#aveline how do you feel about any of this | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

vigilskeep · 11 months

Note

do you have a preference for bethany as a grey warden or circle mage? or does it depend on your hawke?

all bethanys are good bethanys but i’ve come to the conclusion that circle mage bethany will always be first in my heart and i’d LOVE to discuss why

act 1 bethany feels powerless and lonely. she hasn’t had a fellow mage at her side since her father died. she’s caught between guilt at what her family has had to sacrifice for her sake, and resentment that it’s a sacrifice she never even asked them to make. she didn’t choose to be an apostate like her father did. nobody ever gave her the option if she wanted to spend a lifetime on the run, endangering everyone who loves her, rather than accept the world she lives in. she’s a twenty year old who just lost her home and half her family; is it really any wonder that she’s as drawn to the relative stability of a life in the circle as she is afraid of it? a life where she wouldn’t be marked out and isolated, but among people like her, who understand more than even the most well-meaning non mage sibling ever could? why does being born a mage make it her job to fight this, instead of take the life she’s given?

a bethany who goes to the wardens is pushed there by her desperate sibling; a bethany who goes to the circle personally agrees to come willingly, despite hawke’s protests. it’s a minimal but very defining change in agency. her experience in the circle, too, is what she makes of it. we see little of the life she builds there, but she is clearly able to excel and be recognised for her own merits; even if it weren’t mentioned in her dialogue how impressed they are with her training, and in her letters how she has taken on the role of helping with the young initiates who also in game clearly look up to her, we constantly see her at the first enchanter’s right hand. bethany’s circle mage dialogue in the dlcs—some of the best dialogue in the game, imo—makes it clear that not fighting the circle is a choice she’s made. she tells anders, “i’m not leashed”, “i can pretend to be miserable if you want, but i’m not”. she tells aveline, “life is what i need it to be.” if hawke offers to help her escape, she says the circle is comfortable... for now. she’s smart, she’s capable of defying and deceiving the templars when required, and she’s making her own decision to do her best within the circle and see what comes of it. maybe it’s not healthy for her to give in to her imprisonment. in protective older sibling mode, i hate to see her talk like that about the mistreatment and danger she faces, as if it’s acceptable. but what both hawke and bethany can get from the circle mage route is that her life outside the circle can’t really be freedom either until it’s her choice

in the circle mage route, bethany can’t be badgered into learning her own self-worth by well-meaning lecturers. she has to learn from her own experiences, and choose the mages’ fight on her own terms. thematically, i think it’s one of the most compelling thoughts on the topic of the circle that da2 has to offer: someone with an open mind experiencing it, being grateful in some aspects for what it offers, exploring that it may not be as bad as some apostates fear and it may be possible to salvage a life from it, but still absolutely ultimately learning from it that mages deserve more. she says so outright: that her time in the circle is what she needed to “see the need to free my fellow mages”. not just learning the value of the life she once had and her own freedom, but taking up an active purpose that also brings into play the community she gained from the circle. it’s a brilliant, nuanced arc for her and it makes me so so proud. it also makes you see the chantry explosion with a distinct perspective and in, i think, its best light: as a call to action that sharpens the battle lines into focus, and acts as the final catalyst to let mages see what’s necessary past their fear. for me it’s hard to imagine what i couldn’t justify, watching my little sister finally believe her freedom is worth fighting for

narratively, it’s my favourite route for hawke’s overall story as well. bethany going to the circle defines the stakes of da2, with meredith’s sword permanently at your little sister’s throat, creating a desperate tone no other type of playthrough can offer. the warden route on the other hand distances her from the story, making her cameos feel sudden and stilted. the conclusion of da2 is very much about circle mage bethany, both her life and her way of life on the line, hawke finally able to defend or take up arms against the last of their family. by contrast, when grey warden bethany shows up to take whatever side hawke does, it gives the impression to me that she’s only talking like she’s completed a character arc during the last straw because, well, the writers know this is where the game ends. we don’t see or earn her progress. the circle mage bethany route also feels like hawke’s choices are really challenged, rather than hawke making an executive decision to “save” bethany in yet another way she didn’t ask for, and then basically waiting until she comes around to it and apologises for being mad

that being said, i adore bethany getting to fully express her bitterness and anger as a warden, and i think her hatred of that path makes her one of the most interesting warden characters in the entire series. it also involves her unlearning her repression of her negative feelings, a repression which absolutely continues to be at play in the way she defends her life in the circle and downplays its horrors for the sake of those that love her. the warden route definitely has its merits. also her warden staff does fire damage which is LITERALLY her thing why tf does her circle mage staff do nature damage i hate it here genuinely

#bethany hawke #been a while since ive really essay written on here. bethy <3 shes my world

99 notes · View notes

woodsdyke · 7 months

Text

in a shot, i'd swap my body for a body of water worry the cliff side top as a wave crashing over i'd lower the world in a flood, or better yet i'd cause a drought if I was a rip tide, i wouldn't take you out

been slowly picking at this throughout the month, took forever because i was in the process of moving. had a lot of fun with it tho. aveline and johan, really awful as fiancés but great vengeful gay besties. make them regret everything they did to hurt you. go girlies. fuck up their day

(white wasn't customary for weddings in the 18th century but consider: it was for the vibe. ty)

some additional info about these two under the cut because i think about them sooooo much

(tl;dr what if u were two traumatized gay people who had to get married but instead you did crimes that would get you executed by the state, found each other again, now gayer and happier, and became besties who bond over how fucked up your life was and how cool it’d be if the people who hurt you got what they deserved. Wouldn’t that be neat?)

TW discussions of abuse (inc. of children)

Aveline Montclair and Johan Groeneveld both grew up as aristocrats, and have always been godawful at it in new, exciting ways. Aveline is aggressive, stubborn, and prone to lashing out, and her family is unable to find a suitor for her because she’s now stabbed two of them in the hand with a fork (deserved, maybe overkill). Johan is an incredibly reluctant admiral of the dutch royal navy, a kind-hearted, captivatingly anxious man who would much rather be doing a nice artist residency in the countryside right about now.

Their families have a very long history, so ultimately they decide to just marry the two of them off to each other and be done with it. ‘won’t this be an absolute disaster and cause inevitable chaos’ probably. they don’t care.

Their engagement is short-lived but miserable; Aveline despises Johan for taking away the last scrap of freedom she had and trapping her in a life she hates (despite knowing that Johan really didn’t have a say in any of this). Johan resents her because he’s just trying to make the best of a bad situation, while she’s hellbent in making them both miserable.

(we won’t unpack how they both expected unhappiness from the start because the thought of marrying each other made them both feel sick – besties, you are gay. You’ll get there. It’s ok)

To skim over a Lot of things, Aveline runs off with pirates, Johan makes a series of mistakes that lead to him defecting from the navy and going on the run because he knows what will happen if the royal navy finds him. Despite all odds, they run into each other again. It’s a disaster, at first, until they realize some time apart has made a difference, and most importantly helped them realize they’re more alike than they thought. They’re a couple of scared, hurt kids, forced to grow up too fast, who want someone, something to pay for what was done to them. they spent years of their lives at each other’s throats and never stopped to think that maybe there was a bigger enemy to challenge that wasn’t each other.

Turns out when your every move isn’t controlled by your abusers, you can actually make decisions for yourself, and can decide not to ruin your own and someone else’s life over misplaced blame and defensive anger.

turns out if both of you are so intensely repulsed by the thought of being in a heterosexual marriage with anyone, let alone each other, maybe you are gay

and during all of it, they knew. The last thing anyone in the Montclair or Groeneveld families wanted was for Johan and Aveline to realize they’re better friends than enemies. Aveline’s mean, she wants blood on her hands, and Johan has the quiet, relaxed cunning that’s frightening in an angrier man and straight up dangerous in him. They’re a threat as a pair, ironically enough for the people who set them up to tear each other apart so they wouldn’t have to deal with them or acknowledge how badly they fucked up their kids.

Aveline wants to tear into her problems with her teeth. Johan is tired of being fearfully obedient and wants everyone to know it.

things aren’t fully right between them, not really, and won’t be for a very long time – too much history, too much of a lifetime of abuse at the hands of the same people – but things are good between them. one of those once-in-a-lifetime kinds of friendships. Regardless of the outcome, having someone to get angry with, to mourn the loss of a childhood with, to voice those thoughts kept close to their chest on the ways they hope those who hurt them will pay, it’s healing, and right now, they need each other (they always did).

And no matter what happens, if Aveline ever gets the revenge she dreams of, if Johan can have a life well-lived, in spite of being told he was always destined to fail, there’s one thing that won’t change:

Aveline is an only child, Johan is the only surviving Groeneveld son. There’s power in knowing the Montclair and Groeneveld bloodlines end with them.

26 notes · View notes

dacompanionreactions · 2 years

Note

If you get a chance could you do DA2 companion reactions to receiving baked goods from Hawke please? I loved that post about Inquisition so much. Thank you for your time!

Varric is surprised at first, though he's quick to not to let it show. Hawke actually baked him something? Hawke who slayed an ogre, who kills people for a living, bakes? Any normal person would probably fall in love. "If I ever write a book about you, I'm definitely including this."

"Oh. Thank you, Hawke." Aveline is a little awkward. She has work to do, reports to file and patrols to oversee. She doesn't have time to stop and gawk at the plate of... baked goods? Ah. It won't do to just leave them there, uneaten. Perhaps she can snack while she writes those reports.

Anders isn't sure what he's done to deserve the biscuits in front of him, but he won't say no to them either. It's hard to find joy these days, but today he has found it in a plate of baked goods. Anders allows himself to smile. "Hawke, I really, really appreciate this." To make his point, he tucks right in.

Bethany accepts the plate of pasties with a small smile. Carver's favourite. For a moment, her joy is mingled with stabbing grief, a feeling she's all too familiar with now. But pasties are pasties, and they smell really, really good. Bethany gives her sibling a quick hug and wraps one up in a cloth for their mother. "Hawke... thank you." One day she'll be able to eat these without being reminded of the day her home fell apart.

Carver raises a brow at the pasties. They're just like the ones their father used to make. A peace offering, perhaps? It'll take a lot more than pasties to soothe his strained relationship with Hawke... but he appreciates them nonetheless. Carver takes the plate and says a simple, "Thank you," but a thousand more words are said in the look he gives. You remembered how to make our father's pasties. You even remembered how I like the filling. You care. I'm sorry. Thank you.

"Oh, Hawke, you shouldn't have!" Merrill is besides herself with happiness. She grins from ear to ear as she accepts the plate of baked bread rolls. She takes a moment to admire all the little details, like the leaf patterns cut into the dough, before tucking in. After all, it's not everyday she's presented with baked goods. Now all Merrill needs is a few table mats, some new plates and it'll be perfect.

"Now, isn't that just adorable!" Isabela is utterly endeared by the plate of cinnamon rolls in front of her. It's funny - she wouldn't think someone like Hawke, who's probably killed more people than those in Kirkwall combined, would take the time to bake something for her. She just needs a mug of ale and her evening will be complete.

Sebastian takes the Starkhaven fish pie and holds it up to the light. It's actually real. And made just the way he likes it! He offers a piece to Hawke and insists they eat with him. They should get to try their own handiwork, after all. "Maker, Hawke, you'll have to teach me how to make this as well as you." It tastes like home, and Sebastian retires for the night with thoughts of comfort and pie.

Fenris isn't sure he's heard Hawke correctly. They made baked goods... for him? He's never had anything gifted to him without the other person expecting nothing in return. "That's... very kind, Hawke. Thank you." He spends more time thinking about the fact that they just gifted him something. Perhaps this is what it means to have a friend.

#dragon age #dragon age 2 #da2 #dragon age companion reactions #dragon age companions #varric tethras #aveline vallen #dragon age anders #bethany hawke #carver hawke #dragon age merrill #dragon age isabela #sebastian vael #dragon age fenris #fenris and sebastian my absolute beloveds <3

171 notes · View notes

shivunin · 1 year

Note

barges into your ask box!! hello/goodbye hugs that linger for fenris and maria 👀?

Can't barge in if the door is open! Thanks, Zen c: I'll have you know that this was originally two thousand words longer before I reconsidered, so...here is the happy version instead c: (the prompt list)

(Words: 2,548)

A Fond Farewell

In the early days, Fenris cataloged Hawke’s mannerisms out of suspicion. She was a mage, after all, for all that she’d helped him without the promise of recompense. It mattered little that she seemed to wear her heart on her sleeve. There might be some trick to her—no, had to be some trick—and it was wisest to watch her so he would be warned if the betrayal ever came.

So: Fenris watched her smile at the others, the way she would wrinkle her nose when Varric told an especially bad joke, the way she tipped her chin back and laughed with her whole body when she was pleased. He watched the way she fought, as if she’d been born doing it and it came as an afterthought to her now.

But most of all, Fenris saw the way Hawke was always reaching out for someone.

In the beginning, she would pull in Carver whenever she told a story about Ferelden, elbowing his side or resting a hand on his shoulder while she gestured with the other. Her brother seemed used to the contact and did not react at all when she did so, as if this behavior was to be expected from her.

Fenris didn’t understand it, but he didn’t need to; in the beginning, it was enough just to note that it was a habit of hers and move on.

Over time, her casual contact branched out to the others: she would drape her legs over Isabela’s lap when she was tipsy, and lean against Merrill’s side. She linked arms with Aveline when they walked, or rested an arm around Varric’s shoulder when one of them was telling a story. In those early days, there was plainly some awkwardness between her and the human mage—all of them saw it—but soon enough that faded, too, and she would prod Anders' shoulder when making some point or other as they walked.

It was as if she couldn’t help herself, as if she was actually reaching for something else and forever finding it in contact with others.

More than any of these, Hawke always, always hugged her friends goodbye.

Every one of them…except Fenris.

On one of those early days, when they’d said long goodbyes outside the Hanged Man, she hugged the others and paused before him. Fenris stood on the periphery, watching her with narrowed eyes, and she surveyed him with a tilted head.

“G’night, Fenris,” she said after a pause, smiling brightly, and reached behind her for her brother’s wrist, “Come on, Carver. Told you that girl wasn’t interested, or she’d be here by now.”

“But she said—” her brother began, already irritated, and the two of them walked away still arguing.

Fenris, only mildly surprised, walked away without any further fanfare. He was not impressed by her decision to leave him be; he’d been indicating with every syllable of body language he had that he’d no desire to be touched. That she’d honored the unspoken request was good, but nothing especially notable—though, of course, he did file the interaction away with his other observations.

For a long time, this was how they parted: she would hug the others, perhaps even kiss their cheeks, and then she would pause before Fenris, smile at him, and say her goodnights.

If he wondered what it might feel like to be touched by her, however briefly, outside the context of healing—well. He was the only one who needed to know what he wondered about when the lights were doused.

It was at least a year before this habit changed, not until well after the disaster in the Deep Roads and the loss of her brother to the Wardens. There was sorrow, and a frantic span of time in which she adjusted to her newfound wealth and moved her mother to Hightown. During that time, Fenris began to wonder if she might be done with her old friends entirely. But no: only a few weeks after the move had commenced, Hawke was barging into Varric’s quarters with all the subtlety of a summer storm just she always did, and discarded her cloak over the back of a chair instead of on the coat rack.

“Sorry,” she told the table at large, and settled onto the bench beside Fenris, “Didn’t mean to be late. Had to help a girl find her lost doll.”

“And you didn’t get mugged over it? Color me impressed, Hawke,” Varric said, dealing her in without a pause, “Haven’t missed much yet. Bela was telling us about her conquest of the week.”

“Oh, I’ve finished now,” Isabella said, rolling her eyes and lifting her tankard, “Not that I had any help, if you take my meaning.”

Some small, hidden worry gradually lifted from Fenris’s shoulders at Hawke’s presence. It wasn’t that he didn’t care for the others; some of them were perfectly tolerable. It was just—Hawke made sense of their group. If she had left for good…Well. He’d begun to wonder if it was wise to stay in the city; that was all. Such considerations seemed less reasonable when she was sitting at the table, nudging Bela with her elbow while she described her mother’s choice in decoration.

In the small hours of the morning, when they finally parted ways, the group exchanged their long, messy goodbyes as usual. Only—this time, Fenris stepped forward and set a hand on her elbow when he might otherwise have stood at a distance.

“Goodnight, Hawke,” he said, immediately regretting the change when her eyes went wide at him.

“Oh!” she said. It was foolish, it was absurd, but for a moment it felt like the whole world hung in the balance.

Then, just as she had with the others, Hawke reached for him. She did not embrace him, but instead set a hand on his shoulder and took a step closer. They were rarely so near each other unless one of them was bleeding, and then they usually had more urgent things to worry about. Fenris wondered how he’d never noticed before that her eyelashes were so dark and fine, or that smile line bracketed her mouth even when she wasn’t smiling.

“Goodnight, Fenris,” she said, the lines around her mouth deepening, and then she dropped her hand and turned away, reaching for Aveline’s elbow.

“Aveline,” she was already saying, unperturbed, “I have a question about a fine point of city law.”

“Maker, what now?” the other woman asked warily.

“If one is nude in one’s own courtyard—” Hawke began, her voice trailing off as they walked away.

Fenris stood for a moment, watching them, abruptly aware that he would need to walk up the same set of stairs to go home. Usually, he would be well up them before she even finished saying goodbye to the others. It felt…odd, somehow, to trail her home, if only because she followed the same route he did now.

Best wait a moment, he thought, and caught the dwarf’s speculative glance when he turned.

“What?” Fenris asked, pausing, and Varric shook his head.

“Oh, nothing at all,” he said, turning for the door, “Goodnight, Fenris.”

“Yes,” Fenris said, and decided it would be best to round a corner before giving Hawke a lead up the stairs.

It had been fine.

It had been—it had just been a goodbye. She did it constantly; it meant nothing, and it meant nothing that he stood around the corner for nearly fifteen minutes thinking about what her hand on his shoulder had been like, and what he might have felt if she’d touched bare skin instead.

In nights that followed, Fenris decided that it would be stranger to go back to the way they'd been. He would simply have to accept that cursory touches were part of his evenings from now on. Aveline was increasingly busy with the guard, and it seemed increasingly foolish to trail behind Hawke like a lost pup at the end of the night. Fenris walked with her instead, all the long way up the stairs to Hightown, parting at her door. This was not a problem; he’d have to walk that way regardless, and Hawke was good company.

Goodbyes took place at her front door, between the two of them alone. The longer this remained their routine, the more casual it felt to talk with his hand resting on her shoulder or elbow. She went from carefully touching his shoulder to patting his chest or nudging his hip, and Fenris didn’t stop her. When she finally reached up to embrace him, it felt natural, normal, even inevitable.

But here was the problem: Hawke had a habit of continuing conversations while she hugged the others goodbye, and Fenris was no exception. If she was midway through a point about something when she reached for him, she would keep on talking into his ear until she was finished or one of them pulled away.

One of them—it was always Hawke who pulled away; Fenris found that he did not have the urge to let go of her so quickly, even if she’d wrapped her arms around his shoulders for several minutes. It was nothing; just another quirk of hers. There was no doubt in his mind that this was true.

One evening, after nearly two years of this, she embraced him to say goodbye and spent at least ten minutes explaining one of the finer points of the horrible play they’d just finished watching.

For his part, Fenris had missed much of it, so focused on not looking at Hawke that he hadn’t heard any of the dialogue and had only minimally absorbed the actual events onstage. He’d no idea how he’d wound up in this position after all that; he felt hot and itchy now, desperate to dance away and put distance between them. The longer she held on, the stronger the feeling grew, until at last he cleared his throat and interrupted her.

“Hawke,” he said, and just that.

It was easy enough to grasp her waist and set her away from him, and she let go without protest, wincing faintly.

“Sorry!” she said, taking several steps back.

In the light of the flames outside her front door, he could see the flush on her cheeks.

“It is…fine,” he said, also taking several steps back, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” she said faintly, and spun on her heel for the door.

Fenris walked away before he had to think any harder about the interaction, but it was no use. He could still feel her breath against his neck, the lines of boning in her bodice pressed against his hands, and he couldn’t seem to banish the foreign urge that had seized him while he’d held her. He didn’t want to kiss Hawke—did he?

He paced in his room for a time, scowling hard at his own feet over the broken tile.

His clothes smelled like her.

No; he would not think of it.

Hawke should be seeing someone else, someone who wasn’t on the run. Surely there was someone out there who could give her a better life, who would make her happy.

She’d blushed. He’d never seen Hawke blush.

No, no; think of something else.

Surely she did the same thing to the others when she was in the middle of some explanation; surely this had meant nothing in particular, even if she had flirted with him in the past.

Why could he still feel her in his arms?

Frustrated, Fenris dragged a hand back through his hair. This was—it was simply an aberration. That was it. The next time they saw each other, she would say goodbye in her usual manner and that would be—it would be fine.

More than fine. Yes. This would not be a problem.

Later that week, the two of them walked together up the stairs from Lowtown, companionably discussing the benefits of upgrading one’s armor to a higher class of steel. It seemed an ordinary enough evening, but when they reached her door she immediately turned toward the manor.

“‘Night, Fenris,” she said cheerfully, and shut the door behind her.

Fenris froze, hands slightly raised, and stared after her for a moment.

This was…fine.

Fenris had gone a very long time not touching Hawke. It should matter very little now that she hadn’t said goodbye. It shouldn’t bother him, and she was not obligated to—to—well, she could do whatever she wished. That was all. It was none of his affair.

But she walked away without touching him the next night, and three days after that when they all met for drinks, and…

He’d had no idea how important that simple gesture had been to him until it was gone, and now he felt its absence as keenly as he felt the absence of his blade when he set it aside at night. The next time they saw each other, Fenris approached her door with grim determination.

“—and that’s why it never made any sense to me at all that there could be werewolves in Ferelden,” she was saying, waving a hand as she spoke, “I don’t care what the stories say, it’s illogical at best.”

“Quite,” Fenris said stiffly, and she glanced up at him, blowing a black curl away from her forehead.

He wished, intensely, that he’d never noticed the way her lips pursed when she did that.

“Everything alright?” she asked as they paused at her door. She was already angled toward the door, ready to walk away from him. Fenris sought an answer, but came up with nothing; he stepped forward and embraced her instead, his body moving before his mind could properly disagree.

She sucked in a breath when he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, but she returned the gesture readily enough. It was different holding her like this; she was slightly shorter than him, though Fenris rarely noticed. When she wasn’t reaching up for him, the top of her head rested just below his chin.

There was—there was a scar on the top of her head that he’d never noticed before, arching across the center part of her hair. For a strange moment, Fenris was seized by the urge to press his lips to the point where the two lines met. He pressed his cheek to the top of her head instead, and she relaxed against him all at once.

It was…nice.

He admitted it to himself, tightening his arms slightly. It was pleasant to hold her; he enjoyed it. He liked the place where her arms had settled around his back. He liked how warm she was where the exposed skin of his upper arms touched hers. He liked the way her hair smelled, and he particularly liked the way she was holding him—as if she liked it, too.

This was…Fenris needed to think about this. Slowly, reluctantly, he loosened his grip and stepped back.

“Goodnight,” he said, his voice rough, “Hawke.”

“Goodnight, Fenris,” she said, her hands falling slowly until they rested at her sides again.

Fenris took a deep breath, considering and discarding several other things to say. Instead, he smiled faintly—the best he could manage under the circumstances, just a quirk at one side of his mouth—and turned to walk away.

He could have sworn he heard her sigh behind him—but perhaps that was only wishful thinking.

#maria hawke #fenris #fenris dragon age #fenhawke #fenris x hawke #f!hawke #da2 #da fanfic #my writing #i would have posted this half an hour earlier but i could not for the life of me think up a title #naming things: the eternal struggle #i might go back and finish the long version of this eventually but i was like...okay i don't need to recap their whole relationship #for each of these #also i didn't say it earlier but “touch” by july talk is the theme for this one #if there are errors in this pretend you didn't see them (unless they're egregious)#also zen i am taking a leaf out of your book and putting the word count on these from now on (if i can remember)#shivunin scrivening

54 notes · View notes

morganaseren · 28 days

Text

15 Lines Tag

Tagged by @illusivesoul Thank you kindly as always, friend! :)

Tagging: @blackjackkent, @writer86, @this-is-something-idk-what, @jellydishes (I'm tagging you specifically because I think you might like this very small crumb I have to offer regarding Bethany and Niamh. 👉👈) As always, no pressure if you don't want to participate!

Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well!

---

Pairing: Bethany Hawke/Niamh Cousland

Rating: Teen

AU: The Ruin of Your Broken Home

((So let me just preface this by saying this little snippet is from an AU I haven't posted yet; thus, you won't see it on my WIP Masterlist. I have a couple more scenes to write before I feel comfortable sharing it. Essentially, one of my followers asked me ages ago about what a DA2 AU would look like if Niamh had been a part of Hawke's little crew of misfits and who she'd likely romance if she thought she'd never return to Ferelden again.))

---

“So you aren’t a dangerous apostate then.”

Bethany winced at the bluntness of the statement, but she also didn’t miss how those wintry-grey eyes seemed to chill themselves for a brief moment as Niamh regarded Aveline over the rim of her mug.

“Oh? Did I say that?”

“You’re not denying it.”

“You do realize I provided aid earlier against the Coterie when I stood nothing to gain from it, yes? I invited you into my home, and I was hospitable enough to offer you tea even before hearing why you wished to seek me out to begin with. As the situation stands, I can only see that I’m surrounded within enclosed quarters with a group that far outnumbers me and are now the only obstacle between me and the exit. Tell me: who is the more dangerous party here?”

“Oh, for Maker’s sake, no wonder you and your Guard never get any results if this is the way you’re constantly going about things!” Bethany snapped out, and the sharpness of her rebuke was enough to draw both her siblings’ eyes upon her with surprise. Even Niamh’s brows had raised somewhat with her tone, but Bethany was far too tired to feel even the slightest bit embarrassed over her outburst.

“My point is that baseless accusations are dangerous,” Niamh continued on, voice flat as she regarded Aveline. “Given your position—” Keen eyes flickered to the insignia on the other woman’s breastplate. “—one would think you of all people would know the merit of gathering proper evidence before casting judgment. I was willing to hear what you all wanted of me based on your initial friendship with Merrill, but if you’ve already decided who I am based on the very bare minimum of interaction with me, then we’ve nothing to discuss as far as I’m concerned.”

#tag meme #bethany hawke #female cousland/bethany hawke #OTP: In Search of Silver Linings #AU: The Ruin of Your Broken Home #putting an AU tag for this so that I don't forget what I called it later #also leaving this to queue because i'll likely be asleep and forget to post it 😅#my writing #lee's au ideas

6 notes · View notes

merrigelblogs · 2 months

Note

8, 21, 35, annnd 60, for Miss Aveline!

YAYY thank you for indulging me >:3c

8. What location encountered in the campaign has your character felt the most “at home” in, or just generally liked the most?

Ohh this is a really good question... The thing about Av and her whole sorta Deal this campaign is that, by and large, because of (mumble mumble secrets), she's spent most of it feeling IMMENSELY out of place! Like... An island infested with crystal zombies! A MERMAID KINGDOM?? But all things considered, where she's at currently... Even though she was WAY on edge when she first stepped on board, I think she's always relieved to be back on the crew's ship, the Triumph. Started as an ~untrustworthy place full of dangerous people~, but now! How the turns have tabled!

21. Does your character have any noticeable scars? If so, what are their stories?

LMAO okay wait I'm digging up an old sketch for this

AS OF THE END OF ARC ONE (crystal zombie island), Av had been:

Grazed by a bullet from the captain's shithead ex-boyfriend (right arm)

Bitten by a horrifying crystal zombie, resulting in crystals growing from the wound (left shoulder, temporarily cost her full control of said arm)

Bitten by a crystalized crocodile (right leg- not the croc pictured Snapper is innocent)

Bitten by crewmate Tiller (right forearm; she was crystal-possessed at the time)

I only let the shoulder incident leave a scar, but the list was too funny not to mention LMAO (plus if you add in a bonus massive shark bite to her midsection in the second arc, Aveline would very much like if Everyone Would Stop Fucking Biting Her For A Second?? Please???)

35. Why is your character’s lowest stat their lowest (the in-character reason, not “because there’s no reason for a wizard to have 16 strength, duh”)?

Oh easy- her lowest score is a 10 in wisdom because if she was any wiser than this she would not be in this situation at all. Very smart lady but, as much as she considers herself to be The Only Normal And Sane Person Here most of the time, she's startlingly lacking in common sense when it comes to like... Hmmm how do I say this without spoilers... Stuff like, Hey Aveline You're Really Not Good At Lying, Are You Seriously Signing Up To Spend A Potentially Very Long Time Doing Extremely A Lot Of Lying? Shit like that XD

60. What decision would the party have to make in order for your character to consider splitting off from the group?

Anything that would endanger/kill innocent people, which is so baseline that I'm struggling to think of something more interesting?? Av is incredibly principled (hello Miss Lawful Alignment), but she's also kinda stuck with the party on several levels (first her duty to carry out the mission, then plain emotional attachment), so she's far more likely to argue HARD until the party sees things her way.

#long post #ask #yammers #thank you for letting me yammer about Av I love her so much fdjksjfkl #and I CAN'T WAIT TO READ MORE ABOUT WYN >:3c #(also we're playing pirates this weekend so this is perfectly timed hehehe)

4 notes · View notes

stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage · 2 months

Note

Are there any companions you can't stand?

I wouldn't say I have any that I can't stand. Something that's so engaging to me about DA is that the companions have good, bad, and a lot in between. Honestly, I don't hate any of them. There are companions that I have more issues with than others, but I like them all; even, and sometimes especially, the ones that tend to be heavily hated on by the fandom.

The only companion that might fall into this category for me is Sebastian, but I totally acknowledge that I've yet to make an effort to use him when I play DA2. I legit just forget about him. How am I supposed to have a good grasp of his character when I don't engage with him outside of his companion quests? Plus I usually romance Anders so Sebastian always leaves my party in the end with threats of bringing an army down on Kirkwall for not killing Anders, soooo... yeah. Not the greatest impression he's left me with.

I would like to have a more well-rounded opinion of Sebastian because the concept of him is interesting; he's this chantry brother who is also a prince, but his family was murdered so he puts up a bounty on the chantry board [which admittedly is SO funny] and his companion quests are about avenging his family and helping him decide if he should take back his lands or remain a chantry brother. But then I talk to him, I listen to him talk to the other companions, and it's like... oh, the chantry has become his entire personality because the dude was brainwashed and now he's saying shit like the maker was actually the one who freed Fenris from slavery, and when Fenris tells him a story about how Denarius killed a child in a ritual for more power, Sebastian just doubles down that the maker has his reasons, like....babe, c'mon now.

I feel like I've read pieces about him written by fans who love him that are more compellingly written than he is, if that makes sense. Really, I would love to be educated by those who love him, especially Sebastian romancers because of all the love interests in all of DA, he's the one I look at and go, "....okay but why?" I have a lot of fun with character discussions and other perspectives so I mean that sincerely.

Also I think it's worth noting that when I play, I tend to get super into the roleplay of my warden/hawke/inquisitor, but while they have party members they can't stand, I have opinions that are separate from them, y'know?

For example, since I've talked about it a lot recently, my mage Hawke and Aveline butt heads constantly. By the end of Act 3, they're rivalry is heated and Ed's surprised Aveline even sided with him in the end because THAT is how much their relationship deteriorated over the course of the game... but then there's my warrior Hawke who adored Aveline. The two of them were best friends and Aris always gave her the benefit of the doubt, like she had Aveline's back through and through.

I've complained about Aveline a lot in my posts so it probably does sound like I can't stand her, but that's not true. Aveline's actually a companion that fascinates me, like she makes me go, "God, you're such an asshole, tell me more right now." and it drives me crazy how she and Carver are foils, like I love it so much, I could go on and on about how foiled they are, it makes me want to bite something.

It's very easy to look at Aveline and think she's just a bitch, she's a cop, she's a bad character, #Aveline-critical, bad companion, etc. I see it all the time, and not just with her, but with every companion in dragon age, y'know? I'm not saying that's wrong or anything; some characters just don't vibe with you or you have legit reasons for hating them and that's fine. I'm just saying some of it's very surface level unless you make the effort to elaborate.

If you don't like a character, you're less likely to make an effort to understand or see anything positive about them. You're more likely to have confirmation bias, so whenever they do or say anything, you go looking for the worst interpretation. I try not to do this just because for me, that's the "boring" approach to games like this but as we've seen, I'm not immune either... y'know, Sebastian.

But Carver gets this a lot, too, and I think I've made myself clear that Carver is my favorite, I love him, the Hawke twins are S-tier companions and I would throw everyone in Kirkwall into the ocean if it meant Bethany and Carver's happiness.

Now that I'm thinking about it, the characters a lot of fans can't stand are some of my favorites?

Like a lot of people shit on Sera, and I'm like "Nah, that's my girl! Listen, she's got a LOT of internalized issues, but we're working through them okay! She's getting better!"

And Vivienne? Oh, don't get me started on Vivienne, I have a whole deal about her. She's also an asshole and I love her.

My canon inquisitor is Surana who escaped the circle and joined the dalish, becoming Lavellan. Vivienne is a reflection of what Ash could've been if she hadn't run away with Jowan. She played the game of the circle, she stepped wherever she needed to step because Ash knew she was at a disadvantage by being an elf, for one, and for two, not coming from a family with wealth that would give her special privileges. Her downfall was buying into her own hype and believing she couldn't be wrong about Jowan, believing that she could either prevent them from making him tranquil or help him and Lily run away, and believing she was above punishment because she worked her way into being Irving's favorite. Yet it all bit her in the ass and she had to run… so then years later after living outside of the circle and realizing just what the chantry is, how it conditions and abuses mages and shit, she meets Vivienne who also played the game well and came out on top, who now spouts the same shit Ash used to spout and it's makes their dynamic sooo chewable.

Then there's Cullen who's not a companion but I lump him and Josephine in with the companions anyway. They're advisors, they're in the inner circle, they count.

He's such a spineless ass in DA2 like believe me, I get all the criticisms he gets... but he's also fairly polite to Hawke even if they're openly anti-templar, he's softer spoken, and he's unwell after what happened to him in DAO and Meredith's clearly taking advantage of his state... but then he becomes an advisor in DAI who is so done with people's bullshit and blatantly honest about it, like he looks at Chancellor Roderick like "this fucking guy again" and he's so ready to just go for it, y'know? Well... unless you're a pretty lady who bats her eyes at him, then suddenly he doesn't know how words work. Like sometimes I feel crazy because I find him to be so funny in DAI, and overall a compelling character that I enjoy interacting with even when he's being a total asshole. Yeah, there's issues in his writing but I appreciate the vision the writers were going for, even if they stumbled... except for Sheryl Chee, I don't appreciate her contribution of those few posts on the DA forums that everyone uses as a smoking gun to "prove" awful things about him. Nothing gets under my skin more in character discussions than bad faith arguments and there's so much of that when it comes to Cullen.

Actually, while we're on that, can I just add a note that when I first got into this fandom, I saw someone's post about Chee doing an interview where she said all those bad things about Cullen wanting to assault the mage warden and I was like, "What? An interview? What interview?? Where??" and I couldn't find shit until much later when I read another anti-Cullen post that cited a DA forum as the source for her saying those things... so not an interview. I went digging for the forum, went into the way back machine to find it.... only to discover that this smoking gun comes from a fanfiction forum where Mary Kirby was also talking about Sten and catgirls and y'all expect me to take that seriously?

We can have discussions about whether or not Cullen's a bad person or a bad character, but the moment you bring Sheryl Chee into it, I know you're here in bad faith and your argument is void.

Sorry for the tangent and the long answer but this is the stuff I enjoy. I could talk about the characters of DA for ages unprompted that when someone does throw me a bone, I will discuss and gush about them all.

#asks #dragon age #dao #da2 #dai #sebastian vael #aveline vallen #carver hawke #dai sera #cullen rutherford #vivienne de fer #i have to stop myself before i go on tangents about morrigan and wynne and anders and isabela and merrill and dorian and varric and-#literally everyone sksksks i can't help it #also on the flip side of this type of discussion i also love looking at characters that most people adore and discussing their flaws #like i love alistair he's my favorite companion in dao BUT it's easy to forgot that he can be just as petty and selfish too y'know?#if you don't execute loghain he can straight up just abandon you and leave and you'll find him in da2 as a drunk like... babe really left #and let you deal with the blight because he was so blinded by revenge and thirst for loghain's death and that's not great??#not really something that gets brought up because it's unflattering it's an ugly part of his character but it's there mingling with the goo #and if you have a good relationship with him but don't know how he'll react when you spare loghain that can be devastating too #but it's also super understandable WHY he reacts like that WHY he leaves even if it's a selfish move on his part and hurts you #i dunno i think sometimes we're scared to talk about the ugly parts of our favorite characters because we love them #and don't want them to be wrong especially in fandom with a lot of pissing matches and bad faith arguments y'know?#i dunno this is my spiel of the night: i love all my companions except sebastian who is just a character that exists to me #i wasn't joking when i said i'd like to be enlighted about sebby and his romance like....... explain elaborate educate

18 notes · View notes

elshells · 1 year

Text

WIP Filenames Tag

Thank you so much for the tag, @writernopal! Check out her post here.

Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPS.

I basically went through my entire Google drive, and what a nostalgia trip! Some of these are currently in progress, some are long abandoned, and some I have no memory of ever creating. So this was a lot of fun! Feel free to ask me about any of these if you'd like!

AA - SOPHIA

AA - HARLEY

Encore

The Opus Society

EMBR of the Earth

Halfway House

Pandora’s Box

I Miss You with No Response

Homebody

Sea Urchin

Alley Cat

Lionhead

Witches

Water Nymphs

The Hunter’s Legacy

DRAGONS

A Murder of Crows

Codex

Enyo and Thaedhel

The Other Side

Olly Olly Oxen Free

The Treasure of Faringray Manor

Aveline

The Hunts of Piper Field

Wayward Girl

That is TWENTY-FIVE files, and unfortunately, I do not know twenty-five people on Tumblr. Oops XD

Welp, I'll do my best! Tagging @dragonedged-if, @princessw0lf, @ryns-ramblings, @mariahwritesstuff, @e-klair, and @bitchin-beskar, plus anyone else who wishes to do this! Absolutely no pressure, of course, and apologies if anyone I tagged has already done this!

#wip filenames tag #wip files game #tag game

28 notes · View notes

vigilskeep · 1 year

Text

wip wednesday

tagged by @amatres ! uh i don’t have much here’s a v messy scene from a while back of these losers being annoying because i think often of the immediate act 2 aftermath before things settled down into... relative calm

Anders says, “He’s going to be fine.”

Merrill sits down, suddenly, hours of nervous energy escaping her in a breathless instant. Varric swears, something relieved and unaccountably dwarven he won’t trouble himself to record. Fenris leans forward in his seat and rests his face in his hands, fingers pushing back his hair, nails digging into his scalp.

“Thanks be to the Maker,” says Sebastian, fervently.

“The Maker always gets the bloody credit,” mutters Anders, but without much heat. He looks exhausted, circles drawn darker under his eyes than ever before. Clearly he’s cleaned up, wearing some guardsman’s shirt a few sizes wrong, but there’s a trace of red smeared by a careless hand on the uneven line of his jaw, and he hasn’t seemed to notice.

“Was it bad?” says Varric.

Anders leans against the wall, running a hand over his face, just missing that blood. It’s shaking, slightly, the hand. Varric notes that his teeth are stained slightly with lyrium blue as he opens his mouth to say, acidic, “Was it bad?”

Varric winces. “I meant—anything we have to worry about? He’ll be up in the morning, or what?”

Anders closes his eyes, makes a non-specific gesture with his hand.

“What does that mean?” asks Fenris, sharply.

“It means,” snaps Anders, “that I’m a mage, not a prophet. He’ll make it. What else do you want? Haven’t you done enough?”

“I—?”

“Do you see anyone else around here who threw Hawke to the wolves? If you hadn’t suggested that duel—”

“If I hadn’t suggested the duel,” says Fenris, very slowly, “Isabela would be on her way to Par Vollen and worse than death.”

“Better the one responsible for this mess than—!” For whatever reason, Anders cuts himself off mid-sentence, scowls like he isn’t happy with it. “At least she had the decency to leave.”

Fenris crosses his arms. “Hawke knew the risks, and was victorious. Your lack of faith is not my concern.” His gaze flickers between Anders and Merrill. “What does concern me is the danger you pose now. We all know it. The Knight-Commander saw what you are. The witch, too.”

Anders bristles. Merrill frowns.

Varric scrubs at the brewing headache between his brows. How long has it been since he’d left Hawke at the gates of the Qunari compound? Feels like years. “Can you two just take it easy?” he says. “One night? Until the city stops burning?”

“The threat is not mine,” says Fenris, grimly. “And it cannot be wished away. Until we know what move she will make, I leave Hawke’s side when they do.”

“She named Hawke Champion,” protests Sebastian. “Before all the assembled nobility of Kirkwall, whatever her thoughts on his companions.”

“It’s not going to be that simple, is it?” says Merrill. “She didn’t look like it was going to be that simple.”

“I can’t go anywhere,” says Anders. His shoulders have begun to hunch now the fight has gone out of him, fingers digging into his arms. “Even if I... Believe me, there’s nothing I want less than to bring Meredith down on Hawke, but he’s not out of the woods yet. I can’t leave him.”

Fenris nods grudgingly. “We should delay any return to the estate. With Aveline’s aid, we can hold the barracks, should it come to it.”

That headache of Varric’s is getting worse. “Please tell me we’re not actually readying for a siege.”

“Si vis pacem, para bellum,” says Fenris. “If you want peace, prepare for war.”

#forgive the 90% dialogue ratio the copious use of em dashes and the anders behaviours. hes had a very bad day #scribble tag #this is abt keir technically but hes not here and its fairly easy to insert whichever hawke you choose i guess lmao

50 notes · View notes

jemandthesingalongs · 10 months

Text

ziskandra

oh my god you’re so right for all your wynne feelings like…. people really do think every mage should be like. dismantling the system with their bare hands and it’s like. that’s not how it works!! and calling the MAGES part of a cult?? Out of everything?? what on earth… and yknow what if she is trapped in a cult like. free her. Christ FJDJDJJDJ

I hope you don’t mind me taking this reply as a further excuse to ramble about Wynne dslkfdsf...

But yes, it’s always struck me as strange Wynne is never given the same understanding as Anders, or really any other mage character that’s been in the Circle. Anders is the one I focus on because he’s the most developed and there is Something Different that I can’t just put my finger on about him vs Wynne. A true mystery.

After skimming her page for answering purposes, and they are actually so similar.

I learned she never even had a name herself, she was also named for where she was found! Just like Anders! Both of them taken in young, no true names, and alone. They took different paths with how they coped with this, Wynne turned to the Maker and by extension took on the belief that mages need to earn their place and help humanity, and Anders tried to escape several times. Both of them even took on romantic partners, and Wynne even bore a son from it (and the heavy implication/confirmation? that, Rhys’ father was a templar SO).

Of course, this doesn’t matter in the slightest since it’s not so much similar backstories as just, hating Wynne because? She’s a woman? Not actively trying to free mages with explosions? Old? Upset you because she made you mad about your love interest? All of the above?

And I’m not against disliking her character, but Wynne, along with characters like Aveline and Cassandra never get the mountains of meta concerning their worldviews, their place in the world, and the wider implications of their writing and flaws. Wynne stood out to me more because, well, she’s a victim too. Just because she’s not “actively fighting” doesn’t mean she’s not, and in fact pretty much states in Asunder that she knows it’s either accepting your fate within the Circle or fearing a mass genocide.

And guess what happens after DA2 lol!

#me: wynne isnt one of my fave characters #also me: this #i don't think she's the most interesting or in depth but by god i will always go to bat for women faves clearly stuffed under men faves #i have more thoughts but i lost steam bc i refreshed and tumblr updated with an ugly new design ):#cult ment

8 notes · View notes

breadedsinner · 11 months

Text

Judith Banters: Isabela

Judith: For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about your crew. Losing that many at once … that can’t be easy.

Isabela: There’s always that danger. My men all knew the risks, and the sea takes what it wants. We’d lost people before. But nothing like that.

Judith: Is there … something I can do? How would one honor a pirate lost at sea?

Isabela: Keep your honor. I’ve already had my own funeral. Poured some whiskey into the sea, the best I could afford. Hope wherever they went is better than this.

Judith: I want to help you, but I don’t see what more I can do if I don’t even know what this relic is.

Isabela: I’ll know it when I see it.

Judith: (sighs) All right … and so, getting back this item, this relic, this was your task after freeing Ferelden refugees?

Isabela: That’s right. He took advantage of their desperation, promised to take them somewhere safe, and took every last coin in the process.

Judith: What a monster! If he’s willing to do that, why would he honor this? I would sooner guess he would send you on some even more impossible task, keep you under his thumb forever.

Isabela: Maybe, but if I don’t get it, he will definitely have me killed.

Judith: If I can’t find the relic, I can at least watch over you, if he ever comes calling.

Isabela: He’d sooner send more men, but you helped me with Hayder so… I guess this is as good a plan as any.

Isabela: If we’re done here, I’m heading to the Rose.

Judith: I’ll come with you.

Isabela: What, you? Don’t take this the wrong way, Hawke, but I’ve never seen you so much as wink at someone. I didn’t think you had the appetite.

Judith: The workers there have all sorts of skills. Jethann is an excellent conversationalist, sometimes he even has good information for potential work I can follow up on. Faith has such skillful hands; she’s done wonders on my back. Although she claims I’ll need to come by once a month for a year for her to untangle everything.

Isabela: You pay them to talk and give you messages? Nothing else?

Judith: Oh, and their meat pie is much better than that of the Hanged Man’s, although it’s not without its own charm.

Isabela: Oh, Hawke, I just don’t understand you… although I could use a good foot rub. I didn’t realize how much walking I’d be doing working with you.

Isabela: So, you really just go to the Rose for food and talking? Those ‘suitors’ your Mother picks for you are all sent home?

Judith: This doesn’t… bother you, does it?

Isabela: No, I just don’t get it. If it’s a matter of confidence, you could get anyone you wanted. With those legs? I wish I had legs that went on like that.

Judith: Oh, that’s so kind! I’ve always loved your hair!

Isabela: Well that’s swee—hey, don’t change the subject.

Judith: I’m sorry, Isabela. It took me a long time to learn this about myself. Most people … have certain appetites. They may eat whenever they get an opportunity, or maybe just every now and again. I don’t dislike eating, but I simply … don’t get hungry very often. It has to be my favorite meal, I suppose, for me to feel any hunger. Does that make sense?

Isabela: I suppose, although the metaphor is harder to parse when I’ve watched you down three bowls of Mystery Stew at the Hanged Man.

Isabela: You can’t seem to pass out coin fast enough.

Judith: You needn’t worry, it does not impact payment for the Guild. You will always get what you’re owed.

Isabela: That’s not the point, it’s your money. Don’t you ever spend it on YOU?

Judith: I did refurnish the estate and restocked the pantry .. and this new armor, and a new dress for Mother.

Isabela: Hawke, sometimes you are worse than Aveline.

Judith: …Don’t say things you can’t take back, Isabela.

Isabela: But you don’t owe these people anything! You truly think they would spare anything to you, if things were switched?

Judith: My family would never have survived without the kindness of neighbors, sometimes complete strangers. I believe we owe everyone that much.

Judith: Isabela, about the ship… can’t we talk?

Isabela: No, I think I’d rather stew on it for a while. I’m only here because I need the coin. Who knows how long it’ll take be to save up for a ship?

Judith: I can help get you a new ship.

Isabela: Ugh, that’s not the point and you know it! You keep trying to fix things that aren’t yours to fix!

Judith: Isabela, you know damn well Castillon did not deserve to walk out of there. You’ve always known that.

Isabela: It wasn’t your decision to make. And besides, there’s a thousand men just like Castillon out there! Does it really make any difference?

Judith: If that’s how you feel, why didn’t you just damn those refugees from the start, save your own skin?

Isabela: That … that was different!

Judith: Why, because this time the people he’d sell weren’t right below your feet?

Isabela: I. I need to think.

Isabela: So… you and Sebastian?

Judith: I suppose you find it very funny.

Isabela: Not at all! I’ve never been able to seduce a Chantry cleric. Unless you count lay sisters and brothers, but never has anyone left their station to sleep with me! Quite the accomplishment!

Judith: Oh, Isabela, I didn’t “seduce” anyone, it’s more complicated than that. He decided for himself it was time to move on from the Chantry. And we just happened to get closer along the way.

Isabela: But you ARE sleeping with him, right? What happened to your “appetite”?

Judith: That’s all still true. I don’t get hungry much. But now that I’ve gotten to know him, I look at him and realize I’m famished.

Isabela: (laughs).

#DA Tag #Judith Hawke #Admittedly this was harder for me #These are two characters who have had different trauma and handled it in different ways #So yes they are rivals in game #I didn't want it to be cruel but I didn't want it to be toothless either #So idk let me know what you think #We're almost done yeehaw #Judy Banters

10 notes · View notes

dungeons-and-dragon-age · 10 months

Note

10, 28, 35, 52 for the DA ask game!

[ask game]

Hi!! Thank you for the ask :)

10. Share a pic of your favorite OC from any DA game.

Ok I'm cheating a little and making this my fave screenshot of an OC instead of a screenshot of my fave OC lol, cos i got the t-pose (or ig a-pose) glitch with Ari, and walking around Skyhold like this game me a good laugh

28. Inquisitor’s feelings on being the Herald of Andraste?

June: Hates it so much. Being pushed into a religious position is *exactly* what she escaped from from her family, and now it is being done again on an even greater scale. She vehemently denies being the Herald, but up until HLTA there was a tiny part of her wondering if it could be true, which frankly just made it worse (finding out that she was right about the Andraste thing not being real was a huge weight off her shoulders)

Ari: He does not believe in Andraste and consequently does not believe in being the Herald one bit, and isn't thrilled about being called such. And while he does not actively support it, he is well aware that denying it would neither work nor help, so he begrudgingly lets it slide.

35. Who do you want to see return in the next game?

MM there's a bunch of characters who'd be cool to see imo! Most of the DA2 cast are the first that come to mind, for different reasons; Fenris has business in Tevinter plus the whole wolf theming, Merrill has her eluvian business going on (which i think could be super interesting if she was brought in), Isabela gets around a lot and could easily be included imo (i've seen a post abt the possibility of having her ship as a home base for the next protag and i would love that so much), Anders is more unlikely i suppose but having him and Justice turn up again could be v cool. Sebastian and Aveline have less reason to be there probably but depending on how they stood with Hawke and the Inquisition they could turn up. And we already know Varric is gonna be there xd

Otherwise, i'd love to see Connor or Feynriel again! Especially Feynriel, him being a dreamer and all, and with him possibly having gone to Tevinter to study magic. And Valta!! For obvious Dwarf Lore related reasons. And/Or whoever was named Orzammar's king in DAO! I wanna know how Orzammar is doing pretty please...

Would be nice to maybe see Bull and his chargers again, or Sera! Because i love them and bc they are mercs and a red jenny respectively which means they Get Involved In Stuff and if they dont at least get a cameo i am going to be very sad.

... that got longer than expected lmaoo, sorry x'D

52. Favorite non-Player Character headcanons?

Ouhh there's so so many good headcanons...... but ofc when i need them i can't think of any |'D

#brain said who what hcs i dont know any #dont lie to me brain you look at posts abt headcanons every day #ask game/ my answers

8 notes · View notes

shivunin · 5 months

Text

WIP Wednesday Thursday

Thank you for the tag, @layalu! 💗Tagging back @greypetrel @ndostairlyrium @daggerbean @jtownnn and anyone else who feels up to sharing this week!! Technically, the scarf I was working on is done...I just think it needs some finishing touches haha. Also, most of what I'm working on right now is presents and I want to wait to share those c: So here is a bit of my Act 2 fic with Leandra and Maria (600ish words):

Varric told her it was a bad idea before cards. Hawke laughed off his concern, then Aveline’s when they said goodnight later (“Be careful, Hawke,” she’d said in her stern voice, and it’d been plain what she was talking about). Maria knew what she was doing—or she knew what she wanted to do, at least. Well—what she wanted if Fenris wanted the same thing, and she thought he might.

That night, they reached her front door together as they so often had. For once, he was the one to prolong their goodbye, hands lingering on her hips when she might have otherwise let go.

It was enough to set her friends’ worries aside entirely. This was worth it. She knew that. Whatever concerns they might have were well-meant, but unnecessary. Even so, how could she begrudge their worries? In fact, Hawke decided, she loved her friends all the more for caring.

The next week was a chain of job after job, several days spent scouring the coast for a crate that might’ve washed ashore from a shipwreck, then a day helping Mother prepare for one of her teas. Hawke thought of Fenris constantly, but she wasn’t sure what to do about it. “Some other night,” he’d said the last time she’d been inside his manor; would it be presumptuous to show up at his door now? She’d done it hundreds of times before, but—had this new thing between them changed that, too?

“I happened to glance out the window last Saturday,” her mother told her as they arranged empty teacups and and tiny plates on a tray. Her voice was casual, but there was an unfamiliar undercurrent to it.

“Oh?” Maria asked, trying very hard to keep her absurdly lacy sleeves from trailing through the jam or honey.

“I hadn’t realized that you had a suitor, darling,” Mother went on, plucking a blossom from the vase beside them and placing it carefully on the top tier of the pastry tower.

“I…don’t know that I do,” Hawke said hesitantly, looking at her mother between the flowers. “I mean to say—I don’t know that he wants to be a…suitor.”

“Of course he does, dear,” Leandra said firmly, setting the teapot on the trap with a decisive click. “Your father looked at me just like that in the early days. I remember it like it was yesterday.”

“Really?” Maria asked, a strange fluttering in her chest. “I didn’t think…well. I want to take things at his pace. I wouldn’t want to move too fast—but it’s hard when we’ve known each other so long. Does that make sense? What will happen if it all goes wrong?”

“Then you shall still have your generous spirit,” her mother said, stepping around the table with one last adjustment to the flowers. Her eyes were on the arrangements even as she spoke. “You value your mind, my dear, but your heart has always been your greatest treasure. Surely your young man will see that.”

Her eyes prickled. Hawke stepped closer and leaned against her mother, who unexpectedly wrapped an arm around her waist. Leandra had never been especially given to physical affection—that had always been Malcolm’s domain. It was kind of her to offer it now. No—not just kind. Reassuring.

“There, there,” she said, and kissed Maria’s cheek. “None of that. Everything will go wonderfully, you’ll see. How could anyone help but adore you? Now, come: it is time to take these trays into the other room. Our guests will be arriving any moment. It wouldn’t do to be late.”

“Of course,” Hawke said, blinking the tears from her eyes before they could fall, and followed her mother from the room.

#maria hawke #wip wednesday #shivunin scrivening #i think their relationship is complicated but like. it's not that they don't love each other #it's just that they're speaking such drastically different languages #and by the time she realizes it it's too late to try to build a dictionary

11 notes · View notes