0033 | in which I combine an entry I meant to finish yesterday with the one I planned for today

[straightforwardly]

► So, I've been wanting to play Crusader Kings II ever since I read this amusing comment about it on fail_fandomanon (side-note: that community increases my to-play list by far too much). I still don't own it, nor have I played it, but it's definitely on my radar.

I bring this up because I found myself having a bit of free time yesterday (which, at the time I'm typing this, was Saturday, 29 November 2014), and since not too long ago I read a Princess Maker Let's Play which I enjoyed, I decided that I'd look through the archive of that site to see if I could find something else to read.

I found this Crusader Kings II Let's Play. And oh my God, I had no idea that it was possible to feel this fannish about a Let's Play. Just. There were so many great characters! I had so many feelings about so many of them! asdfghjkl;

The first character to really catch my heart was definitely Christina. She's just such an interesting figure! I kind of love how her guardian was super determined to make her this devious, double-crossing politicking mastermind, yet she's instead all, haha nope, I'm going to be this super pious Good Person instead. The contrast between that and her desire for revenge over her father's death definitely interested me, even though how she eventually just... broke at the end of her life made everything bittersweet.

Speaking of which, the whole revenge thing that runs throughout the story (especially in the beginning) is something which I find super interesting, simply because it lasts so long. By the time the last Ylving loses their land, there's no one alive who even remembers the people who started it or who were otherwise affected by it. And on top of that, the reason for the revenge— Christina's father— isn't even worth it. I think that's what fascinates me the most about it, honestly. He was, quite frankly, an awful person, and kind of deserved what he got. He didn't even like Christina— he thought she was useless. But Christina was far too young to remember him when he died— she didn't know any of this— and so she hates the family who killed him, and it starts this whole cycle that lasts hundreds of years.

I kind of want to know more about her uncle Auden, though. The way her father talked about him made him sound kind of useless, but when he talks about the end of Christina's life, there's... something bittersweet about it? I don't know, just something about how he talked about Christina's death made me interested in him and his relationship with her.

The other relationship which interested me was the one between her and her son, Yorrick, if only because of who he later became. I can't help but think he only became Diligent—only made that promise— to please her, and that, more than anything else, shaped his future personality— if we ignore the fact that this technically came about due to game mechanics, I don't know if he would have become so practical had she not fallen apart like she had.

I do like who he became, though. I have to disagree with whoever it was— I can't remember which character/source narrated that part— who described him as "robotic". He was definitely very practical and logical in his approach, and seemed be fairly taciturn, but I thought it was also clear that he did have feelings. His quest to help his sister get married to the girl of her dreams was both sweet and amusing, and his comment about how his father was an "unappreciative jerk" definitely made me giggle.

BUT THAT'S ALL COMPLETELY UNIMPORTANT WHEN COMPARED TO KING ERNST AND HIS DARLING DAUGHTER RIKISSA. Easily, easily my favorite relationship in the whole thing, and the one that gave me the most feelings.

Honestly, I didn't like Ernst very much initially. First he was all flamboyant and thoughtless, which probably wouldn't have bothered me as much if it hadn't come on the heels of his father's rather depressing last words. Then he just became ridiculously cruel, what with the impaling and wearing cloaks of human skin.

But then came Rikissa. And, okay, my opinion did not change straight away. But there's something that's just so sweet and heartbreaking about their story. A father who does terrible, terrible things for the sake of setting up a good life (and, in this case, a kingdom / throne) for his daughter for after he dies, and who raves about how wonderful and intelligent she is? Especially since, after he succeeds with all of this, he just... stops with the violence and tyranny.

And that moment with the merchant, when he realizes that he was telling the truth and loses his Dishonesty trait? Easily one of the most powerful moments in this entire thing.

Basically, he goes from being one of the most tyrannical and cruel rulers to being one of the most gentle rulers in this entire Let's Play, and that dichotomy just fascinates me.

That's probably one of the main reasons why Rikissa's rule just gutted me, now that I think about it. Not only did I adore her, but I also loved how Ernst basically dedicated the end half of his life to creating a wonderful world for her, and that just... all goes down the drain. I think, of all the deaths in this thing, hers was the worst for me, and it all just feels unbearably tragic.

I do like to think that it was her who created the later-mentioned King Ernst Memorial Museum, sometime shortly after his death and her ascension as queen.

The next character who caught my attention was Huwi Caxec. (Also, side-note: can I say Aztec Invasion?!?!?! I kind of shrieked when that happened— I have got to get this game.) I liked how he brought a different cultural attitude to the events that were going on in the game— his reaction to discovering Duke Torben I's incestuous relationship with his daughter, and his conclusions about what that meant about the romantic proclivities of the Europeans was particularly amusing. However, my favorite part about his section was his friendship with the future Duke Gotfred I. Granted, we didn't see too much of it, but it was sweet. ♥

The last relationship which really caught my attention was that between Duke Poul I and his son, King Gotfred I. I mean, I already liked Duke Poul quite a bit. How can I not be intrigued by someone who spent, what, fifty-something(?) years in constant warfare and at the forefront of all of the battles and yet never got so much as a scratch? Plus, he was married to Asta (insert starry eyes here), and I love the loving, yet platonic relationship they built up. I love how she was all, screw ruling, I want to read, and only married Poul so he could be a beard for her, yet they ended up with this really sweet, devoted friendship. How he was comforted on his deathbed by the books she had left him prior to her own death also left me a bit choked up.

But, back to Poul and his son. I initially had zero interest in Gotfred because he was a drunk, and that just doesn't appeal to me. But then he changed his title to the king "of Denmark" instead of "of Sweden" despite the fact that it would bring him no political gain— would in fact do the opposite— just for the sake of his father, and I wibbled. Poul's constant fond exasperation, and how he acted annoyed but always pulled his son out of whatever trouble he landed himself in just sealed the deal for me. And then his reaction when Gotfred died before he did? asdfghjkl; it just gives me more feelings than I know how to handle.

God freaking damnit, I just really loved this Let's Play. Is it possible to have a fandom based on a Let's Play? Because I want a fandom. I want all the fic about these wonderful, screwed-up people— even the ones I didn't mention here but still loved— and all the wonderful friendships and even more fascinating parental-child relationships. I kind of want to cry with how much I love it.

► So, I meant to post this entry yesterday, but apparently my rambling about my feelings about fictional characters from a Let's Play took much longer than I expected to do. Therefore, I'm going to talk about my plans for December now in this same entry.

Basically, I've been seeing those talking memes going around + all those plans to post every day in December, and I thought: I'd like to try to post every day in December. I have no idea if I'll actually be able to do this, since, to be quite frank, I'm likely going to be insanely busy the first twelve or so days of this month, what with finals and final papers and graduation and all that. Still, I'd like to try.

That being said, I'm not doing the talking meme, mainly because I don't think very many, if any, people will give me topics to talk about. Instead, I'm going to do something similar to those 30 Day Memes which were so popular a couple of years back. I found a list of book-related questions on tumblr, and I've decided that I'll answer them, with one answer per day.

Here's the list for reference:
A. Author You’ve Read The Most Books From
B. Best Sequel Ever
C. Currently Reading
D. Drink of Choice While Reading
E. E-Reader or Physical Books
F. Fictional Character You Would Have Dated In High School
G. Glad You Gave This Book A Chance
H. Hidden Gem Book
I. Important Moments of Your Reading Life
J. Just Finished
K. Kinds of Books You Won’t Read
L. Longest Book You’ve Read
M. Major Book Hangover Because Of
N. Number of Bookcases You Own
O. One Book That You Have Read Multiple Times
P. Preferred Place to Read
Q. Quote From A Book That Inspires You/Gives You Feels
R. Reading Regret
S. Series You Started and Need to Finish
T. Three Of Your All-Time Favorite Books
U. Unapologetic Fangirl For
W. Worst Bookish Habit
V. Very Excited For This Release More Than Any Other
X Marks The Spot (Start On Your Bookshelf And Count to the 27th
Y. Your Latest Book Purchase
Z. ZZZ-Snatcher (last book that kept you up WAY late)

► Now for today's question/topic: Author You’ve Read The Most Books From.

I'm... not actually entirely sure? I can make a guess, though. This was the only topic which I actually looked at when I was still home for Thanksgiving Break, and when I glanced over my bookshelf, I figured that it was probably either Mary Higgins Clark (oddly enough) or Mercedes Lackey. GoodReads (which might not be entirely accurate, but is the best thing I have for figuring this stuff out) tells me that I've read 34 Mercedes Lackey books as opposed to 20 by Mary Higgins Clark. Since I can't think of any author that could beat that, at least not on the top of my head, I'm going to go with Mercedes Lackey as my answer.

Now, I could expand on that, but I'm going to end this here, mainly because today I have: one essay to write which I haven't started, another to outline so I can write it on an exam tomorrow, an article which I need to finish reading, and a 300-500 word commentary I need to write on said article, and I really need to get to work.