#getting back into dragon age and seeing so many wrong opinions

[handsomeamoeba]

WRONG.

Try again.

Actually let's get into this. As someone who loves a great many fantasy RPGs including BG3, Skyrim, and Dragon Age, let me explain what BG3 gets that Skyrim misses, in my opinion.

And this is the big one: the characters in BG3 feel like real fucking people. They have backstories, demonstrable feelings about the events and the other characters, they react to the things you do and they develop as people as you further your relationships. Even minor NPCs often feel fleshed out with distinct personalities and opinions. Hell, going out of my way to cast Speak to Animals is usually rewarded with at least one charming remark. I have never given even a little bit of a shit about 99% of Bethesda NPCs. I usually choose to travel without a companion rather than with unless I need a pack mule to carry my stuff, because their primary function seems to be to get in my way, set off traps, or attract aggro. I can't remember most characters' names unless I'm actively playing. I'm more likely to casually murder people in Skyrim than I am in BG3 or DA because Bethesda hasn't really made any of their NPCs feel like real people, and consequentially I feel no guilt. By comparison I tried to do an evil run of DA:O and gave up the instant I had to kill Wynne (the grandmotherly spirit healer) when she refused to let me go through with my plans, because I hated doing it. Lydia will watch me gut an innocent man and do NOTHING because she has no life, existence, or personality outside of me, the player. This extends to romances, obviously. While optional in all the games, most people will pursue a romance path in BG3 or DA for the additional character arcs it brings to the characters, the emotional nuances they unlock. In Skyrim romance is a box you tick of tasks to complete. In fact, once you marry them, most marriage candidates personalities change *completely* because all spouses have the same few stock dialog lines. That is, if they had a personality to begin with (again, see Lydia). You know how everyone wants to romance unromanceable characters in Bethesda games? Like Brynjolf in Skyrim, or Nick Valentine in FO4? It's because Bethesda actually bothered to give them stories and opinions.

Honestly, this extends to the player character themselves. To a certain extent every player character is a blank slate, but in BG3 and DA it at least feels possible to develop a feeling about who that character is and what they would or would not say or do. I've tried to do that with the Dragonborn and rarely feel strong feelings about them or have strong opinions about what kind of person they are. The only one I've made who I have much of an idea about is my wood elf Parafina, who is Chaotic Evil. Which again is an option I only pick because no one in Skyrim feels real.

The stakes also feel more real in BG3, more personal. Obviously there's the central quest involving the tadpoles, but more than that, it is about a credible threat to your world and the people and communities in it and the people you love. There are tons of reasons to invest yourself emotionally in the narrative. I have never, ever completed the main storyline in Skyrim nor picked a side in Skyrim's civil war. Why would it? Basically nothing happens if I choose not to. Furthermore, if you're not playing as a Nord (which I usually don't), why would you care about Skyrim as a place? You are a faceless, voiceless (pun intended) outsider who gets microaggressed at every turn being asked to choose between two different flavors of fascist. Also dragons are back but like... listen, I don't care? They get pretty easy to pick off at a certain point, it's like swatting flies, they're just a nuisance on the way to my daily errands. And isn't that such a common story? Don't you know so many people who don't really bother with the main storylines of Skyrim? Yeah it's one of the bestselling games of all time but I feel like the fact that most people don't really care about its narrative should be a sign of failure. We all know it's mostly maintained its popularity due to the modding community.

Ultimately both games have rich worlds which reward exploration with little secrets and environmental storytelling. But BG3 feels more "meaningful" because they give me reasons to care about what happens. The writers worked hard to give the game emotional resonance. So I come to the two games for different experiences. I go to BG3 to engage with an interesting story. I go to Skyrim for the quick serotonin hit of completing tasks and hoarding items.

[lasandra]

Sketches of the Dragon Age men I've romanced + my reactions to their romance! For funsies!

Under the cut because it's quite long... There are spoilers for DA:O, DA:2, and DA:I (Probably not an issue because all these games have been out for 10+ years but I wanted to say, just in case).

These are just how 'I' feel about them. I'd love to hear everyone else's opinions on the characters as well! One thing I love about Dragon Age is that the characters are so complex that people can have very different opinions on them (and mostly not kill each other for it! :P).

Alistair:

Alistair was the reason I started playing the game back in 2010. My father had been given the game by his best friend and he would always let me watch him play games. He hadn't gotten further than defeating the Ogre in the Tower of Ishal before he quit playing, however, much to 12-year-old me's disappointment. I had immediately fallen in love with Alistair and wanted to see more of him! I asked if I could play and fortunately my father was not as careful about checking game ratings/content and said sure!

Words cannot describe how stunned I was when I found out you could romance companions in this game, this was an entirely new concept to me that blew my 12-year-old mind. To this day Alistair is my favorite fictional man and I would destroy all of Thedas to protect him.

Zevran:

I didn't have as positive an experience initially with Zevran as I barely took him anywhere with me initially (so my approval with him was always pretty low). Back then I figured he always would betray you when Taliesen shows up. One day I decided to run a playthrough where I romanced him. When I knew I was getting close to when Taliesen showed up I was sad, but thinking he was still going to betray me, I removed all his weapons and armor so that it would be easier to kill him. Boy was I surprised when he didn't betray me and was instead punching the other crows in his underwear... It was that playthrough that I realized how important it was to check approval lol.

Anders:

Anders and Nathaniel Howe had been my favorite Awakening characters. In my canon playthrough, I had protected the city but lost the keep, with Anders and Justice along with it. Or so I thought. When I loaded up DA:2 and saw him, I thought him being alive was a bug and was so excited that he wasn't dead! And when I saw that you could flirt with him, 13-year-old me was like, "Yeah, I'll be doing THAT!" It was all going great until the end of the game when he BLEW UP THE FREAKING CHANTRY! I was so upset, I wondered what I did wrong to make him do that. I loaded so many saves and started the game over 3 times trying to figure out how to avoid that. When I realized I couldn't stop him no matter what I did, I was completely and utterly devastated and PISSED. He is the reason I have trust issues in Dragon Age. I still choose to romance him sometimes because the guy is such a romantic but I do so expecting sadness and anger in the end lol. Knowing Hawke will never be as important as the cause and the fact that he LIES to Hawke, tricking her into helping him without full knowledge of what she's taking part in, will never cease to annoy me.

A lot, I know... He just makes me feel a lot of things xD It's a complicated love-hate relationship.

Fenris:

It took awhile for me to warm up to Fenris but he is by far and a way my favorite DA:2 romance now. Things are complicated with him and within the romance but it's very clear that he actually cares about Hawke. I can relate to him a bit in one way, the reason he leaves after he and Hawke get together in Act 2. Trauma like that can really ruin things that should make you happy, and it can be very frightening when memories of the traumatic event surface, and the last thing you want to do is make the person you care about feel bad or like it's their fault. It just makes me want to give him a hug. Poor spikey boy...

Sebastian:

I really wish Bioware had had the time to do more with Sebastian. I really do. His romance has some cute moments (and there are some interesting implications if you rivalmance him) but he was made as a DLC companion and it shows. I still quite like his character though, I know a lot of DA fans aren't fond but yeah lol. He can be a bit of a dramatic pain in the butt if you don't kill Anders though. That is very valid criticism.

Cullen:

Ah... Cullen... He was always controversial. A lot like Solas is now. There are people who hate Cullen's guts and people who adore him. I am quite obviously the latter. I wanted to romance him in DA:O, I wanted to romance him in DA:2, and then we finally got him in DA:I and it was better than I ever could have imagined.

Honestly, I kind of suspect that if I hadn't done Alistair's romance first, that Cullen's would be my favorite in the series. It's so sweet and he PROPOSES and married you IN-GAME. That's freaking awesome! And his ending slides after Trespasser just make me really really happy lol.

Alistair is still my favorite but Cullen is a very close second.

Blackwall:

Blackwall is a solid character and a sweet guy; his story and romance are very well written as well. Honestly though, he just looks too old for me. I was 16 when Inquisition came out and I'm 26 now. Dude looks like he could be my dad and so it's hard to convince myself that my characters would be interested in him. No shade to those who like him, just different preferences, and like I said, he's still a very compelling character and if he were younger or less bearded, I could probably enjoy the romance too.

While I make a big deal about Blackwall lying about being a Grey Warden, it's mostly just me picking on him. I actually do think it makes for an interesting narrative. It's so easy to sus him out when you've played Origins though lol! That being said, I DO make him become a legitimate Grey Warden because it just feels right to me and ensures that every Dragon Age game I play has at least one Grey Warden companion (so that everything is right in the universe).

Please don't hate me Blackwall fans lol!

Solas:

Am I a massive hypocrite for loving Solas so much while not being all that fond of Blackwall? Probably yes... But I can't help it! To be fair though, before I finished Inquisition for the first time (this was before the Trespasser DLC btw), I didn't even think I'd be interested. I'm a diehard Solavellan now, but I had initially just seen him as a pajama-wearing fade nerd (aren't I sweet?). As I've said I was 16 when I first played Inquisition and was too busy romancing Cullen to notice all the (in hindsight) obvious signs that there was more to Solas than met the eye.

When I saw that he was the dreadwolf... I kind of flipped my ever living shit. Fen'Harel had been the most interesting of the elven pantheon to me since I played my first dalish elf warden in Origins and now my Lavellan had the chance to romance him??? So naturally I did just that my next playthrough.

I didn't use the internet like I do now so I had no idea what was coming in Crestwood though. OOF! I was in shock. How dare this pajama-wearing fade nerd elven god just dump my poor Lavellan like that! Then Trespasser came out I had round 2 of getting my heart ripped out of my chest, dashed into a thousand pieces, and strewn about the fade in the most tragic way possible. *Is dramatic*

Cullen and Alistair may be my favorite romances for the romance itself, but Solas is my favorite romance for the overarching story. I mean, because the Inquisitor is seen by so much of Thedas as the Herald of Andraste, Lavellan is canonically a religious figure of the chantry whether she agrees with it or not. Solas is a religious figure of the elves. This means two religious figures from two separate religions get together and that is just SO interesting from a story perspective!

I can't wait to see what they do with the Solavellan romance in Veilguard. I hope it doesn't hurt too much xD

The Iron Bull:

16-year-old me was not prepared for this romance... At ALL. My poor mostly innocent eyes lol (Cullen's too!). It's a fun romance though, and my default inquisition romance for my Qunari and dwarf characters. He's cool. Plus I had a bit of a crush on Freddie Prinze Jr when I was a kid so like, that makes it kind of neat!

Final Thoughts:

Bioware has always written truly amazing characters and romances and I am so excited to see what Veilguard has to offer. I am probably going to have to do two playthroughs at once so I can romance Lucanis and Davrin so I can play both without knowing too much in advance.

Like I said at the top, I'd love to know what everyone's opinions of the characters are! Loveya!

[markantonys]

Someone on Twitter: Rand was such an asshole in s1. They handled his character's stubbornness much better in s2. You're calling him an asshole? Based off one episode? I am a s1 Rand defender

this is the worst take!!!! the only difference in rand's stubbornness in the two seasons is that in s1 all the trauma and upheavals are extremely fresh and also he still has some hope that he can get his life back, and so he's more argumentative and hot-tempered, whereas in s2 he's hopeless and downtrodden and so he's too tired to argue as much. in s1 his entire world was turned on its head, but by s2 he's had 6 months to settle into the new status quo, which is a shitty status quo even before he finds out he didn't actually defeat the dark one, so when moiraine does come to tell him that, he's more like "[deep sigh] you know those days where you're like, this might as well happen". the reason he doesn't try and fight her in s2 is because he's long accepted he can't go back home again, not because he was an asshole in s1 but is written differently/better in s2. (also, it's almost like coming-of-age stories involve the heroes becoming more mature and better at managing their emotions as the story progresses. imagine that!)

it really is insane how harshly s1 rand is judged for having normal human emotions re: getting dumped and being led away on a life-threatening quest by an extremely shady wizard. i'm sure many of the haters would handle all that way worse than rand did if they were in his shoes! (plus when you look at the other kids: mat and perrin have painful memories in the two rivers (childhood trauma & laila) and so are not that opposed to leaving, while egwene is interested in becoming an aes sedai and so not that opposed, so naturally rand has the most reason to dig his heels in and resist being taken away.)

i think it kinda stems from our human tendency to see all conflicts as A Bad Guy vs. A Good Guy. rand & moiraine both have valid and understandable reasons for clashing (rand is scared and doesn't want to leave home; moiraine is acting for the good of the world) as do rand & egwene (rand is hurting over the breakup and upset that egwene's trying to act like nothing happened and get back with him now that her first choice of being a wisdom fell through; egwene is scared and wants to cling to the comfort and familiarity of their relationship after her whole life was overturned). but people's instinct is to make someone the bad guy in every argument, and so they give that title to rand. we see that time and again in the books too - WOT is really quite good about having the heroes disagree and have conflicts with each other even though they share the same broad goals, but fandom always simplifies it down to "X character is Right and A Good Guy, Y character is Wrong and A Bad Guy". (rand & egwene with the seals: egwene is the bad guy. rand & elayne with the dragon banners: elayne is the bad guy. egwene & gawyn with their TOM relationship negotiations: gawyn is the bad guy. mat & the wondergirls constantly: the girls are the bad guys on reddit, but mat might be the bad guy if you ask some people on tumblr.)

in conclusion, i will leave you with some of my earliest thoughts on rand as a show-only. he immediately came off to me as a walking green flag, and that opinion only strengthened as the season went on! him getting angry and having emotions never soured my opinion of him, it just made him feel real and human! so the haters can suck it, their experiences are not universal.

(i think this was from only about halfway through the season, because he did become my #1 favorite by the end of the season!)

[octolich]

I was Scared for Dragon Age: Veilguard.

I take it back, we are so back. The release date trailer fixes so many of the anxieties of this post, Im keeping it up because I ain't no bitch but consider this an archive post of sorts. Ima make a new one glazing the new trailer but for now this is absolute cinema. Nice going Bioware! Still not pre-ordering tho, fuck EA. I want to say before I state anything, I'm still buying the game, I just want to warn fellow DA Fans to be cautious about this game and its potential quality. I could be wrong and this could be game of the year, best in the franchise. I've just got a weird feeling about Bio ware's marketing that I want to get off my chest.

This is just a personal opinion and warning from a Dragon Age Fan. Disagree? You're probably right. Your opinions are valid and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

SPOILERS FOR DRAGON AGE SHTUFF.

TLDR: Bioware has been very sneaky with marketing as well as dodgy choices in design that I do not agree with. They keep on talking about how this is the best game in the franchise and how the characters are the most in-depth yet, but I personally am sceptical. I could be wrong and this could be game of the year, best in the franchise. I've just got a weird feeling about Bioware's marketing I want to get off my chest and warn others about. We're treating breadcrumbs as buffets. They refuse to show anything substantial off and rely too much on "The games good, trust me bro. we've got nudity!"

I love Dragon age Inquisition to death. Played through it multiple times over the course of 7 years (Necromancer homies rise up). I played Dragon age Origins a wee bit and really loved the freedom and gritty setting which was a complete 180 for what I'm used to from DAI. I didn't play dragon age 2 (sorry besties I'll try it at some point) but I've heard it introduced a lot of controversial concepts but ultimately "modernized" the franchise.

Now, I actually didn't mind the trailer! I was jamming to the bombastic song but found the dialogue in it to be extremely corny. It definitely is a major shift in tone from the other trailers but hey! Maybe it won't be like that in the game. Marketing can mislead the perception of a game through the trailer like with Dead Island (amazing trailer btw) But then I saw the gameplay preview.

I was quite shocked to see Minrathous! I loved the city's whole MagicPunk theme and with the floating Archon's palace in the sky? Even though it looked a bit... off, I still liked it. The city looks old, and powerful. I absolutely love that. But then we get to the immediete problem. The Demons. I believe I heard from somewhere that the artists designed them this way to be similar to that of the human nervous system. What I presumed to be despair demons looked creepy with this artistic vision, but the pride demon??? It just looked goofy and not intimidating at all. They really traded how unique each and every demon looked, and went with floating kool aid spirits?

Moving on, Dragon age Inquisition has 8 slots for abilities you can fill in, allowing you to combo them and have a wide arsenal at your disposal. But with Veil guards 3? It was an immediate red flag. Now, I heard from Bioware that Rook can have an ultimate ability, but that is still 4 out of the original 8 you could bring. Companions are said to have a fixed 5 but can only bring in 3. BUT, Bio ware has been said in the game informer to be encouraging combining abilities with other companions, and not with just your own arsenal. But I still don't like the change.

A 60 second cooldown though??? either the fights shall be long, or you'll be a sitting duck spamming basic attacks waiting for your cool spells. I suppose there would be ways to reduce the time with cooldown reduction perks, but again, I do not vibe with this. aswell as following to comment this:

Now, Im no expert on game design, but I loved the combat in DAI AND DAO, yes it had its flaws but I find it was a highlight, now a flaw of the games. To say that Combat was "Uncharitably meh" I find spits in the face of the philosophy of combat in the previous games. DAI was all about about levelling up to build complex arsenals of spells to combo with, and unlocking specializations which further added spells to play with. DAO was all about freedom, you can be a necromancer/pyromancer/blood mage/spirit healer and it would work! Im afraid that Bioware has forgotten why this was fun and risk the chance of making combat one of the worst aspects of Dragon age Veilguard.

Now, instead of Bioware talking about gameplay, they love to talk about companions, throughout all of the game informer articles they talk about Romance, nudity, character creation (I admit I'm a bit hyped about this one though), and the companions.

Again, the wordplay of how Veilguard is even better than all previous dragon age games doesn't sit well with me. Are the previous companions also not complex? Is Dorian not a man who's constantly fighting between hating his father and loving him, while this love is also reflected for his home land? Is Morrigan not a woman who is on a fight between the discovery of ancient magic, the love of her warden and son, as well as the fear of her mother?

I just find it so strange that they focus so much on the companions in these articles, while also keep quiet about the gameplay, spare the game preview (Basically a vague tutorial) and a few pictures. Now, again. They could actually be the best in the entire franchise. I could eat my words and these companions could shake the very foundation on what it means to be a companion, but I just don't buy this narrative bioware is trying to feed us.

"These followers or companions don't exist by themselves" "Your assembling a family." "Everything you do ties into the critical path" "things are done towards a goal." "In Origins things are done just to do them."

https://www.gameinformer.com/exclusive-video/2024/07/19/the-making-of-dragon-age-the-veilguard (blue text is excerpts from this video. There's more but I can't be assed putting every quote into this. You may watch it yourself if you wish to see more)

They continue to use flowery language in these statements. How complex they are, how they're their own people. But where's the proof? these are all just words at the moment. In the 20 minute preview, I wasn't sitting there immersed in Minrathous, (still pretty gorgeous though, love you concept artists and 3d modelers xxx) or sitting there amazed at the characters. I'm just a dude sitting there watching some Batman Arkham knight look ahh combat.

The Video used above is just so much yapping, with re-used footage from the gameplay preview, trailer and images previously released. There is nothing new they are adding or introducing, only saying "The Characters and Story is good, trust."

Honestly? My theory is that this entire campaign is damage control. Lots of people who viewed the trailer immediately hated it (to be fair most of them haven't touched a single dragon age game in their lives) and the gameplay preview was a mixed review at best. After mass effect andromeda? I don't trust them. Not one bit.

I am going to buy the game and either enjoy it or hate it. I don't prefer gameplay over story, I'm a mix of both. I think one cannot exist without the other. I am just extremely worried for the future of not only Dragon age, but Bioware as a whole. I have a feeling that after this, if this game flops, Bioware is headed for the guillotine by the hands of EA (bunch of pricks).

One thing I will say is I like the skill trees!

This type of skill tree I think outdoes Inquisition's skyrim style perk tree, and really leans into the way Origin's does its abilities and perks (which I like more and Inquisition). From the looks of it, you can twist into what type of mage you are, as well as specialization. Control Death Caller? Burst Spellblade? Or maybe mash Control/Sustain together? It really beckons the imagination. THIS is what I want to see. Instead of words I want action! I want snippets! Not reused footage of the trailer or game preview, I want hard proof of how great this game is!

Not only that, but I do have to admit. the New UI puts all of the previous games to shame. I'm a big fan of the prismatic purple UI they've got going on.

I got to hand it to the Artists and graphic designers, It feels like the artists have fully realised their creative vision. I've never wanted a MagicPunk city until I saw Minrathous. I admit its a small thing to like about, but its the small things like these that can elevate a games quality. If there's one thing that I find that Dragon age Veil guard does better than the rest is the UI.

I post this out of love, not hate. I'm terrified that my favourite franchise is going to turn dogshit thanks to questionable choices. Bioware is doing nothing to comfort these fears by pumping out bloated statements like how the characters are the best in the series, and bringing up transmog and hyping up the character creator. Like, yeah? where is it then? are there no snippets? You're willing to post entire skill tree's why not post the character creator? or a sneak at the transmog?

After mass effect andromeda, my faith has been lost on bioware. But I still love the dragon age games. I just wish they do it justice. I will still buy the game, and leave a positive or negative review depending on the quality. If its good then ya'll have full permission to clown on me!

Im uh, still new to Tumblr so I don't know how to end this. Treat yourself to some water, maybe order just eats? Just treat yo self! Thanks immensely for reading this, hopefully you've learned something from this rambling. And hey! If you disagree, that's more than welcome! Your opinions are just as valid as mine. and I'd love to hear what you think and love about Dragon Age. Who knows? we might agree! (Lucanis is so handsome its not even funny)

[fen--harel]

mini rant / thoughts

The first time I played dragon age origins was when I was 15 and visiting my dad for the summer. I had found Fenris online and I wanted to play 2 so badly and of course I was gonna start with origins.

I had romanced alistair the first time, and I remember when I first met anora I thought she was soo mean and snooty. and i had gotten so pissed when she had ratted me out to the guards when I told them I was there to save her.

Then at the Landsmeet I thought Caulthrien was insane and I killed her and then did not hesitate killing loghain and i thought riordan was fucking CRAZY for even suggesting that I spare them.

And now im not trying to say that no one has the right to their own opinion or that there's a right or wrong way to play this game and have your choices and feelings.

But I was replaying origins the same way I always do since the third time i had ever played it: romance zevran, marry anora and alistair, and spare loghain.

But I think back to like, angry teenage me who didn't see signs ? That were blatantly there.

Anora TELLS you not to fucking rat her out because she could be killed. So of course when you tell Cauthrien you're there to rescue her she's gonna throw you under the bus. Anora has lead Ferelden with as much duty as her duty-sworn father. She married Cailan and was a good Queen and arguably ran the country herself while giving her husband the spotlight. When you tell her to marry Alistair she doesn't throw a fit or argue because she can see why having a Theirin on the throne would be good for Ferelden.

Alistair (I love him so much) is not King material. He is an emotional person, which isn't wrong to be. Lord knows im a ridiculously emotional person. But being a fellow emotional person I know how hard it is to make choices based on your brain or your heart. Especially as King you HAVE to make sacrifices. I think a good ruler actually SERVES their country and Alistair who is emotional (which is fine) deserves to find his happiness with the Grey Wardens where yes he'll still make sacrifices but not that of a King. And I think it's displayed too when Riordan says that we should spare Loghain because it would be good for the Wardens gets so emotional about it and is like "ill be king if that means he gets to die" Kind of dealio.

(Also another thing I blame on Bioware is that I truly didn't feel Alistair's like- closeness with Duncan. I think it's understandable and should be there but poorly executed where I got so confused like why he was so sad about Duncan in the first place because I didn't really see the bond he and him had. But that could also be a me problem) AND THEN SER CAUTHRIEN OHMYGOD. The way that she begs you for Loghain's life and like, how much he means to her and Ferelden was so sad this time around. And you can tell from her that she also has a huge amount of respect for Loghain. Even Eamon talks about Loghain in a good light.

And I hadn't read Stolen Throne until much later after my first ever playthrough but I think there's so many instances of DA trying to hint at you like - Loghain was a good person. And he is just paranoid about something happening to Ferelden, the country he protected and served all his life. The country he taught his daughter to also protect and serve all her life.

And then it makes me sad to see people not realize that ? And have this like - hatred towards Loghain and Anora. (Although Anora too I think it's just lowkey misogyny but that's...for another time)

But even one of my best friends romances and loves Alistair but even she can see the complexities of Loghain and likes him as well. Of course she still kills him in the end because for Alistair but she likes Loghain.

And I just think about teenage me missing all these signs that Anora isn't awful and neither is Loghain and im like what...and then (It's not really in the height of it now bc the fandom has been sleeping til veilguard p much) I see people who also hate them and im like...why ???

like i said though, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I don't like Halsin from BG3 LOL. And he seems like a wonderful character, just not my cup of tea and I can understand why so many people do like him.

just getting my thoughts out

[viktorclawthorne]

Why I think the Garp, Koby, and Helmeppo side plot in opla is great - a silly little essay

This includes One Piece Live Action spoilers as well as a bit of Marineford

B4 we start: this is all just my opinion and thoughts I had while watching the live action.

I might've gotten some stuff wrong, or you may disagree with me. Also, English isn't my first language

I'm not expecting anyone to actually see this, I just need to write it down

Firstly, I find the choice of including Koby and Garp more early on very interesting, they did a great job showcasing the corruption within the Marines and also how toxic and even abusive Garp is (Helmeppo literally says so).

Koby is the first character we see be friends with Luffy, making us like and empathize with him. They go separate ways and after that, they parallel each other in many ways; Koby has a very strong sense of justice, just like Luffy, He wants to protect people, which Luffy is shown to do a lot. Other than Koby however, Luffy prioritizes his freedom, while Koby joins the Marines because he believes he can protect people that way.

They tell each other to “Be a good Pirate” and “Be a good Marine”, With their similarities Koby serves as a great tool to show throughout the season how corrupt the marines are, especially compared to the freedom of pirates like Luffy.

We meet Mihawk in the context of him getting a call from Garp, immediately showing the connection between Marines and Pirates. When this gets explained to Koby - and therefore also the viewer - he first realizes how corrupt the system of the Marines is. Helmeppo explains: “Warlords exist, so the marines don't have to do the dirty work”.

In Shells Town we’re led to believe that Helmeppo is “stupid and bad” and Koby is “smart and good” but later on we learn that Helmeppo was aware of how the marines work from the start and therefore wasn't enthusiastic about joining, his rank, or his duties like Koby was. When Koby finally learns the truth, he considers quitting, showing how far from his ideal of protecting citizens the navy is.

Garp literally says himself that as a marine, you operate in a cruel and unfair system and have to compromise your morals and ideals (which is why all marines are inherently immoral). He also states he could have been fleet admiral (aka highest-ranking marine) but turned it down bc he would “have to do it their way” and it would “take away his freedom” which shows his similarities to Luffy and Dragon. It is also bullshit bc he HAS to mostly do it their way, all Marines serve the world government / celestial dragons and not the people, which therefore means you cannot be free within the Marines.

In the Liveaction we see Garp let Luffy go, which is his idea of “doing things his way”, he seems to think by declining to be fleet admiral he keeps at least some degree of his autonomy; however, I personally think he is being ignorant, wanting to ignore how functioning in a corrupt system can never be moral, and you inherently lose your freedom.

Garp still believes the marines are necessary “to protect order” so he can't completely disagree with the system, clearly setting him apart from pirates like Luffy or Roger and the revolutionary army (who of course exist in contrast to the marines, showing and, well, rebelling against their cruelty).

Zeff points out the similarities between Luffy and Roger to Garp, who then mentions how Roger died, implying he’s just trying to protect Luffy. Garp seems to have a twisted view on protection; since he believes it is wrong as well as dangerous to be a pirate he physically abused Luffy from a young age, trying to stomp out his dream and make him follow in Garp's footsteps (same goes for Ace and somewhat Sabo of course).

This is also shown by how he acts in Marineford where he first tries to stop Luffy but then lets him through, isn't able to kill Ace, and has to be held back in order to not attack Akainu. Deep down, he seems to really care for those whom he considers Family, which clashes with his belief that Pirates are inherently immoral / bad.

I do believe his pursuit of Luffy throughout OPLA wasn't just him testing Luffy, as he states at the end. Garp gets really mad when he finds out Luffy has become a pirate, and still really wants to make him into a marine. The scene with Zeff would've also not been necessary, I think Garp really intends to protect Luffy (like Ace).

When he sees Luffy’s determination, however, he accepts that he can’t change him, showing that Luffy's strong will is more important to Garp than protecting him. This is also supported by the events in Marineford when Garp lets Luffy pass after seeing his resolve.

The moment Koby decides to stay in the Marines, he accepts that he’ll have to compromise his dream and agree to give up his original morals to some degree.

However, he’s still very similar to Luffy, and at this point also mirrors the “good” sides of Garp. He questions if they should really go after Luffy and stands up for his own beliefs when he gets the order to arrest the strawhats.

This way Koby (as well as Helmeppo, who does the same) showcases the corruption and unfairness of the marines because not like him the other marines present follow the irrational orders of their superior blindly.

Garp states at the end of OPLA that following orders doesn't make you a good marine, following your code does. He congratulates Koby and Helmeppo for standing up for what they believe is right, even when their orders said the contrary.

Concluding it’s safe to say that Garp, Koby, and even Helmeppo all show similarities to Luffy, they have strong beliefs, disagree with the way the marines are run and even go against their orders because of this. Showing these three as the side plot in OPLA drives the point Home how corrupt, immoral, and unfair the Marines are, and with the context of the world government and Celestial dragons, this gets even more weight.

[piduai]

back in 2021 when i was studying to get into college i would stalk your acc everyday i kinda developed a parasocial relationship with fr sorry girl i just enjoyed your strong opinions and ur sense of humour anyway a year later i actually got into college i am doing what i wanted and all and for some reason i thought it somehow would fix all of my lonely problems but it didnt. ive always been weird but more than ever i dont think i can hide it anymore, i try being normal sooo hard but i feel like everyone can see through my act and they get weirdedout, like they can see that i am trying so hard when to them is so natural and the only girl i kinda made acquaitance with is thinking abt leaving so idk what to do. i truly envy normal people, i take no pride in being different i would trade all of my "uniquiness" to be able to fit in this world fr. sorry for venting, i remember you had a post kind of giving tips on how to ""survive" college but i cant seem to be able to find it. anyway thanks queen keep your head up.

congrats on getting into college, especially if it's something you like doing! i hope your academic career is going smoothly.

if you're in your second year of college you're what, early 20s? being 21 is as bad as being 14 but now you can legally take out a loan. being a weird loner at 21 is ^2 that. i think a lot of lonely teenagers have this college fantasy where they'll finally become social butterflies once they get their psych 101 schedule, but it's rarely the case; people don't change overnight. what i'm trying to say is that it's normal and fine even to feel that way - the disappointment, the frustration, the feeling of something lacking and of losing out. you're in a transactional period, not fully grown into your brain, so it's rather normal to feel bottomless despair in your situation. a lot of your problems will pass with age.

i can relate to your "i wish i was normal" bit so bad. a lot of boring losers on here who haven't stepped a toe out of normalcy their entire lives will talk about being proud weirdos because they play dungeons and dragons and have a porn addiction. god's #real strongest warriors know that there's nothing worse than deviating from the norm, a life of alienation you feel down to the bones. even if you mask exceptionally well and manage to blend in it doesn't go away, you know that you're abnormal and are the odd one out, and struggling with things that come naturally to the majority is downright humiliating. when i was younger i used to resent all of this, i resented not being like other people, resented being unable to be like everyone else, resented having to invest excruciating effort to not stand out like a sore thumb. but eventually you just have to come to terms with it, accept that there's something wrong with you, something that makes you different from most people you'll meet casually, and live with it. once you don't hate yourself for it anymore all you have to do is remember the scripts to follow during regular meaningless interactions and you're peachy. weird people have always existed, you're not the first or the last one, and they lived somehow so we can manage too.

and i know that the self-consciousness makes you think that everyone can sniff you out like a hound but the truth is that most people don't really care about you, they have their own lives to worry about. and it's a good thing, great in fact! if you just exist quietly but try to blend in (as in, don't behave in erratic or abnormal ways and don't create trouble) THE meanest thing people will passingly may think of you is "oh she's a bit awkward/shy/unfriendly" like i promise you those around you don't secretly look at you and go like... wtf.... look at that FREAK walking here..... gross..... because they simply don't care. like i think that strangers are much more benevolently indifferent than we're giving them credit for.

as for practical advice you never asked for, the good old "go to a place many times and you'll meet someone" method typically works. actually the best would be to join some sport of your liking, it doesn't have to be like, competitive or anything, swimming or badminton are good. but if you're bad at that maybe try chiller hobbies, like maybe your uni has some kind of clubs? anime/manga clubs, reading clubs, whatever you like. usually the people you meet at those particular clubs suck, but it kind of works like lesbian dating - they can introduce you to their friends, which can be nice encounters. there's also the option of frequently volunteering at events or getting a part-time job, stuff like bartending can introduce you to a lot of young people, especially if you're in a student town, but barista/waitressing can work too.

the problem with all of the above is that it does require you to be proactive, which is i think a difficult feature if your sense of self is fluctuating and you're being eaten alive by shame/self-doubt/self-hatred/insecurity. it's very hard to live that way. first and foremost you need to stand solid on who you are, to learn to accept your own quirks, to accept that you have to put up with hardships others will never know, and to respect yourself. different doesn't mean worse, or even bad. you're not a bad person. bad people don't have this kind of thoughts, they live life guilt free while demeaning and stomping on others. so even if you're a bit unusual you're still a decent person, you're deserving of dignity and respect and kindness, of good things, of connection, of love. meaningful encounters are rare, but they happen! keep searching, there is no other way. there are other people like you. i wish you the best of luck!

[annalyticall]

Thoughts on Mass Effect 1

Similar to what I did for Dragon Age, I wanted to summarize my thoughts on another Bioware Trilogy as I completed each game. I just finished the original Mass Effect as part of the legendary edition, so here we are.

The Shepard that I'm dedicating to for this trilogy is Shiv Shepard, a colonist Sole Survivor. She's a sentinel and, over the course of the game (playing as a commander with survivor's guilt and a vow to save as many lives as possible under her command), maxed out the Paragon meter.

(As you can see I had a little fun with Photo Mode lol)

Major decisions include: sparing the Rachni Queen, sparing the colonists on Feros, sacrificing Ashley, romancing Kaidan, saving the Council, and promoting Captain Anderson as the human councilman. Besides Ashley, all squadmates were recruited and lived.

Full thoughts in a list of pros and cons under the cut:

The Good:

Graphics: Perhaps because this is legendary edition, the graphics were much better than I was expecting, and I could tell it was made on an upgraded engine than Dragon Age Origins. The characters emoted well, or at least the human and asari ones did.

Ammo: One thing I dislike about shooters is ammo management. Having unlimited ammo was nice for a change, and let me free up my attention to learning the abilities instead.

Voice Acting: Jennifer Hale absolutely carries Female Shepard, she makes the character for me. Other voice actors did great as well.

Interplanetary Politics: It did take me some time to get acquainted with the political structure of the game, but once I did I was intrigued by the unique role humans played in it all as relative newbies to the game, and how differently the drive to prove their species worthy to the alien council manifests in different human characters.

Environments: Besides the side mission planets (I'll get into that), the main story locations like the Citadel were beautifully designed, if a little difficult to navigate at first.

The Bad:

Repetitive Side Missions: MY GOD. I wish I could say these didn't ruin the game for me but they kind of ruined the game for me. I didn't mind the side missions on locations like the Citadel or the main story planets, but every other side quest was basically: land on a remote planet that's a copy of every other planet but with different textures. Get your car stuck in some rocks. Find a base. Clear out enemies in the main room. Find an important file/hostage in the back room. Rinse and repeat. After like 30 of those I wanted to pull my hair out. I get that maybe I didn't have to do all of them, but I also didn't want to be wrong and find out later that sidequests would have saved lives or something.

No Party Banter: Hello? Even Dragon Age Origins had this, and honestly, party banter was at least half the reason why I fell in love with those characters. These characters don't talk to each other except when in an elevator, and that makes them all feel rather hollow. None of them seemed to have a relationship/opinion with other characters, or if they did, it was lukewarm at best. I was disappointed.

Romance: The options are limited, for one. I think I would have chosen Kaidan anyway, but I wish Garrus and/or Tali were available. I didn't choose Liara because I wasn't vibing with it, what with feeling like a research subject more than a love interest to her. I figured Kaidan had some great potential in the beginning, but that was squandered when I continued 90% through the game without so much as a flirtatious line. Come on man. I understand this is a military setting and there are regulations but I need that YEARNING you know. That pining and devotion. I need Roy/Riza 2.0 is what I'm saying. I didn't get even a fraction of that and I'm sad about it.

Talk No Jutsuu: Sorry but even with the maxed-out Charm skill and Paragon dialogue options I don't think Shepard would have so easily talked down some of these people. I get that RPGs take liberties with this, hell Dragon Age does it too, but it seems much more glaring an issue in this game. I'll be talking to a homicidal cult leader and because I say "don't do this, this isn't in your heart uwu" he's like oh shit you're right I'll turn myself in. I don't buy it and it takes me out of it.

Glitches: More than even Dragon Age, I ran into a lot of glitches that would make sections nearly unplayable and I would have to restart from a long-past save, which was incredibly frustrating.

The Squad:

Kaidan: I've read that people think Kaidan is boring but I don't think he is. I actually really like that he's a good-natured well-adjusted guy that doesn't have any drama surrounding him, despite the trauma he suffered in his past. He's got layers, and it makes him feel more real to talk to than some of the other teammates, which is why I guess I gravitated to him as a romantic interest. Still would have liked some more romantic lines though.

Ashley: I was not a fan of hers, in the beginning, what with her automatic distrust of all the alien crew. After talking to her some more about her family and motivations, she did start to grow on me, but it wasn't enough to keep me from sacrificing her on Virmire.

Garrus: I can see why he's so popular, he's fun and a good-hearted renegade. With Kaidan, he became my most used teammate simply because I liked his commentary on things. We'll see if I ever decide to romance him though since he felt less like a love interest to me and more like a wily little brother I had to reel in sometimes lol

Tali: Tali my beloved. I love her, she's so sweet and I loved her excitement around technology. I would have romanced her if I could. I don't have much more to say besides I'm excited to see her in future games.

Liara: I am completely neutral on Liara. I liked her well enough but she referred to everything with such a sterile scientific lens that it was hard for me to care about her deeper than that. I'm curious where her character will go though, I know she's important to the franchise overall.

Wrex: I was also rather neutral about Wrex, though I liked his determination to overcome the Krogan disease affecting his people. I just never felt like I had a great reason to bring him along.

Overall I thought Mass Effect was just okay. The villain was serviceable, the plot was followable, and the missions were engaging enough to keep me playing. I'd say the only reason why I stuck it out though was to get to Mass Effect 2, which I hear is much better, and I really hope that's true.

Overall Score: 6/10

[mk-wizard]

Medias Who Failed Due to Picking the Wrong Guy as the MC

As a writer myself, I can confirm that it’s not easy writing a great story and it is even harder to write a great main character (MC), but sometimes, the solution is right in your face: pick someone else to be the MC and that alone fixes EVERYTHING. And no, I am not exaggerating. When you pick someone else to take lead of the story, it changes things and sometimes, for the better. Here are a few medias from movies, to shows, to video games who missed the mark due to running with the wrong guy and who should have been the MC instead... Also note that the following is my personal opinion not absolute. Feel free to disagree.

Note that there are spoilers ahead!

Final Fantasy 7: It should have been Barret Wallace. - I know Cloud is beloved for his pretty face and big sword, but if we’re talking about who should have been in the hero’s seat, Barret should have been it. And not just because he would have the first FF MC of his type (black, middle aged, a parent, widower, etc.). Barret had motives that were both heroic and personal at the same time in that he wants to save the planet, but he also has a personal stake against Shin-Ra in what it took from him. Had he been treated like a serious character and took the lead, I think the plot of FF7 would have been much better and he would have brought out better in the cast. In fact, I see so many parallels between him and Cecil from FF4. Also, Barret has a perfect balance between heart and flaws. Not to mention that unlike Cloud, he let go of making everything personal and began to fight for the right reasons in the end. He’s a badass and let’s face it, there aren’t enough MCs out there who are good dads.

Family Matters: It should have kept being Carl and Harriet Winslow. - In the beginning, the underrated couple of sitcom TV were the MC’s, but then the network decided to center the show around Steve Urkel who isn’t even a member of the family. Now, I like Steve Urkel, but he should have stayed a side character the same way Kimmy Gibbler did on Full House. When Carl and Harriet were at the helm, the show was relatable, grounded and just whimsical enough to be fun for the whole family. In never got too silly and did not shy away from serious topics. Most importantly, there was character development which I would have loved to see continue. Steve Urkel may have helped Family Matters get back on its feet, but it was fully capable of continuing to stand on its own and should have.

The Simpsons: It should have kept being Bart Simpson. - Like Family Matters, this kid was the MC initially and he was great. Bart represented what the Simpsons family embodied and why we loved it: it isn’t perfect or saintly, but filled with love and goodness. Bart is also a fun character to follow because he isn’t just funny. He’s resourceful, clever and is quite the hero. Homer is funny, but... when he took the lead, he took the show in another direction which was fun in the beginning, but in the end, became too silly. If Bart stayed in the driver’s seat, the show would have kept its focus as well as its identity. He probably would have also lead it to ending a lot sooner, but that’s not a bad thing.

Dragon Ball Z: It should have been Gohan. - I always got the impression that a part of Akira Toriyama wanted to pass the reigns down to the kid, but never wound up doing so which in my opinion, was a waste. Goku had his heroic arc during the first arc, but in the Z arc, the plot seemed to always lean towards needing a hero like Gohan because he was a better fit for what was needed. You see, Goku is noble too, but he fights for honour and to prove himself. Gohan fights because he must and because he wants to protect those he loves. Had Gohan been the star, I think Z arc could have been much better and Goku would have learned to (finally) grow up alongside his son. I mean, it’s not a bad thing to let go and accept that your journey has come to an end. Where one ends, another begins.

Transformers (2007): It should have been Mikaela Banes. - From the moment she literally took Ravage apart with a chainsaw without messing up her hair, we knew she was more than a pretty face. Mikaela is a fighter and a noble one. The only reason she had a criminal record was because she refused to sell out her dad and even then, there’s more to her. She’s smart, she’s brave, she’s resourceful and has long term life goals. She doesn’t play around nor does she let her involvement with the Transformers get to her head (unlike Sam Witwicky). And as the AU graphic novels showed us, she’s also a born leader. In my opinion, when she left Sam, Bumblebee should have followed suit and followed her instead.

Final Fantasy 6: It should have been Celes Chere. - Don’t get me wrong, Terra is a badass and belonged in the main cast, but she constantly needed to be kicked in the pants. At times, she even came across as a damsel in distress. Celes was always motivated of her own accord and she is a born leader. After all, she took the reigns when Terra was out for the count and during the end of the world, she brought the team back together. And let’s face it, her romance with Locke is heartwarming.

Full House/Fuller House: It should have been Danny Tanner. - Possibly the earliest case of a character getting hijacked in their own show... The story of Full House in general was originally Danny’s story about trying to raise his three daughters after becoming a widower with the help of his best friend and brother-in-law. Had Danny not become the show’s sad clown and instead was the lead, not only would have caught a break, the show itself would have flourished. After all, Danny is raising the family not the other way around. And quite frankly, Michelle as a main character made her and the show insufferable. I even think he should have remained the main character in the sequel series as he has experience being a single parent to pass onto to DJ. If anything, it would have still had that little bit of maturity that the audience so hungrily craved.

Star Wars Episodes 7, 8, 9: It should have been Finn as the hero and Rey as the villain. - I don’t want to be the fan who knocks down the new trilogy because in its defense, it had good bones and introduced good characters who had potential. The problem was that they were given the wrong roles in the story. Finn clearly had a connection to the force and was as plain as day MC material from the get go because like all great Star Wars MCs, he started from the bottom while being clumsy and worked his way up to being a capable young man. In fact, Finn always was motivated and capable. He was just grounded and relatable too because he is still learning to be a rebel. I can say that every time he was on screen, he always inspired me even when he was making mistakes. On the flipside, Rey also had potential, but if there’s one thing she should wound up being, it was the big bad because her greatest motivation was wanting a family though in a way that was obsessive and in so long as she was not in a position where she beneath someone. In other words, her story has a lot of parallels with Anakin Skywalker. Had she gone to the dark side, it ironically would have made her more human because it shows how wanting something obsessively (in her case, a family) even when it is something good, it can become twisted and make you do terrible things. Star Wars is all about growing and working hard towards greatness while cautioning the audience about the pitfalls of obsession, anger and selfishness.

Anyway, that is my list. Do you agree or have anything to add? Let me know. Thanks for reading and as always, stay safe.

[retrodisneydaily]

as someone trying into get into older disney, which 5 (or more) movies would you recommend? thank you!

Hi! Thanks for the question! I'll give you some suggestions here, but I suppose it depends on if you're trying to get into the animated films or the live-action films! I'm also not sure what you've seen, so I apologize if I list something you're already familiar with. I'm going to make this list based off the assumption you're approaching this with a fully clean slate!

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs -- this one might be obvious and as it's a princess movie you've likely already seen it, but I do think of it as essential viewing! you can see so much of what the Disney movies would become while watching this, and can also see the inspiration from the Silly Symphony shorts in how the film is put together! And as the very first feature length animation, it's an important part of film history! Especially if you haven't seen this in a long time, I'd recommend it.

Fantasia -- not my favourite film, but another one that I do think is essential! It's truly a masterpiece in animation, and shows off Walt's imagination in a brilliant way. He was always shooting for the stars, even if things didn't always pay off or work the way he imagined (Fantasia was supposed to be always changing and growing, adding in new segments while removing the old). This film also helped to revolutionize theater sound systems, so again another important part of film history!

The Reluctant Dragon -- I discovered this one back when Disney+ first came out and I think it's a really interesting one! The title short itself leaves a bit to be desired in my opinion, but the first half of the movie is a quasi-documentary of a tour around the Walt Disney studio and teaches a lot about how the films were made! It specifically provides some previews of Dumbo and Bambi if I'm recalling correctly. Really really interesting viewing if you're into behind-the-scenes things like that!

Peter Pan -- this one is my favourite of the classic Disney era, so I have to recommend it! Not much to say here other than it's a fun film, with wonderful animation and some catchy songs! (Content advisory for elements of racism)

Mary Poppins -- another of my personal favourites, and for good reason! Julie Andrews is incredible, the songs are fun, and there's some really great work melding live-action with animation! This one was also nominated for Best Picture, and Julie Andrews won the Oscar for Best Actress! A very important film in the Disney catalogue, and one that always fills me with a warm, fuzzy feeling!

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh -- Winnie the Pooh is such a staple of pop culture nowadays, so it's fun to go back and look at his beginnings with Disney! This is another one that is good to give you warm, fuzzy feelings inside!

The Black Cauldron -- this is far from the best film that the Walt Disney studios has ever created, but I do think it's interesting and worth a watch! This is the film that almost completely bankrupt the studio and the animation department before The Little Mermaid ushered in the Disney Renaissance. I also think this film has a lot of potential (not always lived up to, unfortunately) and is a bit of a hidden gem! It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but again I think it provides for an interesting viewing experience

Thank you so much for the question, and I hope I provided good answers for you! Followers can feel free to chime in with their own thoughts as well, but honestly I feel like you can't go wrong with any of the Disney films! Especially the ones released in the Golden Age (1937-1942) and the Silver Age (1950-1967)

[randombrainworm]

Worm reads Discworld, part 1/41

The Watch sub-series: Guards! Guards!

“Listen, if anyone ever sets fire to this city, it’s going to be me.”

OR: A drunk, a dragon and a dwarf, but somehow nothing’s quite what it seems.

Of course I’m starting with this one. Of course I am. It was an obvious choice. That bastard (affectionately) Samuel Vimes owns my heart. He’s a cynical pragmatic who’s done with the world but at the same time cares deeply about his city, he knows what it means to be poor, to scratch the bottom of the social ladder from the other side of the pavement, his job is the only meaning of his life for a long, long time until she meets a Lady who takes care of dragons for a living (and is quite obsessed with them in fact), is way taller and stronger than him and on a direct opposite of the wealthy spectrum (not that money matters to Vimes) and falls fast and hard for her (relatable. I too would ask Lady Sybil for her hand in marriage). And YET, Vimes’ character doesn’t experience a major shift, he doesn’t decide to give up on his job in Watch and focus on personal life only - no. Unlike many protagonists, Vimes proves that it’s entirely possible to hate-love your job and not abandon it while at the same time make room in your life for something more.

But I’m getting ahead of myself (forgive me, I could write essays about Vimes and Sybil and the importance of the Watch). So let's get back to the book itself:

Ankh-Morpork:

Ankh-Morpork is presented to us in a low point. It’s functioning (somehow), but things aren’t going extremely well. The Watch is a joke, a bunch of nobodies who don’t know any better summon a dragon that, for most of the book, may or may not exist, and the supposed heir to the throne is… An interesting case of a dwarf.

Carrot:

Now, having read later books, I really like Carrot, but the first book didn’t really sell him to me until the last dozen or so pages. Admittedly, he too had to try to wrangle the chaos that’s Ankh-Morpork (which makes this story a good starting point in my opinion - we can watch the city through the prism of an outsider, not that different than ourselves) but I didn’t see much of the “Where people went wrong was thinking that simple meant the same thing as stupid.” (a sentiment explored multiple times in “Men at Arms”). I suppose my main problem was that because of the book’s structure I wasn’t sure until the last moment in I should treat him like one of the main characters or an important support to Vimes’ arc.

General remarks:

The overall plot was pretty straight-forward and you could quite easily figure out where it was going, even though the strangeness of the Discworld still managed to make me raise a brow (the rats… If only they could read). The characters (always Pterry’s strength, in my humble opinion) are diverse and interesting and there’s just enough of the outer layer peeling off to get us hooked in their future development (simple watchmen who maybe are ready to risk their lives instead of pretending All’s fine, even if they do it with eyes tightly shut; the genius Patrician who always has plans B to M at ready). The magic is a tad bit confusing, but that's a given in this series and the fact that it was the first book on my reading list definitely didn't help. The Watchmen getting a swamp dragon as a pet was precious, especially the bit when Carrot bought him a rubber hippo. Not to mey it's good to see a middle-aged woman who's passionate about something and isn't a snob or a blushing mess. Sybil's friendship (?) with Nobby was especially nice, people seen by others as weirdos solidarity for the win!

Rating:

GREEN - from my experience, the first book in the series is always either a total success with later ones being unable to reach its level (this happens when the author put all their good ideas into the first book and had to scrap something together because of the tight deadline) or the first book is the weakest and the rest of the series gets increasingly better as the author gets a feel of what does and what doesn’t work. This is the second case, I believe. Guards! Guards! is a strong basis to build on, should it be other author I’d probably give it PINK, but I know what PTerry is capable of.

Until next time,

Worm

[jewvian]

Five hot takes for five fandoms!

@loupsgarou tagged me in this fun challenge (lol I'm joking, thank you) and all you have to do is as advertised: list (5) unpopular opinions about (5) fandoms

Orphan Black: I loved the Castor plot and thought it added a much needed edge to the whole neolution agenda/experiments. It was sadly wasted very quickly but I still enjoyed the 3rd season a lot. Also! Ari Millen is a phenomenal character and he did so good as the Castor clones.

House of the Dragon: Alicent is actually a very good mother, like she's a great character in general but I feel like the fandom enjoys shitting on her parenting more than anything else. She lost her own mother at a young age, her father is a manipulative dickhead that forced her into a horrible (yet influential, yes) marriage when she was like 15, her only friend hated and resented her for years because of that, and her entire adult life was a play of pretend and convincing herself she is doing this for a greater good. She did her best at raising her kids in those circumstances, kids she bore without a sense of love but only duty. They are still her children, though, and she really does love them and it's just hard to be a functioning human in the environment she lives in - mentally and physically - and yet she tries her best to be a loving parent to them all. Alicent just needs more love y'all.

Doctor Who: I really was excited to hear Russell T. Davies is coming back, but I am way less excited to see his plans for Ten and Donna and whatever nonsense they are brewing in Cardiff. It started as hope for like, going back to the roots vibe and having some silly plots and not always thinking about bigger, darker arcs - just you know, the original rtd run. But the more I hear and read about their plans the less excited I am. It feels to me like they are using that sense of nostalgia to lure the fans back in after the Chris Chibnall fiasco, like they are focusing more on the clout and ratings than the actual heart of the show. I should be clear though, it's just the vibe I'm getting and I hope I'm wrong! I'm just very weary and cautions at this point.

Taskmaster: y'all need to stop shipping Greg and Alex, it's just gross. I don't mind you enjoying their dynamic, like I really love their banters and everything, but actively shipping real people is a red line for me. Also the fact they are actively teasing the fans with it on the actual show, like knowingly, is starting to bother me.

Eurovision: jury votes are necessary to contain the chaos of the public vote. I know I disagree with them a lot, but they do balance out the ridiculousness of some questionable fan choices. The real problem with the jury is whoever the countries pick to be in them, you know what I mean? Like what is the picking process? Who qualifies to sit in them? Who conducts the voting? These are the questions we need to ask, because the juries are an important part of the competition and I would really hate to see them go because of some deep corruption that should be the actual thing to get rid of.

Oof that was hard to get off my chest lol I know some of y'all will be mad at a very specific take (👀) but please remember I love said show! I am just hurt by many many mistakes in the past lol

Tagging time! @pinkieroy @clarabosswald @angelic37 @eshcolit-sgula (lol you popped up on my feed as I made it) and @swallowedabug! No pressure to answer tho! Also if y'all see this and wanna take part yourself - go ahead! It's sort of therapeutic in the end lol

[sapphireprincesire]

Maybe I’m The Problem

Aemond x Fem!OC

Warnings: none in this chapter really, they’re just kids and nothing heavy happens but in the future there will be mentions of noncon for sure and death and possible smut? Minors DNI (my first fic in 10 years so please be patient haha)

Summary: You are a noble lady and meet Aemond for the first time as children. Literally nothing exciting happens in this chapter I’m sorry.

11

Keynna Flint was ten and one when she first glimpsed the Prince. He was a shy thing back then, a couple of years younger than she was- two to be precise- and he truly looked it. In her honest opinion, he looked sad, lonely even. Not that she dared ever voice that opinion but it took her by shock, she never thought- at that age- that a crown Prince could be miserable. She remembers scoffing at the thought; what would a royal have to be sad about? They had everything they could ever need! That was before she knew real sadness, before she understood that sometimes you just can not help but despair.

Her father had chosen to take Keynna and her eldest brother Jevan to accompany him to Kingslanding for the Kings name day celebration. To say Keynna had been disappointed by Kingslanding was an understatement. She’d heard it was lively, warm and vibrant. She had expected so many different colours and cultures and foods. She had heard tales of the gallant knights and beautiful ladies and noble children. In reality it stunk of shit and looked even worse. Even the Red Keep was a disappointment. Keynna had learnt so much about the brilliant House Targaryen in the weeks leading up to their departure for the capital. It seemed it was all a waste. Where was the dragon decorations? The war memorabilia? That was what the Targaryen legacy was after all. Keynna had thought- at the time- take away the Dragons and they’re just like me. Oh how wrong she was. She was extremely disappointed when the Red Keep was decorated by someone who was an obvious devout Faith of the Seven worshipper. Where was the excitement? Where was the life? The Dragons? The feeling of being let down was so deep she tried to not let it spoil her trip but it had actually made her want to call her carriage back and go home.

Keynna had spotted him at the feast, sat between two children whom she supposed were his siblings as they all had the identical white hair that Targaryens were so commonly associated with. There were other children sat at his table too- all dark haired and sweet faced. They didn’t look sad. Not like him. Her brother had teased her for staring at the Princes, which made her beige skin flush pink as she ducked her head down, trying to hide her embarrassment.

The days dwindled on as herself and Jevan tried to keep each other preoccupied. Their Lord father, Brandeth Flint, never said it to them but they knew they were not permitted to train or play with the royal children, even though they came from a noble House, they were not quite as important. Neither minded. They explored the gardens and as much as the Keep as they could. One night they snuck out in search of the kitchens to see if they could sneak any sweets out but were caught by their Lord father before they could get far. He was chuckling to himself as he tucked them both into their shared bed, shaking his head and telling tales of young children who were whisked away in the night by terrible monsters.

The Flint family were only staying a sennight in Kingslanding, so on the eve of their departure, Keynna thought she would try her luck sneaking from her shared chambers. She had remembered briefly visiting the library and wanting to see if they had any interesting books but Jevan had insisted they did something ‘fun’ instead. What could go wrong? She remembered the way to the library- it was not a far walk. And she would don her robe and grab a candle and make sure she lit it once in the safety of the library.

So she did exactly that. Everything in her sleuth plan was going perfectly. That was until she bumped into the Prince, literally speaking. Keynna had finished reading the Fairytale book in the library, exstinguished her flame, and hurried out into the cold halls, trying not to make too much noise. Her footsteps echoed down the hall as she bolted towards her chambers. She didn’t want to think of what her father would say if he saw her out of bed this late. In her haste, she rounded a corner too fast and slammed into something soft and warm. Large books scattered onto the floor and she winced as she heard the slap of skin hit the cold, stone floor.

Straining her eyes in the dimly lit corridor, she saw the outline of a young boy. No. Not any young boy. The Prince. Her skin flushed the same colour it had at the feast.

“Your Grace! I apologise…profusely! I did not mean to-” Keynna started.

But the Prince cut her off, “It is alright.” His face showed no emotion as his lilac eyes scanned over her body, “What are you doing out of bed?” Keynna bent down, scurrying to pick up the young Princes books, but struggling due to the sheer size of them.

A curious expression painted across his face as he watched her. “You do not have to do that. I was not looking where I was going.”

She stayed silent. Keynna didn’t want to get into any trouble. Who knew what the Queen would say if she’d seen her knock down her beloved son. Once she’d picked the last book up she outstretched her arms, silently begging the Prince to take them off her hands so that she could leave and find solace in her shared room. But the Prince didn’t move. In fact, he had not moved that entire time. He was still sprawled on the floor, both arms propping his upper body up, having previously stopped his fall.

They stayed like that for what felt like hours to Keynna.

“Here…please take them. I must go back to my chambers.” Keynna said, her voice barely above a whisper. The young Prince frowned for a moment and then pushed himself up from the stone floor. Keynna watched him, her eyes wide. She had a terrible feeling in her stomach- a feeling of impatience…No! It was urgency. Her arms started to shake under the weight of the thick books. Keynna needed him to hurry up. If her father noticed her gone she knew she would be in trouble. He would be worried.

“You have not answered my question.” The Prince stated, his soft lilac eyes trained on Keynna’s face as his hands brushed off his Dragon detailed tunic.

“What question?” Keynna asked, she couldn’t recall him asking a question, she couldn’t even recall him speaking. All she could think was how improper this situation was.

“What are you doing out of bed?”

Keynna’s plump lips parted into a circular shape as her mind worked out whether or not lying would get her into more or less trouble. She decided against lying to him, there was something in his stare that said even if she did lie, he would know. “I snuck out of my chambers…I um…I wanted to explore the library here…Your Grace.”

“Aemond.”

“Pardon?”

“My name is Aemond. Please call me Aemond.” A soft smile danced across his lips. Keynna gulped. “And your name is…?”

“K-Keynna Flint, Yo-Aemond.” The words came out stuttered. She felt her face redden even more.

“Do you wish me to walk you to your chambers?” Aemond asked. There was something in his tone. Keynna wasn’t sure what it was- it did sound like genuine concern but whose to say he wasn’t mocking her.

Shaking her head, she took a step forward, almost stumbling. The leather bound books in her arms were close to toppling onto the floor again. Realising her struggle- or perhaps not wanting Keynna to hold his belongings any longer- the young Prince grabbed the books from her skinny arms and tucked them into his chest. Keynna let her arms drop to her side. They were aching.

She wished to escape but did not want to risk being rude to a royal. So she stood there, adjusting her weight from one leg to another, painfully aware of the fact that she was at least three inches taller than the Prince. It felt uncomfortable. It felt wrong. It felt like he was scrutinising every flaw of hers- his eyes scanning her face. She felt vulnerable, exposed. Looking back on this moment, Keynna knew it was not scrutiny- it was concern. But her younger self was very self conscious, always towering over girls and boys her age. She always felt she was all arms and legs, always felt like she stuck out. That’s why she didn’t trust that Aemond wanted to help.

“I don’t want to talk right now. I must go back. I am sorry Your Grace. Goodnight.” Before he could respond, Keynna had darted past him, practically sprinting down the corridor towards her and Jevans shared chamber. Her heart raced as she slipped back into the soft, silken sheets. Her brothers soft snores hiding the sound of her shallow breaths.

Keynna didn’t sleep much that night.

Neither did the Prince.

The next morning, she remembered having a weird feeling in her throat as she thought of the long journey home.

When they were saying farewell to the royal family and all of the other noble houses, most of whom she didn’t bother to speak to, Keynna could feel the heavy gaze of Aemond on her. Bravely, she caught his eye a few times, where he would offer her a small smile, which she forced herself to return, hoping that her cheeks didn’t show her embarrassment again.

She could still feel his gaze on her as they left Kingslanding to journey back home, even though he was long gone.

She could still feel his gaze on her as they entered Flint Fingers castle, even though he was leagues away.

She could still feel his gaze on her as she drifted to sleep every night, she wondered if he felt her too.

[queen-scribbles]

2022 Writer Summary

Okay, here we go.  Not necessarily my favorite or best piece(s) for each month, might be I tried something new, or I’m just really proud of a bit of dialogue, or feel it’s good rep for how I write a character/pairing

· January ·

"I couldn’t sleep” prompt ∙ Dragon Age∙ Harvey Cousland/Trinne Amell

“You could go get some sleep,” [Trinne] offered, then cleared her throat, flicking a nearby dandelion and watching the winged seeds dance off into the darkness.  “This one was a doozy, I don’t think I’ll be gettin’ more myself any time soon.”

Harvey shook his head. “I’m doing alright.” And I’m not leaving you alone. “It’s only another hour or so, I’ll be fine.”

This, too, had become a familiar dance over the past several months.

This smile reached her eyes and felt like an accomplishment. “Alright, Cousland, your loss.”

·February·

Unbidden ∙SWtOR ∙ Endrali Jade/Arcann Tirall

The unbidden warmth sprang back to life in his chest as he reshaped the alloy so it all matched the pieces he’d thought were too small before. It had a purpose now, beyond giving him something to do or proving the echo of his father wrong. It was for her.

“Few things are completely lost causes,” Endrali’s voice wove through his thoughts and Arcann almost smiled to himself, the golden alloy warming in his hand.

·March·

Old Habits ∙ KotOR II ∙ Evony Xara/Bao-Dur

Evony crossed her arms, concern squeezing her heart at the sight.  “You’re supposed to be resting.”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Bao-Dur said quietly, voice hoarse and as death-warmed-over as the rest of him looked. (She tried not to dwell on how near the truth that was.) He glanced down at the tools spread out on the workbench. “And you know what they say about old habits.”

Evony mustered a small smile as she nodded. “I’m glad old friends are another thing that die hard.”

·April· 

(gets two bc I cannot pick between them 😅)

Favoritism · Wrath of the Righteous ∙ Etain Torren/Vikkari Damson

Sunrise arrived in full as [Etain] spoke, golden beams filtering through the trees to catch the swirling remnants of mist behind her and Vikkari would have sworn he actually saw angel’s wings. He blinked and started to dismiss it as getting caught up in the moment, before he saw her shadow, cast long and bold on the grass.

It had wings, too. [...] They were breath-taking, almost dazzling even as a suggestion made of dew and shadow. Subtle but beautiful, an aura of care and command. Awe-inspiring.

A perfect match, in his opinion, for the woman they graced.

Unbowed ∙ SWtOR ∙ Endrali Jade/Arcann Tirall

It was all he could do to keep his breathing even as her fingers ghosted over his scarred cheek, her thumb smoothing away the cut on his lip as if it never existed.

“Better?” she asked, withdrawing her hand.

You make a great many things better. “Thank you, Commander.” It came out hoarse and Arcann cleared his throat as he turned to look for his lightsaber, finally raising his hand to call it to him. It was as good a distraction as any.

May

For the Record ∙ Greedfall∙ Vesper de Sardet/Kurt

Kurt let her grab his wrist and steer him over to a boulder, sat without prompting so she could get a better look.  “It’s really not that bad–”

“Says the man who can’t see it, and stitched up his own bullet wound,” she said, nudging his hat out of the way.

“That was a graze.” His voice was rife with amusement on the familiar rebuttal. He slid the hat off and sat it off to the side with his sword.

“My point,” Vesper said, pausing to catch his eye, “is that your scale for ‘not that bad’ skews quite a bit from the norm. For the record.”

The corners of Kurt’s mouth pulled up in a small smile and he tipped his head in concession of that much, at least. “And you, Sweet Excellency, worry too much. For the record.”

·June·

a helping hand ∙ KotOR ∙ Kenna Tasman/Carth Onasi

“All teasing aside, thanks for your help, Carth. This would’ve been a lot harder on my own.” Near-impossible, [Kenna] acknowledged to herself, and she didn’t just mean dealing with her shoulder.

He gave her a crooked smile, the same one that had accompanied the words don’t get yourself in a twist over it, gorgeous and shrugged. “I’m sure you’ll return the favor many times over.”

“Planning to get yourself beat up a lot, Onasi?” she asked dryly as she sat on the edge of her bed. Now that her shoulder didn’t hurt so much, she really wanted a nap.

“Only if I have you around to save my butt,” he shot back.

·July·

(another twofer)

Of Warden & Pariahs ch 45 ∙ Dragon Age ∙ Trinne Amell & Harvey Cousland

Trinne was too short on sleep, too angry to play at civility. “Which he was only able to do b’cause you thought you deserved better than any other family with a mage child,” she ground out, “and tried to keep it a secret. And have apparently decided that makes everything his fault; Connor couldn't have done anything, even unintentionally, and you had good reasons, which makes you blameless. It’s not your fault, you didn’t mean for it to happen. So it had to be all Jowan’s doing and you tortured him for something that wasn’t his fault!” Ironically, the only part of this mess that wasn’t. Her fingers dug into her arms for a modicum of self-control. “In case it’s relevant in the future, arlessa, torturing a mage is a good way to wind up with an abomination, rather than whatever you were aimin’ to get from them. You’re lucky he’s tougher than he looks!”

Black Ale Chase ∙ SWtOR ∙ Eisza Merik/Bloodworthy*

“Looks like we both lost that one,” Bloodworthy commented, nodding across the table. She followed the gesture to her tipped-over shot glass, still rocking from her rush setting it down.

“I wouldn’t call it losing,” she said as she returned to her seat. “But at least it makes us even.” She winked at him.

He winked back with a smile, and Eisza couldn’t fight the answering grin as she righted her glass to wait for a refill.

Mako was gonna freak that she’d missed this.

·August·

same as always ∙ Greedfall ∙ Vesper/Kurt

[Vesper] was studying his face like she saw something of his struggle. “I told you your support means the world to me.” Her hand slid higher on his arm. “I want to support you, too.”

Kurt took an unsteady breath, thoughts full of her dogged pursuit for the truth about what happened to Reiner, of them saving Wilhelm, her putting a bullet through Rolf’s head, full of righteous fury nearly the match of Kurt’s own. Of nighttime conversations held shoulder-to-shoulder in whispers as they watched their surroundings, of her quiet–poorly concealed–indignation at the presumptions people made of him.

“You do, Vesper,” he finally murmured, voice still hoarse and heart pounding in his chest. “More than you know.”

·September·

handholding prompt 45 ∙ Wayhaven Chronicles ∙ Janine Elder/Felix Hauville

“Hey, you asked what I wanted to do, babe,” Felix pointed out, amber eyes sparkling. “Maybe gloating that I have an awesome girlfriend is on the list.”

She couldn’t help herself. Janine pressed her forehead to his, her finger tracing light patterns against his back. “Does that come before opening presents…” Kissed him briefly, lightly. “Or after?”

Felix considered for a moment, hand sliding to the back of her neck. “How ‘bout both?” he murmured with a grin as he kissed her back more deeply.

·October·

The Long Burning Torch ch 6 ∙ Shepherds of Haven ∙ Xaeryn Shrike/Red Antiqua

“Do you… want to dance?”

[Xaeryn’s] better judgment, struggling to hold years of unspoken sentiment at bay, immediately insisted it was a bad idea. She would let slip something she shouldn’t, make things awkward, lose a friend. She’d been worried about the risk of this very scenario, remember?

She did remember. She’d also never managed to tell Red Antiqua no in her life and didn’t really want to start now. Not when he was looking at her like that; all boyish grin and twinkle in his eyes. She’d been right, she wasn’t strong enough. “Sure.”

·November· 

Every Minute ∙ Mass Effect ∙ Emily Shepard/Kaidan Alenko

“Emily.” Kaidan lifted his head from her shoulder and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I know my limits, sweetheart,” he murmured, squeezing her hand.

“And I know how far you used to push yourself past them,” she countered, squeezing back. “I don’t want you feeling like you have to do that-”

“I don’t,” Kaidan promised, cutting her off. “And I’m not. Trust me.” He leaned in and kissed her. “I’m not gonna let a little headache stop me from having dinner with my wife tonight.”

·December·

Tradition ∙ SWtOR ∙ Briyoni Nerai/Jonas Balkar & Vica Nerai/Theron Shan

The sweater was a darker red than the one for her sister, with black collar, hem, and cuffs. Snow-capped mountains and volcanic steam vents alternated in a pattern around the sleeves and waist, the upper portion of the chest dominated by a wampa with arms raised and a giant white pompom nose. The words ‘Hoth Stuff’ were embroidered over the steam vents to the right and left of the beast.

“Oh. My-” [Jonas’] shoulders shook trying to hold back the full force of warranted laughter. He only partially succeeded. “Briyoni, you know there’s no way in hell he’ll wear that, right? I don’t have that much blackmail material on him.”

“Vic batting her eyes and saying please might work,” Bry drawled.

*a note for Black Ale Chase, the pub dat on AO3 is n August, but both prompt fills that make it up are from July, and I am proud of my rarepair fic, so I’m counting it for July

[sezja]

Oc questions? For when you want them.

I’m asking because I care. Sorry too many questions maybe.

Is Sanaii around which height? Short or tall for her race?

What about Nerise and Marty?

Fenumin ever changes hairstyle?

Favorite fact about Erna?

Why did Sanaii Viera dad left his community?

Can Sanaii and Nerise swim?

If Sanaii and Nerise and Marty met how would they react and what would they think of the other?

Is Sanaii expressive with tail and ears?

Does Nerise makes peace with loosing everything she knew? What about dragon company with his different ways of perceiving time?

Marty and Tsihm have any other goals in life or plan on setting down where they are doing what they are doing?

Tsihm ever wishes she had formal teaching as botanist?

Marty ever regrets his crimes? Or thinks about them? Not in a way that would judge those he left behind, just his own actions and why they are considered wrong.

Tsihm ever talks to her family and friends again?

Any chance either would ever return to the Shroud?

Nerise opinions about Francel when she met him and later during Firmament? To make you struggle dragon company opinions?

Nerise explained the fact she had a dragon around for Haurchefant how?

Do you have any White Mage? Play healer?

Sanaii, Nerise and Marty deepest regrets?

I tried choosing the most recent ocs I remembered even if Sanaii is being ffxiv rebuilt.

Hopefully this is okay <3

<3 <3 <3

OC heights: Sanaii's sort of middling! Around the 55 marker on the height slider, I think. And while she's still young, I don't expect she'll get much taller, though she kind of hopes she will. Nerise and Marty are both max height. (Most of my OCs are max height, in fact.)

Fenumin's hairstyle: The only person who sees Fenumin with his hair down is his fuckbuddy, Mi'Enasalin. Other than that, he always wears it pulled into a bun, no exceptions.

Favorite Erna Fact: She's a surprisingly good cook! This really shouldn't be a surprise, with her father being a culinarian, but she's such a scatterbrain that most people are startled anyway. She's very good at making decent meals out of limited ingredients, and she keeps her party well-fed. (Silent Fox jokes that it's the only reason she keeps Erna around.)

Why Zephyr left: Lots of reasons, really, but it kind of boils down to just not wanting to be alone. Zephyr didn't like the isolation male viera were expected to endure - he did want a family, and didn't like the idea of rarely seeing them. He also wanted to see the world, to be a part of the world, rather than letting it slip past him. He's never regretted leaving.

Can the girls swim: Nerise actually had to learn to swim after her jump through time. She never had much cause to learn before, and only knew enough to keep herself afloat. She learns in La Noscea - she refuses to face Leviathan without knowing how to swim if she falls in the water! Swimming is one of the many skills Sanaii learns from her fathers; she's not sure if she knew how before her memory loss.

If they met: Marty would be great with both of them - much like his brother, Marty's very chill and laid-back. Nerise is a little less good with people, but as long as they're not rude to her right out of the gate, she's likely to be friendly enough, though I feel like she'd be absolutely baffled by Sanaii running around on her own - Nerise was getting into trouble at a young age, too, but she had a wyvern to watch her back! And Sanaii would... mostly be startled by the presence of Sohl Amh, honestly.

Is Sanaii expressive: Yes. She's more expressive with her ears and tail than she is with her face, most of the time.

Do Nerise and Sohl Amh make peace with their losses: Sort of. Nerise handles it by trying not to think about it, and trying not to blame herself for what happened to Ratatoskr - Ratatoskr died some hundred years or so after Nerise was pulled from her own time, after all; there's likely nothing she could have done, but the lingering "What If I could have changed things" stays with her. That and wishing she'd been brave enough to confess her feelings to Milla, and wondering what ever became of her in the end. Sohl Amh finds themself in the very strange position of being both older and younger than many dragons alive now. Even given that their own sense of time is far longer than Nerise's, the changes in the world are jarring. These are changes that should have only come to pass after a lengthy rest - but instead it feels as though they simply blinked and the world abruptly altered itself behind their eyelids.

Marty and Tsimh's plans: Neither of them had any particularly grand plans in mind before Marty's exile to La Noscea, and they haven't developed any since; they're content to settle down as farmers. They do get married once they're settled in, and start discussing the possibility of having or adopting kids.

Tsimh and botany: She does kind of wish she'd been properly trained as a botanist! It's not a deep regret, but it's there. She's happy enough to be taught by the other farmers in the area now, though. She feels like she's learning a lot.

Marty's regrets: Not really! He regrets not telling Tsimh, and on some level he regrets taking risks with the elementals and the like - but no, he doesn't really regret the life he lived, or the crimes he committed to live it. He understands why poaching is a crime, and he understands the dangers inherent in poaching in the Shroud, but it kept him alive and fed for most of his life.

Tsimh's friends and family: She writes letters to her family and friends... though her parents strongly disapprove of her relationship with Marty, and frequently beg her to come back home in their letters. When she tells them she's married him, they stop writing back to her for several moons.

Do they ever return to the Shroud: Not for a long time - Marty never does, content to meet his Redbelly friends in La Noscea, but Tsimh does eventually make short trips back home. She always comes back frustrated with her family. She's fairly sure they'd keep her in the Shroud by force if they could.

Nerise and Francel: Like most of the Ishgardians she meets, she's not impressed by Francel at first. She's in a very strange position, being what Ishgard considers a heretic herself, attempting to defend him against accusations of heresy - but defend him she does, to the best of her ability, with her limited understanding of how modern-day Ishgard works. On the advice of Alphinaud, Sohl Amh wisely stays well away from the proceedings in Coerthas, only turning up to aid Nerise in the fight against the false Inquisitor and his wyvern, departing before blades can be turned on them, instead.

She's far warmer toward Francel later, of course - and he remembers and thanks Sohl Amh for their contributions to saving his life, as well.

Nerise and Haurchefant: As mentioned above, Sohl Amh stays away during most of the Coerthas arc. Haurchefant learns about Sohl Amh after the trial, when Nerise explains to him exactly why a dragon swooped in to their rescue - but she claims they're not from Dravania, and thus not part of Nidhogg's horde. This is the same story used to later explain how Sohl Amh comes to be admitted into Ishgard, though they wisely stay out of sight there as much as possible; not everyone believes the tale, and no one is pleased to have a dragon sheltering within Ishgard's walls, companion to the Champion of Eorzea or no.

Healers: Yep! Silent Fox (SCH), Halan Soilanteaux (WHM), Stephan Fletcher (WHM), Dirthamen Renan (AST), and Faine Thievenaix (WHM) are all healer mains.

Regrets: Sanaii: Not sure yet. She regrets losing her memory, but that isn't really her fault. Nerise: Not telling Milla how she felt before Hydaelyn yanked her through time. Marty: Not telling Tsimh the truth about his poaching sooner; not trusting that she wouldn't leave him for it.

[astertiae]

for the character thing - judai, jarchivist, jack atlas

I am kissing you on the cheek MWAH very many J’s 👀

Judai

Favorite: he’s a really good subversion of a rousing speeches hero type protagonist! I love that he’s a little bit monstrous, that he comes back from the horrors changed, with the knowledge that that part of him was there all along

Least favorite: the way he treats other people, especially Syo, Kenzan, and Misawa

Favorite line: “we’re from the future. No big whoop.”

BroTP: with Pharaoh (the cat)! I can’t in good conscience brotp judai with any of the students tbh

OTP: heroshipping (Judai x Edo)

NoTP: fianceshipping (Judai x Asuka)

Random headcanon: his parents put a lot of pressure on him as an only son and instead of going the manjoume snapping route, he went the “I’ll do whatever I want” route

Unpopular opinion: he’s not actually that good of a duel strategist, but he has incredibly lucky draws

Song I associate with them: Girl Anachronism by The Dresden Dolls, Perfect by Simple Plan, I Am Not A Robot by MARINA (I swear I had other songs but I forgot them entirely oops)

Favorite picture of them: PLEASE view this art below

Jarchivist:

Favorite: He really does care for others and wants to honor them and do right by them, in his own way

Least favorite: His recklessness, like there was no way in hell the table wasn’t ACTIVELY HOLDING SOMETHING BACK sorry you’re not genre savvy 🙄

Favorite line: “Supplemental: I’m in the tunnels”

BroTP: I would’ve liked more Jon and Sasha and Jon and Basira moments tbh, they had good snarky friend vibes

OTP: JonMartin, naturally

NoTP: JonElias, I really don’t get it

Random headcanon: he looks like his mom, which upset his grandmother when he was little and she was raising him

Unpopular opinion: Sasha would have become The Archivist faster than Jon did

Song I associate with them: Annabel’s Lament from Paul Shapera’s The Dolls of New Albion: A Steampunk Opera, Amen from Frankenstein: A New Musical (2008)

Favorite picture of them: I haven’t looked up magnus art in SO long, + podcast char = no canon appearance, so just. Imagine a guy, I guess :/ No jkjk lol I like how spooksier draws him! (See link below!)

Jack Atlas:

Favorite: His integrity as a duelist! Jack may be a shit person who -checks notes- threw his friends to the dogs, betrayed his loved ones, and stole Yusei’s ace card and D-wheel, BUT he did also refuse to continue being the King knowing Yusei would have fairly beaten him if the red dragon hadn’t appeared. I think he’s just a funky little guy tbh, he’s a compelling and interesting character

Least favorite: see above the whole point about “abandoning his loved ones for profit”

Favorite line: uhhh I haven’t gotten very far in the anime yet, but maybe “Yes, but it (30$ coffee) makes you feel like a million” this line lives rent free (unlike Crow who has to pay rent)

BroTP: team satisfaction, I guess?

OTP: I’m not far enough to see him have meaningful relationships with anyone except Yusei yet 😭 tentatively I’m gonna say Jack/Carly because I know Of Carly as a Concept

NoTP: don’t really have one, but Jack with anyone not age appropriate for him is a no go

Random Headcanon: he has a super strong satellite accent that makes it near impossible for him to talk in public (for fear of exposing his past) without rehearsing a TON to perfect his accent first

Unpopular opinion: he’s so ugly 😭 also his name is actually Jack Atlus and we’re all spelling it wrong (this is canon actually)

Song I associate with them: King by Lauren Aquilina, The Crooked, The Cradle by The Crane Wives, Ancient History also by The Crane Wives

Favorite picture of them: this one, it’s so silly lol

Thank you for the ask, I appreciate you sm!!! 😭