#what dragon age means to me
Dragon Age has been such a huge part of my life for the last ten years and I couldn’t imagine my life without it. It’s brought me closer to some of my favorite people and given me a creative outlet to pour my passions into. It’s made me laugh and cry and swoon and given me memories that I will always cherish.
It’s truly always been my favorite game series and it will always hold a special place in my heart.
-Artemis Lavellan
“I don’t need another game to obsess about!” I’m pretty sure that is what I laughingly told Decima the first time she tried to get me to play Dragon Age. I am rather stubborn when I have my mind set on something, and I was too busy (blah, blah, blah) to play another Bioware game. Oh what a fool was I!
Decima, however, is subtle and persistent. Don’t let her fool you! She comes across as a complete innocent sweet heart (which she is!), but there is whip smart student of human nature behind her smile and charm! And she was going to get me into Dragon Age one way or another. It took lies and bribery to finally make it happen!
And I couldn’t be more grateful!!!
I had given up on being creative before Dragon Age became a part of my life. The fanfics, drawings, and fandom antics I loved when I was younger had been put away when I started teaching, and I didn’t think I had the emotional or creative energy to put into anything other than my career.
One thing you may have noticed about me is that I don’t do anything in half measures. Decima gave me Origins for my birthday in 2012 and I finished my first play through within five days. Awakenings took me two. I jumped head first into Dragon Age 2 next, finishing all the whole series plus all the DLCs inside of two weeks!
And it was like a light was turned back on!! I was writing fanfics again! I was drinking in lore like it was water! I couldn’t get enough!! I finished my first Dragon Age fic after a 14 hour marathon write that still makes me sit back in wonder to this day. Creativity is such an important part of my life that it felt like rain in a desert!
But for all of that, the part of Dragon Age that I am most grateful for is the relationships it enhanced and created. I love Decima, Dorothea, and Artemis with all of my heart! Our bond wouldn’t be as strong without all the time we’ve sojourned in Thedas together. They are truly my wyrd sisters!
I am also so very grateful to everyone who has reached out to us with lore, meta, and theories through the last five years. This community has been so good to us! Thank you all!!
-Morta Mahariel
Dragon Age has been so much more than a game for so long that I’m not exactly sure how to properly articulate how much it means to me. Before discovering Dragon Age, my creativity had been dead inside me for many years. I had lost a part of myself, and as a result I felt less… me! Dragon Age reawakened my desire to write, create, discover, and dream. For that alone I am deeply grateful, but the best thing to come from Dragon Age was the familial relationships that have been forged and strengthened through a shared love of Thedas. My relationships with each of the Wyrd Sisters has been deepened in ways that would have never happened without it. Looking back, my sister, Morta and I have always been collaborators, even when we were little girls putting on productions for our parents in our living room. Unfortunately, as we grew up we kind of lost that dreaming spirit. To say that DA gave that facet of our relationship back to us is an understatement. We have spent some of my happiest hours dreaming as vividly as if we were in the fade itself, because of Dragon Age. She is my best friend, not just my sister. I would be completely lost without her, and I know DA has nourished the deepest and most cherished roots of our relationship. Then there is my relationship with Artemis, who is my niece. Dragon Age transformed our relationship from a somewhat comfortable familial relationship to her becoming one of my best friends, collaborators, and a precious part of my immediate family. This isn’t even touching on the beautiful art and stories that Thedas has inspired among us. My beloved daughter, Dorothea has brought color and life to characters we both adore in the most fun and unique ways. Dragon Age has given me all of this and so much more! I have some of my dearest friends in Thedas. I love them so much (flaws and all) and I am so grateful to everyone who played a part in bringing them to life. DA will always be one of my true loves, no matter how many years go by (and I’ll be hitting my 9 year DA anniversary at Christmas). I’m so grateful! I love you, Dragon Age!!!
–Decima Cousland
