☂
describe solas’s… sadness | not accepting
it is often muted, and not by mistake.
if something strikes solas as sad the first thing to change is his voice. it drops, growing soft and a little distant. these are smaller moments, most often found travelling with him. when he stops and says “my people built a life here... it must have been something to see” it is a mournful observation, genuine sadness for both the fallen kingdom of the dales and the passing of elvhenan.
but if it’s a more potent sadness he gets fidgety. you can see it in the cutscene where he gives you his personal quest, he gestures almost constantly during that scene, at odds with other scenes where his arms are still-- often anchored on a staff or behind his back. his expression will crumble, and his voice might break.
he doesn’t cry, though. not even after losing wisdom, at least not in front of people. instead, he’s quick to turn on the mages, anger allowing him to forget his mourning and once he can’t use that, he leaves. it’s the same with almost any emotionally charged moment for solas, he peaces out the second he knows he’s going to break. there are only a few people solas feels comfortable crying in front of.
when he does cry, he breaks down completely. probably the main reason he tries to avoid crying in front of people is the tendency for his uneven breaths to induce panic attacks. his eyes get red, his face is wet, his throat is sore-- he is not a pretty crier by any stretch of the imagination. he covers his face, even when he’s alone.
