#companion asks

[bladesingerlily]

Hi! For the OC ask game: Minsc 1, Shadowheart 3, Astarion 4

I spent the whole day driving! It was so fun to see the asks in my box when I finally got settled.

Minsc~

Would he arm-wrestle with your OC? Who would win?

Lily adores Minsc. When they finally finds him, she takes him everywhere. She would absolutely arm wrestle Minsc. She would cheat, put him down wirh a sleep spell and win. (She’s a very bad sport, TBH)

Shadowheart ~

How does she react to their appreciation or dislike of the gods generally speaking?

Lily is very devout, but Corellon don’t really ask much of his children other than to be happy, pursue and create beauty, and protect elves and their homeland. So, Lily and Shadowheart have significant disagreements about faith. They get much closer when Shadowheart abandons Shar and saves hers parents. They drink wine and gossip frequently.

Astarion~

Does he approve of their fashion tastes?

Astarion and Lily are both a bit precious when it comes to gear. They shop together, as Lily notices that Astarion’s jerkin is worn and has been patched countless times. Elves value nothing more than beauty, and they share an esthetic sensibility.

Astarion and Lily by @alstromeri-a

[fo4companionmusings]

Companions react to almost falling off of a vertibird but sole catches them ? Thanks a lot !

I almost gave up on this blog, so thank YOU @wastelandcherry! Also, I’m not gonna do Strong, Codsworth or Dogmeat! Hope that’s alright. Lemme know if I forgot anyone else or if you’d really like to see either Strong, Codsworth or Dogmeat included. Also, sorry for any grammar mistakes! It’s 11:50pm as I’m writing this and I just got off of work. 😩

Hancock: The whole thing barely registers to him until they’re all back on the ground partially due to his fear of flying, but they hit a little turbulence and the next thing he knew, he was falling out of the vertibird, unusually okay of dying this way. The Sole saving him made him actually re-evaluate his priorities and what was most important to him.

MacCready: Screams. Straight up screams like a little girl. Sole was naturally worried, but wouldn’t let him live down the banshee-like wail for months. The nickname “Banshee” stuck around the settlements too, forcing either MacCready or Sole to tell about what happened. “I ALMOST DIED!” “But you didn’t.” 

Preston: Before backstepping off, he was joking around with Sole about how he was the most careful man in the Commonwealth. This proved it otherwise. Preston kept a deathgrip on Sole’s arm for a few moments after as he tried to compose himself. 

Curie [HUMAN BODY]: She cried for a while after being pulled in to Sole’s arms. The pilot of the vertibird looked back to make sure they were okay, and Sole quickly waved their gaze away. Curie had to talk about it a couple times after the incident, because it bothered her so greatly. She had a positive outlook on the cycle of life and death, except when it came to herself. 

Danse: Danse hated feeling coddled. This was a bit different though. The Sole Survivor had to steady him afterward to prevent him from flying out the opposite side too. Danse was a man that always liked to be aware of his surroundings and this threw him in to a funk for a while after. 

Deacon: Totally jokes it off. “You trying to pull a move on me?” He laughs awkwardly, not wanting to show how scared shitless he actually was. He threw away the disguise he wore when it happened. Claimed the alter ego was too clumsy so he had to ditch it. 

Piper: Weirdly, the whole ordeal doesn’t really phase her. She’s been chased down by mutants and god only knows what else on the quest for something to write about, so a little clumsy trip I’d imagine wouldn’t do a whole lot to her. If anything, she’d pull a little joke like Deacon, saying “Wow Blue, you really BLUE ME AWAY.”

Nick: Sole was barely able to grab on to him in time for fear of snapping his metal hand right off. Nick says “It’s not a big deal,” because “The hand’s already garbage anyway.” The Sole Survivor lectures him on self-esteem and loathing, but it just flies right through one robotic ear and out the other. 

Cait [AFTER HER PERSONAL QUEST]: Swears like a sailor and is a little shaky. She’s just gotten her life back on track. If she was going to go out one way, it’d be in a blaze of glory, not a splat on the cracked pavement. Her terms, not gravity’s. 

X6-88: Doesn’t talk about it. Sole tries explaining that everyone falls or makes mistakes, but X6 gets really sour whenever the incident is brought up. So, Sole decides to drop it and never mention it again unless it’s on his terms. After a while, he opens up somewhat, sharing with the Sole how it made him feel like a failure.

Gage: Gage rants, and rambles, and rambles. “Did that actually just happen? Did I almost end up like that raider guy from out west? Shit, that guy’s an idiot. I’m not an idiot, right boss?” Sole is curious about this “idiot raider,” but they focus on calming him down. He’s not panicked, but Gage’s monotonous voice is a pitch more high-pitched when he’s nervous. Sole shakes their head and guarantees that he isn’t an idiot and they’re surprised by how talkative he is about the whole thing.

BONUS- Maxson: Thanks the Sole Survivor, but can’t help feeling rather inferior about the whole thing. “It was a critical error on my part,” he’d tell Sole. Sole reassured him it wasn’t a big deal. Until they landed on the ground, he kept analyzing his every move during the flight to ensure something like this wouldn’t happen again. 

[justanartsysideblog]

5, 10, 12, 17 and 25 for Olwyn? :D

Sure thing! :) I’ll do this just for a regular Circle Mage Companion Olwyn, and not Fen’Sulahn, becomes some of those answers would vary quite greatly. 

5.If they romanced someone as Inquisitor, would they still fall for that person as a companion? How would that play out? How would they react to that person being romanced by the “new” Inquisitor? 

Let’s see, Olwyn romanced Cullen in-game...I imagine she would still flirt with him, and the fact that they both really, really love dogs means they have a lot in common, if they did end up talking. But Olwyn has always been slightly wary of Templars, and I don’t know if she’d have the courage to speak with him quite as boldly as she does as Inquisitor, and being a Circle Mage that helped her Circle rebel, I imagine that if she were not Inquisitor, Cullen would have less of a reason to seek her out or remain in her company for long periods of time. Their close proximity to one another with Inquisitor Olwyn is the reason I think that they both grow enough to realize they can love one another. 

So I don’t know if that would exist in a companion universe. Perhaps they would become friends, and as a healer she’d help him through the nights his lyrium withdrawal got too hard to bare, with this odd little flirty, sexual tension thing going on because neither is certain if they should move forward with it. Olwyn would feel a little sad at Cullen being romanced by someone else, but it wouldn’t devastate her. Likely it would just cement her belief that a relationship between her and Cullen would not work out, because obviously he did not find a need to seek her out for more than companionship and help with his lyrium withdrawal. 

10. If Inquisition operated like DA:O, what would their gift items be? What would their approval and disapproval Feast Day items be? Olwyn likes dresses and jewelry. In the Circle she wasn’t allowed any personal possessions, and she always envied people who could dress as they wished, so she enjoys gifts that involve things like that: a pretty bangle, a hair ribbon, some earrings, etc.  

Olwyn’s approval Feast Day item would be a silk scarf, which would then become part of her everyday outfit afterwards.

Olwyn’s disapproval item: The Chant of Light, or an Andrastian amulet. 

12.Do they believe the Herald of Andraste is really the Herald of Andraste? Nope. Olwyn is not Andrastian at all, so she does not believe anyone could be the Herald of Andraste. This is a magical phenomenon that shouldn’t be dealt with as something divine, in her opinion. When people start raising someone up as a religious figure, bad things happen...usually to mages and elves. So Olwyn is very very wary of it. 

17.Where do they hang out in the Winter Palace? What’s their thoughts on the nobles/The Game? Being a former Circle Mage who hadn’t left her tower since she entered it when she was a child, Olwyn is like a fish out of water here. The pretty dresses? That she can get behind. The rest of it? Nah. She doesn’t like that the Orlesians just...play around with people’s lives. It’s sickening. There are people dying out there, and yet there’s this giant party going on. She doesn’t get it. 

Olwyn is not a fan of The Game at all, and neither of nobility. Her parents were nobles, and they sent her to the Circle in Ostwick without a second thought, and pretended she never existed, and were...very cruel when they found out she had magic. So she probably spends most of the evening (when they are not running around saving people) looking at all the nobles and wondering which ones would beat their children and throw them to the Templars or worse if they found out they had magic...and assuming it would be all of them. 

Olwyn would probably be in the gardens, or on a balcony, where she could get some fresh air and not be stalked by men and women in masks asking invasive questions and reminding her of all the horrible traits of nobility. 

25.In the alternate reality, if they were corrupted with lyrium, how do they act? What’s their attitude about the end of the world/their inevitable death? Olwyn would be overwrought. She’s a bleeding heart, who always tries to take everything onto herself. So knowing they failed...she’d blame herself more than anyone. She must have missed something, didn’t fight hard enough, etc. She wouldn’t be angry at the Inquisitor, she’d just be...very distraught. Olwyn is always determined, always looking for some way to fix things, so if she knew that the Inquisitor could go back and do just that, somehow stop all of this from happening, even if it means that this Olwyn is going to die...she’d accept it. If she was romancing the Inquisitor at the time, she’d tell them she loves them, and to keep moving forward. 

---

Thank you for the asks! <3 <3 <3

[justanartsysideblog]

1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 14, and 15 for the companion ask for Cirimeni?

Oh yay! This is the role I created her for, so I have lots of fun headcannons for her…here we go!

1. If not for the Conclave, what would drive your character to join the Inquisition?

Cirimeni joins the Inquisition as a runaway slave from Tevinter. She’s on the run, being hunted by slave catchers, and sees the Inquisition as a potential place for safety.   

2.How would they meet the Inquisitor?

While traveling to Val Royeaux, there is a scuffle down a side street. A figure separates from the crowd and breaks into a run, shouting follows, as the Inquisitor sees several cruel looking individuals try and trap the fleeing elf in a side street.

The Inquisitor confronts the individuals, who claim the fleeing elf is an escaped slave, and property of a late Magister Caecilius, who the elf in question murdered before running. They’ve been tracking her for months, to be brought back and punished by Magister Caecilius’ son, who has inherited his father’s title. 

The Inquisitor can choose to either side with the slave hunters, or with the runaway slave. If the Inquisitor sides with the fleeing elf and fights off the slave hunters, Cirimeni will thank them, and hold up a length of parchment with the Inquisition heraldry that was put up to recruit, and join as a companion.

If the Inquisitor sides with the slave hunters, Cirimeni will kill them all and flee, and cannot become a companion, but will be mentioned in a war-table mission as a rogue slave killing venatori.

4.What would their romance route look like? Would they be romancable?

Cirimeni can be romanced by both male and female inquisitors. A human mage inquisitor will have the hardest time romancing her, as she is very wary of mages in general, especially ones that remind her of the Magisters in Tevinter.

In general, however, Cirimeni tries to believe that most people are good--she heard tales of the other kingdoms outside of Tevinter being against slavery, so she escaped in hopes of meeting such people, who do not see slaves as property, but as people. And she spent time with the Fog Warriors in Seheron, briefly, and it cheered her considerably and helped her trust again.

Cirimeni’s romance route would be very sweet, but the Inquisitor would have to be patient in some regards. Cirimeni was trained from a young age as a pleasure slave, and was used as such by Magister Caecilius (who also used her as his personal assassin against his rivals in the Imperium) and so sex in general is a touchy subject with her.

An Inquisitor that presses for a physical relationship early on will make her uncomfortable, and if pushed too far, will result in locking out the romance.

An Inquisitor that speaks to her often, and asks her how she is doing, and treats her like a person will automatically soft lock into a romance with her.  

7.What would be on their tombstone in the fade (what is their greatest fear)?

Slave. Her greatest fear is being taken back to Tevinter and made a slave again. 

9.Where in Skyhold would they be found? (e.g. Cole is in the tavern rafters, Leliana in the top of the tower, Varric in the throne room, etc.)

The incomplete guard tower, until it is finished. Afterwards, Cirimeni can be found on the battlements. She does not like being somewhere without lots of escape routes and vantage points. 

14.What nickname does Varric give them? 

Probably a type of flower. She loves flowers, and makes little crowns and bracelets out of them in her free time. I imagine Poppy, or Peony, or Snapdragon or something. 

15.Without the influence of their decisions for the Inquisition, which of the companions do they get along with? Which ones do they bicker with?

Well, being mute because Magister Caecilius cut her tongue out, she doesn’t bicker with anyone. But she definitely has companions she likes and ones she does not at all.

Cirimeni gets along with Varric and Sera the most. Blackwall makes her feel safe too, because he tends to shield her from Dorian, and so does Cassandra.

Cole...Cole is a giant cinnamon roll, but she’s definitely mistrustful at first, because he’s a spirit, but it doesn’t take long at all for the two to become very very close. Cole will answer for her, if the two are in a party together, because he can read stray thoughts. They get very good at communicating that way, and spend a lot of time together.

Bull she isn’t sure about, not while he still follows the Qun. She befriended the Fog Warriors when she was on the run, and they helped her escape, and she doesn’t see the Qun as being all that different from the magisters, other than the lack of blood magic. Everyone is still forced into a role, and punished for deviating from it.

She’s wary of all the mages at first, but comes to be fine with both Solas and Vivienne after a time. She is never comfortable with Dorian, and will avoid him at all costs. Putting the two in a part together results usually in Dorian trying to speak with her, or maybe even apologize, and Cirimeni getting as far away from him as she possible can. 

If both herself and Cole are in a party with the Inquisitor and Dorian, Cole will catch a stray thought from her:

A party. Gold, glittering, the taste of blood. They beat Cato to death for dropping a platter. Naked, bare, so many eyes. Like hands, clawing, looking under the golden chains. HE was there. HE WAS THERE AND HE DID NOTHING!

[tiredassmage]

for the OC as NPC asks 3. When would you recruit them? Vanilla story? an Expac? Post KOTET?

Hmm, let's gooo... with someone we haven't done. How about Savosta?

[OCs as NPCs]

Strip away the whole Emperor's Wrath bit and Savosta's primary story, his primary struggle, remains relatively in-tact, just taking place on a smaller scale. His scenario isn't entirely unlike Jaesa's in that his early training and then apprenticeship under Baras encouraged him to extremes and discouraged the kind of exploration that would've let him maybe heal and select a different path a lot earlier, so he could maybe be a vanilla class story companion for Warrior or Inquisitor, though I'd rather the PC met him further along in the journey and leave his troubles behind him to some unnamed Sith Lord.

So I'd lean at least during the Alliance era, at earliest, if not pushed off all the way until Ossus or even Legacy of the Sith.

How that'd work is, essentially, the war with Zakuul disrupts the state of the galaxy, right? The Sith Empire doesn't function as it did in vanilla and that amount of dramatic change gives Savosta some breathing room to do some proper soul searching, shorn of his master and previous loyalties. He'll certainly still never be welcomed back in Chiss space and, ultimately, Savosta realizes 'Sith' doesn't represent him - though he's still far from a Jedi, too. Savosta's likely apprehensive to attach himself to another order of Force users after his experiences as Sith pushed him so far and changed him so much (he won't pretend like he didn't give in to their ways of embracing anger and passions, after all, in the pursuit of often violent ends). The Alliance is probably one of the better places to call home he could ever find.

Perhaps his search for answers - who he is after everything, despite everything, because of everything he's been through - drove him to Zakuul to investigate their would-be enemy's way of doing things. That'd be an Alliance Alert meeting. A Commander that fights for peace in the galaxy could be exactly what he's looking for - a sort of neutral ground to do good without handing himself over completely to another order of ideals he may or may not truly believe or follow. On the other hand, a more DS-aligned Commander may make of him another tool, as he was before as an acolyte and apprentice of the Sith.

Wherever and however the Commander would meet him would be him essentially on a personal journey of self-discovery, trying to navigate life when you're feared and unwanted by the people who you used to believe were home and aren't sure of your path forward or the path you've walked. I guess you could arguably build a Galactic Seasons route on that as well and have him as the companion from that track. That might be fun! I'll have to remember to get him Amity from S4. I'm interested to see where that story goes.

[tiredassmage]

13, 14, and 16 from the NPC asks foooor Len :3

[OCs as NPCs]

Bastard hours xD <3

13. What gifts do they Love? Like? What would they say when you give them a gift?

Len will always appreciate a good Weapon. No, it doesn't matter that he already has a Collection of blaster pistols. Underworld Goods are also incredibly valuable for tracking targets (and maybe having a little bit of fun; who said work and pleasure can't mix at least a little?).

You can also please this bastard man with Imperial Memorabilia, Trophies, and some Technology items.

High influence gains are likely met with boisterous approval such as, "Ha ha! Look at that! Excellent!" [Bastard grandpa can be excited too, okay? xD] Variations of influence gain may include, "Very nice. 'Preciate it." and "Aw, you do think of me."

If you give him something he has absolutely no use for though? "Am I supposed to do somethin' with this junk?" xP

14. What would they say if you changed them out/sent them away?

Dot suddenly realizes she doesn't trade out her companions all that often. "Save me a little piece of the action, won't ya?"

16. What’s their idle chatter like? Do they talk a lot (when you arrive on each planet) or do they suddenly say something in some strange places?

Answered here! (x)

[tiredassmage]

5, 7, 15, 18 any character :D

Is it kind of cheating to talk about Oli? I feel like that's half-cheating because he exists solely to be a companion character and I've already dropped a smidgen of related lore. But I want to. >.> So, we're gonna. Centralized message and all that, right?

[OCs and NPCs asks]

5. What would their recruitment mission be?

I did settle on Hoth and the infiltration of the White Maw as his intro. So, technically you'd go through the class story missions for Hoth largely with him first as a contact and then he'd join you for the final confrontation similarly to how Guss currently functions.

TLDR, the SIS planted him with the White Maw several months prior to investigate their operations in the Starship Graveyard and see if there was any potential use of the pirates' motivations against the Imperials/basically risk assessment, so he's already in position to give the Smuggler an in to their operations.

You solidify everything at the airlock before you leave the planet where he catches you before he leaves; Senator Dodonna has pulled some strings with the SIS and had him reassigned - maybe it's to keep tabs on the Captain, technically, to ensure the Republic's interests, maybe it's because you'll genuinely both benefit from each other's assistance.

How that looks particularly for him and Cee, I've played with here and here.

7. Would there be a character they don't like? Would that cause you to choose sides?

Not particularly among the rest of your Smuggler crew. I'm biased, obviously, as his parent, lol, but given his history, he'd be my default companion for Corellia because he has a lot of opinion to go around about Darmas and the rest of the Imperial forces you end up clashing with.

@sullustangin kindly asked a bit about what that looks like that I covered here, but it's definitely one of the few times his emotions run hot and get ahead of him. He is not going to approve of the Captain taking any deals from Darmas and certainly isn't in a space to accept reprimands for swinging first and asking questions later. Would it ultimately make him leave the Smuggler? No - that's not how companions work in this game [in vanilla, at least], for one, lol, but, two, it wouldn't even if he could unless the Captain has been hostile with him since they've found out about his defection from Imperial Intelligence to the SIS. Really, I'd ponder more about Oli's reception as the Smuggler's companion than his interactions with other crewmates.

15. What do they say when they heal you? What do they say when they are attacking?

I do actually have a few lines tucked away on a google doc with the Lore TM, mwuahahah.

Healing

Hey. Still with me?

Back on your feet.

I’ve seen worse. Way worse.

I’m not losing you.

Combat

Alright, let’s dance!

I was itching for a bit of action.

Show me what you can do!

If you insist!

18. If they are recruitable in vanilla story, where are they during KOTFE/TET? What are/were they doing?

There's a few things Oliver might get up to while the Captain is taking a fat, unscheduled nap.

First, of course, I have explored what he's up to when Cee's around - so what he does if the Captain has completed the vanilla romance with him. In short, he ends up breaking up with the SIS because of his search for the Captain and he takes over the Voidhound's operations. For Oliver, I don't think it's that he expects the Captain is still alive, exactly, but it's a way to cope with his grief. The Captain brought out the best of him, believed in the best of him and ultimately helps him leave his past in the Empire well behind him. He loses a boss, a best friend, and a significant other all in you when Marr's destroyer is torn apart by the Fleet and it destroys him to leave you behind, even if you tell him to, even knowing that it's the only logical thing he can do.

He's fed up easily by the Republic trying to restart and maintain forces for a war against the Sith Empire while bending to the Eternal Empire. He's disgusted that they don't question further what happened out there in Wild Space. If you're still out there, if there is anything he can do to help the galaxy as it struggles, it's to take your network of underworld contacts and try to run through Eternal Fleet blockades. He makes contact with Beryl Thorne from your old contacts and offers her a piece of the action because of her past work on Taris.

You'll meet again in Chapter IX of Fallen Empire when your ship returns and he steps off to tell you what he's been up to for five years in your absence. He'll benefit Hylo's underworld operations by bringing what remains of the Voidhound's network under Alliance operation.

Then that leaves us with at least two other possibilities - y'all were friendly, but not romantically involved, and one where you maybe straight up hated each other, in the end.

Assuming you "parted" on friendly terms, I could still see him maybe taking the ship, but he likely doesn't throw the SIS entirely away. It's less a matter of carrying on your legacy as it is a strategic asset to try to fight the fight the Republic as a whole seems incapable or unwilling of doing.

Which can branch similarly to how you'd meet again if you parted on less stellar terms, so to speak.

Either of these last two, if he stays primarily with the SIS, he can be recruited back by any Commander through an Alliance alert post Chapter IX. While he's done his fair share of keeping tabs on Imperial activity for the Republic, he's also been sent to infiltrate Zakuul for potential information. Recruit him as an operative for Alliance Intelligence and he'll boost operations for Admiral Aygo.

Your previous relationship will slightly affect opening dialogue. If you gave him trouble earlier, he'll mention it, roughly inquiring, "You never seemed particularly fond of my help before. What's changed, Captain?" Largely, he tries to maintain at least a professional working relationship with the Captain in vanilla even if they clash often, but freed of that direct responsibility, he makes it known he hasn't forgotten your mistrust. Especially now that you're leading an Alliance of forces from both sides.

You do have the option to give him a piece of your mind again and tell him you don't want him in the Alliance, but if you don't, he says he can put aside differences again for the sake of stopping Arcann, as long as you're willing. A non-Smuggler Commander could similarly recruit him from this background - without the added intricacies of prior relations, of course. Refusing him would likely be a more simplistic line of "I don't trust spies"/"I already have a spymaster," or something of such a flavor. If that's the case, he will respectfully part ways with the Commander and offer that he won't get in the Alliance's way and still wouldn't mind giving them a hand if they do happen to operate on the same turf. This more or less also scratches my itch about how Tyr would operate as a companion assuming he also remained Cipher Nine, which I sort of briefly overviewed in the ask that spawned smuggy!comp au to begin with, lol.

[tiredassmage]

What gifts do they Love? Like? What would they say when you gave them a gift?

Oooohh, let's talk about smuggy!comp au for this one. Tyr's preferences don't change a lot when I plug him into the Smuggler crew, but his life as Oliver is definitely a different path, so we've got some different preferences!

Weapons remain a sound bet with Oli for your highest influence gains with Technology and Military Gear sort of jostling for that last spot in favorites - or maybe they share, who are we to make a man choose, right? xD

I think my only other alteration from Tyr's levels is I'd swap Republic Memorabilia and Maintenance goods to put Maintenance in Likes and Republic items in Loves. You'll also get a higher bonus on Courting items if you follow his romance. ;) [He'd just melt for swapping small items with his Captain.]

And you'll probably just about always kind of surprise him with it. Your higher influence items probably trigger something like, "You don't have to... Thanks, Captain." / "This is... great! Where'd you get this?"

I don't make the rules but I do, but... picking up Oli on your crew is basically adopting a touch-starved Lab puppy from the shelter. He wants to make the most of working with you. He appreciates you thinking of him! Even if you give him something he's not particularly interested in, the worst you'd be given is a mild "You're the boss." / "I suppose I might find some use for this, if you're sure."