Dragon Age would be so good if it was good

recruited by cassandra after her and rhys are forced to leave the rebel mages because they had the genius idea of just. making another templar order that's totally different

except neither of them tell her this so she recruits them with the hopes of them being able to convince the mages to return under the chantry's control

despite common belief, evangeline wouldn't actually advocate to side with mages. she wouldn't oppose siding with the mages but she very clearly prefers the templars, especially since she's already encountered templars using red lyrium. another chance to blame the institutional failings of the templars on an external cause? baby she's taking it

if the mages join the inquisition, it'll be very tense for her and she'll always say that they should have people watching over them because they're still dangerous

if the templars join the inquisition, she'll stop playing this song and dance of "no... i'm no longer a templar. i left that life behind me...." and make herself knight-vigilant of the newly reformed (is it really?) templar order

romanceable but only if you're a human or elven mage and her romance can only be triggered in haven when you're still the inquisition's prisoner

rhys is also there but this isn't about him. she WILL be cheating on him if you romance her

kristjanson writes a lesbian, and gives you absolutely no opportunity to extend her kindness or empathy: sera is marginalised across several dimensions, both in- and out of-of-universe, as an elf, as neurodivergent, as a lesbian, and her romance is marked by scenes you are intended to read as hysterical, irrational, unreasonable. your reward for being interested in a neurodivergent lesbian is getting shouted at, having a bow pointed at you, don't you regret this? and again, in mass effect - you romanced Black man and he leaves you without a word, he takes up with another woman and starts a family behind your back, what did you expect?

kristjanson's writing is so full of racist, homophobic, bigoted tropes that are levelled against the player and the romance in a way that feels like punishment, like he wants to make sure no-one (no woman) can have a joyful, fulfilling relationship with a marginalised person, like you don't deserve to be successful in these relationships without conditions. and i love a difficult, unconventional, even tragic romance in games, but in contrast to the treatment the other romances get it is notable to me that kristjanson singles out the lesbian and the Black man for treatment that not only punishes the characters involved but leans heavily on stereotypes particular to those groups.

Nightingale's Eyes

Southeast Asian Leliana inspired by a post I saw that I sadly lost >.> If anyone knows the post I'm talking about pls share!!

Feel free to answer some of these for pre-game as well! :)

What is the worst they've ever been injured?

What is the worst they've ever been sick?

What is the worst heartbreak they've ever experienced?

What would fearlings look like to them?

What event brought them to their lowest, mentally? How did they act during this time?

Have they ever been in any unhealthy relationships? This doesn't necessarily have to be romantic.

How high is their physical pain tolerance? Do they ever show if they're in pain? What about their mental pain tolerance? How easy would it be to break them down?

What kind of demon would emerge from them had they been subject to Zara's experiments?

What would a nightmare tailored to their worst fears look like?

Who do they miss the most?

Which one of their senses would they fear losing the most?

What do they doubt most about themselves? Why? Where did this come from?

What kind of injury scares them the most?

Think of the two people they are closest to. They can only save one. Who are they choosing?

What is the one thing that would make them lose all hope?

What kind of demon would be most successful in tempting them? What offer would it have given them?

Have they ever felt insignificant? To the world? To their faction? To their loved ones?

Which one of their insecurities would be the easiest to take advantage of?

One of their loved ones just got grievously injured by their enemies. Who was it? How do they react?

Deep down, did they truly believe they'd be able to get out when they were trapped in the Fade?

but there’s another, frankly way more interesting, reading. given what we know about gender in qunari perspectives, it’s closely tied with one’s role in society: you’re a tamassran so you’re a woman, you’re a soldier so you’re a man, etc. aqun-athlok, “born as one gender but lives as another,” is a descriptor that doesn’t quite one-to-one translate as “trans” because to “live as another” gender in this context means you will have to be reassigned to a different position. this is why sten is confused about the idea of a female warrior or female mage; not because every qunari in those positions was amab, but because a person in that role is considered male. magic, famously, can show up anywhere, so it’s not like the idea of an afab mage is unheard of for qunari, but it is likely that all mages are considered saarebas, which is a male role, so they would not continue living their lives as women. gender in qunari society, as a whole, seems less about personal identity (as with everything else; these are folks that don’t have, for the most part, personal names, so their acceptance of aqun-athlok folks is less from a place of self-affirmation than making sure everyone fits well in the place they’re sorted, because they’re community-focused) and more about categorizing different aspects of society. gender as in genre, like grammatical gender, as opposed to gender as a reflection of one’s internal feelings. gender nonconformity doesn’t really have a place here.

and then you have sten, who clearly enjoys being a warrior to the point of, eventually, becoming the arishok, and has no desire to change that aspect. but again, that has nothing to do with personal identity. qunari society has a place for all types of bodies within every role, but that does nothing to help someone who feels like they have the wrong body. most (if not all besides taash?) of the trans people we’ve met are from tevinter, and i believe krem says outright that any kind of medical transition would involve magic—something that would definitely be disproved of, if not outright prohibited, by the qunari. and you still have that tension between the idea of one’s role in their community, their career, their sense of purpose, deeply entwined with the idea of gender. sten knows that women have no place fighting. you cannot be a woman and a warrior at the same time. that can only lead to frustration. let’s stop talking about this.