Dragon Age: The Veilguard | ▶ Dev. Bioware

This is exactly how that convo went

i dont remember the post i saw or who made it so this doesnt count as a vague but 'actually it's good bioware retconned the agents of fen'harel because it would've been Bad Representation to have an antagonistic faction made up of the in-universe oppressed minority' well no it was straight up cowardice and the refusal to grapple with the reasons why marginalized peoples might come to believe their best recourse for a world that wants them dead top to bottom is fundamentally changing the nature of the world in a way that, yes, may read as apocalyptic to those currently in power, but the alternative is for the forgotten to continue slowly bleeding out to sustain their comfort

Not that bioware could have landed that but don't pretend it's More Nuanced not to even try. and it's literally just narratively stupid as hell

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.

also painted young Mythal last night

Just realized one of the rituals in The Temple of Mythal has Fen’Harel statues all over it. and it’s the most complicated one.

Solas, you ass. That gate trips me up every time. It’s the only puzzle I can never complete on the first run.

DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION EXTRACTS - SOLAS HEAD TURNAROUND

Scanned in all the pages with Solas from The Art of Dragon Age: The Veilguard :D love the concept arts so much

there are so many moments in veilguard where they Almost hit on something really good but then it's never touched again. like. harding has an entire religious crisis that is never touched on outside of that one scene. bellara asks how the dalish culture can continue; what do they keep, and what do they leave behind? the question isn't discussed again. neve thinks it's nbd that mythal chose to side with elgar'nan and remain in power after the war? can we interrogate that? discuss whether or not you can change something from within - and if you should even try?

Harellan

DA:TV Solas-themed narrative sketches and captions by Nick Thornborrow, under a cut due to spoilers and length:

[caption is for images below] Nick Thornborrow: "These sketches were tools of pre-production where we were exploring possibilities and challenging assumptions about the story of Veilguard without the constraints of production, or the birds eye view afforded by new iterations."

Nick Thornborrow: "I only say that because I've picked up on discourse lamenting cut content derived from concept and narrative art that isn't reflected in final game. Emphatically, I want to state it's not cut content. Pre-production is where ideas are weighed for going into production."

Nick Thornborrow: "When cuts are made, it's typically at a more advanced stage of production that involves multiple disciplines, Whereas scruffy sketches like these are useful in pre-production to see what resonates because they're quick to draw and the emotional toll of throwing them out is minimal."

[source thread]

Art by Nick Thornborrow.