papyskellington - Tumblr blog

[papyskellington]

questions to answer about your tav that have nothing to do with baldur's gate at all and are dubiously set in some ambiguously modern period

(you can also answer these questions about unrelated non-baldur's gate OCs if you want because it is a free world that we live in)

what smiley face would they use the most if they had a phone

regular morning beverage (and snack) order

how lactose intolerant are they and if they were lactose intolerant would this stop them from consuming lactose products

if they went to a modern day university what would they get their bachelor's in and do they enjoy it

instrument they wish they could play but can't

hobby or interest they are most embarrassed about

do they watch free-to-air tv

do they collect anything and what is it

do they prefer sweet or savoury foods

what are they allergic to

story of their first kiss (if applicable)

if they were at a corporate or school-sanctioned group bonding event and someone asked them to say one fun fact about themself what workplace appropriate fact would they choose

signature perfume (you can name a real perfume or just name some fragrance notes)

how late do they leave their gift shopping before birthdays / christmas / any other event where gift-giving is required

what mundane human job would they have in modern society to pay the bills and do they like it

given a bag of fruit-flavoured candies which fruit flavour of candy is their favourite and which one do they vehemently dislike

pick a random mild injury illness or miscellaneous ailment for them to consistently or periodically struggle with (e.g. bad knee, hay fever, bad acne). or don't

everyday task they must do but struggle with or simply hate

their top 3 songs on repeat

preferred adhesive item for general use (e.g. gluestick, sticky tape, blu tack)

do they use duolingo and what's their longest streak

social media platform of choice, if any

what material do they prefer for their coasters

how do they close their emails

how do they address groups of people in group chats or in person

favourite farm animal. (has to be an animal found on a farm)

name a toxic trait of theirs that is really just a beige flag at best

movie snack, if applicable

if you dared them on the spot to get a tattoo and they're not allowed to think about it what would be the first thing that came to their mind

if you met them, you the human person reading this, would you get along

[papyskellington]

baldur's gate's biggest new power couple just dropped

[papyskellington]

Some colour swatches for the BG3 companions. Feel free to use as for art purposes, no credit necessary of course (though reblogs are appreciated!)

[papyskellington]

HE WAS SEVENTEEN. AGHHH ULDER WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU

[papyskellington]

About Wyll and his horns

Let's say I was writing a part of my Tav's story with Wyll directly connected to the dialogue he has during the tiefling party, and while struggling with this bit, I've realized there's quite a few misconceptions floating around. I felt compelled to add information to the table that might clear them, so here we go.

First, what exactly happens to Wyll when he disobeys Mizora in act one? Well, he doesn't get turned into a devil, he certainly doesn't get turned into a tiefling, he's not a half fiend, not a demon, none of that. Wyll stays human, but he has horns and red eyes (and other features we can't see on his model as of now).

(Everyone has their race listed, Wyll's remains "Human")

This is because when a warlock fails to uphold some part of their contract they can suffer a certain number of consequences, Wylls is “The character grows horns, a tail, or some other devilish features that can't be removed by any means short of divine intervention. As long as these marks persist the character detects as a fiend when subjected to Detect Evil and Good spells or similar magic.” ( from Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus, page 214)

And I’ve come across some people that think it wasn’t so bad of a punishment, that he was being racist towards the tieflings, or just not being justified in being upset after having his body forcibly changed against his will. I think they are missunderstanding just how insidious Mizora’s actions were, and here I just want to give some context to maybe bring a better understanding to the situation. Your conclusions are up to you.

Gonna start by using a not exact analogy, but I think it’s going to make the explanation easier. Stick with me for a minute.

Remember Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean? He had a branded “P” on his arm that marked him as a pirate. A murderer, robber, criminal, etc. in the eyes of the society he was a part of. What did Jack do to earn the branding? (if you don’t know this I suggest you look up the “people aren’t cargo mate” scene) He refused to transport slaves and later freed them, and Beckett had him marked as punishment.

Then, in the first movie, he saves Elizabeth, a woman he didn’t know, from drowning. Right after however, when Norrington sees he has a branded “P”, he’s like “alright, off to jail with you, and then hanging”, no other option crosses his mind. Again, Jack doesn’t know Elizabeth, isn’t indicated to think he is going to be rewarded for helping her, he just sees a drowning person, sees that no one else is going to help, and chooses to save them. That is a pretty selfless/good aligned thing to do, for no other reason that he was the one able to do it, yet the branding in his arm overrides any good action he could ever do, marking him as a criminal for execution and no further thought.

In a way, that’s what Mizora did to Wyll; she forever visibly branded him as someone that has made deals with devils, and that in the world of DnD is a VERY BAD THING. Personally I really like the mod that gives him more devilish features, but at the same time I think there was something clever about choosing to leave him looking more human. He can’t be confused with a tiefling, he doesn’t have the ears, the claws, the tail, all those features that characterize them. He looks kind of uncanny, and that would be like a red flag for anyone in that world. (Beyond the already existing hate for tieflings that I’m not gonna tackle on here because it’s a complicated thing that deserves its own post). And Wyll wants to do good, he wants to help people, to be a positive force in the world so, so badly. This dude got abducted by a nautiloid, got tadpole’d, and the first thing he did right after that was come across the Tiefling refugees and be like “Oh you need help? No worries let me teach you self defense. Oh you being attacked by goblins? Let me blast them real quick”. His way of saying fuck you to all the awful things that have happened to him is being aggressively good and kind. Mizora knows this very well, wants to see him suffer for her amusement, wants to remind him he can't escape her claws, so her choice of punishment was to forever taint his future interactions with mistrust and suspicion. Some people can go real fast from “oh thank God they saved me” to “oh no, are they gonna rob me, are they trying to trick me, are they in cahoots with the ones that attacked me first?” just because of outward appearances. Especially in DnD world. And that deserves its own conversation, but we're focusing on Wyll here.

(Mizora, when I catch you Mizora)

“Well, maybe he shouldn’t have made a deal in the first plac- - “ He was seventeen, alone, preyed upon by Mizora and put in an impossible situation. Please PAY ATTENTION to the story you’re witnesing.

Anyway.

About the tieflings. I know it’s easy to think his words can be derisive towards them, but it’s less about the horns and more about his body being changed against his will. Imagine instead that he got half his face burned, or something that disfigured him. I think his feelings at the moment were closer to that, and yeah they are pretty insensitive words to say to someone with a similar condition (horns or disfiguration), but when feelings are fresh and raw like that it’s easy to say insensitive things. Not saying it was ok for him to say those things, but ther was no malice in his words. I’ve also seen some people share that they think Mizora wanted to change him more to make him unrecognizable to his original self, the Wyll Ravenguard kid, and I think there is some truth to that too. She wants to make sure that Wyll remembers that he belongs to her, there's no question to that.

(MIZORA, WHEN I CATCH YOU MIZORA)

Whether the Tieflings refugees would feel unsettled by Wyll or not? Yes. In a way, they would. From reasons aside from the ones I explained above, remember that these specific tieflings come from Elturel. If you didn’t pass the History check or don’t remember, Elturel is a city that was literally ripped from the land and dragged to Avernus, First layer of hell (it left a hole on the ground and everything) because their mayor made a deal with the Archdevil Zariel some decades back in the timeline. He sold the souls of all its citizens and the city itself.

This was probably one of the worst times of their lives. Some even got captured and forced to participate in the blood War, like Dammon as a mechanic. And after Elturel got returned to the surface, the tieflings lost their homes because they reminded the other citizens of the literal Hell they’d just gone through, and they kicked them out. And remember, they met and saw Wyll as a human, and then saw him with horns. It’s not unreasonable to think that by looking at him they would be reminded of all the events that led them to the awful situation they’re in. Because of someone that was making deals with devils, just like Wyll. Even if his situation is completely different. And Wyll knows that, that’s why he tells you the tieflings are unsettled by him and chooses to stay away during the party.

It was never just about the horns.

And I know Wyll calls himself a devil but I think it’s because it’s the closest thing he looks as; devils are a whole different race with their own intricacies, although humans can be turned into devils ONCE their souls go to Avernus and they start climbing the power hierarchy there (Mizora and Raphael are cambions/ half-devils btw, which is a different thing,  there are plenty of videos exploring those details more in depth).

Do I think Larian should have made some of this information clearer/easier to access? Maybe? but to be fair, it's a game focused and dedicated to a crowd that was already somewhat familiar with the source material, that blew up waay out of what they originally expected to reach. Hopefully they’ll add some clarifications like they did to other quests. 

Anyway these are my two cents to the conversation, have a nice day, and don't hesitate to add your two cents if you feel like it!

[papyskellington]

“why would Wyll complain about having horns around tieflings at a tiefling party to my tiefling tav”

why are you purposefully misconstructing the whole point of the scene and acting like a dude who was dragged through the layers of hell can’t be upset his body was forcible changed into a the body of a fiend .

[papyskellington]

WYLL RAVENGARD in Baldur's Gate 3 —  [3 / ?]

[papyskellington]

It's a lot healthier to go for a daily walk than to sign up for a gym membership you won't be using because you hate that kind of exercise. It's a lot healthier to eat a frozen meal than to skip a meal because you were too tired to cook something healthy. It's a lot healthier to take a quick shower than to procrastinate an elaborate routine for days. Don't aim so high that you won't be hitting anything!

[papyskellington]

If at the end of TAZ: Vs Dracula Mutt doesn't get married and propose to his future partner with that string of teeth like this one TF2 comic panel then I honestly don't know what I'll do with myself

[papyskellington]

Los magníficos óleos de Viktor Lyapkalo (RUS)

Fuente imágenes: Leningrad Artist / Pinterest / Blogger / Vi.sualize

[papyskellington]

*TAZ Dracula voice* xoxo gossip girl

[papyskellington]

Little doodle page of the Babe of Frontiers for your viewing pleasure

(might have to click on it to see it in better quality I refuse to learn how to post correctly on this site lmao /lh)

[papyskellington]

Having some TF2 fever while I'm recovering -

Bonus Panel:

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Wylls heart sending stone pupil is giving Michaelangelo's "David" tbh.

Omg, you are so right!! I NEVER noticed this!! 👀

I am absolutely giddy about learning this!! 💞

[papyskellington]

I'm ngl I didn't think the first TAZ romance we'd have in a while would be 2 horses but go off I guess, justice for Lady Godwin's silver stallion

[papyskellington]

Lady Godwin the horse is here

[papyskellington]

No joke you guys NEED to get more comfortable blocking people. No more insulting people in public over different blorbo opinions no more making 2k long posts on how whatever ship you don't like shouldn't exist we've grown past that shit. Consistent posts about shit that make you uncomfortable? Block. Rancid blorbo opinions? Block. Is mildly annoying in your replies? Block. Pisses you off for reasons so petty you could never admit it publicly? Block. YOUR mental health will improve from not being upset 24/7, THEIR mental health will not be at risk of you lashing out because you happened to catch their posts on a bad day, and EVERYONE ELSE will benefit from not seeing the most embarrassing arguments known to man on their dash. "Oooh but they didn't deserve it-" dude you're presumably running a personal blog as a hobby not a public service. Who fucking cares.