1081 réponses à ce sujet

[AWTEW]

I wish there was a syndicate. A syndicate just sounds like a cool thing to be a part of, doesn't it! All mysterious, and shadowy. Added to bucket list: be a member of a syndicate.

And if you can make mince pies, I will literally write whatever ending you want.

Spoiler

just kidding

Spoiler

unless the mince pies are really, really good, then totally not kidding

Ok, though, one thing I thought I'd throw out there: in game, nobody ever reacts to different races getting together which, as far as I know, is a big no-no in Thedas. I mean, nobody says to a human Inquisitor, "Hey, you're flaunting a relationship with a Qunari or an elf? We're trying to expand the Inquisition, not make it a laughingstock."

So I was wondering if that would be a "deal" with the relationship between Cassandra and Varric, if they would get comments and how they would react. I suspect Varric and Cassandra wouldn't care, but if someone leaned on Cassandra, she might, like if someone convinced her that flaunting a relationship with a dwarf was hurting the Inquisition. I think she wouldn't want it to be like that, but I think she's also enough of a realist that after she got over her anger, she might take it seriously.

I honestly don't know, but I thought I'd bring it up. The game does seem a bit two faced about inter-racial/inter-species relationships. Sometimes it seems like a huge deal and sometimes it doesn't; I guess it depends on whatever is expedient for the writer at the time.

So would people comment, negatively, on a relationship between a human and dwarf, and if so, how would Cassandra and Varric handle it?

 

Probably the more noble people would. Both dwarves and human nobles would be more inclined to hate imo.

[LumenIzampel]

If there'd be comments like that about their relationship, I bet it's about on how Cassandra sullying the Pentaghast line with a dwarf. So yeah, same comment, it's more on the nobility that's most likely to have a negative issue with it. I can imagine them showering the Inquisition with letters with sudden romantic proposals to Cassandra because NO NO NO WE'RE NOT LOSING TO A DWARF and they just feel insulted. But well, it's politics.

 

In a commoner's standpoint, a human-dwarf relationship may seem awkward and weird at first (especially that as much as I see it dwarves in Thedas are either underground or huddled together in cartas so it's hard to interact with humans in the first place), but once they actually have enough background on it, they'd probably find it as intriguing as some weird cheesy romance novel they'd pick up for a copper or two in some corner. 

 

A common inquisition soldier? It's entertaining gossip. It's their superiors being all sweet together and the news probably goes around and the details starts to get more and more bizarre and they're like "what wait what what is true but anyway that's actually kind of interesting" and anytime people see them together they just pass it around like it's wildfire. It's nothing too bad, maybe just some extra details here and there, but they find it interesting even though what they're hearing is true or not.

 

I could see the rest of the inner circle shipping them. Just because.

 

As to how Cassandra and Varric would handle it... Hm. Probably they've seen this sort of reactions in advance and they don't like the attention, so they keep it to themselves first. IDK how they'll act once people find out though. Oops. I'm not good at lore so take these comments with a grain of salt thanks

[goodgirl]

I wish there was a syndicate. A syndicate just sounds like a cool thing to be a part of, doesn't it! All mysterious, and shadowy. Added to bucket list: be a member of a syndicate.

And if you can make mince pies, I will literally write whatever ending you want.

Spoiler

just kidding

Spoiler

unless the mince pies are really, really good, then totally not kidding

....

So would people comment, negatively, on a relationship between a human and dwarf, and if so, how would Cassandra and Varric handle it?

Alright, we don't have mince pies in GER but my baked stuff is edible (or so other people say ). Actually, now I am curious about it because it's with a lot of sugar and meat, and I'm kind of not sure how that works together. The meat and the dried fruit I can imagine very well, though. I might try one day .

 

About the interracial/interspecies (what's correct here?) relationships: I figure Cassandra's family would object but they would object to anyone not being a noble. I am not sure about the lore but since the game lets you romance Cass as any race, she would be fine with it. If she wasn't you wouldn't be able to romance her as a dwarf in the first place. Varric wouldn't really care but I can see him defending their relationship. They wouldn't display much of it in public, I think. The inner circle would be absolutely fine with it and support them.

 

Again, I don't really know much about the DA lore, so this is my personal take on it . Don't really care much if a good story is lore friendly or not as long as it's well written!

[rda]

Hmm...I kind of have a different opinion on this. I actually played the Cass romance so my opinion on the question is somewhat colored by that.

First, I don't think Cass would particularly try to hide the relationship. She doesn't with the Inquisitor. I mean, I don't think she's sending out engraved invitations and doing gratituitous PDA (lol) but I think she's the kind of decisive character that if she decides to be with someone, she doesn't take particular care to hide it, in the sense of sneaking around.

I mean, in the Cass romance scene, she wonders out loud if people will think she's been tricked by a madman, but not "will people find out" "let's keep this a secret" etc etc.

On a somewhat related note, I often find it odd in a lot of Cass and Varric fanfics that there's a lot of handholding and the like, and a lot of them portray Cass as some kind of sexual prude. In game, you read poetry together and the next thing you know, you cut to a scene where it's pretty obvious you made love. So I think she's the kind of person who might take a while to be convinced of the sincerity of whomever is courting her (to use Cass's word) but once she is, then she's into the relationship full steam ahead. She may still have doubts, but her whole character is the kind of person who leaps into things based on gut instinct, and doesn't namby-pamby around.

As for Varric, his character on this is a little harder to read for me, so I really don't know.

And as for people caring, I could imagine someone like Vivienne (depending on how you read her character) saying something like, "Darling, nobody cares who you're with, but please-be discreet. The Inquisition has a reputation to consider." I could also imagine a really nasty Inquisitior having a problem with it. Even Leliana, or Josie, if it actually affected the Inquisition's reputation. I mean, I don't think they'd care on a personal level, but I think she'd tell Cass to keep everything on the down low.

But whether it would actually affect the Inquisition's reputation is kind of hard to read. It depends how badly inter-species or inter-racial relationships are viewed in Thedas. I mean, is it the equivalent of inter-racial relationships in like 1920s America, or is it more "people generally don't approve, but no big deal", or somewhere in between?

Or is there a difference, depending on the race? Like would people be horrified by a Cass/Qunari romance, but be semi-ok with a Cass/Varric romance? (Dwarves seem to be looked on with a little more respect in Thedas than elves or Qunari).

Sorry for the rambling. It is an interesting question.

[Olwaye]

1) Mince Pie are awesome

 

2) I'd write anything, any time for sticky toffee pudding

 

3)Regarding how Cassandra and Varric might feel about their relationship and what other might think of it, I think that Cassandra would probably treat it as she treat anything once she made her mind and that would be a "take it or leave it attitude" (well more likely a "take it or I stab you" attitude ). But she would probably think it over a bit, not for her own sake but more for the reputation of the Inquisition.

Varric would probably not mind either, also I tend to think that he would be the most discrete about it because his connections in the underworld might not like him being so close to the Right Hand of the Divine.

 

As for the people, well they should be more worried about giant breach spawning demons and their houses on fire that who sleep with who

[vertigomez]

I'm pretty sure this is my first post in this thread, so- hello! I'm ready to set sail on the great ship... Tethraghast? Vassandra? OTP "how about you don't aim for the crotch this time"? Ehehe. Because I love Varric and I love Cass and they'd be cute together. I already ship Messere Tethras with everyone anyway (no, seriously, everyone. Hawke, Bethany, Merrill, Isabela...) so I'll just add this one to my collection. *twirls mustache*

Anyway, my totally unsolicited opinion on what Cass and Varric would think about other people thinking about their relationship: under all the snark Varric's actually a pretty chivalrous dude, and I think he'd be more concerned about nasty comments directed at his lady rather than himself. He's confident, and even surrounded by tall people all the time I can't picture Varric sitting around bemoaning his dwarfiness. He knows he's hot LOL. And he's a practical guy, so if the height difference got in the way (as in, physically impeded them in some way, 'cause I really don't think he'd care otherwise), dude would just go.. grab a box or something.

Cassandra's response to the haters? "Deal. With. It."

As far as who would be saying these things... if it were Orzammar, hell yeah Cass would get treated like crap, Dwarven Master Race™ and all that. And while I'm sure there's still some of that prejudice with surface dwarves, it likely pales in comparison... I mean, you're surrounded by humans and elves. It's gonna happen sooner or later. Best get used to the idea.

And with the stereotype that dwarves are a bunch of rich merchants from noble houses ('cause lololol human nobility's understanding of dwarven culture haaalp), I can see plenty of nobles not being terribly put off by such an arrangement. Hell, Maevaris is a magister and she bagged Varric's cousin.

As for the common people and/or rivals in love? Short jokes. Lots and lots of short jokes.

[Hunter111]

Now I have this image in my head of Varric and Cassandra trying to get amorous and Cassandra's like, "Honey, get the box!"



Mental picture, must erase...

[Hunter111]

Alright, we don't have mince pies in GER but my baked stuff is edible (or so other people say ). Actually, now I am curious about it because it's with a lot of sugar and meat, and I'm kind of not sure how that works together. The meat and the dried fruit I can imagine very well, though. I might try one day .
 
About the interracial/interspecies (what's correct here?) relationships: I figure Cassandra's family would object but they would object to anyone not being a noble. I am not sure about the lore but since the game lets you romance Cass as any race, she would be fine with it. If she wasn't you wouldn't be able to romance her as a dwarf in the first place. Varric wouldn't really care but I can see him defending their relationship. They wouldn't display much of it in public, I think. The inner circle would be absolutely fine with it and support them.
 
Again, I don't really know much about the DA lore, so this is my personal take on it . Don't really care much if a good story is lore friendly or not as long as it's well written!

Actually, they don't make mince pies with meat anymore, to my knowledge. Wikipedia says they stopped the meat around
Victorian times?

It's just mostly the fruit and spices now. I guess I'd like to try one with the meat once though just out of curiosity to see what they tasted like.

And yes, I think everything's ambiguous enough that as long as someone justified it, I wouldn't have a huge problem with whichever way they decided to go.

[vertigomez]

Now I have this image in my head of Varric and Cassandra trying to get amorous and Cassandra's like, "Honey, get the box!"


Mental picture, must erase...

She could just keep it strapped to her back, like the cheese wheel!

[wistful81]

Anyway, my totally unsolicited opinion on what Cass and Varric would think about other people thinking about their relationship: under all the snark Varric's actually a pretty chivalrous dude, and I think he'd be more concerned about nasty comments directed at his lady rather than himself. He's confident, and even surrounded by tall people all the time I can't picture Varric sitting around bemoaning his dwarfiness. He knows he's hot LOL. And he's a practical guy, so if the height difference got in the way (as in, physically impeded them in some way, 'cause I really don't think he'd care otherwise), dude would just go.. grab a box or something.

Oh man, that killed me, thank you. And welcome to this awesome ship!!

[ZerioctheTank]

Vertigomez pretty much said what I was going to say. Once you managed to get under Cassie's armor I doubt she would care what anyone says. She may hesitate if the reputation of the inquisition is on the line but other than that well, "Deal with it."

I can totally see Varric using all the drama for his next book but other than that vertigomez said it all.

[AWTEW]

She could just keep it strapped to her back, like the cheese wheel!

 

Welcome to the nicest happy thread on the forums

[AlleluiaElizabeth]

She could just keep it strapped to her back, like the cheese wheel!

Welcome aboard. Love the gif. lol

 

Also: Welcome to any other new people I've missed! So glad to have so many people dropping out of lurkdom just for us. lol

 

 

I agree that Cassandra and Varric wouldn't necessarily care about ppl who disliked their relationship b/c its human/dwarf.

 

However, if it was proving to be a hassle to Cassandra, I can see Varric worrying about it and either taking steps to distance himself or hide the relationship.  I guess I think this cus of his 15 years of "being with" Bianca on the down low. I honestly see Varric as having a hard time accepting a reality where he's openly in a relationship and happy. Like, in the back of his subconscious, he'll be assuming something's got to go wrong, that the other shoe is gonna drop. So when it starts, too, he is more likely to go along with it instead of fight it. He's the one most likely to be insecure about it and the most likely to react disproportionately to outside pressures, such as people bugging Cass about dating a dwarf. If he convinces himself he's making things hard for her, he may very well try to back out.

 

And then Cass will smack him cus she, on the other hand, has no such reservations. She's "leads with her heart" Cassandra. Cass would only be effected if she thought Varric had a problem being with her. Other people? "Deal. With. It.", indeed.

 

As for who would or would not care, I think it'd fall more along cultural lines than anything. Orelsians would care cus appearances are everything and dwarves are either smiths, merchants or smugglers to them. I mean, I doubt random Orlesian peasants would give a damn, mainly b/c it wouldn't be relevant to their lives and they likely wouldn't even know. But the nobles would be "scandalized" due to said perception of dwarves. Of course this is the same country that gives us "The Randy Dowager" so they'd be scandalized, but they'd also gush about it at salons over tea and frilly cakes. lol

 

Fereldans would be generally confused cus again "dwarves=smiths, so why...? O.o" But most would get over it and/or not care.

 

Free Marchers would be of varying opinions cus its the Free Marches, but he's a native son and famous writer so I assume most would be cool with it? Again, nobles generally less so, but at least he's not an apostate? lol

 

Her family in Nevarra would, I think, dislike it. More b/c of his lack of position than his race, but I could see the people who carry around charts to prove bloodlines ("And they have them, oh yes.") to take the "Are the shades of Pemberly to be thus polluted?" stance on this.

 

Funny, but the best reception I think they'd get would be in Tevinter. As far as the race thing, I mean. From what I understand dwarves are rather highly respected there, having been allied with the empire since before the first blight. The Imperiium adopted the concept of the Provings from the dwarves and have a coliseum built in Minrathous to imitate the Proving Grounds of Orzammar. They also worked with the dwarves and created a specialized underground embassy in Minrathous to accommodate them and let diplomatic relations flourish while allowing the traditional dwarves to avoid becoming "casteless surfacers".  Dwarves are responsible for half the Tevinter construction we keep seeing, such as Kinloch Hold (Fereldan's mage tower) and Ostagar. And of course, the dwarves supply lyrium to the Imperium, which the mage-lords love, I assume.

 

And finally, Varric's cousin, who I have to assume was also a dwarf, married a Magister, so Tevinter can't consider human/dwarf relations to be THAT damaging to social status. (Of course, this point could be negated by Magister Maeveris Telvani not being all that traditional kind of a person, but still. )

 

The above is one of the most interesting aspects about the Imperium to me. I played a dwarven noble in DAO and their lore is close to my heart. World of Thedas vol. 1 (which is where I got most of that) really opened my eyes to an entirely unknown (to me) relationship there. Assuming the modern day Imperium feels the same as the ancient one on the topic of the dwarves, its one of 2 points in their favor (the other being Dorian's existence).

[Hunter111]

I like all of the analysis. I think the thing that really confuses me is that I think the writers really walked back on some of the racial prejudice stuff. We go from elven brides being stolen at the altar and subsequently raped, with little or no recourse available, to "Oh, you're an elf? Minus 5 points to court approval."

I mean I know we aren't talking about elves here specifically, but I think the same applies to all the races. In DAO, even the surface dwarves were implied to be very clannish and different, but in DAI they're almost presented as humans who happen to be of short stature. No real prejudice. So I'm not sure what to think.

And I had to look up the shades of Pemberley quote. I probably sound woefully ignorant but I have never made it through an Austen novel past 50 pages, despite several different novels and attempts. Probably one of the few people who just doesn't get Austen.

Oh and who is Maevaris? I've heard about her but I don't think she's in game. Is she from a book?

[OrilliaOrange]

Maevaris shows up in the DA comic "Those Who Speak", and "Until We Sleep". She does show up in game, but only as a war table mission. She's the widow of Varric's cousin Thorold. According to the wiki notes, she's also transgender. 

 

It raises some interesting questions about marriage between the races, and the influence of gender and sexuality, particularly in Tevinter.

 

In terms of the disparate elven experience (going from being kidnapped/raped/murdered, to the Inquisitor having to start at the Winter Palace with -5 approval), that might have more to do with the rank of Inquisitor and the protection thereof. The Inquisitor is special, recognized as the Herald of Andraste, and is also in charge of a large force. Doing anything beyond being rude would be trouble for Orlais, and none of the nobility would do something so crass as to murder someone involved in the Game without significant plotting and a good reason. 

 

The elves have been more of a threat to humans, since humanity (and particularly those following Andraste), were responsible for the near extinction of their race and culture. The dwarves don't really have a similar relationship to humans, so it stands to reason their relationship would be better, since humanity never had a reason to vilify them. I could also suggest that the lack of magic in dwarves makes them less of a threat to humans, too. 

[morie91]

I like all of the analysis. I think the thing that really confuses me is that I think the writers really walked back on some of the racial prejudice stuff. We go from elven brides being stolen at the altar and subsequently raped, with little or no recourse available, to "Oh, you're an elf? Minus 5 points to court approval."

I mean I know we aren't talking about elves here specifically, but I think the same applies to all the races. In DAO, even the surface dwarves were implied to be very clannish and different, but in DAI they're almost presented as humans who happen to be of short stature. No real prejudice. So I'm not sure what to think.

And I had to look up the shades of Pemberley quote. I probably sound woefully ignorant but I have never made it through an Austen novel past 50 pages, despite several different novels and attempts. Probably one of the few people who just doesn't get Austen.

Oh and who is Maevaris? I've heard about her but I don't think she's in game. Is she from a book?

 

maevaris is a character from comics "dragon age: the silent grove", married to a varric's cousin as you could've learned, and also the first, known trans character in dragon age universe (:

 

oh i'll just leave you a link to wiki, i'm bad at explaining stuff x]

 

http://dragonage.wik...Maevaris_Tilani

[Hunter111]

Thanks for providing the link. Doesn't make much sense to me with what I thought I knew about Tevinter. So they're that socially conservative that Dorian's dad wants to perform blood magic to stop him from being gay but a person who is chromosomally XY living as a woman and married to a male dwarf is A-OK and socially accepted?

If my understanding is correct, that seems internally inconsistent. I'll like to see the writers explain that one in a way that makes sense.

Oh well, I think we've wandered a bit far afield of Varric and Cassandra.

[Garia]

Tevinter nobility really wouldn't care what lower class humans or dwarfs do, provided it doesn't impact them.

[ZerioctheTank]

I like all of the analysis. I think the thing that really confuses me is that I think the writers really walked back on some of the racial prejudice stuff. We go from elven brides being stolen at the altar and subsequently raped, with little or no recourse available, to "Oh, you're an elf? Minus 5 points to court approval."

I mean I know we aren't talking about elves here specifically, but I think the same applies to all the races. In DAO, even the surface dwarves were implied to be very clannish and different, but in DAI they're almost presented as humans who happen to be of short stature. No real prejudice. So I'm not sure what to think.

And I had to look up the shades of Pemberley quote. I probably sound woefully ignorant but I have never made it through an Austen novel past 50 pages, despite several different novels and attempts. Probably one of the few people who just doesn't get Austen.

Oh and who is Maevaris? I've heard about her but I don't think she's in game. Is she from a book?

That was one of my complaints about the game. I wanted to be punished for being a qunari. I wanted people to not trust me or flat out refuse to my services because of my race. Instead I got......okay let me not start that rant again lol. Personally I like my games dark & gritty with morally grey choices but that is just me. Bioware did promote that race choice would have an impact on your game but it felt more like a light caress that was easily forgotten. I want a punch to the gut lol.

[rda]

Off-topic:

If it's any consolation, I never liked Austen either. There seemed to be a lot of talking and not much happening. I prefer my heroines like, say...Medea. Talk about a heroine with a lot of agency. The Austen heroines always seemed to do too much talking and not enough doing for my taste. Then again, I'm not exactly the smartest person so I'm not sure I got it right, lol.

And the different race thing was pretty bad, I agree with you Zerloc. I played a male elf and besides court approval and a few other random things, it wasn't much penalty at all.

On-topic: I like the contention that Varric is secretly one of those people who constantly waits for the other shoe to drop in a decent relationship. I've known some people in abusive/.bad relationships who FINALLY get out of them...only to almost not know what to do in a decent relationship. I could kind of see Varric being like that, because the Bianca relationship is pretty abusive, IMHO.

[OrilliaOrange]

(Hi!)

 

I do also like the idea of Varric waiting for the other shoe to drop, but I've always felt that he'd be the kind of person who hid what bothered him. Or make light of it. Not in a passive-aggressive way, but more along the lines of disparaging towards his own feelings. Not to the point of being a martyr. But falling back on that finely honed cynicism to pull him through. Until the trust built up was such that he could be more assured of finding security. 

[nullphysical]

I was actually planning to make a smooth-looking dwarf for Cass so I could imagine Varric swapped in when they kiss. I need help.

 

 

 

haha I'm actually on my third runthrough with a male dwarf to romance Cassandra (first was female qunari that persued Cassandra despite it all because it just made the most sense to me storywise ie "forever alone strong female qunari", and the second was female elf/solas) — partly because tethraghast and partly because i want to cosplay her so I'm mining for Defender Armor references lol

[rda]

So, it's like Fanfiction Sunday and since I'm up sick, I figured I'd post some of the new stuff:

1. By LumenIzampel, the continuation of the fic she posted the first chapter of here: http://archiveofouro...hapters/7371500

Read it, you can cut the angst with a knife. Hoping for a happy ending though.

2. More ghost fic
http://archiveofouro...hapters/7082744

The latest chapter has Demi, I mean, Cass, lying low, but there's some Morrigan/Vivienne snarkery and who wouldn't love that?

3. More rest in the warmest places
http://archiveofouro...hapters/6919628

(We've now reached the stage where I expect; nay, demand a massive, shocking reveal. )

And there's a bunch of new fics and ficklets other there too that may be worth your time, these are just the ones I read that I think are worth a perusal.

[ZerioctheTank]

I swear on andraste's **** that I will read rest in the warmest places today after work. My curiosity is killing me.

[rda]

I swear on andraste's **** that I will read rest in the warmest places today after work. My curiosity is killing me.

Don't expect reading the thing to satiate your curiosity! The author continually hints at some "event" between Varric and Cass. Initially, you were like, ok, must be some UST and flirting. Then. It was like, Hmm...must've had sex. Now we're at the point where I'm like WHAT??? Did they have a demon baby? A threesome with Hawke? What? What?

Then again, I have the patience of a gnat with ADHD....so YMMV.

But seriously, it has an interesting, unique plot so its worth a read if you have free time.