dragged by fate

fenris is incredibly intelligent and diplomatic. he speaks three different languages and effortlessly negotiates with the qunari—the arishok even compliments him.

oh and he does all that and he can’t even read or write yet like??? fenris is hella smart.

he’s actually pretty chill and polite most of the time until someone pushes his buttons. which is pretty much true for most people.

he’s not afraid to admit when he’s wrong. in fact when hawke offers orana a job and fenris misunderstands this as hawke taking orana on as a slave, fenris apologizes when hawke clears up the matter.

he also hosts card games at his house and enjoys hanging out with aveline’s husband, donnic. 

oh and he’s really damn good at wicked grace—so much so that anders owes him a lot of money according to the legacy dlc.

he’s bitty and he can carry a really big sword.

he’s voiced by gideon emery. 

fenris is extremely affectionate with a romanced hawke??? and extremely open by the end game. hawke is everything to him and it’s so awesome to see fenris unguarded around someone he cares about.

oh and hawke might be smooth but fenris can be too—remember the “perhaps i’ll practice my flattery for your next visit” line? get it.

and then he pulls the “there are no puppy eyes” line when merrill points out how he looks at hawke.

speaking of the fenrismance, one thing i really like is that fenris knows when to step out and work on himself before he lets his relationship with hawke go any further. i know he later says he was “running away” but i think it’s admirable that he knows when he’s not emotionally ready to commit to something like that.

fenris’s romance is great because it doesn’t fall into the “love cures all” trope. he tries to cope with his trauma realistically and he’s never suddenly cured because he’s in a relationship with hawke. in a friendmance hawke stands by him and his decisions and his entire romance is about respect and unconditional support and i love that.

one of the best things about his personal arc is even when fenris seeks revenge on the people who have hurt him, you can wholeheartedly support him. there are way too many stories that demonize people for seeking revenge on their abusers, and i like that hawke has the option to stand by him.

fenris’s laugh + cough combo when hawke tells a bad joke.

he’s just as witty as purple hawke: 

Fenris: How is it you get into these situations so often?

Hawke: What do you mean?

Fenris: Hmm. Attacked by dwarves, approached by strangers, stumbling upon ancient riddles… madness.

(If Hawke has a humorous/charming personality)

Hawke: It’s a gift.

Fenris: (laughs) Well I think you should return it.

despite the fact he’s not a fan of mages, he does get along with a mage!hawke and bethany. in fact he even compliments her:

Fenris: You should wear one of those Orlesian dresses, Bethany.

Bethany: Why? Because I’m a girl? Because I should wear big, flowing skirts?

Fenris: Because you’d look pretty in one.

Bethany: I…oh, I see. They are pretty, aren’t they?

speaking of bethany, he’s actually incredibly kind to her:

Fenris: You must hate the darkspawn, after what they did to your home.

Bethany: And Carver. A little. 

Fenris: I never knew him. I’m sorry for your loss.

Bethany: Thank you.

speaking of friendships, his banter with varric is pretty awesome too:

Fenris: I thought all dwarves had beards. Where’s yours?

Varric: I misplaced it, along with my sense of dwarven pride and my gold-plated noble caste pin.

Fenris: I thought maybe it fell onto your chest.

Varric: Oh-ho! The broody elf tells a joke!

Varric: You know, if you need advice on how to lay low I can give you some.

Fenris: Being short would make for an excellent start, I suspect.

Varric: Keep that up, serah, and you can keep on hiding like a rank amateur.

Varric: So what do you do in that gigantic house all day?

Fenris: Dance, of course.

Varric: Really?

Fenris: I run from room to room, choreographing routines.

Varric: You’re actually joking. Alert the Chantry! They need to put this on the calendar!

Fenris: And you thought I was always serious.

his friendship with isabela is pretty great, especially when he offers to let her guess the color of his underwear. 

speaking of bela it’s great that while they are friends and sometimes they don’t see eye to eye on mages being free, they challenge each other but it doesn’t affect their friendship at all.

he’s on good enough terms with aveline that she keeps him informed and keeps her patrols away from his house so that he has a place to stay.

Cause I thought King vs Warden would be more 50% 50% and like. A lot of people romanced Alistair, but Alistair breaks up with you if you make him king, he is not hardened and you are not a Cousland. So for this a lot of people who romanced him, just didn't make him king to not break up. Source me as a teen girl playing and getting dumped by Alistair and then searching a guide about it, but I did his main mission so many saves and hours ago so it was like, ok warden Alistair time to keep the romance going. AND I THINK in those times when only dao existed, A LOT of Alistairmancers did this (I remember talking about it online lmao, or just seeing fanarts where the Alistairmancers with non Couslands had always warden Alistairs)

For example, a Vivienne from a pro-mage worldstate is not the same from a pro-templar worldstate.

There is a world where the hero of Ferelden is a mage, saved the Kinloch circle from abominations, and is now either a lover or friend with Alistair, the king of Ferelden, wich means they have some political power. Hawke, who might be family with the hero of Ferelden, could also be a mage who fought for them to not all get killed in the rebellion. This means Cassandra deeply admires a mage who protected other mages, even if they are not considered "perfect". It means she knows that if push comes to shove, Varric will fight to defend mages against the templars. It means that Cullen, after living a tower full of abominations, and then lived Kirkwall, took side to protect one mage who killed half his templar coworkers so Meredith didn't kill them, cause he considers them the hero of the city.

In this world, Vivienne knows that an heroic mage, an example for all, might save themselves, but this doesn't change the public opinion of magic. People are still afraid of magic, people hate the mages in the rebellion cause they are now a personal problem to them. They might admire some mages but they are The Exception, and she has to fight to be one of the exceptions. In this world many could say "see? fighting back works!" but even a mage hero of ferelden ends up walking alone to try to find a cure of an illess that affects them, and can't change much the fate of the mages even with direct contact with the King of Ferelden and the Left Hand of the Divine. Hawke was a noble and hero of the city and still had to run away from it. And did they help mages, when many died in the rebellion? So it makes sense she tries to fix thing in other way.

NOW... There is a world where the hero of Ferelden is a Cousland that is now the ruler of a kingdom, annulled the Kinloch circle and killed all the mages. Then a pro-templar Hawke also supported the annulment of the Kirkwall circle and killed all the mages. Now this means Cassandra admires this Hawke a lot and wanted them to be the Inquisitor. It means Varric is best friends with them and admires them a lot and also killed a fucking ton of mages and helped kill them. This means Cullen lived a circle full of abominations and the only solution was killing them all, and then lived another problem with mages and the solution was killing them all. 2 of these people are high ranking people of the inquisition. And include Leliana who may be pro mage freedom but still be best friend or lover of someone who chose to kill them all. She gets disapproval for this but is not a deal breaker.

Now you can imagine how fucking horrible is being a mage in this worldstate, and you can understand perfectly why Vivienne acts the way she does. Rebellion means demons and is death for everyone. She has to be perfect and she and Morrigan would be the only mages alive that are seen favorable by society, and they are both disrespected and feared anyways! It's lonely and it's bleak as fuck.

—

Sigrun, Dragon Age Awakening

Meanwhile, so many other charas have you in a pedestal from the start and then put you higher in the pedestal. I feel this with high approval Cassandra and Blackwall, you are their hero and inspiration, more than their friend. In Dorian case you can feel he puts you in a pedestal from the start, but getting higher approval with him is him trying to see you more as a person and less as the idol, and because he insist a lot in your friendship it feels more genuine and how he is making an effort.

In Varric and Solas cases is that thing where their high approval scene feels like you are less close with them than before. Varric tells you he struggles to see you as a person in His Last High Approval scene (while Dorian tries to get rid of this way earlier). Solas tells you the worst thing he can say about you and your race in his last high approval scene.