#ignore the dialogue I really hate writing dialogue if any kinda

[evillesbianvillain]

The thing with Veilguard, is that a lot of people who didn't like the videogame put all the blame on EA becuase the development was rushed and messy and some idiot had the idea to make it a multiplayer MOBA game or whatever the fuck it was going on and that can excuse some of the stuff going on in Veilguard:

everybody calling you Rook, a nickname a dwarf youve known for a month gave you, instead of your surname, especially ridicolous if you are a Grey Warden, you know, a member of a paramilitary order, and your boss calls you that. How certain factions, especially the Lords of Fortune but also the Mourn Watchers and Veil Jumpers are underdeveloped (but according to John Epler they decided to make less sidequests to focus better on a few of them and they ended up just being fetch quests or "kill these guys" for the most). Why you can't directly talk to your companions and ask them questions but have to stalk them through the lighthouse and hope they reveal something of themselves to your other companions (again, John Epler said this was a purpose choice they made and its a stupid one but I want to break a spear and say that it was probably because they didn't have the time to code or write every direct dialogue with Rook but I don't really know how these things work). Not being able to visit Minrathous.

But so much of it is an issue that started in the writing and developer room.

You cannot roleplay in the role playing game. Scratch the "there are not serious consequences of your action" part, we can file that under rushed development if we want to be nice. But you can only play as a nice, well meaning, always slightly sarcastic heroic Rook and that was a deliberate choice. You're basically only playing as purple Hawke. I don't want to play as purple Hawke. For an instance, I chose - obviously - the Grey Warden backstory (which I hated, all the backstories are the same, heroic Rook winning against a foe but disobeying orders and being punished by the mean higher ups) and when you do the mirror scene I chose the dialogue option that said "I have been impulsive when I saved that village and could've made things worse", but then when I'm talking to the first Warden and he reprimends me I can ONLY defend my actions and not agree with him or apologize for them. I wanted to play as a stern warden, respectful of the order and its authority, but the game doesn't let me do that.

The whitewashing of the narrative. Every faction (except the Grey Wardens) is super duper nice, they are all freedom fighters with XXI century politics. All the leaders of every faction believe you at face values about Super Evil Elven Gods and are willing to give you their help to slay them (except the Grey Wardens). All the factions are stripped of any nuance or of the infamous Bioware's grey morality (except the Grey Wardens, as the game, at any step, wants to reming you how stupidly secretive, kinda cultist-y and fucked up they are and how that is not a Good Thing). Especially annoying with the Crows, the local assassin's group of Antiva that is renowned for buying desinfranchised kids and torture them to make them the perfect assassins, and the Lords of Fortune, who are now the anti Indiana Jones of Thedas (but still tomb jackasses).

The whitewashing, or purposeful ignoring, of social conflict in Thedas. This game is set up partly in Tevinter and specifically in a district of Minrathous, but we not once encounter the slavery that the Imperium is built on, or racism against elves and qunari. And don't tell me "there are no slaves because Dock Town is a poor district of Minrathous", that is not how empires built on slave labour work, especially considering that Tevinter has always been based on the Roman Empire. Who do you think loads and unloads the cargo ships that dock there? You think slaves are only kept in the house and occasionally used for blood magic rituals? Not to mention that the faction for Dock Town is the Shadow Dragons, whos main work is freeing slaves, but not once we do a quest that revolves around that. And it's funny that they abandoned the entire issue with the mages and the Chantry "because we are in North Thedas" when the Chantry is a egemonical religion in Thedas. Zevran tells us that templars in Antiva guard mages like "jealous husbands", the Circle of Mages of Rivain was destroyed because they accused women there or summoning demons and the Anderfells are known for having the most pious followers of the Chantry in Thedas. I understand not making the mage issue a focus like it has been for the past three games, but to just dropt it like that is ridicolous. They didn't even do anything with the Tevinter Chantry and the Black Divine, something, I think, everybody was curious about. Ah but don't worry! We have the main dalish companion apologize 3000 times because the elves are at fault for everything going on in the world.

The characters are all shallow. There are very little important NPCs in this game and you can't directly talk to any of them if not during specific cutscenes during the story. John Epler (it's always him or Weekes lmao) said they wanted to avoid meaningless cameos but then they threw in the game characters from other games like Morrigan, Dorian, Isabela, Maevaris who was actually not from a game, but a comic, so I would've liked to know more about her, and doesn't let you interact in any way with them. Varric, for the love of god, there is no way for someone who is playing Dragon Age for the first time to give a shit about this guy. Who are these people. What do they want. Who are the leaders of these factions. The companions as well. You cannot talk to them but have to hope they will say something about themselves during random party banters in the Lighthouse and then they will have crafted cutscenes for the stupidest shit like Lucanis making Harding drink coffee. You know how some people dislike Varric, Garrus and Liara because the games want you to like them? This is what it feels with all the companions, and the forced found family is so on the nose it becomes unbearing. The romances are underwhelming, or so I am told by everyone. Davrin, who is in my opinion the best character in this game, has most of his character and quest revolving around a fucking rat with wings and all the stuff about his relationship with the dalish or wardens comes up in random party banters, again, instead of him telling me directly about it. The only relationship between companions that I found slightly compelling is between Davrin and Lucanis because they are the ONLY characters with an actual conflict going on, every other conflict is resolved immediately either by Rook stepping up and going "stop fightiiiiing why are you fightiiiiiing" or by the constrast being actually a misunderstanding, hey isn't it nice how every one of our companions are super duper nice guys who can do no wrong (like Bellara and Taash). Do you miss Mordin Solus? I know I do.

Connected to the characters issue, why the hell is the approval/disapproval system even a thing? It's impossible to lose approval from characters in this game, while they'll approve literally you standing in their vicinity. I've never worked SO HARD to try and lose approval with my companions, and it's impossible. Just, throw it away at this point, you have already implemented another system (the bond one) and are trying to work on a mass effect model, so atp just do that.

The villains oh my fucking god. This ties with the whitewashing of every good faction I have to ally with, as all the villains are super evil "bullies" with nothing else going on behind them. Maybe the only villain with something different going on is Isseiya, but all the others are faceless, corrupted evil hordes to be mowed down with Super Duper Evil leaders that have nothing going on if not a desire for Power and Conquest? Do you remember when Gereon Alexius was a desperate father who would've done everything to save his son from the Blight? Do you remember when Calpernia was an ex slave with a dream of revitalizing the Imperium by uplifting the slaves as citizens? Do you remember Meredith and the Arishok? Do you remember Loghain?? And like every side or personal quest villain/antagonist, the Evanuris are ONLY driven by power and power and power and they are so evil because they want power more power still power.

The missing/ignored plot threads. They hinted at us for years about the upcoming Tevinter/Qunari war and that went nowhere. What about the mentioned crisis/internal war/split between the Grey Wardens? Nothing. Where are Fen'hare's agents? Apparently they left Solas' side because he was a meanie and we know that because of a reddit AMA. The awakened darkspawns? Darkspawns now are officially a mindless horde and [insert GRRM piece on orc genocide] so don't worry about it.

They want a new slate in case they ever get to work on another Dragon Age in the future, and that's so obvious from certain narrative choice they made in the game, all happening far far away from us and that we know throw some fucking letters the Inquisitor sends to us and the most glaring one is the complete destruction of Southern Thedas, especially Ferelden.

The combat is... polarizing for me. On one hand, it is a mildly enjoyable action combat, and when you get over the heartbreak of never being able to build a mage like in Origins and having some tactic going on, it is fine, it is flashy enough to be enjoyable at least. But the enemy variety is terrible, the bosses are reused to hell and back and on top of that they are for the most normal enemies that are given a boss health bar (if i think about it, im pretty sure there is only one unique boss ive met so far, the archdemon, and it's such a pathetic boss fight)

The art direction. While I love, and I mean LOVE, the character design for your companions and whenever I look at them I get mad because such good design... wasted for these characters and this game. I do not like the art direction. I hate how everything has been scifi-ed, the eluvians now have rgb lights and they look like twitch streamers PCs or prothean artifacts, Bellara's magical gloves are fucking nanomachines and she literally works her magic like a mechanic. Not to mention the architecture and the neon signs in Dock Town. Most of the armors are ugly as hell and I want to talk with whoever designed the Lords of Fortune armors.

This scifi-cation carries out in the soundtrack as well, with a subpar score from Hans Zimmer.

I understand that it's not possible to work around every single choice made in the past three games, but some stuff is too important to just, leave it alone. Northern Thedas is still in Thedas and it's politically connected to it. Who the Divine is should be important, if my warden has died should matter, if Morrigan had a child should matter. They don't even make her mention the hero of ferelden EVER, whenever people talk about her they say she was a witch of the wilds and then worked with the Inquisition. ISN'T THERE A BIG GAP IN YOUR RESUME, MORRIGAN? Shouldn't a Grey Warden Blackwall be at Weisshaupt/Hossberg? But then, even the choices they have you make at the start regarding your Inquisitor are red herrings, the only thing the game cares about is wether your Lavellan romances Solas or not.

This game thinks we're stupid. I am constantly explained, over and over again what is going on. I am playing this game. I just saw the scene that has been recapped by Varric and then recapped by a text and then recapped by the characters chilling around a table commenting the scene. Not to mention all the time Rook and the companions say "We need to be in our best mind place to win this fight, we need to focus on ourselves, we need to think about ourselves first and then we can focus on the Evil Elven Gods" which is a little less on the nose way to say "do our personal quests". Insanely PG13 game.

Therapy speak.

And I think I'm done, at least for now. I have a lot of other issues but most of them are nitpicky and it's just me being annoying.

[ohbabydollie]

MORE MUTUAL BREAKUP 🙏🤲🧎‍♀️

i need a break from trying to write smut 😔

moments of u two!!

a lil comp of silly scenarios, dialogue, etc. i think would apply to reader n schlatt

— — — —

a guy who asked to do a podcast interview with you obviously flirting while schlatt is sitting along side the camera man, sucking his teeth and biting his tongue, staying quiet

you ignore the flirting until you notice schlatt is getting jealous by the second and a few more flirty remarks away from punching the guy

so you do the only thing you can think of

“it’s a little cold in here�� you say rubbing your arms

“really? i think it’s kinda hot” the guy says taking off his jacket about to hand it to you before schlatt sprints into action

he takes off his hoodie and hands it to you

“thank you honey” you say grabbing it and receiving a small peck from him and putting it on, completing the rest of your interview with the hoodie on, all warm and cozy in schlatt’s jacket

———

you held a volleyball tournament (very similar to the dodgeball tournament)

everyone showing up in shorts and shirts meanwhile you were in your highschool volleyball uniform, fitting you tighter in some places than it used to

everyone sees the way schlatt’s brows raise when you first arrive

everyone noticed schlatt not taking his eyes off your ass whenever you would bend over, go retrieve the ball, receiving and in general doing anything

during breaks he’ll take you into a corner when he thinks a camera can’t see and kiss you, parting with a smile and slapping your ass as you walk off with a dopey grin

———

“my favorite song right now? it’s probably that song from juno” you say smiling “here is the church and here is the steeple”

“we sure are cute for two ugly people” schlatt chimes in

“i don’t see what any one can see in anyone else but youu” you both sing smiling

“she plays it all the time, it’s so annoying” schlatt teases as you stick your tongue out at him

———

schlatt talks about you when asked or if you’re even referenced

“y/n, she is genuinely the best most incredible person i know, the way you see her on camera is the way she is in person, just that she’s softer and sweeter. I am her biggest fan, genuinely, she’s the most perfect person i know and i love being with her, not even just sex, i like being around her as a person, they make me a better person and it’s like every time i have to leave her, i feel empty. a piece of me is filled when im with her. She could ask me to get back with her in five minutes, tomorrow, fifty years in the future, i wouldn’t care, i’d get back with her in a heartbeat”

———

“my gum is out of flavor” you say looking around for a place to throw it out

“hand me it” schlatt says putting his hand out before you spit out the gum softly onto his palm, schlatt wastes no time putting it in his mouth almost immediately after causing you to look at him with wide eyes

“Schlatt! that’s disgusting”

“eh, i’ve had your tongue in my mouth before” he says blowing a bubble

———

“hello?” you ask putting your phone on speaker for the chat

“hey toots”

“oh hey schlatt”

“so, jambo has been cryin, sittin in the spot he always sat down next to you n he jus’ misses you” schlatt says sadly “i was wonderin’ if you could come over n comfort him since he jus wants his mommy” he asks softly

“yeah, i’ll be over in a few” you say before quickly ending your stream and going over to schlatt’s

“oh my poor baby jambo” you say picking up the mewing cat “you missed your mommy, didn’t you” you ask the cat softly, sitting down next to schlatt and giving jambo small kisses

eventually you fall asleep with jambo in your lap and schlatt carries you both to his bed, laying you down gently and he takes a photo

it’s his background for the next few months

———

“you got any sauce for this?” you ask schlatt as you bite into your fries before he goes into his pantry and fetches a new bottle of your favorite sauce

“schlattie” you chirp “you hate this sauce” you say opening up the bottle

“i know, i just had it left from when you lived with me” he lies

“i took the last bottle with me when i moved out” you say downwards smiling “you bought a new bottle for me”

“whatever” he huffs, knowing that you were right, he hated that stupid sauce but found your reaction to him having it adorable

———

“yeah, i’ve always wanted a surprise birthday party, but i’ve never gotten one” you say softly as schlatt makes note of it

a few months later on your birthday, you realize that very few people have said happy birthday, one of the few being schlatt

it’s a lonely day, you spend some of it alone before you get a text from schlatt at 2 pm

cat babydaddy: get ready, i’m picking you up at 5

you happily get ready, showering, shaving, everything

once he arrived he has a large bouquet of flowers, a teddy bear and a box of chocolate covered strawberries, smiling at you lovingly

“you look great toots” he says handing you your bouquet and bringing your gifts inside, you thank him with a few kisses before he tells you to hurry so you won’t be late for the reservations he made

you giggle the whole way there, holding his hand as the both of you talk before you notice that he’s going past a bunch of restaurants before he makes you put on a eye mask which you do confused

he leads you out of the car and in through some doors, gently he takes the mask off of you to reveal a beautifully decorated venue

your friends and family jumping out to yell happy birthday at you as you feel yourself tearing up, turning to schlatt with tears of joy

“don’t cry, happy birthday toots” he says wrapping an arm around you and planting a kiss on your lips

lmk if u guys want some more, i gotta feed my mutual break up lovers

[acreaturebythewater]

1. and 24. for the fanfic ask thingy! I'd love 1. be Aradins pov (obviously I'm predictable 🫡) but 24. can really be any scene you'd like to geek out on.

thank you so much and sorry this took a minute! i'm kind of mashing the questions together.

Write a scene from [insert fic] in another character’s POV and 24. Which scene/theme was the inspiration for [insert fic]?

first of all, the ramble that may or may not make any sense:

so the scene, well, the fic, i chose to change pov of is never pull a punch for free. i think it's the least popular of the series but when i read through it i'm starting to think it might be my favourite this far.

and why might that be? well, the whole thing is inspired by the scene where we meet him outside the sundries (him saying "tin tube" lives rent free in my head). i think it speaks for how desperate he is, and going to attack the camp later adds on to that. not to mention the speak with dead dialogue where he says "enough to buy peace".

game wise we're only left with the choice to kill him if he does attacks camp. i interpret "enough to buy peace" as he wants to live. maybe not the life he's living right now, but he's got some hope, something to fight for. and i think he kinda hates that about himself too (he hates a lot of things about himself), because i feel like this is a man who's been disappointed more times than he's been positively surprised. and he knows he shouldn't have hope, he knows he shouldn't believe he deserves more than he's got.

the "born and bred" adventurer. he just wants to live on his own terms. and that means attacking. his last hope.

lucky him, i also want him to live. so this was born!

the original fic doesn't include the conversation outside the sundries, i don't remember why i chose to do that, i probably got lazy. so that was fun to add a bit of this time.

secondly, the story:

an unedited little rewrite, i hope you’ll like it! <3 

i'm still not 100% confident with writing his pov so this was good practice. and also a lot of fun!

me writing this: wow that’s a lot of violence  also me writing this: [slamming my fist to the table] they’re so in love it makes me SICK

cw: just some canon typical violence. no smut today i fear.

Making it back to the Gate should’ve been a relief, especially after the tendays spent on the detour to avoid the cursed lands. He also should’ve done so with the Nightsong in his hands, a substantial pay waiting, and a long night of celebration ahead of him. 

He should not be standing outside the Sundries, arguing with this walking pile of scrap metal. 

He definitely should not be doing that when the adventurer from the grove waltzes by the entrance as if she owns the fecking place. 

He can’t remember her name, not sure he even got to hear it. Doesn’t matter, she’s blue as the sea, might as well call her that. 

There are plenty of other things he remembers though, but he won’t linger on that. Rage and exhaustion battling in his mind. As usual, anger wins. 

“What’re ya lookin’ at?” he snaps at the tiefling. 

“I’m looking at the idiot who’s making all the noise,” she snickers. The wizard (he was a wizard, right?) in her entourage winces behind her. 

“I can knock ya out if the noise is bothering you.” The threat falls off his lips as easily as saying his name. They always do. 

“What’s your problem?” Blue sneers. 

“Get outta my face,” Aradin sneers, he isn’t sure why he keeps talking. “I’ve lost some good people to the owner of that shop. Offered a huge pile of cash to hunt down some relic called the Nightsong.” 

“The Nightsong?” she says, sounding slightly amused. “Guess I did what you couldn’t then. She’s in my room at the Elfsong.” 

Aradin takes a step closer, towering the tiefling with a deadly glare. Weapons unsheath behind her. 

Aradin ignores them, hissing, “hand it over.” 

Blue taps her chin with her clawed finger a couple of times, pretending to think about it for a moment. 

“Nope,” she says, popping the p. 

By nothing short of divine intervention, Aradin doesn’t grab his greatclub to strike down the tiefling where she stands. 

Instead, he watches her walk into the store, but not before she looks over her shoulder and mouths “I’ll see you around.” 

~*~

Oh, she’ll see him around, alright. 

Aradin is used to his attempts at persuasion and intimidation not working, they’ve never been his strong suit. 

Which means he’ll have to resort to brute force. And that just happens to be his strong suit. 

Barth and Remi were easy enough to convince, they’ve been through enough, it’s only fitting they’re with him to see it through to the end. 

The rest of the mercenaries he’s collected were not as easy, no one in their right mind would ever join a heist without at least being paid something up front, he sure as hells won’t do that again. Alas, his empty pockets only grant him this ragtag team of glorified bandits. 

Getting into the Elfsong is easy enough, pretending to drink (or drink and not drink too much) and sneak upstairs as the patrons start to leave the place. 

There’s no light from under the door to the suite, the only sound that can be heard is a mingle of snores. He knows there are at least two elves with them, meaning that it’ll only take seconds before their intrusion is discovered and the inevitable fight occurs. 

Aradin breaks the first lockpick. Not because of nerves, no, there’s an eerie calmness to him. The calmness of a man who’s got nothing left to lose. 

His second attempt is fruitful, the door unlocking with a satisfying click. He motions to the group to get their weapons ready. Without hesitation he swings the door open and enters the room. 

“You fucking idiot.” 

Feck, feck, feck, his mind reels. Their upper hand of arriving unnoticed is completely gone with the wind. 

He does his best to not let it show as he turns around to face the tiefling. 

“What are you doing here?” she hisses, as if it isn’t obvious. 

“We’re ‘ere for the Nightsong,” he simply says, trusting his greatclub and backup to speak for what words won’t. “Hand it over.”

“You really are as dumb as you look,” Blue spits. “Leave before things get messier than you can handle.”

“Can’t do that, luv.” He can’t leave empty handed. 

“I s’pose we do this the hard way then,” she sighs. 

The sound of battle is something he’s used to, metal clashing against metal, incantations being yelled across the room. He wouldn’t say he’s particularly fond of it, it’s just a necessity. Like knowing how to tie your shoes. 

Aradin sets his eyes on Blue, partly because someone has to and he’s closest, and partly because there’s a bit of him who wants revenge for her dirty fighting at the grove. 

Swinging his greatclub with full force, over and over again, she manages to avoid every single one of them, dodging where he thought it’d be impossible. Still, he manages to keep her at a distance where her shortswords won’t reach to do him any harm. 

Had they been outside, she probably could get away, use the space to get behind him and stab him in the back. Now, she can’t. And it seems to dawn on them at the same time, Blue’s eyes widening as she hits the wall with her back, Aradin’s lips forming a victorious smirk. 

Still, he’s not cruel, a bastard, for sure, he’s been told that enough times for it to be true, but he doesn’t take any joy in killing. So, he aims for her head with all he’s got, making sure it’ll be as quick and painless as it possibly could. 

Blue’s quicker. 

Ducking right in time for his swing to miss, the force throws him off balance for long enough for the little devil to leap towards him, tackling him onto the ground. The impact has him landing on his arse, pain shooting up his spine. 

It’s nowhere near as painful as the feeling of her sword piercing through the muscles, bones and tendons in his hand to pin it to the floor with a crunching sound. He only has time to scream before her other sword finds its way to his throat, pushing hard enough to draw blood but not hard enough to kill him. Not yet. 

“Look at them!” she shouts and claws dig into his jaw, yet he doesn’t tear his eyes away from the tiefling, considering whether to give her some last colourful words or returning the favour with a gob of spit at her face. “I said LOOK AT THEM.” 

The claws dig harder into his face, had he not been seething with fury he would’ve felt them break skin. With one last defiant look, he faces the room. 

Doing a quick headcount, he realises he’s gravely underestimated their opponent’s numbers. Apart from the dragonborn, it’s nothing short of a miracle that the rest of them are still alive. 

Alive for about thirty more seconds, if he makes a generous assessment of the situation. 

“You already lost some of your crew searching for the Nightsong, are you prepared to lose the rest?” she asks, voice a strained whisper. 

His eyes flit between Barth, his movements are sloppy from exhaustion as he fends off a githyanki, and Remi, pinned to a corner by a red tiefling twice the size of Blue. 

“I’d rather not, but this is your last warning before I tear your artery.” Blue’s sword digs deeper into his throat. 

He thinks of Brian. How his guts spilled across the stone floor of the defiled temple. How life hadn’t fully left his eyes as they had to retreat. How that’ll be the same fate for his last remaining friends. 

“Have it your way,” he says, where he expected bitterness, he only finds relief. 

“EVERYBODY STOP!” Blue’s voice booms through the room. 

Except from a disappointed grunt from someone, the room goes completely silent. He locks eyes with Barth, nodding faintly to confirm Blue’s orders. 

Remi is the first to drop her weapon, the rest of his group following shortly. 

Blue releases her grip and gets to her feet, looking uncharacteristically coy for a moment before she yanks away her sword from where it’s lodged into the floorboards. A hiss leaves his lips when he’s painfully made aware that removing a sword from a hand almost hurts as much as having it put there in the first place. 

He doesn’t expect the helping hand, but with no fight left in him, he takes it and lets her pull him to his feet. 

“Send your crew away and wait for me outside.” Blue says, pointing at the door. “I believe we need to have a little chat.”

A murmur of voices and questions fill the room as he sends his crew away, being the last to leave he looks over her shoulder to where Blue seems to be attempting to calm down a huge lady with wings. 

Every single piece of Aradin’s body seems to be made of lead when he slumps down against the wall in the corridor. He inspects his hand, while it’s bleeding, it’s not enough for him to bleed out anytime soon. He tears off a piece from his undershirt to wrap around it. 

It’s not until Blue steps out from the suite with two bottles in her hands and closes the door behind her that he realises she’s in nothing but her now blood splattered nightshirt. Meaning the adventurers fought in their nightclothes while his crew was fully armoured. He truly was in way over his head, getting away from this fight with nothing but some nerve damage is a deal he’s not about to question. 

The tiefling props herself down next to him. 

“You’re an idiot,” she says. 

He’s inclined to agree. 

“So you say.” 

Blue looks like she’s satisfied with that answer. 

“How's the hand?” she asks. 

“I’ll live,” he sighs, a bit dramatically if he’s honest. “You fight dirty.” 

Blue uncorks one of the bottles she’s brought out with her teeth and pushes it into his uninjured hand. It takes him a moment to understand it’s a healing potion. No matter how many times he’s thrown back a healing potion, it’s still a strange sensation to feel the skin and bones knit back together. 

“I fight to survive,” Blue says with a shrug once he’s watched his skin close up into a pink scar. Another one for the collection. 

His next words fall off his lips without thinking. 

“Y’could’ve just done me in. But you didn’t. Why?”

She hesitates, busying herself with the second bottle she brought out. He recognises it from nights where he only remembers fragments. The gulp Blue takes tells she’s used to similar nights. 

“You’ve got your uses,” she teases as she offers the bottle to him. He takes an equally generous mouthful. She continues in a bitter tone, almost spitting out the words. “Perhaps I just think no one else should get hurt because of that bastard wizard.” 

“He is a right bastard,” Aradin concurs, lifting the bottle in a small cheer. 

“I just need to know you’re not going to attack us again,” she says, her face set sternly. The face of a leader. 

“Nah, lesson learnt.” He holds up his hand to emphasise his point. 

Blue hums something affirmative, her gaze falling onto the wall in front of them as she’s lost in thought. 

They pass the bottle between them in silence, shoulders pressing together. She runs way hotter than him and he yearns to lean into her warmth, with the adrenaline gone from his body he finds himself almost shivering. 

His eyes wander over her bare legs, his thoughts slipping back to the grove where she rode him senseless in the moonlight, how he'd gasped for air as she clenched around him.

When she turns to face him he remembers he’s a man with nothing left to lose. 

“We sittin’ here all night or what?” he asks, almost sounding impatient. 

“Cheeky.” Blue grins. 

[spongebob-connoisseur]

Is it bad that I actually liked A Pal for Gary? Like yeah its not my favorite episode by a long shot and SpongeBob was being a jerk but at least he thanked Gary for saving him for Puffy Fluffy and did something in return he thought Gary would've liked (working at thekrusty krab)

There's nothing wrong with liking it! You don't have to ask permission to like stuff. I mean I'm the biggest Slappy fan after all, I know SB fans can be hostile when they think you have the "wrong" opinion. It makes it even more critical that you should be completely unapologetic about what you like!

Yeah I don't care for A Pal For Gary but if you like it then more power to you! I'm kinda turned off by a lot of episodes from the middle seasons but I know my opinion isn't the be all end all. That is merely my perspective, and I understand why feom your perspective you might enjoy it. In all honesty I feel a lot of the middle seasons episodes get hated on because people take them faaaaar too seriously. They may not be masterpieces by any chance but there is still some humor to be had from them. You just gotta suspend your disbelief for a moment (this is Spongebob after all)

Plus people often fail to mention how creative this episode is! I love the visuals, the horror themes, they went all out. Even if I find the writing to be lacking, I can appreciate other aspects of it. I find my younger self to be a real stick in the mud, I can't believe she was so bothered with this episodes look?? I guess I've grown to love how weird and bizarre Spongebob can get. I still have issues with the writing and dialogue of the middle seasons but I find it such a shame to ignore the effort this episode had. Even if it didn't immediately land for me a decade ago.

Not to mention the ending of the episode was really sweet. See how much we miss out on?

[blightroach]

long post abt sylvia this time :)

sylvia is a little less concrete than quinn in terms of personality for the sole reason of being ur stand-in for the game. the different choices radically change sylvia's secondary personality (things that arent core beliefs and values) but i think they all still complement her main personality, which is "i love my friends and family" and "theres good in everyone, they deserve second chances" and "god damn i wish i had money to spend on treats and gifts for myself and my friends"

what i learned doing my low friendship dialogue choices run is that sylvia... is so much more extreme than everyone else, which is so strange bc everyone else is literally a heightened trope of some kind?? bear with me bc im writing this at ass o clock again and my memory is a plinko machine but the choices in the dialogue are basically opposite sides of the same coin. best example is a dialogue exchange between saffron (i THINK rank 4?? or 5 correct me on this): saffron makes a joke abt the shop probably not surviving a stiff breeze and the choices are "this will be the death of me" or "its a work on progress" and both of them read as "ive been working on this shop since i started" but the difference being "how do i want to express my current state of feeling about it." in my mind, both of these exist at the same time because lets be honest, any long term, effort intensive project WILL have both ups and downs. but the challenge also lies in YOU the player on how you feel abt it + how you feel what the NPC will agree more. notice how sylvia is NOT in the consideration !! bc sylvias already baked into the choices! she hates the shitty shop's current state but damn she can still be proud at how much work she put into it. both can exist at the same time! and both are right :)

essentially all dialogue choices are canon. to me. even the ones where sylvia seems ignorant (corsac spewjay encounter, roxanne thousand pyres) or rude (xid rank 9, muktuk great work reveal) because sometimes... u really are just ignorant and rude. it seems kind of against her core personality but ive made mistakes like that too. u can see how, despite making the "poor" choices, sylvia still ends up reconciling/recognizing her shortcomings and eventually amending her words to reaffirm that shes there for her friend! maybe she will make a remark that the other is completely against but she learns from it and immediately makes up for her with a bit more grace, tact and empathy. she genuinely loves her friends!!!

this also falls in w the friendship choices vs romance choices thing. this is a little bit more headcanon on my part but u will listen to me. i think sylvia's a massive flirt but only bc she uses it as a fallback/coping mechanism for her more... anxious+defeatist side. strange but i think that side of hers shines thru every now and again (her defeatist thoughts are definitely more apparent in early game but she definitely has WAYYY more anxiety than ppl may perceive). anyways i say this bc social interactions take a lot of finesse, even to extroverts who thrive on it, and coupled with her anxiety, i think sylvia finds it easy to wiggle into ppls good graces when u kinda get the other person a little flustered thru sincere compliments. like, it takes off an edge in the interaction bc sylvias able to set the tone of the conversation that way and makes it easier for her to relieve her anxiety abt, well, her own anxieties pushing thru the conversation.

i feel like shes always worried (not withstanding the stress mechanic lol shes a woman on the edge) but more like a generalized anxiety abt things. dont u have fallbacks when u get anxious? things u do so u can gain a bit of control over the situation? the flirting does that for sylvia! i think its her way of just keeping track of herself. (also why the rejections are like that too: shes not gonna hurt her friends by trailing them along like that so the rejections are always clear cut but at that point, sylvia's anxieties would be overridden by her perception of their close friendship. friendship is power u know. but yeah, that friendship reaffirming conversation after a rejection is sylvia's way of tamping out that anxiety and helping her wean out of flirting now as a crutch)

also flat out she should be bigger. labor intensive job means ur always hungry. guess who talks abt food whenever she gets money? yeah. she has the body of a construction worker, i know those arms are solid as fuck, i dont care what baptiste said abt her arms not being able to hold up his dense body. girl SYLVIA is dense in every meaning. my babygirl who has problems

[danganronpafan777]

Rei x Reader (Part 1?) I’m in Love with the Antagonist!

A/n - Life’s been kinda rough, and I don’t think I’ll go back to writing requests just yet. I just felt inspired by the latest episode of I’m in Love with the Villianness (Hated the Lene and Lambert plot tho). Idk if I’ll make this a series.

DISCLAIMER - This story is heavily inspired by the anime/manga, I’m in Love with the Villianess. Literally the same kinda plot with diff characters, but no knowledge of the series is needed to read this.

“Incompetent! Are you dosing off right now? Honestly, I can’t believe a prestigious school like Hope’s Peak doesn’t give out entrance exams to be rid of nitwits like yourself.”

Rei’s harsh words echoed through your mind as you read them off her text window. Her dialogue wasn’t spoken aloud, only a single “Hmph!” voice bit accompanying her written speech. You liked to imagine her voice as stern and demeaning, adding a few of your own headcannons to it.

 Rei Mekaru was a girl who worked her way to the top, and looked down on you, someone she thought was nothing but useless and spoiled.

This girl was your escape from reality. The daily pressures of work and school, trying to socialize but not having anyone who shares your interests, and parents who only demand more and more. With life’s chains wrapped around your body, straining your every movement, your sole outlet of freedom was this silly otome game.

Funny enough, Rei Mekaru was not a love interest, but the antagonist of the story. In this game you could ramble about for hours, the MC was a student of Hope’s Peak’s 79th class, the Ultimate Baker. It may have been a choose-your-own-path type of game, but when your favorite character wasn’t a love interest, it felt a bit limiting. The love interests consisted of the nine boys in your class: Utsuro Maeda, his twin Yuki Maeda, Tsurugi Kinjo, Kinji Uehara, Yamato Kisaragi, Mitsuhiro Higa, Teruya Otori, Haruhiko Kobashikawa, and Kakeru Yamaguchi with specific events, affection levels, and cgs for each character. 

You had your favorites, but weren’t really interested in any of them. Instead, you’d comb through their routes to explore new dialogue and cgs with Rei Mekaru, who over the course of the game, ignores, humiliates, and tries to best the MC in every way. 

She was just so cute!! Rei may seem cruel, but she has a distorted view of the world, sorting people as competent and incompetent, thanks to her backstory of being abandoned by her parents and studying to keep herself off the streets. It was a shame for it all to be sidelined in favor of the love interests. 

Your eyes drooped, and you began to fall asleep to your favorite game for perhaps the hundredth time. But that was okay, the game’s background music and annoyed sprite of your favorite character was enough to keep you content, even after a rough day of being worked to exhaustion.

…

…

You were jolted awake by the sound of a hand pounding on the school desk you had been resting your head on. 

“Incompetent! Wake up! Have you not heard a word I was saying!?”

Rei looked pissed, now straightening her posture and glaring down at you.

“…Oh my god….”

You weren’t in your bedroom anymore. Hell, you weren’t even in your world anymore. You didn’t need to look at the classroom scenery twice to know you were in Hope’s Peak. And you wouldn’t, as the beautiful and familiar girl in front of you captured your complete attention.

Rei Mekaru was here in front of you. This wasn’t a cosplay or just a dream. The girl whose design, backstory, and character you loved so much was standing right in front of you, with her classic annoyed expression and her voice as irritated and angelic as you imagined. 

“…Do I have to repeat myself again?” She sighed, “You-...?”

Were your eyes sparkling? Maybe, you resembled your designable avatar, and was basically an anime character now. Were you shaking? Not a bone in your body could remain still, and you fought the urge to hug her right there. 

“You are amazing…” You breathed. 

“Wh-What..!? D-Don’t speak such nonsense!” Rei looked completely taken aback. 

You still couldn’t believe it. Not only were you in your favorite game, but you could do and say whatever you wanted! You could spend time with Rei! You could get close to her! And maybe even…!

You took a breath. She is a person, not an object. You couldn’t force herself into anything. Plus, this game is supposed to be centered around boys.

But with your knowledge of her future, her past, and her character…

You may be able to forge your own path.

[honoringthehorrific]

I watched Alien: Romulus and here's what I thought!

As always friends Spoilers under the cut!...👽

Gosh first can I apologize for not being as active recently? I've seen this movie 3 times and am just now getting to writing my review! Might as well torch me now! haha. Seriously though I'd like to stay active on this blog it's just hard to find stuff to talk about sometimes when I come away from these movies. I'd like to start this off by saying this is going to be a pretty glowing review. If you haven't seen Romulus, or any of the alien movies...What the hell are you doing here??? Get out! Go see it! If for some reason you cant get out and go see it please spare yourself spoilers until you can find it on streaming! This franchise from what i've seen so far is one of my favorites. If you love sci-fi, body horror, bad ass female leads, or slimy slithering creatures in general you should really give this one a chance.

I feel like a lot of people wanna talk about this so lets get it out of the way. Rook. The artificial person we meet when things start heating up. Obviously he is a CGI rendition of Ash's actor from the first movie Ian Holm. You may be screaming at me right now about ethics. How this took a job from an actor. How technology is bad because it's going to take work from actors. I hear you. I was on the fence about this too. In truth AI replacing human workers is a topic near and dear to my heart because it's something that worries me as an artist myself. However, Reading about how Alvarez got permission from Holm's widow. How Holm felt almost blacklisted from hollywood after so many years in the sci-fi and fantasy genres. It made my opinion of this soften. If that makes you disregard my review or even me as a person I understand. I'm happy I was able to give you my thoughts and that you gave me your time. Now, The CGI of Holm's face is....not the best? His eyes and mouth move strangely if you pay too close of attention however it was something I could easily ignore as the movie progressed. Overall however with the other effects I think this movie did very well! I loved the way the facehuggers looked and moved and we even got to see up close the egg laying...tube...thing? Forgive me I'm not well versed in facehugger anatomy. The chest burster actually having to work to burrow it's way out and the xenomorph's acid just all of it felt really great! I only very recently watched the second alien movie and I intend to watch the rest of the alien sequels in the near future so don't be upset with me! However it seems like if you've only seen the first two this one will make plenty sense. I've seen people complain about the pacing being really slow and the only thing I really have to say to that is...The first two movies, at least to me, felt equally as "slow." However I wouldn't necessarily say this is a slow movie! It kept me interested each step of the way. Usually I hate watching something that feels like it's dragging it's feet so I feel like if the movie were truly a drag someone with my attention span would have noticed. On the subject of noticing things this movie has a TON of fan service and nostalgia. There's quotes from the previous films, Visual references, and even a nod to the video game Isolation! Some people really lay on a lot of flack for that kind of thing but it's been 7 years since the last alien movie so it's kind of something I expected if that makes sense? Also If it's something I love, I'm usually a sucker for fan service! Yeah some of the quotes felt kinda off in the dialogue (Personally when Andy says he prefers the term artificial person, That felt like an off moment to me? I could be nit picking but it just felt like it didn't flow with the previous dialogue.) But over all I liked easter egg hunting on my second and third watch. In terms of characters there were some misses like Navarro where I really wanted to learn more about her but we don't really get the chance. We see and learn a lot about Andy and Raine's relationship as siblings but its hard to tell what the other's relationships are to each other until they outright say or are on their deathbeds.

Overall I liked the effects, the action, the pacing and the characters. It did fall flat in some spaces but honestly I think it's one of my favorite movies of the year next to Immaculate. 4.5/5 Facehuggers!

[made-ofmemories]

20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by @jesuiscenseedormir

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

16

2. What's your total ao3 word count?

153,084

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Actively writing for 9-1-1 at the moment. Have written for many others in the past.

4. Top 5 fics by kudos

All of these are 911 + Buddie or background Buddie

You can feel it on the way home (You are in love) || words: 23k || T || Buck moves in with Eddie after the loft is destroyed

I built a home (for you, for me) || words: 6k || T || Eddie shows up to work wearing one of Buck's shirts. Assumptions are made and revelations are had.

Just go with it || words: 9k || T || the 5 times someone thinks Buck is Chris' dad + the 1 time it's official

What's up with A shift || words: 3k || T || A shift knows no peace. B shift live in fear of the day they have to cover for them.

Feels like home || words: 1.5k || G || In which Buck stays for dinner, Eddie decides to be brave, and Chris just wants to do his homework in peace.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I'm allergic to sad endings so I don't really have any, but I'd probably say Eddie is in the room, just because of the nature of that fic but it still has a somewhat happy hopeful ending it's just closer to angst than anything else I've written

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

All of them? I'd probably say Just go with it, because the entire last segment of that one is very domestic bliss kinda vibes

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I haven't so far

9. Do you write smut?

No, I'm not against it I just prefer writing other things and haven't written a fic where it felt necessary

10. Craziest crossover?

Marvel, The Walking Dead and Supernatural for a crack fic exchange I used to do with my friends every Christmas

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Once years ago but by the time I was alerted, it had been dealt with

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I'm open to it

13. Have you co-written a fic before?

Yeah I write with @ladydorian05 all the time!

14. All time favorite ship?

Favorite at the moment is Buddie but I don't know what my favorite of all time is, it changes too much

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will

I have a tendency to go back to stuff after months of ignoring it so I'm never really sure. I also have a lot of stuff I know I won't finish but don't really want to right now either I'd say the one I'm having the most trouble with right now is a 5+1 of the 5 times the 118 bet on Buck and Eddie getting together + the 1 time someone wins the bet just because I feel like there's lots of ways for it to go wrong and I keep overthinking it. I also have a fic about Buck, Bobby and Chris at the zoo that I'd love to finish but I never have any ideas to flesh it out with so I never write it

16. What are your writing strengths?

Fluff. Probably fluff.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I struggle with dialogue, correct punctuation and I also tend to be very overdramatic and cheesy especially if I'm writing angst

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language

Love it but I try to avoid it unless I'm working with someone who is fluent in said language

19. First fandom you wrote for

Supernatural probably but I don't remember exactly

20. Favorite fic you've written

An unlikely friend from the Eddie Diaz and the Universal Cat Distribution system series It was purely self indulgent and I really had a lot of fun writing it, I also enjoyed the process of trying to write something that took place alongside canon for the majority of the time

Tagging: @loveyouanyway @nmcggg @ladydorian05 @inell @agirllovespancakes

[cloudcountry]

fuck i literally realized a lot of this is due to how much I relate to him IM SORRRYRYRYRYRY but i just wanna talk about him today (i have no fun insights this is just yapping... URGGBSHGRFYGH I RELATE TO AND LOVE HIM SO MUCH SOBS ON UR DOOR STEP)

im sorry, i believe a little warning for the first paragraph i bring up my own dead sibling cause I wanted to get that out of the way

This is decently specific to me: I have a younger dead sibling and idia is just i can relate just so hard to bc of that one fact, (gets out the idia journal) we were around the same age when our siblings died we think we both got them killed through harmless fun comments and just having someone so close to you as your younger sibling die at a young age kinda fucks with you and stuff idrk whats going on but something is

we both have social anxiety i don't think mine is as bad but if i had the option to just talk through a tablet i would, especially in certain situations where i'll freeze up (aka talking to any waiter ever) I genuinely a lot better when im there for someone else that has so we could have a symbiotic relationship for social situations

+ I NEED TO REASSURE HIM HIS DAMN IMAGINARY AUDIENCE ISN'T ACTUALLY REAL NOT EVERYONE HATES YOU YOU DON'T HAVE TO ACT LIKE IT IM RIGHT HERE I LOVE YOU SM :((

Okay funny silly time: love of cats omg cats i love cats he loves cat give him cat he would be unsure how to treat it exactly bc he never had a childhood cat but he has done so much research on cats that he probably could info dump on the cat on why it so cool and the best thing ever "Awww did you know you get a lot of your water from your food bcuz you're a dessert animal and you avoid still standing water due to your prey possibly contaminating the water" please let him see those stray cat cams in china he would love donating food to them,, he would be spear heading naming everyone and making sure they all get a wiki page

OKAY ENOUGH ABOUT IDIA AND CATS BUT HE WOULD SEE IF HE COULD GET THE FUNDS TO OPEN A CAT SHELTER AND FEED SO MANY STRAY KITTIES MOVING ON

baby noooooo,,,, :(( yes im looking back on his after overblot dialogue as a reference even though i just read it anyways,,, Idia will never be able to have his own life separate from his family, since yk cursed and shroud, it's basically a path that was bricked in for him. its like his life path is a long corridor that leads to the same road no matter what he picks. Especially since his unique magic locks him into working for STYX since he can just open a very vital thing and idk almost take over the world. if the shrouds acc got unique magic i think idia could have actually went on to lead a decently good life whether he was STYX head by choice or something else (game dev)

hes so passionate about the things he enjoys, there is so many examples of this, he's into so many things and loves them all with his whole heart it's so endearing (also uhsn dfbghrg bonding over media is the best, hes probably so fun to talk to about media... but he might lord knowing so much over you >:p ily just let me put my two cents in you can keep info dumping idia) OUGH (ignore me doing the hand thing PLEASE I LOVE IDIA I LOVE ORTHO IM ENJOYING WRITING THIS SM) OKAY ANYWAYS aww okay reading over idia's dialogue like im writing you an argumentative essay or something,, STAR ROGUE! the idia of idia (wtf r u writing edie) HIS SILLY ASS SLANG HRGBHRBGVLRHG "OUR LEGEND, POP OOOFF!" Anyways idia just recounting everything about star rogue without second thought he loves it sm he probably played it sm he knows the opening by heart (IDIA AND ORTHO SAYING THE TAG LINE TOGETHER THIS IS KILLING ME AUBURN)

hes heard so often that he was genius when he was really young it was just hardwired for him to think he was the best in the room especially with the advancements he has made from the ages of 10-12. like building ortho is genuinely a feat and he did it and two years definitely he's going to let that go to his head. ngl i feel that his parents were not too great probably absent most of the time since he can just lock himself in his room and work on something that no one knows about for two years. probably fucked him up developmentally too, he was NOT properly socialized the internet was his parents for the entire time probably

he wants to be FUCK THIS SHIT ACC OMG CRIES IN A CORNER SADDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD HE JUST WANTED TO BE A COOL ADVENTURER HERO GUY HE DIDN'T KNOW THAT WOULD HAPPEN!!!!! WHAT WENT WRONG IS NOTHING YOU WERE JUST A TOO SMART KID,,, IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT AND NEVER WILL BE YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT WOULD HAPPEN OMG. DFGVJKDHJHBCBSHFBSFBSFR

it's like 12:30 right now my mental state is deteriorating this is stupid opinions for the most part i tried my best im sorry if this is bad but YOU SAID GUSH IN YOUR INBOX SO I MADE THAT HAPPEN???

-- with lots of love Edie

EDIEEE MY FAVORITE IDIA KISSER‼ THANK U FOR SHARING YOUR THOUGHTS READING THEM WAS SO INTERESTING!!

first of all holy shit im so sorry about what happened to your sibling. i totally get why you'd find him comforting because of that but Oh my gosh. im so sorry.

i think having social anxiety is something a lot of people can relate to with him, even myself. identity actually brought this up but seeing him being pushed into situations where he is ABSOLUTELY not comfortable makes me want to run in there and help him GET OUT. like i may not like this man that much but nobody should feel pressured or panic over entering a social situation they dont want to be a part of.

AH YES THE CAT CARD

RIGHT YEAH its so SAD how he will never get to live his own life and THATS one of the things that ive thought about a lot concerning him. like it would suck to actually have your fate predetermined no matter what. like he's just going to be stuck there with nobody else except for like ortho and his employees(?) but actually. yk what thats how he spent his school days which is even sadder hello

"the idia of idia" HELLO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN

actually! you bring up a good point about idia always being considered a genius since he was young and how that affects his self esteem and how he interacts with people now. i have literally never thought of it that way but it makes a lot of sense.

THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR THOUGHTS EDIE <3 I LOVED HEARING THEM!!

[wolfwoodscigarettes]

fic writer interview¡!

thanks a lot for the tag @aconfusedkitten !! <33

how many works do you have on ao3?

110! my past self (from 3 years ago or so) would've been so amazed omg... and my present self is a bit too, to be honest

your top five stories by kudos/likes?

1. Put me back together (or separate the skin from bone) | 呪術廻戦 |  Jujutsu Kaisen

2. Senseless | 原神 |  Genshin Impact

3. Day 3: let your senses guide you | 呪術廻戦 |  Jujutsu Kaisen

4. Some things never change, even when they hurt | 原神 |  Genshin Impact

5. Such a mess together (you make me lose my temper) | 原神 |  Genshin Impact

do you respond to comments? why or why not?

comments? i love comments! and yep, i do respond to all of them... well, almost all of them. as for multi-chaptered fics, i often save the comments left in the last posted chapter as motivation for me to post the next chapter and answer them all in one go😭

what's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

that's a tough question... i've written a few mcd fics (7 in total) so i guess any of them. however, the saddest one, in my opinion, was Day 19: "I wish I could get you back". thing is, with that fic, there was no twist: basically, one character tried to return another character to life, but was just able to make his heart beat... without the dead character actually coming back. yep, i was rly going through it while writing that one...

what's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

free to be you & me definitely. although it's entirely fluff, so i don't know if it counts. apart from that one, it's hard to say– most of my fics don't end well😭

ohh there it is! I know you burn with feelings I cannot return, my dear. it takes a bit to get there but we do reach a happy ending!

do you write crossovers?

i'm afraid not... i'm not really a fan of those but i have written some AUs!

have you ever received hate on a fic?

not literal hate but i have received some passive agressive comments i've either ignored or replied with some silly remark

do you write smut? if so, what kind?

eh... i've written smut twice (always as single scenes for longer fics) and haven't really enjoyed the experience. it's kind of awkward to me, and i totally preffer writing angst or, i dare say, fluff...

have you ever had a fic stolen?

i don't think so *shrugs*

have you ever had a fic translated?

yep! to chinese, i think...

have you ever co-written a fic before?

nope but would love to!

what's your all-time favourite ship?

all-time favourite doesn't really apply to me since i change the owner of the title almost every month😭

currently, i'm writing quite a lot for chaeya (genshin impact) and vashwood (trigun) but reti (final fantasy 7) has a special place in my heart... wait that does kinda mean all-time favourite... shit...

what's a wip that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

most of my abandoned works, i'm afraid. the ones that have more than a year tho! dont lose hope on the rest...

what are your writing strenghs?

and the crowd goes silent... uhh i've been told a few times i'm very good at getting the characters' personalities right, like their dialogues and actions

what are your writing weaknesses?

DESCRIPTIONS. they're my worst enemy. however english being the language in which i write fics but not my first language may or may not have something to do with it. still, describing things is both my least favourite thing and a writing weakness of mine

what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

hmm let's see. i do enjoy characters fully speaking in another language, specially when they're from another nation/planet/whatever because... not every character has to speak in english?? but i do dislike when the character is talking in english and they casually slip a word in their native language (i've seen this a lot when they use pet names) and it... ruins the moment, but that's just me of course

what's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

arcane, definitely!! in fact, i already have a caitvi draft, fituring a missing scene (with lots of angst, blood and injury, whump, etc). aand maybe gintama, but i'm waiting til i finish watching the whole thing

what's your favourite fic you've written?

There's no place like home, which, fun fact, is also my longest fic! it took literally two years and a day to finish writing and posting so it's almost like a child of mine at this point

tagging: @thedarling @itskaeee and any fic writer moot i might have missed that wants to participate!!

[zwierzodudle]

i finished dawntrail last night so i'm gonna release some thoughts out of me

overall i would still say i enjoyed myself. admittedly i mostly went in with the plan to just enjoy watching my lizard in the cutscenes, so. not the highest of standards.*

the first half aka the main scenario you expect to happen was honestly perfectly fine. nothing special, but light and enjoyable. you go around helping your new pal with various tasks, shenanigans happen,and there were a lot of sweet moments between various characters. like i don't really have a lot of complaints for that part, it's about what i expected.

the only things that i found kinda meh at that point is that at times the writing felt like they were writing for a kids cartoon instead (but it was easy to ignore for this part), and zoraal ja's motivation was just kinda silly? and maybe a few weird moments where they didn't seem to decide if they want the tone to be serious or comedic.

post-coronation when shit hits the fan tho. they had this really good existential horror setup (and they clearly knew about it, what with the dramatic camera angles and all) but then they kept pulling it back in a weird way?

in the same dialogue the same character just a few sentences apart says this:

and from then on it's like they couldn't let any characters call the soul devices anything negative without also adding something along the lines of 'but it's their culture'. it's genuinely bizzare. it get's incredibly tiring with just how often everyone says it too. culture has nothing to do with this? the characters are allowed to think the delete-the-memories-of-your-loved-ones-and-use-their-souls-as-a-currency machine is scary without a disclaimer every time? i'm not sure if it was meant to help humanize alexandrians or something but it really wasn't necessary? that kinda infantilizing writing really ddidn't mesh with the subject at hand here and felt a little condescending to the players.

this part really suffers for it beause there's a lot of interesting ideas they introduce and then just push to the side in order to show you how alexandrians live. by the time they're done with that the last few quests just rush by. the last zone gets turned into rubble after a few dialogues, krile gets barely any time to get her quest's resolution, no time for questioning anyone about the shard travel.

sphene is an interesting villain but even with her right at the end they throw another 'well i know you have your own beliefs-'. my brother in hydaelyn she's forced by her programming to kill people for souls to power an unsustainable artificial afterlife. just let that go okay.

so. yeah.

i still had fun with various character moments (i know people hate on wuk lamat but i had no problem with her), the new dungeons and trials are fun, the new areas are honestly gorgeous. it's just kinda disappointing how many times they fumble the writing itself.

*that one post-endwalker update where you go into a garlean bunker because their officer doesnt want their feral robots killed? and you find out they've been taking stuff that was meant for their citizens for themselves and yet it never comes up again? or how the refinery guys who hated garleans who enslaved them clap and smile at the officer who now will totally be better because he was almost killed by the feral robots? the way they wrote everyone in it made me stop playing ffxiv for like half a year. so i kinda expected bullshit and tbh nothing in dawntrail was as bad as that.

[uncleasad]

for that fic ask meme - 14, 26, 50, 53, 55

14. what’s your worst writing habit?

Oof! My entire writing process is one giant bad habit, so it’s hard to pick the worst part 😂

I know I just reblogged that post about ignoring the tyranny of the daily word count, but I’m going to say not trying to write a few words every day, or a sentence a week, or something like that…I let myself get into writing droughts that go on and on and on (and, yes, I’m busier than I was in 2020 and 2021, but I love writing and doing so always makes me feel good), so trying to stop those pauses before they become droughts is something I need to do to break a bad habit.

26. do you like to write one-shots or series, and why?

Both? I write what the idea I have calls for, I guess? (Almost all of my series are collections of one-shots; I have never thought of writing a series consisting of multi-chapter fics, but one kinda sneaked in there 😳)

I enjoy—and sometimes specifically choose an idea because it fits—writing one-shots because they’re a good way for me to get back into writing when I’ve been too busy with life or bogged down in one of my long WIPs. Last Christmas’s Mischief and Mistletoe is a great example of this: short, self-contained, and seasonally relevant 😏 I liken these sorts of fics to artists doing a doodle or quick sketch as a warm-up.

Sometimes while writing a one-shot I’ll think of something that will open the door to a sequel, sometimes there’ll be nothing specific but nothing to rule out more in the same vein (e.g. the Tales from the Salvatore Kitchen series), and sometimes readers will have a suggestion I hadn’t thought of that I love that will turn a one-shot into a series of one-shots.

It’s nice to have a series or two where you enjoy the world/setup, because it’s fun and easy to dip back in and write some more (so all the benefits of a one-shot) and you (I!) can develop ideas, characters, and events without feeling guilty about not updating (vs a single multi-chapter fic where readers have started reading and want more 😏); there’s less expectation.

(My true favorite things to write are the big, expansive, complex stories, but they’re simultaneously my least favorite for all those reasons 😂)

50. do you plan or do you write whatever comes to your mind? 53. when writing, do you have an outline? and do you stick to it?

These two are related, so I’ll tackle them together. I’ve linked to and written about George RR Martin’s post about gardening before, so there’s good background there and I’ll (try! to) make this the short version.

I mostly have a lightweight plan for what I write: a collection of scenes, or some important character beats or plot points, and often, but not always, an idea of what the ending is (sometimes my idea for the fic is “I want to write this scene that is probably somewhere in the middle of an actual fic 😂 but more often it instead is “this would be a fun situation to throw them into; let’s see what happens!”). That’s as close as I’ll get to an outline 😳

I’ll often also make a series of notes as I’m writing, again of the same types of things as in the “plan,” plus dialogue and details, as a sort of “living outline” for what’s next/coming up. But nothing formal or well-structured (which does make it harder to do those bigger stories, naturally). I have hated outlines since elementary school, so…

I’ll diverge from what I have “planned” any time I have an idea I really like or think will improve the story, although to my recollection it rarely happens, and when it does it’s more small changes. I’m much more likely to split “planned” chapters and make a fic 4x longer than I originally thought it would be 😂

So, needless to say, I mostly write what comes to mind. Sometimes that’s filling in the big blank spaces between things I know I want to include, and sometimes that’s deciding where the whole story itself will go. (My mind is wont to come up with crazy twists and tangents #this is the way my mind works 😂)

55. do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them?

I don’t think I have any WIPs that I’ve started writing that I never intend to come back to/finish. I have an entire laundry list of WIPs that I have not written on in months or years, though.

My story as a current fanfic author goes like this:

Started writing Have At Least One Totally Epic Love in spring 2020, ran out of steam/got stuck near the pivotal moments.

Had an idea for After Ten Long Years and started writing it to try to work through that block, but got stuck on it.

Had an idea for Old West Hosie; started writing it to work around that block, then got stuck on it, too.

Had an idea for Hosie Alternate Realities; started writing it to work around that block, then got stuck there, also 😳

[Cue Hope Mikaelson: “Love, Lose, Grieve, repeat”]

At some point in there, I wrote the first one-shot in the Tales from the Salvatore Kitchen series, You Complete Me, to break the cycle and publish something, which turned into 3 more seasonal one-shots (initially), and then I finally finished Have At Least One Totally Epic Love, almost exactly 1 year after I had left off. 2021 I think was a pretty good year, lots of shorter works finished, but also several more big works started where I once again ran out of steam/got stuck/got distracted by the shiny new idea 😂

(Also, after the experience with Have At Least One Totally Epic Love, I rarely actually write and publish things serially unless I have a really, really good idea of the scope of the fic and also know I’ll have decent amounts of writing time—so there’s nothing out there that readers would perceive of as abandoned. The biggest example of a fic I’ve written and published serially since HALOTEL is And I Will Always Love You, 8 chapters, 32K words, written from February to May.)

So approaching 200K words of incomplete WIPs now, but nothing I intend never to finish.

Thanks for asking! Lots of great choices 😀 Hopefully I didn’t bore you to sleep with the answers!

[hyperactivewhore]

have you seen the books (available on Amazon) Julie Plec wrote about the originals when they first settled New Orleans? To me they read like cheap fanfiction, but supposedly it's about Klaus falling in love with a half-werewolf half-witch (lol) young girl named Vivianne or something, and she dies and he tries to resurrect her but it goes very wrong. And that was supposed to explain why he is so horrid and evil acting when we meet him first in TVD S2. Obviously this was before Aurora I believe, but... the free samples I read from her books (a trilogy) didn't impress me at all. I guess writing scripts and fictional novels is a lot different.

I actually have! I read half of the first book back in 2021/2022 pdf version and I wasn't impressed.

They're set in the 1700's, I remember some dialogue with Elijah about him hating his vampire nature or something like it, I believe Rebekah falls in love with a French captain and Klaus quickly falls in love with Vivienne, as he does with any of his romantic interests. I kinda liked the book, they're centered in the Mikaelson and I liked that because it's something the show didn't do and I thought it was fine for a quick reading (I didn't finish it tho), but I can't give you my full opinion because I haven't finished the trilogy and I don't think I'll be doing it any time soon.

However, I don't think they're canon. It's mentioned the Mikaelson lost an elder brother before their parents came to Mystic Falls, which I'm pretty sure it's false because they would had mentioned this brother and their older sibling was Freya, and Viv being a werewitch kinda breaks canon (but that's not a surprise in tvdu aka the king of breaking their own laws every second): a werewolf is a magical creature made by magic, like a vampire, so she should had lost her magic once turned.

You may think of Hope being a werewitch before turning into a vampire, but she's a loophole and the tribrid and her existence alone is a plot hole.

I would use Klaus as an example, but his werewolf side was locked his whole life and he was never shown to be into magic so I don't know if his character is fit into this.

Either way, the books could or not be canon. It's not out of character for the Mikaelsons not to mention people from their past, especially ex-lovers. But in my opinion they aren't, Rebekah would without a doubt mention that French captain at least once and there would have been at least some flashback with Vivienne on it. I don't even wanna think in how ignored her romance with Klaus would be, and knowing Pl*c racist ass she would never have him falling in love with a black girl in the show.

I may read the trilogy in a future, who knows? It probably won't happen because finding those pdfs is hell and I'm not really into it

[jazzmckay]

tagged by @broodsys for this writer questionnaire uvu ty, i got really into this one. the deep jazz lore incoming <3

tagging @lyriumlullaby-ao3, @inscrutable-shadow, and @skadizzleross

copy and paste-able question list at the bottom of the post!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

says 88, but one is anonymous lol 89 babey

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

824,682

3. What fandoms do you write for?

dragon age currently, prior to that, detroit: become human. some witcher and RWBY mixed in. teen wolf, dishonored, red vs blue, homestuck back in the day, a couple other things.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Truth in Melody (witcher, geraskier)

The World Upside Down (dbh gen)

left an impression on my heart (teen wolf, scott/stiles. its over a decade old i am not linking this lol)

Variable Outcome (dbh, connor & gavin gen)

Winter Chill and Summer Bloom (dbh, connor/gavin)

5. Do you respond to comments?

absolutely! if i don't, it's only because the person is being a jerk or just uncomfortable. give me a heart emoji, you're getting a heart emoji right back. boop

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

i generally write happy endings, no matter how hellish the road to that happy endings is. i do, however, have a Bad End dbh oneshot. Fair Compensation. it's straight up non-con, and from aggressor pov, so viewer discretion is advised

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

gosh idk how i could pick. as i said in the previous answer, i try to leave off on a high note. Truth in Melody or perhaps Promises to Keep. wouldn't say they're happier than others, but they're among my longest fics, which means the characters had to go through some bullshit to get those happy endings lmfao

8. Do you get hate on fics?

a couple times. more often, i get weird / uncomfortable comments that i just ignore

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i do! well, i'd say "kinky" tends to be a general theme ahahaha and feelsy! smut in my chaptered fics are more basic, the oneshots can be wild though. and then there's from the depths, an ancient song, where i wrote a foursome involving a LOT of tentacles. like a lot. so take that how you will.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

ive dabbled in ideas, but rarely get around to actually writing them. i do like the concept of smashing my favourite universes together, though. my dbh vampire series is basically just the lore of vampire: the masquerade, but i wouldn't consider it a full crossover

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

i have! and a couple additional requests, one that i denied, and another that i agreed to but no result yet! still hoping <3

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

yes, for events. shout out to any of my buddies from the homestuck shipping olympics who see this :p can you BELIEVE how long it has been

roleplaying is also kinda like co-writing fics sometimes honestly. i've got some threads that have been ongoing for years and took a lot of plotting and planning together uvu

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

how dare u ask me this. this is nearly impossible aughh but i'm going to say corvo/daud from dishonored

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

basically anything from my favourite games and such that are nonetheless overshadowed by current hyperfixation. i'm forever sad that most of my many, many dishonored fic ideas were from a time when i chronically could not finish anything

16. What are your writing strengths?

i don't know, i'm bad at acknowledging good things about myself lol characterization, i suppose, that tends to be what i get the most lovely comments about <3

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

fluff, unless it's the resolution to angst lmfao i need to build up to it. drop me straight into a nothing scenario of fluff and i don't know what to DO. technical-wise, idk, descriptions i think

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

it certainly has its place and can be done well! but it's easy to mess it up, too. you need to make sure it's accurate and fitting for the scene, you need to avoid racist stereotyping, you need the story to still make sense and flow well. if the message isn't clear because most readers don't know the language, or have to keep looking it up / reading author notes, that's immersion-breaking imo. with fictional languages where much of the fanbase is familiar with the common words, though, no big deal i'd say

19. First fandom you wrote for?

honestly i think it was the cartoon, angry beavers lol i didn't know what's what i was doing, at the time. as far as serious, intentional stories, maybe firefly? or xmen?

20. Favorite fic you've written?

i cannot pick just one lol 4 is as low as ill go

previously linked Winter Chill and Summer Bloom: this is very hurt/comfort, my favourite thing, with a bunch of my other favourite things tossed in. touch-starvation, non-verbal character, characters getting away from the location of their suffering to heal in a better place, both physically and mentally, sweet slice of life stuff etc.

take these broken wings and learn to fly: more h/c! this one starts off heavy as hell and involves a lot of Process of Healing (to no ones surprise, at this point). healing has gotta be one of my favourite genders. also it's femslash.

Sight & Shadows: it's both plot- and character-driven, i'm happy with how i balanced both simultaneously. it's my vampire au, and other than the v:tm lore borrowing, it feels almost original to me. it's a rarepair, in an au--as niche as it gets, shaped a lot by the universe and story i put together for the whole series. it was a joy to create, because i truly did write this for ME. i wouldn't say any of my fics were written for others, per se, but i guess this one just felt different from the start. i wasn't anticipating an audience, i was just telling the story these characters needed, the way i like to do it. i had great friends supporting me through it, so i wasn't alone in the process or anything, it just felt the most like writing an original story than any of my other fics have

into the light of the dark black night: first of all, yes, 2/4 fics listed here are titled with lyrics from blackbird by the beatles. blackbird lyrics means intense feelings, that's just how it is. i've done it twice, and ill DO IT AGAIN. anyway, this one takes place in one of dbh's grimmest possible endings--the nuclear blast ending. i did a lot of research for this one, and also put a lot of thought into handling it with as much care as i think a concept like this requires. it's weighty, but hopeful. it has apocalypse elements, which i love. i got to do cyberpunky stuff as well. i added some of the elements i think dbh would have included if d@vid cage weren't a coward. i projected multiplicity onto some of the characters. i got to write north as the steadfast and successful leader of the revolution, as she deserves. blackbird fly <3

if you made it through all of that... thank you :>

and the template:

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

3. What fandoms do you write for?

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

5. Do you respond to comments?

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

16. What are your writing strengths?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

19. First fandom you wrote for?

20. Favorite fic you've written?

[louwhose]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks for the tag @cooking-with-hailstones!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

uh. 57. not at all prolific.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

234,707

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mostly for Breath of the Wild or Ocarina of Time in the Legend of Zelda, though I've done a couple for different games. Other than that Dwight in Shining Armor, that one random cosmere one, Spy X Family, and Miraculous.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Semblance of a Sentiment

Fall Under Your Spell

One Little Scare Ought To Do You Some Good

HERO x FAMILY

Link's Lawn Mowing Service

deliberately ignoring the sxf ones because I'm not that into the fandom anymore and it's so much more popular that I feel that skews things

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I used to. I should start again. I'm just... lazy.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Ooh. Oh. Oh, uh that's actually a tought one. Well, if I had to say angstiest it would have to be Even Though You're Not Here. Though there are definitely a couple other contenders.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Hard to say. I have plenty, but my favorite ones tend to be at least bittersweet, but let's go with... Reading Between the Lines (../.-../---/...-/./-.--/---/..-)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

The closest is once (for my tiny fandom actually) I got a comment that was like "I didn't like this." So I just deleted the comment.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

No

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I do not. The closest I come is putting characters in a different universe that I love.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I did one with @linktheacehero! And I like to rp, so I could theoretically have more in the future... if one ever gets finished, that is.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Zelink. Without a doubt. They just claimed the brainrot about a year and eight months ago and haven't relinquished it yet and I kinda doubt they're gonna.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

A botw au where it starts in a hyrule equivalent to the 1920s. The first chapter is one of the first things I wrote, but I am no longer satisfied with it but some simple edits aren't enough to fix my issues with it so I don't know what to do with it at the moment. I'd ideally love to fix it or restart it or something so that I can get to the parts I want to but I'm just not sure what is going to become of it.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Um... horrible at analyzing my own writing, but I really like the way I am able to do prose sometimes.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Complex stories? Maintaining momentum for a multichapter fic? The biggest thing I feel is doing any sort of action, because I like to spend too much time either in a character's head or in the dialogue.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Cool if you can do it. I can't.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Miraculous Ladybug. Sometimes I miss the fandom, but it's just not the same anymore.

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

It's gotta be When Things Cease to Flow. Probably weird for most people since it's second person POV but I love it because it just works so well for me. Probably the fic I've written I've reread the most.

No pressure but tagging (and sorry if you've already been tagged) @linktheacehero @angelicgarnet @whogirl2011 @deiliamedlini and um. er. whoever else wants to.

[veloxaraptor]

This goes hand in hand with a big gripe I have with the writing for a large part of the game.

I love the IDEA of what they were trying to go for, I really do. And at its core, the story and a lot of the lore dump we got is fantastic.

But in a lot of places, it feels very disjointed, like the companions or NPCs are having a completely different conversation than what Rook is having. The responses aren't appropriate for the dialogue regardless of your choice or just make no sense.

And then we get to some companion's questlines and personal struggles and it feels like the entire questline is a LECTURE. You know which companion I'm talking about.

To be blunt, I love and hate Taash's personal storyline. I love that they wanted to focus on exploring gender identity. And I think, compared to other games, it was done fairly tactfully. But my issue is that it feels like a LECTURE instead of an aspect of the character. It feels like I'm having transgenderism explained to me by someone who has never actually had to struggle with gender identity. Like I'm being mansplained what it is and what it's like. It's not enjoyable.

And then we get Lace's "Dwarf Jesus" plotline. I... don't even know where they were trying to go with any of it, to be honest. First it's about her finding out her faith is a lie and trying to navigate that. Then that entire story disappears and we get Lace Jesus, ignoring all in game fact and writing to shit on the elves.

Genuinely, she goes off about the elves thriving.... where? Where have they thrived? They're either forced to live in city slums and treated like less than 2nd class citizens.... or they're nomads who are treated like pests and troublemakers. At best, they're paid servants. But more often than not, they're either so poor they can barely afford food, or they're slaves. But sure. They're fucking thriving alright.

The Evanuris made them then ENSLAVED THEM. They lose their home, immortality, and lifestyle when Solas brings down the veil. Humans denied them their religion then committed genocide when the Elves said no. They've lost all their land and homes over and over because they're viewed as lesser beings. BUT YEAH, LACE. THEY'RE FUCKING THRIVING.

Let's not get me started on how she can differentiate between Titans and Dwarves, but not the Evanuris and Elves.

The perpetual kicking of elves while they're down gets so fucking old. I'll grant it wasn't as overtly racist towards them in this game as in past games, but someone in writing clearly has beef with elves enough to ignore the writing they literally added IN THIS GAME.

I also dislike how everyone treats Rook like an idiot. Or that there's next to no variance in dialogue or dialogue options based on your class or background.

Honestly, the writing team really kinda flopped on this.

I've struggled to explain to people why I can't see Rook as actually helping any of the characters work through their problems in Veilguard, and I think perhaps the best way to put it is that in my playthrough, every single choice I made had me feeling like I was the unpopular kid in school learning for the first time that if I was quippy, I'd have an easier go of things.

There's a "first time trying stand up" energy Rook has that could be endearing in realistic doses, but it is the beginning and the end of their range in 90% of the conversations you can have. Should you drift from the purple drama mask options (I hesitate to call them the Hawke options because it feels like shoving a tiny replica into the shadow of a giant), the best you have are empty platitudes for how little you know the companions.

This fandom is so creative and so good at coming up with inventive and engaging details and additional storylines. But that's fun (at least for me) to do on top of already great games. Here, I feel like players have to do a LOT, and most of it comes from some strong reliance on being willing to self-insert or develop a strong backstory and additional context on the fly. As someone who wanted to fall into this world again and escape for a little while, taking on that work right out the gate instead of having the option to do it later was unfortunate.

I, personally, am garbage at comforting my friends. I too, tend to have a very "there there" way of handling stressful situations. But Rook's moments of comforting the companions aren't even truly played from that angle, either. It just comes across as robotic. From what I'm remembering, every conversation came across something like

"I am upset because plot point."

"Oh, yeah, plot points can be *insert joke* like that."

"Ha, yeah, I guess."

"Listen Companion, I just want to remind you that I'm your friend and that things are bad but you, a mostly infallible character, are going to be just fine."

"Thanks, Rook."

"It's what I'm here for."

And when there aren't enough in-game decisions to influence the actions your companions take or how they think of you so that they differ depending on the save file you're in, it just spirals into a formulaic copy and paste run for every playthrough unless you're doing heavy narrative lifting in what is supposed to heavy narrative game. I can't believe my Rook is anything special to these characters because there is no chance for you to make your Rook truly special in a meaningful way as in other games. And I'm finding that I miss it so so much