#will do solas next!

[anders95theses]

Now I’m interested about the other big two.

I’m keeping the answer options the same as the first one! Again, the question is not if you condone his actions, but if you think his actions count as betrayal.

[evanhereonearth]

Solas, outnumbered seven to one, overpowered by a lot more than that, betrayed by his best friend Mythal who bound him to her service and coerced him into leaving the Fade and coerced him into making a weapon that would make an entire people tranquil to stop the war she started AND ignored him when he said it would create *checks notes* a blight and made him do it anyway. Solas, facing seven blighted wannabe gods who turned on his best abusive friend Mythal when she finally stood up to them after CENTURIES of him begging her to do just that and starting a rebellion to free all their multitudes of slaves: *creates the veil, imprisons the blight and the Evanuris, and preserves all life in Thedas* World: FUCK THE DREAD WOLF, GOD OF TREACHERY AND LIES *worships the Evanuris and their dragon thralls*

Solas: zzzzzzzzzz (knocked out cold from saving the world for LITERALLY SEVERAL MILLENNIA MORE)

Tevinter: *razes what's left of Elvhenan, steals all their magic, enslaves the elven people for entire length of Solas's world-saving-induced coma*

Also Tevinter: *breaks into the fucking black city and brings out the blight*

Also also Tevinter: *uses so much blood magic that the veil ends up in tatters*

The Blight: >:)

World: fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck *throws everything they can at the blight, including--*checks notes again*--the blight

Orlais: you know what sucks? elves. let's kill them all

Ferelden: good shout, mes amis

Orlais: you know what also sucks? mages. put them in prisons.

Ferelden: you're full of good ideas when you're not invading us

Free Marches: MAGE PRISON, YOU SAY?

Orlais: add templars who can decide to murder them or make them tranquil on a whim at any moment

Ferelden and Free Marches: *frantically taking notes*

Rivain and Nevarra: we're just going to be...over here...

Blights 1-5: i've got a great idea i've got a great idea

Blights 1-5 after a while: my great idea didn't work :(

Archdemons 1-5: ....... :(

Evanuris 1-5: ......... :(

Solas, waking up in 9:40ish Dragon: what the...WHAT THE EVERLOVING FUCKING FUCK. they can just KILL MAGE CHILDREN? AND PURGE ALIENAGES? AND ALMOST EVERY ELF IN TEVINTER IS A SLAVE? *absolutely rabid, seeks out the Dalish, as remnants of his people*

The Dalish, at Solas: *ARROWS*

Solas: ......fuck this shit, fuck all of this shit, fuck these tyrants in particular, fuck this fucking...UGH

The veil, after all this: (o.O:0oO.)

The remaining blighted Evanuris and the 99% of blight that did not escape: :)

Solas: well, that is a problem, going to need to address that ASAP, but turns out millennia of coma doesn't leave a spirit spry

Corypheus, busting out of warden jail: I AM FREE

Solas: hm, could kill that guy letting him unlock my orb, since he broke into my blight prison in the first place and defo deserves dying

Corypheus: veil needs a certain je ne sais quoi, a...bigger hole. i will make one.

Wardens: yes, good plan, blighted magister man. we are in control of the blight inside us and also heroes *in death, sacrifice = divine justinia's ritual sacrifice under thrall*

The veil:

O

Corypheus: >:( but like...not dead

Solas: well, i did not see that coming

Lavellan: *in chains, threatened with execution*

humans: KNIFE EAR >:(

Lavellan: *hole in the sky, hole in her memories, hole in her fucking hand* fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck, wait, this hole in my hand helps close holes in the SKY

Solas: *.* It seems you hold the key to our salvation

Lavellan: i'm sorry what

humans: HERALD OF ANDRASTE!!!!!!!! *falls to knees*

Lavellan: I'M SORRY WHAT

Chantry: *choking in the corner*

Cassandra: time for you to decide the fate of the world

Lavellan: I'M. SORRY. WHAT???????? you know what? fine. *stops alexius from blood magicking his way through redcliffe and time itself, gets punted into a hellscape of nightmares and makes it back with the help of a rebel tevinter mage* the mages i rescued from becoming probable slaves to tevinter are our allies and dorian is my new best friend for being the only reason i made it back alive and the whole world didn't die *dabs*

Cassandra: >:(

Mother Giselle: >:(

Lavellan: ffs

Corypheus: *dragon temper tantrum*

Lavellan: *somehow escapes both dragon and Corypheus, trudges through blizzard, collapses*

Mother Giselle: *.* I FEEL A SONG COMING ON

Literally everyone but Solas: *falls to their knees*

Solas: a word?

Lavellan: OH THANK HEAVENS

Solas: these people are wack and aren't going to like that Corypheus is using elven magic *cough*, they're a hairsbreadth from executing us at all moments lol, btw here's a castle, you know, for you cos i highkey see myself in you and god i'm so fucking lonely

Lavellan: me too but wait, what the fuck is happening. you know what? fuck it. solas, what if we kissed,,, in the fade

Solas: what IF we kissed,,, in the fade *fade tongue*

Solas: ...you continue to surprise me. you show a wisdom i have not seen...since my deepest journeys into the fade!

Lavellan: don't you dare walk away from me now

Solas: okay vhenan i stay

Vivienne: this is a DEMON and NOT A PET

Lavellan: *blinks* right, no, this spirit kid who is the literal only reason we escaped Haven alive is my son now. if he hadn't read roderick's mind we'd all be avalanched or blighted dragoned, so SUCK IT UP

Vivienne: >:(

Cassandra: >:(

Sera: >:(

Bull: >:(

Varric: >:(

Solas: :D

Wardens: btw we're doing blood magic and raising an army of demons. not really our fault but also not NOT our fault? idk, blight in the blood, morally grey area. get it? grey...war--never mind, we'll be at adamant xoxo

Cullen: lotsa soldiers gonna die

Lavellan: fuck, is there another choice?

Advisors: ...no

Cory's dragon: *burninating the adamant, burninating the wardens, burninating all the people and this crumbling ROCKY BRIIIIIIDGE! CRUMBLING ROCKY BRIDGEEEEE*

Lavellan, flying through the air hundreds of feet towards the ground: fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck *opens a rift into the fade*

Everyone but Solas: FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK WE'RE IN THE FADE

Solas: we're in the FADE!!!!!

Lavellan, after escaping the nightmare's lair: glad half the team is pissed at me, what's next, an imperial ball? how hard can that be?

Orlesians: they invited an ELF SAVAGE >:(

Lavellan: you know what, fuck this and fuck Celene for genociding the entire Halamshiral alienage and fuck you, Gaspard, you can be Briala's little French Orlesian bulldog

Half the Inquisition: *shocked pikachu*

Morrigan: allow me to shemsplain all of elven history to everyone, including Solas, yourself, and all the ancient elves in this temple

Lavellan: you know what? okay. *rubs at Mythal's vallaslin, makes eyes real big* who is this "Mythal"

Solas: *choking in the corner*

Cassandra, muttering: i do not want to do a ritual to a false god

Morrigan: lemme have the well, lemme have it, i deserve it more than you

Lavellan: ...abso-fucking-lutely not *drinks from the well out of pure spite*

Solas: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, VHENAN

Lavellan: idk vhenan, this world sucks and i wanna make it better and i love you

Solas: ...you are everything and you inspire me, hurry, i need to tell you i'm the dread wolf but am going to break up with you and remove your slave markings instead and btw they're basically a drawing of me in my true form and honestly, this whole thing is real fucked up and you're the only real person in my entire life who sees me

Lavellan: wait what

Solas: i'm bad and don't deserve you and had to harden my heart to save the world before and everyone hated me for it so i'm projecting when i say you must harden your heart to a cutting edge to kill Corypheus, I'll explain after we kill him

Lavellan: ...oh yeah guess we should do that but I gotta go meet Mythal first

Solas: wait what

Mythal: *is Morrigan's mum, is only mostly dead, also 100% cool with overriding her servants' will entirely for shits and giggles, 0/10 do not trust* i'll help you if you fight this dragon lol

Morrigan: *choking in the corner*

Corypheus: *has a mahoosive temper tantrum when Mythal's pet dragon kills his pet dragon, dies*

Solas: ;-; ilu, inky, what we had was real but i'm afraid to do to you what Mythal did to me. I MUST AWAY

Lavellan: ....

World: HERALD OF ANDRASTE!!!!!!!!!!!!*

*some restrictions may apply, like in a couple years we're going to forget everything you did and be real mad at you

Solas, somewhere: been there, vhenan

World, two years later: :D we're here to hate you, right on schedule

Qunari: you are in need of the gentle path. therefore, we are coming to kill you all

Solas: like hell you will. but come to think of it, this is a good excuse to see vhenan again

Lavellan's arm: TIME TO DIE

Solas: defo another good excuse to see vhenan again. probs should study that arm anyway

Lavellan, after several Qunari too many: CAN ANYTHING IN THIS FUCKING WORLD STAY FIXED

Inquisition, including Divine Victoria: *shocked pikachu*

Lavellan: i'm going back through the fucking looking glass to talk to some ancient elven sentinels with Mythal's magic whisper well, they're the only fucking thing that makes sense here

Qunari: *destroying everything in sight but getting hounded by the dread wolf at every step*

Lavellan, whose arm is trying to kill her but is following Qunari through her own people's magic mirror world: ...i think i'm in love with the dread wolf

Companions: pfffffft

Cole: :D YES, YOU ARE AND HE LOVES YOU TOO

Lavellan: thank god i have you, cole, my spirit son

Solas, in a statuary garden of petrified Qunari: i suspect you have questions

Lavellan: honestly, fen'harel, not really

Solas: *shocked pikachu* well done

Lavellan: i'm real tired and you could have just trusted me back in Crestwood.

Solas: this world is broken, i must tear down the veil

Lavellan: yep, i'm one "knife ear" away from putting a knife in the next human's ear who says it tbh, i'd rather live in the fade with you and my spirit son, can i help you pls vhenan

Solas: ...no

Lavellan: wtf

Solas, internally panicking because he followed Mythal wherever she went and she dragged him to literal hell and trauma and now his one true love is offering to follow him while he probably makes things worse again: absolutely not, no, but i love you forever

Lavellan's arm: >:(

Solas: ...right, i gotta take that

Lavellan: wait what

Solas: i will never forget you *trundles through mirror with severed arm*

Lavellan: oh fuck my entire life, you know what, Ferelden and Orlais? Inquisition is no more, i'm going on sabbatical to Stone Bear Hold where at least people are not insane and Storvacker loves me, and then i'm going home to the castle vhenan gave me. don't call me. byeeee

ten years later

Varric: gonna go stop Solas, who invented the veil and is From Fade, from doing things i don't understand, wish me luck, inky

Lavellan: WAIT ONE GODDAMNED SECOND I'M COMING WITH YOU

Varric: no <3 i found a complete rando who will fuck everything up

Rook: hey, what if i drop a statue on this nuclear arsenal protecting the biggest biological weapon of mass destruction known to all of thedas? that'll help

Neve, a literal mage who should know even small rituals can blow up and kill you: probs not a good idea but Varric, a dwarf who knows nothing about magic or the veil or the Fade whatsoever says this ritual must be stopped At All Costs By Any Means Necessary so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Varric: Solas I will shoot you with Bianca

Solas: ffs stop *breaks Bianca*

Varric: can you promise me your way is better

Solas: i know way better than to make promises like that, have you seen this world???

Varric: GOTCHA, YOU LYING LIAR WHO LIES

Rook: TIIIIIIIIIIIIIMBERRRRRRR

Varric: defo going to attack the guy whose millennia of existence has been centred on this massive magical problem i do not even comprehend a little after waiting ten years to ask a single question about it when he'd already got going *tries to stab Solas*

Solas, feeling everything he's spent all of world history protecting the world from breaking out of jail: turns the dagger and stabs Varric instead

Elgar'nan: >:)

Ghilan'nain: >:)

Solas: oh for fucking FUCK'S SA--*exit, stage Fade Jail*

Blight: >:)

Rook: oops

Neve and Harding: omg this could not possibly be our fault at all, not even a little. it's Solas's fault, the lying liar who lies

Lavellan: i will not murder this stupid child, i will not murder this stupid child, i will not murder this stupid child

Morrigan: we have to help the stupid child

Lavellan: we have to help the stupid child

Morrigan and Lavellan: *look at each other*

Lavellan: when this is over, i stg--

Morrigan, who has millennia of memories of Mythal abusing Solas and decades of Flemythal abusing her: yeah no i will throw you a going away party and take care of Dorian for you and help you get your boyfriend back and no way will i fight him, this is actually ridiculous

Ferelden, Orlais, and the Free Marches, all of whom turned on Lavellan ten years ago: hELP help HELP there's BLIIIIIGHT

Lavellan to Leliana: you owe me a hundred gold

Leliana: *hands over a solid gold nug*

Ferelden: X_X

Orlais: X_X

Free Marches: X_X

Lavellan: *grits teeth* i better go meet with rook

Rook: andaran atish'an, honoured inquisitor

Lavellan: yo. sure would be nice to be meeting without our gods, you know, destroying absolutely everything i've spent a quarter of my life protecting and rebuilding after the last apocalypse but here we are i guess

Morrigan: *smirks at shade*

Northern Thedas: ROOK IS THE BEST

Southern Thedas: is rook tho

Ghilan'nain: muahahaha i have so many drago---nooo you killed my dragons and i am BLEEDING LIKE A MORTAL PIECE OF MORTAL SCUM

Elgar'nan: my dragon used to be bigger :(

Ghilan'nain: your dragon's fine

Elgar'nan: Ghilly, make it bigger again

Ghilan'nain: can't, too sad. blood. :(

Southern Thedas: *throwing nugs at blight* hELP

Lavellan, with half of Southern Thedas crammed into skyhold: thanks for the castle, vhenan, we'd all literally be dead without it, again

Morrigan: erm, Inky? seems everyone's telling Rook Solas is just a big monster lying liar who lies and blaming him for everything

Lavellan: that's what people do, blame Solas. had a bad day? blame Solas. Mythal wants to sever the titans' dreams? Blame Solas. Rashvine nettle sting? Blame Solas. Bring the veil 5/7 or so of the way down themselves after releasing the blight? Blame Solas. Rook let the gods out? Blame Solas

Morrigan: Inky.

Lavellan: you want me to go pour out my heart to the person who imprisoned vhenan and let out Ghilan'nain, Mother of Tentacles, and Elgar'nan "My Dragon is Bigger than Your Dragon" First and Worst of the Evanuris, don't you

Morrigan: yee

Lavellan: FINE but you better spill every ounce of tea you've got on the stupid child before i go because i need to at least make rook squirm a LITTLE

Morrigan: i thought you'd never ask

Elgar'nan: you won't make my dragon bigger??? fine i'll move the moon instead

Northern Thedas: i'm sorry what

Anyone at sea anywhere on the planet: I'M SORRY WHAT

Ghilan'nain: *throws a temper tantrum and dies*

Elgar'nan: >:(

Solas: fuck this shit, i'm getting out of Fade Jail

Rook: :(

Minrathous: fuck fuck fuck FUCK fuck fuck fuck FUCK FUCK FUCK

Solas: hello, people who enslaved my people for millennia, i am here to save the day i guess

Minrathous, slapping blight tentacles out of their faces: ...honestly thank you

Solas: wait what

Rook: I ESCAPE FADE JAIL SOLAS YOU BASTARD LYING LIAR WHO LIES

Lavellan: i will not murder the stupid child, i will not murder the stupid child, i will not murder the stupid child

Solas: you know what, fair play, here's the dagger, there's elgar'nan, ima bite his dragon, you go have a great time. have fun storming the blight tentacle

Venatori, poster children for the Leopards Who Eat People's Faces Party: nooo the leopards keep eating our faces

Minrathous: wow who could have possibly predicted that

Everyone who has ever met a Venatori: yes, yes, very sad

Elgar'nan, eating every face in the magesterium and effectively cleansing Tevinter of the worst of its monsters in one fell swoop: ah, rook, you can't kill me, i have the biggest dragon ever to dragon

Dread Wolf: honestly he's kinda not wrong, this dragon is a bastard and i am like a fifth of its size and getting p tired, ngl

Rook's Blighted Companion: welp gonnae put this trauma to use for the greater good. go go gadget blight tentacles, release the Dread Pupper

Elgar'nan: *shocked pikachu*

Dread Wolf: *chomp*

Elgar'nan: *throws a temper tantrum and dies*

Solas: oh ffs finally

Rook: not so fast

Solas: oh ffs here we fucking go

Rook: i don't actually want to fight you

Solas: wait, what

Rook: i think this is all my fault but everyone keeps telling me i'm the hero and that's fucked up. and your vhenan, she's nice to me, no one really else is, i'm just everybody's apocalypse therapist, and i even kinda like you tbh, my whole team basically does fun stuff without me and doesn't even invite me to book club and emmrich's the only one who asks me about my feelings instead of just asking me to do stuff for them, and anyway, i'm going to trust the inquisitor here because i'm honestly starved for connection and she thinks you're worth saving so can we talk i don't wanna fight

Solas: what

Lavellan, out of sight, reliving the litany of "i will not murder this stupid child": oh haha awkward

Solas: look,,, i've been bound to the service of an ancient elvhen god for millennia and everything i do, whether i know it or not, is for her, so i can't do what you want and this sucks

Lavellan: even if i'm here, walking the din'an shiral with you?

Solas: ...vhenan

Lavellan: ;_;

Solas: ;_; ...I cannot

Morrigan: yo dread wolf, my mum's a piece of work and i have all her memories and everything she did to you was fuuuuuuuuucked up, anyway, over to her, honestly not pissed you killed that part of her btw, she reeeeally fucked you up, but rook somehow managed to talk her out of her essence, so that's impressive

Solas: what

Mythal: yeah i kinda tore you out of your home and twisted you from your purpose and made you do murder and worse for me for millennia and said i wanted your wisdom and then never ever listened to you ever and just dragged you through every atrocity i created and perpetuated

Solas: it hurts and i guess you're going to kill me now so here's the dagger ;_;

Mythal: it's still mostly your fault but i was there too i guess, anyway, i release you from my service, which i could have done at any point in the past several millennia but instead I tortured you endlessly, lol god of retribution, that's me. k bye

Solas: what the fucking fuck

Lavellan: right there with you, like literally forever, our love is a miracle and the only thing i can even cope with

Solas: yeah honestly fuck this shit, i'm out, i will put myself in fade jail

Lavellan: you are not going by yourself i stg take me with you i wanna go home

Solas: ...home is a literal prison now

Lavellan: sealed away from all this shit? from getting blamed for everything we do no matter how much we sacrifice? if it's you and me there together, i don't care if it's a grey box full of darkspawn

Solas: there's no darkspa--

Lavellan: ffs i said i want to go, you don't have to sell me on it. you're the only person in this world who Gets It. we go on together, forever.

Solas: *.* my wife

Lavellan: *.* my wolf

Northern Thedas: and rook saved the world from the dread wolf, who was a lying liar who lies

Southern Thedas: *busy being dead and blighted*

Lavellan: yeah, fuck this shit, we're out

You can now download this shitpost in beautifully formatted PDF, courtesy of @amburuthings. Thank u for your service *salutes*

You all have had me howling with the tags on reblogs, thank you, I am absolutely dying in deadline hell and needed that

[gyrovagi]

have you ever felt the warmth of a god's happiness?

[kemalamalam]

I HAVE FIGURED IT OUT

[tadpole-apocalypse]

Art dump!

Still organizing all my old art files. The dragon age folder is a goddamn mess 🤡 But these are my favorite standalone pieces I think.

[grandpasauce]

Can I say something that blows my mind about Varric and Solas’ relationship? Imo Varric was THIS close to actually convincing Solas. we all talk about romanced Lavellan almost getting him to admit everything and possibly give up his plans, but we neeeeddddd to give Varric props like this man was really about to convince a whole ass god (literally named Pride) that he is wrong, that going through with some self destructive attempt at rectifying ur mistakes by destroying the world is Not the proper way to process ur grief, and Varric doesn’t even know he’s doing it. Varric really is the party bard fr the charisma score on this man………..

yes I’m talking about the man on the island banter. Every time I hear it I tear my hair out because VARRIC you almost HAD HIM he was CRUMBLING I just KNOW IT

[vaguely-concerned]

felassan really showed up in the solas memories like 'can't haunt the narrative if you ain't cute and intensely loveable' didn't he

[thebaldursmouthgazette]

All of you making complaints about “bad writing” in the game that is actually an unreliable narrator/set up for a plot twist/a natural progression over the decades we’ve been in this world/a plot point being explored/something you literally just missed sound exactly like my dad whenever I try to watch anything with him and he complains about plot holes that dont exist and are just him not paying attention or not letting the story play out to the point where it’s explained btw

[impulsivelycontentious]

You know, I would think people were past "Oh my poor little meow meow didn't REALLY do war crimes, it was, in fact, the Evil Woman who is a Bad Mom who *made* him because she's manipulative and bad,"

Babes. My lovelies. Cats. Please stop doing the 'women are responsible for men's crimes' thing. Even in fiction. Especially in fiction. It is old and tired.

That said, this is particularly about dragon age, where people are identifying strongly and I get that, I do, but this isn't a kid, this is a spirit of wisdom, and it isn't so easily manipulated as all of that, and she was, in fact, a spirit of benevolence and wasn't so twisted as all of that. What they became later, maybe, but you're ignoring any nuance and the inhuman natures here.

You have a few paragraphs from a 4,000 year old relationship.

Please stop doing the "evil woman made him do it," thing. There's space for her to be bad without making him a poor hapless victim without agency. There's space for her to do terrible things without being nothing but a manipulative hussy. There's space for you to like him and for him to have done bad things, too. Your enjoyment of fiction is not a reflection of your moral character.

I understand the appeal of seeing oneself in the other. It's great in fiction and fantasy. But be aware when you're just playing in to tired old sexist tropes. Hell, be aware of when the WRITER is doing that.

"Poor man did it because of bad woman :'( It's not his fault." is a tired old sexist trope.

[antivan-idiot]

you're gonna tell me solas, an ancient elf, is completely heterosexual? you know, a guy from the era where people had such deep, meaningful relationships that they transcend mortal comprehension? you're telling me he sees gender? more so, that he has a gender? hm.

[mogwaei]

I love how much he clearly loves romanced Lavellan. It breaks his heart to leave them, but he clearly doesn't want to wrap them up in the nonsense he's starting. He wants them safe, and to remember him as Solas, not Fen'Harel.

Right in the vhenan, anon 😭

I don't doubt Solas' love for a second, even though I can see why some people question it. But all us Solasmancers know how deeply he feels about everything - he fell so hard. He gave them a home he once loved, painted his old walls with their story so everyone who saw it would know the truth (because the stories were not kind to him). Immortalised them! still very upset about the regret demon And even post-Trespasser, he can't stay away. I'm sure if the devs had had more time we would have gotten a lot more romance material too, so I keep in mind that there were more little things we didn't see (shhhh let me dream, let me hope)

Look at the love and admiration in those eyes. Attenborough voice: And here we gaze upon an immortal being, a creature who has seen just about everything--falling for a mortal! Tragic!

Just pulling up some random stuff out of my folder, there are so many more moments I'm missing.

Look at how he steps back here!!! If she got any closer to him here, touched him, I think he would have lost whatever threadbare resolve he was clinging to and walked away with her lol the Dread Wolf is so in looooove

He kneels for his heart. His equal.

now I'm gonna go have a cry

[atimefordragons]

CINEMATIC PARALLELS: THE EVANURIS & THE VALAR ↳ FEN'HAREL & MAIRON

The legend says that before the fall of Arlathan, the gods we know and revere fought an endless war with others of their kind. There is not a hahren among us who remembers these others: Only in dreams do we hear whispered the names of Geldauran and Daern'thal and Anaris, for they are the Forgotten Ones, the gods of terror and malice, spite and pestilence. In ancient times, only Fen'Harel could walk without fear among both our gods and the Forgotten Ones, for although he is kin to the gods of the People, the Forgotten Ones knew of his cunning ways, and saw him as one of their own. — CODEX ENTRY: FEN'HAREL: THE DREAD WOLF

With the Valar came other spirits whose being also began before the World, of the same order as the Valar but of less degree. These are the Maiar, the people of the Valar, and their servants and helpers. Their number is not known to the Elves, and few have names in any of the tongues of the Children of Ilúvatar; for though it is otherwise in Aman, in Middle-earth the Maiar have seldom appeared in form visible to Elves and Men. — VALAQUENTA: OF THE MAIAR

I pulled you from the Fade you loved and sent you into war. I used your wisdom as a weapon… and it broke you. [The things that I have done…] Are not for you alone to bear, my friend. The many wrongs we did, we did together. I release you from my service. — MYTHAL, THE DREAD WOLF RISES

And there is Sauron. In the Silmarillion and Tales of the First Age Sauron was a being of Valinor perverted to the service of the Enemy and becoming his chief captain and servant. He repents in fear when the First Enemy is utterly defeated, but in the end does not do as was commanded, return to the judgement of the gods. He lingers in Middle-earth. Very slowly, beginning with fair motives: the reorganising and rehabilitation of the ruin of Middle-earth, ‘neglected by the gods’, he becomes a re-incarnation of Evil, and a thing lusting for Complete Power – and so consumed ever more fiercely with hate (especially of gods and Elves). — FROM A LETTER BY J.R.R. TOLKIEN TO MILTON WALDMAN, 1951

Among those of his servants that have names the greatest was that spirit whom the Eldar called Sauron, or Gorthaur the Cruel. In his beginning he was of the Maiar of Aulë, and he remained mighty in the lore of that people. In all the deeds of Melkor the Morgoth upon Arda, in his vast works and in the deceits of his cunning, Sauron had a part, and was only less evil than his master in that for long he served another and not himself. But in after years he rose like a shadow of Morgoth and a ghost of his malice, and walked behind him on the same ruinous path down into the Void. — VALAQUENTA: OF THE ENEMIES

And that is how Fen'Harel tricked them. Our gods saw him as a brother, and they trusted him when he said that they must keep to the heavens while he arranged a truce. And the Forgotten Ones trusted him also when he said he would arrange for the defeat of our gods, if only the Forgotten Ones would return to the abyss for a time. They trusted Fen'Harel, and they were all of them betrayed. And Fen'Harel sealed them away so they could never again walk among the People. — CODEX ENTRY: FEN'HAREL: THE DREAD WOLF

It began with the forging of the Great Rings. Three were given to the Elves, immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. Seven to the Dwarf-Lords, great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls. And nine, nine rings were gifted to the race of Men, who above all else desire power. For within these rings was bound the strength and the will to govern each race. But they were all of them deceived, for another ring was made. Deep in the land of Mordor, in the Fires of Mount Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged a master ring, and into this ring he poured his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life. One ring to rule them all. — GALADRIEL, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, 2001

[lostiel]

finished veilguard

[fenharel-babe]

Meow

Chapter 2: New Feelings and Sensations

@emmg and @thessaralka

Hope you enjoy :). Titling this is difficult like woah. I need help with chapter titles :(.

Chapters: 1

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Bloom sits on the bench where the Iron Bull is in the Herald’s Rest. He looks at her with a wide eye, while Krem is doing his best to not laugh as he drinks.

“So…a mage got you and now you’re stuck like this?”

Bloom sighs. “Yes, yes, how many times are you going to ask?”

He holds out his hands in defense and smirks. “Hey, I can’t help but ask. It’s surprising that you’re a cat. I’ve heard of a lot of weird magic and even transformation spells, but none turning someone into a cat.” He shrugs. “They usually go for something more intimidating. Like a wolf or a bear or some other big animal.”

“Like a bull, chief?” Krem says with a big grin, which only gets bigger when he sees Bull roll his eye.

“Well, yes they usually do that, but being a small animal has its advantages. You’re more nimble and can get into small places. If someone’s coming at you, why not run between their legs and suddenly get them with a nice scratch?”

He huffs. “Hate to break it to you, but a little scratch is not going to do anything, Boss."

She seems to smirk. “Maybe not pain wise, but it can get them a little distracted and open for an ally to attack. I could be a distraction, though I wouldn’t have chosen a cat to turn into.”

“If you could have chosen, what animal would you have turned into?” Krem asked, curious.

“A fox,” she answered quickly as if it were common sense.

“A fox? Why a fox?” Bull asked, also curious about why. A fox didn’t do much damage, especially through armor. They were similar to a cat to be honest.

She went quiet and thought for a few moments, trying to find the words to explain why. “Well, it’s just my favorite animal, and they’re small and known for being sneaky. They can blend into surroundings easy."

Bull goes to respond, but the door to the Herald’s Rest opens and a few soldiers come in. They’re most likely on their break from running drills with Cullen, and they’re loud.

Bloom suddenly feels a huge headache. It was quiet before, or at least at a decent volume for a cat’s hearing sensitivity, but now it was loud and too much. Her hearing was more sensitive due to her form, another thing she hated. She put her paws over her ears, and tried to ignore them, but it didn’t help. She needed to get out.

“Sorry, but I-I have to go,” she said before she jumped down and ran up the stairs. She remembered Sera had a room in there, so she would surely let her in?

She ran to the door and clawed at it relentlessly. She meowed loudly, almost like a shout. She felt relief crash through her when the door opened to reveal Sera. “What? Who is scratching-“. She looked down and chuckles. “Ohhh, it’s you.” She opened the door and let her in, laughing when she saw her climb onto the bench she slept on and hid under a pillow. “Aww, you a little shy in this form?” She shut the door and sat next to her.

“It’s too loud down there,” she said quietly, trying to not speak louder to set her senses off again. It was quieter, more muffled up here. Better, but not great.

Sera tilted her head. “I mean, yeah. It’s our tavern. Drunk and loud people basically live here.”

“I know…but I didn’t expect my hearing to be so sensitive. It wasn’t like that earlier.”

Sera didn’t really know what to do. This was weird magic shit, not something she could do anything about. She got up and stepped out into the hallway and called out, “Creepy! Come here, a cat needs your help!”

Bloom didn’t know who she was calling to, but then she heard Cole’s voice. Of course she would call him ‘Creepy’.

“Speak softer, her head is filled with noise and chaos,” Cole said quietly. He kneeled down by Bloom’s hiding space. “Can I pick you up? I can take you some place safe. Somewhere better.”

She didn’t want to be touched or hear anything, but the thought of going some place else sounded fantastic. She moved from behind the pillow and let Cole pick her up. Within the blink of an eye, they were suddenly in the rotunda. Solas sat at the desk, reading something and looked up when he heard Cole appear.

He almost never seemed surprised by Cole’s random appearances.

“It was too loud in the tavern, and it hurts. Can’t you make it better?” Cole said quietly.

Solas got up and walked over, gently taking her from him and into his arms. As soon as he does, Cole is gone, like normal.

“What happened?” Solas asked, his voice soft with concern.

She hid her face under his arm. “It was too loud all of a sudden. I was talking to Bull fine, but then people came in and it got too loud. I-I couldn’t take it.”

He runs his hand down her back in a soothing motion and hums. “Hm, I understand.” He places his hand on her head, and whispers something quietly. She felt his magic flow through her and it felt like someone put some cat ear muffs around her ears. She could still hear, but it was more muffled than before. The ravens above were quiet, the nobles weren’t audible anymore, and the only thing she could hear well was Solas’s heartbeat. A tune she loved to listen to.

She pulls her head out and stands up on her hind legs to rub her face against his, purring loudly. She couldn’t hear, but she could feel it. She then licks his cheek making him chuckle. “Thank you, Vhenan. It feels a lot better.”

“Anything to help.” He kissed the top of her head and wiped his mouth with an annoyed noise. “Cat hair.” He sighed and moved to lay her down on the couch. “I look forward to when this spell is broken.” He looked down and tried to brush off the cat hair stuck to his sweater and leggings, but it was pointless. “I want to spend time with you without getting hair all over me.”

She chuckled and laid down, tucking her paws underneath her, making her look like a loaf of bread. “I can’t wait to be normal either. I have much work to do and I’m tired of eating and drinking out of a bowl.” She scowled. “Don’t get me started on going to the bathroom.”

He gently pet her head. “I’m sorry this has happened. But I do have some good news. I believe I’ve found a spell to fix this. We can try it out tomorrow.”

She perked up at that. “Really? Thank the Maker.”

“I must still study the spell to make sure we have everything we need, so how about you sleep while I work? I’ll wake you when it’s time to eat dinner.”

She smiled and then flopped onto her side, and curled into a ball. Solas, though he wished to kiss her head or pet her, left her alone and let her fall into a deep sleep.

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Later That Night After Dinner

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When the moon rose and the sun set, Solas decided to finally work on his new mural. He'd outlined the design and gotten the paints mixed and ready days ago, but had been...occupied recently. Even before this situation started.

Only a few days ago had he told Bloom he loved her, right on the balcony in her room that once was his. He walked away, afraid to keep talking in that moment, only for her to find him later that day with a smirk on her face. Ever since then, they had spent more time together out of the field. Whether it be in the gardens, in her quarters, in the Fade, or in the Rotunda. It was...nice. Better than nice, truly, but he didn't know what words could describe the way he felt at the time. 'Nice' would have to do for the time being.

But he shouldn’t feel nice. He shouldn’t feel anything for her at all.

He looked over at Bloom resting on the couch, stomach full and body tired from the day. He knew this spell was annoying her, which is why he worked hard to fix this. He wanted to hold her in his arms again, feel her lips against his, even though he shouldn't want it. But he's only a man. A weak, weak man when it came to her.

He turned back to his mural and started to get back to it, finishing the outline with light lines. The rest of the night passed with Solas ignoring his inner turmoil and occasionally looking over his shoulder to see Bloom sleeping peacefully.

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The next morning, Bloom woke to the sunshine in her face, making her groan and roll over. She curled around herself and buried her face in a small pillow. "No...I don't want to get up yet," she mumbled. She leaned up, her eyes still closed, and pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and tucked herself in.

Wait.

She gasped loudly and opened her eyes. She sat up and looked down at herself and saw a body. She had hands, legs, and when she felt her face she had one! "YES!" She shouted with excitement. She got up and immediately ran up to the library, hoping Dorian would be there since Solas was nowhere in the rotunda.

When she got to the library, she saw Dorian in his chair, looking over at her with wide eyes. "Maker, is that Bloom? In the flesh?"

She ran over to him and jumped up and down with eagerness in front of him. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Dorian! I'm finally back to normal!"

He grabbed her hands to stop her and held them in front of him. He looked up at her and winced. "Well, not completely normal, Petal."

She tilted her head. "W-What do you mean?"

He pointed up to her head, and she saw him hold back a grin. "You have...cat ears. On your head." He looked behind her and failed to hide his grin that time. "And you have a tail."

She reached up and touched her ears, and then looked behind herself to see, as Dorian informed, a cat tail. She looked back at him and groaned, burying her face in her hands as she flopped down in her chair by the window. "You've got to fucking kidding me."

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[thebookworm0001]

Six Sentence Sunday (but it’s Monday)

Thanks for @herald-divine-hell for the tag!

A section from my wip currently titled ‘nerdy flirting’ wherein the premise is “what if two nerds flirted via reading quiz”

Anyway, have a snippet of some tension I enjoy

“Ask your first question.”

Solas’ chin twitched under her touch, and the bridge of his nose brushed against hers. It would take the smallest of movements for them to close the distance – easy as slipping into the fade when claimed by sleep, it would take nothing more than allowing the gravity of their bodies to draw them where it would. If she wet her lips, let her tongue sweep across his full mouth, would he respond with the same enthusiasm he had in the fade so long ago? Forget himself, and his quest to prove her preoccupied in the temptation to simply enjoy the moment?

The chance to test the theory passed, though, as he broke from the loose cage of her fingers to angle his lips to her ear.

Tagging (no pressure!): @ell-vellan @dreadfutures @shift-shaping @wolfs-dawn @fadedsweater @oxygenforthewicked @kcwriter-blog and anybody else who would like an excuse to share!

[vaguely-concerned]

if everything with varric weren't enough to make rye go the level of ape shit at solas that he does (and goodness don't get me wrong it was more than enough!), forcing him to sit alone with himself in the fade and wonder if he really just saw lucanis die right in front of him with no way to know for sure added kill bill sirens in his head so loud the voice of the Maker Himself could not be heard over them if He personally peeped through the blanket of the dark to cry 'hold, hold'

(That no compunctious visitings of nature shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between the effect and it. indeed. maybe you should have thought a bit harder before making me quite so much in your own image. bitch)