#this is probably why i never get tired playing dao

[citrinie]

Yesss. Blackwall is everything. He’s honestly so well written. Hope you enjoy. I wanted to romance him with a Dalish elf too at some point. I know everyone loves him with Cadash, but his romance animations only work well for Lavellan and Trevelyan so I doubt I’ll ever give it a go. Anyways, please tell me all about your canon playthrough. All your major game decisions. Who you romanced etc.

totally agree with you on that! Blackwall's character is very nicely written which makes him unique to me 🥺 i feel like we have so many sad grey wardens, but it will never be enough lol so far i have only played as lavellan and trevelyan. now in my head the inquisitor is an elf bc i have mostly only played as female lavellan 🧝‍♀️

you asked nonnie, so under the cut is just a “small essay” of my canon playthrough 😅 i could talk abt DA for infinity and never get tired of it, so i did get a little carried away but here you go!

my inquisitor:

my canon playthrough for DAI is a female dalish mage inquisitor. her name is Ithil. she is a raven-haired, pale-skinned elf with purple eyes. she has a very intimidating aura to her and is very standoffish. i found it very fitting for her to have the dark voice option even though her frame is tall and skinny hehe. most recent pic of Ithil, where im doing a rogue playthrough to justify siding with the templars 😃 i hate that decision so far lol

major DAI decisions:

for the major decisions im starting chronologically. i obviously sided with the mages bc Ithil is canonically a mage and i just love mages lol

then its the choice of who to leave in the Fade. this was for me the most gut-wrenching decision bc it stood between Alistair and Hawke 😭 like how could bioware do me like that? i spent a good solid 30 minutes contemplating what to do and ultimately ending up leaving Hawke in the Fade. reasons being that i could never leave Alistair and him being the first DA character i fell in love with, would just be heartbreaking. also someone needed to lead the grey wardens, so why not him? i felt so very sad for Varric. poor Fenris, who i romanced Hawke with, he probably hates Ithil and lashed out at anything close to him 😫 but i try to remember what Flemeth said to Hawke that she may one day find herself facing the abyss and “do not hesitate to leap”, and considering the quest name is Here Lies the Abyss 🥲

when it comes to the fate of the grey wardens, i saved them bc i felt that there were more benefits to being allied with them rather than getting rid of them. grey wardens were a huge part of the first game considering you played as one. 

as for who i had be the ruler of Orlais, i kept Celene in power. she and Briala also got back together. Gaspard was never an option to me so that was yet another easy big decision. i realize now how much female power i have in my DA canon playthrough lol

choosing who would be the next divine was a hard decision. there were pros and cons for both Cassandra and Leliana. i know Vivianne is an option too but she just hates my inquisitor lol. i ended up choosing Leliana tho bc of her standing with the mages and her view of progressive change in Thedas. she also has a huge interest in politics and is well-informed abt almost everything bc of her spies. i definitely think that choosing Leliana will cause chaos bc of all the changes, but im here for it hehe

those are all the major DAI decisions i can think of are important, but lmk if you want to know anything else ;)

romance & companions:

as for romance options, i had Ithil romance Cullen bc i have loved Curly since DAO hehe in my canon DA Cullen had relations with my warden who is a female human mage named Solona. i always think of them when you ask Cullen if he has anyone, and he says something like “not in Kirkwall”. which to me insinuates that he had someone when he was in Ferelden, before going to Kirkwall, but nothing serious as Solona got with Alistair another blond-haired dude with puppy-dog energy lol i love Cullen’s character a lot tho bc you get to see the various things he has gone through in all three games. so all the pain and suffering he is going through in DAI makes a lot of sense, bc of all the trauma he has experienced and the withdrawals he has from lyrium as he essentially is a drug addict. so i love the ending where Ithil and Cullen gets a dog, gets married, the inquisition is disbanded, they move to some place quiet and still help others in their own ways like the good ppl they are ❤️

lastly talking abt Ithil’s chemistry with the gang. the ppl she felt close to were Iron Bull, Solas, Cassandra and Dorian. she loves hanging out with the Bull and the chargers, drinking at the tavern and listening to various stories from everybody. Solas and Ithil have a platonic connection probably bc of their elven background, but also i feel like she learnt a lot from him abt spirits and the Fade. so we are feeling a little bit betrayed and bitter by the fact that Solas was behind everything that happend 😅 all the help for ppl in solavellan hell.  Cassandra and Ithil butt heads quite a bit, but playing Ithil as a rogue made me think that they would be really good sparing friends. and i think Ithil gets Cassandra out of her comfort zone in a good way :) as for her friendship with Dorian, they are both necromancer mages and i see them exchanging a lot of knowledge. i also think Dorian loves pimping Ithil up with dresses and jewellery, for her to show Cullen ;) she is also very close to Josephine who teaches her a lot abt diplomacy, as Ithil do not always have the best social antennas and can be quite blunt in situations where she should not be lol

the only romance options i have finished a whole playthrough of is with Bull and Cullen. so doing a Blackwall romance now, then i want to do a Solas romance just to have done it lol. loved both Bull and Cullen’s romances, they are quite different to each other but that is what i loved abt them hehe. Bull’s romance was so funny and kinky ;) Cullen’s romance was like cute and vanilla with a sprinkle of trauma ✨ in the end Cullen is the canon romance option in my little DA world 😊

[astranauticus]

Link Click Bilibili Directors Interview - Fan Translation (Part 2)

Original interview

(Notes:

The interview itself is pretty long and split into 3 parts so I'll be posting each part separately

Take all translations with a grain of salt!

Li Dao = Director Li (Li Haoling)

Zhang Dao = Director Zhang (Zhang Yuxia))

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]

Part 2: "Public Humiliation" (aka the directors reacting to fan comments on the show)

Comment: 'Hahahahhahahahh ahahahahhahaha (incoherent rambling)'

Li Dao: ahahhaha, hahahaha, okay I have finished answering

Comment: 'Uh, why are you all praising this show, are you guys not noticing the obvious problems with it? Like how each episode is far too short'

Zhang Dao: You think the production team isn't already tired enough?

Comment: 'this show's production gives me the vibe of, ah, those classmates with the really impressive graduation projects in university finally started work'

Li Dao: Yes you're correct, Yuxia is the one with the really impressive graduation project who has finally started working!

Zhang Dao: Actually no, I just did the bare minimum for my graduation project, but if you're interested you can look up "Let us Burn!!!", the show us few directors made together during our university years.

Li Dao: Yes yes, it has its own page (on Bilibili)

Comment: 'come learn how to tie knots with "Link Click"!

1. OP - tie knots with your hands

2. ED - tie knots with your tongue

3. The actual show - tie knots with your tears, tie it into a rope for jump rope and I'll jump 10000 in one go'

Zhang Dao: Emmm, is it (the OP) that difficult? Isn't it just (gestures vaguely)

Comment: 'The saddest man in the show - Cheng Xiaoshi, he has to lead on the man making moves on him, gets stuffed full of noodles, gets knocked over while playing basketball, is forced to argue with his mother, gets trapped in an earthquake and beaten up in a martial arts contest'

Li Dao: With great power comes great responsibility

Comment: 'I once saw a quote, 'my senior was a survivor of the 2008 earthquake, she's from Beichuan and she once said to us: 'everything that's happened to me before I turned 13 is already lost on this world, nobody knows about any of it anymore'. When I saw that quote, I started tearing up instantly'

Zhang Dao: When we were planning the earthquake episodes we were also pretty conflicted, since we weren't sure if referencing the earthquake would be painful for those who have experiences related to that. But that was never our intention, it's more like, we wanted to help make up for some of that regret

Li Dao: And to warm people's hearts

Zhang Dao: Right, to bring comfort to more people.

Comment: 'Please help Cheng Xiaoshi find a therapist, this job really isn't suitable for human'

Li Dao: Isn't Lu Guang his therapist though?

Comment: 'Turns out having your confession accepted and losing your first love can in fact happen concurrently'

Zhang Dao: No more angst! Please! (T/N: The literal translation would be 'No more knives! No more knives!', with 'knives/刀' being the common term for an angsty/tragic plot development)

Comment: 'I just realised how naïve I was. When Lu Guang told Cheng Xiaoshi 'Chen Xiao survived because he was in the living room and managed to escape', that was a lie, Chen Xiao was probably saved by his mother originally. There was no such thing as a safest place, the safest place is next to his mother'

Li Dao: I've seen this comment and I've given it a like. This is kind of like what I said before, I hope that this show would help invoke more people's empathy, change some of their perceptions and spread more positivity.

Comment: 'Honestly I think they muted (Chen Xiao's note to his mother in episode 5) because that blank can be filled in with countless people's unsaid words, and not just Chen Xiao's own words'

Zhang Dao: I think this interpretation's pretty correct, like at the time this was also what we were thinking

Comment: 'In episode 3 I thought that ball game would change their future. What a joke, after episode 4 I realised that they had no future'

Li Dao: But like what's said in the show, it can help Chen Xiao or other survivors to gain some different memories, and help make their memories less painful

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]

[gloves94]

Sunburn [Prince Zuko] 15

Warnings: None   Rating: PG-13   Pairings: Zuko/OC   Summary:  “You have everything you’ve ever wanted.” “No.” He said softly. “Not everything…”  His golden eyes looked at her with a melting intensity she had never witnessed before. “I guess not.” She responded with glassy eyes as tears welled up threatening to break the dam of her eyes.

My fanfiction: M A S T E R L I S T

Uncle Iroh had spent the last couple of weeks training Zuko on a new fire bending move. A deathly one. One that Tsai had never even seen her brother practice. Lighting manipulation.

He had advised Tsai to invest her time into training with a long-rage weapon.

"But- what?" She had said confused. "I like using my hidden blades because they are like an extension of my body. Something else- would be much harder to use." She had said to him. "I believe the fight with Azula would've had a very different outcome if this weren't the case." He said wisely.

It was a hard decision to make. She pondered long and hard into a new strategy or thought of a new weapon she could immediately begin to practice and came up with a few ideas.

Naturally Tsai had a lot on her mind. She missed her family. Her dad, her over-beating mother and her brother. She wondered where Mecha found himself now a days or even if there was any of him left. She lowered her head, heart swelling with pain as she thought specially of her brother. She wondered if she'd ever see any of them again. If the war would end. If they would ever meet the Avatar again.

Her fists clenched around the railing of the ferry they were currently on.

She had been so close to capturing the Avatar and now he was gone. Gone with no trace. It wasn't as if they were in a position to be looking. The three of them had been continuously on the run as they struggled to survive and find peace in their arduous journey to freedom.

They were continuously on the run. Sleeping on the ground, without a penny to their names often starving. It didn't help that every time they slowed down to set camp somewhere in the land someone would find and attempt to kill them.

Tsai also thought about the Blue Spirit sometimes. Sometimes she wondered if he had been figment of her imagination- or if their paths would ever meet again. She was certain that she would know who he was if they met in person. She was cerain- but could've been mistaken- that the Blue Spirit was male. Another clue was the fact he seemed to be able to sneak around both Fire and Earth Kingdom territories with ease. It couldn't just be anyone. Also the coincidence that their paths had crossed more than once?

Through some of Iroh's connections the man had managed to get the three of them smuggled into Ba Sing Se as humble refugees. It had been a long journey, but there was finally a moment of peace. Some light at the end of the tunnel to look forward too.

The ferry was small, wooded and crowded as they sailed the open sea. The scent of sea salt water and the ocean welcoming them. Tsai removed the bandage that hid her hair in her hands. It swayed lightly with the ocean breeze. Ba Sing Se... It seemed so hopefully. The thought of a new beginning. One in which they could find a safe haven, start from scratch and make a new life. It was unreal. The idea that she would never see the walls of Yu Dao again or her family. She had to shed her ambitions and become someone new. Capturing the Avatar now... it seemed like a far away distant dream. It was something she had to let go. It had never been and probably never would be her destiny. Her grip on the bandana became weak and the breeze ripped the clothe out of her hands and carried it away into the sea.

She was done hiding. There was no need to hide anymore. It wouldn't be necessary in the Earth Kingdom. Besides, if Zuko could get away with his trademark scar what were the odds of somebody rattling on her? Also, worst case scenario she's be an ally of the Earth Kingdom. After all, she had saved the Avatar. How does that saying go? Your worst enemy's enemy is your best friend?

She took in a deep breath.

No more Avatar. No more sulking about family. No more pessimistic thoughts.

Ba Sing Se would be a clean slate.

Her eyes darted to the side and she saw Prince Zuko scowling at something. She felt her ears burn slightly.

No more Zuko.

She straightened her back like an arrow composing her posture and let out that breath she had been holding. He would never change and Ba Sing Se was supposed to be a clean slate. Besides he was so morose all the time, but he was so fun to tease and-

'Stop.' Irritated stopped herself from hopping on that train. She had to find something else to keep her mind busy to keep her distracted.

"Who would have thought after all these years, I'd return to the scene of my greatest military disgrace..." Iroh mused ominously as he stood beside Zuko and Tsai aboard one of the ferries departing for Ba Sing Se. "As a tourist!" He exclaimed with a cheesy grin after placing a comically floral hat on his head.

Tsai snorted as she turned her attention away from her thoughts and to Uncle Iroh. Still her humor was down in the blues. And Zuko well-

"Look around. We're not tourists, we're refugees." Zuko snapped, killing the cheerful mood with his grumpiness as he took a sip of cold food from the bowl in his hand then spat it out a moment later with a disgusted look on his face, "Ugh! I'm sick of eating rotten food, sleeping in the dirt. I'm tired of living like this!"

Zuko was being Zuko. She rolled her eyes as she stirred her own bowl with indescribable food around with a lack of appetite.

"Alright, princess," she uttered under her breath rolling her eyes at him. "What?" he snapped, his eyes narrowing. "You're acting like a brat," she retorted with a scoff and a chortle. "Why can't you just be thankful that the three of us are safe and sound and on board for a better life?" She shot back irritated both of her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

'And to think they had been getting along so well,' Iroh thought before sighing.

"Hey Red," A slick voice said. Both teenagers turned their attention to face the person who was addressing the red-head in the room. Before them stood a young man with a cocky smirk. He was tall, lean, with tanned skin and looked to be slightly older than both of them. He wore a mis matched armor of navy blue, red and leather. His hair was thick, shaggy and messy. However his most striking feature was the remarkable sly grin stretched across his features. Between his teeth lazily hung a single wheat stem.

"What's your name Red?" He asked standing before them and placing a hand on his waist. He was also handsome in an unconventional kind of way.

"Your boyfriend upsetting you? You're way too pretty for this clown."

He was stepping way too close to Tsai for Zuko's comfort.

"What?" She made a sound that sounded like the blend of a gush and a gasp at the male's attention.

Ba Sing Se. A new beginning. He was just what the doctor had ordered.

"He's not my boyfriend!" She said faster than Zuko had ever heard her say anything in his life. Tripping on her words as she approached the stranger looking at him with stars in her eyes.

Zuko glared.

Normally he would've been the first to gladly inform this person of the fact that they were in-fact nottogether, but this time- it was different. There was something slimy about this guy he didn't like. Besides, they had to keep a low profile. It was essential for their survival.

Not that anyone noticed but Uncle Iroh watched with particular interest in the background.

"My name's Jet, and these are my Freedom Fighters,"

The young man introduced himself and gestured towards a shorthaired girl and a young man with a bow strapped to his back, "Smellerbee and Longshot."

"Hey." Smellerbee greeted while Longshot nodded his head silently.

"So are you going to tell me your name or not pretty thing?" Jet leaned in close enough to touch the girl's chin and much to Zuko's horror she emitted a monstrous noise which sounded similar to a giggle. He grimaced at the nightmare he was witnessing unfold before his own eyes.

Was she not listening properly? He had just called her a 'thing'. He had sworn her off. He had made a deal with himself in which he would lock her in a box and put her away. He DID NOTcare whom she canoodled with. He could care less. But this clown? There was something slimy about him. He did not trust him. Heck! It could be dangerous for their survival. He hadto do something about this.

Tsai felt her teenager hormones going into over ride. It had been a while since the last time any male had shown her this kind of attention. Much less a handsome, tan, stranger on a ferry. It was almost like a play!

His confidence- wow, it was so attractive to her.

"I'm T-" She paused before blurting out her name. Remembering that she had to hide her identity. However, it had been so long since anybody had asked her the simple question of what her name was that she had forgotten to keep her identity hidden.

"Homura," she responded with a small smile, there was an edge of flirtation to her voice.

She suddenly felt a weight on her shoulder and realized that Zuko had put his arm around her shoulders and was holding her close. She glared at him, her teeth almost grinding in a matter that would've seemed comical.

"Hey," Zuko greeted in the most unfriendly tone he could muster.

"Here's the deal." Jet stated as he walked closer to the trio, his gaze on Zuko, "I hear the captain's eating like a king while the refugees have to feed of his scraps. Doesn't seem fair, does it?"

"What sort of king is he eating like?" Iroh asked curiously and Jet glanced at him.

"The fat, happy kind." Jet replied drily.

Iroh's jaw went slack and he began to drool as he thought about what Jet was saying. Tsai was much too preoccupied drooling over Jet. "And after I can take you out for dinner," he winked in the colonial girl's direction making her blush. Jet smirked lightly at her reaction. Zuko didn't realize that he had pulled her closer almost smothering her.

"So waddaya say? You want to help us 'liberate' some food?" Jet addressed them.

"I'm in." Zuko said through narrowed eyes. "Me too!" Tsai clapped her hands together stepping forward stepping out from the prince's boa constrictor grip.

"No sweetheart," Jet stepped forward and placed his hands on her upper arms. "You sit back and relax princess. I'll admit, I made up this entire ploy just to talk to you, but I've realized that something actually has to be done. These people can't live like this."

Her heart melted. Wow. Here was this confident young man. He knew what he wanted and he wasn't afraid to get it. And not only that he care for others and wasn't afraid to bring his own justice! He really was a dream boar.

'Why is he holding her like that?!'Zuko seethed glaring daggers at them.

Xxx

Tsai sat between Prince Zuko and her latest flame, Jet. Even his name was cool.She was starring at him dreamily and very obviously as they ate. The other was holding on to his tea cup so hard Iroh was afraid it might actually shatter in his palm. Smellerbee and Longshot sat next to Jet and Iroh sat next to his nephew.

"So, Smellerbee, that's an usually name for a young man." Iroh commented idly as he looked at Smellerbee curiously.

"Maybe it's because I'm not a man...I'm a girl!" Smellerbee snapped and she got to her feet, walking away from the group.

"Oh, now I see." Iroh called out to her, trying to fix his mistake as Longshot got to his feet and hurried after the girl, "It's a beautiful name for a lovely girl!"

Tsai remained oblivious to this still ogling Jet much to Zuko's disgust.

Longshot followed Smellerbee quickly and grabbed her shoulder, turning her around to face him. He gave her a look and she sighed.

"I know, you're right. As long as I'm confident with who I am, it doesn't matter what other people think. Thanks, Longshot." Smellerbee stated gratefully and Longshot nodded at her.

The group sat together sipping tea and eating bowls of rice, nuts and fruits. It was refreshing. The food sat well with them and really lightened up their spirits.

'Jet is so great,'the girl thought dreamily.

"From what I hear, people eat like this every night in Ba Sing Se." Jet said "I can't wait to set my eyes on that giant wall."

"It is a magnificent site." Iroh commented idly as he sat his bowl down.

"So you've been there before?" Jet asked with eager curiosity.

"Once." Iroh replied carefully as he looked off to the side, "When I was a...different man."

Tsai snapped out of her day dream and smiled at Iroh softly when he turned to look at her.

"I've done some things in my past that I'm not proud of, but that's why I'm going to Ba Sing Se, for a new beginning." Jet explained, his tone sounding slightly pained, "A second chance."

"A clean slate!" She chirped.

Wow they were even in the same page! He was so mysterious. Her attention was once again captivated by him. He was so right. Ba Sing Se would be a new beginning for all.

"That's very noble of you." Iroh remarked with a small nod then he glanced over at his nephew, "I believe that people can change their lives if they want to. I believe in second chances."

Zuko glanced over at his uncle and the two stared at each other for a moment.

"This is were we grow. How are we to grow and become better versions of ourselves if we live in fear of trying again? Of second chances," she added with a dreamy smile. That little part of her head that reminded her most of her grandfather said to her. Jet looked at her and nodded agreeing. She didn't notice how Zuko's was viciously glaring at the new couple.

She was too busy too notice this as she was presently day dreaming about walking the shops of Ba Sing Se while holding hands with Jet. For some reasons there were also flowers everywhere in her vision.

"Yeah." Jet agreed with a small nod of his head in her direction, "They should."

xxx

Zuko sat next to his uncle absolutely seething the next morning. His mood had only worsened overnight. His face was green with envy as he kept on replaying the events of the previous night in his head.

He couldn't believe that Tsai had actually stayed up talking to the buffoon all night long. What did they even talk about? She'd probably bore him to death with philosophical quotes of ominous origins or some irritating rambling between the differences between Matcha and Sencha tea... Sencha is made by steeping whole tea leaves, matcha is made by grinding up the leaves and mixing them with water. He mentally cursed. He hated that he knew that fact.

"Your jealousy is showing Prince Zuko," Iroh said with a light chuckle as he grinned in his nephew's direction.

"What jealousy?" The other snapped back bitterly crossing his arms over his chest his words dripping heavily with such said jealousy. "Why should I care who Tsai spends her time with?" He huffed. "And that Jet-" he thought of him. "I don't trust him. What's so great about him anyways?"

Iroh shrugged with the same teasing grin on his face.

"What do I now? You should ask her, I think she went to gaze at the horizon with him."

Iroh had never seen his nephew move so fast. As he stomped away to find the auburn haired girl. He stopped when he saw them both. Standing at the front helm of the ship, both standing next to each other leaning over the railing to look at the horizon. He had an arm wrapped around her as they stood together. There was a heavy fog as they approached Earth Kingdom land.

He saw them turn to face each other.

"Homura," he barked louder than he had intended. The unfamiliar name tasting odd in his mouth. She turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow an annoyed expression obvious on her features.

"What is it?" She half-snapped. "Lee," she hissed out his name after a moment. "Uncle wants to see you," he added dully not taking his eyes of Jet's filthy hand which was wrapped around her waist.

"Ha! I'm kind of busy," she said beginning to turn away. "It's his arm, it hurts." Zuko lied through his teeth.

It took her a moment of hesitation before running off to check on Iroh. Zuko glared at Jet before turning away.

"You know, as soon as I saw your scar, I knew exactly who you were." Jet commented suddenly as he approached Zuko. He appeared to be bothered by his bold interruption.

Zuko tensed and glanced at the other boy as Jet came to a stop beside him.

"You're an outcast, like me." Jet continued as he too stared out at the fog, "And us outcasts have to stick together. We have to watch each other's back. Because no one else will."

"I've realized lately that being on your own isn't always the best path." Zuko stated calmly, his thoughts turning towards his uncle and the Tsai, no matter how irritating her presence was.

"He's fine!" Tsai had returned speed walking back to the end of the deck.

Wow. That had been fast!

"Come on Jet, let's go see if we can find any pink-finned dolphins," she said reaching for his arm and dragging him away.

She shot Zuko a glare before going away. The other clenched his fists as his bottled up emotions bubbled inside of him like a dormant volcano.

Xxx

The large woman with a mole on her forehead looked at the three passports in her hand critically then she looked at the three individuals standing in front of her.

"So Miss Homura, Mr. Lee and Mr. ummm...Mushy, is it?" She asked and she looked at Iroh curiously.

"It's pronounce Mushi." Iroh corrected her with a small smile.

The woman leaned forward slightly and gave him an annoyed look, "You telling me how to do my job?"

Tsai cringed. No offense to the lady but she reminded the young girl of an angry bull frog.

"Uh, no, no." Iroh said hurried and he quickly approached the ticket booth, giving the woman a flirtatious look, "But may I just say you're like a flower in bloom. Your beauty is intoxicating." 'There was no way in hell that she was buying that,' Tsai thought shaking her head slightly. Eyes wide. Zuko's eyebrow twitch slightly and a scowl was starting to form on his face.

"You're pretty easy on the eyes yourself, handsome. Raorr!" The woman replied back just as flirtatiously and she gave a small flirty kitty growl, "Welcome to Ba Sing Se."

She stamped three tickets and Iroh smiled coyly at her as he took them from the booth. He walked back over to his nephew and young friend with a smug smile on his face.

"Still got it old man," Tsai grinned taking her ticket from him.

"I'm going to forget I saw that." Zuko snapped in disgust and he snatched his ticked from his uncle, stopping away from him.

Iroh grinned cheerfully to himself as the three of them headed towards the monorail that would take them into their new lives at Ba Sing Se.

xxx

Jet leaned to the side slightly and watched as the three he knew as Lee, Mushi, and Homura walked through the archway that led towards the monorail while he waited in line with Smellerbee and Longshot.

"I think Lee would make a good Freedom Fighter. He's just trying to find his way in the world, like us." Jet commented with a smirk as straightened and held his piece of wheat in one hand, "And with some training I know that Homura would be great. Wouldn't it be nice to have another girl on the team?"

"You don't know anything about them, Jet." Smellerbee refuted his idea flatly as she looked away from Lee and Homura her arms crossed over her chest. "Why would you want him and his girlfriend on the team? Also, she seems pretty useless." Smellerbee rolled her eyes, really not thrilled at the idea of another girl joining the team.

"She's not his girlfriend," Jet responded irritated. "And I do know he didn't get that scar from a waterbender." He retorted and he rolled his eyes. "And- it'd be nice. She could learn," Jet stated completely oblivious to the fact that the girl could kick ass.

Longshot raised both of his eyebrows musing at Jet's newest infatuation. Smellerbee ignored Jet's comment, "Besides, I thought we were going straight now."

"We are," Jet said reassuringly as he looked at his friend, "And the new Freedom Fighters could use a couple like that. What do you think, Longshot?"

The archer looked at him silently with a meaningfully expression on his face and he blinked slowly.

Jet nodded, "I can respect that."

xxx

Tsai sat between Iroh and Zuko on a bench at the monorail station, waiting for their train into the city. She kept on looking over her shoulder hoping to catch a glimpse of Jet in the station so that she would say her goodbyes to him. The three were leaning against a pillar sitting on a bench. Zuko had his arms crossed over his chest.

"What are you looking at?" He exhaled from his nose as he turned to look at Tsai. "I'm looking for Jet. I want to say goodbye to him," she admitted before sighing with heartfelt sadness. He rolled his eyes. "What do you even like about that jerk?" the other scoffed.

He had to look away from her so he focused his attention towards the rails as they waited for the train.

"He's so mysterious," she said in awe. Just like the Blue Spirit...

"And charming, he knows how to treat a girl and most importantly he cares about others," she spoke in a dreamy tone.

Zuko took all of that in. What did she mean by that? Regardless the only thing he could manage with a pouty look of defeat on his face was.

"....I can be mysterious," he said after a moment of silence.

She blinked twice taking in what he had just said. A smile cracked on her face, she looked at the awkward look on his face and let out a small laugh. Something clicked in her head.

when she felt a presence next to her and an arm slid over her shoulders. She turned to see Jet and smiled at him forgetting what she was about to say.

"So, you two got plans once you're inside the city?" Jet asked casually making himself comfortable.

"Get your hot tea here!" A man yelled out pleasantly as he pushed a small tea-cart passed the four, "Finest tea in Ba Sing Se."

"Ooh!" Iroh gasped excitedly and he waved his hand to get the tea-seller's attention, "Jasmine please."

Never too busy for tea Tsai stood up leaving the two teens behind and got herself a cup with Iroh. Both of them exchanged a goofy grin before taking their leaf cup jasmine tea. They both took an excited sip at the same time.

"Blaugh! Ugh, coldest tea in Ba Sing Se is more like it" He spat and he shook his head in disappointment, "What a disgrace." "I think Zuko's tea from the other day might've actually been better," she added feeling slightly insulted by a cup of tea.

"Hey," Jet said suddenly, pulling Zuko's attention away from his family, "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Jet stood and motioned for Zuko to follow him. Zuko glanced at his uncle and Tsai briefly then he sighed and reluctantly got to his feet. The two teenage boys walked several feet away from Iroh's and Tsai's spots, Zuko moving so his back was to them while Jet stood in front of him. He could feel his uncle's and Tsai's curious gaze on his back, but he ignored it for the moment.

"We'lI have a much better chance of making it in the city if we stick together." Jet stated bluntly and he smirked at Zuko as he put his hands on his hips, "You wanna join the Freedom Fighters? Think that Homura would want to as well?"

"Thanks, but I don't think you want me in your gang." Zuko replied vaguely and he shifted so he could see his uncle and his friend out of the corner of his eyes.

"C'mon, we made a great team looting that captain's food." Jet said in an attempted to persuade the other teen, "Think of all the good we could do for these refugees."

Zuko started walking back to the other two and he called over his shoulder, "I said no."

Jet frowned slightly as he watched the other teen walk away, "Have it your way."

Sensing the tension Tsai rushed over to him. Zuko couldn't figured out what they were saying to each other. But Jet took her hands in his and leaned forward. Hesitating she leaned back and shook her head. He couldn't read lips but whatever hers were saying did not sound good. Shaking her head with a frown she made her way back to the Fire Nation royals.

Jet's gaze flickered over to the the auburn haired girl as she walked away from him then he looked at Iroh. His brows furrowed slightly when he caught sight of the old man beside her sipping at the leaf cup, steam rising from it. Jet's eyes went wide with shock and realization when he remembered that the old man had said the tea was cold.

Zuko scowled as he stomped over to his uncle and friend. He glanced over his shoulder slightly, catching sight of Jet. He saw the other teen's eyes narrow then he turned and walked away. Angrily, Zuko knocked the teacup out of his uncle's hand, startling Tsai enough that she looked at him with her eyes wide. How dare he.

"What are you doing fire bending your tea?" The banished prince hissed through gritted teeth as he glared at his uncle, "For a wise old man, that was a pretty stupid move."

"Iroh!" Tsai gasped quietly and she gave him a scolding look, but the old man was staring sadly at the cup of tea on the ground.

"I know you're not supposed to cry over spilled tea, but..." He sniffed slightly, "It's just so sad!"

"It wasn't even that good!" Tsai cried out in disbelief. She face palmed and shook her head slightly. Zuko scowled even harder at his uncle.

xxx

"Last call for Ba Sing Se!" The train conductor shouted from the front of the monorail that would be heading into the city.

Jet stormed towards the train with Smellerbee and Longshot.

"Jet, relax." Smellerbee pleaded with her friend as they walked, "So the old guy had some hot tea and your new girlfriend turned you down. Big deal."

"He heated it himself!" Jet snapped back at her and his tone turned dark, "Those guys are firebenders!"

Jet's eyes narrowed when he spotted Lee, Mushi, and Homura, if those were even their real names, board the train cart behind the one he was getting on.

Zuko, Tsai, and Iroh sat down next to a small family, Tsai sitting between the two men. Iroh smiled when he noticed the sleeping infant in the arms of the woman on his other side.

"What a handsome baby." He complimented as he gently stroked the baby's cheek.

Tsai leaned around him and smiled when she saw the baby.

"Thank you." The woman said as smiled at Iroh and Tsai softly then she looked down at her baby with adoring eyes.

"Where's your boyfriend?" Zuko asked bitterly. He had his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face as he slouched in one of his typical morose moods. A pose that had become much too typical for him. "Aren't you going with him?"

She looked at him and the slyest of smirks made way to her face. "Nah," she said casually looking at him with an odd glint in her eyes.

"What happened?" The other inquired nosily straightening out a little. She let out an exaggerated sigh. "He's too-," she shrugged seeking for the perfect word.

He raised an eyebrow expectantly.

Wasn't she all over him a minute ago? Man, girls were weird. He thought confused. Also- he didn't care. He reminded himself he had put her inside of that box he would never open again. It's not as if she would reciprocate either way. She liked guys like Jet, not like him...

Xxx

"Homura, come with us. I know you don't know how to fight but- you can learn. And it'll be great. It will be a new life for us!" Jet had said as he took her hands in his and leaned forward.

She starred into his dark eyes. Suddenly feeling an overbearing emotion consume her decision making process. She could feel it tugging at her heart.

"I can't," she said after a moment of silence. "I care for him," she said weakly. "The old man will be fine. Lee is staying with him. You can-"

She remained silent. A blank look in her eyes as she turned away from Jet and pulled her hands close to her body. It took a moment for the realization to hit him.

"Oh," was all Jet said. "For Him." A dark scowl slowly formed across his sharp features.

"I thought he wasn't your boyfriend." He stated.

"He's not."

Xxx

"He..." she paused for a moment. "He doesn't make me laugh," she smiled at the prince.

He raised an eyebrow with a most confused look on his face.

Ba Sing Se was the city of hope. It would be a new beginning. It was the immigrant dream. Anything could happen now that they turned this new chapter of their lives together.

There would be:

No more Avatar. No more sulking about family. No more pessimistic thoughts.

She was determined to make Ba Sing Se a clean slate. To seize this new opportunity and make something out of it. Specially during these times of hardship and war... A war which had been started by her own people, by her own family. She ignored the pang of guilt that stabbed her consciousness at this fact.

She was leaving so much behind. Yet there was one part that she couldn't manage to shed. One that stuck to her like glue. Her eyes darted to the side and she saw the prince had a lost look in his confused eyes. Still he looked more aggravated than usual.

Without saying another word she hugged his arm and propped her chin on his shoulder with a playful smile tugging at her lips. She focused her eyes on his expression as it morphed from an irritated one to one of surprise his body growing stiff. Her hand reached for his and she held it. He turned away from her and would've never allowed her to see but a genuine smiled stretched across his usually stoic face.

He held her hand back.

Afterall, Ba Sing Se was a new beginning.

xxx

FIRST https://gloves94.tumblr.com/post/621142853126602752/sunburn-prince-zuko-1

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CHAPTER MASTERLIST

[shijiujun]

Have you read 2020 bc of you book/novel? If so I'd there any sex scenes? From like the older brother and middle brother couple? Is there any differences or additions? Also do you know where I can read it sense I couldn't/still can't buy it?

yeap i read it. and nope it’s pretty much almost PG13, no explicit scenes, despite the misleading cover. some innuendo and discussion of top/bottom positions again -_- but it’s a pretty friendly book.

and i don’t know where you can read it sorry - if you want to buy it i think yesasia is still the easiest way to get it.

and since you asked i shall take this time to put in the additional parts of 2020 Because of You via the novel here (there aren’t a lot, it’s a pretty thin novel compared to MODC and Trapped, and there’s like double spacing between sentences):

Dad Yuan Wei Zhi & Cui Ying’s story - This wasn’t really explained in the show, so what happened was YWZ and CY lived together since young and they were a couple until YJC’s Korean mom stepped into the picture, and YWZ like the dick he was told CY that he was definitely going to marry the Korean lady because it’d be beneficial to his business, and he kinda broke up with her but expected her to wait for him? I think like 2 years later or smth he divorced the Korean lady (which led to her going back to Korea in tears) because he got what he wanted and he didn’t want to live another day without CY, so ya know,  he went to look for CY at the cliffs and that’s why they had the bet and everything, because CY was tired of waiting for him 

Jun Dao is the hot-headed brother and Jun Ping is the one who kind of is blur and mediates between his second and big brother - This was totally opposite in the show, and so Jun Ping and Jun Cheng’s relationship is better, that’s why JP had the keys to JC’s house (idk why it was necessary to switch it over but oh wells)

Kidnapping incident where YJC hung up - It was both Jun Dao and Jun Ping who were kidnapped, and yes, YJC still hung up on the kidnapper after he said “do whatever you want with them”

Xiang Shi’s backstory - So Xiang Shi’s family was rich before, until their fam’s company got caught in a crossfire between Jun Dao’s mom and YWZ, the fam lost their company and wealth to YWZ, but YWZ still let the Yang family i.e. XS’s parents oversee the company as his employees in a sense, but he needed a guarantee that they wouldn’t try to betray him or whatever, so XS’s mom sent him over to YWZ. Poor XS thought he was going to become some rich boy’s play thing and was gonna live like a servant and subject to abuse or whatever but he was okay with that if that meant his parents would stop being so worried about the whole thing, but of course he was shocked when he was picked up in a limo and then went to YJD’s house (which is where he’s lived alone all his life with only servants for company) and the first thing Jun Dao did was to ask him to play with him and they played until you know… a decade or so later

Xiang Shi was a bit pissed that Jun Dao didn’t tell him about YWZ looking for Lin Xun and granting the son who got to him first a wish - Because I think he wanted that wish for some reason? He might’ve asked Jun Dao to ask for something specific, probably to do with his own family, if JD got it, but he got over that quickly

Jun Ping, Jun Dao, Xiang Shi, Yue Rong and Lin Xun are indeed in the same university - And instead of meeting at the Taiwanese street stall for the food/alcohol part, they meet in the university’s cafeteria instead and there’s alcohol there because this school is kind of a luxurious school owned by the Yuans so… 

Lin Xun has four jobs when YJC met him and YJC made him lose all the jobs by stalking him (wtf….) so he would ‘work’ for YJC instead - He was working at the convenience store, as a tutor, at a petrol kiosk and delivery I think

The scene where YJC is sappy and confesses to LX in their house, and they’re interrupted by a phone call, it’s not for a meal, but because Xiang Shi is ill and Jun Dao was asked to go away so Jun Dao called his older brother hoping that he would know what to do - And LX and YJC go over to YJD’s house and Lin Xun helps out. Xiang Shi wakes up and gets a shock to see LX and YJD sitting there lmao. And then LX went to cook a chicken dish that had alcohol in it, so YJD has it, and that’s why he’s so like clingy to Xiang Shi after, and idk they never once like define their relationship and this CP still confuses me tbh

Epilogue 1: Yue Wu - She’s still terribly unlikeable in the novel, but they do say she’s good friends with Xiang Shi but she’s a bitch to him in the first scene they have tgt so bleugh - And then she screams at Jun Ping and is like: “You choose, do you want me or Yue Rong?” And everyone is confused?!!! Because she’s never been close to Jun Ping? So of course YJP would pick Yue Rong ??? And then she scolds Yue Rong for being a mistress????! Totally confused at this scene

Epilogue Two: Meal + basketball match - They meet up outside for like a picnic kinda thing I think and the three brothers compete with each other with bball, and it’s a mess because like they’re split brothers in one team and their boyfriends in another and dumbass Jun Dao keeps giving the ball to Xiang Shi, and then the other two bros do the same more or less later in the game

Epilogue Three: YWZ talking to CY at the cliffs - YWZ knows that YJC and LX are together, and he’s super chill about it and all approving like, hey nice that our kids are together huh? (wait till he finds out about the other kids)

Epilogue Four: YJC and LX - They discuss who’s on the top between YJD and XS -_- and then I guess sexy times ensue but we don’t see it

[lairofsentinel]

I’ve finished this terrible game called Greed_fall. Really...

Spoilers ahead, and really a big amount of “negativity” [aka criticism] about this game.

I can’t believe it’s the same company that did The Technomancer. I mean, sure, no game is perfect. But, to begin with, this one is sold as RPG when you have no fucking way to decide if you want to massacre natives or colonialists, or like, for example, spit and punch the man who never told you that you were a kidnapped child of natives that European colonialists took and raised as their own.  That’s a terrible wound in History. It even had contemporaneous versions not long ago [for example, the Condor plan], and this game did not even give you the option to punch the man or simply not forgive him?. Because without being able to choose anything, your char not only is not angry with that fucker, but they THANK him for telling them the truth 25 years later. Ah. But the man “loved your mother”. A fucking asshole kept the identity of a native child for 25 years simply because... he loved her. Ugh. 

I'll try to be short, and concise. I truly don't want to waste more time in this fucked up game:

The Natives:

The first ones you meet during the first 10 hours are basically depicted as childish creatures that know nothing, and they need of the colonialists to “learn”. Somehow, that was getting a bit more complex along the game, and you see few tribes that are angry at the ravishing of their lands. But still yet, they are depicted as “too aggressive” most of the time. As if they had not enough causes to want to attack the colonialists.

Suddenly, by the second half of the game, the natives realise they have power and knowledge by their own which is even more valuable that all the bullshit that Europeans bring. So, they have this stupid revelation that they know a lot that colonialists don't. You feel the natives so vague and lack of self sense.

Some other natives seems to me like CEOs, that suddenly, are too worried about market and commerce with the colonialists. Like... seriously?. Capitalist Natives just right there, after 15 years of colonialism fucking their lands?? Meh.

As a personal opinion, I hate the repetition of the concept of natives as “tribes” that live in a “small rudimentary village”, in comparison with the complexity that “European architecture/society” shows. Like... they only keep using the concept of the most nomad natives, they don't fucking show a complex society with science and art development beyond the European, when you have a super close example with the Aztec Imperium. They had advanced and successful surgical interventions of the brain and deep understanding of Astronomy while Europe was dying because they didn't want to bath daily and kept burning their astronomers. But ok, that's my personal annoyance toward every game where natives are shown.

European architecture, is the only one.

This comes long the same mood that Spider showed with the natives: “I don't give a fuck”-mood. You have the Bridge Alliance, who are basically the “Muslims” in the old Europe, the ones with true knowledge and “turbans”. I was expecting to see “Muslim” architecture. You know, mosque-like? [I'm not even asking them to have extreme History accuracy, but hell, give me something that make me believe it's true that there are 2 factions here] But no. You see some fences and some random arithmetical design here and there, 3 big carpets in the palace, but the rest of the houses and the palace itself are all European-like. I mean... if you are doing a game which scenery is so elaborated, you can't be lazy about designing 3 types of architecture, since you are basing your fuckign game on Europeans, Muslims, and Natives. Natives have the most rudimentary design because “natives”. They are all about big houses with just a bonfire in the middle. Sure, I know, native groups in the old Europe and Britain used to have that kind of architecture. Celtic-like. I'm complaining because I would like to see, for once in my life, a native culture which is shown as an imperium. But whatever. The Muslim architecture is such a lazy development here.

Petrus:

This is probably the highest point of fuckery. The man [a religious one] “took care” of the main character's mother, a kidnapped pregnant woman, because “she was the only woman he loved” [this game is ALWAYS about the colonialists and their feelings and their problems. European problems= MAIN quest, native problems= side quests]. Her husband was killed trying to rescue her [aka colonialists killed him], and she was sent to the continent, because she was... “marvellous” [this game has the most sickly arguments I've seen in a long while]. She gave birth to the protagonist of the game in one of the Naut's ships. She remained in captivity, and asked Petrus [ the man who was supposed to love her] to kill her, because she could not resist that life. He didn't do it, because “love”. And now, the whole quest is about how guilty Petrus is about that, and about the slight tiny detail of having kept secret that the protagonist's origin is native.

And as if all this was not sufficient, this “RPG” game doesn't allow you to NOT forgive him, to spit him, to do something out of anger. No. The whole quest continues with the protagonist thanking Petrus for “telling him the truth 25 years later”. This is terrible. The problem here is not Petrus being an asshole, is the game giving you no options to have another reaction but thanking him.

Romance:

Yeah, yeah, we have crappy romances. For a game which claimed to be based on DAO, didn't learn a shit about development of chars and their relationship with the protagonist. You have 5 characters that interact very little with the protagonist or among them [banter? What's that?. DOS2 has no banter, but at least you have a lot of personal conversation with the chars, and they intervene in the quests and give their opinions], and the peak of laziness was when I saw the “romantic” scene of all of them. ALL, ALL romantic scene are a copy-paste of the ones in Technomancer. The worst is Vasco/Siora. They are in the place of Andrew, from Technomancer. They did not even change the angle of the camera. I dislike this so much because that scene was meant to be related to Andrew. The man had a prosthetic arm, so that's why the main char looks at his hand, as a gesture of acceptance. In Vasco/Siora's case is so out of sense. Looking at that hand like “did you wash them? I don't want fish/soil in my thingie”.

And again... beyond the stupid romance, the development of relationships is so weak. I would not complain if they were not claiming they based this game in DAO. Lol. You can't even speak about the main quests with them. They have nothing to say. Nothing.

Pace:

This is probably a result of the whole mess of the many irritating things I've been seeing in the game, but it was incredible boring and slow. The dialogues are wrongly done. Every time you meet a new char, the protagonist explains everything. Again. It's not needed. The player already knows that, since you repeated that 53 times!.

The endings And the endings... hell. I can’t even know where to start. Basically... you can destroy the whole natives and the isle included, just because you want to save your cousin—son of an European colonialist, with a lot of daddy issues—. Again, the whole game is highly focused on European pain and feelings. It seems we should feel pity for his useless ass, and understand him when he decided he wants to be a new god, consume the native god, and decide “what’s better for the rest of the world”. Most colonialist ending you can't have.

Thankfully, our fave “RPG” game gives us a loooot of options to end the game: 2. Kill him or join him.

If you kill him, you have four “branches” of endings. In two, you are trying to find “balance” between colonialist and natives, and one ending about natives tired as fuck of the European shit repel the colonialists from their isle and let them fuck off with the Malinchor, since the only thing they can do is drain and consume everything.

Of course, this ending is “bad” too. You can't let the native decide by themselves. That's “bad”.

In fact, to end the game, you need to meddle in native politics. Like, you have to choose who will be High King of the natives. Look at that!. Your parents must be native, but you were raised as another colonist.... who has the power to intervene in native decision. The imbalance of power and fuckery here is... big. And I'm not counting on all the killing and destruction of native “sacred” places you had to do to reach this [the amount of guardians killed without other option to evade them annoyed me as hell, what kind of balance you speak of if you destroy everything at your wake?].

The “better” world ending, is a world of “balance”, in which colonialist and natives “learn from each other”. Which seems more or less ok... but again, colonialists owning their own shit? Never. And again... why our protagonist should speak about balance when they did disasters to reach the end of the game?. 

This is a game where you truly can play and let free your “white saviour complex”, because you can tell me all what you want about the protagonist being a “native”, but they only knows about that by the end of the game... their mind and behaviour and purposes has always been super colonialists, without chances to choose to fuck off Theleme and all the other factions out of rage. This is the most gratuitous plot you get from Spider to “cover” their asses about any critic of “but a colonialist had been deciding over natives all the fucking game”. And you know what, you did. It doesn’t matter if the char has native parents. They are the embodiment of colonialism to the end of the game. 

The only “bad” ending in which Colonialists are repeled, you have to feel sorry, because “bad natives allowed the continent to be decimated by the Malinchor”. Sure, because colonialist presence in the Isle was not like a “Malinchor”?.Ugh. Honestly, super infuriating game. 

But, by far, the ending of the Cousin becoming, alongside with you, “new gods”, destroying the native root.... was so fucked up....but well, at least it's an option. Probably the only relevant option this “RPG” gave us.

I was so sick about all this game, that I just wanted to have an ending of becoming a Naut [after all, the protagonist is a sea-born] and go fuck the old world and these terrible depicted natives. Of course, this “wonderful RPG” never gives you a relevant option like that.

Less troublesome things: “open world” that  only allows paths.

This is something inherited by Technomancer. You waste HOURS running from a point to another because this apparent “open world”, is  just a bunch of mazes/tunnels, and you can't jump or descend by places that look like accessible just because they decided their “RPG open world” has to be a lineal game with a clear path to follow. The teleportation points are not enough, since you always need to run minutes and minutes to reach ones of these. This is of big importance since the game is full of stupid Quests of “go speak with A, bring me their answers. Go back again, etc, etc”. This had been a big criticism in Technomancer. They did not learn about it.

Less troublesome things: combat

Another issue inherited by Technomancer. It's quite common to get stuck in some texture in middle of a big boss, or the dodge has a weird lag, or chars are too slow in general. This exact problem was a big issue during the first encounter of Technomancer, turning it into a nightmare. It keeps being the same more or less.

Honestly, this game has several levels of wrongness in terms of plot [I dont even care about the bugs, about the waste of time running, or the stupid quests of being a silly errand boy, or the combat—though, more often than not it enrages you--. But the plot was a big pain. Like... really... guys, you did Technomancer! Bound by Flame, Of Orc and men, Styx, even Grey Matter [I didn’t play it, but I was told it was interesting and with a lot of progressive stuff]... what the fuck happened here?. Sure, none of all those games are spotless, but at least they felt more RPG than this one!. You could be a bit asshole, a diplomat, or an evil char.  

I think they put all their resources in scenery in Greedfall. Because, yeah, it’s beautiful. Probably the only good thing in this game [even though it has this shit about paths that make you waste a lot of time].

A lot of people also highlight about the presence of poc chars everywhere. I didn’t notice this “everywhere”. You have white natives and black people among the colonialists, true. Which seems a bit ok, but to me it felts as the free pass for Spider to do all the fuckery in the game XD “hey, we all have colonialist mindsets, but hey... black people fucking native ones! no side is right! yay, we are mind-blowing you! XD”. 

Probably I have to mention that one of the few things that are good in the game is Aphra. Because you never see black/brown scholars in games, and she gave me, for few seconds, some relief of all this mess in this game.  However, the way she forces others to teach her... is quite questionable. As I said before, “yay, black people on the colonialist side, they can fuck natives like History white people did! We are progressive! this game is so gray-mind-blowing :D yay”.

Truth be told, not a recommendable game. If you want a more decent RPG compared with this one, of the same company, go get Technomancer.

[rosykims]

A-Z HEADCANONS // DUNCAN THEIRIN

i was tagged by @nordxz thanks so much tash !! i'm gonna answer this for duncan, my babey and the next gen son of alistair and ella cousland 😊😚😘

i snappped while answering these and accidentally wrote 6 pages and almost 4k words so uh. loooooong infodump ahead.

Alignment: What would be their D&D alignment? How might it come into play?

duncan very easily falls into the lawful neutral category, like i dont rly need to give his alignment too much thought unlike with some of my other ocs. duncan is.....hmm. hes a very KIND person, generous and selfless, and tries his best to make people happy, but i wouldn’t necessarily say he's good, considering a lot his issues lie with his inability to act, or stand up to others. he’s guilty of very blindly following the law, or other people's ideas of what's right, and he doesn't really feel confident enough to rely on his own conscience for most things. so i'd say while he tries to do the right thing and act within the law, sometimes he goes against his own values out of fear or confusion or, simply out of ignorance, since he was born into a life of privilege and can't always distinguish what's right and what’s believed ykno

Beverage: What do they most like to drink, and why?

duncan shares a weird trait with both his brother and sister where they all just inexplicably ?? don't like alcohol at all. so stuff like wine and liquors is off the table. he absolutely LOVES tea though. u know that one scene in scott pilgrim where the gal is going thru her list of like 72 teas? thats him 100%. it's his lifeblood at this point, he has SO much of it and a perk of being the heir to a monarchy means he's got a lot of foreign merchant acquaintances, so he tends to order in different blends from all over. he's a chronic insomniac, and he uses it as a crutch to get through the days some times. modern!duncan still loves tea but obviously has a stronger love for coffee, since its far more effective!

Co-Habitat: Do they live with anyone? What’s “need to know” before moving in?

duncan currently lives in the residential dorms of the college of enchanters, while he's sort of aimlessly studying a bunch of subjects he's already mostly adept at. firstly, duncan is VERY sick lol, he was conceived while ella and alistair still hadn't found the cure for the joining, and essentially he inherited both of their darkspawn taint so 🙂🙂🙂 thats always a good time. so anyone who lives with him needs to prepare for 1) him being sick obviously,, throwing up, coughing up blood, looking like a corpse virtually 23 hours of the day lol. and obviously the fear that one day he might actually die. but also 2) he suffers from grey warden nightmares for the same reasons, hence the insomnia. he can go a concerning number of days without sleeping and usually only takes strategic cat naps when he needs to, but obviously he has his limits. it's very rare that he goes a full night without waking up in a cold sweat due to nightmares so. we stan one depressed king ! oh he also is Incapable of locking the door to his apartment. he always forgets and hes too tired to care about people stealing his stuff fkdkdjdjd he would probably make more of an effort if he had someone living with him, but old habits die hard so !!!!!!

Decor: What kind of home do they keep? Are there any defining details?

honestly , duncan's house is very devoid of clutter or personal items in general, which is sad. he definitely would have a lot of decor if he could, but since his current housing is only temporary while he's in orlais, he doesn't really want to get... comfortable ykno. other than that, duncan's home is always kept impeccably neat and clean, for two reasons. firstly, growing up in denerim's palace really engrained into his head the importance of keeping up appearances, so its sort of a subconscious ritual of his at this point. but i think more importantly its because of all the nights when he cant sleep, so during the night with nothing to keep him from dwelling on his thoughts or nightmares, he really needs the distraction, and cleaning gives him something to do. duncan really needs to feel like he's doing something, like he's managing, like he's able to achieve something so cleaning is just one little way of taking ownership of his life.

Escape: What do they do to de-stress? How successful is it?

nsfw warning but uhhh..... he has a LOT of sex basically dkdkdksk u wouldn’t know it by looking at him tho ! bc hes very polite and nervous and kinda shy?? but hes also charming and obviously attractive so he doesnt really lack for interested parties. mainly he just sticks to one night stands, with no strings attached, and it helps him take his mind off things when hes exhausted or its late at night and hes afraid to go to sleep. otherwise he also has had some friends with benefits but usually his personal life is too complicated for a serious relationship. aside from that, he also reads a LOT, writes too – when he has the time/energy – and obviously cuddling sessions with his cat, moira dkdkdk

Fluff: What hits their soft spot? Does anything turn them into emotional goo?

so ik above i said that duncan doesnt do serious relationships but thats,, not through any will of his own. he LOVES love and is a complete hopeless romantic , but unfortunately for a number of reasons he's just very unlucky at love ! 😔 so having an emotional, intimate connection with someone that isnt just sex is super healing for him, since he's not used to it at all. being with nadaia is such a positive thing for him, just knowing that his feelings are reciprocated and that he's valued and wanted.

Grudge: How bad does an insult go over? Do they hold a grudge long?

i think it depends on who its directed at !! duncan usually ignores any insults directed at him because he's grown up being so scrutinized by the public and for the most part, fereldens are very weary of him so he hears A LOT. most of criticisms about him he just.. automatically accepts as fact and really buys into them, bc he has such low self esteem. but as for other people, and ESPECIALLY loved ones thats a very different story!! he's not exactly the type to start throwing punches if anyone says a bad word against someone he cares about, but he WILL personally see to it in his own sneaky way that they get whats coming to them dkdkkdjd usually he'll either find a way to expose their dirty laundry, embarrass them in public, prevent a promotion, something like that lol. this goes double if the insult is directed at nadaia or his family.

Hobby: What’s something they do for fun that might be surprising?

ive already mentioned that he's an avid reader and he likes to write occasionally, but he's also a talented musician! He can play harp and lute, and has a beautiful singing voice ! tho he never EVER sings in public and u have to be like,, a ride or die for him to even consider singing in front of u.

Insomnia: What’s their sleeping schedule like? Snorer? Sound sleeper?

well like i said he's an insomniac so sleep rly is a vague, barely recognised concept to him at the point dksksksk he also experiences sleep paralysis during especially bad nightmares, honestly he rly hit the misery jackpot and i feel so bad like hes indisputably my most tormented oc 🙃🙃🙃 so yea hehe doesnt really thrash around during nightmares but he sweats A LOT and sometimes talks in his sleep. during sleep paraylsis obviouslyy he goes COMPLETELY rigid and still which is terrifying for everyone involved lol. on the rare occasion that he is able to sleep he is out like a light lol he would sleep for 17 hours if he could. in saying that because he is also a Strategic Napper he is usually comfortable falling asleep ANYWHERE, because hes so tired comfort really isnt a concern lol.

Jaded: Do they buy into the ���happily ever after” ideal? What’s their standard?

no he doesn't unfortunately 😔 or at least i should say he doesn't believe in it for himself - he's pretty convinced that he won't live til 30 and he's existing on borrowed time as it is, so he hasn't really put a lot of thought into his own happiness or the pursuit of his own goals because he doesn't believe he'll be around to see them realized

Kin: What’s their role among their relations? Do they consider others family?

duncan is the firstborn son of king!alistair and ella cousland, my canon warden. he's also the eldest brother to roslyn and bryce theirin. he's also, obviously , the half brother of keiran, tho none of the theirin kids are aware of that oof. his role, officially, is to become king when his parents eventually pass. its NOT something he wants, due to being so sick and unsure of himself. despite what his parents tell him, he doesnt believe he will make a good king and is really terrified of the notion in general, i guess a little like alistair was in dao. duncan kinda,,, avoids his duties, to the point where he literally LEAVES to live and study in orlais. he still does what he needs to do, keeps in correspondence with people he needs to, but its all bare minimum stuff because hes just. so afraid of it lol. he has a mostly good relationship with his family, despite that – theres some resentment between him and his sister, rose, but thats a whole entire story we dont have time for dkdkskdk

Law: What do they think about abiding rules? Are they selective about it?

like i said before he's pretty adherent to the rules and laws of society tho i do see that as more of a flaw than anything. he doesnt really feel comfortable stepping outside the norm and tends to accept that other people know best ! even if he disagrees he's usually too unsure of himself to speak up. that does change quite a bit once he and nadaia grow closer, since SHE is big on bending ridiculous or unjust rules, but he's always gonna be a bit of a follower i think 😒

Magic: In a magic series or not, are they accepting, or is each instance a shock?

he's accepting!! he's a mage so it would be wild of him if he didnt lmao. during his childhood/adolesence he was kinda harsh on himself and had a lot of internalized guilt for being a mage, bc this was obviously still fresh after the mage rebellions. he resented his own abilities and just wanted to be normal, but that was also him projecting a lot of his other problems as well. he had amazing teachers who helped him come to terms with his abilities, and the best of all was my inquisitor, ashara, who is kind of like a very distant, scary aunt who always had a soft spot for him. she helped him – and alistair and ella – RIGHT after they discovered he was a mage, and she was really the biggest role model in his life when it came to magic. duncan has always looked up to her skill and control and confidence, and tried very hard to match that.

Network: Are they connected to the people? How much do they reach out to others?

duncan has an ARMY of acquaintances and connections due to his family, but doesn't really have a lot of people he considers his close friends. he's super friendly and he gets along with most people, but like ive said before serious relationships including friendships are always a bit complicated for him bc of who he is as a person lol. as for reaching out, he's a very independent, introverted person and so he tends not to seek out other people unless he's close to them or has no other choice. he's very self conscious about being a burden on people or being to “needy" so he holds himself back and sometimes comes across as a little cold.

Offspring: What kind of parent would they be? Would they prefer one, or multiple?

he.... probably can't physically have kids unfortunately due to his condition, and as a result he's never really wanted to think too much about it, or imagine a scenario that he believes he cant have. but if it WERE a possibility, or if he felt stable in his own life enough to adopt, he'd probably be comfortable with just one child to completely spoil. he would be such a good father, albiet maybe not the coolest dad ddkdkdks i think nadaia would be the one who got up to the crazy shenanigans and let her child get away with everything, and duncan would be more of the nurturing, responsible one. he'd be a MASTER at telling bedtime stories, would kick ass at homework assistance, and would sing his kid to sleep every single night (until they got too old for it obviously). ooooo im so IMMENSELY emo abt this au now that i think about it

Pistol: Is this character skilled with a weapon? What’s their opinion of violence?

duncan is a very non-violent person, but he does believe that sometimes violence is necessary and will BE violent if he needs to – only in self defence scenarios though. he's an adept mage, and very skilled with a staff, but he isn't a fighter, really – more of a defensive, protective figure.

Question: How often do they feel doubt? What topics are they defensive about?

oh the doubt is constant with him 🙃🙃 he has a lot of deep routed dread about his own morality and whether or not he's a good person or if the maker will accept him when he dies. he's andrastian but TERRIFIED of the notion that its all actually real, bc then he doesnt know where that leaves him. he has this weird existential dichotomy where he doesnt know if hes closer resembling a grey warden or a darkspawn bc of his tainted blood. he also doubts his abilities and his magic bc he's afraid that the taint just,, makes him inherently a corrupted thing. he doubts himself on a more basic level with like, being a good brother, a good son, a good king when the time comes. he wants to be a good student and partner but sometimes his health makes him feel like he cant, and it weighs on him so heavily, almost all the time. basically he needs a hug so badly its not funny 😔😔😔

Reminder: How are they at remembering daily needs? What falls through the cracks?

uhh its very selective !!! for the most part he's very good at taking care of himself, mostly because he NEEDS to otherwise his health gets out of control, but sometimes he tends to prioritize one set of needs above another,, which usually means not sleeping (the most common), forgetting to eat, not letting his loved ones know when he's having a poor health day which usually results in him getting really sick and nobody is around to help him. he also forgets to do certain things like lock up his house, buy foodstuffs, reply to peoples letters n stuff like that.

Sing: Do they like music? Do they listen often/sing/hum/play songs in their head?

yes and yes !! duncan loves music altho its a very personal and private thing for him. he's pretty naturally gifted with music and gets it from ella, who taught him a lot of what he knows. he has a gorgeous singing voice (i kinda hc something similar to dan smith’s vocals from bastille!) that he rarely uses bc he only ever sings when he's alone or if he's forced to by a nosy loved one or something lol

Touch: How do they handle contact? Is their personal bubble big?

duncan doesn't mind being touched !!! in fact in most situations he welcomes it, as long as its like,,, appropriate and not some random stranger obviously. he grew up with ella and alistair who obviously are VERY affectionate people so he loves giving and receiving hugs from friends and he doesnt flinch or feel weird about just? random natural touches or anything. his ~love language~ is also physical touch so he LIVES for cuddling with nadaia and holding hands and anything like that. however !!! his little sister rose HATES being touched by virtually anybody and in any capacity, so he's very aware that not everybody is okay with touch, and is always careful and considerate of other peoples boundaries. he usually waits for the other person to make the first move, or simply asks them first !

Upcoming: How much do they think of the future? Do they make long-term plans?

he doesn't at all 😔 i mentioned this before but he doesn't see himself living very long, and its really impacted his outlook on life. he is afraid to commit to a lot of things, even if its something he really, truly wants, because he doesn't want to get his hopes up for things. it also keeps him from forging positive relationships. a lot of it has to do with him just being overly polite, but he refuses to make the first move with anything, or communicate what HE wants out of something. for example, his relationship with nadaia could have progressed so much faster if he had just,,, told her what he wanted. she had to make a lot of the first moves in the relationship because he just,, doesnt know how to take chances i guess !!! we love a Deeply Flawed king

Vice: What bad habits do they have? Is there something they would be ashamed of?

Some harmless ones are ; him talking to his cat constantly dkdskd also he has very poor time management skills so he's almost always a few minutes late, forgetting to lock his stuff up, and slouching, probably !!! some more serious ones would be like,, having sex with strangers as a coping mechanism lol, not speaking his mind and instead just letting himself be a doormat, also INTENSE avoidance of his problems (moving away to orlais for 9 years to avoid his fear of being king for example 🙃) tho i guess they fall under the same category oof.

Wardrobe: What’s their fashion style? Do they have any staple pieces?

duncan dresses nice, for the most part !!! again, it's mostly to do with growing up in court and having to keep up appearances, but also hes just. a nice bisexual boy who wants to take care of himself ykno, and that includes hygiene/clothing/grooming etc ! he's maybe a bit TOO reserved tho, he mostly wears dark colours like blacks, greys and brows, but hes been known to wears reds/blues/whites as well, and there’s a lot of subtle yet beautiful details on his more formal attire that might go unnoticed by a casual eye. a lot of his clothes are specifically tailored but he's also fond of big oversized sweaters for when hes just hanging out ! he's got a not great relationship with his body lol so he usually dresses very conservatively, with long sleeves and pants and usually more than one layer, but hes also a thot so !!! pants be TIGHT dksksksks

X-Ray: How’s their health? Any problem areas? Do they take care of themselves?

Djdjdksksndjddjkekdidksjs OKAY WELL if u have read this far than obviously u kno the answer to this question. if ur just skimming tho first of all ur valid ! second of all duncan is VERY sick. he was conceived when ella and alistair where still searching for the joining cur, so basically he inherited the darkspawn taint x 2 and nearly died a bunch of times as a baby/young child. obviously idk how the cure storyline is gonna resolve but my hc is that bc the darkspawn taint is something he was BORN with, not just something that happened to him via ritual, his body is much more impacted by it so even if they are able to find a cure, it wouldnt work THAT well and his health would still suffer bc of the prolonged damage. so physically, he deals with a LOT – intense migraines, insomnia, nausea, fatigue, problems with breathing and fevers and stuff. obviously mentally hes.... not doing great either, tho he’s trying his best. sometimes his insomnia gets so bad he starts hallucinating visions from his darkspawn nightmares, and sometimes he just feel paranoid in general that he's actually an Evil Darkspawn and hes just somehow managed to convince everyone hes a normal person – sort of a weird blend of imposter syndrome and body dysmorphia its. complicated. anyway he has very low self esteem and tends to think hes a huge inconvenience to everybody, and when he was a teenager he went thru a period where he was very suicidal, and ANGRY and afraid 😔 he’s doing better though, now that he has learnt how to manage most of his symptoms and he's not suffering in denerim court. nadaia is also a huge help, though he tries not to become too heavily reliant on her, since he's had bad experiences with depending too much on other people.

Yack: What’s their favorite thing to talk about? What do they go on about?

skskdkdk im already crying hehe 🙂 duncan is so introverted and self conscious of being “Too Much" for other people so he tends to keep his thoughts/interests to himself and stick w just. boring small tall or non invasive questions relating to the other person. BUT if u show an interest and he trusts u then oh boy. hes an absolute dork. he loves talking about magic and having really intense conversations abt the technical sides of it (he and dorian would get along SO well) but he also loves history !!!! before he began studying at the college of enchanters he received multiple ??? qualifications?? (idk if thats the right term but u kno) from the university of orlais, one of them being orlesian and ferelden history. also anything to do with the grey wardens, the blights and darkspawn for personal reasons obviously. He's a VERY good storyteller so he somehow finds a way to make even the dryest topics seem very compelling and Cool – varric would be proud !! he finds the orlesian Great Game fascinating, and he enjoys sharing wild anecdotes about the things he's seen asshole nobles get up to. thats always thrilling skdksksk ALSO. He has a secret interest in necromancy and the mortalitasi (its only a secret bc hes the heir and that wouldnt look ... great lol ) but he only ever really talks about that with nadaia, who finds that stuff almost as interesting as he does. also, finally, he loves talking about nadaia 😊😊😊😊 hes the type of guy who will always namedrop “my girlfriend" into any conversation, loves telling people about her accomplishments and how Cool she is ..... he loves her a Lot is what im getting at sksksks

Zodiac: What’s their astro sign? Does it fit? What would you pick, if it’s unknown?

duncan is a pisces babey like his mother !!! tho he could also be a virgo but,,, i think for now pisces works better for him. he's very smart and introspective and creative, but he has some issues with critical thoughts, avoidance and melancholy like ive mentioned. also pisces is a water element so i guess that makes even more sense, since hes an ice mage 👌👌👌

okay !!! im done !!! i cant believe i wrote all that but i guess if u didnt know abt duncan before, u absolutely do now dksksks im so sorry to anyone who actually read thru all of this, u really are braver than the troops

[akaluan]

Crack Crossover: Dragon Wings/Dragon Eclipse

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | ???

(Yeah this is something that came about because of chatting with @ptsdven and going “lol wouldn’t this be amusing if...” and then last night my brain just ran with it so you know what, cool, whatever. Have some crack crossover AU that won’t actually happen in canon. There will probably be more of this later but for now lulzies.

Also, there is a reason for the name choice that DW Uryuu made, using Sasaki as his last name: “Sa” -- “help/aid” (repeated, hence Sasa) and “Ki” -- “tree/wood”. symbolism yay!)

As the last lingering traces of Yhwach faded away, Kaito breathed a sigh of relief and let his stance relax. They had done it. They had won. Yhwach was defeated and maybe they could all /finally/ relax.

Across from him, Kurosaki settled his ridiculously large dual blades across his back and let his shoulders slump in exhaustion. Ishida allowed his bow to fade back to reishi, and carefully crossed the destroyed ground to stand at Kurosaki’s side.

“Well. This is a right mess,” a calm voice broke the silence that had fallen, and a stranger stepped from the distorted edges of the room, stride confident and unhurried. “Gin will never allow me to live this one down.”

Kaito swallowed back a curse as he stared at the man and his familiar zanpakutou: a long black daito and a pure white hook sword. He shifted his stance, flexed his hands around the hilts of his own weapons, and quietly resigned himself to peace and quiet continuing to remain beyond his grasp.

The man’s sharp gaze switched to Kaito, visibly examining him for a moment before the other’s lips quirked upwards into an amused smile.

“An alternate reality. How… exciting,” he said drolly. He considered Kaito for a moment longer, looked over at Kurosaki and Ishida, then shrugged and released his bankai in a whisper-quiet subsidence of power.

The familiar bankai outfit faded away, to be replaced with a rather traditional Shinigami outfit, but it was the man’s weapons that kept Kaito’s attention. Barely the length of traditional katana, the twin dao looked tiny in the man’s grip, especially when he transfered them into one hand and slid the paired blades into a single sheath at his waist.

“Who the hell are you?” Kurosaki demanded, pulling his blades from his back once more and taking a defensive stance.

“Him,” the man said with a casual gesture towards Kaito. “Though how in the world you ended up with /blond/ hair… You remind me of Urahara Kisuke, actually.”

“I’m his son,” Kaito replied.

That seemed to startle the stranger briefly, and he reached up to fiddle with his glasses as he processed that. “I would have never expected that. So, kido then?” At Kaito’s nod, the man made an agreeable noise, glanced around at the shattered room, then shrugged. “Well, there goes my hope of a quick retrieval. Alright gakis, let’s be on our way. We’re achieving nothing standing around here and chatting.”

“Hey, wait a minute!” Kurosaki shouted as the stranger turned to go, before falling silent at the sight of the distinctive rhombus and kanji for ‘fifth’ centered on the back of the man’s white haori.

(*What. The fuck.*) Ichigo radiated shock and disbelief. (*A Captain? He’s a fucking /Captain/?!*)

The man paused and looked over his shoulder, arching an eyebrow at Kurosaki, seemingly unaware of the shock directed at him. “Yes?”

Kurosaki coughed, glanced at Ishida and Kaito for a moment, then drew himself up despite his exhaustion. “What did you mean ‘quick retrieval’? And why are you wearing /that/?”

“A name would also be nice,” Ishida added.

“Sasaki Uryuu, Captain of the Fifth. Which is why I’m wearing ‘that’,” Sasaki told Kurosaki with amusement, as he tugged at one edge of his haori to make his point clear. “And since my being here is at least three-quarters Gin and Rangiku’s fault, I was /mildly/ hopeful that the gakis would just undo… whatever they were toying with. But since that hasn’t happened yet, I doubt it will until Rangiku finally badgers Gin into playing nice with Urahara-san.”

(*Gin and /Rangiku/? He’s calling them /gakis/?*) Ichigo made a noise of disbelief. (*Gin’s been trying to kill Aizen for decades!*)

(*I guess… he was sent back much further than we were,*) Kaito said, warily eying the Captain. How much further was the question, along with /what/ that amount of time had done to the other.

(And a small, terrified part of himself was staring at the other man and realizing /exactly/ what being a powerful soul /meant/. His alternate looked barely thirty, and yet Kaito had no idea /how old/ he actually was.)

“Do you… not get along with Urahara-san?” Ishida asked awkwardly, glancing once at Kaito and then back to Sasaki.

Sasaki shrugged and turned back to the exit, gesturing for them to follow as he answered the question. “He and I don’t always see eye to eye.” He tapped the combined hilt of his blades absently. “I’m a bit tired of mad scientists, truth be told, and Urahara-san has been… unduly fascinated with my nature from the moment he understood that I was a hybrid.”

“Father’s not like that,” Kaito finally spoke up, narrowing his eyes in annoyance. Whatever the Urahara of /Sasaki’s/ world was like, Kaito /knew/ that his own was much different.

The man turned his head a bit to give Kaito a considering look, then gave another wry smile and looked forward once more. “Perhaps not. I don’t recall the Urahara of my childhood very clearly these days, and never interacted with him all that much even then. Perhaps exile and Aizen’s games humbled him. Perhaps the man I know is lesser for never experiencing that fall from grace. But Aizen’s death, long before so many of his plans came to fruition… I cannot regret that decision.”

[enrychan]

comparison mass effect andromeda / dragon age 2, yeah or nope? i hear that a lot around the fandom

short answer: nope

extremely long answer [lots of MEA negativity and Personal Opinions™ under the cut, you’ve been warned. Please don’t read if you enjoyed the game and/or you are tired of hearing negative things about it, believe me i totally understand the feeling]:

alright i’m not going to act like DA2 wasn’t disappointing because yes, it was. especially after a game like DAO which remains among the best RPGs i’ve ever played. so I would compare MEA to DA2 because they are both disappointments. that said, i still disagree with the part of the fandom that says they are similar because of the “smaller story” and/or “the focus on the characters”. DA2 is a smaller story than DAO, but it’s laser focused on the delivery of that story within a three chapters arc, and through its characters. Exploration is almost non-existent and the fetch quests are few and so unimportant you can skip them without missing anything. The companions are the true narrative and emotional center, and each one of them has a personal mission during each one of the three chapters of the story. Some of them (especially Anders and Fenris) represent a piece of the problems and politics of Thedas and force Hawke to make decisions regarding those problems. Their growth and fate depend almost entirely on their relationship with Hawke and on the choices of the player.

On the other hand, MEA is all over the place. it gives me a number of huge maps filled with nothing but fetch quests that don’t make the narrative proceed in any way and are entirely forgettable. The game also gives me a humongous researching/developing system for weapons and armor with an absolutely ridiculous and confusing as hell UI, which requires three different currencies (milky way tech, kett tech, remnant tech), that you have to collect by scanning things, just to research the projects for said weapons and armor, not to mention the materials to actually build the fucking things - which come in like six or seven different levels, so if you want to update your weapon or armor to the next level you have to gather the materials all over again. That’s insane. At some point I just skipped that mess altogether and went through the rest of the game with my shitty level 2 gear because i was sick and tired of scanning and gathering and researching just to discover lately that i didn’t like how my new weapon worked and i wasted time for nothing. Obviously that meant the combat was much harder for me than it needed to be. There is a more in depth analysis on the researching/developing system in this review, if you’re interested. I’m not going to delve into the ridiculous implications of having to scan the rebels’ tech on Kadara to get milky way tech currency, like on the Nexus they don’t have, I don’t know, archives or books on their own technology?

I’ll also add that while the combat is probably the best part of the game, and it’s much more dynamic than in the trilogy, it’s still much less fun for me because they took away the option to order your companions to use a certain power, preventing me from planning any tactic or combo. this also had the side effect of creating another layer of separation between my Ryder and her companions; like there weren’t enough already, with the mediocre writing and everything else going wrong in this game. Basically I always fought like I was alone and most time i actually was because my two companions were KO and i didn’t care, as they were almost useless to me.

I should probably add that the quest design in MEA is atrocious, the worst of every bioware game i’ve played - and i played most of them. for almost every mission i was required to go to a certain planet, than back to the ship, than back to a planet, then back to the ship… each time going through unskippable cutscenes and loading screens. Luckily for me when i played the game they already patched the galactic map, letting me skip the cutscenes of the voyage between planets, which are very pretty at first but at the fifteenth time they start to really grate on your nerves. And despite the patch, the voyage is still very slow compared to, say, ME3. I cannot even imagine the pain of the day 1 players who were forced to suffer through those unskippable cutscenes hundreds of times. Some missions (the worst ones imo) require you to follow a signal through more than two solar systems, reading a series of five or six “false positives” or whatever, before finally finding the “real one” and conclude the mission; an utter pain in the ass and a complete waste of time. I understand that MEA had huge problems during its development, but this kind of stuff has nothing to do with those problems and everything to do with artificially extending your gaming time with boring activities, just to say that the game is “100 hours long”.

At this point I want to make clear that I would have forgiven everything - the fetch quests, the confusing crafting system, the awful quest design - if Bioware gave me a good protagonist and/or interesting companions. Not even a good story really, I didn’t even care about that, just give me a fully flashed out crew with clear motivations and backgrounds and I’ll be happy. That’s basically the reason why I forgive every shortcoming in DA2 - and there are a loooot of those. But nope, Andromeda fails there too.

With the exception of Jaal and to a lesser extent, Cora, the loyalty missions of the companions are completely disjointed from the main story and universe in which they are set and don’t make us understand more of this new galaxy in any way. This lack of relevance would still be ok if the relationship between the companions and the protagonist and/or the protagonist’s choices actually mattered (like in DA2, where the companions’ loyalty determines who lives and who dies in the end) but unfortunately they don’t, and i mean at all.

Speaking of the protagonist, again the comparison with Hawke doesn’t hold. Hawke could have three very distinct personalities which made them somewhat memorable, for good or bad. Ryder on the other hand has two or more kind of replies that are almost always the same, just with slightly different wording (as this video says: do you know the difference between “now we are building again” and “this is vital to our progress”? - not that i agree with everything said in that review but here i agree completely). Ryder fares even worse if compared to other bioware protagonists like the Warden, who had a wide range of reactions that in some cases could even include outright killing their interlocutor. Combine this with the almost complete lack of choices and/or consequences in MEA and you get the most forgettable and boring protagonist of a bioware game to date; and yeah, I’m including the Inquisitor, because while the choices of dialogue in DAI were similar to those in MEA, at least the facial animations were decent so you could have a connection with your own protagonist on some level.

To be clear, it’s not lost to me what the original intention was with Ryder’s character arc. Ryder is specifically written as inadequate, uncharismatic and sometimes incompetent, because they weren’t the intended heir to the title of Pathfinder. They kinda found themselves thrown into that role and had to adapt. On its own that’s not a bad character arc at all. On the contrary, it could have been even more interesting than Shepard’s, who was a leader even before the first mission in ME1. Unfortunately there is no actual character arc for Ryder, only premises. Ryder never becomes more charismatic or assertive during the story, in fact they make very few choices at all, and even those few have little to no consequences both in the main story and in their relationships with the other characters. Ryder is just kinda there, reacting with various shades of tone to other characters actually making choices. Again compare that to Hawke’s arc, since we are discussing whether or not the two games resemble each other. In DA2 there is a simple premise (Hawke is a poor refugee who runs from the Blight and has to survive in an unforgiving city like Kirkwall) and a very clear payoff (Hawke becomes one of the central political figures in Kirkwall, while ironically still not being able to save their own family and, possibly, friends). With Ryder there is a clear premise but no payoff. At least not on a personal level, which is important in creating a connection with our character. Of course the story goes on anyway, but it doesn’t seem to actually affect my protagonist or change them in any way, so it remains almost irrelevant to me.

Everything said until now would be already experience breaking on its own, but it becomes even more remarkable in Ryder’s specific case, because Ryder comes with an extra passenger, aka SAM - and SAM is a very invasive extra passenger. To the point that most of the time you’re convinced it’s not actually Ryder the one in charge of that brain, or of the Pathfinder team. 99% of the time it’s SAM who solves problems and tells you and the others what to do. Sometimes is becomes frankly annoying. I’m not even talking about the vaults. You have to solve a murder case? SAM doesn’t just gather the evidence, oh no, he also tells you exactly what the evidence means and how it must be interpreted, like Ryder is too stupid to connect the dots. You intervene in a beating or a robbery on Kadara, either to stop it or just to understand what’s going on? SAM tells you not to get involved. And guess what? Ryder does exactly that, instead of, idk, telling SAM to shut the fuck up? SAM also becomes downright unbearable on Voeld and on Elaaden where it keeps telling you that the temperature is rising or falling or that it’s within acceptable range. I don’t know if they finally patched the thing but god was that annoying.

In any case my point is, since it’s actually SAM and not Ryder that does all the work, you have the distinct feeling that you are not actually the protagonist in this story, just a vessel. That could have been a cool premise if, for example, Ryder leaned too much on SAM and then halfway through the story it was taken away or shut down. That could have been a dramatic moment of growth for Ryder, where they were forced to finally rely on their own strenght and actually become the Pathfinder humanity needed. But again: cool premise, no payoff. SAM is taken away only near the end of the story and Ryder almost dies because of that. And even when they can’t access their SAM during the final mission, there is still the SAM inside the other Ryder sibling’s brain to tell them and you what to do. In short, Ryder is almost entirely dependent on SAM throughout the entire story, making them even less memorable as a protagonist, if possible.

Unfortunately, the same could be said of most of the characters that populate Andromeda and particularly the Tempest. Jaal is relevant only because he is an angara, the only new friendly species introduced in MEA (another disappointment), but he is otherwise completely forgettable on his own. It’s repeated over and over again how the angara have an extremely open behaviour towards each other, expressing feelings without many constraints like we do, but the problem is, without good and complex facial/body animations, that kind of behaviour is hard if not impossible to deliver. I think that’s one of the main problems with Jaal’s character. The other main problem is of course the writing, always generic and kind of vague. For example when you ask him about his relationship with the Moshae, he tells you that she “inspires” and he “loves her”, but he doesn’t give you anything that actually communicates that inspiration and that love, even only through the tone of his voice (has anyone given some direction to these voice actors?). It’s only telling without showing. Compare that to Dorian talking about Felix, for example. With just one image (Felix sneaking him treats from the kitchen while he was studying) he gives you an idea of both the person that Felix was and his relationship with him.

Cora is similar to Ryder in the fact that her character has good premises, but no payoff. She has two main character traits: she was trained as an asari commando and has great admiration for them; and she was the second in command under Alec Ryder, so she should have become the Pathfinder, but she didn’t. Aside from the fact that in my opinion she repeats that she was trained as an asari commando a little too many times, like she wanted to be 200% sure we got the message, and that becomes kind of annoying after a while… if we take a look at her character arc we see that there is a great disappointment when she finds out that the asari heroine that she admired the most lied about the death of the asari Pathfinder for her own personal gain. This should have set in motion a series of consequences on her character journey similar to those Liara experienced when she found out that the Protheans weren’t actually the ethereal, moral beings she thought they were, but instead they were conquerors and imposed a totalitarian regime on the galaxy. But while Liara at first gets angry and sad and then she slowly accepts to re-examine her own previous work under a new light, no relevant change can be seen within Cora’s character. More on this comparison can be found in this excellent video. In a similar way, her other main trait (the fact that she was the designated successor to Alec but she didn’t get the Pathfinder title in the end), also doesn’t have any payoff. In fact she is just slightly disappointed/irritated at first but she gets over it very quickly (even if Ryder is clearly not the charismatic figure humanity needs) leaving little to no consequence on her relationship with Ryder. In these conditions, the scenes in which she talks about her hobby ring hollow because I didn’t previously build my relationship with her on anything substantial, so I don’t really care about her plants.

I’d say the only companion who gets a very simple but complete character arc is Peebee, because she starts as kind of an outsider in the group, extremely afraid of commitment (the writers made sure it was super obvious with the “I live in an escape pod” thing), and in the end she learns to relax a little and trust Ryder and the rest of the crew more. Unfortunately I also found her annoying as hell since her first appearance, so that didn’t do a thing for me.

I could go on with the other companions, but this reply would become a bible. I’ll just add that the “good premises - no payoff” thing includes non-companion characters as well, Reyes for example. For the first 40/45 hours I didn’t romance anyone because, well, I found every possible LI either boring, paper thin or annoying af. That’s something I never experienced in any other Bioware game, but hey there’s a first time for everything I guess. Then I went to Kadara, I met Reyes and honestly he was a breath of fresh air. I’m not saying he was particularly deep or complex, but at least he was somewhat charismatic and charming (also, that accent), so I decided to romance him. Unfortunately both his character and his romance get no satisfying closure, as there is literally no change whatsoever, external or internal, if you let him kill Sloane; and you can’t really confront him on the fact that he used you and lied to you, even if you romanced him so it should have been kind of a big deal. bigger deal. whatever.

I’m not preteding that something like this never happened before. Speaking about the Mass Effect trilogy, Jacob is the most infamous example of boring, not entirely flashed out companion. Moving to the most recent Dragon Age, I’d say Blackwall also suffers from something similar, since he has good premises (she is vague and evasive at first because he’s lying about his true identity) but little payoff (even after the big reveal he remains pretty vague and generic about himself and his own story, nor he behaves even slightly different than before), though he’s still more interesting than the majority of the MEA crew. The point is, some shortcomigs are normal and expected and, if counter-balanced with other high points, they can be forgiven. But Andromeda didn’t shine in any way. Outside of combat the gameplay was boring and clunky, basically go from point A to point B, scan stuff, gather stuff, repeat. The sudoku puzzles were boring af and honesly ridiculous. No one ever solved them before you? is everyone in the Heleus cluster a moron?

In fact, the whole foundation of the story is that no one in the Heleus cluster could gain access to the vaults and activate them, despite having known and studied them for centuries. One day a complete stranger from another galaxy comes and solves everything in literally five minutes. And I’m supposed to believe that. I mean my suspension of disbelief can stretch a lot, but this is a little too much for me. Also that makes the angara seem like a bunch of idiots, which is not exactly flattering for the only new friendly species we meet in Andromeda.

The writing in general is poor to say the least. I understand that the writers were included too late into the project due to the huge problems experienced during the earlier stages of development, but some of these mistakes are super basic, like writing from the POV of the omniscient narrator instead of the POV of the characters. So we get dialogues in which the characters know that they are in no real danger even though they have been shot, they are about to get shot, they risk getting spaced, and so on and so forth.

I get that the writers were aiming at something completely different from the grim, fatalistic atmosphere of ME3, but the problem is: if the script doesn’t take itself seriously, why should I take it seriously.I mean I’m all for jokes and lighthearted moments, there were a lot of those in the trilogy and i loved them (most of them), but the entire MEA script doesn’t seem to take itself seriously. The stakes SHOULD be high - the Pathfinders have the responsibility of 100.000 souls on their shoulders - but not for a moment you feel that burden, that responsibility.

Even the real reason of the voyage itself (escaping the Milky Way before the Reapers annihilate every advanced organic society) is kept secret from the player until you gather all the “memory triggers” your father left behind. Until then the whole Initiative - a huge, extremely dangerous and exceedingly expensive project - is presented like a fun stroll through a new galaxy, just because “we are explorers” and we like new beginnings and whatnot. This is another incomprehensible narrative choice that doesn’t make sense, no matter how you look at it. If you played the trilogy, the Reaper threat is certainly no surprise to you so the “plot twist” doesn’t work. If you’re a newcomer to the series you don’t even know what a Reaper is so the “plot twist” still doesn’t work. Not to mention that for some reason Alec Ryder’s “memory triggers” are scattered on planets he never even visited in his life. Instead of placing them somewhere among his things, idk, family pictures, books or music he loved, where it made sense to find them?

And even after you discover everything about the Reapers, and that everyone back in the Milky Way may have been dead for the last 600 years, there is again no consequence in the story or in the dialogues whasoever. Not even Ryder seems to be particularly affected by the terrible news. But we should be happy because we found out that their mom is still alive! Too bad we don’t care about her because we don’t know her. Exactly like in the beginning we didn’t care about Alec’s death because we didn’t know him. Those are extremely basic narrative mistakes. The whole experience is on this same, boring, safe, non-consequential level. Bioware is so much better than that.

(sorry for the long rant. I had a lot to say)

[thekoreanlass]

I’m not really a big fan of C-dramas or Meteor Garden, but who will forget this phenomenal drama that started from a Japanese manga until it became a TV series that probably has the most remakes? Taiwanese, Korean, Indonesian, and now a Chinese remake!

The Meteor Garden fever has surely converted people of all ages into fans, not just of the drama but the fictional popular quartet F4! Who would forget Dao Ming Si, Hua Ze Lei, Mei Zuo, and Xi Men? The original boys brought us wonderful songs that most 90-ish kids would still remember and sing along to, which would definitely lead us back to memories of the Taiwanese version’s immense popularity.

At that time, I remember myself still being a kid, who willingly followed her older sister’s every whim and recorded every single episode on a tape recorder for her. Those were the dark times that I totally got sick of being in front of the television and the drama, but gladly Vic Zhou was there to grace me with his presence. I so loved Hua Ze Lei as a kid. He was my ultimate crush, that was probably why I started crushing on Yoon Jihoo as soon as the Korean remake took over a few years later.

More than that blast from the past feeling though, the hottest topic this 2018 is the comeback the drama is making through the Chinese remake, starring this generation’s most beautiful faces, Shen Yue (Dong Shan Cai), Dylan Wang (Dao Ming Si), Darren Chen (Hua Ze Lei), Connor Leong (Feng Mei Zuo) and Caesar Wu (Xi Men Yan).

Shen Yue feels very familiar to me after her ‘A Love So Beautiful’ drama aired in my country and boosted in popularity. The boys, however, are all new faces to me but I must say the moment I saw them I really felt good to see that they are taking over the F4 role. Maybe because they all just look so handsome and charming that their face value already makes the cut.

Anyway, I’ve been rambling about the randomest things, but that’s just because I feel excited to talk about the 2018 version after just watching it. I’m up to episode 6 of the drama, so I shall share my first impression about what happened from the beginning to that point.

Here goes nothing!

Catchy Start

What caught my attention when I started episode 1 is how it opened the story with Shan Cai asking ‘Have you ever wondered what will happen to you in the future?’ and concluding how her 18 year old self never thought something like that will happen to her while a scene of her throwing a strong flying kick to Dao Ming Si’s face plays in slow motion.

I think that, that flying kick on the face totally brings a huge head start to the drama, causing for curiosity to uproot as they left what happened a mystery and began the generic introduction of characters. Shan Cai being the ordinary girl who will luckily land the role of heroine in one hell of a rollercoaster ride. And there was also–lo and behold–the notorious F4, who seems even more perfectly described in this version (a really much improved background than their earlier versions!) that it is too good to be true. To fictitious, to say.

Nonetheless, the start of the drama really managed to grab my attention, so I’m giving them a perfect score for that.

Same but Different

So, we get the same thing but maybe with a Chinese twist to it? I’m not sure whether it’s because they want it to be different from its past versions, but this one definitely has a very unique taste to it.

They changed a lot of things like:

Shan Cai’s family background – The original Meteor Garden and even Boys Over Flowers portrayed her as someone coming from a poor family that barely made a living. Here, Shan Cai at least came from an average family with a mom that cooks and gets money from delivering takeouts and has a father that works as a bank manager (I think they said that was his job).

In the previous versions too, her parents look really pathetic to me. I mean, the father and mother were both selling off their daughter to Dao Ming Si / Gu Jun Pyo. But at least, the mother in the Chinese version is not that loud and annoying and although she still dotes on Dao Ming Si so much that she can sell Shan Cai out to him, at least, her father is there to become the buffer that stops her antics.

An even more perfect F4 – If that’s even possible! So, I know it’s kind of cliche now that the poor girl falls in love with the rich guy. It’s a common trope among dramas, but of course we don’t get tired of the rich and handsome guys of F4! As in never get tired of them!

And to make it much better–or worse? but that’s up to you–the drama made these four flower boys even more desirable bachelors. You’ll easily know about how different and better they are right from the first episode when a random Junior walks up to Shan Cai, Qing He and Li Zhen and tells them about the popular F4.

Dao Ming Si may be the forever pineapple haired guy (his hairstyle gets even better too!), but he’s now finally equipped with the knowledge of being able to speak three or four languages and a talent for business. The old Dao Ming Si can’t even get a quote right, which was really funny back then. He was handsome and rich, but not so smart. But now he can just be everything, well except for the short temper and his anger management problems plus obsession for Shan Cai.

Hua Ze Lei used to be just quiet and snobbish like a cold prince in the older versions, but this drama made it so that they could explain his introverted behavior as related from the slight autism he had when he was a kid and is supposedly cured by the great Teng Tang Jing. Can you even cure autism? I made my own research and gladly they said a minority portion of those people with autism get cured depending on the severity of their autism and the therapies they go through over the years, but its still debatable. However, giving this drama the benefit of the doubt, this is fiction. I’m not gotta criticize it for not knowing any better. For sure, they know what they are doing.

Mei Zuo and Xi Men – so they’re like the third in command in all the versions if you ask me. I’m pretty sure, in terms of appearance, they are of equal importance. Two obnoxious, overprotective friends with a tendency to womanize. I see women hanging around them everywhere, but that’s their role. It’s the casanovas that are more interesting to watch. However, like I said they are the ‘much improved’ versions: wherein Mei Zuo has an impeccable memory that they can never lose in the card game ‘Bridge’ and Xi Men has a liking for tea, due to his family background.

I’m not sure if this is going to sound nicer and may help them look smarter, but I think this version of F4 is the milder, much civilized guys. I mean, they don’t bully someone so randomly out of the blue and make their lives a living hell. Instead, as it was explained, they are so good at the card game ‘Bridge’ (that they even have a club for that!) that many people want to challenge them and to stop anyone from just randomly challenging them, they set an odd rule that you need to first receive the ‘Joker’ card as an invitation for a Bridge match.

That doesn’t sound like much what would bad boys do, right? It would have been nicer if they stuck to the original, but I guess this isn’t so bad either. At least, if they challenge somebody it would make much more sense. Plus, they look really cool playing that game.

Hello ‘Joker’! – So, bye bye to that red card that Dao Ming Si used to send his victims and say ‘hello’ to the less threatening ‘Joker’ card in your locker. Prepare to lose in the game of Bridge with F4 and eat some slippers as the consequence!

At least, it’s befitting for them to use the card, though, right?

College and Milk Tea – I get it every version of Shan Cai is different that’s why she’s a freshman in the Nutrition course here and she works part time at a milk tea shop called ‘Talented’ with Xiao Yu.

 Fights and Reconciliations – Well, I remember Li Zhen–Shan Cai’s newfound friend–also liking Dao Ming Si in the past and because she’s jealous of Shan Cai she intentionally sets her up so that she looks like she slept with someone she met at a club.

The same friend betrays her in this version, but her reason is sort of different and somehow ‘coincidental’ and Shan Cai ends up forgiving her because she’s just that kind of person and Dao Ming Si can never have a say about it or kick her out of university since he doesn’t own it. But at least, all is well. And to be honest, I like how things ended up well between these two friends in this version, since the problem arose from something trivial and it’s just unreasonable for someone to drop out because they were being bullied for some petty reason, right?

Meteor Garden 2018 gets you hooked by these positive changes and makes the drama a bit lighter than its older versions that are leaning more on its dramatic quotient.

However, on another note, I must admit that Shan Cai didn’t experience as much hardship as the old Shan Cai did. Dao Ming Si bullies her in the most childish sense, plotting childish jokes that you can’t call disturbing. I guess, because he’s been sheltered for long enough and didn’t grow up dating girls left and right, that he is having a hard time expressing himself to her and with his very impatient personality makes him extremely possessive of her.

The lack of emotional turmoil boxes the potential of each of them to do even better in portraying their role, however.

So, in a nutshell, Meteor Garden looks totally brand new with the many additions, but still has more room to improve with the acting. Not saying, they aren’t good, but there got to be something more with that actor or actress. So, I’m looking forward to improvement until it’s 48th episode!

Fast Pacing

Is it just me or this drama is moving too quickly that I’m getting worried what more will they show in the next 44 to 48 episodes?

Not that I am complaining about the quick pacing, it’s just that maybe I am not used to it. The Taiwanese version really had a slow, agonizing pace that I would not really stick to it until the end if I had to do a marathon, while this one was just like leafing through pages in a book while only skimming it very briefly, which I think is good but pretty worrisome. Not unless they have more to show that won’t be dragging and not just a filler, then I guess the pacing should be fine.

Total Flower Boys

I can definitely say that this version totally left me drooling at the boys. All of them are really good looking you can’t say they’re a waste. They do have their different charms that set them apart from each other, but in total all of them are likable eye-candies!

I used to be a solid Hua Ze Lei kind of girl, but after watching Dylan Wang portray Dao Ming Si, I can’t help but fawn over the boy. He just fits the prickly, childish and short-tempered rich boy role that’s not too rough but not kind looking either. At some points, he’s cute and surprisingly I don’t despise him for childishly annoying Shan Cai.

The Strong-willed Wild Flower that often bends

You can say that Shan Cai is that heroine who doesn’t easily back down from a challenge. She’s always been stubborn and antagonizing, especially towards Dao Ming Si. She’s been consistent in this love-hate relationship they have that sometimes it’s hard to believe how they ended up together.

But I must say I sometimes feel anxious about Shen Yue’s version of Shan Cai. She’s a good actress and its nice she can easily tear up when an emotional scene comes up, but why do I feel like this Shan Cai is being more fickle now than before? She’s fickle that I find it annoying she lets Dao Ming Si kiss her without a fight even when she likes Hua Ze Lei. I think she sounds more like a pushover or a very easy person, especially when she lets Hua Ze Lei kiss her after just seeing him kiss another girl without any second thoughts and while bringing her along with him at the beach.

A Real Douche

Excuse me for my opinion, but now that I’ve watched this version, I can’t help but think Hua Ze Lei is the real douche here and not Dao Ming Si, who did nothing but devotedly love Dong Shan Cai, I mean, Lei may appear like a cool guy because he’s quiet and introverted and he doesn’t look like he can play any tricks at girls, but the thing is he keeps stringing Shan Cai along–even kissing her cheek without any proper reason and even if he didn’t like her back then when he did it–even if he likes Jing. He even follows her to Paris and lives with her, but just because she doesn’t make time for him and he’s not man enough to be able to save their relationship, that he leaves and shakes up Dao Ming Si and Shan Cai’s blossoming love-hate relationship.

Well, I’m not saying he’s bad, but still for sure no one wants to be the second option when it comes to the person you like. No matter what, a girl needs to have some self-respect and can’t treat herself unjustly by having false hopes that one day this stupid guy will look at you. And Lei shouldn’t be that guy that gives her false hopes just because he knew she likes her and then only goes back to her after realizing Jing doesn’t need him. That’s just plain stupid. Like seriously. I’d rather pick the person who genuinely likes me more and not the person who will only give me the second place. You won’t be truly happy with someone who only puts you second in his life.

Romance

It’s still so complicated like before that it’s unbelievable. I can’t say that there will be such romance in reality, but nonetheless, I totally feel like the chemistry between Dylan Wang and Shen Yue is like second nature to them that you may find them rather unarguably cute together and suited for each other. Together, they make my heart really flutter like a teenager and grin like an idiot nonstop.

Over all

Surprisingly, I think I am being won over by this drama to another level after watching its first few episodes. Of course, I  had  my own doubts upon hearing another remake is on its way, but with some leap of faith that it wouldn’t just be some cheap drama remake, I think that it’s worth the wait and the time I invested on watching it.

I can’t say that it surpassed the other versions, because they all have their different charms. But I can probably say that Meteor Garden 2018 managed to surpass itself.  With its impeccable cast and the awesome production and directing, it surpassed expectations of most Meteor Garden fans.

Plus, add the fact that its very lighthearted in its element compared to the past versions and really much cuter that it must attract, too, the younger audience.

I will not dwell with the fact, though, that it’s pretty long for 40+ episodes times 40 minutes worth of TV viewing per episode and will just enjoy the flow of things while it can entertain me so I wouldn’t overthink about its length being a disadvantage at this time. Maybe they can use it to their advantage too, but who knows? Only time will tell.

Nonetheless, I will recommend this to anybody who just simply loves Meteor Garden at any day. You should try it if you’re up for another Meteor Garden fever and be charmed by the eternal F4!

I will rate this drama 4.7 out of 5 for surprising me and getting me hooked!

See you later for my On going and Final review for this drama in the future!

  First Impression: Meteor Garden (2018) I'm not really a big fan of C-dramas or Meteor Garden, but who will forget this phenomenal drama that started from a Japanese manga until it became a TV series that probably has the most remakes?

[shijiujun]

History3 ep 13 summary - TUGS AT UR HEARTSTRINGS BUT it’s a good episode

I’m soooo tired but the energy has come again because of Trapped HAHAHAHA the thought of BIRTHDAY SCENE gives me strength to go on praying there is NO JAM on the live stream today we’ll see

OMG what the hell we don’t get a bed scene so the two bed scenes that the writers were talking about WE WILL GET THEM SOMETIME LATER it might be after birthday scene now that I think about it but also guys I think you’ll like this episode because the PLOT MOVES and there’s plot development thank god and we actually delve into serious stuff - the dilemma of Tang Yi as a mob boss and Shao Fei as a police officer finally comes into play here

Shao Fei runs off after Tang Yi kisses his wound (DAMN HE PRESSED HIS MOUTH TO THE WOUND FOR SO DAMN LONG?!) and asks if it still hurts and Tang Yi just laughs and says ‘he’s still too soft’ AND SHAO FEI IS LITERALLY HYPERVENTILATING IN THE TOILET THEN WE GET DOMESTIC SCENE - Tang Yi cooking in the kitchen for Shao Fei WITH AN APRON ON and Shao Fei is all: “it smells so good! is this the spicy dish we had with coke the other time?”

and wow BEST HUSBAND IN THE WORLD JUST SMILES AND GOES: “you can’t have spicy food or coke while you’re recovering”

shao fei: *pouts* “you’re so stingy, controlling this and that”

DOMESTIC HUSBANDS THEY ARE RIGHT HERE GUYS!!!!!

so they sit down and cute shao fei takes a bit of the dish and puts it on tang yi’s rice first before eating himself (i LURVE THIS) - and tang yi obviously is kind of amused and touched that shao fei did that, and as they’re about to eat that’s when tang yi broaches the topic of shao fei staying at the police station because it’s safer for him there, and obviously shao fei is all ‘WHY?!’ and demands to know a reason and i thought they were gonna start fighting but thank god they’re both soft smol bbs so they just look at each other waiting for the other person to say something, and tang yi goes: “i’ll tell you, but you must promise to stay out of it. if you can’t promise me that, i won’t tell you”

so shao fei obviously agrees and tang yi starts the flashback by saying: “do you know what it’s like to grow up in a place where no one cares about and loves you? that’s the kind of place i grew up in”

AND YES HERE WE GET TANG YI AND BOSS TANG AND HONG YE BACKSTORY (still waiting for Shao fei’s COME ON) - This entire like flashback tugged at my heartstrings guys TUGGED AT MY HEARTSTRINGS I almost cried?!!! - So young Tang Yi was adopted by adoptive parents because the mom wanted to adopt him but the mom died, so the dad was never supportive of his wife adopting tang Yi and when she died he became neglectful and abusive

We start off with young Tang Yi going home and it’s his birthday but obviously the terrible dad doesn’t notice, but Tang Yi goes to his room and eats food and is about to eat cake in front of the photo of him and his mom - the dad comes into the room and he yells at tang yi for going into his room to steal the photo of him and his mom - tang yi says that it’s not his, it’s a photo of him and his mom

and the dad goes: “she’s not your mom and i’m not your dad!”

tang yi doesn’t get why he can’t have the photo and snarks back and the dad slaps him, and says a bunch of other stupid shit, so tang yi leaves home with literally just the clothes on his back and the backpack (can’t rmb if he took the photo or not) - and this scene was truly realistic, i felt that slap and everything so kudos to the actors playing young tang yi and the dad?!

then next scene: we see a super skinny hong ye fighting with a bunch of older male teens over the bicycle they stole, and tang yi is somehow there as well, and they end up fighting with the older teens - long story short, boss tang (tang guo dong) passes by with a SUPER YOUNG LOOKING DAO YI OMG?! and they help tang yi and hong ye out - boss tang tells them to hurry and go home, and hong ye just simply says: “i don’t have a home”

boss tang stares at them for a while, and although tang yi doesn’t say a thing you can tell by his clothes and dirty face that obviously he has been on the streets for a while as well? so boss tang is all: “you guys hungry? want to eat some food?”

tang yi, the cautious, smart boy who knows that most strangers are up to no good, says no, while hong ye who really is hungry, says yes

anw in the next scene boss tang and tang yi are eating at the table alone - although tang yi isn’t eating (and boss tang mentions that hong ye has already eaten three bowls of rice), so boss tang leaves tang yi to eat by himself and give him some space while he goes check on hong ye to see whether she’s gone for a shower yet 

a year or less later, we see tang yi coming home to the house, and boss tang is cooking dinner - it looks fucking delicious btw and i haven’t eaten dinner so jfc i really wanted to reach into the screens for those golden fried mantous (buns) - anw, tang yi is holding onto a little box that is definitely a cake for his birthday and boss tang tells him that dinner is ready so he can come down after he’s put away his stuff - much later, the sky is dark and they’re eating already and BOSS TANG says there’s one more dish and then switches off all the lights, much to tang yi’s confusion

then boss tang comes out with a cake!!!! omg sweetest thing ever - after that they sit at the couch and make playdoh or clay figurines of ‘old tang’ and ‘little tang’ - it’s the cutest shit i’ve ever seen

so while tang yi is reminiscing all of this, he says: “boss tang gave me my first home, my first birthday etc. etc.” - basically boss tang gave him the home he never had, and then he says to shao fei: “but on that day four years ago, i watched him bleed to death in front of me - can you imagine in that moment i lost everything, and my life was ruined? do you think i can let the person who did this go?”

shao fei: “so that’s why you said you didn’t know anything, because you were waiting to take revenge yourself”

then: “tang yi, the best punishment for that person is to get justice under the law”

and of course tang yi insists that he will never ever give this person to the police, he WILL take revenge by his own hands - and shao fei dishes out what probably is the most realistic line in this entire damn show (and one that i think we’ve all been waiting for): “but tang yi, you know that if you take revenge on your own, as a police officer, i will have to catch you?”

and OMG THE HEARTBREAK BETWEEN THEM BOTH!!!! tang yi’s eyes are already watery and he just says: “you do what you need to do. i do what i need to do”

GOSH COULD THEY BE ANYMORE HEARTBREAKING LIKE WE BARELY JUST GOT THE HAPPY PARTS TWO EPISODES AGO?!! (and though i say that i think this episode was about time, because we really needed to move on the plot!!!!)

the next scene we get zhao zi asking online on a forum “what to do when a guy confesses to another guy” AND OMFG THIS IS HILARIOUS he gets the following responses:

“welcome to a whole new world”

“rmb to prepare some VASELINE”

#gaypanic!!!!!

LIKE WOW chinese netizens, you guys are real damn helpful?!!!! HAHAHAHHAA anw i totally died at the vaseline part and the funniest thing was zhao zi, at work, was READING THE RESPONSES OUT ALOUD like did you want the entire police station to know that jack, a well-known gangster and criminal, wants to bang you? and then yu qi who sits next to him (she’s recovered at least on the surface and moving on with her life ATTA GIRL YOU GO!!!) gives him the WHAT THE FUCK look at the things he’s saying - then zhao zi goes to shao fei and asks him the same thing, but shao fei was the one who confessed in this case, and zhao zi just shook his head and goes: “irrelevant, totally irrelevant”

then we move to tang yi’s house!!! omgggg TANG YI LOOKS DAMN FINE WITH THOSE EARRINGS AND THAT WHITE TURTLENECK i would like to thank the wardrobe in charge for picking out tang yi’s HELLA FINE CLOTHES

anw, hong ye and dao yi are there to discuss work, and she’s obviously still mad at dao yi, and tang yi then peruses some files on the project they’re on and picks a company - hong ye is like: “are you sure? they’ve only been around for 5 years”

and tang yi goes on and on about how he thinks the founder of the company is a good and capable person, and that hong ye should meet him because for work, and also secondly, because the founder actually told tang yi that he kind of liked hong ye at a party previously (so anw this founder is the guy we saw in the previews) - and then obviously dao yi is not happy about it and tells tang yi not to do that, but tang yi reminds him that: “if you keep on regretting, you’re going to miss her and you will miss this chance forever”

ah de turns up then and tells tang yi that chen wen hao has invited him for tea next week and tang yi says: “i’ll be there” - ah de tries to discourage him from gg but we all know that tang yi is doesn’t usually listen to ah de so he ignores him

the next scene: tang yi opens the box and we see the birthday hat from his first birthday with boss tang and the clay house he made when he was younger that represented the home that boss tang gave him, and he says to himself: “a year has passed again, happy birthday (to himself)”

AND YES LI ZHEN JIE AND BOSS TANG HAVE THE SAME EXACT BOX THAT THEY GAVE TO SHAO FEI AND TANG YI SO THEY ARE DEFINITELY CONNECTED AND EVERYTHING I really can’t wait to see how it all plays out!!! 

anw we’ll get all the crazy scenes like the drugging part and the knifing parts PLUS BIRTHDAY SCENE TOMORROW - everything exciting is only happening tmr so let’s all prepare for death tomorrow friends!!! i’m just glad they’re moving things along but i’ve really got no idea how they’re gonna squeeze:

1. dao yi and hong ye

2. jack and zhao zi

3. tang yi and shao fei being happy and all and omelette scene and DOMESTIC HUSBANDS 

4. slightly more backstory to reveal the incident four years ago

5. tang guo dong + li zhen storyline briefly at least

6. li zhen and shao fei relationship 

... all in the next 7 episodes, which is like about 3 hours worth of screen time, i really got no idea

i really liked this episode though! really liked that we saw young tang yi and younger boss tang!!! <3