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One thing I've noticed while in the Dragon Age fandom is the prevalent interpretation of the Anders romance as a tragedy, or a romance that's inherently tragic. Anders acts behind Hawke's back, destroys the Kirkwall Chantry no matter what choices the player makes, the player sees this as a huge betrayal, and — despite having romanced Anders, and/or being mage-sympathetic — they decide to execute or banish Anders as punishment for his 'crime'. Tears are shed; it's all dramatic and tragic and angsty.
While I sometimes appreciate tragedies, I would like to posit a different perspective: The romance with Anders is a story of hope; a story of standing up to insurmountable odds and overcoming them. The romance with Anders can be approached as one with a happier ending, where Hawke and Anders are the heroes.
Before I elaborate, a disclaimer: These are my own opinions. I understand some players prefer the Andersmance as a tragic romance, and to each player their own. I am not here to dictate the choices you should make in-game or how you approach your playthroughs, merely to present a different perspective to one I've seen very often.
Also, this post is critical of the rivalmance with Anders — more on that later.
The Andersmance as a narrative of hope relies on two perspectives:
Firstly, the Chantry is an authoritarian institution who are the antagonistic force that the heroes need to oppose and take down. There is plenty of meta that explores and supports this.
Secondly, Anders is a heroic character:
He is a healer who set up a clinic providing free healthcare for the marginalized and downtrodden people of Kirkwall who otherwise have gone overlooked by their own Chantry.
He let a Spirit of Justice into his body, simply to help Justice continue to exist in the physical world when he would have otherwise disappeared into the Fade.
He regularly risks his safety and security by helping mages escape abuse in the Gallows and have a chance at freedom via the Mage Underground.
These are all acts of someone who is kind and compassionate, and, yes, heroic.
He is not a villain who needs to be stopped. He is the hero of the story who needs help and support as he challenges systematic oppression. He's Katniss Everdeen standing up to the Capitol; he's Luke Skywalker opposing the Galactic Empire.
Hawke is that supportive pillar, that safe harbor, that source of unconditional love for Anders in his times of struggle. "The one bright light in Kirkwall" who stands by Anders' side as they face insurmountable odds together.
In World States where Leliana becomes Divine Victoria, this means Hawke and Anders' struggles were not in vain. Through their actions, they sparked a series of events that culminated in the abolition of the Circles.
Anders' prophetic speech about how, "Ten years, a hundred years from now, someone like me will love someone like you, and there will be no Templars to tear them apart" carries so much more weight, because loving Hawke gave him hope for a better future that Anders actually gets to witness in his lifetime.
Do you know how powerful such a love story is?
Their love literally changed the world for the better.
They loved each other, that love gave them courage, and now future generations of mages are free to find a love as strong and precious as the one Hawke and Anders share.
Of course, the condition of this is that Hawke loves and supports Anders wholeheartedly, meaning that this obviously takes the Friendship route for the romance. The rivalmance where Hawke downplays Anders' struggles, breaks Anders' spirit, undermines Anders' confidence, and tries to convince Anders that his cause is needless has no part in this narrative of hope; in fact, I would go so far to say that Hawke is the villain in that version of the story.
Personally, stories of hope have always strongly resonated with me. I gravitate towards stories where our protagonists are presented with challenging obstacles (whether they be internal, external, or both), and things may seem bleak at first, but they bravely carry on, and by the end of the story the characters have made themselves better people, and/or made the world a better place.
Anders and Hawke had many chances to turn away and ignore the plight of mages and just get their own happy ending, but they didn't — they carried on, because they were the heroes, and they knew all mages deserved to be free as they were.
The gash is deep enough that Anders needs to cut away the bottom half of Theo's leathers, the old ties giving way under his knife with ease.
"Idiot," he hisses under his breath as Theo grits his teeth against the jostling. "Thought I told you to stop jumping in front of me like that."
"Thought I told you to stand back," Theo fired back, his monotone voice not wavering even an inch despite the blood gushing out of his abdomen.
Anders presses his palms hard into the wound, staunching the blood less with the pressure than with the magic that pours its way out of him, and he feels the muscles under his hands relax as the spell starts taking effect and knitting his lover back together.
Once, he had looked at the crisscrossing scars on Theo's skin with admiration, even lust. He'd thought Theo a storybook hero, invincible. Now, they were just a reminder of how many times Anders had nearly lost him.
He closes the wound all the way before Theo can protest. He didn't need the reminder.
"Stubborn," he grits out.
Theo catches Anders when he goes to pull away, his large, callused hand completely encircling his wrist. When Anders pauses, Theo shifts his grip and brings Anders' hand to his lips, barely seeming to mind his own blood smeared across his palms as he presses a kiss to his lover's knuckles.
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So I'm replaying Dragon Age 2 for the dozenith or so time and I forgot I modded it so Anders' lines about Karl are there for a Female Hawke romance and wow, the speech in the mansion in Act 2 feels so much more complete when he talks about Karl too. Why was this not in the original game?!
One thing that grates me is how so many Dragon Age players so often overlook Anders' compassion.
The healer mage who ran a free clinic in Darktown, providing free healthcare for refugees and the poor. He looked after them better than their own Chantry did, for seven years.
Anders took a Spirit of Justice into his body as an act of compassion. Justice needed a way to exist in the physical world after Kristoff's body was decaying, and Anders did it to help his friend. No matter what people say about the union itself or what they perceive it became, the act that started it was done out of solidarity and friendship.
Anders put himself in danger, risked his own life and security, to fight for the sake of all mages. He fought so that all mages would be able to live safely and love freely, not just for himself.
It would have been so easy for Anders to just up and leave and get his happily-ever-after riding into the sunset with Hawke and ignore all the mages suffering in the Gallows, but he couldn't. Because he cared, so strongly and so deeply, that other mages would not suffer as he did. There were some things bigger and more important than his personal happiness.
