The Blanketfort (crying and throwing up) - The Official Solas Thread [Spoilers]

I thought about the armless thing but maybe varric could get her a crossbow arm attachment haha (i kid, i kid!). Or maybe some other way that she gets her arm back, it is a magical world after all! Haha think im almost entering the anger stage of the 5 stages of grief. Not only did solas take my vallaslin leaving me with dodgy looking eyebrows he also took my feckin arm. Dick. Still love him even though he's a dick. And i will certainly share the song at some point, i want to get the music sorted behind it first and will post it on SoundCloud and provide a link. Just want to say thank you so much for this place. It has really helped. I couldn't talk to anyone, none of my family or friends are gamers so they just don't get it. I know some people find it silly to get attached to a story but i think it shows that we are deeply feeling people and to feel on that level (although painful) is a beautiful superpower.

The Qun is... interesting. And because I have nothing better to do... (all that follows are just my musings, which are not necessary "right").

"Struggle is an illusion. The tide rises, the tide falls, but the sea is changeless. There is nothing to struggle against. Victory is in the Qun."

--this one is fairly straightforward. We are but waves in the ocean of the universe; a wave may rise or fall, but it won't be able to change the ocean. Hence, all struggles are illusory as in the end, all the results of said struggles are illusory - the ocean is changeless. And there is nothing to struggle against because everything is a part of the universe (ocean), of the greater whole; we're one. A wave can't fight the ocean it's a part of.

"Doubt is the path one walks to reach faith. To leave the path is to embrace blindness and abandon hope."

--"Don't trust blindly", basically? A wise person knows that she doesn't know, and stays open to possibilities without commiting herself to a single one... funny how the Qunari don't seem to doubt the Qun at all?

"To call a thing by its name is to know its reason in the world. To call a thing falsely is to put out one's own eyes."

--well of course if you meet two guys and one is called "Benny" and another "Soldier", you'd know more about the Soldier guy from the get-go... especially in the Qunari society. But it probably goes deeper than that. Hmm. Maybe because by calling something falsely you give it a false nature, so you become "blind" to their true nature. Like if you call "lust" "love", you'll be blind to the fact that you don't actually love, as well as to what "lust" and "love" truly are and why they exist.

"Existence is a choice. There is no chaos in the world, only complexity. Knowledge of the complex is wisdom. From wisdom of the world comes wisdom of the self. Mastery of the self is mastery of the world. Loss of the self is the source of suffering. Suffering is a choice, and we can refuse it. It is in our power to create the world, or destroy it."

--okay, that one is long. No chaos, only complexity; the universe (and life) seem to be complex, chaotic even, but it has its own laws; understanding these laws means understanding of life, hence wisdom. And if you understand life, you know your place in it as well. When you know your place, you can excel at what's your true calling, true nature. If you don't know yourself, you'll spend your whole life doing something that's not "yours" (like stuck with a work you hate). Suffering is a choice... because a problem is only a problem as long as you look at it as a problem. And the world around you depends on your outlook; change your worldview, bam, the world changes.

And it reminds me of Zen Buddhism, or Taoism maybe. But what the Qunari have is a very... militaristic version. In my interpretation, when these philosophies talk about everything having its place, they mean that every person has a calling, a natural talent, and should be free to pursue their nature; with the Qunari, it seems to be... forced? Like, they decide for you, whereas it should be a person listening to their "inner voice" making the decision. Qunari use people, while the above philosophies seem to be agains using anyone; Taoism even gives the "be useless and no one will use you" advice (refers to hiding any talents or exceptional traits so people won't use you for them). So it's a very twisted version of "staying true to your nature". Above all, I feel like these philosophies are about trusting life, trusting that it'll take care of you and being happy here-and-now, and definitely *not* about enforcing your views on others, because people are different and ~everyone should stay true to their nature~. It'd be interesting to know if the Qun philosophy was such from the very beginning, or if it went wrong somewhere...

Also, I just broke my brain. _{Qun is taking over... for... the... Qun!}

And NOO, the thread name is back to normal! We need more elfroots and deep mushrooms!

The Qun is... interesting. And because I have nothing better to do... (all that follows are just my musings, which are not necessary "right").

"Struggle is an illusion. The tide rises, the tide falls, but the sea is changeless. There is nothing to struggle against. Victory is in the Qun."

--this one is fairly straightforward. We are but waves in the ocean of the universe; a wave may rise or fall, but it won't be able to change the ocean. Hence, all struggles are illusory as in the end, all the results of said struggles are illusory - the ocean is changeless. And there is nothing to struggle against because everything is a part of the universe (ocean), of the greater whole; we're one. A wave can't fight the ocean it's a part of.

"Doubt is the path one walks to reach faith. To leave the path is to embrace blindness and abandon hope."

--"Don't trust blindly", basically? A wise person knows that she doesn't know, and stays open to possibilities without commiting herself to a single one... funny how the Qunari don't seem to doubt the Qun at all?

"To call a thing by its name is to know its reason in the world. To call a thing falsely is to put out one's own eyes."

--well of course if you meet two guys and one is called "Benny" and another "Soldier", you'd know more about the Soldier guy from the get-go... especially in the Qunari society. But it probably goes deeper than that. Hmm. Maybe because by calling something falsely you give it a false nature, so you become "blind" to their true nature. Like if you call "lust" "love", you'll be blind to the fact that you don't actually love, as well as to what "lust" and "love" truly are and why they exist.

"Existence is a choice. There is no chaos in the world, only complexity. Knowledge of the complex is wisdom. From wisdom of the world comes wisdom of the self. Mastery of the self is mastery of the world. Loss of the self is the source of suffering. Suffering is a choice, and we can refuse it. It is in our power to create the world, or destroy it."

--okay, that one is long. No chaos, only complexity; the universe (and life) seem to be complex, chaotic even, but it has its own laws; understanding these laws means understanding of life, hence wisdom. And if you understand life, you know your place in it as well. When you know your place, you can excel at what's your true calling, true nature. If you don't know yourself, you'll spend your whole life doing something that's not "yours" (like stuck with a work you hate). Suffering is a choice... because a problem is only a problem as long as you look at it as a problem. And the world around you depends on your outlook; change your worldview, bam, the world changes.

And it reminds me of Zen Buddhism, or Taoism maybe. But what the Qunari have is a very... militaristic version. In my interpretation, when these philosophies talk about everything having its place, they mean that every person has a calling, a natural talent, and should be free to pursue their nature; with the Qunari, it seems to be... forced? Like, they decide for you, whereas it should be a person listening to their "inner voice" making the decision. Qunari use people, while the above philosophies seem to be agains using anyone; Taoism even gives the "be useless and no one will use you" advice (refers to hiding any talents or exceptional traits so people won't use you for them). So it's a very twisted version of "staying true to your nature". Above all, I feel like these philosophies are about trusting life, trusting that it'll take care of you and being happy here-and-now, and definitely *not* about enforcing your views on others, because people are different and ~everyone should stay true to their nature~. It'd be interesting to know if the Qun philosophy was such from the very beginning, or if it went wrong somewhere...

Also, I just broke my brain. _{Qun is taking over... for... the... Qun!}

And NOO, the thread name is back to normal! We need more elfroots and deep mushrooms!

Has anyone any ideas about how they might let us "redeem" Solas? I found it a bit confusing that the dialogue prompt led to you saying "I'll prove you wrong", which at the end reverts to the Inquisitor saying "we'll save our friend from himself". Ever since I've been trying to fathom what they mean by proving him wrong. Is it prove to him his actions are morally wrong or that they just won't achieve what he wants them to?  Or simply that they are unnecessary?

I've been running back through all his dialogue with companions trying to find clues there. So far the best I can come up with is freeing all the slaves in Tevinter, overthrowing the Qun and finding a cure for the Blight. Nothing like having a challenge is there?

He does mention liking Orlesian frilly cakes. May be we could send him a message in the form of cakes about how his plan sucks, like they did with the muffins and ME3.

Trouble is, going back through the dialogue I start to see how many of them relate to what he did before and his thoughts about what he did or what he intends to do. I was particularly struck by one of his conversations with Blackwall: "The healer has the bloodiest hands". Oh Solas!

I believe that proving him wrong refers to his belief that modern Thedas is inherently flawed and needs to be destroyed in favor of the "old", pre-Veil Thedas. So that means convincing him that the world is fine as it it now and that there's no need to make things go kaboom (convincing him to let go of the past and freeing him from his feeling of guilt in the process...).

The elvhen glory shall never be forgotten

"The way I see it, Solas is a free person free to do whatever he wants; if you want to help him, than be there and support him, and let him draw his own conclusions.

_{Well, I *am* Chaotic Neutral...}

And yes, I suppose we'll see.

Freedom isn't unlimited, however. When your actions affect others, and what Solas wants to do will affect EVERYONE in Thedas, you can't just "do whatever you want." Everyone else is free too, yet he's willing to take that away because.....? He thinks he's right and they don't matter? That's a pretty crappy reason.

Solas isn't a teenager learning to find himself or even just someone who has personal demons to overcome. He's actively planning to destroy the world as it is. The Inquisitor is an inhabitant of that world. Her sole role in life isn't to be Solas' nurturer or helpmeet. If 'being there for him ' means letting him destroy lives and nations ... I can hardly imagine Solas himself sitting back and letting someone else do what he sees as needless harm, and then saying that 'everyone has their own point of view.' Yes, Solas believes as he does for a reason. So does the Inquisitor. She's going to fight for her world just as he is. We all have to abide by our consciences, as imperfect as our individual points of view may be. And that means sometimes going up against others who also feel they are doing what their conscience demands. I'm pretty sure that's one of DAI's themes, in fact. (Btw, I'm sorry if this is getting ranty, I do feel strongly about this issue.)

I'm not comfortable with using the word 'redemption' either. I don't consider him evil, and even if I did, people can redeem only themselves. But 'save him from himself' may very well be applicable, in the sense of saving him from a mistake that at the very least will torment him for a long time. For me, 'proving him wrong' would be, as you say, convincing him that modern Thedas isn't worth less than pre-Veil Thedas. That, or convincing him to find a better way of accomplishing what he wants. I don't imagine that he would embark on a world-destroying path unless he feels there was no alternative, but imagine if he did realise after the fact that there was an alternative? Maybe it won't happen, and maybe it will. As someone who loves him, the Inquisitor (mine, anyway) isn't going to let him walk that path and remain passive. Being there for someone sometimes means standing up to them. Going along with someone isn't always the same as supporting them.