dardisblue

[dardisblue]

so. I wasn't very fond of the 1st meeting with my Inquisitor, Maxwell, bc it didn't really feel like him (& didn't sound it either, did they seriously slow the VA down to fit the lip-sync more?? still baffles me.)

BUT. this 2nd meeting??? has me absolutely SCREAMING I needed to analyze it. (buckle up this is a long post lads)

first off. this pensive look out the window while he's waiting. yes. YES. I bet you he's thinking about Solas right now. (him looking out the window again later when he calls Solas his "friend" confirms it. wishing you had dinner with him too? oh you pining, idealistic fool.....)

can I just say - I love the framing of this as a dinner for two. the core of this conversation is ALL ABOUT Rook's & Inquisitor's attitudes towards Solas (which in Maxwell's case is positive, vs. my Rook, who even though she chose more "agreeable options", is still very wary of Solas) - so having them be seated on opposites of the "topic of discussion" about whether Solas is genuine, while foiling each other? cinema.

Rook is, right out of the gate, trying to familiarize herself more with the Inquisitor. "You were a person before all this, right? Has this burden changed you much - too much?" ("Is that what will happen to me too?")

and then the game went right for my jugular with this line, HOLY HELL. "Feels like someone I haven't seen in a long time." HE WOULD SAY THAT. 100%. OUCH.

I know this is mainly about the title of "Inquisitor" erasing & replacing his previous sense of self (which UGHHH my heart!), but - in the context of Maxwell also growing disillusioned with his noble name bc his family withheld the information that he's half-elven almost his entire life? YEAH...adds to the pain.

OH YES. he absolutely would need to hear it from Rook herself. because there's the Solas he knew - the softly guiding, brashly challenging, solemnly sacrificing Solas....and because the whole damn entire South is on fire, Maxwell couldn't see it for himself. the slight intimacy of this request KILLS me - "I need to hear it from you."

and there it is - the crux of their debate.

Ambrosia, my Rook, who's seen all of Solas' facades by now (the rebel, the deceiver & mythal's creature), knows him saving her in Arlathan was NOT just out of the goodness of his heart. He has a plan to get out of fade prison - and needs Rook alive for that (for now).

But Maxwell has seen one side of Solas Rook hasn't - the one that wishes he was wrong. The one who secretly hopes for someone to stop him. And Maxwell clings to it, this fragment of his beloved/ friend, because it's ALL he has. He swore that he'd make him see reason - if his own heart can't believe in that, how could Solas?

this exchange killed me - because they're BOTH correct here!! and just. the fondness, familiarity AND grief in Maxwell's statement??? OUGHHHHH. shoot me.

I have a feeling Maxwell's not just speaking about Solas here, but also himself.....as Inquisitor. as Herald of Andraste. What does the blurb in the cc say - "Murderer, thief, herald, judge"? He's quite amassed his own barrage of titles - earned from enemies, followers & fractured history alike too....

(& he's looking out of the window again!! he's reminiscing!! the YEARNING. GUYSSS!)

love Rook's reaction here - she's just rolling her eyes at his rose-tinted-glasses view SKSKSKSKS

LOVE that it goes back to a wide-shot of the two here, bc he's throwing her skepticism back at her - "did you never try to reach out to a friend who you're at odds with? have you never believed in their good, despite all the wrong?"

OH, what's that? it's ROOK'S SASS WITH THE STEEL CHAIR!! love it. iconic. very in-character for her.

this turns Maxwell serious. makes him reinforce that he's NOT naive, despite his hopeful view. people have been hurt - have been killed (if you've finished the game you KNOW WHY this line hurts.) this is all on Solas' conscience, and he should be held responsible for it.

but it's on Maxwell's conscience too - another reason why he HAS to talk Solas down. because more people will be hurt. because if he doesn't move soon, there might be a point of no return for either, and then? then they're truly lost.

DJFHJSDSD I love Ambrosia's skeptical face here again - but in an effort to make his case for sympathy for Solas, Maxwell's DIRECTLY spelling out their parallels now!! His, Solas, AND Rooks - They're all bound by this!! Their titles, their fights against would-be-gods, their REGRETS IN LEADERSHIP!

Solas words to the Inquisitor in Trespasser about "A title that all but replaces your name" & "A name that inspires your friends and strikes fear into your enemies - not unlike Inquisitor, I suppose" ring back here, and doesn't it remind you of something?

Solas, to Rook: "What will they call you when this is over?"

They're caught in a web, these three, and Maxwell SEES IT!!

HMMMMM the ambiguity here!! I KNOW this is primarily meant to be read as "they (the Evanuris) made us do this", but what if it's sub-textually about Solas as well? "Our enemy [is] making us do this" - "we're not like Solas, and don't consider this world a mistake"? I'm probably reaching, but it feels like there's something deeper behind that statement....

(also: looking out the window, AGAIN!! I swear this is intentional)

I'm loving Rook's wit here - but this is not just wisecrack to be a smartass, NO. Rook is hurt by what Solas did to Varric - and that's why they bring this up!! Varric was their mentor in a way, and now thanks to Solas, Varric was out of the picture!

"Don't become what you hate" - a simple moral Varric knows well from experience. Bartrand. Anders. Solas.

Perhaps said by Varric when Rook struggled with the weight of their actions - "don't let regrets stew, kid, or else you might become the people you hate" - taken to heart by Rook.

And now Rook's throwing her frustration & grief at the Inquisitor's feet! WHY should Solas be saved, if this is all his fault?

because he grieves too. what he's lost, what he's thrown away.

OF COURSE the Inquisitor counters with another of Varric's sayings. He knew him too!! Loved him just as well, took his lessons to heart just the same....And he recognizes they're all trapped by the same thing - GRIEF. REGRET.

VARRIC IS HAUNTING THE NARRATIVE SO BAD Y'ALL. Can you see why I'm losing my mind over this conversation???

well then, Maxwell. ARE you trapped by what you've lost?? Is Solas????

(yes. a thousand times YES, on both accounts. They're never getting out of the graves they dug themselves into.)

I have nothing witty to say about this one, just....HE MISSES HIS FRIENDS!!! he misses the Inquisition & the good things they accomplished together!! URGHHHHHHH MY HEARTTT 😭

(Also: Rook going straight into protector-mode here is VERY precious. like: that's their team!! their family! and Maxwell's quick to reassure them he's just nostalgic. oughhh you sentimental man....)

-

Whatever my gripes with this game's writing, this scene right here?? this is REALLY GOOD. from both a personal character perspective & a general writing perspective.

(I cannot speak for Inkys who wish to stop Solas, though. And I know that I got lucky that what the Inquisitor says here matches my OC. Same goes for my Rook.)

ANYWAY.

tl;dr of this extremely long post- I'm insane about these three and their dynamics with each other!! and the way the cinematography sometimes even subtly illustrates it?? YEAHH BOIIIIIIIII.

Hope you enjoyed my long, insane rambling. I need to draw these goobers, and stat.

I still REALLY wish Maxwell could have had the dialogue of someone who romanced Solas (and the choice that is in that discussion....ikyk) but alas :( maybe there'll be a mod someday.......

[dardisblue]

[dardisblue]

I love Solas so much and I rotate him in my head constantly but something that’s always especially amusing to me when it comes to him is that I can’t even call him a liar, unless we consider lie by omission. He’s actually ridiculously honest when he does talk, he just doesn’t do the talking about things that matter often.

Re-exploring Solas in retrospect with all the new content in mind is seeing all the little things he does say but we the player and we the inquisitor don’t have the knowledge yet to understand. I feel like the peak of his honesty aside from the final romance scene and bits we learn from Cole in base DA:I game is Halamshiral where he pretty directly says he prefers to let people make what they will of him as it allows him to do his thing and come unnoticed.

[dardisblue]

I think it's worth noting that while Rook has every reason to hate Solas, every evidence that he's yet again taking up the mantle of Betrayal Mage

Rook's whole character is trusting their team. Listening to others and deferring to their expertise.

Varric insists Solas can be redeemed.

You walk in Felassan's footsteps. He knew Solas could be redeemed.

Mythal knows Solas could be redeemed. Morrigan cannot face him on the battlefield.

The Inquisitor can ask you to make him see reason.

Bellara (or Neve) will spend half of the final sequence attempting to help him.

Solas doesn't believe he can be redeemed.

Rook is a mirror of Solas.

If Rook, despite everything they have learned about Solas, despite everything they've witnessed, believes there is still hope, then there is.

Solas will then be forced to confront this possibility through those he loves and trusts.

Both of them must be made to see it.

[dardisblue]

Rook: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times? That's double shame on me. Fool me four times?! Now you're just picking on a vulnerable person!

Solas:...

[dardisblue]

An epic battle in Veilguard! ✨

Commission for @enterthedreams of Solas and their OC Thenera giving power couple vibes! Please read their fanfic ‘God Touched’ where it features them. I’m such a fan of their work. 🥹✨

❤️ Discord (junyami) for commissions

❤️ Buy me a coffee!

❤️ Buy my prints!

❤️ Timelapses!

[dardisblue]

Come back to me, Vhenan

Love the angst in this one 😭✨

Commission for @zevswarden done ✔️✨

❤️ Discord (junyami) for commissions!

❤️ Buy me a coffee!

❤️ Buy my prints!

❤️ Timelapses!

[dardisblue]

Has anyone tried just giving him a pup cup? 🍦🐺

(Flaming Andraste on the cup is inspired by @kemvee’s “Andraste’s Roast Coffee” design, which you can find here! ☕️)

[dardisblue]

[DAV Spoilers] My Thoughts on Solas

Look, I know this might be an unpopular opinion, but these are just my thoughts. Take what resonates with you, and feel free to leave behind what doesn’t.

Under the cut, because spoilers!

I don’t think Solas was acting OOC.

TDLR: We are dealing with the Dread Wolf for most of DAV, not Solas.

This is not the Solas we know from DAI. In DAI, Solas concealed his identity as the Dread Wolf, embodying a part of himself from before he fully assumed that role. Now, however, he has fully embraced the mantle of the Dread Wolf.

 2. The comment about hating blood magic? It was a lie. Solas knows that, in this world, blood magic is despised and viewed as evil. The truth is, he sees it as a tool—both in DAI and in DAV. He lied to the Rook, manipulating his words to earn their trust.

3. I don’t think he intended to kill Varric—I think it was an accident; if that were his goal, he would have done it long before. If you slow down the cinematic, you can see him lower his head, a gesture of shame. But then again, this is the same man who killed Felassan. It is still shitty that it happened though.

4. Solas doesn’t trust the Rook, and he isn’t going to be as open with them as he was with the Inquisitor. Unlike the mentorship he offered the Inquisitor, Solas sees the Rook purely as a tool. He will never confide in them about his feelings for the Inquisitor, whether as a friend or a lost love. This time, he’s a tactician, a strategist—cold, calculating, and entirely focused on his goals. In my opinion, if Solas were to confide in the Rook, it would feel out of character. They haven’t developed that level of trust, so in my opinion, it would come across as fan service. 

5. I don’t believe Solas and Mythal had a romantic relationship. Although Mythal called him ‘love,’ the evidence in DAI suggests it was more likely reverence than romance. As Brené Brown describes, reverence—a deeper form of admiration or respect—is often rooted in a profound connection to something greater than ourselves, encompassing adoration, worship, or veneration.

6. It’s possible that Solas was bound by a geas, which would explain his intense reaction if the Inquisitor drank from the Well of Sorrows. This could also be why Mythal remains central to his story. He tells both the Rook and the Inquisitor that he cannot stop—not that he won’t, but that he cannot. Perhaps, before her death, Mythal commanded him to avenge her, binding him to her will and compelling him forward.

Update to 6: However, if it wasn’t a geas, then it speaks volumes about Solas, his choices, and the theme of regret that runs through DAV. Honestly, I hope it wasn’t a geas, because that would highlight his fallibility, showing just how far he’s gone and the struggle he faces in trying to reconcile (and failing) with those choices. It would also explain why he feels bound by his actions, believing he cannot turn back and why Mythal remained central to his story because he came into this world for her and he "failed" her. By releasing him from her service, Mythal allows him to see that his path wasn’t shaped solely by his own choices. He’s been carrying the weight not only of his decisions but of hers as well—and he isn’t responsible for her choices. Mythal had to be the one to make him understand that.

7. Solas's wisdom has twisted into pride. He's fixated on erasing the mistake he believes he made, on fixing what he thinks he broke. But this pride blinds him to the beauty of the world he inadvertently created. If his wisdom had remained pure, he might have seen that this new world, born of his error, holds its own beauty—and that not every mistake needs to be undone. It feels like Solas embodies Wisdom, while the Dread Wolf represents Pride.

8. Solas does care about people, but his wisdom has twisted into pride. The Dread Wolf, however, leads him to view their deaths as necessary sacrifices—a means to an end

9. Solas/The Dread Wolf created a prison that even the gods could not escape it—because escape would mean confronting the pain they caused and accepting any regrets tied to their choices. The gods refused to do this, seeing their actions as justified. Solas, too, remained bound, unable to face his own regrets and the pain he caused, needing to believe there was purpose in them. He is shocked when the Rook escapes, as he doesn’t believe (or literally just cannot accept this due to being under a geas) anyone can truly accept their regrets and move forward.

10. The Dread Wolf using spirits of chaos—and other similar entities—as tools in his war makes sense. He chose spirits that wouldn’t be corrupted by the task, a calculated and strategic move, even if it’s ultimately a morally questionable one.

IDK take it or leave it.

UPDATE:

I also believe that the essence of Mythal, which released him from her service, ‘died’ after freeing him. The essence he carefully preserved could only watch and observe the world, as Mythal herself stated she couldn’t exist outside the Fade. I think Solas knew that. This fragment of Mythal, the one he knew, who just released him from her service no longer exists anymore.

[dardisblue]

[dardisblue]

^.^

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Stupid egg...I almost believed you.

[dardisblue]

I proudly present to you: Heavily heavily drunk Solas.

And hopefully the closest we’ll ever get to “Fen'Harel giggling madly and hugging himself in glee” of old Dalish tales. Seriously, he does give even the most evil of Tevinter magisters a run for their money with this laugh lmao

(I’ll give ten sovereigns to anyone who can actually make out every word he’s saying after listening to this only once 😂)

[dardisblue]

“I need help!”

Can we all just take a second to appreciate Gareth David-Lloyd for a moment?  

When Solas gets low on health, he sometimes cries out ‘I need help!.  But listen to him next time, listen to how Gareth has made him say it.  He’s not necessarily scared or pleading.  He’s pissed.  

And can we imagine for a second how fucking humiliating it must be for someone as usually powerful as Solas to be dependant on this bunch of idiots who should never have existed in the first place, most of whom are part of a culture that has taken the weakness he gave the elves and used it to enslave and abuse them?  How bitter and furious he must be that he has to ask them to help him because he’s so weak he can’t even put down one fucking shemlen mercenary without taking damage?

This is why we love voice actors, folks.  Whether he was aware of Solas’ backstory or not, Gareth made the choice that Solas is not a man who asks for help easily, is not a man who respects most of his colleagues and is certainly not a man who is accustomed to needing people.  Let’s also not forget that, despite Weekes and Laidlaw sitting giggling with evil glee behind him, it’s Gareth’s voice that is going to break all of us into tiny pieces in the next game.  And he will.  Oh he will.

[dardisblue]

I dead....this is rendition of lost elf theme is perfection.

@anotheramazedperson‘s lovely DA4 Fenris comic is back with both Gideon Emery and Gareth David Loyd, extra elf voices and “ost gone wrong” by @flowersofsakura. I added more camera pans, a little thunder effect, and a certain echo. Special thanks to @calwyne and @flowersofsakura for voice commissions and getting me the files. I’ll put the Twitter link in the notes.

[dardisblue]

Do you guys remember this fancomic?

Well, Mr. Beau was kind enough to get GDL to recite the poem by Mahmoud Darwish!

I am over the moon right now. Thank you, Gareth! (if you ever see this, that is. You are so generous with your words, time, and talent!)

[dardisblue]

I thought I should actually compare his voice in all 3 and… oh… oh no :(