Cole/Dialogue

This is a recording of all party banter and dialogue concerning Cole.

Cole's Cryptic Comments

 * "They should have been born together, but instead they were bound by light."
 * "There is no other man. He becomes the other man to do the things he can't."
 * "The Left Hand remembers a knife slipped to her in the darkness, and wonders why the flower blooms."
 * "It wasn't blood in the bath. Fingers on the scalp, intimate, and then the moment is gone."
 * "A breath-caught smile from the Enchanter as the candle lights. The walls are safe; she will never be hungry again."
 * "He was the boy who was supposed to die. He named himself after the horse."
 * "She knows they're going to kill her, can only save what's important. Precious space to remember her smile."
 * "It wasn't from a flower. He rode it in the snow."
 * "Stomach full of mantras, she burns like a beacon, faith a flame to bring succor for a Seeker."
 * "Never trust half an elf."
 * "He hunts the killer, but he's the one who killed her. He can't remember."
 * "He didn't kill his father. He was his father."
 * "He teaches them to fight with a secret flaw, part of a glorious strategy."
 * "He was their enemy the whole time, but she made him forget, so he could change."
 * "He meant to watch forever. He called himself Sorrow."
 * "Ships launch on changing winds. Dizzy sometimes, like the top of the stairs, but sometimes like dancing."
 * "Voice ringing with fullness from both worlds, guiding me to the shining places. He calls himself Pride."
 * "He is quiet, behind the noise. The little bottle makes him shake, but he tests the chains."
 * "She hurts, but helping hurts more. She sees the strings that pull me, eyes like raisins in a stale cookie."
 * "He was dead the whole time. He didn't know."
 * "The Left Hand blooms on the bush, remembering the light that shone in her darkness. She knows how to sing again."
 * "Salt-spray smell of Seheron. Lost in smoke from a burning ship. Guilt at not feeling guiltier."
 * "Faith seeks a friend in Compassion, cautious, careful, too much grey but growing."

Cole and Blackwall

 * Cole: So many masks.
 * Blackwall: At the ball? It's Orlesian culture, get used to it.
 * Cole: Not at the ball. Here.


 * Cole: Mockingbird, mockingbird, quiet and still, what do you see from the top of that hill? Can you see up? Can you see down?
 * Blackwall: Wait.
 * Cole: Can you see the dead things all about town?
 * Blackwall: How do you know that song?
 * Cole: It just came to me. Everyone says everyone knows it. The children knew it.

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 * Cole: How do you get the hair on your face?
 * Blackwall: Look, ask Varric. He seems to have adopted you.
 * Cole: He doesn't have have hair on his face. Is it a mask?
 * Blackwall: No it's a beard. Look, if you were any other lad your age I'd tell that one day you'll probably grow one too, except I don't know if spirits that become boys get beards.
 * Cole: I could try.
 * Blackwall: Right. You go do that then. Good luck. Have fun.
 * Cole: We played by the fire so she would be warm. No, it's summer, Liddy.
 * Blackwall: This thing you do? Maybe you should stop doing it.
 * Cole: Got her flower but they'd taken her. Left it on her bed. Next eight on the sill.
 * Cole: Tourney sands. A garden seat. Five to Chantry altars. One to a child with her hair. The sea? Too many to count.
 * Cole: And thirty-six. Tossed off the battlements today.
 * Blackwall: Go bother Solas.
 * Cole: You have many feelings.
 * Cole: I'm sorry she died.
 * Cole: Your knife is big.
 * Blackwall:[Snickers] It's a sword.
 * Cole: It's bigger than mine.
 * Blackwall: And now you've made it awkward.
 * Blackwall: How does a spirit become flesh anyway?
 * Cole: I don't know. How does a Warden become Grey?
 * Blackwall: You know, Cole, you're not so bad. But I'll never get used to the things that come out of your mouth.
 * Cole: There was once a man who had bees coming out of his mouth?
 * Blackwall: A perfect example.
 * Blackwall: What are you staring at?
 * Cole: Your head. So many tangles. Knots. And that's just on the inside.
 * Cole: You need a hairbrush.
 * Blackwall: Hey, Cole. Say something interesting.
 * Cole: "Something interesting"?
 * Blackwall: Yes, I deserved that one.
 * Cole: When you charge at them, you make them hit you.
 * Blackwall: Ideally. That's why my armor's heavier than yours.
 * Blackwall: They say you're a demon.
 * Cole: Yes. Or spirit. I want it to be spirit.
 * Blackwall: Either way, I know you're dangerous.
 * Cole: Yes. Like you.
 * Blackwall: What?
 * Cole: A sack on the side of the road, struggling. The boy runs from it, crying.
 * Blackwall: Fine, so you're dangerous and insane.
 * Cole: You would stop it if you could. That is enough. But don't do it again.

[If not romance Blackwall]

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 * Cole: Golden, graceful, glittering but not gaudy. Voice delicate and delectable.
 * Blackwall: What are you talking about, Cole?
 * Cole: Sweet, soft, silky. Her dress, and also under her dress. Are you going to talk to Josephine?
 * Blackwall: Maker's balls, get out of my mind, would you? You make me sound like a dirty, old bastard!
 * Cole: Do you want to hear what she thinks of you?
 * Blackwall: No.
 * Cole: You should.

[After Blackwall's inner circle quest.]

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 * Cole: I'm sorry you have to stay. It wouldn't work for them. You were trying to fix it. It isn't your fault.
 * Blackwall: What isn't my fault?
 * Cole: They wanted Blackwall, not Rainier. That's why the others are angry.
 * Blackwall: Angry? Really? I thought I was just imagining all the frowning faces. Care to tear into me as well, now that you know?
 * Cole: No.
 * Blackwall: You, who heal the helpless... you're not angry about what I was hiding?
 * Cole: You never hid from me.
 * Cole: "Mockingbird, mockingbird." Too many voices in the carriage. Maker, they're young.
 * Cole: If I tell my men to stop, they'll know it was all a lie. Cold, trapped, heart hammering like axes on a carriage door.
 * Blackwall: Stop. Please.
 * Blackwall: Cole, if you knew what I am, what I'd done, why didn't you tell the others?
 * Cole: Everyone hides dead things. Everyone pretends. You wanted to fix it.
 * Blackwall: I'm a murderer.
 * Cole: You don't want to be. You made a new you. You are Blackwall. You killed Rainier.
 * Blackwall: If only that were possible.
 * Cole: You would stand between Rainier and the carriage. But you can't. It doesn't work like that.
 * Cole: So you carry the bodies to remember.
 * Blackwall: I suppose I do.

'''[After Cole's inner circle quest. - Human Cole]'''

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 * Blackwall: I hear you found the templar that hurt you.
 * Cole: Yes. I tried to kill him. I thought it would fix it, fix me.
 * Blackwall: Did it?
 * Cole: No. But I'm more real now. I'll remember.
 * Blackwall: Good. Remembering is the only way you learn.
 * Cole: It hurts.
 * Blackwall: It does.
 * Blackwall: So now that you've dealt with the templar, you're a real boy?
 * Cole: Realer.
 * Blackwall: Good enough. I suppose you'll stop looking into people's heads soon? And you might want to look into, I don't know, eating.
 * Cole: Blech.
 * Blackwall: Oh, are we at that stage? Spitting everything up? At least you've mastered walking.
 * Blackwall: Soon you'll be eating properly. Then drinking. Then drinking for real. Then girls.
 * Cole: You know a lot about girls.
 * Blackwall: You're supposed to stop looking in my head.
 * Blackwall: What do you think your templar is doing now? Trying to make a new life for himself?
 * Cole: Stop. It isn't about you.
 * Blackwall: What?
 * Cole: Callier. His family. His children. You wonder if some part of them watches you still.
 * Cole: You wonder if they want you to feel guilty, if they want you to make up for what you did... but they don't.
 * Cole: If they're watching, all they want is not to have died. It isn't about you.
 * Blackwall: [Sighs.] We are a pair, you and I. The victim and the murderer.
 * Cole: If you want to remember, remember this: if you become Rainier again, I will be here, and I will kill you.
 * Cole: And if I become a demon again and hurt people, you will kill me.
 * Blackwall: I believe I can work with that.

'''[After Cole's inner circle quest. - Spirit Cole]'''

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 * Blackwall: I hear you found the templar that killed you.
 * Cole: Yes. His hurt is healed. So is mine.
 * Blackwall: Just like that? How do you forgive someone who does that to you?
 * Cole: He was frightened. The other templars were older. He didn't know what to do.
 * Cole: Afraid of them, afraid of me, can't face it, lock it away and pretend it wasn't real.
 * Cole: He fled far away, tried to forget, to be someone new.
 * Blackwall: He deserved to be punished.
 * Cole: He was.
 * Blackwall: This templar who hurt you... you made him forget?
 * Cole: Yes. He knows he left the templars, but I'm not there. He just knows they made him someone he didn't want to be.
 * Blackwall: Why did you do that? You shouldn't have taken that from him.
 * Cole: Why?
 * Blackwall: Taking away a bad memory is one thing. Taking away guilt is another. Without that guilt, it's as though he never killed you.
 * Cole: Isn't the world better that way?
 * Blackwall: I... I don't know.
 * Cole: I understand. Making the templar forget what he did to me is like making you forget Rainier.
 * Blackwall: I... Yes. Perhaps.
 * Cole: My pain was his pain. It made the amulet not work. We both had to let it go.
 * Blackwall: But now he doesn't remember what he did.
 * Cole: Isn't me not hurting more important than him being punished?
 * Blackwall: [Sighs.] We are a pair, you and I. The victim and the murderer. If it helps you, lad, then I am glad you forgave him.
 * Cole: You think that if you forget, you will become like that again. But you're not him. You have other things to carry. You can put the bodies down.
 * Blackwall: Thankyou.

Cole and Cassandra
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 * Cassandra: If you are to fight alongside us, Cole, I expect you to follow orders.
 * The Inquisitor believes you wish to help, but I will not allow you to threaten innocents.
 * Cole: Yes. Help the hurt, save the small. If I become a demon, cut me down.
 * Cassandra: Do not doubt me. I will do it.
 * Cole: Good.
 * Cassandra: You're... serious, aren't you?
 * Cole: Yes. I hope you are, too.
 * Cole: You're a better Seeker than Lambert. You care about everyone.
 * Cassandra: You knew Lord Seeker Lambert?
 * Cole: I killed him. He cared more about stopping mages than protecting people.
 * Cassandra: You killed the Lord Seeker.
 * Cole: Pathetic mages. Crush them at Andoral's Reach or starve them out. Doesn't matter which.
 * Cole: I need an example, Seekers succeeding, seizing power. Overthrow the Divine, triumphant in the eyes of the Maker.
 * Cassandra: I... am uncertain whether to believe you.
 * Cole: You believe I killed him.
 * Cassandra: Cole, do you have any proof about what you claim Lord Seeker Lambert did?
 * Cole: I was there. I didn't need proof.
 * Cassandra: But he could have been brought to justice. There are rules...
 * Cole: He used rules to hurt people. He always found a way to be right, even when he killed my friend.
 * Cassandra: You had a friend?
 * Cole: A pretty templar. She died protecting Rhys and me, but she got better.
 * Cassandra: I... don't even want to know what that means.
 * Cassandra: Cole, you killed Lord Seeker Lambert so he wouldn't hurt people.
 * Cole: Yes. Thank you for remembering. Sometimes people forget me.
 * Cassandra: Is that why you went to Therinfal?
 * Cole: Most sounded the same, but the leaders they listened to were hurt, hollowed, sick with a new song.
 * Cole: They swallowed lies until they sang with darker music. The sound hollowed them.
 * Cole: I wanted them to stop me if I harmed people, but I had to stop them instead.
 * Cole: Oh, wait. You had a question.
 * Cassandra: Perhaps we should think of something more... pleasant.
 * Cole: Like helping people?
 * Cassandra: Yes, like that.
 * Cole: Oh. That makes more sense.
 * Cassandra: Why do you look at me when you say that?
 * Cole: You found faith, not just a feeling. It was a spirit.
 * Cassandra: We do not need to speak of this further.
 * Cole: I'm a spirit that touched a body, you're a body that touched a spirit. We're the same but backwards!
 * Cassandra: Please, stop.
 * Cole: It's you, Cassandra.
 * Cole: Breathing from the belly, cold air warmed, stones beneath me, candle before me, Maker all around.
 * Cole: Then nothing, empty, I'm cut, cauterized, then caught, cleansed by a light that carries me home.
 * Cole: You're thinking backwards. You don't have faith because of the spirit. The spirit came because of your faith.
 * Cole: It's you.
 * Cassandra: Thank you, Cole. I appreciate that.

[After Cole's inner circle qusest -Human Cole]

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 * Cassandra: So, Cole, you've forgiven the templar who... killed you?
 * Cole: I don't know if I'll ever forgive him. But I can live with him.
 * Cole: Killing him won't make anything better. It's more complicated than that.
 * Cassandra: I think that's the first time I've heard you admit anything is complicated.
 * Cole: I don't understand all of it. I'm trying.
 * Cassandra: What the templars did to you, to the real Cole... I knew the treatment was harsh, but...
 * Cole: There were beatings, worse than beatings. "If you tell anyone, I'll say you used blood magic."
 * Cole: Not all templars were like that. But not enough could stand up to the ones who were.
 * Cassandra: Whatever happens in the future, there will be changes to how templars and mages govern themselves.
 * Cassandra: The Inquisition may have a say in such changes. I... would appreciate any insight you might have.
 * Cole: You'd take advice from a demon?
 * Cassandra: I'll take it. I'm not promising to follow it.
 * Cole: I was wrong to kill Lambert, wasn't I, Cassandra?
 * Cassandra: What made you change your mind?
 * Cole: I can see more. I could have helped the rebel mages. I could have warned someone.
 * Cole: Things are connected, tied in a tangle. Fixing one thing might break something else.
 * Cole: How do you do it?
 * Cassandra: I try, but don't always succeed. You do your best, and have faith it will turn out as it should.
 * Cole: I was never a spirit of faith, but thank you. I will try to be more like you.
 * Cassandra: You may regret that notion, but I wish you well.

[After Cole's inner circle qusest -Spirit Cole]

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 * Cassandra: So, Cole, I understand you are safe from binding now.
 * Cole: Yes. I am unbound, unbowed, old wounds unbroken.
 * Cole: I can be me, no fear of falling.
 * Cassandra: Fear of falling?
 * Cole: Anthony falls, blood spraying, not the blood they wanted. If a scream were a blade, revenge would be easy.
 * Cole: You didn't fall, but you faltered. Anger makes you other. You understand.
 * Cassandra: Perhaps I do at that.
 * Cassandra: What the templars did to you, to the real Cole... I knew the treatment was harsh, but...
 * Cole: Yes. Beatings, worse. "Do you remember telling me no? You can't do that now. The Tranquil don't say no to anything."
 * Cassandra: Maker's breath!
 * Cole: Not all, but enough. The good templars were too afraid to stop the others.
 * Cassandra: Whatever happens in the future, there will be changes to how templars and mages govern themselves.
 * Cassandra: The Inquisition may have a say in such changes. I... would appreciate any insight you might have.
 * Cole: Compassion and faith. Not all, but a start. I can help. I can try.
 * Cole: You're sad about the Seekers.
 * Cassandra: That takes no magical gift to understand, Cole.
 * Cole: The room with the candle. It wasn't a lie. Your faith was real.
 * Cassandra: The same could be said for Lambert or Lucius. A single moment of perfect faith does not make one immune to fault.
 * Cole: Belly knotted, the candle burns like the sun. No voice but my own for months. "Blessed are they who stand before the corrupt and the wicked and do not falter."
 * Cassandra: "Blessed are the peacekeepers, the champions of the just."
 * Cole: It will be enough.
 * Cassandra: So, Cole, Varric tells me you were a spirit of compassion.
 * Cole: Yes.
 * Cassandra: How does compassion become such a deadly killer?
 * Cole: Templars.
 * Cassandra: Ah. I'm truly sorry.
 * Cole: Don't be. You and Cullen care. That's more than most.
 * Cole: Voices sing, but the hawk has flown away and cannot hear them. Standing by the door, legs stuck. I shouldn't be here.
 * Cole: Where is his sister? Is she crying? Can she breathe? I couldn't breathe. Pain twists, but for which one?
 * Cassandra: I knew the story more than I knew the woman.
 * Cole: It isn't your fault he died.
 * Cassandra: Perhaps not. Sometimes knowing that isn't enough.
 * Cole: Can you know it more?
 * Cassandra: Be easy, Cole. I will be fine.
 * Cole: The frame holds, hand at the waist gently moves as body and thought spiral.
 * Cassandra: Cole!
 * Cole: Notes drip through the air. (Hums.)
 * Cassandra: That's... not the song they were playing.
 * Cole: Yes, but that's your favorite song.
 * Cole: Where would the Inquisition go?
 * Cassandra: What do you mean?
 * Cole: The Wardens wanted to help, but they hurt people instead. You would have sent them away, Cassandra.
 * Cassandra: I believe it may have been safer, but we cannot know for certain.
 * Cole: If the Inquisition stops helping, where would we go to keep people safe from us?
 * Cassandra: We must pray that it never comes to that.
 * Cole: Prayer isn't a place. It would not save them from us.
 * Cassandra: The Wardens fell. The Inquisition need not follow suit.
 * Cole: The Wardens thought the same. So did the templars.
 * Cassandra: Then we must be vigilant.
 * Cole: Warden-Commander Clarel wasn't like you, Cassandra.
 * Cassandra: Thank you, Cole... I think. I never met Clarel, but I will take that as a compliment.
 * Cole: She fell because she fell. That's how Erimond convinced her to hurt people. He made it look like bravery.
 * Cole: She called it a choice, but it was a lie. She was afraid.
 * Cole: You aren't afraid. You won't fall.
 * Cassandra: Thank, you, Cole. I appreciate that.
 * Cassandra: What of Magister Erimond? Do you sense a secret pain in him?
 * Cole: No. Erimond is an asshole.
 * Cassandra: [Laughs.] Well said.
 * Cole: Shield catches the blow, blade comes down, shiver through the hilt as it cuts. Another bandit falls.
 * Cole: A good strike, Lucius would have been proud. The bandit's eyes meet mine as he falls, so afraid. Such a waste.
 * Cassandra: Please leave my mind, Cole.
 * Cole: You don't need to feel bad.
 * Cassandra: I do not feel bad. The bandits needed to die.
 * Cole: Not that. You feel bad for being proud of it.
 * Cole: You couldn't help the bandits. Some people have to die. Being happy for your skill doesn't make you cruel.
 * Cassandra: Thank you... I suppose.
 * Cole: Do you ever take off your armor and talk to it?
 * Cassandra: No.
 * Cole: It might say something nice.
 * Cassandra: What is it, Cole? Why the odd looks?
 * Cole: Light pastry with blueberries, sticky on your fingers. Small hands reaching as Anthony tears his in half.
 * Cole: But when you got to the kitchen, they were all gone.
 * Cassandra: Ah, yes. They are delicious, but do not last long.
 * [Human Cole]: I would get you one, but they see me in the kitchen now. They ask if I want a glass of water, a piece of bread. They want to help me. It should be the other way'round.
 * Cassandra: Sometimes it's difficult to accept the kindness of others, but it can be worth the effort.
 * [Spirit Cole]: I could get you one. The cooks don't see me.
 * Cassandra: Just because they don't see you doesn't mean it isn't theft.
 * Cole: Your elbow made him smile.
 * Cassandra: Who are you talking about?
 * Cole: The blacksmith's apprentice. He repaired the armor. He was too shy to ask if you were satisfied.
 * Cole: He saw you smile as you tested the joint. It made him happy.
 * Cassandra: It was fine work. I will remember to thank him when we are back at Skyhold.
 * Cole: My elbows don't make anyone smile.
 * Cole: You don't like dead people, Cassandra.
 * Cassandra: Was that a question? Am I supposed to?
 * Cole: The ones in the dark city. Wrapped in cloths that smell like sunflowers. You hated the singing.
 * Cassandra: Ah, the Grand Necropolis. Yes, I never saw the point.
 * Cole: Maybe dead people like the singing.
 * Cassandra: I would rather not think about that.
 * Cole: Your uncle misses you, Cassandra.
 * Cassandra: No. He wrote you a letter. There was pain on the page.
 * Cole: Stop going into my quarters. How many times must I tell you?
 * Cole: No. He wrote you a letter. There was pain in the page.
 * Cassandra: Stop going into my quarters. How many times must I tell you?
 * Cassandra: Cole, I found a locket on my pillow earlier...
 * Cole: It was Anthony's.
 * Cassandra: It was my grandmother's, actually, but it had Anthony's portrait inside. I thought I'd lost it.
 * Cole: You did lose it. I had to fight a rat for it.
 * Cassandra: Oh? Thank you.
 * Cole: He wasn't a very big rat.
 * Cole: Cassandra, who's... Regalyan?
 * Cassandra: No one to concern yourself with.
 * Cole: You were thinking about the time you—
 * Cassandra: Now I'm thinking about something else. Can you guess?
 * Cole: My hat wouldn't fit there...

Cole and Dorian

 * Dorian: You're not possessing a human body, Cole? You... actually look like that?
 * Cole: Yes.
 * Dorian: But a spirit's true form is always monstrous, or at least unnatural.
 * Cole: The world doesn't make sense to them. It's too real. That's why they look wrong.
 * Dorian: And... this is how you want to look?
 * Cole: I want to help. Looking doesn't matter.


 * Dorian: Can you change your form, Cole? If you wanted to look like something else?
 * Cole: But I don't want to look like something else.
 * Dorian: Hmm. There are magisters who'd be ecstatic if they could summon a demon who could pass for human.
 * Cole: They would use it to hurt people.
 * Dorian: You're right about that. They would.


 * Dorian: Do you need to eat, Cole? Or sleep?
 * Cole: I thought I had to. But I don't. The Old Songs can pull me.
 * Dorian: That's something. I don't know what, but it's something.
 * Dorian: What about when you're injured? Why do you bleed? Is it because you think you have to?
 * Cole: Is that why you bleed?
 * Dorian: I-- well-- uh, yes. You have me there.


 * Cole: You ask a lot of questions, Dorian.
 * Dorian: I'm curious about you. I had no idea something like you was possible!
 * Cole: I'm curious about you, too.
 * Dorian: You can ask me questions, if you like. I'm not sure why you'd want to, but--
 * Cole: Oh, good! Thank you!
 * Dorian: I'm...going to regret this, aren't I?


 * Cole: Dorian, you said I could ask you questions.
 * Dorian: It's true. (Sigh) I did say that.
 * Cole: Why are you so angry at your father? He wants to help and you know he does, but--
 * Dorian: I'm not certain I can explain it to you.
 * Cole: You love him, but you're angry. They mix together, boiling in the belly until it kneads into a knot.
 * Dorian: Sometimes... sometimes love isn't enough, Cole.

(or)
 * Cole: "Love isn't enough." Enough what? You didn't explain, Dorian.
 * Dorian: (Sigh) I was rather hoping I had.
 * Cole: His face in the stands, watching as I pass the test. So proud there's tears in his eyes. Anything to make him happy. Anything.
 * Cole: Why isn't that true anymore?
 * Dorian: Cole, this... is not the sort of discussion for walking around. Please drop it.
 * Cole: I'm hurting you, Dorian. Words winding, wanting, wounding. You said I could ask.
 * Dorian: I know I did. The things you ask are just... very personal.
 * Cole: But it hurts. I want to help, but it's all tangled with the love. I can't tug it loose without tearing it.
 * Cole: You hold him so tightly. You let it keep hurting, because you think hurting is who you are. Why would you do that?
 * Dorian: Can someone tell him to stop? Banish him back to the Fade or something!
 * Inquisitor:  Cole wants to help you. Maybe you should let him.
 * Dorian:  (sigh) Marvelous! Everyone's so helpful!
 * Inquisitor:  You're an adult, Dorian. You want him to stop, tell him.
 * Cole: I'm sorry. I keep making it worse.
 * Dorian: No, I'm sorry. Of course you don't understand. Just... leave me with it for now.


 * Dorian: I've been trying to imagine how to explain it to you, Cole.
 * Dorian:  The thing is, sometimes the ones you love are also the ones who disappoint you the most.
 * Dorian: You think that if they love you, they should understand. They shouldn't want to hurt you.
 * Dorian: So you feel betrayed. You say things you can't ever take back.
 * Cole: Get out. You are no son of mine.
 * Dorian: Yes, like that.
 * Cole: He wishes he hadn't meant it.


 * Dorian: Did you enjoy the Winter Palace, Cole?
 * Cole: There were so many wonderful hats!
 * Dorian: Did you try dancing? Or did you skulk around invisibly?
 * Cole: Dancing is hard. You have to listen with your feet as well as your heart.
 * Dorian: And not poke around in the heads of the other dancers.
 * Cole: There's a lot to do all at once.

(If the Inquisitor is in a romance with Dorian)
 * Cole: You're happier now, Dorian.
 * Dorian: Is that what that light, tingly feeling is? I suppose you're right.
 * Cole: Wishing but wondering, wounded and wistful. What if he doesn't want me after?
 * Dorian: But he did.
 * Cole: Now you're smiling! It's good.


 * Cole: Why did you leave your home, Dorian?
 * Dorian: You know why. I had to stop the Venatori.
 * Cole: It was more...it was the man with your eyes...angry, walking on cobblestones, 'I'm on my own now'
 * Dorian: Digging around in my head again, are you?
 * Cole: You said I could ask questions!
 * Dorian: (sigh) Rather like inviting someone into your house and they walk off with the silverware!


 * Dorian: Cole, you should be careful dancing around with those daggers when I'm throwing fire.
 * Cole: It won't hurt me. It's friendly fire.
 * Dorian: That doesn't always mean what you think it means.


 * Cole: Your clothes look like the Fade, Dorian.
 * Dorian: The stuff of dreams, an explosion of color and sensation wrapped in an enigma.
 * Cole: It's shiny.


 * Cole: Can you feel the bits of Fade around you when you cast spells, Dorian?
 * Cole: They pull around the Veil, pulled with power, then pushed through to see this side.
 * Dorian: So when I cast a fireball, it's just the Fade saying Peek-a-boo?
 * Cole: I don't think it says that.
 * Dorian: If it says anything other than I'm going to burn your face off, I don't want to hear it.


 * Dorian: Cole, are those real clothes, or-?
 * Cole: They're real. What else would they be?
 * Dorian: I thought maybe you'd conjured them, like your physical form.
 * Cole: Do you conjure yours? Is that why they look like that?
 * Dorian: Never mind, forget I said anything.


 * Dorian: That little trick, Cole, when you dip into someone's mind and take a drink: do you choose what you're looking for or is it random?
 * Cole: It has to be hurt, or a way to help the hurt. That's what calls me.
 * Cole: Relenus...skin tan like fine whiskey, cheekbones shaded, lips curl when he smiles...He would have said yes.
 * Dorian: I'll thank you not to do that again, please.


 * Cole: Dorian, am I handsome?
 * Dorian: Are you what?
 * Cole: You say you're handsome all the time. Am I? I can't tell.
 * Dorian: You're all right. Might want to rethink the hats.
 * Cole: But I like my hats.


 * Cole: Dorian, what's a slave?
 * Dorian: Festus bei um canaverum!
 * Cole: But you said I could ask questions!
 * Dorian: That's true. Just...go ask the Inquisitor this one,.
 * Cole: Dorian, I really wish you would tell me.
 * Dorian: I drew you a diagram. Isn't that enough?
 * Cole: No.
 * Dorian: Good. Because the thought of you trying that frightens me more than a little.


 * Dorian: Cole, the wooden duck I found on my bed... was that you?
 * Cole: No. I'm not a wooden duck.
 * Dorian: I mean did you put it there?
 * Cole: Yes? I couldn't find one with little wheels, though. I'm sorry.


 * Dorian: Cole, do you hear magic?
 * Cole: Yes. I do. Don't you?
 * Dorian: Spells sometimes makes a sound but... I don't think we hear the same thing.
 * Cole: Don't your spells whisper things to you? What is and could be, music in the mind of strange, far away places?
 * Dorian: Not lately.
 * Cole: Then we don't hear the same thing.


 * Dorian: Cole, you saw Corypheus when he attacked Haven. What was your... read on him?
 * Cole: Fear inside. Blackness like a pool of hate. So much has changed, I need to stop it. Bend it to my will.
 * Dorian: Did he actually walk into the Black City? Is that true?
 * Cole: Betrayal, blurred at the edges, like a faded painting. Too long ago, so much confusion.
 * Dorian: I'll... take that as a "maybe."
 * Cole: There were people trying to kill me. That makes it harder.


 * Dorian: Any progress on protecting yourself from binding, Cole?
 * Cole: Not yet.
 * Dorian: Hop to it! You're quick with those daggers. I'd rather not have them pointed at me.

Cole and Iron Bull

 * Cole: Barman laughs. Slides the drink over. Tankard in view the whole time, no chance poison was added. Blade at his waist. Club under the bar. Moves with training, mercenary or guard. Use that if I have to.
 * Iron Bull: Yeah. I go for the shoulder, a shot he trained to take on the armor. But, since he's a barman now and not a merc, he bleeds, flinches, and I trap the arm and break his neck.
 * Cole: Why, The Iron Bull?
 * Iron Bull: I didn't do it, kid. It was just idle thought, in case it came up.
 * Cole: Do you think about how to kill everyone you meet?
 * Iron Bull: Do you not?
 * Cole: Vasaad was angry. He went first because he wanted to fight. Taking point, then points take him, red on his neck.
 * Iron Bull: I was just thinking about-- Wait, you in my mind again, kid?
 * Cole: Even if you went in first, there would have been another fight, another time he didn't listen. It wasn't your fault.
 * Iron Bull: Yes, it was. I was in charge. Should've found a way to-- Hey, that's pretty good. We could use that!
 * Cole: You can use sadness?
 * Iron Bull: Ben-Hassrath, Kid. We can use anything.
 * Iron Bull: So Cole, you're polite, you're good in a fight, and your heart's in the right place.
 * Cole: It is? Good.
 * Iron Bull: I've got a plan. I think this could get you sorted out, get both feet on the ground.
 * Cole: I have to lift my feet, or the rocks make noise when I walk.
 * Iron Bull: Yes.... When we get back, you're going to spend an evening with a nice lady named Candy.
 * Cole: Can I lift my feet?
 * Iron Bull: She's gonna lift a lot more than that.
 * Iron Bull: So how was Candy? You two have a good time?
 * Cole: Yes. She danced. Then I untangled the hurt that made her angry at her mother.
 * Cole: I helped her write a letter to send back home. She said I could call her Marguerite, the name didn't hurt anymore.
 * Iron Bull: Well, that was five royals well-spent.


 * Iron Bull: Hey, Cole. Quick! What number am I thinking of?
 * Cole: Raw and hot, trying to open it, but just darkness. How bad, how bad? No, done now, no sense worrying.
 * Cole: The man they hurt coughs, shaking, but sits up. Eyes wide. No, not a man, a woman, clothes torn.
 * Cole: "You're safe now. I'm Iron Bull. What do you want me to call you?"
 * Iron Bull: Twelve. The number I was thinking of was "twelve."
 * Iron Bull: (Grumbles) Demon interrogators. Stupid idea anyway.


 * Cole: You got to pick your name, The Iron Bull.
 * Iron Bull: Sure did. Thanks for sticking the "the" on there, too. Most people forget.
 * Iron Bull: It kinda makes it sound like I'm not really a person. Like I'm this dangerous thing, you know?
 * Cole: You made it a joke on yourself, making a mockery, so you would never be that.
 * Iron Bull: It kills the joke if you explain it, kid.

(If the Inquisitor sided with Iron Bull during the Demands of the Qun quest)


 * Cole: The Iron Bull, a woman in the last village wanted you to pick her up and take her clothes off.
 * Iron Bull: Most people do.
 * Cole: In her mind, you were very big.
 * Iron Bull: Well, that's flattering.
 * Cole: When we fight, you make them not people. So their death doesn't stick to you.
 * Iron Bull: Yes. Picked that up in Seheron. Got to keep it separate. Out here, anything could be a threat. You kill for the team, no questions asked.
 * Cole: I see it: a wall of wounds. Nothing on this side has a family.
 * Iron Bull: When we're at the tavern, or back home, it goes back to normal. People get to be people again.
 * Cole: What if someone attacks you in a tavern?
 * Iron Bull: That's when shit gets messed up.
 * Cole: The Iron Bull, in one fight, you let someone hit you so they wouldn't hit me.
 * Iron Bull: Yes?
 * Cole: But you hate demons.
 * Iron Bull: Listen, Cole. You might be a weird, squirrelly kid, but you're my weird, squirrelly kid.
 * Cole: Oh. Thank you.
 * Iron Bull: Just don't make it weird. No full hugs. Maybe a one-armed slap on the back... at most. 
 * Cole: Alright.

Cole and Sera

 * Cole: She tried. The cookies were good until the hate made it bitter in your mouth.


 * Sera: Not there Creepy. Go root in that part of me and I'll strike you up you hear.

--
 * Cole: Everyone heard. You're scary in another place.
 * Cole: Sera. My tongue wants to whistle on the start. Sera. But it has to stay still or the r is a d. Sera. Seda. Seda. De da de da. If you try, you can say it without moving your mouth, see? Serrra. Say it enough and it stops being a word. Sera, Sera, Sera, Sera, Serraa.

-
 * Sera: Leave me alone.
 * Cole: You like to dance, but can't. You hate to sing, but can. You should not paint. It would be very bad if you did.
 * Sera: Could someone please shut him up? or I am going to shut him and his creepy little lies.
 * Cole: You... you called me him. Thank you!

-
 * Sera: Ugh! How do you get so close to being human and then just not?
 * Cole: You don't have to be afraid, Sera. I won't hurt you.
 * Sera: Go away.
 * Cole: I won't stab you when you are looking somewhere else. I won't do that to your boots. Or that other thing to your arrows. I don't understand what that last thing is, but I won't do it either.


 * Sera: Why does it keep talking at me?

Cole and Solas

 * Cole: You're different, Solas. Sharper. You're in both places.
 * Solas: I visit the Fade regularly. Perhaps you are sensing traces of it.
 * Solas: You are a spirit who crossed the Veil and took human form.
 * Cole: Spirit or demon.
 * Solas: The two are not so dissimilar, Cole.
 * Solas: While the world may exert a pull in one direction or another, the choice is ultimately yours.
 * Cole: I am sorry your friend died, Solas.
 * Solas: Thank you, Cole.
 * Cole: I didn't know there were spirits of wisdom.
 * Solas: There are few. Spirits form as a reflection of this world and its passions.
 * Solas: We will never lack for spirits of rage, or hunger, or desire. The world gives them plenty to mirror.
 * Solas: The gentler spirits are far more rare. We can ill afford the loss of even one spirit of wisdom, or faith...
 * Solas: Or compassion.
 * Cole: I will try not to die.
 * Solas: Do that, please.
 * Cole: If it helps enough people, it becomes more... wandering, wishing, touched by them, Maker loves you, and it grows.
 * Cole: But I am me. Will I be more one day, if I help enough? Is this a task, timed, temporary?
 * Solas: No. It is a mistake to ascribe human motivations to them.
 * Cole: So I am always this?
 * Solas: You are always you.

(If Inquisitor romanced Solas)
 * Cole: (if Inquisitor had vallaslin removed) Ar lasa mala revas. You are so beautiful. But then you turned away. Why?
 * Solas: I had no choice.
 * Cole: She is bare-faced, embarrassed, and she doesn't know. She thinks it's because of her.
 * Cole: (if Inquisitor's vallaslin was not removed) Stop, you're perfect exactly as you are. But then you turned away. Why?
 * Solas: I had no choice.
 * Cole: She feels her face, marked, marred without malice. She didn't know. She thinks it's why you walked away.
 * Solas: You cannot heal this, Cole. Please, let it go.
 * Inquisitor: Perhaps Cole can get a better answer from you than I did.
 * Cole: He hurts, an old pain from before, when everything sang the same.
 * Cole: You're real, and it means everyone could be real. It changes everything, but it can't.
 * Cole: They sleep, masked in a mirror, hiding, hurting, and to wake them... (gasps) Where did it go?
 * Solas: I apologize, Cole. That is not a pain you can heal.

Cole and Varric
─────── ─────── ───────
 * Varric: So you could make people not see you, Cole. Can you do that for other people?
 * Cole: Yes. It makes me tired, and doesn't work if they're loud. Or angry. Or bright.
 * Varric: Hm, what about things? Can you make people ignore an object?
 * Cole: Maybe. Like what?
 * Varric: Oh, I don't know. A book, or a box... or a crate... or a wagon full of crates?
 * Sera: Turning creepy loose on your stuff? Not a good idea, dwarfy.
 * Solas: Smuggling? That is certainly a... unique use of a spirit's innate powers of persuasion.
 * Cassandra: Dwarf...
 * Varric: I'm just asking.
 * Cole: They were staring at me.
 * Varric: Who's "they," kid?
 * Cole: In Skyhold. The servants in the courtyard. They were looking at me and whispering.
 * Varric: It's the hat. Kind of hard to miss. Don't worry about it.
 * Cole: What's wrong with my hat?
 * Varric: That's going to take a while. I'll explain "clothes" when we get back.
 * Cole: Should I change my hat?
 * Varric: Nah, if they're busy staring at your hat, they're ignoring all your other flaws.
 * Cole: A silk shirt with three buttons left undone.
 * Varric: Exactly! If you can't be flawless--and no one can--be flashy. Nobody will know the difference.
 * Varric: How are you holding up, kid? You've been quiet for a while.
 * Cole: My shoelaces keep coming untied.
 * Varric: You're doing fine.
 * Cole: Can you talk to them? They don't listen to me.
 * Varric: Maybe not so fine... Don't talk to them, kid. Just tie them in knots.

───────
 * Cole: I like traveling with dwarves.
 * Varric: Glad to hear it, kid.
 * Cole: You're quiet, but the old song still echoes inside, almost like templars.

───────
 * Cole: But he died at the end of the last book. If he comes back, the readers will be confused.
 * Varric: Okay, delving into my personal life is one thing, but a writer needs some privacy.


 * Varric: So, Kid, why human?
 * Cole:  It was the shape that would help.
 * Varric: Huh. Most people don't pick a shape. I guess I was hoping for something deeper with that question.
 * Cole:  It had to be him. But harmless. The him he wanted that wouldn't hurt.
 * Varric: Well that's... deeper. I think.


 * Varric: Hey, Kid, back in the last village that farmer was looking right past you. Why didn't you let him see you?
 * Cole:  He didn't need me.
 * Varric: Maybe not, but you could learn something by talking with him.
 * Cole:  What would I learn? I can hear when they need me.
 * Varric: You could learn not to scare them so badly that they have to forget you.
 * Cole:  I'll... try.


 * Cole:  How do you make them calm?
 * Varric: Who, Kid?
 * Cole:  Everyone. You talk and the fear fades, slipping to sleep. Not always happy, but not angry.
 * Varric: Most people are like cats. They either puff up to look dangerous or they crouch down and hope you don't see them. You show them you're not a victim or threat, and they're in your lap and purring before you know it.
 * Cole:  Cats swat my feet even when no one can see me.
 * Varric: That explains a lot.


 * Varric: How are you feeling, Kid?
 * Cole:  If you don't get some sunshine you wilt. She says she's not a plant, she's fine, but falling, faltering, foolish. Blood on her hands. People and demons always end in trouble. Too many daisies in this garden.
 * Cole: I am good, Varric. I am me. You don't need to worry, but thank you for caring.
 * Varric: Al...right? Well let me know if you ever... er... yeah.


 * Cole:  The heft in my hands, solid, strong, but curving, careful, like her. Soot, smudge on her cheek, tiny scars on her fingers, old fires, her little frowns when she twists her gear ever so slightly.
 * Varric: Yup. That's her, Kid.


 * Cole:  Your stories aren't real. But then people read them and they are!
 * Varric: Get the readers invested and you'll have them forever.
 * Cole:  So many people reading, dreaming, feeling. Spirits spill around the veil making shapes. Reality from writing!
 * Varric: I've got fans in the Fade? Well, that's something. Shame I'll never meet them.


 * Cole:  Do you write to reach across? To hear the song that was sundered?
 * Varric: I'm... not sure what that even means, kid, but probably?


 * Varric: Hey, Kid, what would a pride demon say to weaken a warrior's resolve? I need something that gets under the skin.
 * Cole:  Does she use a big sword, or a sword and shield?
 * Varric: One of the big two-handers.
 * Cole:  The next time you imagine him touching you, someone you love will die.
 * Varric: Err, well, that went a little dark. Who's "him" in this?
 * Cole:  She knows who he is. Does it not work for your book?
 * Varric: No, it works great! Just glad you're not that kind of demon.


 * Varric: Okay, Kid, try it again like we practiced.
 * Cole:  To pairs beats one pair. Four of a kind beats two pairs. She slips the ace of dragons into a thigh-high boot, calls to the barman for another round. Blondie stares at the table, angry, always angry.
 * Varric: Focus, Kid, you can't beat four of a kind with bad memories.


 * Cole:  Do they ever stop talking to you?
 * Varric: Nouns, Kid. Does who ever stop talking to me?
 * Cole:  The people in your head. They aren't real, but they have voices and thoughts and sometimes you see through their eyes.
 * Varric: If they stopped I wouldn't have to write so much.


 * Cole:  I think I have it. Let me try again.
 * Varric: Alright, Kid, let's see what you've got.
 * Cole:  Knock, knock.
 * Varric: Who's there?
 * Cole:  Cole.
 * Varric: Cole who?
 * Cole:  It's me, Cole. That is my name.
 * Varric: No, no. You're still not getting it. Sorry, Kid.


 * Cole:  Knock, knock.
 * Varric: Okay, I'll bite. Who's there?
 * Cole:  The Inquisition.
 * Varric: The Inquisition who?
 * Cole:  That's who we are, Varric.
 * Varric: Er... yeah. That's not working either. You didn't get that one from Sera, did you?


 * Varric: Okay, try it again, you'll get it.
 * Cole:  Knock, knock.
 * Varric: Who's there?
 * Cole:  Me.
 * Varric: (Sighs.) Me who?
 * Cole:  Me, and I'm telling a knock knock joke.
 * Varric: Uh... that was... closer keep trying.


 * Varric: So, Kid, you don't have any formal combat training at all?
 * Cole:  No? I go where the knife needs to be.
 * Varric: ...er. Whatever works for you.



Cole and Vivienne
(If Inquisitor supports Cole) (If Inquisitor supports Vivienne)
 * Cole: You're afraid. You don't have to be.
 * Vivienne: My dear Inquisitor, please restrain your pet demon. I do not want it addressing me.
 * Inquisitor: He's not doing any harm, Vivienne.
 * Vivienne: It's a demon, darling. All it can do is harm.
 * Inquisitor: Cole, Vivienne doesn't want to talk right now.
 * Cole: She's afraid!


 * Cole: Everything bright, roar of anger as the demon rears. No, I will not fall. No one will ever control me again.
 * Cole: Flash of white as the world comes back. Shaking, hollow, Harrowed, but smiling at templars to show them I'm me.
 * Cole: I am not like that. I can protect you. If templars come for you, I will kill them.
 * Vivienne: Delightful.


 * Cole: Stepping into the parlor, hem of my gown snagged, no, adjust before I go in, must look perfect.
 * Vivienne: My dear, your pet is speaking again. Do silence it.
 * Cole: Voices inside. Marquis Alphonse.
 * Cole: "I do hope Duke Bastien puts out the lights before he touches her. But then, she must disappear in the dark."
 * Cole: Gown tight between my fingers, cold all over. Unacceptable. Wheels turn, strings pull.
 * Cole: He hurt you. You left a letter, let out a lie so he would do something foolish against the Inquisition. A trap.
 * Vivienne: Inquisitor, as your demon lacks manners, perhaps you could get Solas to train it.