#you people know NOTHING about romance

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Assisting Acquaintance Acquired.

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[loganslowdown4]

Logan kinda scolding Patton like a teacher: 5/10

Virgil subtly trolling Roman and Roman not noticing: 10/10

Thomas hinting at his audience how much he KNOWS: 1000/10

(This is so frickin funny to meeee) 😂🚢

[vanilla-bean-buttercream]

"Allies should be okay with hearing hard truths that we have been suffering through for years, because if a child has to experience it, they as an adult can take the time to understand it with their adult brain and their adult emotions, and if they cannot handle that, I shouldn't have to be okay with handling their feelings gently."

and

"Sometimes we go too hard on allies because they're the only person who benefits from the problem who will listen to us, and the anger that we have carried from being wronged for years should not be put solely put on the shoulders of people trying to help us, and they should not have to be okay with being mistreated with the same hatred that people have aimed at us."

Can and should coexist actually.

[eliseliedl]

every day i grow more annoyed at fandoms giving so much importance to shipping to the point of ignoring everything else 🙄

[lordgeneralsix]

I can't remember who said this but there was this one dev who said that when making romanceable characters they have to be attractive in some way (personality, looks, not too morally fucked up etc). and since I read that, the statement hasn't left my mind and I'm very aware now of whenever outside influence and modern discourse get to me or other writers. like just yesterday I found myself rewriting a scene to be more "comfortable" to witness, even though the point was to be emotionally charged and face a difficult topic the character had been actively lying about. but some things can't be glossed over. sometimes it's good when media grabs you by the shoulders and makes you face horrible shit. it's good when media makes you uncomfortable even if it's coming from a ~romanceable companion~. that means it's working. if you remain comfortable forever you learn nothing.

I bring this up bc the veilguard companions are the perfect example and victims of the "romanceable characters need to be attractive" mindset. they don't have ugly sides, they don't fight with each other--and I mean really fight--they don't have controversial opinions or do problematic things. they don't ever question your authority over their lives and why you're the guy in charge. they are nice and perfect and their problems aren't really that serious and can be fixed by simply having a therapy session w rook (bc being possessed or gaining new magic isn't a big deal in a world where previously such events are Very distressing and hard to control). they are further proof that trying too hard to make something attractive has the complete opposite effect if your brain isn't the size of a pebble.

it's overall very frustrating that big game developers continue to be so spineless and I'm not giving anyone a pass for shallow writing, especially from a franchise that is known to have complex characters. none of this is impressive after the first three dragon age games, which were well loved and dissected and debated for years after their release. that isn't to say these games don't have kind characters, having that balance is why I personally like dark fantasy and liked what the dragon age games offered (whenever the writing was good..). it's not dark for the sake of being dark (see grimdark), there's a reason why these things are happening, and in this world no one is completely innocent even if they have good intentions. most people like when their characters aren't always kind or agreeable, bc it's extremely rewarding to finally find that middle ground (of course I have to bring up larian, who made bg3 and proved just how much people appreciate flawed characters, see astarion). conflict is the driving force of a story, no matter what it is. even the most sickeningly sweet cozy slice of life story will have some kind of conflict. it's unavoidable. that's life. taking that away is setting yourself up for failure and all that remains is a boring story full of boring people. no one cares about characters who have their lives together.

(the post is technically over but I wanted to put some final thoughts under the cut bc this got longer than I meant)

I want to go back to the statement real quick... like i do agree, it's true as writers we'll subconsciously (or consciously if you're insecure) try to make our characters appealing, but this is the common trap writers fall into by giving a shit about what others think and want from Their work (which btw I fully believe in writing what you want even if it's "bad" because something with genuine soul will never be as bad as soulless cashgrabs). romanceable characters can and should be as flawed as you'd make any other character, bc trust me there's an audience for everything. even a random npc with two lines will be attractive to someone.

the pressure of an imaginary audience is what pushes writers into a corner and prevents writers from writing and exploring what They want. it's the writer's story first, not the audience's. I think the romanceable companion trap can be easily avoided if writers just 1) grow a bit of a backbone and 2) ask themselves if this is even a necessary or insightful mechanic that will help develop a character further. ask themselves if this character even has the capacity to handle a romantic relationship bc everything else is subjective and it's impossible to appeal to everyone (which apparently this is a controversial take). I won't sit here and pretend that I don't appreciate a good romance, but sometimes all someone really needs is a friend.

obsidian is a good example of self aware devs. they tried to do romance for pillars of eternity 2 bc of fan demand, and it didn't work very well. now for avowed, they didn't explore romance bc they know it's not their strong suit and don't feel it's necessary for this story, instead that time and effort went to developing the characters in other meaningful ways. I have nothing but respect for such a decision bc they know what they want from their story instead of lying and trying to be everything at once. less is more as they say.

[the-midnight-stage]

im bracing myself for it but I'm gonna be so sad if any of the IT's VAs get recast for p4r.

like I need Erin Fitzgerald as Chie. and Yuri Lowenthal as Yosuke. and Johnny Yong Bosch as Yu and Adachi. and so on.

I understand why SEES got a whole new cast. There was controversy, and a couple of members had already been recast a few times anyway, so a fresh cast made sense.

I feel like the ITs voices are too. iconic? at this point though? and I'm fairly certain all of them are still very active in voice acting too. so I'd hope that at least some of them would be able to come back.

What gives me hope is that Tara Platt got to come back as Elizabeth. and now that he's not voicing Makoto and Ryoji, Yuri's Yosuke will sound more distinct.

I know it's been over 15 years, and that some of them are very likely going to be recast, but I'd still prefer and love for the cast to get the chance to come back if they'd like to :3

[a-gay-bloodmage]

At Least It Looks Fun

(Morrigan x Orest Mahariel)

Despite the horrors of being tainted by an Eluvian, losing the love of his life to a yet-unknown fate, and being one of only two Wardens left in Ferelden to stop the Blight, Orest Mahariel does his best to go about life with a smile on his face and a constant stream of flirtation on his lips. But what happens when a certain Witch of the Wilds starts to flirt back?

[fated-normal-767]

I think the one key label I have that really really feels like Me is aplatonic because whenever I say I’m aroace or trans people have their own personalised ideas of what this means and I do notice my irls treating me differently because of whatever they think I mean . when realistically I just choose labels that sit with me best rather than full on defining myself by them. but no one even knows I’m aplatonic so that’s. Me. It’s exactly how I see it. And no one else’s ideas

[bayetea]

For the false memory moment you are thinking of, is this it?

“‘But what if … what if he‘s [Piper’s Dad] a different person [after she wipes his memories]?’ // Leo had had the same thought. If the Mist could affect their memories, could Jason‘s whole personality be an illusion, too? If their friend wasn‘t their friend, and they were heading into a cursed mansion—a dangerous place for demigods—what would happen if Jason‘s full memory came back in the middle of a battle? // ‘Nah,’ Leo decided. ‘After all we‘ve been through? I can‘t see it. We‘re a team. Jason can handle it’” (Chap. 47)

I did see this one while looking for the quote I'm thinking of but sadly it's not quite it 😔 this quote you've shared is pretty significant and probably the most major instance of leo evaluating what the "real" jason (as in jason with all of his memories back) might be like (although it's not actually even an evaluation so much as it is a concern that's readily dismissed), but it doesn't say anything about leo's fake memories. thank you for trying tho!! 💜

the one I'm thinking of was probably in early-mid tlh and it's suuuuch a tiny little blurb in leo's thoughts, but it was specifically leo's expressed opinion on the false memories - an opinion that made it seem like he doesn't think they're important to deal with/doesn't think they're a big deal, which I take issue with because they are a big deal!!! I'm smhing at myself so hard because I literally just reread tlh but I didn't highlight the line 😩 disgraceful because I highlight everything. atp I just have to go reread it a second time

[simcardiac-arrested]

i don’t think we’re ever getting out of the “we’re just friends” “oh yeah those characters are such good friends (sarcasm)” “they’re not friends they’re gay” etc etc hole. we’re never getting out of that hole

[kwyoz]

i finally finished the veilguard and i enjoyed it for the most part, but both lucanis's romance and the way the game ends so abruptly (imo) threw me off ngl.

[beneaththebloodylake]

i really cant buy the headcanon that phoenix and edgeworth were romantically interested in each other as kids or that they were in love for the 15 or so years they didnt see each other, like it just doesnt make any sense or work at all. but i dont think this actually contradicts the way i think some of those scenes in the anime felt a bit romance coded, or like viewing phoenixs becoming a lawyer for edgeworth as like a romantic gesture? like it wasnt actually motivated by romantic feelings at all but the actual motivations and everything that happens ends up contributing towards a romantic storyline? (from a shipping perpesctive that is obviously)

[freshmangojuice]

Kochanski could not accept a different version of Lister to the one she had known in her universe.

Lister, however, easily accepts the different versions of Rimmer he meets.

[anothermonikan]

still the only song to really understand aromantisism as I experience it is. fucking. The Knack by Mother Mother. After all this time,,,it's still that fucking song,,,aughhh

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

Karlach is very very nice tree and I am a squirrel heh

If you need help with the game just ask because before BG3 I had no idea about the playstyle either-

god yeah me too, i want to climb onto Karlach's back and hang from her shoulders she is my favorite and i love her

thank you!!! i'm very slowly getting the hang of it (not that i'm good by any stretch), but i'm having fun!!

[galsinspace]

A few days ago I tried to introduce a friend to Dragon Age: Origins, she wanted to get into gaming a bit more since she has like 1000 hours on Sims but doesn't really know any other games. She likes stories, character relationships, making meaningful choices to influence the game, and dislikes combat. So Origins would be perfect right? Very story- and character-focused with combat that doesn't require a lot of input if you play on easy, meaningful choices, a great game and a great introduction to RPGs!

Unfortunately it turns out she absolutely cannot stand graphics that are at a lower level than what Sims is on currently. Literally her dealbreaker. She liked the story but hated the graphics so much that she knew immediately she wouldn't play it.

We only got as far as the Grey Warden camp.

I tried Stardew Valley after but she hated the pixellated look SO MUCH that we did not even start that one.

I literally think Origins looks great, I cannot understand this at all. Are there even any games out there for her?? With great realistic graphics and story and characters but as little combat as possible?? I went through all games I have but I just cannot find anything else she might like