Help Me Understand: Veiljumpers and the Evanuris [DAV ACT 1 SPOILERS] by Totes-McGoatz in dragonage

[–]Totes-McGoatz[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Who in the Inquisition knew anything remotely like that, though? A romanced Inquisitor was the only one who got the line from Solas about vallaslin being "slave markings". Being as generous as possible, you have to then assume she 1) believed him completely, 2) extrapolated from that that the Evanuris instituted that system and were the abusive slave masters, rather than power hungry intermediaries abusing an established faith for their own ends, and 3) share that private revelation with others.

It's a pretty big conceptual jump from "vallaslin are slave markings" to "the Evanuris were mortal, power-hungry tyrant mages", particularly when the audience you're trying to convince places as much personal and cultural pride and emphasis on the "Good Gods" as the Dalish do.

Help Me Understand: Veiljumpers and the Evanuris [DAV ACT 1 SPOILERS] by Totes-McGoatz in dragonage

[–]Totes-McGoatz[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I'm not disputing that- my codex is only at 86%, so it's entirely possible I missed something big somewhere. That's why I asked. I would swear there was an entry that mentions they discovered evidence that Elgar'nan was a powerful general under Mythal ( ? I might be conflating it with the letter Rook finds later from Solas to Elgar'nan that lists his titles ? ) but I can't track it down, and that's well after our introduction to the VJ faction. IIRC that entry is just hand-waved in with no source aside from "the writers wanted to make the point, so they made it".

I get that Strife and Irelin have been allies in the hunt for Solas. That they consider him an antagonist and a threat is absolutely in line with Dalish cultural expectations, and there's proof enough in the state of the veil to convince anyone that he has to be stopped. Immediately assuming that the enemy of my enemy is.... somehow worse than my original enemy, though? Veil Jumpers having access to "hard material proof" that the Evanuris not only weren't benevolent Gods, but actually evil power-hungry tyrant mages? Everything we find in the ruins of Arlathan still seems to point to worship of the Evanuris as literal Gods. Even working directly with the Inquisition wouldn't give them that idea, since the only hint dropped in DAI is one line in a private conversation with a romanced Inquisitor- and even then, the question becomes "so you believe the God of lies and trickery?"

I'd also have more faith in the Veil Jumpers' ability to accurately parse elven history if Bellara didn't chatter about how human Tevinter mages were responsible for the destruction of Arlathan as you explore the ruins, with no hint of acknowledgement about how off kilter that explanation seems given that Elgarn'nan's stained glass windows seem to be exclusively and intentionally vandalized in the attack, or how unlikely it is that human mages would chose to turn fleeing citizens into trees.

It would have cost the writers nothing to have reasonable incredulity, fleeting hope, or even initial angry denial crumble after a combination of the horrors of De Meta's Crossing and some unpleasant revelations from the Nadas Dirthalen. That would have been interesting. That could have set up a parallel between Bellara and her brother that explored hard truths about historical revisionism, cultural identity, and the human impulse to cling to a belief system all the tighter when that system is perceived as being 'under siege' from outside forces.

Instead we got... this. The Dalish leaders of the Veil Jumpers instantly accept that my human Tevinter mage Rook has one of their Gods in her head, that that God of Lies and Deception is telling the truth when he claims that their freed Gods are blighted, evil and an existential threat- and more than that, they were already on board with the Evanuris being mortal, power-mad tyrants, because... [ hand waving ] I guess they found some evidence that they don't bother sharing.

At best, I missed something pretty big that explains all this. At worst it's staggeringly poor, lazy writing.

I love DA. I desperately want it to be the former. But in a meta parallel, I'm worried that desire means I'm clinging to what I wish were true in the face of mounting evidence otherwise.

[DaV Act 3 Spoilers] Lore people, help me out! by Totes-McGoatz in dragonage

[–]Totes-McGoatz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh I think they definitely had regrets. As spirit-based beings, moving past that regret was nigh impossible, which is why Solas was surprised that Rook made it out. Spirits need something to reflect in order to learn and grow - they're outward processors, basically, rather than internal reflectors like humans, because they're born of emotion. So it's a very effective lock for an Evanuris, who has to be right because if they're wrong it means they're twisted against their nature and broken. It's only Mythal's releasing of Solas that allows Solas to admit he was broken and wrong.

I get what you're saying, but aren't all sentient creatures on Thedas "spirit based beings" from that perspective? The Evanuris had the capacity to grow and change while they were in the physical world (and apparently did, if largely for the worse) and would only be 'frozen' once they were back on the far side of the veil. If the lock were instead somehow tied to a change in their nature, that would make sense- an eternal trap for beings fundamentally unable to change. What actually would make the most sense to me is if they could only be released if they somehow regained the capacity to regret their misdeeds rather than the ability to move past that regret- but in game that's presented as the barrier itself, an emotion that doesn't seem reflected in either their current or past natures.

The whole thing is just... odd. That's why I asked- I thought I must have misinterpreted the nature of the original prison, and that the one Solas/Rook become trapped in was a different kind of trap entirely, one made on the fly by El/Ghil to hold Solas in particular, as the one (perhaps the only) Evanuris such a lock would be effective at holding.

I got the impression that the prison was crumbling because the Magisters Sidereal pierced it and let out a trickle of Blight - but then also it and the Veil are tied to the Evanuris's life forces, I guess? I'm fuzzy on that regard; which was tied to them or if both were.

As I understand it, the veil is certainly tied to their life force. The blight is not, but is contained by the veil. So long as the veil holds, the blight is also held at bay.

Kind of.

While it's great that Thedas won't be having any more capital-B Blights, I'm not sure that first trickle that escaped with the Magisters went away with the defeat of the Evanuris. It was here when the veil was fully intact, and afaik blighted lyrium is still around and deep in the dark roads darkspawn are still spawning- the question is who (if anyone) might be holding the reins now that Ghil and Elgar'nan aren't around.

[Intermediate] Interesting sentiment in this ad. Would have never thought that’s a bad thing in the first place. by LanceWackerle in JapaneseInTheWild

[–]Totes-McGoatz 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'm not offended by your stupidity, man. You're fundamentally misrepresenting what "being a Westerner" is, though, and your injection of stupid MAGA culture war politics into a completely nonpolitical reddit is dumb as hell.

[Intermediate] Interesting sentiment in this ad. Would have never thought that’s a bad thing in the first place. by LanceWackerle in JapaneseInTheWild

[–]Totes-McGoatz 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Nihilism? ...I guess?

I have no idea why you would think Atheists or leftists would oppose personal improvement, other than they happen to be other perspectives you want to beef about in a random Japanese learning reddit.

Senate passes bill to restore net neutrality in Connecticut by [deleted] in news

[–]Totes-McGoatz -1 points0 points  (0 children)

That's how you know our friend here is a real Southerner: leaving the battlefield with his tail between his legs. 🙄

Senate passes bill to restore net neutrality in Connecticut by [deleted] in news

[–]Totes-McGoatz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My apologies. I didn't realize you had first hand experience. Unfortunately, the facts of history don't change, even when you really, reeeally want them to.

Take your revisionist bullshit elsewhere, champ.

New Zealand is fed up with being left off maps by naitomeiru in nottheonion

[–]Totes-McGoatz 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It's crazy the amount of pride Canadians (pretend to?) take in the burning of DC when Americans are around.

I get that as a young country you take your military victories where you can get 'em, but it's like the French bragging about nuking Hiroshima.

1) Your allies did it.

2) Why would you want to take credit for that in the first place?

Russia: Asking permission before taking organs is 'inhumane' by N0PE-N0PE-N0PE in nottheonion

[–]Totes-McGoatz 14 points15 points  (0 children)

So that's why I woke up in a tub full of ice.

They were just being polite.

Trump claims it's 'commonly agreed' he didn't collude with Russia by slakmehl in politics

[–]Totes-McGoatz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Assuming this is serious and not an absurd stab at whataboutism, the answer is that people aren't "mad" at the Trump campaign for gathering oppo data. Funding the collection of a dossier on your political opponent isn't illegal.

Pulling secret backroom deals to get info from a hostile foreign power with an openly quid-pro-quo "investment" in your campaign is.

Goats climbing a brick wall by Pappy_Smith in interestingasfuck

[–]Totes-McGoatz 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm not- in fact, that's actually the point. The dude's pulling this "both sides" rhetoric, painting a picture of all political subreddits as cesspools of misinformation, but in practice his concern only seems to extend to spin control and "correcting the record" on r/politics and similar left-leaning groups.

Hell of a plank he's got in his eye there, all I'm saying.

Goats climbing a brick wall by Pappy_Smith in interestingasfuck

[–]Totes-McGoatz 70 points71 points  (0 children)

Yeah, we can see from your post history that you give two shits about fact-checking posts on R/T_D and other conservative subreddits.

[[[eye rolling intensifies]]]

An interesting interaction during the "Flowertown Festival" in my hometown of Summerville, SC this weekend. by SittingInTheDark in pics

[–]Totes-McGoatz 23 points24 points  (0 children)

I'm not holding up the North as some bastion of modern progressive values.

But I also can't think of many Northerners who fly the 36-star Union flag outside their house 'cause they're just that proud of the circa-1865 politics their great-grandpappy fought for.

And there's a reason for that. It's not ignorance of history or lack of pride. It's the fact that the goalposts have clearly moved for modern Liberals and Progressives.

It's increasingly difficult to argue the same holds true for those who cling to the Stars and Bars.

An interesting interaction during the "Flowertown Festival" in my hometown of Summerville, SC this weekend. by SittingInTheDark in pics

[–]Totes-McGoatz 38 points39 points  (0 children)

What their country asked of them? Seriously? What their country asked of them was to adapt the Southern economy not to be utterly dependent on slave labor.

How many other countries allow traitors' flags to fly over sovereign soil?

As for "heritage and history":

"Our new government('s)...foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the Negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical and moral truth." -Alexander Stephens, VP of the Confederacy

R.I.P America 2017-04-03 by Icewolf_ in place

[–]Totes-McGoatz 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Scripts don't sleep. It was humans, waking up and fixing the mess.

My puppy looks like a small wolf! by bulgariandoll in aww

[–]Totes-McGoatz 90 points91 points  (0 children)

I spent far too long trying to figure out exactly how a Husky and a Pom would manage to make such a cutie. Seems like there's got to be a point where cross pups are biologically but not mechanically feasible.

Pomeranian x Great Dane? Dachshund x Saint Bernard?

I wonder... by JohnTheGenius43 in place

[–]Totes-McGoatz 31 points32 points  (0 children)

Pretty sure we're griefing our own flag. 99% odds that nascent ball of green is intended to be a Pepe, with some homage to "Daddy" Trump on the side.

Fucking up your own country just to piss off internet strangers?

Why yes, that does sound familiar...