#reblog story game

[phoebepheebsphibs]

Little sneak peek of what’s coming next as soon as I get the time to write and draw again 😅😁 Have a great night/day Phoebe!! Thank you so much for including me in this wonderful writing/drawing exercise!! It’s been so much fun and I can’t wait to continue the story! 😁

~ Melissa

AAAAAAAAAHHHHH LLOOOOKAT LIL BEANIE BOUII AAAAAAGH HE IS TOO PRECIOUS THE LITTLE TRAUMATIZED CUTIE PATOOTIE WAAAAA

I am so glad you’re having fun with this lol, I was afraid people would think it was cringe

This is adorable btw, I love your art style and I cannot wait to see how the story progresses!

@boots-with-the-fur-club

[softwaring]

[phoebepheebsphibs]

The wet cat -- which to your surprise can communicate and informed you his name is 'MIKEY' -- sits in your living room, quietly shivering as he examines the home. He hasn't moved. He watches you cautiously. He looked very hungry, so you went to get him some food. You grab some chicken and place it in the microwave to heat up while you check on the house guest.

He's still shivering on your couch. You take the towel he's wearing like a cloak --

He whines at you, asking for it back.

"I'm just getting you a new one," you reply quickly. "This one is drenched! You must've been in the rain for a while..."

He whines again, cowering softly. You run to the bathroom and get another couple of towels. You wrap him up and bundle him tight. He purrs softly.

You hear the microwave beep. You go into the kitchen and take the plate out. You can practically hear the steam hissing from the meat --

Wait a minute.

You rush back into the room and see Mikey perched atop your couch, staring in fear at the cat that entered the room.

"S'more! Be nice!" you scold. "This is a guest, and we're not going to be mean to him! Now, go play with Lacey or something. Go on!"

The multicolored kitty meows angrily but saunters away. Mikey watches, wide-eyed.

"....K-k-k-kitty not like M-Mikey-y..."

"Don't mind her, she's a drama queen," you joke. "Anyways, I got you some food. Eat up!"

Mikey looks down at the plate and starts drooling profusely. He quickly starts scarfing it down, causing a mess. It's a good thing you brought out so many towels!

"Slow down, you might choke or something!" you warn.

Mikey hiccups, startling himself. He looks around the room, as if he can't tell who made the sound at first. But once he hiccups again, he understands and continues to eat at a slower pace.

"So, 'Mikey', may I ask you a question?"

Mikey nods, still eating the food. He's nibbling the bone raw by this point.

"How did you end up lost in the rain?"

"D'nno," he mumbles as he chews. The chicken bone snaps in half, and he crunches on it loudly, devouring the bone marrow hungrily. "P-portal opened. Mikey g-go whoosh, drop here."

"Do you know how to get home?"

Mikey pauses, dropping the other half of the bone back onto the plate.

"...No..."

What happens next???👀

It's a dark and stormy evening.

You've just settled down for the night, when you hear something scratching at your door. It's probably just the wind.

The scratching continues.

Maybe it's the neighbor's dog?

You open the door and see this weird-looking wet cat whimpering in the rain.

It looks lost...

What do you do?

I GRAB THE FLUFFIEST WARMEST TOWEL I OWN AND WRAP HIM UP AND TAKE HIM INSIDE TO FEED HIM ROTISSERIE CHICKEN

[arrgh-whatever]

[lavenderplushie]

october 1st picnic for my baby bats! what did you choose? 🖤🦇✨

[phoebepheebsphibs]

wait. in the reblog writing thing for mutated mikey why is he so small? did he somehow get baby-ified? or is it just a creative decision to make him small and he's still the same age as the regular story

For the most part it relies on how the recipient responds. They start the story, so if for them Mikey is a beby then he is a wee wittle beby boi. If they decide that he's the same age as he is in the fic, then that's how old he is. If they decide it takes place before he's rescued by his brothers, then that's where the story will start. If the person who answers the door is them, then they will get to go on a journey with Mikey to return him home. If it's a character they made, then that character will help.

It's all based on how the recipient wants the story to go, and I will do my best to add onto it.

I drew the image to be more meme-able with the big baby eyes, and I tried to conquer perspective to make it look like you're looking down at him. But I'm not great with perspective obviously so he just looks like a chibi lol which is still cute as heck so whatevs tehee

[phoebepheebsphibs]

Misa was still getting used to the 'box' she lived in. It was much bigger now, made by her brothers from another world. DvD had made it very big so she could have guests over a lot. And family! Misa had tons of families now, and they all could visit whenever they wanted!

But is this stanger her family? He looks familiar, he looks like a Mikey! But she's not seen a Mikey that looks like that... at least, not that she can recall.

Speaking of which, the Mikey-not-Mikey has followed her into the kitchen where she is getting some soup ready. There is a stove in the kitchen, but she isn't allowed to use it until she is older. DvD's rules. Only bigger kids can use it. Bummer.

Mikey-not-Mikey crawls on all fours to her, sniffing her ankles as she places the bowl into the microwave. She giggles at how silly he is. He looks up at her and makes a mewing sound, eyes big and curious as to what she's up to.

"Misa was just making you some Misa soup!" she explains. "It has something called 'toe-food' in it. But they're just little white squares. It tastes really good!"

Mikey-not-Mikey sniffs the microwave and starts to drool. He scratches at the microwave door.

"Not yet! Misa soup isn't ready yet!" she scolds. "Misa soup be ready soon, though. Have pait-tense!"

Mikey-not-Mikey sits down and watches the 'Misa soup' spin slowly in silence.

After a minute and a half, the microwave dings at them and Misa opens the door, pulling out a steaming bowl of broth and tofu and chopped scallions.

"Here you go! Hot soup!"

Mikey-not-Mikey stares down at the broth and starts lapping it up like a dog. Is he a puppy, and not a Mikey? Misa isn't sure...

"Are you a puppy dog?"

He looks up at Misa. He chirps 'no' at her. He goes back to lapping up the soup.

"Are you a Mikey?"

He nods, still slurping the soup. His tail wags behind him.

Misa examines this Mikey. He doesn't look like DvD's Mikey. For one thing, that Mikey wears clothes. This one is nakey. And he has way more spots and polka dots. Misa touches each little freckle and speckle on his arm, like it's a counting game.

"I like your dots," she says. "They're very pretty!"

Mikey looks up at her, face wet with broth and covered in veggies. She giggles a little. He smiles and purrs. Maybe he's a kitty Mikey?

Misa walks around him as he goes back to the soup. She sits behind him and watches his tail. It flicks back and forth, swishing every so often. Some of her families from other dimensions have tails. But she's not sure she's seen a Mikey with such a long tail like this... She tries to catch it as it slides back and forth. After missing a few times, she finally grabs it --

Mikey yowls and jumps up, looking around in shock. He growls, searching for the offender until he sees Misa hanging onto him with a wide-eyed look of shock.

"...Sorry," she mumbles, letting go of his tail and dropping onto the floor. "Misa didn't mean to hurt you..."

Mikey whimpers and nuzzles her face, as if to say sorry back to her. Misa pats his cheek and gives him a little kiss.

"Iz'okay, you didn't scare me! Misa okay."

Mikey purrs and nuzzles her more, causing her to laugh. His tail wraps around her gently in an embrace, pulling her close.

"Hey, Mikey wanna have a sleepover?"

He chirps 'yes' at her.

"Can Mikey talk?"

He shakes his head 'no' after making an attempt. The only thing he can manage is a low growling noise.

"Dat's okay. Misa understands you good. C'mon, Misa shows you where the bedroom is!"

Misa runs ahead of Mikey, who trots close behind her. She shows off her huge underground home and her lovely bedroom, full of dolls and toys and pictures of alternate dimensional adventures and people she's met, along with the biggest, comfiest bed ever.

"This is Misa's room! We can play and sleep in here!"

Mikey looks around the room in awe, sniffing everything. Every doll and toy and stuffed animal. Misa introduces them all to him. She holds them up and maneuvers them to shake hands, bow, curtsy, and speak to him. Mikey makes chirps at them all, even trying to bow in greeting to a few of them in return. He continues exploring the room... Mikey soon comes across a picture frame of Misa with her brothers. He stares at it as if it were the world's largest diamond.

He starts crying.

"What's wrong with Mikey?" Misa asks, scooting in close. "Why is Mikey crying?"

He whimpers wordlessly and points to the picture.

"Oh, family? Does Mikey miss his family?"

He nods.

Well, Misa just so happens to know a lot of versions of their family! She could ask, or open up a portal and help him find his home... Surely one of them will be his, right?

What happens next? 👀👀👀

It's a dark and stormy evening.

You've just settled down for the night, when you hear something scratching at your door. It's probably just the wind.

The scratching continues.

Maybe it's the neighbor's dog?

You open the door and see this weird-looking wet cat whimpering in the rain.

It looks lost...

What do you do?

Misa stared at this new friend shaped person. Was that her brother? She wasn’t sure but she of all turtles knew what it was like to be cold, scared and alone in the rain.

The four year old got her rain coat on so she could walk them inside to her “box” “Hi I’m Misa! You are my lil brother now.” She said as she got them into the warm living room. The pink clad kid ran and brought a towel to help dry up the new buddy. “Here you go, nice and good…and misa gonna get you soup!” She pat their head and ran to make some.

[myokk]

“They were once again standing on either side of the elegant stone pensieve, white-knuckled hands gripping its edges as they stared, wide-eyed, at each other. Their faces were so close together that the air Eloise breathed out was inhaled by Sebastian.

They stayed like that for seconds, minutes, hours, unable - unwilling - to break the spell.”

From chapter 11 of my fic 😇

[tinylittlelilac]

Welcome to the journey of me finishing my rarepair week drafts. Mayhaps a long one

This was for day 5 I believe?!!?

For the prompt of ‘family,’ hiitomo ft. Rinne :]

[heart-forge]

A long struggle ends today.

You are the Iron Consort, partner and oracle for the Iron Scion—your wife, Drusa. The two of you have been locked in a prolonged war of succession against her uncle, and thus far your powers have kept the two of you one step ahead of defeat. The battle today will decide your fates.

Written for the 2024 Single Choice Jam.

[phoebepheebsphibs]

You keep careful vigil over the strange creature that passed out in your arms. He mumbles and mutters in his sleep, shivering and shaking. He was small enough that you could rock him back and forth like a baby, comforting him while he slept away delirium. He has a slight fever and chills from the rain, but he'll be fine in the morning. After a few hours, your arms get tired. He seems to have calmed... You take him to the couch and lay him down gently. He curls up on the cushions while you replace the sopping wet blanket with a fresh one.

You sit down on the chair across, making sure he's okay. The rain continues on through the night, though it calms soon enough. The gentle pitter patter eventually causes you to fall asleep, too...

In the morning, you wake up and find that the creature you rescued is watching you from under his blanket. His eyes glow brightly under the covers, unwavering as they analyze you like a hunter watching their prey. That's... not at all creepy.

"Um... hi," you whisper.

"Hhhiiiiiiiiiiiii," it echoes at you. "Is you frrrriendly?"

"Y-yes," you say in shock. "I'm friendly... Are... you friendly?"

The creature nods at you with a tiny smile. His eyes are wide and bright -- but he looks terrified, anxious, overly cautious but equally curious. He sees your tail twitch nervously under your chair.

"You has tail. Mikey likes your tail! Mikey has tail too, see?"

He swishes his tail out at you.

"That's nice, but -- wait, you can talk?!"

The shock has finally worn through, and you realize how crazy bizzare this whole thing is.

"Mikey talk," the creature says with a sharp-toothed grin. "Mikey talk so good! Mikey talk with hands, too!"

He demonstrates, signing several words to you. 'Hello', 'happy', 'food', among others.

"Oh, uh, that's very good," you respond with a smile. "I didn't realize you could talk."

"Mikey has trouble sometimes," he croaks. "B-but Rrrrrrred teaches Mikey! Red good at teaching M-Mikey..."

He looks sad and confused suddenly. He glances around with worry.

"Rrrrred-d? Where... where are brothers?"

"Brothers?" you ask. "How many are there?"

"Red and Blue and Purple," he says quickly, jumping up and searching behind the couch. "Th-th-they have names... but M-Mikey... Mikey has trouble rrrrrremembering... Blue taught Mikey names!"

Mikey quickly signs to you. 'Leo'. 'Raph'. Donnie'.

"Are those their names?" you ask.

"Yes. How to say? Mikey only remember ssssigns..."

"Leo, Raph, and Donnie."

Mikey smiles at you brightly.

"Yes! Mikey need find brothers. Brothers get worried. Mikey not supposed to leave home."

"Why not?" you ask, following him as he sniffs around the house.

"Bad people look for Mikey. They wear white and hurt Mikey. Make Mikey... like this."

You watch as he slows his stride and looks down at his claws sadly.

"...What... are you?" you ask nervously. "I've never really seen anyone like you before..."

"...Monster."

Mikey keeps walking.

"Mikey used to be... turtle? Not sure. Can't 'member. Bad place took away memories, make thinking hard. But Mikey 'members more when brothers help. Mikey can't rrrrremember what he is anymore..."

You feel badly for him. You reach down to pet him. He jumps at the touch and looks up at you in fear for a moment before relaxing.

"Sorry," you say. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"S'okay," he says back. "Mikey get scared sometimes. Not your fault."

Mikey trots into the kitchen and starts sniffing around.

"They not here..."

"Well... no, they wouldn't be... you looked pretty lost when you came to my house last night. Where do you live, Mikey? Around here, or far away?"

"Underground," he says, still trotting around the house and sniffing every room he finds. "Um... Mikey... can't r-r-remember the name... city... big city..."

"Big city, huh?" you say as you follow him into the next room. "Well... I'm not an expert on cities or underground stuff, but I can try to help! Let's try retracing your steps. How did you get lost?"

Mikey pauses. His brow furrows. He blinks.

"....Mikey......... Don't know..."

What happens next?? 👀👀👀

It's a dark and stormy evening.

You've just settled down for the night, when you hear something scratching at your door. It's probably just the wind.

The scratching continues.

Maybe it's the neighbor's dog?

You open the door and see this weird-looking wet cat whimpering in the rain.

It looks lost...

What do you do?

I open the door and see this tiny creature

I pick them up. It looks so sad..

I find a towel and dry them off, they are pretty quiet right now.

I grab my blanket and wrap them in it. I think they were tired since they fell asleep soon after

"what happened? What even are you.."

This has been the perfect opportunity to practice my new mobian oc I look forward to what happens next

[lucalicatteart]

 sculpted a strange shimmery two headed snail, speckled with wild flowers on it's shell~

[thejolteonmastertj]

Me: Wow, why do all the townsfolk seem to know Zelda personally like she’s just any ol local girl.

Also me: Spends like an hour hopping onto any & every surface that can be hopped onto, hopping into the town square fountain, trying to hop into the well, hopping into & hiding in pots, jumpscaring the local cops, crawling out of the well dripping wet somehow, chasing butterflies, & occasionally managing some parkour on the rooftops… ah, I see.

[lilianade-comics]

Let's Build a Story! [DP edition]

Rules are simple! Reblog from any point in the chain with an additional panel or two to build on the story or take it in an entirely new direction! The prompt is "Danny versus Vlad's diabolical new scheme!"

I'll go first:

[phoebepheebsphibs]

The strange child shrieks and hides under a table in fright. He wails loudly as he cowers.

"Hey, now!" you say, rushing to his side. "I-it's alright, it's all okay!"

"No, no! D-don't hurt me," he cries. "Didn't do bad! Mikey didn't do bad, don't h-hurt, please -- Sorry, m'sorry, Mikey --"

"It's just the thunder," you say quickly, grabbing him by the shoulders to steady him and keep his gaze fixed on you. "You're safe! Nothing here will hurt you, no one is going to hurt you!"

The creature, 'Mikey', looks at you with fear in his eyes. It takes him a moment to comprehend what you said. Another flash of light and crack of thunder, he jerks his head towards the window and stares in shock as he realizes what the sound is from. He sobs, shaking nonstop, gripping you tightly as he weeps into your shirt.

"Mikey doesn't like the noise! T-too loud, Mikey th-thought -- Mikey thought , thought it was... punish... sorry, sorry... got scared...."

"It's alright, dear, it's alright... Come with me to the fire," you say, gently guiding him out from under the table. "Let's get you into the light and warm... come along, it's okay..."

Mikey slowly follows you, staring at your hands as he creeps along. His tail drags behind him, small spines raised in defense. You place him by the warm glow, the crackles of the flames and dancing of the light seem to soothe him. At least, his tears and sobs have slowed into suck-up breaths and bad case of the hiccups.

"There, isn't that better?" you smile at him. "The soup will be ready soon. You must be hungry!"

Mikey doesn't respond. He looks like he's in shock. His eyes are wide, but glazed over, staring aimlessly into the fire as he tries to calm down.

You tap his shoulder. He blinks lazily and turns to look at you.

"...Mikey.... s-safe?" he asks.

"Yes, dear," you say quietly. "You're safe here."

Mikey seems to relax a bit, though the distant thunder startles him constantly. After several minutes, you hear the pot whistle at you. The soup is ready. You bring out two bowls and fill them with stew. You carefully hand one bowl to Mikey, who accepts it quiveringly. He lifts it to his face and slurps. His hands shake, he has trouble holding it properly.

"So... 'Mikey', was it? What were you doing in the mystic forest so late at night? And during a thunderstorm, no less?"

"W-what issss myzzzztic-c-c f-forrrest?" he asks.

"Well, you're in it!" you reply. "It's the wood where I live. Do you not know this area?"

Mikey shakes his head as he slurps more of the soup.

"Then how did you get here?"

Mikey shakes his head as he yawns.

"M-M-Mikey... not know..."

Mikey looks very tired.

"Do you need to rest, Mikey?" you ask, rubbing his head. You notice it's a bit warm.

He mews softly, closing his eyes and nodding weakly as he yawns yet again. He sways back and forth. He must really be tired.

"The storm will probably last until the wee hours. Why don't I get you a cot set up so you can spend the night?"

Mikey hums a soft response. You take that as a yes.

You go and get a small bed ready with some spare pillows and the fluffiest blankets you can. You come back within fifteen minutes max, but even in that small amount of time Mikey has managed to pass out by the fireplace. You roll your eyes and smile at how cute he is. He's all curled up like a kitty cat, snoring softly.

You walk over and lift him up -- towel and all -- into your arms and carry him to bed. He still feels warm, but you chalk that up to being so close to the fire. You gently tuck him into the cot and let him rest. He's breathing a bit heavily. Probably exhaustion. You hope. He seems run down, whimpering and moaning in his sleep, tossing and turning. It might be more than just simple fatigue and fear... Though, you can tell he's been through quite an ordeal already. Those scars and scratches he's wearing don't bode well. And you don't like the way he panicked when he heard the thundercrash, especially when he thought... what did he say? 'Punish'? What was that supposed to mean? Did he think the lightning was supposed to be a punishment against him? Punished for what? What could Mikey have done? And... who could have hurt him so badly?

You'll check on him tomorrow... for now, you let the boy rest.

He needs it.

What happens next??? 👀👀👀

It's a dark and stormy evening.

You've just settled down for the night, when you hear something scratching at your door. It's probably just the wind.

The scratching continues.

Maybe it's the neighbor's dog?

You open the door and see this weird-looking wet cat whimpering in the rain.

It looks lost...

What do you do?

[alongtidesoflight]

so here's my honest thoughts on dragon age: the veilguard, after ~40 hours of playing. i finished the main quest after having finished all companion quests and major faction quests. just to clear up what content i saw, i played as an elven transmasc rook who is a member of the lords of fortune. he romanced lucanis (although after finishing the game i'm now leaning towards taash). i don't know what's happening in playthroughs that have a different race, gender identity, romance or faction going on.

full spoilers ahead, i mean it. don't read further if you want to avoid them. i don't want complaining about it in my asks.

oh and also, if you're worried because of a few negative reviews online i can comfort you by saying don't give a fuck about a certain big name youtuber who is very much tied to bethesda franchises giving this a negative review. i'll explain why.

i'm starting off with the things i liked

the game looks really pretty. i was worried it wouldn't feel like thedas anymore (with them trying to "focus on northern thedas only" i thought they'd make a clear cut in environmental design. they do and they don't. it's complicated. i'll elaborate on it when talking about the negative stuff). anyway it does. minrathous feels like kirkwall. treviso enchanted me like the winter palace did. the hossberg wetlands reminded me of the hinterlands and a couple other inquisition maps. arlathan looked like... arlathan. the crossroads were different, but familiar. overall i like the way it looks and feels. it's thedas, with a twist. it's a good one, and gives everything a solid but unique feel.

combat is top tier. if you're a hardcore dragon age player you WILL miss the tactical aspect of it for a bit, but i promise you, once you're used to the way the combat works, you will be lapping that shit up. and once you get to ability combos you'll mourn the control you used to have over your companions in battle a bit less

the MAIN quest and its story. i expected worse, way worse. and for a while the game even had me tricked (harr harr you'll get it in a second) it is Really That Much Worse. but holy shit was it good. i walked away satisfied ngl.

your choices have SOLID weight. there's consequences, good AND bad. i got minrathous blighted, ruled over by venatori, and the leader of the shadow dragons ultimately died because of my decisions. i made those at the beginning and throughout the game. he died at the end. DAVRIN died because i didn't expect what i was saying to have that much weight. i thought i was in the clear. he had hero status. well turns out, your choices can still get your companions killed even if you do everything right. i fucking love him. he shouldn't have made that sacrifice just because i told him to do everything it takes once.

the inquisitor, morrigan and dorian being there, surprisingly. there's also negatives to this though, see below.

speaking of companions dying and the inquisitor playing a bigger role: the final quest feels like me2's suicide mission. i was blown away by it and the fact that i got to see the results of all my efforts playing out in front of me.

bioware are NOT trying to redeem solas. they love him as a character yes, but i wasn't forced to see any good in him. he betrays you. he fucked my rook over twice. he fucked him over right back, for good this time (the veil wasn't torn down, i anchored it by binding him to it, he's doomed to uphold it). but solas really lives up to his name as the trickster elven god. rip to all the people who grew really attached to him over the years.

varric died. if you like him that's probably as hard reading it as it was watching it. varric died and the game lies about it until the very end. when the realisation hits, it hurts. but in the very best way.

the amount of care they put into gender expression and trans identities this time around. (i'll add onto this with negative points as well too).

rook feels very much ingrained in the world of thedas. he doesn't ask questions that expose the player to lore through dialogue as if he's stepped foot into thedas for the first time. those conversations feel very solid and good. i hope other faction players got as much joy out of this as i did.

and the things i didn't like and boy there's a lot unfortunately

the music. let's just get that out of the way holy shit. it doesn't feel like it belongs in this universe. it gets so incredibly sci-fi-y at times you'd think it's taken straight from mass effect andromeda. there's not a single song unique to veilguard that i really enjoyed. it broke my immersion, real bad. hearing a busker play the tavern songs from inquisition on a lute right after i killed some venatori with wobbly bass songs playing in the background is just odd. weird tonal shift. don't like it. it's made for people who like flashy light-weight cinema.

tevinter nights is required reading. the podcasts are required listening exercises. the game is so fast paced, especially at the start, that there's no time to introduce you to characters and how much weight their names carry in-game. i would not have known who half these people are if i hadn't skimmed over tevinter nights. i'd care even less about them than i already did. there is no time to get properly attached to them. people will act as if you're talking to a legend personified and you'll be thinking man goddamn which chapter of tevinter night were they in again and what did they do???

there's a weird mismatch with the animations. you'll have beautifully fluid ones, like emmrich casting spells. and then you'll have rook's face animating in the most unnatural manner that's sorta reminiscent of mass effect andromeda's "my face is tired" addison, when their emotions SHOULD be landing with the player rn instead.

i'm not vibing with the art style. sometimes it works. most of the time it doesn't. at points i felt like i was watching tangled.

that also brings me to some of the dialogue. same issue. i am watching frozen. i am watching tangled. someone on the writer's team really likes the adorkable trope. bellara is its victim.

for all the talk about identity, bioware sure doesn't like theirs. the grey warden armor got a redesign again and it just makes them look like a generic army. i hate it lol

in general, i don't like the armor design. the wardrobe/appearances system is fine, but it's just not helping if all the armors are just... kinda bland or downight bad looking? and don't get me started on the lords of fortune armor. that is orientalism personified.

the world states should have been carried over, full stop. i know they said they didn't because they want to separate what happens in the north from what happens in the south, which... i could have lived with that. but the inquisitor sends you letters that keep you up to date on... the south of thedas. you learn that there's a blight again, that people are standing strong but it's difficult, denerim's fallen, the rulers are taking care of it, orlais is fighting and they're successful for a while, etc etc. what's good bioware. i thought we don't care about the south this time around. why are you feeding me so much boring generic information. if you're not gonna show any of it and just write letters, then carrying the world state over should not have been an issue. i have a game dev background. those few lines of code would not have broken your budget or pushed your engine's limits. fuck right off.

this gripe of mine carries over to all the cameos. as a lord of fortune you have to deal with isabela a lot. it's fun. i missed her. you get to go drinking with her and taash and bellara! also my hawke romanced her. she's not mentioned once. they had the opportunity to put a sentence or two about her in there with not a lot of effort, trust me.

when varric dies, all she has is a single line about it. for gold, for fortune, for varric. she only says it if you interact with her on your way to the final push. that's not mandatory.

morrigan is there. kieran isn't. the old god soul that mythal and then solas absorbed? who cares at this point, the gods are dead now and solas is locked away for eternity. i suppose? why is morrigan there. she feels unneeded. i wish they'd just left her down south, at least that way i wouldn't have had to witness her god awful redesign.

dorian at least feels as if he belongs in this story. the shadow dragons are a crucial part to protecting minrathous. he's also weirdly underutilised. isabela and morrigan had more lines than him in my playthrough.

on the topic of romance: bro that was underwhelming. no, genuinely. you know when romance picked up a bit? after the point of no return. i heard maybe two lines of companion banter about it before that. maybe i missed something which i honestly doubt, but romance did not play much of a role in lucanis's storyline. i saved his grandmother as he wished me to (and if you read tevinter nights you know she was rather abusive and their relationship not the healthiest) and told him to focus on his family. a reunified family my rook wasn't even introduced to as a partner at the end of all that.

really, do not buy this game if you're only in it for the romances. others might be better, lucanis's basically gave me nothing. except for an outing (the second coffee date i had with him, it was getting repetitive) all of it played out once i committed to the final quest. the sex scene was a fade to black. annoyingly right after davrin died. if you're looking for well paced and good spice, pick up something else. the sweet talk and the final goodbye were nice though.

for all the good the ever-presence of gender identity does, it is brought up in such a disruptive manner too. it doesn't even play out naturally if you CHOOSE the lines that are meant to be said. hearing the words trans and non-binary in this setting doesn't feel right, and i'm saying this as a trans guy. i think it could have been handled more gracefully. the amount of times my rook went "i'm a MAN" as if he's about to start drumming on his chest and roaring any second now got super nerve-grating. "i'm so glad you're into me... the me who is trans. remember?" just. tell me one trans person who'd talk like that to a person they've grown close with and are trying to romance. this game doesn't handle sexuality well, so all this hey my body might not look like the way you're expecting it to look talk amounts to nothing anyway. i feel about this the way i feel about krem: this is partial exposition to trans experiences... packaged up for cis consumption. the ONLY exception to that is interacting with taash. holy shit was all of that heartwarming and bro did it feel good and natural to talk to them about theirs and rook's gender.

rivain and nevarra are new locations added by veilguard. they're also incredibly underwhelming, small and constricted maps. rivain is a coastline with a few ruins. the hall of valor is a partial ruin nestled into a cave on a beach, with a fighting pit. isabela is there in her skimpy outfit commentating your pit fights. that's it. i'm sorry if you were looking for a bustling pirate cove or whatever. you're not gonna get it. the nevarran crypts btw are a long ass dungeon crawl. that's it.

speaking of maps. i thought people were being dramatic when they said you're gonna be fighting the same enemies on them again and again. i thought they were figure of speeching it. they're not. you WILL fight the same amount of enemies. in the same spot. every time you reload the map. best to stay on a map and clear out the enemies and do as much questing on that map as you can before leaving, because you WILL have to do it all over again once you return.

the three choices i made for my inquisitor didn't matter lol she didn't have to face solas and therefore couldn't stop him at any cost as she had sworn (maybe because my rook tricked solas into binding himself to the veil, there was also an option to fight him. would she have stepped in? who knows). blackwall wasn't mentioned. and either her using a small amount of her forces in the final fight was the reason the civilians of minrathous fared so well..... or it just didn't matter. ultimately i think she had very little impact on anything