#idk if this is actually my favorite quest but it's definitely one of the top ones and i also just rly wanted to gif this fjakdlf

[calico-heart]

10 fandoms, 10 characters, 10 tags

Basic rules: choose 10 fandoms that you are part of/support, and choose a favorite character from each of those. Then, tag ten folks!

Thanks for the tag @briar-ffxiv :3 idk how i'm supposed to pick a single favorite out of all these tho cries. Obvious fandoms are up top, but some (maybe. a little.) less common ones show up further down!

FFXIV // Alisaie Leveilluer

I think she's one of the most dynamic characters in the series, and I love love love seeing her come out of her shell as the expansions go on. Her personal arc focuses so heavily on surviving grief and learning to keep an open heart even when faced with loss over and over again, and I appreciate how well that ties into the main storyline, too.

Fallout 4 // Piper Wright

My wife <333 Piper's reckless go-gettem attitude and propensity for ruffling feathers on her quest to out the baddies really endeared me to her. Finding her soft heart under all the bravado and banter is really rewarding, and I love how committed she is to standing for her ideals, even if it means standing alone. Fo4 has such a cool setting to get immersed in overall, and I really do enjoy all the 50s/60s US tropes thrown into the mix with it.

Reth // Palia

The epitome of making objectively horrible choices for arguably noble reasons. I love this walking disaster. He made me soup. I like how most of the Palia characters have more to them than meets the eye at first meeting, and how many ways they can surprise you as you build relationships with them. But gaining the disgraced pariah Reth's trust? Becoming someone he's brave enough to ask for help from? I treasure it above all the others LOL

Gale Dekarios // Baldur's Gate 3

I'm NOT going to essay I'm NOT going to essay I'm not -- But seriously I do adore this guy's arc. I like how messy it is, even if in more subtle ways than, say, Astarion (ilu too boo.) Gale has so many "gifted kid" trademarks and strikes me as someone who's entire self worth has been based on how useful or interesting he is to others. It's hard to fault him for his ambition, when his magical prowess was the only avenue he had to make meaningful bonds up until the whole tadpole nonsense. BG3 exceeded my wildest expectations out of an RPG and continues to do so every time I pick it up.

Anders // Dragon Age II

I feel obligated to say I don't really consider myself part of the DA fandom because every time I've poked my head in I've found it to be a wretched hive of scum and villainy with the most inane batshit discourse I've ever seen in my life. But the game itself? Love the game. Love the characters. Anders broke my heart. I really enjoyed his internal turmoil and the very literal ideological battle between justice and vengeance he faced throughout the game. I'll eat that up.

Obi-Wan Kenobi // Star Wars

He's baby.

I definitely pick and choose which installations of the behemoth that is the Star Wars franchise to consider canon, and like Dragon Age I try not to actually get involved in fandom spaces. Ever. But I love Obi-Wan's story in the prequels especially, and if you've followed me very long I'm sure you know how much I like my hurt/comfort and angst, which he has in spades.

Halo 1-3, ODST, & Reach // The Arbiter

I grew up on Halo and even have a little poseable model of this guy decorating my bookshelf. Halo's a shooter game first, of course, and I spent a good chunk of my childhood rerunning levels, and playing ninjanaut with friends on splitscreen. But its lore also fell into that sort of early TES space for me, where you had enough of an idea of the world for it to capture your imagination and inspire you, without being overwhelming to keep track of. The angst. The mystique. The badass alien with a glowing sword. 10/10. My Spartan OC is called Artemis and my brother has one named Ares and yes we did slay in PvP as teenagers.

Firefly // Simon Tam

Choosing Firefly is predictable af but thats ok. It still makes me ache wishing we got to know more about the world, the characters - and maybe that unfinished homesick feeling is part of the appeal. I loved watching Simon be so out of his depth in the frontier of space, but willing to giving up everything for someone he cared about and learning to make a new place for himself with Firefly's motley crew.

Mizu // Blue Eye Samurai

I was not prepared for this show to WRECK me like it did. I thought it was going to be a run of the mill cheesy samurai anime and GOD. The thoughtful, clever storytelling and dynamic characters knocked me on my ass. I couldn't stop watching. The cast is incredible, the art style is gorgeous. Every single aspect of this show ties into this theme of being caught between two worlds, and Mizu's story is one I am not going to forget any time soon. If you haven't watched this, you're missing out.

Mal // The Dog Master

I'm not sure there's even really a FANDOM for this book. I haven't ever met anyone else who'd even heard of it, let alone read it. But a fandom can just be me, occasionally pitching it desperately to friends, right? XD The story follows several tribes, but the "main" character is Mal, who was kicked out of his tribe and survives partly by befriending a wolf and raising it. It's pretty cleverly written, with several timelines converging at unexpected moments to offer up plot twists and tie-ins that really wouldn't have been possible if it was written another way. I'm a little geeky about it just for the structural approach. But there's honestly not enough good caveman books out there, and this one has a wide cast of unique and interesting characters who feel very human.

--

I will tag @ronqueesha @bogglebabbles-main @sayonaramidnight @traveleorzea @orime-stories @silentletterwords @ellastara @rinka-fortemps @eriyu @jameswrites

And anyone else who wants to! I'd love to see your lists! But no pressure ofc <3

#not checking it for typos sorry if something cuts off hahahaha #tag game #10 fandoms #long post

[spurious]

laura seeing all your sga reblogs is making me want to read mcshep again. what are like... your top five fics. whether or not i might have read them before!

OH MAN okay so i have been wanting to make a McShep fic recs post for a little bit and now you've given me the perfect excuse...only FIVE though i am gonna do my best but idk if i can contain myself tbh. (narrator voice: she could not)

Silly wrong but vivid right by SquaresAreNotCircles | ~4k words, rated T

John is leaning in, head bent low towards the curly-haired guy he’s talking to. Rodney is a little annoyed instantly because hey, what’s so important they would need to whisper it? Why isn’t John pulling him into this?

And then John reaches out and pulls the other guy in. Over the table, by his neck, and suddenly this other guy is kissing John.

Or: With DADT gone, John starts kissing guys. Rodney is (very mysteriously!) not having a great time.

➞ the idea of Rodney being so out of touch with his own emotions that he thinks he’s homophobic rather than into John is just…chefs kiss.

Tutorial by objectlesson | ~3.5k words, rated E

This softness—John doesn't know what to do with how good it feels, how much he wants it. How temporary it probably is, how much it’ll hurt when it’s gone.

Or, Rodney's never touched John's dick, until now.

➞ ok it’s no secret that “we’re fooling around and I’ve got Feelings but he definitely doesn’t (but actually he DOES)” is one of my favorite tropes and this is it done to PERFECTION. (one of the great things about this trope is that it allows for sex scenes and pining at the same time and who doesn’t like having their cake and eating it too?)

Loop the Loop by alsaurus | ~9k words, rated T

One man's quest to comfort a friend. And maybe himself, just a little.

(AKA the one where John takes Rodney out on a million dates without realizing it.)

➞ Every time that someone mentioned Rodney's poor social skills, John had to suppress a smile. In the private universe of his mind he'd come to interpret "bad with people" as "made for me".

This line has lived rent-free in my head since I read this fic and it is wonderful. The whole fic is wonderful. They fit together SO WELL and it’s just. It’s nice ok

Harmonic Function by shaenie | ~8k words, rated E

"Let's go with Banach-Tarski as your safeword," McKay says almost absently, lips tracing lazily along John's hairline, and John blinks.

➞ alright this? This is just really hot. Like, really hot. I bookmarked it for a reason. You know my tastes so, you know. Lol

Little Storms by Chandri | ~18k words, rated T

None of them like to admit it, but sometimes John's wrong. Usually it's Rodney who has to say so.

-> I have several fics by Chandri in my bookmarks, and I felt it might be a bad idea to subject you to the one that’s 50k (though, if you’re interested…) so instead I’ve chosen this one, which made me cry in family mart at 11 o clock in the morning.

Rebuilding Babel by fiercelydreamed | ~20k words, rated E

He wondered if this was how it felt to go crazy -- you didn't lose your mind, it just stopped synching up with the world around you.

The Pegasus galaxy makes Rodney an expert in what he can survive without.

➞ I remember being just floored by this fic when I finished it, like just, daaaamn.

Holy Rivers by objectlesson | ~21k words, rated M

Once they’re back on Earth, things start falling apart.

➞ ok I intended to only link one fic per author BUT this is the perfect post-series fic where Rodney figures his shit out

Monomial Factors by anonymous | ~12k words, rated T

“A cat café,” Rodney says, as he sits—sprawls—on the loveseat. John scopes the terrain before settling himself down beside him, careful to keep his knees tucked safely away from where Rodney’s leg is stretched into his space so their limbs don’t knock together. “You remember that I had a cat, before Atla—we went away?”

John nods. “Sure, yeah. Quirk.”

“Quark,” Rodney corrects. “Well, he’s been with my neighbour for so long, and he’s getting older, and when we got back it just didn’t seem fair to upend his life all over again by having him move back here with me. Putting him on a plane, taking him away from his dog friend—so I’m, well, I’m interested in adopting.”

Rodney wants a cat. John's always been a dog guy.

➞ tagged “cat adoption as a catalyst to romance” I MEAN. HOW COULD I NOT. It’s soft and sweet and in character and I loved it.

It’s been absolutely insane to me to come into this fandom because like. You know that I spent years being The Person who wrote my ship and it’s like going from this tiny little trickle to a fucking…FIREHOSE of content and so much of it is GOOD? And LONG? Like……….how is this happening. Hence why I failed to choose only five fics lol. Anyway if you or anyone else want more recs or specific recs, hit me up because i am READY FOR IT.

#sga #mcshep #fic rec #i kept it under ten at least #thats the best i could do

[goldentigerfestival]

The 30 day Tales challenge... in one post or else it would never get done!

Favorite Tales game: Legendia

Favorite Main Male Hero: Yuri and Senel

Favorite Main Female Hero: Kohaku

Favorite Side Male Character: Moses

Favorite Side Female Character: Stella

Favorite Canon Pairing: Senel/Stella + Shing/Kohaku

Favorite Non-Canon Pairing: how official is stahn/leon at this point i wonder

Favorite Opening Song: Destiny

Favorite Location: ??? idfk the entire Legacy??? I'll go with Werites Beacon for simplicity I guess. feels like home

Favorite Mascot: Giet. don't tell me he's not a mascot, I'm not listening. (and if you want to try having that discussion my answer is still the Oresoren so we're not getting far, are we)

Favorite Monster: ??? also dfk, probably something cute except i don't like hurting cute so i guess we're stuck

Favorite Boss Battle: UHHHH listen it hurts to say but Vicious; bc the raw emotion that went into that entire storyline ate me whole

Favorite Villain: since I'm avoiding antagonists here (such as Duke who aren't explicitly villains) and prefer to go full villain, Creed.

Least Liked Character: not opening THAT can of worms!!! :D

Your First Tales Game: boooo boriiiing. Symphonia like the other half of the western population. no fancy answer here

Your Favorite Scene: ??? I mean, there's... a lot I guess??? Stahn pleading with Leon moments before disaster??? Kanata crying that Vicious was okay and came back to them??? Moses saying literally anything ever in any scene ever??? the end of Innocence but when you choose Spada as your soulmate bc I'm a bias little fuck??? anything with Yuri and Flynn being happy together??? the entirety of Legendia???

Funniest Scene: idk but it either had Moses in it, Vicious in it, or it was Spada's "I can't believe you mixed up Frosty the Snowman with the Abominable Snowman"

Saddest Scene: Moses' Character Quest cutscene (if not the whole fucking CQ), moments during disaster with Leon, moments during disaster with Asch

Favorite Quote: a lot of stuff Vicious said ngl. can't think of nor pick one off the top of my head but every time he Gets Serious it's one of those and I fall in love further every single time. but if we wanna be REEEALLY simple? "Yeehaw". thanks, Moses. maybe Yuri has said something cool enough to get on the top list, but I'm not sure anything is trumping "yeehaw", and maybe that's equal to something Vicious said

Favorite Piece of Gameplay Music: Scutum - Decisive Battle. Pour one out for Rebirth having the fucking BEST battle theme ever.

Most Shocking Reveal: ??? I'm... not sure at this point. Giet??? was it Senel??? maybe Mathias and Ruca??? Ratatosk and Emil??? I kind of want to say Ratatosk and Emil because I remember being very impressed with the direction of the plot, in that the main protagonist/player character was actually the villain the whole time that the antagonist was trying to kill the whole time. definitely not a plot direction you usually get in JRPGs. Giet's story still hit like an entire brick building 100 storeys high falling on me though

Favorite One on One Fight: that was actually FUN??? uhhh idk Vicious against Kasque. what did you expect me to say???

Favorite Skit: way too many skits to have even a semblance of an idea. I'm going to assume it was either something related to Yuri and Flynn, Moses, Vicious, Spada or Stahn. that's about the closest I can pinpoint

Favorite Tales Spell: I don't... think I have one...

Favorite Tales Weapon: -bangs fist on desk and gets really obvious really fast- BLOOD SINS, BLOOD SINS, BLOOD SINS. after that the Swordians

Tales World You Want to Live In: honestly Legendia's and Graces' seem the most reasonably normal compared to the rest, but also shiny fingertips and Moses is a pretty solid Legendia

Favorite Animated Tales Series/OVA: (don't say rays don't say rays don't say rays don't say stahn/leon) probably First Strike if only because it focuses on Yuri and Flynn who I love, but Abyss' anime was very solid compared to the other Tales animated series that were just heavily condensed versions (or worse in Eternia's case, not even being relevant to the main story). like, I would not recommend the animated series to anyone prior to playing the game except for Abyss, which is the full major story and I have inarguably rewatched that anime more than I've played the game. I guess in terms of general animated, FS, but in terms of actual consistency to the game it came from and dedication it had in retelling the story faithfully without skipping 80 percent of it, Abyss

Favorite Tales Outfit: RICHARD??? HEEEELLO??? not arc F though that shit is too fruity for me. also Leon has VERY enjoyably bright colors that make him stand out and as a Very Deeply Definitely Not Obsessive Leon Enjoyer, I very much love that. Aegis also has a really nice outfit. Asbel's is pretty but definitely not Richard level of I'm obsessed with this look

Favorite Game Plot: -breaks everything in your room and your neighbor's room for good measure- TURN IT BACK ON NAMCO I'M PAST MY LIMIT SO I'M PROBABLY IN OVERLIMIT (Crestoria. it's that or I'm saying Legendia again. Innocence and Hearts both are really close runner ups tho!!! definitely the most unique in the franchise imo out of the mainline games and sadly confined to "nobody fucking cares about them and never did")

Favorite Game Ending: so that's got... layers. it really depends on the sub topic. I guess in terms of a happy ending, Graces (the Wii version specifically, getting Richard back. don't really care for the ending of arc F and lean more toward disliking it). in terms of a depressing fucking ending that makes me Very Upsetti, Destiny. there is literally nothing happy about Destiny's ending for me. like yeah we saved the world, but at a LOT of cost and it's just depressing. I've wanted to make a post about that anyway, but basically it's a type of ending they don't really make anymore (especially in Tales), and the emotional impact for me was a lot heavier than the other games, with Destiny 2 lingering right behind it. both Destiny games were just DEPRESSING, and no matter how bittersweet Destiny 2's ending was, it's still DEPRESSING. Vesperia at least had a more outright happy ending (that wasn't completely changed by a post game ending arc with a totally different ending) and I finally at that point didn't lose my favorite character to Certain Final Boss Death or Recurring Side Character I Came To Love Dying Unceremoniously and Undeserved. only a couple of top favorites actually came out of their games alive for me by Vesperia in terms of games I know + release timeline (to put it into perspective, by the time of Vesperia in release order (so not the order I played in bc I don't really remember the whole actual order at this point), out of all the games I know, my favorite character death toll was five to three survivors not counting Vesperia. still haven't played Eternia so I'm not counting that one). so I guess like, my answer is a whacky combination of Graces for the Wii, Destiny and Vesperia. maybe if Hearts hadn't killed my mans off then it could've had it all. 😔

#GTF Thoughts #GTF Things #Tales 30 Day Challenge #mainly doing this in case anyone has Same Hat Opinions and wants to talk abt them LOL #for number 22 it was also fun using his new form. normally one on one battles are either #annoying or just a nightmare. or just outright unwinnable by scripted plot (ex Senel and Melanie) #as far as ''canon'' ships go that's also a can on worms i am NOT opening until society can accept that gay ppl actually exist :) #anyway have i properly established my love for legendia now? for crestoria? for moses? for vicious? #i post abt them a lot less bc the amount of content out there for like #vesperia and abyss which i tend to post reblogs of most is WAAAAAY beyond higher #it's kind of like... the less i talk abt it and the less content it has... the more likely i WANT to talk abt it and LOVE it #i could talk to you about moses and spada ALL FUCKING DAY but most ppl haven't played either game or don't care for them #and also i usually stay quiet abt moses bc ONCE THOSE GATES ARE OPEN YOU'RE NOT SHUTTING THEM #moses leon vicious and spada are like... the ones i would love to talk abt nonstop forever #bc they're talked abt a lot less. leon IS popular even in the west but your average tales fan #is not going to know destiny/that it exists or have played destiny or even care to from my experience #i ramble abt what faves i can basically LOL but many of my actual top of the top faves are so obscure that like #i can't find ppl to talk to abt them. yuri is in a very very weird place with my faves #bc my technical favorite in that game is duke but yuri gets senel level position of fave mc #and is also Very Special to me so he's in a weird place as a favorite that #in some ways passes Actual Favorite Duke and in other ways doesn't

[c6jpg]

genshinweek day 6: favorite quest ⤷ carmen dei: should you be trapped in a windless land

In Old Mondstadt transpired the story to be told, Where a tyrant ruled, I met a boy, not that old. The lyre he played, and for a song he sought, But storm-walls blocked blue sky - he was sincerely distraught.

“I do so wish to see the birds in flight,” Said he, his strong eyes filling with light. But his voice was lost in the howling wind’s churn, For the whirlwind takes, and gives naught in return.

The true sky, and songs that cageless soar… Were they not wishes worth fighting for? So the boy turned, extending his hand, “Let us cast down the tyrant and his walls from this land.”

The young boy raised then the flag of revolt., And I threw myself into freedom’s tumult. Victorious were we who fought to be free, Gods fell, winds whipped, nations shook violently.

In the smoke, a despot met his doom, And we watched as his great tower fell none too soon. Mondstadt began anew, the story passed down, And since then never has another worn its crown.

#genshin #genshinweek #genshinedit #genshinet #genshin impact #venti #m:gifs #m:* #m:gifs:venti #idk if this is actually my favorite quest but it's definitely one of the top ones and i also just rly wanted to gif this fjakdlf #originally i was gonna try to make this more interesting than just like.. a couple gifs #and then i remembered i suck at gfx so nevermind LMAOO #nameless bard

[sawamono]

genshin nsfw hcs pt 2

read part 1!!

warnings: nsfw, MINORS DNI, drugging, bdsm, perv albedo, stalking ment, light talk on blood kink, cum play, exhibitionism, wax play, degrading, breeding kink, hair pulling

notes: i kept thinking of that fred song “my babysitters a vampire” while writing this and im sorry this is so late i meant to post this like 2 days ago

albedo

i just wanted to touch more on pervy albedo

can u imagine it.

albedo probably takes pictures of you and says their “for the memories” or “something to remind me of you when you leave mondstadt”

but he really only has them to jerk off to them cmon now

this is gonna sound stalker-ish but albedo probably watches u change through ur window

UVE PROBABLY CAUGHT HIM ONCE TOO

it’s such a funny thought to me omg

you see him outside ur window with his dick in his hand and he’s a stuttering mess LMFAO

you’ve probably caught him staring at ur ass a couple times too

if you ever go to the beach with him.. i’m praying for ur safety..

i feel like albedo would be a little bit of a family guy too

imagine babysitting klee with him and he’s just watching like “yeah.. i’m gonna have a family with u..”

breeding kink imo

arataki itto

sex.

i love him.

if you look closely on him you can see he has a spiked collar

pull it i DARE YOU

again,

MONSTER DICK

slaps his whole abdomen

probably big enough to kill a dragon

OK LET ME GET SERIOUS

he probably has a blood kink

just a lil one

like he’ll scratch up your thighs or bite you till you bleed bc he knows the mark will last

loves when you ride him

all of it can barely fit so he has to help you out

when he sees his dick imprint on ur stomach he’s going wild

he WILL go many rounds too

rip you and your holes bc he will fill ALL OF THEM

cums a lot

an unrealistic amount because i said so

if you don’t like cum play or any mess, he’ll TRY to stay clean

try

he fails in the end but he gets A for effort

diluc

yes.

my boy toy.

idk if i covered this already or not but enjoys wax play

he’ll light a candle and hold it over u and just watch it melt onto u

probably likes it on himself too

(if ur ever fucking him and he’s comfortable with it do it he’ll love you forever)

PULL!! HIS!! HAIR!!

whether you’re top or not, give it a nice lil tug

he may or may not moan

i forget whatever i said about him in the first hcs but this man is my whore idc

yes, he’s fucked you in the tavern

he’s fucked you while on the job too

he’ll take you to the back and give you that dickmeister9000

don’t play with him!!

doggy style, his favorite.

i feel like while diluc would fuck you in the tavern, he’s shy so he likes to keep you in the winery

the maids have definitely walked in on it more than once

it was just awkward staring before the poor maid just left

at this point adelinde is used to it though

so while it’s happening she just acts like normal and leaves

it’s scary as fuck

diluc probably got a few tips from albedo and may or may not have added a little extra sumthin sumthin to a new wine he wanted you to try

he’s experimental let him live

scaramouche

if this mf don’t get some damn official art

anyway

an absolute menace.

LIKE

HE WILL RUIN YOU

and he’s so mean too

he will degrade you to all hell

and he’s rough omg..

deadass i think his dick is like 7 inches

idk them short people be packing sometimes

hate sex is like normal with him

WAIT IMAGINE UR BOTH ENEMIES AND UR BOTH TIRED OF THE SEXUAL TENSION SO U SKIP RIGHT TO THE SEX

i’m a genius

probably into bdsm too

will tie you up

WILL PROBABLY SHOCK U WITH ELECTRO TOO

SPOILERS FOR INAZUMA STORY QUEST!!!

so u know how he kinda drugged mc in that place when we meet him again

what if he does that to u…

WITH CONSENT OF COURSE

spoilers over

i feel like scaramouche would actually be really big on consent

safe words with him are a must

he wants u to feel safe and comfortable

he’ll fuck you into oblivion yea

but only if ur okay with that

venti

whew

y’all.

it’s long.

like you would never imagine it

but it’s long

he’s very. very. fast.

like

lighting mcqueen don’t got shit on him

kachow

cums a moderate amount

probably has a thing for exhibitionism

he will dead ass fuck you in windrise

like just out in the open like that

will probably grope you at angels share

he’s very touchy me thinks

ooo pull his braids

PULL THEM HARD

he will love it.

fucked him so good he wrote a song abt it

#🦇: works #diluc #arataki itto #venti #albedo #scaramouche #diluc smut #venti smut #albedo smut #scaramouche smut #arataki itto smut #diluc x reader #scaramouche x reader #venti x reader #arataki itto x reader #albedo x reader #gn reader #genshin impact smut #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact x gender neutral reader #genshin impact x gn reader

[eligaxy]

Wind

☆ℜ𝔢𝔩𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔭 : Venti x gn!Reader

☆𝔚𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰 : near death experience, you’re confused asf about everything, bad writing cause i suck, spoilers for the we will be reunited quest!! And also for venti’s backstory, venti is serious for once (yes it’s a legitimate warning🤚)

☆𝔊𝔢𝔫𝔯𝔢 : Some angst, some fluff? Idk bye🤨

☆𝔖𝔲𝔪𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔶 : "It's okay, it's over now" he kneeled to be at your level, his arms still wrapped around you, and you didn't have the energy to fight your urge of nuzzling into him. "I'll always be here for you, wherever there is wind, remember I'm here too. You only need to ask." (2.8k words)

♪𝔑𝔬𝔱𝔢𝔰 : i’m an idiot simp, i did this in one sitting and half asleep, english isnt my first language BLA BLA IM SORRY FOR MY POOR WRITING BUT HAVE THIS

basically you don’t know if you can trust venti or not, head says no, heart screams yes

Also, I was listening to stormterror’s lair ost while writing it, just because its fucking amazing, you might wanna listen to it too

I’m nervous to post this?/&:! This is the second fic i’ve ever finished in my whole life

i love venti and he’s hot in his god outfit i don’t make the rules

KAY ENJOY <3

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

"Please, anybody... Just help me."

Saying you were exhausted would have been an understatement. After reuniting with your sibling, you had been frantically searching for clues about khaenri'ah and ways to Inazuma. With no luck, you couldn't find any traces of Dainsleif or of your twin. The ruins had been sealed and you had no idea what happened to the inverted statue or the corpse you had found there. Desperately, you clung into every little information you had, you would have turned every rock on this archon damned continent if you had to, which is what led you into those ruins near Guilli plains.

Walking along the destroyed buildings your eyes caught sight of a dandelion and you froze. You missed them so much, why couldn't they go back home with you? All you ever wanted was to be by their side why, why were they running away from you?

You remembered your travels, the moments you shared together, their protectiveness over you, the fondness in their eyes when you smiled at them. You remember the times you got hurt and healed one another with your now missing powers. You remember sleeping by their side and being grateful to the universe to let you keep your ray of sunshine everywhere with you. How ironic.

What had they meant 'once you reach the end of your journey' ? What does that even mean? Stupid twin, if they knew you were here the whole time, why hadn't they come to you? Why were they always leaving just when they were within your grasp? Why? Did they know how much you missed them and how much your heart broke when you finally saw them? Did they?

You only realized you were crying when a small gust of wind had your wet cheek react to the cold, breaking your train of thought. Wind.

The wind is everywhere, you think, free as a bird, always accompanying every citizen of this world, never truly alone. With this in mind, you resumed your exploring, slower this time.

A sigh escaped your mouth. You didn't want to admit it, but the wind did comfort you a little. Almost as if he was here. God of freedom and of the breeze, he was more a singer than a protector and you couldn't bear to think about him. Was it true? What Dain said... Did he destroy this nation? Was he the cause of the scenery that still haunted your nightmares up until 500 years later? Your brain simply couldn't accept that Venti, your Venti, you catch yourself thinking, could have made such an act of wrath. He was the epitome of freedom, why would he take the very thing he based all of his existence on from mere mortals? Barbatos simply couldn't be afraid of being overpowered, he didn't even care about power. All he wanted was freedom and happiness for his people. Surley this couldn't be right?

But then again, who were you to deny the wipe out of an entire nation? The gods did it. They were afraid that Celestia would be overthrown by the pride of humankind, the destruction of khaenri'ah by divine beings was a fact. There was no misunderstanding about this. That was the one thing you were sure of. So why did you feel like crying even more now?

The mere thought of a gentle soul such as Venti committing innocent people to an eternity of suffering didn't sit right with you. Even when his dearest friend Dvalin had turned against him, he didn't try to stop him, didn't even ask the dragon to save him. He healed and helped him, gave him a choice.

'What is freedom if demanded of you by a god?' was the same person that asked this question the same one who committed mass murder? Genocide?

Did the little wine-lover bard you had grown fond of destroy all hopes and light your kin had?

You remember that night when he freed Stanley from his burden, freed his and his friends' spirits. You had marveled at his action, in that instant he was a god, and he definitely hadn't struck you as a murderer. You remember that look of silent pain and grief in his eyes when he sang the tales of the nameless bard he had taken the appearance of. You knew he trusted you enough to share his story, something so personal, you could almost feel the war that took down the tyrant of Mond. Oh how much you cherished that evening, treating him to some well deserved dandelion wine afterwards, his favorite, and asking him to sing you more about the time where was nothing but the spirit of a breeze.

Your heart broke a little, remembering his rosy cheeks and drunk smile, you wish you could talk to him, ask him what happened. What did he do, was he really as dangerous as you had been told? If so, then why did you feel so good around him? Why did you feel like you could give hi-

You stopped walking upon seeing a ruin guard up ahead in the distance. You're so stupid, you think. Feeling this way is not gonna get you anywhere, especially with how the bard had been missing for a few weeks now. Ever since you had last seen your sibling.

Where was he, where was he wandering off to? You walk towards the disabled ruin guard, not really paying any mind to it, still thinking about the god you longed to meet with. If you could see him, what would you even say? Would he even answer your questions? Why did your stomach feel so light and funny when you thought about seeing him, why aren't you angrier?

You're almost at the killing machine's level now, so lost in your thought you don't notice the five other similar robots hidden behind a wall next to it. You notice them only when it's too late and you've already turned them on while thinking about examining them and collecting their serial numbers. When you hear the familiar tick of the mechanism turning on, you internally panic and think about running away only to calm down moments later and think to yourself that you can simply beat it and take what you came here for. Even if you are emotionally and physically tired, you can manage, you think.

That was before hearing five other consecutive ticks right after it, and all around you.

Turning around, your gaze falls upon the small army of field tillers. Fuck.

Paimon wasn't with you today, you had asked for some time alone which she hesitantly accepted, so you couldn't ask her to go fetch help. You would have been worried if you had all your capacities but with the state you were in, you were wondering how you were going to survive this fight. You were alone, none of your companions with you, and deeply weakened by the busy day you had and the few hours of sleep you had managed to steal away from the night. Was it today you would meet your doom, with all your questions and uncertainties unanswered?

You tried your best to fight with the strength you had left, but quickly grew desperate after what felt like hours of efforts to swing your blade and being able to only take one monster down out of the six. It didn't help that you got injured along the way, their blows becoming harder and harder to dodge. After being thrown on the grown for the third time, you understood you had at least two broken ribs and that your shaking legs would soon fail you as well.

Fear crept upon you, you would die here today, alone. Alone. You couldn't talk to your sibling after all, couldn't understand. You didn't even get to talk to him one last time. Him... You would die without the knowledge of the truth about your bard. You would die alone. You didn't want that, you couldn't look death straight in the eye.

"Please, anybody... Just help me."

-

In Mondstadt, there was a musician, a weird singer everyone had heard about at least once. He lived off of his songs and was mostly known for having a great story-telling and being an alcoholic.

The number of people who knew the true nature of his identity were few and he was perfectly content with that. He didn't wish to be a god anymore, his gnosis had been taken away anyway and it's not like he had any power over the city of wind nowadays. Even if his people still worshipped him as Barbatos, it didn't sit right with him to be called a god anymore. It actually never did, he thinks to himself with a smile, he never really took any responsibilities that came with the divine title which is why he was so weak today. But it didn't matter to him, his smile turns into a soft giggle.

Sitting on a mill that was once born from his steps he looks fondly over the city he founded. Even if they were godless, the citizens were still thriving and free. He cared oh so very deeply about the place even if he rarely, if not never, showed the affection within his heart. He remembers the day he grew strong enough to dispel the storms over his actual Mondstadt, and made the weather gentle enough so that there was no need for fireplaces. Nowadays, he loves watching birds nest into the chimney tops and seeing them found their own home. It gave him a sense of belonging like no other, not above his people, but walking among them and watching them nest into this cocoon he created. He was proud of what happened to his land and would do it all over again if he had to.

Especially since it led to him meeting you. This thought doesn't catch him off guard, you often roamed around in his mind after all, and it's not like he didn't write at least three songs about you and your feat, your smile, your courage...

Ah there he goes again, rambling about you in a whisper. He turns around to the statue of him his people erected in his honor, chuckling at how they never made the connection with his signature braids. His, but not really his, since he had stolen this form from someone who was much more deserving of this power than him. Seeing his friend being honored with the statues of the seven around the land made him happy, he hoped that it was a good enough thank you gift in return for everything that the bard whom he couldn't even remember the name of anymore did for him.

Upon gazing at the statue, he remembered telling you of his long gone friend. It was the first time he had talked about him to someone else, he didn't even mention it to Venessa, she who made him believe in himself again. He could ask himself why, but he simply knew that you had something different, more than meets the eye. Perhaps it was because you weren't from Teyvat, or perhaps it was just you being as simple as your natural self but he was simply and utterly captivated by your being. You inspired him to no end, at first he thought it was because he had never met someone like you and he loved new things! But as time grew and he got to know you, he understood quickly the meaning and depth of his passions. He thought of it with a light chuckle, content with your presence alone. He really did need and want you around.

So why did he purposely avoid you like the plague?

The wind had brought to his ears that you had met with Dainsleif.

And your twin.

His first reaction was to search for you, talk to you, he wanted to be here to know what happened! You had searched so long, he couldn't contain himself, still listening to what the wind told him, he started running with excitement but... But wait, Dainsleif was... He told you what?

Oh.

So you heard about Khaenri'ah. He had stopped dead in his tracks and turned back, only sending a warm current of wind your way, hugging you from afar.

He wasn't ready to talk about this yet, not ready to face you and absolutely not ready to answer your questions. He was a coward, he thought, running away like that but what else could he do, really. It was only natural for him to be as uncatchable as air.

A sorry excuse to avoid the fact that even if his past had marvelous story like the one of the nameless bard, it also had its share of darkness, something he wasn't ready to dive back into. Especially not now when your arrival has been shaking this world up like it hasn't been since at least 500 years.

But oh, how he longed to see your face or to hear your voice. So he asked a breeze to report to him what you were up to, and where you were. Just in case! he tells himself, what if you needed help ehe? But he knows you're competent and you won't need the help of a weakling coward like him anytime soon. Or so he thought.

Because when the breeze only gives him a few words back, his blood runs cold.

"Please, anybody... Just help me."

-

As you murmured these words in your desperate state, not really for anyone but yourself as a last resort, a prayer of some sort, you tried to stand by leaning yourself on your sword and failing miserably. You didn't dare look up as you heard the loud footsteps of the metal giants coming your way. It was over, and you barely managed to accept it.

As you rested your forehead against the cold handle of your sword, you closed your eyes, tears starting to make their ways out of your closed eyelids. All you could feel was remorse.

A soft breeze moved your hair slightly and your chest felt like a black hole had taken place where your heart used to be, regretting to not have been able to meet him under the tree at Windrise one last time.

The breeze quickly grew stronger, until it felt unnatural and you looked up from the ground, only to close your eyes again immediately when you realized the wind was too powerful for you to keep them open. If you had struggled to see though, you would have been blinded by the white light that soon illuminated the whole ruins. You didn't have enough time to register the situation when you felt a hand being laid atop your shoulder, snaking around your collarbones and pulling you back into... nothing? Another arm circled your weak form and a voice you immediately recognized said

"I've dealt with things worse than you, now crumble."

You realized that if you couldn't feel a chest behind you while still being embraced by his arms, it was because he was floating above you, and not standing behind you. A look in his direction confirmed your suspicions but what stunned you wasn't the fact that he was flying, but the attire he wore. Barely covering his body, a white set made of materials that seemed like clouds and liquid gold contrasted perfectly with his regular green clothes. His hair was glowing green and his eyes that were focused on the ruin guards up ahead had a marvelous shine that you had never seen before. He had that same aura he did the night he freed Stanley, but there was also something different about the way his hands gripped you a little too tightly or the way his voice sounded.

"Venti.." You muttered his name, relief and affection flooding you all at once, in his presence you felt as if nothing bad could happen to you. How foolish could you be, just a few hours ago you were speculating wether or not he had wiped out an entire civilisation and now here you were, being saved by him and feeling safer than you had in months.

"Close your eyes, I don't want give you a headache" he said, slowly floating legs first towards the ground. His unusually serious voice surprised you (and him) but you did as he told you. Letting go of your sword and leaning back into him, you let him deal with the monsters ahead of you.

"It's okay, it's over now" he kneeled to be at your level, his arms still wrapped around you, and you didn't have the energy to fight your urge of nuzzling into him. "I'll always be here for you, wherever there is wind, remember I'm here too. You only need to ask."

Being protected by a god really didn't feel that bad. Especially when you were in love with said god.

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

Thank you so much for reading whatever this is until the end :’)

Don’t hesitate to comment or reblog, tysm <3

Ps: venti loves u and so do i do pls take care of urself mwah

#genshin impact x reader #genshin impact headcanons #genshin impact #genshin impact angst #genshin impact scenario #venti x reader #venti x traveler #venti x lumine #venti x aether #el writes♡

[felassan]

Some DA trivia and dev commentary from Twitter

There’s a lot of different tweets, so I’m just pasting and linking to the source rather than screencapping them all or making several different posts or something. Post under cut for length.

User: Was dragon age 2 your favourite in the franchise?

David Gaider: DA2 was the project where my writing team was firing on all cylinders, and they wrote like the wind- because they had to! Second draft? Pfft. Plot reviews? Pfft. I was so proud of what we all accomplished in such a brief time. I didn't think it was possible. [source] DA2 is, however, also where the goal posts kept moving. Things kept getting cut, even while we worked. I had to write that dialogue where Orsino turned even if you sided with him, because his boss battle had been cut and there was no time to fix the plot. A real WTF moment. >:( [source]

Mike Rousseau: I remember bugging that! And then being told it wasn't a bug, and being so confused. Doing QA for DA2 was an experience. Trial by fire. [source]

DG: So I think it's safe to say DA2 is my favorite entry in the DA franchise and also the sort of thing I never want to live through ever again. Mixed feelings galore. [source]

User: (I personally blame whoever it was for ruining most romance arcs in other games for me; they don't live up to Fenris's romance storyline)

DG: I wrote Fenris, so uh - me, I guess? Or maybe his cinematic designer, who put in the puppy dog eyes. [source]

User: If DA2 had just been an expansion, do you think it would have been better received? There was a lot of great stuff in there, and I think my initial dislike of it was because of the zone reuse. If it hadn't needed to be a full game, would that issue not have arisen?

DG: Hard to say. It was either going to be an over-scoped expansion or an under-scoped sequel. If it had stayed an expansion, it might never have received the resources/push it DID get. [source]

User: I'd love to visit the universe where you had an extra year or so to work on it. You did a very good job as it stands, but it definitely had rough edges. Not just the writing team either. The whole game had hit and miss moments, that just a little more dev time could have fixed.

DG: On one hand, DA2 existed to fill a hole in the release schedule. More time was never in the cards. DA2 was originally planned as an expansion! On the other, if we had more time, would we have started doing that thing where we second guess/iterate ourselves into mediocrity? [shrug emoji] [source] 

Jennifer Hepler: This is what I love about DA2. Personally, I greatly prefer something that's rough and raw and sincere to something that's had all the soul polished out of it. Extra time would have helped for art and levels, but it would have lost something too. [source]

DG: Right? I think we could have used some time for peer reviews (and fewer cuts), but I think the rawness of the writing lent a certain spark that we usually polished out. [source]

JH: Definitely. I think the structure (more character-driven) and the tightness of the timeframe let each individual writer's voice really come through. Polish can be very homogenizing. [source]

DG: I should add I'm not, by any means, against iteration. Some iteration is good and necessary. The problem that BioWare often had is that we never knew when to stop. Like a goldfish, we would fill the space given to us by constantly re-iterating on things that were "good enough". [source]

Patrick Weekes: I appreciate your incredibly diplomatic use of the past tense on "had". :D [source]

User: DA2 was my gateway into the series and I’m so happy it is. I love the game the way that it is. It’s one of my favorites of all time. But I am also aware of everything that was said here. If it were remastered, do you think it would change?

DG: I'd be surprised if it was ever remastered. If it was, do you really think they'd change things? Do remasters do that? No idea. [source]

User: Both sides got undercut as I recall. Didn't that whole sequence also end with the mage leader embracing blood magic? It was very much "a plague on both your houses" moment, at least for me.

DG: Yep. Orsino was supposed to have his own version of Meredith's end battle, which only happened if you sided with the templars. That got cut, but the team still wanted to use the model we'd made for him. So... that happened. [source]

DG: I would personally say that DA2 is a fantastic game hidden under a mountain of compromises, cut corners, and tight deadlines. If you can see past all that, you'll see a fantastic game. I don't doubt, however, that it's very difficult for most to do that. [source]

PW: I love DAI with all my selfish "I worked on this" heart, but DA2's follower arcs and relationships are probably my favorite in the series. [source]

User: As I've expressed many times, I love the game, especially it's writing and characters but, for me, the most impressive aspect of it, in consideration of it's lack of time for drafts and revisions, is the 2nd act with Arishok.  What amazingly complex character and fantastic duel

User: Just played it again and I have to agree. Though he is bound by the harsher tenants of the Qun, he makes valid points about free marcher society. Though it is obvious that he and Hawke will come to blows eventually, the tension builds gradually and understandably

DG: Luke did such a fantastic job with the Arishok I found myself sometimes wishing the Qunari plot had just been THE plot. [source]

User: What do you think would have changed, story wise, if you had more time for DA2?

DG: I would have taken out that thing where Meredith gets the idol. It was forced on me because she needed to be "super-powered" with red lyrium for her final battle. Being "crazy", however, robbed her side of the mage/templar argument of any legitimacy. I hated hated hated that. [source]

User: I deeply lament that there wasn't/couldn't be some sort of DA2 equivalent of Throne of Bhaal's Ascension mod.

DG: I'd have done it, if DA2 had allowed for anything but the most rudimentary of modding. ;) [source]

User: I mean, and I think I understand where you were trying, but how much legitimacy did the Templars and her as top Templar have after they're keeping the mages locked up against their will in the old slave quarters? Feel free to not reply.

DG: I think it's the kind of discussion which requires nuance, and which discussions on the Internet are not prone to. [source]

User: Was a compromise that the quest lines don’t branch? It felt like it was supposed to be that way but then you end up in the same place later regardless of what you pick. Like I hoodwinked the templars so good to help the apostates escape but in Act II they were caught anyway.

DG: I remember us having a lot more branching in the initial planning yes. Most of this got trimmed out in the first or second wave of cuts, in an effort to not cut the plots altogether. [source]

DG: "If you could Zack Snyder DA2, what would you change?" Wow. I'm willing to bet Mark or Mike (or anyone else on the team) would give very different answers than me, but it's enough to give a sober man pause, because that was THE Project of Multiple Regrets. [source] I mean, it's the most hypothetical of hypotheticals. It's never gonna happen. I wouldn't be surprised if EA considered DA2 its embarrassing red-headed stepchild. We'd also need to ignore that in many ways DA2 was as good as it was bad BECAUSE of how it was made. But that aside? [source] First, either restore the progressive changes to Kirkwall we'd planned over the passing of in-game years or reduce the time between acts to months instead of years... which, in hindsight, probably should have been done as soon as the progressive stuff was cut. [source] I'm sure you're like "get rid of repeated levels!" ...but I don't care about that. All I wanted was for Kirkwall to feel like a bigger city. Way more crowded. More alive! Fewer blood mages. [source] I'd want to restore the plot where a mage Hawke came THIS close to becoming an abomination. An entire story spent trapped in one's own head while trapped on the edge of possession. Why? Because Hawke is the only mage who apparently never struggles with this. It was a hard cut. [source]

User: I would LOVE to hear more details about this! I don’t suppose there’s any chance of a short story?

DG: I don't even remember the details of the story, sorry. There was a fight, and you caught the bad guy and then realized none of it was real and woke up idk [source]

DG: I'd want to restore all those alternate lines we cut, meaning people forget they'd met you. Or that they knew you were a mage. Or, oh god, that maybe they'd romanced you in DAO. So much carnage. [source] I'd want to restore the Act 3 plots we cut only because they were worked on too late, but which would have made the buildup to the mage/templar clash less sudden. Though I don't remember what they were, now. Some never got beyond being index cards posted on the wall. [grimace emoji] [source] As I mentioned elsewhere, I'd want to restore Orsino's end battle so he wouldn't need to turn on you even if you sided with him. And I'd want an end fight with the templars that didn't require Meredith to have red lyrium and go full Tetsuo. [source] Heck, maybe an end decision where you sided with neither the mages nor the templars. Because it certainly ended up feeling like you could brand both sides as batshit pretty legitimately, no? That was never planned, tho. No idea how to make that feel like an actual path atm. [source] Maybe an option to go "umm, Anders... what are you DOING?" 👀 [source] And, of course, a Varric romance, because Mary took that "slimy car salesman" character we'd planned and did the impossible with him. I can feel Mary glaring at me for even suggesting this, tho. [source] Lastly, the original expanded opening to the game which allowed you to spend time with Bethany and Carver BEFORE the darkspawn attacked. And, um, that's about it off the top of my head. Zack Snyder, WHAT PANDORA'S BOX HAVE YOU OPENED. [source] Shit, I remembered two more things: 1) Restore the "Varric exaggerates the heck out of the story" at the beginning of every Act, until Cassandra calls him on it. Yes, that was a thing. 2) Make DA: Exodus. Yes, I am still bitter. [source] God damn it, I meant "Make DA: Exalted March". The DA2 expansion, NOT Exodus since that was DA2's original name and makes no sense. Because the expansion ended with Varric dying, and that will always be on my "things left undone" list. [source]

User: Whaaaat?

DG: Well, you know that scene in Wrath of Khan where Spock goes into the dilithium chamber because he's a Vulcan? Well, imagine that but with Varric and red lyrium and because he's a dwarf. ;) [source]

John Epler: I distinctly remember referencing the bit from MGS4 where you crawl through the microwave corridor in the split screen, while cinematic battle rages on the other half. [source]

DG: It would have been glorious, John. Glorious. [source]

JE: I don't think I've ever been so certain what a shot should look like as I did Hawke coming in and finding Varric in the broken throne, just like when he was telling Cassandra his story. [source]

DG: It would have come full circle! Auggghh, it still kills me. [source]

User: Lord, you folks are a little too good at this.

JE: The true secret behind videogame narrative is knowing how to make yourself seem a lot more clever than you actually are. [source] 'Oh, we TOTALLY planned that.' [source]

User: Ok, this thread [the DA2 regrets thread, which is the big chunks above] but Inquisition.

DG: My regrets about Inquisition are, more or less, the normal kind. Nothing so dramatic, I'm afraid. [source]

User: You can keep your Varric romance, I want a Flemeth romance goddamnit!

DG: I would allow for one flirt option, and then a recording of Kate Mulgrew laughing for three minutes straight. [source]

User: I had a hypothesis about the repetitive caves in DA2. They're repetitive because it's Varric telling the story and he didn't consider them important.  They're like sets in a play.  (Okay, I really suspect it was a time/money/resources thing but I like my fake explanation better.)

DG: Hang a lampshade on it, maybe? Cassandra: "But that's the exact cave you were in last time?" Varric: "Whatever. They all look the same, I'm not THAT kind of dwarf. Can we move on?" [source]

User: that makes sense, hypothetically to make Varric romanceable and keep his arc—that had to happen for the main plot—I imagine you would have to make double the content (or more)? which would've been a tall order given the time/budget constraints the game was under

DG: Right. When it comes to "romance arc" vs. "follower story arc", we generally only had time to do one or the other. Never both. Romancing Varric would have meant not getting the story of his that you did. [source]

Mary Kirby: The one exaggeration I really, REALLY wanted, that we never got to do was Varric narrating his own death scene with Hawke weeping over him, then cutting to Cassandra's pissed off glaring at him. [source]

DG: Haha! The one I wanted was Varric's plot where he takes on the baddies single-handedly, sliding across the floor like Jet Lee, action movie-style, until finally Cassandra gets irritated and he has to admit Hawke & the rest of the party showed up to help. [source]

MK: We did that one! (He didn't do any Jet Lee moves, though.) Jepler gave him letterboxing to get The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly showdown vibes while he shot a ton of mooks single-handed. [source]

DG: Wow. Shows how much I remember. [source]

JE: I found it! I remember seeing this sequence as my treat for doing a bunch of much more challenging work. It was fun to see how far I could push our limited library of animations. [link] [source]

DG: Heh awesome. I could have sworn it was cut, honestly. I think I was even in that meeting. [source]

User: no disrespect but that’s surprising and rich of Mary “Hard in Hightown” Kirby to think DA2 shouldn’t have had a Varric romance when she wrote an entire book of Varric’s self-insert character pining over his Hawke insert character… HIH is the reason we had VHawke Summer 2018

DG: I can't *really* speak for Mary, or how she feels about it now compared to back then. I only know how she felt about it back then, and I'm not sure it was as much the concept of the romance but that Varric's entire story would be bent to "romance arc" ...a very different thing. [source]

JH: I remember pushing to have the first DLC start with Hawke having an option to ask Varric, "Did you tell Cassandra about us?" and if you picked it, Varric would answer, "Of course not, baby. I told her you were sleeping with X..." and then proceed as if you had had a full romance. [source]

DG: I still wonder how that would have gone over. x) [source]

JE: Okay, one more DA2 thing. Putting together the cinematics for this scene was a blast. [link] [source]

MK: These lines are my greatest legacy. I want "Make sure the world knows I died... at Chateau Haine!" inscribed on my tombstone. [source]

JE: I was so glad no one said 'no' to the crane shot. [source]

MK: It needs that crane shot. It's the perfect icing on that cake made from solid cheese. [source]

DG: The designers were all "we need more combat" and I think we were all "I think you underestimate just HOW interesting we can make this dinner party". [source]

JE: And finally. I think @SherylChee wrote the one-liner. I think we had a collection of like, 20. [link] [source]

Sheryl Chee: Yeah! Something like that! I remember submitted a whole bunch and Frank said you only needed one. Wish I'd kept the other fifteen. [source]

JE: A random chooser where, each time through the scene, you get a different one-liner. [source]

JE: DA2 is the project I'm the proudest of. I also absolutely get that it didn't land for a lot of people. But I don't think it's inaccurate to say that, in a lot of ways, DA2 defined my career. [source]  Everyone spent a year working at their maximum ability. I was a fresh cinematic designer and was given all of Varric's content, as well as the Act 1 Finale mission. It was a lot for someone who had been doing the Cinematics thing for literally 6 months. [source]  There's some stuff in there I can't look at without wincing. And there's some stuff I'm genuinely proud of. Not to mention, it was my introduction to most of the writing team. Several of whom I'm still working with today! Albeit in a different capacity [source] Also, weirdly, one of my most enduring memories of Dragon Age 2 is how much Bad Company 2 we'd play at lunch. It was a LOT. [source] Every game I've worked on has a game I played attached to it. ME2 is Borderlands. DA2 is Bad Company 2. DAI is DayZ. I, hmm. There's a progression there. I don't know how I feel about it. [source]

User: Is DA4 going to be tarkov then?

JE: I've kind of churned out of Tarkov for now. Probably Hunt Showdown, at least right now. [source]

User: I think people also don't take nuance into consideration -- like I FULLY acknowledge the flaws in my favorite games and will openly criticize them, but that doesn't mean they're not my favorite games anymore??? You can like and thing and still be critical of it.

JE: A lot of my favourite shit is deeply flawed! I acknowledge it and I think it's interesting to dissect the flaws. [source]

User: I still wish Justice was an actual character in DA2 rather than a plot point.

DG: There was a moment during DAI where we *almost* put in you running into Justice with the Grey Wardens, and he's all "Kirkwall? I never went to Kirkwall" [source]

User: Does that imply that Justice was shoehorned in to DA2?

DG: Nah, it was an in-joke where we thought it'd be fun to suggest that "Justice" was simply some demon that tricked Anders in DA2. Wooo those tricky demons! We didn't do it, though. [source]

User: [about templars]  except, I don't think it had very much legitimacy to begin with. keep in mind, we interact with other characters with the same argument. The one that comes to mind is Cullen, a sane templar in power. The templar's side of the argument is inherently flawed.

DG: I don't doubt that many people agree with you, and yet people can and do argue on behalf of the templars as well. My place isn't to pick a side, but to provide evidence that players can interpret for themselves [source]

User: Can you shed some light for us on how DA was able to do multiple same-sex romance options for different genders but the Mass Effect team treated them like the plague? What process existed for your team that just wasn't their for the other tentpole franchise?

DG: Different people making the decisions, almost different cultures. I don't know what it's like now, but for many years the Mass Effect team and the Dragon Age team were almost like two different studios working within the same building. [source]

User: It truly boggles the mind. Kudos for doing demonstrably better on consistent queer representation than the ME teams. Y'all never needed us to make petitions to try to get the studio's attention and ask them to do better by us. That's the fight we're once again embroiled in now.

DG: Honestly, I don't feel like tut-tutting the Mass Effect team. They did their part, and if they were a bit later to the show than the DA team they certainly did more than almost every other game out there -- and willingly. [source]

Updates begin here

User: So what was the reason for naming Dragon age 2 "Dragon age II" and not using a subtitle?

DG: As I recall, that was purely a publisher decision. I think they wanted to avoid the impression it was an expansion. [source]

User: Is there no chance of ever remaking DA2 under better circumstances? -Somehow remove the repetitiveness of gameplay by making changes and updating the tech and adding much more to the storyline. It could almost be a new very exciting game.

DG: I'd say there's zero chance of that. Let's keep our hopes up for the next DA title instead. [source]

User: I am a little confused here, help me out here please! How exactly was the cut boss battle with Orsino supposed to work out? How it would've kept him from turning against the player?

DG: It means that, if you sided with the templars, the entire boss bottle at the end would have been against Orsino and the mages. No fight against Meredith. The end decision would have been more divergent. [source]

User: I do remember that one of the reasons going around for that, was that resources were going to the transition to Frostbite. I'm still not fully sold on that having been a good choice. I felt that more time should have been given for that transition considering it was made for FPSs

DG: We didn't transition to Frostbite until DAI. Given our time frame for DA2, I don't think we *could* have transitioned to a new engine. [source]

User: Since your talking about the what could have been for DA2. Could you say what your script was for Anthem? Cause I remember reading that you wrote the plot on that game.

DG: I created a setting for Anthem and scripted out a plot - but, as I understand it, almost none of that ended up being used. So it's a bit pointless to talk about what I'd planned, as that'd be for some completely different type of game. [source]

User: [in reference to the exchange above where DG said “Being "crazy", however, robbed her side of the mage/templar argument of any legitimacy. I hated hated hated that.” re: Meredith] except, I don't think it had very much legitimacy to begin with. keep in mind, we interact with other characters with the same argument. The one that comes to mind is Cullen, a sane templar in power. The templar's side of the argument is inherently flawed.

DG: I don't doubt that many people agree with you, and yet people can and do argue on behalf of the templars as well. My place isn't to pick a side, but to provide evidence that players can interpret for themselves. [source]

If I missed a tweet, got the wrong source link or included a tweet twice, feel free to let me know and I’ll correct.

Edit / Update: Post update 22nd April

#dragon age #bioware #video games #fenris #the Fenaissance #long post #longpost #cassandra pentaghast #my lady paladin #dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #da4 #mass effect

[hellfire-fist]

THE PIRATE KING & THE GREATEST SWORDSMAN (The STRONGEST of their generation)

I really waited for the officials to come out before expressing my thoughts and opinions about the chapter because it was that fucking good, and it just felt right to do so.

THIS CHAPTER HAD ME WEAK. It made me so emotional, the main reason being - seeing both Luffy and Zoro just be there at the top, at their best, in their element. The fact that we saw them grow into these absolute beasts??? I legitimately felt like a fucking parent.

The pride I felt when Zoro was able to cut Kaido so deeply-it's guaranteed to leave a scar.

Kaido being the one to acknowledge the potential of Zoro actually having the color of the supreme king. ZORO'S A KING BABY.

Luffy getting back up to disrespect Kaido ONCE AGAIN by telling him not one of them would ever follow an idiot like him.

Luffy understanding the mechanics of how Kaido is impenetrable -the cause being: by coating himself w/ coc haki.

LUFFY FUCKING DOING IT AT BASE FORM

THAT ICONIC LAST PANEL OF LUFFY. THE CONFIDENCE!!!

Realizing that both of them was able to do what was deemed impossible with Kaido.

ALEXA PLAY Memories

It's painfully obvious at this point, that they are absolutely my most favorite duo in one piece. Their partnership is just pure perfection. I don't know if anyone else has caught onto this but the lack of exchange between the two during the fight is a fucking testament to how in synch and connected they are.

Luffy does not need to tell Zoro to protect him, because Zoro does it so naturally-as he does with breathing air.

Zoro's instinct when it comes to Luffy being in danger is just so fucking invulnerable; and the way he always claps back at Kaido whenever he gets to Luffy? -> FUCKING POETIC (I don't know what else to say)

Oda does romance so well between these two, and by romance I refer to its organic definition: "...involves a mysterious, adventurous, or spiritual story line where the focus is on a quest that involves bravery and strong values, not always a love interest." (source: literaryterms.net)

Luffy and Zoro are truly a force to be reckoned with in the verse, this is just facts.

Of course I have to give credit to where it is due. Law was an absolute player in the rooftop. He did amazing as a support and the fact that he managed to tank Kaido's Thunder Bagua is most certainly a feat. I love that although he's being painted as a 'cold character', we see a layer of him in this chapter. He really has forged a bond with Luffy's crew, he might as well be a part of it. Also, kudos to Kidd and Killer for taking initiative! may the odds be in their favor 🤧

/trivial thoughts/

I am all for Luffy doing a 1v1 with Kaido, this could be another Luffy/Katakuri fight, however, there is this foreboding feeling that I feel. We all know how Oda is, he gives and he takes.

Something horrible is for sure gonna happen.

I am one of the people who wanted to see both Luffy and Zoro take down Kaido, but I don't think it's happening anymore but at the same time I feel like there's a catch to all of this.

Law is probably feeling weak himself, so I don't think he'll be able to patch up Zoro nicely :'))

I am worried for Luffy—like I know he never goes back on his word, but this is Kaido, and fuck idk I feel terrible for not 100% trusting my son

you know what? it might actually be possible. Since Kaido got actually damaged (to what extent, we don't really know), and I believe Zoro's cut to him will play a significant role in the Luffy/Kaido fight (just like how Luffy's 3rd gear attack impacted Lucci).

#anyways #ODA DOES NOT MISS #one piece #one piece manga #one piece spoilers #one piece chapter 1010 #is a 10/10 chapter no pun intended #THIS COULD ACUALLY BE CHAPTER OF THE YEAR FOR ME #Monkey D. Luffy #Roronoa Zoro #Luffy #Zoro #zolu #Trafalgar Law

[therovingstar]

Some random 6.0 observations (Sharlayan/Thavnair/Garlemald) from off the top of my head as I await my next play session. May contain some minor (but mostly inconsequential spoilers).

- Sharlayan is everything I thought it’d be, both good (atmosphere, architecture, music) and bad (stuffy, stuck-up ppl abound, but are luckily balanced out by many good beans).

- Current favorite music theme is that of our new headquarters/room. Literally have to stop for a minute or two to listen to it, it’s so calming.

- Sharlayan hunter bun is my new best friend, as is one (1) baby yeti thing.

- Of course the Leveilleur matriarch would be great. Gotta balance out dad, after all.

- Alphinaud big man on campus confirmed. Also Alisaie continues to be a chick magnet, seriously the power this girl has over the young female populace.

- Thavnair best place. The atmosphere, the music, the people, the COLORS. Also waaaaay more Au Ra-populated/centric than I thought it would, which, given my specific interests, I loved. Odzaya’s definitely got some connections/relatives here I’ll need to explore.

- The fact that Estinien and Alphinaud manage to share the same terrible habits with money management tickles me endlessly. I hope they bond over it.

- The added little things that increase immersion and character interaction (the aether sickness everyone felt after the transportation, that sickness being an actual status effect as we went after Estinien, etc.) Idk I feel like we’re getting more of those little interactive moments/details this expansion, and I love it a lot. Odzaya’s never felt more like a Scion and an actual part of everything, as her own character, than she has in just these early quests.

- On that same note, I like the more varied responses we’ve been given during conversations. It’s all inconsequential in the end, of course, but still a nice touch that, again, really makes the WoL feel like an individual living in this world rather than just a self-insert protag.

- Pretty glowy flower is pretty and glowy.

- Never thought Garlemald of all places would be the place where Odzaya reunited with the steppe crew. Yes, I took screens.

- Stop breathing in Odzaya’s ear, Thancred. Giving me ship vibes, geez.

- WHEN AND WHY DID XIV BECOME A SURVIVAL HORROR GAME????

- Overall, Garlemald good but big sad. Blue-haired boy in particular needs a hug. And more steppe soup.

- Overall just good good stuff. Every area just feels alive, y’know, even the sparsely populated areas lol, from the environment to the populace (I’ve been taking my time, doing side quests as they pop up, and pretty much each one has been a treat for me, no matter how tedious, just for the added depth and lore and life they bring to their respective locales). You can the see the love that was put into every pixel, and I can’t wait to experience more.

Anywho, I’m currently past Garlemald and the first official trial, and hoooo boy, my head and heart are spinning. More to come.

#lex plays ffxiv #6.0 spoilers #endwalker spoilers

[gayregis]

1/2 ngl i think many western witcher book fans make the series out to be way more progressive than it actually is. part of it is mistranslation ofc, like for example with the 'man was not made for monogamy' bit where the use of singular man is rlly misleading and it should be "a man" or "men aren't" bc originally it's just dandelion being a sexist cheating dick and not some openminded progressive the way ive seen this interpreted sometimes, But

2/2 there's a lot of plainly bad takes out there that i feel are partially an issue of just worldviews and circumstances. like obv its not some Enormous difference and im not saying that "hurr durr westerners Bad and Stupid" or whatever but in regard to stuff like lgbt issues or coding or feminism ive seen so many bonkers horrible takes that like. with my experience as a closeted polish trans homo are truly fucking concerning in how naive they are

(fucking 3/2 bc i can't count) but like. just from the top of my head the godawful girlboss femdom #feminism shit ppl pull with yennefer bc they cant admit shes not all that well written and that shes borderline abusive at times, people trying to make sapkowski out to be pro-lgbt which is fucking baffling with the blatant homophobic storylines/writing, the "GERALT IS CODED X" shit when hes a blatant cishet whiteman power/oppression fantasy rolled up in one like. idk im really tired and its a lot

(4/2 ok i SWEAR im done im sorry) like. i think what im trying to say is that i feel like theres a lot of like. kinda rose-colored-glasses type of naivety and a lack of understanding of how the general reality of life for women, lgbt people etc. is way different in poland and further east than it is in the states or britain or even fucking germany, so people just take very blatant bigotry and uncritically try to twist it to fit their western uwu pseudofeminism and whatnot

no, LITERALLY THIS. i think [mostly western] progressives on tumblr especially want and long to see  progressive messages or representation where there simply are not any, or where the messages that are there are largely milquetoast centrist and not actually saying anything radical. (this post i made is more specific to an aspect topic but it voices some of my opinions on it)

i think it’s of course fine to have separate interpretations of the characters / rewritten characters in your mind that you appreciate, but in order to do that you need to engage with the source material and acknowledge the reality of what is written on the page (for instance, what you said about yennefer being a #girlboss when in canon she struggles with characterization at times and especially in the short stories comes off poorly, almost abusive, and her and geralt’s relationship is definitely not some kind of #goals). 

i think that there are some redeeming features and it’s not all bad, everything is very grey - for instance, sapkowski wrote yennefer poorly when it came to her first introduction to ciri, but then her training of ciri that immediately follows it is much better. and geralt is a power fantasy in his heterosexuality and protagonist-isms, but spends the saga in turmoil over trying to protect ciri because he’s a good father. everything kind of blends together and does not just mean ONE thing only, because it’s understandable by many people. for instance, geralt being mopey and upset that he’s abnormal can be related to by MANY different types of people. 

i think the issue is when people state that characters are definitely “coded” one way or another (not like, actual canon relationships, like saying ciri is gay because she had relations with mistle... that’s a can of sapkowski-worms for another day... i’m saying, for example, arguing that dandelion is intended to be coded as gay because he wears colorful clothes or something like this). i don’t think it’s very valuable at all to look at the content and say “sapkowski intended THIS,” because i don’t find much value in what mr. centrist sells-the-rights-to-netflix had to say. i find value in what you have to say, personally, and what it means to you. 

sorry to speak about my minor again for like 0.2 seconds (it’s relevant) but it reminds me a lot of posts on here about ancient greece or rome that are like “ancient greeks and romans were GAY, we have ALWAYS BEEN HERE!!” like you really want to claim kinship with the violent imperialists who practice pedastry...? or posts claiming that X female figure, such as sappho, was a feminist. we call it an anachronistic interpretation: it’s a completely different time period, context, culture, and intention than what we understand in a modern sense. you can’t project your modern and western culture onto ancient greece and rome, because they are ancient societies.

similarly, i don’t think that you can take american feminism from 2020 and apply it to a fantasy series written by a polish man in the 1990s. you may reinterpret the characters how you so choose, of course you will have favorite characters and appreciate specific ones for specific things... but you cannot say that sapkowski’s intentions were specifically this or that as you understand them yourself in your own life, and you cannot do this with very many authors unless you are the author yourself. 

specifically for the witcher because as you said, there is a cultural misunderstanding: “[a] type of naivety and a lack of understanding of how the general reality of life for women, lgbt people etc. is way different in poland and further east than it is in the states or britain or even fucking germany.”  

i think in the english-speaking progressive social media circles currently for a few years there has been this very big hyperfocus on good representation for people of color, for women, for lgbt people, and in this quest for representation many are willing to overlook blatant bigotry in hopes of claiming another character ‘for the gays’ or whatever. for example dandelion hating on yennefer in a little sacrifice because she is old - i’m pretty sure sapkowski didn’t write this because he intended it to be like dandelion is gay and jealous of her! you can headcanon that if you like, but don’t claim that’s what it is and nothing else, because you need to acknowledge the misogyny present there.

i think it’s dangerous because you end up parading the original content around like it’s fantasic and progressive when it’s really not. i encourage people to have lgbt headcanons if they choose, but you really shouldn’t be saying it was sapkowski’s 100% intention to make this character X or Y because you really must take the writing into context with the author’s biases, life, culture, setting...

#ask #anon #the witcher #sorry for bolding statements but since this is a long post i wanted to bold what i thought were the most important points

[game-boy-pocket]

Well, now that they're all finally out... my feelings on each of the new Smash Bros characters is this.

Inkling was inevitable. But that doesn't mean I wasn't thrilled to see them. Splatoon is a great new IP, though I personally worry about how similar the games seem to be 3 main entries in, but that's nothing to do with Smash. Fun to play but hard to learn. A- ( the minus is for no Octo alt ).

Ridley felt like he should have been inevitable, but was fighting against some pretty strong biases. But he finally made it and i'm very happy. I do think he could have been a tad bit bigger though. Even if they had to slow him down a bit. A

Simon very happy with this character, and honestly surprised he didn't get in sooner. Castlevania may not be as strongly associated with Nintendo as it used to be, but it's one of the first games that come to mind when you think of the NES as well as the SNES. He was in a TV show with Megaman and Pit for goodness sake. And I enjoy using him. A- ( minus is only for no chronicles alt )

Richter was a cool addition, if there was one other Belmnot to be added, i'm glad it's him... but I am more of a Simon guy. Side note, I wish they took the echo fighter character a little further. It seemed like branding clones as echo fighters is all it took to make people more accepting of the idea, only for them to just stop short of three or four new ones, and not even include super obvious ones like Shadow the Hedgehog or Blood Falcon. Anyway A- ( minus is for no symphony of the night alt )

King K. Rool being revealed was one of my top five Smash moments. Donkey Kong is not a neglected Nintendo franchise. But it has undergone some changes that long time fans don't care for, including the removal of the main antagonist, this guy, who has a gigantic personality. He's a very fun character and it's so good to see him come back ( pls appear in the next DK game pls pls pls ) He also happens to be very fun to play as. A++

Isabelle is where Smash reveals kind of started to lose me a bit. Animal crossing is a big series and all but I really felt like the one villager is all the game really needed to properly represent the entire series. You don't need a lot for Animal crossing. And the fact that Isabelle was a relatively new character, who seemingly snatched the role of series mascot from Tom Nook, well it kind of rubbed me a little wrong. She seemed unnecesary... but she is actually more fun to play as than villager, and she's cute. So I don't totally hate her. B

Incineroar was a poor way to end the base game lineup for me. Pokemon just isn't a very respectible series anymore in my eyes and Sun/Moon was the first game in the series that I found too boring to finish. Pokemon just doesn't excite me, and with each new announcement, I'm becoming actively disgusted by it. I would have loved a wrestler character in the game, but the fact that it had to be a pokemon kind sullied it for me. Yeah, I just can't pretend to like this inclusion even if it is a huge Nintendo IP. C-

Dark Samus is a character I am kind of indifferent too. I didn't think we needed her, but I think she's a cool addition to the game. A bit of a waste to make her an echo though, her abilities are very different from Samus in the games if I remember right, I honestly don't remember much of Metroid Prime besides the first one. Still, she's cool. B+

Daisy is an oddball for me. I know she is in Super Mario Land, but her main identity comes from the Mario Spinoff games, and I just don't play those games. They don't appeal to me. I like Mario platformers. And to me, if a character is in spinoffs almost exclusively, they don't count as core Mario cast members. And frankly it's a little odd to me that she's plucking turnips and summoning Toads. The citizens of Sarasaland are not Toads. And she wasn't in Mario 2... but she's not hurting anything I guess so B+, needed "Hi i'm Daisy" taunt.

Chrom is a Fire Emblem Lord alright. He's also an echo. So I don't care. C

Piranha Plant honestly felt like a little bit of an insult to me. I've always hated when Mario games start featuring low level mooks without names as playable characters in the Mario spinoffs while ignoring the likes of Wart, Tatanga, E. Gadd, or th extended DK/Wario cast or RPG characters. It's part of why I don't care about Mario spinoffs. That being said... it is, at the very least, extremely fun to play as. B-

Joker may very well be the most out of place character in this series. He's certainly one of them. Maybe I would feel different if I played Persona, but I don't. So to me he's like the worst thing they added to this game. D-

Hero felt like he should have been in Smash Bros before cloud did. Dragon Quest may not be as popular in the west as it should be. But it's definitely the most important and influential JRPG to the history of video games... that being said, I wish the DQ3 hero was the default costume. I really enjoy playing as him. A+

Banjo and Kazooie finally getting in is without a doubt my favorite moment in Smash History. Not even Sonic got me as hyped as they did. I wish there was a way to make younger fans see this character the way us old timers do without seeming like we're trying to force them to like him, but it is what it is. I love these guys and they're my most played character. A+++

Terry is a character i'm not familiar with. He just kind of looks like a bootleg Ken to me. I think they could have picked a better SNK rep. Metal Slug would have been nice, shooters are sorely under represented in Smash. Do we have anybody besides Samus representing shooters? And she barely qualifies. C

Byleth is a Fire Emblem Lord alright. But you know what, they're honestly the only FE character that feels like they're representing the gameplay of Fire Emblem particularly well while the others were just kind of generic sword slingers... that being said... was this the best way to end fighter pass 1? B-

Minmin was not a character on my Radar. I thought it would have been Springman or no Arms character at all... I am just happy ARMS made it in at all... but really, it should have been base game content. If only to support the new IP. A-

Steve was a character I was opposed to at first. I saw him as a rival to Banjo. And I also saw Minecraft as a dumb zoomer game. A joke. But people made compelling arguments for the importance of minecraft, how successful it is, I actually downloaded Minecraft on my Switch, played it, had a relaxing time, I still play it, and I was actually able to play with my friends who don't own Nintendo consoles. It has cross play. The cross play is really what won me over as it being really cool to have in Smash, as it really brought me together with friends. Steve is tough to use, but great fun, as long as it's against a computer. I can't fight humans for shit, hah. A- ( the minus is for that cursed short enderman alt )

Sephiroth rubbed me the wrong way. Another Final Fantasy character wouldn't have been so bad, but did it have to be another FFVI character??? Couldn't it have been something from before FF made the jump to total steampunk/sci-fi to better represent the series roots? He's fun to use but idk, I just take no joy in him... at least we got more FF music I guess. C-

Pyra/Mythra is a character I have zero opinion on. B ( for booba )

Kazuya is not a character i'm familiar with, and if there had to be another fighting game character, one from Namco, I feel like Soul Calibur should have been it. Bring the Link crossover back around. It seems Tekken has no presence on Nintendo as well... but whatever. I have no strong feelings. He's fun to combo with but I suck as him. B-

Sora makes me sad. I don't dislike Sora. He has a fun design. I like the idea of Kingdom Hearts... I just think the story of those games is very weird and dumb and confusing, so the games themselves are kind of overrated. I really think people only like it for the pretty character models and intricate costumes. I thought people liked it for the Disney stuff but I'm suprised to hear most KH fans seem to want more FF stuff and less Disney stuff??? The only thing that makes the game unique??? Should be dialed back??? That being said... I don't like Disney. It is an evil company. And Disney getting in bed with Nintendo makes me very anxious. D

[alethiometry]

How are you liking AC Valhalla so far? Any characters you love? Any characters you hate? Is there anyone as sexy as Brasidas?

hiiii thank you for asking!! i’m going to keep this as spoiler-free as possible.

i’m really liking it so far! i have my gripes about gameplay mechanics and the buggy launch, but at this point i have either grown used to them or am happily experiencing stockholm syndrome and am just enjoying the game for what it is (and hoping the stuff that needs patching gets patched soon).

here are some things i love:

the voice acting is so good. SO GOOD!!!

eivor! she stands out among the protags of other ac games i’ve played because she always has this community about her. she’s a loved and respected leader to her people, they’re always happy to see her return to the settlement, she’s got her crew to back her up at a moment’s notice, there’s always portions of the main quests where she has companions fighting beside her.

basically all the other characters in ravensthorpe! they’re a fun bunch and a loving community and they have their quirks and i love hanging out with all of them. petra in particular is an absolute sweetheart and not a day goes by where i don’t feel awful for breaking up with her bc my goblin brain decided “lol i want to fuck my stepbrother’s wife who looks like kassandra in sweatpants”

HYTHAM IS A SWEETHEART. we love an assassin who is also, to use 2012 lingo, a pure and sweet cinnamon roll, too perfect for this world.

petting dogs and cats!

how dynamic the settlement is. every time i go back there’s something new and interesting happening, whether it’s a new sidequest an npc wants me to help out with, or a dispute between neighbors, or new dialogue with npcs i repeatedly interact with. i love having a home base that i can upgrade and that i want to spend time in.

the minigames! orlog is fun and frustrating but mostly fun, and the drinking contest is AWESOME.

quick-time assassinations for higher-level enemies! it’s a good balance between the old games where you could just indiscriminately kill fucking anybody in one overpowered hit, and odyssey where you had to either stack your assassination damage to get that sweet OHKO, or straight up fight the polemarchs.

the relationship between eivor and sigurd. i’m only about 40-50% of the way through the game so i’ve only seen a bit of it, but as someone who generally gravitates towards sibling narratives (i.e. odyssey, fullmetal alchemist, and way too many of my prime years wasted on supernatural) i really love their dynamic. i think it was an excellent idea to have that become one of eivor’s central narratives from the very beginning of the game. also, i get to fuck his wife.

(forces through gritted teeth) the... modern... day. i HATED layla in odyssey, to the point where i don’t even remember what happened in the modern story at all because every playthrough except for my very first one i simply mashed the skip button until i got back in the goddamn animus.. and i do not remember a single thing she did in origins. and maybe it says more about me than anything else that i wasn’t able to care about her until ubisoft (finally!!!!) brought back shaun and rebecca to make me care, but... this is the closest the modern day has felt to the desmond games, and there’s post-odyssey continuity with layla’s struggle as the keeper of the staff or whatever, and i really like it!

when you hover over different things in the map, the sound effects change. you get chanting music when you hover over monasteries, and ocean noises when you hover over the ocean! IT’S SUPER NEAT.

taking damage when you swim in the cold cold waters of norway made me chuckle. i can see how it might get annoying, but it doesn’t really bother me that much and it’s not that much damage.

THE SOUNDTRACK GIVES ME CHILLS IT IS SO GODDAMN GOOD

things i’m ambivalent about:

fall damage? i’m peeved that it’s back, but it makes sense. i do love that the breakfall skill makes it so that the most damage i’ve ever gotten from taking a long fall is like... 5 hp lmao

kill animations. they’re really cool and i love seeing what new fun way eivor has to brutally murder her enemies. on the other hand, the shift in camera angle can be annoying in the middle of a massive battle, and if there’s an object in the way of the very specific camera angle then sometimes i can’t see the animation at all and have to just stare at some wood/stone texture for like 10 seconds.

environment puzzles. sometimes they’re fun but sometimes i’m too damn tired to try and figure out the 3895th way to break into a locked building.

side quests world events. they’re fun but also seem largely... pointless? i wish we had one or two longer sidequests; some of my favorite moments in odyssey were on long sidequests like mykonos or the battle of 100 hands. i feel like this was a reactionary mechanic to people complaining that odyssey had “too many” sidequests or something idk.

tattoo parkour. i would like it more if eivor didn’t feel so “sticky” if that makes sense. i like the return of parkour puzzles, and i like collecting tattoos (the tattoo shop is always the first place i visit when i return to ravensthorpe), but the parkour in the game often feels quite clunky.

social stealth. another excellent idea that they brought back, but executed clumsily. i just don’t understand how it works, or, more importantly, why it’s even necessary in the first place. but it’s also easy to ignore, so whatever.

animus glitch platform puzzles. they’re super cool but for some reason give me massive anxiety.

things i don’t love:

some combat mechanics, like having a stamina bar and losing adrenaline when you get hit. i’m not here for any of that *~*~sO gRiTtY aNd rEaLiStIc~*~* bullshit. i just want to have fun and hack shit up.

that motherfucking god damn terrible fucking skill tree/map/web. who the FUCK thought it was a good idea??? the incremental changes between the big nodes feel kind of meaningless, and it’s very difficult to see the (completely arbitrary) progression towards the big nodes because they’re pathed out on SKINNY WHITE FUCKING LINES

synin got nerfed real bad :(

dag is a massive chode. and not even in a fun way, like stentor was in odyssey.

don’t really care for ivarr either if i’m being honest.

i do not give a single shit about fantasy asgard, and i’m kind of peeved that i apparently have to finish that arc in order to finish the game. (i didn’t like the atlantis dlc in odyssey either—a couple hades sidequests notwithstanding—so go figure.)

congratulations on reading this far if you actually bothered to do that! i don’t think any game will top odyssey for me in terms of setting/storyline/general vibes. but valhalla is a great, solid game in its own right.

no npc will EVER be as sexy as brasidas, but eivor is definitely sexier. she and kassandra and aya hold the 3-way title of Sexiest Assassin’s Creed Characters But Not In Like A Creepy Incel Gamer Way.

#assassin's creed #ac valhalla #charlotte plays acv #anonymous #asked

[polyolefinprince]

What would you do for the next Pokémon region? What theme would the pseudo legendaries and legendaries be?

In terms of the actual region, I prefer fantasy lands to actual places (I'd rather explore Hyrule than NYC, you feel?) which also permits more diversity in location so there can be stuff like a desert area and a snowy area without it feeling forced. I'd also want caves to come back a bit. Places like the Ice Path in Johto allowed so much more exploration than locations like the Galar Mine which is just one path with an optional offshoot.

Honestly, I want a Breath of the Wild type of game where there is a lot more exploration and letting us approach the story how we want. Gyms would be hard to force in a more open-world game but in the past two generations they've been changing how gyms work so I think it's totally feasible to still incorporate that with badges acting as milestones to unlock stronger pokemon and areas. I still think having the region somewhat split up is a good idea, so maybe having different areas going further into the region, with three gyms per area, and you just have to beat one of them to go on but you're encouraged to beat all three so you're pokemon will on-par with the levels of the next region. This allows for a chance of a gym for each type which would give us 6 different levels of area, similar to Alola's four islands (I don't think I would want them to be islands though because the story requires more forest area than oceans). I think this works well because the first could be a classic Grass/Fire/Water trio, then maybe Electric/Ground/Flying as classic types to teach resistances, then Bug/Ghost/Poison to have a generally spooky vibe, then kick off the second half with the classic Fighting/Psychic/Dark trio, then Ice/Ground/Normal (partially because it's what is left and partially because by now you have typing figured out so a strong normal gym is a challenge) and the final one could be the stronger types with Dragon/Fairy/Steel.

In terms of the storyline, I love what Hoenn did with having two teams with contrasting views and depending on the game you chose you got to see different points of view. I want to try that again but have more nuanced arguments rather than Team Aqua and Magma's opinion on the size of the ocean. I think I'd want my two teams to be focused on Nature vs Society, where one team wants to exhaust the natural world's resources for industry and science while the other wants to push civilization back to make room for the return of forests and wild pokemon. This has definitely been done before so it isn't a new concept, but I think that it's something where arguing for the extremes can lead to disastrous consequences in either side. I'm talking Community Center vs Joja Mart but like to the max.

Playing off of that, Princess Mononoke is one of my two favorite movies and while I would love the forest spirit there to be the Nature legendary, I don't want it to be too similar to Xerneas. Instead, I think looking at the boar gods there is a good choice as they can show the wild strength of nature that I want. So the Nature legendary would be a Grass/Ground giant boar. Let's call it Boarture, even though that's not at all what it's name would be because that sounds too much like torture and I specifically want to stay away from making either of them evil, just dangerous. Still, Boarture works for now.

The Society legendary is harder. I don't want to minimize society to industry because that's harder to justify against nature. I still want industry to play a part, as well as scientific advancement but also history and art as important cultural cornerstones. There are a couple different type combos I like for this one, but my favorite is Fire/Steel, which isn't a type combo we've seen before and also pairs up human civilization really well with the myth of the first fire and cooking and shelter and stories which are all decidedly human traits and the steel incorporating technology and science. I think it would take on a more humanoid appearance while still being wisp-y, a body composed purely of a white fire fueled by ambition and hands of liquid steel that it shapes at will to demonstrate its creativity, while still being dangerous to embrace in entirety. Lets call it Muse.

It might be a lot, but I think I also want a separate legendary trio to accompany them both. With Boarture I think you should have to make a case to three disciples before you get to confront Boarture itself. Each of them composes an aspect of the natural world. I like the idea of them being bugs because there aren't enough strong bug types. One of them is Flying/Bug and it helps herald in storms, another is Rock/Bug and it presides over the desert, and the third is Water/Bug and it protects the rivers and streams throughout the region. For Muse's, I like the idea of them all being Fairies because fairy tales are a human creation, and each of them having to do with humanity and society. One would be Ghost/Fairy and presides ovrr stories and history, another would be Electric/Fairy and would be immersed in technology (like a non-tricky Rotom), and the third would be Psychic/Fairy and would deal with identity and the concept of the Self. I don't like the idea of Pokemon being version exclusive, as somebody who didn't have friends to play with growing up, so I think 3 would be plot relevant, but after the game is complete you can potentially go through a second quest to fight the second box legendary and with it in the party you could find the other 3.

Idk what I would do for pseudo legendaries tbh. I've always wanted a Fire/Grass forest fire pokemon so that would be there. I also want a Poison/Steel radioactive pokemon that would fit well with the industrial aspect of the games. I love the idea of a Water/Dark kraken-style pokemon but I don't know if it would fit in well with my idea of the region. A Grass/Fighting moose pokemon covered in bark? A Poison/Fairy witch pokemon with a special move where it throws a potion with different effects based on the type of Pokemon it throws it at? An Ouroboros pokemon that starts as just a snake trying to bite its tail but turning into a fearsome dragon?

Overall, I think it's ambitious. Making it so that the story is different depending on the version while still following the core story isn't too hard, they've done it before. On top of that, making it so you can fight between 6-18 gyms and not necessarily in order will allow incredible individuality to the games, making it feel like everybody can play their own game with a different story than their friend. It would also allow great replayability as people fight different gyms or challenges like a Nuzlocke but you can only fight one gym per area. Or fighting one gym per area and then going back with a fresh team to fight the next 6 and then a third team to be the final 6.

And then having a nature-team is a great segue into another Pokemon Rangers game which they could have done so well on the switch, with moving the controllers in a circle to catch pokemon.

The problem though is that the Pokemon Company is currently emphasizing quantity over quality. I legit don't know if we'll ever see another epic main pokemon game because they are so focused on getting smaller games that they know we'll buy just because it has pokemon in it. They are prioritizing profits over telling a good story with a good game right now, which is disappointing, but I think it's possible we are in the stage where pokemon as we knew it would have died off by now and the only reason it's still going is because there is still money to be made. This is unfortunate, but I understand that we can't have the pokemon we grew up with our whole lives.

#asks #anon #sorry that this is so much to read #if i wasnt the one typing it i probably wouldn't look at all of this #but i love storytelling and worldbuilding and pokemon so this was a good ask

[iaintyourbro]

Hey! I just newly found out your acc and so far, I’m loving your posts/analysis. Idk if you’ve already answered or been asked this question but... how did you become a Cloti fan and the reason why you stan them (like what did you like about their tandem etc)? I’m just curious about your “journey” lol. Anyways, keep it up and have a nice day 😁

Hey anon! Thank you!

Oh you want me to ramble! I can ramble about this. Adding a Keep Reading!

You know, I’ve thought about this a lot today because of a conversation on Twitter. I can’t say I TRULY remember much about when I first played FFVII prior to the other pieces of the compilation coming out, things I saw in passing online, or other things that probably have affected how I remember it. 

My Thoughts on What My Journey MAY Have Been

I played FFVII 20 years ago. Of course I THINK I remember how I felt about everything, but the more I do seriously think about it, the more I think the bulk of my opinions have been impacted by multiple different areas over that 20 years. On top of it, I’m not sure anybody who didn’t stay very active in the fandom would fully remember what went on 20 years ago with the game, nor could you truly remember what you felt prior to seeing everything else. It impacts your ability to say “Yes, I was this way, 100%.” 

I wasn’t the biggest FFVII OG fan. I liked it a lot, but I preferred FFVIII and Xenogears by far. Those were the two I focused on the most. In terms of things like FanFiction, for example, I didn’t read Cloud and Tifa or Cloud and Aerith ones, I read Vincent x Lucretcia ones. As an adult, I appreciate FFVII OG much more.

I recall not being the biggest fan of Aerith, and I honestly don’t remember how I felt initially about Tifa. I do remember it feeling like it came out of left field when suddenly she’s in love with him in Mideel (we know it wasn’t sudden, but there was no real obvious buildup to me). If I’m being completely honest, I don’t think I cared at all about who Cloud “ended up with.” My assumption - and this I can say with certainty - was that Aerith died, so that was that. There wasn’t a relationship past that, nor could there be. She was dead. 

Playing FFVII first, but FINISHING FFVIII first may have impacted this opinion as well. FFVIII was in your face romance. FFVII was not. There are a lot of people (myself included) that felt there was very little romance in OG. However, as with all of the other games I played, I did not question the story much at all. Cloud and Tifa have the Lifestream, which I do remember being like “WHAT?!” over that reveal of Cloud being a Shinra Soldier, not a First Class SOLDIER, they have some words Under the Highwind, and then at the end he catches her from falling. The dialogue during the ending bothered me because it made no sense to me at that point. After seeing the original story board, I can see why. I don’t think that was the intention, but for some reason they changed it. One thing I’m pretty certain on is that I got that weird feeling in my stomach where I got annoyed over that line. 

I can recall being weirded out when people said that Cloud and Aerith ended up together, because I remember her dying. In life, 21 year old’s don’t pine for somebody that they knew for a month. That’s just reality. I’m not saying he didn’t feel anything for her, but it still weirds me out that people are okay with thinking he’d shut down and/or take more extreme measures to “reunite” with her, that I don’t even want to get in to. I will say that CA fans were much more vocal online, which I think is why folks like me who didn’t care never really got involved in online fandom. I never understood how it would make sense after beating the game, but I wasn’t the only one who assumed they did something weird at some point and made it where they could be together. I just didn’t care enough to look in to it. 

My sister actually said to me, “Isn’t he with Aerith?” And I said, “No, but I had the same feeling at one point for some reason, and have no idea why.” And I reminded her Aerith died and she said “You’re right.. why would they be together?” Shrugs. I honestly think at one point I assumed they pulled a FFX and revived her in some offshoot game I didn’t play and that’s why people were saying CA.

Oddly enough, I think when I played KH and KH2 it made it obvious to me that they weren’t really pushing CA at all... even though I know some use those games as an argument. Mind you those are NOT canon to the FFVII Compilation, but I found it interesting that they bring in Tifa for KH2 and it ends up that a) Cloud was looking for Sephiroth and b) Tifa appears to have been his light. Even they way Aerith acts towards Cloud in KH never felt romantic to me at all. 

Why I Like Cloud and Tifa

I like Cloud and Tifa because their relationship is very complex. It’s not flowers and sunshine like a lot of the FF romances. Not to say those don’t have drama - I mean Tidus is technically a dream, but they “revive” him anyway later on (never felt right about this, by the way... but I accepted it as part of the story). 

Even in OG, it’s shown that they have quite a history, and Cloud pretty much has built all of his life decisions around Tifa. I do laugh every time I see the meme of the Lifestream and it’s all “Tifa Tifa Tifa”. I believe, I truly do, that the intent in the Lifestream was to make you realize that Cloud had a false persona up until he breaks at the Northern Crater, and once his TRUE SELF is revealed, along with it comes his true feelings. So up until that point, when you, as the player, could make decisions for Cloud and move him in a direction you thought was YOUR CHOICE, it’s not. It was an illusion. 

I, in no way, thought that eloquently 20 years ago. However, I realized that he was in love with Tifa (which I thought was interesting for some reason) and that he created this fake personality to protect himself. The game doesn’t go into it much past that point, you get Under the Highwind, really, as a follow up to the feelings part, but that’s it. So I never saw the romantic aspect of it all as super important - it’s a nice to have.

Remake, however, really does seem to be pushing a more romantic angle, which ultimately made me a hard Cloti stan. I can’t say I WAS one before, even with all the “wait, is he with this or that one?” I never really thought he ended up with anybody TRULY except Tifa, but, like I said, I just didn’t care.

REMAKE MAKES YOU CARE ABOUT ALL OF THESE CHARACTERS. Like a lot. So I didn’t like Aerith in OG - I love Aerith in Remake. I love her relationship with Tifa, I love her sassy, judgemental attitude and her trolling of Cloud, because it’s hilarious. I don’t agree with EVERYTHING,  but she’s by far better for me than she was in OG.

So Remake definitely made me go “holy cow” on the Cloti stuff. IT’S SO IN YOUR FACE. The Train Roll, the touching, the staring, the longing, the flirting. Even if you go the Aerith route, you can’t avoid a large chunk of that. You can skip all of her side-quests and still have a boatload of Cloti. Remake made me love the pairing and love all of the characters. 

Cloti is now by far my favorite media pairing. When you compare it to Squall and Rinoa or Tidus and Yuna it seems much more interesting. Yeah, I’m saying it, and I’m a huge Squinoa fan. BUT - Remake didn’t make me care until now. Remake had me start researching the compilation, to understand where this and that came from. Folks on here have explained things that I may have missed or previously didn’t care about. 

I also have a hard time with CA now after all of the compilation stuff. CC and ACC made it clear that Aerith loved Zack. This is NOT obvious in OG. The only references you get about Zack are “we weren’t that serious” when it’s first brought up in the park, IF you take Aerith with you to Gongaga, then she’ll say he was her first love, and Zack’s parents will say he wrote home about a girlfriend. None of that makes you believe that there was anything really serious between them.

CC clears that up, ACC reinforces it. After that, I can’t mentally do it because of the whole “bro code” thing. If Aerith knows Zack and Cloud were best friends, I can’t see her simply saying “cool I’ll just go with him now.” If Cloud was aware that his best friend was Zack, I don’t think he’d go with her. Prior to that, I can see why people would be okay with it. After finding out everything we know about how close Zack and Cloud really were, I can’t do it. This is a personal thing to me, it doesn’t mean I think nobody should ship CA. This is just how I view it, and I can’t see Aerith OR Cloud being okay with it if they were aware of it. This is also my view post compilation.

Remake reinforces, even further, the whole Zerith thing. As somebody who was meh before about them, I love them now. Remake makes you really look at the whole compilation if you’re not totally familiar with it or haven’t seen/played something in a long time.

So yes, I am definitely a Cloti stan, and probably always may have been, but just didn’t care until Remake. 

But aside from all that - I took it as True Cloud’s One True Love was Tifa - and that’s part of what comes out in the Lifestream. So I don’t think True Cloud would have dropped Tifa. 

#cloti #cloud x tifa #ff7r #ff7 #zerith

[naysaltysalmon]

Shoutout to @tiburme for tagging me~!

Rules: Name 10 favorite characters from 10 different things and then tag 10 people.

Oh, massive spoilers below btw.

1. Gon Freecss from Hunter x Hunter: My favorite shounen protagonist by far. At first you think he’s your typical happy-go-lucky bouncy boye :D who definitely doesn’t have abandonment issues or self-destructive tendencies that literally actually almost kill him later on, and then, uwu... The amount of complexity that Gon has as a protagonist who hardly ever has stand-alone development is nothing short of astounding. How during the Chimera Ant Art his characterization totally dips off to the side to become an unknowable entity even to the audience, while still retaining amazing character development regardless -- not to mention how brilliantly daring his decision to threaten Komugi is that nearly every other author with such a happy-go-lucky protagonist would shy away from in cowardice -- is absolutely surreal to me. The more I think and write about Gon, the more I fall in love with him. If I ever meet his father, and by that I mean his real father, the creator, Togashi, I have nothing else to say but,,, well done, sir.

2. Tanjirou Kamado from Demon Slayer: I’m really hoping the Demon Slayer movie comes out soon because I absolutely love this boy and how charming he is. Unlike most protagonists, not just of shounen anime but of seemingly macho story lines that involve power-ups and training in general, Tanjirou never lets go of his kind heart. (Welp, except maybe in some cases when he’s facing the Upper Moons later on -- I haven’t caught up yet -- but WE’RE GONNA IGNORE THAT for now.) From the beginning, Tanjirou’s kindness isn’t an obstacle holding back his power, though other characters pose it that way, but rather he cultivates his empathy to grant peace to the demons he faces. He smiles in the face of anyone who treats him poorly because of his cluelessness, and that’s just so heartwarming to see, and dare I say subversive to the hardened, calculating, and cocky male protagonists we so often get. Good job, Gotouge.

3. Joseph Joestar from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Giorno Giovanna was a close second, but I gotta go with Joseph. He’s the one who made me fall in love with the series, and with the later parts too. Unlike Jonathan Joestar, who was chivalrous and manly, Joseph was a riot: colorful, arrogant, funny, but also extremely clever. I absolutely loved his, “Next you’ll say...!” because at first I expected it to just be him being an overconfident asshole and eventually he’d be proven wrong at the ~Dai Pinchi Moment~ (please excuse my weeb speech, I legit didn’t know what else to call it), but then he hit the mark every time and eventually I was just waiting for when he’d pull that out and it was so hype. Also I surely can’t forget his transformation as an old dude in Part 3 -- him screaming “OOHHHH MY GAAAWDDDA!” and “HOLY SHIIIT!” murdered me every time. And of course, last but not least, the raw fucking emotion when Caeser died -- the dude actually gave a shit and wasn’t made entirely of wit and absurdity, but heart too. Joseph set the tone for what JJBA was as a whole for me (fuck off with that “but Part 3/Part 4 is the best Part” bullshit, Part 2 will always be top tier for me because of Joseph Joestar’s brilliant, bright, and beautiful absurdity -- but Part 5 was really good too). Araki really is a genius.

4. Link from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: My love for this series is a bit older than the series I’ve already mentioned, and TLoZ: TP was actually probably the first time I got seriously obsessed with a fandom. I love all the Links in their own ways, but Twilight Princess really drove home the “lone wolf chosen by the gods, fighting against the world” narrative for me. It made me feel important and strong at a time when no one cared about me. Seeing Link struggle silently through his quest with villagers who meant well but did nothing for him, and Midna who started out as a reluctant acquaintance and eventually became so much more, meant so much to me at the time I played the game. I will always love Twilight Princess the most because of what it did for me at one of the darkest times in my life, and because I felt completely and utterly immersed in every part of the story and gameplay through Link’s character, who was, and in many ways, still is, so relatable to me: Silent courage really is what I use to get through every day.

5. Greedling from Fullmetal Alchemist (Brotherhood): For once I’m not naming the protagonist of a series! Lissen, I still smile whenever I see the slightest reference to Edward Elric, but now he’s more of my childhood love. He’s just a part of my personality already? LOL. Anyway, FMA(B) has so many good characters that choosing just one doesn’t feel right (I mean, same with HxH tho). I say Greedling because that encompasses both Ling and Greed though, two of my favorite characters from the series! Ling’s apparent childishness in constantly running away from fights, making other people pay for his food, and failing to grasp the seriousness of the situation (until Lan Fan’s arm gets cut off lol oops) is so adorable and entertaining. He’s the best kind of idiot asshole, and I especially love how he teases Ed. After him and Greed fuse, Ling’s stout heart becomes even more apparent, as he constantly eggs Greed on to remember his past life, his friends, and become someone outside of Father/the Dwarf in the Flask. Conversely, Greed’s nonchalance and (of course) avarice are nothing short of entertaining and heartbreaking. Greed’s realization at the end, when he finally admitted to himself that what he wanted all along were “friends like these,” completely crushed me the first few times I watched FMAB. And when he’s screaming in the tunnels under Central after having killed Bido, remembering his friends, and he doesn’t understand why, and later attacks Wrath/King Bradley... that shit was so entertaining and cathartic to watch. None of his development feels like forced redemption, nor like it was too little development, since it mostly happens in the background and away from the “validating eyes” of the protagonists other than Ling. And at the end, when Ling and Greed work together to take down Bradley and all the soldiers invading Central HQ... it’s so beautiful. Many have said this before but I’ll say it again: Hiromu Arakawa wrote the perfect series.

6. Ciel Phantomhive from Black Butler: Another protagonist! And another older obsession of mine. Ciel remains in my mind to this day mainly for his heartlessness in relation to his age, and the fluidity with which Toboso tells his story. Normally when authors write younger characters into their serious stories, they make “child adults” of sorts, but Ciel feels totally realistic to the extent that he is both childish and adult to me. Obviously, Ciel is responsible and (normally) level-headed due to being the head of the Phantomhive household, but also from trauma. Yet, his cruelty at times is what sticks in my mind the most: You really feel that he’s someone who feels he’s been abandoned by the entire world, given his experiences, and that makes him disregard or use others sometimes in order to reach his own ends. Normally, authors would be too cowardly to let their protagonists, let alone child protagonists, go to such lengths to avenge their family, or carry out their duty as the dog of the military (looking at you, Arakawa -- she’s still a goddess tho). But Ciel is unforgiving. He lies to Snake and tells him his troupe is still alive. He murders the entire troupe because he’s triggered -- a childish decision, but driven with adult-like power due to trauma. It’s devastatingly riveting, and I cannot forget his unrelenting, contained rage to this day.

7. Ahsoka Tano from Star Wars: The Clone Wars: This one may come as a shock to most of you, because I hardly ever post Star Wars let alone Ahsoka content on here -- but it’s true. Other than the blatant, half-assedly inserted heteroromantic partner they gave Ahsoka in, like, idk season 3??, Ahsoka is a fucking goddess. From her origin as a wee baby in the earlier seasons who didn’t really know what she was doing and was a bit of a cocky brat, to how she matures and becomes wise, resourceful, and fierce in the later seasons, I just love Ahsoka’s design and character to this day. The episodes that stick in my mind aside from the obvious are when she’s possessed by the Dark Side of the Force on that Force balance planet and her arrogance becomes so exaggerated that she threatens and attacks Anakin, her teacher. It was so fucking cathartic. Normally female characters, let alone young protagonist female characters, are never allowed to show the ugly sides of themselves in fiction, since women are always portrayed as perfect beautiful majestic angels or some bullshit like that. (Or they’re cocky/sexy/slutty villain women. ‘Kay then.) Seeing Ahsoka devolve into her basal desires and come out of it like hardly anything happened and she’s still a perfectly valid character was so amazing to see on a meta level; it wasn’t about her learning a lesson or anything, it was a thing that happened like any other character and then they moved the fuck on. I also distinctly remember the episode where she was trapped on that island/planet and she had to take out the aliens that were after her all by herself. That was so fucking empowering to watch and god fucking dammit I need to rewatch this series now. And of course, let us not forget the fact that the entire time, we were all expecting Ahsoka to just be another domino in Anakin’s downfall -- and she was, but not through the refrigerator -- but through walking away from it all. That was so powerful and moving -- and heartbreaking. By the end of TCW, her character carried weight and agency in the narrative, and god, I only wish whoever wrote her could write more female characters in the future.

8. Tigress from Kung Fu Panda: Maybe another surprise, but I think she deserves this spot. Tigress is a female character who starts out as kind of an antagonist, given how she outright tells Po to leave the kung fu temple within the first day of him arriving. She’s even jealous of the fact that he’s chosen as the Dragon Warrior rather than her -- but that’s due to the backwash of years of trying to live up to the memory of Tai Lung in order to please Shifu (which means “master” in Chinese but ok I’ll shut up now), her master and mentor over the years. She never says this out loud in the movie, which is what makes her character more believable. Others even joke about how stoic she is (and not in bad taste). Her character development is definitely present for those who are looking -- but I put her on this list because I’m so happy the movie doesn’t make it some huge dramatic emotional thing, because so often in media women are depicted as being overly-emotional and here Tigress is just a hurt child trying to make her mentor happy. But, she gets over it, her and Po become allies, even friends to each other -- she and Po talk like equals in the second and third movies, and she even tells him to back out of the fight with Lord Shen and he listens (I mean he doesn’t stay put but he doesn’t undermine her opinion either lol, like most jokesy protagonists of Western media would -- looking at you, Marvel). I like Tigress because she’s an antagonist without being a bitch, she’s powerful without being overpowered, and she’s not sexualized despite being a well-trained, at times jealous, and even emotionally awkward kung fu master. And I almost forgot to mention the best part: There is never an indication of romance between her and Po, or any other character, for that matter. She’s perfectly capable, complex, and lovely on her own terms. And that’s that on THAT.

9. Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit: I wanted to include at least one character protagonist from a live-action movie/book, lol. I feel like Bilbo’s pretty self-explanatory. He doesn’t wanna go on an adventure because he likes his doilies and warm sheets, but then Gandalf seduces him with the call to the outside world and possible death (LOL), and he fucking goes for it, grumbling the entire time. Isn’t that what any of us would do if given such a proposition? I like to think so. Bilbo obviously has his own gradual, evil transformation with the One Ring, becomes murderous and uses it to disappear, and grows a strong bromance with the King Under the Mountain (which happens in both the movie and the book), but I think what I like about him is that he really feels... down-to-earth? Like even though the adventure changes him, it never feels like he’s been stretched in a way that makes his core character traits of grumbling and bluntness disappear. He gets better at the whole adventuring thing, for sure, but he remains Bilbo, at least, to me, throughout the journey. It was heartwrenching watching him try to save Thorin in The Battle of Five Armies, honestly, but Bilbo’s the kind of character that I feel like has his own story and mythology aside from The Hobbit, and maybe that’s just the result of J.R.R. Tolkien writing the lore for every aspect of his universe, but My Point Still Stands. He feels like his own man apart from the series he’s in, yet he’s still so much fun in his series.

10. Barley Lightfoot from Onward: And last, this one is because I saw Onward yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by the characterization in it -- and anyone who thinks differently can kiss my *ss. :) I was not expecting the movie to take the twist of fleshing out the “annoying” (more like adorable) overconfident nerdy big brother. Normally those characters are swiped to the side because God Forbid The Comic Relief Have Any Sadness In Them. I was expecting the movie to focus on Ian’s journey to meet his fatha and that the movie would pull something stupid at the end like “oh actually there’s another phoenix gem underneath the school” or “actually since only his legs appeared then you still have 24 hours with him” or some shit like that, but I guess this isn’t an anime so those absurdist explanations wouldn’t hold water anyway. But still, for a kid’s movie, I was NOT expecting this movie to go so hard with the characterization. For once, the main character doesn’t get what he wants at the end, and instead realizes it’s his big brother, Barley, who’s been looking out for him his entire life. Meeting his dad would betray that reality. What happens instead is that the lovable big brother never actually said goodbye to their dad before he died, because when their dad got sick, said brother ran away from the hospital room in fear of all the life-sustaining equipment. (Is this some meta thing about Chris Pratt and Guardians of the Galaxy? Off topic and call me stupid, but I didn’t realize Chris Pratt plays him until I saw everyone freaking out about it afterward on Tumblr laksjdflak.) So instead, the lovable big brother talks to the dad at the end, and unconfident younger brother grows confidence and thanks big bro for being with him his entire life. It was so touching, dude. I cry. But the moment that sticks in my mind the most was when Ian was crossing the invisible bridge... Ian needed to have confidence in himself to be able to cross over a chasm in their path, and Barley knew that if Ian didn’t believe in himself, he would fall and die. They tie a rope around Ian for good measure, and Barley encourages him the entire way, but halfway over, the rope comes loose and slips off. Barley sees this and starts panicking, but of course continues to encourage Ian so that Ian will get to the other side. What got to me wasn’t the fact that he faked it for Ian, but that there are actual tears running down his face as he’s encouraging Ian to get to the other side, because he knows otherwise Ian wouldn’t have the confidence and would fall to his death. Like dude, that raw, complex emotion in a kid’s movie?! DUDE?! I was fucking surprised. The clear anxiety and grief in Barley’s face as Ian’s totally clueless and even dancing around in the air was just too much, omfg. Of course, then it’s played off for laughs, but... I guess that makes sense for the annoying overconfident nerdy big bro character. :’)

Okay these are way longer than I anticipated and I’m sorry, but also I’m really not. Hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts on my favs!

Seems I don’t talk to that many people on here anymore: @stupidbluejay @mirycactusito @chronicstarlight

#Nay talks #a lot #i'm sorry but not sorry #TL;DR: Deku isn't on here because Tanjirou is a better boy sorry #Fullmetal Alchemist #Hunter x Hunter #The Legend of Zelda #The Hobbit #Onward #Kung Fu Panda #Star Wars: The Clone Wars #Black Butler #JoJo's Bizarre Adventure #Demon Slayer

[starfxckersinc]

@yung-tamale tagged me for this and I’m actually gonna respond lolll

name: Liv/Curt

nicknames: i absolutely don’t have any other than ‘hey this picture of pj harvey made me think of you’ which is sexy

zodiac: Cancer

height: 5’6”

languages: sadly only English. i May need to learn Italian eventually for undisclosed reasons

nationality: American. i wish it were anything else

favorite season: S U M M E R

favorite flower: hyacinths, roses, irises, morning glories, day lillies, snowdrops, clover flower, daffodils, cherry blossoms, dogwood flowers, and anything I ever saw in my grandmother’s garden

favorite scent: bleach, dad’s cologne, mom’s shampoo, rain, uh. girls

favorite fictional character: OK MM

Curt Wild is part of the reason why I’m currently going by Curt and it’s bc he’s handsome and stupid and people keep hurting him like me

Brian Slade is the actual definition of what I would look like ideally and we’re both bottoms who believe we’re otherworldly and important with 0 evidence other than ego

Mark Renton is also the definition of what I would look like ideally and I feel such a strong connection to his miserable cunt life that idk how to watch Trainspotting 1 or 2 without crying

Orlando in the 1992 film is me but masc and they get a crush on this dark haired foreign girl that throws them into a YEARS LONG poetic depression & then have sex w a dick 1 time & have a daughter like same :/

Tommy Gnosis/Hedwig Robinson bc I’m the definition of their chaotic blend of stupid, horny, and philosophical

Euchrid Eucrow from And The Ass Saw The Angel is honestly one of the most relatable characters in existence and his internal monologue and how he feels abt himself and views the world is exactly how I’ve felt more and more as I’ve gotten older

Dorian Gray is who I would be if I could make my life the way I wanted it. I ruined your life and I’m a sexy twink. oops 💋

Harley Quinn,, I don’t feel like I have to explain Harley Quinn. me

coffee, hot tea, or hot chocolate?: coffee or hot chocolate tea is for the English

average sleep: 7 hours usuallyfjdjdndn

dogs or cats: cats 🐈

number of blankets: quilt, top cover being fleece blanket, covering ur entire body lest you fall prey to some demon ur anxiety pulled out of Hereditary

dream trip: I wanna go to London literally so bad, and Seattle and San Francisco And Berlin and. yknow. all the gay haunts.

blog established: dec. 2017, but I’ve been here since dec. 2015

random fact: when I was a kid I got so obsessed with the game Wolf Quest that when I finished it and got separated from my last pup, Snow, who id formed an actual maternal bond with, I became depressed for three months. one of the reasons I didn’t actively try to destroy myself at the end of 2017 was bc they’d announced Wolf Quest 3. i am a fucking furry

Gender: androgynous(any pronouns, most comfortable with she/they)

Current time: 4:05 PM

Favorite musical artists: David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love, Johnny Cash, Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, Leonard Cohen, Kathleen Hanna, Placebo, Elton John

Stuck in my head: Never Let Me Down Again- Depeche Mode

Last movie I saw: Last Days- Gus Van Sant

Last thing I googled: Ben Folds lyrics I’m so sorry

other blogs: ok @iknewishouldcreateasensation and @everyonesintothisscene are my two velvet goldmine blogs, but I’ve been putting a lot of shit on @untieformeyourhighbluegown like aes/vent stuff, all my original art, and all my music. it’s like a museum of me

do I get asks: The asks I get fall into three categories

1- why are you such a lesbian hater for being mean to x terf

2- why do you like David Bowie

3- you’re sexy

4- something pj Harvey related

5- one of my cool gay friends saying cool gay things to me and ya just generally vibing abt loving each other

6- random accusations and transphobia that I don’t understand

so yeah boys pls send asks!!!

reason for url: i lov Oscar Wilde and I love Velvet Goldmine

followers/following: I have like 500 followers MAYBE it might actually be 300 and I follow like 2,000 blogs

lucky number: 6

currently wearing:

Johnny Cash target t shirt

dream job: jack of all trades artist & touring musician

favorite foods: pastries, sugar, sharp cheese, any bread that isn’t soft, garlic, Mac n cheese, p-

instruments: vocals/guitar, but I want to learn piano again I think??

favorite song(rn): Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin On(Jerry Lee Lewis), Levi Johnson’s Blues(Ben Folds and Nick Hornby), Clap Hands(Tom Waits), I Hope That I Dont Fall In Love With You(Tom Waits), Life And Death Of Mr. Badmouth(PJ Harvey), Ballad Of Hollis Brown(Bob Dylan), Don’t(Ed Sheeran)

i tag:

@wannabegothgurl @pawnshopbluez @wherearemyelephants @beatle-capaldi @lionslove @glamrock-lizardman @joestrummershowl @bigembarrassingheart @old-memoria

#aberdeen spoken word