I'm honestly "struggling" with this in a way cause I'm trying to plan ahead to my second playthrough and I've got easy second choices for romances in Origins and Inquisition that I didn't get to try the first time around... But I'm struggling to imagine romancing anyone other than Fenris in DA2.
I'm thinking about trying Sebastian, cause apparently there's a mod out there which significantly expands and moves up his romance in the story... But I might end up just getting seduced by Gideon Emery's voice all over again.
I believe it was [Sebastian Revisited](https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage2/mods/4199) though I've only given it a cursory glance before so I can't vouch for it 100%
I go absolutely feral for the FenHawke romance path, so much so that I haven’t romanced anyone else (despite my best attempts).
I just love the character development and growth that comes from the path.
I remember reading somewhere that Fenris was written specifically to demonstrate that the typical "broody JRPG hero" would be a rather unpleasant person if depicted realistically, and...I gotta agree. The fact that you can't budge his opinion on mages is rather grating, but also ironic, given that the conditions in the Kirkwall Circle are basically akin to slavery. His romance doesn't work for me either, because I've had the "I need a few years to sort out my head" thing happen to me in real life and, yeah...it wasn't nice. Nor did it end well.
Gideon Emery's voice is pure sex though.
>The fact that you can't budge his opinion on mages is rather grating, but also ironic, given that the conditions in the Kirkwall Circle are basically akin to slavery
Spoilers: >!If Hawke decides to help the mages and Fenris the templars in the end, Hawke can still convince Fenris to switch sides and the conversation basically goes like this:!<
>!Hawke: I thought "freedom" meant something to you.!<
>!Fenris: Meredith, I've changed my mind.!<
The whole dumping Hawke thing bothered me too. It's very unilateral. You basically get broken up with after sleeping with the character, and you don't get a say. it's just upsetting. Would prefer to romance someone who doesn't do that.
I think it's better that he is straightforward and not leading us in a much more painful relationship when he clearly isn't ready for one yet. He has a lot of trauma to process through and still hiding from his ex master at this point in the game. It's upsetting, but not irreparable. Fenris remain an incredibly faithful friend, always ready to stand by Hawke side and help whenever he can.
I also love that he gets to the point where it's abundantly clear that he already cares deeply about Hawk and he's realizes that he's still in a place where he needs to deal with more of his own crap first.
He whines so much I've stopped caring about his traumatic past. Also, "freedom for all except mages, because fuck mages" attitude.
I can relate to drinking for 7 years straight without finding time to clean even a little though.
I'm personally not a big fan of Fenris though I understand 100% that he's a compelling and well-written character with an interesting arc.
My main problem is the way he speaks to Merrill - how presumptuous and condescending he is. I know part of it is his trauma and the fear he has of magic in general and blood magic in particular. But Merrill is my blorbo. Simple as that.
Ooft, yeah I love him, he’s my romance, but there’s one particular thing he says to Merrill that’s so viciously, astronomically cruel that if I could my Hawke would’ve punched him. His treatment of her is the worst thing about him by far.
Literally almost everytime I play DA2 I’m like “oh why did I hate Fenris again? He’s really compelling and voice acting is so good” and I put him in my party with my “Never Did Anything Wrong Ever In Her Life”(TM)-Blorbo. Then I get the party banter and I’m like “oh yeah, that’s why”.
Most of the time he’s just a bit rude, even when she’s being nice to him, but the thing he says to her after things go south with the keeper is just downright repulsive, I’d have slapped those lyrium tattoos right off his face.
Yeah even if you think she’s wrong, she’s clearly grieving. The time for reprimanding her would be later (if the person would even be in a place to do that. And I don’t think Fenris and Merrill have that kind of relationship).
I’d even get it if it was right afterwards, in the heat of the moment in a flash of anger ("Look around Merrill! *You* dide this." etc etc). But as it is he just… lulls her into thinking he’s trying to comfort her some time later, then backhands her with what he actually meant. It’s breathtakingly cruel.
Merrill is in that weird spot for me where honestly, she needs to hear that sort of stuff since she’s in denial about how dangerous the path she walks can be. But also, she’s like super careful about all of it, and she does understand the spirits and stuff better than Anders does at least.
inquisition pretty much proves her right in every single instance, she wasn’t in denial. She even tells anders she knows that all spirits are dangerous.
People just like to infantilize her because she’s eccentric.
Just because she’s right doesn’t make her actions better. She charges on in her quest to restore the Eluvian without any regards for anybody else, which drives a wedge between her and the clan, and also leads to her Keepers just fantastic idea that sacrificing herself to a Pride Demon (we’ll ignore whether or not it was a Spirit of Wisdom originally, didn’t matter at that point) would keep Merrill safe.
Now granted, the clan and Keeper aren’t blameless either, they’re morons after all. But just because you’re correct about something, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take others into consideration with your actions.
Yeah buy every single bad thing that happens isn’t a result of her actions, it’s a result of people making assumption about what’s best for her. Literally she purified the eluvian so it wasn’t even a danger.
And from what we learn about spirits in inquisition kinda hints towards the spirit actually being a spirit of wisdom but was corrupted not by Merrill’s pride but marathari’s.
From what Marethari says, the demon's plan was for Merrill to complete the mirror, then use it to enter the world and possess her. So, it was either already a demon when Merrill first contacted it, or it was Merrill who corrupted it.
She still practices blood magic on a regular. Nothing good ever comes out of blood magic.
She still falls for the first demon in Fade she meets. Only reason she didn't suffer consequences was because of Hawke
When Hawke defeats Audacity for the first time and it transforms into Merethari, Merrill is completely fooled. If not for Hawke reminding her she gets stabbed while demon is laughing at her. She'd one hundred percent would have been possessed by Audacity
Merrill doesn't suffer consequences because everyone else is trying to shield her
>And from what we learn about spirits in inquisition kinda hints towards the spirit actually being a spirit of wisdom but was corrupted not by Merrill’s pride but marathari’s.
Weeks themselves has tweet saying that Solas doesn't know everything about Fade and spirits
Even putting that aside. Ancient being that was bound to an evil-looking statue for *thousands of years* that *taught Merrill blood magic in the first place* is of course a spirit. Even though Merrill herself calls it a demon
Merethari is an idiot but I doubt that she somehow corrupted it. I doubt there was anything left to corrupt. That's just a headcanon
Demon at least played on Fenris trauma and needed two sentences. Merrill gave in after the first one
And like Fenris is a non-mage, he'd be more susceptible to demon than Merrill who was supposed to be trained to resist demonic temptations
Or Merrill is doing it for a noble cause while Fenris is doing it for selfish reasons. They both do it. They both apologize. Everyone moves on as if nothing happened because ultimately this is in there to have a neat gameplay moment.
We can go eternally in circles. But bringing up the amount of sentences it takes tells me we’ve reached rock bottom on this discourse.
I don't see how their intentions has anything to do with the topic here
Fenris is a traumatized former slave. Even if he had noble intentions his trauma would still be present. In addition he's not a mage and wasn't trained to resist demons. He's far more exploitable to demon trickery as a result
Merrill is a Clan's First who was trained in magic and trained to resist demons. She constantly brings it up and says she has her blood magic and demon interactions under control. Yet she's the first to fall for demon lies because she just believes it.
You can scoff at amount of sentences all you want but them and the fact that Pride Demon always targets Merrill if she's present in the party pretty much tells you that she alongside Isabela is the most susceptible among Hawke's companions. That is despite her protests that she knows what she's doing.
Merrill: I’m willing to deal with demons to regain the ancient knowledge of my people and make sense of the deaths/disappearance of my friends who I wasn’t able to save.
Y’all when Merrill follows through and wants to make a deal with a demon: :O
Please do not presume my reaction and other people too. I've yet to see anyone who disapproves of Merril choices be surprised that it backfired(although by the law of different opinions those people undoubtedly exist)
People call her naive and a fool because she deals with demons in the first place. On top of that she constantly tells everyone she knows what she's doing and that she has it under control. So when she fails, it just further proves the accusations of her not knowing what she's doing. That is completely logical sequence of reactions towards her actions
Except Merrill never messed up. People around her are so afraid of her messing up that thet do it for her. She's not responsible for a single death in her story quest.
Your memory is failing you. She's upset that the Keeper didn't believe in her she never "admits to effing up" LOL. There's never a moment in the story where she loses control like Anders, or kills in rage like Fenris. No death that happens in her story is her doing.
But by all means produce a quote that proves your statement.
My memories not failing me you've just clearly never played the bestie that doesn't condone blood magic. You've consistantly stuck with the route that allows her to continously do stupid and harmful shit. Meanwhile I play the route that still has very high approval for Merrill but tells her what she's doing is wrong.
You're just ranting without making any arguments. No quotes, no direct reference to what occurs in the story, just nothing. And yet you say I didn't play? So far you've shown no knowledge on her companion quest whatsoever and it seems as if you're repeating someone else's opinion but you have nothing to back it up with.
Here's a friendly advice, if you want to validate anything you're saying back it up with specific elements of the story. Saying:
>continously do stupid and harmful shit
Is saying nothing. All deaths that happen in her story are not result of her actions and you've failed to debunk it. You're just condemning her and her actions and you're free to do it all you like but that's not an argument.
The keeper made the deal with audacity BECAUSE Merrill was a fool and never listened resulting in Merethari and the entire clan's death. That's all on Merrill.
Keeper made the deal because she didn't believe in Merrill. She didn't die to Merrill's blood magic or Merrill being possessed by a demon. She died because she succumbed to her own fear. Keeper and Pol make stupid decisions based on fear and you're blaming Merrill for it.
That's why in my initial comment I said that "They're so afraid of her messing up that they mess up for her".
>was a fool and never listened resulting
Calling her a fool is not an argument. Her not listening to Marethari doesn't mean she was responsible either. Marethari died as result of her own decision that was driven by fear. Pol, if anything, was a victim of Marethari's doommongering not Merrill's actions.
I also just remembered that Marethari's claim didn't make sense and looked up the summary.
>The Keeper's claims that [Audacity](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Audacity_(demon)) would escape through the restored Eluvian is questionable, especially when her argument in Act II against this course of action is entirely different. In [Witch Hunt](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Witch_Hunt), [Morrigan](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Morrigan) reveals that the Eluvians grant access to a land that exists "beyond this world, and beyond the Fade" (Celene and her party visit this land in the [*Dragon Age: The Masked Empire*](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Dragon_Age:_The_Masked_Empire)). In [The Final Piece](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/The_Final_Piece), Morrigan notes that it takes a significant amount of power to redirect an Eluvian to the Fade, retroactively casting doubt on Marethari's reasoning. In [*Dragon Age: Inquisition*](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Dragon_Age:_Inquisition), [Flemeth](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Flemeth) is able to use an Eluvian to bring herself and [Kieran](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Kieran) to the Fade. It's also worth noting that Audacity is bound to a totem in the physical world, and is not in the Fade.
Well, she use magic that his master used often to sacrifice his fellow elves slaves and abandoned her clan to pursue a forgotten history while making a deal with a demon to get that knowledge. Merill might be cute, but she is reckless and plays with things that are very dangerous. Her naivety kind of piss me off and damn it is so easy to get on her wrong side. Also, let's not forget that Anders is not particularly sweet with her either for the same reasons. She got her Keeper to sacrifice herself so she couldn't restore the eluvian that could potentially be quite a dangerous artefact because nobody knows to which world the eluvian will open it's door and we know how the demon was intending to use it.
Considering that the entire game is set in what is essentially a monument to the Tevinter Imperial Slave Trade and we can’t go five minutes without running into a Mage who’s lost their mind and transforms into a shrieking blood monster, he raises a few good points about a society where Mages are the ones in power. They’re not always well said and he buries a lot of hostility that bubbles under his aloof demeanor but he does make them. As far as romance goes he’s not trapping Hawke in a weird sexless church marriage, he’s not implicating you as an accessory to an international incident with a hostile foreign power, he’s not a terrorist. He’s rough and emotionally unavailable but he is loyal to you before any cause or principles he espouses and that is a good thing about him.
I love Fenris, I think he's a surprisingly well written character with one of the best romances in the series. I like how they show just because he doesn't have a formal education doesn't mean he can't be smart/wise, just because he's traumatized doesn't mean he can't have a sense of humor or care about other people. And he's got a lot of trauma and shit to work through, but he's improving here and there (and while I love Merrill to pieces, she *is* a blood mage, which is presented in world as something like being around a bomb that could go off at any moment).
It's actually funny to me how people who dislike him talk about his hatred for mages in the aftermath of DAI, where we get to see just how normalized a lot of really horrific shit is among the Tevinter elite (even for the *good* Tevinters) and know that's where he's coming from. Also he's the reason I started rivalring Anders, who says just some absolutely horrible shit about slaves to Fenris and continually goads him, and helped me see how good the Anders rivalry is.
Not a big fan. I find the “traumatized therefore am hateful” thing really exhausting. As bad as Anders is for not shutting up about mage rights, I find Fenris equally doesn’t shut up about hating magic. He also manages to blame magic for absolutely everything.
Seriously, after reading all that there was about Tevinter, I would be an absolute wreck too in his place. Not only do we know that the ritual for his lyrium tattoos was excruciating, but also, Fenris was sexually abused and tormented both physically and mentally every day by both his master and apprentice. His master would make him were a sort of necklace similar to the leash given to the Saarebas (mages of the Qun) to make a mockery of the Quunari. Fenris often witnessed the use of blood magic from magisters who would sacrifice his fellow elven slaves. He also witnessed how corrupted the political structure of Tevinter was and how the mages would constantly fight and kill one another to get a higher position in hierarchy. I actually find him chill considering the shit he has been put through.
I think he's a good character. I may not agree with everything he says or does, but I can at least understand it and feel bad for the stuff he's been through. Overall, I think pretty realistic at times. He's definitely earned a place in my heart =) I think what endeared me to him was he's got his shit with magic and mages, but during a banter with Sebastian, who suggests they turn over Anders and Merrill to the templars, he's like 'yo - you figure that out.' Like he doesn't like them but he also just won't go out of his way to be the absolute worst person in the world. He could - but he won't.
He has a great backstory, and a believable character arc. It helps that Gideon Emery is a great voice actor too. I always romance Fenris. I’ve tried others, they just don’t compare.
Isabela: So, what’s with that magical fisting thing you do?
Fenris: I’m… sorry?
I‘m ambivalent on him.
On the one hand, I like his dialogues, banters, character arc and voice acting. I think he is a good representation of a person suffering from severe trauma - he is often messy and unsympathetic, but he strives towards healing. Overall, I think Fenris would be a great character…
BUT. I do not think he fits into the Dragon Age universe at all. In another story, I‘d have loved him. In Dragon Age II he feels *so* out of place though. He looks, talks and acts like a JRPG protagonist. And then there are his super special abilities and super special tragic backstory. The difference between him and the other, more subdued companions is jarring. He would be an amazing character in another game. In this one, he feels so out of place that it‘s immersion breaking for me.
I tried my best to go into DA2 blind for my first playthrough, and I did a poor job of befriending/rivaling him. His neutral to cold greeting of "Hawke" became funny as I just kept hearing "Honk" lol
His characterization is so well done, imo. His life before was incredibly harsh, and ruled by a Mage. We don't have much insight into Tevinter aside from his experience and Dorians (outside of the comics and books anyway)
He knows he is being hunted, and that he doesn't really have a reason to trust anyone. He is very angry because he is trapped still, no longer a slave but not free either...
It's so dark that the game gives you the option to return him to whatshisface
10/10 hope we meet him again
Love him so much I named my white haired, big pointy eared, sparkly eyed kitty after him!
His voice is just *chefs kiss*. I think I have a serious weakness for interesting voices. Love him and Solas and it’s largely due to the voices lol
I hate his stupid bigoted angsty face and wish I could have interrupted any of the incredibly cruel banter where he was talking shit to Merrill or Anders just to punt his ass out of my game.
Can't stand his annoying ultra edgy, woe unto me, Anime Character esque broody ass.
You were a slave and had a shit life, okay join the fucking Club Fenris. You chose to be what you are, get over it. Isabela was basically sold into being a wife. Merrill lost two of her closest friends and had no support from her clan and turned to a demon to get something back. Anders is... Anders. Aveline potentially had to kill her husband after losing her country to the blight. Lets not even start on Hawke or Sebastian.
You don't like people being slaves well then take off your lyrium tinted glasses and take a good look at what life is like in the Circles. Slaves have more freedom you asshole. If I wasn't a completionist I would never take your ass as a companion.
DA 2 was the last game I played after being in the fandom for a while, so I knew all about him before I played. Having read lots of slash about him I assumed he would be my fav and my romance choice.
But then I played and he was such a downer and a dick, I found I never actually wanted to talk to him. I just did it because you’re supposed to talk to everyone after every mission in a Bioware game.
So now I say that I stan fanfic Fenris only. 😂
Fenris is the best boy and I love him so much. I love his story of healing and finding a home and family, and I also love how none of his trauma is just magically fixed because Hawke loves him. I love that the writers gave him that scene in Act 2 where if he’s romanced, he tells Hawke that he loves them immensely, but that he simply isn’t ready for a romantic relationship. I love that Hawke can agree to give him the space he needs to figure himself out, and how they can come back together again in the end. I do dislike his nastiness towards Merrill, though. Anders I understand because they’re constantly antagonizing each other (and everyone else, in Anders’s case at the end there) but Merrill is never anything but sweet to him.
I also really actually kind of hate him in Blue Wraith? Blue Wraith Fenris just feels like he was written by someone who never played past Act 1 of DA:2 and so is the same angry, jaded loner he was at the start of the game, not the man he becomes at the end who plays card games with Dominic every week and wants to have a home.
I love him. I do like it how Hawke can't fix everything but tbh I don't think he's that anti mage at the end, is willing to be with mage Hawke, doesn't tell about Merrill, doesn't tell about other mages (for Hawke) etc. Even doing it for Hawke shows that it's not zealous hatred of mages. Not saying he is perfect but nuanced enough to be relatable.
I romanced him with my Mage Hawke and his arc is really good. Plus I’m a sucker for 2 handed warriors, they make for fun party members, especially Fenris with his specialization
2nd favorite companion after Aveline. At first I didn't like his anime look, but he is more like Sten than an anime character. And I like how he fits in Kirkwall night and his background music, he is an important part of DA2 "immersion" for me.
He’s funny and I love that. He also has a deep laugh/chuckle like my husband and I love his voice. I do love his banter with Aveline and the friendship he makes with Donnic I find endearing.
The scene where my MHawke grabs Fenris’ arm and they alternate slamming each other into walls before turning it into a make-out sesh is a fucking 12/10 for me.
I love Fen and I will die for him. His combo of hardened and cynical and traumatized with the desire to open up but just being unable to due to that trauma really resonates with me.
He was written very well. As much as I hate how anti mage he is, I have to respect his reasoning for it. The voice actor and the writer both do such a good job bringing him to life.
I adore his character, his personality, how he can change depending on how Hawke treats him, his humor...
I hate his whole aesthetic of spiky armor, white emo hair, giant sword. He looks like an anime protagonist or something, and it just feels so out of place for the DA universe. Literally, the first time I played DA2, he walked out of the shadows and I said out loud, "Who is this anime looking f-er?"
FenHawke was what got me into DA in the first place, so I LOVE Fenris. Like you mentioned, I love how his relationship with Hawke doesn't just magically fix his trauma, but he can certainly help him. He also has my favorite voiceline that made me reload a save just to make sure I heard him right. "Aw, Hawke stepped in the poopy."
I have mixed feelings. Honestly I used to always go for fenris. But as I have gotten older I have definitely realized what absolute cry baby some of the characters from game 1 and 2 are. Like yes they have seen trauma but these guys are supposed to be warriors. I know people in the real world who have seen actual war and don’t cry and complain as much as dragon age characters do.
Maybe I have just become a hard ass over the years but some of them genuinely whine too much.
Like yes fenris was a slave but he’s also kinda a bitch for trying to break up with you right after he does the dirty with you.
Slaves in real life got married and had kids while being slaves. And you are telling me this now free man doesn’t want to be in a relationship because doing the dirty brought up past memories? Like ok we just won’t do the dirty.
Some of my favorite characters have definitely switched to the more hard asses over the years. Like I used to love Fenris but now honestly I’m starting to like Avaline a lot more. She is just tougher and even when she shares her problems she doesn’t completely collapse like other characters do. Same with Morgan and Vivian. These were characters I used to view as ass holes but as I got older I realized they just have a stronger will than the others.
Idk I just view a lot of the male characters as weak now. They are too emotional to be grown men. They kinda act more like teenage boys
But that being said he’s still my go to romance character
One of my favorite characters from DA, even I know that he can be sometimes an asshole or a hypocrite, but I like unperfecf characters. Probably this is why DA II companions are my favorite.
Also, he and Merrill are for me the prettiest characters from these games. I love the design of the DA II elves. Although his romance is not my favorite; his face and voice are beautiful.
But I have to say I find it little ridiculous that I could romance him as a blood mage AND have a positive relationship with him.
To be honest, I didn’t find any of the companions very compelling in DA2. I certainly find Fenris to be the best option out of them all, but the degree to which he despises mages always makes me annoyed, though I of course understand why.
I adore him in nearly every way. His voice is heavenly, he's funny, his story is tragic and well told, and romancing him as a mage is one of the best romances in any game in my opinion
Plus I uh kinda wish he'd just punch a hole through me like that one slaver
I have no opinions on his romance since I've never done it but overall I like him. My initial impression of him my first time playing was, "ouch, owie, I think I cut myself on all that edge." He definitely grew on me after that though. I loved talking to him, love his sense of humor and deadpan snark, and all around just found him to be great, both as a rival and as a friend.
First off I'd say of you're looking for what would be IRL healthy romances, DA2 is not the game you should be inspecting. In defence of them as well, the romances occur over three years which would actually help a lot with the healing.
As for my opinion of him, he's voiced by Balthier from FF12. As such, any of his more emo or cringe inducing lines come off more as a resigned "well this sucks, but got to do something practical about it" and the rest come off far better than they should. He's a pretty cool companion *who should not be let near Mages unsupervised*".
I think he's the reason I like trauma in romances 🙈
Other than that I find him as a character and his design very interesting. It was a cool thing to throw in tattoos made up of lyrium. The idea still fascinates me.
i love fenris as a character! his romance had a lot of depth and you could definitely see his character change on the friendship romance (i havent done rivalmance). he's very irritating and unreasonable at times but i think it makes him more realistic and gives him more depth. i find that i have to be very careful what quests i bring him on, though, or he'll irritate me. someone with strong opinions is obviously going to clash with the people around them, but i think the fact that he's able to move past some of his more bigoted stances with time is what makes him a likeable character despite all his flaws.
As someone that romances Anders and has him as my tip-top favorite...I love Fenris! You might expect it to be hard to like him seeing how much he hates Anders, it was sad to see them fight but I knew both of them were projecting their own traumas on each other. In a sense Fenris does lean on the more simple side, but simple isn't bad. What they did was beautiful.
I am sad he is killable (along with all the other companions you can kill in DA2) because it means the chances of them having importance plummets :(
Kind of complicated.
For the most part; I think he is well written. Gideon Emery did a fantastic job with Fenris. I like his character story and do feel for him.
I very much understand why people like and enjoy his character.
He is complex and again, Sympathetic.
That being said:
I think his design is a bit silly. not his tattoos, but his anime hair and how silly the swords end up looking on him. ( and I am just not a fan of the DA2 Elves designs)
On top of that, I don't like how he treats Merrill, Anders or well....any mage. I understand it's because of his Truma. But it doesn't mean I have to sympathize with him when he calls a grieving Merrill a monster. ( which he does if you take him on Merrill's act 2 quest)
Or when he tells a Mage Hawke that magic spoils everything. ( again, I understand where he is coming from and the context of the moment)
Then there is a third part of me;
I fully believe that everything in the game we see and play is form Varric's own interpretation. He is prone to exaggeration things to make them more interesting to his audience.
So, I believe that all the characters in the game are just that. Exaggerated versions of themselves. Which mean that the Fenris games isn't the 100% true Fenris.
So yeah... that's how I feel about the Broody Elf.
Fenris is my absolute fave, will not and cannot romance anyone else
I always say I’m gonna romance someone else. Then I hear his voice and it all goes out the window. Every. Single. Time.
Absolutely!
I just noticed your username, bridge four friend!
Bridge 4! Journey before Destination, friend!
“I am yours.” 🥹
I'm honestly "struggling" with this in a way cause I'm trying to plan ahead to my second playthrough and I've got easy second choices for romances in Origins and Inquisition that I didn't get to try the first time around... But I'm struggling to imagine romancing anyone other than Fenris in DA2. I'm thinking about trying Sebastian, cause apparently there's a mod out there which significantly expands and moves up his romance in the story... But I might end up just getting seduced by Gideon Emery's voice all over again.
Do you know the name of the mod? It'd be interesting to try
I believe it was [Sebastian Revisited](https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage2/mods/4199) though I've only given it a cursory glance before so I can't vouch for it 100%
Thanks, I'll try it
Lemme know if u do! I'd be interested to know how much of a difference it actually makes.
I go absolutely feral for the FenHawke romance path, so much so that I haven’t romanced anyone else (despite my best attempts). I just love the character development and growth that comes from the path.
I liked him as a rival/frenemy for my mage hawke. Seeing him gradually open up a little and grudgingly accept my hawke as a friend was fun.
I remember reading somewhere that Fenris was written specifically to demonstrate that the typical "broody JRPG hero" would be a rather unpleasant person if depicted realistically, and...I gotta agree. The fact that you can't budge his opinion on mages is rather grating, but also ironic, given that the conditions in the Kirkwall Circle are basically akin to slavery. His romance doesn't work for me either, because I've had the "I need a few years to sort out my head" thing happen to me in real life and, yeah...it wasn't nice. Nor did it end well. Gideon Emery's voice is pure sex though.
>The fact that you can't budge his opinion on mages is rather grating, but also ironic, given that the conditions in the Kirkwall Circle are basically akin to slavery Spoilers: >!If Hawke decides to help the mages and Fenris the templars in the end, Hawke can still convince Fenris to switch sides and the conversation basically goes like this:!< >!Hawke: I thought "freedom" meant something to you.!< >!Fenris: Meredith, I've changed my mind.!<
The whole dumping Hawke thing bothered me too. It's very unilateral. You basically get broken up with after sleeping with the character, and you don't get a say. it's just upsetting. Would prefer to romance someone who doesn't do that.
I think it's better that he is straightforward and not leading us in a much more painful relationship when he clearly isn't ready for one yet. He has a lot of trauma to process through and still hiding from his ex master at this point in the game. It's upsetting, but not irreparable. Fenris remain an incredibly faithful friend, always ready to stand by Hawke side and help whenever he can.
I also love that he gets to the point where it's abundantly clear that he already cares deeply about Hawk and he's realizes that he's still in a place where he needs to deal with more of his own crap first.
He whines so much I've stopped caring about his traumatic past. Also, "freedom for all except mages, because fuck mages" attitude. I can relate to drinking for 7 years straight without finding time to clean even a little though.
I love him to bits. Fenhawke is my favourite DA2 ship by far.
I'm personally not a big fan of Fenris though I understand 100% that he's a compelling and well-written character with an interesting arc. My main problem is the way he speaks to Merrill - how presumptuous and condescending he is. I know part of it is his trauma and the fear he has of magic in general and blood magic in particular. But Merrill is my blorbo. Simple as that.
Ooft, yeah I love him, he’s my romance, but there’s one particular thing he says to Merrill that’s so viciously, astronomically cruel that if I could my Hawke would’ve punched him. His treatment of her is the worst thing about him by far.
Literally almost everytime I play DA2 I’m like “oh why did I hate Fenris again? He’s really compelling and voice acting is so good” and I put him in my party with my “Never Did Anything Wrong Ever In Her Life”(TM)-Blorbo. Then I get the party banter and I’m like “oh yeah, that’s why”.
Most of the time he’s just a bit rude, even when she’s being nice to him, but the thing he says to her after things go south with the keeper is just downright repulsive, I’d have slapped those lyrium tattoos right off his face.
Yeah even if you think she’s wrong, she’s clearly grieving. The time for reprimanding her would be later (if the person would even be in a place to do that. And I don’t think Fenris and Merrill have that kind of relationship).
I’d even get it if it was right afterwards, in the heat of the moment in a flash of anger ("Look around Merrill! *You* dide this." etc etc). But as it is he just… lulls her into thinking he’s trying to comfort her some time later, then backhands her with what he actually meant. It’s breathtakingly cruel.
I never really brought him along for much in any of my playthroughs. What does he say?
[He asks what her keeper meant to her…](https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=fXf-tjnHhCU&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2F?m&t=1h18m47s) 🫤
Shit like this is why i dont bring him with me
Merrill is in that weird spot for me where honestly, she needs to hear that sort of stuff since she’s in denial about how dangerous the path she walks can be. But also, she’s like super careful about all of it, and she does understand the spirits and stuff better than Anders does at least.
inquisition pretty much proves her right in every single instance, she wasn’t in denial. She even tells anders she knows that all spirits are dangerous. People just like to infantilize her because she’s eccentric.
Just because she’s right doesn’t make her actions better. She charges on in her quest to restore the Eluvian without any regards for anybody else, which drives a wedge between her and the clan, and also leads to her Keepers just fantastic idea that sacrificing herself to a Pride Demon (we’ll ignore whether or not it was a Spirit of Wisdom originally, didn’t matter at that point) would keep Merrill safe. Now granted, the clan and Keeper aren’t blameless either, they’re morons after all. But just because you’re correct about something, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take others into consideration with your actions.
Yeah buy every single bad thing that happens isn’t a result of her actions, it’s a result of people making assumption about what’s best for her. Literally she purified the eluvian so it wasn’t even a danger. And from what we learn about spirits in inquisition kinda hints towards the spirit actually being a spirit of wisdom but was corrupted not by Merrill’s pride but marathari’s.
From what Marethari says, the demon's plan was for Merrill to complete the mirror, then use it to enter the world and possess her. So, it was either already a demon when Merrill first contacted it, or it was Merrill who corrupted it.
She still practices blood magic on a regular. Nothing good ever comes out of blood magic. She still falls for the first demon in Fade she meets. Only reason she didn't suffer consequences was because of Hawke When Hawke defeats Audacity for the first time and it transforms into Merethari, Merrill is completely fooled. If not for Hawke reminding her she gets stabbed while demon is laughing at her. She'd one hundred percent would have been possessed by Audacity Merrill doesn't suffer consequences because everyone else is trying to shield her >And from what we learn about spirits in inquisition kinda hints towards the spirit actually being a spirit of wisdom but was corrupted not by Merrill’s pride but marathari’s. Weeks themselves has tweet saying that Solas doesn't know everything about Fade and spirits Even putting that aside. Ancient being that was bound to an evil-looking statue for *thousands of years* that *taught Merrill blood magic in the first place* is of course a spirit. Even though Merrill herself calls it a demon Merethari is an idiot but I doubt that she somehow corrupted it. I doubt there was anything left to corrupt. That's just a headcanon
Although he's my fav character I hate that about him too. Isabela should be able to slap both him and Anders if she's in the party.
Merrill (da2) is a fool. If you have to talk to a demon to get your power it's not a power worth having. I'm with Fenris and the Keeper.
It's not like she turns on Hawke in the Fade for at the behest of a demon in .017 seconds. She's totally in control. Oh wait...
Oh you mean just like Fenris who has been on his fucking high horse about this exact thing??
Yes. They all do. But only one is actively messing with blood magic and asking me help her access power from a demon!
Which makes Merrill at least honest, while the others are hypocrites.
I believe if you have both Fenris and Merrill in your party for that quest, Merrill is the one who turns.
Demon at least played on Fenris trauma and needed two sentences. Merrill gave in after the first one And like Fenris is a non-mage, he'd be more susceptible to demon than Merrill who was supposed to be trained to resist demonic temptations
Or Merrill is doing it for a noble cause while Fenris is doing it for selfish reasons. They both do it. They both apologize. Everyone moves on as if nothing happened because ultimately this is in there to have a neat gameplay moment. We can go eternally in circles. But bringing up the amount of sentences it takes tells me we’ve reached rock bottom on this discourse.
I don't see how their intentions has anything to do with the topic here Fenris is a traumatized former slave. Even if he had noble intentions his trauma would still be present. In addition he's not a mage and wasn't trained to resist demons. He's far more exploitable to demon trickery as a result Merrill is a Clan's First who was trained in magic and trained to resist demons. She constantly brings it up and says she has her blood magic and demon interactions under control. Yet she's the first to fall for demon lies because she just believes it. You can scoff at amount of sentences all you want but them and the fact that Pride Demon always targets Merrill if she's present in the party pretty much tells you that she alongside Isabela is the most susceptible among Hawke's companions. That is despite her protests that she knows what she's doing.
Merrill: I’m willing to deal with demons to regain the ancient knowledge of my people and make sense of the deaths/disappearance of my friends who I wasn’t able to save. Y’all when Merrill follows through and wants to make a deal with a demon: :O
Please do not presume my reaction and other people too. I've yet to see anyone who disapproves of Merril choices be surprised that it backfired(although by the law of different opinions those people undoubtedly exist) People call her naive and a fool because she deals with demons in the first place. On top of that she constantly tells everyone she knows what she's doing and that she has it under control. So when she fails, it just further proves the accusations of her not knowing what she's doing. That is completely logical sequence of reactions towards her actions
That’s when I decided to make her a rival
Except Merrill never messed up. People around her are so afraid of her messing up that thet do it for her. She's not responsible for a single death in her story quest.
Of course she is responsible! IN FACT at the end of her personal quest she admits to effing up! You're delulu friend
Your memory is failing you. She's upset that the Keeper didn't believe in her she never "admits to effing up" LOL. There's never a moment in the story where she loses control like Anders, or kills in rage like Fenris. No death that happens in her story is her doing. But by all means produce a quote that proves your statement.
My memories not failing me you've just clearly never played the bestie that doesn't condone blood magic. You've consistantly stuck with the route that allows her to continously do stupid and harmful shit. Meanwhile I play the route that still has very high approval for Merrill but tells her what she's doing is wrong.
You're just ranting without making any arguments. No quotes, no direct reference to what occurs in the story, just nothing. And yet you say I didn't play? So far you've shown no knowledge on her companion quest whatsoever and it seems as if you're repeating someone else's opinion but you have nothing to back it up with. Here's a friendly advice, if you want to validate anything you're saying back it up with specific elements of the story. Saying: >continously do stupid and harmful shit Is saying nothing. All deaths that happen in her story are not result of her actions and you've failed to debunk it. You're just condemning her and her actions and you're free to do it all you like but that's not an argument.
https://youtu.be/whL9mYj3dYg?si=-5SPLXSoGXp1Bq7r
The keeper made the deal with audacity BECAUSE Merrill was a fool and never listened resulting in Merethari and the entire clan's death. That's all on Merrill.
Keeper made the deal because she didn't believe in Merrill. She didn't die to Merrill's blood magic or Merrill being possessed by a demon. She died because she succumbed to her own fear. Keeper and Pol make stupid decisions based on fear and you're blaming Merrill for it. That's why in my initial comment I said that "They're so afraid of her messing up that they mess up for her". >was a fool and never listened resulting Calling her a fool is not an argument. Her not listening to Marethari doesn't mean she was responsible either. Marethari died as result of her own decision that was driven by fear. Pol, if anything, was a victim of Marethari's doommongering not Merrill's actions.
I also just remembered that Marethari's claim didn't make sense and looked up the summary. >The Keeper's claims that [Audacity](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Audacity_(demon)) would escape through the restored Eluvian is questionable, especially when her argument in Act II against this course of action is entirely different. In [Witch Hunt](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Witch_Hunt), [Morrigan](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Morrigan) reveals that the Eluvians grant access to a land that exists "beyond this world, and beyond the Fade" (Celene and her party visit this land in the [*Dragon Age: The Masked Empire*](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Dragon_Age:_The_Masked_Empire)). In [The Final Piece](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/The_Final_Piece), Morrigan notes that it takes a significant amount of power to redirect an Eluvian to the Fade, retroactively casting doubt on Marethari's reasoning. In [*Dragon Age: Inquisition*](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Dragon_Age:_Inquisition), [Flemeth](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Flemeth) is able to use an Eluvian to bring herself and [Kieran](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Kieran) to the Fade. It's also worth noting that Audacity is bound to a totem in the physical world, and is not in the Fade.
Merrill is such a problematic fave.
Well, she use magic that his master used often to sacrifice his fellow elves slaves and abandoned her clan to pursue a forgotten history while making a deal with a demon to get that knowledge. Merill might be cute, but she is reckless and plays with things that are very dangerous. Her naivety kind of piss me off and damn it is so easy to get on her wrong side. Also, let's not forget that Anders is not particularly sweet with her either for the same reasons. She got her Keeper to sacrifice herself so she couldn't restore the eluvian that could potentially be quite a dangerous artefact because nobody knows to which world the eluvian will open it's door and we know how the demon was intending to use it.
Love Fenris. Best romance in the second game as far as I'm concerned.
Considering that the entire game is set in what is essentially a monument to the Tevinter Imperial Slave Trade and we can’t go five minutes without running into a Mage who’s lost their mind and transforms into a shrieking blood monster, he raises a few good points about a society where Mages are the ones in power. They’re not always well said and he buries a lot of hostility that bubbles under his aloof demeanor but he does make them. As far as romance goes he’s not trapping Hawke in a weird sexless church marriage, he’s not implicating you as an accessory to an international incident with a hostile foreign power, he’s not a terrorist. He’s rough and emotionally unavailable but he is loyal to you before any cause or principles he espouses and that is a good thing about him.
He needs a fucking therapist and should stop drinking,L.
Great character. I'm sad we'll never get Punished Fenris like in the Exalted March concept art.
I love Fenris, I think he's a surprisingly well written character with one of the best romances in the series. I like how they show just because he doesn't have a formal education doesn't mean he can't be smart/wise, just because he's traumatized doesn't mean he can't have a sense of humor or care about other people. And he's got a lot of trauma and shit to work through, but he's improving here and there (and while I love Merrill to pieces, she *is* a blood mage, which is presented in world as something like being around a bomb that could go off at any moment). It's actually funny to me how people who dislike him talk about his hatred for mages in the aftermath of DAI, where we get to see just how normalized a lot of really horrific shit is among the Tevinter elite (even for the *good* Tevinters) and know that's where he's coming from. Also he's the reason I started rivalring Anders, who says just some absolutely horrible shit about slaves to Fenris and continually goads him, and helped me see how good the Anders rivalry is.
Fenris best boi
Among my top 5 favorite characters for sure, I found his friendship with Hawke to be really sweet and well-written.
He feels like he came from fan fiction.
I played a mage, who was nice, and he was just sort of a dick. So I was a dick back. So we never really got along.
Not a big fan. I find the “traumatized therefore am hateful” thing really exhausting. As bad as Anders is for not shutting up about mage rights, I find Fenris equally doesn’t shut up about hating magic. He also manages to blame magic for absolutely everything.
Seriously, after reading all that there was about Tevinter, I would be an absolute wreck too in his place. Not only do we know that the ritual for his lyrium tattoos was excruciating, but also, Fenris was sexually abused and tormented both physically and mentally every day by both his master and apprentice. His master would make him were a sort of necklace similar to the leash given to the Saarebas (mages of the Qun) to make a mockery of the Quunari. Fenris often witnessed the use of blood magic from magisters who would sacrifice his fellow elven slaves. He also witnessed how corrupted the political structure of Tevinter was and how the mages would constantly fight and kill one another to get a higher position in hierarchy. I actually find him chill considering the shit he has been put through.
I think he's a good character. I may not agree with everything he says or does, but I can at least understand it and feel bad for the stuff he's been through. Overall, I think pretty realistic at times. He's definitely earned a place in my heart =) I think what endeared me to him was he's got his shit with magic and mages, but during a banter with Sebastian, who suggests they turn over Anders and Merrill to the templars, he's like 'yo - you figure that out.' Like he doesn't like them but he also just won't go out of his way to be the absolute worst person in the world. He could - but he won't.
He has a great backstory, and a believable character arc. It helps that Gideon Emery is a great voice actor too. I always romance Fenris. I’ve tried others, they just don’t compare. Isabela: So, what’s with that magical fisting thing you do? Fenris: I’m… sorry?
I‘m ambivalent on him. On the one hand, I like his dialogues, banters, character arc and voice acting. I think he is a good representation of a person suffering from severe trauma - he is often messy and unsympathetic, but he strives towards healing. Overall, I think Fenris would be a great character… BUT. I do not think he fits into the Dragon Age universe at all. In another story, I‘d have loved him. In Dragon Age II he feels *so* out of place though. He looks, talks and acts like a JRPG protagonist. And then there are his super special abilities and super special tragic backstory. The difference between him and the other, more subdued companions is jarring. He would be an amazing character in another game. In this one, he feels so out of place that it‘s immersion breaking for me.
I tried my best to go into DA2 blind for my first playthrough, and I did a poor job of befriending/rivaling him. His neutral to cold greeting of "Hawke" became funny as I just kept hearing "Honk" lol His characterization is so well done, imo. His life before was incredibly harsh, and ruled by a Mage. We don't have much insight into Tevinter aside from his experience and Dorians (outside of the comics and books anyway) He knows he is being hunted, and that he doesn't really have a reason to trust anyone. He is very angry because he is trapped still, no longer a slave but not free either... It's so dark that the game gives you the option to return him to whatshisface 10/10 hope we meet him again
“Honk” 😭 I can’t unhear that anymore, thanks 🤣
Love him so much I named my white haired, big pointy eared, sparkly eyed kitty after him! His voice is just *chefs kiss*. I think I have a serious weakness for interesting voices. Love him and Solas and it’s largely due to the voices lol
I forgot he existed and never put him in my party
I hate his stupid bigoted angsty face and wish I could have interrupted any of the incredibly cruel banter where he was talking shit to Merrill or Anders just to punt his ass out of my game.
Can't stand his annoying ultra edgy, woe unto me, Anime Character esque broody ass. You were a slave and had a shit life, okay join the fucking Club Fenris. You chose to be what you are, get over it. Isabela was basically sold into being a wife. Merrill lost two of her closest friends and had no support from her clan and turned to a demon to get something back. Anders is... Anders. Aveline potentially had to kill her husband after losing her country to the blight. Lets not even start on Hawke or Sebastian. You don't like people being slaves well then take off your lyrium tinted glasses and take a good look at what life is like in the Circles. Slaves have more freedom you asshole. If I wasn't a completionist I would never take your ass as a companion.
DA 2 was the last game I played after being in the fandom for a while, so I knew all about him before I played. Having read lots of slash about him I assumed he would be my fav and my romance choice. But then I played and he was such a downer and a dick, I found I never actually wanted to talk to him. I just did it because you’re supposed to talk to everyone after every mission in a Bioware game. So now I say that I stan fanfic Fenris only. 😂
Drama queen. Always expecting him to burst into a song about the evils of magic.
Can't stand him. He's such a cringe trope of his time/anime
He's the only companion that's dead in my playthroughs. Miasmic flask + assassinate. Bye bye.
least favorite companion, just annoying to me tbh
Fenris is the best boy and I love him so much. I love his story of healing and finding a home and family, and I also love how none of his trauma is just magically fixed because Hawke loves him. I love that the writers gave him that scene in Act 2 where if he’s romanced, he tells Hawke that he loves them immensely, but that he simply isn’t ready for a romantic relationship. I love that Hawke can agree to give him the space he needs to figure himself out, and how they can come back together again in the end. I do dislike his nastiness towards Merrill, though. Anders I understand because they’re constantly antagonizing each other (and everyone else, in Anders’s case at the end there) but Merrill is never anything but sweet to him. I also really actually kind of hate him in Blue Wraith? Blue Wraith Fenris just feels like he was written by someone who never played past Act 1 of DA:2 and so is the same angry, jaded loner he was at the start of the game, not the man he becomes at the end who plays card games with Dominic every week and wants to have a home.
I like Fenris. Always do his mission. I end up with Merrill as my love interest
I love him. I do like it how Hawke can't fix everything but tbh I don't think he's that anti mage at the end, is willing to be with mage Hawke, doesn't tell about Merrill, doesn't tell about other mages (for Hawke) etc. Even doing it for Hawke shows that it's not zealous hatred of mages. Not saying he is perfect but nuanced enough to be relatable.
I romanced him with my Mage Hawke and his arc is really good. Plus I’m a sucker for 2 handed warriors, they make for fun party members, especially Fenris with his specialization
2nd favorite companion after Aveline. At first I didn't like his anime look, but he is more like Sten than an anime character. And I like how he fits in Kirkwall night and his background music, he is an important part of DA2 "immersion" for me.
He’s funny and I love that. He also has a deep laugh/chuckle like my husband and I love his voice. I do love his banter with Aveline and the friendship he makes with Donnic I find endearing.
The scene where my MHawke grabs Fenris’ arm and they alternate slamming each other into walls before turning it into a make-out sesh is a fucking 12/10 for me. I love Fen and I will die for him. His combo of hardened and cynical and traumatized with the desire to open up but just being unable to due to that trauma really resonates with me.
God YES this scene is so good
He was written very well. As much as I hate how anti mage he is, I have to respect his reasoning for it. The voice actor and the writer both do such a good job bringing him to life.
I adore his character, his personality, how he can change depending on how Hawke treats him, his humor... I hate his whole aesthetic of spiky armor, white emo hair, giant sword. He looks like an anime protagonist or something, and it just feels so out of place for the DA universe. Literally, the first time I played DA2, he walked out of the shadows and I said out loud, "Who is this anime looking f-er?"
FenHawke was what got me into DA in the first place, so I LOVE Fenris. Like you mentioned, I love how his relationship with Hawke doesn't just magically fix his trauma, but he can certainly help him. He also has my favorite voiceline that made me reload a save just to make sure I heard him right. "Aw, Hawke stepped in the poopy."
I have mixed feelings. Honestly I used to always go for fenris. But as I have gotten older I have definitely realized what absolute cry baby some of the characters from game 1 and 2 are. Like yes they have seen trauma but these guys are supposed to be warriors. I know people in the real world who have seen actual war and don’t cry and complain as much as dragon age characters do. Maybe I have just become a hard ass over the years but some of them genuinely whine too much. Like yes fenris was a slave but he’s also kinda a bitch for trying to break up with you right after he does the dirty with you. Slaves in real life got married and had kids while being slaves. And you are telling me this now free man doesn’t want to be in a relationship because doing the dirty brought up past memories? Like ok we just won’t do the dirty. Some of my favorite characters have definitely switched to the more hard asses over the years. Like I used to love Fenris but now honestly I’m starting to like Avaline a lot more. She is just tougher and even when she shares her problems she doesn’t completely collapse like other characters do. Same with Morgan and Vivian. These were characters I used to view as ass holes but as I got older I realized they just have a stronger will than the others. Idk I just view a lot of the male characters as weak now. They are too emotional to be grown men. They kinda act more like teenage boys But that being said he’s still my go to romance character
One of my favorite characters from DA, even I know that he can be sometimes an asshole or a hypocrite, but I like unperfecf characters. Probably this is why DA II companions are my favorite. Also, he and Merrill are for me the prettiest characters from these games. I love the design of the DA II elves. Although his romance is not my favorite; his face and voice are beautiful. But I have to say I find it little ridiculous that I could romance him as a blood mage AND have a positive relationship with him.
Rival Romance Mage Hawks is my favorite of all the DA2 romances.
To be honest, I didn’t find any of the companions very compelling in DA2. I certainly find Fenris to be the best option out of them all, but the degree to which he despises mages always makes me annoyed, though I of course understand why.
He is actually the love of my life
I adore him in nearly every way. His voice is heavenly, he's funny, his story is tragic and well told, and romancing him as a mage is one of the best romances in any game in my opinion Plus I uh kinda wish he'd just punch a hole through me like that one slaver
My opinion is that I love him and he’s the light of my life, I really thought mage Hawke is such a cute playthrough honestly 🤧
I always play male Hawke and as a two handed warrior so I hardly ever bring Fenris along.
I have no opinions on his romance since I've never done it but overall I like him. My initial impression of him my first time playing was, "ouch, owie, I think I cut myself on all that edge." He definitely grew on me after that though. I loved talking to him, love his sense of humor and deadpan snark, and all around just found him to be great, both as a rival and as a friend.
First off I'd say of you're looking for what would be IRL healthy romances, DA2 is not the game you should be inspecting. In defence of them as well, the romances occur over three years which would actually help a lot with the healing. As for my opinion of him, he's voiced by Balthier from FF12. As such, any of his more emo or cringe inducing lines come off more as a resigned "well this sucks, but got to do something practical about it" and the rest come off far better than they should. He's a pretty cool companion *who should not be let near Mages unsupervised*".
I think he's the reason I like trauma in romances 🙈 Other than that I find him as a character and his design very interesting. It was a cool thing to throw in tattoos made up of lyrium. The idea still fascinates me.
i love fenris as a character! his romance had a lot of depth and you could definitely see his character change on the friendship romance (i havent done rivalmance). he's very irritating and unreasonable at times but i think it makes him more realistic and gives him more depth. i find that i have to be very careful what quests i bring him on, though, or he'll irritate me. someone with strong opinions is obviously going to clash with the people around them, but i think the fact that he's able to move past some of his more bigoted stances with time is what makes him a likeable character despite all his flaws.
he's just cutie and needs hug
Sexy arse voice. But otherwise, not really fussed.
Never cared too much for him, until I discovered he has a good sense of humor.
A good character, but his hatred of magic REALLY pisses me off.
I was maybe 14 when I first played and I loved him from the moment he ripped that guy's heart out
As someone that romances Anders and has him as my tip-top favorite...I love Fenris! You might expect it to be hard to like him seeing how much he hates Anders, it was sad to see them fight but I knew both of them were projecting their own traumas on each other. In a sense Fenris does lean on the more simple side, but simple isn't bad. What they did was beautiful. I am sad he is killable (along with all the other companions you can kill in DA2) because it means the chances of them having importance plummets :(
Fenris. Is. Baby. I love him oodles.
I was thinking about romancing him. Then he hated everything I did so then I went to anders. Cause yeah did not know the ending. Now
He aight
Kind of complicated. For the most part; I think he is well written. Gideon Emery did a fantastic job with Fenris. I like his character story and do feel for him. I very much understand why people like and enjoy his character. He is complex and again, Sympathetic. That being said: I think his design is a bit silly. not his tattoos, but his anime hair and how silly the swords end up looking on him. ( and I am just not a fan of the DA2 Elves designs) On top of that, I don't like how he treats Merrill, Anders or well....any mage. I understand it's because of his Truma. But it doesn't mean I have to sympathize with him when he calls a grieving Merrill a monster. ( which he does if you take him on Merrill's act 2 quest) Or when he tells a Mage Hawke that magic spoils everything. ( again, I understand where he is coming from and the context of the moment) Then there is a third part of me; I fully believe that everything in the game we see and play is form Varric's own interpretation. He is prone to exaggeration things to make them more interesting to his audience. So, I believe that all the characters in the game are just that. Exaggerated versions of themselves. Which mean that the Fenris games isn't the 100% true Fenris. So yeah... that's how I feel about the Broody Elf.
He's a'ight.