lihra

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[lihra]

absolutely love abusing the power that comes with 3rd person limited pov and just ignoring things and being vague sometimes. does the character know all the details? no? then I don't have to either.

[lihra]

solrook as tumblr text posts | 22/?

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Snippet from a story I'm writing, I 100% agree OP:

[...] He speaks of freedom, but only the freedom he agrees is appropriate. The Inquisitor told him of how he criticizes the Dalish for their Vallaslin, the Inquisitor being Dalish himself. As if the willing ritual isn’t a reclaiming of their stolen autonomy from the Creators, and eventually the humans. 

Is it not a victory in its own right, to be free, happy, and proud while wearing the symbols slavery upon your skin? To take control of the symbols of control?

These are not the markings of a defeated people, but a defiant one. Something the "god of rebellion" should celebrate. Instead, he is furious over a perceived victory of his ancient rivals, unconcerned with the elves cultural needs, indignant at the change of the people without his direction.

Though, he barely views them as people, only spirits and those attuned to the Fade ever worth his care. Perhaps that is why he is so furious at this defiance of his own will. A petty squabble over ownership of a shared pet, an errant child who has followed the path of the delinquent parent rather than his own wisdom.

[...] Those are the actions of a master, not a leader.

im not sure how to phrase it correctly but i think like. the fact that the Vallaslin started out as slave markings is important when discussing the elves and oppression of elves. HOWEVER what is equally important and interesting is the fact that those tattoos have evolved to become something of cultural significance and pride, with it even having important religious meaning and acting as a coming of age ceremony for young elves.

again idk how to phrase it in a way that makes sense but the fact that Solas focuses ENTIRELY on the original meaning of the vallaslin i feel is further evidence of the way he distances himself from modern elves and, honestly, doesnt really seem to care about them all that much. sure he likes the idea of elves, but hes in love with a memory of a past species that doesnt exist anymore and never can again. by removing the Inquisitor's vallaslin, he denies her a part of her heritage, whether he means to or not. bc, sure, vallaslin started as slave brandings, but that isnt what they are now.

even if we look back at Fenris' markings, he says that Danarius chose the shapes for them that he did as a MOCKERY of vallaslin. like all things in a culture, the meaning of vallaslin has evolved far, far past its origins and has new meaning and importance to the modern society living under that culture. apparently to the degree that someone as laser sharply cruel as Danarius will use them as a form of mockery and a humiliation ritual for Fenris.

also i think its weird that thats all the fandom focuses on with the vallaslin. DA asks us to put together lore and history the way an anthropologist or an historian would and the only way to do that is to look at both what something started as and what it has become. the modern-day meaning of vallaslin in Thedas far exceeds the original meaning in terms of the importance of it to the elves who wear it.

anyway theres prolly someone a lot smarter than me whos had a lot more hours of sleep who can better articulate the point im tryna make but. for now. gestures vaguely.

[lihra]

Ghilan'nain thoughts

Replaying Veilguard and something clicked in my head when Ghilan'nain was talking about flesh and bending it to her will. Full thoughts below the line.

TL;DR:

Ghilan'nain's obsession with the Blight comes from the desire to manipulate the world using only her will like the other gods, in order to become one like her lover, Andruil. But unlike the other spirit-turned-flesh Evanuris, she uses the creation and alteration of mortals bodies to her will--not the literal manifestation of will like spirits--to satisfy this desire to be like them. Uniquely her, due to her mortal origins, and uniquely powerful, now that spirits (and pure will) are trapped behind the Veil.

I have to wonder if her attempts to control and "master" the Blight is out of desperation to prove to herself she could have controlled its corruption and saved Andruil from madness....

She was infatuated with Andruil, a spirit-turned-flesh. Andruil was her god, then her lover. And what are gods obsessed with? Creation.

More than that, spirits are obsessed with bending things to their will, as they are will made manifest. Is it not only natural that someone so infatuated with the Creators would pursue this domination of will? This mastery of creation?

But now within a world where magic is mostly hidden behind the Veil, where it does not flow between the streets like rain water, this head of will and command no longer exists. Solas struggles with it, Elgar'nan struggles with the lack of people heading his will the most. But both of their solutions are to simply revert back to a spirit-blended world.

Command: “It ignores me! I order the rocks to part, but they do not. I bid the sky draw close, and it stays still. I don't know how you mortals stand it!” [...] “Then tell me why nothing here changes!” Solas: “This realm follows different rules from the Fade. Will alone cannot overcome what you see. [...] A solid form is both shackle and strength. It affects more than you imagine.” - Old Crestwood, DAI

Ghilan'nain, once of mortal flesh, sees the alternative. She does not need to rely on her will to manifest itself through magic, she bends flesh itself. She uses the mortal world to her advantage, making the very bodies most of the Evanuris didn't appreciate follow her lead like a conductor to an orchestra.

While Elgar'nan and Solas obsess with spirits and the Fade, Ghilan'nain calls on her roots to manifest her will in the very bodies of mortals.

If anything, she is truly the only "god" among the three. The other two are relying on the glory of the past, and the promise of its return.

Ghilan'nain is obsessed with controlling and mastering the Blight, and beyond her own desire to have the world bend to her will as it did with her fellow Evanuris, I can't help but wonder if some part of her was hoping to save Andruil.

While she saw the potential for the Blight, I would imagine her obsession with it may have first started trying to save Andruil from madness, trying to undo the damage. Unable to accept that something so horrific happened, she may have simply gone mad and threw herself into Blight research, desperate to control it.

I wonder how fewer problems Thedas would have if the Evanuris went to therapy

[lihra]

Matt Rhodes posted the final concept art of the Black Codex. But the most interesting thing is the notes that go with it.

The false gods decide to release the full power of the titan souls, which have become twisted with madness in their captivity. Solas tries to stop them.

Unable to stop them, Solas instead creates a Veil between the physical world and the magical. He binds the Veil to the blood of the false gods, turning them into the locks on their own prison.

Early humans discover the ruins of the elven empire. Using knowledge scavenged from the ruins, Tevinter spreads across Thedas as a crude copy of the elven empire.

From their prison in the Veil, the spirits of the titans lure power-hungry Tevinter magisters into the Fade to release them. Instead of a city of gold, they find a Black City. The first Blight is released.

So the magisters were originally lured to the Black City not by the evanuris, but by the spirits of titans?

Because this version is different from what Solas told Rook.

[lihra]

[lihra]

Ah Felassan...

[lihra]

4.8 k words in and just now am I fully getting into the filth. feefbsjdfbksj

The build up is worth it cause the position I managed to put Rook, Solas, and Elgar'nan is driving me insane. And I have to go to work soon ;-;

I found a hidden loophole in Elgar'nan's ego where he is willing to debase himself to the Dread Wolf if it means he gets to piss off his other most hated rival while they watch AND still get laid by both

[lihra]

Thedas Creation 🥰 Black Codex by Matt Rhodes

I think this was always clear to those who payed real attention to lore and explored lore and all the hints more deeply, not just on surface level of game story. still so fascinating to see it all spelled out like this, this artwork is STUNNING!!!!! man what I would give for a game set in creation days of Thedas and Titan War and early Arlathan 😭 But only if it was done by all the original devs and writers ofc. so yeah... we can dream.

[lihra]

More of Black Codex by Matt Rhodes! ❤️

They really did let Solas do all the heavy lifting, and than carry all the guilt. 😭

[lihra]

the heart shaped locket with a portrait of my nemesis inside stays ON during sex

[lihra]

Replaying Elgar'nan voice clips (doing anything but writing rn) and my heart breaking over the emotion in "Ghilan'nain! No..."

So badly wanna explore his relationship to the other of the elven Pantheon as I get the feeling he may not see his thralls as people but his fellow Evanuris he sees as family, some of that disassociation we see with Solas only viewing spirits as people. The mental gymnastics, the justifications, I can sense something juicy in there...

[lihra]

I deserve an em dash. As a little treat

[lihra]

sometimes I go THE FANFIC THE FANFIC THE FANFIC

but then I remember

there is no fanfic

because I wrote it all in my head and haven’t even made a single word of THE FANFIC

[lihra]

Pros of a small fandom: You see all of the posts because it’s you and your 3 mutuals spinning in a circle

Cons of small fandom: You see all of the posts because it’s you and your 3 mutuals spinning in a circle

[lihra]

torn between having Solas command Rook to fuck Elgar'nan and domming from the outside, watching them both follow his commands despite their forceful personalities,

or directly fucking Elgar'nan after defeating him in battle and satisfying his Pride.

choices, choices...