I think people generally prefer DAO, but they seem to find issues with things that I was mostly indifferent to and like things that I am iffy on. But for some reason, everyone I have managed to talk into playing these games has ended up BETRAYING me by preferring DAII and its themes. Which, well, are interesting, yes, but the game cheats a lot with them, which makes me less charitable in my critique.
I...could probably go on forever about Leliana and all of her weird complexities, but I think that Leliana really WANTS to believe all of the lies that she tells the warden? (Which makes her such a perfect contrast to Morrigan, in particular, because Morrigan is the same in terms of presenting a front that's not entirely her, but, I love how as Leliana seems to get more and more complicated and harsher, Morrigan gets more vulnerable. I possibly ship them a lot.) And then I absolutely love how she randomly shows up as a nunja and then as a socialite in MoTA, but it really brings home the fact that Leliana is just incredibly awesome at what she does, and what she does is MESS with people's brain by playing to their ideas of what she should be and using their underestimation to her advantage. So, YES, definitely using the Divine to find the Warden.
On Anders...I am not sure the game wants me to seeee him as creepy (even though the hints to his brand of crazy seem to be there on the second playthrough.) Like, it's a lot of standard romance tropes that I generally find creepy but the narrative tends to see as romantic. I didn't really romance him the first time around, but this time, I am rivaling him, and he keeps trying to be creepy with lines like "I don't know if i want to kiss you or KILL you." WHICH KILLED ME DEAD. And similar emo-romantic creepy dialogue that has me giggling and being creeped out by him. The point is, they're...sketchy noble savage stereotypes and oppression-is-cool-if-it's-spiritual/culturally exoticised stereotypes rolled into one and I just...they make my skin twitch. *throws temper tantrum* :p
THAT. There's just a lot of narrative manipulation there that makes me uncomfortable, and Mark of the Assassin is a good example of that. I chose not to help Tallis too, only to get roped into doing it anyway, so that felt a bit like cheating. And OH, I never thought of the Qunari as Spartans, but that's a VERY good comparison. Now I'll hope for the next game to focus on the Qunari women who are hopefully as epic as the Spartan women. I...almost feel like just SEEING some Qunari women would go a long way towards making me give a fuck about the Qunari? But right now, I am mostly bored by their male-dominated culture and the way DA narrative has made its women invisible.
Because I ship Me/Stomping On Fenris Broken Heart, but I totally ship Bethany/Isabela for reasons I can't quite articulate but am sure are unassailable!
Bethany/Fenris kind of interests me in that same context? Bethany, who is generally sweet and nice, is considerably snarky towards Fenris. And Fenris, who hates ALL mages, responds to Bethany's obvious disdain for him by...flirting with her. And liking her. Fenris' weird masochist tendencies amuse me, I admit.
But yes, Bethany/Isabela is epically awesome and may be the best thing ever. I am very attached to Warden!Bethany, but I may have to send her to the Circle just once so I can get the banter about Isabela sending her smutty books and Bethany missing her because OH GOD YES. <3 I do think it's all the insanely shippy banter between them that makes them so epic. Because honestly, I can't imagine that someone wasn't shipping them on the writing team. And I, too, wish that I could articulate my love for them better than just the flaily squee over all the subtext. <3
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Date: 2012-06-22 06:24 am (UTC)I...could probably go on forever about Leliana and all of her weird complexities, but I think that Leliana really WANTS to believe all of the lies that she tells the warden? (Which makes her such a perfect contrast to Morrigan, in particular, because Morrigan is the same in terms of presenting a front that's not entirely her, but, I love how as Leliana seems to get more and more complicated and harsher, Morrigan gets more vulnerable. I possibly ship them a lot.) And then I absolutely love how she randomly shows up as a nunja and then as a socialite in MoTA, but it really brings home the fact that Leliana is just incredibly awesome at what she does, and what she does is MESS with people's brain by playing to their ideas of what she should be and using their underestimation to her advantage. So, YES, definitely using the Divine to find the Warden.
On Anders...I am not sure the game wants me to seeee him as creepy (even though the hints to his brand of crazy seem to be there on the second playthrough.) Like, it's a lot of standard romance tropes that I generally find creepy but the narrative tends to see as romantic. I didn't really romance him the first time around, but this time, I am rivaling him, and he keeps trying to be creepy with lines like "I don't know if i want to kiss you or KILL you." WHICH KILLED ME DEAD. And similar emo-romantic creepy dialogue that has me giggling and being creeped out by him.
The point is, they're...sketchy noble savage stereotypes and oppression-is-cool-if-it's-spiritual/culturally exoticised stereotypes rolled into one and I just...they make my skin twitch. *throws temper tantrum* :p
THAT. There's just a lot of narrative manipulation there that makes me uncomfortable, and Mark of the Assassin is a good example of that. I chose not to help Tallis too, only to get roped into doing it anyway, so that felt a bit like cheating. And OH, I never thought of the Qunari as Spartans, but that's a VERY good comparison. Now I'll hope for the next game to focus on the Qunari women who are hopefully as epic as the Spartan women. I...almost feel like just SEEING some Qunari women would go a long way towards making me give a fuck about the Qunari? But right now, I am mostly bored by their male-dominated culture and the way DA narrative has made its women invisible.
Because I ship Me/Stomping On Fenris Broken Heart, but I totally ship Bethany/Isabela for reasons I can't quite articulate but am sure are unassailable!
Bethany/Fenris kind of interests me in that same context? Bethany, who is generally sweet and nice, is considerably snarky towards Fenris. And Fenris, who hates ALL mages, responds to Bethany's obvious disdain for him by...flirting with her. And liking her. Fenris' weird masochist tendencies amuse me, I admit.
But yes, Bethany/Isabela is epically awesome and may be the best thing ever. I am very attached to Warden!Bethany, but I may have to send her to the Circle just once so I can get the banter about Isabela sending her smutty books and Bethany missing her because OH GOD YES. <3 I do think it's all the insanely shippy banter between them that makes them so epic. Because honestly, I can't imagine that someone wasn't shipping them on the writing team. And I, too, wish that I could articulate my love for them better than just the flaily squee over all the subtext. <3