#faerunner

Thanks for the ask, and sorry for the late reply! I forgot these were sitting in my inbox, oops. I’ll do these for my main Hawke, Nora. :)

1. Is your OC in love? If so, with whom, and for how long?

Nora has been at least a little bit in love with Isabela since, hmmm... the moment she first saw her haha. It was love at first sight of her threatening some dudes with daggers. She was a goner right away.

5. What is the most romantic thing your OC has done for someone else?

After Kirkwall, she buys Isabela a small ship so they can travel around the world together. For Isabela, that is clearly the height of romance.

13. How does your OC show their love to those that are not their partner(s)?

Nora is the mom friend; she’s always trying to show love by taking care of others and checking up on them.

19. How highly does your OC value love (platonic, romantic, or otherwise)?

Very highly, for all kinds of love! She has so much room in her heart for loving her family and friends, and the people she loves take precedence over almost everything else.

23. What is your OC’s favorite nice thing to do for themselves?

Thank you for this ask! Number 14 was already answered here.

Violette Surana as a companion

2. How would they meet the Inquisitor?

Josephine informs the Inquisitor that she heard rumours of a powerful healer living as a recluse, south of Redcliffe. While she believes people are exaggerating this woman’s capacities, she still thinks it’s a lead worth investigating.

The Inquisitor and their party arrive at her home and witness her heal a man’s broken limb with magic (and be incredibly rude to him while she’s at it). It soon becomes apparent that while yes, she is a good healer, she’s not nearly as powerful as advertised. These rumours annoy Violette as they set expectations on her, especially since she’s not actually a healer, but a herbalist. 

After a talk during which she makes her anti-Chantry stance very clear, Violette does offer her services to the Inquisitor who can choose to recruit her or not.

4. What would their romance route look like? Would they be romanceable?

Violette would be a no-strings-attached/friends-with-benefits route available for an Inquisitor of any race and either gender. The Inquisitor would be able to start the romance at any point in the game, so long as they are not below -50 approval with her or above +50. If her approval is too low, she’ll be too disgusted, and if it’s too high, the idea would make her uncomfortable. However, if the Inquisitor reaches one of these thresholds after entering a relationship with Violette:

-50: She’ll break up with the Inquisitor. Again, she’s too disgusted to keep doing this.

+50 and not romancing anyone else: She’ll have a talk with the Inquisitor, expressing concern that they might have developed feelings for her. The Inquisitor can either reassure her that nothing’s changed between them or admit that she’s right. If the latter option is chosen, Violette will explain that she can’t give the Inquisitor the kind of relationship they want. That while she has a lot of respect for them, she doesn’t feel the same way about them and never will. At which point, the Inquisitor has a choice between accepting her as she is and remaining friends with benefits, or breaking up.

As expected, there is no jealousy scene with her. The Inquisitor can choose to pursue a romance with anyone else, although the other LI might disapprove. The Inquisitor can break up with her at any point with no approval change.

5. If they romanced someone as Inquisitor, would they still fall for that person as a companion? How would that play out? How would they react to that person being romanced by the “new” Inquisitor?

Violette is paired up with Samson (so not a canon LI). For that to happen with her as a companion, certain conditions have to be met:

Samson is still in Skyhold (duh!) Which means the Inquisitor must either choose to have him serve the Inquisition, have him locked up or give him to Dagna for study.

Her companion quest must be completed.

At that point, depending on approval, she will ask the Inquisitor for permission to help Samson get through his lyrium withdrawal by giving him some kind of medical treatment. The Inquisitor can either refuse or allow it. If they refuse and approval is high enough, she’ll respect their decision and will stay away from Samson. If approval is too low, she’ll go to him without asking for permission.

If Violette ends up helping Samson, rumours start spreading around Skyhold. The Inquisitor needs to overhear four of them for their relationship to lock in. At that point, the Inquisitor can again intervene. Depending on dialogue choice, Violette will either get angry or agree to be more discreet.

The extent of their relationship depends on Samson’s fate. If imprisoned or given to Dagna, she visits him often, but not much more than friendly discussions happen. If serving the Inquisition, rumours go so far as saying that they are sleeping together.

Some of the other companions can also make a few comments about the relationship. 

17. Where do they hang out in the Winter Palace? What’re their thoughts on the nobles/The Game?

Violette grew up as a servant in Meghren’s court. To say that she dislikes Orlais, nobles and the Game would be putting it mildly. Therefore, you wouldn’t find her mingling with the other guests but rather lingering in the Hall of Heroes, near the entrance to the Servant’s Quarters. You can overhear a few lines between her and some of the servants, as well as with Blackwall if he was brought along for the quest.

24. What are their plans for after the Exalted Council? Will the Inquisition staying intact or being disbanded make a difference?

Violette is done with the Inquisition and the Inquisitor’s final decision won’t make any difference. In fact, she won’t even show up at the Exalted Council unless her approval is very high or Leliana becomes Divine.

Thank you for asking! I’ll do this one for Violette :)

[Dragon Age character asks]

1. Where were they born? Do they identify with their homeland?

Violette was born somewhere between Orlais and Ferelden. I haven’t quite determined it yet, but in the end, it doesn’t really matter. While she is technically Orlesian for having Orlesian parents who sheltered her as much as they could during her childhood, she had never stepped foot in her homeland until very recently. She actually spent more time in Ferelden than in Orlais, but she never really felt like she belonged there either — likely because, as an elf and a mage, she doesn’t really belong anywhere.

2. What weapon/type of magic do they prefer to use and is there a story behind it?

Violette is quite adept at using fire spells, likely due to her fiery temper. As Inquisitor, she specialized as a Rift Mage because she wanted to smash people into the ground.

6. Do they follow a religion or school of philosophy?

Violette wouldn’t call herself religious at all. The Chantry has abused her people (both elves and mages) long enough that the mere mention of the Chant gives her an urge to punch someone in the face.

And as far as philosophy goes, she can appear to be rather selfish most of the time, thinking “What can I get out of this?” before anything else. If she does something that can be considered heroic, you can be sure it isn’t just out of the goodness of her heart (even if her ultimate goal was simply to annoy a templar).

13. Does your character have an opinion on blood magic?

She doesn’t practice blood magic, but she thinks of it as a tool that can be used for good or ill. She doesn’t buy the Chantry’s lies about it and thinks the most dangerous thing that would happen if she started doing it is a templar striking her down for no reason.

15. Who is your character’s most trusted friend?

I don't think it's "bad writing." Sera is shown to be pretty bigoted against EVERY group that doesn't conform to majority Andrastian human muggle commoner culture. Elves? Too elfy. Mages? Need to be locked in towers because commoners find them "scary." Dwarves? "Weird." So I'm truly wondering where all this "It doesn't make sense for her to be transphobic" stuff comes from. It's in-keeping with her character, even if you don't like it but do like her.

I’m not trying to convince you to like Sera, because to each their own, there’s plenty of reasons to not like her; as someone who does, I still get that. But I would argue that no, it does not make sense for Sera to be transphobic. 

(First though, when does Sera say mages should be kept in the Circles? If you recruit the mages and ask her if she has a problem with mages, she specifically says she doesn’t, but makes it clear she’s scared of magic. She even says “Yay freedom, great for them.”)

But anyway, the thing is, being trans isn’t even supposed to be against ‘Andrasitan human muggle commoner culture.’ Andrastianism doesn’t say shit about sexuality or gender. Tevinter is supposedly the only culture where the “norm” is straight and cis, based on the Sexuality in Thedas codex and Krem’s dialogue about his mother wanting to throw him out, although his father was accepting. (However Mae is a trans magister, so maybe classism plays a part as well? Krem does specify that part of what made things difficult for him was that he was ‘one ring above slavery.’)

Eugh, I’m glad they didn’t make this game. I find Hawke so OBNOXIOUS. I’d be miserable playing that game.

11. Halesta has a sharp temper, but only when she feels as if people are tip-toeing around her feelings or if she feels someone is questioning her ability do something that she is confident about.

12. Halie’s knife skills actually are impeccable, though she hasn’t allowed any of the Inquisition members see just how good. She keeps at least two daggers on her person even when asleep, and can throw one and hit a moving target pinpoint at up to 90 paces away. (But, shhh…)

13. Halie hums herself to sleep most nights, and usually sleeps on her side; if Solas is present, she always ends up curled up around him. She is not as likely to steal the blankets as she is to cuddle up to anyone sleeping next to her—which she is rather embarrassed by. She often wakes easy, or has trouble staying asleep, even in her comfy bed at Skyhold. She secretly prefers when in field tents, sleeping with her limbs tangled with Solas’s.

14. Well, right now, she’s with her InquisiFam, living in Skyhold. Her one complaint is that her quarters are so far from everyone else.