#but in THIS playthrough…where I DO have the dlc…our right hand’s gonna get his hands around that dude’s neck

[noirandchocolate]

For this playthrough I’ve had the DLC from the start so the EX missions are spawning in (close to) where they “fit” in the story. I don’t know when the Yiga Clan’s Retreat one will spawn though I have a guess. And as long as it’s before the final main story mission…

I’m siccing Sooga on Astor this time. :)

[mrs-gauche]

Hi! I'm playing JoH for the first time and I came across this codex entry "The Hunt of the Fell Wolf", which I'm pretty sure describes and encounter between solas and Ameridan. I feel like there's sooo much foreshadowing in that single entry. Idk if you've discussed this before but I'd love to hear your take on it :)

Hi! Ohhh yes! :O I do know that codex and I remember actually gasping out loud when I read it again on my second playthrough and AGAIN even more so after reading Tevinter Nights! 😂 Thank you so much for the ask, I hadn't thought about this in a while! *rubs hands*

There is quite a lot of super interesting stuff and potential hints in there, but I also feel like it heavily depends on how you interpret the story and I've actually seen many different interpretations in the past.

But let's reiterate real quick.

For those who don't know, "The Hunt of the Fell Wolf" is a tale written as a poem about former Inquisitor Ameridan and his friend Haron who fought and ultimately defeated a beast in the form of a demon wolf. The codex can be found in the Jaws of Hakkon DLC, near the location where you find Kenric's assistant Colette. It's also quite long, here's a link to the whole thing. So let's take a closer look. :)

First off, before getting into it, I think you're totally right in that it's only natural to conclude, after reading the entire thing, that the beast described in this tale is most definitely the Dread Wolf, right? It seems almost too much on the nose, looking at the words used to describe it, especially given what we know now after Tevinter Nights. So overall, like you've said, this has to be about Ameridan fighting Solas then, right? Well, I have to argue that a bit. 😁 Yes, the similarities and parallels are almost uncanny. But remember, this is only a tale. And this is where different interpretations come into play.

Because what I think this is (or what would be the most interesting possibility here imo) and what actually seems to be the most popular assumption, that this tale should not be taken in a literal way, in that Ameridan actually encountered and fought Solas once, as that would appear kinda strange, given that the story (talking specifically about Ameridan's part here and not Haron's, but we'll get to that 😁) seemed to have taken place in the waking world and not in the Fade, but what if this whole tale can instead be read as some form of metaphor or like you've said, foreshadowing for what might happen in DA4? (..And probably just the devs again having a blast to tease us with yet another vague hidden clue in some codex entry, goddamnit 😂).

The thing is, if there's anything that can be taken from all of Jaws of Hakkon, it's that Ameridan's story, now entirely misremembered by the history books, and the current Inquisitor's story mirror each other in many different ways.

That being said, there are three main characters in this story.

Ameridan, Haron and the wolf.

Before I go into the details of the tale, let's put on our tin foil hats for a second and assume that this whole tale really is a metaphor for what might happen in DA4, in which Ameridan's role is that of the Inquisitor (quite literally) and the wolf is Solas, which leaves us only with the question of who Ameridan's friend Haron is supposed to be.

Now, I'm not the first one to say this, but let's just go crazy and say that Haron's role in this tale is that of the next protagonist. Because it makes for some very interesting ideas and it's fun to think about (and DA4 is not coming out any time soon, so what else are we gonna talk about 😂)!

So, with ALL of this in mind (and the tin foil hat still on), let's dive into it.

Okay, so the tale starts off with a panicked woman running up to Ameridan and his friend Haron, telling them about a terrible beast they've seen in the moors.

"Upon the lonely moors," the runner cried, "A loathsome beast now dwells. As day gives way to night, it strikes. All in its path, it fells."

Ameridan and Haron are then being lead to the beast that turns out to be a wolf with very familiar features.

Favored like a wolf it was, In size like a Woodsman's Death. Within its eyes burned eldritch fire, The Fade in every breath.

So, to sum this up. A giant demon in wolf form, only striking at night when everyone's asleep, who has burning red eyes and "the Fade in every breath". If that doesn't sound like the Dread Wolf, I don't know what does.

Swift as thought, the hunters struck. The demon wolf fell back, But mortal strength alone could not Prevent the beast's attack.

So Ameridan and Haron try to fight it, but "mortal strength alone could not prevent the beast's attack". We've already seen a glimpse of what Solas is now capable of in Trespasser and Tevinter Nights and if that is anything to go by, it will need something far beyond mortal strength to counter these god like powers.

Ameridan is then struck by the wolf, sending him flying across the moor in a watery grave, leaving Haron alone with the wolf.

Jaws like a dragon's clamped down tight Round Haron's armored chest, And with the knight it sped away From moonlight, to the west.

The wolf then takes Haron with him, vanishing into the night, leaving Ameridan behind in the believe that his friend is dead, so he swears vengeance by killing the wolf and taking its head.

So I take it, Solas will just kidnap the next protagonist in DA4 like they're Bowser and Peach and Inquisitor Super Mario has to rescue them, only to realize that the princess is in another castle. lmao

Notice the dragon connotations here, much like the description of the Dread Wolf in Tevinter Nights. I'm curious as to why the wolf chooses to take Haron rather than killing him instantly though. A hint at Solas still being redeemable?

Whilst the wolf across the moor Bore Haron to its lair, A labyrinth of winding cave Any mortal should beware.

The wolf takes Haron to its lair and now it's getting interesting. The most popular assumption seems to be that "the labyrinth of winding cave any mortal should beware" is referring to the Deep Roads. But why would Solas go there of all places? Well, the answer might actually be right up in the next verses.

Haron manages to free himself from the wolf's jaws and strikes it in the eye, leading it to cry out in pain and flee into the dark.

The wounded knight in darkness Found within the cavern's gloom An idol of fade-touched stone, Which could prove the monster's doom.

Woah okay, WOW. This can't be a coincidence, right? It's so on the nose that it's almost baffling. Remember how we first found the red lyrium idol with Varric in the Deep Roads in DA2. And since then, the idol has only gotten more and more attention, whether it's the lastest comics, the very first DA4 teaser in 2018 or the entirety of the last chapter in Tevinter Nights. And here it is again, in a codex entry from 2015.

"An idol of fade-touched stone, which could prove the monster's doom."

Whether you believed the Bard's story at the end of Tevinter Nights or not, it is certain that Solas needs the idol for whatever he's planning. But what if he's so desperate to get it, because it's the only thing that could make him vulnerable? His weak spot so to speak?

Back to the tale, while Haron found the idol, Ameridan followed the wolf's tracks, which lead him to the cave where he finally finds the wolf again at the cavern's end.

With burning blade, Ameridan And monster met again Whilst elsewhere did Haron valiantly With demon-wards contend.

As demon-stone was shattered, Ameridan struck true: Beast and spirit—both felled at once, Though neither hunter knew.

This has to be the most intriguing part!

The way it's written, you would think that what's happening here is Ameridan striking the wolf with his sword as Haron elsewhere destroys the idol at the same time and only through this combined effort, the wolf can ultimately be defeated.

But what stood out to me here was this line:

"Beast and spirit - both felled at once"

It sounds like two seperate entities who are connected in a way they can only be defeated by killing both at the same time. Beast and spirit... in two different places... as in the physical body and the spirit maybe? As in the waking world and the Fade?

What if Ameridan struck the wolf's body in the waking world as Haron killed the spirit in the Fade? And what on earth could all this imply for DA4 then, if we are still applying all this to the Inquisitor, Solas and the next protagonist?? 👀 Is this how we can stop him? The Inquisitor confronts Solas in the waking world, while the next protagonist has to fight the Dread Wolf in the Fade? Or what if it's the other way around? Sooo many possibilities here. 😂

I won't go into the whole theory that assumes that the creation of the Veil lead to the separation of the ancient elves' bodies and their souls/spirits, assuming that before the creation of the Veil, the Evanuris somehow made bodies from the Titans/lyrium for spirits to inhabit and then enslaved/bound them to their will by marking those bodies with their vallaslin.

But, keeping all this in mind.. you have to wonder.. in all the murals, tarot cards and illustrations, the Dread Wolf and Solas are always depicted separately.

I always liked to think that the Dread Wolf we see in the murals is a form that Solas himself can take on, but maybe that's not the case? Maybe the Dread Wolf is literally like his spirit animal (or demon animal, if you will lol)? Like a separate entity, that is still somehow part of him, connected through the Fade. We also have to keep in mind that before the creation of the Veil, the nature and connection between spirits/demons/physical forms/elves had to be something completely different than it is now... And who knows, maybe if Solas manages to tear down the Veil, it will all be reversed and everyone becomes one again? 😂

OR could all of this just be a metaphor for the Inquisitor in DA4 keeping Solas occupied to distract him from the next protagonist, while they can figure out another secret way to deal with him? It would definitely fit the whole "finding someone Solas doesn't know/never sees coming/underdog" narrative they've been going for.

OR am I just overthinking all this SO hard, because I'm so desperate to get some answers after such a long time and DA4 is not coming out any time soon and I'm slowly turning insane. 😂

Anyway, the tale ends with the wolf's death, Ameridan and Haron reunite and argue over who takes full credit for the defeat of the wolf.

So to conclude, there's a lot to take from this tale as far as speculations go, but it all depends on how you interpret it, really. 😁

Maybe some of this really happened after all and it was just Ameridan who had a really bad dream one night and all these parallels are just the devs messing with us. lol

(Oh and btw, it's also interesting to note that the location of this codex entry apparently moves to the final temple where you meet Ameridan if you take too long to complete the quest from Kenric's assistant, where you can find it originally. Seems like the devs went out of their way to make sure we would definitely find this tale, so there's that. 👀)

Again, thank you so much for the ask though! I hadn't really thought about this for a while and to revisit it after everything we know now was super interesting! :D But what do you guys think?

[quietest-rebellion]

Do the chaos household for that character meme you coward

Me upon realizing I have to explain what that is

Basically it's the idea of my fav murder boys having to live together. This being Stefano, Eddie, and Higgs. @christmasace and I came up with this one night and it has been our main source of serotonin since.

I'm going to do the character break downs for them in the context of their original games though. So anyway, buckle in, lads, this'll be a long one. (Eddie and Higgs will be below the cut)

Stefano Valentini

How I feel about this character

Fav. Favest of favs. I would willingly die for this man in a heartbeat. His voice? Beautiful. His personality? Snarky. His art? Breath taking. The way that he has to fix his hair after getting shot with a smoke bolt? Hilarious. Me? I'm in love. Also the fact he put jokes outside of the theater is iconic. Anyway, Stefano was an appealing character from the moment I first saw him in Markiplier's playthrough. I didn't realize I'd fallen until I started crying at his death and Mark was like "I don't even feel a little bad!" Because then I was like "oh shit why am I crying" Also I believe Stefano is an undiagnosed autistic man with horrible PTSD and brain damage(obviously) and I will die on this hill. I could talk about how I feel about Stefano for pages but I won't right now.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Me. Honestly I feel like Stefano is either an asexual aromantic, who only cares about his art, or he is a raging bisexual who is extremely picky with men since he himself is such a perfect man. As for actual ships though, I feel like Stefano is attracted to Sebastian and flirts with him throughout the game. I just don't really see the idea of Sebastian flirting back. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Emily Lewis. I love the idea of them being in a relationship, official or unofficial, and then things went south and he killed her. Stefano killed a lot of people before being put into STEM, why was this one so special he had to make a series of displays representing her? I don't know, just my thoughts.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

This is gonna sound weird, but I guess Theodore? Look, I just love the idea of Stefano driving Theodore insane and making him regret ever hiring him. And like, all the memes everyone makes about it? Amazing. (A personal favorite, also the one that I made) Plus, "You are special. You've always been special." Yeah, anyway I really need to know what the other half of that conversation was. Does Obscura count? I think she does. I see Stefano and Obscura's relationship being like that of a father and daughter or of a pet and an owner. He just loves her so much and he's so snippy when Sebastian gets to the theater the first time. "You did not appreciate my beautiful Obscura's performance." I imagine if you actually chose to fight and kill her in Ch. 7 he was really upset about it. Guardian is along the same lines as Obscura but I think Obscura has a higher place in his mind. 1. Because she is a camera and takes more photos for him. 2. There is confirmed to be more than one Guardian so he probably doesn't grow overly attached to any particular one, where there is only one Obscura. 3. Stefano seems to love whatever he did most recently the most, which is fair. As an artist, it really just Be Like That.

My unpopular opinion of this character

Unpopular only in the world of the game, but his art is good.  Actual unpopular opinion? Not sure I have one, tbh.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon

I say it literally all the time but I really want a prequel comic or SOMETHING to tell us more about him as character. What happened to his family? Why did he come to America? What war was he injured in?  Also the idea of him getting some dlc for the second game is still always on my mind, like, it could take place before and during the main game and it’s just us fucking around and making art and then catching Lily and fighting Sebastian. I am not gonna say that he didn’t deserve to die in canon, so really I wouldn’t change that.

Eddie Gluskin

How I feel about this character

Look... uh... I honestly am not sure how to describe my feelings for him. Because on one hand, is a misogynistic asshole who deserves literally everything that happened to him as an adult. But on the other hand, he was an abused child that grew into a hurt and sick adult. Also, when he’s not trying to kill you he is quite the gentleman.  Basically, I love this character, but I have no idea why and am slightly ashamed about it.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Literally no one. This man should not be in a relationship with any of the canon characters. I’d like to imagine an AU where he is sane and settled down with a wife and had 2.5 kids and lived together in their house with a white picket fence but that isn’t going to happen obviously.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Look, I know they never interact with each other, but Eddie and Trager. And like, not as friends really but more as weird acquaintances. They talk about surgeries and such, share a drink every now and then, complain about women, etc. 

My unpopular opinion of this character

He’s straight. 

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon

I just wish he would’ve been sent to a place that could actually help him instead of Mt. Massive. But then he wouldn’t be in the game, lmao. ALSO, there is a lot of unused Eddie dialogue in the files for the game. I really wish that all of them would have actually been included in the game. Some gems include: “Did I...? Oh lord. I forgot to give you an anesthetic, didn’t I? Eddie, you doofus! Would forget my own head if it was screwed on!” (Timestamp 16:32) “There you go. No, no, don’t cry. You’re not dying. I’m going to make you better.” (Timestamp 10:13) 

Higgs Monaghan

How I feel about this character

Garbage boy stink man. Just a rowdy, dirty boy. Pizza rat. Like, I sometimes have a difficult time imagining that he ran a company before he was a terrorist, because he doesn’t seem like a very organized person. Higgs is so multifaceted it’s impressive. In the game we only really get to see him a this asshole who wants to end the world. In his journals we see his hunt for power and want to be important. In his bunker we see the organized chaos of how his brain worked and how he operated his life. Not to mention the Peter Englert emails that are so well written. Anyway, I love him.  Plus I’m gonna mention something my sister(Thrushheart) pointed out when I was having her watch me play. He is the exact opposite of Sam. Examples: Sam hates being touched or touching people. Higgs is touching people as often as he can, including but not limited to even licking them. Sam is reconnecting the world, at first for Amelie, then for everyone he’s met along the way. Higgs is ending the world, at first for Amelie, then for himself(or possibly still for Amelie). Higgs is loud and bombastic while Sam is more quiet and reserved. Sam is smol and Higgs is tol.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Look, I’m not gonna say that I do or do not ship Goldenbridges. I’m not sure how I feel about it because, as I said, Higgs and Sam are such contrasting personalities I don’t think it would work. Fragile. Okay, okay, I know what you’re thinking, but I imagine they were together before he met Amelie. His betrayal would mean even more if this was true. And in his journals he only ever refers to Fragile as “his partner.” Now I know this was done to hide that they were his journals and because they were work partners, but it could also mean more. And of course we can’t forget the somber and clear writing, directly over his bed in his bunker. “Fragile forget you ever met me.” And how surprised he was to see her on the beach after the fight. The sad look he gave her as she caressed his face. Aaahhhh.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

I wasn’t sure whether to include Higgs relationship with Amelie here or in the last section. But he quite literally worshiped her and the ground she walked on so  🤷🏻‍♀️  I don’t feel like she ever really gave a fuck about him though. Amelie is extremely manipulative and proves that every time she opens her mouth so I have no doubt she told him whatever he wanted to hear so that he would help her.

The Veteran Porter. If you worked hard enough to get more than one star with this guy, you learn that he used to work for Higgs and that’s why he is reluctant to trust the UCA. I like to think that he and Higgs were good buddies before Amelie.

My unpopular opinion of this character

With likable villains it’s hard to figure what is a popular opinion and what is not. So I’m really not sure. Maybe just that he didn’t get enough screen time?

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon

Redemption ark! Redemption ark! Higgs is the one guy on this list where I’m like, “Okay, he saw the error in his ways. Maybe he gets a second chance.”

______________________________________________________________

Anyway, that’s all of them! If you actually read this whole thing, first of all... wow. Second of all, thanks! Here is a screenshot of these chaos boys from The Sims 4 as your reward. 

[actual-mammal]

Solas and the Original Elvhen Gods

For about five years I've been sitting on my theory regarding Solas's origins and the true Elvhen gods, and the new BTS trailer has me just revved up enough to post this. (Buckle up, this is gonna get long...)

Since Solas's first concept art was released back in 2014 I couldn't shake the impression that his design strongly resembled a monk/priest of some kind.

Let's attribute this assumption to 50% my loving ALTA and another 50% because I spent a ridiculous amount of time watching The Mummy movies in my youth. And not for Brendan Fraiser, oh no.

Ahem... anyway.

Aside from his very bald, bald head, Solas tends to wear robes and other more ceremonial looking garments. You could attribute that to him being a "god", but I think Solas himself would probably dislike the comparison. Before the DAI came out, we also got some shots of the companions on the armor inventory screens - including some of Solas in his all white base armor.

The Ancient Dreamers

At the time, this was a super exciting detail. I could count on one hand the amount of information we had on the ancient elves, but it was made pretty clear back in DAO that dreamers who achieved perfect Uthenera were clothed in all white. Once my theory of Solas being an ancient elvhen dreamer turned out to be true, I nearly forgot their cultural importance until long after Tresspasser came out. Mostly because I didnt realize so many people believed the rest of the Evanuris were dreamer mages as well.

So quick question, but do we have any evidence to assume that the Evanuris besides Solas were dreamers? Pre-inquisition codex entries made the dreamers seem a separate group of individuals - tasked with the protection of Arlathan specifically - and slain by the elvhen citizens once their magic failed to protect the city from Tevinter. If this lore hasn't been retconned or "misremembered" by the Dalish, Solas was part of an ancient order separate from his involvement with the Evanuris, which he would have felt deeply connected to because of the rarity of their shared magical ability (Marethari tells us dreamers have always been rare in DA2 when you assist with Feynriel).

Prior to Tresspasser, I assumed Fen'Harel was a lone wolf because he turned his back on his "pack", the other elvhen gods. But Solas paints a very different picture in his way of talking about the Evanuris throughout the game. In fact, he seems intent on not associating with them at all, even before their murder of Mythal or his open rebellion. I never get the impression that Solas was fond of the other Evanuris, or considered them enough of a family to warrant the "pack" analogy.

So who were the members of Solas's first "pack" that the Evanuris never lived up to? Probably the original bearers of the other foci. Wolves, up until the fall of the Dale's were seen as guardians and protectors in Elvhen myth (see the Emerald Knights). Perhaps they were also the sigil of the ancient dreamers of Arlathan, who were the city's protectors? That would certainly make more sense as to why wolf statues are everywhere in Thedas, despite Solas full tilt rejecting godhood. This is backed up by the murals in Vir Dirthara, full of wolves, individuals with bald heads, and foci. And they're fighting the titan.

But more on the Titan later.

I find it hard to believe that Solas personally had more surviving sculptures than all the rest of the Evanuris, particularly after he rebelled against them. It would make more sense to me if the wolves represented something greater than Solas individually. Particularly since he's titled, very specifically, The DREAD Wolf, as if there are other wolves that are not.

The Dreamers and Foci

In his first moment of really opening up, Solas tells the Inquisitor that the foci were used to channel power from "our" gods, which is the first time we hear him sounding so connected to Elvhen religion in 20 hours of gameplay. Solas never refers to the Evanuris as gods in a serious tone, so on replay this dialogue caught my attention. Why would a god need to channel power from himself? Do we ever get any hint of a foci belonging to another member of the Evanuris? Checking back on this topic throughout my playthrough, I can't find any instance of the foci being tied to the Evanuris. However Dorian is happy to tell us about the association between the orbs of Tevinter and the Ancient Dreamers. And Solas having one certainly lends credibility to his statement. My next thought became "so what if there were gods that predated the Evanuris, who were powerful spirits worshipped by the Ancient Dreamers using foci?." This assumption certainly makes sense given everything we know after JoH, since it uses the same structure of the Avvar religion (which Solas feels is highly enlightened for their time). It also provides a stronger story link for why we got that DLC in the first place, and hints what may have happened to these god spirits to facilitate the rise of the Evanuris.

The Original Gods

Surely we would have some hints as to who these dieties were this far into the games though, right? Oh wait, we do. My brain hurts to realize the writers even call them THE OLD GODS to make it easy for us. ::headesk:: Combining the lore of the old gods with the myths from the Astrariums and the archetypes of the Evanuris who supplanted them, we could try to guess their original forms. So let's line up the potential original pantheon:

Dumat/Silentir: The God of Justice, the Dragon of Silence. Supplanted by Mythal.

Zazikel/Kios: The God of Freedom, the Dragon of Chaos. Supplanted by Elgar'nan.

Toth/Ignifir: The God of Love, the Dragon of Fire. Supplanted by Sylaise.

Andoral/Servani: The God of Unity, The Dragon of Chains/Slaves. Supplanted by Andruil.

Urthemiel/Bellitanus: The God of the Artistry/Craft, the Dragon of Beauty. Supplanted by June.

Razikale/Eluvia: The God of Wisdom, the Dragon of Mystery. Supplanted by Dirthamen.

Lusacan/Tenebrium: (Owl) The God of Purpose, the Dragon of Night. Supplanted by Falon'Din (Lethanavir)

This makes so much sense when you consider Solas's hatred for the Grey Wardens, who have been systematically destroying the souls of the old gods once they're corrupted into archdemons. But how on earth did ancient elvhen god spirits get bound to dragons and trapped underground anyway?

The Fate of Gods and Dreamers

Back to Vir Dirthara and the Titan murals. We know the foci were used to seal away the blight in some way, because Solas told us (the angry red eyes are always the blight in his murals):

The rest of this will be pretty tin foil, but I think this mural helps illustrate my assumptions of the dreamers' involvement with the Evanuris.

The (bald) dreamers of Solas's order assisted Mythal in defeating the titan.

Sometime afterward, the "dead" titan returned in the form of red lyrium and threatened all of Elvhenan. This assumption is supported by the last codex entry in Tresspasser" where the Elves attempt to "seal away" a danger in the deep roads.

However they accomplished this, part of it required the dreamers to use the old gods power by binding their spirits to the forms of high dragons (just like JoH). These old god dragons are keeping the Blighted Titan "sleeping" which is why darkspawn seek to corrupt them (to free the source).

I believe the sinners judgement from the temple of Mythal also indicates that the dreamers themselves were the high dragons (taking the form of the divine), and why their foci were passed on to the Evanuris after the binding. The Evanuris were then able to use the power of the foci, as well as the vacuum left by the dreamers' absence, to establish themselves as the "new" gods.

So... thoughts?

[loreweaver-universe]

And that’s the episode.

HOLY FUCK YOU GUYS

THAT WAS...HOLY SHIT

HOLY SHIT

YOU WEREN’T KIDDING THAT THIS ONE WAS A “HOLY SHIT” EPISODE

That was intense.  Oh my god.  Oh my god!

That’s an all-timer.  That really had me going.  The suspense!  The execution!  I was really strung along!  And watching Steven really get into the fight was horrifying all on its own!

That was intense.  Holy shit.

So!  Steven just killed somebody.  He brought her back to life after, but she was dead, and by his hand.  That’s some heavy shit.  It’s also, like...not to downplay what he did, because he did that and he needs to face up to that as a consequence, but this is definitely not what our boy can deal with right now.  And on top of everything else, Jasper is treating him like her Diamond now!  That’s going to screw with his self-image even more, since he associates diamondhood with nothing but bad stuff.

I don’t want to make this all about his issues.  He killed someone, and I don’t know how to process that yet.  This is such a complicated thing.  He’s done something horrible.  Accidentally, yes, but...still.  It’s going to take me some time to really process that this went down.    How are the other Gems going to react?  This is crazy.  What a turn this has taken.  And it occurs to me as I write this that the last four episodes will probably deal with closing Jasper’s arc, too!  It’s about damn time, I think.  Time to break her of her notions about her place in the world.

What’s not complicated is how good this episode was.  Fragments comes in at my new #2 for Season 6 (between Bismuth Casual and Snow Day) and my new #7 overall (between Last One Out of Beach City and Reunited).  That marks the third episode of Future to crack my top ten.  This season has had some low lows, but holy hell, when it’s on its game it’s on its goddamn game.  I’m looking forward to seeing if the last four episodes can do the same.

The last four episodes.  We’re almost done with Steven Universe.  For real, this time.  Last time I thought it was over...well, those were real tears I cried.  I don’t know how I’m going to react this time.  But...I’m sure it’ll be a hell of a ride.

The last four episodes air tonight, but we’re taking a short break from Steven Universe for a few days.  I’m going to do an episode of She-Ra next.  I need the break, and some time to process this.  Episode 11 of She-Ra will begin on Monday.

As for streams, we’re a few streams into Nier so far, and I’m enjoying it, mostly!  I don’t know if I have a stream in me tonight, but you’ll get a notification on here and the community Discord server if I do.  If I don’t stream tonight, I will probably stream tomorrow, but the new Borderlands 3 DLC came out this week and my buddy Eddie and I may be playing through it over the weekend.  You can click here for my Twitch channel, or click here for the playlist of Nier streams I’ve done so far.

I’ll see you wherever you plan to tune in, and thank you for continuing to support me!  The amount of support you guys have shown after I asked for more patrons has been wonderful.  Thank you guys so, SO much.  That’s going to give me some room to start saving up money, I think.

Anyways, until next time!  See you there!

IN OTHER NEWS:

I recently completed my playthrough of the second story campaign in Fire Emblem: Three Houses!   You can view all the streams of the Golden Deer and Black Eagles routes I have done by clicking here!

I recently completed a blind playthrough of Hollow Knight on Twitch!  You can watch all the Hollow Knight streams I’ve uploaded to Youtube by clicking here!

If you’d like to help me pay my rent, buy me some food, or help with my bills and medicine, please use my direct donation link!  If you’d like to support me per liveblog completed every month, please pledge to my Patreon! Becoming a patron not only allows you to vote on what shows I do whenever I choose a new one, but also grants access to the community Minecraft server to $5 patrons or higher!

You should also go pledge to Gio’s Patreon–our Discord server maintenance tech, creator of Rubybot, and community Minecraft server overlord deserves far more than I can afford to pledge to him by myself.

If you’d like more of me and my content:

My Episode Lists master page, where you can find every show and liveblog I’ve done!

My Discord server, where you can come hang out with me and other fans, check out member liveblogs, and join community gaming guilds!

My Twitch channel, where I stream variety games every so often!

My Youtube channel, where you can check out past streams!

My ask blog, where you can send me questions and comments!

My Twitter, where I make announcements about liveblogs and streams!

It’s your kindness and support that lets me do this stuff, and I wouldn’t be where I am without all of you to do it for.  Thank you all so much for your support, and for tuning in every episode!

OTHER PEOPLE YOU MAY ENJOY:

I may have been one of the earlier Steven Universe liveblogs, but a whole community of livebloggers has sprung up over the last five years!   I linked to a bunch individually for a few wrap-ups, but honestly, this end-slate is already eight billion miles long, so I’m just gonna link to my links page.  Click here if you want recommendations of other livebloggers, or other neat people, or webcomics and podcasts that I recommend.

[annakie]

An Annotated Mass Effect Playthrough, Part Four

Wherein we make it to the Citadel, and do a lot of running around.

List of Posts: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

So right away, we meet Udina and the Council, way to throw us right into it.  

It’s a brief introduction and gives us an idea what Humanity is up against and who is representing us.  Basically, we’re supposed to get the idea that it’s a lot of bureaucratic bullshit, I guess.

This is also the first time we see Asari and Salarians, and they’re in reddish-brown and white, which really isn’t the best look.

Bioware continues to push the story forward.  We get enough to know that Udina is kind of an ass, and the Council isn’t going to just trust what some guy says even if he is the representative for billions of people.

And finally, after this, we’re set free.

The Citadel I think is one of the coolest locations in like almost any game I’ve ever played.  They do a great job of both making it feel huge, but also accessible.  Enough bridges to get across to places you need to get to, and after you walk somewhere once, Citadel Rapid Transit is great.  I still choose to take elevators about 80% of the time even when I can CRT somewhere, just because I like the squad conversations and news updates. There’s a shorter elevator rides mod that helps, too.

There’s so much to do and see, and having one of the main areas just be such an awesome combination of scifi futurism and lush greenery + water is both trippy and breathtaking.  I think, especially with the updated graphics mods/settings, the Presidium especially holds up fairly well.  I mean it definitely feels more populated and modern in ME3 but, I just consider this to be more of a residential / professional area of the Presidium and most of what we see in ME3 is a more retail section.

It’d be annoying to be a groundskeeper here, though.  Lots of green areas that you’d really need to climb to, or garden on a steep slant. :p

I always found it interesting that the natural first place to head to is into the ambassador’s office next door, where we find some friendly aliens, and one not-so-friendly one.  But honestly, this is a great place to find out the different ways other species view humanity, and how there’s apparently tiers of respect given to various species.

I always kind of hoped the Elcor would feature more prominently into the world in future games, but at least we got Hamlet.  I have SO MANY QUESTIONS about how Elcor like... do things?  We never see it but you have to assume that their hands have opposable thumbs and they’re able to stand on two legs, right?  I want to see what an Elcor ship looks like and Dakuna specifically.  Give us more elcor, Bioware!

BTW, the Mass Effect: Annihilation (aka the book that was supposed to be based on the Quarian Ark DLC that never happened in Andromeda) is totally worth reading just for the elcor character in it.  It’s also probably the best of the Mass Effect books, in my opinion.

Din Korlack’s got a point though, they not only have to share an office, but their view isn’t nearly as good as the human’s.  This is especially bullshit for the volus, who could stand on that railing and probably STILL wouldn’t have a view.

I love how Mass Effect 2 takes her from a completely forgettable character to making me think  “Sorry you’re gonna die in a few weeks, your mom’s really gonna miss you.” every time I see her.

PALIN DESERVED BETTER.

I don’t remember which ME3 mod it is, maybe the Spectre Expansion Mod or maybe EGM, but thank you whichever modder it was who made Palin’s story and death more clear in ME3.  Sorry Udina got you killed.

Also, it was good to get a dissenting opinion on Spectres from him.

Avina is such a good, optional way to get more loredump.  Yes, you can again ask them about Spectres if you want to hear about them again.  But I liked that each Avina terminal taught you a little more about whatever you were nearby, and the state of the galaxy in general and since they were programmed to be information dumps, it felt more natural to get information this way.

Don’t these people have jobs?

I love the Krogan statue, and the Avina terminal nearby telling you about it.  But now every time I see it, all I can picture is Grunt and his buddies climbing it.  So good.

Managed to get a clean shot of the crew without the UI in the elevator, thanks Flycam!  You have about a half a second to get this shot though, because the camera is stationary while the elevator is not.

Oh hell-lo Pailin, who is your charming-looking friend there?

This entire conversation needs to be longer. It’s a nice, quick introduction to Garrus, but, well, let’s spend a little more time with the main characters!!

I mean how can you not just not immediately love that?  Hey remember how bad Garrus’ face texture used to be?  Thanks, modders.

I just really love the Citadel tower.  Absolutely beautiful and atmospheric.

SO the thing is, if you can pretend that Saren isn’t, you know, already half Reaperized, 100% the Council is right to not just go throwing one of their longer-term agents in jail because Shepard had a bad dream and a random dockworker said the guy who killed Saren looked like this.

Honestly though, this and OH A GOOD CHUNK OF MASS EFFECT 2 would be so much easier if Shepard wore a bodycam. :p

Also, I wonder who took the dockworker’s testimony?  Did Kaidan run back real quick while Shepard was sleeping?

This was an embarrassment for humanity, and I agree with Udina that we needed more to go on before making demands of the council.  The council is right to not convict based off a bad dream Shepard had.  Go get some real proof!  Also, do a bunch of sidequests!

And scan some Keepers for this shady guy!

Which is actually good quest design, because you really have to go to every nook and cranny in the Citadel to find them all, though it would have been nice if they showed up on the minimap.   Really gets you to explore and get to know the area like the back of your hand.

This time around, I forgot to grab the one outside Dr. Michele’s office and had to hunt for it before heading up to grab the last one at the docks.

Thank you, though, Barla Von, for telling us all about the Shadow Broker and telling us about Wrex.  See u in ME3.

Bioware please give us diverse-suited volus in a remaster.  Maybe I’m reusing a pic of Din Korlack, you’ll never know! :p

Thanks, texture modders, for really highlighting what the end of the hanar’s noses look like. 

The hanar are another species I wish we got more of throughout the series.  They are probably the most alien of all the aliens we interact with.   I mean, at least we got Blasto.  I’d really love to visit Kahje someday.  I know it’s in the comics, but you know, in-game.

Annnd let’s go visit Sha'ira.

I have very mixed feelings about Sha'ira.  On one hand, she’s clearly very respected, is probably making bank, in control of her own destiny etc.  On the other hand, she’s probably the asari we have the second most interaction with in this game after Liara, and after just seeing Benezia’s boob-tastic clothing and then heading to Chora’s Den soon to see the dancing asari we’re getting a very slanted view of the species.  I think Bioware course corrects in later games but oof this is such a dude-fantasy alien species in ME1 it hurts.  Especially since Liara is almost a born-sexy-yesterday trope.

Also... don’t touch me if I don’t wanna be touched. =\

Noveria advertisements... that just say Noveria.  I guess this is effective marketing in 2148.

Look how great those shadows from the tree are... actual definition in shadow... wow.

Raise your hand if you’ve missed this conversation in a playthrough before and reloaded like an hour or more past to make sure you get it.

It’s one of those little moments that they didn’t have to put in.  Just a little conversation reflecting on humans and humanity, and our place in the world, and showcasing Ash’s wit and Kaidan’s adorkableness.  Also making sure you appreciate all the work that went into this particular view.  It’s a pause in the action and all the things you have going on, and it’s so great for characterization and making you feel a part of the world.  

Speaking of the view... I decided to flycam it.  Warning, I spoil some of the “magic” below.

Pretty quickly, you see that the arms are actual objects, untextured on the non-visible side.

I decided to head for the closest line of “cars” on the bottom center-left to see what those “cars” looked like.

Flycam feels pretty fast when you’re trying to frame a specific shot just right... but when you need to travel a great distance, it feels verrry slow.

It took me probably close to five minutes of traveling to make it all the way there.

What I discovered was... a few of the buildings are real, the rest are a very good painting.

This is how far away the citadel is from the rest of the map. That grid would be that entire view from outside Dr. Michele’s office all the way to the edge of the shops on the other side, plus some extra.

So both the building that those “cars” (the string of white lights) are coming from and going to are... on the painting.  Neither one are physical objects.

Made some gifs.

You can see the lights moving at a mostly-downward angle, while it looks like they’re just heading south when standing on the Citadel.  Also you can see other lights moving farther up the map.

And here you can see the lights “disappearing behind a building” but they’re really just hitting an invisible wall, the dark angle of that building is just a part of the wall painting.   

Looking up from the wall...

So that was a fun distraction.

Emily Wong deserved:

Better.

An entire shirt.

A mention in ME3 after she gave her life on social media defending Earth against the reapers while keeping her cool reporting on the invasion the day before ME3′s release.

That day before launch though... was amazing.  Bioware did such a great job on social media with the reaper invasion happening on twitter.  I loved that lots of fans got into it, too, posting photoshops and their own reaper invasion stories.  I remember being at work that day but not actually working very much.  A few friends and I had a google hangout going on to report in on anything we saw happening on social media and keep up with it and to be very hyped together online.  

We reblogged a bunch of it on fuckyeahbioware starting about here and working backwards through numbers.  

One of the ME3 mods, and again, sorry, don’t remember which, does give Emily a nice tribute through an email.  She deserves it.

Okay that’s enough for this post!  Will try to finish up the Citadel next time!

[annakie]

An Annotated Mass Effect Playthrough, Part Two

Aliens!  Exposition!  Guns!  Explosions!  Kickass Ladies!  Betrayal!  So much death!

Um, this got long. Sorry not sorry.

List of Posts: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

The first thing Mass Effect does after coming out of the introduction is assure us that yes, we have aliens 

and we have hot guys (and hot aliens, if you’re into that sort of thing.)

They should have made an advertisement pointing out these things just for me so I would have paid release price for this game.  Ah well, I’ve bought it on 360, Steam and Origin now.  They have my money.

We’re going to make it most of the way through Eden Prime in this post.

One thing Mass Effect does a lot of in the beginning here is exposition.  There’s a lot to learn about the state of the galaxy in 2148, and there are people there to make sure you learn about it.  Jeff and Kaidan only do a little bit of exposition, you learn about Nihilus, a tiny bit about Spectres, and that Captain Anderson is badass.  I wish this scene actually lasted longer -- this is the only time we see Kaidan away from his Orange Corner (or that other orange wall) on the ship for awhile.  I guess there’s the conference room, but still.  If they ever do a remaster, please Bioware, let the companions move around the ship like in ME3 and give our boy better lighting.

I love the flow of the Normandy SR1.  It feels the easiest to get around in since it’s so much smaller... except when you have to get on the elevator.  I also love the dark theme.  The ME2 SR2 always feels so... blinding.  The only thing I miss from the SR2 really is my decked out Captain’s quarters.  I mean does anyone even ever go into the ME1 quarters except to get the one codex entry until it’s sexytime?

I do like ME1′s use of ambient conversations, you get to learn a little about Pressley and Jenkins before talking to them.  Those conversations, though, are just such exposition dumps.  I think they do it fairly well, but there’s so much to remember.  Both Jenkins (with Chakwas) and Pressley really harp on what and who Spectres are, pretty sure even before you talk to Nihilus you have an inkling you’re gonna eventually be one.  

I honestly wish we had more actual interaction with Pressley than what we get here, he has very little to say after this point.  Another hope for a remaster.

This kid Jenkins, he’s got a good career ahead of him if we can tame his hot-headedness.  That’ll be his role in the game, I’m sure, the kid you mentor and grow into a reflection of you.  Good to know he’s from the planet we’re heading to, I’m sure he’ll be a valuable source of information there.

Having played a lot of World of Warcraft, and I mean a LOT, from the alpha, then release, for the next two or three years, the fact that his name was Jenkins was actually a bit of a hint for me even then.  But more in the “Wouldn’t it be funny if...?” and then he did.  Nice. 

I’m really glad Chakwas gets fleshed out a little more in just the one more conversation after this one and in future games.  Because there’s not much to say about her here.

Whew!  Exposition over, right?  We’ve learned about Spectres, the First Contact War, about Eden Prime, that we’re in the Alliance, that there’s Turians and a council that governs things and... we’re good, right?

Wait, didn’t Anderson say he was already with Nihilus in the conference room?  Where’d he go?  What a bro, to step out and let Nihilus make a big turn-around moment of introduction to us.  Okay, more loredump.  Cool.  Really getting the concept of Spectres now, for sure, especially from this guy, who is one!

Finally, Anderson.  Just in time to tell us about Spectres, and Eden Prime, and now it’s time to learn about the Protheans.  Whaaaaat?  You want ME to maybe be a Spectre?  I’m shocked! 

Oh sorry, Annakie just flew through time from ME3 to stare into the camera incredulously.

I’m sure that this will be a decision that will be deeply impactful through the entirety of the rest of the series.

But here we learn about Protheans, and they lost me a bit on that one when we first played the game.  Who the fuck cares about what happened 20,000 years ago?  THIS IS THE FUTURE!!!  We’re in SPACE!

Well, we wouldn’t get away from the Protheans so easily.

Oh what the FUCK is that thing?  You’ve hooked me right back in.  Tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up?  LET’S GO.

You guys... ALOV is so good, and so pretty.  And these screenshots look shittier on tumblr!!  Look how clear these movies are now.  And these are just 720p!   They’re working to upscale them to 4k!  Again I say, all hail the modders.

Still, that giant red spot doesn’t look so good for the people living there...  

I’m sure it’s fine.

We’re all suited up, but sadly the super cool alien isn’t coming with us?  Didn’t he say he was here to follow and observe us?  Well, he knows what he’s doing.

Anyone else already willing to die for Anderson fifteen minutes into this game?

The sky is supposed to be that color red, right? Right Jenkins?

As cool as this level design is, also something that could use improving.  There’s like... no housing here?  Just a bunch of tall towers on the ground all really realy far apart from each other?  You’re on a new planet and everyone lives inside a giant tower?  I mean, good for preventing Urban Spawl I guess.  I’d love to see a more populated Eden Prime.  Even in ME3 we just saw a small dig site and more towers in the distance.  

Anyway, better level up.  Jenkins is young and needs some training if he’s gonna survive this mission!

Here we go, show us what you’ve got!

Shit.

My first time through, I truly thought I’d fucked up and probably reloaded this fight two or three times before accepting he was just... supposed to die.  And then I remembered his name was Jenkins, knew it was intentional, and laughed.  

Honestly, it’s a great fakeout with making us feel like Jenkins is important, and then having him lose the battle right away.  ME1 is pretty brutal that way. It’s a good way to signal that this game is probably going to rip your heart out, so get used to it.  

Shepard and Kaidan have a moment, and I like this because it’s really the first time I think you can really start showing who your Shepard is, with how you react to Jenkins’ death.  Either way, I like it that she tells Kaidan that we need to focus.  I also love that, though we don’t get to see a moment for Jenkins from here on out in ME1, that they finally gave his memory a moment in ME3.

I love Flycam.

What. An. Entrance. For. Ashley. Williams.  

Bioware, give us Ashley and Kaidan living in a Mass Effect Remaster, please.  I will pay $100 for this DLC.  (I know, I KNOW.)  I have only played through with Ashley living all the way through once.  I’m sorry Ash, I love you.  I just... LOVE Kaidan.

But hey that’s HOURS away.   For now, she’s with us, and she’s amazing.

Sorry, I just caught several great images from Ashley’s intro and thought you needed to see them.  It’s gonna be a miracle if tumblr lets this thing post.

This is fine.

Uh, I’m not the only one who still sometimes dies on Eden Prime because I can never remember how the controls work until like, the end of the planet, right?  “CRAP,  WHICH BUTTON IS MEDIGEL?”  “WHY ISN’T THE SQUAD RESPONDING TO GOING WHERE I TELL THEM WITH Q and E?”  “Shit shit shit gotta reload OH FUCK JUST THREW A GRENADE SIX INCHES AWAY.  WHY IS THAT MAPPED TO R?”

Grotesque and yet...  great visuals.  This is when you realize these Geth aren’t playing around.  This is Bad Bad.

Iiiiif you also used to always punch out Miguel and then like awhile later realized how shitty that was and now know that the “Geinuis is the other side of the coin of Madness” speech here is also really shitty... raise your hand.  Especially since Miguel is, you know, right.   Anyway, do better on a remaster, Bioware?

The one good thing here was the “Thank the Maker” at the very beginning of the encounter.  I want Shepard to visit Thedas.  Give us this DLC, Bioware!!

Oh Nihilus, you were too pretty, and trusting, for this world.  

Bioware, again, in the remaster... please go with your original plan and not make Saren all Gethed out this early.  I wish that could be modded away.  It’s so distracting to have him be OBVIOUSLY HALF MACHINE and everyone being like “Saren?  Working with the Geth?  PREPOSTEROUS!!”

Got some AMAZING screenshots of Sovereign taking off thanks to Flycam.

Also, this is just such an OH SHIT moment.  Look at that thing! It’s terrifying!  Also it’s easy to miss if you’re looking the wrong way, this maybe shoulda been in a cutscene. But even so, when you see it, it fills you with SUCH DREAD.  They do such a great job of amping up the tension and drama and mystery bit by bit on Eden Prime.  Giving you bits of the greater story and also feeding you pieces that will eventually come together, but not for awhile.  

I followed Soverign as long as I could before he disappeared.  Got this far away from land.  The actual spaces in the game are huge, but we’ll get to more of that later.

Congrats!   You all survived!  For uh... about two and a half more years?

Can’t believe we can’t loot the Spectre’s body.  

Also... the luckiest dock worker in the world.  I can never yell at him for sleeping on the job.  It’d be hilarious if he showed up alive on Horizon in ME2, and like Haven in ME3.

This is the guy that usually kills me.

OK, this is ridiculously long already.  We’ll finish up Eden Prime and get to the Citadel next time.