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I'm actually convinced AI was used in some of the Veilguard writing tbh, between EA publicly praising "gen AI" and known critiques of them devaluing writers/writing, and vibes I get from some of the things unhappy former devs/writers have said, even though they're not allowed to directly say anything. idk for sure about this specific example (probably tbh) but the post-mission summaries, MANY of the most wtf???? clunky dialogues, and certain sidequest ideas feel very very AI-generated.

I can't prove this but I'm 99% sure, and unless EA directly states otherwise, I'm going to assume that this is one of the issues with Veilguard. IMO there's a difference between human clunky writing and AI bad "writing" and there are several times in Veilguard where it feels like they fed DA universe concepts, themes, and previous character dialogue into AI and then lightly edited whatever garbage the algorithm spat back out. This is not me shitting on the (now former) DA writers or editor, it's me shitting on capitalism's devaluation of artists. There are some beautifully written moments in Veilguard that I think humans poured genuine care into. And that contrast sucks.

i don't think AI was actually used in the writing for veilguard, but some of its dialogue draws conclusions that are the levels of nonsensical i expect from AI. or a first draft written while sleep deprived

like what? what does any of this MEAN what are you TALKING about. "DORIAN'S MAGIC" HELPED THE INQUISITION COME TOGETHER????

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look, all i'm gonna say is that @luzial really forced my hand on this one solas hands sketch-dump part i (??)

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“The ritual was but a means for an end, a herald for what is to come. Change is coming to the world. Many fear change, and will fight it with every fibre of their being. But sometimes change is what they need most. Sometimes, change is what sets them free.” - Morrigan, in Witch Hunt (Dragon Age Origins)

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Solas' story has always been about resenting authoritarian slavers but I don't think he himself was ever enslaved? like I don't see how his relationship with Mythal is really like Fenris and Denarius sorry

I'm curious if you played DA:I, Trespasser, and Veilguard all the way through, did you recruit Cole and bring him along regularly in main game and DLC, and did you do the Redeem ending in Veilguard?

Isn't it so silly that I have to ask all these highly specific things? This is what I mean about the Veilguard writing tbh, I don't think they landed the plane so to speak in terms of really letting players understand Solas' arc. or maybe they intentionally left it open because they didn't want to make people who hated Solas feel bad??? Or wanted a secret for a future game that will now never happen??? idek

Basically I can completely see why you feel this way, because it's some Deep Lore shit that doesn't really get laid out plainly. I think that's unfortunate in terms of the writing. Solas was absolutely enslaved by Mythal. He had her vallaslin (which he calls slave markings in DA:I) and burned them off leaving a scar, was a spirit bound to/by her will (which he calls slavery and abuse in DA:I), and had to be magically freed by Morrigan channeling Mythal's fragment in one of the Veilguard endings, after which he immediately stops doing terrible things. Check out what Solas says when he freaks out about an Inquisitor drinking from Mythal's Well, too, or what Morrigan says if she drinks: they're talking about slavery. His enslaved Wisdom friend in his personal quest is a direct parallel to his own experience. He led a slave rebellion because he himself was (IMO, is, until the optional last ~10 mins of Veilguard) a slave. Solas regularly tells people he wants to stop XYZ but cannot, which is a very specific word choice.

There's more that I don't have the chance to write an essay about right now (tbh my current WIP fanfiction is partially an essay about it in story form lmao) but yeah. Legit that you feel this way, though, given Veilguard kinda dropped the ball on fully revealing this, and then Trick Weekes' somewhat tricksy, ambiguous wording (I would bet money they were instructed to keep things vague and open-ended) about regret requiring choices, when responding to a fan on social media, IMO muddied the waters even more about Solas' literal slavery.

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I need you all to know that one of my life missions right now is apparently to talk about Solas and Mythal by comparing them to DA2's Fenris and Danarius

really that's all I need to say probably because, uh... slavery

like, that's it??? but I will go on! I don't think Veilguard did a very good job of making it clear, considering how spoon-fed some of the other themes were! it took me a MONTH after playing to frame it in these terms, or maybe I'm just oblivious considering how obvious it is in DA:I in hindsight. 0% hate on people who don't get it right away, but:

s l a v e r y

realizing that Solas' storyline has ALWAYS been about resisting authoritarian slavers, including Mythal, was a revelation for me, and everything falls into place after that, literally everything this wise glow worm man ever says and does. everything.

it also means I am losing my mind a little bit now about the cuckolding jokes etc re: Mythal and Lavellan because Lavellan is not ~the other woman~ or whatever else. Lavellan is a consensual beloved who can be with Solas as his free, true self.

whatever flavor of interaction Solas had with Mythal, that's his slaver and abuser. swap Fenris, Danarius, and a romanced Hawke into the language of these convos and watch the YIKES unfold

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Sea of Frozen Words

Author: redhandsredribbons on AO3

Rating: E

Pairing: Solavellan

Wordcount: 75K (as of chapter 21, with one or two chapters left to go)

She thinks she remembers a story someone told her long ago. It must have been Deshanna who told her, when Idunn was a child. An old folktale, about the Dread Wolf and a Dalish woman. Once upon a time, there was a Dalish woman who gave herself to Fen’Harel, and let him make her a fool a thousand times over. Never hardening her heart, never learning her lesson, she swallowed her pride, until one day, there was no pride left in the world. When Fen’Harel saw this, he—? She doesn’t remember how the story ended.

Summary: Inquisitor Idunn Lavellan tries to save Solas from himself. Reality is fickle, and nothing goes to plan.

This Lavellan POV fic is a combo of dark, surreal horror adventure + hurt/comfort romance + healing + rebellion + sex + folklore + an extreme quantity of Solas' "Hallelujah" cadence. Angst with a true happy ending for the characters and the world, and a true relationship of equals, but some upsetting themes along the way. Warnings in the tags and in chapter notes. Spoilers for Veilguard, and Mythal critical.

A fix-it fic that's technically canon compliant... in the same sense that, technically, Fen'Harel rarely lies.

Read on AO3.

Moodboard by me.

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And So is the Golden City blackened With each step you take in my Hall. Marvel at perfection, for it is fleeting. You have brought Sin to Heaven And doom upon all the world. —Threnodies 8.13

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sorry if this is obvious - was there Cole content in DA:V that I missed (other than Lace talking about him) or is that meme just referring to their friendship in DA:I?

This is a really good question! The meme I made is just referencing the sort of stuff Cole said about Solas in DA:I and Trespasser.

That said, there are Compassion spirit(s) in Veilguard and I headcanon that as Cole hanging around in different visual appearances, since I made him "more spirit" in DA:I. The writing style is similar to his speech mannerisms, and he'd take whatever form helps the most! <3 I don't recall that Compassion in Veilguard says anything about Solas, though, sadly.

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✨Ar lath ma, Vhenan✨

A commission of candlelit fresco painting at Skyhold, from dragon age inquisition.

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alternate version:

me in 2014: I love Solas as a character but he's AWFUL, he's a VILLAIN, he's a LYING GENOCIDAL PIECE OF SHIT

me in 2025:

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me in 2014: I love Solas as a character but he's AWFUL, he's a VILLAIN, he's a LYING GENOCIDAL PIECE OF SHIT

me in 2025:

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Will never be over this friendship and how Solas is always seen both as Wisdom and Pride to this spirit of Compassion who trusts him completely and how Solas reaches out to the point of giving himself away so many times because he wants to help Cole adjust to the world.