#wtf BioWare

[timethehobo]

Hearing news that he’s confirmed romanceable (and described as intimate and sensual) got me so giddy I might just expire.

[wintermoons]

Give it to me straight, Tumblr

I just finished Murder of Crows

How many Lucanis proper romances scenes are after this?

Cause unless it’s like 5 I’m fucking disappointed in the crumbs of a romance I’ve been served

[hadescavedish]

I'm planning to romance Kaidan as a gay Shepard in my second run bc I want to watch a pining gay movie.

[spainkitty]

still on my dai shit:

My first (and canon! I refuse to backtrack my first run, Lanil is too important to me) playthrough of DAI, my ruthless little elf mage, determined to consolidate as much power as possible for the Inquisition: chose to save the dreadnought.

I had no idea that choice was coming. I froze in front of my computer for almost 20 minutes, begging my friends to help me choose. Because I knew, my KNEEJERK reaction was: Lanil would save the dreadnought. She'd save the alliance. So I played IC and saved it and then the Chargers died. And then the Iron Bull invited me to their funeral. and I sobbed and sobbed. and then I went to talk to Cullen because I was right by his office, and very jokingly said: boyfriend make me feel better! And accidentally triggered the cut scene that follows up the Perserverance quest, that ends with him asking: how ARE YOU? AND I SOBBED MORE as my ruthless little mage admitted to Cullen, the only person she'd ever show weakness to, "I'm afraid I'm going to fail everyone" and it was so fucking good. It was just. Emotional. Painful. RAW. From standing on that cliff beside Bull, refusing to cry, believing in the Chargers and their last stand, saying good bye to them beside Bull, refusing again to cry or be weak because it's not your place, it's HIS grief, not yours. To finally allowing yourself to be sad, to feel grief, to admitting to that one person how much these deaths have actually affected you.

And then Trespasser. and the Iron Bull--no HISSRAD'S final words to you. And you realize you deserved this. You chose this. He never betrayed you, you betrayed him. And FUCK. that's a good. fucking. STORY.

But in my second run, I decided to play Lanil again but nicer. A bit more like my Cousland who has empathy, and is kind and diplomatic, and always does The Good Thing. And I saved the Chargers. Just to see.

and my guys. my dudes. Maybe I chose the wrong fucking dialogue options but it was bland. Saving the Chargers and the immediate follow up scenes with Bull just... didn't have the same weight. In fact, he kept disapproving of my kindness! 🤣🤣

Lanil to Gatt: We can make it up to Qun.

Gatti & Bull: Fuck you no you can't.

Lanil: OK fair

...

Lanil: But how ARE you Bull?

Bull: How dare you ask me such a stupid question.

Lanil: uhm?

...

Bull: Tal-Vashoth. I'm fucking Tal-Vashoth.

Lanil Option A: No, you're the Iron Bull. (me, occ: what kinda trite nonsense...??)

Lanil Option B: Do you regret killing them? ("Do you regret killing them because you became one, or do you think they might’ve been the same as you?") This was PEAK dialogue and I did love the impact of this! But Bull had no fucking approve/disapprove for it. Which. WHAT? His approval at the end was despite you, not because of you. He approves of the Inquisition and its purpose, not of the choice you made to save his fucking family.

I'm holding out for better scenes later. I can see the potential in why Bull reacts the way he does. Him grappling with what his identity is now, how it's made up of PEOPLE instead of Purpose, and how he keeps that in his head (for now?). I love that for all his bluster and boisterousness and empathy, he's actually the best liar and keeps his true feelings so close to his chest. but. this just... wasn't emotional. At ALL. after the horribly wrought pain of scenario A, I wanted more from scenario B. I don't want to REGRET saving the Chargers because it feels like my character accomplished nothing or didn't grow because of it. ALSO HIS TAROT CARD RIPS ME APART. I had more emotional reaction to his TAROT CARD CHANGE. I actually miss the Communism-laden imagery of the other card...

Though. I am really so fucking really happy Krem is alive. that first time of going into Herald's Rest and seeing Krem's chair empty had me bursting into tears.

[aqueouserbium]

Thinking I'm gonna skip on Dreadwolf just as a matter of principle at this point.

All unionized Dragon Age: Dreadwolf QA workers have been laid off

All of Keywords Studios’ unionized QA workers were laid off from the studio in late September after Dragon Age: Dreadwolf developer BioWare declined to continue its contract in August. The QA workers, who were contracted to assist with playtesting and quality assurance at BioWare Edmonton, won their union vote in June 2022. All 16 eligible voters said “yes” to joining United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Union, Local No. 401. It was a historic vote, making the group the first games industry union in Canada. Keywords Studios workers were in bargaining with the company when they were laid off following the news of 50 job cuts at BioWare itself. A UFCW representative told Polygon that 13 people were laid off — everyone supporting BioWare. Liz Corless, Keywords Studios’ global head of marketing, confirmed that 13 Edmonton-based QA workers were laid off.

[greyhands]

Fields of Mistria is giving me the perfect excuse to draw my bbgirl Nell again, she would make a great farmer/adventurer 💚

[secretmage]

Presenting…Dragon Age: Solas Dress Up Game (Remastered in HTML5)

Now in HTML5 and updated for Veilguard (red lyrium dagger included)! I…finally got around to updating my old Flash-based Solas dress up game I made in 2015 (how time flies) to HTML5!! (Old game here)

Love him? Hate him? Dress him up in his (your) favourite outfits! Or put him in things he will never wear! Mix and match! The possibilities are endless! Layering clothes is completely possible and intentional!

Let him tear the Veil in Arlathan (almost) stark naked. Make him attend Halamshiral in nothing but his underwear! Watch as he wears his ‘Hierophant’ outfit in Crestwood before breaking your Lavellan’s heart, or simply relish the unwashed apostate hobo look back in Haven.

This is the culmination of 3 weeks of near-daily late nights LOL and my love letter to those old Flash games and dress up games I think many of us are familiar with! Finally done with it just in time for Veilguard (yes I procrastinated, as usual). Best played on the PC, it’s not optimised for Mobile, I think.

Enjoy!! I’ll love to see your creations :) happy dressing (or…undressing) your Solas!

[inanshalla]

yeah um these new writers didn’t know wtf they were doing when writing for veilguard and OBVIOUSLY they did not play any of the previous games, didn’t even look at the spark notes version

below the cut

they changed mythal’s motivation of being avenged for her betrayal and death by the evanuris

to her actually caring about modern elves all along and admits to a elf rook that she in fact cares a lot for them also that she did not approve of what solas was planning:

which wouldn’t be so bad… when that’s a big contradiction. Other than saying the dalish inquisitor makes The People proud, she says to a dalish inquisitor who can ask her why she was not there for them then and even now:

what is strangest to me is that… the fragment of mythal inside flemeth that was so focused on her own reckoning and revenge that she didn’t do anything for the elven people is said to have gone through considerable character development while inside flemeth by morrigan who now has a fragment of mythal:

morrigan is clear about the mythal in the crossroads is still bitter and vengeful over not just her betrayal by the evanuris but also by solas as well after the events of inquisition when he killed her for her power:

so according to veilguard, the mythal that was inside flemeth during inquisition actually cared about the modern elves all along rather than getting revenge for her betrayal and murder by the evanuris and did not agree with solas’ plans of tearing down the veil to restore the elven people… but in inquisition this same fragment told a dalish inquisitor to their face when they asked why didn’t she help as they prayed and prayed for her to help them by saying “what was could not be changed” and that by asking mythal to do something NOW they don’t know what they were asking, asking for her help to help the modern elves… as she clearly cared more about her own retribution by saying mythal came to her “for a reckoning that would shake the very heavens” and she would see her avenged

this is horribly inconsistent… which keeps showing up :/

and to get the good/best ending, if you obtain mythal’s essence: either through a fight or convincing her, as I don’t think that matters, she will appear with morrigan’s help to stop solas… so basically putting her love for modern elves above her revenge so quickly… but that can be explained with rook convincing her to help the veilguard but… nevermind

Oh lord,

but then again considering the new devs didn’t know who half the damn original cast of the series were and clearly didn’t know jack shit about what they were talking about I’m not surprised

[chanafehs]

can I get a that's so raven Solas punch flashback

[timethehobo]

Ok I need to apologise in advance for the crazy person I might become for this man.

[nessacousland]

Imagine writing a whole book and then the resolution 400 years later boils down to:

Isseya *who's been forced to do a bad thing*: I hate the people who forced me to do the bad thing to the griffons. In order to crush them and protect the griffons, I will...do the bad thing to them again!

Rook *Video Game Protagonist*: No, Isseya! Look at this feather! Can’t you see you're doing the bad thing?

Isseya: Oh no, I am doing the bad thing? I'm sorry! *dies*

Blight-brain, not even once.

[incorrectly-quoted-queers]

The TLDR of Garrus and Shepard's "Romantic" talk...

Shepard: Wanna bang? Garrus: You are my best friend and I think I actually would like to bang. Yes. Shepard: Cool. We're staying best friends tho, right? Garrus: Oh absolutely, of course. That's the most important part Shepard: Oh thank god, that's exactly what I was thinking Garrus: Cool Shepard: Cool Garrus: .... Shepard:... Garrus: So like, I still got guns to calibrate... Shepard: Right! See you later, then ... *Five minutes later* ... Shepard: ...That went really well, right? Joker: Why did you come here to tell me this? I didn't want to know about this Shepard: But what do you think??? Joker, with an exasperated sigh: I would say that went fucking weird, but you two are so fucking weird. So I don't know Shepard: ...Cool

[sundogsandrainbows]

Hi, I'm sorry to write to you out of the blue, but Of Elves and Humans was the first DA longfic that got me hooked back in 2011 when I, as a dumb teen, happened to pick up DAO. Ever since then, the DA universe has been a constant fixation of mine and my admiration for you as a writer as well as someone who isn’t afraid to call out the franchise's flaws has never wavered. Now that Bioware decided to take a massive shit on everything pre-DAV and their oldest fans specifically, I'm really devastated and feel like a fool for having been so invested in DA and its lore for those past 13 years. It’s incredibly encouraging, however, to see you keep on keeping on. "So since they spat in my face like this I ignore this atrocity of a game even exists" is where I hope to be at soon, too. Thank you.

(First of all apologies for the late reply, I put it in my drafts when i was too tired to complete it, and then my adhd brain forgot it existed due to being distracted by new shinies 😂☠)

But aww omg i cannot believe i was the gateway drug into dragon age, or rather the old version of my story on FFN was. I am so very honored <3 And nonnie, I feel you. I am invested in DA as a series since DA:O's release in 2009, like I bought it on a whim for XBox because I liked Mass Effect 1 sm. So that is 15 yrs of my life i spent loving and discussing a thing while still being critical of the thing, but now i feel so very protective of the world, lore and its characters that "New Bioware" has decided to take a massive dump of shit on, and not only the games but the old fans I feel are treated with disdain too and do not matter to them any longer.

Long, subjective rant about current bioware aka the shambling corpse of its former self and talent incoming. Spoilers for Veilguard bc i don't give a fuck to avoid them :D You (general you, not you in particular dearest nonny <3) should use your time better than to play this shit anyhow 😂

It feels like calculated malice of new Bioware to apply the scorched earth tactics to offscreen destroy everything that old fans and fans of the other games in general held dear, and was supposed to suck out the enjoyment of DAO, DA2 and DAI. Like it is obvious they plan to create a sequel on DA's scorched bones, but jfc, you can do so story-wise without spitting everyone loving what old bioware has built in the face after dropkicking them. But to me that is part of the problem, since if i remember correctly and i wish i could find the bit... they praised Veilguard as "The best Dragon Age game ever", with the most interesting companions and best most improved combat system, comparing it to the other three games in a near smug fashion. There is marketing and there is putting the other games down to prop up your most favorite and only child mattering and they were definitely doing the latter. And don't get me started on the whole "Who is Zevran" debacle or we are gonna here all day.

Bottom line is new/current devs and writer do not give a shit about and very possibly have never played any other game than Inquisition, and you cannot tell me otherwise. And since a lot of devs/writer have left since the start of this project that would become this abysmal game, I also have the impression that there is a lot of underlying resentment toward what these former colleagues have created and so they piss on it in order to make it fully theirs now. Like dogs marking their territory, and well that did not work out, imo. At all.

Ever since they announced respecting our past choices by ignoring them (????) it was clear to me that I would not play Veilguard but just watch a playthrough and all spoilers and then move on. And everything i saw before release was shocking... like i was flabbergasted at how baaaad the dialogue was, which as a writer myself is super important to me in my story. There was no subtext, characters just blurt out everything they think and feel, like a lifeless doll you squeeze and words tumbling out and just as natural. It is stilted, awkward and 80% of it exists for info dump or info dumb rather as they keep repeating the same shit they just told you a few seconds ago as if you as the player are braindead. Here is a good example of what i mean.

Jfc, who edited this crap? There is so much superfluous dialogue that adds nothing to a scene but annoyance for the player and says nothing at all. Just pure senseless yapping in the most cringy way. Why was no one there to trim this nonsense as you should as a writer/editor? Hell, they really disregarded every simple and basic writing rule (everything is told never SHOWN for example especially in dialogue) which really made me question their competence in what they were doing and thus the quality of the upcoming game but i still held out hope for it to not be that bad.

Well shit, it was even worse. In all regards. Especially the writing that cringed this writer into a new dimension with its incoherent incompetence. Jfc. they got paid for that? I'm convinced the majority of fandom writer can do much better, even unpaid. Hell my cat just by walking over the keyboard can manage a better draft and script...💀

But I digress. That is a rant for another time. Point is, nonny, despite my defiant words, I struggled too for days after i got to know the full extent of Bioware's spiteful fuckery to even look at anything da related, in my case my Alistair/Mahariel longfic. I was really down for a few days, ngl. Then again, there is nothing better than spite fueling my creativity to prove "i can write better" soooo in the end and with the help of the much better first version of DA4 in the artbook, I was able to exorcise the demons and feverdream-mindfuck of mediocrity sold to me as a turd with gold-glitter that is this game.

I have successfully now rejected its existence, filled the void with the version that should have been from the artbook and vowed to give no fucks what bioware is doing or saying and infinitely more fucks when writing my own version of thedas and the version of DA4 that should be. REWRITES BBY hell yeah. So OEAH:R is just the beginning of a verse-wise rewrite. But if you need a pick me up, nonny, you are very much welcome to take a trip down memory lane to Dragon 9:30 and see how much this iteration of the story differs from my first one back in the days. Because in this house of mine, we grow and learn as writers, unlike bioware where writer ego reigns surpreme (oh boy and does it ever show in VG) aka eating their own turds and tell themselves it is the finest chocolate 💀

There is still a lot of good about DA out there, but we have to accept it does not come from Bioware any longer. Instead it came, comes and will come from the fans and creators of art and texts and words defying their bullshit with their love and respect for the world, its lore and characters. Also very unlike Bioware.

As we should <3

[spainkitty]

At the very beginning of "What Pride Had Wrought"--

Morrigan: I think this is a Temple of Mythal!!

Lavellan, my Dalish elf, my Dalish elf mage, wearing Mythal's vallaslin on her Dalish elf face: Which is?

Me:

[lemoyne]

i hate bioware so much it’s unreal. why did they make solas’ agents a whole Thing in trespasser only for them to be nonexistent in datv???

trespasser really hyped up solas’ agents as a force to be reckoned with. ‘watch out, solas’ agents are everywhere, even among your own people and allies! watch out, all the elves in thedas are vanishing to go join the dread wolf in his quest!!’ ok so where are they. they don’t exist in veilguard

[nespyofire]