100 réponses à ce sujet

[DalishRanger]

Ooooh yes. And I'm allergic to all of it. XP The best part was helping my dad rinse off all of our cars... Before we were even done with the third, the first two were already collecting pollen again. Sigh.

[Taiyama]

Yeah, I didn't even try to bother with cleaning it off. I just let the rain, when it came, do the washing for me.



Actually, that's pretty much my philosophy regarding cleaning my car, period.

[DalishRanger]

Bahaha! That's my philosophy when I "have" a car too (used one of the family cars for a few years in college, but I've yet to own one on my own). I get it washed once in a blue moon, and only because the car actually belongs to my father, who insists it be washed at least occasionally.

[SRWill64]

DalishRanger wrote...

@SRWill64: I'm agnostic, so I've always figured if there is a god, he/she/it certainly has a sense of humor. Coincidentally, I often use the platypus as an example too. xD Plus, my family teases me about bursting into flames if I ever walk into a church because of my agnosticism/irreverent sense of humor (and yes, they mean it in good humor, so nobody please get irritated at them on my account).
As for my weekend... Meh. Worried about a few friends, but I know it's more likely me being worrisome than them being in too much stress. Going to play some ME2 soon to try and get my mind off of it.
@Taiyama: You got new AC too, huh? We just had the upstairs AC replaced last week. It died on us, but it was about 11 years old anyway. AC is a MUST have if you live in the South, as I'm sure you know. xD

I used to live in Texas, and we had the AC running on Christmas Day for pity's sake. I'm LOVIN' Idaho!
Sorry for not being here more often...had RL issues to deal with...
Doin' good otherwise. Good to talk with you all again!

Modifié par SRWill64, 08 mai 2010 - 10:55 .

[SRWill64]

DalishRanger wrote...

Bahaha! That's my philosophy when I "have" a car too (used one of the family cars for a few years in college, but I've yet to own one on my own). I get it washed once in a blue moon, and only because the car actually belongs to my father, who insists it be washed at least occasionally.

Yeah, we don't have one either...and we live in a tiny town with no buses or even taxis. I have to catch a ride with someone to do my monthly shopping...it's a real bummer.

[DalishRanger]

SRWill64 wrote...
Yeah, we don't have one either...and we live in a tiny town with no buses or even taxis. I have to catch a ride with someone to do my monthly shopping...it's a real bummer.

Oh, no - we have three cars as a family - I just don't personally own any of them. They're in my parents' names.

[Taiyama]

All right, exams are done (finally) and I had two days to sate my Civilization IV addiction, so now it's time to get started on writing the next chapter!



@SRWill64: Oh, wow, AC on Christmas day? Even here in Alabama it isn't that bad.

[SRWill64]

Taiyama wrote...

All right, exams are done (finally) and I had two days to sate my Civilization IV addiction, so now it's time to get started on writing the next chapter!

@SRWill64: Oh, wow, AC on Christmas day? Even here in Alabama it isn't that bad.

LOL My husband plays that game, too....until he gets fed up with it and restarts it. He's such the perfectionist...if the game isn't going the way he likes he restarts until he is happy with it. He started DA:O about a dozen times before he played a character to the end!

Yep...AC on Christmas Day in Houston. The humidity is also a killer...and the mosquitoes....geeeez!

[Olwaye]

Taiyama wrote...

All right, exams are done (finally) and I had two days to sate my Civilization IV addiction, so now it's time to get started on writing the next chapter!

@SRWill64: Oh, wow, AC on Christmas day? Even here in Alabama it isn't that bad.

You never get rid of an Civilization addiction, been playing since the very first one, I can still play for a full day, damn you Sid Meiers!!
Hope all went well for your exams, anyresults yet ?

[Taiyama]

Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it? Very sorry to drop off the face of the earth, guys, but I DO have a very good excuse. Y'see, my computer got hit with a big virus that took down my internet, word, practically everything. I had to restore my computer to the factory state just to cleanse it of the virus. Once I did that, though, surprise of surprises: for some reason, the computer restored without microsoft office for some reason. It was on there when I got the computer but not after restoring it for some reason. So, lacking Microsoft Word (and therefore being unable to work on the story), I had to buy a new copy of Microsoft Office 2007 for about 117 dollars, which was a sucker punch to the gonads (but better than some other prices I found).

But now that all that's done and the UPS man delivered my copy just today, it's time to get started again. I haven't abandoned this, I swear on my honor, and I WILL see it through.

And to answer Olwaye's question about my exams, I did pretty well. I busted my butt studying for the hardest class I've ever taken and managed to pull my grade up to an A in there. And I got all A's except for one B (which wasn't due to academic incompetence on my part, but getting the date of when a paper was due mixed up). I'm still on the Dean's List, which is good. Still, I had vowed to get all A's that semester so I count the semester as a failure. There's no excuse and no forgiveness for breaking my word, even if the only person I promised it to was myself.

By the way, have you heard of The Darkspawn Chronicles? Most interesting to me is the idea of the Warden dying at the Joining. While my story isn't exactly the same, I'm certainly getting it to see how Alistair would cope with being the last Warden of Ferelden.

Modifié par Taiyama, 21 mai 2010 - 10:17 .

[DalishRanger]

Taiyama wrote...

Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it? Very sorry to drop off the face of the earth, guys, but I DO have a very good excuse. Y'see, my computer got hit with a big virus that took down my internet, word, practically everything. I had to restore my computer to the factory state just to cleanse it of the virus. Once I did that, though, surprise of surprises: for some reason, the computer restored without microsoft office for some reason. It was on there when I got the computer but not after restoring it for some reason. So, lacking Microsoft Word (and therefore being unable to work on the story), I had to buy a new copy of Microsoft Office 2007 for about 117 dollars, which was a sucker punch to the gonads (but better than some other prices I found).

... You could've gotten Open Office for free... It reads Word files... Oh well, too late I guess. Sorry to hear about your computer too. 

Taiyama wrote...
But now that all that's done and the UPS man delivered my copy just today, it's time to get started again. I haven't abandoned this, I swear on my honor, and I WILL see it through.

And to answer Olwaye's question about my exams, I did pretty well. I busted my butt studying for the hardest class I've ever taken and managed to pull my grade up to an A in there. And I got all A's except for one B (which wasn't due to academic incompetence on my part, but getting the date of when a paper was due mixed up). I'm still on the Dean's List, which is good. Still, I had vowed to get all A's that semester so I count the semester as a failure. There's no excuse and no forgiveness for breaking my word, even if the only person I promised it to was myself.

You need to loosen up a little, boyo.  I think that's fantastic. Could be a LOT worse, believe me... Congrats on the good grades!

Taiyama wrote...
By the way, have you heard of The Darkspawn Chronicles? Most interesting to me is the idea of the Warden dying at the Joining. While my story isn't exactly the same, I'm certainly getting it to see how Alistair would cope with being the last Warden of Ferelden.

Heard of it. Not interested, as I don't want to play as a Darkspawn. Interesting concept, but meh.

[Olwaye]

Congrats for your grades, and don't bash yourself on the head for your B, perfection does not exist you can only go toward it without ever getting there.



For Darkspawn Chronicles I share DR opinion, I don't see the point in playing brainless thugs, if I want to play on the Evil side I just play Overlord, more fun.

[Taiyama]

It's not the B that bothers me, it's the breaking my word. Duty above else and never going back on your word--that's what it means to be a man, in my opinion.



But yeah, since saying that I've heard some rather negative things about the DLC, so I probably won't get it. It probably won't focus on Alistair leading the Wardens alone near as much as I would like it to anyway.

[SRWill64]

I definitely won't be getting it. I just can't deal with Alistair dying...

Hurray, Taiyama! I am so glad to hear you are doing well in your classes! When you feel like letting your grades slide, just remember...you won't be doing these things forever...it will end some day and you will reap what you have sewn.

Modifié par SRWill64, 22 mai 2010 - 09:09 .

[Taiyama]

Chapter 3: I Won’t Betray Him!

Haven was…odd. That was putting it lightly, really.

There was naught but a single guard at the entrance to the small town, and from his face you’d think he had swallowed a particularly nasty bug seconds before seeing the group. He eyed them with a mixture of mistrust and disdain as they climbed the path towards him, one hand hovering close to his sword just in case. Behind him, were a few simple houses of wood scattered about and a dirt path heading further up the mountain to a large structure at the top, which judging by the architecture was their chantry. The place was nigh deserted save for the guard and a single child, playing with something they couldn’t see. It was eerily quiet, not even the birds nearby sang their siren songs—no song but a rather chilling ditty sung by the little boy:

"Come, come, bonny Lynne; tell us, tell us where you’ve been.
Were you up, were you down
Chasing rabbits ‘round the town?
Come, come, bonny Lynne; tell us, tell us where you’ve been.
Come, come, bonny Lynne; we’ve a bed to put you in.
It is soft, it is warm.
It will shelter from the storm.
Come, come, bonny Lynne; we’ve a bed to put you in.
Dear, dear bonny Lynne sleeps the peaceful crib within.
A mossy stone, a finger bone
No one knows but Lynne alone.
Dear, dear bonny Lynne sleeps the peaceful crib within."

After a brief conversation with the guard, he very reluctantly allowed them to come in only to trade supplies—pointing them to the next level of the mountainside where the store was—and the group headed into the town.

“An interesting strategy…” Sten remarked.

Alistair stopped and turned to Sten with a cocked eyebrow. “Huh?”

“Tell me, do you intend to go north until it becomes south and attack the archdemon from the rear?”

“It’ll never see it coming,” Alistair snarked with a sly smirk playing at his features—though he couldn’t repress a bit of worry regarding why Sten was bringing this up.

Sten pointedly ignored the smart-mouthed comment and continued. “It seems to me that all we’re doing is scaling a mountain to find the charred remnants of a dead woman.”

“We need the ashes for Arl Eamon.”

“And how will this help him?”

“The Ashes can heal him,” Alistair stated matter-of-factly, like he was wondering how Sten had not grasped the notion.

“I have no doubt of your faith. I am beginning to doubt your sanity however. The Archdemon is our goal, and I will not simply follow in your shadow as you run from battle.”

Alistair sighed despondently. “Well, if you want to leave…I suppose I can’t stop you, can I? My luck keeping everyone together was bound to run out eventually. I can’t persuade you to stay to answer the Arishok’s question?”

Sten shook his head. “You misunderstand. I am not leaving.”

“Oh, thank the Mak-!”

“I am taking over.”

A stunned silence hung in the air amongst the group for what felt like eons as everyone else processed just what he had said and, more importantly, what it meant for all of them.

“WHAT?!” All except for Sten, Shale, and Morrigan--the latter two who couldn't care less--shouted in tandem.

“Did I stutter?” Sten deadpanned.

Leliana turned on Sten. “STEN! You…you can’t! Taiyama chose him to lead us when he was gone! You can’t just ignore that!!”

Sten frowned more deeply than usual. “Kadaan was a great man…and loyal, perhaps to a fault. I believe his loyalty caused him to err in choosing one so unfit to lead as Alistair.”

“Taiyama wasn’t a great leader when he started out, either! You’ve got to give him time, Sten! Taiyama told me he wanted that!”

“All the same, we do not have the virtue of time. The civil war and the Blight grow in ferocity each and every day. We do not have time to waste here searching for a fairy tale and we do not have time to wait for the boy to become a man.”

I’m standing right here, you know… Alistair thought, annoyed. All the same, though…

“Sten is right,” Alistair chimed in.

“What?!” Leliana exclaimed, turning on Alistair this time.

Alistair looked at Sten. “Sten, if you wanted to lead, all you had to do was ask… I’m not cut out for leadership; everyone knows that.”

Sten gave Alistair a long, penetrating look. Alistair looked him right back in the eyes for a few moments before he started to feel quite uncomfortable and broke eye contact by glancing to the side.

“Very well,” Sten responded. “We’re leaving. We’re going to Orzammar next.”

Sten turned around and lead the way out of the city, ignoring the bewildered look of the guard.

Leliana walked alongside Alistair, casting him a cold look. “Alistair!... Stand up to him!”

“Why? He’s right, Leliana…” Alistair couldn’t meet Leliana’s cold, disapproving stare without feeling incredibly uncomfortable, so he looked down at the ground in front of him. “I can’t do this… I can’t lead, especially not when so much is at stake. Sten has led men in battle before; he’s a better choice than I am.”

“But what about Taiyama?! He believed in you, are you just going to betray him like this?!”

Alistair felt a sharp pain hit him in the stomach at those words. “I’m not!... I’m not betraying him, I’m just!... Like I said, I can’t do this! He was wrong, I’m not the leading type!”

“Neither was Taiyama, but he learned…” Leliana responded softly.

“But we don’t have time for me to learn even if I could.”

Leliana sighed with a mixture of sadness and exasperation. “It seems like no matter what I say, you always fall back on ‘I can’t do it!’”
*******************
It was awfully quiet on the road. Normally the time traveling between destinations was spent in lively discussion amongst the different members of the party, barring the silent Sten who usually spent the time keeping an eye out for threats. But now all that could be heard was the soft crunching of boots hitting the dirt road and the musical chirps of the birds.

Alistair stared ahead at Sten’s back from the rear of the procession, who led the party at the front. Leliana quietly fumed beside him and he could almost hear the cogs turning in her head as she tried to come up with something to say that would reverse the change in leadership.

Alistair looked up at the sky. Like an invading army, grey clouds were forming in the sky above and beginning to cover the sun, dulling the light that it cast down onto earth.

You would be so angry at me right now, wouldn’t you, Taiyama…? Just like Leliana. Alistair thought morosely. He fished out his mother’s amulet from beneath his armor and contemplated the small trinket. A token of my mother…patched together by Eamon, found by Taiyama… If we don’t get the Ashes, then Eamon will die… Then I’d lose everyone this amulet reminds me of… I can’t let that happen, but…if I lead, the Blight’s going to destroy Ferelden for sure! And yet… You believed in me, Taiyama. You told me I could do it. I’ve never doubted you before…but…

Alistair clenched his fist around the amulet and resolved himself. I won’t betray him! Not Eamon…and not Taiyama either! Damn it, even if the entire world goes up in flames, I can’t let them down!

“Stop!”

To a man, the entire party froze in their footsteps and turned around to look at him. In the corner of his eye, he saw a hopeful smile form on Leliana’s lips, but he kept his gaze resolutely fixed on Sten. He marched forward past everyone else and stood in front of Sten, who simply fixed him with a mute questioning look.

“I’m taking over leadership of the party again,” Alistair stated.

To this Sten replied with his trademark flat, “No.”

“That’s an order, not a request.”

Honestly, I was pretty much quivering in my boots at that point. The very idea of leading still absolutely terrified me… I knew I couldn’t let my fear show to Sten, though, or he’d use it against me for sure. As crazy as it sounds, I just tried to remember how Taiyama acted when he was scared—after the Circle Tower, of course. Most of us knew that he was putting on an act back then but it was such a convincing act that it didn’t really matter. So I just tried mimicking his body language when he was acting tough—stand up straight, look your opponent dead in the eye, stuff like that. Heh, I even considered imitating his cocky little crooked smile but I figured that would be a little too obvious.

Sten fixed Alistair with a long, penetrating look in the eye just like he had back in Haven. This time, however, Alistair kept eye contact for the entire duration of it.

“Very well,” Sten said, drawing his sword, Asala, from his back. “We shall fight for it.”

The other members of the party immediately backed off and formed a wide circle around the two combatants. Alistair could hear Morrigan making a disdainful comment about how long he’d last against Sten, and Zevran was trying to get the others to wager against him on who would win, only managing to convince the mabari Hunter to get in on the action.

Alistair felt a soft weight on his shoulder and turned to see Leliana, smiling softly with her hand on his shoulder. She did not say anything but merely took her place amongst the circle. Alistair took his shield and sword off of his back, then took a few deep, steady breaths to calm his nerves.

“Are you prepared?” Sten asked.

Alistair nodded. “Yes.”

“Then let us begin.”

Sten immediately came roaring forward, his long strides breaching the distance between them quickly, and brought his greatsword crashing down on Alistair. Alistair deftly hopped to the right, but Sten expected this and quickly changed his sword swing into a curved motion, slicing sideways at Alistair. Alistair held up his shield to absorb the blow and the force of it carried him off his feet briefly. As soon as he had his footing again, he turned and slashed at the qunari’s shoulder, scoring a glancing blow as Sten stepped backward to dodge, but hardly enough against his heavy armor.

The two backed away from each other for a brief moment as they tried to analyze a weakness in the other’s form, then charged forward once again. After deflecting another blow with his shield, Alistair began aggressively pushing forward, always endeavoring to keep close to Sten where his shorter, faster longsword was more useful than Sten’s cumbersome greatsword. Sten tried to back into a range where his greatsword would be useful but Alistair continued to press forward, never giving the qunari a second not spent on evading or blocking Alistair in some way, and even broke out of the circle that had surrounded them. He even managed to get a few more glancing blows on Sten’s armor.

Eventually, though, Sten appeared to give up on simply evading Alistair and, once he found an opening, rammed into Alistair with his shoulder with what felt like the force of a charging bull. Alistair fell flat on his back, the breath knocked out of him. Desperately trying not to panic, he rolled out of the way of Sten’s downward slash and tried to scramble to his feet while blocking and dodging Sten’s attacks.

As soon as he as managed to get to his feet, however, a perfectly executed slash of Sten’s hit Alistair’s sword straight out of his hand, almost running Morrigan through as it flew through the air. Cursing his luck—both that he lost his sword and (sarcastically, of course) that the sword had not run Morrigan through—Alistair became the one furiously evading backwards as he tried to keep track of where his sword was, work his way back there, and dodge or block Sten’s attacks. Unfortunately, Sten realized what he was trying to do and began positioning himself always to block Alistair from getting to his sword.

Therefore, Alistair, seeing no other chance to win this fight, tried something that he was pretty sure was going to make him lose. He blocked one of Sten’s sideways slashes and right afterwards grabbed the hilt of Sten’s sword and desperately attempted to pull it out of the qunari warrior’s grasp. Those of the Beresaad, however, do not so easily let go of their souls and Sten managed to keep a vice grip on the weapon even with one hand as he used the other to try to punch Alistair straight in the nose. The templar barely managed to move his head in time to dodge it, hearing the wind whistle in his ear as the large fist soared past. Alistair once again tried something that was a bit of a long shot but was all he could come up with in the heat of battle: he reared his head back and head butted Sten straight in the forehead with all the force he could muster.

That was a mistake.

The qunari’s skull felt like it was made of solid marble. Pain seared through Alistair’s skull like white-hot fire, blood seeped down from his forehead and into his eyes, and his vision swam. Yet Alistair, drawing upon reserves of determination as he reminded himself of all those counting on him to win this—Eamon, Leliana, and Taiyama—did not allow himself to lose focus. For Sten, too, both from however much pain he was feeling and the pure shock at Alistair employing such a bold (read: foolhardy) move, hesitated for the briefest span of moments, which was an eternity in battle. Summoning all his strength and letting loose a fierce battle cry, Alistair pushed Sten forward while sweeping his foot around behind Sten. The qunari fell backwards on his back and, since he was only holding onto his sword with one hand (the other had been trying to dislodge Alistair), Asala was torn from his grasp. Sten immediately tried to get back up, only to find that the point of his own sword was inches away from his neck, held by his adversary who had been weaponless but moments before.

The two stared at each other for a few moments, panting heavily and processing just what this turn of fortune entailed. After a few seconds, Sten closed his eyes and nodded.

“I was wrong. Kadaan was right in choosing you. You beat me with my own weapon, my own soul. You are strong enough. You shall lead.”

Alistair helped Sten up and gave him back his sword, then set off to retrieve his own. Once he found it—stuck into the side of a nearby tree—he returned it to its proper sheath.

“Here, stop, you’re bleeding,” Wynne fretted, walking up to him. “Sit down, let me heal it or it’s going to get infected.”

Alistair laughed with a mixture of joviality and relief—he could still hardly believe he won that fight!—and sat down dutifully on a nearby log. “Yes, Ma’am.”

Wynne placed her hand on his forehead and Alistair felt a comforting warmth flow from her hand as the wound began closing. “That was a foolish and reckless thing to do, young man, attempting to steal the sword from a man much larger than you…” Wynne sighed and chuckled. “But I suppose it worked, didn’t it? I must say that I’m very proud that you stood up to him like that. I was beginning to fear that you were going to let him walk all over you.”

“He would have been proud, too.”

Alistair turned his head quickly to his right and saw that Leliana was sitting down on the stump next to him, a far-off look in her eyes as she seemed to gaze upon a scene from her memories. Maker’s Breath, but it was difficult to get used to how quiet her movement was—he hadn’t even heard her sit down beside him.

“Taiyama, I mean,” Leliana supplied.

“Really? ‘Cause I thought he’d be angry at me for even letting Sten take over like that.”

Leliana smiled knowingly. “Everyone makes mistakes, Alistair. He made his fair share; I highly doubt he’d be angry at you for making yours. Still…I’m proud of you too. I was beginning to lose hope right before you confronted him.”

Alistair was about to respond when Wynne forcibly turned his head back towards her so she could continue to heal his wound. “Stop squirming!”

Nearby, Zevran knelt beside Hunter and scratched the mabari behind the ears. “Well, my friend, it seems that I owe you my dinner tonight, hmm?”

Hunter barked excitedly.
*****************************
It was uncanny, and more than a little creepy, just how much The Guardian knew of everyone’s innermost thoughts and fears when he asked his questions. So creepy and on-the-mark that Morrigan had outright refused to answer a question and Zevran had stopped the Guardian from mentioning some person from his past and deftly tried to dodge the question. In the end, though, the last three to be asked questions were Alistair, Leliana, and Wynne, and they waited with a mixture of dread and morbid curiosity for their turn.

The Guardian looked at Wynne and his ephemeral voice seemed to echo off nothingness as he spoke. “You are a master of healing magic, the likes of which has not been seen in the Circle of Magi in generations. And yet all around you are the corpses of those young men and women who you, an old woman, outlived, including your very leader, Taiyama Surana. Tell me: do you feel as though you failed them?”

“You frame the statement in the form of a question, yet you already know our answers.” Wynne sighed sadly. “Of course I feel like I failed them… If I had been there, if I had been a bit stronger, if I had known a few more spells…then so many others would be alive, and there would be two Grey Wardens in Ferelden instead of just one. Yet I cannot let myself be trapped in the past. What’s done is done, and I must move forward if only so that similar tragedies do not happen again.”

The Guardian next fixed his gaze upon Leliana. “Your heart is filled with a weariness and sadness you have not felt in all your life, and you feel as though this final tragedy broke the last reserves of your will. You have contemplated suicide and, seeking solace in the nights alone, you hear the voice of the Maker, promising that you shall be reunited with your lost love soon. Tell me: do you truly believe that killing yourself would solve your problems, or that the Maker would turn his eyes on us simply to bring back a lost loved one?”

“I!...” Leliana’s shoulders sunk and she looked down at her feet. “…No… You’re right, it was silly to believe such things. I just…” Leliana wiped a few stray tears from her eyes and desperately tried not to cry in front of all of the others. “Taiyama always comforted me and helped me whenever I was sad…and…it just feels like losing him was the last straw…that I can’t take anymore!” Leliana took a deep, shaky breath. “But you’re right. The dead…are dead, and Taiyama wouldn’t want me to act like this.”

Wynne could feel her heart breaking at the sight in front of her and pulled Leliana into a hug, the others be damned. “Oh, Leliana… You should have talked to us about this if it was bothering you so much. Believe me, keeping it bottled up inside will only make it worse. Don’t go thinking you have to be tough all the time just because he’s gone…”

Alistair nodded. “Yeah… I mean, we’re no Taiyama, but still, I think you should talk about it more often. I think it would do all of us a lot of good to talk more about it…”

The Guardian waited patiently until the party was done discussing amongst themselves, then fixed his gaze upon Alistair. By this point, he could pretty much guess what the Guardian was going to ask, and he certainly didn’t disappoint.

“You are the only surviving Warden in Ferelden. Your mentor, Duncan, your fellow Grey Wardens, and your brother in all but blood, Taiyama, fell on the field of battle while you still live. Do you wish that it had been you instead of them?”

“Of course… Duncan had to keep me out of the fight at Ostagar and Taiyama, that stupid, selfless bastard, had to give his life for my useless arse. If Duncan or Taiyama were alive instead of me…then everything would be better.”

“The way is open…” The Guardian stated. “Good luck, and may you find what you seek.”
***********************
The last ghostly apparition disappeared into the large double doors and they swung open. Ahead, shortly down a hall at an intersection that turned right and left, stood a single figure. He was an elven man with thick, messy brown hair down to about chin level and bright blue-green eyes. He wore bright red mage robes and he smiled warmly at them.

The party uttered a collective gasp and Leliana was the first to verbalize what they all thought:

“TAIYAMA!”

Author's Notes: Done, finally. I listened to what I feel is the official theme song of this story while writing this: My Chemical Romance's "Welcome to the Black Parade, which you can listen to here while watching the greatest AMV I've ever seen (but has spoilers for all of the show, Gurren Lagann, so I don't recommend watching it if you want to take my high recommendation for the show or here for the normal version.

All in all, I'm rather proud of this update, especially the fight scene. I got my start writing fiction set in the Runescape World on their forum, and those stories had many fights so I'm rather practiced with them.

Also, is it just me or is Alistair totally the type to kind of wing a fight like I had him do in the story? Tell me if I'm wrong, Alistair fangirls--you'd probably know him better than I.

And if you're curious, the whole Leliana hearing the Maker and contemplating suicide comes from a possible epilogue, actually, if your warden romances an unhardened Leliana and dies at the end. The epilogue just mentions that she remarks that she'll see her love soon and just disappears after that, so I took it to mean she was contemplating suicide/hallucinated the Maker's voice from grief.

Comments are loved, critiques (no matter how asinine or minute) are very much appreciated, and hope you enjoy.

Modifié par Taiyama, 25 mai 2010 - 03:04 .

[Taiyama]

By the way, all two of you who actually read this drivel, I've put up the three chapters of "I'll Carry On!" on deviantart (and will continue to post them there as well as here and in Maker's Breath): http://taiyama.devia.../#I-ll-Carry-On

[SRWill64]

Taiyama wrote...

By the way, all two of you who actually read this drivel, I've put up the three chapters of "I'll Carry On!" on deviantart (and will continue to post them there as well as here and in Maker's Breath): http://taiyama.devia.../#I-ll-Carry-On

Just because other people don't post doesn't mean that they don't read this...and if there are no others, they are unaware of this great story or they are ignoramuses who don't know good literature when they read it.
I've taken classes that intoduced me to things like Chaucer and Shakespeare, and others that taught me to analyze characters and the story that the author is trying to get across (the deeper meanings to nuances, etc. which is why watching Gurren Legann is important, besides Taiyama's voice ). Believe me, I know a good story when I read it...and yours is good.

[Taiyama]

Heh, glad to hear it, I really am. Good to know that even if people don't comment, they're still reading. And I honestly can't blame anyone for lurking, considering what a nigh-criminal lurker I am. I'm trying to curb that when I look at/read artwork, though, precisely because this has taught me just how much artists desire feedback.



And yeah, Gurren Lagann also doubles as a crash course in a big part of my psyche (and therefore my writing). It's funny, before that show, I was a depressed pessimistic pragmatist for the most part, and the more optimistic and idealistic part of me had been steadily on the retreat for a good deal of my life. That show completely reversed the trend. If anything I write ever affects one person the way Gurren Lagann did to me, I'll consider myself a roaring success.

[SRWill64]

I wish the lurkers would come out of the shadows myself. They really do need to let everyone know how much they enjoy artistic works no matter what type of art they are.



Wow...I've been shy all my life and hang back a lot when I meet other people because of childhood issues and have been a pessimistic procrastinator until I was nigh 30. Gurren Lagann just makes me happy when I feel powerless and depressed. It's a very positive type of feeling it gives and I really like those types of things. It's like for me when I listen to John Denver songs, too. Positive, empowering, pro life-oriented things are awesome. Like God.

[DalishRanger]

Haven't had a chance to read this yet, else I would've commented; currently out of town, only get a few minutes on the computer at a time. Will try to read Tuesday or Wednesday, after I'm back home.

[DalishRanger]

Nevermind. Got time to read it tonight. Very nice, Taiyama; don't have any particular critiques this time around. You're getting better at descriptions.

Still waiting on more of A Bond Forged in Fire though. *Pokes*

Also, have you had a chance to play the copy of DA:O I sent you yet? I trust Jefferson hasn't destroyed that one too. XD

[Taiyama]

Thank you very much, DR. Glad to hear I'm doing better.

Yeah, about that... You'd better check my other thread...

And yes, I have. It works perfectly, thank you (and I have remembered to keep it out of the Xbox).

SRWill64 wrote...

I wish the lurkers would come out of the
shadows myself. They really do need to let everyone know how much they
enjoy artistic works no matter what type of art they are.

Wow...I've
been shy all my life and hang back a lot when I meet other people
because of childhood issues and have been a pessimistic procrastinator
until I was nigh 30. Gurren Lagann just makes me happy when I feel
powerless and depressed. It's a very positive type of feeling it gives
and I really like those types of things. It's like for me when I listen
to John Denver songs, too. Positive, empowering, pro life-oriented
things are awesome. Like God.

I pretty much agree with everything you said.

Modifié par Taiyama, 01 juin 2010 - 12:05 .

[SRWill64]

To answer your question...yes, Alistair seems to 'wing it' in his fights...and take the best course. He gets his butt kicked a lot like that too....reminds me of James Kirk (Star Trek).

[DalishRanger]

Taiyama wrote...
Yeah, about that... You'd better check my other thread...

Saw it already. Remind me to maim you later. <_< No, I kid. 'Tis a pity, but I'm not really upset over it. More of an "oh well" sort of thing. Sisi helps me get my m!Warden/Leli fix pretty well these days.

Taiyama wrote...
And yes, I have. It works perfectly, thank you (and I have remembered to keep it out of the Xbox).

Good to hear! And you're welcome. :happy:

[Thoron Draugohtar]

This is a great story. I think Alistair and Leliana as characters have been done really well. Keep up the good work.