The Gentler Spirits Are Far More Rare

Hi I was wondering if it’s bad to use ai like not for posting just for myself like character ai? I kinda low-key got bullied out of a fandom and haven’t been able to write in a long time that I feel like I have forgotten how to because of how traumatic and depressed I got from it so I’m trying to get back into it again. Anything I’ve wrote on my own just isn’t working so trying to use a character to kinda help I guess is what I’ve been trying to do. I know it’s a big discussion right now but I’m not posting anything to claim it’s mine I know that’s wrong to do

character AI still has a lot of the same ethical issues as any other generative AI in that it is still stealing other people's work to function, and is still as bad for environment as any other generative AI.

however, I understand that these tools exist and are not going away, and I can't tell you what to do or not do in your own time for your own private use. that's a decision you have to make for yourself according to your own values and principles!

if you wind up creating any work based on these prompts or use these chats as the basis for any creative work that you DO ultimately share, you should definitely disclose that, however.

I also want to add that writer's block and feeling too depressed to write are things that creatives have dealt with since the dawn of humanity, and there are other ways to move through these things besides resorting to tools like generative AI. I've been there, so I understand how awful it feels to be in that place, but once again, I really want to stress that anything YOU make, even if it's messy, unpolished, rough, etc. is still going to be infinitely more valuable because it came from YOU and your brain and your imagination and that will always be better than something generated by a robot that steals from other people's work. I know it can feel bleak, but trust yourself and your creative instincts!!! you have a unique brain and a unique voice, don't outsource those gifts to a robot!!!! I believe in you!!!!

Sorry, but I just don’t buy the whole “actually Mythal decided after centuries of wandering Thedas as Flemeth that modern people deserve a chance” thing. Because the fragment of Mythal we’re talking about is the jaded old swamp witch who

-Inhabited the body of a woman betrayed by her lover(s) because they found common ground in their suffering and the injustices done to them. (“Once I was but a woman, crying out in the lonely darkness for justice.” - DAI)

-Resents that betrayal to the point she views men as disposable playthings that she can lure back to her hut, have her way with, and then… murder? I think? (Based on Morrigan’s own account in DAO)

-Abused her daughter under the guise of tough love in an attempt to prepare her for a cruel uncaring world. (Again, Morrigan’s account, DAO)

-Says during her appearance in Inquisition that she will have her reckoning.

-Spent centuries consolidating her power as well as cycling through different human women’s bodies via questionable means for the sake of bringing about said reckoning. (“I have carried Mythal through the ages ever since, seeking the justice denied to her.” and about the Inquisitor: “A Herald indeed. Shouting to the heavens, harbinger of a new age.” - DAI)

-During her scene with Solas at the end of Inquisition does NOT say ANYTHING about disagreeing with Solas’s plans, just that she considers him and old friend and is sorry things are going the way they are. (Seriously, is the dialogue in that regret scene in Veilguard supposed to be from a mental connection they had? Because that dialogue just isn’t in the Inquisition scene.)

And I’m supposed to believe that in her last moments, Flemythal backed off and went “actually I think we need to maintain the status quo”????

None of this paints a picture of someone who has gone soft over time. At least not to the degree that is presented in that regret scene in Veilguard. Sure Flemeth wasn’t all bad, she had some tenderness to her. She shows some genuine care for Morrigan and Kieran (if present) and seems hurt when Morrigan implies she was trying not to be the kind of mother Flemeth was to her.

At the end of Inquisition, we can’t tell for certain to what degree she approves of Solas’s methods. But it seems like a step in said methods was to absorb her power and doom her, an embodiment of Justice, to take a passive role once more. And we know what happens when a spirit is denied its purpose. Justice denied its purpose could turn to Vengeance. Which, to me, feels like it would better echo the themes of Solas’s pride/wisdom duality, inquisition’s themes around what it means to become a god-like force of nature, DA2’s question of whether violence is necessary for revolution (which literally has the Justice/Vengeance duality in it with Anders), and DAO’s theme of sacrifice for the greater good.

i dont remember the post i saw or who made it so this doesnt count as a vague but 'actually it's good bioware retconned the agents of fen'harel because it would've been Bad Representation to have an antagonistic faction made up of the in-universe oppressed minority' well no it was straight up cowardice and the refusal to grapple with the reasons why marginalized peoples might come to believe their best recourse for a world that wants them dead top to bottom is fundamentally changing the nature of the world in a way that, yes, may read as apocalyptic to those currently in power, but the alternative is for the forgotten to continue slowly bleeding out to sustain their comfort

Not that bioware could have landed that but don't pretend it's More Nuanced not to even try. and it's literally just narratively stupid as hell

Dev quotes on Solas from the PAX panel

(Rewatch panel here)

Solas was a challenge for us [re: design, translation] because it was very important to us to make sure that he was interpreted as a very kind person.. that everybody in the world mattered to him, how they were treated, to try and get that across…

Solas is sympathetic and hunky

Solas is never looking where the other characters are looking [in concept art]. He’s looking at you [the Inquisitor]. He is intrigued by you.

𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑑 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑏𝑎𝑙 𝑗𝑎𝑏𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑠

Like...everyone unquestioningly parrotting the 'god of lies' thing like that isn't strongly implied to be Evanuris propaganda?

Reason 1: he's not a god. None of them are. They just declared themselves that.

Reason 2: there's a codex entry in the Vir Dirthara section of Trespasser which talks about Solas going among the people in disguise and persuading them to his point of view and how this is lies and corruption...except he's currently running a slave rebellion.

Depending on the story indeed...such as the stories of slave owning megalomaniacal mages who wanted those who might potentially sympathise with Solas to distrust him?

And you all fell for it.

“it sounds like you’re justifying their actions-“ i am. they’re a fictional character. i’m okay with anything they do all the time. hope this helps.

solas stans who go “i hate him and i love him i love to hate him grr stupid egg etcetera etcetera” stronger than me cause im too far gone he has never done anything wrong ever sorry. killed varric? love you so much king but you wrestled a guy for a knife while your tits were out. oh he betrayed rook? good

reaches out and immediately holds her hands

caresses her hand with his thumb while they kiss

he holds on to her with both hands, doesn't want to let her go yet

HE MISSED HIS WIFE 😭

Var lath Vir Suledin....!! And so it did, vhenan -- I just imagine that at some point laughter returns to the two of them as the weight of their lives becomes easier to shoulder together.