#i crave talent

[pagodazz]

"Alex Kralie and habit" this... "Patrick and habit" that..... what about Patrick and Alex guys...... I think they'd be so silly together... they'd be constantly trying to out smart the other it'd be annoying

[obsmax]

i wish words loved me as much as i love them.

[bowieasindavid]

this is my tattoo idea lmk if anyone can actually draw it

[ninacarstairss]

there is a tremendous lack of chloe green and shara wheeler content on this app and we should be fixing that

[keian44]

I have a lot of thoughts on the trailer for DA4, and the reaction surrounding it, but my thoughts are disjointed, so bear with me.

Firstly, I can see why people were criticizing the art direction. It did look more stylized in the trailer, and certain moments (like the googly-eyed-looking large darkspawn during Davrin's intro) did make me raise an eyebrow. That said, if a more stylized direction keeps them away from the uncanny valley/facial glitches from Andromeda, or the now very soulless stares of modern RPGS like Starfield (because they didn't use mocap like Larian), then I'm all right with it. I appreciate all art, including stylized--and as long as it's well-done, feels alive, and is appropriate for the setting--sure.

Characters aside, the backgrounds and environments look stunning so far. The city streets behind Lucanis's intro looks gorgeous; they recently released a clip of Minrathous that looks amazing; the screenshots they released of other environment looks dark, foreboding, and atmospheric. I am not concerned with the direction of the environment/world-building at all, and am excited to see more of it, especially since they've said we'll visit countries in Thedas that we've never seen before. (Fingers crossed that the open world is done well and isn't just a barren landscape.)

Next, the tone. Yes, I see what people mean when they say that it was huge departure from the tone of the series. BUT, I think the trailer was meant to be a fun intro of the companions--not establish the tone of the game. It was told by Varric, who we know loves to embellish his tales, and I think Bioware was banking on that fact and on our love of Varric to carry through. Unfortunately, Bioware is on very thin ice with gamers, thanks to disappointments like Andomeda and Anthem, so it was a definite miss to release the trailer when they did. All we've heard about for years now is how the game has been scrapped and changed; they laid off a bunch of veteran folks; then they just announced a name change. We don't know what the hell is going on. The smart thing to do would have been to release a trailer (like the gameplay teaser they've recently released: https://www.tumblr.com/felassan/752915533833306112?source=share) that shows the direction of the game, so people know what to expect, then release the campy Varric-narrated companion trailer. (Also to those who say the trailer feels really disney/marvel/fortnite (of which I've seen lots of comments about)... it's Varric. He's probably retelling the story. It sounds like Varric to me, anyway.)

Varric being used so heavily in marketing when they unceremoniously laid off his creator/writer last year is something else I've seen people be upset about. And fair. It does suck. That's an EA/top of Bioware (which goes back to EA) issue, though? Why are we faulting the Bioware devs who are still trying to make a good game despite their bosses' poor business practices? Ngl, I was suprised by the amount of hate in the trailer's youtube comments--like sure the trailer wasn't fantastic, but to claim that all the good devs left and all the bad ones remained? That seems inappropriate to me. Sure, Bioware's lost so many people over the years that it's not even the original Bioware anymore, but there are still old-timers there. The creative director for DA4 is someone named Jon Epler, who's been there since before DA:O. Trick Weekes is still there--you know, the person who wrote Solas. Sheryl Chee, the original writer of Leliana, is there too. But also, why is the old automatically better than the new? They've hired so many new people, and I'm sure that breathes life into the IP. Pretty sure some of the devs over at Larian were inspired by Bioware (distinctly remember reading how one of the lead Larian writers grew up on Garrus/Shepard fics) so heck, maybe Bioware's just as talented or maybe even more talented now than before. (I have no clue; I have no insight into Bioware.) Change isn't inherently bad.

One thing that hasn't changed? BioWare's commitment to representation, as shown by the companions. They were one of the first studios to have queer characters, characters of color, etc. and they are still doing it! Even with EA's boot on their necks! That alone makes me want to support that group of devs, because if they flop, what will that do? BioWare gets shut down? Then what? Do we win anything? No--but we'll lose a dev group who's still committed to equality and showing diversity. It might even show corporate heads that maybe they should just focus on catering to the white males gamers after all.

I think BioWare is in the unenviable place of dealing with decades of expectation (which they can never meet, because people have had so long to headcanon and build up their own unique expectations) and being heavily scrutinized due to recent flops (which is fair, their two most recent releases have been mediocre at best). It feels like gamers want to hate on them, though, and are just waiting for any excuse to. They are scrutinized in a way that goes above and beyond the norm. I then noticed a decent amount of comments on Youtube about "wokeness" and "DEI" and realized some of the complaints about art direction might actually be bigots complaining about all the diversity they see on screen. Through those comments I discovered the most recent game director is a trans woman, and previously mainly worked on the Sims. (These claims were lobbied like damning revelations.) Learning that, and seeing all the representation on screen (Bellara is asian, Davrin is black, Neve has an artificial limb and is a POC, Emmrich is old, Taash is qunari, Harding is a dwarf, and Lucanis might be the only conventionally-attractive possibly-white man?) made me want to circle my wagon around them and defend them. Because, yeah, sure, EA is evil and has predatory business practices. If they release the game piece-meal, have season passes, etc. you can be sure I'll be voicing my displeasure, but Bioware? I can bet the people who work there are just creatives who are trying to make a good game. (Again, I don't have insight into the studio, so if anyone does and reveals it's actually a toxic work environment then oops.)

Now, if you don't enjoy open-world or the fast-paced action combat that they're advertising, fair enough. I personally prefer turn-based rpgs or one involving more tactics like Origins, too. But whatever, I can deal, if the game is fun and well made. I've had 2 games and close to 15 years to accept they'll never make another dragon age like Origins again. And I did just say that change isn't inherently bad.

I guess to conclude... maybe check if you're being overly critical of a game without having even seen real gameplay footage yet. Maybe the game will suck, and that will suck for all of us. But I'm rooting for the devs to pull one out of their hat.

[ronqueesha]

.

[doom-dreaming]

downloading insane amounts of mods is probably the healthiest alternative to the highly-expensive shopping binges my chemical imbalances crave

[skitskatdacat63]

So in the boy king au, we know nando falling in love is a... process. but how long and why does seb fall in love with nando?

Aaaaaagh great question!!!!

Seb is pretty infatuated with Nando from the start, well at least the idea of him. His council does *not* want this marriage to work out(they'd rather get into a war and completely rule Spain, then having to barter for it through marriage like this.) Seb knows this, and he's a little brat who always gets anything he wants, right? So of course when he hears of this, he's now like, *I must have him,* and gets obsessed and fascinated with the idea of Fernando. And he also already remembers Fernando as this older boy he had a silly childish crush on when he was a kid, so that adds to his desire.

I think he definitely also takes to fall genuinely in love with him. That's why there's all that stuff about Fernando just being his "kept wife." Because I think they both have trouble viewing each other as real people, rather than just larger-than-life figures/caricatures. Seb originally just views Fernando as something to be won, something to gain, like obtaining a fancy horse or property, or new title(wink.) And Fernando can't help but just see Seb as a kid playing dress up and pretending to be a ruler, undeserving of everything he has.

I think the way they fall in love is gradually just understanding the humanity of the other. They realize they can both learn valuable things from the other. And that they're more similar than they think, and that they have a lot more in common then they ever would be comfortable admitting. It's hard to put an amount of time duration on it thought, its a gradual thing, y'know? I think though probably they have some outside opposition at some point, and end up defending each other unprompted. Ex:

Someone says Fernando shouldn't be the King of Spain. Seb gets *super* offended and lists a bunch of reasons about why Fernando is fit to be King. It's funny because he wouldn't admit this to Fernando even under duress, but then he willingly defends Fernando in front of the entire court, even though it undermines his own position(bcs he's basically admitting that he has no right to that throne and Fernando always was the rightful ruler.)

Someone accuses Seb of being an immature ruler and not being suited for the position of Emperor. Fernando gets sooooo pissed and is all like "you think my husband isn't suited?? You think I would agree to marry a man who isn't suited to be emperor?? You think I'd willingly demean myself in that way!?" Even though he constantly calls Seb immature and unsuitable to his face. But absolutely God forbid someone else imply that. It's so offense to him because he eventually considers Seb to be an extension of himself, so it's like he's being insulted as well.

[plasticcrotches]

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE WRITE/DRAW A STEDDIE AS STUCKY AU

[vaguely-concerned]

This is a really interesting panel with the developers at Summerfall studios, giving some cool insight into how the process of making the game worked! it helped me put some words to the thing I maybe loved the most about Stray Gods -- the way that every single character in it feels very deeply loved, in all their messiness and struggles and stuckness, all the way from the writing to the art to the music. They're very different but all feel like they were somebody's favourite character, and it's nice to hear that that seems to be because it's basically true lol

Austin Wintory also has some great videos on his channel breaking down the nitty gritty of how on earth you make an interactive musical that works, as well as looking deeper at different songs and explaining things like why there're four official versions of the soundtrack (!)

[ariesbilly]

Haunted by the anon I got a few years ago asking if I thought one day Hollywood would just make totally cgi movies instead of filming on location and I was like “haha no that’s silly people still like authenticity”

Cut to now and that Twitter thread Justine Bateman posted about how actors images are being signed away in contracts if they’re not careful and how peoples voices are being artificially generated and they really just wanna make everything fake and phony so the big heads don’t have to pay people like we are in hell world!!!

[inklessletter]

Hey you.

I'm sure you've got some nice things to share about yourselves and I am in the need of hearing nice things today, so we all win!

Send me an ask and share something that warmed your heart this week, something that made you smile or fall in love, while I reply some asks I've still got in my inbox!

(Sorry I disappeared for a few days, I kind of needed it. I don't know if I still do)

🌼🌼🌼

[leviiackrman]

All I want… is to commission other amazing artists… to draw my babies…

[ultfan]

BOLD any fears which apply to your muse. italicize what makes them uncomfortable.

the dark ⋆ fire ⋆ open water ⋆ deep water ⋆ being alone ⋆ crowded spaces ⋆ confined spaces ⋆ change ⋆ failure ⋆ war ⋆ loss of control ⋆ powerlessness ⋆ prison ⋆ blood ⋆ drowning ⋆ suffocation ⋆ public speaking ⋆ natural animals ⋆ the supernatural ⋆ heights ⋆ death ⋆ dying ⋆ intimacy ⋆ rejection ⋆ abandonment ⋆ loss ⋆ the unknown ⋆ the future ⋆ not being good enough ⋆ scary stories ⋆ speaking to new people ⋆ poverty ⋆ loud noises ⋆ being touched ⋆ forgetting ⋆ being forgotten

[shedontlovehuhself]

I miss the Bridgewater fan arts and BW/SPN crossover posts and fanfics, ngl.

[fawnferns]

shoutout to the sims community for always being on the same page 

i love it here