The Problem with Politics - Let's Play Dragon Age II

Dear Hubert,



Love, Hawke

That gif is amazing.

I love how Isabela's not even being sarcastic when you suggest using her as bait for Castillon: she's genuinely impressed with your ingenuity!

Well, as Hawke mentions, she thoroughly enjoys it. Izzy is not one to shy from a bit of S+M play!
I remember during my first playthrough, when she came up to me with the quest and Aveline was all like 'suck it up, bitch', I was thinking "Could this be, possibly, just maybe, a choice that affects anything?? Oh god, I don't know if I can handle the stress!" and then decided to help Izzy for the simple reason that helping her had the green, 'accept quest' mark, and helping Aveline first had the red, 'refuse quest' mark, so I figured the game wants me to take the quest. I had no idea it actually changes anything substantial till my second run. My first run is usually magical like that - I don't know if I have good instincts, the favor of The Lady, or just played so many RPGs I can spot the tropes without even realizing it.

Helping Izzy was one of the few things Brianna managed to do right. One of the very few.

Zevran <3

I'm really ridiculously fond of him.

I really didn't think I'd like him back when he was introduced in DAO, but he does grow on you, even though you sometimes have to take some REALLY weird options for max approval. *sigh* None of them let me be myself except for Sten and Shale*... Oh, and the dog. Dog will always love us.

*Blatant lies. Leliana, Wynne and Alistair.

I don't recall really having that many problems gaining approval with Zevran, actually. It always seemed to me that he was pretty much cool with whatever I did as long as it didn't involve slavery or getting him killed.

Although romancing him did make things a lot more complicated.

It was mostly he was pretty set on being agreed with in conversation - the one I was thinking of was him wanting me to say "Yes, I really enjoy killing people and watch the life ebb out of their eyes." which isn't true for most of my Wardens, Vaughnn excempted one thousand goddamn times. He isn't as bad as Morrigan where I felt like my Warden had to have at least one split personality when she carted between Morrigan and Alistair to talk about how mages should be in the Circle/unleashed. With Zevran at least you normally only had to listen to his crazy stories XD

Oh, Stars is coming in TAC on the TV. Brb, gushing.

And now, banter:

Merrill: Have I ever mentioned I like your coat?
Anders: You do?
Merrill: It's very lively! Like a crow in the middle of anting!
Anders: That's.... that's great. Thanks, Merrill...
Isabela: I wouldn't have called them "lively." Bedraggled, maybe. Or just... fluffy.
Anders: You're not helping!

Merrill: Your master must have been a terrible man, to make you hate mages so.
Fenris: He was, now he's dead.
Merrill: We're not all like him.
Fenris: How often I hear that, and yet, how often I find it's not true.
Merrill: The Keepers are different. They exist to preserve the old ways, and to protect our people.
Fenris: And none of them would ever fall prey to a demon. Or perform blood magic.
Merrill: It's impossible to talk to you!

Merrill: Do you think you'll leave Kirkwall someday?
Isabela: Of course I will! As soon as I get myself a ship, I'm sailing wherever the sea takes me.
Merrill: I'll miss you. You'll write to me, won't you? Do pirates write letters?
Isabela: Badly. Hook hands make for awful pennmanship, Kitten.

Merrill: I've always wondered; how do your Divines choose their names?
Sebastian: They write all the best sacred names on slips of paper and stuff them in a miter. Then the newly elected Divine picks a name out of the hat.
Merrill: What if she picks a name she doesn't like? Does she have to keep it?
Sebastian: Of course she does! How do you think we got four Divines named Hortensia?

Merrill: You should have this back.
Varric: Twine? When did I loan you a ball of twine?
Merrill: You gave it to me when I first moved here when I kept getting lost in Lowtown. It drove the merchants in the market completely batty, but it did help me find my way.
Varric: Keep it, Daisy.
Merrill: I don't think I'll be getting lost again anytime soon.
Varric: You never know. You might need to tie a package up, hang a lantern, dress a roast chicken. It's multipurpose.

Anders: I suppose you're just thrilled how the knight-commander's basically stepped into the viscount's seat?
Aveline: She can't stall the process forever. It's not her place. Leaving the viscount's seat empty will just tempt people to fight for it. It will cause more trouble than it prevents.
Anders: Well. You've got a brain in there after all! I was convinced that headband was to keep it from falling out...

Shut up, Anders.

Anders: I can't believe you're still not taking sides.
Isabela: I told you, I only like to be on top...
Anders: I mean against the templars! You like freedom, right? You hate slavery. Why wouldn't you side with the mages?
Isabela: Maybe I just don't like you.

Only because he's, you know, got a point.

I say it every time but I still love that Sebastian has this much of a sense of humor about these things.

Also, geez, shut up, Anders. When even Isabela is this sick of hearing it, you know you're doing something wrong.

Sebastian has the greatest sense of humour. It's really the best part of his characterization.

Izzy is a fantastic actress.

Also, ZEVRAN. Another reason to romance Isabela: if I remember correctly, you can join in!

Zevran and Isabela are really closely tied for my favorite love interests.

You can indeed!

Hawkes may or may not have done this on my watch in the past.

Yep! Although I confess I was more amused by how quickly a romanced Fenris shuts down Zevran's flirting with Hawke if he's present for it. I recall there being an undertone of "not if you want to keep all your limbs."

Okay, there we go, update is full. That browser freezing is really a pain in the ass, but at least I figured out the warning signs so I can hit send before it goes wrong entirely.

This concludes Isabela's questline, just as we have concluded Fenris' having done the act companion quest and the upon following Questioning Beliefs. This is also a good showcase for how the rivalry system works, because Isabela would not have felt a sense of pride as she did here sacrificing what she wanted to save others from Castillion again if we hadn't spent six years encouraging her to be more selfless. In the Friend path, she is pretty pissed if you kill Castillion and will be exuberant if you let her have the ship. It's a small hint to something that permeats the game - generally consistency in choice is 'rewarded' in these small ways.

Tomorrow, we will be doing Justice* and Gamlen's Greatest Treasure, or at least parts of the latter because I hate one quest and adores the other, so it's a nice counter-balance.

*Anders' Act 3 quest.

Current gameplay report:

Anders: We still need the drakestone from the Bone Pit.
Me: WHEN I AM GOOD AND READY, JERKASS.

I should mention this cold is making me a bit ornery. Point of this post is something else.

I remember waaaaay back there were talks about what happens if you complete all the nightly bandit attack quests, and since I just finished it as part of my behind-the-scenes-must-do-every-quest syndrome, here's the parting remark from A Friend.



After she hands you an epic quality axe, 6 gold and so much XP that first Hawke and Aveline levelled up and then, upon the other batch after line here, everyone else. And then she leaves. So that's a thing.

I wonder what sort of role the Friends of Red Jenny will play in DA3. They've shown up in minor quests in both DA:O and DA2...

I hope to God, the Maker and various others they turn out to be good people for the sake of Joyce's conscience.

Justice and Gamlen's Treasure will see you do a LOT of running, and as such, banter is a guarantee. Lots of it.

Isabela: How's marriage been treating you, big girl?
Aveline: It's been good. No, great. I'd forgotten what it was like to...
Isabela: Be flipped ass over tits and hammered like a bent nail?
Aveline: To. Be. Loved...
Isabela: Oh. Right, of course.
Aveline: Not that I'm complaining about the other thing...

Anders: I can't imagine what Hawke sees in you.
Fenris: It is done. Leave it be.
Anders: Well, good. I always knew she had some sense.
Fenris: Do not make light of this. Leaving was the hardest thing I've ever done.

Classy, Anders. You ass.

Anders: I don't know how you live the way you do, blithely ignoring the consequences of your actions...
Isabela: This is about the Qunari thing, isn't it? I'm not ignoring it. I just recognize that it happened years ago. There's this fantastic thing called "moving on." You should try it sometime.
Anders: Has it occurred to you that Kirkwall is only just recovering from the Qunari attack?
Isabela: And you want me to... what? Flog myself daily? Has it occurred to you that maybe there's no justice in the world? Other than that voice you keep in your head.

Anders: There is justice in the world.
Isabela: Is there? You want to free the mages. Let's say you do, but to get there, you kill a bunch of innocent people. What about them? Don't they then deserve justice?
Anders: Yes.
Isabela: And then what? Where does it end? It's like a bar brawl. People are continuously pulled into the fray, and nobody remembers why it started. Justice is an idea. It makes sense in a world of ideas, but not in our world.

Izzy = Smartest character in the game.

Varric: You've been glowering for days. Your face is going to get stuck that way.
Anders: My face is the least of my concerns right now!
Varric: That's because you don't have to look at it. If you could see it from this angle, Blondie, it'd be at least a close second on your priority list.

Varric: So, the knight-commander... Boiling in oil? That one never gets old.
Anders: This is past time for joking.
Varric: I'm helping you indulge in elaborate revenge fantasies. I think it's good for you.
Anders: Meredith will die. Do not doubt that.
Varric: Oh, go away, Justice. Can Anders come out and play?
Anders: Stop...
Varric: You are no fun anymore.

Sebastian: You know, when I return to Starkhaven you're welcome to come with me.
Fenris: And do what, exactly?
Sebastian: You're a fine warrior. If you could train men to fight like you do, we'd be unstoppable.
Fenris: I'm no leader, and I doubt humans would want me training them.
Sebastian: Then why not train elves? I bet there's plenty who would admire all you've accomplished.
Fenris: I... haven't accomplished anything.
Sebastian: No? You are your own man, living as you see fit—you give yourself too little credit.
Fenris: You are being kind.
Sebastian: Not at all. Think about it.

Sebastian really can be the greatest sometimes. If he would stop trying to seduce my man.

Sebastian: I saw you at the Chantry last week, Fenris, but I haven't seen you back since.
Fenris: I was only delivering something: you needn't concern yourself.
Sebastian: But you were praying. Or was that part of the delivery?
Fenris: I was... trying to blend in.
Sebastian: *Laugh* Oh, yes! You wouldn't want to ruin your reputation.
Fenris: Don't you have a city to re-conquer...?

Varric: So...you and Hawke?
Fenris: What about us?
Varric: I want to make sure I get all the details right when I tell this story. Did you sweep her off her feet or was it the other way around?
Fenris: I'm not telling you anything but this: There was no actual sweeping involved.
Varric: Every little bit helps, elf...

Varric: I've heard rumors about Starkhaven, you know. They say you eat the dead up there. And murder strangers in the street.
Sebastian: Why do I suspect that when you say you've "heard" rumors, you mean you've invented some?
Varric: Six of one, half-dozen of another...

160 screenshots. I think I will need to divide this out a bit, but for now, here's the first batch.

I never had that problem that Zevran, we were always pretty cool. And I give all the gifts to Morrigan because Jewelry! XD

Not much pissed, just her generic "You are right as always so there" she just doesn't think about changing. The usual Isabela XD

That will be really interesting, because all the quests were strange, so I'd love to see how they turn out.

It's too late for that. Poor Choir Boy, his only chance is when Hawke is romacing Isabela.

Imgur is being a monumental pain in the ass. Seems I'll have to do this a bit more fragmented than usual.

DAMMIT ANDERS.

Luckily, he's QUITE willing to make it even worse!

GODDAMIT ANDERS. Even my first Hawke end up playing at "Who yell louder wins". Just, goddamit. I hate this part.

Also, I tought he was jealous of Fenris or Merrill only if I flirted with him in Act 1...goddamit Anders >_>

I like Merrill tale too. That's why I kinda believe that the Dread Wolf is the Maker.

Aye. Anders almost throws himself at you, then picks at your choice of romance, then tries to blackmail you in that quest. I had a pretty ":I" face too when I tried out the "Disagree then disagree" path of that dialogue. I didn't know he'd throw the romance at you too. Ouch.
There's a bunch of "DAMNIT ANDERS" in this game it feels like! Haha.

... I did like the play-through where I took both Anders, Fenris and Merrill with me, though.. ALL THE ARGUEMENTS.

When I romanced him he punched me right in the feelings by saying "I TOLD YOU I WAS DANGEROUS WHY YOU DIDN'T LISTEN" during this part. It was worse when I was his friend however, because GODDAMIT ANDERS, I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS.
I rivalmanced him, so I thought "Well, ok, makes sense" but as a friend just sucks.

I love having Fenris, Anders and Varric in the same party... but no Merrill, poor girl.

This is actually brilliant and would make so much sense!

My only fan theory was about how Flemeth is actually an Old God, though I can't remember how that went exactly right now. Dumar, I think, because the altar still works in Legacy, and... right, because I couldn't see how the Wardens could have had all of their Warden powers when he was slain because the ritual needs a drop of preserved blood from an Archdemon or something, so he could have reincarnated like Urthemiel presumably does into Morrigan's baby.

I love the arguments, I admit blankly XD

Anders can be such a jerkass, though. He has his redeeming moments and I think sans Justice he is probably the most considerate of the LIs (unlike Fenris he seems to have actually worried when the city is under attack and he doesn't know where you are) but being they're a package deal... Act 3 Anders is a chore to deal with.

IMGUR, KINDLY STOP BEING SUCH A MONUMENTAL PAIN IN THE ASS.

Fucking Anders.

Fucking. Anders.

Finally! That was all twenty pictures at once! Now watch the browser lock up on me. It's like it knew I hate the Justice quest and wants me to go through reliving it slowly.

I don't know what it is, but I just can't load your images reliably any more. Even refreshing has stopped helping. :/