#the game might not have my companions comment on it but I have to imagine they do

[the-eldritch-it-gay]

Being a druid, the Shadow Cursed Lands have been rough spiritually and emotionally for Majexatli. So since they were already so low, they figured they might as well take chances with Volo's offer to remove the parasite. They're surprisingly okay with the result, though not thrilled with their new look. Plus it probably wasn't the best impression on newly recruited Halsin, and I have to imagine it gave Karlach and Wyll a fright.

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

VEILGUARD SPOILERS FOR LUCANIS ROMANCE SCENE

I haven't seen anyone post this option version for the first dialogue wheel choice in Lucanis' romance scene yet, but it's by far my favorite because it's one of the few (perhaps even only) opportunities the game gives you to add a little depth to your character and the Lucanis relationship (even if it's never mentioned again). My comment below is just about that one choice and followup but ummmmm i recorded the whole scene anyway just for you know. Me. Anyway...

This is the only "anxiety/alarm" dialogue option I think I picked the whole game, but I think the timing of it is really perfect. Especially with the knowledge that Rook was trapped in the Regret Prison for WEEKS. Even if time moved faster for them, we can still imagine it probably wasn't as fast as it took us the player to go through it. But Rook has just gone through a series of awful things--losing one of their companions (and being the one to consign them to that role), learning Varric has been dead all along, Solas (who they were perhaps just coming to trust) betraying them, being trapped with no idea if they'll be able to leave. And they just got confirmation that Solas was using blood magic to make them hallucinate their dead friend speaking to them, so that they'd fall in line with his plans more easily. So when they're trapped and struggling to escape and suddenly hear their new companions calling to them, and come out to find everyone they hoped was still alive safe and waiting for them... wouldn't they doubt it? At least a little? I mean if Solas REALLY wanted to trap them in the Fade forever, wouldn't this be the absolute best way to do it--by convincing them they ARE out and everything might still be okay? And this is especially great with the Lucanis romance because he (and Spite) are the only one on the team who have first hand experience with that same thing. He escaped the Ossuary but he didn't, truly, at first. He knows what it's like to be trapped somewhere and then not really believe in his own freedom afterward. And THIS time, he gets to be the one comforting Rook, who's been his rock through the whole experience, and Rook gets to be the vulnerable one for a change as he finally steps into the more active/supportive role. I just think it's really nice symmetry, to have an option where the hookup scene is coming from a place of loss/desperation on BOTH of their sides, to convince themselves that everything is real AND there's a chance that everything might actually turn out okay in the end.

[andy-wm]

I’ve just been listening to a podcast about the fabric of reality, and came on here for a bit of downtime. And lo and behold, you’re talking about reality and time passing, and that’s exactly it.

No matter what we think, no matter what we say, or theorise or claim, we don’t alter the truth, and that stands for everything that doesn’t pertain to us.l and our own lives.

I can think the earth is flat till the cows come home (I don’t, obviously) but that doesn’t alter reality. 

Same goes for Jimin and JKs relationship. I’ve seen people claim wild theories, bending and stretching to reach conclusions far outweighing a k drama or blockbuster movie, whereas I personally, think mundanely and simply, that they are together. 

Whose right? We don’t know. 

That’s the truth. We don’t know. 

We may never know, we may find out one day?. 

I’m saying this with a smile on my face because that’s the beauty of life right, as long as we are not harming others, or coming into others spaces and shouting. As long as we aren’t being disrespectful to others, and to Jikooks bond. 

I will say this though, an actual truth people seem to forget or quickly dismiss across the fandom as a whole, is that those men chose to enlist together and whatever we may think of their relationship that is what happened and we should do well to remember that. 

Hey Anon, that's what i call serendipity.

And I love this ask, thank you!

I absolutely agree, what we know - or think we know - has no impact on what truly is.

Even when we believe we know all there is to know, new discoveries and new understanding mean - hopefully - we're constantly learning and reassessing.

When it comes to Jikook, Occam's razor is my go-to: the simplest explanation is, in fact, usually the best. We don't need convoluted plots and schemes and conspiracy theories. There's enough information staring us in the face.

Sometimes we need to untangle that information - I'm not saying we should accept everything on face value - and we do have to look out for new information so we can adjust our understanding.

But that is the case with everything on earth. There is no static knowledge.

These things add layers of richness and complexity but they don't change the basic premise of our underatanding.

That understanding, for me, is that these two humans love each other.

As you say, there ARE things we definitely know, like their companion enlistment.

Like the fact that Jimin chose to have JK with him - next to him - when he talked about his depression on Beyond The Star.

We know Jimin flew 28 hours so he could spend 3 days with JK in NY and Connecticut.

We know that JK was ready to crack Yoongi on the head with a frypan when he though Jimin might have been hurt (by a 5g shuttlecock).

We know that JK never harms Jimin - in all the games and jokes they play, he never targets Jimin (spraying his butt with a watergun is not targeting him, before anyone gets huffy. That did Jimin no harm at all.)

We know that Jimin worried over how hard JK was working.

We know JK begged Jimin shamelessly in front of millions of people, to do a weverse live together.

We know JK watched and hyped all Jimin's footage when he was promoting FACE.

We know they jumped into the comments of one another's livestreams several times last year.

We know all these things, but imagine what we don't know.

There's so much we have no idea about.

Hours and hours of footage that never reaches our screens. Months of time they spend together or alone or with family or friends. That's as it should be - their their private lives are just that - private.

Yes, I have a lot of fun picking apart the little glimpses we get into their lives because i enjoy their dynamic so much and because I'm naturally curious (okay, yes, I'm nosy 🤣).

I look deeper not because I'm hunting for lies or flaws, but because these two delight me. Sure I speculate, but i don't purport to know what they are to each other or where their boundaries lie. And I'm happy not to know. Some things are none of my business.

Like you, Anon, I accept that i may never know the true nature of their relationship, and I'm quite okay with that.

In the end what does it matter?

Whatever they are to each other, they're happy, and honestly what more is there to life than love and happiness?

💜💛

[ligiawrites]

Your life as an alchemist has been safe and comfortable so far... but when your sister makes you one last wish before passing away, you'll embark on a dangerous journey that might change your life—and the lives of your two companions—forever.

game link || all about the dev

YOUR SISTER HAS CARRIED the mantle of "Peregrine" for more than two decades. Twelve years older than you, she saw and wrote about the lives of common people, the birth and fall of foreign noble houses, the discovery of plants and animals, and the complex politics of your home kingdom. She lived a life of dangers and excitement, of travels, passions, and experiences you can't even begin to imagine.

And now that she's dead, this mantle (and her newborn child) is yours. 

Ghosts, zombies, fantastic animals, arcanes, and criminals. Fool the monster hunting you, the bandits trying to kidnap you, and your own fears while you travel from South Safira to the very heart of Dead Water.

Thank Goddess, you won't be alone. But with a conniving liar at your left and a deluded "Knight" at your right, will you be able to fulfill your sister's last wish? Will you go back to your niece? And will you allow yourself to love for the first time?

Develop your personality, see how your choices build, and change your bond with Yulie and Tobias (and yourself).

Hopefully, you'll also learn to see the world in a new light after this Trek to Dead Water.

🍂 Full game release: Autumn 2025 🍂

If you want to support the development of this game and access exclusive rewards, please consider supporting me on ko-fi!

About the game:

This story is set 53 years before the beginning of Love the Guard, Be the King.

Experience the world of Five Kingdoms in a completely different way, learning the hidden lore of Opala and Safira as one of the most influential (and non-highborn) figures in their society.

This is a game about the power of story, the powers that *change* history, and the impact that fleeting relationships may have in our lives. Enjoy this mix of Visual Novel and text-based Interactive Fiction!

This short game will have three chapters, and I have almost half of it already. :) Right now, you can play one out of three chapters (~9k words), and they are only available for my supporters on ko-fi. 

So, if you're seeing this, thank you for being amazing and for believing in my career! :)

If you have any comments, suggestions, problems, or worries, please let me know on ko-fi or in this forum.

AGE SUGGESTED: 16+ for erotic nudity, non-explicit sexual scenes, and mild violence and gore.

Main Characters:

Yulie of No House - The deluded "Knight" - 27 - She / Her

Born in Safira to a Topazian ambassador and a Safiran barman, Yulie saw her world crumble when she was six and a half, and her mother dared to question the Safiran nobility's interference in Topazian politics. Queen Juliana of House Inara did her best to protect Yulie's life, but there was little the Queen could do for her parents.

Stripped of her family and her surname, she lived under the Queen's care in a secretive palacete in the South, but as soon as she turned fourteen, Yulie knew she needed to leave the care of the people who ruined her life.

Now, at twenty-seven, Yulie's dream and main objective is to become a Knight of the Opalean Dragon Order—but focusing on this might be way harder than she thought, mainly when she manages to hold certain Safiran Peregrine in her arms.

Tobias Cidreira Dasherner - The Conniving Liar- 29 - He / Him

Tobias is a trans man born and raised in the biggest capital of Safira. With an immense talent for the Arcane, Tobias was taken under the wing of Great Arcane Master Domingos of Safira when he was only five. 

The Arcane College of the Balanced Arts is an expensive place, though, and despite the Arcane's great fortune, Tobias changed over the years. Once studious and quiet, Tobias grew tired of the absurd rules in the Safiran College and the kingdom's abusive laws. He tried to do good. He tried to change things for the better. Still, thanks to a grave mistake on Tobias's part, the Great Domingos lost everything.

Now, the only thing Tobias wants is to make enough money for the greatest con of all: a nice tavern of his own, so he can recover at least part of the money his old master lost.

… And YOU! - The newest Peregrine in Safira

Child of a long line of alchemists who lived their whole lives in The Village, you never felt the need to travel. Your sister did, so it felt just and good (for you and for her) when she was chosen as the new Safiran Peregrine. But this happened twenty-three years ago, and now she's dead after giving birth to your first niece.

Your task (for more than one reason) is to travel to the dangerous Dead Water, so your sister's soul will finally rest and stop coming back to haunt you.

Build your Peregrine and your relationship with your companions, and discover the hidden history that brought you to this point.

[most-datable-datable-bracket]

ROUND 4 MATCH 1

Qiu propaganda:

“i love them sooooo much i was completely head over heels for cove but then i found out about qiu lin and ol2 and they took that spot in my brain IMMEDIATELY. that should say enough. also i just really want them to win this time </3”

“They're my beloved :] and also the only OL character not disqualified so I had to hdjdbdj I just wanna see how far they can go now :]”

“Genderfluid ADHD monarch. They enjoy mountain biking and ballet. As a kid, if they're set to Crush, they'll desperately try to find a way to link the MC's favorite color to themselves in an attempt to impress. They're the most popular kid in town and for good reason. Can be sharp as a tack, especially in social situations, but also can be so endearingly stupid.”

“Listen. Listen to me. Here's why Qiu Lin deserves the win (ha)

- They're a trans POC love interest (specifically genderfluid and chinese-american)

- They spend a lot of time in Step 1 (the first part of the game where everyone is a kid) being super nice and trying to accommodate for you

- They specifically try super hard to bring you (and Tamarack) into their already established friendship group

- (It doesn't work out super well initially but they're trying, be nice)

- Qiu's also just. Super sweet when you're set to have a crush on them in Step 1

- Like, their word count almost doubles when they have a crush on your MC

- There's one part of the game where you can bring up your favourite colour

- On a friendship route (or if you're set to neighbours), Qiu will maybe make a short comment about something related to your favourite colour

- On crush? Qiu stretches so far to tie your favourite colour back themself. Your favourite colour is green? That's the colour of their jacket!!! It's black? Like their bike, did they mention their cool bike!!! It's white, [imagine this is in italics] the inside of their house (no, really)!!! [end of imagining this is italics]

- They're also set to have an arc about much they accommodate for others and how they go from over accommodation in Step 1 to no accommodation in Step 2 to finding a balance in Step 3

- Also, like, they do in fact go through gender identity issues. In fact, they spend Step 2 not quite knowing their gender identity fully

Now, vote for Qiu!!!!”

"Genderfluid and uses they/he pronouns.

Their hobbies are mountain biking and ballet.

Most popular kid in town by, like, a mile. And for very good reason.

Immediately devotes themself to making sure their new neighbors (the MC and Tamarack) feel welcome in their new town.

Loooooves teasing their friends.

Is genuinely confused if the MC doesn't immediately consider them friends because. He considered you friends.

Not canonically ADHD (yet. things can change.) but like. The ADHD vibes are strong.

Forgetful and writes stuff down in a notepad to remember it, then proceeds to lose the notes. This happens constantly.

They have a whole arc about going from being overly accommodating and giving too much of themself to others, to closing off and not giving anything, to finding balance and figuring out how to be kind and caring without overexerting themselves.

Also, one of their closest friends is a trans woman. This is relevant simply because I love Renee and had to mention her."

Halsin propaganda:

“I haven't played the game but he's hot, and that's enough for me”

“Big sweet dude who’s a bit of a daddy and a bit horny. He’s also really chill and the potential poly route for this game, which datable games hardly ever do. Also, apparently he might not originally been meant to be a full companion and romance, but then people were so horny for him in Early Access they memed him into the full game like Sans Undertale in Smash? I think that should just say it all for why he should get in.”

[yamnjamslam]

hello friends, i'm posting this here because i don't have an ao3 acc yet and i'm spiraling over the fact that emmrich was 7th in the most romanced poll!! so, here's a purely self-indulgent drabble with my antivan crow rook cairo de riva (pictured in my pfp) tyvm (:

this takes place after the events from the game so beware spoilers!

_____________________________________

classes at the grand necropolis were in full session. mourn watch apprentices hailing from all corners of thedas gathered into the capacious lecture hall for a talk by the famous professor emmrich volkarin. the senior necromancer was more than eager to jump right back into teaching after being a member of the team that defeated the elven gods and ended the blight. as much as he had loved the adventure and the friends he made during that time, he always felt most comfortable in the walls of the necropolis doing what he truly loved, educating the up-and-coming generation of young scholars. the rows of seats were completely full by the time the talk was about to begin. the voices that were chattering about silenced as soon as a tall slim man approached the lectern.

“good evening everyone! i am professor emmrich volkarin, some of you may know me and others might not. no matter, i am more than excited to get to know you all this year and teach you everything you need to know about the wonders of the fade, spirits, and how to hone your skills in necromancy!” the professor’s voice protruded through the lecture hall, echoing off the walls so that even those in the far back could hear him. emmrich proceeded to approach the wide chalkboard that was in the center of the room and scribble down some important terms and diagrams.

cairo couldn’t understand a single thing that was being taught but was enjoying it all the same. being that he was the only one there that wasn’t part of the mourn watch, he was obviously not the target demographic for what he deems “this nerd shit”, but he was there nonetheless. he had probably heard the same lectures from the professor back at the lighthouse when cairo would barge into the man’s tower, take a seat at his desk, and demand to be educated. he loved seeing emmrich’s passion for his craft, the way his eyes lit up when one of his student’s raised their hand to ask a question, or the “wow”’s from the crowd when he performed an astonishing demonstration.

but, what the crow was really there for was the whispers from the crowd. he had developed a particularly keen sense of hearing throughout his time as an assassin so he was able to tune into the gossip that was circulating through the lecture hall while the professor spoke. most of the idle chatter was students discussing the topic amongst themselves or proposing thoughtful questions to one another in the hopes of asking for more clarification. however, some comments that floated to his ears intrigued him. “i heard the professor rejected the offer to become a lich!”, “yeah, apparently he did it to save that skeleton companion of his that’s always roaming around the necropolis…”, “ohh, well that’s understandable”. cairo had to agree with that one.

“the professor was part of the veilguard right?”, “yes! he fought beside lucanis dellamorte, first talon of the crows… ugh he’s so hot…” cairo had to hold in his laughter when thinking about how the first talon was probably sitting in the dellamorte villa right now, sipping a steaming hot coffee, completely unbothered, while being swooned over by a poor delusional mourn watch apprentice. priceless. “what? have you seen taash the dragon hunter? they can swing an axe to my head and i’d thank them!” cairo thought about the fact that taash was probably out in rivain right now, rummaging around a dragon lair, sweat dripping down their forehead from the harsh sunlight, probably daydreaming about throwing harding on their bed and… oh no, he couldn’t even imagine it, it was way too graphic.

“do you think the professor would ever have a relationship with one of his students?” now it was really getting good… “i dunno, don’t you think he might have a wife at home or something? he just seems like husband material for sure,” oh they were damn right about that. cairo was a malewife emmrich supremacist if he did say so himself. “you think he might be into guys instead?” one of the apprentices joked. cairo almost laughed aloud that time.

when the crow idly glanced at the clock, he realized two hours had gone by and the professor was already making his final statements. finally, it was his time to shine. suddenly, as emmrich was walking back to the chalkboard, an object flew across the lecture hall at the speed of light, landing just a hair away from the man’s head. the entire room gasped in surprise and began frantically looking around for the culprit who had disappeared like a shadow through all the commotion. the professor, eyes widened in shock, turned his head to gaze upon the cause of his near-death. when he observed it further, he noticed it was a dagger with a familiar design on the handle and a sticky note taped to the sharp end. emmrich released a breath he didn’t know he was holding as soon as he saw what was written: the words “i love you” scribbled inside a poorly drawn heart. he couldn’t tell if his own heart was beating out his chest from affection or the thought of his almost murder.

with a bejeweled hand, the professor pulled the dagger out of the chalkboard and placed it onto the lectern, “i apologize for the brief… intermission. however, that is the end of the lecture for the day, i hope to see some of you around the necropolis and feel free to come to me with any inquiries you might have! thank you”. he announced with a kind smile. the lecture hall erupted into voices as the apprentices packed up their things to leave and resume their studies elsewhere. they filtered out one by one until the capacious room grew quiet and only one occupant was left…

emmrich took a deep breath to compose himself before… “rook!” he called out loudly. promptly, cairo jumped down from the rafters and landed steadily on his feet, a wide grin gracing his features, “how’d you know it was me?” he teased as he leaned against the lectern, arms crossed over his chest. the professor rolled his eyes, “i don’t know many other crows who would write such a thing on their knives,” he replied. cairo couldn’t help but laugh, “awe come on, lucanis loves you too,” he joked, slipping the knife into his fingers and twirling it around with ease. “he’s also busy being the first talon… speaking of which, hasn’t he given you any orders yet?” emmrich questioned curiously. cairo tapped the dagger against his temple as if he was lost in thought, “hmm, now that you mention it… there might be one or two…” he admitted with a playful wink. emmrich’s jaw dropped and his eyes thinned at his lover, “darling… you can’t keep doing this!” he protested. cairo scoffed loudly, “look, i was lucanis’s boss before this, there’s no way i’m gonna take orders from that freak. and i say that with the most love in my heart” he chuckled as he spun the blade on his finger. 

“oh my… well then, he was right when he called you a menace,” emmrich teased. cairo threw his head back with a laugh, “and you love it,” he replied, pointing his dagger at the man. emmrich nodded his head with a chuckle before changing the subject, “so, what did you think of the lecture, dearest?” he questioned, turning around to start erasing the chalkboard as another professor would be needing it later. cairo leaned across the lectern, “well i learned that lucanis and taash have some avid fans and that your students have been questioning your love life,” he responded. emmrich’s eyes widened, “what did they say?!” he gasped. cairo bit his lip and acted as if he was struggling to remember, “i believe one asked if professor volkarin would be interested in dating a student… then the other shot back by arguing that he might have a wife at home since he’s so “husband material”, and the last one wondered if he might be interested in guys. all very good questions which i’m also curious about… so what’s your answer professor?” he revealed with a shameless grin. emmrich’s cheeks grew pink out of embarrassment, “instead of asking such silly questions they should have been focused on the lecture!” he denounced, his erasing becoming more aggressive. cairo merely watched in amusement at his lover’s flustered expression and admired how cute he looked, “what’s the matter? scared to talk about your relationship?” he joked.

upon hearing that, emmrich froze up, his hand completely coming to a stop and his breath hitched.  the crow’s eyebrow rose in confusion at the sudden change of attitude, wondering if he might have said something wrong. soon enough, the senior necromancer had placed the eraser down and turned to look at cairo with sorrow in his eyes, “i’m aware that was only a joke but… dearest, you know i wouldn’t want to hide our relationship unless it was absolutely necessary, right?” he confessed, stepping closer to take the male’s hand into his own. the coldness of the the jewerly that adorned emmrich’s hand felt familiar and comforting as cairo intertwined their fingers, “i know… i get it, not everyone is understanding of the age gap.. i told you, i’ll be here no matter what so… you know, whenever you’re ready, there’s no rush” he asserted, his normally playful demeanor vanishing for the moment as his expression grew serious. emmrich’s heart fluttered at the sentiment, he was overjoyed to have found someone he can forge a serious, healthy, and hopefully long-lasting relationship with, something he had never thought he could achieve in all his years.

“darling…” he uttered as he stepped even closer so their bodies were almost touching. cairo’s eyes thinned as a teasing smile returned to his features, “you sure you wanna do this in a lecture hall, professor?” he questioned. emmrich looked around at the rows of empty chairs, then to the clock to make sure it wasn’t time for the next class to start. once he had confirmed they would be safe for the moment, he leaned in and softly pressed their lips together. cairo was quick to reciprocate, wrapping his arms around the taller man’s neck and rising on his tippy toes to deepen the kiss. after a few moments, the two leaned back for air and the shorter male rested back on his heels. as they stared into each other’s eyes, they couldn’t keep smiles off their faces, happy to be able to spend precious moments like this together after all they had been through. “i love you,” emmrich whispered, wanting only the male in front of him to hear despite there being no one else in the room. cairo chuckled, “and neve called me the sappy one,” he teased, sticking his tongue out playfully. the professor rolled his eyes before joining his lover in laughter. 

“ROOK!” a familiar voice shouted from not too far away as the couple was busy lost in each other’s gazes. at the sudden interruption, cairo quickly unwrapped his arms from the man’s neck and shuffled away while emmrich did the same, both pretending to look unbothered after being caught red-handed. however, when they looked towards the source of the voice, they both released breaths they didn’t know they were holding, “manfred?! you scared the shit out of us…” cairo choked back a laugh as he watched the skeletal apprentice skitter over to the front of the room to stand beside the professor. emmrich placed a hand to his rapidly beating heart and wiped imaginary sweat from his brow, “thank goodness it was just you manfred… what have you been up to?” he questioned, noticing that the skeleton’s robes were slightly more singed than they had been before. “FIRE!” manfred shrieked as he summoned two small flames from the palms of his hands and waved them around vigorously. cairo and emmrich exchanged worried parental glances at each other before emmrich took the skeleton’s wrist bones into his hands and placed them at his sides, “manfred, what did i say about using your fire so recklessly? come, i must go speak to myrna and vorgoth about this…” he sighed before motioning manfred towards the exit of the lecture hall.

cairo watched the two figures approach the door before emmrich turned and met his eyes with a smile, “darling, will you be coming over for dinner?” he called out inquisitively. the crow twirled his dagger with a smirk, “if the first talon doesn’t chew me out for too long, then yes,” he chuckled, “but if not, you know i always have room for dessert,” he winked teasingly, fully aware of what he was doing. the professor with cheeks as red as ventaori robes promptly rushed out the door with manfred in tow and cairo was left by his lonesome, giggling to himself over how cute his lover is.

end.

[geezmarty]

...devlog #1??? - mini BG3 VN

So I recently downloaded Renpy because I wanna learn how to code in my spare time and I figured I'd write about it here for both posterity & to record my process with it all!

The project I'm starting with will be quick and easy because 1) I really don't want to start with something huge 2) I have work & commissions to take care of and those will come first.

About the project:

If you've been following me you know I've gotten hugely into bg3 so I thought why not code a little scene where you get to meet my durge, Brigha! I'll put my goals and expectations under the cut. Here's my first renpy test ft. Wyll.

First of all, what the hell is Renpy? Very simply put, Renpy is a software that allows you to create visual novels. You can check it out (and even download it for free!) here.

The "mini VN" I'm working on will feature a scene in Act1 of how I imagine you'd meet and recruit (or not!) my durge if she were a companion in the game, featuring some neat little things and details that I will hopefully be able to implement.

This is what I want to put in:

Ability to input your character's name;

(royalty free) music playing in the bg;

Multiple dialogue choices with (very small) dialogue trees;

Perhaps some pop ups like perception checks or companion approval/disapproval;

Companion pop up comments, randomized in one instance towards the end;

Two endings.

It might seem like a lot and it probably is - I might cut a couple these to make sure I don't spend too much time getting the vn out there.

So far I have the first draft of the script ready and I'll probably leave it as is unless testers will point out inaccuracies or weird phrasing. Here is a little concept of how I imagine Brigha will be dressed when you meet her:

Sprite wise she'll probably be the only one to have a full body/expressions (to preserve my wrists) but I might also draw little simple headshots of the other companions for when they'll pop up to comment.

As for backgrounds I will spare myself and just grab screencaps from the game that I will blurry/apply effects to, just to make them look a bit more coeshive with the sprites.

This is all I have so far! The VN will be available to play for free on your browser once I'm done with it :) ETA undetermined since this is a free time project done for fun.

Wish me luck!

[canmom]

baldur gate

belatedly joining the bg3 train. I played BG1 when I was a kid but never got around to BG2. here are my observations:

the hair and skin rendering. good god. the rest of the game looks decent enough but they really went all out on the characters. I have to know what technique they're using for that hair there, it responds to light so well, and it can handle a variety of hair textures and stuff. ...look I know what a nerdy start this is this is literally my job ok >&lt;

the character designer gives you four different types of penis to choose from, but there's no face customisation sliders, just a choice of about ten presets. i know this game is basically an eroge but still, lmao.

no body sliders in general actually. might need to look into mods because the bodies in this game are kinda weird. everyone's sorta uniformly ripped, I can't make my boobs smaller, etc. etc. (and of course the whole 'nobody can be fat' thing that has been commented on often). I think I need to get some mods.

mind flayer body horror stuff is tasty. that opening cutscene goes so hard. og Baldur's Gate games would have some fun in their cutscenes - I still remember the one with the blood flowing around the cobblestones - but a plane-hopping battle with multiple dragons and a big squid spaceship is setting the bar pretty high. look forward to seeing if the rest of the game can live up to it.

there's something wonderfully tabletop about the first two companions being... well. the first player I can imagine being like 'yeah so here is my lore-accurate gith, I learned the gith language and everything, I've written a thirty page backstory for her' and the second player is just 'yeah here's my elf, she's called... Shadowheart'. they shoulda made her a warlock (but it's lucky they didn't because then we'd have two warlocks)

the starting armour for those two companions looks absolutely shit. it looks like it's spraypainted plastic, especially since it's skinned in a way where rigid metal parts bend at the joints. just way too busy as designs. I need to find some better drip for these girls asap.

of course I played a warlock. I almost always play warlocks in D&D. it's such a chuuni class and there's a lot of conflict potential in the patron thing. also I hear this is a game where it pays to have good cha on the MC, which pretty much limits you to bard, sorc and lock. I hope they make patron interactions a thing in this game.

the implementation of 5e combat as a CRPG is pretty thorough! also, D&D combat works way better on the PC where you can resolve everything in five minutes than it does at the table. I put it on Tactician mode but so far it's been pretty trivial, I look forward to more interesting encounters down the line.

the d20 rolling UI is kinda ostentatious huh

overall, seems promising. that said this isn't a liveblog, probably. unless I run into something particularly interesting.

[tadpolebrains]

Hi!!! Hope you're doing well. I really like your headcanons. You make the character voices really shine through in your writing, it's very satisfying to read 😌 also they're very sweet

So in the spirit of being fun, cute and silly, are the main 6 ticklish? How do they deal with a Tav that initiates tickle fights? (Or just. Attacks. Depending on their disposition i guess). Type your words writing one

Hello to you too! Tysm dhdhdh- I’m glad my silly little ramblings reach people’s brains <3

I shall type my writing words now u.u

Bg3 Companions: Ticklish?

Lae’zel would immediately clock what you’re doing as either an attempt to catch her off guard in an attack, or a spar, depending on how close you are. So much as attempt to start a tickle fight with her, and you’re going to be wrestling on the ground within moments. She does not understand the concept at first, which makes it a bit awkward the first time you do it, as you find your legs swept from under you and your back against the ground almost immediately. After taking a moment to try and explain no, you weren’t attacking her, she… still doesn’t entirely get it. Forcing laughter out of someone? Perhaps an efficient torture method for her to store in her mind for later. Phrase it as a ‘tickle fight,’ though, and well, she must master this new form of combat, of course. She is a bit ticklish, but you really have to target the right places, and… you don’t have many chances before she just demolishes you. It’s the lighter traces along her scars, or in the softer skin of her elbows and behind her knees. She also has to be comfortable enough with you to actually let herself laugh- otherwise she’ll just stifle it as to not show weakness. Or restrain you before you can even get the chance. Regardless, you will get utterly wrecked in any attack you try to make.

Astarion hates the idea of it, at least initially. He doesn’t like being forced to do anything, and especially lacking control over his own body/reactions. Any surprise attacks, especially from behind, immediately get him on the defensive- he’ll act all snarky and give disapproving clicks of his tongue, trying to cover up the fact that he just flinched pretty noticeably away from your hands. It isn’t until much later down the line, once he’s started healing a bit from his trauma, that he’d possibly enjoy it. Even then, it’s light, and expected. Little scribbles against his sides as you two are walking, or teasingly behind his ear is you’re cupping his cheek. His neck, especially where his bite mark from Cazador is, is off-limits. Brings up bad memories. But laying in bed, snugly against each other, tracing light lines along his sides and chest, tickling enough to have him all smiley without forcing full-on laughter out of him? That’s great. Helping him adjust to non-sexual forms of intimacy.

Gale. This man is definitely ticklish. I think there’s literally a line about it in-game if my memory serves correct. Now, is trying to sneak up on him and tickle him while he has the Netherese Orb in his chest a good idea? Debatable. He’d definitely make several comments through his laughter about it being a horrid idea to target the man who could level a town with such an assault, though he’d be laughing so hard it might not be all that comprehensible. Tara has definitely taken advantage of his ticklishness to get him out of fixating on things from time to time, nuzzling pointedly against his neck until he agrees to put a book down. I can imagine him being in the middle of some long-winded explanation, having gotten way off track from the initial conversation, and to get him to stop you just reach over and scribble a few fingers against his neck, making him squawk in protest and scrunch up his shoulders. He’d likely retaliate using a mage hand, poking at you during unassuming moments during the day and pretending to be intently focused on something else when you turn to him with knowing eyes. Hm? Oh, no, it definitely wasn’t him. He’s been looking at this rock the whole time! Now, fun fact about rocks- hey, get that hand away!

Karlach is an absolute tickling monster. At least, once she has her touch back. She’ll take any excuse to get close to people, so spontaneous tickle fights? Absolutely. Not only will she go along with it, but she’ll spring at you when you least expect it as well. She has the strength to push you away or take control easily, but oftentimes doesn’t use her full strength for the sake of fun. Her tail will be wagging as she laughs openly, not even trying to hide her enjoyment as you both tousle around on the ground. If she laughs too hard with the engine, it might still flare, but hey, just adds to the fun, right, soldier? …either way, maybe keep it under control. Will want to cuddle afterwards, especially if you both end up on the ground. She’ll definitely sneak some little tickles in there as well as you lay there afterwards. When you look at her with playful accusation, she’ll swear that was the last time with a too-wide grin on her face that tells you she’s lying.

Shadowheart would be caught off-guard the first time it happens, snorting with laughter and shoving the offending hands away. She’d act annoyed, but be secretly impressed that you even had the nerve. At times that she’d sassing you, little pokes at her sides have her lips twitching up into a smile. Especially at camp, since her camp clothes expose her sides. Will cackle almost wickedly if you really manage to get her good. She gets a little more snarky when she’s in a more playful mood just to egg you on. Snide little comments followed by small snickers when you have the expected retaliation. When she’s had a few glasses of wine, her laughter gets more open, and she may even loosen up enough to get you back, blending in with the shadows to bide her time before springing at you, catching you off-guard and getting her revenge, a self-satisfied smirk on her face. Hmph, not so cocky now, are you?

Wyll will absolutely take the excuse for some light-hearted fun. He’s definitely ticklish, and a bit embarrassed about it. After all, a princely-like heroic man devolving into childish giggles isn’t exactly charming in his books. However, joint laughter shared between you two is a blessing he won’t pass up. You may notice a slight huff of laughter that first night you dance together, your hands against his sides making his lips twitch in a smile. If you don’t use it against him then, the opportunity arises later. Little slow-dances at night as you graze your fingers over his sides or his lower back, getting soft huffs of laughter out of him as he shakes his head in amusement at your antics. He doesn’t usually retaliate in those softer moments, but if you come at him with a playful attack, he’s quick to shoot back with a mischievous grin on his face. Provoke the blade at your own risk.

[illusivesoul]

I'm going to be on a temporary hiatus starting later today to avoid any potential spoilers for Veilguard. The queue is full and it will keep functioning as normal (most of the posts on my blog are queued lol) but I won't be around, so don't think that I am ignoring your tags or comments lol.

I am going into Veilguard with what I'd describe is mixed excitement. The main draw for Dragon Age to me has always been the lore and seeing how our choices, regardless of how small an impact they made, affected the world of Thedas throughout the games. So as you can imagine and as you might have seen in some of my Bioware critical posts, the news that only 3 choices were going to carry over into DATV "took the wind out of my sails" and really dampened a lot of the excitement I had been carrying for the game since the first trailer dropped back in june.

Regardless of other concerns that I have, like the more light hearted tone of the game and so, its still Dragon Age, my favourite franchise ever, im going in with an open mind and hoping to be pleasantly surprised. I'm excited to meet the new companions (Davrin and Neve in particular) and im excited to finally see northern Thedas (fingers crossed for Kal'Sharok and more dwarf and Titan lore)

Can't wait to see what everyone else thinks of the game too :)

[fancytrinkets]

veilguard thoughts, second playthrough

I'm playing as a human mage Grey Warden, she/her, this time around and planning to play the Harding romance.

In terms of decisions, I'm doing all the opposite things this time. Which means I've just defended Treviso and Blighted Minrathous. It means I will also:

Have Harding let go of her anger

Push Bellara to destroy her people's history

Send the griffons to the Grey Wardens

Have Emmrich become a lich

Push Taash to embrace Qunari culture

Get a choice about Lucanis instead of Neve

Sacrifice Davrin

Have Neve get taken away instead of Bellara

Deceive or fight Solas instead of reconciling with him

I really liked being a Shadow Dragon elven rogue in my first playthrough, so I'm struggling a little this time. I did not like Blighting Minrathous and then seeing the gallows put up all around the city. (They killed Lorelai, and I felt attached to her given her storyline connection to Loghain's humanitarian crimes in the Denerim alienage)

Despite how much I liked the Shadow Dragons, I also feel good about playing as a Warden. Narratively it makes a lot of sense as the Blight starts showing up everywhere and Rook can handle it. (I sent the horrible mayor of De Meta's Crossing off to become a Warden, so I'm fully expecting to see him betray us all at Weisshaupt soon, but that's just my guess, so no one spoil it please!)

There have not been too many mage-specific dialogue options so far. When the lets-recruit-the-magekiller conversation comes up with Neve, she acknowledges that Rook is also a mage with a comment like "oh, don't worry, he won't target either of us..." But there hasn't been any "what was your magical upbringing/training like" kind of option for a mage Rook to compare notes with the other mage companions. I didn't expect it, but would've liked it.

I'm sort of guessing my human Warden mage was from Tevinter and went to a Circle there before joining the Wardens, because the mage background object she places in her quarters and talks about is, like, a fancy-ass magical device that she BUILT as part of her schooling. Not exactly the non-Tevinter Circle experience, I've got to say... so I guess it works for her as a human Warden with no national origin specified, but I'm thinking that same mage background object might not work as well with other faction-race combinations a player could go with

Beyond the Shadow Dragons and the Wardens, the other factions hold less appeal for me. Honestly I think it's because of the things I agree with about many of the critiques that are making the rounds: The lack of continuity from previous games, the jarringly widespread acceptance of magic and spirits beyond Tevinter, Rivain, and the Grey Wardens; and the politics feeling overly sanitized in ways I'm not finding plausible given the established lore to date.

These are BioWare's choices and I don't know why they were made, but I do think they remove some of the familiarity and depth from the world. And I do miss what's not there, but could have been provided.

That said, I don't feel disappointed in this game. I do experience a number of moments where I think, "oh, this part isn't my favorite and I would have liked to see it done differently," but I don't tend to dwell on those thoughts or have much emotion attached to them.

Overall, I think my general positive experience is very much tied to the fact that:

I like Solas as a character and I'm very interested in his backstory

I have now read all the novels, so can get more out of seeing side characters like Felassan, Valya, Isseya, etc

the Dorian romance has a lot of importance for me and I like how that continues into Veilguard and how Dorian's role in the story plays out

I was secretly hoping Varric would get to have an emotionally satisfying death in this game and I do enjoy how that played out

I'm letting my imagination run wild thinking about a Southern Thedas questline involving the Inquisitor, Hawke, and the Hero of Ferelden. It's occupying the writing side of my brain in ways that might give me a new fanfic project, and I feel like I need one of those right now, given the state of the real world where I live...

I am not sure how I'll feel after playing all the choices I didn't make the first time. It's going to be interesting, I bet.

[dice-n-antlers]

I have another angsty Tav x Astarion fic idea, because that’s all this game does to my damn brainpan these days. I might try writing it out eventually.

So. Anyway. Hold on to your hoodles, because this one involves Haarlep, so… trigger warnings abound.

I’m thinking about a storyline where Tav/Durge killed Raphael and Haarlep is alive and has the use of Tav’s body.

Imagine if, some time after the events of the game, Mephistopheles knows that it was Tav who killed Raphael. I don’t think he cares for his son in the way that normal mortals care, but just the idea of a mortal strolling into a hellish abode and soundly murdering the master of the house is disturbing. Insulting. And for it to be Mephisto’s own son? And so soon after mortals stole the crown of Karsus from the archdevil’s own vault? It’s downright obscene.

We know that Mephistopheles had sent Haarlep to keep an eye on his son. And Haarlep obviously survived Tav’s raid on the House of Hope in this scenario. What if it eventually comes to light that Haarlep has the form of the mortal who murdered Raphael? Hell, if your Tav is a Durge, they’d be the same mortal who stole the crown. Mephistopheles is intelligent and calculating, but in other Forgotten Realms media, he has an underlying bestial rage that contrasts with his sophisticated facade. So he figures out the Haarlep connection and he wants this mortal to feel his wrath.

Now, I’m a serial spawn!Astarion-mancer and I’m obsessed with his sobering comments to Tav after the whole Haarlep debacle. So I specifically have him in mind here, but you can swap him out for your Tav’s romanced companion(s) of choice.

Again, some time after the final battle of the game, Tav and Astarion are adventuring together, perhaps trying to find a way for him to enjoy the sun. By this point maybe they’ve started learning to deal with the occasional Haarlep episode together. At the time this happens, they’re camped together, perhaps in the wilderness, or the underdark, or a modest inn with the curtains drawn. Perhaps they have a nice, north-facing room with thick curtains at The Hearth in Candlekeep where they’ve been perusing old tomes for leads to help Astarion.

Wherever they are, Tav starts to feel an episode coming on. They feel the familiar ghostly hands undressing them and pawing at their body… but this time they quickly realize it’s different. These aren’t the roaming hands of a lover. They’re not even the desperate hands of a person looking for a good, rough fuck. This is deliberate. Slow. Angry. There is the ghost of claws and teeth on their skin, a warning of what is to come. This ghostly lover is violent and the touching slowly, but surely ramps up into brutal fucking and torment. Throughout it all there is an edge of pleasure, because that’s what drives the magical connection with the incubus, but this is all so horrifically wrong.

And Astarion can do little more than watch as Tav writhes and gasps and chokes and trembles and cries. He can’t stop it. What is he thinking and feeling while watching the person he loves endure this torture?

Haarlep has stamina far beyond any mortal and Mephistopheles isn’t trying to kill them, he just wants to get a cruel message across to Tav. So it goes on. And on. And on. And on. And on. For hours. There are teeth, and claws, and fire, and the lashes of a whip. There is the sensation and being bound and twisted near to breaking. All the while, there is a stimulation of Tav’s sex, turning pleasure to horror. It is, quite literally, punishing.

And eventually, it stops.

Tav stopped thrashing hours ago. The near bone-breaking tension in their body finally relents and they go limp. Still alive, but exhausted and utterly broken. How does Astarion react in the sudden stillness after the horror? How does Tav deal with the mental and physical aftermath? In the next hours and days after this, how do Tav and Astarion come to terms with what happened? And the fear that it can happen again? Will they put aside their quest for Astarion and resolve to bring an end to Haarlep at whatever cost?

What can I say? I just enjoy putting Tav and Astarion in horrible situations… as long as there’s a happy ending or the hope of one.

(Addendum: if anyone is inspired to flesh this into a full fic, have at it. I likely won’t be able to badger my unmedicated brain into doing it)

[cassiaorsellio]

Considering Arthur being older than how most Inquisitors are imagined (love that btw) - how did the Inner circle members react finding out his age? How would Bull have reacted if he didn't know that beforehand (like if the file he got on Arther had ink spilled on it before seeing that)?

Yeah, Arthur being older is a direct result of wanting to give him a position of seniority in the Circle. He was originally my OG Inquisitor's oldest brother, not the Inquisitor, hence why he was out of that 20-40 age range the Inquisitor is meant to have by nearly 10 years.

Bull, in classic Bull fashion, makes a comment about it being hot that he's with an older man on Arthur's 50th birthday (which happens during the events of the base game) and that he's aging like the finest wine in Thedas on subsequent birthdays. Arthur couldn't tell if he's serious or not that first time. There's 12 years between them — nothing so serious that it raises any brows but just enough that Krem might rib the Chief about it. But yeah, Bull isn't surprised about it. It probably came up in Ben-Hassrath intelligence with his rough age range, and given he was a First Enchanter (that's public knowledge), that isn't unsurprising. He's still on the younger side for one, but not as young as Vivienne probably was.

Similarly, I don't think his age is a surprise to anyone because again, him being an ex-First Enchanter is now public knowledge. It puts him right at the upper end of the Inner Circle's age (Arlathan Georg not counted) but he's still contemporaries with a chunk of the companions, Vivienne included who has known him for decades as she was at the Ostwick Circle until she was 19. Sera definitely makes some comments calling him Dad (sarcastically) when he gets a certain way (I'll never forget her saying to him "are you their leader or their daddy? Some of them would like that, I suppose" either.)

There was overall more drama about him being resistant towards the inner circle celebrating his 50th birthday. He really didn't want to do anything for it but Josephine insisted.

[moltensmusings]

I got a comment about it, so I guess it's time I make a post defending Vivienne because I love her and want to give everyone the chance to have a more nuanced opinion of her.

I know people don't like her, she's a circle mage who doesn't like the rebellion and is pretty uptight. She's easy to dislike if you're promage. So with that in mind let's go over the main reasons people dislike her and why they make sense for her as a character.

1. She's anti-rebel.

Vivienne at her core is a lawful character. She wants order and structure because unfiltered chaos harms and can even kill people. A large reason she joins the inquisition is because she wants to offer assistance in reforming structure and making people feel safe again.

2. She's pro-circle

Vivienne is one of the mages we meet who understands fully that magic is dangerous. She has a respect for her craft and walks into every situation knowing full well people are potentially afraid of her. The circle offered a place for mages to train their skills, and non magical people to feel more safe knowing that mages won't cause harm they can't control. She also fully admits that her experience isn't the same as everyone else's but that it's the only real answer anyone has right now for some way to get mages to a more stable state.

3. She's protemplar

This one is more complicated. Because she wants the templars so that mages have a failsafe should the worst happen, but when pressed will agree that templars aren't the solution to the issue of magic itself. I think in her ideal version of events templars would simply be bodyguards only intended to step in if shit hits the fan but often times like with any society, a group given enough power can become corrupt.

4. She hates Cole.

Imagine this: you're a knight enchanter who had to go through her harrowing which involved combating a demon that would possess you. An event which many mages do not survive, some don't even get the chance to do because they aren't trained enough. Something that no doubt you would've seen happen countless times over your time as a mage. You've heard of demonic possession and maybe even had first hand experience with them and how bad they can be. Then one day a supposed spirit shows up claiming to want to help your new allies. It can disappear and reappear at will, completely hide itself from everyone if it chooses to, can wipe the memories of people so they don't know they met it, and reach into the deepest pits of your mind to pull out your most sensitive and impactful moments which it then speaks back to you in cryptic language. Recounting your exact feelings, making you remember even something you might not want to. Now with those thoughts is it remotely surprising she wouldn't be fine with him having free reign. Demons lie all the time, why would she have any reason to believe his intentions were coming from a good place. I love Cole, he's always in my party in inquisition, but we can't act like people being wary or afraid of him is just nonsensical.

5. She's uptight and posh, expecting the same of you.

You are the inquisitor. A warlord, basically a figure head of the chantry who is gaining influence on the divine. Legends spread about you and some of them even come back to you when Josephine speaks of it. Vivienne 1000% has heard every single one and is far more aware of your social standing than you are. The inquisition needs support to function, some of which will come in the form of the wealthy elite paying good money to be part of something good to bolster their names. Vivienne is a skilled player of the game and a staunch believer that if you have the power, it is your duty to use it and use it well. Just because you don't want to be a symbol doesn't mean you get to avoid it. That option is taken from you the minute you're named inquisitor.

6. She hates everything.

She's judgemental. But fair. Much like any companion if you do something she morally opposes she's going to dislike you. Allying with mages who overtook Radcliffe, pushed out the nobility in charge as well as the people, and then allowed Tevinter to take control? It's rational she'd be upset about that. Letting Celine die so that someone else can take the throne? Regardless of feelings it causes orlais to potentially destabilize in the middle of a war, the sky is ripped open and good allies are now probably kneecapped as they deal with the death of a monarch and changes in how things run. Approving of rebel mages? It's an endorsement of chaos, the mages running free is doing harm. I don't agree with her on everything, but I'm not surprised or mad if she doesn't like me when I don't.

Vivienne is a caring character who has never really been able to just be open when she is. Even if you're on her shit list she does the bare minimum of inconveniencing you by moving around some furniture because, again, you're in the middle of a war where everything is going sideways and actually doing something drastic would be to damage the whole initiative. You don't have to like her but she receives more vitriol than any other character in the series and at the very least people can try to understand her perspective.

[dragonmage]

After watching the game play I'm still on kinda hype but kinda anxious about it.

TLDR; some probably wrong theories about what we're getting, mostly positive but also seems like not as much New Fun things tm

-I loved the animations and art style and backgrounds

-Levels: I think its gonna be like Inquisition and parts of 2 where the levels are more 'set paths' kinda things with beautiful backgrounds very much like Val Royeaux - which is kinda iffy on how little was in Val Royeaux but I imagine there's gonna be 'open world' areas much like the Hinterlands. Idk why I expected something different but I did, and am just worried about how much we'll actually get to explore

-The Combat was Kinda Good Kinda Bad - it was hard to tell exactly how much was button combinations or just spamming X; it looked like there was a parry and a dodge option, and as some others said reminded me of Jedi: Fallen Order - which I really enjoyed !.

-I can already kinda guess though that at higher difficulties the enemies are just gonna be health sponges; idk what difficulty they were playing at its already seemed like the baddies weren't that hard but just didn't go down quickly

-I don't/didn't particularly care for switching between party members, but I also think it will be missed - there was so many times where I had to play Cassandra 1v1ing a dragon bc the rest of my party went down lol. I think it added a level of strategy - again not that I used it much, but it was a mechanic of at least 2 and inquisition that I relied on for harder fights.

-I really really liked the rain effects in cutscenes and on characters - i hope that theres a blood option like that lol.

-I was on the fence about Varric Dying and everyone's theories that he is, but there's no way he's not after that game play lol. I saw a tiktok saying that they could see it where Varric's the one in charge/leading/gathering the Veilguard and with his dying is how Rook becomes leader of the Veilguard and yeahhhh that seems pretty accurate.

-I like the companions commenting on your personality, it's always been a fav component of mine and it seems it might pop up more than in Inquisition.

-Oh the entire opening/showed sequence reminded me so much of the Inquisition one which is kinda :/ but it was good , but also sad in how much it feels like a repeat of a climatic/cinematic set piece (ala bridge collapse, demons, sliding, the veil fucky). The magic effects look gorgeous tho.

-Obligatory comment about Varric not being blonde/ginger

-Saw some others comment on dialogue/voice acting; for me it seemed on par with Inquisition, and again a neither bad nor good thing lol. I can see the faults of it having to establish what happened in Inquisition for new players, but again seems like par for the course.

-The different factions seem very interesting to me, and with how much it was showed in the 'tutorial' I'm curious if they're making it even more apparent than again previous games, at least dialogue wise

-I really think that regardless of class, everyone might be getting some 'extra/magic' abilities - someone pointed out that Harding might have some little extra oomf, and with the limited party, ON TOP OF Veil fuck shit, I think it's very possible to see not only party members with interesting mechanics, that Rook has the potential to arcane stuff - I mean the whole thing with the Veil was that Solas was opening it and giving elves magic (iirc, and the funny hahas about Fenris running around with mage spells lol) so it'd be interesting if that was something race effected as well.

-but overall positive, I think it'll feel like more of the same which isn't bad, but I had also hoped with how much time in development There'd be Something More - this is also based off just some sneak peak stuff. I just don't want a repeat of Andromeda where they change the entire feel to something watered down thats for a bigger audience but essentially not Dragon Age/Bioware

-I would love to comment on the story because at the end of the day thats why I play. - game play wise, it seemed expected, story wise I like how many potential things were brought up but its way too early to tell how much we're going to get. It seems more than Andromeda and Inquisition with the factions and new characters and I can only hope that it has as much depth as breadth that its showing

[bumblewarden]

Looking through the soundsets for some alienage pals, and i have spoils to share!

First up is Shianni. I'll be honest, i thought this was her Bad Idea comment at first because she can be so sarcastic, but it is fun to imagine her saying this approvingly. Most of these i've never heard in the game, and i don't know where i could find the actual audio files

I just love her sass

And here's a cute little parallel between Shianni and Soris's battle cries. I'm picturing the childhood wrestling matches already. Shiannii's probably around 2-4 years younger than him but kicking his ass more often than not

Soris also has a pair of delightful figures of speech for his Good Idea and Bad Idea comments

The existence of a Spell Failed comment for Soris had me 👀 for the half minute before i remembered that every companion has one. I assume it's in case any talent regardless of class gets interrupted, but i did start to think about that AU potential for a hot second. Might have to write a fic about it someday. Apostate Soris AU is just ripe for the presses

This one i just really want to know what his line of thinking was. While he's in the party, his only other party member is the Warden. If the Warden goes down, there's no "we" to help them unless you are in that conditional and very narrow window before f!Tabris finds Nelaros. Even while active, that would still mean running across the map to find him. Maybe it was originally planned to have someone else also join you during the break in or for Nelaros to live? Idk. Could just be a regular oversight since it's such a generic line

Moving on to Cyrion with something that is so simple yet would fill my Tabris with so much shame

Also we've got Valendrian coming in with the fire in his belly! He's so much more vicious than i expected! "Such a pathetic creature you are." Hello??? Does he actually know how to fight? Am i going to have to actually play Darkspawn Chronicles for a chance to maybe hear some of this now? What other possible combat scenario could this be intended for except that the toolset doesn't include anything DLC except Shale? I might go insane about this

(Yes, there's also a note that he'll never be in combat or controlled by the player, but at least his threaten and 5th battle cry don't look to be generic. Idk i have thoughts and questions about this, but Alistair's character sheet says he's 32, so it's not like it'd be the first or biggest retcon from the toolset)

We've also got quite a bit of elven coming from Valendrian! I don't think "Mur ta tanalla" even has a known canon translation but whatever it means clearly works as a battle cry

And to close out, some pickpocket reactions in the order of Shianni, Soris, Cyrion, Valendrian. Why did you attempt to steal from your father? Now, he's confused and disappointed

Soris's is definitely written with the CE Warden in mind, but i'd wager Shianni's is written with a non-CE Warden in mind. It's not that i don't think she'd say it, but (considering the VO note is "threatening") i do think that she'd instead take to it more as a poor joke if it were cousin instead of a near-stranger, especially if this cousin didn't accept Vaughan's bribe

Valendrian's line here also doesn't seem like he's speaking to a Warden Tabris considering he's described as a surrogate uncle to the alienage. But also him threatening anyone seems out of character. What happened to "the world has far more use of those who know how to stay their blades"? I'd expect exasperation, admonishment, maybe a little shaming. Can you imagine him saying this to a Cousland armed to the teeth? Combined with what i've already shown from him, it really makes you wonder how much his character changed over the course of development

And, uh, Nelaros. Either this line is miscategorized, or he doesn't quite get the concept of a war cry