#tbh I don’t mind most of the npcs but I hate the two guys who like singing lyrics before and after making their lookit outfits

[jpasionr]

I couldn’t think of a nonbinary themed outfit but still proud of this bi themed one I’ve had since this character

was the main inspiration for it

(note: the outfit she was wearing is the first attempt while borrowing the shoes and socks from other players)

[heniareth]

I was really curious about what your opinions on the DAO companions are :) I know we have talked about some, but I'd love to hear more and about the others as well :D I hope it's ok to pose this as an ask :)

Sure! That sounds like a ton of fun. This might be a long one tho. Mind you, this is not the finished version of the answer. I'd like to link stuff and add a cut, but rn that's not possible. I'll update it when I can.

Edit: I have updated it ^^

Let's go alphabetically bc why not.

Alistair:

Sweet guy. So sweet. There was a moment when I was hard pressed chosing between him and Zevran (alas, Zevran won). Also, he's weirdly tall according to the wiki? How did I not notice that before?

Let's get a bit more serious now, Alistair is a great guy. The only reason he's not the hero of the story is because he doesn't want to. He has all the qualities of a leader: he's good at dealing with conflict (as evident with the conversation with the mage at the beginning. He gets where he wants to get without antagonizing the mage, but without allowing him to trample all over him). He's a solid tactitian and knows how to make allies (he suggests to use the Grey Warden treaties, after all). I bet if he was in the leadership position, he'd even not bicker with Morrigan. His moral code is pretty tight; some might say too tight, but I think it's less about the moral code and more about learning to judge people by their actions, not by the labels they fit into (Morrigan is a proud apostate and therefore bad. Wynne is a humble circle mage and therefore good). He also has a bit of a black-and-white way of seeing the world. I empathize a lot with Alistair, especially with his experience with the Chantry and his subsequent reluctance to deal with it. I really wish I had gotten to know more about concrete experiences he had during his training as templar, but he seems reluctant to talk about it (gee, I wonder why).

Since I've only played the game once, I haven't really picked up on Arl Eamon's abuse towards him, which apparently exists (Isolde, however... I mean, even if he were Eamon's illegitimate son, he's a kid, ma'am, he didn't exactly get to chose his parents. So that's so not okay). Alistair's way of speaking about them both, however, is either sign that he has not come within a hundred miles of acknowledging how much it hurt him, or that he's already gone through the whole process and has decided to forgive them. The latter shows a very strong character; yes, he relies on the approval and leadership of others, he has his issues, but he's already started working on them.

That being said, irl Alistair would be like a little brother to me. I'd tease him relentlessly (all in good fun and I promise to stop if it makes him uncomfortable, but he's just so teasable). I still wish the videogame gave him the chance to take important decisions for himself. But that, of course, would somewhat defeat the point of the game.

Leliana:

Another sweet, sweet person. Her singing voice is amazing. Her belief in the Maker inspires me (I'm a religious person and seeing religious characters represented in a positive light is Very Cool. It's also sometimes a source of discomfort, because the Church has done a lot of very messed up stuff and positive representation can sometimes veer into apologetics for things that should not be excused, but that's a whole other can of worms. The bottom line is that religious characters sometimes work for me and other times don't and Leliana works for me very much bc she's an outsider inside the Chantry).

Leliana is best friend material, tbh. I'd love to get to know her irl, discuss theology and philosophy and maybe even politics? She makes mistakes and has prejudices, but, tbh, so do I. And I do get the feeling that she tries her best to learn. From the times she intervenes in a conversation between the Warden and an NPC, she shows herself to be compassionate and open to the needs of others. What I get from her character is that she genuinely wants to help, which is something that I adore of her. I suspect that she sometimes has a hard time deciding wether she's a good person or not. She has killed and seduced and worked for a morally dubious person, and she doesn't show the same nonchalance about it as Zevran (though they both do discuss their line of work in very... professional terms). This is, however, more of a headcanon than actual factual canon.

I also very much enjoy her girly side, like her interest in shoes and dresses. She's one badass woman who also looses her cool about the latest fashions in Val Royeaux. I like that. Between her and Alistair, a non human noble Warden has as good a help to navigate the Fereldan court as they're going to get. Leliana is also, I can't forget that, clever and insightful. It'd be easy to write her off as the innocent chantry girl, but she's so much more than that. Her kindness is paired with foresight, I think. She knows that taking on the trouble to help now can go a long way in the future. I just have a lot of respect for her.

Loghain:

This one's gonna be short bc I didn't recruit him. He's an amazing villain and would probably be a great Warden as well. He reminds me of Denerhor from LOTR; once a hero/stewart of his people, ambition and desperation have driven them both down a terrible path. I have also only little idea about his past. People say he lost a lot, and I believe it wholeheartedly; it doesn't excuse the fact that he plunged the country into a civil war in the middle of a Blight. I don't have a lot of sympathy for short-sighted politicians. I wish he hadn't made himself regent. That's what I take away from his character.

Edit: One thing I forgot to mention that really impressed me was his death. I had Alistair duel him (that was a rough duel), and then it kinda just jumped to a cutscene of my Warden nodding and Alistair executing him. That didn't sit well with me. I didn't want to kill Loghain, and less so in front of Anora. But what impressed me was that Loghain just accepted it. That takes a whole lot of guts. Compare that to Howe's death, and how he screams out that he deserved (more, probably, or anything but death) and it's crystal clear who the more noble of the two is. Loghain strikes me as very lawful neutral, and any neutral alignment has the particularity that it can be dragged towards good or bad, sometimes without the characters noticing it (which is interesting from a DnD perspective; neutral is often concieved of as just as stable as good or evil, but that may not be true. But that's a different post). Anyway, Loghain's death was impactful.

Morrigan:

I could kick myself for not maxing out her approval in the first play-through. I got to enjoy a bit of her friendship by the end of it and boy was even that little bit worth it. Friendship with Morrigan is something that is hard-won. It's all the more precious because of that.

Morrigan is full of paradoxes, I think. She's incredibly wise in some ways, yet also very short-sighted (”just kill them, don't solve their problems”. Morrigan, dear, I'm not going to gain a lot of allies if I kill everybody who poses a problem to me). She is so intelligent, but emotionally... not so. She knows so much about some things, and very little about the next. She's incredibly wilful and knows what she wants, but follows Flemeth's orders all the time through. She hungers for power and independence, yet craves closeness, but won't allow herself to have it. She asks you to prove yourself to her and is extremely critical of your actions, I think, because she's afraid. She bites the hand that feeds her because it might hit her next.

Like with Eamon, I haven't managed to catch the undercurrent of abuse that seems to permeate Flemeth's relationship with Morrigan. Except there are signs, because there must be something Morrigan is scared of and who has instilled all that rage in her, and that's Flemeth. Also, she clearly hates/does not care about her and wants her dead (unless killing Flemeth was part of Flemeth's plan as well? Hm.)

Morrigan is that one person who you are nice to, continuously, because nobody else is. And suddenly she becomes less cold. And then friendly. And suddenly you're asking yourself why everybody hates her, because she's a really good friend! I just wish the other companions came to a similar conclusion, especially Alistair and Wynne.

Oghren:

They did this man dirty. He has such great lines and I'm convinced he was a great person before Branka disappeared. He has that dwarven warrior spirit, and while he looks like Gimli, some of his most impactful lines remind me of Dwalin or even Thorin Oakenshield himself. He could be so noble had he gotten some character development, damnit!

Oghren as he is written is somewhat disgusting. I hate the lechering comments and the drunkenness. And still, I don't hate him because of those amazing lines he has when he's actually sober. It's frustrating and I'll give him that character development myself if the game won't. I strongly associate the song Whiskey Lullaby with him, bc that's how he would have ended up if the Warden hadn't taken him along (warning: the song talks about suicide and alcoholism). Like I said, they could have done such cool things with his character. As he is written now... it's just sad. Moments of lucidity drowned in alcohol and creepy jokes. As you can see, I don't blame the character for either. The alcoholism happens all too often irl. The creepy jokes... I put that one on the writers' tab.

I actually think Oghren could have been a great mentor figure (I know, I shock myself as well sometimes). Next to the Grey Wardens, the ones who know most about fighting darkspawn are the dwarves because they have to deal with them constantly. Especially a warrior caste dwarf like Oghren could have brought a lot of that invaluable knowledge to the team, especially since there are no Grey Wardens in Ferelden but two extremely green recruits. Next, you get the chance to give Oghren the command of the teammates you leave behind in the battle of Denerim with the reason that he has lead men into battle before. Where did that suddenly come from? Oghren should have been right up there telling my Warden that they were doing this wrong, that they needed more food (and booze) and a confident leader to keep the armies they've called together going. Oghren should have been able to tell my civilian city elf who got recruited into the Grey Wardens a six months ago how one leads an army. How one presents oneself to inspire confidence, how one doesn't crack under the pressure, how one gets the leaders of said armies (some who hate each others guts i.e. Dalish elves and humans) to work together. And, last but not least, Oghren could have had a great story about grief. This is a man who has lost most of what made him (and what he hasn't lost he's spilling down the drain with every mug of ale). This is a man who, if you take him into the Deep Roads, has to see what his wife did to his family, how his wife got absolutely obsessed, and can be forced to kill said wife or watch her die. All Wardens loose their home and families at the start of the story. It would really have rounded the whole narrative out if the Warden and Oghren could have recognised their grief in each other and hashed it out somehow. Such as it is, Oghren is a depressed drunkard and there is nothing we can do about that. I find that frustrating.

Rascal (a.k.a. Dog):

Best boy. 100/10. I wish we had gotten to see the reaction of the different origins to the mabari (because elves probably have a whole different experience with them from mages or humans. And dwarves just... I think they straight up have none? XD). Other than that, no complaints. The name Rascal was the one I gave my dog because you have to be a right rascal to survive what he did and play the pranks he plays. Smartest breed in the world indeed.

Shale:

Shale is one of those characters that I recruited rather late in the game, so I haven't had the chance to explore their personality and worldview, really. I didn't even get to take them to the Deep Roads (this will be ammended in playthrough nr. 2). As such, I don't have particularly strong opinions on them (or her? The wiki refers to Shale as 'it', but that sounds weird). But, because I know so little about Shale, I have a lot of questions. First, what were they like before they were a golem? Shayle, as she was called then, was the best warrior of her time if I remember correctly. Why did she become a golem? Was it to be able to eternally protect her people? Was the sarcasm the golem Shale exhibits also part of the dwarven warrior Shayle or did that come later (if for thirty years you have nobody to talk to but yourself, you better be entertaining. And I can imagine how it could make somebody terribly jaded as well).

Next, how attached is Shale to their golem form, exactly? According to the banter, they infinitely prefer it to a squishy fleshy form. If that is the case, however, why go to Tevinter to try and become a squishy dwarf again? It's not like that process could be reversed if they wanted to become a golem again; if Shale survives to the end of the game, the Anvil of the Void is destroyed and Caridin is dead. Was the whole spiel about their indestructible form a façade? It might have been, but not because Shale actually disliked their form. I think it would have more to do with the loss of their memories and with the very invasive experiments and alterations of Shale's body made by the mage Wilhelm. The loss of memories means that Shale is unable to remember life as a fleshy creature. They might be deflecting by pretending that they didn't care for that experience anyway because of the superiority of their golem form. The modifications made to their form by Wilhelm would have alienated them from their body. In light of this, it's significant that Shale asks the Warden to decorate their form with crystals.

All of this is, of course, pure speculation. I may have easily missed or forgotten details that would disprove the above thoughts. All in all, I like Shale and I hope we meet them again in DA4 (given that it's mostly set in Tevinter). It's a liking from a respectful distance, because Shale is tall and made out of rock and also way more experienced than I will ever be (they are literally the oldest member of the Warden's little Blight fighting squad).

Sten:

Sten is another person I'd keep a respectful distance from physically. That seems to be the what he would prefer, at least. I've enjoyed his character a lot, especially because he seems pretty clear-cut at first, but slowly lets the nuance of his person show (gruff and stoic, but then he has an eye for art, a sweet tooth and he likes cute animals). It's also very interesting that there's no moment when you learn "the truth" about him the way you do with Zevran or Leliana. There's no big reveal about his life under the Qun before coming to Ferelden. He says he was sent to monitor the Blight, but honestly? If neither Ferelden nor Orlais knew there was a Blight, how could the Qunari know? I think he's lying, and he takes his secrets back with him when he leaves Ferelden. And yet I think I know him enough to say that a Warden who has become friends with him has nothing to fear from Sten.

One thing I find very interesting about Sten is how he thinks. His conversation about how women can't be soldiers has been analysed a lot on this page I think. He seems to be arguing based on a different paradigma than the one the Warden has. He also seems to have a very clear-cut view of the world. What is fascinating to me is that, when arguing with the Warden and learning about their culture, he is not necessarily becoming more lax about his worldview. I think it's more likely that he is expanding his paradigma, the structure of thought through which he understands the world. I don't think that he is now convinced that women can be warriors as well. I think he rather understands that, in Ferelden, the relationship between occupation and gender is different than under the Qun. Which of the two he thinks is more right or more agreeable, I have no idea. I'm also not very interested in that. But I find it fascinating how he always seems to be looking on quietly, gathering data, classifying it and trying to fit it into his understanding of how the world works. I wouldn't be surprised at all if his original party was a scouting party to see how vulnerable Ferelden was at that moment to outside forces. One thing I don't understand with all of this is why he urges the Warden to meet the Blight head on. No smart soldier would suggest that, except if they are foolishly proud (and Sten doesn't seem like that kind of guy tbh). I get that the Warden takes way longer to gather allies than expected because they first have to solve all of their allies' problems. But surely Sten sees the need to have allies? Is he just that impatient? Does he have a death wish (à la, I lost my sword and am without honour, better to die sooner than later and in glorious battle)? Was he his group's previous commander and is he now having trouble following somebody else's orders? Or maybe it's his way to make sure the Warden knows what they are doing? To push them into becoming the self-assured commander their allies will need once they're all gathered? I really don't know. I like the last option best, however.

For me, Sten is my fellow, more experienced soldier. Like Alistair, he can potentially be the Warden's brother in arms, but he's definitely the older brother here. He probably doesn't take kindly to tearful confessions of how hard everything is, but I feel like he's otherwise a solid rock to lean on. I feel like the Warden can trust him to do what is necessary and count on him no matter what, especially after they get his sword back. His devotion from that point on is honestly so powerful.

Wynne:

Wynne was such a support for my Warden (except with the whole conversation about love vs. duty and that she may have to choose between Zevran and ending the Blight and that she should therefore break up with him. Wynne had a point. Astala was so not willing to sacrifice her relationship with Zevran. But the whole conversation came at a point where she was already so disillusioned that she blew up in Wynne's face (”can i please just have one (1) nice thing????”)). But all in all, Wynne is great.

She has a lot of flaws. She was very marked by her life in the Cricle and, for all her age, she has little experience living outside of it. She is also a conformist despite her strong moral core. In a way, her ability to find peace with her lot in life impresses me deeply because it speaks to a lot of strength of character. Sadly, however, strength can be ill applied and used to suppress. I think she has convinced herself that the Chantry is right under (almost) all circumstances to be able to rationalize the life that mages live. She's had her son taken away from her as a baby and an apprentice killed. Her reaction seems to have been to convince herself that this was right, or for the greater good (and now I'm thinking about the Guardian's question at the temple of Andraste's Ashes; are you wise or do you just repeat what others have told you? The answer is not as clear-cut as it might be). This is why she is so irritated by Zevran and Morrigan. By aligning herself with the Chantry, she is, in her eyes, good. Zevran and Morrigan are not; they do not conform to Chantry morality and they defend themselves tooth and nails against somebody who would try and convert them. This is something Wynne never allowed herself to do; she always did the "right" thing and it has cost her so much. I'm not saying she was right (it would probably have done her some good to rebel from time to time, and to trust her own gut instinct more), but in light of this, it hardly surprises me that she's so judgamental. She has to be, or she would be forced to confront all the evil she has not fought against all those years and all the hurt that has been caused to her by the very institution she protects (and thank God she only tries to argue and can appreciate it when people have found a good life outside of her comfort zone. If she tried to convince by force or, for example, drag her former apprentice back to the Circle... boy oh boy that would get ugly). If you think about it, Wynne really is a good example for what happens if you live by a philosophy of always choosing the lesser evil.

Something that I keep forgetting over her grandmotherly and dignified character is how damn powerful she is. She has escaped the carnage at Ostagar; HOW!? She protected those mage apprentices in the Circle tower for God knows how long. In the battle of Denerim, she wades through an army and comes out alive on the other side. The wiki lists her age at 40, I think, but that doesn't make a lick of sense unless 75 years of age are the Fereldan equivalent to 100. This lady, about whom people make grandmother jokes, did all that. It's impressive.

Zevran:

You know, I would really love to know what Wynne thinks about the events at Kirkwall in DA2. It might be a disaster for her, or it might pave the way for one last bit of character development. She certainly didn't want to return to the Circle after fighting the Blight. That may be an indicator of some change in her stance on the Circle of Magi.

Edit: I forgot that she is what the Circle considers a literal abomination! Holy cow, how could I forget that?? Anyway, her conversation about what being an abomination means is so... heartbreaking, actually. It's so tentative. So careful. "Am I an abomination? Am I the same thing that has killed my students? The same thing as Uldred? Am I lost and damned? Did I invite this spirit in? Is this my fault?" Like wow, Wynne is going through something huge right there. I love it. I have to continue playing the game to see what it ends up as, but it's fascinating and such a huge thing that she allows the Warden in on that.

Ah, Zevran, my beloved (he has stolen my heart so much it's not even funny anymore). He's funny, he's charming, he's so so loyal and it breaks my heart. Zevran is the one about whom I've read most meta: these three wonderful posts for instance, as well as this one about his possible lack of scars, and this one about his lack of freedom. All of these have influenced my opinion of him and they are great reads.

I have talked about Zevran with you before, so I'll just skip to the new stuff. I have come to conclusion that Zevran is an artist at heart. This is totally not biased by the fact that I also do art, but hear me out. One of his preferred gifts are bars of silver and gold. While those have the obvious utility of basically functioning as money (they can be sold to any silversmith or goldsmith and their value is pretty stable through time and in different countries), there's also this from his codex: "Zevran shows an affinity for the finer things in life—hardly surprising for an Antivan Crow—but his appreciation can be more poetic than he lets on. A simple bar of refined silver or gold, uncomplicated by a craftsman's hammer, is elegantly valuable." Tell me that is not an artist's eye that sees that gold and sees the beauty in it. Then, there's also the meta about Zevran the Seducer which I linked above and link here again. It talks specifically about how he lets himself enjoy the target and be seen in his enjoyment. Tell me that is not an artist's eye that beholds the beauty of something he is set out to destroy. Even his talk about his assassinations show this. He talks about it as an art, the way somebody would talk about the brutal intervention in stone that produces a sculpture. Yes, it's a rationalization of the act of killing and yes killing is still wrong. But he doesn't go on about it on a moral tangent the way Alistair or Wynne would (”this person was bad, killing them was necessary”) or even through the argument of survival like Morrigan would (”it was either them or me and it sure as Hell wasn't going to be me”). He talks about the pleasure of a job well done, of the satisfaction of striking the precise point and executing a plan to the perfection so as to minimize chances of discovery and to make a clean death possible. And pleasure in seeing and in doing, this I firmly believe, is absolutely fundamental for an artist.

My favourite part about my Warden and Zevran as a pairing is that Zevran precisely brings out that ability to take your pleasures as they come and to really savour them. Fighting the Blight is tough; it's so important to find good things amidst the chaos to stay sane. If Astala saves Zevran from himself by offering him a place to stay and a purpose, Zevran saves Astala from herself by keeping her from running herself into the ground trying to save the world.

There are some things I don't like about Zev. The incessant flirting, for example, sometimes makes me uncomfortable (it becomes enjoyable for me once the Warden and him are in a relationship, but before that? Nah, no thanks). I wish he would also leave the other female characters alone (and there's so many more shameless comments of his aimed at Morrigan, Leliana or Wynne than at Alistair or maybe even Sten).

---

And that's my take on the Origins companions (this was rather long. Whew ^^' I hope it was still readable and that you enjoyed it!!) Thank you so much for the ask!! It's been a joy thinking about this. I was worrying at first that the less prominent companions like Sten or Shale wouldn't get as much content but... well XD

[delfts-purple]

Saints Row Reboot Thoughts

So originally I had a massive ass post of my SR5 wish list sitting in my drafts but since that's now useless, gonna do this. For some context I have been playing since 06, when I was way to young and I fucking hated 4. Now lets go!

My Wants and not wants:

Reboot after SR2 or SRTT. No hate, SRTT was alright but it may be easier and better to reboot from SR2. I seriously do not want you to redo 1 and 2. They are very good games that can stand the test of time and deserve their place. I may be more pissed if you retcon 1 and 2 than I was at 4. Like I guess I could live with a remaster if it was a graphical and control scheme overhaul only. I do hear you young fans, we did have clunky controls back then but they were normal so I don't get put off by it.

It looks to be the case we are going back to the roots and my god are we overdue.

Lets talk clothing. Basically the entire clothing system from SR2, that is what I want pray for. It was peak customization that I have not had another game match.

BIG PHAT GOLD CHAINS PLEZ. I know its probably not fashionable anymore but hot damn it looks so good.

Body slider/Gender slider (idk what to call it) from SR2. Not only is it great for our Trans homies. It was just a great, nah, amazing tool. Really before its time.

Please, make it so I don't have to be a body builder. Like skinny Bosses need more love. My boy Ty was always skinny till 3 and 4 forced him to be bulky. Skinny boys need love tooo!!!!

Honestly like a hybrid of the character builder from 2 and 3 would work. The color, make up and feature diversity of SR3. Paired with the fine tuning of SR2. Its just like chefs kiss.

Custom walking styles, I always loved that my and my friends boss not walk alike.

Two tone hair again maybe? I just think its neat.

Honestly just all the fucking activities from SR2 and SR1. I loved them all, well except Heli assault but people liked that to so let them have it.

Tagging, please, I love tagging.

GOLD/PLATNUIM WEPON UNLOCKS! So gangster like hot damn.

BOOZE AND DRUGS! Like I have had 100s of hours of fun fucking about with that. Like if we had the variety of SR1 in booze and drugs, I would die and got to heaven.

I mean if you can find a way to not make romancing a bastardization I guess you can keep it.

JUST DON'T! Don't bastardize that charaters.

Can we maybe have back some of that grit? Like SR2 was a prefect balance of grit and humour. SRTT felt like I was a toddler been mollycoddled by shallow humour. Not enough grit and felt like it was wrote by a 10th grader tbh.

Make the Boss... them again. Like non of this 'he hu puckish rouge' shit. I don't play a gang game to be a fucking hero. I know, shock, horror. I play it to be a sociopathic bastard. I got 100 fucking games where I am the good guy, sometimes ya boi needs a break. A evil, going to hell for this, I do question my mental status when I laugh at this, break.

Mission and cut scene replay. One of the reason SR1 and 2 save files can rack up into the 1000s of hours for me is this feature. If I want to play one mission, I don't have to replay the whole game. I can give in to whims. I do not have a word for it in English but it is maximum happiness with fun.

More cut scenes. Like there felt like there was less of them in 3 and 4.

Idle animations. My Boss just been like 'yep, Delfts gone, time to go fishing or drinking or smoking' was just great.

Look Gat was never some weird immortal, unbeatable guy until you made him that way in 4 onwards. He was the kinda hot headed, asshole, who got him self into trouble over it, guy who we adored. Bring my boi back.

A photo mode. I mean I got very, very good at cropping screenshots and clipping my camera of walls but, my Boss deserves better! He his my handsome little killer and people need to know that.

MKUltra elevator nightmare shopping/wardrobe/garage screens, you know the ones, fucking scrap them. Go back to how it was in 1 and 2. I do not need to be subjected to CIA brutality while playing SR. I got enough of that thanks.

Keep the phone menu, that shit was tight. Real immersed me and I love seeing the Bosses phone. I mean I have bought and made replicas of them ffs.

Make hazel eyes behave like the did in the remaster. Like damn. Just. I have a whole post on this shit thats how good it was.

I know you guys are good for it but keep them fun af cheats. I spent to long as a massive af beating up super small people as it rained corpses. Oh and the gravity was gone.

Don't have dual wielding as a fucking upgrade. My Boss just dual wields, let him, like you did in 2.

Weapon skins, like in SR4, that was alright. I wouldn't mind that one.

Keep the Bosses back story vague still. I haven't wrote and perfected his back story over the last decade or more so you can piss on it.

Jackets and hoodie, stop the putting my hair in a ponytail. Last time I put on a fucking track jacket I didn't have to tie my hair back, It didn't happen in 2 so why 3 and 4?

Respect and Missions. Can we either have a return to the old style respect system to make people play the side missions or just not make people play them by force. I fucking hate Heli assault and all that flying shit, so been forced to do it made me want rip my hair out. Like if they are there people will play the ones they want, I do not want to be made to do it by the main story. THX

Bring back the day/night cycle. I could play for much longer when it wasn't so monotone. Also it made me think about what I was doing when. Like I wouldn't got to the night club at 10am.

Bring back Nightclubs. Tyde want's to party and so does Delfts.

Stop making the character hollow 2D’s of their former selves.

A varied city, like Stilwater. Seriously, feels like a real city and I have lived or worked in over 6 in my life so I know. Steelport felt like what some Vatnik Babushka (Boomer Grandma) in rural Siberia would describe the city, dull and unrealistic.

Have the gangs act like actual gangs. You know, go around doing crime and harassing NPCs like they did in 1 and 2.

NPCs, make them like you did in SR2. They acted like real people, did the most random and weird shit. Felt real. They also all look different or their was such a wide variety in base models I didn’t notice repetition. SRTT and SRIV they were like 5 NPCs. I had occasions where there was 10 of the same model and I was like, two or three is okay but fucking 10?

Make them drive the way they did in 1 and 2 too. I have drove in a city for a long time and that shit was so real. People are dumb sometimes.

Bring back Freckle Bitches!!!!!!

If I think of anything else I will add it but feel free to add your own and disagree with me. I kinda want to here how all you others be feeling about this. I feel fear and happy. Also can you tell I blasted this out at like 4am.

[monabela]

ha! here I am for the last day of @aphrarepairweek2020, magic, with another pairing I think is very interesting but had never written before. this was a lot of fun, and I really like this little au, tbh. I feel like there could be more stories in here. I guess I alluded to a bunch of pairings, but they’re really not important and can be Ignored :)

~~~

the bard’s song

pairings/characters: Iceland (Egill)/New Zealand (Riley), Liechtenstein (Erika), Hong Kong (Leon), Taiwan (Mei), Seychelles (Angélique), Latvia (Raivis) + mentioned Moldova (Luca), Australia (David) & Norway (Einar)

word count: 3182

summary:

Egill really wishes Riley’s stupid D&D character would stop trying to seduce his own character. Mostly, he wishes Riley would try to seduce him instead.

~~~

“Well, Riley, if you insist…”

Egill can feel his eye twitch while Erika gestures wearily across the table at Riley, who looks poised and ready and far too pleased with themself.

“I guess you can roll to seduce the Owlbear. You know what to do,” Erika finishes. Riley is already throwing the twenty-sided die. On Egill’s other side, Leon is shaking with suppressed laughter, like he wasn’t the one who brought the menace of Riley Greenwood and their weirdly seductive halfling bard into their D&D group.

Riley actually pretends not to know what exactly they’re rolling for or what to add, as if they don’t try to seduce literally every NPC Erika throws at them, and then triumphantly declares it’s a seventeen. Egill pushes his hands into his hair, groaning. Erika just gives a resigned sigh, planting her elbows on the Monster Manual behind her little wall of books.

“It’s going to attack you anyway, I hope you know.”

“Can’t hurt to try,” Riley replies cheerfully.

“It literally can!” Egill says, and then he has to bite his lip and look away when Riley grins one of those mischievous grins of theirs, one that makes their eyes crinkle up and pulls at one corner of their mouth. Leon, who had just managed to calm himself, starts giggling again, and Egill elbows him.

“Egill, it’s your turn,” Erika says. He consults his character sheet.

“I could see Riley’s dumb bard being stupid, right?”

“Don’t talk about Minto like that!” Riley interjects, crossing their arms. “He’s wonderful and everyone loves him.”

“His wisdom modifier is minus two,” says Mei, who somehow always remembers everyone’s stats. Well, not that that particular tidbit is hard to remember. “I didn’t know you could get minus two.”

“Minto is special and I bet Yawen is jealous.” They raise their eyebrows at Egill. He sighs again.

“Well, I guess Dûrion is going to try and get Minto out of harm’s way.”

Riley beams from across the table, and it somehow makes Egill’s skin tingle. 

It’s very likely that everyone in their casual little D&D party is aware that it isn’t an accident, at least on his part, that Minto and Dûrion, Egill’s high elf artificer character, are so often off on their own or just helping each other out in their sessions. It’s embarrassing as fuck, of course, but Egill has long since given up on trying to do anything about it. Soon enough, Leon or Raivis or another one of their friends will do something dumb, and Egill’s crush on Riley will be completely forgotten. Maybe even by Egill himself, although that seems unlikely to him at this point.

Riley might be aware of it as well, or they might not. They’re notoriously difficult to get a read on. Even Angélique, who has known them the longest, seems to have trouble with it. Egill thinks Riley enjoys it that way. 

“Right, that’s fine,” Erika is saying, pushing her short hair behind her ears. “Tell me what Dûrion’s going to do, then.”

Egill manages to save Riley—well, Dûrion saves Minto from being eaten—and the rest of the party make quick work of the monster guarding the cave that contains whatever horrors Erika has in mind for them. For such an innocent-looking woman, she sure has a twisted imagination.

“Now that we’re out of combat,” Riley says, once Angélique’s druid has distributed some healing spells, “can I roll to seduce Dûrion?”

“Yes!” Angélique shouts, adding, “That’s in-character. Rovanon’s very keen on love.”

“Aryax hates love, and also Rovanon,” Leon puts in.

“Aryax hates everything, he’s just an excuse for you not to help.”

He finger-guns at her, and she shakes her head, smiling. 

“So,” Riley says, “can we get back to Minto seducing Dûrion?”

“Maybe Dûrion isn’t interested in being seduced,” Egill replies, raising his eyebrows and hoping he isn’t blushing.

“Does Dûrion want a long-term relationship?”

“Aryax vomits in disgust,” Leon says.

“No!” Raivis yells. “Daina immediately hides. Last time Aryax vomited, he barfed lightning everywhere and nearly killed her.”

“Not my fault Daina’s human.”

Erika, as per usual when they go off on tangents like this—which is most of the time—looks both pained and amused.

None of them are really cut out for Dungeons & Dragons, Egill thinks, at least not in any serious way. The whole thing started as a joke in his first year of university, with just him, Leon and Erika, because the three of them were procrastinating on assignments and wanted to have something to do. Egill had been the DM, because it was his idea and his brother did tabletop RPGs, so it was assumed he’d know how it worked. He did not.

His brother, Einar, was the one who pointed out how crap he was at it and that Erika would probably enjoy being the DM more. Leon keeps trying to convince Einar to join a session, and Egill spends much of his time trying not to think about his best friend’s weird crush on his brother.

In the four years since then, the three of them have accumulated the rest of the party. Raivis dated Erika for a while, and took over her character, Daina. He stayed after they broke up, having become a good friend to Egill over that time. Mei was Leon’s roommate for a hot minute, and Angélique was her friend. Riley, in turn, was Angélique’s friend, but Leon is the one who convinced them to join after they came to watch one day. Their last party member, Luca, is studying abroad at the moment, so his character has been captured and they’re technically always on a quest to free him, but Egill thinks it seems likely Luca won’t return to be Raivis’s roommate ever again, so their wizard will probably die.

It’s a shame. Luca was the only useful person. Certainly more than fucking Minto.

“Don’t take off your clothes!” Mei is yelling at Riley. Egill blinks dazedly.

To his disappointment, Riley isn’t actually taking off their clothes, just crossing their arms petulantly, only the edge of the intricate tattoo on one of their forearms visible.

“You’re on a mountain,” Erika reminds everyone. “If Minto takes his clothes off, I will need a saving throw to see if he freezes.”

“It’s fine,” Riley says, “he’ll bask in Dûrion’s hotness.”

Dûrion only knows ice spells because Egill thought that would be a cool theme to have, but he doesn’t point that out.

“Aryax vomits lightning,” Leon says, reaching for his dice.

“No!” Mei yells.

“At Minto,” he adds.

“I can’t believe Minto died,” Angélique says drily. “Can Rovanon have his bagpipes?”

“No one can have Minto’s bagpipes because Minto isn’t dead yet,” Erika interrupts before they descend into chaos again. “Leon, is Aryax actually attacking him?”

Leon nods, in response to which Riley throws Egill an imploring look, which is just unfair. He tries to frown back, but Riley just smiles in a surprisingly soft way he’s never seen before, pushing their brown curls out of their face, as if they know Egill will help anyway, and not just because Dûrion has a good alignment.

Leon elbows him, and he snaps back.

“What?”

“Aryax missed,” he says sadly.

“Oh!” He turns to Erika. “Is anything on fire?”

She considers this for a moment.

“Yes. Minto’s bagpipes are on fire.”

“Nice.” Leon grins, and even Riley has to laugh at that. Egill decides Dûrion definitely won’t use a spell to douse those flames, and hopes Riley doesn’t remember anytime soon that Minto has more bagpipes. He exchanges an anxious look with Mei, who obviously does remember.

“Are we ever going into this cave?” Raivis asks.

“Daina is hidden, no one can hear her,”  Erika reminds him.

“Guys, where’s Daina?” Angélique says, pretending to be distressed. “She must have gone into the cave! We have to help her! Rovanon charges into the cave.”

“I can’t believe Rovanon died,” Riley says. “He will be remembered. Minto composes a song for him on his… Flute, I guess.”

“Make… Make a performance roll for how good the song is,” Erika says, probably just to annoy everyone by making Riley look at their character sheet and remember they have no flute, because Minto traded it for more bagpipes.

Riley rolls the die, and starts to giggle. Angélique and Raivis peer over, and groan in unison.

“Erika, I’m delighted to tell you… It’s a thirty-three on how good the song is. Does everyone cry?” They lift the die to show off the twenty they got.

“Everyone weeps and your bagpipes are magically restored,” Erika confirms, much to everyone else’s horror. And, while Riley holds both hands up for high-fives that go unanswered, “And I think we’ll have to end it there, because I have to go.”

“Boo,” Mei says, winking. Erika ducks her head, cheeks turning rosy, and Raivis raises his eyebrows, looking between them. That’s pretty interesting.

“Sorry. Everyone, remember where you are.” She makes some notes behind her book partition before starting to dismantle it.

“Well, Rovanon is apparently in heaven,” Angélique says. “Mei, can Yawen come and get him? She can fly.”

“Possibly,” Mei muses. “We’ll see what Erika thinks.”

“I think Rovanon is in a cave and can see in the dark because he’s a half-orc, so he’s probably not dead,” she says, putting her bag on her lap and starting to stuff her books into it.

“Aw, I never get to fly,” Mei says, sadly. Angélique pats her hand. “Thanks.”

“I’ll find a way to make you fly,” Erika tells her, pushing herself backwards. Mei makes a face at the whole table. That sounds ominous.

Everyone puts away their dice and character sheets. Leon sweeps the blueberries he was eating into his bag wholesale, as he usually does. Egill is afraid to find out what the inside of his bag looks like.

Mei pushes the door open for Erika, who smiles gratefully up at her and wheels herself into the front room of her brother’s bakery. They’ve been meeting here for a while now, but he still won’t give them any free pastries. Luca had been getting through to him, but, well…

“Hey, Riley,” Angélique is saying, walking backwards to the door while looking at her phone, “do you want a ride? Me and David are going to the beach, we could drop you off. Or you can come along, if you want.”

“Ah, sure, because my middle name is Third Wheel,” they joke. “I’m good, thanks. Tell Dave he’s an idiot for me.”

“Will do. Bye, everyone!” She flits off, almost tripping over Erika’s wheelchair as she somehow always manages to do. “Sorry!”

Raivis just waves, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and picking up his longboard. He hurries through the bakery, apparently still convinced Erika’s brother hates him for breaking up with her. Riley chuckles next to Egill, hands in the pockets of their maroon pants. They rock back on their heels when Egill looks down at them and smile at him while Leon exits as well, crunching on something he unearthed from his bag on the way.

“Well,” Egill says, absently pushing his tongue against his lip piercing, “guess I should go.”

“Yes. No.” Riley blinks and takes a deep breath. They smooth an errant curl off their forehead. It bounces right back. “Actually, I wanted to ask…”

“Do�� You need a ride with me?” Egill asks. “It’s no problem, I’ve got a spare helmet.”

“No. Well, I mean, hell yeah, that sounds amazing,” they reply, hazel eyes lighting up. “But no, that’s not it.”

“Okay.” Egill watches curiously while Riley fidgets with their belt buckle. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen Riley fidget before; they always seem to know what they’re doing, even when what they’re doing is pretending to be unaware what’s going on when they most likely caused it.

“I wanted to know… Well, I know Dûrion isn’t interested in being seduced and all, but I kind of hope you are.” They gesture helplessly as Egill’s breath hitches. “I’ve got a feeling you are, and I’d like to try, eh? I’d like to—I like you, is what I’m trying to say. And I’d like to take you on a date?”

“Okay,” is all Egill can say, dumbstruck. And then, “Really?”

That, thankfully, gets him one of those smiles that pulls at Riley’s eyes and makes them twinkle.

“Yeah, Egill, really. You’re interesting, and I like that.”

He pushes his tongue against his piercing again.

“And also, that’s ridiculously hot and I don’t think you’re aware,” Riley blurts, eyes wide. 

Egill stills, biting his lip, and just blinks down at them.

“It’s offensive.”

“Sorry?”

“Minto almost died because of that, you know? It’s distracting as fuck.”

“You’re, hm… You’re better at hiding it than I am,” Egill stutters. Laughing, Riley grasps his forearm, thumb stroking the pale skin as if on instinct.

“You do realize I’ve tried to seduce you and no other party members during every session for the past six months?”

“I—Riley, it doesn’t work like that!”

“Yeah, I get that now.” They shrug apologetically. “I thought it was fairly obvious. Everyone else seemed to know. I thought maybe you weren’t interested, but then it seemed like you were so I thought, you know, take a page out of Minto’s book and try it.”

Looking back, sure, it’s perfectly Riley to go about—about flirting so completely backwards, because just flirting like normal people do seems to be how Riley communicates with almost everyone. They can’t seem to help it. Egill thinks it’s charming. Mostly.

“That’s fair,” he says.

“I guess it works better for me than Minto, eh?”

“Unsurprisingly, yeah.” He wants to say something about Riley being much more attractive than fucking Minto, but doesn’t quite know how without embarrassing himself to death, so he just bites his lip again and smiles. Luckily, Riley seems a little unsure of themself as well, for once. It’s strangely bolstering. Egill leans a little towards them, catching the hazel gaze.

“Woo!” Mei suddenly says, from by the door, and Egill jerks up. “Sorry! I left my hair tie.”

Flushing, Egill just stands there awkwardly, with Riley still holding his arm, while she grabs the accessory and then pauses by the door on her way back out.

“Good for you guys,” she says, then flashes a peace sign and disappears back into the bakery. Riley clears their throat. Egill huffs.

“Well, that saves us the trouble of having to tell everyone,” Riley says, chuckling. 

The idea of this being something that’s serious enough to tell their friends about is exciting. Mei is a notorious gossip, so Egill thinks Riley might have a point. He leans back over again, cautiously touching their shoulder, and they grin up at him, hair brushing his hand. It’s as soft as he always imagined it would be, and the curls bounce as they move their head. 

By the quirk of Riley’s mouth, they can read the desire to run his hands through their hair on his face, which is probably still red too. Riley’s tan skin is only slightly flushed.

He bites his lip. Watches Riley’s eyes widen again, lips parting. Some eyeliner has smudged on their eyelid, and this is the first time he notices just how many faint freckles there are scattered across the bridge of their nose. It’s exhilarating to be able to look.

“So, you said something about a spare helmet?” Riley asks, a little breathier than usual, their eyes still fixated on his mouth.

“I did.” He takes a step back, then a step forward, back into Riley’s space. A wayward curl brushes against his nose, where the top of their head is, as they look up. “Where do you wanna go?”

“Well… I’m hungry. We could go eat something.”

Egill pulls out his phone to check the time. It’s going on five in the afternoon. He nearly drops his phone when Riley touches his hip, but smiles when they aim a questioning look at him. He isn’t very used to dating, hasn’t done so in a while, but this is good. And, really, he didn’t know if Riley dated at all; he’s never heard anything about it.

Evidently, they do.

“We could go for dinner, then?” He thinks about it. “We should take something out to the boulevard, it’ll be nice.”

Riley nods, grinning. 

When they both start towards the door, Egill bites his lip and reaches for their hand, knocking their fingers together. Grinning even more, so much it almost looks painful but is very flattering at the same time, Riley grasps his hand and swings it between the two of them as they leave through the bakery.

Outside, they wave merrily at Erika and Mei, who are chatting on the sidewalk. Mei grins. Erika raises her eyebrows, resting her elbow on her bag and her chin in her hand. Egill blushes again, and Riley squeezes his fingers.

“Have fun,” Erika says, sketching a little wave. Just then, Raivis flies past on his longboard. He slows down and grins an uncharacteristically vibrant grin before speeding off down the winding street. Egill blinks after him.

“Hey, Erika!” Angélique calls from the passenger seat of a Jeep reversing out of the parking lot next to the bakery, poking her head out of the window. “I have—”

She hits her head on the top of the car when she spots him and Riley, and swears loudly, which is rare. Riley snorts, knocking their shoulder into Egill.

“Yeah, me too!” Erika calls back to Angélique, laughing.

“I regret this already,” Egill says, turning his head just enough that Riley’s hair blows into his face again. Riley just grasps his arm with their free hand and leans even more into him, so it isn’t all bad, really.

From the Jeep’s driver’s seat, Riley’s best friend, David, shouts something as he drives by, and they flip him off in response, letting go of Egill for a second. Angélique laughs, and David honks as they drive off.

“Come on,” Egill says, pulling Riley with him to the parking lot, where his motorcycle is. It used to be Einar’s, but he finally painted over the emblems his brother put on it, and it really feels like it’s his now. Riley gets an excited spring in their step as they near.

Of course, Leon is there, because why wouldn’t he be, sitting on his bicycle and looking at his phone. He glances up, thick eyebrows twitching.

“Oh, nice,” he just comments, and looks back down.

“Text Luca while we’re at it,” Riley says, dry as bone. Leon smiles.

“Maybe. Hey, I could text Einar.”

“Fuck off,” Egill tells him. He winks, puts his phone away, and bikes off.

So they finally leave, Riley hanging on to Egill and whooping excitedly at every turn and bump on the way to the boulevard, and the evening is wonderfully sun-soaked and bright, and Riley tastes like cheap wine at the end of it, so all in all… Maybe that dumb bard is good for something, after all.

[huds-hub]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; MUN & MUSE - MEME

FILL OUT & REPOST ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

Stolen from @mrfunnybone. Since this meme has a bias for canon muses, I’m tagging two of my favorite canon writers that I know didn’t fill this out yet: @soulcoerced and @spearslinger (I wonder if a fellow Undyne RPer has a different take on some of these questions? ^^;;). For everyone else, feel free to steal it and tag me if you do! I’m curious to see how OC muns answer some of these questions...

MY MUSE IS:   CANON / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless / complicated [[ The adult version of my muse is canon, but her teenage equivalent is not present anywhere in Undertale / Deltarune. So, uh… canon but kind of complicated I guess??? I like describing my muse as canon-wise. My Deltarune fishies are undoubtedly AUs at most, canon-divergent at least. ]]

[[ Mun’s note: I’m going to cheat on this. For the next 8 questions, I’ll answer for both Undyne as my teen muse AND regular adult canon Undertale Undyne. My thoughts on her counts as something, right? My muse is based on canon! ]]

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK [[ Undyne’s character to the rest of the fandom is unpopular (compared to Sans, Chara, Gaster, etc…). It’s a shame, because her dialogue portraits alone would make great meme fodder. HOWEVER, among Undyne fans, I notice there’s an interest in depicting her early years because she’s one of the few cast members who’s had their childhood explicitly mentioned. ]]

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK [[ She’d better not be, because my muse is a  C H I L D. As far as I’ve seen, canon adult Undyne is depicted more often as a ‘badass’ than a ‘sexy fish.’ ]]

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK [[ Younger Undyne is definitely interpreted to be a determined, tough kid. Of course it’s the same for adult canon Undyne. It’s basically her most distinct character trait. ]]

Are they underrated?  YES / NO / IDK [[ Lordy, Undyne as a whole is entirely underrated by the fandom... ]]

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO [[ OMG... you’re gonna get me started. I’m marking ‘no’ on this question because this is supposed to be about my aged-down muse. But Undyne... sweet violent Undyne’s very important to Undertale’s story! *fangirling START* Besides being the mid-point antagonist in the game, Undyne adds a layer of the theme of DETERMINATION to the game and how it can manifest in monsters if their bodies are strong enough to handle it. In an allegorical sense, she represents extremism in reaction to oppression and how that passion can take on the form of extreme love or extreme hatred depending on circumstance. So HELL YEAH she’s important to the main story of the game! AAAHILoveThisFish!! *fangirling END* ]]

Were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG. [[ Same as the previous answer for my teen Undyne: begrudgingly marking this with a ‘no’... It’s a YES for canon Undyne. In all routes, original game’s Undyne is the first character who is purposefully trying to kill the Player. Players can’t get the best ending without helping her hook up with Alphys and not incurring her wrath by killing any monster. In the worst ending, she’s one of the two antagonists that put up enough of a fight to make any player abort the Genocide Route. ]]

Are they widely known in their world? YES / NO [[ My muse WANTS to be significant to her world. In the original game, Undyne’s only mentioned by others in Snowdin and Waterfall (not counting Alphys in Hotland). She’s described as a “local hero” by Gerson. I get a sense she’s not exactly famous to the people in the entire Underground compared to, say, Mettaton. ]]

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL [[ Oof. Pretty sure my teen fish annoys the residence of Waterfall for being a loud-mouthed little scamp. The only reason she’s not considered ‘bad’ is because it’s pent-up energy and misguidedness, not flat-out cruelty. In canon, it seems like the people who talk about Undyne do it in either a positive or neutral light. You have Monster Kid, Papyrus, and Onionsan singing her praises. The Royal Guard members respect her. Asgore thought of her well enough to have her lead his military. Uhh, for a neutral instance, I remember an NPC in Snowdin saying she’s “loud, rude, and beats up anybody who gets in her way” (I don’t remember the exact quote). To weigh this more on the side of my muse, I’ll mark this answer as ‘neutral.’ ]]

HOW STRICTLY DO YOU FOLLOW CANON?  [[ Since I have an aged-down character, canon is literally my END GOAL! I gave her a “starting point” on her journey to the determined, dedicated, and excitable warrior fish we all know and love from the game. I filled in the gaps from there, using parts of her past mentioned in the game to glue the headcanons together. Deciding what she was like when she was younger – What’s her family background? What aspects about her changed as she matures? What internal and external conflicts would she deal with as a teen? – THAT’S the non-canon part. My Deltarune AUs are… different. Canon is my end goal too, but the timelines are all wonky to fit the needs of wanting to interact with the Fun Gang. LOL ]]

SELL YOUR MUSE! AKA TRY TO LIST EVERYTHING, WHICH MAKES YOUR MUSE INTERESTING IN YOUR OPINION TO MAKE THEM SPICY FOR YOUR MUTUALS.   [[ This kid is spunky, loyal, compassionate of the plight of her people, and will see through anything she sets her mind to, despite life’s barriers. She’s got a lot of pent-up energy and is searching for what she can do with it to help her achieve her goal of setting Monsterkind free! ]]

NOW THE OPPOSITE, LIST EVERYTHING WHY YOUR MUSE COULD NOT BE SO INTERESTING (EVEN IF YOU MAY NOT AGREE, WHAT DOES THE FANDOM PERHAPS THINK?).  [[ The teen fishy has a streak of selfishness and short-sightedness. Being honest, Undyne would be a racial supremacist if she existed in real life. Big yikes. Also, she’s willingly being trained as a child soldier. Another big yikes right there. ]]

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO RP YOUR MUSE?   [[ Ages ago, I RPed the adult version of Undyne, which resulted in a bunch of headcanons for her past. I had no desire to RP any of them after it ended. A year later, I commissioned an artist for a Gerson vs. teen Undyne piece. That single-handedly made me want to get back into RPing again. ]]

WHAT KEEPS YOUR INSPIRATION GOING?   [[ My fellow RPers wanting to interact with this silly fishy! When I first started, I expected my interest to peter out over the months. I didn’t expect many RPers wanting to interact with an aged-down character. But here I am, wanting to expand my headcanons further and making AUs so I’m not limited to canon. ^^ It’s all thanks to you guys!! ]]

SOME MORE PERSONAL QUESTIONS FOR THE MUN.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO / I SINCERELY HOPE I DO?

Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO / SORT OF?     [[ I should do it more often TBH. But I find showing them via story-telling more fulfilling than just explicitly explaining them in posts. Plus, it gives me more leeway if I’m still playing around with an idea. ;) ]]

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO  [[ I’m not counting the three pending drabbles until I finish them. ^^;; ]]

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day? YES / NO [[ She finds a way to bother me! Usually in the form of sudden inspiration for how to respond to RPs. ]]

Are you confident in your portrayal? YES / NO / SORT OF? [[ Sometimes I wonder if I forgot some aspect about Undyne that’s in canon, or unintentionally exaggerating other less-important aspects of her other characteristics… ]]

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO / SORT OF? [[ Generally, yes. But I do have my days when I suffer from low self-confidence. ]]

Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO. / SORT OF? [[ It depends on what’s meant by that. I’m sensitive to other people’s feelings, so I don’t intend to sound rude OOC, even if I’m expressing something negative about something I think the other did. If this is referring to being sensitive about events in RPs… my sensitivity is equivalent to that of being invested in any work of fiction. I know it’s not reality. I can pull away from the fictional world and it won’t bring down my real life. ]]

DO YOU ACCEPT CRITICISM WELL ABOUT YOUR PORTRAYAL?   [[ If it’s given in good faith and is constructive, sure. ]]

DO YOU LIKE QUESTIONS, WHICH HELP YOU EXPLORE YOUR CHARACTER?   [[ Hell yeah, give them to me! ]]

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES TO A HEADCANON OF YOURS, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY?  [[ It depends if they want to tell me. I don’t mind either way. Personally, I like hearing other people’s interpretations! ]]

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES WITH YOUR PORTRAYAL, HOW WOULD YOU TAKE IT?   [[ *shrug* It doesn’t matter as long as they don’t harass me. ]]

IF SOMEONE REALLY HATES YOUR CHARACTER, HOW DO YOU TAKE IT?   [[ I’d just ignore it. They don’t need to interact or follow me. If my muse really is a bother to them, they can block my account. ]]

ARE YOU OKAY WITH PEOPLE POINTING OUT YOUR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS?   [[ I hope my grammar’s good enough, or else my English degree studies went to waste! But yeah, sure. Fun fact: explaining grammar rules so people can avoid major errors in the future is more helpful than nit-picking insignificant errors without explanations. ]]

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE EASY GOING AS A MUN?   [[ As long as fellow RPers aren’t being rude OOC, don’t break any serious rules, or do something that I mention are personal triggers to me, I am easy-going! RPing is fun and it should stay that way for everybody involved! ]]

[vecna]

For fandom meme-swtor?

Send me a fandom!

This one isn’t as spicy as the Dragon Age one, but I still got Wordy.

Also there’s lots of KOTFE/KOTET/etc spoilers in here, so don’t read if you don’t want to see em. (Looking at you, Chignon.)

The character(s) I first fell in love with:

My own OCs haha.

But more seriously: It was actually Darth Malgus! I was always going to play a Star Wars MMO, let’s be real. But when they started posting promo videos and cinematics for the game, my Sith-loving ass immediately gravitated to that guy haha. And then, it turned out he had the same VA as The Architect from Dragon Age, and that was it for me.

If we’re talking about companions, then it was probably Malavai Quinn. Sith Warrior was the first class I got to 50, and Quinn was the first companion that I really got overly attached to haha.

The character(s) I never expected to love as much as I do now:

Most (not all, but most) of the “new” companions that came in with KOTFE and beyond. I was initially really sour when I realized we were losing all our class storyline companions, and they were being replaced with a new crew of Lana, Theron, Koth, my mother-in-law Senya, etc. Especially when they – at the time – said we’d eventually get our class companions back, but it would be a while. So I started KOTFE sure that I would hate the new crew because I would rather have the old one…. and ended up liking them quite a lot! Mostly, lol.

The character(s) everyone else loves that I don’t:

Doc is the main one, jesus christ. If you didn’t read my last post, I just really really really do not mesh well with overly sexual and Adult Humor-y characters who scold you with a “You’re no fun.” if your OC isn’t into it. Doc is the worst example of it that I’ve ever encountered. I always play a male JK, and the fact nearly all of his convos amount to, “Boy, you and me are going to be up to our eyeballs in vagina when this war ends, amirite?” “You don’t want that? Come on, the Jedi Code doesn’t say you can’t FUCK, live a little.” “You’re no fun. Well, more for me.” drives me NUTS. This combined with how he interacts with Kira just does me in. Shoves him out an airlock.

Dark Side Jaesa is another big one, albeit mainly for OOC reasons. I just hate the fact that she even exists, really. I get the appeal of a story where a Sith corrupts a Jedi to the Dark Side, but the way she does a total 180 into gross hedonism while Serving You always just makes me cringe. Plus there’s the fact that straight dudebro gamers are really nasty with her, and she’s the main companion I always see men put into the slave bikini outfit, and just yikes.

Also just a lot of one-off NPCs that everyone goes crazy for and ships their OCs with, but I  constantly forget who they even are lol. Attros Finn comes to mind. I don’t hate them! Just don’t get the appeal I guess.

The character(s) I love that everyone else hates:

Lord Scourge, although I’m not sure he’s really hated as much anymore. I just remember at launch, when all of the overly invested Revan stans absolutely HATED him because of what he did in the Revan novel, and then flooded the tags with vitriol over being “stuck” with him as a Knight, and having to hear about Revan in his companion convos. It was really, really tiresome! Maybe it’s because I never really cared that deeply about Revan as my personal character, but I could not understand the backlash.

Anyway, Lord Scourge is my favorite companion in the game by a long shot. I love the conversations you can have with him about the Jedi vs Sith, and I love the mutually respectful tone those conversations take. (Where other Bioware companions who disagree with you have a tendency to just go, “You’re wrong.” and shut you down.) The fact that he’s so tied in with the plot just makes me love him more, really.

The character(s) I used to love but don’t any longer:

Cytharat, Koth and Theron mostly. Although this takes a bit of explaining, and is a bit Discourse-y – because I really appreciate them as characters, but their role and Bioware’s decisions with them is what made me no longer love them.Here’s the thing: Bioware has a bad habit of introducing male characters that are bisexual, and then having them betray you, leading to situations where they either get murdered or vanish from the narrative entirely. Meanwhile, bisexual women like Lana are untouched and around forever.

I was overjoyed when I first saw Cytharat. Y'all know I’m a ho for purebloods, and the fact that he was Malgus’ apprentice was fascinating to me – and then he turned out to be a bi romance. I got very hyped for him, only to find out he dies like 5 minutes later – or if you save him, he’s never seen again. Huge letdown.

Koth was the first character I fell in love with of the new KOTFE crew – I even initiated a romance with him! – but it quickly became obvious there’s no way to play the expansion without him turning on you judgementally at some point or another. And then, hey big surprise, you can kill him or else he’s never seen again.

Theron I’ve loved since we first got to know him in the Forged Alliances content, but that whole storyline where he seemingly betrays you out of nowhere, only to later reveal he didn’t actually, idk. And then, once again, you either kill him or he disappears from the story. It felt like a weirdly shoehorned in plot for shock value, and robbed us of a second bi MOC character.

You see the trend here? I want to love these characters, but Bioware continually electing to do this shit with bi dudes is tiresome and makes me unwilling to invest any interest in the characters anymore.

The character(s) I would totally smooch:

None.

The character(s) I’d want to be like:

None really come to mind? I just want to be a Jedi, come on.

The character(s) I’d slap:

Hunter all day every day.

The pairing(s) that I love:

Haha, this question is hard, because most of the SWTOR ships I’m invested in are between my OCs and my friends’ OCs.

However.

SCOURGE / KNIGHT IS THE BIG ONE, THE ULTIMATE, THE ALL-TIME FAVORITE. It’s really hard to describe just how much I love this ship, and just how much time and energy I’ve invested into it over the past… 8 years wow……….. To the point of being almost territorial. And it’s also near impossible for me to talk about why I love it, because the version I ship is so personalized with my specific Jedi Knight, especially since it had to live exclusively in headcanon land for so long. Scourge is, more or less, my Knight’s support pillar and the thing that grounds him and keeps him humble, in a world where my Knight is surrounded by people who expect him to be a pure flawless messiah. But, I mean. How can you have a man look at your character and say, “I’ve waited 300 years to see your face.” and not immediately ship it. And then I finally got vindicated after all these years when it was made canon!

I really love Arcann / Knight for a lot of the same reasons as the above, but I just really adore his one (1) romance convo haha. Granted, yes he did a lot of fucked up things, but I was so grateful when he had like… a Zuko-esque redemption. Where he comes to your character and firmly believes he doesn’t deserve forgiveness, and especially doesn’t deserve affection, and is instead met with acceptance and a chance to grow and heal. That’s the good shit.

Others:

Lana / Warrior and Lana / Inquisitor are my particular jam. I endlessly enjoy the mutual respect between Lana and those particular PCs.

Malavai Quinn / Sith Warrior is a longtime fave, and although I DO love him with a female Warrior, I really do with he’d been an option for dudes as well. And I feel the same in reverse about Vette / Warrior – I do like her with a male Warrior, and it’s so sweet and wholesome and endearing, but man I wish she’d been an option for female Warriors.

I ship Risha with every woman – especially Vette and Sumalee – and will be salty until my grave that Risha / f!Smuggler isn’t possible, because I love Risha with the Smuggler but she gives me powerful WLW vibes.

Agent / Watcher Two is also a lowkey favorite, but I ALSO wish it could be done with a female Agent instead. Same with Agent / Raina Temple.

Agent / Vector is very sweet, but again, I will be salty until my grave that it couldn’t be done with a male Agent.

Can you guys sense a running theme here?

Finally: NGL I love Valkorion / Senya, even though that ended in pure disaster.

And people around here used to ship Keeper / Lokin, and tbh, I still kinda love it lol.

The pairing(s) that I despise:

In general terms, I fucking hate every single romance that involves the male PC romancing his padawan or underling, especially since most of them seem like very young girls. I don’t know why this is so pervasive in the game, but yikes Bioware. Consular/Nadia is the worst offender, but they’re all just cringe central for me.

But the big one is Agent / Hunter. This would have gotten me run off Tumblr back in the day, but god I hate this pairing. I mentioned in the last post that I just will never enjoy ships where the two characters actively want to murder each other, but. This just gets magnified for me with Agent/Hunter, where all the mind control and blatant abuse comes into play – and people have a tendency to write noncon rape fic of the two and present it as ~sexy rivalmance~, which is awful. Add to this the “no homo” reveal where Hunter turns out to be a woman, after getting everyone hyped about a dude flirting with their male character the whole game, and it’s just a huge No Thanks from me all around.

And for largely personal reasons I just don’t like seeing female Knights with Scourge. Listen, for YEARS  I was treated like a pariah for shipping Scourge with my male Knight, while being unable to find Scourge content that didn’t have a female Knight plastered all over him. Even though he wasn’t even a romance option one way or another, the way the fandom treated m!Knight/Scourge with disdain while ardently shipping f!Knight/Scourge was offputting as shit. And then, after years, he was made a romance option for women AND men, and all these awful people acted like they were robbed, the way people reacted when Kaidan and Jaal were made bi in Mass Effect. I’m so tired. I never want to see Scourge with a female Knight again.

[lewnatic]

For the D&D asks, 1-20

Oh gosh, okay. This is gonna be long so I’m gonna do it under a cut.

What was your favorite Nat 1 Experience?

I don’t think a lot of my characters have had really funny Nat1 moments, sadly. I will always remember the one when @zhixx​ made a goblin named Spook’em specifically designed to have the least survivability possible. The first time he was downed he rolled a Nat1 on his first death save. The feeling of comedic timing was just beautiful.

Favorite D&D Inside Joke?

“You are a privateer! BUT ON LAHND.”

Favorite Item Your Character received in D&D?

Phailyn was supposed to get a tome to increase his strength, but when his crush said she wanted it, he immediately fucking dropped it so she could have it. So the DM let me sneak off and get a scrying orb we’d passed up earlier. He hasn’t used it yet, but I just like the story behind it.

Ves probably considers Sikrikta to be the best item she’s received has a lot of really expensive shit she’s keeping just because she has bourgie taste. She got a bottle of wine as a gift that would have been 400g if she’d left it unopened. She’s drinking it gradually through the adventure. It’s good, but not quite as good as what she’s used to.

Teeki has a gaudy diamond crown that Bing bought for 300 gold. It does nothing. It is purely cosmetic. She loves it.

Basically I love frivolous shit.

Preferred Animal Companion (if you had any)?

Vesxlit has a familiar, if that counts. He’s a parrot named Brilliant. He talks like a normal human (in a setting where that is definitely not commonplace) and is a member of the Bardic College in the capital city of the nation we’re traveling in.

He’s a posh gentleman who helps Ves sew dresses. They spend 90% of their time arguing because, being a bird, his fashion sense is incredibly bright and garish.

Favorite D&D Battle Encounter?

Every boss fight Skaaren has done is goddamn awesome, tbh. My favorite is the first just because of how scary it was.

Keep in mind, we’re level 1 in Pathfinder, an Oracle (Ves) and a Barbarian (Cato.) We’ve just watched a big hole open up in the ground, and our characters don’t know why, but we’re looking for missing people (including the barbarian’s boyfriend Fabius, he’s important) so we figure hell, this is probably where they’re missing.

We find some of the missing people at the bottom of the hole, but we haven’t found Fabius, so we go deeper in. We find this creepy old woman doing some kinda ritual or something by a pool of water? Barbarian charges in to kill her and save his man, and… kills her very quickly.

Silence. We go to check on Fabius, and we’re not sure if we can safely move him. I’m running out of heals from earlier stuff and I pop my last one on him, and after a while of debating what to do a ton of undead start coming out of the water. Just a goddamn mob. Whatever the hell creepy-lady was doing, we were suddenly way in over our heads. Even if we picked up Fabius and ran, we don’t have a fast way out of this hole. And we start taking damage fast. Including Fabius.

I don’t remember the specifics of the fight. I think that’s a testament to how much we were panicking. I remember feeling the helplessness of being a mage completely out of spell slots frantically trying to hit things with my stupid mace.

And I remember when the fight was over, I stayed down there panicking for several more minutes, trying to determine if Fabius was even alive while the barbarian ran to get the local doctor in a town of which he didn’t even speak the language.

In the end, Fabius was okay, and we both got out of it alive. It was just that sense of dread and fear, that we didn’t know how the DM’s rolls were going or if anything we were trying had any impact. Skaaren has always done a stellar job since of bringing that sense of genuine fear into the game when he wants to, but that first unexpected taste of it was so damn cool.

Favorite D&D NPC Interaction?

Varis Vrynn was my favorite villain. Not because of his fight, or how he fit into the greater lore, but because of how @extravagantshoes​ played him. He was a slimy uppity elf in the city of Galthiel, a city with heavy class divides based on magic ability. Varis was a powerful diviner, and a lot of our party interactions involved everyone in the party trying to piss him off and Varis looking down his nose in disgust at all of us.

Then Cedlanna, our young sorcerer, got a conversation with him alone in his manor, where he wanted to make a deal with her. And she just ripped into him. Cut to the core of his insecurities and how with all of his riches on display, his manor still was incredibly empty–that for all the parties he hosted he was completely alone.

He was doing some really irredeemable things and later tried to kill us all but I still managed to feel kind of sad that we ended up gruesomely killing him.

Dumbest thing You & Your Party Did

Charging through multiple spinning saws comes to mind. Every time I try to sneak around in heavy plate armor also comes to mind.

I feel like I need to make a separate post to discuss just all the impulsive things Cato does. Turning an entire city upside down just for the chance to punch a specific guy in the face was one.

Most Epic thing You & Your Party Did

I might also make a separate post about this, but Cato and Ves convinced a bunch of lizard people that they were their gods.

Basically in this setting, the level 1 baddies generally fought are called Rapia. They’re kobold-esque in design, but they have a faith-based culture and… well, kind of a faith-based biology. Rapia need something to worship, they undergo gradual physiological changes based on the thing they follow. (Say it’s a sea creature, they might get gills.) And if they don’t have something to worship, they literally become sick and presumably die.

We’d fought a few before and looted crap from their caves, including a tiny hammer that we never could have used but the barbarian held onto cuz idk??

We later ran into some others by falling through the roof of their cave, but they didn’t attack us. They started to assume that we were the gods depicted on one of their cave walls. For the sake of brevity, a fight broke out later when we were trying to leave, and Cato gave the hammer to one of the rapia who was helping us escape. It turned out in the DM’s notes, this hammer had significance to the rapia, and was supposed to be given to the religious leader of a tribe. And so the entire tribe turned to our side and protected us. And… they started following us.

It was about this time that the DM broke character to tell us he had no plan of this happening, and I guess we just have a tribe of rapia now. And we’ve had the goddamn campaign balanced around having a tribe of rapia ever since.

What did you like about your Campaign’s World?

I’m gonna try to sum these up quickly cuz these stories have already gotten long.

The Ascension world has elements of what I affectionately like to call Pop Fantasy, there’s some genre-awareness while not being parody, and all the work on the pantheon Spi did has been goddamn amazing. I also cannot figure out the overarching mysteries and that is awesome.

Nejj puts a ton into immersing us into the world. I can always very clearly get a feel for the sort of setting he’s putting us in, and I’ve been having a lot of fun with the political intrigue he’s been setting up.

Skaaren’s got the weirdest goddamn races in his setting and I love every single one of them. He’s also packed the setting full of little cultural details, I swear to god he’s done extensive research into what we’re having for breakfast in the morning based on where we’re staying.

What was the most Interesting Lore you Found?

I seriously can’t pick a favorite here so I’m going to give a silly answer, and that’s that acolytes of Ves’s goddess commune with her by getting super high. 

Summarize Your Campaign(s) in a Single Sentence

One for each campaign:A group of weird rebels and one very ordinary guy dismantle the ruling government.Goblins discover crazy politics and necromancy, what happens next will warm your heart.Tourists getting intimate with the horrifying hidden truths of nature

Describe your whole Party Dynamic in a Sentence

The best bunch of weirdos and one stupid shady paladin.Loner rogue becomes Team Mom by sheer force of how much the other two hate each other.Bug Jesus and The Angriest Boy discover family in the form of lizards.

What Alignment do your characters lean towards?

I have a weird time choosing an alignment for characters cuz motivations change a lot for my nerds. Teeki was True Neutral but has become more Chaotic Good. Ves is Lawful Good I guess?? And Phai is a goddamn mess whose alignment has shifted at least thrice since his conception.

How do you tend to Take Notes (if you do)?

Badly! Next question.

Prefer Story/Plot Driven or No Plot/Character-Driven Campaigns?

I tend to prefer plot-driven, but I honestly think elements of both should be implemented in your narrative–occasionally giving breaks from the overarching plot to give the cast some time to dick around can give a breath of fresh air to roleplay.

Combat or Role Play?

Roleplay, of course. I actually used to think I hated D&D combat. It took a lot of great sessions to make me realize that the RP doesn’t stop for combat, and that’s when I started really getting into learning and enjoying mechanics elements.

Favorite D&D Monster/Creature?

Illithid. I would love to actually play as one someday.

Magic User or Fighter?

Magic is more engaging to me, personally, but I like both.

Preferred Weapon/Spell in D&D?

Tasha’s Hideous Laughter. In large part because of how it’s roleplayed in Critical Role tbh. I also have felt the high of Sneak Attack enough times to really love it now.

What was your Favorite Nat 20 Experience?

One time I rolled a Nat20 perception while we were on the road and it was literally just to find a coin on the ground. That might always be my favorite. 

[sleepymarmot]

A couple of months ago, after finishing COUNTER/Weight, I spent about a week in a total hangover, relistening to scenes and having feelings. I took some notes, but procrastinated posting them, and then finally got distracted. But, a) I hate leaving things I intended for tumblr unposted, even if they have value only for me, and b) I also hate posting things out of order, and there's a big TM liveblog incoming. So, here's a bunch of really random thoughts about C/w from past me.

The gnosis virus did go nowhere huh. I was hopeful for a minute when one of the finale intros mentioned it, but that was it. What was the purpose of that arc even. [Note from present me: Lol. At least I feel better about this one!]

Oh, and the patch AuDy left never reappeared either. And the idea from the faction game that Aria's images owned by EarthHome/Petrichor transmit Rigour code… That's the flip side of the coin. On the one hand, it's really cool to see the creative process – on the other, it sometimes feels like you're listening to people write a script for the tv show, but only get to see a half of the finished product. It's fascinating to see the universe grow organically and the players to come up with new ideas and get excited about them – but that means numerous retcons, some of them not even presented as such, because the creators forgot what the previous revision was or didn't thought it was important. It's a unique feature of the medium that player choice directs the narrative and it's not bound by railroading – but that means some roads lead nowhere, and some branches dry and fall off.

It's a bit harder to make peace with something that could have easily been developed more within the existing plot of the show. How come there's a player character whose consciousness consists of three different people in various combinations, but nobody seems to be curious how that works? No PC or NPC ever asked “Which one of you is speaking right now?” or something. The final episodes made a lot of things clearer, but it still felt too little, too late. Hard not to be reminded of that gripe about certain two characters sharing one character sheet one of whom was left underdeveloped and half-forgotten… Both are very ambitious concepts that require a double amount of work from the player, so I feel bad complaining they weren't realized to full potential, but…

Speaking of L&D… I still want to know how the hell did that one engineer all by herself design 4 gods, one of which became a basis for technology that was advanced even for the civilizations 80,000 years later? This woman singlehandedly surpassed any technological achievement of humanity before and after. Who Is She

I saw a “Wake me up: before you go go / when september ends / wake me up inside” meme and thought “heh, this sounds relevant, which member of the Chime is which?” and it already made me sad, but then I realized that I'd never actually heard the september song and looked it up and. The lyrics fit so well. What the fuck. It's an old song everyone keeps joking about. Why is it appropriate for a legitimate fanmix. What. I guess the word “September” will never be the same again for me.

I looked up the rules for Firebrands, the game used for the finale. Oh my, challenges for the dance minigame are so overtly romantic when you see them in a list together! Imagine this cast of characters having to answer to “do you place your hand upon my elbow, shoulder, waist, or hip?” lmao. Also I didn't realize “May I?” was part of the rules for “stealing time together”. (And I found out there's a party version of that minigame with bug-themed challenges. I might have dug too deep…) "Tactical skirmish" is a really fascinating concept, I've never seen such a masochistic combat system! Really faces the player with the violence they're inflicting: sure, you can always fight on, but are you ready to live with what you'll have to do? But for it to work fully, you need a lot of non-expendable NPCs on both sides. The one with the most likeable team wins! (Like Mako did.)

I'm relistening to Three Conversations and it's pretty interesting that Ibex has a bunch perfectly lifelike android bodies, right? There is no such technology seen anywhere else. Did Righteousness develop and privatize that? Are they so complex that only a Divine would have enough computing power to successfully mimic organic life? Can Aria convince Righteousness to help her perform on stage without leaving her duties? Also, like with AuDy, I wonder how Ibex & Righteousness' consciousness works. Is it a single mind, spread across every body he has, or even anything Righteousness is running on, having a bunch of different conversations at once if he needs to? Or is the original Ibex just gone, and what's left is a personality imprint hanging on to the connection to his still living body, imitating his former self like the automated recording Cass saw wore his face? In other words, has Ibex completely fused with Righteousness, or assimilated and destroyed by it? Does he not exist anymore as an independent singular being, or does he not exist at all? Most info indicates the former, but there was also “You’re not in there anymore” “No”.

If Orth and Jace are anime fans with their Kingdom Come and Panther, then Ibex is the guy who's way too into dinosaurs or paleontology. It's as if the heads of various confessions were called Triceratops, Stegosaurus etc. and only one of them knows wtf that means, and also he compares his Divine to… Were there scavenging dinosaurs? I'm looking at an article that suggests T. Rex might have been a scavenger, so yeah he would compare Righteousness to a goddamn T. Rex.

Hey what do you think is the most thematically aproppriate part of the Hieron anime for Orth to watch alone at night during the Kingdom game. What's the best thematic parallel for when he turns off the episode and thinks he made a mistake. Do you think that he once, after a long day and a long month and maybe a long year of feeling helpless and doomed, sits down for a distraction but ends up sobbing “How could they let this happen to Mother Glory”

On Joypark, there are definitely statues of Eidolons, ancient and holy, that were repainted and repurposed as Hieron deities. Imagine a giant Greek or Roman style marble statue of Apote – and it’s painted over as Samot, with an anime face and in really bright plain colors like these “reconstructions of original coloring” that actually only use base colors so they look like cheap action figures.

I was reading Austin's top ten games of 2016 list on Waypoint and he gave first place to The Sprawl! Aww!

The Downloads folder in my phone gallery is funny bc it mostly consists of every freely available f@tt map and also that one photo of Tristan Walker (because I tried to redraw it, very unsuccessfully). I go check a map and every time am met by Ibex just. staring at me. It's unsettling

Some of the many options for how Apostolosian gender could have been presented:

Apostolosians prefer to be addressed by the most neutral available human pronoun, represented as "they" in English, because the human languages don't have anything close enough

Apostolosian pronouns are represented in English by a set of real-life common pronouns and neopronouns

There's a list of Apostolosian pronouns and they're just used in English verbatim (Really impractical because the players need a cheat sheet, but the most fair)

Humans apply human genders to Apostolosians. Apostolosians may be offended, may find it convenient, or something else

As Austin said in the post-mortem, the Eidolon system is not gender. It's represented in English by titles/honorifics/etc

Any of the above, and the creators are aware of the difference between personal pronouns, grammatical gender, and social gender

And that’s not even touching the core problem of what the concept of gender in a futuristic, techonologically advanced society would look like. Yes, I'm complaining about this for the third time but I'm just. So tired of native English speakers' takes on gendered language. They could have made Apostolosian gender look like anything and they made it look like that fucking mess... God, I really hope TM is good enough to make me forget and forgive the experience of listening to “he... sorry, they” for 100 hours. [Note from present me: Well… mostly]

Here’s my take on this: eidolons in Apostolosian language are absurdly broad noun classes with associated classifiers (which fits both the idea that they’re gender but not actually, and that each of them is a patron to several unrelated aspects of life) Apostolosian: the word “(Apo)thesa” is used to refer to people who follow the corresponding eidolon, as well as for counting buildings, heavy machinery, military units, specific strategies and tactics, log entries, historical documents and chronicles, history textbooks and monographs, and eras :) Human: what the fuck

Very critical, imaginative worldbuilding in which 80,000+ years into the future humanity somehow has 21st century gender and 21st century capitalism! TBH, I find any sci-fi set in the far future inherently silly – we can’t really imagine the future technogy and its effect on society. But it feels like C/w barely even tried, and to hear it boast about “critical worldbuilding” is kinda strange. I assumed that meant they build the world critically, not that they recreate modern society or some aspect of it and criticize that! It’s just another Star Trek then! And it was already clear right during the setup when they said “We don’t want Star Trek aliens” and immediately created Apostolosians.

I haven't seen a single piece of fanart with Taako and Mako. Come on, does nobody want to see these two next to each other! Especially considering the outfits artists like to put Taako in!

I really don't understand how and why people do fandom activities on Twitter and Discord where the creators also have accounts. It gives me so much secondhand embarrassment. I can barely peek at Twitter posts before running away. Old-fashioned opinion apparently but I strongly believe the main fandom space and the interaction-with-original-creators space should be separate. I need a space where I can voice my opinions, especially negative ones, with complete freedom. I need to be able to say exactly what's on my mind. But I wouldn't want any of the people on the podcast to read something unfiltered like my complaints above. Being in the same space as the source content creators obliges any decent person to be diplomatic and constructive. And the creators, in turn, need a space where they don't come across complete randos yelling at them about something they said in a podcast three years ago. I'm already feeling uncomfortable because hearing to strangers pour their hearts out for hundreds of hours gives me way too much insight on who they are as people. Of course, nothing’s stopping them from lurking on Tumblr or AO3 and even reading this very post, but a platform where they have official accounts is still a different thing! I even feel uncomfortable talking about the podcast creators using their first names so much. To my ear, referring to a total stranger by first name, especially if it's a shortened form, sounds so rude! I'm not their friend, I don't have that right! But, of course, writing something like “Mr Walker” in my liveblogs would have been even weirder, nobody does that...

Is it a common experience to not even think about fanfiction after listening to Hieron, but going straight to AO3 after C/w? I feel like since Hieron is still a work in progress, writing/reading about it is stepping on the GM&players' toes, and C/w is finished so it's like they gave us the keys to the playground, it's the fandom's turn now. This story has so much blanks and they must be filled! In one of the early episodes they joked that something cute they said would encourage people to ship Mako/Cass and I was like "Bold of you to assume they aren't already" and, indeed, I was right and it's the most popular C/w ship on AO3. Too bad I’m so indifferent to it…

It’s a shame we never had a full scene with Ariadne or even learned what they were up to during the finale.

I still don't understand how Ibex went from “evil CEO” to “leader of a proletarian revolution”, these sound like completely opposite concepts to me

I probably have talked about this too much and have pretty much given up on ever getting a clear picture due to all of these reimaginings but… Righteousness and Voice… Ibex takes Righteousness out of Mako but he still has Voice, that was pretty much openly stated, correct? So how does that work? I’m guessing Righteousness is hidden somewhere in Voice’s code. But if so:

Did Maryland know? On the one hand, she’s too competent not to. On the other, why would she ever allow or accept that?

How did Righteousness not get corrupted by Rigour too? Maybe it did, but broke off the connection with the rest of itself to contain the damage? Or maybe, on the contrary, it kept in contact and was sending intel to Ibex the whole time? But in that case he would have provided more help in the finale.

[kandace-roo-blog]

Walt Task #4 || The Ins and Outs of Kandace Roo

Describe your character; How do you see your character in your own eyes and not based off the bio. How have you developed this character into your own?

Ohhhh, Kandace. This is my first time playing a teen/single mom, and so far it’s been such an interesting experience to play around with how that affects her characterization. She’s one of those people that deflects so much on other people in order to keep from addressing all of the issues that she hasn’t quite worked out herself yet thanks to all of her family drama and being abandoned by Joey’s dad. It’s just easier for her to focus on trying to fix or help other people and make them feel good because in some weird way, it makes her feel like she’s doing at least something right. Behind that outward appearance of caring, however, she’s drowning. She’s depressed and hard on herself and so, so incredibly broken over feeling like her life has just fallen apart, and she honestly breaks my heart sometimes because she just sees herself as damaged and broken beyond repair. There’s literally only two bright spots in her life, and that’s her friends from home and of course, her son. More on her friends later, but focusing on Joey... man, she loves that kid. It’s hard for her to imagine now that she was willing to go along with what her mother wanted and give the kid up, but as soon as she looked into his big, blue eyes, she just knew he was the most important thing she’d ever have in her life and she’d never abandon him like others had abandoned her. In a way, she wanted to be the mom that her own mother had never been for her, and being there for him is basically the only thing that gets her up in the morning and forces her through her day.

What’s your favorite thing about your character? what’s your least favorite?

Kandace just has this amazing empathy to her that I absolutely adore. She’s selfless in a way that’s not always healthy but warms my heart a little bit because she’s the type of person that is always looking to care for others. It’s what makes her such a good friend and such a good mom and even though she’s incredibly heartbroken and hurt, that trait still remains.

As for my least favorite, it’s definitely how hard she is on herself. I’m not talking about just a regular self-confidence issue - I’m talking about this constant narrative in her head of everything she’s failing at. Whether it’s that she’s a bad mother and isn’t doing enough for her son, that she’s unlovable and doesn’t deserve to be happy with someone else, or that she isn’t living up to what she could be, she’s constantly doubting and hating herself and it breaks my heart.

What are some of your favorite relationships your character has formed? (Friendships, relationships, yada ya)

Ok, so first of all, Eeyore??? They warm my heart so much because they were more like acquaintances made through mutual friends back home but now they’re the only two in LA and have started becoming actual friends and I’m emotional about it tbh because what the HELL. Kanga just wants to make her just a little bit happier because she can relate all to well to how she feels and I just think in general they relate so well to each other and I can’t wait to see that friendship progress, tbh.

Even though the rest of the Hundred Acre Woods gang isn’t here yet, I also need to give them a shout-out because all of those friendships make me emotional in general. Like lil Paxton was the one who made her decide that she could handle being a mom in the first place and Tiago is just that big ball of pure joy that she honestly needs in her life to force her to smile and loosen up for once of her life. AND CHRISTOPHER ROBIN DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON HOW BADLY I WANT HIM IN MY LIFE RIGHT NOW. They’ve literally been friends through preschool and are still best friends to this day and are the most supportive little beans and he is one of the only people Kanga trusts with her whole life and LISTEN I WILL BRIBE SOMEONE TO BRING HIM TO ME BECAUSE I NEED IT OK

Kanga and Oliver kill me tbh because they relate so much in terms of parenthood and it’s so rare to find someone as a seventeen-eighteen year old mom who you can talk to about the pitfalls of being a parent and I just love them??? I can’t wait for them to have play dates and blab about all the problems they’re having in raising children!

This is probably less important because he’s a NPC but Danny (aka Joey’s dad) and Kanga make me sad af and I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately?? Like Kandace was looking to be a lil rebellious and ended up with this bad boy who had a reputation as a heartbreaker and honestly fell in love with him?? Yes, it was probably an unhealthy relationship by many standards and he kind of pushed her to do things that she typically wouldn’t do for multiple reasons but at the end of the day she just adored him and he might have loved her too and then Joey happened and she honestly thought that he’d be willing to settle down and raise a family with her and it just ??? didn’t happen ??? And he told her he didn’t love her and made her feel basically completely used and damaged and terrified of love and DAMN IT SOMEONE TEACH THIS GIRL THAT LOVE DOESN’T ALWAYS MEAN HEARTBREAK WTF

AS FOR NEXT GEN Joey is so #blessed to have so many sweethearts in his life tbh. Like the Addison kids???? They’re practically like his siblings at this point and you best believe he’ll 100% always be there for each and every one of them. Also Noelle??? I’m still loling over the concept that they went on a tinder date and just ended up becoming pals instead because it’s such a Roo thing to do tbh and their friendship jut makes me so happy ok? ok.

Has your character changed you in any way? Or do you yourself in yourself in your character?

I would also say that Kandace has been a good outlet for me because I also deal with a lot of self doubt and a healthy dose of clinical depression to boot. I try not to dwell too much on it because it can bring my mood down a bit too, but it’s also been super nice to verbalize feelings and thoughts through her eyes and has been kind of cathartic for me and has definitely helped me work through some heavy stuff in my life. I love my lil fragile baby too much.

Do you think your character has had a big impact on Walt? Is it a good impact or bad?

I don’t think she’s had a big impact, but hopefully a good one! I really want to expand on her some more and get some more plots going for her tbh because I’ve had so much muse for her as of late and really want to see that impact!

Favorite thing your character has done and worst

Favorite thing? Tbh, it’s definitely her decision to keep Joey. Writing that scene for my app honestly put me through tears because she was so determined not to keep him and not to get attached and she just looked at him and knew. And from there, she was determined to do the exact opposite and not let him go even if that meant losing the rest of her family and having to do it all on her own.

I can’t think of anything really awful she’s done so far, but I do think that the fact that she’s isolated herself so much in general is not a good move. She honestly feels like people are going to get annoyed with the fact that she’s constantly dealing with her kid and just doesn’t want to face it, and I really wish she’d push out of her shell a little bit and put herself out there again because she has so much to offer.

What is some progress you hope to have with your character in the future?

Obviously I want to see her grow emotionally. I want her to face her depression head-on and take steps to treat it, especially by going through some therapy. Girl needs to VENT. I obviously want to see Joey grow up and play out those struggles as a mother and how she handles them. Finally, I’d honestly really like to see her heal all those scars on her heart from what happened and feel less unlovable? Because she’s really honestly worthy of being loved and once she realizes that, she has the potential of maybe actually being happy and doing something for herself instead of for others.

What is one thing you would tell your character?

YOU’RE DOING GREAT, SWEETIE, KEEP YOUR HEAD UP.

What has been YOUR favorite thing about walt?

Has your experience been a positive one? (BE HONEST YO.)

Got a favorite memory? Share it!

What are you looking forward too in the future?

Have you had a favorite event? Favorite plot? Share it right here

(skipping these bc i’ve already answered them on Rora’s!)

Favorite character that’s not your own and why

Ok so here I’d like to give a shoutout to both @justeeyore and @whydidyoutakemeaway because they are??? the sweetest???? Alicia, you know I absolutely love all of your characters and Eeyore is no exception. I think you play that morose nature so well without crossing that fine line between being actually upset and being whiny and Eeyore honestly breaks my heart all the freaking time and ??? i love her so much ok

and KAITLYN again, u know i love you and all your characters but I felt it was fitting to give some kudos to Oliver considering his friendship with Kandace. You play Oliver so beautifully both in his relationship with Wally and his characterization in general. You always have so many interesting ideas and twists and turns for him in mind and whether he’s freaking out or being goofy or everything in between, he’s always such a fun character to see on the dash and I love him so, so much.

Ideas, shoutouts, request, dedications, questions? Put ‘em here!

I love all of you!!! ( and I’m too lazy to type it all out again but u know how it is guys ok)

[lachalaine]

😍 ✏ 🖓

Character Q’s

😍: Which OC is your favorite? Unexpected favorite?

i don’t have a ton of oc’s because jackie is the most prominent, and the one that i ever actively write out anywhere – so i guess you could say she’s both my favorite and unexpected favorite. growing up, i mostly only ever wrote out canon muses for fanfiction, and the one time i ever actually got to writing anything for an oc was jazzele – because she seemed more interesting to me than anything in canon. though her muse seemed to die down some after a bit of writing her mostly because i realized both that a. not too many ragnarok players actually read fanfiction so not too many people read it and b. strong female warrior types weren’t exactly… accepted too much. also c. she’d turned into a mary sue and i didn’t want to touch her anymore because i couldn’t figure out what to do with her.

then i came online to tumblr and this is where jackie was officially born. fun fact: her name was supposed to be tiffany but i didn’t feel like that fit. i thought i would hate her because of certain reasons, but also because i was afraid of her becoming a mary sue again and i didn’t have too much faith in my abilities anymore to fix that. also like ?? she seemed complicated to me ?? like, writing a music based muse on its own is hard, because then you kind of have to incorporate bits of her career into her lifestyle and make this whole ‘music’ scene from pretty words that hopefully make sense, applying to a readers senses when they can’t actually hear the music. it’s horrible. what was i thinking???  on top of that, i had to figure out where her story fit into the canon world i was putting her in.

and then i had jackie for like two months in the k fandom, where i hated her intensely because she didn’t seem to fit anywhere. i couldn’t fix her personality, she was bland, too conveniently perfect, couldn’t actually seem to form relationships, etc etc.

i deleted that blog within two months, was never supposed to come back here.

then i found the indie oc fandom somehow because i felt like ?? i don’t know, i felt like there was something still there with what i’d already made and i wanted to figure it out. so i remade the blog, essentially remade her according to my own universe and then she sort of – blossomed on her own without my really trying. i contribute this to the fact that as a muse in an oc fandom, the rules are so much easier to work with than it’d be if it was a canon story line. there’s no expectations to mold her a certain way and it’s just easier to make new friends or fit her into other au’s on her own terms rather than having to force her to have aspects that fit with the other group that i guess i - wasn’t really into in the end anyway.

✏: Do you have a process when it comes to making OCs? Can you make one out of thin air or do you take months to build them?

i start slow. i usually have a general idea in mind and then i go through a few weeks or days of adding in certain bits and pieces. or i make them up on the spot. like – i have a lot of npc’s that i put into jackie’s story that i never really talk about but only ever stick them into drabbles. such as the other einjerhar, some old yakuza fiends, old assassin friends, etc. but i think the one that’s most developed besides jackie would be emilia, who’s her childhood best friend. emi was originally supposed to be a side character i made up with – another writer who i had a falling out with. she was like, jackie’s support system from a life before shit hit the fan, and also my attempt to make another muse because the other writer told me i should branch out.

so emi was born, and she was rich and bitchy and just a typical mean girl with a soft spot for my other bby girl and she wasn’t really supposed to be too big of a presence but she grew a snarky life of her own and now she won’t shut up, but i think she only truly developed whenever i wrote her out with jackie. and it took – a while? to add to her personality because i didn’t want a mary sue !! but i didn’t want an anti-sue too and no one has ever actually seen her in action yet but i’m fairly proud of her and !! should probably post some of my drabbles for them here because i love her relationship with jackie and it’s adorable and funny and they hate each other but they also love each other and emi is a handful in all the ways jackie isn’t and i kinda want to dump her into a river i adore her aaaaaaaah

but also !! to add to that, jackie was made over the course of a few months while jazzele was a few years. a lot of it through video games. so the main parts were created then and not so much of it was planned but – i gave them both a general idea and both their personalities came out randomly – especially in threads with certain people. i guess that’s really my method ?? to have a general blank muse and like, a few characteristics and then it depends who they interact with on how it goes. i don’t – actually have a concrete idea of them before i write tbh hahahaha

🖓: Is there a OC you have that just doesn’t click with you yet?

i would say the other einjerhar? there’s a ton of them, and i have my general idea of each of their personalities. but because there’s so many and they’re all men – i have a problem with not being sure if i’m writing them properly. i don’t… write guys properly in general because i think i’m better with the girls so they’re sort of – there but not in depth ‘there’, i guess.

but i don’t want to drop them and i have no intention to because i think i can come up with all of their personalities in depth, but that’ll only work out if i ever actually write them out with other people and that seems – like such a fucking mess you have no clue. because then i have to bring so many of the boys into the fray and they all have their own relationships with each other too and it’s just such a headache just thinking of it all hai

though tbh, they’re likely to make more appearances with people if i ever write more fantasy plots – either modern or past life so ??? we’ll see ??? they’re a fun group. a messy group. loud, overbearing assholes that aren’t always assholes and they’re such a happy and simultaneously dumb family i love them !!