DA2 FLIP OUT!!
I FLIPPING LOVE DA2! I LOVE EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER. EVEN NOT-RLY-ANDERS. HE IS BAAAARELY THE ANDERS FROM AWAKENING BUT IDC. LOVE THIS GAME!
I really do need to recruit Sebastian though, to see how flirting with him works out. I was planning on waiting the entire time until I had a full crew before I worried about flirting, and that was made really easy thanks to Fenris' "GRR MAGE" disapproval of everything I do (so going to rival him this playthrough. I've given up on even trying to get him to gain friendship points XD), but then along comes Anders all "YOU REMIND ME OF MY FRIEND THE WARDEN SOMEONE! ALLOW ME TO LIST THE QUALITIES IN YOU THAT ARE REALLY GREAT. PS: YOU ARE ALSO BEAUTIFUL. But I'm gonna break your heart cuz of this whole Justice deal. So. Yeah we better not." while Aelia Hawke is standing there all "....UM. KAY?"
So I think she's not interested in him...kinda maybe. Which is weird because I'd planned on not romancing Anders for a few playthroughs. BUT, Aelia has literally taken on a life of her own. I had this idea for her, originally, but actually playing her has taught me that:
A) she feels intense guilt over what happened to Bethany, and she will likely always blame herself for it
B) she is desperate to make things better between her and Carver. She hates anyone slamming him, she hates hearing how inferior he feels in comparison to her, and any time that he snaps at her, she takes it to heart
C) she will deflect pain with humor in most cases, but when it comes to her mother and brother, they always get the nicest responses
D) she values freedom in all its forms. Templars, slavers, and anyone else who might want to take someone's freedom away from them are often treated with sarcasm and epic sassing right up until she really needs to deal with them. Then she'll make it hurt.
E) she isn't blindly hating on every templar though. Her knee-jerk reaction is to, naturally, but she's managed to keep her head on her shoulders and deal with each one individually for now. But that's slipping more and more.
F) She has a ...tense friendship with Aveline, and always will. She likes and respects her, but she doesn't think that she'll ever really feel close to her.
G) But Merrill/Varric/Isabela? She adores them whole bunches :D
H) Her dog, Ebon Hawke, doesn't get taken out for walks as much as he should...so she happily brings him out at the most random times because he's a good puppy!
OKAY. AND NOW. ABOUT MY WARDEN! I imported my Dalish elf's data, and I know that a lot of people on the BSN have been complaining about the data transfer messing things up for them (ie: saying that Alistair was dead when he wasn't, that Loghain killed the archdemon when he definitely didn't, etc...), but mine seems to have gone through just fine. Every mention of her and what she did has been spot on so far, and there's been a lot of mentions. Well, okay, not A LOT, a lot, but enough to make me flail. Especially where Merrill is concerned. My favourites have been:
1) Merrill mentions to Hawke how she was the second human that Merrill had ever met. The first took away one of her clansmen, and she became the hero of Ferelden. HAHA! Yes indeedy. Duncan surely did do that.
2) Isabela comments on how she "knew" the Hero...as in...y'know...*nudge nudge*
AND SO FAR, THIS HAS BEEN MY FAVOURITE EVER AND MUCH FLAILING WAS HAS:
3) I just got a banter between Merrill and Anders that went something like:
Merrill: Varric tells me that you were a Grey Warden.
Anders: Yep~
Merrill: I'm wondering something...did you ever know a Dalish warden? Mahariel?
Anders: WELL! Now that you mention it, I do know her! :D Did you know her?
Merrill: We grew up together! I keep...wishing I could hear from her again.
Anders: Well...that's not likely going to happen. The Hero of Ferelden ~values her privacy~ lawl sry.
I just about fell over. THIS WAS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS HOPING FOR, AND I GOT IT. IT WAS LIKE...THE MOST PERFECT THING EVER! Anders, cheerfully talking about his buddy, and trolling Merrill about it a bit. Merrill, wondering what happened to her, almost longingly. I'd headcanoned that Merrill had always had a bit of a ~thing~ for my Neira Mahariel after playing that origin story. And now, nothing will convince me otherwise. XD
I don't think I could be more pleased with that banter...short of Isabela joining in and going "Wait, you both knew her too?" But Isabela mentioned her...time...with my warden already, which was ANOTHER thing I'd wanted to see, so...yeah I'm happy. REALLY. REALLY. HAPPY.
I really do need to recruit Sebastian though, to see how flirting with him works out. I was planning on waiting the entire time until I had a full crew before I worried about flirting, and that was made really easy thanks to Fenris' "GRR MAGE" disapproval of everything I do (so going to rival him this playthrough. I've given up on even trying to get him to gain friendship points XD), but then along comes Anders all "YOU REMIND ME OF MY FRIEND THE WARDEN SOMEONE! ALLOW ME TO LIST THE QUALITIES IN YOU THAT ARE REALLY GREAT. PS: YOU ARE ALSO BEAUTIFUL. But I'm gonna break your heart cuz of this whole Justice deal. So. Yeah we better not." while Aelia Hawke is standing there all "....UM. KAY?"
So I think she's not interested in him...kinda maybe. Which is weird because I'd planned on not romancing Anders for a few playthroughs. BUT, Aelia has literally taken on a life of her own. I had this idea for her, originally, but actually playing her has taught me that:
A) she feels intense guilt over what happened to Bethany, and she will likely always blame herself for it
B) she is desperate to make things better between her and Carver. She hates anyone slamming him, she hates hearing how inferior he feels in comparison to her, and any time that he snaps at her, she takes it to heart
C) she will deflect pain with humor in most cases, but when it comes to her mother and brother, they always get the nicest responses
D) she values freedom in all its forms. Templars, slavers, and anyone else who might want to take someone's freedom away from them are often treated with sarcasm and epic sassing right up until she really needs to deal with them. Then she'll make it hurt.
E) she isn't blindly hating on every templar though. Her knee-jerk reaction is to, naturally, but she's managed to keep her head on her shoulders and deal with each one individually for now. But that's slipping more and more.
F) She has a ...tense friendship with Aveline, and always will. She likes and respects her, but she doesn't think that she'll ever really feel close to her.
G) But Merrill/Varric/Isabela? She adores them whole bunches :D
H) Her dog, Ebon Hawke, doesn't get taken out for walks as much as he should...so she happily brings him out at the most random times because he's a good puppy!
OKAY. AND NOW. ABOUT MY WARDEN! I imported my Dalish elf's data, and I know that a lot of people on the BSN have been complaining about the data transfer messing things up for them (ie: saying that Alistair was dead when he wasn't, that Loghain killed the archdemon when he definitely didn't, etc...), but mine seems to have gone through just fine. Every mention of her and what she did has been spot on so far, and there's been a lot of mentions. Well, okay, not A LOT, a lot, but enough to make me flail. Especially where Merrill is concerned. My favourites have been:
1) Merrill mentions to Hawke how she was the second human that Merrill had ever met. The first took away one of her clansmen, and she became the hero of Ferelden. HAHA! Yes indeedy. Duncan surely did do that.
2) Isabela comments on how she "knew" the Hero...as in...y'know...*nudge nudge*
AND SO FAR, THIS HAS BEEN MY FAVOURITE EVER AND MUCH FLAILING WAS HAS:
3) I just got a banter between Merrill and Anders that went something like:
Merrill: Varric tells me that you were a Grey Warden.
Anders: Yep~
Merrill: I'm wondering something...did you ever know a Dalish warden? Mahariel?
Anders: WELL! Now that you mention it, I do know her! :D Did you know her?
Merrill: We grew up together! I keep...wishing I could hear from her again.
Anders: Well...that's not likely going to happen. The Hero of Ferelden ~values her privacy~ lawl sry.
I just about fell over. THIS WAS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS HOPING FOR, AND I GOT IT. IT WAS LIKE...THE MOST PERFECT THING EVER! Anders, cheerfully talking about his buddy, and trolling Merrill about it a bit. Merrill, wondering what happened to her, almost longingly. I'd headcanoned that Merrill had always had a bit of a ~thing~ for my Neira Mahariel after playing that origin story. And now, nothing will convince me otherwise. XD
I don't think I could be more pleased with that banter...short of Isabela joining in and going "Wait, you both knew her too?" But Isabela mentioned her...time...with my warden already, which was ANOTHER thing I'd wanted to see, so...yeah I'm happy. REALLY. REALLY. HAPPY.