#JUST to make solas romanceable

[fetabathwater]

idk. the sentiment that dragon age hasnt been the same since origins. is like. nothing will be the same as origins. datv feels like more of a successor to da2 than dai ever could. and da2 took the series in a probably different direction than origins wouldve because they werent sure the series was gonna take off, which is why the endings and decisions got retconned, and they partnered with the devil (EA), which made them churn out a plot in 14 months. they spent the next 5 years trying to reconcile that plot by throwing things together, since dao was pretty much a closed book. dai had the opportunity to remove itself from dao (and ferelden), but they choked at the last minute, and made much of the game occur there, because they didnt want to take the risk. the last two decades of dragon age, including comics, books, shows, and games, is literally them trying to frankenstein the plot back together, and it was never ever going to satisfy. it was a forest of plot points and choices that were so individualistic. god forbid they put a bit of colour and find an artstyle that doesn't mean they have to make a game on an engine they never used before. yeah, they worked themselves into a corner with plot, and characters, and no, it would make no narrative sense for zevran to reappear, even if i wanted him there too, but like. idk. its been 10 years since dai's wafer thin plot. they changed writers and teams like a dozen times over. its a fun game for what it is, but like. the old guard team of bioware expected to have 8 games by now, before it was even remotely as popular as it became, and before they joined EA. so pfbfbbfbtbfbt good lord.

[biancadavri]

[ryrycouch]

'Twas day 106 in the prison, when all through the fade, Not a wink of rest felt, not even an attempt made. 🖤

FADE TIME CONTINUES BBs ~ NSFW Version [ Linked Here ] This is the flipped perspective (other side) from the previous shot but with a lil more passion. Also lol @ my cute lil fake chest-band for sfw sake. Let me live in my delulu prison pls x

[citrusai]

taash said "they were doing it" and people ran with the interpretation of an npc that doesn't know solas or the history of the elvhenan even when bellara interjected and said, no, that's not right. that's not how it was for the elvhenan. they formed bonds before they had physical bodies. and people ran to doompost or create weird anti-solavellan shit even though mythal & solas refer to each other as old friends and when she releases him there is no tenderness or love in it. it is the act of unchaining a dog from his post, the stepping down of a general. but to each their own ig.

[spawnofbhaal]

A take I've been seeing at times (which is valid, people interpret things differently) is that Rook will know the "real" Solas more than the Inquisitor did (even a romanced Lavellan) and . . . I personally don't agree. Solas the god is just as much of a mask as "I'm a simple apostate" Solas. Solas' followers in Tevinter Nights and the comics know him as Fen'Harel, but they don't know him as a person. Iirc in one of the comics (the Blue Wraith or Magekiller series maybe?) a follower of his calls him "master," which is anathema to everything Solas believes in. How much your character (Inquisitor or presumably Rook) gets to know the real him depends on the effort they put into it and the empathy they show him.

Also, the circumstances of Inquisition facilitate Solas being able to show his true personality quite well. He *has* to interact with people rather than distancing himself from them the way he did before the Conclave and after Corypheus' defeat; he is exposed to views that differ from his that he can't resist speaking against; he can form true connections with others he befriends or falls in love with. He tells romanced Lavellan they saw more of him than most, and that he would not romance them under false pretenses and pretend to be someone he isn't. I take these statements at face value because I think his writer is trying to tell us Solas is genuine with romanced Lavellan (as they have said to fans in the past). The man who loves telling stories, who hates tea and loves frilly cakes, who kisses with tongue, who lights his own coat on fire sometimes, that is the real Solas. The Inquisitor just has to pay attention to see it.

While someone's history is an important part of who they are, and I'm sure we will discover a lot about Solas' past in Veilguard, a person is also not entirely defined by their history. Solas' past and present godlike power is also not what defines him as a person. The impression I got from Trespasser is that even though Fen'Harel is an important part of who Solas is, at the center of it all, he's just a man. Fen'Harel was a title forced upon him, as Inquisitor was forced on our protagonist. I don't think Solas' entire personality is going to change just because he's taken on the mantle of Fen'Harel again now. And I don't think he will be entirely transparent with Rook, not unless they work hard for his trust over the course of the game. I actually expect Solas to start off as more cold and closed off than in DAI because he isn't in a situation where he has to act friendly.

I somewhat resent the implication that Solas as he has already shown himself to be in DAI is not the real Solas, that romanced!Lavellan only loves him as the apostate hobo when the whole point of the romance is Lavellan seeing past the disguise. And Lavellan learns the truth of him being Fen'Harel in Trespasser (Lavellan can even piece it together by themselves before they confront Solas!!!) and can still be in love with him ("If you had just told me;" "I loved you. Did you really think I wouldn't have understood?"; "I would have had you trust me"). Honestly, I think that's why the romance works at all: Solas was in a situation where he could show his genuine personality, and that's what Lavellan falls in love with. Not an idealized humble woodsman, nor a powerful godlike being, but a flawed, conflicted person. I don't know how it gets more "real" than that.

[childofthestone]

rook and solas...narrative foils? rook? a narrative foil? to SOLAS? rook? to solas? ROOK? ROOK????

[coffeeworldsasaki]

Gotta say people that throw a fit every time someone mentions the possibility of seeing some solavellan in datv are quickly becoming my least favorite people in a fandom filled with unpleasant people. Yes Solas is one of the main characters in datv, there should be more mentions of the romance thanks to that, maybe a 20 minutes romance will become a 25 minutes one should we call the police or can you shut the fuck up

[notebooks-and-laptops]

I know it would have been fan-service but I'm still upset that the last Varric appearance in Dragon Age didn't include ANY reference to da2 or Kirkwall. They blocked themselves into a corner with Hawkes fate not being known by the game but like.

Hawkes last line to the inquisitior is 'take care of Varric for me'. Varric is absolutely broken after Hawkes potential death. But when Varric leaves the series we get... nothing.

I really really was expecting him to say something like 'say hello to Isabela for me' as he's walking down the steps or even Rook saying they'd give varrics jacket to Isabela (it's going to LUCANIS??? WHO NEVER MET VARRIC EVEN ONCE????)

It's just. Yeah. They could have literally made me sob if they'd put something like that in there. Varric as a character is so connected to Kirkwall and his da2 friends he literally NEVER gets over them - his whole thing in inquisition is how he can't move on from them. But they're not even mentioned by him in DAtV.

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

(DATV thoughts with spoilers ahead; i think my tags will keep it filtered but just in case it doesn't since i dont want this in the actual game tags)

i just... man. i don't have a well formulated thought for this yet (and its my PERSONAL OPINION and other people can feel as different as they want, this is not an attack) but it keeps bouncing around my head, so. i know the popular thing right now is coming up with in-universe justifications for The Pantry Almost-Kiss Scene in ways that imply Lucanis didn't mean it/it doesn't represent him as a person/he was Faking It.

and i just don't like any of them. they make me sad!!!!!! i don't like the idea that one of the like 4 romance scenes we get in this game is him Pretending in some way, even if he does at that point like Rook back at least somewhat. None of the justifications i've seen make me feel Better about that being the point where we declare him as a romantic interest, which is what it is in the game, functionally. It doesn't lock you in yet but that point IS where the game says "they will take your flirting more seriously now". I did those same scenes for Davrin, Emmrich, and Taash and this is the formula the game uses (the "interrupted almost-kiss/confession" happens for almost all of the companions).

so if the answer for Lucanis' is "actually he stopped because he Didn't like what he was doing/feel that way yet" or that he felt he had to pretend for Rook's sake... it's kind of a letdown you know? esspecially when it comes right after what seems like an actually authentic moment (dispelling his "perfectly gathered clouds of doom"). Because, at that point in the game from my/Rook's perspective, it was like he finally was reciprocating. It made me hope that he'd acknowledge whatever was between him & Rook more in future scenes, especially because you get so little else from him at any other point, in terms of flirting back/showing you he IS interested. like up to that point I felt kind of bad for continuing to flirt at him, when he'd just change the subject right after! if someone did that in real life i would take it as a hint to stop. This is pixels and not real people so I didn't but they have done "reluctant/fearful interest" better in other characters if that's truly what they were going for in this one.

so after finishing the romance and getting the rest of content... idk. I don't like saying "one of the major chunks of characterization we get needs to be Thrown Out Actually because he was Pretending". because it's not like he or Rook ever actually address it in game--you just don't get to talk about feelings until some dialogue choices only in the act 3 romance scene, and then his speech at endgame (not even a full conversation, so much as his personal declaration). like it takes until the VERY end of the game for him to say the thing about "he was afraid to want you", but that comes after you've already hooked up, even.

I think truly what annoys me is that it's a story choice that can only make sense in HINDSIGHT not AS PLAYING. Only once you have all the scenes can you say "this one is out of character" and then you either have to accept it as bad writing, or come up with some in-universe justification to explain it... and so far none of the in universe ones feel good to me. i wish they did because maybe then I'd be less annoyed, rip. but at the end of the day i think even if there was some intent there, it was a poor choice for his story arc, because it doesn't effectively convey anything... and the reason why we can project a lot of different explanations onto it is simply because it is never addressed again (and again, Lucanis Dellamorte is NOT A PERSON he is a CHARACTER used to further a story for you the player, and so the reasons I don't like this choice are story-level and not a dig at how real life people feel or act).

So yeah at the end of the day. that is simply not a narrative device I would ever personally use in this way on a player/reader. certain kinds of hindsight revelations have their place (see: what the devs tried to do with Varric though I also think that falls apart on close inspection, but at least it has justification in-universe), but for a romance it just makes me embarrassed for Rook. In a game where you don't have nearly as many back-and-forth conversations with characters and have to resort to eavesdropping on them talking to each other, it's sad that one of the like 5 times you actually get to talk to Lucanis one on one we're maybe supposed to believe he wasn't being authentic, and also that Rook can't respond to this ever. It would be different if it had any kind of follow up, imo. or honestly as i've said before i would rather it have been swapped out with something entirely different or where we get to talk about their feelings instead, before i get labeled as one of the "people mad he's not Zevran 2.0/a sexy latin sterotype".

But having to step back to player-level analysis versus in-character analysis when looking at his whole romance arc just feels sloppy. but i'd much rather stick to "bad writing" than "intentional character choice" in terms of how to interpret the scene I guess, at this point, for poor Rook's sake. and i know people disagree with when I've said that before bc as much as I love Mary Kirby in other areas, she has said many times that she doesn't like writing romance, and I think it really does show here. As much as I love Lucanis and the scraps we got I wish I didn't have to do so much filling-in-the-blanks on our own.

[inanshalla]

I wish some s0lavellans would admit they hate mythal and make her out to be this evil master manipulator without remorse because they are really jealous that solas actually legitimately loved her. Regardless of what you feel for the relationship solas and mythal have a very very strong, unbreakable bond that lavellan could and can never break.

Whether yall think it’s platonic or romantic is immaterial as it’s obvious yall see it as romantic because the vitriolic misogyny against mythal is proof of that.

I’m supposed to believe that a year spent with lavellan where he was pretending to be someone else supersedes the centuries he spent with mythal where he was “solas” first because she used his wisdom for war, “turning him against his purpose” when solas manipulates the inquisitor (including a romanced lavellan) from the very beginning to achieve his goal of avenging another woman?

okay

[attractthecrows]

yeah yeah trick weekes says whatever about it not making sense that solas couldnt sneak off THEY FAILED TO CONSIDER that maybe he just is ass at it when he gets invested. much like. the whole fucking rest of the romance where he COMPLETELY fails to resist until the breakup.

anyway.

im personally of the opinion that he's more liable to slip up - fail at sneaking, accidentally reveal details, contradict himself - when he actually makes bonds with people. which is why after trespasser he goes and lives alone in the lighthouse for ten years but i digress.

and i think "that", the bonds tripping him up, should be reflected in his exit from the Inquisition. you're enemies or neutral, yeah he just vanishes. there's nothing to keep him there, nothing to interfere with his plans and intentions. you're (ex)lovers? i think he still would pull back purposefully and probably vanish, but there would be definite hesitation. he would have to force himself to do so, because fuck, he wants to stay. he wants to be close to you. but he also, crucially, knows that you have a dangerous sway over him, so he MUST disengage. if you're friends, it takes him some effort. because he does like you, he doesn't want to do what he has to, it's been so long since he had people who were friends to him, and he doesn't have to force himself away because he's in too deep. he knows you would worry about him. he might not be willing to give anyone the truth - but he would owe you a goodbye, at the very least. especially if you weren't the type to try to convince him to stay.

[shipperwolf1]

Cishet elven supremacist wolf god Solas: get off my favorite chair you chaotic little gremlin

My they/them human Rook: you wanna fuck me so bad it makes you look stupid

[baphometsss]

if i see one more post about how solas/mythal/elgar'nan had a weird love triangle thing going on i'm gonna scream

[crimsonphantasmagoria]

Saw a post earlier by someone who had decided to romance a character they hate to see what the fuss is about, and I cannot stop thinking about it.

Like, my sister in Andraste, if you hate this character enough that you've made one of the game's core mechanics (the approval system) into a personal flaw of the character, then I think you're not actually in any state of mind to appreciate what people might like about the character and romance. You should just stop, because you're not going to have a good time.

[kirkwallguy]

also talking about solavellan resolution and how important it was while the OTHER romance where you can be betrayed (bull) makes it impossible to input the betrayal and just assumes it didn't happen if you romanced him

[onewomancitadel]

I would say that it's completely baffling when creators get mad about a fandom liking a sympathetic villain the wrong way and not playing along with their self-insert nonsense properly, except this is the same tune I've been hearing for years with a side of "we actively hate cultivating a female audience" - in part because such an audience induces a sense of unseriousness about the material - meaning I should probably just consider fucking myself forever.

Personally I will never understand the notion of not loving every character you've created or been a part in creating, or at least having an appreciation for them, and what they offer the narrative and how you locate meaning surrounding them. But I guess as a writer what I find harder to understand is not possessing a deep empathy for people in general... if you want to tell a story, be part of a story, make a world for people to explore, don't you want to put every inch of love into its study? Isn't that the whole fun? That people are people, kind and cruel in equal turn as they are? Even the darkest of villains with the blackest of hearts deserves that consideration. What of their thoughts, their dreams, their plans, their spirit? Smaller - their angsts, annoyances, preferences, idiosyncrasies, hypocrisies?