the part of my brain that engages in genuine critical media analysis: i think it's disingenuous to label him through the lens of a binary good/evil paradigm because what makes him such an interesting and engaging character is his status inbetween a human with complex emotions and desires and flaws that will never fully align with each other, and the singleminded focus and purpose of a supernatural entity that is literally justice incarnate and has no capacity for nuance and whose very nature is fundamentally incompatible with humanity but the two of them are so deeply connected that they make up a single identity that's constantly at odds with itself and this struggle causes him to act in ways that aren't always clean and often land him and those around him in impossible positions. i think he was morally justified in doing what he did to the chantry but i also believe he understood the magnitude of what he was doing which is why i inherently disagree with the notion that characters like varric or sebastian were wrong in their reactions because that's the very nature of violent revolution—people get caught in the crossfire and are harmed despite their innocence and regardless of the righteousness of the action at large. if someone killed your mom to protect a hundred orphans you probably wouldn't come out of the experience full of love and admiration for the person who killed your mother because regardless of the outcome they still fucking killed your mother. anders destroyed people's homes and lives and there's a conversation to be had about how he gaslit and exploited hawke, his own potential lover, into being an unwitting accomplice even though we know through meta knowledge that he was perfectly capable of doing it on his own and very likely only wanted hawke's involvement because he needed a powerful figure to become the rallying symbol for his cause. the reality is his very nature would have never allowed him to choose hawke and his friends over his goal because to do so would have been fundamentally selfish and antithetical to his newfound identity as one who champions the needs of the many at the expense of the individual. it's a beautifully tragic story about the lengths a person would have to go to in order to enact any sort of meaningful change while constrained in a system that benefits from their powerlessness, and how that process cannot exist without suffering and pain on both the individual and collective level. i also feel like if anders was written by a person with a degree of compassion and awareness for not only the character they were writing but just what living as a vulnerable and targeted minority is like then the narrative and message would have been vastly different than what ended up on screen because, ultimately, the game wants you to look at the stark injustice of a child being ripped away from their family to spend a life locked away in cold isolation where they're at constant risk of exploitation, abuse, death, and even a complete removal of their personhood, and think that there's room for compromise. it's a narrative that perpetuates the myth that passivity and tolerance in the face of oppression is more virtuous than burdening the masses with the discomfort of seeing their own culpability in sustaining it. a better game would have challenged varric and sebastian while also affirming their anger instead of just the latter. a better game would have explored hawke's reaction in a deeper manner that examined their relationship with the system, their own internal biases, and how anders affected their worldview.
the part of my brain that was on tumblr in 2014 and is still extremely petty and spiteful: he should have blown up the conclave while he was at it
My recent take on anders is that i refuse to let his story be solely a tragic one, i want it to be hopeful and if it takes disreguarding all the content the writers have made since the game then so be it
Yes im biased because I romance him whenever I can but to me the story of a man who's lived through oppression, deciding to heal and assist his people and attempt to rally others to their cause (despite how aggressively apathetic they can be) and when there is no other choice decides to take matters in his hands and truly do what must be done is more hopeful than tragic. Yes it's tragic that he decides to sort of martyr himself but it can also be hope for the liberation of mages, that they CAN be freed even if they have to fight that freedom out of their oppressors' hands. Maybe it is only hopeful if you allow him to live, or better yet if you run away with him, and yes there is inherent tragedy to his story but i hate to disreguard the hope that lies within any symbol of resistance
there’s a class of anders fan or anders post that tries to love him “despite”, that tries to love him through forgiveness or understanding of his supposed wrongs. let me make it so clear that for me, blowing up the chantry is in fact one of anders best features and so hot of him
Join us for Anders Week 2025 from the 3rd - 9th February!
Get ready, Anders fans - it’s time to celebrate our favorite apostate in all his messy, magical, and magnificent glory! Join us for a week-long event filled with creativity, love, and appreciation for everything Anders.
Our list of prompts:
Magic Monday: Healing / The Fade / Power
Tender Tuesday: Cats / Love / Safety
Wistful Wednesday: Dreams / Loss / Longing
Throwback Thursday: Circle Days / Past Relationships / Grey Wardens
Fugitive Friday: Apostate / On the Run / Freedom
Salvation Saturday: The Clinic / Manifesto / Light in the Darkness
Sacrifice Sunday: Justice / Martyrdom / Greater Good
Additional Ways to Join the Fun:
Share an art/fic rec list that fits the theme of the day!
Share your Anders headcanons inspired by any of the prompts!
Tag us in your Anders-related WIP Wednesday posts if you'd like us to share them!
Mark your calendars, spread the word, and get ready to let your muse run wild. We can’t wait to see what you create!
See below for our event guidelines.
🌟 Event Originals: All submissions should be posted after the event start date.
🌟 Content Tags: Use appropriate content warnings to keep things safe for everyone.
🌟 Spoiler Warnings: Veilguard content? No problem! Just slap on a spoiler warning.
🌟 Help Us Find You: Tag us and use the hashtags #AndersWeek2025, #AndersWeekRecs, or #AndersWeekHeadcanon so we can find and share your work.
🌟 Post Anywhere: AO3, Tumblr, Wattpad—it’s all good! Just link it in a Tumblr post so we can reblog it.
🌟 Be Supportive: Encourage your fellow participants—this is all about having fun and building community.
🌟 Flex Those Creative Muscles: Use one prompt, use them all, or interpret them however you like. There’s no wrong way to join in.
🌟 No Pressure, Just Fun: This event is all about inspiration, community, and Anders appreciation.
Important Notes
Combine Events: Feel free to mix these prompts with other events!
Timeframe: Submissions are welcome anytime after the event, but pposts outside of the official week may not be reblogged.
snowghoul
origamiaround
amandla
tangentwithtanner
turnnoffyourmind
gummygunk
