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[Walter Black]

It's funny, all of the things I hate about Sera from an in-game perspective (immaturity, thoughtlessness, poor impulse control, bigotry, and all around refusal to emphasize with any other belief systems) are all the things I love about her from a meta perspective. Sera rejects any notion that she has to be an "elfy elf" simply because that's what's expected in Thedas. Her preference for "People people" over "THE People" certainly speaks to those of us who would rather be seen as "person who happens to be X" as opposed to being primarily an "X person". I mean, I was born in the American South, yet I have little interest in country music, hunting and fishing, NASCAR, etc. Why should I have to embrace such things just because of an accident of birth I had no control over? Granted, Sera's boomerang bigotry can be too much of a 180, but it's part of what makes her a three dimensional character, as opposed to a cardboard cutout.

 

From a creative standpoint, it's refreshing to see an elf who doesn't conform to the "wise, beautiful, magical and one with nature" Elven stereotype. I've heard the arguments, "If you don't want to do a proper Elf, write a human." Uhmm, prior to Tolkien and his myriad clones, Sera's Manic Pixie Dreamgirl was one of the predominate portrayals of Elves. Seems to me she's taking it back . Fantasy is supposed about exploring new ideas and re-interpreting old ones. For Sera, being an Elf and streetwise commoner is the whole point of her character.

 

Finally, there's everybody's favorite Sera moment, the Temple of Mythal ultimatum. Yes it abusive and emotional blackmail, but a small part of me can't help but appreciate the meta irony. For years Bioware's Companion Quests gave us the option to change the characters core beliefs, essentially bending them to the player's will. Now here comes a Love Interest the wants you to change for them. Certainly not the ideal, but I do think it fit Sera's character to that point. Then comes Trespasser, where she gets much needed development, and people still complain. How much of the complaints were because (a legitimate gripe I agree with)  Sera's growth happened off screen, versus the fact that she didn't need the All Mighty PC to facilitate it . There's wanting to experience a characters' story for yourself, and then there's being a player entitled control freak. Hopefully Bioware won't throw out the baby with the bathwater and write future romance arcs that explore more compromise between the PC and LI.

[YourFunnyUncle]

It's funny, all of the things I hate about Sera from an in-game perspective (immaturity, thoughtlessness, poor impulse control, bigotry, and all around refusal to emphasize with any other belief systems) are all the things I love about her from a meta perspective. Sera rejects any notion that she has to be an "elfy elf" simply because that's what's expected in Thedas. Her preference for "People people" over "THE People" certainly speaks to those of us who would rather be seen as "person who happens to be X" as opposed to being primarily an "X person". I mean, I was born in the American South, yet I have little interest in country music, hunting and fishing, NASCAR, etc. Why should I have to embrace such things just because of an accident of birth I had no control over? Granted, Sera's boomerang bigotry can be too much of a 180, but it's part of what makes her a three dimensional character, as opposed to a cardboard cutout.

 

From a creative standpoint, it's refreshing to see an elf who doesn't conform to the "wise, beautiful, magical and one with nature" Elven stereotype. I've heard the arguments, "If you don't want to do a proper Elf, write a human." Uhmm, prior to Tolkien and his myriad clones, Sera's Manic Pixie Dreamgirl was one of the predominate portrayals of Elves. Seems to me she's taking it back . Fantasy is supposed about exploring new ideas and re-interpreting old ones. For Sera, being an Elf and streetwise commoner is the whole point of her character.

 

Finally, there's everybody's favorite Sera moment, the Temple of Mythal ultimatum. Yes it abusive and emotional blackmail, but a small part of me can't help but appreciate the meta irony. For years Bioware's Companion Quests gave us the option to change the characters core beliefs, essentially bending them to the player's will. Now here comes a Love Interest the wants you to change for them. Certainly not the ideal, but I do think it fit Sera's character to that point. Then comes Trespasser, where she gets much needed development, and people still complain. How much of the complaints were because (a legitimate gripe I agree with)  Sera's growth happened off screen, versus the fact that she didn't need the All Mighty PC to facilitate it . There's wanting to experience a characters' story for yourself, and then there's being a player entitled control freak. Hopefully Bioware won't throw out the baby with the bathwater and write future romance arcs that explore more compromise between the PC and LI.

Actually, I think she kind of did need the "almighty PC" to facilitate her growth. It's just done in a very non-standard way. If you look at what she says and does throughout the game, there's a strong thread of her needing to feel accepted for who she is. If you're her friend or her lover by the end of the main game, meaning that you didn't try to change her too much, then she's finally found that place where she feels at home. That's when she has room to soften around the edges. She finally begins to lower some of those defences that she'd raised because she was so sick of being told that she was wrong and "not the right kind of elf".

[bustoparadise]

And the second chapter of Bad Kids is up! In this series, I'm always trying to strike a balance between Sera wising up a little but still remaining herself. I hope it works for you dedicated Sera-fans that read my fic!

[Rel Fexive]

Eeeeeeexcellent.

[Qun00]

So, what do you guys think of Red Jenny? Do they do any real good or are they simple pranksters?

[Sifr]

Good ol' Gamermd83.

 

How much fun would it be to see the actual VAs cosplay their banter?

 

Freddie Prinze Jr actually did "cosplay" his banter as Bull in another video with Gamermd83.

 

Spoiler

 

So, what do you guys think of Red Jenny? Do they do any real good or are they simple pranksters?

 

Their main objective seems to be to give nobles their comeuppance, help people and give them a laugh... preferably at the same time.

 

Sera suggests that the money that Hawke received in DA2 for removing local gangs, was lifted from the vaults of one of the nobles they pranked. By doing something rather petty and criminal, the Jenny's indirectly did something positive by lifting spirits and ensuring the streets were safe at night.

[catabuca]

Haven't played the game for ages. Of course now I've booted it back up first thing I want to do is take pictures of Sera

 

[YourFunnyUncle]

So, what do you guys think of Red Jenny? Do they do any real good or are they simple pranksters?

 

I think bringing a bit of joy to people's lives by virtue of being simple pranksters is doing good. As Sera suggests in a banter with Solas, if they organised into a proper revolutionary force, they'd probably just end up replacing the nobles at the top of the tree and not actually changing much, anyway.

 

Freddie Prinze Jr actually did "cosplay" his banter as Bull in another video with Gamermd83.

 

Excellent! He's never shy of a bit of fan interaction, is he?

 

Haven't played the game for ages. Of course now I've booted it back up first thing I want to do is take pictures of Sera

*snip*

 

Seems reasonable to me.

[FemHawke FTW]

And the second chapter of Bad Kids is up! In this series, I'm always trying to strike a balance between Sera wising up a little but still remaining herself. I hope it works for you dedicated Sera-fans that read my fic!

As always Busto, another amazing chapter to add to your collection. You do a really great job capturing all the characters voices

[The Loyal Nub]

Source.

[FemHawke FTW]

Tried, very unsuccessfully, to post a Sera/Addar pic off of tumblr (user is madshoemaker), ugh.

edit: I'm a little drunk so that might have something to do with it

[Bowie Hawkins]

Finally, there's everybody's favorite Sera moment, the Temple of Mythal ultimatum. Yes it abusive and emotional blackmail, but a small part of me can't help but appreciate the meta irony. 

 

It's not abusive or blackmail to expect your boundaries to be respected. Sera's had people treat her as if she's Wrong and Bad for not being what they think an elf is supposed to be, and she's afraid that after all the time she's spent trying to get the Inquisitor to understand what she's been put through it's going to happen to her again.

[FemHawke FTW]

Haven't played the game for ages. Of course now I've booted it back up first thing I want to do is take pictures of Sera
 

With a smile like that who can blame ya?

[YourFunnyUncle]

 

 

Source.

 

 "The veil is bored of trees, here, if it has any sense." 

[FemHawke FTW]

I like that she paid enough attention to detail to have uneven bangs for her Sera wig, but for sh*ts and giggles I'll cry out "Why isn't she by a building?! Sera's a city girl darn it!" In all seriousness though great cosplay find Uncle

[YourFunnyUncle]

I like that she paid enough attention to detail to have uneven bangs for her Sera wig, but for sh*ts and giggles I'll cry out "Why isn't she by a building?! Sera's a city girl darn it!" In all seriousness though great cosplay find Uncle

Hence the quote.

[Sifr]

I like that she paid enough attention to detail to have uneven bangs for her Sera wig, but for sh*ts and giggles I'll cry out "Why isn't she by a building?! Sera's a city girl darn it!" In all seriousness though great cosplay find Uncle

 

Methinks if Sera was really in that pic, she'd be saying;

 

"Pfft, the Dalish... it's all about trees and being mopey with them! See, I can do it too... 'Look, I am frolickin' in a tree, isn't the past chuffin' grand!' Only I made it look sexy, not boring! Because I did it using normal words and wearing proper clothes! Fact!"

 

[GoldenGail3]

Methinks if Sera was really in that pic, she'd be saying;
 
"Pfft, the Dalish... it's all about trees and being mopey with them! See, I can do it too... 'Look, I am frolickin' in a tree, isn't the past chuffin' grand!' Only I made it look sexy, not boring! Because I did it using normal words and wearing proper clothes! Fact!"
 

That's grand!

[FemHawke FTW]

 
Source.

Sera thread heading towards the bottom?! Quick! Deploy cute Sera pics!

[YourFunnyUncle]

 

Source.

[AlleluiaElizabeth]

Ok so I don't have any Sera fanart, but I do have a question that I think you guys in the Sera fandom would know the answer to. Its about Sera's origins and the theories about that.

 

I've recently started going through Tresspasser for the first time with my canon Inquisitor and so I'm getting to explore the environment more than I obviously get to by just watching people's let's plays. I saw Sera's journal in the tavern and I noticed that she mentions the inquisitor's hand looking "bad really bad. Don't look at it." before even the Inquisitor realizes how bad it is. Up to that point, all that happens with the mark is it flaring just before you talk to Mother Giselle; you don't even enter the crossroads till later. Sera makes this obsservation in her papers before anyone else mentions anything regarding the mark, including Cole. This makes me think its not just her being observant, but her actually seeing more than other people regarding the mark. Which reminded me of how she sees something special when she looks at the Breach in Solas' banter, her ears "always point to the fade" in Cole's banter, etc. Basically it made me mentally add it to all the hints that Sera is special somehow. 

 

Now, I know there is the theory that she's Andruil reborn or that she might be an Old God Baby, among others.

 

But I have my own theory. I think Sera may not have some super complicated magical origin at all, but rather be a simple trope: the orphan with a special bloodline. I think she's an ancient elf. Or, more specifically, she's ethnically (for lack of a better term) an ancient elf . As in, one or both of her parents were ancient elves from the time of Arlathan or close to it.

 

It would explain her special sensitivity to fade magic, like noticing the mark is getting worse when no one else seems to, including the Inquisitor. Explains what "Your ears always point to the fade." means. Also why she sees the color she sees and then "feels like falling" when she looks past the Breach with Solas. Since there is an intrinsically closer connection to the fade in ancient elves than modern ones, I think that might be what we're seeing hints of with her there.

 

And this connection would be something Solas would recognize. It explains why Solas thinks he can start talking Elvhen to her like she'll understand it. It explains why he tells her she is the "farthest from what you were meant to be". And it also explains why Solas uses the term "our people" with her, even though its questionable whether he even considers modern elves people at that point in the game, much less his. He doesn't even say "our people" with a Lavellan by then.

 

So, is this a theory anyone else in the Sera fandom subscribes to or am I out there on my own?

[YourFunnyUncle]

Conversations are fun. I mostly post fan art to keep the thread alive... I've seen the theory that she's some form of ancient elf because her body model, like Solas's, is bigger than the standard, In fact it recently appeared on the Dragon Age confessions tumblr:

 

 

Source.

 

I'm not sure the bit about her noticing the hand is especially significant. It doesn't appear if you're in a relationship with her, so I suspect it's just thrown in to show how she notices things and replace the relationship stuff in the book. 

 

You could be right, though. They definitely seem to want to make us wonder if there's something special about her, and your idea is certainly no more far-fetched than the Andruil theory...

[FemHawke FTW]

Ok so I don't have any Sera fanart, but I do have a question that I think you guys in the Sera fandom would know the answer to. Its about Sera's origins and the theories about that.
 
I've recently started going through Tresspasser for the first time with my canon Inquisitor and so I'm getting to explore the environment more than I obviously get to by just watching people's let's plays. I saw Sera's journal in the tavern and I noticed that she mentions the inquisitor's hand looking "bad really bad. Don't look at it." before even the Inquisitor realizes how bad it is. Up to that point, all that happens with the mark is it flaring just before you talk to Mother Giselle; you don't even enter the crossroads till later. Sera makes this obsservation in her papers before anyone else mentions anything regarding the mark, including Cole. This makes me think its not just her being observant, but her actually seeing more than other people regarding the mark. Which reminded me of how she sees something special when she looks at the Breach in Solas' banter, her ears "always point to the fade" in Cole's banter, etc. Basically it made me mentally add it to all the hints that Sera is special somehow. 
 
Now, I know there is the theory that she's Andruil reborn or that she might be an Old God Baby, among others.
 
But I have my own theory. I think Sera may not have some super complicated magical origin at all, but rather be a simple trope: the orphan with a special bloodline. I think she's an ancient elf. Or, more specifically, she's ethnically (for lack of a better term) an ancient elf . As in, one or both of her parents were ancient elves from the time of Arlathan or close to it.
 
It would explain her special sensitivity to fade magic, like noticing the mark is getting worse when no one else seems to, including the Inquisitor. Explains what "Your ears always point to the fade." means. Also why she sees the color she sees and then "feels like falling" when she looks past the Breach with Solas. Since there is an intrinsically closer connection to the fade in ancient elves than modern ones, I think that might be what we're seeing hints of with her there.
 
And this connection would be something Solas would recognize. It explains why Solas thinks he can start talking Elvhen to her like she'll understand it. It explains why he tells her she is the "farthest from what you were meant to be". And it also explains why Solas uses the term "our people" with her, even though its questionable whether he even considers modern elves people at that point in the game, much less his. He doesn't even say "our people" with a Lavellan by then.
 
So, is this a theory anyone else in the Sera fandom subscribes to or am I out there on my own?

I've never heard that particular Sera's Origin theory before, if Bioware does decide to go with giving Sera some kind of 'special' background then I prefer it was what you're proposing over the whole Andruil thingy.
For what it's worth I think she's just a regular person trying to make her way in Thedas. I see her sensitivity to the Fade is an echo of the ancient elves and their Fade/Material world. She's just the only elf companion outside of Solas with such close proximity to Fade rifts to feel it. I could very easily be wrong but that's my belief.
Need to make a correction though, instead of 'regular person' I think I meant to say 'Totally Freakin Awesome Person!!'

[RenAdaar]

 

saw this on Facebook today and can totally see this applying to Sera (minus the men of course) 

[Rel Fexive]

Either that or it's mad trolling, and Sera would approve of that too!