Hey! You can use my code BWOJRTPJ at checkout to get 20% off your entire purchase at BioWare! gear.bioware.com

WOOHOO I am very excited to share that I am now a BioWare Brandbassador! You can use my code 🔮 BWTHEDAS 🔮 at checkout to get 20% off your entire purchase at BioWare! This code expires 8/31, but I will update with a new one!

Now, this looks like a mug big enough to quench my need for coffee. 👀

Check it out at the Bioware gear shop! And don't forget, you can use my code BWNOIRE3 to get 20% off your entire order.

Share pics with us when you get it👀

Here's the link to pre-order the mug:

https://gear.bioware.com/products/dragon-age-the-hanged-man-tavern-mug

Once again playing a cringe video game because the developers somehow stumbled on some of the most captivating character relationships between the protag and the companions that I’ve ever seen.

✨Surprise!!✨

I'm now a Brandbassador for the BioWare Gear Store!! 🎉 Woot woot!!

This means I get to provide discount codes periodically! Yay!!

Speaking of discounts, right now I have a code to celebrate with 20% off at checkout using code BWELUVIAN (Expires Aug2)

Check out all the merch HERE!

dragon age character study fic recs

I'm back with another fic rec list, this time focusing on character studies! There were so many more than five that I flagged as interesting 👀 when I was putting this together, so there's definitely a chance that this theme makes a repeat in the future.

Check these awesome fics out! And leave a comment + kudos to let the author know you did💜

Vote in this poll to help me choose a theme for next week's rec list (:

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New Tricks by Penknife (@penknife)

Dorian Pavus & Cullen Rutherford, Josephine Montilyet & Cullen Rutherford & Leliana | G | 1968 words | No Archive Warnings Apply Author's Summary: Five times Cullen found that he didn't have to do everything the hard way. Mer's Rec: If you're into Cullen & Dorian friendship, or really any Cullen friendship, this fic will be right up your alley. Penknife does an excellent job of contrasting Dorian as a beleaguered academic (beloved) with Cullen's quieter intelligence. They also highlight Cullen as a strategist and commander, not just the "send the troops" guy, and the advisor interactions resonate with coworker friend energy, which I loved. I always adore fics that explore Cullen's habits and traits leftover from so many years as a Templar and this story seamlessly weaves in those details, which brings a real depth to both Cullen and his interactions.

Names Are Cloaks by EllanaSan

Female Adaar & Josephine Montilyet | G | 2963 words | No Archive Warnings Apply Author's Summary: They can’t have that, she supposes, the Herald of Andraste being called names behind her back… The only way the situation could have been worse is if she had been an elf. She could tell the ambassador that there are people in this very camp disrespecting her at every turn but she is far too used to it to care. They call her oxwoman. They call her witch. They call her chosen or your worship. They call her Tal-Vashoth. Names are weapons. For the bearer to hold and to wield. Names are cloaks. For the bearer to wrap themselves in and discard when outgrown. Mer's Rec: With Bioware's scant lore about Qunari and the Qun, I was impressed by how this story immersed me in Adaar's history. Tidbits from canon interwoven with fascinating-slash-heartbreaking details about the Qun, Vashoth, and Saarebas, plus her introspective musings on the past and her identity make this Adaar stand out from the cookie-cutter protagonist in the best way. I want to know more about her! From Josephine's dialogue and mannerisms to the uncertainty, fear, and alienation the Herald can experience in Haven, everything about this story feels like it could be straight out of the DAI canon.

I have outlived the night by lilith_morgana (@senseandaccountability)

Loghain Mac Tir, Minor/Background Relationships | T | 2106 words | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Author's Summary: He's five, he's eighteen, nineteen, twenty, forty-six, and fifty-five, he's fifty-six, fifty-seven and ready to die. Instead, he lives. Mer's Rec: The emotion in this fic is so palpable, so visceral, and it slaps you in the face the way careful consideration of complicated characters should. With repeated contrasts between Loghain in his youth versus his later years, the author takes us on a journey from hot-headed kid to weary veteran, and it just makes your heart ache😭 It features strong exposition on Loghain's motives, feelings, and regrets during the Fifth Blight, which I love to see since it's fairly absent from the game itself. Their portrayal of Loghain in Inquisition also felt fresh and different, including a conversation with Cullen, which is a dynamic I hadn't considered before and found incredibly interesting to read. And of course it ends on a bittersweet note, as it always does with Loghain.

To Yield Is Not Weak by disasterhawke

Alistair/Anora Mac Tir | M | 4018 words | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Author's Summary: She may not like her new husband, but Anora Theirin is not about to let the world treat him like it has treated her. She will do whatever it takes to earn his trust. This is not quite what he expects. An Anora character study that explores her arranged marriage to her husband's bastard brother. Mer's Rec: this 👏 was 👏 everything I wanted out of an Alistair/Anora fic! While I think antagonism between those two has a place, this fic explored their relationship through the lens of teaching and working together, rather than animosity. It works SO well and there was a definite give-and-take, with Anora running the show immediately post-coronation, but gradually softening her harsher edges and highlighting Alistair's strengths while they grow as rulers. Anora's internal monologue, not only about Alistair, but also Cailan and Loghain, does a fantastic job showing the humanity she usually has to hide, without diminishing her competence in the least.

when the bough breaks by gummies (orphaned)

Morrigan, Flemeth | G | 1124 words | No Archive Warnings Apply Author's Summary: In her hands, the mouse is kept still. The only movement Morrigan feels from it is the beating of its tiny heart. With her eyes closed, it almost seems that she is holding in her hands its heart alone. Tiny, vulnerable, and so stutteringly fast. It must be afraid, Morrigan muses. Something twinges in her chest. Empathy. She cannot help the flare of protectiveness inside her. For now, the mouse is hers. Plucked from the world from whence it came, tucked away and safe. She wonders if this is how Mother feels of her. Mer's Rec: What struck me most about this fic was the author's grasp of character voices. Flemeth is just as cunning and calculating as she comes across in game, but I was beyond impressed by their young!Morrigan. I could see and hear so clearly how Morrigan would get from the childlike hope she has in this story to the harsher, bitter Morrigan we meet in game. I don't even know how they did that, but it was incredible to read, even as this slice of Morrigan's childhood and her abuse at Flemeth's hands was breaking my heart.

Don't forget to get your fic and art recs lined up for tomorrow's Fan Work Friday!

What are your thoughts on these 4chan “leaks”? Personally I don’t believe them as the ME4 leaks have already been debunked by their project director, DA Reorigins picture uses a fan art model of Morrigan, Bioware Ambassadors are for the Gear store only and it’s just highly unlikely for a game tester to know this much information when they let go of all the game testers back in August 2023! Not to mention all the Dreadwolf plot leaks are taken from previously released concept art, theories we’ve all had for years and the leak we had of gameplay last February!

hello! ◕‿◕ I saw the 'leaks' yesterday. not real 😅😅

From Sea to Shore: A Josephine Montilyet lore/meta project

Start reading here!

Hi, hello. I suppose introductions are in order.  

My name is Meera and I am a fan (derogatory) of Dragon Age. Have been since 2014, the moment my ears heard the Dragon Age Inquisition theme. (I’m a sucker for soundtracks, I can count on my hand the number of interests I’ve dived into solely because of the soundtrack.)

The reason I’m so fascinated with Dragon Age, as with many people on this site and beyond are, is because of the rich and complex lore that is contained within the world of Thedas. Whether it be within the games themselves, or the massive catalogue of supplemental media – books, comics, short stories published online, the massive hardcover bible of The World of Thedas, etc.

I think you can see where I’m going with this.

Dragon Age is known for… well. Not putting shit into their game. Which is arguably, the most important part of Dragon Age. Yknow. The games? Couple this with the fact that the writers are known to retcon things left right and centre… leaving fans with a, if you don’t mind my language, piss poor understanding of anything beyond surface level.

Now I’m not going to argue semantics about topics that I am clearly not qualified to talk about. I’m still learning things. So while I do read some absolutely delightful discussions on the Mage-Templar war, Tranquility, the Dalish, the Qun… I’m not qualified enough to write proper discussions on these serious and interesting topics.

Instead, I’m armed with having read too many books and watched too many shows. So, what I can do is to look at characters within Dragon Age that I have an unhealthy obsession with, and try to make sense of their stories.

And guess who I’ve decided to start talking about first?

[source]

I’m gonna start off by mentioning that I haven’t done anything like this before. My only credentials are having been unhealthily obsessed with this game franchise for coming onto 9 years now, and owning The World of Thedas 2. Which I haven’t read in its entirety. (Bioware please… put your motherfucking lore in your games, im beggin…) But I have been researching a lot of things recently while planning a frankly quite complicated Dragon Age fic, and after reading a lot of very well written meta on tumblr, and also realizing I enjoy writing my own, I thought I’d take a stab at it myself.

One of the main things I’ve been researching is Josephine and her backstory. On a surface level, it is easy to love her. She’s kind and sweet and absolutely adorable. Her romance fuels my entire existence. She is my Wife and I love her character to the ends of the earth.

But as with a lot of the characters newly introduced in Inquisition, she suffers from a scattered plot, a very superficial stance in the political scheme of things (despite being the political ambassador of Inquisition??? hello???), and is often reduced to several one-dimensional tropes that grate on my nerves.

I’m not discrediting people who enjoy her character as it is. Hell, I spent years loving her story as it is. But I am doing this as an aspiring writer and lover of stories, and a lover of complex, nuanced characters. I see Josephine as a character, much like many others in Dragon Age, who has so much potential to be more. I also see her story in the base game as being quite solid in itself, but is presented in a very scattered, messy way, that you as a player character, might not understand the full impact of.

This series is going to be equal parts laying down the lore of Josephine and the Montilyet family, in a way that people can easily understand and build their own meta and headcanons off, and also for me to speculate and build on my own meta that I’ve been working on. I’m not sure how many parts it’s going to be, we’ll take things as they come.

If you’ve made it this far, kudos for listening to this dude ramble for a thousand words. The real shit comes in a bit. Hope you enjoy.

(Josie in this picture is so me coded when I’m ranting in my Word document so I had to leave this here.)

Me reacting to the Dragon Age and Mass Effect 4chan leaks I am just straight laughing. Even though I post about Baldur’s Gate 3 a lot I am a huge fan of Dragon Age and Mass Effect. The leaks has a bad summary on what Dreadwolf is. Q2 2025 release date which I don’t think it’s happening because of GTA VI releasing possibly in Q2 2025 and Bioware and EA doesn’t want to compete with GTA VI. And the biggest reason why it’s fake is because the leak states that the gameplay of Dreadwolf is similar to Inquisition even though previous accurate leaks states that Dreadwolf’s gameplay is similar to God of War 2018. Also the big one is the playtester claims they are a Bioware Ambassador but a Bioware Ambassador manages the Bioware store not playtest. So yeah this Bioware 4chan leak is laughably bad and fake.

i thought josie just wanted to show off that her socks match her shirt since apparently she only gets two colors, and not even a pattern besides some embossing you can't see unless you're way too close. bioware really expects us to believe an antivan ambassador to orlais wouldn't wear something extravagant?

josephine in haven like pls these shiny socks are all i have in this world

Hey! You can use my code BWAL0VI5 at checkout to get 20% off your entire purchase at BioWare! gear.bioware.com

This code is good until next Monday, 04/08!

Actually, I cannot think of a single valid reason why I SHOULDN'T get this Garrus body pillow now... if you would like to join the thirstfest, feel free to use my code BWTHEDAS at checkout for 20% off your order!

how bioware should’ve fixed the female alien problem:

- adding turian female background npc’s. not just female turian c-sec officers, or guards, but also female turian mercenaries.

- adding a female turian npc that you can interact with. i recall the books mentioning that the turian ambassador was female; it would be cool if we had a side mission where you could meet her.

- adding a female turian merchant on the citadel, or on illium

- adding female salarians in the background. dalatrasses who are on the citadel for political reasons.

- i always assumed that salarian that wants you to use his device in the casino so he can cheat was female. it would’ve been pretty awesome if that were a female salarian. maybe she was visiting the citadel in hope to make some big money

- add a female krogan to me2, which you can interact with during grunt’s or mordin’s mission.

- add an ambient conversation somewhere in the background, with a volus that is referred to using she/her pronouns

- adding female batarian npc’s to omega in me2. making some of the batarian refugees in me3 female

- adding a female batarian npc that you can interact with in me2 on omega

- female batarian mercenaries!!

additional things i’d have wished for:

- female turian/asari lesbian couple as background npc’s

- turian/human couple

- lesbian, gay and straight turian couples in the background; we see plenty of human couples and human-asari but never turian ones

Hi Lydia! Did you consider joining Bioware Store Ambassadors program?

I have no idea what this is so no

Hi folks, I’m excited to announce that I joined the BioWare Gear Ambassador program and am now a BioWare Brandbassador! This means that I can share exclusive discount codes with you all, and get early access to products.

My current code BWFELASSAN (guess the Best Elf is my brand now) will get you a tidy 20% off at the BioWare Gear Store. This code is valid til June 15th, and if you use it, it helps me out too, so thanku very much!  ✧d(•̀ v•̀ )~~♪

UPDATE: Naturally the codes eventually expire. I’ll keep this post updated with my most recent code. My current code BWDRAGONAGING will get you 20% off and is valid til April 28th 2024!

Alternatively you can use my tracking link.

[Codes not valid for pre-order or already discounted items.] 

and on that note -

Now in the BioWare Gear Store:

Tali canvas print

Ohhhh bitch. You know I gotta. Blorbo thots about Oraka. <3

ancient-ass general old man my beloved <3

Send Me A Character

do I like them: i go out of my way to find him as soon as the opportunity is available i love this crabby bitchy old man so fucking much

5 good qualities: cranky. just here to have a good time. very sweet when he's not drunk off his ass. helps you out. charming in his bad moodiness <3

3 bad qualities: lonely and drinking about it. spreading private data about an ambassador because he had a bad day is an asshole move i suppose. cannot be convinced to just go home and take a nap

favourite episode/etc: i love him in me3 honestly distinguished old gentleman

otp: oraka/nice sunny park to hang out in

brotp: oraka & sha'ira i don't care what bioware says the old man is lonely and needs friends to talk to sha'ira doesn't seem the type to hold grudges

ot3: oraka/nice sunny park/birds to feed

notp: oraka/being lonely

best quote: all of them i just like listening to him talk

head canon: i have an oc for his hubsbin 👉👈 he just missed his husband a lot and there was miscommunication with sha'ira and that's what upset him, i just don't like the whole thing bioware wrote with him and the consort honestly it's stupid and mostly just "oOoOoH eVeRyOnE wAnTs To FuCk ThE aSaRi" like shut up bioware please let there be at least one (1) npc who doesn't think asari ooze sex this is stupid and gross. so anyway the whole thing with sha'ira was a huge misunderstanding he missed his husband and also his kids and grandkids were worried about him cause he does dumb shit when he's lonely