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this is as good a time to post this WIP as any. tentatively titled 'dollhouse' for obvious reasons

The After-party World, An Analysis of the Anime "Frieren: Beyond Journey's End"

Okay, so… I don't like Frieren. In fact I very much hate dislike it. Now what I'm going to do in this note is to explicate my main reasons for why I think Frieren is not a good anime, and how I'm in total disagreement with probably everything that people seem to believe to be the case about it. In doing so, I will explore three main points. One regarding the general message of the anime, or what it is about. The other being somewhat related to the same matter, but probably in a rather indirect way. And the third being the characters, one of them in particular. At the end I will make a general observation and try to expand on the minor points related to it.

So first of all, from what I have been able to notice, a lot of people, in fact the majority of its audience, believe that the main message of Frieren (we're going to assume there is one) is that we should move on from the past, while still cherishing our good memories from it and holding on to them. My dear frierends, even if that is what Frieren is supposed to be about, it does a very bad job of delivering that message, as much as it might have convinced some people that that's what it is about.

The whole plot of the anime (as far as such a thing manages to exist amidst all the flashbacks and the reminiscence) is about a lonely mage's journey to a place where she thinks there might be a trace of her past companions left. So that in itself is enough for us to suspect that the main character has not totally moved on from what has happened to her. If Frieren had moved on, she wouldn't have made it her life purpose to meet again with her deceased lover and friends.

Even after taking responsibility for her apprentice, she fails to actually do anything responsible and spend her time on a worthwhile endeavor, and instead just aimlessly wanders around collecting useless spells and fake grimoire ascribed to her (again) deceased master. Can we really say that she only does that because its her hobby, or is it because she hasn't moved on from losing her master neither, and is trying to gather all the scattered pieces of her lost belongings to maybe reassemble them into at least a resemblance of that lost heritage?!

The one person that she begins her journey with was left under her care by a dead friend, and the next person that joins her party was also requested to be taken in by an old friend of her, who probably would've joined in himself were he feeling like it. And at last the other member of the party is simply a placeholder for Heiter. Literally a duplicate. Somehow everything in the present has to be connected to things in the past in most possible ways, and even completely mirror them.

Freerun sees everything through the lens of her memories, and barely manages to see anything for what it is. Places that she visits are not this or that place that is such and such in and out of itself, it's the place that Heiter said that and Eisen did that and Himmel did this. She seems to be literally unable to comprehend anything without interpreting it by referring it to her memories. She has to take us through the whole memory of Himmel posing for the sculptors every time she sees a statue of him.

Now on to the next thing I want to deal with. The closest I think this anime ever gets to making any sensible point is when Frieren tells the priest "But that's just what you want…" when they are talking about there being a heaven. That's probably the first and last wise thing she says, only for it to be followed with a "Yeah, it might be better this way," referring to believing in an afterlife, in contrast to not believing in it. We are expected to accept that believing that there is a heaven without any reason is the right thing to do, only because apparently it is better this way. So much for moving on from the past, huh.

By enforcing the idea of an afterlife the author moves further away from preaching acceptance and detachment (of the kind associated with this anime.) By admitting that it is probably better to believe that there is a heaven where our loved ones go after their death, Frieren shows that she is less detached from her past than ever. She hasn't left her past behind, enough for this to be a story of moving on and looking forward to the future, if she has to cope so hard by believing in a heaven, and one on Earth at that! Unless of course that's what everyone's idea of 'moving on' is, and I'm just oblivious.

And now the characters. Sometimes in order for one to be able to connect with a work of fiction there needs to be some likable characters. It is not necessary, but it's better than nothing, especially when that fictional work doesn't have much else going for it. Now here in the case of this anime, most characters are acceptable, if not down right horrible or annoying. I'd say the best character in regards to likability is Stark. He is kind, respectful, and hard-working. But I wish he wasn't that patient with a certain somebody.

It seems for this anime when it comes to how they feel about them the community has focused more on the looks of the characters than their personality. This isn't anything new of course, but Frieren just isn't the kind of anime that you would do that with. There's much more attached to a character than just how they look or behave on a surface level. Yeah this character might be a tsundere and most anime have one or two characters like that, but those anime don't try to be deep (usually.) Frieren does, and so I'm going to treat it differently. And this is where Fern comes in.

Fern is (almost) everything wrong with this anime. Everything else about Frieren could've been flawless, and she would've been able to single-handedly ruin it. She alone is enough to make this anime annoying to a point that you couldn't watch one episode of it. IF and only if you see her for what she is. Not for the little tsundere girl that pouts for you, and not if you are a free-for-all masoch*st. She's whom I wish Stark had less patience with. Like, man, have some self-respect for the goddess's sake.

Fern is not cute, or a likable character. She is just rude, a prude, and imprudent. She is self-righteous, and doesn't know respect, for others and their boundaries. Even if you don't agree, the author is very much aware of that, and that's why she in the episode about her birthday goes through a development point which is supposed to open her eyes to how she has been presumptuous in regard to her attitude towards Stark. But of course as most character developments in most anime it is one of those that its effects hardly lasts until the end of the episode in which it occurs. Of course, that's what the fans are in it for, why would you get rid of it?!

This story takes place in a dead world. The Story has already ended, and it is as if the author is narrating it from the end to the beginning, such that the story is altogether 'spoiled' in a way. That could have been a fair approach to take, but the way it's done in Frieren is crude and unrefined. Frequent flashbacks of Himmel and the heroes journey at the turn of every corner is taken to a point that it's just ridiculous. This story takes place too much in the past.

It is hard to care about anything that happens in this world. The journeys they make and the challenges they face are more like the clean-up after a party. There is not much significance attached to them. All the important stuff have already happened when the original heroes were trying to defeat the demon lord. One may argue that there is another story-line independent from that of the heroes, that of Stark and Frieren and Fern in the present time, and therefore that's not so much the case, but with how much that alternative story looks like an extension of the past one and an attempt at a replication of it, it just cannot serve as a replacement for it.

I believe that starting from the "Journey's End" is not a good idea in general. That of course means it's not just Frieren, it's all of the stories that start from the end that I've got a problem with. But I'm not stubborn about it, I could see myself enjoying a story of this kind if it's well executed, but I can't do that with Failuren given the inconsistencies in its concepts and its nihilistic atmosphere, that makes you feel like none of the things you encounter in the course of the story matter in any way.

Yes, there has been a past. And you want to talk about that. But if you're going to put the audience through the things that are happening in the present, you can at least try to make them not appear so pointless. When all the purpose lies in the past, and the contemporary characters are hardly anything that one could become attached to given how they are just shadows of the previous set of characters, the present ceases to matter. And on top of that how even the past parts of the plot do not contain much that would appear of considerable significance is the nail in the coffin.

The interpersonal matters of the characters do not compensate for the lack of external conflicts when the characters are just stock that could be easily replaced with anyone else, without a particular background or personality attached to them except for the bare minimum that helps distinguish them from each other. This anime tries very hard to appear deep by long stares into the horizon and longer gaps of silence, but it only shows the depth of its foolishness. Frieren thus fails to add up to much in the end.

I must inform you here that I did not watch all of Frieren. No, that doesn't invalidate my point. If an anime is so unbearable that you can't bring yourself to finish it, then maybe it does deserve some criticism. Also, just as a movie that has murder happening all through it, and in the end those people that were seemingly killed turn out to have actually survived the murders, is not a movie about anything but murder, whatever might happen in those few left episodes that I haven't watched doesn't make too much difference for me as this anime has already spent enough time in the manner I described here for me to think of it like this and for it to be too late to redeem itself as far as I'm concerned.

Finally, I want to say it is just sad and frustrating for me to see such a flawed anime being glorified to the extent it has, as if all the anime of the past that were much better don't even exist, and Frieren is the best thing ever made (I suppose that's just another case of humanity's memory being refreshed every now and then, but anyway!) I believe Frieren doesn't deserve the acclaim it has received, and here I tried to persuade at least some of you of the same. Thanks for reading!

Im very very intrigued by your take on wisdom being the more arrogant stat. Is your thinking that wisdom is more ‘inherant’ while intelligence is typically earned? Please elaborate!!

Not quite about what's earned vs. inherent and more about where these types of arrogance draws the line.

In real life, while I’ve run into no small number of immensely arrogant academics, nothing will ever exceed the smugness of people who claim to be “empaths” while generally being insufferable black holes of energy and time. At least the academics are correct some of the time. Having good insight is all well and good but if instead of using that simply to inform your interactions with that person, you act like you know what’s best for them…that’s a level of arrogance that intellectual snobbery can never, in my mind, achieve.

To use the examples I gave - I think Percy is, to be clear, a hugely arrogant prick (honorific), and I think Keyleth is typically a more well-intentioned person than he. But I also think that Keyleth does, for example, tend to operate on a sense of legacy that presumes a thousand-plus year lifespan, and doesn’t really think through the fact that Percy is someone who’d be lucky to live a century and who has spent his entire adult life assuming he is the sole survivor of his family line. It’s not that Percy’s actions are good; but they are understandable, and he is coming from a very different place than Keyleth. And it’s Percy who’s able to point this out.

This is also true of Caduceus, who of the Mighty Nein has very little life experience, but does tend to assume he knows what’s best for people. He is, as I’ve discussed many times, a quietly deeply arrogant character. Many of his banger lines absolutely don’t land with the target - “rest well with your poor decisions” is hilarious but judgmental and completely misses Fjord’s objectives; his line to Trent flies so far from the mark he may as well not have said anything at all. He’s not wrong, per se…but he assumes everyone operates on the same principles he does.

I think while the flaw of intelligent characters is often to assume their knowledge surpasses that of other people, the flaw of wise characters is often to assume that their perspective is objectively the right one. And the thing is, an INT 20 wizard probably does know way more than other people, whereas a WIS 20 cleric probably doesn’t have a universal perspective. Wise characters often don’t know what they don’t know, and intelligent characters often do.

I should point out - in Worlds Beyond Number, this observation concerned a fey-influenced girl with anti-magic abilities who had a job with a weird and unpleasant hedge mage. Suvi, a wizard of the Citadel and essentially the adoptive daughter of someone important within the Empire, suggests she go to the Citadel for opportunities. Ame, a witch from a small town, opposes this in part because she (with a good insight check) realizes that the girl is not unhappy in her role, which Suvi does look down upon. The thing is…neither of them know what will be best for her! They both assume they’re right, and they’re both well-intentioned. But Ame f*cks it up specifically by telling Suvi that she (Suvi) had opportunities this girl would not - which may or may not be true (it’s genuinely not made clear). Both Suvi and Ame make a ton of presumptions here, but Ame is the one who specifically assumes Suvi is wrong.

This also happens to tie into another common thing about WBN: While for narrative reasons I do expect the Empire to be a deeply flawed and well, imperial thing, I’ve already seen so much that’s just people knee-jerk hearing “empire” and losing any sense of nuance and analysis. It’s simply not possible yet to have any meaningful discussion of the actual flaws in the specific society in question. We’ve really only seen Suvi, who is, I should note, arrogant, but also at most 20 years old and a wizard prodigy who was orphaned at the age of six by parents who died for the Empire, and that should be taken into account. Which kind of gets back to the main point! A lot of people who I think would consider themselves insightful and empathetic tend to also go off gut feelings instead of actually exploring the reality of a scenario.

Judith Banters: Bethany

Bethany: Sister, have you been… hitching up your voice?

Judith: I am only trying to speak more clearly.

Bethany: No, you’re definitely doing something to your voice. Are you trying to… hide the fact that you’re Ferelden?

Judith: It’s been difficult. Varric has been helping me find new work, he does most of the talking and he makes it look so easy. I don’t know if I can rely on him forever, though.

Bethany: Surely your hard work speaks for itself? It shouldn’t matter where you’re from.

Judith: It shouldn’t, but it does.

*

Bethany: You don’t seem too pleased about getting the Estate back.

Judith: Whatever do you mean? Of course, I’m thrilled.

Bethany: That wasn’t very convincing. You didn’t smile or anything. You showed the deed to Mother and became very stiff.

Judith: What should I have said, Bethany? That I’m grateful Grandmother Amell “forgave” Mother? There was nothing to forgive, as far as I’m concerned.

Bethany: I agree with you, but considering … well, they were born noble. And Mother told us what happened to the other Amells. Magic seems to poison this family.

Judith: Don’t talk like that. You are not poison, neither was Father.

*

Bethany: Surely, we’re close to our goal, right? When will you be meeting with Bartrand again? Come to think of it, what does one pack for an expedition to the Deep Roads?

Judith: About that. I’m not certain it’s wise for you to come.

Bethany: You can’t be serious!

Judith: We shouldn’t both leave Mother, and even partly emptied, the Deep Roads are incredibly dangerous.

Bethany: Sister, we have both been working towards this. Besides, Darkspawn fight in swaths. Surely it would be wise to have magic.

Judith: The Darkspawn in Lothering were stragglers. I have seen them working in greater numbers. You have no idea of what, what I … I would not wish for you to ever see more.

Bethany: Am I supposed to be comforted, knowing you’re only facing more alone? To say nothing of all the templars here!

Judith: (sighs) I will think on it, but I promise nothing.

*

Bethany: So, once we get back from the Deep Roads, assuming we bring back wagons of gold and jewels… what then? Will that be enough to justify us moving into the Estate?

Judith: It’s as Gamlen said, we need to “be someone”.

Bethany: Yes, but what does that mean, exactly? How does one get status?

Judith: I suppose we have to prove that we can keep all that we’ve made and then some. It’s never enough for nobles just to have money, there always has to be more.

Bethany: Can we do that just with these odd jobs? I know Mother petitioned the Viscount, and she’s been reacquainting herself with her old friends. It’s not just money, is it?

Judith: It’s not. I was thinking this group we’ve collected works well together, even if there’s some personality clashes. Perhaps with some of the money, I could start a guild. We would be legitimate then.

Bethany: A guild DOES sound better than a bunch of vagrants trading trinkets for coin and killing the occasional demon.

*

Judith: You don’t think Anders is truly like Father, do you?

Bethany: Of course, I do. Anders is very knowledgeable, skilled, and kind.

Judith: He’s kind to you because you agree with everything he says. Father’s kindness was hardly so conditional.

Bethany: What’s there to disagree on? You wouldn’t want me to be in a Circle, would you?

Judith: No, but not every mage had your training. He talks much of what’s wrong, but has little to offer in the way of new answers. And the way he talks to Fenris? He does not even try to understand other viewpoints.

Bethany: Father was always strong in his convictions.

Judith: Those convictions are going to get him killed one day.

Bethany: Just like Father died, because he believed in something?

Judith: I – how can you say such a thing?

Bethany: Sister … I think the Father you knew and the Father I knew were quite different.

*

Judith: You and Mother have been going to the Chantry a lot. Are you certain that’s wise?

Bethany: I’ve gone to every Chantry in every town we’ve ever lived in. I am always careful.

Judith: Careful only gets you so far. It’s in the most crowded part of Hightown.

Bethany: Templars rarely come into the Chantry, it’s actually convenient their base is all the way over in the Gallows.

Judith: Still, wouldn’t it be better to pray in the house?

Bethany: I know you worry for me, and that’s why you don’t take me on all your jobs. That doesn’t mean I want to stay inside all day with Uncle Gamlen.

*

Bethany: I hardly know what I’ll do with myself once we get back the Estate.

Judith: Buy some fancy clothes, stock the pantry to the brim, make sure Mother is comfortable.

Bethany: (laughs) Food is always your first priority, isn’t it?

Judith: I DID say food second, didn’t I?

Bethany: It’s just that we’ve been working towards this for so long, I can’t imagine what would come next.

Judith: It’s not time to think of that just yet. We have a long way to go.

Sonic Cast in the Magic AU

This consists of small snippets of backstory and information of sonic characters in my Mage/Magic AU. I’ve been working on this for months and it’s been worked on bit by bit and left in my tumblr drafts so i’m SO HAPPY that it’s gonna be posted now.

if you have any questions about the au, feel free to ask! :D

Decided to add the thing so it doesn’t make looking at it on mobile hell-

Sonic Windstep- A hedgehog who has been described as a literal speed demon, both for his extraordinary skills of flight but his raw talent and mastery of momentum magic. Not only can he manipulate his own momentum, by making himself as fast or as slow as he needs to be, but he can alter the speed and movement of other objects and people. He can go from slowing people down to sending them flying whenever he wishes. While he’s got a good heart, he’s not exactly good at staying out of trouble, and his use of magic certainly keeps him out of it; but it’s better at keeping others out of danger. He’s one of the most well-known mages in the land, getting all kinds of attention. His familiar is a Peregrine Falcon.

Amy Rose- This cheery hedgehog lady has a very peculiar type of magic. Her magic is quite literally in the cards with card magic, and not just about the clairvoyant use of them with fortune telling (although she does enjoy doing that and was the first trick she learnt). With a special set of crafted magic cards, she can use them for a multitude of different spells and magical enhancements, such as summoning weapons or objects, setting traps, or enchanting herself depending on the cards. She can even use the very cards themselves as a projectile. It’s a very versatile set of magic that is difficult to master, but she is well on her way to doing so. She usually helps out at Vanilla’s inn or at Honey’s studio but she enjoys doing Tarot Card readings on the side. Her familiar is a swan... that seems to act exactly like her, cheerful and loving one moment... and then horrifyingly aggressive the next.

Miles ‘Tails’ Prower- A young fox who’s already a prodigy, his intelligence being far greater than anyone of his age. Despite the terrible teasing he suffered during his earliest years, getting to the point of dark rumours about him being born with two tails, he’s grown past it and training hard to become a great and wise magic user. Tails’ magic is one that isn’t very common and even harder to master, the magic arts of an Artificer (At least I hope I’m getting this right-). Everyone is aware of magically enhanced items and almost everyone has used them at some point in their life but very few can make them, yet Tails is already steadily learning the ropes of those very skills. As an artificer, he constantly comes up with ideas for enchanted items, from tools to weapons and uses his own specialised tools and magic to create them... it doesn’t always work but he won’t ever quit! His familiar is an Octopus, who frequently likes to hang out on his arms and play with his tools and spare parts.

Nakon 'Knuckles' Guardia- A reclusive echidna who comes from a long thought extinct clan of solitary echidna mages. Very little is known about this clan except they were very powerful and defended many magic-infused artifacts, but they suddenly just vanished. Only Knuckles remained and has been on his own in the Emerald Groves ever since he could remember and continues to live in them to this day. No one knows what happened to them, or why Knuckles is the only one left and neither does he. He may not have memories of his clan and has had to fend for himself from a young but that doesn’t matter to him. He strives to keep up the honourable duty that his ancestors did before him. Knuckles uses an ancient form of nature/earth magic that is very difficult to replicate, very very few mages can accomplish ancient forms of magic. His familiar is a dragon, which matches his rare and powerful magic.

Shadow Ranchor - A mysterious and almost unsettling hedgehog whose origins are unknown to many; even his own memories of his past are foggy. What he does remember was his dearest friend, Maria Ranchor. Whom she and Shadow were watched over by her grandfather. who had found him and taken him back to their home but did not tell him anything else about his origins. Maria was a sickly girl and was frequently bedridden or had to have elixirs that only did so much at a time. Her grandfather tried desperately to find a cure for her disease but most of his attempts were unsuccessful. Unfortunately, they were attacked by a mysterious cult, Maria was killed trying to protect Shadow and her grandfather was taken away; never to be seen again. Shadow had fought these cult members the best he could but they subdued him... and that’s the last of what he can remember. He had awoken from this slumber-like stasis, the emotional wounds still fresh and rage still fueling but only to discover 50+ years had passed now... He shows great talent in one of the more notorious branches of magic, blood magic. He not only can control his own blood, such as stopping himself from bleeding, shaping it and manipulating or using it in blood rituals. He can also manipulate other people's blood which can be... very bad. He, later on, discovers that he is an artificial being made by the same cult that attacked Maria and her grandfather. He doesn’t know their connection to the cult but he vows he will discover his past if it’s the last thing he does. His familiar is a surprising one to some, A dove. It originally was Maria’s but he has taken it as his own, a true sign of devotion and love to her.

Rouge Éblouissante- An alluring and beautiful bat mage who seems to have an obsession of all sorts of gemstones and jewels... but for good reason! Her magic, gemstone magic, stems around the very use of crystals and jewels. She’s able to use many of them to grant her all sorts of enhancements and perform particular spells and even use them to make gorgeous charms for her liking. Not many people know of her past, she loves to tease that she’s full of mystery and can’t give it all away. She runs a cabaret that is a very popular hot spot, the home she lives in is above the building. Her familiar is a peaco*ck.

Silver Occasio - Despite barely being a mage yet and still learning, the teenaged hedgehog holds a massive amount of power for someone his age. Silver's talents lie with time/divination magic, being able to control time such as slow it down, and speed it up (he has yet to discover if he can even alter the past..). He can also see the future and look into the past to some degree, although both of these can be very... upsetting for him, he's seen things that he'd rather not have. These powers have given him some amount of stress but he has tried his best to control and come to terms with them. Despite the heavy duty of these powers, Silver tries his best to be an optimistic and cheery little dork. Currently, he’s being tutored by the finest mages in the Sol kingdom, some would call him lucky but the mages don’t really help with the pressure. Thankfully he has found support and comfort in his best friend, the Princess herself. His familiar is an owl.

Blaze Emberlot- The teenaged princess of the Sol Kingdom, her bloodline has ruled over the kingdom for many decades; many members of her family tree bare great and powerful magic. Blaze is naturally talented with the powerful magic that is fire/heat magic. This of course has left her kingdom... greatly concerned. As a child, she struggled to control it and many children even feared her for it. For many years she has been monitored by her kingdom and trained under the very best mages, it’s more been keeping an eye on her and making sure she doesn’t destroy the whole kingdom though... Despite the destructive power of her magic, she performs it with such grace and elegance and always keeps a cool, calm exterior; hiding the burning passion inside. This has settled a lot of her kingdom's concerns for her, but it has not settled her own inner anxiety. Her familiar is a lion, suiting the tradition of her family line having big cat creatures as their companions.

Cream Maplewood- A sweet little girl who has just started her learning of magic, yet at a young age she already shows exceptional talent with beast/animal-based magic. Being gifted with the ability to not only communicate with all sorts of creatures but even pacify them. She can’t do much else at this moment, but with how much she’s achieved so far; she’s sure to be a powerful mage. Her familiar shows great promise with how rare it is, a unicorn. It is not her only companion however, Cream seems to attract a large number of creatures called Chao; one who she has gotten very close with and called Cheese.

Vanilla Maplewood- The gentle and nurturing mother of Cream, she owns a inn/bakery where she excels in her quite unusual magic specialty. Culinary magic. Not only does her food actually manage to heal your wounds and injuries if needed, can improve your mood, improve your health and lift sickness and many other properties depending on whatever she bakes and cooks. She even learnt how to cook a large amount with only a small amount of rations, saving her money and wasting very little. Her bakery is very successful and popular and she is known as one of the best culinary magic users. Her familiar is a deer.

Big Immanis- A laidback gentle giant that has quite a shroud of mystery on him. Very few know much about him except the obvious, that he’s a quiet fisherman that prefers a life of serenity and simply doesn’t talk much about himself unless it’s about his love of fish. Many assume things about him as they haven’t seen him be anything but as a fisherman but little do they know that he is very powerful both with his immense strength and size and his mastery of water magic, even being able to manipulate ice itself which is not an easy feat to achieve for those who attempt water magic. It wouldn’t be a good idea to get on his bad side, but thankfully he’s so easygoing he’d barely ever want to hurt anyone unless given a good reason to. Who knows what else has happened in his life... His familiar is a frog and has been by his side for as long as he can remember and his best friend nicknames him Froggy.

Vector Marblemaw- a large loudmouthed crocodile with a heart of gold. His magic is quite unique and considered odd but very fitting for Vector. His specialty lies in incantation/vocal magic, which surrounds his voice/vocalisations in order for his magic to work. Ranging from powerful attacks to gentle healing spells, as long as he has his voice, his magic is strong. So he indeed lives by the phrase loud and proud. He runs a Watchmen service which mostly aids in public safety, crime prevention, crime detection, and recovery of stolen goods; whether enchanted or not. Although it can be hard for them to find work, they’re definitely good at what they do. His familiar is a whale, a powerful yet gentle creature that is known to sing and vocalise just as he does. He used to be embarrassed by this familiar when he was younger but not anymore.

Espio Omagatoki- a calm and collected mage who has a surprising talent in a branch of darker magic, shadow magic. While his magic has frightened and unnerved many but he does his best to teach people that the darker magics don't necessarily mean they're evil from the start. He knows he’s not a bad person and his magic shouldn’t dictate that, and so far he's been successful in changing some people's minds. He works with his close friend, Vector in his Watchmen service, using his magic to assist them in their work; he especially strives well in stealth-related missions. His familiar is a praying mantis, and yes he knows the irony of it you don’t need to mention it he’s heard it way too many times.

Charmy Marblemaw- A young, energetic and hyperactive bee that Vector had adopted and taken under his wing. Despite being a bit easily distracted and even... annoying to some, he is still a good kid and still tries hard to learn about his magic, even if it’s at his own pace. He has recently learnt he has a knack for light magic and while only being able to do flashy performances with it, he'll slowly but surely learn how bendable this branch of magic is. His familiar is/will be a hummingbird. If he gets it now, all he'll be able to do with it, for now, is just talk to the familiar and maybe fly around with it on his staff which he finds kinda boring unless he feels too lazy to fly himself. That’s a rule with children and familiars, the only rare exception is that magic can be used through the familiars while on their staffs.

Mighty Armoure- a kindhearted but strong armadillo man, his durability and strength is something to behold but yet he’s full of surprises, not even with his pacifistic nature but his magical specialty, his talents lie in bard/music magic. While considered unusual or even a more comical branch of magic, Mighty truly shows just how powerful it can be if used correctly. From the strums of his bass guitar to his powerful voice, he wows people with just how well he uses this magic. Of course, he prefers using it outside of fighting, best believe he will and not even have to use his strength… probably a good idea if you didn’t anyway. He’s usually a traveller and goes from place to place but always comes back home to visit and make sure his siblings are doing well as they study. He and Matilda didn’t have a good homelife originally but they’ve moved on from that now and don’t speak of it. His familiar is a bear, and just like Mighty, it's fiercely protective and it’s not smart to get on its bad side.

Matilda Armoure- The younger and much more snarky and witty sister of Mighty. While she has jokingly said she studies the dark arts, this is simply her just messing with people. Her magic specialises around art magic/animation, having the power to bring things to life, but excelling at things that come from her own creation, mostly through drawing and sculptures, but she can still bring to life any inanimate object that has a solid form (So don’t go asking her to just bring a random slap of stone to life it won’t work). Luckily for her, if she so needs it, she has quite a vivid and interesting imagination so if she needs to protect herself, she has a full sketchbook of things that can protect her. Her familiar is a fox and loves to jokingly mess with people just as she does, not even Matilda is safe from suddenly loud strange sounds from the creature.

Ray Fellowes- a jumpy and skittish young flying squirrel boy. He’s a close companion of Mighty, almost an unofficially adopted little brother to him. Despite his nervousness, is deeply loyal and a clever young mage. He's discovered his talents lie within healing magic. While not having much confidence in his abilities just yet, he's still learning and willing to make himself stronger. In the meantime, he's happy to still at least have magic that can help others. He’s also aware his branch of magic can have a dark side to it, where it can inflict injury and illness instead of taking it away but he’s smart enough to be cautious of that side of it. His familiar is a mouse that tends to hide in his sleeves if it’s not on his staff, not out of shyness, but simply out of comfort.

Nack ‘Fang’ Bizirik- A scrappy hybrid criminal that has had a rough go of life. Nack didn't have the nicest beginnings, he was discarded by his birth parents and given to a cult (this cult stemming from the one that created Shadow). This cult experimented with spells and curses and used orphan children as their test subjects; Nack was one of these subjects. He wasn’t at an age to know that a curse was put on him that stunted all of his magic and only when the curse was broken would be able to use his natural magic again. He was soon tracked down by his uncle (after finding out what his trashy parents did) and to avoid any trouble by the mage, simply gave the child back to him to raise himself, his uncle raised him the best he could and was a supportive figure for him. Unfortunately, it wasn't easy to raise the young hybrid and after continuing to grow older and still lacking any magic ability, he ran away from home; angry and bitter at the world. He became a thief and stole many-an-item. He used many of these stolen enchanted items and charms to make up for his lack of magic. He soon met Bark and Bean not long after and grew close to them, even becoming something of a family with them over time. When he found out about his curse it was... not fun to say the least, but it was discovered his talents circles around shapeshifting magic when it was broken. Fun times! His familiar is a beetle, who he found discarded in trash not long after running away, it was Nack's only friend for the longest time.

Bartek 'Bark' Nor'easter- A mute, physically imposing and powerful polar bear mage. He comes from a pure-blooded, wealthy and high-class family of mages, the Nor’easter family. They had high expectations put on him the moment he was born. He was expected to have natural-born skills with mind magic, which involves telekinesis, telepathy and many more, and he did. This is what his parents expected him to study and nothing else, whether he liked it or not. Bark was made to be a certain way and act and do as his parents wanted, when he didn't; they were not afraid to use their mind control on him to have him be as obedient and ‘perfect’ as possible. This abuse gave Bark the determination and spite to become stronger than they ever could be with this magic. lived up to that self-made promise, he's by far one of the strongest mages when it comes to Mind Magic, almost becoming feared for how powerful and adept he is at using it. Most telepath users only being able to talk to one or a few handfuls of people at a time, Bark can use his to speak to massive crowds at once... albeit his power can extremely overwhelming and it's wise not to have him lose his composure else it'd be by far the worst meltdown for everyone else... He left his home quickly after he was finished with his studies and hasn’t spoken to his parents since and still tries to rid himself of their reputation. His connections with a criminal (Nack) and a troubled child (Bean) that he has taken under his wing definitely don’t help with his image but he’s trying to live his life in the way he wants for once and still trying to heal from his parent's treatment. His familiar is an Elk, he got his familiar much later than most magic users as his family didn't let him have one in case it served as a distraction, and man does he feel like he missed out.

Bean Nor'easter- a troubled young mage that was adopted by Bark after he found him and took him under his wing. He is a talented potion-master, and while it's easy for most magic users to accomplish creating potions with a bare amount of magic. His skill is on a level that requires use of spells to give it that extra... spice. And his creative thinking definitely helps with this. Unfortunately, he was mentally unstable and no one knew why or didn't care to find out. Only seeing this boy as a danger and thinking he needed to be dealt with. Bark would discover not long after befriending him that a curse was placed on the boy when he was young. Bean didn’t remember how he got it but it was the cause of his mental instability, it’s a fairly common and weak curse. Thankfully with Bark's support and doses of elixir, he’s improved greatly and had a smooth road to recovery. He continues to improve with his magic and hopes to become a powerful potion master. His familiar is a Pheonix, which is a very rare creature to acquire as a familiar, he found it after hearing a nearby explosion in the forest he lives near and they took a liking to each other. Explosion-prone buddies!

Scourge Abscond- An arrogant and reckless hedgehog that bares quite a resemblance to Sonic... as he should, as they are actually cousins! They used to be close growing up, but unfortunately, they weren’t given the same attention. Scourge was not as lucky as Sonic when it came to receiving positive attention. Poor Scourge has always felt stuck in his cousin's shadow, never seemingly being able to live up to the ‘better’ child. Envy and bitterness grew in him and they drifted apart. During their teenage years, Scourge finally ran off and has become a known criminal since. His specialty lies in teleportation/portal magic, which definitely comes in handy when you choose to do crime for a living. Sonic has many attempts to reach out and reform his cousin but... it’s yet to go well. His familiar is a hyena, and for a long time has been his only friend that he can rely on.

Jet Skyborne- A brash and co*cky hawk teenager whos very interested in flight-related sports and has shown to have great skill and talent in them, he, unfortunately, isn’t at the top yet. Despite his arrogant and prideful attitude, he uses it to mask his insecurity and jealousy. Especially towards Sonic, who Jet claims that he’s a rival to him and vice-versa(Sonic definitely doesn’t see him as such and more of an annoying teenager who constantly wants to challenge him-). One of the biggest reasons for his insecurity is the kind of magic that he seems to be talented at, weather magic. He badly wishes he could have something better, and even tries to fight it by trying to learn different magics and cast them but no matter how hard he tries to fight it, weather magic is his specialty and he can't get away from it. He sometimes struggles to control it and it ties to his emotions in the worst ways so when he gets at his worst... it’s not a fun experience. It even resulted in injuring his older cousin, another reason why he hates his magic. His familiar is an eagle, he loves to fly with it and it’s the one thing he’s truly proud to have.

Wave Skyborne- an ambitious and self-confident swallow woman, ever since she was but a teenager she’s always had a mindset and interest in business endeavours and while it did take some plotting, she eventually managed to get a good business flowing with her natural talent as an alchemist. She’s very skilled in the art and science of alchemy but that doesn’t mean she has her competitors, she has a slight rivalry with the young prodigy Tails. She belittles him and calls him an amateur but will never admit that she’s quite impressed with how skilled he is, even at his age she wasn’t nearly as good. While she can say things to her brother and cousin that might get them at each other's throats, especially Storm, she truly does care for them... she doesn’t know how to show it. She hopes that if her business is successful enough she can provide not just her but her brother and cousin with all the riches and wealth for them to be able live happily; she’ll never stop trying to achieve her goal. Her familiar is a wasp, while very aggressive to most people, it’s very close to Wave and loves to stick by her at all times, and if not, it’s found taking naps on her head or in her toolbox.

Storm Skyborne- A large, loyal albatross man, he may not be the brightest bulb but he really does mean well and tries his hardest. The magic that he specialises in is quite unexpected for someone like him, his powers specialise in emotion/empathetic magic. He doesn’t really know how to feel about him having this kind of magic himself, he never has. It’s not bad magic to have but he just hasn’t figured everything out about it. Unfortunately magic for him lately has been even more difficult and hard for him to control following an... incident he had that left him injured and both mentally and physically scarred. Since that day, casting magic in general and even some physical activity has been difficult to accomplish, at worst his magic can unleash in uncontrollable spurts and considering the type of magic he’s naturally talented in... it’s pretty bad for everyone around him. It’s often easy to tell when he’s not in a good mood or having a bad day, as it just affects everyone around him. Because of his misfortune with magic, he’s begun to avoid being out in public for too long as some folks had even considered him a bad omen... Since then he’s just tried to focus on using his physical strength over magic as much as he could; even if it doesn’t get him too far. His familiar is a shark, who is actually quite a sweetheart and very affectionate, especially to Storm.

Zero Edevane AKA Infinite- A dark and brooding jackal man whose life has gone down a dark path. He was the eldest of his siblings and without parents, he took it upon himself to be the responsible one and look after their family. His speciality revolved around illusion magic, although he would face belittlement from some folks, as some see Illusion magic as a weaker branch of magic. Unfortunately, tragedy struck his family, his siblings had died and he was the lone survivor of the family. This filled him with sadness and rage, seeking revenge on the ones that destroyed his life and took his family away from him. A got his hands on a very powerful but cursed artefact and decided he was going to use it to get his revenge. And it did grant him lots of power and grant him the ability to wield the very rare and unstable magic of chaos magic. He went on a rampage and his mind was corrupted by the power of the artefact. Zero was eventually defeated and thought to be destroyed along with the artefact, well only one of those things is true. He survived the encounter but the artefact was tethered from him, despite being destroyed a part of it remains to him and will be for the rest of his life. He’s currently in hiding and stuck in a horrible state of depression, a part of him even wondering if it would’ve been better if he wasn't here. His familiar is a moth, he recently found this one during his time hiding out and it’s the one companion he has during this time. It’s not his first familiar though, he had another one previously but he lost it, just as he lost his siblings.

Gadget Fortier- A clever and handy wolf man whose large, strong stature tends to surprise many. He was raised in a more rural town where mages are smaller in numbers. His parents run a repairing service that has them fixing all sorts of knick-knacks, Gadget took after them and has always enjoyed tinkering. Much to everyone's surprise, it turned out he had the ability to cast magic. He had a fitting talent for restoration/repair magic, being able to restore any sort of object to a brand new state; even if the damage was immense or pieces were missing. He still does enjoy the fix things the old-fashioned ways, however, out of habit and for enjoyment. His familiar is a bee, it loves to play around with a lot of the spare parts Gadget has lying around.

Shade Nocturne- A serious and rather eerie echidna woman who was raised in a large cult-like society that’s hidden from the world, as Cults are heavily outlawed. She was raised to learn the dark arts and has a talent for them, being knowledgeable about all the branches and especially being gifted at curse magic. Her cult leader, Ix, raised her almost like his own (as he had disposed of her own parents for getting in his way), moulding and shaping her into his finest apprentice and second-in-command. Shade always believed he was doing the best for her, even if it was sometimes.. questionable; little does she know that his need for control and power go to the point of putting a curse on her too. To make sure the risk of her becoming more powerful than him could be prevented. She was always curious about the world outside of her cult and wanted to learn more but Ix, being as controlling as he was, forbade any contact outside their society. She did sneak out behind her leader's back to discover more of the outside world and was careful in her endeavours and would eventually meet a few people that she would call her friends. The more time she spent away from the cult, the more she began to painfully realise that the cult she had been born into was... bad. All of Ix’s ideals were wrong, even discovering she herself had been cursed by him. It hurt to realise this but the truth and logic couldn’t be denied. Soon after this revelation, Ix was ready to destroy her and many of her new allies attempting to stop his dark plans. She found herself having no other option but to destroy the one father figure she had in her life, once breaking the curse he put on her she did so. She knew it was for the best to do but... it still hurts. All of it hurts. Since then shes’ still reluctant to use her power but one day hopes that maybe she can change the way people see her, her magic doesn't make her a vile, wicked person... right? Her familiar is a raven and had been a close companion of hers for a long time, albeit secretly as Ix would’ve destroyed her familiar if he ever found out about it.

Tikal Guardia- Legend has it, that long ago lived a young but powerful mage that came from the mysterious Guardia Clan, a girl named Tikal. Tikal’s spells were the stuff of legend, her skills specialising in Summoning/Conjuration magic. Being able to bring forth any creature or entity or if able to, even a person as she so pleased... and if necessary she could even banish them. Where? Who knows. A pocket dimension. Another world. A void of sorts. No one knew except her. According to legend, she has a mystical connection with a powerful deity that she could summon at will, this deity is simply known as Chaos. Because of this connection, she had a strange bond with the chaos and loved them ever so dearly and protected them the most. A true pacifist by nature, she made it her duty to protect the innocent and righteous and stop evil in its path; even if it meant turning on some of her own blood. Unfortunately, at one point she was forced to, her father and the leader of the Guardia Clan became power hungry and were planning attacks and the only thing she could do was summon Chaos to stop them. It was a devastating amount of destruction but it had to have been done as much as it pained her. No one knows if she still lingers today, whether as a spirit that hasn’t quite vanished or is somehow still secretly alive but hidden away. Her familiar was/is a manatee.

Marine Marlowe- An adventurous racoon girl that descends from Tanuki bloodlines. She currently travels across the sea while she continues her magical studies, it’s very rare for her to be in one spot for long but she always returns to the same spots where her friends reside. She’s very recently found her talents lie in rune magic, and while she hasn't learnt everything yet and is nowhere near being a master. She has the determination to learn as much as she can, what she’s learnt so far has definitely aided her on her oceanic adventures. She’s close friends with princess Blaze and frequently visits her and has a home in the Sol Kingdom. Her familiar is an otter who’s as playful and mischievous as her.

Honey Chirimin- A bubbly young cat woman who’s a big fashionista. She’s had an interest in clothes and fashion for as long as she can remember; always loving to experiment with her clothes and dress up in all sorts of outfits! This seems to fit with her family’s history of tailoring businesses. Her magic specialises in creation magic, specifically in clothes and fashion. She can create and enchant all types of clothing items she creates for customers and folks. It’s a complicated process that took some time for her to perfect but her unique fashion line has made her famous despite her young age. She continues to come up with new ideas and outfits and will never stop! Her familiar is a spider that gives her quite a lot of inspiration.

Tiara Bobowski- a spunky young manx cat woman who has been Honey’s best and closest friend since they were young kittens. She has stuck by Honey’s side through all her endeavours and will continue to do so, serving as her assistant and helping her with whatever she needs, but her favourite thing to do is to be her photographer. Tiara tends to prefer her own company (with Honey as the exception) and explore herself and play around with hobbies, interests and even magic. Recently she’s discovered that she has a knack for inscription magic due to all this experimenting. Her familiar is an antelope who she loves to catch in action shots on her camera as it’s always on the move if not on her staff.

Rant: she fidgets

Upon rewatching this scene I've just realized that Tissaia has started fidgeting with things (the rings on her fingers) when she is nervous, as in this scene here where Stregobor tried to frame Yennefer as a betrayer.

You can see in the previous shot her right hand fingers were just resting on her left hand, but once Stregobor started accusing Yennefer of betraying the Northern mages, Tissaia started turning the rings between her fingers. The gesture was more clear to see as she studied other people in the room.

I, for one, still hate the addition of golden jewellery to her look with a passion, simply because they look gaudy as hell. Her complexion and overall character goes better with silver, like in the Ascension ball outfit; mother-of-pearl or ivory would also fare very well - but gold jewellery, and as crude as those the costume department added, would not. Then throw in the partly questionable partly enigmatic character development this season where she gave up the role of a simple school teacher, got tangled in politics, got laid with [fax machine noises] [AK-47 firing] [Ciri screaming], I cannot help but making a bad joke about midlife crisis behaviour, or worse (*).

I think it counts as half a win for book enthusiasts since Tissaia's OCD in the book was quite apparent. I have always thought it a shame that they did not make her that way in season 1, did not utilize an interesting trait of her that deserved to be translated on screen, I kept hoping anyway that they would add something subtle about her disorder in season 2. The rings could be to show her OCD. Since MyAnna's acting Tissaia-wise is precise and concise, I don't think the fidgeting is unintentional, especially when it started only when things started not looking so bright for Tissaia.

imho it is not too late to make Tissaia more book-like, yes, but symptoms of such disorder does not stop at, does not have to be just the fidgeting - it is plenty other kinds of compulsive behaviour. So while the rings might be a thoughtful enough addition (they are not impossible to spot, but neither they are in your face) - they do not seem particularly creative either, plus they do clash with her previous characterization. Remember, this is the woman who, on the most formal, dress-up kind of events, as shown at the Ascension ball, donned simple earrings and her everyday pendant and that was as far as jewellery went for her, no rings were to be found on her hand that day. I used to interpret that detail as a crucial trait of Tissaia: she is aware of her good looks, but she is practical, she is serious, she is stoic; and while she does not force herself to quit the small pleasures of life such as packing and lighting a pipe every now and then, frivolity and Tissaia are strangers grown.

So in short, am I pleased that they seem to include some book!Tissaia's traits to show!Tissaia? Yes, quite. Am I pleased at their execution? No, not at all, could have been done a lot better, the rings and her OCD were just a small part of book!Tissaia that they tried to bring into the show but seems not to go very well, but since Tissaia's story has not come to a close yet, I'll not draw any conclusion except for:

Damn, those rings are ugly.

(*): When you think about it that only after Yennefer had gone missing/been assumed dead and Tissaia had started having a relationship with [Roach neighing] that she started wearing tons of jewellery, the detail about the rings does not sit well at all. It looks as if a dick could make someone as intelligent and stoic as Tissaia dull and frivolous. To be honest I am quite close to calling that a sexist move from the writers, or a move so lazy it actually seems detestable, but again who am I to judge. Let's all hope Tissaia has been playing every side this season. Fingers crossed.

Do NOT bother to leave a reply I don't know how replies on tumblr posts work and cannot be arsed to learn, so if you want to feed me to sharks please do it with the reblog.

of Rex Lapis and a young boy

“Do you love her?”“What do you want me to say?”

Say yes. Say yes so I can tell myself to stop. If you love her still, then there is no way that there’s place for me in you. Say yes so I can stop thinking, stop pretending. Say yes so I know that you don’t care for me. Say yes so that I know, once and for all, that mortals and gods are not supposed to be next to each other. Say yes so I can try to forget that you are my friend. Say yes so I can forget that you are my only friend. Say yes so I can slap myself and laugh and make a joke about how stupid I am. Say yes so I know that anytime you looked at me, you didn’t look at me at all. Say yes so I know that I’ll never be curious or kind enough.Say yes, so that I know I never mattered at all.|Zhongli would never love him. Zhongli could only love things that were long past, and Childe walked ever toward the future.

Ao3

*

Azhdaha.

Zhongli-xiansheng and the Traveller had left the Harbour for a while to go look at some stones – or something, Childe didn’t ask – and now they’ve returned.

It had stung, just a little bit, when he realised Xiansheng had just dumped him for their meal but that was okay. That was perfectly, absolutely fine. He hadn’t sat there for hours upon end, waiting for him and then heading to the Funeral Parlour just to learn that Zhongli had left the Harbour entirely. That was cool. It wasn’t like they told each other everything, right?

It’s not like Zhongli knew everything Childe was up to in Liyue.

But now they were back, sitting at the Storyteller’s. Zhongli-xiansheng looked great, even. Like he hadn’t missed Childe at all. Yeah. That was cool. Perfectly cool.

He wasn’t even interested in rocks, so no wonder they didn’t ask him to come along. Yeah. Right.

Zhongli told him about Azhdaha in a quiet tone, and Childe knew he wasn’t getting the whole story. The Traveller sat beside them, silent as ever. It was cool. Childe got the picture. He wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t as dumb as they thought him to be. Childe had heard that tone in Zhongli’s voice many times. For some reason, that tone had always struck him, but he had never been sure why.

He thought he knew, now.

It sounded like Zhongli was talking about something incredibly dear to him.

Not long after, Zhongli left, the Traveller close behind. They barely said good-bye and Childe smiled at them. He was acutely aware of the fact that they left without paying their tab. Yeah. That was fine, he’d just cover it.

“Storyteller,” he requested as he ordered himself the strongest drink this bar had, “can you tell me of Rex Lapis and the Mountain-Dragon?”

And so the Storyteller did.

*

The next day, Childe ventured into Nantianmen. He had seen the tree there before, but had thought little of it. Now, it was different. This is where Azhdaha had been sealed away, right beneath his feet. Zhongli’s friend.

Zhongli’s lover, even.

Back then, hearing about the Goddess of Dust had felt weird, like a mortal Zhongli pining for a Goddess dead way before his time. Now, after everything, it made more sense. When he talked about Azhdaha, Zhongli-xiansheng had the same look in his eyes. A soft, far-away look in his eyes that had always made Childe feel small and unimportant. Which was why, whenever he’d catch that look, he’d crack a joke, or point out a merchant stall.

He stepped closer to the tree and put his hand on the bark.

Did Zhongli come here, to be close to his old friend?

Zhongli never came to him, just to get him.

Always, it had been a matter Childe would have to settle with Mora somehow.

Had he ever been Zhongli’s friend, at all?

“What makes you so special?”

The tree, and the dragon hereby-under, don’t answer.

“Zhongli-xiansheng is rather busy, I apologise.”

To her credit, the Ferry lady did actually look sorry. It did little to stifle Childe’s mood, but he appreciated the gesture nonetheless. He wondered, idly, why it’s always him that reached out to Zhongli. Why was he the one clinging to a God that lied to him?

Well, maybe he was stupid after all.

He smiled at the Ferry lady and left her. He didn’t tell her to inform Zhongli that he’d been here. Somehow, he doubted that Zhongli would care either way. He pretended it didn’t hurt something in his chest, and returned to Northland Bank.

At least Ekaterina and the others there were forced to care about him. Oh, the luxury of being a Harbinger.

*

Despite him talking about her all the time, Childe knew next to nothing about Guizhong. There also wasn’t that much to find in books. Despite what people might think, Childe actually was a vivid reader. Granted, it tended to be adventure stories, not dry history, but he could expand.

But she had been Morax’ best friend.

And while the dry history books didn’t say it outright, it was clear as day: they all suspected the two to have been lovers in some capacity. The all-powerful Morax, and the sweet, gentle-hearted Guizhong. The perfect pair, even. He was strong where she was weak, and she was wise where he was not.

Childe wasn’t a romantic where it counted, but even he could see the potential in writing stories about a couple like that.

And she died, leaving Rex Lapis behind.

Childe looked out the window.

To be fair, he wasn’t sure why he read about Guizhong in the first place. What was he hoping to achieve? All the books he consumed about Rex Lapis have had a clear goal in mind: stealing the God’s Gnosis.

Not that that had worked, but semantics. Maybe Childe just wasn’t meant to steal someone’s heart.

He went to Guili Plains the next chance he got. He wasn’t sure why, but this place had been named after Guizhong and Zhongli. For all its historic worth, it look desolate. Rationally, Childe knew that a war has taken place here, but still, he had expected more, somehow. He had expected Rex Lapis to try and restore this place that he and his lost lover shared.

He was also a bit disappointed that there were no Glaze Lilies here. The books hadn’t shut up about Guizhong and Glaze Lilies. So much in fact that Childe had had his doubts on whether or not she’d really been the Goddess of Dust or Glaze Lilies.

He wondered what kind of man Zhongli would be today if Guizhong had not died. What kind of man he’d be if he hadn’t needed to seal the dragon away.

If that had been the case, then he probably wouldn’t have cared about Childe at all.

The hole in his chest hurt and he didn’t like it.

With his past dead, Zhongli’s eyes would glance across Childe.

If they had been alive, he wouldn’t have looked at Childe at all.

Wanting to stop, he killed the abyss mages.

*

There were Glaze Lilies blooming in the Harbour. He’s heard that they were cultured there artificially, because they were dying out. Zhongli must hate that fact. But that also meant that Childe of all people would probably not be able to actually approach the stupid flowers.

It had been days since they’ve last met, and Zhongli hadn’t come to him.

Childe felt like a broken tool. He wondered how long it would take him to get used to that feeling.

He wanted to see the flowers, so he snuck out at night. He knew there were some blooming behind the house on the Terrace, so he hoped he wouldn’t be spotted by the Millelith. It’d be hard to explain himself to Lady Ningguang for this, so he’d rather not.

Childe climbed the wall easily and quietly and sure enough, there they were – two Glaze Lilies, blooming under the moonlight. Truth be told, he wasn’t sure what he had been expecting. Did he want to pick them to present them to Zhongli? Probably not.

He reached out with one finger, gently touching one of the petals. Somehow, he was afraid they’d wilt under his touch and die. But nothing happened. Childe sighed and lied down beside the flowers. The sky was clear and bright. When he closed his eyes, he could hear a soft humming in his ears and it filled him with longing for... something. Not a fight, not a victory, not even a loss, just – something. Something he couldn’t have.

“How did you do it?” He asked the flowers.

How did you make Zhongli fall in love with you? How did you make him look at you proper? How did you make him see you? How do you put that tone in his voice and how do you put that look in his eyes?

Childe sighed.

The flowers didn’t respond.

He thought of Azhdaha, who had looked upon the world with curiosity and had learned to love it through Morax.

He thought of Guizhong, who had looked upon her people with endless kindness and had taught Rex Lapis to do the same.

He was neither curious nor kind.

No wonder that Zhongli didn’t care to look at him.

*

Why had the Tsaritsa sent him here? Why couldn’t he have been in on the plan? He could’ve caused a havoc even knowing where Morax was. Why couldn’t he have taken the Gnosis after a done deed? Why did it have to be Signora?

He was Her Majesty’s vanguard, was he not?

Didn’t she think him capable enough?

Why couldn’t Signora have wrecked the city?

Why him?

Was he really only good for front-line mayhem, and nothing else?

The God he had spent so much time with hadn’t even looked at him when he handed his heart away.

The God Childe had believed to be his friend.

He had no friends, now.

Childe put his report away and left the Bank.

It was late, and everything in him yearned for his home.

His home, where his parents would watch him with wary eyes.

Maybe he shouldn’t have come back, when he’d fallen.

When will he hurt Tonia? When will he take Anthon and Teucer, and turn them into monsters too? When will he reveal that our son has never come back at all? How long will this facade last?

He would smile at them, and pretend he didn’t know. He’d pretend that these months had never happened and that they still loved him unconditionally.

He reached the pier and sat down. He wanted to go fishing again.

The water gently dipped at the stone and Childe sighed. He wondered, did Morax laugh at him? Each time Childe had thought he’d been sleek, getting more information from Zhongli, had the God laughed at his ignorance?

But Zhongli had seemed so content, so willing to answer all of Childe’s questions.

It’s an important part of Liyuean’s cuisine, Childe. Please use the chopsticks.

Had Morax been making fun of him?

He’d never hear the end of it, back home in Snezhnaya. He could already hear Scaramouche’s snicker in his ear.

His mark had been right there next to him, ever-correcting the Harbinger’s grip on the chopsticks, and Childe had never known.

A one-way tool of war was probably the best thing he could ever be.

He could neither be curious or kind.

How would a guy like him ever gain the affection of the divine?

“You cannot sleep?”

Childe didn’t turn around.

What did it matter, anyway?

Zhongli sat down beside him with a small sound, reminding Childe how old this man truly was. He’d been a fool. How could Zhongli ever be his friend, with all their differences?

“Tell me a story.”

“What do you want to hear?”

Childe was silent for a moment.

Tell me how I can make you look at me. How can I be kind, or curious enough for you to gain your affection? Tell me how I can make myself significant to you. Tell me how I can be a friend that you’ll remember. Tell me, please. Tell me how to be important to you.

“I don’t know.”

Childe was staring at the water down below. Zhongli’s contract was fulfilled. There was nothing more they had to talk about. Why did Zhongli even acknowledge him? He should’ve just kept walking.

“You have gone to Guili Plains.”

“...yes.”

“Why?”

“I wanted to see,” Childe replied in a hushed voice.

Truth was, he didn’t know. Maybe he had expected the ghost of Guizhong to descend upon him and tell him everything he’d need to know. A stupid, childish thought. She hadn’t come, and his questions have been left unanswered. A god would never descend for him, anyway.

“What did you find?”

“Nothing,” Childe said. “Why didn’t you restore the Plains?”

“Why would I?”

“Because of Guizhong.”

“It’s the place I lost her in. It is difficult to go there, even after all these centuries.”

What did it feel like, making such an impact on an immortal being?

Every time he returned home, he ventured out into the woods again. Some part of him wanted to find the crack in the earth again, where he lost himself and found himself at the same time. Maybe he also hoped he’d find a little Ajax lost in the woods. He didn’t know.

“Do you love her?”

“What do you want me to say?”

Say yes. Say yes so I can tell myself to stop. If you love her still, then there is no way that there’s place for me in you. Say yes so I can stop thinking, stop pretending. Say yes so I know that you don’t care for me. Say yes so that I know, once and for all, that mortals and gods are not supposed to be next to each other. Say yes so I can try to forget that you are my friend. Say yes so I can forget that you are my only friend. Say yes so I can slap myself and laugh and make a joke about how stupid I am. Say yes so I know that anytime you looked at me, you didn’t look at me at all. Say yes so I know that I’ll never be curious or kind enough.

Say yes, so that I know I never mattered at all.

“...say yes, then.”

Childe didn’t remember when he drew his legs in and hugged his knees. He felt smaller and younger than he had in years. Skirk would kill him for this position but she’d never know.

“You’re in pain,” Zhongli said instead and Childe almost wanted to laugh.

“No,” he responded, “I haven’t been in a fight in days.”

“Not all pain is physical, Childe.”

What did he care? Childe wished he’d stop. It was these sorts of talks that put Childe in this situation. If Zhongli would just stop pretending he cared, it’d be all so much easier.

“Kun Jun gave this to me,” Zhongli said and held out his hand, a pretty rock upon it.

For the first time, Childe turned his head. It was a pretty thing, he thought.

“Kun Jun?”

“One aspect of Azhdaha.”

Ah. Yes, the other lost lover. Childe tensed his jaw. Why was Zhongli showing this to him? Was he mocking Childe?

Look, all these pretty things you bought me, and still I value the rock my old lover gave to me more.

There it was again, the pang in his chest. Zhongli never carried around the things he made Childe buy. And now here he was, carrying around some rocks this Kun Jun picked up from the ground?

“It’s pretty,” Childe said then. He didn’t know what else to say and Zhongli clearly cherished this rock.

Mora couldn’t buy someone’s affection. It could buy him any favour he’d ever wanted, but he could never buy genuine feelings. Their friendship had been a farce from the start. Zhongli had used him, just like Her Majesty and Signora had used him.

“It was good, seeing him again,” Zhongli sat, gently holding the stone in his hand. “But it hurt, as well, knowing I’d have to seal him away once more.”

“I’m sorry,” Childe said and he wanted to take the rock and throw it in the ocean.

He bought Zhongli so many things, and he valued none of them. For all he knew, Zhongli had thrown them aside the second Childe had turned his back. He’d never be important enough to Zhongli, so why did he even try? Why did he ever bother? He had wanted to invite Zhongli to his home, to meet his family. He had wanted to show his parents that he was still good, still their son, and that he made a genuine friend.

He couldn’t do that now. At best, Zhongli was a former business associate. Not his friend. Never his friend.

Zhongli didn’t say anything and Childe suspected he was deep in memories. He wanted to stand up and leave but he couldn’t.

“Liyue Harbour exists today because of Guizhong,” he said then and Childe curled up in himself. Just rub it in. How would Childe ever compete?

A curious dragon with pretty eyes and pretty rocks, and a gentle soul of a Goddess with beautiful, humming flowers next to her, an entire city dedicated to her?

What was he against them?

A reckless, arrogant toy soldier. The only thing he was good at was fighting and even then, Morax would be able to beat him blind-folded.

“Without her, I would have never been able to appreciate humans. To me, they were barely a duty, a responsibility, not something worthy of love. But she walked among them, empathised with them and through her and for her, I was able to do the same.”

Childe was a human. But he wasn’t part of the humans Zhongli spoke about. He wished he could take that part out of himself; the part that made his chest hurt. He’d rather endure the pain of his transformation.

“When she died, I was devastated and I wrecked havoc on my enemies. They had killed the gentlest soul I would ever know and they did not deserve mercy for it. But I knew, I knew that that wasn’t what she’d want. She’d want me to protect our people, to become the leader she never got the chance to be. So I taught them to build houses, I taught them to make stoves. And these days, I believe she would be proud of what I achieved.”

He was saying yes, and it hurt. Everything Zhongli had done had been for her. But maybe – maybe that was a good thing. He could let go now, right? He knew know, he had audible confirmation that Zhongli would never look at him, would never care for him. He wasn’t good enough. Nobody would ever build a city for him.

He had to go. He had to leave. He couldn’t see Zhongli again. His feet itched, but he couldn’t move. Zhongli would never love him. Zhongli could only love things that were long past, and Childe walked ever toward the future.

“Why are there no Glaze Lilies in Guili Plains?”

“They are a delicate flower, and Guili Plains turning desolate was too much for them to handle. But if you want to get poetic, then Guizhong’s demise surely had something to do with it.”

Childe wondered. If he died, would – would something wither for him? The seashells he was so fond of, would they crack?

“You miss her.”

“Yes.”

Will you miss me is a question left unasked.

Childe took a deep breath. He would fill the gaping hole inside his chest with blood and glory.

“I have something for you.”

Childe blinked. He didn’t remember buying something. He looked over to Zhongli, who held a sword out to him.

“I have been meaning to give it to you for a while but ah, things got in the way.”

Childe reached for the handle and held the sword up against the moonlight. The blade was green. He’d never seen a weapon like that before.

“I crafted it myself long ago. The blade is cut from the purest jade. I made it for a friend, but sadly, they never got to use it.”

“I...” Childe didn’t know what to say. He didn’t use a sword much these days, but he could appreciate good craftsmanship. And really, he could never have enough weapons.

“Thank you,” was what he settled on and Zhongli smiled at him.

“You wished to hear a story,” Rex Lapis said and Childe nodded, holding his new gift close.

“Once, a long time ago, Rex Lapis encountered a boy. The boy would never learn to fear the God he met and instead, would always smile brightly at him. Some might say the boy was ignorant of who he met, but Rex Lapis greatly enjoyed the company of the boy, unburdened by the past. It’s the tale of Rex Lapis, a god feared for his wrath, and a young boy with kind eyes and a gentle soul, ever ready to overtake the world and unafraid to walk in front of a god he ought to fear.

Once, a long time ago, Rex Lapis encountered a young boy who showed him the light of the sun again.”

Perhaps this was alright. Maybe Rex Lapis would always be stuck in the past and Childe would always walk ahead into the future. As Childe listened to Rex Lapis tell him an ancient tale, he fell asleep next to his friend Zhongli, a green sword tightly hugged to his chest.

He dreamed of a field full of flowers and a god and a boy, holding hands, walking towards the gentle brushing of the sea at the shore.

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 hom*ogenizing. [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 batsh*t 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] sh*t, 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 sh*t 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 circ*mstances? -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.

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]

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