#another skyrim badly translated

[exhausted-eternally]

Fic Writer Interview

Saw Topsy did this and it looked like fun so now Imma pester y'all with one.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

35, currently, and only 1 is for a fandom other than The Lego Movie lmao

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

496,195 over the course of 6 years

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1- Reboot To be honest, I'm kind of baffled by this one. I started it just when covid was really starting to take off, lost where I was going with it before I was even halfway through writing it because I got SO swamped with work that writing was taken off the stove entirely for a while, and a lot of it was honestly just half-assed to get it finished but so many people LOVE it. I don't think I'll ever stop scratching my head about it, but at this point I've just accepted that it's my most popular fic ever. 2- Atonement Still ongoing and without a clear ending in mind yet. I had 2 ideas I was wanting to play with when I started it- wingfic, and house arrest. I've been having fun with it so far. 3- Prizes, Plunder, and Adventure This one was actually written based on a friend's doodles & half-finished ideas. I took them & ran with them as far as I could lol. I'm honestly happy that this one's in my top 5. 4- Hot Spring Another one that I'm kind of baffled by. It's a oneshot that's barely over 400 words. People like their coppernauts fluff, I guess lol 5- Time Travel Troubles This one was based on a prompt a friend gave me when I complained that I wanted so badly to write but had 0 ideas, lol. Of all my oneshots, I'm glad this one made it into my top 5.

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Most of the time! Sometimes I can't think of a response though, and once I got overwhelmed with like 25 comments on one fic in one night from the same person so my brain kind of short-circuited lol. I definitely read and cherish every single one though.

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I don't really do angst tbh, so none of my fics really have angsty endings.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

That's a tough one to pick, I always write happy endings. XD; I guess I'll go with Starting Over Again.

7. Do you write crossovers?

Sort of; honestly I think they'd qualify more as AUs than proper crossovers, but sometimes I just get bit by a bug to write all my favorite characters in some other media settings for shits & giggles. Murphy's Law (Skyrim), Space Shenanigans (Star Wars), The Stranger (Myst), Octan Nights (1001/Arabian Nights), and Hollow Heart (Beauty and the Beast)

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yeah, when I first started posting Murphy's Law on ff.net. Honestly it just made me laugh, it was so obviously some kid doing a shit job of being a troll.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I tried once. It was SO awful that I ended up deleting it and swore off ever trying again.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope. The fandom I'm in is pretty small so no one's bothered to translate any fics in it, at least as far as I know.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Oh, eons ago when I was still just a little baby birb. I wrote a pitiful attempt at an OoT fic with 2 of my cousins that never got far. All my works since have been solo.

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Coppernauts. C:

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Lord I have SO MANY. Think I'd pick Tech Support though (with a much better rewrite to boot, so no link for this one. If you want to read the atrocious original, you'll have to hunt it down yourself :P).

15. What are your writing strengths?

I'm told I'm pretty good with characterization. I'll choose to believe it. ;3

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Describing literally anything. I am terrible for just... not doing it. Which is something I REALLY need to work on if I really want to reach my 300k goal with The Umiran Amulet.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

There's only one language I can speak in any capacity, so I just stick with English. If it's something that's meant to be in another language, I just italicize it. Only every once in a blue moon will I use a word in another language, like if a character is swearing in their native tongue, and only if I'm absolutely 100% certain it's the right word.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Ocarina of Time. It was the fic I mentioned earlier that I wrote with my 2 cousins.

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

I don't really have any, at least at this time. I am very, VERY slow to move between fandoms & ships and am probably still going to be quite happily writing for TLM even when there's literally only 5 of us left lol.

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I'd have to say The Atlantis Expedition, which was my first ever fic for the TLM fandom, and the first one I'd ever finished period. I have others that I love just as much, but this one will always have a special place in my heart.

[thesandsofelsweyr]

20 Questions for Fic Writers!

TY for tagging me @zeroducks-2 😘 Passing to torch along to @blahwesome, @baesonjason, @niphredil-14, @scaryscarecrows, @mrsd-writes, @igotanidea, @artzysyam, @thejasonandsladeagenda (no pressure ofc!)

How many works do you have on AO3? 11 on SandsOfElsweyr, 2 on my other top secret account 👀

What’s your total A03 word count? 47,475

What fandoms do you write for? I've written fic for Dragon Age and Skyrim, but my only published fics are in the Jason Peter Todd fandom 😉

What are your top five fics by kudos? (Only including my SandsOfElsweyr fics)

✧ The Sus Boy Next Door (ao3) 229 Kudos ✧

After coming back from a terrible blind date your asshole neighbor is the last person you want to see right now. He doesn’t have his signature scowl for you tonight, however. Tonight he seems terrified.

✧ Hollowed Out (ao3) 194 Kudos ✧

When Jason saw that photo of Batman and his new Robin, the thin cord of hope holding him together had snapped and he had broken into a million pieces. No one was coming for him. Not one single person on the planet cared whether he lived or died, or how much he suffered, or how loud he screamed. No one except the Clown. He was Joker’s now, and he would say or do anything to get a reprieve from the torment and the pain, even if it meant letting himself be reduced to something less than human.

✧ Remember Jason Todd? (ao3) 114 Kudos ✧

Joker reminisces to Batman about one of the happiest years of his life: the year he spent breaking Jason Todd.

✧ The Wrong Cell (ao3) 96 Kudos ✧

When Harley comes to fetch Batman’s annoying little sidekick from his cell in Arkham Asylum she finds someone unexpected in his place.

✧ His (ao3) 82 Kudos ✧

Jason has been beaten half to death with a crowbar, shredded by barbed wire, strung up for so long his shoulders ripped from their sockets, shocked, starved, branded… It's only a wooden paddle, it can’t hurt more than any of the Clown’s other toys… right?

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I get behind sometimes but I try to reply to every comment I get. If you take the time to leave me a comment, I'll take the time to give you a reply! Fun fact: I love replying with reaction gifs, hehehe

What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? lol. Almost every fic I write has an angsty ending 😂 I suppose Hollowed Out (ao3) is the angstiest so far.

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Touch (ao3) or Cocoon (ao3)

Do you get hate on your fic? I'm sure I do but I've thankfully never seen it!

Do you write smut? Yes. Badly 😂 But I'm learning! Practice makes perfect~

Do you write crossovers? Personally not a fan of crossovers 🙃

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of

Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope

Have you ever co-written a fic? Nope

What‘s your all-time favourite ship? Probably SanSan (ASoIaF). Then there's Shakarian (Mass Effect), Surana x Alistair (Dragon Age), and AK Jay x my OC 💕 Also can't forget AK JokerJay and Thramsay (ASoIaF), muwahaha 😈

What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I don't want to answer this and jinx myself!

What’s your writing strengths? Putting men through the ringer.

What’s your writing weaknesses? Overcoming my perfectionism 😪

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I have to phone a friend!

First fandom you wrote for? Probably Mario? I've been writing for a looooooooong ass time, heh.

Favourite fic you’ve ever written? Hollowed Out (ao3) ❤️❤️❤️

[pantaloonwarrior]

20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by @i-seeaspaceshipinthe-sky thanks buddy <3

1.how many works do you have on ao3?

14! I deleted one fic though so that gives minus points

2.what's your total ao3 word count?

241,741

3.what fandoms do you write for?

Only twenty one pilots rn. Back in the day I wrote a few things about my Skyrim character too but never posted those anywhere.

4.what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Northern Diaries

Hand in Hand

Visitor

Dreamer's Disease

Ride or Die

5.do you respond to comments? why or why not?

Every time! Somewhat slowly sometimes but replying and thanking the person who comments is important I think. I've made friends by commenting/replying to fic comments so there's that too.

6.what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Speeding Cars, maybe. But honestly I don't even remember how it ended. Just badly I think.

7.what is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Goddd I don't know, maybe The Northern Diaries considering how much shit they had to go through there.

8.do you get hate on any fics?

So far haven't.

9.do you write smut? if so, what kind?

Yes haha. It's usually pretty explicit.

10.do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written?

Twenty one pilots x Skyrim and it's my fave series too. I hope I'll update it next year because I miss it so much. The other one was Top x Hellblade but I ended up deleting it because I realized I started it all wrong and wanted to fix it. I hope I'll get back to that one eventually too.

11.have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12.have you ever had a fic translated?

A few I think, yes.

13.have you ever co-written a fic before?

Haven't :( But sometimes talking about my friends' fics with them helps them get ideas for a particular scene/or a whole story in general.

14.what's your all time favorite ship?

Joshler :-)

15.what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have too many drafts honestly and they'll probably see the light of day just because of how unmotivated I am.

16.what are your writing strengths?

I can't name anything honestly.

17.what are your writing weaknesses?

Grammar probably and long sentences sometimes. Also being unnecessary detailed and having slow progress in every story.

18.thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I've read some stories that have another language in it, and I don't know, if the reader can still sorta understand what's happening in the story, then why not.

19.first fandom you wrote for?

Top

20.favorite fic you've written?

Frostfall maybe. It came out so easily, I enjoyed writing it a lot.

---

tagging: @edyluewho

[asktheotherfrance]

asktheotherfrance, a 10 years retrospective (aka, the fred lore)

I have created this blog ten years ago as of today, though it was actually my second 2p France ask blog.

Back in 2012, I was growing tired of all portrayals of 2p!France being this ashy blonde depressed drunkard named François Bonnefoy. Like, 2p!England’s name was not just one letter away from Arthur, back then, it was almost unanimously Oliver, and he had a unique design too ! So I decided I would create my own 2p!France, named Stéphane.

(september 3rd 2012, this also includes my 3p France Armand, and my 4p France JB. We don’t talk about Armand.)

But back then there was actually another 2p France named Stéphane with a similar design to mine, so, on november 17th, I removed Stéphane from existance, and two days later, Christophe (who would later become Fred) was created.

that drawing was posted exactly 10 years ago !!!!!!

Chris had many cats, many of which were references to youtubers my cringe ass 14 years old self liked, or just some french stuff. He used to have a skull necklace, based on me watching a certain minecraft youtuber’s skyrim let’s play... As well as his love for cats, and his pyromanic tendencies... 

y’all remember dokitalia ? On january 13th, 2013, Fred/Chris stopped parting his hair on the middle.

dark times.

These are mainly deviantart things, due to me kind of deleting many posts from the tumblr blog, Fred’s history is mainly found on dA nowadays.

Fred went through many names, Christophe Bonnefoy, Christophe Bonnardel, Eugène Terris Calendal Rossard, and currently Frédéric Calendal Rossard. I consider the first names Christophe, Eugène and Frédéric to be names Fred bore in different time periods. I gave him the middle name Calendal, because I assume that nations are too old to remember their birthdays and just later pick their national holliday out of convenience, but Fred would have been born during the calendae of july, making him a leo.

Very early, as early of july 3rd 2013, I started shipping 2p!RusFra, I used to have a lot of rps with one 2p Russia back then. But Fred, through his blogs, has been involved with 2p England, 2p Finland and 2p Scotland as well if you look deep enough.

fred’s last name “Rossard” (red-ish) comes from his hair being “red-ish”.

FRED ROSSARD IS A VALID HOMEST-

Ahem, where was I...

Fred has cats. Don’t ask about the yellow cat’s name. I was cringe. These are all cringe, but I do not want to aknowledge the yellow cat.

Fred has had 2 kids due to magical anons !

Catherine

Camille

The year I peaked in was 2016, where I hit 700 followers, back then, I used to post historical facts each wednesday !

Then I went on a huge hiatus, back then, my trademark was... ask blogs without pants.

fred’s clothes have always involved badly translated french puns, hidden references to my current fandoms, or french memes. I am very silly and quite cryptic.

Then I returned from my hiatus, and made 2p Rusfra canon on my main blog... heh.

This was a nice retrospective, hope it was not too boring !

[bts-love-sweat-tears]

BTS Ideal Types as Subcultures/Tropes (idk what to call this post tbh)

A/N: Just a little scenario/imagine I thought of while I sit here scrolling through tumblr. JJK has been wrecking me sooo badly lately with that floofy hair of his.

No one needed another one of these but here we are. I haven’t written anything in forever but wanted something to post something original to share my gratitude with you all for sticking around while I figure out how to navigate “adulthood.” Typed on my phone as my computer is in for repair 😬

Now that it’s late 2019, i feel like we’re getting to know the boys in ways we haven’t before and their ideal types have likely changed. Not at all factual and based on my observations/ intuition. Meant to be comical. Sorry if my references are getting stale-I’m 28 now and not up on youth culture in the way I once was 😂

KNJ- the hipster (are they still around?): probably in an art collective with their friends who are scary cool, literature or philosophy major, you see them around but they’re always in and out or on to the next thing. Hard to get close to but friendly once you’re in. Has read every Murakami book, Salman Rushdie, Helen Oyeyemi, and any other critically acclaimed book that will win an award. Probably has read (or pretends to have read) infinite jest. Probably has a monochromatic module wardrobe that was thrifted/organically sourced, and impossibly cool glasses. Met Namjoon when they got into a heated philosophical discussion at a party and scared away all their friends to the beer pong table.

KSJ- the stand up comedian: Met at one of their performances, at which Jin tried out a few of his dad jokes on them. They rolled their eyes so hard while Jin’s friends stared on in secondhand embarrassment. But if anyone can make it work, it’s Jin. They’re enamored with his goofy windshield wiper laugh, and his endless optimism. Being a comic and dealing with the uncertainty is tough, but while Jin is hilarious he is also a rock solid, unflappable person to come home to at the end of the day. Jin admires their humor, resilience, and the adventure of an unconventional career (the Sagittarius jumped out here). Being with them is never boring, and Jin has the perfect captive audience for opinions on his jokes.

MYG- the social justice warrior: We’ve all seen Yoongi’s comments about capitalism and society, and possibly his comments about gender and attraction (depending on how you view the translation. A whole thing i will not get into in the midst of this imagine). It would take forever for them to DTR (if ever) because neither of them would care all that much. That couple that kinda naturally becomes a couple from spending so much time together. His SO knew it was real when he gave them the password to his studio. Not ones for flashy displays, but rather unwavering loyalty and support. Their idea of date night is takeout on the studio floor, discussing their activism and music. Minimal pda, but sneaky handholding when they think their friends won’t notice. His SO probably works at a nonprofit or other mission driven organization. Forever dragging him to political protests, rallies, symposiums, book signings, etc. When they are tired from the exhaustion at the slow pace of change, they always know they can find the best cuddles back home with Yoongi.

JHS- The hypebeast/hypebae: Probably in a dance crew as well, would meet at some kind of showcase. Won’t even bat an eye at the acorn bag. Always has the latest limited run hoodie from some obscure brand Hobi’s never heard of but is suddenly obsessed with. Unimpressed by his AP watch/money but impressed by exclusivity/hard to get items. Matching bucket hat selfies while waiting in line to cop their next pairs of sneakers. Probably super chill to relate to Hobi when he’s calm and balance out his hyper side when it appears.

PJM-The influencer: Someone just as pretty/aesthetic as he is with the following to match. With great power comes great responsibility, as they say- Jimin would be the ultimate instagram boyfriend, down to visit whatever cute pumpkin patch, coffee shop, or art installation his SO did. He has the photo skills to match from all the Kim Daily posts. That said, his idea type wouldn’t take advantage of him and would want to feature him in all of their posts, in full-on matching couple gear. They would also know when to put the phone down and give him all the attention he deserves and needs. The cute power couple that slightly makes you want to barf, but only because they are so sweet to each other and in their own little world. Probably have a joint insta for their dog/cat/lizard/whatever.

KTH- The CEO go-getter: type, with the income and art collection to match. Yes, we all know that Tae wants a family and domestic bliss, but I could totally see him being the stay at home dad while his SO takes on the world. Let us also note that he is a Capricorn, and I could see him valuing a partner who is driven and wants to build an empire/legacy (and cough contribute to his Gucci fund/general expensive taste cough. Have you all seen the cost of some of those Leica cameras? I digress). His SO probably has a MBA or multiple advanced degrees. Met at some expensive art gallery opening (probably Namjoon’s partner’s🤪) that they didn’t want to be at but had a sense of obligation to go. His partner might be more serious and reserved, to balance out his gregariousness, but they admire that in him. They would value Tae’s ability to see things in novel ways and distill the situation down to a simple but unique answer. Live and let live vibe, cave whenever Tae wants to take pictures of them, cold exterior but soft/goofy with him (wait, did I just describe Yoongi? I swear I’m only brotps 😂)

JJK-he seems like your typical gym rat but is not-so-secretly obsessed with nerdy video games and excessively violent anime (here’s looking at you, AOT). Therefore, he has two types-the sporty soccer player and the e-girl/boy. Impressed by anyone who can lift as much as he can and match his mile time. They could each push each other to be harder, better, faster, stronger (RIP our era of Kanye innocence).

On the flip side, his insta is suspiciously full of beautiful people with pastel hair, endless tattoos and a+ cosplay. Probably posts risqué pics. The person could probably beat him at overwatch, Skyrim, etc. He drops flirtatious comments in their messages, but too starstruck to say anything if he were to see them out and about. If they somehow meet and make it past all of the awkward, they will be the scene-y couple, at the amusement park, conventions, (comic) book stores, anywhere they can be their quirky selves together. Lots of shouting and playful jabs/smack talk that are all forgotten when the controllers are put down.

[uclaradio]

Interview with City Girl

Interviewed by Jennifer Liaw

album art for Time Falls Like Moonlight, by vickisigh

City Girl is a rising LA-based lo-fi/chillhop producer that incorporates a lot of soft piano and guitar intertwined with electronic beats and vocals. Starting out on Bandcamp and Soundcloud only 10 months ago, they now have three albums out on Spotify, the latest being Time Falls Like Moonlight, released in April.

Tell us a bit about yourself. Where did you grow up? What was growing up in that city like?

I grew up in California close to LA. To be honest once I found music I never really went outside. Before that I was just playing video games and watching cartoons. I guess the internet was more of where I grew up, as opposed to any geographical place.

What music did you listen to a lot growing up? What were your favorite artists back in like middle school, for example?

In middle school it was John Frusciante, all day everyday. Something about his guitar playing really inspired me. It was soulful and beautiful and just felt perfect, like every note was exactly where it should be. In high school my music taste exploded, but John Frusciante was the majority of the first music I learned and played.

Tell us a little about how City Girl first got started.

I uploaded on the train somewhere between my apartment and you 10 months ago on Soundcloud and just emailed a bunch of Youtube channels that were taking submissions. Aurarian music accepted that first release and put it out on Youtube and got the ball rolling so City Girl could get some attention back when it was only 10-20 followers.

How did you come up with the name City Girl?

To be honest, its in honor of “City Girl” by Kevin Shields from the Lost In Translation soundtrack. I’m a huge My Bloody Valentine fan and that song of his is just so amazing.

When did you first start making music? How did you get into it, and how did you first learn how to produce a beat?

I got into guitar playing when I was 12 or so. I just played because my older brother had a guitar. I took it and just Googled how to play guitar and taught myself songs and chords. It was the most fun I’d ever had. It felt so special. I didn’t start producing for like another seven years though. I would just record onto a Tascam tape recorder and jam with friends in garages. I had friends who made lofi beats waay back when it was like CULP and Simo and Onra and john wayne and stuff, but I never got into it, I was more focused on improvising and expanding my musical repertoire in a more performance-focused way.

Are there any instruments that you would like to try out incorporating into your music that you haven't tried yet?

I want live drums but I live in an apartment. If I could record drums that would be so cool, since I play drums too and I miss it badly.

Where do you usually record your music? Describe your studio space to us.

It’s about five feet no joke from my bed haha. It’s a desk and a midi keyboard and some guitars and other little instruments like the melodica. I have speakers and an old mic. It’s super cozy, my bedroom at my apartment is just covered with vickisigh’s art, like everywhere you look it’s just cute sexy ladies in pastel colors, I love it.

vickisigh’s (Vicki Tsai) artwork, from her instagram

How would you describe the lo-fi/chillhop genre and subculture to someone who’s never been exposed to it?

It’s just a bunch of people who love making music on their computers, and to be honest only one percent is unique and actually worth your time, but the same goes for all genres, 99 percent of it is just not that good. I would be more specific but at this point lofi stands for so so much that you can’t really go much further than that.

What do you think of the lo-fi hip hop/chillhop genre in general? It's really popular right now what with the YouTube 24hr lo-fi hip hop studying beats stream and the Spotify lo-fi hip hop studying beats playlists as well... There's literally probably thousands of really similar chillhop producers on SoundCloud... does that ever make you feel swallowed up, in a sense? Or does it feel more like a really large community? How do you try to stand out as an artist among all these other producers?

It’s a tough question to answer, because you can go from quickly, quickly to in love with a ghost and still call it lofi if you want to. These artists share playlists together and Youtube mixes. Who’s to say quickly, quickly isn’t just jazz? Who’s to say in love with a ghost isn’t just electronic music? It’s not so much a genre as it is a movement of instrumental music becoming the focus itself rather than the singer/rapper. Staying unique seems simple to me as I grew up playing and learning music by ear, so I just follow my interests/inspiration and play whatever seems cool.

Which artists would you say are your biggest inspirations or that you're just blown away by and really admire within your genre? How about outside of your genre?

Well in love with a ghost stands out, like most peeps I found them on Youtube. All the tracks from Let’s Go and Healing by them are amazing. Just super cool textures and melodies, really lovely and creative music. Kupla is amazing too, he’s an amazing piano player, all of his music is great. Outside of my genre I’d say Sheena Ringo, especially her album Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana - it’s pretty much game over, this album does everything better in every regard imaginable than any other music I’ve heard. Don’t know if you can get access to it in US tho, the copyright lawyers are hard at work on this one.

What artist outside of the lo-fi hip hop genre would you really really love to collaborate with? Can you describe the kind of track you'd want to make with them?

With anyone, well shit Beyoncé right? I mean she’s the best vocalist alive next to Frank Ocean. I would just want to make something really beautiful, some In Rainbows type stuff.

Being an artist based out of Bandcamp/Soundcloud in this day means a lot of your career is kind of born out of the internet. What are your favorite and least favorite parts about the internet and spending so much time on the internet/interacting with people on the internet/sharing yourself through the internet?

I love the internet because I can share whatever I want when I want. I don’t feel a lot of pressure because I don’t have any personal accounts on social media and never have, I always just read a lot of books and listened to records and stuff. I’m sure some people think it’s mysterious or whatever that I never cared for social media, instead opting to just read Sartre or watch old movies, but nowadays all I do is make music and play Skyrim so it’s all good. The internet gives me access to all that goodness so I can find it offline.

What are your top five favorite artists right now?

Tom Misch, Swell, quickly quickly, in love with a ghost, and Sam Gellaitry

What are your top five favorite female artists?

Sheena Ringo, Beyoncé, Aivi Tran, MISO (from club eskimo - a collective including Crush, Dean, offonoff, 2xxx!, millic, and more), and tiffi.

Do you have a favorite spot in LA that you wouldn't want to share with anyone else?

Wherever YAYAYI and JALENTUNA happen to be any given saturday night in k-town is a pretty special vibe that honestly can’t be shared even if I wanted it to be. God there was this $5 flat pho place on Western Ave. that was run by this old couple but it closed like 5 years ago, that was the best place ever and it straight up was ALWAYS empty, no one ate there. I think it was like Pho 36 haha one of those LA pho places that has a random number after it.

What are some things that you really enjoy doing for yourself? When you need to take a day for yourself, what are things that you'll usually do?

Skyrim is a go-to. It’s usually video games but a lot of times it’s just making music. You gotta understand music is like an addiction to me. I never stop thinking about sounds and I feel uneasy not making music.

So we know you like video games… what are some of your favorite video games of all time? Do you have any funny anecdotes from playing games online with strangers?

Favorite of all time is Psychonauts. Such a creative game and Scott Campbell’s art is the absolute bee’s knees. Right now my favorite is Skyrim as mentioned. I love RPG and adventure games, the immersion gets me good. I loved games growing up, played anything. I have a lot of anecdotes about gaming but I honestly can’t think of just one. Haha well when Xbox Live came out online gaming was brand new and I remember my dad getting on the headset asking people not to cuss (since I was just a kid) and THEY STOPPED. They were like “Oh sorry dude we didn’t know there were kids playing we will keep the cursing to a minimum.” Can you imagine that nowadays? It would never happen. That shit still blows my mind.

Do you play Fortnite? If so, what are your thoughts on it?

I played Fortnite with Chance, thrash, and Maru the other night and I hate it so much lol. The vibe is so terrible, the aesthetic makes me want to barf it’s so ugly. That was the only time I’ve really played it and it hasn’t been on my mind, the itch isn’t there so I guess no hype for me.

What are your favorite K-Pop bands or members?

SNSD was the OG. That old video of Sooyoung going “OP-EHHHH! OP-EH EH EH EH EH” lol that shit is so funny. I don’t follow it much anymore but MISO is the queen right now, she’s the best. I watched all of Jessica and Krystal when it came out too, that’s good stuff.

Ok I also saw on Twitter that you have a cat... tell us about your cat!

Ah yes, Seymour, the Russian Blue. He is a very handsome and beautiful man. He is a shadow in the night. Every part of him is gray except his lil tongue which is pink and his eyes which are green. He lives at my parents house so I don’t see him except at holidays, but he is my good soft boy. I think of him very often.

art from Snow Rose, by vickisigh

What would you say is your favorite track that you've produced?

“Anything Like Her” with tiffi is prob my fav. Tiffi is so cool and that song is really different sounding from other City Girl songs so I think it’s cool.

What is your favorite track off of Time Falls Like Moonlight?

“Sunset Lullaby” is probably my favorite. The second half with the acoustic and electric guitar just feels really special.

What was your inspiration for Time Falls Like Moonlight?

I make so much music, the inspiration doesn’t really ever make sense, I am inspired by everything in each moment, I am inspired by my own passion to make music. Not understanding what is going on is really important to how I work, it makes things exciting. I just want the music to make people feel loved and understood for who they are, that there is a purpose for them, a life they can live and be loved in.

When you make songs, are they ever about specific things, people, or events in your life?

Not really, it’s just all my emotions sort of bleeding into the computer. I don’t know if I could write about any particular thing, but I do enjoy imagining lots of people and situations to my music after I made it. Like oh this sounds like Moonlight Hill (from Kingdom Hearts) or this sounds like a tender look from someone or this sounds like a lonely plaza in the middle of some city. It’s all free and open to interpretation.

“Winter Fields” is one of my favorite tracks of yours... mostly because of the lovely violin part by mklachu. It's so dreamy and kind of reminds me of some of my favorite Ryuichi Sakamoto pieces, too. Can you tell us a little about this track?

It’s random but the track started as a like, flex? I was watching Joji’s Youtube aliases and god they are just awful I mean like him fucking with people and being super lewd and nasty I hate it but I was watching it anyway to like fry my brain and I thought it would be fun to make a nasty trap beat that would fit with his videos and I made “Winter Fields” (I know it doesn’t make sense at all). The song slowly got more romantic as I added piano layers the next day and then mklachu tweeted at me out of nowhere and I asked her to play over it and yeah it’s just what happens when you work on music all the time, everything going on makes it into the song.

Another one of my favorites is “Chateau Fountain.” I love the slow buildup, and then the talking portion that kind of just emerges and goes into like an acoustic drop... ahhhh.. I was wondering where that talking portion is from actually. The guy is like, "Take the flowers," and the girl is like "I’m all right!" and it sounds like an uncomfortable struggle...a common pattern in society where... men force women to do things regardless of their autonomy or feelings (ha ha). Does it have any significance to the meaning behind the track? What were your reasons for choosing to put that particular snippet in this track? It's interesting because for me, I think I'm more sensitive than the average person to these kind of power dynamics or like...oppression against women in all aspects of daily interactions or media that I consume, so when I listen to this track it's like a soft buildup to this point of conflict that is kind of grating, but then evolves back into a calming acoustic melody. That's personal, of course, but it's interesting.

DUDE YOU HAVEN’T SEEN ATONEMENT? Omg that movie is so incredible. It’s James McAvoy talking to Kiera Knightley and they have all this tension because they love each other but they can’t be together and ooooooooooooooooooh it’s so good. Their love is so beautiful and honest but it’s injected with all this tension and conflict from society and politics. I felt that snippet fit so perfectly into the emotions of the song, it’s one of the few few times I’ve used movie snippets because I felt it actually added to the track in a creative way.

How do you think you've evolved from the first songs you put out on Bandcamp/Soundcloud, and your first album Loveless Shadows, to now?

I know a lot more about mixing, especially with bass and drums. I try to make more upbeat stuff now, but honestly I still end up making a lot of downtempo stuff. I know a lot more jazz piano than I did before so that’s nice too.

What are some artists that you think are really underrated that you'd like to give a shoutout to and encourage people to check out?

frenesi is criminally underrated.

What are your goals for City Girl for the next few years?

Just put out an incredible amount of music and keep building the world of City Girl. I want people to feel relaxed and loved and understood when they listen to City Girl. Honestly I just want to expand the harmonic and melodic depth of City Girl, I want people to head bump and cry in the same track, I want to find that fusion of beautiful and funky that all great music has for me.

I know you just released an album, but besides that, do you have any upcoming events or projects your fans should be looking forward to?

I have another album finished already, but with the way vickisigh (I won’t put out something without her art on it) works it won’t be out until probably another two-three months. So by the time that comes out I’ll have another album done and so on the process repeats. So just look forward to a new album every two-three months for as long as I’m rockin in the free world.

art from Loveless Shadows, by vickisigh

Check out City Girl’s latest album, Time Falls Like Moonlight, out on Spotify, Soundcloud, and Bandcamp! They also have two other albums, Snow Rose from December, and Loveless Shadows from August that are equally as beautiful. Follow them on Soundcloud for all their music updates and on Twitter for all their promo updates!

[bioticplaneswalker]

10 Facts Meme: Mercival in both ES and ME

Elder Scrolls

- Mercival’s design is based on a lion. He has a full mane that frames his face and goes down over his chest. He even has a tuft on the end of his tail and everything.

- Mercival is a bit of a polyglot and knows the main languages of each of the provinces, even some of the ancient, dead languages and he even knows some Daedric as well. This is because he travels anywhere the Empire needs him to go so he has to be prepared to speak anything he needs to, or even read if he’s to intercept important documents. He knows Daedric because, well, Daedra can be a threat and being able to recognise Dadric script and what it says is never a bad thing.

- Adding onto that though, Mercival doesn’t let on how much he’s able to understand of any given language of any given time. He’d much prefer to be thought of as funny, slightly witty if ignorant entertainer than as someone who might know too much.

- Mercival is a fan of history, especially literary history, and he has a hobby when travelling of translating foreign and ancient texts and plays for later publishing or performing. He’s actually had a few of his translations published and circulated round some of the courts.

- While staying in a court one of Mercival’s favourite things to do is to engage in a game of letters with the other courtiers present. They make the days and evenings pass a lot faster and they’re fun to help stretch his creative muscles.

- Mercival has kept tabs on a few of the other children he knew when he was still stuck in the orphanage in Riften. One girl became a baker in Whiterun, one boy got taken to Morrowind, another girl moved to Bruma and Mercival visits her every so often. One boy though grew up to be a serial killer in High Rock, which was a bit alarming but he’s dead now.

- Even though he travels all over the place Mercival has a modest home in the Imperial City and a small place in Solitude in Skyrim that’s a little way down the street from the Bard’s College.

- He has at least two to four bells braided into his mane at all times. Sometimes he weaves in even more if he feels like being fancy. When performing for court he likes to put bells on his wrists and ankles to help add an extra element to his performance.

- His accent is a mix between Nord and Cyrodillic.

 - That’s his default voice anyway. Mercival is able to mimic voices really easily. He’s been known to work in impressions and imitations into his more satirical pieces for court.

Mass Effect

- Mercival is dreadful at snacking while he’s doing something, like working or writing or watching vids or some such. He knows he shouldn’t but some things are just too nice!

- He’s very open about being spiritual but doesn’t talk about it all the time. He enjoys the idea that everything is a part of everything else and that the spirits bind everything together. He finds it comforting.

- He’s a very eager storyteller and a bit of a raconteur. His battle reports are known for being highly detailed when submitted. Not overly so but more than one might expect for official reports.

- Is specialised in high powered assault rifles and hand held explosives. Mercival likes things that go boom.

- He’s currently in training to be a Spectre. He had never even considered that he might one day even have the possibility of becoming one, or that he even could, so to be given even the opportunity to is already mind-blowing for him.

- Turian Mercival likewise knows a number of different languages and has done a few foreign language performances in the am dram groups he’s been part of.

- Mercival is a really heavy sleeper but also a really messy sleeper. He’s definitely the kind of person where he’ll wake up and the quilt’s half off the bed, the pillows are scattered, there’s one under his arm now, stuff like that.

- Also he’s a huge cuddler. Loves cuddling. He actually sleeps a lot less restlessly when he’s cuddling up to someone.

- Mercival is one of the few characters I have who owns their own skycar. Since he’s based on the Citadel he uses it to get around places rather than use public transport. A frequent complaint of his is how expensive fuel is and how badly everyone drives there.

- His usual extranet habits involve watching any kind of movie he can get his hands on and watching it while he does paperwork. He likes any kind but isn’t a huge fan of horror or gore movies. Also any which are stereotypical action films tend to bore him a bit so he avoids those too.

[dunmerofskyrim]

41

I go hounded through the glassgarden. Hungers hunts me; snaps at the haggardown heels of my boots. The plants here have gone untended, untame; flourished on their newfound wildness and the rain that cracks down on them through the broken panes of roof. Between every stand of overgrowth, the shadows are thick with scent though. The steam of simmering broth and sizzle of fat. Meals gone by and the smoke of a meal in the making.

Torture.

I duck under the eaves of a tree. It’s twisted, strange, not knowing what to do with its own size. Like it was clipped and pruned to stay small. But this one’s branches and trunk are outgrown, sprawling, grown huge and grown over with shoals of climbing vine—

Fuck it. No. Who writes this way? Who’d read and believe? Sit too close to the truth, it’ll burn you. Stories’re told the way they are for the sake of distance, framing. Make the real unreal enough to be bearable, believable. No one needs the inside of your head, Simra. The raw unvarnished matter of it? Fuck. Note this — Do what you do. Spin a story and scratch the above. Rewrite when you’ve got the time.

It was warmer in the glassgarden and I went hounded through. Hunger hunted me; snapped at the haggardown heels of my boots. Riftboots, riding-boots, ill-fitted to walking; standheeled to keep fair hold on a stirrup, and clicking on the stone flag floor.

Close the air around me, moist and muffling sound. Still I heard the carry of voices. Adrift and distorted, they reached me like the scent of their cooking. In snatches, in stirrings of gut and stammering heart. Sizzle of fat and the lingering muttony lure of meals roast days back, weeks back, clinging to the shadows and the soft wet air.

Torture.

The plants here had gone untended, untame. Wild for a century and some they’d sprawled and put out seed; bred and flourished in their newfound freedom. Fed on the rain that cracked down on them through the broken panes of roof above.

I ducked under the eaves of a tree. Twisted, strange, not knowing what to do with its own size. I’ve heard of such trees since – seen them in rich houses – clipped and pruned daily to stay their size so they grow in nothing but age. Surgeoned into ornaments. But this one had forgot the knife, the shears, the saw. Its trunk bulged and writhed and its branches eeled outward. Its arms clamoured up through the glassgarden roof to claw greedy after the sun. It had starved to death. Still, in its way, it lived: climbing vines hugged over its greyblack bark and fungus formed on its trunk like the scales on a fish, all grown one way in frills the colour of boiled pork.

By then I heard voices. Dunmeris, heavy accents, dialect unfathomable as music to me back then, or birdsong. They murmured, groggy and lazy — the satisfaction of those about to be sated. I took the wand from my boot and slipped it a little up and into the rags that wrapped my tunic sleeves, hidden in the long belled arms of my coat. Walked closer, stooping and close to silent.

Through a trellis screened in fork-leaved creepers I saw them. Four and a fire sided with stones, black from long use. Bedrolls and boxes, a heavy curtain of sailcloth slung over an eave in the roof. A wall of glass, lead-seamed, soot-smeared, looking out onto the city below. Easy to forget in this overgrown place that we were so high up — a roofgarden, skied with glass and sunk into a buildingtop like some half-lush vale or basin.

I waited. Watched. Their talk hastened. And then, like flames rise quick as a bird from smoke and stirrings in drywood, their talk changed.

“Ey skulk. Hind that wall. You, skulker!”

They had clipped into a broader Dunmeris, meaning to be understood. And understand that as they chose words for my benefit, so I choose theirs for you, translating the grind and chop of their speech into a Tamrielic that reflects it.

“Yeah you, skulk. Think we ain’t know you there?” A coarse voice, male-toned, weighty. “Tchaww! Thinks we ain’t know…”

“Shah… Come out on over, skulk.” Another voice and softer, coaxing. “We ain’t hurt you. Swear it onna ghosts. How’s that?”

Something wheezed over their words. A sound like stifled laughter. And choice had me stilled in its teeth. Flee or stray in closer.

“It’s bad people won’t share a fire in badlands and badtimes, skulk… Come you over. Got fire for you. Meat too if we like your look. A stew cooking.”

One muttered something in dialect, low and hurried. Another reached slow to their belt.

“Unless you’re bad people, yourself, ey? Tell it, skulk — are you?”

I felt the wand in my sleeve, secret and ready to slip free and into my fingers. I tried that thought on for solace, safety, and found it more than half hollow.

“I’ll come out…” My voice but thin and choked.

Heartbeat hot as thunder in my ears and throat and itching palms, but my hunger weighed them out. Days of it; a weight of weakness through me. I’d be little use for a fight, and shortwinded if I chose to flee. I found my way to the trellis end; stepped round and into sight.

They sat on boxes and chests. Lay on stuffed sacks like horkers at bay.

One stood and stared. Thumbs through his belt, scalp badly shaved, knife-kissed in scraps of pink and scab. A powerful build on that one but no weapons I could see.

Halfway behind him, another with tumbles of dust-coloured hair. A stocky shawlish scarf around his skinny shoulders and a slack grin glinting out his dish-round face.

There was another, skin palegrey and eyes manshaped, with a short and bunchedback tail of yellow hair. He was the one with the knife in his belt. A sheer slim filleting blade with an upticked point, and his fingers danced on its handle.

The woman among them was soft, big-middled, and dressed in a thick and napclothed gown, red as rust. Her head was shaven too, but neat-cut, down to velvet.

Between them all, a pot of something steamed.

“Only a grub…” the woman crooned. Hers was the softer voice. “Youngun, see.”

“Might be he is,” said the big mer, stubble and scab-headed. “He come dressed inna question though. That’s what I see…”

“I’m sorry,” I said. Not hard to play frail and threatless when I felt so much to be both. “I’m lost is all.”

The halfmer with the yellow hair and the knife gave a snort. “Must be. A goodlander in Old Ebonheart. I’d say you’re lost as shit.”

Roundface shuddered and shook his head, fitful, huddling neck and chin down into his shawl with eyes knit closed. His skin was hearthdust grey, bloodless and wan.

I took a step forward, towards the warm of their fire. Felt its heat on my empty palms as I truced them out before me. “Sounds about right.” I tried to smile.

“Come you over.”  The woman slapped a box next to her with a thick hand. She looked to Scabhead with asking eyes and he gave back a stunted nod. “We got plenty. Badlands ain’t so bad to us, ey? Look hungry. Are you?”

My nod was quicker, desperate. I remembered the pass in the mountains and the voices I heard from above. Not much more than a strip of a boy, they’d said. A lost little lamb. Toll’s off, little lamb. Eyes up. Siska, Vesh, Kjeld — they took me in for Winter when at first they’d thought to rob me. A testament to my inborn charm, or maybe even the goodness of people. Can’t be that everyone who homes in wild places means to hurt those passing through… I sat. My gut growled on cue.

“Not much longer then,” said the woman, stirring the squat black pot that steamed between them.

I craned for a look inside. A rich plush red in colour, bubbling gentle. Pale meat and pink knuckles of yam showed as she stirred. The scent was spiced, fermented. Preshta-jan and hot pepper.

“How long’s it you been inna city then?” Scabhead pressed me, frowning across the cookfire.

“A week?” I guessed. “Two at the most.”

“You ain’t know?”

“Not for certain. Things got confused. I was hurt…” Am hurt, I almost said. “Might’ve lost a day or two.”

“And where before that?”

“Off the plains. From the west.”

“The West,” grunted Scabhead. “That’s clear.”

What was that supposed to mean? I bit my tongue, knowing the answer. Outlander, emmigrant, revenant. Tongue lost and only half found.

“One of those then, hm?” said the halfmer. “Them that came through.”

“The caravan, yeah…” It hitched in my heart. I’d tried not to think backwards; tried not to give myself leave. Tammunei would stick in my throat if I did. Shurfa and Balambal and the rest would hang corpse-heavy round my neck. “You knew about them?”

“Was the talk of the tongs for a while, goodlander. Course we knew!”

The woman rag-wrapped her hands and hauled the pot off from over the fire to sit it on the seal-black floorstones, amongst the dust and the stickiness of past cooking. Strong shoulders, I noted; she lifted from the knees scarce at all. She placed a black iron breadpan on the dying heat and turned to a cloth-covered basket. Hungry as I was, I could smell starch, the bland satisfaction of rice…

“The tongs..?” I asked.

“Shah…” hushed the woman. “Greener than good good glass, this one!”

“Families…” Roundface stammered out.

“Gangs, houses…” said Scabhead. “Them hereabouts. Ebonhearters. Badlanders. People like us.”

“You too,” said the woman. “Now.”

She set a pat of rendered fat onto the pan. My guts twisted as I watched it melt. Watched her shape wet cooked rice with her hands. Grey mulch, smelling of salt as she worked it into stout little cakes and slapped them onto the hot black breadpan.

“That’s if you stay,” said the halfmer. “Live long enough. What split you off from them in the caravan anyway?”

The line of my lips thinned. I made a show of shrugging. “I like living. They were headed north, not knowing a blighted thing about where they were going or where they could stop, shelter. And with Winter coming? Fuck that. I’m Skyrim born. I know better.”

“Pshaw. Tell yourself that why ain’t you.” Scabhead brought out bowls from a cloth-packed box. “Thinks I that if you knew better you’d’ve split off long before. Stopped before the badlands.”

“Split…” Moonface blinked hard and shuddered again beneath his heavy roughcloth shawl.

“There’s shelter here,” I said. “Fuel to burn. And it doesn’t look like you’re lacking for food. I’ll stay put.”

Bowls and ladles and steaming stew. The first bowl went to the woman. After the others were served she passed me the last of the bowls. A stew of meat and yams – grown here, I wondered?; beneath the glass roof? – with a golden-black saltrice panbread half sunk in its red broth.  A hunger came over me, so strong it felt like sickness.  I hesitated, waiting for someone else to start.

“Eat,” Scabhead said. “Wouldn’t share if we couldn’t.”

No holding back after that. I wolfed the bowl. Burnt my tongue. Meat something like tender pork. I felt it catch between my teeth and worked it with my tongue long after the bowl was empty.

“We’re met then,” said Scabhead. “Host and guest. So, question. That coat…” He licked his lips. “I know that coat. How come you by it?”

I looked over at Roundface. Bowl between his knees, leaning down like a twisted tree over it, he steadied it with the stump of an arm come out from under his shawl. It was off at the elbow. With his remaining hand he mopped stew into his mouth with a sop of panbread. Broth ran down his shallow chin.

The food sat strange in me of a sudden. I hadn’t eaten so much or so richly in so long. It clouded my head like drink or the soonness of sleep.

“Asked you a question… Guls’s, ain’t it? Him of the Eggfarmers. They gone now?”

“I don’t…don’t know what you’re talking about. Found it’s all…”

The woman went over to Roundface and knelt by him. His mouth was trying slack to smile but a wetness had grown in his eyes. Her lips were moving; talking out something rhythmic.

And then my eyes were caught and I couldn’t look away. The stump that ended Roundface’s arm had begun to shift, crawl, things at work under the skin. Bloodless and strange, something broke through the layer of cauterised flesh. Bones, I thought at first. But they were fingernails, child-small and sharp, pink as coral.

The woman was chanting, slow and soft as crooning to a baby, as she rubbed Roundface’s back and shoulders. The others picked up the chant. And the halfmer poured a ladleful of stew red onto the coals. It stank of iron and bile and my gorge rose. It was dialect again; words not meant for my understanding. But of the words I caught, I heard words that might have meant sacrament, and gift. Last of all I heard a name, spoken in love and thanks.

Namira.

The sailcloth curtain rippled, pulled at itself. A curdled scream came from behind it. I felt it echo in my head like my own but my voice wouldn’t come. Like in night terrors when fear is a choking silence. The taste of retching, metallic on my tongue, I scrambled up and ran, blind and fast, thinking of nothing but to empty my stomach of the flesh I’d eaten.

[mistresstrevelyan]

Mass Effect, BioWare, Anthem, CDPR and the Open World Dilemma

Okay, I’m gonna put my gaming industry hat on for this post, make of this what you will.

When Skyrim came out in 2011 its massive scope was perceived as an RPG game changer, something I frankly do not understand because both Morrowind and Oblivion were huge and the Might & Magic series (6,7, 8) did such open worlds way before any of these games was even imagined, let alone developed. But I believe that Skyrim selling 20+ million copies, a number RPGs can usually only dream of vs. behemoths like FIFA, Sims, COD and so forth was the actual game changer in this case. Somehow dev studios failed taking into account that what is keeping Skyrim and its TES buddies in business aren’t huge areas but a modding community that spread its wings with Morrowind and has grown ever since.

None of the games inspired by Skyrim’s success has that or offered its modding community the tools to make it happen, not even CDPR/TW3. But Persephone, you ask, didn’t TW3 hit that magical sweet spot that the others (DAI/ME:A) did not? Well, yes and no. 

Before we take a look at why TW3 made the formula “work” while the others didn’t, let’s look at the corners they actually had to cut to do it:

1) They almost got to Oblivion like levels when it comes to having the same dude voice every male NPC ever (Blackwall’s VA, btw) who isn’t a main player. Honestly, LISTEN......he isn’t just Caleb Menge & CO, he is everywhere.

2) The repetitive flavour chatter is beyond terrible. I’ve heard Indie games with more responsive/varied NPCs.

3) SEVERE limits on NPC models, there are quest NPCs having literally the same faces & clothes as another quest’s, it’s THAT BAD. Even some MAJOR quest NPCs were created with these. 

4) They pulled another Oblivion by casting Charles Dance and giving him ZERO to work with. A bloody waste.

But why/HOW did they make the open world work while the other two struggled with the concept?

Well, for one, it’s lightning in a bottle, tbh, I do not believe that their huge areas were that much livelier than DAI’s or ME:A’s BUT the side quests being spread out well and being far more fleshed out helped mask how empty that game actually is outside its main hubs. Were it not for Gwent & the boards, I’d prolly never visit those tiny villages again. 

Then, and it MUST be said, they have a MASSIVE fanbase united in the goal of seeing that game succeed, for various reasons. 

Additionally, CDPR courted the press, its PR team posted up a storm on any user voted award ever, no matter how obscure. Because stating that a game won hundreds of awards makes it sell, plain & simple.

Also, it is FAR easier streamlining a story, decisions and branches with not just a set protagonist vs. DAI’s and ME:A’s widely unique created protags based on the player’s ideas but also set MAIN CHARACTERS. It’s basically the Baldur’s Gate formula applied to the Witcher universe. The fact that the author of the novels openly scorned the games was drowned out by the fanbase. A fanbase unwilling to admit that TW3 fucked with the lore so badly that main characters like Radovid, Yen and Triss were written into stereotypes CDPR applied to appease its target audience. 

Would said audience CARE that huge decisions made in TW1 and especially 2 were retconned or flatly ignored? (IE the mage massacre at Loc Muinne, saving Princess Adda, saving Anais, siding with Iorveth & Saskia, the very existence of Shani and Yen.....) Or that TW3 introduced characters from the novels that assumed their history with Geralt was a known given while it clearly didn’t translate as such? 

Does CDPR saying that Cyberpunk 2077 will be far more massive than TW3 ever was excite me? Honestly? No, it doesn’t. Will they catch lighting in a bottle twice? I doubt it. Will their fans drop them once/if that happens? No, not right away. Because they are currently the darling of the industry, all the while entirely unaware that this deification is setting them up for a spectacular fall sooner or later. 

But what about BioWare, you ask? They’re currently licking their wounds, pouring everything they’ve got into Anthem and, to a lesser extent, DA4. They do not have the luxury of a fanbase or a public that wants their games to succeed, quite the opposite, in fact. As I see it, they either come back from this as the RPG Masters I know they can be or shift focus entirely if DA4′s reception is as toxic and brutal as ME:A’s was. Honestly though, I believe both of these games have potential. But while we know nothing of DA4 as yet, will Anthem’s open world approach be equally divisive as DAI’s was? Only time will tell.

I guess what I’m trying to say here is that BioWare’s main issue is that they went after a design trend that hasn’t worked for them very well since the BG Saga. I think DAI is a masterpiece, esp. with its DLC and IMHO ME:A had untapped potential but.......I’d like to see these devs go back to what they know best. Bethesda with its open world grandeur, BioWare with its story packed semi open world hubs and CDPR......well, it’s clear what they’re trying to do.

Anyway, those are my two cents on the issue.