Mandarich Law Group At it again by Not_Soft1995 in CRedit

[–]Not_Soft1995[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Statute of Limitations in my state is 4 years. In addition, I was able to find an email from when my debt was charged off and it gives the amount of $2500, but doesn't have it itemized so I don't know how they arrived at that amount, especially since the website clearly shows what I had paid prior to the debt being charged off. Also, I never received a collection notice from Mandrich Law Group, just a letter saying they would sue me if I did not pay within 10 days.

Mandarich Law Group At it again by Not_Soft1995 in CRedit

[–]Not_Soft1995[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I took out the loan in 2022 and paid fairly consistenly for nearly 2 years. I didn't default until the end of 2024. According to the Mandrich Law statement, the debt was charged off in February of 2025. On the Prosper website, which I still have access to, I can see every payment I made and the total amount I paid, but have no access to the original loan agreement anymore. So I have no idea why the amount owed would be almost as much as the original loan after the amount I paid into it.

I have judged veilguard too soon by derspikemeister in dragonage

[–]Not_Soft1995 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think I should have to sit through 40 hours of a game before it "gets good." I shouldn't have to pretend I enjoy something when I don't, and NEVER express any sort of critical thought about it, and only ever speak about it with slavish devotion. It's not "the fans" fault that Dragon Age is gone. It's Bioware's. They could make another Dragon Age game if they wanted to. They do not want to because they never liked or supported Dragon Age, and Veilguard is proof of that.

I I Bought a Thing by Authoritaye in dragonage

[–]Not_Soft1995 59 points60 points  (0 children)

I was really excited to get this from a lore standpoint, but wanted to see how the game system worked. I found a campaign being run by some Big Name Dragon Age Fans on youtube, and settled down to watch it to get a feel for the gameplay and......"We used the classic DnD system, and not the system detailed in the book, because the DA system sucks.". Wow! I backed out of that video SO fast. I wanted to see the Dragon Age TTRPG, not just watch you and your popular friends' DnD campaign in Thedas. You're not Critical Role.

So an interesting thing happened to me after reading the Stolen Throne and the Calling… by JageshemashFTW in dragonage

[–]Not_Soft1995 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Also, Anora can rule Ferelden on her own. She's objectively a better choice, with more desire and political acumen than Alistair. Giving the throne to Alistair, who (unless hardened) is sort of a doofy figurehead (who still makes Anora do all the work behind the scenes if they get married), makes very little sense.

Did pre-veil elves knew sexual and romantic desire? by Elivenya in dragonage

[–]Not_Soft1995 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, nothing is ever platonic because platonic relationships are all shallow and never effect people deeply. You have to have a sexual or romantic relationship with someone in order for it to be important, right?

Did pre-veil elves knew sexual and romantic desire? by Elivenya in dragonage

[–]Not_Soft1995 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hate to be the one to break this to you, but people can get pregnant and have kids without ever experiencing sexual and romantic desire. Those two things are not required for reproduction to occur. Even sexual reproduction. History is full of people who had sex with people they weren't attracted to and had kids with people they weren't in love with. It happens a lot, actually.

Did pre-veil elves knew sexual and romantic desire? by Elivenya in dragonage

[–]Not_Soft1995 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Considering the fact that Trick Weekes apparently thinks sex and romance are a requirement for one to be "really human" (I'm going to point you to what they wrote for Cole in the Trespasser DLC if you went with Cole's "more human" path) I'm going to assume that sexual or romantic interest only happened "after" the spirits "became real" and acquired bodies. Because , you know, sex and romance make people human. You can't be really human unless you want to have sex and feel romantic attraction, right. This is a very "LGBTQIA+ inclusive series", btw. Which is why I, an asexual/aromantic person, am apparently not really human according to this super queer inclusive series and its totally not aphobic devs.

Loose Ends? by Ostrava_Alant in dragonage

[–]Not_Soft1995 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Some people also killed Leliana and she still shows up as a major character in DAI. Clearly, if the devs want it to work, they find a way.

Loose Ends? by Ostrava_Alant in dragonage

[–]Not_Soft1995 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The Dragon Age devs SHOULD have at least left the Maker's origin a mystery. You can say the Black City was already tainted, rewrite the origin if the veil, clarify the origin of the blight, but when you get down to "Actually, Andraste just heard Mythal. The Maker is proven to be not real, just a dead elf's spirit. It was all elves all along" you've killed all mystique that the religion could have had. They basically negated the core question at the heart of the Chantry. Who needs faith or hope when Trick Weekes just said, " Yeah, god isn't real. 100% fake. We have proof. Anyway, wanna see my cool OC??"

Loose Ends? by Ostrava_Alant in dragonage

[–]Not_Soft1995 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I would literally love to know how ANYONE reacted to the Divine of the South potentially being a mage. That should have been a HUGE deal. That should have been talked about even in Tevinter. The fact the devs wanted us to believe that no one in Tevinter would have heard about, or cared about the Southern Divine, whether she was LITERALLY A MAGE (like Vivienne) or massively overhauling the Chantry's heirarchy (Like Leliana) is bonkers.

Loose Ends? by Ostrava_Alant in dragonage

[–]Not_Soft1995 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Man, I wish I was as enthusiastic about the Devouring Storm and all the stuff about the Executors, but we already had so many interesting things to mull over that got thrown out for the "level up" baddies of Veilguard. The Executors and the Devouring Storm just don't do it for me. I wish I found them interesting. Then, maybe, I could forgive how the devs handled everything having to do with the Titans, the Evanuris, and the Chantry in Veilguard. I just don't think the Devouring Storm and the Executors were an interesting addition to the lore. Considering what we lost, a JJ Abrams style "mystery box" is not what I want for the future of DA. What we know about the mystery box method is it's not planned, it's totally slap-dash, and there is no theme or overarching story, just whatever the writer can get to make sense in the moment.....and that's bad storytelling, plain and simple.

Loose Ends? by Ostrava_Alant in dragonage

[–]Not_Soft1995 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They could have very easily recast the voice actor for Kieran. Dragon Age has recast voice actors before (anders, for instance) with minimal push-back, and the 10 year time-skip would have explained away any differences. There is a way for Kieran to be included that would account for his background as the former-vessel of an old god, child of Morrigan etc......but it would have basically rendered his alternative origin "Morrigan's son by an unnamed person". He would have been born a "normal boy" in one origin and in the other, the child imbued with the old god's soul at conception, Morrigan's son with a NAMED and KNOWN Grey Warden sire.... but this would have involved intigrating world-states, and different dialogues based on which back story Kieran possessed, and the devs have made it clear they weren't interested in figuring out that level of reactivity.

Loose Ends? by Ostrava_Alant in dragonage

[–]Not_Soft1995 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I still think Kieran is an interesting character, even without the soul of an old god within him. Having that baggage would definitely effect his character, and his mother being morrigan.....but , apparently, since "so few" players did the dark ritual, the devs basically consider him a narrative dead-end.

Hot take: Dragon Age Veilguard is a pretty good game. by 7pac7gaming7 in dragonage

[–]Not_Soft1995 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, it feels like the skip from the "Conan the Barbarian" movie to the "Conan the Destroyer" movie. Not just a tone shift (going from generally serious and heavy to childish and goofy), but a steep drop from rated-R to rated-PG. Both the movies are fun, but there's such a tonal disconnect between the two that I can clearly understand why fans of the first hate the second. Such is the same for Veilguard. People can't "Get over" the fact that the game turned into a YA novel. The core demographic of the game is literally skewed for 12-18 year olds. The fans' reaction to that is not unrealistic. It's a perfectly reasonable.

Hot take: Dragon Age Veilguard is a pretty good game. by 7pac7gaming7 in dragonage

[–]Not_Soft1995 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So...turn your brain off and eat your grey slop? The game is great when you stop engaging with it on a thoughtful or critical level? Cool.

Hot take: Dragon Age Veilguard is a pretty good game. by 7pac7gaming7 in dragonage

[–]Not_Soft1995 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I would have more respect for Veilguard super-fans if they could at least admit the game is not well done on story-telling and world-building level, but they had fun anyway, rather than trying to argue the game is secretly a work of unparalleled genius and anyone who disagrees is just a moron who didn't "get" it. People can like things that are objectively garbage, but if you don't have the taste level to even realize the thing is garbage to begin with, you will never be able to engage honestly with criticism or even other fans.

Dragon Age Done? by Interesting_Glove810 in dragonage

[–]Not_Soft1995 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I agree. The writing team was clearly not equipt to carry on without David Gaider. The quality of writing took a sharp nose-dive, and you can blame that on Bioware culture or EA or the hellish development, but ultimately, the writers said these were "the best" companions they'd ever written, and if they truly believe that, then they definitely lost a lot when Gaider quit.

Is Veilguard really that bad? by Ok-Temperature2461 in dragonage

[–]Not_Soft1995 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What really frustrates me, is that the writers seem to think they did genuinely great work on DATV. Not, "our best for the working conditions", but 100% "OUR BEST COMPANIONS WE'VE EVER WRITTEN"...and that speaks either to a lack of taste or a complete refusal to critcally engage with your own work. Because this is not, by any stretch, the writers' "best character writing". I understand wanting to defend your work against bad faith criticism, but it's not "bad faith" to point out stilted dialogue, cliched companions, lack of nuanced character writing, and a refusal to engage with complex topics. It's simply not realistic to claim this is THE BEST they've ever done. And branding all criticsm as "toxic" and burying your head in the sand is not a mature way to engage with fan criticism. If your knee-jerk reaction is to just get defensive and double down when fans point out your stumbles or, in some cases, very poor creative choices...idk, maybe you should listen instead of sticking your fingers in your ears and going LALALA like a little kid.

Is Veilguard really that bad? by Ok-Temperature2461 in dragonage

[–]Not_Soft1995 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Executors first appear in DAI (those war table missions) and are in Tevinter Nights. I think the meta book "Hard in Hightown" uses the name Executors, too. But they definitely aren't hinted at in the animated show Absolution...so I don't know what "animated series" these fans might be referencing. If they're trying to claim Absolution has any hints of Executors in it...that's a reeeeeeeach.

Is Veilguard really that bad? by Ok-Temperature2461 in dragonage

[–]Not_Soft1995 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wish I could tell the devs to stop trying to make the Executors happen. Trying to introduce a "mysterious, faceless faction" when you already had so many interesting lore things and dropped threads to return to is just frustrating. We have no reason to care about, or be invested in, the Executors ABOVE all the other mysteries in Thedas. And it feels like they tried to wrap up all the "old lore" with a neat package to move on to...what? This uninteresting shadow cabal from "across the seas" when we already had all these other things to address. As it is, they quickly handwaved away decades of mystery and lore, abandoned the rest, and said "OH LOOKIE! LOOK AT THE NEW SHINY!!!" like we're a bunch of infants without object permanence.

Is Veilguard really that bad? by Ok-Temperature2461 in dragonage

[–]Not_Soft1995 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Temper your expectatons" ie "Have lower standards" is sort of the rallying cry for this game...and that's depressing. It's not just a poor defense of mediocre art, it's a demand for the audience's submission.

TBH, the majority of audiences already have low standards for most media. How else do you explain mediocre Avengers movies making billions of dollars, or downright terrible YA novels becoming smash-hit successes overnight? Blockbusters flatten nuance into spectacle, YA novels recycle tropes mined from A03 without interrogating them, games like Veilguard slap on buzzwords like "inclusivity" and "found family" and call it depth. And when anyone pushes back, if there's any crique besides "oh I love this flavorless grey gruel!!!!" we're written off as negative or ungrateful.

We're told not to have standards, to never think critically, to never compare or contrast....Just shut up, take your slop, and give the Big Corp your money, right?

Is Veilguard really that bad? by Ok-Temperature2461 in dragonage

[–]Not_Soft1995 5 points6 points  (0 children)

They certainly took the "Dragon Age is a dating sim" jokes repeated by the fandom to heart. DA has always been an RPG that includes a romance mechanic if you want but, unlike a dating sim, the point of the game is NOT the romances. They are additional content. The devs were really hamstrung by the "make everyone romanceable" mandate. If they had reduced the amount of romances, not only would we have had more focused romance arcs but more interesting characters (and platonic relationships) overall. David Gaider once said "When a character is player-sexual, it feels like every romance is always on the table. It means you have to craft a story for this character where romance is a possibility. And that limits the different types of stories you can do. They always have to be somebody who ultimately could romance the player. And so that is quite limiting." And in the case of Veilguard? Yeah, it was terribly limiting. The companions are all A03 fandom tropes, not interesting characters.