#I'm still so delighted with this dash meme dear god

[sacrificialarrow]

rules: repost, don’t reblog. just pick a muse of yours and fill it out.

basics

▸ is your muse tall/short/average? Just shy of being almost suspiciously tall, he is -- for a modern elf, who rarely reaches any taller than 5′8″. But for one of the Ancients, who rarely were under 6′ tall? Solas is rather on the short side. But then again, in his spirit ‘body,’ or rather, how he actually looks, he’s tall enough to incite heart attacks, particularly during an age where buildings were likely at most about half his height or less.

▸ are they okay with their height? It’s never been something that bothers him. And I’m sure if it had, he could’ve make himself larger.

▸ what’s their hair like? Practically sentient in its wildness; nothing he ever does tames or controls it spare for the dreadlocks he used to wear. But still, it’s actually really pretty when it’s grown out, bc it’s this nice like foxy brown colour ( you know, reddish, but also brown, but still more red than anything else ) and it’s halfway in between soft and coarse -- though still thick. His bald ass head is nice too, I guess.

▸ do they spend a lot of time on their hair/with their grooming? In the past, he spent time enough taking care of it that he blended in well with the nobles of Arlathan, ( so a fair amount ) but nowadays, the most he does is shave off stubble. I must say, however, he is a very clean individual who keeps himself properly groomed; it’s just not entirely immaculate anymore, where he doesn’t care that much.

▸ does your muse care about their appearance? Honestly.... Not really. I think I’ve mentioned it before, but his whole attire aesthetic is literally just what’s comfortable and not irritating to deal with and or take care of. And that in and of itself is a good part of the reason why he puts up with Dorian’s input and changes to his closet when they start happening; as long as it’s comfortable, Solas unapologetically just doesn’t care. ( And you know, it makes Dorian at least a little happier when he’s well-dressed, so he especially doesn’t mind putting up with being dressed by someone else.... As long as he cares for them, anyway. )

▸ does your muse care about what others think about them? If he cared even a little bit about that, he wouldn’t be able to waltz through life being as often genuinely mean, or else as brutally honest as he does, never mind with such great ease. There is, however, one aspect that he does care about and that bothers him a great deal: the reputation that Fen’harel is painted with. He has fought fang and claw and with everything else that he’s had to right the wrongs of the Evanuris and attain some semblance of peace for his people, however small it may be. And yet at every step, he’s met with accusations of a malicious and monstrous nature. At first, it was little more than irritating that the elves could be so blind as to not think for themselves, but it’s stuck with him, grated on him over the years. And nerves can take only so much rasping before they begin to fray, and the spot begins to become tender, and the abused flinches away in agony from any more licks. Of course, should it continue, one grows weary and hopeless, and merely takes what they are dished with unmatched sorrow.

preferences

▸ indoors or outdoors? Outdoors. ▸ rain or sunshine? Either. ▸ forest or beach? Forest. ▸ precious metals or gems? Precious metals. ▸ flowers or perfumes? Specific perfumes, namely those at least similar in body to Dorian’s, otherwise flowers. ▸ personality or appearance? Personality. ▸ being alone or being in a crowd? Solitude. ▸ order or anarchy? Order insomuch as it is fair to its people, anarchy insomuch as it is beneficial. ▸ painful truths or white lies? Painful truth for most situations, although this changes if he’s acting the part of not the Dread Wolf, or if dating someone. Though even then, it’s more of a ‘I didn’t lie, I simply didn’t tell you’ sort of situation rather than outright lies. ▸ science or magic? Both. ▸ peace or conflict? Peace.

▸ night or day? Night. ▸ dusk or dawn? Dawn. ▸ warmth or cold? Either. ▸ many acquaintances or a few close friends? Many acquaintances. ▸ reading or playing a game? Reading.

questionnaire

▸ what are some of your muse’s bad habits? Frankly, he’s often quite happy at leaving people at his baser assumptions of them, and they usually have to fight to prove him wrong before he’ll budge -- and even then, it tends to be a process, unless the evidence given is damning enough. Of course a lot of it’s out of a sheer desire for people to not be too terribly agreeable, so he doesn’t have to like them much, but that doesn’t make it any less shitty of a thing to do. Though that does rather lead into another of his bad habits, which is actively isolating himself whether he’s starved for social interaction or not. Partly out of cynicism and partly because people have, over the years, given him more than plenty of reasons to distrust them and their company. ( Especially given who he is and the reputation he has ) Nowadays, the way that his brain’s wired means that if he's to have any hope of processing something, he has to be away from people to do so. ( ie, when Wisdom dies, and he leaves for a couple of weeks. )

Of course, there’s also the smoking too, ( infrequent as it is by Inquisition ) though it’s not as interesting to talk about.

▸ has your muse lost anyone close to them? how has it affected them? The better question is really who hasn’t he lost that was close to him? There’s been Wisdom, whose loss left Solas quieter and more muted for a solid month and a half, and much more likely to become volatile at the improper treatment of spirits. There’s of course Mythal, who no doubt made him that much more isolated with her absence -- yet altogether that much more vicious towards those who wronged their people and killed Mythal. Countless friends and or lovers over the years have either died, left, found out who he was and tried to kill him for it, or else have forced him to kill them, and for it, he’s been less trusting, and less willing to let people into and or to stay in his life. Though of course, the latter ( letting people stay in his life ) has become ubiquitous over the centuries for having lost so many, as the lesson has been thus: people never stay, so remove yourself before you’re hurt further.

▸ what are some fond memories your muse has? He looks back on his naming with some fondness. ( Of course, the scene is someone tainted with upset and anger by sheer nature of what had happened at the time, though the affection he felt for Mythal, particularly in that moment, outweighs the rest. ) As well, being taught to paint by one of the slaves he’d freed was an incredibly pleasant time period for him as well, as it was something that he got to create, for once.

Probably one of his favourites, though, are the generalized memories of his life on the plains before he sought out Mythal, and the feeling of grass against his paws and fur for the first time. ( Because of course, this was during his Great Wolf period, wherein he was nothing more; not the Dread Wolf, and certainly not an elf. At most, he only changed in size. )

▸ is it easy for your muse to kill? Ironic to his seeing himself as a guardian of sorts, it’s probably easier for him to kill people than it is for a trained assassin. Bitch doesn’t even bat an eye at it, whether they be friend or foe. I do think a lot of that’s due to how the world used to be when he developed his mind, in that there was no difference between the waking world and the fade; those who died only really became simpler minded spirits. Still not who they used to be without guidance from someone else, and no doubt no longer a threat or a problem or whatever, but? Still there. Still capable of being sought out. And I don’t really think Solas has removed himself from that mindset in the slightest, because even though there’s a barrier, the principle remains the same.

▸ what’s it like when your muse breaks down? Kept at bay by the sheer distance put between itself and Solas, the world is. He intentionally sought this out himself, yet he’s never felt more alone. Only the ground itself gives him any semblance of comfort, but it’s still not enough to keep the tears, baleful as they are, yet soft and kept to himself all the same like a howl not quite able to face the breeze. Whether he laid down, or whether he collapsed, he doesn’t recall, but it barely matters; numbness will catch up soon enough, and watching the leaves blow past the end of his nose will become the all-encompassing salvation that never does nearly enough.

▸ is your muse capable of trusting someone with their life? Capable, yes. Likely to, absolutely not. One must understand that each time he’s entrusted himself to someone before, it’s ended in regret, and likely even bodily damage, and so it takes him a great deal to work through the process of giving that kind of trust to someone. At present, there’s only been Mythal and Dorian who have both earned and kept it.

▸ what’s your muse like when they’re in love? He absent-mindedly makes small sketches of them, and quietly takes note of, I kid you not, every available detail of the person. Each new thing he finds is a gift for him to treasure, even if it remains something for him to treasure at a distance with no real use for what he knows. It’s all very subtle, and if others are present, nothing more than softer expressions and likely kinder attitudes towards said person, but even if it’s not something he acknowledges in any real way, it’s still obvious.

Though... If he’s actually with the person he loves, he can’t really keep his hands off them. Not even in a sexual way, really, just light, sometimes lingering touches here, hand holding there. And ofc, he tries to refrain from it in public or around other people, bc he’s not one for public displays, but it’s often unsuccessful where it’s something he does subconsciously. ( And unfortunately for him, that makes his lack of contact with people normally pretty telling. )

And I wish I could say that his overall attitude improved, but no. He’s still an asshole as equally ready and willing to verbally tear you apart; literally, he’s only nicer to the person he’s in love with.

tagged: I stole this like 20 years ago. tagging: If you wanna do it, do it and tag me so I can learn.