I'm very happy to hear it's canon. Just, best mental image ever
Of course her personality comes through, you write well, senpai.
D'aww. Thanks
Quick question for the folks in the writer's group: do you mind if I use a discussion thread to post a compilation of all the gradschool AU stuff? Because of the way I wrote it, it really doesn't work in a standard fanfiction format like AO3. It's basically a bunch of forum post-sized drabbles with some continuity. That way if I need to reference things, or anyone wants to read it in one go, we don't all have to go digging through the lightning thread.
, it's a roleplaying game. I don't think it's an issue!
Haha, yeah. I'd have that reaction too!
My Lavellan wouldn't reject him over it either. Realistically she might react with fear (can you imagine if your boyfriend told you, and you didn't think he was crazy, that he was the boogie man or some other trickster character from a legend you were raised to believe?) but that wouldn't last long, maybe just a flicker of it across her face and a step away from him. I think she'd get angry because she was confused and it was a lot to take in, she might yell or curse or even be in denial. After she calms down though she'd be sad he lied (I know I know omissed) to her. She'd start asking him questions and he'd answer and then I have no idea what happens with the Veil and all that! But this way she's with him to support him and to keep him from making horrible choices!
Someone should write a fic where in an alternate reality Solas reveals himself at Crestwood! I'd read it!
I could have sworn geekyjez wrote something like this, but for the life of me I can't find it. Maybe it was just some kind of little thing she posted on tumblr a while back.
Quick question for the folks in the writer's group: do you mind if I use a discussion thread to post a compilation of all the gradschool AU stuff? Because of the way I wrote it, it really doesn't work in a standard fanfiction format like AO3. It's basically a bunch of forum post-sized drabbles with some continuity. That way if I need to reference things, or anyone wants to read it in one go, we don't all have to go digging through the lightning thread.
That'd be great, but doesn't one have to be in the group to be able to read it? If not, I say awesome, and could we also get a link to it in the OP?
Mayriya Lavellan - A mage, seems to be in her late twenties/early thirties. Has unusual views on religion and the past compared to her clan and most of the Dalish in general, which seems to have made her feel like an outsider at some point. Seems worldly and pragmatic enough to be able to handle Zevran, but still shocked by some of his more brutal antics. Interested in learning more about healing magic. Has a spirit arm.
Nirwen Lavellan - A very dangerous Lavellan. She will draw you in with kindness and patience, but if you don't watch out, she could totally stab you. Family is very important to her, and she has a very special relationship with her friend Nehn. Totally fails at laundry.
Clariel Lavellan - Very young, innocent, and naive at matters of the heart, but hardy otherwise. Loves complicated contraptions. Seems to deal with emotional difficulty by working harder, and is generally very level-headed and not drama-prone. Really digs the Avvar. And I don't know how 'canon' it is, but I love the idea of her dealing with blooming first love by prouncing around and killing corpses in the Fallow Mire.
Some Lavellans that are not from the blanketfort:
Rial Lavellan from Apotheosis - The Dalishest Lavellan ever. Does not like wearing shoes and panties. Free spirit, can play the Game as Inquisitor, but can disregard it completely too, if something else is more important to her. It was sad watching her having to let go bit by bit of everything she holds dear about her clan, the Creators, the elves as one people. I cried a little when I read these lines from the latest story about her:
“Oh, Maker forbid you settle for anything so mundane.”
“You swear by a new god, I see.”
“The other ones didn’t pan out.”
Isii Lavellan from Bread Wolf - I love Isii. She's strong and stubborn, but not to an unreasonable degree. Not afraid to say what she wants. Clever. I wish she would get into a little more trouble, but the fic is still going.
Ellana Lavellan from Doughnut Rebel - She is shy and anxious in such a cute way. Really, the most adorkable Lavellan, especially in combination with the Solas in that fic. Insecure about her heritage. Does not get along with her brother, I really don't get why, her brother's awesome.
I like to read stories like that, with Lavellans that have personalities, the more different than mine, the better. Please, let me know more of your Lavellans. Don't worry about me being able to insert mine. She's already quite keen in inserting herself where she doesn't belong.
If the concept of writing a vague character is important to you as a writer, by all means, follow your inspiration. But for as long as I can help shape this community, I will not support expressing one's ideas less, especially for the sake of metrics.
Just noticed this post Drosophila! I don't doubt people can and have made wonderful and beloved Lavellan's with fully rounded personalities, details on their looks, and their names and backstories told in detail. I just think it is harder to make them and them be well received over making a more blank-slate Lavellan that the readers replace their own Lavellans with. I also think Mary Sueness is more often forgiven with nameless Lavellans because you are putting your character in the situation. As I said with my invader comment a fully developed Lavellan or original character is usually the only alien thing in a world that the readers already know. It's much easier to resent that, in my opinion, then a Lavellan that is pretty much what she is in the game, a blank-slate and a stand in for you. It's just one of those things that I think are unique to fanfiction. Is it good, is it bad? I think that depends on the situation, but it is there, regardless.
Well, I'm a fan of victorian-era costume and aesthetic and Del Toro has made something visually stunning and really atmospheric. The movie is, I think, very self-aware of the tropes it exploits as far as gothic romances and gothic horror go. It's not a horror movie and it's really too bad that it's being marketed this way. I just wish he'd not gone quite as strongly for ALL the tropes of gothic romances though. The madonna/****** dichotomy and TSTL bits for the female protagonist made me roll my eyes, and knowing the genre, I could see the twists and turns of the plot from at least a mile away. I wish the story would have subverted the tropes instead of playing into them in full. Still, I don't regret going and I'm planning some cosplay sewing of at least one of those gorgeous dresses!
Edit : Tom hiddleston in victorian formal clothes! Yes please, I want more of it. Also... h e's intense enough as an actor, and with the kind of angular features... he'd make a nice Solas (but then, that might be me talking because I have a huge actor crush on the guy).
One of my favorite books is Rebecca, problematic gothic tropes and all. I just can't help it, it's so deliciously creepy and twisted and overwrought So if I have a bit of rum beforehand and don't squint too hard at the tropes I should be ok with Crimson Peak.
I could have sworn geekyjez wrote something like this, but for the life of me I can't find it. Maybe it was just some kind of little thing she posted on tumblr a while back.
I know Apotheosis had an alternate chapter for what would have happened if Solas revealed himself at Crestwood, but it was just one chapter. And that was written before Trespasser, when we all thought Solas was a mask and Fen'Harel his real identity, instead of the other way around.
One of my favorite books is Rebecca, problematic gothic tropes and all. I just can't help it, it's so deliciously creepy and twisted and overwrought So if I have a bit of rum beforehand and don't squint too hard at the tropes I should be ok with Crimson Peak.
I know Apotheosis had an alternate chapter for what would have happened if Solas revealed himself at Crestwood, but it was just one chapter. And that was written before Trespasser, when we all thought Solas was a mask and Fen'Harel his real identity, instead of the other way around.
If you love Rebecca that might be right up your alley and we can gush and discuss once you've seen it! There were too bits a little gory I looked away from, but mostly, it's more atmospheric than really scary
If you love Rebecca that might be right up your alley and we can gush and discuss once you've seen it! There were too bits a little gory I looked away from, but mostly, it's more atmospheric than really scary
I literally read gory as glory.
too much elven glory for me today... gotta take a break LOL
Ah, I found one of the other things I remember loving with regards to fandom, fics, and gender., that I reblogged: http://modernscribe....e-doctor-who-or
text under here:
Spoiler
"
Large fandoms—things like Doctor Who, or Supernatural, or Star Trek, or any superhero comic—tend to have unique and separate sides to them: curative and transformative.
Curative fandom is all about knowledge. It’s about making sure that everything is lined up and in order, knowing how it works, and finding out which one is the best. What is the Doctor Who canon? Who is the best Doctor? How do Weeping Angels work? Etc etc. Curative fandom is p. much the norm on reddit, especially r/gallifrey.
Transformative fandom is about change. Let’s write fic! Let’s make art! Let’s make a fan vid! Let’s cosplay! Let’s somehow change the text. Why is Three easier to ship, while Seven is more difficult? What would happen if ______? Transformative fandom is more or less the norm on tumblr. (And livejournal, and dreamwidth, and fanfiction websites, and…)
Here’s the big thing: there’s a gender split. Find a random male fan, and they’ll probably be in curative fandom. Pick a random transformative fandom-er, and they’ll probably be female. Note that this is phrased in a very particular way—obviously there’s guys who cosplay and write fic, obviously there’s women who don’t. But men tend to be in the curative fandom, while transformative fandom is predominately women—and/or queer people, POC, etc. Why? Because the majority of professionally-made media is catered towards a straight white male demographic, leaving little room for ‘outsiders.’ Outsiders who, if they want to see themselves in media, have to attack it and change it—hence slash fic, hence long essays claiming that Hermione Granger is black, hence canons about trans characters or genderqueer characters.
And then curative/male fandom tends to view most things that transformative/female fandom does with disdain. Why? Because, in their eyes, it devalues canon. Who cares about knowing about Tony Stark’s lovers if somebody’s gonna write a fic where Toni Stark is flying about? Their power is lessened. Scream of the Shalka is unambiguously not canon—but it doesn’t have to be in order for me to read and enjoy a 30k fic where the robotic Master was secretly in the TARDIS during Nine and Ten’s time and they shagged behind the scenes. Canon? No, but who gives a ****?
Also, as transformative fandom tends to be an outsider looking in, they’re much more likely to analyze the work from a queer/PoC/neurodivergent/gender perspective. If I come to /r/gallifrey and start to talk about how ‘In the Forest of the Night’ had a questionable portrayal of mental health/autism, I get blank stare. If I go on tumblr, I get a conversation. This is also where the ‘overreacting, shrieking SJW’ trope plays in, either because of a redditor’s misunderstanding of terms and therefore assuming that a mild critique is a scathing one, or because the tumblr user in question is young/inexperienced and jumping the gun.
So, there you have it: /r/gallifrey’s bashing of reddit is part of a larger split in how men and women tend to enjoy fandom, and a lashing against how fanfiction/related things addresses fandom because it’s not the right “kind” of fandom. And also because tumblr is popular with teenage girls, and there’s nothing reddit loves more than shitting on whatever teenage girls like.
Very interesting. Thank you for sharing. I suppose I would consider my viewpoint to be a mix of the two. I'm usually pretty strict on canon reliance, and AUs take awhile to win me over (modern au SolasxLavellan NEVER appealed to me before. Then I read Message Sent, and now I can't get enough of them).
I think this also leads into my general disinterest in most fanart, and specifically fan comics. I don't have anything against them, and I greatly respect the artist(s) talent, but they just usually don't really interest me. If anything, I'll appreciate the art style and composition used more than the actual subjects of the art. Idk, it's weird because I Iove fanfiction, and that's just another side of the coin. Maybe it's a visual thing. Anyhow.
On the other hand, I am a WoC, and I prefer to create WoC protagonists if I have the option. I would like to see more WoC in my favorite games, tv shows, comics, etc., so I sympathize and contribute to those on the curative side of things. Though I don't often see the appeal in changing an established character's skin tone and whatnot. As a fun what if thing, sure. But as a cultural message? I prefer to just create new characters who are PoC.
I do look at things from a racial viewpoint sometimes. Not on purpose, of course, but that's just how my brain has been programmed due to experience. For an example, a TV show: I automatically look at the presence of PoC, if their skintones have been lightened in promo material, and how they are treated by the creators and the fandom, etc. And if these subjects don't satisfy me, and even if they do, I look to fanfiction as an option to increase further inclusivety.
Hell, I do this if fandom works themselves aren't inclusive enough. A big part of why I like Feynite's work is because she doesn't spare any detail on what Lavellan looks like. The reader can imagine their own Lavellan in the story.
I am very grateful for that, because even though writers can obviously design their character however they like and have no obligation to create according to every whim of every anonymous reader, it can get a bit discouraging reading story after story after story of pale skinned, blond and blue eyed Lavellan. Or pale skinned, auburn haired, green eyed Lavellan. Pale, pale, pale. The point.
My motivation to write, in different fandoms no less, is partly a reaction to this. I write because who else is going to talk about a Lavellan that is dark skinned and curly haired and who may not be conventionally slim? Not many, if there are (bless Dalish and Divines!!), and I have an immensely powerful need to contribute new perspectives.
Also, I hope this doesn't double post. My internet is being wonky.
If you love Rebecca that might be right up your alley and we can gush and discuss once you've seen it! There were too bits a little gory I looked away from, but mostly, it's more atmospheric than really scary
Ok. Bringing my boyfriend as emotional support, then
I'm such a pansy when it comes to scary movies/games. I can't even get through the opening hour of BioShock because I keep freaking out whenever a splicer jumps out at me. I'm watching Markiplier's SOMA playthrough ATM...with the lights on. In 15 minute stints with breaks for tea
Just noticed this post Drosophila! I don't doubt people can and have made wonderful and beloved Lavellan's with fully rounded personalities, details on their looks, and their names and backstories told in detail. I just think it is harder to make them and them be well received over making a more blank-slate Lavellan that the readers replace their own Lavellans with. I also think Mary Sueness is more often forgiven with nameless Lavellans because you are putting your character in the situation. As I said with my invader comment a fully developed Lavellan or original character is usually the only alien thing in a world that the readers already know. It's much easier to resent that, in my opinion, then a Lavellan that is pretty much what she is in the game, a blank-slate and a stand in for you. It's just one of those things that I think are unique to fanfiction. Is it good, is it bad? I think that depends on the situation, but it is there, regardless.
You're right that this sort of thing exists. It exists in general literature too, if Twilight is any indication. (Not a big fan of that book, sorry.) I just wanted to point out that not all readers are like this, and that as much as I can I prefer to support writing that gives me developed Lavellans, unless there's some other reason the Lavellan is vague.
But no worries, Neverland, I'd still punch whoever calls you a flat-ear
Ok. Bringing my boyfriend as emotional support, then
I'm such a pansy when it comes to scary movies/games. I can't even get through the opening hour of BioShock because I keep freaking out whenever a splicer jumps out at me. I'm watching Markiplier's SOMA playthrough ATM...with the lights on. In 15 minute stints with breaks for tea
Oh well, I feel like I have to warn you now. There are ghosts! But it's not a ghost story. It's a story with ghosts in it (you'll understand in the first few minutes why I said that I don't want to spoiler things).
Ok. Bringing my boyfriend as emotional support, then
I'm such a pansy when it comes to scary movies/games. I can't even get through the opening hour of BioShock because I keep freaking out whenever a splicer jumps out at me. I'm watching Markiplier's SOMA playthrough ATM...with the lights on. In 15 minute stints with breaks for tea
I don't do well watching scary movies....mostly because I sit and start asking way too many questions and such to get into it.
Hubby refuses to watch them with me anymore because it's inevitable I will ask something at some point that just kind of defeats the scary formula of the movie. He even found a horror movie that was all based around something that I deal with irl(sleep paralysis) to see if he could get me with something and it was just no go.
Scary games can get me a little more. Like, I remember Fatal Frame freaking me out pretty good for some reason.
I would fail in a Silent Hill world though. I grew up in tornado alley, so every week there were siren tests that you would hear no matter where you were in town and they sounds exactly like Silent Hill sirens. So, instead of getting ready for everything to hit the fans, my gut reaction woul be "It's just a test. Carry on."
Oh well, I feel like I have to warn you now. There are ghosts! But it's not a ghost story. It's a story with ghosts in it (you'll understand in the first few minutes why I said that I don't want to spoiler things).
Mmk, thanks I think I'll be ok. I watched The Orphanage when it came out; that was Guillermo del Toro's last foray into horror and it was tense, but I enjoyed it.
I love horror and Lovecraft is one of my favorite writers. But I have a lot of trouble with it in a visual medium like movies or games. It's fine in books/tabletop since I control what I visualize, and I can sort of shut it off. But twenty minutes of Saw were enough to give me horrible screaming nightmares for a week.
Mmk, thanks I think I'll be ok. I watched The Orphanage when it came out; that was Guillermo del Toro's last foray into horror and it was tense, but I enjoyed it.
I love horror and Lovecraft is one of my favorite writers. But I have a lot of trouble with it in a visual medium like movies or games. It's fine in books/tabletop since I control what I visualize, and I can sort of shut it off. But twenty minutes of Saw were enough to give me horrible screaming nightmares for a week.
It's the gore aspect mixed with the "boo!" surprise aspect of a lot of horror movies that i don't like. Gore just seems disgusting and self-indulgent at once, while I get startled super easily even in real life and I hate it, so I'm not too fond of that either. Give me creepy atmosphere though and I'll lap it up.
Edit : Hmmm, top of the page Solas. I'm totally on topic!
I would say that it depends what you are lookin for. You want some romance with some drama that might get you a little heart broken (also you must dig all the info about elvhen history and stuff (at least most) to understand certain things well at least I had to do it before the romance) He does have some lines that made me giggle but he is not just a basic pervert bull or uber romantic Cullen. Solas was my favourite romance because I felt like the whole story with him (inquisition story) made more sense to me. It felt like it was supposed to be the main romance (though it was not meant to be like that. First they were not even going to make him as a romance option as we all know) but I somehow got connected to him with his whole story.. how he started it all and has to deal with all his mistakes (you know this on trespasser) and then your own character falls in love with him and he falls for her but yet knows it is so wrong and he has not done the right thing. The sadness the passion the happiness and things they have to deal together bond them and it makes him so broken yet complete and I just can feel this through the game. Of course if you are looking for a happy ending like Cullen I would say do not go for this. It is amazing to see how tough Lavellan can be going through all this (thinking about she is an elf all the history how she gets to know the ''truth''). (Idk if you spoiled yourself about the romance though so I won't tell about scenes and what happens there) But I like how in the end we all can have still hope to save Solas (you mentioned seeing/playing trespasser so you must know that part) And since the first game appeared all the history and things about the elves.. when you listen to what he says during gameplay you gotta pay close attention to those :PP Even if you played it before.. I've always figured something he says more that I feel so stupid that I did not see the first time I played haha.
The Cassandra Romance can go both ways too. I chose to not have Cassandra be named divine, because of my own personal canon with my male dwarf that romanced her. I think Leliana made the right choice to allow romantic relationships to be allowed within the Chantry. If only Cassandra would have done such a move. :'( However, going back to Solas, I was very tempted to romance him on my current female elf's Blackwall romance, but I had to stay true to my playthrough. It sucks when there's another character that is stealing of the love out of the intended romance. For my male dwarf who romanced Dorian, I set out with him to romance Josephine, but then I was unable to resist Dorian's wit and charm. I do not regret my decision.
It's the gore aspect mixed with the "boo!" surprise aspect of a lot of horror movies that i don't like. Gore just seems disgusting and self-indulgent at once, while I get startled super easily even in real life and I hate it, so I'm not too fond of that either. Give me creepy atmosphere though and I'll lap it up.
Yeah, I startle really easily too. It's made playing The Walking Dead somewhat challenging, since the startle effect always happens when I have to do something. And I'm like, "Game, I know you're flashing a QTE at me so I don't get eaten, but ARHGLHFLHGLHAAAGGGGG!!!" Is very stressful
For my male dwarf who romanced Dorian, I set out with him to romance Josephine, but then I was unable to resist Dorian's wit and charm. I do not regret my decision.
I love Josie to itty bitty bits, but Dorian is Best Mage
I don't do well watching scary movies....mostly because I sit and start asking way too many questions and such to get into it.
Hubby refuses to watch them with me anymore because it's inevitable I will ask something at some point that just kind of defeats the scary formula of the movie. He even found a horror movie that was all based around something that I deal with irl(sleep paralysis) to see if he could get me with something and it was just no go.
Scary games can get me a little more. Like, I remember Fatal Frame freaking me out pretty good for some reason.
I get sleep paralysis too. Not as often as I did when in my teens, but it's still awful. You couldn't pay me to watch a movie about it. Nope.
I love watching LPs of atmospheric survival horror games. The Fatal Frame series was really memorable ... but also really disturbing, yeah.
Quick question for the folks in the writer's group: do you mind if I use a discussion thread to post a compilation of all the gradschool AU stuff? Because of the way I wrote it, it really doesn't work in a standard fanfiction format like AO3. It's basically a bunch of forum post-sized drabbles with some continuity. That way if I need to reference things, or anyone wants to read it in one go, we don't all have to go digging through the lightning thread.
Just saw this. Getting my ear virtually talked off about the SWTOR expansion today.
I think because it's unlisted and has approval on, people might not be able to read but I'll check to see if there can be a way to set something public.
Yeah, I startle really easily too. It's made playing The Walking Dead somewhat challenging, since the startle effect always happens when I have to do something. And I'm like, "Game, I know you're flashing a QTE at me so I don't get eaten, but ARHGLHFLHGLHAAAGGGGG!!!" Is very stressful
I startle easily too, and the funniest moments are when I see something, I know it's coming, but it still gets me anyway. I'm also not good with sudden, loud noises. The QTEs sometimes stress me out for a different reason though. There's something ever so slightly laggy about my left hand, doctor mentioned something about possible nerve damage years ago and I only really notice in situations like this. Where you have to sometimes tap two or three keys rapidly or work out something like that. It can require me to use two hands on the keyboard, or just my right. If a mouse movement is also required in the same moment, I may be screwed.
I think - or I used to think - I have/had a tendency to dislike most Lavellans because they can often tend to seem quite generic, or don't tend to have really distinct personalities. However I think that's much more to do with how limited their role tends to be, which puts them in specific emotional situations for which there are a finite number of reasonable reactions. You can't get away with a more wacky or erratic or distinctive character just because they fill this leadership position which requires a certain level of charisma and confidence.
Reading your descriptions makes me, firstly, realise how varied Lavellans can be, and secondly, makes me realise exactly how much I appreciate it when authors put lots of effort into making their OCs unqiue and distinctive. It's great to read about all these different kind of characters.
Also, now that I'm writing chaptered fiction again, I'm realising exactly how hard it is to write Lavellan uniquely. I mean, I've now written 5k words (!!!!) primarily of exposition with limited dialogue from my Lavellan's perspective and I feel like I've barely developed her at all. And she's interesting (potentially), my go-to description of her is basically: "Elven Cassandra, but colder, ruder, and more insecure". I don't think I've done a great job showing that at all.
I've finally flattened Haven to the ground. Yay. Had to split the chapter in two, somehow tripled my expected wordcount there. So the first half's up, the second still requires heavy editing. If anyone here reads it, that is. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Can't unsee this.
wait
THAT'S SOLAS???
I don't know if I'm supposed to be greatly disturbed by ruining our precious egg or actually surprised, because he actually looks dead good with those locks (what can I say, I'm a massive sucker for hair? It's testament to the strength of Solas' character and jawline that I still liked him without it).
Ok. Bringing my boyfriend as emotional support, then
I'm such a pansy when it comes to scary movies/games. I can't even get through the opening hour of BioShock because I keep freaking out whenever a splicer jumps out at me. I'm watching Markiplier's SOMA playthrough ATM...with the lights on. In 15 minute stints with breaks for tea
How many episodes are you into SOMA? I've been following Markiplier's playthrough but before that I watched Geek Remix's and they really pay attention to things in their playthroughs. Mark missed whole pieces of the story in his playthrough and he's not even half through XD
Very interesting. Thank you for sharing. I suppose I would consider my viewpoint to be a mix of the two. I'm usually pretty strict on canon reliance, and AUs take awhile to win me over (modern au SolasxLavellan NEVER appealed to me before. Then I read Message Sent, and now I can't get enough of them).
I think this also leads into my general disinterest in most fanart, and specifically fan comics. I don't have anything against them, and I greatly respect the artist(s) talent, but they just usually don't really interest me. If anything, I'll appreciate the art style and composition used more than the actual subjects of the art. Idk, it's weird because I Iove fanfiction, and that's just another side of the coin. Maybe it's a visual thing. Anyhow.
On the other hand, I am a WoC, and I prefer to create WoC protagonists if I have the option. I would like to see more WoC in my favorite games, tv shows, comics, etc., so I sympathize and contribute to those on the curative side of things. Though I don't often see the appeal in changing an established character's skin tone and whatnot. As a fun what if thing, sure. But as a cultural message? I prefer to just create new characters who are PoC.
I do look at things from a racial viewpoint sometimes. Not on purpose, of course, but that's just how my brain has been programmed due to experience. For an example, a TV show: I automatically look at the presence of PoC, if their skintones have been lightened in promo material, and how they are treated by the creators and the fandom, etc. And if these subjects don't satisfy me, and even if they do, I look to fanfiction as an option to increase further inclusivety.
Hell, I do this if fandom works themselves aren't inclusive enough. A big part of why I like Feynite's work is because she doesn't spare any detail on what Lavellan looks like. The reader can imagine their own Lavellan in the story.
I am very grateful for that, because even though writers can obviously design their character however they like and have no obligation to create according to every whim of every anonymous reader, it can get a bit discouraging reading story after story after story of pale skinned, blond and blue eyed Lavellan. Or pale skinned, auburn haired, green eyed Lavellan. Pale, pale, pale. The point.
My motivation to write, in different fandoms no less, is partly a reaction to this. I write because who else is going to talk about a Lavellan that is dark skinned and curly haired and who may not be conventionally slim? Not many, if there are (bless Dalish and Divines!!), and I have an immensely powerful need to contribute new perspectives.
Also, I hope this doesn't double post. My internet is being wonky.
I shared that since I thought it was an interesting perspective but my own opinion and circumstances are more like yours. It's rare that I like AUs, and I prefer that something make sense and follow/take from canon and is, at least, consistent in some way. That said, gender or racebending is something I'm generally cool with too, even if it's not something I'm into (With Solas, for instance, there are mods to make him darker like concept art, but some of these depictions may also be slightly problematic). I'm a mixed, bisexual Latina, who grew up poor, raised by a disabled mom. Can't underestimate the value of intersectionality and increasing the number of voices and perspectives we hear. I also tend to be keyed into how diverse something is, whose stories are being told, and how.
Though I think creating new characters is better, and slowly changing in the mainstream because a lot of companies are super risk averse. But we've been seeing changes and people going and supporting the things they want to see more of, which is great. But there are still a lot of issues, systemic and otherwise, that we need to encourage creators all over to both change and support the work of others. In terms of minority representation and representing bodies not always seen in media. Yes, please. I've taken on writing things that needed some love in the representation department.
Anyhow, I love exploring fandom and I'm firmly on the positive side of expression. But there are also those who would condemn the value of such expression, and to them, I say boo and go write another paragraph.
Retour en haut
So if I have a bit of rum beforehand and don't squint too hard at the tropes I should be ok with Crimson Peak.
I don't want to spoiler things).
I do not regret my decision. 
