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.
Mods for Solas' cutscene during Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts quest, when he offers to dance and you choose "Just keep me company".
Requires:
Frosty Mod Manager
Ultra mesh quality settings in the game
Mods:
Cutscene Fixes and Tweaks by sialivi
- fixes Solas' arm passing through the Inquisitor
Solas Halamshiral Hat and Neck Clipping Fix * by Dmitrias
- fixes clipping of Solas' hat and reduces neck clipping on his outfit
* doesn't work with Solas Hat Removal mod
Solas Hat Removal by xstephyg
- removes Solas' hat during Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts
Note: Solas Hat Removal is a .daimod file, meaning it was made to be used with DAI Mod Manager, BUT I tried adding it to Frosty Mod Manager and it worked 🙌🙌🙌
It was probably covered before, but it took me a long time to find and test, so putting it all together for myself in case I forget how to do it and for anyone who might need this as well :)
Thank you for the tags @transhades @teamdilf and @daylinlavellan
In the Fade Prison server I'm in we have a weekly writing prompt - 100 word drabbles. This week's prompt was 'busy' so this was the last thing I wrote (ok ok it's more than just a line).
How low the candle on his desk burned down had become a measure of when she would appear, asking him to take their evening walk through the garden. Looking at it now, he knew it was time.
Solas busied himself tidying up his desk until he heard his name softly spoken. Looking up, he set the last book onto the pile for the day, a smile forming on his face as he looked at her, nodding.
“Shall we?” he asked, blowing out the candle.
A candle he would light again tomorrow evening, waiting for his Heart’s voice at the doorway.
one of my favorite bits in lord of the rings is something the movies didn't really try to do because it's entirely internal, but sam's carrying the ring and it starts trying to do its work on him, so he's having these intrusive visions of himself marching at the head of a vast and terrible army, and he just starts laughing because, me? samwise gamgee? sam gamgee the general sam gamgee the dark lord are you for real? man i just want to go home and do some gardening. and the ring gets frustrated and it starts trying to figure out other stuff that would actually tempt sam and it's finally like, okay, but hear me out: imagine if you could have...A REALLY REALLY BIG GARDEN
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