#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]

[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.

[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

[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

[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.

[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

[5mcsinatrenchcoat]

I'll admit however that it gets harder and harder not to be just a little bit salty about Lavellan (in a relationship with Solas) being treated as The Inquisitor now. Even by some of the game team. Like I understand why (I see the appeal, I'm not ignorant of it), but also hell some of us are just friends with him.

Altho it is kinda just a step up from the mage Hawke being The Hawke of the fandom (which, again, understandable, they are the most narratively compelling considering the themes) and therefore Carver being the default surviving sibling. Poor Beth.

not a hostile post pls no one feel attacked

[miyku]

[vaguely-concerned]

I was just ambushed within the turbulent halls of my own mind by some headcanons about rye ingellvar's childhood that did 15000000 points of psychic damage to me and my heart personally and also made me almost sure of how I want to play it all at the end (very very differently from how I imagined going in!). some 'oh holy fuck this changes everything' rocking my own world bullshit going on in my neurons right now I'm reeling

[icharchivist]

wait someone posted this banter on my TL i'm going to have a stroke

why is Solas just casually throwing a bdsm joke at the Inquisitor i'm going to cry why is he like this

[an-established-butt-dent]

Dragon age Inquisition: Ellie Lavellan

I sketched my new OC as a warm up! Meet Inquisitor Ellie Lavellan. It's my first time playing as a mage and I really like it so far.

My focus for these drawings was to keep it light and dynamic. Proportions were less important than the overall flow of the lines and shapes. Pretty happy with the results!

Ink and fineliner on paper

[perilegs]

i thought we were done equating looks with morality... why are there still people talking about solas' baldness and him being evil in the same breath 🤨

[lillotte17]

..

[mabaris]

that stupid comicbook.com article and also fan response in general to the companion romance situation annoys me so bad for the sole reason that everyone acts like the only people in the game are the pc and playable companions