#but it doesn't seem to be

[3gremlins]

i'm certainly not a deep dive lore master or anything (i super appreciate the people who are tho. like that's one of my favorite ways to consume lore, have other people tell me about it <3 ), but i haven't seen anyone else mention about Ghilan'nain and the halla. here's my maybe crackpot theory :) (or maybe not, idk i sort of assumed everyone thought this too but i haven't seen it mentioned in evanuris discussions that i've come across at all) (ill try to cite what sources i remember off the top of my head but i haven't done a full replay in awhile)

since the reveals about Ghilan'nain making monsters out of people (in tevinter nights mostly, i'm not up on the comics), I've always kind of assumed the halla WERE also once people. Like twisted into the beautiful deer and the way the dalish care for them is wrapped up in that, like they vaguely remember that the halla were once their loved ones (the way the dalish worship only partially remembered bits of who the evanuris were). We also learned from Trespasser that the Evanuris were fairly cruel and enslaved their people (and also presumably USED the elves for a variety of unsavory things) .

Also we do get the new versions of the halla in the horrors of hormak story like Ghil was iterating on a previous idea (as all artists do, like okay sure the pretty deer were nice, but what if i added more INSECT? XD)

The way the dalish refer to the halla has always been a little off to me, even for a sacred animal. They're more integrated into the clan- they're not a separate entity to be worshipped or revered. Afaik they don't ever eat or kill halla on purpose* (which does fit with some sacred animals in certain cultures for sure, but it feels more personal with the dalish somehow? most cultures where there's a sacred animal you don't eat, it's because it's special to a particular god).

from inquisition: "The first thing you must understand about the halla is that they are not our servants. They are not our pets. They are our brothers and sisters"

While they are heavily associated with Ghil, they're not really part of her worship, they're kind of separate from it (as far as we've seen). You have halla keepers/herders in dao but they're not really shown in the other 2 games- mostly the whole clan seems to care for them communally).

I believe merrill mentions (in da2 i think?) that without the halla, the dalish are nothing like the clan can't survive without them, they're so integral to their culture. Obviously this is partially how they move around and they're particularly suited to pulling the caravans through deep forests etc, but maybe there's something more to it.

They've also littered lots of bread crumbs of bits of dalish culture that the dalish have pieced together that we now know to be incorrect (or at least not the whole story)- the fenharel statues, the vallaslin, the evanuris themselves, the veil etc.

These are all half-remembered things- they remember that they were important/related to certain gods, but not why or how (as solas mentions in ambient dialogue "the dalish remember fragments of fragments")

there's also the codex entry on ghilan'nain in dai with the story andruil turning her into the first halla and leading Andruil back to the hunter who hurt her (tho she'd previously cursed him so it def feels like there's more to that story than the parable lets on)

"And since that day, the halla have guided the People, and have never led us astray, for they listen to the voice of Ghilan'nain"

i've seen a couple people point to this story as evidence that maybe andruil made the halla instead, tho we know that Ghil was making monsters for Andruil specifically to hunt so I think it could go either way? Maybe it's both.

The evanuris also feel a bit greek god inspired, and Andruil ofc has parallels in Artemis directly. Who was also always turning people into deer and things, so that could support an Andruil making people into halla theory instead. It could even be slightly less nefarious than Ghil making monsters, perhaps Andruil would turn favored subjects into halla as a warped "reward". ( <- i have no evidence for this outside of that one story but it is an interesting thought). Or maybe also to hunt them, could see that being a thing.

This would still explain why the Halla are so attuned to the dalish particularly (and vise versa) and also give some more of that good crunchy HORROR reveals to their interpretations of the past.

Either way, I think there's SOMETHING going on with the halla and I hope we get some more dalish culture reveals with the Veilguard a bit ( even if it's just in supplemental material that comes out with it or like a codex entry).

*halla leather *is* used as a crafting material in dai but this might be separate (gameplay vs lore). in dao, if Elora's halla has to be put down, she only gives you its antlers (which would probably have been shed naturally anyway since they're fairly deer-like). If you attack/accidentally kill the golden one in front of the exalted plains dalish in DAI, i believe they did attack you on sight (but that might also have been a bug, i remember that quest being tricky- like if the wolves or rando bandits attacked & killed the halla, inky still got the blame) ** I'd also love to see Merrill again like all of the events in DAI/DATV would be her jam like I just want to hear her thoughts/have her geek out a bit even when the world is ending (i have limited hope we will tho, since she was written by mary kirby T.T tho she also wrote varric and we still have him around so idk maybe)

[batcavescolony]

Katniss is such an unreliable narrator. She says "Then something unexpected happens. At least, I don't expect it because I don't think of District 12 as a place that cares about me" girl you deliver strawberries to the Mayor, you hunt and trade for the district, when you fell at Prim being chosen someone caught you, when you went to Prim people parted for you, when you volunteered EVERYONE stopped. Idk how to tell you but I think you're a pillar of the community.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

You're just not toxic enough.

[canisalbus]

✦ Fashionably late ✦

[ilovelifee]

Guys

GUYS

GUYSSS!!!!!

Climb him like a tree amirit

[shayneysides]

hobie: kill yourself

pavitr: WHAT THE HELL BRO WHAT DID I DO

original format from @ha-youwish in this post!

[crime-scene-psychic]

It's always funny to me that Jason, Tim, and Damian all have personal beef with Ra's al Ghul and meanwhile, Dick is kinda just like

[itsdefinitely]

i've noticed a pattern

[fairsweetlonging]

truth serum / system reveal au where shen qingqiu gets hit with an uncloaking spell that reveals the system in the reflection of his eyes every time it pops up.

during one of his missions, in the treasure hoard of some dragon-like creature, he finds a golden, oval shaped hand mirror, its gaudy style more victorian based than anything (airplane you hack!), that doesn't seem to do anything when he looks into it. but when he does, it reveals the system's screen in his eyes.

he doesn't notice this, of course, because he can't see it, and the system, surprisingly, stays quiet.

the peak lords think he's cursed.

maybe mu qingfang is the first to notice, during the mandatory post mission check-up, when shen qingqiu is scrolling through his most recently accumulated points and mu qingfang can see the strange vividly-blue lines reflected in his pupils. it's gone when shen qingqiu blinks, like it was nothing but a trick of the light.

it comes out when yue qingyuan is visiting and, just as he's done laying out the plans for a new mission, shen qingqiu's eyes glaze over and a bright blue box takes over the whole of his iris. shen qingqiu goes quiet; the thing in his eyes moves, shifts, pulses for a second, like static worms crawling all over his pupils. then he blinks, and it's gone, and shen qingqiu accepts the mission that yue qingyuan was almost sure he would decline.

maybe there is an intervention, when the peak lords corner shen qingqiu at qian cao peak and try to figure out what's wrong, subjecting him to all kinds of treatments and curse-finding spells that turn up empty, they can't find anything.

of course, the silencing threat is still very much up and running. at first shen qingqiu was kind of confused by the whole ordeal, but when the peak lords start describing a "strange blue box", he realizes, with sickening suddenty, that they're describing the system. and he can't say anything.

this only makes everything worse, because their fellow peak lord now keeps evading every question and acts like he doesn't understand. liu qingge points right at his face and asks, "that blue box, what is it?" and shen qingqiu laughs nervously and starts talking about how bright the weather is and surely it's the sky and nothing to worry about!

even worse, during the intervention the system thought it was a good idea to start talking to him, so now even the peak lords who hadn't seen it and who might have been persuaded by light tricks and reflections, get a first row view that no, that definitely isn't a trick of the light.

they try to do the whole thing of "are you in danger, blink twice" but shen qingqiu can't even do that because it's still a direct admittance!

maybe eventually he starts saying vague confirmations that don't actually confirm anything, like "this master hears what you're saying", or maybe he goes with a classic "this master can neither confirm nor deny that." but the system starts warning him for that too and eventually he stops saying anything, which worries the others more.

luckily mu qingfang catches on that every time they ask a direct question about the box or shen qingqiu says anything vaguely confirming, it appears. it doesn't appear when they ask about curses or demons, so it must not see that as a threat.

for a little extra angst: maybe the peak lords keep pressuring him for answers, and at some point shen qingqiu gets fed up and snaps out something like, "why don't you understand that i'm not allowed to answer that!" the system counts this as a direct admittance, threatening it's existence. so it punishes. shen qingqiu has a qi deviation so bad it lasts two weeks and takes two people every day to cleanse his meridians. the system doesn't appear in that time. it doesn't appear for a long while after that, either. the peak lords stop asking, mainly because shen qingqiu will instantly leave the room if they do. they don't stop searching for a cure, though.

shang qinghua returns from a business trip and catches on the second someone mentions a blue box and forced silencing.

[egophiliac]

buckle up lads we're going BACK INTO THE BOOK

[licorishh]

kintsugi

(no-kintsugi version under the cut)

so we hit 212 followers on monday (!!) and i was gonna get out something soon for that but then between when i went to bed monday night and this morning y'all rocked it up to 224 so uhh happy 224 instead i guess and thank y'all so much!! i'm glad y'all like my humble offerings lol

have another cody because i fear nobody is doing it like him

[a-scary-lack-of-common-sense]

Local idiot absolutely destroys his twin brother

⚠️ Do not try this at home❗️⁉️

[ariadne-mouse]

I feel fandom would get along a lot better if there was mutual understanding that liking a character, agreeing with a character, and thinking the character is well constructed/executed are all separate (if often overlapping) positions, each with their separate tastes and subjectivities. Also: character portrayals are intended to make the audience feel things; this is separate from (if often overlapping with) analyzing/appreciating their actions and role in the story.

[technically-human]

i loved seeing the moment of stone realising he was going to stick with robotnik (─‿‿─) could we see the moment ROBOTNIK realises stone is here for good?

Robotnik isn't used to people being happy to see him

[sata-cable]

X

[hellenhighwater]

I'm watching through my security cameras as the pest control guy does his rounds in my house and Malice is following this man at six paces everywhere he goes. Truly the supurrvisor we all need in our homes.

One wrong step and you shall catch these paws, good sir.