#i think this devolved into a fuck you solas rant

[amexhaustedthanksforasking]

No but like, I love just how tragic Dragon Age elves are. Yeah, yeah, it's a subversion of the usual elven interpretations of the graceful, fae-like species — BUT IT'S ALSO NOT!

They WERE like that thousands of years ago. They had a thriving, beautiful civilization where they were treated fairly, with decent gods, where they could live happily. Right?

That's also not true. Elvhenan was just as flawed, if not more, than the current Thedas of the games. Slavery was still there, so many social injustices, and the very vallaslin they wear in worship of their deities were the binding blood tattoos of said slaves.

But the Dalish have also reclaimed vallaslin, however unintentionally, into not only something to worship their deities, but a symbol of their fight, their people, who they are. Thing is, Dalish aren't exactly looked upon kindly — they're considered feral, savage, or just rumors. Myth. Any elf in the city is treated as lesser by the larger populace, and the Dalish are scrambling to discover/recover an ancient history they'll never understand without help from those in that ancient history. Long after Elvhenan fall, they're still looking for the last remnants of a home no one remembers.

Then, THEN, someone from that time reawakens after a millenia. Old, tired, worn, the one who felled the very gods they worship. Turns out he isn't the worst of them, far from it, but not worthy of worship either

That's good, though. Right? Surely he'll see the injustice brought upon them and hel-

Oh, wait, his goal to bring back the world he destroyed will result in the deaths of this current world? He considers everyone in this world a mistake, the elves nothing more than a reflection's reflection of the people he lost. Lesser. Stupid. Wild. Funny coming from a wolf, isn't it

The death of these people is only an inconvenience, like breaking a few eggs-

I know which egg I want to break

-or maybe the Inquisitor makes him think "Oh shit oh no, these are people too." That doesn't stop him, though. He's still going to tear down the Veil, probably resulting in the deaths of a significant portion of the population, if not everyone. Maybe he won't succeed in the future, I don't fucking know how DA4 is going to go down, but he's got elves from all over leaving to assist him.

If he's open about what he's doing the Dread Wolf doesn't lie, he misdirects, he evades, he poisons his tongue with honey, but he doesn't lie then that means these elves would prefer probably DYING. If he's not open about it, then they're being tricked. Played for a fool. Either way they lose.

The Dalish fought tooth and nail for their freedom, for the chance to find a new home and recover their culture and history long buried. They get a lot wrong, but fuck you, it's theirs, they've reclaimed it FUCK OFF SOLAS DON'T LOOK DOWN ON THEM FOR THIS, THEY'RE GOING TO BE ANNOYED IF YOU TELL THEM "hey you're wrong about the history you've work tirelessly to discover and maintain lol" AND LOOK DOWN ON THEM BECAUSE OF THEIR MISINTERPRETATION! Dumb fucking egg oml

Anyway I love the elves in Dragon Age and I love the tragedy of everything, but maybe slow down on that Bioware?? My heart can only take so much

#dragon age #dragon age origins #dragon age 2 #dragon age inquisition #solas #inherent tragedy of the elves in dragon age #i think this devolved into a fuck you solas rant #which i mean #he deserves it #fen'harel #imma crack his skull open and cook it over a fire #im thinking scrambled #add a bit of milk and salt #fuck solas (not in the fun way) #maybe this isnt a tragedy so much as me just looking at something depressing and saying “oh fuck yeah thats mine now”

[invinciblerodent]

Tbh I'm reaching a point where I'm like, fuck the bioware fandom. They adore characters like Solas and Jaal but treat Liam and Vivienne like shit. Cora also gets a bunch of needless hate. They call Blackwall a rapist, which (as an assault victim) I find trivializing. Treat Sebastian Vale like a religious fanatic who wants to burn Hawke at the stake for being a mage. It's like they can't view anything in layers and if they don't like a character they will invent reasons to hate them.

Well, I’m not so sure about speaking in such general terms, but without a doubt, it is a difficult line on which most BioWare characters are dancing. 

If you’ll excuse me for a second, I’m going to get real preachy with you for a second. Please, just bear with me on this one. I’m not going to promise that there is gonna be a point, but if you don’t mind, I’m going to rant at you for a minute. :)

When one is creating any sort of media product intended for large audiences (such as a big budget, AAA video game such as Andromeda or Inquisition), simplicity and complexity are... pretty heavily weighed against each other.

I’m gonna try to explain that.

Since there is the obvious analogy about a proverbial chain being only as strong as its weakest link, most things designed for wide appeal tend to be simple, they tend to stick to convention, they tend to make use of one’s confirmation bias, and not require one to put their aforementioned English Major/English Class hats on, or stepping outside of one’s comfort zone.

And many studios and developers still think of their audience, of that “one”, as a homogeneous mass of 13-25 year old, straight, white guys. This sounds a bit like the anti-millenial bullshit old journalists tend to spew in their impotent hatred towards anyone younger than them, but.... as much as this hurts to admit, there is a kernel of truth in that contemporary media, especially video games, are still very often treated as frivolous, simple entertainment, even by their own audience. (Hence, “it’s just a game” arguments.)

On the other hand, we on tumblr -myself included- tend to have a real boner for analyzing every single line, every syllable of every word uttered in our entertainment. Not only do we have our English Major hats, but also Social- and Media Studies hats, we become a bunch of part-time literary analysts (which I think is SO COOL), and try to look into the media we consume.... potentially (or most likely) deeper than many developers and studios intend.

The thing about BioWare is that... there are very few people who bother to think about the games they produce and consume both as products of contemporary entertainment media, and art. As a piece of literature. As something to analyze and criticize without denying its merits completely.

There are few who stop to think about Blackwall’s obvious 10+ year struggle with immense guilt, self-loathing, and obvious depression which made him believe himself unworthy of friendly- or romantic affection. (Btw, I’m so sorry you were made to feel that way. You definitely did not deserve any of that, and frankly, I don’t even understand where that claim came from? This is a digression, but seriously, someone please point me to an instance in which Blackwall doesn’t ask, and then wait diligently for explicit permission, initiation for, or enthusiastic participation in any physical contact. I’ll wait.)

There are few who stop to consider that when he makes the Big Controversial Claim, Sebastian’s home of god knows how long had just gone up in flames in front of his very eyes, consuming the woman who was a mother in place of his own in a flame of -in his eyes- self-righteous fury.

There are few who stop to think about Vivienne long enough to see just how gentle and caring a soul she is, if only you bother to show her that you are deserving of her kindness, and that you aren’t holding a dagger behind your back, just waiting for her to turn around and let her guard down.

These characters are very nuanced, they are written with so much care by people who Know Their Shit, and I feel even their hearts must bleed when they see what oversimplified, generalized opinions make of their darlings.

Because it is human nature for us to seek what is simple and convenient, especially in our entertainment. It is human to seek what is black and white, and for us to look at shades of grey, and push it one way or the other depending on our preconceived notions. It’s just how our brains look to eliminate uncertainty.

Which is, of course, an explanation, and not an excuse.

I know it’s disheartening. I definitely understand that, and I know it is so much easier to just not bother to write thinkpieces, to think deeply about stories, and just in general participate. I wouldn’t want anyone to do anything in their free time that they find exhausting or annoying. I get it. But I implore you, and everyone reading this, to not give up.

How else am I supposed to rain my long and ranty pieces on just how amazingly strong and sweet Sera is and how hard she is trying to understand things that had been denied her, is or just how much I appreciated that Liam was allowed to be angry without him devolving into a gross stereotype.

And for real fuck Solas tho. Jaal is a sweetheart and I don’t want to drag him into this because he is a character with his own merits, wouldn’t even mention him on the same day as Solas if I could help it because I think they have absolutely zero things in common, but, y’know, fuck Solas.

#at first I wrote BiWare instead of BioWare #oh I just wish #personal #in which Mom gets preachy on you about modern media #while eyeing a stack of uni readings on an adjacent topic #I'm supposed to be studying for a network communication exam rn #seems like that might not be happening tonight after all huh :) #Anonymous