Latest Posts by monolorialet - Page 2
“I cannot kill the blight, but I can help to soothe its anger. I will go and seek atonement”
Hi I was wondering if it’s bad to use ai like not for posting just for myself like character ai? I kinda low-key got bullied out of a fandom and haven’t been able to write in a long time that I feel like I have forgotten how to because of how traumatic and depressed I got from it so I’m trying to get back into it again. Anything I’ve wrote on my own just isn’t working so trying to use a character to kinda help I guess is what I’ve been trying to do. I know it’s a big discussion right now but I’m not posting anything to claim it’s mine I know that’s wrong to do
character AI still has a lot of the same ethical issues as any other generative AI in that it is still stealing other people's work to function, and is still as bad for environment as any other generative AI.
however, I understand that these tools exist and are not going away, and I can't tell you what to do or not do in your own time for your own private use. that's a decision you have to make for yourself according to your own values and principles!
if you wind up creating any work based on these prompts or use these chats as the basis for any creative work that you DO ultimately share, you should definitely disclose that, however.
I also want to add that writer's block and feeling too depressed to write are things that creatives have dealt with since the dawn of humanity, and there are other ways to move through these things besides resorting to tools like generative AI. I've been there, so I understand how awful it feels to be in that place, but once again, I really want to stress that anything YOU make, even if it's messy, unpolished, rough, etc. is still going to be infinitely more valuable because it came from YOU and your brain and your imagination and that will always be better than something generated by a robot that steals from other people's work. I know it can feel bleak, but trust yourself and your creative instincts!!! you have a unique brain and a unique voice, don't outsource those gifts to a robot!!!! I believe in you!!!!
Art by The Unclean
“it sounds like you’re justifying their actions-“ i am. they’re a fictional character. i’m okay with anything they do all the time. hope this helps.
in my dreams, we are always together and there are no odds stacked against us. there are no wars, no fights, and tragedy doesn’t stand between us. there is only you, knuckles in my cheeks. there is only me, palms on your neck. just us and we are at peace and that is all that needs to be said. - in my dreams, we’re together by wt
[solavellan commission by @yelenhol]
He has always been what I most feared becoming. Callous and uncaring, his arrogance unchecked. To have that much power and no one to remind him that he could be wrong...
Well, he had you
And I suppose I had you
I think a common misunderstanding towards Solavellans (or Solas enjoyers in general) is that they like this purified fanon version of him as this poor innocent guy who did the things he did by accident and shouldn’t be held responsible for any of it.
No. His appeal lies in him as a metaphor for all the ways you can be broken and bent and twisted that your reality becomes as twisted as you. The line between love and manipulation, and how faint it can become under the right circumstances. How easy it can be for a victim to turn into a perpetrator. The themes of duty and regret, social identity and the nuances of perspective when it comes to morality. Discussion of how much intentions and external influence actually matter when it comes to one’s actions. And, my personal favorite, the question of how far can you go and still remain redeemable.
Most Solas enjoyers I have seen and interacted with like him because of this, not in spite of it. There are plenty of very hot less morally confusing characters to love in this series, all with their own lovable traits. And sure, some people might try to water down his character, but that’s a minority in my experience.
Sulah x Solas comm for @elspethdekarios
“DATV is about hope and is escapist” then why is the story retroactively trying to paint Solas, the only person of the Evanuris who used his power and privilege to help end slavery and liberate the elves, as a prideful arrogant self-centered bastard who secretly loved being worshipped as a god when every single thing he has ever said and done contradicts those assumptions made by the Veilguard companions.
Oh I’m sorry, do you think slave rebellions can be accomplished through peaceful means? Through purely decentralized anarchist uprisings? Are we trying to argue that Solas didn’t rebel the “correct way”? Are we trying to argue that Solas actually wanted to be worshipped as a god by those he freed. Solas, a man who wanted nothing more than to be a spirit of Wisdom and act as nothing more than an entity that would help people act and think mindfully?
The game’s dialogue for the companions tries to make it out like Solas enjoyed being a rebellion leader, rather than it being one of the most frustrating and agonizing and embittering experiences of his existence. The game is so clumsy that is seems to imply that Solas trying to do right by the elves with the rebellion was another mistake on his part, as if someone trying to fight for the rights of an oppressed people is something that is ever a mistake one could make.
Real liberal (derogatory) hours here. Even at your most uncharitable—Solas helped give the elves bodies and helped the Evanuris secure their power—he was trying to correct that mistake and was the only one of the Evanuris that was actively doing so. Mythal was dragging her ass the entire fucking time trying to be a fence-sitting centrist that thought you could actually parley and negotiate with slave owners. Oh but wait, Veilguard conveniently proves you can! Just look at Dorian! Apparently all you needed to dismantle centuries upon centuries of brutal inhumane slavery was a dandy saying “please let the slaves go” and everything is all but resolved in ten fucking years. Solas, why didn’t you try taaaalking to the blood magic warmongering slave sacrificing Evanuris? Maybe things would’ve gone better if you’d just asked nicely 🥺
Veilguard tries to go the “Solas is corrupting into Pride” and they botched it so terribly. Solas is prideful, but the writers made him out like his problem was a secret vanity or desire for power. No, his problem was that he thought he was correct. That is a 100000% entirely different issue and it shows that the writers have no concept of nuance for psychology or even what Wisdom and even Pride are. And for people to swallow “Wow Solas was just a power-hungry arrogant bastard all along” is like reading Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee —the abandoned prototype of To Kill a Mockingbird that was meant to remain an unused manuscript—and thinking that is the real story and everything established in TKaM about Atticus Finch was just smoke and mirrors. Like come the fuck on.
Solas’s issue is that as a mortal he is inundated with mortal feelings that interfere with the purity of Wisdom. All mortals have levels of dignity and pride that are inextricably linked and mutually dependent to their recognition of their own personhood. Self-esteem, if you will. Wisdom is the act of deliberating and determining and enacting the best—most morally correct, most benign, most benign, most “good”—course of action in a scenario based on an aggregation of information and experiences. Solas’s “Pride” and biggest flaw is that he believes his judgments are the most objectively correct or best because this guy has spent tens of thousands of years watching and observing and experiencing people make the same mistakes over and over, behave in similar cyclical predictable ways in matters of love, power, violence, hatred, greed, tyranny, cruelty, ignorance, oppression, pride, grief, etc. Because Wisdom is derived from being able to apply knowledge and history and experience to solve a present problem, Solas naturally thinks he’s no spring chicken to all this and that he’s got a better grasp than most. Where Wisdom turns into Pride is the nature of the mortal mind, which for many likes to rely on rules of thumb and shortcuts and patterns to solve issues. While this is present in the dissemination of Wisdom, the flipside is that it can leave one vulnerable to stubbornness and partiality to one’s viewpoint regardless of new developments. Again, the mortal mind likes shortcuts because it saves time. Puzzling out whether this person or that scenario is truly uniquely unique every single time, wastes time. This is how presumptions and stereotypes arise. That Solas could only observe modern Thedas through what was reflected in the Fade gave him a half-understanding of people. That he chose to develop a resentment toward the Dalish after one bad encounter and remain detached from other races before joining the Inquisition meant he had fallen prey to these intellectual pitfalls, which is the result of his mortal nature interfering with his Wisdom nature.
Solas has never wanted to rule over people. He has never once wanted to be worshipped even at his most manipulative and Machiavellian. He wants to sit under a tree in the summer and discuss idly whether fire could be considered alive and if good requires evil to exist and the pros and cons of allowing collective memory to remain unchallenged.
Like of all things, the butchering of Solas’s character pisses me off to no end. Dislike him if you want, hate him if you want, but don’t for a second try to misconstrue that his problem is that he has secret aspirations for godhood. Does he think ancient elves are a superior race? There are definitely indications. But he doesn’t think of himself as someone to be worshipped by anyone, least of all other elves. Very huge distinction.
I just got my Veilguard art book and I absolutely love how the early icons for whether the Inquisitor was with or against Solas are just
I absolutely ADORE the way you draw Solas, I'm absolutely in love 🥺🥺🥺
Aahhhhh thank you so much! Here’s a Solas wip for you 💖
Sometimes it seems to me that after the game they wanted to show villain stand-ups. I don't know how else to explain these.
Elgar'nan?
That did not go as planned. I had such high hopes. I would lay the blame at Fen'Harel's feet. As usual. His plans never work out, so he insists on no one else's plans working out. He wouldn't even leave my designs for my temple alone. Structurally unsound, he said. "What's holding up the top fifty floors?" Magic. Obviously. "What if someone falls off?" (Groans) I don't care, Solas. Elves can fly. "What do you mean, elves can't fly?" The Venatori were also disappointing, I have to say. Ten percent dogma, ninety percent chanting, zero percent execution. Excellent footwear, though. I swiped this fur-lined slouchy boot for slumping around the kitchen. So cozy. No. Ghilan'nain's not to blame. She's still torn up about Andruil. I know it's been a thousand years, but that's eternal love for you. Touching, really. I'd shed a tear, but the plumbing's been blight-clogged for centuries.
Kicking the hornet's nest (possibly) by saying I don't really like Manfred's portrayal as a cute gimmicky spirit that is a "research assistant" but all he does is hiss and pour tea and play rock paper scissors. Not when we had Cole and a real agonizing decision of whether to remain a spirit of compassion or become a human. Not when Cole was a fully actualized character and had a REAL storyline and real banter and was trying to figure out himself and his purpose. But most of all, he wanted to help.
Its a huge step backwards in the portrayal of spirits in this game. I mean I have said lots about the status quo and the Veil but this game is just so intellectually incurious tbh. There's no thinking involved or agonizing decision to make where I remember looking up guides on past DA decisions and scum reloading since I wasn't happy with the first decision I made lol.
Would a spirit of curiosity not potentially be the most annoying spirit? I feel like they would be asking 10923482 questions constantly and would've added to a lot of world building and lore instead of comic relief or being sacrificed to another character's storyline.
When people new to DA say things like "I didn't play any of the previous games before I played Veilguard" that's fine, but to then turn around and say "well, because Veilguard says [lore thing] that means everything in the previous games is false" makes you look willfully ignorant at best and [redacted] at worst. Veilguard did not do a good job with three games of established lore. New players apparently came out of datv not knowing what a Circle is, for crying out loud???
People who wanted to see the Veil removed have a basis for the belief that it might usher in a new age for Thedas that could ultimately make things better for elves, mages, and spirits. Or at least change the world in an interesting, exciting way. That basis was given to us by the first three games. For example:
Flemeth
"We stand upon the precipice of change. The world fears the inevitable plummet into the abyss. Watch for that moment . . . and when it comes, do not hesitate to leap. It is only when you fall that you learn whether you can fly." (DA2)
PC: "Why did Mythal come to you?"
Flemeth: "For a reckoning that will shake the very heavens."
Morrigan: "And you follow her whims? Do you even know what she truly is?"
Flemeth: "You seek to preserve the powers that were, but to what end? It is because I taught you, girl, because things happened that were never meant to happen. She was betrayed as I was betrayed--as the world was betrayed! Mythal clawed and crawled her way through the ages to me, and I will see her avenged!" (DAI)
Sandal's Prophecy
"One day the magic will come back, all of it. Everyone will be just like they were. The shadows will part and the skies will open wide. When he rises, everyone will see." (DA2)
Cole
"The Veil isn’t real. It’s false, fake, fabricated to forbid. Isn’t it wonderful?"
"Cole: Is there a way to save more spirits, Solas?
Solas: Not until the Veil is healed. The rifts draw spirits through, and the shock makes demons of them.
Cole: Pushing through makes you be yourself. You can hold onto the you.
Cole: Being pulled through means you don't have enough you. You become what batters you, bruises your being.
Solas: Yes, exactly. Deliberately crossing the Veil requires that a spirit form will, personality.
Solas: That concept of self gives a spirit the chance to maintain its nature.
Solas: Wrenched into this world unwillingly by the rifts, spirits suffer the same fate as my friend.
Cole: Then we will help them." (DAI)
Morrigan
"Change is coming to the world. Many fear chance and will fight it with every fiber of their being. But sometimes change is what they need most. Sometimes change is what sets them free." (DAO: Witch Hunt)
"Mankind blunders through this world, crushing what it does not understand: elves, dragons, magic . . . the list is endless. We must stem the tide, or be left with nothing more than the mundane. This I know to be true." (DAI)
I haven't even touched on what Solas says, due to his bias/the way some people refuse to consider his insight at all, even though he knows the most about the Veil of any character in the series ever. For obvious reasons.
Due to the above evidence, I completely agree that the Veil coming down would probably be catastrophic to some degree. I disagree that it would have "destroyed the world" or "drowned [it] in demons" as Veilguard loves to repeat over and over, mostly from characters like Varric who don't know jack about the Veil, magic, or spirits. And I disagree that people who wanted to see what would happen if the Veil came down are wrong or misguided--they obviously just paid better attention to what the overarching narrative than some. It isn't their fault that this more interesting and dynamic narrative was retconned to shreds and buried in the backyard.
also painted young Mythal last night
i think about that "they hated that blond freak so much they nuked his entire profession" post constantly because just double checking. we all agree thats why they changed mythal's virtue from justice/vengeance to benevolence/retribution right
EXCUSE ME LOOK AT HOW HE'S LOOKING AT HER WHEN HE'S ABOUT TO LEAVE TO THE FADE. HE WANTS HER TO COME WITH HIM SO BADLY, HE WANTS HER SO BADLY BUT HE KNOWS HE DOESN'T DESERVE TO EVEN ASK THAT.
I'm not ok bye.
Perhaps this will prove an unpopular opinion, but I think that, seeing as they chose to make everything hinge on the inquisitor being high approval with Solas & wanting to save him no matter what & locked his best ending behind having romanced him, so that if you wanted a satisfying ending to the series you HAD to choose to redeem him with a female Lavellan, otherwise the inquisitor's only purpose in VG is to hand you a wolf statuette...(?!?? and even that's tied to the redeem ending, lol) ANYWAY, seeing all that, I believe they should've committed even more to it and have it be an option even for non-romanced inquisitors, regardless of race, to offer to join him à la Witch Hunt where you can offer to join Morrigan through the eluvian even as a friend, only you can actually go through with it this time. Now, before I'm pelted with rotten tomatoes, I think it should've been an option just for an Inky who didn't romance anyone, so that fans could have their happy ending with their LI of choice (though I am compelled by the idea of the inquisitor as someone, like Solas, who puts their duty to the world above everything, but that's another discussion). But I think it makes sense, both as a choice made by an Inquisitor who became close friends with Solas and never lost faith in him and doesn't want him to face everything alone (could there be other Feelings involved, too? that's for us to headcanon, ofc) AND as a purely pragmatic choice, seeing Solas as someone who shouldn't be left alone to their own devices for long, esp in such a vulnerable state - just like Mythal needed his Wisdom, one could argue he needs the Inquisitor to guide him back to being Wisdom again (or maybe they just wanna nope out after failing to save the South, considering we're told repeatedly that they're the only thing holding it all from collapsing and then we find out it's all gone, yeah, I'd go into witness protection too, lmao). ALSO, I think it would slap to have a dwarven Inquisitor say that they're interested in being a part of soothing the Blight (or, at least, supervising and holding him to it) and that THAT should be his priority. Anywho, thots? Am I cooking or is there a gas leak?
i think you're cooking.
i agree that the atonement ending is the most satisfying narrative - the player stats prove that's not an unpopular opinion. more explicitly tying the inquisitor to solas narratively would have been interesting. inquisition did this soooo well with in hushed whispers specifically but also literally every quest. even the non-romanced atonement scene is so good, inky says something like "you're free to find a new purpose" instead of the "banal nadas ar lath ma vhenan" and i actually prefer that to the elven with the botched translation LOL. i also like the interpretation i've seen that the "veilguard" is really not Rook & Co. but is actually solas. he's the one that tied his life to the veil. he's the one keeping it up. he's the one guarding it. so having the inquisitor join him, especially a dalish one, whether romanced or not, and especially a dalish mage, whose job as first and eventual keeper was going to be to protect their clan from the dread wolf. protecting the whole world from the dreadwolf by helping him atone is a natural extension of that, and i think is very satisfying. i also agree it would be really interesting and meaningful for a cadash to have the option to participate in the healing of the titans dreams.
i also agree that a lot of people would get mad about this because to them it would threaten lavellan's being "special" but i dont believe in that so idc. i think its an interesting idea!!
Melancholy
In the shadow of a god
Early Minrathous
I liked the idea of being able to see the colossal bones of the previous magical elven empire. By Matt Rhodes
Vhenan
He just wants to sleep...maybe a few years
Solas is Loki, Eros, the Last Unicorn, a damsel in distress, the beast husband in every fairytale, Oppenheimer, a loyal dog, and also god.
Evanuris' theater masks
Solas & Lavellan at the end of DAI, Trespasser and DAV
Congrats to them for finally having an ending together!
(you know, there's something to say about how in every other one, they are separated from each other, but in their end slide they are reunited, embracing and not letting go)
Dragon Age: Inquisition | ▶ dev. Bioware
he's never getting rest again
Protector of the People