attempt 001

[unconfines]

Who: Anders
Broadcast: FLEETWIDE VIDEO HIT IT
Action: SS Golden
When: 2/14, not long after shuffling WE ARE BACKDATING THIS MY FRIENDS

[He surprises himself when the feed clicks on easily enough. It's unsettling, but at least it's simple. He can bury the unsettling parts.

Those of you who are familiar—or who have had enough introductions to become familiar—might recognize the striped grey and blue of a Grey Warden uniform, with its high, studded collar, and the curled griffon on the shoulder.

Anders is, for his part, smiling broadly.]

So! Now that I've gotten through the "manhandled into a tin can" bit, closely followed by the "manhandled into a slightly smaller tin can" bit, I thought I'd take some time to say hello. Is everyone comfortable? Because I am not, thanks for asking. [beat] Does it ever bother you how terribly one-sided this is?

[Let him talk and he'll talk. Congratulations on being the captive audience.

Right, back on track.]

Now, I don't usually mind a bit of manhandling, of course, but even I have some standards. It was all terribly anticlimactic. Hardly a kidnapping at all, really.

Anyhow. [with a bit more grandeur:] I believe introductions are in order, don't you? I'm going to eat this [he lifts the little dessert cream in a toast] so you go first.

[Ready: go.]

Comments

video

[dawnwillcome]

[By the time Jove comes across this message, it's already quite clear who this particular mage is. All in all, he's absolutely not what she expected the catalyst of a mage rebellion to look like, but isn't that always the way? She was just an elf, he looks and sounds like just a human, and the whole thing is going to give her a headache bad enough to make even Mythal cry.

When she goes home, she's giving her advisors a talking to. They absolutely do not pay her enough for this.]

I'm sorry, am I hearing this right? You're Anders?

[unconfines]

My reputation precedes me! [That's not a good thing, Anders.] Heard already of our daring escapades, I assume? [stop]

But I'm getting ahead of myself. It would be remiss of me not to ask the lovely lady's name, first. To whom do I owe the pleasure?

[dawnwillcome]

You could certainly say that.

[None of this matches what she's heard of Anders in the least. He seems good-natured, vibrant. She can't be certain, but she thinks he may be flirting with her. It really is a good thing Cassandra isn't here.]

My name is Jove. Tell me, have you ever been to Kirkwall?

[unconfines]

You mean the veritable nest of templars in the Free Marches? That Kirkwall? [He laughs. It has to be a joke, right?] No. I've never been to Kirkwall. If I play my cards right, I never will.

[He's never been very good at cards.]

[dawnwillcome]

[That will make him young, then, and maybe even close to her own age. She looks him over, taking in every inch of him and trying to fit it against her preconceptions of the Anders Varric had spoken so bitterly of, when he would even deign to mention him. Before the conclave, he had only been a distant tale. She hadn't necessarily felt strongly either way for the things he had done, for the destruction of the circle. It was a human problem, in a human city, with human mages. Nothing for a Dalish elf to have to worry over, in the grand scheme of things.

Now she just feels pity for him, for whatever happened between how he is now and what pushed him to do what he did in Kirkwall. It sits strangely, after months of trying to put Thedas back together after the mages and templars went to war.]

I've heard it's not a safe place for anyone, let alone mages. [That's true at least, she isn't lying to him about that.] I would ask how you're settling in, but the word manhandling paints a pretty clear picture. Are the snacks making up for it, at least?

[unconfines]

[He's not blind to the recognition that's going on from other people in this broadcast. But after Fenris's outburst, he's not exactly inclined to press her for details about why she knows his name, or why Kirkwall. It's easier that way, simpler that way.

He always did wish things would just be simple.]

They are in fact, thank you for asking. Though they're leagues behind the company, if I can say that.

[Flirting, yes. He doesn't really have high hopes about Dalish women, but he wouldn't be himself if he didn't try.]

[dawnwillcome]

[It just doesn't do any good to punish a version of Anders who hasn't committed all the terrible things he's destined to do, is the thing. Jove doesn't particularly believe that if she's nice to him now that it will change anything in the future, change what Anders does, but while they're stuck here there's no reason to make an enemy of him.

And despite her better judgement, she doesn't feel the need to shut him down. The flirting does throw her off for a moment because it's an entirely odd situation, all things considered, but she always had been more inclined to flirt with her companions. That doesn't just go away on its own.]

There is no circle here, and no templars to give you orders. Feel free to say whatever it is you'd like to, Anders.

[unconfines]

[He laughs, quick and easy and emboldened.]

If you think the templars could ever convince me not to compliment a beautiful woman, then you have a very high estimation of my relationship with them.

[beat]

Or a very low one, I suppose, depending on how you look at it.

[dawnwillcome]

[This is undoubtedly opening a door that should be kept firmly shut, but she laughs anyway.]

I've only known one templar well, and he was of the retired variety. He's a very good man, but I've seen enough to know how rare those are. The Dalish don't have templars, you see. They're a bit of a mystery to me even now.

[unconfines]

You'd do well to keep it that way, if you can. Take it from someone who's had all the mystery ruined for them already.

[He doesn't trust any templar, retired or no, good or no. But it's her prerogative if she wants to dance with the devil, so to speak.]

No templars here, that's a very good start. I could get used to that.

[dawnwillcome]

[It could be argued that dancing with the devil is a thing she's doing just by having this conversation with Anders at all, but just like she isn't likely to stop considering Cullen a dear friend, it's not going to keep her from continuing to talk to Anders.

Bad life choices? Who even knows at this point.]

Believe me, I've never had any urges to see the inside of your towers. I would be more than happy to live as an apostate for the rest of my life.

That said, I wouldn't have picked being kidnapped and forced to live encased in metal either.

[unconfines]

This is a step up from the Circle.

[Said without hesitation, but also without much force behind it. He says it simply, like it's just a fact.]

A very small one, mind. More like a half-step. But if you'd asked me a year or two ago which I'd prefer....

[He shrugs. He prefers the Wardens to the Circle, and that's hardly freedom, either. He'll pick anything over the Circle, except maybe for the Qunari.]

[dawnwillcome]

I think you'll find it's a rather large step up, now that you're free to go visit the moons. They're a little strange, but once you get used to it it's a vast improvement. There's real food, and you can even drink on one of them.

[Can you tell how much more she likes living on the moons? Because it's quite a lot.]