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

Aww, sorry this foolishness happened on your birthday, but you're still here and that makes me happy to see and, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Thank you, Colonel! Of course I'll still be around. And it's nice seeing you around as well!

So... Art Post?

Solas paint practice.
Source: victorssullivan.tumblr.com/post/155498260856/paint-practice-with-the-egg-mcmuffin

Professor Solas from the modern AU fic, My Neighbor, Fen'Harel.
Source: solaslover.tumblr.com/post/155499013666/daily-doodle-is-professor-solas-3-i-finally-got

'Fen'Harel take me'. Solas sitting against the eluvian.
Source: ar-lath-ma-fenharel.tumblr.com/post/131201552197/fenharel-take-me

Solas with a headdress.
Source: fenanorama.tumblr.com/post/155474058882/plays-around-with-clipartstudio-outlined-one

Modern AU Lavellan, Solas, and Sera.
Source: symmetramain.tumblr.com/post/155514683303/ok-im-posting-the-full-thing-only-because-tharja

Solavellan forehead smooches.
Source: harumeau-arts.tumblr.com/post/155565293765/when-your-vhenan-gives-you-forehead-smooches

A smol with her tol. (Solavellan)
Source: lillotte17.tumblr.com/post/155500584289/a-smol-with-her-tol

Solavellan sketches.
Source: queensoledad.tumblr.com/post/155553623317/some-sketches-of-my-trash-dumplings-i-drew-today

Solas and Lavellan hugging.
Source: koric.tumblr.com/post/155499311845/for-the-pose-post-1c-solas-and-lavellan-if-you

Lavellan is mad at Bianca.
Source: hansaera-art.tumblr.com/post/155569155456/the-adventures-of-athelas-the-quizzy-ep02-well

That's pretty good as far as I'm concerned. Here's my drawing of Solas.

Happy Birthday CapricornSun ! Sorry you came in on that, have this for your birthday:


Link

I'll spoiler this just in case :

For this, I've thought along the lines of a developing complexity of demons or spirits... Inspired a bit by one of the Cantos from The Qun, believe it or not...

Canto 1
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 own power to create the world, or destroy it.

So from this and also from Solas' description of what will happen to his friend Wisdom who has died, and from what Cole managed to do, I have kind of speculated whether spirits grow in complexity over time, from a wisp to a spirit/demon to an embodied being like Cole (and maybe the ancient elves).  

As a wisp grows in complexity ("knowledge of the complex is wisdom"), it becomes increasingly self-aware ("from wisdom of the world comes wisdom of the self") and is less easily influenced by human ideas of what it should be. At some point it reaches a critical tipping point and becomes an embodied spirit like Cole (or the ancient elves... "Mastery of the self is mastery of the world.") But losing a sense of its original purpose can cause it to regress ("Loss of the self is the source of suffering"). And this kind of draws on the idea of Wisdom having been twisted into Pride when she was summoned by the mages. It also might help to explain the thing that Solas doesn't want Lavellan to see him become, if he knows he's giving up some part of himself (his respect for the right of all sentient beings to have freedom of thought and choice, for example) in order to accomplish his goal.

Anyway, I have little to support this; it's just a speculation fueled by a bunch of in-game lore that is probably not actually related. But this is how I occupy my mind while waiting for DA4 to come out. Speculating...

On another note, I started playing Jade Empire for the first time last weekend, and I can TOTALLY see why some fans wonder if it might be on the same planet as Thedas. There seem to be a lot of concepts about spirits and such that are similar to what I've learned from Dragon Age. Of course this may be more of a chicken-and-egg kind of thing... The same BioWare people might have been working on both Jade Empire and Dragon Age Origins and so it shouldn't really be surprising that there may be similar ideas in both games.

Actually, one the previous 'drama' on old Blanketfort was about the Dalish and some specific opinions about them and elves in general, or rather the approach of authors towards them. It happens sometimes. Both with Solas being important to the world of Thedas on multiple levels, thread still being active, people having varieties of opinions and us digging all sort stuff to talk about it's kind of unavoidable for some topics to arise and for some opinions to clash. Personally I don't mind that, cuz I like some discussion to happen if I have time for it and sometimes it can get heated or lenghty, though I know it can be tiresome, especially if arguments start going in circles or people get stubborn. But like I said - it's not like it doesn't happen even among people constantly here, and most of the time we manage to hash it out between ourselves and don't get 'drama-y' too often about it. If it happened more frequently, I think we'd see this place abandoned way sooner, yet the thread keeps going

With regard to why Mythal was killed, I suppose that depends on how the Evanuris are handled. Are we going to get three-dimensional characters who are flawed and have ideologies that conflicted with Fen'Harel and Mythal in one form or another, or are we getting Corypheus style villains with no redeeming features who exist simply to be destroyed or defeated by a brand new protagonist, so they killed her because they're evil villains? Is Fen'Harel's version of events accurate, or will he get another side to the story?

As for Asha'bellanar's words to Merrill, I suspect they referred back to the ancient elves, given what you pointed out about the Dalish adhering to their autonomy and self-rule over any form of subjugation. I don't think Asha'bellanar had anything to do with Solas' plans, though; she didn't seem to participate in ending the plight of the Elvhen but rather with making a deal with Maric and persuading Morrigan to partake in the Dark Ritual.

The DR may have something to do with Solas' own views on the Old Gods, and what Asha'bellanar seemed to intend with the dragons and the dragon blood.

Happy Birthday, Sunny!

Mouse is a curious example.

Solas tells us that Pride Demons are corrupted Spirits of Wisdom who have perverted their purpose. Mouse tries to trick us into allowing a possession by playing on our sympathy, flattering our intelligence and vanity for being smart enough to eventually figure him out.

That being said, his entire function in the Harrowing does still teach us the value of Wisdom, to not blindly trust anyone or anything we saw in the Fade, which was clearly the lesson that the Circle intended to teach it's Apprentices. So in that regard, Mouse does  still end up carrying out his former purpose.

Makes you wonder if Mouse was always a Pride Demon or was corrupted by the Harrowing? Wouldn't be that strange to imagine the Harrowing might have began when some bright-spark Enchanter thought they could summon Spirits of Wisdom to teach Circle Mages, only for them to end up unwittingly corrupting them.

We can see from banter between Solas and Vivienne that he's really does not approve of the Harrowing, due to how Circle Mages are taught to be afraid of the Fade and it's denizens, forcing both to turn monstrous to cater to their expectations.

(Also Happy Birthday Sunny!)