it's the final countdown

[muladhara]

I'm sorry for all the Inquisition spam (especially since a lot of it is nothing much). Except I'm kind of not.

Did you know that playing a game is WAY more fun (or not) when you have no idea what's coming? I traumatised myself yesterday afternoon, I'm sure of it.

I. Wow. I'm SO glad I didn't know how you ended up with the Skyhold (I thought maybe you wrested it from Orlesians or something. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA). I'm.

Let's talk about other things first, eh?

OH THAT FUCKING BLACKWALL. You know I ran everywhere looking for him in the Hinterlands? Where was he? Up the top of the waterfall RIGHT NEXT TO ONE OF MY CAMPS (the one near Calenhad's tower). GRRR. Also what the fuck is that accent, because it keeps slipping (although he does do a fairly decent South Yorks accent, it just slips more than it should. Though I suppose there might be a reason for that. Stupid spoilers).

I am fairly certain he was spying on me...

Let's talk about Redcliffe, shall we? UGH OH MY GOD WHAT ON EARTH MADE FIONA SIDE WITH A TEVINTER MAGE. (Also am I right in thinking that she's the same Fiona who is Alistair's actual mother?) The time skippy stuff was AWFUL. I'm still unclear what was up with Solas and Blackwall (red lyrium, right?), and seeing Leliana that...starved? unhealthy? was fucking awful. YES BIOWARE RIP MY HEART OUT AND STOMP ALL OVER IT WHY DON'T YOU.

Dorian though. I fucking love Dorian. I just. Oh my goodness. Dorian.

I actually felt awful for Alexius when I discovered why he'd done what he'd done. Although it doesn't excuse him (also Tevinter mages, mostly always awful, right?)

So there was that.

I also recruited Sera, and I don't think I'm going to like her. I knew girls like her when I was a teenager, and I didn't like them, so her chances aren't good (she could win me over, but IDK right now).

So then Haven, right? I just get used to running around the place and THIS fucking happens. Because I'd recruited the mages (much to most people's disgust*), everyone was all SEAL THE BREACH SEAL THE BREACH and I'm kind of thinking, hang on, is that not an end game thing? OH NO. IT IS NOT.

So I took on that quest. It said recommended level for it was 8 at the lowest, but I think I did it at seven for the most part? I know I didn't level up till much later. I was actually dreading it, because I thought it was going to be a disaster, and it was going to go wrong and kill all the mages. It didn't, but then we're celebrating and...a whole fucking army arrives on my doorstep. And there's a huge dragon. And OMFG. And they raze my town, kill my people, and then fucking Corypheus shows up and tries to kill me.

(I honestly, although I know Corypheus was in the game, did not think that he was the Elder One that Alexius was talking about. Though my heart sank when that was revealed, and I just went, "ohhhhhhhhh..."

I am also actually not kidding when I say that I was going to ask how important to the plot was it that I did the Legacy DLC for DAII. Very important, I'd say. I'm glad I didn't, actually).

So I essentially spent all of that part kind of numb, like I can't believe this happening OH FUCK THIS IS HAPPENING OH SHIT.

Also not liking that part where you're knackered and you have to walk through the snow, even if sinking into it is realistic. Had the most amazing heartwarming moment when Cullen and Cassandra found me in the snow, though.

Then today I've run around the Fallow Mires - I didn't like it, couldn't get where I was going, and got my first game over at the second rift (the enemies must be a much higher level than me. I'm still eight at the moment). I think that's the way to go, so I'm going to go back when I'm a higher level.

I met my Hawke! I had to reconstruct her face from memory, and that was terrible. I also didn't get the bug with her voice, so that was cool, too. And she's friends with Alistair??? Hee. I've sort of started that quest, although I had to go off and do some other stuff for a bit so I had enough power for it. I've just been talking to Alistair before I stopped today.

(Although oh my god, Cassandra is going to KILL Varric, isn't she?)

I also ran about in the Hinterlands a bit, explored some of the land I haven't managed yet (shit, it's only one area and it's fucking HUGE).

I've been taking Cole with me, and I'm flip flopping between finding him really creepy and really interesting. I think some of his banter with Blackwall is intriguing, though. (I kind of love - "Cole, say something interesting" " 'Something interesting'." "I asked for that, didn't I?" and "How does a spirit become human?" "I don't know. How does a warden become grey?" Though those aren't especially interesting). Cole's and Solas' banter is, as Dorian points out, like only hearing half the conversation.

And that's about as much as I did, or can remember doing (apart from run about the Skyhold like a loon; I want the library).

~

*Remind me one day to write about why mages being coded like mentally ill people really fucking annoys me.

Finally, this game is inspiring me to fannish activities, unlike the two previous ones. I wouldn't even really describe myself as a fan (because high fantasy stuff is not as exciting or interesting to me as sci-fi), and yet here I am?? Ready and willing to take the piss** and create stuff. I don't even know any more.

**Yeah, if you want someone to take your fandom seriously, it ain't going to be me.

Comments

[spectrier]

Taking your spam of DA:I as an invitation to spam DA:I back at you!

Yep, it's the same Fiona who's Alistair's ma and, no, I have no idea why the hell she thought involving herself with Tevinter magisters was remotely a good idea because, as you say, Tevinter is full of terrible mages. Even if Alexius does have his "but my son!" excuse, he's still totally willing to plunge the world into whatever THAT alternative timeline was. (Also yes, whoever you rescue from the dungeons is undergoing funky side effects from hanging around red lyrium.)

Oh god, Sera. SERA. I only recently recruited her because I couldn't work out how to get to the upper levels of Val Royeaux, I am not a smart person and took her along with me when I was going through one of the wildernesses because my party was a sausage fest and I was just "aaaaah shut up for a second, please". I do like how you get approval from her for flirting with other people though.

I think Cole's adorable but I definitely feel like me constantly saying to him "nah erasing yourself from people's memories is fine, you're not doing any harm and only trying to help" is going to backfire because I doubt a spirit/technically maybe a demon/whatever he is has the same definition of "harm"/"help" as the rest of the world. His hat is unnecessarily and hilariously huge though.

Yeah Fallow Mires is a higher level area than the level you'll likely be at when you'll unlock it. The total lack of signposting about appropriate levels for non-quest areas is one of my few gripes with the game tbh. I wasn't super thrilled by it as a map either 'cause there's just too much water and no mount allowed apparently. :/

[muladhara]

Your spam is more than welcome, my friend!

I thought so, but because I haven't read the books, I wasn't sure. But there tends to be A One Steve Limit in DA, so I didn't think it was just coincidence.

It took me a while to figure how to get upstairs in Val Royeaux. I just assumed the fast travel markers were for travelling on the world map, not for getting to different sections of places as well. I was expecting, perhaps unreasonably, for there to be stairs to get to the upper levels. I took Sera out with me, and she wasn't that chatty? She was loud, though (but sometimes talking to her one to one, I want to tell her to slow down and shut up a bit) Although I didn't get a lot of banter overall, but I spent a lot of today in the Hinterlands, so maybe there's not so much to say right now.

YEAH OMG. I just gave him what for for wanting to erase a woman's memories so he could say the right thing to her. That's so creepy *shudders* (I usually have my first run as completely morally good, but I couldn't let that go, it just seems really wrong to me).

No mount allowed? FFS. That would make that map 100% easier. But that's probably why they banned it from that area *sighs*

[beccatoria]

Yeah the Fiona thing is kind of weird, but it also never explained why she has no memory of meeting you in Val Royeaux, so I figured that there was weird time-travel magic going on. Like my assumption is that she went to extend an invitation to you to meet at Redcliffe, but then Alexius did his magical shenanigans to go back in time and make her sign up with him instead and probably did so by changing the circumstances so things looked much more dire for the Mages? As in he made her believe an assault on Redcliffe was iminent or something? The baby mages outside are all, "It's so weird! Why would Fiona do this, it's not like her!" so I'm assuming SOMETHING was up. But yeah, more explanation would have been nice...

I hate Sera.

I love Cole but yes, he is very creepy sometimes.

I would be interested in your thoughts on coding mages as mentally ill though! Cus I agree, but also so much about how Dragon Age tries to posit the Mage/Templar conflict is...offkey. Like there's a good idea in there somewhere on a par with the Genophage storyline in Mass Effect? But they keep writing themselves into corners and trying to get themselves out of them by yelling "equally bad!" instead of actually engaging with what they've implied to be true... But whatever, HOORAY DRAGON AGE. I'm finding Inquisition less absorbing the second time around than I did either DA:O or DAII, but the first time I played it I was just captivated for like 150 hours straight. So much fun.

[muladhara]

I honestly thought it was someone pretending to be her, although to be honest I haven't really thought about that bit much (because my brain got fried by Haven). But yeah, your explanation makes WAY more sense. It's a bit crappy it's not explained in-game, though.

I know you do. It's OK. I don't like her much right now (I assume I've not seen the worst of her yet, however. I know she says something transphobic later on, which is not endearing her to me, but that's all I know because spoilers!)

I want to Cole him because I have the biggest crush on his voice actor (lame reasoning, I know!), but yeah, I am being really creeped out by him right now. Especially since we just had a conversation about whether or not it was a good idea to wipe people's memories...(I said it wasn't. Because it isn't).

I think it could be better if they really were more subtle about it, but. I'm going to write a whole thing, because I had an awful realisation the other day, and it upset me. So. Words.

I am enjoying running around a lot. I think it was DA I said to Rina I'd pay for a version just to run around in (and it's one thing I loved about ME1), sooo here I am, sometime later. I suppose first time around, you've no idea what's coming, but second time or so the main points don't change, the only thing that changes is your characterisation of the inquisitor (that said, I love replaying DAII, sooo *shrugs*) I need to play it at least another twice (apparently stuff makes more sense if you romance Solas, which I wasn't planning on doing but...I don't want to feel left out, and next time I can take my time).

[autumnmuse]

Sounds like you're having a blast :D Which is really good!

[muladhara]

I am! Are you?

[autumnmuse]

I haven't had a chance to play much since I created my character. I hope to get in some game time this coming week LOL ... then I can write a lot more. Reading yours makes me want to play it now but not at home :D

[muladhara]

I hope you've got to play some more! Also I'm guessing you don't mind being spoilered (although I'm not being hella specific, but even so...there's enough here that some stuff wouldn't surprise you).

[zerenitia]

I loved Mass Effect so much but the fanart I drew for it was totally only to stir a reaction out of people in the fandom. I made an AIDS/HIV joke between Tali and Shepard (in which someone actually responded by trying to correct how Quarians can't be affected because blahblahblah they just didn't like the joke), Elcor in lingerie, a Krogan dressed in an old Madonna outfit, a Hanar as Lady Gaga, and my greatest yet was a gang of black-coloured Geth driving around in a Hummer blaring their music wearing pimp hats, flashing gang signs, and when I got called out for being racist my responses were along the lines of either a.) "But South Park did it" and b.) "I don't understand, how is driving in a humvee blaring music a 'black' thing to do? I think you're the racist one for assuming all black people do that [their windows are tinted, that's why they're coloured black!]"

Since then I haven't really done fanart for anything because apparently even when I love a series or game I only care to try to piss everyone I can off with it. |D;;; but it's kind of a sick form of fun if you ask me.