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[Ghost Gal]

Dwarfs are not may favorite race to play either, but I made one with the intention that she should "ride the bull" (mostly for lulz, I wanted to see how they handled the difference in height), but she had such a fun and free-spirited personality that I completely fell in love with her! She and Iron Bull also turned out to be a very sweet couple (in their own kinky way), just what I needed after Solas broke my Lavellan's heart... 

 

 

In my opinion her face also turned out rather well, especially considering the trouble I had learning how to use the CC.   

 

She's so beautiful! 

 

Ha, yeah. I made a red-headed female dwarf to "ride the bull" too. I didn't really "like her" as a person though. I made her partly as a foil for my mage elf--someone brousque instead of diplomatic and distrusting of magic instead of embracing of it so she'd side with Templars--but since she fell in love at first sight with Solas, you can imagine how well that went down. I kept trying to force it though, until about Skyhold when I had to acknowledge this wasn't working, and left. As for Bull, well... see below.

 

Its good to know I'm not the only one with this problem. I was originally going to play a qunari. She was the first character I made. And Cullen was who I intended for her cus I loved the idea of him falling for a qunari mage for some reason. But alas. Mods fix this to an extent, but the animation issues involved make me cringe still. XD

 

Of course, if I was able to romance Cullen, I wouldn't have rerolled and made an elf for Solas instead. Whcih was worth it. Nothing can quite beat that moment of realization at the end of the game when I figured out I'd romanced the friggin' Dread Wolf. lol And that surprise is obviously only possible on that first, blind playthrough.

 

Oh, nice! Nice to meet someone who also saw their Adaar as liking Cullen. Why doesn't he appreciate the Qunari bosom??   (Without a mod.  )

 

I'd use a mod, but it feels like cheating. The devs said before the game came out that the race-gating was for story reasons. After the game came out, it became dead clear why once Solas was revealed to be the Dread Wolf, but Cullen's aversion to Qunari and Dwarf booty remained unexplained. I'd like to think it was just time and resource budgets, but... I don't know... what if he really just isn't attracted to, or he's intimidated by, someone so different? I don't like using mods to change companions. I'll use mods to change my gal's own skin, hair, clothes, reduce waiting times for quests (SKIP THE FADE!!!) or war table missions (time wait, be gone!), but I don't want to change companions. 

 

Lol I'm glad it worked out for you regarding Solas--well, as glad as I can be since that ends tragically.  (Yeah, I'm totally a sadist. "YES! You got to experience the pain fresh and personal like the rest of us! SUFFER like us!") I was always planning on playing an elfy and romancing... well, either Sera or Solas first (would've ended in heartbreak no matter what, come to think of it), so I was going to experience heartbreak first no matter what. (I can really pick 'em, right?)

 

Romancing Iron Bull as a dwarf really was unexpectedly fun, so I recommend everyone to try it! They really were cute together! 

 

Actually, I found Bull's "romance" ... um, slightly more hurtful than Solas. 

 

I mean, the whole meme "ride the bull" is blatant false advertising. You don't ride the bull--the bull rides you. Not just that, ties you up and mounts you like a pack mule. Of course, he arranges this with all the bored indifference of a business transaction, then calmly states after your first night that this is how all your "sessions" are going to go. If you say you don't want that, not only does he (horrifyingly) pull the Ben-Hassrath card to say, "I know this is what you need," but if you say you say no, I don't want that, he dumps you! Well, f*ck you too, you giant rat! I say "no" to you holding me down and pounding me like a door nail every time, and just like that, we're done? (And to add insult to injury, he sleeps with every serving girl and lay sister in Southern Thedas in a fun, flirty, casual way, but not us.)

 

I get what Patrick Weekes was going for, but I think it would have been a lot better if we could compromise with Bull on the terms of the "relationship," not just do it his way ("I tie you down and mount you like a brood mare every time and you just take it") or no relationship at all. I understand there was always going to be at least a little BDSM, which I'm fine with (got lots of friends in that scene), but BDSM is supposed to be fun and flexible for both parties. You should be able to say, "I want to be on top sometimes" or "can we occasionally switch it up?" or "can we occasionally just have a vanilla night?" and have your needs met, desires respected, and voice heard, instead of getting, "Oh, as a Ben'Hassrath I know what you need more than you do" or the door.

[Shechinah]

I think it is also that Solas is very conflicted about the romance throughout most of it: even after he acknowledges his feelings to the Inquisitor during the balcony scene he still walks away with an unhappy look. He genuinely cares about the Inquisitor but knows a relationship is unlikely to end well. It is only during the final scene of the romance that Solas seems to think he has resolved this internal conflict only for it to come back when he backs out of his initial confession by swapping it with the vallaslin revelation and realising after the kiss following it that he still feels bound to his purpose and the relationship is not going to work.

 

That is part of my interpretation of the romance's approach, at least, that and Solas does seem a more reserved person. I did not mind it as I felt it fitted the character and the story of the romance.    

[Illyria]

Well, here's the thing - Cullen was also a late addition, yet he has all the scenes. Question is then whether it was really "oops, we had no time for more things", or if they tried to take a different "less is more" sort of approach.

 

It's a very unique romance after all, not only in a sense that Solas is most likely the antagonist in next DA4 and we *may* or may not get a conclusion for there as well - they also wanted to keep things more ambiguous, with a lot more wavering and reluctance... plus I did notice that, while Solas has less romance scenes compared to others, they're also much more thoughtfully constructed, with a lot of them relying on visual language (there are a lot of things said through either background, colors, scene composition or little details) compared to other romances.

 

Cullen was a late addition, but he was an early late addition.  If that makes sense.  He was the first male LI announced (due to Greg Ellis being unable to understand what an NDA is forcing BW to make a statement about the LIs.)  He was confirmed as an LI around the same time as the extra year was announced.

[Sifr]

I think it is also that Solas is very conflicted about the romance throughout most of it: even after he acknowledges his feelings to the Inquisitor during the balcony scene he still walks away with an unhappy look. He genuinely cares about the Inquisitor but knows a relationship is unlikely to end well. It is only during the final scene of the romance that Solas seems to think he has resolved this internal conflict only for it to come back when he backs out of his initial confession by swapping it with the vallaslin revelation and realising after the kiss following it that he still feels bound to his purpose and the relationship is not going to work.

 

That is part of my interpretation of the romance's approach, at least, that and Solas does seem a more reserved person. I did not mind it as I felt it fitted the character and the story of the romance.    

 

If I recall correctly from the Biofan interview, I believe that Weekes said that part of the reason he pushed so hard to get Solas made a LI when they got a year extension was because he had always intended Solas to be a tragic character, so giving him a bittersweet romance arc made his character arc come across even more of a grand tragedy.

[Elessara]

If I recall correctly from the Biofan interview, I believe that Weekes said that part of the reason he pushed so hard to get Solas made a LI when they got a year extension was because he had always intended Solas to be a tragic character, so giving him a bittersweet romance arc made his character arc come across even more of as grand tragedy.

 

We should tell Weekes that his mission was accomplished, there was much tragedy, time for happiness, plz!   =x

[Ellawynn]

If I recall correctly from the Biofan interview, I believe that Weekes said that part of the reason he pushed so hard to get Solas made a LI when they got a year extension was because he had always intended Solas to be a tragic character, so giving him a bittersweet romance arc made his character arc come across even more of as grand tragedy.

I gotta admit, if it weren't for the romance, I probably wouldn't be as interested in Solas as I am.

 

I mean, I'd still probably name him as one of my favorite DA characters, because romance or no he has all the makings of the type of characters I usually like (Trickster archetype, moral ambiguity, powerful and intelligent.) but you really see a different side of him in the romance. Nevermind the tragedy of it, he just seems... looser. More emotional. Outside of his personal quest's conclusion, he usually seems so closed-off. The romance fights against that a little.

[Addictress]

diagk.tumblr.com

[Brass_Buckles]

If I recall correctly from the Biofan interview, I believe that Weekes said that part of the reason he pushed so hard to get Solas made a LI when they got a year extension was because he had always intended Solas to be a tragic character, so giving him a bittersweet romance arc made his character arc come across even more of a grand tragedy.

 

The downside of this is it plays up the tragedy of Solas over the tragedy of the person he's deeply hurt.  And that's... more than a little wrong.

 

Don't get me wrong, I think that Solas's story is a good one.  But when you write the tragic ending with the intent to make it more tragic for Solas, who's doing something to hurt his beloved, than it is for the beloved who is hurt without knowing why... well, that's a problem.  Why is Solas's hurt supposed to be more important than my Inquisitor's?  Because he has Deep Dark Broody secrets?  I'm sorry but that doesn't work... he refused to tell her the truth and left her in a very vulnerable moment.  And when he finally did tell her the truth, it was cruel and cold as it could possibly be--that she'll probably die as a result of his actions, and he's not even going to consider stopping no matter how he feels for her.

 

Again... I feel like more empathy should be pointed toward the Inquisitor and the other people Solas is hurting, rather than focusing on how sad and tragic Solas is.

 

I really hope the Inquisitors get some kind of resolution with him.  I doubt it'll end well, but I want to see some focus put on how tragic it is for the Inquisitor who was Solas's friend or loved one, how much worse that is for them than it is for Solas who is the perpetrator of the hurt (and the end of the world, perhaps).

[Sifr]

I believe that the reason that Solas is far more - for lack of a better word, human - at the end of his romance arc is because it's opened him up to things he's been trying to deny ever since he woke up in this strange new world. Trespasser shows that he has been desperately trying to convince himself that these people aren't real and it'd be no loss to destroy their world to undo his mistake.

 

While he still is intent to correct his mistake, I do think that his friendship with the Inquisitor and especially his romance with Lavellan have caused him to understand precisely why Felassan chose to defy him in TME. The Slow Arrow wasn't betraying him, he was trying to tell him that Briala made him see that these people were real, that they did matter and were worth saving... even if it meant never restoring what had been lost.

 

I think that Solas probably considers the Inquisitor, especially Lavellan to be similar in this regard, having shown him that he was wrong to so easily dismiss the world and people that he'd unwittingly created when he put up the Veil. Before he didn't care about the "sea of Tranquil" people he saw in Thedas, now he regrets that part of him does.

 

This is probably what Cole was foreshadowing and alluding to after the break-up, when he briefly reads both of them.

 

"You're real... and it means everyone could be real. It changes everything. But it can't."

 

That's the other reason why the romance is a tragedy, that Solas honestly does love Lavellan and yet it frightens him, because while Solas at the start could have destroyed this world and lived with the guilt, he probably doesn't know whether he could handle it now he has found something to lose.

[Addictress]

*shivers* so good.

 

now listen to this song ;__; on loop

 

You don't ride the bull--the bull rides you. Not just that, ties you up and mounts you like a pack mule. Of course, he arranges this with all the bored indifference of a business transaction, then calmly states after your first night that this is how all your "sessions" are going to go. If you say you don't want that, not only does he (horrifyingly) pull the Ben-Hassrath card to say, "I know this is what you need," but if you say you say no, I don't want that, he dumps you! Well, f*ck you too, you giant rat! I say "no" to you holding me down and pounding me like a door nail every time, and just like that, we're done? (And to add insult to injury, he sleeps with every serving girl and lay sister in Southern Thedas in a fun, flirty, casual way, but not us.)

 

I get what Patrick Weekes was going for, but I think it would have been a lot better if we could compromise with Bull on the terms of the "relationship," not just do it his way ("I tie you down and mount you like a brood mare every time and you just take it") or no relationship at all. I understand there was always going to be at least a little BDSM, which I'm fine with (got lots of friends in that scene), but BDSM is supposed to be fun and flexible for both parties. You should be able to say, "I want to be on top sometimes" or "can we occasionally switch it up?" or "can we occasionally just have a vanilla night?" and have your needs met, desires respected, and voice heard, instead of getting, "Oh, as a Ben'Hassrath I know what you need more than you do" or the door.

 

   

I'm never trying the IB romance. I'm sorry.

[Brass_Buckles]

Sifr:  Allow me to clarify.

 

I understand precisely what is supposed to be tragic about Solas, but he's the catalyst for all the bad things that he's planning to bring about.  He split with Lavellan.  His plans are likely to kill her.  Same for how he treated Friend!Inquisitor.

 

In light of that, it's silly to feel worse for him than the Inquisitor, especially once the Inquisitor is informed of what Solas is planning.

 

I don't feel bad that Solas will have to live with his guilt; he's fully intending to bring it upon himself.  All he has to do to avoid it is not end the world a second time, or find another way to achieve his goals that will not be as catastrophic.  He's certainly intelligent enough to find such a solution if one exists.

 

That's why, to me, Solas is... not really tragic at all.  He could be a good person, but he's turning himself into a monster by his own choices.  In the sense of a Greek tragedy, he's tragic.  In the sense of "do I feel sorry for him?"  No.  I don't.

 

Now look at the Inquisitor, particularly romanced Lavellan.  She's been taught her entire life to avoid the Dread Wolf, to defend her clan against him.  She is caught by him unawares, falls deeply in love, and then he leaves.  And she never knows why.  He doesn't send letters, he doesn't contact her in any way, not even in the Fade.  Then when he shows up again, it's to tell her he is trying to destroy everything she knows and cares about.  Everything she worked to save, he'll destroy.  Now, at this point you can do what I'd probably do and tell him it's totally over, or, if you're a hopeless romantic you can cling to the possibility you can somehow change him or save him.  Then you are a sad, desperate fool clinging to the idea that the power of love and/or friendship will show him the light and change his wicked ways...

 

Meanwhile, Solas knows precisely what he's doing, and what the cost is likely to be.  And he's doing it anyway.  He told you so.  So what if he feels guilty over it?  If he goes through with it he's a monster.  He might already be one for planning it even knowing what he does:  That the people of current Thedas are real people, with real feelings and beliefs and lives and loves.

 

Except he knew that early on.  Listen to his dialogue with Iron Bull about why he doesn't celebrate his kills after battle.  Much as he might want to claim otherwise, Solas has seen people as people for a very long time.  He's been deluding himself.  That's not tragic, that's foolhardy.  And proud.  But then again he is named Pride, right?

 

So yeah, in the sense of Greek Tragedy you are right... but in the sense of who we should feel more sympathy for, I'd argue it's not Solas but instead the ones he's hurt.

 

Edited to add:  Wow it sounds like I hate him.

 

I don't.  I think he's a fascinating character.  BUT.  I think the writers focused too much on trying to make us sympathize with him, instead of realizing that our own characters are the ones who are actually hurting the worst in that situation!  And that's... kind of a bad mistake to make.

[coldwetn0se]

Actually, I found Bull's "romance" ... um, slightly more hurtful than Solas. 
 
I mean, the whole meme "ride the bull" is blatant false advertising. You don't ride the bull--the bull rides you. Not just that, ties you up and mounts you like a pack mule. Of course, he arranges this with all the bored indifference of a business transaction, then calmly states after your first night that this is how all your "sessions" are going to go. If you say you don't want that, not only does he (horrifyingly) pull the Ben-Hassrath card to say, "I know this is what you need," but if you say you say no, I don't want that, he dumps you!

Well, f*ck you too, you giant rat! I say "no" to you holding me down and pounding me like a door nail every time, and just like that, we're done? (And to add insult to injury, he sleeps with every serving girl and lay sister in Southern Thedas in a fun, flirty, casual way, but not us.)
 
I get what Patrick Weekes was going for, but I think it would have been a lot better if we could compromise with Bull on the terms of the "relationship," not just do it his way ("I tie you down and mount you like a brood mare every time and you just take it") or no relationship at all. I understand there was always going to be at least a little BDSM, which I'm fine with (got lots of friends in that scene), but BDSM is supposed to be fun and flexible for both parties. You should be able to say, "I want to be on top sometimes" or "can we occasionally switch it up?" or "can we occasionally just have a vanilla night?" and have your needs met, desires respected, and voice heard, instead of getting, "Oh, as a Ben'Hassrath I know what you need more than you do" or the door.

It is fair to say, that the Bull romance isn't for everyone. However, I do not (nor did) get anything like that out of the romance. Out of all of my PC's (11), two of them could have easily fit with him, though only one of them ended up with him (the other, I had already started on another romance path). Not once did I feel it was out of character for my PC to end up with him, or felt used/abused, as you described in the bolded portions.

Just with many of the characters, you may have a questioning period - Solas pushing you away at times, Cullen dealing with lyrium addiction and you as the Inquisitor having to take that into account regardless of a romance, or Sera desperate to separate herself from anything too "elfy". With Bull he makes it clear that you can stop before it even starts, when he reveals how the first involvement will go down. He then tells you straight up, that this is how the relationship will be. With many of my characters, they probably wouldn't have even stayed for one romp, let alone further the relationship under those conditions. But, this particular character of mine certainly would and did. It was "in" character for her, and she was never under pressure to comply. She wanted to comply. That is the difference, in my opinion. Plus, the relationship itself - to me at least - is extremely well paced. Layers behind Bull are revealed. If declared Tal Vashoth the vulnerability he shows in other content (like banters between Solas and him, or Cole) makes the romance even more poignant to me.

I guess my simple point is, it is all perspective. How one PC may see it, another may view it all together differently. Solas in that respect is very similar. Some find his actions, direct or no, as reprehensible, and those that felt betrayed by the breakup are understandably upset. Yet here we are, still sharing reactions and emotions, towards this character. And many of them in a rather positive light. Or at least a healthy dose of positive, negative, and some things in between.

Damn, I love choices.

[Qun00]

You know what's funny? The way low approval subtly hints at Solas' inner conflict over the value of modern people.



Around 2:10.

"I should thank you, Inquisitor. I had interacted with few of your people before. From the stories, I thought you all thuggish, simple and crude.

Now? Now I know I was right! You don't know what a comfort that is."

Translation: "Now you can bet your ass I'm gonna destroy ALL of you. :-)"

[Ghost Gal]

   

I'm never trying the IB romance. I'm sorry.

 

I don't know if you're saying this because of what I said, or have heard it from someone else or other people before and I'm just (seemingly) enforcing it. Definitely don't take my word as the gospel truth (of anything), I just have really strong opinions and easily hurt feelings (with a large vocabulary and a short fuse to express it).

 

It is fair to say, that the Bull romance isn't for everyone. However, I do not (nor did) get anything like that out of the romance. Out of all of my PC's (11), two of them could have easily fit with him, though only one of them ended up with him (the other, I had already started on another romance path). Not once did I feel it was out of character for my PC to end up with him, or felt used/abused, as you described in the bolded portions.

 

I don't know about "used/abused," but I definitely felt... hurt, unsexy, and undesired, which is NOT how I want to feel in a fantasy romance. I get it; Bull was never going to be "reading love poems by the riverside" (as Patrick Weekes put it), and that's fine. I totally expected that. What I didn't expect was such apparent apathy and indifference--that he could really take you or leave you, really not feel at all invested in whether or not you two would f**k a second time, and feel not the least bit hesitant to dump you the second things weren't going his way. "I don't want to do it this way every time." "Oh? All right then. *DROP* Back to f**king serving girls." It's like, "Oh, I see. Of all the thousands of girls you could be are f**king in Southern Thedas, I see where I rate on this list: the bum-f**king bottom. You'd sooner dump me and go back to letting them ride on top then let me ride on top even once. Well, have fun."

 

Just with many of the characters, you may have a questioning period - Solas pushing you away at times, Cullen dealing with lyrium addiction and 

you as the Inquisitor having to take that into account regardless of a romance, or Sera desperate to separate herself from anything too "elfy". With Bull he makes it clear that you can stop before it even starts, when he reveals how the first involvement will go down. He then tells you straight up, that this is how the relationship will be.

 

Problem is, even during the "questioning period" of other romances, they at least seem invested in you. Even when Solas tries to push you away at times he visibly has trouble tearing himself away from you; even when in the throes of lyrium withdrawal Cullen seems deeply upset with disappointing you; even during her horrible, horrible ultimatum (which I'll never forgive Sera for), at least she has the good graces to appear desperate and hurt as she forces you to choose between your beliefs and identity or her. The first half of Bull's entire so-called "romance," he sounds so bored and indifferent, and has no trouble dropping you at the first sign of inconvenience to him. He'll let every serving girl in Thedas be on top, but tells you "straight up" you'll only ever be on the bottom, and if you say "no, I don't want that" he goes back to the serving girls. Okay then. 

 

I believe that the reason that Solas is far more - for lack of a better word, human - at the end of his romance arc is because it's opened him up to things he's been trying to deny ever since he woke up in this strange new world. Trespasser shows that he has been desperately trying to convince himself that these people aren't real and it'd be no loss to destroy their world to undo his mistake.

 

While he still is intent to correct his mistake, I do think that his friendship with the Inquisitor and especially his romance with Lavellan have caused him to understand precisely why Felassan chose to defy him in TME. The Slow Arrow wasn't betraying him, he was trying to tell him that Briala made him see that these people were real, that they did matter and were worth saving... even if it meant never restoring what had been lost.

 

I think that Solas probably considers the Inquisitor, especially Lavellan to be similar in this regard, having shown him that he was wrong to so easily dismiss the world and people that he'd unwittingly created when he put up the Veil. Before he didn't care about the "sea of Tranquil" people he saw in Thedas, now he regrets that part of him does.

 

This is probably what Cole was foreshadowing and alluding to after the break-up, when he briefly reads both of them.

 

"You're real... and it means everyone could be real. It changes everything. But it can't."

 

That's the other reason why the romance is a tragedy, that Solas honestly does love Lavellan and yet it frightens him, because while Solas at the start could have destroyed this world and lived with the guilt, he probably doesn't know whether he could handle it now he has found something to lose.

 

Sometimes I wonder if part of the reason Solas can't bring himself to give up his plans is because it would make him a big fat hypocrite who spits on the memory of Felassan. As Cole says, "His friend had to die, because he thought they were people." Felassan eventually "recognized" they're people worth preserving, and Solas killed him for daring to try to abandon the mission just because of those Tranquil-like things. But then less than a year later, the sad wolf himself falls in love with one of them. If he did exactly what he killed Felassan for trying to do--back out of the mission just because he realized "they're people"--it would almost make Felassan's murder in vain, and, indeed, as Patrick Weekes put it, "[Solas] will have betrayed himself."

[Ellawynn]

Sifr:  Allow me to clarify.

 

I understand precisely what is supposed to be tragic about Solas, but he's the catalyst for all the bad things that he's planning to bring about.  He split with Lavellan.  His plans are likely to kill her.  Same for how he treated Friend!Inquisitor.

 

In light of that, it's silly to feel worse for him than the Inquisitor, especially once the Inquisitor is informed of what Solas is planning.

 

I don't feel bad that Solas will have to live with his guilt; he's fully intending to bring it upon himself.  All he has to do to avoid it is not end the world a second time, or find another way to achieve his goals that will not be as catastrophic.  He's certainly intelligent enough to find such a solution if one exists.

 

That's why, to me, Solas is... not really tragic at all.  He could be a good person, but he's turning himself into a monster by his own choices.  In the sense of a Greek tragedy, he's tragic.  In the sense of "do I feel sorry for him?"  No.  I don't.

 

Now look at the Inquisitor, particularly romanced Lavellan.  She's been taught her entire life to avoid the Dread Wolf, to defend her clan against him.  She is caught by him unawares, falls deeply in love, and then he leaves.  And she never knows why.  He doesn't send letters, he doesn't contact her in any way, not even in the Fade.  Then when he shows up again, it's to tell her he is trying to destroy everything she knows and cares about.  Everything she worked to save, he'll destroy.  Now, at this point you can do what I'd probably do and tell him it's totally over, or, if you're a hopeless romantic you can cling to the possibility you can somehow change him or save him.  Then you are a sad, desperate fool clinging to the idea that the power of love and/or friendship will show him the light and change his wicked ways...

 

Meanwhile, Solas knows precisely what he's doing, and what the cost is likely to be.  And he's doing it anyway.  He told you so.  So what if he feels guilty over it?  If he goes through with it he's a monster.  He might already be one for planning it even knowing what he does:  That the people of current Thedas are real people, with real feelings and beliefs and lives and loves.

 

Except he knew that early on.  Listen to his dialogue with Iron Bull about why he doesn't celebrate his kills after battle.  Much as he might want to claim otherwise, Solas has seen people as people for a very long time.  He's been deluding himself.  That's not tragic, that's foolhardy.  And proud.  But then again he is named Pride, right?

 

So yeah, in the sense of Greek Tragedy you are right... but in the sense of who we should feel more sympathy for, I'd argue it's not Solas but instead the ones he's hurt.

 

Edited to add:  Wow it sounds like I hate him.

 

I don't.  I think he's a fascinating character.  BUT.  I think the writers focused too much on trying to make us sympathize with him, instead of realizing that our own characters are the ones who are actually hurting the worst in that situation!  And that's... kind of a bad mistake to make.

 

Well, for starters, the writers basically can't do anything at all with the various PCs. Weekes might be well aware how tragic the situation is for Lavellan - but he can't do anything with that without running the risk of invalidating someone's character. For instance, I've seen some Lavellans that bounce right back after the break-up - how could you possibly handle a true tragedy with them, when they aren't too broken up about it at all? Sure, maybe it's a bad mistake to make, but it's not like they have any choice. They tried to make a story where the troubles of the PC were actually addressed - that was DA2, and it was received horribly, so they're unlikely to try it again. *Shrug* What can you expect from them, really? Their hands are tied.

[CapricornSun]

Art break.

 

kallielef's sketch ideas for her modern AU Solavellan fic (which she mentioned no one would ever see it probably).

"Just a bunch of advisors, professors, students, and professors who are also secretly theoretical physicists/political

scientists who just want to change the world!" (NOTE: Lavellan is a professor here btw.)

Spoiler

Source: http://kallielef.tum...ch-ideas-for-my

 

 

Pretty Solavellan tarot card.

Spoiler

Source: http://bunabi.tumblr...ette-a-card-for

 

 

Solavellan kisses.

Spoiler

Source: http://paranoidfacto...ng-some-kissing

 

 

Some sweet sketches of teen!quisitor Lavellan and dad figure!Solas. (Awww...)

Spoiler

Source: http://snidy.tumblr....s-messy-doodles

 

 

Solas and Lavellan.

Spoiler

Source: http://smuttine.tumb...carto-in-a-very

 

 

Solas doodle.

Spoiler

Source: http://ktfranceebee....bly-color-later

 

 

Solas, with and without a wolf (dog?) mask.

Spoiler

Source: http://rita-sanderso...st/143024492584

 

[Addictress]

Do you think Garett David-Lloyd is aware of Solas fangirls?

Like what does he think about the role and his indirect icon status?

How much Solavellan has he seen?
I wonder these things.

[Elessara]

Well, for starters, the writers basically can't do anything at all with the various PCs. Weekes might be well aware how tragic the situation is for Lavellan - but he can't do anything with that without running the risk of invalidating someone's character. For instance, I've seen some Lavellans that bounce right back after the break-up - how could you possibly handle a true tragedy with them, when they aren't too broken up about it at all? Sure, maybe it's a bad mistake to make, but it's not like they have any choice. They tried to make a story where the troubles of the PC were actually addressed - that was DA2, and it was received horribly, so they're unlikely to try it again. *Shrug* What can you expect from them, really? Their hands are tied.

 

Actually, the writers DID try to express Lavellan's hurt over the Crestwood scene.  Cole has a party banter about it.  And people complained because THEIR Lavellan didn't feel that way, didn't feel hurt, didn't feel hurt for those reasons, would never have though what Cole said, etc.  That and the writers simply cannot cover every conceivable instance of how a Lavellan might feel so yeah how are they possibly going to give the player the ability to really express in game how their character feels/thinks.  Give us a wheel with a hundred possibly reactions and there will still be people complaining that none of them fit their character and why didn't they add X reaction.

 

Edit to add:  Also the situation may not actually be tragic for some Lavellans who romanced Solas.  

[TheyCallMeBunny]

Man, I hope not. The idea that someone with god-like powers such as Solas has shown being a wimpy kid in the corner to our Super! Special! Winner! PC! would irritate me. I'm cool with not being the magical snowflake that saves the world every time, never mind with Solas already being seen as the colossal eff-up that we need to scold. Kind of reduces the character and the idea of what the future story holds if we get to ride in and save the day from the ever-so-silly Not-PC.

 

I'd love to see a showdown between Solas and some other great power, but would rather the part of my PC be taking care of other issues while that's happening. Then I could feel a part of it, but not that I've stolen the show in a totally abitrary-for-my-ego way.

 

Oh, that's just my predictions and not what I would wish to happen personally. The reason for why I think this is the case is simply because the few times the writers remove even a tinge of agency from the player people tend to become very upset (I liked Hawke's story in DA2 myself, but a lot of people really raged about it). There seems to be the belief that most players want to be the super-special snowflake that always triumphs despite whatever adversity they face. I think the hardest part for the devs will be to balance player agency, creative storytelling and the expectations of fans - the bigger the impact (and Solas' plans have HUGE impact) the more players will demand to influence and direct what is going to happen (and not merely be spectators). I honestly don't fear much for Solas in regards to the writing though, he has been thought out since the IP was created so I think they have a very clear vision of who he is as a character. 

 

Btw, am I the only one who is hoping that the next game will have a smaller scope? I mean, of course I want to know more about Solas' plans, but I'm longing so much for a more intimate story... DA2 without the repetitive locations. Perhaps we could play a part in an underground movement to liberate slaves in Minrathous?

[Sifr]

Brass_Buckles, I think you are right the writers (and audience) might naturally want to see him as more sympathetic than he actually is. I don't know whether or not we should see him that way either after Trespasser, since he knows what he's doing is wrong but he doesn't want to stop doing it.

 

I think that's why Weekes said he saw him as a tragic character, rather than a sympathetic one.

 

Do you think Garett David-Lloyd is aware of Solas fangirls?

Like what does he think about the role and his indirect icon status?

How much Solavellan has he seen?
I wonder these things.

 

GDL seems to be somewhat aware of Solas has a fan-following.

 

If anyone watches Geek Remix on youtube, they managed to get him to record a brief message for Stacy's wedding anniversary and give the Dread Wolf's blessing in Elvish. It's amusing that he worries in the clip that he might have butchered the pronounciation of it... I guess because the various languages are always written phonetically to help the actors in the booth?

 

I think the clip also shows off his normal voice enough to see what he meant in an interview I read with him somewhere were he said that to play Solas, he adopted a register that was "slightly more Welsh" than he normally sounds.

 

But yeah, I think he knows that Solas became a fan favourite like Ianto did in Torchwood.

[Qun00]

Regarding IB, the fact that the romance starts as non-romantic is intentional. He clearly does become invested later.

When you two are caught in the act by Cassandra, Cullen and Josephine, the Inquisitor can choose to say it was just for fun and nothing more.

Then the Iron Bull ends the romance and blames himself: "I was trying to relieve your stress, not add to it. If you're ashamed of this, then I'm doing a crappy job."

[coldwetn0se]

Since this is fairly off-topic, I will put it in spoilers.

Re: Bullmance

Spoiler

As @Qun00 points out, unlike some of the other romances, Bull's doesn't start as a romance in his mind. He was brought up in the Qun. The player has ample opportunity to ask about life under the Qun, and Bull's perspective. He can tell you about marriage, relationships and sex under the Qun. Hell, my Mace Cadash even agreed with him about "efficiency" of having Tamassarens who are there to "pop your cork", since she too could see the value in that. But again, there shows some key differences between that PC and most of my other PC's. When the so-called courtship began (and I use the word courtship more ironically, than not), he was still under the Qun. My PC didn't expect anything specific from him. She probably didn't even know she would eventually fall for him. At least, that is how I headcanon it.

In the end, he shows a number of romantic moments. And I never felt like Mace was unloved, by the time the romance part really took off. If anyone is ever curious about the Bullmance, I would highly recommend taking a look at his character thread here. Very nice bunch of folks.

And to get back on topic, I too see the complications of hemming in the Inquisitor into the tragic character aspect. I get why that feeling exists, of course. Room needed to be left, for people to choose how their character felt. Most is only through further actions, a few dialogue options, and headcanon. But considering the potential alternative (i.e. only getting one flavor of Solasmancing Inquisitor, for example), this was about the best they could do with resources and limited content.

Intended to add a new screenshot of my "me" Inquisitor that I am currently playing (*see avatar*) - my first ever self-insert - but then I realized I forgot to upload them to photobucket. So I'll just add a little art instead....

Spoiler

By parapyschologist on Deviant Art

[NightSymphony]

Aww...I love that art. Solas Puppy!!

 

EDIT:   TOP...have another puppy.

 

Spoiler

 

http://apostacyart.d...f-Cub-530764843

[NightSymphony]

I really wish I had known she was selling those.   She also had Nugs and Fen'Harel necklaces in her Etsy shop.

[CapricornSun]

Art post.

 

Solas and Lavellan in a scene from the college AU of the diner AU (Meet the Family). Fic doesn't have a name yet so far.

Spoiler

Source: http://e-denoir.tumb...omystic-college

 

 

Mornings at Skyhold. Solavellan (NSFW but this is the cropped/preview version)

Spoiler

Source: http://e-denoir.tumb...ll-image-here-ʖ

 

 

Some lovely sketches of Halamshiral!Lavellan and Solas face practice.

Spoiler

Source: http://e-denoir.tumb...sign-solas-face

 

 

Solas and male Lavellan kissing.

Spoiler

Source: http://rulodecabra.t...7276/im-in-hell

 

 

A lovely digital painting of Solas.

Spoiler

Source: http://plushchimera....st/143053477517

 

 

Someone is in Solavellan hell.

Spoiler

Source: http://fadoavocado.t...ve-fado-lol-but

 

 

Some funny modern AU Cole and Solas in wolf shirts.

Spoiler

Source: http://yimmygee.tumb...vus-i-cant-stop