#god i love anders so much
1. He’s Andrastian, he’s religious and he is open about it and even proud of it. He speaks confidently about the will of the Maker as if it were hard facts, he believes as strongly as Cassandra or anyone else. But he’s constantly challenging the most popular interpretations of the Chant of Light. He believes in the Maker, and Andraste, but he does not believe in the Chantry.
2. He’s not fighting for himself, at all. He’s a warden. If he were ever overwhelmed by the fear of being taken to a circle (and he was) he could just go back to them. Even temporarily. He has a cop-out that no other mage has and he doesn’t use it. Instead he fights. And we see from awakening how he would behave if he wereall about himself, and turning away from the suffering of others. Anders doesn’t WANT a revolution. He wants a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lighting at fools. Being a warden pretty much gave him that. Anders, having been swayed by Justice, recognizes the need for a revolution, or at very least for someone to do something besides talk.
3. He cares about mages. Mages specifically. Vivienne wanted to change the circle, fix it, make it safe for all mages and a sanctum for them. But she wanted to do this carefully, within the laws of the chantry, and it would take time. This was only in the interest of mages who were not about to be killed, made tranquil, or already being abused. In the interest of those who were okay being a prisoner for their entire lives. AND it was in the interest of non-mages. Anders give a single fuck about non-mages. By Act III, He wanted to do something for mages NOW. He was no longer willing to let those already in the fire, burn, while he tried to compromise with his enemies. So he started his own fire. Fire with fire.
4. He is a fighter. He puts all of his energy into what he believes and he has no time for neutral ground or “compromise.” He’s interpreted as bitter and annoying by so many people because he doesn’t have time for your ass if you want to sit on the fucking fence.
5. He’s a lover, he’s a romantic. He loved Karl with all his heart and he falls for Hawke the same way. But he can never put that above what he is fighting for because it is bigger than he is. Bigger than any of his personal feelings for his personal well-being. He warns Hawke about this multiple times, because he is aware of it. It’s something he has chosen. He needs Hawke to tell him, if you romance him, that he will not hide his love for him and that he will stand beside him for who he is. If you romance him, you agree to this.
6. He’s massively flawed when it comes to dealing with relationships with other people. He’s a human being– not a cinnamon roll or a problematic fav, just human, and it shows. He’s difficult to love and he knows it but the fact that he’s constantly talking about it just causes people to brush him off as whiny and then complain when, oh wow, you actually are pissing me off a bit right now. This is also something I love about Sera. They’re really the only ones who give you a solid moment where you are actually surprised at how much your “feelings” for them are being challenged, for you. They’re the only ones that turn the pain toward you.7. He’s not traditional in the world of character creation. He’s thrown out there, he’s dragged around, he’s stepped on by his writer and you are given more than enough encouragement to knock him down to the lowest point possible. And even if you don’t, he falls without you. Anders was made to be pushed around, to be changed, his writer even verbally states this. But that’s all the more reason for me, to fight for him. Because he’s flawed, and he can be a massive ass, and he can hurt people and he was meant to be that way so that you are encouraged to try and change him. But he is also passionate in love, fights for a cause he believes in beyond all doubt, ignoring everything those around him have to say about it.Why anyone would want to take that away is beyond me.And that is why nothing will ever stop me from adoring him, just the way he is.
So stop trying. Because I know you’re trying.8. He wants to know what he’s talking about, he wants to fuel his arguments from facts and speculations based on facts. His approach is diligent and well-educated. He doesn’t ignore what’s in front of him and takes new, hard, information that challenges his point of view well. Take Legacy, for instance, in which he is faced with the idea that mages did begin the blight. His reaction is not denial, but acceptance, and then the immediate decision to research it further. Not to mention his manifesto in itself and what we hear of it is proof of this.
