#ladies of thedas

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Mabel Normand (Mabel at the Wheel, Mabel's Blunder)—One of the best slapstick comedians of the silent era (who you've probably never heard of)! She wrote! She directed, in fact, she was Charlie Chaplin's first director! And of course she acted!

Theda Bara (Cleopatra)—One of cinema's first female sex symbols. Nicknamed "The Vamp" due to her looks. The OG Goth Girl. She would be HUGE on Tumblr if she were around today!

This is round 1 of the bracket. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Mabel Normand:

can never let mabel normand go by without mentioning mack & mabel, a deeply flawed musical with a beautiful score about her and mack sennett. (find a good cover of 'i won't send roses' and cry a little.) also, according to wikipedia mabel was the first film star to receive a pie thrown in the face!

Theda Bara:

She was simply nicknamed "The Vamp". Her sex appeal and typecasting was so intense that people actually thought that she lounged around half-nacked and seduced men left and right in her free time.

She is one of the most famous and enduring faces in silent film and yet only 6 of her 43 films survived the 1937 Fox Vault Fire! 6! Think about what we could have had!

She's the original Vamp and first film sex symbol! She said: “The vampire that I play is the vengeance of my sex upon its exploiters. You see, I have the face of a vampire, but the heart of a feministe.” Many of her films were banned or severely cut by state and city censorship boards due to her revealing costumes and suggestive acting. She even sued the Chicago Funkhouser censorship board to let her film Cleopatra be shown in theaters. Riots broke out in theaters during showings of her film Kathleen Mavourneen. In contrast to her film persona, her private life was pretty quiet. She grew up in Cincinnati as Theodosia "Theda" Goodman, the Jewish daughter of immigrants, and had one happy marriage that lasted 30+ years until she died at age 69.

*Theeee* celluloid blueprint for both goth chicks and sexually-manipulative women--her persona was that of a "vampire", in the sense that would eventually be shortened into "vamp", although in truth she blended both definitions beautifully. Alas, the prints of most of her back-catalogue were lost to a studio fire in 1937, but enough survives to clearly demonstrate the fantasy of enticing danger that she was so kind as to serve us.

my favorite goth icon i want her gender

[ladyinthebluebox]

Veil Jumping!

[lelianasbong]

letting sera beat the fuck out of pel harmond. for enrichment <3

[hq92]

Me: *playing through Dragon Age Inquisition first, sides with the mages, the King of Ferelden and his wife come to kick me out of the castle* Fine, sheesh! I know you guys had a bad time with these awful guests, but man...king seems like a bit of a stuck up jerk. Hope I never see him again.

-Later-

Me: *moving backwards to play Dragon Age Origins, romancing the sweet, goofy, funny, charming guy*

Alistair: I didn’t want to tell you this, but my father was the King.

Me: Oh wow...hey, with Cailan dead I wonder if that means Alistair would be in line for the throne of Ferelden and WAITASECOND.

[invisiblemelonmoose]

I'm so mad about Dragon Age Veilguard. I'm finally getting the type of f/f romances I've always wanted in a dragon age game (qunari/dwarf/Asian of any fantasy race) and now I have to choose between them all at once. Wtf? How dare!

[idolbound]

Meredith is too Catholic to ever get a divorce.

[oldtimehollywood]

The original Goth Queen, Theda Bara.

[vintagestagehotties]

Hot Vintage Stage Actress Round 1

Nita Naldi: Ziegfeld Follies (1918 Broadway); Mrs Violet Bacon-Boyle in The Bonehead (1919 Broadway); Jolan Rozsa in Firebird (1932 Broadway); Marchessa Del Veccio Sporenza in In Any Language (1952 Broadway)

Theda Bara: Mme Schleswig in The Devil (1908 Broadway); Ruth Gordon in The Blue Flame (1920 Broadway)

Propaganda under the cut. Semi-NSFW image below the cut

Nita Naldi:

eyeliner game on pointtt

Theda Bara:

THE GREATEST VAMP ICON TO HAVE EVER LIVED

[gwah--ren]

elethea being short is more than just a quirky choice so she can have dramatic height differences in her relationships i swear its actually important to her character and her personality. she feels like she needs to be more cold and severe because of it. listen 2 me. i'm being serious-

[marie-wisp-of-curiosity]

i liked the new dragon age trailer and it makes me kinda sad that all I see is people hating on it

[rairolin]

Every day is a Dragon Age Origins day in this life of mine 🖤_:(´ཀ`」 ∠):_

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Suraiya or Suraiya Jamal Sheikh (Vidya)— Suraiya has it all as a blistering hot leading lady - moving from child actress to being acclaimed as a master of her craft as both an actress and a singer. Her eyes are soulful, sultry, with a depth of wisdom to her face that is unmatched. She entranced the leading men of Bollywood as well as Hollywood and deserves a space among the hottest vintage ladies.

Theda Bara (Cleopatra)—One of cinema's first female sex symbols. Nicknamed "The Vamp" due to her looks. The OG Goth Girl. She would be HUGE on Tumblr if she were around today!

This is round 3 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Suraiya:

Theda Bara:

She was simply nicknamed "The Vamp". Her sex appeal and typecasting was so intense that people actually thought that she lounged around half-naked and seduced men left and right in her free time.

She is one of the most famous and enduring faces in silent film and yet only 6 of her 43 films survived the 1937 Fox Vault Fire! 6! Think about what we could have had!

*Theeee* celluloid blueprint for both goth chicks and sexually-manipulative women--her persona was that of a "vampire", in the sense that would eventually be shortened into "vamp", although in truth she blended both definitions beautifully. Alas, the prints of most of her back-catalogue were lost to a studio fire in 1937, but enough survives to clearly demonstrate the fantasy of enticing danger that she was so kind as to serve us.

my favorite goth icon i want her gender

She's the original Vamp and first film sex symbol! She said: “The vampire that I play is the vengeance of my sex upon its exploiters. You see, I have the face of a vampire, but the heart of a feministe.” Many of her films were banned or severely cut by state and city censorship boards due to her revealing costumes and suggestive acting. She even sued the Chicago Funkhouser censorship board to let her film Cleopatra be shown in theaters. Riots broke out in theaters during showings of her film Kathleen Mavourneen. In contrast to her film persona, her private life was pretty quiet. She grew up in Cincinnati as Theodosia "Theda" Goodman, the Jewish daughter of immigrants, and had one happy marriage that lasted 30+ years until she died at age 69.

[ladyinthebluebox]

ISABELA DIDN'T JUST INTRODUCE EMMRICH AS THE "VOL-CARNAGE" OF THE MOURN WATCH.

LMAO ISABELA, I BEG YOU 🤣

[laurelsofhighever]

There is racism in Thedas, but on the whole it's directed at fantasy groups that, while heavily influence by real-world oppressed minorities, have no 1-1 equivalent ('knife-ear' is not a slur in real life). The sexism on the other hand is exactly like the sexism women experience in real life. The only difference is that Dragon Age promised us it didn't exist before smacking us in the face with it.

It's clear there were good intentions with characters like Sofia Dryden and Ser Cauthrien, but it's also clear a lot of the writing was done without any self-awareness re: internalized sexism

CONFESSION:

I love DA, but it’s depressing how sexist Thedas is. Despite women

having the same roles as men, f!Warden gets plenty of NPCs expressing shock or mockery at her being a Warden/fighter. She can even say “I swear I’m the bravest one here and I’m a woman!” at her Joining. Then there’s the dwarven system, Isabela being called a whore for her promiscuity, and the sheer amout of rape (against women) plots in the DA world - including darkspawn breeding.

[veilishvixen]

I’m replaying Inquisition and can’t stop cheesing at the way Solas "asks” Lavellan to dance at the Winter Palace. I remember a lot of people comparing the scene to Cullen’s and hating on how forceful Solas is with her, but I loved LOVE it.

This is a woman who spends everyday of her life enforcing commands and filling requisitions, she is mother to half of Thedas. There’s always someone buzzing in her ear with a question or a favor or another mess to clean up. No one dares call her by her first name or walk at ease around her. She may have achieved all her goals this night, but she knows her work will never truly be done.

Then out walks a tipsy Solas, decked head to toe in his inquisition garb, spirit still abuzz from a glittery night of ruffled feathers and courtly intrigue. He is having the time of his life, but is still seeking his vhenan out to see what she makes of it all.

No matter her response, his first reaction is to comfort…then to pull her into a dance when he hears the music about to start again.

Cullen’s “May I have this dance, my lady?” Is very sweet and so so gentle, but (in my opinion) it’s nothing compared to the way Solas practically shouts, “Come! Before the band stops playing. Dance with me!” He doesn’t ask, doesn’t wait, just straight up tells this woman to dance with him.

He is so eager and so much like a spirit here. He wants to dance and wants to do it with her. Now. Patience and polite masks be damned.

This is probably the first outright order Lavellan has received in a very long time and I can only imagine how welcome it is. Who other than Solas can see her for what she truly is? Not a holy prophet or a crusading demigod, but a woman…just a very unfortunate woman. His heart.

He’s so selfish with her sometimes and (sometimes) I LOVE it. Whisk me away, Dreadwolf. Take me anywhere far the fuck away from here.

[star--nymph]

Vivienne's fear being 'becoming irrelevant' isn't something that's linked explicitly to her pride, no matter what Solas says about her (and the irony of Mr.Pride himself saying that should not be lost on you), it reveals what and who Vivienne truly is.

She's a survivalist.

Because we don't spend as much time in the Free Marches or Orlesian circles, we don't get to experience what being a mage is in these cultures. In Ferelden and Kirkwall, a mage is a lesser being without freedom no matter what they do--but in the Free Marches and Orlais specifically, mages are commodities that are given freedom so long as they play an entertaining enough role. They can explore the world if they have a noble patron, if they catch the right person's eye. They are, in a way, two sides of the same coin--refusing mages agency and forcing them to relay on higher powers. Vivienne lucked out, as sad as it is, when Bastion fell in love with her; she found someone who was contrarian enough to recognize her as a full person and also someone with power that could help her rise through the ranks. This is not to say that Vivienne on her own wasn't an exceedingly talented and intelligent individual--by nineteen she was already the youngest full fledged mage in Circle history and she was skilled enough to make herself an enchanter. But, I can not emphasize this enough, none of that matters if she didn't also play the Game and impress enough people.

Vivienne could have been the most brilliant mage in the history of Thedas and it means nothing if she was overlooked by nobility.

So when Bastion made her his mistress, she gained not just a lover but also a means to an end. Now she can use her magic to protect herself. Now she can roam where she wants and not be question for it because she's Madame Vivienne. Now, she can walk into the Orlasian court and belong there.

And what happens? Celene notices her and makes her the Court Enchanter, a position that has always been the equivalent of a jester. Vivienne took that title, ignored that it was essentially a glorified insult to who she is, and made it a position of power. She made the Court Enchanter into an advisor, a political rank. She had done the impossible and made mages an actual political entity in the Orlasian Court, something that wasn't seen outside of Tervinter (not counting what players can do under very specific conditions if they made mages in DAO and DA2).

All that, however, only continues as long as the court recognizes her as something worth their attention. Vivienne needs to maintain her act as Madame De Fer, The Lady of Iron, the Court Enchanter, The Jewel of the High Court, because the second she just becomes Vivienne, it's over for her. The assassins coming raining in, her name gets devoured by rumors and gossip, and she'll be found dead at bottom of the stair case with a dagger in her back if she's lucky.

So of course when the Circles fall apart during the Rebellion, she clings to that Loyalist Mages to maintain that structure--of course she moves her pieces to the Inquisition, knowing that if the Circle DOES fall, she at least as another place for herself and mages latch onto--of course when she hears that Celene replaced her with a new Court Enchanter that appeared out of no where, she grows to resent Morrigan.

Like, Morrigan literally pops up out of thin air, makes herself invaluable to Celene, and then plants herself in the place Vivienne had to claw her way up to and create so she could survive. Would you not be resentful when your life's work is usurped by some random witch of the wilds because she happened to charm the Empress? Everything Vivienne strived for all whisked away because the court find a gem who glimmers ever so slightly more than Vivienne.

So yes, Vivienne fears becoming irrelevant because the world has made it so that irrelevance for an Orlesian mage means death.