BadmonkeyLove

A place for Solavellan thoughts and more.

[nocturnalnoire]

[loquaciousquark]

Solas & Adahla Lavellan: new growth.

I commissioned this piece from the unbelievably talented Hotwe, who is one of the most intelligent, thoughtful, deliberate artists I've ever had the pleasure of working with. I cannot express how grateful I am for the kindness shown towards my imaginary dolls at every step of this process. Thank you! <3

This is a paired piece to this one, also by Hotwe, which I commissioned immediately after finishing Inquisition for the first time. Once I finished Veilguard and filled out how the story ends for these two, I knew I desperately wanted the other half of this diptych.

Close-ups and lengthy notes on the incorporated symbolism are below the cut.

Where the first piece was much more somber and determined, I really wanted this moment to feel triumphant (if not unreservedly happy). These are two people at the end of a long war with each other, and moving forward doesn't mean erasing the road before.

Some notes in no particular order:

Solas's hands are now open, releasing the hard and inflexible grip he had in the original piece

The constellation is Fervenial, the Oak, for its associated concept of Vir Tanadhal: "fly straight and don't waver, bend but never break, and the idea of balance. ...The imagery of the hunter (Adahla) metaphorically striking like a bolt on Solas' plans and forcing a reframing of the lightning/smite-y/fate concept of Fulmenos into a concept of balance and growth/organic/spring" - straight from the artist's massive brain

(I've written about why constellations & stars, especially Fulmenos, are important to them here)

Red embrium leaves for healing

Spring growth for seasonal change

Solas, being pushed forward by the strong wind behind him, is finally able to stop thanks to Adahla's pressure

Adahla's dress is inspired by this statue (San Joaquín, Santa Ana y la Virgen Niña by Juan Alonso Villabrille y Ron), but has been reworked with Dragon Age motifs and emblems

The gold vines are from my post-Veilguard fic for them, The Heart Where I Have Roots

I plan to do one more post with both of these pieces together as soon as I can; their journey's been messy to the max, but it honestly brings me so much joy to know they've landed somewhere like this, and I'm again so thankful to Hotwe for bringing that ended war to life.

[cryptid-catt]

‘Identity’ for Queer Solas and Inquisitor Week! 💜

To me, queer identity encompasses a whole lot more than just personal gender experience and who you love. It is also about questioning social norms, caring for community, holding those in power accountable, and fighting against oppression in all forms, for a better world for us all.

So in the spirit of queer identity, here are punk Solas and Vin Lavellan (they/she) loving on each other.

[hapalopus]

Scandinavians when outdoor string lights were invented

[hapalopus]

Scandinavian trees from October to March:

[useless-denmarkfacts]

Before this we would mostly just set things on fire to keep our spirits up

[useless-denmarkfacts]

Scandinavians before outdoor string lights were invented:

[lavellaned]

solas lumbering beast walk saturday

[mynorthernattitude]

yea i knew the muffin man *flicks cigarette*

[fadetouchedlurker]

WIP Wednesday

Thanks for the tag @maagisterpavus!

I have nothing for Davrook Week next week, but I do have a multi-chapter thing ready for Queer Solas Inquisitor Week next week. This bit is from day 4?

And tossing out some tags to @virshiral, @liberaquantobasta-catossa, @hare-of-andruil, @waxlyricalmoon, @vhen-harel, @exia-1, and @ashillayn, @sh00kspeared, @broodwoof, and anyone else who has a thing they want to share.

He had taken a body in pride, and for a brief moment before the shining stone had shaken and the Titans had woken in their rage at their unintentional theft, as his unintentional theft, he had felt pride in the intention with which he had taken a physical form, in the way which he had chosen to embody his masculinity, and he had named himself Solas. And then the shining stone had shaken in his next breath and it had begun a great war and the hands that he had formed to create, to touch the world with kindness and care, to be a man in the way that Elgar’nan was not, had forged a dagger of Titan’s blood made in fear and loss and desperation to end that war that the People could never have won without it.

He had been unsure of himself, after the fall of the Titans.

He looked at his hands that had made a weapon so cruel as to strip the dreams from another being, another people, and he wondered if this was what it was to be a man. If, perhaps, in his pride that he could be a different man than Elgar’nan, he had doomed himself to a form that could do nothing else but crush other beings under his foot. He thought that he should never have taken a body at all. He had seen the benevolence of Mythal, Ghilan’nain’s sensitivity and curiosity, and he had wondered. Would it all have been different, had he chosen to be a woman? Would there have been some other way? Would a kinder body have roused the Titans’ anger?

[artschoolglasses]

Finally, I can photomode in Dragon Age! (Bless This Post and This Post for the info on how.)

Dragon Age: Inquisition

[pelmenga]

Well, at least these two will have a good laugh somewhere.

[bonus versions ]

[kremweek2026]

Mark your calendars! Krem Week 2026 to take place December 5-11th. Consider writing, drawing, or otherwise sharing and posting about our number one lieutenant, charger, and overall guy. Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Horns up!

[justherefordragonageok]

So happy there is still so much new Solas and Lavellan art and writing. Female, male, non-binary, trans Lavellans - I love you all.

Ship of all time.

[merriala]

I know I'm probably two years late with this, but some time ago I finished polishing my doc, where I collected every Joplin concept art I could find. I wanted to recreate the potential story Bioware was planning, or at least what they might have envisioned in the early stages. Maybe there are still people on tumblr who are curious too, so here's the link.

Reconstructing Joplin's story v1

An attempt to recreate the story of Joplin Disclaimers: First, I’m aware that many of these are loose ideas from the early stage of Joplin

[crimsonphantasmagoria]

AO3 Fic Masterlist

While I'm also CrimsonPhantasmagoria on AO3, and my fic can be browsed there, I thought it would be helpful to include a list of my fics here. Additionally, I would like to confirm that I do not use AI at any point in any of my work, this is all made by me!

Still With Hearts Beating (ongoing)

(Solas x Inquisitor Lavellan)

This is the fic series which covers the canon of my Inquisitor Adahlen'inan Lavellan and her relationship with Solas. Currently I'm planning a post-canon fic to explore the fallout of everything which has occurred in canon, but that will be a long project, so there won't be any updates soon.

Wandering Between Earth And Sky (33,358 words) (Explicit)

The commotion woke him in the early hours of the morning, before the dawn had even begun in its attempts to oust him from his dreams. One morning in Haven, Adahlen'inan Lavellan goes missing.

Wandering, Lost (1,123 words)

In the Frostback Basin, Adahlen'inan Lavellan looks back on her relationship with Solas, before he left. Written for DA Kiss Week 2026.

Passing Through (? words)

Upcoming post-canon fic.

Standalone Fics

It Will Come Back (1,863 words) (Explicit)

(Solas x Inquisitor Lavellan) The door closed behind Solas with a final, sonorous click, and he turned at once to press his forehead against the wall and groan. Whether in frustration or disappointment, he wasn’t entirely certain.

For Now They Kill Me With A Living Death (3,169 words) (Explicit)

(Solas x Inquisitor Lavellan) “There’s still the matter of the Anchor,” she said. “It’s getting worse.” There is no way to remove the Anchor.

Meet Me In A Hidden Place (1,079 words)

(Solas x Inquisitor Lavellan) Solas wishes to be discreet about their relationship. Adahlen'inan Lavellan cooperates...to some extent. Written for DA Kiss Week 2026.

Exploration (395 words)

(Solas x Inquisitor Lavellan) Lavellan, immediately after waking up. Written for DA Kiss Week 2026.

8 Years (283 words)

(Solas x Inquisitor Lavellan) The years they spent apart, in summary. Written for Solavellan Week 2025.

Ancient Arlathan (806 words)

(Solas x Inquisitor Lavellan) "There were so many new sensations and aspects to his new form that it took him some time to notice the mark." A first words soulmate AU. Written for Solavellan Week 2025.

Regrets Of The Dread Wolf (3,499 words) (Explicit)

(Solas x Inquisitor Lavellan) This fic is based on the concept art image of Solas in the Veilguard art book labelled 'Solas, defeated, enters the Black City alone'. Lavellan has a thing or two to say about that. Written for Solavellan Week 2025.

Liberation (945 words)

(Solas x Inquisitor Lavellan) Solas brushes Lavellan's hair. Written for Solavellan Week 2025.

Eyes In The Night (1,789 words) (Explicit)

(Solas x Inquisitor Lavellan) Lavellan feels Solas's eyes on her in her dreams, and hatches a plan to draw him closer. Written for Solavellan Week 2025.

Mirrors (307 words)

(Solas x Inquisitor Lavellan) Solas draws Adahlen'inan Lavellan's portrait. Written for Solavellan Week 2025.

Miscellaneous

Fade Prison Server Prompt Drabbles (ongoing) (Explicit)

A collection of Solavellan drabbles inspired by the prompts in the Fade Prison server.

Codex Entry: Adahlen'inan Lavellan (ongoing)

A series of codex entries fulfilling the prompts on the DA:I OC codex prompts list posted by cassandrapentayaaaaas on Tumblr.

Dividers by @galacticsparkles

[anovqart]

False prophet

[annahenriart]

Old Solas art from way back, but I never shared this version I think🖤

[dykieran]

actually i do want more female characters who've experienced rape i just don't want men to ever write them ever again and i want all fandoms to stfu about it forever. not by ignoring it i mean stop acting like a female character experiencing something incredibly common for women to go through is inherently bad writing i hate you all so muchhhhh

[dykieran]

idk i make this post every few months worded differently but I'm just so so sick of the popular opinion seeming to be that a character i like experiencing trauma i relate to is taboo and gross and fetishising. idk maybe some people just want to tell a story about a thing that happens to people. a lot. im going to start whining that any character with a dead parent is romanticising grief and wank off material for grief fetishists

[dykieran]

also interesting that male characters with sexual trauma are almost always lauded as Progressive examples of Good Writing but you can't even point out the obvious signs that a female character in the exact same media has gone through the same thing without people crawling over each other to explain to you that actually that's shallow shock value writing so we should ignore it. because obviously a woman's trauma is only there for men to jerk off to and men's trauma is Real and worth exploring

[hare-of-andruil]

At work thinking about how supportive both Mithra's partners are about her body and how they actually make her feel so attractive for once since they love her muscles and voice that. I posted the chapter about her mother on Ao3 and it got me in my feelings about it. Hallen says some really vile shit about her body, and she overhears Trevyn talking about it with the other shemlen and it just really makes her feel like she looks disgusting for most of her life. I'm happy Bull and Solas cherish her the way they do. So healing and gentle, both of them.