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[Carmen_Willow]

When Dragon Age II first came out, I was the poster of a thread titled something like "Bioware, where have all the Normal Men Gone?" I bemoaned that if you played a straight female, you could only choose between an emo mage and an angry elf.

Like many, I chose to romance the familiar and went with the emo mage on my first playthrough. (It's strange how pissed off you can get at a pixelated man who calls you "sweetheart" and then blows stuff up for a cause.) Talk about someone who was REALLY ANGRY! The emo mage not only took down the chickens who came home to roost, but all the "eggs" in his effort to concoct an omelet of glorious freedom for mages everywhere.

Needless to say, he ceased to be a viable romance option for some weeks to follow; because, face it:  It's hard not to metagame.  I mean, how attached can you get to a guy you're only going to have to execute later?

So it was on to the Angry Elf.  Angry is hardly the word.  As I was playing a mage, we often had "discussions" regarding mage liberty vs. mage madness. Between crashing wine bottles and whatever I could find to throw (fireballs, lightning bolts, whatever), things were pretty noisy  whenever I went to visit him at his ruined and unsanitary mansion.

(Can someone explain to me why the Bioware female artisits didn't insist on redecorating Fenris' estate?  Why would they let him live with dead things about?  Think of the smell!)

But.....well....after a number of playthroughs, I began to respect the guy.  Sure he was pissed off about everything.  Sure he was opposed to mages.  But you had to give him credit.  He was brave -- he told me his terrible story about his most shameful act -- that was courageous.  He was up front about his position.  I knew exactly how he felt about mages.  He didn't play nice with people to their faces and  then diss them behind their backs. He insulted them -- pointedly -- to their faces.  "Stop looking at me, Witch...." comes immediately to mind.

And the little wolf is smart.  He may be illiterate, but he is very intelligent.  He thinks about things. Underneath all that rage (and shame) there's a diamond hard quality to his thought process.  His rage helps him feel less helpless, I get that. But he also gets angry at himself for being unable to resolve the problem of me objectively.  Despite angry outbursts now that he is free, Fenris has had to survive by trusting his head and not his gut.  A man who ran on emotions would have died at Decimus' hand much sooner.  He would never have made it through Hadrianna's torture of a thousand cuts.  It takes willpower and intelligence not to lash out when provoked.  It takes foritude to wait your turn at vengance.

So in the story, I (Hawke) represent a contradiction.  All mages are bad, but I (Hawke) am not bad, but I am  a mage. In fact, I am quickly becoming the most important thing in Fenris' life. Fenris must check his premises about all mages, and he must take a small step into a very foreign land (Baby steps, Carver, baby steps). Watching Fenris try to resolve this issue in his own mind and heart are half the fun of the game.

And while I miss being called "sweetheart" and I doubt that I will ever hear such endearments from the elf, I'll take the great look he gives me in Act 2, and the "don't die on me, Hawke..." speech in Act 3.  He won't ever be sentimental.  But he will most definitely care.  And when he does, on occasion, admit how deep his feelings run, it will mean that much more.  Because in MY DA universe, this guy will not betray me, no matter how many fireballs I throw.

(Unless Bioware turns him into a terrorist....abomination....drunkard....assassin.....ah crap!)

Can't ask much more of a pixelated LI.

[UrsulaCousland]

 Well-said.  I know when the LIs were announced, I assumed I'd be an Anders girl (of the male options) - Fenris' announcement didn't really appeal to me all that much.

For all the reasons you've stated here, and additional ones as well, I have to say that I was converted pretty much the second I recruited him (which I didn't do in the unfinished/unspoiled play through).

There's a reason the Elf has his fans.

(You'd be welcome in the Fenris thread, by the way - we have (virtual) cookies!)

Modifié par UrsulaCousland, 05 juillet 2011 - 11:27 .

[Carmen_Willow]

Thanks. Virtual cookies sound wonderful.

[Knight of Dane]

I only Romanced Fenris once, most of my playthroughs i do Merrill.

I never hated the guy, but i found a respect for him too. At least he doesn't go to extremes but is open about what he beleives.
I still hate when he's overly rude, but i like his character more now than when i started playing this game.

Still, agreements aside this whole thread could have been posted in Fenris' own thread or his hatethread for that matter.

[Carmen_Willow]

Knight of Dane wrote...

I only Romanced Fenris once, most of my playthroughs i do Merrill.

I never hated the guy, but i found a respect for him too. At least he doesn't go to extremes but is open about what he beleives.
I still hate when he's overly rude, but i like his character more now than when i started playing this game.

Still, agreements aside this whole thread could have been posted in Fenris' own thread or his hatethread for that matter.

My bad, sorry.

[Knight of Dane]

Aw, you're nice, usually people try to argue at this point :3

This board is mainly dead anyway (aside from Anders' and Fenris' support threads anyhow..)

[Torax]

Anders lost me in Act 2 in my first gameplay. When he was basically expecting everyone to care about his plights but didn't really seem to care about the rest around him. Infact he basically would verbally bash everyone around him. Especially if their opinions differ to his. Fenris while also would take attacks at others. He at least seemed to reduce his attacks over time. Meanwhile Anders was just constantly getting worse. It's to such a point that I'll never use him but the Deep Roads. Especially if I'm a mage.

[Faunwea]

I was going to pursue Anders too when I first started, but then Fenris stole my heart.

Modifié par Faunwea, 06 juillet 2011 - 01:40 .

[Knight of Dane]

That's probably why you haven't left him yet Faunwea, you can't feel sense anymore
Nah jesting aside.

I was hexed by Merrill immediately, i just did a Anders / Fenris / Isabela mances too for later import or references.
I have yet to dedicate a Hawke to Sebastian, i just don't think the priiiiiize is good enough..

[happy_daiz]

Knight of Dane wrote...

That's probably why you haven't left him yet Faunwea, you can't feel sense anymore
Nah jesting aside.

I was hexed by Merrill immediately, i just did a Anders / Fenris / Isabela mances too for later import or references.
I have yet to dedicate a Hawke to Sebastian, i just don't think the priiiiiize is good enough..

I tried to rivalmance Sebastian, and wasn't able to get his rivalry up to 100%. My Hawke was just too dang nice, I guess. Didn't even bother with friendmancing, as that = no priiiiiize, and what fun is that?
 

[Miss Greyjoy]

Totally agree with the OP. Sure, he could be rude at times, but he was HONEST, and that counts for a lot in my book. Even when he didn't agree with my Hawke, he always had her back. He was definitely my fav romance in DA2.

As for the mage...I just can't have a LI (even in-game) that is a liar. It is the one trait I just can't deal with.

[Cutlass Jack]

happy_daiz wrote...

I tried to rivalmance Sebastian, and wasn't able to get his rivalry up to 100%. My Hawke was just too dang nice, I guess. Didn't even bother with friendmancing, as that = no priiiiiize, and what fun is that?
 

Unfortunately there is no rivalmance for Sebastian. Friendmance only, and even that won't happen if you flirt even once with anyone else in the game. And of course his priiiiiize is covered by his Andraste chastity belt.

[fightright2]

@OP

You do make a good point on the difficulty of attaching to a guy your going to end up killing later.
As much as I want to romance Anders all the way through, I end up going for the elf.
Sure, he's not exactly built like a warrior, but his appeal is that once you win him over, he'll always stay by your side, no matter what.

Good post.

[happy_daiz]

Cutlass Jack wrote...

Unfortunately there is no rivalmance for Sebastian. Friendmance only, and even that won't happen if you flirt even once with anyone else in the game. And of course his priiiiiize is covered by his Andraste chastity belt.

Yeah, I kinda considered it a wasted playthrough. Many hours of my life...just...gone.