Dragon Age

Is it geeky to have a family tree of characters for a game? I've been a big fan of the Neverwinter Nights franchise ever since the first one. I've played a little of Baldur's gate but found it's lack of organisation hard to master after playing the later games.

The first Neverwinter Nights where you had to deal with the plague I played my generic character Mafuane, who I usually use as my avatar and who I used for Morrowind as well. (FYI: Mafuane was the mother of Isis Fumitory, lover of Yueh who was brother of Vaughn who was married to Anika, my first and somewhat Mary-Sue character. Haha just thought I would explain :P) She had as her companion the little rogue female character. Later I played the amazing games programmed by Adam Miller for the NWN system where Mafuane had several adventures including becoming romantically involved with her female companion.

I played Hordes of the Underdark with her and was pertubed to see I couldn't romance the female companion except for Arabeth and was upset when she betrayed me at the end (the reason why my characters were all lesbians was because I was always dissapointed with the male characters that were offered but still wanted the romance option).
For Shadows of Undentride, Takius-kun was my guide and I left Mafuane behind at that point. I don't remember if Takius-kun had a romance intrest, I don't think the NWN had implemented it at that time.

NWN2 then came out and to this date I haven't played a better game (Dragon Age may changed this but I only just started playing) it made me laugh so much. The main character for this was Vada, the woman in the picture. Vada also spurned the male love intrest because she had fallen in love with her foster father Daeghun, yes that crusty old elf. I was bowled over by his back story, that after his wife had been killed in the battle where my character lost her mother he took her in. Vada therefore remained faithful to him to the very last. I cared so much for that character that when Vada returned to her home town and saw the bodies of the dead strewn around, my heart was thumping in my chest trying to find his body, wondering if he was dead. Thankfully he was not :P.

Vada was trapped when the place in the finale collapsed on her, however in my mind she did escape and was re-united with her love.

In the expansion pack Mask of the Betrayer, a piece of Vada was left in the old ruin, her memory which formed itself in Mouse, a young woman with a long dirty blonde plait. She took over as the main character in Mask of the Betrayer, and for the first time I chose the male option :D, Gannyev impressed me. I really enjoyed his back story as well, being of hagspawn.

Now playing Dragon Age, I am playing as Sparrow, a quiet very self-confident mage who is the daughter of my Mouse. She has the colourings of her parents, pale skin and greyish hair. She was taken to live in the mage's tower when she was young but still loves her parents. I wonder how Sparrow's story will progress :D.

Men of Kind and Gentle Nature

Recently I have, as the bard said, "lost all my mirth". My best friend recently met a young man of whom she is quite enamoured, so much so that she doesn't have much time for me anymore. I am a caring person so I miss her very much and it calls into question my own feelings upon love.

I am a bitter person when it comes to love, having had my own self-esteem cracked by bad encounters however I still retain my innocence when it comes to matters of the heart. I believe in love and I write about it, it is the central figure of my work. I read an intresting article from a blog I visit on a daily basis, Smart Bitches Trashy Novels:

We spend a lot of time here talking about the prevalence of the alpha hero, the loud and brash warrior male who is tamed partially by the magic hoo-hoo of his lady fair. In real life, men like Dr. Parker represent a different kind of hero: the quiet gentleman of intellect and grace. Compassion is itself a form of tangible strength. And while the quiet gentlemen heroes are not as prominent in our discussions of hero archetype, they are themselves powerful. The thoughtful, intellectual hero who is a source of abiding and dedicated strength is a pleasure to read about. Heroes like Christy in Patricia Gaffney’s To Love and to Cherish, or Colin in Julia Quinn’s Romancing Mister Bridgerton, who may not stamp around and pound their chests but whose dedication is equally dominant and powerful.

I realise this is true about the hero in my novel, Rana, who while fatally flawed is essentially what she is describing. Angelique has many traits of mine, she also is scarred and hides her vunerability beneath her coquettishness. Rana's kindness towards her is also a part of me and it is something that I also look for in the people I associate with. I would like to have a man who has those traits :D.

Games II

http://twofoldsecret.com/our-games/where-we-remain/

One of the best games i've played in a while. Heart thumping, fearsome, imaginative game :P, I love the monsters the most!

My Gothic Inspired Layout

I hope you all enjoy the new layout, after a long time I figured out some basic html and made a skin all my own, truly this place is now my own :D.

Artwork

The blog has changed layouts, I also added a gallery of some beautiful work that inspires me. The picture above is from here:

http://homepage2.nifty.com/waraizizou/KATEGORIE/JRRT.html

It's really something ~

Banks of the Nile

Folk songs feature in my novel, they are a sort of magic. Love songs and sad songs like these have the most power. Rana sings a verse from this traditional folk song to heal Angelique when she is dying.

Ah...

to be torn away from my novel for so long and to yearn so much to write! Only two more weeks! Only two and then I shall have my Rana and my Angelique back... *sigh*

Videos that seem like dreams...

Little thoughts...

I am a university student and right now I am studying for my spring exams. Studying is a two-fold experience for me. On the one hand I hate it, I hate the hours of concentration, I hate the stress, I hate the drying up of inspiration it causes. On the other hand I love it, I love learning, becoming less ignorant, understanding the subject I love so much so much more and most of all just seeing the world through different eyes.

I love my degree. I study East Asian Studies, not the language, just the culture. Why? you ask, because it is like a different world. To learn about a socialist goverment and the problems that causes for the population, wow for me that is amazing. To read poetry of women from long ago detailing their frustration in not being able to be educated as well as men, so thought provoking. Reading literature written by people suffering from occupation in their country, I couldn't even imagine that before. I am so thankful for my education, which allows me to become something so amazing...

Ah I love it.

(Image is Ban Zhao, a lady from the Han dynasty. She was a very famous female scholar at a time when many women were stunted in their education. She wrote a
classical book and was a teacher to the royal family at the time)