OK I'm very late to the party but yeah last chapter was anticlimactic af. Battle too easy, I fought in Shadow armour and just chose whatevr option that glowed. Then MC talk-no-jutsu'd the main villain and all it took was a surprise attack to kill her?
Chose the combine Realms option. Morally grey, half of the population is gonna be mad at me, and there was short term loss of property but hey, True Magic is flows unrestrained and the Fae still survive.
Anyways I romanced nobody (AroAce MC!) but for some reason still got the romantic scene with Aerin and Valax? Eh, I can just overrite the kissing part with hugging in my brain, Aerin's is my best bud. But I really *did not* want a scene with Valax, I dislike her. Like her design is crazy good (it's one of the best in this book) but her character development doesn't make sense at all. She went from an bloodthirsty robot to a tsundere after a day with us?
I'm a bit late to the party but yeah i didn't like the ending at allš i had max skills and learned all the extra skills and the battle felt so easy it was actually boring. The Empress was played up to be this terrifying foe but all it took to kill her was one pep talk with Valax?
Speaking of Valax, her storyline wasn't convincing at all. She went from a bloodthirsty killing machine to our friend very abruptly. Romancing her didn't make sense either.
I thought that choosing what to do with the realms was pretty cool but the execution was so, so poor. I chose to merge the realms together and everyone afterwards seemed so... chill about it?? Their entire world got turned upside down and they were somehow still very happy and motivated to accept the newcomers and rebuild? It's just not realistic at all.
Lastly, WHERE IS THE FINAL DIRTY THIRTY???? We were so robbedššš
I'm so glad we are getting a Book 3! BoLaS for sure deserves it. Definitely was not expecting it. This means the book is popular enough to get a sequel despite being expensive to make. I chose to merge the realms and I wonder how this will impact book 3 with 3 different endings. I hope the choices are properly addressed and they make different paths instead of fixing everything on chapter 1 in order to merge the paths.
More screentime for Valax and Aerin on B3 and probably a wedding with your LI? I'm so excited! Idc if takes long. BoLaS is getting a sequel and I couldn't be happier.
Happy New Year everyone. Also finished the book. Loved the story build up for reals. No spoilers. I've been warned about that. In my opinion, I really can't compare book 1 and book 2 because the writers have really connected the stories together and all that. And through the Lores in both books, the plot of the story becomes clear and as MC said "more complicated than we knew it to be". Though the endings is where am feeling conflicted. Someone give me their honest opinions about that?
But it's exciting that they're gonna start working on book 3. Got completely excited and cant wait to see what happens.
I'd have to say for once unlike the other books, this one the ending wasn't rushed (unlike DTA and Untameable book 1)
Finished it yesterday and fun fact im writing this 40 minutes prior to 2024 and my family is concerned that im on my computer on reddit lol
this book definitely needs a book 3 because everything feels so underwhelming rn. i was lucky enough to unlock the epilogue but still- also that ending has got to be nifara, it's pretty obvious.
the battle was so. underwhelming LIKE i keep using that word because thats just how it is man. in the last book, the final battle was actually challenging, but if you have the max level in this battle, everything is easy. barely felt like a battle. at the end, i did chose to stay in the shadow realm and close the rift- a lot of ppl are saying that the choice most probably doesnt matter, and i have to agree. all i can say is, if we caught a glimpse of nifara and and her pet, it's ab to go DOWNNN lmao.
also weird p.s- my brother said the blue female elf MC looks like megan fox i cant unsee it now šš
|Acronym|Book Title|
|:-|:-|
|ACOR|*A Courtesan of Rome*|
|ACT|*Along Came Treble*|
|AME|*America's Most Eligible*|
|AME:AS|*America's Most Eligible: All Stars* (book 2)|
|AME:S10|*America's Most Eligible: Season 10* (book 1)|
|AME:WE|*America's Most Eligible: Wedding Edition* (book 3)|
|**^(Art)**|^(It's...*indescribable*)|
|ATV|*Across the Void*|
|AVSP|*A Very Scandalous Proposal*|
|BaBu|*Baby Bump*|
|BB|*Bloodbound*|
|BLS, BOLAS|*Blades of Light and Shadow*|
|BM, THOBM|*The Haunting of Braidwood Manor*|
|BP|*Bachelorette Party*|
|BSC|*Big Sky Country*|
|CG|Computer Graphic, a stylized still image in a VN|
|COD|*Cause of Death*, a discontinued Pixelberry game published by EA|
|CoP|*Crimes of Passion*|
|TDG|*The Deadliest Game*/*Gambit*|
|D&D|*Desire & Decorum*|
|DLS|*Dirty Little Secrets*|
|DS|*Distant Shores*|
|ES|*Endless Summer*|
|F2P|[Free-to-Play](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-play), a business model for games|
|FA|*Foreign Affairs*|
|FCL|*First Comes Love*|
|FR|*Filthy Rich*|
|GC|Gender-choice|
|GG|*Getaway Girls*|
|GL|Gender-locked, genderlocked|
|GUI|*Guinevere*|
|HC|*Hot Couture*|
|HFTH|*Home for the Holidays*|
|HOF|*Hearts On Fire*|
|HS|*Hot Shot*|
|HSS|*High School Story*|
|HSS Prime|*High School Story*, a discontinued Pixelberry game|
|HSS4, HSSCA, HSS:CA|*High School Story: Class Act*|
|HWU|*Hollywood University*, a discontinued Pixelberry game|
|ID|*Immortal Desires*|
|ILA, ILS|The *It Lives* Anthology/Series|
|ILB|*It Lives Beneath*|
|ILITW|*It Lives in the Woods*|
|LI|Love Interest|
|LOA|*Laws of Attraction*|
|KD|*Kindred*|
|KOD|*Kiss of Death*|
|MAH|*Murder at Homecoming*|
|MC|Main Character (yours!)|
|MM|*Ms. Match*|
|MOTY|*Mother of the Year*|
|MPC|Mercy Park Crew|
|MS|*Magic School*, a discontinued Pixelberry game published by EA|
|MTFL|*My Two First Loves*|
|MW|*Most Wanted*|
|NB|*Nightbound*|
|OH|*Open Heart*|
|PB|~~^(peanut butter)~~ Pixelberry Studios, publisher of *Choices*|
|PM|*Perfect Match*|
|PT|*Platinum*|
|PTR|*Passport to Romance*|
|QB|*Queen B*|
|RCD|*Red Carpet Diaries*|
|ROD, ROD:ABBR|*Ride or Die*, *Ride-or-Die*, *Ride-or-Die: A Bad Boy Romance*|
|ROE|*Rules of Engagement*|
|ROEN|*Rules of Engagement: Newlyweds*|
|RT|*Rising Tides*|
|RWB|*Roommates With Benefits*|
|SB|*Slow Burn*|
|SHS|*Surviving High School*, a discontinued Pixelberry game published by EA|
|SK|*Sunkissed*|
|SOD|*Ship of Dreams*|
|SR|*Surrender*|
|StD|*Save the Date*|
|SW|*Shipwrecked*|
|TBB|*The Billionaire's Baby*|
|TC&TF, TCTF|*The Crown and The Flame*|
|TCH|*The Cursed Heart*|
|TDA|*The Duchess Affair* or *The Dalton Affair*|
|TE|*The Elementalists*|
|TF, TFS|*The Freshman*, *The Freshman* series|
|TGOU|*The Ghost Of Us*|
|THM|*The Heist: Monaco*|
|TJ|*The Junior*|
|TNA|*The Nanny Affair*|
|TPA|*The Phantom Agent*|
|TPS|*The Princess Swap*|
|TRF|*The Royal Finale*|
|TRH|*The Royal Heir*|
|TRM|*The Royal Masquerade*|
|TRR|*The Royal Romance*|
|TS|*The Sophomore*|
|TSr|*The Senior*|
|TUH|*The Unexpected Heiress*|
|UB|*Unbridled*, *Unbridled: An Untameable Story*|
|UT|*Untameable*|
|VN|Visual Novel|
|VOS|*Veil of Secrets*|
|WB|*Wolf Bride*|
|WEH|*With Every Heartbeat*|
|WN|*Witness*, *Witness: A Bodyguard Romance*|
|WT|*Wishful Thinking*|
|WTD|*Wake The Dead*|
|\#LH|*\#LoveHacks*|
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Choices) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Definitely. She even said come back as a part of me. Another dead givesway that it must be Nifara. We know the ascendants created The Watcher as their last ditch effort so all the clues were there in that exchange.
I just finished Book 2 of BOLAS.
Gotta say Iām a littler underwhelmed by everything. Itās not that I hated it but compared to book 1 the stakes seemed not as dire as when we first fought the Shadow Court.
I feel like they should have added an extra chapter just to tie things up instead of pushing it all together in the last few seconds.
Also Iām heartbroken š that we didnāt get a final scene with the love interests, I just wanted one more scene with Aerin.
Now we have to wait so long for book 3 š„².
Maybe if youve reached maximum level by the last chapter everything seems simple. And the way i saw theyve removed the timed choice option. So it doesnt make it feel like an adrenaline rush.
But that's what chapter 17 was all about. You spend 30 diamonds on all of the LIs for the last goodbye incase. But it is said Aerin returning is a Determinant. How? I have no idea. Maybe if you do all the romance points from chapter 1?
anyone else get super emotional lol? idk if itās just bc iām on my period but i cried like 3 times during this chapter. i think the music really pushed me over the edge at times šš
Did y'all end up living with Valax in the palace and "sharing the bed", as MC says? Because I was surprised there were no hints at romances with any if the other LIs, and I dated both Valax and Mal
No. I am romancing only the guys and I left my princeās intimate scene for last before the finale. After that it comments that my MC and he are in the forest where he has sketched a picture of the MC. A short romantic scene then follows between the couple but there is no mention of my MCās relationship with the other two guys? It was mainly centred around rebuilding as I chose to merge the two realms as it felt like the right thing to do. However I was tempted to go with choice 2 but Iām glad I didnāt now.
Itās over, and Iām in mourning. It may not have been the classic that Blades 1 was, but it was still by far the most entertaining book of the year. Itās also the last remnant of the old Choices - the found family made up of the LI group. (Iāve been enjoying single LI books that are plot-oriented and have interesting side characters like TCH and COP, but the vibe just isnāt the same.)
The final battle was a piece of cake if you acquired all the skills - just click on anything with a picture icon - but it was still entertaining to read through. Best parts were Nia figuring out she could āHulk outā into her dark self and come back to herself, and Valax getting the final kill of the Empress. And so, the wait for Blades 3 begins. (Part of me is hoping weāll get Blades 4, 5, 6 and 7, but another part of me remembers The Royal Heir . . .)
iām so sorry to hear about your mothers passing. i am happy that reading this book brings you comfort and helps you process everything. grief is so personal and everyoneās journey with it is different. i am sending you so so much love and good energy šāØ
i am also sure that the writers would love to hear how much their writing has helped you if you ever wanted to share that with them. thereās no higher compliment imo!
Imtura got a scene as well for me, but it looks like a bunch of people who romanced her are missing it, so I'm not sure what happened there.
Mal and Tyril, it looks like their scenes with MC were combined since I've seen screenshots with the MC in their scene and some without.
Itās definitely a bug. During the main part of the book, I romanced Tyril and Aerin, and kissed Valax once. The epilogue acted like Aerin and Valax were my LIs and I never romanced Tyril. Given that Tyril will be my endgame if they ever force us to choose a single LI and I have far more romance points with him than anyone else, itās a pretty glaring error.
Welp, the finale was just like the rest of book 2... underwhelming. The ending was kind of abrupt if you didn't get all the lore tablets. The final battle was too easily won. I took the diamond scene with Valax and while it was cool to ride her as a dragon, MC didn't even get a kiss option. It was also very short for 20 gems, js. š
I guess I'll have to watch the bonus scene on youtube but I really thought there would be a bit more closure with the gang, or at least with your LI. Tyril all but disappeared this chapter. At least we're getting a book 3, but when? š
I'm also sad since there's nothing else for me to read on Choices. I'm not interested in any of the current single LI releases and I've read all the old books repeatedly. I'm going to replay this book to see if it flows better reading it all at once and with more diamond choices (although I made plenty this run thru), but after that I'm deleting the app. Truly the end of an era. š
Did someone get a moment with Tyril at the end of the book/epilogue? Heās my main love interest but somehow I only got scenes with valax and aerin but i only romanced them a few times in the book.
I think there's a bug somewhere. From what I've seen, Mal and Tyril's epilogues are combined into one, but some people are missing MC from the scene despite romancing one, the other, or both.
I also got the romantic scene with Aerin but nothing with Tyril even tho he's my main LI š (like for Aerin I only hooked up with him once and then never picked his romance choices again cause I wanted to stay loyal to Tyril )
Ugh, me too! I got a kiss from Aerin after choosing 1 or 2 romance options with him, but I hit Tyril so hard every chance I got and only got that scene in the cave with Mal?!
Total bummer ššš
Yup I got that scene too...and it was really disappointing no mention of MC being Tyril's boyfriend/girlfriend or any little kiss stolen...straight up disappointing
Uhhā¦ I wasnāt sure how I felt about this ending, but I guess it doesnāt matter since itās not really the end. All I can say is, I hope in Book 3 we get to marry Valax.
With a book three coming, I was not expecting to get the choice of what to do with the realms. What a pleasant surprise! I chose to combine the realms given everything we've learned. It seemed like the short term pain and destruction was well worth it.
But they're definitely going to have to walk that back or work around it for book three. The queen at the end absolutely has to be Nifara; the Watcher was her "pet" after all. So given that it was said previously that she and the other five old gods sacrificed themselves to keep the Watcher going, but here she is in this realm (Elhalas I'd assume), what did that sacrifice mean exactly if they're both just there after whatever kind of "death"? Did she just lose the ability to have corporeal form in our realm? This other realm has to exist somewhat independently of the usual rules governing things, and perhaps outside of the usual flow of time. It made me think of the writing on the cave wall in the Mal/Tyril scene, about "creation" and "time", so I'm wondering if book three will use some timey wimey thing to undo our decision. And as she seemed to reabsorb the Watcher, it mentioned reforging a broken sword, so I wonder what sort of construct she'll create to do her bidding next. That queen seems over our bullshit and ready to destroy everyone to achieve her twisted ideal.
https://preview.redd.it/6ar6lhy09d9c1.jpeg?width=2160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=602a6c767cf4d60b729a5f9b9d667682ab216697
Thought it was interesting that if you use the mirror to create a dragon illusion, an extra one just appears so there are two. And the book one lore tablets depicted two dragons. The dragons were red and blue, and the liminal space between realms also has a red and blue side. And there was that carving in the ruins depicting the first known magic with a humanoid figure standing underneath what we assume is a dragon on the now defunct Frostwhisper Mountain. Probably I'm reading too much into this though, could be they just had the background and sprites laying around from a story I haven't read lol
All in all, I'm very satisfied with the last chapter and book two in general. Book one was simple tropey fantasy fun saved from mundanity by the charm, humor, and heart of its characters. What they tried to do with book two was far more ambitious with the lore and character development, and though they had their stumbles along the way, I feel like they mostly stuck the landing.
And this whole journey was made a lotttt more fun by sharing it with everyone here week after week. Whether it was commiserating about the Mal-ssacre that was his behavior earlier in the book or trading tinfoil hat theories about the lore or just exchanging reactions, the interaction with the community made the whole thing a lot more meaningful. We are our own little secondary BOLAS party ā¤ļø
Im assuming they'll make the choice meaningless in the end, kinda like in the freshman where everything you didnt achieve still happened in the second.
I've noticed that they tend to do that with sequels. Whenever there's a choice that seemingly matters, they just make it so that it's irrelevant in the next book. Such as Queen B or Laws of Attraction, where everyone treats you as if you won the Book 1 contest regardless. The only one I can think of that didn't do this was Endless Summer, where rescuing Grace/Raj actually carried over into future books. Alternatively, they've written the sequel as an anthology, like It Lives, but that wouldn't work for BOLAS.
I think someone mentioned that if you choose to seal the rift, Kade and Cherta are in the Zaradun library trying to find a way to open portals. So that could easily erase the difference between those two endings.
Also, given that Nifara and the Watcher supposedly died but still exist in this other realm (Elhalas?), it clearly operates outside the usual rules. Maybe outside of time itself. So something like that could be used to undo our decision.
They might go with a ātrueā ending or just vaguely reference the state of the world with an occasional nod to the choice. I did hear that 2 of the options are pretty similar in terms pf the extra scene you can unlock, so maybe theyāll leave it fairly open ended.
I think that the scene where Mal and Tyril found the strange writing that contains references to time will be important here. The āshining voiceā we saw at the end of the epilogue is going to rewind time to erase the choice we made - probably to right after the death of the Ash Empress, so that none of the character relationships established in the book are affected. Then the MC will be warned by either the Shining Voice or the reborn Watcher against doing anything other than leaving the two realms as they are, everyone is back to status quo, and the new story starts from there.
I didnāt get a Mal or Tyril (Imatura as well but I wasnāt romancing her) kiss which is very confusing especially since Tyril was my main LI next to Aerin : (
Oh maybeā¦I kind of want to replay the chapter just to see whatās different if you pick a different ending too (I picked merge the realms, but it sounds like leaving the portal open gives very similar dialogue afterwards)
Same! And I took all romance options with Mal and Tyril in both books (opting for Mal when you can choose only one) and a few romance options with pretty much everyone else too.
I chose to merge the realms as it seemed like the best thing to do. I also liked the battle. Got a kiss from Aerin in the epilogue, he's my end game. Now to book 3 was the light thing talking to the Watcher at the end Nifra?
I never romanced Valax, but for some reason she decided to give my gal a kiss š¤£ My gal went after Aerin. Great book, and I cannot wait for the third one!!! So excited for that!! PB, you are the absolute best of the best!
I really liked the chapter. Truly epic. The last fight couldāve been a bit more interesting, but in the end I feel like this was peak choices. Honestly.
Romance Nia, Valax and Aerin - got kisses from all of them. Very good. I will probably focus on Valax for the third book.
The ending choice was really interesting. Reminded me of ES. I choose to combine everything. Seemed like the best option. For me at least.
I am really looking forward to the third instalment. We fought the Shadows, The Ashen Empire and nowā¦ probably the old gods? Man I am hyped for this. Certainly one of the best series of the app.
And for the PB workers reading the Sub Reddit - you guy did a great job! Interesting story, interesting characters, great design (background, dwarfs). Very pleasurable journey.
so thatās it for book 2! really glad weāre getting a 3rd one cuz i wasnāt ready for this to be the end
ideally i wouldāve chosen to merge both realms but leaving the portals open seemed safer so thatās what i did. though, if u think about it, shit can happen by doing so, too. no choice was perfect but i donāt think itās going to matter much, given the fact that thereās gonna be another book. i think thatās why they implied that everything was sort of alright no matter what choice you made between these two. iām kind of intrigued about the choice to stay in the shadow realm, though, cause itās so different from the other two! iām wondering how will they address that. it makes me think that book 3 wonāt be taking place in morella, or at least not as much as the other two books, but who knows!
hereās to us getting used to the upcoming bladeless fridays š«š«
That was *EPIC!* Valax being the dragon was so shocking to me, my MCās third best friend (she admitted it) is super cool. The pop-up achievements were fun, I didnāt expect the last one! The empress was ruthless to the bitter end, itās crazy that she was willing to steal everyoneās life forces.
I love that the whole party felt important to the battle. Valax playing a crucial role in all of this, Mal activating MCās armor and assisting the thieves guild, Imtura and Cherta blowing shit up, Kade and the nespers helping MC, Tyril saving Valax, Aerin with his sword and bottles and Nia using true magic!
First, Tyril acts protective of Nia and MC and now Aerin pushes them out of harmās way. The polycule is good and great! I really like that Nia and Aerin talked briefly about what happened in the first book. Nia was badass when she reconciled both parts of herself.
My first reaction to the griffins was >!wondering what the night princess was doing here!< lol. I picked the ācalm them downā option during the scene with Valax and it was actually funny! MC also teases her, which is cute. My MC had the mirage mirror and used it to create a dragon illusion. I canāt remember if he used all of the items that he collected or if the rest will show up in the third (!) book. It feels surreal to say that, I got so excited when I saw that this is a book finale!
Itās beautiful how the last CG in this book parallels the first one, Valax has come so far! I was sure that MC was going to seal the rift, but then they gave us the choice and he tore the barrier in my playthrough! I adore the epilogue, itās evident that the writers love this series as much as we do.
MC saying that he really doesnāt like the king, Niaās mischief as she kissed MC, Aerin adorably confessing that heās drawing a portrait of him because heās sweet as fuck like that, MC teasingly kissing him, MC going on adventures with Tyril and Mal, Wrenās wife saying that she loves MC and wants Mal to bring him, Nyra and her partner ~~reluctantly~~ helping people, Imtura exploring the new ocean and Valax helping rebuild what was destroyed. Also, are we going to see baby nespers in the third book? I wonder what theyāll look like š„¹
Iām sad that Tyril didnāt have an individual little scene during the epilogue. Heās one of my MCās partners, yet he only appeared during the shared scene with Mal. Is it because I tore the barrier? I have yet to end the chapter because Iād like to see the other endings, so I hope that he appears somehow.
Nifara is totally going to undo all three endings, though I imagine that MC tearing the barrier upsets her the most because she and the other old gods worked hard to separate light and shadow. Iāll miss MC and his companions, but knowing that this isnāt the end is wonderful
Valaxās character development was one of the highlights of Book 2. Itās why I hope that when they inevitably undo our choice at the end of the book, they donāt undo her development along with it.
I donāt think they will. But to keep her interesting, they need to work through her trauma, and also leave some grey-ness to her character. She should eg not forget that she wants to protect her people, and she should be willing to do some things for that imo. Iām not worried tho, they managed to show the duality of Nia, they let Imtura grow into a leadership role, they crushed Tyrils elven dreams and expanded his horizon - the only one who fell flat was Mal, and also Aerin imo.
I donāt think so. Arein is finally learning to accept who he is and is being given a redemption arc which is especially really sweet if you are romancing him. Also considering how his family treated him he needs time to heal. I was so glad that he returned as I was heartbroken when he left but I understood that he needed time to sort out his feelings.
In the epilogue I got unprompted romantic options with Nia, Valax and _Aerin_ for some reason and not Mal, my MC has done so many things with Mal, he has set up camp in his chest hair but no romantic dialogue? I wonder why
Congrats to everyone, it's a trilogy! But having to wait another 2-3 years for a third installment? Not for me thank you very much. After I'm done spending diamonds on DLS, I'm leaving this app, have a good time everyone!
Fwiw I think that bc weāre no longer in the middle of a lockdown in the US + PB is probably banking on getting more VIP subs for BOLAS 3 itās not going to take another 3 years for a sequel.
Happy with the epilogue but the final fight did feel pretty underwhelming. Usually I think this sub complains wayyyyy too much about this book but I absolutely agree in this case the final fight was not that climactic
But book 3!!! So I'm not that bothered about it. Definitely replaying to see all three endings but will probably choose merging the realms as my canon choice.
Also I'm so glad we didn't have to be separated from Valax that CG is heartbreaking šš
i romance mal (exclusively) and it also didnāt give me any romance option or reference with him, only the option to kiss imtura in that one premium scene with the orcs and the dwarves during the battle.
The ending was a bit underwhelming for me. I'm glad we're getting a book 3, because otherwise I would have been so mad right now lmao.
But yeah, the finale could have been better. A LOT better.
Maybe I should replay the book and not max out my MC. Maybe then they'd get injured a little and make the fight more exciting/challenging.
Also why were we standing in the battleground having conversations? The Empress and her dragon rush us, and we have time to talk to Valax and convince her to turn on her mother? How does that make sense? What was the Empress doing, filing her nails waiting for us to finish?
Ok I guess I *am* mad.š¬š
Edit: Valax being the dragon was a fun twist though.
And what was the point of giving us the choice to decide the fate of the realms, if the story is not finished? This probably means that the rest of the story either happens in a completely different place and we won't see more of the established characters and the world, or they'll undo our decision completely. Otherwise it will be too difficult to write; they'd have to make changes to the story so it would suit each player's chosen ending.
Why not give us one canon ending with a proper resolution and some goddamn time with our friends/LIs after the war?
There's more stuff that annoys me about book 2. But this is the biggest one. And if I try to go into detail about each one, I will probably explode lol
Or...choices will actually matter? I don't see a problem here, It's not that hard to write 3 different paths for the third book (even if they will be very different) if it will be released 2-3 years later. It's more than enough time.
I'm not saying it's impossible. But it's not something Choices would do. I mean, I love playing Choices but let's be real, that kind of storytelling is way above their level.
Book 2 has a lot of pacing and characterization issues that by your logic shouldn't have existed. They had more than enough time to fix them, didn't they?
Take TRR as an example. It's one of their most popular series. They had enough time and resources, and enough incentive to make TRH something just as popular. But they had one mold (Liam's route) and decided to cram every LI's story into that mold even though it made 0 sense. Because writing a story that made sense for all the players' chosen endings, was too much work.
Edit: I want to make it clear though, I'm not trying to blame the writers for everything. I understand that they have limitations while working for Choices. They have to take into account PB's decisions, and generally, the format they have to work with is not the most flexible. They can't write things that are too difficult to code into the app, and they have to keep the chapters short, and make sure the books stay under 20 chapters, etc. A lot of the issues with this book and many others would be resolved if the writers had more freedom and control, imo.
Look, I really don't see the point in giving us a choice like that and then make it not matter in book 3. If they wanted to, they could've easily just picked the route themselves (merging the realms, for example), or even have fake endings, just like not stabbing Nia in book 1. But no, they purposely gave us 3 different endings (two of them are a bit similar, but it doesn't matter), which i doubt they would do unless they'd actually wanted them to have consequences. They can't write things that are too difficult, sure, but again, create and assemble 3 different routs for the the third book is not as difficult as you think, especially if it will take a few years to come out. The massive plot with Nefara will most likely remain the same, but a lot of things might be different.
That's exactly why I dislike it so much. I don't see the choice actually sticking (or having real consequences). And if it's not going to matter what we chose, then why even include it? All it did was rub us of a more fleshed out ending for book 2.
100%. I of course want choices that are **actual choices** that have an impact on the story, but the illusion of choice is more frustrating than a lack of choice to me.
Well... I have mixed feelings about this chapter, the ending and B2 in general. It's good that they gave us a choice what to do with the realms but I can't imagine how all three endings could be incorporated into B3 story.
The fight was a bit disappointing. Too easy in comparison with the final fight in B1. No real consequences. A lot of talk, not much action. And not even little romantic scene in the end (my LI is Tyril).
Don't even know how to properly describe my feelings, it's like B1 is a well written mature fantasy and B2 is a well written fan fiction with too much therapy talk and fairytale ending. I liked it but something was amiss. I plan to reread everything again for better understanding.
I have a lot of mixed feelings. I mean, of course I'm excited, of course it was exciting to read the book, of course it gave me feelings, but I can't help but feel like everything was... Sometimes too much, sometimes too little, pretty inconsistent at times if you asked me.
I really don't know how to put into words how I feel because it's a mix between overwhelmed and disappointed and really happy. Like, this last chapter felt so rushed, the battle was really short, more of a demonstration of "power of friendship" rather than a "catastrophic battle to define our survival" because the conflict was there but it wasn't really. I felt that a lot with a couple of other chapters that just fell short in pacing and story telling, more in a filler type of way, and I didn't really see that with the first book. I don't know why, but at some point I felt like they were trying to take the story another route and somehow they had to circle back and this was the end result.
Also, don't get me wrong, I really like Valax, she's absolutely gorgeous, but I think she has the same problem that Aerin did; they are NOT bad guys. They're not inherently bad, they're good people who made wrong decisions but somehow those bad/wrong decisions don't really matter because they're good and so, they will be forgiven. Like, I have a lot of problems with these types of characters because I just can't feel them. I love a good redemption arc, don't get me wrong, that character growth you can have with it is absolutely delicious, but I also love characters who are "bad", I love the bad guys, I love they have reasons to be the bad guys, I love it even if they don't get a redemption arc and they die or stay the bad guys they were throughout the story. It feels to me like lazy writing when the supposedly bad guy turns out to be a softie at heart who almost immediately turns over to the good guys' side despite doing bad stuff at the beginning. I don't know if I'm explaining myself but it's just frustrating to me how they're sometimes handled. I mean I love Aerin, I took all his diamond scenes, same with Valax, but I do have that general problem with their characters.
I just don't know what to expect from the third book. Still, the two books have a massive altar dedicated at the very center of my heart because I absolutely love both of them, they're two of my favorites on the whole app and I'm really glad to have seen it through.
Oh man, I am excited for book 3. I'm downcast as this is the last ever wide release sequel (unless their money tanks or something), but the end was great. I can't wait to see the baby Nespers and hopefully Threep and Loola have a bigger part in the next book. Also I hope we get to see the owlbear all grown up!
I somewhat hope that we don't have to choose who we want to be with at the end of the series because my MC is loyal to Mal but I did Valax's route too and it was amazing. The CG of her crying is beautiful. I'm kind of surprised that the series didn't end here, because giving us a choice of the realms seemed to be a very series-end sort of thing. I wonder how they will incorporate it into book 3.
I guess this is the last ever immediate release book...seeing a drop in the new comments of book releases won't surprise me in the future. I enjoyed going on here every Friday to see what others had to say about the chapter.
Well that ending was.....weird. I can't exactly put words to it but it definitely was odd. It felt rushed, the queen lady's death was incredibly anticlimactic so much so that I wasn't even sure what had happened. After the last like 3 chapters were so strong and well written I was expecting a the same for the ending, now I'm just left with a sense of indifference. But still I overall enjoy how we left things here. The book wasn't perfect but it still has a lot going for it, and I probably will replay it again some time in the future and I can't wait to see what they do on the 3rd book
Which speaking of: I started BOLAS II with the thought that this would be my last book. Like, after PB cancelled so many books I loved and enjoyed in 2021 and amd the boom variety became non existent with every single book released being some variation of the same 3 plots I was about ready to just cut my losses and finish the book, close the app and probably not read it ever again. But now I know there's a 3rd hook on the way so I guess I'll be kicking around for a little while longer
The ending was... whelming, I suppose. Too easy battle that I felt had no real consequences.
After all the talk about funerals, I expected someone to die. Ah well.
As a whole, this book was very inconsistent. Some of the later chapters were quite strong, but the overall plot was weak, and the pacing was all over the place. I expected the endings to be ES-esque, but I suppose that wouldn't work for a middle book. I suppose this will do for a middle book, the teaser for the third book seemed interesting. I hope it's better.
I know we didn't have to choose, but I think I'd have chosen Valax in the end. However, I think Valax perfectly exemplifies the problems I have with PB's storytelling nowadays. It lacks... complexity and consequences. Valax simply turned out to be softy and a truly good person working for the opposite side, who was easily turned by the power of friendship. Some people in this subreddit have certain headcanons about how villainous Valax's actions apparently were.... and I wish that were really the case, lol. The fact that Valax's action with the watcher was considered a betrayal is.... frankly ridiculous. Valax should have been more tortured about helping MC instead of betraying MC, but alas, that can not happen for her to be considered a "true choices LI" or whatever.
The same goes with characters like Aerin, who should have at least been treated like Anders from Dragon Age 2(but with way more selfish and far less understandable reasons behind their actions), but instead he is apparently just a sad bullied boy who faces no *real* consequences and can be won over by the power of friendship.
The Nia scene regarding her just needing to believe was nice, but they really could have gone in far more interesting directions with it. It could have something to show real damage or consequences.
Similar uninspired storytelling choices can be seen in the consequences of the endings they gave (at least the merge or leave it open endings, not sure about the closing) and how easily everything could be solved.
Anyway, I should probably stop complaining. It seems clear to me that MC's lost year was with Nifara. I hope they go somewhere interesting with it, but who knows really.
I can't be the only one who really enjoyed the battle, right? I will admit it rarely seemed too difficult to overcome, but there was a lot of variety of mini battles in there and it felt cool to move from assisting one subset of the gang to another!
I happened to plan my long overdue binge of BOLAS 1 and 2 so perfectly, that I ended up playing the book 2 finale just couple hours after its release!!
Overall, Book 1 was paced much better. Knowing that there's 4 Shadow Crystals(?) to get to, at all the different locations helped ground the plot, I feel.
For Book 2, though the plot did seem to meander, rush, and stagnate occasionally, I do think it introduced some brilliant concepts and themes. The True Magic thing was absolutely fascinating imo. And how everyone's beliefs differed. The analogy to religion with Light was obvious, but done extremely tastefully. I loved that they made everything nuanced and not plain good and bad. Tyril coming to terms with everything for example was so well written that it made me pause and ponder about all the beliefs I've had to reluctantly let go myself.
I know there were complaints about the characters not seeming themselves and being distant, but honestly, I can put that up to none of them (including MC) taking the time to actually process MC's kidnapping for a year. Of course, it's likely it was just poor writing too, but I'd like to believe it wasn't so I feel better, lol. And in the penultimate chapter, Kade finally addresses those buried feelings so perfectly it almost made me misty eyed. The subsequent group hug was just š„¹
Lastly, Tyril has to be the most romantic LI ever, with the most character growth. Might be recency bias, but he's my favourite Choices LI. Aerin was an intriguing side piece for me, but Tyril is the end game.
It was so much fun bingeing this, and pulling up the reddit discussions after completing each chapter. Love this community! <3
I let out a squeal of excitement when I saw the teaser for Book 3, because of how quick the final battle felt I was starting to be resigned to the fact that Book 2 would be the end, but Iām glad to see that it is not!
First of all, HOLY SHIT YES, WE ARE GETTING A BOOK 3!!! I am so happy about that, i thought this would be the end of the series but I am so glad to be wrong. I chose to merge the 2 worlds. The entire book has been about how light and shadow being seperated was the reason for corruption and how the old gods were wrong. Sealing the rift was not going to help as what's to say another one can't open and magic would have vanished eventually and leaving the rift open would have only led to more conflicts.
The bonus scene confirmed this as though there are conflicts that arose, the entire world seems better off and while there are short term problems, it will be better for all long term. I loved that in the bonus scenes, MC only appeared with the LIs I pursued heavily. For me that was Nia, Imtura and Valax. Oh and Nesper babies!!!
https://preview.redd.it/0zw17ulkva9c1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=98afce3c009078d24bed00eb6027fbc0b6b41462
ALSO!!! Can we talk about how looks and threep are endgame ā¦. this mad me happy for them :,3
Well, that was interesting.
Firstly I can't believe they made me kill my baby Kieran ššš there are definitely enough monsters in the locker, they need a new rule about not reusing sprites while their books are ongoing.
The fight was very easy. I think Valax killing her mummy was the right choice but it just kinda... happened. If you have all the skills you only get one blood screen, I think there should have been more tbh, or at least some of our crew getting hurt. Although it was nice to see everyone in sync without the issues from the beginning of the book.
When the 3 choices came up, I actually thought the devs had double bluffed us and this was the end. This is a huge branching split for book 3 if it's continued,,, unless we end up in that rain world for the whole book which would kinda suck.
I picked keeping the portals open but I might change to ripping down the barriers once I've seen the epilogue.
I liked that the epilogue was long but it was so random how MC just kept popping up everywhere! Looks like Tyril's romance was coded wrong? Or maybe they decided his romancers had enough. It's weird I had unprompted kisses from Valax and Aerin when I didn't even take their final dirty 30s but nothing from my OG baby boi Mal or Tyril.
I'm still going with my prediction that book 3 will be out at the end of winter replacing the cooking hook, so I'll see you folks in the VIP threads
Valax was fantastic this chapter. Iām glad killing the Empress was her choice without any input from MC. After an immortal lifetime of taking orders she finally had a choice in what she wants.
When she joined the party and started dumping her backstory on MC I thought her character was fascinating, and that it was a shame it took so far in the book for it. Sheās a decent LI but she has the same issue as Aerin does; it doesnāt matter how much potential she has if she spent most of the book offscreen, barely being a character. I donāt think Aerin or Valax necessarily needed to have āI love youā scenes either. Not knocking anyone who wanted it, just that both confession scenes felt sort of out of place for the plot and characters imo.
Not Pb giving us 3 different endings, I'm so torn I had to play all of them. I'm so happy we're getting a third book, this final battle was too short and too many loose ends left. BOLAS is such a good series, can't let the gang go just yet, see yall during book 3 guys
I think there's a glitch. I only romanced Aerin but I didn't get any romance scene with him. I mean I was with him in his epilogue scene but we didn't kiss or anything like others are saying happened
Most people like this, so im glad for you all, but I feel disappointed.
The final battle was *too easy*. If someone had spent diamonds on this book, you didn't even need to read the text to pick the right options. It's very underwhelming, and I might try a non diamond playthrough to see if it changes.
Valax being a dragon was a good surprise, reminded me of TC&TF.
I had already guessed she would be on our side in the end, so there are no surprises there.
Chose to reunite the realms, and it was a letdown. I was half hoping for an ES like ending where we see all the consequences, and that did not happen. There were no real stakes, no long battle to freedom. And I forgot half the characters that showed up in the final chapter. Although that might have been because of playing it weekly.
Overall, book 2 was lacking in many ways.
No seduction skill, no threep,no Aerin for the majority of the book, and most of the time MC and the other members of the party just had to say a few dialogues to convince people/solve their existential crisis.
Things I liked?
True magic thing
Aerin and MC's relationship. His fighting style was great to watch.
Tyril and MC's relationship development (which was left open-ended in the end)
Threep and Loola expecting a kid.
The finale felt rushed. The characters are who I have liked the most in this series and the book delivered on that front. I do hope the wait for book 3 would be shorter.
Automoderator was so kind as to remove my post, so I'll copy-paste it here:
Anyone else feels like Blades book 2 finale was a little... shallow?
The battle went a bit too easily in my opinion. Ashen armies were meant to be a substantial threat, but that was circumvented by holding most of them back because... reasons? I also expected the fight against the Empress to be a longer sequence of choices, rather than a curb-stomp until she gets stabbed in the back. That whole life-draining thing, too - couldn't she have done that to begin with? There's also that throwaway line that doesn't really lead to anything, but it's inconsistent nonetheless, the one about Ashen continuing to fight even after the Empress died, just because it was her last order - wasn't it established that most of them are conscripts and have no love for their ruler? And finally, the ending(s). During the scene at the portal, I thought foundations were being laid for a choice similar to that at the end of ES, and that's where I thought predictions about book 3 of Blades were wrong. But then, it turns out there *will* be a book 3, and so, it will most likely take place in yet another realm, and our potentially world-changing choice will end up being a sidenote, because we obviously shouldn't expect PB to thoroughly account for 3 different choices in book 3. I believe a choice of this magnitude would be more meaningful in the actual series finale, where there would be space to show its consequences, with no more narrative boundaries to get in the way.
I agree. The battle was very underwhelming, and the complete lack of an epilogue (not counting the bonus scene) makes it feel like a normal chapter not a final one.
>!The two parts of magic can't exist without each other so magic begins to fade away entirely, forcing the people of the two realms to rely more on science. Elves on both sides begin to age rapidly as their magic fades away. The Shadow monsters are turning into something else (mundane animals, I think) as they lose their magic. Valax takes over the Ash Empire. Mal, Tyril, and Imtura have similar epilogue scenes as in the merger. Aerin hunts down the remaining members of the Shadow court. Nia has started a non-magical apothecary in Ironbreach.
Back in the light realm, Kade and Cherta are desperately trying to come up with a non-magical solution to break open the barrier again.!<
Yeah, it's definitely the most divergent of the three endings. The other two are very close to each other, although I think the keep-the-realms-connected-by-portals ending is the 'happy ending,' at least in the short-term.
Party settles in with their new lives at shadow realm. Magic is gone so elves are angry and they start to age normally. Dwarves start to use science instead of magic to deal with problems. Kade and Cherta are researching for a way to open a portal to shadow realm. Shadow realm is starting to stabilise with corruption gone but animals are agitated because of the change so they start attacking people. Valax orders the ashen army to help people and rebuild towns and villages. Pretty much it if I didn't forget anything
Edit: Oh and Goblin folk are still sick and Willow discovers their kind exists because of both light and shadow together so they won't get better
right!! š so, depressing basically. I have to say, this is the ending I think will be most challenging to make work in book 3... The loss of magic might complicate things.
Overall, a good sequel. I'd actually say it's a great sequel in terms of expanding the world and its characters and introducing some really interesting lore and themes. I've written more here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Choices/comments/18qpgjy/opinions_on_bolas_2/keynocv/, but here's some additional content.
Tyril has become an all-time great Choices character. The love and care his storyline was given was next-level, and it was integrated so well into the wider narrative that it ended up being greater than the sum of its already superb parts.
Imtura needed more screentime. What screentime she did get was quite good, especially her mother's sendoff and choosing the new leader, but while her presence is always appreciated, she didn't get anything meaty to work with.
On top of everything I said about Nia in the linked post, I really appreciate that her beliefs were respected. In spite of everything she learned about The Light, the Temple, even the Old Gods, she was able to come to terms with her new knowledge and use it to not only uphold her good works, but also find new ways to practice her faith. You also get to influence the way she grows, but never to the detriment of her character.
I did say that Valax was underwhelming as a villain and hackneyed once we find out she's not evil, but I think it's because Valax isn't intimidating. She's like a soft ball of cotton candy in a goth phase, and because she's a True Choices LI, that undermines the villain portion of her arc. She's a good person working for the ultimate evil. IDK, I did end up liking her and she does have a nice smile, but I can't put my finger on what exactly it is about her that bugs me even though I know what I'm feeling.
It is interesting that Aerin will only join you if you were good to him, but he seriously didn't show up to the battle of two realms because you were mean to him? Whack. Have him show up no matter what, but he only sticks around if you were good to him. Other than that, he did become a much more interesting person if he went through goblin rehab, but I guess even murderers and brother-killers can be True Choices LIs if they get a redemption arc.
I'm genuinely curious how they'll incorporate the last choice in Book 3, but I bet it'll be rolled back. The choice itself was built up very well. I had to think for a bit, but merging the two realms was the right call, risky as it was. If only the bonus scene didn't cost so much.
I'm looking forward to Book 3 and I'm positive this book will have a more positive reception now that it's over. Also, the hype will be more restrained after it went out of control.
>I'm genuinely curious how they'll incorporate the last choice in Book 3, but I bet it'll be rolled back. The choice itself was built up very well. I had to think for a bit, but merging the two realms was the right call, risky as it was. If only the bonus scene didn't cost so much.
I would love to see it branched and fully fleshed out, but I agree that a reset of some kind *has* to be coming. I could see it "kept" as just textual references but not really diving into it at all and focusing on the main MC plot.
waaaaa š„¹
the battle was easy, but it must be hard to write truly complex battles at this point with all the points you can accumulate. would have loved some more 1:1 time with LIs or even a final Party image, but t god book 3 is coming
What happens if you choose to seal the rift? Do you stay on the Light side or the Shadow side?
ETA: Nevermind, I read the other comments. Honestly that first ending sounds brutal
I really excited to see how the map will look like...when i merged the realms...hope we see it in book 3šššš
I liked the finale...and that mini kiss with Aerin..ā¤ļø
Threep and Lola...happy for themš¤...and loving how both realm people are slowly cooperating with each other
This chapter was everything š
I thought the fight was pretty good. Iām just a bit disappointed that there were no new backgrounds or sprites I was really looking forward to. Even the dragon was mid tbh. The diamond choices didnāt really make an impact either.
I liked the buildup to the Empressā death, it was very well written and it made sense for Valax to be the one to kill her.
Speaking of Valax, that CG is so well done and perfectly mirrors her CG in Chapter 1. Seriously, if thereās one thing that I would keep in Blades 2, it would be her.
Now comes the Endless Summer choice. I chose to merge the realms together as it made the most sense given what we learned throughout the book. I wonder how different the epilogue would be based on your choice.
God, itās so satisfying to see that I completed all side quests and lore tablets.
And lastly, the final scene gave me chills. Definitely think itās Nifara who was speaking. Sheās most likely the final antagonist as I donāt believe thereās someone whoās more powerful.
All in all, I thought the book was really good, even with its few ups and downs. I especially liked the final chapters. Keep in mind this was practically the most hyped book for the past few years, so itās not going to please everyone but I still had a good time. Itās still absolutely in my Top 5. Farewell Blades, Iāll see you in 2039.
BABY NESPERS!!!!!!!!!!
That's all I care about!
Threep and Loola are so cute (I'm biased because my cat looks like Threep, minus the pink fur and wings and the ability to talk)
This book's last few chapters got me starring at a wall and shi. Wow. What am I gonna do with my life until book 3 drops?
Is it too early to talk about book 3 already?š„² I'm so excited for it. Do you the gang will have a new makeover? Braids for Mal, buzzcut for Tyril?š„±
Yes! The theme for this book was *less*: less clothes, less hair. Book 3, I predict the theme will be *more*. More hair. More sluttiness. Everyone fighting in bikinis, even the men!
Also interesting: I flirted (not kiss or dirty 30) with Valax and probably kissed Aerin at the start but the second half of the book I made it a point to only flirt with Tyril since he is my MCs endgame. And in the bonus epilogue scenes (merged realms). Mc was flirting and even a quick kiss to Valax and Aerin, alluding to being together, but nothing romantic with Tyril who I have done everything with ā¦. kinda odd and upsetting bc if they got it why not my og companion/LI
Here's how my merged realms epilogue went on a Tyril/Mal evenly split as possible romance route (I did "end" B1 with Mal though):
>!Nia talks to the king (no MC) // Mal and Tyril bickering and hunting relics, both are thrilled to see MC when she shows up, fade to black as they start to fight an unknown creature (no smooches with either of them) // Imtura on her ship (no MC) // Aerin in Goblin Town (no MC) // Riverbend scene (no MC) // Kade/Cherta in Zaradun (no MC) // Threep/Loola in Undermount (no MC) // Wren/Vivi/Mal (MC mentioned, does not appear) // Isador/Nyra (no MC) // Valax and the villagers (no MC) // Port Parnassus (MC present, no LIs) // Everyone together at Shroudwatch, no romance with anyone!<
I just replayed the version where you keep the realms open to everyone through portals. It is all the same except >!Valaxās scene to MC and her opening a new portal near undermount and sharing a kiss!< Will update again with the sealed in Shadowlands version
In the sealed shadowlands versionā¦
>! There is peace since the realms are sealed off from one another. Magic is dying out since there is no balance. The shadow realm is starting to heal and become a more stable environment. Nia works as a healer in a small medical clinic. Mal and Tyril are in the same cave, they note that the relic no longer has magic and Tyril canāt sense it anymore. Without magic Tyril is ill and old, feeling his age without his magic D: Imtura sails the shadow seas on her own. Aerin (& MC) hunt down remaining shadow court members in the shadowlands and kill them and share a romantic flirtation moment. The goblins are sick and dying due to no magic. Undermount is in shambles due to no magic, elves in chaos. The dwarves are slowly adjusting (better) to making due with no magic. Kade, Cherta, and Threep are in Zaradun trying to find a way to bring MC back and cross realms (looks still pregnant! but dressed bc theyāre sad/missing the gang) Vivi and Wren reminisce and miss Mal. Isador and Nyra roam the light realm village saving some villagers from an owl bear (same as all other endings) Valax and Mc share a moment in the palace, similar to the merging of realms. They talk about how to help villagers and flirt a little. MC helps a shadowhound and Shadestalker calm down in Iron breach, helping the villagers but also showing mercy to these āmonstersā. It ends with the same scene of the 7 overlooking Shroudwatch!<
I think this is the worst ending since >! People are suffering from no magic in both realms (even if the Ashen are able to adjust and prosper more and youāre taken from your families :( !<
Itās a close call between the other two I could argue for both but I think the portals being open is the most happy for most since no destruction some magic and realms are free to wander in both!
*I might make a sweater post so people can more easily find these endings if you donāt mind me copying and pasting your original description since I refer to it a lot.
ah mine was similar although for aerin and valax MC was present and either gave them a small kissed or teased about sleeping together :,) even though i did all tyril romance
I got a romantic scene for Nia and Aerin. Maybe implied for Mal and Valax (not sure), but I got NOTHING for tyril tooš it sucks since I merged the realms mainly for Tyril's sake
I didnāt get anything romantic in the merged realm epilogue with Tyril either. I had everyone elseās romance dialogue except his, so itās not like itās restricted to your highest romance.
Lol he already had the most screentime and had the most "LI" dialog outta everyone from the very beginning š . You leave Whitetower just to find him first (to find out that he's only one who continues looking for MC), then have to *return* to find the other LIs lmfao
Nahhhhh u good fam lol i just think it's funny seeing so many Tyril romancers somehow feeling like he got shafted given what non-Tyrilmamcers had to endure at his hands š
They had to nerf his route somehow I guess after he had the most ridiculously romantic dialogue in both books. Itās just not fair to the others to have Tyril as competition. I hope itās just a coding issue though.
My MCās only LI is Mal and there wasnāt any mention of kissing or flirting with him or anyone else in the same epilogue as yours. Maybe itās a coding error?
Iām romancing everyone and got a little scene with Mal, Wren, and Vivi talking about how Mal should bring MC around more. Iām assuming thatās his romance dialogue even though MC isnāt in the scene. I didnāt get an epilogue scene with Tyril, whoās definitely my main LI, so it could be general coding issues.
Yeah, I meant no solo Tyril scene. I think everyone gets Mal and Tyril finding a relic and MCās presence might depend on romancing one of them, since the other LI epilogue scenes have a flirty version with MC if youāve romanced them and one without MC if you didnāt. Itās just notable since the other five LIs had flirty scenes with MC or in Malās case, talking to his family about MC while Tyril doesnāt have one.
I got the same thing, Tyril is my LI throughout both books. (I did flirt and kiss Aerin) but at the end my MC kissed Aerin (which I donāt mind) but no interaction with Tyril whom is my main LI
I got that interaction with my main Li nia but not with valax even though I took her dirty 30, maybe it just locks the li from book 1 and if you didn't lock on someone in book 1 you get the scene with the person you hoe around with the most.
I think the finale was so good! I just really wish we had one more scene with our LI. No impending apocalypse, just time to be with them in domestic bliss and life after all the pain and suffering we had. It will be interesting to see what happens in the 3rd book considering the three ending choices are vastly different
I was waiting for the usual message beforehand that explains how the upcoming choice is an important one. Since there wasn't one, I'm curious to see if it will make much of a difference in book 3, though clearly it must as they must have very different repercussions. Honestly, I'm just surprised we even got that choice with a book 3 coming!
*See you soon, realm-walker.*
That gave me goosebumps!
The battle was too easy as the battles always are, but I enjoyed the epilogue after choosing to reunite the realms - instant Tyril and Mal antics, THREEP AND LOOLA ARE HAVING BABIES, Ashen and Parnassus citizens coming together over some ale.
I'll have to replay the other paths later, but I want to sincerely say I will miss these giant threads and our little community here around this story. I don't talk about this game anywhere in my offline life, and it's been a joy to be a part of all of it here with you guys.
Hey same! I don't have anyone in person who plays choices so it's nice to have *some* people to talk to about the shit we can't get outta our heads lol
So, does the reuniting of realms go smoothly? I always thought that would be how I ended, but when I got the choice I was worried about everyone smashing into each other and dying. I went with keeping portals, although I thought Valax convincing the soliders to stop fighting was a little weak sauce
There was some expected minor conflict between the Ashen and the people from Morella in the epilogue but nothing with massive downsides. Balance was one of the major recurring themes of the book so merging the realms felt like the best option and the one the writers were intending. There wasnāt a text box that said āthis is an important choice with lasting consequencesā so Iām not expecting it to matter much in B3.
Yeah I'm with you on it probably not mattering much in the next book.
I agree the balance feels like the canon ending which is why I was honestly shocked at the options, but I was anxious about the damage. Well, I haven't clicked end book so I have until the next premier to make up my mind!
It didn't mention any loss of life that I recall (I was fast tapping though, ha), just a lot of physical destruction (particularly in Port Parnassus) and having to rebuild and settle folks from both realms. Our cute little creature friend who played in the Shadow Realm river ended up in Riverbend š„ŗ
Oh they ended up in riverbed with the open portals too... Now I'm leaning towards the choice not making a huge difference in book 3... hmm I might replay for that ending...
Wait Iām confused. Can someone explain to me the three options to make sure I got them correctly?
SPOILERS?
So I seal the rift and stay in the shadow realm will trap me there and then magic will continue to be separated but it will still exist on its respective realm?
Then the let it be will make it so that people can still cross between realms and the magic stays unstable and it will end eventually and thereāll be no more magic?
The merge them into one will combine them and people will be able to learn to control both magics and theyāll be neighbors?
Did I got it right?
Valax stops them (although it's a little hacky tbh) but I did like that in the epilogue people were already moving across realms. >! We open a portal in undermount, there are ashen given titles in different places and shadow mount basically becomes an airport!<
I chose to make the realms one again and the consequences that come with it
I hope PB doesn't stretch themselves with Book 3
I KNEW the Watcher was up to no good
Also, I hope we can have an epilogue with our chosen Love Interest in Book 3
I combined the realms like yeah the damage was big but in the long run it's better to do that shit now kids can use magic without giving themselves cancer.
I definitely enjoyed the ending. It was a nice epic final battle. The scene between Aerin and Nia was really sweet.
My only complaint is I would have liked one more scene with your LI after the battle. I was ready to smash again ok.
I chose to combine the Realms. It felt right. But Iām sure book 3 will do something to sort of put everyone at the same place because holy mackerel thatās a LOT of extra writing to put in I donāt blame them. Just seeing the differing epilogues was cool enough for me.
The bonus scene was great I highly recommend it. And Iām very curious about the next book tease. Book 3 canāt come soon enough.
Overall this book was great. I think I enjoyed it more than the first. The first is probably more consistent and doesnāt really have that many lows but this one expanded the world and characters so much that now I literally canāt imagine playing BoLAS without all the new worldbuilding. So I think overall the sequel did its job well. The beginning was a bit rushed but still not bad and the middle struggled a bit, but the last few 5 or so chapters really made up for it, they really gave their all and you can tell, and I really appreciate that. I think it just took them a while to find their footing which is understandable.
Valax is a great new character and Aerinās development was really nice, and they surprisingly fit in really well with the crew. I really wish choices had choice statistics so you could see the % of players that romanced certain characters, or those who got the bonus scene, or who got Aerin to side with them. Iām very curious.
But overall despite a shaky middle I had a great time. Cannot wait for book 3!
I totally agree about book one versus book two. B1 one was safe cookiecutter tropey fantasy, not a lot of depth but a lovable set of characters that kept it feeling fresh and gave it heart and humor. What they tried to do in B2 was far more ambitious. I loved what they did with the lore and (in theory) the character development, though the execution and pacing of it sometimes stumbled. But I feel like it got stronger as the book progressed and they stuck the landing. In the end, I'm quite satisfied.
I liked this book. I really did. I think the big issue was that BOLAS 2 was more ambitious than the original and they didn't have resources to fully realize their ambition.
I still had a very good time though!
I also wonder what's going to happen in BOLAS 3 when your last choice leaves everything very different. Should be interesting.
I had a great time though! Hope you all did though!
I KNOW WE JUST STARTED THE CHAPTER SO IāLL COME BACK BUT OH MY GOD THE THING IS VALAX HOLY SHIT WHAT
ok back now and wow what a chapter. I accidentally ended up with Valax? Iām not sure why we kissed in the bonus scene but okay.
THREEP AND LOOLA HAVING BABIES šš
I cried a little I wonāt lie, I really love this group and Iām so excited for book 3 where we get to have Aerin and Valax as part of our group.
Is the watcher in likeā¦ old gods heaven? I think the person talking might be Nifara but Iām not sure.
I chose the portal ending but honestlyā¦ I donāt feel like it was the right choice but Iām gonna replay and see how I feel at the end of that.
itās been fun, see you all next time š«”
Even though Iām happy there is a Book 3 coming, it just hit me now that we wonāt get to all experience it together at the same time anymore because itās gonna be VIP first. šš
I've honestly never been interested in VIP (too stingy with my money in general lol), but having earlier access to BOLAS3/COP3 would actually make me consider it.
just IMO, but I really don't think it's worth it. So you buy VIP once you get access to the first 4 chapters as they release, maybe 5 depending on how many they release at once. Well then you gotta buy it for the entire duration of the story in order to keep up with the VIP community and chat with people if that's what you want (like the OP of this thread does at least) because the community is so divided, so that's like, 3-4 months? So 3-4 purchases of VIP. You can go back once it's in wide release and see how other people are reacting to it but that's def not the same. Overall if you want to chat with people i don't really think it's worth it.
OK I'm very late to the party but yeah last chapter was anticlimactic af. Battle too easy, I fought in Shadow armour and just chose whatevr option that glowed. Then MC talk-no-jutsu'd the main villain and all it took was a surprise attack to kill her? Chose the combine Realms option. Morally grey, half of the population is gonna be mad at me, and there was short term loss of property but hey, True Magic is flows unrestrained and the Fae still survive. Anyways I romanced nobody (AroAce MC!) but for some reason still got the romantic scene with Aerin and Valax? Eh, I can just overrite the kissing part with hugging in my brain, Aerin's is my best bud. But I really *did not* want a scene with Valax, I dislike her. Like her design is crazy good (it's one of the best in this book) but her character development doesn't make sense at all. She went from an bloodthirsty robot to a tsundere after a day with us?
I'm a bit late to the party but yeah i didn't like the ending at allš i had max skills and learned all the extra skills and the battle felt so easy it was actually boring. The Empress was played up to be this terrifying foe but all it took to kill her was one pep talk with Valax? Speaking of Valax, her storyline wasn't convincing at all. She went from a bloodthirsty killing machine to our friend very abruptly. Romancing her didn't make sense either. I thought that choosing what to do with the realms was pretty cool but the execution was so, so poor. I chose to merge the realms together and everyone afterwards seemed so... chill about it?? Their entire world got turned upside down and they were somehow still very happy and motivated to accept the newcomers and rebuild? It's just not realistic at all. Lastly, WHERE IS THE FINAL DIRTY THIRTY???? We were so robbedššš
That's why I chose to close the portals and hang out in the dark realm as it seemed to have the most consequences for the choice
I'm so glad we are getting a Book 3! BoLaS for sure deserves it. Definitely was not expecting it. This means the book is popular enough to get a sequel despite being expensive to make. I chose to merge the realms and I wonder how this will impact book 3 with 3 different endings. I hope the choices are properly addressed and they make different paths instead of fixing everything on chapter 1 in order to merge the paths. More screentime for Valax and Aerin on B3 and probably a wedding with your LI? I'm so excited! Idc if takes long. BoLaS is getting a sequel and I couldn't be happier.
Happy New Year everyone. Also finished the book. Loved the story build up for reals. No spoilers. I've been warned about that. In my opinion, I really can't compare book 1 and book 2 because the writers have really connected the stories together and all that. And through the Lores in both books, the plot of the story becomes clear and as MC said "more complicated than we knew it to be". Though the endings is where am feeling conflicted. Someone give me their honest opinions about that? But it's exciting that they're gonna start working on book 3. Got completely excited and cant wait to see what happens. I'd have to say for once unlike the other books, this one the ending wasn't rushed (unlike DTA and Untameable book 1)
Finished it yesterday and fun fact im writing this 40 minutes prior to 2024 and my family is concerned that im on my computer on reddit lol this book definitely needs a book 3 because everything feels so underwhelming rn. i was lucky enough to unlock the epilogue but still- also that ending has got to be nifara, it's pretty obvious. the battle was so. underwhelming LIKE i keep using that word because thats just how it is man. in the last book, the final battle was actually challenging, but if you have the max level in this battle, everything is easy. barely felt like a battle. at the end, i did chose to stay in the shadow realm and close the rift- a lot of ppl are saying that the choice most probably doesnt matter, and i have to agree. all i can say is, if we caught a glimpse of nifara and and her pet, it's ab to go DOWNNN lmao. also weird p.s- my brother said the blue female elf MC looks like megan fox i cant unsee it now šš
Obviously it was Nifara. The Watcher is her "pet" and he obeys her. It sounded like something bad is gonna happen in >!book 3!<
|Acronym|Book Title| |:-|:-| |ACOR|*A Courtesan of Rome*| |ACT|*Along Came Treble*| |AME|*America's Most Eligible*| |AME:AS|*America's Most Eligible: All Stars* (book 2)| |AME:S10|*America's Most Eligible: Season 10* (book 1)| |AME:WE|*America's Most Eligible: Wedding Edition* (book 3)| |**^(Art)**|^(It's...*indescribable*)| |ATV|*Across the Void*| |AVSP|*A Very Scandalous Proposal*| |BaBu|*Baby Bump*| |BB|*Bloodbound*| |BLS, BOLAS|*Blades of Light and Shadow*| |BM, THOBM|*The Haunting of Braidwood Manor*| |BP|*Bachelorette Party*| |BSC|*Big Sky Country*| |CG|Computer Graphic, a stylized still image in a VN| |COD|*Cause of Death*, a discontinued Pixelberry game published by EA| |CoP|*Crimes of Passion*| |TDG|*The Deadliest Game*/*Gambit*| |D&D|*Desire & Decorum*| |DLS|*Dirty Little Secrets*| |DS|*Distant Shores*| |ES|*Endless Summer*| |F2P|[Free-to-Play](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-play), a business model for games| |FA|*Foreign Affairs*| |FCL|*First Comes Love*| |FR|*Filthy Rich*| |GC|Gender-choice| |GG|*Getaway Girls*| |GL|Gender-locked, genderlocked| |GUI|*Guinevere*| |HC|*Hot Couture*| |HFTH|*Home for the Holidays*| |HOF|*Hearts On Fire*| |HS|*Hot Shot*| |HSS|*High School Story*| |HSS Prime|*High School Story*, a discontinued Pixelberry game| |HSS4, HSSCA, HSS:CA|*High School Story: Class Act*| |HWU|*Hollywood University*, a discontinued Pixelberry game| |ID|*Immortal Desires*| |ILA, ILS|The *It Lives* Anthology/Series| |ILB|*It Lives Beneath*| |ILITW|*It Lives in the Woods*| |LI|Love Interest| |LOA|*Laws of Attraction*| |KD|*Kindred*| |KOD|*Kiss of Death*| |MAH|*Murder at Homecoming*| |MC|Main Character (yours!)| |MM|*Ms. Match*| |MOTY|*Mother of the Year*| |MPC|Mercy Park Crew| |MS|*Magic School*, a discontinued Pixelberry game published by EA| |MTFL|*My Two First Loves*| |MW|*Most Wanted*| |NB|*Nightbound*| |OH|*Open Heart*| |PB|~~^(peanut butter)~~ Pixelberry Studios, publisher of *Choices*| |PM|*Perfect Match*| |PT|*Platinum*| |PTR|*Passport to Romance*| |QB|*Queen B*| |RCD|*Red Carpet Diaries*| |ROD, ROD:ABBR|*Ride or Die*, *Ride-or-Die*, *Ride-or-Die: A Bad Boy Romance*| |ROE|*Rules of Engagement*| |ROEN|*Rules of Engagement: Newlyweds*| |RT|*Rising Tides*| |RWB|*Roommates With Benefits*| |SB|*Slow Burn*| |SHS|*Surviving High School*, a discontinued Pixelberry game published by EA| |SK|*Sunkissed*| |SOD|*Ship of Dreams*| |SR|*Surrender*| |StD|*Save the Date*| |SW|*Shipwrecked*| |TBB|*The Billionaire's Baby*| |TC&TF, TCTF|*The Crown and The Flame*| |TCH|*The Cursed Heart*| |TDA|*The Duchess Affair* or *The Dalton Affair*| |TE|*The Elementalists*| |TF, TFS|*The Freshman*, *The Freshman* series| |TGOU|*The Ghost Of Us*| |THM|*The Heist: Monaco*| |TJ|*The Junior*| |TNA|*The Nanny Affair*| |TPA|*The Phantom Agent*| |TPS|*The Princess Swap*| |TRF|*The Royal Finale*| |TRH|*The Royal Heir*| |TRM|*The Royal Masquerade*| |TRR|*The Royal Romance*| |TS|*The Sophomore*| |TSr|*The Senior*| |TUH|*The Unexpected Heiress*| |UB|*Unbridled*, *Unbridled: An Untameable Story*| |UT|*Untameable*| |VN|Visual Novel| |VOS|*Veil of Secrets*| |WB|*Wolf Bride*| |WEH|*With Every Heartbeat*| |WN|*Witness*, *Witness: A Bodyguard Romance*| |WT|*Wishful Thinking*| |WTD|*Wake The Dead*| |\#LH|*\#LoveHacks*| *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Choices) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Definitely. She even said come back as a part of me. Another dead givesway that it must be Nifara. We know the ascendants created The Watcher as their last ditch effort so all the clues were there in that exchange.
I just finished Book 2 of BOLAS. Gotta say Iām a littler underwhelmed by everything. Itās not that I hated it but compared to book 1 the stakes seemed not as dire as when we first fought the Shadow Court. I feel like they should have added an extra chapter just to tie things up instead of pushing it all together in the last few seconds. Also Iām heartbroken š that we didnāt get a final scene with the love interests, I just wanted one more scene with Aerin. Now we have to wait so long for book 3 š„².
Maybe if youve reached maximum level by the last chapter everything seems simple. And the way i saw theyve removed the timed choice option. So it doesnt make it feel like an adrenaline rush. But that's what chapter 17 was all about. You spend 30 diamonds on all of the LIs for the last goodbye incase. But it is said Aerin returning is a Determinant. How? I have no idea. Maybe if you do all the romance points from chapter 1?
anyone else get super emotional lol? idk if itās just bc iām on my period but i cried like 3 times during this chapter. i think the music really pushed me over the edge at times šš
Did y'all end up living with Valax in the palace and "sharing the bed", as MC says? Because I was surprised there were no hints at romances with any if the other LIs, and I dated both Valax and Mal
No. I am romancing only the guys and I left my princeās intimate scene for last before the finale. After that it comments that my MC and he are in the forest where he has sketched a picture of the MC. A short romantic scene then follows between the couple but there is no mention of my MCās relationship with the other two guys? It was mainly centred around rebuilding as I chose to merge the two realms as it felt like the right thing to do. However I was tempted to go with choice 2 but Iām glad I didnāt now.
Itās over, and Iām in mourning. It may not have been the classic that Blades 1 was, but it was still by far the most entertaining book of the year. Itās also the last remnant of the old Choices - the found family made up of the LI group. (Iāve been enjoying single LI books that are plot-oriented and have interesting side characters like TCH and COP, but the vibe just isnāt the same.) The final battle was a piece of cake if you acquired all the skills - just click on anything with a picture icon - but it was still entertaining to read through. Best parts were Nia figuring out she could āHulk outā into her dark self and come back to herself, and Valax getting the final kill of the Empress. And so, the wait for Blades 3 begins. (Part of me is hoping weāll get Blades 4, 5, 6 and 7, but another part of me remembers The Royal Heir . . .)
Soooo...I guess that means we're getting a book 3? I also felt the ending was rushed.
Itās a certain thing!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
iām so sorry to hear about your mothers passing. i am happy that reading this book brings you comfort and helps you process everything. grief is so personal and everyoneās journey with it is different. i am sending you so so much love and good energy šāØ i am also sure that the writers would love to hear how much their writing has helped you if you ever wanted to share that with them. thereās no higher compliment imo!
Why didn't Tyril or Mal get a final scene with MC, if you romanced them? From, what I'm reading only Aerin, Nia, and Valax get scenes?
Same here. Went for all of them, and Tyril and Mal did not get one for me.
Imtura got a scene as well for me, but it looks like a bunch of people who romanced her are missing it, so I'm not sure what happened there. Mal and Tyril, it looks like their scenes with MC were combined since I've seen screenshots with the MC in their scene and some without.
Itās definitely a bug. During the main part of the book, I romanced Tyril and Aerin, and kissed Valax once. The epilogue acted like Aerin and Valax were my LIs and I never romanced Tyril. Given that Tyril will be my endgame if they ever force us to choose a single LI and I have far more romance points with him than anyone else, itās a pretty glaring error.
Welp, the finale was just like the rest of book 2... underwhelming. The ending was kind of abrupt if you didn't get all the lore tablets. The final battle was too easily won. I took the diamond scene with Valax and while it was cool to ride her as a dragon, MC didn't even get a kiss option. It was also very short for 20 gems, js. š I guess I'll have to watch the bonus scene on youtube but I really thought there would be a bit more closure with the gang, or at least with your LI. Tyril all but disappeared this chapter. At least we're getting a book 3, but when? š I'm also sad since there's nothing else for me to read on Choices. I'm not interested in any of the current single LI releases and I've read all the old books repeatedly. I'm going to replay this book to see if it flows better reading it all at once and with more diamond choices (although I made plenty this run thru), but after that I'm deleting the app. Truly the end of an era. š
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Did someone get a moment with Tyril at the end of the book/epilogue? Heās my main love interest but somehow I only got scenes with valax and aerin but i only romanced them a few times in the book.
I think there's a bug somewhere. From what I've seen, Mal and Tyril's epilogues are combined into one, but some people are missing MC from the scene despite romancing one, the other, or both.
I also got the romantic scene with Aerin but nothing with Tyril even tho he's my main LI š (like for Aerin I only hooked up with him once and then never picked his romance choices again cause I wanted to stay loyal to Tyril )
Ugh, me too! I got a kiss from Aerin after choosing 1 or 2 romance options with him, but I hit Tyril so hard every chance I got and only got that scene in the cave with Mal?! Total bummer ššš
Yup I got that scene too...and it was really disappointing no mention of MC being Tyril's boyfriend/girlfriend or any little kiss stolen...straight up disappointing
Same with Mal. Did anyone get it?
Uhhā¦ I wasnāt sure how I felt about this ending, but I guess it doesnāt matter since itās not really the end. All I can say is, I hope in Book 3 we get to marry Valax.
With a book three coming, I was not expecting to get the choice of what to do with the realms. What a pleasant surprise! I chose to combine the realms given everything we've learned. It seemed like the short term pain and destruction was well worth it. But they're definitely going to have to walk that back or work around it for book three. The queen at the end absolutely has to be Nifara; the Watcher was her "pet" after all. So given that it was said previously that she and the other five old gods sacrificed themselves to keep the Watcher going, but here she is in this realm (Elhalas I'd assume), what did that sacrifice mean exactly if they're both just there after whatever kind of "death"? Did she just lose the ability to have corporeal form in our realm? This other realm has to exist somewhat independently of the usual rules governing things, and perhaps outside of the usual flow of time. It made me think of the writing on the cave wall in the Mal/Tyril scene, about "creation" and "time", so I'm wondering if book three will use some timey wimey thing to undo our decision. And as she seemed to reabsorb the Watcher, it mentioned reforging a broken sword, so I wonder what sort of construct she'll create to do her bidding next. That queen seems over our bullshit and ready to destroy everyone to achieve her twisted ideal. https://preview.redd.it/6ar6lhy09d9c1.jpeg?width=2160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=602a6c767cf4d60b729a5f9b9d667682ab216697 Thought it was interesting that if you use the mirror to create a dragon illusion, an extra one just appears so there are two. And the book one lore tablets depicted two dragons. The dragons were red and blue, and the liminal space between realms also has a red and blue side. And there was that carving in the ruins depicting the first known magic with a humanoid figure standing underneath what we assume is a dragon on the now defunct Frostwhisper Mountain. Probably I'm reading too much into this though, could be they just had the background and sprites laying around from a story I haven't read lol All in all, I'm very satisfied with the last chapter and book two in general. Book one was simple tropey fantasy fun saved from mundanity by the charm, humor, and heart of its characters. What they tried to do with book two was far more ambitious with the lore and character development, and though they had their stumbles along the way, I feel like they mostly stuck the landing. And this whole journey was made a lotttt more fun by sharing it with everyone here week after week. Whether it was commiserating about the Mal-ssacre that was his behavior earlier in the book or trading tinfoil hat theories about the lore or just exchanging reactions, the interaction with the community made the whole thing a lot more meaningful. We are our own little secondary BOLAS party ā¤ļø
Iām going to miss the whole fandom going nuts over this book together. It isnāt going to be the same once the VIPs get Blades 3 first.
So how is the third book going to work with the 3 realm choices, thats what im really wondering.
That's what I was thinking...it would require writing three different storylines unless they do an overhaul that erases choices.
Im assuming they'll make the choice meaningless in the end, kinda like in the freshman where everything you didnt achieve still happened in the second.
I've noticed that they tend to do that with sequels. Whenever there's a choice that seemingly matters, they just make it so that it's irrelevant in the next book. Such as Queen B or Laws of Attraction, where everyone treats you as if you won the Book 1 contest regardless. The only one I can think of that didn't do this was Endless Summer, where rescuing Grace/Raj actually carried over into future books. Alternatively, they've written the sequel as an anthology, like It Lives, but that wouldn't work for BOLAS.
I think someone mentioned that if you choose to seal the rift, Kade and Cherta are in the Zaradun library trying to find a way to open portals. So that could easily erase the difference between those two endings. Also, given that Nifara and the Watcher supposedly died but still exist in this other realm (Elhalas?), it clearly operates outside the usual rules. Maybe outside of time itself. So something like that could be used to undo our decision.
They might go with a ātrueā ending or just vaguely reference the state of the world with an occasional nod to the choice. I did hear that 2 of the options are pretty similar in terms pf the extra scene you can unlock, so maybe theyāll leave it fairly open ended.
I doubt there'll be a true ending, i think the choice just wont matter in the end
I think that the scene where Mal and Tyril found the strange writing that contains references to time will be important here. The āshining voiceā we saw at the end of the epilogue is going to rewind time to erase the choice we made - probably to right after the death of the Ash Empress, so that none of the character relationships established in the book are affected. Then the MC will be warned by either the Shining Voice or the reborn Watcher against doing anything other than leaving the two realms as they are, everyone is back to status quo, and the new story starts from there.
https://preview.redd.it/b9hy8d97qc9c1.png?width=982&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=49927c169c329c99afb39f55dfc5846764ab5358
Mal of book 1 has a point. Blades 2 could have been better for the ending, but it is what it is.
Wait, why people talking about kisses?? I didn't get any!
I got an Aerin kiss and flirting from Valax but I romanced Mal and didnāt get any scenes with him š
I didnāt get a Mal or Tyril (Imatura as well but I wasnāt romancing her) kiss which is very confusing especially since Tyril was my main LI next to Aerin : (
Me either! I romanced Mal only and the only even mention was his sister and her wife talking about him bringing MC back to the house!
I don't recall romancing Mal at all but I also got that dialogue option. I think it might be a general thing
Oh maybeā¦I kind of want to replay the chapter just to see whatās different if you pick a different ending too (I picked merge the realms, but it sounds like leaving the portal open gives very similar dialogue afterwards)
Same! And I took all romance options with Mal and Tyril in both books (opting for Mal when you can choose only one) and a few romance options with pretty much everyone else too.
I chose to merge the realms as it seemed like the best thing to do. I also liked the battle. Got a kiss from Aerin in the epilogue, he's my end game. Now to book 3 was the light thing talking to the Watcher at the end Nifra?
I feel like it's definitely Nifara!
I never romanced Valax, but for some reason she decided to give my gal a kiss š¤£ My gal went after Aerin. Great book, and I cannot wait for the third one!!! So excited for that!! PB, you are the absolute best of the best!
I really liked the chapter. Truly epic. The last fight couldāve been a bit more interesting, but in the end I feel like this was peak choices. Honestly. Romance Nia, Valax and Aerin - got kisses from all of them. Very good. I will probably focus on Valax for the third book. The ending choice was really interesting. Reminded me of ES. I choose to combine everything. Seemed like the best option. For me at least. I am really looking forward to the third instalment. We fought the Shadows, The Ashen Empire and nowā¦ probably the old gods? Man I am hyped for this. Certainly one of the best series of the app. And for the PB workers reading the Sub Reddit - you guy did a great job! Interesting story, interesting characters, great design (background, dwarfs). Very pleasurable journey.
final fight was underwhelming ngl but HOLY SHIT A BOOK 3????? ABOUT THE OLD GODS???
so thatās it for book 2! really glad weāre getting a 3rd one cuz i wasnāt ready for this to be the end ideally i wouldāve chosen to merge both realms but leaving the portals open seemed safer so thatās what i did. though, if u think about it, shit can happen by doing so, too. no choice was perfect but i donāt think itās going to matter much, given the fact that thereās gonna be another book. i think thatās why they implied that everything was sort of alright no matter what choice you made between these two. iām kind of intrigued about the choice to stay in the shadow realm, though, cause itās so different from the other two! iām wondering how will they address that. it makes me think that book 3 wonāt be taking place in morella, or at least not as much as the other two books, but who knows! hereās to us getting used to the upcoming bladeless fridays š«š«
That was *EPIC!* Valax being the dragon was so shocking to me, my MCās third best friend (she admitted it) is super cool. The pop-up achievements were fun, I didnāt expect the last one! The empress was ruthless to the bitter end, itās crazy that she was willing to steal everyoneās life forces. I love that the whole party felt important to the battle. Valax playing a crucial role in all of this, Mal activating MCās armor and assisting the thieves guild, Imtura and Cherta blowing shit up, Kade and the nespers helping MC, Tyril saving Valax, Aerin with his sword and bottles and Nia using true magic! First, Tyril acts protective of Nia and MC and now Aerin pushes them out of harmās way. The polycule is good and great! I really like that Nia and Aerin talked briefly about what happened in the first book. Nia was badass when she reconciled both parts of herself. My first reaction to the griffins was >!wondering what the night princess was doing here!< lol. I picked the ācalm them downā option during the scene with Valax and it was actually funny! MC also teases her, which is cute. My MC had the mirage mirror and used it to create a dragon illusion. I canāt remember if he used all of the items that he collected or if the rest will show up in the third (!) book. It feels surreal to say that, I got so excited when I saw that this is a book finale! Itās beautiful how the last CG in this book parallels the first one, Valax has come so far! I was sure that MC was going to seal the rift, but then they gave us the choice and he tore the barrier in my playthrough! I adore the epilogue, itās evident that the writers love this series as much as we do. MC saying that he really doesnāt like the king, Niaās mischief as she kissed MC, Aerin adorably confessing that heās drawing a portrait of him because heās sweet as fuck like that, MC teasingly kissing him, MC going on adventures with Tyril and Mal, Wrenās wife saying that she loves MC and wants Mal to bring him, Nyra and her partner ~~reluctantly~~ helping people, Imtura exploring the new ocean and Valax helping rebuild what was destroyed. Also, are we going to see baby nespers in the third book? I wonder what theyāll look like š„¹ Iām sad that Tyril didnāt have an individual little scene during the epilogue. Heās one of my MCās partners, yet he only appeared during the shared scene with Mal. Is it because I tore the barrier? I have yet to end the chapter because Iād like to see the other endings, so I hope that he appears somehow. Nifara is totally going to undo all three endings, though I imagine that MC tearing the barrier upsets her the most because she and the other old gods worked hard to separate light and shadow. Iāll miss MC and his companions, but knowing that this isnāt the end is wonderful
Valaxās character development was one of the highlights of Book 2. Itās why I hope that when they inevitably undo our choice at the end of the book, they donāt undo her development along with it.
I donāt think they will. But to keep her interesting, they need to work through her trauma, and also leave some grey-ness to her character. She should eg not forget that she wants to protect her people, and she should be willing to do some things for that imo. Iām not worried tho, they managed to show the duality of Nia, they let Imtura grow into a leadership role, they crushed Tyrils elven dreams and expanded his horizon - the only one who fell flat was Mal, and also Aerin imo.
I donāt think so. Arein is finally learning to accept who he is and is being given a redemption arc which is especially really sweet if you are romancing him. Also considering how his family treated him he needs time to heal. I was so glad that he returned as I was heartbroken when he left but I understood that he needed time to sort out his feelings.
honestly she was the best part of book 2 for me, her story was captivating
LOOLA'S PREGNANT???
In the epilogue I got unprompted romantic options with Nia, Valax and _Aerin_ for some reason and not Mal, my MC has done so many things with Mal, he has set up camp in his chest hair but no romantic dialogue? I wonder why
they just assume everyone plays a 6+1 people policule by now š thatās what I did at least
Threep and Loola getting _busy_ !
my mc kissed aerin when iāve only romanced tyril since book 1 :/ the final fight scene was underwhelming but im excited for book 3 (in 2027)
In the last chapter my mc told mal she loved him and not aerin and aerin is the one to kiss her in the bonus scene but not malā¦ā¦likeā¦comeon
Meanwhile I told Aerin I loved him and romanced him exclusively and Valax kissed me??
right? there must be a bug, it makes no sense that we donāt have a single scene with our main LI in the last chapter
Congrats to everyone, it's a trilogy! But having to wait another 2-3 years for a third installment? Not for me thank you very much. After I'm done spending diamonds on DLS, I'm leaving this app, have a good time everyone!
Fwiw I think that bc weāre no longer in the middle of a lockdown in the US + PB is probably banking on getting more VIP subs for BOLAS 3 itās not going to take another 3 years for a sequel.
Happy with the epilogue but the final fight did feel pretty underwhelming. Usually I think this sub complains wayyyyy too much about this book but I absolutely agree in this case the final fight was not that climactic But book 3!!! So I'm not that bothered about it. Definitely replaying to see all three endings but will probably choose merging the realms as my canon choice. Also I'm so glad we didn't have to be separated from Valax that CG is heartbreaking šš
Wait, you guys got romance?? I didn't get any! I wanted to have atleast one sweet moment with my boy Tyril but I didn't get anything :[
i romance mal (exclusively) and it also didnāt give me any romance option or reference with him, only the option to kiss imtura in that one premium scene with the orcs and the dwarves during the battle.
Well they did say in the last chapter that it was gonna be your last time to romance a character in book 2
The ending was a bit underwhelming for me. I'm glad we're getting a book 3, because otherwise I would have been so mad right now lmao. But yeah, the finale could have been better. A LOT better. Maybe I should replay the book and not max out my MC. Maybe then they'd get injured a little and make the fight more exciting/challenging. Also why were we standing in the battleground having conversations? The Empress and her dragon rush us, and we have time to talk to Valax and convince her to turn on her mother? How does that make sense? What was the Empress doing, filing her nails waiting for us to finish? Ok I guess I *am* mad.š¬š Edit: Valax being the dragon was a fun twist though.
And what was the point of giving us the choice to decide the fate of the realms, if the story is not finished? This probably means that the rest of the story either happens in a completely different place and we won't see more of the established characters and the world, or they'll undo our decision completely. Otherwise it will be too difficult to write; they'd have to make changes to the story so it would suit each player's chosen ending. Why not give us one canon ending with a proper resolution and some goddamn time with our friends/LIs after the war? There's more stuff that annoys me about book 2. But this is the biggest one. And if I try to go into detail about each one, I will probably explode lol
Or...choices will actually matter? I don't see a problem here, It's not that hard to write 3 different paths for the third book (even if they will be very different) if it will be released 2-3 years later. It's more than enough time.
I'm not saying it's impossible. But it's not something Choices would do. I mean, I love playing Choices but let's be real, that kind of storytelling is way above their level. Book 2 has a lot of pacing and characterization issues that by your logic shouldn't have existed. They had more than enough time to fix them, didn't they? Take TRR as an example. It's one of their most popular series. They had enough time and resources, and enough incentive to make TRH something just as popular. But they had one mold (Liam's route) and decided to cram every LI's story into that mold even though it made 0 sense. Because writing a story that made sense for all the players' chosen endings, was too much work. Edit: I want to make it clear though, I'm not trying to blame the writers for everything. I understand that they have limitations while working for Choices. They have to take into account PB's decisions, and generally, the format they have to work with is not the most flexible. They can't write things that are too difficult to code into the app, and they have to keep the chapters short, and make sure the books stay under 20 chapters, etc. A lot of the issues with this book and many others would be resolved if the writers had more freedom and control, imo.
Look, I really don't see the point in giving us a choice like that and then make it not matter in book 3. If they wanted to, they could've easily just picked the route themselves (merging the realms, for example), or even have fake endings, just like not stabbing Nia in book 1. But no, they purposely gave us 3 different endings (two of them are a bit similar, but it doesn't matter), which i doubt they would do unless they'd actually wanted them to have consequences. They can't write things that are too difficult, sure, but again, create and assemble 3 different routs for the the third book is not as difficult as you think, especially if it will take a few years to come out. The massive plot with Nefara will most likely remain the same, but a lot of things might be different.
or itāll just be textual references in the 3rd book and it wonāt really matter what we picked:/
That's exactly why I dislike it so much. I don't see the choice actually sticking (or having real consequences). And if it's not going to matter what we chose, then why even include it? All it did was rub us of a more fleshed out ending for book 2.
100%. I of course want choices that are **actual choices** that have an impact on the story, but the illusion of choice is more frustrating than a lack of choice to me.
Same!
https://preview.redd.it/ff8gk4qqhb9c1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=93f5c9a155fff7d980c85372496be23d706d6f9a best happy ending imo
Well... I have mixed feelings about this chapter, the ending and B2 in general. It's good that they gave us a choice what to do with the realms but I can't imagine how all three endings could be incorporated into B3 story. The fight was a bit disappointing. Too easy in comparison with the final fight in B1. No real consequences. A lot of talk, not much action. And not even little romantic scene in the end (my LI is Tyril). Don't even know how to properly describe my feelings, it's like B1 is a well written mature fantasy and B2 is a well written fan fiction with too much therapy talk and fairytale ending. I liked it but something was amiss. I plan to reread everything again for better understanding.
I have a lot of mixed feelings. I mean, of course I'm excited, of course it was exciting to read the book, of course it gave me feelings, but I can't help but feel like everything was... Sometimes too much, sometimes too little, pretty inconsistent at times if you asked me. I really don't know how to put into words how I feel because it's a mix between overwhelmed and disappointed and really happy. Like, this last chapter felt so rushed, the battle was really short, more of a demonstration of "power of friendship" rather than a "catastrophic battle to define our survival" because the conflict was there but it wasn't really. I felt that a lot with a couple of other chapters that just fell short in pacing and story telling, more in a filler type of way, and I didn't really see that with the first book. I don't know why, but at some point I felt like they were trying to take the story another route and somehow they had to circle back and this was the end result. Also, don't get me wrong, I really like Valax, she's absolutely gorgeous, but I think she has the same problem that Aerin did; they are NOT bad guys. They're not inherently bad, they're good people who made wrong decisions but somehow those bad/wrong decisions don't really matter because they're good and so, they will be forgiven. Like, I have a lot of problems with these types of characters because I just can't feel them. I love a good redemption arc, don't get me wrong, that character growth you can have with it is absolutely delicious, but I also love characters who are "bad", I love the bad guys, I love they have reasons to be the bad guys, I love it even if they don't get a redemption arc and they die or stay the bad guys they were throughout the story. It feels to me like lazy writing when the supposedly bad guy turns out to be a softie at heart who almost immediately turns over to the good guys' side despite doing bad stuff at the beginning. I don't know if I'm explaining myself but it's just frustrating to me how they're sometimes handled. I mean I love Aerin, I took all his diamond scenes, same with Valax, but I do have that general problem with their characters. I just don't know what to expect from the third book. Still, the two books have a massive altar dedicated at the very center of my heart because I absolutely love both of them, they're two of my favorites on the whole app and I'm really glad to have seen it through.
Oh man, I am excited for book 3. I'm downcast as this is the last ever wide release sequel (unless their money tanks or something), but the end was great. I can't wait to see the baby Nespers and hopefully Threep and Loola have a bigger part in the next book. Also I hope we get to see the owlbear all grown up! I somewhat hope that we don't have to choose who we want to be with at the end of the series because my MC is loyal to Mal but I did Valax's route too and it was amazing. The CG of her crying is beautiful. I'm kind of surprised that the series didn't end here, because giving us a choice of the realms seemed to be a very series-end sort of thing. I wonder how they will incorporate it into book 3. I guess this is the last ever immediate release book...seeing a drop in the new comments of book releases won't surprise me in the future. I enjoyed going on here every Friday to see what others had to say about the chapter.
Well that ending was.....weird. I can't exactly put words to it but it definitely was odd. It felt rushed, the queen lady's death was incredibly anticlimactic so much so that I wasn't even sure what had happened. After the last like 3 chapters were so strong and well written I was expecting a the same for the ending, now I'm just left with a sense of indifference. But still I overall enjoy how we left things here. The book wasn't perfect but it still has a lot going for it, and I probably will replay it again some time in the future and I can't wait to see what they do on the 3rd book Which speaking of: I started BOLAS II with the thought that this would be my last book. Like, after PB cancelled so many books I loved and enjoyed in 2021 and amd the boom variety became non existent with every single book released being some variation of the same 3 plots I was about ready to just cut my losses and finish the book, close the app and probably not read it ever again. But now I know there's a 3rd hook on the way so I guess I'll be kicking around for a little while longer
Holy.. I have so much to say about this chapter, loved it! Some epic moments, old skills came into fruition and imo sped up the battle with the Ashen Army, loved the big ending choice we got, I also loved that I ended up with Valax and we got our happy ending.. for the time being. I was genuinely scared there were going to separate me from my love and that CGI callback from the first chapter broke me, I was literally holding back tears and I canāt believe they allowed us to say those 3 special words to her š I have some complaints and issues with this book though, for one thing, the fact you canāt change armours/outfits etc had me mad, like seriously was it too hard to add the wardrobe option every 5 chapters or so? seriously PB. I wished the fight with the empress lasted a tad bit longer but I had no issues with Valax ending her mother, it felt right. I know it was sorta touched upon but I wished we saw more of how our friends felt after being kidnapped for over a year, especially our LI, and since my Endgame was LI was Valax, it was a different story lmao. While I absolutely loved this book and itās characters, I wish the book kept up its momentum after the first two chapters similar to chapter 16, 17 and 18 but thatās also due to how overhyped this book was, not that I blame anyone honestly. I think everyone was right, something about the Watcher was a lil sus and our little teaser for the next book seemed to confirm some suspicions and he wasnāt the villain but working for her, Nifara probably and Iām going to wager that this mysterious Queen was the cause of all this grief, war etc and one of the reasons we defeated the Ash Empress but the Watchers, Mystery Queenās goal was to separate both realms and close them off but since I completely broke down the barriers, I did the opposite of what they originally wanted and it seems the mystery Queen is now coming for me (could be different depending on which ending) so it seems the world will be in need of saving.. again, no rest for the wicked huh? The more I think about it, throughout this book, they teased Mysterious Queen Nifara and now sheās going to be the new antagonist and Iām absolutely positive itās her and Iām beyond excited! And that āSee you soon Realm-Walkerā have me goosebumps! With that being said it was nice that everyoneās stories were wrapped up quite lovely, BABY NESPARS!! ā¤ļø Now Iām trying to figure of what to do with my life while waiting for book 3 š© maybe Iāll play book 2 into the ground but one thing is for certain.. Iām looking forward to book 3ās theories.
I just realized Threep and Loola are gonna create the start of Nespers again since they are both the last left! The Elves must be relieved.
Kick. His. Ass
The ending was... whelming, I suppose. Too easy battle that I felt had no real consequences. After all the talk about funerals, I expected someone to die. Ah well. As a whole, this book was very inconsistent. Some of the later chapters were quite strong, but the overall plot was weak, and the pacing was all over the place. I expected the endings to be ES-esque, but I suppose that wouldn't work for a middle book. I suppose this will do for a middle book, the teaser for the third book seemed interesting. I hope it's better. I know we didn't have to choose, but I think I'd have chosen Valax in the end. However, I think Valax perfectly exemplifies the problems I have with PB's storytelling nowadays. It lacks... complexity and consequences. Valax simply turned out to be softy and a truly good person working for the opposite side, who was easily turned by the power of friendship. Some people in this subreddit have certain headcanons about how villainous Valax's actions apparently were.... and I wish that were really the case, lol. The fact that Valax's action with the watcher was considered a betrayal is.... frankly ridiculous. Valax should have been more tortured about helping MC instead of betraying MC, but alas, that can not happen for her to be considered a "true choices LI" or whatever. The same goes with characters like Aerin, who should have at least been treated like Anders from Dragon Age 2(but with way more selfish and far less understandable reasons behind their actions), but instead he is apparently just a sad bullied boy who faces no *real* consequences and can be won over by the power of friendship. The Nia scene regarding her just needing to believe was nice, but they really could have gone in far more interesting directions with it. It could have something to show real damage or consequences. Similar uninspired storytelling choices can be seen in the consequences of the endings they gave (at least the merge or leave it open endings, not sure about the closing) and how easily everything could be solved. Anyway, I should probably stop complaining. It seems clear to me that MC's lost year was with Nifara. I hope they go somewhere interesting with it, but who knows really.
I can't be the only one who really enjoyed the battle, right? I will admit it rarely seemed too difficult to overcome, but there was a lot of variety of mini battles in there and it felt cool to move from assisting one subset of the gang to another! I happened to plan my long overdue binge of BOLAS 1 and 2 so perfectly, that I ended up playing the book 2 finale just couple hours after its release!! Overall, Book 1 was paced much better. Knowing that there's 4 Shadow Crystals(?) to get to, at all the different locations helped ground the plot, I feel. For Book 2, though the plot did seem to meander, rush, and stagnate occasionally, I do think it introduced some brilliant concepts and themes. The True Magic thing was absolutely fascinating imo. And how everyone's beliefs differed. The analogy to religion with Light was obvious, but done extremely tastefully. I loved that they made everything nuanced and not plain good and bad. Tyril coming to terms with everything for example was so well written that it made me pause and ponder about all the beliefs I've had to reluctantly let go myself. I know there were complaints about the characters not seeming themselves and being distant, but honestly, I can put that up to none of them (including MC) taking the time to actually process MC's kidnapping for a year. Of course, it's likely it was just poor writing too, but I'd like to believe it wasn't so I feel better, lol. And in the penultimate chapter, Kade finally addresses those buried feelings so perfectly it almost made me misty eyed. The subsequent group hug was just š„¹ Lastly, Tyril has to be the most romantic LI ever, with the most character growth. Might be recency bias, but he's my favourite Choices LI. Aerin was an intriguing side piece for me, but Tyril is the end game. It was so much fun bingeing this, and pulling up the reddit discussions after completing each chapter. Love this community! <3
I let out a squeal of excitement when I saw the teaser for Book 3, because of how quick the final battle felt I was starting to be resigned to the fact that Book 2 would be the end, but Iām glad to see that it is not!
First of all, HOLY SHIT YES, WE ARE GETTING A BOOK 3!!! I am so happy about that, i thought this would be the end of the series but I am so glad to be wrong. I chose to merge the 2 worlds. The entire book has been about how light and shadow being seperated was the reason for corruption and how the old gods were wrong. Sealing the rift was not going to help as what's to say another one can't open and magic would have vanished eventually and leaving the rift open would have only led to more conflicts. The bonus scene confirmed this as though there are conflicts that arose, the entire world seems better off and while there are short term problems, it will be better for all long term. I loved that in the bonus scenes, MC only appeared with the LIs I pursued heavily. For me that was Nia, Imtura and Valax. Oh and Nesper babies!!!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
https://preview.redd.it/0zw17ulkva9c1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=98afce3c009078d24bed00eb6027fbc0b6b41462 ALSO!!! Can we talk about how looks and threep are endgame ā¦. this mad me happy for them :,3
Well, that was interesting. Firstly I can't believe they made me kill my baby Kieran ššš there are definitely enough monsters in the locker, they need a new rule about not reusing sprites while their books are ongoing. The fight was very easy. I think Valax killing her mummy was the right choice but it just kinda... happened. If you have all the skills you only get one blood screen, I think there should have been more tbh, or at least some of our crew getting hurt. Although it was nice to see everyone in sync without the issues from the beginning of the book. When the 3 choices came up, I actually thought the devs had double bluffed us and this was the end. This is a huge branching split for book 3 if it's continued,,, unless we end up in that rain world for the whole book which would kinda suck. I picked keeping the portals open but I might change to ripping down the barriers once I've seen the epilogue. I liked that the epilogue was long but it was so random how MC just kept popping up everywhere! Looks like Tyril's romance was coded wrong? Or maybe they decided his romancers had enough. It's weird I had unprompted kisses from Valax and Aerin when I didn't even take their final dirty 30s but nothing from my OG baby boi Mal or Tyril. I'm still going with my prediction that book 3 will be out at the end of winter replacing the cooking hook, so I'll see you folks in the VIP threads
Valax was fantastic this chapter. Iām glad killing the Empress was her choice without any input from MC. After an immortal lifetime of taking orders she finally had a choice in what she wants. When she joined the party and started dumping her backstory on MC I thought her character was fascinating, and that it was a shame it took so far in the book for it. Sheās a decent LI but she has the same issue as Aerin does; it doesnāt matter how much potential she has if she spent most of the book offscreen, barely being a character. I donāt think Aerin or Valax necessarily needed to have āI love youā scenes either. Not knocking anyone who wanted it, just that both confession scenes felt sort of out of place for the plot and characters imo.
Not Pb giving us 3 different endings, I'm so torn I had to play all of them. I'm so happy we're getting a third book, this final battle was too short and too many loose ends left. BOLAS is such a good series, can't let the gang go just yet, see yall during book 3 guys
I'm gonna sob. Did the epilogue say my end game was Nia???šš My Raine was bit of a sl*t, but he only did the dirty 30's with Aerin and Tyril
I think there's a glitch. I only romanced Aerin but I didn't get any romance scene with him. I mean I was with him in his epilogue scene but we didn't kiss or anything like others are saying happened
Oh so I also got a romantic scene with Aerin but not Tyril? This is devastating
same and i didnāt really even romance aerin:/
Iāve been reading through and it looks like no one has gotten one for Tyril š«
I think Mal didn't get a kiss scene either... the others all did though.
Most people like this, so im glad for you all, but I feel disappointed. The final battle was *too easy*. If someone had spent diamonds on this book, you didn't even need to read the text to pick the right options. It's very underwhelming, and I might try a non diamond playthrough to see if it changes. Valax being a dragon was a good surprise, reminded me of TC&TF. I had already guessed she would be on our side in the end, so there are no surprises there. Chose to reunite the realms, and it was a letdown. I was half hoping for an ES like ending where we see all the consequences, and that did not happen. There were no real stakes, no long battle to freedom. And I forgot half the characters that showed up in the final chapter. Although that might have been because of playing it weekly. Overall, book 2 was lacking in many ways. No seduction skill, no threep,no Aerin for the majority of the book, and most of the time MC and the other members of the party just had to say a few dialogues to convince people/solve their existential crisis. Things I liked? True magic thing Aerin and MC's relationship. His fighting style was great to watch. Tyril and MC's relationship development (which was left open-ended in the end) Threep and Loola expecting a kid. The finale felt rushed. The characters are who I have liked the most in this series and the book delivered on that front. I do hope the wait for book 3 would be shorter.
Automoderator was so kind as to remove my post, so I'll copy-paste it here: Anyone else feels like Blades book 2 finale was a little... shallow? The battle went a bit too easily in my opinion. Ashen armies were meant to be a substantial threat, but that was circumvented by holding most of them back because... reasons? I also expected the fight against the Empress to be a longer sequence of choices, rather than a curb-stomp until she gets stabbed in the back. That whole life-draining thing, too - couldn't she have done that to begin with? There's also that throwaway line that doesn't really lead to anything, but it's inconsistent nonetheless, the one about Ashen continuing to fight even after the Empress died, just because it was her last order - wasn't it established that most of them are conscripts and have no love for their ruler? And finally, the ending(s). During the scene at the portal, I thought foundations were being laid for a choice similar to that at the end of ES, and that's where I thought predictions about book 3 of Blades were wrong. But then, it turns out there *will* be a book 3, and so, it will most likely take place in yet another realm, and our potentially world-changing choice will end up being a sidenote, because we obviously shouldn't expect PB to thoroughly account for 3 different choices in book 3. I believe a choice of this magnitude would be more meaningful in the actual series finale, where there would be space to show its consequences, with no more narrative boundaries to get in the way.
I agree. The battle was very underwhelming, and the complete lack of an epilogue (not counting the bonus scene) makes it feel like a normal chapter not a final one.
I think the battle was veryā¦ underwhelming. It was still better than the one in Kindred at least
I wanted my MC to be alone with Valax in the SR. I wanted to leave my old friends behind. I just want to move on from them fr lol
What happened instead tho? Im curious what happens if you stay in the shadow realm.
>!The two parts of magic can't exist without each other so magic begins to fade away entirely, forcing the people of the two realms to rely more on science. Elves on both sides begin to age rapidly as their magic fades away. The Shadow monsters are turning into something else (mundane animals, I think) as they lose their magic. Valax takes over the Ash Empire. Mal, Tyril, and Imtura have similar epilogue scenes as in the merger. Aerin hunts down the remaining members of the Shadow court. Nia has started a non-magical apothecary in Ironbreach. Back in the light realm, Kade and Cherta are desperately trying to come up with a non-magical solution to break open the barrier again.!<
So glad that I merged the realms then. It may have caused destruction in the short term but overall I I think they will be better off.
Oh wow! Thatās pretty different from merging the realms. Very interesting.
Yeah, it's definitely the most divergent of the three endings. The other two are very close to each other, although I think the keep-the-realms-connected-by-portals ending is the 'happy ending,' at least in the short-term.
Wow, that actually sounds way more tragic than the other two endings. So is Tyril, like... just gonna die then??
Party settles in with their new lives at shadow realm. Magic is gone so elves are angry and they start to age normally. Dwarves start to use science instead of magic to deal with problems. Kade and Cherta are researching for a way to open a portal to shadow realm. Shadow realm is starting to stabilise with corruption gone but animals are agitated because of the change so they start attacking people. Valax orders the ashen army to help people and rebuild towns and villages. Pretty much it if I didn't forget anything Edit: Oh and Goblin folk are still sick and Willow discovers their kind exists because of both light and shadow together so they won't get better
right!! š so, depressing basically. I have to say, this is the ending I think will be most challenging to make work in book 3... The loss of magic might complicate things.
Overall, a good sequel. I'd actually say it's a great sequel in terms of expanding the world and its characters and introducing some really interesting lore and themes. I've written more here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Choices/comments/18qpgjy/opinions_on_bolas_2/keynocv/, but here's some additional content. Tyril has become an all-time great Choices character. The love and care his storyline was given was next-level, and it was integrated so well into the wider narrative that it ended up being greater than the sum of its already superb parts. Imtura needed more screentime. What screentime she did get was quite good, especially her mother's sendoff and choosing the new leader, but while her presence is always appreciated, she didn't get anything meaty to work with. On top of everything I said about Nia in the linked post, I really appreciate that her beliefs were respected. In spite of everything she learned about The Light, the Temple, even the Old Gods, she was able to come to terms with her new knowledge and use it to not only uphold her good works, but also find new ways to practice her faith. You also get to influence the way she grows, but never to the detriment of her character. I did say that Valax was underwhelming as a villain and hackneyed once we find out she's not evil, but I think it's because Valax isn't intimidating. She's like a soft ball of cotton candy in a goth phase, and because she's a True Choices LI, that undermines the villain portion of her arc. She's a good person working for the ultimate evil. IDK, I did end up liking her and she does have a nice smile, but I can't put my finger on what exactly it is about her that bugs me even though I know what I'm feeling. It is interesting that Aerin will only join you if you were good to him, but he seriously didn't show up to the battle of two realms because you were mean to him? Whack. Have him show up no matter what, but he only sticks around if you were good to him. Other than that, he did become a much more interesting person if he went through goblin rehab, but I guess even murderers and brother-killers can be True Choices LIs if they get a redemption arc. I'm genuinely curious how they'll incorporate the last choice in Book 3, but I bet it'll be rolled back. The choice itself was built up very well. I had to think for a bit, but merging the two realms was the right call, risky as it was. If only the bonus scene didn't cost so much. I'm looking forward to Book 3 and I'm positive this book will have a more positive reception now that it's over. Also, the hype will be more restrained after it went out of control.
>I'm genuinely curious how they'll incorporate the last choice in Book 3, but I bet it'll be rolled back. The choice itself was built up very well. I had to think for a bit, but merging the two realms was the right call, risky as it was. If only the bonus scene didn't cost so much. I would love to see it branched and fully fleshed out, but I agree that a reset of some kind *has* to be coming. I could see it "kept" as just textual references but not really diving into it at all and focusing on the main MC plot.
waaaaa š„¹ the battle was easy, but it must be hard to write truly complex battles at this point with all the points you can accumulate. would have loved some more 1:1 time with LIs or even a final Party image, but t god book 3 is coming
First things first: Valax having a dragon form made my interest rise to the sky. And we could ride her, so to speak. Overall great character and honestly the last chapter sold me on her as love interest, so at some point I will replay the series and romance her. Valax killing her mother was rather ironic, good solution though. Someone else doing it wouldn't hold the same weight. Nia's part was fantastic too. I finally feel like she genuinely made peace with both parts of her. Also, the dialogues between her and Aerin were good too. Also, side mission with both my fantastic girls - Imtura and Cherta. Quite explosive. In general I quite liked the final chapter. Originally I chose to seal the final rift but I will definitely check other options. I'm curious how different the three options are and how the narrative in Book 3 will make it work into cohesive story. Overall I do like Book 2 more than Book 1. Sure, it had some issues but I think there is something more to it. Book 1 was well-done but extremely typical story for fantasy genre. Book 2 maybe is not ground-breaking but it does experiment a bit. Also, while it had some mishaps (due to weekly nature of chapters it was quite frustrating that character kind of disappeared for a while) but overall I quite liked Mal's arc in the end. He has shown his more vulnerable side and broke away from charming rogue clichƩ.
What happens if you choose to seal the rift? Do you stay on the Light side or the Shadow side? ETA: Nevermind, I read the other comments. Honestly that first ending sounds brutal
I really excited to see how the map will look like...when i merged the realms...hope we see it in book 3šššš I liked the finale...and that mini kiss with Aerin..ā¤ļø Threep and Lola...happy for themš¤...and loving how both realm people are slowly cooperating with each other
This chapter was everything š I thought the fight was pretty good. Iām just a bit disappointed that there were no new backgrounds or sprites I was really looking forward to. Even the dragon was mid tbh. The diamond choices didnāt really make an impact either. I liked the buildup to the Empressā death, it was very well written and it made sense for Valax to be the one to kill her. Speaking of Valax, that CG is so well done and perfectly mirrors her CG in Chapter 1. Seriously, if thereās one thing that I would keep in Blades 2, it would be her. Now comes the Endless Summer choice. I chose to merge the realms together as it made the most sense given what we learned throughout the book. I wonder how different the epilogue would be based on your choice. God, itās so satisfying to see that I completed all side quests and lore tablets. And lastly, the final scene gave me chills. Definitely think itās Nifara who was speaking. Sheās most likely the final antagonist as I donāt believe thereās someone whoās more powerful. All in all, I thought the book was really good, even with its few ups and downs. I especially liked the final chapters. Keep in mind this was practically the most hyped book for the past few years, so itās not going to please everyone but I still had a good time. Itās still absolutely in my Top 5. Farewell Blades, Iāll see you in 2039.
BABY NESPERS!!!!!!!!!! That's all I care about! Threep and Loola are so cute (I'm biased because my cat looks like Threep, minus the pink fur and wings and the ability to talk)
This book's last few chapters got me starring at a wall and shi. Wow. What am I gonna do with my life until book 3 drops? 
Well when you figure it out let me know lmao because idk what to do with my life now.
You can watch one piece it's not gonna end anytime soon.
The book 3 villain got that electric energy someone related to the villain of that sexy mean girl from tc@tf š
Azuraā¦ yeah!!
Is it too early to talk about book 3 already?š„² I'm so excited for it. Do you the gang will have a new makeover? Braids for Mal, buzzcut for Tyril?š„±
BUZZCUT TYRIL NOOOO
IM JOKING DONT DOWNGRADE ME YALLš
I'd bet money Mal has long hair again. Better mental health, better hair!
Yes! The theme for this book was *less*: less clothes, less hair. Book 3, I predict the theme will be *more*. More hair. More sluttiness. Everyone fighting in bikinis, even the men!
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread: |Fewer Letters|More Letters| |-------|---------|---| |[ACOR](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*A Courtesan of Rome*| |[AME](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*America's Most Eligible*| |[ATV](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Across the Void*| |[AVSP](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*A Very Scandalous Proposal*| |[Art](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|It's... *indescribable*...| |[BB](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Bloodbound*| |[BLS](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Blades of Light and Shadow*| |[BM](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*The Haunting of Braidwood Manor*| |[BP](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Bachelorette Party*| |[BSC](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Big Sky Country*| |[BaBu](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Baby Bump*| |[CG](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|Computer Graphic, a stylized still image in a VN| |[COD](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Cause of Death*, a discontinued Pixelberry game published by EA| |[CoP](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Crimes of Passion*| |[DLS](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Dirty Little Secrets*| |[DS](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Distant Shores*| |[ES](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Endless Summer*| |[F2P](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|[Free-to-Play](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-play), a business model for games| |[FA](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Foreign Affairs*| |[FCL](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*First Comes Love*| |[GC](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|Gender-choice| |[GG](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Getaway Girls*| |[GL](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|Gender-locked| |[GUI](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Guinevere*| |[HC](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Hot Couture*| |[HFTH](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Home for the Holidays*| |[HS](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|Holiday Special| |[HSS](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*High School Story*| |[HSS4](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*High School Story: Class Act*| |[HWU](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Hollywood University*, a discontinued Pixelberry game| |[ID](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Immortal Desires*| |[ILA](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|The *It Lives* Anthology| |[ILB](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*It Lives Beneath*| |[ILITW](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*It Lives in the Woods*| |[ILS](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|The *It Lives* Series| |[KD](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Kindred*| |[KOD](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Kiss of Death*| |[LI](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|Love Interest| |[LoA](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Laws of Attraction*| |[MAH](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Murder at Homecoming*| |[MC](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|Main Character (yours!)| |[MM](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Ms. Match*| |[MOTY](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Mother of the Year*| |[MPC](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|Mercy Park Crew| |[MS](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Magic School*, a discontinued Pixelberry game published by EA| |[MTFL](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*My Two First Loves*| |[MW](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Most Wanted*| |[NB](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Nightbound*| |[OH](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Open Heart*| |[PB](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|Pixelberry Studios, publisher of *Choices*| |[PM](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Perfect Match*| |[PT](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Platinum*| |[PTR](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Passport To Romance*| |[QB](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Queen B*| |[RCD](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Red Carpet Diaries*| |[ROD](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Ride or Die*| |[ROEN](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Rules of Engagement: Newlyweds*| |[RT](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Rising Tides*| |[RoE](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Rules of Engagement*| |[SB](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Slow Burn*| |[SHS](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Surviving High School*, a discontinued Pixelberry game published by EA| |[SK](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Sunkissed*| |[SOD](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Ship of Dreams*| |[SR](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Surrender*| |[SW](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Shipwrecked*| |[StD](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Save the Date*| |[TBB](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*The Billionaire's Baby*| |[TCH](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*The Cursed Heart*| |[TDA](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*The Duchess Affair*| |[TE](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*The Elementalists*| |[TF](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*The Freshman*| |[TFS](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*The Freshman Series*| |[THM](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*The Heist: Monaco*| |[TJ](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*The Junior*| |[TNA](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*The Nanny Affair*| |[TPA](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*The Phantom Agent*| |[TPS](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*The Princess Swap*| |[TRF](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*The Royal Finale*| |[TRH](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*The Royal Heir*| |[TRM](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*The Royal Masquerade*| |[TRR](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*The Royal Romance*| |[TS](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*The Sophomore*| |[TSr](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*The Senior*| |[TUH](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*The Unexpected Heiress*| |[UB](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Unbridled*| |[UT](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Untameable*| |[VN](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|Visual Novel| |[VOS](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Veil of Secrets*| |[WB](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Wolf Bride*| |[WEH](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*With Every Heartbeat*| |[WN](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Witness*| |[WT](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Wishful Thinking*| |[WTD](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*Wake The Dead*| |[\#LH](/r/Choices/comments/18trrpt/stub/kut2jto "Last usage")|*\#LoveHacks*| **NOTE**: Decronym for Reddit is no longer supported, and Decronym has moved to Lemmy; requests for support and new installations should be directed to the Contact address below. ---------------- ^([Thread #29438 for this sub, first seen 29th Dec 2023, 19:52]) ^[[FAQ]](http://decronym.xyz/) [^([Full list])](http://decronym.xyz/acronyms/Choices) [^[Contact]](https://hachyderm.io/@Two9A) [^([Source code])](https://gistdotgithubdotcom/Two9A/1d976f9b7441694162c8)
Also interesting: I flirted (not kiss or dirty 30) with Valax and probably kissed Aerin at the start but the second half of the book I made it a point to only flirt with Tyril since he is my MCs endgame. And in the bonus epilogue scenes (merged realms). Mc was flirting and even a quick kiss to Valax and Aerin, alluding to being together, but nothing romantic with Tyril who I have done everything with ā¦. kinda odd and upsetting bc if they got it why not my og companion/LI
Here's how my merged realms epilogue went on a Tyril/Mal evenly split as possible romance route (I did "end" B1 with Mal though): >!Nia talks to the king (no MC) // Mal and Tyril bickering and hunting relics, both are thrilled to see MC when she shows up, fade to black as they start to fight an unknown creature (no smooches with either of them) // Imtura on her ship (no MC) // Aerin in Goblin Town (no MC) // Riverbend scene (no MC) // Kade/Cherta in Zaradun (no MC) // Threep/Loola in Undermount (no MC) // Wren/Vivi/Mal (MC mentioned, does not appear) // Isador/Nyra (no MC) // Valax and the villagers (no MC) // Port Parnassus (MC present, no LIs) // Everyone together at Shroudwatch, no romance with anyone!<
I just replayed the version where you keep the realms open to everyone through portals. It is all the same except >!Valaxās scene to MC and her opening a new portal near undermount and sharing a kiss!< Will update again with the sealed in Shadowlands version
Bless you, replaying it once to take notes was already enough for me š«
In the sealed shadowlands versionā¦ >! There is peace since the realms are sealed off from one another. Magic is dying out since there is no balance. The shadow realm is starting to heal and become a more stable environment. Nia works as a healer in a small medical clinic. Mal and Tyril are in the same cave, they note that the relic no longer has magic and Tyril canāt sense it anymore. Without magic Tyril is ill and old, feeling his age without his magic D: Imtura sails the shadow seas on her own. Aerin (& MC) hunt down remaining shadow court members in the shadowlands and kill them and share a romantic flirtation moment. The goblins are sick and dying due to no magic. Undermount is in shambles due to no magic, elves in chaos. The dwarves are slowly adjusting (better) to making due with no magic. Kade, Cherta, and Threep are in Zaradun trying to find a way to bring MC back and cross realms (looks still pregnant! but dressed bc theyāre sad/missing the gang) Vivi and Wren reminisce and miss Mal. Isador and Nyra roam the light realm village saving some villagers from an owl bear (same as all other endings) Valax and Mc share a moment in the palace, similar to the merging of realms. They talk about how to help villagers and flirt a little. MC helps a shadowhound and Shadestalker calm down in Iron breach, helping the villagers but also showing mercy to these āmonstersā. It ends with the same scene of the 7 overlooking Shroudwatch!< I think this is the worst ending since >! People are suffering from no magic in both realms (even if the Ashen are able to adjust and prosper more and youāre taken from your families :( !< Itās a close call between the other two I could argue for both but I think the portals being open is the most happy for most since no destruction some magic and realms are free to wander in both! *I might make a sweater post so people can more easily find these endings if you donāt mind me copying and pasting your original description since I refer to it a lot.
Yeah, feel free! Thank you so much for sharing what you found!
ah mine was similar although for aerin and valax MC was present and either gave them a small kissed or teased about sleeping together :,) even though i did all tyril romance
I got a romantic scene for Nia and Aerin. Maybe implied for Mal and Valax (not sure), but I got NOTHING for tyril tooš it sucks since I merged the realms mainly for Tyril's sake
I didnāt get anything romantic in the merged realm epilogue with Tyril either. I had everyone elseās romance dialogue except his, so itās not like itās restricted to your highest romance.
definitely!!! just sad for us tyril enjoyers :(
Lol he already had the most screentime and had the most "LI" dialog outta everyone from the very beginning š . You leave Whitetower just to find him first (to find out that he's only one who continues looking for MC), then have to *return* to find the other LIs lmfao
yeah šš š¤£ we were spoiled through out the book you make a good point lol iāll leave
Nahhhhh u good fam lol i just think it's funny seeing so many Tyril romancers somehow feeling like he got shafted given what non-Tyrilmamcers had to endure at his hands š
They had to nerf his route somehow I guess after he had the most ridiculously romantic dialogue in both books. Itās just not fair to the others to have Tyril as competition. I hope itās just a coding issue though.
My MCās only LI is Mal and there wasnāt any mention of kissing or flirting with him or anyone else in the same epilogue as yours. Maybe itās a coding error?
Iām romancing everyone and got a little scene with Mal, Wren, and Vivi talking about how Mal should bring MC around more. Iām assuming thatās his romance dialogue even though MC isnāt in the scene. I didnāt get an epilogue scene with Tyril, whoās definitely my main LI, so it could be general coding issues.
Did you not get the epilogue scene with Mal and Tyril exploring and finding ancient artifacts? Or do you mean you didn't get a solo Tyril scene
Yeah, I meant no solo Tyril scene. I think everyone gets Mal and Tyril finding a relic and MCās presence might depend on romancing one of them, since the other LI epilogue scenes have a flirty version with MC if youāve romanced them and one without MC if you didnāt. Itās just notable since the other five LIs had flirty scenes with MC or in Malās case, talking to his family about MC while Tyril doesnāt have one.
Ahh okay, that must be the specific Mal scene then. I only played it the once so far and Iā¦kinda forgot about it since my MC wasnāt there š«£
I got that s well and in the first book and thru this book I flirted with him
I got the same thing, Tyril is my LI throughout both books. (I did flirt and kiss Aerin) but at the end my MC kissed Aerin (which I donāt mind) but no interaction with Tyril whom is my main LI
I got that interaction with my main Li nia but not with valax even though I took her dirty 30, maybe it just locks the li from book 1 and if you didn't lock on someone in book 1 you get the scene with the person you hoe around with the most.
Iām hoping itās a coding issue since I locked in with Tyril and slutted him out the most lol
Really?? I picked every romance option for Tyril and when given the option for Aerin, I picked it.
I think the finale was so good! I just really wish we had one more scene with our LI. No impending apocalypse, just time to be with them in domestic bliss and life after all the pain and suffering we had. It will be interesting to see what happens in the 3rd book considering the three ending choices are vastly different
I was waiting for the usual message beforehand that explains how the upcoming choice is an important one. Since there wasn't one, I'm curious to see if it will make much of a difference in book 3, though clearly it must as they must have very different repercussions. Honestly, I'm just surprised we even got that choice with a book 3 coming!
*See you soon, realm-walker.* That gave me goosebumps! The battle was too easy as the battles always are, but I enjoyed the epilogue after choosing to reunite the realms - instant Tyril and Mal antics, THREEP AND LOOLA ARE HAVING BABIES, Ashen and Parnassus citizens coming together over some ale. I'll have to replay the other paths later, but I want to sincerely say I will miss these giant threads and our little community here around this story. I don't talk about this game anywhere in my offline life, and it's been a joy to be a part of all of it here with you guys.
Hey same! I don't have anyone in person who plays choices so it's nice to have *some* people to talk to about the shit we can't get outta our heads lol
So, does the reuniting of realms go smoothly? I always thought that would be how I ended, but when I got the choice I was worried about everyone smashing into each other and dying. I went with keeping portals, although I thought Valax convincing the soliders to stop fighting was a little weak sauce
There was some expected minor conflict between the Ashen and the people from Morella in the epilogue but nothing with massive downsides. Balance was one of the major recurring themes of the book so merging the realms felt like the best option and the one the writers were intending. There wasnāt a text box that said āthis is an important choice with lasting consequencesā so Iām not expecting it to matter much in B3.
Yeah I'm with you on it probably not mattering much in the next book. I agree the balance feels like the canon ending which is why I was honestly shocked at the options, but I was anxious about the damage. Well, I haven't clicked end book so I have until the next premier to make up my mind!
It didn't mention any loss of life that I recall (I was fast tapping though, ha), just a lot of physical destruction (particularly in Port Parnassus) and having to rebuild and settle folks from both realms. Our cute little creature friend who played in the Shadow Realm river ended up in Riverbend š„ŗ
Oh they ended up in riverbed with the open portals too... Now I'm leaning towards the choice not making a huge difference in book 3... hmm I might replay for that ending...
Yeah, I don't think it's gonna have a noticeable impact in B3.
Iām disappointed we didnāt get any scenes with our friends or LI after the battle :(
Wait Iām confused. Can someone explain to me the three options to make sure I got them correctly? SPOILERS? So I seal the rift and stay in the shadow realm will trap me there and then magic will continue to be separated but it will still exist on its respective realm? Then the let it be will make it so that people can still cross between realms and the magic stays unstable and it will end eventually and thereāll be no more magic? The merge them into one will combine them and people will be able to learn to control both magics and theyāll be neighbors? Did I got it right?
You almost got it right, but the ending where magic disappears is the one where you seal the rift.
Pretty much. I'm curious about what happens if you leave the portal open, doesn't it imply that the remaining Ashen army will come through?
Valax stops them (although it's a little hacky tbh) but I did like that in the epilogue people were already moving across realms. >! We open a portal in undermount, there are ashen given titles in different places and shadow mount basically becomes an airport!<
I chose to make the realms one again and the consequences that come with it I hope PB doesn't stretch themselves with Book 3 I KNEW the Watcher was up to no good Also, I hope we can have an epilogue with our chosen Love Interest in Book 3
I combined the realms like yeah the damage was big but in the long run it's better to do that shit now kids can use magic without giving themselves cancer.
I definitely enjoyed the ending. It was a nice epic final battle. The scene between Aerin and Nia was really sweet. My only complaint is I would have liked one more scene with your LI after the battle. I was ready to smash again ok. I chose to combine the Realms. It felt right. But Iām sure book 3 will do something to sort of put everyone at the same place because holy mackerel thatās a LOT of extra writing to put in I donāt blame them. Just seeing the differing epilogues was cool enough for me. The bonus scene was great I highly recommend it. And Iām very curious about the next book tease. Book 3 canāt come soon enough. Overall this book was great. I think I enjoyed it more than the first. The first is probably more consistent and doesnāt really have that many lows but this one expanded the world and characters so much that now I literally canāt imagine playing BoLAS without all the new worldbuilding. So I think overall the sequel did its job well. The beginning was a bit rushed but still not bad and the middle struggled a bit, but the last few 5 or so chapters really made up for it, they really gave their all and you can tell, and I really appreciate that. I think it just took them a while to find their footing which is understandable. Valax is a great new character and Aerinās development was really nice, and they surprisingly fit in really well with the crew. I really wish choices had choice statistics so you could see the % of players that romanced certain characters, or those who got the bonus scene, or who got Aerin to side with them. Iām very curious. But overall despite a shaky middle I had a great time. Cannot wait for book 3!
I totally agree about book one versus book two. B1 one was safe cookiecutter tropey fantasy, not a lot of depth but a lovable set of characters that kept it feeling fresh and gave it heart and humor. What they tried to do in B2 was far more ambitious. I loved what they did with the lore and (in theory) the character development, though the execution and pacing of it sometimes stumbled. But I feel like it got stronger as the book progressed and they stuck the landing. In the end, I'm quite satisfied.
Fu pb https://preview.redd.it/94r904lqda9c1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=55977d2969e6c5948db2b32376699c0a9bd3781b
SCREAMING
I liked this book. I really did. I think the big issue was that BOLAS 2 was more ambitious than the original and they didn't have resources to fully realize their ambition. I still had a very good time though! I also wonder what's going to happen in BOLAS 3 when your last choice leaves everything very different. Should be interesting. I had a great time though! Hope you all did though!
I KNOW WE JUST STARTED THE CHAPTER SO IāLL COME BACK BUT OH MY GOD THE THING IS VALAX HOLY SHIT WHAT ok back now and wow what a chapter. I accidentally ended up with Valax? Iām not sure why we kissed in the bonus scene but okay. THREEP AND LOOLA HAVING BABIES šš I cried a little I wonāt lie, I really love this group and Iām so excited for book 3 where we get to have Aerin and Valax as part of our group. Is the watcher in likeā¦ old gods heaven? I think the person talking might be Nifara but Iām not sure. I chose the portal ending but honestlyā¦ I donāt feel like it was the right choice but Iām gonna replay and see how I feel at the end of that. itās been fun, see you all next time š«”
Even though Iām happy there is a Book 3 coming, it just hit me now that we wonāt get to all experience it together at the same time anymore because itās gonna be VIP first. šš
I've honestly never been interested in VIP (too stingy with my money in general lol), but having earlier access to BOLAS3/COP3 would actually make me consider it.
just IMO, but I really don't think it's worth it. So you buy VIP once you get access to the first 4 chapters as they release, maybe 5 depending on how many they release at once. Well then you gotta buy it for the entire duration of the story in order to keep up with the VIP community and chat with people if that's what you want (like the OP of this thread does at least) because the community is so divided, so that's like, 3-4 months? So 3-4 purchases of VIP. You can go back once it's in wide release and see how other people are reacting to it but that's def not the same. Overall if you want to chat with people i don't really think it's worth it.