lafayverte

[lafayverte]

I wondered if anyone had requested this yet on Cameo and then remembered that I have money to exchange for goods and services

[lafayverte]

in inquisition, when solas starts with, "you show a wisdom i have not seen since..." and changes his thought halfway through, i know he's commonly thought to be talking about mythal, but i really think he's talking about himself here. mythal is not particularly wise, historically speaking. she's clever and intelligent and calculating, but we don't really ever see "wise" from her, imo. that's why she came to solas in the first place, why she asked for his help in all things.

in that moment, i don't think solas sees mythal reflected in lavellan. i think he sees himself, or what he was once. what he still wants to be.

[lafayverte]

the context of this scene has changed so much for me after veilguard

"what were you like before the anchor? has it affected you? changed you in any way? your mind, your morals, your... spirit?"

solas was so concerned that through the anchor, he had changed the inquisitor's spirit.... just like mythal did to him when asking him to take a body

"you show a wisdom I have not seen since... since my deepest journeys into the ancient memories of the fade"

they remind him of himself 😭

[lafayverte]

a compilation of the answers trick weekes has given about their intentions with the solavellan ending so far. this was compiled by kalaelizabeth on bluesky and then posted in an album here and then sent to me by @scaryanneee and @cursedhaglette but i wanted to share them on tumblr because there are a lot of things explicitly clarified in these that i have seen people being confused about, including myself so i hope this soothes some of those anxieties <3

solavellan specific TLDR:

solas does not love mythal more than lavellan

it was not their intention to imply solas was under a geas by mythal, the intention of the story is to be about choices

but also remember that author intention is not law and you can do whatever you want with your pookies in your head xoxo

[lafayverte]

How there are no true half-elves in the dragon age universe, meaning that elves are so inherently different from the other races that something essential gets lost from their offspring when they intermarry.

Then stating that the current elves are the same as everyone else biologically speaking. THEN WHY ARE THERE NO HALF-ELVES? There is a perfectly good reason that you just gave us (elves are spirits that took on a body) but then you threw it away in the same cutscene i can't.

A semi-comprehensive list of every pre-established lore inaccuracy in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Please note, this isnt me saying you cannot enjoy the game for what it is. This is not me saying you shouldnt play the game. But as a long time Dragon Age fan (started with Origins, has consumed all extra media including books/shows/novellas/etc..) the way Veilguard has fumbled the lore is, to someone who cares, infuriating. I shall keep the list under a read more to avoid spoilers for Veilguard. This will also be added to with more points that are given for people who wish to add

But without further adieu;

Bioware Kind of Forgot...

Bioware kind of forgot...

That Solas, after you choose to drink from the Well of Mythal (whom in Veilguard is confirmed either a lover/mother figure) is fucking pissed

That Solas was not bringing down the Veil to move the Evenuris and put them somewhere else, but to establish the ancient elves once more

The fucking orbs

That the elves were currently, at the end of inquisition, beginning the elf uprising and following Solas

the Elvhen Language

Solas being able to control Morrigan/Inquisitor after absorbing some of Mythal's power

That most of the Elves would be on board with Solas's plan

Brialla and how she controls Eluvians too

That in Inquisition, it is stated that barely any working Eluvians exist and that the one in Skyhold and the one in the temple of Mythal are extremely rare

The Valaslin and how if all of what happened is common knowledge, that the elves arent currently freaking the fuck out that they are wearing slave markings

Solas does not abhor the use of Blood Magic

That the Evanuris were trapped/locked in the Black City specifically and not the fade in general, so Solas would have to open the Veil either at the doors of the Black City or travel. The gods would not be wandering around the Fade

Using the lore/logic confirmed in Veilguard, the ancient elves being spirits that, with the help of lyrium, were made into elven form, that Cole should technically be one of the most powerful creatures known to man since they gave themselves a human body without the assistance of Lyrium. Bioware kind of forgot...

Slavery in Tevinter (really now there are no slaves shown in Minrathous?)

Varric hates the deeproads/dwarves so why is he so okay with Harding's magic

Hawke in general

Varric is a world famous author so someone would have mentioned his death at some point?????

how the fucking Blight works (seriously the entire party is infected with the Blight)

How spirits work

Morrigan never wanted to become a vessel for Mythal and despises the thought

The Antivan crows bought/tortured child slaves and children from brothels, to be trained as crows, basically nullifying all of the trauma Zevran had gone through

Fenris freeing slaves, still

More shall be added with discovery

[lafayverte]

I get that they had to showcase the Mythal relationship because the game couldn't be Solavellan centered, but did they have to make it seem like Lavellan was a rebound or a replacement goldfish for Mythal?

Honestly, with everything that has happened with dragon age veilguard, im really sad to say a part of me wishes this game had been cancelled.

I trusted weekes to write a great ending for solavellan. I defended the devs on Twitter and got called slurs by antiwoke weirdos for it. I bought into the hype and bought the rooks coffers and the artbook. Now i just feel ill, i wish the game had never been released, and then i could have stayed in my little headcanon bubble. So many writing choices left me just thinking, why?!

Spoilers

I knew there wasn't going to be a happy walk into the sunset type ending for solavellan, and there were things I liked about the ending like solas and lavellan going into the fade to be with each other eternally, really tying back to "in another world"

but some of the other choices I just can't get behind. Mythals' relationship with solas just felt wrong. We're they lovers or mother and child? I can't tell, which is not something anyone should have to say, but either way, it was toxic and manipulative, and it's never brought up or confronted in any meaningful way. They could have used this to highlight the difference between lavellan and mythal. How mythal forced him to change to what she wanted while lavellan loved him for who he was.

Mythal should have been the bad guy who had manipulated and corrupted solas, using his guilt and desire to save the elven people, so that she could have her revenge and to change the world how she saw fit. Have lavellan be the one to reason with him, to finally show him that he was wrong, again. That thedas was worth saving. I know some people (me included) wanted the veil down, but I understood for gameplay reasons that couldn't happen.

They could have finally shown solas loving lavellan from his pov. shown us memories of what he thought of her when he first saw the little mortal with his magic in a cell in haven. What he did after the first flirt, what he thought after the fade kiss or the kiss on the balcony, what happened after crestwood or when he left skyhold or the end of trespesser. show him pining for her, show him watching her dreams from his pov, always running when she reached out for him. Apart from one codex and one piece of dialogue, we aren't given any sign that he misses her. They put more effort into the relationship with mythal than the one with lavellan.

I'm not even going to bring up what happened with varric because honestly I still not ready for it, it was such a terrible writing choice not just to varric but to solas ans the player as well, and a terrible send-off for a beloved character.

So many of the lore reveals were thing that we already suspected and they were given to us so quickly.

Overall, I'm a bit heartbroken, angry, and broke. This is ME3 ending all over again.

[lafayverte]

So basically one of Solas' murals

is the Crestwood scene, but with reversed roles. Solas is the rejected one, Mythal is the one who walks away, leaving him alone in what I presume was a glade at night, judging from the environmental sounds and hushed tones we can hear.

And, to be honest, I don't know how I feel about it - it feels like it cheapens the Crestwood scene, repeating an abusive pattern, stripping away the romance and softness of that scene. It's, once again, something Solas already went through with Mythal, not something he shares with Lavellan only. It's Weekes saying yet again that Solas saw Mythal in Lavellan, and that's why he fell in love with her. Not because she was Lavellan, but because she reminded him of Mythal and gave him hope that all elves could return to that "level" of wisdom.

What we learn in this game also ruins the kiss scene on the balcony, where Solas say "You have showed wisdom I have not seen since... since my deepest journeys into the ancient memories of the Fade."

Most of us believed he meant "Wisdom I have not seen since my ancient days in Elvhenan", but it's basically confirmed at this point that he meant "Wisdom I have not seen since Mythal".

A month ago, someone here mentioned how Weekes had said there was a specific reason why Solas had falled for Lavellan. I never found the interview where they said so, but I saw many believed it had something to do with reincarnation, lost soulmates finding each other again etc., but once again, it's clear what Weekes meant, and it's bad, cheap writing.

They could have written a god finally learning the error of his ways thanks to his love for a mortal - a love completely different from that of who was basically an abuser, a parent-like figure forcing him to take form and serve -, but instead they went for the easy route: a god still loving another god, feeling love for a mortal who reminds him of her, and changing his mind only because his god finally gives him permission to be free.

The mortal who supposedly "changes everything" serves no purpose - she actually tells him "There is no fate but the love we share" after he's been "freed" from his service, which in this context, in this situation, sounds more like a punishment, another yoke, some sort of "I finally got you, you can't run from me anymore".

I don't know what happened to Weekes' writing - either they were forced to make these decisions due to various constraint, or they completely changed their style/ideas during development, because this is not the Solas, this is not the Solavellan romance, we got in DA:I.

[lafayverte]

The Inquisitor should have just been the main character in Veilguard. I'm standing on that bridge firmly even more now with the ending they gave us involving them. For a sequel to Inquisition, it just would have made more sense.

[lafayverte]

Manifesting @feynites to come fix this hot mess.

[lafayverte]

A number of men and boys have been kidnapped by the occupation from Kamal Adwan Hospital in besieged northern Gaza. Including seventeen-year-old journalist Aboud Batah

[lafayverte]

my favorite problematic senior citizens

[lafayverte]

people surprised that mythal might’ve groomed solas as if mythal didn’t attach herself to flemeth, a woman who groomed her daughter into seducing men for power. “it sounds icky” yes it is icky mythal is not supposed to be a character you see as morally righteous. solas says “she was the best of them” HE’S TALKING ABOUT SLAVERS YA’LL THE BAR IS IN HELL??? idk i feel fucking insane rn. the duet is clearly about him and mythal. it doesn’t mean that the duet is inherently romantic, and maybe there is nothing romantic between them, but if there is how is that in any way shape or form ooc for her? the way this fandom has retconned mythal/flemeth into being some girl boss is crazy. this is not an anti solavellan post btw im talking purely about solas and mythal.

[lafayverte]

I'm not going to lie, but it does feel like the Inquisitor should be the protagonist for Veilguard.

[lafayverte]

DAV SPOILERS

I’ve seen the endings and I think they’ve really fucked us over

[lafayverte]

🍉🍉Please do not ignore our suffering. My name is Salman Halas from the afflicted Gaza Strip. I was displaced from the northern Gaza Strip to Az-Zawaida in the central governorate. We are now in tents. Our situation is very miserable. We do not have any of the necessities of life, neither water, nor food, nor medicine. We would not ask for donations except for our miserable circumstances. Donate to me as much as you can and be sure that your donation, no matter how small, contributes to saving us. If you are unable to donate, share my campaign.🍉🍉

Boosting this 🍉

[lafayverte]

Varric: I have to talk Solas down! Get him to see reason!

Lavellan, who remembers the Greatly Disapproves from him when she said the same thing in Trespasser: Interesting.

[lafayverte]

@feynites was right

genuinely obsessed with what bioware has done with ghilan'nain because it really is about subverting expectations in the most extreme way possible. the lore makes you think that she was this sweet, delicate white-haired huntress who was bright and caring: an elf who was raised to godhood for her loyalty to andruil, now worshipped as the mother of the halla and her name invoked whenever the dalish seek to find their way home.

in reality? she's a monster. she created animals and beasts only to destroy them all (well, almost) upon being offered power and godhood. she made enchanted armour out of living creatures. she experimented with the blight and whatever the hell the horror of hormak grey goop was. her voice is cold and commanding and she says the most vile shit like "i'll feed your blood to what i craft from your corpses" and dude her hair isn't even fucking white. and she looks like this—

and i absolutely love all of it