#cullen meta

[the-arcane-archivist]

The Cage

Posting pictures of Cullen's magical cage and the room where he's trapped for reference.

[saltyowlets]

Cullen x Blood Mage romance: Yay or nay?

New question that has been running through my head: can a Cullen x blood mage romance be possible? I'm talking an actual blood mage who uses blood magic.

I have yet to see anyone attempt it, and I definitely understand why.

There are 2 main factors you have to tackle. First one is the in-game perception of blood magic. In both DAO and especially DAI, blood magic is seen as evil magic- used to manipulate and control. DA2 handles the nuances of blood magic much better by providing us with Merrill, showing that ethical use of blood magic is possible. Not everyone who uses blood magic is bad, and blood magic is not just used to control others. However, this still does not erase in game and even out game opinions of the topic.

Another factor you would need to tackle is Cullen's own relationship with blood magic. His fears stem from trauma, the one thing that ultimately shaped his opinion on magic and mages. You fully need to change Cullen into someone willing to love the thing he fears most. Heck, he is a templar- trained to hunt down blood mages.

Even if blood magic becomes widely accepted, can Cullen himself accept it? Could he ever completely trust a lover who openly uses blood magic?

I'm not sure. I think it could be possible, but it requires a lot of knowledge and understanding of PTSD and trauma to tackle such a plot/topic.

[hexxalite-hecate]

I see Cullen x Amell or Cullen x Surana a lot in the Cullen tags, I'm a Cullen x Lavellan shipper and I haven't played Origins, what is the deal with him and the mage warden? Some people say he was obsessed and stalked her, I don't wanna believe that bc I love him but I'm confused about what's canon. I know some people hc they had a relationship but I can't seem to get a straight answer what actually happened in canon? Sorry for random ask 🦁

Hi! I love asks ❤️ And this is a good question!

From what I've seen, this topic can get a bit spicy because people have opinions on Cullen's history with Amell/Surana (hereby referred to as f!mage because I'm lazy). I'm active on the Dragon Age subreddits and I've had a lot of discussions with people who genuinely believe that Cullen is an abusive, stalking rapist, and Bioware did a lazy retcon on his history to turn him into a whitebread vanilla love interest for DAI.

I’ll put my cards on the table: Amell was my first playthrough and subsequently canon Warden, I got attached to Cullen early on, and I love me a bit of Cullen x f!mage fic and art, though my preference is post-Inquisition reunion. I don't agree he’s been retconned from an abusive stalker into a poor little meow meow (and I'll be going into a detailed breakdown of why in a minute). HOWEVER, despite my personal bias I’m going to try and present information fairly so people can draw their own conclusions, and I can definitely see how the less flattering opinions of Cullen wrt f!mage ended up being formed. 

There are several explanations for the, ahem, strong views on Cullen’s relationship with f!mage during their time at Kinloch Hold, some entirely reasonable and some less reasonable. Some examples of the range I’ve encountered:

1. People have difficulty emotionally separating the character of Cullen from his VA, who holds some utterly loathsome alt-right stances and has historically used the character to try and spread those disgusting views. (Can't really blame anyone for this, fuck that guy.)

2. People haven't actually played through Origins as f!mage and only have second-hand knowledge of his canon interactions, going off hearsay that gets escalated and distorted like a Thedosian game of telephone. Well, lucky for you I gathered every single interaction between them into this post, so now you have the facts to make an informed decision.

3. Information from abandoned writing concepts and dev interviews often conflicts with what’s actually presented in the game itself, muddying the waters with regard to Cullen’s character vision. (This one is genuinely complicated, but I'll try and present everything fairly for your consideration.)

4. A lot of fans understandably started disliking Cullen based on the choices he makes and the viewpoints he espouses in DA2. This doesn't directly affect his relationship with f!mage at the Tower, since all their interactions happened before that point. However, some people argue that his behaviour during DA2 indicates tendencies that he would have had from the beginning, including during their time at Kinloch Hold together. It also affects his post-Circle opinions of her, which is relevant to whether or not he could be termed as obsessive. This, too, is complicated, and I'll try to be as fair and unbiased as possible.

I'm going to tackle your ask by breaking it down into two main parts. Firstly, what is the canon evidence of exactly how involved Cullen and f!mage were at the Ferelden Circle? And secondly, what canon evidence is there that this involvement was characterised by obsessive/predatory/stalker behaviour, and in what way does that behaviour develop through later games? 

Buckle up, this turned out long.

1. What canon evidence is there of f!mage and Cullen’s relationship at Kinloch Hold?

Let's take this from the beginning, based directly on what f!mage encounters in the game. On waking from your Harrowing, you are immediately greeted by this ambient conversation from two gossiping apprentices:

If you walk around spam clicking other apprentices, one will also volunteer this information:

So, we are immediately given evidence that whoever Cullen is, his feelings for you are obvious enough to be a general subject of gossip. Interesting! But it doesn’t say anything about your character’s feelings for him. Are we in a forbidden relationship? Or is my character only just finding out about this? Would she react with ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) or ಠ_ಠ? Ok, let's go talk to the guy himself and find out what the deal is.

(Forgive the cut and pasted dialogue; I just centred it over his head so I don’t have to post full size screenshots.)

Straight away, we can see that Cullen is a stuttering, bumbling wreck. He stumbles over his words and clumsily tries to make conversation. We are presented with a range of options in response to his greeting:

As you can see from these options, f!mage seems to know who Cullen is. There’s no “Uh, who are you again?” dialogue. However, she doesn’t appear to know him very well. They’re unfamiliar enough that when he tries to compliment her, he has to obfuscate:

If they had any sort of relationship, whether simple friendship or more, Cullen wouldn’t need to hide that he’s familiar with an apparently key part of her personality - that she’s confident. To me, that reads that they’ve hardly interacted outside the occasional nod in the hallways, or at the very most a brief conversation.

I suppose you could argue that they’ve been having purely physical trysts that account for them having a ‘relationship’ without him knowing her personality very well, but his bumbling awkwardness seems utterly contradictory to that theory. And then, as the nail in the coffin, we get this:

F!mage can suggest such a tryst herself, picking up on his attraction and showing reciprocation. Cullen reacts first with confusion, then stunned realisation... then absolute rejection. 

Then he automatically ends the conversation and literally runs away from you.

Despite his obvious attraction - described as love, no less, by random NPCs - he doesn’t even entertain the idea of acting on his desires. We’ll come back to this conversation in the second part, because Cullen’s language reveals a lot about why he rejects you. But for now, the important thing is that he does, and nothing about this exchange indicates that there have been previous, non-rejected encounters.

So, the definitive answer to the question did Cullen and f!mage have a romantic or sexual relationship at the Tower?

No. Through their canon interactions, we can deduce that they were both aware of the other’s existence, and f!mage’s opinion of him is anything from dismissive to neutral to flirty depending on your dialogue choices. However, these canon interactions completely contradict the idea of them having any kind of established romantic or sexual relationship - or even just friendship, given Cullen’s hasty “or so I’ve heard” correction, or f!mage’s offer that “we should get to know each other”. Obviously players can headcanon anything they like - I’m partial to friends with mutual unspoken crushes - but it’s not canon.

So that’s that. Now on to the second, less clear-cut, messier question...

.

2. Did Cullen ever behave in an obsessive/predatory/stalkerish way towards f!mage?

Oh man. There is a LOT of ground to cover here.

Let’s take this in chronological order. Firstly, let’s examine their actual relationship at Kinloch Hold, using all the canon evidence above. It’s clear from their interactions that this relationship - such as it is - is weighted more towards one side. Cullen’s feelings are so obvious that everyone and their dog is gossiping about them. It’s also evident through your conversation with him that he and f!mage don’t actually know each other very well, so regardless of whether or not your character chooses to shock him by actually showing interest in return, Cullen’s feelings up until that point must have been born of watching and admiring her from afar. So yes, there’s scope to interpret such behaviour anywhere on the spectrum from youthful crush to obsessive, and there isn’t much primary source information to confirm one way or the other. But predatory? I don’t believe the canon information supports that Cullen ever behaved in a predatory way towards f!mage during her apprenticeship in the Ferelden Circle, and here’s why.

To set the scene, we have already been shown that Cullen is young and idealistic. He’s 19, and very clearly inexperienced in terms of navigating social situations. (F!Mage’s age is flexible, but since Harrowings are not generally taken until 18/19, she and Cullen are either contemporaries or f!mage is actually older than him, which neutralises that particular facet of imbalance). Every writing choice made for Cullen during the mage origin intro highlights that he is simply naïve, unable to conceal his crush and unaware of how revealing his statements are. Look at this; he can’t even stop telling on himself while he’s actually talking to you, let alone with anyone else:

These are very stark writing choices which make the character of Cullen seem as awkward, bumbling, nonthreatening and - dare I say it - cute as possible. This was intended to be endearing. Take a look at the VO direction for Cullen’s voice acting, taken from this post of @soularia discussing the same topic:

Sincere and sweet is the clincher for me. There’s no way to reconcile that with predatory. Even if you personally disagree that the overall effect was endearing rather than creepy, the directorial intent was clearly to evoke the former.

However, even if Cullen’s attentions at the Ferelden Circle can be characterised as an innocent crush, the next hurdle to clear is the inherent imbalance of power between Templar and mage, which is one of the major issues people have with his romantic fixation. Despite his youth and inexperience, Cullen is still in a position of authority over f!mage, and as such any relationship between them would be inherently exploitative. But as you can see from his rejection dialogue, the person who is most cognizant and serious about that imbalance is Cullen himself. When Cullen turns f!mage down, the language he uses is very revealing - he doesn’t say “No, we’ll get in trouble” or even “No, your kind and mine shouldn’t mix” (which you might expect from his stance in DA2). He says “it would be really inappropriate.” You’re offering him everything he wants on a silver platter, and he won’t take it because he’s the one who’s concerned about power imbalances. That speaks of responsibility and duty of care, not predation. If his behaviour was narratively intended to be read as predatory, this would have been the perfect place to hammer that point home. You could even do it in a soft-touch morally grey way - “oh we shouldn’t, but I just can’t help it!” But instead, pains are taken to ensure the player sees Cullen acting in a respectful and principled manner.

So it’s perfectly understandable for fans to dislike the Cullen/f!mage dynamic because of the inherent power balance. However, I think it’s unfair to term Cullen himself as predatory because of it. The imbalance is not of his making, and despite his feelings, he does the exact opposite of exploiting it. 

I think it’s interesting that Cullen isn’t present alongside the other Templars in the scene outside the repository when f!mage and Jowan are confronted by Greagoir and Irving, and as such we have no chance to see what side he would pick in that scenario. If you pursue the relevant dialogue options during your earlier conversation, he regretfully declares that should you have been possessed by a demon during your Harrowing, he would have followed protocol and helped the rest of the Templars put you down, despite his personal feelings on the matter:

Ouch. This tracks with the ‘duty first’ mentality that causes him to reject your proposition, even though it’s presumably all he dreams about. This topic of conversation makes Cullen visibly uncomfortable in both voice and mannerisms - because it’s fucked up and he seems painfully aware of that - and he moves on as soon as possible. But I think it’s interesting to note that in the one situation where his devotion to duty could have been proven - at the confrontation outside the repository - Cullen is conspicuously absent. It’s possible there’s nothing narratively meaningful about his exclusion from this scene, but part of me wonders whether it was intentionally kept ambiguous whether he really would have been able to attack f!mage if Greagoir ordered him to. This one is up for individual interpretation, however, and I’m aware that it’s another major reason the Cullen x f!mage pairing leaves a sour taste in some fans’ mouths. If nothing else, it’s consistent with his character presentation so far.

(As an aside, it’s interesting to note that the one time we do see Cullen presented with this choice - in the final act of DA2 - he chooses to stand with Hawke against the rest of the Templars. And that’s during his worst phase of mage prejudice. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.)

Cullen and f!mage next cross paths where all the non-mage PCs meet him for the first time: during the Broken Circle quest, where he’s been tortured, starved, assaulted and abused for days by a Desire Demon wearing the shape of none other than f!mage. This is where we get definitive proof of Cullen’s feelings, in the form of a delirious confession:

(NB: the fact that one of your dialogue options here is basically “so who the fuck were you, again?” is both hilarious and sad. Poor Cullen.)

There’s some epic Greek-tragedy-cum-extreme-Catholic-guilt here, and let me tell you this shit was like catnip to the angst sluts when DAO first came out. You have to understand that female players were typically NOT catered to in the gaming scene of 2009, especially in terms of fanservice, and having this himbo pour out his agonised forbidden desire for your character hit a LOT of people’s targets. There’s a reason Cullen was a breakout favourite. (I’m aware that mores have changed since then and this particular trope might be recieved less favourably in a more recent game. This was 2009. We had to take what we could get.)

Anyhow, regardless of all this, Cullen insists that the ordeal he’s been subjected to has destroyed whatever tender boyish regard he may once have nurtured, and says some pretty jaded and upsetting things to back it up:

What we’re seeing here is the genesis of Cullen’s radicalisation, which is hale and flourishing by DA2. I won’t go into detail about this here because it’s getting off topic, but one interesting thing to note is a line which serves as evidence against the theory that Cullen held his DA2-era radical opinions before his ordeal at the Tower:

This seems to indicate that prior to Uldred’s rebellion, Cullen was a mage sympathiser in the mould of Ser Thrask. (This was later confimed in a messageboard comment by his writer - we’ll get to that bit later.) Food for thought - however, we’re straying from our intended path.

The fact that the easiest way for the Desire Demon to break Cullen is to use his feelings for f!mage is very telling. Remember, Desire Demons are not simply about sex, despite how much boob-fondling Bioware insisted on programming into their models. The Desire Demon who possessed Connor in Redcliffe played on his wish for his father to be healed. Cullen could have had plenty of things for the demon to work with - he might have been hungry to prove himself as a devoted Templar, or conversely been dissatisfied with his life choices and yearned to see more the world - but no, it’s his feelings for f!mage that the demon focuses on like a laser beam. This trick, again? Cullen says when you find him outside the Harrowing Chamber. Still here? But that’s always worked before! I close my eyes, but when I open them you are still here! “Again”; “always” - this was more than once. The demon has been using the f!mage doppelganger technique over and over. Such insistence on this tactic by the demon - who can see directly into Cullen’s head - seems to indicate that Cullen’s feelings have moved beyond mere crush into something potent enough to be used to break his spirit entirely. How might Cullen have been affected in the time between f!mage leaving the Tower with Duncan, and miraculously returning as the prodigal daughter during Broken Circle? Remember, the news from Ostagar was that everyone but Loghain’s unit was dead. Until her reappearance in Broken Circle, Cullen was likely under the impression that his crush had died a horrific and violent death at the hands of monsters. What does that do to a lovelorn teenager? Well, it’s possible that grief and lack of a healthy emotional outlet turned those innocent feelings into an obsession. As we’ll see later, Cullen makes some curious remarks indicating that he has pedastalised f!mage in his memories. But this is moving into the realm of speculation again, and we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

This scene marks the end of Cullen and f!mage’s canon interactions in the Ferelden Circle. Despite being present during the post-battle discussion with Greagoir (and Irving, if he survives), Cullen does not address f!mage again directly, and this is his last on-screen appearance in DAO. However, he is one of the few characters who returns in all three games. So what can we glean about Cullen’s ongoing feelings from his appearances in the later instalments of the DA series?

Let’s look at Cullen’s attitude towards Amell/Surana post-Origins - how long can you nurse a crush before it becomes unhealthy?

Before we move on from DAO, let’s squeeze in a last little bit of piping hot tea from our favourite Kinloch Hold gossip girls:

This takes place during your return to the Tower in the expansion Witch Hunt, set roughly two years after the Blight. Apparently Cullen’s crush was such a juicy topic that it’s still being brought up, even though neither of he nor f!mage have been at the Ferelden Circle for literal years now. However, the question of whether he’s still holding that torch doesn’t get an answer from Kristen Bell over there, and since Cullen himself isn’t present to confirm or deny it, there’s no further information to be had here. To get the update from the lion’s mouth, we need to spin on to DA2.

There’s a lot to be said about Cullen’s decisions, viewpoints and state of mind during DA2, and I could write an entire separate post about the toxic behaviour that can result from extreme trauma, PTSD and radicalisation (and probably will; just give me a week with my psychotherapy textbooks and I’ll post another thesis-length meta). While Cullen’s fragile and toxic state of mind during DA2 does have a bearing on this discussion, I’m going to try and keep things focused on the topic of the ask, just to stop this post from tipping over into magnum opus territory.

The comment Cullen makes to Hawke in DA2 is specifically directed towards f!Amell, since you can only trigger it by bringing up Hawke’s family connection to the Hero of Ferelden - but we can reasonably assume he’d have the same opinion of Surana if asked. When congratulating Hawke on restoring the status of the Amells in Kirkwall, Cullen will make this statement, entirely unprompted and unsolicited:

This is completely contradictory to every sentiment Cullen expresses regarding mages for the entirety of DA2, and entirely conflicts with the manner of his parting with Amell after the Broken Circle quest. He’s been tortured, abused, traumatised and radicalised, and he spends the 7 years of DA2 unequivocally paying it forward. Every word he speaks about mages in this game is about damage control, and how their human rights must be balanced with the dangers they present to society. Whether you agree with this or not (I don’t, obviously), it’s inescapably part of his ideology in Kirkwall. Arguably the starkest and hardest-to-handwave nadir of his character arc is when he insists to Hawke that “mages aren’t people like you and me”. Cullen can’t see past his fear and trauma to even consider mages human.

And yet this comment about Amell, a mage who was (unwittingly and unwillingly) central to the abuse he endured? No caveats at all. Not “she was special, for a mage”. He doesn’t mention the fevered accusations he threw at her in the wake of the disaster at the Tower, when he claimed he was beyond caring what she thought of him, and accused her of dooming them all with her ‘compassion’ if she chose to spare the mages. There are no qualifiers to his wistful statement, and it remains the same regardless of what story choices you made in DAO - Amell could have left the village of Redcliffe to burn, killed a ten year old boy, joined a crime syndicate and robbed Denerim blind, defiled the Urn of Sacred Ashes and been an honest-to-god blood mage, and Cullen’s still reminiscing like she’s a milkmaid he had a summer fling with. He completely disregards the complex and negative circumstances in which they parted, and explicitly separates her from other mages (because she’s not like them, apparently).

Now, you could argue that Cullen has simply accepted that his torture by a Desire Demon hiding behind a lifesize Amell cutout was not in fact the real Amell’s fault, that he regrets his hasty chastisement of her, and has peaceably and healthily decided to move on without malice. But his baseline indictment of literally every other mage ever is not compatible with this reading. He can’t healthily and fondly reminisce about Amell while also hating and fearing all other mages. You could argue that Cullen’s use of “special” and “never met her like again” could simply refer to her saintly status as Hero of Ferelden, but keep in mind that this dialogue is only in the game to be an easter egg for Amell DAO players. The writers were explicitly throwing a bone to existing Cullen fans, who at this point were overwhelmingly mage origin players who’d experienced Cullen crushing on their character and got attached to him as a result. In this orchestrated context, Cullen’s reminiscences are intentionally and directly linked to his romantic feelings, and his mental separation of her from mages et al actually denote that Cullen has put Amell on a pedestal, and is idolising his memories of her. 

Considering the context and implications of this exchange, I don’t think it’s unreasonable for players to infer at this point that Cullen has unrealistic and possibly obsessive tendencies towards the mage Warden.

That’s the only mention of f!mage we get in DA2, despite the wealth of character insight the game gives us into Cullen’s 7-year annus horribilis. But what about during DAI, after Cullen has undergone his so-called ‘retcon’ into an acceptable human being? How does he feel about f!mage a full 10 years after their last canon interaction, now he’s left the Tempalr order and been deradicalised of his least palatable opinions?

Yet again, the writers are generous with the bones they throw to those original mage Warden DAO players. We, as Inquisitor, get the opportunity to probe Cullen when the topic of the Hero of Ferelden comes up. Not having managed to play through DAI with the correct worldstate yet, I have none of my own dialogue screenshots on hand, and will have to direct you to a youtube video of the exchange (keep in mind that this conversation is with a ROMANCED Inquisitor):

Inquisitor: If you don’t mind my asking... the Hero of Ferelden was a Circle mage. Did you know her?

Cullen: I attended her Harrowing, actually. She was a lovely woman.

Inquisitor: ...“Lovely?”

Cullen: There was some... youthful infatuation on my part. A feeling I had forsaken until recently.

Inquisitor: You never acted on it?

Cullen: She was one of my charges. Even if she felt the same, it would have been... inappropriate. I saw her once, after she became a Warden. She freed the Tower during the Blight - I would be dead or mad if not for her. I was in a sorry state when she found me. The things I said were... unkind. Untoward. I regret them now. I wish she knew that.

This exchange is a cornucopia of hidden gems. Cullen’s tone is wistful, fond, a little sad. In general, I really do agree that Cullen sounds like he has a sane and stable handle on his historic trauma by this point in the series, and his evaluation of the way he and f!mage parted is self-aware and fair. His use of the words infatuation and inappropriate echo his language from DAO and give legitimacy and consistency to his character arc. But it does amuse me that he’s still throwing out unsolicited compliments like “she was a lovely woman”, and to his CURRENT GIRLFRIEND at that. And what’s this about “a feeling I had forsaken until recently”? Is he actually implying that he’s had no romantic feelings for anyone between f!mage stealing his heart and getting together with the Inquisitor? No dates? No relationships? Not even any interest in anyone else at all for 10 freaking years? That’s really not helping the ‘not obsessive’ meter. It’s also eerily similar to his pedestalling “never met her like again” comment from DA2.

Then we have a snippet of banter around the War Table which only occurs if you imported a worldstate where Leliana romanced the f!mage Warden. Again, I will have to rely on the kindness of others and direct you to a video that isn’t mine:

Cullen: So you and, er...

Leliana: Yes?

Cullen: Was she - I mean, did she ever...

Leliana: Are you asking for details?

Cullen: I-ah - no! That would be... inappropriate. 

Of course, f!mage is never mentioned by name, but by the use of the running joke inappropriate coupled with Cullen’s stuttering, stumbling speech which echoes his earliest DAO introduction, it’s clear what we’re meant to infer. Did she ever... what? Ask about Cullen? Bring him up? Discuss her memories of the Tower? Want to see him again? Bioware knew exactly what they were doing with this snippet. Those who know, know. Those who don’t, don’t. But it does indicate that even though 10 years have passed, Cullen is still preoccupied with f!mage, and is noticeably concerned about her opinion of him. As before, he reacts appropriately (heh) by dropping the subject... but he just couldn’t help but ask, the same way he couldn’t help but tell on himself all those years ago.

(Of course, if f!mage died fighting the Archdemon in your particular canon, it adds a different and very sad facet to his wistful musings. Cullen’s last memory of her would be that terrible interaction after the disaster at the Tower, and consequently there will never be a chance for him to gain closure, leaving him full of grief and regret. That sort of thing can really mess a person up - and incidentally, it’s much easier to pedastalise a dead person than a living one. No wonder he was too traumatised to love again for a decade. Honestly this possibility is just tragic.)

This juncture seems the opportune place to bring up the controversial subject of decanonised or canon-adjacent material, which often paints a darker interpretation of Cullen. Sheryl Chee, who wrote for Cullen in DAO, made the following statements about her vision of the character in a messageboard discussion with fans after DAO’s release (relevant comments on pages 2 - 7):

I’d say he starts out tragically oppressed with some tendencies towards creepy stalker (I think you’d have to be, to be a templar). He ends up, I believe, completely broken mentally and emotionally and hates both himself and the femMagePC. I think nothing, not even love, can redeem him. He’s too far gone. Of course, that’s not canon, it’s just my take on it, and I revel in the angst and the pain.

Despite Sheryl’s own assertion that her comments aren’t canon, obviously opinions from the writer herself hold a lot of weight, and it’s important to realise that this quote was a strong influence on fandom’s divided opinions on Cullen. If this was where Sheryl was coming from during development, however, I do feel like something must have got a little lost in translation between her initial writing of the character and Cullen’s VO direction and in-game depiction. Maybe it’s my bias, and you’re free to draw your own conclusions based on the facts presented, but in my opinion her description bears no resemblance to the Cullen we actually experience, in-game, during the mage origin of DAO. You can’t claim that a romance between Cullen and f!mage would be “very quick, very violent, and only undertaken as a way to get her out of his system” alongside a voice acting direction that describes him as “sincere and sweet”. Make your mind up! No wonder people got mixed messages and everyone’s arguing with each other!

Sheryl’s further posts regarding the matter also contradict herself:

I did imagine him to be a young, fairly normal kid torn between his hormones and his duty. Like a more serious Alistair. Later on we decided we needed a templar survivor in the post-Uldred tower, and since people seem to enjoy it when they see people from their past, I decided to make it Cullen. In the beginning, he is sympathetic to the mages, but he comes away very changed by the things Uldred and the demons do to him.

As for the creepy stalker tendencies--er... I think that may have been started by David Gaider's little Cullen Romance snippet. I never imagined him as a creepy stalker.

Given this clarification, I feel we ought to take her initial comments with a sizeable grain of salt - but people do use these quotes to justify the darker reading of Cullen, so I think it’s important to note that not even Sheryl herself was serious or consistent about it.

I think the problem here is that there was undoubtedly some playing around with Cullen’s trajectory in the writers room, and those aborted arcs have been set free on the internet and absorbed into people’s interpretation of the main canon (not helped by Cullen’s legitimate spiral into radicalisation during DA2). Sheryl Chee’s darker vision was echoed in the infamous (and latterly decanonised as ‘false rumours’) DAO epilogue that claims Cullen had a psychotic break and slaughtered three apprentices:

The young templar Cullen never quite recovered from his ordeal. After months of attempting to convince his superiors that the tower was still a danger, he finally snapped and killed three apprentices before being stopped by his fellow templars. Eventually, Cullen escaped from prison, a madman and a threat to any mage he encountered.

Again, it was decanonised. But again, it does add fuel to the fire.

Then we have a datamined line of voice acting from DAI here (timestamp 1:57) which has Leliana angrily reacting to a messenger bringing news of what appears to be Cullen nagging for details about the mage Warden, similar to their earlier and much more restrained War Table banter. No names are mentioned, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume we’re covering the same old ground here:

Leliana: I thought this obsession was over! Has he been drinking? 

Agent: I don’t know; I’m just the messenger.

Leliana: Tell him to drop it! I am not going to discuss what she was like!

Welp, she actually uses the word obsession. Again, this was presumably cut for a reason, and I guess it’s because it didn’t gel with Cullen’s deradicalised and softer character trajectory.

However, these abandoned arcs do indicate that there was a lot of concept-stage (and even development stage) flirting with the darker depictions of Cullen, and that’s undoubtedly where the arguments stem from. A lot of these concepts have filtered into the fandom consciousness, especially now DAO is a 12-year-old game that not everyone wants to actually play to see for themselves what’s true and what’s false. In that respect, I really can’t fault anyone for using these secondary-source snippets in their character interpretation of Cullen, since you could argue there’s plenty of evidence in the actual gameplay that dovetails with it.

So, my answer to the ask? No, it’s canon that there was no discernable relationship between Cullen and f!mage at the Tower, regardless of whether your character flirts with him, and his behaviour during that time indicates responsibility more than predation. As to whether Cullen exhibits obsessive behaviour to the female mage Warden after their separation? Well... this one’s trickier. I think it’s clear that whatever feelings he once held were exploited and warped through severe trauma and abuse, and that he did unrealistically romanticise his memory of her while he was going through his most fragile mental period in DA2. However, I think it’s also clear that his grasp of the situation is far more realistic and grounded by the time DAI rolls around, though he still holds a harmless torch for an old flame.

Those are my conclusions, though. My parting words are that it’s up to your own interpretation. You now have all the facts, canon, canon-adjacent or decanonised, and you can conclude from them what you wish. 

Typical. Four and a half thousand words just to say that.

[pinayelf-archive]

I know it's random, but the thing I like about Cullen is... how high-functioning and motivated he is despite his problems. It's inspiring andhe obviously has his worse moments, but is not brooding all the time. I find often, especially in romances, male lead is this dark, broody type, "look at my tragic past" and it's nothing wrong with that character type, but I personally never felt connection to them and I like that Cullen is avoiding this trope? It connects to avoiding LI "fixing" him too

This is why I like his romance too!

And honestly even if HE WASN’T high functioning he wouldn’t be the kind to dump it all on his LI and expect them to fix him. He knows there are things he needs to work on himself but with the support of someone who cares about him

It’s cause so much of the broody types of male characters often rely on a female character to be their emotional sponge. That female character usually ends ups being the one to “fix” him and he doesn’t do any of the work himself. It’s extremely unhealthy. And just the idea of anyone ~fixing someone with love is unhealthy too

The romantic relationship between Cullen and his LI is written really well imo, especially because it deals with trauma, PTSD and addiction. It’s not perfect, but if you don’t play a jerk quizzie, your role in his healing is your support, it’s not up to you it’s up to him.

The relationship has good communication too, Cullen is very honest with you once he feels safe in doing so. Very important

His romance is appealing because it’s stable, healthy and feels safe

[feywilder]

I personally have a love/hate relationship with Cullen, but I definitely agree with your points on his being groomed by the Templars. They literally brainwash and groom kids into this. And Meredith exploited him because he was GROOMED to be easy to manipulate and use and exploit. That's what Tempalrs were "made" and "trained" for. And while I definitely don't think that excuses them, it's something to consider when judging PAST crimes at least, imo. I wish Cullen had a better written arc though

Yeah, it’s pretty horrible. And no one in these kids families goes “hey, maybe we should not send our kids to a religious military force that oppress mages!” but gladly send them away. there is a brainwash going on and it is hard to work against that kind of abuse. 

there is also the fact that the chantry uses lyrium as a way to control their templars. keeping them addicted and having a tight control over the lyrium trade so the only way for them to get access to it is to remain with the templars and only way to remain is to follow orders. 

i agree that it doesn’t excuse their actions, but i think it gives more understanding of where they come from and how hard those who leave the order work to get where they are. 

i think cullens arc seems short because we catch him only in short intervals. in daii he is full on templar that starts to change his views and then four years pass between the explosion and da:i and we again find him in the middle of his redemption arc. maybe that’s why so many have a hard time to accept it? they want, or need to, view his full redemption arc and not just the tiny glimpses of it we get to see. 

[a-shakespearean-in-paris]

This might be weird but...what do you headcanon Cullen's body to look like? I've never written about him before and I'm writing my very first thing and for some reason I can't come up with anything.

First of all, good look on your writing anon! I believe in you! <3

Answering the question now, I think this is a little difficult to answer, because we all have our own perceptions of Cullen. And I believe all interpretations of Cullen are valid. I love seeing him with washboard abs, ripped, etc. (I would name every talented artist on here but it’ll take a while. Hugs to you all though, because ya’ll are so talented.) Obviously he looks like a ripped, hairless ken doll in the romance and wicked grace scene, but he has the same body as all human men in the game. Getting into the nitty gritty of how I see him though: 

Scars. He has a lot of them, and I can’t even fully “see” them all, but I think he would have a lot. Scrapes from childhood. Some from templar training and even more from Kinloch and Kirkwall. In my slowburn he has a pinkish burn on his right shoulder from a mage’s fire. He has scars on his wrists, and during the chapter that Cullen gives my Quiz the coin, he also mentions that he isn’t training as much, and eats a lot of butter cakes. So yeah. I think he has a tummy. Not a big tummy, but if you put your hand on his stomach, you would feel a small layer of fat. At least when he’s happy, not stressed, and not going through the pain of his withdrawals. Also, I think there’s some ambient dialogue in the Winter Palace about having to have his jacket let out. I am a supporter of Dad! body Cullen though, and I so think that when he and the Quiz retire, he starts looking similar in physique to Zach Miko. (who is a super hot male plus size model.) 

And body hair. I think he would have it. Maybe some sparse hair on his chest, and a happy trail. Oh yeah. I believe in the happy trail. I don’t use mods because PS4, but I hear there’s a really good body hair mod. Oh. And you best believe he’s not circumcised. And….nice, firm booty. Like have you seen Kit Harrington’s booty in GOT? That’s what I imagine. (what can I say? I appreciate a good booty.) 

I just want to point out again though, this is how I see him, and all interpretations are valid. i love me some washboard abs Cullen.  I love me some Cullen when he’s happy :) 

But know I’m actually curious. How do you all see Cullen? 

[scribeklio]

psst....

[the-arcane-archivist]

Cullen Dialogue Transcripts | DA:I | Haven

DA:I Series: 1 | 2 | 3

The Threat Remains

[After the events in the ruins of the Temple of Sacred Ashes , the PC awakens in a cabin back in Haven. An elven woman comes in and proceeds to tell the PC that things are stable at the moment and that Cassandra wanted to know the moment the PC woke up. The PC asks where Cassandra is and is told "in the Chantry". Going outside the Chantry brings the PC face to face with a large crowd and saluting soldiers. Ambient dialogue reveals that the Breach has stopped growing and that people are now calling the PC "the Herald of Andraste". Proceeding to the Chantry triggers a discussion between the PC, Chancellor Roderick, Cassandra and Leliana where it is made apparent that the Chantry does not sanction the Inquisition and wishes to see the PC tried. Cassandra declares the Inquisition reborn after stating that she does not believe the PC guilty of the explosion at the Conclave any longer. After this exchange, another cutscene unfolds that shows a passage of time where the Inquisition grows into its fledgling state. Afterwards, the PC again enters the Chantry where Cassandra and Leliana are joined by Cullen and Josephine to discuss the next steps in dealing with the Breach.]

[Cullen upon introduction]

(If the PC did not charge with the soldiers) Cassandra: "May I present Commander Cullen, leader if the Inquisition’s forces." Cullen: "Such as they are. We lost many soldiers in the valley, and I fear many more before this is through."

(If the PC did charge with the soldiers) Cassandra: "You've met Commander Cullen, Leader of the Inquisition's Forces." Cullen: "It was only for a brief moment on the field. I am pleased you survived." (Screen below is his expression)

[Cassandra introduces Josephine as well and Leliana officially.]

PC Dialogue Options: A String

(A pleasure.) "Pleased to meet you all."

(Impressive titles.) "That's an impressive bunch of titles."

(Why am I here?) "Cassandra tells me you have a plan."

Cassandra: "I mentioned that your Mark needs more power to close the Breach for good." Leliana: "Which means we must approach the rebel mages for help." Cullen: "And I still disagree. The templars could serve just as well." Cassandra: (Sighs) "We need power, Commander. Enough magic poured into that Mark--" Cullen: "Might destroy us all. Templars could suppress the Breach, weaken it so—" Leliana: "Pure speculation." Cullen: "I was a templar. I know what they're capable of." Josephine: "Unfortunately, neither group will even speak to us yet. The Chantry has denounced the Inquisition—and you, specifically."

[Cullen arguing his points with Leliana and Cassandra]

PC Dialogue Options: B String

(They still think I did it.) "They still think I'm guilty."

(That was quick.) "That didn't take long."

(Does that matter?) "Can't you simply ignore them?"

Option B1- [No response]

Option B2- Cullen: "Shouldn't they be busy arguing over who's going to become Divine?"

[Cullen giving his best sass face]

Option B3- Josephine: "If only it were that simple."

Josephine: "Some are calling you—[a mage—changes depending on PC]—the Herald of Andraste. That frightens the Chantry. The remaining clerics have declared it blasphemy and we heretics for harboring you." Cassandra: "Chancellor Roderick's doing, no doubt." Josephine: "It limits our options. Approaching the mages or templars for help is currently out of the question."

PC Dialogue Options: C String

[These lack specific tones, so no color code]

(Investigate: The Herald of Andraste?) "Just how am I the Herald of Andraste?"

(Could we be attacked?) "Will the Chantry attack us?"

(So, I'm the problem.) "So, if I wasn't part of the Inquisition?"

(The Breach doesn't worry them?) "They aren't more concerned about the Breach? The real threat?"

**Option C1 (See below)

Option C2- Cullen: "With what? They have only words at their disposal." Josephine: "And yet they may bury us with them."

Option C3- Cullen: "Let's be honest, they would have censured us no matter what." Cassandra: "And you not being here isn't an option."

Option C4- Cullen: "They do know it's a threat. They just don't think we can stop it." Josephine: "The Chantry is telling everyone you'll make it worse."

[Go to Leliana: "There is..."]

**Option C1- Cassandra: "People saw what you did at the Temple, how you stopped the Breach from growing. They have also heard about the woman seen in the rift when we first found you. They believe that was Andraste." Leliana: "Even if we tried to stop that view from spreading--" Cassandra: "Which we have not." Leliana: "The point is: everyone is talking about you." Cullen: "It's quite the title, isn't it? How do you feel about that?"

Option C1 PC Dialogue Options:

(I like it.) "I don't mind it at all."

(It's unnerving.) "It's a little unsettling."

(I don't know.) "I'm not sure how I should feel."

(They're wrong.) "I'm not the Herald of anything. Particularly not Andraste."

Option 1- [No response]

Options 2 & 4- Cullen: (Chuckles) "I'm sure the Chantry would agree."

Option 3- Cullen: (Humored) "The Chantry has decided that for you, it seems."

Leliana: "People are desperate for a sign of hope. For some, you're that sign." Josephine: "And to others, a symbol of everything that's gone wrong."

[Return to C String]

Leliana: "There is something you can do. A Chantry cleric by the name of Mother Giselle has asked to speak to you. She's not far, and she knows those involved far better than I. Her assistance could be invaluable."

PC Dialogue Options: D String

(I'll talk to her.) "I'll see what she has to say."

(Why would she help us?) "Why would someone from the Chantry help a declared heretic?"

(That could be trouble.) "She's asked for me? You didn't think that could be an ambush?"

Option 1- [No response]

Option 2- Leliana: "I understand she's a reasonable sort. Perhaps she does not agree with her sisters?”

Option 3- Leliana: "I doubt it. From what I know of her, she is a kind soul and not the sort to involve herself in violence."

Leliana: "You will find Mother Giselle tending to the wounded near Redcliffe." Cullen: "Look for other opportunities to extend the Inquisition's influence while you're there." Josephine: "We need agents to extend our reach beyond this valley. You're better suited than anyone to recruit them." Cassandra: "In the meantime, let's think of other options. I won't leave this all to the Herald."

[End]