#solasposting

[the-lil-faeling]

Watching Solas do the ritual like

[femmefabled]

Don’t fret Solas, he wasn’t the first friend you killed.

[amoaliquis]

Similarities - Hancock and Solas Edition.

Those who are acquainted with me are aware of my fondness for Hancock. He is, without a doubt, my favorite. My numero uno.

Solas is neck and neck. Thus you KNOW this post is full of all kinds of appreciation. Or lust. I dunno. What's the damned difference?

Now, what could these two men possibly have in common besides being bald? [I KNOW that was your first thought! Don't lie.] /affectionate snort.

1. Both men are/were Rebel Leaders.

Fen'Harel, also known as The Dread Wolf and formerly Solas, was a leader who guided the Elvhen people in opposition to the Evanuris' oppressive rule and the perceived protection that masked their enslavement. Solas adopted the moniker "Dread Wolf" to instill fear in his adversaries, which later became a source of inspiration for his followers.

John Hancock, previously known as John McDonough, was deeply affected by the murder of a fellow drifter in Goodneighbor, an event he was unable to prevent due to the armed henchmen of Vic. The resulting guilt consumed him, leaving him feeling utterly despondent. Following a particularly intense experience with chems, he awoke in the Old State House, finding himself next to the attire of the historical John Hancock. This experience triggered a profound change within him, leading him to break the display case, take the clothes, and begin organizing and training a clandestine revolutionary militia. Ultimately, they successfully ousted the tyrannical Vic and his followers, culminating in Vic's execution from the Old State House balcony.

2. Both men went through major transformations of their being.

Solas, initially a spirit of Wisdom, transformed to inhabit a physical form derived from Titan's blood, also known as Lyrium. Initially content in his spiritual existence, Solas was resistant to the prospect of entering the human realm. Ultimately he was persuaded to do so by an outside force. Upon assuming a corporeal form, he adopted the name Solas, an Elvish term signifying "Pride".

Hancock, a human, underwent a transformative process via an experimental drug, resulting in his becoming a ghoul. This decision, potentially driven by self-imposed penance for his role in the expulsion of ghouls from Diamond City, proved to be a painful experience. However, this transformation facilitated his integration within the community he aimed to safeguard, ultimately proving beneficial.

3. Both men have very strong stances against tyranny.

Hancock : "The world's always gonna have tyrants, but if I get my way, there'll be a lot less."

Solas : "Death to all tyrants!"

4. Both men have long life spans or can be seen as "immortal".

Hancock is a ghoul and became one around the age of fourty when he took an experimental chem. As a ghoul, his lifespan is greatly extended due to radiation exposure, making him essentially immortal. He will not die of old age or disease, however he can still be killed by violence or accidents, and prolonged exposure to high levels of radiation can cause him to become feral, losing his cognitive abilities.

Solas is an ancient elf with "effective" immortality. Like Hancock, he does not age, but can be killed or harmed.

5. Both men were thrust into leadership roles neither wanted as a byproduct of taking a stand against something they found morally reprehensible.

Solas became Fen'Harel or The Dread Wolf, leader of the Rebellion.

Hancock became the undisputed Mayor of Goodneighbor, leader and figurehead for an entire settlement. "Of the people, FOR the people."[Here the two men vastly differ in their leadership ideals and approaches, but that is a post for another day.]

6. Both men are proponents of freedom be it from oppression or freedom of personal choice.

Solas illustrates this point on more than one occasion in Inquisition and Trespasser. His interactions with Iron Bull on the Qun and Dorian in regards to Tevinter slaves paint his stance beautifully.

* Solas: <to Iron Bull when discussing Iron Bull being Ben-Hassrath> "No. Even the lowliest peasant may find freedom in the safety of her thoughts. You take even that."

* Solas: "Surely, even you see, Iron Bull, that freedom is preferable to mindless obedience to the Qun."

* Solas: "It doesn't matter if they are happy, it matters that they may choose!"

* Solas: "I take no joy in what I must do. Until that day comes, I would see those recovering from the Breach free of the Qun. Because I am not a monster."

Hancock is the mayor of a settlement founded on personal freedoms, devoid of bigotry and social class.

* Hancock : "Everyone should get to live life on their own terms. That's what Goodneighbor's all about. Served us well so far."

* Hancock : "Plenty of folks wanna make life hard for people just tryin' to survive. I'm not willing to stand for that kinda shit."

7. Both men plead their cases to people/beings in positions of power only for their wisdom and empathy to fall on deaf ears.

Solas appealed to all of the Evanuris at some point, some more than once, both in person and through letters. Nothing moved them from their course; his advisement was ignored and mocked.

Hancock Tried to appeal to his elder brother on behalf of the ghoul population in Diamond City. Guy McDonough, having run his mayoral campaign on an anti-ghoul platform, showed no signs of remorse over the violence his stance incited and in fact gloated to Hancock when he pleaded for the ghouls' safety after Guy's inauguration speech.

8. Both men adopted personas that were far removed from their core personalities.

John McDonough became John Hancock. As a human, John McDonough was good-looking and the younger brother of a bully who became mayor of Diamond City. That version of himself Hancock saw as "weak." He had failed to help the ghouls, had failed to stop Vic's henchmen as they murdered a fellow drifter right in front of him. He was helpless, unworthy, and insecure with low self-esteem and insurmountable guilt. He had to be buried. Thus John Hancock, the secret rebellion leader, was born. While McDonough was timid, Hancock was courageous and stood up for freedom from oppression. He championed equality and would fight and kill to do what had to be done in order to protect the people. Hancock is fearless, cocky, charming, and a bit of a playboy, but always "of the people, for the people"—everything McDonough was not.

Solas became Fen'Harel/The Dread Wolf. Solas's persona was not one he adopted willingly nor chose for himself, unlike Hancock. This mask was thrust upon him in good faith simply in hopes that it would provoke fear in those they were rebelling against while also offering hope and inspiration to those they fought for. Solas himself simply "wanted to give wisdom not orders." Fen'Harel, by contrast, led, ordered, made calculated decisions, and worked well within the confines of half-truths in order to further the goal of freedom from oppression.

Both men are more than their personas. Solas still houses Solas, the quiet man who loves to debate and share wisdom while learning himself. Hancock still houses John McDonough, the man who cares deeply, is insecure, unsure at times and empathetic.

9. Both men are clever and adept at manipulation. [Neither are above using it.]

When you first meet Hancock the man stabs a guy who is trying to extort money out of you right in front of your face, only to turn around and manipulate you into handling some business for him a bit later.

Solas is at least subtle about his manipulation in Inquisiton. Always with half-truths. Never outright lies.

Calling Hancock out on this manipulation gets you a charming chuckle, a self-deprecating joke of commiseration about fools in costumes, and an honest apology. This is followed by a moment of self-reflection, worried he's becoming a tyrant himself. Noting that it's time for him to go on a walkabout, you can offer for him to join you. He doesn't hesitate. His philosophy while you travel: "Someone needs helpin', we help 'em. Someone needs hurtin', we hurt 'em. It's not hard." He either becomes a steadfast friend and ally or a loyal, desperately in-love partner.

Calling Solas out in Trespasser, depending on how you have treated him, can elicit a heartfelt apology before he either "saves your life" or "prolongs it" by magically amputating the hand that is slowly killing you. He tells you that he would treasure another opportunity to be proven wrong or if you romanced him reaffirms his feelings for you. In the following years he leaves clues for the Inquisitor to help stop him, and in the end the Inquisitor either becomes a friend he respects or his "true love".

DEPENDING ON THE STORY...

10. Neither man feels truly worthy of the one who loves them.

Solas can flatout state that Lavellan deserves better after the break-up if she questions him, and while this is a direct acknowledgement, Solas's feelings of unworthiness tend to showcase themselves more often through implication and subtlety of action.

Hancock on the other hand is more direct, as is in line with his character.

Hancock : "You don't want to wake up to this mug every morning. Never wish that on anyone I cared for."

And when reassured you do in fact love him and enter into a relationship, upon waking up in bed he can say,

"You sure you want to be stuck with this ugly mug?"

11. Both men can fall in love with the person they initially manipulated.

Their love interest proves themselves to be the rare person who fully accepts all of the aspects of who they are and takes the time to see beyond the larger-than-life personas they tend to hide behind. Never taking advantage of or using them, simply loving them.

Would these two get along? Fuck no.

Let's be real, Solas would find Hancock's brash nature grating and offensive. Hancock would see Solas as a pretentious cunt who is unnecessarily verbose and condescending.

They would give one another headaches.

[To further explore the hilarity that would ensue, I am currently writing an AU where all of the guys meet (Solas, Hancock, Charon, and Garrus) along with their partners. It's fun.]

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

honestly one of the greatest crimes Dragon Age: Inquisition committed in keeping bi Solas from us is that you KNOW Gareth David-Lloyd would have put his whole pussy into voice acting for the M/M lines as much as they did the M/F. my man was NOT out here making out with John Barrowman on BBC1 primetime to get cast as straight characters in the 20teens... he was winning awards for best kiss with another man... they were sobbing into each others arms!!!!! utterly devastating loss

[rosieofcorona]

crying over how harding’s sash is embroidered with “symbols…to represent fellow heroes of the inquisition” and how solas is included among them, even after everything………help me

[m00n-fever]

A hidden Solas mural in Veilguard!

This one hit me right in the Solavellan feels because it depicts the ending of Trespasser. It can be found in the catacombs of Minrathous, after completing the mission Hidden Hoard.

[heliomanteia]

Anyone acting like Solas is somehow a better person than the newest protagonist needs to immediately point me where and when Rook sundered a sentient race to a sleep so full of rage it caused the blight.

Anyone and their mom is in the right to blame and judge baldie the second he wants to cause mass murder (reason doesn’t matter). Dwarves deserve to personally kill him with stones if they so wish. It’s also okay to like a character who is a fictional war criminal and has done one (1) objectively good thing in his life. Shaking the bars

[lonelymagpies]

DAI Solas with his ugly outfit aaaaa

I love the ugly outfit so much, look at his arms, it clings perfectly

[ainomomoarts]

_________________________________________________

“She nearly killed herself trying to face him,” Felassan said at Solas side, voice low and bitter. “Did she think she was divine enough to survive that?”

Solas didn’t answer.

“You should have stopped her.”

“I tried,” Solas snapped, the word edged like cracked stone. His gaze remained forward, unblinking. “And now she’s in pieces because she believed she could challenge a god—and win.”

Felassan scoffed. “We all believe in something, Fen’Harel.”_________________________________________________

Solas and Felassan rescuing Nira after her failed encounter with Elgar’nan. Leaving her blind in her left eye and the start of Solas decision to remove her from the war.

Elvhenan AU: Nira (Belongs to me) _________________________________________________

[amoaliquis]

So, Solas has the Inquisition's book on his piano bench in the music room. Just noticed.

And his broken orb is in there as well.

[certainly-sydney]

Excuse me - he said no pickles

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

totally real lines Solas says that you can get in the super secret edition of the game*

"You could have saved her... you're worse than anything locked up down there. One day, I'll have the chance to save you, and I'll watch you suffer and die."

"I won't do it. You can't make me. You like to think you're a hero, but you're the biggest monster of all."

"This is my fault... I am responsible for this."

"I brought you here to heal you... so we could be together."

*watching GDL's scenes in the tv show Torchwood and Imagining Scenes In Your Mind

bonus:

And I thought the end of the world couldn't get any worse.

[rosieofcorona]

I was cursed earlier today thinking of Solas being Pride/Wisdom and made the dumb joke of "There are two wolves inside you" but then my brain turned that into a very different statement involving Fen'Hairel (young Solas) and The Egg (modern bald Solas)

OH 🥵🥵 and what a statement that is, my darling. i support it 100%

[m00n-fever]

Always ready for a fight.

[heliomanteia]

While I agree that the Inquisitor is a relatively isolated (purposefully) person, I can’t agree that they are stuck in that isolation or that no one but Solas understands them.

Not to constantly push forth my favorite but Vivienne understands them very well. She makes it clear in her quests that she understands the weight of their responsibilities and what they have to deal with, and she’s willing to help her friend out. Cassandra understands them. Dorian understands them; Dorian’s entire personal growth is tied to the Inquisitor, whatever their personal relationship is.

It’s pretty explicit in Varric’s and Sera’s (and others, these two just outright say it) personal quests that the Inquisitor is intimidating at first glance— but there are ways to battle that weight of the name. In Trespasser, the Inquisitor can further those connections by joining the Jennies and agreeing to help Varric with the whole viscount business.

I feel like there’s an element missing from the discussion which is, the Inquisitor (and by proxy Solas) is shown the way out: connect with your friends. I’m omitting romance in this conversation because it’s irrelevant to this theme.

Solas doesn’t connect to people, that’s his flaw. He does understand the Inquisitor at first but that personal similarity quickly vanishes if the Inquisitor pursues friendships with their other companions, thus doing something Solas explicitly refuses to: connect with the society they’re in.

Isolation is a part of the Inquisitor’s narrative but it’s explicitly a personal choice to stay in that state.

[lonelymagpies]

Smug egg

I finally have a colored piece of Solas and it’s a bald joke