Llinwen wrote: »

In general, the new “roleplay answers” system was amazing and so much fun, and I really love that you did this.

But most of all, I want to thank you wholeheartedly for finally letting me express how I feel about Darien. I have loved him for several years now, and when he was gone, I never stopped searching for him. I read every book, climbed every mountain, forded every stream, scaled every dungeon, and dug up every artifact, just to find anything that might bring him back. I was afraid that even if he ever returned, he would never know how much we missed him.

But Skordo told him that Gabrielle and I never stopped looking, and just knowing that he knows made me incredibly happy and strangely relieved.

The whole romance ending was asolutely delightful. Hearing Darien say those words is a dream come true. I still can’t believe how lucky I am that he would choose me.

But what got me the most was when he says „I just can't get you out of my head. Every moment. Every thought. Even when I was in the depths of despair, it's your face I see.“. Damn, did you find my journal lying somewhere? Because this is exactly how I feel about him too. All those years, I imagined the moment I would save him from the Colored Rooms, but I never dared to dream that he might feel the same way about me. Of course I was hoping he felt something for me, especially after writing that he will miss me the most, but knowing he felt this this deeply... gods). And the way Jon Curry delivered those lines completely melted my heart. So tender and honest. Haha I’m crying just typing about it

As for people saying he was “whiny” on Solstice – I think he was being human and fragile and I loved being there for him. I certainly wouldn’t be very heroic if I woke up after several years of death only to watch one of my closest friends die right in front of me. I’m glad he was finally able to show his insecurities instead of hiding behind jokes and flirtation. But mostly I’m glad we overcame it together.

I’d also like to confess that I actually started exercising in real life because of Darien, purely motivated by the idea of someday being strong enough to punch Meridia in the face. I’ve been doing it almost daily for about six years now. Thank you, Darien, for making my life better.

(Also, I always keep spare Crowns… just in case Darien ever becomes a houseguest. That wouldn’t interfere with future quests, right? Please? I’d love to finally have a home where we can be happy. He deserves it. Or even just being able to visit him somewhere in the world (in the after-romance timeline) so I can tell him how much I love him every day.)

I’m sharing this not to talk about my feelings for Darien, but so the DEVS know how incredibly grateful we are. Writing something this personal isn’t easy for me, but I wanted you to see how much this quest resonated with us, and how much we hope for more stories like this in the future (and more Darien).

TL;DR: Thank you for everything you did with Darien. I appreciate it more than I can put into words. The only thing missing for complete happiness would be having Darien as a houseguest

Ayo?

On occasion I have lingered in an area because other players are role playing, using /emote in chat to tell their stories, I'm fascinated and slightly in awe of the intricately woven stories they tell!

I think what some people may not fully grasp or are ignoring is that ESO is marketed as an Online RPG, this allows for and is used by many players, as a framework within which to mould their characters and live out the lives of those characters in the
game.

I fully accept that this is not for everyone, many choosing to play the game in a totally different way, however I don't feel it is fair to denigrate the players that like to get involved in romance in a game as someone with a "kink"!

Silaf wrote: »

[snip]

It's part of TES lore that same-sex relationships are completely normal in Tamriel. I don't think giving a toggle to not display parts of the depicted world because some people doesn't like them should become a thing.
[edited to remove quote]

I mean, they literally introduced flirting at the same time they killed off the only character in the game I would have wanted to flirt with, but glad other people found joy.

You know, in my time here, I've read a lot of disheartening things on these forums. But I think the posts trying to bring OP down might be some of the saddest I've ever seen. Not just because of the assumptions being made about OP, but because the people making them seem so disconnected from the very purpose of a story.

Characters are meant to make you feel, and stories are intended to inspire you. Throughout time, human beings have used story telling as a way to explore emotion within the safety of a narrative. We use it to answer questions like; What does love feel like? What happens when hate is carried too far? How do we deal with death and longing?

As children, we can learn from the way characters react to these things before we experience them ourselves. As adults, we can find comfort in characters who have lived through the same pains we have. Knowing that a character overcame hardship can inspire you in moments where you feel yourself losing hope.

When it comes to gaming, isn't about the pixels on the screen, it isn't about the game at all. It's about the very real way in which a story can change something inside of you. Darien may not be real, but through him, his author had the power to invoke a change for the better in someones life. I think there's a certain kind of magic in that.

People are making the claim that OP is suffering from some sort of illness. But when I read OP's posts, I don't see that at all. I see great strength. After all, they were brave enough to come here and write what they really felt, because they wanted the creators of their favorite NPC to know how much his story meant to them. They posted, likely knowing that the internet, in all of it's tender mercy, would probably lambaste them for it. And yet they did it. Then returned again, after reading everything that was said, to write a calm, well-reasoned, and down right inspiring post of their own.

I respect them for it. Everything they said in their second reply resonated with me on a very personal level.

I'm an adult with a partner, a career, and a family I love. I raise horses, train them, and do hard, physical work every day. But you know, I still carry a flame for the fictional characters I've grown to love throughout my life. Not in the sense that I'd ever view them as a replacement for real people. But in the sense that their stories moved me to such an extent that they changed me in some way. It's a very real feeling, and what drove me to write as a hobby. My partner is very much the same way, and in fact, mutual enjoyment of a particular fandom character was how we found each other! We live our lives surrounded by fanart of each other's characters, roleplaying with mutual friends, and encouraging one another's creative pursuits. If that's unhealthy, then I don't want to be "healthy" ;P We're quite content gushing about fictional characters at each other xD

Don't assume people can't be healthy or build real relationships just because they have feelings when they roleplay. Learning to say "I love you" In a roleplay can teach you to how to find the bravery to do it in real life. It worked for me.

In any case- OP, I hope you never lose that spark. Don't ever let anyone take it away from you.

Honestly, except for a few posts, it's an ugly thread throughout with people from which ever side invalidating other people's feelings and also personal way to engage with fiction. Accusing roleplayers of having some weird inclanations is bad. Accusing people who have a more intellectual instead of emotional approach to fiction (who rather analyse what they see and try to learn something of it, but don't have strong feelings about and don't imagine themselves in a movie they see) of lacking imagination or being somehow defective isn't any better. Add to that a tad of bigotry (even if they might not even be aware of it)... It's indeed one of the ugliest threads I've seen here for a while.