#im also short on time and money but motivation isnt lacking

[chikinan]

man that was some good soup. did I mention I've been thinking about getting into college again.

[goldenlionimagines]

Hi!! Could you please do “don’t stand up yet” with Claude?? Thank you so much for your hard work and sharing your writing with us all :)

okok listen this isnt angst but it was what came to my head im sorry

also it gets a lil steamy but not NSFW -Mod Bunny

 Prompt: “Don’t Stand Up Yet”

 Word Count: 2,582

  Claude struggled to get to his feet. Where was he? Where were his allies? His friends?

 “Don’t stand up yet. You’re still hurt, seeing as that injury on your leg got infected.” He turned himself towards her, seeing what looked to be a bandit. She had an axe leaning against the wall, and hanging from it was… Failnaught? “Your bow and the clothes you were wearing were pretty fancy. What’s your name?”

 Shit. He needed a good lie, one that wouldn’t make him desirable to the Empire. “Lorenz Hellman Glouscter.” He stated. His friend from school had become allies with Edelgard. He watched her pick up her axe from the ground, leaving Failnaught where it had been.

 “Oh, the Glouscters are allied with Edelgard, right? Then, I can probably sell you to Duke Reigan of the Alliance at high price once you’re healed up. I wanna make an ally of that man.” She began shining her axe, checking the blade.

 “Hmm? Why’s that?” Claude pried. 

 She laughed. “It’s stupid… But I’m from the Alliance. With this war going on, I want a chance to fight in the war for my homeland. Plus, some of our allies in the territory have said the new Duke is pretty attractive, and that’s a sight I’d like to see.” She joked.

 Claude had to stop a blush from rushing to his cheeks. Of course, the girl he was talking to wasn’t exactly unattractive. “I wouldn’t say you’re not too pretty yourself. What do you think of me? Think I could stand against what you’ve heard about Duke Reigan?” 

 She laughed a bit. “Well, I’m sure I’ve seen more of you then I’ll ever see of Duke Reigan from when I put your bandages on. But, from what I have seen,,, I’m sure you could give him a pretty good run for his money.” She smiled. “Anyway, I’m gonna go get a drink before I go to sleep. Want one?”

 “No thanks. I don’t drink.”

-

 Funnily enough, Claude and Y/N became pretty good friends. Sometimes, they would make each other laugh and laugh (Usually, more so when Y/N would drink). She was pretty good at treating his wounds, as well as cooking as he came to find. 

 One night, Claude was having trouble with his back. Maybe it was from the lack of walking, or  being forced to sleep on such a hard surface. He saw Y/N come into their tent and told her, “Hey, I’m in a good amount of pain. Don’t suppose you have anything to help me with that?” He asked.

 She laughed. “You’re getting brave asking me for extra pain management. I really shouldn’t give it to you.” She went over to her bag, which was in a separate corner from the weapons she was keeping. “This is a bit that I keep for myself, but I figure I can share just this once.” She pulled out a glass bottle, which seemed to contain a viscous, clear liquid.

He sat up, watching her walk behind him. She removed his shirt. “Thank you for this. Is that oil?” He asked her. He pulled one leg closer to him, but kept his infected leg stretched out. He heard the clink of the glass bottle opening, and then heard her rubbing her hands together. 

 “It is. We got them while stealing from some Noble’s place. He had a whole assortment of them.” She placed her hands on his shoulders, beginning to massage his shoulders and neck. She felt his breath becoming slow and heated, obviously enjoying the sensation. “Now tell me, how is that leg of yours doing?”

 “It’s getting better, I’m sure all thanks to you. The attention you’ve been giving me has been nothing short of spectacular. You’re even better than most of the nurses back home, even if you aren’t a nurse.” He expressed. He felt her hands travel down his back, and could feel her use more oil whenever she needed, but only ever removing one hand.

 “Thank you for the praise, even if I’m not sure it’s deserved. How are you feeling? Are you doing okay?” She asked.

 “It’s incredible, thank you.” He couldn’t help but moan a bit in pleasure as she hit a certain spot on his back. She smirked, sitting forward so that her head was hovering just next to his ear, and rubbing the spot a bit harder.

 “Does it really feel that good? You should give higher praise if you’re going to moan like that in front of a lady. Oh, and that reminds me.” She began to whisper. “I heard a little rumor from some Northern Tribes, who do trade with a few Northern Pirates from Almyra.”

 He could hear the little noises he was making, not even really paying attention to what she was saying. “Oh, well what did you hear?” He whispered back. What was in that oil?

 “I heard that Claude Von Riegan… Looks quite a bit like Crown Prince Khalid from Almyra. But, you wouldn’t know anything about that… Would you?” She moved herself to his front, straddling his waist and beginning to rub his abs and chest, meanwhile making eye contact. “You, with such lovely tanned skin and brown hair. Your eyes are like jewels as well. And that white Wyvern we found while someone was delivering messages to us this morning…” 

 She pieced it together. She, who had only known him for 2 weeks. She had his wyvern? “I don’t know anything about Claude in that sense, but I doubt he’s from Almyra.” He stated, trying to stay calm as she hung her looseley arms around his neck.

 “I’m no fool, Khalid, as much as I’m sure you wish I were by now.” She watched his smile fade. “Don’t worry, I have no reason to out you, and I have no plans to either. Although, I wish you hadn’t lied by calling yourself the name of some Imperial Dog. If I hadn’t known who you were, I would have killed you for being Lorenz, even if we are in Imperial territory.”

 “It’s been a long time since I’ve been called that name…” He trailed. “Why are you so close to me? I know I’m attractive, but usually pretty girls don’t sit in my lap after giving me massages.” He winked at her, causing her to blush and laugh a little. 

 “I just told you that I know some pretty serious information for you to be teasing me like that.” She looked off. “Do you ever miss your home?”

 “Tons. I know I’ll return someday, but I really do miss it seemingly more every minute. I was taken to Fodlan one day, and forced into a Lord role I’m not quite sure I was really meant for. Now I can’t seem to go home until this war is over.” He explained. “Dimitri and Edelgard, even despite their questionable sanity, are much more cut out for leadership than me.”

 “Okay Master Tactician, then tell me,” She stood up, and Claude almost missed her warmth as she did. “Why did Hilda and her crew send me a correspondence saying they would pay any amount to have you back? They even detailed that even if it may take several weeks, they’ll get as much money as necessary together for them to be allowed to get you back.”

 His eyes widened. “They said that? They wanted me back that much?” He asked.

 “Believe it. Of course, I didn’t charge them a thing. Sent a message today for them to send a team ASAP to get you back to the Alliance free of charge.” She smiled at him, as his mouth hung open a bit. “Don’t be dramatic, I just wanna go back to having my own tent. Maybe if you’re lucky they’ll be here in a week. Maybe.”

 “Thank you…” He said quietly. She seemed to be telling the truth, even if he didn’t expect her to do something like that. She was someone he couldn’t read, and certainly didn’t understand. Was she actually out for herself?  Or was there another motive to everything she did?

 She sat down behind him again, and he heard the clink of her glass bottle once more. “You’re going to keep going?” He asked quietly.

 “Do you want me to stop?” 

 “No.”

-

A week later, his leg was basically fine. He could walk, and even run. He found out Y/N had been the one caring for his wyvern when he couldn’t, and it had taken quite a liking to her. She could scratch his neck and he would flip over for her to be able to rub his belly. This was a trick he had only really done for Claude in the past. 

 He had been caring for his wyvern alone when she came to him. “One of my patrols spotted a pink hair girl with a group headed this way. Is that your crew, or should I get worried?” He stood up to face her. “Those are my people, yeah. I guess it’s time to go then, unless you wanna keep me a little longer?”

 She shook her head, laughing. “Nah, I can’t. Besides, you’re too pretty to be in my business. I wouldn’t feel right keeping you here.” She stated, starting to walk away. He pulled her back, holding her close to him firmly.

 “You really think I’m weaker than you just because I’m pretty? Because if so, you’ve underestimated me.” He held her arms behind her back firmly. Their faces were so close… it was a strange feeling. They seemed to get this close almost too often now, as though it were a habit. Khalid’s natural flirtatiousness always made her wonder whether he was messing with her or not, which bothered her to a great extent.

  “Fine, you’re stronger, can you please let me go now?” She asked. In less than an hour, he’d be gone, and she wouldn’t need to worry about him anymore. Why was she worried to begin with? He was just… Claude Von Riegan. Not Khalid. Not extremely attractive, secretly Almyran, Khalid. He was just a Lord from the Alliance.

 He moved his face closer. She could feel his breath on her mouth. “No.” He stated. Why was he doing this? What was his game? Was it just teasing her? 

“Do you want me to kiss you?” He asked after a considerably long pause.

“...”

“You’re not saying no.” His voice was low, and his grip was strong. She couldn’t think enough to say anything in the moment. There weren’t words that were coming to her in the moment. She could feel herself blushing brightly as she closed her eyes.

 His lips were so soft.

  “Claude!” Someone else called. He quickly disconnected from her, letting her go, but still standing next to her. They saw a girl with green hair, and a boy with green hair run towards Claude. “Claude!!” She exclaimed again, jumping up and hugging him. 

 “Hilda was really worried, and so was I.” Green hair explained. “We spent a while searching the area, but figured something had happened when we couldn’t. We kept sending out scouts, and just when we were about to give up, someone found their leader with your Wyvern. He sent us back a message, and judging by how nice he was, I guess we really lucked out.”

 Hilda looked over at Y/N. “And who are you?” She asked.

 “I’m the person who found Claude’s Wyvern. I’m sure if you’ve been running the alliance, I’m sure you can do the math.” She crossed her arms. This was not the first time people had been expecting a man there to greet them.

 “Oh, apologies. I’m Ignatz, and this is Hilda. Thank you for keeping Claude safe, it’s a debt we may never be able to repay.” He bowed, a bit embarrassed to have misinterpreted her gender right in front of her. She couldn’t make them pay for Claude now, right?

 “Wow, you’re really pretty!” Hilda said, walking up to Y/N. “How did you end up here, anyway? Do I know you from someplace?”

 “You’re Goneril, right? That’s where I grew up. My dad was from there, my mom did this her whole life. Mom dies and tells these folk I exist, and I get a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel and do as I please. That means with or without the law to guide me.” Y/N explained. “Maybe I went to school with you at some point.”

Hilda nodded. “Ever think you’ll return home?” She asked. “You could come back with us. Fight for the Alliance some? It could be a great thing to, y’know, have another pretty girl around to pick up some of my slack.”

  Y/N smiled, looking at Claude. “No. I think I’ll stay here. Keep the fun going, though, Hilda. There needs to be more pretty girls like us to show these men how to operate.” She gave Hilda a pat on the shoulder, before walking away.

-

 There was no one but him. Not now. He had asked his friends to go with Dimitri once he had given him the Alliance. The next part of the battle was his own to bear, not theirs. 

 It had been so long since he had this quiet. Not good all the time, but he had to admit, his mind kept drifting back to her and her tent. What had she wanted? It wasn’t actually to return home, or she would have. What had he wanted? Why had he gotten so close to her?

 He heard the front door open, and the tap of shoes against the empty floor. Who was there? He turned around, being greeted by a familiar face. “You sure bet a lot on his royal Highness. I can’t imagine myself doing that, but I guess that’s what makes you the master Tactician.”

“Y/N, what are you doing here?” He asked. He ran up in front of her. “Everything has been a mess since you left, but it seems to be clearing up now. Dimitri and Teach will make good leaders, and I-”

 “You get to go back to Almyra. Is that your big plan?” She asked.  

 “You guessed it. I’m going home to start struggling all over again. Nader is going to meet me there to help me. I want to make things better for my people, just like I’m sure Dimitri will do here.”  He smiled as she hung her arms around his neck.

 “Well, I heard that a final battle was happening for Derdriu. I thought I’d make sure you were okay, and it seems like you turned out alright. Of course, now you wanna leave alone…”

 “But?”

 “You think there’s a but?”

 “Am I too hopeful?” He asked, placing his hands on her hips. 

 “No.” She said. “The but is that I’m coming with you. I’m ready for a new adventure, and I always like to say I’ve been everywhere but Almyra. Besides, someone pretty great is going to start something there, and I’d like to see that vision come to pass. Whatever that vision is, anyway.”

 He sighed. “You’re from Fodlan, and I’m not 100% sure that’s gonna fly.” He said. She gave him a look, and he knew she wasn’t taking ‘No’ for an answer. “But, I guess I’ll figure something out.” He got close to her face again, smirking. “Now, about that kiss in the woods…” 

[krpk-remaking]

Dr Sex Epic Character - maxx @maxxeruz

Leorio Paladinight is easily one of the most underrated hxh characters, both within the fandom, merch and the manga itself, because he really is the most normal out of the main four and i really think he should be appreciated more because hes a great character!

Once again, shoutout to Mags @senritsus for helping with this! Go follow him!!

Im gonna be talking about Leorios Character, where his arc will go, and his connection with Kurapika. This is gonna be a little harder than writing Kurapika meta, since theres (sadly) a lot less Leorio content and we know a lot less about his background but ill try my best! Leorio deserves it.

Reading my Kurapika meta might make this a little more enjoyable, since i touched on Leorios and Kurapikas relationship more in depth there but you can read this post without reading it!

1 . Leorios Personality And His Past

When we first meet Leorio, hes introduced as a stupid, greedy and quick to anger Pervert, not an uncommon trope for a comedic relief character in anime. Those comedic relief characters often lack personality beyond that, a fact that is actually commented on by Kurapika.

But thanks to Kurapika, about seven chapters in, we learn more about Leorio and his motivations and as the manga goes on, it becomes obvious that there is way more to Leorio than just someone whos there for comedic relief.

Leorio grew up in (presumably extreme) poverty, loosing a friend due to their lack of money, motivating him to want to become a doctor whos able to help people for free.

"I'm a simple guy. Figured I'd become a doctor... so I could cure some kid with the same disease, tell his parents they owed me nothing! Me... A doctor! Now there's a joke!! Do you know how much it costs to even try to become a doctor? The mind boggles!! It's always about money! Always!! That's why I want it!"

Knowing this, Leorios character already gains a lot of depth. Sadly, the manga doesnt mention when exactly his friend died but the 2011 Anime follows the manga more closely so ill go with the fact that his friend died when they were younger. Most of Leorios actions can be explained with the guilt he feels over the death of his friend, how useless he often feels and the way his upbringing in poverty affected him, for example at the very beginning, the fight he picks with Kurapika stems from the fact that Kurapika didnt respect him and was acting as if he was better than him.

Leorio absolutely hates feeling like hes at a disadvantage, or like someone is looking down on him, probably due to getting little respect during his childhood due to his poverty. This also just might be the reason for him to constantly dress in a suit, something that rich, important people often wear. He often overplays his pride, puts up a facade and the way he presents himself really just screams overcompensation in so many ways

Here, he gets upset at Killua because he feels disadvantaged once again. This feeling of inferiority is often the reason for the fights Leorio has with Kurapika and in this instance Killua, he absolutely hates being looked down on. The Other reason he fights with someone early on is, because they dont value life in his eyes, for example the old woman who was asking them to choose between two human lives, toying with them per say, and not valuing them.

Leorio values human life, especially those of his friends over everything else and has a strong sense of Morality, since he did acknowledge he was in the wrong and apologized to the old lady.

When Hisoka was playing with the lives of the others during the hunter exam, as well as Leorios and his friends, Leorio got upset once again and, knowing just how powerful Hisoka was attacked him anyways with no regard for his safety.

He mentions “being toyed with” twice, something people do with people they look down on/are stronger than, where Leorios hate of feeling inferior once again comes back to show.

But, While Leorio absolutely hates being regarded worse than everyone, he also dislikes being viewed as someone whos better than everyone and gets very embarassed everytime someone compliments him/shows him positive attention. This is either due to the fact that he isnt used to it, or that he doesnt think he deserves it (note how hes always drawn with an embarassed blush).

Leorio is a very selfless man, whos ready to do everything in his power to help his friends because he doesnt want to ever lose another friend again. During the election arc, he focuses his entire speech around wanting to help Gon and uses his power to call for everyone to try and help Gon,

when Illumi manipulates Killua into killing during the hunter exam arc, Leorio is ready to give up his hunter licence for Killua,

And, being well aware of what Illumi was capable of, refused to let him through the door to protect Gon.

reassured Killua, showing his intense care for his friends (and little kids since Killua had actually not even been that nice to him),

When Killua had to fight against the serial killer, before they knew about his real strength, Leorio assured him that he wouldnt have to fight,

he willingly risked his life and let hundreds of snakes bite him just to warn Kurapika and Gon and to assure their chances of success, and before that tried to disband their team so they could still advance if he failed,

and, without any fear, they couldve sense that, stared down and yelled at the phantom troupe.

Leorio hates feeling useless and despite that, often does. He felt useless when his friend died and thus decided to become a doctor to cope with this guilt, he felt useless when Gon was sick, like his friend, and he couldnt do anything once again and he feels useless when Kurapika wont let him help him and wont let him reach out but despite that he keeps trying, to fight his guilt, to make sure that Kurapika is safe and to do his best to help.

He describes studying to become a doctor as something he does for himself, he doesnt see that notion, becoming a doctor to help people for free, as something selfless that should be admired.

He doesnt see becoming a doctor as something that he should brag with or that people should know. When he first meets Gon and Kurapika he puts up the front of wanting money to buy cars, mansions, wine, etc, all things one usually would want with money, when he really wanted the money to study so he could help people. Leorio thinks hes useless and good for nothing while everyone else fights and he just “selfishly” studies, but hes not useless at all and obviously studying to become a doctor to help the poor isnt something thats selfish at all. Maybe his motivations, to deal with his guilt over losing a friend, are a little selfish but the fact that he even blames himself and that he copes by trying to protect and value life wherever he can show that Leorio himself isnt a selfish person, hes someone whos ready to put his life on the line for his friends and others any day, despite being less reckless than the other three.

He sees Kurapikas quest for revenge as something noble, while he thinks very little of himself. Even during the election arc, after he had come into second and third place multiple times he was still convinced, somehow, that no one was gonna vote for him.

Even Ging a very experienced and talented hunter, though he is a terrible person, thinks highly of Leorio,

even copying the punch he threw at him, which Leorio, as Ging theorizes, mightve developed to get rid of tumors that are unreachable with operation, showing just how smart Leorio really is.

Leorio is someone whos been alone a lot and, while hes the least reckless and best at selfcare out of all four protagonists, had little regard for himself in especially the first arc, where he just kept jumping into dangerous situation. An explanation for that could be, that he had no one to care about and no one that cared about him before he went to take the hunter exam since weve never actually heard about any family he had or has. He could possibly be an orphan, explaining the missing mention of any family and the extreme attachment he has to Gon, Killua and Kurapika.

Him being orphaned would also perfectly fit into hunter x hunters theme of finding new family after losing another, Kurapika losing his entire clan, Gon losing his father, Killua losing his entire family except Alluka since his family is terrible and as good as dead to him and Leorio just never having really had one. So, the reason he becomes a little more responsible in arcs after the hunter exam is probably, that he finally had people to care about again, that also cared about him so now he doesnt feel like no one would miss him if he died anymore.

In short, Leorio, while being extremely selfless, caring, fearless, moral and empathic, thinks very little of himself and often feels useless and selfish. He cares most about the well being of his friends and has deep rooted feelings of guilt about the death of his friend, even though it was out of his control and he doesnt believe that his goal to be a doctor or really just he himself is deserving of any praise.

His wish to be a doctor is a mix of that extreme internalized guilt from “letting” his friend die, his selflessness that just got pushed up by the guilt and the empathy he gained by growing up in poverty and the first hand experience on why exactly free healthcare is needed.

2. Leorios Relationship With Kurapika, His Guilt, And How His Arc Could End

I wont go in depth about them here, since i already have one that multiple times but they truly are so, so important to eachother and are in many ways two sides of the same coin. Both of them have lost people close to them and theyve dealt with it in such different ways. It made Leorio want to protect life and heal people, focusing his nen around helping others (see: the punch he used being something he actually developed to deal with tumors) and it made Kurapika want to destroy life and kill people, taking revenge and destroying himself in the process, mirrored within his nen ability too (as it literally kills him to use emperor time, one hour of his life for every second). So this set-up, combined with the guilt Leorio feels over not being able to help his friend or Gon, combined with how important they are to eachother, combined with how the current arc has the both together on that boat, I feel like it would really make sense for Leorio to finally be able to save someone, furthering his character arc in a very satisfying way and also helping Kurapikas arc, letting him accept help from others and becoming less self destructive.

“Leorio is an unabashedly selfless character who very deliberately centered his life around helping others and the thought that he cant do that with Kurapika is definitely something he tries to take blame for.” (directly quoted from mags @senritsus <3) If something were to happen to Kurapika while Leorio is near and on top of that on doctor duty, where helping people is his only job, i couldnt imagine the guilt Leorio would feel. Hes always been looking out for Kurapika since they became close friends (and maybe the nearest thing to a best friend either had had in years) during the hunter exam and Kurapika did always try to be someone who calmed Leorio and helped him be more rational, though that changed when he began his down spiral after killing his first person and they drifted further apart and Leorio took on the job of calming down Kurapika.

Kurapika calming Leorio VS

Leorio calming Kurapika

Kurapika is in desperate need of saving and having Leorio be that person to save him would be so perfect for both of their arcs.

This arc already set up the tension in their relationship at the very beginning, or atleast before the succession war began and i do believe it has to be resolved (relatively) soon, especially because of this (once again my favorite) panel, showing Leorio as one of the four people Kurapika cares most about.

And, to quote my Kurapika meta post about this panel, Hes thinking about moments where they made him happy/made him care about them, Gon and Killua with their food fight in the park where they cheered him up and Leorio on the phone. Its him calling to check up on Kurapika. Kurapika really did appreciate it so much, even if he doesnt show it, even if he keeps pushing Leorio away. And he does care about them, even if he doesnt want to! The way Leorio expresses care for his friends, which is very vocal and direct, is so good for Kurapika because even if he still cant really believe or accept it, its still something he appreciates, somehow. I am not (!) saying that they will definitely end up with eachother but they are definitely incredibly important to the others character development and i dont think Togashi will forget about that.

If youve read all this, thank you so so much i really appreciate it! Leorio is an incredible Character that deserves more love and i hope everything i wrote here is coherrent!! If i made any mistakes or if you just have any thoughts youd like to share on this topic please send me an ask! <3

[mllemaenad]

Personally... I feel that WEaWH tries to remove itself from TME because it realizes that TME is fucking irredeemable garbage, and tries to make its WLW representation less appalling. So I'm entirely willing to overlook continuity errors for the sake of one relationship between women in the entire series that can go well.

I’m sorry, but I don’t believe that. I’m not going to argue with you on the merits of The Masked Empire, as you’re entitled to like or dislike any media you choose, but I don’t think Bioware is trying to distance itself from the novel. I also don’t think their motive is positive representation, or that they’re seriously suggesting a happy ending. However, even if they were I would call the choice to reunite Celene and Briala without any serious examination of the issues that drove them apart … disquieting.

1) On distancing themselves from the novel.

To begin with the obvious, several of the Dragon Age novels provide not only context for the quests in Inquisition, but also promotional material maintaining audience interest between games.

It’s hardly an accident that Asunder is a prequel to In Hushed Whispers/Champions of the Just, The Masked Empire is a prequel to Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts (as well as giving you a roundabout introduction to Solas) and Last Flight provides you with some context on why Weisshaupt is just no help at all during Here Lies the Abyss.

They do kind of want you to buy all their stuff. And if you started with Inquisition and liked what you saw, they want you to run back and buy all the earlier stuff for context. Video game tie-in novels aren’t generally considered high art, so they’d need serious reasons to want to reject the novel as part of their canon. Just in case, I checked The Masked Empire’s Amazon page, and it’s currently got 4.4 stars – so it doesn’t look like something they’d be particularly desperate to ignore. They’d rather you bought it and gave them money.

To move more to the specific, the game references the novel constantly. In addition to devoting a whole main quest to resolving its plot, it also includes cameos from Mihris, Michel and Imshael, which really serve no other purpose than to provide a bit of closure to the people who read the novel and wondered what became of them. This is actually more than it provides for, say, the characters of Asunder: Rhys and Evangeline appear only in a war table mission, Adrian doesn’t appear at all – and who knows where Shale has wandered off to.

It also references the murder of Briala’s parents directly:

Cole: She’s still behind the curtains in the reading room, watching the blood pool on the floor.

Briala pulled the red velvet curtain aside. Her hands shook as she did. There was a pool of red on the floor of the reading room, staining the rich Nevarran carpet. It had spread almost to the curtain.

At the other end of the pool were Briala’s parents.

– The Masked Empire

If they really wanted to distance themselves from The Masked Empire, they wouldn’t put that in there. If they wanted to say that that this didn’t happen, they’d have retconned the story – or at the very least not mentioned it.

In fact, the choice of words is particularly distressing. Cole senses pain. When he says Briala is ‘still behind the curtains’ he’s emphasising that the trauma and anguish are still very much with her, making a reconciliation, particularly a reconciliation that utterly fails to address a thing that they have confirmed happened, even stranger.

 I would say that one motive for their choice to reconcile the two characters is simplicity. I like parts of Inquisition, but honestly it’s over ambitious. They set up a series of continent-wide catastrophes, each one intensely political: the mage rebellion, the Orlesian civil war, the collapse of the Chantry.

Each one probably requires its own game for a satisfactory solution. I realise they were probably going for something similar to the galaxy-wide political collapse in Mass Effect 3, but the Dragon Age games are at a serious disadvantage because they lack continuity of characters.

Mass Effect 3 had its own problems, of course, but for example – I think most people have fun curing the genophage for the krogan. But what they remember is Mordin Solus and ‘There’s a reaper in my way, Wrex!’ When it worked it was able to build on characters who were present across the series.

Inquisition is faced with trying to find resolutions for groups of people that have no direct connection to each other, and whom the protagonist has never seen before (even if they player has). This is hardly the only time their attempt to fix everything in a single quest ends up making no sense.

2) On positive representation

I’m afraid I don’t think what we get in Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts is especially positive. I think it’s … kind of infantilising, really, and has a whiff of sexism about it. I mean – again, I’m not asking you to like The Masked Empire. But this:

“It would have been a locked suite in the palace for a few years, nothing more!” Celene kept her voice low, aware that Michel and Felassan had stopped planning and were looking their way. “It would have changed nothing for us.”

“Your hair still stinks of the smoke from the people you burned,” Briala said. “That is a change.”

The dead leaves crackled under Celene’s feet as she stepped forward. “How many wars can our empire survive in such a short time? I wanted my legacy to be the university, the beauty and culture that made us the envy of the world. Instead I may be known as the empress under whom Orlais fell. You have the luxury of mourning Halamshiral’s elves and holding my heart hostage. Sitting on my throne, I see every city in the empire. If I must burn one to save the rest, I will weep, but I will light the torch.”

Briala swallowed. “You’re not weeping, as far as I can tell. Nor are you sitting on your throne. She stepped away, her movements fast and jerky. “With your permission, Your Radiance, I shall go indulge myself in my luxury.”

– The Masked Empire

… is at least an argument between adults, with the details of what they believe laid out. Celene honestly believes that the empire and her legacy are worth 'a few thousand elven lives’: she believes that maintaining the strength of Orlais is worth thousands of lives in sacrifice, as is the vision she has for the country’s future. Briala is facing up to the fact that this is the bargain she’s made: stay with Celene and she might see an elven scholar graduate from the university – but she’ll likely also see elves burn every time there’s a crisis, because elves are the most expendable people in the empire.

Briala wavers throughout the novel, obviously, because there is genuine feeling between herself and Celene. But the discovery that this has all happened before, that this is not the first time Celene has shed elven blood to impress her rivals and gain power, and that her own parents were among the victims, brings her to a decision.

You don’t have to like it, but these women are serious about what they want and believe.

But in Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts we get stuff like this:

Sera: Elves-elves-elves, but it’s really a pissing match with an old lover. Don’t know the rest but that explains a lot.

It’s hardly coincidental that they chose Sera to say this. Sera the commoner, who despises the nobility. Sera the Red Jenny, with contacts in every corner of Thedas. True, Sera’s background has led her to reject a lot of elven culture, but her biggest objection is usually to ‘moping’ about the past. This:

Briala thought for a moment. “Celene and Gaspard saw an army, but that would be fighting their fight. With the paths, I could get food to alienages where elves would otherwise starve. They would let me move ahead of an oncoming army and warn the target, or move behind them and attack their supply lines.”

– The Masked Empire

… sounds more like the practical stuff she favours: she’s said getting revenge would be a preferable option, and this is getting food to the poor, terrorising the nobility and giving little people a shot at being part of something bigger. But now we can’t take it seriously, because Sera has reduced it to a lovers’ tiff.

That isn’t meant as a criticism of Sera, to be clear. They do this when they want a mouthpiece. This is the equivalent of having Cole approve of Cullen.

And as for it going well, this is their epilogue slide:

Where once war raged, there is now a shaky peace. Orlais is resurgent, the empress a patron of arts and culture.

Many attribute this recovery to her lady love, though others wonder how long their reunion will truly last.

– Epilogue (Inquisition)

I mean – maybe they’ll forget about this. They have been known to forget their epilogue slides. But it doesn’t read as though the intent was to write a strong and loving partnership. Rather it looks as though they are selling the relationship as tempestuous.

That’s one place where I am very uncomfortable. This is the revolt of an oppressed people, and the politics an empire. And there’s a sense that they’re saying ‘Oh, those women and their emotions! Today they love each other; tomorrow they’ll hate each other; the day after they’ll probably love each other again. You never know, with women.’

I appreciate that Bioware is fairly progressive, for a game company: the character choices, the romance options, the NPCs – they are trying to represent a variety of races, genders and sexualities. But it doesn’t mean they never fuck up. I mean, there’s a bit in Mark of the Assassin where Isabela tells Hawke that Gamlen has been sexually harassing her and two responses blame her (You find something inappropriate?/Break him. And wear pants.).

Given that they are already struggling to resolve a massive plotline in a ridiculous amount of time, I’m not surprised they fell back on this. It’s narrative shorthand, and that can be handy for desperate situations. But it’s still sexist shorthand, and I very much wish they hadn’t done it.

3) Removing The Masked Empire from the equation doesn’t solve the problem

I mean, it makes some of the bigger issues like Briala’s dead parents a little easier to miss, sure, but it doesn’t make the problems go away.

I appreciate that representation is important. I do. But romantic relationships between women are not the only representation issue at stake, here. There’s no single source for the elven people, of course, but it’s easy enough to see that Bioware has borrowed from the experiences of Jewish, Romani and aboriginal peoples living under empires and/or colonialism.

And have we ever established that it is shit to be an elf. The city elf origin story in Origins is an abduction/rape/murder combo. The Dalish clans in Origins and DA2 can be slaughtered. It’s terrifyingly easy to kill off clan Lavellan in war table missions, and even though this is the protagonist’s family the game doesn’t make a thing of it. There’s a whole side quest in DA2 about a serial killer who targets elves, and who keeps getting away with it because no one gives a shit. We are up to our eyeballs in codex entries on the treatment of elves.

And here we have Briala, the leader of a rebellion in Orlais – one of the nations best known for oppressing the fuck out of the elves and trying to destroy their culture.

Even without The Masked Empire this is:

a) providing only the most minimal description of the nature of her rebellion and what she hopes to achieve.

b)allowing her to be dismissed as primarily involved in a lovers’ tiff.

c) pairing her with a woman the game actually says massacred the Halamshiral elves.

d) using the massacre as evidence against her because she was sleeping with Celene, rather than as evidence against the woman who actually committed it.

That’s … all pretty shitty, even at the simplest level. The game doesn’t address any of this. It doesn’t even force the characters to discuss what happened before throwing them back together. It spends as much time tsking at Briala for destabilising Orlais as it does Celene and Gaspard. It loves the idea that they’re all as bad as each other – which allows the player to justify just about any ending.

And this is a thing they do repeatedly: they tsk at the mage rebellion as well. They seem to be very good at describing the sufferings of the elves, the mages, the casteless dwarves … but don’t approve of them actually doing anything about their oppression. At least not anything more forceful than writing a stern letter of complaint (for those lucky literate characters!) to the local lord or revered mother.

And so minimising the problems of Celene and Briala’s relationship, and waving a locket around (which, even out of context, does not seem like a forceful enough declaration of love to startle Briala) does … not strike me as very respectful of peoples who have suffered under empires, and who have had to fight tooth and nail for every sliver of justice.

It’s not that I want to exclude a healthy, positive romance between two women in order to have Awesome Revolutionary Briala. I just don’t understand why we couldn’t have both.

Couldn’t Briala show up with a new girlfriend? Do it properly: give her a codex entry and make her active and important in the quest. Show the two of them both being affectionate and working together for the cause. Make sure that at least some of the possible quest endings leave them alive, together and continuing to better the lot of the elves.

I can understand that you may not like The Masked Empire and may want to exclude it from your personal headcanon. That’s absolutely fine, obviously. But I do not believe that was Bioware’s intent in writing the the Briala-and-Celene reconciliation, and I still have serious issues with it.

[themoneybuff-blog]

What the marshmallow test can teach us about money

By now, youve probably heard of the famous Stanford marshmallow experiment. Most folks are familiar with this fifty-year-old study and its conclusions. In case this is the first youve learned of it, however, Ill give a quick review. During the late 1960s, psychologist Walter Mischel tested the willpower of young children (roughly four years old). A researcher would bring the children one at a time into a room where they had access to a selection of treats, including marshmallows. The children were told that they could eat have one treat right away or, if they waited fifteen minutes, they could have two. Then the researcher left the room. [embedded content] While this study gave researchers an immediate glimpse at how children handle delayed gratification, it also yielded some interest long-term results. In 1990, Mischel (and colleagues) reconnected with some of the kids from the marshmallow test to see how life had turned out for them. This second study revealed that the children with the best self-discipline at four years old grew up to be more popular, more successful in school, and better able to handle stress. The kids with patience and willpower were less likely to turn to drugs and they were more physically fit. In short, the ability to wait fifteen minutes to earn an extra marshmallow as a preschooler seemed to be an excellent predictor of how well a child would be able to delay short-term gratification later in life in order to pursue long-term goals. Thats it. Thats the marshmallow test. Seems simple, right? Yet this simple experiment has become one of the most oft-cited studies in the world of pop psychology. Youll find it in books about entrepreneurship, habit formation, decision making, and yes personal finance. Theres just one problem. The NEW Marshmallow Test New research shows that perhaps the link between childhood willpower and adult achievement isnt as strong as we once believed. The new study the full text of which is available for free, at the moment attempts to remedy perceived flaws in earlier experiments. It uses a larger sample size, for instance, and draws info from a wider range of subjects. (The original studies used kids from the preschool on the Stanford campus, a relatively limited population.) This new study found that yes, there was a correlation between the ability to delay gratification and future academic achievement. However, this correlation was only about half as strong as reported in the original marshmallow test. Among kids whose mothers did not have a college degree, each extra minute a child was able to wait before eating a treat, his first grade achievement (how do you even measure that?) improved by roughly one tenth of a standard deviation. (To my mind, this still seems like a relatively substantial effect.) Academic achievement at age 15 showed a similar differentiation. Among kids whose mothers did have a college degree, the correlation between childhood willpower and future academic achievement was much smaller. The authors write: We observed that delay of gratification was strongly correlated with concurrent measures of cognitive ability, and controlling for a composite measure of self-control explained only about 25% of our reported effects on achievement. These results suggest that the marshmallow test may capture something rather distinct from self-control. What else might the marshmallow test be capturing? Interesting question. When looking at other variables tracked by the study, there seems to be a correlation between willpower and socioeconomic status. In households with higher income and greater education, kids waited longer before eating their marshmallows. (For more, see this recent article in The Atlantic. [embedded content] Scarcity and Abundance In college, I studied psychology. In the twenty-five years since I left school, Ive spent a lot of time reading about psychology in my spare time. Im fascinated by the human condition, by the things that shape us, motivate us, give us happiness and fulfillment. No surprise then that when I write about money, I do so through a psychological lens. I used to find a lot of finance advice frustrating because it ignored psychology. The books I read seemed to assume that humans are purely rational creatures who make only logical decisions with money. These assumptions didnt match my reality. This new interpretation of the marshmallow test that childhood willpower may stem from socioeconomic status fascinates me. It seems to be an concrete example of how our childhood environment helps to create our mental blueprints. (I believe we each possess mental maps or invisible scripts, if you prefer that guide our lives. Although Im primarily concerned with your money blueprint here at GRS, I believe we have mental maps that guide us through many aspects of life.) Although its not a popular opinion, I believe there are very real differences between the rich and the poor. There are certain wealthy habits that lead to better odds of success with life and money. But heres the thing: If youre not raised in an environment where these habits are prominent say youre the victim of systemic poverty and are never exposed to how wealthy people think and act it becomes much more difficult to learn them. For many people, poverty creates a scarcity mindset. This scarcity mindset can lead to all sorts of faulty financial habits. A couple of months ago, Erynn Brook and Emily Flake published a visual essay at Longreads about the difference between being broke and being poor. The piece is short and interesting you should read it! but this passage, in particular, reminds me of the marshmallow test.

When you live with lack for a long time, it changes how you approach life. If youre a kid whose family has struggled to get by, when youre given a marshmallow, youre going to eat it now. (Can you really trust itll be there later let alone that youll get the second one youve been promised?) If you were poor as a kid, when you manage money as an adult, a scarcity mindset can lead you to do things like immediately spend a windfall instead of saving it for the future. My Money Blueprint I think of my own family as an example. My brothers and I grew up poor. Our extended family had always been poor. My parents modeled the best habits they could, but they were limited by their own experiences (and mental blueprints). As a result, I entered adulthood with some faulty invisible scripts. For instance, my parents taught us that windfalls were to be spent. Although they rarely had much money, when they did come into cash, they spent it. Quickly. And on frivolous things. They never modeled what it was like to save and invest for the future. This is the adult version of failing the marshmallow test. Naturally, my brothers and I grew up with similar behavior patterns. None of us was poor and my parents eventually escaped poverty but we couldnt hold on to our money, either. When we had it, we spent it. We lived paycheck to paycheck despite decent salaries. (My youngest brother eventually lost two homes to foreclosure and had to declare bankruptcy.) If I had participated in the marshmallow experiment as a four-year-old, I can guarantee I would have eaten the treat as soon as the researcher left the room. Im nearing age fifty now and I still have to fight this sort of behavior. My scarcity mindset is real and its damaging even though I know its present. Im not trying to use my money blueprint as an excuse for my behavior but as an explanation. I acknowledge that Im responsible for my actions; I just want to know why I choose the actions that I choose. For more on this subject, check out my article about how to master the abundance mindset (and change your money blueprint). https://www.getrichslowly.org/marshmallow-test/