Posted by Welcome to Dragon Age Month! I had so much fun with Mass Effect Month, and it’s not a secret I love Dragon Age even more than I love Mass Effect, so this is a match made in the Golden City. Every Monday and Friday of this month we’ll be tackling a different question, so be sure to chime in with your own answers each day this month!
Day Nine: Who is your favorite character to romance?
Sigh.
Okay, so… we’re not going to count Leliana again, right? Besides, I’ve talked about this before. So…
Day Eight: Who is your second-favorite romance?
Alright, so, besides Leliana, my favorite romance would either be Merrill or Isabela from Dragon Age II. But, upon a little more reflection, I think Merrill might edge out Isabela just a little bit, especially if I think about Merrill rival-romance character arc.
What strikes me as interesting is not that I personally like Merrill so much that I like the Merrill/f!Hawke pairing (which I’m on the fence about – I prefer Merrill/Isabela, to be honest), but that I find her story arc to be the most interesting, especially if she is a “rival” of Hawke’s.
Having played through the Dalish origin (and shipping Merrill with the Dalish Warden, even though the Warden winds up with Leliana), I have a special place in my heart for Merrill and think that, despite some of her social awkwardness, she is a solid friend to those around her. I also think that she is blinded by grief and makes some pretty poor choices after Mahariel leaves/Tamlen disappears in the original game.
As a rival of Hawke, she goes through a lot of personal growth that I think, ultimately, serves her well, and I also like the idea of someone having completely opposing viewpoints to you and still falling in love and making it work
Love isn’t easy, you know, and Merrill’s rival-mance is not an easy one to navigate. But that’s what makes it so rewarding, as well.
Although, with my most recent playthrough, my Hawke’s heart strayed away from the Dalish elf. You could say it was drawn in by a Siren’s Call….
(cough pun because it’s her ship’s name cough)
I honestly couldn’t tell you why I had such a pull toward her this go around, but there was something about her being sort of a mess, but managing to pull herself together because she wanted to be with Hawke, drew me in. My favorite parts were when she was unexpectedly vulnerable, comforting Hawke after a particularly painful character death, or being worried for her safety before the final battle, or even her trepidation at falling in love (and the reasons for that).
You can imagine my surprise when, after thinking I ruined her romance because I was playing the field a bit with Merrill (oops), it turned out that Hawke got her pirate queen after all.
What about you? What’s your favorite (or second favorite!) Dragon Age romance? What do you like about it? Let me know in the comments!
Dareth shiral,
~Athena
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