#wicked answers things

[myfairkatiecat]

Periodically I end up having to explain to every fandom I’m in that understanding someone’s actions and excusing/forgiving them are not even close to the same thing

[lizzybeeee]

DATV is overly reliant on Supplemental Media - especially if you are a returning player

TL;DR: Supplemental material should not be required reading in order to understand what's going on in the main game -> it's additional material that enhances what we were given. If what we were given is lacking and unable to coherently tell us a story, then the writers and those in charge did not prioritize what was important.

Not a take that's unique to Dragon Age, but one that is very relevant when talking about DATV. I've made a few posts about plot/story points that either make no sense or have been dropped entirely in the lead up from DAI to DATV. Every now and then I get a few comments or messages about how certain points I made were addressed in supplemental material released in the lead up to this games release.

This isn't a call out post, by the way! But it's frustrating, to me, that this games writing is so lacking that my understanding is being inhibited because I can't remember details from a book I read two years ago - not to mention various podcasts, comics, and short stories. My understanding of a video game in a video game series should not be reliant on additional/optional content.

DATV is a weird game in that it is absolutely a 'soft/scorched earth' reboot while also marketing itself as a continuation to what was set up in Inquisition and Trespasser. Personally, I think that if you are up to number 4 in a game series, one with a continuous story-line, it should be expected that new players won't be able to catch up to everything -> it's the game developers job to make the world and story intriguing enough that the new players will go back to previous games in the series and fill in the blanks themselves.

Veilguard, as a sequel, is overly reliant on content that comes from outside the games themselves (including DLC's) if you want to make sense of the world and story. Trespasser left us with an epilogue that set up some plot points for the next game: Solas & the Veil, the Elven Rebellion, and War with the Qun - plot points that have been built up since the time of Origins. But when we get into DATV two of these points have been dropped and resolved, off-screen.

There are more questions, but these are the ones that bothered me the most while playing the game:

What happened to the Agents of Fen'harel/ Elven Rebellion? -> answered in a cursed reddit AMA.

What happened to the Qunari following Trespasser -> addressed in Tevinter Nights, and a codex entry you can pick up (optional).

Why is Skyhold infested with demons? -> mentioned in Tevinter Nights.

How did the Dalish go from worshiping their own pantheon to knowing they are false gods? (specifically those we meet in the Veil Jumpers) -> mentioned in the Missing comic series.

What's up with Nevarra's Royals? -> Tevinter Nights addresses that there is a power struggle in the Pentaghast family and the role of the Mortalitasi in making it worse - though it does not address the whole 'mage puppeting a corpse' issue and all the implications it has.

This is a video game series -> the bulk of the information required for me to understand the story and its relation to previous entries needs to be included in the final game version. I am playing a video game and not attending a uni class - I should not need to have a required reading list in order to understand what the fuck is going on. I should definitely not need to go onto a reddit AMA to understand what happened in-game, either.

What makes this stand out the most is that DAI was very successful in tying in previous games, DLC's, movies, and books! Inquisition did a great job in getting you up to speed on the events of the previous games early on, providing personalization if you played those games, and giving the player the opportunity to inquire into these events.

Hiding away the answers in additional material or a codex entry that may be missed is not good game design or good writing. DAI didn't assume that you had bought and played the Legacy DLC -> it made certain you experienced the conversation with Varric and Hawke if you wanted to proceed in the game. It didn't hide away imperative information in codex entries - it had characters talk about it in scripted scenes and encourage the player to ask more. You would actively need to avoid interacting with characters for you to not experience this information in DAI.

Leliana talks about her role during the Blight, her calling by the Maker, and her relationship with Dorothea/Justinia -> DAO and Leliana's Song DLC.

Cullen talks about his time as a templar at Kinloch & Kirkwall -> DAO and DA2.

Cassandra speaks about her history, investigation into Hawke, and the Seekers -> Dawn of the Seeker movie, DA2, & Asunder novel.

Varric talks about Hawke, Kirkwall, and Corypheous -> DA2 and Legacy DLC.

Cole talks about how he discovered he was a 'demon' - it leads to further conversations about Rhys, Evangeline, and Lord-Seeker Lambert -> Asunder novel.

Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts -> the game literally continues what the Masked Empire novel sets up, the Orlesian Civil War. The game does a decent job of telling us about the players (Celene, Gaspard, Briala etc...) and the reasoning behind the conflict through dialogue, the ability to explore the battlefields, quests, ambient dialogue, etc... The book is not required reading - though it greatly adds to the complexity of the characters, motivations, and political intrigue!

I never once, playing DA2 or DAI, felt penalized or like my experience was lacking because I had not engaged with supplemental material or DLC's. I got into Dragon Age when I was in high school, it wasn't until I graduated and began working after that I had the disposable income available for experiencing the extra material. I cannot say that for DATV - If you have played Inquisition and go into DATV straight from that you will, absolutely, be confused about how we got from A to B.

Which is especially strange to me!? Why is it that new players will be less confused than those that are returning players? It's like the game is actively punishing you for playing and caring about previous games in the series.

Supplemental media is bought because the main product has earned your investment, love, or interest. Not everyone has the income available to buy it with their own money - especially if you live outside the US and have to pay additional shipping costs. Not everyone has the ability to buy or 'obtain' the digital versions either. My understanding of the main story of a video game in a video game series should not require additional monetary investment into other mediums.

The game itself should be enough and DATV is not enough.

[dragqueenstarscream]

Do NOT show Starscream Wicked, he would be insufferable and not stfu about it

starscream's a theatre kid. you show him ANY musical and he's gonna be insufferable about it. watch "something rotten!" with him and he'll be belting "god, i hate shakespeare" until his vocalizer gives out.

[cursed-dreamers-dream]

What does everyone celebrate in Oz? Like as holidays? Do Munchkins have harvest festivals? What holidays did Oscar bring over and how did they change from place to place? How many holidays had something similar in Oz already? How did they mesh together, if they did at all? What do these people celebrate. Do Boq and the Thropp sisters celebrate the same things, or does class differences have an effect on their traditions and what holidays they celebrate? Was there a bit of a cultural shock for Shiz students when holidays came around? Does Fiyero know a bit about a lot of holidays since he’s been kicked out of a lot of schools?

These questions are keeping me up, just a bit

[trippinsorrows]

wait. hear me out.

instead of the kidnapping plot......

solana is with marcus, roman gets a girlfriend finally (don't hate me), and mira asks if they can go on a family vacation, cause maybe one of her lil friends told her about them, and lil ms. mira is scheming, thinking her mommy and daddy will fall in love again on the trip, and they can be a big, happy family.

not realizing daddy's new girlfriend, sam, and mommy's boyfriend, marcus, are also tagging along, because roso are trying to see how this "blended family" thing works. let's say roman is now at the point where the elders are pressuring him to settle down and produce a male heir, sam isn't awful in this, and she's available, so he's trying.

but also jimmy, jey, naomi, and bayley are there, so there's already going to be shenanigans, cause these four are also in cahoots with mirabel to reunite roso. well, not jey, he said keep me out that shit 😂😂😂 meanwhile jimmy holding up his phone playing careless whisper in front of the room roso are sharing for sake of mira (separate beds).

and by the end of the two week trip, roman and solana realize something just might still be there.....along with a ton of drama, angst, hilarious ass moments along the way.

[stars278]

“What is this feeling, so sudden and new…Fervid as a flame, does it have a name? Yes… Loathing!” 💚

Gelphie Valvert the crossover we all needed… artwork posted by @zomb1c on Insta!

[wishchip106]

idk if u had watched wicked but we need an Erik version of defying gravity

i have watched wicked (both the movie and the musical) and we definitely do 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

Erik and Elphaba are just a bit too similar 👀

both of their worlds see them as the villain despite being in the right

they both have scenes that involve moving a coin

they both fight for a minority

and they both have ‘kissing up to the man, boot licking’ exs 😔

just paint Erik green and you won’t be able to tell the difference 😁

[summersinyourblood]

Genuine question, but going anon, cause I don't want any angry gelphies after me. 1. Cynthia Erivo said multiple times, that Gelphie is platonic. 2. She is a queer woman, if she wanted to indicate in her performance any romantic interest towards Glinda, she probably would have done so, or would have gotten them put it in the text/script. So why do we think Anything that Glinda may or may not feel is reciprocated by Elphaba?

thanks for the question!

there are many versions of wicked, and of glinda and elphaba - the original book series, dozens of productions of the musical, etc. - and the movie is only the most recent one. many gelphie shippers consider themselves primarily bookverse shippers, or musicalverse shippers, or even shippers of one production in particular.

though i love cynthia erivo, she does not own elphaba. she isn’t the first person to play her, and she won’t be the last. she doesn’t have the final say on the character and her feelings.

even if ms. erivo was the only actress to ever play elphaba, what you’ve described is just not how shipping culture works. it doesn’t (and has never until very recently) depended on whether the actors approve of it - just ask any spirk shipper! playing elphaba doesn’t put her in charge of interpretations of the character forever. that would not only be no fun for anyone in the fandom (not just gelphies!) but counterproductive to media analysis in general.

[johnnyvalance]

theatre kids will really go to a movie musical and obsessively look at everyone’s shoes in a scene to see if any of them are en pointe

[sharkneto]

Obsessed with my friend I went to see Wicked (Part 1) with who had never seen the musical nor The Wizard of Oz

[tetzoro]

after 5 days of nonstop social hour, i am finally home & curling up on the couch ^_^ yipeeeee !!!

[r-inijhinix]

fanfiction is great because what do you mean kit is being BROKEN UP WITH by his girlfriend who thinks he isn't emotionally invested in their relationship and the WHOLE TIME he's having gay thoughts about how the sky looks like tys eyes

(plspls update soon btw)

Yeah, no, it only gets worse from there. Thanks for the ask :)

(I'll do my best!)

[soratonin]

sora! welcome back!! i hope you and yoichi had a wonderful day for his birthday!! :3

also “soratonin” fuckin EATSSSSSSS 👏👏👏

HI LEX!!!! THANK U SO MUCH FOR THE WARM WELCOME AND FOR GRACING MY INBOX UR SO SWEET!!! >v< <333

[liuisi]

hm.

[ask-ursa-tonypeter]

[fic: wicked love] Tony and Peter, what are some of your favorite things to do with each other, like, in your daily lives? Like having a meal, or watching a movie, or i dunno, assembling a train model or whatever, things like that? And did any of it changed after your relationship turn to romantic?

Peter: I don't know if anything's really changed on that side of things? We still do movie nights and lab time and stuff, and we always have some game going on like backgammon or whatever on our phones. I guess-- I love all of it, but I really like just making stupid stuff together in the lab? We kind of fell off of that for a while, with… everything.

Tony: …I've always liked setting aside time to have dinner. It was important to me to make sure that I always had that time to check in no matter how busy things got. I knew, y'know, "someday he'll get sick of me and want to spend all of his time with his friends instead," so I didn't ever want to miss a chance to sit down over dinner together.

Peter: Even though things didn't turn out the way you thought!

Tony: Especially because things didn't turn out the way I thought.

[beast-feast]

loving ur art. anyways I believe in you!!!! Go suck on that thangs* face!!!!

*the unknown from the all things wicked chapter from hit 1v4 horror game dead by daylight

INCREDIBLE ANON TO WAKE UP TO. GOOD MORNING TO YOU TOO BROTHER GODSPEED