Too many obsessions

Dragon Age Nostalgia Month

First screenshot is Alexius, second is Erimond. Third one Erasthenes. In case you don't remember who Erasthenes is, is Calpernia's former master who is currently trapped in a spell.

I was checking the 3 mages you can turn tranquil in inquisition, and the characters opinions on it. Cassandra approves always, wich makes sense for the Seeker, sadly she doesn't change her opinion after her personal mission even when she says she is finding a way to cure tranquility, but eh that's Cass for you. Bull also approves always, would love if this was more explored than in just approval system. He hates demons playing with his mind and going mad BUT that is when is about him attacking people he doesn't want to... wich is not the same to him as something that makes people "harmless"

Dorian and Solas always disapprove, of course. Both mages and not even from that culture. Blackwall is the only non-mage who doesn't even have any connection to the circles or mages who always dissaproves, wich makes sense with his idea of second chances or kill the people who hurt others, and probably thinks this is too cruel. Varric is the only character who never reacts about this, wich says a lot about him.

Now the charas whose opinion vary depending on the situation. Vivienne has a line saying "It is to protect from these sort of excesses that the Rite of Tranquility exists", and in her approvals show this. She doesn't have a reaction to Alexius being made tranquil, but approves of Erimond made tranquil, a blood mage who almost summon an army of demons. In the other hand, she disapproves of Erasthenes made tranquil as a "mercy". To her, tranquility is a punishment for the ones who truly deserve it. Meanwhile, Cole disapproves of using tranquility as a punishment, but approves when you use it as a "mercy". Cole used to think killing mages was also mercy, so my hc is that a lot of his concept of mercy is sadly... circle mentality, where he absorved a lot of beliefs of the people around him. He killed the mages who didn't want to become tranquils, but this one suffering that wants to stop suffering seems okay with it, so why wouldn't he? Kinda fucked up but I do love it ngl. Sera also usually doesn't have a reaction, but disapproves of you using it as a "mercy" too. She doesn't seem to want to think about tranquility and that freaks her out (for how she reacts finding about the Oculara being tranquil skulls)

Now, when you do turn someone tranquil (wich you can ONLY do if you are a mage) you get the How Could You war table mission. Where a group of mages are the only ones complaining about it. If you pick Josephine to solve it, she does it, but says "It is unfortunate that this was necessary. But then, a great many things have been unfortunate about all of this." Wich shows to me that she is not happy about it and didn't want it, but still she would follow your decision and let it be. Leliana says "You have taken a brutal stance. If need be, continue.", if we are going brutal, we are going brutal. She also says "Magister Erasthenes has been most helpful. Even grateful, as much as a Tranquil can be. (...) It was a clever mercy. And thanks to the spell which binds him, he cannot lie." I don't know if she comments anything about Owain or tranquility in dao, but she shows here a brutal pragmatism about it, wich is curious when she is supposed to be the pro-mage liberation one...but as she said, "the mages shall govern themselves" so a mage chosed it, so it's fine. Cullen says "remind them that the mages created this punishment to protect the rest." Wich is crazy to me specially if we do this AFTER Cassandra mission where is revealed that it was the Seekers who started this.

But NOW the most important part, if you make Cullen solve this, he says "I suspect that the only reason they were successfully reasoned with is that you yourself are a mage. They may wonder how one of their own could do that to another mage, but on some level they accept that at least it was one of their own." The fact that you can only use the rite of tranquility in game if you are a mage, makes me think that if the inquisitor was something else, people would lose the only reason that they may agree with this.

Fenhawke Week Day 1: Hawke's Favor | Longing @fenhawke-week

The Carta dwarf's knife whizzed past his ear, nicking the edge, but even the bright sting of pain and the thin trail of warmth running down his neck couldn't shake Rowan from his ruminating. He moved without thought, dodging and slashing on instinct. They were caught in their third skirmish of the night, and he and his companions were beginning to tire, already worn out as they were by their trek to the Wounded Coast. But that wasn't what was troubling him so; exhaustion was a small thing when compared to the turmoil in his heart.

Amid all the blood and the bodies and the dust stirred up from the Lowtown cobbles, all of his attention was hopelessly captured by the shock of vivid red sweeping and bobbing and slashing its way through the battle. It drew him in, tugging at his soul like a rip current. Everything in Rowan cried out for him to succumb to its pull, to sweep up its wearer in his arms and never let him go. Fenris wouldn't thank him for that, though, surely. The grief of their parting was a fresh wound for both of them, and causing more pain was the last thing Rowan ever wanted to do. He could withstand any amount of suffering if it meant Fenris was spared even the smallest bit.

Unfortunately for him, self-awareness did little to stifle the longing burning him up from the inside out; and no matter how hard he tried, he could not extricate himself from these thoughts enough to give this fight the focus that it needed. His mind was locked in an agonizing loop of love so profound and loss so deep that it took him a moment to register the blood soaking his undershirt. A shout from somewhere to his left... Varric?

Warmth stuck to his skin and flowed down his tunic and came away on his fingers, but it was cold that began to creep its way along his limbs, slowing his thoughts to a sluggish crawl until they stalled completely. It was only the brilliant flash of red that brought his awareness back to ground; his eyes refocused as Fenris, face twisted in rage (and something else...?), put his fist through the chest of the dwarf holding the knife.

Rowan stumbled then, the world spinning around him, and would have followed his attacker to the ground were it not for those strong, gauntleted hands he knew so intimately.

They caught him by the shoulders, held him steady as the elf attached to them grimaced and barked, "Mage! You're needed!"

Through his dizziness and the rapidly gathering fog of pain, Rowan had the distant impression that Fenris was helping him sit on the ground, and his guilt pierced clean and clear through everything else like the knife that had just perforated his stomach.

"Fenris- I'm sorry, I- you don't have to-"

Fenris was quick to cut him off with a fierce look and firm words. "Don't waste your energy, Hawke. Rest, and let Anders do what he needs to."

A weighted silence fell between them as they sat there, Rowan with his back against a wall and Fenris on one knee before him, trying to look like he wasn't staring, like he wasn't worried. This silence was heavy with words that neither of them knew how to say, or whether they even should. After what felt like eternity, though it must've been a mere few seconds, it seemed to become too much for Fenris.

"Don't do that again," came the quiet demand. "I know how skilled you are; this is beneath you. If you were to be injured too badly to heal—or killed outright—all because your thoughts were somewhere else, I don't-" he paused, sighed, looked away, then continued. "I don't know what I would do. If you care for me, take care of yourself as well, Rowan." He took a deep breath and turned back to look into Rowan's eyes once more. His gaze was soft, pained, and his voice was almost inaudible.

All that remains // Family