a Harry Potter fan. Likes Persona and The Elder Scrolls series, and makes a ridiculous amount of characters for every questline and play style. TES lore buff.

Josephine: She loves Miyazaki films, and openly cries when watching them. She also loves Disney animated films, and sports an impressive collection of merchandise. Still cries when she watches The Lion King, and is addicted to Downton Abbey.

Leliana: Final Fantasy nerd. She also likes Legend of Zelda games, Baccano!, Fullmetal Alchemist, and some of the Assassin’s Creed games. Tomb Raider games are also big favorites of hers.

Cullen: He rarely indulges in fandom, but he does like Brooklyn 99. He sort of likes Animal Crossing, but is mildly embarrassed to like it as much as he does. Leliana loves this, however.

#I tried #sorry guys #Cass is a weeb #mod sarah #and-his-name-is-rouge-crimson #Dragon Age #Dragon Age Inquisition #Cassandra #Iron Bull #Blackwall #Cole #Varric #Sera #Dorian #Solas #Vivienne #Josephine #Leliana #Cullen

727 notes · View notes

ruki-the-hunter · 5 years

Text

The Inquisitor as a Companion

I was snooping through Inquisitor memes and found this one posted by @ratlastheseus

This seemed like such a good character building exercise! I hope you don’t mind :3c

Putting this bad boy under a read more, it’s a long one

Inquisitor’s Name: Arukyra “Ruki” Lavellan

Race / Class / Specialization: Elf / Mage / Rift Mage | Lightning Magic

Ruki prefers to hang away from the fight to bring down lightning upon the Inquisitor’s foes. She strikes hard and fast, and will Fade Step away if enemies get too close. Similar to Solas, her love of the Fade has given her the ability to also use the Veil to strike down foes. She is very pro-mage and pro-elf, and will constantly and proudly exclaim so.

Gender Identity: Female

Varric’s Nickname for them: Violet, due to her piercing amethyst eyes. Ruki is also a common nickname among the squad as well.

Short bio:

Her parents were homeless elves that lived outside of Redcliffe, banished from Clan Surana. Hungry for food, her father tried to sell her and her brother into servitude to eat. Her aunt [Surana, potential Warden Commander] stole them away in the night and took them to her friend Deshanna, the Keeper of Clan Lavellan. Deshanna adopted the twins, only 6 at the time, as her own and raised them as such. Ruki was a happy child, very devoted to her mother and the Dalish religion. She came into her magic when she was 9 and with her help from her mother she was able to master it by at 16 and was made her mother's First. She was also curious about humans and loved their culture, regardless of their views about her being a Dalish mage.

As she grew older, she grew restless about clan life and set off on her own to explore the world as she saw fit. She keeps in close contact with her family.

What would their companion card look like?

Initial Card: Ruki leaning under a tree, clutching her staff. Her back is to the character as she overlooks a nature scene.

Loyalty: Ruki, facing the camera, eyes glowing white, hair frizzled out in the wind. Lightning sparks in outstretched hands as a storm brews in the clouds behind her.

Romanced: A very soft pose, clutching her staff, legs crossed and slightly looking towards the bottom right of the car. Flowers bloom around her while a halla on her left looks up at her.

Recruitment mission:

Leliana will approach the Inquisitor, stating that someone eager to share knowledge over the rifts wrote to them asking to meet them in the hills of the Hinterlands near Dennent’s ranch.

One the Inquisitor meets up with Ruki, she is thankful they responded to her letter. Ruki explains she was studying rift activity when the “mother of all demons” popped out and proved a little too much for the young mage to handle.

The pride demon comes over the hill and with a “Well, shit” combat starts against the demon and the rift. After the Inquisitor closes the rift, Ruki will re-approach excitedly, stating that “that was the most bad ass thing she’s done ever”. She’ll go on to explain that she’s been studying the Rifts and would like to continue to do so, while helping the Inquisition with their cause.

If the Inquisitor accepts her help, she will grin and tell them she’ll meet them back at Haven. [If Solas is in the party] Solas will remark that he already knows a great deal about Rifts and this is unnecessary outside help. The option will appear for the Inquisitor to either degrade Ruki by saying “you’re smarter than she is, don’t worry about it” [Ruki slightly disapproves] or to defend Ruki and say “Two minds are better than one” [Ruki slightly approves].

If the Inquisitor declines, Ruki with get visibly upset, state that all she ever wanted to do was help, and then disappear into the trees.

Where they would be in Skyhold / Haven:

In Haven, Ruki can be found in a cabin near where the Inquisitor wakes up for the first time, turning the small space into her own personal study where she compiles all her field research to help the Inquisitor better understand the Rifts and to help keep them safe.

In Skyhold, Ruki can be found in the library, opposite of Dorian, trying to make due with the smaller space and will often make comments on her and Dorian being magic nerds together. She tends to tease the Inquisitor about their LI, and if both are unromanced, will make comments on how handsome she finds the Commander.

Quest 1: Nine Lives are better than None

The Inquisitor will unlock this mission at the war table. Ruki’s furry familiar, a black cat named Salem, went missing during the whole demon escapade in the Hinterlands. Leliana or Cullen can complete this mission.

Leliana: “My agents can go over the area, Ruki gave a very articulate description of the feline’s collar. They’ll find him in no time.” || “Inquisitor, we have found the cat getting fat off of rats in Dennet’s barn. Harding has collected the animal and she will arrive shortly.”

Cullen: “All this for a cat? Very well. I shall see to this matter myself. It’s just a cat, how hard can this be?” || “I can report that I found the cat, in the Crossroads sleeping in a windowsill being looked after by refugees. The little lad slept in my mantle the ride back here. I’ll give him to Ruki personally.”

Upon completion of the war table mission, Ruki will spawn in the courtyard near the gate, and approaching her will trigger a cutscene where [if Leliana found Salem] the Inquisitor returns the car or [if Cullen returns the cat, both are unromanced] there will be an adorable yet awkward exchange where Cullen returns Salem and the cat gives a knowing look to the Inquisitor. The Inquisitor can various comments.

Cullen Exchange: “You two are adorable, be sure to send me a wedding invitation” [slightly approves]

Good: “I’m happy I could reunite you with your furry little friend! The Inquisition has gained an adorable new ally today” [greatly approves]

Sarcasm: “Vicious little beast. Nearly took the Comamnder’s arm off with snuggles. I’ll be sure to have a muzzle made for him!”

Bad: “All those resources wasted on a cat. I hope you’re pleased with yourself” [slightly disapproves]

Salem will be sitting on Ruki’s desk in the library upon completion.

Ruki and Salem will have various missions that pop up at the war table of the pair bringing various crafting materials to the Inquisitor. “Salem is a good boy, he found them all by himself.”

Quest 2: The Thunder Rolls

After reuniting with Salem, Ruki will want to seek out her twin brother still with Clan Lavellan. If the clan was saved, she would want to visit with him. If the clan was lost, she wants to find his body to give him a proper burial.

Saved: The Inquisitor and Ruki travel to Wycome where they meet Ruki’s brother, Turalyon. Turalyon will explain that even though the bandits were chased off, that members of Clan Lavellan are still disappearing. Through similar eavesdropping mechanics like in Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts, the Inquisitor gathers information about Wycome about potential slave trade. The Inquisitor, Ruki, Turalyon, and the party manage to find the missing elves in a barn outside the city and can either kill [greatly approves], imprison [approves], or let go [greatly disapproves]. If the Inquisitor lets the slavers escape, Ruki will get into a shouting match with the Inquisitor where she will promptly leave the Inquisition, stating she could never follow someone who would let such evil people live. If Ruki didn’t leave, the Inquisition will gain Turalyon as an agent.

Lost: Ruki and the Inquisitor walk in the ruins of Wycome, where Ruki tells stories about her clan, her brother, and fond childhood memories. The party makes their way to a ruined barn where Ruki finds her brother’s body. Bandits appear in a cutscene. The Inquisitor can stay and fight so Ruki can pay her respects and bury her brother [greatly approves] or can tell her to forget about it and to retreat [greatly disapproves]. If staying, the Inquisitor and party will enter combat when Ruki gets to work, softly singing the Dalish Lullaby “Mir Da'len Somniar”. After the combat ends, Ruki will be planting a seed over the grave. She’ll thank the Inquisitor, hugging them tightly for letting her grieve and then explain how she wants to go home. Ruki will not be in the mood for talking until the Inquisitor leaves and returns. If retreating, Ruki can be found in the tavern of Skyhold, in a drunken rage that she lost everything and the Inquisitor wouldn’t let her have this one thing. She’ll leave the Inquisition in a drunken fit. Leliana will remark in war table banter that Ruki had returned to her position as First of her dead Clan, attempting to search for any surviving members. Cullen and Josephine will take pity on her.

BONUS Quest 3: Elf and Human, Mage and Templar

If both Ruki and Cullen have remained unromanced, this quest will appear. Ruki will explain how her infatuation with the Commander has grown to be too much and begs for the Inquisitor to set them up on a blind date. If the Inquisitor agrees [approves], the Inquisitor will meet Cullen in his office and can either be honest and say Ruki has a crush on him or be sly and say for him to meet them in the gardens. If the Inquisitor denies, Ruki will state she will work up the courage herself and go on her way. Cullen will then be found in the gardens talking with Ruki, if Cullen is off the lyrium, he is very shy and awkward but will agree to the date with her when she asks. If he’s on lyrium, he will outright refuse her and get back to work, stating he’s too busy for something so childish.

Accepted: Ruki will meet the Inquisitor in the tavern over the moon about how their date went. She will explain how she’s going to see him again, and thanks the Inquisitor for being her wingman.

Refused: Ruki will be in the tavern, singing drunkenly with the Chargers. She’s explain to the Inquisitor she came there to mope but Bull cheered her up. She’ll make a backhanded comment about Cullen and will stop all infatuated banter about him.

ROMANCE scene:

Flirting with Ruki will be very easy as long as you’ve remained at least neutral towards elves and mages. She will get slight approval every time you flirt with her, regardless of race or sex. She is very smitten and will get infatuated very easily.

First chance: In the Hinterlands, the Inquisitor can make a comment about her eyes which will cause the elf to giggle and lose track of what she was trying to say.

Second chance: You can comment on how adorable it is to see her work, she will turn red and giggle.

Third chance: Ruki will make a comment on how the whole concept of going to the Winter Palace frightens and excites her. The Inquisitor can ease her mind by station how lovely she’d look in a dress. The elf will giggle and shy away, and will mention that the Inquisitor would look just as handsome[M]/beautiful[F] in formal attire.

Initiating the Romance: Ruki will get flustered and explain that she’s always liked you, but was never sure if you liked her back. She will ramble on and on and the Inquisitor will have an option to interrupt her by kissing her. Ruki will grow quiet and stare before leaping into the Inquisitor’s arms and smooching them repeatedly.

How to get their approval/disapproval: Approval: Be kind and help those in need, ask her about Salem, ask about her family and culture, ask about magic, express positive views towards elves, express positive views about magic, flirt with her, [if completed] tease her about her romance with the Commander. Disapproval: Take the Templar specialization, be rude to her, hide the truth about Dorian meeting his father from him, disapprove of elves, disapprove of magic, agree with Solas more often than her.

Break down of their Approval Ratings for Major Missions:

Fate of the Mages

Conscript: No approval

Ally: Greatly approves

Fate of the Templars

Disband: Greatly approves

Ally: Slightly disapproves

Inquisitor’s Lead:

A Dwarf/Elf/Qunari Stands for us all: Greatly Approves

Example as a Mage: Greatly approves

For Faith: No approval

For Order: Slightly disapproves

For What’s Right: Greatly approves

To Stop Corypheus: Greatly approves

For Personal Power: Greatly disapproves

For Vengeance: Slightly approves

Fate of the Wardens

Exile: Greatly disapproves

Ally: Approves

Ruler of Orlais

Gaspard: Disapproves

Briala: Greatly Approves

Celene: Slightly approves

Reunite Celene and Briala: Approves

Spare Everyone: No approval

Arrest Florianne: Approves

Save Celene: Approves

Kill Celene: Disapproves

Abelas Alliance

Ally: Greatly approves

Reject: Greatly Disapproves

Drink from the Well:

Non-Lavellan Inquisitor Drinks: Greatly disapproves

Lavellan Inquisitor Drinks: Greatly approves

Morrigan Drinks: Greatly disapproves

Are they romanceable?

Yes, she is not gender or race locked. She is very infatuated with them before she’ll just as quickly fall in love. Very into PDA and will brag about the Inquisitor constantly to friends via party banter.

Can you have sex with them?

Yes, but she will explain that it would be her first time. After that, however, she’ll make various innuendos about the Inquisitor because her sex drive will skyrocket .

Are they open to polyamory?

If they can be romanced and are not, will they begin a relationship / relationships with other character(s)? If so, who?

She will want to seek a romance with Cullen if left unromanced. If the Inquisitor is romancing Cullen, she will comment on how lucky she is and will teasingly ask for details (especially after the desk scene). If both are unromaned the Inquisitor will receive the “Elf and Human, Mage and Templar” quest to start their romance. If the quest is not completed, the romance will still happen. You will know their courting was successful because when the Inquisitor goes to speak with one of the other you will trigger a funny cutscene of walking in on them caboodling on his desk. After that, they will make banter about the other at the war table or on the field. They cannot be split apart unless Ruki leaves the Inquisition.

Who are they friendly with?

The Advisers: Ruki befriends all three quickly Dorian: Looks up to him like her cool older brother. Approval will TANK if the Inquisitor punches him. Sera: Enjoys causing pranks across Skyhold Cole: Loves how innocent and adorable he is, and is curious about how he’s spirit and human Varric: Enjoys his stories about Kirkwall, and is a secret fan of Swords and Shields

She mostly neutral about everyone else.

Who do they dislike?

Solas - She cannot stand his views on her people. She gains approval if the Inquisitor punches him. Once she hears he wanted Cole to stay spirit like even when Cole wanted to be human, she will like him less and lass. When After What Pride had Wrought is completed she hates him. If the Inquisitor is romancing Solas, she will comment on how Solas had no right to take her vallaslin, that the Dalish claimed the tattoos as their own and will punch Solas for the Inquisitor.

Opinions on mages / templars / how the world is going to shit?

#MagePride

She cannot stand Templars, but understands that the Chantry is mostly to blame for their fuck ups, not the people themselves.

She thinks the worlds gone to shit but that’s why she’s here to help make things better!

Something guaranteed to make them leave the party:

A being an overall asshole Inquisitor will make Ruki leave. Also not killing the slavers or not letting Ruki bury her brother will cause her to leave, but she can be talked out of leaving with the lowest of low approvals.

Special Events:

Imprisoned at Redcliffe: How is your Inquisitor holding up in Redcliffe, being slowly infected with red lyrium over the course of a year?

She thinks she’s seeing a ghost, but once she knows the Inquisitor is alive she’ll get excited about the concept of stopping all of this from happening. She will make a comment about how Cullen was the first to succumb to the Red Lyrium, given his background as a Templar.

At the Winter Palace: Does your Inquisitor enjoy the party, any special events with them at the Palace?

Ruki adores the Palace, seeing human culture up close .... at first. As the night goes on she gets more and more annoyed with the Game and makes comments about drinking herself into a stupor or finding someplace to hide and take a nap. If “Elf and Human, Mage and Templar” has been completed she’ll make an innuendo suggesting she’ll sneak off with the Commander and make aggressive comments on the small crowd of fans he’s gathered. She’ll mostly hang out in the gardens.

If Ruki has high approval: You can find her asleep on a balcony while exploring, and upon waking her up she’ll explain she climbed all this way. You can then send her on a “mission” where she will give you intel and a halla statue.

If Ruki is romanced: She will meet you on the balcony outside, and explain how tired she is, but how proud of you she is. If you put Gaspard on the throne she will also say she thinks you’re kinda dumb but says that’s what makes you so cute. The Inquisitor can then ask her to dance or cuddle her and say that they can’t wait to go home.

In the Fade: Your Inquisitor’s reaction upon entering the Fade? Archdemon’s taunt, and Inquisitor’s response? Epitaph on their grave?

She is in awe of the surroundings but then promptly gets ill when she realizes she’s upside down. If “Elf and Human, Mage and Templar” has been completed she’ll worry about Cullen, if romanced she’ll make sure you’re okay.

Archdemon: Foolish girl, thinking your deeds will do anything. You are nothing, you are a speck of dust. Ruki: Even the smallest pebble can disturb the ocean. Get ready to eat lightning, demon!

The epitaph on her grave reads “Unloved and unworthy”

Trespasser: What is your Inquisitor up to two years after Corypheus’ defeat? Any special events with them over the events of Trespasser?

- If Single/Romanced: Ruki has been travelling Thedas, helping out elves where she can. She warns the Inquisitor that something seemed off with some of the clans she worked with but simply thinks that tensions are high between races and she just doesn’t realize this. [Note: Ruki is NOT an agent for Solas]

- If “Elf and Human, Mage and Templar” was completed: Ruki stayed in Skyhold with the Commander, doing her work through her brother [if alive] or by surviving members of her blood clan, Surana [if Clan Lavellan fell]. During this time she also had a baby with the Commander, a daughter named Rhonna.

Other Major Events: Any other major events that happen with them over the course of the main game?

After first reaching Skyhold, will make remarks about how broken down the place looks but will be relieved so many made it out alive. If she had been flirted with, she’ll make a slip of tongue and say she’s thankful the Inquisitor made it out alive but will try to get the Inquisitor to think about something else.

In Jaws of Hakkon DLC, if she is with the Inquisitor when they find Ameridan, she is over the moon excited that the first Inquisitor was a Dalish elf like her. She’ll express desire to write a book about all the learned with Varric, the Inquisitor can express disapproval but nothing will deter her.

#dragon age #meme #lavellan #character development

0 notes

theanimangagirl · 7 years

Text

Fic idea! "An Inquisition for two"

*Two people touch the orb at the same time. One is sweet-and-a-bit-naive Trevelyan and and the other one is seasoned-Commander Amell. *Now you have the Hero of Ferelden running part of the show. (Well, technically half) *They are know as the 'Daughters of Andraste' instead of the 'Herald' *They divide the work *Trevelyan goes to Champions of the Just to see if her brothers are alive *Amell goes to Redcliffe because something horrible is bound to happen in Redcliffe and might as well be there for the crisis **Amell end up super shook after watching the future.Like she get legit night terrors and all. **Then the King goes to expel the Mages ***She jumps at him forgetting all decorum and finally cries *I haven't played Champion of the Just so I will assume Trevelyan wasn’t exactly on vacations. *They get mages and templars to close the rift *Yay it works! *Then Coryphenous attacks with Sampson and Calpernia *It gets bad. **Except on the part when someone claims the Dragon is an Archdemon ***Amell laughs for 3 straight minutes *They had to work together to survive the blizzard after Heaven **And have some bonding --- Companions Dorian Será and Bull for Amell Cassandra Vivienne and Varric for Trevelyan (Mainly obviously, the pick up different teams for each situation) Amell crashes a lot with Vivienne. With Cassandra too, but not as bad. Trevelyan and Amell do crash with Cass when the subject of the cure of Tranquility comes up. Varric writes as if his life depends on it. Solas is wary of Amell, as she cannot be sweet talked as easily as Trevelyan. The woman has done her research. But ultimately lost Amell good graces when talking about Arcane Warriors and he says a huge lie (still don't know what) he however didn’t knew Amell was actually an Arcane Warrior herself. So she catches him in the lie. Blackwall was recruited by Trevelyan and Amell almost evicerates him when she heard the story that he was 'recruiting during the Blight 'After she stops being mad she offers him the Joining herself after Cory is dealt with. And then there is Cullen. Oh boy! Trevelyan has a huge crush on him, and he on her. But Amell takes the nosy big sister role and wants to keep him away from her. Because she doesn't trust him after all she heard from Kirkwall. And Amell and Cullen still have unresolved issues. Obvs they solve it and Trevelyan ends up with him. Under a very very vigilant Amell. (The woman always has a Walking bomb ready) Wicked eyes is. Kinda fun since Amell acts as 'bait' to distract the nobles while Trevelyan investigates. Then Trevelyan meets Morrigan and is 'meh, welcome aboard' When Amell meets Morrigan she tackles the stoic witch of the wild into a bear crushing hug. Morrigan somewhat dissaproves Here lies the Abyss hits Amell hard and she was *this* close of killing Clarel herself. On the other hand there are less casualties as many Wardens surrendered at the sight of the Warden Commander of Ferelden. They don't exile them but don't recruit them either. Cuz Amell points out the Inquisition has no power over the Wardens. But does send a delagation to Weisshaput to inform them of what went down in Adamant. Mythal temple is interesting. Amell the history nerd is writting everything down. Morrigan drinks of the Well. Amell and Trevelyan have a bad feeling. Flemeth appears, Amell is not surprised but is ready to fight her for Kieran. It doesn't happen but Amell was willing to engage a Godess in combat. Trevelyan is no longer surprised. Coryphenous dies nbd. Trespasser comes, Amell wants to disband Trevelyan wants to remain. Infighting happens. And the anchor is killing them both. Amell is not amused by the Qunari plan. She writes a short but razor sharp letter to Sten. Bull is amused. Both of them loose the left arm. Amell and Trevelyan swear to stop Solas. Also because of the anchor and plot magic Amell gets the taint removed. But keeps her Warden powers. (Again, plot magic) Trevelyan gets married and manages to be Comptes in Kirkwall. Each controls a twin now. Seneschal Bran almost dies of shock That's all I have now . XD

#Warden amell #inquisitor trevelyan #the hero of ferelden #Trevelyan #Amell #dragon age #dai #fic idea

3 notes · View notes