magebetrayal reblogged
based on an idea from @exhausted-healer, because it was amazing
magebetrayal reblogged
Dalish Herald of Andraste
“Let fly your voice to Mythal. Deliverer of justice. Protector of sun and earth alike.”
-It was at this moment that Mythal walked out of the sea of the Earth’s tears and onto the land. She placed her hand on Elgar'nan’s brow, and at her touch he grew calm and knew that his anger had led him astray..
magebetrayal reblogged
Because I saw a post about antivan dalish elves and inspiration hit me HARD.
OMG YES
magebetrayal reblogged
alistair “i prefer to follow” theirin
magebetrayal reblogged
“…you think our vallaslin are slave markings? Sounds like a hot pile of Fen’harel dung to me. Sylaise’s roots weaving up my arm onto my neck are my way of connecting with the forest, whose roots carry water like our veins carry blood.”
-Lynmyath, Hahrenaan of Clan Lavellan
— I cannot thank @xla-hainex enough for bringing Lynmyath to life in all her salty gloriousness! You did such an amazing job pulling together inspiration from my massive pile of references and creating a look that feels authentically her.
john-cousland
So awesome!!! The little details are amazing!!!
*0*
magebetrayal reblogged
Tamlen & Dorian also wish you a Happy Pride (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*✲ﾟ♥*｡⋆
(still in time for June even :D a sort-of-redraw of this and available on my Patreon next month in full resolution ♥)
Source: elvenbeard
magebetrayal reblogged
Do you feel like the approval mechanics contradict in-universe characterization? E.G. Cassandra is def. pro-Chantry and rather conservative in the games, but will have these lukewarm moments of "wokeness" like when she says mages should be given free reign to prove to the world it won't be a problem, and then when you do just that after Redcliffe it's like "CASSANDRA GREATLY DISAPPROVES". Feels like the writing team and the dev team weren't always on the same page about some finer details.
My dislike of the idea that mages should have to prove they deserve basic human rights aside, yeah, this makes for some amusing whiplash.
- Cassandra: We should give mages a chance
- Inquisitor: *Does just that*
- Cassandra: *Greatly Disapproves*
- Inquisitor: ???
- Cassandra: I don’t disapprove of your actions at Redcliffe, you know
- Inquisitor: ?????
magebetrayal reblogged
When I asked Leliana about Morrigan in DAI I was a little surprised at her negative attitude. It wasn’t even based on the DAO playthrough where a bugged Leliana accused me of being unfaithful despite never romancing her either, so something must have happened when I wasn’t paying attention. So, I have a theory…
magebetrayal reblogged
broadlyaudrey-deactivated202106
the four types of enjoyment derived from video games: 1. make number go up
2. make color get big
3. make all the people like me
4. gay
magebetrayal reblogged
The first time Lavellan goes to Val Royeaux always has this kinda vibe to me
magebetrayal reblogged
lesnici-deactivated20190319
Lavellan commission for the amazing @dirthara-mama, thanks for being great to me ♡
magebetrayal reblogged
No one talks about the last standing Lavellan once their mission and position are over and they know their lover will suffer for hanging out with a crippled vagabond knife-ear
magebetrayal reblogged
Support Your Lavellan’s Vallaslin
I know what you’re thinking, reading that title. “Support slave markings? Did you not pay attention to the game?” But just here me out for a second. I’m not telling you you’re wrong for choosing to remove them, I’m only asking that you listen to this side of it. Because there’s more reasons to keep them than just looking pretty.
DOES NOT CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR TRESPASSER!
Yes, we know from Solas that the vallaslin was in fact slave markings in the ancient days. People would write on their slaves faces in honour of the gods they chose to worship.
The vallaslin has a terrible history. They were used as a visual marker of someone’s status. Someone literally tattooed your face with a sign that said, “I’m a slave.” And of course the elves of ancient time would love to have them removed.
But that was then, and this is now. Elves still fall victim to slavery, but by a different race. And on top of that, they have something equally hard to fight. One word. One word my people are very familiar with. That word is:
Cultural assimilation: the process by which a person or a group’s language and/or culture come to resemble those of another group.
In current Thedas, the vallaslin has adopted a new meaning. Yes, the Dalish got it wrong. They got a lot wrong. But their history was rewritten for them. They did not get to choose to become enslaved, have their culture, language, and identities erased. If they saw pictographs of elves with vallaslin, how were they to know the true meaning? When they’ve got such a limited amount of knowledge to go by, everything was probably deemed worth preserving. And so just like us, the fans, they made theories. It just so happened their theories were wrong. But they didn’t know that of course, and neither did anyone else. And so the vallaslin was never questioned as anything other than a source of pride. It is now a symbol that defines the Dalish. A mark of adulthood that says yes, I am a Dalish elf, and I refuse to submit to the humans.
Lavellan is the head of a Chantry-connected organization, and if you don’t think for a minute the people look for every opportunity to assimilate them, then just remember the original inquisitor, Ameridan. Revealed to actually be an elven mage, when the Chantry wrote in the history books that he was a human warrior. Because their racist minds cannot compute with the idea of an elf holding a position of power. Constantly, Chantry shit is shoved down the Inquisitor’s throat. From the beginning to end people keep expecting them to suddenly give up their people’s religion and adopt Andraste, for no other reason than just because they think it’s better. The Winter Palace was hell for Lavellan. (Just as much for Adaar, and somewhat for Cadash, too.) Everywhere they went they had people either telling them how civilized they were “for an elf,” or the exact opposite, saying they can’t believe the Inquisitor is a “rabbit.” As well as the constant sexualisation as well. (A Lavellan having to overhear the guards’ gossip about the elven servants like they’re objects for the taking, holy shit.) So it makes sense for Lavellan to want to hold onto as many things that differentiate them from what the Chantry wishes they were. And that includes the vallaslin.
It was once a bad thing, but does it have to be anymore? I’m not saying yes or no, just pondering. But what I do know is the Dalish are not the bad guys for having it. They use it as a visual defense mechanism, really. And I don’t think most Lavellans would give it up so easily. At least not without some serious thought.
At the end, if Lavellan keep the vallaslin, Corypheus taunts the Inquisitor. Saying they “wear their slave markings with pride.” And while it probably wouldn’t be with the same level of pride as before, I still think that statement would be true. Pride that Lavellan refuses to bend to the human world they’ve been enveloped in. Pride that Lavellan retains their Dalish roots. Pride that they are not human, and will never be human.
magebetrayal reblogged
Anonymous asked:
Tbh from strictly technical perspective dalish elves did appropriate vallaslin ... strictly technically. They had no idea what it was for or why, only that it was elven (thanks Solas) so they took it. From wider standpoint of what happened, they were desperately trying to reclaim and rebuild their lost culture and this was the best they managed (and they did good job) and by the point of Dragon Age vallaslin is inherent to their culture. That's what one gets if they do not look at context.
Except you can’t appropriate from YOUR OWN PEOPLE.
Look, here’s my Indigenous perspective on this, which call me crazy, but I think is pretty damn valid…
These are examples of the Wabanaki Double-Curve:
Well at least a few Mi’kmaw examples; there are many variations and further uniqueness among the different Wabanaki peoples, but they all feature the same general look. They are sometimes called the Mi’kmaq Double Curve and Penobscot Double Curve, but in reality they were not just a design element from my people or the Penobscot, but among all the Wabanaki Confederacy.
They are frequently found on artwork and ceremonial clothes/regalia, and are known as a cultural identifier. Most notably among the Mi’kmaq is on our traditional peaked caps for women of high regard.
When beading and stitching, the designs implemented are not for ornamental sake. The designs, the colours, the materials all had meaning, and that is why these clothes were mostly for ceremonial purposes and not everyday wear. This is known and documented.
What is not known any longer is what the different traditional designs meant. There are solid theories for some of them. Certain variations found on canoe paddles probably have some connection to the water, where others have very floral elements and probably have connections to the earth.
But the unfortunate truth is, we will likely never find a solid, indisputable answer for what they all mean, because it was stolen from us. Not lost; lost implies it was simply accidentally forgotten, and not buried from colonization. But my people still use these designs today for the reason I said above: They act as cultural identifiers. They are insignia. They are special. And even if we do not have a full understanding of what our ancestors used them for, we know that there was a sacredness involved, and we keep what we can. They are still special to us, even if that now has different meaning than what it was before.
This is exactly what the Dalish did with the vallaslin. It’s still theirs, just with lost meaning. They’re not taking from someone else. They’re reusing something from their own history.
Even if vallaslin was originally used as slave markings, it has become a reclaimed symbol. Yes, the Dalish were very wrong about the origin. But I don’t understand how you can fault them for that; it’s not like they chose to have their history and culture erased, leaving them to play guessing games at restoring whatever they possibly can to maintain some form of identity. Vallaslin has become a symbol of Dalish pride. And for Lavellan, possibly a form of protection against the constant erasure they face as Inquisitor.
To say that the Dalish “culturally appropriated” vallaslin is one of the most obtuse, pseudo-woke thing I’ve ever heard in this fandom.
EDIT: Yes this is okay to reblog? All my posts are okay to reblog unless for some reason said otherwise.
#it’s wild to me that people believe you can appropriate their own culture #their culture was taken from them and were forced into slavery #they may not know what their cultural symbols used to mean #but they can interpret what they do know and give new meanings to things #they and they only have the right to make these decisions #if a human were to wear vallaslin and try and force themselves into dalish culture THAT would be appropriation #especially as humans were the ones who came in after solas tore down the veil and destroyed/hoarded the remainders of their culture #people need to listen to real life natives and non-white folk about these things - @dankou‘s tags are on it
magebetrayal reblogged
Why the Dalish have every right to be pissed
A rather blunt and long description on why the dalish and modern elves are “apparently” so inaccurate with their own lore and why you should still not give them shit.
Bluntly speaking, modern elves are the decedents of the ancient elves slave class. The workers, the laborers, the people who did the nitty gritty shit that keeps a civilization running.
Now obviously these people aren’t gonna be too concerned with more “high minded” notions of philosophy or history, since when slightly angering your master can at best result in you getting turned into the next spell’s components, mercifully dead at the time, you tend to be too concerned with just surviving each day’s various trials to have the energy to think about your place in the society you live in.
Thats not to say you don’t ever. odds are when not working you and your fellow workers and slaves and other underclass folk will develop your own little customs and traditions if only to make your life hold some small meaning even if it’s just to make life somewhat less horrible that moment than all the others you are forced to endure.
Then one day some bald headed fuck tells you you don’t deserve any of this, that you deserve a better life, you deserve to be treated well, you deserve to be free, and the whole concept is so new, so powerful, so intoxicating, that you wondered how you could have gone without it before. And you listen, and you hear, and before long you side with and join him. You do everything he tells you.He promises you a wonderful future where everything is bright and golden and you will no longer have to suffer and work yourself to death.
And then he’s gone and so is the civilization you built. Everything is utterly shit and in chaos. You put so much effort in trying to free yourself from the monsters within, that you and your friends and family never saw the monsters outside.
And now you are slaves to a new master.
And with the burning of the old civilization goes the burning of all it’s knowledge. History, lore, scientific and arcane information. It’s like a library where all the knowledge of your people that has ever existed has suddenly had a lit match tossed into it and eaten almost everything. Leaving you with at best a few books worth of info. And then the new owners come and go “Well we don’t need this, and you certainly won’t need it.” And then toss some more flames at it and leave it to rot.
Time passes. You are once again more concerned with just surviving then preserving old knowledge, and more so, your new masters actively try to erase it, leaving you and your children with even less each generation.
Then another person comes, promising freedom and you follow her, only this time the world doesn’t end for you. You actually are free, You can rebuild. You and your kin go to that library, wanting to repair what was lost, (and sooo much has been lost simply due to the passage of time) but few even remember what even was lost, let alone what even can be regained. But some do, they admit their understanding is patchy at best. they’re some of the few who are descendants of the book keepers of that library, who tried to memorize what they could and pass it down, but times change, language changes, and memory isn’t perfect. and some knowledge will be at best imperfect.
But they try, you and everyone try. They try to fix the books, clean up the library, and do all they can to rebuild. At best you have pages of books still preserved where once a vast library existed, and it’s in a language none of you even know how to read anymore beyond basic patches. But you do the best you can with what you got, adding what any of you can remember and even adding new tidbits in the hopes of one day filling the library with books once more.
And then you get invaded and the library gets burned down again completely this time and you and your family are scattered. You can’t even save a single book, not even full pages. Just dirty paragraphs. And once again you have to live off of memory and hope to the gods you worship that somehow you can keep even just these little scraps while the rest of the world seems insistent on destroying even that.
And then people like this bald stuck up pretentious asshole just comes out of nowhere and wonders why you and your family and kin get so upset when he just ups and tells you that everything you know is wrong.
Yes, this, yes, this is important, yes, thank you for submitting!
magebetrayal reblogged
looking through the glass, cannot recognize the ghost that you’re seeing ‘cause you’re fighting an endless war, hunting a miracle
magebetrayal reblogged
wlwleliana
The Good Blight, part 1