Gotta be honest for a moment here: the recent post reminded me how much the direction they took Dorian in VG bothers me, but in a way where I feel like he is way too fanservicy by being honestly closer to a fandom interpretation of Dorian then an actual character of Dorian as we see him in DAI.
Him becoming a shrewed politician that is able to look at his nation with a critical eye and see the injustices it is built upon isn't impossible but also... it feels like this honestly a VERY big development for him that is not given enough weight.
I already talked about how I feel like Dorian's political prowess is often waaaaay overestimated- the man made being a walking scandal a big part of his personality for so long it is basically part of his nature. Which comes out in many ways but one of which is... Dorian isn't really subtle. He is extremely used to being under attack and scrutiny and he bites back as a reflex any time he feels threatened. Which as much as it would maybe garner him some public support although paired with our knowlage about Tevinter's homophobia + his ties to Southern Chantry... this would be hard for even very skilled politician to navigate and Dorian isn't that, he is a historian and a scientist. And like a lot of people bring up he is charismatic and yeah true but I don't think being good at snarky comebacks is going to cover it.
Again- I am not saying this development would be impossible for him but it would be a big one. This however does fall in line with a big part of fandom interpretation of Dorian where his tendency to say some wild shit is portrayed as a sassy flamboyant stereotype who "tells it like it is". Which is what the Magestirium session codex overwhelmingly feels like. Instead of showcasing this new Dorian that somehow survived 10 years in Tevinter politics, we get a scene that feels like it is more we are supposed to cheer on his epic takedown of all the slavers in Tevinter before a mic drop moment and a dramatic exit. Which is very cool, very in character but achives nothing and makes me ask HOW IS HE STILL THERE. It's again- not about me thinking he is not correct in calling those guys out but the whole thing feels just so so stupid, like man you can really tell it was written by someone who thought you can change the system built on slavery by owning slavers with facts and logic.
And btw I do not think that take on the politician Dorian is a bad one necessarily... but he sort of kind of needs an untouchable powerful patron to have the comfort of getting snippy. Which he did have... before writers made the stupid ass decision that Mae got kicked out. They honestly could have made a very good duo of someone who is actually good at navigating this mess and Dorian doing what he is good at, which is diverting the attention from Mae onto himself and prodding people so much they show their true colors. But for that to work he needs the protection Mae's connections and experience would provide and we don't really get that. Instead we learn that apparently Dorian has spent the last 10 years going around Magestirium calling people "cretin" and to suprise of no one it achived fuck all.
And I HATE that because Dorian showed he is good at one thing that would be immensely helpful in the right hands- the guy has a knack for historical reaserch. In a country as obsessed with legacy and bloodlines as Tevinter- he could have spent his time researching and providing Maeve with dirt, which she could in turn weaponize. He didn't need to be hammfisted into this role that not only makes him seem useless, it uses basically none of his skillset.
But we need Dorian to run for Archon because he is a fan favourite and isn't it cool you can make Dorian an archon even when this is a stupid ending for both him and overall Shadow Dragons subplot.
you know i wish we had a tevinter abolisher companion instead of yet another "redeemer" who never does anything to actually prove that this place can or should be redeemed in the first place. just going "omg it's my homeland uwu just because it's bad doesn't mean it can't be redeeemed you guys!1!!" over and over again
because it's such a rotten idea to give people right now. "it's fine to love your county no matter what atrocities it has and is committing! you can't know that it's wrong! it's your home, of course you're biased, that's okaaaay! :)"
(it's about russia i'm talking about russia here it's a russia-hating post)
why does it always have to be some idiotic patriotic dumbass beating themselves on a chest and shouting "well our history and culture is very rich, you know! and people are so nice and quirky and accepting! even the criminals! not ALL tevinters you know!!!"
why can't we have a tevinter abolisher who may have lived a regular life, or as a mage and still went "yeah i''ve been there, and you know what? fuck that place! fuck the archon and the empire! if i ever return, it'll be to set it all fucking ablaze"
(it's about calpernia i'm talking about calpernia here it's a "i-wish-calpernia-was-our-companion" post actually)
Me when playing Origins for the first time: *just finished talking to Leliana about slavery in Orlais* "Wow holy shit that was bad. I can't believe they actually put that shit in the game! Having a character defend slavery like that is crazy. I'm glad she recognized she was wrong in the end and apologized, but still... I don't think dialogue like that would fly in a modern game."
Me playing Inquisition for the first time: *listening to fan favorite Dorian Pavus yap on about how slavery is good actually and how my dalish Inquisitor is dumb for daring to disagree. Then proceed to finish his companion quest, expecting a change of heart, only for him to call my Inquisitor his bff as if nothing bad had happened. Look on the internet expecting to find critique of this, only to find people glazing and woobifying his character to high hell; talking about how his writing is perfect and how anyone who doesn't like him is homophobic*
"Yaknow... Maybe Leliana's dialogue wasn't all that bad."
still remember the first conversation with dorian in inquisition and I was soooooo excited to meet everyoneâs favorite canonically gay boy and was planning to romance him and then he went off defending slavery to my face and I just. this one? this guy??? this is your man??????
So Devera from the Denerim Arc in Dragon Age Origins always perplexed me when it came to her attitude about Tevinter and Dorian in DAI just outright annoyed me. I mean its freaking slavery!!! But then in my World History class in College I realized the writers loosely based Tevinter slavery on the Ottoman Empire. And thinking about it made me see how the hierarchy was cruel because the lowest ranked slaves really had no chance.  It still bothers me and its ALWAYS going to annoy me but it made me understand Devera and Dorian a bit more. I just wished it had been explained better in the game.
Mod Note: Here are some links on the subject for anyone interested
You may have heard your parents say, "I know what's best for you." In the 14th century, some Christian parents thought sacrificing their chi
Honestly? The Dorian hullabaloo is not some new emergent crisis tearing the Arcana fandom apart, because for the two years I've been in this fandom, NH primarily gave us disappointment. We haven't been waiting on whatever dry-ass crumbs the IP owners deign to give us, we've just been making our own fun.
The fandom doesn't die just because the IP owners are bad at this.
The characters and the world drew us here, so play with them! Find a comfortable corner of the fandom with like-minded people and make what you want to see - especially if you are queer and trans. Take the reins! Make the fluffiest/horniest/funniest shit ever, with love in your heart that Dorian will never have. Free yourself from waiting for them to give you a content fix that will inevitably disappoint.
And if you feel like you don't yet have the skill level to create - everyone starts somewhere. Why not leverage your interest to build up your skills? (That's how I got into rendering, after all - the driving need to see a video game man naked. đ) Hell, you participate just by interacting with fan creators - we inspire each other all the time, and that's what keeps the fan content flowing!
