073 | in which I flip out about the end to the Deep Roads Expedition in Dragon Age II

[straightforwardly]

► I just finished up the Deep Road Expedition in Dragon Age II, and asdfghjkl;. ASDFGHJKL;

BETHANY.

Oh lord, I was making so many DDDDDDD= faces at my screen. This is pretty much how it went:

Bethany: *gets blight*
Me: OH SHIT
Anders: Well, we could make her a Grey Warden...?
Me: I LOVE YOU

Then Bethany and Hawke had that super-sad good-bye, and then Hawke and Varric had that, in some ways, even sadder conversation once they got back to the surface, and here I am, lying on the floor (...not really), dying. SADFACE.

As glad as I am that Bethany didn't become Wesley 2.0, though, I have to wonder what'd have happened if Anders wasn't around. I don't think any of the other characters would have known about the Grey Wardens being nearby? Unless Hawke+friends somehow fortuitously run into them. idk.

I also have things to say about stuff that happened before this! (And a few things that happened after.) So, I'm going to talk about all that now. Yay for bulletpoints!

• I've become kind of interested in the Qunari. Prior to playing this game, I knew next to nothing about them— I did recruit Sten in Origins, but after barely surviving a super-awkward conversation about how my Warden can't be a warrior and female, I pretty much gave up on talking to him. But in this game, I've been eating up every new thing I learn about them. I also really like the Arishok's voice.


• The Anders - Merrill banters have been GREAT so far. I got both conversations about Ser Pounce-a-lot AND my Warden— my two favorite things! Plus, his comments about my Warden aligned perfectly with my headcanon for her, so yaaayyy.


• During the same banter, I also discovered that I've apparently been pronouncing Mahariel incorrectly this entire time. (Surprise, surprise.) I'd been pronouncing the second syllable as "ha", as in "hahahaha", but Merrill pronounced it as "hay", as in for horses. /updates mental dictionary


• Speaking of party banters, I've made the executive decision to never put Fenris and Merrill in the same party again. In terms of fighting, they work really well— Fenris has been a pretty decent warrior, and Merrill just rains down destruction for me— but their banters make me feel like chewing on nails. Hence, the decision.


• I'm thinking about using Fenris to get that Rivalry achievement, if only because I'm enjoying needling him about mages. Let's hope that my being nice to him on non-mage-related things doesn't mitigate the rivalry points too much.


• Insert above Deep Roads comments here.


• AAANNND on to the next part! I pretty much just watched the cutscenes, saved, and quit for the day, but I still have a bit more to say.


• Mainly, a mansion???? WHY DOES HAWKE NEED A MANSION. There's only two people left in our family! Three, if you count Uncle Gamlen. I confess that I'm curious about whether or not Hawke ditched him in Lowtown, or allowed him to come along.


• Hm, I thought I had at least one more thing to say, but apparently not, unless "I'm looking forward to selling ALL THE LOOT that I picked up in the Deep Roads" counts as a comment. (I, uh, may have a money-hoarding problem in video games.)

► On a non-Dragon Age-related note, I made this strawberry & poppy seed pie for my mom for Mother's Day, and I have to say, I definitely recommend it. I made the top crust out of hearts instead of triangles, though.

Comments

[stealth_noodle]

This game is SO MEAN. "Do you like your sibling so much you took them along on the expedition, against your mother's wishes? Ha-HA, sucker!" (I am very glad you happened to bring Anders along.)

...I've been mispronouncing Mahariel, too, since I haven't played DAII with an imported Dalish Warden. I need to look up a video of that banter to see if that helps my brain be less stubborn about updating that vowel sound.

[straightforwardly]

RIGHT? I'm glad that I brought him too— I nearly didn't. I only did it because I felt bad about neglecting him (of all my party members, he was the one I'd used the least at that point) and the whole "I never want to go into the Deep Roads again" thing had slipped my mind. Funnily enough, I initially regretted that decision when he reminded me about that via his making his "I hate this I hate this I hate this" comments.

And then Bethany happened, and I went, NOPE, NEVER MIND, NO REGRETS.

Re: Mahariel — I'm glad that it's not just me. I'm notoriously bad at pronunciation, so when I heard that banter, I had a whatever-the-equivalent-of-a-mental-sigh is / "oh lord, it happened again" kind of reaction, haha.

[stealth_noodle]

Anders ended up my healbot on my first playthrough, so he spent very little time neglected! I did leave him behind on the expedition, though, because he'd just finished complaining at me about the Deep Roads. SO IT'S A GOOD THING I LISTENED TO MY VIDEO GAME MOM.

We can always pretend that it's only "Ma-hay-riel" when Welsh elves say it! :P

[straightforwardly]

Video game!mother does know best, apparently. (Though now I'm a bit curious about what happens if I leave Bethany behind.)

In other news, you just solved a mystery for me. I couldn't figure out what accent it was that they picked up at some point after leaving Brecilian Forest had, other than "probably somewhere on/around the British Isles".

[stealth_noodle]

It's totally worth trying! I was certainly surprised by what came of leaving Carver behind.

Hee, the only reason I figured out Merrill's accent was that I finally recognized Eve Myles's voice, which also vindicated my choice of love interests. Someone in Bioware's casting department has my interests at heart.