This is exactly how I see Leandra too. There’s an element in there, of course she doesn’t HATE her children, but there’s such an incredible amount of resentment between her and her eldest child that to write it off as simply grieving is a misnomer, I think.
I think it’s fairly clear that she resents Hawke for a number of reasons: knowing Malcolm better than she does (implied at the end of Legacy), failing to save him/acting as the head of the family despite the fact that she’s clearly not stepping into the role or even trying, the dead twin, etc. Moreover, I think it’s fairly obvious that Leandra and Malcolm were very much what would have happened if Romeo and Juliet hadn’t had a typically tragic ending: they were young, impulsive, and in “love,” but once you’ve given up everything, what does that really leave you with? A partner you barely know, who you’ve put all your trust into despite that, and despite however much Leandra says she puts love above all-else, we see even in her conversations with Gamlen that this very much isn’t necessarily the case, and she carries a lot of her bitterness with her. She wasn’t ready for what running away really meant, she was young enough to have very likely acted impulsively on a romantic ideal that didn’t pan out in any way she’d actually hoped.
It’s a really dysfunctional, bittersweet relationship, and I can’t at all blame Hawke for thinking this. Hawke’s already got a guilt complex a mile wide, no matter how you really play it; there’s a reason they take on all this responsibility that isn’t even necessarily theirs. With Malcolm, it’s all responsibility, and honor, and doing the right thing no matter how hard it is, and with Leandra, it’s all guilt, residual affects of growing jaded with where unchecked romance really leads.
She can be a caring figure, certainly, when she feels like it, but finding her to be a truly supportive one it a little harder for me, when she relies on her eldest child the way her younger children do. There’s such a lack of responsibility on Leandra’s part: something must always be someone’s fault, because surely SURELY there must still be some good left to come out of a foolish decision she made as a teenager. Their status in Kirkwall is Gamlen’s fault (which is true enough, but he DOES have a point in that she’s been away from home for 25 years; anything he does to drag the “family name” into poverty and squalor is his own doing, and while it’s hard to support his methods, he’s at least grown up enough to recognize the reality of his situation. Is Leandra’s anger at her brother entirely unjustified? No, but at the same time, she continually fails to recognize that she gave up her status, her family name, and her inheritances, and this attitude doesn’t come out of nowhere, suddenly rekindled after two decades of “hiatus.” It’s a failure to take responsibility.
TL;DR, I seriously appreciate just how incredibly fucked up and dysfunctional Hawke family dynamics really are. It’s a family full of love that Hawke would and continually does put their life on the line for, but it’s not a healthy one. It’s not a supportive one. And I find it really telling that despite Malcolm’s questionable allegiances as an apostate, it’s THIS name that Hawke chooses to symbolize and hang onto, despite the fact that Leandra is clearly very ready to step back into the role of a noble that she’d “left behind.” Is it any surprise that Hawke seems so used to the responsibility, so easily stepping into the role as head of household when their parents are so embittered, disillusioned, and in Malcolm’s case, paranoid and uncommunicative?
Hawke’s so used to being the parent, being the one to take up responsibility that of course it’s going to kill them when they fail; they’ve been conditioned to impossible responsibility and the constant looming threat of guilt.
These are just MY CHOICES of who I would cast in my own version with my Mari Hawke character. If you don’t agree, no one says you have to, but please be respectful. This is only meant to be fun.
Mari Hawke - Carey Mulligan
Bethany Hawke - Jenna Coleman
Aveline Vallen - Emily Blunt
You can’t convince me that anyone else could play Aveline.
Varric Tethras - Peter Dinklage
Merrill - Sophia McShera
Anders - Tom Mison
I know for a fact I’m not the only one who has fan cast him as Anders.
Fenris - Gideon Emery
Ok, hear me out. Gideon voiced Fenris. And honestly when I first played I saw Fenris as being older than Hawke. Maybe it was the deep voice. But I would still be interested to see Gideon play Fenris live action.
Isabela - Freema Agyemen
Sebastian Vael - James McAvoy
Tallis - Felicia Day
I mean we all saw that one coming.
The Arishok - Jason Momoa
First Enchanter Orsino - Chris Eccleston
Knight Commander Meredith - Alyssa Sutherland
Thanks @sneakywitchthieves for this suggestion (and for Anders)
So, as many of you know, I run a Dragon Age Discord server. We’re coming up on our first birthday, and still going as strong as ever – and I’m feeling a little nostalgic and happy and loving towards my lovely co-conspirators on the server tonight, so I thought I’d drop an invite link here and invite all of you to come conspirate (that’s not a word…) with us.
We are an all-character-positive server created for the purposes of bringing people together to enjoy and discuss Dragon Age, regardless of their world states or character preferences, and to create and enjoy Dragon Age fan content – but we’ve evolved into so much more than that. It’s a wonderful community of incredible friends, and I don’t know where I would be without them.
You should absolutely and definitely join us. See you there! <3
a giveaway I promised, a giveaway I’m doing!
I’m very happy to be active on tumblr again and to thank you all - old and new and future followers!- for sticking around, here’s my smol autumn giveaway!
+ PRIZES +
FIRST PRICE: one fully rendered single character half body
SECOND PRICE: one fully rendered single character portrait
THIRD PRICE: one coloured sketch half body
for more examples visit my tag
(Most of the stuff you see on my blog is Bioware fandoms and Star Wars atm but EVERY FANDOM/OC IS WELCOME, I can draw anything as long as references are provided!)
+RULES+
1. Follow me! It’s a followers-only giveaway so you must be following me when the giveaway ends. You can leave afterwards but if you want to stick around, I’m an art-only blog atm so I won’t clutter your dash too much
2. REBLOG this post. 1 reblog= 1 entry
3. WINNERS will be extracted through a random number generator on September 22, 9 pm GMT and notified here on tumblr
+GOOD LUCK!+
I feel like Vivienne is really misunderstood in the fandom. She is outspoken about being wary of what a mage can do. She’s stated that the circles are needed to teach the mages. She has mage rights in mind and if made divine with high approval mages rise quickly and she keeps templars in order.
If her reign is unsuccessful it’s because YOU didn’t take the time to get her approval up to see how amazing she is as the divine. She’s resolved and does not bow to anyones opinions so people hate her.
i was someone who didnt understand her and thought her annoying and rarely used her. until my last playthrough as a pro circle mage human and realized how completely wonderful she is
So taking these massive screenshots and trying to tell a story with them is draining the fun out of it. So I’m gonna be focusing on my game rants, headcanons, fics, and if I ever get the nerve, my manip artwork. I will still post some screenshots of my wardens(if Orgins works EVER), Hawkes(Cause I love Hawke, sue me) and mostly my Inquisitors. Because honestly DAI is my favorite game
Lydia looked at Carver and Aveline, as if preparing to say goodbye. It was iffy whether or not they could defeat the Darkspawn that had them pressed up against the wall. There was no way they could defeat a Dragon and the Darkspawn.
But then the Dragon ignored them completely, and attacked the Darkspawn instead. Lydia watched in awe as the Dragon burned the Darkspawn. She remembered when her father would tell her and the twins stories of the legendary Nevarran Dragon Hunters.
“I thought Dragons were extinct.” Carver whispered to Lydia, who could only nod. But then, as the Dragon finished off the last of the Darkspawn, it dropped to the ground, let out a might roar that made the ground tremble before....changing?
Lydia could not find any other words to describe it. One moment it was a mighty and powerful Dragon, and the next.
It was woman, whose hair was one in an intricate fashion, long and white and made to look like the horns of the beast taht had stood before them just moments before. She wore what looked like the world’s most uncomfortable crown, and her dress was adorned with feathers.
She dragged the body of the last Darkspawn that had been attacking them behind her, before dropping it to look at the small group of people. “Well, Well. What have we here?”
By the time Lydia and the others reached her mother, she knew the truth, Bethany would not be waking up ever again. Lydia wanted to scream and cry. Bethany and her had always been so close and now.
“I’m sorry, Ma’am, but your daughter is gone,” Aveline said solemnly, allowing the siblings to work through their own emotions as they faced the fact that the best of them was gone.
“No, not Bethany, these things will not take my daughter!” Leandra screamed.
“Mother, perhaps we should grieve once we’re safe?” Lydia cautiously asked, trying to keep her own voice from cracking.
“Don’t you dare speak to me of grief. How could you let her run off like that?! Your baby sister! My little sweetheart.”
Lydia just looked away, resisting the urge to scream at her mother because honestly, she was right. She had promised her father that she would look after Bethany and keep her safe and free from the Circle, and she had failed.
“Mother, if we don’t get moving, we’re all going to be dead.” Carver said.
“Allow me to commend your daughter’s spirit to the Maker,” Wesley added, praying over the girl. They were finally able to get Leandra to lay Bethany down and stand, but as they turned.
“Flames.” Aveline said, as she, Carver and Lydia drew their weapons. The Horde had caught up to them. “We’re too late.”
“Well, I’m not going down without a fight.” Carver shouted, rushing in.
“Oh no you don’t.” Lydia said, pulling him back behind her. “I lost Bethany, I’m not losing you too.” She said, throwing up a quick barrier to protect them and their loved ones.
“I don’t think we’re going to make it out of this one, Lyds,” Carver pointed out.
“Don’t say that so loud, do you want Mother to hear you?” Lydia hissed.
“Less bickering you two, and more fighting.” Aveline said. “They are not having us without a fight.”
But before any of them could charge, they heard a large roar behind them, and they all turned to see a Dragon above them.
“You have got to be kidding me.” Lydia snapped. “First Darkspawn, now this?! Can this get any worse?!!”
They went for a while without seeing any Darkspawn, and Lydia thought for one brief moment that maybe that had managed to out run them. She wondered what their next move would be. If they still intended to get to Kirkwall, they’d need to loop back north eventually. She turned to Aveline, about to suggest that instead of Gwaren, they had west and North from here, through Highever and take ship from Amarathine. That was when she noticed the ground shaking. She looked from Aveline to Carver, before turning behind them to see “What in Andraste’s name is THAT?” Carver managed to say before the three of them barely dived out of the way.
Unfortunately that left only Bethany and Leandra facing that creature. Bethany looked at her siblings, who were just starting to get to their feet. “Maker, give me strength.” She said, before attacking the thing to keep it away from their mother.
But she was no match for the thing, it grabbed the young woman, smashing her on the ground several times before tossing her aside like a child throws away her doll.
“Bethany!” Leandra cried, running over to her daughter as Carver and Lydia charged at the beast.
“You soulless bastard!” Carver shouted as Lydia set the thing on fire.
It was a hard battle, and by the end both Lydia and Carver were relying heavily on the elfroot potions that Lydia had managed to grab before they left everything behind.
“Bethany, wake up!” The two Hawke siblings turned to see their mother shaking their sister, trying to wake her up as they ran towards them.
They turned the corner, ass deep in Darkspawn again, only to encounter two others trying to escape the Darkspawn. They ran to help when they noticed the man get knocked over, leaving them close to overwhelmed. Of course, when the fight was over....
“Apostates!”
Lydia groaned as Bethany gave a humourless laugh. “Well the Maker has a sense of Humour. Darkspawn and now a Templar?”
The Templar, Wesley, ended up backing down by the woman, his wife, reminding him who were the reason they were alive.
Lydia sighed in relief, before plastering a smile on her face. “The wrath of the Templars is terrible indeed.” She joked.
Wesley chuckled. “Moreso their wives. At least until this threat is over, we have an accord.”
That was when they told the two, Aveline and Wesley, what their plan for escape. Aveline shook her head. “The North has been cut off.”
Carver paled. “Then we’re trapped,” He said, “The Wilds is to the South, that place is a death trap.”
The argument went on for a bit, before Lydia rolled her eyes. And this was way it was always her who had to take charge. It was times like these that she really missed their Father.
“If my choices are Death or Wilds, I say we go South,” Lydia said, not waiting to see if anyone followed her as she turned. She knew they would. They always did.
They kept running for hours, fighting for their lives against the stragglers of the Darkspawn Horde. “Wait,” Bethany said, once they again had a free moment from running for their lives. “Where are we going?”
“Away from the Darkspawn, where else?” Carver said, sounding annoyed. Which for once, Lydia agreed with.
“But where? We can’t just wander aimlessly forever?” Bethany said, because she always had to see reason.
“As long as we wander aimlessly away from the Darkspawn, I’m happy.” Lydia said, and Carver chuckled.
Leandra looked down before looking at her children. “We could go to Kirkwall.”
All three of them started at their mother, then shared a look, before Lydia turned to Leandra, “Well, that wouldn’t be my first choice.” She said.
“”There are a lot of Templars in Kirkwall, Mother,” Bethany added.
“I know that, but our family has always been so well regarded in Kirkwall.”
“Well regarded enough to cover for two apostates?” Carver said. “They’re not known for having the most forgiving Circle.” It was a rare moment for caring about the fate of his sisters. Lydia made sure to mark it on the calendar next chance she got.
“I’m sure of it.”
Bethany sighed, which meant that the argument was over and they were going to side with Mother, not like there was really any doubt. “Then we’ll need to get to Gwaren and take ship.”
“Well, we should probably get moving,” Lydia said, looking over her shoulder. “Since I think we’re gathering a bit of a fan club.”
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