This Guy Are Cute!

[mimi_sardinia]

Nathaniel is damn cute.

There's these dialogue lines (well, they're actually action descriptions, but in game mechanics they come up as dialogue - just in brackets though) that come up every so often in the game where the PC catches him staring and he either blushes, fiddles with his backpack strap, gives the PC's hand a squeeze or says something inordinately cute and sweet. At one point he even grabs onto the PC's arm - he says it's because the area they're in gives him the creeps (I think I was in the sewers between the Copper Coronet and the Slaver Compound) but one can't help but wonder if that is the only reason... XD

And then there's plotty stuff like the panic attack he had - I do wonder if that will come up again later.

Anyway, just about to move on to Trademeet, but I feel like I'm missing bits because I haven't yet been into the Bridge District to do the Skinner Murders. That gave me shit last time though, it was one of the quests where the guy who I was supposed to report back to to resolve the quest kept coming up as "[NAME] has nothing to say to you." in the dialogue box.

Anyway, I'm going to have to do something soon about some character trades but it looks like the only character I'll be able to trade is Anomen because I can only swap out Nalia for Yoshimo or I won't have a thief at all and dammit but thief abilities are useful and I won't load that damn hack that takes out all locks - that feels more unfair!


Aaaaand most of you probably have no clue what I'm nattering on about anyway. Go read ciceqi's fics Pollen and Filtered, if you haven't already.


ETA: Ooooh! The list of actions available if the PC initiates talk with Nathaniel is just as damn cute as Nathaniel's... is that the flirting component?

Only now I have to decide when I'm going to start messing up the nice order of my team - Nalia's plot is done now but I don't want to swap her just yet because I like having the extra mage on the team. Also, I think the Jaheira romance has been put to an end - a quite final exchange came up that demanded Merric say one way or another. I might consider using her space for an optional character - maybe Valygar, since I have yet to do the Planar sphere.
I can't shift Anomen around yet because I'm waiting on his knighthood.

Actually, I am wondering how long it will be before something definitive happens with Nathaniel, OI! twetwe123! can you give me a clue? Merric just got kissed by a nightmare-suffering Nathaniel. I'm still showing stage 1 in the romance though.

Actually, I've been getting Imoen mod dreams coming up the last few sleeps I've put the team down for. It makes a very odd and slightly ironic juxtaposition with the Nathaniel plot. Of course I have reasoning developing in my head - it's a slightly weird last gasp of Merric's heterosexuality. "Slightly weird" because it is his sister he's dreaming is kissing him.

But I should lay off for the night, work tomorrow and I should go to bed.

Comments

[twetwe123.livejournal.com]

1. Yes, those little actions are the flirts. You get different ones after the relationship turns to 2. Have you tried biting his neck yet? He hates that.

2. There' just a couple more love dialogues to go before something big happens. If all goes well he'll ask CHARNAME about his sexuality, then ask if he's still okay with them 'being together'. Then you have to rest outside - I use the outside of Nalia's keep. There's a great little incident there... does Nathaniel still have Latimer's ring?

3. Imoen's thief skills will get you through the game, except for one door in ToB, unless you really like pickpocketing and setting traps (I don't). There's gloves that boost pickpocketing skills, and a ring that boost Set Traps (not available in the pure game - special editions of the game came with bonus merchants, but they're easy to spawn via the console, they have lots of cool items).

PS I never got that kissing dream, don't know why. The first time it happened was when I was playing a female character and going through the friendship track. Gave me a big surprise when Nathaniel suddenly screamed his line :)

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

1. I only remembered there might be options available if I initiated talk with him and I've been carefully picking my way through the options in some sort of progression that makes sense in my head... but I don't recall neck-biting.

2. Yeah, he's still got Latimer's ring.

3. Actually, despite boosting her in those branches as standard SK action, I don't tend to use pickpocketing or setting traps much. I tend to use trap detection, trap disarmament and lock picking the most. I still a way to go before I can go into Chapter 3 - I haven't even gone near the Temple District, still have the main Trademeet plot (I had Nathaniel's message from Avery but I hadn't got the prompt to deal with the animal situation), the second half of the Skinner plot, Planar Sphere (which will need a character Trade), Haer'Dalis, and a number of minor other things. I am however hoping not to do Watcher's keep at least until Chapter 6, if not in ToB.

Heh.

[twetwe123.livejournal.com]

Chapter Three? You can do everything in chapter 3 that you could do in chapter 2, I'm fairly sure. In fact you can do them in chapter 6 too, I used to do the Unseeing Eye quest in Chapter 6 as a matter of course. I've heard some players recommend that you start chapter 3 ASAP because of the items you get from Aran/Bodhi. Hmmm, does Bodhi give you items? I've never done that path.

AFAIK, there's a man in the Gates section who gives you the Trademeet quest, and you do have to see Avery for Nathaniel's quest to proceed.

As for Watchers Keep, I'd probably leave it. Nathaniel doesn't have any ToB content, so he won't make any comments there.

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

Yeah, finished Trademeet earlier - I'd forgotten to talk to the guy in the Gate District last time I'd been through there and headed out to Windspear Hills, which is wear I got the letter for Avery, so I went pretty-much straight from Windspear to Trademeet to see Avery. Anyway, I went back to Athkatla, did the Skinner murders and talked to the guy at the Gate.

That's about when I made that last comment and I've been back into the game and done Trademeet - haven't gone in to see the mayor again yet and I still have the other half of the Skinner plot to do as well.

Hmm... I tend to do everything I can get through in chapter 2 and leave only important plot for chapters 3 and 6. Blame that on role-play sensibilities dictating how I conduct the course of play - I feel that once the PC finally signs on with one or other side (I've never played Bodhi's side either, I don't see why a Good PC would align themselves with someone who looks like they're a vampire. The Shadow Thieves may not be all that palatable, especially to someone lawful, but at least they're still human) events involved in the Guild War demand all their immediate attention. Same thing applies with chapter 6 - basically the effort to get into Suldanasellar is all they'd logically be concentrating on - side trip to the temple ruins aside, but that's kind-of a "Do it bloody NOW!!!" thing.

I know logically that the game give leeway but it's the sort of leeway that doesn't quite fit into the plot sensibly.

Though your point about WK... I kinda see what you mean but I just wonder if that means he wouldn't have any direct interjections but the romance would still keep working?
Still, I probably will leave WK 'til ToB stage, once the ToB module of Nathaniel is released.

I just feel like I'm belting through all the optional quests really fast and I don't want to miss any of the romance content because I play it through too fast.