#that I haven't completed his companion quest yet?

[cactosaurio]

I was thinking that Jing Yuan actually does see Yanqing as something akin to a son, but most of the time treats him as his disciple and a member of the cloud-knights; he admires his tenacity and wants to protect part of his innocence, he did seem to raise him and is so similar to his younger self, but it also comes with an arrogance unbeffiting of a soldier that needs to be straightened out, something that must happen to everyone. Plus, there's something he needs Yanqing to do for him when the time comes, even if he still can't let the kid walk completely alone.

On the other hand, Yanqing doesn't necessarily see him as a father figure (most of the time), more like a mentor and benefactor who inspires respect and some affection, his feelings on the matter could be less complex, but there's always doubt and rumors around Jing Yuan (still glad the common folk can talk so freely about him). For what plot would the general need some kid prodigy who came from thin air?

[meanbossart]

Ok it's possible someone has already asked this and I just haven't seen it yet

But what would it be like, if Drow was a recruited party member, and got romanced by Tav/player? How would he act? Would it impact his character arc in any way? (Is it even possible?)

Oh man I got FAR into the weeds of his hypothetical romance here. Light mechanics, how to get on his good side, and some themes.

The TLDR is that his arc is all about managing his penchant for co-dependency with allusions to Dominant/submissive dynamics. His quest has basically three outcomes:

-In one, you get a sweet, caring man who is a little shut-off and otherwise deeply flawed as most people are. He respects you, looks after you, but ultimately sees you as an equal.

-In the "accepts bhaal" route, you get an egomaniac who sees the both of you as if bound in flesh. He's overwhelmingly intense in everything he does, including his love for you, which he requires be expressed and taken loudly and violently. It's essentially what he wished he had with Orin.

-In the "lost to Orin" route you get a sad little puppy-dog who follows you around and does whatever you want, including take his own life. He's entirely dependent on you as the only person who can keep his urge somewhat in check, insecure, scared, and needy.

(dialogue from this post)

I REALLY liked Larian's decision to make the "bad" outcomes of some of the romances to be kind of... Fetishistic in a self-aware way? You want to relive your high-school years by dating that witchy-goth girl who kept you a secret from her parents until your relationship collapses because, despite appearances, she'll never be hardcore enough to stand up for herself? DJ shadowheart. You want to live out your immortal vampire lord wife fantasy until you become a dusty old fling that he keeps in his closet as eternity and power wear his zest for life and love completely down to nothing? Ascended Astarion. You want to finally Fix Him? God of ambition Gale (a joke. Kind of).

So, I wanted to keep that trend going. DU drow "bad" outcomes are definitely more of a fun fantasy, meanwhile his refused-Bhaal route is almost boring by comparison.

You would be able to affect his path both as a romanced Tav or just as a friend, BUT the only way to survive the end of the game if he's accepted Bhaal would be to be in a relationship with him. You also get to encourage him to follow either the accept or refuse path throughout the game - I'm not really sure how the "lost to Orin" outcome could occur with him as a companion though, mechanics-wise. I'll figure something out eventually.

[roseastralis]

✦ — BLISSFUL REUNIONS

welt yang x gn!reader

✦ summary ; you are welt's travel partner, and arrived together with him in the world of aeons and paths. although, things changed when you and welt had separated during your journey. what happens when you see each other again in the xianzhou luofu?

✦ info ; gn!reader, fluff, they/them pronouns used, the term 'Mx.' is used.

✦ warnings ; slightly suggestive towards the end, but nothing much of the sort. dan heng side quest spoilers. english is not author's first language.

✦ author's note ; welt yang, i loved u in honkai impact and i still love u in hsr.

✦ masterlist

Bodies of mara-struck cloud knights were all you could see around the Artisanship Commission, as you accompanied your newly found companions. A young cloud knight named Sushang, a ‘silent but deadly’ man named Dan Heng, and Luocha—who claims to be a foreign trader tasked to return a body to Xianzhou Luofu. You thought it was weird for him to carry a coffin so large, and even offered to help him carry it in the meantime—although, all he does is shake his head and explain that he could handle it.

Sushang explained the situation of the Artisanship Commission's current problem along with Xueyi—a judge of the Ten-Lords Commision up in the luofu. Along with your fellow companions, you made sure to aid them with whatever they needed and vowed to protect them against any enemy that blocked your way. Everyone in the Artisanship Commission has fled and evacuated, and all you and your companions had to do was to escort Xueyi to the Artisanship Commission’s dock.

It took a while for you all to escort Xueyi, and after all the chaotic moments that ensued throughout your short journey with them—you still accompanied them until Sushang regrouped with her fellow cloud knights in the Alchemy Commission. Luocha soon departed, until you and Dan Heng were the only ones left together walking around the Central Starskiff Haven.

“Dan Heng, it was a pleasure to aid you throughout your travels. Who knows? We might meet again soon.” You say, hand on top of your chest as you give a small bow. He returns the courtesy and smiles. It wasn’t obvious, but you could see how the corners of his lips tugged into one. You turned your back and were about to finally leave him, until you heard a voice of a young girl.

“Dan Heng! Finally, Mr. Yang and I were worried sick about you!” She exclaims, tugging Dan Heng’s arm for a small hug.

“It is good to see you again, you must tell us about your travels.” A familiar, soothing voice said behind you. You quickly turned around and saw him, and suddenly your world just stopped completely. There he was standing there, adjusting his eyeglasses and holding his cane firmly as ever.

“Welt… Welt!” You exclaimed as you dashed forward directly to him, almost dropping the sheathed sword on your waist after stumbling a bit. Welt’s eyes widened in surprise, dropping his cane to receive you in his arms. He smiled, tightening his hold on you, and for a moment—the world around you stopped. He cradled you, holding your head delicately with heavy breathing.

It was such a special moment, the way he kissed the top of your head so gently and whispered sweet nothings for only you to hear. You swore you almost cried because of those intimate acts of his, it was just so sweet and lovely that March 7th just had to take multiple photos of your cute reunion.

You couldn't say anything, choking on your words as you continued to wet his shirt with your tears. You haven't seen him in a long, long time and you missed him terribly. It has been a while since you inhaled his scent, reeking of cedarwood and oak.

March clears her throat, “Hey so uhh… I don't want to be some party pooper Mr. Yang, but you haven't introduced us yet to your…”

“Ah yes—my apologies, March. I am utmost delighted to introduce you to my old travel partner, Y/N. Apologies again, it's just that I haven't seen them in a long while.” Welt smiled, putting a hand on your lower back as he introduced you to his current travel buddies.

March looked between the two of you, and gulped. “Ohh, I see! It's just that… are you sure they're just your travel partner or—” Just then, she got cut off by Stelle poking her cheek harshly.

“Ow ow, oww! Okay fine I’ll save the question for later!” March complained, side eyeing Stelle as she suppressed a giggle from slipping out of her mouth.

“Actually, March… When I told you they were my travel partner, I actually meant that they are both my travel partner and my actual partner.” Welt explained, earning a gasp from both March and Stelle.

“Well uhh, good to know Mr. Yang..! You know what, maybe the three of us will leave you to it. Nice meeting you Mx. Y/N!” March then dragged Stelle and Dan Heng farther away, intending to walk around the Central Starskiff Haven to give you and Welt some time to spend together.

“You know Y/N, we are grateful to receive new astral express crew members. Of course, only if you want to. But I would be happy to have you close to me again.” Welt smiled and looked at you fondly, squeezing your hand in hopes that you would accept his offer.

You grinned, squeezing his hand tightly and bringing it close to your cheek. “I would love nothing more, Welt. Although…are you sure the express can accommodate more people?” You ask, tilting your head slightly.

Welt froze a bit, clearing his throat afterwards. “About that… Maybe it would be best to share a room with me in the meantime. I can seek out the conductor to prepare an extra bed to be placed in my room.”

“Or maybe, I could just sleep in yours. How does that sound?” You say cheekily, causing the poor old man to fluster a bit—red evident in his cheeks.

“Oh. Well whatever you prefer… As long as you're happy.” He smiled at you, caressing your cheek softly.

✦ reblogs are deeply appreciated !!

✦ do not repost my work.

[star-bear-art]

[That love is like a star

It's gone, we just see it shining

It's travelled very far]

I have sat in rendering hell on this piece for like. A MONTH!! So worth it. Consider this a manifestation for my love of Wyll Ravenguard (and I haven't even completed a romance route with him yet!)

(Below is going to be me ranting about the state of his route/content in the game. If you don't want to read that, feel free to just stare at the pretty colours and move on :])

But WOOF. So many frustrations with how his route plays (as of patch 4, the last run I completed!) I've seen people comparing the lack of his development Act 3 with Karlach, and I honestly don't think they're comparable at all. Yes, it's obvious there was more planned (I can't even remember how much extra infernal iron we have at the end of act 3), but she at least has a cohesive narrative emotionally. She resonates! Wyll (by no fault of Theo, whose voice acting is stellar).. did not, for us. At the end of everyone else's personal quest, we were practically crying, but by his? We were mostly confused - due almost entirely to the very convoluted and buggy implementation of his story beats. Let alone that the whole wyrmway sequence becomes way more about the Emporer than him, or that his final speech triggered three seperate times for us consecutively, or the mess with Mizora, the Grand Duke, and Florrick after we defied her to save his father. He's given no agency as a character over his own choices compared to the other companions (at some of his most pivotal moments, as tav you choose his future for him without even a roll!) It was so, so disappointing. I love Wyll, especially Act 1 - but you can seriously feel the lack of polish or finish for his character in the game right now. And regardless of the team's intentions, he's the only Black origin character. That shit has an impact (doubly so when you consider how bg3 imports dnd/forgotten realm's well-discussed racism pretty much wholesale). He deserves as much agency and autonomy over his own story as every other origin character, and I seriously hope he gets it, soon. 'Til then, that's the majesty of fandom, right?

[j-l-kepler]

I Turned My BG3 Tavs into Fake Origin Characters

CUZ NOBODY'S STOPPED ME YET

So here I was, scrolling through the BG3 tag when I come across a fantastic BG3 Template made by the extraordinary @dvgsart! Couldn't mcfreakin' help myself, I tell you.

So I took my 5 active non-Durge playthroughs (3 of which are 2-Tav saves) and slapped them in! Had a blast doing this, I tell you. All the beautiful Tavs I keep seeing just make me wanna gush about my own silly Tavs. Life's too short to not have fun.

[Putting the ART and everything below the cut because this is gonna be loooooong and y'all should get to opt out]

Yeah okay maybe I've written Companion Guides for 6/7 of these guys. I've had a lot of time at work lately, okay.

I call these guys the Stacked Seven because all of them have massive badonkadonks and I'm in desperate need of a new hobby. I can't help the fact drawing tits is very fun and I am horrendously bisexual.

ANYWAY lil bit of preamble you can skip -- I based their stats and weapons on what they'd be as Companions or Origin runs, not what their actual in-game stats are. Romantic Partners / Besties / Weapons are who and what they'd probably default to if they were just in ya party. I also put them in their Companion fits, not their in-game fits. AIGHT LET'S KICK IT OFF, IN ORDER

Eckhart Markolac

The Infernal Twins

Ayyy it's my guy, you might've seen my guy before! We're starting off in familiar territory. Also he's the only twunk here. RIP.

Eckhart is one roguish half of the whole known as the infamous Markolac Twins. He and his sister Emerleigh have spent years of their lives dedicated to paying off a debt they owe to the Undercellar through smuggling, cons and other life-threatening crimes. Now that the Nautiloid has picked them up and dumped them a long ways away from the Gate, he's faced with the consequences of his actions and the kind of freedom he never expected to grasp in his lifetime.

Eckhart shares a companion quest with Emerleigh - get these tadpoles outta their skulls and get back to Baldur's Gate! But will he return to face his debtor, go on the run for the rest of his life, or forsake a future he doesn't think he's good enough for?

For those who haven't met my angst machine of a rogue, Eckhart is a sarcastic, witty and vaguely sleazy guy who's basically your classic rogue. He comes complete with a detached attitude, lower (but not too low) moral standards, and a heart of gold under layers and layers of self sabotage and emotional dysfunction. He's just bad at hiding it.

Eck and Em would be recruited at the exact same time, and their tadpoles would make it so they cannot live for very long without the other. How? Why? Because I don't wanna write a whole freaking branch where one of the twins dies and the other just has to deal with that. Game branch logic is HARD TO WRITE, DAMN YOU.

Emerleigh Markolac

The Infernal Twins

Heyyy girl, it's Em, it's my girl!

Emerleigh is one bardic half of the whole known as the infamous Markolac Twins. She and her brother Eckhart have spent years of their lives dedicated to paying off a debt they owe to the Undercellar through smuggling, cons and other life-threatening crimes. Now that the Nautiloid has picked them up and dumped them a long ways away from the Gate, she's more determined than ever to hold onto this newfound freedom... more terrified of returning than she ever thought she could be.

Emerleigh shares a companion quest with Eckhart - get these tadpoles outta their skulls and get back to Baldur's Gate! But will she return to face her debtor, go on the run for the rest of her life, or deny herself the future she so desperately wants for her and her brother?

If you haven't met Em, she's your classic dramatic bard who speaks in poetry, prose and academia! She's friendly, mischievous, and has so so so many things she hasn't given herself the space to contend with emotionally. She's a pretty lady used to having a perfect mask demanded of her, craving a chance to speak bluntly and openly instead of wrapping herself up in layers upon layers of what other people want from her.

I've already written plenty about Em and Eck. The twins' stories are very interconnected, with the quest playing out the same beats from the perspective of whichever twin the player is playing/romancing/keeping in their party.

Canary Highfall

Child of Light

My other major 2-Tav playthrough I have yet to mention, and the first modded class I've played!

Canary's life has been dedicated to the pursuit of truth -- consequences be damned. Reuniting with her possessive estranged father has caused a lot of roadblocks for her, but her divine heritage won't stop her from her latest fascination: Mind Flayers. Specifically, the strange tadpole specimen she intercepted in her father's study. Her pursuits, assisted by her bodyguard and trusted friend Leryk, have resulted in the two of them playing host to those very same tadpoles! The questions are piling up, with one weighing heaviest on her mind: why did her father of all people have this specimen to begin with? And what does that mean for her and Leryk?

Canary's quest is separate from Leryk, as the first part of her companion quest is finding him. If the player completes the grove or tries to move to the next region without him while keeping Canary in the party or at camp, he'll just show up at their camp. They're a package deal from Act 2 onwards, so the player can either dismiss them both or keep them both. She's not going anywhere without her closest friend!

Canary is a feverously academic person with a focus on abnormal biology. Her noble position and all the restrictions that come with it are a recent development in her life, and one she only engages with for the resources it affords her when possible. She's extremely distrustful of authority and how nobility has a chokehold on academia, so finding out her estranged father is a hyper-paranoid aasimar descended from Lathander himself doesn't exactly help her faith in higher powers -- be they the divine or the political. She's a bit of a smartass and gets wrapped up in what she's doing so completely that she often doesn't consider the consequences. Despite her outward confidence, it's very easy to get her to start rambling or turn her into an absolute mess. Though she hates when Leryk treats her like a princess, she trusts him with her life and would do just about anything for him.

With Canary, I liked the idea of a Companion with a specific interest in Mind Flayers and a personal stake in the conspiracy much like Wyll does. She wouldn't be able to tell the player anything Halsin can't already say in much more detail since she hasn't made a lot of headway in her tadpole-specific research, though.

Leryk Coppperlot

Knight of the Dawn

He's the only one of my active saves that has a skin tone other than "human". Good job, Keps.

Leryk's life hasn't been very long so far, but very little of it has been uneventful until recently. Saved from his life as a ruthless mercenary at the age of 19, he's devoted himself to the Son of Lathander. When his savior's recently-discovered estranged daughter was placed in his care, Leryk then devoted his life to her. Duty blossomed into friendship, but Leryk's blind faith in Canary's father persists despite what Canary has to say about it. Now that they've both been tadpoled and whisked far away from the safety of the Gate, Leryk is determined to get Canary home no matter the cost. But can he face the horrific truth Canary is on the cusp of uncovering...? And what about the truths she's been hiding from him?

Leryk has that frantic "rookie soldier" energy. He's extremely combat-experienced, but he's terrible at wrangling in Canary since he's very easy to sway through enthusiasm alone. He's blindly devoted to Canary and even moreso to her father, but otherwise can be quite shrewd and cautious of others. Misjudging one's character used to mean death for him, and he learned that when his old mentor tried to turn him in for a bounty on his head. Leryk, despite this, has learned a lot from the kindness afforded to him and does his best to repay it. "Caution, but not discourtesy" is his motto.

Leryk's quest is separate from Canary, as the first part of his companion quest is finding her. If the player completes the grove or tries to move to the next region without her, she'll just show up at their camp. Since they're a package deal Act 2 onwards, the player can either dismiss them both or keep them both. Canary's his best friend and he is literally her bodyguard, after all.

I love devoted bodyguards. I love him so much. I like the idea of some Companions knowing each other or having pre-existing relationships. You know he's having a panic attack and is going to find her just chilling in the Goblin Camp like it's no big deal.

Briar Lockren

The Weary Ranger

okay so Briar was actually a fan companion BEFORE she was a Tav. I recently restarted her run in a 2-Tav where the other Tav is actually Default Dark Urge because this girl's perception proficiency is worthless if she hasn't slept enough. And she never sleeps enough.

After three years of wandering the Sword Coast, Briar has settled in Cloak Wood in hopes of outrunning her terrible luck. Her past involvement with one of Cyric's cults has left her branded with supernatural-levels of misfortune and nightmares plaguing her every time she falls asleep. She's basically a walking-talking tempest. Having fallen in and out of the Feywild and caused towns to burn without her say, Briar thought being picked up by the Nautiloid was simply another instance of her shit luck. So imagine her surprise when she got the first nightmare-free rest in three years. Free from the eyes of the one who cursed her, Briar's luck has suddenly changed.

Briar is a somewhat ditsy individual prone to taking inopportune naps just about anywhere. Originally from Luskan, Briar's time wandering and falling into ridiculously terrible situations has made her a pretty difficult person to rattle. She's kind and gentle despite all she's suffered, but blames herself for wandering around the way she does and causing trouble (settling down with her luck is impossible). Her passivity is what led to her situation, however, as the one who cursed her was her childhood friend-turned cult leader-turned Chosen of Cyric-turned ex-boyfriend. It's messy. Briar's very used to messy life situations.

Briar's probably my most developed Tav in terms of a Companion story since she was originally written to be one. I also will acknowledge her being half-drow but not LOOKING half-drow is partly due to my own personal cowardice, but it's also the result of her complicated heritage. Lotta drow in Luskan. The fact she doesn't look like her full-drow father should tip you off as to why he might not have especially liked his child, therefore neglecting her and giving her very few chances to adopt the cult's teachings for herself. Kinda hard to teach a child to become a religious narcissist when you keep telling her she's just inherently inferior.

Scarlet

The Scarlet Scourge

My longest-lived Tav... heeeey girl, hiiii~ I'm probably gonna play her in a campaign one of these days. Siiigh.

The Scarlet Scourge strikes fear into the hearts of the greedy aristocrats that call Baldur's Gate home. A street urchin whose life was ruined time and time again by those who have far too much money, Scarlet's dedicated her life to taking from those who won't miss it and giving to those who need it. But Scarlet's been stopping the plans of the corrupt for a long time, and it all began with some dangerous blueprints. Blueprints she quite literally carries within her soul. Now that she's crashed far beyond the anonymity the Gates afford her, the one she stole the plans from has a chance to find her all over again.

Scarlet is a highly confident and highly competent master thief. She takes great pride in her ingenuity and artificing skill, and won't let you forget it. She's fiercely independent and keeps people at a distance, even hiding her real name from those she gets close to. However, like every Robin Hood figure, she revels in her legend and genuinely adores the people she does it for. Scarlet may act arrogant, but she has the skill to back up her confidence and risks her life for altruism. Get her in front of a gadget, however, and her brain goes a mile a minute. (She's going to be fucking pissed when she sees how cool the Steel Defenders are and the awful ways they're being utilized)

Who doesn't love a Phantom Thief? I think she and Wyll would absolutely be besties if they didn't already know each other before the events of the game - they both love the people of Baldur's Gate, have super hero names, and are archetypes of a class they don't belong to (Wyll is a Paladin in a Warlock's body while Scarlet is a Rogue in an Artificer's body).

Rohku Eddervyn

The Oathbroken

My OTHER longest-lived Tav, and the oldest character of my active Tavs. He's the oldest of them as well in terms of character age.

Rohku has been given many titles over the years, but none of which he's found suit him. After awakening to his Oath in the wake of a Sharran attack during his time as an Acolyte, Rohku was once known as The Sun of the Seventh Dawn for reasons he'll spare you for now. But years of tracking down and slaughtering Dark Justiciars began to take their toll. When grief and rage gave way to emptiness, he understood the pull of Shar. Unable to hunt down those he now saw as victims, his Oath shattered. But his devotion remains. Now, as he searches for new meaning under the Moonmaiden's gaze, he tracks down an artifact said to have fallen into Sharran hands...

Rohku is a mature and quiet man, jaded by the world around him. He's tired of battles between good and evil, and now lives for what is kind -- in any form that takes. He's patient with people and thinks very little of what others think of him. His wisdom and experiences make him an excellent leader, and an even better listener. He often chooses to resolve conflict through his words rather than his blade, but his deadpan demeanor makes that difficult. But he can handle that when it's his own ass on the line. But Zweihanders aren't shields.

Rohku was the first masculine character I played in BG3 and I fell in love. He's so tired and sweet. He's kind of Halsin-esque in that he was thrust into leadership without his say and acts as a calming presence for those he makes camp with. And big. He's a big boy.

~~

Hee hee hee self call-out time! Yes I have noticed 3 of them have black hair, 3 of them are tieflings, 5 have a different hair color streaked in there (with 2 of them specifically graying at a young age), and only 1 of them is above the age of 30. Because I Am A Coward. Pobody's Nerfect.

Hope you kinda enjoyed my little Tav sound-off! If you have questions about them or wanna see more of them or, heck, even draw or write about them yourself, go craaaazy! I don't know how much of these ideas are, like, solidified. IDK I'm still playing around with them.

God I put too much work into these. I can't believe I do fan fiction now. Wild.

[apostatively]

About BioWare's Beef with "Fetch Quests" vs. Embrace of "Faction Quests"

[[Some minor spoilers in this post re: a few side quests in DA2 and DAI, and various routine faction quest events and requirements to get the "best" possible ending you're allowed to have in DATV.]]

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I think one of the things BioWare is missing about the transition to "no fetch quests ;DDD don't worry!" in Veilguard is that the vast majority of "faction quests" have mechanics that are far more mind-numbing to me than the majority of totally optional side quests in DAI/prev. games.

I am so tired of almost every Veil Jumpers quest being "look for missing people" > "oh no they're all dead" > "figure out how they died" > "return and tell the quest giver they're all dead".

It's so unimaginative. I'm so goddamn exhausted.

"Bob and Jill haven't come back from scouting these ruins! They should have been back by now-" They're dead. They are ALWAYS DEAD. I can save us all a lot of time and repetition by just telling you now. Something has killed them because the Magic-Is-Science Woods are full of ancient evils that are constantly killing everyone who goes in there, and yet we keep doing it, in large and eager groups. And expecting me, personally, to care about the lives of this faction who clearly don't have a bare-minimum thought for their own continued existence.

(Also: is it just me, or did the quest where everyone dies except for their pet nug, who you later learn VERBALLY SCREAMS if parted from its dead owner's belongings, feel weirdly offensive, like we weren't supposed to care about the people because rescuing the nug was the secret/real quest objective? Were we supposed to feel gratified that everyone died, but "at least" an animal was saved? They immediately snatch away that potential feeling of vindication too, in the resulting missive! Not a drop of dopamine to be had in that quest outcome, and there's no skipping it unless you want your companions to pay a hugely disproportionate price later.)

Even the shorter quests feel completely unnecessary, like when you first recruit Emmrich, an otherwise interesting and well-acted character who is doomed, like so many of the companions, to have his personal quest mechanics revolve around walking back and forth to fixed points within an area. I like the general idea of cute little wisps, but every time I have to double back to the entrance of an area, that I have already traveled through, just to grab a wisp and run all the way back, KILLS ME. I HATE it. There is no POINT to running through the area twice. "I have to get through this part because it's required to recruit this character" is in no way a fulfilling emotional hook.

In DA2, you were perfectly free not to interact with the random local magistrate who wants you to quietly recover his son. But the very pitch of the quest that he gives you is shady from the beginning, and if you decide to pursue it, you get the emotional payoff (depending on your choices) of removing a dangerous serial killer who is preying on marginalized children. This outcome makes the player feel good - like their time has been well-spent, that they are playing as a heroic figure in a fantasy adventure game. (And if they choose routes that are harmful, they potentially also have fun playing an "evil" character, as some folks find really amusing! There is still gratification involved, and it feels as though your actions in the game had a purpose.)

In DAI, you don't have to spend forever in the Hinterlands. Despite the prevalence of memes about this area of the game, you truly are not forced to stay there, you just have to do barely enough quests to accumulate a certain number of points denoting your influence in the area, so that you now have enough "power"/influence/reputation to proceed to the next step of the game where you speak with high-ranking individuals (valid story-relevant reasons). But here's the thing: often even the most simple of "fetch quests" in the Hinterlands has some degree of emotional payoff for the player. Like a lot of folks, I have a select few NPCs I want to interact with every single playthrough, because they have enough emotional depth to make an impression on me: I always get the Fantasy Asthma Medication from the estranged son of the woman with breathing trouble, and always feel sympathy for this family because of the son's reaction that he genuinely didn't know his mother was struggling while he's been away. I always place flowers on the grave of a woman at the bequest of her widower, and track down the templars who murdered a woman's husband to retrieve his stolen wedding band, because that's just the kind of stuff that resonates with me. It feels like your character is doing good: you're starting to construct a persona for them of a local hero, if you so choose. There are emotional hooks to lots of side quests - but as above, for those who find them boring, you don't have to spend more than a bare minimum of time in this area. It's not a requirement, the way DATV's "faction quests" effectively are.

Long story long, you don't have to complete every single Hinterlands quest for your companions not to die at the end of the game. (In DATV, even as a completionist who is normally excited to find every easter egg a game has to offer, I found myself deeply resenting being basically forced to complete all the quests so that my companions don't die horribly...and then feeling cheated that you still can't save absolutely everyone, that a true "happy ever after" is impossible in DATV, even if you comply with the devs and finish their scores of side quests, knowing they have a gun to your favorite companions' heads.

It felt as though BioWare expected new players to the series to be able to resonate with this game immediately while also expecting the inclusion of B-list DA characters from their "neutral" world state in books and comics not everyone has read to be emotionally resonant enough for players to want to complete boring side quests just to please these NPCs (who you are allowed to interact very little with in the game). Unfortunately, the "new" players or returning ones who don't read or didn't care for the books and comics have zero reason to do this, and are far more likely to be punished by the game for not having an appropriate amount of "commitment" that simply is not inspired by the game itself.

TL;DR - replacing an abundance of optional "fetch quests", many of which are well-written with strong emotional hooks, but ultimately don't force players to complete them, with "faction quests" that lack emotional resonance and interesting mechanics but ARE required to be 100% completed to get a "good ending" to the game, is a huge step backwards for playability. It's troubling that the game writers/devs don't seem to understand that, or BioWare wouldn't be crowing about the "improvement" in removing "fetch quests" when they've simply rebranded them and made them less interesting and unskippable.

[hemlockalope]

ok ok im curious. sunday wanderer comparison?? that sounds cool. free pass to talk abt it if you want :O

Hi hi yes!! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about them!! Also spoilers for 2.2 Penacony quest and Genshin's Wanderer quest

Also under cut because it ended up a little long-

To start i want to say that while im comparing them their stories definitely aren’t one to one, i just love thinking about Wanderer’s story in every occasion since i’ve obsessed over him for too long(and sunday is quickly joining him in my obsessions) But basically the main thing is how they both tried sacrificing themselves to godhood for completely different reasons and both failed, falling (Sunday was caught, Scaramouche was not)

Yes, both were sacrifices Sundays is a obvious one as Robin was supposed to be the sacrifice but Sunday did it instead of her, not letting his sister get hurt on beliefs she doesn’t even believe in(The Dreammaster always knew he would be the one to be sacrificed anyways) His sacrifice was selfless, he would go through eternal loneliness if it means everybody else could be happy

Meanwhile Scaramouche was sacrificing himself for selfish reasons He wants to achieve godhood because he isn’t human, and while it isn’t explicitly said(i think?) i very much believe he was trying to one up Raiden Ei in becoming a god(If you play as Ei and die in his boss fight he mocks her) But it’s still a sacrifice of his body, as they explained in the quest that if the sages completed their quest in getting the wisdom capsules into Scaramouche’s god form he would no longer be able to move for himself, he would fully become a puppet god for the grand sage

I just couldn’t stop thinking about how both of them tried ascending to godhood for completely different reasons yet both failed and yknow, both almost did it if it wasn’t for a factor they didn’t account for (Nahida’s Samsara abilities and Acheron and Black Swan waking trailblazer up plus Robin waking herself up)

Also!!! comparing Gopher Wood to Dottore Dottore obvs was not a father to Scara AT ALL but he was indeed extremely manipulative (Before Sumeru came out i questioned if Scaramouche ever saw Dottore as a father figure or not, and with Wanderer we know now that he hates him and even when he was Scaramouche he never liked him but working with him was a necessity) But also did Sunday even ever see Gopher Wood as a father figure? we know he took Sunday and Robin in, but the two never calls Gopher “father” or anything from what i remember Also the fact Sunday’s second suspect for Robin’s murderer to be Gopher Wood??? how fucked up is that???

The main thing i think a lot about is the selfish vs selfless sacrificed they did, also the fact that people think Sunday will get a redesign before he releases and he's gonna be released a lot later then when he first showed up plus going from a villain to companion is all things Wanderer went through After realizing all that I jokingly thought why not just let him change his name too, and while it started as a crack theory i kinda just kept thinking about it I saw someone say that Sunday isn't his actual name? I haven't seen any in game evidence though, but maybe Sunday is the name he chose for the family, or maybe he didn't even choose it maybe Gopher Wood did, and after everything that happened in the final he doesn't want to continue going by that name, nor does he want to go back to his old name, so he chooses to use a new one and I can't stop thinking of how Robin probably doesn't like the name Sunday, the family being the one giving it to him, so instead she just called him brother because she knows he doesn't go by his old name anymore either and after Sunday's fall, she talks to him about it. Asking if he's still okay with the name, and when he doesn't respond she hugs him and reassures him he'll always be her brother no matter what

The last bit just ended up me talking about a crack theory/ headcanon lol sorry this just ended up me rambling! Hopefully i covered everythign i wanted? I've been thinking about this for the past few days without writing anything down and I also have awful memory, and with that I'm sorry if I forgot something or remembered a scene wrong!!

[pixiebombblog]

Dev Diary #1 (Oct 27, 2024) - It All Starts Here!

Hi! I'm Pixie, and I am currently in active development on a new large-scale, fully voice-acted & immersive Skyrim follower mod named Seraph!

I've decided to start up a regular Developer Diary (You Are Here) to share progress & roadmap the release as she gets further along! Also if you haven't already, join the Discord (link after the jump) to stay updated & involved or just to say hi 🩷

Here's some early development highlights so far:

✨️ For Seraph's custom follower framework, I've built a new & improved core framework that is much more effective, elegant, & efficient than the framework most follower mod authors start with, & one of the benefits of this is that it's much harder for external problematic mods like AFT to break her brain!

✨️ Seraph's character and story has been deeply developed already, & her personal quests will be expansive! Her main personal questline is currently planned to play out in four acts/chapters, with an optional fifth chapter for...

✨️ Romance 💖 Seraph will be romanceable (& marriageable) for certain types of player characters! Without saying anything spoiler-y, Seraph's romance is not frivolous, exploitative, or lazy (as is often the case with romance options in many mods out there), it is an important narrative aspect of her character, and adds to a story that plays out over the course of your adventures together. Romance is not the main focus of the mod, & is completely optional, though just as much time & care is being put into it as any other part of the mod.

✨️ Seraph has a complex Approval system that feels much like the companion approval in Baldur's Gate 3, which has already been built & implemented. Your choices will matter, what you say and do will affect your relationship & things can turn out very differently based on dialogue chosen, playstyle choices, and more.

✨️ Seraph is feature-rich, and full of customizable toggles, options, and mechanics that range from functional and helpful to ones that just make her feel alive and fully fleshed out as a character. She can spar with you, have discussions on books and lore topics, bail you out of prison (with potential Approval ramifications!), won't call you the Dragonborn if you don't want her to, and a lot more. She also has all of the customary bells & whistles like follow distance controls, lore-friendly summon ability, relax/sandbox behavior options, etc. Many of these features are already built & implemented, or in various stages of that process.

✨️ I've also been working closely with my fantastic 3D artist @legendaryfirewizard (the artist who created Redcap's custom helmet model & several of Xelzaz's custom models) on a visual centerpiece that I don't want to spoil just yet, but that is central to Seraph's story & makes her very unique from any other follower mod.

There's so much more I'm excited to share, but without spoiling too many of the character & backstory details juuuust yet, I hope this first Dev Diary can give a small idea of what I'm hoping to achieve with this follower.

I've learned so much over the past few years of creating mods, and I've grown so much as a creator and a person in that time. Seraph is my love letter to creating, to character writing, to fantasy and RPG's, and to The Elder Scrolls which starting with Morrowind inspired me to imagine characters and stories within the world of Tamriel and beyond.

If you've read this far, I hope you'll give Seraph a download when the eventual release happens. In the meantime, feel free to join the Discord - to keep up to date with the project as it progresses!

- Pixie 💖

(Mod author, Voice Actress)

[menaceoffandoms]

LMK analysis rant: What happened to the great companions?

Since the release of season 5 and discovering the nature of the cycles, I've head cannoned that the knowledge we as viewers have of the Journey to the West from the novel was what happened in a previous cycle of the shows world. This makes sense to me since several things we see in the show, whilst being inspired or referenced from the original novel, are very different from the source material.

Whilst each cycle is different, they all have to be somewhat similar, given how Nuwa insists that "they will all live again". Or at least that's how I take it. I started really thinking about this because I wanted to know what happened to the great companions -- other than Sun Wukong -- since everyone has been reincarnated more or less.

It seemed weird to me seeing as one of the rewards from completing the Journey is enlightenment and true immortality. If all the companions became immortal, then how did they die and get reincarnated? How did that work and why is Wukong the only one left?

Now, all my knowledge of the jttw comes from Overly Sarcastic Productions videos, which I highly recommend you watch if you haven't, but since the novel is so long their summary isn't finished yet. So, I decided to look up how the story ends. What I found was rather interesting...

The main set up for the great companions is pretty simple. Tang Sanzang is the monkest monk in the east who the Goddess Guanyin picks for the quest, Sha Wujing was a disgraced Celestial General looking for redemption after breaking something in a fit of rage and getting banished for it, Zhu Bajie was also a disgraced Celestial General who got Drunk and hit on Chang'e too much which got him banished (which isn't that hilarious when compared to Pigsy in the show), Ao Lie was sentenced to death by the Jade Emperor for accidently burning his Dads palace but Guanyin got his changes dropped and Sun Wukong was Sun Wukong. So basically, 4 out of 5 of the group are looking for redemption and Tang Sanzang is their baby sitter. They keep him alive and he shows them the Buddest way. The Journey it the important part of the story, hence the novels name, but every tale has it's end.

So, what happens at the end of the Journey to the West?

Welp with the scriptures delivered the gang is rewarded by gaining places in Heaven. Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong ascend to Buddhahood, Shu Wujing and Ao Lie become Arhats (a few steps down from Buddhahood) and Zhu Bajie, who is unable to let go of his base desires, becomes an alter cleaner. They all get immortality basically, even tho Zhu Bajie doesn't reach enlightenment like the others, so none of them should be able to die.

Obviously, I've already said that the events of the novel are from a different cycle -- things are different in LMK -- but now I'm even more curious as to what happened to the other great companions. Sun Wuknog in the show doesn't seem have reached Buddahood -- that wouldn't be interesting for plot reasons cause then he'd be all powerful and all knowing -- and all his friends are dead! What the fuck.

The likely explanation is probably something lame, like the reward they all got for completing the journey was a lot less grand or the friendship they forged was the real reward or their places in heaven didn't come with immortality attached. There are multiple kinds of immortality -- agelessness, super hard to kill and completely unkillable -- so the other companions could have all been killed at some point even if they did get immortality technically, which would be really interesting for Wukong honestly!

Shu Wujing and Zhu Bajie are characterised as demons in LMK (which isn't accurate to the novel but they are seen as monstrous so fair) so the two of them having the ageless/hard to kill kind of Demon immortality I imagine DBK and Red Son have makes sense. I've heard some theories that Sandy is Shu Wujing -- as in the same one who went on the journey and not a reincarnation -- but I think the show has a lot of evidence against that.

Dragons are super important in Chinese myth and are defiantly immortal in the show, seeing as we've met the Great Dragon of the East, but whether or not they can be killed is very up in the air. There aren't any myths where a dragon dies and they can apparently "shed their mortal bodies" which could mean Ao Lie's spirit is still lingering around and has maybe attached itself to Mei, but then that begs the question of why he would leave his body behind in the first place. Just like with the theory about Shu Wujing, I have seen some theories that Ao Lie is still alive -- given that Mei isn't his reincarnation as I've covered in a different rant -- but if he was still alive I think introducing him to us in the scroll in s4 wouldn't mean as much.

Tang Sanzang is completely mortal so if enlightenment doesn't equal immortality then his death makes perfect sense. He is also the reincarnation of Golden Cicada -- one of the Buddha's original disciples who was punished for not listening to him, forcing him to live out 10 mortal lives in the east before being given a chance to re-enter "paradise" as Tang Sanzang -- which is interesting but doesn't really help us figure this stuff out. It just reinforces the reincarnation thing honestly.

Sun Wukong is obviously still alive in LMK and his entire motivation at the start of the novel -- even more so in the show I'd argue -- was to become immortal and never die, which he succeeds at before the journey even starts. Him being unable to die is the whole reason he's sent on the journey at all, seeing as the Jade Emperor can't execute him for his crimes and I don't think anyone expected that mountain to hold him down forever.

So... What killed the great companions?

Something dramatic I'm hoping. I can defiantly see the five of them risking their lives to protect the world, all of them dying except Sun Wukong for obvious reasons, or maybe just 4 of them did the sacrifice whilst Wukong kicked ass. There's a lot of angst potential here to be unpacked that I would love to see someone take advantage of, especially if in someway their deaths were Wukong's fault. It would give reason to why he stayed in isolation after sealing away DBK or even for why the Heavenly host doesn't seem to like him at all despite his redemption.

I did a lot of research for this but I'm no expert, just an enthusiast, so I'm sure I've messed somethings up. I've tried to source where I got my information from but I'm also dyslexic and probably have some undiagnosed neurodivergence effecting my attention span so research is kind hard for me, but I've tried my best.

I'm very interested to hear what other people have to say about this. I doubt it'll be covered in the show, but then again I didn't think self sacrifice would be a major plot point so who knows! I think covering the deaths of all of Wukong's friends would be a bit too dark but anything can happen! I just hope it's interesting.

[eliasiis]

break

pairing: platonic aether n scara

word count: 1.3k

so what am i supposed to call scara if i write about him?? i kept scara as his name because what else am i sposed to do. anyway i haven't done the archon quest yet forgive my transgressions and anything i mightve messed up about him

"Traveler! Traveler, wake up!"

Ugh.

Aether rubs his eyes with one hand, waving his other hand around in hopes of gently batting Paimon away. In his drowsiness, he completely misses.

"Hey, watch where you wave those! And wake up, we have a guest!" His companion says, opting to just shake him rather than uselessly yelling.

With a sour expression, the traveler sits up. "What guest? Who... Is it Hu Tao again? Tell her I can't find customers right now..." He's about to go back to sleep, but a swift kick to his side has him reeling instead. It didn't even hurt that much, not really, but it was unexpected. Paimon isn't big enough to kick him like that, so...

"Wake up. It's not a request."

Blearily blinking up at him, Aether stares up at the familiar blue-clad wanderer.

He can't even begin to imagine how Scara had gotten to Liyue, much less how he'd found out where they'd been sleeping. Hesitantly, he stands up and shakes the sleep off. "Alright, sure. I won't ask how you got here. What's up?"

"So you finally know what's good for you, huh?" That mischievous smirk always seems to find it's way to Scara's face. Before, it would make Aether's skin crawl. Now, he regards it with a fond exasperation. "You're coming with me."

Aether isn't a stranger to being dragged along with whoever decides they want his company, but hearing it from Scara almost gives him whiplash. He dramatically sighs, but he doesn't plan to decline. "Sure, but..." He looks back at the tent, and his many, many irreplaceable things (his bag, a bit of food he'd bought from the markets in Liyue- All that's really irreplaceable there is Paimon.) "It'll take a while for me to pack all of this up."

Paimon pipes in, helpful for once. "Paimon will watch the tent!" She pushes Aether further from the tent, giggling. "Go! Don't leave me for too long, okay?"

Ruffling her hair, Aether grins at her. She bats at his hands, but smiles anyway. "Thanks, Paimon. Where to?"

... ◇ 》

They've been wandering forever. Sure, Aether is a traveler, but he and Paimon take their time. They like to take breaks, despite the fact that he's never even seen paimon use her legs to tire them out.

But apparently, Scara can speedwalk as he sees fit and just doesn't stop.

"Speed it up, slowpoke. I don't have time for you to take forever." Scara turns around, finally stopping in his tracks.

"Scara, hold on!" Aether pants, running his hands through his hair. "Why don't we... Take a break for a minute?"

Scara glares.

Aether puts up his best puppy eyes.

Nobody can resist, not even Scara. He scoffs, but doesn't disagree.

"Fine. Come on."

Scara leads Aether to a lake just a few feet away from them. He sits on the grass, but Aether takes a different approach. He undoes his braid and runs his fingers through long, blonde strands before lowering himself into the water.

It's cold, but he's used to it. Dragonspine had prepared him for any and all cold temperatures long ago.

"What are you doing? I hope you know that you'll have to walk around like a wet dog after this." Scara sneers, but Aether just grins.

"Fine with me!" He knows he might get a cold, but Tighnari is always available for things like that. Baizhu or Qiqi at Bubu Pharmacy as well. He's always well taken care of. "Why don't you come in as well?"

"Eugh, no way. I don't want to get wet, much less sit in that lake with you of all people." He says, turning his nose up.

"Alright. You've offended me for the last time. You're getting in." He climbs out of the water and grabs Scara's arm. Scara tries to shake him off, but it's known well that Aether is a whole lot physically stronger than he looks.

"Get your filthy hands off of me!"

"No way! You hurt my feelings, Scara, you have to make up for it."

"I don't have to make up for anything, you're vile scum! Get off, you'll get me wet!"

Trying to drag Scara in with him, Aether grabs at his sleeves but misses and grabs his side instead. The shriek that comes after has both of them silent and unmoving.

Aether grins evilly.

"Hey, Scara..."

"No!" Scara smacks Aether's hand away from him and scrambles to move away, but Aether's already grabbed his leg and pulled him back before he can stand.

"Scara..~" He says in a teasing, sing-song like voice and Scara pushes his face away with one hand and tries desperately to shove him with the other. "I know what that was, Scara. You can't hide from me..."

"No! Get away from me!" Scara kicks his legs as violently as possible, but Aether is strong and fast and has straddled him before he can even process what happened.

And then Aether shoves his hands underneath the layers of his clothes and they did nothing to protect him in the first place.

"Any last words?"

"I'll kill you!"

Aether rolls his eyes at the empty threat. "I'm sure you will." He squeezes at Scara's sides, and the reaction is immediate.

"NO! I'll seriously kill you- AAGH, STOP!" Scara slams his arms down to his sides, but that does nothing except make the unbearably ticklish feeling worse. He's already cackling, and in an attempt to save his little remaining dignity he tries to shove Aether away. "S-Stohop! Trahaveler- You ahahare soho dead!"

"Ehehe. Look how cute you look! Aww, are you blushing?" Aether completely ignores those threats in favor of saying things he knows will provoke Scara further. He pushes up Scara's shirt and uses all ten fingers to scratch at his lower stomach, cooing at him the whole time. "Awh, aren't you just the cutest lil thing?"

Scara grabs at Aether's wrist and uses all of his strength to push him off, but his effort is wasted. It seems Aether is so determined to tickle him to death that nothing could deter him and Scara hates him for it.

"Stop teheheasing mee!" It sounds like more of a whine than the demand he meant it to be, and combined with the giddy, ticklish feeling he's being forced to endure it makes him flush. He's so embarrassed, he wants the ground to swallow him up. He arches his back and fails as much as possible, but nothing he does lessens that feeling at all and he's going to kill that idiot traveler, he swears he will.

"How can I? Your laugh is just the cutest thing I've ever heard, I can't even," Aether laughs a bit too, hearing Scara laugh for any reason other than someone else's expense just makes him want to stay like this forever. He sounds so... Happy. His laugh is so bright and bouncy and at this point, Aether really can't help it. He lowers his hands to Scara's hips and starts squeezing.

Scara fully squeals and his squirming increases tenfold. "Nononono! Stop, stohohop! N-not there- Nnnhahahh-" He pushes at the ground and he almost squirms a little further away, but again Aether just pulls him back and keeps going. If this keeps up, he's going to actually drop dead before he can kill Aether for daring to do this to him. He just starts smacking where ever he can reach- Aether's arm, or his face, but he's already so weak that it has no effect. "MERCY!! Mercy!!"

It stops.

Aether, still grinning, moves off and sits next to Scara's panting form. "You okay?"

"I will kill you. I will make you wish you'd never been born. Do you understand what I'm saying to you, Traveler? I will end you." He's really just trying to compensate for the embarrassing pleading he'd just done, but if he died, how was he supposed to murder Aether as revenge?

"Right, right. Do you wanna get moving now?"

"No. Let me rest."

Aether smiles at Scara. His eyes are closed, and he looks incredibly pissed off. Aether will accept any form of revenge, because that was so worth it.

He'll make good use of that.

[bubbblesss000]

ANTIMONY

Antimony represents the wild and animalistic parts of human nature~

an Edward Elric x reader fanfiction.

~02~

Edward, Alphonse, and Y/N were gathered in Roy Mustang's office, completely engrossed in unravelling the mystery surrounding Father Cornello's chimera. The flickering candlelight created a mesmerising play of shadows on the walls, intensifying the aura of suspense in the room. With unwavering resolve shining in his golden eyes, Edward leaned in, his automail hand tightly clenched. Alphonse, the younger sibling, sat close by, his armour reflecting the light. Y/N, their steadfast companion, observed them with fascination.

"How could Father Cornello create a chimera without a real Philosopher's Stone or being an alchemist himself?" Edward pondered aloud, his mind racing with possibilities. "There must be some other way he achieved it. Something we're missing."

Alphonse nodded thoughtfully, his voice echoing softly from within his armour. "Maybe there's a different source of power we haven't considered yet. Something beyond our current knowledge."

Y/N, ever the optimist, spoke up, her voice filled with hope. "Perhaps this could be the key to getting your bodies back without relying on the Philosopher's Stone."

Roy suddenly spoke up from his desk, "I know someone who specialises in making chimeras, he might be able to help."

The group leaned in, eager to hear more as Roy revealed information about Shou Tucker, the Sewing Life Alchemist. They knew they had to explore the idea of seeking his assistance.

As Roy's car pulled up to Shou Tucker's residence, Ed, Al, and you stepped out, feeling a mix of anticipation and unease. The house loomed before you, its windows dark and its facade silent. Roy led the way to the front door, his expression unreadable as he knocked firmly. After a few moments, the door creaked open, revealing Shou Tucker standing in the doorway, a smile on his face. He led them inside and they all sat around his kitchen table and the three teens ask how he got his certification. Tucker's eyes sparkled with excitement as he recounted the rigorous exams and challenges he had faced to obtain his state alchemist certification. His passion for alchemy was palpable as he described the intricate transmutation circles he had mastered and the innovative experiments he had conducted. He tells them about the first chimera he made that could speak. He left them shocked. But the only thing the creature said was “i want to die” but that chimera was enough to earn him his certification.

Shou Tucker listened intently as the Elric brothers explained their desperate quest to restore their bodies. Edward recounted the tragic day they attempted human transmutation, resulting in the loss of his arm and leg, and Alphonse's entire body. The guilt and determination in their voices were palpable as they shared their journey to find the Philosopher's Stone, the key to their restoration.

As Edward spoke, his golden eyes reflected the pain of their past mistakes and the hope for a brighter future. Alphonse's armour clanked softly as he nodded in agreement, his voice resonating from within the hollow shell. Shou Tucker could sense the sincerity and desperation in the brothers' words.

Touched by their story, Shou Tucker offered his assistance, he explained how he did not know how to help them but gave the three full access to his research library in his home. The group were suddenly interrupted by a small girl, who was identified as nina Shou Tucker's daughter. (Y/N) innocently asks where her mother, Mrs Tucker is. Shou sadly explains that his wife left the two of them two years prior to go live with her mother.

Tucker walks the teens down to his research library and tells them they have all day to go through it, no rush.

As Ed, Al, and Y/N delved deeper into the chimera research, their focus was unwavering. The hours slipped by unnoticed as they pored over notes and diagrams, each lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly, the sound of small footsteps and the jingle of a dog's collar broke the silence. Nina and her faithful dog, Alexander, had arrived, their presence unexpected but not unwelcome.

Nina's bright eyes sparkled with curiosity as she peered over their shoulders, taking in the intricate details of the research spread out before them. Alexander wagged his tail happily, his tongue lolling out in a canine grin. Ed, Al, and Y/N exchanged surprised glances, not expecting her to come and visit them.

"Hello, Nina," Ed greeted her warmly, a hint of concern in his voice. "What brings you here?" Nina's response was a simple smile, her gaze lingering on the papers scattered across the table. It was clear that she was drawn to the teens and wanted to play. They obliged with her request and joined her outside. 

The three found themselves caught up in a game of fetch with Nina and her energetic dog in her lush garden. Laughter filled the air as the dog bounded back and forth, tail wagging with excitement. Nina's eyes sparkled with joy as she watched her beloved pet frolic with her new friends. The simple pleasure of the moment was a welcome escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

After that (Y/N) helped Nina make a flower crown from the wild flowers that covered the lush grass as the boys kept playing with Alexander, not long after Nina was using alphonse as a slide wearing her new flower crown. After playing with her for a while they returned to their research, soon the day flew by and it was sundown. They asked Tucker if they could come back the next day to carry on going through the research, Shou agreed and they left. 

As they stepped out of Jean Havoc's car, the air was heavy with the promise of rain. Y/N pulled their jacket tighter around them, feeling a shiver run down their spine. Edward adjusted his automail arm, a thoughtful expression on his face, while Alphonse scanned the horizon. The trio made their way towards Tucker's home. The sound of their footsteps echoed on the path, the only other noise being the distant rumble of thunder. 

As they reached the door, the first raindrops started to fall, pattering softly on the pavement. Edward glanced up at the darkening sky, as Al knocked on the door but it was already open ajar. 

Edward, Alphonse, and (Y/N) exchanged worried glances as they made their way through the silent house. The absence of any response to their calls only added to the sense of unease that hung heavy in the air. The once warm and welcoming home now felt cold and foreboding, as if holding its breath in anticipation of some unknown event.

As they moved from room to room, their footsteps echoing in the empty corridors, a feeling of dread settled in the pit of their stomachs. Shou and Nina were nowhere to be found, and the mystery of their sudden disappearance only deepened as they searched every nook and cranny of the house. The familiar surroundings now seemed unfamiliar, casting long shadows that danced menacingly on the walls.

Just as they were about to give up hope, a faint sound caught their attention. It was a soft whimper, almost imperceptible, coming from the direction of the basement. Without hesitation, they rushed towards the source of the sound, their hearts pounding in their chests. As they descended the creaky stairs leading to the basement, a sense of urgency gripped them, driving them forward into the unknown depths below.

Ed, Al, and Y/N followed Shou Tucker into the dimly lit basement, their curiosity piqued by his eagerness. As they entered, a strange mix of anticipation and unease settled over them. In the centre of the room stood a large cage covered by a thick cloth. Tucker's eyes gleamed with excitement as he pulled back the fabric to reveal his creation.

Before them stood a creature unlike anything they had ever seen. It was a fusion of different animals, stitched together in a grotesque display of alchemy. The chimera's eyes held a haunting intelligence, and its movements were both graceful and unnatural. Ed and Al exchanged a worried glance, sensing the dark implications of Tucker's experiment. Shou beamed with pride as his new chimera successfully uttered the name "Edward" at his command. The three teens, mesmerised by the creature's abilities, couldn't help but marvel at the spectacle before them. However, their fascination quickly turned to unease as the chimera unexpectedly spoke once more, this time uttering the words "big brother...big brother ed."

The atmosphere shifted in an instant, a sense of foreboding settling over the group. Shou's expression changed from one of excitement to one of confusion and concern. The teens exchanged wary glances, unsure of what to make of the chimera's cryptic words. Was it merely a coincidence, or was there something more sinister at play?

As the chimera continued to repeat the phrase, its voice taking on a haunting quality, a chill ran down the teens' spines. The once-impressive display now felt like a harbinger of something dark and ominous. Shou, realising the gravity of the situation, attempted to regain control over his creation, but the chimera seemed to have a will of its own, its gaze fixed on a point beyond their sight. They stood in shock as they realised the horrifying truth of what Shou had done to Nina and what he did to his wife. The air was heavy with tension as Edward's eyes bore into Shou, demanding answers. "Where are Nina and Alexander?" Edward's voice was firm, his fists clenched at his sides. Shou remained silent, his gaze shifting uneasily from one person to the other. Ed stepped forward, "You need to tell us what you've done, Shou.." His voice was calm but carried a sense of urgency. Y/N crouched beside the chimera, her heart heavy with dread at the thought of what might have happened to the innocent young girl and her pet. Ed's anger flared up, Alphonse quickly intervened, placing himself between his brother and Shou Tucker. Alphonse's calm voice broke through the tension, reminding Ed of the consequences of losing control. Meanwhile, (Y/N) knelt beside the chimera, offering gentle words and a comforting touch to ease its distress. The chimera's sad noises slowly subsided as it leaned into your warmth, finding solace in her presence.Seeing the impact of his outburst on the innocent creature, Ed's anger began to dissipate. He swallowed his pride and approached Nina and the chimera, his expression heavy with guilt. With a heavy heart, he apologised to Nina, explaining that despite their alchemical skills, there was no way to reverse the irreversible fusion that had taken place. The creature looked up at Ed with tear-filled eyes, understanding the weight of his words.

The tension inside Havoc's car was palpable as they watched the military officers confiscating Shou Tucker's research. Edward's hands clenched into fists, his jaw set in determination. Alphonse sat silently beside him, his metal body reflecting the dim light of the evening. And you, (Y/N), couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that settled in the pit of your stomach. As the military officers loaded boxes of documents into their vehicles, Havoc turned the car on and drove off wordlessly. Edward, Alphonse, and (Y/N) arrive back at HQ and are sat in Roy's office, the weight of his words hanging heavy in the air. The flickering flames in the office's fireplace cast dancing shadows on the walls, adding an eerie ambiance to the serious conversation at hand. Roy's expression is grave as he continues to address the three of you, his subordinates who are now faced with the harsh realities of being state alchemists. He speaks of the darkness that lurks in the corners of the world, the kind of evil that can only be combated with equal measures of strength and sacrifice. The mention of potentially being ordered to commit atrocities sends a chill down your spine, the implications sinking in with a heavy finality. Edward's jaw tightens, his golden eyes reflecting a mixture of determination and unease, while Alphonse listens attentively, his armour-clad form a stoic presence in the room. Ed exclaims that even with all his abilities, he couldn't save a single little girl. He storms out, with Alphonse trailing behind, leaving (y/n) sitting alone with her father. The room was quiet for a while before Roy says “You know this is why your mother was against this.” (Y/N) replies looking at her feet “Yeah I know.” the room was quiet once again, (Y/N) got up and walked towards the door “I'm going home, see you later”. After (Y/N) left Roy Mustang's office, the phone rang, and Roy picked it up. It was Maes Hughes on the line, his voice tense and urgent. Maes informed Roy that Shou Tucker, the Sewing Life Alchemist, and his daughter had been found dead. The news sent a chill down Roy's spine. The serial killer targeting state alchemists, Scar, had struck again, leaving a trail of death and destruction in his wake.

[i-had-bucky]

Okay, my actual unfiltered veilguard thoughts! Keep in mind this is pretty much overwhelmingly positive. I adore this game; it is pretty much my IDEAL dragon age game.

So, the only complaints I have, I'll get out of the way right off: I wish we could take unlocked transmogs into new playthroughs, and I wish we could customize the inquisitor's prosthetic.

Other than that, though? This is my favorite game. It just edged out Jedi: Survivor. Of note: I played a crow and romanced Lucanis. I have seen the other romances, though I haven't played them yet. Lucanis's romance is my favorite. It's soft and sweet and full of yearning. I think being a Crow makes it better. You have to save Treviso to be able to romance him, which makes complete sense to me because Treviso is DEVASTATED if you choose Minrathous. So I haven't really understood the people saying it feels like a bug. Treviso is far worse than Minrathous if left to the blight and Lucanis is the effective head of the Crows; he's too busy for romance and doesn't trust that you'll come through for him. Also, I heard you don't get the imprisoned-in-his-mind scene if you save minrathous, which explains A LOT of the complaints I've seen about him as a character. To me, that's necessary to understand what he's going through, which is a lot, but if you put the work in, his romance is sooo worth it. It has joined Shakarian in my favorite video game romance.

The story is fantastic. The twist Got Me. Much like Rook, I ignored all the signs that are obvious in a subsequent playthrough because I didn't want to believe it! So it punched me in the gut and made me cry! But the reveal is a beautiful part of the story and definitely one of my favorites. Also, yes, I did sit there going surely the god of lies and trickery isn't lying and tricking me THIS TIME every time. It was great 10/10 no notes; love solas. Yes i did call him a lying flea bag and threaten to stab him. Still gave him his happy ending tho.

Also! The way all the sidequests are important to the main quest!! I love it! I love that decisions you make early in the game have an effect later! I love the reactivity. I love the choices; i love that there are sometimes huge consequences. This has always been one of my main complaints about video games, and dav gives it to me beautifully. Everything felt meaningful, from the side quests to building relationships with the factions, and with the companions.

Rook is my favorite video game protagonist ever. I love them. I was already sold, but the hand puns in Arlathan made it BETTER. I like that they are their own character, that they're kind of silly and snarky, but more than all of that, i love that they struggle! They struggle with the leadership, with building trust among their companions, with feeling like they're good enough. The scene in the infirmary after you get back from the fade prison just. It was so good. Also!! The fact that Rook can be nonbinary and it COMES UP IN THE GAME, IN THE STORY, THAT YOU CAN TALK ABOUT IT AND HOW MUCH IT MEANS TO THEM. That in itself would have sold the game for me, honestly. It meant so much to me to have that. I cried about it.

Anyway, longwinded way of me saying I love this game, I will play it forever; it means so much to me. If you're still on the fence about it, I do recommend it. I recommend it especially for anyone who liked mass effect 2 because it felt a lot like that at points.

[carriagelamp]

I don't know what to say here this month. February, eh? Hate February, the Thursday of months, I'm just clinging to sanity while I wait for spring. Here are the books that helped me through what is basically a month of overcast skies and fucking winter rain.

Candy Color Paradox v6

Candy Color Paradox is a series I’ve been reading for years now and I’ve really enjoyed how the relationship in this one has progressed over that time. It started somewhat similar to how you’d expect a yaoi manga to start — lots of tension, drama, smut, and some light antagonism between the two main characters who both work at the same weekly magazine. But it’s eased into something that’s really quite genuine. This most recent volume focused entirely on moving in together and all the little complications and insecurities that arise because of that.

Circus of Fear

A 1980s D&D choose your own adventure novel so the quality is exactly what you would expect, but at the very least it was a fun little diversion. Doing a CYOA book with a friend can honestly be a blast, they just feel so silly, and the setting of a magical, vaguely sinister circus is always an enjoyable backdrop. We managed to get a good ending on the second try! So yay! I'd honestly like to read it again and try some of the other routes that also sounding intriguing.

Dungeon Meshi // Delicious in Dungeon v1

Me and my girlfriend started watching Dungeon Meshi because we’d seen so much about it on tumblr lately and wow. Just wow. It really is doing something special and we’re completely enamoured. Since we’re waiting for new episodes, I picked up the first book so we could compare it and the show — it’s really impressive how closely they align! And the art is really lovely, it stands out and not just for it's food glamour shots.

For those who haven't been seduced into watching the anime yet: Dungeon Meshi / Delicious in Dungeon is a DND-style parody in which the adventuring party needs to enter the monster-filled dungeon to save one of their companions who got eaten by a red dragon. They need to get to her and revive her before she entirely digested. However, to hasten their quest (and indulge one of their member’s strange obsessions) they begin to hunt and eat the monsters that fill the dungeon instead of trying to bring food in from the outside. This is 80% a cooking anime and 20% a comedic adventure anime. Book or show, doesn’t matter which, you should give it a try if you haven’t.

Down Among the Sticks and Bones

I really enjoyed the first book of the series, Every Heart A Doorway, and was excited when I found out there was a prequel about Jack and Jill and the world they visited. This can either be read as a prequel or it works fairly well as a stand-alone novella; the story is about twin sisters who have always been forced to fill very precise societal roles by their parents. One afternoon, they stumble across a magical door in the bottom of a chest and venture down into the sinister world of the moors where one sister is taken in by a vampire lord and the other by a mad scientist. The story looks at how the sisters grow and change when apart from each other and their controlling parents. Excellent story, the language is just so enticing.

Midnight Sun

My brother has been watching all the Twilight movies with a couple of his friends. Listening to him bitch about Jacob like it was 2007 reawakened something in me, so after laughing myself sick I had to go and relisten to Midnight Sun. Still genuinely and unironically love this book, it’s pure trash but by god it's my trash. I’m a simple soul.

Odder

I’ve been hearing great things about this book, and it’s hard to go wrong with Katherine Applegate so I was excited to finally read it. This is a book written entirely in free verse poetry about an orphaned otter and her experiences being rescued by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It’s inspired by a true story (several true stories, actually!) and it's very worth picking up even if you don't usually go for poetry. It's charming and reads very easily.

Old-Fashioned Cupcake

A middle-aged salaryman is feeling worn down by the humdrum nature of his life, which is filled mostly with work these days. This manga kicks off with his coworker suggests that if he wants to deal with the feelings of boredom and aging, then he needs to do something to shake up his life: so he suggests that they “act like a pair of teenage girls” and go to a fancy new pancake shop just because it seems fun, never mind that it’s not something grown men are supposed to do. This manga ended up being pretty darn cute -- it was slow and compassionate and loving -- and it managed to convince me to buy its sequel.

Professor Calculus: Science’s Forgotten Genius

A ridiculous little book I bought on impulse that was nevertheless a lot of fun to read. It’s a tribute to Cuthbert Calculus, celebrating the 80th anniversary of his first appearance in Tintin. It dives into some of the inspirations that went into the character, and also lovingly and cheekily explores some "facts" we know about Calculus as a person… and wildly extrapolates more from there. It was a cute little read for anyone who’s a fan of the series and wants something a little extra.

Return to Oz

I recently rewatched this movie and maintain that I like it more than the original film, sorry. It made me decide to grab the novelization because I’m always a sucker for a novelization <3 This one was pretty solid too, it actually included details that were left out of the film and improve the stories overall cohesion which is always the marker of a good novelization.

Return to Oz takes place several months after the original film, when Aunty Em and Uncle Henry are trying to build a new house and get the farm back in order before winter. Concerned by Dorothy’s continued belief in Oz and her increased insomnia, Aunty Em decides to take her to a doctor who offers healing through electroshock therapy. Yeah, it’s exactly as fucking creepy as it sounds… You get a scary aslyum, a sinister head nurse, being strapped to a hospital gurney, and new baddies that scared the bejeezus out of me as a kid. Anyway, before she can be electrocuted, Dorothy manages to escape back to Oz where she discovers her friends are in dire need of help. It’s like Alice: Madness Returns but from Disney. Go watch this movie.

She Drives Me Crazy

I had very mixed feelings about this book. It’s about high school basketball player, Scottie, who has suffered a bad breakup with her girlfriend who moved schools to play on the opposing basketball team. Things go from bad to worse when she gets into a car accident with her arch-nemesis, the cheerleader Irene. One things lead to another and bada bing bada boom we have a fake dating scheme so that Scottie can get back at her ex.

This book had some genuinely fun moments (I’m always a sucker for a fake dating scheme, and the characters were reasonably fun) but it’s biggest failing is one that I’ve seen more than I like in current queer lit. It just tries so. fucking. hard. to be unproblematic. Like yeah, it’s great to see healthy relationships but it was SO explicit about it. So much therapy speak, way more than feels natural for a conversation or internal monolgue, especially when they’re in high emotions. The “banter” was very scripted. It was a book that felt like it had a laugh track. And while the ending was satisfying enough, it was also… I don’t know. Anticlimactic. We just spent so long tying everything up in a perfectly neat little bow that it really just strolled to an ending that was obvious from a mile away. 

Like look, I get it, we want this to be squeaky clean and beyond reproach, but I have NEVER entered a fake dating story hoping that everyone was going to be really sensible and respectful and level-headed. Fake dating is the slapstick of the romance world, I want some Shakespearean level bullshit, please don’t try to gussy it up for me. Gonna go and rewatch 10 Things I Hate About You or something just to feel things again. Or maybe pop over to AO3, your average fic writer at least understands that when I say fake dating I mean I want something absolutely fucking unhinged and filled to the gill with mutual pining.

So yeah, if you want a sports-based high school sapphic romance: it’s not a bad book. It went down easy, I liked listening to it in the mornings when I needed something light before work. Some bits I even quite enjoyed. But it’s not going to rock your world.

Shuna’s Journey

Well, if nothing else you can really, definitely tell this was done by Hayoa Miyazaki. I’m honestly not really sure how I felt about it. The art was beautiful, and the story was pure undiluted Miyazaki through and through. The narrative was very nice. The story and message was poignant. It was a nice book. I can’t say it’s stuck very heavily in my mind, but I enjoyed reading it. It felt like a precursor to Princess Monoke / Nausicaa, perhaps?

The Witches

The story of one child and his grandmother needing to contend with witches. Not fairytale witches. Real witches. And all their horrible, child-hating ways. One thing I will always love about Dahl is that when he wants to write about something Horrible, nothing will stop him. His villains are truly villainous and the witches are a prime example of that! I loved the description of the witches and their horrible, sinister deeds, especially in the first half of the book. This sure is Child Murder: The Novel! The ending was absolutely not what I was expecting, and I appreciate that. Such a bizarre book.

[phantomknights]

Interlude Chapter - One Step Towards Heaven

Requirements: Reach Adventure Rank 40. Complete Archon Quest Chapter II - Omnipresence Over Mortals.

Objectives:

-Take a stroll through Inazuma City

-Investigate the jeering crowd

-Talk to the lead performer

Inazuma City is as lively as ever when you walk through the busy streets of Tenryou that afternoon. After quelling the crisis in Fontaine, you and your loyal traveling companion decided that you deserve a relaxing break, and since it's been a while since you visited the nation of eternity, Inazuma became your first stop on the vacation trip. True to its ideal, it seems exactly as you left it; thankfully, there were no further catastrophic events while you were away.

Paimon’s head bobs to and fro as she floats along beside you, caught up in enjoying the scenery and, surely, the delicious scents of various restaurants and street vendors.

You feel a tug on your scarf—when you turn, Paimon is staring up at you with big, shiny eyes and pointing over at Shimura’s, which seems to have a couple seats open. She says nothing, instead she only whimpers pleadingly. With perfect timing, her stomach gurgles for emphasis.

It couldn't hurt to get lunch, you figure as you nod and take a seat in front of the counter. It's already been a few hours since breakfast, after all. You let Paimon indulge in the establishment’s signature tonkotsu ramen, and for yourself you order a helping of yakisoba.

Paimon eagerly slurps down a mouthful of noodles, letting out a satisfied aahh. “It really feels like it's been forever since we've been back in Inazuma, don't you think, Traveler?”

Shimura seems to take note of this and strolls up to your seats, smiling with a crinkle in his brow. “Back to visit, eh? If you’ve been gone for a while, might I recommend something interesting to see on your trip?”

Her eyes light up and she gasps so quickly she coughs on another bite of noodles. Sheepishly, she wipes her mouth, then she grins at the restaurant’s owner. “Something interesting? Like what?”

“I hear a local kabuki troupe is performing downtown,” Shimura says. He raises a finger to point down the street, and Paimon promptly turns to look. “See that street there, by the bridge? There should be a stage set up by the bend. I can't quite recall the troupe’s name, but I know they haven't performed around here in about a year. I’m not sure if stage plays are you younguns’ style, but I would certainly have a look myself if I weren't stuck here running the shop.”

Paimon hums, a hand resting contemplatively on her chin. “Hmm… Aren't kabuki plays really long? We’ve probably missed a bit of it by now.” She turns to you, head tilted inquisitively. “What do you think, Traveler? Should we go watch an act or two?”

You've never seen an Inazuman play before. It might be a nice refresher from the Fontaine-style courtroom dramas after… everything. You're still processing that, honestly. You nod to Paimon, and she cheers.

“Alright! Thank you for the recommendation, Grampa Shimura!” With that, she goes back to devouring her ramen with even more ferocity than before—how is she even holding the chopsticks properly with those tiny hands?!

When the two of you are done eating, you bow goodbye to Shimura and set off down the street. Before you can turn the corner by the bridge, though, you start to hear… booing?

Paimon crosses her arms, appearing to have noticed it too. “Do you hear that? Is that the play? That's really weird, let's go see what's going on.”

You pick up the pace and soon you take sight of a sparse crowd in front of a small stage. On the stage are two actors in elaborate costumes and makeup, and off to the side in clothing colored to match her surroundings is a girl playing her shamisen. Some of the spectators are jeering profanity, and yet the performers dance on, expertly exchanging choreographed blows and reciting their lines with perfect timing.

There must be some kind of cue that you miss, as one actor, the smaller boy with green and red hair, pivots on his foot mid-spin and defiantly raises his prop sword. “Foul beast of the Abyss!” he declares, landing in a cool action pose. “In the name of the Almighty Shogun, I will vanquish you! May all vile monsters of darkness remember my name and shake in fear—for I am Takamine the Mistsplitter!”

The boy on the other end of the stage, whose costume is starting to look more like a very detailed puppet, raises his “claws” and lets out a booming snarl. As his foot slams to the floor, you feel your surroundings just slightly shake, and only then do you notice the Vision discreetly tied to the actor’s thigh on his side facing away from the audience. A Geo Vision, to be precise; that would explain the creative practical effects.

Both actors strike at the same time, blade meeting the monster’s claws, until a loud CRACK! sounds and the sword falls to pieces.

Paimon jumps at the loud noise and clings to your shoulder, and thanks to her you snap out of your captivated state long enough to realize that everyone else is still booing.

The play goes on in spite of them, with “Takamine the Mistsplitter” trying in vain to defend himself with only half a sword. You already know how this story ends, having learned nearly every detail about Inazuma’s battle with the Abyss on your various adventures. Still, there's something fascinating about seeing someone act it out, hundreds of years in the future. Keeping these people's names and stories alive through art.

Eventually the crowd seems to get bored at the lack of reaction to their harassment and slowly disperses until only you and Paimon remain. At that point, the girl beside the stage sighs deeply, lays down her shamisen, and calls out, “Yuuya.”

“Takamine” turns to her mid-monologue, pouting a little in a manner that doesn't quite match his extravagant kabuki makeup. “I’m not Yuuya,” he chides. “I’m Takamine the Mistsplitter.”

“Yuuya,” the girl huffs again, “no one's watching. We're not going to get any viewers like this.”

Paimon whines, drawing both of their attention. Their eyes snap to her. “We were watching,” she points out, prying off of you to wave at them. “Paimon thought you were really good! And the guy in the monster costume was really scary!”

Yuuya beams, suddenly disregarding his script and hopping off the stage towards you. He wobbles for a bit on the landing, flailing his arms around a moment for balance (you hear Paimon try not to laugh) before he straightens, cups his hands behind his back and deeply bows.

“Why, thank you!” he declares as he rights himself up. “Costume design and scriptwriting are done by yours truly—Sakaki Yuuya. Say…” He tilts his head, leaning in curiously. “I haven't seen anyone like you two around here before! Might you be a traveler? I’m honored you took time out of your surely busy itinerary to stop and see our show!”

“A traveler,” the pink-haired girl in back deadpans. “You can't be serious. You don't know them?”

Paimon oohs and turns to the pink-haired girl, then points at you encouragingly. “You've heard of us? This is the Traveler, and Paimon is Paimon!”

The girl stands and approaches with a hand on her hip. The other hand you barely see before she bonks Yuuya on the top of the head. “You don't know the Traveler?!” she berates him. “The Traveler who's been going around Teyvat solving crises left and right? The Traveler who's the reason you still have a Vision? That Traveler?”

“Oww,” Yuuya whimpers, rubbing his head. “No one told me about that! I was locked in trying to not get my Vision taken!”

“So was I, and even I know what happened!”

The girl clears her throat, straightens, and bows to you politely. “Hiiragi Yuzu, very nice to meet you. Please don't mind him. He's a bit of a dolt.”

“Am not!”

She elbows him.

“And over there”—she gestures towards the other actor, disassembling the puppet as you talk—”is Gongenzaka. We're the You Show Kabuki Troupe. We do shows here in the city every now and then.”

“Looks like a lot of fun! But, um…” Paimon twiddles her thumbs. “If it's not rude for Paimon to ask, why was everyone booing? Paimon thought you guys were good while you were up there.” You nod in agreement with Paimon.

Yuuya and Yuzu wince almost in sync, and you hear Yuuya sucking in a breath through his teeth. They share a glance, and Yuuya gives the slightest nod before looking back at you, shoulders visibly tensed.

“You really wanna know?” he prompts before going any further.

Paimon nods fervently. “When you say it like that, Paimon only gets even more curious!”

“Alright. Let me tell you about my dad…”

[herearedragons]

1 and 5 for your watchers?

Thanks for the ask!

Pillars of Eternity asks

what is your watcher's class? how does it relate to their backstory?

Selene is a cipher! Being a moon godlike, she was raised in a temple of Ondra, and her powers first manifested when she subconsciously made one of the temple's visitors forget a painful memory.

When the priests figured out that she had the power to make people forget, it became her job to do so; at first, she was happy to help people, but removing a memory required interacting with it, which means that, while other people got to forget, she remembered everything.

Eventually the amount of painful memories in her mind became overwhelming and she told her high priestess that she wanted to stop. The priestess then declared that, in that case, Selene must drown herself to let the memories disappear forever; when Selene refused, several of the priests attempted to drown her by force, and very few of them survived the attempt. That was the first time she had ever used her powers to harm someone.

Lorenzo is a chanter. He grew up as a slave of a rich Vailian named Riccardo, and learned his first chants from another slave, a woman by the name of Bianca, who was responsible for him while he was a child. She secretly taught him to use "Blessed Was Wengridh, Quickest Of His Tribe" to complete chores faster, and, when he grew up and was promoted to Riccardo's personal manservant, taught him "Come, Soft Winds Of Death"... just in case. Riccardo's slaves would just disappear sometimes, and, if Lorenzo was ever in danger, she wanted him to have a way out.

Eventually he would learn what happened to the people who disappeared. Riccardo was obsessed with achieving immortality through animancy (purchasing a newborn death godlike to raise as his personal servant was a taunt to Berath more than anything else), and had a machine constructed in his basement that would siphon life energy from the souls of people and transfer it to him. When a slave became too old or weak or disobedient, they would be fed to it - and, one day, it was Bianca's turn.

When Lorenzo found her, it was too late; she had already been in the machine too long to survive. He used "Come, Soft Winds Of Death" for the first time in his life to end her suffering; the chant was supposed to end there, but, after Bianca was gone, it was as if some power took over him. He kept chanting and chanting, unable to stop, for what felt like hours; when he finally stopped, he'd lost his voice and there was a taste of blood in his mouth, and everyone - everyone - in the estate except him was dead. From Master Riccardo to his slaves, to the crops and animals outside. Berath had seized the opportunity and, through the vessel that was Lorenzo, collected the debt of lifetimes that Riccardo owed to the Wheel.

5. what is your favorite party composition in poe and/or poe2?

I haven't played that far in POE2, so I'll answer for POE1!

I tend to keep Edér in the party indefinitely because a) he's my best friend, b) fighter abilities rule. I also keep Durance around for The Heals, and Sagani because a) she's also my best friend, b) I love that she gives me both a ranged fighter and a mini-tank in the shape of Itumaak. I also keep Aloth around a lot for the Good Ranged Spells, but aside from these first three, I swap people around based on vibes and which companion quests I haven't completed yet. (I tried replacing Durance with Hiravias at one point, but it was RoughTM, priest healing spells just hit different. literally.)

Dialogue-wise, I like the combination of Pallegina with about anyone, and I should really bring Maneha around more when I get her in Lorenzo's run, because I read her banter page and it's kind of great.

[forcedhesitation]

I finally got to recruit minthy....and wow. in just mere minutes, she's already infinitely more interesting to me than both halsin and SH. her dialogue is so beautifully written, and it's so interesting to learn about the cult's activities from someone who was forced to act under their control! I am genuinely eager to keep playing the game with her in my party, just to hear everything she has to say.

and I haven't gone very far with her yet, but god, wow, it's really shocking to see the contrast between my first impression of her, and how halsin is handled as a companion throughout the whole game. to be clear, I do like halsin, but that's because I spent a whole campaign trying to learn about him and grew attached to the version of him I rewrote in my head as I played. I find his actual, in-game character to be terribly inconsistent, disappointing, and incredibly bland. I mean, when you first recruit him, you learn things about him that do genuinely sound fascinating. when he tells you that it seems to him that most people do not think his feelings can be hurt, that he feels he was a poor leader, that he was unhappy and felt trapped in the grove...that had my attention! I was hoping the game would expand upon that and we'd learn about how this position of well-respected leadership and near reverence led halsin to feel dehumanised. instead...most of his in-game material is, well, just about sex, to be blunt about it.

after you finish any quest material in which he could have remained a full NPC, there's just...nothing, really. his position in the story is demoted to "eye candy" for the player, and the only scenes he gets are about sex. while I did not have my tav sleep with the drow twins, I know of the information about halsin you learn after this happens. it is WILD to me that the only other way you can even get a HINT about halsin's traumatic experiences in the underdark seems to be by taking him to the house of hope and having him interact with the portal to menzoberranzan, which will prompt him to make a comment about his "misspent youth." why you would lock information like this behind something many players would not want to do, when this character already has SUCH limited material, is completely beyond me. not only this, but it is utter madness to me that the only instances in which halsin can acknowledge the player's relationship to astarion seem to exclusively exist in discussions relating to sex/the act of sex itself. you know, astarion, the guy who wants to be seen as more than just a pretty face? whose story is about reclaiming his bodily autonomy after being abused in every way imaginable for 200 years?? whose romance explicitly requires you, as the player, to respect that he doesn't want to be expected to have sex? like, wow! it is completely bananas to me, that halsin, as he is in game, just. exists alongside a character like astarion. I know they are written by different people, but I have to ask if halsin's writer even thought some of his writing through.... did he think that this wouldn't look bad? because it does look bad!

again, I like the halsin I envision in my head, the story that I would have written for him...but the way he is in game...the weakness of his entire character in comparison to just minutes of minthara's....he just would have been so much better as an NPC because he clearly wasn't added as a companion for the purpose of story. or, I don't know, he should have been written by someone other than the person who wrote the most bland origin, because the writer being the common denominator between the two least interesting companions suggests to me that it's partially an issue on his part. they also could have chosen a different NPC, that would have better suited the role of extra companion, instead of using halsin. like, if there was any NPC that should have been made a possible extra companion, like how minthara is, it's barcus. barcus has a clear, consistent, and well-written story that spans all three acts of the game. he has an important tie to the central narrative of the game by virtue of his association with the ironhand gnomes. just as minthy can be recruited after rescuing her from moonrise, barcus could have been recruited after you rescue wulbren from the moonrise towers' prison and wulbren is a huge asshole bastard to barcus when you get back to the last light. it would have made so, so much more sense than last minute shoehorning halsin into the companion role, just because EA players wanted to fuck him.