#fave questline

[nightmaresyrup]

SIEGBRÄU!

[leyartser]

*runs into another one of her victims* God she's such an artist <3

[schluesselschwert]

Small info for my mutuals who play Final Fantasy XIV: I now know enough about the game to understand (some) spoilers when I see them, so I'm now blocking the tags (with a very heavy heart bc I love this game and I love seeing fanworks for it)

If anyone thinks something isn't a spoiler and I should see it / might like it you can tag it as 'dia look' and I'll do exactly that! ... You can also do that for stuff that isn't FF14 actually if you want to :')

Love you all, thanks for filling my days with all the wonderful stuff you share! <3

[abysswatchers420]

the reason im so staunch about having ghosts and paranormal activity in my cyberpunk tabletop is bc i was obsessed with the dunwich mystery in fallout and how "out of place" and fun it felt to be in there. always been drawn to that stuff, and ideas of theres always something more you dont know about going on, beyond common comprehension

i also enjoy thinking about how it meshes in the dark future when most of the populace is rife with cyberware and how that would change supernatural experiences and beliefs as well as confusing it with cyberpsychosis

[princepipper]

how's Skyrim going? most people i know are playing ESO now

It's going well, I think. My game is really having a hard time with all the glitches, but I'm still enjoying it. I've had a bunch of different files over the years, I think I've been playing since I was 16??

I am typically a tank in rpgs like that. I hate strategy, I wanna run in and kick butt!! I used to use heavy armor and warhammers, now I do heavy armor and sword/shield. I also am making use of restoration magic more often to save on potions, but my alchemy and enchanting isn't bad. The only stuff I really don't do is offensive magic, archery (I do use a bow for dragons and stuff tho) and sneaking.

And also I'm having fun by straying from my morals and making some ✨questionable✨ choices, like killing innocent people to please the Daedra... I mean I literally just ate a dude for the Namira quest. C'est la vie.

[last-flight-of-fancy]

every time i summon Esteem i kick my feet and go 'omg look there's my special little guy <333'

[incorrectskyrimquotes]

Oh my god, Brynjolf's face. AND THE FACT HE ALMOST HAS HIS DAGGER OUT. But he stopped, of course he did, he would never want to hurt DD.

Can you even imagine you thought your crush close friend was DEAD and then he just walks in, and he's fine, nervous, but fine.

He's alive. That's all Brynjolf can process for a second. Is that Daedalus is alive. That's almost all that matters.

Reunion moment!!!!

(Inspired by one of @incorrectskyrimquotes 's tags!)

[eruscreaminginthedistance]

The tweets are giving pandering to a very specific subset of the fandom that are still complaining that their HoFs aren't still the main character ngl. Saying "you don't want characters to return cos we'll do something mean to them" is bizarrely juvenile. Like yes, unironically I think anyone who engages with your stories in an intelligent way sees the value in killing off or ruining the happy endings of beloved characters in service of a compelling narrative and showcasing the impacts of our choices.

The choice to sacrifice Hawke or the Warden - potentially Alistair - in The Nightmare was one of the best moments in Inquisition, one that was diluted in playthroughs where one was stuck with, say, Stroud. Mass Effect 3 is full of amazing moments like these - are Kirby and Weekes saying that we wouldn't want another Mordin? Another Legion? All the incredibly impactful moments of that third installment where our decisions played out to either the benefit or detriment of beloved characters? Are Kirby and Weekes really putting all of the fandom under the umbrella of a minority of entitled fans who would rather their faves be the specialist most happiest characters in existence in favour of the dark and high stakes narrative the first two games set the series up to be? What a bizarre response this has been.

All this to say, I wish these devs would just be honest and admit carrying over all those decisions is just too much work. Turning the finger to the fandom and claiming the fans just don't know any better isn't doing anyone any favours. As if returning creator-favourite Morrigan is in any danger or will have anything go wrong for her in any way. Just stick to your guns, guys; overwhelmed at the work is way more understandable than this made-up position that this is secretely what the fans want. Yes, I expect that when you keep bringing back significant characters in Veilguard that you do put in all that effort and do something more interesting with them than just fanservice, hence why I've been asking for months why Varric isn't dead yet.

But for the most part, nobody is expecting fully voiced and mocapped cameos or questlines from every single fan favourite or potentially relevant character. It's really just the throwaway lines and codex entries that people like me would want; just getting a sense that the world is a living thing that is breathing and acting even while we're away, and that even if our impacts did not influence the game itself, they still had an effect on the world.

[sailorgundam308]

how you end up with your fav ship?

Oh god. Honestly, it creeped into me in an unintentional but sure way.

First time I played I didn’t know about the origins at all and went in with a “no prejudice/expectations” vibe. Romanced Astarion because he propositioned my tav first. My tav was a… buff berserker barbarian. Met Karlach only when I was almost leaving act 1 cause I couldn’t find her. When I did I was like “OMG ANOTHER foul mouthed, strong, barb lady!”

She quickly became one of my faves. However I truly thought I had fucked up her questline when it ended at the start of act 2. So I was kinda “no, it can’t be JUST this?!” sort of horrified and began an origin run with her to see for myself if her questline was actually that short and lame.

So even before I finished with my tav I was already playing Karlach. And as I played her I noticed more how she and Astarion interacted and how similar their traumas were despite how their appearances/body language/background differed. The contrasts and similarities struck me like a goddamn truck. I realized I was already noticing that in my original tav play, and things started falling into place.

The fact that they see eye to eye on some things, but not on others - in ways that you wouldn’t expect- and their dynamic being complicated, gritty, and so SO layered is insanely interesting to me. The more you dig the more layers and depth you find. It’s like, a ship that keeps on giving.

Also, there’s the “fuck your heteronormative expectations” of their relationship. Heard some folks say theirs is a “straight” relationship and, honestly, that’s so absurd I have no interest in replying. Also, if you are looking at them through a CONFORMING (or, to be honest, gay-but-heteronormative) lens, you will read Karlach as masculine - as a butch lesbian or whatever - because of her body language and appearance. The exact same labeling occurs with Astarion, who, if seen through a similarly heteronormative-coded gay lens, is a “twink”, who in a conforming gay world would be expected not only to be gay but to pair up with a bigger guy and be a bottom.

As a bisexual person, all this reads wrong to me. Both characters are pan. And I hate these heteronormative labelings especially when based off someone’s appearance. I like pairings who’ll breaking those expectations and Astarion and Karlach romancing each other throws not only the “straights” but the heteronormative code that pervades the queer community into a loop.

TLDR: it was because of SPITE and NUANCE

[terramythos]

Anyway here's my breakdown of the ffxiv jobs, my opinions on playing each, and the tier rank of how good their story was

TANKS

WARRIOR - warrior is so fucking funny why did they make it able to solo heal itself and the entire party in 90% of the content in the game. Raw Intuition/Bloodwhetting is so broken in dungeons its hilarious. And then they have like 3 additional healing skills on top of that. And they kept buffing it throughout Endwalker. So it is currently the easiest to play, does the most damage (i think...?), and has the best healing of any of the Tank jobs. 2nd fave probably.

Story Tier: C, it's ok, Curious Gorge is a good name. i have like nothing to say about it it's a generic AF story

PALADIN - I used to hate PLD but I think the partial rework they got halfway through Endwalker helped it a lot. It's much less clunky now. Probably still my least favorite Tank though Hallowed Ground is fun and it's pretty close to Gunbreaker for me.

Story Tier: F, this is the worst class storyline in the entire game. It's so stupid. The writing is so bad the writers acknowledge it makes no sense at all and I'm like. Yeah, thanks, I am experiencing this shit. Perhaps write a story that makes sense next time instead of pointing that out.

DARK KNIGHT - Unfortunately this is my favorite Tank 🫡 which is rough since it has the worst survivability out of any of them. But I love how you use MP and the silly number of OGCDs. The Blackest Night is such a fun ability and it's a crime that it's not a baseline skill you get from the start. Why do they have so many DRs that only cover magic damage. I must ask.

Story Tier: S, there's a reason it's the most popular and well regarded class storyline. It's really good, also the only questline I know of that uses the quest log text as part of the narrative. Outside maybe a few of the very late Endwalker quests. And, well... same writer lmao

GUNBREAKER: I think GNB looks cool as fuck and I like that it has 2 DPS rotations. The Gnashing Fang combo is so fun. Superbolide memes are always fun. My main issue with it is a skill issue because I am just constantly misaligning its burst windows.

Story Tier: C. It has some interesting lore but I found it pretty forgettable as a story.

HEALERS

WHITE MAGE: I hated White Mage for a while but something clicked and now I totally get it. I find it fun in dungeons cause you get to Holy spam and stun lock everything. As uh. The healer. That's fun. Once you get Afflatus heals (and then Afflatus Misery) it clicks. It's fun maximizing damage and playing chicken with the tank's HP.

Story Tier: B, you get a lot of lore around the Padjal, and I think the Stormblood story where you find a padjal living in hiding with her mother is pretty good! Also it's not technically the job storyline but there's a WHM side quest to get a unicorn mount? i guess it's technically a CNJ quest but same diff. no one else gets that shit. so that's cool

SCHOLAR: probably my least favorite of the healers... it just feels super clunky. You can tell a bunch of different design philosophies went into it over the years and none of them mesh very well. They've made it so the Fairy Gauge controls literally one spell. Why have the gauge at all? It's also a huge missed opportunity that there's no tie in or interaction with the fae in Shadowbringers. I love the idea of a battle tactician healer but I think it needs a rework.

Story Tier: B+, I liked the characters and its the main way to get backstory and lore on what happened with Nym.

ASTROLOGIAN: While I think AST has a similar issue to SCH (lots of different design philosophies over the years) I find it way more fun to play. I like the card mechanic and how it interacts with the rest of the party. AST is basically the only job that has its own like. Minigame? As part of its rotation. And I know a lot of people don't like the RNG for it but personally I find it fun. I know AST is getting a redesign in Dawntrail so hope it's good.

Story Tier: C? I think? I'll be honest I don't remember it super well but I didn't find anything objectionable about it. And I like the tarot aesthetic and lore and how it's healing based on manipulating luck.

SAGE: I think SGE is tons of fun, I'm not sure if I like it or WHM more. I love all the skills SGE has for preventing damage and the gimmick where your DPS heals someone in the party. Visually the hi-tech laser shooting healer is a lot of fun. IT HAS A GAP CLOSER. The only thing i wish was it wasn't so MP negative and that it did more damage. It's a little sad its DPS output is so low compared to the other healers (even AST when you factor in how it buffs the party). Since SGE is supposed to be a healer that heals through damage it's silly its damage kinda sucks.

Story Tier: A, I loved this storyline. Both the Endwalker job stories are very self contained and interesting. While the twist is pretty obvious it's still an interesting exploration of uh. Scientific ethics. Yeah

PHYSICAL MELEE DPS

MONK: I've probably played MNK the least of the phys melee but I like the whole adaptable combo thing. Not much else to say since I have played it so little. Might bring it back out and try again. It DID have the funniest guide in the Balance discord for a while.

Story Tier: D. I think? I remember thinking it was dumb, lmao. Sorry.

DRAGOON: MAN I wished I liked DRG more. It looks so fucking cool and I like how it interacts with the dragon lore. But I find it very punishing to play. To do good damage you have to align so many different cooldowns... and snapshot your DOT correctly... and screwing one thing up just fucks your DPS output forever. Like AST I believe this is being reworked in Dawntrail so I hope it feels better to play.

Story Tier: C+. I think it starts strong since you get to meet Estinien pre-Heavensward and it melds nicely with that story. But I found it pretty directionless post-HW which is a shame.

NINJA: I remember finding this one fun. I like that there are different combos you do that have varied finishers depending on the situation. I am just... bad at remembering which combo to use to get which finisher, lol. So I haven't played it as much. NIN gets a lot of flavor other jobs don't get with their unique run and jump animations. And you get a Bunny of Shame on your head if you fuck up a combo, which is incredible.

Story Tier: A. The Rogue story is probably the most memorable of the basic class quests. Ninja just has great characters and a fun story. What is with that one guy. Karasu? If you know you know. I also like how the Rogue characters show up later in the Ninja story. That's fun.

SAMURAI: I had a similar experience to WHM here because I initially hated it then really came around once it clicked. SAM seems very complex, it has a ton of buttons and different combos. But it is actually quite intuitive once you figure out the general pattern. And it does INSANE damage. I think it's the highest DPS output in the game? I love building the combos and then doing a huge finisher for a bajillion damage. The guaranteed crits and constant OGCD weaves make me feel unstoppable. I think this is tied with RPR for me.

Story Tier: B+. I found the exiled samurai character and his journey toward redemption very compelling. I won't spoil beyond that. However it does fall apart a little in the second half. Still fun but not as good.

REAPER: I love RPR, the teleportation is a lot of fun, and I love finally unleashing the demon form and going ham on the enemy. The weapons are the coolest looking in the game. Every scythe design hits. I probably played this the most in Endwalker. My main critique is the Death's Design mechanic. I hate having to keep a stupid debuff on the target to do damage. It's like a dot but without the optimized snapshotting. If they want to keep this idea i think it would feel better to change it into something like SGE's Kardia where you apply it to one enemy to do increased damage to it without having to worry about reapplying it. not sure how they would balance this for aoe but that's not my job. But even with that caveat I still really enjoy the job.

Story Tier: A+. While it doesn't reach the highs of DRK's story it comes close. I love the badass old lady main character. Her hunting a voidsent that possessed her grandfather would be cool enough but making her a Garlean exile in hiding who grudgingly agrees to train you just adds an extra cool factor. I really enjoyed this story. As a bonus theres a lot of incidental dialogue in the post-6.0 Endwalker story if you completed the RPR story because it ties in a lot.

PHYSICAL RANGED DPS

BARD: It's a bit clunky, its got some outdated design elements, it has one of the lowest damage outputs in the game... and i LOVE IT. this was technically the first job I ever played? totally different character like 8 years ago. and i was so so bad. I think i am actually pretty good at current BRD. the animations look cool. i like that it's a class you really need to work for and optimize to eke out that last bit of damage. and boosting everyone else's damage by existing is kinda neat.

Story Tier: B. I'll be real I barely remember this but I do remember it was gay as fuck so immediately gets an extra tier for that.

MACHINIST: MCH is really funny right now because like. It's phys ranged, right. The design behind phys ranged is you have 100% uptime cause you can freely move around and not have to worry about cast timers or melee range or anything. So the trade off is that they do less damage than other classes. Endwalker MCH did not get the memo and does insane damage anyway. My controversial opinion is that it has similar burst DPS to RPR. No i will not elaborate. I'm also bad at doing good damage on MCH which is impressive since it is easy.

Story Tier: B+. Some Ishgard noble's gay son wants to build machines instead of killing dragons the good old fashioned way and has to prove himself to get taken seriously. A tale as old as time. See I haven't done this quest in like years but I still remember it. He is a memorable character. It's just not like. knockout wowza compared to the A tier stories.

DANCER: Dancer is the second easiest DPS job in the game behind SMN. So if i am sleepy it's the one I like playing. You play simon says. you do a lot of damage when you play simon says then do almost no fucking damage otherwise. I think it's the lowest direct damage in the game? for a dps i mean. You have high stakes sexual tension with a DPS of your choice via Dance Partner. I wish other DNC players knew how Dance Partner works. YOU CAN DANCE PARTNER ANOTHER DANCER. THE BUFF STACKS. BUT YOU CANNOT DANCE PARTNER THE SAME PLAYER AS ANOTHER DANCER. THOSE BUFFS DO NOT STACK. ok i'm good. anyway

Story Tier: C. there's some shit about negative emotions and purging them? in theory i think this has some interesting implications with Endwalker lore considering Dynamis and its role in the story. Very similar mechanically to what's going on with the DNC story. but i really don't think the writers made the connection so it's like pure speculation and not the actual story. It's meh. fine i guess. i did like all the flashy dancing sequences.

MAGICAL RANGED DPS

BLACK MAGE: I am so so so so so so so bad at BLM. i pull up the guide. i read the guide. it all makes perfect sense. i go into a dungeon or trial or something. somehow i always get like Zeromus or some shit. and i drop Enochian or something and everything goes to shit and i'm yelling and i'm not even like slide casting or teleporting or anything i just run around crying. then i remember i have like 10 more buttons i haven't been pressing and oh god the dot fell off. people play this? for fun? i admire it. apparently they do a ton of damage if you can play it. could not be me.

Story Tier: B? There's some voidsent and Thirteenth lore. all the black mage characters are Lalafell because it's funny i guess. OH YEAH it has like the one named male Keeper of the Moon Miqo'te NPC in the entire game and he's fun. look at this twink:

sorry i don't have anything to say about BLM i am bad at it

SUMMONER: easiest DPS job in the entire game. they redesigned it for Endwalker so it is practically a new job. i have no idea how it played before. but it is super streamlined. maybe too streamlined? it's another one to play if you want to turn your brain off. i like that at 90 you summon The Actual Primals instead of little representations of them. and i like the way your burst phase switches between Bahamut and Phoenix. it all looks very cool. they should add Leviathan as a summon in Dawntrail.

Story Tier: C.. i don't remember a single thing about this questline except you interact with Y'shtola's half sister. i think you go to Cartenau at some point. idk

RED MAGE: RDM is one of those jobs that looks really complicated when you start then you actually play it and it is just super super easy. that being said i think it's really fun. I like balancing the white and black magic gauges. Dualcast is a great gimmick and it feels cool to lob two big spells in a row at something. Dualcast Verraising a chain of dead players is so fucking funny. it's a shame that the existence of Verraise means RDM does shit damage to compensate for its utility. It and DNC just sit at the bottom with BRD barely scratching ahead of them. i think? i don't remember LOL

Story Tier: A, I really like the story and characters. I like that you have a middle-age world weary catboy (catman) as your mentor. and i like that he canonically trained Alisaie too and you chat a little about that. it's a fun story!

BLUE MAGE: what the fuck is a blue mage

Story Tier: ???

[moonglide]

echoes of wisdom hours 6 and 7

-smallant skipped the entire fucking water temple. went from start to finish in what seems like five minutes. i'm going to flay him alive. i wish i'd thought of that

spoilers under the cut for end of zora questline, the eastern palace, and (non-plot) parts of gerudo desert

-the water temple boss was very fun. i had to think.

-i know i said i wanted to kiss kushara but now i want dradd to kiss kushara

-the song the zora play is nice.

-TRI STOP TALKING ABOUT THE POWER OF FRIENSHIP. these two are clearly going to bang as soon as we leave.

-god. is there just. an optional dungeon? just sitting there? i love you nintendo

-the cloud boss at the end of the eastern temple was fun. I spammed octoroks.

-what?? i get a damage reducing acessory from this? hell yeah

-i walking around and i can't believe they ripped this portion of the map just east of castle town straight from alttp. it's great

-walked through castle town. did a little acorn minigame.

-ok what is the deal with these stamp platforms? i keep finding them but idk what to do with them. I know there's stamp guy or whatever but where is he.

-went to kakariko. the slumber dojo has a sparkly katana. i want it. i'm coming back for it.

-upgraded my sword.

-death #4 to some sandslash level two caromadillos in a cave in the gerudo highlands.

-horse!!!!!

-my main man what do you mean you can't find the horse. it took me exactly two seconds to find it.

-he says i can borrow any horse. i try to hop on a horse. he says i can't have it because it already belongs to someone.

-guys i tried to ride a cow

-horses probably aren't great in this game anyways because of all the elevation changes

-on my way to the oasis. is that the ruins of the goddamn second dungeon in alttp????

-did mango minigame. got a fan! oh, it's just a collectible. damn. i thought i'd be able to fight people with it.

-got an anti-knockback accesory.

-went to gerudo town. beat someone in a race.

-"only authorized personnel can come in here" yeah just try stopping me.

-there's no secret entrance???? damn they stopped me. never thought i'd see the day.

-oh no this teenager lost her voice in a rift and now she's depressed??? someone call kushara we need more anti-PTSD harp music

-checking out the rift. trying to kill a redead so i can use it to kill my enemies. i got too close. it one-shot me. i wasn't even paralyzed. it didn't even hit me, it just bent over to start screaming and i died bc i got too close or something. that's death #5.

-fave monster is spikes again. the ai in this game is kinda stupid and it's hilarious. everything keeps dive-bombing them and like. honey. can you not see it's made of spikes.

-ok edit forgot to mention but does Zelda dislike general wright??? Like, with lefte she just took her hood off but with wright he approached her, and she jumps back, and THEN reveals herself. What beef do they have????

[dandelion-wings]

sara and furina? :>

Thank you for the ask! I just did Sara, so I'll stick with Furina for this.

How I feel about this character

This poor fucking baby. Her story is so tragic, and her fake arrogance and maladaptive coping mechanisms make me so sad now that I know all of it. I'm so glad that the game is also giving her, like Sara, a bit of space to grow and develop post-AQ! She's another of those characters who's not a top fave for me but whom I can love just as hard as her biggest fans for the duration of seeing their content or discussing her with them, because she DESERVES that love.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Neuvillette, which is entirely your fault. XD I'm also a big fan of Clorinde, who hits the crossover between leige-lord/vassal and protectee/bodyguard ships for me, and Furina/Focalors and Furina/Arlecchino are fun in two different) fucked-up ways. I haven't really considered many others? Frankly, while I love Furina/Neuvillette, part of me feels like Furina probably needs, like, at least two years of therapy and learning to live for herself before she really dives into a relationship.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Also Neuvillette! They share a history and experience that no one else does. :'> I love those kinds of bonds.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I do not follow people with Bad Opinions and thus do not know how popular they might be. :P

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

I don't think I have anything in particular? I've enjoyed all her appearances and questlines! I guess an on-screen apology from some people for the end of the AQ might be nice, but honestly that's one of those things I almost prefer to see handled in fanfiction, where the emotions can be more to the fore than canon, if that makes any sense.

[toadeyes-miqote]

New Expansion, new Miqo'te guy

Looking back before Dawntrail hits. Mainly from MSQ, jobs, tribal, deliveries and long quests that I done. Someone mention hair colours meme and this happened. There's a lot of sandy hair cats.

Might have left out other male cats by accident or not having pics of them on my PC (Will update if found decent pics). Or somehow fuzzy memory from doing stuff after EW. Would probably do one for the women and the Miq'ttens . I didn't include Squadron cats

It throughly amused me that Miqo'te men have such intense energy vibes (even Hylnyan's own mate) based on the way Miqo'te men moves. Since I gotten to used to how chill and calming Hylnyan is as a cat person.

A Realm Reborn

A'aba. His cat boy sit/delinquent squat and his sideburns somehow always reminds me of Logan / Wolverine.

V'mah Tia for some reason I always thought he was a Lancer.

Coeurl King isn't included because Hylnyan tend to be more busy kicking his ass than taking decent photos

Other than G'raha, Nhaza'a Jaab is a recurring character for tribal stuff. Hylnyan had chased him out of Stormblood and ARR at least. and probably HW when I resub hopefully before DT

Heavensward

I thought Heavensward had no Miqo'te men. Until they turn up in job quests post EW. Coerthas be too cold for Miqo'te? But there's a Miqo'te soldier in Haurchefant's office.

Stormblood

Specifically went and do M'zhet Tia's quest line because of his Nanaki / Red XIII references.

M'zhet Tia runs around in Tribal quest a lot for the sake of wooing J'olhmym. The other cute red cat

X'rhun tia's kid Arya is at Mor Dhona and Hylnyan be like if she needs help - seek out that Big Hrothgar with that Viera lady across the street there, mention Hylnyan's name if need be.

Shadowbringers

Because Exarch seems like he has much stories to tell of his life

Mao-Ladd. I always thought of the "Mao" part of his name is "cat" in mandarin. And Ladd as in Lad and his name is practically Cat Boy to me.

I may or may not be missing anyone from the Crystarium staff

Of course I forgot Sai-Lewq.

Kai-Shirr and Custom Delivery Crew are all in Metian gear until further notice

Endwalker

T'laqa Tia is my fave and will always be known as Sharlayan Fishing Cat. his questline contain tidbits about aether flow and Zodiark

Do the Tiny Troll quest. It ties in with another Labyrinthos resident and gives a bit of insight on Studium

Bonus

For a mere moment I thought this was the same pic because of the crystals' placement. and stone colourings.

[eff-plays]

You're so right about the kisses. It's nice, but like... there's so much more they need to do, and there's such clear favouritism in what characters they focus on :( Instead of new kisses, why not a proper ending to Karlach's story? Why not content for Wyll too, including the option to let him take the lead on his own quest like you can do with everyone else? Or even just adding the small things other companions have that he doesn't, like multiple unique romance greetings? I mean... I know why, but you know what I mean. It's frustrating, but it's also comforting to see someone else agrees.

Like, back when the first patches were dropping, the excuse was that hey, these things are easier to add than a whole new questline. So yeah, that was fair enough. Even I was like bright-eyed and hopeful, going "Oh it's taking so long because they're adding a lot of new stuff I bet! :)"

But now? Six patches in? Months after release? With no improvements in sight, while the others get tweaks and additions and fixes?

C'mon now. It's getting very uncomfortable in here.

I have seen a lot of people speaking up on Twitter at least, particularly in the patch post itself, so I'm hoping they'll address it sooner rather than later? But at this point I'm kinda done hoping and am entering the demanding stage. And while I'm a staunch believer in fans having limited say over creators' works (like people demanding tweaks to Astarion's storyline or making Halsin a romance option just based on thirst), but that's different to like, asking that your ONE Black main character gets the same level of effort and respect as you pour into everyone else, esp your own white faves.

(When like ... Astarion isn't even the top romance option. They're literally catering to a vocal minority.)

And I guess the argument could be made that this is in accordance with their own wishes and that they're just adding shit they want to add and it's all horny bullshit and Astarion content because the studio loves him, but then it's like ... Ok. I see. That is also not. Good.

You made Baldur's Gate 3. Not Astarion kissing simulator. That one was a joke, Larian. For the fans? Not an instruction.

[masschase]

20 FOR CASEY

Touching prompts- still taking!

20. bandaging/stitching up an injury

OK, so since a pairing wasn't specified here, this was the perfect oppurtunity to do something I'd already wanted to do and rework a piece to form a part of the Ultor AU-AU that me and @whoredmode have been working on. For more on the basics behind this AU check out Teddy's original version of this AU. Credit to him for the general differences that define this universe as well as other details mentioned such as Johnny and Aisha's son's name and I'm sure a few other bits. The key difference here is that Casey is also around in this version; having been a part of with the Westside Rollerz from 2004-2006, doing jobs for The Brotherhood up until 2011 and then the Saints when they re-form under Johnny, eventually joining them for good as part of the altered Brotherhood questline and taking over as Boss in SRTT.

The piece I originally wrote already had this trope in it (it's one of my faves!) and was originally going to be the setup to a GatBoss fic that we would find at the end was the night before the start of Saints Row 3. However, in this AU Aisha is still alive (as is Carlos as you'll see in the fic) so the attraction is very much one-sided. But hey, delicious angst!

Fandom: Saints Row

Universe: Ultor AU AU (we'll give it a real name eventually! 😅)

Pairing: Boss OC Cassandra "Casey" Clark x Johnny Gat (one-sided), Johnny Gat x Aisha (offscreen)

Synopsis: When a robbery goes wrong, it's obviously going to lead to an argument. 2895 words, set just before the start of SRTT.

The atmosphere was strained as they got out of the car and ran down to the crib, shutting the door firmly behind them. Neither of them liked running away; it always hurt their pride. The silence that hung between the two of them in the tiny studio only heightened the tension. Shaundi and Pierce were at the Penthouse Loft having the huge party they'd arranged as a distraction. The assisting homies had fled to Purgatory. But the cops were on Casey and Johnny, and it had taken some time to get enough distance to finally lose them by ducking into the Red Light Loft.

Casey plopped down on the sole comfy chair, sucking in a loud hiss of a breath now she didn’t have to hide the pain, resting her bleeding arm in her lap. In front of Johnny she felt she could at least show a little vulnerability. “Bandage my arm.” she ordered flatly, holding it up show him the wound.

“You’re fine.” her best friend responded, perching on the arm of the chair beside her and giving it only a cursory glance. “You made it this far without bleedin’ out, didn’t ya?”

She turned her head to him quickly, mildly offended. “What? You know the rules, Johnny. You caused this shit, you fuckin’ patch me up.”. It was a good excuse, but there was probably a little more to it than that. He was the only one who bound it tight enough. The only one she trusted to do it right.

“Oh yeah? I didn't tell you to punch through a fuckin’ window, Boss.” he replied sarcastically. Johnny was still very much the leader of the Saints, reluctant as he often seemed to hold that position. That said, ever since his son was born, he’d taken somewhat of a step back. Shaundi had recently been busy focusing on sobering up, Pierce always had shoots and tv appearances taking up his time, and Carlos still didn’t feel confident to lead, so Casey had been the one to step up. She’d been doing enough behind the scenes by that point that it didn’t even make much of a difference.

“I wrapped my hand.” she insisted. She’d thrown her jacket around it to punch into the car window but she’d still managed to cut her forearm on the way back out. Better than a bullet in the head. “No fuckin’ way were we gonna get away otherwise. Not after you started shootin’ up the place.”

“Thought that was the fuckin’ point.” Johnny complained. “What, you wanted to go round givin’ out cookies or some shit?”

She sighed exasperatedly. “Johnny, we said we'd start round the left side and take ‘em out one by one.” she reminded him. “Then at the last minute you suddenly go for the guy right in the middle of the store?”

“I told you, he was lookin’ at me funny.” he insisted.

“Funny how many guys seem to fuckin’ look at you funny Johnny!” she snapped in return. If it was a one off, then perhaps she wouldn't think much of it. But not only had it been a rather frequent occurence lately, but this shit really wasn’t going to fly when they had a big bank heist planned.

“Look, I don’t see the problem in doin’ this shit like we used to.” Gat pointed out. His jaw was a little clenched though, like he wasn’t telling the full story.

“I just think when you’re reppin’ a fuckin’ brand, you try a little harder to remain professional.” she complained, standing back up, pushing her hair off her face and walking over to the kitchen area to rinse her arm in the sink.

There was a pause, like he was processing that. He turned slightly on the arm of the chair. “Man, when’d you start fallin’ for all this “professional” shit?” he complained, getting up and taking a couple of steps in the same direction, arms crossed suspiciously.

“Maybe since it got us street gang of the fuckin’ year?” she replied, a combination of defensive and just a little smug. It was just a stupid magazine award but still it was something, some kind of mark of status. She wouldn’t usually care about that kind of thing. But she couldn’t deny that it was the one thing that had most undermined her credibility in Sharp’s eyes years back; way more than the money. She fumbled through the cabinets and managed to locate a bandage.

“That’s what it’s about, huh? You gettin’ to parade the Saints around like a fuckin’ prized poodle?” he asked.

She snorted even through her annoyance, turning back to him, leaning back against the counter. He made no secret of the fact he didn’t like the direction they were going, but at the end of the day, if he wasn’t fucking there, it wasn’t his call to make. “Please, you know if the Saints were a dog we’d shit on the carpet and steal someone’s burger.” she retorted. She began attempting to wrap her arm pretty clumsily, being that it was her right one and she was right-handed.

“Then what?” he replied, his eyes trained far more on what she was doing than her face.

“Johnny, it’s everything that comes with the success. The money, the power, the fuckin’ women...?”. She hesitated. Obviously that one wasn’t really relevant for him. Not when he seemed almost sickeningly happy with Aisha. Still she pushed on with her point. “Man... none of that means anything to you?”

“You really think- holy shit, you’re drivin’ me crazy.” Johnny interrupted himself. He stepped closer and took the bandage from his best friend, starting again and applying it to her arm much more precisely to stem the bleeding, shaking his head at her.

“Not like I didn’t fuckin’ ask.” Casey muttered, hiding her relief. There was a moment of quiet as Johnny focused on the job, and she focused on him. His hands brushing her arm as he worked. His face considerably closer than usual. His attention on her, and her only. “Look... I just want what’s best for you guys...” she insisted in a softer tone. “The other three all seem to be doing better since we signed that damn contract, and you...”. There was an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach, but it didn’t change that she was happy for him. She was. “You got your perfect little family, right?” she said, giving him a slight smile as she looked up at him.

He didn’t smile back, but something within his eyes brightened at the mention of them, something she found so nice to have trained in her direction, even for just a moment. “So this is you playin’ hero, huh?” he mused with interest and a little scepticism. “You doin’ all this for us?”

She blinked at him, not knowing exactly what he meant by that. “What the hell else would it be for?” she asked curiously.

He tied up the bandage, but kept his hand under her arm, supporting it. “What about you, Case?” he asked, that same mystifying tone to his words. Like he was insinuating something. “The hell do you want?”.

Something about the fact it was Johnny asking her that made her so uncomfortable. Because there were a lot of accurate answers to that question, but the most obvious one was something she’d recently admitted to herself, could probably admit to Shaundi or Pierce... but not to him, never to him. But the way it made it feel like he was teasing the answer out of her? God, it made that feeling in her stomach all the worse because it felt nicer, lighter, hopeful when she knew it really couldn’t be. “What do you think I want?” she asked, shifting her shoulders slightly.

He released her right arm slowly, leaving her to bring her left one up to support it. It wasn’t as gentle as it could have been, but for Gat, it seemed pretty gentle. She guessed the moment couldn’t last forever. “C’mon, Case. I know what this is.”. He said, rolling his eyes slightly. “You got the lifestyle you think you deserve, without having to run home to daddy.”

That shocked her a little. “You don’t know shit about my parents Johnny.” she pointed out. No matter how much they bonded, she never let it go that far back. Suffice to say she hadn’t seen her father since she was 3 years old at most. Thanks to her mom, neither did she have a home to run to.

“We know you were with the Rollerz.” he pointed out. “Don’t take a genius to fill in the gaps.”. He folded his arms. “What, you get tired of tryna piss ‘em off, decide to go clean?”

She hated that not only was he assuming things of her that were completely untrue, which she was pretty sure everyone had been doing since the moment she joined, but it felt like he was actually mocking her for it. “That’s what you think of me?” she asked, mentally clutching at her injured feelings the same way she was clutching at her hurt arm.

“That’s what everyone thinks of you, Case.” he informed her, like it was nothing. “But I think somethin’ else, too.”. His mouth finally broke into an ever-so slight smirk. “I think deep down... you love this shit.”

That expression, not to mention the hint or solidarity, threatened to draw her in like a moth to a flame, and she hated it. “You love this shit.” she replied defensively. “I just do what I gotta do, Johnny.”

“Oh yeah?” he asked, his tone still amused. “And what makes you feel more powerful? Drinkin’ champagne in the VIP section of a fancy restaurant...?”. He came right up to her and stared her down. “Or when a guy twice your size is standin’ in front of you and you hold out your pistol and pop him between the eyes?”

She wasn’t sure if it was his words or the dizzying proximity, but she drew a sharp intake of breath as she stared back at him. She swallowed, not knowing how to respond to that.

“Yeah, that’s what I fuckin’ thought.” he said smugly, stepping back and then turning to walk away.

“Hey!” she replied, affronted from the sudden release from overwhelmed to abandoned. “Don’t you fuckin’ walk away when I’m talkin’ to you!”

He turned back, but he still looked amused. “Well, I know you ain’t gonna admit I’m right, so what’s the point?” he asked flippantly.

She emitted another angry sigh. “OK, fine Johnny!” she replied. “I fuckin’ love...”. It was weird actually saying it. Coming face to face with the weight of what they did on a regular basis. “...killing people.”. She lowered her voice to a mutter. “Especially with you.”. She didn't really remember it being this way before though. She’d been in the gang life a good ten years now but since she started working with Johnny... she'd began to lose her head a little. She had to rectify it, here and now. “But we gotta stick to the plan, y’know?"

“Jesus..." he said in a low voice of realisation. "You sound like fuckin’ Dex.”

Casey didn’t know Dex, not really, not like Johnny did. But the comparison to someone she knew her friend hated, that stung. She wasn't afraid of him though. “Well then maybe Dex had a point.” she challenged.

Johnny's anger broke more openly on his face at that. “Do you even hear yaself?” he responded, tapping his index finger against his temple and nearing her once more. “You’ve really got it into your head that you’re right, don’tcha?” he accused, the volume of his voice beginning to crescendo. “You’ve bought into this shit so bad you’ll say anything, anything to support your bullshit!”

“Johnny... no-one else seems to have a problem with this shit except for you.” she pointed out, her tone rising to meet his.

“Oh, yeah, yeah, what, I'm supposed to be real happy that we're fuckin’ corporate sellouts?” he practically yelled back.

“You're supposed to be happy that we don't have to engage in stupid little turf wars just to survive!”. She couldn’t help but step closer, dangerously close to getting right in his face right now. “You're supposed to be happy we have food on the fuckin’ table and aren't getting shot at 24/7!”

"I AM HAPPY!” he shouted right in her face, although he certainly didn’t sound it, so he paused, then spoke a little more slowly so he could clarify, his tone still dripping with bile. “I’m happy when I’m at home with Eesh, and Tye, and every second, every fuckin’ second I’m away from ‘em I just wanna get this shit over and done with and get back to ‘em! How do you not understand that?”

“Oh, ok, ok, I get it!” she snapped back, finally getting the sudden impatience. It was very much fighting fire with fire now; once one of them started it was hard for either of them to back down. Him throwing his happiness in her face, as a reason to endanger both their lives no less, only stoked it. “Jesus I always knew you were violent but I never realised you could be this self-destructive.”

“Yeah well I never knew you could be such a stuck up bitch!” he snapped.

"JOHNNY!" she yelled. "UGH, I just... I swear, sometimes I just wanna...”. She reached for her pistol but her hand squeezed itself tight before she could even near the holster.

“Just what?” he taunted viciously to her unfinished sentence. “Just what, Case? What, you gonna fuckin’ shoot me? No you ain't, so just-“

His words were interrupted as she grabbed his face and her lips crashed up against his in a pretty violent fashion. All of that which she had held inside for so long, all of that which she didn’t even fully understand herself, suddenly violently erupting. The culmination of so much she’d held back, only to last for less than a second as Johnny pushed her away roughly, taking several steps back from her in shock, almost tripping over the chair.

“Woah, woah, what the fuck, Case?!!!” he exclaimed, staring at her both confused and completely horrified. She meanwhile, was frozen, no idea what to say after doing... that. Her mouth opened but no explanation came. “You... like me?” he assessed disapprovingly, staring at her almost like she was a complete stranger. Like everything had changed. She hated it.

“Well not right now...” she muttered flatly.

Johnny gritted his teeth, eyes still boring into her, shaking his head. “Trust you to give a fuckin’ bullshit answer to that, Case.” he replied. “Cause I fuckin’ know you.” he responded, pointing a finger at her in accusation. “I fuckin’ know if you just wanted to fuck me you’d have tried somethin' sooner." He paused. "So I figure this has gotta be more than that.”

She was silenced once again, because that was such a loaded statement. No matter what the exact nature of her feelings, she would never have tried to make something happen with him, never. It made it feel like he was boiling her down to nothing but her promiscuity based on this one mistake. At the same time... his conclusion that this was more than just lust was probably entirely true. “Look, Johnny...” she began.

“You realise I have a wife and a son?” he interrupted before she could even get any further.

Every single thing he said felt like he was twisting the knife. “I know, I fuckin’ know that, alright!” she replied, her tone oddly pleading. “Look I tried to ignore it, every time I thought about it I fuckin’ ignored it Johnny because... I don't even want more than we got. This is what I want." she said, flicking her finger between them. "And you know I love Aisha and I love Tye and-“

“Every time?” he interrupted, the rest clearly not placating him right now. “Just how long you been feeling like this?

Another tense silence. She couldn’t even answer that. She knew it hadn’t been that long since she'd actually realised. Maybe a month or two, and she’d spent the whole time beating herself up about it. But how long it had actually been going on for? She’d spent too long in denial to say. “I don’t know.” she said truthfully.

He stared at her again, shaking his head in disappointment. “Bullshit.” he said flatly. “Bull. Shit.”. Barely looking at her anymore, he headed for the door again, unlocking it quickly. He paused, not even looking at her this time, gritting his teeth and shaking his head again. “Y’know I really thought you were my best friend.” he said darkly, before slamming the door behind him, Casey flinching slightly at the noise in the state she was in.

“I am!” she shouted back with as much conviction as she could muster, but there was no way he was going to hear her. She stood there for a moment, left hand gripping tight around her bandage, making the wound sting. Then she walked back over to sit in the chair and put her head in her hands, squeezing her eyes shut tight. No way, no fucking way was she going to cry over some guy.

But the weight of her mistake came crashing over her like a tidal wave. Johnny wasn’t just some guy. He was some guy who could destroy every single one of her friendships, friendships that had already had a rocky start due to her past allegiances. He was some guy who could topple whatever semblance of a career she considered herself to have. But above all, he was some guy whose sudden absence from her life was liable to completely destroy her.

It was too late though. She’d already set it in motion. “...I was.” she corrected in quiet realisation.

[stormbreaker101]

hey stormy c:

so is selenopolis a max level world or a level 50 world? I can’t tell from the two quests I did before I realized it would completely shred my focus. Also? Is the arcanum 101 quest related to selenopolis or nah?

In a short answer, yes.

In a slightly longer answer, there are two different storylines that lead to Selenopolis. First is the Level 50 stuff, which serves as a lead-up to Celestia and an introduction to the off-schooling mechanics of Archmastery and Spell Weaving. You get this questline by talking to Merle Ambrose. Selenopolis and the Blended Grove serve as the hub for all things Spell Weaving. There are also some side quests within Selenopolis accessible at this stage.

Then you have the Level 170 Stuff, which is meant to be an introduction to Arc 5 the way that the Catacombs was a closer to Arc 3 and mild introduction to Arc 4. This has your main plot of Selenopolis, including why everyone is screaming about some old fandom faves again. The quest "Arcanum101" given by Fitzhume is the introduction to the Level 170 parts of Selenopolis.