#I wish we could play as Gil at least in one mission and not only in battles🥲

[gilgil-machine]

Just like in Epic of Gilgamesh🤩

[annakie]

Thoughts on a DW Rewatch & Mass Effect replay.

So I’m in the Eleven / Clara half-season now.

Also I’m now replaying Andromeda.  I have thoughts, about both.  I’ll start with Doctor Who then label it when I get to Mass Effect stuff.

Oh my God this gets long and rambly.  Apparently, I have a lot of thoughts.

So, season 702... I’m ready for it to be over.  I miss the Ponds.  I felt like most of the first half of this season was pretty great, honestly.  I’d forgotten how fun some of those episodes were, I think at the time we were anticipating a new companion so heavily that it was harder to appreciate those episodes?  I feel like there was a lot of criticism levied towards them that now I felt like was a bit too much.  The western episode was kinda meh but still not bad.

I’m not sure what exactly it is about these Clara / Eleven episodes that I’m still not connecting with but I’m in the middle of the Crimson Horror episode (which is a Vastra/Jenny/Strax heavy episode and enjoying it more than anything else so far this half-season.  

*edit later* NOPE NOPE NOPE I’D FORGOTTEN HOW THE DOCTOR FORCES A KISS ON JENNY.  GROSS.  SUPER GROSS.  SHE’S A MARRIED WOMAN, A LESBIAN AND DID NOT CONSENT TO ANY OF THIS.  BAD DOCTOR, BAD.

Honestly even with some excellent guest start acting, the Russian Submarine episode was STILL a slog and the ghosts in the 1950′s episode no better.  Like they still weren’t ridiculous and unwatchable but... just didn’t feel fun or interesting at all?  The Journey to the Center of the TARDIS episode was decent, and I felt like that wasn’t nearly as cool as it should have been..

I remember reading a criticism of these episodes early on where they said that the biggest fault is that they failed to give Clara any real characterization or solid personality other than “girl the Doctor is obsessed with”.  She’s SUPER IMPORTANT but not only do we not know why at this point but it really doesn’t feel... earned?  I don’t recall it ever feeling earned that Clara was supposedly always so important?  “The most importantest companion EVAR!”  

And as someone who stanned the hell out of a character who was hated in the fandom for “replacing” a previous companion I’m checking myself to make sure it’s still not because I Miss the Ponds.  Like, I don’t HATE Clara, I just, at least at this point in the rewatch, can’t find any reason to really LOVE her?  She’s there, she’s fine, Jenna-Louise Coleman is doing a great job with what they’re giving to her but... I don’t know.  It all feels... off.

I had forgotten all about the “the Doctor rides a motorcycle up the side of a skyscraper” moment and something hit me in that moment that made me remember that wow people hated that moment.  It felt really... shark-jumpy somehow.  

I love Eleven, but this half-season isn’t connecting with me, AT ALL. It feels like the writers just went and dug through a bunch of rejected script ideas, polished them up and were likle “let’s just do this until Matt Smith is gone.”  I’m anxious to get to Twelve.

Mass Effect Stuff

OK TECHNICALLY I haven’t finished ME3.  I still need to do the party and the goodbye scene, (Citadel Epiloge Mod installed) but I’ve gotten all the Stuff and done all the missions in the arena.  I just wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye yet, so I started Andromeda a bit early.

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OK look I had a point I wanted to make and never quite got where I wanted to go with it right here.  I’m too tired of trying to fix it, so this stands as written.

This playthrough had me ruminating a lot on Kaidan and Garrus.  I really love both of those characters, though in my heart I’ll always primarily love Kaidan, I’ve done the Garrus romance and wouldn’t mind playing that character again to see the romance one more time.  In ME1, I bring Kaidan everywhere all the time, and pick which other companion I bring to the story-based missions based on what I know is gonna happen like I’m sure most people do.  Wrex for Therum, Tali for Feros (though I REALLY wish you could switch before going to see the Thorian), Liara for Noveria, Ashley on Virmire, Garrus for Ilos/Endgame.  I rotate through all five for sidemissions.  

In ME2, Garrus is my always-bring companion, with Garrus + Miranda being my favorite team.  Except after the Omega relay, where characters with Throw really shine with all those husks running at us, Jack holds the bubble, and Miranda and Thane, who both have Warp to help take down the Reaper Baby, are the preferred team.  Also so Miranda can tell TIM to fuck off.

Then in ME3, once the game opens up, Garrus is back on the perma-team, with a preference towards bringing Liara along... until we get Kaidan back.  And then I realized I didn’t bring him to a single thing except a side mission or two until Earth.  Mostly, this is because I’m following the Kaidan Banter guide and it turns out Garrus is a real banter hog for most of the missions.  At leat he’s not James, who I literally never use unless I’m going on an N7 mission and feel bad that I haven’t taken him off the Normandy in awhile.  I mean, even Javik gets more play.  Also EDI doesnt leave the Normandy til near the end when all of a sudden she gets real important.  

But Garrus is always on the team for Priority Earth.  And that always felt like the way the main game should end, with your two favorites.  (Also what kind of monster wouldn’t bring Wrex to the combat-centric areas of Citadel DLC?  I keep thinking I should have runs where I bring other people but... Wrex is my other fave and we don’t get him with us AT ALL since ME1.)  

I love Garrus, so much.  And I was thinking with this whole parallel DW rewatch / Mass Effect replay think I’m doing right now how both Rose Tyler and Garrus Vakaraian are characters that were ruined for me for awhile due to their respective... overly enthusiastic fanbases who a small percentage of were dicks to people who loved other characters.  The Kaidan tag (and from what I understand Thane got some of this too, but not nearly as bad) was a pretty hostile place for awhile (and yeah I used to check the Garrus tag too and there was a small amount of tag-invasion there but uh, like 5% of what the Kaidan tag got) which made loving the character of Garrus a lot harder for awhile.  But when actually watching seasons 1 & 2 / the end of 4 of DW, or actually playing the games, those characters are awesome.  

Fanbases can be amazing or terrible, and time and time again I think you start to realize that no matter how great a fandom is, there are going to be a few people who can only enjoy themselves by feeding on drama, or on lifting up what they love by stomping on other people/characters/plotlines.  Going back through my blog reminded me that even the TAH fandom had some of this, with a small percentage of fans being real dicks to two prominent female characters in favor of their favorite ship, which soured even that just a tiny bit.  

It’s not fair to characterize everyone who loves a popular thing as someone who does this.  It’s also hard to avoid completely because there will always be jerks, or young/new people who don’t realize what bad form they’re showing.  I did learn by trying to fight it for a year or two, that responding might help that one person not do it again, but it’s not going to stop overall.  Maybe yelling a lot about Martha Jones did change some people’s minds.  It still isn’t that good of a look now, even knowing that in general I was pretty polite and logical about it.  I might respond to an odd comment now and again in some favorite character tags, but in general, turns out that kind of fight just isn’t worth it.

And those fights seem so stupid in the light of everything else happening in the world today.

Anyway, don’t be a dick about the things you don’t like.  

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I also wanted to say, and I know I said it in a few other posts about this ME3 playthrough, but seriously I cannot believe how much ME3 is a changed game because of the modders.  I cannot imagine ever playing ME3 again without these mods.  There were so many small things that I kept thinking I should take note of to talk about and I’m sure I forgot 90% of them, but there’s things like... adding in mentions of the Andromeda Initiative, closing a few plotholes, mentioning Emily Wong, adding in many more Spectre console options which end up having their own plotlines, adding in an entire plotline about the VI civilization that had previously only been talked about in like, social media or Cerberus News Network posts, having the Normandy be so much more populated, seeing so many more other species on the Citadel with more variety in clothing for those species that have clothing / could have more variety, way more female Turians.... every time I play ME3 the game is more and more like the game we wanted when it came out.  

I am kind of itching to go back and replay it even now.

But hey, instead, its time to talk about Andromeda.

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So first of all, yes, mods for Andromeda.  A few appearance mods, a lot of convenience mods.  

After having recently played DA:I and I think Andromeda and DA:I are a lot more similar than Andromeda and the previous trilogy, I had decided it was time to cut down on the stupid stuff Andromeda does, like “Oh, you want minerals?  Spend 10 minutes in each mining zone finding the PERFECT place to gather materials or you’re fucked”  No, thanks.  I’ll mine but give me that “one probe placed anywhere and you’re done” mod.  

Make the modifications and crafting materials I use actually matter. 2% damage increase is nothing.  Make my squadmates not suck because I remember doing 90% of the work myself before and that got exhausting with the number of spawns.  

I tried to not go overboard so things feel like cheating, but there’s enough out there to just get rid of the stupid stuff, and it’s nice.  And works together a lot easier than the DA:I mods did.

One thing I did do was install the Multiple Romance Mod.  I enjoyed it in DA:I, even though ultimately I only did 2 full romances.  I am **NOT** romancing Gil or Cora with the mod, I just wanted to experience all the content available for female Ryders at once, since I’m not going to have the energy to replay this 100+ hour game enough times to see every romance on its own.  So I am poly-romancing Liam, Jaal, Vetra, Suvi, Peebee, Keri, and if it lets me, Reyes when it’s time.  

I’ve only gotten all the way through Andromeda once (where I romanced Liam)  My second playthrough was right after my first and stalled out about halfway through (was romancing Jaal.)  It was one of those “I’m totally gonna get back to this! (She didn’t.)” things.  I’m gonna be honest, I enjoyed the Liam romance and was enjoying the Jaal romance, I’d done a fling with Reyes but not the full romance my first time through and the fling with PeeBee on my second.  Reyes was probably my favorite out of all of them.  So this time I decided.. let’s see which I love the most, all at once.  I don’t know if I’ll do this in the future, but this game is too long to not see all the content I wanna see, TBH.  

And you know, I still really do like Andromeda.  It’s a GOOD game.  And I’m forever going to be mad that we’re not going to see how this story ends.  This story deserved to finish being told.  Like, there are a lot of very legit criticisms about Andromeda, but it didn’t deserve the harshness it got.  And the worst thing about it, and DA:I both is that... there’s just a little TOO MUCH of it.  100 hours is an amazing amount of game but... it’s also just too much.  For now I’m not trying to 100% this playthrough.  My plan is on each planet to get the planet to 100%, take out the Kett or whatever major base, the Remnant Architect, and yeah probably clear out the sidequests that show up on the map, but fuck quests that are like “visit random Kett camps until you find the right datapads that don’t show up on the map!” or “scan random blobs in the forest that don’t show up on the map!”  

So like, do the content, not the filler.  

I still hate the vaults.  The first one is cool.  The rest are tedious.  But they’re mandatory.

I love everyone on this spaceship though.  They did the Tempest stuff SO WELL.  All the companions I think are... good?  There’s no one I don’t like, even the non-squadmate shipmates ship have so much interaction and so much to do/say.  It’s not like “a bunch of randos and Joker, with occasional appearances by Chakwas and the Engineers”  There’s no randos, it’s just a few people you have real interactions with, and its great.

The lack of enough beds in the bedroom will never not annoy me.  There’s 4 beds for... Lexi, Liam, Cora, Suvi, Kallo, Vetra and Gil?  Even if Liam slept on his couch, and Vetra put a bed in her supply room... still doesn’t add up.  What, do Salarains not sleep or something?  Does Lexi sleep in a medical bed?!?  Peebee sleeps in the escape pod, Jaal brings a bed with him, and Drack’s like “Eh I’ll just sleep in the kitchen”.  WHAT?  THE KITCHEN?

I mean sure there weren’t enough beds, even with the sleeper pods, on the Normandy either, but somehow that was less disturbing.  

Also, I know you’re supposed to HATE Director Tann but I love Kumail Nanjiani so I find it hard to be a total dick to him, even if he usually deserves it.  If he wasn’t an anti-Krogan racist I think it’d be easier to like him.  He was thrown into a pretty shitty situation and... did actually hold things together for some time.  He’s not doing anything out of malice.  He’s a dick, but also doing what he needs to do to keep the Initiatiave going.  Oh, except for being a anti-krogan racist.  (Honestly, I also think  “until he turned Cerberus Udina was just doing his job pretty well” too, so...)

Taking some screenshots as I go.  I mostly just take screenshots for me now.  I have a few thousands screenshots from a dozen or more games rotating through my desktop background, and I keep adding to it, and love it.

Anyway, I’ve gotten Eos, Voeld and Havral to 100%.  Time to go save the Moeshe.  I’m having fun.  

*edit from later* I’d forgotten that... idk if the dialog they recorded for Jaal was the first thing they recorded for him or they used a different VA or what but on the Save the Moshe mission his voice is VERY DIFFERENT and oh man, that is still bad.

Might take a break for when Onslaught comes out for SWTOR, though.  I haven’t really played SWTOR in months. Oops.

[randomly-random-jen]

Uncalled For Actions (7/?)

A Girl Genius fanfic

When Gilgamesh Holzfäller is fourteen, he’s taken on as an apprentice to Baron Wulfenbach as part of a program to produce the next generation of leaders in the Empire–a group that will hopefully get along (although most see this as wishful thinking on the Baron’s part). He’s learned a lot over the months of shadowing the Baron, but nothing has prepared him for his most challenging assignment: confronting the skeletons in his closet. 

[Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Part 8 ]

Part 7

With a defeated sigh, he sat next to her on the bed, careful not to wrinkle her dress.

"Talk to me Tarvek," she whispered, squeezing his hand in support.

He remembered this from when they were little--huddled together in the corner of his room or under the covers of her bed after their mother had died taking what little solace they could find in each other. He swallowed hard. 

"Remember when I was on Castle Wulfenbach."

She tensed.  "I remember they stole you away in the middle of the night."

Tarvek rolled his eyes--like Anevka hadn't been jealous he'd been chosen over her because everyone knew being held hostage by the Baron was the place to be; it meant you were someone important or would be someday.

"Yes, well, I wasn't their prisoner for long was I?"

"No, I suppose not. You were pretty quiet when you came home and never wanted to talk about it. Father was angry."

Boy, had Father been angry, Tarvek thought--being sent home in disgrace like that. His punishment had been discreet but intense; he shivered thinking about it but regained his composure quickly under Anevka's watchful gaze.

"So what happened?" she prodded after a moment.

"I got in trouble." He glared at his scuffed boots. "Or more precisely, Holzfäller got me--got us--in trouble."

Anevka raised one perfect eyebrow. "I'm going to need more than that if you want me to hate Gil along with you."

"I don't want you to hate him," he said without thinking, getting a knowing look from his sister. He frowned at his shoes again and played with a tear in his trousers he must have got in the fight. The memory of Gil standing over him looking more than a little crazy and raging about not wanting to be here helped direct his thoughts back to the topic.

"See," Anevka said, bumping his shoulder, "you do need me to hate him. With you or for you is yet to be determined," she added with a bubbly laugh.

Tarvek glared at her. "I don't need you to hate Holzfäller for me; I can hate him quite enough for myself."

"I can tell after that fight."

He let go of her hand feeling too exposed all of a sudden. He knew she wouldn't understand.

Before he could get up, though, she tugged his sleeve and gave him an apologetic look. "I'm only teasing and I shouldn't--that wasn't very thoughtful. Please continue with a list of Gil's offenses so we can brainstorm forms of acceptable retaliation."

"Ugh," he said, hopping to his feet, "I'm being serious, Anevka. Holzfäller is bad news, and I don't want you hanging around him.

This got an eyeroll. "I'll decide that for myself if you just tell me what happened for Gil to deserve such wrath--he seems really sweet."

Tarvek narrowed his eyes. "Well, he's not; he's a duplicitous, backstabbing snitch, and the reason I got sent home."

"Quit being so dramatic," Anevka said with a dismissing gesture, "that's Seffie's department. Sounds like you're pretty hung up on him after all these years if you ask me."

"Well I didn't ask you, and I'm not hung up on anything besides his betrayal."

The two stared at each other until Anevka finally sighed, looking away then patted the bed beside her. "All right, tell me what actually happened, and we'll figure something out together because in less than an hour you have to sit across from him for an entire supper if you can handle that."

Tarvek sat next to her again but refused to take her hand, instead, crossing his arms over his chest "I can handle it just fine," he grumbled.

"Good," she said, patting his knee then tucking her legs under her, "now spill it; I want to know everything that happened on that blasted ship."

He ignored the gentle ribbing implied in her tone, took a deep breath, and let it all out--everything that happened before and during that night and after he got home. Well, everything except the important stuff like figuring out who Gil really was and maybe how it was Tarvek’s idea to sneak into the vault in the first place.

He thought it would feel good to finally tell someone but he only felt drained and deflated at the end.

Anevka leaned back on the bed, letting out a long breath, her face scrunched up in thought. "Are you sure about this?" she finally asked.

Tarvek shifted away from his sister out of frustration. "Am I sure that the kid I thought was my friend completely betrayed me and ruined my life?"

She rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?" He sounded surly even to his own ears and fought to rein in his irritation.

Anevka got up with a little spin that fluttered the skirts of her dress before facing him looking sympathetic but skeptical of his motives which wasn't anything unusual. "I'm just saying that doesn't sound like Gil."

This time Tarvek rolled his eyes nearly out of his head. "You don't know him at all."

"And you haven't seen him since you were eight so how do you-"

"Whose side are you on, Anevka?" he nearly shouted causing her to stumble back.

Her expression softened as she stepped towards him and rested her hands on his shoulders. "Your side, of course, brother, as always."

Tarvek doubted she was ever one hundred percent on his side, but it still felt good to hear the words. His shoulders relaxed some as Anevka tugged him in for a hug, her hand running up his neck to pet his head--something else she must have learned from their mother in their short time with her.

He sighed, burying his face in her neck. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I've been awful today."

"Oh, you're awful all the time, you're just more self-aware when you're drunk," she said, hugging him closer.

Tarvek tried to push away with a groan, but it only made her grip tighten until they were both laughing at the struggle. When she finally released him, he let out a long breath and with it fled the anxiety and confusion from earlier.

Anevka smiled then reached for his face "Look at you, all grown up," she said, playfully.

He smacked her hand away but couldn't stop his own smile. "Shut up--I probably look awful."

"You do, but I still love you. Now let's get you cleaned up before supper or Father will have another fit."

"We wouldn't want that," he muttered, following Anevka into the bathroom where she started to run water in the sink.

Tarvek made the mistake of looking in the mirror as he unbuttoned his shirt--the person staring back looked nothing like him with his bloodshot eyes, bruised cheek and bloody lip. He didn't even remember Gil hitting him in the face, but it all happened so fast and was so confusing. He sighed again then let Anevka do her mothering thing--she loved taking care of Tarvek for some reason.

After a good thirty minutes, she had him washed, groomed and wearing enough face gunk to cover the bruises and cuts. "How am I supposed to smile in this stuff--I feel like I have ten layers of lead paint on my face."

Anevka giggled. "Do you think I look this good naturally?" she asked, blinking her eyelashes dramatically.

Tarvek frowned at her flawless skin and sculpted cheekbones. "Where are your freckles?"

She laughed even harder. "You are ridiculous--boys know nothing of what it takes to maintain that which they love to look upon."

"Ick," Tarvek spat. "I don't want to know about why guys are looking at you."

While Anevka returned her makeup to a small bag she carried, Tarvek carefully picked out a shirt in a mauve silk, sighing as the soft material slid over his skin. What knowledge he lacked in cosmetics, he made up for in his formidable knowledge of attire. He paired the shirt with trousers and jacket of deep purple with gold piping and buttons.

Anevka came from behind to straighten his sigil then patted his shoulders with a smile into the mirror. "There, all fixed up. No one will know you were a drunken bully an hour ago."

"Gee, thanks for ruining the effect," he mumbled getting a bigger grin.

* * *

Violetta slipped into one of the secret passages, leaving Tarvek and Anevka to get all sibling mushy. Her own siblings never treated her with anything but ridicule and contempt because of her size and lack of ability as a Smoke Knight so she didn't understand her cousins' affection or behavior towards each most of the time.

At the least, it made her uncomfortable, and at the most, it made her unjustifiably jealous. Or maybe it was a little justifiable when she tended to consider Tarvek more of a brother than any of her own even though, deep down, she knew she shouldn't--it was dangerous as Tarvek always pointed out and led to nothing but heartache.

She growled at her unfiltered and unwanted thoughts as she navigated the pitch-black tunnels with the expertise that only came from years of practice avoiding bullies and creepy uncles. She cleared her mind of familial dissatisfaction to focus on her current mission--seek and destroy one Gilgamesh Holzfäller.

After several turns, Violetta hauled herself up into the recently installed ductwork that came with the new heating system and crawled along the ceiling of the largest library in the castle, coming out the other side over a hidden lab, past that through several sitting rooms occupied by various summit members and back into a tunnel, cutting her arrival time in half.

She smiled at the thought that not many Smoke Knights could use that particular speedy method; her size came in handy sometimes. 

Another turn and a squeeze through a busted section of wall found Violetta in a long gallery filled with paintings of the Storm King and the Shining Coalition among other artifacts supposedly from that time. The important part was she was near the guest quarters where she knew the most important summit members were housed, including the Baron--all she had to do now was locate the scoundrel and-

Violetta ducked behind a bust of Andronicus as voices approached the room. She immediately recognized the Baron's commanding voice talking to someone in the corridor then a lone figure entered the room, his young face highlighted by the torch near the door.

What luck--just the person she was looking for, she thought, watching Gil inch farther into the room to look at the collection. She quietly pulled a vial from her cloak along with a dart. She wasn't allowed any of the more potent or dangerous poisons Smoke Knights used, but she still had a few tricks up her sleeve using what she had.

Not really caring about the dosage in her thirst for revenge, she loaded the dart with truth serum, and as soon as Gil got close she took her shot, hitting her mark square in the neck.

Gil stumbled back and yanked the dart out, staring at it then looking around. "What the-" he said, words slightly slurred as he continued to sway unsteadily.

Maybe she used too much serum. Oh well, not her problem. With that thought, she jumped out from behind the bust, nearly scaring the older boy half to death.

"Now it's time for you to talk," she said as she shoved him into a dark recess.

"What are you doing?" His words were less garbled now.

"Why are you here?" Violetta demanded.

"What?"

Gil blinked furiously like he was trying to clear his thoughts more than his vision.

"Why are you here?" she repeated, standing on tip-toes to get as close to his face as she could.

He took a step back, connecting with the wall. "What are you talking about?" His eyes suddenly narrowed. "Wait, you're that kid Smoke Knight that hit me earlier--what is your problem?"

"I'm doing the interrogating here, buster." She emphasized each word with a poke to his sternum that forced him back against the wall each time until he finally swatted her hand away.

"Is that what you call this--an interrogation? You're like five."

This time she kicked him in the shin, doubling him over in pain. Smirking, she said, "I'll ask the questions."

Gil glared up at her, still holding his injured leg. "What do you want?"

"Why did you come here--are you still out to get Tarvek? What's your goal? Your plans?"

Gil's eyebrow shot up as he straightened to his full height again to tower over Violetta. "Tarvek?"

Violetta crossed her arms over her chest, waiting--it was taking an awfully long time for the serum to kick in. Gil matched her stance, scowling down at her in what he probably figured was intimidation, but Violetta dealt with people like Martellus on a daily basis--he didn't scare her one bit. Besides, she had several weapons and Smoke Knight techniques she could use to incapacitate a grown man in seconds if she needed.

"Look, kid," he said after a moment, his shoulders relaxing, "I don't-"

She tried to kick him again, but he easily hopped out of the way. Violetta growled, reaching into her cloak. "I don't have time for this."

* * *

Before Gil could react, the girl spun and something caught him on his shoulder with a sharp, piercing pain that thankfully only lasted a few seconds. He ripped another small dart from his arm, dropping it at his feet. "What is with everyone stabbing me today?" 

A moment later, Gil found himself flat on his back, the kid standing over him with a menacing smile that creeped him out--what was her deal anyway?

"Just tell me why you're here?"

"I'm the Baron's apprentice," he said, hoping answering her questions would end the madness. "I'm here for the same reason everyone else is."

She smacked him lightly on the cheek. "Wrong answer."

"What?" he yelled, trying to free his hand to rub his stinging face. "It's the truth."

She nodded but didn't look at all convinced. "I want to know what your plans are--are you here to get revenge on Tarvek?"

Gil bucked suddenly, catching her by surprise and sending her flying into the wall. He scrambled to his feet, putting distance between them. He felt a little woozy from whatever she dosed him with, but his father had taught him many tricks to keep his cool and his mind clear.

"You're crazy, you know that? Tarvek was the one that attacked me--I didn't do anything to him."

"Everything was fine until you showed up, and now Tarvek is a mess--this is obviously your fault so what are you up to?"

Gil shook his head in frustration which did nothing for the growing fog threatening to suffocate him. "I don't know what Tarvek told you, but I doubt it's the whole story so this conversation or interrogation or whatever you want to call it is over."

He made to shove past just as her foot shot out in front of him, giving Gil just enough time to hop over it and continue to the door.

"This isn't over," she shouted. "Yes, it is," he yelled back, sprinting for the safety of the hallway.

Outside, he slumped against the wall with a sigh. "Is everyone here crazy?" he muttered.

He glanced down the hall, expecting his father to be looking for him, but found him still talking to the two summit leaders that approached them in earlier. At least he cut a break there--he couldn't get in trouble for delaying them if his father was the one to stop to chit-chat.

He waited near the gallery, watching the tension grow in his father's shoulders and half expecting another attack from Tarvek's little psycho bodyguard. This day just kept getting worse and worse, he thought before pushing off the wall and strolling towards the group down the hall.

He tugged a watch from his pocket popping it open without looking at it as he approached. "Herr Baron," he said over the babble of voices bringing the conversation to a halt. "It's getting late, sir."

The flash of relief in his father's face was more than a little satisfying--maybe he still could do some things right. He snapped the watch closed with a smirk that thankfully no one noticed.

His father turned to the group. "I'm sorry, gentlemen, but our company has been requested at supper--it would be rude to our hosts to be tardy."

The other men reluctantly mumbled their good-byes then headed off in another direction while their obviously grateful guard continued to escort them to the dining hall in the private wing of the castle.

"Thank you," his father whispered, falling back to walk next to him.

Gil shrugged--he didn't have much experience with any kind of praise and had no idea how to react to it coming from the Baron of all people.

His father laid a hand on Gil's shoulder. "No, that was good thinking. Could have been a little sooner, though."

With that, his father returned to the guard's side leaving Gil sighing in frustration. Even when he did things right, he did them wrong.

"I can't win," he muttered then rubbed at the sore spot on his neck that was making his entire jaw feel tight and painful to talk.

A moment later, they turned the corner and passed through a set of unassuming doors into what could only be described as a cozy home within a home. Well, a home within a castle. It wasn't unlike the Baron's personal quarters on Castle Wulfenbach. Not that Gil knew much about that--he'd only visited them a few times and still lived in the dorms with the other kids in the school.

They followed a carpeted hall past a large living room, smaller lady's sitting room, a smoking room, sunroom with no windows but beautiful summer landscapes painted on the vaulted ceilings, and finally to a rather grand dining room although not as spectacular as the official ones he'd seen in other parts of the castle.

The room was large, holding several long wooden tables adorned with linens, but it was obviously a family room--paintings of children and parents adorned the walls, the chairs were actually comfortable and most importantly, everyone was laughing and talking over each other like Gil assumed a family would.

The whole thing was a little overwhelming, but he followed their escort who guided them to the head table where Prince Aaronev sat with a small child on his lap. He tweaked the girl's noise getting a giggle before she whisked away by her mother or nanny.

He stood, shaking the Baron's hand. "I trust everything is in order, Klaus," he said, eyes sliding to Gil with obvious meaning.

Gil straightened up and before his father could prod him, he sucked up his pride and said, "I want to apologize for my earlier ill behavior, Your Highness. As you know, I was friends with your son on Castle Wulfenbach, and we didn't leave things in good terms. I regret that it boiled over today--I should have handled things differently."

His father nodded in approval. Even the Prince seemed satisfied with his apology and cowed demeanor. It's not like he'd spent all afternoon thinking about what he'd say to ease things over with his father, but even though he did mean most of it like wishing he'd handled things differently, it still nearly killed him to say it out loud.

With the formalities out of the way, Gil was shown which table to sit at which consisted entirely of children of various ages, the youngest attended by nannies at one end of the table.

From the farthest end, Seffie waved frantically at Gil, motioning him to join her. He felt a moment of panic that resolved itself into resignation when he realized there was no polite way to decline the younger girl's obvious invitation.

He reluctantly, and rather slowly, made his to the empty seat beside her. "Good evening, uh-" He stumbled over his next words--was she a princess like Anevka; what did he call her? Unsure of the answer and the extent of his lessons on royal formality, he settled on a slight bow and a mostly mumbled, "Miss Seffie."

"Oh, please--it's just Seffie," she said, scooting her chair closer to Gil, forcing him to slide nearly off the other side of his own seat.

He quickly reached for the glass of water beside his plate, avoiding eye contact with her, but Seffie didn't give up easily.

As soon as he returned the glass to the table, she reached for his face. "Oh, Gil, what happened to your eye?" she asked dramatically.

Gil blinked at her--he was pretty sure everyone in the castle knew what had happened earlier in the day. She waited for an answer, her thumb running over the edge of the bruise causing him to cringe away. "Just a misunderstanding," he mumbled, taking her hand and placing it in her lap. "I'm fine."

It was then that he noticed who sat across from them. Anevka watched the two of them, mouth slightly open in apparent shock while Tarvek glared back. Gil quickly looked away, cursing under his breath and getting a weird look from the older girl on his other side.

Seffie still wasn't finished, though. She brushed his bangs from another bruise on the side of his head. "Who would do such a thing?"

"No one important," he said, surprising himself at the words and the resentment behind them. Across the table, Anevka's jaw snapped shut with an audible click.

Seffie's hand dropped back to her lap, but Gil didn't miss the way she glanced in Tarvek's direction--so she did know what happened and was playing him for a fool. Figures--his father did say the entire family was poison; he supposed that included cousins and other distant relatives like crazy miniature Smoke Knights.

Gil took a deep breath, centering himself. "I'm fine," he repeated more for himself than anyone at the table.

Seffie nodded, though, and thankfully, dropped the subject, turning to Anevka to discuss some other scandal from this afternoon.

Tarvek's heated stare burned his skin or maybe that was all of the drugs he'd injected with over the course of the evening. He rubbed at his shoulder then took another sip of his water before putting the glass down slowly and straightening all of the eating utensils in front of him.

He picked up a tiny spoon, examining the detail on the handle then picked up a small fork, comparing the two. He set the spoon down but continued to play with the odd fork--anything to avoid everyone at the table.

"It's for the salad," Tarvek informed him.

Gill glared, setting down the fork. "I know that--I was admiring the filigree. It's very detailed, reminiscent of Viktor Hophauser during his Paris phase, but you can tell by the scroll work that it's more likely the work of one of his students--Iliad Marquois, perhaps, although he favored an Indian flare as opposed to Provençal.

“If I had to guess, the original silver was lost in a card game of some ill repute and replaced by these stunning Herrod Garteau recreations--excellent workmanship but not authentic, unlike this demitasse spoon which is a Hophauser original but from his later Bavarian inspired Paris-style designs. Of course, that means these were made long after Adronicus Valois would have been considering flatware for any reason but meant to look like something he'd chosen for himself.”

Gil's words trickled to a stop as he noticed more than three sets of eyes focused on him, many narrowed with contempt. At some point, he realized, he'd slipped into the French he'd originally read The Full History of Europa Cutlery; or Why You Should Never Use a Soup Spoon to Reanimate the Dead, a Cautionary Tale.

He quickly wet over his entire speech while sipping his water--had he just accused the Royal Family of using forged flatware? Finally, he couldn't hide behind his glass any longer, setting it slowly above his set of shiny, pointy knives he considered his first line of defense if the natives decided to riot. "Of course," he said, clearing his throat, "I could be wrong."

The table was utterly silent, the tension suffocating until Seffie suddenly clapped. "Gil, you speak French?"

"Oui," he said before finishing off his water to hide a giddy grin.

And just like that, the tension broke--the other diners going back to their conversations just as servers arrived with the first course.

"Have you ever been to Paris?" Seffie asked, tugging at his jacket sleeve. "Grandmother took me last summer--there is nothing like summer in Paris."

A bowl of what appeared to be creamed asparagus was set in front of them. Gil fiddled with his soup spoon as he waited for the others to be served while Seffie continued to babble about all of the things she's seen on her trip which to Gil's ears consisted mostly of cafes, dress shops, and other frivolous venues--girl stuff.

Tarvek and Anevka continued to watch him with matching scowls--no doubting they were related. Obviously, Tarvek had turned Anevka against him. Not surprising, but it hurt more than Gil thought it should considering he'd only met her this morning.

He tried not to think about the fun they had running around the castle and exploring the arboretum but he felt his face flush just the same as the memory of Anevka holding his hand and smiling at him. He couldn't shake the image of that crumpled drawing now at the bottom of the wastebasket in their guest suite--kind of a metaphor for their entire relationship so far.

Gil snorted at that, getting Tarvek's attention again. The other boy's eyes narrowed, spoon halfway to his mouth. They watched each other for a moment before Seffie distracted both of them when she switched to rambling about the unfairness of her not being allowed at the summit.

Gil stuffed his mouth with spoonful after spoonful of soup to keep out of the conversation, but he noticed each bite had less taste than the last. That matched the growing haze around the corners of his vision and overall fogginess of his brain. He frowned, dropping the spoon in his bowl with a clank then sat back, the whole room swimming around him.

For a moment, he wondered if he was going to be sick but a twinge in his jaw brought his hand up where it rain across the sore spot on his neck. That damn Smoke Knight. "What did she do to me?" he mumbled.

"Pardon?" Seffie asked, her attention suddenly focused entirely on Gil as if he'd spoken to her by name--just what he needed.

Gil forced a smile on his face. "I was just saying that you don't belong at the Summit."

"Oh?" Her face fell in disappointment.

"I mean," he added, quickly as he fought to gather his thoughts, "it's boring--you would hate it."

"Told you," Anevka said, taking a sip of her soup.

"I'm sure you're being much more useful outside the summit," he continued despite the constant internal threats to shut the hell up. "You're an information gatherer, correct."

She seemed delighted by this description, sitting up straighter with a smile.

"You mean rumor-monger," said Tarvek as he set his spoon neatly beside his empty bowl then dabbed at his mouth with the corner of his napkin.

"I prefer rumor collector, thank you very much," Seffie said, turning her nose up at Tarvek and getting a laugh from Anevka.

"And the interesting stuff isn't happening in the meetings, and if it was, it's all being recorded by fifty different people. Everyone will know every detail of what happens in the meetings, but the other stuff-”

"Don't encourage her," Tarvek interrupted as a waiter removed their bowls and another came behind them filling one of their glasses with white wine.

Seffie stuck her tongue out at her cousin, reaching for the filled glass just as someone else snatched it from in front of her.

They all looked up as Martellus passed them, tossing the entire contents of the glass back in one gulp. "Ah-ah," he said to his sister, "you're still a little too young."

He left the glass on the platter of one a waiter and continued back to one of the adult tables with a laugh.

Seffie slumped in her chair, arms crossed over her chest. "I hate him."

"We all hate him, sweetie," Anevka said just as another waiter stepped between her and Tarvek. She put her hand over Tarvek's glass. "He's good," she told the white-haired man.

If looks could kill Anevka would have been laid to rest ten years before she was even born.

"What?" she said to her brother as she sipped her wine. The two glared at each other in some unvoiced sibling standoff before Tarvek turned away, his cheeks slightly red.

What was that about? Gil wondered. He glanced at Seffie who looked more interested in how she might steal the glass from the gangly teen boy sitting on her other side than whatever was going on with her cousins.

Gil realized he was out of his element when it came to family affairs; he had no idea if this was normal sibling behavior. The way Tarvek had talked as a kid, he worshiped the ground his sister walked on to the point that Gil had worshiped her, too--well, worshipped the idea of her.

He'd always dreamed about finding his real family and learning he had a sister to love him as much as Tarvek and Anenvka loved each other. Of course, that never happened, he had no sister, and from what he can tell, things between brothers and sisters aren't that great anyway.

A new set of waiters descended on the table, dropping off plates of poached salmon in some kind of sauce. It smelled amazing, but like the soup, Gil found he couldn't really taste any of it. So not fair.

"Something wrong with your fish?" Tarvek asked, his voice sounding large inside Gil's head.

Gil blinked at him then at the fish. "No." He stuffed another bite, tasting nothing but bland dryness. As soon as supper was over, he was going to find that little psycho and make her tell him the antidote to whatever this... detastifying drug was.

"Do you like fish?" Seffie asked.

"Huh?"

He forced his eyes to focus on the little red-head next to him. She was wearing a different dress than this afternoon--this one a plum color that actually looked nice with her bright hair. She kind of matched Tarvek with their color scheme while Anevka's green dress fought for attention with her own flaming hair.

Gil was wearing a plain black suit with red trim. Why was he even thinking about this? Didn't Seffie ask him a question? 

He shook his head, trying to clear the growing fog and finally focused on Tarvek across from him, eyes narrowed. It was the first time Gil took a good look at him since their fight earlier, not that you could tell Tarvek had been involved in any scuffle. His skin was as pale and flawless as always--not a hint of bruises or cuts.

Gil couldn't remember if he'd hit Tarvek. His knuckles hurt like hell so he must have but Tarvek didn't show it. Must be some kind of makeup.

Gil didn't know about any of that stuff so his wounds were out in the open for everyone to whisper about which was pretty par-for-course for Gilgamesh Wulfenbach. Heir to the Wulfenbach Empire... er-

"Gil?"

Gil started, turned wide eyes on Seffie then smiled a little maniacally and said, "yes, I do like fish," more loudly than he'd intended before quickly gulping down half of his wine.

Tarvek and Anevka just stared while Seffie seemed completely immune to his absurd behavior. She lifted her plate, looked around then dumped the contents onto his. "It's useless to eat fish without the wine."

She batted her long eyelashes up at him--they were red like her hair. "Unless you want to share your wine, Gil."

Without thinking, he slid the glass over to her which got a huge smile, but when she reached for it, Anevka took it away.

"You're no fun," Seffie said, thrusting her lower lip out in a royal-size pout.

"I'll get us some more waters," Tarvek said, signaling to one of the waitstaff positioned around the room.

"I don't want water," Seffie moaned. "I want wine like everyone else."

Her feet swung back and forth, kicking anything in their way. Anevka moved sharply under the table, causing Seffie to sit up straight with a yelp. "Well, maybe if you weren't acting like a child you wouldn't be treated like one."

"Tarvek isn't drinking," Gil said. "He must be acting like a child as well."

The three just stared at him then Seffie fell against him in a fit of giggles. "He is being a brat, isn't he?" she said into his shoulder.

Gil smiled, proud of himself for some reason--it was hard to tell why with the growing haze in his head--but making Seffie laugh seemed like a good reason.

Tarvek huffed just as a waiter deposited several glasses of water between them and refilled Gil and Anevka's wine.

"He's abstaining for his health," Anevka said, grinning over the lip of her wine glass as she sipped.

Tarvek's face reddened further. Gil thought he might literally explode so he pushed his glass across the table. "You look like you need this more than me."

Anevka spit her wine back into her glass with a snort while Seffie burst into another round of laughter--this one more honking than giggles.

Tarvek pointed the death glare directly at Gil, and that didn't feel very good, but he couldn't seem to stop the stupid that kept coming out of his mouth.

"You're funny," Seffie said, laying her head on his shoulder--she was practically sitting on his chair now so he slipped his arm around her to keep them both from falling off.

Anevka frowned; Tarvek's eyes narrowed, but they didn't get a chance to say anything before more waiters descended on the tables to whisk away the fish and bring out another course--this one some kind of small, whole bird surrounded by steamed squash and carrots over rice.

"I didn't finish my fish," Gil said glumly, poking at the bird with his salad fork.

"It wasn't very good without the wine anyway," Seffie added.

"I had wine."

"But you gave it to Tarvek who was very ungrateful by the way."

Gil snorted. "He wasn't, was he?"

[ Part 8 ]

[peacekeeper-xiv]

Honest Q&A: Round 5! Table

Glad to see you all here. Let’s jump right in then. It’s been a while and our reader’s will surely be itching to learn more about Eorzea’s adventurous types.

If you were ruler of your own country what would be the first law you would introduce?

Lloire: “Tch. I would introduce a law that changed our system of government to one more akin to Ishgard’s House of Commons system so that whatever fools put me in charge stood a better chance.”

K’risa: “Um, doesn’t the fact that you wanna do that make you a good choice for a ruler? Anyways, I would introduce laws that were in place to severely punish anyone found tempered or assisting with tempering.”

Beta: “No, no, miss Mau. He’s right. A leader’s gotta be willing to be willing to NOT be sacrificial. The General has to know when –they- have to withdraw from the field, and Lloire just wouldn’t ever be able to do that. For me though, I’d put strict regulations on Magitek use to coincide with the increased production.”

Chadrick: “The feck? Tha three o’ ye can actually think o’ this shyte? Nay lads, Ah’m nay rulin’ anyone. Ah suppose me first an’ only law would be t’ abolish tha government so each man was free.”

Aasifa: “Aasifa is banning slaves or people who are being worked ;like slaves for little gil.”

Benedict: “I consider myself a man of the gods. It would be improper for me to rule over others. My beliefs would unfairly cloud my judgment.”

Chance: “A merc country? Heh, a king who fights his own battles. Would be a sight, yea?”

Felix: “Only fools rule. A ruler is always a puppet. A puppet to those with coin, to the popular opinion, to blackmail, or any number of other things. Why rule when you can manipulate from the shadows? I’d never get suckered into being any country’s ruler.”

 What's the longest you've gone without sleep (and why)?

Lloire: “A week. …People I cared about were trapped within the void. I spent a week fighting to free them and only finally slept when Soren drugged me.”

K’risa: “A week? How are you not dead? No. I don’t wanna know. Longest I went was still less than a day. What? Girl needs her rest!”

Beta: “Um, well… crankshafts… I think it was three days? I was building something important.”

Chadrick: “T’was bout twenty-four ‘ours. Was travelin’ through some rough territory. Could nay afford t’ sleep, so, we pushed through.”

Aasifa: “Aasifa is sleeping every day. It is only way to stay strong, yes?”

Benedict: “I am in agreement with Master Taqalid. Proper rest is important for the body and mind.”

Chance: “Three days. Dravonians had us pinned down.”

Felix: “I didn’t count, but I recall it was several weeks. I had an experiment that required my undivided attention and well, with the right potions you can forgo sleep. Albeit at a slight degradation of your capacities.”

 Aside from necessities, what one thing could you not go a day without?

Lloire: “A book to read.”

K’risa: “My blankets! What, it’s all your fault. Talking about not sleeping made me sleepy!”

Beta: “Coffee!”

Chadrick: “Seein’ a beautiful lass smile. Nary a soul should e’er do without.”

Aasifa: “Aasifa has been without, yes? So, there is nothing he is needing so much he cannot be without.”

Benedict: “Prayer. I only bring it up as a non-necessity because so many others live without it. I could not.”

Chance: “A knife. You should always have a knife.”

Felix: “I think I will agree with dark and broody over there. Constantly learn. You should read every day.”

 Which of the five senses would you say is your strongest?

Lloire: “Smell, strange as might seem. I guess I honed it over the years learning to cook. Taste is important and all, but you smell the food well before you ever taste it… and the smell lingers long after the food is gone.”

K’risa: “I unno, hearing I guess?”

Beta: “Sight for sure. Picking things apart and remembering exactly what I saw and where a screw or bolt was… Yea, definitely sight.”

Chadrick: “O’ now, this is an easy one. Touch. Easy. ‘ands down.”

Aasifa: “Friend Chadrick, Aasifa worries you are meaning hands down skirts with way you are saying this. For Aasifa, it is hearing like friend K’risa. He is training whole childhood to be hearing intruders.”

Benedict: “I would have to say taste. Mine is overly strong, so I prefer more ‘bland’ flavors.”

Chance: “Smell for me too. Different uses though.”

Felix: “My sixth. Next question.”

 Which of the five senses would you give up if you had to lose one?

Lloire: “Given previous… injuries, sight. I’ve already started training to be without it. I’d miss it for sure, but I would miss the others more.”

K’risa: “Really? You’d go blind before not being able to cook? You’re a strange one. For me, it’d be smell.”

Beta: “I’m kinda with miss K’risa Lloire. It’s crazy to go blind instead of not being able to smell. You’d get yourself ki--…. Oh… Nevermind, it all makes sense.”

Chadrick: “Well, Ah mean… Ah’d lose me sight before me sense o’ touch… but alas, Ah must agree with tha others… Smell can go first.”

Aasifa: “Hmm, Aasifa is thinking touch. If he is not feeling, there is no pain, he is greater fighter, yes?”

Benedict: “I’m not certain that would be wise Master Taqalid. Pain is a warning so we know how far to push ourselves. I am with the others. Perhaps a lost sense of smell might even out my sense of taste.”

Chance: “Sound I guess. Wouldn’t have to hear as much whining from people at least.”

Felix: “An interesting question… though I have to agree with the majority. Smell is the least useful sense in the lives we live.”

 How would your friends describe you?

Lloire: “Depends on the friend I imagine. Soren’d tell you I’m a stubborn ass who always thinks he’s right. Siben’d tell you I try to hard and am quick to temper. Most everyone would likely agree that I’m injury prone I suppose.”

K’risa: “Um, I guess they’d say I was a hard worker.”

Beta: “Injury prone? That’s how you describe it? It’s not like you slipped and fell on a knife yanno. Um, most’a my friends would probably say I’m a workaholic and I’m bad at multitasking and should eat more.”

Chadrick: “Well, shyte. Ah’m nay sure. A few’d probably say Ah was a cocky bloke.”

Aasifa: “Friends have said before, describing Aasifa is difficult thing. But most are saying he like like the wind.”

Benedict: “I would hope they’d describe me as warm and caring. Protective.”

Chance: “And big Benny. As for me, ain’t too many I call friend and fewer still I’d give a fuck what they said.”

Felix: “As the guy you call when shits gone to hell and you need a way out.”

 What did you want to be when you were small?

Lloire: “An archmage. Someone like Louisoix or Shatotto.”

K’risa: “I wanted what every girl in our tribe wanted. To be a huntress.”

Beta: “You just… I swear, you don’t own a mirror do you? Ugh. I wanted to be the world’s best engineer. Well, okay, want to be…”

Chadrick: “Ah was goin’ t’ say lad… ye are still a wee one. As fer me, Ah’ve always dreamed o’ bein’ a ‘ero. E’er since Ah too was a wee lad.”

Aasifa: “Free, yes?”

Benedict: “When I was young, I simply wished to please the family that took me in.”

Chance: “A merc. It was all I’d known.”

Felix: “Alchemy has been an interest of mine since I first heard of it.”

 What's the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of love?

Lloire: “Pretty sure I have to say ‘Stab myself in the chest’ or Beta will call me out on it.”

K’risa: “Yea, he will. How did you—I’d rather not know. I uh, left my tribe and everyone I knew.”

Beta: “Yea, next time you go falling for a girl, maybe just roses and chocolates, ‘kay? For me, it was raid a castrum and take over all their reapers.”

Chadrick: “Ah di’nay know tha’ Ah’d call it fer love… but tha craziest thing Ah did fer romance was date wha’ amounted t’ a princess. Di’nay hiss K’risa… she ne’er did a thing t’ ye.””

Aasifa: “Aasifa is not understanding question. Everything done for love is crazy, yes? Otherwise… is not love?”

Benedict: “I fear I am going to have to abstain from answering. I have not been in love and as such have not done anything foolish.”

Chance: “Tried to play at hero.”

Felix: “Hmm… pretty much everything I did from the age nineteen to twenty-three.”

 Do you collect anything? If so, what?

Lloire: “Books.”

K’risa: “I don’t think it counts that I collect fabrics, considering that’s my job.”

Beta: “Mostly Garlean scrap. Wha? It’s not ‘technically’ my job. Also, Lloire, I’m pretty sure you collect scars.”

Chadrick: “Ah’ve a giant collection o’ tha things Ah kept from each o’ me missions. Aislyn an’ Ah make it a point t’ keep one thing from each job.”

Aasifa: “Aasifa is not one for ‘things’, yes? You cannot take with you. No matter what some people might think.”

Benedict: “Yes, I have a collection of different totems, rosaries, wards, from various beliefs. I enjoy learning about other people’s beliefs.”

Chance: “…no. The fuck am I gonna do with all that extra weight?”

Felix: “Like Scars, I have a collection of tomes as well as a collection of rare metals and gems.”

 Who was your first crush?

Lloire: “A woman named Stanzie. ”

K’risa: “A pretty boy hero who doesn’t know how to sit still.”

Beta: “Um, I guess Ikara? I mean, I didn’t really get the whole dating thing before I met her.”

Chadrick: “There was this lass named Cathleen when Ah was growin’ up. Me da dealt with ‘ers kind o’ regularly. Otherwise, Ah’d ‘ave t’ say Sinomen.”

Aasifa: “Bliss. Let us speak on something new, yes?”

Benedict: “Again, I will need to bow… what is that mister Tamisier? Oh, well.. I suppose… very well. There was a young Elezen girl when I was much much younger… but that was highly inappropriate. Her name? Oh… It’s been so many years. Killie… Kyliean… I fear I do not recall anymore.”

Chance: “Right… sure you don’t Benny. There was a fellow merc when I was starting out. Becca. That’s all ya need to know.”

Felix: “I suppose my betrothed when I was young would have been my first crush. Her name was Alison.”

 Do you or your family have a “motto” – spoken or unspoken?

Lloire: “No. Not really. Maybe if I start one someday I’ll come up with one.”

K’risa: “Oh, like I’d forget what I hear time and time again. ‘One struggle, one people, one destiny.’”

Beta: “Noooope.”

Chadrick: “Ah’ll go with me ma’s. ‘Fortune favours tha bold.’”

Aasifa: “If Aasifa is having one… he is not knowing it, yes?”

Benedict: “As with miss Mau, I could not forget it if I tried. ‘Honour is the reward of virtue.’”

Chance: “No.”

Felix: “Hahaha. Yea, no.”

 What do you do to keep fit?

Lloire: “Every morning is a fairly standard routine. Pushups, crunches, squats, a run… plus all the training and fighting.”

K’risa: “Keep fit? Do you all have to try to stay fit?”

Beta: “I guess all my time at the forge keeps me pretty fit. I mean, hammering stuff all day and working on magitek… it can be hard work.”

Chadrick: “Blitzball’s a pretty full body workout ye know. Outside o’ tha’… Ah find Ah di’nay need much else, aye?”

Aasifa: “Aasifa and Lloire are similar here. Aasifa wakes and does morning exercises. It is ingrained in him since time first remembered.”

Benedict: “I am not so sure I am as fit as say Master Peace or Master Taqalid.”

Chance: “Work. Don’t need anything else.”

Felix: “Aya started me on a training regimen some many many years ago. I’ve stuck with it since.”

 If you could live somewhere else from where you live now, where would it be?

Lloire: “Yanxia. It’s beautiful there.”

K’risa: “I’ve heard there is a land to the south that sounds amazing.”

Beta: “Idyllshire for sure. I wish I could now!”

Chadrick: “E’erywhere. Ah cannay imagine settlin’ down t’ any one spot.”

Aasifa: “Aasifa is with friend Chadrick. The winds blow everywhere. So does Aasifa”

Benedict: “I… have not given that thought. There is still much of the world for me to see to rightly say. Lady Sayo has spoken much of the east and I’ve heard the Steepe is beautiful.”

Chance: “Where I live doesn’t matter. Where doesn’t make it home.”

Felix: “Hah. And packs like to keep on the move, right wolfboy? Dravania if I had to pick.”

 If you had a warning label, what would yours say?

Lloire: “Danger of death, high voltage.”

K’risa: “Shocking.” *snickers* “Um Cat crossing? I don’t know. I’m not all that dangerous.”

Beta: “I unno, something like Warning, explosion hazards I guess?”

Chadrick: “Caution, ‘ot. Tha rest o’ ye are too damned serious.”

Aasifa: “Umm… This is strange question… Aasifa’s would say, warning… anger Aasifa and he will cut of your head. Is good warning, yes?”

Benedict: “I… I think that may be a bit on the nose Master Taqalid. I suppose mine would say Contents under pressure.”

Chance: “Wolf advisory in effect.”

Felix: “Seek shelter.”

 How do you sleep? With clothes, fitfully or peacefully, lots of pillows?

Lloire: “Odd question… I have night clothes… a single pillow, and I imagine a bit more fitfully than many others.”

K’risa: “You poor thing. I um, have a nightgown. That’s all I’m telling!”

Beta: “Rarely and usually where I fall.”

Chadrick: “Godsdamn lad… Yer too young fer all o’ tha’. Get yer rest. Lots o’ pillows and quite peacefully.”

Aasifa: “Aasifa has bed made of cushions. He sleeps well. You should try it. Very comfortable.”

Benedict: “I spend most nights in inn rooms. They are comfortable enough.”

Chance: “Bedrolls more often than not. I sleep fine.”

Felix: “You don’t want to know… trust me. Suffice it to say… in velvet.”

 Real quick, before you all leave. It was recently Valentione’s Day here is Eorzea. How did you feel about that holiday?

Lloire: “Tch… None of your business. My Shield Sister loves it though.”

K’risa: “I love it! I sold all kinds of cute lingerie!”

Beta: “Ikara and I always go out and enjoy the festivities. So I like it.”

Chadrick: “It’s a celebration o’ love, aye? Wha’s nay t’ like unless you’re tha’ gloomy type. Nay dating fer ye eh Lloire? Cut inta tha broodin’ time?”

Aasifa: “This festival was fun time! Aasifa and companion Rahya scared many moogles and then got chairs for our efforts, yes?”

Benedict: “I’m afraid I did not participate, though the decorations and festivities made Sunny quite happy.”

Chance: “…Yea, Lloire… I still owe you an asswhooping for that. She’s still laughing at me… ass.”

Felix: “The pink hurts my eyes… Heh, pinkeye. Hmm… maybe next year I’ll… huh? Oh, we’re done. Great.”

 As always, thank you all for answering our readers’ questions. I think next round we’ll have another theme. Until then!

Tagged by: Uh, I made this one. So @me?

Tagging: @wicked-virtue @yutikyis@waitingrose @susukosuko@hedgearcher @hana-xiv @devil-you-know @nebula1984 and anyone I might have left off or forgotten.

[pocket-luv101]

I made a post about LawLicht going camping and I just had to add KuroMahi so I could write Kuro acting like a big brother.

“Mahiru, I’m dying. Why are you doing this to me? I thought we were friends.” Kuro groaned as he dragged his lifeless body after his Eve. With a heavy sigh, Mahiru turned to face him and crossed his arms. From his expression, Kuro knew that he wouldn’t get any sympathy from him. But he still tried to sway him and transformed into his cat form. He beamed his large eyes at Mahiru, “Carry me at least.”

“Stop being dramatic. We only need to hike a little more before we reach the campsite.” Mahiru said. He walked back to him and picked up the small cat. He tucked Kuro into his jacket because he knew that Licht would start to coo over him if he saw him. If that happened, Mahiru knew that it would be difficult to take Neko-san back from Licht.

“Why did we even have to come? I had a lot planned for today but now I can’t do any of that.” He complained as he made himself comfortable in Mahiru’s jacket. Kuro was surrounded by Mahiru’s warmth and he sighed contently.

“You were planning to marathon a TV show and complete a bunch of missions for that new Monster Fighting video game.” He rolled his eyes but then he smiled wearily down at Kuro. His lazy tendency might annoy him, but Mahiru knew that he could always rely on Kuro. “Getting fresh air and exercise is good for you. Anyways, we need to make sure Lawless and Licht don’t cause a forest fire with one of their fights.”

He glanced at Hyde and Licht walking in front of them. The sloth pair wasn’t planning to go hiking that day. But then Licht called Mahiru and told him that he was planning to go on a short camping trip. Mahiru decided that it would be best to go with them so he could monitor them. He could easily see them causing all kinds of destruction without meaning to.

“Isn’t watching over them their babysitters’ job.” Kuro pointed out. Kranz and Hyde’s subclasses were trailing behind them and carrying their camping equipment. He had to feel sorry for them because Licht insisted on bringing the most outrageous offering for the forest fairies. Hyde told Licht that there were fairies living near the campsite they planned to use.

“Lawless is your brother so he’s your responsibility too. Anyways, this would be a good family bonding experience for you two. It’s just a shame that your other siblings didn’t have time to come as well.” Mahiru gently scratched his head and Kuro leaned into his touch.

“I guess,” Kuro glanced at his brother. Before Mahiru, he thought that they would continue to avoid each other. Now he and the Servamps had an opportunity to be a family again and he had Mahiru to thank for that. He jumped out of his jacket and returned to his human form. With a small blush, he held out his hand to Mahiru. “I’ll carry your backpack for you. Give it.”

“Are you sure?” Kuro nodded and Mahiru smiled at his kindness. He took off his bag and handed it to Kuro. “Thanks, Kuro. But don’t try to steal any of the marshmallows I have in there.”

“We’re here!” Licht clapped when they reached the clearing. He ran to edge of the stream and breathed in the fresh mountain air. He closed his eyes and tried to listen for the fairies’ voices. His mother told him that fairies were shy creatures but he was certain that they would come out to play with an angel like himself. “Don’t be afraid little fairies. I’m an angel.”

“A very violent Angel-chan.” Licht jumped when Hyde blew into his ear, pulling him back to reality. He was startled and he took a sharp step away. He almost fell into the stream but Hyde caught his hand before he could hit the water. Hyde smirked at him because they both knew that the only thing keeping Licht from falling into the water was his hand.

But Licht refused to let a demon win. He jerked Hyde forward and they both went tumbling into the stream. Water splashed around them but Licht didn’t feel any pain like he thought he would because Hyde protected him from most of the impact. Licht found himself sprawled over him and quickly sat up. The water wasn’t deep and it pooled around their knees.

“What are you grinning about? If you scared away the fairies, I’ll drown you right here.” Licht shoved him deeper into the water as he stood. He wadded through the water to where Gil was waiting with a towel.

His subclasses began to fret over Licht and dried his hair. They all had taken a liking to Licht and they cared deeply about him. In the past, they didn’t bother with his previous Eves because their contract never lasted long. But they knew that Hyde would never hurt his latest Eve and they were grateful for everything Licht did for their Servamp.

“We need to dry you. You’re going to make yourself sick.” Puck rubbed his dark hair dry with a towel.

“And we told you not to start a fight with Hyde!” Lysander lightly chastised him. “You’re going to scare away the fairies if you do. Don’t you want to play with the fairies? If our master does something that bothers you, just tell us and we’ll deal with him for you.”

“Hey, who side are you on? You’re supposed to be my subclasses.” Hyde pouted at the large whales. He ended up smiling as he watched them fret over Licht.

“You better get out of the water too,” He was a little surprised when Kuro walked into the stream to help him out of the water. The hand he held out to him was a little stiff and Hyde could tell that there was still a little awkwardness between them. Hyde remembered how close they used to be and he wished they could be brothers again without the tension they had now.

“Just take his hand, Shit Rat.” Licht ordered and Hyde laughed softly to himself. He always had a strange and blunt way of encouraging him but Hyde was grateful for his words. Even though the delivery was ungraceful, his words was what he needed to hear. He took the hand he held out to him and Kuro pulled him to his feet. They walked to where Mahiru stood on the water bend with towels.

“I brought these in case it rained but I didn’t think I would use them so soon.” Mahiru chuckled and handed a towel to Hyde. Then he spoke in a more serious tone. “But I don’t want you and Licht fighting again. We came out here to have fun and relax so don’t provoke Licht like that again.”

“Why are you all only lecturing me when Lichtan was the one that pulled me into the water? It’s not fair. Yell at him too.” Hyde pouted. They all rolled his eyes at his antics because they all knew he enjoyed provoking Licht. Kuro reached over and patted his shoulder without a word. Even if it was a small gesture, it meant a lot coming from his brother.

“Come here, Mr. Squirrel. Jump into this angel’s arms.” Licht called up to the small animal. It was perched on a branch and staring down at him. But it didn’t make a move to come closer or run away from him. He wanted to play with the small creature and he wondered if he should climb the tree. The branches were too thin to support him and he couldn’t risk falling or hurting his hands. So, Licht tried to draw it to him. “I have some nuts for you, Mr. Squirrel.”

“This is where you are, Lichtan! We were getting worried about you.” Hyde’s voice frightened the squirrel and it scurried into its hollow. When he stepped out of the bushes, Licht threw him an irritated glare. He quickly dodged the kick he aimed at his head. Hyde raised his hands in surrender and placed some distance between them in case he tried to attack him again.

“Hey, is that any way to treat the person that cared enough about you to look for you?” Licht went to fetch firewood for them but when he didn’t return, Hyde went to search for him. He knew that he was strong so he wasn’t worried he was hurt. He guessed that he was late because he became distracted. “Everyone’s waiting about you so come back.”

“Not yet,” Licht looked up the tree and saw the squirrel peek his head out of the tree. “I want to play with Mr. Squirrel. So, go away, Shit Rat. He’s too scared to come down when there’s a demon down here.”

“You’re just adorable sometimes.” Hyde chuckled. He took off his backpack and pulled out a bag of pet food. He knew how much Licht loved animals and bought the bag for his trip. With a mischievous gleam in his eyes, Hyde held out the bag to him. “You wanna feed Mr. Squirrel? Climb onto my back and I’ll fly you up there. I just need a little of your blood.”

Licht didn’t know if he should trust a demon but he had to admit that he was tempted. He knew that Hyde was a demon but that was hard to remember whenever he smiled at him. Cautiously, Licht held out his wrist to him. Hyde took his hand gently and pulled him closer until they were inches apart. He wrapped his arm around his waist and bit his wrist. When he winced a little, Hyde squeezed his hand tenderly.

“That’s enough blood. You said you would take me to the squirrel.” He said after a moment and Hyde pulled away reluctantly. It was rare for him to let him drink his blood outside of a fight.

“Get on and enjoy the ride. Here, hold onto this bag.” Hyde handed him the bag of food to him. Then, he turned around and Licht climbed onto his back. He made sure that he was holding onto him securely before he started to float. Licht tightened his arms around his neck but he didn’t feel afraid. Despite how often they fought, he knew that Hyde wouldn’t drop him.

Hyde stopped in front of the hallow and he could feel Licht impatiently squirm on his back. He had to chuckle at how excitable he was because it contrasted the stern glare he usually had. He would always provoke him because he liked discovering every new expression Licht had. Now, he had a rare, soft smile on his face as he held out a handful of food towards the squirrel.

“I have some food for you, Mr. Squirrel. Don’t be afraid of this demon here. I will protect you from him.” The squirrel crawled out of its hole and sniffed at Licht’s hand. After a moment, it began to eat the nuts. It tickled him a little and Licht laughed lightly. Hyde floated closer to the tree so Licht would be able to pet and feed the squirrel easier.

More squirrels came out from their hiding places and surrounded them. The two of them smiled as they continued to feed the small creatures but for different reasons. Hyde was happy that he could spend a little more time with Licht and see his smile.

“I’m going to take you all back to the hotel with me.” Licht cooed at the squirrels and Hyde shook his head.

“Kranz is never going to let you keep all of them.” He pointed out. But Hyde couldn’t bring himself to deny his angel anything when he gave him a disappointed pout. “We’ll have to sneak them back with us tomorrow. I have a plan though.”

“Perfect.” Mahiru said proudly as he pulled his marshmallow out of the fire. It was golden brown and he hummed as he ate the sweet treat. Aside from having to stop a few of Greed’s fights, he thought the camping trip was getting along wonderfully. He placed another marshmallow onto his stick and held it over the fire. “Isn’t this nice, Kuro.”

“It’s okay, I guess. But I do miss electricity. Can’t cook cup ramen without boiled water.” Kuro said next to him and snickered when Mahiru elbowed him like he expected he would. He had to admit that he was enjoying the outing more than he thought he would.

“C’mon, I worked hard cooking all this food for this trip. I don’t understand why you like instant noodles as much as you do. You need to try something new every once in a while. Here, something simple and sweet. But be careful, it’s hot.” Mahiru held his lightly toasted marshmallow against Kuro’s lips. “I know you don’t like sweets but try it. You might like it.”

“I do like some sweet things, you know?” Kuro mumbled before he took a bite of the marshmallow. He leaned closer to him to eat it and he found himself caught on Mahiru’s brown eyes. Even in the dark, they seemed to shine brightly. He finished the marshmallow and quickly pulled away so Mahiru couldn’t notice how nervous he made him.

Kuro was taken aback when Mahiru placed his hand on his neck to stop him. He rubbed his thumb against the corner of Kuro’s lips. “You have a little marshmallow cream here. You’re always making a mess for me to clean up, aren’t you?”

“Sorry, Mom.” He said sarcastically and desperately hoped that Mahiru couldn’t tell that his heart was racing. He was relieved when he leaned away from him and his heartbeat returned to normal. But then his heart skipped when Mahiru licked the cream from his finger. He knew that Mahiru wasn’t trying to give him a heart attack but he did so unintentionally.

“Kuro, do you want another one?” Mahiru asked. He raised a brow when he turned to face Kuro because his face was a little red. He didn’t know if it was from the fire’s glow or something else but he decided not to think too much of it. He knew that Kuro would tell him if it was something important.

“I’m just tired. I need a week worth of sleep after walking so much.” Kuro lied and yawned exaggeratedly. He felt slightly guilty for lying when Mahiru looked at him with concern. He hated to make Mahiru worried. “I’m gonna head to bed early. This was fun though. You should go to sleep early too because you stayed up pretty late cooking yesterday.”

“I’m going to stay up a little more but thank you for worrying about me. Next time, we should invite all your siblings.” Mahiru smiled sweetly at Kuro. It was one of the sweet things in life he came to enjoy. Then, Mahiru gestured to a blue tent. “You and Lawless are going to be staying in that tent. Licht and I will share the other one.”

“What?” Kuro and Hyde screamed at the same time.

“Thinking simply, this is best. If Licht and Lawless share a tent, they’re going to end up fighting. The tents are only a few feet from each other so we don’t have to worry about our distance limitation.” Mahiru calmly explained. Kuro couldn’t argue with his logic but he had to admit that he didn’t feel comfortable sleeping so far from Mahiru. There were more dangers in the mountain than the city so he wanted to stay closer to him.

“Anyways, I expect you to keep your brother in line.” He added. Mahiru leaned closer to him and whisper, “This is a good opportunity for you two to talk. I know it might be awkward at first but you can do this. I believe in you.”

Kuro couldn’t sleep and stared up at the roof of the tent. Beside him, Hyde was rolling in his sleeping bag. He could sense that something was agitating his brother but he didn’t know how to breach the subject. Suddenly, Hyde threw off his blanket and crawled to his brother. He leaned over him and poked his cheek. “Are you awake, Nii-san?”

“Can’t deal.” Kuro sighed and sat up. “What is it, Lawless? Shouldn’t you be sleeping? It’s late and we’re going to wake up early tomorrow.”

“I wanna see Lichtan. Let’s sneak into their tent and spy on them!” Hyde said decisively and Kuro groaned. He didn’t know why he would try to drag him into his plan. “Maybe they’re talking about us right now. Haven’t you ever wonder what they really thought of you? Lichtan’s a tsundere so he’s never honest with me. This is our chance to hear what they say about us when we’re not around.”

“I thought he was a denpa angel.” Kuro knew that it would lead to nothing but trouble if their Eves caught them. “You’ve been reading too many manga. We’re a fantasy creature but we’re not characters in a manga. Anyways, they’re probably asleep. If we sneak over there, all we’ll hear is them snoring.”

“Please, Nii-san!” He pleaded and Kuro had to groan in reply. Despite his resignation, he forced himself out of his sleeping bag. Hyde smiled widely and threw his arms around his neck. “Thank you! Don’t worry about them catching us. I have a lot of experience sneaking into places. Just transform into your cat form and follow my lead!”

Kuro nodded and changed into a small cat. He reluctantly trailed Hyde out of the tent and walked to the Eves. Hyde lifted their tent’s door a little and hear their Eve’s voices. He peered inside and he was glad that Mahiru hadn’t noticed them yet.

“He really did something like that? I’m certain that Lawless can’t be that bad, Licht.” Mahiru said with a light laugh. From the corner of his eyes, Kuro could see how dejected Hyde looked. He rubbed his head with his paw to comfort him slightly. He only turned away from him when he heard Mahiru go on. “You’ll never imagine how much Kuro can irritate me sometimes.”

“How can you be angry with Neko-san? He’s adorable!” Licht argued.

“That doesn’t mean a whole lot when you’re the one sweeping up crumbs and he’s just laying on the couch. I could be doing it right in front of him but he won’t even bother getting up to help. I like cleaning but it would be nice if he helped me out around the house occasionally. Of course, I doubt he ever will.” Mahiru complained and Kuro had to wince at his words.

“How can Neko-san clean with his little paws?” He tried to picture it and laughed at the image. “If he was my Servamp, I would let him do anything he wanted. It was annoying as hell trying to get Shit Rat to do a damn thing. He was half hearted about everything and said crap like ‘life is meaningless’. Now he’s way too emotional. He cries and complains about every little thing. I don’t know which one is more irritating.”

“I guess we both have our work cut out for us when it comes to controlling our Servamps. I don’t know how I’m able to handle it sometimes.” Mahiru closed his eyes and remembered everything they went through. But those memories made him smile. “But I wouldn’t wish for another Servamp or for Kuro to change. He’s not perfect but who is?”

“An angel.” Licht predictably answered and Mahiru burst out into laughter.

“You’re right, an angel is perfect.” He corrected himself when Licht turned sharply towards him. Mahiru hugged his pillow and frowned. “Kuro calls himself a monster sometimes and I wish he would stop. He’s done so much for me. I didn’t realize how empty and quiet my house was until he came into my life. I don’t regret making a contract with him and I’m certain you feel the same way about Lawless.”

Licht was silent for a moment as he thought over his time with his Servamp. He didn’t know how he felt towards Hyde. “Why would you say that? He’s always pulling pranks on me and challenging me to his silly games. He drives me crazy sometimes. Our contract isn’t the same as yours. Neko-san gave you a choice while that demon tricked me.”

“Lawless isn't here so you can admit that you care about him, you know? I saw your expression when his nametag was broken. No matter how many times you two fight, you don’t want your contract to end.” Mahiru challenged and Licht found it hard to say otherwise. Deep down, he knew that Mahiru’s words were true. “Anyways, you’re not the type to bother with someone if you don’t deem them worthy.”

“His attitude was annoying and I wanted to make him shut up about things he didn’t know.” Even though his voice was harsh, they both knew that he wanted to help Hyde in his own ungraceful way. “I guess you’re right though. I wouldn’t have bothered with him if he was completely hopeless. He’s just mostly hopeless. But he’s getting closer to becoming the angel rat I thought he was when I first met him.”

“See? You do like him!” Mahiru grinned when Licht didn’t immediately deny it.

“I love you too, Lichtan!” The two jumped when Hyde bounded into the tent in his hedgehog form. He jumped onto Licht’s lap and clung to his clothes. He had happy tears in his eyes and he rubbed his cheek against his shirt. Hyde was careful not hurt Licht with his spines. “Why do you only say sweet things when I’m not around?”

“How long have you been spying on us?” Licht screamed and pushed him off his lap. He looked furious and Kuro quickly ran to protect his brother.

“It was my idea.” Kuro said quickly. His words made Licht pause for a second. He knew how much Licht loved his cat form so he put himself between the two. “We just came so we weren’t eavesdropping. Neko-san was lonely so he wanted to sleep in your tent. Don’t be angry with Lawless when he was only helping me. Can’t we sleep here with you?”

“This tent is for two people but you two can probably fit in your animal form.” Mahiru said when they three turned to him. Licht and Hyde cheered at his answer.

“You’re sleeping next to me, Neko-san!” Licht lifted his blanket and patted the spot next to him. He didn’t give Kuro a choice because he hugged him and crawled into his sleeping bag again. He was hugging him tightly so he knew that he wouldn’t be able to escape his hold easily. But he saw Hyde beginning to sulk.

“Hey, Licht, Neko-san will sleep next to you if let my brother sleep with us. You don’t want Neko-san to be lonely, do you?” Kuro said and Licht looked conflicted for a moment.

“You can sleep with us, Shit Rat, but I’ll kick you out if you prick Neko-san.” Licht barely finished speaking before Hyde rush into the sleeping bag. He didn’t want to risk Licht changing his mind so he quickly made himself comfortable. He couldn’t hide his grin as Licht laid down next to him. He was a little surprised with how gentle Licht was as he pulled a blanket over them. “Go to sleep now.”

“Goodnight.” Mahiru smiled softly at the trio as he turned off the light so they could sleep.

Beside the Greed pair, Kuro put a little distance between them. The sleeping bag was quickly becoming suffocating and hot. He listened to their breathing and waited until he was certain that they were asleep. Once he was, he carefully moved out of the sleeping bag. He made his way to Mahiru and curled up next to him.

“Kuro?” Mahiru opened his eyes when he felt his tail brush his cheeks.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” Kuro turned to face him. He purred when Mahiru gently scratched his ear. “Do you mind if I sleep next to you? Their sleeping bag was becoming too crowded. Anyways, I’m sure Hyde wanted to have Licht all to himself.”

“You’re a wonderful brother.” Mahiru whispered and he couldn’t feel prouder of Kuro. “Goodnight, Kuro.”

Kranz helped them unpack stuff at the hotel and discovered that Licht smuggled squirrels in his bag. He was not happy.

[senary-deck]

Wibble

Overview

Players race to shout out words that use at least one letter from each central card AND one letter from each card in front of themselves. As the game goes on and you collect more cards, it will get harder and harder! Whoever collects the most cards wins the game.

Setup

If playing with 2 players, use 23 random cards. Put 25 random cards back into the box. If playing with 3 players, remove 11 random cards. With 4 or more players, use the entire deck. Place the deck face-down between everyone. You don’t need to shuffle, but go ahead if you enjoy the ceremony.

Start the Round

Flip 2 cards face-up. Everyone races to shout a word containing at least one letter from each card. Use any additional letters you wish. The letters on the cards are NOT a restriction on what you can use, but a requirement to be met. The first player to do so takes either card (they choose), places it face-up in front of themself, and then flips another card to start the next turn. In future turns, players need to shout out words containing at least one letter from each of the 2 central cards AND every face-up card in front of themselves.

[deck] [NZ] [IQ] [SG][SH] Example: Micol has 2 cards in front of herself. She could shout, “hints”, “mission” or “kissing”. “Sin” would be invalid. Valid Words You may not use any proper nouns. No names of places, people or companies. Also, you can’t shout words already used to take cards this game, nor derivatives of those words. E.g. If someone already used ‘explore’ to take a card, you can’t say ‘exploring’ or ‘exploratory’. If you already said a word but didn’t win a card with it, you can repeat the word.

Ending the Round

When someone takes their 3rd card of the round, they take both cards from the centre. They choose any one of their 4 cards to keep as a permanent handicap! Then, everyone flips their other cards face-down. You no longer have to use those cards within your words. NOTE: You need to win 3 cards within a single round to end the round (and get a permanent handicap). Permanent handicaps don’t count as one of the ‘3 cards won’. If the same player wins a 2nd round, they take a 2nd permanent handicap. Someone who keeps winning rounds will get more and more permanent handicaps.

Permanent handicaps are never flipped face- down, but still count as points at the end of the

game. If you keep your facedown cards side-ways, and place your permanent handicaps on top, you can more easily distinguish between permanent handicaps and cards you won this round. See illustration above. Start a new round You then start a new round simply by flipping over 2 new cards. Play as before.

Ending/scoring the Game

Keep playing until the deck runs out. Whomever wins the last turn of the game takes the final card. If the round is reset when only 1 card is in the deck, the round winner takes the final card. Count all your cards - whoever has the most is the

winner! Count your face down cards as well as any perma- nent handicaps. There can be multiple winners.

Congratulations are in order! Precise rules on timing and other notes can be seen overleaf.

FAQs/CLARIFICATIONS

When multiple people shout a word: Whoever FINISHES saying the word first takes a card. If unsure who finished first, the shortest word wins. If the words are the same length, the

first - alphabetically - wins. If the words are iden- tical, put the 2 central cards underneath the deck,

shuffle the deck, and redeal. If someone shouts something wrong: If you make a mistake, you can no longer win the current turn. If only one player is competing for a card, they collect it automatically. If many cards have the same letter: If you want to use (e.g.) an ‘A’ on multiple cards, the word needs to contain an ‘A’ for each card. Can I shout something after someone else? When someone else shouts, you can still shout, or

keep thinking if you’re not 100% sure that the oth- er person’s word is ‘correct’. After you’ve shouted

your own word, you can check the earlier words. Do I take a card straight away? When you shout a word, double-check and wait for someone else to agree that it’s valid before you take your card. How do we check a word? If unsure, look it up online (perhaps you have a smartphone?) on any agreed dictionary. David Brain suggests Collin’s Dictionary if you’re speaking British English,

like wot we are. If you don’t have access to the internet, con- sult a local dictionary. If there is no dictionary in your room,

just try to come to a consensus without killing each other. OPTIONAL: PLAYER HANDICAPS If someone consistently wins, start them with one or even 2 permanent handicaps! These will NOT count as points at the end of the game. OPTIONAL: SIMPLE MODE End each round when someone wins their 4th card rather than the 3rd. Take the 5th card as a bonus but do not keep it as a permanent handicap. This will make the game generally faster as a whole. For an even simpler game, end rounds as normal (end when a 3rd card is taken, and the 4th card is taken as a bonus) but do not use permanent handicaps.

AS A LEARNING AID

The game is very useful for helping expand the vocabulary and recall of words. If teaching English as a second language, maybe ask students to define each word after shouting it. To make it more of a shared learning activity and allow everyone more opportunities to participate, perhaps the winner of the previous turn cannot shout this turn.

CREDITS/HISTORY

Gil Hova made Prolix. I (Bez), inspired by that game, designed this in January 2015. Originally,

getting to 5 cards won you the game. It was en- joyed but was too short and unsatisfying.

I decided to just try playing multiple rounds until the end of the deck. That worked well enough. Permanent handicaps were then added, but were originally just a variant. Many helped playtest, including Rob Harris, Fabio Lopiano, David Brain and Ben Neumann. Massive thanks to everyone who helped out. After the 1st edition deck was released, I observed hundreds more games at conventions and wanted to try ending after a 3rd card is taken, rather than after the 4th card. Winning a round is now far better, as you get a permanent handicap but have won double the points! Each round’s difficulty increases less, but the catchup element over the entire game is greater. These rules were blind-tested by Doruk, Ruth, Hywel, Michele, Phil, Ding, and various others at Waterloo. Phil made some wonderful suggestions regarding layout. These rules were proof-read by John Brieger, Ayden Lowther, Michael Belsole, Chris Zlinski and Rachael Mortimer.

MAYBE TRY...

Wobbell. A game created by James Davies, as a ‘sequel’ to Wibbell. Wobbell is more chaotic, as you steal cards from other players, scrambling to be the first to have 3 cards. The rules for Wobbell (and many other games) are available at: stuffbybez.com/wibbell/ Here’s an idea for a tournament: Play 2 games of Wibbell, each followed by a game of Wobbell. Then serve jelly on a plate as a prize for the winner.

[mass-effect-a-companions-react]

Team reacting to the mods as the pathfinder?

Mod Di

~ ~ ~ ~

Cora: How in the fresh hell is this meek thing the pathfinder? She cant fire a gun, she barely keeps up in training, and is 50 pound’s over the average military weight for a girl her height. She doesn’t like Di and gets really irritated. She pushes hard to whip Di into shape, and does her best to keep Di alive.

On the very off chance they do become friends Di can be seen drawing Cora frequently, and Cora is noticeably less harsh than usual.

Jaal: He honestly couldn’t believe that she was a threat when they first met. She looked absolutely terrified as she was confronted by the Angara. She stuttered when she spoke, and basically hid behind her companions. But even so he remained rough, even though he could help but noticed she flinched when faced with hostility. After spending time with her on the Tempest, her learns that she is not meek, but uncomfortable around strangers. She actually quite loud, and creative and terribly temperamental.

They bond over their ridiculously large families. Cousins, aunts, uncles, members unknown or unremembered. We even have the whole “other mother” thing. We add the word “Mama” in front of a woman's name as a term of maternal respect.

If romanced, Jaal will move things just a tad bit slower, as she is really reserved about her emotions. She never answers most of the questions Shauna asks, but yes Di does like pie.

Liam: He honestly couldn’t help but to feel a little bad for her. She didn’t come to be pathfinder, and is obviously unprepared for it. He teaches her how to fire a hand pistol, and trains with her to make it seem less horrible. He listens to her when she feels like rambling about Cora, and they bond over their love cheesy vids. They also like to play “The Name Game” which is when they compare how they say things in British English and American English.

If romanced Liam is still absolutely shameless, much to Di’s embarrassment. He won’t do the “lover’s jump” because Di has a fear of falling, but he still does have a way making her adrenaline rush. He teaches her how to play soccer, and keeps a list of bad pick up lines and cheesy puns because they make her laugh.

PeeBee: No sense of adventure. What kind of pathfinder has no sense of adventure? They have a rocky start because of how “out there” PeeBee is and Di likes to stay inside of her comfort zone. But when Di does admit she’d like to try something new, PeeBee makes it her mission to break this pathfinder out of her shell. Di likes to watch PeeBee work on POC, and is very interested in remnant tech.

If romanced, Di doesn’t do the anti gravity fling, because they aren’t her thing. But she does like to float around in PeeBee’s pod. She and PeeBee go on dates that aren’t as dangerous as remnant archives, but PeeBee swears they’re working their way up. They are both really cautious about the relationship in the beginning.

Suvi: Di likes to spend to spend time with her in her lab because she does have an interest in science experience. Sure, she almost blew up the ship a few times, but it’s not that much of a big deal (Yes it is, Suvi had banned her from her lab unsupervised)

If romancing Suvi Di is just as awkward as Ryder would be. She has zero romantic skills, and Kallo rolls his eyes to the next dimension every time he sees her. Di also likes to to tell her awful science puns for Suvi.

“Do you have 11 protons? ‘Cause you’re Sodium fine! ”

Some one save Kallo

Gil: She’s an awful poker player, but a good friend. They often make jokes together about their sexuality.

“If I was into women, you’d be my 3rd pick.”

“As if Gil. Just because I date both doesn't mean I don’t have standards.”

“OUCH,that hurts.”

She gets along with Jill marvelously. Di isn’t really interested in mechanics, but she does like t watch him work, and asks questions about the basic stuff just in case she needs to do it.

Drack: Di is terrified of him at first. He was big, armed to the teeth, and tackled a Kett with his bare hands. It was a pretty big first impression. Drack thought she was too soft and squishy to be pathfinder. But after a few mission he warms up, or takes pity. He teaches her how to fire a “real gun” as he calls them.

“Hand pistols are for chumps.”

“But…I like hand pistols.”

He’s totally her Krogan dad.

Lexi: Relationship wise, they’re on good terms . Di checks in on her to make sure she eats and sleeps and such, even if she is kind of a hypocrite herself. Work wise, Lexi can stand her. She doesn’t listen and she’s too stubborn to come to her when she she’s sick.

“You have a fever! Take the medicine!”

“You have weak ankles because you don't let then heal properly!”

“If your wrist is sore, stop drawing!”

Vetra: Older siblings unite. These two are peas in a pod, and Di understands Vetra’s situation with Sid. Even though they but heads, Di would (And did) travel to another galaxy if it meant her little sisters could be happy. Di prefers to stay away from the black market, but every one in a while she finds a new armor piece or visor or something else that she wants or needs mysterious appearing in her room.

If romanced the awkwardness is doubled. No one knows what they are doing. Di cant cook either, so she can’t really do much about Vetra.

Kallo: He doesn’t mind her. They have only have a professional relationship in the beginning, but Di begins to get curious about the ship. She asks Kallo questions, he cant help but feel a little swell of pride. They like to talk about weird idle thing together.

Mod Ash

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cora: Even if the girl wasn’t really the standard Pathfinder material from the start, at the very least she could defend herself on some level, even if her fighting style was mostly hitting things till they fell over. There’s some sort of neutral respect between the two which isn’t quite friendship yet but closer to frequent acquaintances.(Mod Ash wishes Cora was romancable for her)

Liam: It was weird how they were able to bond even though their personalities were so different, though maybe that has something to do with their shared love for movies. She comes to him for advice pretty often, much to Cora’s displeasure, but if only she followed at least half of it. However he is grateful for a pretty fun-loving Pathfinder

If romanced, he still wishes she’s listen more to him, but then again her stubbornness is one of her main qualities. Both have movie nights on a daily basis, and after his insistence that she’d get some exercise in someway, it was decided upon that they’d have weekly dance sessions. And despite her groaning at it, he knows she still has fun.

Suvi: It was nice to have someone who appreciated ‘space rocks’ as much as herself around the ship, though they never really had anything to talk about unless the topic was missions. They were a little too different, and although that didn’t really affect their attitudes towards each other, it did affect the atmosphere of any room they were in alone.If romanced, Nope. Never happening.

Gil: the team has tried on many instances to separate them for the benefit of others, since when the two are together, you know there are various pranks and banters abound. Most of the time she would coerce him into assisting her with these said pranks. She tries very hard to learn about the ship’s engineering, and he appreciates that. (Though he’s pretty sure she wants to learn engineering so that she can build a freeze ray at this point)

Jaal: When he first met her, he didn’t really understand why everyone was so afraid of this short and skinny alien. Until he joins the crew and finds out that she can be very temperamental when provoked, and can be extremely spiteful with a tongue to match. He finds it frustrating that her feelings are so hidden from others. Despite this, they both become friends due to her wanting to explore more of his culture and he of her’s. That and the fact that she always seems to want to get a sketch of him at all times, since according to her he was something ‘new and waiting to be drawn out’.

If romanced, he is skeptical about her true feelings at first, but over the course of the relationship he is able to get her to open up more and they progress things at a healthy pace. They got together probably because she finds it refreshing that he is more honest than most people, and he finds it great that she’s very opened to new things about his culture and people.

Vetra: From the get go Vetra knew that the girl was weird, how weird was only revealed to her later on. There was never a dull moment on the Tempest if the Pathfinder was around, from the pranking, to the sudden changes in attitude and random singing. She dances in her room too but Vetra pretends not to know. The first thing they bonded over was siblings, then from there it progressed to learning about the black market and all sorts of shady things. It wasn’t very well approved by some of the other crew members but it sure as hell looked like the Pathfinder was having fun. 

If romanced, Vetra’s not sure how it all really went down, but now there is a strong sense of trust between both. She catches Ash drawing her more than once, because apparently ‘it’s easier to draw someone with such defining features that a human with a rounded face or an asari!’ She’s not sure whether that’s a compliment but Ash assures her it is.

Peebee: Alright! Finally a partner to do shenanigans with! And she doesn’t bother with the nitty gritty bits like your past relationships or well, just your backstory in general. It’s almost like having the sister that she never really had, or twin maybe, considering how but were so alike in personality, the only difference being that Ash is more the silent-deadly type. It’s great to have someone willing to take risks for history and discovery as the leader though.

If romanced, sorry guys, I didn’t think of Peebee in that way at all

Lexi: it’s interesting to do health checkups for this Pathfinder because between the weird agility she has and the even more curious genetic makeup, her personality is quite entertaining to evaluate. Both of them get along just fine, though their friendship is almost non-existent due to never really having a reason to speak to each other. 

Drack: he thought that she was too squishy and short to be Pathfinder at first, but after seeing her scale a flat surfaced cupboard to get food and punch a guy so hard it injured his nose even though he was twice her size, (i.e things I’ve actually done) he began to like her. She tries her very best to help the Krogan colony too, and that makes him begin to like her even more. The only thing he doesn’t like is how much she tries to suck up to Tann, though he does understand it helps them  get what they need at times.

Kallo: The girl had absolutely no understanding about the Tempest at all, and at the beginning their friendship was simply one of colleagues, though it later developed into maybe a little bit of banter here and there, especially since the incident with Gil where she helped them come to a compromise. He does quite like her quiet company when he’s flying though.

[hunnybadgerv]

30 Day Mass Effect: Andromeda Ryder Challenge

This meme is inspired by a question in the MEFFW FB group. Someone was looking for a Ryder challenge, so I decided that maybe we needed one that dealt more with game events. It is also inspired by several 30-day character challenges that I have seen pop up over the years. I know there was a pre-release 30-day Ryder challenge that went around, but it specifically dealt only with speculative Ryder content. The aim of this one is to incorporate questions directed at a fully/partially played Ryder.

The questions below are meant to be answered as specifically, generally, or tangentially as you like. None of the questions are required by any means; I expanded and offered some direction only as a guide for those who might prefer a little more guidance than a generalized category.

Please, pardon the vagueness of some of the questions, I am trying to limit spoilers as much as possible.

If you’d be up for it, I’ll be following the tag: #30dayMEARyderChallenge. I’d love to see the other Ryders out there in the universe.

And a quick thanks to Liz for her feedback. Really appreciate it. 

Day 1: Introduction

Describe your Ryder in 250 characters or less. Now, have your Ryder describe themself in 250 characters or less. Also provide any of the basic biographical information like: full name, age, pronouns, gender, etc. Is there a special significance to the name you chose for your Ryder? Did you also name their sibling and parents? If so, what and why?

Day 2: Physical Status

Briefly describe your Ryder’s physical appearance. What are their vital statistics (e.g., hair color, eye color, skin color, height, weight, body type, origin)? Did you use a specific face claim? If so, who? Are they comfortable with their looks and their body, or did they wish they were different in some way? Do they have any significant scars or other identifying marks? How fit are they? Are they able-bodied or disabled?

Day 3: Psychology

Briefly describe your Ryder’s mental state. How do they handle stress? How do the opening events of Mass Effect: Andromeda affect their mental state in the game? Do they deal with their grief? If so, how? How do they deal with the mantle placed upon their shoulders unexpectedly by their father? Do they chafe beneath the weight, follow in Alec’s footsteps, or blaze their own trail? Are they neurotypical or neurologically atypical? Do they have any mental illnesses or a history with mental illness?

Day 4: Sexuality & Gender

Describe how you think about your Ryder’s sexuality and gender. How would they talk about their sexuality/sexual inclinations or lack thereof? What is their gender? Are they cis, trans, or nonbinary? If they are trans or nonbinary, what is their designation and when did they realize it?

Day 5: Pockets, Gear & Weapons

Did they bring something special with them from the Milky Way or leave everything behind and start fresh? Which is their favorite on-ship outfit choice? Is the choice made for appearances or comfort? What’s in your Ryder’s pockets? Do they always have a weapon on them? Is it always a specific weapon(s)? What do they carry around every day? Why? Which is their preferred armor choice? Why? Do they have something that they always take into combat with them? Why?

Bonus: Does your Ryder use the crafting system? What do they most often craft? Do they name the items? Do they name their weapons?

Day 6: Training History & Past

What is your Ryder’s Training History? Does it affect their profile choices? Also, how did they come by this skill set? What are some notable career moments for them prior to setting out for Andromeda? Did they join the Initiative because their father asked? Did they only sign up after their twin sibling signed up? Did they really want to go to Andromeda or did it take some convincing? What are some other significant events from your Ryder’s past that influence them? Are they running from something too? Did they have any kind of special send off before going into the fridge?

Bonus: Describe the Ryder family background. Does your Ryder’s family history match that presented in-game or does it differ? Share a few important or formative events in your Ryder’s history. How did these events impact and shape them? What is their relationship like with their twin? What impact does that have on them?

Day 7: Combat Approach

Does your Ryder use one specific profile most of the time or do they bounce around between a few of them? Which ones? Why? Do they prefer Milky Way weapons or have they adapted their combat approach to Heleus and Remnant tech? What is their standard weapon loadout? What is their standard ability loadout? What are their most used/favorite abilities? What enemies give them the most trouble?

Bonus: Is your Ryder good at fighting? What kind of combat experience to they have?

Day 8: Field Morality

What do they think about fighting/violence as a solution to problems? When was the first time they killed someone? How did it affect them? Is there an encounter they have nightmares about? When the option is available, do they prefer to kill their enemies or do they try and show mercy? Do they feel proud of their kills or regret them? What is their opinion on torture?

Day 9: Politics

Are they solidly pro-Initiative? Pro-Nexus? Or do they see themselves as neutral? What was the nature of their first outpost on Eos? What are their opinions on some of the major political situations in Heleus? What is their opinion of the heads of the Initiative? Discuss some of the other significant political choices your Ryder made in Andromeda and their candid opinions about those and other events.

Day 10: Personality & Alignment

Does your Ryder tend toward one or two personality responses in game (i.e., logical, emotional, casual, professional)? Are they friendly or distant, maybe flirtatious? Are the inquisitive/curious? Do they always delve deeply into conversational topics with people? What kind of first impression does Ryder give people? Do they have any ticks or unique mannerisms? What are some of their habits? Do they have any odd quirks? Name 5 character strengths and 5 character flaws for your Ryder. How do these affect them in the game? What changes to they undergo over the course of their arrival and exploration of the Heleus Cluster? Do they grow?

Bonus: Where does your Ryder fall on the classis Paragon/Renegade morality scale from the original Mass Effect trilogy? What would their D&D alignment be? Their personality type (such as MBTI, Enneagram, etc.)?

Day 11: Values

How does your Ryder define “good” and “evil”? “Right” and “wrong”? Were these the values they learned from their parents or from other societal institutions around them? Did their definitions change during their time in Andromeda? How so? Do they even consider good/evil or right/wrong in the course of their missions? What are your Ryder’s priorities, both personally and professionally, if there is a difference? What is the first thing they consider when making a decision? Do they think things through or go with their gut?

Day 12: Limits

What drives Ryder once they arrive in the Heleus Cluster? Is there a cause or ideal that they dedicate themselves to? Why do they dedicate themselves to it? Is there something they would sacrifice everything for? Almost everything? What would they not sacrifice? Is there a line that your Ryder would never cross?

Day 13: Canon Choices

What are some of the major choices your Ryder made in game? Why did they make these particular choices? What is the hardest decision they had to make? Which choice was a no-brainer for them?

Day 14: Consequences

Which events in Andromeda had the biggest impact on them? Which of their decisions had the biggest impact on them? Why did these events affect them so strongly? How, if at all, did these events change your Ryder?

Day 15: Contrition

What choice(s) do they regret? What would they do differently, if they could? How do they deal with the situation or its aftermath?

Bonus: Are there any events in game that don’t give your Ryder the chance to act as you think they would? If so, please explain how your Ryder would have approached the situation.

Day 16: Companions

Who is their first friend among the Tempest’s crew? Who is their best friend? Who do they like the least? What is your Ryder’s relationship like with each of the members of the Tempest’s crew: Cora, Drack, Gil, Jaal, Kallo, Lexi, Liam, Peebee, Suvi, Vetra? What do they appreciate most about each? What do they dislike or find most annoying about each? How does your Ryder get along with Captain Dunn? How do they get along with people on the Nexus, in the settlements, in other ports and locations throughout Heleus? Do they have any nicknames or use any terms of endearment for their companions?

Bonus: How do they feel about the situation with their twin? What do they choose to say, or not say, to their twin when they have the chance to talk to them? Do they visit their twin often? Or do they count on Lexi to update them as to their twin’s progress?

Day 17: Courtship & Friendship

What qualities does Ryder find attractive or unattractive in others? Do they have a serious platonic relationship with anyone? Does your Ryder get involved romantically or sexually with anyone? How does it begin? When do they first fall for them? When do they realize it? Do their relationships/friendships last? Do they have any flings? Is there someone they are interested in that they can’t have? Do they use any nicknames or terms of endearment for their partner? What are some activities they enjoy sharing with their partner? Does anyone else on the crew know? How do they find out? How does Ryder feel about them knowing/finding out? Does Ryder try to hide their relationship or keep it under wraps? What do they appreciate most about their partner?

Bonus: What are their previous relationships like? How are their Andromeda relationships like or unlike the others? Do they leave the Milky Way to escape a broken heart or a bad relationship?

Day 18: Conclusion

How did they want their journey in Andromeda to end? How did it actually end? Do they get a happily ever after? What do they do after game’s canon conclusion?

Day 19: Faith

Does your Ryder believe in a higher power? Do they follow a human religion or did they adopt one from another species? How devout are they? How much do they commit to their faith? If they are atheistic or agnostic, how staunch are they?

Day 20: Cabin

How do they decorate their cabin? Do they ascribe to any particular aesthetic—fancy, plain, bright, sleek, modern? Are there any distinct details? Do they collect the model ships? Do they keep any particular snacks hidden away in their space? Do they keep the space hamster? What do they name it? What about the pyjak (if you had that game version)? Do they name it? If so, what?

Day 21: R&R

What does Ryder do with their spare time? What does they do to relax? Or are they a ‘workaholic’? Do they have any hobbies they indulge in? How about any hidden or unhidden talents? Does Ryder enjoy the clubs available in some ports? Do they have a favorite? Does your Ryder drink or are they a teetotaler? If they do drink, how drunk do they get? What are they like when they are drunk.

Day 22: Planets

Which of the planets visited in the Heleus Cluster is Ryder’s favorite? Why? What do they like most about that planet? What do they like the least? Which planet do they dislike visiting? Why? Where would they settle? Why?

Bonus: Describe your Ryder’s opinion of each of the planets visited in Andromeda. Likes? Dislikes? How do they feel about the settlements there? What are some of the things they enjoyed doing there? Events they found tedious?

Day 23: Domestics

How does Ryder handle everyday tasks? When it is their night to cook does the rest of the crew look forward to it or do they cringe? Does Ryder think they have any specialties (in the galley)? How do they sleep? Do they lie on their stomach, back, or side? Do they move around a lot or not at all? Do they have any particular self-care rituals? If so, what?

Day 24: SAM

How did your Ryder feel about Artificial Intelligence before they departed the Milky Way? Does that opinion change after they arrive in Andromeda? How does your Ryder feel about their connection to SAM? How do they deal with concerns about AI in Andromeda? Are they close to SAM? Or does Ryder merely see SAM as a tool to achieve their goals? Does their constant connection to SAM have any effect on their normal behavior? Are there moments they are embarrassed to have shared with SAM? How do their friends/LI feel about the connection, if they are aware of it?

Day 25: Aliens

In general, how does your Ryder feel about aliens? When/how did they meet their first alien? How did they view humanity’s place in galactic society before they left the Milky Way? Has their view changed since arriving in Andromeda? What are their relationships like with the Initiative and non-Initiative factions?

Describe their first contact with the Angara. How do they approach the government on Aya? What is their approach to the Resistance? Do they get along with the leaders of the Angara? What is their relationship like with the Angara? With their leadership? With Jaal? Do they take a consistent approach? Or is their approach tailored to each particular situation? Do they lie to the Angara? Are they always truthful?

Describe their first contact with the Kett. What is their initial opinion of the Kett? Of the Archon? Of other significant figures in the Kett? How does their opinion of the Kett evolve as the story progresses? How do they react to new information about the Kett as it is gathered?

Day 26: Andromeda Initiative

What is Ryder’s opinion on the Initiative? On the events that occurred before their arrival in Andromeda? What do they think of the Nexus? Of the Initiative leadership? Does Ryder make finding the other arcs a priority? What is Ryder’s opinion of the other Pathfinders? What is Ryder’s opinion of the APEX group? What is Ryder’s opinion about and approach with the Exiles? How does Ryder approach and deal with the Krogan? Is Ryder supportive of the Initiative?

Day 27: Vaults & Remnant

Is your Ryder fascinated by the vaults? Or do they see them as a means to an end, a key to planetary viability? Do they enjoy the puzzles and exploration? Or do they find the vaults tedious and deadly? What is their reaction upon entering and exploring the first vault on Eos? Do they have a particular vault that they would like to revisit?

What are their initial thoughts on the Remnant? What are their thoughts about experiments involving the Remnant? Are they fascinated or repulsed?

Day 28: Architects

Which Architect was their first encounter? How did that encounter affect them? Did they see the defeat of the Architects as merely a necessity? Or did they wear it as a badge of honor? Do they have any trophies from their Architect encounters? If so, what? Where do they keep it?

Day 29: Pathfinder

How does your Ryder feel when they find out that their father made them the Pathfinder? Do they feel ready or unprepared? Are they concerned about Cora having been passed over? How do they feel about being thrust into this position? Are they confident or unsure? How do the reaction of the Initiative heads affect their opinion of their own readiness? How do they cope with the stress and weight of the position and the expectation that comes along with it? What is their diplomatic approach, if they have one? What is their focus as pathfinder? What is their goal? Do they follow in their father’s footsteps or forge their own path?

Bonus: Do they have a particular focus when opening up Cryo Pods? Do they do any priority thaws? What is there opinion on people wanting to go back into cryo?

Day 30: Preferences

Name a few of their favorite things. Favorite color? What kinds/flavors of food do they prefer? What kinds of environments do they like to spend time in? What is their favorite type of music? Movies? Books? What is their guilty pleasure?

Bonus 31: Reflections

When Ryder reflects back on the events of Mass Effect: Andromeda consider some of these questions: What is their proudest moment? What is their biggest regret? Is there a trivial moment that stick in their mind? Describe it. What is their best memory with their LI? Their fling? Their partner? Their best friend? What event will they most often tell as a war story? What was the most traumatizing moment?

[bettydice]

Betty Plays ME:A... TO THE END

I finished the main story! Yassss! After approx. 70 hours and at about 70%.

A lot of thoughts about everything (and spoilers) under the cut! A lot of thoughts, can’t stress this enough! lol

Overall, I really liked it! I was very reluctant to get exited for it, because I’ve had a lot of issues with DA:I and my worry was that they’d only further go down the path of Things I Don’t Like. Which... yes and no?

Exploration/Planets

Really pretty! I actually liked driving around in the Nomad! (Except for when I’d climbed a mountain only to find out that I couldn’t go that way after all...) I’m not one for Open World Gameplay but I actually liked exploring Havarl and Voeld (and to a lesser extent Eos and Eeeeeeeeuuuuuuuu what was the name of the Krogan world I can’t remember). HATED Kadara. So much. So much. Why did that planet exist? We just don’t know. Bleh. Imo they should have just left it at the port area. For me anyway lol. Many planets also meant a lot of quests though, which to me was a bit overwhelming because... do I reall need to do all these???

Pacing/Quests

While the open world worked much better for me here than in DA:I, because since I’m the Pathfinder it was literally my job to run around and explore the planets and why not go look for someone’s lost parents on the way... I’m still very eh on the whole concept in a technically story driven game. Because then it’s reall hard or even impossible to make sure that the story has good pacing. Since everyone is gonna tackle all the quests differently. For me, I was really invested after the first vault on Eos, through Voeld and Havarl (jumped around a lot so I didn’t get bored with one planet by trying to finish everything there first) and was suuuper into it through Hunting The Archon. And then there was a huge hole as I tried to do stuff on Kadara without dying of boredom and finishing off random quests that somehow just had me planet hopping to scan one thing and then scan one more thing and... bleh. Didn’t help that I got hit by the banter bug around that time and the Nomad was quiet and no banter on the temptest and no new messages on the crew board... And then it picked up again. Not sure how I will feel during replays though...

Main Story

I wasn’t bored and often even invested. Love the Angara! ...not as impressed with the Kett. They made a pretty meh villain and I guess a convenient Alien To Shoot Since This Is A Shooter RPG. Exaltation reveal was moving because of Jaal’s reaction but ultimately felt rehashed from Reapers. I really wished that the search for the missing arks had taken up more time? And also that there was more interaction with the other Pathfinders, because I found those glimpses we got really interesting.

Companions

Cora

Meh. I don’t know, I liked her well enough but never had a “feels” moment with her. Also her face looked as though she was always smirking. Why are you smirking Cora, what are your secrets? Actually, I don’t really care because during your loyalty mission I was about 500% more interested in the Asari Pathfinder than you running around telling an Asari Huntress that you’re also an Asari Huntress and that you can totally quote the Asari Huntress Handbook. Good for you.

Gil

Cool guy but not sure what to make of his story line. Maybe it’s just me slowly backing away with nervous laughter whenever people in video games bring up kids? Sorry, Gil.

Kallo

I love him and he made me feel things (when we found that recording of the one Salarian iirc god that feels like 5 years ago how long have I been playing this game). And I’m glad he and Gil worked out their issues! <3

Suvi

A cutie. Not too many other thoughts about her so far.

Peebee

I... like her? She’s fun? But something’s missing for me... mabye because I haven’t finished her loyalty quest, I just remembered. Couldn’t be bothered to hop around all the planets to SCAN THINGS sorry. Uhm. That No Gravity Scene was lovely?

Liam

He is the sweetest and I love him and I will protect him with my life and his friendship with Jaal is the best and let me go sit on the couch with him and cry about how much I love him. <3 Precious. Darling. His loyalty mission was THE BEST!

Vetra

SHE IS MY WIFE AND I LOVE HER. Sadly underwhelmed by her loyalty mission though? Loved the rock climbing though EVEN IF I HAD TO GO BACK TO FUCKING KADARA FOR THAT! THAT’S HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU VETRA!

Drack

I will die for him. And for Kesh. And Vorn. And everyone on the Krogan Planet I Forgot Name Of. Krogan. But yeah, Drack is love and his medbay convo... ;__;

Lexi

Almost forgot her. Which isn’t to say that I feel ambivalent towards her. But I feel like she’s also a candidate I’ll have to get to know better via other people’s fanfic maybe lol.

JAAL

I DID NOT EXPECT TO LOVE HIM AND HIM AND RYDER TOGETHER SO MUCH???? LIke wow. They’re just so... They’re shouting their emotions at each other and they LAUGH together and HOLD HANDS and make weird faces and have their backs and TALK and then they cry and I cry and then they do the frickle frackle and that is excellent and just GOD my heart? And his family??? AHHHH. I want to write fic? But also idek where to start.

Ryder

Awkward bumbling Pathfinder mess of my heart. <3 A bit like Hawke in space maybe but (at least my Ryder) with less issues. And less “I use humour to deflect from my feelings because if I talk about those I’ll scream”. She just uses humour because she’s that big of a dork. I don’t know if I’ve ever played a character that was that open with her feelings? It was refreshing. And I love her.

Combat

FUN! But literally cannot be bothered to figured out profile/profile switching and whatever so I only used the same abilities all game! Thx SAM! (Infiltrator, no biotics)

Uh what else idk general thoughts

Fucking glad that our twin survived! Space Hamster! Space Monkey Thing! ZAP IS ADORABLE Fuck Kadara Will we find new aliens that aren’t humanoid? Hahaha that would be crazy. Really wish that they’d done more with the “do you want a military/science outpost”. Got exited there for a second. Gil and Reyes are the only m/m options? Really???????????? Could have used more Interrupts. I still can’t smooch my love interest whenver I want? Get it together Mass Effect team.

I’m sure there is more but enough for now.

[victorian-creepshow]

Finished Andromeda today. 

Pros:

Like I already said, the combat’s fun. Still not sure that the profile system was necessary, but I can understand some people enjoying it.

The main story was pretty good. I like how the Ryder twins worked together at the end, that was pretty cool. I just kinda wish we would have gotten a little more interaction with our twin. 

The worlds/scenery are v pretty. Voeld and Kadara are my favorite. Elaaden made me think of Borderlands. Part of me was expecting to find a Handsome Jack billboard somewhere rofl

I really like how they included more of those special friendly bonding moments with squadmates, whether you’re romancing them or not. V nice touch pls give us more of this in the future

Peebee and Drack ended up being my favs and I’ve never been a Krogan or Asari lover lmao. I mean, there wasn’t anyone on the squad I outright hated, but them two... definitely my homies.

Loved the little pathfinder cool kids gang that happened. I want to see more of them all. I’d love for them to all go on a mission together, pathfinders only no squares allowed

Kesh. Kesh is a positive all on her own. Love her. Vorn too. I like that they showed more variety in personalities within all the species. Krogan scientist 4tw

Kudos for ethnic diversity this time. They actually look like what they’re supposed to be! And it doesn’t look weird!

I never felt that overwhelming feeling of Hinterlands 2.0 on any of the maps. I’m not really interested in exploration, and I didn’t find any of the worlds too ridiculously huge like I thought they might be. Though they were all huge compared to Inquisition’s. It makes sense though, since they were clearly made to be used with the Nomad. If not for that, I think I would have been gritting my teeth trying to get from one side of the map to the other

More than two nice looking hairstyles for men, even if they were all a little bland.

Liked the color wheel on clothes, although I would have given it up in a heartbeat in favor of better physical feature customizations

Cons:

 At certain times the writing felt a little rushed to me.

There were still too many pointless quests, Bioware. chiiiiiiiiiill

Should I even bother to say it? I can hear the boos already. No imma say it anyway. DEAL. Some of the facial animations were nightmare fuel aight. Even for Bioware. Be real. I’m still clutching my rosary. But then some expressions felt much more natural than in previous games, too. I feel like they could easily build on that and refine it without too much hassle if given more time. Some walking and running animations felt a little less stiff than before, at least to me.

I’m still irritated at the CC. It’s pathetic, and using Alec as the reason it ‘has to be that way’ is ridiculous and cheap. That feeling of playing a pre-established character never went away and I was never able to fully connect with Ryder because of it. It took away from my enjoyment of the story. That, combined with the fact that it seemed like there were less dialog options this time around. And sometimes those dialog options seemed... bizarrely inappropriate to the situation. That’s nothing new, and sometimes it is just a matter of opinion, but ehh.

I fucking hate that fucking Sudoku wannabe decryption bullshit minigame oh my godddd. They can DIE. FOREVER. Ok this isn’t a legitimate complaint since technically you could skip most if you had a key thing, and I’m sure plenty of people out there enjoyed that hell. I’ve never had the patience for complex puzzles. Why couldn’t we just stick to matching lines of code like in ME2? cries  

The Kett story was a little predictable imo. And the Archon, I expected more out of him. As in, I was kinda hoping he’d be the sort of antagonist that you could empathize with. That maybe his motivations were less black and white than a certain other I AM A GOOOODDDDDD MWAHAHA bioware villain. 

Bugs. Buuuuugs everywhere. I couldn’t settle Elaaden because of a bug that prevented me from completing the mission. I had to replay several parts including a portion of the final mission. One time I lost about five hours of play. It was bad. Though, recalling what Inquisition was like on it’s initial release... it wasn’t completely unexpected.

Still doing that thing with Asari I see. Lmao. Like, I love Peebee, but I pulled a muscle rolling my eyes at the fact that I can’t be friendly to her without her trying to grab my junk. A whole new galaxy and we still hypersexualizing all the blue not-lady ladies. Nice. Can you imagine the meltdown hets would have if Gil had a cutscene that involved him rubbing up on Scott unprovoked? And the only reject option is along the lines of “Eheh.... well... I’m sorry, but I just... c-can’t... please don’t be mad your undeniable sex appeal isn’t working today...”

There was a very minor trans character, a side lesbian character, one gay/bi alien who’s love is dead, one bisexual human male and one possibly??? gay?? human male. The bisexual male is better written than the ONE other m/m romance, and one can only assume it was only given decent treatment because it’s also a potential fem!Ryder romance. Gil’s endgame if not romanced is to have a child with a woman? Lol. Also never explicitly states he’s only interested in men even when rejecting fem!Ryder. I could just sum all this up by saying “do better” but from where I’m sitting, this specific group of writers and developers aren’t interested in hearing it. So I’ll just say, fail. Fucking fail. No gold star for effort. If you want credit for being so ~*~progressive~*~, do the work. And for god’s sake, don’t treat it like someone twisted your arm to include it.

All in all, it was a fun game. I may play the DLCs if/when they come out. The main game doesn’t have a whole lot of replay value imo though, at least not for me. 

The problematic writing everyone foresaw going in turned out to be well-founded, and no, there is nothing here that would even begin to make up for it. They could do better if they wanted to. They’re aware of the issues. This was their chance to fix that and all they proved was that they really don’t care. Simple as that. So yep, I’m still extremely disappointed in that respect.

On that note, let’s not dwell on it. At least we all know what to expect now. On to what really matters... DA4~ And if they fuck that up, there will be hell to pay. 

[annakie]

Thoughts on Andromeda, Part Twelve

Whoops.  I kinda trailed off on finishing up my Andromeda thoughts. So let’s get back on track and finish that up.

Stillll waiting on that second patch so I can continue my 2nd playthrough.  In the meantime I’ve been playing the Shadowruns games, and enjoying them.  Definitely something different.

Last time: We furthered the story and found some arcs.  I also aired some of my biggest grievances with the game.  We’re heading into the endgame here, so if you somehow haven’t finished the game yet, don’t read.  Otherwise, you’re fine.

No major characters were hurt during Jaal’s loyalty quest.  It was a great quest, but man every time I kill a Milky Way or Angaran NPC it grates me a little.  There’s only so many of both left in Andromeda.  And I’m chewing them out and spitting them out.

What a beautiful moment.  I love Jaal, a lot.  

The increased numbers of Salarans around was great to see, another reminder that Bioware made the world more dynamic than they had to.  I enjoyed just hanging out here, listening to their stories as they were processed.

Having an entire team of Pathfinders was also nice.  I wish we could have heard more about what they were up to while we were doing the heavy lifting.

FINALLY.  SCOTT IS AWAKE.  I loved getting to talk to him, and he was a little rankled that I’d lied to him about dad, and how things really were, but I got him to calm down.  Everything seemed like it was starting to go well in Andromeda.

Yet another case of almost everyone we knew in the Milky Way being connected with the Andromeda crew, but... I was again okay with this one.  I admit, I got emotional when Garrus’ dad talked about him, and about Shepard.   Like, more emotional than I want to admit. :)

Mom’s... alive?  Hm.  This I was not expecting.  I wasn’t blown away by the twist, and tbh I don’t understand how medical science really advanced that much between them going to sleep and waking up.  The Angarans having some kind of magic solution seems unlikely, too.   But who knows.

Reasons why I’d never be successful at being a twitch streamer.  At least I’m fairly sure I missed very little dialog. :p

I love the group conferences.  I loved ‘em in ME1 and I missed them in most of ME2 and ME3.  

I liked the little touch of Gil helping you suit up.  Gil can you make my armor less puffy and boob-flappy?

I honestly thought I was going into the endgame here.  This place is gorgeous, but how would a society actually live here?  Maybe we’ll never know.

Okay, confession... it’s been nearly a month since I finished the game.  I don’t remember exactly what happened on this mission.  It was pretty good, though, right?

Here’s a mistake I’m not going to make in future games, though.  I waited too long to advance the plot.  It made the entire endgame basically a rushed mess that was supposed to feel spread out and instead I did the last few missions basically one right after the other.  I didn’t get that sense of time or weight that they were supposed to have.

After only a short diversion that I’ll get to later, I was right back in the thick of it.  And got a warning that this is it, no turning back after this.  No problem.

Yeah this final mission is EASY.  What’s going on.

Oh shit.

THIS THOUGH.

THIS is one of the great moments of Andromeda.  

Shit goes south on you real fast and all of a sudden YOU’RE CONTROLLING THE SIBLING.

Way back in an early review, the second or third, I mentioned that a problem I was having was that I was supposed to be having feelings about losing my sibling in a coma and my dad to death and I was like “I can see why my character would be sad but I’m like... eh”.  This is the thing that I needed to really endear Scott to me... a mission AS Scott.  

I only wished it was longer.  But it was defintely needed to bolster the emotions for what was coming.

This was another of those moments that they could not have gotten away with in the original trilogy.  Everyone arguing, different opinions flying, confusion... 

Shepard wouldn’t have stood for it, nor the others of the Alliance and used to strict discipline in the ranks.  Here, it’s a bunch of people who are good at their jobs, but they’re still basically like “Oh shit.  What now?”  I liked it for what it was.

Okay, that’s enough for this post.  I guess I still have at least one more plot one to do, and then one on the romance angle on the way.

[thevhenan]

Mass Effect Andromeda Impressions/Adventures #2:

Everything under cut~

Up to getting Jaal and then finding the scientists. 

I have pictures!

I was thinking about going through the whole story in these but that is A LOT of work so I'll cut it down to the interesting bits of my journey.

First off, I want to say even though I'm playing Female Ryder people weren't kidding when they said Male Ryders VA sounded like a clone of Nolan North. HOLY SHIT. I mean, I kind of heard it in the trailers but it wasn't until I seen some gameplay I was like WTF. I mean, just give Male Ryders VA half the jobs and Nolan the others and we'll have that voice everywhere (even though Nolan is almost everywhere in the first place). Speaking of which, is it just me or this NPC an actual clone of default Scott? Just different hair. MY BROTHER IS AWAKE GUYS. 

At first I had an 'off' feeling about the Initiative/Jean Garson. It felt... kind of propaganda-y. Sanctuary in ME3 if you will. I'm hoping she won't be a villain esp. because her VA is trans but another part of me thinks in might be an interesting twist. At least thinking she might not be dead and maybe there is some sort of conspiracy there. I don't know. I get like there is more to her story.

The animations aren't nearly as bad as people acted like they were. They even have some good animations *gasp*. Of course the ones people nitpick are the only ones I've seen that are pretty bad but that's it. I also think a lot of the 'problems' stem from the eyes which is a lot less noticeable if you picked a preset that is asian/doesn't have big eyes/brown eyes. Other than that the graphics are way better and most of the animation isn't even that bad. I have faith that the longer the game is out the more that is patched. Take DA:I for example, I don't even think most of those animations needed to be patched but they did it anyway.

I like the Tempest but I think I would have preferred stairs as opposed to ladders... Ladders wouldn't have been so bad if you didn't auto climb them.  Kind of messes up the flow? The see through floor is pretty cool though although I almost had a heart attack the first time. I also like that the crew has bunk beds  and stuff, makes it feel more natural and the board they talk on is a cute touch. Also, I know we have a lift but I rarely use it because??? I don't know.

THE PYJAK IS SO CUTE AND YOU GET BANTER FROM THE CREW. 100% worth it if only for him (yes I decided that the pyjak is male). I loved how he was in one of the crews bed. Best boy ever. 

I so far really like the worlds (only been to two playable areas) they are so pretty but so far I prefer not having the Nomad.  I don't know, I like not having to worry about air/enviorment just enemies and CHARGING INTO THEM YEAHHHHHHH. Anyway, kind of wish the Nomad could climb for days like the Mako but hey, at least it doesn't take fall damage.

Some of the side quest are really fun. I think with the scanner you can do more mystery solving so it allows for a lot of options. Kind of reminds me of the Batman games in that aspect. 

I'm really interested in Alec's story which makes me infuriated because all those memory fragments are in places I can't reach. CURSE YOU GAME. My completionist ass upset. 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the addition to the codex where it not only tells you your relationship with your crew and decisions regarding them but your more major decisions and your personality!!!! Tbh the personality system seems a little Myer Briggs to me. Like, Head vs. Heart is T vs. F and Formal vs. Informal is P vs J. I'm an INFJ so unsurprisingly I'm heart and formal. I didn't even really want her to be that formal but Idk myself seeped in? That or I just think being polite to new species and people is the way to go. I'm personally pretty formal until I know you well enough. It's more...safe?

I really like the Sudoku type puzzles. At first I didn't understand but then I was like 'oh this is sudoku'. It might be a little much for regularly doing it but you don't have to do it that much so I'm fond of it.

My opinions on companions/others currently:

Cora: I LOVE HER. Tbh I thought she'd be more cold and closed off but she's not, which is good. Of course being cold at first isn't bad either. Like, that's how I am but she's a lot warmer than I expected. She's serious but warm, I like that. I especially like the kind of inside joke between her and Ryder at the beginning about Dragons. Hey, talk about dragons when we first meet and you have yourself a friend for life. 

Liam: I figured he'd be really friendly but man, Liam is just the best. You instantly feel bonded with him (and Cora!!). I don't know why the hell people keep comparing Vetra and Jaal to Garrus when Liam is more like him than either. Hell, I knew that going in. I mean, Liam is for sure more optimistic and 'I LOVE EVERYONE' (though apparently he doesn't like Vetra very much???). Still, former cop CHECK, techie CHECK, designated bffl CHECK. Like? IS it because he's human? Okay internet. I mean in all honesty I wouldn't compare any of these new squadmates to older characters but if you had to Liam would be more like Garrus than any other. Vetra shares the sister thing with Garrus but that's literally it. Off on a tangent. Still, Liam is great and I'm such a sucker for his accent. Could hear him talk all day. Please, talk all day Liam. Narrate my life.

Vetra: OF COURSE I LOVE VETRA. She has a certain swag about her especially when you first meet her you are like SMOOTH, NICEEEE. I mean, okay I suppose you can compare it to when you first see Garrus in ME2 (but that's it okay and I'm done talking Garrus!!!). She is a little closed off and I like that. She's really cool. Unfortunately I still don't feel like I know that much about her besides she's a smuggler and cares a lot about her sister (and her sister is really cute!). Anyway, her and Jaal are leading my 'who I should romance' poll in my head. I don't know, I guess I'll decide after both their personal mission. Right now I feel like I know Jaal better even with him being closed off a bit. I also wish during one on one convos you could see her eyes better :/. It seems like in cutscenes you can but when you are just talking to her it's harder to see them. I WANT TO SEE YOUR PRETTY EYES. And sorry, I'm being weird and creepy. I'll stop.

Peebee: I like her lots. I didn't know if I'd really like her voice at first, same with Cora but once I talked to them in game I was in love. EVERYONE HAS SUCH NICE VOICES. Her voice really fits her. I like her personality a lot but she still is still pretty secretive along with Vetra. Can't wait to know more. I do think Ryder and her would get along and do get along quite well because they both love exploring. I really am into their interactions so far.

Drack: Okay, I admit I was a bit skeptical about Drack. Like look, I'm a Krogan fan but I know Grunt and Wrex and a lot of Krogan we've encountered were quite similar (the males at least) and I was hoping Drack wouldn't be just a copy. He's pretty wise and cares so much about his grandaughter. It's ridiculously sweet. And yeah, he's still pretty combat heavy but that's what I expected. Anyway, I was hoping he wasn't  just another stale stereotype and so far he's exceeding expectations so I'm happy and really like him.

Jaal: He's as great, I was a bit nervous he was over hyped but he really is great. I'm really interested in him and his culture and everything. The interaction between him and Ryder is top notch and I feel the chemistry so right now he's a front runner for me to romance. I mean, look at my favorite romances and it's really no surprise I like him. He has a mysterious type air that I'm all about and Angara have such interesting eyes! I just got him yesterday so his personality hasn't settled as much as the others but basically, he's worth the hype to me (though I do think the people wanting to f him right off the bat were a bit much but hey who am I to judge). I got to know him and I like him.

Suvi: She's so dreamy even her voice *sigh*. She kind of has a voice that has a dream like quality like Solas' voice (whether you hate him or not he has a dream like voice, you can't deny it it's likely done on purpose because the fade and such). She's also so cute and a scientist and religious. She makes me think if Josie and Leliana from Dragon Age had a baby she would their offspring. Yeah, needless to say can't wait to romance her. I'm not going to do it this round because personally  don't feel like she fits well with my character as Vetra and Jaal do but I'm for sure going to role up a cute lady to romance her. She's so happy and loves her work and exited and perfect jaodlkjaodad. Yeah, she's my type.

Gil: I REALLY like Gil. They did a good job with making likable crew omg. He reminds me of a mix between Alistair and Dorian from Dragon Age. That'S MY JAM. Having a lack of m/m romances is horrible but ya'll Gil is the shit and I don't appreciate people saying he's 'uninteresting' and 'bad romance'.  I just really like him a lot and it was so fun playing poker with him ^^. I feel bad because the codex said I 'lied' about cheating but TBH they made me do it in the first place. I wouldn't have done it if I had the choice. I didn't lie. I just didn't tell the truth. That's the thing about poker anyway, right? God, I feel bad now.

Lexi: HER VOICE YA'LL. I feel like she's the new Seth Green of the series. The celebrity that will stay through the whole series (if there is one). Also, the fact that she and Joker are not interested in the main character and like someone else. EDI for Joker and Drack for Lexi. Anyway, I like her and if I didn't like her her voice is enough. Still, she's fun to talk to so far.

Kallo: He's a cutie. I'm really happy for him. Don't know wtf there is going on with him and Gil but w/e. He's a good pilot. Not too much of an opinion yet because I don't feel like I got to know him as much unfortunately but I'm exited to learn more about his personality!

Options so far (That I can think of):

More Emotional, More Formal

Cares about Dad (took heart options when it game to Alec)

Told truth to Scott about dad, lied about Andromeda Okay to be fair though I figured we'd get it better by the time he wakes up and I don't want him to lose hope after telling him his Dad died. I want him to pull through and you pull through with hope. I didn't want to lie and I kind of wish there was a third option because I didn't want to say ‘IT'S SUPER HORRIBLE LOL’ but I didn't want to say ‘IT'S AMAZING’ either. Just like 'We hit a few bumps but we're on our way to making it better'. Maybe the truthful option said that but it didn't seem like that from the text.

Lied to Gil about cheating  (look above to see explanation)

Set up Science outpost Female Ryder is all about the science, Liam and Vetra said science and Science will help more in the long run and help the people that are already here that are suffering.

Set the guy who 'committed the murder' free This was a hard one and I forgot his name so forgive me. But bottom line, he didn't do it. Whatever his intentions were he still didn't actually commit the crime. I do think there should have been punishment but he didn't need life or be executed because of something he didn't actually do.

And that's it so far! I'll give more thoughts later.

[ardently-faithful]

Dragonsblood treason and plot, 4

The ruffian spent a few moments consumed by his hearty laugh before he was able to peer down at her again. "You come to me with a job this crazy and expect me t' just accept it when you say you can't tell me your reasons? I'd already thought you had a few screws loose, but I can see now it's a lot more'n a few!"

Gentiane felt herself flush. "We are promising to pay very well -- and even compensate you for time spent on a failed attempt! Are such details really so important for you to know? The matter is very sensitive."

"That it's 'sensitive' only means I need to know even more," he rejoined, folding his arms. "I'm not so gil-blind that I'm prepared to risk the necks 'f my crew for an errand that I could well bring the angry guardsmen of four city-states down on us a fortnight after."

She pursed her lips, frowned, and finally fell into considering silence, and at long last, she decided that she had to relent. "I and my people," she began slowly, "are on, as it were, a mission of mercy -- for both man and dragon."

The captain arched a skeptical brow high. "Beg pardon, lady -- but what you just described to me didn't sound much of a mission of mercy for either."

"You don't understand." The image of rue played on her lips as she paused again, choosing her words with care. "I represent the interests of Ishgard, which, as you know, has successfully sued for peace with Dravania.

"But the dragons know as well as we do that the mere asking of forgiveness is easy, trivial; true repentance is hard. Even forgiveness is new to their kind; forgetting is entirely alien. So if we wish for this peace to outlast our children and whatever selfishness they may prove guilty of, we must give the dragons real proof of our contrition so that they may remember that man can redress the wrongs for which he was responsible."

"Them words're pretty enough, but I still don't see how this crazy job you have for us follows…"

She took in another long breath. "Azys Lla," she continued, "is the creation of Allag, and according to the Scions, the monsters populating it are the descendants of their slaves, so warped by twisted magic that even the dragons there have been reduced to naught but slavering beasts. Those same Scions have told us that brood is beyond saving -- that even their cousins in Dravania think the greatest mercy would be to put them down."

"Havin' seen one try to bite a chunk off a metal hull, I'm not sure I'd call their assessment that far off."

"You may think so -- but my people don't believe we should give up so easily. Dragons may eschew magic and medicine and call any wound that does not heal with time incurable; we mortals are not satisfied with that. The group I represent believe that, as long as a slim chance remains that there is some way to help these captive dragons, we are obligated to try, not only by the demands of humanity but by the hope that we may thus prove to the Dravanians that what man, through his cruelty and avarice, destroys, he may also, though his kindness and ingenuity, restore."

The man spent some time of his own thinking this over. "You almost startin' to make sense," he murmured at last, "but -- if this mission of yours is really all about peace and compassion, why all the secrecy? Why're you comin' to me for this and not fittin' out one of the fancy new 'ships comin' out of Haillenarte's Manufactory?"

"Because Ishgard is not as changed as people think. You're no fool; you know what it was like, just two turns past! The majority may be glad for peace with Dravania, but that hardly means they're all eager to make personal friends of dragons. Nevermind the traditionalist holdouts who'd pitch a fit or worse, if they found up what we're up to. And…" She trailed off, nibbling her lip. "And -- if our attempts to heal the damage done fail…"

"... You'll have tortured some poor dumb wyrm for nothin'."

She nodded slowly. "Or at least, that's what some will say. Gil and chirurgeons' labor, for nothing. So we must be as discreet as possible. There are too many eyes on the city proper; we don't want word to get out and for naysayers to shut us down before we've even made a first attempt."

He fell silent again; she watched, waited, wrung her hands. And at last, he fell into laughter once more. "Well, lady," he murmured once he could speak again, "I can't promise you anything."

"But?"

"But you've not failed completely at convincing me this awful job might actually prove a little interestin'."