#the dragon does meta | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

zuppizup · 9 months

Text

Finnegrin's Wants

So, I've been thinking a lot about Finnegrin's Wake (what Rayllum fan hasn't and yes, as is usually the case, this is because I'm a-fic-ing in this space), and so I've been pondering what Finnegrin's end game was when it came to Rayla.

Finnegrin is about trying to control everything. His crew, Archdragons, the ocean itself. He of all people knows this is impossible, but he's pretty damn good at working around that. His ship, his crew, and even Scumport marches to the beat of his drum.

So, when it comes to the Dragang, what's his ultimate plan? He wants Callum to give him the Dark Magic spell to take down Domina Profundis, and he seems to think he can bargain for this.

Instead of immediately revealing his trump card with the blood freezing spell, he tries to bargin with Callum, offering freedom for a "simple" exchange.

So, once he realises Callum "completely lost himself" seeing Rayla in pain, why dispose of her? Was it to try and completely break Callum? That runs the risk of only alienating him further, though. Rayla could have been the ultimate leverage. Why not subject her to the freezing spell in front of Callum again? Control him that way?

Or did he want Callum desperate? Did he intentionally leave him with the slugs hoping he'd break, resort to Dark Magic in a desperate bid to free the person he clearly cares so much for? Did Finnegrin gamble on Callum realising he was willing to do Dark Magic if given the sufficient incentive.

Was he bidding on him coming to Rayla’s rescue, only to fall victim to the freezing spell himself?

Was he then planning to subject Rayla to the spell once again, hoping to push Callum to agree to doing his Dark Magic bidding in exchange for her release from torture?

Did Finnegrin ultimately underestimate just how far Callum was willing to go for Rayla? He has no idea this is the same boy who jumped off the Storm Spire for her with only the desperate hope he knew how to do a spell the might save them both.

How could Finnegrin ever have known that the depth of Callum's love for Rayla would allow him to unlock hidden depths within himself and ultimately understand a new Arcanum?

#i have many thoughts #and sure it could be as simple as pushing the plot forward but let me indulge damn it!#he could have held them together #tortured her in front of Callum and he'd have folded like wet cardboard #i like to think he thinks he has a lot more control than he does #bad Ocean mage #the dragon prince #tdp #rayllum #rayla #callum #tdp finnegrin #sometimes I meta and usually regret it #it’s always fic related

228 notes · View notes

fanficmaniatic · 8 months

Text

Not to be the over analyzing Cole fan… but am I the only one both surprised and delighted by this shot?

Cole is in the front and center, running, and he looks SO cool! I am rotting for him and everything he does!

Now, I need to admit this is weird. Cole is rarely put in front and center for shots, he is usually in the back, SPECIALLY in running shots, that’s why I have the head cannon that due to his weight/muscle he is not that fast (When compared to the other Ninja) And the show seems to follow this. To be honest I am having a hard time thinking of a running shot when he is front and center that doesn’t belong to Master of The Mountain. Because in there it doesn't matter whether or not he is the fastest, he was the focus character, therefore the focus of the shot goes to him.

And THAT'S what has me so intrigued. Master of the Mountain was Cole’s focus season, his moment to shine, it made sense when he was leading the Upply for him to be front and center... But Now? I am surprised it isn't Nya.

Okey, ignore for a second, the fact that Cole was one of the main 4, ignore the fact that he was the original leader of the team. Dragons risings is a soft reboot. Meaning that while all the other seasons are still relevant, A soft reboot is written in a way someone that has not watched the previous seasons can still jump in and follow along. That's why we have Arin and Sora, new characters that allow the writers to re-explain old concepts without it looking like the characters we grew up with are being idiots.

With this in mind I have to ask... Why is Cole front and center? (And I repeat, he is my absolutely favorite character here) but from the soft reboot perspective... isn't Cole a new character? isn't Cole someone new to the team and therefore new to the plot and narrative? In relationship to the plot and narrative of the soft reboot, Sora is the character we have spent more time with, yet it doesn't make sense for her to be front and center. Sora has not expressed desire to be the leader, and doesn't have the push to lead a team (at least not rn, when we only have her development up to half s1, and the trailer for part 2). Nya on the other hand, she is a character that through Sora's eyes -our POV character in essence- has some sort of authority, we have been with her for longer too. Nya is someone Sora can look up to, learn from, and follow... So it would make sense to have Nya in the front and center... Yet she is not even next Cole.

Notice how not only are both Sora and Nya parallels at the back, not front, they are also blurry... In fact, Cole is the ONLY character in this shot who is not blurry. In addition to being front and center, the animators blur the other characters as Cole runs closer to the camera. Hell, even in the composition, you could draw a clear triangle with the other characters, and Cole is a the peak. He is the focal point, and this ensures the viewer is looking at Cole, but more importantly HIS expression.

His is the only expression that is 1) clear to see, and 2) not showing fear. He is angry, focused... determined.

This bring the actual question of the post... Why use these visual framing devices this way if not to give Narrative focus to Cole?

Could this episode focus on Cole? could we maybe see how he found the formling and the serpentine? notice too how they are next to Cole, and in front of Nya and Sora -aka closer to Cole (Maybe both figurative and literally)-... Could this episode touch on his new team, perhaps show him leading? Because I can't think of another narrative reason as to why they would put so much visual focus of a running scene on Cole.

And you could say "Duh, the episode is of when they find Cole, of curse they are going to focus on him" and You'll be correct, but also you are not getting my point. What I am saying is that, if this level of focus is anything to go by, Cole fans are going to eat, this episode is going to be a meal. Cole is about to kick some mech's ass so bad that bitch is going to go back to the mechanic crying and we as viewers are going to have front row seats to the whole thing.

Cole might be having a focus episode where his leadership skills are shown, where he is being fatherly, where he is showing himself as the responsible rock of the team. THIS is not any focus episode, this is a five start restaurant meal. A buffet.

Anyways... I am trying to keep my hopes low, but I needed to put this out there real quick.

#thanks for reading my decent into insanity #this is what I use my Visual storytelling degree for mom #anyways #Cole did so adopt those kids huh #the rocky family #ninjago #dragons rising #sora ninjago #Nya ninjago #nya smith #nya jiang #cole brookstone #cole ninjago #dragons rising spoilers #ninjago analysis #meta #analysis #wait does this qualify as meta? i trully dont know so lemme know #ninjago meta

172 notes · View notes

raayllum · 5 months

Text

i think a lot of what keeps a character sympathetic * honestly, is just letting them have good intentions and even better, a genuine lack of awareness. even if they're lying to themselves, and we know they're lying to themselves, they have to earnestly believe that they're not. they have to truly believe that what they're doing is right, even if we know it isn't, and that it's not self motivated, even when it often is.

take, for example, viren, claudia, and rayla. they both make massive mistakes (basically everything viren and claudia have ever done / rayla leaving callum the way they did) and most of those mistakes were self motivated. claudia bought her father's gaslighting because she wanted to believe in a world where her family could stay together, and then overruled viren's reservations about his ressurection when she brought him back; viren does many terrible things in arc 1, but is genuinely motivated by what he believes is ultimately better, long term, for the world at large even over his family, or that he knows better for his family in general, and having that lie stripped away is so much what s5 is about. for rayla, she's so selfless it rounds back into being selfish, where she had the security of knowing callum was safe while he worried over her for two years, leading to her deeply wounding him even when that was the last thing she wanted (and deeply hurting herself). they all thought they were genuinely doing the right thing, often putting themselves on the chopping block for their choices (claudia and rayla in particular) even as it just made everything worse.

but even when we see them being selfish, we know they're still genuinely motivated by their love for other people, and it's coming out in very misguided ways, we can still have sympathy, we can still understand. and that to me is great character writing

* obviously sympathy isn't the most important to feel towards a character, but it can certainly be helpful in having an audience be interested in, at the very least, understanding them even if we don't like them

#tdp #the dragon prince #why it ends why it always ends #mini meta #also one of the reasons i think catra fell flat bc #1) she always has awareness that what shadow weaver & the horde is doing is Terrible and just #does not Care and 2) she prioritizes her own selfish desires and ego over anyone who might care about her over & over again #with no 'oh but i love them i'm doing this for their own good' like no she's just ruining their lives and doing whatever she wants #which makes the switch in s5 jarring and way too sudden #spop critical #in the tags

68 notes · View notes

broodwolf221 · 7 months

Text

triple checks it's the right blog this time...

so I'm having a p shitty week and I'm gonna cope by talking abt my meta for solas, mostly in terms of his personality and behavior. I have a LOT of meta abt his past and nature and future but that's... another post, lmao

some of his key and/or most interesting characteristics:

kind

selfish

reserved

arrogant

empathetic

detached

now, let's dig into these

kind: he clearly and consistently wants people to be happy or to alleviate their suffering. he's glad the inquisition helps refugees, he's glad (dialogue, not approval iirc) when you take the time to find the apostate supply caches in the hinterlands, he makes a point of connecting with every single companion, even ones who regularly degrade him. and in trespasser, he goes to extreme lengths to keep southern thedas from falling to the qun, because he wants the people - those he knows and those he doesn't - to be happy and at relative peace.

this is one of the most remarkable things he does imo, bc if he'd just let the situation develop, he'd have an absolutely clear path to achieving his goals. yes, he'd need to get the anchor another way, but that's hardly impossible. what matters is that by stopping the war, he gives the inquisition/inquisitor clearance to pursue him without distraction, while also arguably giving the qunari the ability to focus on strengthening the veil, bc i cant imagine the viddasala and her people were the only ones of all qunari to have/know of that goal

selfish: if romancing lavellan, he understands one aspect of his selfishness, because it's a relationship he should have shut down HARD. but his feelings are real... and he selfishly gives in to them, even knowing he'll break their heart. he does try to pull away, he does eventually break up with lavellan, but by then the damage is done. even the offer to remove their vallaslin is selfish in its way - he's trying to give them a piece of the truth, but instead delivers a cruelty and leaves them whether they accept or deny his offer.

but he's selfish in another important way, too: he's convinced of his own perspective. he thinks bc he literally knows more (which, yeah, tbf he does), that his pov holds more weight. he's willing to change the world bc of his guilt about it ofc, but also bc he's - selfishly, self-centered - convinced that he's RIGHT to do so. he's not traditionally selfish - in many ways he's selfless, overwhelmingly willing to sacrifice all his own chances at happiness and peace in order to restore the world - but his selfishness (which ties in with his arrogance) is shown in his self-conviction.

he makes excuses, but honestly? he could have told the inquisitor who and what he was. he could have done that! he could ask for help reconnecting the fade with the waking world. dreadwolf could be about the inquisition gathering together myriad experts and looking for ways to do it that aren't destructive. but he's so assured that his path is the right one, the only one.

and it's... a complicated selfishness, too, because part of it is that he feels like he deserves to be punished. he thinks he needs to walk this path alone not bc the inquisitor is incapable, but because 1) He Knows What's Right, and 2) He Deserves To Suffer (to alleviate his guilt about his "sins" - which is selfish in a complicated and roundabout way)

reserved: the superficial aspect of this is obvious: he's lying about his identity. but he's also reserved as part of his core character - according to him, he used to be reckless, quick to fight. I think his reserve is something he grew into, a willingness to play the long game, an understanding that information given can never be taken away. it leads to other things - a hesitance to trust, for example - but it's just a part of him now. I think even if he found someone to be 100% open with, he'd STILL be reserved by nature

arrogant: my man is an arrogant ass, no denying it. ofc he knows so much more about history than those around him, but he's also so willing to fight about it, to condescend, to trivialize. when he realizes he has a genuinely receptive audience his tone changes, so I think a lot of this stems from defensiveness and a deep familiarity with needing to justify his every expressed opinion, but... he's still an ass. his conversation with a dalish inquisitor at haven? yikes.

he's also regularly convinced that his interpretations are the correct ones. like wrt my recent post about the mages after Faded For Her, I have to assume that he thinks the inquisitor sparing them demonstrates disdain for the inherent value of spirits and their sentience, even if the real reason is a lot more complicated. he jumps to conclusions and states them like facts and it takes a lot for him to begin to deconstruct them

empathetic: this ties in with his kindness ofc, but its worth a unique mention. he is incredibly empathetic. he cares about what happens to people, to spirits, even to your enemies in a way - he talks with bull about how he doesn't like to relish his victories in combat because the people he kills could have been something else, someone else. he cares about wolves (I WONDER WHY... but also like, him being fen'harel doesn't mean he HAS to care about wolves, but he does, bc he cares about animals, too), he cares about the farmers being attacked by wolves, he cares about the refugees, he's understanding towards speaker anais and the cult that grew up around the rifts... he not only cares, he understands where people are coming from, regardless of who they are or how they behave

detached: this one lessens somewhat over the course of the game, but he's deeply, fundamentally detached to the world he woke up in and the people who inhabit it. its a little ironic when u look at his kindness and empathy, but it doesn't negate his detachment. i tend to think of him as seeing everything through a fog, feeling like he's not really there at least as much as he feels like everyone else is not really there.

not joking or exaggerating, he must have such terrible trouble with disassociation/derealization. ive seen people bring up excellent points wrt this that i dont feel a need to rehash, but suffice to say: while he still cares, everything he experiences is at a remove. this stems from shock, trauma, guilt, fear, and profound culture shock.

#solas #solas dragon age #this is fine to rb/comment on #but if ur an ass to me or abt him #im gonna block u bc im p sick of it #he does bad things and has bad aspects - but that makes him an interesting and dynamic character #and a good antagonist #i'd say sry for the wall of text but a) im not and b) it's why i made this blog :)#and when i say dont be an ass abt him #i dont mean u cant disagree with me or dislike him #meta #broodmeta

84 notes · View notes

soullessjack · 5 months

Text

6am exhaustion posting but it’s very funny to me that jack is compared to so many serpents, the biblical serpent in the garden. the ouroboros. the black snake. and then he loves fantasy movies with heroes that crush villains. he reads fairy tales like sleeping beauty, fairy tales that predominantly have knights in shining armor slaying the dragon or the serpent. obviously with him wanting to be a hero he’d follow the KISH archetype, but also look. serpents are medievally satanic symbols. fairy tales are majority stemmed in European Christianity. He’s literally a dragon that wants to be a knight . A satanic if not Thee Satanic Serpent wanting to be a hero and a Knight In Shining Armor and actively partaking in slaying other beasts for acceptance. this vision came to me with caffeine and zero sleep but do you see it .do you see how this is insane and also funny. Do you understand it …..

74 notes · View notes

danielnelsen · 9 months

Text

im enjoying flowcharts rn so here's a diagram of all the main quests (and a very few side quests) in all three games, coloured by year.

#i might put more side quests in later but.. no guarantee #there's also a better version of this where i didnt separate it all by year; just the colours #but whatever idk #dragon age #dragon age origins #dragon age 2 #dragon age inquisition #dragon age meta #(kinda?? not really idk. what does meta even mean at this point.)#personal #da #dao #da2 #dai #sorry the image description doesnt explain the actual diagram. i.......feel like that's understandable

147 notes · View notes

self-spaghettification · 4 months

Text

okokok.

RING OF FIRE

one bug helped swallow the sun. perhaps the other will with the moon.

[info from the tdp wiki] star devourer dragons are immense powerful creatures that do, well, what the name suggests. sunfire elves practice an ancient xadian chant that repels them from xadia’s sun. from swallowing it.

i swallowed her

from this post

(i may get around to making a proper theory post about this later we’ll see lol)

#polishing and #posting the drafts #as one does #aaravos #tdp theory #the dragon prince #self spaghettification #Tdp meta

20 notes · View notes

drakaripykiros130ac · 30 days

Text

“Poor Helaena…to lose a child like that”

“Poor Aegon…a father’s rage is justified”

Not hearing a whole lot of poor Rhaenyra who lost her father, her son, her throne and her unborn daughter in a short span of time.

According to TG stans, a child’s death is absolutely horrible (unless it’s Rhaenyra’s. If it’s Rhaenyra’s child, it’s fun, let’s celebrate).

I fail to see why Helaena’s grief is more important than Rhaenyra’s. She lost one son, said “bye bye world” and shut down (and I don’t see anyone pointing fingers at her and calling her useless in this war even though she was. She had a dragon she could use, but chose to remain locked up in her room and in depression).

Rhaenyra lost a whole lot more, and she had to stay on her feet and fight to take back what rightfully belongs to her.

Why is Jaehaerys’ death more tragic than Lucerys’?

Lucerys was murdered in cold blood, just like that boy of Helaena’s who’s barely relevant throughout the whole story.

Lucerys was a boy too.

Now there’s the question of who shed first blood.

The Greens did.

Actions call for reactions, and this is war.

Daemon wanted Aegon the Usurper to lose a son, just like the Greens forced Rhaenyra to suffer the loss of one of her own. He called for retribution. A life for a life. He could have arranged to have everyone in that tower killed that night. He could have demanded Aegon’s daughter, Jaehaera, be killed in exchange for the life of the daughter the Greens made him lose (Visenya). But he didn’t.

I’ve seen comments cheering on Aegon for wanting vengeance for his dead son, but apparently Rhaenyra is not allowed to demand retribution for the death of hers.

Misogyny runs high in the 21st century, doesn’t it? A woman who is not perfect is a monster, and a man with vices is just “misunderstood”.

And then you all have the nerve to point fingers at people who don’t care about the consequences of B&C. No, I don’t care that Aegon’s child is going to be murdered. Because I didn’t see that sympathy from stans when Lucerys was murdered. All I saw were jokes made at a child ripped apart by the biggest and most dangerous dragon alive because her rider is a twisted one-eyed psychopath.

The Blacks are entitled to vengeance.

Lucerys’ death is on Aemond’s head. And so is Jaehaerys’. He’s 100% responsible. If anyone is to blame for B&C, it’s Aemond the Kinslayer.

184 notes · View notes

rivilu · 1 year

Text

Okay but faith is not a virtue and spirits of Faith are only considered virtuous because of the prevalent andrastian culture (and usefulness to the seeker order) while in reality Faith is no less an abstract neutral concept as Command, in this essay I will-

#dragon age #dragon age meta #da meta #kind of?#my worldstate is just #wynne: faith is a good spirit because-#Orion: not being malevolent does not make a spirit good do you have ANY idea how much injustice is carried in the name of faith every day-#then awakening post justice recruitment is the companions' slow realization that there's now two of them #i'm having many thoughts in this chili's tonight can you tell

120 notes · View notes

ell-vellan · 1 year

Text

I know it's a function of the game to let the player take back a choice they didn't want to necessarily make to initiate a romance, but I find it narratively interesting to think about a Lavellan that immediately agrees with Solas that yes, their kiss in the Fade was ill-advised and a relationship was not a good idea. He’s hesitant, but obviously he let himself go for a few minutes there, and now he’s back in reality where this should definitely not happen. I like to think about a Lavellan that would read that as “okay, he’s not actually interested” and back off.

Solas, who tried to do the right thing and pull away from a growing and very surprising affection for this person that he didn't -- and shouldn't! -- even really consider a person, patting himself on the back when he successfully puts her off pursuing him, even when a little gnawing ache wears at him at the same time. But it’s a small pain, in the long life he’s lived, in the grand scheme of things, and he has to stay focused on his ultimate goal.

And this Lavellan, hurt by his insinuation that her affection is unwelcome, hides it by agreeing to keep things professional. They shake hands and continue as friends.

But Solas continues to pine in private.

Fighting beside a person he plans to betray to save a world he knows he is going to end. Growing in surprised admiration of her abilities and her Dalish ways, misinformed and simplistic as they may be, but still valuable and precious. Letting her open his eyes, with small and mundane moments of beauty, to the value of this world -- which he has to push pointedly away, time and time again.

Seeing the way the world starts to respond and change in response to her choices. Becoming the most powerful elf in generations, possibly with the ability to fix more than the Breach. She listens to him, surprises him, helps him in ways he never expects.

I love imagining them growing close as friends but only that. Lavellan keeping that careful line he'd drawn, at his request, and being respectful of it. Ignoring any attraction she might once have had, because it wasn’t reciprocated.

All the while he's growing more secretly more obsessed with her, painting her story in his rotunda, his constant daily thoughts filled with her and what he must do to her. Watching her grow closer to another, and having to sit by while she falls in love with someone else. Smiling tightly, all the while.

And burning up inside while thinking more and more about that one kiss in the Fade. What he turned down. What could have been, if he'd only let himself have her. Letting it taunt him in the dark hours of the night, while he proceeds with coldly destroying everything she holds dear.

Turning her down may have made it easier to face the shattered anguish of betrayal in her eyes when he had to reveal his true nature and walk away, knowing he hadn’t let her fall in love with him. He contents himself that at least he spared her that much, but it didn’t make walking away easier for him.

He knew she’d chase him, once she knew. Try to stop him. He’d learned that was who she was -- someone who would always try to save those she cared about, stand against any evil that would threaten the world.

He’d become that evil.

This way, at least, she could pursue him without love getting in her way.

If love wouldn’t stop him, it shouldn’t stop her, either.

#dragon age #dragon age inquisition #Solavallen #solas #dragon age meta #solasmance #lol this got away from me #but i've been thinking about it so much #unrequited love solas #mutual pining solas #angst #does this even make sense who knows #my headcanon world state is a solas who loved Lavellan from afar while she romanced someone else #my posts

105 notes · View notes

lyriumlullaby-ao3 · 6 months

Text

okay hi friends, i’m home from school and i have just enough brain power to talk about

Mythal and the creation of the Blight ✨

those of you who’ve been reading my meta lately may recall that i said i had theories about this. we’re gonna dive into them now :)

if you’ve never taken Solas to the Temple of Mythal, you need to—it opens up SO much dialogue, including a discussion of the TONS of statues and representations of the Dread Wolf inside the temple. I'm not going to go super in depth about that content here, i'm saving it for another post, but the important thing to note here is that depictions of the Dread Wolf are literally EVERYWHERE in there. i haven't counted, but i'd be willing to bet there's more imagery of him than any other 'god' besides Mythal herself.

and in the game's epilogue scene and Trespasser, we get a taste of Solas'/the Dread Wolf's relationship to Mythal. It's a bit obscured as to the nature of that relationship (again, stuff for a different post!), but they're obviously quite close, with warm (if complex) feelings towards one another.

for those who haven’t read Tevinter Nights (one, you should if you get the chance, it’s fantastic), there’s a short story contained within called "Dread Wolf Take You" written by our very fave, Patrick Weekes. now, i’m not gonna spoil anything there, but there's some important discussion of the red lyrium idol found in the deep roads during DA2. here’s what it looks like, in detail, for those who’ve forgotten:

[source]

In that same short story, this idol is described as "two lovers [embracing], or a god mourning her sacrifice." there is also a point in that piece where it comes out that Solas considers this idol to be “his.” okay... why?

i think it's because it depicts himself and Mythal. not a stretch with the imagery, right? and i'm not inclined to think they were lovers, at least not anymore. they might have been, but if so, it wasn't the core aspect of their relationship in my eyes. i'll explore that in more detail later on in another post as well. so this leads me to the consideration of 'a god mourning her sacrifice.' (and this, only because i'm inclined to follow the breadcrumbs given us by bioware, especially Patrick Weekes. they're good at weaving stories, as has been pointed out by other users talking about their discussion of what a good story twist is. god i CANNOT find the post?? pls if you see it send it my way bc i feel bad for mentioning it but not linking it.)

in the Temple of Mythal, we learn from Abelas that Mythal was killed, "murdered," as he describes it, and this is confirmed by Solas in Trespasser. Solas says the other gods killed her. now, i'm uncertain about whether this is literal or a metaphor, but i don't think it much matters. i'll explore both views as i keep analyzing and you can decide for yourself.

so here's what i think: i've mentioned before that i believe the Blight to be a biological weapon created by the Evanuris during their war with the Titans. it was specifically created to infect Titans and corrupt/destroy them. this is why we end up with lyrium that has the blight, red lyrium. and here's where we get into the part that's still a bit fuzzy to me. i'm going to lay out a few possible scenarios, but there are certainly more, so if you see something i've missed, please do add on!! i'm going to offer these in the order of what i think is least to most likely.

scenario one: the Evanuris (possibly lead by Elgar'nan, although that's not really important,) create a horrible biological weapon that will infect the physical world, but leave the spiritual untouched. there is no Veil yet at this point in time, so this is an aspect of its engineering, not a feature of the world's structure. they need a blood sacrifice to complete its construction, the sacrifice of a living being (or beings) to finish it and send it off to destroy the world. they decide on Mythal, storm her temple, and murder her to complete the weapon. (this would follow with a few of the things Abelas says at the Well of Sorrows: "[Mythal] was slain, if a god truly can be. Betrayed by those who destroyed this temple.") Solas casts the Veil to prevent the Blight's release, sealing the Evanuris away and locking whatever 'warhead' the Blight is contained within in "the Golden City," which i believe was Arlathan, behind the Veil. this warhead then corrupts the city, blackening it, and accounting for what Corypheus describes when he and the other Magisters Sidereal breach the Veil and enter this supposedly "Golden City" only to find it tainted and empty.

scenario two: where everything is the same, except the Evanuris plan to sacrifice many lives, likely those of slaves, and Mythal instead intervenes. there is a legend told of a time when Elgar'nan and Falon'Din were going to war over some argument, and Mythal interceded, suggesting they resolve the conflict with a single champion each, rather than sending their many soldiers to their deaths. They did so, and thus Mythal saved the lives of untold thousands. What if she did the same here? What if she offered to die for the cause instead of sending an untold number of slaves to their deaths? Perhaps there was something about her form, her body, her power, that made her blood more potent and thus other sacrifices were unneeded? i like this one slightly more than the first, because of the way Weekes describes the red lyrium idol as an image of Mythal's sacrifice. But this still leaves us without a way to account for the destruction of her temple, if she went willingly. which leads me to...

scenario three: my personal favorite theory. the Evanuris create this weapon, despite protests from Mythal, and are prepared to kill her to get their way if they must. Elgar'nan is notoriously ruthless in this way, and if he was indeed the ring leader, as i suspect he was, this is very plausible to me. completing the weapon may or may not have required a blood sacrifice all the same--if it didn't, no problem, but if it did, perhaps the sacrifice of many slaves was still the plan. this matters little to this scenario, as you'll see in a moment. Mythal goes to Solas, a trusted friend, a favored companion, however you see their relationship. (i'll get to that in my next meta, i promise, so no spoilers on what i think!!) She knows of a way to stop them, and she knows it requires blood magic, a life sacrificed. She would never ask another to die for something like this, and so she offers herself. Solas is horrified, but knows she is right, and that this is the only way. Mythal kills herself, and Solas uses the power of her blood to cast the Veil, separating the world of spirits from the physical world. the Evanuris breach Mythal's temple in search of her, and, finding it empty, desecrate and destroy it, until they find themselves caught in the wake of the Veil coming down. i like this theory best because it accounts for all the pieces: Weekes' use of the term "sacrifice" for Mythal, Abelas' description of Mythal's death (mostly, if we take the term "murder" metaphorically, in that she was forced into a situation by others where she had to die against her will), and Solas' attitudes towards blood magic. recall that he says it's a tool like any other, and when it's used to gain power, that's wrong, but it need not always be evil. and note that he says he's never bothered to learn it (possibly a lie, he tells many of those) because it makes it harder to access the Fade. now, to the matter of if the blood sacrifice was still needed to release the weapon... maybe it was. and if so, perhaps that's part of how the Magisters Sidereal unintentionally released it upon the world, as they were said to have sacrificed "slaves beyond counting" (Canticle of Silence 2:2) in order to breach the Fade. So either way, it seems the sacrifice requirement was fulfilled.

in all of these scenarios, it's worth pointing out that the Evanuris, if they're smart (which, don't they have to be at least a little, to get to where they are?), must have some way to separate their spiritual selves from their physical forms in order to avoid the Blight when it is unleashed. I have more to say about this, but it's better left to my next post. :) so for now, just stay tuned on that, but the point here is, if they have done so in preparation for the release of the weapon, wouldn't that make it awfully easy and convenient to seal them away from the physical world entirely?

so, with all that said, stuff that still needs exploring in future meta:

Solas' nature. A spirit? A demon? A god? Just some fucking guy trying to do the right thing? I'll talk about this next time. :)

Solas' and Mythal's relationship! Also something that will go in my next meta post.

writing this also gave me ideas about the Evanuris and the Old Gods that i'm going to talk more about. i'm pretty sure i made a post especially about this already? and if so perhaps i'll rewrite it, but it may have been an addition on someone else's post, in which case i'm going to make my own!

plus a few other assorted things featuring Cullen, Cole, and dwarves! (not all at once. sorry lol)

in summary, the Blight's a biological weapon, and that's why Mythal died/was murdered and Solas cast the Veil and sundered the world. <3

#dragon age meta #solas dragon age #the evanuris #mythal #meta #dragon age #dragon age trespasser spoilers #idk its sorta old but some ppl are new to the fandom so :)#antares speaks #antares' meta #oh note to self: i also gotta write some meta about wtf is lyrium and why does it work like that

18 notes · View notes

raayllum · 5 months

Text

Anyway let's talk about Callum, Finnegrin, and the concept of "dirty work" / "getting your hands dirty"

According to definitions, lmao, dirty work or" to do someone's dirty means to do a task for them that is dishonest or unpleasant and which they do not want to do themselves". This is, in many ways, one of the first things we learn about Finnegrin, and how he consistently dodges getting his hands dirty:

We learn from Villads he has a reputation of simply drowning people (or feeding them to sea leviathans) rather than outright murdering them first hand

Elmer is the one who directly tortures Callum and mandhandles the prisoners, whereas (with the exception of the blood freezing spell), Finnegrin does not

Rayla even critiques this trait in Chasing Shadows.

Deadwood pulled back his red-spattered fist and looked to the balcony. Finnegrin leaned over the railing, still half-shadowed, but Rayla saw him give the slightest nod of his head. Deadwood lowered his fist. Rayla prickled in anger. “Coward. Why won’t he fight his own battles?” “Because he doesn’t have to,” Redfeather said.

Finnegrin continues this train of thought with Callum. He's not going to pick who loses a hand; he's going to make Callum do it. He's not going to do dark magic directly, he's going to force Callum into doing it. Whether Finnegrin intended to force Callum to perform the revenge spell beyond just giving the ingredients is unknown, but it'd definitely be in character.

Callum, meanwhile, always does his own dirty work.

This is, in some ways, also where Harrow faltered, because he didn't do his own dirty work. Viren is the one who escalates Avizandum's murder in both bringing up the idea of and going to kill Zym, and procures the ingredients for the revenge spell (something it seems unlikely Harrow would've outright asked him to do, if he knew). Sarai, in spite of her moral objections/reservations, is the one who actually kills the Magma Titan. Harrow let Viren do his dirty work until it steadily destroyed both of them. (But post for another day, maybe.)

Aaravos also works through / uses other people for his own ends, heaping blame and harm and dark magic on their shoulders till they collapse or meet their ends to well, meet his intended ends. Callum and Claudia are just his most recent victims/collaborators.

Likewise, Finnegrin not doing his own dirty work is also his undoing, because the person who was actually doing his dirty work turns against him and defeats him.

I don't know if I necessarily have a point to all this, but 1) thought the contrast was interesting, 2) the juxtaposition between dirty vs cleanliness as a concept and how Callum technically straddles that line while still being very much a good person, and 3) the usual "Elmer foreshadows Callum breaking away from and ultimately defeating Aaravos" schtick. Also irony - gotta love the irony

#like does callum's willingness/capacity to see the dirty work to fruition rightfully frighten him a bit? yeah #but is it fun? yes (for us not him)#so i'll do you a favour and set you free #tdp finnegrin #5x08 #tdp callum #mini meta #analysis series #parallels #varrow #quietly in the background #tdp #analysis #the dragon prince #tdp meta

103 notes · View notes