Hawke's Favour

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Blue Wraith-era Fenris embracing a female Hawke with the favour on his wrist (art by Corade).
Related articles on Fanlore.

Hawke's favour is a romantic trope in Dragon Age fandom that involves Hawke gifting their love interest with a red ribbon or article. The trope has its basis in canon but has been expanded upon with fanon and features in fanworks.

Origin and fanon

In Dragon Age II, when player character Hawke enters a romance with Isabela or Fenris, the outfits of both NPCs change to reflect the relationship. Isabela wears the red favour as an armband and Fenris wears it tied around his wrist.[1]

The World of Thedas Volume 2 revealed the story of Hawke's maternal grandfather, Astride Amell, who gave Hawke's grandmother Bethann a scrap of red silk resembling a "little banner" covered in "figures that looked like birds."[2] This token was apparently all Bethann had from Astride after his death.[2] Fans have developed the fanon explanation that red favours are an Amell family tradition that Hawke has continued with their love interest.

Some fans have speculated on why Isabela and Fenris receive a favour in DA2 while Anders and Merrill do not:

I think it has more to do with distance. Both Isabella and Fenris love Hawke but they keep their distance for a short time (Isabella mental and Fenris physical). Both Merrill and Anders devote themselves. They don’t hold anything back. Maybe the favor is to say ‘I know you’ll leave but a reminder that a love you and you matter to me’

rainbows-lets-plays[3]

A common fanon trope among Anders/Hawke shippers is that Anders wears Hawke's favour as a hair tie. In DA2, the player can give Anders an amulet as a companion quest, and the key to the Hawke estate as a romance quest. These items sometimes serve as love tokens in fanworks instead of a red favour.

Fanworks

Anders

Fanart

Fenris

Fanart

Cosplay

Poly Ships

Fanart

Gallery

Fanart

Cosplay

References

  1. ^ "What Do Companion Armor Color Changes Mean?" post on r/dragonage on Reddit
  2. ^ a b "Some context on those red favors, from The World of Thedas Vol 2" discussion change on Tumblr
  3. ^ Reblog comment by rainbows-lets-plays on Tumblr