The Nights Are Dark

And full of fun

[markedbysolas]

I finished another playthrough and I have a lot of Solas feelings again…

So post credit scene with Mythal, Solas comes to meet her and tells her that “the people need me” and that really gets me because he starts out the game saying he doesn’t identify with the elves of Thedas but by the end of the game he is calling them The People.

Imagine that you were reviled and hated by the ones you thought of as friends and the ones you called family because you stood up to the injustices of your culture to free the slaves and begin a movement to end the practices that allowed it to happen…

Imagine you weren’t doing it for glory or for power, but because it had to be done and in the absence of Mythal (who I believe based on trespasser info was the one who inspired this in Solas) you became the someone to take up the fight…

Imagine you literally use up your life force and all your power and knowledge to try to make the world better and punish those who prevented this goal from being achieved (not knowing what it will do to you). There was a hope that life would be better for the ones you had freed and those who could begin changing their world - only to find that you wake up in a world that nothing has changed for the better…

In fact it is worse than you could have imagined and everyone and everything you knew is wiped from the world, your culture is gone and all that was worth preserving is no more…

Imagine you have been branded for thousands of years by those you tried to protect as a symbol of misfortune and deceit?

Solas didn’t do it to be a hero and in trespasser he right out says he doesn’t deserve those accolades for his efforts, but I’m sure he didn’t believe his part in history would be so forgotten and betrayed- and you wonder why he doesn’t approve of the ways of the Dalish?

I know that no one hates Solas the way that he hates himself but it just makes me so sad to hear him tell her outright with that disappointment in his voice that the few remaining elves have come to see him in that way, his legacy is not the sacrifices he made but the lies told about him.

[selkie-blog1]

So I went to Comic Con and got to meet Solas, @lady-redhaired this is for you, darling

[nerdanel01]

Dragon Age Fic&Book Giveaway!

My fic, There Is Only Forward (AO3) is having its first anniversary on February 11th! Where has the time gone?? I cannot believe I have been working on it for so long. Moreover, I am so thankful for the community of writers and readers I’ve found here on Tumblr (looking at you, DWC) so I’m throwing a little giveaway to celebrate the occasion.

PRIZES: Three winners will be selected, with prizes as follows: - 5000 word (minimum) fanfic with the pairing of your choice—NSFW is okay, but there are some things I will not write. We’ll collaborate! I mostly write Solavellan, but I’d be open to other pairings (and non-ship fic) if the winner would prefer. I will write your OC, provided you can give me enough information to work with. -1000 word (minimum) fanfic with the pairing of your choice -The Art of Dragon Age Inquisition

RULES: - You *do not* have to be following me to be entered into this giveaway. - Likes and reblogs each count as one (1) entry - You can reblog multiple times - If I do not get a response within 4 days, I will select another winner - Obviously, if you win the art book, you will have to be OK will sharing your shipping address with me. International shipping is OK. - I will only write for the Dragon Age fandom. I prefer to write for characters from DA:I, but will consider DA:O and DA:2. (I have only played DA:2 once, and am least familiar with those characters, so set your expectations accordingly.) Giveaway will end on February 21th at 8PM EST! Good luck!  If there’s any questions, feel free to ask me. (This is my first giveaway so it is conceivable I left some details out….) Many thanks to everyone who has my experience sharing my writing so positive <3

[nerdanel01]

UPDATE:

Due to my failure to properly promote this (real life has been a lot) I will be EXTENDING THE DEADLINE.

More details will come soon

[corseque]

Visit Original Link

(download link)

[elfybits-deactivated20211220]

Reblogging this again for anyone who may need it. I keep this track on my phone in case of emergencies, and it’s honestly gotten me through a lot of rough moments when I was alone and panicking. Bless @corseque for creating this life saving little clip 💜💜

[sunny-side-solass]

It matters that this is all real Inquisition audio but it matters more that someone would take the time to assemble it in such a meaningful sequence… this is beautiful and touching and so much more powerful like this than in its original fragments.

[fortheloveofsolas]

Woah.

[ellehena]

[trxcers-deactivated20180904]

Recruiting Agents Like

Villager: my wife is dead Inquisitor: that sucks lmao but you know what doesnt suck? joining the inquisition.

[kauriart]

Dragon Age Portraits Masterpost

This series started as a way to get me comfortable illustrating different skin tones & to build up palettes for all the characters. But I’m finding myself really digging doing the quick portrait sketches.

[astound]

We often want it so badly that we ruin it before it begins. Overthinking. Fantasizing. Imagining. Expecting. Worrying. Doubting. Just let it naturally evolve.

unknown

today’s mantra

(via astound)

[derofeba]

when my computer decides to deny me access because of “admin restrictions”

[kitkat285]

As someone who works in IT, nothing has ever been a bigger mood than this.

[americanfootball1999-deactivate]

get to know me meme: favorite movies {3/5} ↳ labyrinth (1986)

“It’s only forever—not long at all.”

[irlaimsaaralath]

So, I came across this, which I hadn’t seen before.

Unlike most wikia articles I’ve seen, this one has zero references to back up what’s written.

In consideration of the input I’ve gotten from several of you, part of this seems to stand outside of the general opinion. I know it stands outside of what I thought I knew, so here I am looking for explanations.

I’m looking specifically at the section under Dragon Age, subheading pre-Dragon Age: Inquisition.

The part I’m taking issue with is the being lucid while asleep and giving instruction to hand the orb over to Corypheus BEFORE he wakes.

Anyone know of any potential sources that state this? Codex? Dialogue? One of the books, maybe? I haven’t gotten around to reading all of those yet.

Did I miss something?

[irlaimsaaralath]

Reblog. Halp.

[fieryaxolotl]

I think it is implied in The Masked Empire. At the end of the book, Felassan enters the Fade as a dreamer and meet with someone. He tells them Briala never gave him the code phrase to activate the eluvians. Many believe the unknown figure is Solas/Fen’harel. (Which could make sense as Masked Empire happens just a little before Inquisition) He’s then killed in the Fade/made Tranquil. Then, in Trespasser, Solas mentions one of his agents being tasked with recovering it but did not succeed.

Also, in Trespasser, Solas mentions having his agents lead Corypheus to discover/use the orb. 

So, basically, the theory is since Solas is a powerful dreamer, he could/can easily enter the dreams of elves (and others) to start building his spies network before, during and after Inquisition.

[liaragaming]

Do we have an exact timeline?

Because Solas says he wakes a year before the Inquisition. I always assumed the events of The Masked Empire happened within that year.

I mean, I can by being able to recruit while still asseep, but do we know for sure?

[fieryaxolotl]

I don’t think there is an exact timeline. I mostly gathered some of the theories I heard around tumblr and wikia.

But, The Masked Empire is set before the Orleasian Civil War and the book ends with the Civil War starting in 9:40 Dragon. It ends with the Inquisitor, in 9:41 Dragon, during the Wicked Eyes Wicked Heart quest. DA Wiki Link

Based on the information from DA Wiki, the timeline would be:

9:37 - DA2 ending with Anders blowing up the Chantry 9:40 - Beginning of the War of the Lions (The Masked Empire) 9:41 - Dragon Age Inquisition 9:44 - Trespasser (canonly set around 2 years after DAI)

[irlaimsaaralath]

Hrm.  Well.

This changes…everything.

That makes it sort of difficult to fit everything together.  Assuming that Solas created the Veil while he was at Skyhold (which seems to be the popular theory), that he had the orb with him when he did it, and that he immediately (or almost) fell unconscious afterward, it makes it difficult to imagine how other civilizations/peoples could have built over his initial structure (whether it was a building that was demolished in the creation of the Veil or something that was underground) and NOT encounter his agents.  If he was doing the whole lucid dreaming thing, even if we allow for him being completely out for several hundred years before he starts that, eventually, his people coming and going (to take care of him, to retrieve the orb) would have to draw some attention, I’d think, with the space being occupied and all.

But, as far as I know, there’s not really any mention of the inhabitants of Skyhold’s current incarnation running across any wayward elves or tricksy Elvhen magic.  Of course, it could just be in something I’ve not read, like one of the comics or books.  But then, it’s also not explained why Skyhold was abandoned, so maybe his agents chased folks off.

So.  Maybe he was moved somewhere else after he passed out?   Or maybe he did have an eluvian with him?  Or…I don’t know.

Being a double agent of Fen’Harel is difficult.

Thanks for the input, guys!

[liaragaming]

The Conclave is held in 9:41 Dragon. So the very beginning of DAI is 9:41 Dragon. Presumably The Masked Empire occurs in 9:40. Unless we have a more exact timeline, it fits with Solas saying he was awake a year before joining the Inquisition.

I mean, I really like the theory, but the dates seem to still match up.

[liaragaming]

Okay, I am literally combing the wiki and The World of Thedas vols to see if there is any wiggle room here.

The Masked Empire opens with a ball that happens in Asunder, which begins in Late autumn, 9:40 Dragon. I don’t know where that date is coming as I didn’t see it while quickly skimming the opening pages of the book. But the wiki lists it as such. So both books occur in 9:40 Dragon.

The question is when does Inquisition start? If it’s the beginning of 9:41, like January, there’s plenty of room for Solas to have been awake for a year and for Felassan to be working for him.

[liaragaming]

Okay, with help from the husband. Cassandra interrogated Varric at the end of 9:40 Dragon (World of Thedas Vol 1). We know from Inquisition that following the interrogation, she and Varric travel from Kirkwall to Haven (about three weeks travel?) where the Conclave was being held in 9:41 Dragon.

So, the Conclave happens at the very beginning of 9:41 Dragon. Knowing that the events of The Masked Empire and Asunder happen in late autumn 9:40 Dragon (assuming that date is correct), Solas had a whole 6-7 months to recruit Felassan (and who knows exactly when Coryephus found the orb).

So theory of dream/sleep agents is looking less likely.

[gangrelslut]

There is one potential codex that states the location of the Destruction Foci prior to Inquisition. It’s The Box of Screaming codex in DAII:

I received the box from a man I met in the Silent Plains. He spoke little and would not reveal his name. For reasons I shall not detail here, I had been kidnapped and left for dead in that gray, wind-blasted wasteland.

After days of walking, I was parched and close to death. I was about to dash my head on a rock to speed my passing when the man arrived. He possessed a waterskin containing ample water for a person traveling from our location to the to the Imperial Highway. From there, he said, I could find my way to Solas or Perivantium. He offered to give me the waterskin if I agreed to take three things from him: a glowing crystalline shard, a bronze sphere, and an iron-bound box with no hinges.

I asked the man if he wished to have these items delivered. He said that he merely wanted me to have them. It was an odd request, but I was too weak and too desperate to think much of it. And so I agreed. The man put the items into a leather sack, which he handed to me along with the water.

“What about you?” I asked. He said nothing, only pointed in the direction from which I had come. “There is nothing that way,” I said. He merely smiled at me.

I found the Imperial Highway about a day later, and a caravan driver agreed to take me to Perivantium in exchange for the large glowing shard. In Perivantium, I bartered the bronze sphere for new clothes and room at the inn. That night I examined the iron-bound box and found no way to open it. I held it to my ear, and thought I heard slow, measured breathing coming from within. My mind was afire with curiosity, and I obtained from the innkeeper a large hammer, thinking to smash the thing open. The moment the hammer touched the box, it shrieked—the shrill sound pierced the depths of my soul.

I gave the box to the innkeeper in the morning and felt better for having rid myself of it.

—A page ripped from a mysterious journal, on display in the Black Emporium

The box ended up in the Black Emporium. The shard was bartered to caravan and then made its appearance alongside fifty thousand others in Inquisition, revealed by the Breach. The bronze sphere could have been any of the random foci littered around Trespasser, but as this was written prior to DA:I coming out, when the threads of that game would have still been in their infancy, this could also simply be the first appearance of our Orb of Destruction.

This is found in the Black Emporium in Act I. You could make a case for the Orb being pushed around the map as early as 9:30 Dragon. That would mean that wherever it ended up, Corypheus was sent in that direction by Solas or Solas’ agents, but that none of them would have had to have been present at the time of acquisition if it was on some shelf in a pawn shop.

[liaragaming]

So, to bring this back up again. There’s a Dalish codex that states that while in Uthenera, the ancient elves would walk the Fade. So there is some support there that Solas could have in fact been able to manipulate things while sleeping. BUT this is a Dalish codex, so we can’t take it for fact. AND the Fade and reality were the same thing for the ancient elves, so there wouldn’t actually have been a separate dreaming world for them to walk around in (although in Solas’ case, he would have fallen asleep after the Veil was created, so that may be a mute point).

On another note, I was watching a fan video that suggested Solas was able to look down on Thedas while sleeping and watch the destruction of the elves while being powerless to do anything, which I find to be a highly disturbing thought (though I’m not sure I agree with either).

[rhunae]

This is the dialogue tree with Solas in Haven.  Part way down he says;

“I dreamt at Ostagar. I witnessed the brutality of the darkspawn and the valor of the Fereldan warriors. I saw Alistair and the Hero of Ferelden light the signal fire… and Loghain’s infamous betrayal of Cailan’s forces.”

That battle was at least 10 years before he woke up. I doubt he had a whole lot of time to catch up on world events in one year, and think he was actively aware of what was happening. Akin to watching the news on tv (the spirits as the news anchors?).

[liaragaming]

I wonder how much of his dream is looking down and watching Thedas as someone suggested and more seeing what the Fade plays out. Like, Ostagar is a dream, not something he actually witnessed, but something the spirits play out in the multiple ways. That seems to make more sense to me.

[smalllady]

Not sure if I should be scared or turned on… (꒪Д꒪)ノ

[nightsrendless]

some asshole: “Why do you even like that character?”

me: “Because they’re a great character.”

asshole: “But they’ve done so many shitty and problematic things, you can’t just excuse-”

me: “I said a GREAT CHARACTER not a GOOD PERSON you imaginationless wet napkin, this character is an asshole and a human disaster who deserves everything coming to them but they c a n s t i l l b e m y f a v o r i t e”

[fleshwerks-deactivated20191021]

A little something commissioned by @blavakin84

[yevabog-deactivated20170713]

Some of my favourite dialogue involving Solas.

[eazzy--pink]

My favorite thing about dumbass white girls in Dragon Age fandom is when they say they hate Vivienne because she supports the Circles and when you go to their blog, they’re either a noodle boy fanatic or in love with that nosferatu looking motherfucker that’s planning on committing widespread genocide and thinks calling you a credit to your race is a compliment.

[gun-to-ya-head]

There’s not a single trait in Vivienne that people claim as the reason they hate her that isn’t present or adored in a white/non black character

[eazzy--pink]

1) Supports the Circle and the Chantry: pretty much everybody in your squads with the exception of most mages and Isabela support the Circles. Cullen supports both, Cassandra supports both, Alistair supports both, Wynne supports both. 

2) Bitchy personality: everybody’s favorite white feminist intellectual who took “Elf Studies 101,” self-proclaimed elven expert who notoriously talks down to you like you’re stupid while wearing Mythal’s face tats, tells you that you should let a Circle be annulled because the mages “let themselves be corralled like cattle” while there are literal children sitting within earshot, always has something snide to say when you decide to be nice or to help people with their problems, and this barely scratches the surface of Morrigan’s personality. 

3) Ambitious, only cares about her own goals: Literally. Every person that joins you. That you have the power to recruit across all three games. Has their own goals. The Inquisition squad is probably the most ambitious squad out there. Cassandra joins because she thinks the Seekers are fucking up. Iron Bull joins because Par Vollen needs eyes on this operation. Sera joins because she wants to set the world right so the Red Jennies can do their thing again. Not that the straight girls actually treat him well either, but prior to coming to the Inquisition, that’s all Dorian was: an ambitious dude. Sure, he had problems running into some of Tevinter’s brand of old staunch conservative assholes, but something that is really evident regarding him is that he has always been an ambitious man. 

4) Doesn’t help mages at all: Forgive me if I’m mistaken but have any of your companions, other than Anders, done anything for mages other than flap their gums about what they should have and have not? Did any of them risk their reputations by choosing to align themselves with an organization that has a history steeped in blood and fear, that was initially called nothing but a group of upstarts, washed out Seekers and crazy sisters? Did any of them use their connections to make direct action happen, feed you information about plots that have been unfolding to dismantle your Inquisition, put in a good word for you with the Imperial Council after their lover died by telling the tale of how you fought a whole ass wyvern trying to save him? Did any of them, regardless of what ending they follow, use their power to establish Circles with more freedom for mages overall and more ability to progress in their fields? No? Okay then.

5) Wants mages to be locked up: No offense. But you have buddies that tell you this straight up, no hesitation. Not that fandom treats him particularly well either, but Fenris tells you these exact words at some point. And fucking. That was Cullen’s entire job for the better part of a decade. And if you played as a non-mage Hawke? He does it to Bethany.

[nyokoko]

Class is in session.

[thecheshirecass-deactivated2018]

Liz is on the mountain top sharing her wisdom on this good day, and y'all need to listen.

[nightsrendless]

Ok Ceteris Paribus ( both Solas and Vivienne are evil in your opinion), but Solas is genuianly a good person once you get to know him, while V is a bitch wether you are friends with her or not. I was so excited to take her with me on my adventures but she was always so condesending and did not even deny the fact that she was using me for her own agenda ( power and reputation).

I completely understand what Solas wants to do, and he is not doing it with ease - it s his burden

Never agreed with the existence of the Circle and never would.

[lavellanpls]

@BioWare pls hire me to write your dialogue