Down to the Wire (DA2 SPOILERS BELOW)

[oceanose]

 What... is Anders doing?

I know, I know.
I'm coming in about eight years too late to this game.
I completely acknowledge this, and I own up to the sins of my younger self for not playing it sooner.

That being said, I've been on this game for almost two years now and I haven't finished it yet! The main issue with my playthrough style is that I want to explore EVERY possible option. Whenever I want to try something different, I create a new character to explore that route. Not even with the romances, but with Hawke's personality, with major options in the story, with whether or not we let Isabella keep the book. I become so curious about what could have happened in those other storylines, I end up with fifteen different Hawke profiles to try to explore them all. I started off playing on my PS3, but I've seen moved on to Xbox now that it's been made backwards compatible (and praise the Maker because I'd been waiting for that one to convert over).

But now we're here! Finally. Act 3. Mage!Hawke + friendmance Fenris. And a cordial relationship with Anders. I want to support him, I really do. But he makes it so hard sometimes. I have an Anders-loving mage!Hawke ready to give Anders all the love and support in the world (which I plan on completing next in my list of fifteen profiles to complete), but I have to finish this playthrough before skipping on to another account. I need to beat it, by Jove, I need to. 

Which is where the Anders problem is coming in at.

He was the very first character I wanted to romance. He had so much passion, and he cares SO MUCH for the mages. It's pretty much his entire being, as he'll let you know wherever and whenever you ask him to. But over the years (across the three acts), it's become less endearing and more... concerning? And that's the point, I'm sure. All the other characters warn you about him. Everyone makes it very clear that Anders is dangerous. And me, being the big ol' loving teddy bear that I am, couldn't look past the love he placed into his work. He's always been on the radical side with his opinions, but he's gone from radicalism to extremism (which, I feel, is a nice allegory for how real-world radicalism can grow. Folks don't just wake up with that sort of hatred; it builds over time). 

We're now at that part in Act 3 where Anders asks you to sneak him into the Chantry without letting anyone know. 

And I don't trust him.

Which is terrible, because I love and trusted him SO MUCH up until this point! Like, boy— What are you up to? Why would you lie to Hawke, of all people? How am I ever supposed to be on your side if you make-up some magic potion and get to be an accomplice in helping you hunt down the ingredients? ( I'm 99.99% sure homeboy is building a bomb at this point, and if he IS, I'm going to fight him. ) 

Not to mention you earn brownie points with him for handing over Fenris to the slavers. I get that you don't like each other, but that's so LOW and COLD and SCREWED UP. 

Bottom line is.... I'm not really liking Anders as much as I used to?
He's kind of a jerk...