ir-abelas-vhenan

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

Happy holidays to all who celebrate

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

All my Dragon Age characters and their respective romantic partners in one post and in correct chronological order.

DA Origins: Mira Surana (Elf, Mage) x Alistair Theirin, Morven Cousland (Human, Fighter) x Zevran Aranai;

DA2: Garrett Hawke (Human, Fighter) x Anders, Marian Hawke (Human, Mage) x Fenris;

DA Inquisition: Rovena Trevelyan (Human, Mage) x Cullen Rutherford, Elyra Lavellan (Elf, Rogue) x Solas;

DA Veilguard: Carith Mercar (Shadow Dragon, Elf, Rogue) x Emmrich Volkarin, Elric Thorne (Grey Warden, Human, Fighter) x Lucanis Dellamorte;

P.S. After gathering all doodles in one post, I gotta say that I'm quite impressed with myself. Not for the quality of drawings necessarily, but for the fact that I actually finished the series, hell yeah.

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

Butterfly . 2024

Just another solavellan pic

________ Timelapse open for Patreon paid member on Jan 22th 2025 (https://www.patreon.com/nananarc) Commission me here via this link nananarc.art/

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

She's his liege. He's a direct and proximate cause of the decline of at least two civilizations. If she gets to go one whole day without an assassination attempt, it's a good day. If he sees a single snowflake land on a dead tree branch and bursts into tears, that's just Tuesday. She looks into his eyes and sees years spilling onto the blank page before them, full of evenings wrapped in each other's arms while a storm rages outside and yet the only true crash of thunder is his heartbeat against her ear. He looks into hers and chokes on the ashes of the world he doomed her to live without, claws his way through thick, cloying memory and vows to fix his every error so that one day he might finally deserve her. Their paths intertwine like lovers stealing shadowed moments in the midnight. They falter beneath the weight of worlds that would wield them until they shatter. She sharpens her teeth, weaves iron through her veins. He lingers at every frayed edge of her dreams, leashes each nightmare and drives them away. She wears titles that send nations scrambling, but her most cherished is my heart. He does not mind the names borne like a brand against his soul if any one of them lingers even a moment on her lips. The blood beneath their nails may never wash away, and yet...fingertips have never rested so gently just beneath a throat, a collarbone, trailed the path of a fresh scar. They are weapons, they are weary, they are welcome to what's left of the other at the end of the world. She vowed to protect him, once. He carved out a crater in his chest that she might one day call him home. She learns he set his own flames flaring up his back and laughs like lightning lashing against the sand, forever changing it. He briefly contemplates shouldering the embarrassment intentionally this time if only to hear it over and over again until every last inch of him is transparent for her perusal. She is her people's. He is his. They are wretched creatures of the lives that look to them and so they have never been afraid to peer into the starving maw of a wolf in winter and offer their neck. Perhaps it is not love, for love is selfish. Perhaps it is not fate, for fate has felled many fools. Perhaps it is a hard-fought freedom to reject any word at all. For one day, they might at last escape the world they have outgrown. Historians will weep searching for scraps by which to define them. Those that knew them will keep each sacred moment stowed tight, save for stories passed on to loved ones over the crackle of kindling. And at the end of everything, it will only matter that she was his. And at the end of everything, he will cherish more than any victory that he was hers.

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

Unexpected civility, Dissent. 

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

Well Wishes For Tough Times

Hello! I know this is a hard time of year for many, so I thought it might be worth reminding you if you’re someone who needs it that I’m making space for you in my holiday season and offering a dragon age-y festive scene for you to peer into instead of the real world for a little bit. (Technically, Wintersend occurs in the second month of the year per the calendar provided here, but I wanted to use something in-universe, and if this inspires you to look forward to your own DA holiday instead of a less-than-fun real world season, then that’s okay too!) 

‘Twas the night before Wintersend all through Skyhold,

Many creatures were stirring, unfazed by the cold;

A compassionate spirit proved that he cared,

In pockets and stockings small gifts were prepared;

Diplomats nestled quite snug in their rooms

Unknowing Red Jenny’s sly pranks would come soon;

And one tired herald, hand for once not-alight

Eagerly retired to a cozy dark night,

When out in the courtyard there came such a ruckus

Their peace quickly shattered, followed by a “fuck this”

Leaping from the ramparts, landing in a heap

Resigned to discover what ruined their sleep;

Recovering slowly, then back on their feet

The moon watched above, deigned to shed a soft glow

On the merry festivities starting below;

Then what piqued the herald’s chilled weary ears, next?

A warm bonfire and soldiers all singing their best

With melodies playful and drinks flowing freely

The Inquisitor felt their exhaustion fade—nearly

Then quickly, as if dashing fast to stop blight

Their beloved companions appeared in the night

First Blackwall, Cassandra, then Bull and the Chargers,

Now Solas and Cole, Vivienne and Advisors,

Varric and Sera brought up the rear loudly, with

Dorian yawning (he’d been sleeping soundly)

But all gathered round and brought forth wrapped presents

For even brave heroes crave time to feel pleasant

The Inquisitor startled, smiled, then swooned

As their heart stole a kiss while the party resumed

And amidst all the chaos Varric did share

Of Winterfests past, with a family who cared.

Wicked Grace in a mansion with friends and with Hawke;

A brief moment of peace, no danger, no gaatlok.

Even Solas joined in, and he shared of the fade

Of a place he once slept, of memories remained

Where a warden once called for good friends to rest

And bestowed to each one gifts that suited them best.

Maryden came bringing lyrics and verses, of

Heroes to come—forming bonds—conquering curses

Songs of a world saved by the Inquisition

Where troubles would come, yes, but people could fix them;

Because here they stood now, when it mattered the most

And refused to relent ‘neath a false god’s proud boasts

The Inquisitor sighed, dared to let hope bloom

That perhaps Corypheus would soon meet his doom

But he couldn’t haunt this bawdy, bright evening

Not when their friends laughed, not with so much joy teeming.

And so they relented, let merriment win,

Watched Blackwall make carvings for wide-eyed young kids

And Josephine grinning at Krem and Harding

As she taught them a waltz for wining and dining

Left and Right hands of the Divine reminisced,

While Cullen shared tales of his sister’s sweet kids

And there’s room in this Winterfest for you, dear player,

For without you there’d be no Inky portrayer

If you’re happy or hopeless this holiday season

I hope you know that you’re still part of the reason

These wonderful stories can exist at all

The heart and the humor, the gasps as tears fall

And with that thought in mind, to you I now write—

Happy Wintersend, friend, keep burning bright ♡

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

Sorry, but I just don’t buy the whole “actually Mythal decided after centuries of wandering Thedas as Flemeth that modern people deserve a chance” thing. Because the fragment of Mythal we’re talking about is the jaded old swamp witch who

-Inhabited the body of a woman betrayed by her lover(s) because they found common ground in their suffering and the injustices done to them. (“Once I was but a woman, crying out in the lonely darkness for justice.” - DAI)

-Resents that betrayal to the point she views men as disposable playthings that she can lure back to her hut, have her way with, and then… murder? I think? (Based on Morrigan’s own account in DAO)

-Abused her daughter under the guise of tough love in an attempt to prepare her for a cruel uncaring world. (Again, Morrigan’s account, DAO)

-Says during her appearance in Inquisition that she will have her reckoning.

-Spent centuries consolidating her power as well as cycling through different human women’s bodies via questionable means for the sake of bringing about said reckoning. (“I have carried Mythal through the ages ever since, seeking the justice denied to her.” and about the Inquisitor: “A Herald indeed. Shouting to the heavens, harbinger of a new age.” - DAI)

-During her scene with Solas at the end of Inquisition does NOT say ANYTHING about disagreeing with Solas’s plans, just that she considers him and old friend and is sorry things are going the way they are. (Seriously, is the dialogue in that regret scene in Veilguard supposed to be from a mental connection they had? Because that dialogue just isn’t in the Inquisition scene.)

And I’m supposed to believe that in her last moments, Flemythal backed off and went “actually I think we need to maintain the status quo”????

None of this paints a picture of someone who has gone soft over time. At least not to the degree that is presented in that regret scene in Veilguard. Sure Flemeth wasn’t all bad, she had some tenderness to her. She shows some genuine care for Morrigan and Kieran (if present) and seems hurt when Morrigan implies she was trying not to be the kind of mother Flemeth was to her.

At the end of Inquisition, we can’t tell for certain to what degree she approves of Solas’s methods. But it seems like a step in said methods was to absorb her power and doom her, an embodiment of Justice, to take a passive role once more. And we know what happens when a spirit is denied its purpose. Justice denied its purpose could turn to Vengeance. Which, to me, feels like it would better echo the themes of Solas’s pride/wisdom duality, inquisition’s themes around what it means to become a god-like force of nature, DA2’s question of whether violence is necessary for revolution (which literally has the Justice/Vengeance duality in it with Anders), and DAO’s theme of sacrifice for the greater good.

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

It's frustrating for sure. I will say that while this doesn't fix the first issue, for anyone who doesn't know, there is a (very roundabout) way to get an inquisitor from a previous playthrough locked and loaded for a subsequent one. It's been a lifesaver for me in the absence of any sort of official "import inquisitor" button.

I cannot believe that we can’t

1. import our inquisitor’s appearance the way we can with rook

2. edit our inquisitor after the initial CC

IF ANYONE AT BIOWARE IS READING THIS CURRENTLY, THE PEOPLE DEMAND A PATCH

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

Get haunted idiot

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

I'm greedy and love hearing from people about the things they get excited about, so if you ever want to indulge me, I'd love to hear about your favorite characters from the dragon age games and why. I'd even take moments from characters that frustrate the heck out of you that still made you feel something and go "oh. Yeah, actually. This moment is the shit."

(I posted four polls because I wanted to hear people tell me their first romance in the DA games and invited commentary on who their favorite romance ended up being (Origins, DA2, Inquisiton, Veilguard) and it's only been like half an hour but can I just say that I'm actually here taking a break from studying and smiling like a silly little fool because already I've gotten what I wanted?

People are commenting/reblogging and sharing stories about what first drew them to a character/what they love about other characters and it's like hell yeah. Tell me why this character spoke to you. I am desperate to learn how a different character was there for you as you grew or hurt or smiled in a different way in the same body holding a different heart.

I am all over learning why you love a character and celebrating the parts of these games that kept us up late into the night saving the world and finding a spark that stayed lit for years to come.)

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

Everyone say "thank you @vir-tanadahl for pointing out that while you tagged Bellara, her name was not in fact a poll option"

Condolences to everyone who answered this pre-me messing up. But obviously it's not complete without our girl in it.

(Honorable mention goes out to the Vipers and other "we had them firsts" lol)

I'm actually just going to pop one of these up for every single game because I'm curious in the overall distribution/if there's any patterns. If your first romance wasn't your eventual favorite romance, I'd be interested in hearing about what that experience was like, too :)

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

I'm actually just going to pop one of these up for every single game because I'm curious in the overall distribution/if there's any patterns. If your first romance wasn't your eventual favorite romance, I'd be interested in hearing about what that experience was like, too :)

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

I'm actually just going to pop one of these up for every single game because I'm curious in the overall distribution/if there's any patterns. If your first romance wasn't your eventual favorite romance, I'd be interested in hearing about what that experience was like, too :)

Shout out to me, btw, for playing this game at 3 AM my first playthrough, not fully focusing, and then waking up the next day and loading the game to discover Anders had moved in.

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

I'm actually just going to pop one of these up for every single game because I'm curious in the overall distribution/if there's any patterns. If your first romance wasn't your eventual favorite romance, I'd be interested in hearing about what that experience was like, too :)

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

the desperation with which I wanted it to eventually be revealed to us that the Caretaker is Felassan's spirit. We get so many little crossroads pieces dealing with him that I was so ready for us to get that, perhaps even culminating in the Caretaker showing up and having an incredibly interesting conversation with crossroads Mythal depending on how hard Rook has worked to take care of the spirits/eradicate the blight. If we were going to bring everyone and their mother('s bg3 brain tadpole goddess) to that finale scene, might as well have let me have Caretaker Felassan there, too, being like "Want to face another regret? Too late here I am. I've been taking care of YOUR house and all these spirits, now that you're free, what are you going to do to fix things?"

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

Just me musing about another thing I think would have been cool in Veilguard. (Spoilers abound starting like immediately below this so flee, flee if you need to!)

I think it would have been interesting to let a dwarven inquisitor present Solas with a different option other than binding himself to the veil and disappearing off on his own to soothe the blight. If other inquisitors were more inclined to pursue elf-related remedies (like finding Mythal and going through the crossroads), the implications of a dwarven inquisitor spending a near-decade learning the truth about what was taken from the Titans and showing up to Rook and being like "Deep Roads field trip time" instead of crossroads time would have been fascinating to explore.

And then, a high or low approval inquisitor might have approached Solas in the finale scene and been like "hey friend/fucker, field trip. You, me. Let's go." and potentially gone with for support/supervision on an alternate journey to try and help soothe titans in the real world in a way that would also help the fade. Idk, there's just a lot I love to consider about the dwarven inquisitor/Solas dynamic. We get to see a little glimpse of what it could have been like courtesy of that one line Harding says to him in the final act, but I hope fic writers feel like nourishing this particular unexplored avenue.

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

the timing of someone apparently shitting on me for being a veilguard hater on some remote corner of tumblr is so funny because i was actually just in the shower like an hour before listening to the atonement ending suite and thinking about the things that i love about veilguard after almost 2 months of marinating on it, so apologies for destroying my reputation as a certified HATER!!!!!!! but i actually wanted to share these earlier so im still going to. i think its interesting especially because ive seen a lot of people that hate these same things about the game, but my opinion has stayed the same. its also interesting because OVERALL the more i think about veilguard the more i dislike it, but for these certain aspects, the more i think about them the more i love them.

THAT FUCKING SONG!!!!!!!!!!!! HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!!! even two months later i get choked up listening to it. and guys....... i dont listen to lost elf anymore. like i just dont even think of it. thats not to say trevor morris isnt the greatest of all time, and the atonement ending song relies heavily on lost elf. i know. but my favorite parts of the atonement song are not even lost elf!!! overall i missed trevor deeply, i did not like the veilguard soundtrack. i even turned the music volume to 0 at some points because it felt like nails on a chalkboard to me (ghilannain fight music made me want to d*e). HOWEVER. this is supposed to be positive. and if you ask me to choose lost elf vs atonement theme... im choosing atonement theme. every time. the way it adds to lost elf is wonderful. it gives me chills. it is so haunting. i will never tire of it. I LOVE THIS FUCKING SOOOOOONG. i also love the dread wolf song. so honorable mention to that one.

i love the solavellan ending. i know people hate it but nothing i have seen has convinced me to abandon my love for it. it is the best ending we could have possibly gotten in a game where the veil stayed up. and yes obviously i think the veil should have come down. but my IDEAL ending would have been veil down, rook takes over the mantle of dread wolf, solas and lavellan give up their mortal bodies and become spirits together and ascend to the fade. and honestly thats pretty much what happens, just without the veil. i love the mythological fairy tale vibe. i love the bittersweetness. i love that it is both tragic and hopeful. i love that it is vague enough to leave the future open. i love that the devs refuse to confirm where exactly in the fade they are. i love the sigyn loki eros psyche parallels. i love the maker and andraste parallels. could it have been built up to better? absolutely. but thats an issue with the build up, not the ending. i thought solas was going to die and we were going to watch the light go out of his eyes as lavellan held him and sobbed. it is so much more hopeful than i expected. i love that we get to redeem him through the power of love. i love that lavellan forgives him. i love that they survive. I LOVE IT!!!! and i love it the more i think about it. ive tried to hate it because i understand the perspective of people who didnt like it, but i literally cannot make myself dislike it.

i love the solavellan ending scene itself. i love how inky creeps in through the door. dont ask how she got up there its fine. i love how she sneaks up on him. i love that she comes up those stairs and it parallels the prologue scene with varric. i love that she has a zinger ready for him. "even if those you have wronged asked you to stop?" oh its so fucking good. i love his pathetic defeated "vhenan". i love that he rejects her again. i love that he apologizes but stays true to his goals. i love that it takes something beyond lavellan and the modern world to finally crack him. i love the way he looks at mythal like a kicked puppy. i love the way he cannot meet her eyes. i love the way he crumples and sobs and we see a completely different side of him that I NEVER FUCKING EXPECTED TO SEE IN A MILLION YEARS???? i love mythal's coldness and frankness as she releases him. i love that she doesn't apologize. i love how fucked up and messy it is. i love how it speaks to their entire relationship being fucked up and messy. i love that it has given me so much to chew on about what the fuck was going on with them. i love the way lavellan kneels so she can see his face. i love that she speaks in elvhen (even if the translation leaves something to be desired). i love that its all in the hallelujah cadence. i love that he assumes she wont come with him. i love that she has to chase after him one more time. i love his fucking tear mesh. i love his face when he looks at her. i love that their scene is wedding coded. i dont love the kiss but im trying to be positive and its tiny in the grand scheme. i love her hand on his shoulder as they step into the fade. i have a few complaints about the scene but none of them are enough to cheapen my enjoyment of it.

i fucking love fragment mythal. obviously. but seriously. i love the scene where you get her approval its one of my favorites in the entire game. i love that its hard to get her approval. i love that she fucking kills you if you piss her off. i love her lines. "after he killed the swamp witch. AND WEPT." BITCH!!!! and "you are a thousand years from knowing the correct words" or whatever. I LOVE HER. i love how fucking nasty she is. i love how she has clearly been stewing in resentment for thousands of years. i love that she is rude and proud and haughty. i love that she'd be looking down her nose at you if she wasn't like 5 ft tall. i love the way she falls backwards off the ledge with her arms out and closes her eyes to transform into a fucking dragon. i love her condescension. i love the decapitated wolf statues in the background. i love the note from felassan that reveals solas made her an entire island for herself. i love that she reveals that he put her there. i love that he could not bring himself to visit her even once. ohhhhh my god it makes me dizzy. talking to her was a moment where the game felt like dragon age to me.

i love my lavellan in this game. did i want WAY more of her? yeah. and i expected more. but every moment we got i loved. the first scene with her is mostly whatever its appropriately formal for her meeting a stranger. but the way she stutters when talking about solas? when asking rook to give him a chance by using the wolf statue to learn more about him? the way she looks down and to the side as she says it? banger. masterpiece. the act 3 conversation makes me have to lay down. i can barely even talk about it without foaming at the mouth. i love her characterization. i love that she orders rook to tell her something like she has gotten used to the power of her title as inquisitor. i love her subtle desperation to have her hope for him validated cloaked under her inquisitor mask. i love how it begins to crack as the conversation goes on and she gets lost in the memories of him. i love her sincerity. i love the way she speaks bluntly and unapologetically of her love. i love her facial expressions and her furrowed brow. i love how confident and self assured she is. "or maybe im the prideful one, imagining his broken heart so that i do not have to face my folly; that i loved someone who made such terrible mistakes. that i might love him still" IS MY FAVORITE LINE IN THE ENTIRE GAME. perhaps. PERHAPS. in all of dragon age. yes im serious. its that insane to me. it feels like shakespeare wrote it. im only half kidding. i was rolling on the floor of my bedroom when i heard it. it still gives me chills. i love that her lines are in the hallelujah cadence. i love the way she talks about their relationship. i love how she is angry and indignant about his lies to her but that does not infringe upon her love. i love when she says "how could i have fallen in love with a god and not known? why didnt he tell me?' i love how sure she is that she knows the true solas. i love every word out of her mouth. i love all of it. that is my favorite scene in the game. i love when she shows up with dorian in the end. i love "is there any chance, any chance at all that he'd listen to reason?" i love her face when she says it. i love "speaking from the heart, inquisitor?" i love when dorian asks if shes heading out afterwards and she says "something like that" BE SOOOO FRRRR. SHE WAS FUCKING SCHEMING. there was not a moment that she was on screen that i did not love.

overall, i am happy with solas in this game. this one is last because its the weakest because i do criticisms but overall, i think it was fine LOL. my biggest worry was that they were going to completely woobify him and make him above reproach and erase the negative sides of him in favor of making him MORE sympathetic to new players. the fact that we got the opposite is crazy, but i vastly prefer it. id rather have him be too villainous than robbed of his complexity to be more palatable. that would have fully ruined the game for me. so the fact that we got to see him being an absolute prick little shit who betrayed us TWICE was wonderful. i loved being betrayed. i love the scene where he puts rook in the regret prison. i LOVE how he appears behind rooks shoulder in flashes and the player can see him but rook cant. i love how he circles rook like prey. i love how he does that cunty little thing with his hand over the dagger. i love that he taunts rook. i love that he doesnt actually take the dagger from them and instead waits for it to fall into his hand. its so immortal trickster god. i love that fucking scene. i love the "by my hand" line and how he looks you in the face as he manipulates his words so expertly. i love his banters with the companions. i looooooooved listening to him beef with elgar'nan. it felt so HIM. i was like YES!!!! THIS IS THE DREAD WOLF I WANTED TO MEET!!!! i was screaming during that quest. anyway. i wanted more of him. yeah. i dont really care that much that the companions and general story is weirdly unsympathetic to him. because it obviously didnt work!!! LMFAOOO 72% people still decided to redeem him so whatever! hes still pookie. im just so glad they didnt make him boring and lame. all my issues along this vein revolve more around the veil than solas, so i consider it a separate issue. i loved seeing mean nasty cunty trickster god.

ok in retrospect this list isnt that long KJHREGKJERG. however all of these things are very important to me so the fact that i love them is essential. like i truly got what i needed out of this game. i criticize it a lot but i would have done that even if the game was a 9/10 for me. i do it to literally everything i love. except fmab because its above reproach. but literally everything else. i was writing essays criticizing the percy jackson books on tumblr when i was 15. i have been criticizing dragon age online for 5+ years. veilguard aint special in catching my heat. critical analysis is in my soul. anyway i wanted banger solavellan ending that i could chew on for years and i got it. thats all i needed! ok now going to go listen to atonement ending suite again and transcend into the astral plane