Rilya (they/them) 23yo | Pathologic / Hamlet / The Witcher | Filthy Daniil Dankovsky kinnie | Art blog: @myotistar. (My previous blog is @rilya-dewilder)
Obviously Dragon Age as a series has a few things fall distinctly into the genre of horror (especially the Blight, even the lighter tone Veilguard had overall didn't lessen how scary it actually is as a concept) but I've made it a point to really pay attention to the NPCs in the Gallows this playthrough and damn if DA2 doesn't have some solid psychological horror going on with the mage-templar stuff.
Especially if you're playing Hawke as a mage, the way it's repeatedly driven into the player in act 1 that Hawke could wake up in the Gallows because they're a poor refugee and also not every templar has a price, some really just love to make mages suffer (even though you never do get caught; I really wish there'd been an instance where Hawke had to break out of the Gallows like the Warden and Alistair breaking out of prison in DAO) and if you go to the Gallows and like... listen to the mage NPCs idle dialogue, look at the way some of them that are allowed to roam the courtyard are cowering, listen to the monotone voice of the Tranquil merchant standing beside Solivitus, the templars' remarks about the mages not even being people, it's just so incredibly fucked up that it baffles me how there's even a question of whether or not Anders was right. Even some of what he says in banter with your other companions about the Circle is genuinely insane (what do you mean you've been fortunate, you just told Sebastian you were assaulted by the templars at Kinloch??? You were fortunate that you escaped??).
Tranquility is so genuinely horrifying as a concept, too. Anders' entire recruitment quest being about his own lover being made Tranquil as punishment for the crime of just writing to him, Alain mentioning that Karras has been in his chambers and threatens to have him branded if he tells anyone, watching Alrik tell a girl that she'll do whatever he wants her to when he makes her Tranquil, that one woman in act 2 who Alrik made Tranquil before he died having a conversation with her distraught lover about how she belongs to Ser Alrik now, the fact that slowly over the course of the game there actually are more Tranquil in the Gallows; I feel like it's one of the darkest things I've seen in a non-horror RPG. You get taken away from your friends and family forever if you're born with magic, and if you fail the test you aren't prepared for that they randomly spring on you to see if you can resist a demon you're executed, and even if you successfully pass that, if you make one wrong move or even if the templars just don't like you, you get fucking lobotomized and have no agency over anything that is done to you ever again.
You mean to tell me that people played this game, saw this shit, and still thought the Circles were a valid solution akin to real life gun control? Thought that Anders overreacted and the system should have just been allowed to stay that way because mages are dangerous? Hello?? Nani??? The fuck??????
The previous part was about the quilted nightmare of a leather coat, and this one’s all about the ridiculous feathery pauldrons!
This one’s going to be quick, seeing as the pauldrons are pretty much the most simple, quick-to-make part of this costume.
Personal notes/nitpicks:
- It’s ridiculously difficult to find black fake fur that’s sufficiently long (here where I live, at least), which is why I ended up buying a fake fur vest at H&M and cutting it into bits. It was quite satisfying.
- Working with fake fur means there’s going to be bits of fur _everywhere_. Trust me. I have a dog who sheds a lot, and this damn thing was even worse. Keeping a hoover handy is a not a bad idea.
- Anders’ pauldrons don’t actually have any feathers in them in his default design - they only turn up for the black emo variation of his outfit in Act 3. Of course, it’s a matter of personal preference whether you add feathers to the default version or not, I just wanted to point this out, because it was something I noticed when I was looking at references (for hours and hours and hours).
Speculative Sunday
AUs • Divergence • Second Chances • Post-Canon
Bonus Prompts
🧠 Headcanon Hub — #AndersWeekHeadcanons
Share your favorite Anders headcanons.
🛠 Workshop of Wonders (WIPs)
Tag us in unfinished projects — sketches, snippets, outlines, even unhinged idea dumps.
🎉 The Fade Is Yours — #AndersWeekFreeForAll
Make anything you like — art, fic, memes, playlists, edits, rambly love letters — as long as it celebrates Anders.
No prompts. No pressure. Just joy.
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.
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🌟 Post Anywhere: AO3, Tumblr, Wattpad—it’s all good! Just link it in a Tumblr post so we can reblog it.
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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
turnnoffyourmind
dededos
2087
izzy806
yousharknotpass
