#and on solas's end - he does not want to admit it but i do think he likes it. he likes having the bonds of friendship and kinship

[tiredassmage]

veilguard thoughts!

rook + solas parallels edition

spoilery ofc because my head's not full of cotton balls today and i haven't stopped chewing on it all since i finished the game! so! this is a little endgame heavy; you've been warned for what's below the cut <3

the final first playthrough counter has come in just over 67 hours and i am all but physically holding myself back from launching right into another one with another rook because i had a blast. i'll concede it was a bit heavy on the exposition in the first several hours, but what followed has certainly won my heart, and i think the game is visually beautiful.

but i'm not even looking to do a full review here, but i think one of the most fascinating things this game did was set up rook and solas. so, two parts of preface then: one, i was a little determined to love this game and hoped it would at least perform decent. that's my spite about it, lol, but that's not the point, so we're not here about that. two, one of my admitted concerns when they had first announced this game having its own protagonist was... that i wasn't sure there was another person to finish solas's story other than the inquisitor, and this isn't a solavellan thing for me, though my beloved canon inquisitor is a lavellan. solas's friendship wasn't the biggest hitch in inquisition for me, but it was important to my inquisitor. he wanted to prove his friend wrong.

i don't believe hallaren had a plan at the time for how to achieve that. he wasn't sure it was actually possible to convince solas the dalish were not as lost a cause as he seemed to believe, but he had to try.

and when i started veilguard, i wouldn't say i'd have anticipated the parallels of solas and rook, nor how well they ended up working for me. i admit: they got me. i didn't see that twist coming. and the hindsight of losing varric from the beginning makes a lot hurt (i say that as a compliment). i think it's easy enough to explain why i didn't see it, why (my, at least) rook didn't puzzle it out, but i also readily admit i'm historically bad at seeing these kinds of things, so you're free to be amused on your own time, lol.

anyway. regret. not becoming what you hate, what you claim to fight against. not being beholden to what you were or what you've lost. the game hits these beats several times, and i think its a real beautiful repeating thing they've done if you hammer all the companion's stories with the main deal, and i did the memories of the dread wolf as well. rook and the inquisitor have a conversation about it that about touches on all of it way more eloquently than i could summarize.

and, of course, part of the reveal is solas did dabble with blood magic on the matter of varric's death, did set rook up for the level of regret and grief they must settle with to trap them in the fade - a prison fit for gods, a prison fit for a god's regrets.

and this is where i transition into blorbo-specific thoughts. because i think part of what fascinates and delights me so much about the rook and solas, potentially two sides of the same coin deal is how tyr's relationship with solas starts and then develops.

tyr does not trust solas from the outset. which i think is where a very interesting presentation of similar (at their roots) choices begins, as varric says: in a bar, as all good stories. one of the first story notifications we get is how rook chooses to handle the bar owner: charm your way out, or a more direct approach, and we're told varric takes note of this.

varric's own plan is an appeal to solas's nature. to talk his way out. as is varric's way.

normally, i'd call tyr the kind of character (having played with him as an oc in various medias for oh... going on 2 years, is it? maybe 3? time's fake, different post) to also prefer talking his way out. but he doesn't believe solas will listen. so he rebukes varric's plan of just waltzing up and charming him with his babygirl eyes.

then at d'meta's crossing, he spares the mayor. not because he doesn't hear the concern that the greedy bastard will fall to said greed again, and not out of an entirely conscious mandate for live with the consequences of your actions, but... in hindsight with other choices, i'd argue it's... from at least a little of that kind of place.

he tries and fails to reason with the first warden. several times. in the heat of weisshaupt, and with the recent conversation with solas about whatever it takes on his mind, he ends up decking the man. the stakes are too high for risking the first warden staying on his high horse again if another attempt at reason fails, is the driver of the decision.

i'd chewed for a while on how that would seem to make tyr's commitment to "talking things through" indicated by that first choice in the bar inconsistent. it all seems justifiable at the time, and he didn't get to the place with the first warden he was out of intentional malice, but he still wound up there.

much of that is natural by the circumstances he was presented. by making calls with the information and under the conditions that were present at the time, as anyone, not just rook, would have to do under such circumstances, if they traded places. sure, some of it is also by solas's engineering of his conversations with rook. by setting them up to be a leader asked to make those hard calls. maybe even for arguably goading them a bit into a situation where whatever it takes was their only feasible option. which neve has a great comment on:

this is, i think, most directly about varric's death, but also, personally, i have to say is applicable for solas's intervention during blood of arlathan.

so, back to blorbo for a moment. tyr begins from a place that mistrusts solas's motives. the I'm quoting you here, "lies, treachery, and rebellion" kind of mistrust. and then, as things progress, as the team unveils more about solas's past in the crossroads and through the murals, it circles back to what I think motivated much of his comment to varric that talking with solas wouldn't work: that even if solas has any regret for what's happened, he's too stubborn to concede, too trapped by the mistakes of that past to ever admit fault, to hear himself sound like the 'gods' he claims to despise. tyr continues to take solas's advice into consideration the whole time, true, because it's... hard to discount the only potentially close to the problem kind of advice and knowledge they don't... exactly otherwise have themselves. he's not sure what the other shoe dropping in that equation is going to look like, but he's more convinced it'll happen than he is entirely happy with the situation.

the murals create... a hunch. or develop it. that rather than just being too prideful about the harm he'll cause by tearing down the veil, that solas is trapped in this plan by his regrets and guilt for actions of the past. at that point, tyr... has a better understanding about how they got to this point, but it kind of only solidifies his reservations that solas might actually be reasoned with.

the one moment this is changed, then, is during blood of arlathan. because frankly i think that was one of the worst experiences tyr has in the entire game. elgar'nan's influence in their minds, and an incident where they're trapped with no conceivable way out and potentially facing down an archdemon again, not so long after weisshaupt that the losses have stopped aching.

whatever his reasons or motivations and whatever else happens, solas saves their lives. tyr can't find a way around that one, and he's not even certain he wants to. because it's one of the definitive moments where he didn't have a plan, and he was terrified the tables had finally turned against them, and they'd fail.

it's not... trust. but tyr's also spent all this time working with his team on this concept that change shouldn't exactly be beyond anyone if there's a little effort put in. and whatever his own feelings are, varric wanted to believe in his old friend, and so does the inquisitor - both people he respects greatly, and he's constantly calculating their desire for a better outcome into the rubix cube that is trying to figure out how to stop the gods.

the problem then, is that solas all but instantly takes advantage of this... lapse. this faint relaxation of tyr's guard against his manipulations. that whole little incident with the fade after ghilan'nain's fall is all but immediately after, and its a betrayal nearly thrice or so over in rapid succession: that varric's been dead this whole time, that solas has manipulated him and how he feels responsibility for the team and the regrets that arise out of having to make hard choices, especially in times like these, and then on the other side of the fade, that solas has gone to minrathous, solas is playing "hero" about it all in tyr's and the shadow dragons' backyard. and to add salt to the wound, in minrathous, it's been blood magic all along.

and, y'know. solas says sorry, says he won't tear down the veil by his own hand, but hands rook the weapon to do it for him. sets them up again. so maybe that's more like... four or five times, depending on your count and categorization of it all.

and rook has a choice about all of this to make, a certain level of peace they have to make with it all to even get out of the fade. and how much to follow varric's advice about don't become what you hate - what you were fighting all along, or trapped by what you lost.

here's tyr's opinion that solas has more than likely been beyond reason because he's too far gone on his own path to even see that he's done exactly that: that he talks like elgar'nan's control, he's just dressing it up in a different way. that he's trapped by what he's lost and sacrificed and admitting that will be too much.

and here's tyr's inescapable bitterness of having been betrayed, of having spent so long trying to be careful with the god of trickery only to have danced right to his tune the whole time. a fiery emotional response for a threat to his home, to minrathous that he's tried very hard to protect and leave a smidgen better than he found it in this whole fight.

by circumstance... and by a little of solas's own design then, rook and solas confront the same trouble of what sacrifice being a leader demands. what cost is too high? how much is too much?

i had the pieces at that point for the ending with mythal, but now i had tyr bitter and a bit more resentful about solas - in a kind of pain about betrayal that was still asking why? about it rather than worried about if regret was present or meaningful. which is where this came from in my head akdfnas;dfnsadf

you're both thinking it. and the endings directly focus on whether or not solas succeeds in tearing down the veil, but the thematic part of it, to me, was... do rook and solas recognize where they might be held back? does tyr act on the pain and resentment of betrayal and swing blindly at solas as repayment? or is it bigger than both of them? is it about posing the question to solas about regret? how much is it like what drove solas to this point to act on that resentment? is it just retaliation? or did either of them learn anything from that prison in the fade?

and that's what makes the parallel, and it's what sets them apart.

and that's how, still, in the end, i have tyr who is willing to choose trying to reason one last time. for the sake of the advice of an old friend. for the people that brought them this far, the ones who chose to believe against the odds. and maybe, even, a little bit for himself. a choice against letting regret and resentment rule.

for the sake of it and because i couldn't get this game out of my head, i checked out the other endings, just to see, and i... think i like sticking with convincing him the best for both of them.

the trick with the dagger swap i think is the only other fitting course of action tyr might've taken from that point, and i think some of its elements reflect similar beats here about... learning from the past, if you will.

the accusation of likeness to the gods is still there. the banter about wits. i am a fool who finally met his match. one might argue that's for underestimating rook, which... fair enough, but i think... it also falls in line with solas's regrets, the appeal to be made to his nature, the... want, in the end, to be proven wrong. to find a 'better' way, as once he suggested to the inquisitor, and as mythal's release from debt and rook and the inquisitor's forgiveness, if you will, finally allows.

and that is... very satisfying to have said between them, when it's been on tyr's mind the whole time. and... they can both be proven wrong this way: for tyr, that solas wasn't beyond listening, and for solas, that there was another way.

for both of them that they could move on from what these trials have made of them, what they have done, and what they endured.

and man... man that was good. and so, so satisfying. it worked, veilguard. you sold me on these two as parallels to each other.

and that's just... one of many things in this game that gave me a lot of emotions, but this has already been. a helluva ramble, so if you've made it this far, congratulations and i salute you, lol.

i'm sure i'll do it all over again and have even more thoughts about even more rooks to throw around and chew on with this and what it'll reflect about each of them and that's. MMM. that's delicious. i loved this game. if my brain and time cooperates, i'm sure i'll have more thoughts and maybe even some writings for it in the future, we'll see where the blorbos take me. xD

[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.

[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

[viennacherries]

okay hi sorry i need to talk about the lucanis romance for a moment and why i think it's absolutely perfect. spoilers below the cut ofc

so obviously there are a limited number of romance scenes. i really do believe in the case of lucanis' romance this lends itself to telling his story.

we learn through party banter with him and emmerich that his relationship with rook is his first. and that's not suprising really, he's an assassin. he faces death constantly and aside from the fact that he could die at any moment, being in a relationship gives his enemies a weak spot to exploit. love and the weakness required to accept and give it is a risk he cannot afford in his line of work.

then you add on the fact that he's been in the ossuary for a year. he was definitely sure he was never getting out of there. and then he does but he's possessed.

so here's rook. and they're flirting with him and being all enticing and he thinks they're great. but he doesn't deserve love and he certainly can't risk it. he's an abomination, he'll put them in danger. and what happens afterwards? when he goes back to taking contracts? it only takes pissing off the wrong person once for rook to be in danger. so he mostly just talks around it. tried not to think about it or aknowledge it.

and then spite breaks through for the second time. and there's rook. again. and they're soft and understanding and kind and they remind him that under everything else, all of the trauma and the fear, he's human. they make him feel so safe and he starts to let his walls down.

we can't know for sure why he pulls away in that moment, but i think it's because he reminds himself how dangerous it is for him and for rook. he wants them terribly but it's such an awful no good idea so he drags himself away.

but he still cares for them. he makes them dessert and he keeps them safe and eventually he has to admit to himself that they're not just friends anymore.

and then rook is taken into the fade by solas.

he never tells rook, you only find this out in a bellara romance, but rook is in the fade for weeks.

all that time, lucanis is there and he's just full of regret. because holy shit he's fallen in love with them and now they're gone and he should've just told them. he should've held them like he wanted. because now he can't and he never will again.

and then they're back.

and he comes into their room and his words are so simple.

"i never thought id see you again. i thought id lost you"

and obviously the rest of his dialogue can vary in this scene but all of it is SO weighted if you consider the fact that he really did think they were dead.

"i do. i know how to feel."

"it's one of the things i love about you"

"i'm not going anywhere."

he is in LOVE with them and he's tired of fighting it. he's tired of pretending he isn't. he's tired of denying himself of what he wants because he's scared. because ultimately he did lose them, despite how careful he'd been, and it hurt just the same.

"i know how to feel." because he DOES now.

so in the last battle, before you fight elgernan, he tells you again just how much he loves you. how he'll do anything he needs to to be back in your arms when it's over. because those weeks without you were torture and he never wants to do that again. he wasted all that time terrified to hurt you but you got hurt anyway. why keep pretending? why keep denying himself the person he wants more than anything in the world? he goes from 0-100 because this is so much more real now. there's so much to lose.

"i've assumed you knew my heart because it beats for you. it's been beating... when i wanted you. when i was afraid to want you... tell me this ends with me asleep in your arms and i will kill any god you ask."

this one sentence conveys EVERYTHING. all of his longing throughout the game. how long he has loved rook. he didn't say it because he was afraid. but he's not afraid anymore.

so much of lucanis' romance is about subtext. it's about the things he doesn't say rather than the things he does.

i think it's absolutely beautiful.

[yes-these-obsessions-are-healthy]

DAI x BG3 matchups I need to see. I’m not good at writing crossovers nor am I clever at all. This is very much non-exhaustive and very much not the end point of these characters’ potential interactions with each other.

Karlach + Sera + Iron Bull

The absolute chaos. The absolute CHAOS. A powerhouse. Putting aside Karlach’s demon heritage aside, she and Iron Bull tossing back tankards and swapping war stories as vets that have been dealt shitty hands but continue to chug along despite it. Karlach and Sera connecting over growing up mainly on the streets and having soft spots for little ragamuffins. Plus they all talk about women’s tits a lot. I feel Sera would find Karlach sexy and funny.

Wyll + Cole

Like Solas and Varric, Wyll would take to Cole because he recognizes Cole’s desire to help others, even if his methods are a bit unorthodox. He would recognize Cole’s soul as gentle and kind, and his efforts to atone for the murders he committed in the Tower as proof of his humanity. He will join the Uncle-Dad Duo and complete the Uncle-Dad Trio. Cole would gravitate toward Wyll’s goodness in turn, and probably tell Wyll that him making a contract wasn’t foolish because in the end he saved a city, and if that was his desire, then he committed no sin in doing so.

Solas + Astarion

The messiest shit can only occur, and my messy bitch self wants to see it. Watch as Solas’s upright and stiff demeanor utterly bores Astarion. Watch as Astarion’s selfishness, penchant for violence, and casual disregard for the well-being of others utterly pisses Solas the fuck off. Watch as Astarion yawns or interrupts Solas’s lectures with a “yes, yes, we get it” or the most dramatic eyeroll and overwrought “ugh”. Watch as Solas and Astarion immediately sniff each other out as liars and schemers from first jump and hold each other at a distance, the tension spiking at random moments early in them knowing each other where the other prods at their falsehoods. Watch as Astarion is dumbfounded by Solas expressing his condolences to Astarion upon learning of Astarion’s enslavement to his master, because how could a man who holds such reproach for him still manage to feel pity? ‘It is not pity, but compassion, which you are at liberty to reject. That is your right as a free man, just as it is my right to feel it.’

In the best case scenario, Astarion calms down eventually, teasing Solas but still treating him like that friend of a friend that you grudgingly admit is useful. I think a part of Astarion would find Solas’s penchant dislike of him funny.

Vivienne + Astarion + Dorian

We are all doomed. The haughtiness will be scarcely contained. Dorian and Astarion are definitely flirting. Fucking? Not sure. But definitely flirting and enjoying killing bad guys, playfully arguing over wine, snickering over Solas’s shabby dress.

Shadowheart + Leliana

Tools forged to serve a religious order? Check. Crisis of faith? Check. Subterfuge preferred? Check.

Lae’zel + Cassandra

Soldiers recognizing soldiers. 🫡 ‘Why are the men around me so annoying.’

Minsc & Boo + Cole

Cole might be able to understand Boo! If not his speech, then his little hamster feelings. Minsc might be wary of Cole for the information that he manages to glean from Minsc’s head, but his unquestioned understanding of Boo would probably smooth that bump in the road, right?

Solas + Gale

A friend remarked that Gale would remind Solas too much of himself (prideful, ambitious) and thus they would not get along. There is that. I think that Gale would get a small smile out of Solas every now and then with his quips, because Solas himself is clearly a fan of banter; Gale would provide more of the energy in the same way Dorian does with his and Solas’s more civil banters. Gale and Solas also both hold a great measure of respect and adoration for magic as a force, an element, a piece of entirety that is beautiful for its own existence. Not simply just what magic can do for them as wielders of magic, but what it is and how it does so much to enhance a person’s understanding and interaction with the world, as precious as sight or sound.

Minthara + Iron Bull

Oh she will have him cowed in a goddamn minute. Oh man. Oh no. ‘Yes ma’am’, ‘no ma’am’.

Minthara + Cassandra

Oh this would be so interesting. Disciplined, serious bulwarks with little time for silly little men—Minthara would share Cassandra’s frustration and lack of amusement with Varric, though Cassandra would consider her suggestions to maim him.

Solas + Halsin + Iron Bull

I see potential here. Iron Bull and Solas already have a dynamic of Iron Bull’s “I have a pretty good idea of who you are, and it’s a liar” toward Solas, while Solas grudgingly respects Iron Bull’s strength and mental acumen in the same way you would respect a very intelligent bear—do not draw attention more than necessary, but stand tall lest it smell fear. Halsin feels like a softer Iron Bull, a mediation between the two. Like Iron Bull, his stature and build belies a thoughtful and sharp mind. Like Solas, he sees everything as connected, feeding into the other as part of a system, and would too feel a sense of loss at magic and mundane being so dramatically split as it is in Thedas—an aberration against what is natural. Also like Iron Bull, he’s frank with his sexuality. I’m certain the two would swap stories over booze. The trio would be arguably the three most mature and experienced in a room in any given situation. Not only that, but Halsin is far more actively in touch with his heart and honest with his feelings than Solas or Iron Bull. The latter two very much care about their loved ones, but with Solas it is under the surface and with Iron Bull it’s mixed up in cultural trappings of romance not being a “thing” in his culture, and thus both struggle with their feelings. Halsin however is very much in touch. There is next to nothing obstructing what his head and heart wants. He listens to his heart and he follows it. Solas and Iron Bull could learn a thing or two from him, tbh

Also I feel like Iron Bull, Halsin, and even Solas have a bit of a brat tamer streak in them so there’s that

Also Astarion would outright reject the notion of drinking Cullen’s blood cuz it smells like battery acid.

[hoboblaidd]

Extremely rambling Mythal thoughts below. Spoiler alert: it’s not pretty.

Major endgame Veilguard spoilers below the cut.

@weptlore broke me with that one post and I’m basically riffing off of it because I’m emo. Tl;dr fuck Mythal.

First though, you will never catch me saying that Solas isn’t culpable, because he absolutely is. His ‘best’ ending is properly atonement, not redemption. He was faced with choice after choice whether or not to do terrible things and he folded every time she asked - save one - despite his better judgment. His choices in the Dragon Age are his, even as they’re motivated by his desire to make the world he thinks Mythal wanted. He needs to be held accountable for the things he messed up instead of running from them to do a full system reboot on the world. He says that thousands will die from the Veil coming down, but then ‘flowers would grow.’ That self-serving justification does not excuse the colossal loss of innocent life he’s prepared to take. Yes, I believe Varric and the Inquisitor that he doesn’t really want to do it and is looking for someone to sell him a better option. But he was still gonna do it, right up to the end.

But to ignore how royally Mythal fucked him up and manipulated him at every step does him a disservice. She strong-armed him into a parallel of a binding. She chipped away at who he was so thoroughly that it twisted him into the thing he is now. She even admits that what she did to him broke him. All new and faded for her indeed, in the worst way imaginable.

She cared about his usefulness. Her disingenuous ‘I need your wisdom’ morphs into the more honest ‘I used your wisdom as a weapon.’ Yeah she calls Solas ‘love’ and says ‘I always come when my friends need me,’ but it’s gaslighty as shit. No wonder she jived with Flemeth. They’re singing the same song. And when he finally didn’t toe her terrible line she turned on him and called it a betrayal. Elgar’nan said she considered Solas insubordinate and unmanageable, and we don’t even know whether that estimation was before or after he rebelled (I recognize Elgar’nan’s not a great source and was trying to get under Solas’ skin, but the truth hurts more than a lie. Given what we know of her, I buy it).

And now where are we? Back at square one and somehow she’s the one to sell him that better story and convince him to do the same damn thing again. ‘I release you from your service’ as long as you immediately bind yourself again.

To ignore the tragedy of his ultimate fate isn’t fair. He needs to atone but my god is it a tragic end for him. The one thing in the world Solas wants is freedom, and it’s the one thing he’ll never get. What was it Elgar’nan said? ‘As much as freedom is beyond your grasp.’ He was more right than he intended.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk. I would take questions but I need to go backstage and scream.

[davleo]

SPOILER DISCUSSION/RANT BELOW:

Man, I know this is just a story board that happened probably pretty early on in development, but if you scroll down to the Lucanis-centric parts, you’ll see what could have been.

It’s so maddening because I’ve said (and many others) that it feels like there was missing content in Lucanis’ romance path. Like it went from A to C, from “No, we shouldn’t, I can’t” to “My heart beats for you”.

I understand it’s supposed to be slow-burn coded, but where was the angst? Where was the longing? The will/he won’t/he? The frustration that builds when he doesn’t? We get a taste in that first almost-kiss scene, and I admit, I was hooked. Ready for the pain. But then it’s like it never happened. It’s never addressed again. He barely reacts to the “flirt” options and it’s not until almost the end game that things pick back up.

Imagine if the storyboard beat had happened mid-game? I could be wrong, but it looks like it takes place during your confrontation with Ilario at the Dellamorte estate. I won’t speculate too much about the specifics, but there at a few points during this story that bring Lucanis and Rook together romantically and I really think something like this could have bridged that gap between points A and C in his romance- been the “B” so to speak.

It wouldn’t have had to be all sunshine and rainbows after. They could have made it back to the Lighthouse only to have Lucanis express regret for letting things get away from him at the estate. He was too emotional, too caught up in the moment, Spite was too in control, etc. Rook expresses anger or hurt and leaves Lucanis to drown in his self-loathing once again, things cool back off between them, then it isn’t until Solas traps Rook in the prison that Lucanis realizes what a mistake he’s made the romance plays out like it does in game.

Would it have been a bit cliche? Sure. There are better writers who could have done more with it than what I’ve just described. I think I’m just ranting because they had it- they storyboarded it and for reasons I don’t understand but probably come down to cost, they decided not to do it, leaving us with the bones of a romance that I wanted to like more than I actually did.

[longer-than-i-should-admit]

(Mildly spoilery ramble about Solavellan and that damned lyre in [one of] Solas' hideout[s] below the cut.)

I am an inconsolable mess thinking about this sad old bastard knowing how to play that thing. For someone several millennia old it only makes sense he might have picked it up at some point a time or two. It's then only a logical extension of supposition to conclude that he might be able to sing, as well, as eloquent and measured with his words and cadence as he is. (Yes this is a Hallelujah post bc the brainrot's real.)

Imagine Rook freeing Solas from the Fade prison in preparation for all the stuff going on. He's weak and tired from the experience and needs to recoup a bit—not bedrest, but Rook hounds him to relax around the Lighthouse for a while and take it easy.

Lavellan's back, advising Rook or helping Varric or w/e. She's doing her best to give him space. It's awkward and it's tense and they barely even exchange words when they do happen to cross paths. (Did this place feel so small before? Rook wonders.)

Solas is obviously going stir crazy. He's read all the books in the library numerous times before. He cannot cast very much if he's to conserve his mana for whatever threats they face. He's decidedly a little burnt out on exploring the Fade, just for a while. He starts micro managing the crew, pedantic and critical at his worst due to boredom, stress, and worry all at once. They plead Rook to distract him, take him out to town somewhere to shop or some shit, anything.

So Rook brings him the lyre from his hideout in Minrathous. It's dusty by then and horribly out of tune, but no one dared to touch it. Rook isn't even sure that the Dread Wolf has any musical capabilities, wonders if this was part of one of his many ruses (never trust the humble guises of Fen'Harel, they think), but it's something to keep his hands busy, his mind occupied, and his mouth shut for a time.

Solas looks displeased, unimpressed. Put upon by Rook's unspoken meaning to keep himself busy and occupied and out of their way. He's unused to relying on others to carry the weight of such a task, but he acknowledges by now that the Veilguard knows what they're doing and does it well. Better than he could manage by himself.

So it works, for a while. They don't see him out and about. He recluses himself into his rooms and only emerges when he's hungry or someone comes to ask him for help—which does visibly improve his mood. Oftentimes he has pigments staining his hands and plaster smudged unconsciously across the glass-sharp arches of his cheeks, too. The furrow between his brows aren't so deep now that he's had some time to decompress, even if it was unwilling at first.

It doesn't last forever. Something happens. Rook defers to Lavellan. Solas overhears and protests. He doesn't want her involved, and Rook knows keenly by now that it's only in vain effort to keep her away from the immediate danger that the Evanuris pose. It's among the first times they've actually had an extended conversation and it's to argue. Varric told Rook that was normal for them—debating was one of their favorite pastimes, once upon a time, though for different reasons. Lavellan would provoke Solas into ranting to ruffle his feathers and to hear his passion. Solas would cave because he knew that even if she did not end up agreeing with his viewpoint on things, she would still hear him out and give him credit where it was due. A balance of the difference between knowledge and wisdom, a scale of moderation between righteous indignation and the humility of admitting the limitation of one's perspective and experience.

It's rife with undertones, however. Pointed remarks that Rook doesn't readily understand but can intuit easily enough. Rook didn't have to know that they were in a complicated (romantic?) situation to tell that there was much tension, history, and uncertainty in the undercurrents of their bickering. Rook steps in before it gets too vicious, watching with trepidation as the battle of wits and logic gave way to old hurts and unhealed wounds of emotions too strong to ignore during as dire times as these.

They part and put the length of the Lighthouse's grounds between them to clear the air. Rook sighs and wonders how in the Void they would be able to stop the end of the world if two lovers could not smooth things over long enough to cooperate.

That night, at supper, Solas emerges with a brumous cloud brewing over his shoulders (not literally, but just about; Rook can feel the charge of his mana as acutely as the tumult of his thoughts in the back of their mind) and takes a set next to the hearth, lyre in hand. Lavellan stiffens from her seat at the end of the table, watching him with wary and skeptical eyes. Solas' fingers thrum over the strings lightly, filling the abruptly silent room with a rasp of harmony...

And he began to sing.

Rook doesn't recognize the song at first, but within the first couple of lines they watch Lavellan's eyes mist over. Soon enough, the meaning becomes clear: it's the tale of the Inquisitor—and thus her connection to Solas, the most he's ever revealed to any of the Veilguard intentionally or indirectly both. But Rook can tell that it means more to the Inquisitor than anyone else. His voice is plaintive and sincere, reverent like he uttered a benediction. Rook sees for the first time the strength that lay between them, the intimacy, the unique relationship only two unwilling religious visionaries could share.

Despite the tears glittering along her lashlines, Lavellan offers Solas a watery smile once he finishes and clears her throat before asking him if he remembered the shanty Maryden used to play in the Herald's Rest. Which one? Solas asks, looking an odd mixture of embarrassed and relieved at once with his ears flushed bright pink. Any of them, Lavellan supplies. I never knew you played. You never asked, Solas says, then amends with a gentler tone, but I never offered, either.

Things get better after that. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief that the two finally found some common ground upon which to make amends.

They learned that Lavellan could sing, too.

Their harmonies echoed through the arcane-saturated stones of the Lighthouse on some occasions after that, filling the empty rooms with steady rhythm, but not always in melody. The same cadence that guided Solas' ode to his once unwitting Herald seeped into their every shared conversation, be it about the Fade or anything else.

Rook found that it became one of their favorite songs—a missing piece they never noticed before. That Solas eventually thanked them for it was an added side benefit.

[lokiina]

I wasn't gonna do it. But I'm gonna do it.

I'm gonna kjhdkfjghdkfjg

If you don't want character spoilers I'm slapping this under a readmore but I need to cry a lil about Gale.

So many people just think he's annoying or Solas 2.0 and that's kdghdfkjgh

if it's not coherent I apologize I need to word vomit.

!! also some mental health related TWs ahead as a warning !!

THIS MAN IS SO DEEPLY DEPRESSED. His self worth is so low and it's so heart wrenching to listen to and the writing is incredible.

(A lot of the characters in this game deal directly with like Gods and the abusive relationships they have with them but this is for Gale specifically. Everyone's got their own mess that's it's own thing. )

Holy fucking shit. I don't know if you get some of the dialog options I have gotten if you don't actively romance him but omfg. Man openly admitted to being suicidal so you talking him out of blowing himself up while everyone else including the last love his life is saying "kill yourself" is such a big big deal. Even if the end result is being framed as help. It's not. It's more manipulation and down right fucking EVIL.

His relationship with Mystra is messed up, the power imbalance is fuckin wild and if anyone out of this is expecting a goddess to be the victim when she was clearly a manipulator is unreal. Their situation he was just trying desperately to prove his worth to her and her essentially stringing him along until he wasn't of any use anymore. He wanted Mystra to see him as equal to her, and nothing he ever did was enough for her. Cuz she did not care about him. If it was a proper relationship and she actually loved him back he wouldn't have had to try to continuously prove himself.

He was taken advantage of through his relationship and his entire self worth has been shattered. Now he's not entirely without fault through some of it and acknowledges where he screwed up himself.

When you offer to find another way for him that doesn't end up in him exploding, you kick a lil spark back into him and as someone who's fuckin struggled with self worth and depression. I feel for him so hard. Sometimes it does take another person simply acknowledging your worth to be that lil spark. It doesn't even have to be in a romantic sense.

This man is high key autistic coded. Everything about the way he loves so purely, misses cues on certain things and misunderstands and needs direct clarification on stuff. Ask him about his special interest, magic. The gloom drops in these moments. It's fuckin precious as hell to see him light up.

The writing in this game is fucking phenomenal and I just. I have a lot of deep feels on this whole thing. Every character has so many lil layers to them and I wanna just smooch the whole dev team.

Anyway. He's my fav character out of this chaotic game and I just. I will protect this silly wizard with my life. He deserves good things. Fuck his haters.

I wanna go get some comfy fluffy art of him and my boy.

[eff-plays]

every time i remember that astarion has 4 extra hours of dialogue compared to wyll, i get so sad... before i got to the end of the game, i was like "ah. wyll must not be in any fandom posts i saw because of predictable reasons, but surely he still has cool scenes and an equivalent level of care in the canon writing!" RIP. he does not. it's like a self-sustaining vortex of the fandom and the writing team both being way more excited about the pale elf than any other character.

it's a shame because astarion is otherwise a well written and acted character, but it makes me dislike him on principle if i feel he's the authors' Favourite Little Boy, hah.

God YEAH. It's so fucking frustrating!

Like he's my favorite little boy! He fully is! But I would give up HOURS of his content if it meant the effort was equal across the board! Because that's good game design, that's good writing! That's what they should have done!

And it's so so fucking frustrating to see how Larian are basically leaving the other companions in the shitter just to cater to a small and annoying minority of rabid fangirs who shit themselves silly at the mere mention of him.

Y'all know that pretty post with all the companions' eyes? Well someone added some shit about how Astarion's eyes have micromovements that are faster than anyone else's because he's always looking for threats.

And I'm just sitting here like. This is the Dragon Age fandom again. Y'all are here overanalyzing insignificant shit just because it pertains to your favorite crusty white man. It's giving "let's pretend that BioWare's shitty canned animations are worth of deep frame-by-frame analysis". I think in general it's fine to analyze animations in the case of BG3, because there's mo-cap and actual acting involved, but c'mon, y'all. Derailing a beautiful gifset of EVERYONE'S eyes with some sappy addon about only Astarion?

I honestly HATE the fact that I like Astarion as much as I do, because it means sharing a fandom with the type of people who think Cullen is a gift to all women. Which, yeah, a lot of parallels there, in that he also got a hugely inflated role because of a minority of extremely horny idiots who saw a pretty white boy (though the pretty part is debatable in Cullen's case) and all other thoughts flew out the window. I literally initially didn't like Astarion because based on what I'd seen from the fandom, he'd be another unrepentant asshole that people woobiefied like they did Cullen, and to some extent, Solas. And I was right! I just ended up liking him in the actual canon enough to make my own judgment in the end.

It's also why I am filled with glee whenever another Astarion-centric blog blocks me, because the more of those guys I keep away from me, the less I want to shoot Astarion point-blank just by association.

So yeah. He's my little guy but I also fully 100% understand disliking him because of the hype. It's 100% justified and I fault nobody for doing so. His being so well-written as a result of poor management, crunch, and fandom pressure isn't something to celebrate. The ends do not justify the means here. Either extend dev time to give everyone the same amount of love, or don't fucking bother with extra content at all. It's that fucking simple.

Also the optics of admitting all of that in a Discord server just to satisfy a bunch of dipshits looking for a pat on the head for making the Canon Choices. Just ... bleh.

[dross-the-fish]

Read your DAV spoiler and I have a question. Why do you think solas x llavellan is one sided?

More spoilers incoming.

Because she is the one who always chases him. There is no point where he seeks her out after he leaves the inquisition. No correspondence from him (as far as I've seen) in the ten years leading up to the events of DAV and no intent to ever put her first. After watching my friends finish their playthroughs I noticed that nothing Llavellan does motivates or moves him as much as his relationship with Mythal. From my perspective Solas feels like someone who views the romance with Llavellan as something he indulged in a moment of weakness and I don't feel like that actually changes. He would have been content to think of her as a "happy regret" and move on. He accepts bringing her into the fade with him because she insists but he doesn't really ever rethink his plans or even try to include her in them. If he loved her and believed what he was doing was morally correct wouldn't he enlist her help? Or try to find a way to at least spare her the consequences of his actions? it simply comes down to the fact that he never prioritizes her while we see her give up everything for him. Even after losing a literal limb because of him. There reaches a point where it feels like the Inquisitor has ceased to exist outside of a context of Solas because we're supposed to believe she spent the last 10 years devoted to saving him from himself. What did these two have that's worth 10 years of a woman's life and the loss of her arm? Then an eternity in the fade sharing Solas's fate with him. Not her own fate, Solas's. It's another one of those situations that's become increasingly common in the franchise where what the writing SAYS and what it DOES don't match up. The writing TELLS us that Solas is filled with love and regret and that this is a happy ending but doesn't materially show it. He has no hesitation for his goal and the romance does not have a major effect on his course of action. Which seems particularly strange because you find out that a lot of his motivation in the first place does stem from a relationship with another person. They really try to backtrack on Solas's culpability by shifting a lot of the blame for the current situation to Mythal and I do not care for it. It's up in the air whether he and mythal were romantic but what is glaringly clear is that in all this time mythal has been more important and more of a motivator to him than Llavellan. And that makes sense, he and Llavellan weren't together that long, they were apart longer than they were together so of course the more long-held relationship would take priority. But that still leaves Llavellan to essentially make Solas her life's cause when he would never have done the same for her. But the writers don't want to admit it so they kind of jam in a happy? ending for the inquisitor and solas. In the end I think a Solas romance was a mistake because it feels like such an afterthought and that by proxy makes it seem like Llavellan herself is an afterthought to Solas based on his actions.

[yanderes-galore]

Oof, I'm here now! Better later than never, so first request is concept/HCS for Solas from Dragon Age Inquisition, please -🐈

I'm really hoping I don't mess up this character because he's so damn important. But if I do... I apologize as my knowledge on the topic is still not the best. I appreciate feedback since this character is so complex.

Adding "V1" to this since this was written when I'm very new to Dragon Age... also DA4 isn't out, so that may change things.

Spoilers for Dragon Age: Inquisition/Trespasser

Yandere! Solas Concept V1

Pairing: Platonic/Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Manipulation, Deception, Overprotective/Possessive, Isolation, Kidnapping, Solas thinks he's doing the right thing, Somewhat lucid yandere, OOC Solas most likely, Dubious companionship/relationship.

I personally feel, due to his origins, his obsession is more likely to lean platonic.

He is capable of feeling love but he may feel more like a mentor towards his obsession.

After all, he's really an ancient elf that's lived for thousands of years.

He is a man who wants to do whatever he can to help, just like he wanted to do for his people.

Yet his efforts probably isn't always the right thing.

He is a wise being who would first concern himself with watching over you.

Especially if you are an Inquisitor.

Solas does care about his obsession despite what he does, just like in his romance.

He's surprisingly honest, sometimes admitting things you don't quite understand.

His obsession makes him falter in his goals.

At first he isn't sure what to think of that.

His goal is to take down The Veil to restore Ancient Elves to their former glory.

Solas is loyal to his people and would sacrifice anything to achieve his goal.

But he begins to hesitate when he thinks of you.

Maybe he really does just see your bond as mentor and student.

That or he catches himself having genuine feelings for you.

Either way, the obsess he has over you makes him wish he could ignore it.

He cares about you... he knows his goal may end up hurting you in the end.

By the point he really starts to focus in his goal you've both known each other for a few years.

Which is why his decisions hurt him more.

I feel most of Solas' feelings and obsession are bittersweet.

It feels like yet another tragedy between him and his obsession.

He's torn between his goals that he's been focusing on, and you.

He feels you're both victims of fate in this situation.

He's always cared about you... even if things aren't meant to be.

Solas found the missions you did together enjoyable, your chats being a welcome form of entertainment for him.

He feels horrible that he's deceiving you and soon going to betray you in the end.

But when that eventually happens and you two cross paths... he'll find a way to compromise.

I imagine until his plan is fulfilled... Solas does not plan on letting his obsession go.

He's a powerful ancient elf mage who is extremely intelligent.

Solas may outsmart his obsession, he's seen a lot as an ancient elf.

Once you meet him again, years after the events of Inquisition, he has a plan.

He hopes you will forgive him when he constructs a trap for you.

By the time of Trespasser Solas has proven to be very strong with his magic.

The moment he gets you close enough, he embarks on his plan.

You'll stay beside him while he prepares to collapse The Veil...

Somehow he plans to safe you while sacrificing all the rest.

He never liked others around you while in the Inquisition.

He felt in a way they were unworthy, since the start Solas has felt a connection with you.

So... who cares what happens to the rest when he collapses The Veil?

He just cares about you... even though he hates to admit it, he wants you.

If he has to trap you beside him with a spell, so be it.

You may look at him with such betrayal in your eyes... but he tries to soothe you.

He says he's sorry... yet this is how things are meant to be.

He'll keep you beside him for as long as he can.

Even if he fails to save you... he'll never forget you.

Solas is a very tragic yandere... one who seems like he's your friend and companion...

Only to betray you in the end in many ways.

He wants to soothe the pain you feel... all while he keeps you trapped by his side, away from all you know.

You may be a friends... you may be lovers...

Regardless of what you are... you're his... and that's all that matters to him right now.

[tahopo]

6 8 13 20 :)

6. attitude towards the Qun?

kaleb can’t subscribe to it, but he does understand it and can respect sten and his confidence about where he fits in the world; kaleb himself doesn’t trust who he is in aimlessness, so that plays a part in his sympathy and interest.

hawke fears the qun. not that she’d ever join, but she cannot deny how exhausting her life is. sometimes she thinks it must be kinder on the body to just give in.

yasmin is a massive hater 👍🏽

8. who do they hate the most, and do they have an arch-nemesis?

kaleb and loghain. he’s always making sure loghain doesn’t get off easy or is too busy to die. talk about toxicity in the workplace. LOOOOOOOOOL.

hate is a strong word for hawke. the strongest, most unpleasant feeling towards anyone (of considerable worth, at least) she’s ever felt was reserved for leandra and it wasn’t ‘hate’. or at least she could never admit it was. but it wasn’t. but it was. but.

yasmin and solas. being a devotion spirit having a marriage pact with devotion spirit and getting ‘betrayed’ doesn’t really foster goodwill.

13. their thoughts on the Grey Warden order?

people will find kaleb to be incredibly stern about the order’s necessity. but his actual relationship with them is another beast. nobody really wants to pick a fight with the 7ft reaver who stopped the blight, but he knows he’s transgressed them by simply being alive. he’s something of a revered freak specimen to them though, and even with all his disputes at weisshaupt they badly want to reclaim him as a success story.

darkspawn took two of hawke’s siblings….… and she herself ended up dying for the wardens. safe to say she thought they were needed lol.

yasmin actually finds the warden’s ruthless commitment to stopping the blight at whatever cost very striking. detrimental as it may have been, it’s a characteristic he deeply respects.

20. where would they like to be buried?

on bright days, kaleb imagines his ashes across the waking sea.

hawke never stopped to think of an answer for herself. and i guess since she stayed in the fade, irretrievable, she never had to.

yasmin figured he’d be buried in rivain where he was born. but having gotten closer to his dalish heritage throughout inquisition, he’d also wish to be buried with oak and cedar, and a sapling planted above him. not even the revelations at the crossroads changes this will.

[daitranscripts]

Trespasser Conversation

Blackwall

Trespasser Masterpost Blackwall Masterpost

High approval, PC romanced Solas Blackwall: I’ve been meaning to ask… Solas hasn’t come back? Send word? Anything?

Dialogue options:

General: No. [1]

General: Please don’t. [2]

General: I hope he’s dead. [3]

1 - General: No. PC: I’ve heard nothing. He’s gone. Blackwall: Ah. I’m sorry… Scene ends.

2 - General: Please don’t. PC: Don’t ask, please. It still hurts. Blackwall: I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. Scene ends.

3 - General: I hope he’s dead. PC: He’s a know-it-all prick, and I hope he’s strung up somewhere. Blackwall: Right. Wound still raw, then.

Sera still with Inquisition Blackwall: And “know-it-all prick,” huh. I see you’ve been spending time with Sera. Scene ends.

—

Blackwall: Need me for anything? Blackwall: Inquisitor.

1 - Dialogue options:

Investigate (low approval): Why are you here? [2]

Investigate (was not freed to atone): How are the Wardens doing? [3]

Investigate (freed to atone): You’re back to being Rainier? [4]

Investigate: You and Josephine… [5]

Investigate: Thoughts on the council? [6]

Investigate: This is a bit of a reunion. [7]

General: I have to go. [8]

2 - Investigate: Why are you here? PC: So, why are you back? As I recall, you weren’t that fond of me. Blackwall: The Inquisition is more than one person. I have other friends here. Trust me, I’ll be trying my best not to get in your way. [back to 1]

3 - Investigate: How are the Wardens doing? PC: What’s it like being a Warden now?

Blackwall (high approval): Things are in upheaval. There have been heated arguments about the future of the Order. (Sighs.) I wouldn’t be surprised if we tore ourselves apart. [back to 1]

Blackwall (low approval): I probably shouldn’t say. I can, however, offer reassurance that there are no future plans for a demon army. Just in case you were worried. [back to 1]

4 - Investigate: You’re back to being Rainier? PC: You’re more comfortable being called by your real name now? Blackwall: Comfortable? Not quite yet. I didn’t want to be Rainer for such a long time. To be quite frank, he was an ass. But he’s—I’ve changed. And reclaiming my name has allowed me to reconnect with people I haven’t seen in years. Family. It wouldn’t have happened without you. [back to 1]

5 - Investigate: You and Josephine… PC: You don’t seem to get flowers for Josephine anymore. Blackwall: You only just noticed? It’s been years, and we both knew it was a momentary infatuation. She still teases me about it. Every time I walk past, she sighs and says her desk lacks cheer. [back to 1]

6 - Investigate: Thoughts on the council? PC: What do you think’s going to happen at the Exalted Council? Blackwall: Maker. I have no idea. Politics always make my head spin. The Inquisition shouldn’t have to give in to whenever some prissy noble gets their knickers wedged somewhere. [back to 1]

7 - Investigate: This is a bit of a reunion. PC: It’s nice to have everyone back in the same place again. Blackwall: (Chuckles.) I have to admit, I missed it. What does it mean when we need a huge diplomatic talk or the world ending just to bring us together?

Blackwall (Sera still with the Inquisition): I got the chance to have a few drinks with Sera. Missed that girl.

Blackwall: It’s still a little awkward talking to Cassandra. But the Commander appears to have forgiven me, finally.

[Back to 1]

8 - General: I have to go. PC: Until later.

Blackwall (romanced): At your pleasure, my lady. Blackwall: Take care.

[miracles-and-butterflies]

When will Camilo's friends get a proper slap and some poisonous plants?

Maybe at some point.

Not now though.

Kinda hard when the rest of the family don’t have their names.

~~~~~~

“—And the rest of us are all left walking on eggshells. I couldn’t stand it a moment longer.”

“Well, you can stay here for as long as you like,” Mariano offered.

Dolores smiled in gratitude. “We both know I can’t. I’d rather be here though. But I have to go back… they are my family at the end of the day.”

“You could always go spend time with Antonio and your grandparents. I’m sure they’d let you.”

“I doubt it. If anyone is going to be needed over the next few days, it’ll be me and my gift.” Mariano opened his mouth and Dolores shook her head. “It’s been too long, Tía Julieta can’t heal her.”

He winced. “Ah, that’s… not great?”

“Mirabel will get over it. It’s not like she does much beyond sewing and reading. She won’t notice much difference physically.”

“I’d send her some ‘get well soon’ flowers, but I don’t think it would go down well with Isabela.”

“Just buy her some wool. She’ll be much more amused.” Dolores chuckled. “Or you could read to her for an hour. Luisa’s already shattered her voice.”

“What? Again? Didn’t she do that last week?”

“Yes. To prove she could sing higher than Isabela. She couldn’t. It was not pleasant.”

Mariano laughed.

Dolores did too.

“It can’t have been that bad. Your cousins can both sing.”

“No. It is like nails on a chalkboard.”

He shook his head, sighing.

“How are your parents taking it?”

“My parents?”

“It’s their son who… you know?” Mariano prompted. For all his poetry, he was struggling to put the action into words.

“I don’t think they know how to handle it,” Dolores admitted. Drumming a pencil lightly against the desk. “Mama thinks he is completely innocent, of course - he can do no wrong in her eyes. And Papa clearly doesn’t want to believe it but can’t argue with the evidence, nor is he sure what to do himself. And the focus somehow always falls back to Antonio because he’s the youngest.”

They didn’t say anything for a while.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Mariano asked.

“Of course.” Dolores asserted. “Just a bit stressed is all.”

“…But?”

“But… why didn’t I hear it?”

~~~~~~

“What noise do you think a doe makes?” Lorenzo asks, turning to his sister.

“They bleat, don’t they? Like sheep?” Rebecca responded.

They glanced back at Mirabel, who kept her elsewhere. Trying hard not to let it show how terrified she was (though knowing she was failing on that front).

She sniffled. “You can’t hurt me.”

“It’s not like you’re going to stop us.” Rebecca shrugs.

“You think we’re just gonna let you skip off and tattle on us?” Mateo asks, looking sincere for a moment. Then he cackles, “God, this isn’t the school playground, you idiot!”

Felicia steps forward, “Even if we did, it’s not like anyone is gonna believe your side of the story. You’ve already proved to be a pretty unreliable witness.” She reaches out, grasping the back of Mirabel’s hair and tilting her head up. “Don’t remember? Let’s see… it was a child’s fifth birthday party, someone cried the building was breaking and the miracle was dying, but when we went to look there wasn’t a crack or any rubble in sight. Ring any bells?”

Mirabel didn’t say a word, not daring to look away from the leaves on the ground.

Something is forced into her earlobe. It snaps in place painfully, burning against her skin and heavy. She wails. Turing around in wild confusion - when did Ignacio get there? But what catches her eye the most is the bright yellow thing hanging there.

“There’s something real for you to cry about,” Sola taunts. Felicia and Rebecca laugh.

Ignacio moves again, going for her opposite ear.

Mirabel tries to curl in on herself, away from the onslaught of pain, away from this torment, but her body is soon being held taut by Lorenzo and Felicia.

There’s nowhere to go.

“What’s the matter? I thought you Madrigals were so brave and invincible,” Rebecca comments, trying to get a reaction.

Felicia thought for a moment. “Then again… she was never a real Madrigal, was she?”

Ignacio shoves the other tag and clips it in. She thinks he caught some skin as he did, there’s a nip that didn’t happen the first time.

Mirabel is dropped, landing on her hands and knees briefly, then collapsing onto her side. She doesn’t attempt to stand, but she tries to sit up and adjust her glasses.

Rebecca harshly swatted her hand away, pinching the glasses at the bridge and pulling them away.

“Animals don’t get nice things,” she explained.

Mirabel doesn’t see where the glasses go but she assumes from the giggling between Rebecca and Mateo, they are definitely broken.

Lorenzo cooed at her suddenly, looking down and petting her head. “What a pretty, little doe you are!”

“And now that you’re all marked up, everyone will know what an important deer you are.” Felicia added. “It must be nice for you to finally be worth something now, isn’t it?”

[leastdatablebracket]

ROUND 4, MATCH 2

Propaganda under the cut!

Shuu Iwamine

Propaganda

This damn partridge kills you CONSTANTLY, regardless if you romance him or not. One of them is literally at the START of the school year, he beheads you then uses your head to pilot this grotesque horror movie android thing! Completely unprompted, you can just die immediately! Horrible school doctor material, even worse boyfriend material, but alas, he's my favorite character.

[hatobf spoilers and also gore / violence kind of ?] he literally kills the mc in both of his endings, and in the true route he uses her best friend to kill her . and chops her body up and puts them in boxes to his student . and he puts her brain in a strange scarecrow machine . its insane hes so undateable man <//3

Decapitates protagonist and puts her head in a jar. Kills multiple other characters. Just generally an unpleasant person . My favorite character btw

He hates your species, sees you more as a science experiment than a romantic partner, and also kills you in his ending. Plus he has just, the worst attitude about the whole thing.

Bad End with him the government takes you out. "Good" end with him he cuts off your head, sticks it in a jar, and talks to it while on the run from the government. (Spoilers for hatoful BBL) True End of the whole game that ties up all the characters' stories, he kills you again but this time sends your head to your childhood best friend and takes your brain out to make basically robo-frankenstein. Was also an adult when the MC was a young child, and is the school nurse at MC's high-school. He's also a partridge. 

Literal birderer (bird murderer) 

It also turns out the (unrequited?) love of his life was the father of the MC's childhood friend. AND HE DOESN'T PULL ANY OF THIS SHIT WITH HIM. HE EVEN BECOMES A SLIGHTLY BETTER PERSON FOR HIM IN HOLIDAY STAR. It even turns out that everything thing he did in the true route of Hatoful Boyfriend was to fulfill a promise he made to that man on his deathbed (ALTHOUGHT RYOUTA'S FATHER NEVER ASKS HIM TO COMMIT ANY MURDERS, FATBIRD JUST THINKS MURDERS ARE A GREAT SOLUTION TO MANY PROBLEMS). So like, he's not just a murderous sadistic partridge who is also kind of a dick. He could not be one. Just NOT FOR YOU. OR ANYONE ELSE. JUST THIS ONE SPECIFIC PIGEON.

Solas

Propaganda

He believes all mortal beings deserve to die. He is bald but in a very unsexy way. He exudes zero chemistry and talking to him about romance is like talking to a boiled egg. 

Described by major media as "elf hitler," he dumps you to destroy the world

He is a smelly know it all, and that's before you find out he is a deity in disguise who caused the rift you spend the game trying to fix in the first place and he betrayed you and chopped off your hand

Breaks up with you, disappears without saying anything, plans to destroy the world

Look. I’ll admit I have not personally romanced solas. I am baffled that anyone would WANT to romance solas. I know we all love a waify little elf wizard with questionable motivations but jfc look at him like im trying not to say anything demeaning about bald dudes but he does not wear it well. Also iirc you can only romance him if you’re also an elf and then he’s weirdly rude and dismissive if your character is Into Elf Culture. Look im a huge lesbian but Iron Bull is RIGHT FUCKING THERE why would you do this.