earlymorningechoes (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
earlymorningechoes) wrote2020-06-26 09:25 am
earlymorningechoes) wrote2020-06-26 09:25 am
Some Dragon Age Thoughts (as per usual)
Just some rambling! Mostly about my own OCs.
I’m really enjoying working on non-protagonist OCs. I love my Nainsí Tabris and my Esther Hawke very very deeply, but they’re constrained by the required competency of “being the protagonist of an adventure story.” Nainsí especially has to be at least somewhat competent as a leader, if I don’t want to completely rewrite her story of being Warden-Commander and all that jazz. Esther not so much, because the story really is that Hawke wasn’t able to fix everything, but she’s still constrained more by the limits of her place in the overall story.
Not so with non-protagonist OCs. Right now I’m focusing on Amelie Trevelyan and Mereid Surana - I’m keeping the defined last names that they got when I thought they’d be another Inquisitor and Warden respectively, but other than that their stories are completely different from what the canon gives.
Mereid is from Denerim originally, and knew Nainsí when they were growing up (she’s about...five years younger, I think?). When her magic manifested, her parents worked with other mages in the alienage to start teaching her without sending her to the Circle (I refuse to believe city elves have the same relationship to mages as humans do). But a few years later, there were riots in the city (I haven’t decided why or where or anything), but templars were sent in and discovered her. She was taken to Kinloch Hold, and lived there until Broken Circle, when Nainsí pretended to conscript her to get her out. She was always in trouble for being too outspoken to the templars and the First Enchanter, and they weren’t really upset to see her go.
Morrigan teaches her to shapeshifter. Then she’s taken to the Mages’ Collective, who help her adjust to living outside the Circle again. Some time later, she either gets caught again or is sent by the Collective to infiltrate a Circle. She’s sent to Ostwick, where she meets Amelie.
Amelie is from a noble family in Hasmal. She was an accidental baby - her two siblings, Jane and Stuart, are much older than she is. She never really fit into her family, preferring books and staying indoors to hunting and other outdoor stuff. She’s also very emotional, and her family never knew what to do with her “outbursts” (meltdowns). Her magic actually manifested during a meltdown while she was frustrated at a tutor and cast Mind Blast to get him to leave her alone. She was promptly packed off to the Hasmal Circle, where she finally fit in at least a little bit because everyone was more interested in books and learning and there was a very specific structure that she was able to learn and thrive with. She started to make friends, but she could be very volatile and lash out at even templars when she wasn’t paying attention.
After having a bad falling-out with other mages, she was transferred to the Ostwick Circle. Ostwick was more lenient than Hasmal, but after losing her home and familiarity a second time, Amelie became a lot more withdrawn and retiring. She’s always afraid of doing something wrong, and very aware of all the rules that they’re supposed to follow.
Enter Mereid, once she’s transferred to Ostwick. Very outspoken, stands up to templars no matter what, makes Amelie feel like she’s going to bring more fear down on the rest of the mages’ heads. They do not get along at first, arguing all the time about magic and rules and everything else under the sun. But they start to see little things that make them think - Amelie notices that Mereid goes out of her way to be kind to the Tranquil mages in the Tower, and Mereid notices that Amelie May not stand up vocally to the templars but she always hangs around to make whoever’s being dressed down feel less alone. Little things.
Then the world falls apart. Kirkwall rebels, and two years later so does the White Spire. I’m not entirely sure what happens in the interim between the White Spire in 9:39 (my timeline) and the Conclave in 9:41, but somehow most of the Ostwick mages stay together. When the Conclave comes up, they both end up in the Ostwick delegation to go. But they’re delayed, so they aren’t actually at the Conclave yet when the explosion and the Breach happen. They’re able to fight their way through to Haven afterward, and join the Inquisition because there’s nowhere else to go.
Mereid becomes a researcher with Minaeve, and once they’re in Skyhold, Amelie becomes the head archivist. They finally start to realize they’re friends, and then also that they’ve both got romantic feelings for each other - and then that they actually both have romantic feelings for Leliana, too.
So! My first real in-depth non-DA-protagonist OCs. I love them deeply, and I can’t wait to keep writing more about them!
I’m really enjoying working on non-protagonist OCs. I love my Nainsí Tabris and my Esther Hawke very very deeply, but they’re constrained by the required competency of “being the protagonist of an adventure story.” Nainsí especially has to be at least somewhat competent as a leader, if I don’t want to completely rewrite her story of being Warden-Commander and all that jazz. Esther not so much, because the story really is that Hawke wasn’t able to fix everything, but she’s still constrained more by the limits of her place in the overall story.
Not so with non-protagonist OCs. Right now I’m focusing on Amelie Trevelyan and Mereid Surana - I’m keeping the defined last names that they got when I thought they’d be another Inquisitor and Warden respectively, but other than that their stories are completely different from what the canon gives.
Mereid is from Denerim originally, and knew Nainsí when they were growing up (she’s about...five years younger, I think?). When her magic manifested, her parents worked with other mages in the alienage to start teaching her without sending her to the Circle (I refuse to believe city elves have the same relationship to mages as humans do). But a few years later, there were riots in the city (I haven’t decided why or where or anything), but templars were sent in and discovered her. She was taken to Kinloch Hold, and lived there until Broken Circle, when Nainsí pretended to conscript her to get her out. She was always in trouble for being too outspoken to the templars and the First Enchanter, and they weren’t really upset to see her go.
Morrigan teaches her to shapeshifter. Then she’s taken to the Mages’ Collective, who help her adjust to living outside the Circle again. Some time later, she either gets caught again or is sent by the Collective to infiltrate a Circle. She’s sent to Ostwick, where she meets Amelie.
Amelie is from a noble family in Hasmal. She was an accidental baby - her two siblings, Jane and Stuart, are much older than she is. She never really fit into her family, preferring books and staying indoors to hunting and other outdoor stuff. She’s also very emotional, and her family never knew what to do with her “outbursts” (meltdowns). Her magic actually manifested during a meltdown while she was frustrated at a tutor and cast Mind Blast to get him to leave her alone. She was promptly packed off to the Hasmal Circle, where she finally fit in at least a little bit because everyone was more interested in books and learning and there was a very specific structure that she was able to learn and thrive with. She started to make friends, but she could be very volatile and lash out at even templars when she wasn’t paying attention.
After having a bad falling-out with other mages, she was transferred to the Ostwick Circle. Ostwick was more lenient than Hasmal, but after losing her home and familiarity a second time, Amelie became a lot more withdrawn and retiring. She’s always afraid of doing something wrong, and very aware of all the rules that they’re supposed to follow.
Enter Mereid, once she’s transferred to Ostwick. Very outspoken, stands up to templars no matter what, makes Amelie feel like she’s going to bring more fear down on the rest of the mages’ heads. They do not get along at first, arguing all the time about magic and rules and everything else under the sun. But they start to see little things that make them think - Amelie notices that Mereid goes out of her way to be kind to the Tranquil mages in the Tower, and Mereid notices that Amelie May not stand up vocally to the templars but she always hangs around to make whoever’s being dressed down feel less alone. Little things.
Then the world falls apart. Kirkwall rebels, and two years later so does the White Spire. I’m not entirely sure what happens in the interim between the White Spire in 9:39 (my timeline) and the Conclave in 9:41, but somehow most of the Ostwick mages stay together. When the Conclave comes up, they both end up in the Ostwick delegation to go. But they’re delayed, so they aren’t actually at the Conclave yet when the explosion and the Breach happen. They’re able to fight their way through to Haven afterward, and join the Inquisition because there’s nowhere else to go.
Mereid becomes a researcher with Minaeve, and once they’re in Skyhold, Amelie becomes the head archivist. They finally start to realize they’re friends, and then also that they’ve both got romantic feelings for each other - and then that they actually both have romantic feelings for Leliana, too.
So! My first real in-depth non-DA-protagonist OCs. I love them deeply, and I can’t wait to keep writing more about them!
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