#also I love when I pick dialogue options where I’m not mean or I help someone in need and I see all my party members disapprove of my choice

[manitapaleta]

If anyone’s wondering y I hardly post anymore it’s bc I been playing baldurs gate 💃🪩🕺

[absolutebl]

Best 23 of BL 2023 - Quirky Awards

SHOCK & AWE AWARDS

1. Biggest BL surprise of 2023:

The last 3 months of 2023 in general got my biggest WTF award.

GMMTV fielding OffGun AND TayNew in the same quarter while also airing Last Twilight (arguably one of their best BLs ever)

That they ALSO optioned 3 JBLs

That there's a high heat omegaverse BL staring Pavel

That there were 20 BLs airing and none of them Korean.

With 5 VAMPIRE BLs announced for next year

But my prize in this category goes to My Dear Gangster Oppa.

It's just crazy:

Thai talent, Korean money + IP (this is adapted from a manwha) airing on a Chinese channel (iQIYI). Plus it was GOOD and made smart reuse of a pair who richly deserved it. I'm delighted by the eclectic insanity of this production. And wonder if any other film genre could even do anything like this.

2. The “that country did WHAT?” award:

The 8th Sense from Korea?!

I mean, seriously?! Dealing with metal health, suicide, darkness, therapy, age gap, & first time love BUT FROM KOREA? And then openness and casual boyfriend physical affection? What's next? An actual hard fought coming out narrative with an HEA? Gay domesticity and families?

Careful Korea, you'll strain something. Possibly your own culture and film industry.

I should stop having expectations of Korea, they keep surprising me.

Runners up: Korea letting OnlyOneOf do Bump Up Business not to mention that OmegaX thing. AND Korea adapting Why R U? What are you up to, Korea? Qua? Is this a coded message? Should we send help? Do you need snacks?

3. Biggest casting whoa! where did you come from? award:

GeminiFourth in My School President.

Seriously? Babies what? How did GMMTV find you? How do you exist? How is BL this lucky?

4. That studio did WHAT now? award:

GMMTV putting EarthMix into Moonlight Chicken.

And then doubling down with G4 as the damn sides.

Fucking genius.

5. I’m sad you were ignored award:

Destiny Seeker.

It's just a really fun little Thai pulp, the pairs were good, silly dialogue, plus consent and other good rep. I enjoyed it. No one talked about it AT ALL.

6. 2023 BL That Actually Made Me Lose My Mind Award?

Laws of Attraction. -The casting, the crazy story, the soapy drama! But specifically: Film playing Charn - the range of his smiles alone. GLORIOUS

I mean I Feel You Linger in the Air also sparked something in me, but LoA drove me actually nuts.

NARRATIVE AWARDS

7. Best story 2023:

La Pluie

I know, you're surprised, right? At the time I didn't chat much about it but I really enjoyed the discourse others were having. I love anything that really examines the fated mates (soulmates) trope and the idea of "the one". What a clever way to do that. (This is one reason UWMA is my favorite Thai BL.)

This one reminded me of the way Color Rush approached allegory and that's no bad thing. Such an impressive little piece.

8. Best narrative structure 2023 award:

Unintentional Love Story.

I know this may seem a simplistic pick. But I love the tidiness of this no frills contemporary romance, how the culture of work and personal ethics and corruption fight against the main character's affection and integrity. Poor baby boy is driven into a corner and then punished for it. But it is punishment he feels he deserves, and so it is up to his (now) ex to figure out what went wrong and why.

It's just great. I love it when no one is stupid or wrong, it's just impossible circumstances and unintentional love deeply felt.

9. Best 2023 dialogue (script) award:

Jun & Jun

Never before has Korea laced a BL with that much perfectly executed innuendo. It was a master class. I didn't know you could be that lascivious in Korean, quite frankly. Plus the way the 2 Juns constantly seamlessly transition between formal register (work, public - where they are boss/employee) to informal register (when they are alone and age mates + childhood sweethearts).

Beautiful to hear and watch.

10. Favorite scene 2023:

The dub con scene in I Cannot Reach You because I AM TRASH for an out of control seme. I'm sorry I just AM.

I have said it before, I will say it again, NO ONE DOES THIRST like Japan. And when that thirst bubbles over, it is heart-clenching and very hot.

11. The most rewatchable BL of 2023 award:

Our Dating Sim

That scene where they lie on the floor + the stolen kiss + giggle? Come on, it should be on comfort repeat in war rooms. It could bring world peace.

ACTORS & CHARACTERS AWARDS

12. Best performance of a queer actor in a leading role, 2023:

Fluke in Make a Wish.

It was fun to see him as an irreverent immortal and while I love OhmFluke I also really enjoyed this new pairing. It was a genuine pleasure to watch.

13. Best pining 2023:

The moot pining in Tokyo in April is...

Boys, seriously? Japan must you destroy us like this? Hurts so good.

14. Best wingman 2023 (The Namgoong Award)

Tiw from My School President

I mean, come on, of course it's him!

(Also can you believe Mark went on from this to do fricking Only Friends!? To Last Twilight! Come on GMMTV GIVE HIM A LEAD!)

15. Biggest OMG I LOVE you boys together, YAY!

Dimpled McMafia & Feral Bunny Foo Foo from Kiseki Dear to Me.

They were feral for each other.

We were feral for them

It was a whole delightful THING.

16. Most unexpected return of a BL pair? award:

The Private Lessons pair showing up in Love Class 2.

I know it was only a cameo, but SERIOUSLY? Thank you SO MUCH Korea! A big studio picking up a Strongberry pairing? I love you.

Seriously tho between them, Taiwan & Korea tried for ALL THE CAMEOS this year.

17. Well aren't you two just the prettiest? award:

NetJames in Bed Friend.

Need I say more?

18. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Bah Vinh in Vian & Mr Cinderella 2. I did like either show but I loved him in them. Especially the make outs.

Yes you have chemistry with all the boys in Vietnam and you kiss beautifully. But it's okay now honey, you have the crown. Relax, you're stressing us out.

RANDOM PICKS

19. Favorite Linguistic Moment of 2023:

Our Dating Sim

Caught in the act by the elevator scene. OMG it's so funny. They're being such boyfriend shits to each other, and to be caught in the act by THAT character, and try to manifest formal language whole cloth? Hilarious.

Honorable mention to War Peanuts in Destiny Seeker.

20. Biggest disappointment of 2023:

You Are Mine

Seriously Taiwan, AGAIN you disappoint me with an Office BL? You're Taiwan, land of offices and suits. This should be YOUR SETTING TO WIN. And yet... argh. I mean it wasn't bad. But it wasn't good either. Stop it Taiwan, do better.

Runners up? Between Us, Chains of Heart, Dangerous Romance - this was a HOTLY contested category.

+ 2 Winners in the sub-category of FUCK YOU FOR THAT ENDING award:

The Director who Buys Me Dinner - I mean this nicely but: you have your lane now Korea, stop hurting us, that's Japan's responsibility and they do it better.

I Feel You Linger In the Air - I'm just hugely disappointed. Thailand ALMOST got its second 10/10 from me, but that damn ending.

Argh.

21. Best Wardrobe/Prop Use 2023

The shower of packaged bedsheets in My Personal Weatherman

Amazing. Brilliant. No notes.

22. Best Queer Rep 2023

Chot in Step By Step

In fact, all the queer characters in this show were treated with great integrity.

AND props to this cast for refusing to do fan service. GOOD FOR YOU! Fuck those sasang wankers.

Runners up? The found family cast of Love in Translation and the Rainbow Rice Cakes in The New Employee.

23. Best Meta Trope call out

Tin Tem Jai

Come on, what a zinger, but at themselves (and Taiwan)

Final question: which of the 23 was the hardest for me to pick?

Honestly? Question #1 this year. But also question #20.

(Last year: 2022's Version) 

Remember I only pull from shows that were completely finished by the end of 2023. Or The Sign probably would have taken multiple categories. But it will fall into 2024 offerings.

(source)

[glorysbox]

your writing is so good??? how!!! i’m not sure how specific is too specific, but i would absolutely love to see your take on a nsfw one shot about reader who was recently broken up with and got super used to her ex bf being super selfish and stuff during sex and somehow that comes up with your friend Leon and he offers to show you how sweet sex can actually be with someone who actually cares about your enjoyment!!!

leon x afab!reader (female pronouns)

wc: 2.2k

warnings: explicitly 18+, college aged reader + leon, established friendship, pining from leon, leon is a lil jelly, oral (f-receiving), dialogue heavy

Your best friend, Leon, is a sweetheart. No matter what it is that you're going through, he's always there for you.

That extends to this very moment—where the both of you are sat on the couch of your one-person dorm, watching TV in attempt to drown the stinging feeling of your breakup. Or... trying to, at least. In reality, you've been venting to him about the sorry state of your now failed relationship. You have all of his attention, of course. You always do.

"I should've listened to you the first time," You mumble, head resting on the shoulder of your best friend, tone laced with sadness. Leon's warmth is comforting, a welcome reprieve to the icebox that is your dorm. "You were right. He was a jerk. A selfish jerk."

"Selfish?" He wraps his arm around you, pulling you closer. His chest is just as, if not more comfortable than his shoulder. You take the opportunity to shift closer to him, settling yourself in his arms... just like old times, really. He's lucky his hair covers the bright red of his ears at the feeling of you sitting on his lap. "L—like... how?"

"He was just... selfish," You mutter, sniffling for a few moments as you absentmindedly toy with the hem of his shirt. "It was always about him. He never bought me anything or made me feel special or..." He notes the way you trail off, icy blue eyes trained on the pretty features of your face as his heart squeezes at the sight of your frown. He really did try to tell you... he also wanted to tell you that you could do so much better with him.

"Or?"

"He never..." You pause for a moment, gnawing on your bottom lip in attempt to find a tactful way to tell Leon the truth. He's your best friend, though. You can tell him anything, right?

"Never...?"

"... you know. When we were... together, he never really... took care of me. Helped me," Your voice drops in volume. "finish."

"Oh."

There's silence for what feels like forever. With your head leaning on his chest, you can feel his heart rate picking up—matching the pace of your own heart. Leon is having an internal conflict right now. His mind feels fuzzy, his hands are clammy—and most importantly, he's as hard as a rock in his red-and-black checkered pajama pants. Go for it, He tells himself, The worst she could say is no. Be a man.

"S—so you've never..." He swallows, Adam's Apple visibly bobbing. "He never, uh... got you to cum?"

"I feel like you're making fun of me."

"No! No. I'm not, I swear. I was just asking. Well, I wanted to know because—well, I..." Leon swallows again, face turning red, as his eyes dart across your room. Posters, the TV, your bed, anything that's not your face. "I—I just... you know. I'm not selfish."

"...what is that supposed to mean?"

"I just... I know he was your first, and everything, but..." He wishes he was your first. "You know, sex isn't all selfish. I could, uh... show you, maybe—you don't have to say yes or anything. Just... letting you know that the option is there."

"O—oh..." The air of the dorm room is suddenly uncomfortably stuffy at Leon's offer—you find yourself no longer nervously playing with his shirt, instead playing with your own hands. He thinks it's cute. Not like he'd say that, though—in his mind, he's already fucked up too much.

"Just.... just forget it. Forget I said anything. Uh... sorry," Leon swallows again—a nervous tick of his—as he avoids your gaze after the nervous stuttered words fall from his lips. His mind is racing now—Was this a mistake? She doesn't even see me that way, does she? Did I just fuck up our friendship?

"No! No—it's okay. I'm not... mad or anything." You still avoid his gaze, face disturbingly hot at the prospect of your best friend since forever making you cum. "Um, actually..."

"Yeah?" It's hard to not notice the way he instantly perks up at your response—blue eyes widening and trained on you and facial expression akin to an excited puppy.

"... it... won't change anything between us, right? Because I—"

"No! No, it won't. I swear... it can be a one and done type thing. Just... I can help show you how it's supposed to be done...?" Leon doesn't even really sound sure of himself. He can't even really think, actually—his cock is throbbing so hard that his mind is all jumbled. All he can think about is how you'd look under those clothes. Deep down, though, he really does just want to make you happy. He loves you, after all. As a friend. "Yeah."

You'd be lying if you said your panties weren't soaked through right now.

"Okay... well... show me..." And Leon wastes no time reaching for you, shuffling so that you're situated under him on the couch. His hands tug at the thick material of the sweatshirt you're wearing—his sweatshirt. He makes quick work of it, pulling it over your head and tossing it on the arm of the couch. Big hands run up and down your body, taking a moment to savor the softness of your skin. Something he's wanted to do for a long, long time. He pauses, looking you in the eyes. You feel vulnerable under his gaze.

"Just... tell me if I'm making you uncomfortable in any way. We could stop." His hands, then, continue to feel along your body. Leon hesitates for a few moments—but you feel his hands ghosting along the skin of your breasts. He's gentle. He always is with you. "Can I?"

He waits patiently, focusing on the expressions of your face, hands pressed on your ribcage. He's handsome like this, you realize. Leon was always handsome to you—and everyone else—but to see his face flushed, pupils blown, and lip red and bitten for you is... something else. You nod, and Leon takes the opportunity to give your breasts a tight squeeze. Another thing he's wanted to do to you for a long time.

"You're beautiful," He comments, absentmindedly, hand traveling to the hem of your matching blue-and-black checkered pajama pants. He fiddles with the hem of it, half teasing and half awkward fumbling. It's not long before he's pulled them out from under you, tossing them across the room in a subdued fervor. "That guy is really missing out."

"You—" A gasp slips from your lips as you can feel Leon's finger gliding along the cloth of your panties—light in pressure as he drags it down from your clit to the hole. "D—don't have to... bring him up."

"I want to," He leans forward, lips pressing on your own with certain softness. His lips are cool as they meet yours, and they taste like ice cream. You're sure yours do too, considering the fact that you were both drowning in it just a few moments ago and watching a movie that's long been forgotten. "He's a good reminder that you should listen to me more often."

You mumble a shut up that gets lost in the sea of kisses he places on your lips.

"Did he touch you like this?" Leon questions in a low tone. His finger drags over the cloth of your panties again, his eyes trained on the dark-colored wet spot that stains them. You watch him, eyes half lidded, noting the way his tongue darts out across his bottom lip with each motion he makes up and down your clothed pussy.

You nod.

"Were you wet like this for him, too?" You swear there's an undercurrent of jealousy in his tone.

You shake your head.

"Good." His tone is slightly clipped as he hooks a finger under the crotch of your panties. Once more, he drags up and down your folds—collecting the sticky slick that's seeping out of you more each minute. A needy moan slips from your lips. One that he's desperate to hear more of. His free hand pulls on the hem of your panties, slipping them out from under you.

"C'mere." He mutters, gripping the underside of your ass to pull you further on your back. Leon drags you closer to him, hands resting on the skin of your hips as he lowers himself down.

It takes a few moments in your horny-induced brain fog to realize that he's about to eat you out—the only thing snapping your mind out of it is the feeling of his cool breath fanning on your folds. You grab his hair quickly, stopping him from dipping into uncharted territory.

He hates to admit that he might've whimpered a little at the feeling.

"H—hey... Leon, you don't have to... I—I mean, it's... embarrassing—can't you just finger me or something?" You question, voice meek and legs threatening to close at the sudden wave of nervousness washes over you. You trust Leon. With your life... but still. Being this exposed...

"Embarrassing?" He questions, hands gripped around your thighs to prevent them from closing any further. One eyebrow of his is raised. "It's not embarrassing. You're hot."

"That's—" You pinch the bridge of your nose. "I'm just... he never—"

"I thought you didn't want to bring him up anymore." It's hard to miss the hunger that burns in his gaze, evident in the way he looks at you. You think maybe, just this once, it won't be so bad to let Leon be right for once. Loosening your grip on his hair, you very slowly and hesitantly open your legs for him once more.

He settles, bringing his head further in the valley between your thighs. Leon even goes as far as to pepper kisses along the soft skin of your inner thigh—which only makes your hips uncontrollably squirm at the feeling of him teasing you. You don't even realize the way you're holding your breath.

"So pretty," He mutters again. Your face only just feels hotter at this—not even from the fact that his face is buried in between your thighs, but from the genuine way that he's complimenting you. You're aching, by now—your arousal leaving little trails where it drips down onto the couch. "I'm the only one that can do this to you."

You mean to question what he means by that, but the words escape you at the feeling of his tongue dragging along your slick folds. The words you want to say come out as a whiny moan—something you would've been far more embarrassed about if you were cognizant right now. You're not. Too focused on the feeling of his tongue languidly working over your folds; collecting the wetness that now dribbles down his chin. Your hand unconsciously reaches for his hair again, tangling in the dirty-blonde locks as an anchor.

Leon's tongue laps at you, prodding at your needy hole—lips wrapping around the bud of your clit and sucking lightly. His fingers are dug into the meat of your ass, keeping you in place—pulling you closer as he drowns himself in your pussy.

There's nothing that compares to this, truly. The feeling of Leon's tongue on yours, the sight of him in between your thighs, the eye contact you make with his eyes half lidded and pupils dangerously blown.

His tongue is merciless against you, breaching the tightness of your hole one time too many; your hips bucking against his face and moans freely falling from your lips at the sensation. Your best friend is really, really good at this. Of course he is. He's only imagined doing this to you about a thousand times.

"L—Leon, I can't—feels good, 'm gonna—" Each thought is cut off by another, your hips writhing under him with no escape. You're hovering on the edge of something, vision going spotty and body trembling and shuddering on it's own. The taut grip of your fingers tighten in his dirty brown strands—earning an especially hard suck from his lips to your clit. Leon's motions grow needier, tongue rubbing sloppy circles on your clit as your thighs clamp around his head. He's not even using his fingers and you're this close to cumming. It's too much.

It's not even been five minutes, and you're already tugging on Leon's hair as you cum on his face. Pulling him closer; pushing him away—you don't know what you want. You can't think—the feeling of your aching pussy throbbing too much as it clenches around nothingness and spasms on his tongue. You cum hard, and it washes over you in waves. You moan something that sounds similar to his name and an oh god please—unintelligible as his hands dig into the fat of your ass.

Leon laps at your folds through your orgasm, desperate to collect any of your slick arousal left. It's only a few moments after that you're really pushing him from the place between your legs.

"You're..." He's dazed. His face is covered in your wetness—his tongue darting out to collect what's left on his lips. "You taste amazing." He really wants to tell you that he'd live in between your thighs if you'd let him... but for now, Leon decides to take it slowly.

And you? You've forgotten all about your ex-boyfriend.

[ddarker-dreams]

Hi! I have a question, you can ignore this if you want to but I’ve found myself really loving the way you write and the range of writing you can articulate as well. Speaking from someone who is nowhere close to that level of skill you possess, would you mind being able to explain your journey of writing, if you practiced any particular methods or anything else to get to this stage you are at right now? Unless you have been gifted the talent of writing from birth and didn’t need to try for much long or long enough to call it a journey. Could you also spare some tips and advice for someone who wants to start writing stories and what to look into/practice?

I love your work a lot and I am constantly waiting for the notification of your new posts, despite not being a writer myself I do love breaking down and analysing writing and your stories are always such good options for me to look into. Thank you so much for writing and sparing your time to produce such well done pieces of work — I felt extremely corny writing this, excuse me for this language, I promise I’m not a pimp!

THIS ISN'T CORNY AT ALL!!!! ❌🌽❌!!!!

i'm deeply grateful for all your kind words, thank you so so much 😭

i don't mean this in a self-deprecating way, but i've never considered myself a gifted or super incredible writer, i just get hype about story ideas and try to make them as good as i can. due to that, i start sweating when people ask for advice because i don't consider myself qualified... i do have a writing advice tag, but take everything i say with a grain of salt!! if it's fanfic literally all that matters is that you enjoy whatever you're writing.

i'm more than happy to share my writing journey though!! it's kinda fun to reminiscence.

i've loved reading and writing ever since i was a little lock. while thinking about this ask, it occurred to me that what i've always been the most invested in are the characters. i'd think about 275894275 different storylines with them. i didn't start writing fanfic until i was around 11 though, everything was handwritten. or in flipnote hatena.

i did a lot of fanfic writing from 11-14 buuuut then my interest in it kinda fizzled out. it wasn't until i watched hxh for the first time that i took it up again bc chrollo is that powerful. that's when i started conceptualizing HWR. i looked at my early writing folder, the first HWR fanfic i wrote was in 2016 when i was 15 ?? here's a cursed excerpt:

anyway, once i started making googly eyes at chrollo, it was gg. i've been writing often ever since.

what's helped me the most is to focus on the elements i find interesting. for example, i like fleshing out my MCs, focusing on dialogue, and developing a universe around the main pairing. because i enjoy this so much it's (mostly) always easy to devote time and effort toward it.

so i think it comes down to finding out what niches you like and working with those. some writers prefer to write with heavy prose, others are more succinct, some writers like dialogue, others prefer to be more action based... etc etc. this does require a little time if you're completely new to writing, but you know yourself best. you'll eventually pick up on what part of the story you're most excited to write.

this isn't particularly mind-blowing or anything but i hope it helps some 😭 what completely Altered my mindset was when i realized i can be as self-indulgent as humanly possible. cringe is not in my vocabulary. write a MC where every single character is in love with them if you want. write a 100k word fic about your OC being isekaid into x world. post about your f/os, draw art of you with your fav, go ham.

[rottenbrainstuff]

BG3 playthrough: continuing through the underdark

Spoilers.

Finished the arcane tower, read all the books and notes, got a hug from the automaton that’s been programmed to comfort Lenore. Dang every single NPC in this game is sad and lonely and haunted. Is there any NPC here that isn’t horribly tortured?... so many sad little notes and journals and books lying around, so many sad little stories that are just footnotes at the bottom of the main plot. And I’ve only just started, the REALLY sad stuff hasn’t even HAPPENED yet. Sigh.

Man. The more I think about it though, the more sad Lenore makes me. All her lonely little notes, the sad little poems she wrote, all the things she lost, lost her partner, her friends, even her dog, so lonely she programmed herself a clockwork friend, and who knows what even happened to her in the end. Oh Lenore. Oh this game.

Kudos to the most confusing corpse I’ve talked to in the game yet! (which would be the half-crushed drow by the wall of mushrooms) After looking around, it was quickly apparent what he was talking about, but I loved the few minutes where I had no fucking clue what the hell he meant about how throwing his backpack caused him to fall because it was too light and mushrooms and things disappearing and what?... I liked the little easter egg journal he was carrying that mentioned Drizzt Do’urden’s mother. And of COURSE all of that mushroom bullshit is Ethel’s doing, even from beyond the grave she’s still messing me up, lmao.

I just realized the lyre I looted from Minthara’s corpse after the siege is the fucking harp that calls Kar’niss in the shadowlands. It was pretty so I equipped it. I’ve just been running around playing my bard tunes on it this whole time lmao. Wouldn’t it have been funny if I only found that out when I went to play it later in the game and suddenly a goddamned drider shows up for my performance? (btw can’t wait to meet him, he sounds absolutely heartbreaking, like, fuck, game. Why are you trying so hard to make me so specifically sad??????)

After backtracking and NOT torching the entire bibberbang field, I decided to give the noblestalk to Derryth. It sounds like I’ll be able to buy more from her later in act 3 if I do that. (dark urge gets some flavour, haha, if you eat it. Apparently you can also give it to Shadowheart, but I wasn't able to... bug? not sure. Will worry about the noblestalk later.)

I’m at the Grymforge now, getting overwhelmed by how much stuff there is and how many areas there are. There continues to be interesting little pepperings of special dark urge dialogue options, but I do wish there were maybe just a litttttttle bit more… closer to the beginning of the game I liked how there was a dark urge option for so many dialogues, it really was like having these horrible intrusive thoughts constantly whispering to you to do the horrible thing. It’s slowed to a simmer now. Still fun though! The duergar are absolutely terrible and it’s hilarious. Once again, I have my murder-is-fun team of Astarion, Shadowheart and Lae’zel with me, who are approving of every mean dialogue option I choose - you guys know I’m NOT really going to buy a slave, right? You’re approving of my clever manipulation of the dialogue, right? RIGHT GUYS???

Couldn’t help but notice though that Astarion is already getting noticeably less cranky about my decisions to help people out, even if he still has to make a token show about disagreeing (ie, his hilarious reaction to me saying I intended to free Nere), and he even approved of me refusing to help Glut attack the myconid colony. I really don’t quite get the people complaining that he’s hard to romance without playing an evil route. What are y’all doing / not doing that’s messing things up? I’m at 97 approval currently and haven’t left act 1 yet and haven’t picked any evil options that I didn’t want to pick. I HAVE sent him back to camp a few times when I knew he wouldn’t like what I was doing, ie agreeing to help the tieflings, but honestly I do that for all the companions. I send Shadowheart and Astarion away when I’m going to agree to help. I send Gale and Karlach away when I’m going to pretend to be the big mean drow in the enemy camp. Even if I didn’t do that, I would still have a high approval for him. Besides a couple specific spots, dialogue disapprovals are almost always just a -1, and that’s not a large enough amount to seriously mess up your romance if you’re not making the effort to switch the team around. I dunno what you guys are doing that makes it so hard?.....

I know everyone talks about how sad it is that Astarion can’t walk in the sun anymore at the end of the game… I dunno. I totally understand missing the sun, but damn if my drow boy isn’t going to try his hardest to show Astarion everything beautiful and colourful and brilliant in the underdark, how beautiful life can be even without the sun.

Shovel is hilarious, 11 out of 10 A+++ would recommend, I wish I tried her scroll ages ago. I have her following around Astarion right now and I’m sure he’s absolutely delighted by his horrible little henchthing.

[alynnl]

Live A Live Remake: Thoughts

It’s been roughly three weeks since I played through all of the Live A Live remake for the Switch.  It was a fun little game, just way shorter than what I’m used to.  I’m going to give my thoughts on all the different eras, as well as the final area.  Spoilers ahead, as I will be talking about all chapters and endgame!  I will be talking about every era in terms of gameplay and story.

Prehistory: Out of all of them, this one plays the most like a standard fantasy RPG.  You fight monsters to get healing items and materials to forge better weapons.  You have a party with their strengths and weaknesses, and of course a final boss showdown at the end of the chapter.

Story-wise it’s also pretty typical of RPGs.  Boy meets girl, girl has problems, boy tries helping girl and also gets into problems, girl gets captured, boy saves her, boy and his friends fight big monster, and they live happily ever after.  The twist to prehistory is that all of this is told without words and dialogue, so the story is instead told by emotes and gestures.  I thought that was a great creative decision, and it makes me believe that this is a time before words as we know them.  Pogo as a character is kind of endearing, but not gonna lie, he’s also thirsty if ya know what I mean.

Imperial China:  Gameplay wise, this one also has more of a JRPG flavor.  You have your main character, you have three others who can join your party at first, and then you have encounters that you can avoid, and items to gather.  It also plays on the “duel” mechanic some RPGs have, where there are one-on-one fights against opponents.

This one plays on a lot of kung fu movie tropes from what I can see.  You have the wise mentor and then the promising disciples, and the whole idea of what it means to be a martial artist.  There are people who use their kung fu for good reasons and bad, it all depends on the heart of the person.  The plot twist of only one disciple surviving an attack from a rival dojo (really, a gang if you think about it) was handled really well, and it’s interesting that the player has a choice and the survivor is not scripted for later replays.  The Earthen Heart Shifu himself is not portrayed as perfect and he makes mistakes, but overall he is a man who just wants his style of martial arts to live on.

The Twilight of Edo Japan: The gameplay mechanics in this one are very interesting.  It’s a mix between RPG combat and stealth, and you really have the option to pick your battles, so to say.  Then there’s a counter showing how many lives you’ve taken in battle, and even when you’re forced into a fight, there’s the option to run away.  One can do a “kill ‘em all” run, a pacifist run, or a neutral run.

Story-wise we’re given all the trappings of any Japanese fantasy.  There’s clans fighting one another, ninjas, and samurai.  (Although it’s pretty cool that the playable samurai in this one also has a gun, which is accurate for the time period!)  It’s a story about shaping Japan’s future.  Whether it’s a new dawn or storm clouds are on the horizon is up to you.  Either way, Oboromaru takes his role as a shinobi seriously and he’s determined to see his mission through.

The Wild West: I wanted to like this chapter.  I wanted to love this chapter.  But gameplay wise it was very difficult for a first-time player.  Because right after you see the cutscenes and you're introduced to the characters and the town, you have a timed mission.  That’s right, a timed mission to set traps before the boss and his cronies come, and if you don’t set enough traps correctly, you will have a monster of a boss fight on your hands.  I will be up front and say I used a guide because sometimes, that’s how you have to get things done.

Story-wise I did like this chapter though.  That’s what it’s got going for it, despite the difficulty curve.  Sundown doesn’t know any of the people in the town of Success, but he’s still willing to stop there and lend a hand and help them deal with a band of outlaws that have been terrorizing them.  There’s some back and forth between him and his rival, Mad Dog that I really enjoy, and there’s a choice you can make in the ending (to flee the last duel and spare Mad Dog) that makes it just worth it to replay at least one more time.

Present Day:  Gameplay wise, Present day is  like a fighting game.  Think Street Fighter, or Tekken but with the twist that you get to learn your opponents’ techniques if they use them on you.  I like how you get unlimited tries to do this, so that you can learn every skill your rivals have to offer (I know I wanted to get them all.)  The boss at the end is challenging enough to make it interesting, but if you picked up all the skills, he’s not unbeatable.

Story-wise, it’s fairly simple.  Masaru wants to be the strongest warrior, so  he challenges masters of various martial arts to learn from them and use their techniques.  It’s implied that he’s always going to be fighting for this title of The Strongest, as he faces another challenger immediately after the boss.  I think I get what the story was going for.  Being the best is a constant struggle, and sooner or later, someone else is going to rise to the top.

The Near Future: This one reminded me a bit of modern day Golden Sun!  You have different elemental powers that you use in battle, and you’re also able to read others’ minds and find out different flavor text from them.  There’s also a hint of Magitek gameplay when you get control of the Steel Titan later on.  All around solid, easy to pick up gameplay that sometimes makes you feel really powerful.

Plot-wise, I really enjoyed this story.  But that’s only because I love mecha in general and it fills me with a lot of nostalgia.  At first Akira isn’t sure what to do with his life and he’s sort of an outcast for the whole “reading minds” deal, but then he’s able to prove himself a hero when he finally takes control of the Steel Titan and goes to smack a corrupted God back into oblivion.  Imagine conspiring to bring back a mad god, only to have a mouthy mind-reading punk pound it with mecha.  Amazing.

The Distant Future:  Gameplay wise it’s a lot of dialogue, looking for clues, and later, running.  Essentially it plays like a futuristic survival horror.  There’s a conspiracy and it’s up to you to find clues to uncover it, all while being chased by a monster that will meet you with instant death if it touches you.  You have no weapons, just places to hide.

Story wise I swear it felt like Space Odyssey: 2001 the video game.  You have a crew who go in and out of cryo-sleep, you have inventors and you have an AI gone rogue.  There is discord among the crew and a sort of whodunit plot, and it all culminates in a confrontation with the computer OD-10, that decides it was going to murder people because they weren’t working in perfect harmony.  Cube has to fight for their life, and the lives of the two remaining survivors: their creator Kato and the soldier Darthe (who despised Cube at first but opens up to them later.)  Ultimately Cube’s story values the robot’s kindness over any physical strength or violence.

The Medieval Era: Gameplay wise you couldn’t get more standard of an RPG at first.  You’re in a fantasy medieval setting, with your main character Oersted being a knight who goes on a quest to rescue the princess Alethea from a demon lord that was defeated by a great hero in the past.  There is the “epic quest” aspect of the gameplay, traveling the world, finding party members and fighting random encounters.  Even after the plot happens and the party members dwindle, the swords and sorcery gameplay remains.

Story wise, I got spoiled.  But I was still in awe to actually see it on screen.  What I expected was a happy Dragon Quest like fantasy, where the hero saved the princess with the help of his friends and everyone lived happily ever after.  What I got instead was a Shakespearean tragedy.  In the course of the story, everyone important to Oersted either betrays him or dies, sometimes both at the same time.  All of the loss, hatred and pain leads Oersted, once champion of his realm into becoming the Lord of Dark himself, lashing out against everyone who wronged him with newfound dark power.  It is heartbreaking to see his attempts to do the right thing at every turn just backfire against him, making it almost understandable that he is driven to villainy (although hermit life could’ve also been an option and I’ll stand by that as an AU possibility.)

The Final Chapter: Plot-wise and gameplay wise, it feels very open world.  The protagonists from the different eras are brought together in the Dominion of Hate, which is just Oersted’s former kingdom brought to ruin.  Technically the only place you have to go is the dark mountain to face off against Odio (who’s completely taken over Oersted by now.)  But the different areas of the ruined kingdom and all the different trials your seven protagonists can take on really put me in mind of Ocarina of time and the Sages’ temples.  Every trial you take on gives you an ultimate weapon for that character, which is crucial to the ending.  And whoever you choose to lead the finale will personally confront Oersted after you do the true final boss battle.  There are so many different ways the final chapter could go, and each one is worth exploring.

[apompkwrites]

reader impact || first meeting: archon edition

series masterlist characters: venti, zhongli genre: fluff summary: a game has been released entitled genshin impact, consisting of otherworldly abilities relying on the basic elements of nature. the game follows the story of an interdimensional traveling twin in search of their other half. along this journey, they meet different characters that live in this world. including you. notes: i still don't know if this will be a series but last post would've been too long if i had all four in one

venti's playthrough -

hoo boy, venti's streams would be VERY chaotic.

this boy has nothing to tie him down except for his own mortality, but will that stop him? no.

lots of late night or early morning streams because his sleep schedule is practically nonexistent.

he does a lot of singing or storytelling streams, which is why the time is perfect.

he'll sing lullabies and read bedtime stories at night. in the morning, he'll sing soft songs to wake up his viewers and talk about the rare dreams he'd have once he passes out.

he'll also have drinking streams where he just drinks as much as he can. he's a drunkard, what can i say?

anyway, gaming is something he isn't opposed to, but mainly ones with music or just pure crackhead energy.

when his viewers suggest genshin impact, he'd be somewhat hesitant?

he needs games that are chaotic and filled with energy to keep his attention.

his mods and viewers, however, are able to convince him because of a certain drunken character.

as soon as he sees the non-spoiled description of your character, he's off to download.

he actually enjoys a lot of the adventure aspects of the game, even if he's known as a lazy streamer.

anyway, his viewers definitely should have warned him about your appearance.

they never told him you were such a cute character!

"don't be afraid. it's alright now, i'm back."

"HASGDGSJFK"

he shrieked when you started talking.

"HOW ARE THEY SO CUTE?!?!"

he gets sad when his character sets off dvalin...

you disappear and your dragon friend flies off... now venti's just sad he might've made you upset.

he's pouting the whole way through mondstadt, thinking of ways to make it up to you.

he doesn't care if you're a video game character, he loves you nonetheless.

and once dvalin shows up in mondstadt, he's genuinely excited. he knows your bound to appear again because your friend is here.

when you help venti fly behind dvalin, his chat is teasing him because of the grin on his face.

he's so soft for you, man...

he will spend hours just ranting about you when he's going through the domains with the standard characters.

when he finds the other statues in mondstadt, he likes to climb up it to admire your archon design.

even though he's known you for a few minutes, he will automatically recognize your face in the game.

he knows it's annoying but he can't help but ask his chat if he'll get to see you again soon. he really doesn't want to spend hours without hearing you and seeing you in game.

he likes to yell at paimon whenever she makes fun of you

he shrieks again when he sees you running past the fountain.

he almost cries when he sees you playing your lyre for the first time.

you're perfect in his eyes and all he wants is to spend every minute of this game with you.

although, he did have to take a break the first time he saw your archon form illustrated.

you just... look like an angel and his body can't handle that.

he loves listening to your tales. like the battle pass story that occurs every time it renews, he never skips it. soon, he'll memorize it and recite it with you once it appears.

"oh! i remember you two. you both scared dvalin away!"

"I'M SORRY"

please forgive him. he knows you won't because the game doesn't require it, but he decides to always call stormterror dvalin to make up for it.

"ah, right! i haven't introduced myself... i'm (name) the bard!"

please this boy is so smitten for a video game character.

when you're revealed to be the archon, he's not too surprised? i mean, he already recognized you from the statue.

he is so excited to steal the lyre for you.

it takes him a bit, though, just because he has a bad attention span and ends up revealing his location.

he's even more excited to learn you're a regular at diluc's tavern.

he would do anything to drink with you.

he'll reluctantly end the game there just because it's time for his bedtime songs/stories.

"i'll be back tomorrow, (name), my love! i promise!"

zhongli's playthrough -

zhongli's a really good streamer even when he doesn't try to be.

he is basically the king of just chatting streams.

daily tea times and storytime streams are a go!

his voice is what lures them in and his charm is what traps them there.

he's still poor, though...

he relies on the donations from his viewers but he always expresses his gratitude.

man's respectful, what can i say?

anyway, he does play games every now and then. he doesn't tend to enjoy fighting games though.

although, he's rather good at them... for some reason.

his gaming streams tend to be a lot longer because he picks games with an overarching story.

i'm talking long games like night in the woods, detroit: become human, really any long game with deep meanings and stories.

his viewers will pay for him to just sit there and read to them.

anyway, someone donates to him and recommends he play genshin impact because of the long story and hidden lore.

he definitely enjoyed the beginning of the story, but got even more attached once he reached liyue.

he seems very intrigued when he begins the quest by watching liyue's archon fall dead on the ground.

he would definitely go on a long rant about gods and goddesses that have fallen.

when he meets childe, he does take a liking to him.

now, this man is known for being stoic and serious, so it comes as a surprise when he almost loses his composure when you appear.

keyword being almost.

he manages to stay composed but his chat knows for a fact he's freaking out over you.

your fancy suit/dress reminds him of the anthropological tales of gods/goddesses and kings/queens.

let this man drink tea with you please--

"it is an honor to meet you. i have heard tell of you from mondstadt."

"... they have quite the pleasant voice."

his chat is going wild at this point.

they get to listen to two heavenly voices talk to each other at the same time?! it's a dream come true!

another man that will let your long lines of dialogue play, listening intently to the stories you tell his character.

he actually really likes the image of his character talking to you.

he's so short compared to you--

he also really likes your animation when you're standing still.

not your idle animations, even though those are really nice as well. i'm talking about the movement of your clothes when your character is standing there. it's just so... soothing to him.

the gradient of your hair color to your elemental gnosis is also a nice detail to him. he likes how there are subtle ways archons look compared to normal citizens in teyvat.

when he finds out you are also a person who struggles with money... oh boy, this man cannot relate more.

you both can be broke together.

he will look to his chat for help every time a bargaining option occurs.

similar to venti, he'd be able to tell you were an archon automatically, mainly because of the way you carry yourself and your design.

when you give away your gnosis, he was really interested in the fact that you were so dedicated to your title of the archon of contracts that you would just willingly give your gnosis away.

when he meets the adepti, his chat jokingly says that the yaksha is yours and his adopted child.

"... i would not be opposed to that idea."

all of the artists and writers in his chat are dying at this point.

he'd look up all of the lore, especially ones involving you, and use them for his storytime streams.

[tammyisobsessedwith]

Okay, so the (near) impossible has happened: a certain DJ from Newcastle has shown interest in my MC! 😭🥰🦄

Sadly, Kassam didn’t say my name when the Casa boys were talking about who they want to get to know - but when we had the speedy date he was annoyed that Elijah wouldn’t go away already, I got added dialogue about why he came on the show and he said he’d like to get to know me better at the end of the dates and that he hopes he’s making a good impression, which never happens! So yeah, I’m running with this and I’m gonna put in everything I can remember I did in case it helps others trying to get this elusive unicorn to fall in love with them.

I seriously picked options I’d never done before. He had said my name once a long time ago, but I don’t really recall what had happened to get that, as I hadn’t even known that was possible at the time - the only notable things I remember was that I was a social media influencer (model) and that at the recoupling on day 9 I’d dumped Ibrahim to be with someone else (maybe Gary?). So I don’t know what could possibly influence this, so I’m writing down everything I can remember from my current route. I’m paraphrasing a lot of the actual dialogue options because I’m writing this from memory, but hopefully you’ll know what I mean - if not, let me know and I’ll clarify.

Profession: Social media influencer (videos). I dunno why, but I always had a suspicion this matters with the LIs. I noticed sometimes I get different reactions from the OGs in their responses for the first coupling up if it’s the only thing I change about my MC from one play to another, but I’m not completely sure.

Personality: I went for a mix of Hope and Lottie. I said I’m all about putting the girls first, that I love going all out with my looks and that I’m loud af and that I love to party - and for every option afterwards I chose accordingly, such as:

Saying “where are the margaritas at” when the group first gets together;

I went with the girls to chat, and when they’re talking about whether they want a guy to spend money on them I went with the second option, “it’s not about how much he spends”;

Telling the boys we needed to get our looks right for the first night;

Showing off my bathing suit in front of the boys when Lottie and Priya are arguing by the pool on the second day;

Strategizing first with the girls before meeting my LI by the daybeds;

For Two Truths and a Lie, I chose all the correct answers and at the end said the game brought the group closer;

For my options, I went with spent 5.000 on shoes, got Ed Sheeran to serenade me and stole my best friend’s boyfriend (lie);

I also picked a lot of neutral or funny options, such as the waking up in the loo when Marisol talks about sleepwalking or “what if there is no nan?” when she’s talking about Gary on the Talent Contest day;

During breakfastgate, I sided with Hannah on everything and chose the first options after Marisol walks away so Hannah would be happy with me;

I also reacted with the cute/nice options for everything related to Hope/Noah.

LI route: I was doing for loyalest of routes but (plot twist) with Rocco/Lucas.

I chose the first (flirty) option for all the OG boys when I met them before choosing Rocco;

I flirted with Rocco at every opportunity I had, chose dare and sent him the picture saying he’s the best looking there and I went full on when he kissed me. I chose the extra option at the end of truth and dare and chose truth and said I’d never go for someone I knew my friend fancied;

When Marisol said her analysis on Rocco and if it sounded like I was what he was looking for I said, I think so;

I didn’t react to Rocco flirting with others and when he comments on flirting I say it’s only natural and it doesn’t mean anything. When he said Priya could be a model, I reacted with “what about me?”

Bobby wanted a chat and I kept things neutral and friendly, but on the second day when he pulled me at the kitchen I said he was my type and looked at him through my lashes;

When Priya asks about my couple, I chose kiss and tell and that we’re one of the strong couples and I chose I meant what I said when Rocco asked later;

On the second night, I let the boys come talk to me. I told Rocco I wanted us to work out, then bizarrely Gary came chatting to me and I chose, “what about Hannah?” (I was basically friendzoning him throughout the game, poor crane boy)

Somehow Rahim kept choosing me on day 3 so I went back and redid some things: I chose “You’re so right babes” when Rocco goes on about the coffee people to up my score with him (but I asked Lottie to do a reading, wished for love, followed the instructions and said it was fun), said “what’s going on” then sided with Marisol at the gym scene so Rahim would be upset with me;

During the grafting, I chose Rocco first and all the options that would get me the heart eyes (what’s special about the hills, I’d love to go someday, he should choose me at the recoupling), I jumped into the pool in the scene with Ibrahim and said he should pick Marisol, then I talked to Bobby, saying I was confident, that he’d figure out what to do for the recoupling and “do you even use the gym?” - I thought it’d make him upset but of course Bobby never really gets upset lol

When Gary asks if there’s something between us, I said I like him as a friend;

When Lurik first comes to the Villa, I acted friendly but not flirty. I ran down while everyone was asleep and greeted them both then apologized to the girls. When Lucas was describing his ideal girl, I said, it sounds like me, but I sat with Rocco and reassured him when Lucas said he had his eye on me;

I was mostly neutral/not interested on the dates with Lurik, for Henrik I remember picking the central heating option and movies. With Lucas, I picked the sparkling personality option and the glamorous party. At the end of the date when he goes all rambling I picked “shall I give you a shovel?” And then “I thought it was cute”;

When Rocco asked about the dates, I said it’s nice to be asked and that I was only going because I had to. When Priya asks about recoupling with the new boys, I said I wasn’t interested (both times). When Rocco asked during the party, I said I wasn’t interested (it led to some new dialogue/interaction I’d never had with him too in the extra diamond scene btw);

I was basically nice/neutral but not flirty with all the other guys (I didn’t flirt with the boys in the gym with Lottie, for instance) and I never called him off until Roccogate - I’ll add a section about that later.

Relationship with Priya: I sided with Lottie on everything (which is so not my norm).

I stuck around to chat to Lottie and Hannah and I accidentally picked “she’s just playing the game”, but then I said we’ll show her who’s boss;

When meeting her, I chose to be formal and that she should back off my partner;

I kicked off when she stole him from me and reiterated this to the girls in the dressing room, but when Marisol said I’d need to steal a guy from one of the girls I burst into tears;

When Marisol came to the daybeds and we chatted about Priya cracking on with my guy I said I’d be upset if that happened;

When Rahim chose Priya at the recoupling I said “ugh” and when Gary chose Marisol I stayed silent but later I called him off for not giving Hannah a chance;

I called her off for going for Noah in the slime challenge and I just stayed silent when Lottie made a comment about me also rubbing against the guys;

I said Lottie should tell Rahim about Priya when she was complaining right after and said I was sorry about rubbing up against someone other than my partner (I also didn’t choose to get extra hot with Gary);

When they have the fight, I chose every option that backed Lottie. Then I went first to Lottie, comforted her and sided with her, going off on Priya. Then I talked to Hope, but didn’t talk directly to Priya and told them about my talk with Lottie (Hope is upset that it looks like I’m causing more trouble, but MC replies that she’s just saying how she feels);

When the girls gather at the firepit, I sat with Lottie and it looked like it was gonna kick off, but Lottie was happy that I had sided with her and surprisingly that seemed to solve the fight? I dunno, or maybe it was a glitch because Hope said she was happy the fight got solved and the next day they were acting like everything was fine.

Roccogate: This is where I kicked off. I felt entitled to it, because I’d been the perfect reassuring partner to Rocco up until then, I never flirted with the others and rejected their advances and then he pies me off like that? No sir, this is when I turned into Lottie.

During the Kiss and Tell, I only snogged Rocco for my first card (boy who has the biggest number of partners) and for the others I chose the neutral kiss option with Gary and Lucas;

I told Hope to kiss Rahim for the £$500 date and I admitted to the makeover for the movies, but denied the dancing on the tables (suggested Hope as the answer) and denied the canceling weekend trip one, too;

I kicked off at Marisol when she kissed Rocco and kicked off when he kissed her again;

I chose the extra card in the diamond scene and snogged Bobby then flirted with Henrik;

In the dressing room with Hope and Priya, I said it came out of nowhere, that Rocco wouldn’t do that to me, that I wasn’t convinced, that I was hurt and that the girls should gather to talk;

Then I talked to Henrik/Rahim and went off on Marisol, choosing the confrontational options and I told her to back off of Rocco;

During cocktails, I sided with Lottie and Bobby came during the scene in the firepit, I sat up next to him but in the diamond scene I only chose to give him a compliment instead of going for the kiss;

I was a mean bitch to Rocco throughout the Mr Love Island contest (I helped Bobby and got him the crown) and for the voting of the boys I said I wanted him out and that I wasn’t convinced after Marisol’s speech. I voted for Noah as the boy most likely to get a gf and Rocco to be voted out (and I said I didn’t want to lose Henrik because I wanted Lucas to stay lol);

For the interactions in the morning, I let Lucas initiate the kiss in the extra scene, I said Rocco would be dumped later that day anyway, I asked about Priya/Rahim and I said “Marisol, what are you doing?!” And that staying with them was the last thing I wanted (this and the fact that I went for Lucas later completely deteriorated my friendship with Marisol btw, but we get on better terms later on);

During Mean Tweets, I got every single answer wrong (except the one for Rocco and I was mean to him). I also chose my name for the Jake tweet about a girl deserving better, but I also chose myself as treating Rocco badly (instead of Lottie), I guessed Gary as the biggest player and then Bobby for the boy who snogged someone else after recoupling (which makes no sense considering Lottie, but I wanted to lose the challenge);

After the dumping, I stayed and talked to Henrik and kissed him and I was mean to Rocco all the way to his walking away from the Villa. Then I asked Lucas to share a bed as friends before I cracked on with him the next day like he was all I was looking for all along lol

Operation Nope: I didn’t participate at all. I said I thought they were romantic and that I wasn’t into the operation. I told Gary I thought Hope/Noah were alright and when I talked to Hope I told her what Priya had said and I was generally mean to Priya throughout the evening. I reassured Noah and gave him a friendly hug. I was nice to Lottie and said I was sorry for not having included her in what had happened that day. I also told Hope about the Noah/Priya convo I barely overheard after the Coming Clean challenge and I told Priya to apologize to Hope and back off from Noah.

Ministry of Sound Party and aftermath: I said I wasn’t into Jakub and likewise I didn’t nominate myself for a date with him. During the Priya/Lottie/Chelsea fight I chose “that’s awful” when Chelsea tells on the secret kiss and also the option that said, “but this is important!” But otherwise I was nice to Lottie. I told Chelsea to just apologize to Lottie and when Marisol recruited me to solve the fights I chose the options for “but I love the drama”, “what’s in it for me”, “how is talking gonna solve anything” before I reluctantly agreed to help and the next day I got the girls to get along again (by choosing the mostly neutral options).

Casa Amor: I said yeah to partying when Hope suggests just forgetting everything back at the Villa while we’re there and that my head could turn depending on the right guy. When Elijah walked out, I looked at Chelsea but then I winked at him when Felix walked out and I responded to Kassam with the simple “hello” option. For the speedy dates, I said, “So you’re a model” to Elijah so I’d get the heart eyes reaction and he’d want to stay chatting to me. For Kassam, right answers are “tell me about being a DJ” and “I just wanted to escape”. If you pull him for a chat that night (Carl came up to me but I said I wanted to talk to someone else), he’s gonna ask if I’m worried about what Lucas would think and I answered “I don’t care what he thinks”. And finally when I asked him to cuddle in bed, he said yes! (he likes being little spoon btw)

This is all I can remember and I don’t know what matters or not for getting him to like us. When we couple up with him in Casa Amor, Marisol says she thinks he likes someone who is quieter, who doesn’t get all the attention and who is true to herself, and that I’m too loyal for that - but this makes no sense considering my MC and the fact that he did like me and wanted to share a bed with me when I asked. My guess, and from reading other Kassam guides out there, is that I think he wants someone who is consistent: say what you mean and act like you said you would. If you’re loud, be loud. If you’re loyal, be loyal. And so on.

The weird, inconsistent thing on my part here is that I said I’d put the girls first but I got into fights with Priya (I was honestly just trying it out because I’d always been best friends with her and I wanted to see what it was like if I always sided with Lottie) and then Marisol during Roccogate, but I felt it would be deserved/justified or even logical if he was the guy I really wanted and the only one I’d been interested in so far. But it might count for why he didn’t say my name and why my score with him wasn’t higher right off the bat to get the pool scene, for instance.

Now I’m off to break Lucas’s heart by bringing Kassam back to the Villa with me - but then Lucas also brings in Blake so turnabout and all of that.

[powdermelonkeg]

Skyward Sword’s Errant Timeline

Skyward Sword, from a development perspective, handles time travel...strangely. You have cases where things were always meant to happen, but also instances where the past was changed.

So, in order to make sense of it, let’s tackle Skyward Sword’s timeline in a handy graph.

These timelines are not arbitrary. Every split on here fits one or more of four key criteria:

Something significant is changed in the past, that alters the future you return to

A “Game Over” is more significant than just “Link dies” (since one of the splits in the unmodified timeline is Link dying to start the Downfall timeline)

There are choices which both: lock the other choice out of completion, and affect more than just dialogue

A game has alternate endings you can achieve.

Additionally, it’s assumed that all sidequests are completed, unless it would change the outcome of the game.

Now then. In Skyward Sword, there are a few things that never change between timelines, namely Zelda in the amber

And Old Lady Impa’s bracelet.

For the sake of understanding this better, we’re going to say that the presence of something that happened because of time travel, but stays consistent no matter when it occurs, indicates something that was always going to happen no matter what timeline.

Zelda was always going to seal herself. And she was always going to run back in time to give Impa her bracelet.

Let’s break the rest of this time mess down, shall we?

Our first split comes from Hylia’s plan herself. This is the Skyward Sword Link was meant to act out; one without Ghirahim’s interference, and one that would take place a few days later than the game gave us.

We know this exists because of Impa herself.

We know from the epilogue that Impa is the Old One. She would know that Ghirahim was a factor, what happened to Zelda, and why she would have fallen down in a tornado rather than however Hylia intended. This is further backed up by Fi’s initial analysis of Ghirahim:

“I have no confirmed information about this man, other than he refers to himself as a ‘Demon Lord.’”

Fi, built by Hylia to help Link, knows about every enemy, from Deku Baba to Koloktos. Her lack of information on him means that Hylia never anticipated him in the future

So, we have our first split. There’s a timeline out there that, most likely, involves a similar storyline, but without Skyward Sword’s key twist ending. In that timeline, Fi would have never had to seal away the Demon King’s remains, and might still be active throughout the rest of Hyrulean history.

Our next split comes in the form of Cawlin’s letter sidequest.

When collecting gratitude crystals for the demon, Batreaux, one of the available sidequests is delivering Cawlin’s letter.

It’s a handwritten love note containing his confession to Karane, one of the other students at the Knight Academy. Cawlin wants you to deliver it to her.

But you can also give it to the ghost, Phoeni, who lives in the Knight Academy bathroom and asks for paper.

You can only pick one or the other, since you only have the one letter, resulting in a split. However, the outcome is the same; Link always gets 5 gratitude crystals from the exchange, Cawlin always runs off crying (Karane rejects him, or he believes his heartfelt note was used as toilet paper), and it has no bearing on the game’s conclusion, so the timeline beyond that split is identical no matter what.

This is what I’m calling a rejoined split. It means that, technically, there’s a parallel universe in which either option was chosen. However, outside of that choice, the rest of the timeline matches perfectly, so rather than drawing two near-identical graphs, I’ve condensed them back into the same timeline.

If you want to get into the nitty-gritty mandela effect of it, you could say that giving the letter to Karane causes the bathroom to remain haunted and scares future students, and that giving it to Phoeni means that Karane and Pipit never get together and start a family.

Our next timeline split is another set of rejoined splits, these ones stemming from a unique “Game Over.” During Skyward Sword, you fight a monster called the Imprisoned three times, each time sealing him back into the ground. However, if the Imprisoned reaches the Sealed Temple before you manage to defeat him, then he breaks into it, devours Zelda, and destroys the world.

Game Over

You have three chances to get this game over screen, each one suggesting a different timeline than the one where you play the game to completion. However, since the Game Over ending is the same—save for the Imprisoned breaking through the Groosenator once it’s built—we can assume that the timeline of destruction that follows is identical no matter when he destroys the temple.

Our next split is our first tricky one, because this one involves actual time travel. This one involves saving the dragon, Lanayru, from dying of illness by growing him a magical fruit that cures anything.

Remember what we said about timelines being constant. Zelda’s crystal and Impa’s bracelet mean that things that were always going to happen have already been set in the timeline.

The tree doesn’t exist until you plant it, and any chance of this being explained away by Timeshift shenanigans are erased by Groose’s dialogue lines before and after planting it:

Before

“Zelda and Grannie have brought life back to the land here. I bet even the weakest sapling could grow into one beast of a tree in soil like this. It'd brighten this place up a little too. I mean, sure, it'd take a few years for it to grow, but as far as I'm concerned, I got nothing but time. It's weird to say out loud, but that's just how I feel right now."

“Blah, this place is pretty barren. Considering how long she's been here, you'd think Grannie would've tried to decorate a little. I guess she likes the all-stone motif. At the very least she could've tried planting a tree or something to liven the place up.”

After

“Oh yeah! Now this is a tree I could look at all day! It's like a symbol for this temple...or something! Every time I stare at it, my jaw starts hanging open and I get this weird, happy feeling.”

“Is this tree something or what?! No wonder it's called the Life Tree!”

Old Lady Impa has similar lines about wanting to plant a tree to welcome Zelda back with when she wakes up.

But these lines mean there’s a timeline split here. Because Groose didn’t know about the tree before it existed, then acted like it was always there. Moreover, he knew the name of it without us telling him, implying that Impa told him what it was.

What does this mean?

Put simply, it means that there’s a timeline that Link abandoned, where the Life Tree never existed. That world is stranded without him, right on the brink of disaster with the Imprisoned awakening, and with Lanayru still sick.

So what happened to them?

There’s plenty of grim conclusions you can come to, on par with the Imprisoned Game Over timelines, but I prefer a happier outlook for the Skylians.

Groose would have had to take over, in Link’s stead. And he’d have had to pull in all of Skyloft’s resources; he couldn’t take the easy way out with a life tree sapling, he’d have had to get actual medicine and doctors to come down from Skyloft, and he’d have to leave someone in charge of the Groosenator. And then he’d have had to prove himself to the dragons in order to get the Triforce, as well as find a new way into the Silent Realm; maybe a normal sword would work, maybe not. But the Goddess Sword isn’t the only magic sword Hyrule sees.

I don’t believe that Groose has the necessary balance to use the Triforce. Not alone, at least. I like to think that he’d have had to use it with others in order to make it work—teaming up with Karane and Pipit for Wisdom and Courage, and holding Power himself, for instance—and eventually crushing Demise under Skyloft once and for all.

This timeline would have continued with Zelda, but without the Spirit of the Hero. But Hyrule is good at making replacements.

Next up, we have a far less bleak split to tackle: the split where Hyrule is just...normal.

After Demise is crushed, Zelda breaks free of her amber prison, and is captured and taken away by Ghirahim.

Link and Groose follow, and wind up killing Demise in the past, before he can ever become the Imprisoned we know in the future, and changing the course of history.

But...what about the world they left behind?

There’s no curse of Demise in that world.

But there’s also no Zelda and no Link.

Nor is there a Master Sword.

This timeline goes on without the malice of the demon, the blood of the goddess, or the spirit of the hero keeping its cycle in motion. It’s...largely peaceful.

But Demise is far from the only evil that can wreak havoc in this timeline.

And yes, the lack of Light Force in Zelda may shift their plans, the Triforce itself still exists in this timeline. There’s still plenty of power they can fight over and absorb.

Before we move on to our final timeline splits, we need to give an honorable mention to Hyrule Warriors. That game taps into Skyward Sword early on, awakening Fi and preceding Skylian Link.

And it is brutal to the world of Skyloft.

Before this, Skyloft was a land that only knew peace, high above the clouds and out of Ghirahim’s reach. But Hyrule Warriors throws that out the window entirely.

The people of Skyloft have to fight. Monsters invade their home. Ghirahim finds his way up there, and the Cloud Barrier is rendered null and void in terms of their safety.

Fi and Ghirahim leave this timeline. But even if, even when, they rejoin, their world is changed forever.

Ghirahim knows how to get up there. The people know of Fi. And they would have prepared for the future. Fortified houses, actual soldiers...even if everything else in Skyward Sword played out as normal—Link woke up to meet his destiny head-on, went after Zelda down at the surface and forged the Master Sword—the very culture of Skyloft would have shifted completely.

It makes me a little sad that we won’t get to see that shift. It would have been incredible to compare, and see just how much impact this event had on the Skylians.

Now, finally, we have our last set of splits.

After the destruction of Demise, Ghirahim appears and snatches Zelda away from the future she’s earned. Our heroes chase after her, and Link defeats Ghirahim and ends Demise once and for all.

Then they go back home. It looks so much like the timeline they left.

The Triforce stands, assembled and free of the Silent Realm.

Zelda reunites with her father.

The Isle of the Goddess is on the Surface, with evidence of the Groosenator in the background.

But there’s one key, crucial difference between this timeline and the one we left behind.

We leave the Master Sword in the past, and it’s here in the future.

The pedestal it rests in never existed in the timeline we started with, let alone the sacred blade itself. All that’s ever there is a flat ground of stone. But in this timeline, the Master Sword is enshrined in the Sealed Grounds, has always been in the Sealed Grounds, for thousands upon thousands of years.

The sword that seals the darkness sits, waiting for its hero to pick it up once more.

So then, why isn’t this the timeline we killed Demise in? Why is it a separate split?

We can trace that answer back to Fi.

When we use the Triforce to destroy the Imprisoned, Zelda is due to awaken. In fact, Fi’s dialogue tells us specifically why she wakes up:

And when Zelda seals herself away, the grand doors to the room her crystal is locked in are closed behind her. And when we return to the past to fight Demise, it remains closed, as it should.

However, after Demise’s defeat, the doors are wide open.

Zelda was only there to maintain the seal. If Demise’s presence is eradicated, then she doesn’t need to stay asleep. She can wake up.

But we never see her.

We only see that she’s gone without a trace. She would have awoken the very second Link destroyed Demise, while her future counterpart was outside, being tended to by Groose in the wake of her soul being devoured.

The Zelda of this time may even be hiding behind a pillar during the ending scenes, watching the other three go home...and knowing that she can’t.

This timeline is a happy one for the people of Skyloft. Their greatest threat is gone without a trace, and the cloud barrier dissipates, allowing them to travel to the Surface as they please. Of course, the surface world needs time to heal, but the Skylians will be able to resettle far sooner than they would have in Skyward Sword’s timeline.

The saddest part of this timeline is Zelda herself.

She can never go back home. Link, Groose, her father; she’ll never be able to see them again. Even if she were to travel through the Gate of Time, she’d come to a much different future; one where her mortal self lived a happy, destiny-free life, one where Link spends his days with his biggest worry being racing.

One where nobody knows her face.

Perhaps this Zelda becomes Hyrule’s first queen or priestess, or even retakes her role as Hylia, picking up that life instead of her civilian one. The seal is made so soon after Skyloft rises that the Skylians might even recognize her, having met their goddess before.

But it’s one where she lives alone, with the consequences of her actions as Hylia.

  One question remains after all of this: Why is the timeline our heroes return to so alike the one they left?

When Link enshrines the Master Sword, it flashes, briefly projecting a bubble around him. It’s not unlike the borders of fields that surround activated Timeshift Stones.

In fact, the gem in Fi’s chest greatly resembles an active Timeshift Stone, matching the gem we see in the hilt of the Goddess Sword.

In Ocarina of Time, we learn that

But even if we didn’t have this very telling line, the entirety of Ocarina of Time is only possible because the Master Sword has the ability to interfere with the timeline.

So what’s this mean for Skyward Sword?

When Link departed from the Master Sword, Fi course-corrected the timeline to match the data she had recorded.

One that held the Life Tree and the Sealed Grounds.

One that contained her pedestal and blade for future heroes.

One with treasured friends.

One with evidence of Demise’s defeat.

One with a bright future ahead.

Fi’s last act of service, of thanks, of love, was to give her master and goddess hope.

She left them a gift.

One that we’ll treasure, always, as The Legend of Zelda.

  Thank you, Master Link. May we meet again in another life...

[the-insomniac-emporium]

Hello there may I request the Dimitrescu daughters celebrating their s/o birthday, it’s my birthday today☺️

Happy belated birthday, anon!!! Wishing you many more happy (and hopefully less chaotic) years to come! Under read more for length.

Bela + Birthday

On one hand, she wants to be the first thing you see when you wake up. On the other hand, she’s got a million things planned, and no matter how much help she enlists, she’s bound to end up running late. So maybe she’s not the first thing you see, but she’s crawling into your bed before you have a chance to fully wake up. Wrapping her arms around you, murmuring ‘good morning’ and ‘I love you’ into your ears. Sleepy kisses all around<3

Will stay with you for as long as you want, but will ‘subtly’ encourage you to get up eventually, after all she’s spent the past month planning this day. It’s possible that she’ll end up slowly sliding out of bed, an inch a minute, saying ‘no more kisses until you get up’.

Once you’re out of bed, it’s time for a decadent breakfast. A whole buffet table filled with your favorites (the ones appropriate for this time of day, at least), with any servants you’re friends with being allowed to join in. If you’re not from Romania, Bela will go out of her way to have the cooks learn recipes from whatever country you grew up in. Might throw in a few non-breakfast items too. Mmmm, thinking about my family’s krumkake recipe now, so good<3

What happens next depends a lot on your specific personality. If you enjoy parties and social gatherings, there will be festivities in one of the castle’s larger rooms, again with any of your friends being allowed to join (even visitors from the village, should you wish to invite them). A large cake will be served, likely baked by none other than Ava Caldwell (please excuse my shameless OC mention).

If you’re more introverted, or shy, Bela will keep the gathering very small, likely just her family and you. There will be music, a few gifts from the family, similar but smaller treats. Less energetic, more casual and comfy family time.

Come lunch time, the two of you will have some private time again. Depending on weather/season, she’ll either take you for a picnic in the garden, or a quiet meal in the observatory. Think candles, lots of strategically placed flowers, warm blankets… all that cheesy stuff. Afterwards, she’ll let you take the reins for a bit. Essentially, you’ll spend some quality time doing your favorite hobbies together. Feel free to info dump/rant all you want, Bela will stare at you with love in her eyes regardless of the subject.

Once you’ve had your fun together, it’ll be time for dinner, which will once more be with her family. Everyone will be on their best behavior (under threat of blackmail, except for Alcina, who’s just, you know, a good mother who wants her daughter to be happy). Again the cooks will go all out for the meal, making whatever dishes weren’t appropriate for breakfast. There will probably be leftovers- unless, of course, you decide to let the other servants enjoy what you cannot finish.

Finally, before bed, Bela will let you open the gifts from her. The two of you will be in either her room or her private study, away from everyone else. She’ll have prepared 3 gifts for you. One will relate to your personal interests (a hobby, a movie/book series you love, etc), one will be something the two of you can do together, and the last will be something you can wear/keep on you to remind you of her (not that you could ever forget, really).

I’ll leave the detail of what happens that night to your imagination, dear reader, so as to not assume anything about *ahem* attractions, gender, or any possible… deviances (kinks, if that wasn’t clear). Regardless, there is cuddling<3

Cassandra + Birthday

Wakes you up, first thing in the morning, with kisses. Just crawls into bed with you and smothers you in somewhat sleepy affection. Do you know how hard it was for her to get up at this hour? Relatively! Which is why you’re not allowed to get up get up, at least not for a while. Mandatory girlfriend snuggles. No escape. If the two of you are, ya know, of the persuasion to do certain things… without clothing… then yeah, that’s probably also happening. Please don’t judge me, I’m tired (and asexual) and am trying to avoid this being unnecessarily ns/fw.

Doesn’t really want to share you at all, even on your birthday, but will let you mingle with friends/have a nice group breakfast if that’s what you want. Just expect to be sitting in her lap for as long as she can get you to, alright? Might tone it down if her family is around (okay, well, if her mother is around). Will pretend to judge people for whatever gifts they get you unless you specifically ask her to stop. Repeatedly whispers things in your ears to distract you, ranging from the audaciously inappropriate to “my gift is going to be so much better than that” to very sweet “I love you”s.

Lets you plan as much or as little as you want for your special day, though won’t hesitate to suggest things if you struggle to come up with stuff/can’t decide. Again, she’d prefer to spend as much of the day with you as possible, and would prefer your gatherings be very small. Like, maybe just the two of you. Going on a hike to your favorite spot, or painting together (even if you don’t know what you’re doing, because she’ll get nice and close to help ;) ), or just curling up with her somewhere cozy.

Whatever you end up doing for the day, she’ll probably have a servant pack you guys some lunches, so you don’t have to interrupt whatever you’re doing.

Dinner will be… a surprise. Planning is not her area of expertise, so Cassandra will enlist the help of her older sister, resulting in a romantic meal that, well, at least has hints of your girlfriend’s personality in it. Yes, she picked out the color of the napkins. Yes, the flowers she had asked for turned out to be poisonous, so yes they did have to swap them out last minute. Oops, you darn humans and your ‘mortal weaknesses’. Honestly, the display is very touching. She asked for help to do something nice for you<3

At the end of the night, she’ll take you to her art studio, where there’s a big painting that’s been covered up for a few days or so. She’ll pull the sheet off, oddly shy, and you’ll see it’s a lovely portrait of the two of you… except you’ll be wearing a necklace that you’ve never seen before. Which Cassandra will quickly pull out of her pocket, to give you as the second part of your gift :D

Cue a night of cuddling (and possibly other activities… such as sleeping).

Daniela + Birthday

Might as well bodyslam you first thing in the morning, honestly. She’s very excited, and loves you very much, and just wants to have some nice morning cuddling (and kissing). Solution? Make sure that she spends the previous night in the same bed as you. Seriously, it’ll save you a fair amount of pain.

Has the least planned of the three, despite having the most ideas, mostly because she struggles to actually organize things. Expect to spend however long you want in bed, just relaxing, probably still with lots of kisses and cheesy dialogue about how much she loves you. When you get up, however, the two of you will be surprised to see that Daniela’s family decided to help her get shit together.

There will be a nice breakfast, with your friends present, and Bela might even delay her own meal just to play some music for you. Afterwards, the family will give you their gifts. They won’t make you open them yet if you decide to save it for later, though, so no worries.

Then, you and Daniela will be encouraged to go out and have some fun. Which means a nice almost-picnic in the gardens, with less of a meal, more of some sweets/snackies. Cue more cuddling, and dorky poetry reading. The poetry will always start out serious… but by the end you’ll both be trying to find the lamest, cheesiest poems you can get, reading them to each other in increasingly ridiculous voices. Somehow you’ll end up reciting dirty limericks. Eventually you realize that Daniela isn’t even going through her books to find them, and is actually making them up as she goes. You’re not sure you want to know how she gained this skill.

Eventually you’ll head back inside, for lunch. At this point, there will be more music, some optional dancing, with a surprising amount of servants being allowed to just enjoy themselves. If parties aren’t your thing, Daniela will be more than willing to sneak you off somewhere more… private. For various reasons, you know. Doesn’t have to be anything more than cuddling. But this is Daniela we’re talking about, so…

The evening will mostly be up to you, with Daniela wanting to do whatever you want to do, even if it’s not something she’d normally enjoy. She just wants you to be happy<3

Dinner will be romantic, like with Cassandra, if admittedly far more chaotic. Still, it’s very lovely, and she’ll probably get adorably flustered as she tries to make things perfect for you. Expect her to get you multiple smaller gifts, and repeatedly mention that she wasn’t sure what to get you, so she kinda just… got everything. It might be best to reassure her that you mostly care about spending time with her. But, you know, also tell her you enjoy the gifts because she really did panic about them.

[felassan]

Some DA trivia and dev commentary from Twitter

There’s a lot of different tweets, so I’m just pasting and linking to the source rather than screencapping them all or making several different posts or something. Post under cut for length.

User: Was dragon age 2 your favourite in the franchise?

David Gaider: DA2 was the project where my writing team was firing on all cylinders, and they wrote like the wind- because they had to! Second draft? Pfft. Plot reviews? Pfft. I was so proud of what we all accomplished in such a brief time. I didn't think it was possible. [source] DA2 is, however, also where the goal posts kept moving. Things kept getting cut, even while we worked. I had to write that dialogue where Orsino turned even if you sided with him, because his boss battle had been cut and there was no time to fix the plot. A real WTF moment. >:( [source]

Mike Rousseau: I remember bugging that! And then being told it wasn't a bug, and being so confused. Doing QA for DA2 was an experience. Trial by fire. [source]

DG: So I think it's safe to say DA2 is my favorite entry in the DA franchise and also the sort of thing I never want to live through ever again. Mixed feelings galore. [source]

User: (I personally blame whoever it was for ruining most romance arcs in other games for me; they don't live up to Fenris's romance storyline)

DG: I wrote Fenris, so uh - me, I guess? Or maybe his cinematic designer, who put in the puppy dog eyes. [source]

User: If DA2 had just been an expansion, do you think it would have been better received? There was a lot of great stuff in there, and I think my initial dislike of it was because of the zone reuse. If it hadn't needed to be a full game, would that issue not have arisen?

DG: Hard to say. It was either going to be an over-scoped expansion or an under-scoped sequel. If it had stayed an expansion, it might never have received the resources/push it DID get. [source]

User: I'd love to visit the universe where you had an extra year or so to work on it. You did a very good job as it stands, but it definitely had rough edges. Not just the writing team either. The whole game had hit and miss moments, that just a little more dev time could have fixed.

DG: On one hand, DA2 existed to fill a hole in the release schedule. More time was never in the cards. DA2 was originally planned as an expansion! On the other, if we had more time, would we have started doing that thing where we second guess/iterate ourselves into mediocrity? [shrug emoji] [source] 

Jennifer Hepler: This is what I love about DA2. Personally, I greatly prefer something that's rough and raw and sincere to something that's had all the soul polished out of it. Extra time would have helped for art and levels, but it would have lost something too. [source]

DG: Right? I think we could have used some time for peer reviews (and fewer cuts), but I think the rawness of the writing lent a certain spark that we usually polished out. [source]

JH: Definitely. I think the structure (more character-driven) and the tightness of the timeframe let each individual writer's voice really come through. Polish can be very homogenizing. [source]

DG: I should add I'm not, by any means, against iteration. Some iteration is good and necessary. The problem that BioWare often had is that we never knew when to stop. Like a goldfish, we would fill the space given to us by constantly re-iterating on things that were "good enough". [source]

Patrick Weekes: I appreciate your incredibly diplomatic use of the past tense on "had". :D [source]

User: DA2 was my gateway into the series and I’m so happy it is. I love the game the way that it is. It’s one of my favorites of all time. But I am also aware of everything that was said here. If it were remastered, do you think it would change?

DG: I'd be surprised if it was ever remastered. If it was, do you really think they'd change things? Do remasters do that? No idea. [source]

User: Both sides got undercut as I recall. Didn't that whole sequence also end with the mage leader embracing blood magic? It was very much "a plague on both your houses" moment, at least for me.

DG: Yep. Orsino was supposed to have his own version of Meredith's end battle, which only happened if you sided with the templars. That got cut, but the team still wanted to use the model we'd made for him. So... that happened. [source]

DG: I would personally say that DA2 is a fantastic game hidden under a mountain of compromises, cut corners, and tight deadlines. If you can see past all that, you'll see a fantastic game. I don't doubt, however, that it's very difficult for most to do that. [source]

PW: I love DAI with all my selfish "I worked on this" heart, but DA2's follower arcs and relationships are probably my favorite in the series. [source]

User: As I've expressed many times, I love the game, especially it's writing and characters but, for me, the most impressive aspect of it, in consideration of it's lack of time for drafts and revisions, is the 2nd act with Arishok.  What amazingly complex character and fantastic duel

User: Just played it again and I have to agree. Though he is bound by the harsher tenants of the Qun, he makes valid points about free marcher society. Though it is obvious that he and Hawke will come to blows eventually, the tension builds gradually and understandably

DG: Luke did such a fantastic job with the Arishok I found myself sometimes wishing the Qunari plot had just been THE plot. [source]

User: What do you think would have changed, story wise, if you had more time for DA2?

DG: I would have taken out that thing where Meredith gets the idol. It was forced on me because she needed to be "super-powered" with red lyrium for her final battle. Being "crazy", however, robbed her side of the mage/templar argument of any legitimacy. I hated hated hated that. [source]

User: I deeply lament that there wasn't/couldn't be some sort of DA2 equivalent of Throne of Bhaal's Ascension mod.

DG: I'd have done it, if DA2 had allowed for anything but the most rudimentary of modding. ;) [source]

User: I mean, and I think I understand where you were trying, but how much legitimacy did the Templars and her as top Templar have after they're keeping the mages locked up against their will in the old slave quarters? Feel free to not reply.

DG: I think it's the kind of discussion which requires nuance, and which discussions on the Internet are not prone to. [source]

User: Was a compromise that the quest lines don’t branch? It felt like it was supposed to be that way but then you end up in the same place later regardless of what you pick. Like I hoodwinked the templars so good to help the apostates escape but in Act II they were caught anyway.

DG: I remember us having a lot more branching in the initial planning yes. Most of this got trimmed out in the first or second wave of cuts, in an effort to not cut the plots altogether. [source]

DG: "If you could Zack Snyder DA2, what would you change?" Wow. I'm willing to bet Mark or Mike (or anyone else on the team) would give very different answers than me, but it's enough to give a sober man pause, because that was THE Project of Multiple Regrets. [source] I mean, it's the most hypothetical of hypotheticals. It's never gonna happen. I wouldn't be surprised if EA considered DA2 its embarrassing red-headed stepchild. We'd also need to ignore that in many ways DA2 was as good as it was bad BECAUSE of how it was made. But that aside? [source] First, either restore the progressive changes to Kirkwall we'd planned over the passing of in-game years or reduce the time between acts to months instead of years... which, in hindsight, probably should have been done as soon as the progressive stuff was cut. [source] I'm sure you're like "get rid of repeated levels!" ...but I don't care about that. All I wanted was for Kirkwall to feel like a bigger city. Way more crowded. More alive! Fewer blood mages. [source] I'd want to restore the plot where a mage Hawke came THIS close to becoming an abomination. An entire story spent trapped in one's own head while trapped on the edge of possession. Why? Because Hawke is the only mage who apparently never struggles with this. It was a hard cut. [source]

User: I would LOVE to hear more details about this! I don’t suppose there’s any chance of a short story?

DG: I don't even remember the details of the story, sorry. There was a fight, and you caught the bad guy and then realized none of it was real and woke up idk [source]

DG: I'd want to restore all those alternate lines we cut, meaning people forget they'd met you. Or that they knew you were a mage. Or, oh god, that maybe they'd romanced you in DAO. So much carnage. [source] I'd want to restore the Act 3 plots we cut only because they were worked on too late, but which would have made the buildup to the mage/templar clash less sudden. Though I don't remember what they were, now. Some never got beyond being index cards posted on the wall. [grimace emoji] [source] As I mentioned elsewhere, I'd want to restore Orsino's end battle so he wouldn't need to turn on you even if you sided with him. And I'd want an end fight with the templars that didn't require Meredith to have red lyrium and go full Tetsuo. [source] Heck, maybe an end decision where you sided with neither the mages nor the templars. Because it certainly ended up feeling like you could brand both sides as batshit pretty legitimately, no? That was never planned, tho. No idea how to make that feel like an actual path atm. [source] Maybe an option to go "umm, Anders... what are you DOING?" 👀 [source] And, of course, a Varric romance, because Mary took that "slimy car salesman" character we'd planned and did the impossible with him. I can feel Mary glaring at me for even suggesting this, tho. [source] Lastly, the original expanded opening to the game which allowed you to spend time with Bethany and Carver BEFORE the darkspawn attacked. And, um, that's about it off the top of my head. Zack Snyder, WHAT PANDORA'S BOX HAVE YOU OPENED. [source] Shit, I remembered two more things: 1) Restore the "Varric exaggerates the heck out of the story" at the beginning of every Act, until Cassandra calls him on it. Yes, that was a thing. 2) Make DA: Exodus. Yes, I am still bitter. [source] God damn it, I meant "Make DA: Exalted March". The DA2 expansion, NOT Exodus since that was DA2's original name and makes no sense. Because the expansion ended with Varric dying, and that will always be on my "things left undone" list. [source]

User: Whaaaat?

DG: Well, you know that scene in Wrath of Khan where Spock goes into the dilithium chamber because he's a Vulcan? Well, imagine that but with Varric and red lyrium and because he's a dwarf. ;) [source]

John Epler: I distinctly remember referencing the bit from MGS4 where you crawl through the microwave corridor in the split screen, while cinematic battle rages on the other half. [source]

DG: It would have been glorious, John. Glorious. [source]

JE: I don't think I've ever been so certain what a shot should look like as I did Hawke coming in and finding Varric in the broken throne, just like when he was telling Cassandra his story. [source]

DG: It would have come full circle! Auggghh, it still kills me. [source]

User: Lord, you folks are a little too good at this.

JE: The true secret behind videogame narrative is knowing how to make yourself seem a lot more clever than you actually are. [source] 'Oh, we TOTALLY planned that.' [source]

User: Ok, this thread [the DA2 regrets thread, which is the big chunks above] but Inquisition.

DG: My regrets about Inquisition are, more or less, the normal kind. Nothing so dramatic, I'm afraid. [source]

User: You can keep your Varric romance, I want a Flemeth romance goddamnit!

DG: I would allow for one flirt option, and then a recording of Kate Mulgrew laughing for three minutes straight. [source]

User: I had a hypothesis about the repetitive caves in DA2. They're repetitive because it's Varric telling the story and he didn't consider them important.  They're like sets in a play.  (Okay, I really suspect it was a time/money/resources thing but I like my fake explanation better.)

DG: Hang a lampshade on it, maybe? Cassandra: "But that's the exact cave you were in last time?" Varric: "Whatever. They all look the same, I'm not THAT kind of dwarf. Can we move on?" [source]

User: that makes sense, hypothetically to make Varric romanceable and keep his arc—that had to happen for the main plot—I imagine you would have to make double the content (or more)? which would've been a tall order given the time/budget constraints the game was under

DG: Right. When it comes to "romance arc" vs. "follower story arc", we generally only had time to do one or the other. Never both. Romancing Varric would have meant not getting the story of his that you did. [source]

Mary Kirby: The one exaggeration I really, REALLY wanted, that we never got to do was Varric narrating his own death scene with Hawke weeping over him, then cutting to Cassandra's pissed off glaring at him. [source]

DG: Haha! The one I wanted was Varric's plot where he takes on the baddies single-handedly, sliding across the floor like Jet Lee, action movie-style, until finally Cassandra gets irritated and he has to admit Hawke & the rest of the party showed up to help. [source]

MK: We did that one! (He didn't do any Jet Lee moves, though.) Jepler gave him letterboxing to get The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly showdown vibes while he shot a ton of mooks single-handed. [source]

DG: Wow. Shows how much I remember. [source]

JE: I found it! I remember seeing this sequence as my treat for doing a bunch of much more challenging work. It was fun to see how far I could push our limited library of animations. [link] [source]

DG: Heh awesome. I could have sworn it was cut, honestly. I think I was even in that meeting. [source]

User: no disrespect but that’s surprising and rich of Mary “Hard in Hightown” Kirby to think DA2 shouldn’t have had a Varric romance when she wrote an entire book of Varric’s self-insert character pining over his Hawke insert character… HIH is the reason we had VHawke Summer 2018

DG: I can't *really* speak for Mary, or how she feels about it now compared to back then. I only know how she felt about it back then, and I'm not sure it was as much the concept of the romance but that Varric's entire story would be bent to "romance arc" ...a very different thing. [source]

JH: I remember pushing to have the first DLC start with Hawke having an option to ask Varric, "Did you tell Cassandra about us?" and if you picked it, Varric would answer, "Of course not, baby. I told her you were sleeping with X..." and then proceed as if you had had a full romance. [source]

DG: I still wonder how that would have gone over. x) [source]

JE: Okay, one more DA2 thing. Putting together the cinematics for this scene was a blast. [link] [source]

MK: These lines are my greatest legacy. I want "Make sure the world knows I died... at Chateau Haine!" inscribed on my tombstone. [source]

JE: I was so glad no one said 'no' to the crane shot. [source]

MK: It needs that crane shot. It's the perfect icing on that cake made from solid cheese. [source]

DG: The designers were all "we need more combat" and I think we were all "I think you underestimate just HOW interesting we can make this dinner party". [source]

JE: And finally. I think @SherylChee wrote the one-liner. I think we had a collection of like, 20. [link] [source]

Sheryl Chee: Yeah! Something like that! I remember submitted a whole bunch and Frank said you only needed one. Wish I'd kept the other fifteen. [source]

JE: A random chooser where, each time through the scene, you get a different one-liner. [source]

JE: DA2 is the project I'm the proudest of. I also absolutely get that it didn't land for a lot of people. But I don't think it's inaccurate to say that, in a lot of ways, DA2 defined my career. [source]  Everyone spent a year working at their maximum ability. I was a fresh cinematic designer and was given all of Varric's content, as well as the Act 1 Finale mission. It was a lot for someone who had been doing the Cinematics thing for literally 6 months. [source]  There's some stuff in there I can't look at without wincing. And there's some stuff I'm genuinely proud of. Not to mention, it was my introduction to most of the writing team. Several of whom I'm still working with today! Albeit in a different capacity [source] Also, weirdly, one of my most enduring memories of Dragon Age 2 is how much Bad Company 2 we'd play at lunch. It was a LOT. [source] Every game I've worked on has a game I played attached to it. ME2 is Borderlands. DA2 is Bad Company 2. DAI is DayZ. I, hmm. There's a progression there. I don't know how I feel about it. [source]

User: Is DA4 going to be tarkov then?

JE: I've kind of churned out of Tarkov for now. Probably Hunt Showdown, at least right now. [source]

User: I think people also don't take nuance into consideration -- like I FULLY acknowledge the flaws in my favorite games and will openly criticize them, but that doesn't mean they're not my favorite games anymore??? You can like and thing and still be critical of it.

JE: A lot of my favourite shit is deeply flawed! I acknowledge it and I think it's interesting to dissect the flaws. [source]

User: I still wish Justice was an actual character in DA2 rather than a plot point.

DG: There was a moment during DAI where we *almost* put in you running into Justice with the Grey Wardens, and he's all "Kirkwall? I never went to Kirkwall" [source]

User: Does that imply that Justice was shoehorned in to DA2?

DG: Nah, it was an in-joke where we thought it'd be fun to suggest that "Justice" was simply some demon that tricked Anders in DA2. Wooo those tricky demons! We didn't do it, though. [source]

User: [about templars]  except, I don't think it had very much legitimacy to begin with. keep in mind, we interact with other characters with the same argument. The one that comes to mind is Cullen, a sane templar in power. The templar's side of the argument is inherently flawed.

DG: I don't doubt that many people agree with you, and yet people can and do argue on behalf of the templars as well. My place isn't to pick a side, but to provide evidence that players can interpret for themselves [source]

User: Can you shed some light for us on how DA was able to do multiple same-sex romance options for different genders but the Mass Effect team treated them like the plague? What process existed for your team that just wasn't their for the other tentpole franchise?

DG: Different people making the decisions, almost different cultures. I don't know what it's like now, but for many years the Mass Effect team and the Dragon Age team were almost like two different studios working within the same building. [source]

User: It truly boggles the mind. Kudos for doing demonstrably better on consistent queer representation than the ME teams. Y'all never needed us to make petitions to try to get the studio's attention and ask them to do better by us. That's the fight we're once again embroiled in now.

DG: Honestly, I don't feel like tut-tutting the Mass Effect team. They did their part, and if they were a bit later to the show than the DA team they certainly did more than almost every other game out there -- and willingly. [source]

Updates begin here

User: So what was the reason for naming Dragon age 2 "Dragon age II" and not using a subtitle?

DG: As I recall, that was purely a publisher decision. I think they wanted to avoid the impression it was an expansion. [source]

User: Is there no chance of ever remaking DA2 under better circumstances? -Somehow remove the repetitiveness of gameplay by making changes and updating the tech and adding much more to the storyline. It could almost be a new very exciting game.

DG: I'd say there's zero chance of that. Let's keep our hopes up for the next DA title instead. [source]

User: I am a little confused here, help me out here please! How exactly was the cut boss battle with Orsino supposed to work out? How it would've kept him from turning against the player?

DG: It means that, if you sided with the templars, the entire boss bottle at the end would have been against Orsino and the mages. No fight against Meredith. The end decision would have been more divergent. [source]

User: I do remember that one of the reasons going around for that, was that resources were going to the transition to Frostbite. I'm still not fully sold on that having been a good choice. I felt that more time should have been given for that transition considering it was made for FPSs

DG: We didn't transition to Frostbite until DAI. Given our time frame for DA2, I don't think we *could* have transitioned to a new engine. [source]

User: Since your talking about the what could have been for DA2. Could you say what your script was for Anthem? Cause I remember reading that you wrote the plot on that game.

DG: I created a setting for Anthem and scripted out a plot - but, as I understand it, almost none of that ended up being used. So it's a bit pointless to talk about what I'd planned, as that'd be for some completely different type of game. [source]

User: [in reference to the exchange above where DG said “Being "crazy", however, robbed her side of the mage/templar argument of any legitimacy. I hated hated hated that.” re: Meredith] except, I don't think it had very much legitimacy to begin with. keep in mind, we interact with other characters with the same argument. The one that comes to mind is Cullen, a sane templar in power. The templar's side of the argument is inherently flawed.

DG: I don't doubt that many people agree with you, and yet people can and do argue on behalf of the templars as well. My place isn't to pick a side, but to provide evidence that players can interpret for themselves. [source]

If I missed a tweet, got the wrong source link or included a tweet twice, feel free to let me know and I’ll correct.

Edit / Update: Post update 22nd April

[ariendiel]

Hey, I hope this isn’t a super annoying question but you’ve altars got such beautiful and positive content - what helped make a Noah route more enjoyable in the actual playthrough? Any advice you can impart?

Not annoying at all! I love these kinds of asks, so thank you! 💗 I'll make this my detailed guide to how I make the Noah route enjoyable (to me at least), but without playing it as a burn-the-villa route because I actually don't enjoy my MC being mean... Hope it might help some of you at least!

Please note this all requires projecting a lot of feelings etc. onto MC, which I think is a requirement for most routes to be fair. I'll add this post to my masterlist and will replay the game soon-ish (and for the last time) to make sure it all makes sense with any possible changes etc.

My guide to a nice* Noah route

Day 1: Choose Noah, I never minded that Hope "stole" him (it happens) but it does help if you – like me – want to create a "what if?" storyline in your head while playing. I've also never been a Bobby stan**, so I don't mind being in a friendship couple with him and just reject him. ** If you're a Bobby stan, probably choose someone else.

Don't flirt with anyone else at first, that way he will approach you during the evening and you can chat for a while before Hope comes to, uhm, collect him.

Day 3: Since MC is in a friendship couple with Bobby, and not really interested in anyone else here, flirt with and couple up with Rocco. The sympathy you get throughout Roccogate, while also forgiving Marisol, is quite nice – especially because you get protective Lucas.

Speaking of Lucas, I tend to flirt with him during etc. but then purposefully don't save him so that MC is again left feeling like there's no real option for her (Bobby is her friend, Rocco grafted on someone else, and now Lucas has left). This helps in the build-up to Operation Nope. Choose Henrik here if he's your preferred part of Lurik.

Day 7: Help Noah win the Mr. Love Island competition (I'm still salty they changed it so that Bobby is the one to approach MC initially. But just imagine Noah is the one doing it).

Day 9: Choose Noah for your Villa date. At this point, I headcanon MC and Noah as very good mates who increasingly look longingly at each other. Nope is rapidly falling apart, and book boy is feeling lost. The date is also just lovely in general. Hope picks first at that recoupling though, so pick Bobby.

I would recommend coupling up with Bobby here, but this time because he actively will encourage you to participate in ON. Like, you can project onto him whatever motivations you like, but it definitely makes MC kissing Noah feel a bit more... valid?

Day 10: Kiss Noah during Operation Nope (I don't like to be too enthusiastic when they plan it though, feeling pity for Rahim especially).

Day 11: If you don't like Jakub: Go on the date with him, and hate every moment of it. Break up with Bobby, saying your head's turned.

Day 12: Listen in on the conversation between Noah and Priya, it's quite cute I think – and makes it clear that Priya is quite bitter Noah is into MC and not her. This, I think, is why she later is the one to purposefully tell Hope in front of pretty much everyone that Noah is into MC and wants to couple with her.

That night, when the big argument happens, there are a few dialogue options I'd recommend over others: 1. Suggest coming up with a compromise. 2. Suggest giving Noah space to think. 3. Admit you like him, but say you won't act on those feelings. This way, Noah won't snap, Hope will forgive Priya, but not you, and at least to me it feels like MC is genuinely just tired of the whole thing and Hope yelling at her. Note: I haven't played the game in a while, but will do so soon to make sure these are all the same as they were over a year ago.

Day 13: Disaster recoupling! Noah will pick you, and just enjoy this for as long as it lasts. Literally it is so lovely to be coupled up with him and you get to learn quite a lot about him. Kiss him before going to CA.

CA: Ugh, just get through it. I prefer to stay loyal to Noah throughout, mostly because suddenly MC's girl"friends" don't think she wants to be serious with him and at least this way it proves them wrong.

Day 17: Noah switches to Blake. This man's a notorious over-thinker, and a combination of insecurity and Blake playing the game made him switch. Don't think too much about it, other than take note of how he switched to the girl that managed to "mimic" MC in how she behaves, rather than the one that looked like Hope. It's the little things, really. Say you're happy for him, and just enjoy how genuinely sad and apologetic he is, but also how he almost certainly thinks he's completely blown his chances with MC for good.

Day 18: THE PAIN. Everyone ignores MC and her feelings completely, instead working together to get Hope back with Noah for some bloody reason. The worst day on a Noah route, but you can tell Noah isn't really into it, and by this point it's hard to tell if Hope is just playing the game or not (I choose to imagine her knowing she has to be with Noah to have a chance at winning. I love her, but she's competitive and wants to win).

During the recoupling, I usually choose to save Jakub and stay with him in a miserable couple until the end. But choose whoever you're not really interested in from here on out.

Day 19: Fail the ‘Mister and Missus’ challenge. Your partner, or Jakub at least, will be genuinely mad at you for it. If you have low enough relationship points, Noah will make you breakfast the next day. ❤️

Get through these days and the gossip-sneezer drama as best as you can, ignore Hope and flirt with Noah when you can. Honestly, the chemistry and building (s*xual) tension between him and MC is so good if you're into him.

Admit to Chelsea you're into him***, that way you get to chat with him on the roof terrace, say you like him. *** I can't remember the day this happens on, but will check later.

Day 22: Flirt with Noah that morning, and notice how Hope is acutely taking note of it, because not much later she'll corner MC and ask her who she fancies. Here, you can't say Noah, the game forcing you to say someone else (I say Jakub because my poor MC is coupled with him and it feels like the "right" choice, but choose whoever you want to couple with). After you say a name, Hope will literally sprint out and tell this person, before quickly going to Noah – most likely to tell him about how much MC fancies [insert name here]. This, combined with literally everyone expecting it of him, is why Noah blows his last chance at being with MC and chooses Hope at the recoupling.

I think we mentioned it quite a bit in our Noah character analysis (here), but note how his speeches when choosing Hope get less and less emotional and more robotic as time passes.

Don't do any gem options with your partner by the way, and don't kiss them etc. Treat it like a simple friendship, and nothing more. It makes it a lot easier to imagine that they're only really with MC and laying it on thick at times because they're in it for the money.

Day 24: Whoever you sent home out of Lurik comes back, you can swap to them without hurting your chances with Noah if that makes it easier to steal the money. I still don't like to outright cheat or flirt with them though.

Again, just enjoy and take every single moment you get with Noah to flirt with him. He flirts back and is so very clearly into MC it hurts.

Day 28: Say no to being your partner's girlfriend (if you haven't flirted with them much up until here it's super awkward and feels forced). Noah won't have asked Hope to be his girlfriend either, so neither of you will technically cheat later, as they're pretty much just formally coupled up. Agree to chat with Noah on the roof terrace that night, and straight out admit you like him – don't go for the kiss... yet.

Day 29: Just get through the prom knowing that all Noah and MC, depending on how you project, can think about is the other. Hook up on the roof terrace that night, and accept that Noah won't just run back in and break up with Hope right away (it doesn't make much sense to do so, and Noah is not one to act rashly).

Day 30: Steal the money. Go talk with Noah and Hope first. Noah breaks up with Hope and you get that wonderful pool scene with him where he says "I love you".

Good luck, and let me know how it goes or if you have any questions! Now go get that sweet pixel librarian 📚

[tellmealovestory]

Planning

Summary: Planning for the wedding has begun with choosing a color palette. 

Notes: Also posted on my ao3. Part of Something More

I know that it’s been awhile since I’ve last posted and even longer since I’ve updated this and for that I am so sorry. The past few months have been rough and I’ve been struggling to write anything, but I’m trying which is what counts I guess. 

I haven’t forgotten about Something New - there’s for sure one more part, possibly two, but for now here’s something and again I am so sorry for how long it’s been taking me to get these posted. 

Warnings: Surprisingly none - unless you count idiots in love falling more in love.

"Black and yellow?"

"No."

"Purple, orange and black?"

"No."

"Red, white and blue?"

"Bucky, no!" Laughing at his suggestions you playfully shoved his shoulder as he shot you a grin full of mischief. “Besides, I think those are more Steve's colors."

“You opposed to pastels?" His grin only widened when you wrinkled your nose in distaste. "Red and pink?"

“Red and pink isn't the worst idea you've had," you mused, a thought working its way into your mind as you eyed the mess that surrounded you.

“Sweetheart-,” he started, but you silenced him with a look.

Reaching for a bridal magazine, one of many that laid scattered across the floor of the living room where you were both currently seated you flipped through it while Bucky continued to rattle off suggestions. Frowning, you pushed it aside before grabbing another one. Finding what you were looking for you showed him a spread with dark reds and pinks and a gold that had the barest hint of a shimmer. It was for a Valentine’s Day wedding and while you weren’t getting married on that date you still thought it was pretty.

One look at his face told he wasn’t impressed.

"Neons would be better,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, his fingers flicking a brightly colored post it note that was sticking out from the magazine.

"Please tell me you're joking."

"Maybe."  

“James!”

And this time he was the first to laugh, the richness of his voice filling up the room and drowning out the sitcom dialogue that drifted from the television a few feet in front of you.

He made it difficult at times like these to get and stay annoyed at him, but nevertheless you made an attempt with a glare shot in his direction. It was useless though when he was looking at you like that. All bright blue eyes shining with a love that still managed to steal your breath anytime he glanced at you. Laugh lines around his mouth and before you had a chance to warn him that he was seconds away from not having any say in your wedding colors he was tilting his body towards yours, lips landing on the side of your head. An innocent kiss, but it sent your heart spiraling.

Almost as much as when he murmured against your skin with breath that was warm and smelled of the chocolate ice cream you’d been sharing, “Alright, show me what you were thinking.”

Waking up your sleeping laptop that rested on the coffee table you expertly navigated the rabbit hole of Pinterest. Scrolling past boards you had created for flowers and centerpiece ideas, dresses and cakes you found the one titled colors.

A sea of palettes stared back at you; turquoises, magentas, oranges and yellows. Mints and whites. Pastel purples and soft pinks, creams and pale blues that screamed romantic. Greens and blushes. Purple and grays.

And finally, towards the bottom of the board a mix of navy blues, grays and burgundy. Burnt oranges and peaches. Sunflower yellows and dusty blues.

A  collection of colors that reminded you of him.

“Something like this I thought.” Chewing on your lower lip you glanced from Bucky to the screen and back again. Anticipation thrummed through your veins as you waited for him to say something.

“It’s a lot of blues.”

“You look good in blue.”

“All the burgundy?”

“You also look really good in burgundy.”

“You really picking colors based on how I look in them?”

“No,” you scoffed with a quick roll of your eyes that he saw right through. “Okay, fine, but it’s not the only reason.”

“You gonna share those other reasons?” He asked, leaning forward to take a closer look.

"Um... I... like those colors?" Even to your own ears the words rang false. "And they're a better choice than the random ones you were shouting out." There another reason added to your list.

"Y/N," Bucky said, amusement dripped from his voice and he bit back a smile as he pushed the laptop towards the middle of the coffee table.

For a moment the only sound in the apartment was that of a commercial advertising pizza.

Turning to you he cradled your face in his hands. "You know no ones gonna be looking at me," he said softly, the pad of his thumb brushed across your cheekbone. "They're all gonna be looking at you and how beautiful you are."

"I haven't found something to wear yet."

"Doesn't matter, sweetheart."

Biting your lip your eyes danced between his and you couldn't help asking, "What if I get a really poofy dress and I end up looking like a cupcake again?"

It was a struggle for Bucky not to laugh at the mention of a cupcake. A million memories ago, but he could still remember that night. Your fathers wedding to his new, younger bride, the hideous pink dress she had made you to wear, the endless teasing you had endured from him, the new nickname he had bestowed upon you before you banned him from ever calling you that again. In his mind it didn't matter if when your wedding came you wore a dress that made you look like a cupcake, drenched in pink that looked as if it came from a jumbo sized bottle of pepto-bismol you'd still be beautiful in his eyes.

Dipping his head down he brushed his lips against yours in a kiss sweeter than any cupcake he had ever tasted.

"Doesn't matter," he whispered again, his mouth moving over yours slowly. "You’re still gonna be the most beautiful person in the room, cupcake."

It was hard to kiss him back when your lips were curling up into a smile, a laugh bubbling to the surface followed by a rush of memories at the mention of cupcake. He hadn’t called you that in years and though you still hated it you didn’t have it in you right now to tell him to shove it.

“Is that your way of telling me you hate my choices?” You asked, breathless from the feeling of his lips against yours. “No,” he laughed, stealing another kiss. “It’s my way of saying you should really give my suggestions another chance.”

“Buc-,”

“I’m kidding!”

Another kiss, this one to your forehead as the commercial ended and the sitcom returned. Turning your attentions back to the screen at the same time you rested your head on his shoulder, eyes scanning through the options again, his for the second time and yours for what felt like the hundredth since first compiling the list.

“I really do like these colors. Especially this one,” you said, bringing up a palette with dusty and navy blues, marigold and a hint of dark green.

No matter how many options you had looked at you kept going back to it. It was pretty and it was an added bonus that he looked in most of those colors.

“That the one you want?”

Biting your lip you switched back to your second choice. Navy blue, maroon and gray. More colors he looked good in, more colors that you had been drawn to, but in your heart you knew which one you wanted.

“Yeah, but what do you think?”

“I like it,” he said.

“You agreed to that awfully quick.” Your tone was light and you couldn’t help asking, “Are you only saying that cause you’re tired of looking?”

“No. ‘M saying it cause you like it.” His eyes darted down to the shiny engagement ring that sat pretty on your ring finger. Lifting his gaze up he continued, “And cause I don’t care about the colors.”

No sooner did the words leave his mouth and he was left scrambling to explain when he saw your widened eyes.

“Sweetheart.” His hand slid along your cheek. “Whatever colors you choose are gonna be fine, but I’m not gonna be paying attention to them. Our friends and family might, but the only thing I’m gonna be paying attention to is you and how I’m finally marrying the woman of my dreams.”

His words sunk in amid the closing credits of a sitcom and as tears welled in your eyes and your laptop drifted off to sleep the only words you could manage were a breathless, “Oh, Bucky.”

You had never thought planning your wedding would be so emotional.

You kissed him softly, savoring the way his lips moved against yours in a practiced ease that still made your stomach fill with butterflies. Just as he was about to deepen the kiss you pulled back with a start and a flurry of questions.

“Wait, if you don’t care about this why did we spend two hours looking and why did you offer such awful suggestions?”

Bucky swallowed, his cheeks flushing deep pink. “You asked me to,” he said simply, before adding on as his cheeks turned even darker, “Maybe I wanted to make you laugh a bit.”

Mission accomplished.

Parting your lips to speak he beat you to it saying, “I also wanted to spend time with you and I know how much planning this means to you.”

It felt as if your heart was going to burst right out of your chest. You didn’t know anyone who would willingly want to spend that much time going over colors, debating between two shades that were nearly identical when they could have been doing something they enjoyed.

Searching for the words to tell him all of that you came up empty, settling with a simple, but true, "I love you, Bucky."

Which you followed up with another sweet kiss, once again marveling at how lucky you were to be marrying him.

[rottenbrainstuff]

BG3 playthrough - exploring Moonrise and the rest of the shadow cursed lands

Lots of spoilers beneath the cut

Ah! Feels so nice to be home and done the holidays and nestled back comfortably into my BG3 brainrot.

I’m really enjoying the dark urge flavour in Moonrise - it is creepy as fuck how everyone recognizes me. The audience with Ketheric was absolutely chilling for a resisting durge. For my run, this was the first big reveal I had that my past is even more worse and complicated than just being some random murder pervert who lost their memory. My poor tav. This whole tower is just horrible. Jk Simmons does a great job with Ketheric. I wasn’t sure what to expect considering the characters he usually plays, but he’s remarkably soft-spoken here, and I think that’s a great way to make a villain seem more frightening. There is SO MUCH dark urge stuff in here. Like I said before, I’m honestly sad I picked dark urge as my very first playthrough… I feel like I should have saved it for a later playthrough when I was feeling bored with the game. I unknowingly picked all the most interesting options to do first!

I do seriously regret playing Dark Urge as my very first playthrough though. I know the game warns you not to select it if it’s your first time, but I feel I just misunderstood the warning. I thought it was more of a warning that it makes the game harder for brand new players who are just figuring things out. I had no idea I would regret it because of the extra content it adds in that really objectively would have been much better if I had saved it for later. The two things I regret: reading spoilers about the dream guardian, and picking Dark Urge for my very first playthrough.

Anywho, I’m also cleaning up the little threads I have left on the shadow curse map… got Madeline’s journal for He Who Was. The internet sure likes him but I couldn’t help him punish Madeline: I was surprised to read the journal because of how clear it was that she didn’t fully understand the consequences and only made a mistake. This means I won’t get the raven gloves, sigh. (his raven is hilariously mean btw, be sure to use speak with animals the first time you meet them)

I found the approvals interesting for this scene. I had Wyll, Gale, and Astarion in my party. Wyll and Gale ONLY disapprove of me convincing Madeline to stab herself, and NOT if I tell Madeline the deaths were her fault (which I mean I think objectively they really are not, not in the way that He Who Was is blaming her for anyway). They don’t really care about what’s fair or not - they just don’t like it if it gets too messy! Astarion on the other hand disapproves of you telling Madeline it is her fault, or it isn’t. He dislikes either choice. He has no reaction if you make her stab herself. Interesting, interesting.

With my tav’s slipping grasp on his sanity, I wanted to do the option where you piss off He Who Was by making Madeline stab herself twice, as like, thinking of a clever way to harm this messed-up shadar-kai whose cheese has clearly slipped right off his cracker. My tav lately has been all about trying to do the right thing via a gruesome route. The dialogue with this route makes it seem though that you wanted to hurt Madeline and just got carried away, so in the end I went with forgiving her. Man how horrible, imagine dying an untimely death riddled with guilt about a mistake that you made that killed your friends, then some little elf shit comes along and animates your corpse in order to get off on your fear. This was a short and understated encounter and I kind of like that. I don’t know much about the shadar-kai so I am curious what mission He Who Was and the others were supposed to be doing in the first place, and how his abandoning of his post played out. I love how messed up this shadow curse is.

I also chatted with Thisobald. I was quite surprised to see that in my list of stories to tell him, I had the option to tell him a story about a village that thought I was their protector, but I massacred them all. Boy oh boy. I wracked my brain trying to figure out what the hell that was referencing. I was concerned maybe something was triggered wrong with the tiefling siege and the game has recorded that I killed them? Or do they mean the goblins in the blighted village that I attacked after I made friends with them? Or something else? What on earth? What did I do wrong?

I looked around online a bit… it seems other durge players have this happen as well. If you actually attacked the grove, you have a different story that specifies it was tieflings you slaughtered. This story is included at the very beginning of the list, which seems to be otherwise chronological. A warlock apparently has the option to tell a story about making a pact with their patron, something that happened before the game even started. So it seems the best guess currently is that this also is something that happened before the game started. Yikes. Poor tav. I’m trying my best to help you be better.

Played hide and seek with Oliver - I didn’t realize you can’t trigger the end of the game until you stop sneaking, so that “fun” game went on a lot longer that it needed to, wow. My tav really likes children so it was upsetting to run into this poor little ghost boy. I know he’s attached somehow to the Thaniel quest stuff, so I hope we can do something for him later when I tackle that plot point.

My oldest daughter who is playing finally saw the Emperor. I was waiting and waiting for that, because she had such a STRONG negative reaction to the dream guardian right from the get go, and was really weirdly angry about all the ambiguity and questions that they weren’t answering. She chose to try and kill them in the astral plane. I was so curious to see what her reaction would be when she found out that the reason they were being so suspiciously vague this whole time was that they were a goddamned mind flayer. Surprisingly…….. She’s pretty ok with the character now! Like, I think she might end up siding with it in the end, even. She’s totally ok with it being a manipulative, selfish, jerkass mindflayer…. She’s just happy it’s actually being honest now. LMAO. My oldest kiddo is funny. It’s been fun following along with her as she’s playing, but it’s also a little frustrating, because she misses SO MUCH STUFF as she whizzes through the game. She’s not concerned about completing every single detail. She is happy leaving things to discover in future playthroughs, and in fact has even left some things unresolved on purpose to try later on, ie, Ethel’s hut, the underdark, stuff like that. In a way I think that’s probably a better way to play it than what I am doing, where I have a ridiculous amount of logged hours but I’m still only about halfway through the shadow cursed lands and honestly there isn’t going to be a lot of new content for me to discover in the future beyond just little race and class dialogue variations. But it’s annoying for me, because I want to know what she did/said in certain situations, and her answer half the time is, I just didn’t find that! Lol.

Next up I guess is the tollhouse, then on to the house of healing after that. Can’t wait to get there - the soundtrack for it sounds demented. Or maybe I’ll go to the orthon and trigger Astarion’s second romance. I have zero regrets so far for giving Astarion one level of bard instead of leveling him up properly as a rogue. 10/10 would do it again. He even landed a vicious mockery on He Who Was.

[inhonoredglory]

The following commentary was written by @tenyai​, concept and storyboard artist for Hisirdoux Casperan on Wizards: Tales of Arcadia, in response to my meta on the closing scene of Wizards 107.Killahead Part 1 (link here):

Great analysis! You’re right on point!! I had the pleasure of boarding this scene and I’m so glad you picked up on a lot of the symbolism here. You’ll also notice Douxie, despite being told there is nothing that can be done, tells Jim that they will find a way to reverse his ailment.

It’s a huge part of who he is that even in this moment where he as to abide by Merlin’s orders he is still fighting for what he believes in, the need to fight relentlessly to save a life. He makes a promise he has full intention to keep, but it’s the very opposite of what Merlin would have done.

Other fun things to notice in this scene is the staging. You’ll notice Douxie is backed by the turning gears and green light of the Heart of Avalon. I staged him there because the chaotic spinning of the gears alluded to his chaotic turmoil emotionally and internally. And the green light symbolizes Merlin. Together the gears and the lighting are Merlin’s words and his way pressing down on Douxie’s soldiers and his conscience.

As contrast, Claire is backed by the square, rigid lines of the castle wall. She is rigid and is desperately pulling him towards what she believes is stability or something that can guarantee his survival. You’ll also notice directionality here. Left symbolizes staying in the past and going right means returning to the present. You’ll notice Claire pulls Jim leftward, and Douxie pulls him right.

But one key moment is the hand clasp (also the profile shot) where you are neither looking left (where Claire pulled him towards the past) nor are you looking right (at the Heart of Avalon). You look center, and this center symbolizes Douxie fighting for a third option. It is neither left (disruption of time, altered life by staying in the past) and it is neither right (returning to the present/certain doom). He is promising that he will help them find a way to save Jim, and to trust him.

That’s why that dialogue is specifically staged over those shots, and the hand clasp at that angle. In the boards, I actually had his bracer hand up, so you saw the blue light of his magic which was also symbolic of Douxie finding a third option, but they just had his right hand in the final (shucks!!! My symbolism!!).

If you also look closely at the composition you’ll also notice Claire and Jim are separated by the Bg elements, wall vs sky. And when Jim turns to tell Claire the news... You guessed it, he’s backed by the green rotating gears representative of Merlin. He is breaking to her the messed up reality that Merlin forewarned him of. 

Anywhere you see those gears and the green, it’s the weight of this decision pressing on the characters. And you already remarked on the end of the scene where Douxie takes accountability for his action. The staging there follows everything I just described as well, as does the lighting!!

Anyway, fun little tidbits for you! That was a super fun scene to craft, a lot of visual language and symbolism in there, all reinforcing and emphasizing the emotional state of the characters and their struggles :)

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Teny, having the person behind the story telling me exactly the kind of symbolism she intended in a scene is just... absolute gold. I love symbolism and parallelism and how narrative, characterization, and meaning are all supported by every tool in the visual narrative box. And as a fan-turning-pro, I’m still learning a LOT and commentary like this helps me see just how much care and thought went into this show, and validates the gut reaction all us fans have had about how narratively masterful Wizards (and the TOA universe) really is.

Like the directional symbolism! That blew my mind! Cuz in the end, we have Douxie leading them rightward (to the future), through Merlin’s green light, but guided fundamentally by his own staff’s blue and thus his own conscience. Also I wonder if the stable arcs behind Doux in that last GIF are a mirror to the unstable ones of Merlin’s Heart of Avalon––a way of pointing out that although Douxie is following the pattern set by Merlin’s shifting moral compass, he’s still holding to Claire’s stability. Using Merlin’s magic, but with his more constant, noble morality. (And going off that, these arcs mirror each other by cascading upward in opposite directions––Merlin’s arcs rising to the right and to the future, and Doux’s rising to the left and to the past, or Claire’s moral standard.)

Also the fact that Merlin’s Avalon arcs rotate downward in such a way that they cut through/push down on Douxie’s head, with an especially high-contrast panel––Unlike when he’s making the promise, in which the Heart of Avalon fades just a tad into the background and doesn’t rotate down on him so much as around him. In framing Douxie against the Heart, the shots move from a Medium Full Shot to a Medium Closeup and finally to a Closeup when he makes the promise––making him slowly larger against Merlin’s Heart of Avalon, his own morality against Merlin’s philosophy. Exquisite combination of prop design, lighting, shots, and narrative symbolism.

And the lighting you mentioned!! Jim’s is red, Merlin’s green, Douxie's blue. Claire’s is purple, but here it’s also the natural, human light of the doorway she’s trying to draw Jim towards. And like you said, Jim choosing Merlin’s path puts him in the backdrop of the Heart of Avalon, bringing Claire into that moral space too. Now this sweet Jlaire moment is heightened by tension just knowing this symbolism!!!

I always loved the interplay of Merlin’s green magic with Douxie’s hair, and knowing your intentional purpose in clashing them makes me all the more excited for scenes like the one before Charlemagne destroys the staff, because the green in Doux’s hair is almost as strong as the blue––showing how much he doesn’t want to let go of Merlin, and how much his staff and his presence is overwhelming his own sense of self and confidence.

Thank you, Teny, for sharing your incredible thought process behind this pivotal scene and letting us know the kind of visual narrative techniques you’ve used to bring out the drama and poignancy of everyone involved. Your love for these characters and this show is truly inspiring. I’ve just started my animation degree at San Jose State University and interactions like yours inspires me to know that the kind of professional I want to be is out there making art, being a storyteller, nerding out, and being awesome. Thanks again!

all gifs are mine

[a-shakespearean-in-paris]

I'd love to see your take on Cullen's recovery arc as an alternative analysis! I feel like we're only ever presented with the two options of: "he needs to atone!" Or "he was a victim that needs protection!", neither of which I've ever fully agreed with. I think it's a result of the lack of attention given to his arc in DAI, which leaves a ton of room for interpretation, and results in people swaying towards either camp depending on how sympathetic they are towards him and his history.

I totally agree with this. 

The problem with the way Cullen is presented in DAI is that he’s presented in an unambiguously positive light, and as @tokutenshi pointed out in this post (which I do agree with) if your Hawke was hostile to him you don’t get some of his dialogue about questioning Meredith. Additionally if you side with the mages rather than the templars Cullen has some realizations about the Order that you’re not going to hear. It’s too little too late for a lot of people, though I would also argue with what tokutenshi said, he was severely traumatized after the Blight (if you take a female mage Warden in the tower during the Witch Hunt DLC you will get lines that indicate he is suffering from PTSD, notice the lines about him being “twitchy” and “jumpy”) Personally I think we can find a middle ground between Cullen being a victim of manipulation and indoctrination, someone who suffered after experiencing trauma, and someone who works hard in the moment to do some good, whether we can or should call it “atonement” or not. That being said, he does acknowledge in Inquisition that the war against Corypheus is his chance to atone, and he works overtime to the point where it’s commented upon by several characters including the Inquisitor how hard he works.  

By the time we meet Cullen in Inquisition a couple of years have passed since the chantry’s explosion. This is where I will be critical of the writing because I do think the game should have better established what exactly Cullen was doing in the time in between, though we get bits and clues from dialogue if you pay attention: He served as Kirkwall’s knight Commander after Meredith died, and he and presumably Aveline’s guard worked to basically repair the city, as Rylen says in Griffon Wing Keep that there was a lot of rubble, a lot of people without homes. Cassandra noticed Cullen’s work and recruited him to the Inquisition. (Also, keep in mind that the Inquisition was originally going to help quell the worst excess of the mage and templar fighting, restore order because the chantry lost control. Then the conclave happened, it went boom, and suddenly the Inquisition’s purpose became far greater than anyone would have expected. So Cullen as Cassandra’s choice of Commander makes total sense to me, considering he was a former templar and bringing him in basically acted as a symbol to any wayward templar, letting them know that there could be another way. But I digress on that part, haha.) 

I *think* some people are dissatisfied with Cullen’s “redemption” arc in DAI because we don’t really see him fall on the sword or beat himself up for his past. There’s also no moment where he like, faces a mage he maybe knew in Kirkwall or has to deal with the mages not trusting him. Obviously of course there is nuance there as well as Toku and I mentioned--he wasn’t allowed to heal as much as he should have before being shipped to Meredith. However, here’s an interesting bit of dialogue you can get if you pick the right options after Perseverance if you tell him he doesn’t need lyrium:

Quiz: The man you were. You can’t pretend like he never existed.

Cullen: Not even if I wanted to. But I’m here now. I can make that mean something.

Cullen knows he screwed up. What’s more, he doesn’t want to forget he screwed up. But he lives in the moment to make things right. Blackwall’s arc actually shows him falling on the sword and wanting to atone, versus with Cullen it’s implied he has come to terms with his screw ups off screen. He doesn’t continuously beat himself up, he does what he can for the Inquisition to the point where if the Quiz tells him to go back on lyrium for the better of his soldiers, he does, knowing it just may kill him. There is also limited dialogue that challenges his views which turns some people off, but I know for my Inquisitor she’s very much about the now and what they both can do in the now. I won’t blame anyone who wants to be able to challenge him more, but frankly I find the fact he doesn’t continuously fall on the sword or beat himself up interesting. 

All that being said, I do think of his arc as more of one of recovery versus redemption. And to be frank I’m kind of critical of the term “redemption” and what makes good redemption arcs or not. Someone having a “redemption arc” seems to imply that there’s only one road to the top of the mountain when maybe redemption is something you should always strive for? But as for the “recovery” arc: the chantry, IMO, purposely devoids both mages and templars of a personhood or life outside the order and Circle and treats them as objects. Many templar recruits are children and are basically indoctrinated to believe they serve the Maker and they are needed and that they do the Maker’s will. There’s an interesting bit of dialogue you can get if your character is a warrior and talks to Cullen about the templar spec, basically if the Quiz says “templars serve the Maker, I’d do the same.” Cullen basically replies, “uh, yeah, that’s not going to make you righteous, believe me,” implying this was the way he once indoctrinated to think, but he no longer believes it so. Templars are given lyrium for their abilities, but also to placate them, something Alistair says in DAO. 

After Kirkwall Cullen sees where the Order is going, gets an offer from Cassandra and decides that if he removes the “part that kept [him] chained,” he would find his own purpose again. (He says this is your Quiz makes him take lyrium.) In Inquisition we learn he always wanted to protect people. (Our local mind reader Cole says “some templars want to only protect, like Cullen” if you ask him about templars.) And as a kid living in rural nowhere Ferelden, he saw the templars as protectors. Why I interpret his arc as more about recovery than redemption all has to do with Perseverance and the way you as the player can handle it: You can either let him know he can start over, he can endure and one day find a life of his own away from duty and battle, or you can make him take it and thus let him remain indoctrinated to what the chantry taught him, that there is nothing outside of duty and battle. It comes down between a choice of “you are leashed to what the chantry made you till you die” to “you are more and you can recover and make your own life,” which he does do by Tresspasser, romance or not. At the end of the game if you keep him off lyrium he basically thanks the Inquisitor for giving him a chance, letting him know he could be more. Additionally, a lyrium free Cullen in Tresspasser speaks of meeting his siblings again, developing a relationship. If you make him take it forever he refuses to see them. 

I could also see the arc as one of faith, and finding it again. If you keep him off lyrium the prayer in the chantry he speaks is one of quiet reassurance and finding strength through his faith, but if you make him take it the prayer is “blessed are the peacekeepers” and it’s uttered desperately as if he is trying to believe it. He also mourns how far he fell. All this to say that I find it very interesting his writer focused his personal quest around the lyrium and what lyrium represents rather than say, him meeting a mage who lived in Kirkwall or something and him trying to atone to them.  

When I wrote my post about why Cullen gets so much fandom related wank I got a lot of different responses that echoed the same thing about Cullen’s arc not getting a lot of attention. I think there is a lot of good writing there with his personal quest,  but his writing doesn’t fill in every single gap---not to mention people are going to have vastly different experiences on how they played the games till Inquisition. And my examples of dialogue are things you may not get if you don’t pick the right options. And heck, some people only have played Inquisition. 

So, I think me calling his arc in Inquisition a recovery arc has partially been not me trying to justify why I like him, but analyze a differing way a character who has screwed up in the past is written. Blackwall’s arc is a true redemption arc IMO. Cullen’s isn’t so clear cut as a redemption arc, but at the end of the day it is truly about him finding his own purpose again, which leads me to lean more toward calling it a “recovery arc.”