Speaking Thoughts Aloud:

Speaking thoughts aloud:

I love Cullen. Everything about him. His strengths and his flaws.

I love his story. Every bit of it. As it is written.

I may have wished for more. For him to be a companion so we could dive deeper into his character and arc. To see things handled a bit differently only because his story had the potential to be truly fantastic.

But even so, for me, it was.

He may not be perfect in Inquisition, he may still have some growing to do (and my opinion of what that growth looks like is not the same as others, which is okay), but in truth, that makes me love it—love him—all the more.

It keeps the theme of his story that has been there from the beginning:

What it means to be human.

To have hopes, dreams, ideals, ambitions. To have preconceived notions and to have them proven wrong. To have your heart and mind at odds. To have doubts, struggles, fears. To have your heroes fail you. To have your friends turn against you. To have your ideals used against you. To be broken. Used. Abandoned. Violated. Manipulated. To have that pain twist and corrupt. To have that pain weaponized. To weaponize it. To lose your way…and yourself. To face your sins. To claw after redemption. To seek atonement. To have faith as your shelter in the storms of life. To want to serve something greater than yourself.

“I have decided to take Seeker Pentaghast's offer. The Circles have fallen. I can give no more to the Templar Order, nor it to me. The Maker has shown me a new path; I must take it.”

Hands bloody, tears streaming down your cheeks, throat raw from prayers and penitence, heart trembling with the fear that you’re too far gone as you dig through the refuse of your own making to find yourself—who you truly are—again.

To persevere.

And against all odds to find life, freedom, purpose, hope and even love in the end.