#jane talks

[wintergardenscribe]

saw a post saying that New Yorkers force their kids to learn to play the recorder in school because they’re secretly looking for one that will be able to solve their rat problem. I can’t stop thinking about it

[superprofesh]

RYAN GOSLING

[janearts]

2 questions: did Veilguard kill your interest in making art for the first 3 games as well? (I'm not asking because I hope for any particular answer, this is just artistic curiosity from a writer to an artist!)

Also, since DA is not happening for you anymore, have you had a look at Claire Obscur/Expedition 33? I think it would be interesting to see the characters in your art style. But to be clear I think the best art comes from artists who draw whatever they want, so don't take this as a request or anything :)

Yes, it did! I'm not saying I'll never replay any of the games - DAO still has a special place in my heart and DAI was enjoyable enough that I'd probably be content to pop in, run about, and do Inquisitorial Errands for an hour or two here and there - but watching EA gut one of my favourite IPs was just rough.

Clair Obscur/Expedition 33 didn't feel like it was for me. I might come back around to it, but I've got other games (like the Witcher series, replaying Fable 1 & playing through the rest of that series) on my to-play list right now.

And because I can't help myself, I've full on just ranted under the cut.

-

The way that they tried to PR-spin the layoffs was brutal: a smaller team would provide more "focus" (bullshit - EA is cutting their resources but expecting them to perform even better with less), they were having trouble keeping everyone busy (bullshit - also sounds like a Management issue and not a Writer/Dev issue), etc.

In my opinion, Dragon Age has never been a good game when it comes to visuals and mechanics. From DAO to DAI, those bozos have never, not once gotten the human form right. (Have they... ever seen tits before in person? What is with that posture and spine? Like whoooooo were they referencing because that person DESPERATELY needs physical therapy - old age will NOT be kind to them.) In that same time, they've actively dumbed down the magic system. ("Hey so your choices are Primal, More Primal But We Call It Elemental Now, Even More Primal But This Time It's Frostyyy, and Miscellaneous Spirit. What, you want to shapeshift? You want to bleed for power? You wanna fuck people up, psychologically, on the battlefield? Play through 2/3s of the game and maybe we'll give you one of those things.") DA2 was the same warehouse repackaged for 50 different side quests. Like, imho, a fucking slog.

What made those games playable and enjoyable, the most compelling asset of those games, was the writing: the world building, the companion characters and NPCs, and the plot all made subpar mechanics and visuals tolerable. I'm not saying it was flawless writing by any means. I have had plenty of complaints about the plot from DAO to DAI - like King Cailan's letters shouldn't have been concealed in a DLC, those should have been out and about so that people could contextualise Loghain's behaviours from the get-go and not "Folk Hero and General Mysteriously Turns Evil All of a Sudden" or the Inquisitor should have had to work a lil harder to earn that title instead of being given it and a sword after a sing-along session in the mountains. So, I'm not saying that the writing was flawless no notes, but it was strong enough that you emotionally connected to SOMEONE even if they were an NPC and a good chunk of the quests to do, books/codexes to read, etc. were a pleasure to engage with.

EA gutting the writers room is not trimming the fat. It's full on removing the meat and potatoes of a full course meal. We're left with crackers and cheese and EA's PR team has tried to convince me that that's a full ass meal when it's barely an appetiser. As a customer, I'm not blind. I'm not stupid. I can see with my own two eyes that EA does not WANT to invest in BioWare... so why should I want to invest in EA? That money isn't going back to BioWare. And I'm not an inexperienced gamer either - I know what a good game looks like. I know what developers are capable of when given the appropriate project time and resources.

Not to go full-on Capitalist(TM) on Tumblr.com, but why should I pay the same amount of money (if not more) for a lower quality product knowing that my money is not actually being budgeted to support the IP/franchise I just bought into? And why would I pay big bucks for a lower quality product when I know I can go elsewhere and pay LESS* for a far more rewarding experience?

So, yeah, EA just destroyed the joy that came from engaging with that fantasy universe. Fuck those guys.

* Admittedly, I paid the most for BG3 and that would be the same pricing as Veilguard. But IMHO, the experience of playing was worth the money! Larian's Divinity Original Sin 1 & 2, Owlcat's games were all <$30 or sometimes <$20. So I got to experience some PHENOMENAL games and storytelling for much, much less than what EA tries to sell me. The Yakuza games? Cheaper than Veilguard and a delightful experience. Got the Witcher bundle for cheaper than Veilguard. Pillars of Eternity - also a fun time - cheaper than Veilguard. The Trine series which features relaxing puzzles, beautiful backgrounds, and soothing music? Less than Veilguard. TINY GLADE where I get to build castles and pet sheep and listen to soothing music???? Cheaper than Veilguard with a small dev team that really cares about/loves what they put out. Honestly, should probably play that now and chill tf out.

[stingrayextraordinaire]

New tag game! Pick a character for each letter of your username, and tag five people.

Thank you so much for the tag, @valiantarcher! It's always so fun to be remembered with these :)

Saro (The Book of Atrix Wolfe)

Terence (Pixie Hollow)

Inigo Montoya (The Princess Bride)

Nancy Drew (Nancy Drew)

George Bailey (It's a Wonderful Life)

Ricky Kidd (The Accidental Detectives)

Antigone (The Theban Plays)

Yoda (Star Wars)

Egan (The Silver Brumby)

X-Ray (Holes)

Theodore Roosevelt (Night at the Museum)

Rowena Kinnaird (The Reluctant Duchess)

Aiden Bishop (The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle)

Ophelia (Hamlet)

Ragetti (Pirates of the Caribbean)

Dominic Salt (Wild Dark Shore)

Ian Donnelly (Arrival)

Nicole Bonnet (How to Steal a Million)

Archibald Craven (The Secret Garden)

Indiana Jones (Indiana Jones)

Rapunzel (Tangled)

Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice)

Anyone who would like to participate is more than welcome! :)

[juniperjane]

my mind is a salad spinner and i'm whizzing my thoughts at high velocity while my blorbos hold on for dear life

[captainjowl]

Hey! 💌

I just wanted to stop by and tell you how much I absolutely loved your fic, let the bodies do the talkin’, it was beautiful.

I know life gets busy and writing is something that takes time, space, and the right head. So please don’t take this as pressure in any way.

If one day you decide to continue it, I’ll be here, quietly cheering.

And if you don’t, it will still remain one of those stories I’m happy I found, and grateful you shared.

Thank you for sharing it with us. Truly. 🤍✨

Hi!! <3

Thank you so much for your message, the amount of love I'm getting for LTBDTT lately is overwhelming. I'm extremely grateful for your words :) I'll do my absolute best to finish this story one day.

Much love!

[jane-purplelight]

Before anyone calls me new gen I'll have you know I've watched AVAM since at least AVA 4 as a kid and I just now started to draw fanart because I felt inspired after a rewatch

No I don't believe green is Jax

[thewrightwaytogo]

Hello there!

I’m @thelocalphoneaddict , the main blogger here!

What is the Wright Way to Go?

It’s an original series based off the 5 elements of the earth based on folklore in which our heroes are mostly POC characters whose personas are based off their element (or not). You get a family of, you guessed it: 5!

Members:

Stephanos “Steve” Wright - Aeros Vir

Elaine Hansen Wright - Luminous Vox

Amelia “Amy” Wright - Ignis Vita

Leonard Wright - Gaea Vox

Stephanie Wright - Aqua

LINKS <3

REDDIT

DEVIANTART: ONE AND TWO

Strawpage

ASK TAGS -

If directed at Stephanie/Aqua - #stephanie-asks and #aqua-asks

If directed at Leonard/Gaea Vox - #leonard-asks and #gaea-vox-asks

If directed at Amy/Ignis Vita - #amy-asks and #ignis-vita-asks

If directed at Elaine/Luminous Vox - #elaine-asks and #luminous-vox-asks

If directed at Steve/Aeros Vir - #steve-asks and #aeros-vir-asks

If directed at the creator - #twwtg-talks and #twwtg-asks

If directed at all (including or excluding the creator) - #all-asks CHARACTER MENTIONS (ART OR GACHA! EDIT - 1/25/26): If directed at Stephanie/Aqua - #STEPHANIE-artwork, #AQUA-artwork, #STEPHANIE-gacha-work, #AQUA-gacha-work If directed at Leonard/Gaea Vox - #LEONARD-artwork, #GAEA-VOX-artwork, #LEONARD-gacha-work, #GAEA-VOX-gacha-work If directed at Amy/Ignis Vita - #AMY-artwork , #IGNIS-VITA-artwork, #AMY-gacha-work, #IGNIS-VITA-gacha-work If directed at Elaine/Luminous Vox - #ELAINE-artwork, #LUMINOUS-VOX-artwork, #ELAINE-gacha-work, #LUMINOUS-VOX-gacha-work If directed at Steve/Aeros Vir - #STEVE-artwork, #AEROS-VIR-artwork, #STEVE-gacha-work, #AEROS-VIR-gacha-work

If directed at all (including or excluding the creator) - #ALL-artwork and #ALL-gacha-work