#But it's NOT

[wizardsix]

so I'm wondering what the general consensus is on the companion relationships bc from what ive seen so far they're so lackluster compared to the previous games.

(putting the rest under the cut bc this got unintentionally long...)

and you know what? yeah, I will compare it to bg3, bc I vividly remember so many developers, including bioware ones, being against bg3 being the standard. maybe they meant graphically or scale wise, but it's obvious that we meant the diversity of choices and quality/depth of the companions. larian made it a point that they wanted the relationships to be complex, it wasn't about pressing all the right dialogue for approval, and that sometime you have to challenge your friend's beliefs, sometimes you have to argue w loved ones. and when it came to romance, it was especially stressed that sex wasn't the end goal like so many other games have treated romance.

so yeah, the veilguard companions are disappointing, because it is a massive step backwards from their previous complex companions. you can't be friends, you can't be rivals, and you certainly can't have any kind of deep or complex romance. you don't even have a say in recruiting these people. there's no options for any kind of player, because bioware clearly only had a very specific player in mind. no matter what you do, it forces the illusion of friendship with characters you might not even like, it forces you to be nice and supportive no matter what, stripping the player of the agency and roleplay we were promised.

and there's the part I'm the most sore about. if bioware wanted a more linear game with a more fixed protagonist, fine, but 1) da2 exists and there was still more choice there, and 2) don't fucking lie about it. bioware lied up and down about this game for ten years straight and everyone just accepted it right up to release day. we shouldn't have to accept the bare minimum, especially from a $90cad game. that's money most people don't have to spare anymore, the least you could do is be honest about what people are paying for, especially when those who will buy it are faithful dragon age fans who thought this game was going to be faithful back and finally give them answers about the world they cared so much about.

(and don't get me wrong, larian isn't perfect either and I've made a lot of posts criticising them too, but bg3s success shows that people Do appreciate depth of choice and complex companions (see astarion's success))

to me, it feels like they only included romance bc the previous games had it and they knew people wanted it, but they didn't really care for it or just ultimately had no idea Why these romances worked. I don't get any feeling of care or effort went into these relationships (minus emmrich, but especially with lucanis') and it continues to puzzle me as to why writers even bother writing stuff they don't like or care for. and I don't want to assume it's just for money, bc I want to hope people actually do care about the work they do, so im not saying that, but it definitely doesn't feel good. I've said this before and I'll say it again, I would rather have a few characters with depth in friendship/rivalry with no romance, rather than ones that clearly have depth but is never explored. it's so frustrating to see wasted potential and it's even more frustrating to have my time and money wasted.

[may-the-puck-be-with-you]

.

[antimony-ore]

Lost my composure there, if tumblr was a job this is where I'd quit

[rabbits-of-negative-euphoria]

because I myself need the reminder sometimes:

"sexual orientation" is not real. it's fake (and dare I say gay)

humans are sexually dimorphic. a person is only gay or homosexual insofar as "gay" or "homosexual" means "harboring and/or indulging deviant & unnatural desires"

gayness/homosexuality is not an innate factory setting that can never be changed. it describes a desire and behavior, both of which are malleable in the human person.

but the default setting of a human person is that of sexual dimorphism. a person is not "straight," they are normal.

[jonathanbyersphd]

Jonathan Byers who wanted to escape Hawkins since he was six. Except he's absolutely miserable in California but insisting he has to stay.

[one-million-tears]

i suck dick n balls when explaining stuff and it all ends up making me sound like a retard BUT i just wanna explain what transmedicalism ACTUALLY is 😞

[blvck-coffee-dad]

Don't ever complain to your grown kids about their other parent.

(Source: was just very tempted for the first time to do this but then realized that would be a very bad idea)

[mari-animates]

The worst part of surviving gun violence is that afterwards you see other people go through what you went through and knowing it just never fucking ends. It just fucking burns every time over and over and over

[flightyquinn]

I'll see someone on the most frothing at the mouth tirade about how all AI is theft and anybody who uses it is a degenerate with no respect for other people's hard work, and then it turns out they draw furry incest porn of Lucario or some shit. Fucking wild.

[nayrring]

Totally forgot i'm not 19 anymore gotta change my bio lol

[phantom088]

By the way, when ghosts and Ancients appear, should there be any visual effects and sensations? Like Frostbite? A drop in temperature? Surfaces becoming crusted with ice?

For example, a headcanon on Danny who is a cosmic Ancient, an eldritch, a cryptid, a ghostly entity. How would all of this affect him showing up next to a human?

Huh, very interesting. Considering your head cannon makes him a cosmic ancient I would think his effects would possibly cause a few things;

Anti Gravity: When he appears, the gravitational pull keeping the people and objects around him grounded, turns off, allowing these things to float.

Darkness: Alongside no gravity, the surrounding area becomes dark as there's very little human made light in space.

Stars: But the area doesn't become totally dark as he's followed by stars that helps light up the area.

Color(?): And maybe some cosmic colors (like blue, purple, and pink) for flair (maybe add green as well since that's a color that is associated with Danny's ghost half's color scheme).

As for Danny himself, these effects won't bother him that much. He can naturally float, so no gravity wouldn't be a issue for him, and he can likely see in the dark, meaning the lack of light wouldn't bother him either.

Hope I answered your question :)

[bigassbowlingballhead]

you know you can enjoy a silly little rpf pair even when they're in real relationships with other people. did we forget what the F actually stands for?

[death-by-killer-screen]

[iturka]

I guess we really are selfish, aren't we?

Or maybe just restless

We run wildly after one thing

Our dream, our mission, our goal

Thinking, yes, finally, this time I'll be happy

And as soon as we have it in our hands

It loses it's lustre

It becomes boring, mundane, unforgivably normal

And the same thing

That we were willing to give up our soul for

Is now callously thrown into the back of the drawer

In the back of our minds, but never as all-consuming as it once was

- Akruti Mishra

[hentairobot]

the word "unmolested" is not sexual, right?

[keepyourlife]

I think that's normal for many aroace people that most people in their live have a partner that they prioritize. It's important to find people even if it's hard to make new friends who think similar. Because it really sucks if you always prioritize people but they wouldn't do the same for you.

you're right, of course, but it's still pretty hurtful, you know? obviously for an allo person, their partner comes first. i've had a discussion with my friend about that a week ago bc i told her that, while i'm not averse to romance and sex (i have had relationships before), finding that is not a priority and when it's a relationship or my friends, they come first. they always will. but for them, that's not the case.

i'm having trouble making new friends in general, so finding likeminded people has been hard and still is. i'm 23 and in my country's second biggest city, one would think that'd make it easier, but no.i've got one ace friend, but she's married.

so where does that leave me, in 10-15 years when the rest is probably married, too? it's the big thing that made accepting being aroace so hard for me and why it happened at age 23 and not 13.