I have a lot of thoughts about Callback and the Regret demon. *Tevinter Nights spoilers*
>>> "I am the heart of what was here." It pointed at the fresco panels in order. "There is so much of me that's here. So much regret behind these deeds."
Like, what thoughts were going through Solas's head while he was painting these? His own deeds and regrets? Wondering if the Inquisitor will one day look back on their own deeds with doubt? How deeply was he feeling this that he embedded his emotions within the paint/plaster????
>>> "I regret acting alone." It was as if Sutherland was echoing the regret that had drawn it to Skyhold in the first place. "I regret using my friends! I regret now!"
Thinking about Solas's regret only growing the longer he stays with the Inquisition and begins to see these people as real. They aren't a means to an end anymore. They trust him, and he's using them. And he hates it, but he can't allow himself to open up to them.
>>> Her knight had asked her to run. She ran.
This is about trust. Regret had got to Rat before, and it's still able to reach her now. But she thinks of Sutherland. He put his trust in her. She's needed for the plan. He told her to bait the demon and run. She's not going to let him down, so she runs. And Regret, while still playing with her mind, can't get to her. >>> It had found Sutherland's company, and it went hungry. Sutherland had joined the Inquisitor and never regretted it. Sutherland's friends had joined his company, and he'd just reminded them why.
This hits the previous point home. Regret had gotten to all of Sutherland's friends before. But after Sutherland stands for them, they charge in and Regret can't touch them. They have faith in Sutherland and in turn find faith in themselves. Their past deeds and memories aren't erased. But there's no space for Regret to linger.
>>> What did it make you see? The worst. My worst. It finds your doubts and feeds on them.
Regret feeds specifically on doubt. And I think it goes deeper than specifically doubting if you made the right choice. It feeds on your doubts about yourself. When you look at your mistakes - they become reflections of who you are, and you start to question yourself as a person. Am I lazy? Am I cruel? Do I deserve this? This is what Regret feeds on.
>>> He let Regret come. Regret expected resistance. It had never been accepted. Never owned. What started as a leap was now a forward fall, and it flailed against its own momentum.
Sutherland accepts the regret he feels. He led his friends into a situation they were unprepared for and risked their lives. And he accepts this. It doesn't grieve him because he trusts he and his friends will pull through. As the demon feeds on doubt - it dies by trust. And this is what allows Sutherland to wound the demon - quite badly, as it threw itself at his sword expecting a feast.
>>> For a moment, the sunlight illuminated something within--a sliver of the spirit it might have been. Not the opposite of regret. A different flavor, or shade. Contemplation. Introspection. It felt the echo of the actions that had summoned it. There might have been a better choice, said a thought it had not been allowed.
This isn't the opposite of Regret but a different shade. "There might have been a better choice." There's still doubt here, but it's been shifted toward something else. It's the hope that next time could be different - that one isn't doomed to repeat the same mistakes. It's the potential for Regret to turn into something else.
>>> It glimpsed the spirit realm beyond the Veil, and a faraway glimmer. Familiar, and somehow brighter than what had drawn it here. It knew where it would go.
I am so utterly torn on this. If it's going to Solas and the Lighthouse - is it going as Regret or Contemplation?
"brighter than what had drawn it here" -- what had drawn it here exactly???
If demons are spirits twisted against their purpose, had what drawn it here been the hope/inspiration of the Inquisition? And now it's seeing Fen'Harel's Lighthouse that had also served as a similar beacon?
Or is it referring to the rotundra and the regret that corrupted it, and it's sensing the regret Solas still holds - now even stronger?
Is this GOOD or BAD?!?! I don't know!
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Okay, Solas meta hat time...
We know that demons embody a singular ideal. So this demon is embodying a singular aspect of Solas' regret. But that doesn't mean the things it thinks/does/feels accurately reflects Solas' thoughts/feelings.
BUT, if the way to defeat Regret is through trust, we have a bit of a problem because Solas has trust issues. I made a whole post on it, so I won't dig into it here. The short of it is, he doesn't trust his friends, he doesn't fully trust a romanced Lavellan, and I don't think he even trusts himself. And Regret feeds on doubt - specifically doubt in regards to yourself.
And then there's the thought that Regret hadn't been allowed to have: "There might have been a better choice." And I'm sure Solas has had that thought... but has he grown from it? Or has he just agonized over it?
I'm betting the latter because have you heard the way the man talks? "I had no choice" or "It must be done." He speaks in absolutes, like things can only be one way or the other. And I don't think he likes stumbling into grey areas (realizing the people of modern Thedas are real was/is not pleasant!). It's also, possibly, a bit of a defense mechanism. It's harder to beat yourself up over a choice you made when you've convinced yourself there was really only one possibility.
But defeating Regret means accepting the choices you made and trusting in the people around you, as well as yourself.
That is a tall order for Solas.
...
I have no idea how this is going to end.