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iwritenarrativesandstuff · 1 year

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HEXACO Analysis: Nakahara Chuuya

HEXACO score: 3.75/2.5/3/2.5/3.75/3.5

Highest trait: Honesty-Humility/Conscientiousness

Lowest trait: Emotionality/Agreeableness

Full order: (HC)OX(EA)

Extreme high subtraits (score 5): Sincerity, Fairness and Diligence

Extreme low subtraits (score 1): Fearfulness

(I have been agonizing over this for literally a month so I have decided to just post it how it is because I'm never going to be satisfied with it anyways.)

Port Mafia executive, former leader of The Sheep, one half of the fearsome Double Black, loyal to a fault, wants a puppy. Gotta love this dude. I'm always excited to do any meta on him because there's so much to his character. Now, much of the fanon interpretation of Chuuya differs from my perception of canon, so if you're a bit surprised by any of the rankings, read on to find out why!

Please do keep in mind: a lot of the info we have for Chuuya does not come from the main manga but from his backstory novels Fifteen and Stormbringer. While these two books have made him an incredibly fleshed-out character, we don't have much info on him at 22 years old except in brief scenes in the manga, omake, and official non-canon content like wan, mayoi and some character q&as. The good thing is that HEXACO traits tend to be relatively consistent over time (and Chuuya himself doesn't seem to have changed too much) so I don't think this will be a major issue.

Here's how I'm doing my analyses and extra HEXACO info: I Like to Write Things — Ok so since I have one note on this, that was... (tumblr.com)

*Note: I tend to be reluctant to give extreme scores unless I really can't find much opposing evidence. As such, most of my scores tend to be 2s, 3s, or 4s.

**Note: Since these are scores that require me to pick a clear ranking, it's difficult to be quite as nuanced in my discussions as I prefer to be. These are intended to be general trends and there will likely always be exceptions - if you don't agree, that's fine, and it's probably just due to differences in subjective interpretation. However, if I've referenced something incorrectly, feel free to notify me; just be polite please!

***Final note: This is a long post! I go through 24 subtraits! You have been warned!

Explanations under the cut:

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Honesty-Humility (H)

Subtrait 1: Sincerity - A tendency to be genuine in interpersonal relations.

1 = Manipulative and rarely honest.

5 = Honest to a fault and almost never lies.

While Chuuya is capable of trickery, he doesn't do this very often - he's generally a very honest person who says what he means and doesn't beat around the bush. He faces his problems head on, and due to his immensely strong ability, he's likely never needed to do otherwise. Any lies he engages in are from my recollection either someone else's idea (Dazai, Mori) or to buy time (in Stormbringer). Even then, he doesn't really keep up an act for long - think of the confrontation with the ADA in the Guild arc where he pretty much outright states what the Mafia's game is. He's entirely nonchalant about it. He's not the kind of guy you send for subterfuge or deception.

Moreover, I cannot think of a time he used lies to get what he, personally, wanted. He's a very straightforward person. He has a sort of "I am who I am" kind of mentality and this shows in his words and actions.

Having said that, there are certain times he seems to blindside himself - as an example, the nature of his complicated dynamic with Dazai. While his irritation with him and negative feelings are genuine in part, there's a lot more nuance to it than that - worry, trust, begrudging understanding, unfortunate and unwilling recognition of self through the other, etc., but he boils it down to "hate". So, Chuuya does occasionally appear to tell himself convenient partial truths to avoid digging into things that make him uncomfortable. However, this honesty scale is about interpersonal honesty, and these instances are rare to my recollection, so he gets a very high score here.

Score = 5

Subtrait 2: Fairness - A tendency to avoid fraud and corruption for personal gain.

1 = Willing to cheat and steal to get what they want.

5 = Unwilling to take advantage of others.

This is tricky... he's in the mafia which is kind of all about this sort of thing, and he performs his job very well. Even so, Chuuya actually seems to have a pretty ingrained sense of fairness, to the point where I don't think it's really a conscious thing. He advances through the ranks of the mafia rapidly by... doing his job properly. He trades honesty for honesty, answers for answers, even in the middle of a fight - see his interactions with Rimbaud for more of what I mean. He repays people's favours and has a strong sense of loyalty and responsibility. Brushing off an ally's death as a means to get ahead is repulsive to him (DHC Dead Apple prologue). He outright tells a GSS soldier in Fifteen what's going to happen to him if he shoots at Chuuya. He does what he says he will, for the most part (unless this has to do with retribution, in which sometimes, rarely, exceptions will be made... I'll bring this up again later). Again, this is probably not mere kindness but also a result of his powerful ability meaning he's never really needed to rely on unscrupulous methods. Nonetheless, for what we see of him, I can't think of a time where he screws others over outside of orders from Mori - much less for his own benefit.

(A case could be made for a drop to 4 if you include his willingness to engage in mafia activities at all. I, personally, wouldn't since being a part of an illegal organization is literally all he's ever known from age 7 onwards. That's not really a character choice imo and more to do with the context he was raised in that became his "normal".)

Score = 5

Subtrait 3: Greed Avoidance - A tendency to be uninterested in possessing lavish wealth, luxury goods and signs of status.

1 = Want to enjoy and display wealth and status.

5 = Hardly driven by material gain.

Again, kind of tricky. Chuuya's introduced in quite possibly one of the most ostentatious outfits of the series (definitely up until that point, at least). He has his expensive wine collection and I think it is implied he has some expensive tastes. I think of that bit in Wan where he says he'll drop any money if he likes the thing he's looking to buy enough. Thing is... we get a little bit in Stormbringer where Chuuya's place is near totally empty; devoid of signs of having been "lived in" and tells us that money and status don't mean much to him. Mind you, this was when he was 16 and things likely changed since then; he's no longer only driven by his goal of finding info on himself and has acclimated to his new home in a sense. Truthfully, though, we don't know all that much about 22-year-old Chuuya. From my interpretation, I think his enjoyment of fancy things like wine and nice clothes is less a drive or motive to acquire any of these things, and more that he gets them as a bonus. He grew up on the streets. He has money now; he might as well use it to get himself something nice. Honestly, I swayed back and forth on this subtrait the most... but eventually settled on a score of 2 (that wine collection is... pretty damn expensive). I think he likes to treat himself. (I am now thinking of Chuuya's excitement over his new pillow in Wan...)

(I'd actually say Chuuya's focus on his appearance has a lot more to do with the image he hopes to give off to others than any true interest in material gain, but more on that later.)

Score: 2

Subtrait 4: Modesty - A tendency to be modest and unassuming (note that this has nothing to do with self-confidence!).

1 = Consider themselves superior and entitled to special treatment.

5 = Consider themselves ordinary people with no claim to special treatment.

Ohhhkay, this is a really weird one. Chuuya is so not modest. He knows damn well how powerful he is and is not afraid to flaunt his ability and martial arts prowess. He's cocky, arrogant and completely self-assured in a fight. However... he also has this weird humility where everything he does is in service to his people. He doesn't ask for special treatment, in fact, it may even make him uncomfortable, at least in Fifteen (dislike of being called "king") and Stormbringer (balking at Adam's "Chuuya-sama" addressal and trying to get him to change it). He goes by first name basis with most everyone and while he expects respect from his subordinates, he's not above spending time with them and doesn't treat people as beneath him unless they're his enemies. From Stormbringer, we know that Chuuya being so much more powerful actually isolates and upsets him. He also rarely takes a lot of credit for things; I think about his reaction in the ending scene in Dead Apple where he brushes off praise from his boss for fighting the dragon, saying he was just doing his job. Most anything he does is brushed off in a similar manner. It's just what he does; it's his duty - what he thinks he should do for his people. See? Weird humility.

I can't rank him too low or too high on this trait - this is one subscale where Chuuya's contradictory nature starts to show, I think.

Score = 3

H Score Total = (5+5+2+3)/4 = 3.75

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Emotionality (E)

Subtrait 1: Fearfulness - A tendency to easily experience fear.

1 = Have little fear; tend to be tough and insensitive to physical pain.

5 = Strongly inclined to feel fear and avoid physical harm.

There's not much to say about this. This guy goes through so much pain; gets thrown into buildings, shocked, stabbed and just gets back up. He jumps out of a plane to fight a dragon with zero hesitation. He feels bored in most fights and itches for a real challenge. He's near completely fearless lmao.

Score = 1

Subtrait 2: Anxiety - A tendency to worry over future outcomes.

1 = Feel little stress in response to hardship and difficulties.

5 = Tend to become preoccupied even by minor problems.

I believe Chuuya has a rather standard level of anxiety. I just said he's pretty much fearless, which he is, but he can and does worry, else he would not show concern for others in the way that he does. I think about his clear worry for the captured Sheep members in Fifteen, or him trying to contact Dazai in Stormbringer, or the way his concern over the outcome of the Cannibalism virus led to him attacking the ADA even though he knew that's what their mutual enemy wanted. At the same time, he doesn't spend too much time fretting over things if he can help it.

Score = 3

Subtrait 3: Dependence - A tendency to require emotional support from others.

1 = Feel self-assured and able to cope without help or advice.

5 = Crave encouragement and support when sharing difficulties.

While I think Chuuya could benefit from some supportive friends who don't die on him ( :'( ), I don't think he necessarily needs a lot of emotional support. He's pretty used to toughing it out alone and he's good at it. He's very self-reliant. However, he does ask for advice on occasion (from Mori), he does like to be part of a group (though that's more about other people depending on him...) and he's genuinely touched when people do show a want to support him (the Flags, Adam). He's not too good at receiving said support though lol.

He deserves more than he gets imo, but this scale is about whether he needs it or not, and to me, the answer is very rarely. Chuuya can deal with anything, however much or long he needs to. The real question is should he have to?

Score = 2

Subtrait 4: Sentimentality - A tendency to feel strong emotional bonds with others.

1 = Feel little emotion when parting or in reaction to others' concerns.

5 = Feel strong attachment to others and have an empathic sensitivity.

Bonds with others are literally Chuuya's Reason Living. Like, he practically says as much in Stormbringer and loyalty and protectiveness are two of his core character traits. Nearly everything he does is for the people he decides are his family. And even though he tends to lose people time and time again, he still manages to care and value them in spite of it all. The only reason he does not rank a full 5 is because he's hardly empathic or sensitive, but his emotions and loyalties run deep and comprise a good chunk of his identity.

Score = 4

E Score Total = (1+3+2+4)/4 = 2.5

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eXtraversion (X)

Subtrait 1: Social Self-Esteem - A tendency to have positive self-regard in social contexts.

1 = Tend to see self as unpopular and have a sense of worthlessness.

5 = Consider themselves to have likeable qualities and are satisfied with who they are.

Hm. I wonder about this one. We've already established that Chuuya is very confident but that's mostly in a fight or when asserting his strength. When it comes to social interactions outside of this context, it's clear that he gets very easily self-conscious. Think of Ranpo calling him "fancy-hat" - he reaches up to touch his hat like he's unsure if it's a compliment or an insult. There's Dazai's commenting on his shoes, first happy and then extremely irritated when the other... shoe drops (I'm sorry). Comments on his clothes, stature and anything to do with his history (the latter especially when he was younger) make him defensive and prone to bursts of irritation - he's very confident up until someone says something that makes him self-conscious. This probably has a lot to do with his former insecurities about his inhumanity; while he knows now that he is human, that feeling of otherness isn't just going to go away. Of particular note is Chuuya's dress sense - I made a note of this earlier that it seems he dresses to give off a particular image, namely, his membership to a group and status as their ultimate weapon (he both blends in and strikingly stands out). I'm not the only one who's noticed how he has a lot of outfit changes throughout the series, and how they seem to match whichever group he's a part of at the time - so, to insult the way he dresses seems to be taken as a personal jab to the image he's built up, an image that keeps him secure in his membership with his people (membership we know Chuuya desires from Stormbringer). If simple poking at the surface level of his self-image is enough for him to get so defensive, that doesn't really bode well for his social self-esteem as a whole.

At the same time, Chuuya does possess a lot of self-confidence and a certain level of self-respect. His reaction to Kenji thinking he's cool is definitely unabashed pride. He likely knows and enjoys his respected reputation in the mafia - but again, this is towards his ability and prowess, not necessarily his person. He responds to care for his person often with confusion and, again, defensiveness. I feel like he's about average in social self-esteem honestly, as his reactions tend to be quite polarized. It really depends on the context and what's being judged.

Score = 3

Subtrait 2: Social Boldness - A tendency to be comfortable/confident in social situations.

1 = Tend to feel shy or awkward when speaking to others.

5 = Willing to approach strangers and speak up.

Yeah Chuuya has no issue talking to people. I wouldn't actually call him social (more on that in the next subtrait) but he's clearly anything but shy. Only reason he doesn't rank a 5 is because he approaches people much more on orders or necessity than genuine willingness.

Score = 4

Subtrait 3: Sociability - A tendency to enjoy conversation and social interaction.

1 = Generally prefer solitary activities and rarely seek out conversation.

5 = Enjoy talking, visiting and celebrating with others.

I know there's a tendency to want to pin Chuuya as being a social person from his loudness, stand-out design, and the fact that we do see him drinking with Kajii and Hirotsu outside of work but truthfully? I think there's a lot more reason to think he's not all that sociable. For one, he is extremely guarded in both Fifteen and Stormbringer which makes a lot of sense - Chuuya has always been singled out as the biggest threat in the room, which means in turn that he has no choice but to perceive most people as potential threats in turn. In Fifteen, he really only talks to people out of necessity or in a fight, but he's not hanging out - of course he isn't, none of the people in that novel treated him like a friend. In Stormbringer, it takes an age for him to relax around the Flags and even then, he's not exactly the most conversational. Okay, you might be saying, but that's him when he's younger and fresh to the idea of having friends who don't ask him for anything in return.

It's tricky, again, because we really don't have much on older Chuuya. He apparently drinks with Hirotsu and Kajii. However, we don't know if he went there with them, or whether they just all happened to be going to the same place and he started venting to them. In the scene with him, Mori and Kouyou, he brings the wine, and then... he's not even really involved in that conversation, mostly just listening (and later cursing out Dazai under his breath lol). Also, a lot of the supplemental materials - drama cds, character q&as, even in Mayoi - seem to imply that he prefers to spend his time going and doing things by himself. There's also a few interesting continuities in Mayoi (which I know is a little... sus for canon info but like I said, we really don't have much and this next point is actually fairly consistent, leading me to believe this is intended to be an actual characterization point). In a lot of his dialogue and the summaries for some of the special events, he is described as "hanging back a bit". He often seems to choose to enjoy the atmosphere instead of talk to anyone, or else he's watching for threats. He almost always seems to be tense except in two conditions: one, he knows the place and the people are safe, and two, he gets to relax and sit back without speaking much. All this seems to indicate he actually very much enjoys time alone or at least time not spent speaking to people. Even when he's at a louder location, he is far more interested in the alcohol haha.

Score = 2

Subtrait 4: Liveliness - A tendency to be enthusiastic, active and upbeat.

1 = Tend not to feel optimistic or dynamic.

5 = Usually optimists and often in high spirits.

I don't know if I'd call Chuuya an optimist, per se. I think he's actually quite jaded. However, he generally has the attitude that he can get through most things and he gets quite into the action - he loves a good fight, he likes doing stunts on his motorcycle, he feels his feelings very strongly. He's not "a ray of sunshine" hehe but he's definitely dynamic and active - I think he'd get quite bored if he had nothing to do. I'd say he's about average.

Score = 3

X Score Total = (3+4+2+3)/4 = 3

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Agreeableness (A)

Subtrait 1: Forgivingness - A tendency to feel trust and liking towards those who previously caused harm.

1 = Tend to hold a grudge.

5 = Usually ready to trust again after being treated poorly.

Hm. Again, this is another place where Chuuya's contradictory nature seems to show. Chuuya's whole mentality is if you try to hurt him or his people, he tries to hurt you back. It's very deliberate that in Fifteen he often kills by ricocheting bullets back at the people who fired at him. It's very retributive; definitely a "get-even" mentality. He immediately goes on a revenge mission against Verlaine for the Flags' sake. He remains furious at Dazai for years (but that's a constant lmao). However, he also has this strange capacity to... stop feeling that same level of raw anger, and it seems to occur when he comes to understand said person as a human being, especially if he can relate somehow. Also, something that is outright stated in Stormbringer is that Chuuya has the unfortunate tendency to help people who have helped him, even if they wind up betraying him in the end. I don't know if I'd call any of this true forgiveness (I think it ties in more with his ingrained sense of fairness and responsibility) but at the very least, he doesn't seem to hold grudges against people he comes to know for long except Dazai, and even then, he still trusts Dazai implicitly. He doesn't give his trust easily, but by god when he does, it's hard to break. I'm not entirely convinced of this myself, but I gave him a neutral score.

Score = 3

Subtrait 2: Gentleness - A tendency to be lenient in judgements of others.

1 = Tend to be critical when evaluating others.

5 = Reluctant to openly judge others harshly.

...He openly tells opponents they're weak to their faces. He's sooo not gentle and he's only really nice to his allies (and Kenji...but he has very little choice in that matter because Kenji decided they are friends). I think he's the kind of person who's blunt, but not always to be a jerk. Actually, he's fairly attuned to giving advice to people (see: drama cds) but he sure doesn't sugar-coat it. He says what he means. There's also his manner of speaking, which is considered quite vulgar. He's saved from the lowest score because, as I said, he does offer advice and encouragement without much prompting and rarely is he a complete jerk for no reason (unless you're counting bully preschool Chuuya from Wan hahaha). He also seems to have a soft spot for animals, especially dogs. Does that count? I think that counts.

Score = 2

Subtrait 3: Flexibility - A tendency to compromise and cooperate with others.

1 = Stubborn and quick to argue.

5 = Accommodate others' suggestions, even if they may be unreasonable.

I think he's fairly amenable to other ideas actually, but it depends on their source. There's an omake where Kouyou has to call him out because he's indulging Mori and his spontaneous whims too much in their planning. He goes along with the dumb shenanigans the Flags and his subordinates get into, with some griping, but it's clear he doesn't really mind. He's a lot more resistant to Dazai, of course, but again, he will go along with most things in the end because he knows that Dazai's plans do not fail. Still, he rarely just takes other's ideas without putting up a little bit of resistance first (unless it's a direct order), and he doesn't seem to work with others except Dazai (and he does not cooperate with him in any way approaching an agreeable manner, despite being completely in sync). I put him as neutral. He seems to need to see the sense in most things or else see some benefit to others (which might just be said others' enjoyment... the rich girl scene anyone?) before he'll actually do something that wasn't his idea.

Score = 3

Subtrait 4: Patience - A tendency to remain calm rather than become angry.

1 = Tend to lose their temper quickly.

5 = Have a high threshold for expressing anger.

...Lmao. I'm so sorry, buddy. If something is annoying to Chuuya, he will react (it might not be a dramatic reaction but it still manifests as at least visible irritation). He is more than capable of repressing his anger and acting more mature and serious when the situation calls for it but... it really does not take much to rile him up, especially if said annoyance humiliates or embarrasses him in some way. That said, he can and will remain stoic in the face of people who rely on him. Saved from the lowest score by a thread.

Score = 2

A Score Total = (3+2+3+2)/4 = 2.5

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Conscientiousness (C)

Subtrait 1: Organization - A tendency to seek order in surroundings.

1 = Tend to be sloppy and haphazard.

5 = Tend to keep things tidy and prefer structure.

There's not much in the series that really indicates what Chuuya is like in his own space. The closest we get is in Stormbringer, where he has very few belongings - but these are stated to be kept very neatly. He appears to spend a good deal of time making himself presentable and it makes sense that this would extend to the space around him as well. Chuuya is likely to be a pretty organized person - he's seen going over a list in an omake and planning out a schedule, and he's good at staying on task - honestly a rarity with characters in this series. While I wouldn't expect him to be quite as fastidious as, say, Kunikida, the little evidence we have seems to indicate he keeps things pretty organized.

Score = 4

Subtrait 2: Diligence - A tendency to work hard.

1 = Have little self-discipline and are not strongly achievement motivated.

5 = Have a strong work ethic and are willing to exert themselves.

Um, yeah, absolutely he's high in this trait. He considers protection of his people his duty and responsibility - it's of prime importance to him and he shoulders a lot of blame should he fail. He brushes off absurd feats such as facing off against Guivre in Stormbringer and fighting the dragon in Dead Apple with a view that can essentially be boiled down to "it's what I'm supposed to do". He clearly expects 100% from himself. He's very diligent. It's a product of his loyalty crossed with his "I can handle anything" mentality.

Score = 5

Subtrait 3: Perfectionism - A tendency to be thorough and concerned with details.

1 = Tolerate some errors and tend to neglect details.

5 = Check carefully for mistakes and improvements.

Tying in with the above, there's not a lot of conclusive examples I can point to, but as he expects full effort from himself and isn't really tolerant of his own failure, I would say this trait is high by necessity. The suits he keeps in Stormbringer are also kept spotless. I can't give a 5, because I don't think he's a perfectionist, per se, but he does rise to meet challenges and that necessitates improvement. He's the best martial artist in the Port Mafia for a reason.

Score = 4

Subtrait 4: Prudence - A tendency to deliberate carefully and inhibit impulses.

1 = Act on impulse and tend not to consider consequences.

5 = Consider options carefully and tend to be cautious/self-controlled.

...ok. So, he definitely prefers to jump into things headfirst. He solves many of his problems with actions and generally more violent ones. However - he can and does look at situations in a much more nuanced way than people give him credit for. He knows how to negotiate, for one - that's part of what Kouyou trained him on in the first place. For another, even when he does rush into a fight, the Dead Apple novelization has this brilliant passage where you see that he's incredibly observant in the midst of the action - and really, he'd have to be. Gravity manipulation is not telekinesis - there's a lot more to consider in terms of force and resistance than just "pick up/throw object". To be noted though is that much of this quick thought happens within a situation - he's adaptable in the moment but he's not really a pre-planner. His way of dealing with things kind of necessitates him jumping into a situation and working through things as they come. So, his score would still be low here, but not the lowest.

Score = 2

C Score Total = (4+5+4+2)/4 = 3.75

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Openness (O)

Subtrait 1: Aesthetic Appreciation - A tendency to find enjoyment in beauty found in art and nature.

1 = Not overly interested in works of art or natural wonder.

5 = Have a strong appreciation for various art forms and nature.

I'll be honest, there's not a lot of instances in canon to support or refute this subtrait. We do know that he likes nice clothes and hats though, so that supports some level of aesthetic appreciation. He also is shown humming in the manga, and one of his likes on his character profile is music. In other official material, such as character interviews, he seems to enjoy going for drives to look at the sunrise or sunset from a nice view or enjoying fresh snow falling from the sky. A few of his Mayoi quotes also support this, as he seems to enjoy the ambiance of wind chimes and festivities from a distance - though in one of them he sounds a bit like a tsundere ("the hydrangeas make for an exquisite sight... I suppose") lol.

So, while there isn't a lot, I think there's decent support for a high score here. I can't really see him at an art gallery per se, but he definitely has an aesthetic sense and likely an appreciation for natural beauty as well.

Score = 4

Subtrait 2: Inquisitiveness - A tendency to seek information about and experience the world.

1 = Have little curiosity and are content with what they know.

5 = Seek out new information constantly and love new experiences.

I'm not sure there's much evidence here either. I don't think Chuuya is closed-off to learning new things, as he does teach himself new skills and seems to pick things up fairly quickly. I've already commented on how he's pretty adaptable, especially in the moment. However, I don't think he's the type to go beyond and actively seek out new knowledge that isn't directly applicable to what he needs to know. The knowledge we see Chuuya acquire throughout the series is more practical stuff, stuff he can put to use in some way (ex. martial arts skills). His worldview also remains rather limited - he has only ever known life as an important figure in a criminal organization. He has literally known nothing else. And he doesn't seem to mind this so much; I suspect because, as Stormbringer tells us, he doesn't feel particularly deserving of examining anything different. There's also the matter of his intense loyalty to his people, which means that he has little incentive to look elsewhere. At the same time, he certainly likes to experience things in a more literal sense - he tries different wines, wears different outfits, and is incredibly engaged in action. I'll give him a average score.

Score = 3

Subtrait 3: Creativity - A tendency to innovate and experiment.

1 = Tend to stick to familiar patterns and methods with little change.

5 = Actively seek new solutions to problems and tend to self-express.

Chuuya, I would say, is a lot more straightforward than he is innovative. While, as I've mentioned multiple times by now, he adapts quickly in a fight, his go-to is still... to fight. He deals with things very much head-on, and again, he's not really a pre-planner. In the moment, however, he's incredible at reading a situation and responding near instantly to new threats. As for self-expression, I'd venture to say that Chuuya's actually pretty repressed. He has a distinctive style and set of likes and dislikes, but he often seems to understate his excitement or interest in things - see the tsundere-ish comment above or really just look at how he tries to appear cooler and more put-together than he is in like... anything he shows up in. Dude is repressed, seriously. The only time we see him unabashedly enjoying himself is in high-adrenaline situations like fights - at the very least, in Fifteen, Dazai describes him as being somewhat "kid-ish" when he gets really into things. (You are one to talk, Dazai.)

I'll put him at a neutral score since I can't find too much supporting evidence either way.

Score = 3

Subtrait 4: Unconventionality - A tendency to accept the unusual.

1 = Avoid eccentric and non-conforming persons.

5 = Receptive to ideas that might seem strange or radical.

...you know, writing all this out, and as unusually powerful and contradictory as Chuuya is... he's kind of. The normal one. At least in comparison to a lot of the company he keeps. He tends to be the voice of reason or at least keeps somewhat of a level head in the drama cds which will never stop being amusing to me. Part of the reason he's good at this though is that he's really very accepting and kind of indifferent towards people's eccentricities, especially if he's known them for a while. He barely bats an eye at Kajii's maniacal experimentation, accommodates Mori's weirdness without so much as a reaction, and while he finds Adam incredibly strange (valid lmao) he seems to start to enjoy that after a time. He seems pretty willing to accept just about anyone's quirks the more he spends time around them and gets used to them.

When around Dazai in particular, he reveals himself to... also be very, very strange. The comparatively "normal guy" is quickly replaced with someone just as incredibly unhinged as Dazai himself. Argue however you like whether they make each other better or worse but they certainly do make each other weirder.

I wonder if being surrounded by so many odd people makes him feel slightly less odd by comparison. Something to consider.

At the same time, he's a little too grounded and practical to be given a full score of 5, so a 4 he is.

Score = 4

O Score Total = (4+3+3+4)/4 = 3.5

So, there you have it! Phew, this took a while. I hope you enjoyed it!

I'm working on another analysis for Mori (BSD) and for Seam (Deltarune). If anyone has any other characters they'd like to request, feel free to drop me an ask! I write at a snail's pace but it does eventually get done!

#bsd #bsd meta #hexaco analysis #personality analysis #bsd chuuya #bsd spoilers #storyrambles #i'm glad there's been mostly positive reception to my analyses so far because i cannot explain how terrified i am of being wrong in public #<- feel free to laugh at this as i am also laughing at myself #anyways. gonna post now. hope it's a fun read!#updated with extreme high and low subtraits in the summary #i think it gives it more of a personal touch :)

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messiahzzz · 2 months

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So I came across your post for Wyll. And even though you did an update it really did shake me to see the silencing black voices and how they come off as “hostile.” As a black gamer myself and black character is treated (usually) like a subhuman. On pages where people calm them slurs and other vile things. And we’re told to essentially “get over it.” And in this regard when it comes to Wyll, we see that he has less content than the other 5 origin characters. Which is odd since he’s been around from the very beginning. Yes, he did have a rewrite due to white people saying “he’s not trustworthy/he’s to mean” like black people as a whole are supposed to fit into a nice little mold that suits them. Do I think Larian should have stood on business and kept EA Wyll as he was? Absolutely. Do I enjoy the Wyll we got at release? Absolutely. But hearing takes like yours when you, in the past, said that Wyll needs more content. It’s like you’re backpedaling to fit a narrative or be more palatable for a certain audience.

I don’t know man. It was just hurtful to read really.

“But hearing takes like yours when you, in the past, said that Wyll needs more content. It’s like you’re backpedaling to fit a narrative or be more palatable for a certain audience.”

this is going to be a long reply, but let me start it off by saying: i have always said so and i’ve never claimed anything different, even on the exact post you are currently referring to. i fully and wholeheartedly believe that wyll deserves more content until he has the exact same amount of scenes like everyone else. this includes the quality and any other aspect of his story that is in thorough need of improvement. this is something that won’t ever change.

for the sake of full transparency, these are all of the posts i’ve written that vaguely address this entire topic. [x] [x] [x] [x] [x]

the original post is — like i’ve said many, many times by now — a mere scene tally. meant to compare the amount of content (not the quality or substance thereof) wyll currently has in the game, taken in strict comparison to the other companions. not addressing the racial stereotypes and tropes present in wyll’s story in this specific post was a conscious choice i made.

i didn’t want this specific post to turn into a discussion about racism in media/fandom in the first place, because i fully believe that it is a complex and crucial topic that deserves to be addressed separately and with just as much consideration, respect, and care. as well as with actual, coherent references to back it up. however, i also recognize that these topics are inherently and inevitably interlinked. which is why i felt it unfair to refuse dialogue. i considered it my responsibility to explain my approach and also reiterate what the original purpose of said post was. …until it got out of hand.

i do think we’ve reached a point where a certain (loud minority) of the fandom is vehemently insistent on misunderstanding and misinterpreting anything i will say henceforth, no matter how many times i will repeat myself and explain my intentions. this is unfortunate, but ultimately how fandom as a whole works. branding a single person as “the problem”, while goading and egging each other on, on their respective discord servers until the next discourse pops up. and before anyone even goes in that direction: no, this is not me playing the victim, but merely an observation.

people that have been following my blog for a while now likely know that my posts are almost always accompanied by strict data & examples. i rarely derail from the topic at hand and prefer to make separate posts for each issue i want to address — not a justification, but an explanation. another example, to further illustrate what i’m referring to: if i made a post about the number of scenes gale has in comparison to the other characters and someone else asked me: why "i am not addressing the grooming and abuse he suffered through mystra as well?”. i would also tell them that: yes, while this is a crucial theme that stretches throughout his entire story and ultimately shaped his character, this is not the purpose of this specific post.

i genuinely love wyll as a character, he is one of my favorite companions in the entire game and it saddens me that there is so very little fan content of him. however, i do feel like that by effectively shutting down every discussion around him that isn’t centered on his personality and/or his romance it will inevitably leave fans burned out and even more discouraged from creating more content with him than they were in the first place. policing others on the topics that are acceptable/unacceptable to talk about (and in which manner they should be addressed) is only putting further restrictions on the little content wyll already has within fandom. it is counterproductive.

i can assure you that it was never my intention to be hurtful. neither to make poc players feel like i am silencing them nor urging them to “be quiet and get over it.” quite the contrary, in fact. i believe correction is necessary to ensure that the data (we give larian for review) is detailed, comprehensive, and factually correct. so it will be taken seriously and consistent, elaborate changes will be made. instead of merely receiving a few measly bug fixes to appease the masses.

i do hope you’ll respect my decision to remove myself from this discussion entirely and not send me any more asks regarding said topic in the future, nor reply to this post. respectful and civil dialogue is something i will never reject, but i’d also really like to let it rest and have us all focus on the aspects of fandom that genuinely bring us joy & allow for the pleasant kind of escapism.

now, since this was a lot of text, allow me to sum it up once more:

i fully believe that wyll deserves more content. until the quality, as well as the amount of his scene are exactly on par with the rest of the companions.

i have never urged anyone towards inaction or claimed that the fandom should simply “shut up and be content” with what they’re given.

what i have criticized is the methods of action that were taken by a small amount of fandom (i.e. petitions and demands directed at larian) my personal opinion being that it is not a long-term effective approach that will bring about the desired results (said petitions not even entering larian’s peripheral vision or being consciously ignored entirely). as well as being rather disrespectful to the developers and the people that continuously work on the game.

i have never claimed that you shouldn’t critique larian. in fact, i do this often myself. there are maaaaanyyyyy aspects to be critical of.

i personally believe that it is a much more efficacious approach to provide larian with direct feedback via their form. i have provided instructions, as well as examples of reports you could write on my posts (upon specific request) and also repeatedly linked to their website.

last but not least: please let it rest ✨

#asks #it speaks #racism mention #fandom discourse

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itsclydebitches · 2 years

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I'm aware I'm getting my hopes up here, but regarding that anon ask about our protagonists influencing the environment of the Everafter with their emotions... Yknow I'd hate to bring this around to Jaune, because he's already a damn screen time leech, but if he's really the knight we saw in the teaser, instead of being brainwashed by the Big Bad of this volume, there's the option that he's literally making himself the villain because that is how he sees himself after killing penny. Personally, I think that's an interesting concept, now if only it's executed well...

That is an interesting concept and though yeah, I really like it in theory, I'm not sure I'd personally want RT to tackle it on the heels of... well, everything else. Largely because as said, Jaune has already been such a focus at certain points in the story (to the detriment of the series as a whole) that doing that again would be a mistake imo. Admittedly though, I think we're already in trouble coming off of Volume 8. I've said since Penny's death aired that RT will have to tackle Jaune's grief. To ignore it would be absurd given the horrific, traumatic nature of the event, but I think there's an important difference between "The Volume acknowledges Jaune's grief because how can it not, but the majority of the emotional work goes to Ruby as the protagonist/Penny's only real friend in the group" and "The Volume turns Jaune's grief into the primary, antagonistic force of the Volume, forcing the girls (particularly Ruby) to put aside their own emotional journeys and convince Jaune that he's not really a monster." That last bit would be another stickler for me. Given how I personally don't think Jaune had to kill Penny based on how the scene was written, I'd much prefer it if Jaune took responsibility for that action, rather than burying the agency of his choice under a lot of hurt/comfort. So many of us are worried about Penny's death being turned into a fridging-esque situation. Using her to create a literal, magical example of man pain probably won't go over well...

It think it's telling that immediately following Penny's death, I saw a LOT of fans talking about the possibility that Ruby would be angry at Jaune next Volume. That tells me that many viewers are interested in seeing Jaune be held accountable for what he's done, even if the characters eventually, inevitably agree that it was necessary and no, of course he's not a bad person. But especially coming off of how Ozpin (and others) have been treated for their own questionable acts, letting Jaune off the hook would just reinforce the message that the heroes can do any horrible act under the sun and it's fine, totally justified, understandable, worthy only of gentle compassion. We're more likely to get something like that if Jaune has already been beating himself up to the point of turning himself into this creepy knight. Personally, I usually dislike it when a character's actions are immediately brushed aside because aww, they feel bad about it :( I want the girls to be just as shocked, horrified, upset, and debating whether this was actually necessary (especially since three of them didn't see it) as the fandom has been, not forced into a situation where they've got to jump straight into reassuring Jaune that he's a good person. Which isn't to say that reassurances can't come later, just that the girls need to have their own emotional journeys outside of his. Ruby's friend was just killed by another friend. Let her be mad and upset about that.

Jaune's involvement aside, this would also complicate the Ever After's magic a great deal. I suppose the story could distinguish between Jaune and the group if he really has been there for longer (the more time you spend in EA, the more influence your emotions have on the world, or something), but otherwise we'll be left with the question of why Jaune is changing himself in such a dramatic manner and the girls (presumably) are not. It would be weird to me if his grief had such a profound impact on his literal, physical self in this world and the girls' equally intense emotions over everything that's gone done didn't have similarly profound effects. If Ruby thinks she's not strong enough to defeat Salem, will she mistakenly strip away her own powers? If Neo thinks she's some personification of revenge with no goal other than to take out Ruby, can she power herself up to achieve that? RWBY has never been good at keeping its rules consistent, but the more dramatic they make EA's magic, the more we'll be asking, "Okay, so why doesn't that apply in [insert situation here]?" And, personally, anything along the lines of, "Well, it just doesn't because the world is nonsense 🤪" will get very old, very fast for me. Ruby unconsciously controlling her environment is already potentially rife with pitfalls down the road, but a Jaune who fully transforms himself? That's something else entirely and would open a whole can of worms about how this magic works and, much more importantly, why his emotions and his journey are so much more influential than our title team's. Yes, actually killing Penny was obviously traumatic, but if the show implies, or even outright says, that Jaune is more broken up by Penny's death than Ruby, I will be Very Displeased lol.

#rwde #rwby #mymetas

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felassan · 3 years

Text

Some DA trivia and dev commentary from Twitter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

User: Whaaaat?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

User: Is DA4 going to be tarkov then?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Updates begin here

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Edit / Update: Post update 22nd April

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

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rosalyn51 · 3 years

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Rosalyn51 Note: This article contains SPOILERS. The film will have its World Premiere at Toronto International Festival on Thursday, September 16. In theaters and streaming on AMC+ this December. Also worldwide. Stay tuned.

Female Filmmakers in Focus (TIFF Edition): Director Camille Griffin on Her Feature Directorial Debut, ‘Silent Night’

The British writer/director talks about making an apocalyptic black comedy set at Christmas.

Although ‘Silent Night’ is her directorial debut, British writer-director Camille Griffin has worked in film for over 25 years. With her husband, cinematographer Ben Davis (‘Eternals,’ ‘Cry Macho’), she is mother of actors Roman Griffin Davis (‘Jojo Rabbit'), Gilby Griffin Davis and Hardy Griffin Davis. Blending pitch black comedy with holiday cheer, ‘Silent Night’ is an apocalyptic twist on the ensemble Christmas comedy with a killer ensemble cast that includes Keira Knightley, Roman Griffin Davis, Matthew Goode, Lily-Rose Depp, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Lucy Punch, and Ṣọpé Dìrísù.

As friends and family gather on Christmas Eve tensions rise - but not for the usual reasons. It’s slowly revealed that the end of society as we know it is nigh. As a poisonous cloud descends upon the United Kingdom, petty differences are worked through, grievances are aired, and despite it all, love remains all around them.

Griffin sat down with Moviefone ahead of the gala presentation of ‘Silent Night’ at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Moviefone: How did you first decide to combine a holiday film with an apocalypse film?

Camille Griffin: First of all, I'm the annoying person at a dinner party who wants to talk about real things, and I get on people's nerves, because I'm not talking about nonsense. And I've noticed that a lot of people don't have the tolerance or the energy to always have big, dramatic conversations. And I don't mind having a polite argument or something and then like having a drink. I like having difficult conversations. But I know that a lot of people don't. So that, for me, is why I tried to make a comedy because I wanted to talk about important things, but make it entertaining, and not lecture or be a bore. I thought if I have a load of great actors playing great characters and great dialogue and funny moments, then I can maybe get some important points across. I just wanted to ask questions with the film. I'm not trying to give the answers obviously, you can obviously have a clue and insight into my political values. I sound very middle class, I was brought up middle class.

I used to get very sentimental at Christmas. You miss the people you haven't spoken to, your friends that you've fallen out with, or your family. That dodgy brother or sister who annoys you. There's a sentimentality about Christmas, and relationships and friendship. And I think as I've got maybe weller, emotionally and psychologically older, I've become less sentimental. But there's something so profoundly powerful about the sentimentality of Christmas, and how we want to be with your loved ones and friends and family.

MF: Was the Michael Bublé song ‘Christmas Sweater’ written for the film? It's used very uniquely three or four different times.

Griffin: Matthew Vaughn, who was my original producer, and still producer, but then he brought on Celine Rattray and Trudie Styler. Matthew is a great entrepreneur. Other than being a filmmaker and producer, he has his hands in many creative pockets. He was tinkering on his piano and came up with this Christmas song. He took it to Gary Barlow, from Take That. He's an amazing songwriter. They've written songs before, and they came up with this. Our composer Lorne Balfe, he only admitted to me last minute that he also worked on the song.

Matthew said we need to shoot a beginning where they're all on their way. I said, so they can play your Christmas song? And he said yes. So then the song had to then be brought into the film and became part of the storytelling. But it didn't originate from me, and it didn't originate from my film, but I did take the song. And I love that you notice that it has an unusual usage. He asked who do you want to sing it? I said, it's got to be Michael Bublé, Michael Bublé is Mr. Christmas, you know? And then he was like, I've got Michael Bublé!. I said we have to integrate throughout the film.

MF: How did you cast this large ensemble? Did you have any of them in mind when you were writing?

Griffin: I thought I was going to make the film for no money. Because I have been writing screenplays for an awful long time. So I came back from ‘Jojo Rabbit’ because my son was in ‘Jojo Rabbit’. And I saw Taika [Waititi] using comedy. And I thought, God he’s very clever to use this comedy idea. I'm going to use comedy, I'm going to write comedy. I'm going to write a really dark comedy, because all my stories were kind of melancholic and challenging. And I thought, okay, I can use comedy that's going to make it so much better. Or when I make my movie, that's a very rich person I know for money. And I went to Matthew Vaughn for advice. And he said, I'll make your film. I'd written it for my friends who are actors, because I used to be a camera assistant for many years. I've worked in the industry for a long time, and I've accumulated friendships with some actors. I wrote it for people who are my age. One of the first things Matthew said was, Oh, we got to cast much younger, we're old Camille. It really hit me, hearing him say we're old, actually really hit me because I've never had a problem with age. I have to be honest, I didn't write the film for that cast, because I wrote the film for a much older cast.

But as soon as he had that conversation, I was like, okay, well, wouldn't it be amazing to have Keira Knightley play Nell? Wouldn’t that'd be fun, like, this whole kind of Working Title beginning and the idea of perfection and Christmas happiness. And I was like, we've got to get Keira. She’s Miss Perfection and sweet. Audiences think of her as like the perfect British jewel. We had a causal conversation right at the beginning of our development process, then months later he said Keira Knightley had read the script and wanted to talk to me. So it all starts with Keira, and she loved it. We had an amazing conversation on the phone, then we met in person and I fell in love with her. And then people wanted to work with Keira, but we were very careful with who we cast because everyone in the film is a version of who I'd written it for originally, if that makes sense.

They're exceptional. There isn't one person that I'm not so grateful to because they were really up for playing. They were up for being extreme. They were all up for trying things that weren't comfortable. I was so lucky. I had to cut a few times because I couldn't stop laughing. I couldn't believe they had this endless pit of delivering brilliant performances.

MF: Keira’s boys in the film are played by your sons. How did you decide to cast them?

Griffin: So the three boys are mine and Davida McKenzie is a friend of ours. She's Thomasin McKenzie's little sister. The boys had become close to her on ‘Jojo Rabbit’. It wasn't that I just wanted to cast my kids, I obviously wrote the part from Roman and Roman and I had been on a long journey together with him wanting to act way before ‘Jojo’, and thank God for ‘Jojo’ it changed his life. But I knew that the kids were going to be part of a big gang of actors, and that the characters were going to be subjected to a certain amount of trauma. We did meet some kids because Davida lives in New Zealand, she's bloody miles away. I kept saying, I want Davida, but she's in New Zealand, we can't afford to bring her over. We did audition other actresses, but they just didn't have what she had. The kid needs to feel safe, because she's bullied through the whole film, and if she's got her friends, Roman, Gilby and Hardy, they're all friends, she’ll feel safe.

Also, I don't want to kill other people's kids, I'd rather pretend kill my kids. They're going to be fine because they know it's a conversation, it’s a metaphor. But I didn't want to do the same to someone else’s child, who then didn't feel safe. My kids and I had these, we have quite an extreme family, we're quite volatile and passionate and loving. So I just thought it'd be safer for them as children if they were my children and our friend.

MF: What do you hope people feel after they've walked away from this film?

Griffin: I don't want to hurt anyone because I know the film is upsetting. I've cried a lot myself through the film, because I care about those characters. They're also very dysfunctional characters, they’re very flawed characters, but I cared about them because they became real. I think we all believe that there should be a slight trigger warning in the film. I don't want the audience to be angry or hurt, which is why it's important that they're not tricked. I’m very grateful there's a slight warning that, you know, it's a dark comedy, and there's death in it.

I do want people to think, you know, how do we treat our younger generation? Do we allow them to ask questions? Do we listen to them? Do we allow them to challenge us? They're going to have to inherit a damaged planet, they're going to have to inherit a damaged society. I also think, fundamentally, do we give a shit about each other? Like, I care? Am I doing enough? I'm not doing that much, because I've got three kids to look after. And if I think I'd like to leave the world a better place, but I’m feeding and cooking and helping them. But because I think okay, well, I want to be a filmmaker, and I’ve wanted to be a filmmaker since I was a young child. So maybe if I can ask the questions in cinema, and we can walk away and go, well, Jesus, that was hard, that wasn’t easy to watch. It’ll make us think, are we doing enough? Are we recycling enough? Are we paying enough taxes? Is our government making the right decisions? Are we getting vaccinated? Do we care about our neighbor? You know, how do we care about racism? Are we going to change our political view? The characters say, we should have voted Green. It's like, yeah, maybe we should all be voting Green. So I like to think that, you know, Trump’s gone now, thank God. But there's a lot of recovery from the mistakes my government has done and the American Government's, certainly. That's what I'm trying to achieve with the film.

MF: Could you recommend another female filmmaker that inspired you who readers should seek out?

Griffin: I think the interesting thing is there's a lot of women writers, there's a lot of women, cinematographers, there's a lot of women actors, and I think they’re all artists. Recently I’ve been recommending a film called ‘Polisse’, not because I'm saying it's one of my absolute favorite films, but because it's a film I saw at the Cannes Film Festival many years ago by a filmmaker called Maïwenn, who had been an actress. It was an extraordinarily powerful film about the French police system and children. And I remember just sobbing and sobbing and for weeks I was obsessed with her film and obsessed with her as a filmmaker. It's not easy. I don't have easy conversations. So if someone wants something fun to watch, they shouldn't watch that. But it's called ‘Polisse’ and it was breathtaking.

'Silent Night' premieres on September 16 as part of the Gala Presentation series at the Toronto International Film Festival this year.

#matthew goode #keira knightley #annabelle wallis #lily rose depp #silent night (2021)#roman griffin davis #sope dirisu #kirby howell baptiste #lucy punch #davida mckenzie #camille griffin #michael buble #tiff 2021 #toronto international film festival #new film

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scaramoon · 3 years

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OKAY SO LORE I’M TYPING THIS IN MY NOTES APP AS I’M WATCHING THE STREAM TO GIVE YOU THE FULL EXPERIENCE AND TO MAKE SURE I DONT MISS TO TELL YOU ANYTHING

there’s someone playing piano?? like straight up video of someone at a piano,,,,i think it’s yu-peng chen!! the song he’s playing is so pretty :( THEY HAVE A WHOLE INAZUMA THEMED SET HE’S PLAYING IN?? THERES AN ACTUAL INAZUMA ARCHON STATUE IN THE BACKGROUND AND EVERYTHING??

the stream is in chinese!! with subtitles!!

it will be 2.0 AND inazuma is now officially confirmed!!

now there’s a trailer! ITS ALL SO PRETTY AND OMG THE VOICE ACTORS?? GOROU AND THOMA WERE SHOWN!! oh my god the pyro cube?? looks so?? scary?? AAAAH THOMA THOMA THOMA??? STOOD NEXT TO AETHER?? IM SCREAMING rn they’re shaking ayaka!! and now yoimiya!! her voice actor is so cute i’m- SAYUUUU!!!! AGHH SHES SO CUTE BYE GOROU GORIU GORIU GOROU AAAAHHH HE EAS THERE HE WAS THERE AAAAAH

FIRST CODE: AS6BQKLY9GLD

now they’re back to the set!! they’re introducing some of the developers, right now there’s aquaria who’s the combat designer in genshin and rn they’re talking about the stages and joys of development and how the process works,,,i actually like this part!! it’s nice to see the people working on a game i’m so fond of talk so passionately about their thoughts while they’re working on it :> he said everyone at mihoyo loves the game as much as we do and that it’s all of us together in teyvat and i went 🥺 ngl

now he’s talking about inazuma and how different it was than mondstadt or liyue and how different the challenges there were! they put a lot of thought into the electro aspect of inazuma as well as the “eternity” part of it. there will be more dev talk later and now they’re just announcing the fan art contest that starts today

now they had a set change and there’s a different dev, and now they’re talking about the cultural and design aspects of inazuma! they say they love to see fan theories and that they often leave little clues in the game and that it brings them joy and motivation when people find and decipher them. they’re talking about the tea house now and the shiba inu that owns it; they hope players can discover all the little details the writers and designers put all over inazuma,,THEY JUST DRANK IN SYNC BC THEY STARTED TALKING ABOUT UNIFORMITY IN INAZUMA IM SOBBING,,,,ok wait it’s actually rlly interesting bc they’re talking about how they made sure every single detail in inazuma contributes/reflects the story and the “electro archon strives for eternity” story i’m- they’re currently talking about the real life inspiration they had, for example how the sacred sakura tree came to be and what it means

now they’re showing character combat (?) trailers!! ayaka is first, now yoimiya!! they’re actually showing the pyro cube in yoimiya’s!! THEYRE SHOWING SAYUUU MY BBY SHES SO CUTE they’re joking about how genshin players have been waiting for ayaka since the beginning of the game lmaooo bye 😭 they’re talking about the new characters now, what kind of people they are, what to expect from them and what their character traits are!! ayaka is elegant but also sweet and cute, yoimiya is creative and somewhat childish, enthusiastic and gets along with everyone, sayu sleeps a lot to grow taller and is a very well trained tiny ninja

we’re getting two new story chapters, act I and act II as well as ayaka’s and yoimiya’s story quests!!

THEYRE TALKING ABOUT THOMA, he’s observant apparently and has a very mysterious character!! they’re also talking about sara and kokomi AAHHHH GOROU GOROU!! they didn’t say much about him other than that he’s very dependable and fierce in battle!! they also mentioned yae sakura!!

SECOND CODE; GBNA9J5H9Y4H

another scene change and another dev, now it’s cissie!! she’s the one designing the inazuma map/landscape creator and they’ll be talking about geological design and the scenery of inazuma since it’s a archipelago as well!! she’s talking about the different uses of colour and shapes and how they’re using them to impact the player’s gaming experience; she also said that they tried to pay homage to classic ghibli movies with some of the design choices they made!

rn they’re showing “the shimmering voyage” which is the 1.0 ost w 68 songs which will me available soon!! now they’re talking to yu-peng chen THEY HAD THE LONDON SYMPHONIC THEATRE RECORD THE MONDSTADT SOUNDTRACK, THE SHANGHAI ONE THE ONE FOR LIYUE AND NOW THEY ASKED THE ONE IN TOKYO TO DO THE ONE FOR INAZUMA?? HELLOO?? they pay attention to the smallest details i swear i respect that so much wow

THE THEATRE MECHANICS EVENT IS COMING BACK IN INAZUMA!! we’re getting gardening for our tea pot too!! new enemies called “ruin senitel (?)” which is essentially a worm version of the ruin guard?? it looks weird and scary ngl,,,we get new fatui enemies, “the mirror maiden” as well as normal human enemies in inazuma, dressed like samurais,,

ayaka’s banner is first, then yoimiya & sayu,,,we get 2 new 5 star weapons as well 5 new craftable inazuma weapons. we get 2 new artifacts sets, emblem of severed gate and shimenawas remembrance, we get the ability to choose an artifact by sacrificing 3 5 star artifacts and creating an artifact strongbox; new system for the weapon banner: you pick which of the 5 star weapon you want and if you don’t get it, you get “fate points” and with those you can choose the one you want!

THIRD CODE: LS6T4L9ZZ7TH

and that was it!! yu-peng chen is playing the piano again as a farewell, i guess

AHH TYSM BBY ALL THE KISSES FOR YOU 😞🙏

i really like how much detail they put into it though :( like i’m ngl i am an impatient little shit but fr its so nice to know the devs love it as much as we do, i’ll gladly wait knowing they put so much detail in it :(

ALSO SJDJFJ kazuha and sayu sleeping on warm rocks together send tweet side note: big brother kazuha is v sweet me thinks, they’re related now i said so

i saw some stuff about thoma when i opened twitter a second ago and people are lowkey pressed that their characterizations of him are wrong 😞 that’s what they get for saying he got downgraded 😁

also,,, ruin sential,, y’know the “upgrade, go back, I SAID GO BACK” meme ?? that’s me w ruin guards, hunters, and graders so 😃 i stg if that thing can go underground i’m gonna cry. OH ALSO i heard about the garden thing a while ago and i don’t remember a lot of what was said but it’s really cool >:)

pov you’re me using kazuha to fight the samurais bc i think it’s funny

OOH WAIT THE ARTIFACT THING SOUNDS COOL THOUGH :0 do we just get to pick what type it is, or do sub stats and stuff carry over/give you a higher chance of getting certain sub stats? either way i’m v happy about that i have so much maiden stuff and uh. no one to put it on :”)

the weapon banner thing sounds cool too :> i don’t have a five star weapon bc i’m scared to waste primos but mayhaps if i can choose... >:)

also shout out to yu-peng chen for being amazing, thought one of the mondstadt songs would be easy to play and i was Very Wrong

#lore.txt #genshin.txt #msg: error

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agentofmischief · 3 years

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What I want to see in future Sims Games (Discussion)

I was just watching a video on youtube by Plumbella about Sims 4′s failings at launch, and what still is lacking versus the previous games. A lot of it I agreed with, because I didn’t start playing Sims 4 until 2 years after it’s release because they didn’t have toddlers and pools, which to me was sacrilege. Why would I play a sims game that took a huge step back by removing toddlers? And what sims game doesn’t have a pool mechanic? How am I supposed to mass kill my sims?

Anyway, after watching it, I began thinking about what I’d like to see in the next generation. It’s likely not far off, as it’s been 8 years since the release of Sims 4, and usually each generation has run 5 years. And as a simmer since Sims 1, here’s a list of what I’d like to see in the next edition, or Sims 5. I’d like to discuss this, so if ya’ll have any additions or points, I’d like to read them.

For Sims 5, what I'd like to see:

-Better semi-open world, so we can go within a neighborhood lot to lot with ease, but load for a different part of town maybe.

-3D world/town maps

-Auto-age toggling (like we have in 4)

-Build/design neighborhood lots and locations (like in Sims 2). *This was one of my favorite parts of the sims 2, and I've been missing it in recent base games. It's not exactly world building like Sims 3 had in an expansion pack, because from what I heard it was a bit much. But maybe I'd like to turn the island in Brindleton Bay into a small community town with 4-5 15x20 lots or 3 varying lots. It could work with a semi-open world because while you’d control the lot sizes in a neighborhood to a point, the size of the neighborhood is still the same.

-Set life story for townies/npcs. *As an adult, I'm appreciating the lore around the sims more than I did as a kid.

-Color-wheel, at least for CAS. *I don't think it's necessary for build, because while it was fun in sims 3, it was also bit much. I am preferring the swatch options for build and buy. It's a lot more realistic. But hair color, eye color, skin color, and makeup are all highly different person to person. There is no reason not to have a color-wheel for those.

-Zodiac and better personality system. *In 4, we have 3 traits and a life goal, completely ignoring the zodiac scales in previous games, which provided better character personality for gameplay. In 3, we had 5 traits that essentially covered it, as the zodiac scales always had 5 sliders anyway, but it did mean we lost the base personality aspects, and those sliders. I can understand EA wanting to steer away from Zodiac signs, but maybe move to an MBTI slider scale instead, which would still add a lot more dynamic character personalities, with 3 additional traits for preferences, hobbies, and lifestyles.

-Gender toggling *we have it in sims 4, and it should continue in future editions.

-Memories and want/fears system over whims *These were in 2 and 3, and were so much better for storytelling reasons. Emotions are fun sometimes, but can be annoying. Especially when a neighbor dies during the welcome wagon, and your sim is sad for 5 days for mourning when they didn't even know them. Maybe an emotion system that works with memories and a wants/fears system.

-Extensive family trees *In sims 2 and 3, you could see a full family tree on one page, rather than just one sim’s immediate family tree.

-Sims Gallery system *easily best part of sims 4 for the community on the whole.

-Bendable stairs *amazing sims 4 addition that needs to continue

-Automatic roofs *I miss this from 2 & 3, because it took me years to figure out how to make good roofs, and I'm too lazy to put in 50 roof pieces.

-Terrain tools *These were in sims 2 & 3 base game on release, but were added way late in sims 4.

-Cars! *They were in 2&3. Why they were never put in 4 is beyond me.

-Risky Woohoos and Fertility toggling *MCC mod allows this, and makes for better story-telling in my opinion. With the evolution of woohooing since the first game, and the evolution of where sim babies come from (1st gen was kissing a lot until *boom* baby. Woohooing was only with one certain bed or jacuzzi, and did not make a baby. It wasn’t until Sims 2 did that change.), it feels like a natural progression for that mechanic. And thanks to MCC, we know its possible within the game mechanics.

Most of these we have now in sims 4, but if Sims 5 had all but one or two at launch, I feel like that would be a generation worth buying at release. Some fun additional ideas I have that I think would make the game fun, but maybe not doable for a while (or maybe at all) would be:

-Reboot Sims City as a fusion game with the sims to allow simmers to bring over towns/cities as a neighborhood base. *Like take sim city back to the bare bones idea it was when it came out of Super Nintendo of being the mayor and building one city, but allow players to also play as the sims within that town.

-Add 2 new ages: Preteen and Middle-Aged *I feel like this would add a lot of game-play value as well as storytelling to the game. Preteen could be used to really experiment with likes & dislikes and hobbies, since that time kids are really discovering who they are. It’s weird to see sims go from literal children to pretty much young adults with the teen styles. Personally, it feels like the age body-wise jumps from 6-10 to 16-19, which is a serious jump. And Middle-Aged would add so much elder gameplay. YA = 19-29 Adult = 30-70 now, when it should be 30-49. With an addition of Middle-Aged would be 50-69, and you could still have work-life, while losing the ability to try for baby when your sims are practically grandparents already. You could also have a mid-life crisis mechanic. All without worrying that your sim is going to die of old age after 2 days.

I know this has been a long-winded list. If you’ve read this far, thanks. Leave a comment on your thoughts. What should be in the next generation of Sims?

#the sims #the sims 5 #wants #ideas #game ideas #plumbella #discussion #what do you want

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talpup · 4 years

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Lost Song:10

Summary: The war between the Dragons and Griffons ended 233 years ago, and both races right along with it.

Or so it was believed. There are three individuals that will soon change that.

Kai is the last of the Dragons and he seeks to take what he sees as his rightful place and rule over all of Oblvi. Meanwhile, Shouta, the last Sphinx, wants nothing more than to do his job; keep the peace and and teach the young Fourth’s to hopefully avoid the mistakes of their ancestors. And Teris, a Foundling who is just trying to understand and survive in this strange new world that is supposedly her own.

All three have their own wants and desires, but Kai’s plans, Teris’ existence, and Shouta's past mean that none of them may get what they want.

This fic is rated explicit and has warnings of sex, violence, and other possible triggers. For a full list of story tags please check the fics AO3 (link to that at the top of my tumblrs homepage).

Notes: Flashbacks/memories are in italics. I decided to give Pops a name. Ryuu. For those of you who haven't read BNHA Vigilantes. His Purple Highness is a character from there.

10.1

Shouta entered the library of his Ilca dorm carrying a stack of essay’s to grade. His student's complained every time he assigned them homework. As if they alone suffered. If anything, they had it easy. They only had to write a single paper. Where as he had to grade them all. He set down the pile and frowned at the top page. ...And try to decipher Kaminari’s handwriting, he thought with a tired sigh.

Shouta shuffled the Venti-High Elf’s essay with its chaotic scrawl to the bottom of the pile and sat down. At least he had the next few nights off from patrol. Though it was doubtful he would get any rest from the time off. Not with members of the Council arriving and the truth of Teris being a griffon needing to be guarded. If anything, he’d probably get even less sleep than usual.

The thought of Teris had Shouta reaching into his pants pocket in search of the item he had been carrying around for two days. His hesitance was illogical and had to end. With Elders of the Council arriving later this evening, he could no longer stall. He had to give Teris the gift today.

A soft humming growl reverberated in Shouta’s chest. Not gift, he corrected himself. Why did he keep on thinking of the thing as a gift?

He growled again at the other, far more crucial failing on his part. With the Council Elders arriving this evening, Shouta should've given the thing to Teris this morning. But the infuriating woman had had been spoiling for a fight. And with the little sleep he had invaded by dreams of her. Shouta, in his irritation, had given in and snapped back. Because of that he had held off giving Teris the bracelet. He couldn’t say why, but he didn’t want to give her the gift in anger. It’s not a gift, Shouta told himself inner voice stern in it’s scolding. It’s a necessary thing for her protection.

Shouta entered Nedzu’s office. “You wanted to see me.”

“Yes. Please come in and have a seat. We have a concerning issue. Tea?” The Director of Traverseen Hall offered.

Shouta sat before the Hybrid’s desk and shook his head. When Nedzu didn’t even make himself a cup, Shouta realized just how serious the matter was.

“I’ve been informed that some Elders of the Council will be coming to Traverseen Hall. They wish to see the Foundling’s.” Nedzu said.

The heckles on the back of Shouta’s neck rose in protective aggression and worry. “Teris… There a those on the Council that will know her for a griffon at first scent.”

Nedzu nodded. “I’m aware. It’s not an easy thing to tell a Fourth's species by scent alone, especially when both parties are in human form. But there are those on the Council who were high ranking in the Griffon Court and dealt with griffons often and closely enough to know Teris is one at first whiff. While a few others would be able to do the same, having specialized in hunting and stalking out griffon locations for the dragons. If one such Elder is part of the group that’s coming. I fear there is little we could do to stop them from taking Teris before the panel. And we both know what that would mean.”

Shouta's chin ducked, teeth baring in a snarl that was hidden by his capture weapon. Teris was his. He would end anyone who dared tried to take her from him.

Nedzu went on. “It’s why I called you here. I’m aware the Dryad King found a small library of books near where he discovered you. And that he kept those books secret from the Council, gifting them to you as your inheritance as the last Sphinx. I was hoping somewhere in that small portion of what remained of the vast stores of Sphinx knowledge is something that could assist us in this.”

Shouta had barely been able to focus on teaching his class that day. When the school day finally ended he had filed out quicker than his student's. He had missed dinner and evening lesson with Hizashi and Teris. Having called in a favor with Nemuri to cover his patrol, Shouta had spent a sleepless night locked in his chambers scouring the books in his personal armory for something to help. An hour before sunrise, he had found a solution. If he combined a specifically forged charm and overlayed a certain spell on it… The following night had been another sleepless one.

An echoing clang of metal hitting metal sounded from deep within the bowels of Traverseen Hall. Even in the middle of winter the furnace room was as hot and sweltering as hell. The place was windowless and dark. The sole light of the furnace fire throwing long flickering shadows.

Tired and slick with sweat, Shouta set down the hammer and examined the layered mix of salted iron and shining silver. He pushed back his plastered hair and wiped the sweat from his brow with a leather gloved hand. One more turn in the fire and a few more hits of the hammer, and the charm would be complete.

The cuff bracelet he was making could've been made from of any metal. It definitely would've been easier and far quicker if he opted not to blend two separate metals. But given the dangers Teris would face on the patrols she and Hizashi would go on with him, Shouta found it illogical to waste the opportunity to add other layers of protection.

Sweat rolling down his bare chest, Shouta smiled, pleased with how the gift was turning out. He frown at the cuff. Why did he keep thinking of it as a gift? It wasn’t a gift. It was a necessity. He wasn’t doing this to court Teris. He was doing it because the Council was coming and Teris needed protection from being sniffed out as a griffon. Him making this thing had nothing to do with his care for her. He had no care for her. The only reason he was doing this was because it was his responsibility as Ilca leader to see both Teris and Hizashi protected.

Shouta didn’t dare ask himself if he would’ve put the same amount of time and effort into making the item look perfect and pleasing if it were for Hizashi's protection instead of Teris’. Shouta did his best not to examine his thoughts where Teris was concerned. Why would he? Teris was an annoyance he’d rather not think about at all.

Black pants hanging low on his hips, Shouta stepped back to the fire. It was cathartic to thrust the confounded item he kept thinking of as a gift into the blaze.

Humans might’ve needed protection against the furnaces heat and sparks. But even in human form Shouta didn’t have to worry about such things. The only thing he had to worry about was getting this right the first time. While he had enough material in the stores of his personal armory to make the gift. He only had enough for one attempt.

Shouta turned the long tongs, evenly heating the salted iron and sliver. More strands of inky black hair fell from the messy bun. The escaped dark waves clung to his face and neck. Sweat sizzled on his body and evaporated. It rolled down his chest and pooled in his navel then continued on and caught in the dark trail of hair that disappeared beneath the waistband of his pants.

Thoroughly heated, Shouta pulled the red hot metal from the flame and returned it to the anvil. The firelight highlighted the rolling muscles of Shouta's back as he took up the hammer and lifted it. He brought it down with a clank and mass of sparks.

With the charm forged he now had to place the overlaying spell on it. But something made him pause. The charmed bracelet would muddle the scent of the wearer’s species. While the spell would stop the charm from interfering with the wearer’s personal scent. It meant that Teris would still smell like herself; but she wouldn’t smell like a griffon. But what if one of the coming Council members were so familiar with griffons that muddling the smell of Teris’ species wasn’t enough?

If he added a few strands from his mane. No. The underlying scent of a Fourth’s species became stronger and much more prominent in their true form. Such a powerful scent of hereditary marker would garner attention in itself. But if he were to add some hair from his human form, the charmed bracelet would carry and muddle his species scent along with Teris’.

Shouta hummed, pleased at the thought of Teris having a part of him so close. He frowned. What kind of silly youngling thought was that? Why would he even want Teris to keep a part of him close when he couldn’t stand and didn’t want to be near her? Growling, Shouta blamed his exhaustion. He rubbed his tired eyes and read over the instructions for making the charm to be sure the addition of his hair would work. Satisfied that it would, he pulled the tie holding his hair back. The dark, sweat drenched locks fell with a plop.

He smirked at the thought of how Teris would react if she knew she would be wearing his unwashed hair around her wrist. But it was more than a petty vengeance. His beastly scent would be more potent this way.

Shouta reached up and sectioned out a bit of hair from the nape of his neck. Mind wandering back to the thought of Teris keeping a part of him close, Shouta carefully braided the strands unaware of the smile that crept onto his face.

Shouta stared down at the bracelet in his hand. Like all creators he easily picked out every minute flaw in his creation. Even though he had been careful in braiding, and selected the best portion of the strand to use. His critical eye found the braid sloppy. It’s weave marginally tighter at one end of the cuff and looser at the other.

At least he had done a bit better with the actual metal work. The layers sandwiched silver and salted iron so thin a Fourth would have to be in their true form and squinting to see them. The cuff looked like one solid piece. The salted iron giving it a charcoal color. While the silver gave it a sheen. His braided hair looked like a decorative black metal detail. And with the charm finished, its spell set in place, it may as well have been. Even in their true form, only a small handful of Fourth's would be able to see it as the hair it truly was.

Shouta ran a calloused thumb over the bracelet. He wondered if Teris would like it. The clock in the great room chimed the hour. Teris would soon be returning from her lessons with Kai. A slight nervous excitement bubbled up inside him. He scolded himself. This wasn't a courting gift. It was something he had to do protect Teris from the Council.

What if she did more than not like it? What if Teris rejected it? Maybe he should have Hizashi give it to her. Teris would surely be more accepting of the bracelet if given from Hizashi instead of him. A low growl rumbled in Shouta’s chest at the thought of Hizashi giving Teris the gift he had worked so hard on.

Shouta stared at the bracelet and sighed. Truth is getting harder and harder to ignore, he thought. He shook his head and told himself to shut up.

It’s an illogical waste of time and energy to continue attempting to deny the truth, his inner voice continued. You’ll have to face the fact of it sooner or later. Why this stubborn insistence on delaying the inevitable?

I don’t know what you’re talking about, Shouta told himself.

Stop trying to convince yourself otherwise. Just admit that you want her, his voice of reason sounded. This blatant denial of facts is childish and doesn’t suit you.

I don’t want her. I can barely stand her, Shouta argued with himself.

Then why worry if she’ll like the cuff and accept it?

You’re right, he told himself. It’s a necessity not a gift. As her Ilca leader, I’ll simply order Teris to wear the thing.

That’ll certainly warm her to you and win her favor, his inner voice taunted.

What do I care if Teris warms to me, he thought.

You did proposition her with seeking release, he told himself.

That was simply so I wouldn’t have to go to Nemuri. It’s not like I asked Teris to mate or be companions, he reasoned.

You wanted to though, his voice of reason pressed.

No. I didn’t, Shouta thought getting annoyed with himself.

You were disappointed when Teris turned down your offer of release.

Release, he thought. There’s no feelings involved with that.

There can be, his rational side argued.

Yeah, well, there wouldn’t have been if Teris accepted, he told himself.

You should ask her again, he thought. With her around you’ll be needing release more often. You need it now. No doubt she’s needs it too. Maybe after you give her this gift…

The main door to the dorm opened drawing Shouta’s attention and ending his inner argument. He rose to his feet and exited the library. The sight of Teris made him pause. She was beautiful. Lips slightly swollen and redder than usual. The ends of her hair damp and wetting her shirt. Wait… The smell of sex carried across the great room and assaulted his nose.

Shouta growled, heckles rising. The light excitement he had felt upon seeing Teris darkened and disappeared. His heart clenched. Chest aching as if physically wounded. Incisors lengthening Shouta pressed teeth painfully together, trying to get himself under control. The image of biting down and ripping Kai’s throat out danced in his mind along with other far less desirable scenes of Teris and Kai together.

A faint burning red mixed and tinted his charcoal colored eyes. He was kill the Dragon for taking what was his.

She’s not yours, his inner voice of reason taunted. You don’t even want her. Remember?

Right, Shouta gruffly thought. He had no interest in Teris. No desire to take and claim her and make her his. She was free to seek release with whomever she pleased. The only reason it mattered to him was because Teris was a griffon and Kai a dragon. That was why he was upset. No. Not even upset. Just concerned. As Teris’ Ilca leader, it was his duty to protect her. And Teris had just unknowingly put herself in further danger by seeking release with Kai.

Teris’ nerves were still on edge from the encounter with the red winged man. Relief instantly filled her at the sight of Shouta. His presence alone made her feel safe and secure. Shouta would know what to do and how to deal the winged man.

Teris rushed across the room to him. “Shouta--”

Shouta stepped back with a hard blowing exhale. The smell of sex and Kai on her was too much to handle. He couldn’t bare it. He shoved the bracelet at her, letting go without a care if Teris had a grasp on it or not. “For you.”

Teris fumbled with the item thrust at her. She didn’t even look at it. “Okay. But first--”

Shouta made his way to the still open door. He needed to get away from the stench of Kai and sex on her.

“Shouta! Where are you going? I need--”

“I don’t care what you need. Either deal with it yourself. Or wait till I get back.”

Teris stared after him, hurt and angry by his dismissal. She wanted to ask when he’d be back. Wanted to yell and demand he stay and listen.

Shouta slammed the door behind him.

Teris jumped, startled by the resounded sound. Left alone with her worry and growing anger.

10.2

Even after a long hot shower Kai was still upset he hadn’t been able to bring Teris back to his rooms and properly tend to her. Though she had assured him she was fine with a quick cleansing dip in the hot springs, he had wanted. Needed. To do more. It was his own propensity for cleanliness, mixed with the instinct to care for his chosen mate that had left him angry and distressed about his inability to properly tend to her.

Next time, Kai thought as he buttoned up his shirt. Next time he would show Teris what a good, caring attentive mate he would make her.

His cock stirred at the memory of Teris beneath him. The feel of her tight silken heat was something he would never forget and couldn’t wait to feel again. His eyes closed remembering the way she had moaned and cried out his name. He frowned recalling how she hadn’t been blushing or nervous at the start. Even in the heat of the moment with beastly instincts running high from the chase Teris hadn’t behaved like a virgin.

A growl bubbled in his chest. It was cut short by a knock at his chambers door.

“Enter.” Kai called, tightening his tie in place.

The door opened revealing Hari. “Master Ryuu has been seen on his way. He will be here shortly.”

“All work has been stopped?” Kai questioned, wanting to make sure.

Hari nodded. “All work ended late last night, just as you ordered. The Ilca has informed your followers to cease and conceal all doings until they have been told it is safe to begin again.”

“Good.” Much as Kai hated having to pause his efforts to reclaim the lost Dragon throne. Continuing them while members of the Council were here would be reckless and foolish. Especially when one of the visiting Council members was the man that had found his egg and raised him.

Kai exited his room and walked down the long hall. Hari turned and followed a respectful half-step behind the Dragon.

“I hope it’s alright. I took it upon myself to order the Ilca to busy themselves elsewhere this evening.” Hari said.

“Excellent. There’s no reason for them to meet Ryuu anyway.” Kai’s eyes slid to Hari. “Though if they do happen to find themselves in his presence they are to show him every level of respect.”

Hari nodded. “Of course, Sir. Master Ryuu is the reason you are here to give us purpose and hope. He deserves the utmost respect for that. I will make sure the Ilca knows it.”

“He’s a kind man who might suggest you stay with us. But we both know you have work to do. So after I introduce you, take your leave. Understood.”

“Yes, Sir.”

A knock on the door sounded just as they reached the great room. Hari quickened his steps to answer.

“Master Ryuu. It’s an honor.” Hari bowed. “Please. Come in.”

Ryuu looked about the Ilca dorm. The space seemed to expand and contract, perspective changing in direct response to his focus. He had known Traverseen Hall had been built by some of the most powerful Dwarf clans a thousand or so years before the rise and rule of Dragons and Griffons. But that didn’t make it any less impressive to finally see the ancient and powerful magic the place was imbued with.

“Do you ever walk around in your true form in here?” Ryuu questioned, a desire to try himself welling up. As a Tengu, his true forms size wasn’t hugely different from his human form. Still, to see and experience how the space altered to accommodate the change…

“That would be unseemly. You raised me better than that.” Kai said.

Ryuu’s eyes fixed and focused on the Dragon. A warm smile sprung to life. “Kai. My boy.” He looked the young Dragon over. “Not such a boy anymore. Look at you.”

Kai cleared his throat, glad for Hari’s preemptive removal of the rest of his Ilca.

Ryuu smirked and glanced out of the corner of his eye at Hari. “I’ve embarrassed him. He was never good with being fawned over. Now praise. That’s a different matter entirely. Kai’s never had any issues with being told how smart and special he is.”

Hari ducked his head and looked away, uncomfortable. He could feel Kai’s molten eyes on him. Judging and waiting for reaction.

After a brief moment, Kai spoke. “This is Hari. My second.”

Well aware Kai was subtly telling him ‘enough’, Ryuu inclined his head. “And I’m sure Kai’s told you all about me.”

Hari bowed again. “Master Ryuu. It is an honor.”

“You already said that my boy. Are you looking to make this old Tengu blush?”

Kai felt the beginning of a growl at Ryuu’s informal address. It didn’t matter whether Ryuu had called Hari ‘my boy’ because the Tengu already felt a warm favor toward him. Or simply because Hari was introduced as his second. Kai didn’t like it. Ryuu was his mentor. Hari his second. His things didn’t converse or bond without his say.

Even though the Ilca dorm was empty save for them, Kai extended a hand toward one of the private sitting rooms. “Shall we sit.”

Ryuu nodded and stepped in the direction Kai had gestured. He stopped when Hari bowed and turned away. “You’re not joining us?”

“He has work to do.” Kai answered for him.

“Ah. Of that I am far too familiar with. Even here work follows me.” Ryuu said, entering the sitting room.

Kai paused, respectfully waiting for the Tengu to sit first. “If I may ask. What brings you here?”

Ryuu’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “They didn’t tell you?”

Kai stared across the coffee table. A tight tenuous smile graced his lips. “I am rarely told anything.”

Ryuu chest lifted and fell in a sad silent sigh. He wasn’t some deluded old man that thought if people were more kind and welcoming Kai wouldn’t being looking to reclaim his throne. But he liked to believe that Kai would’ve softened and responded if he was treated with less guarded animosity simply for being a dragon. And yes, Ryuu was aware of Kai’s plans to claim the lost dragon throne. Even if Ryuu’s clan of spies hadn’t reported hearing such whispers. He knew Kai too well having raised him.

“We are here to meet the Foundlings.” Ryuu said, speaking of himself and the other Council members he arrived at Traverseen Hall with.

Kai blinked, pretending this was news. Just because that Rat Director hadn’t informed him of anything didn’t mean his wasn’t fully aware of things. He simply had wanted Ryuu to be the first to bring Teris up.

“I was charged with the females Foundling’s instruction.” Kai said.

A proud smile tugged at Ryuu’s lips. “So I’ve been told. What can you tell me of her?”

Kai took in a breath, resting forearms on knees.

Ryuu’s sharp eyes narrowed slightly noting a subtle change in Kai’s expression.

“She’s smart. Clever and capable. Eager to learn and able to retain what she’s read or been told.” Kai could go on forever talking about Teris’ desirable attributes. But he didn’t want to appear like a lovesick fool.

“High praise coming from you.” Ryuu commented. And it was true. Kai was a hard man to please.

Wanting his mentor to properly meet and get to know his chosen mate, Kai offered. “I’m sure you’ll be seeing her during tomorrow’s gathering. But if you wish, I could have her join us for dinner tomorrow evening.”

Thinking of the reason he and the others were here, Ryuu nodded. “I would like that.”

Kai inclined his head. Glad to have his plans so easily set. Now all he had to do was invite Teris who would surely and readily agree.

Oblvi Facts 1

(aka info dump cause I’m a lazy writer who’s not making the effort to fit this seamlessly into the fic)

A bit about Dryads:

Dryads of Oblvi were one of the first earth Spirits in existence. Like Venti, they are elementals. Though not the Elemental of earth.

They are ruled by either a king or queen. Their current ruler, His Purple Highness, is also an Elder on the Council. His reign as King began 380yrs into the 867yrs Dragon-Griffon war. And he has ruled as the Dryad King for a total of 711yrs.

Dryad’s do not mate/bond. It is against their nature and something they are incapable of doing. Occasionally Dryad’s will take on or become companions with one or more Fourth’s. But as a whole they simply seek and provide other Fourth's with release. Unmated Fourth's or those lacking a companion will often seek a Dryad out for release. Though not compelled by their nature or some order to accept a Fourth seeking release. A Dryad will rarely, if ever, turn the seeking Fourth away. Release/sex is not needed for a Dryad to live. But it does provide many benefits to the Dryad, their home tree, and consequently surrounding flora.

A Dryad’s home tree is the tree they were born from. It more than houses their soul. It is their soul. The only way a Dryad can be away from their home tree for more than a day is by taking and carrying a cutting of their home tree. Even then, if the cutting were removed for whatever reason the Dryad would weaken, wither, and die sooner than the usual day they could survive away from their home tree. This is why the chosen Piece of Their Person for all Dryad’s is a cutting from their home tree.

Since a Dryad’s home tree is their soul, the physical and emotional state of a Dryad will effect their home tree. This is most noticeable when having sex. As a Dryad’s arousal heightens flower buds will appear on the cutting and home tree. During the act, those buds will grow. Upon orgasm/release the buds will blossom and bloom. The magic imbued within the pollen of a Dryad’s release will carry on the air and spawn a reaction in the surrounding plant life causing those plants to blossom and flower in kind. While it’s not necessary for a Dryad’s sexual partner to orgasm for this to happen. Their partner's release does strengthen the magic in their pollen thus creating and supporting further life in the area surrounding them and their home tree.

10.3

Along with her own personal quarters, Nemuri had a different set of chambers where she took Fourth's seeking release. While she wouldn’t have minded allowing some of her regulars into her personal space. Having separate rooms was all together easier for a number of reason. Not the least of which was the feelings of one of her three companion's.

Poor Sekijiro. Tonight was suppose to be his night. But when Shouta who rarely sought release and always scheduled appointment several days in advance had shown up without one, Nemuri couldn’t send her friend away.

Thankfully she had been the one to answer the door and had been able to tell Sekijiro of their evenings delay without Shouta hearing. Cause let’s face it, Shouta had already been apologizing and trying to leave despite his clear need for release.

The Sphinx's level of control amazed her. As a Beast still early in his prime one would've expected Shouta to come seeking release at least once a week if that little. Yet it had been months since Shouta had last sought her out. And she knew for a fact Shouta didn’t have agreement with anyone else to seek release from.

Speaking of agreements. Along with scheduling before hand, despite Nemuri telling him it wasn’t necessary, Shouta had a list of set rules. Lists of preferences or strict no’s were rather common. But Shouta's list was extensive. Nemuri supposed it was part of Shouta's nature as a Sphinx to want to be prepared for every possible outcome. Never mind his need for control as an apex alpha.

Despite one of his rules being no cuddling after, Shouta always provided other forms of aftercare. It was an unnecessary thing. And most who sought release didn’t do it. If she needed tending after Nemuri had her companion's for that. But whether it was because they were friend's. Or Shouta was simply such a caring lover it bled through even in this professional setting of release. Shouta always asked if she needed anything. If he had tied her up, his calloused hands would smooth over her body seeking out tense muscles or knots to message away.

Shouta hadn’t tied her up this time. There had been no scene to lengthen his release. There hadn’t even been much foreplay. Not that Nemuri was complaining. Shouta always satisfied. And tonight was no different. Already having one orgasm, Nemuri was well on her way to a second.

Panting and sweating Nemuri's nails raked up Shouta's strong arms encouraging him along. She delighted in the way his biceps quivered and rolled under her touch. Shouta growled. His powerful hands gripped her hips, holding her still.

The head of his cock hit that spot inside her. Nemuri threw her head back and moaned. Her sensitive pussy clamping down around his thick pulsing length.

Shouta's hands tightened, fingers digging into Nemuri's flesh, adding a delicious pain to her pleasure. Nemuri moaned again. Shouta’s betraying mind once again wondered what Teris would sound like. His teeth scraped over and bit into his bottom lip wanting to bite at Teris’ tender flesh. He wanted to feel Teris dig her nails into him. Wanted to hear Teris moan and scream his name. He would mark her and claim her as his. Would feast on her lips and…

The cutting of Nemuri's home tree laid at the base of her throat jostling with Shouta's every hard, deep thrust. Three new dark purple buds sprung out near the already blossomed flowers.

“Fuck.” Shouta cursed, thrusts growing ragged and rougher.

Nemuri's back arched, pressing her breast into Shouta's large groping palm. He tweaked and twisted her nipple. She moaned again. The coil within her tightened further making her vision go white.

Shouta's eyes squeezed further shut. Teeth gritted, he shook his head. It wasn’t working. Why wasn’t it working? Balls heavy and tight. Cock throbbing and ready to burst. He was so damn close to cumming. But it wouldn’t happen. Why wouldn’t it happen? Why couldn’t he cum?

Growling, Shouta stopped.

“Wha--” Dazed by her impending orgasm, Nemuri lifted her head.

“Sorry.” Shouta mumbled.

Despite the set rules Shouta had about no kissing or touching of the face or lips, Nemuri reached out to cup his handsome face. It was an instinct born of desire to help her friend and happened without thought.

Shouta jerked his head back. He grabbed her wrist and pulled it away. “What are you doing?”

“Taking care of you.”

Shouta let her go and pulled his cock out of her wet heat. He rose to his knees, chest rumbling with a noise of disapproval. Deep voice stern, Shouta shook his head. “No. You know I’m not looking for connection or affection. Merely release. Nothing more.”

Arousal fading, the purple buds on Nemuri's piece withered and fell away leaving only the blossomed flowers from her first orgasm. “I’m well aware. I just thought that with everything going on you might need something more to help you along.”

“Going against the boundaries I set isn’t going to make me less tired or distracted by the Council’s presence.” Shouta said, face expressionless.

Nemuri blinked rapidly eyes rolling in her head. Is that the excuse he was going with? They both knew full well him being tired and distracted had nothing to do with it. Still, he was right about her crossing a line. It didn’t matter how pure or earnest her reasoning was. It had been unprofessional and wrong.

“I’m sorry. I overstepped. It won’t happen again.” Nemuri said.

Shouta gave a curt nod of forgiveness, the matter over and forgotten the moment she said it wouldn’t happen again.

Nemuri propped herself up on elbows. Her piece fell safely between her breasts. The cutting of her home tree hanging by a smooth, shining cord of black leather. “But if you ever want to properly kiss or allow the touching of faces. I would be okay with it.” She shrugged. “Who knows? It might make what you were imagining feel more real.”

Shouta's eyes sharpened. The rest of his face an expressionless mask. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m not offended. Plenty of Fourth's seeking release close their eyes and pretend to be with someone they favor.”

“My eyes were closed because I’m tired.” Shouta said.

“So you were falling asleep while fucking me? Now that would offend me.”

Shouta sat on his haunches and sighed. He knew Nemuri had been close and felt guilty for leaving her in want. “I could finger or go down on you.”

Nemuri smiled gently. Shouta was such a sweet, caring person. Not that many knew it. Seeing only the cold hard exterior of indifference Shouta displayed to protect himself. “You already gave me one release. This was for you, Shouta. What’s going on? Why couldn’t you finish?”

Irrational as it was Shouta refused to accept the known facts on why a Fourth was unable to finish. He rose up and moved from between Nemuri's legs to sit on the edge of the bed. “This arrangement works because it’s of benefit to both of us.”

“This arrangement works because you tell yourself it’s of benefit to both of us.”

Shouta looked back at her.

Nemuri sat up and shrugged a shoulder. “It’s true and you know it. Even if I didn’t have three companions. There are countless others who regularly provide me with release when they seek it for themselves.” She looked over Shouta's strong, naked frame and smiled. “Not that release with you isn’t some of the best I have.”

Shouta huffed. He shook his head and looked away. Wavy dark hair fell across his face hiding the light blush Nemuri's praise evoked.

Nemuri got out of bed and slipped on a robe. “So what’s the matter?”

Shouta took the tissues she offered him and wiped his softening cock clean of her arousal. “Just tired.”

Well aware of the same facts Shouta was blatantly ignoring, Nemuri challenged. “You’ve been tired before and always finished.”

Shouta tossed the tissues in the bedside trashcan and reached for his clothes.

“Does it have anything to do with a certain member of your Ilca?” Nemuri pressed.

Shouta’s head snapped back to her. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

Nemuri smirked at the Sphinx's furrowed brows and bared teeth.

Fingers fumbling with his pants zipper, Shouta muttered. “This has absolutely nothing to do with Teris.”

“Who said anything about Teris? I was talking about Hizashi.”

Shouta's eyes narrowed. He didn’t need to see Nemuri's dancing blue eyes to know the Dryad was toying with him. He could hear the smirking tease in her tone. “This has nothing to do with anyone.”

“Fine. But I’m here if you need to talk.” Nemuri sighed.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Shouta brusquely pulled on his long sleeve shirt.

“As you say.”

Shouta suddenly softened. “Sorry. I didn’t check. You need anything. Water? Warm towel? I could draw you a bath.”

Nemuri smiled in thanks. “No, Sweetie. I’m good. Just gonna take a quick shower and meet Sekijiro.”

“Alright then.” Shouta turned and made for the door.

Nemuri opened her mouth to ask one more time if he was alright, but stopped. There was only one reason why a Fourth in their prime wouldn’t be able to finish. Shouta knew that just as well as she. If he wasn’t ready to admit to it there was little she could do to help. At least at the moment.

Shouta walked through the long hallway of Nemuri's Ilca dorm. Lost in thought it took him a moment to register Sekijiro’s presence.

Waiting for Nemuri to finish with her unexpected caller, Sekijiro had left the doors to his rooms open. It was bad enough he had to suffer sharing Nemuri with her two other companion's. Never mind the Fourth's that continually called on her for release. But tonight was suppose to be his night alone with her.

Having heard Shouta exit the hated chambers Nemuri used for those seeking release, Sekijiro moved to stand in the doorway of his quarters. The smell Nemuri and sex on the Sphinx invaded his nostrils. His red eyes glowed. A deep, dangerous growl echoed through the long hallway.

Sekijiro would’ve thought that as a beast Shouta would understand. Or at least have sympathy for his situation. It wasn’t as if the Sphinx didn’t know about his predicament. Badly kept secret that it was. There wasn’t a single Fourth in Traverseen Hall, aside from the student's, who wasn’t aware Sekijiro was emotional mated to Nemuri. That as hers and hers alone Sekijiro couldn’t have sought release elsewhere. Even if he wanted to it would've been useless. He wouldn’t have been able to finish.

Shouta inclined his head in stiff greeting as he passed. “Kan.”

“Aizawa.” Sekijiro growled out between clenched teeth.

Bad as Shouta had felt for Sekijiro. He had seen it as the mans own fault for falling in love with Nemuri when Dryad’s were incapable of mating. It had struck him as irrational that Sekijiro had let his feelings grow to the point that the Vampuric Gargoyle was essentially one-sidedly mated. That was until tonight. Until Shouta discovered first hand that no matter the effort you didn’t always have a say in who you fell in love with.

10.4

Teris had grown more and more furious as time progressed. How dare Shouta leave like that when she needed him. Of course Hizashi, ever the peacemaker between her and the ill-tempered Sphinx, had tried to soothe her anger saying Shouta was probably on edge about the Council’s arrival. So what? For some reason everyone at Traverseen Hall was on edge about the Council’s arrival. Far as Teris saw it that didn’t excuse Shouta’s behavior. Kai never would’ve ignored her and walked out like that. Kai would've listened and…

Teris shivered. She had never seen Kai act violently. But something told her the Dragon was more than capable of doing so. She pushed aside the foreboding feeling and inner knowledge that she never would've gone to Kai about the winged mans kiss, and continued pacing the great room.

She hadn’t told Hizashi about the encounter with the strange winged Fourth either. Hizashi had only stopped by the dorm to change and get ready for his date with Oboro. Teris hadn’t want to ruin his time by worrying him. Or worse have Hizashi call off the date to stay with her until Shouta returned.

It wasn’t really that big a deal. Angry as Teris was about the unwanted kiss. It had been the look in mans eyes that truly disturbed her. The sharp dissecting gaze that seemed to pierce deeper than skin and bone. Like she was some sort of puzzle to examined and solved.

Teris unconsciously rubbed the bracelet Shouta had given her. The act brought a calming comfort. Her muscles relaxed then tightened when she caught herself. Teris growled and pulled her hand away from her right wrist. A petulant urge to take the thing off welled up inside her. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Why had Shouta given it to her? More like threw at her, Teris thought with a huff. ”For you.” Shouta's gruff words as he thrust the bracelet toward her replayed in her mind.

Teris looked down at the bracelet for the hundredth time. Not overly large or ornate, it held a reserved, subtle beauty. Her fingers traced over the braiding wondering what metal had been used for the decorative detail. The thing was flawless. Certainly the finest piece of jewelry she had ever owned.

With another growl, Teris made for the door. Waiting around here was driving her crazy. The night was nice. Maybe a stroll would take her mind off everything. Besides, the last thing she wanted was for Shouta to return and discover she had been waiting for him.

Teris opened the door and walked straight into the Sphinx. She crashed into Shouta's solid chest and stumbled back a step. Strong arms wrapped around and steadied her. The smell of sex and someone she vaguely recognized as Shouta's fellow Ilca leader friend Nemuri burned her nostrils.

Face an inch from hers, Shouta stared into Teris’ wide eyes. Her mouth was slightly open, warm breath ghosting over him. She had showered and changed. The smell of Kai and sex was gone, leaving her scent alone to delight in. Shouta’s humming purr went unnoticed by Teris who pushed and pulled away.

“Get off!” Teris tripped over her feet and stumbled again.

Shouta reached to steady her. Teris slapped his hand away.

“Don’t touch me.” Teris hissed through bared teeth.

A low displeased sound came from Shouta's throat. The known facts were wrong. There was no way he loved this irritating, ungracious woman.

Teris’ gut twisted, heart aching. Was that where Shouta had been? Having sex with Nemuri. Had it been a scheduled meet up for release? Or just something that happened? Both prospects were equally upsetting.

Why, she asked herself. You had sex with Kai only few hours ago. What’s it matter who Shouta seeks release from?

It matters because I was unsettled by that winged man and needed him, Teris thought. Shouta's my Ilca leader. He’s suppose to be there and help in times of trial. If he left in a rush when I needed him just to— Her mind stopped, forcing the abhorrent image of Shouta and Nemuri from her head.

She took shallow breaths through her mouth trying to lessen the sicking stench of sex and Nemuri from invading her senses. Needing fresh air more than ever Teris took off down the hall.

“Teris. Get back here.” Shouta stared after her a moment. When she didn’t stop and return he stormed after her. His longer stride saw him quickly catch up. “Where are you going?”

“Away.” Teris puffed, trying and failing to pull ahead of him.

“It’s late. Get back in the dorm.”

“Don’t tell me what to do!”

“Teris…” Shouta’s hand brushed her arm.

Teris spun right hand swinging out.

Shouta grabbed her wrist before the slap could connect. Teeth bared he pulled Teris to him by the forearm he held. “What’s wrong with you?”

“You! You’re what’s wrong.“ Teris accused, free hand pushing against Shouta’s firm chest.

Shouta stood immovable. His eyebrows knitted together. “Me?”

“You with your face and hair and way you move. That voice that makes me—“ Teris didn't know if she caught and stopped herself. Or stopped because someone was approaching.

“No!” The man approaching complained. “Don’t stop on my account. I just love watching confessions of love. There’s nothing better. Well, there is. But I wouldn’t watch that unless you two invited.”

Shouta stiffened. His eyes darted down to Teris’ wrists. Relief washed over him. She was wearing the bracelet. A warm exhilaration blossomed in his chest. She was wearing the bracelet.

Shouta’s thumb brushed over the metal made warm by its contact with Teris’ wrist. The spell broken when Teris pulled her arm free of his hold and turned on the newcomer.

Shouta did the same. The both of them telling that a there had been no confession of love because neither felt anything of the sort.

The Dryad King smirked at the way the two spoke over each other in their rush to assert their mutual dislike. This era’s youth sure were curious. Why did they insist on making everything so difficult? Granted in his day there had been a war raging. The youth of his time having serious matters to contend with. Still, was this ages young ones that in want of tension and spectacle? Surely they could find meaningful trial elsewhere. Love was suppose to be easy.

Shouta stopped. He frowned at Teris who continued on for a time.

“Your Highness.” Shouta inclined his head to the tall, slender man. “Are you lost?”

The Dryad King placed a manicured hand to his exposed chest. The buttons of his dress shirt undone all the way down to his tailored vest. “I came to see you, Shouta.”

“We’ll be seeing each other at tomorrow’s afternoon gathering.” Shouta said.

The Dryad stepped ever closer. His footfalls eerily silent on the wooden floor. Teris noted the mans apple green shoes perfectly matched his three piece suit down the shining gold embroidery that depicted lush swirling leaves.

His Purple Highness shook his head and sighed in disappointed disapproval. “You’re always so gruff and distant, Shouta. No wonder you and your lady friend are unwilling to accept the truth of your love.” Shouta and Teris opened their mouths but His Purple Highness went on. “It’s been years since we last saw each other. Can you blame me for not wanting to wait to see how the young Sphinx I found and finished raising is getting on?”

Teris turned to Shouta. “This is His Purple Highness?”

Shouta heaved a tired sigh and nodded.

“You’ve hear of me?” A large beaming smile cracked the Dryad King’s face.

Teris looked back at the man and blinked. He was… Different from what she expected. Though she couldn’t really say what she had expected. Certainly not some ostentatiously dressed man wearing a dark purple wizards robe over an impeccably tailored skinny cut suit.

The Dryad wagged a finger at Shouta and tisked in teasing censure. “Have you been sharing story’s of me, Shouta?”

“No.” Shouta deadpanned.

His Purple Highness looked at Teris. “Whatever he’s told you. I swear it’s a hundred times more salacious.”

The man stopped in front of Teris. He held his hand out, knuckles up. Teris quirked a brow. Did the Dryad expect her to kiss his ringed fingers? He was the Dryad King. Maybe it was expected protocol. Kai had never mentioned what to do when faced with a species royal leader. The only time he talked about them was to dismiss and belittle their authority.

She glanced at Shouta for direction. Shouta gave a small, subtle shake of his head.

Relieved, Teris gripped the Dryad’s fingers and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m--”

“It’s you.” His Purple Highness breathed.

With the smell of sex and Nemuri perfuming the air, His Purple Highness hadn’t registered the woman’s scent. But when Teris had moved, her scent had wafted through the air and tickled the Dryad King’s nose. Her scent was warm, fresh, lovely. And the underlying scent of her species… Muddled as it was, His Purple Highness wouldn’t have been able to tell what she was if he hadn’t smelled this particular Griffon before.

It was early spring. Snow still clung to small shaded patches of earth. The Dryad King walked through the forest alone. Nature was a living thing. If left alone for too long it would grow sinister and violent. This forest had been void of life for quite some time. Why? What was warding the lesser creatures away?

His Purple Highness followed his senses. Pulled to the thing that was keeping everything else at bay. Green shoots of new plant life sprung up and spread in his wake. Deep in a cold stone cave he found him. A young Sphinx frozen in time by a Gargoyles stoning spell. The boy was hold something. Clutching it in his hands. His small frame curled around it as if to protect it.

A feather.

Not just any feather.

Stoning spell removed the young Sphinx was slow to wake. It gave the Dryad King time to realize the youngling held a griffon feather. As he plucked the speckled grey and white feather from the Sphinx's tightly balled hands the Griffon’s scent wafted through the air, tickling his nose.

His Purple Highness had hid the feather for Shouta’s safety. Even then it had taken calling in several favors and making countless promises for his fellow Elders on the Council to agree to let the Sphinx live. Even now Shouta was watched. The ax hanging over Shouta's head ready to drop at the first mistake he made.

Eventually Shouta forgot about the feather he had been found clutching to his heart. Yet even without it, the Sphinx had managed to find his Griffon. And with her, the dangers His Purple Highness had tried to protect Shouta from.

Love was suppose to be easy. But that didn’t mean it always was. Sometimes love came with great hazard and difficulty.

This fic will have a LOT more world building than my others. Please feel free to comment or send me an ask if you have any questions.

Thank you to those who have left hearts. And a special thank you to those who have left comments and/or reblogged. They really mean a lot.

Special thank you to @inorganicone2230 who knows of my love for the mythic and encouraged me to start this fic without stressing about the other two I’ve got going. Your friendship means the world to me.

#aizawa shouta #kai chisaki #nemuri kayama #yamada hizashi #kan sekijirou #His Purple Highness #lost song

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jackdawyt · 5 years

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Following Jason Schreier's continued BioWare story, we have direct insight from many BioWare employees regarding the initial Dragon Age 4 BioWare were going to create code named 'Joplin' and envisioned by Mike Laidlaw, against the now in production Dragon Age project that has been code named 'Morrison'.

Last time we talked about both projects - Joplin and Morrison, equally named after their respected music artists who died at the age of 27, but were both known for revolutionizing their respected industry.

This latest report examines everything that Joplin was going to be regarding the future of the next Dragon Age title.

Let's now delve into the potential game that Dragon Age 4 initially was going to be, before it was rebooted for Anthem and Andromeda's developments.

As I quote:

The plan for Joplin was exciting, say people who worked on it. First and foremost, they already had many tools and production pipelines in place after Inquisition, ones that they hoped to improve and continue using for this new project.

They committed to prototyping ideas early and often, testing as quickly as possible rather than waiting until everything was on fire, as they had done the last time thanks to the glut of people and Frostbite’s difficulties.

“Everyone in project leadership agreed that we couldn’t do that again, and worked to avoid the kind of things that had led to problems,” said one person who worked on the project, explaining that some of the big changes included:

1) Laying down a clear vision as early as possible.

2) Maintaining regular on-boarding documents and procedures so new team members could get up to speed fast; and

3) A decision-making mentality where “we acknowledged that making the second-best choice was far, far better than not deciding and letting ambiguity stick around while people waited for a decision.”

(That person, like all of the sources for this story, spoke under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about their experiences.)

Prepare the tears for this next quote guys....

Another former BioWare developer who worked on Joplin called it “some of the best work experiences” they’d ever had. “We were working towards something very cool, a hugely reactive game, smaller in scope than Dragon Age: Inquisition but much larger in player choice, followers, reactivity, and depth,” they said. “I’m sad that game will never get made.”

You’d play as a group of spies in Tevinter Imperium, a wizard-ruled country on the north end of Dragon Age’s main continent, Thedas. The goal was to focus as much as possible on choice and consequence, with smaller areas and fewer fetch quests than Dragon Age: Inquisition.

(In other words, they wanted Joplin to be the opposite of the Hinterlands.) There was an emphasis on “repeat play,” one developer said, noting that they wanted to make areas that changed over time and missions that branched in interesting ways based on your decisions, to the point where you could even get “non-standard game overs” if you followed certain paths.

A large chunk of Joplin would center on heists. The developers talked about building systemic narrative mechanics, allowing the player to perform actions like persuading or extorting guards without the writers having to hand-craft every scene.

It was all very ambitious and very early, and would have no doubt changed drastically once Joplin entered production, but members of the team say they were thrilled about the possibilities.

The first big hiccup came in late 2016, when BioWare put Joplin on hold and moved the entire team onto the troubled Mass Effect: Andromeda, which needed as many hands as possible during its final months of development.

The Joplin team expanded with people who were rolling off Andromeda and kept working, prototyping, and designing the game. After spending months of their lives helping finish a Mass Effect that didn’t excite a ton of people, it was nice to return to Dragon Age.

One thing that wasn’t discussed much on Joplin was multiplayer, according to a few people who worked on the project, which is perhaps why the project couldn’t last.

By the latter half of 2017, Anthem was in real trouble, and there was concern that it might never be finished unless the studio did something drastic.

In October of 2017, not long after veteran Mass Effect director Casey Hudson returned to the studio to take over as general manager, EA and BioWare took that drastic action, canceling Joplin and moving the bulk of its staff, including executive producer Mark Darrah, onto Anthem.

A tiny team stuck around to work on a brand new Dragon Age 4, code-named Morrison, that would be built on Anthem’s tools and code base. It’s the game being made now. Unlike Joplin, this new version of the fourth Dragon Age is planned with a live service component, built for long-term gameplay and revenue.

One promise from management, according to a developer, was that in EA’s balance sheet, they’d be starting from scratch and not burdened with the two years of money that Joplin had already spent. Question was, how many of those ideas and prototypes would they use?

It’s not clear how much of Joplin’s vision will shape Morrison (at least some of it will, says one person on the game), but shortly after the reboot, creative director Mike Laidlaw left, as did some other veteran Dragon Agestaff.

Matt Goldman, art director on Dragon Age: Inquisition and then Joplin, took over as creative director for Morrison, while Darrah remained executive producer on both that project and Anthem.

In early 2018, when I first reported that BioWare had rebooted the next Dragon Age and that its replacement would be a live service game, studio GM Casey Hudson responded on Twitter.

“Reading lots of feedback regarding Dragon Age, and I think you’ll be relieved to see what the team is working on. Story & character focused. Too early to talk details, but when we talk about ‘live’ it just means designing a game for continued storytelling after the main story.”

The game is still very early in development and could evolve based on the negative reception to Anthem. Rumor among BioWare circles for the past year has been that Morrison is “Anthem with dragons”—a snarky label conveyed to me by several people—but a couple of current BioWare employees have waved me off that description.

“The idea was that Anthem would be the online game and that Dragon Age and Mass Effect, while they may experiment with online portions, that’s not what defines them as franchises,” said one. “I don’t think you’ll see us completely change those franchises.”

When asked, a few BioWare developers agreed that it’d be technically possible for a game built on Anthem’s codebase to also have an offline branch, but it’s not yet clear whether Morrison will take that approach. If it does turn out to be an online game, which seems likely, it would be shocking if you couldn’t play the bulk of it by yourself.

(Diablo III, for example, is online-only on PC yet can be played entirely solo.)

One person close to the game told me this week that Morrison’s critical path, or main story, would be designed for single-player and that goal of the multiplayer elements would be to keep people engaged so that they would actually stick with post-launch content.

Single-player downloadable content like Dragon Age: Inquisition’s Trespasser, while often excellent, typically sells only a fraction of the main game, according to developers from BioWare and elsewhere across the industry.

Yet this wouldn’t be a “live service” game if it was a repeat of Dragon Age: Inquisition, which compartmentalized its single- and multiplayer modes.

Fans in the past have grown outraged at the idea of BioWare putting a lot of emphasis on multiplayer gaming, but there are ways in which a service-heavy Dragon Age 4 could be ambitious and impressive.

For example, some ideas I’ve heard floated for Morrison’s multiplayer include companions that can be controlled by multiple players via drop-in/drop-out co-op, similar to old-school BioWare RPGs like Baldur’s Gate, and quests that could change based not just on one player’s decisions, but on the choices of players across the globe.

Maybe in two or three years, Morrison will look completely different. It’s not like Dragon Age hasn’t changed drastically in the past. In the office, BioWare developers often refer to Mark Darrah’s Dragon Age team as a pirate ship, one that will eventually wind up at its destination, but not before meandering from port to port, drinking as much rum as possible along the way.

His is a team that, in the past, has iterated and changed direction constantly—something that they hoped to cut down for Joplin, but has always been part of their DNA (and, it should be noted, heavy iteration is common in all game development).

One BioWare employee summed it up well as we talked about the future of BioWare’s fantasy franchise. “Keep in mind,” they said, “Dragon Age games shift more than other games.

”Said another current BioWare employee about Morrison: “They have a lot of unanswered questions. Plus I know it’s going to change like five times in the next two years.”

There are other questions remaining, too: With BioWare’s Austin office gradually taking over Anthem going forward, when will the bulk of employees at the company’s Edmonton HQ move to the Morrison team?

Will Morrison be able to avoid following the lead of Dragon Age: Inquisition, which took on too many people too early and wound up suffering as a result?

And, most important, will BioWare work to prevent the burnout that has led to dozens of developers leaving over the past two years, with so many citing stress, depression, and anxiety?

End of article, so my thoughts on this, of course, I have my worries especially regarding the multiplayer part, it was to my knowledge that there is a separate Dragon Age team working on the multiplayer component completely estranged from the core team.

I hope that this is still the case, however, it's EA that're the ones who plaque BioWare to incorporate multiplayer and live-service.

Honestly the biggest concern here is how much of Joplin's original vision and resources are going to be put into Morrison's production, because the description of Joplin is everything I've wanted in a Dragon Age game following from Inquisition.

To hear that this initial game has been canned is heart-wrenching, any signs of Joplin's ashes in Morrison is all I can hope for.

Hope is all we really have right now regarding the future of Dragon Age, and don't forget Mass Effect, which is also going to affected by this too.

Of course, I have my worries. But I am hopeful for what the Dragon Age team can do, and I feel to fear when we still haven't seen the game yet is a little blind-sighted. Who knows when we will see or hear anything, I imagine we may see something on EA Play's live-streams next June, just before E3, but honestly, I'm not sure!

The next Dragon Age project is expected to release within 2-3 years from now, all we can hope for next is a reveal of some-sorts, like a title or development update.

It would be incredible if BioWare could come out and share some insight on what the heck is going on with the next Dragon Age, like a development diary which they did with Mass Effect: Andromeda.

To get a glimpse of this next game and the vision for it is what we in the BioWare fandom all need right now. To know what is going on with the next Dragon Age and how true it will stick to Joplin's original vision.

But until we do hear something, like always, you're already in the right place...

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ohboy · 4 years

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ok so. here's my question. do u play the sims 4 outside of making characters and building lots because i gotta say the sims 4 actually makes me depressed because it's such a boring experience (esp when compared to the earlier games) and i wanna know if that's a universal experience

YES i usually devote all of my time to building and creating things rather than actually playing the game cause it can just be so stale and tedious sometimes. along w the fact that the sims as a base game and not w the packs (i have a few) is INCREDIBLY FUCKING BORING. everythings almost always on sale since the sims at a base game is. like. it feels incomplete. like it’s missing something.

the other sims franchise games i have played is 1. sim city on my old middle school’s computer, since they had a copy of the older game on it. it was relatively entertaining when the teacher wasn't making the game soo boring w “city planning” stuff. we also had an “animation” part of that technology class where you moved clip art of a circle around in powerpoint and also took sequential photos of legos in cardboard boxes from the webcams and that also counted as animation. i haaated middle school technology class.

2. i had played this very strange addition to the sims 3 on my old friend’s ds. it took place in the desert and you can tip cows over. i don’t remember much else about it.

3. sims freeplay and the sims 4 mobile app. literally the worst experience of my life. it is legitimately the most boring game ever. it really shows how heartless ea is when it comes to creating an exciting francise. they only care about money rather than the quality of the game.

4. sims 3 for the wii. i dont have much to say about it since i didn’t really play it that much.

you see, i think the thing about the sims is that it is not the base game that makes it fun, rather it is all the mods and cc that people add to the game to change certain aspects of the gameplay experience. i love the people who spend their time fixing a terribly boring game

#asks

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odanurr87 · 4 years

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My thoughts on... Mirror’s Edge

Released by EA in 2008 for PS3 and Xbox 360, and 2009 for PC, Mirror's Edge tells the story of Faith, a Runner who relies on her honed parkour skills to run errands for her clients, people who'd rather keep their deals hidden from the preying eyes of the ruling elite of this totalitarian world. The City Protection Force (CPF), the city’s equivalent to a police force, tends to ignore these Runners as the two parties have an unspoken agreement to stay out of each other's way, but everything changes when Faith's sister and one of CPF’s own, Kate, is framed for the murder of Robert Pope, a friend of their father's and running candidate against the current Mayor Callaghan. So starts an adrenaline-packed ride to find out who framed Kate and why, with CPF and other private security firms hot on Faith's tail.

While a fairly standard setup, so much so you’ve probably already figured out all the twists and turns of the plot from my short description, it could’ve been executed better, or tighter, than it was. By the time you finish playing and look back on it, the plot's many inconsistencies become apparent, in particular its single-minded obsession with framing Kate, going so far as to keep her alive throughout the entire game. I get it, Faith needs a motivation, you need a motivation, and a dead sister is probably not a very good one, but it makes little sense that the bad guys wouldn't have gotten rid of her as soon as she served her purpose. The first thing that occurred to me the moment Faith met up with her sister at the beginning was, "This is an ideal situation to set up Faith as the fall gal and accuse Kate of trying to help Faith through her connections in the CPF." Indeed, given the "evil master plan" revealed later in the game, it would've been the better plan. Alas, the bad guys are not as good as Faith at improvising, nor are the writers apparently. The introduction of the Pursuit Cops later in the game also doesn't add up plot-wise, to my mind, for unless they trained in the field, and by field I mean on the city's rooftops, like Faith and the other Runners (and if they had I'm certain the Runner community would've known about it), there's no way in hell they'd be nearly as good as Faith, yet they are, what leads me to gameplay.

youtube

This is what Mirror’s Edge is really all about.

You could easily make the case that I suck at melee combat, in this game anyway, because Faith was made out of glass (ironically) every time I encountered an enemy. I remember having an easier time of it in Catalyst; Faith was certainly not a tank but she could pull more moves to neutralize her opponents and far more smoothly. Maybe it helped that you didn't have people wearing full body armor firing machine guns at you. I never used a gun in Catalyst, but I practically turned this game into Battlefield: Faith, what's not easy seeing as shooting, while functional, is as bare-bones as can be. This at least makes sense from a narrative standpoint, as Faith is a Runner, not a soldier, but what a fine soldier did I turn her into! Perhaps combat's worst sin for me was how it interrupted the flow.

As in Catalyst, the sensation you get from running and jumping and parkouring is the franchise's strongest selling point, especially when you nail every jump, roll smoothly every time, and find the fastest route to your destination. The usual appearance of enemies coupled with the linearity of the levels hindered the flow more often than not. Catalyst fixed this, in my opinion, by making the world larger and Faith a better fighter. However, its open-world nature ironically amplified the "beautiful emptiness" of the original, highlighting the absence of people, both Runners and others, in their day to day life. While I noticed this during my playthrough, the levels are usually short enough that you don't give it a lot of thought. Indeed, it took me around 8 hours to complete, though I'm missing around half the Runners’ bags.

youtube

Another strength of the franchise that I have failed to mention is how damned gorgeous the game looks, and it's more than a decade old! You could argue it looks as good or even better than Catalyst at times, and Catalyst looks fantastic! Everything from the architecture, through the colours and textures, to the lighting, feels real, hyper-real perhaps, according to the above video that explains how and why Mirror's Edge is able to retain its good looks, comparing it to similar games released in that year, as well as Assassin's Creed: Odyssey and Mirror's Edge: Catalyst. I thoroughly recommend you give it a watch. Some character models, like Faith and Kate, could've been better, while others, like Celeste, actually look pretty great. In this context, the choice to complement the game's hyper-realistic visuals with animated cutscenes may seem odd or even wrong for some, but I think it was the right one given the limitations at the time and I enjoyed the animation style. It’s a shame they didn't follow it up with a short animated movie.

If I didn't mention at this point the franchise's great soundtrack by Solar Fields, I'd be doing them a disservice, as it complements the game's aesthetic to great effect, and these guys doubled down with Catalyst, releasing a soundtrack that's over 5 hours long! "Still Alive," the game's main theme, sang by Lisa Miskovsky, is just perfect, and it's still number one in my heart above CHVRCHES' "Warning Call." I mean, just listen to the bloody thing...

youtube

I tend to favour story over gameplay in most of my games, meaning I can get through some bad or just plain gameplay loop if the story's captivating enough. However, Mirror's Edge is one of those rare games where I appreciated the core gameplay loop in spite of a rather lackluster story. When you're running and jumping through the city's rooftops, pushing the boundaries of your freedom, becoming one with the flow and the music, that's when Mirror's Edge truly shines. But those moments exist, as Faith puts it, "on the edge between the gloss and the reality - The Mirror's Edge." Maybe that's the way it should be.

#mirror's edge #faith connors #dice #mirrors edge #gaming #review

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kemetic-dreams · 5 years

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HEAVEN & HELL

By Nora Amrani September, 1998

Most religions preach about heaven and hell, and how those who either do or do not believe in one thing or another will inevitably end up in one of these two places. What are hell and heaven? Are they real? Where are they? And who gets to go where?

Christianized Hell is portrayed as such a real and frightening place filled with monsters and Satan, where one is punished for their sins and suffers eternally. There is no way out. Oh, you know the pictures that have been painted by Dali and other artists depicting the burning pit where those not worthy of being recognized or loved by God are tossed, abandoned and tortured. Damned for eternity.

Heaven, on the other hand, is supposed to be eternal bliss. And only the very worthy end up in Heaven. With the stringent demands made on humans to be everything but human, (never mind seeing human as divine) while being constantly reminded that they are sinful and unworthy of heaven, heaven must be very under-populated. In fact, with all those rules to be met, I can't imagine one person being successfully led through those pearly gates! Can you? (No, not even Mother Theresa - she believed that she was less than divine, herself.)

FUN WITH ETYMOLOGY

Hell and heaven are very dramatically presented, aren't they? But do we even know what these words mean? Could it be we have all been fed non-sequiturs for centuries to the point where we no longer remember what these words really mean, therefore we live in constant confusion (like the Tower of Babel) because we don't properly use our language? Wow - just imagine what that does to our communcations on all levels with one another!

Hell: Prepare yourselves for a possible shock: The word 'hel' means 'light.' It also means 'earth.' Check your Germanic dictionaries if you don't believe me. In fact, check many languages and find the meaning of the word 'hell.' Some will say it means 'cover.' If hell is such a negative place, then why do we refer to the sun, who gives us life, warmth and nurtures us, as 'helios?" Perhaps the thought of diving into the sun would be hell, itself. Maybe that's how it all originated? But, realistically, you wouldn't even make it that close without first disintegrating. Ah, but then you'd become pure energy, pure light, just like the sun, itself! Your real essence, in other words. Why, we even used to worship* gods representing the sun's energy - Ra, ApolIo, for example. So, why would it be something to be feared and avoided, at all costs?

A 'demon in hell' can also be called a 'genius in the light.' Demon, or daemon, has conflicting meanings. It can mean our inner genius, divinity or genie. It is a word sharing the same root thing as 'diamond!' Some dictionaries say demons are inferior divinity or evil spirits. How can they be both? Both divine, genius and evil? Think about it. Do they not cancel one another out? Or, can we put all under one divine umbrella? What definitions have you been taught?

The horns on the devil are also used to depict great divine light emanating through the individual. Same thing was shown with Hathor, Moses, White Buffalo Woman. It is a positive symbol of higher consciousness and knowledge, not evil.

Devil comes from the Sanskrit world meaning 'deva,' which relates to the good angels of the Hindu pantheon. Were you taught that Satan means adversary or plotter? 'Adverse' meaning 'to turn towards?' After Zoroaster and the Persians conquered Hindu territory the conquerers miraculously transformed the Hindu gods into devils! So, the Hindu devas became the Persians devils.

If we look at the pattern of religious manipulation through language, the word "daemon" was changed into having a evil implication. "It was just more Christian propaganda used to brainwash the followers of the Greek and Roman religions into rejecting their old gods in favor of the newly created Christian character," as one scholar explains. This old ploy cunningly used good timing to coincide with the burning of millions of books; books which had they not been burned would have allowed people to see the truth of how they were being lied to. And the word 'evil' actually comes from the same root as the word 'apple,' which is 'upfel.' Who decided that apples were evil? The apple itself isn't evil.

Rabbi Ahron Lopiansky explains that Judaism talks of "Satan/devil," but it sees Satan as "...an agent of God, testing the sincerity of man's deeds, the strength of his convictions, and the stamina of his moral fiber. Although this so-called devil seems to entice man to do wrong, he is not inherently an evil being. Rather, he is conducting a "sting" operation; overtly enticing to bad, but in reality working for God. A cursory reading of the beginning of Job conveys that message: God sends out Satan to test Job's righteousness. Just as a dentist or doctor tests the firmness of a bone or flesh by probing it, just as the army tests the integrity and trustworthiness of its intelligence agents by tempting them, so too does God test man. A test reveals the inner worthiness of a person's deeds, demonstrating what they are really made of."

Heaven: Could this word come from 'heave' - meaning to toss, lift or raise? Those lofty ideas. No doubt it does. And what about 'heavy,' meaning 'weighty.' This can get to be lots of fun, eh? 'Ven' means 'air.' 'Ven' can also be 'van,' which means 'sail,' 'wing,' 'basket,' and it can be a shovel used in testing ore; and of course, it now means a type of large vehicle capable of transporting many people. The more accurate root of "heaven" comes from "haven." The word "heaven" also has its roots in Hebrew in "ha'shamayim," which means "the skies," " high places." Maybe you can come up with some other meanings for it. See the conflicts over and over in modern language?

Worship...another interesting word. "War" means literally "war," or "where," and "ship" meaning a "state" or "condition." The word religion is interesting, too. "Re" means "back," or "again," or even "in reference to." "Legion" is "a body of infantry in the ancient Roman army"; or "vast host." Re-legion. Armies of God in a war ship? Is religion about war? Or hosts of God?

Now that the brief etymology portion is over, let's get into the other areas of what these words have come to mean to a great many people in the religious and social sense. In fact, they have come to dictate and control much of our beliefs and lives.

AN ANCIENT STORY OF THE FALLEN ANGELS

The ideas of Satan and fallen angels are our own planetary collective consciousness' idea of viewing things negatively. One explanation is that it represents the fall of ourselves into this dimension of materiality and polarity, forgetting our divine selves and our spirituality. Satan is backwards for "natas" - which later became "nahash" the serpent. So, what everyone THOUGHT was evil, is actually the opposite. That term is related to the Sirian-Anunnaki being, Enki, in the following:

The archetypal, mythological concept of fallen angels originated approximately 450,000 years ago when the last of the extraterrestrial beings from a satellite planet named Nibiru, known on Earth as the Anunnaki, (a group of Lyran off-shoots who stemmed from one of their more infamous members, Anu, Enki, Enlil, Inanna, etc.), had their final expedition to Earth and, in a sense, left one group "stranded" here. Since the Anunnaki were known as "the gods," and these "gods" came from the heavens and were seen as being angels because of their amazing abilities and longevity. There were conficts between the Anunnaki themselves. Nefilim, or "those who came down," is another way of talking about this group of the Anunnaki. Some of the Anunnaki wanted humans to see them as God and did not honor free will. For this they were punished and expelled from certain galactic federations. This is where the idea of the fallen angels originally came from and various accounts of it are found in the Bahgavad Gita, the bibles and other cultural origin stories.

Enki was known as the serpent of wisdom, healing and life who had a great hand in creation, the waters of life (sperm, DNA, etc.) i.e., the Garden of Eden. Enki was frequently humanity's supporter. Biblical writers called the healing serpent Nehushtan. The Hebrew word for serpent is "nahash." The root of the word are the Hebrew letters Nun, Het and Shin, which means "to guess." This was translated into other languages as "satan," which some say mean "enemy," or "adversary."

Enki's identity, as Lord of Earth or In Earth (EN.KI), and EA (whose house is water) is reflected in other names, as well: Adonai, Aton, Aten, Adom, Adam, Amen. (Linguistic paleontology is a marvelous and vast area for proving these connections.) The name EARTH also comes from EA/Enki. Actually, the name "human" can be traced to Enki (a.k.a. EA) and his half-sister and wife, the chief geneticist Ninti (the mother goddess of all life). HU is a transliteration of the ancient Sumerian EA (Grimms' law of interchangeable letters and sounds). HU was also Horus, by the way. So a human is an EAman.

In India, the "nagas" were the serpent gods/goddesses. In the Americas there was Quetzlcoatl (Enki/Thoth). The entire world has worshipped the serpent for its wisdom, but ironically, it was not really about snakes at all - unless you feel you have to "guess" what a snake is up to! Why was the snake chosen? For its cleverness, ability to survive in the harshest of environments, and again, its shape resembling the flow of energy up the spine - to the crown chakra, and the third eye. And perhaps because it naturally instilled a bit of caution or awe in people. Was Enki really a snake? No, not literally.

THE REALITY

Both heaven and hell are places created with those of like mind and emotions - thoughts and feelings so intense that it creates a vortex of bioelectomagnetic energy so concentrated that it densifies and materializes. This material form can be ectoplasmic or physical. It takes on the form of the creator's beliefs. This form resonates with like energies, drawing them to one another. (Like attracts like.) This, then, creates a larger vortex of the same energy. And it keeps growing and building and desiring it's life to be continually fed. This, then, becomes a real gathering place.

Yes, heaven does exist. But it is a very complex dimension with many options. Many people experience it with the smell of flowers, with music, and always with lots of love. There is a gathering place for souls getting ready to make their transition from their physical form into spirit, and for those who have just crossed over. There are healing rooms. There are educational rooms. It offers freedom of choice to wherever your soul wants to learn and you plan your next move there.

Hell actually is a dimension of energy that is created by self-judgement and condemnation, ergo punishment. Its essence is fear and forgetfulness of love and light. It's energy contains fear, anger, powerlessness, (including guilt, martyrdom, pain, sadness), and it is a very difficult place from which to escape because it builds on itself. It is a very sad and dark place and even though there are many souls there, it feels so lonely. Ironically, the fear of being in what people believe to be hell may actually create that kind of hell, itself.

In the case of "hell," the only way these energies can be nourished is by having more of the same energy filling it up, adding more fuel to the fire. In order to stay alive it seeks out its food in many ways. Finding a weakness, such as addiction, within a person to attach itself to is one way. Attaching to the little bit of belief in that individual it can use for its own survival. And it can also be utilized by people performing certain rituals to get a life force that can be manipulated and directed. You see, the life force, the energy, never dies. It changes form, and its form can be intentionally changed. These energies will seek out others and build on itself unless we become conscious of them and choose to release them through other avenues. There are ways out of hell, but it often requires help from the other dimensions helping a soul remember love and personal empowerment, choice, freedom.

Be it heaven or hell, we create our reality through our experiences, our thoughts, beliefs, imagination, words, and our desire, and will. One way we can become conscious of how and what we create is through meditation, or going within and contacting the God within ourselves. We always have the choice whether to create our own heaven or hell wherever we are. And that creation begins nowhere else except from within ourselves.

#kemetic dreams #hell #heaven #etymology

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