nel giuramento, nel sacrificio

at the end of inquisition , he's taken prisoner and given the choice to rot , die , or repent. dying sounds wonderful but samson is still a coward about it. he'll go through the process of weaning off the lyrium , but it's a tiresome battle that comes with many , many setbacks. what damage has been done to his body is irreversible. his eyes stay stained with a reminder of what he was ( and fears he still is , at heart ). his vision suffers from it and , most days , if given a choice , he'd rather keep inside , out of sunlight , where their sensitivity is made worse. there are countless scars from where the lyrium eroded his skin , either forthright or from where he'd picked the sores. all this to say he's relatively pretty compared to the mess he's made out of his insides. probably should've died from organ failure but who is he if not the maker's favorite play thing.

aside from being thedas' next top model , samson.. tries to be a good person. tries to remember what it was like not to find a target in every face. he'd have joined cullen for some time in helping other wayward templars overcome their addiction but there's only so long he can sit around the stuff before he's itching again.

tries his hand at being a sellsword but.. well..... OH SAMSON KNIGHT IN RED is a catchy tune. he's pretty sure you can still find wanted posters of him in some of the southern taverns. not a legacy to write home about.

what's funny though , in overcoming his call for the dust.. he can feel the remnants of the red lyrium's blight in his body. isn't sure if its tied to darkspawn. isn't sure if he wants to know how far down the GHOUL spectrum he is now. few other red templars managed to survive their cleansing and those who did were often driven mad come the end of it. it was the armor that kept him intact , mostly. makes him itchy to think about that too.

and then the sky is opening up again and the blight is bubbling up from the ground again and samson stands at a curious crossroads. less of a companion and more a strange informant if rook plays their cards right. someone who knows the underbelly of the world with intimacy , can feel the blight through the lyrium veins faaaar under the dirt.. and , maybe , samson knows he owes the world an apology for helping it get to this point.

Using tongs, Maddox placed the finished armor piece aside and took up the broken greatsword in both hands. “I see bending here and here. This struck a shield with great force.” “It did,” Samson said. “Still, that’s a decent Kirkwall blade. Too good for scrap. See what you can make of it.” Samson looked around the tent with its little wonders. “You’ll have it done in a minute or two, right?” Maddox looked up. “Oh, no. I will have to chisel the broken ends so they interlock before heating the forge sufficiently for the weld. Then—“

“Just a joke, Maddox,” said Samson, gently.

‘ don’t be a stranger. ’

‘ i don’t think i can. ’ 

‘ don’t say that. ’

‘ you don’t have to go. ’

‘ don’t be what they made you. ’

‘ you don’t have to be anyone’s hero. ’

‘ why don’t you stay right here? ’ 

‘ don’t you trust me? ’

‘ you don’t have to be on your own. ’

‘ i don’t like to think about it. ’

‘ you don’t get to make that call. ’

‘ don’t act like you care. ’

‘ we don’t think alike. ’

‘ you don’t need to worry about that. ’

‘ i don’t know why. ’ 

‘ you don’t mean that. ’

‘ you don’t have to tell me. ’

‘ i don’t trust many people. ’

‘ i don’t have a family anymore. ’

‘ you don’t care what they think. ’

IN LOVE AND WAR, EVERYTHING GOES. a sentence meme based around the subject of allies, enemies, war and enemies to lovers and more of the same tropes we all love. change pronouns, names and locations as you see fit. these are all scrambled around.

“Friends ask you questions; enemies question you.”

“You can live safe and be protected by people just like you, or you can stand up and be a leader for what is right.”

“Where do we find allies?"

“War created bizarre allies, while peace itself could be divisive.”

“I promise you, nothing will happen to you.”

“I choose my allies carefully and my enemies more carefully still.”

“People fight wars over ideas.” 

“Wars begin when you will, but they do not end when you please.”

“I was raised in hatred, Roma. I could never be your lover, only your killer.”

“We were enemies, no matter the truths. No matter that I loved him.”

“He’d set fire to the world around him but never let a flame touch her.”

“She's not the type to swoon for pretty lies.”

“The feud keeps taking and hurting and killing and still I couldn't stop loving you even when I thought I hated you.”

“These violent delights have violent ends."

“Men without morals are dangerous beasts.”

“The spiteful, little stars.”

“Death is real. Death is inevitable. Death comes when you're not ready for it. Be ready.”

“I was alive, but I wasn’t living. You took things from me. My soul―my heart.”

“You’re supposed to keep your enemies close. Therefore, it stands to reason that your sworn enemy should be kept closest.”

“When will you see I'm not your enemy, but your weapon. Wield me.”

“Can’t even get out of my grasp? Or is it because you secretly don’t want to?”

“Why are you confessing all of your crimes?”Are you trying to get hit?”

“You're a hero and I'm a monster. There's only one way that story ever ends.”

"Tell me you came to find me. That you changed your mind."

"How--how can you even say such things,on an evening you are meant to choose another as your bride?"

"My sweet nemesis, how glad I am that you returned."

"I hate you so much that sometimes I can't think of anything else.”

“The road for hell for me is paved with everything I would do for you, and that list never ends.”

“You have consumed my thoughts since the moment I met you."

“You have no idea what I could give you."

“If you mean to take me captive, you need only ask. I would come willingly.”

“I see you truly for everything you are and everything you will be and I claim you as mine.”

“I don't think I've ever met anyone as vexing as you."

“Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.”

“A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends.”

"We're on opposite sides, you know."

"You're the one claiming we're all villains. There's no black or white, only gray area. We can coexist somewhere in the middle, can't we?”

“A man with no enemies is a man with no character.”

“I smile to myself knowing that they may be dead.”

“I like your savage brutality."

"That's a poetic observation, coming from such a savage creature.”

"And you are mine, Victor Nox. whether you agree is irrelevant.”

“Bitter people are not interested in what you say, but what you hide.”

“Enemies can't break your spirit, only friends can.”

“In order to know your enemy, you must become your enemy.”