#sola fathom

[cinni-kgallery]

Merry The Steam Rises Premiere everyone

[brooklynisher]

Age headcanons for the steambots Youngest to oldest Let's go

Below are my reasonings. There will be character specific spoilers!

Tristan and Daisy are well established to be kids kind of. The way they're talked to and talked about suggest that they are children. Especially because they talk about their childhoods like it was just a year ago. Tristan is still too young to understand how traumatic his childhood was. Daisy is similar but I think she at least sort of acknowledges that her childhood wasn't the best.

Poe and Beacon just seem younger to me. Poe I feel is very knowing for her age, but I think that's due to being raised to scam people. She probably had to grow up faster than most to be able to see everything as a money making opportunity. And Beacon, well, Beacon seems college student age. I don't remember where they were exactly, but it involved rocket-science level machinery and I can't think of many reasons they'd be there if not college. College deals with those sorts of stuff kind of.

Chimney seems like she graduated college not too long ago. Her affinity for roughhousing and drinking just gives off the vibe of a college party. I mean, where else would she find a group of friends like that?

Quincy and Wesley were hard to decide on. All the dialogue I'm getting from Leeway tells me he is a young adult. He's definitely AN adult, but he's not too old considering how new he is with certain things and the amount of times he said "I wasn't even assembled back then!" He probably would've been younger if it wasn't for Wesley. They're established to be "Old friends" which obviously they knew each other in their younger years. And because it's rather uncommon for kids or teenagers to be friends with people noticeably older than them, I figured they'd have to be in the same age range. Wesley is why they're not younger. Considering that he's been in war, has been in higher education, was there with Leeway both when the Submarine was lost AND found(In fact, he found it), I figured, he should probably have some time to do all that. 27 and 29 isn't that old anyway. Sure, I think they still qualify as young adults.

Sola and Crowbar, I had no idea for Sola, but Crowbar seems to be just a smidgen older considering how many how many crews she's been on. Not too much older because she's quite the fickle. Sola was originally going to be the same age as Leeway bc I can see some nerdy 27 year old working at an aquarium or something, but then I remembered there are like 3 people that ship her with Crowbar, and that's a lot considering the number of ships in this fandom, so I didn't want their age gap to be too crazy even if it's technically not that bad bc they're both over 25 years old.

Judy and Cornelius are both well established to be old. If the gray hair doesn't give it away, then it's the talk about their life experiences. Cornelius apparently used to be a super terrible guy, and he thinks he'll need to spend a lot of time apologizing for this. Also I think he used to serve for the Royalists in SWH?? maybe not I'm not sure. Either way, he's done a lot in his lifetime, and apparently most of it wasn't good. IIRC I don't think he feels redeemed even after defeating the Kraken. And Judy talks about her past experiences all the time. She already was something of a hero before she joined the crew and all her dialogue suggests she's super experienced so I'm giving her time to do all that.

[thebaldursmouthgazette]

Okay here’s what I was expecting from worldstate customisation:

Origins:

- gender and origin of the warden, so they could be mentioned offhand in a codex entry or a line of dialogue

- who they romanced, so it could be mentioned offhand or in a codex entry and, if Morrigan was romanced, she could have a line

- whether or not someone died killing the archdemon and who that was, to be in a codex entry or mentioned offhand, or possibly seeing their grave in weisshaupt

- whether Kieran exists and whether he had the soul of an old god, to have a follow up on the implications of that and to add depth to Morrigan

- who is ruler of ferelden, to be mentioned offhand or in a codex entry

Da2:

- gender and class of Hawke, so they can be mentioned offhand or in a codex entry and so can the appropriate sibling

- who they romanced, so it could be mentioned offhand or in a codex entry

- what happened to the surviving sibling, so it could be mentioned offhand or come up if relevant (eg if they’re a warden a possible brief cameo at weisshaupt)

- whether they’d sided with mages or templars, to come up in codex entries or offhand mentions, and to establish how Varric feels about mages because it depends on Hawkes choice

- whether they killed anders or not, so it could be mentioned in a codex entry especially if romanced

Inquisition:

- gender and race of inquisitor

- who they romanced, and the outcome of their romance partners personal quest, so that the route taken would carry through (eg pardoned blackwall vs warden blackwall)

- whether the inquisitor did the mage or templar route, and how, to be mentioned offhand or in the codex

- who was left in the fade, not necessarily to follow up on their fate but just so Varric could acknowledge if his best friend was presumed dead or not

- who is leader of orlais so that the ruler of the biggest country on the continent can be brought up at least in passing/codex entry, with possible cameo

- who drank from the well of sorrows, because yeah actually it is important which of these two characters is bound to the will of an elven god. Especially as it seems that one of them might now be said elven god. I’d expect this to have as much influence as Kieran’s existence did in dai, ie you still get to the same place but you have a slightly different route there. I cannot fathom how this isn’t relevant anymore

- who is the divine, to be mentioned in passing or in codex, but mentioned more in depth if the inquisitor romanced Cassandra who is now the divine because they have a whole situationship going on. It would come up if the divine was a mage.

- whether the inquisition disbanded or remained together as bodyguard of the divine. I honestly don’t know how this is a choice if the divine doesn’t come up

- inquisitors attitude to solas, with room for them to be very negative towards him on account of all the killing and murder and world destroying

You’d be able to customise this through character creator, and you’d be able to choose a default for each game seperately, so new players didn’t have to worry about the other games and people who only played inquisition could ignore origins and 2 and customise their inquisitor.

I don’t think this would have been unreasonable. Most of this is just for codex entries and offhand comments, and the bigger ones are inquisition choices. I get that they can’t have big effects beyond that. But the codex entries and offhand remarks are what we WANT. They’re what makes this world state ours. It would not have been difficult to incorporate most of this, and it would do so much for the depth of the game.

As it is, we have a major character who can’t even discuss whether or not she has a child because that wasn’t deemed important enough to include

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

Daily Dose of Solas-Posting Time/just a love of what love can achieve I guess?

I think a lot of people in this fan space struggle to distinguish the apparently very blurred line between "oh look, this poster likes Solas and must therefore condone murder to achieve one's goals", and "rad, she understands that this is a game in which characters do things she would never approve of in real life but given the fact that these are all tiny people on a screen she enjoys extrapolating larger themes"

And for those of you in that second camp how freaking beautiful is it that we get to see one of the oldest saddest elves go on an absolute bender and still get the chance to make things right because he has a friend/lover who knows his heart and refuses to let him hide from it any longer.

Varric disapproves of trying to save him at the end of Trespasser and clearly at some point within the next eight years goes "you know what? This sassy nerdy passionate guy was my friend once and I believe in what he could be if he gives up on the self-destructive path he's chosen"

Harding struggles to fathom what the Inquisitor sees in a disingenuous clefted egg but knows that if nothing else she trusts her friends and for all my critiques of Veilguard I do think Bellara gets a baller of a line with the "trust your heart, it is a good one" banger. Harding may not know exactly how she feels about Solas (and yeah that is so fair) but she knows the Inquisitor's heart is a good one, and if they're trying to save him, she trusts it. She chooses to believe that in an ever-darkening world there is power in restoring a little bit of light.

Your Inquisitor has the option to be like "wow this guy was my friend, occasional confidante (and potentially the most brutal love of my life), fought alongside me and guarded my life as I guarded his, and spoke so wistfully of things I did not understand at the time but now realize came from a place of deep grief. The way he's acting now stems from hurt and trauma and I know it'd be easier to just stab him with his own dagger but what if what if what if..."

And if you're able to look at his story at its simplest (if you're able to see past the broken man and into the spirit of wisdom he once was, if you will) it's really just the grandest version of pre-EA Bioware's bread and butter theme for at least a few companions per game: even the most broken people are capable of changing themselves and ultimately the world for the better if those who can reach out a hand do. And the Inquisitor only has the one hand to reach out, in fact they only have that one hand because of the very man they're hunting down, but if they can find it in themselves to extend it, damn. It brings a broken man back to his feet after an absolutely brutal confrontation of his past and helps him stand tall and face what's coming next in a way he wouldn't have been capable of otherwise. It lets Solas, who is at his absolute lowest, know that someone he strongly admires, who can relate to the challenges he once faced as the young leader of a massive movement, sees the parts of him that just want to do what's right but can't quite remember how anymore.

And to someone who hasn't fought in a war or forged the tools that wrecked entire civilizations, sure maybe that wouldn't hit as hard. But who amongst us hasn't betrayed the core of who we are to make others happy and regretted it? Who hasn't charged down a path that sent thorns digging into their skin with every step because to stop and turn back means facing everything they've done to get there? Means admitting they were wrong? Who hasn't hit a low and crawled their way back to themselves again because that hand came down and refused to let go?

To someone like that, like me, it can make all the difference in the world to see it go down on that tiny little screen.

Mmmmm there's just so much power in having even one person who sees you self-destructing at your worst and goes "not on my watch" and I love that most of these games have brought us such beautifully simple yet meaningful ideas in so many different ways.

[riverwinde13]

I just had an epiphany today that the Crestwood break-up scene is a third act break-up scene so common in romance novels. I despise third act break-ups. I don't find them to be executed well for the most part, and seeing the characters have to work their way back to each other over what is usually a trivial thing just annoys me. But...this one. Solas fell in love with Lavellan by accident. He doesn't know how to cope. He pushes her away. Then, he draws her back in. And then he can't fathom how they could stay together so he sacrifices the last piece of himself that allowed him to be close to another person. In doing so, Solas sets the stage for Lavellan to save him from himself. These two will figure out how to overcome major adversity together rather than Solas attempting it on his own. In saving Lavellan during Trespasser, he sowed the seeds to his own undoing. He knows they are better together. He just can't see how to make it work at that point. So he gives up. And he walks away.

Gah...I need more third act break-ups that work just so well. Like THIS is the whole point of the trope.

[krastbannert]

Having a rare dose of Thoughts I want to Share while playing Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

I got to the third cutscene where you talk to Solas in the weird Fade-That's-Not-The-Fade place, and it occurred to me: Solas is probably one of the only people in the world who knows what Rook is going through.

Rook is leading an unwinnable battle against people of unimaginable power, power they can't even hope to come close to matching, just like Solas did thousands of years before. They're staring in the face of horrors they can't even imagine, power that can reshape the world in hours, and they have no real counter, nothing except bad choices.

And yes, maybe Rook doesn't like Solas. Maybe they hate him for trying to tear down the Veil, for trying to wreck their life and their world and not showing the slightest bit of remorse. Maybe Solas hates him for ruining his plan that had been decades in the making, maybe Solas is frustrated because he's trapped in a prison of his own creation. Maybe they really, really do not want to see each other.

But maybe...maybe every time Rook sleeps (when they do sleep, because they don't want to see Solas, because they don't want to listen to his ideas or his half truths), maybe they see Solas. Maybe at some point, out of sheer boredom, they spend more time either of them think they should talking to each other. Maybe at first it starts as arguments. Then maybe it becomes debates. Then maybe it becomes conversations, and ideas, and maybe even a chuckle, now and then.

Maybe they're in a horrible situation, but they're the only people either of them can talk to who have been in a situation like this. And maybe Solas decides that Rook, this young kid who's trapped in a horrible situation by circumstances so far out of their control that he can't even begin to fathom how they got there, really isn't so bad. Maybe he decides that even if Rook ruined his plan...he can help them deal with the Gods.

Maybe they don't become friends. But Solas and Rook...I think they reach an understanding. And I think they can't put a name to it, but in some weird way, they trust each other, and they know that if one of them needs it, they can talk to the other, at least for a little while.

[dardisorange-blog]

On a Cage of Regret

I have conferred with Vorgoth and Myrna, and our extended notes on your experience within Regret's grasp are available. But as your friend, I offer a gentle summary.

Solas could not escape the cage he built until he traded places with you. That suggests the regret at the core of the cage, however personal it felt, was also his. He recognized the impact of Varric's fate on you because he felt it as well.

It was this similarity that he manipulated, possible in your earliest conversations. The initial denial-for your mind to retreat from the shock of the moment-no one could fault you for that. But Solas capitalised on it, and his treatment echoes an ancient blood magic we still cannot fathom.

I would offer, however, that your escape shows the true difference in how you and Solas suffered this regret. Solas escaped through evasion. In many ways, he addressed Varric's fate as he did the problem of the Fade: a puzzle to be navigated or, where possible, denied.

But when you were confronted with the truth, you moved-as you said-forward. And in doing so, your chains of regret went slack.

An immortal life founded in denial risks becoming an endless collection of loss. It would appear that, in the shadow of eternity, a god might regret but cannot accept.

I pity him.

- A note from Emmrich

----

A bugged codex after the reveal of Varric's fate

I ugly cried...

[maintitle]

One thing I don't think gets talked enough about with the whole Solas/Morrigan tension is that Solas seemingly is well aware of who Morrigan is.

While yes, Morrigan deserves the backtalk that she gets from Solas in these scenes, I think it's telling of what Solas believes about Morrigan that he responds so vitriolically. What we know about Mythal and Solas' relationship is that, despite their differences, they had a very close relationship, akin to something maternal or romantic in their own way. Yet, when confronted with a woman whom he can easily deduce is her daughter, he treats her with an unrivaled scourn. It's possible that Solas DIDN'T know who Morrigan was until the Eluvian incident, but considering they both bear similar features and considering just how obsessed Morrigan was with the Well (largely because of Flemeth's grooming of her) he might well have known.

I suspect something might be true of Solas that is the opposite of how the player feels; Solas can't accept the reality of Morrigan's confrontational relationship with her Mother, because to do so would be to admit that Mythal is different than who he once knew. She might have been a maternal figure in ancient Arlathan, but to Morrigan she was a monster who abused her and groomed her to be a perfect child, built to do exactly what Mythal would want and not to wander outside of that, raised to be ruthless and cold. I wonder if, from Solas' perspective, those attributes are either too close to a Mythal he doesn't want to believe exists despite having seen that side of her, or is a side of her that grew far worse after they were sealed in the Beyond, and therefor Solas can't fathom that behavior.

Of course it really could just be ego meeting ego, a quiet god annoyed with a humansplaining mage assuming to know all. But I have to wonder if that only compounded his frustrations, but wasn't the basis of it.

[inquisitorsenchanters]

Trembling fingertips brushed past Solas’s cheek as his shoulders fell, a deep yearning settling in his aching chest as he slumped into his herald. Her breathing sounded in his ear, the cool metal of her armor pressing into his skin as he peered down at the woman pressed against him.

“I trust you,” she repeats, voice firm and gaze unwavering.

Solas was a controlled man. Keeping up a front, disregarding his innate desires, those were easy things for him, except for when it came to her. The way Ellana trembled against him and her magic soared in his ears with a strange unfounded excitement sent his mind into an almost animalistic frenzy.

He needed her to the fullest extent of the word. He longed for her in every way their forms could possibly exist. He thought of her wild magic in the fade, her toothy grin and loud laughter in his ears when he met her clan, and before he could even begin to fathom keeping his distance from her, Solas’s hand slid down her waist and around to the small of her back.

Ellana’s breath caught in her throat, the emerald of her eyes sparkling with want even as she let out a surprised gasp of “Solas-“

“Do not,” Solas breathes as he surged forward, capturing his herald’s lips in his own. His free hand slid to the back of her head, cupping it gently as her cold fingertips rested on his chest, her body melting into his.

He would find another way to keep the world together if it meant he get to keep Ellana by his side.

He would even tear down the fade if it stood in his way.

-

I colored it guys-

[hustlemeanokay]

Some rando thoughts about Solas in Veilguard. About how I think they did such a great job allowing him to be able to fit a lot of headcanons out there. Spoilery so it's below the cut.

So. If you've played through DA:Ve (I refuse to call it anything else in acronyms because I think that is the funniest one ever) - then you know that Solas began life as a Spirit of Wisdom. And if you're well versed on spirits in the DA canon - then you know that spirits will mirror the world around them / become what is expected of them depending on whoever is encountering them. They become what you expect. And I think, personally, they did such a good job of this when it comes to Solas in the game.

Yes, I know - they laid down such a rigid Inquisitor backstory for him and I do agree with the fact that they could have allowed players to be like "no, actually, my Inquisitor loathed Solas and Solas loathed them." but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. So, they wanted the Inquisitor to have at least been on friendly terms with Solas. (If you select they vowed to stop Solas, he says they were friendly once or something along those lines and if they say they vowed to save Solas, Solas will say he still considers them a dear friend or something like that - I can't remember the exact dialogue). And yes - it is a better story if the Inquisitor and him were in a relationship. It adds another layer of awe and tragedy. Because this dude is hella old and here he is, falling in love with a mortal that he now knowingly puts in mortal danger because he has to fix his mistakes. I mean, we can (and have) go into great lengths about it.

But! What I think they did so well is that Solas... for all his past deeds, for ill or good, will be whatever you want him to be in the end. If you want Solas to be this vulnerable spirit who is just out there doing his best, making choices he has no idea how to make, with no context, with no idea how to be mortal because the dude takes thousands x thousands of years long naps - he'll be that. If you want Solas to be Fen'harel - hell bent on burning the world - an advisory, an asshole who will straight up finally say that he is a god? He'll be that.

Up until this point, we've only known the gentle Solas. The apostate hobo who gawks at an Inquisitor who punches him like he couldn't fathom such violence though he himself has done untold atrocities in the past. But here? In the Veilguard? We can witness him straight up killing a friend (accidently but still) and blatantly manipulating another person. And I mean, I can't be the only one who was like "dude, shut up" during the only time you get to have him along side you fighting and he's going on and on and on about how good Rook is at being the one to fight this fight. (Insert Rook's "I will pay real gold if he'll shut up" about Elgar'nan.)

I mean, Solas is almost painfully transparent towards the end. But, even still - he can be saved. Granted, the relationship with the Inquisitor has to exist but still - that just makes a certain amount of sense. Because he'd need another something drastic there to really change his course. I've put it in countless fics of mine, often said by Varric. You don't save the world for the world, you save it for the people in it. And Solas will have had one meaningful relationship with one person still living. And that would be the Inquisitor. And friendship is fleeting - he's had friends. Many of them over the years. Some who he had never dreamed would have betrayed him (Mythal) and others he's betrayed (the list is endless). But he's only ever had one love. No matter if you think him and Mythal had a thing (they didn't, sorry Taash).

ANYWAY, that's not the point - the point is that all the interactions you can have with Solas, you can mold him into whatever it is you've HC'd him as, really. He can be a little smart-assy, a little sassy, a little funny, a little humble, a little joyful, a little bit of a hero (he's not a really good one though, poor guy), a little bit of a protector, a little bit of a total asshole, a little bit of a bad guy, etc, etc. And I think they did that so well. They did it without it feeling forced or fake (except those praises he did for Rook there at the end but I think that was more about us knowing that he was tricking Rook in real time).

So, yeah - I'm just glad they didn't lock it down into Solas is this and nothing more type narrative.

[persuasion-check]

Veilguard endgame spoilers

I knew it was coming and it still broke me. </3 Then I realized Damian would have felt obligated to write home before the final battle... so that's how I spent the rest of my evening.

“Oh, one more thing, kid. Give your mom a big bear hug from me when you see her. I think it'll do you both good.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Letter from Damian "Rook" Mercar-Hawke to Amelia Hawke

Mama,

Sorry that I haven’t been writing. You know more than most how this whole “hero” thing can get overwhelming quickly. For the past couple of months it’s been one unbelievable thing after the other. There’s so many stories I want to tell you and everyone back home. But that’s unfortunately not what this letter is for. There’s no easy way to say it, and I hope someone else has told you by now, but – Varric is dead.

When we stopped Solas' ritual it backfired and I hit my head. When I woke up afterwards Varric was in the next bed over in the infirmary, injured but alive, so I thought at the time. I’m not sure if it was a hallucination of my own mind, unable to deal with losing him, or if Solas was manipulating me with visions of him from the start. I’ve been seeing him convalescing in there, and having daily chats with him, this whole time. I should have known. I’ve… become close with someone here, a qunari friend of Isabela’s, and he wasn’t teasing me nearly enough about it. Or trying to embarrass me in front of them. I thought he was just tired and healing.

Weeks later, right after we finally managed to kill one of the blighted Evanuris, Solas managed to swap places with me, locking me in the fade in a prison full of my own regrets. His regrets have been eating away at him for thousands of years, he couldn’t fathom how someone could escape theirs. It was here I had to finally face the fact that Varric is gone. I didn’t want to accept it at first. My mind just froze for, what felt like a few moments but in the fade who knows how long it actually was. Not only because he was so important to me, but because of how important he is to so many people, perhaps you most of all Mama.

Thankfully, Varric (His spirit? My memory of him?) was there to help me come to terms with it and to remind me and reassure me that there was nothing I could have done differently that would have had a better outcome. Just before my team was able to pull me out of the Fade, he told me to give you a ‘big bear hug’ when I see you next and I certainly plan to honor that wish as soon as I can.

In the morning we gather our allies and head to Minrathous to finish what we started. I really think we can do it, Mama. We’ve got a good team and strong allies. Hopefully by the time this letter reaches you there will already be news of our victory spreading. Tonight I’m still pretty terrified though. Part of me wishes you and Papa could be here. I’d love to fight alongside you both and after dealing with Elgar’nan’s bullshit all these weeks, I’d so love to see Papa rip his blighted heart right out. But mostly I’m glad you’re far away from the center of all this. My team and I will take care of it. We lost people in the last battle, so we’ve got a score to settle.

Please give Papa, Evie, Aunt Beth, Merrill, and all the rest my love. You all try your best to stay safe and I’ll do my best to end this.

With love,

Damian

[lavellane]

solara ending musings

the of solas leaving to "soothe the titans anger" was such a random element of Any Ending At All that i had never anticipated obviously lol but actually it works so much for ashara tbh and makes it easier for me to justify even giving her a happy ending with him. she would to come with him ! because she wants to put her own anger to bed too lol

theres also the "while i still draw breath" element and i think its genuinely just pragmatic that someone come with him to ensure that keeps happening. and im thinking abt the Point of the dalish Keepers/firsts... "to guard the people against the dread wolf" . the idea of her leaving to guard the dread wolf FOR the people is crazy. present-day bioware could not even fathom the connections to their own lore that i have made in the last twelve hours lol

and the main chunk of this which makes me so happy relates to her spirit comparison a la wisdom/pride as ive talked abt before. hers would be love/hate. she loves so so so deeply and her main motivation is her yearning for connection and love and family and friends and whatnot. and the lack of that is what turned her so bitter so early. shes always been disconnected with herself and the ''love'' aspect which is who she truly IS.. bc love was rarely offered to her. and so its either love or hate with her lol she doesnt even know what moderation is !!! does she look moderate to you!!

and thats what i love so much abt this vague "soothing the titans thing". because she would go with him for that even if she didnt forgive him. she would go because she wants to soothe her own anger too. its a great little Thing i can do a lot with bc solas is off to face his regrets and truly ashara doesnt have a lot of regrets ironically. but she does have anger. so it would help her too.

[breadedsinner]

I think maybe Olrun has a martyr complex and that’s why she can’t fathom Solas’s decisions, even as she’s exploring his memories.

She’s willing to do what she does because worse case scenario, she dies.

[shanaraharlyah]

Whatever It Takes

Setting: Dragon Age Inquisition Trespasser

Pairing: Cassandra Pentagast x Hellendil Lavellan

Trigger Warnings: Blood, Dismemberment

Word Count: 952

A short blurb to go with the included renders of my third Inquisitor, Hellendil, and his chosen love interest, Cassandra (boy truly has a hard time making decisions on things, relationships included). Set during the Trespasser DLC in between ending scenes. Contains spoilers if you haven't completed the DLC.

Down on one knee before the towering eluvian, Hellendil clutches his staff, fighting to keep himself upright. He wishes he could follow Solas through the mirror and convince him to stop, but he's just too weak. The anchor has taken its toll and even though it is gone now, he needs a moment to regain his strength. He knows Solas will be long gone by the time he recovers enough to follow. The ancient elf knew exactly where each of these eluvians led and how they worked. He will be impossible to track. The inquisitor takes a deep breath. And another.

Whatever spell Solas used to sever his arm and prevent the anchor from killing him had also cauterized the wound. What remains of his arm continues to throb, only a small amount of blood still oozing and dripping onto the stone slabs of the ancient ruin. He lets out a sigh and summons his strength to pull himself up. Using his staff for support, he cautiously descends the stairs, weaving his way around the petrified qunari. He flinches as he passes the first one, the wound still fresh. Before reaching the inner sanctum, he was forced to take down The Iron Bull, who remained loyal to the Ben-Hassrath and turned on him and his companions.

He wonders just how many mistakes and ill- advised choices he'd made over the course of the last three years. His heart aches at the thought. Maybe the Arl was right. Maybe the Inquisition should be disbanded. But he didn't want to make that choice alone. Especially after everything that's happened the last few days. He needed time to think and someone to talk to.

When he reaches the landing, he looks up at the eluvian that will take him back to his friends, his energy nearly spent. As he pushes on through the archway, he drops the staff and grasps the frame of the mirror to keep himself from falling. He groans and grits his teeth as the impact jars his injured arm.

Across the courtyard, his companions hear the scuffle and groan, and look in his direction. "Hellendil!" Cassandra gasps, and quickly closes the distance between them.

At the sound of her approach, he lets go of the eluvian and stumbles into her arms, clinging to her as if he thought he would never see her again. She holds him close as he buries his face in the crook of her neck. "Maker! What happened!?" she whispers, the concern in her voice undeniable.

"I couldn't stop him," he replies, his brow furrowed with pain and disappointment that he couldn't convince the man he'd called friend to abandon his quest.

Cassandra lowers him to the ground and kneels beside him, gently squeezing his thigh. "He did this to you?"

He reaches for her and squeezes her arm, while catching her gaze, "He prevented the anchor from killing me. You have me now for as long as it takes for him to institute his plan, unless we can find a way to stop him." He pauses, knowing how the information he's about to share will sound. There is a pleading look in his eyes as he continues, "They are real, Cassandra. The elven gods are real, and Solas is one of them."

She tries to suppress an incredulous look, but fails. "You are weak and delusional. We must get you back to the Winter Palace and a healer."

"You're right. I do need to see a healer, but this is the truth, Cassandra." His hand moves to cup her cheek while his thumb ghosts over her cheek bone. He loves her dearly, but he knows her devotion to the Maker is making it hard for her to fathom the truth he's revealing. "I've collected enough information here and at the Temple of Mythal to prove it. They weren't some abstract concept, beings above and beyond us, but real people who our ancestors devoted themselves to. Solas was one and he intends to attempt to restore the world to what it was before he bound his fellows. These ruins, temples were built by his followers. You've seen the information we've uncovered here. It's not a trick or a fairy tale.

"Whether you believe me or not, we need to find a way to stop him or convince him to stop before he destroys this world. The anchor. It's what he used millenia ago to separate the fade from the waking world. He's going to use it to tear down the veil. If the breach is any indication of what will happen, the entire world will be thrown into chaos."

Shock is written across her face at this revelation. When she recovers, Cassandra studies his face. She can see that he is both physically and emotionally drained from everything they've been through these past few days. And that he's not lying. She doesn't know how to process what he's told her. She reaches for him, caressing his cheek. He leans into her touch and kisses her palm. Her stoic look melts and she embraces him, fingers curling in his long locks. "I don't know what all of this means, but I am with you. Whatever Solas is, we can't let him succeed. Whatever it takes."

A soft smile brightens his face as he pulls her closer, no small feat considering the armor she's wearing and his weakened state.  “Whatever it takes,” he echoes, his resolve bolstered by her support.  He inhales sharply and allows himself to rest there in her arms.  They will need to get moving soon, but right now he needed a moment to breathe and take comfort in his beloved’s strength.

[yarpharp]

So because I am strange and always fascinated by posing cultural questions when it comes to creating crossover fanfiction, I had this wild thought worm recently for no reason: If you dumped Link (Legend of Zelda) into Thedas (Dragon Age), how the fuck would everyone in Thedas react to him?

I mean, depending on how you interpret Link's character, he doesn't talk. At all. I've always been of the opinion he speaks via some form of generalized Sign Language, but Why Would Thedas Share Any Common Signs? And who's to say there IS a formalized sign language in Thedas? Maybe there is, but it's technically a dead language now. The Elvhenan were fucked up but extremely modernized, so maybe they did have a Sign Language. Maybe the Dalish still have a lot of it, because Sign is a great way to silently communicate and Not Alert The Asshole Shemlen.

Either way, Link doesn't talk. And even if he can communicate via Sign Language, I highly doubt Hylian sign is gonna be understood. So there's one issue.

Secondly: Hylians don't look exactly like Theodosian elves. Modern elves of Thedas are scrawny and small but not too small; eyes bigger than a human and with cat-like night vision. Link? Link is canonically 5'2" and quite fit. Not skinny built and quite healthy, generally soft nonbinary features, bright eyes (at least in recent games; Link's got big fucking blues that almost glow for a nice contrast in TotK/BotW), pointy but not super pointy ears. Compared to Theodosian elves which are designed to look "distinctly fantastically different" in comparison to humans, Link just looks like a very short human with elf ears. So people might get a bit baffled at his looks; he's elfy but to the left.

Third: Hyrule isn't anti-magic. Magic is so inherently tied into everything in all the Legend of Zelda games, we the players just accept it. Link can wield magic rods and staves with no issue. Gerudo can use fire magic or summon lightning storms. Link can use magical items to summon winds, or devices that can magically transport him far distances. Rito can summon gales instinctually. Zora have water/ice magic and healing powers. If Link dodges correctly, he can seemingly slow time for a moment to deal a flurry attack. He uses Rauru's arm's magical abilities without blinking. The Master Sword is literally the ultimate magical item with a spirit inside of it.

Can you imagine Link losing his weapon in battle and just picking up a staff without thinking, but WHOOPS Thedas is kinda religiously anti-magic and someone is watching him just SUDDENLY THROWING ICE SPELLS (thinking about those magic staffs in BotW/TotK with the default AoE ice spell) without any hesitation? That is Not Normal for them like it is for Link. And Link himself like... Serves a powerful princess with the bloodline of a goddess. She literally tosses around light magic and time magic and shit. He probably can't begin to fathom a society that shuns something that so integral to Hyrule/Hyrule's safety in the face of Ganondorf's machinations.

Idk this was a bizarre thought worm I had. Maybe I will write a fanfic. Maybe I won't. It's interesting to think about in an extremely nerdy way, lol.

(also Link would HATE Solas but LOVE The Iron Bull and The Chargers. Prove me wrong, I dare you.)

[magebastard]

and if we’re talking abt fan service and being annoying here i will say

as they’re all like SILENTLY walking back to start climbing back down to minrathous after solas (and rome) are gone, loua will walk next to morrigan and quietly say “do you care if the world knows your name?”

and morrigan would say sth like “I rarely have control over such things. Hence, my usual indifference”

and loua would say “I will tell the world—anyone who will listen that you saved us all, morrigan. you and the inquisitor both. You may not care for paltry thanks, but you’re a hero in ways many couldn’t fathom.”

And I don’t think morrigan gives her an answer but she is v v reminded of arana tabris in that moment and she says “thank you, rook.” and there’s NO trace of that wise, even figure she cut when speaking to loua of mythal. it sounds very much like someone who is reckoning with being observed and is about to say something silly like “live well. Live gloriously.”