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PLAYER INFORMATION

PLAYER: Laura
ARE YOU AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD?: yep!
CONTACT: pm
CHARACTERS PLAYED: none

CHARACTER INFORMATION

NAME: Anders
CANON: Dragon Age
CANON REFERENCE: here
CANON POINT: Dragon Age 2, mid-Act 3, specifically after the quest "Check on Anders" (that is to say, pre-doing anything with explosives)
CRAU HISTORY: N/A
AGE: Mid-30s
APPEARANCE: what is this pose
CONTRACT PAYMENT: Mages' rights to govern themselves and the dissolution of the Circles.

QUESTIONNAIRE:
What does family mean to you and who do you consider a part of your family?
For Anders, family is who you choose them to be. He was an ordinary child with ordinary parents until he developed magic young, and his father wasted no time in selling him out to the templars out of fear and beliefs that mages are inherently dangerous. As such, Anders hasn't seen his biological family for decades; he can't consider people who would give away their child into the abuse of the Circle family anyway.

(But he does keep the pillow his mother made for him for those decades, so there's a sentimentality for what he lost left in him yet.)

So: Family is chosen, and Anders has chosen Hawke. And Varric. And the rest of the Kirkwall crew even if they might annoy him or he might annoy them to no possible end. Family is trust; family is loyalty; family is the inescapable fear that he will lose them again, like his mother. The first time Anders tried to pick family after being taken to the Circle he chose Karl, a fellow mage, and loved Karl until he lost Karl as well, thanks to templar abuse causing Karl to ask Anders to kill him. That's two families lost, and now he has Hawke and co. and he is terrified, often, that his actions will bring them harm. That being around him will cause Hawke grief in the end, for being a mage (and friends) who associate with him, a fugitive many times over. Family is fragile and priceless and never something he gets to keep as long as he'd like.

He's getting used to it. It hurts worse every time, and if the values of his family don't align with the values he believes in, well— he'll cut the threads himself, if he has to.

What is the most frightening thing you've ever done? What part of you did it test the most?
Every time he escaped the Circle topped the last for the most frightening things he's ever done. He first attempted as a child, not long after he arrived in the Circle, and he's been escaping over and over ever since. They've tested him in myriad ways, from his ability to be charming (so as to incur lesser punishment, when caught) to his ability to face adversity (so as to survive the punishments anyway, because there are never none) to his ability to remain stalwart in his belief that he deserves to be free, to live how he chooses. He's swum across lakes, disappeared into forests, fled into the Grey Wardens (legally allowed to claim mages away from the Circle) and then out of the Wardens later, fearful every time. Every single time he risks being killed for this attempt, or made Tranquil (magically lobotomized, fundamentally), or put into solitary confinement in the dark for a year.

So, it's been horrifying. He's learned to live looking over his shoulder but the fear still remains; daily he is put to the test to continue believing in himself and this one big ideal he has despite the fear and lack of safety. Constantly, he is tested to keep saying no to that which would own him, when really, that which would own him might be more comfortable if he'd just behave. Just knowing that much - that if he stopped, if he gave in, he might live as a prisoner but at least he'd be more superficially comfortable - tests him just as much as the threat of retribution. His fortitude is tested every day, but like, he's pretty sure he's managing quite well, this time!

What are your greatest regrets, if you have any? What would you have done differently?
Probably his biggest regret is being unable to save Karl, and more broadly, being unable to save every other mage made Tranquil by templars or ultimately killed unfairly (or both). Anders escaped the Circle without Karl, traveled to Kirkwall when Karl was moved to that Circle out of concern, and was mere moments too late to save him from being a victim of the templars. It haunts him for years afterwards; what if he had done more? Gone to Karl sooner? Spirited him away in the middle of the night? Been more aggressive in his insistence that Karl should escape with him? He thinks often about how he might have done any of these differently; anything to change what really happened, which was that he was too late.

That Karl's fate is not his fault because mages are second-class citizens to the templars occurs to him in moments of righteous rage, but he's never been able to shake the regret of being unable to save him. Karl's loss hit the closest to home (they were lovers) but is representative of the larger problem of mages Anders hasn't been able to save. He constantly wonders if more or less aggression is right, if acting sooner or waiting things out is right, and so on; the whims of the Chantry and its templars change so quickly and the mages are always the first to suffer. He wishes he could have saved Karl. He will wish it for the rest of his life. And when he remembers Karl begging him to kill him before the Tranquil treatment could take away his magic and emotions, he will always wish he'd gotten there a little bit sooner.

What is your favorite diversion? Hobbies, indulgences, vices? Would you put off important things for that diversion, or would you be more strict about how you spend your time and/or money?
He likes cats. The man loves a cute little tabby cat. He had a cat as a Warden that he was forced to give away to a friend because it was a distraction, which on the one hand isn't uncommon for Wardens, whose job is pretty serious and really cannot afford distractions, but given that Anders admits he took the cat into battle, it's safe to assume that how much he loves his pets is a little extreme. He still misses his old cat and when he learns there are bunch of feral strays in the elven slum in Kirkwall, he immediately asks if there are any tabbies; even amidst living in hiding and constant political turmoil and violence, he would like to have a dang pet cat.

The diversion, the hobby, the indulgence: taking care of cats. He would not put off important things for cats so much as, as stated, bring them with him; the line between pet caretaking and being a "dog in a baby carriage" guy is nonexistent with Anders and his cats. He even expresses fond memories of a cat in the Circle, even after it became possessed by a demon and killed several templars (possibly it was Anders who killed these templars, but it's the story he tells). Cats never fail to get him out of the funk of... the rest of his life, so: it's cats. It's about cats.
POWERS & ABILITIES: Here are his DA2 skills. Functionally, Anders is a highly competent mage who specializes in healing spells. He can repair broken bones and knit flesh back together, but he can't revive the dead. He's good with elemental (fire, ice) and primal (earth) spells and passingly competent at spirit and arcane abilities, which are the abilities that center around creating barriers, siphoning life from enemies, and so on. His personal specialization, Vengeance, ironically is a bunch of healing benefit and party buffing skills, with the additional ability to use his own life force to enhance his attack abilities.

All DA mages need mana to cast and mana needs to be consumed as a lyrium potion or regained over time, so the upper limit of his ability to cast a lot of/very strong spells is limited to how much mana he has upon arrival; per the game's overall nerf, this will be lower than usual, focusing the spellcasting area of his spells down to a smaller radius (perhaps the size of a car rather than a truck, for example). In terms of lower limits, his spells just kind of... do that. For example: his healing spell can heal a papercut, if he likes, and his elemental ice skill could cool a drink, if he wanted to.

The Tricky Bit with Anders is Justice, the spirit he's taken into himself. Justice is not a separate being anymore, by Anders' own admission; their thoughts are the same, even if Anders thinks he can sometimes feel the spirit's influence. Justice's presence in the video game manifests as a glow around Anders' body and eyes, and a noticeable uptick in his ability to cast strong magic; however, for the convenience of the RP game, Justice's glowy manifestation will be totally nerfed behind that regain "paywall" per the clan's blessing. Justice will still be part of Anders, because they've fused and cannot be separated, but Anders' temper flaring will not lead to a power boost that the spirit part of him would have originally provided.

One last thing: he is also a Grey Warden, which has no real bearing on anything in-game as its only contributions are a sixth sense for fellow Wardens or darkspawn, boosted stamina, and nightmares. The stamina part is notable but nothing wildly superhuman.

SUITABILITY: Anders is an adult who lives in the lowest slums (basically the sewers) of Kirkwall, canonically. He's been exposed to violence and abuse in the Circle since he was twelve and taken from his mother, so he's well used to all of that kind of suffering. Poverty, crime, and the threat of undue retribution from the local authorities are always present in his life and the lives around him, particularly those he heals in the slums who are the most desperate of the desperate. As for drugs and sex, he's been to both shady taverns and brothels before; these, also, are not new or particularly offensive to him. The biggest shock to the system will be all of the modern technology, actually, because Kirkwall is very ye olde and still burns candles for light.

FACTION SUITABILITY:
Shuten: In terms of strength/might makes right philosophies, Anders isn't a fan for perhaps the obvious reasons - might makes right let the Chantry steamroll over his whole life, after all. He wouldn't be entirely comfortable with that, or with the more boisterous, in-your-face nature of the Shuten, but he does respect and appreciate the dedication to using power to provide for the community. The responsibility Shuten feels for the people's welfare is a good stance to take, in his opinion, and if he were involved with Shuten he would dedicate himself to this part, the community service part. Local on-the-down-low doctor for the needy, and so on.

Tamamo: Philosophically, this is the clan that suits Anders the best, purely for the ideology of freedom and expression above all else. Libertarian vice and indulgence don't bother him, but they're outside what he's usually experienced and make him kind of uncomfortable in such high doses; he always likes to have a back exit in case the indulgence and the safety of freedom is not actually free or safe. That paranoia aside, the Tamamo drive to attain freedom and personal expression speaks directly to what Anders has wanted his whole life, that is, to be allowed to exist as a free mage and express his magic without being persecuted for it. This is his life's purpose, he's written manifestos about the rights of mages to freely exist and self-govern without being literally controlled prisoners and second-class citizens. There's a law in the Thedas Chantry that allows templars to kill mages at will, if they believe a mage to be unsafe; Anders has been fighting the long fight for a while.

So! Tamamo believes in freedom, ergo, Anders believes in Tamamo. He doesn't necessarily believe that power is the path to freedom, because he's spent equally long trying to convince anti-mage forces that mages aren't all power-hungry monsters, but he's just about reached a point in his life where he's willing to reconsider previously dismissed options. Like power. Not having to hide one's true self matters the most to the Tamamo and it matters the most to Anders; he's here for it, he can support this kind of group without having to question himself repeatedly. As for literal services, well, entertainers also need a doctor? He tends to keep to the behind the scenes areas, but if his magic is useful in aiding Tamamo needs outside of just healing, he'd be willing to provide.

Sutoku: A close second place to Tamamo for Anders would be the Sutoku. He doesn't prioritize intelligence-gathering besides the kind that will protect himself and others like him; knowledge that can keep his people safe is the most useful kind, and that's a philosophy he can get behind. Beyond that, the Sutoku's belief in a more egalitarian ruling system appeals way beyond something like the Enma or the Shuten's might makes right, because— he's been through (basically) Cops and he's been through the strong walking all over the weak. He believes people should be allowed to rule themselves with fair representation, such as the mages, again! Mages should be allowed to self-govern! Without the class disparity that exists inherently in the typical Chantry-based and nobility-based system in most parts of Thedas. Anders has a lot of concern for the downtrodden and the oppressed, and Sutoku's desire to rule the people to their benefit, and not simply To Rule, does appeal to him.

Broadly, Sutoku's value of equality among groups appeals to Anders philosophically slightly to the left of Tamamo's preference for individualism and personal freedom. He sees the value in having solidarity not only in a group, but as a group among groups. He isn't completely okay with secrets and blackmail being the main form of threat posed by the Sutoku, given it would remind him of being turned in for being a mage, but - despite this, he's got a sneaky side. He knows how to live under the radar and to learn other people's secrets, how to move information and people in secret, etc.

Enma: He straight up wouldn't agree to work for any kind of official city guard/authority like this because he has so many overt problems with big Powers That Be authority groups. The Enma's additional insistence that the system is correct because it's the system and need not ever be examined further is definitely a hot-button thing for him that would set him off, so: he would not cooperate with these people. He'd rather be arrested. That kind of authority/way the organization is run is way too close to the templars and the Chantry, that is, considering themselves absolute; he Cannot.

SAMPLES
two threads on the tdm