I HATE how tumblr brings up your old tags as you’re typing a new tag because I really don’t!! Want to remember!!! Some of the things I’ve said on this godforsaken site!!!!
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(1)oh gosh, merrill. If there's any mischaracterization I hate more than people demonizing Anders, it's people treating Merrill as a child and/or someone who is completely ignorant about anything serious or adult ((she's not, she's looked in Anders's grimore specifically to find dirty spells, she was a First, meaning that she probably didn't get a ton of friendly interaction beyond respect, and she lost what were probably her closest two friends to the mirror, not to mention she's more concerned
bubonickitten said
(2) with being polite, which is why she’s so awkward in Kirkwall, because she doesn’t have enough human interaction to know how to be appropriate (if you remember your first meeting w/ her, she stumbles trying to find out what’s rude and what’s not.). She is not a child, she’s just trying to be nice.)) I so wish there was an option to talk to her more about blood magic. B/c one of the biggest things is not the fact of blood magic, it’s how you used it. She’s not trying to control minds, she’s
(3) using it as a source of power. In battle, that’s different, but that’s battle. But from the cutscene after you first fight alongside her, it’s shown that she doesn’t use it in battle, and that her specializations are more just to accommodate the blood mage aspect. It’s just like how Anders taking in Justice doesn’t make him an abomination. There’s a whole conversation with Wynne about how as long as one retains their humanity, they are not an abomination. It’s all about how these abilities
(4) are used. From what we could tell, part of the reason that Anders took in Justice was to help him. Merrill used blood magic to clear up the mirror, and the fact that people are chastising her for trying to do what the Dalish insist they do is fucking ridiculous and I get too fucking protective of Merrill. Sorry for the 4-parter.
AGREED WITH ALL OF THIS, OH MY GOD.
Like, she is an adult, she was training to be Keeper, she’s very skilled with magic and has extensive knowledge about Dalish lore and magic. She’s not ignorant, she’s well aware of the risks and dangers, but she does it anyway bc she believes it will help her people (which is true for al ot of other DA characters too, but there are so many double standards where some characters get away with shit that others NEVER get away with, but I wont go on a tangent). I also don’t like how her interactions w/ the eluvian were portrayed in comparison to, say, Morrigan. And Merrill learned blood magic from a demon, yeah, but she put her own twist on it, developed her own unique way of using it, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the way she uses it. (I’m of the same opinion as you are wrt blood magic – it’s not inherently evil, and it’s dangerous like any other magic, but what matters is how you use it. And personally I’m EXTREMELY interested in potential medical applications of blood magic– Thedas is missing out on a lot of possible medical advancement due to the Chantry’s taboos on blood magic, medical research e.g. autopsies, etc.)