randomsquirrel - Tumblr blog

[randomsquirrel]

alottt of transmascs seem 2 think tyhat vocal training is somehow superr hard n super difficult, but its rlly not! i think part of this is in part because of voice instructional videos, half of them are people spouting bullshit or not being descriptive enough, and the other half (by vocal coaches) are loaded with technical termonology witch is missmatched between them, making it very difficult to tell what part of the body they are talking abt just to preface, you probably will not have an extrordinarily deep voice, but you can absolutely get a passing male voice even if you have a super high pitched voice! vocal gender is not determined only by how deep your voice is, you can have a high pitched male voice and a low pitched female voice to give you an example of how much change you can expect, here is my voice, ive been doing vocal training for about 3 years now.

there isnt actually a massive difference in terms of the depth, but there is a noticable difference in terms of masculinity i sound a little bit uncomfortable in the normal voice example, this is because i pretty much never use my natural voice, so its not my "default" voice anymore you will not lose your normal voice as you do vocal training, you simply will get better at controling your mouth and throat muscles to make it deeper, so if you are closeted you can still do vocal training while maintaining your higher pitch voice, its a matter of building up a muscle memory, after a while it becomes automatic the examples were taken like, a minute from eachother, its just moving your mouth in the right way you can also see i have a bit of a thicker accent while doing my vocal training voice, this is because pronouncing words very clearly and distinctly while also making your voice deeper is very difficult & something i am still working on note that this is still good to do and to work on even if you plan on going on T !! unless you have been on puberty blockers or started hrt very very early (at puberty age) then HRT will not be perfect and is not identical to the effects of stereotypical amab puberty, this isnt to say that it wont help, but the differences in larynx height that you will naturally get are not the same intensity as what generally happens in male puberty. this means you will have a higher then average male voice, as well as transmasc voices absent of vocal training generally sound more buzzy and nasaly here is an example, given by a dear friend of mine who would prefer to be unnamed

this isnt to dunk on anybody who has this kind of voice, i personally like it, but it is clockable if you know what to look for, witch could be unsafe depending on where you live to start : anatomy you are not a guitar, youre more like a bottle. to speak you blow air through your windpipe, and depending on the width of your tube/windpipe you will have a lower/ higher pitched sound, your vocal cords/voicebox are a fold in that tube, witch can open and close to constrict or widen your tube thin tube = higher pitched wide tube = lower pitched within stereotypical male puberty, these folds thicken, making them close less easily then thinner folds, making the voice deeper the opening/closing of the folds is sometimes called the "glottal cycle" and thick folds are are sometimes refered to as having a "high closed quotient" having thicker vocal folds is something only achivable through testosterone, but you can get a deeper voice by making your tube bigger, sometimes refered to as "lowering your larynx", a lower larynx results in an adams apple, and you can use how much of an adams apple you have during training as a phisical reference point

beside your tube, you have a set of strap muscles, these you can move, its by controlling these that you can hold your tube open. you cannot move your windpipe itself, only the strap muscles

to find your strap muscles, you can do a small excersize - in a relaxed position and your mouth open, place your hand underneath your collarbone to one side firmly, pinning the skin down - tilt your head backwards and close your mouth - hold for a few secconds, then close your mouth and tilt your head back to a normal position - repeat on other side you should be able to feel a pulling in the strap muscle on eather side, generally one is tigher then the other. doing this excersise can help you make them a lil more flexable, witch helps you maintain your deep voice when you move your head around making your voice deeper / lowering the larynx :

on an anatomical level, you are going to control your strap muscles to tug your windpipe downwards, creating more space and a deeper sound you can feel this in your mouth, use your toungue to feel the bottom of your mouth, this bottom part of your mouth is what you wanna try to make bigger, kindof like a frog

people sometimes refer to this as speaking with a yawn, or liken it to trying to eat something large like a snowglobe, but this is a ultimately harmful way of thinking about it, and generally leads to people moving their larynx and mouth in a way that is straining, not very helpful for making your voice deeper, and also kindof slimey sounding you should not feel pressure in the back of your throat or the top of your mouth, you should only feel the pulling of your strap muscles and the expanding of the bottom portion of your mouth. below your toungue if you place your hand where your adams apple would be, you should be able to feel it bulge and tense up when you do this

you can do vocal slides in order to practice this - drink some water and clear your throat - take a deep breath and, at a volume and pitch that is comfortable and natural for you, open your mouth and go aaaaaa - trying to keep your mouth open the same ammount as you go, try and expand your tube, feeling the bottom of your mouth inflate a little, you can feel your throat to have phisical confermation of if you are doing it correctly - once you have reached the maximum ammount of open that is comfortable for you, try and hold that note as long as you can, being careful not to slide your pitch up if done correctly it should sound something like :

you need to make sure that you are pacing your air properly, you should be able to hold the note at a consistant volume for the length of the slide here is an example of a slide done without properly pacing your air, this is called "vocal fry"

you can help avoid this by doing the slide slower, you dont have to rush getting to the lowest note as fast as possible, try not to stress your vocal cords this slide is very difficult, if you are having trouble, you can modify the excersize if your issue is keeping your volume consistant, or keeping your jaw open the same ammount, you can do the same thing but humming instead

if your issue is pacing your air, and going into vocal fry, you can do the same thing, but you pant like a dog

being louder / vocal weight : vocal weight describes how loud you are / how much air you are pushing through your windpipe, if you find you are too quiet, you can try doing a volume slide

- drink some water and clear your throat - take a deep breath and, at LOW volume open your mouth and go aaaaaa, i would reccomend doing this at your normal pitch - trying to keep your mouth open the same ammount as you go, increase the ammount of air you let through your lungs, getting louder - hold it as loud as you can for as long as you can, and once you run out of air you can stop as with the other slide, you wanna make sure you do this one slowly, and make sure to start the slide at a low volume, this is to help you get more familiar with controlling the ammount of air you let through your windpipe once you get comfortable with that, you should combine that with the previous slide, and try to expand your tube/ lower your larynx as you get louder

maintaining that depth when speaking :

speaking is the same thing as singing, but it involves way more movement of the mouth, and if you dont change your technique a little between speaking and singing it will sound bad try to keep in mind the position of your tongue, while flattening it can help with getting the opening of your tube part down, you dont wanna actually talk like that, try to have your toungue in a natural position just resting against your bottom teeth try not to compress your throat, you shouldnt feel any kind of pressure against your windpipe, you should only feel a pulling in your strap muscles if you notice your voice sounds slimey or nasaly or muffled, youre focusing a little bit too hard on creating good mouth space that youre messing with your throat space

if you sound slimey, make sure you arent flattening your toungue against the bottom of your mouth, and that you arent straining or over exerting yourself, it shouldnt feel painful or tense at the back of your throat or top of your mouth if you have a hard time maintaining your voice while doing things you should stretch your strap muscles using the excersize in the anatomy section, if they arent super flexable then its going to be hard maintaining your voice while tilting your head when you start its gonna be pretty hard, so make sure that you dont overexert yourself or get hyperfixated on having a deep voice 24/7, you dont wanna damage your voice at all not being embarrassed / practical use :

alot of vocal training excersizes sound pretty stupid, but you dont have to do the excersizes exactly how they are shown here when doing my vocal training i generally sing or hum to a song, ideally one with alot of sustained notes and that doesnt require very fast pitch changes if you want a song i like to start with, i like this one by cats millionare, but you can really do whatever song you like as long as it works good for you

while not required having a male vocalist in the song can also help. it helps switch vocal training from a concious effort to a more subconcious thing, because your brain trys to mimic the voice of the people you listen to with speaking around people i used to feel a little embarrassed about using my deeper voice, because it made me feel like im just like. a stupid little boy trying to make my voice deeper to sound cool. but one thing you have to realize about this kind of thought is that its internalized transphobia if speaking in a certain way, even if its unnatural, makes you happier then you should do it, the idea of having a "natural" and "unnatural" voice is a common idea in transphobic retoric, this idea that youre "faking" a voice so you can "trick people" into "thinking that youre a different gender" ultimately, youre doing this to become more happy and comfortable in your voice, and if anybody HAS an issue with that or think that thats stupid, then theyre transphobic, though they probably dont realize it. if you dont like singing or humming, you can also just speak and read things out, there really is no reccomendation i have for this, maybe get on a call with your friends and play a visual novel or something, reading out all the dialougue. having friends while you do this helps, as you can have them remind you when you start losing or slipping up with the deeper voice you dont actually have to make sound to vocal train, you can do it in complete silence, anatomically youre just moving the muscles in your mouth a certain way, and the sound part is done by blowing air through, but the making sound part is just the final step of the excersizes and it is optional. you can vocal train in complete silence at any time i would reccomend doing it with sound to start, but as you get more used to it then you can do it without the sound to practice most importantly for doing it consistantly though is dont make it a chore to do, while the anatomical and technical aspects are important to learn the most important thing is having it be practical for you to do, so find a method to do it regularly that works for you you dont have to like, do it 24/7 or anything, though you will build a habit for it quicker if you do. if you need to switch how deep your voice is around family thats not gonna somehow take away your progress

fankyu 4 reading!! if you have any questions pleaseplease ask them and i will try to respond!! i know theres alot of formatting issues, i tried so hard to fix them but tumblr is just not having it, i dont know why

[randomsquirrel]

A.I. photos are flooding social media and contributing to an Internet where we can't believe what we see. Spotting A.I. 📷s is an important media literacy skill.

None of us have time to research every image we see. We just need people to notice BEFORE THEY LIKE OR SHARE that an image might be fake. If unsure, check it or don't share.

I've started drawing some comics explaining the basic of AI spot-checking and media literacy in the age of disinformation. Follow along here or on my Twitter.

[randomsquirrel]

Still obsessed with Arthur Conan Doyle’s letter to Bram Stoker gushing about how wonderful a book Dracula is, but particularly how it makes such a good template for leaving fic comments, so I’m gonna to a BREAKDOWN:

Just say you loved reading it - “I am sure that you will not think it an impertinence if I write to tell you how very much I have enjoyed reading Dracula.”

Comment on a detail of the craft or structure that impressed you - “It is really wonderful how with so much exciting interest over so long a book there is never an anticlimax.“

Comment on how it emotionally affected you - “It holds you from the very start and grows more and more engrossing until it is quite painfully vivid.”

SHARE YOUR BLORBO FEELINGS - “The old Professor is most excellent and so are the two girls.”

Show appreciation for them as an author - “I congratulate you with all my heart for having written so fine a book.”

Next time you don’t know what to say on a fic you enjoyed, just use the ACD method~

[randomsquirrel]

I regret to inform you that Discord's new Terms of Service includes an arbitration clause. You can find it here https://discord.com/terms/#16. This clause includes an opt-out, which I have transcribed here:

You can decline this agreement to arbitrate by emailing an opt-out notice to arbitration-opt-out@discord.com within 30 days of April 15, 2024 or when you first register your Discord account, whichever is later; otherwise, you shall be bound to arbitrate disputes in accordance with the terms of these paragraphs. If you opt out of these arbitration provisions, Discord also will not be bound by them.

These clauses are underhanded ways that corporations seek to deprive you of your right to participate in class-action lawsuits and your right to a jury trial. (This does only apply to us users ,other people still spread the word though )

[randomsquirrel]

Autistic Inertia is an autism experience that makes it hard to start, stop, and switch tasks.

It somehow doesn't get talked about enough - so I made this comic!

YouTube • Instagram • Twitter

Also, if you want to read the research study I based this comic on, it’s right here!

[randomsquirrel]

hot artists don't gatekeep

I've been resource gathering for YEARS so now I am going to share my dragons hoard

Floorplanner. Design and furnish a house for you to use for having a consistent background in your comic or anything! Free, you need an account, easy to use, and you can save multiple houses.

Comparing Heights. Input the heights of characters to see what the different is between them. Great for keeping consistency. Free.

Magma. Draw online with friends in real time. Great for practice or hanging out. Free, paid plan available, account preferred.

Smithsonian Open Access. Loads of free images. Free.

SketchDaily. Lots of pose references, massive library, is set on a timer so you can practice quick figure drawing. Free.

SculptGL. A sculpting tool which I am yet to master, but you should be able to make whatever 3d object you like with it. free.

Pexels. Free stock images. And the search engine is actually pretty good at pulling up what you want.

Figurosity. Great pose references, diverse body types, lots of "how to draw" videos directly on the site, the models are 3d and you can rotate the angle, but you can't make custom poses or edit body proportions. Free, account option, paid plans available.

Line of Action. More drawing references, this one also has a focus on expressions, hands/feet, animals, landscapes. Free.

Animal Photo. You pose a 3d skull model and select an animal species, and they give you a bunch of photo references for that animal at that angle. Super handy. Free.

Height Weight Chart. You ever see an OC listed as having a certain weight but then they look Wildly different than the number suggests? Well here's a site to avoid that! It shows real people at different weights and heights to give you a better idea of what these abstract numbers all look like. Free to use.

[randomsquirrel]

Can't afford art school?

After seeing post like this 👇

And this gem 👇

As well as countless of others from the AI generator community. Just talking about how "inaccessible art" is, I decided why not show how wrong these guys are while also helping anyone who actually wants to learn.

Here is the first one ART TEACHERS! There are plenty online and in places like youtube.

📺Here is my list:

Proko (Free)

Marc Brunet (Free but he does have other classes for a cheap price. Use to work for Blizzard)

Aaron Rutten (free)

BoroCG (free)

Jesse J. Jones (free, talks about animating)

Jesus Conde (free)

Mohammed Agbadi (free, he gives some advice in some videos and talks about art)

Ross Draws (free, he does have other classes for a good price)

SamDoesArts (free, gives good advice and critiques)

Drawfee Show (free, they do give some good advice and great inspiration)

The Art of Aaron Blaise ( useful tips for digital art and animation. Was an animator for Disney)

Bobby Chiu ( useful tips and interviews with artist who are in the industry or making a living as artist)

Second part BOOKS, I have collected some books that have helped me and might help others.

📚Here is my list:

The "how to draw manga" series produced by Graphic-sha. These are for manga artist but they give great advice and information.

"Creating characters with personality" by Tom Bancroft. A great book that can help not just people who draw cartoons but also realistic ones. As it helps you with facial ques and how to make a character interesting.

"Albinus on anatomy" by Robert Beverly Hale and Terence Coyle. Great book to help someone learn basic anatomy.

"Artistic Anatomy" by Dr. Paul Richer and Robert Beverly Hale. A good book if you want to go further in-depth with anatomy.

"Directing the story" by Francis Glebas. A good book if you want to Story board or make comics.

"Animal Anatomy for Artists" by Eliot Goldfinger. A good book for if you want to draw animals or creatures.

"Constructive Anatomy: with almost 500 illustrations" by George B. Bridgman. A great book to help you block out shadows in your figures and see them in a more 3 diamantine way.

"Dynamic Anatomy: Revised and expand" by Burne Hogarth. A book that shows how to block out shapes and easily understand what you are looking out. When it comes to human subjects.

"An Atlas of animal anatomy for artist" by W. Ellenberger and H. Dittrich and H. Baum. This is another good one for people who want to draw animals or creatures.

Etherington Brothers, they make books and have a free blog with art tips.

As for Supplies, I recommend starting out cheap, buying Pencils and art paper at dollar tree or 5 below. For digital art, I recommend not starting with a screen art drawing tablet as they are more expensive.

For the Best art Tablet I recommend either Xp-pen, Bamboo or Huion. Some can range from about 40$ to the thousands.

💻As for art programs here is a list of Free to pay.

Clip Studio paint ( you can choose to pay once or sub and get updates)

Procreate ( pay once for $9.99)

Blender (for 3D modules/sculpting, ect Free)

PaintTool SAI (pay but has a 31 day free trail)

Krita (Free)

mypaint (free)

FireAlpaca (free)

Libresprite (free, for pixel art)

Those are the ones I can recall.

So do with this information as you will but as you can tell there are ways to learn how to become an artist, without breaking the bank. The only thing that might be stopping YOU from using any of these things, is YOU.

I have made time to learn to draw and many artist have too. Either in-between working two jobs or taking care of your family and a job or regular school and chores. YOU just have to take the time or use some time management, it really doesn't take long to practice for like an hour or less. YOU also don't have to do it every day, just once or three times a week is fine.

Hope this was helpful and have a great day.

[randomsquirrel]

I just discovered foodtimeline.org, which is exactly what it sounds like: centuries worth of information about FOOD.  If you are writing something historical and you want a starting point for figuring out what people should be eating, this might be a good place?

[randomsquirrel]

For those who have overactive guilt complexes like me…

[randomsquirrel]

People against piracy fail to realize that no, I can’t just ‘buy it.’ They stopped making DVDs and Blu-Rays. They’re barely offering digital copies for download. I am not spending money I could use for food or bills to pay for a subscription service just so I can always have access to a beloved piece of media. Especially not when the service will remove media on a whim without concern for how the loss of access to that piece will make its artistic conservation nigh impossible.

For example, I recently learned that Disney+ had an original film called Crater. It’s scifi, family friendly, and seems cool - I would love to buy it as a holiday gift for my little brother! But: it’s exclusive to D+ and THEY REMOVED IT LITERALLY MONTHS AFTER ITS RELEASE.

The ONLY way I can directly access this film is through piracy. The ONLY available ‘copies’ of this film are hosted on piracy websites. Disney will NEVER release it in theaters, or as something to buy, and it may NEVER return to the streaming service. It will be LOST because we aren’t allowed to purchase it for personal viewing. If I can’t pay to own it, I won’t pay for the privilege of losing it when corporate decides to put it in a vault.

So yes, I’m going to pirate and support piracy.

[randomsquirrel]

Time for some heroics, and just a little bit of badassery :3

A Song of Memories: Taking Flight Chapter 9: Rekindled Flames

A Song of Memories: Taking Flight

Lys’s HW arc has finally started! Load up that sexy armor-locking gif and wear your most weather-inappropriate glam, we’re off to Ishgard :D

A Song of Memories: Taking Flight Chapter 1: Cold Winds, Warm Welcomes

[randomsquirrel]

Dang, I really don't use Tumblr much! But then, with infinite scrolling (WHICH I FUCKING HATE), and needing to clean up what I follow and mute/nuke some tags, there's just so much I have to wade through that both it and my Twitter account are more effort than entertainment some days. And because of that I forgot to post the update for last chapter, so links for both 7 and 8 are going in this post, just to make things both easier and harder on myself. Yay! XD A Song of Memories: Taking Flight Chapter 7: What Makes a Hero Chapter 8: Trial and Error

A Song of Memories: Taking Flight

Lys’s HW arc has finally started! Load up that sexy armor-locking gif and wear your most weather-inappropriate glam, we’re off to Ishgard :D

A Song of Memories: Taking Flight Chapter 1: Cold Winds, Warm Welcomes

[randomsquirrel]

NO ONE knows how to use thou/thee/thy/thine and i need to see that change if ur going to keep making “talking like a medieval peasant” jokes. /lh

They play the same roles as I/me/my/mine. In modern english, we use “you” for both the subject and the direct object/object of preposition/etc, so it’s difficult to compare “thou” to “you”.

So the trick is this: if you are trying to turn something Olde, first turn every “you” into first-person and then replace it like so:

“I” →  “thou”

“Me” →  “thee”

“My” →  “thy”

“Mine” →  “thine”

Let’s suppose we had the sentences “You have a cow. He gave it to you. It is your cow. The cow is yours”.

We could first imagine it in the first person-

“I have a cow. He gave it to me. It is my cow. The cow is mine”.

And then replace it-

“Thou hast a cow. He gave it to thee. It is thy cow. The cow is thine.”

[randomsquirrel]

I don't think a single person on planet earth cares abt this (except me) but I've seen some minos prime enjoyers using thou/thee incorrectly. so if you have mental problems like me and you DO care here's a small guide

Thou is a subject and Thee is an object (like he vs him)

Thy and Thine are both possessives, the usage depends on whether or not the following word starts with a vowel (like a vs an); you'd say "thy hand" and "thine arm"

feel free to ignore this post

[randomsquirrel]

[randomsquirrel]

I might've added the BG3 Art Book to my dnd assets stash

It' 100% does not have things like the 5e players' handbook + 5e’s character sheet, several gm guides, critical role's explorer's guide to wildmount, baldur's gate and waterdeep city encounters, 101 potions and their effects, volo's guide to monsters, both of xanathar's guides, a bunch of other encounters, one shots, and class builds

In no way are there any pdf’s relating to any wizard who may or may not be residing on any coast

(Edit that I’ve moved the folder to the new link above! So if you catch a different version of this post that link won’t work anymore!)

[randomsquirrel]

W00t! A chance to gush about my ginger nuisance in another setting! Please enjoy the mansplaining, manipulation, and manwhoring that Lysander gets up to! ...And when that all fails, the manslaughter XD

1) Tell us about your Tav! Name, class and subclass, race, pronouns. Do you have a headcanon for where they're from? Their family? Are they a Dark Urge? Or did you choose an Origin Character? Was it an easy decision? -Lysander Morgensonne, human Bard from the College of Lore (with a bit of Paladin and Rogue by accident, which he doesn’t realize he has until after traveling with his companions a while), and is a pan/poly he/himbo. He has no idea if he has any family, as he has no memories prior to a couple of weeks before he got tadpole’d. And he’s an OC I’ve had for over a decade, so yes, he’s custom, and I was excited to make him

2) Was there something about the character creator that just couldn't capture your Character? Please tell us about their hair, facial hair, tattoos, piercings, disabilities, their trans or intersex body, or anything else you're comfortable sharing -His hair should be much longer, and has messy asymmetric bangs, but the number of ear piercings is pretty close. Though I had to mod to get GOLD jewelry, because silver just looks wrong on him. The tattoo is BG3 only, as while he does have ink in other stories, it’s always specific to that story. Otherwise, I look at him and go “yup, that’s Lysander,” but it’s still a bit strange (positive) because he’s so rugged and handsome, and usually his version in other games/stories have him a bit more twink-ish than strong :D

3) Has your Character been using their illithid powers? -Not really, no. Not intentionally, anyway, as in a pinch or moments where he is angry, he’ll manifest a couple of those powers, but it’s something that makes him a bit leery, as while he’s not opposed to getting more power, the fact that he might become a bit too tentacle’d would play merry hell with his good looks, and that would ruin his entire Bardic vibe XD

4) Do you remember in which order you recruited your companions? Which companion introduction would have felt the most familiar / like home to your Tav / Character? -Not sure; I found Shadowheart on the ship because I needed a buddy to survive it, and I think I got Gale immediately after because the rune circle he’s stuck in is close to where she and Lys landed on the beach. I then searched for Astarion, I think, but I don’t remember if I found Lae’zel right after, or if it was Wyll and Karlach next, nor which of those two I went for first. But both Astarion’s and Gale’s meetings were very in-character, because Lys was perplexed but intrigued by how Gale couldn’t get free from his arcane predicament. And while he was jumped by Astarion when the man asked him to go "check out that sound over there," the moment that Astarion had a knife to his throat he turned the ambush around and pinned him down and demanded answers. …HOT >:3

5) Do you remember the first humanoid enemy your Character killed? Was it the first person they've ever killed, in your opinion? Would they have been bothered by it? -Neither of us do, it was not, and no, neither of us were XD

6) Were you able to save everyone when the goblins stormed the gates at the Grove? -”What are we? Big Damn Heroes” :)

7) Did you enter the Grove? -Of course! I needed to get Wyll, and also a place to go sell :P

8) Do you have a favorite member of the Druid Circle? Is it the same as your Character's? -We’re both stupid for Halsin <3

9) Do you have a favorite member of the Tiefling Refugees? Is it the same as your Character's? -Again, yes, we agree that Alfira is pretty darn cool, and it was fun helping her with her song. Bardic solidarity!

10) Do you have a favorite member of the Goblin Camp? Is it the same as your Character's? -Not really, TBH, they’re all bastards (derogatory), and we’re Magnificent Bastards (affectionate), so the vibes clash pretty hard

11) Do you have a favorite member of the Act 1 Githyanki? Is it the same as your Character's? -Neither of us had any specifically strong opinions toward any of them, we were mostly wondering how and if they’d get in our way in the future, and how pissed Lae’zel would be that we’d have to roflstomp them

12) Do you have a favorite member of the Zhentarim? Is it the same as your Character's? -Neither of us like them much, as while Lys is a bit of a Robin Hood figure at times, he despises slavers and those who would hurt others for profit. The only reason we didn’t purge the hideout and pick it clean was we needed them for trade and resources, but we were waiting for the right moment to do a bit of long-delayed justice

13) Do you have a favorite character from the Underdark? Is it the same as your Character's? -While the Underdark was interesting and a lot of fun, neither of us really had anyone stand out to us as “that dude is nifty, I like them :D”

14) Do you have another NPC you loved from a faction not mentioned above? What about your Character? -We wanna sit and drink with Jaheira and listen to all of her stories. Whatever she’s willing to tell, anyway. WE ARE BARDS, PLEASE, WE LOVE STORIES! Same for Minsc, his tales must be great, and we both wanna give Boo gentle snuggles. ALSO, TARA, LET HER STAY AT CAMP <333

15) How did the situation with the Grove, the Tieflings and the Goblins turn out for your Character? -Walks away from the Goblin Camp in slow motion as explosions go off in the background, lights a strawberry cigarillo with a cantrip, and fist-bumps Astarion as the entire party swaggers away

16) Did you save Halsin? -Heck yes! JAILBREAK!!!

17) What does your Character think of Withers? -“Soooo… I know that if one makes a face for too long it’ll stick that way, but what were you doing to get THAT kind of face? :3”

18) How did your Character deal with Wyll, Karlach, and Mizora? -He wants to give Wyll and Karlach all of the hugs and kisses they’ll ever want, and throw Mizora in a very cold river XD

19) Did your Character spend a night with a companion either the night of the party or earlier? Is it someone they have a continued interest in? -…He’s a Bard, the question is “in whom does he not have interest, and/or have attempted to flirt his way into a very good night with them.” Astarion was his first, unsurprisingly (and at the party), as both of them are of the “live it up while we can, have no regrets ‘cause we might die tomorrow” mindset, and end up unpacking sooooo much baggage as they develop a relationship and feelings for each other. Lys initially openly and all at once yearly on offers all of his companions a no-strings-attached good time if they want, any time they want, because again, they might all die the next day, so what does it matter what they do and with whom? Getting jealous or possessive is kinda stupid. And like he does with Astarion, he gets in too deep and gets attached to everyone after all. Oops. Just Bard Things, right? Accidentally believing in the power of love and being powered by it ‘cause he genuinely loves all of them <3

20) How did you deal with The Artist - Oskar Fevras? Did you even encounter him? -Lys convinced Oskar’s “owner” that his slave artist was more valuable dead ‘cause his art will be worth much more, and let him go afterward, because not only was it funny, Lys isn’t too fond of the Zhentarim. It worked out nicely for Lys when he got to Baldur’s Gate, though, so score!

21) What are your Character's thoughts on the strange artifact that was in Shadowheart's possession? Did it jump to your pack because you changed her out of your party? -Curiosity, but not enough to be nosy about it. Once she refused to tell him anything about it, he let it drop, but was both perplexed and intrigued that it transferred to him. Which, yes, was because I changed her out of the party, but I like to think it was because The Emperor recognized him as more likely to listen and go along with his plans. However, while Lys definitely was the one who would listen, he was the least likely to be manipulated, and figured out how to turn it around for his own ends eventually >:)

22) How did your Character resolve the situation with Sovereign Glut, if you met them? -Yeeeeah, in addition to being a Bard, and therefore Does As He Damn Well Pleases, he discovered a couple of levels of Vengeance Paladin a bit before they wandered into the Underdark, so he was absolutely not down with dude planning to betray the other guy. Sorry, mate, I was happy to help gank the duergar because of what they did, but you wanna do the same thing to Spaw and that’s not cool. Roll for initiative!

23) What are your Character's thoughts on the dream visitor? -As with the prism, initial curiosity, then compassion/empathy. Once he found out the visitor’s true nature, he was fascinated, because as a Bard and a Baldurian, he was absolutely chuffed at the opportunity now in his lap. …And very well aware of the power that he now held and could wield against his enemies, if he can just make sure that the visitor doesn’t suspect anything…

24) Was your illithid tadpole empowered by anything in Act 1? If so, how does your Character feel about that? -Not really, and TBH, he’s trying to forget it exists. The only reason he’s grateful for it is restoring his "self" after he was killed a couple of times, thanks to a very weird quirk of being restored at dawn after he’d been killed by something, which otherwise wipes his memories and personality in the process. (Long, LONG lore dump, there’s a reason for it, and mmm, that trauma! I'll hafta do a separate post on his backstory eventually)

25) Did your Character take the mountain pass? -Yes, and it’s what unlocks a large part of his backstory, as well as why, what, and who he is. Not everything is explained, but he figures out a lot about himself, and gets a massive boost in power and skills after exploring the monastery’s secrets. As well as a new item/weapon that gives him a few abilities that they frequently put to good use. He and his companions wonder if "Lysander Morgensonne" is actually a corruption over time of "Lathander Morninglord," and just how old is he?...

26) What was your favorite enemy? Did your Character have any memorable fights or moments in combat that were ripe for headcanons and interpretation? -Can’t think of a specific enemy, but he was a fucking MENACE in the Goblin Camp. Between using the Illithid powers to mess with minds, he knows how to magically alter and “throw” his voice, so he spent quite a bit of time gleefully turning the goblins on each other, letting the problem solve itself, and freeing up their resources to deal with the three leaders more effectively. Also, it was hilarious watching the goblins murk each other over his skilled ventriloquism, especially when Lys distracted the courtyard with a bit of music after Volo got booted, leaving Astarion free to poison the booze. Fight smarter, not harder! …Though he did let himself take some “punishment” from Abdirak, which is a story for another post :3

27) Who ended up in your Character's most used party? -Astarion and Gale. I rotated around Karlach, Halsin, and Wyll as I tried to figure out the best “fourth” to complement Lys, as I didn’t know if I needed someone more tankier, or more DPSier. With the two levels of Paladin to supplement ten in Bard, Lys is tank, support, and controller, so Wyll is filling in as DPS and backup control, and we are devastating >:D

28) Did you recruit Scratch the dog? Did you encounter him at all? -WHOOSA GOOD BOY??? FETCH THE BALL, GOOD BOY :D

29) Did you adopt an owlbear? Do you have a name for your child? -Lys has two hands, and they are for giving scritchies to both Good Boys. Still don’t have a name for the feathery one, though, probably “Bite” to go with “Scratch,” or “Snack,” since Astarion was the one that accidentally scared him off when he showed up at camp the first time. SWEETIE, I LOVE YOU BUT- >:|

30) Do you have other pets as a ranger or in headcanon? -He does not, as he’s a bit of a stray cat himself, and is traveling too much for a pet. He loves cats, though, so he is delighted to meet Tara, and was wicked chuffed to get Grub into camp for a while

31) Does your Character have new or old phobias or superstitions that affect their story? -Surprisingly, none at all. But to be fair, if any of his past “incarnations” ever did, this current one has no idea

32) What's your Character's experience with and opinion of Volo? -”He might be the more famous Bard, but I’m the better one. And the better looking one”

33) Has your Character allied with the cult of the Absolute? -Ha Ha No Fucking Way Get Murdered Idiots

34) How did your Character resolve the situation with Nere and the gnomes? -A certain Myconid wanted Nere’s head, and Lys does not like slavers. There was a lot of killing, and Astarion was very happy about that. Not the gnomes, tho, they were chill, and they were happy to help Lys kill duergar, so YAY, MURDER BUDDIES!

35) Has your Character done anything that they regret in Act 1? -Not really. He has some regret that he couldn’t do more to help out some people or prevent some bad things from happening, but he’s not a god, nor can he be everywhere at once. He just does the best he can, where and when he can

36) Did your Character find the Adamantine Forge? Did they use it? What did they make? -He did, and since he’d recently unlocked some latent Paladin skills, they decided that armor and a shield would be a good upgrade from his Bardic getup. Especially since they found the relic blade Phalar Aluve in the Underdark, and he seems to have an affinity for it. Between this gear, the Lathanderian amulet they found in Grymforge, and the sort-of gauntlet he turned the Blood of Lathander into (again, long story), he was able to tap into a whole new skillset that none of the rest of the party had

37) Did your Character find the Necromancy of Thay? How are they handling it / planning to handle it? -He did, and while both Gale and Astarion were interested in it, he held onto it until they could find a safe time/place to do some careful Arcana checks on it and see exactly what it did. …And Astarion nicked it from his bags one night and had a bit of a read on his own. Lys was annoyed that Astarion had taken it without asking, but he understood the Rogue’s motivations and intentions, as he’d recently opened up about Cazador, and part of the reason that Lys had taken the book at all was that it might help them with both Gale’s condition, and helping them do something for Astarion to get him free of his "master"

38) Did your Character meet Barcus Wroot? How's he doing? -He did, and Barcus is doing quite well in Baldur’s Gate, doing Ironhand Things with Wulbren :D

39) What does your Character think of Raphael? -Lys is caught between wanting to punch Raphael in his smug face, or bending him over the table while he hits it from behind like the fist of an angry god. Dude kinda has both coming, TBH, but Lys also has survival instincts XD

40) Is your Character used to strange dreams from before the events of the adventure? -He has no memories prior to about two weeks before the Nautiloid, so he’s not even really used to normal dreams D:

41) Is your Character accustomed to being on the road from before the events of the adventure? -Yes, but he doesn’t remember how or why. It’s something that feels familiar, and he just…knows what to do and how, but not consciously so

42) Has your Character been to the Underdark from before the events of the adventure? -It’s very likely that he or an incarnation has in the past, but again, he has no memories of it. Since he was able to quickly and intuitively figure out how to free Phalar Aluve from being trapped in stone, it's very possible that he'd been down there somewhere before, or at least, become familiar with drow customs and deities during his travels

Yay, this was fun! I'll hafta do more infodumps, now that I've got most of it archived to Gdocs so I don't forget anything. And take SO MANY MORE PICS :D

BG3 Act 1 asks

I am intentionally putting the number of the inquiry at the end of each question also because I have a pet peeve that when you copy paste questions into an ask that the number doesn't carry over.

Tell us about your Tav! Name, class and subclass, race, pronouns. Do you have a headcanon for where they're from? Their family? Are they a Dark Urge? Or did you choose an Origin Character? Was it an easy decision? (1)

Was there something about the character creator that just couldn't capture your Character? Please tell us about their hair, facial hair, tattoos, piercings, disabilities, their trans or intersex body, or anything else you're comfortable sharing. (2)

Has your Character been using their illithid powers? (3)

Do you remember in which order you recruited your companions? Which companion introduction would have felt the most familiar / like home to your Tav / Character? (4)

Do you remember the first humanoid enemy your Character killed? Was it the first person they've ever killed, in your opinion? Would they have been bothered by it? (5)

Were you able to save everyone when the goblins stormed the gates at the Grove? (6)

Did you enter the Grove? (7)

Do you have a favorite member of the Druid Circle? Is it the same as your Character's? (8)

Do you have a favorite member of the Tiefling Refugees? Is it the same as your Character's? (9)

Do you have a favorite member of the Goblin Camp? Is it the same as your Character's? (10)

Do you have a favorite member of the Act 1 Githyanki? Is it the same as your Character's? (11)

Do you have a favorite member of the Zhentarim? Is it the same as your Character's? (12)

Do you have a favorite character from the Underdark? Is it the same as your Character's? (13)

Do you have another NPC you loved from a faction not mentioned above? What about your Character? (14)

How did the situation with the Grove, the Tieflings and the Goblins turn out for your Character? (15)

Did you save Halsin? (16)

What does your Character think of Withers? (17)

How did your Character deal with Wyll, Karlach and Mizora? (18)

Did your Character spend a night with a companion either the night of the party or earlier? Is it someone they have a continued interest in? (19)

How did you deal with The Artist - Oskar Fevras? Did you even encounter him? (20)

What are your Character's thoughts on the strange artifact that was in Shadowheart's possession? Did it jump to your pack because you changed her out of your party? (21)

How did your Character resolve the situation with Sovereign Glut, if you met them? (22)

What are your Character's thoughts on the dream visitor? (23)

Was your illithid tadpole empowered by anything in Act 1? If so, how does your Character feel about that? (24)

Did your Character take the mountain pass? (25)

What was your favorite enemy? Did your Character have any memorable fights or moments in combat that were ripe for headcanons and interpretation? (26)

Who ended up in your Character's most used party? (27)

Did you recruit Scratch the dog? Did you encounter him at all? (28)

Did you adopt an owlbear? Do you have a name for your child? (29)

Do you have other pets as a ranger or in headcanon? (30)

Does your Character have new or old phobias or superstitions that affect their story? (31)

What's your Character's experience with and opinion of Volo? (32)

Has your Character allied with the cult of the Absolute? (33)

How did your Character resolve the situation with Nere and the gnomes? (34)

Has your Character done anything that they regret in Act 1? (35)

Did your Character find the Adamantine Forge? Did they use it? What did they make? (36)

Did your Character find the Necromancy of Thay? How are they handling it / planning to handle it? (37)

Did your Character meet Barcus Wroot? How's he doing? (38)

What does your Character think of Raphael? (39)

Is your Character used to strange dreams from before the events of the adventure? (40)

Is your Character accustomed to being on the road from before the events of the adventure? (41)

Has your Character been to the Underdark from before the events of the adventure? (42)

Asker has a question not from the list. (43)

Asker wants Blogger to choose a question from the list. (44)

I love your oc's! I hope you're enjoying the game as much as I am!