11. Fenris
I love Fenris. He was my romance option every time I’ve played Dragon Age II, and the rival romance between him and a mage Hawke plays out as delicious angst. But as the years have passed, I’ve cooled a lot on the relationship because it just has a lot of abusive undertones. The sex scene is sparked by an argument, then Fenris shoving you into a wall, lit up with his lyrium tattoos ready to reach through your chest and crush your heart. It illustrates the abuse Fenris has gone through, and the scene itself is very earned. It works well in a video game and on An Archive of Our Own, but in the context of a real romance the red flags keep popping up. Yeah, by the end Fenris and Hawke grow and have a better relationship, but if that shit happened once, it can happen again.
