#time to not play any games that involve player choice for a long time

[macgyvertape]

BG3 Act 3 thoughts and liveblog part 7

Yeah I romanced Astarion but funnily enough I find him the least physically attractive of all the companions (except Minsc), especially with his out of place ripped abs. I think its just the way he’s “generically attractive” 

I know there’s a lot I missed especially in act 3 when I hit side quest fatigue and had irl responsibilities. I had no idea about the deep stalk mushroom since I blew up that area in act 1, no idea using Heal revealed special Dark Urge backstory since I usually used health potions. I intentionally didn’t finish finding Dribbles because I found the running around tedious, but I never did anything with the newspaper, post office, or iron flask

Like how the game tells me there's no turning back, so I loaded up my squad with as many fireworks and explosives as they could carry. Astarion, Karlach, and Gale are the final group. I made the choice for Karlach over Lae’zel just because she has unresolved business with Gortash and I need Gale for Counterspell and to use these 20k worth of scrolls I’ve been hoarding.

Ok so Gortash is in the morphic pool but sadly Karlach doesn’t have her own conversation with him. There isn’t any dialogue that leads to combat, so I just had my character attack him and said “theres no we” but sadly Karlach doesn’t seem to have any reaction to killing him here and the quest journal doesn’t acknowledge it. Out of universe I want to finish the game vs getting the cutscene at Wyrm’s rock, in universe I think it's very believable my character would want to kill Gortash when he’s isolated especially to twist the knife when he thought he was about to achieve his alliance. Even without the Urge it doesn’t mean she’s good. 

Using Speak to the Dead on Gortash’s corpse and what answered was Bane, with nothing of Gortash left. Bane said my character “lived for power” which is a true characterization up to a point. That Bane punishes his Chosen for failures in the same way Bhaal would have punished her or how Shar punished Shadowheart, this is just another point reaffirming her view that the god's chosen are pawns.

Wow Astarion is really outspoken where he doesn’t care whether we help The Emperor or Orpheus but he really doesn’t want my character to become a mindflayer. 

Karlach offered to be a mindflayer, and I think my character would have considered it the best of a lot of bad options. Becoming a mindflayer is not something she’s willing to do, especially with how Astarion spoke up against it. Karlach is dying and said she’d rather die than go back to Avernus so this respects her wishes in that. Theres no way my character would trust The Emperor with the netherstones, she didn’t even hand them over to Gortash who was less powerful. My character freed Orpheus, yeah he's mad about the creche, but better Orpheus free to fight against Vlaakith than sacrifice for Karlach or worse the Emperor’s powers

On a personal note lame how the Emperor just decides to go join the netherbrain to become a thrall again

The way Karlach is talking about how she has a new chance at life and all it cost was turning into a monster; I think my character would just want to make sure to keep in touch with Karlach more so she doesn’t end up isolated. 

Fun to see the moment where all the allies I have show up. It was a bit buggy where it kept thinking my character was the mindflayer, and the Gondian gnomes weren’t there. 

The ending bit reminds me a lot of Dragon Age Origins final fight but thankfully I’m way overprepared and the game is more generous with healing items and spell slot restores

I got a big kick out of the Emperor summoning all the Dream Guardians as opponents. I recognize mine but who matches what npc or if they’re random

I thought the runepowder bomb would do more, it only did about a hundred damage to the Emperor. All the allies I cared about summoning died waaay too easily so I just summoned Yugir, Astarion’s hoards, and the Necromancy of Thay ghouls to keep the dragon busy, and they ended up killing it

Even if my character trusted that the Netherbrain wouldn’t break out of control after a few months she is way too attached to Karlach, especially after Karlach’s sacrifice, to kill her to control the brain. Karlach sounds so happy that she was the key to the world getting saved and she got to live on afterwards

Sure wish the game offered me a choice in asking Lae’zel what she wanted to do. I told her to go with Orpheus because at this point she and my character aren’t super close so what personal ties or purpose would she have in Faerun? 

Gale is really going for it. The game gave me several conversations about the crown past the point of no return, and I wonder what the key moments to sway Gale actually are and how much room you have to tell him two different things. My character of course is told him to go for the crown and had for most of act 3.

I think it's really interesting my character who over the course of the game has such a up and down relationship with gods, Gale extends her the offer of being his Chosen in his godhood. What are the power dynamics of a kinda former Bhaalspawn who might be as powerful as a demigod one day, who would be tied to Astarion through the vampire sire bond and to Gale through god-chosen bond??

FUCKING HELL the character who talks to you after Gale is randomly chosen, so it could be a character you are romancing or it could be one you don’t like and says nothing about Gale. I spent some time savscumming but this is what compliation videos are for.

Halsin doesn't have much dialogue for my character if he gets randomly selected, it's a shame how the game doesn't treat the romance as if it's relevant here.

Astarion has some snarky dialogue about how since he ascended to power now everyone is doing it, and he thinks Mystra will crush Gale. (edit: looking it up Gale doesn't become a god and there isn't a middle ground of not being a god but just a extremely strong magic user. Apparently the Gale becomes a god ending was cut, which is a shame as he deserves an "evil" ending. Becoming the god of ambition fits so nicely with several character arcs in this playthrough).

Lmao one last conversation with Astarion about the two of yalls evil plans and then its roll credits. 

BG3 Act 3 thoughts and liveblog part 1

I couldn't stop comparing DOS2 act 3 and BG3 act 3, since act 3 is a bit underbaked in both games compared to the other acts, but wow BG3 just has so much more polish and content.

The prologue reveals my character is a Bhaalspawn, I feel like it's just so widely known at this point

Defining character moment for Astarion “the problem with what Cazador has done is he did it to me”. Since Asatarion really wants this she’d help him sacrifice his “siblings” what matters to her is that Astarion is safe, but she’s worried about the unknown details but is still planning as if its possible. The dialogue options of “a killer isn’t worthy of respect” is fucking laughable my character would never say that lmao. 

When the narrator was saying you have a bunch of options what will you do, for my character it felt best to say “when the moment comes I’ll do what feels right”, since she's more of an opportunist

Ooof that fight with the gith was rough even on easy mode.

My character wanted The Emperor to prove he was the protector, but then tried to read his thoughts anyway. She’s also very grateful Lae’zeal wasn’t around when this happened considering Orpheus is real and a renegade mindflayer has him prisoner

Learning that the protection against the Absolute comes from Orpheus being trapped really puts a damper on my character’s plans to not get rid of the tadpole and associated powers. It's too dangerous to count on Orphues being imprisoned. Also the Emperor was a successful power player in Baldur’s Gate, so she’s more wary of his plans and agenda than the fact he is a mindflayer. 

My character did turn down the Emperor’s offer to evolve her, sorry she just is too attached to how her body looks. She also thinks this is a line in the sand she’s not going to persuade her companions on, unlike the tadpole powers. (personally it's the fact that it messes up your teeth, huge personal squick). I guess had my character take on so many parasite powers it gave me a fucking 21 score roll to not evolve. 

EDIT: the next day I got spoiled on the Emperor’s seduction scene and it’s friendly manners being all a front; real fucking surprise pikachu face moment for me. That my character who manipulates, lies, and seduces people might encounter someone who emotionally manipulates, lies and will seduce people. I didn’t fully trust it and thought it might have its own agenda, but still I was a little too trusting that there might have been some genuine emotion. Like DAMMIT I was rewatching Felix rvb scenes before I started the game and he has a line “Funny how an act of sacrifice like that [getting hurt] buys you so much trust”. Which is exactly what the Emperor did, where it knelt down and made a big show of how it trusts me not to hurt it and when it calls on us for that dramatic rescue that while genuine was an excellent opportunity for it to be revealed. Apparently the 21 roll is because I used so many tadpoles which the game treats as buying into The Emperor’s promises. Its repeated lines of “just like you” and “i’m on your side” to establish common ground and then presenting itself as a criminal with “a heart of gold” in its backstory. I/my character was skeptical on some details considering it also presented itself as a major power player, but bought into it’s use of “allies” when what he meant was “pawns”.  

Gale had the comment “you’ve not taken this power for yourself… why offer it to me” and I wish I could respond like what Astarion said, that don’t want to sacrifice my body. Astarion had a whole lot to say on the subject but Karlach only had 1 line about being surprised I hadn’t taken the power/transformation. Funny to see how other companions had lines about how they hadn’t done any tadpole powers and they weren’t about to start now. 

My character’s made an enemy out of the undead lich Gith queen, whom only Orpheus can oppose, and there’s an entire Gith resistance working to free him as well. So that really kills any plan of using the Absolute for herself because she’d be better off with Orphues fighting the Gith queen

Really Astarion and my character have come so far from act 1 where he was warning me about how easily Cazador could kill me to now where he’s saying if Cazador comes for him he’ll strike back and he’ll have my character along with him 

The one group my character has been consistently nice to with no promise of reward is kids, so at this point she’s just resigned to them showing up at camp as long as there’s someone like Withers, Halsin, or Wyll to keep them from getting hurt. 

My character is helping the strange ox yet again. It won’t reveal what it is but she’s really curious, and it hasn’t seemed to kill people, so she’ll help it because it might be a useful ally in the future

I love Biscotti what a GOOD DOG (love the animal writing in this and DOS2)

I think its funny that for a while I was thinking that Astarion wasn’t that pale, but in the bright light of Baldur’s Gate he really is. I think it's due to my monitor that has super high contrast

Surprised Halsin has the most dialogue in the refugee area mostly about how he’s rapidly becoming disillusioned with the city, and I tried a earlier save without him and the other companions like Astarion or Karlach don’t speak up if he’s not there.

Community meme about Gortash: I can excuse him being the chosen of an evil god and using his power to found a murderous evil cult but I draw the line at him and his PMC making surveliance cop robots. Bane is just the god of cops and Gortash works for Boston Dynamics

I like to think a bunch of the companions have been a positive force on my character so she’s helping the refugees in her own manner (lots of intimidation), and wants to see the Tiefling refugees make it after all the struggles. That there were explosives in toys justifies her being nosy and helping

Karlach really wants to go to the circus, unfortunately my character is a vicious murderer lmao. Thankfully she’s great at [persuading] and charming. Astarion, Halsin, and Karlach seem to be the best “go to the circus” group

Incredibly cool to hear my bard character perform along with the other bard in the circus

The dinosaur and the magic cat in the circus are being mistreated, Halsin is right to be mad about it. I used Astarion to pickpocket the key, then mage hand to open both cage doors

My character doesn’t like clowns and after she felt that murderous urge there’s no way she’s getting on stage. I watched the different versions of sending Halsin or Karlach up on stage but sending Astarion up on stage really is the best version. Role playing it as after he made that comment about clowns being a horror and with how both Karlach and Halsin approve of picking Astarion while he doesn’t approve if you pick someone else; its some light hearted group teasing of a guy who usually has a joke at others expense “You love the spotlight, don’t you… here’s your big chance”. Yeah he says he’s going to kill me but he’s not seriously upset.

Astarion and my character both enjoy killing clowns, see we’re great together

My bard character was pissed about the Djinn scamming with the spin the wheel game so of course she went back to rig things to get the jackpot. 

Ok so my character gets her meteorites back, that she’s a Bhaalspawn, she’s not surrendering to the D!urge or worried about atoning, but that she’s being encouraged to slaughter her line and that its the woman who hurt her before is a opportunity for power and revenge coinciding nicely

For now the only person my character is telling is Astarion, this is a big thing to confess and she wants to play this close to the vest for as long as possible. While she did have earnest suspicions since the oubliette, she’s more afraid about standing up to a god and the loss of control. I personally like how Astarion comforts you after that dialogue a lot more, especially the way he says you must try to beat Bhaal and not become a slave.

[delusional-day-dreamer]

New Year's Kiss - p.b

‣ paige bueckers x reader

‣ wc: 3567

‣‣ synopsis: you were known as one of the calmest, most well-tempered players on the ucon wbb roster. so what happens if you lose your cool for the first time in a game? takes place at the uconn vs notre dame game on dec 31, 2022: based off this post/req from my nonnie 🫶, and lowk inspired by paige's bloody nose at the uconn vs seton hall game!

‣‣‣ a/n: hey guys.... i'm so sorry for being so inactive but the writer's block hit me HARD. I have a few more drafts in progress I hope to release this week, thank y'all SO MUCH for the support and patience! Also, for the opponent in this game i refer to her solely as the, "marquette girl", as i don't know their players that well and don't want to use an irl girl!

Up until the second half of the game, everything had been going decent for you. Sure, this game was one of the most aggressive of the season, but you were right in the peak of your season, so it made sense that emotions were running high with the pressure to do well.

But that didn't excuse the fact that the Marquette girl that had been assigned to defend you had been playing dirty the entire night. After the fucking hellish week you had just gotten through, this girl was about to be the straw that broke the camel's. your, back.

After Paige's acl tear in August and the work and energy you had been endlessly pouring into your game from the past two and a half years till now, you had basically solidified your place as one of the main starters on the team, which meant you were receiving a lot more consistent playing time. The thought of being a more prominent player on the team didn't panic you the way it might others, as you you were known for always being a very level-headed, reliable player under pressure, as you had been dubbed by the media as the "Silent Assassin". But tonight was proving to test your limits to the max.

Any time you were on the court for the first two quarters, the Marquette girl had been glued to you, illegally all up in your space, pushing and shoving at you, taunting you over and over again, and even tripping you once when you lunged for the ball. All of which she had done without receiving a single foul, which not only pissed you off, but also your teammates on the court, the players on your bench, and your coach.

And of course, the one time you had defended yourself against her in the second quarter was the only time the ref called a foul on both of you. She had nearly pressed herself up against you the second your hands came in contact with the ball, leaving you with no choice but to pass to your teammate Aaliyah to sink a layup, when she hooked her arm through yours and pulled just as the ball left your hands.

Her unnecessary aggression caused something to snap inside of you, as the second you felt her yank on your arm, you turned around to push her off of you, hard. She stumbled backwards a little bit, not tripping or hitting the ground in any way, but the damage had been done in the, very biased, eyes of the refs.

The two of you rapidly reacted, approaching each other as you were yelling out meaningless threats and a long string of curses. Thankfully, your teammates holding the two of you back firmly, preventing any further physical altercations.

The two of you both received technical fouls for the unnecessary physical contact and unsportsmanlike behaviour. However, the foul you received only irked you more. Why were the only fouls called on her when it involved you pushing back? Could they not see the way she was treating you the entire game?

And of course, Geno wasn't thrilled about one of his starters getting a tech in the first half of the game. While benched, he had chewed you out for losing your temper at her, especially for cursing, which was something refs never let slide. But his reprimands didn't hold the usual level of anger or frustration, as he internally agreed that the Marquette girl had it coming for her, but, he had to remain professional.

Of course basketball was a physical sport, and with aggression came some conflicts with other players, but her behaviour tonight was unprovoked and incredibly aggravating to you. Which only worsened in the third quarter.

After your tech, you had been trying your best to ignore the incredibly annoying actions of the Marquette girl, but you simply couldn't anymore after she had purposely elbowed you in the nose to make her shot.

You immediately stumbled backwards, folding over at the waist as your hands came up in an attempt to alleviate the intense throbbing your nose felt. You could feel the blood begin to dribble down to your lip as you walked over to the bench with Lou escorting you, awaiting the ref's call.

The refs decided to not call a foul on the other girl, claiming that she hadn't reached backwards on purpose, it was simply the angle of her basket and granted UConn two free throws. The call enraged you, and something inside you snapped. You very quickly forgot about the tissue you were firmly holding at your nostrils as you approached him, insisting with him that the call was blind and blatantly biased.

You hadn't noticed the blood resumed to flow down your face while arguing until it hit your mouth, but you paid no mind to the taste of iron that filled your mouth as you persisted angrily speaking to the ref.

"Paige, go get her before she gets another tech," Geno whispered into Paige's ears over by the bench.

She nodded at him, making her way over to you to pull you away from the ref who was now threatening to eject you from the game.

"Okay enough, you need to get checked out by the team medic," Paige wrapped her arm around your waist to pull you away from your heated conversation, despite your struggle against her. She wasn't that much taller than you, but the extra two ish inches she had on you were proving useful right now.

She dragged you over to the bench, ignoring your many protests. She pried the used, bloody tissue out of your fingers to toss to the medic waste bag, grabbing new ones from her hand to help your bloody nose. It was apparent to everyone on your team, even the fans watching, that your stubbornness wouldn't allow you to accept the call that easily and allow the medic to clean you up. So, Paige would just have to do it herself.

Since your first day on the Uconn campus, you and Paige had become extremely close. With the two of you being assigned roommates your freshman year, the COVID year, it would've been impossible to not become best friends, considering the fact that you spent all of your time together.

If not at practice or hanging out with the team, the two of you were trapped inside your dorm, forced to find company within each other for the entire year. And with Paige's injury her sophomore year, you were one of the only people she was able to open up to, other than Azzi, and you had become her comfort during her rehab time, both then and now. Despite no longer being roommates, you two still always hung out at each other's respective dorm, even having frequent sleepovers.

Your incredibly close relationship wasn't left unnoticed by the media either, especially social media platforms like tiktok. When Paige and Azzi denied the relationship allegations at the same time you made it clear that you liked girls, the internet quickly refocused their attention onto you and Paige, and neither of you had the heart to deny any rumors circulating. Considering that after Azzi, you were the least active on your social media when it came to anything other than basketball, it wasn't too hard to ignore the internet's speculation.

All of which to say, Paige had made it incredibly easy for you to catch feelings for her. Until her, you had never known what it was like to be completely head over heels for someone. The way your heart skipped any time the two of you made eye contact, the way your cheeks flushed when she brushed against you, and the chemistry the two of you shared on and off the court was undeniable.

Unbeknownst to you, she felt the exact same way, and for the last two years, everyone but you two could see the feelings you harbored for each other.

If only you could feel the way her heart was beating as she held your face in one hand, using the other to apply pressure to your nose and wipe away at the blood on your face, neck, and jersey as she listened to you rant about the refs and how they were cheating you guys out of fouls the entire game. Although, she wasn't able to focus on the words coming out of your mouth, only the plumpness of your lips as they moved, something you noticed as your verbal attack slowed down so you could take a breath in between your sentences.

"She's literally fucking stuck up my ass and the refs ignore her which is actual bullshit, the amount of times this girl has literally made unnecessary contact or-, Paige are you even listening to me?"

Her lingering gaze on your mouth quickly snapped up to your eyes, a sheepish smile settling onto her now flushed cheeks.

"Yeah, yeah sorry."

She wiped the remaining blood from around your nose before calling over the medic to check your nose. A small bruise had formed near the bridge, but thankfully it wasn't broken. While she was checking your nose, Paige did her best to avoid meeting your curious stares.

Of course the two of you had small moments where you could envision that Paige felt the same for you. But never one that was so blatantly obvious as her staring at your lips, especially so publicly.

Nonetheless, you barely had time to analyze the interaction before the medic was clearing you to return to the game, Paige patting your butt (this) as you jogged by her to sub back into the game, which, until the handshake line, went without any further incidents, despite your team beating them by 13 points (HVL VS TEXAS Y'ALL).

When passing by you, you heard her mutter under her breath, "fucking bitch," in response to your half-hearted, "good game". It was safe to say you didn't take that well, responding to her with, "you wanna come say that to my fucking face? Pussy ass bitch." For both of your sakes, Dorka and one of her teammates were able to keep pushing the two of you down the line and out to the lockers before the post-game conference with Lou, Nika, and Dorka, which Geno insisted you attend to apologize for your behaviour.

***Small Time Skip***

"So Y/N, the multiple incidents that occured tonight with you and (BLANK) from Georgetown, do you have anything to say about them? I mean, you're known for being a very calm and collected player, but tonight we saw a very different side of you," a reporter questioned you. The questions for you from tonight's post-game conference mostly avoided the fight, treading the waters carefully as it was unlike anything you had ever been involved in.

"I'm not gonna try and cover for myself or anything, it was unprofessional and unacceptable for me to lose my temper on the court like that. Like you said, I've always tried to place an emphasis on just basketball when playing and avoid any other personal feelings or problems, but I guess tonight I didn't do as good of a job on that as I could of. This is something that I will keep in mind for all of our upcoming games as that's not the kind of image or reputation I want to set for myself or the team I represent. I would never want this kind of behaviour to be defining moments from our games because my teammates really put their all into every single one of their games, especially tonight's, and I don't want to create any personal animosity with the girls on the Marquette team, as I have a lot of respect for them."

Your diplomatic and cordial answer had appeased majority of the reporters, along with Geno and the team publicist in the back corner of the room. Except for one nosy reporter who seemed unhappy with your tactful response and was practically feining for drama.

“This one is for y/n, but with the events of today, you mentioned that you try to keep all personal feelings off the court. Is that an implication of some external underlying tension or problems between you and number (BLANK), as the two of you got quite physical today?”

What the fuck? Now they really were trying to start something between the two of you that never existed in the first place.

“No not at all. I have no connection with number (BLANK) off the court and don’t even personally know her. As I mentioned before, I have nothing but respect for the girls at Marquette and there are no hard feelings on my end. You know, basketball is a physical contact game and that just means that there a few rough moments here and there, it’s just part of the game.”

If they ask any more stupid questions about you and the Marquette girl you were actually gonna lose your mind. Especially if they somehow tie in the fact that you like girls with the fight.

Which, thankfully, they ended up dropping the fight for the rest of the interview, and you and the others were finally allowed to go out and celebrate New Year's Eve the way they had originally planned to.

The whole team, and Kayla of course, was prepared to celebrate at your favorite local bar, Ted's. All of the girls who were taken were bringing their partners along and those of you who were single were all ready to hunt someone down for a drunken kiss at midnight. Except you.

You were far too down bad for Paige to even fathom kissing someone else at the moment, especially not while going out with her and the rest of the team, who all knew about your ginormous crush on Paige.

Nonetheless, you still did your best to get ready quickly, wearing your baggiest pair of low-rise cargo pants and a very cropped white halter tank top in an attempt to cheer yourself up from the fact you wouldn't have a New Year's kiss this year, again.

But by the time you were throwing back shots at the bar like they were water, you couldn't find it in you to care about how single you were. It was common knowledge that you weren't the best at holding your liquor, as the team often made fun of your ability to get drunk off of two to three shots, which is exactly the position you found yourself in.

Until, of course, "guardian angel Paige" decided she needed to intervene in your drinkfest, walking up to your barstool and effectively cutting you off by having the bartender replace your drink with a regular shirley temple just before midnight so that she, or any of your other friends, wouldn't have to deal with you throwing up at four in the morning.

"You gotta go easy on the shots y/n/n, you're gonna hate yourself in the morning if you keep drowning your liver in alcohol."

"Funny, coming from Storrs's resident party girl, Miss Madison," you teased. There were only about twenty minutes left until bar's tv would depict the ball dropping in New York, and the disparity of your situation had begun to sink in.

Not only would you be suffering through another New Year's with no midnight kiss, but you had no relationships since last year or even a single talking stage, no potential relationship prospects for the future, and worst of all, no Paige.

"Yeah well, at least I can hold my drinks. You, on the other hand, are the most lightweight out of all of us. Besides, what happened to your little New Years tradition, the whole eating the grapes thing to find the love of your life or whatever?"

You went off on a little drunken tangent at this, complaining that it was completely ineffective, but also, the fact that it made you look stupid in front of the entire team when absolutely nothing came out of it.

"I mean it's so dumb. I don't get why my love life is so barren, like actually non-existent, it's not like I'm super unattractive or anything like that. Right? But like, I don't even have a midnight kiss this year, again," you grumbled to Paige, unaware of the way she was staring at your lips for the second time today, mesmerized by their movements.

"You are most definitely not unattractive. You're like one of the most attractive people I know. Besides, it's not like I'm kissing anyone this year," Paige reassured you, and somehow, your drunk brain simply did not process the way she had flusteredly complimented you.

"Yeah but you're Paige Bueckers," you emphasized, "you could kiss anyone in this bar if you wanted. Men and women, single and taken, would literally form a line two blocks down if you even mentioned wanting to kiss someone," you gazed up at Paige from your leaned position against the bartop, watching as the gears turned behind her eyes.

"Anyone in the bar? Like, anyone at all?" She asked you curiously, a small smirk graced her features as she peered down at you.

"Yeah probably, but there's only like two minutes left or something, so you should pick someone soon."

"Oh I already have someone picked out, I just don't know if they would kiss me back."

"Oh?" You felt your stomach drop at her statement, and you couldn't stop the jealousy from coursing through your veins if your life had depended on it. But Paige's unwavering gaze never left your face, and you could feel your cheeks flush at the way she was intently looking at you.

"Quite the staring problem tonight P?"

"Well it's pretty hard to not stare at the prettiest girl in the room," she flirted, scooting closer to you, effectively closing some of the distance between you two.

"I-, what?" You stuttered, taken back by Paige's actions.

"How many hints does I have to drop before you finally start picking up on them? I want to kiss you y/n, I want you."

The ten-second countdown had begun as Paige confessed to you, and you were left gawking at Paige's face, your heart threatening to give out from how fast it was beating.

"FIVE, FOUR,"

You yanked on Paige's belt loop, pulling her flush against your body as your eyes focused in on her lips.

"THREE, TWO, ONE, HAPPY NEW YEAR'S!""

Your right hand reached up to grab Paige's jaw at the end of the countdown, pulling her lips firmly down onto yours. The bar's loud chants barely registered to you as you lost yourself in the intoxication of Paige's lips. Your tongue glided across her lip as your mouths moved in unison, causing her to groan into you. You took it as an invitation to slip your tongue into her mouth, the kiss deepening with unrestrained passion.

Your built-up need for each other was apparent as you made out, sending shivers down your spine at the pressure of her mouth against yours. It felt as if she was the oxygen you needed to breathe, and now that you had her, there was no way you could let her go now.

***The next morning: New Year's Day***

Your eyes fluttered open with a pounding headache, yet, the utterly familiar weight of a certain pairs of hands around your waist provided a sense of comfort you knew only she could provide.

Paige's soft snores rung out throughout the room, and as you gently reached forward to her nightstand to grab your phone off charging, you realize it was still extremely early in the morning, not even eight a.m.

And yet, your phone was blowing up with notifications from all social media platforms, even your text messages had over a hundred notifications.

Confused, you click on the apps to check what all the fuss was about, quickly realizing what had happened.

The entire interaction between you and Paige at the game was recorded by the cameramen and had instantaneously made it's way all over the internet, only fueling the dating rumors about the two of you.

The comments and posts were going feral at the way Paige was the only one who could calm you down, the way she wrapped her arms around your waist to pull you back, her holding your face ever so delicately, her smacking your butt as you ran back onto the court, and of course, her transparent staring at your lips the entire time you were an inch apart from her.

"What are you looking at baby," Paige sleepily mumbled into your neck, tightening her grip around your waist to pull you further into her, slinging her right leg over your waist.

You put your phone down and turned in her hold, wrapping your arms around her body as you peered down at Paige's sleepy face, admiring how beautiful she always looked.

"Your fans are going crazy about how obviously down bad you are for me P," you teased, running your foot up and down her calf as Paige pressed her face into your chest to absorb your body heat.

"Let them, just go back to sleep with me for a little bit longer."

And of course, how could you ever say no when your girlfriend was asking you so sweetly?

a/n: thank you for reading all the way through, and i'm so sorry if the ending is kinda rushed, i just wanted to finally get another fic out 🤗

[topguncortez]

Slap Shot | Teaser

A Jake Seresin Hockey AU || masterlist

Press release from the North Island Daggers: 

“Monday, 

Jake Seresin will not travel with the team to Edmonton for the away game series against the Edmonton Oilers. The North Island Daggers Association declines any further comments.” 

--- --- ---

Transcript from the Paul Marquez Report on ESPN:

Paul Marquez: “The North Island Daggers, quite possibly the worst team in the league who is surprisingly having their best season in franchise history. . . have benched their star player, Jake “Hangman” Seresin. This could be the biggest mistake this team has made in a long time. The association posted their comment on their various social media accounts, and then declined to make any further comment. Coach Beau Simpson did his pre-game press conference and of course was bombarded with questions about the decision to bench Seresin when they are headed into a tough few weeks of away games. Sitting with me in the studio as always, Marcus Kirby and Denny Lester, let’s hear from you guys on this choice.” 

Marcus: “This is the dumbest decision the Daggers have ever made. This kid is amazing. He is the best in the league, probably going to be the best in history. He is this generation’s Rus Hamilton. He is breaking records left and right. He is the reason why the Daggers are finally looking like they could win the Cup this year. This decision to bench him when you’re about to go on a 5-game series against the other best team in the league? This is like choosing to fly Spirit Airlines instead of Emirates. Sure, the kid is a hot head but isn’t that why we-”

Denny: “Isn’t that why we watch Hockey? To watch players pummel each other? Maybe some do, but I watch Hockey because I enjoy the sport. Holloway makes me enjoy watching the sport. Bradshaw makes me enjoy watching the sport. Seresin? Makes me want to watch golf. The dude needs an attitude check. He thinks he walks on water and the sun shines out of his ass. He’s not this generation's Hamilton, and it's insulting that you compared the two. I’ve seen better footwork and stickhandling down on the farm teams. He’s got one hell of a temper-” 

Marcus: “He’s a goon! That’s why!” 

Denny: “He can be a goon all he wants, but you don’t drop the gloves and go after your own teammate. We all saw the way he went after Holloway last week during the game with the Devils. For fucks sake, the other team got involved to pull Seresin off of him. The call to bench Seresin is a good one, and I approve of it.” 

Marcus: “Man, you’ve been a Seresin hater since he went overall one in the draft. What will make you stop drinking the haterade.” 

Denny: “Maybe if he can grow up and pay attention to the sport he’s getting paid millions to play and less on the off-screen conquests and the fights.” 

taglist: @dempy @marchingicenotes7 @abaker74 @aworldwideapart @atarmychick007 @hookslove1592 @lynnevanss @djs8891 @jessicab1991 @senawashere @bethbunnyy @bradshawbaby @coconut152 @jazminlahey20 @averyhotchner @misconceptionmistress @drxgxnslxyer @atinytinaa @hangmansgbaby @buckysteveloki-me @himbos-on-ice @krispybearbouquet @fandom-princess-forevermore

taglist form

[madameevil]

I think I've made my peace with Veilguard being a soft reboot of the franchise. I want more people to be involved in the fandom. I want them to hop in during this game and have fun.

The barrier of entry to the fandom & game series was massive. First you gotta play through a great story in a game that barely runs anymore. Then you gotta play through a good story in a heavily recycled game. THEN you gotta play through a good story buried deep beneath hours of side quests. Then after all that the fandom will talk to you.

I love all DA games...but I've resorted to playing through Origins 10s of times and sending friends the save data to import into DA2 just so they can have some idea as to why I love the games so much.

Instead of all that, imagine just saying hey, it's safe for you to jump in at this point. I'll give you a brief backstory for the small choices you can make and then you can enjoy yourself.

That's great for new players and great to keep the series alive. Even if it is sad to lose some of our world state along the way. We still don't know how the game will handle subjects but so long as it doesn't overwrite anything then that's fine. It's still my world, just a separate corner of it.

Anyway...everyone is entitled to their own opinions on it and everyone grieves the loss of years of adventure in their own way.

I'm still reserving any strong opinions until I actually, ya know, play through the game. I'm not convinced that 7 hrs out of 40-100hrs of gameplay is enough to establish any solid opinions. I mean if this was Inquisition you'd still be trapped in the Hinterlands :P

p.s Happy 7 days remaining until Veilguard!

[myz-wykkyd]

Used my limited graphic design skills to make a chart of all the characters Rosalie has romanced in (almost) every farming sim I've played with her. Lol I'd always wanted to do something like this and I'm pretty happy with the result.

I made a free to use template of it on the right if anyone else wants to show off who they romanced. Feel free to decorate/doo what you like with it- just link back here if you use it so other people can find it o/

Brainrot Below<3

Now, though many of these games involved premade mcs- I've played as some variation of Rosalie in games for as long as I could remember.

I noticed there's a trend that popped up in her choices that I think is as interesting as it is amusing. Ofc, most of these choices were just my personal favorite bachelors of that game, but they were still used to devlop her, and I hadn't realized how much she leaned towards certain professions, personalities, ect. I've concluded my girl loves a hardworking boy whose brooding but sweet- or a golden retriever Marlin: Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life was my first Farming Sim. I didn't get to play the female version until much later in life. So my choice of who'd I/Rosalie married had been pretty decided lonnng before I finally got to play it. But honestly even though I like Marlin, he's kind of the default choice because I didn't care for Rock and Gustafa- and Rosalie wouldn't either. I think if I had ever gotten to play HMDS:Cute I might have liked him more- or she would have married Griffin-

Blue | Harvest Moon: Magical Melody / Friends of Mineral Town: Loved Grey/Blue. (Let's face it their pretty much the same character). Upset the remake took away his hat. Little off topic, but even though character customization wouldn't be a thing in these games for years- I'd used to imagine my character had pink hair like Popuri LOL

Vaughn | Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands: Vaughn was the first time I ever was head over heels for a character in one of these games- I just adored everything about him and I don't think it's hard to see why. Once she got to know him better, Rosalie def would have been hella smitten for this cowboy- (Also Vaughn walked so Logan could run-)

Owen | Harvest Moon Animal Parade: So Owen is an unexpected deviation. Most of these choices are also my favorites, but when I first played through HM:AP Gil was actually my favorite bachelor. I could have made him and Rosalie work, but it just didn't feel right. So after looking them all over I think she def would have preferred Owen

Dylas | Rune Factory 4: One of my favorite games from the genre- and I think the cast of romanceable characters was STACKED. Dylas was my favorite because he was seriously SO damned cute in all his events 🥰 Also think it's kinda funny he's a horse guy and Rosalie has a lot of horse motifs herself-

Alex | Stardew Valley: REALLY unpopular opinion incoming! I've put over 500+ hrs into SV 😭 but in all that time, I've just never clicked with any of the characters. Which really sucks because this is the first game I ever got to play as Rosalie. Alex and Sam were my favs, but I think Rosalie would lean more towards Alex.

Logan | My Time At Sandrock: Logan 😍💖🥰Just, guh- I LOVE everything about him and MTAS so damn much. Especially because the hyper fixation I had with this game/character was what led me to finalize Rosalie's design/character at long last. I developed so much content for him and Rosalie I never got to share 😭hope I can someday!

Mark | Coral Island: God I love big men who love animals- and Rosalie does too. 💦🥰 Honestly, even though he started out as one of my favorites (later to be replaced by Shark man hoo hoo haw), I wished more of his heart events focused on his relationship with the player instead of the dog. It was really cute at first but like 6 of the 8 cutscenes were about it and most of the time he never even interacted with your character. Was disappointing ngl.

Nokk | Roots of Pacha: Now- Nokk is not currently a romanceable character, but I'm hoping the future update will add him to the roster. 🫠💔Cause this is another case where I LOVE the game to pieces but none of the characters speak to me- aside from the one I can't have- Hayden: Fields of Mistria: and last but not least- Hayden. He just completely encapsulates so much of what Rosalie finds attractive, it's a little funny. I'm waiting until the game is finished to continue playing and I can't wait to see what the future holds for him.

The following will include some honorable mentions that I didn't include because I didn't have anymore room on my template/they weren't a farming sim/ect.

First up! Nathaniel from Sunhaven!<3 Feel like this responsible captain of the guard would work well with Rosalie. Honestly, there weren't really any choices that felt right for her, but for once in many years my main playthrough of the game ended up being with a different character and I had someone pre-picked out for her. So there lots of great choices, just none that suit Rosalie well.

[theresattrpgforthat]

Do you have any recommendations for solo TTRPGs about time travelling or being in time loops? Thank you, and happy gaming!

Theme: Solo Time Travel.

Hello friend, I have a good number of games for you to choose from, as well as a few games at the end of this that I’ve talked about previously, or that I think are somewhat relevant.

Dos Milennia, by ell0.

In another reality, the world ended in 2020 and a time machine called Dos Millennia was created to travel to the past. You find yourself holding this device.

Playable as a solo game or as a supplement to another game where you (or a game master) wish to implement time travel to the past.

Judging by what I can get from the comments on the store page, this game can be used alongside something that you read, although it looks like it can also be combined with another ttrpg of your choice. Since it’s only 24 words long, it should be pretty simple to pick up and use.

Revisionist Historian Training Module I, by Amida Bosatsu.

This is a solo journaling TTRPG about being empowered to travel to your past to make changes. The premise is that you are a new employee of Ret-Chron, a company that employs time travel to revise history. Your first training session involves an event in your past. It is assumed that altering an event you know well, in a familiar surrounding will be a good way to ease you into the profession.

I really really like the premise of this game. You use a pair of d4s to determine how successful you are at doing something (Caltrop Core), and provides a series of prompt questions to help you build up the moment in your character’s past that you would like to change. Your character won’t arrive exactly at that event, but rather a few hours before it happens - and so you’ll have time to try and change it.

I think you could potentially experience a good amount of character bleed when you play this game, especially if you replicate an event that’s actually happened in your real life. That might be something that draws you to this game, or something to keep in mind if you pick it up. The rules definitely work for whatever setting you like, so your imagination can fill in a lot of the blanks here.

You own this game if you picked up the Solo But Not Alone 3 bundle!

Out of Time, by GinGal Games.

In this Solo Journaling TTRPG, you are a person out of time who can travel anywhere along the timeline. As you travel you will encounter people and feel large and small emotions. This journal is the record of your travels. 

Out of Time casts you as a member of a super-secret organization, employed with a stopwatch that will allow you to transport yourself to a different moment 15 times. Your role is observation, not intervention - although I think the game is designed to try and tempt you into intervening. You journal while pulling cards from a deck and rolling a d4 to determine when the moments happen, with words attached to the value of the card that you drew. The game itself feels like you can make it rather personal, so if you want to entwine your character with the timeline, you might be interested in this game.

Timeshapers, by Beth & Angel Make Games.

You’ve found a Timeshaper: an object able to change your perception of time. You don’t know how to control it yet, though; each time you touch it, it randomly affects your perception of time. Embrace your new relationship with time.

This is meant to be a game that works for both a group of people or a single person. For a group of people, I think it works best for folks who prefer largely free-form role-play; for a solo player, you could use it by itself, or add Timeshapers to another solo game in order to complicate things, especially if you’re interested in horror or sci-fi genres. The rules themselves are rather simple; it’s basically a roll table with different ways time might affect your character.

Dead Ends, by kay w.

I see it in the rearview mirror. I see it in the middle of the road. It knows. It could kill me right now. It's killed me a hundred times already. If I can just make it for long enough, then I can find the exit. I don't have to be this person forever.

DEAD ENDS is a solo tabletop roleplaying game about a road trip that never ends. In it, you play someone hunted by the Shape, looping again and again through the same four Stretches of the highway. Something you did brought you here, and now there is only one option: keep driving and hope there's an escape.

This is a game where a time loop is one of the fundamental ingredients for horror. It uses a deck of cards to determine the reason why your character is stuck in a time loop, as well as an oracle to determine more about your experience, your memories, and more. I think this game is something worth checking out if you like games that are meant to make your character suffer - if you’re a fan of Wretched & Alone games, you might also like this, even if it doesn’t work exactly the same way.

You Can’t F☆ck with the Timeline, by Lady Tabletop.

You're a traveler and all you can do is watch.

A thought-game for one player.

This is a solo game that you can pretty much play anywhere, about a time traveler who cannot change the timeline; only witness it. It allows you to game-ify people-watching, coming up with answers to questions and creating stories in your head. It can last for as long as you need to wait somewhere, or while you’re on a commute. The game is also short enough that you could probably copy it out onto a small card, and keep it with you as you travel.

A Moment Too Late, by toribee.

Guide a tortoise through the annals of history. However, due to the inherent slowness characteristic of a tortoise, you always arrive just after the major historical events have unfolded. Each time you draw a card, it represents a historical event described with vague and sensory details.

Your task is to interpret these scenes through the eyes of the tortoise, often leading to whimsical and humorous misinterpretations due to its limited understanding of human culture and history.

As you journey through different eras, from ancient battles to key moments of technological innovation, you'll document your adventures in a journal, creating a narrative that blends historical curiosity with the charming perspective of a tortoise.

This is a really funky twist on playing with time, that uses a deck of cards to bring you (and a tortoise) through big historical moments. It looks like you can use this game to play either a specific romp through history (with hints towards what event is going on) or allow the “clues” to keep you and your turtle equally befuddled. If you like cute animals and games that don’t feel too rushed, this might be a game for you.

Other Solo Games In The Ballpark…

The Diner Out of Time, by Mystic Mushroom Press.

Project Ecco, by Elliot Davis.

You can also check out my Time Travel and Solo Games recommendation posts for more!

[cookies-sports]

Women's football journalism, information, misinformation, and online harassment, via England's goalkeeper situation

I've had some thoughts about the state of journalism, "big name" accounts, and the general state of information and misinformation in women's football, and how it contributes to the growing harassment and abuse towards players for a while now. The goalkeeper situation at England, and a whole bunch of things tangential to it, have done quite the job of demonstrating some of the issues.

The general points I end up making are not just applicable to the goalkeeper situation; it is causing problems for all kinds of things in women's football. It certainly is playing a role in how racism, misogyny, and other forms of bigotry are increasing within the WoSo fan spaces.

I just found this situation particularly rooted in many of the problems around misinformation spreading and how rivalry between two distinct "sides" was leading to harassment. It's a long ride, because I like to ramble and yap, and can do so about many things. So buckle up (if you want).

A word on contributing issues

While I have issues with the quality of a fair amount of women's sports journalism, especially women's football, I'm not saying any of the following applies to all journalism in the women's game. Some reporting is well researched and well-written. I also don't think the quality issues are the sole problem.

I think there are a few other things involved as well, including:

A number of popular social media accounts got big after the Euros and are not massively knowledgeable about women's football pre-Euros.

Social media algorithms and the way they push and restrict content on people's dashboards.

Search engines being a black hole of a mess that makes it increasingly difficult to find older articles and information.

The general cesspit that often is rivalry in sports, including the bigotry and abuse it brings and how it gets written off as "banter" or a "really small minority" so it's never really dealt with.

The more general issues reported in social interactions in more recent years, exacerbated by the pandemic and other factors.

You could probably write a book if you wanted to cover them all (maybe someone is! I'd like to read it). The main focus here is journalism and information from big name accounts, with some references to the other points above.

An overview of the goalkeeping situation at England

In summary, under Sarina Wiegman, Mary Earps had, up until recently, been the first choice goalkeeper. She put in strong performances at the Euros and at the World Cup. As a result, she received a lot of media attention and accolades and, already being quite popular on TikTok, her social media blew up. There was a lot of backlash alongside the fanbase that grew for her. Some of that was pure misogyny from men who hated her, women's football, and anything related to it. Some of it was from fans of women's football who felt she was overrated or didn't like her for various other reasons, some football related, some less so.

After having a strong season at Manchester United in 2022/23, a lot of problems began to appear for Earps (and at Manchester United in general). As time went on, Earps' performances for club throughout the 2023/24 season became inconsistent, and a few of her performances for the England team also wobbled. She ended the 23/24 season with a match where she conceded 6 goals to Chelsea.

At the same time Earps was on a low; Hannah Hampton was on the up. She cemented herself (mostly) as Chelsea's first string keeper by the end of the 23/24 season and had earned herself some admirable performance, stats and kudos. Made more impressive by the fact she played fewer than half the season's games for the team. Talk, of course, turned to whether she was the one who should be stepping up to take England's #1 shirt. Khiara Keating also had a strong season, having to step up unexpectedly to become Manchester City's #1 keeper, earning herself the Golden Glove for the season in the process while still a teenager.

Then, in the Euro qualifiers, Earps went off injured and Hampton subbed in, and stayed in for the remaining qualifier games. Even after Earps had recovered from her injury. The 2024/25 season started: Earps struggled in her start at PSG, and Keating was dropped back to second string keeper at City, then not called up for England at all. Leaving the #1 shirt seemingly Hampton's.

This competition between the goalkeepers has been taken up by the media and other accounts in a way that I think demonstrates many of the problems in WoSo journalism and information generally, and also probably to the detriment of all players involved.

The journalism and discussions around England's goalkeepers

Truthfully, Keating has not been the focus of much of the media attention. The Earps vs Hampton narrative has been the focal point. However, Keating has her own challenges right now following an arrest for possession of cannisters of nitrous oxide. It is entirely possible that her dropping to second keeper at City and off the England team entirely is as much to do with that as it is to do with her still being young and needing to develop her skills as a keeper in various ways. I don't want to say much more about Keating's situation because we don't know everything and there's probably stuff going on there that the public are not privvy to, so she's facing a lot is where I'll leave it.

With Hampton and Earps, however, the media have had a field day, knowing that if they push the rivalry/fighting for the same spot angle, they will drive clicks and engagement to their posts and articles. Earps' name is already used a ridiculous amount to drive engagement; to the point TikTok videos that she made for fun were being used as the basis to write whole articles.

An article came out just after the qualifiers that made a big deal about how Wiegman was "firing a warning shot by benching Earps", letting other players know that no-one was safe. It was all a very dramatised way to say 'if player's aren't in form, they might not play' (which given some of Wiegman's choices, I feel that it has only applied to the goalkeeping position so far, if we're honest). It worked because it got some of the people who didn't like Earps celebrating her downfall and some of the people who did like Earps making a big deal about it on social media. Discussions about it began to very quickly show that there was absolutely the "Earps side" and the "Hampton side" in some parts of the WoSo fanbase, and the media were going to hammer on all the sore points they could find there to get their engagement.

Earps then had a disastrous start in the domestic season at PSG when PSG were knocked out of the Champion's League by Juventus. WoSo journalists and popular accounts who had never shown an interest in the Première Ligue posted about PSG and Earps' performances, pulling clips of poor moments and posting them to the predictable engagement of their followers. (Once Earps and PSG settled down into more of a rhythm in the Première Ligue, these journalists and big accounts by and large lost interest.) If you listened to some of these journalists and accounts, PSG's failures were entirely Earps' fault. She lost them the Champion's League qualifications.

It's not true. Earps was poor in the Champion's League games, but so was everyone else on the team. PSG were a disaster; they were completely overlapped on the wings and could barely get any shots, let alone any on target. I can understand why PSG started Earps, but you have to wonder whether those games might have been slightly less disastrous (though it's not like the goalkeepers could make the forwards score) if Kiedrzynek had played given she can speak French well and was already much more familiar with the team.

Anyway, after that there was even more celebration of Earps' downfall online, with an increase in the number of negative comments on her social media, ranging from mockery to outright abuse with a hefty dose of misogyny. 3 days after the Champion's League second leg game, Earps was on the bench and Kiedrzynek started against Guingamp. Despite the fact it was quite apparent that this was rotation at play, the English media had their cue: out came the articles about Earps being benched. Then Earps was unwell for the game after that and dropped out of the squad shortly before kick off. All this is where misinformation really ramps up, but I'll come back to that.

Meanwhile, as Earps had numerous struggles in her season, Hampton had a strong start at Chelsea, with the team winning all their games in the league and Champion's League (which Hampton has not yet played in yet) so far. Hampton has also made some key saves to prevent some defensive embarrassment on Chelsea's behalf, including keeping their 1-0 lead in the season opener under a lot of pressure from Villa and keeping out multiple attempts at an equaliser in an intense second half against Arsenal at the Emirates.

Like Earps, Hampton has been rotated for one game and was unable to play one game because she was unwell.

England camp came about in the international break and the Hampton vs Earps discussion reared back up again. More articles came out about the competition between Earps and Hampton; both players were asked about it in interviews. Discussion online brought the two fanbases back into butting heads.

Hampton started against Germany in England's friendly a few days ago and... well, apparently the England team had watched PSG's disastrous chaos in their Champion's League games and decided to use it as inspiration because the game was mayhem. 7 goals, no-one looked outstanding on the pitch, lots of chaos with panic vibes. Earps was shown on-screen after some of the goals went in, watching from the bench, and one photo in particular has been all over some parts of WoSo social media. A lot of presumption is being made about the look on Earps' face, but honestly, it looks like a woman who knows damn well that camera is going to pan to her, trying to keep her face as neutral as possible while her team has just gone 3-0 down.

Now we're waiting to see what happens in the friendly on Tuesday.

Misinformation, Disinformation, and Harassment

If you go under numerous posts on social media now about Earps, you will see multiple people who completely believe that Earps is riding the bench at PSG, or that she's been dropped from the squad, or that she's not getting any minutes. Even Wiegman commented during a press conference that there was this sentiment in English media that Earps isn't PSG's first string keeper, when she is.

As of writing this, Earps has played more minutes domestically (Premiere League + Champion's League) this season than Hampton so far. 450 minutes to 360 minutes.

So where has this narrative of her not playing come from?

WoSo journalists, big name accounts, and multiple accounts on social media, mostly. That news article that came out the first time Earps was on the bench, reporting on her fall from stardom — from "Sports Personality of the Year to PSG's bench" — was the start. Then when Earps was unwell ahead of the next game and Kiedrzynek played again, this also led to commentary online. Now not only was Earps benched, she'd been dropped entirely!

Some people tried to point out that there was no way Earps was off the squad completely and it was much more likely she was sick or injured, but it was somewhat overshadowed. It didn't matter that she came back as the first keeper for the next two games, the media had already moved on by that point.

So, now we have a bunch of people who seem to genuinely believe Earps isn't playing at the moment and who have never thought to double check that assumption before posting about it.

There's also been an assumption that Earps is the individual referenced in part of a recent expose kind of article in L'Équipe. The article is about various problems at PSG and in one part, there is a mention of an unnamed "international player who complained that her lack of game time was affecting her social media engagement". Now, I couldn't say that it definitely isn't Earps: I'm not at PSG. However, it would be strange for a person who has voluntarily taken a break from social media (a break which started weeks before the article came out) and who is regularly playing to be the person to complain about lack of minutes affecting social media. In a write-up in another article, a player (not Earps) was actually named as being unhappy about her limited minutes so far, though no reference of social media was made, so it's unclear if they're the same person.

What probably made it easy for people to presume the article (not that many of them read the article, it is in French and behind a paywall; they read a tweet thread about the article) was about Earps was that they already believed, thanks to the earlier articles, that Earps wasn't playing.

Hampton has also been the subject of media scrutiny and judgments, though not so much in recent years (sadly, I think that is likely to change and she'll be subject to unwanted media attention again, too). After a departure from England camp in 2022 and some strange tensions and goings on at Aston Villa, articles began to crop up about Hampton being sent home from the England camp for "attitude problems". No-one knew anything more than that, and the original article itself was fairly light on details with a strong hearsay vibe to it. Hampton some time later posted online about being in hospital.

Aston Villa was another matter entirely where, in addition to what was reported, the coach at the time, Carla Ward, made some comments in an interview that invited more scrutiny to Hampton. Ward and the author of the original Guardian article were criticised by some, especially given Hampton's age and the scrutiny she was being placed under as a young player. It all added to the general sense of "something is going on!" that interested the media. With little information to go on, though, the story soon found itself falling out of the news cycle and Hampton returned to the England squad some time later.

However, it has arguably left some people already primed to assume Hampton has attitude problems. I've seen some suggest this underpins some of the online discourse about Hampton in recent days.

We're a few days out from England vs Germany, in which Hampton had a fairly shaky performance. Now she is in the awful position of receiving abuse online from some people who rate Earps over her, from some women's football fans who take issue with her performance, and those same men who hate all women's football but it has popped up on their page due to the social media algorithm. (Misogynistic football fans, if you interact with posts about women's football, the algorithm will feed you more of it. That's why you keep seeing more of it.)

Weirdly, Earps has also caught flack from the misogynists who just assumed she was in goal and don't actually know Earps from Hampton... Goes to show just how knee-jerk the misogyny and hatred is, I guess.

And the rival fanbases have come out to clash once again. Fans of Hampton are pointing out that more of the blame lies on the outfield players than Hampton and are posting about Earps' worst performances to point out that she also had bad games. Some are claiming that Earps "never received this criticism or hate for her poor performances", when she did, including from some of the same people making the claims. Some of those who previously posted things to the effect of 'you can't always blame the defence, if Earps was a better keeper she'd save more of them' are now claiming the goals Hampton let in were unsaveable and entirely the outfield's fault. The outfield were absolutely to blame for a fair chunk of those goals, but Hampton didn't have a particularly good performance either. No-one in that defence came away unscathed.

At the same time, fans of Earps are equally ridiculously claiming that Earps would have saved both penalties or not conceded behind the mayhem on the field. They are all over social media insulting Hampton just as Hampton fans are insulting Earps, and calling for her to be dropped. There is no way Earps would not have conceded in that disaster of a game. A like-for-like comparison on the goals is a pointless endeavour because both keepers run their back-lines differently. Additionally, while Earps has made some huge penalty saves in the past, no keeper is expected to save penalties because the odds are stacked so much against them. The likelihood of her saving one let alone both is small. It's a silly and immature argument to make.

It is, in summary, very much a case of "any under-performance from the player I like is someone else's fault, any poor performance from the player I don't like is entirely their failing" repeated over and over. That and a mix of "my well rounded and justifiable criticism" vs "your unwarranted and uninformed hate" for every discussion. So, a big chunk of football rivalry in a nutshell.

As the argument rages about each keeper's strengths and weaknesses, current form and past performances; a whole bunch of fans are being incredibly vile and unpleasant, including sending abusive comments to the players. As I said above, Earps has been off social media for the most part (she's posted what seem to be some contractual posts like partnerships/sponsors, with nothing personal) for weeks, and now Hampton has had to turn off the comments on her most recent social media post. I think it would probably serve them both well to stay well away from social media for the foreseeable future; something I think we will see more and more women footballers having to do.

The push for more rivalry (which some fans were calling for) and the media squeezing all they can out of this goalkeeper situation may have brought a lot of online engagement and discourse, but I doubt it's done anyone much good. And I suspect neither Hampton nor Earps will have any peace going forward.

We're in a situation now where we have a young goalkeeper being held up as the WSL's best keeper and England's number one at just 23 years of age; she has a huge and unfair weight of expectation on her shoulders. Whenever she fails, she will be bombarded with awful comments and harassment. If Earps gets put back in goal and she fails, those same fans of Hampton will come back just as viciously to berate her. Both of them will likely be scrutinised, compared and contrasted when they return to their clubs. Any failures there won't go unnoticed.

Certain fans of each will only ever see the best of their favourite and the worst of the other. They will use that to fuel more engagement and rivalry online, which will lead to even more clashes between the fan bases. Some criticism will be level-headed and reasonable; others will just be hateful and abusive. There will be squabbling about what falls into what and dismissal of just how much of the latter there is.

You can only imagine this has to put some strain on the two keepers. Competition is healthy and necessary; this bullshit? Is anything but helpful. Each of them has strengths where the other struggles and they could push each other to improve in those areas, but with the constant push of vicious rivalry and their every moves scrutinised by the media for engagement, I have to wonder how much that gets in their heads. It's easy to say "well, they should just be professional and get on with it", but it's not easy to shrug that stuff off.

So, the poor quality reporting from the media over the years and how information spreads in the world of WoSo fans has now contributed to a situation with two players at the centre of scrutiny and abuse. Neither can win, both will end up losing out somewhere, and I can't imagine it's going to get any more pleasant from here on out. Maybe, and hopefully, I am wrong.

Some resources for references

I've included the references because I'm talking about the media and their role in all this. Given the above discussions, a critical approach should be used while reviewing them. Some of them are downright odd in their approach, some are poorly research and others are more balanced.

TikTok clip from Steph Houghton and Ian Wright discussing Khiara Keating

The Telegraph, Hannah Hampton v Mary Earps: Battle to be Lionesses No 1 shows Sarina Wiegman will drop anyone

The Times, Mary Earps: from Spoty winner to PSG bench (with no shirts in club shop)

Goal.com, Mary Earps vs Hannah Hampton: England need long-time No.1 to thrive at PSG amid competition from Chelsea star for Lionesses starting berth at Euro 2025

Football.London, Hannah Hampton gives Sarina Wiegman more questions than answers as England reach Euro 2025

Goal.com, Is Mary Earps in danger of losing the England No.1 shirt? Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman confirms PSG goalkeeper is facing 'huge competition' from Hannah Hampton after tough start to life in France

BBC, Sarina Wiegman 'will not comment' on Hannah Hampton's absence from England squad

The Guardian, Euros winner Hannah Hampton dropped by England over attitude

Since-71, Four Different Versions of Events: Hannah Hampton In Media Disarray

Telegraph, Mary Earps still in my plans despite PSG struggles, says Sarina Wiegman

BBC, More questions than answers for England in defeat

L'Équipe, Élimination en Ligue des champions, tensions en interne, joueuses frustrées... le climat est électrique au PSG féminin

[patchwork-crow-writes]

Thoughts on Kris x Ralsei

This is so long I had to split it up into parts - this is Part 1, which looks into how the roles that Kris and Ralsei are given contributes to the idea of their romance. As more parts are written, they'll be linked below in this handy-dandy TOC!

Part 1: And They Lived Happily Ever After <- (You Are Here!) Part 1.5: I Believe Your Choices DO Matter Part 2: A Pair of Star-Cross'd Lovers Part 2.5: In Another World, We Could Have Been (Just) Friends

Okay, so.

Wanted to elaborate a bit on my viewpoint of this ship, because I don't think it's something I've ever really discussed before and I think it's actually a very interesting dynamic (or at least has the potential to be, depending on where the rest of Deltarune goes).

So, Kralsei is cute, isn't it? It's fun to hug the fluffy boy and watch him melt into incomprehensible stuttering and blushing. All the little signs he's really, really into Kris, all the cute little snippets of dialogue you can initiate with him, all the alone time they spend together, in both chapters... honestly, the game makes it hard not to root for this pairing.

And yeah, it's cute... in a very surface-level, don't-think-about-it-too-hard kind of way. But once you start thinking about it... hoo boy. There is. A LOT to unpack here. So much more is going on just under the surface, and once you see it, it's difficult to un-see it. And in my opinion, it makes the Kralsei dynamic so much more nuanced, more compelling, and potentially quite tragic.

Now, a disclaimer: it's fine to like this ship on a surface level. No real harm is being done, these are fictional characters and it doesn't matter what reason you enjoy it for - if it provides comfort to you and gets you through, then more power to you! This is more me sorting through my thoughts on the subject and is not a judgment on how others approach it. With that said, and in the spirit of full disclosure, this will go into slightly uncomfortable territory - picking apart the idea of destined love, the deconstruction of common romance tropes, how outside manipulation might play a part, and even the potentially incest-adjacent nature of the relationship. If you don't want to deal with any of that, you can stop reading right now, and that's okay. Please continue to enjoy Deltarune in the manner that is best for you, and thank you for your attention thus far :)

If you're still with me, then please click the read more and we'll get started.

Part 1: And They Lived Happily Ever After

The first thing you have to understand is that Deltarune is utterly determined to cram the notion of Kralsei down the player's throat. The game is not subtle about this in any way, shape or form. Everything from the narration, to the dialogue, to major game events, to item interactions, and even the roles that Kris and Ralsei play both in the story and the party, serves to reinforce the notion that these two are very likely to end up romantically involved with each other in some way.

Let's look at the characters first. Kris is portrayed as the noble knight - stoic, unwavering, courageous, a natural leader - clad in medieval-inspired plate armour and wielding a sword and shield. And Ralsei is the archetypal princess - demure, dainty, kindhearted, nurturing - who uses magic to heal his allies and pacify enemies.

I did not mistype there - Ralsei is a prince, but the characteristics associated with him are more commonly found amongst female healers in JRPGs. Think Fina from Skies of Arcadia, or Marle from Chrono Trigger (minus the temperment), and you might have an idea of what I'm on about.

Think of knights and princesses for a moment. Imagine St. George slaying the dragon to save a helpless damsel. Imagine Lancelot and Gwenevere. Robin Hood and Maid Marion. Link and Zelda. Squall and Rinoa. Every single fairy tale involving an imperilled princess and a knightly rescuer. For a more modern take, imagine The Bodyguard. Ness and Paula. I could go on, but then we'd be here all day.

Suffice it to say that there is a pretty entrenched tradition surrounding these archetypes - a male-coded, phsyically-adept, courageous, stoic, action-oriented figure, is paired with a female-coded, magically-adept (depending on the medium of course), less-physically-capable by comparison, emotional, and more passive foil. The (male-coded) knight protects and rescues, the (female-coded) princess nurtures and soothes.

It is a very, VERY emotionally-charged dynamic, by its very nature. Through their acts of service to their protectee, the Knight displays their devotion and care for the Princess, and is in turn emotionally-enriched and cared-for. There is a great deal of physical and emotional vulnerability between them, and it is therefore ideal for romance stories.

Look at Kris and Ralsei again, through this lens. Kris is immediately put into the role of Knight, and Ralsei quickly establishes himself as a classic Princess. Almost instantly, before you've even become aware of it, you've made the connection - they're going to fall in love, because that's what ALWAYS happens in these stories. Ralsei supports and encourages Kris, both in dialogue and in battle, and Kris...

...Kris, uh...

...they...

...hug Ralsei sometimes...?

...they... they give him a ribbon...?

...no, that can't be right.

But it is right, for two reasons. One, Kris doesn't have to do anything. The roles are already established, and Ralsei is playing his part like a pro. And two, Kris doesn't do any of those things in the first place - you do. It's the player who hugs Ralsei, who gives him the ribbon, who picks the dialogue options, who makes the connections. You're the Knight in this scenario, not Kris.

Because Kris doesn't get to make that choice. Kris has to do what you tell them to do. And many of us have already jumped to the conlusion that this romance is happening, becuase that's what always happens. The Knight and the Princess fall in love. They get married. They live happily ever after.

So we ship them, because hey, it's cute, and it's easy. I can't stress enough how easy the game makes this. I'm fairly convinced that Ralsei was designed by comittee, like the Funzo toy in that one episode of the Simpsons. Like he was created with the sole purpose of being the most disgustingly adorable, lovable, awkward little cinnamon bun that ever existed. Like he was created to generate the maximum emotional response in players. It's the cuteness response dialled up to 11, and we are almost hard-wired to want to protect this little bundle of fluff from any and all danger, because lookit how sweet and adorable he is! The glasses make his eyes look all big, his fluffiness is reminscent of that of baby animals, he stutters and fumbles his way through dialogue, and you just want to scoop him up and put him in your pocket or something.

And so, we're more than happy to fulfil the role of the Knight to Ralsei's Princess. Whether Kris actually wants to or not. Because it does become increasingly obvious that outside of our influence, Kris is still their own person, with their own goals and desires, but no real agency with which to pursue them. Would that we could know what they truly want, but we are never presented with an opportunity to find out.

The thing is, Kris is not particularly... knightly. They play pranks on their friends, they swipe sweet treats from their mother, they seem to enjoy getting a rise out of people, and particularly from Asriel, if the story about "dropping the lizard into the pit to jump higher" is any indication. They sleep through class, yet by Berdly's grudging admission they are the "third smartest in the class". The only reason they go to church is so they can drink the "sick fruit juice". They don't seem to have any issue with prank-calling their mom, while she's taking about them with their tutor, while they're standing just out of sight, while they're balancing a trash orb on their head.

Nothing about this behaviour screams "Knight." If anything, it would make more sense for Kris to have become a Rogue-type character upon entering the dark world. So the question remains - why is Kris forced into that role? And to what extent is the seemingly "fated" romance between Kris and Ralsei part of that role?

Folks, we have barely scratched the surface here. If I keep writing here this will become a novel, so I have to stop for everyone's sanity. But I will follow up soon, looking into the ideas of Purpose and Destiny and how they relate to Kralsei in-game. If you've stuck with me up to this point, let me just say thanks, because wow I wrote a lot here, and it's probably a bit rambly and says the same things two or three times, but I just. Had to get this onto the page in some way or another, so... here it is.

Thanks for reading, and see you in the next one :)

[rudesun]

Finally rambling about my pre-mutation Candyman i've been wanting to do this for too long

So ! As previously stated I named him Mehdi Insel. He was a known Lethal League player when it was still legal to play in it, but ! He also worked in a candy store plus he was an actor at the local Theater. He was the oldest out of the 4 kids of the Insel family (24 years old at the time).

He got into the Lethal League when his job and his side gig couldn't afford his appartment. The rest of his family was struggling already with money and so he felt guilty to even think of asking for help. A friend initiated him to the game and soon after Mehdi realised he wasn't so bad at it ! And as he got passionate about it, one night, he had an idea. He combined his current playstyle with his biggest talent, acting.

From that point each match he was in slowly became a theatrical performance, especially if the stage chosen for the fight is the Theater Mehdi works at, with music, costumes and stage lighting added to the experience.

Mehdi got a sudden rise in popularity. No matter if he won or lost, people rooted for him. Behind the scenes however, that rise made him anxious.

He started putting more effort into his style. Each performance had to be better than the last. If not, what would the people supporting him think ? He isn't going to let them down obviously. It was a terrible loop. A well he drowned in.

Of course, time passed and that anxiety soon became fear. Those around him noticed it. It was an awful fire, and yet the audience only saw stars.

This couldn't last any longer. But the way it all ended was much worse.

One day, during the quarterfinals of an important tournament....

Everything was going well, the show went on as Mehdi and his opponent fought in the most natural of ways. Yet near the end of it, when Mehdi was in the middle of smashing the ball, his weapon of choice, his cane, broke.

The ball flew around the room, hitting him right on his back, leaving him on the floor. Injuries during the game is common but not quite like this. Mehdi couldn't get up, and the impact was hard enough for it to ripple throught all his body. He was brought to the hospital immediately.

The last people that saw him alive were the doctors that were in charge of him and his younger brother, Hans, that has been living with him for four years.

Mehdi died two days after the incident.

The game was now declared illegal and as the Police got involved, it found evidence that the ball used during the match was sabotaged and with that in mind the opponent that played against Mehdi that day got arrested and sentenced to death despite the opponent claiming his innocence.

That day, people lost a friend and a brother. He was a talented young man gone way too fast. That's what the Tri-government wanted people to believe.

TLDR: Silly guy "dies" and the government is responsible lol

Anyways this was long ! I hope whoever read that enjoyed it, i'm very very normal about my LLB interpretation thingie

[little-elf-wanders]

Let's be real solavellan romancers, if your inquisitors were the ones to talk to Solas instead of Varric only one of two things would happen. (Please note, this isn't me trashing your love of the ship, it's just a realistic take on how the game would be a nightmare to navigate if that moment had an Inquisitor instead of Varric.)

Your Lavellan would join him if you couldn't redeem him. I've seen so many of you be ride or die for this egg (I don't get it cause I don't like Solas or his plan but we love a power couple regardless, unlock that villain era bestie) which means the developers would need to add an Inquisitor as an actual boss or person to fight later as Rook. In no world is that able to be made in the game - at least not from a previous PLAYER CHARACTER because it's simply too much work to get right and logistically? Impossible to get perfect - it'd need a shit ton of time and you all have so many head canons that one thing being wrong would be upsetting at best but a game ruiner at worst. Unless the game HAS that amount of choice from the get go, which it doesn't, it's not a realistic avenue. (Nvm all the damn dialog they'd need to do or class versions.) To divert that, Inquisitor just shouldn't be there OR shouldn't be a combatant; so who would? Varric. Maybe they're on their way to join up, maybe they're on their own investigation of Solas but they aren't there YET. Events need to happen for the game to kick off. Otherwise it's just... the Solavellan show. (I do understand you want a big reunion, a lot of others do too. I'm desperate to meet Zevran again as Warden and not have it be buggy or ruined, but it won't happen. Also Fenris. Again, won't happen. At most we get little mentions and it's back to the game. You need to be slightly more realistic with expectations on the part Inquisitor will play with Solas - maybe you'll get your dreams to come true, I don't want to shit on them personally, tragic romances are fun, redemptions can be fun, but it just wouldn't have happened in that scene is all I mean.)

2. The whole game would be rendered moot because your Lavellan showed up and convinced him to stop and I guess Rook's part in it has no point being there. Because if Solas were to stop, the ritual gets fucked anyway from what the gameplay suggested, stopping it mid way meant it would release the old gods he'd locked away - he was never going to compromise that part. For anyone. He's very 'fuck this version of Thedas I don't agree with'. Your Lavellan being there wouldn't have changed a single thing by that point and it wasn't supposed to be stopped, it's the whole reason for the game - he was already in the middle of it - and it would just be harder to script because... well. Not everyone wanted to romance Solas, and his romance actually feels very conditional to him admitting things or nearly admitting things. A high approval platonic Solas never comes close to the level of vulnerability he showed with a romanced Lavellan. Which would change a lot, or in a lot of peoples eyes should change a lot. But even then, then it'd be LAVELLAN'S fault and Solas would be a Changed Man from the get go with zero exploration for Rook? That's boring imo. It'd place the Fuck Up on Lavellan's shoulders. Not Rook's. Any way you spin it afterwards, scenarios where a Lavellan is involved, you would be angry of the outcome even if Rook still did what they did. An Inquisitor would be upset at Rook for going ahead with the statue shove anyway and not waiting. So now you have a Rook vs Lavellan/Inquisitor scenario to consider with tension dialog to add in. It's just WAY too much for game developers to write, animate and scenario because if Inquisitor was there in general...Lets step away from this moment in the mindset of romance and just add an Inquisitor, because if your Lavellan is there then if not romanced an Inquisitor would be in her place. It's the same impossibly long to make happen scene with too many variables to add in. Different races, classes, reactions from Solas, dialog from Inquisitor. Too much from the previous game. With Varric, they at least can make it happen and know only some won't be happy but everything runs smoother storybeat wise. Everything still happens. They only need to write one cutscene. One script with the mindset of Rook's reactions. Not Rook AND Inquisy. Or Rook AND Lavellan.

I get the wish for Lavellan to be there for her love, with her love, to convince her love but... just on a game level, I get why previous playable characters haven't had massive roles in games with new heroes. It seems like an exhaustive nightmare.

Please don't misunderstand me, in an ideal world, you get a reunion with Solas where the game developers had the time. I hope you get your tragedy romance or redemption options - despite me not liking Solas, I do hope they do something to make me change my mind, it'll be a little too late in my own Lavellan's eyes but... at least it'd be an option.

I might feel a little cheated as a player who didn't get the same consideration for renunions, however, because this a slippery slope for Hawkes and Wardens. And even Inquisitors with non-Solas romance partners. Just because my character didn't happen to romance the future antagonist they have less impact? It feels dodgy. So there has to be reasons not to shoehorn the Inquisitor in while still letting you have some sort of moment. I think having Varric there is a good way to get around that headache. I don't want to ruffle any of your feathers, I just saw a load of comments on youtube about it and had to get my take out there.

My views on him aside, Solas is a compelling villain. His story is tragic and pathetic and there's potential for a lot of ways they can go. I just hope we get those options and aren't strong armed into accepting his initial goal because 'these two are WORSE than me look!'

My Lavellan:

[moondustocean]

Dragon Age Veilguard review after 65 hours - 87/100

Pros:

• the combat is fun

• the main quest is interesting and has some great twists, same goes for the side quests

• conclusions to some plot points from former games

• Rook's factions are one of my favorite part of the game (I played a grey warden and it was mentioned constantly, I even had the option to force someone into the joining. My Rook had friends and a life before everything started. I felt really involved in the warden storyline. Sometimes Rook even pointed out when they came close to dark spawn hords since they could sense them. I felt more like a warden than in DAO.)

• I always loved the "galaxy readiness" - system in Mass Effect, so I was over the moon when I saw that DAV had a similar system

• dialogues change a lot depending on Rook's faction or what Rook said or did to NPCs

• companions remember what Rook said to them. Sometimes they try to change Rook's mind over a long time or they refer back to it

• companion quests

• companions can have relationships with each other, they've conversations and meetings without Rook

• the romance (the flirt faces aren't awkward anymore)

• relationship bar is back in a way

• best Bioware CC so far

• small maps

• the locations feel alive (there are also some cute little nonsense interactions like petting animals or giving money to homeless people and bards)

• the environments are stunning

• one desicion can change a location (look and storyline) completely

• the lore was peak as always

• you can activate statues to get more health or ability points but there are no collectables

• some cameos arrive with their old theme, there are also bards that play the DAI bard music

• everything was really alive

• the blight was better portrayed than ever before

• great NPCs

• companions can die depending on your choices

Cons:

- few references to former games

- retconning

- many missed opportunities for cameos (I know people say "new player would get confused by them" but we also don't know any of the new NPCs and their introduction lacked)

- Inky's role was shallow, they should've had a bigger role, it was their fight as well after all

- the game doesn't explain the factions/countries well enough. For example new players won't know how hugh and important the Tevinter Imperium is

- nearly impossible to play a serious Rook

- NPCs tend to explain the situation too often. To a point where three people talk with each other and nearly everyone says the same. Or you run through a level and the companions point out 5 times what you've to do next or they give you short summaries of stuff you've JUST heard

- the tone is off from time to time. There was a quest in which Rook and their companions should've been frightened yet they cracked jokes the entire time. DA was always open to jokes but who laughs when someone just died right in front of them?

- many NPCs treat Rook like a child and act way too young/giddy

- almost no real disapproval, everyone loves Rook

- the ending was underwhelming

All in all:

I had a great time. Veilguard is definitely one of my favorite games but as a Dragon Age fan I can't help but feel disappointed by the lack of callbacks. And the tone of the game had me rolling my eyes constantly. Yet the NPCs, story and locations grew on me so much that I couldn't put away the controller.

[allmannerofmalady]

DATV: Thoughts after 30+ hours of playing

Part 2 of my jumble of thoughts, spoilers ahead. I'm going to be yapping a LOT but hey, this is my space to yap. It will be LONG.

General spoilers ahead, and explicit Solas/ending spoilers.

I feel like I have to add caveats yet again-

This comes from a place of deep emotional involvement with the franchise - but it's just the personal opinion of a rando on the internet (me).

I work in the VFX industry and I'm transitioning into game dev. I am very aware of how much time and work has gone into every detail, so I just want to acknowledge the work of the whole team. Creating assets, environments, levels - it's NOT easy. I am also very aware of how creative people and projects can get stifled due to corporate greed/ upper management.

I am a to-the-bone RPG player, I am in my 30s and it has been a lifelong passion of mine. I care about lore, character design and story - so that's my bias when it comes to opinions.

I love Solas and have feelings about it sorrryyyyyyyy

ON TO THOUGHTS :D

Positives

I'm really enjoying the gameplay and combat, hence the 30+ hours I've put into it. I'm playing as a rogue, and as I level up the combat and combos have been very satisfying. I usually always play on mouse + keyboard for DA, but I'm using a controller for DATV.

Again - I am surprisingly really enjoying Rook so far! I like the character and the British VO, and this is coming from a person who was extremely meh and uninterested in Rook, and yearned to revisit previous protagonists.

Bellara is another surprise, she's much more sweet and endearing than I expected, and from the trailers/leaks I thought I would not enjoy her character at all. Voice acting in general seems to be improving, or at least doesn't stand out to me as much as the start of my game.

The companions as a whole don't feel as deep or well rounded as previous games (but I'm still midway through, so not a fair assessment until I complete all of their personal quests), but as an RPG lover who loves games with a diverse party of companions, I'm enjoying the journey with them. Emmrich is my fave.

I don't think any amount of cameos and previous game mentions would ever be enough for me, but wow was I emotional when I saw Dorian and Inquisitor Lavellan <3 how amazing is it to have characters that get that sort of reaction from you.

I'm happy to be back in the world of Thedas, even if it wasn't how I personally envisioned it would be presented. Walking around and hearing a bard play Sera Was Never?!?!? I'm not crying.

The game looks and plays beautifully, setting aside feelings about character proportions. I keep getting distracted by how beautiful my Rook is lol. It's also running so smoothly for me, not a single glitch or bug as yet.

Personal meh's

I really, really miss the opportunities for dialogue as we had in DA:I. I feel like I can only start conversations when the game allows me to, and I loved yapping with the characters whenever I could. It also allowed you to ask juicy questions, like going to Viv or Morrigan when she's in Skyhold, asking their opinions about stuff, etc. I hate that I can't pick Harding's brain more about her time at the Inquisiton, or Varric (yes, I'm aware of the twist but still).

Following that, I wish we had more access to Solas :') even if it's just to bicker or give him attitude, or whatever the player chooses. So far, I've only been able to speak to him 3 times, I think.

The 3 choices at the start of the game (which like many, I have feelings about) don't seem to give you much satisfying payoff so far. For example, I created Inquisitor Lavellan, who romanced Solas and wants to redeem him. I spoke to her, she gave me the lines about her history with him - based on those choices, I feel like Rook should rush back to Solas and use that information? Like hey, I know this about you, I hold a weak point, work with me etc - or something idk. This applies to a lot of other angles as well, but just one example. I guess this is part of the phasing out of the Keep, and in turn removing the importance of previous decisions.

I am still really enjoying playing and nothing will stop me from finishing the game - but it doesn't feel like the RP in RPG (which I think is what it's going for, it's leaning towards the action RPG style). At moments it feels like "Dragon Age Stories" or something - shorter, tighter missions and an overarching story. This does not feel like the follow up I envisioned after the first 3 games, and the grand finale of Tresspasser. Sometimes it feels like playing Hyrule Warriors or Persona 5 Strikers and being told they're sequels to the actual RPGs if that makes sense? I'm still not sure I'll feel this way at the end, we shall see. I'm absolutely open to changing my mind.

I'm not a fan of the music, and think the previous games had much better soundtracks *hides*

Me being butthurt about stuff

There's been so much DA Inquisition hate over the years, and recently I feel like a lot of the feedback from BioWare has also felt like DA:I is being swept under the rug. Yes - a lot of it is valid, the fetch quests, the Hinterlands stuff etc, and I know a lot of DA fans have mixed feelings about it. But to me, it was so ambitious - that's what has continued to blow my mind until today. It's breadth, the size - running around Skyhold, feeling the power of the Inquisitor grow, the lore. I played DA2 first, followed by DA:O (which I ADORE) and when I started DA:I, the amount of lore was still overwhelming - I felt like I was really entering a true high fantasy game, and never felt like I was treated like an idiot. In fact, it was so fulfilling to absorb and learn the lore. The way it's simplified, over explained, retconned or glossed over in DATV really makes me sad at times. I refuse to shit on DA:I (or any previous DA game) to justify changes in future games. I bought every DLC, art book, merch, the novels - I and many others have invested into the franchise over the last 10 years with only crumbs of info about a new game. I don't like feeling like in order to celebrate a new release, we're encouraged to disparage the ones that came before, IDK.

I question getting invested in DA characters anymore, when we see how they get treated. Why should I be invested in any of the new gang? I fell in love with every companion in DA, and I miss them sorely. I downloaded mods to fix the banter bugs, tried every path to squeeze what I could out of the games. How can we be in Tevinter, talk about the issues of slavery, and no mention of Fenris?! (Yes, I'm biased af lol). I miss Cassandra, Leliana, SO many others. The line between rebooting the franchise and not wanting to mention previous characters is controversial.

There is a lot of love put into DATV, even as someone who is disappointed at aspects of it. The one thing I wish for was for the game to have felt like a love letter to the franchise that came before, and TO ME it feels more like a rush to tie loose ends. The new Silent Hill 2 remake feels like a love letter to the fans, and to the original game. If you feel that way about DATV that's fantastic, genuinely, it just didn't hit that mark for me after years of anticipation. But hey, I'm a rando on the internet. A love letter to the game to me could feature characters from the first 3 games (whatever choices the players made, since the Keep is removed any way), just to bid them a proper farewell at this point. Alistair my bb :')

There is a lot of world building from the previous games that seems completely ignored. Too much to type out tbh.

Solas/Solavellan rants - I'm seeing a lot of people complain about negativity on the subject, so please take with a grain of salt that this is just my opinion! I am still enjoying my Rook's journey.

I am sad about how Solas was written, and the Solavellan ending. I know many are happy about it - and trust me, I'm glad but I just wish I felt the same :') he feels very moustache twirling a lot of the time and I miss the previous complexity. They clearly set him on a path of no return with what he did to Varric as well, and that was... a choice. Idk what to even say about that whole plot line.

Not everyone is a Solavellan, or even likes Solas as a character. Hence the beauty of different endings, the different ways you can go about it. But I just can't reconcile the "good" ending options, and the effort to provide a Solavellan ending when it was set up like this. I get that Solas is now on the Din'anshiral, his mask is gone, he is embodying the Dread Wolf. But that beautiful nuance from Inquisition isn't there for me. The sadness, the conflict. The incredible branching dialogue options. SIGH.

The Mythal plotline - I would not have minded this given the backstory we get from previous media, but having the new companions making sex jokes about Solas/Mythal honestly felt like it was purposely shitting on Solavellans lololol. There is a million ways to interpret Solas' memories, the things you find, but I wish it didn't require it. I wish it was a clear homage to a romance that became iconic for the game this is a follow up to, and kept a sizeable chunk of the fandom going for 10 years. I still do think the game is slightly selling that Solas loves Lavellan (if that's the storyline you choose at the start, and if you choose to find the clues etc), but it feels wedged in, like an afterthought to the Mythal storyline they're going for. Almost like "HERE shut up about Solavellan, TAKE THIS *slaps messy baggage about potential Solas x Mythal and a limp kiss/doomed ending on a plate* now eat it and SHUT UP, we're moving ON" ha ha haaaa

The kiss between Solas and the Inquisitor at the end, and them getting into the flying car to (maybe?) rot in the fade like a doomed Danny and Sandy - not it for me. Sorry. But AGAIN, my dad doesn't work at Bioware, this is their franchise to do with as they see fit lol I'm just a yapper, a fan who was nourished by Solavellan crumbs. I do hope it makes others happy and wraps up the story the way they envisioned it, I'm actually jealous and wish I felt that way lol. But fanfics and art have always filled the gaps, and they shall continue to do so. Maybe I'll change my mind as time goes on.

Even though I'm not a fan, I am glad we got SOMETHING for Solavellan, I think it was just overhyped and not this grand beautiful foil to the heartbreak in Trespasser.

So far, gameplay wise - I would give DATV a 7 or 8 out of 10. It's smooth, it's beautiful, and the combat is addictive and I find myself always wanting to go on one more quest, or exploring just a little bit further.

Storywise - I don't think I could give it a fair assessment given I'm biased about previous games, and I'm too entrenched in the world building of DAO to DAI to be fair. I accept that I might be being phased out as the target audience for the franchise moving forward, but will enjoy getting my Rook to where she needs to be :)

[tutti-says]

ReRe: Sexuality, labeling theory, and accepting your own ignorance in BG3 fandom

One thing I have learned in my life is to,well, learn. Discourse over companion sexuality surged on Twitter at a time I just happened to be on yesterday. As I preached my own QT about the characters being playersexual, I happened upon a tweet about this word being bi/pan phibic due to its history.

While I was confused, I took my post down and decided to find out the root instead. I began my usual route: asking questions and running a search on google. To me at a surface understanding, the term playersexual encompassed the gambit of all sexualities-allowing the player character (PC) to choose whomever they wish to romance. For those who are unfamiliar- BG3 is a dnd set CRPG where the PC is able to engage in romantic interactions. The more special part of BG3 is that these romances can play a substantial part in the overall story of your playthrough. And as most of the western hemishphere probably knows the name Astarion, it suffices to say that these companions and possible romances are important to the playerbase. Though the numbers aren't in yet, there is a sizeable chunk of queer persons involved in the BG3 fandom and it only takes a cursory glance at twitter in order to realize that. And of course, representation of queer romances plays into that. So, while I thought the term would resonate with people of the freedom to choose, the term "player -sexual" as Larian devs described the companions, only druged up old wounds. And I was very, very ignorant on this. From my conversations, I learned that the term was coined in the time of Dragon Age 2 by a confirmed biphobic dev in response to fans praising bisexual characters. As well, it was brought to my attention by my mutual Mish that Larian winning awards for inclusivity, while also using this term, left people feeling like the devs were once again erasing the canon sexuality of pansexuals. For context, Niel Newbon spoke in response to a question that Astarion is pansexual. This can be confirmed in game by Lae'zel possibly sleeping with Astarion during the night of the Tiefling party. The companions aren't just sleeping with any PC no matter what, but with other NPCs as well. Once my moot on twitter, mon, pointed this out-it suddenly made sense. I was wrong. There are some more conversations surrounding this topic I would love to expand on later, but for the point of this already being long I will save it. At first, I thought the problem of labels was solved by the term playersexual, but it turns out that label was stuck on to cover sexualities and their validity. Ignorance is often used as an insult; a euphamism for stup[id. However, ignorance in itself is nuetral. It is neither good nor bad until the option to learn is put forth, and the ignorant make a choice to learn or not. Unfortunately, most cause of discourse is rooted in willful ignorance, or refusing to acknoowledge and understand knowledge when presented. I don't use the words attached to phobics or isms without careful consideration. In this instance I do believe the word playersexual to be pan or bi phobic due to its history. I do hope that Larians reconsiders this word in the future. I can't win every war, but I can learn which wars to fight with not being afraid to be wrong and learn different. thank you <3

[aohisworld]

LIONESS - ENHYPEN x RiOT GAM3S!

┊ ➶ ｡˚ 　　° NOTES! : enhypen sub-unit in collaboration with riot games! (inspired by heartsteel/k.da based group).

┊ ➶ ｡˚ 　　° contains, me yapping about my favourite video game, LOWK doesn’t make sense if you’re not a Val nerd HAHAHA, different idols, (harvey - xg, natty - kiof, xiulin and aohi portrayed by sakura - le sserafim ). Tragic character backstories. NOT A REAL COLLAB! ༉‧₊˚.

╰┈➤ HARVEY - [code : tango]

AGENT NAME! : OLIVE. ¡! ❞

Real Name: Heaven Kim

Age: In her 20s.

Best Weapon: Guardian.

Biography: A dancer that shakes up the battlefield, challenging her enemies to the best of her ability. The Dancer’s compatibility with any agent keeps her a natural choice for battles and a good teammate.

ABILITIES:

Harvey’s character, “Olive” was a dancer that was caught up in the radianite incidents around the world, she ended up being caught up in experiments and adopted under brimstone, being trained as the agent going by Olive.

Type: Controller.

E Ability: Dancebomb - deploys a smoke in a shape of a disco ball, lasting for up to 14.25 seconds and fakes noise if enemies step into it.

Q Ability: Bubblepop - is a molly/throwable that creates a slow field around a specific area and vulnerables them as they walk through.

C Ability: Music Buff - Gives Olive a speed boost and works like a Brim Stim. Throwing the dance pad on the floor helps for faster access onto a planting site.

Ultimate: Dance Battle - similar to Iso’s ult, but Olive’s technicolour disorients the enemy through a clone like Yoru, shoot the wrong clone? Creates a flash that stuns for a few seconds.

INTERVIEW - HARVEY:

What was your first reaction to the collaboration offered to you by RIOT?

it was very shocking! Actually, one of the members that we collaborated was someone close to me, and to be able to work with her despite not being in the same group anymore, was very exciting.

What should we expect out of your character?

I think she’s a very challenging character to play against, and I also think a lot of people would enjoy her. I certainly did, collaborating with the riot developers into creating her!

Favourite agent besides Olive?

Astra! If not for Aohi, I would have no idea what to do in Valorant, and I’ve been enjoying playing controller a lot!

How was the collaboration with Enhypen’s female members and Natty?

It was very… how to say? Nostalgic? Natural? The girls reminded me a lot of the XG members, and they were a joy to talk to, and to miss Aohi, is definitely is an understatement.

Best Valorant player between you and the girls?

Aohi, all the way!

╰┈➤ NATTY - [code : preppy]

AGENT NAME! : TY. (THAI) ¡! ❞

Real Name: Tahlia Anchali

Age: 17-18.

Best Weapon: Marshal Sniper.

Biography: A street performer who has no problem getting attention of crowds and enemies, her explosive attitude and fiery entrance gives no space for another to take the spotlight. Her agent is always the centre of attention on the battlefield, holding down site for her team.

ABILITIES:

Natty’s character, Ty, is a street performer turned radiant through a car accident involving a radianite truck and her friend’s. She’s recovers with the help of Sage and Omen, figuring out her discovered powers under the supervision of Brimstone.

Type: Sentinel.

E Ability: Thermal Wave - sends out a heat wave to a part of site, the enemy’s body heat returning back to Ty for information.

Q Ability: Heat Packs - works like Chamber’s Trademark, marking any flanking enemies with a burn after effect.

C Ability: Volcanic Shield - works like a Harbour wall, pushing through the wall deals damage as long as you’re inside said wall.

Ultimate: Floor’s Lava - places a heated area that deals damage to any enemy that walks in, useful for holding site. Has the same time frame as a Killjoy ultimate.

INTERVIEW - NATTY:

What was your first reaction to the collaboration offered to you by RIOT?

It was new, that’s for certain! I was nervous for the most part because it was my first collaboration, and it was of Xiulin and Aohi of ENHYPEN as well, and I wanted to make a good impression!

What should we expect out of your character?

I hope that community enjoys my character’s voice lines as much as I did recording them, she’s upbeat and always grooving to her team’s flow, and I think I made her as fun as she could be.

Favourite agent besides Ty?

Definitely Clove! Their character design is very electric, and I have the most fun playing her against so many agents. Other than Clove, Skye is also one of my favourites! Her abilities are just as cool as Clove’s.

How was the collaboration with Enhypen’s female members and Harvey?

They’re an amazing bunch, these girls are one of the most coolest and chillest people I’ve ever met, we’ve all exchanged albums and to just see these talented people in person and be able to work with them is a blessing.

Best Valorant player between you and the girls?

I’d have to agree with Harvey, and say it’s Aohi.

╰┈➤ XIULIN - [code : crystal]

AGENT NAME! : BAO. ¡! ❞

Real Name: Biyu Chen

Age: In her Early 30s.

Best Weapon: Vandal.

Biography: A weapon made by her parents, Bao’s ability to take the site is dangerous, intimidating her enemies and letting her teammates take with no problem. This mafia’s princess is deadly, and she always bites.

ABILITIES:

Bao’s from an underground family of mafia from Fuzhou, her parents had conceived her to be placed into a secret experiment with Radianite, and she’s recovered in a mission by Iso and Gekko, and is now under viper’s care as she tries to stablize Bao’s radianite exposure.

Type: Duelist.

E Ability: Vile Exhaust - deploys a smoked flash, both blinding and sending enemies with a small twinge of decay for ten seconds.

Q Ability: Frame Jump - sort of teleport that happens at short distances, can be used to teleport or fake like a Yoru clone, taking advantage of enemy’s surroundings.

C Ability: Alternative - Bao is able to pick a certain enemy to switch places with, using her power to portal through and make a flank inside the enemy’s team.

Ultimate: Turning Tables - Bao controls the closest enemy in her vicinity while her real body is stationed like Gekko’s ult, using the enemy as her puppet. Ultimate ends if fifteen seconds pass, her body is shot down, or if her puppet is shot by the enemy team.

INTERVIEW - XIULIN:

What was your first reaction to the collaboration offered to you by RIOT?

I was pretty chill with it, it’s really Batsy (Aohi) who enjoys Valorant, don’t get me wrong though I do enjoy gaming, but Aohi squealed more than I did, haha.

What should we expect out of your character?

I hope that people will be challenged a little more to be perceptive and have faster reflexes, it was a challenge for me and I’m ascendant ranked! Other than that, I hope the community does end up enjoying Bao.

Favourite agent besides Bao?

Sage! Honestly I’ve gotten used to her voice lines and Aohi’s always pocketing me when it comes to our games, so she’s grown on me! I’d also say Reyna as well, her voice lines are insane and I play her best.

How was the collaboration with Natty of KIOF and Harvey of XG?

Harvey’s one of Aohi’s old group mates, and I obviously have to treat her with the utmost respect for taking care of Aohi for so long. With Natty, Aohi and I admire her lots, especially with KIOF and their music, they’re just amazing.

Best Valorant player between you and the girls?

Me. No, I’m kidding, it’s Aohi and I, but her more— she’s hit radiant before and she probably will again.

╰┈➤ AOHI - [code : angel]

AGENT NAME! : ELYTRA. ¡! ❞

Real Name: Etsuko Nakamura.

Age: Mid-20s.

Best Weapon: Operator/Phantom.

Biography: An invisible agent, who’s taught by the best. Elytra’s easily able to take advantage of the enemy team, always one step ahead. Elytra is Cypher’s and Killjoy’s successor, ultimately creating an absolute weapon on the field.

ABILITIES:

Elytra’s ties with the radiants stem from being a rescue and a run away. The radiant program sent her for a long while’s training and Elytra didn’t want to be turned into an agent for reasons only Cypher seemed to know.

She’s now under Cypher’s and Killjoy’s wings, being protected under heaps and heaps of hacking courtesy of the engineers.

Type: Sentinel.

E Ability: Bio-Hack - Like Cypher, Elytra places a cam around the map and is able to register a small bio-hack that reveals an enemy.

Q Ability: Fever Dream - Is a type of Hacked wall placed down like a Sage wall, it needs either a full 25 bullets to shoot down, or it must be walked through but disables abilities for five seconds.

C Ability: Angel’s breath - A sort of orb that Elytra can throw to the enemy team, giving them sleep which hazes their vision and gives them slowness.

Ultimate: Serenity - works like a brim ult, but it’s a moving target ult, three is able to shoot down and only Elytra could walk through said ultimate.

INTERVIEW - AOHI:

What was your first reaction to the collaboration offered to you by RIOT?

What else but excitement and joy? No, but really, I was jumping around me and Xiu-eonnie's room for like hours, and the boys probably listened to me yap about the Collaboration forever. Safe to say, they now have an idea of how much of a chronic gamer I am.

What should we expect out of your character?

Nothing but difficulty, I thought long and hard about Elytra's powers and it took some trial and error to make sure she wasn't too weak or overpowered. When you've mastered her, she's definitely a fun character to play with, and with a team who can utilize her abilities? It's an easy climb from there!

Favourite agent besides Elytra?

Sage and Jett! Obviously they're kind of basic, but they're who I started with, and it's difficult to just throw them out! I climbed most of my radiant journey with Sage and Jett, and I don't think I would be an absolute pro if not for these two characters!

How was the collaboration with Natty of KIOF and Harvey of XG?

...It was emotional for me, for sure. It's been a while since I've seen Harvey-nee, and she's always been considered as one of the closest people in my life. With Natty-eonnie, she was absolutely excited to gain a new dongsaeng, that's for sure! She couldn't leave my side, and honestly, after spending so much time around her, I don't think I could leave her side either!

Best Valorant player between you and the girls?

I think it's pretty obvious! It's me.

[miyakuli]

PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo

Game of Stones

Paranormasight is a half-horrific, half-thriller visual novel (I'll come back to this later) in which we follow several characters who find themselves involved in paranormal events caused by curse stones that are said to be able to bring dead people back to life. I really enjoyed the game as a whole, but I have to say that I found it very inconsistent in the way it unfolded.

❤ The game is very pretty. The chara-design is really well done and perfectly matches the characters' personalities, the semi-realistic backgrounds (based on real locations and redrawn on top of them) are superb and have a vintage feel to remind us that we're in the 80s, and the animations are quite often effective at giving you chills. ❤ The characters are the game's greatest strength. None of them are smooth, they all have their dark side and convincing motivations, some are certainly more complex than others, but each has an interesting evolution. And as much as they work well individually, their interactions with each other are also nice. You become attached to this group and find yourself excited when their paths merge (at least, I was rejoicing a little xD) ❤ As soon as you enter the game's menu, you realize that the soundtrack is going to be amazing. The themes are varied in style and mood, and contribute effectively to the dynamics of the scenes. ❤ There's a non-linear aspect to the plot, since we'll be following several character paths at the same time (represented by a flowchart), which will often overlap. As a result, you won't be able to unlock certain scenes without having fulfilled specific conditions in other routes. This gives the game a pleasant and original puzzle aspect.

+/- In fact, we often have to glance at the menu files containing all the historical information as well as the character profiles to help us move forward and understand the underlying plot, which makes the player an active part of the investigation. The story evolves in a coherent manner, buuuuuuuuut is a bit predictable when it comes to big revelations... +/- Some very good directional ideas, for example using the 360-degree rotation of the mouse to create some very scary moments (with jumpscares that really got me) or even playing on a rather surprising meta aspect…….but it all runs out of steam very quickly. Indeed, all these mechanics are concentrated mainly in the prologue (which is rather long, it has to be said), after which we find ourselves in a more conventional thriller with more "banal" scenes with no real gameplay apart from the choice of dialogues and exploration. This gives an impression of inconsistency in the evolution of the game, and makes the loss of that initial momentum almost bland. However, there are still a few good ideas here and there (such as an escape game phase), but I don't think they live up to this introduction. +/- The game asks the player to adjust the volume of the voices at the start….but the game is not dubbed xD actually, the option has its importance later in the story but I swear it gave me false hope at the time x')

✖ No skip option for dialogues already read, which quickly becomes annoying when you want to unlock the various endings. ✖ It's amazing how rushed the true end is! It's to the point where it didn't make any impression on me at all, and the final revelations fall flat. And I still come back to this feeling of inconsistency; we have an intro that is terrific for an ending that is anticlimactic (and it rhymes). ✖ Some of the characters sometimes make rather humorous faces that don't really fit in with the drama of the sequences at times; I didn't understand this choice…

If you're looking for a visual novel with a solid storyline and a charismatic cast of characters, you certainly won't get bored with this title. However, don't expect a purely horrific game, given the rather blatant change of tone and the more basic mechanics after the introduction. Why this choice? That's the real mystery of this game…

➡ My personal VN ranking (in french) ➡ My Steam page

[eroguron0nsense]

Straw Hats Pokemon League AU

I don't think I'm the first to do this by any means but here we go! I started thinking of how I'd make a One Piece AU in a Pokemon game format. I tend to play fairly fast and loose with the way the teams are structured; I like the thing they did in Gen 9 where gym leaders get a Pokemon not from their assigned type to terastallize but I would also like to see more gym leaders oriented around certain themes or gimmicks than just mono typing. These are not even remotely balanced and the few that have some strategy like Nami's can go wrong super easily; they're very very vibes-based. The region’s an archipelago, and all the crew members are friends who live and work on separate islands. I’ve always liked regions in Pokemon with lots of islands and water and I just feel like One Piece settings could translate well to that. 

Grass Gym Leader Usopp– The Usopp pirates are his gym trainers/pupils, and you fight him after going through a puzzle full of funny carnivorous plants like those on the Boin Archipelago (ideally there's a quiz format involved and if you get an answer wrong you get attacked by, like, a low level wild bellsprout or carnivine). This one could honestly have been more strategically developed although Shiftree and Sudowoodo were absolutely necessary because a long-nosed creature based on a tengu and a fake tree with an identity crisis are perfect for Usopp. He loves his status conditions and is generally very annoying to go up against Initial team: Lotad, Bonsly, Nuzleaf Rematch Team: Shiftree, Sudowoodo, Amoongus, Ludicolo, Tangrowth, Vileplume Normal/Doctor?? Gym Leader Chopper–This was a difficult choice honestly! I thought about making him a fighting specialist for the kung fu point, but ended up choosing this instead. He's a very young GP and gym leader on a winter island, and he has to split his time between doing house calls with Kureha and his League obligations and the poor boy is *stressed*. Marowak is there because Chopper and his backstory give me Cubone/Marowak vibes. The Sawsbuck is actually not there because of its deer associations; it’s a springtime/cherry blossom Sawsbuck because of Hiriluk’s cherry blossoms, I thought of giving him a Stantler but I think one deer is probably enough for him Initial Team: Spring Deerling, Stufful, Marowak Rematch Team: Mega Audino, Spring Sawsbuck, Blissey, Bewear, Marowak, Alomomola Weather (??) Gym Leader Nami–specializes in double battles with her cast form. Lives on an island kind of similar to Cocoyasi, and she's got her own lighthouse and meteorology lab up on a hill surrounded by tangerine trees. This is extremely strategically fucky and near impossible to program into something functional but I wanted to give her every kind of weather power and Pokemon that could adapt to every field change and hack weather balls at people. Nojiko and Genzo hang around. Currently training a Hippopotas gifted to her by Vivi and working on Sandstorm strategies Initial Team: Castform (Sun), Snover, Ninetales, Castform (Snow) Rematch Team: Castform (rain), Pelipper (drizzle), Ninetales (Drought), Abombasnow (snow warning), Castform (sun), Castform (snow) Ghost Gym Leader Brook–Brook is a touring rock star whose gym is on a barge with a kinda spooky ambiance; the Rumbar pirates work there as live musicians and there's a bar and a big stage set up for concerts. They pull up around the twin capes looking for Laboon around the same time as the player reaches there and are very distressed when he can't find him at first. I kinda debated giving him a toxtricity like Rhyme in SV but that's been done before and Frosslass kinda plays into his ice attacks, so I'm kind of leaving it open ended. His gym's located near the twin capes, and he's a former rock star who's slowed down a bit and taken some time off his career to look more actively for Laboon, who went missing in this world instead of being left behind. Laboon is a Wailmer Brook met years ago that later joins his team after they reunite, by which point he's evolved into a Wailord. Initial Team: Duoblade, Dusclops, Houndstone Rematch Team: Aegislash, Dusknoir, Wailord (Laboon), Polteageist, Frosslass or Toxtricity, Houndstone

Steel Gym Leader Franky– Franky's gym is also on board a ship he built, and he's docked outside a kinda high tech water seven sort of crazy artificial floating island structure. It's very much like water seven–Iceberg and Paulie run the show–and the Franky Family are his gym trainers. I threw in Alolan dugtrio because of the hairstyles and revavroom for the Kurosai FR-U. Metagross is there because I like him having a psychic type to link him to Robin (they're married and live together on Franky's custom houseboat). I thought of giving him a Magnezone but Franky with a Tinkaton just seems very funny and weirdly well-suited to his character Initial Team: Alolan Dugtrio, Excadrill, Revavroom Rematch Team: Alolan Dugtrio, Excadrill, Revavroom, Metagross, Probopass, Tinkaton

Psychic Gym Leader Robin–I tried to give Robin a few Pokemon that were more weird lore/ancient ruin themed without being actual legendaries to fit with her being an archaeologist. She spends a lot of time doing field work (Clover is the region's Pokemon Professor and her mentor; it even plays into the plant naming scheme) on a protected island full of ruins that looks kind of like Skypeia. I'd love for this world to have some ancient lore for her to research and make regular story appearances without the kind of tragedy we get in canon. Initial Team: Medicham, Duosion, Sigilyph, Claydoll Rematch Team: Bronzong, Medicham, Beeheyem, Reuniclus, Sigilyph, Claydoll

Water Gym Leader Jinbei–Honestly it was a bit hard making this one feel uniquely suited to Jinbei? Palafin suits his character best imho, but it was difficult choosing fish that ween’t tied in some other way to other existing fishmen characters. There's no whale sharks yet either :p That being said, Jinbei is a ship captain who works with both the Pokemon League and the Sun Pirates, and brings the player to a Fishman Island equivalent underwater town, giving you either a dive TM or something equivalent to navigate underwater and opening up a whole bunch of new areas for the player to explore. Initial Team: Wishiwashi, Palafin, Swampert, Omastar Rematch Team: Wishiwashi, Palafin, Swampert, Omastar, Dondozo, Tatsugiri

Fire/Kicking??/Culinary-themed Gym Leader Sanji–I feel a bit bad I gave Sanji so many starters when I generally try to avoid that for gym leaders but there's just not that many Pokemon with blaze kick and it's a necessity for him! You meet as he's soft-opening his restaurant in the All Blue equivalent, and going through some growing pains striking out on his own from Zeff (who’s very supportive of his boy's dreams but bad at expressing it). I threw a Clawitzer in because I thought I should give him a seafood item, and Siebold (one of the few Pokemon chefs) has one as his ace in X/Y. His team can kinda be split into kicking pokemon (Cinderace, Blaziken, Tsareena) and food Pokemon (Arboliva, Clawitzer, Garganacl). Zeff has a Stoutland, and the only reason I gave him one is because it more or less has his facial hair. Initial Team: Cinderace, Blaziken, Garganacl, Tsareena Rematch Team: Cinderace, Blaziken, Garganacl, Tsareena, Arboliva, Clawitzer

Zoro is the Champion and Luffy is the final boss, but I'll save them and my chosen Elite 4 members for another time. I'm not going to try and build an evil team, but suffice to say since I'm trying to make this AU a bit more lighthearted, everyone lives and they're all doing good

Edit: Link to Part 2–Elite 4, Champion, Final Boss Teams