straightforwardly (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
straightforwardly) wrote2014-08-12 05:00 pm
straightforwardly) wrote2014-08-12 05:00 pm
0030 | in which I continue playing Dragon Age: Origins, & fangirl over Zevran
I have played so much of Dragon Age: Origins since I last updated two days ago. I'm not complaining; I'm having quite a bit of fun! But looking back at what I've done in that short time since my last entry is a bit... startling.
To be fair, I have been doing other things— mostly weeding, actually, to the dismay of my poor muscles— but it is also true that most of my time lately has been taken up by this game.
So, I left off last time when I was just about to finish up in the Brecilian Forest. I didn't have to redo as much as I thought I did— hurrah for quick-saves, even if they landed me in the middle of a battle!— and everything worked out without a hitch the second time I defeated Zathrian.
After a few detours— during which I met and obtained Zevran for my party! ♥— I decided to head to the Circle of the Magi.
But first, Zevran! I was vaguely aware of someone by that name being a party member, but I didn't know anything about him, and oh my God. I am so in love. I warmed up to him pretty much instantly, and I'm liking him more and more as I talk to him/listen to his comments. Especially his stories about his "adventures"— I feel a bit bad about it, since he's talking about killing people, but I couldn't help but giggle my way through them.
I haven't started an actual romance with him yet, but I intend on doing so soon, because so in love. The only thing that's stopping me, actually, is that most of the time when I'm playing, my big brother is watching me play, and I feel awkward about propositioning someone when my big brother is right there, even if it's just in a game. So... yeah, I've only been working on it when my big brother's doing something else, and that's slowed me down.
He has made my party arrangements a bit challenging. I keep saying that if I could only have one more person on my party, my life would be so much easier. At this point, my default members are Zevran, Morrigan, and Alistair. I would replace Alistair with someone else, but his conversations with Morrigan amuse me too much. I do wish that the dialogues that my party members have with each other was more like the skits in the "Tales of" games, so that I can hear aalllll the conversations, regardless of who's in my actual party at the time.
But back to the actual game, and my adventures in the Circle of the Magi. And... I can definitely see why Morrigan is not a fan of the whole thing, though I disagree with her dislike of the actual mages. How the chantry corrals them all up in there and watches over them is just creepy. Especially when this Right of Annulment is apparently a thing.
So, my party for this portion of the game was Wynne, Morrigan, and Zevran, mainly because I felt bad about leaving Wynne out of saving her own tower and, like I mentioned above, I find Alistair to be the one I need the least.
I'm a bit torn on what I think on the "Lost in a Dream" part of the game. On one hand, it wasn't bad. The shape-shifting was neat, and I really liked the part where I found my party members in the nightmares— Wynne's wasn't very interesting, but Morrigan's made me laugh, and I just like learning all the things about Zevran's character and his background. Even if that background, apparently, included torture. Poor guy.
But, at the same time, I just didn't have a whole lot of fun with it. Like, it didn't quite reach the level of tedium or annoyance, but I missed having my party members, and I was happy when I finished up with it and could continue on to facing Uldred.
After that, I headed to Redcliffe, where Alistair told me that he is literally a royal bastard. I think I can see where this is going, and I don't think it's going to be a result that someone who once told Morrigan that he enjoyed being a follower is going to like.
Of course, I could always be wrong, and in that case I'd be happy for him, but at this point, I doubt it.
Speaking of suspicions I may or may not be wrong about, after talking to the blacksmith, I was pretty much convinced that Isolde was behind everything, and how she acted when she came to convince Bann Teagan to come to the castle with her, alone, did not help my thoughts in that area. Of course, I was wrong, and it turned out to be one of those situations where everyone involved thought they were doing the right thing.
I honestly thought that I was going to have to let Isolde die, but then, thankfully, there came the option to go and receive aid from the Circle, and I jumped on that so fast. I absolutely hated fighting that desire demon, though— I had no idea how to use the mage characters, and had to learn how to do that while fighting. Fun. I chose to send Morrigan in, though, and I definitely do not regret that— her conversations with the demon were incredibly entertaining.
After that, I ended up going to Denegrim, about which I don't really have anything to say, and then to Haven in search of the Urn. That... was interesting, to say the least. Killing creepy cultists is how I always want to spend my days! /sarcasm.
I did become convinced that the Brother Genitivi was a fake, like the Weylon in Denegrim— someone about him just seemed untrustworthy— but, as far as I can tell, those suspicions turned out to be unfounded.
That temple was probably one of my favorite dungeons in the game— all that snow! and so pretty!
When I saw that dragon appear, I was all, "...I don't actually have to fight that, do I?" And then Zevran amused me by making a comment along the lines of, 'we're not actually going to fight that dragon, right? can't we just sneak about it?' (Note: that's not word-for-word, just the general jist of it.)
I really like the trials with the Guardian— especially since Tamlen was mentioned again! It was nice having that throwback to my character's past, and I liked having the opportunity to spill my guilt over what happened with him there— because, yes, I realized Tamlen being screwed over was a part of the game, but I still can't help but feel bad about it.
And then there were the Guardian's questions to my companions— so interesting. I kind of wish I'd brought my dog, because I am dying to know what he would have asked him, but what I got was great! Alistair's may have been a bit standard (though I still liked it), Morrigan, as always, never failed to amuse with how she just shot down the Guardian's attempt at questioning her, and Zevran—
oh, Zevran. I was flailing so hard at that scene. How he cut off the Guardian before he could finish asking the question, how short and terse his answer was, how he shifted so quickly from lighthearted and easygoing to defensive and terse— it all really worked for me, and I am incredibly intrigued about what it was the Guardian was referring to.
While not quite as amazing as that scene, I still found the rest of the trial to be really engaging! Seeing Tamlen— or, at least, a spirit with his form— again gave me feelings, and my party members had the most amusing conversations when I was trying to figure out the puzzle with the platforms— especially Zevran and Alistair.
I always love learning about history— even the history of fictional worlds— so I got really into talking to those spirits, especially since I actually managed to solve most of those riddles even before they gave me the answers list. I usually suck at riddles! So, not sucking at those riddles probably pleased me a lot more than it should have, haha.
Finally, the characters losing all their clothing to walk through the fire probably should have annoyed me, because I dislike fanservice, but... I didn't really take it that way? I'm not sure why, but I liked the idea of the flames not bothering you once you discarded your earthly possessions. I don't know. (Just like I don't know where Morrigan magically obtained that bra from. She definitely was not wearing it before we discarded our equipment.)
I couldn't talk Genitivi out of his ridiculous idea of making the Urn into a tourist site, at least not unless I decided to kill him, which seemed like going a bit overboard. But seriously. How could he honestly think that was a good idea? It did amuse me, in a somewhat morbid way, that he referred to Lúthien as "my friend" right after I had the option of killing him.
Then, of course, the game decided that it wanted to play with my emotions even more, and had my camp attacked at night— an attack which included my Lúthien meeting Tamlen again— apparently, I was right about him not dying in that cave. Not that it did any good, since, despite efforts on my part, I had to put him out of his misery here.
That was actually where I stopped playing last night; as silly as it might sound, that part made me really emotional, and I couldn't bring myself to continue— I had to take a break.
When I started up again this morning, instead of heading back to Redcliff Castle to heal Arl Eamon, I... kind of decided to go to Orzammar instead? My big brother was making fun of me, saying, "Oh, he's dying over there, and you're all, mm, I have plenty of time, I'm going to go check my mailbox first" and things like that, haha.
As much as I love dwarves, I'm kind of glad that I waited to do this one, because speak of difficult decisions. I love fictional politics, but trying to decide which one to back— Prince Bhelen or Harrowmont— made my head spin. At first, it was because I felt like I didn't know enough about either, and, to some extent, I still feel that way. But even after I found out more about them... I approve of Harrowmont trying to persuade people to his desires rather than ruling with an iron fist, but I really like how Bhelen seems to be all for the casteless and the downtrodden of society, and how he seems to be really into the idea of helping the Grey Wardens with the Blight. It didn't help that I'm positive that one of them assassinated the previous king, and keep going back and forth on which one I think did it.
In the end, I decided to back Bhelen, though there were some moments where I was all, can't I just hunt down Branka and make her king? People like her! I'm pretty sure they'd agree on her! Of course, at that point I didn't realize that Bhelen was going to send me to get her so that she would support him, but still.
I did kill Jarvia for Bhelen, which I didn't feel too bad about— I did try to reason with her, and her comments about wanting my teeth for a bracelet or necklace or whatever it was kind of bled away whatever sympathy I had for her— but I felt sorry for those whom I killed who probably had little to no choice about following her.
Now I'm looking for Branka. Oghren did join up with me, which made me gnash my teeth about party arrangements again— in the end, I went with, predictably enough, Zevran, Morrigan, and, for plot reasons, Oghren.
And... that's all I have to say, for now. I think I'm going to go weeding for a bit, and then maybe return to my game. Because it has apparently become my life.
To be fair, I have been doing other things— mostly weeding, actually, to the dismay of my poor muscles— but it is also true that most of my time lately has been taken up by this game.
So, I left off last time when I was just about to finish up in the Brecilian Forest. I didn't have to redo as much as I thought I did— hurrah for quick-saves, even if they landed me in the middle of a battle!— and everything worked out without a hitch the second time I defeated Zathrian.
After a few detours— during which I met and obtained Zevran for my party! ♥— I decided to head to the Circle of the Magi.
But first, Zevran! I was vaguely aware of someone by that name being a party member, but I didn't know anything about him, and oh my God. I am so in love. I warmed up to him pretty much instantly, and I'm liking him more and more as I talk to him/listen to his comments. Especially his stories about his "adventures"— I feel a bit bad about it, since he's talking about killing people, but I couldn't help but giggle my way through them.
I haven't started an actual romance with him yet, but I intend on doing so soon, because so in love. The only thing that's stopping me, actually, is that most of the time when I'm playing, my big brother is watching me play, and I feel awkward about propositioning someone when my big brother is right there, even if it's just in a game. So... yeah, I've only been working on it when my big brother's doing something else, and that's slowed me down.
He has made my party arrangements a bit challenging. I keep saying that if I could only have one more person on my party, my life would be so much easier. At this point, my default members are Zevran, Morrigan, and Alistair. I would replace Alistair with someone else, but his conversations with Morrigan amuse me too much. I do wish that the dialogues that my party members have with each other was more like the skits in the "Tales of" games, so that I can hear aalllll the conversations, regardless of who's in my actual party at the time.
But back to the actual game, and my adventures in the Circle of the Magi. And... I can definitely see why Morrigan is not a fan of the whole thing, though I disagree with her dislike of the actual mages. How the chantry corrals them all up in there and watches over them is just creepy. Especially when this Right of Annulment is apparently a thing.
So, my party for this portion of the game was Wynne, Morrigan, and Zevran, mainly because I felt bad about leaving Wynne out of saving her own tower and, like I mentioned above, I find Alistair to be the one I need the least.
I'm a bit torn on what I think on the "Lost in a Dream" part of the game. On one hand, it wasn't bad. The shape-shifting was neat, and I really liked the part where I found my party members in the nightmares— Wynne's wasn't very interesting, but Morrigan's made me laugh, and I just like learning all the things about Zevran's character and his background. Even if that background, apparently, included torture. Poor guy.
But, at the same time, I just didn't have a whole lot of fun with it. Like, it didn't quite reach the level of tedium or annoyance, but I missed having my party members, and I was happy when I finished up with it and could continue on to facing Uldred.
After that, I headed to Redcliffe, where Alistair told me that he is literally a royal bastard. I think I can see where this is going, and I don't think it's going to be a result that someone who once told Morrigan that he enjoyed being a follower is going to like.
Of course, I could always be wrong, and in that case I'd be happy for him, but at this point, I doubt it.
Speaking of suspicions I may or may not be wrong about, after talking to the blacksmith, I was pretty much convinced that Isolde was behind everything, and how she acted when she came to convince Bann Teagan to come to the castle with her, alone, did not help my thoughts in that area. Of course, I was wrong, and it turned out to be one of those situations where everyone involved thought they were doing the right thing.
I honestly thought that I was going to have to let Isolde die, but then, thankfully, there came the option to go and receive aid from the Circle, and I jumped on that so fast. I absolutely hated fighting that desire demon, though— I had no idea how to use the mage characters, and had to learn how to do that while fighting. Fun. I chose to send Morrigan in, though, and I definitely do not regret that— her conversations with the demon were incredibly entertaining.
After that, I ended up going to Denegrim, about which I don't really have anything to say, and then to Haven in search of the Urn. That... was interesting, to say the least. Killing creepy cultists is how I always want to spend my days! /sarcasm.
I did become convinced that the Brother Genitivi was a fake, like the Weylon in Denegrim— someone about him just seemed untrustworthy— but, as far as I can tell, those suspicions turned out to be unfounded.
That temple was probably one of my favorite dungeons in the game— all that snow! and so pretty!
When I saw that dragon appear, I was all, "...I don't actually have to fight that, do I?" And then Zevran amused me by making a comment along the lines of, 'we're not actually going to fight that dragon, right? can't we just sneak about it?' (Note: that's not word-for-word, just the general jist of it.)
I really like the trials with the Guardian— especially since Tamlen was mentioned again! It was nice having that throwback to my character's past, and I liked having the opportunity to spill my guilt over what happened with him there— because, yes, I realized Tamlen being screwed over was a part of the game, but I still can't help but feel bad about it.
And then there were the Guardian's questions to my companions— so interesting. I kind of wish I'd brought my dog, because I am dying to know what he would have asked him, but what I got was great! Alistair's may have been a bit standard (though I still liked it), Morrigan, as always, never failed to amuse with how she just shot down the Guardian's attempt at questioning her, and Zevran—
oh, Zevran. I was flailing so hard at that scene. How he cut off the Guardian before he could finish asking the question, how short and terse his answer was, how he shifted so quickly from lighthearted and easygoing to defensive and terse— it all really worked for me, and I am incredibly intrigued about what it was the Guardian was referring to.
While not quite as amazing as that scene, I still found the rest of the trial to be really engaging! Seeing Tamlen— or, at least, a spirit with his form— again gave me feelings, and my party members had the most amusing conversations when I was trying to figure out the puzzle with the platforms— especially Zevran and Alistair.
I always love learning about history— even the history of fictional worlds— so I got really into talking to those spirits, especially since I actually managed to solve most of those riddles even before they gave me the answers list. I usually suck at riddles! So, not sucking at those riddles probably pleased me a lot more than it should have, haha.
Finally, the characters losing all their clothing to walk through the fire probably should have annoyed me, because I dislike fanservice, but... I didn't really take it that way? I'm not sure why, but I liked the idea of the flames not bothering you once you discarded your earthly possessions. I don't know. (Just like I don't know where Morrigan magically obtained that bra from. She definitely was not wearing it before we discarded our equipment.)
I couldn't talk Genitivi out of his ridiculous idea of making the Urn into a tourist site, at least not unless I decided to kill him, which seemed like going a bit overboard. But seriously. How could he honestly think that was a good idea? It did amuse me, in a somewhat morbid way, that he referred to Lúthien as "my friend" right after I had the option of killing him.
Then, of course, the game decided that it wanted to play with my emotions even more, and had my camp attacked at night— an attack which included my Lúthien meeting Tamlen again— apparently, I was right about him not dying in that cave. Not that it did any good, since, despite efforts on my part, I had to put him out of his misery here.
That was actually where I stopped playing last night; as silly as it might sound, that part made me really emotional, and I couldn't bring myself to continue— I had to take a break.
When I started up again this morning, instead of heading back to Redcliff Castle to heal Arl Eamon, I... kind of decided to go to Orzammar instead? My big brother was making fun of me, saying, "Oh, he's dying over there, and you're all, mm, I have plenty of time, I'm going to go check my mailbox first" and things like that, haha.
As much as I love dwarves, I'm kind of glad that I waited to do this one, because speak of difficult decisions. I love fictional politics, but trying to decide which one to back— Prince Bhelen or Harrowmont— made my head spin. At first, it was because I felt like I didn't know enough about either, and, to some extent, I still feel that way. But even after I found out more about them... I approve of Harrowmont trying to persuade people to his desires rather than ruling with an iron fist, but I really like how Bhelen seems to be all for the casteless and the downtrodden of society, and how he seems to be really into the idea of helping the Grey Wardens with the Blight. It didn't help that I'm positive that one of them assassinated the previous king, and keep going back and forth on which one I think did it.
In the end, I decided to back Bhelen, though there were some moments where I was all, can't I just hunt down Branka and make her king? People like her! I'm pretty sure they'd agree on her! Of course, at that point I didn't realize that Bhelen was going to send me to get her so that she would support him, but still.
I did kill Jarvia for Bhelen, which I didn't feel too bad about— I did try to reason with her, and her comments about wanting my teeth for a bracelet or necklace or whatever it was kind of bled away whatever sympathy I had for her— but I felt sorry for those whom I killed who probably had little to no choice about following her.
Now I'm looking for Branka. Oghren did join up with me, which made me gnash my teeth about party arrangements again— in the end, I went with, predictably enough, Zevran, Morrigan, and, for plot reasons, Oghren.
And... that's all I have to say, for now. I think I'm going to go weeding for a bit, and then maybe return to my game. Because it has apparently become my life.