Womanhood
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Personal Conversation
Rook finds Taash and Neve talking in the kitchen.
Taash: Why do you run around in fancy mage clothes?
Neve: Because I like them?
Taash: You’re barely even wearing a shirt!
Neve: You fight Antaam with a bare midriff.
Rook: Everything all right?
Neve: We’re fine. Just trading fashion tips.
Neve: So what I wear is a problem for you?
Taash: It’s not! It’s just… Why dress like that? Are you trying to make *your *mother happy?
Dialogue options:
1 - Your mother said something…
Rook: Is this about what your mother said on the beach?
Taash: No!
Neve: What’d she say?
Rook: Taash’s mother said that Taash acted more like a man than a woman.
2 - Taash, leave Neve alone.
Rook: I don’t know what your problem is here, Taash, but you’re out of line.
Neve: Relax, Rook. I’m a big girl. Taash, you mentioned me trying to make my mother happy. What’s that have to do with how I dress?
Taash: It’s just something my mother said the other day. That I act more like a man than a woman.
3 - Talk to us, Taash.
Rook: Taash, what’s going on? Something is clearly bothering you.
Neve: My bet’s on mothers and dresses.
Taash: It’s just something my mother said the other day. That I act more like a man than a woman.
4 - Scene continues.
Return to previous tree.Neve: And you feel like you should wear dresses to make her happy.
Taash: (Scoffs) No. Can you imagine me in a dress? I’d look stupider than I— I’d look stupid.
Dialogue options:
- No, you wouldn’t. [5]
- We can stop, if you want. [6]
- It’s not about the dress. [7]
- Non-Qunari: Qunari can wear dresses. [8]
- Qunari: Qunari have gender roles. [9]
5 - No, you wouldn’t.
Rook: You wouldn’t look stupid in a dress, if that’s what you wanted to wear.
Taash: I don’t want to wear a fucking dress!
Neve: Clear and to the point. So what do you want?
6 - We can stop, if you want.
Rook: Taash, if you don’t want to talk about this…
Taash: No. It’s… It matters. And Neve? Sorry I was an asshole.
Neve: No harm done. Your mother didn’t just make you angry. Something she said got its hooks into you. Why?
7 - It’s not about the dress.
Rook: This isn’t about the dress, is it?
Taash: No. It’s… I don’t know.
Taash: She always says stuff like that. About how I dress. How I act.
Neve: And…?
8 - Non-Qunari: Qunari can wear dresses.
Rook: But Qunari wear dresses all the time. Your mother does.
Taash: I am not my mother.
Neve: Clear and to the point. But her words got under your skin. And it’s not just about clothes.
9 - Qunari: Qunari have gender roles.
Rook: I wasn’t raised under the Qun, but our people believe some jobs are for men, and others are for women.
Taash: (Snorts) Yep.
Rook: You dress like a warrior. And for Qunari, warrior is a man’s job. Is that why your mother said what she said?
Taash: No. I mean… maybe. But it’s fine. She says stuff like that all the time.
Neve: And…?
10 - Scene continues.
Return to previous tree.Taash: It feels… right. When she says I act more like a man. It feels right. Why does it feel right?
Neve: Taash, do you like being a woman?
Taash: *(Scoffs) *Nobody likes being a woman.
Neve: Ah.
Taash: This is stupid. Forget I said anything.
Dialogue options:
- We’re here to help. [11]
- I need you functional. [12]
- You’re getting there. [13]
- So it’s about womanhood. [14]
- Special: Being a woman shouldn’t hurt. [15]
(Reaction to being a woman) - Special: Yes. I felt the same way. [16]
(Reaction to being trans or non-binary)
+ Neve Approves
+ Taash Approves
11 - We’re here to help.
Rook: If you don’t want to talk about it anymore, we won’t. But whatever this is, this team is here for you.
Taash: I still don’t know what this is.
Neve: Some of my friends in Minrathous talk about not feeling comfortable in their own skin. As a man, as a woman…
Neve: I could see if they’d like to talk. Maybe what they say fits how you’re feeling.
Taash: Yeah. Okay.
Taash: And thanks. You do look really pretty.
Neve: Oh?
Taash: To look at. I’d smudge your makeup.
Neve: Thanks for letting me down gently.
Scene ends.
Return to previous tree.+ Neve Approves
+ Taash Approves
12 - I need you functional.
Rook: Forget it, or dig into it. Whatever you have to do. But if our dragon hunter isn’t at her best, people will die.
Taash: (Sighs) Yeah. I’ll figure out my crap. Whatever it is.
Neve: Some of my friends in Minrathous talk about not feeling comfortable in their own skin. As a man, as a woman…
Neve: I could see if they’d like to talk. Maybe what they say fits how you’re feeling.
Taash: Yeah. Okay.
Taash: And thanks. You do look really pretty.
Neve: Oh?
Taash: To look at. I’d smudge your makeup.
Neve: Thanks for letting me down gently.
Scene ends.
Return to previous tree.+ Neve Approves
+ Taash Approves
13 - You’re getting there.
Rook: It’s not stupid, Taash. What you’re saying is important. You can figure this out at your own pace, but you’re already talking about it, and that’s a good step.
Taash: But I don’t even know what it is.
Neve: Some of my friends in Minrathous talk about not feeling comfortable in their own skin. As a man, as a woman…
Neve: I could see if they’d like to talk. Maybe what they say fits how you’re feeling.
Taash: Yeah. Okay.
Taash: And thanks. You do look really pretty.
Neve: Oh?
Taash: To look at. I’d smudge your makeup.
Neve: Thanks for letting me down gently.
Scene ends.
Return to previous tree.+ Neve Approves
+ Taash Approves
14 - So it’s about womanhood.
Rook: If something about being a woman is hurting you, I don’t think it’s stupid at all.
Taash: But what does it mean?
Rook: It could be about your mother’s expectations, or about how it feels to be a woman and Qunari. Or maybe it’s being a woman, period.
Taash: How would knowing that help? It won’t change anything.
Neve: Some of my friends in Minrathous talk about not feeling comfortable in their own skin. As a man, as a woman…
Neve: I could see if they’d like to talk. Maybe what they say fits how you’re feeling.
Taash: Yeah. Okay.
Taash: And thanks. You do look really pretty.
Neve: Oh?
Taash: To look at. I’d smudge your makeup.
Neve: Thanks for letting me down gently.
Scene ends.
Return to previous tree.+ Neve Approves
+ Taash Approves
15 - Special: Being a woman shouldn’t hurt.
Rook: Hey, it’s not stupid. I do like being a woman, but if you don’t, maybe that’s something to think about.
Taash: But what does it mean?
Rook: It could be about your mother’s expectations, or about how it feels to be a woman and Qunari. Or maybe it’s being a woman, period.
Taash: How would knowing that help? It won’t change anything.
Neve: Some of my friends in Minrathous talk about not feeling comfortable in their own skin. As a man, as a woman…
Neve: I could see if they’d like to talk. Maybe what they say fits how you’re feeling.
Taash: Yeah. Okay.
Taash: And thanks. You do look really pretty.
Neve: Oh?
Taash: To look at. I’d smudge your makeup.
Neve: Thanks for letting me down gently.
Scene ends.
Return to previous tree.+ Neve Approves
+ Taash Approves
16 - Special: Yes. I felt the same way.
Rook: I used to tell myself things that sound like what you’re saying. I felt wrong in my own skin. I didn’t know why. I figured everyone felt like that, so I pushed it away, and tried not to think about it. Until one day I finally realized what was wrong.
| Binary Trans | Non-Binary |
|---|---|
| Rook: I’d grown up being treated like a [man/woman], and I… hated that. Being a [man/woman] didn’t make me happy. Being a [man/woman] did. | Rook: I’d grown up in this box the world made for me. This is what a man is. This is what a woman is. But I wasn’t a man, and I wasn’t a woman. I was me. |
Taash: So what? You just changed?
Dialogue options:
17 - Once I felt it, yes.
Rook: I asked a lot of questions to people willing to talk with me about it…
Binary Trans Non-Binary Rook: Then one night I closed my eyes and let myself imagine living my life as a [man/woman]. Being a [man/woman]. Rook: Then one night I closed my eyes and let myself imagine living my life, not as a man or a woman, but as me. Being free as myself. Rook: Something opened up in my chest, like I’d relaxed a muscle I’d clenched my whole life without realizing it. And after I finished crying, I started making plans. Because once I learned that I could feel that way about myself, I was never going back.
18 - No. I struggled with it.
Rook: I didn’t “just” anything. It was hard. It was embarrassing. I had a lot of ugly thoughts about parts of myself I’d always been ashamed of. I’d packed it all down. I had to let it out, and feel everything I spent years trying not to feel. But it was better than spending my life hating what I saw in the mirror.
19 - I was uncertain for a while.
Rook: No. It took a long time to get there. I was afraid to admit I might be wrong about something as simple as whether I was a man or a woman… So I did little things. I changed my hair. My clothes. I wasn’t deciding anything. Just trying it out. I followed things that felt right, and eventually what felt right was who I am now.
20 - Scene continues.
Return to previous tree.Taash: And you’re saying I’m… like you?
Rook: One of the first things you told me was, “You don’t get to tell me who I am.”
Rook: Whether you’re like me or dealing with some other pain, well, only you can figure that out. Taash: Okay. I’ll try. And… thanks for telling me about… you.
Rook: Any time.
Scene ends.
Return to previous tree.+ Neve Approves
+ Taash Approves