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Happy holidays everyone! I started this drawing as a study of Leyendecker, but it became a cozy Gale reading in his tower ❤️

. Print available in my shop! Link in bio ✨

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Potion studies

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I love when two fucked up characters are in love actually (especially when their relationship is really healthy in a weird way)

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I love how each and every Baldur's Gate 3 companion (including even a secondary camp ally), one after another, almost verbatim, has a moment like : "Man, our companion got their revenge on the person that ruined their life but it wasn't nearly as fulfilling as they'd hoped and they feel mostly just numb about it. Even though it was definitely necessary and they're glad to have done it, it still really highlights everything they went through. Not mine though. Mine will be nothing but satisfying and won't unlock a torrent of grief I'd been putting off processing because I had to focus on defeating them. My revenge quest completion is going to be awesome." *One companion questline completion later* "By the nine hells this can't be happening"

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I could end us both, you know.

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i’ve watched that live show 3 times since it came out and cannot stop thinking about it

(edit: for those who haven’t seen it)

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I need her

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at the risk of sounding like an asshole sometimes you can really tell when bg3 fans don't actually know shit about dnd. like my favorite recently is ppl calling astarion's 10 charisma stat "low" and headcanoning him as a bumbling awkward moron basically based on his (imo) intentionally OTT pickup lines & that one cute shadowheart interaction. which is fine, but like, in case any non-dnd players need/want to hear this:

10 for any stat means a character is completely average at that thing. if you have 10 strength, you aren't any stronger or any weaker than the average person. stats influence each other in a lot of characters, for example jaheira has 8 intelligence, but 17 wisdom, so as a character she still comes across as knowledgeable/ "intelligent" (in the way we use that word irl).

so, yeah, astarion's charisma is average (not low, average), but he has high dex and int. basically, he's a really really good bullshitter, which works well on marks for seducing and/or scamming, but not so well on your friends who actually know you, i.e. tav or shadowheart.

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noted

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Day 12 - Sneak Attack

Pssst! X>

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Trying to be over the vampire guy cause I know it's cringe and then getting dragged back down cause of stuff like this

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People are so eager to fit the Emperor into the themes of abuse and power that are so prevalent in the game, which is great. He's such an important character, it makes sense to want to tie him into things more. But in their bias against him, some people decide he must be the abuser! He's Tav's abuser! But that requires so much twisting and stretching of everything he says and does, so much mental gymnastics, when the answer is right there, and it's so simple.

The Emperor fits perfectly into the themes because his story mirrors that of all the companions. He has also been a victim of abuse to someone more powerful and has the trauma to show for it.

He was taken and forcibly transformed into a mind flayer. He was mind controlled by an elder brain for 12 years, if I'm remembering right. He was rescued, he tried to find a cure, finally he accepted his new life, and then his lover---probably the only being he was close to and trusted at that point---tried to kill him. He had to live in the shadows from then on, with very little help, in fear of elder brains, in fear of people in general, because society shuns mind flayers, even when they're free from the brain and want to be ethical about their diet. And after some time, he got captured and mind controlled again. Only to later learn that, even while he was free in the prism, he was being manipulated by the brain.

There's your parallel. There's your victim and your abusive higher power.

This wasn't what I was initially going to say about the Emperor and abuse, I have a lot more thoughts on this topic, but... maybe another day.

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I need someone to do a video essay-length deep dive into how 75% of the BG3 fandom fell so hard for Astarion's manipulative seductor act that they believe that's his actual personality. This man has to practice his lines and still fumbles them constantly. He flat-out says it's all a front because he believes his sex appeal is the only reason anyone would keep him around, which is tragic. When he drops the act, he becomes this kind of silly man rediscovering what it means to be himself, and what it means to both love and be loved. He says "I'm all pointy ears, love." while turning his head to show off those pointy ears. Let him be silly, let him be awkward! It's so much more authentic then him being a walking innuendo.

He has a mid charisma stat with a bonus for deception and rolled a nat 20 on all y'all.

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Larian really missed an opportunity by having Wyll sign an objectively shit contract in act 3 when he’s got Astarion, the magistrate, right there. I wanna see him, glitter gel quill in hand, go over those terms and conditions and absolutely rake Mizora over the coals. wyll’s got a set release date and health insurance by the end of it

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yknow while I'm baldursgateposting I've had another thought. There's a lot to be said about the dynamic between The Dark Urge & Astarion but one level that i haven't seen many people talk about is the juxtaposition between "Guy that can't get away from the gods' influence no matter how hard they try" and "Guy that can't get his prayers answered no matter how many gods he prays to"

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Gale finding out about Astarion’s vampirism: We all struggle against an insatiable hunger. Who am I to judge?

Astarion finding out about Gale’s orb: We should dig a hole and let the rat bastard rot in it.

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okay, no shade, but youre missing out on SO much good characters moments if your girlbossify the bg3 women too much. i get it, they're big, strong, badass, but they are, like all bg3 companions, incredibly cringe in their own ways that i think we could stand to appreciate more.

lae'zel throws the worlds biggest meltdown anytime you do anything not directly related to the githyanki creche, only to almost get her shit immediately rocked. lae'zel on modern day stan twitter would be a shitshow and you cant convince me otherwise. and thats before we even mention her fighting you in act two and then immediately crying about it. babygirl its okay, we were only playing. AND TRYING TO KISS HER IN PUBLIC?? she acts big and bad in act 1, fighting rough with you the entire time, but as soon as you ask her for a little kiss? immediate embarrassment. she could absolutely wreck my shit, but shes still a meow meow.

shadowheart is just fantasy catholic. she gets mad if you pick up a statue of selûne bc shes just that catholic. dyes her hair white in a desperate emo crisis of faith moment. recites smut in public. makes jokes that land incredibly flat. is acting way cooler and more chill than she actually is to hide the fact that shes scared. SHE CHOSE THE NAME SHADOWHEART. need i say more?

karlach may be cringe but she is free, i will give her this. she gets the zoomies. she almost blows up a firework shop with her in it because shes so excited. she has a teddy bear called clive. she hasnt read a book since secondary school. she does a little dancy dance if you leave her alone for too long. her inner monologue is just about how horny she is for most people. bisexual failgirl. i love her.

and then the biggest cringefail of them all, minthara. the fact that she absolutely cannot see that every companion at camp actually does grow to really like, love, and respect her bc shes expecting treachery (bc thats what SHE would have done) is as sad as it is just a liiiiittle bit funny. darling. my wife. people like and care about you. not to mention the fact that shes been poisoning you the entire time shes been travelling with you???? cant communicate for the life of her. regularly threatens to kill you but then gets mad if you die. emotionally stunted loserbabe. we will have a july wedding........

what im SAYING isnt that the girls ARENT badass and compotent and cool, what im SAYING is that the lads shouldnt have a monopoly on complexity and depth. you get me?