The Problem with Politics - Let's Play Dragon Age II

I realized I haven't really shown off Hawke's screens. And I guess that's an exuse to use a few of the stills I'd normally delete for update space.



This is basically how all my non-LP screens go. Combat, pause, play with lightning, play with angles, screenshot.



This is Joyce's skills screen as per level 16. Elemental and Spirit Healing are nearly maxed out and I'll need to decide on a new tree to start buying into soon. She hit level 17 shortly after this - you can see the XP bar in the upper left corner. Notice also lower right corner telling me I have two buffs active; my dog and a set bonus for wearing Warden issue, all of the pieces at once.



This is what equipment look for for Joyce. Since her armour is customizable, she has quite a few slots. Notice also how lucky we are Hide Helmet is an option in this game and this is one of the best looking ones.



And I think I found Bethany! Not a birch, maybe, but the closest I'll probably get and it is on the Wounded Coast with a rather scenic view. And Varric's chest hair in frame. That also. As a cool thing, notice Joyce is looking upwards. Hawke reacts when the mouse highlights something or if you change the screen angle, which is a neat little touch that's not always noticed.

I love Aveline so much.

"Any second I'll surrender to the almighty power of 'guard captain' and enslave all mages. Look out. Authority. Oooh."

I do love it when she calls Anders out on his paranoid bullshit. In general, she gets some of the best banter sometimes XD

"...but... you're stupid."

I completely agree, Isabela. Completely.

Seconded. He'd at least have a proper romance then. Or a very improper one.

I would love an improper romance with Sebastian.

I would be okay with a platonmance if only you actually loved me, Sebastian.
The friendmance has some extra lines, the rivalmance not so much. Then why are you so jealous in the first place.
At least he lets Hawke go to the brothel, so hurray...?

I think I'd be better with the platonic romance if it was more heavily developed. As it stands, I just. Augh.

Busy day. Let's see if I can't at least finish this portion of Blackpowder Courtesy.

Relevant!



Aveline is in fact the best.

Before the next update, have a joke image.



Weirdly, whenever I have a companion loading glitch, Anders always seems to be involved, staring on in disapproval.

YOUR PC IS POSSESSED. IT'S NOT A GLITCH, IS MISSING NO.
*haunted by childhood memories*

GAH, WHY DID YOU RIVAL IZZY?! She was so happy when I brought her that gift and flirted with her, since we were besties. As rivals, it looks kinda like you're mocking her, it's so baaaad. God, I can't look, everyone go buy this game and befriend Izzy, we must fix this!!

I hate blackpoweder courtesy, I feel like such a blind idiot, running in circles. The only good thing about this quest is Aveline <3

Wow, there's another reason I can't bring myself to rival Isabela. That is much much sadder than her friendship conversation.

If I did everything perfectly there's no DIY value? :3

But I prefer her as a friend. It's also a lot more instinctive for me since I don't have to go out of my way to piss her off all the time.

You knew this was going to happen. My dear Isabela ;_; *I read 'Those Who Speak' yesterday, Bioware still breaking my heart*

"Go-up-came-back-turn-left-now-take-two-step-forward-nearly-there-take-a-step-back-IT-WAS-ALL-PART-OF-MY-EVIL-PLAN-TO-KILL-YOU-HAWKE!BAZZINGA!"
=_=

Those who speak?

Bit of the old banter incoming

Anders: What makes this relic of yours so valuable?
Isabela: The same thing that makes anything valuable. Someone's willing to pay for it.
Anders: That's not evasive....
Isabela: Look, I didn't get where I am by showing my hand, you know?
Anders: No, you're hand isn't what I hear you've been showing....

Anders: So, this relic you lost... how is it you don't know what it is?
Isabela: It was in a box.
Anders: And you didn't open it? You managed to resist the urge?
Isabela: It was locked. It was a locked box!
Anders: Hasn't stopped you before.
Isabela: What do you want me to say?
Anders: Nothing. I just found it curious, that's all.

Merrill: You could get another cat, you know. There's one in the Lowtown market with a litter of kittens ready to wean.
Anders: You don't pay attention to templars, Qunari or politics, but you notice kittens?
Merrill: Templars, Qunari, and politics don't meow and attack your feet when you're buying food.
Anders: Are there any tabbies? I'd like a tabby...

Anders: Do Dalish honestly not recognize the difference between demons and beneficial spirits?
Merrill: We've never thought of the Fade as the home of our gods. It is another realm, another people's home. No different or more foreign than, say, Orzammar.
Anders: But have you never studied the types of demons? They break down very clearly into different sins—
Merrill: Spirits differ from each other, just as you and Hawke and Isabela are all human. *beat* More or less...

(Amusingly that was actually the party at the time.)

Sebastian: Are you an Andrastian, Fenris?
Fenris: If I say no, will you attempt to convert me?
Sebastian: Many elves believe in the Maker. I ask only because I wonder if your experiences... soured your faith.
Fenris: My faith was never strong. It's difficult for a slave to have faith in someone who abandoned them.
Sebastian: The Maker didn't enslave you, Fenris.
Fenris: He didn't help me much, either.
Sebastian: And yet you stand here, free. Perhaps He helped you more than you think.

Sebastian: You know, Fenris, as a brother in the Chantry, I'm allowed to hear confessions.
Fenris: Why would you tell me this?
Sebastian: I know Danarius made you do things. I thought you might be more comfortable talking to a friend.
Sebastian: You should know, a murder committed under duress is a sin on the one who ordered it, not the one whose hands carried out the deed.
Fenris: Have I not spoken enough of my past?! Does everyone in Kirkwall wish to hear every sordid detail?!
Sebastian: Sometimes, it's painful to speak. But it's the only way the wound can be lanced...

(Sebastian, will you STOP hitting on the assigned LI?)

...Someone stop me from shipping this because I think I might.

*Deep breath* There's 5 updates in screenshotting this damned quest. I can't promise I can chew through it all today.

Oh god, that moment when you go to see Izzy and Hawke just walks up to her and says in that sing-song voice "I like big boats, I cannot lie~~ Really, Iseballa?" is brilliant, absolutely golden.
This is one of the only times when I prefer the rival talk, as the friend one is basically Hawke shrugging it off saying 'eh, I guess that's you'. At least the rival-version is shows you Izzy does feel guilty, but she doesn't know how to handle it, like a kid that is too embarrassed to say sorry. I feel bad for her - can't be easy, being a captain without a ship.

Moments like these, Snark!Hawke is just the best and it's funny they made that moment vastly superior for a Snarky Hawke rival since they're the ones most likely to be on friendly terms with Izzy. Still, this is one of the few scenes, as you say, that come out best rival-side. It's a good glimpse into Izzy's psyche, too, and a nice rminder she's so much more than fanservice and eyecandy.

Orsino, what happened to your handsome face too.

I still think that having Merrill betraying you is one of the worse things ever. I mean, they weren't even powerful demon. And then you have to listen to her saying that she knows what she is doing.

I can't find a nice pg-13 picture to post here - celibate my ass, Sebastian - so I'll just let you know that there is even a mod who will give them matching armors.

He really spent endless night of mindless pleasure with the wrong person.

The comic. Nothing special - and the style is...interesting....? - except for Isabela's background.

Just a note: if you found the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns incomprehensible or dull as a child and never saw them again they truly are worth giving a second chance. My dad is partial to For a Few Dollars More, and I'm inclined to agree.

It's pronounced "Rye." ; )

1. It's not a real poison gas, disappoint.
2. Deferred, not deterred. Apparently deter and terror share the same Latin root word, you learn something about English every day, even if you speak the language well.

I think Davian meant that Joyce wasn't sure that the poison wouldn't effect Varric and Aveline, since she's talking about the effect of the poison on the party - she mentions Anders before.

And I never sew a Spaghetti western because I've been told a lot of them are like Akira Kurokawa's movies and I'm watching them first. I always wanted to, the only western movies I saw were the funny ones, like Maverick.

Yes, she was talking about the gas not being partial to leave people alone just because they were amazing people. I'm pretty sure 'deter' is the right word to use when you're personifying something and talking about it 'choosing' not to do something.

I watched The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly and I was bored stiff recently. It's just really not my genre. It's not even pacing of plot, I just didn't care about the character, care what was going on, and as a very unusual thing I can't even remember what the plot was about. Not my thing at all.

Deferred would be the correct word for the existing sentence structure there. You deter a [thing], or you defer to a [thing], you may be deterred by a [thing], or you may defer to a [thing] which is deterring you, but you don't deter to a [thing]. Now I need to stop thinking about language before I injure myself, because I'm having trouble articulating why this particular word cannot be used that way.

A Fistful of Dollars is about two gangs that tear each other apart because a mercenary shows up in town. I bet you haven't heard of plot before. ; )



EDIT: Hints!

EDIT:

...Anyways, it just struck me that Varric is "The Ugly." He even has the same fixation on weaponry.

And now I can't unsee.

I'm quite possibly using the word wrong. English isn't my first language, but let's chalk it up to Hawke's horrible handwriting and you can read it as 'defer' if that makes you feel better. I admit I'm not really in the mood for finding the post and editing it while my pc is being this laggy.

Banter - special Seb edition (And not around Fenris because he's hitting on my man, the bastard yesIamkidding)

Varric: So, Choir Boy, this usurper of yours is... twenty feet tall?
Sebastian: Not even close, no.
Varric: But he has claws for hands, right?
Sebastian: Fingers. Perfectly normal ones. If a little fat, perhaps.
Varric: He eats babies, though. And farts fire.
Sebastian: You're not serious, I hope...
Varric: You can't even pretend to be interesting, can you?

Varric: Tell us about Starkhaven, Choir Boy. I'm sure we're all burning with curiosity about your far-away land.
Sebastian: "My far-away land?" It's inland Free Marches, not on the moon.
Varric: And here I was hoping...
Sebastian: It's a lot like here. But fewer dead people.
Varric: Well, you don't have Hawke!

Merrill: If your city was stolen, why didn't you just call the guards?
Sebastian: I'm afraid the matter can't be handled by guards, Merrill.
Merrill: Aveline could help you! She's very good at making thieves give things back. I think it's because she's so tall!
Sebastian: This is beyond even Aveline's power, I'm sorry to say.
Merrill: Are you sure? Have you seen her hit people?

Sebastian: So what do you believe, Merrill?
Merrill: Our gods abandoned us long ago. They haven't answered our prayers since the fall of Arlathan. When we've proven that we're elves again, that we didn't lose everything, they'll come back to us.
Sebastian: We say the same of the Maker. Perhaps they're only different names for the same divine force that created the world.
Merrill: The Maker wants you to be elves?

Warning: Some of the content happening here might not be safe for work. Most of you played the game and probably know what I am hinting at. I'm putting it on tags just in case.