✧ Knight-Commander Meredith

man sometimes you write a line and you break your own heart.

“...and yet with the sands passing through the glass, yet I know I too am but a grain in the river of time, and I may folly on my own promises. Alas, I remind, my intentions are solely for Kirkwall and her people.”

Looking at this page again and how we were already asking ourselves even before this comic came out, how in the world the next protagonist is going to stand a chance against Solas with all these god like powers...

But when I first saw THIS panel then, it really made me think "Ok, how the hell is our next protagonist going to do literally ANYTHING without Solas already knowing and being three steps ahead of us, when he can watch us from practically anywhere?"

...Until Nunzio DeFilippis (one of the comic's creators) explained in an interview how, by their logic (note not BioWare’s), Solas can only overlook an area within a certain radius of where another eluvian is located. So I was glad to hear that there seem to be at least some limits to this. 😂

But still, it made me picture what it would look like if he ever used the eluvian in such a way in DA4...

Like, I imagine something similar to these transitional "intermission" scenes in DA2, where it would take you out of gameplay to a cutscene with Varric telling Hawke's story to Cassandra, but instead it would be the DA4 protagonist doing whatever and then every once in a while, the camera slowly zooms out from gameplay perspective to an eluvian's surface, and finally to Solas watching us through the mirror and him going "Ah, so that's where you’re going?"

Like, it would be kinda creepy, but I think it's just so funny to imagine Solas watching us doing some super ridiculous dumb shit or just one random side quest after another, like getting another lost druffalo to its owner or something and Solas - the man who secretly wants you to find a way to prove him wrong SO badly - just sighing in frustration "And that's the guy they chose to stop me?" lmaoo

The thing is... I don't think I even want to see Dragon Age 4. Especially not now that they have sacked the main writers or that they have left on their own accord, which isn't a good sign either.

It will probably look good. But I don't believe it will have any soul left.

I want to be wrong. But I don't think I will be.

They never managed to do as good as Origins (it had its faults but it remains the best of the franchise : the storylines, the characters, the worldbuilding, the immersion, the dialogue choices, the RP...).

Baldur's Gate 3 did though. And they aren't fron EA.

I love DA2, the characters, the main storylines, but it was unfinished.

DA:I was already soulless, I liked some of the companions (Dorian mainly. Even Varric was less interesting there) but got attached to none. They felt like colleagues, not a close knitted team.

The Inquisitor themselves were blank where Hawke and the Warden had a background that mattered, one you could build your RP on.

The main quest itself didn't feel like much. Tears in the Veil and demons (the Warden beated them close, Hawke dealt with demons on daily basis). It sounds huge, but it didn't felt like it, only a minor inconviences, tasks to complete to get points for.. for what anyway ? There was no apprehension during the quests (except the Fade, the only one where your choice had consequences) and when the final fight came it ended so easily and quickly.

Too many things were reckoned in DA:I and some I cannot forgive (Redcliff's topography, the dalish not caring for their mages, their whole pantheon being 1) not gods 2) bad slavers, while the Maker is still good and divine ofc, the whole "templars are bad actually" narrative after all we've seen in DAO and especially DA2, Leliana character development from DAO, etc. Actually, pretty much every choices from DAO, major and minor, didn't matter here at all, which is a huge flaw for a RPG saga).

The one quest I really enjoyed was the Jaws of Hakkon DLC. A DLC.

Sure the maps were pretty but too big and empty, as I said, soulless.

And the combat looked pretty too but it was messy, we couldn't even use all the abilities we unlocked because it was badly tailored for consoles, not PC. And there was no healer or blood mage class. DA2 fights had the non-stop spawning and yet they were more satisfying imo.

Seeing EA's track record and the mess development of DA4 was, I just expected it to give the final blow to Thedas and butcher once and for all this franchise that I loved thanks to DAO and DA2.

Just do it properly or don't do it.

I want so badly for Anders to be in DA4.

I want to run into him just chilling in a Minrathous tavern, happy and free in the Imperium.

(Or is he?)

I want so badly to know how they’re going to say the DA4 protag gets Solas Murder Rights over the Inquisitor

Also yes I’m saying both Hawke’s and the Warden’s dog are still alive and well despite one of them having the Blight

I’m looking at DAO mods and I feel like I kind of like… just wanna paint textures instead of playing the game. Or both. Like. I want to repaint the textures before I play the game. Which is a weird thing to want to do maybe.

Like my secret desire is actually to just rip all my favourite LIs from Dragon age and get their textures and reskin them.

Also give Solas that Sexy skull and braids and locks and concept design look he had because that was always always better than Egg. Idk who vetoed the concept design in exchange for none design all Egg but they were Incorrect. That was a Bad Decision. I get that yes technically he has freckles and a scar and a cleft chin and droopy eyes and details, yes, but. *but*. He could have been better. He could have been hotter. He could have been Great. The Best character des— no I can’t say that when The Iron Bull is in the same game and exists at the same time. That is in fact the sexiest best character design to ever be made. But Solas had to potential to be better in so many ways and ultimately DAI’s designers could not manage designing hair.

They just could not do it. It was too hard. That’s the conclusion I have come to. They also I think struggled badly when it came to skin textures because like look at the options they had in character creation, they strugggglllleeed. They couldn’t make hair and they couldn’t make skin. They suffered in game design and honestly I think probably EA hit them with crunch and low funding and BioWare was like “we were not equipped to jump into this triple A pool this fast this underfunded oh my god what the fuck what the fuck” and we’re seeing that again with DA4 and that’s why all the people EA would have to pay fairly is getting laid off.

BioWare is getting scapegoated by EA and it kinda breaks my heart as an Albertan because we got bought out and now I think our like. One gaming company is getting sold out and gonna go under and get sold so they can move it all somewhere else with fewer human rights protections (no unions or union protections) and people can say “BioWare did this” and it’s maybe a little more “EA did this to BioWare” and a whole lot of Albertans are Shit Outta Luck in the meantime. Because like, what happened in Montreal after Andromeda? Though Montreal as a Major Metropolitan City with a booming economy has more than a few gaming companies, Edmonton isn’t so big a city (still metropolitan but not nearly the scale of Montreal) and has. Uh. A serious need for jobs in the arts and entertainment industries. BioWare being located in Edmonton Alberta is kinda a Big Deal for Alberta. We need that company there for multiple reasons, in part just for the culture. It would be a big deal if it shut down.

Like I guess this is going a little off topic and deranged but like. Alberta needs BioWare. So like. Idk what solution there is in the end, but like… the people getting screwed over are the people here. And we need the company to stay here. And stay open, and start functioning properly. A lot of Californian Tech companies and Tech laws fucked Canada and Canadian workers, and this is kinda an expansion of that, and like. There’s shit a lot of people outside the bubble don’t know about but like.

Alberta needs industry. We can’t have everything shut their doors and move out and then have a bunch of people in wealthy metropolitan areas go “sucks to suck bro have you tried moving?” Like. We still need our companies and infrastructure and industries to. Function. Lotta us can’t afford to leave. We need this stuff to be here. We need BioWare and companies like this.

Despite what you may have heard, people live out here…

I've been gone for a long time and I feel like I've missed out on a lot of things. Give me an update on how Daren's been doing. How many different timelines and AUs do you currently have and what are they? What's his one (1!) scene/adventure that you personally love the most? What's the one ao3 Daren fic that I just absolutely need to catch up on? What's the thing that makes this character so special for you? A long answer is very welcome ❤️

Daren is doing well - still both my primary OC fixation, tool for self examination, and all around Bestest Boy. I've gotten so much more art of him and Anora kissing, its great! Going to Twitter was generally a hellish experience, but I participated in a lot of ask games and found some really cool mutuals who helped me develop him ever further so thats rad!

Oooh, only picking one scene is tough but I recently wrote some of Alistair and Daren’s escape from Fort Drakon and GODDAMN is it funny! At the start of DAO especially, Daren is really reserved and focused because of his trauma, but closer to end game his sense of humor really comes out. And neither one of them are dumb, per se, but they honestly don't have any common sense either so leaving them without Heulwen to be the brains turns any situation into pure slapstick.

For something actually published, my recommended reading is definitely "Jealous". I wrote it for ZevWarden week last year and I'm super proud of it. Features ballroom dancing, mild espionage, and Daren thinking about his feelings on marriage/romance and how badly he wants to be holding hands with his wife and his lover.

Honestly I think the thing that makes him so special to me is his resilience. In the wake of trauma and regret he still finds a way to keep pushing forward, but he doesn't let it make him cruel: even at his most vindictive or pragmatic, he does everything he does to protect others. I spend a lot of time thinking about his trauma and PTSD bc he helped me to recognize my own trauma symptoms. He is in a lot of ways the ideal of what I strive to be: not perfect, but honorable, loyal, and always trying his best to do the right thing.

As for AUs and timelines ...

The FusionVerse with @galfrey that started off as a fun little AU has definitely become his primary canon in my mind, so much so that people continue to be surprised that he isn't "technically" a Zevmancer. The actual writing is so so slow, but we've plotted out the future trajectory all the way to 9:58 (though of course DA4 is probably going to throw a wrench in all this). This is the universe where he romances Zevran and then marries Anora and Heulwen has an enemies-to-lovers-to-friends-to-partners slowburn relationship with Loghain. Post canon, Daren and Anora have twins (to their great relief) named Gareth and Eleanora and they're a pair of precocious terrors. Heulwen is the official HoF and Warden Commander so she does all the Awakening and Witch Hunt stuff while Daren is in Denerim rebuilding the country with his wife. It's basically the happiest/best possible outcome AU where nobody dies (Alistair even stays in the Wardens and gets a boyfriend: Carver Hawke)

The biggest canon change has been biting the bullet and saying that I wanted Daren to be able to recruit and then kiss Jowan. So he has two "solo canons" actually: the in game version where he was with Leliana and Magnus (my earliest OC) is the Inquisitor, and the "What if" canon where he kissed Jowan and Hallapan Lavellan is my Inquisitor.

Beyond that, there is -

- WardenQuisitor: what if Daren was the sole survivor of the Final Battle and then 10 years later had the misfortune to become Inquisitor? Basically a huge character study about trauma/PTSD and how important it is to have love and support if you hope to heal

- RomoVerse: what if he and Heulwen were star crossed lover's who were pulled apart by circumstance but never fell out of love? It's extremely sad and tender and Daisy keeps coming up with *more au's* where they can actually be together bc they're such a good couple

- ModernAU: exactly what it says on the tin. Daren is a trust fund baby, Anora is a lawyer, and Heulwen and Loghain are negotiating the very complicated power dynamics necessary to have a healthy relationship when there's a large age/social gap

- WardenThrouple: a high drama AU where Daren and Alistair dated during the Blight, Alistair married Anora, and then Heulwen romanced Daren and Loghain. Daren is the Warden Commander, Heulwen his Constable, and Loghain their right hand man. Basically an excuse for them to all kiss in one timeline and give Heulwen two children and no responsibility

- No Blight AU: what if the Blight had actually never really started? What would have happened next? A fun what-if exercise about Ferelden politics and a Second Civil War (basically Couslands and Mac Tir's vs Theirins and Guerrins). Daren is engaged to Anora, but starts falling for Heulwen who escaped from the Circle and it eventually develops into a Heulwen/Daren/Anora throuple. Also features a Jowan who was made Tranquil and an Alistair who finished his Templar training

Phew... there are actually even more, but those are the big ones and the only ones that are actually getting fic or art content are FusionVerse and WardenQuisitor ... the rest are just cool to think about!

Thanks for the ask 💖💖

Just wanna say I really enjoy reading about your progress through Inquisition and reading your complaints about it. People so rarely speak badly about this game, it's a shame. Anyway, thank you for sharing your progress. :)

Honestly the thing is that... despite all evidence to the contrary, I really do like Inquisition. I've played it all the way through to completion (although never 100%) many times. Where it gets things right it gets them really, really right! In terms of visuals it is unarguably the prettiest Dragon Age thus far by miles (DA4 will probably blow it out of the water, 2014 graphics will not stand up all that well to 2023 graphics, but the point still stands that DAI is a very pretty game)! The characters that work are lovable and engaging and you really feel for them and their struggles! The romances that are handled well are incredibly touching! The main quests are at least in the abstract and out of context from the series as a whole well-written!

The trouble is that all the places where it shines just make the places where it really doesn't stand out all the more jarringly. Some of my favourite characters come from Inquisition, but that just makes the characters that are poorly written or unpleasant to interact with stand out that much more. The well-written romances make the ones that are uncomfortable or outright abusive all the more unpleasant to sit through. The good quests make the bad quests worse in comparison. And of course at its core Inquisition represents a lot of very ugly retcons about the Chantry and its victims all done in the name of making the Christianity allegory look better after two whole games dedicated to showing that unless you're a wealthy human Orlesian non-mage the institution as a whole wants you either dead or crushed beneath the boots of the Orlesian nobility. And it mostly does this by refusing to let you engage with anything set up in the previous games. You can't bring Cullen to trial for his part in Meredith's atrocities! The mage quest is flung out of the timeline of the game entirely so you can't actually talk to the mages and get to know their struggles! The Dalish gods are revealed to be slavers when there was absolutely fuck all to even suggest that in the previous games! Bioware took a series about oppressed people slowly gathering themselves to strike a blow against their oppressors... and then three games in tried to argue that the oppressors actually had a point. Hell, characters like Cullen and Sera would be a lot less unpleasant to deal with if you were ever allowed to call them out on the way they treat oppressed people who need support rather than more cruelty. And all that stuff is still there! It's just sitting there right in front of you! If you're playing a mage or a non-human (and especially an elf) it will be shoved in your face basically any time you talk to anyone, including some of your companions! But you're not allowed to touch it, and that... takes a game that otherwise would likely have been really good and brings it down a lot.

The best way I can think to put it is... Dragon Age Inquisition is a story with a lot of really horrible stuff just below the surface. A lot of Inquisitors are being forced into the position against their will, many of them being told they can't even worship their own gods because the dominant religion that persecutes them has decided, without their input and frequently despite their repeated denials to everyone who asks, that they're the herald of this religion's prophet. Your military commander was one of the faces of one of the worst atrocities committed against mages in the last century and you're not allowed to do shit about it, even if you yourself are a mage. Lavellan at least (can't speak to any of the others) can openly tell Josie that they are getting whispers and sideways looks just for being an elf despite the fact that by this point they've already sealed the fucking Breach at great risk to their own life, and in that same conversation say that their clan has had to defend themselves from people trying to kill them multiple times. You'll get shit for being a mage even if every hero of the current age has been one. All the "respect" you get comes from being the Inquisition's good little pet figurehead and playing the part of the Herald of Andraste. You are addressed as "Your Worship" even if you make it clear that you do not in any way want to be considered an Andrastian religious figure, and many of your own companions, your closest friends in the story, will treat you like Andraste's herald even if you explicitly tell them that you don't believe that and aren't okay with it. If you have the Jaws of Hakkon DLC you learn that the previous Inquisitor was a Dalish mage and the Chantry covered that up to fit their agenda, meaning they're likely to do that to you, too. And Bioware just... slaps a coat of paint over all of that and calls it good. If you're going to put in all this shit, you have to fucking do something with it! We could've had an incredible story about just how much damage unchecked organized religion backed by the military arm of an empire does to everyone who doesn't fit into its box of "good people"! But the Inquisitor isn't even allowed to be relieved when the nations of Thedas start calling for the Inquisition to be disbanded in Trespasser. If Inquisition had really committed to the story that the last two games had set up instead of backing out at the last minute in favour of a "both sides" story that just feels like a weak and frankly slightly disgusting copout it may well have been my favourite game, but as it is... well, there's a lot to complain about.

Hi I love Kiernan a lot and I often go through his tag for a while to just Look at and Read about him. He is sooo Shaped

Anyway. I was wandering, does he ever find love/happiness post tresspasser? You’ve talked a lot about Eshaan/Dorian/Bulls post tresspasser story but I don’t think you’ve gone into Kiernans and I was wondering! I’m a little invested in him, let the goth be happy

I am. still figuring it out because of how dependent it's going to end up being on the events of DA4 but as it is I uh, do not think he's very happy, which is part of the reason I don't talk about it a ton 😅

Kiernan disbands the Inquisition but continues working to try to stop Solas, with a really, REALLY unhealthy single-mindedness about it. He made a lot of progress over the course of DA:I when it came to learning how to trust people, how to have friends, how to be comfortable with physical touch, and how to manage his anger—and then he backslides pretty badly post-Trespasser. He lost his closest friend when Solas left, and having to adjust to being disabled largely by himself was really difficult. Idk if you've read my One published Kiernan fic but he has historically had a lot of issues with suicidal ideation and that gets Worse post-Trespasser. He self isolates and pushes people away and spends probably 70% of his time in a cabin in the Free Marches drinking bad wine and reading missives from Leliana until his eyes hurt.

Up until like 2 months ago I had fully been planning to k word him in DA4 if it was a possibility because I thought it might be good narratively—the tentative idea I'd had was Solas k wording him by accident during a confrontation, because I love tragedies and I love to be miserable—and then I thought about the two of them while listening to Astronaut by Beach House and now I mostly want them to go to couple's counseling (because I also love divorced people getting back together).

I feel bad that all of this is so negative so a few nice things are that his friendship with Dorian remains largely intact and they talk to each other regularly via sending crystal, he gets to see his sister more than he did while he was Inquisitor, he has a horse that he really likes, and while the self-isolation is unhealthy, it's better for him in some ways than being at Skyhold was—he's just not dealing with as many bigots and templars and bigoted templars on a regular basis. He feels safe in a way he rarely did when he was surrounded by people.

I haven't figured out how to work Ehsaan into Kiernan's canon yet, but I'd like to at some point because I think meeting him post-DA:I would be good for Kiernan. He is The Most Touch Averse Man In The World but a few good hugs from Ehsaan might cure him. I think that'd be strictly platonic but who knows, maybe getting *** ***** *** ** ****** would also cure him 😂

sorry this is So Much but I'm glad that you like Kiernan! And other people wanting happy endings for him has definitely guilted me a little into reconsidering him dy*ng sdkjskdjskdj

I see a lot of people on here hoping that the DA4 protagonist is The Inquisitor, and to each their own, but I sincerely hope not.

I don’t want to be Awakeninged again.

And by that I mean that I don’t want to be a protagonist I’ve already played, with their own romance, put into a new game with pretty much an ENTIRE PARTY OF COMPANIONS I WOULD LIKE TO ROMANCE.

The companions of Dragon Age: Awakenings and The Warden were absolutely TEEMING with sexual tension, and it felt like the only reason The Warden didn’t fuck any of them was because they are usually already in a relationship from Origins(no such excuse for the Orlesian Warden 👀)

I’ll be honest, the romances are a BIG part of what I look forward to in Dragon Age, and I don’t think I’m alone in that. I would VASTLY prefer a new protagonist with a new set of romance options.

ok but what if!! the da4 protagonist is the child of the inquisitor and whoever you romanced?! listen to me, it would be so good,,,,

multiple origin stories with emotional impact to the player!

you want a new protagonist? you get a new protagonist

you want to play as inquisitor again? you get the next best thing->their offspring

you romanced solas? omg just imagine solas's unknown son/daughter in a quest to stop him/save him! how epic would that be?

you hated solas? guess what! you can be sera and inky's adopted Qunari child sworn to kill the stupid egg!

or idk the son of a Trevellan who was Solas's dear friend except now Solas is your archenemy

you're new to the game or you didn't romance anyone? that's still ok, because the inquisitor could always have a child after the events of trespasser and hence you'd have some generic protagonist who you would be able to edit from scratch

Listen, I'm in love with this idea, and I think it would satisfy the majority's expectations. Plus, it would be so freaking cool!

Update: about the problem with two many years having to pass from dai for this scenario to happen, I think this idea has already been discussed: that in da4 solas has actually already won and we just have to undo his s**t. either in the current fade-world he creates or by traveling back in time (mcu-style). we already saw time magic at work in dai, it wouldn't be that much implausible to see it again in da4.

while I’m on the subject petition to bring back the rivalry/friendship scale from DA2 and embed it into DA4’s relationship system

if the player character for da4 isn’t the crow my next guess is the longer haired guy w the daggers/the dude raising his fist in another pic. those might not even be the same person but idk

My Dream Dragon Age 4 Companion Line Up

I’ve spent too many sleepless nights hyperfocusing on this, so now I’m going to type it out and post it here in the hopes that my soul will be even a little freer.

I’ve thought very hard about the kind of companions I would like to see in the next Dragon Age game.  I have constrained myself to the limits of 9 companions, (3 mages, rogues and warriors) 6 of which will be romanceable.  A couple of these characters are already in the cannon, but most are just archetypes I wanna see.  My reasoning is flawless.  I’m assuming the game mostly takes place in Tevinter, because it will be silly if it doesn’t.  Bioware, hire me!

The rest is under the cut, because this is going to get very wordy.  Spoilers for the previous games/some of the extended canon!

Mages

Tevinter Magister, Maevaris Tilani

Of course we’re going to want a tevinter mage for this game, and Maeveris is perfect!  She can give us the perspective of a privileged member of the magocracy. She also already has a connection to a couple established members of the series (she is Dorian’s friend/colleague and was married to Varric’s cousin) so she would be easy to introduce.  Finally, this would give Bioware a chance to put a trans character more in the spotlight, which it seems is something they’ve been working towards.  I’d love to see her be a romancable character, but only if the writing team can handle it, they’ve struggled with trans characters in the past.

Grey Warden Recruit, Valya

She is the protagonist of Last Flight, my favorite of the Dragon Age novels.  The last couple games have been hinting at a growing conflict within the ranks of the Grey Wardens, so my curiosity demands that we have an opportunity to learn more!  Plus, given that Solas is in the middle of gathering elves to his cause, I think it would be good to have some companions with different perspectives on that conflict.  She was a city elf before she was a circle mage, so she’d be good for this.  Finally, SPOILERS FOR THE BOOK, DON’T READ IF YOU EVER WANT TO READ THE BOOK UNSPOILED she has baby griffins and I want one.  

Tal Vashoth Mage

Make the final mage a qunari who ran away from Seheron once he manifested his magic powers and decided he didn’t want to live in chains with his mouth sewn shut for the rest of his life (or maybe his family smuggled him out).  We’ve yet to have a kossith companion who didn’t profess to embrace the qun.  The qunari are big and intimidating looking, but I like the idea that he would actually be kind of shy and endearing.  He just wants to find somewhere he belongs!  Make him cute, and make him bi! (romanceable, of course)

Rogues

Viddathari Agent of the Qun

Since the game is taking place in Tevinter, we’re going to want someone with the qunari perspective.  I’m thinking give us a broody elf assassin and make him the token straight romanceable guy on the team. Maybe he’s one of the elves who defected from Kirkwall after all the shit went down there.  I’m not married to him being an elf, though, he could also be human or even a dwarf!  The important thing is to make him hot and angsty for the fangirls and to be a mouthpiece for the qunari point of view.  

Stealthy Fog Warrior

We pretty much only know about Fog Warriors from a little bit of dialoque with Fenris in DA2, but they sound bitchin’, and I would love to learn more!  They’re a group of freedom fighters who want to be independent from both the Qun and Tevinter, so that’d be a great perspective to have if the game is going to touch at all on the war (which it better!)  Plus they have cool secret techniques to create fog and attack their enemies using it as cover, which could be a cool basis for a new rogue specialization.  This character could be any gender, but I like the idea of them being an older woman, someone who has seen a lot of shit and grown wise through pain.  But maybe make them younger and romanceable if the writers can’t figure out how to do a good romance for Maevaris.

Tevinter Red Jenny Entertainer

I love the Friends of Red Jenny and I want to see more of them.  Plus, this would give us a companion who can give us the perspective of a Tevinter Commoner, niether mage nor slave, which is something we haven’t seen much of up to this point.  I like the idea of her being a dancer, because the bard type character in the previous games has already been a singer (Leliana) and a storyteller (Varric).  Plus maybe it could be the basis for another awesome rogue specialization.  I say make her design ridiculously pandering eye candy and make her pansexual so we all can be super thirsty!

Warriors

Ex Tevinter Slave

The whole slavery thing has to be addressed if we’re setting the game in Tevinter, so we might as well have a slave.  I’m thinking make him human since up til now all the slave characters we’ve gotten to know have been elves, but the issue is actually somewhat more nuanced than being just about race.  Maybe he was formerly a member of the military, but then had to sell himself into slavery to pay off a debt, and there’s some sad secret reason why that we can learn as we get to know him.  I’m imagining him as a grumpy older guy.  Alternatively, make it a qunari lady, maybe a former POW who has been biding her time?.  That would be cool because everyone wants to see a badass qunari lady in this game, and she’d have a really good reason to hate Tevinter!  

Kal-Sharok Investigator

This one isn’t negotiable.  I need this character so I can finally learn more about the Kal-Sharok dwarves!  I also need her to be investigating what the fuck is up with Shaper Valta and the titans, because I desperately need to know more about that.  Finally, I need her to be a complete badass and a lesbian, because this fandom hasn’t historically been very friendly to wlw and they deserve this, dammit!  Take the dwarven romance that fans have been demanding for years now and give it to them first!

Templar Knight

You know we’ve never actually a companion who was a templar?  We’ve had an ex-templar and a seeker, but not a true templar.  Imagine the drama of having a for real templar in Tevinter!  He would probably be horrified by the experience, and the tevinter mages would likewise be unprepared for someone who can actually counter their magic.  If the plot has anything to do with hunting down Solas (which it really should) than it would make sense that the protagonist could use a templar consultant.  Also, make him gay, so we can complete our BINGO Card of Things the Tevinter Aren’t Prepared For.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on the companions!  I have tried to divide them fairy evenly by race/gender/sexual orientation, though there’s some wiggle room to play around with them.  In general, I’d like there to be 5 women and 4 men, due to the imbalance of companion genders in Inquisition.  We need at least a couple elves to give differing viewpoints on the whole Solas thing, but we also desperately need to learn more about dwarven lore and have at least one dwarven romance!

Other Character’s I’d Like to See Show Up

Dorian Pavus

Given his role in the narrative of Inquisition, I think he’d be perfect as an Advisor type NPC for this game!  He’s got some political clout, but he’s also a rebel leading a group of unpopular people trying to change the government/culture in general.  Plus, I love him and I want to see him again.

Fenris

Given what Varric tells us in Inquisition, Fenris still has a lot of unfinished business with slavers, so we might as well see him again, maybe in relation to a series of side quests.   Plus, I love him and I want to see him again.

Charter

Charter is an awesome character we didn’t get to see enough of in Inquisition.  She does get more play in the comic books, though, and I like everything I’ve seen.  As a senior member of Leliana’s spy ring, she would be one of the remaining loyal agents of the Inquisition, even if the player had chosen to disband them.  Plus she has experience reaching out to Tevinter contacts and recruiting Tevinter agents, so it’d be easy to fit her into the narrative. Plus, more awesome lesbian rep!

Marius and Tessa

He is a Tevinter mercenary who specializes in hunting mages.  She is a Nevarran ex noble and his partner (in crime, not in love).  They become agents of the Inquisition in the graphic novels.  Something tells me they’ve still got some skin in the game!

Vaea

She is a super awesome elven thief from Fereldan.  She served as a squire to a wandering knight, and spent many years stealing from the rich to give to the needy.  At the end of her most recent arc in the Knight Errant graphic novel, she was travelling to Tevinter to investigate more about red lyrium, so she’d be an easy fit to get into the narrative.  Honestly, she’s so cool I wanted to make her a companion, but she is a pacifist who refuses to kill, so it wouldn’t make sense given how much the game mechanics focus on combat.

Shaper Valta

If I don’t learn what the fuck is up with Shaper Valta and the titans, I will vibrate into oblivion.

Anyway, these are my deeply held opinions and you’re free to give me feedback, but know that if you disagree with me you are wrong!  Also, I know most of the writing and characters are already probably done, but I’m interested to see if they will use any of these characters!  Consider this a prediction as well as a wish list!

ah yes, I forgot about the inexplicable power the Lost Elf Theme from Trespasser has on me that makes me burst into tears within the first four bars