#that you don't really think is real LSDKFJF

[v-arbellanaris]

do you have any nice headcanons to share? feeling under the weather and I really enjoy your posts. :) (you don't have to share if you don't want to, of course.)

i'm so sorry to hear you're not doing great :( i hope you feel better soon. and ty for asking - im really flattered that my posts are so enjoyable for you!!! idk if you wanted something specific, so feel free to let me know if you wanted something different!

but one nice (like opposite of sad as opposed to complimenting myself eogkgjdfkgj) headcanon i have is that all senior enchanters have a repertoire of entirely useless spells. things like, for example, the ability to create entirely harmless little creatures made of light, that glitter and sparkle -- butterflies and puppies and dragons and birds and kittens. it's useful, they argue, because it helps calm down the younger apprentices and entertain them. it's not, though, because there's other ways to do that, which means this magic has no use.

and we never really see magic that isn't for use. and i assume this is partly because of things like the in-game mechanisms (and ive been feeling out a whole host of ideas to make thedas feel more... magicky) but i also think it's a product of magic primarily being used for war and battle. (magic, after all, exists to serve man - a universal truth in thedas that seems to persist across cultures and races.) i think a lot of things that aren't useful have been carved out of regular magic practice because the idea of magic existing - without purpose, without use, but just existing, as natural as air and water - makes people extremely uncomfortable (i haven't quite decided if this is applicable to all cultures but i do think it's something to think about because i HAVEN'T seen the kind of casual magic use i'm imagining).

and so it brings me fierce joy to think about useless magic. not just in apostates who have never had to be in the circle but specifically for circle mages, who are incarcerated and told daily that the only good thing about their magic is that it's useful. and they know all these useless bits of magic - magic that doesn't cause harm or hurt, magic that isn't for healing or making someone stronger, magic that has no use for battle or war.

it's just... magic. magic cast for the sake of magic.