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allmannerofmalady · 12 days ago

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In continuation of my clownery, I started a new DATV playthrough because my beloved Inquisitor looked so jarring I had to remake her and replay like 20 hours of the game. But hey, I made peace with the fact that I am playing DATV to wrap up Inquisition and get an ending scene at this point, I'm not currently foreseeing a second playthrough, so I gotta do it right, y'know?

Spoilers, and me complaining at extreme length, yet again, about my own personal expectations vs reality into the void. Please ignore if DATV negativity is something you prefer to stay away from, protect your peace & what you enjoy.

So I replay HOURS. I'm having fun killing everything as fast as I can - I don't know what it is about playing as a rogue in this game that has tickled my ADHD brain so much, but I'm surprisingly really good at the arrow bonanza and relentless enemy aggro?! This turn based bitch? I digress.

I see my bb Inquisitor Lavellan - she still doesn't look like herself, but I can live with it. She got some ill-advised fillers in Tevinter, she's been through a lot, let her LIVE.

This time around my strategy is pure lore hunting. I'm getting every codex, I'm SQUEEZING this playthrough for whatever lore/easter eggs I can get because idk if I'm going to play again. I got all of Solas' murals early on, got Mythal's essence before Weisshaupt even, I think. BUT WAIT! I have one more treat! The locked room in the Lighthouse! Solas' study! There must be something juicy for all the effort, right? RIGHT? :'D

I know it's been beaten to death, but PERSONALLY, the game still feels incredibly flat to me, jarringly so. If I'm in the Dreadwolf's home, I want to snoop. I want Rook to look through his library, his books, his garbage bin. I even remember the devs saying they wanted being in the Lighthouse to feel an old friends house, or something? I could be wrong, my brain is fried. It's not just a Solas thing - I'm playing this game because I'm desperate for info about the characters I love, but as Rook, we are IN Solas' HQ and I want to rip open the floorboards. I'm trying to RP as much as I can RP in this G.

Anyway, I was so thirsty for something more, something deeper than just these lovely environments I cant do much with, and notes on how Solas hoards raisins - so I collected the wisps and did all the things to unlock the second door in the Lighthouse, forever booboo the fool, thinking I would get some juicy content or something. Trying to stay positive.

No. NO. I got some gear, another empty room Rook has no comments on, and fine, some of Solas' observations on the anchor. It does seem to confirm he kept the Inquisitor’s arm aaaand I love him your honour.

Back to backflipping and shooting arrows in the air, and wanting to grab Emmrich by the beautiful lapels to shake him and ask about the Pentaghast family. Where's my WIFE --

On to the Weisshaupt mission, which was actually ridiculously fun to play - until I was told Weisshaupt is gone haha wow great love that at least the Inquisitor & gang are keeping Southern Thedas safe *subtle foreshadowing* 😃🤞 weeee

I was SO MAD at myself for expecting more like the clown that I am, it was something dumb but just annoyed me all over again and got me all… opinionated 🫠

So, I'm mad again. I cannot begin to articulate my feelings about the incredible amount of storylines and lore we've lost with the decisions made in DATV's writing - they've already been written so eloquently by much greater minds than myself. SO I'm just laughing my way through the pain 🤡

People pleaser that I am, I see other creators I've followed and loved for ages defend the game's choices, tell others they lack media literacy, that your criticisms mean you have rose tinted glasses about the previous games - whatever, your opinion can be valid without tearing others down. So, I genuinely thought something was wrong with me for being so hung up on details. But I can't even engage in fan theories anymore because I'm so jaded at this point. When I see new deep dives into lore-based theories on the game, 99% of the time my mind goes "There is no deeper meaning. They just wanted to wrap it up." Why do you think this thing happened? What do you think that thing is hinting? Nothing. And this is coming from someone who played all the games, owns all the novels, art books, World of Thedas I and II, the bloody Inquisitor lamp from the BioWare store LOL, I was primed and ready to engage in these conversations, but I can't. I have nothing to say that won't end in a cynical answer, and maybe that's because I'm also jaded by working in the game-adjacent VFX industry.

The factions are, yet again, fun but shallow, the logic confusing, and lack much of a backstory for Rook (I think Grey Wardens and Mourn Watchers seem to be the best developed from other reviews and playthroughs, I've only played extensively as a Shadow Dragon, to be fair). Why are you a mage in this one faction? Why are you a rogue in another when it doesn't make sense without a story to support it? It's all this beautiful candy floss that melts away the minute I stop and think about it. And then the cynic in me thinks - these are probably vestiges of the live service part of the game that EA was pushing for. I have to slap myself and stop looking for deeper meaning within corporate decisionsssss there is no swimming pool behind that closed door you needed 7 wisps for 😃

I desperately did not want this to be the case. I was hyped. I preordered the game and organized vacation around it, I'm too old and dealing with way too many crappy personal things to just be a hater for the sake of being a hater. Gaming and Dragon Age are my comfort spaces. But for the LIFE of me, I can't imagine playing DATV again once I finish, let alone more times than I can count like the previous games. Or imagine listening to 4 hours of Youtube videos of party banter to analyze, or even imagine how companions would react to certain things because they feel so stiff. Everything is beautiful, but sterile.

I do love Emmrich - I'm enjoying his storyline and romance, it's like the loveliest most whimsical Vincent Price Pixar romance, but still, something is always missing with the characters even as some do grow on me. I can't imagine anything close to just the party banter ALONE between Solas and Iron Bull. Cole. Fenris and Anders. And to be clear - the whole DA was GRITTY and DARK, DAO supremacy - NOT ME. I love all the games but they have always been whimsical and silly, cringey at times, and did not take themselves seriously. I remember doing the quest where Hawke is running around trying to keep Aveline's date with Donnic from going south, cracking up at how ridiculous it was, and just thinking - gods I LOVE this game.

Speaking of romance, while I'm enjoying how sweet the romance with Emmrich is, when I see others complaining about lack of spice... ahem. I still cannot get over the art style when it comes to characters. This is subjective, and a me problem - I still find it jarring. I don't like the proportions, the bloom, how smooth everyone looks. They still mostly look like cartoons to me, with no body hair and the big heads, and I find everyone's hands so distracting because they look like plasticine. I'm ok with no spice between these characters with their current designs lol let me leave it at that. Ok, except for Felassan and Solas, chef's kiss, no notes.

Solas and story elements directly around him still mostly hold the familiar weight, for the most part. I think credit goes to his amazing VA and the strength of what was likely written for his arc from the very start, before the rewrites and dev hell the game went through. I still have opinions, obviously, but even as a ride or die Solavellan I don't like having the Solavellan angle hijack conversations, so I'm not going to go there. If I'm going to criticize stuff I'll do it as a gamer/DA fan first, egg lover and apologist second.

As I reach the end of Act 2, the game continues to makes me feel like I'm stripped of all agency after a lifetime of playing choice-based games. I talk to companions when it allows me to, then they are relegated to set dressing. My conversation choices all feel the same, or don't match what I'm choosing sometimes. The Lighthouse does not feel like the vibrant hub it was sold as. I am on quests I mostly cannot accept or reject. I cannot interact with my surroundings unless it is gameified (light a candle, move a crystal). The companions abilities are all just - platforming? I know I sound hyperbolic, but it's all I can see currently.

I played Persona 5 from end to end, twice. I played FFXVI. I loved both, had no issues with their linear storytelling, and how the game led you to their end points. Those games are not DA, they did not have the expectations you would have from a BioWare title 10 years in the making. You were not lured in by tales of an incredible character creator, teased about what might be coming from previous games, told this was a sequel to an immersive fantasy RPG series in a beloved fantasy world where the defining studio mechanic was CHOICES MATTER, even when they changed a lot of other things from title to title. In P5/FFXVI you were Clive, you were Joker, you were playing out their story. They were not direct sequels to anything. I'm loathe to be seen as a mindless critic who just wants to shit on things, but a part of me does feel emotionally manipulated for $$$. I still resent how much hype was built for the game by maligning the previous ones (we're fixing Inquisition's mistakes!!).

I'm back to my mission of finishing the game I paid for, enjoy what I can, and get my Solavellan ending scene cause I'm down BAD for literally the only ship I have ever shipped🧍🏻‍♀️I appreciate that it was included. But also - wow does it exacerbate what wasn't included for everyone else's choices.

Something I hate is how everyone immediately jumped on the Baldur's Gate 3 comparisons - BG3 was a life changing game for me, but it's not perfect, and the comparisons are not fair. The one thing I will say is that when I first played BG3, despite its issues and the later criticisms of how Larian reacted to pressure from fans, I remember my earliest impression was - it feels good to be respected as a player. I didn't feel the game was talking down to me, and I got SO much for what I paid for (700 hours baybeee). Jaheira and Minsc were included as companions in homage to the previous games. Yes, they did Viconia dirty, nothing is perfect - but for example, Jaheira would tell you about her husband Khalid from the original games, which came out in 1998 and 2000. There was a lot of world building/easter eggs that not everyone was familiar with or even noticed, because not every player played BG1 and 2, or were familiar with DND 5e - but it was included. Drizzt Do’urden was mentioned ffs, they didn’t overthink about who read those books or not. I’m aware of my biases and I may very well be looking through rose tinted glasses, but I did not feel like the information was presented like I was dumb, or "ah they'll never understand this - SCRAP IT". It just feels like it’s there to honour the past and out of love for the world Larian were playing in.

—> edit to say that I do notice and enjoy the codex entries, callbacks to Tevinter Nights, Masked Empire, the older games. I wish that care and detail was woven into the main story and overall end product and not just background fluff. I know others are satisfied with those additions, wish that were me. I saw a tweet saying that every callback to a previous game or storyline actually pissed them off even more lol, I relate.

I don't feel that respect for the player in DATV, I'm sorry. There is love there, but as hard as I try, it feels like it's there despite of the overall design of the game, not part of it. I keep remembering interviews before the game was released and things that were promised, and I don't see it. At all. No more meaningless fetch quests!! Most companion-focused game! The quests are largely boring or formulaic, but addictive and fun because they are so packed with mindless combat that my brain enjoys. Sometimes it feels like filler - we didn't know what to add here, FIGHT! You unlocked a poignantly named gate in the Crossroads? NO STORY MORE FIGHT! And I'm eating it up, let me not be a hypocrite, I have 80 hours in the game. But personally, it feels designed to pad out this beautiful, sometimes fun, but bitterly shallow game. I can't even go into companion specifics because I have nothing to say, no story I want to analyze. Some have grown on me, but there is no bite or nuance to the writing that compels me and I have no urge to know more. In the previous DA games I would take the long route wherever I went just to get more banter from my companions, and I was instantly interested in them, even if I disliked them. I've seen the comments, I tried, I don't think it's because "I haven't spent enough time" with the DATV companions.

The level design of long narrow corridors, which do remind me of DA2 and FFXVI, has become so predictable to me that I almost always know exactly where I'm going to find loot. So it becomes this admittedly satisfying run of grabbing and fighting to the end point, getting the dopamine hits of collecting pointless stuff, but not really taking in the environments and enjoying the adventure. The level design is not immersive. These do not feel like real cities or real people, and that was intentional. It feels like “levels”, not a World. No one reacts to a single thing you do. Even in the ultra minimalist style of Zelda BOTW, townspeople would react to things you did. Sometimes I walk up to yet another obvious fight arena where the enemies are just chilling, waiting for me while standing still - almost like they're on shift at a haunted house LOL. I can imagine the Venatori stubbing out a cigarette, "C'mon guys, she's here, showtime". The funny part is this has all been seen before in older games, and it never bothered me. My own expectations and overhype might be to blame, but it feels like a big step back when so many games are stepping forward. Me = clown

I keep going back to my first reaction when the disappointment hit me. It feels like being given Persona 5 Strikers or Hyrule Warriors, and told that it's the sequel to the actual RPG. It's fun, it wears the skin of the thing you like that makes you happy, but stops there.

Other things I shake my fist at

Cheap ass The 6th Sense ass Varric death. Yes, yes, Solas villain arc whatever - it was cheap. Way to honour a multi-game beloved character and the player, even if the time had come for him to die in the story.

No, I cannot find a single redeeming reaction from a companion that makes Varric dying make sense in hindsight, except that they are all made of cardboard. I saw comments saying on a second playthrough it's clear Harding is in mourning - sorry, I don't see it.

So. Dorian, the Inquisitor, Charter, Harding, your party, Maevaris, Isabella, list goes on - not a single one of them asks about Varric or mentions his death? Expresses condolences? Nothing? Cheap. Even if Solas was playing with your mind, doesn't it make the overall characters in the game seem even more wooden and unrealistic to the player? It was not the gotcha they seem to think it is.

When the novelty of the cameos and the emotion associated wore off, they were just flat and felt random. Cassandra should have been there, doing Seeker shit (my WIFE). Ok no cameo? Casual dialogue with Emmrich about having a Nevarran in the Inquisition (or as the Divine?!) Lucanis info dumping about Josephine as an Antivan, Zevran as a Crow, nvm, time for a coffee joke. Merrill, eluvian queen, how is she a nonentity? Habibi Fenris should have been in the Shadow Dragons, spitting on the ground after being approached by Solas to join his uprising (lol what uprising amirite). Ok I'm cooking hire me Bioware 🍳 but at least they can remain untainted by the Isabella Treatment (tm)

This leads into the yeeting of the Keep, world states, choices, and hypocrisy around claiming to want to level the playing field for new players. No, all I can see is - it was treated as a buffet that they picked from as it suited. This is the one disappointment I will never let go of. Facsimile's of beloved character cameos were tossed in, you could not really talk to them outside of what limited dialogue you were allowed. Certain world states are now canon apparently - Dorian being recruited in the Inquisition, Morrigan drinking from the Well etc. You want a reboot and you've committed to tossing the choices and burning down Thedas (literally)? Go down with GLORY! Have all the previous main characters/companions alive. Have them all mentioned, even in passing. A portrait on a wall. Say goodbye to them, get your reboot. Honour what you built your business on. But yeah, Emmrich and Harding get to have their picnic in Fereldan fml bye

The argument of: well, the games are old now, it shouldn't matter. Ah - not too old to capitalize on the IP and DA name? Not too old to use some cameos to lure old players? The argument of - it was too many choices to track. Ok cut them down, but don't go scorched earth? 3 choices, mostly irrelevant to those who don't care about Solas (could never be me), and then literally telling you everything else in the South and Weisshaupt is now razed to the ground. But also the illuminati did everything.

FINALLY - the Inquisition should have been in charge of the hunt for Solas, hill I will die on. Fine, have Rook, but Inquisitor should have been the other protagonist. The people... who knew Solas best and betrayed by him... who were in an organization to save the world... Why did we have that cunty dagger stabbed into the map of Tevinter cliffhanger to have the Inquisitor reduced to a pyjama wearing husk BIOWAAAAAAAARE

It's this stuff that builds up, and makes me think - does this game hate its fanbase and source material that much? I very obviously need to go touch some grass 🤠

I keep engaging with Reddit, Tumblr, Twitter - all to my detriment because it makes me feel like there's something wrong with me for not loving it, all over again. I also desperately have a fic in me I would love to write, an ode to the story in my head from years of loving the world of Thedas, a love letter to my Lavellan and others - but idk what to do with the post-DATV world atp. I just want to get through Act 2/3, get my Solavellan smooch, ignore the ~secret Illuminati ending, and be grateful I'm not a Mass Effect fan so I don't have to go through this again 🐣

#bioware critical #dragon age critical #i scream here to function out there #trust me i want to get over it #came to fix solas now he needs to fix me #veilguard critical

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sincerely-sofie · 7 months ago

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Chapter 1 of Sofie Plays "Slay the Princess": The Hero and the Princess

Into the insanity.

[ Beginning ] - [ Previous Part ] - [ Next Part ]

I like that we have a little bird talon as our cursor! Fun detail. I'd like to use custom cursors in my own visual novels someday.

Awww! This line is going to come back to bite me, isn't it.

THERE'S VOICE ACTING?????? DANG IT. Now I kinda wish I waited to record myself playing through this game like a let's play... alas. We persist with a playthrough journal comprised of still images and bullet point notes :<

Asked the Narrator how a princess locked in a basement could be dangerous enough to end the world and now I just want to have a perpetual sleepover with the gal. At the very least, we can give her some company while she's down there. Right?

Asked the narrator for details on how she'd end the world and now he's calling me a sheeple. RUDE.

Question: Does the Princess have actual powers that allow her to enforce her will on others? Or is this just the Narrator being anti-princess? or anti-this-Princess-in-particular?

I INSTANTLY DISTRUST THIS MAN. He's going to gaslight me to heck and back, isn't he? He already is, I just know it.

Told the narrator I'm going to meet the Princess before I make any decisions about executions. I'm doubting myself so bad. Is he the manipulator here? Is he genuinely warning me against the Princess being the true manipulator? He sounds uber bitter and I want to know their history.

Narrator, honey, I'm glad you've got a bit you're committed to and all, but I don't want to meet someone new whilst holding the means to end them. Forget taking the blade, I'm taking my sweet time getting to know this poor woman.

Okay yeah the Narrator is 100% not a good guy. That last line made me question whether he was voicing the Hero's thoughts, but the tone he used while saying it makes me feel like he's just working really hard at applying for the role of Intrusive Thought #4 Understudy.

THESE DIALOGUE OPTIONS ARE KILLING ME. NOOOOOO DO NOT LIE TO HER WHEN YOU SAY YOU'RE HERE TO SAVE HER!!! THAT'S MEAN!!!!!

Told the Princess "Uh hi I think I'm here to slay you? Question mark?" and she responded with this:

The Narrator immediately followed up with the below. Go kick rocks Narrator. I want to at least be polite if I'm going to kill someone.

Can't decide whether the Princess is playing at the role of innocent victim or not. We operate on innocent until proven guilty laws here, though. So I'll act accordingly.

Just met the Princess and the Hero is INSTANTLY simping for her as the Narrator looks on in distaste. Straight up "HI WIFEY" nonsense. I like this couple.

Oh my word he's a dork. I love this character.

Told her about why I'm supposed to kill her and I'm 100% believing what she said. I don't care if she's going to sprout fangs and disembowel me with her teeth or anything, I adore this gal.

Oh no. She accurately read my thought process.

Okay so here's a theory: The Narrator really hates monarchies. Which is fair. But this seems very personal for him, and he keeps bringing it up, like the Princess deserves to die for the sin of her being a princess. Is this some kind of worldwide magic anti-monarchist government overthow situation? I know that's definitely not the case but I am grasping at straws to understand his motivation.

I asked her how she's been eating or drinking when I'm apparently the only person she's seen in a very, very long time, and she dodged the question, and the Narrator backed her up. This lady is 100% not human. The Narrator is itching to get me to kill her and is sweeping over what the Hero perceives as a plot hole, because from his perspective, he knows it isn't. She's not human. Jotting that down for later.

I told her that we could do the perpetual sleepover thing I mentioned earlier and I'm realizing how callous of a solution that is now that the Hero is all like "Yay I came up with smart solution! Win-win! Go me :D"

The Princess and Narrator both shot down the sleepover solution. Poor Hero.

The music just cut out. She's doing the anime mean girl thing where she examines her nails. I'm having regrets.

I'M STRAIGHT UP NOT HAVING A GOOD TIME ANYMORE, GUYS

On the one hand: I could lock her in the basement and leave without killing her with my own hands. But with the abrupt change in tone I am no longer confident that this woman isn't going to chew off her own arm like a coyote in a trap so that she can escape and do... whatever it is she intends to do. I'm not sure that's exactly ending the world. But I'm leery of it regardless. She doesn't need food or water apparently, so she likely wouldn't die if I left her alone down here, which just further cements the idea that she's going to do anything necessary to get out.

On the other hand: I could kill her directly, and try to be merciful about how I do it.

On the OTHER other hand, I could free her, but I no longer feel safe around this woman.

I've been staring at these options for so long guys I'm so worried about making the wrong choice. I know that the opening screen said there's no wrong decisions but like. STILL.

Okay, decision made. She's definitely taking the self-dismemberment route if I leave her here, and she's definitely coming after me the second she's out. I'd rather try to make this quick than go through the exceptionally frightening scenario I'm envisioning in my head. Hopefully she's nice about inevitably overpowering me in the subsequent struggle and stabbing me afterward.

Hey, you guys know how 3D horror games will use 90 degree angle blind corners in order to facilitate jump scares? I think I just realized visual novels use line breaks to accomplish the same goal, and I'm scared to progress to the next line.

SHE IS GOING TO CHEW THROUGH THAT ARM AND I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE ASAP.

I CALLED IT I CALLED IT I AM NOT HAPPY ABOUT HAVING CALLED IT SOMEBODY PICK UP THE PHONE BECAUSE I CALLED IT AND NOW I NEED 911 ON THE LINE

Oh cool beans! Reality warping! Let's gooooooooo

Yeah no she's definitely got reality warping abilities. I figured that if she doesn't need to eat or drink she wouldn't be able to bleed to death after losing an arm, so I closed the door behind me... and it locked.

Decided to try and wait her out while she lurks in the shadows and now we're LARping Sans and Chara as I fall asleep.

I chickened out and entered the dark to confront her. It went very well for me!

Oh... I don't like that title.

See you guys in the next chapter! I am scared :)

#slay the princess #stp #sofie liveblogs stuff

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pavedinashes-if · 1 month ago

Note

I'm writing this at the same time as i'm playing :

I like the fact that we can switch POVs with others, allowing us to have a better idea on how they see us (i recognized the first stranger ^^)

Lobster 🦞😂

Klaus sounds nice, he's on my "nice people" list ✨

looking through N insta, i feel quite Bad when i'll be stealing his man ❤️‍🩹

I just wanted to see what the zoom on Fran 💖 pic would be like and well that's a feast for MC eyes ooh (sorry caro mio but sam is going to be my playthrough, you got to wait)

i'm already not liking Kass, she put me in nerves

i like how the whole realization falls on is the moment we arrive there. I really don't know what to make of the woman who seems to not Care but still able to replicate the old room.

we are in Hamburg why not it a hamburger (pun intended)

quite the day i really needed sleep

Can't wait to meet the others ! Congratulations on the release 🎉🎉🎉

-sarah

hey sarah!

Yeah I'll give plenty of POVs. Not all tho, and also not too detailed. There's a reason why - in the stats - you only see MCs relationship stats and view / perspective. Gotta keep some stuff a secret 😏

Lobster is one of my fav choices in this IF 😅

We do love Klaus. Klaus loves shoes off the seats.

Sigh... feeling bad and still doing it? Somebody here wants some drama for sure and it is not me (yes it is)

Well why did your stepmother replicate the room? Hmm?

You can be in a Hamburger soon enough...

Thank you thank you... yes I also needed sleep after the thriller of a release lol. Happy to have it off my chest. Felt very good tho and I like the result 🥰

#pia q&a

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zeondraws · 3 months ago

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How to install the DmgModLoader(DML) + Trainer for Still Wakes The Deep

The files are from the Still Wakes The Deep Speedrunning server, thank you to one of the members for showing me how to install them. Owner of the mod is Dmgvol, please support him if you like his work:

You can find a lot more mods on his Nexusmods page, which is linked on his Ko-fi. Very simple installation progress, to make it easier to find I put the files in my Google Drive folder:

The "DmgModLoader_P.pak" needs its own folder inside the pak folder of Still Wakes The Deep, you can call it "dml"

To find the paks folder, here is an example path: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Still Wakes the Deep\Habitat\Content\Paks Example where it is on my pc ^

Then you need to unzip dmg2 and put the content of this folder straigt into the paks folder of SWTD. blue is where the DmgModLoader pak file is inside red are the files from the dmg2 zip.

Afterwards you can boot the game, you should be able to see in the top left hand corner, that the mods are loaded.

I'll add a screenshot to showcase each function that the mod provides, for more detailed description you can check out the discord server mentioned above.

Key_ShowHelp= H

Key_Freecam= F2

you can use WASD to move around, Q and E to go down and up, F and R to zoom in and out.

Key_TimeDilation= F3 There are three Time Dilation options, first one is 2, then 4, afterwards 0.5 So don't be confused when you accidentally press that key.

Key_SavePos= F4 Save the current position you are standing on, afterwards you can press F5 to return to the location you saved. (I use this whenever I record Muir and want to capture a scene- hang on a minute I just realised something... I'll be back about this thought in a bit)

Key_Jumps= F6

Basically, you can jump mid air. Tho if you land on a height that is way lower than where you jumped from you'll die.

There are a few other options, tho I don't use them (since I am not a speedrunner). Like Marker Mode (G) and the Visualizers (1, 2, 3), just don't be confused when you accidentally press them.

Tho before you use these mods, play through the game normally first (if you haven't played it before). Mostly so that you can experience the proper gameplay first, before messing around with it. I started using the mod on my 4th playthrough I think.

You may break the game a bunch of times with some of these functions, you can usually restart from checkpoint when that happens.

But hope you guys find this helpful, I wanted to showcase how to use this mod so that more people can take their own references, or further explore areas you usually can't see. Since I am busy with my video project I can't check everything on my own. So with this, more people can explore and discover things on their own. But please, if you haven't played the game yet, play it normally first.

I know I like to skip Leg C because I don't feel like going through it for the 30th time, but I already played through this game many times.

But now you can take your own silly screenshots! Just like these:

Enjoy!

Edit: I realised I can teleport myself to Muir and Innes and watch him skelp Innes from close up

#still wakes the deep

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yansimstorythatiwillnotworkon · 6 months ago

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Oka Ruto

Name: Oka Ruto

Gender: Female

Class: 3-2

Club: Occult

Persona: Lovestruck (Coward)

Reputation:

Overall: +30

Liked: 0

Respected: +100

Feared: -10

Crush: Taro Yamada

Strength: Incapable(?)

Oka is pretty overloved, and I'm pretty sure that this is because YanDev's only goal was to make a "shy girl" character, as well as the "big titty goth gf" character. Of course, I could always be wrong, but in all honesty I'm not even sure why any type of school would promote an occult club, especially considering that the club itself doesn't have too many BIG benefits regarding a normal playthrough.

But enough about the functions, I'd like to get into the ideas for the story. Originally, in the story I wrote so long ago, I stopped posting after I finished Oka's week, although I'm not sure why. But in these chapters, I put to use the demons, the 3rd for bathroom ghost, and every member of her club in a way. This was of course because I desperately wanted them to be useful for something. By all means I'm fine with the supernatural being a canon thing in YanSim, I just never understood why it was there in such an easter egg manner.

I hope that this can function as a decent week(s) to represent her, although it will take a good minute to get all of them done. As of 5/26, I've finished a single chapter and plan on posting it every five students (excluding Aishi and Taro).

I've more details about Oka's relations with her club and such beneath the cut.

Shin is trustworthy, Oka knows that, but if she's not around, he's usually just as timid and quiet as the rest of the club. Of course, she can't blame him or her club for their own anxieties and appreciates his ability to step up whenever she's around, but sometimes it worried her when she was gone. On the note of Shin, though, despite his feelings for her, she can't bring herself to feel the same. It's a great trait to want to protect the one you love and make sure they follow a safe path, but Oka's already anxious enough as it is. Oftentimes, her anxieties are completely unwarranted, and even when they are, Shin treats her as if everything she conspires about is completely true or normal. Oka appreciates this, but she really wish she had someone a bit more... normal, so to speak. More normal than her, more normal than Shin, and more normal than her club.

Which is unsurprisingly where Taro comes in. Taro is a pretty regular guy and holds his own minimal charms. He can tell her when she's overthinking something or when something she comes up with simply doesn't make any sense. Simply because he's normal. Oka loves her club and all of her friends, but with all of the anxiety that's been built up after having believed in this for so long, it makes sense for her to be so exhausted of it. She can believe in ghosts all she wants, but it didn't mean that she had to surround her every waking moment around being anxious about it. That's why she'd like to try to be a little normal. Maybe even leave the club and get together with Taro. Not only to experience a normal friend, but to experience a normal relationship as well.

Supana is one of her friends, as well as her first and best right now. They knew each other outside of school and met similarly to how Budo and Oka met each other- through their parents. While Supana was simply interested in all things supernatural, Oka's parents convinced her that they were 100% real and have bashed this thought process into her head since she was a child. Supana knows this and knows firsthand how anxious Oka can get because of how she was raised. She'll be another one of the more important club members.

As for the 3rd floor bathroom. I assume you can guess why she would have a fear of it all things considered. I imagine she often switched chores with Dora or something at the end of the day but will eventually get caught by a teacher and be forced to clean her assigned bathroom, which in turn will trigger her interaction with the ghost. I don't want to spoil too much, but I will say that Sumire most certainly wants Ayano dead. At practically any cost.

#yandere #yandere simulator #yansim #yansim story #yansim ideas #art #Oka #Ruto #Oka Ruto

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wings-of-ink · 6 months ago

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Hey! This IF was sitting in my "to read" list for so long, and I finally got to it, and now I'm conflicted between being frustrated at not having done so sooner cause it's awesome, and being glad I didn't because that means I had a lot of content to go through at once, which is always nice.

Regardless, it was such an amazing read - I really like how you write relationships, not only with the ROs, but also with family and friends, which often tend to take the backseat in stories. I love MC's fathers so much, it's crazy!

Now, I have a few questions and hopefully it won't be too much for a single ask - if it is, feel free to just ignore some. Oh and if some were answered already, could you direct me to the answers? I have trouble with tumblr search as usual!

When the moment of the mark reveal happened in the game, I immediately assumed it was an important choice and the fact it seems depending on the mark we picked the god who cursed the MC / their bloodline changes only confirms it. But I was wondering if you'd be willing to share just HOW important that choice is in the game? I mean, will it only affect flavor text ultimately? Will it genuinely create a split and affect what MC has to do to get rid of the curse? Something else entirely? Of course I know actual details would be spoilery, so really I'd just love to know to scope of how this changes the story!

My MC has purple eyes, and it is said that purple eyes are only possible in case of magic being present in the family (even mentionned that it's likely there is godly blood somewhere in there). Will that be relevant in any way to the story? Again, not asking for details in regards to how or anything!

Similar type of question to the previous one, but "less important"... Will our mount choice affect the story much? I love my MC's mule dearly and I'm curious just how much the chosen mount will change stuff later down the line.

If the MC has grey hair - especially fully grey - will it be brought up much (or at all) by the ROs later down the line, especially in more romantic context? I'm curious if it will come up since I'm wondering what do they think about it and if they like it (and if their feelings vary depending on if MC likes it like mine does or not).

A bit of a reaction ask here, the chosen RO for my playthrough is Oswin, and I'm curious about something. My MC is a healer, and so I assume it's sort of expected that if he gets truly better he'll end up working alongside Lakota and his wife (it has been alluded to, even). But I'm curious how would both Oswin's and MC's families reacts if MC instead expressed the will to actually accompany Oswin on his tasks (cause you know, being a healer and all, he could take care of any injuries and what not). Of course, I'd also love to know what would Oswin himself think of it and how hard (or easy?) would it be to persuade him to agree to begin with!

While I'm at it, if the MC had a crush on Oswin for a long time now, just how aware of the fact are both families? Assuming it's the "shy flirt" type options, when it comes to how it presents itself.

I really hope it's not too much! I'm really curious about the dynamics here! I actually hate the "childhood friend" love interest archetype normally, but that gets flipped around entirely when it's "estranged childhood friend", which is one of my favorite romance archetypes, especially when they are estranged not because they were torn apart by other people or circumstances, but because there was a falling out or one of them actively distanced themself or something like that. Because of that, Oswin really fits that niche perfectly, and that combined with the delightful family relationships just makes me a bit feral.

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read this and answering to any of the questions you may feel inclined to answer!

Hello, my friend! I am so glad you gave my IF a read and enjoyed it! My goal is to keep the relationships growing like that and make them feel as authentic as I am capable of.

For your question concerning the mark, I have some info posted here:

The choice isn't going to be earth-shattering or route-diverging or anything like that in the sense that it doesn't change the core choices the MC will need to make later. I think it's more than flavor text, but at the same time not, which isn't helpful but I can't give it away just yet, lol.

The MC's bloodline will be coming up as well, but the selection of purple eyes will not change their heritage. Purple eyes were one of the more obvious changes that magic humans encountered after prolonged influence from gods, but not every magic person has them. The gods and demigods were known to have pretty normal eye colors too. It was mainly a color that stood out from the rest and people just came to associate it with magic, especially since in the current year, it is very rare to see. Some people believe something similar about blue eyes as well - just depends on who you're talking to.

As for the mount, there are some elements about them that may change a thing or two, but we're not talking significant ones. There's a balance to each one as far as their temperament goes, and there may be a couple occurrences on the MC's journey that are changed by the strength or weakness of the mount. So, your MC might escape a situation easier with one mount or have a harder time with another - but still escape. You get me? Mule probably has more unique moments than the other mounts, but I'm trying to add some special flavor for each of them.

I also plan to have the grey hair factor come up in certain conversations, especially about the MC's feelings on it when talking to an RO. You may encounter a passerby that will comment on it as well, but that is likely to happen for other reasons too. Duri will bring it up regardless, because they'll match MC! That reminds me, I need to fix the programming for that, lol. The way I have it set now will make it impossible to reference the MC's original color. Derp.

If your healer MC decides to journey with Oswin in his work, the families would be supportive. It would make them feel a bit better knowing that MC and Oswin had each other's backs. A romanced Oswin will be pretty easy to convince, and will make travels a lot more appealing for him. Lakota and Willow will be a little sad to see their business partner go, but at the same time, they're gonna be happy. Lakota especially since his brother and best friend will have found peace.

I would say that if the MC has been harboring feelings for Oswin for a while, their da is definitely going to have figured it out as will Oswin's mother, Betony. They're sharp. Not that Kavi and Papa are dull, they just wouldn't be as attentive to those subtle romantic cues (though their lovely spouses will have pointed it out at some point).

I love that you are feral for Oswin, lol. I hope your tenacity for him only grows in the coming chapters as he and your MC duke out their feelings.

I hope I hit all your questions! Thank you for sending them in and for the kind words. ^_^

#god cursed if #asks #twine if #if wip #gc ro oswin #gc if character development

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starsthoughtsonthings · 1 month ago

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Not quite the same quality as the other clips I uploaded, this one, because I had to find a way to lessen the file size because it was just too big.

So much about "I don't think I'll be uploading long scenes", huh?

I'm pretty sure there must be tons of uploads of this scene already, but I finally got my version of it and this blog is for gushing about him the things I like, so have it anyway.

But, I just had to. I went in and fumbled with my recording program a bit so I could pause the recording along the way and kinda cut together a few different options without having recorded the loading times. So uh, here's how I would like to have done the confession scene.

Basically, there were just some things where I absolutely would have wanted to say multiple of the things. So I made a recording of how I would have liked it to be - not all the dialogues fit perfectly onto each other due to being meant for earlier in the chat now, of course, but just as an idea. I might have clicked away some of the options a little too fast, if so, I apologize.

Random notes:

It bugs me that if you go 'were you even attracted to me', there's like nothing in his dialogue even explaining how he feels about that type of intimacy, and yet you next get options like "you should enjoy doing it again" - like, the way the dialogue went you don't even know he doesn't enjoy it?

I feel like it's just natural that the first question would be alike if things meant something to him at all or not, but I would like to after that still be able to say "I want it to be real, too".

At the last options, I would totally have wanted to pick like all of them. Like please let me assure him in all ways possible - and absolutely hug him. I need that hug. It should be so much longer.

I think I like both confession scenes, but I do agree with what I read, this one feels nicer still. I think. From what I can recall at least. I don't know. I'd have to rewatch the other confession scene (which I don't have recorded because I didn't do recording in my first Playthrough, would need to watch them through other's recordings - or reload a save and talk to Araj before doing Yurgir I guess) to be more detailed about what I like more in one of the other, since it's been a while since I had it.

I just love him. So much.

#baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #Astarion #MyTav: Kori

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bearlytolerant · 5 months ago

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9, 16, 19 for DA4 ask!

Thank you for these asks! I finally sat down to get them answered.

9. Which romance, if any, do you plan to pursue first?

Solas with my lavellan. I kid…unless.

Then Varric. I kid…u n l e s s.

The real answer is I’m torn. Everyone looks lovely! But I’m going to need to get to know them better in game before I can actually make any decision on who I’m romancing first. Unlike prior games, everyone I’ve seen in the new game is starting on the same level (even though I’ve got some snippets of chars from writing but I need more to go on).

16. What's one crack theory you subscribe to (yours or someone else's)

I don’t know. Probably none. Even my own I’m not fully subscribed to. A boring answer I know but I’ve got nothing. I’m just hoping we get some solid answers in the next game but it’s dragon age so—I expect I’ll get 12 more questions for every 1 I get an answer to.

21. Are you planning to replay any of the previous games, watch Dragon Age: Absolution, or read any of the books/comics/short stories, or are there other games you want to play in the meantime?

Yes! I booted up a new playthrough of da2 and Inquisition already. I have 3 of the comics to finish and I’m also working through Tevinter Nights again currently. I won’t read any of the other books though. Will probably watch absolution again too because I’ve only seen it once so I feel like a second time I’ll be able to glean details I missed prior from the show.

I’ve included vacation photos that Cole took of Sarya in the Elvhen ruins:

#bear replies #thank you for these 🫶#dragon age #dav #dav hype #dragon age veilguard #ask game #those pics were actually for more crack theorizing #but they made me laugh

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misericordel · 3 months ago

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(comes to the toa anniversary munday late with starbucks)

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is.

Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing!

Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

Name: leon

Pronouns: he/him or they/them. idrc

Birthday (no year): august 30th!

Where are you from? What is your time zone? i was born in virginia but spent like 90% of my life in the midwest ✌️ i'm central time

How long is your roleplay experience?

i've been roleplaying since i was a kid! i probably have around 10 to 12 years of "roleplay" experience

How were you introduced to roleplaying as a whole?

i started roleplaying on gaia online before the inflation really hit in the late 2000s (iykyk), and then i moved to deviantart took a break from that and now i'm here!

How were you introduced to TOA?

found it on twitter through a moot i think. the details are foggy at this point LOL

Do you have any pets?

yesss my two beloved chichis beethoven (bae for short) and skippy. yall may have seen em in the server but they're my babies and i spoil them so much. i've had them for around 7 — 8 years and my family adopted them from owners who neglected them a lot.

What is your favorite time of year and why? (Season, holiday, general period)

late spring early summer you will always be my it girl

What is your IRL occupation?

i have a fancy title for it but for simplicity sakes i'm a university receptionist

Some interests and things you like/enjoy?

hmmm main interests are probably fire emblem, j-pop and vsynths/vocaloid/pjsekai (spongebob holding his hands out meme) I WAS A VOCALOID FAN STARTING IN THE LATE/MID 2000S

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play?

other than fire emblem i play a lot of jrpgs. i've been really into balatro and fields of mistria lately! (ooo you want to buy fields of mistria so bad) also project sekai as mentioned above. gacha is a curse though

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon:

i've always liked most psychic and dark types. my favorite pokemon is blaziken bc of nostalgia haha

Tell us some funfacts and trivia about yourself!

much of my time spent writing here in toa is on company time bc i just happen to have access to a computer my entire work shift and it's generally quiet enough to do so

How did you get into Fire Emblem?

like a lot of people i first saw fire emblem in smash bros, then later on i think a year or two after awakening released i saw it on the shelves at my local gamestop and bought it because i recognized the namesake. of course i fell in love with fire emblem from that point haha (i have 100+ hours in awakening. lol )

What Fire Emblem games have you played?

i've watched playthroughs of a lot of em. for properly played though genealogy, blazing blade, sacred stones(never finished), awakening, fates conquest (never finished), three houses (golden deer + never finished blue lions), and engage!

First & Favorite Fire Emblem games:

first: awakening

favorite: genuinely a tie between engage and genealogy

List your 5 favorite Fire Emblem characters across the series!

veyle, sigurd, edain, caeda, tie between timerra and eldigan (yeah sigurd was actually beaten out by veyle. crazy times we live in.)

Who was the first character ever to make you go “ooh I like this one in particular” and why? Can be any context and reason!

the very first one was cherche from awakening! very much was attracted to her weirdo onee-san vibes when i first played, and every playthrough after i would always put in extra effort to make her really good in my army haha

Any Fire Emblem crushes? 😳

y'all already know i go fucking rabid for sigurd von chalphy

If you’ve played (or are familiar with) the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? - Awakening: chrom (BY CHOICE) - Fates: xander - Three Houses: claude - Engage: alfred bc hes a sweetie pie, though i almost s supported diamant instead

Favorite Fire Emblem class?

mage knight beloved

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class and stats? Would you be playable?

villager that needs a lot of extra planning to get anywhere good, or like a merlinus merchant type haha

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? (Black Eagles, Blue Lions, Golden Deer, Church of Seiros, Those Who Slither in the Dark, unaffiliated civilian, other - for example Almyran)

golden deer hehe

If you were an Officers Academy student, what would be your boons, banes and potential budding talent?

all banes. all of them. every single one. if you manage to reclass me they all go to neutral instead

If you were an Engage character, which nation would you originate from? (Firene, the Kingdom of Abundance; Brodia, the Kingdom of Might; Elusia, the Kingdom of Knowledge; Solm, the Queendom of Freedom; Lythos, the holy land of the Divine Dragon; Gradlon, the desolate land of the Fell Dragon)

firene bc i'm just a little guy. i'd die at port florra though.

How do you pronounce TOA? 🤔(separate letters, to-ah, other?)

toe-uh. always have and always will

Current TOA muses:

veyle. feels weird to be a single muser.

Past TOA muses?

lesse iin order from my very best knowledge : sigurd -> cherche -> edain -> arthur (fe4) -> caeda -> askr -> timerra -> here i am now. that's probably a little worbled of a timeline though

Who was your first TOA muse? If you no longer have them, can you see yourself picking them up again?

my first toa muse was sigurd! i certainly have been weighing in my hand if i want to pick him up again recently

Do you believe you have a type of character you gravitate towards writing? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?)

i gravitate to any character who suffers from the empathy disease i think if i were to give an answer that were all encompassing LOL i do like muses that are a little stupid though

Do you have characters or types of characters you don’t think you can handle writing, but wish you could?

i cant handle the stoic type or the intelligent type. it's a running gag for me at this point that i'd be interested in writing laurent or miriel if i were smart enough to do so

What kind of scenes, situations etc do you believe you enjoy writing the most? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?)

i love writing anything with/in relation to romance. it's like my bread and butter haha. i think i do conversations between characters best and have always struggled with writing things like fight scenes (though i have improved since i started)

Do you have any scenario in mind for your muse(s) that gets you thinking “man I hope I get to write this one day”?

i'm pretty satisfied with what i've been able to write for veyle here. i do like when i get to write veyle getting angry/fighting back though!

Favorite TOA-related memories?

0 days since our last food discourse

Present or past tense?

present tense! started writing in it and it just kinda stuck with me.

Normal size text, small text, no preference?

small text girlie for lifeee

Got any potential muse delusions to share? 😉

wouldn't you like to know weather boy

#{ ooc. }#{ i wanted to do this yesterday but was busy with family stuff :sob: so here i am now }

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rainbowbarnacle · 11 months ago

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So I finished playing Pentiment

and I am lying here face down weeping into a pillow. It broke my heart and then it mended it again. Definitely up there as one of the best stories I've ever wandered through in a videogame.

You start out as an artist in the 1500s trying to finish your masterpiece while doing illustration work for the local abbey to make money, and when a sudden murder occurs you're left to try and solve it, but this is just Act 1. There is so much to see and do and read about in this game, it stretches onto this unspeakably detailed journey centered around this town and its people and its history.

I went in without knowing a thing about it other than what I saw in the trailer, and I. had. a. blast. Along with getting to explore various settings in this town, there are a sprinkling of fun mini games that shake things up just enough to keep you from feeling like you're doing nothing but roaming from place to place and reading all the dialogue and flavor text.

The plot goes places you would never guess in a million years, and every new twist and turn just reveals EVEN MORE INCREDIBLE THINGS. There are dialogue lines that will stick in your brain and parts that will make you laugh and parts that will make you cry and parts that will just wrap you up in everything it is to live in this town--its people, its culture, its holidays, its food, its art, its landmarks, how things change, how things stay the same, you will love it all so much as the game goes on. All that aside, the entire concept of a game being a story in a manuscript and all the gameplay occurring inside the little illustrations? That was such a visual stroke of genius, just seeing that drew me in right away. The art style is lovely and the music is lovely and the background noises are wonderful and immersive and I feel like you could spend hours just looking and listening to all of it.

And there's enough of the "book" in there that you don't forget it's a book. When you enter different areas, it interprets this through page turnings. Instead of the usual "bidibidibidibi" sounds you get with videogame dialogue, it's scribbly pen noises or print machine clunking. Characters have different fonts and sometimes the font changes in mid-sentence, and sometimes for violent emphasis there's a SCRAWLING sound like the writer is carving the words into the page with the pen. Sometimes in even worse situations there's even ink splattered among the words.

There is an option to see the text instantly, (as well as a nice accessibility option where the fonts are easier to read if it's too detailed to make out) but I found myself liking seeing the words written out for me with an invisible pen, especially since there are little moments where stuff gets crossed out and rewritten or the writer corrects little spelling mistakes. There's also a ton of replay value--you decide things like what topics your character studied in school, what personality they have, what languages they know, what types of books your character reads, and what skills they have--and throughout the game you can make choices and have special skills depending on what you pick. (Alas, this is not a game that lets you create your own character entirely like you would in, say, FFXIV or Baldur's Gate 3; I'm being a little vague for spoilery purposes, but you'll have fun figuring out what you want to do. I'm already looking forward to seeing what happens in Playthrough 2 when I do things way differently. :D)

It's been an hour since I wrapped up my first playthrough and I'm still reeling at everything. What an incredible, incredible game.

So in short: thank you so, so much @mercurialmalcontent for getting me this for Christmas. <3<3<3

#domestic blifs #pentiment

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alicelufenia · 8 months ago

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I have finally finished my first BG3 playthrough

Gonna go into HUGE detail below the cut over all my thoughts, including spoilers of potentially everything I've encountered in the game (and maybe a few I haven't but already know about)

Playtime

Might as well just start with the obvious question: what was my playtime?

A little over 344 hours.

Granted that's total playtime, I spent a lot of time (though not as long as you'd think) in act 1 with several characters that didn't go anywhere, only actually progressing with Alice after like a month of waffling on what/who to play. Or going back to old saves to take screenshots or record for gifs (which reminds me, I can go back and make all sorts of gifs now if I want) or to test my extremely scientific tumblr posts on how to recruit Minthara by giving her a concussion.

Total ACTUAL playtime for my main tav

A more respectable 189 hours, not counting the epilogue which was like, an hour tops.

While I played a ton in 2023, my opportunity to play has been hampered this year somewhat. Which is why it took me til March to finish when I reached act 3 in DECEMBER. That's three months to get to Act 3, but but 4 months to finish it. And I didn't even do all the sidequests! I gave up on the painter's wife and the necromancy guy, and didn't even start the Umberlee thing (is that even a sidequest? I honestly don't know) Which still amounts to doing a LOT anyway, and not having the tiefling npcs around didn't feel like it impacted much outside of a lack of a vendor.

The Grove and Minthara

Speaking of which, I guess I should talk about my act 1 choices, and why I went with raiding the grove and romancing Minthara for my first playthrough (a thing that seems to be incredibly rare from what I've seen of poll responses here)

When you don't want to admit you committed mass murder for some pussy, and maybe a chance to save the world I guess

In short, my plan was for my Sorcadin (Oath of Glory Paladin/Shadow Sorcerer) to have a lapse in act 1 and break her oath in an attempt to get close to Minthara and sway her from the Absolute, before fighting to defend the grove and restoring her oath in the process, but that act would leave a stain on her soul (the levels of Shadow Sorcerer thanks to a mod).

But then I fell absolutely head over heels for her. Oops.

This was back before a way to recruit her while saving the tieflings was a part of the game, and for whatever reason I didn't want to use the mod that let you do it. So I thought, I'll split my saves at the grove battle where I betray or side with the tieflings. So betraying them is, well an ordeal for sure, but then Minthara's scene.

Oh boy

HAAAAAA

So yeah, after completing all that and then going back and fighting for the grove, I thought about it for like a week or two before deciding, screw playing the game twice with this split point, I'll continue from the betray the grove point, see where this goes. And just like that my character goes from a faltering hero to a fallen one. Instead of immediately restoring her oath, she would remain an oathbreaker for the rest of act 1 and nearly all of act 2.

Act 2

By far the biggest impact your choices in act 1 have are on your path through act 2. Technically you can go either way (meeting the harpers and reaching Last Light Inn first, or following Kar'niss' caravan straight to Moonrise Tower) regardless of your actions, but the game nudges you subtly to one or the other, mainly by pointing to where your potential allies will be. So I wound up at Moonrise first, and I had Minthara recruited very early in Act 2.

Essentially I did the act backwards compared to how many people would do it, going from Moonrise, to the surrounding town, to Last Light, then the Monastery, the Gauntlet of Shar, and finally the assault on Moonrise. My party's turning point to "good guys" during all this was basically right when they fight to defend Isobel at Last Light, making that particularly hard fight feel really meaningful to the story (it weirds me out how many people recommend skipping it, like what just save before, it's hard but not impossible)

This resulted in Act 2 having this seemingly intended escalation to it; we are at our lowest on the way to Moonrise. The dream visitor scene you can get on the way is really good here, they ask you how you felt about what happened to the grove. Very funny how they have an encouraging answer whether you say you don't care or you regret it. Especially after we find out who they really are.

Exploring the NPCs at Moonrise feels like a weird dark mirror of the grove, all these seemingly normal people doing their thing but talking about committing the worst atrocities so casually. Then you run into Minthara—your one real ally here—and she's been made a prisoner? By a seemingly immortal general! Seriously seeing Ketheric before hearing Jaheira's summary of him is a trip. And then I went to free Minthara from her prisoners, getting advantage on the wisdom check to break her free of the Absolute's voice cause of my previous relationship with her, and oh wow this is like the second best scene in the game this was the best decision I ever made in a game! Now let's make these bastard cultists bleed!!

Oh I was all in on Minthara's side at that point.

And yet weirdly ready to try and be a hero again. Alice had a purpose again, and allies willing to see it through. Though Wyll and Karlach had abandoned her at the grove, she was now invested in those who remained, and begins striving to lead them better. She strikes her first blow against the cultists by killing Marcus, and at the Gauntlet of Shar, while at first I tried to push Shadowheart toward sparing the Nightsong (which went horribly bad) instead Alice said she doesn't like it, but doesn't want to lose her, so she'll back her up no matter her choice.

And Shadowheart chose to spare the Nightsong. And I was introduced to my OTHER favorite character in the whole game, Dame Aylin!

And now the act hits its highest point. Having Minthara with me for the assault on Moonrise feels SO right, she has dialogue with Z'rell, a reason to be there in every fight to come, the final battle is

JUST

It's so cool.

And then Minthara has one of if not her best scene in the whole game

Not only this line, but her whole speech on Orin, her continued quest for vengeance, with the ultimate goal of replacing the Chosen Three and becoming the Absolute. And shortly after Minthara confesses to her, and I was so blown away that it happened so early!

This was also when her romance was still a shambling pile of broken flags, and I was so happy it actually worked I immediately restored Alice's oath, as she renews her vow to seek legendary heights of glory (by seizing the elder brain).

Leaving the shadowlands and heading to act 3 also leads to the last (major) change caused by my choices in act 1; the shadow curse remains. I did attempt Art's quest, which ended when we had to confirm that Halsin was dead (or so we thought, but wait until I talk about that much later!), leaving the curse unliftable.

And honestly, probably the biggest let down I've noticed about the 'good' path through act 2 versus the more 'evil' one I took is that, the curse kinda never stops being a problem in the evil path, while the good path trivializes it so early. Once you get a hold of a Moon lantern (which you can do early if you turn on Kar'niss and then on the harpers), you can just release Dolly Dolly Dolly and be safe from basically all of the curse. If you maintain your cover as a cultist, Kar'niss disappears until the end of the arc, at which the moon lantern he drops has a dead Dolly in it, so no permanent buff (not that it would matter at that point). And the moon lantern you can pick up in Balthazar's room doesn't have a pixie to release.

I dunno, you can already lift the curse in the good playthrough, seems like an odd choice to make it more trivial in that one than the other path. Still, having to manage our moon lantern use throughout the whole area, kinda made exploring it feel more significant, and knowing when it was safe or not to put away the lantern made it at least a little more interesting to explore certain areas, whereas players on the good path probably don't even know there are individual buildings with a deeper curse that even the Selunite blessing doesn't protect, necessitating still using the lantern.

So despite not having Halsin's whole quest with Art, Thaniel and Oliver, I still KINDA prefer the way it played out for me. Might change my mind in the future if I actually do that quest line, Thaniel and Oliver are interesting enough characters to make that worthwhile from what I've seen.

Act 3

At this point I've been playing for 3 months and I finally make it to act 3. The mission here being "get Minthara's approval as high as possible without breaking your oath". In short:

Crushed it. And no oath broken.

But before that, we had to deal with the little problem of Orin's kidnapping victim being Minthara. For SOME reason, Minthara is the only companion who can be abducted even if she's currently being romanced (she just has to not be in the party at the time it happens).

Which is devastating, but also REALLY good story telling, cause you just told her not like an hour ago that you'd keep her safe from Orin.

So my first task upon entering the Lower City was "find Orin and rescue Minthara". I stepped right over that agreement to go after Gortash first, and instead tracked down a few of the Bhaalist murders, which led me to the Tribunal, standing before Sarevok to be accepted as an Unholy Assassin, not REALLY knowing what I was doing at this point, and then I'm asked to kill Valeria (who was a jerk during the investigation, but not nearly that bad) and, feeling myself up against the wall, say FUCK IT WE BALL and refused to kill her.

And Somehow. I managed to beat Sarevok, despite being surrounded by cultists buffing him up. My team was Shadowheart, Lae'zel and Gale, and lemme tell you that's POTENT (this was before I got the Markoheshkir for Gale but, turns out a level 11 Wizard is REALLY STRONG so it doesn't matter)

The way the journal updated made me worried that if I took a long rest, Minthara would be killed, so. I went looking for the Temple of Bhaal, getting lost in the sewers until I finally found it, and went to face Orin WITHOUT LONG RESTING AFTER SAREVOK.

I wasn't even at max level, or had much of the good equipment in act 3. Unstoppable is a Bitch of a mechanic, and silly me didn't prepare Magic Missle on Gale (which would have trivialized it). So I had Alice, Lae'zel, and Minthara chip-chip-chipping away at 7 stacks of Unstoppable, only occasionally getting a hit through, all while Gale provided support by burning just SO MANY high level scrolls (he ran out of slots at some point), and I forget what I was doing with Shadowheart. I still don't think I understood the mechanic, but I did get an achievement for killing Orin while the cultists were still performing their ritual, so I guess I brute-forced it like some have done with Grimm.

So, after Orin the rest of Act 3 was a breeze by comparison. Except the House of Hope, that was ALSO a bitch of a fight, and unlike Orin I had to reload after a party wipe. Just once though, I beat Raphael with just Minthara up, taking out his last 10 hp with a Psionic Backlash just as he was about to roast her with Incinerate again.

Other than those, the actual rest of Act 3 was... well, I mean it was fine. I did just about everything, found and recruited Minsc, was confused that the Emperor tries to talk you OUT of recruiting him for being too unpredictable, yet he never once raises an objection to bringing on Minthara. I dunno it made sense with my playthrough cause she basically never spent time as an enemy, but it's still WEIRD and not really a choice worth doing differently. Which will become a bit of a theme with Act 3.

As I said at the start, Act 3 took me longer than any other, but I did take my sweet time there. The sheer number of npcs that you can talk to is still incredible, I fell into some quests like the Mouth Gazette accidentally, and completing those was involved but didn't take too long.

Once I had taken out Gortash, we were basically ready to go straight to the end game. The path to it being through the Temple of Bhaal driving home the point even more that I was meant to tackle Orin last, but no WAY was my wife going to miss out on the entire Act 3.

My last big exciting moment for the playthrough was when Minthara spoke up out of nowhere while heading into the temple

That's right, I got the Alurlssrin line here, since Minthara wasn't around for it the first time I went to fight Orin. But, since the game doesn't check to see if Orin was still alive (or it did but it bugged?) I still got it anyway!

She still says we have to go kill Orin, but who cares! This was literally one of my major goals in the game, my Get Kim to Wear The Jacket of Baldur's Gate 3 (whereas that achievement was basically the best thing I did in Disco Elysium). So happy to get it my first playthrough.

High Hall

As for the end of the game, while I can see how it would be harder on higher difficulties, I still think I'd have a much harder time with earlier fights. I didn't play this optimally at all, not using elixirs nor summoning many of my allies. I kinda was worried about "using them too early" but I think you're meant to use them or they go to waste.

Now I had a lot of allies. Red dragon air support, Harpers, Guild assassins, Elite Fist unit, VOLO, and even Yurgir! I only summoned the Harpers and Yurgir, and they were fine, but I think Volo is actually the strongest ally. His "Volo's Guide to Monsters" condition that gives +2 to attacks, saves and checks, that's insanely good!

Meanwhile I was noticably missing some allies. Where were Isobel and Aylin? Where were the Gondians and the Steel Watch they're supposed to give me? Especially with the abrupt way Isobel and Aylin exited the game after Lorroakan (another choice that wasn't a real choice cause why the FUCK would I betray Aylin at that point), it was a let down. As was siding with the Gondians when Wulbren gave me zero reason to sympathize with me (it felt like a Lorroakan again, you need a reason to hate this character to refuse them, so they try to do something you would absolutely not do given the choices you've already made)

At least I finally know why people hate Wulbren, but MAN does that not feel earned.

My Final Party

Since I was locked into my party from boarding the boat to the credits, I might as well talk about who I took, and what build I used for them.

Alice (6 Paladin / 6 Sorcerer)

Pretty standard Sorcadin for my Tav, I had her wielding the Jorgal's Greatsword, eventually swapping to the Sword of Chaos (never got Balduran Giantslayer. No Wyll so I don't know what an Ansur is lol). I used mods for BOTH subclasses, Oath of Glory and Shadow Sorcerer respectively. I'm gonna be honest, Sorcadin wasn't as impressive as I was hoping it would be. First, Glory Oath has its charms (the mod user tweaked a lot as this oath is meant for grappling builds in tabletop), but the spell list was meh. Guiding Bolt didn't prove to be as useful as I hoped, and Oath of Devotion's tenets for oathbreaking works fine I guess, but doesn't quite match up perfectly.

Like I interpret it as Alice trying to become the kind of legend told in stories about truly heroic figures, hence the oath tenets making me stick with a knight in shining armor type for most choices. Still it means I could make all the best choices for my companions, so they can be the best they can be, and that's perfectly fitting for the Oath of Glory.

What made this REALLY take off was the level 6 abilities for Shadow Sorcerer, at least the version the mod maker made for Baldur's Gate. At level 6 you get Hound of Ill Omen, essentially a familiar that can perform an attack that can knock enemies prone, but you have to designate the target, which you can swap freely once each turn. You ALSO get Shadow Step, which is BONKERS in BG3 for mobility, as there's almost always some minor obscurement. She zipped around everywhere, concentrated on Haste and SMITE SMOTE all into oblivion.

Minthara (9 Paladin / 3 Rogue)

Of course I had to keep Minthara a Vengeance Paladin, it's so much of who she is. I gave her 3 levels of Thief Rogue for the extra bonus action, and the Dual Wielder feat so she could wield the Handmaiden's Mace in the offhand (letting her dump Strength) and the Devotee's Mace in main. The Alert feat basically meant she always went first, and could set up with Soul Brands or an early burst and just delete ANYTHING in one go, all while concentrating on Haste for just infinity attacks.

This build doesn't have TWF but honestly, I didn't miss it. The Handmaiden's main use is the stat boost, and it can poison, so once the target is poisoned I don't necessarily need to make attacks with it and just use all the Soul Branding I want. Or do bonus action dashes to move anywhere. And since in the end I made her partial illithid, she was BY FAR my most mobile party member, even more than Alice. Levitate + Thief Rogue's bonus actions means you can get absolutely ANYWHERE if you want.

And call me a simp but I love it when she growls "I am your death" or "No survivors" and then actually kills every mother fucker she clicks on. With Vow of Enmity up, plus The Dead Shot for lower crit rate, she critted quite a lot, especially when I gave her an elixir of viciousness (appropriate). It takes a lot to out damage a Sorcadin, but she managed.

Lae'zel (12 Fighter)

You know what's almost as good as a Sorcadin or crit-fishing Paladin, damage-wise? A Gith with 12 straight levels of Battlemaster Fighter, and the Silver Sword of the Astral Plane. She managed to out damage Minthara on the Red Dragon in the final battle, Precision Attacking with GWM to get SO MUCH damage in, the dragon was dead in like 3 turns.

Shadowheart (2 Paladin / 10 Cleric)

This was a bit of a weird one, and I would definitely do something different next time. The idea for this was, Paladin for smites and Ancients healing radiance, Light Cleric for spellcaster damage and using Sentinel to act as pseudo-tank. Selûne's Spear and Viconia's Walking Fortress with Reaper's Embrace for the highest AC in the group. Honestly this worked better than it looks on paper, mostly cause with the Amulet of Greater Health she had the most hp, and almost never lost concentration. Enemies still tried to attack her despite being more tanky, and I've had her soak up so much damage.

Next time I'm definitely going to resist the temptation to make Selûne Shadowheart a Light cleric (it's not even one of Selûne's domains) and I have some ideas for that with actual synergy with things like radiating orb, so hopefully next game she'll be more effective.

A New World for Ourselves

So we did it. Orpheus subjugated the crown, the Absolute is at our mercy. All that's left is to make that final decision. Do I destroy the brain, ridding us of the tadpoles and the threat of the Netherbrain forever, or do I betray everyone so that Minthara and I can become the Absolute.

Nothing could be more glorious! Of course I was going to pick this one!

Or do I? I mean, I could, and I did to find out what happens. But is it an ending? Maybe in the future when they make that update to the 'evil endings' that they mentioned recently, there'll be more to it. For now, it basically results in you deleting every other companion (except I believe if Minthara or Astrarion are your partner) and taking control of the Netherbrain to carry out your will with no one to stop you.

It ALSO is one of the extremely rare times that Tav/Durge gets a spoken line in a cutscene, and hearing Lynsey Murrell (voice of Tav 8) say "In my name" will sustain me for weeks. Minthara saying "In your name" so much REALLY went to her head huh.

C'mon everyone who follows me saw it coming, why do you think I made my blog name literally "In My Name"? I am cringe but I am free.

But, as of right now, this ending amounts to little more than an alternative game over, until they add an epilogue for it. There isn't even a stinger scene at the end of the credits. Oh well, I'm sure the actors will have a blast performing mind-controlled companions, when that finally comes out.

The Real Epilogue

So we did it. We ordered the brain to destroy all tadpoles (and taking away Minthara's veins and black eyes, which, they were cool, but I like her without them more) and then kill itself. Despite us being on it when it blows up, but after the gang climbs out of the river and onto the dock, we have our final moments before we go our separate ways.

btw this lady, who goes to town on a Mind Flayer to protect the tiefling kid? She's so badass and I think I love her. God I'm so weak to fearless women kicking the crap out of things, and this game just doesn't stop delivering on that front.

Minthara is taking the brain's destruction incredibly well, probably due to being rid of the tadpole at last.

I honored Orpheus' wishes and put him down so he can be a martyr for his people. Lae'zel departed to return to the Astral Plane for the war against Vlaakith, and poor Astarion had to run off cause the sun started burning him. As for Gale, I thought I had messed up his quest by not bringing him to the last battle, but he did in fact get a choice to retrieve the crown for himself or Mystra, or to leave it. I told him he should leave it. Still spiteful to Mystra, sorry not sorry, but at least he didn't make another mistake.

As we headed into the Epilogue, Minthara and I have been spending the six months weaving schemes and intrigue to take control of the city from the shadows. Probably the least evil option for Minthara's epilogue, but honestly it fits, Alice has achieved her legend status and Minthara has a genuine happy ending, not having to worry about all out warfare with her family (yet).

The Epilogue Party was as adorable as I had hoped it'd be. It was great to catch up with everyone, and it made me happy I used my oc from ffxiv, cause this is very much in line with the sort of "You fixed everything and everyone is praising you" ending the Warrior of Light gets in basically every expansion.

So after finishing the game, I have my thoughts. First off, I had such a great time, and fully intend to start another run (more on that later). I wouldn't say it's perfect; the epilogue does a good job to pad out the ending, but the base game ending after finishing the last battle is definitely pretty abrupt. But it's alleviated so much by seeing these characters I've spent so much time with, seen them struggle and grow, now finally getting closure. That still makes it worth it.

I am ashamed to admit I had to reload on the final battle after an impromptu party wipe. You'd think as a FFXIV savage raider I would be able to recognize "don't stand in the bad" mechanics and execute them perfectly since this is turn based. And not only did Shadowheart get hit by one of those nautiloid attacks, the final boss took us out because I didn't realize it'd blow up the platforms they were on. Still, as a savage raider maybe it makes perfect sense I'd have trouble not standing in bad.

There's one other thing I wanted to mention, something that a lot of people are concerned about when they play this game and I'm so happy I can say, after completing this run, that the Grove does not matter.

The Grove doesn't matter (just do it)

That's not even hyperbole, the grove literally doesn't matter. Notice I how I didn't have to mention it past act 2? That's because it matters basically only for act 2, while act 3 might as well exist on its own. Now I guess that makes sense if no npcs from the grove actually survive, since there's no one there to talk about them.

But like. Volo is right there. I saved him from cultists in act 3, and he shows up for the final battle and the epilogue, and he makes a big talk about telling my story, conveniently forgetting that whole part where I committed genocide for, as he himself noted at the time, no discernible reason.

Like I know I joke that you can raid the grove and still play the game as a 'good' character, and that's still true and I think it should at least be possible, but like. At least a mention?

I will tell you who I heard from that I was absolutely NOT expecting though:

I'm sorry, fucking who??

What?

So what seems to be going on here, is that because I never talked to Halsin after initiating "Raid the grove" in act 1, meaning he never left the goblin camp, the game never registered him as "dead" (even though you can tell Art that), but instead is treating him as "alive, and the shadowlands are still cursed"

Weird. I don't remember if I actually went back to the goblin camp and checked the worg pens to see if his body was there. But since Minthara showed up at Moonrise with his journal in her inventory, I just assumed she killed him before leaving to Moonrise.

It honestly would have been absolutely hilarious if I had gotten a "you may have saved the Sword Coast but I will never forgive you for what you did to the grove. May we never meet again" or something like that. But hey this is a party, we gotta stay upbeat!

Anyway the moral of the story is, if you haven't killed the grove yet, you should definitely kill the grove. Maybe not the one Larian intended, but it works for me.

What's Next?

I'm going to be taking a break from bg3 for a bit. There's a limited time event going on in ffxiv, and I still need to replay and finish Hi-Fi Rush (my other game of the year of 2023). After all of that, I have a few ideas for my next run, in order of preference:

Chosen of Eilistraee - Drow Bard/Rogue/Cleric (Shadowheart Romance)

I really wanna go back in and do another in-depth run as a more traditional 'chaotic good tav' like a lot of people did their first time, but with the luxury of being able to recruit every companion this time. I also really want to play through the game as a Bard, and play a more religion-focused character.

So a Drow Bard with the Cleric of Eilistraee dialogue options, and who will have a whole story involving obtaining Phalar Aluve (Eilistraee's weapon) AND Larethian's Wrath (Corellon's weapon) and dual wield them. Since Alice will no longer be my main tav after this (more below), I'll be giving this character the Guild Artisan (tav's canon background as far as I'm concerned) and she'll be my go-to heroic tav.

DU Minthara - Paladin/Sorcerer (Karlach OR Lae'zel Romance)

There's this brilliant mod that lets you play as any of the companions, Origin and non-Origin, using either Tav's or Dark Urge's dialogue. And listen. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense that Dark Urge is the perfect way to play Minthara AS an origin character.

I could romance either Karlach or Lae'zel (both incredible rarepairs, though Minthara/Karlach is less rare nowadays), but if I go with Karlach I'll HAVE to save the grove, because I don't want to risk her romance breaking if Dammon is dead. Plus fixing her engine means act 2 and 3 Karlach sex scenes with Minthara 😳 oooooh yes! Don't know if I'll be resist or embrace, but would aim for the Avernus ending. And of course with Lae'zel any way is fair game, meaning that grove is getting raided again boys!

And yes it is another Paladin/Sorcerer multiclass, don't judge me I'm going for a different level split this time and not using modded subclasses, and Storm Sorcerer is very Durge-appropriate.

Karlach Origin (Minthara Romance)

Same deal, but reverse. This will be my one concession to romancing Minthara on a 'good' playthrough. Normally I'm personally opposed to that; recruit her sure, but she needs someone willing to kill for her. That all changes with Karlach / Minthara, the tiefling has permission to concuss her and later kiss her, because she absolutely would, plus won't be around long enough to help Minthara with any of her plans anyway, so their future is either going to be brief or in Avernus (aiming for the latter as usual)

Can you tell I REALLY like this ship?

DU Alice - Paladin/Warlock (Minthara Romance)

I intend to replay Alice someday (need to let her story rest for a bit before I come back to it) this time using Dark Urge to fill in those needling holes in her background. Like just adding Durge makes everything about her character better imo. I'd play her as Oathbreaker from the start. Waking up with holes in her brain and a hole in her soul where her oath used to be, replaced by whispers of death. What even was her oath, and if she can restore it, should she? Basically a replay of my first run but with added DU angst, and a connection to Orin and Gortash that accidentally mirror her relation to Zenos and Emet-Selch in ffxiv. Neat.

Shadowheart Origin (Astarion Romance)

This one is wild, considering I don't really like Astarion (he does nothing for me, though his story and Neil Newbon's performance are both excellent). However I saw a certain Shadowstarion fanart and thought, what if they just made each other worse until we have Ascended Astarion reeking havoc for eternity alongside Dark Justiciar Vampire Shadowheart. That's all I got.

So if you read all the way to this end, thank you! I hope you enjoyed my ramblings. If you want, drop your thoughts in comments or ask, I'd love to hear them!

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thezolblade · 8 months ago

Text

The strike, the war, and the revolution

I've been replaying Disco Elysium a few years after the first playthrough, and noticing a lot more details. Thinking about the opposing powers in Martinaise, the twist at the end regarding Evrart's motives was disappointing at first, as I'd been getting to like him for his complexity despite the shadiness that we knew about already, and then suddenly it got so much worse. Looking through the script again, there's a kind of parallel at play, which at least makes it more interesting.

Evrart betrayed his union. Joyce betrayed her company. They both acted against the powerbase that put them where they were, in contrast to the reputation the game had been building up. In the long run, that twist might even not change how le retour ends.

Evrart started a strike that was intended as a takeover from the start. He didn't expect the company to let him take the harbour without a fight; based on the conduct of big capital, he knew it would be a war. He encouraged his union, a workforce of about 2000 people, by saying they could win. The workers that you talk to really believed that they were going to survive to be independent and better off by following his plan.

Then after Joyce leaves, you find out that he expected Wild Pines to kill those '2000 men' before the bad PR pushed the company to distance themselves from the mess. He wanted to win and rebuild Martinaise to be prosperous, after sacrificing more or less everyone he was responsible for. He was lying when he said his union could 'hold off' however many mercenaries their enemies sent. He had no idea that Joyce would react so strongly to Harry's news that she would surrender the harbour. By his own admission, it was a fantastic surprise that he wouldn't have to sacrifice his union to achieve that win.

On Joyce's side of things, she tried to sound confident that she could convince the rest of the board to 'cauterise' Martinaise by giving up the harbour without letting the war escalate, but she wasn't certain that it was within her means. She wasn't certain that she could convince her company not to kill thousands of people.

Kim warned her that this could unravel property law, that there would be hundreds of strikes, encouraged by this result. When Harry's squad discuss le retour at the end, there are headlines about tensions rising in other terminals, and analysts saying the Zone of Control won't hold up for long. Revolution is coming, and when Joyce knows that for certain, she decides to set the history of its start by surrendering territory to the people and holding back retribution, acknowledging that this might strengthen the opposition to big capital. Even if she puts a capitalist spin on the decision, she's setting herself against the way they've operated so far.

And in the end, this is all prophecised to lead to a Moralintern nuke leveling Revachol in 22 years. Whether Evrart's Union falls as the price of victory or not, whether he resets Martinaise with a redevelopment or not. Whether Joyce keeps her word, or gets overruled, or not. The twist is that these changes of fortune haven't changed the future yet, according to Shivers, the fragment of the world spirit.

Here are the quotes from fayde about these plotlines. While replaying, I'm still digging into all the little lines that feel like they change everything we know so far. And they do, and yet they don't.

You - "How many of you guys are there in the Union?"

Variable["cargo.evrart_went_through_evrart_wanting_war_with_company_branch"] == true

Evrart Claire - "2,372," he replies like a whip. "Plus yours truly, of course."

[From the conversation root "I wanna talk to you about the murder." ]

You - "You're disappointed. Why did you want them to have killed him?"

Evrart Claire - "Why was I disappointed that they didn't start a war? I'm not a floozy, Harry." He flashes you a sly smile. "You don't just get to second base with Evrart like this. We're at first base, Harry."

[From the conversation root "I wanna discuss some matters regarding the union with you." ]

You - "What do you gain from him being dead?"

Evrart Claire - "Why, a war, of course."

Kim Kitsuragi - "And what do you have to gain from a war?"

Evrart Claire - "Victory, Mr. Kitsuragi. I have victory to gain. We are going to start a war with the Wild Pines Group -- and win before they even realize there is a war."

You - "Have you ever heard what two Giant Seraise Hornets can do to an entire colony of bees? They destroy it."

Evrart Claire - "I have. It's a great story, Harry." He nods. "Did you also know how the bee colony kills the giant hornet? They swarm and blanket it entirely, until it suffers a massive heat stroke and dies."

Evrart Claire - "Harry, we outnumber them fifteen hundred to one. And that's just Martinaise. With all the unions in Revachol -- and with public opinion on our side -- we can hold off two men. Or fifteen men. Or even fifty men."

Evrart Claire - "The more they send, the worse it's going to look for them. They made a huge mistake hiring those guys. No one likes foreign mercenaries. The leftists hate them, the fascists hate them, even the moralists think they're in bad taste."

You - "How is this connected to the strike?"

Evrart Claire - "Harry, there is no strike, only war. Class war. Or, in business terms: a dawn raid. Or wait…" He pauses to rub his chin. "Is that when you still pay them something? Because we won't do that."

Evrart Claire - "We're not gonna give nothing. We're gonna take Terminal B away from them: the roads, the gates, the containers, that big crane… even the damn coffee maker. We're gonna take all of it for the people -- and fuck Wild Pines."

Evrart Claire - "Harry, imagine a Youth Centre-Supermarket-Church complex! Employing hundreds, no, thousands of people. The coast will be lit up with enterprise -- and life! All those ruins out there turned into low-income housing…"

[Og] * 210. Evrart Claire - He leans forward. "Harry, enough is enough! We're taking this district back. The war was fifty years ago, for god's sake. It's time to move on."

Evrart Claire - "Let's look at the big picture. Martinaise as a whole. There are little girls out there with dreams of making music. Young mothers who want to start businesses. Models who want to walk catwalks and steel welders who want to weld steel."

Evrart Claire - "I'm gonna unite them all into one economic body. We're gonna incorporate this place to kingdom come. Everyone's gonna be in on the wealth. And everyone's gonna pull their weight."

Variable["TASK.solve_the_strike_deadlock_done"]

You - "So this was your plan all along. For me to relay this information to her."

Evrart Claire - "Harry…" He exhales slowly. "I can't see into the future. We are all playing by ear on this planet. I had no idea she'd react so strongly."

You - "But you did want me to relay info to her?"

Evrart Claire - "I did. I knew the negotiations would go better with police officers telling her horror stories from inside the harbour. It's scarier this way. Turns out it was a magnificent strategy. I never thought it'd so fundamentally fuck her up."

You - "You used me." (Proceed.)

Evrart Claire - "Harry, you made a conscious decision to relay that information to her. You could have kept it for yourself."

You - "So what's going to happen now?" (Conclude.)

Evrart Claire - "What was always going to happen. We take the harbour and she fucks off to Ozonne, uncorks a bottle of wine, calls her partners and says they need to distance themselves from this nasty business before the big shit spinner splashes everyone."

Evrart Claire - "Only difference is the Union doesn't have to lose 2,000 men to machine gun fire."

Joyce Messier - "I will surrender Terminal B to the Union."

You - "Is that within your means?"

Joyce Messier - She puts her hand in the rain. She's silent for a second.

Joyce Messier - "We will see."

Kim Kitsuragi - "Ma'am… This may well unravel property law this side of the river. If that occurs, we may never see the end of this kind of confrontation. The next time there will be two strikes…" He looks toward the harbour. "Then four, then a hundred."

Joyce Messier - "What happens will happen."

Joyce Messier - "The age of capital has only begun. I will talk to my employers in person. We will amputate and cauterize Martinaise -- if you handle the situation on the ground."

- You - "What further plans do you have for the age of capital, ma'am?"

Joyce Messier - "In short, detective, we will revoke the pigment standard. Your money will no longer need to be black like chitin -- and there will be so much more of it."

Logic - Events are already in motion. Whether your actions accelerated or momentarily retarded their progress, even the lieutenant cannot really say.

Kim Kitsuragi - "Well -- first I will go back to my station and write the most detailed report anyone has ever seen. It will have to be good to cover all this. Then I will have a serious talk with my captain."

You - "About what?"

Kim Kitsuragi - "Detective, we just stopped a small-scale war. Something is happening to Revachol." He takes a look around -- into the deepening shadows of the streets -- then pulls up his collar.

Kim Kitsuragi - "I don't know what, yet -- but it's going to be a hard spring for the RCM. We need to get ready. Infiltrate. Investigate."

Shivers - Distant traffic. A scrap of newspaper drifts by, carried by the wind.

Perception (Sight) - It says: "Tensions rise in Terminal YC In light of the Débardeurs' strike in Terminal B, among representatives of heavy industry in Coal City…" you read.

Inland Empire - Le Retour…

You - "Wait, you mean The Return?"

Kim Kitsuragi - "Perhaps…" He pauses, deep in thought. "There are people who say the Zone of Control will not hold up long. They're not on the radio -- yet. But there are parties out there…"

Trant Heidelstam - "Yes." His face darkens. "I hear worries -- from systems analysts in Vesper and Messina. International risks departments in banks. People like that."

Jean Vicquemare - "We've been hearing whispers in Jamrock too. Ever since fall. I agree that something is happening. People are tense. I hear a fan spinning. Fast. Something is about to hit it."

Shivers - IN 22 YEARS, THE FIRST SHOT WILL BE FIRED. NOT A SHOT FROM A GUN -- AN ATOMIC DEVICE THAT WILL LEVEL ALL OF ME. ALL OF ME.

#disco elysium

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