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blackjackkent · 3 months

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Today's dialogue file exploration! Summon lines for all of your allies in the final battle!

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Summoning: Balm of the Moonmaiden (Isobel)

ASTARION: Isobel! A little healing magic, if you please. LAE'ZEL: Isobel, we're in need of your talents. GALE: Isobel - some healing, if you please. SHADOWHEART: Isobel - now's your chance! WYLL: Some healing, if you please. KARLACH: Hey, Isobel! Can the Moonmaiden perk us up? JAHEIRA: Time to save our skin again, Isobel! HALSIN: Isobel - lend us your healing touch! TAV/DURGE: Isobel! We need healing!

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Summoning: Battle-Ready Owlbear

ASTARION: Get out here, cub! It's time to finally earn your keep. LAE'ZEL: Bare your claws, cub! GALE: My owlbear friend. Time for some of your fabled ferocity. SHADOWHEART: Owlbear, show them your claws! SHADOWHEART (MIND FLAYER): Owlbear cub, let's test that armour of yours! WYLL: Let's see what the cub can do! KARLACH: Here, owly cubby cubby. KARLACH (MIND FLAYER): Bare your beak, owlbear! JAHEIRA: Come, cub - show them how you've grown! HALSIN: Young owlbear, show us your fury! TAV/DURGE: Time to bite, my owlbear friend!

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Summoning: Black Fist Enforcers (Zhentarim/Roah Moonglow)

ASTARION: Zhentarim! It's time to step out of the shadows. LAE'ZEL: Zhentarim, show yourselves. GALE: It's time the Zhentarim earned their keep. Join me, Roah! SHADOWHEART: Zhentarim! To arms! WYLL: Come on, Zhentarim. Make yourselves useful. KARLACH: Zhentarim! Make yourselves useful! JAHEIRA: Come then, Zhent - earn your pay! HALSIN: Zhentarim! To battle! TAV/DURGE: Zhentarim! To arms!

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Summoning: Florrick's Cohort

ASTARION: Florrick! Get out here, Counsellor! LAE'ZEL: Florrick - it's now or never! GALE: Counsellor Florrick - Baldur's Gate requires your protection once more. SHADOWHEART: Florrick, help us! WYLL: Now's the time, Counsellor Florrick! KARLACH: Florrick! Bring the Flaming Fist to my aid! JAHEIRA: If you would be so kind, Counsellor! HALSIN: Florrick - I need your aid! TAV/DURGE: Florrick, where in the hells are you?

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Summoning: Guildmaster Keene's Fixers

ASTARION: We need you, Lady Keene! Time to honour your debt. LAE'ZEL: Lady Keene - your fighters! NOW. GALE: A favour given is a favour owed. Lady Keene - time to repay your debt. SHADOWHEART: Don't stand on ceremony, Lady Keene. We need you! WYLL: All right, Lady Keene. Send them in! KARLACH: Lady Keene - get in here! JAHEIRA: Oh Astele? Send in your ladies, would you? HALSIN: Lady Keene, we need you in this fight. TAV/DURGE: Lady Keene - we need your people. NOW.

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Summoning: Gur Huntwardens

ASTARION: All right, let's see how the Gur fare against this. LAE'ZEL: Ulma, call in your hunters! GALE: Ulma - I need the Gur's strength. Join me! GALE (MIND FLAYER): Ulma. Your Gur hunters will turn this tide. SHADOWHEART: Gur hunters, aid us! SHADOWHEART (MIND FLAYER): Gur hunters, attack! WYLL: Ulma? Call in your hunters - we've found their prey. KARLACH: Get in here, Ulma! We need your Gur hunters! KARLACH (MIND FLAYER): Ulma - we require your hunters! JAHEIRA: Ulma - we need your hunters! HALSIN: Gur hunters, come to our aid! MINTHARA: At our command, Gur. MINSC: Noble Gur, heed my hamster's call! TAV/DURGE: Ulma, gather your hunters! It's time to slay some monsters.

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Summoning: Hellrider Platoon (Zevlor)

ASTARION: Zevlor! Tieflings! Now's your time. ASTARION (MIND FLAYER): Zevlor, dear, this is your cue! LAE'ZEL: Tiefling warriors, show your might. GALE: Zevlor! War summons you once again. Show me how you answer. SHADOWHEART: Tiefling veterans - put your skills to use! SHADOWHEART (MIND FLAYER): Tiefling veterans - put your experience to work! WYLL: Tieflings, to arms! KARLACH: May this be your last battle, my friends! KARLACH (MIND FLAYER): Fight your last battle, friends! JAHEIRA: Zevlor - you are needed! HALSIN: Veterans - join the fray! TAV/DURGE: Veterans of the Hells - to arms!

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Summoning: Hellstalker Yurgir

ASTARION: Yurgir, be a darling and lend a hand! LAE'ZEL: Yurgir - to battle! GALE: Yurgir! I need an orthon's might in this battle. SHADOWHEART: Come, Yurgir. The hunt awaits. SHADOWHEART (MIND FLAYER): Yurgir, time to hunt! WYLL: Yurgir, unleash the Hells' fires! KARLACH: Get in here, you big devil you! KARLACH (MIND FLAYER): Yurgir - make use of yourself! JAHEIRA: Heel, hellhound! HALSIN: Yurgir, to the hunt! MINTHARA: Yurgir! Today, we hunt a Netherbrain. Join us! MINSC: Hound of hell! Boo calls, so come and serve a true hunter! TAV/DURGE: Yurgir - lend your strength! TAV/DURGE (MIND FLAYER): Orthon - with me!

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Summoning: Ironhand Grenadiers

ASTARION: Ironhands! Let's see if gnomes are actually good for something. LAE'ZEL: Ironhands - alight! GALE: A blast of Ironhand ingenuity will turn this tide. To me! SHADOWHEART: Blast away, Ironhands! WYLL: Blast away, Ironhands! KARLACH: Ironhand Gnomes, time to make it rain fire! JAHEIRA: Show the Absolute some Ironhand engineering! HALSIN: Grenadiers - unleash your bombardment! TAV/DURGE: Bombs away!

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Summoning: Mizora, Agent of Avernus

ASTARION: Mizora! Bring down hellsfire! LAE'ZEL: It's your move, Mizora! GALE: Mizora. It's time these creatures paid a devil their dues. SHADOWHEART: Mizora, we need you! WYLL: Time to make good, Mizora! KARLACH: Mizora, show your ugly face! JAHEIRA: Come and break a nail, Mizora! HALSIN: Mizora, aid us! TAV/DURGE: Time to do your part, Mizora!

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Summoning: Retinue of the Vampire Lord (Ascended Astarion)

ASTARION: Come, my unholy minions - fight for your master! LAE'ZEL: Awaken your undead servants, Astarion! GALE: Lord Astarion, the armies of the undying must join this fight. SHADOWHEART: Astarion, call forth your army of the dead! SHADOWHEART (MIND FLAYER): Astarion - send forth your army of the dead! WYLL: Astarion, bring in your undead! KARLACH: All right, fangs - it's all you! KARLACH (MIND FLAYER): Astarion, unleash the dead! JAHEIRA: Come then, Astarion - introduce us to your new friends! HALSIN: Astarion, bring forth your undead warriors! MINTHARA: Lord Astarion, unleash your nocturnal servants! MINSC: Astarion! Summon your pale and scrawny fellows! TAV/DURGE: It's time, Astarion - we need the dead on our side!

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Summoning: Rolan's Firestorm

ASTARION: All right, Rolan. Let's see if your powers match your ego. LAE'ZEL: Where is that wizard? Rolan, to the fray! GALE: Rolan! Unleash fire from the heavens. SHADOWHEART: Rolan - bring down fire from above! SHADOWHEART (MIND FLAYER): Rolan - unleash fire from above. WYLL: Come on, Rolan. Show off that magic of yours! KARLACH: Bombs away, Rolan! KARLACH (MIND FLAYER): Rolan - fire up that artillery! JAHEIRA: Time to make yourself useful, little wizard! HALSIN: Rolan, let loose your barrage. Rain down fire! TAV/DURGE: Rolan - bring the fire. NOW!

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Summoning: Silver Harp Squadron (Harpers)

ASTARION: To me, Harpers! For Baldur's Gate! LAE'ZEL: Harpers - weapons ready! GALE: Harpers, stand with me. We defeat this evil together. SHADOWHEART: Harpers - attack! WYLL: Harpers? Out of the shadows. KARLACH: Those Who Harp, let's kick evil's arse! JAHEIRA: Harpers! For the fallen! HALSIN: Harpers - to me! TAV/DURGE: Harpers - now is the time!

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Summoning: Sword of the Silverlight (Dame Aylin)

ASTARION: Dame Aylin? It's your time to shine! LAE'ZEL: Come, Dame Aylin. It's your time! GALE: Dame Aylin. Your light must shatter this darkness. SHADOWHEART: Now's your chance, Dame Aylin. WYLL: Daughter of Selûne, show me what you can do! KARLACH: All right, Dame Aylin! Time to tear these rats a new one. JAHEIRA: Dame Aylin - there are some here who don't yet fear your name! HALSIN: Dame Aylin will surely aid us. The Moonmaiden's very own daughter knows our cause is just. MINTHARA: Aylin! Bring your righteous fury to bear. MINSC: DAME AYLIN! WE HAVE NEED OF HEAVEN'S BOOT! TAV/DURGE: Dame Aylin! Lend me your sword!

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Summoning: Veil of the Weird (Auntie Ethel)

ASTARION: Auntie Ethel? Be a dear and help, won't you? LAE'ZEL: Auntie Ethel, it's time you got up to your old tricks. GALE: Ethel - to me. It's time you made good on our arrangement. SHADOWHEART: Ethel, show them what you're made of! WYLL: Time you made good on your bargain, hag. KARLACH: All right, Ethel, show us what a hag can really do! JAHEIRA: Be a dear and come when you are called, Auntie. HALSIN: Time to put your trickery to good use, hag. TAV/DURGE: Auntie Ethel - it's time to hold up your end of our bargain!

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Summoning: The Watch (Valeria)

ASTARION: Guards, come quick! Gods, that felt wrong. LAE'ZEL: I call for the City Watch! GALE: Baldur's Gate trembles. City Watch, come to her aid. SHADOWHEART: City Watch - reclaim your home! SHADOWHEART (MIND FLAYER): City Watch - fight for your homes! WYLL: City Watch, shake the ground! KARLACH: City Watch! Show us what Baldur's Gate is made of. KARLACH (MIND FLAYER): City Watch! Make Baldur's Gate proud. JAHEIRA: Where ever are the City Watch when you need them? HALSIN: City Watch! Defend your home! TAV/DURGE: City Watch - into position!

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BONUS: Summoning Steel Watcher (available in the dialogue files but not in game)

ASTARION: Steel Watcher - fall in! Time to join the fight. LAE'ZEL: Steel Watcher - stand with me! GALE: Steel Watch! Subdue these creatures. I command it. SHADOWHEART: Steel Watcher - forward! WYLL: Steel Watcher, into service! KARLACH: Steel Watch - cousins! Time to shine! JAHEIRA: Watcher! You were made to save the city, were you not? HALSIN: Steel Watcher - those foes are for you! TAV/DURGE: Steel Watcher - on guard!

#bg3 dialogue #bg3 spoilers #most of these aren't too interesting but a few are #my favorite is everyone calling nine-fingers 'lady keene' except jaheira who calls her astele :D #i also love most of Karlach's and jaheira's lines of course #and that gale's are consistently the longest by a wide margin XD #not sure why minthara and minsc get left out for most of them #but minsc's 'WE HAVE NEED OF HEAVEN'S BOOT' is wonderful XD #also not sure why only some of the lines get mind flayer variants 🤔#i really hope this does some kind of numbers cos it took me a lot loonger than i thought it was going to XD #there are a lot more of these than i realized #and this isn't including the buffs that are passive

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baldurs-gape · 1 month

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Gap in the Resume

In a way, Gale should have been grateful to Elminster, the man had pulled strings to get him the interview. Life was all well and good but he did feel a little guilty for relying so heavily on Astarion, not to mention it was setting a bad example that they made ends meet through skills of theft and contract killings. Determined to make an honest life, Gale had started job hunting once life had started to settle a bit and his hands weren't quite so full. Brushing out an invisible wrinkle from his tunic, he waited on the creaky leather sofa. Finally, the door opened.

"Mr. Dekarios?"

Standing so quickly his vision speckled, Gale tried to look confident as he approached the Dean of the school. It wasn't Blackstaff, he couldn't go back there, not after everything but a less prestigious school might just be what he needed.

"Good to meet you, and please, call me Gale." He shook hands with her eagerly and settled on the even less comfortable chair by the impressive desk.

"Elminster has talked highly about you and your skills. It made me think that perhaps you were a little too modest on your CV."

"Yes, well, some things are easier to explain in words than with in on paper."

The Dean looked at him over her glasses with a smile. "Well, here's your chance, Gale. Why would an ex-Chosen of Mystra herself want to teach at our school of all places?"

Rather than say that he was scraping the barrell and needed his old mentor's help in getting honest work, Gale tried to smile, cleared his throat and straightened his back. He'd rehearsed this, it was going to be fine, smooth even."

"Teaching has been somewhat thrust upon me in the last eight years or so. It's a little difficult to always keep track of time in the Underdark. It wasn't a career I had ever really entertained until I got firsthand experience of how rewarding it could be."

So far so good, the Dean nodded along and settled back with a more relaxed posture. Emboldened, Gale decided it was better to throw in some examples to back his words up.

"Perhaps my proudest moment as a teacher was when I took a small group on an expedition towards Lenore's tower and we encountered yet another minotaur - I swear they are the cockroaches of the Underdark - and the six with me made a meal of it." The somewhat puzzled look he received had him rushing to explain. "Before it would have been a lot of snapping and snarling at each other, more blood wasted than drank. Sebastian had a nasty habit of trying to claw the eyes out of anyone who so much as was near him when drinking. Yet there he was, happily sharing the bounty with five others!"

"Mr. Dekarios, Gale-" the Dean held up a finger, "-just what exactly do you teach? I was under the impression you were a wizard."

"I am!" Indignant, Gale huffed. "But you try teaching magic to 7000 feral vampire spawn. Manners had to come first."

"Seven. Thousand. Vampire. Spawn."

Nodding with vigour, Gale's arms came into play as he began to explain.

"We were responsible for them after freeing them. Well, first we had to sort out the Netherbrain while the Gur rounded them up and kept them safe from everyone including themselves. It wasn't like we could abandon them. I happen to take responsibility very seriously. It began with a book club for the more recently turned and those interested and just grew from there." Barely stopping to take a breath, he continued, "Trust me, I wanted to show them the wonders of magic but some of them couldn't even read, a tracesty if you ask me."

A strained smile appeared on the Dean's face. She sat primly, hands clasped on the table between them.

"Did this happen after your status as Chosen was revoke?"

"Yes. Well, not immediately. I spent a year trying to tame the Netherese orb in my chest." At that, the Dean looked alarmed. "Don't worry, it's all taken care of now, it's old news. But for a year I worked heavily on the research of the elimination of Netherese fragments bonded to a human entity. Alas before I could refine my findings and publish, a Nautiloid snatched me up as I was hanging my washing. Now, I know mindflayers don't have emotions in the same capacity but it was downright rude. Then they put the tadpole in my brain."

By that point the strained smile had fallen away and the Dean was outright alarmed, edging away from the table and away from Gale. Off script and caught up in the story, he wasn't slowing down.

"Anyway, you've probably heard of the Baldur's Gate Netherbrain incident. That was me and a couple of others who are now good friends of mine. But try putting that on a resume. It wasn't relevant to teaching magic really. I don't want to walk into the classroom as some mighty hero, I just want to be normal and treated as such. And now the spawn as all mostly settled, I feel I can leave them without fear of any incidents. I did so enjoy teaching them that I thought; why not? I could do this with young people. They'll probably be more likely to singe off your eyebrows by mistake than try to drain you of blood. Much cheaper if you ask me, scrolls of revivify used to make up a good 70% of our weekly expenses."

Tirade over, Gale leaned back in his chair and sighed, glad to have got that all out. A little sheepish at having gone so far off script, he offered a tiny smile. "Do you have any other questions about the gap in my resume? Because I don't think I touched on the mental health of students. Mystra demanded repeatedly that I kill myself. It is safe to say I wouldn't ever be anything but accepting and nurturing of even the most frustrating minds in the classroom. They're safe with me."

"Actually," the Dean's voice was a little breathy, "I think you've been very informative, thank you. I can let you know the outcome of the interview in the next tenday once all interviews for the position have concluded. Thank you so much for coming in today."

She stood and Gale copied. This time she didn't stand close to usher him out the room, a rather large amount of space was left between them. Gale's heart sank. It wasn't the first time an interview ended so abruptly and with such false smiles. Nodding, he turned to the door and left.

Outside, Astarion was leaning against the wall, covered from head to toe for safety.

"How did it go?" he asked.

Sadly, Gale shook his head and deflated. "I went off script. At least she didn't call security I guess?"

"Not to worry. We'll find a place. Hells, we could probably even found it, the Underdark Academy, a place for the unruly to come and be transformed into etiquette experts. What do you think?"

Laughing, Gale bumped their shoulders and sighed, trying to let go of the disappointment that had settled in his gut.

"You say the sweetest things to me, don't you?"

Their hands tangled until fingers interlaced and Astarion pulled it up to press a kiss to the back of Gale's. This job wasn't to be but that was alright. They had all the time in the world to figure it all out. And for Gale to discover that while he was in the interview, Astarion had stolen anything that moved from the school.

#bloodweave #gale x astarion #gale/astarion #gale of waterdeep #gale dekarios #bg3 gale #astarion #astarion ancunin #bg3 astarion #baldur's gate 3 #bg3

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benslittlestarkiller · 8 months

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Vladimir Makarov Headcannon Imagines

This is dedicated to those who wanted me to write a Vladimir makarov story 💋

Vladimir is a traditional man. He shows his woman respect

He demands respect from you, too, however

If you disrespect him, it’s like a fun game for him

He gets to punish you

He makes sure the punishment is not only fun for him, but fun for you as well

Everything is consensual between you

And he also likes when you’re on top… though he never emit it…

Vladimir take you on dates to expensive restauraunts. You can order whatever you want

Total sugar daddy material. He buys you dresses and expanto sive jewellery,

he take you to Prsfda, VChannel, Gucchi, , Her,mires,

All the nicest stores in Moscow

You never have to work a day in you life with him, cus he will take CARE of you.

Yiu do NOt have to voook, clean or anything elsoe

He hires a maid for you, she do everything

You call him “Vladdy” or “Vladdy Daddy’

Vladmir stoood on the balcony of his expensive high rise penthouse apartment suite condominium umm

He never like to see you wear revealing deresss. Your body for his eye only. NO man loo at yoo

OR ELSE BREAK KNEE…..

You came up behind he and wrap ur fingers around he waist gently feeling his hardened muscles and sclupted booty, his firm body tough from battles he had won during his time in the military when he was younger, the training had formed him in to the hardend virilie form he had now.

“What is it baby girl” he asked in Russian accentw

He accent make your coochie tighten with need for he hardened thivk veiny bulging cook

When Flaccid it was like a Makarov pistole.

But when standing at attention like right now it was big as AK-47

“Vladdy I want you” you said in a breathless voice

“I want you too baby girl” he picked you up

And set you down effortlessly on the balcony railing 50 stories up

He grips youe thighs in his strong hands spreading your legs as wide as the black sea

Your princess parts already just as wet as the sea 2, u panties drooping weet and socked with need for Valdimie

“Ohhh please daddy I need it, my coochie is tingling”

Ur word gets hum going with intense adn debilitatng nerf NEED

So sorry guys news device so HWSF. t hard to tupe type with :C

His dick slid against your intimage area, his dripping essence mingling with yours

He slode your panties aasdide and pushed the tip, like the Onion dome of St Basils Chuch, against

You dripping aching cunt.

He take tim e filling you slowly so you fee each inch adn centimeter of his engorged and throbbing member

Your head falls back in exsctasy “OJHHHk….” you manned

nd he MAnned too. TThe feleling of. f your atight wales

Encasing him and sucking his deeper

He filled you deeply until he breached the sensitive barrier of your cachinh aching cervix

“OHHHHH Please full me deeper VlDDDY!”

“Oh baby gur yuo felt so sgoood……. ugh ugh ugh”

Each moan of his pleasure made you wall clench, squeesing him tight like squeezing into a pair of jeans after eating a generous bowl of borscht.

“oh, Bladimir, I can;t i htink i’m gonna……”

You body shakwes violently as you come on his virlie cup

“AHHHH@@!!!!! Bladdy!!!! Vlad@@!!!!”

The feelungb of u tight geat him close t o the edge of falling off thr edge of bluss

But h held back,

His trusts becme hurdle nd fatter as he is losing himswlf in plosure

His cock swells like a sponge left in the sink during washing up after dinner

But you didn’t knew about it acuz your maid did it

Hoa beethunf becined eruged BS

And thun he cams inside your

Hole

Thick hefty spurts fill your waiting womb like a bowl waiting to be filled with borscht

Or a pelmeni dumpling being filled with a serving of meat and veggies

His cum drips our off you down your leg and then down off the belcuny into the city street of Moscow Russia

Cum fell like sno soft and wet onto the winter city

Your love dripping for all too seee

Even the maid

As she cum alung to clean the evideance away offf the balcunty

That day and night Vladimir Jr was conceived in a flurry of pission

Ladimurlove his sun

Vladimir jr

He was a good boy raised by his loving mother ans father

You love him. Raise him to fight in war

The wing

#call of duty #vladimir makarov #vladimir makarov x reader #Vladimir makarov imagine #Vladimir makarov headcanons #call of duty smut #frodo baggins #call of duty imagine #cod x reader #Vladimir makarov reboot #Vladimir makarov art

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leighsartworks216 · 11 months

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I Come With Knives Pt9

Astarion x gn!Tav/Reader

Wow two chapters of this in such a short span of time?! Yeah, I'm procrastinating shut up. Not proofread

Warnings: references to blood drinking, ignoring consent/ignoring autonomy, some violence, trauma (that's a given), references/mentions of past abuse

Word Count: 1,760

Main Masterlist

First Baldur's Gate 3 Masterlist - Second Baldur's Gate 3 Masterlist

I Come With Knives Masterlist

AO3

Tag List Form

“I trade in blood and the potions that can be wrung from it. I’m more than happy to make you one, if you’d honor me with your blood.” Araj Oblodra smiles. It’s not warm or welcoming; something devious dances across her face. It makes you uncomfortable. “With one drop, I can brew a rather potent potion for you. The rest, I keep for myself.”

You can’t hide the grimace that overtakes your face. ‘Sanguineous arts’ already struck an odd chord within you, but asking for your blood? And even going so far as to keep some for herself? “What will you do with the rest?”

“The excess would be used for my experiments. I’m always working to find ways to make stronger potions. Who knows what the blood of a True Soul could do for even a rather simple mixture?”

You cringe. “Not interested, sorry.”

She sighs, scowling. “A pity. Although, perhaps there’s one more thing we can discuss: your friend.” She looks at Astarion, but not as the person he is. Her eyes scan him over like she’s looking at an object, studying a rare work of art. Astarion notices it, too. She turns her eyes from him and he’s relieved to be spared from that look, if only temporarily. “He’s a vampire, no? Or one of their spawn, at least.”

Astarion slapped on a fake grin. “Oh, don’t worry, we’re all friends under the Absolute.” He lifts his chin, donning an air of confidence. “I won’t bite.”

“Oh I’d prefer if you did.” She smirks. An uneasy feeling settles heavily in your gut. His mask slips. “I assume he belongs to you?”

Your eyes shoot wide open. “Excuse me?” The question has you reeling. It takes you a moment to find your words. “He’s his own person!”

She laughs and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. “I’m sure he really believes that. How utterly adorable.” For a brief moment, all you see in her place are the faces of all the loyal subjects under her. She turns to the elf, head held high so she’s looking down her nose at him with a sneer. “Do you have a name, spawn?”

When you look over, Astarion is shifting uneasy in his armor. He’s used to being reduced to nothing - less than human, only fit for someone else’s gain. But it hadn’t happened since the crash. This was… a lot. “Astarion, but hold on-”

“Good,” Araj cuts him off with a smirk. “Now, Astarion.” You want to throw up when she says his name like that. “I’ve dreamt of being bitten by a vampire since I was a young girl.”

He balks. “I’m sorry? You want to be bitten?”

Something otherly and unsettling sets into her face and voice as she speaks. “To feel your life’s blood slipping away? To dance on the edge between life and death?” Her voice is airy as she says, “Yes, I want it.” You’re fortunate enough it goes back to being somewhat normal when she returns to talking about business. “I’ll even compensate you - a potion of legendary power that forever increases the strength of the one who consumes it. It’s not for sale, but it’s yours if you bite me.”

“I will have to decline.”

“Excuse me?” she scoffs. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and you’re squandering it.”

Astarion scowls, creases deepening with the anger in his expression. “I gave you my answer.”

Araj still looks furious when she turns on you. “Can’t you talk some sense into your obstinate charge?”

Your hand twitches by your dagger, but it’s not blind fear that rules you. This is entirely different from the Gur. He’d been on the hunt for you, to bring you back to Berdusk and your master. All Araj cared about was Astarion. All she wanted was for him to bite her, even when he said no. This was not fear, this was anger.

“Can’t you understand ‘no’? He’s not going to bite you.” You glared at the drow. Whatever shock you felt before had been pushed aside. She didn’t care about Astarion’s free will, and she never would. She was just like all the others you’d seen that ache for a vampire’s bite.

She gasps like she’s been insulted to her very core. “It’s obvious you’ve let him indulge plenty in your own neck. Is that it, then? You want him all to yourself?”

You don’t know what happened. Everything is a blur, a flurry of motion that makes your head spin. Once you process where you are, ice floods your veins.

Araj is on the floor, staring up at you with wide, horrified eyes. You’re on top of her, legs straddling her waist and a hand at her shoulder keeping her held down. Your dagger hangs mere inches from her eye. And then you realize the thing that stopped you from killing another innocent: a hand around your wrist, pulling the knife away from Araj. Astarion’s hand.

He doesn’t want her to live, gods no. But he remembers what happened to you the last time you took someone’s life through blind emotion. He doesn’t want to see you like that again.

You scowl down at her as you growl out, “He. Said. No.”

She nods fearfully - she’d have agreed to anything you said if it meant saving her own skin. Your fingers loosen around the handle of the dagger and Astarion pries it from your hand. His other supports your waist as you stand up from the drow, backing away toward the others, who all watched with mixed expressions. You don’t turn away from her until you’re almost by the door. Only once it’s shut do your shoulders relax.

“What happened back there, soldier?” Karlach asks.

You sigh and take your weapon back from Astarion. “She… reminded me of somebody.” As you return the knife to its sheath, you shake your head. “Nevermind. Let’s just go.”

Astarion clears his throat as he enters his tent. You’re sitting on your bedroll, looking at the different candles you’d dug out of storage. You were running low, and you wanted to try optimizing them to the best of your abilities, until you could find or purchase more. You look up from your work, watching as he takes his seat across from you.

“I, uh, I wanted to thank you.”

You tilt your head at him as you set the candles aside. “What for?”

“For nearly killing that vile drow, for what you said back there.”

You half-chuckle. “It, admittedly, wasn’t for purely selfless reasons.” Your hands begin fiddling with each other in your lap. “She reminded me of the servants my master keeps. They all vye for her attention, desperately wishing she would drink from them instead of…” You clear your throat. “When she kept saying you belonged to me, I just- I lost control.”

He hummed, understanding precisely. When Araj saw your scar and brought it up, not knowing he wasn’t the one that gave it to you, her fate was sealed. She would be a corpse right now if he hadn’t acted quickly enough. “I’m grateful, all the same. I spent two hundred years using my body to lure pretty things back for my master. What I wanted, how I felt about what I was doing, it never mattered. You could have asked me to do the same - to throw myself at her, what I wanted be damned.”

“I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do,” you asserted. “You’ve spent too long already having to deal with that. And, she didn’t seem like she’d make a good meal.”

He chuckles, shaking his head. “No, I don’t believe so.” His nose wrinkled. “Her blood smelled absolutely foul. No potion would have been worth the stomachache.”

“What’s wrong with her blood?”

“Gods know what. There’s no telling what she’s experimented with in her line of work.”

“Gods willing, we’ll never know.” You reach for the candles again, prepared to pick one out so the very moment this one runs out, you’re not fumbling about trying to bring back the light, but his hand stops you. You look at him again. His face is leaned in close to yours.

“There’s… something else I wanted to discuss.” He can see the bob of your throat as you swallow, but you nod. “I know we both have our own demons to contend with, and we will, in time, but…” He lets out a soft breath. “You… You’re incredible. So many times, you’ve had ample opportunity to turn me away for what I am alone, but you didn’t. You confided in me, despite it all.”

“I trust you, Astarion,” you whisper. He can feel the warmth of your air against his lips.

“I want us to be something,” he confesses. “Something real. I just don’t know what ‘real’ looks like. Not after two hundred years of playing the rake.” He frowns. “Being close to someone - any kind of intimacy - was something I performed to lure people back for him. Even though I know things between us are different, being with someone still feels… tainted. Still brings up those feelings of disgust and loathing. I don’t know how else to be with someone. No matter how much I’d like to.”

You lean back from him slightly, giving him more room. He misses the way your breath fanned across his skin, but thinking about it for too long puts a vice around his undead heart. You don’t pull your hand from his. “Is this okay?”

He hums softly, thinking. “I don’t mind it as much, if it’s you,” he admits. “It feels… different. A good different.”

Your lips curl slightly into a soft smile. “Then we can keep figuring it out. Together.”

He laughs a little breathlessly, almost shocked by your answer; surprised with how easily you accept his burdens. “You… You are full of surprises, aren’t you?” He glides his hand along yours until your fingers are interlaced. Palm to palm, he can feel the callouses that litter your hands, built up from the moment your freedom began. They were still soft, only a few weeks old at best. “Honestly, I have no idea what we’re doing. Or what comes next. But I know that this…” He looks into your eyes. You look at him so openly, so earnestly. How could you be the product of your past when he’d ended up the way he did? How could you be so kind despite it all? He smiled. “This is nice.”

---

Tag List:

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rukbat3 · 2 months

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Babylon 5 Rewatch - A Voice in the Wilderness (Part 2)

This is a post I originally wrote several years ago for Mark Oshiro’s Mark Watches blog. I don’t really plan to edit them before posting, so there may be some references that don’t make sense. If you see words that look like gibberish, they are actually rot13, which was our way of discussing spoilers. There are plugins you can install to decode the text (Cryptext is the one I use), or you can copy/paste to rot13.com, or just ignore it.

Overall, I’d rate this two-parter as being fine. Nothing really stands out as exceptional for me (except the B5 Mantra in part 1), but there is nothing I particularly dislike either. I don’t mind watching it, which is good because it sets up certain things down the road, but there are definitely better episodes. Vg'f nyfb uneq gb nibvq pbzcnevat vg gb gur frevrf'f bgure gjb-cnegre, gb gurfr rcvfbqrf' qrgevzrag.

Now that I can talk about the main plots, I find that I don’t really have much to say. I find Captain Pierce irritating, but then again, you’re supposed to. One of the most annoying things about him is the fact that it’s actually not that bad of an idea to have a warship as backup in this situation, as we can see once the alien ship shows up, but Captain Pierce is entirely the wrong person for the job. In fact, he’s so much the opposite of the kind of person you’d want on your side in a situation like this one that he’s almost a caricature.

Ng svefg tynapr, V sbhaq Pncgnva Cvrepr pbzcyrgryl haoryvrinoyr va uvf vzcrevnyvfgvp nggvghqrf naq pbzcyrgr ershfny gb yvfgra gb nalguvat Fvapynve unq gb fnl. Ohg va uvaqfvtug, vg orpbzrf pbzcyrgryl haqrefgnaqnoyr gung guvf vf rknpgyl gur xvaq bs crefba gur Bssvpr bs Cynargnel Frphevgl jbhyq fraq gb gnxr punetr bs gur fvghngvba, naq vg'f npghnyyl nabgure fhogyr vaqvpngvba bs gur qvivfvbaf ortvaavat gb fubj va RneguTbi. V fgvyy guvax Cvrepr uvzfrys vf n yvggyr gbb bire-gur-gbc, gubhtu.

We find out in this episode (or at least, Draal guesses) that the reason Varn appeared to Londo, as well as to him and Sinclair, is because the three of them are most familiar with the third principle of sentient life—its capacity for self-sacrifice. I can definitely see this applying to Draal and Sinclair, but Londo? What do you guys think? Does this characteristic apply to him?

In the same scene, Delenn warns Londo seriously, “I don’t think you fully understand what Draal is asking of you.” Londo replies, “One of us will not return, yes?” This scene is trying to be super dramatic, but come on. Draal is clearly the redshirt in this situation. Not only is he the only one of the three not in the main cast, but he’s even come to the station already in the process of letting go of his old life. Attempt at creating tension: unsuccessful.

I suppose I should talk a little bit about Garibaldi’s story in this episode. It’s interesting that early on in part 1, there is a scene which really emphasizes Garibaldi’s interest in Talia (in a weird stalkery way), before dropping the subject entirely for Garibaldi to focus on this old relationship. I do like that when he asks Talia for help, there is some acknowledgement of the awkwardness of the situation and that he is completely professional and polite. This is the Garibaldi I like, and I suppose we’ll have to wait and see what effect, if any, this little interlude will have on his behavior towards Talia.

[whole series] Sbe gubfr bs hf jub unir frra gur fubj orsber, jr xabj gung Yvfr vf raqtnzr sbe Tnevonyqv, naq guhf vg vf sha gb frr ure urer va jung frrzf irel zhpu yvxr n fvatyr-rcvfbqr thrfg ebyr, gurer bayl gb svyy va Tnevonyqv'f onpxfgbel n yvggyr zber. Naq lrg, fur nccrnef va synfuonpx va gur irel arkg rcvfbqr, cbffvoyl vaqvpngvat gung fur'f zber vzcbegnag guna jr zvtug unir gubhtug. Vg znxrf zr jbaqre jung jbhyq unir unccrarq vs Gnyvn unq arire yrsg gur fubj. Jnf gur cyna nyjnlf sbe uvz gb raq hc jvgu Yvfr, be vf guvf fbzrguvat ryfr gung unq gb punatr zvq-fgernz? V'ir arire urneq bs WZF fcrnxvat nobhg guvf. Qbrf nalbar ryfr xabj? Be unir n thrff?

One more thing about this subplot: Garibaldi finally manages to contact Lise, and she starts to try and tell him something, but he interrupts her because he just has to get his confession of love out before he loses his nerve. Oh, Garibaldi! Don’t you realize you’re in a work of fiction, and in a work of fiction nothing good can come of interrupting someone who is trying to tell you something? You could have been saved the embarrassment if only you had recognized the trope!

[whole series] Ybaqb, va nterrvat gb uryc Qryraa, Qenny, naq Inea trg qbja gb gur cynarg, gryyf gurz, "V fjber gung V jbhyq qvr ba zl srrg qbvat fbzrguvat aboyr naq oenir naq shgvyr." BZT nggnpx bs gur Ybaqb srryf! Guvf vf nyzbfg rknpgyl ubj ur qbrf tb bhg—rkprcg gung jung ur qbrf vf abg shgvyr ng nyy.

Favorite scene: This episode has a few great lines scattered here and there, but not really any extended scenes that captivate me. If I can be permitted to link two short scenes across a commercial break, I’d pick Londo piloting the shuttle. He’s so clearly having a blast, but, whoops! he’s a little out of practice. Plus, there’s another great blooper involving this scene. Skip to 7:05 in the video below.

youtube

#babylon 5 rewatch #b5 rewatch #babylon 5 #b5 #a voice in the wilderness #Youtube

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assblastergaster · 10 months

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I am finally starting to see the light on just how robust all of the companion origin romances are (i.e. romances within the party outside of tav). While larian obvs had to work with sudden, abrupt story changes and losses, somehow they still managed to make all of their stories so intertwined that all possible romances are good.

Take Karlach for example:

• Wyll: Their stories are literal parallels; They both were following someone with power and influence, yearning to serve them and others to the best of their abilities—and were both discarded after being tricked into (literal) hell. together they provide for each other what was taken without denying themselves what has changed them (more devilish? so be it, i am stronger for it). She will guard what he loves without question—all he's ever tried to do—and he will stand against the forces that served to get them here, all she's ever wanted. They have both been forever changed to be more devilish (scarred, marked, horned, dehorned) but still yearn to thrive amongst their peers to no avail. He will always be a human with fangs and horns, and she will always be a tiefling with no horn(s), no heart. They are each other's only peers, the hunter and the prey.

• Shadowheart: One young girl is torn from the people she loves, her home, the authority figure she serves. She is marred by this person. Her parents are lost to her—she will never get to say goodbye, never get to hug them again. Her peers shun her, believe her dead or worse. Her only friends are lost to her (or so she thinks). She is a half-elf forcibly blinded to the ways of the world, sent on a suicide mission to secure her master's authority. She is a tiefling who has forgotten the joys of the world, escaping a suicide mission meant to secure her master's authority. They were both taught to selfishly strike out against the world to just survive. Together they find something alien to both of them—self prioritization without selfishness (I am not made to serve, i was made to be here. with you).

• Astarion: He is empty of life, cold and buried; She is being consumed by her life, toiling and burned. They were both, for lack of better words, Baldurian hot-shots in their youths. A learned magistrate and the head guard of an up-and-coming Baneite. They were both likely very corrupt. Astarion is obvious—his attack by the Gur was prob in response to prejudiced rulings. But Karlach was working for fucking Gortash. She's not an idiot, and while she certainly has a soft spot for the community, she had to have had a hand in his nefarious doings. Regardless, both of them are still furious about what happened to them, rightfully so—and neither is willing to accept (yet) that the version of them they left behind was not what they want now. They both want revenge, to kill the fucks that stole them away. And they both get it, only to find that they need to make a life after this, not to mourn the life before this.

• Lae'zel: This, like all Lae'zel romances, is a tale of two cities. Lae'zel wants to serve someone so badly, else she cannot prove to others (and herself) that she is worth the air she is breathing. Her culture demands it, history commands it, and she was born for it. But she can't do it. Not blindly. Karlach was a rough and tumble child on the streets of Baldur's Gate looking to eke out her livelihood without serving authority. But she couldn't avoid it, nothing she's good at could make money or earn respect except for serving as a guard, as a soldier. At first meeting, they both immediately respect and pity each other. Karlach likes seeing someone so proud of who they choose to serve, but innately understands that it is not a choice. Lae'zel likes seeing someone strong enough to command respect, but knows that she "should" want to serve someone too. They see themselves in the other. Neither understands, but they will. Karlach will see why Lae'zel is so desperate to belong, to serve—Lae'zel will see why she is too scared to submit.

• Gale: We both have a bomb in our chests. A divine being, omnipotent in all but name, placed it within you and quelled its fire so long as you obey and worship. The most obscene devil, queen of the Hells, ripped me from my home and gave me this, its flame fanned by servitude and snuffed by disobedience. Gale has lost himself to depression, Karlach to rage. He pours through books searching for the answer he will never find, but that's how he got here in the first place. Karlach smashes her way through everything, making ragtag enemies and allies along the way, but that's how she got here. Before anyone says some bullshit about Karlach being too "dumb" or Gale being too "pretentious;" Karlach is not dumb, she is naïve (which lends itself to dumb decisions) but wise. She's led an experience-rich life (encountered through misplaced trust and naivety) and has learned lessons from every single one, something she learns to temper within Gale as well. Gale has done many things but actually learned from very few of them, which is one of the reasons why he's immediately eager for the Crown. But he's also not an idiot, he's just vulnerable. Together, they balance each other emotionally and pedagogically.

Obviously this is focusing on the narrative aspects of these relationships—not the personal intricacies. But the majesty of this writing is that these are all characters written by separate people, forging separate stories with thousands of paths each. It's just unheard of.

#but of course everyone is still subject to personal taste #to me though doesn't matter. bg3 has finally given me the freedom of story choice that dragon age has been trying to do for a while #i honestly like all of them i just prefer some to others. which is new for me!#however did just see a post about how (playersexual makes them feel like dolls and astarion should just be gay) first of all fuck you.#second they are not playersexual they are bisexual and we can contain multitudes bitch!! bi butches and twinks unite thank you #baldur's gate 3 #karlach #wyll ravengard #also btw in the gale/karlach one that's not an attempt at writin dialogue for karlach that would be insane #Lae'zel #gale of waterdeep #shadowheart #astarion

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raviolirash · 9 months

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This is all just a way too long personal theory/ramble abt the boi if u disagree that ok

Tldr I believe pre-Caz Astarion is a young asshole who is punished with a job he doesn't take seriously, and his noble parents don't respect him enough to see how much of a good person he could be given a proper chance at redemption and it all goes to shit, naturally.

Long version:

I see few years pre-Cazador Astarion as that asshole teenager who's getting away with everything. He's used to being told that he's handsome, rich, and above others. He's getting away with things, he's spoiled, and has no experience of the world. Especially work experience.

My theory is that Astarion was forced into the magistrate job as a punishment and just didn't give enough of a fuck about the world to take the job seriously, as opposed to consciously being malicious/evil. He is power hungry in the game, half as a response to being powerless for 200 years. That being said:

He's a rogue, through and through. It's implied a lot including with the "I've missed this" line that he wasn't a proper and polite city boy before Cazador. I don't see him doing paperwork or sitting next to a large fancy dinner table without screwing around with a dagger. He slouches. He has his feet on the table. He's a nerd.

If you call The Watch in the final battle, he jokes that it feels wrong to call for guards to come and do something. He's not a snitch. If he sees someone stealing from a sick person he gives a thumbs up. He canonically hates cops lol.

Leading to my theory that he was being so rambunctious and belligerent, his noble parents/elders forced him into the magistrate job as a punishment of sorts because they were just so sick of his bullshit. Just rich people things.

So now:

You have a handsome young elf, with people probably fawning over his beauty, known for breaking laws and being The Worst, not respecting authority and etc. And he's put into a magistrate position through presumably nepotism. He becomes one of those asshole sons of a rich bastard who is a fuck up. Rich, spoiled, knows that he's above others which influences his haphazard rulings and provides him a nice power trip, has a bit of education but not enough to not steal from grandmas.*1

Of course it's going to be a glorious mess! He doesn't care about the world enough to take a stand and try to change the corrupt system from within. Fuck that. He's going to make it worse. Who cares. If there was any good in him, at best it was maybe because he knew it's already fucked and he's not there to be a hero and fix it.

It makes sense that he would double down on the "evil" once freed from Cazador in Act 1. He's used to everything going south because - ironically enough - of the world's failure to do anything good for the helpless and weak. Without realizing that he was also part of the problem once. Hell. He got beaten up by Gur for a ruling he made and his takeaway was "all Gur are bad" and not Baldur's Gate fucking SUCKS and something should be done. No seriously. The politics of the city and the ruling systems are so fucking broken. Bhaal the god of MURDER LITERALLY LIVES UNDERNEATH THE CITY. What is WRONG with this town.

Either way, I don't believe he was consciously and maliciously an evil person. Especially given the scale of evil the city of Baldur's Gate has to offer. If he was, he would have been much worse. He was corrupt in a shithead way and not "we're going to take resources from orphanages to build a machine that punches you in the dick when you tell your boss you are too tired to work overtime in the mines" *2 *3

I also think that he was the reason why Cazador implemented the "no nobles lol that raises suspicion" rule. And the reason why no one of Astarion's family recognized him was because they were too snobby for Elfsong or Blushing Mermaid.

I think his parents still loved him though.

Clarification station under read more

*1. (I guess this does fall under some people's definition of evil, but for me honestly the true evil is the system which allows these people fall into power in the first place and in this essay---.)

*2. (Actions of negligent people in power aren't diminished. If negligence causes a death it is still a death.)

*3. (I don't think he was a young baby either, like a lot of fandom does. He was still young when he was turned but not a teenager. I just believe he was even younger when he started working as a Magistrate. Like on a personal note, it was really heartbreaking when Billy Kametz died because he died so horrifically young. He was 35. 35 is still heartbreaking young.)

#astarion #astarion ancunin

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sniiboo · 7 months

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Target Acquired

Arendith grabbed a notebook from a small table in her tent and grabbed a feather pen and ink before laying everything on a tray beside her bed roll. She flopped down on her stomach and kicked her legs gently in the air while thinking. The tent flaps tied open to let in air, which she sniffed at in interest before continuing her previously written train of thought.

“feelings affecting taste..” she mumbled before shoving the tray not ungently to the side as she heard someone approach her tent. A waft of Earl Grey filtered into her nose; she lifted her eyes expecting to see rich bloodstone eyes but found herself gazing at the campfire.

“I know you’re there... I can smell you, Astarion.” she rolled onto her back, letting her hips drop suggestively, her gown only helping.

The large thigh-high slits on either side had the fabric pooling in between her legs, and Astarion swallowed hard. He came to play the game, and she was obviously no amateur. His body stiffened as her candle's reflection glinted in her Raspberry eyes, but he quickly recovered to reveal himself standing outside her tent entrance.

“Good evening. How do you feel?” Astarion asked as he twirled his hand, feigning disinterest.

Arendith shrugged, throwing his nonchalance back into his face. She grabbed a pear from a basket and bit into it, licking the juice from her lips. Astarion watched her closely as he redirected his counter-assault.

“Well, I’d say lucky for you I’m not a true vampire, so you’re at no peril of turning into a vampire spawn like me. But Darling you seem to have some explaining to do. Although I dare say you are rather much more fetching in red.”

“Seems I’m not the only one caught wearing a mask. That is what you are doing is it not? Hiding behind the witty handsome devil you oh so clearly are.” Arendith spiked back enjoying the twitch her comment brought to his upper lip. “What is there to say seems you’ve figured me out. Is that why you’ve come sneaking about? To gloat?” she licked her fingers clean remaining in the same suggestive pose.

His eyes trailed after her fingers, fragmenting into more questions but chalking everything up to the squirming tennant giving her a benefit his saw fit to leave behind, perhaps in favour of something else. She was obviously on the run from her own Master, the occasionally flitty behaviour, hiding amongst the living, it all slotted nicely into place and gave him a powerful ally. He had watched how feral she had gotten turning into a wolf and ultimately landing a killing blow on the Gur hunting him earlier in the day. He cocked his head assessing her further. It was time to pivot his tactic. He sat down on the ground leaning against her nest of pillows.

“Fine, I was just thinking about you. And that delicious moment we shared the other night.”

Arendith rolled her eyes expecting the next words out of his mouth to be about him wanting more so she quickly replied “Delicious? Oh! You mean when I had to stop you from overdrawi-”

“And I am deeply sorry. I was overeager - but can you blame me? You were my first.” he gestured quickly and slightly awkwardly.

“OVEREAGER?! You think... You were basically... Wait what…” she faltered her mask slipping just as unexpectedly as his.

He continued before he lost his nerve. “In all these years, I’ve only ever fed on beasts. Drinking the blood of thinking creatures is a different thing entirely.” Arendith shifted to sit cross-legged eyes trailing after him cautiously as she innocuously slid her mask back up as he continued “You were delectable. And now I just can’t help but wonder how the others taste.” Astarion's carmine eyes roamed to the open tent flap across the view where the other companions busied themselves around camp, a perfect time to slide on his svelt mask.

Did he want to flirt? Fine, Arendith could flirt. She could leave him hard and bad for her, before he even realized what happened she’d be gone. It was her job to make others want her and she was good at it. It was why Alistair had called her Wife. “You’re looking at other necks?” She shifted her position closer to him, drawing her legs into a luxurious stretch like a cat in the sun before she rested her head in his lap. “I’m hurt.” she started to draw circles into his knee.

“Don’t worry Little Death, there’s enough of me to go around. I’m a man of tremendous appetites.” he caught her eyes his lips shifting into a smirk, and he drew his hand up making a show of bringing it to his mouth in a glaringly obvious fake gesture of contemplation. “I don’t think they’d volunteer, of course, but it doesn’t make me any less curious. Take Gale, for example. He strikes me as someone whose blood is rich, refined like a well-aged brandy.”

“Perhaps at one point but I can smell it from here, he’s tainted with something.” Arendith made a show of yawning.

He smiled despite himself wrapping a strand of her silver hair around a finger to busy himself with. “But the gith? What in the hells would she taste like” he looked down at her pausing his ministrations awaiting her answer.

Arendith raised her hand up making a show of looking at what were normally beautifully manicured nails. “Easy, something exotic. An Amman Liqueur?”

Astarion continued to card through her hair, drawing an almost feline-like purr from her. The rumble shocked him to the core and he found himself shifting the weight of her head slightly. “Ohh, that sounds very appealing. I’m almost convinced.” he internally bristled unsure if he was responding to her assessment or her purr he found himself talking to fill the gap “Of course nobody is getting killed, I swear. We’re just two friends talking.” His heart would have dropped if it could he paused his stroke and found her looking at him almost as shocked. “So - in the spirit of theoretical questions - if you had to take a bite from one of them, who would it be?”

Arendith looked up at him lids dropped lustily “You of course.” she giggled internally at the thrill of the chase. She had him right where she wanted.

He returned her gaze hungrily “Oh, I’m flattered. Who knew you had such taste?” He moved her head gently before standing up and altering his appearance. “Unfortunately all this talk is getting me hungry. I’d better find something I can actually sink my teeth into.”

She sat up blushing slightly as her camp shirt fell off her shoulder “Good hunting.” She whispered gently looking down demurely.

He reached the front of her tent smiling a genuine smile for once. He found himself wanting to ask her to join. Imagine the two of them taking down something large, he could get her blood drunk and have his way with her, ensuring himself an ally and hunting partner in the deal. “There’s nothing that tasty lurking out in the woods, but I’ll make do. Sweet Dreams.” he cleared his throat and left his gate unnaturally stiff for him.

Arendith buried her head in a pillow silently screaming in frustration, and yet…

They each smiled a genuine smile, celebrating internally that they had the other target exactly where they needed while trying to ignore the alarm bells going off inside their minds like their world was coming to a shattering end.

#astarion x reader #astarion fanfic #astarion fanfiction #astarion #astarion x oc #astarion x tav

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ravnloft · 1 year

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wicked turns #1-3.

what's up everybody guess who's writing fanfic again lol. amma theylin (drow rogue/fighter, neutral) and astarion ancunin (high elf rogue/bard, leaning evil) get into Some BullshitTM

“So, there’s a monster hunter down by Auntie Ethel’s place,” Amma says.

It’s midday. No one’s really injured, but after the tension of negotiating with goblins and tea with a hag, the group agreed it’s best to turn in early. Shadowheart is off doing something with incense and murmured prayers. Karlach is already half-naked and wading into the lake, and she gives a loud sigh of relief as the water steams up around her massive shoulders. Gale, without an item of acceptable enchantment level (to him) and worthlessness (to Amma), has decided his talents are better used here in camp, doing… something. Nothing? Whatever. As long as he’s not pestering her for loot, Amma couldn’t care less. Astarion said he’d watch over the poor dear, which is just as well for everyone else, because then they won’t have to deal with his antics, too.

But they’re all back at camp now, and there is a discussion to be had.

“A Gur,” Amma continues. “Said his name was Gandrel.”

Astarion is laid out on his little nest of carpets and cushions like a cat in a sunbeam. She watches him intently– sees the tendons in his hands tighten on the book he’s holding, the twitch of his shirtsleeve where the muscle tenses in his arm. He’s nervous.

“Told us something rather interesting,” comes Wyll’s voice from over her shoulder. He stands soldier-straight. Closer than Amma would like, but for this conversation– well, she’s just glad he’s not so disappointed in her that he wouldn’t stand beside her now. “About a vampire spawn he’s tracking.”

Astarion does his absolute best to be nonchalant. His eyes focus on the page of his book, he licks his thumb, turns the page.

“Tall tales, no doubt,” he says. “Did he ask for money? That’s a trick as old as Balduran. ‘I’m facing unimaginable evils, but I must have alms to fund my fight’. Might as well just make a wish and throw your coin into a well– you’ll see just as much reward for it.” Then, with a cold, sharp edge: “– You didn’t tell him where we’re camping, did you?”

“Should I have?”

Amma waits half a moment to see Astarion’s eyes stray from the page. That’s all the confirmation she needs.

“He was looking for you,” she says.

Astarion is slow and purposeful to stand. Wyll moves beside her, quick, instinctive– she holds her arm out to keep him back. She can hear the whisper of his rapier unsheathing like it has a mind of its own. Who’s the bloodthirsty one now, she wonders idly.

Astarion is just as tense. He’s standing in a way she’s never seen before: like an animal ready to pounce. But he hasn’t. Yet.

Measured, from between his teeth: “And what did you say to him?”

“I said, ‘You smell disgusting, might want to wash up before you speak with the lady of the house, good luck’. And then I left.”

Astarion turns his head and looks at her sidelong for a moment– a hawk, spotting a mouse– before his attention flashes back to the Blade. A hawk, spotting a mouse, and then the crows coming to chase him from the nest.

“I didn’t tell him anything,” says Amma. “Because you’ve been useful so far. If this hunter’s after you, that’s your business. But if you can explain why– then maybe keeping him away from you will be our business.”

She watches Astarion’s chest rise and fall beneath the fine silk of his shirt, watches the noonday sun blaze against his cheek. Shouldn’t that be impossible? Shouldn’t that have killed him already? Shouldn’t he have killed them already? Something keeps him from it. Not simply the tadpole, nor the artifact, and certainly not sentiment. But then– what?

“I’m not saying anything until you stay your blade,” he says to Wyll.

Wyll actually laughs. “Do you take me for a fool?”

“Well–”

Amma moves closer to Astarion. He steps back, in turn, one harsh line appearing in his face as his jaw clenches. No longer a hawk– an alley dog. Starved and trembling. She’s suddenly aware that everyone in camp has gathered around them: Shadowheart, still in her chain shirt; Karlach, smelling of wet iron, infernal heat coming off her in waves; Gale, propped up on his staff, sleepless, but still able to shoot ice and lightning from his hands.

Amma has never faced a vampire before. Nor has Wyll, if he spoke true to Gandrel. How fast is a spawn? How fast is a spawn with a mind flayer tadpole? Could they put him down before he strikes? Would he kill them? Would he turn them into mindless, bloodless slaves? Can he be felled by simple blades? Do they need a stake? Holy water? To find his grave and burn it?

“So what if I am a vampire?” He raises his hands, a pleading note in his voice. “I’m just as desperate as the rest of you. I’m– I’m a tadpole-haver first, and– a vampire second.”

“That boar,” Amma says, “in the forest.”

“Yes.” His shoulders lower a fraction of an inch, his face falls with relief. “I’m not some monster, lurking in the dark like all the stories. I’ve never even killed anyone! Well– not until recently.” A beat. “Not for food, at least.”

A strange sensation courses through her, and Amma can feel her companion’s mind unfold, secrets half-revealed. Her teeth pierce thick boar-hide and she drinks deep. She takes in his face. His hair, white, unnaturally so. How old is he, really? How many years has his face looked like this? She imagines the skull beneath it, fanged and terrible. She imagines the blood and veins and meat of his brain. The tadpole turns a figure-eight behind her eye. Astarion’s face lurches. His eyes grow wide and he leans away from her, but not before her mind finds purchase in his own– and bites.

There is no camp, no swamp, no Gandrel. There is nothing but blackness and blood. Others’; his own. Hunger. Terror. Hate. Gargantuan sensations, but all of them eclipsed by the sight of his eyes, shining in the dark like raw, fresh, bloody meat, and his voice, cold, cutting to the core, commanding. Ignoring fleas, ignoring mange, teeth find purchase in a rat, crunching its small ribs against the palate, clumps of fur on tongue, it’s rancid and it’s dead but it’s blood blood blood in mouth in throat in stomach–

Reality returns with a dizzying wave of fear and disgust. Amma sways, and so does Astarion– clutching his temple, shrinking back into the shadow of his tent, reeling like a struck hound. Her vision swims. She can still taste blood in the back of her throat. Is it from his memory? Or is it carnage in the wake of the tadpole’s turn, trickling down from the basin of her skull? She pushes it down. If he’s going to fight back–

– He doesn’t fight back.

She looks into the gloom of the tent, into eyes so red they look flayed; he stares back into her, piercing, unmerciful. The connection has been severed, but the memories remain. The way he looks at her– is it disgust? For his own past? For her intrusion? Does he want mercy? Understanding? She doesn’t know, nor does she particularly care, and she doubts she even has those emotions in her anymore.

(What did he unearth in her while she was digging inside him?)

But of this, she’s certain: Astarion is a monster. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. A charming thing that rips and claws and feeds as soon as it can get the chance. From the moment they met, he’s never been anything else, whether his blade was at her throat or in a goblin’s belly. There is no quivering conscience in him– not like the others.

She could use a monster.

“Animals,” he gasps. “Rats. Deer. Kobolds. Whatever I can get.” His face twists as he stands; she feels the psionic strands binding all of them together twist with it.

“Not because you wanted to.”

“I– yes. Yes, I ate whatever disgusting vermin my master picked. So you can see why I was slow to trust you.”

He’s moved near to her, again– nearer than before. He looks down at her. The shape of his mouth is still holding onto a grimace, a snarl; this close, she can indeed see the pointed fangs between his lips. The sun hits his eyes like rubies. She imagines him covered in gore.

“But I do trust you. And you can trust me.”

She doesn’t.

From behind her– Wyll’s disdain: “Enough of this.” The sound of his blade unsheathed again.

“Stop,” Amma says sharply. “He stays. If you don’t like it, you can leave.”

“Thank you,” Astarion sighs. In an instant, he’s back to his usual self: he throws his hands out wide, inviting, grins at them all. It doesn’t reach his eyes. “And just like that, we’re all friends again. Now, do try to get some rest, will you? You’re all looking somewhat worse for wear.”

Shadowheart simply shrugs and goes back to her prayers. Gale and Wyll walk off together, grumbling darkly. Karlach turns, runs, and jumps back into the lake with a joyous whoop.

Astarion does not pick his book back up. Instead, he starts putting on his boots.

“Thought you trusted us,” Amma says.

“I trust you plenty.”

He whistles a happy tune, picks up his blade, thumbs the edge of it carefully. He makes a little show of gathering his things and buttoning his gambeson. When she doesn’t leave, he shoots her a smile– a real smile, sharp and scheming.

“Which is why you’re invited to help me kill this Gur.”

For a creature that must drink blood, Astarion loves to waste the stuff.

Sure, there’s satisfaction to be found in killing; sure, there’s a pleasure in putting someone’s insides on the outside. There’s bloodlust and delight in violence. He has these traits. There’s also common sense– strategy– not running headfirst into a fight against someone willing to bet their soul on killing him. He does not have these. It’s a lack that Shadowheart was ready to slap him over after removing four arrows from Astarion’s chest and one from Amma’s leg, bless her dark heart.

Regardless– Gandrel is dead, everyone else is alive, and after going through the hunter’s things, Amma is a whole one gold and three silver richer than before. She’s calling it a win.

Before this, Amma was used to traveling with humans, dwarves, tieflings– plenty of strange folk, certainly– but not elves. She’s used to being the only one who needs a four-hour trance instead of an eight-hour sleep. Now, she has Astarion to deal with. She’s not happy about it. She’d use the extra time to study maps or textbooks on the task at hand, sharpen her blades, rifle through other people’s belongings to see if they had anything valuable; these aren’t activities that are aided by having someone else up and wandering around, asking what she’s doing.

For the last few nights, she had been working on a map of the nautiloid crash region– no idea if it was actually accurate or not, but at least it gave them some sense of direction– and trying to ignore Astarion’s existence. Tonight, given recent revelations, she’s opted to leave the camp entirely. Went off to the river with her bedroll and some soap and salvaged linens from the blighted village. (She hasn’t told anyone else she has these.) She’s gathered an untenable amount of blood and muck in her long hair, and she doesn’t want to cut it. They kept it shaved in Ched Nasad. It must be washed.

The water here is fresh and clear and cold. The soap smells so strongly of lavender that Amma suspects it was meant for laundry and not skin, but it’s all she has, so she’ll make do. Soon she sees the current outlined in bloody, pink suds. She lets her mind go blank and dark. She thinks of nothing but the small pains of frigid water against her skin, of pulling snags and tangles out of her hair. Wishes she had oil and a comb. Wishes she had a real tub. Wishes she was back in Baldur’s Gate, spending the night in a nice, busy tavern, full of pockets she can pick and goblets she can down. She stays on the riverbank long after she’s dry. She sets her bedroll out on the grass, curls up, and allows herself to fall into a trance.

Maybe she wakes up because she knows something is wrong. Maybe she just gets lucky.

“Shit,” Astarion mutters, inches from her face.

He stands quickly, holds his hands up, steps away from her. On instinct, she throws a dagger from under her pillow. It thunks ominously into a tree next to his head.

“It’s not what it looks like,” he panics.

As he stumbles through the explanation, she stalks to the tree, removes the dagger, and holds it to his throat.

“Why shouldn’t I?”

He draws his face into the now-familiar expression he gets when he’s trying to look harmless. “Because, I–” And then he swats the dagger out of her hand.

Not one to give up a fight, Amma slams her elbow into his face. She can hear his teeth click together. The pained sound he makes is very satisfying.

“You–” he snarls, then catches himself, tries to act human. “I wasn’t– I’m not here to hurt you.”

Amma takes advantage of his momentary lapse to wade ankle-deep into the stream, grab a piece of driftwood, and snap it over her knee.

“No, no, there’s no need for that,” he says– but keeps his distance. When she doesn’t drop the makeshift stake, he takes another step back. Breathes in deep to calm himself.

“I swear on my own grave, Amma, I am not here to harm you. I just want to talk.”

A long moment of consideration. She watches him– he’s relaxed, as best he can while rubbing his swiftly-bruising chin. He could have killed her, just then. Easily. Could have used her own knife against her. Could have taken a fistful of her hair and smashed her head into a rock or held it under the water until she stopped moving. But he didn’t.

“So talk,” she says.

Astarion looks at her feet in the water and clicks his tongue disapprovingly. Then he bends down and retrieves her dagger from the riverbank, holds it behind his back; he walks to the edge of the stream, places one foot on a protruding rock, and extends his free hand nobly to her.

“Come out of there and be civilized, will you?”

Warily, she sloshes over to him. She takes his hand. It’s cold, and soft, and when he closes his fingers around hers, it’s surprisingly gentle. He doesn’t pull her in so much as simply drift along with her. Without letting go, he leans down again and retrieves one of the linens she’d left drying on the shore, hands it to her.

“I’m sorry, I…” His voice trails off as he looks at her. He’s close enough for her to smell the perfume lingering on his clothes. His eyes come alive in the dark, bright and precious. He’s still holding her hand in his, practiced, graceful.

She pulls her hand away.

“What did you want to talk to me about?”

“Ah– yes. About today, earlier… fighting that monster hunter.”

Is it that he’s sorry for charging in like an idiot? He’s sorry for putting the group in danger like that, and it won’t happen again? Thank you, Amma, for protecting me so bravely from all the people who are trying to kill me?

“I just feel so… weak.” His face twists with the now-familiar look of disgust. For a moment, she’s struck with something– pity, maybe? Recognition? “Feeding on animals– it’s not enough. Not if I need to fight.”

That disgust, it’s something she feels, too. A rat in her mouth. A voice in his ear. They both know what it’s like to be made weak and small by someone else.

“If I just had a little blood,” he continues, “I could think clearer. Fight better. Please.”

“No. Go take it from somebody else.”

“Oh, you mean the cleric? Or the Blade of Frontiers? Or the tiefling that incinerates everything she touches? Or the man who can explode me with his mind? No. It has to be you.”

“The hells it does.”

“I wouldn’t be asking if we had any other choice,” he grimaces. “I need you alive. You need me strong. That’s the only way we’re going to save ourselves from these worms.”

He’s close to her. He’s very close to her. He could just reach out and trap her, but he doesn’t. And that’s somehow infuriating to her: that he would ask to bite her, that he seemingly cares what she would say. It blurs the line of trust– and mistrust– that she thought they’d drawn. It invites– sentimentality.

“Give me back my dagger,” she says.

“No, you’re going to stab me with it.”

“Give me back my dagger, and I’ll let you drink my blood.”

He cocks his head– a hawk, a mouse; a fox, a vole.

He pulls the blade hesitantly from behind his back. Hands it over to her. The way he watches her is predatory, dissective– his eyes linger at her collarbone, her jaw, her throat.

“It’ll only be a taste,” he breathes. “I swear. I’ll be well, you’ll be fine, and everything can go back to normal.”

“No, it won’t.”

Her blade flashes in the moonlight, and she presses it into her own palm.

“Get on your knees,” she tells him.

He does, but slowly. Calculating. There isn’t any worry in his face as he looks up at her (he thinks he’s good at hiding that kind of thing, but he’s not). Wariness, yes, but not fear. Instead, there is… intrigue. Fascination.

With red eyes fixed on the knife against her skin, he says, “You’re making this far more dramatic than it needs to be. You can just lie back. You won’t even feel a thing.”

Amma draws the blade across her palm, snikt, squeezes her hand into a fist so the blood streams thick and hot over her wrist. Holds it out to him.

“Stop talking,” she says.

Astarion doesn’t need to be told twice. He takes hold of her forearm with one hand, his grip much harder than is gentlemanly, and pries her fingers open with his other. He presses her bleeding palm to his lips with fervor. She can feel his teeth against the base of her fingers, his dead tongue lapping that which spills down to her wrist. It’s nauseating and thrilling in equal measure.

Eventually: “That’s enough.” She pulls her bloodied hand away from him. His grip shifts to her elbow, and his mouth moves to her wrist. He bares his fangs.

“Stop it,” she hisses. Jabs the pommel of her dagger hard into his jaw to try and make him let up. He does– falls back, clutching his jaw. For a moment, they lock eyes. She can see her blood dripping down his chin, coating his teeth, black in the moonlight. He can see the soft, naked pulse point in her neck.

He lunges.

This time, Amma has no chance to struggle– she’s already seeing stars just from what he’s taken at her wrist. When he bites down into her neck, it’s nothing like the hot snikt of a blade; it’s like a shard of ice. Her breath catches, her heart thrums. She can feel her blood racing as it courses through both their bodies. She feels cold.

She panics– acts on instinct– stabs. Her dagger drives easily into the meat of his thigh. He draws his head up from her with a horrible gasp, sending fat drops of blood across their shirts, lowing in pain. When he releases her, Amma’s legs give out. She can’t feel her feet.

“You wretched–” He grits his crimson teeth together and removes the dagger from his thigh. The rest of his sentence devolves into a painful snarl.

Her vision is dark at the edges. She can see him coming back to her as though through a telescope. She fumbles against him desperately, trying to push him back with bloodless limbs.

“Stop–” Her voice is hoarse and weak. His hands close around her wrists and force them to the ground, pinning her easily, effortlessly. “Astarion, stop–”

After that, all she feels is cold. There’s no more fear. No more struggle. Her vision goes dark knowing he’s still on her neck.

There are worse ways to die.

“No, no, you can’t die!”

The voice is muffled, unrecognizable. The world is dark. What happened? Who is this?

“Get up, damn you–”

There are hands at her chest, her wrist, her neck. Someone grips her chin and turns her head and it sends dull, throbbing pain all down the side of her torso. She smells blood, wet leaves, dirt. Back in prison? No, it doesn’t smell right. The wardens gave up trying to keep her alive after the fourth time she removed the bandages, anyway.

The hands leave her and she hears shuffling, rattling. She tries to turn over to her side. It’s hard. She’s so cold. So tired. Dimly, in the back of her mind, one dread thought forms: she failed. The Matron will be angry.

Healing magic shoots through her like a lightning bolt. A pale elven face swims into focus above her. She punches it.

“Agh! Gods damn it–”

Forest. Dawn, or close to it. Old, sticky blood on her hands. Astarion.

“I understand you’re upset, but let’s not get carried away,” she can hear him saying. It’s harsh and tight through gritted teeth. Amma sits up– difficult, painful. An awful, wet, metallic cough seizes in her throat. It makes her vision swim with pain.

“You fucking killed me,” she manages after a moment.

“‘Killed’ feels like a strong word,” he counters quickly. She watches him dab his knuckles under his nose, checking to see if it’s bleeding. It is. He grimaces. “Not many corpses have your vigor. Besides, I brought you back, didn’t I?”

She watches him. He watches her. The feeling of her body is starting to return. Her limbs feel weak, like the joints were loosened. Her neck throbs with every frantic beat of her heart. She struggles to blink stars out of her eyes.

“Now, I admit, I got a little– carried away last night,” he says. He lowers his chin and flutters his pretty lashes at the ground. “I apologize.”

“Take more than an apology,” Amma growls.

“Regardless, look at you now. Perfectly healthy! So let’s not fall out over this.”

She doesn’t feel perfectly healthy. She feels like, if she were to rate her bodily vivacity on a scale of zero to eighteen, with zero being dead and eighteen being pre-tadpole Amma, she’d be at a one right now.

His pale hand comes into view, open, delicate. He’s offering to help her up.

“We still need each other, after all,” he says.

She ignores it. “Do we?”

Clearly offended: “A strong, well-fed vampire? I’m a powerful weapon– you’d be a fool to toss me aside now.”

She’s loath to admit it, but he’s right.

“I didn’t trust you to begin with,” Amma says, “and I don’t trust you now. Go back to camp. We’ll talk about it later.”

He lingers.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?” he asks. It’s– disarmingly soft.

A wave of disgusting unhappiness washes over her. Not just at him, but at the memories he’s reminded her of. The Underdark. The Matron. Failure. Whether he intended to or not, Astarion has her at his mercy, and he’s the first person in over a hundred years to do that.

“Just go,” Amma spits at him.

He goes.

#bg3 posting #amma #mine #fanfic #writing #NOT putting any other tags on this. nobody look at me im shy fhgdfhgfddfh

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randomperson339 · 2 years

Text

Insects Gods and Mortals 3

AN: hey so this one was back when I was in the habbit of making several page long chapters. I'm going to try to make chapters of this length again, but the thing is I might not have the time anymore to make em w/ out taking months for a single one. That's months, with an s. And while I could do that, my neurodivergent ass wouldn't like it. Also here's the masterpost

Also new rule: Enligh is in italics, and whatever language bugs use is in normal font. (and if you want to start at the beginning, I've been tagging these w/ the title) anyway, enjoy

“Fuck.”

For the second time, that was all Thomas could say. If he was the host- if he was going to die- he needed immediate attention. Hopefully- hopefully he would have a week to sort everything out, and possibly get surgery to at the very least kill-

“No. No kill. Stay alive.” The queen retorted. “you kill / I kill you.”

“Yeah, but what about my life?” Thomas retorted. “If I just kill myself-“

“No.” The queen commanded, sending more shockwaves of pain coursing through Thomas. “I no die. Therefore, I keep host alive.”

“Yeah, but if I’m going to die, I might as well just keep myself alive until I tell the Pale King not to murder his hundreds of children. Then after that, I’m going to die anyway, so…”

“No. Keep alive.” The juvenile responded.

“How? Your birth cycle necessitates that I die. Therefore, I might as well just get it over with.” Thomas continued.

That stumped the Queen for a bit, allowing Thomas to try to stand up, before crashing back down. It seemed the Queen really didn’t want him to leave just yet.

“What about the surz-gur-ee?” The Queen asked.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“What is it?”

“Um, it would basically be cutting me open when unconscious, then removing you somewhere where we can safely kill you.”

“Impossible to remove. Surz-gury kill host. Natural better.”

“For you or me?” Thomas asked, as a lone figure started to approach.

“For both. I can control birth. Cannot control suez-gury.”

“But I could control the surgery. What happens, who’s present, if I’m unconscious or not, why would I give that up?” The pillbug-like visage wasn’t in much of a rush, much to Thomas’s chagrin.

“I could stop pain.” The Queen innocently remarked.

“Yeah, and if I’m going to die anyways, might as well let someone kill you while you’re still weak.” Why was the figure moving so slow? Thomas wanted out of this conversation, now.

“And why should I die?” The Queen asked, unaware of how bloody her species' history was.

Thomas was given a moment to collect his thoughts, and observe the figure. While it was absolutely a pillbug, it certainly was dressed up in more comfortable clothes than any Thomas had seen...

“Why?” The Queen repeated.

Taking in a breath, Thomas began: “You see, your species is a naturally parasitic species. You need hosts to propagate, and you’re the one that makes all those parasites. If you start a hive, nobody in Hollownest could stop you, leading to a lot of death. Potentially an apocalypse.”

“While I’m sure you might want that, but I don’t think anyone else wants it.” Thomas thought before quickly being shaken awake by the now overhead figure.

“SIR? Are you alright?” The Pillbug asked, panic filling his voice.

“Y-Yeah I guess.” Thomas replied, trying to take a stand with his agonising legs, only to come crashing down again. “Actually, no. I’m not.”

As the bug came closer to Thomas, it continued. “I-I’m sorry that I didn’t help you sooner. I thought that you were a body, left there to rot. I was planning on disposing of you, when I saw that big breath you took.”

“Thanks.” Thomas continued, feeling the Queen starting to mentally brush up against his mind. “I’m just looking for the tailor-

“Oh! To hide your affliction? Of course! I’ll fit you for free! It would be indecent for me to leave you out like this.” The pillbug replied.

“Ah, good. Could you get me a cloak? And a mask, if you have one.” Tomas rolled over.

“Absolutely.” The pillbug said, hesitated.

“Thank you. I’ll be able to stand up in a minute, go ahead.” Thomas offered, letting the tailor run back to her house. Which left him and the Queen where they left off.

“Truce? Until outside?” The Queen asked.

“Sure. I don’t try to kill you, and you don’t try to get out.” Thomas stated.

“But need outside. Too confined here.” The Queen rejected. “Will try non-fatal birth.”

“Non-fatal birth?” Thomas inquired. He hadn’t heard of a single Xenomorph that didn’t kill its host upon exit. If, and I mean if, it worked he wouldn’t only have a week to get everything sorted.

“Try.” The Queen stressed. “Theoretical birth. Too inconsistent to try. Host could still die.”

“Could you stop calling me ‘host’? My name’s Thomas. And try to fix my legs while you’re at it.” Thomas asked.

“Sure ho- Thomas.” Agreed the Queen.

After succeeding to stand up, Thomas took a tentative step forward. That did remind him that his legs were sore, but it wasn’t painfully sore like it was before. It was normally sore like after going out for a jog.

Steadily walking to the tailor’s house, Thomas asked the Queen “How do you even plan on making me live through you, ah, violent birth?”

“Latch onto eating system. Change h-Thomas’s genes to help. Try to make smaller opening.” The queen informed.

Thomas was surprised at that revelation. “Wait, change my genes? You can do that?”

“Yes.” The Queen non-chalaly replied. “Have to be careful, but possibility.”

After thinking for a moment, Thomas carefully inquired. “How do you change somebody’s genes?”

“Um… by using royal jelly.” The Queen responded. “No… scein-tik-fic reason. Just happens.”

“So why/how has this ability been used?” Thomas hadn’t heard of direct genetic tampering with xenomorphs. Why hadn’t they just used that and every xenomorph become an even better killing machine?

“Mostly tweaks/incopertation. Un-based genetic tampering creates disease. Need something to copy off of.” The Queen clarified.

“So, you can’t create new structures, only change old ones?” Thomas clarified. He really wanted to know what he was getting into. Actually, what he was in.

“Yeah. Can change, not create. Too… finicky.” The Queen finished.

“Now, what do you plan on doing to me?” Thomas asked, hoping he wouldn’t wake up with giant spikes sticking out of his back.

“Mostly unnoticeable. Strengthen muscles, help heart, just basic things.” The Queen assured him.

“Good. I really didn’t want to randomly grow a tail.” Thomas joked, right when he reached the tailor’s house.

Reaching out, Thomas gave a big “thunk thunk thunk” for a knock. Which was promptly followed by the shrill screech of the tailor, followed by a great crashing sound.

Looking inside, Thomas found the Tailor collapsed under a mountain of cloth. Ducking in, he moved to get the sea of cloth off, however the tailor spoke up first.

“Sorry… but you’re still… covered in soul. Give me a minute and I’ll be right as rain.” The Tailor diswaided. “If you need to get rid of it, I have some drying rags in the back.”

“Thanks again.” Thomas replied, before quickly hurrying out and around the house. Quickly scrubbing off his hands, his bloody hands, He thought about his situation for a moment.

He was in the world of Hollow Knight, a video game. With a queen xenomorph stuck inside his chest, which was from some movies. Which were pieces of fiction, and weren’t directly related to his previous… reality.

So, if he was currently inside a piece of media, then didn’t that technically make him part of that media? Was he actually being controlled by someone other being that thought it would be funny to put him in another dimension? Was he even real?

His thoughts were interrupted however, by his own blood starting to trickle down the back of his hand.

“Fuck”

That wasn’t good at all, there were probably hundreds, if not millions of unknown foreign bacteria crawling around on each surface. If even one wrong bacteria got in, it could easily spell the end for Thomas.

At least his hand weren’t covered in the still warm soul of the Tiktik. That could’ve been a complete disaster.

However, now Thomas really needed some piece of cloth to make a makeshift bandage. The drying cloths wouldn’t work, since who knows what had been on them, but hopefully the tailor had some extra cloth she could spare.

Quickly rushing back in, Thomas saw that the Tailor was frantically searching around her house for… something.

Briefly looking up, the Tailor addressed Thomas. “Ah, sorry, I just didn’t think about you height. Turns out that there’s no cloaks that could cover everything about you.”

Now that she mentioned it, Thomas was quite a bit bigger than any other bugs he had seen. The Young bug he met was about half his height. The Tailor got to his neck. And assuming that the Tailor was a pillbug (she looked at one, at least), that put him as one of the tallest beings in Hollownest. The only people he really thought were bigger than him were the White Lady, the dreamers, and the hunter. Also the city guards too, but those don’t really count.

“I could just wear two cloaks, like the clothes I’m wearing now.” Thomas responded.

“I suppose so…” the Tailor responded, rummaging out two cloaks. “These should be sufficient?”

Thomas held the larger one to his chest, then the smaller one to his waist. “They look pretty good. Do I have to pay for them or…? He led off.

“With those cloaks?!” The Tailor gasped. “Who in their right mind would let you run around like that? One of them’s got soul in it. Please, consider this a favour.”

“I guess so.” Thomas replied. He hadn’t thought about the warm wetness on his back. “Is there some kind of changing room?”

“No, but I do need to leave for some food.” The Tailor replied, scooting past Thomas and almost out the door.

“Wait, I didn’t catch your name. What was it again?” Thomas played dumb, rubbing his nape.

“It’s Helph.” The tailor, Helph as Thomas now knew, replied.

“Thanks for everything.” Thomas finished, as Helph closed the door.

“Other Rival queens? Me queen! Me kill! Me slay rivals!” The Queen bounced into Thomas’s conscious.

“Um, uh don’t kill the other queens.” Thomas ‘spoke’, before elaborating. “The other queens are not like you. You’re supposed to be more of an ant queen, where you lay all the eggs. These queen take more of a leadership role, where they’re not related to anyone else, except their immediate/extended family. They’re not rivals, they’re just… potential allies.”

“So, keep alive for hosting?” The Queen unabashedly asked.

“No! That’s wrong.” Thomas knee-jerked before making a coherent argument. “I don’t want any facehuggers running around. If one attaches itself to a bug, it’s basically a murder youcommitted.”

At that the Queen grew silent for a minute. “I… murder host?” She meekly said.

Ah fuck. Thomas had basically just told a 10-year old that she was a cold blooded killer. So, thinking fast Thomas back-pedaled. “I meant when you’re the one controlling the face-hugger! It’s not applicable if you’re not involved with it, it’s whoever was involved with it’s fault! Plus, we’re trying to do a non-fatal birth, right? That’s gotta count for something.”

“Ok…” The Queen replied, in a tont that told Thomas this wasn’t over at all.

But, now he was feeling a little self-conscious about undressing with anyone around, even if she was technically a part of him. “Could you look away?” Thomas asked. “To make up for the entire… murdering deal.” He fibbed.

“Where look then?” The Queen asked. “Necessary look. Me only able to see host.”

“Um… try filtering through my mind.” Thomas offered, before being mortified by the implications. “Just don’t look anywhere too… NSFW. Or private.” He pleaded.

The Queen’s presence retracted, allowing Thomas to change in peace. While he thought using a cloak as a loincloth was a bit too cold(even though he remembered to keep his underwear on), especially with how naturally cold Hollownest was. He kept his shoes and socks on, though.

The top was a bit better. It was a bit thinner than the bottom cloak, it more than made up for it with covering down to Thoma’s wait. It also had a hood, in case Thomas ever really wanted to go unnoticed (which he did. So he always had it up.)

Now that he was done, he realised he had completely forgotten that everyone in Hollownest had either a mask, or a mask-like face. He couldn’t reasonably go unnoticed if he didn’t have a mask.

And then he had one. It was a “normal” mask, with the top half being perfectly round before tapering off into a point at the bottom. While the eyes were at Thomas’s height, surprisingly enough, the mask still felt off.

It was a bit… warm. Not in the “cozy up by the fire” warm, but the “just cooled metal warm.” And it had suddenly appeared in Thomas’s possession, which was never a good sign…

But Thomas held it against his face, and he felt it ‘attach’ to him. There wasn’t any straps or strings to attach to Thomas’s face, but it did. It held there, almost floating against Thomas’s skin.

Freaking out a bit, Thomas immediately threw the mask away. It obeyed gravity like normal, and was flung to the ground, causing a thin creek of a crack to form from the bottom of the mask to the right eye.

Steeling himself, Thomas picked the mask back up and put it back on.

While it felt weird to have something almost floating against your face. With nothing connecting you to the mask it was just some warm thing obscuring your peripheral vision. In summary, Thomas was getting rid of it the first chance he got.

And as Thomas began walking to the stagway,(carrying his clothes to appear busy) the young Queen grew curious. “What’s Radiance? Why both real/unreal? Connected to ‘infection’?”

“She’s a ‘higher being’ that rule over Hollownest a thousand or so years ago with a hive-mind, until the Pale King came and sealed her away. He did this by making everyone forget about her, so she was banished to the dream realm. So, not wanting to, well, die, she’s now trying to get people to remember her, thus putting them inside her hive-mind. Thomas mentally explained, not even skipping a step on his way.

“So, why real/unreal?” The queen asked. “What mean “unreal”?”

“Um… I found this video game a while ago that had all this lore in it. I’m pretty sure it’s accurate, since everything, except you, has been from that game. Except the drying rags.” Thomas replied. “So, until I was taken here, the Radiance was fictional, or ‘unreal’. However, I suppose the Radiance is real, so now she’s ‘non-fictional’. Which leads to all sorts of ethical quandaries.”

“What quandaries?”

“Definition of quandaries or what quandaries?” Thomas hoped he wouldn’t have another awkward conversation-

“Both.” The Queen replied, dashing all of Thomas’s hopes.

You see, a xenomorph also had psychic powers, a hive-mind, and would kill at least one individual (their host), probably more if they wanted more ‘children’. Now, explaining it to a fully grown, adult Queen wouldn’t be such an issue, however the Queen he had before him right now was practically a child. So, Thomas was… hesitant to say the least.

“Well, a quandary is a kind of question.” Thomas started off easy. “So, a moral quandary is a moral question.”

“And morals good things?” The Queen inquired.

“Not… exactly. Morals are basically… how you determine what’s right or wrong.” Thomas exposited, trying to surface up the base concept. “It doesn’t determine what’s easy, or even what’s best, but it is what’s a good thing to do.”

“Ok,” The Queen confirmed. “moral quandaries/Radiance pose?”

Now the tricky part. “It poses a moral quandary because…” Thomas thought for a moment, picking his words carefully. “she’s superseding the will of others.”

“The will? Choices?” She clarified.

“No, not the choices, the will.” Thomas clarified back. “It takes a will to choose. If you supersede that will, not only can’t you make a choice, you can’t even conceive of making one to begin with.” He explained.

“Bad why? No idea choice, no harm.” The Queen innocently asked.

“It’s… complicated.” Thomas decided on. “You see, my morality comes from a human perspective. Your morality comes from xenomorphs before you. Not only can’t I not think about being unable to choose, I cannot conceive of any scenario where I cannot even think about making a choice.”

Quickly retorting, she said, “Animals? Animals no choice. Animals cannot think choice.”

“And that’s a good, but complicated question. However, that’s besides the point of something having a will of its own, and then something else takes that away.” He countered.

“So, mind-control bad?” She asked.

“Yeah. Mind control bad.” Thomas finished. “And how convenient.” Thomas said, as he stood before the stagway.

#fanfiction #hollow knight #alien franchise #writeblr #ao3 author #because i am on that too #insects gods and mortals #xenomorph #xenomorph x human #xenomorph queen #xenomorph oc

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rottenbrainstuff · 7 months

Text

BG3 playthrough - still trying to find Minsc

Spoilers below the cut!

Been a bit busy lately and I’m STILL trying to get Minsc but goddamn it this is turning into a big huge fucking thing, I had no idea, and I am tired.

One of the funniest things I have seen in this game so far are the high-security family vaults in the great big vault room in the bank, where you have the fight with the cultists. The game wants you to go out on a scavenger hunt and grab all the keys but myeh. You can just pick the locks. You can pick the locks while the bank manager is STANDING RIGHT THERE. If he’s behind you when you do it, he will run up behind you like HEY! WHAT ARE YOU… oh whatever, go on. Not like it matters now anyways.

I am crying!

The vaults were kind of neat, little pieces of lore for some of the characters we’ve already met. The Ravengard diary made me sad, I didn’t have Wyll with me when I read it, oops, does he have a reaction to that? I also liked the memo that notes that a “representative” from the Szarr family was by at night depositing something and acted “shocked and horrified” when they were asked the standard security screening questions. A supervisor noted that this was standard behavior for their representatives and no more questions should be asked. I assume this is a spawn on an errand and panicking because they were asked questions that they didn’t know how to answer. Neat tidbits.

Speaking of that vault fight btw, wtf is up with the bad guys’ invisibility shroud, why is it always perfect? That fight took way longer than it should have cause those assholes kept disappearing and my character that can see invisible things couldn’t see them. In the end I had to throw around alchemist fires until I finally hit them. And once I was all done, I was going around reading books in the desks and whatnot, and suddenly got attacked by one last cultist who was just apparently hiding in a shadow I guess, was that a bug or was he supposed to be hiding there?...??

Now I’m going through the sewer trying to track Minsc, which I thought was going to be a quick jaunt but noooo, apparently everyone is hiding out down here. I ran into Arabella, and Gandrel with two Gur children (tell me again how it’s a better decision to just kill all the spawn?), Voss is down here patiently waiting for me and he is going to keep on waiting for now, I found some random sleeping tiefling who is just there apparently and has no actual dialogue or associated quests, and I ran into the craziest fucking dude just hanging out being crazy with some nasty grease monsters. My oldest kid says she made friends with him, but I don’t know how that’s possible. Every single dialogue option I have leads him to allow me to pass through exactly once and if I come back, they attack. She also speeds through this game at a blinding speed so I’m thinking she is possibly simply mistaken.

Apparently Orin is down here too somewhere? Man I don’t know if I’m ready to do all of that yet either… I’m still enjoying this game so much, more than I can remember enjoying any game in a long long time, but act 3 is definitely rough around the edges. At least I haven’t been running into any of the game-breaking bugs some people have described. I wonder if those have largely been fixed? I’ve found no bugs, just a ton of random, messy, loosely-integrated content.

Hey for some reason I had in my head Zevlor was hanging out at a pub somewhere in act 3 and you could chat with him to recruit him for the last battle, but apparently that’s not a thing, you can’t talk to him anywhere, and he will just show up when it’s big fight time like “yay I’m a Hellrider again”. Boo! Come on, I would be really really willing to sacrifice things like a weird random grease sorcerer and a pointless sleeping character for, you know, even one tiny little proper act 3 chat with an actual recurring character I’ve been friends with since act one…

Random thought: I was thinking about pre-game durge recently, and Sceleritas. I mean obviously pre-game, durge was not a good person. You have flashbacks of leading a Bhaal cult. You have flashbacks of graverobbing and murder and vivisection. Durge sounds like a literal monster.

But, now I find myself wondering just how much they went along with things, and if they ever tried to resist, pre-game.

Because I’ve just been thinking about how Sceleritas talks to you. If you are playing a resisting durge, Sceleritas never sounds *surprised* that you don’t want to commit horrible murders, he only sounds disappointed. You’d think that a resistant durge is acting so out of character that Sceleritas would be somewhat surprised, but it’s never ever “oh no master, what has happened to you, you used to LOVE the cold-blooded slaughter of innocents?” Sure in act 1 there’s an element of, “oh poor master, your brain is all scrambled, don’t worry we’ll get you fixed”…. but in act 2, it feels more like “oh you naughty disobedient master, you better listen to what daddy says”, like he’s heard durge try to argue out of murder before and he needs to yet again convince naughty durge to eat their murder-vegetables. I dunno. I was wondering if even pre-game, durge resisted sometimes. It’s interesting to think about a durge that was always having little problems all along the way, a rebellious teenager talking back to daddy every once in a while, Sceleritas trying his best to keep durge on the “right” track. Maybe it’s not what the writers intended at all, but I was just thinking about it.

And lastly, Kled - still thinking about Kled - I will never shut up about Kled. Kled would still love you if you were a worm. Kled assumes it’s impossible the lady he likes could ever like him back and he doesn’t care, he’s there anyways as a friend with no expectations. Even Nere has fics on AO3 and Kled has none and that’s not fair! Kled forever.

#bg3 #bg3 playthrough #baldur's gate 3 #dark urge #bg3 spoilers

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kimmkitsuragi · 7 months

Text

OH GOD OH FUCK IT'S OVER

a looooooong dump post with a lot of screenshots and commentary :) mainly doing this to myself but well if anyone wants to read my silly ramblings ~

starting from right after the gortash fight- i already posted about karlach's incredible :((( cutscene there. but also this:

inconsolable.......... the similarities between their backstories was my first reason for being so invested in starlach from early on- but the sadness in his voice here. god. dont worry my love, i will have an origin run w u where you can go to avernus with her and wyll :((( wyllachstarion will win yet again (YES i am seriously already planning for this- but not immediately because i think i focused on them too much in my first run lmaoooo. but i will do this!!!! they are my babiessss)

alright now the ELDER BRAIN FIGHTS UGHHHHHHHHHHHH i enjoyed all of the endgame sequences sooooo muchhhhhhhhhh

as i already said in other posts, i made laezel a little mad. just a little. i didnt free orpheus 😭😭 i am so curious to see how it plays out in my next runs!! but in this one, i felt like this was the choice Lou would make. and now, let's break down wyllachstarion's reactions to the alternative decisions ~

firstly, we already knew astarion says no to becoming an illithid himself, and his reaction to u possibly becoming one is so sad too... he really keeps urging you to reconsider. and i loved how he prefers freeing orpheus, but he's also fine with the emperor route as long as you dont end up as an illithid. his voice and face in these scenes made me so !!!! it was very well done, i loved it

wyll just being okay with whatever u choose... he stands with you and trusts u in all options. wylllllllllllllllll :( it is such a wyll thing, but i also wish he had a longer dialogue here

and karlach........ god of courseee she sees it as her only way out. i hate this i hate it hereeeeeeeee it's very good writing and acting but karlach!!! i dont want u to be an illithid :((( i ofc picked those options, and she was still supportive- i kinda wished to see her a little more hurt/mad at this but :(((( that would've been a lot harder for me to say no to her lmao. i just want karlach to be happy, is that too much to ask?????

but anyway, in the end i chose to trust the emperor and let him handle the stones. it was fun to have him around in fights ngl :) i never used illithid powers in this run on purpose for rp reasons, so im looking forward to exploring them later. lou's relationship with the emperor have been very umm.... shaky? lmao 😭 lou tried to kill him once, but also otherwise he was a professional ally i think. the emperor didnt even asked to fuck lou :( (lou wouldve said no but sdfbdhbfsd) he never trusted the guy, but also most of the game, he didnt trust many people anyway so it wasnt personal for the emperor lol. he was honestly planning to help laezel and free orpheus until the moment he had to make a decision, but the choices presented at that moment......... man. siding with the emperor felt the safest option at that time, so that's what we went with. it was definitely an interesting allyship!! it was a fun one to experience tho (sidenote, since im talking about the emperor umm. he and ansur definitely had a thing right? yes? alright moving on)

THEN everyone i helped just coming togetherrrrrrrrr awwww 😭😭 even the ox came!! sdnmdshfs i ended up summoning the harpers, the gur, nine fingers' guys, rolan's spell, and dame aylin before i made it to the brain itself lol it was a fun fight too!! it came in phases and i enjoyed all phases tbh. courtyard was v crowded but fun, then trying to climb up to the brain was STRESSFULL honestly but also fun!! the last part seemed intimidating but it was fine in the end. fuck you huge brain. also, i remember fighting the mind flayers at the end of act 2 in moonrise, and they gave me such a hard time i was scared of them lmaoooo and now my lvl12 ass is like huh. astarion can take u out in one turn with his 4 attacks in a row. bitch. sdfhjsfdgs (as always astarion carries the combat so hard for me- whatever will i do without relying on him all the time in my next runs???

and now THE CUTSCENES!!!!!!

astarion on copium.......... he was so happy too. ON GOD WE WILL FIX YOUR SUN ALLERGY (in my mind) - and then having him run off towards the end of this scene :((((((((( alright not to make everything about the same trio jsfdhfdsf but! wonder how that plays out in astarion origin spawn ending?? because i NEED him in the next cutscene with karlach 😤 guess we will find out in some months lol

but for now! wyll and karlach are off to avernus :<<<< and im off with astarion to hopefully find a cure lol. and laezel got mad at me a little (seriously. just a little compared to what i was expecting sdhfhd) and left to go to space and stuff. which is very fair honestly, good luck and sorry girl :( (i wish there was an option to apologize to her for that decision because i really did want to help her, but.......... the choices that i have to make......... so hard)

i ofc said let it gooooo about the crown to gale lol (does this mean i got the "happy" ending for everyone except laezel? :<<<<)

also im obsessed how there are 4 good answers and then just "let's break up" 😭😭 no in between here

alsoooo im very happy to have an epilogue party, but i wish there was a celebration right after the victory party as well!!

nowwww the party!!! my guys arriving to the party <3

(another thing that i realized, i got so attached to playing a "big drow man" character LMAO so i will really need to push myself in character creation the next time. big drow man so lovely and so welcoming to me im sorry. i mean LOOK at my guy here 👇 isnt he so babygirl???)

and i hugged astarion and all i got was this shitty screenshot :<< i am so bad at taking these sometimes dfhdhfd i tried so hard so many times to get the good kissing ones lmao... good thing i have a hard save at the epilogue so i can go hug him again

and his dialogue ending with "i'll always be here, love"................... stop this nonsense why did this make me genuinely emotional............... promise??? promise??????????????? 😭😭😭

laezel is learning about friendship :ooooo im so obsessed with her honestly im so sorry i did you dirty girl 😭😭 i will romance you hopefully soon!!! and we will free orpheus this time!! (as i said, her showing up after not doing that is seriously so big for me lmao. i was worried she'd ditch us!! i love u bestie)

also!!!! really really cute how there were letters from our friends at the chest!!! i really liked reading them. BUT. look who else is here 🙄 miss araj u are not my friend 😒 you CANNOT reclaim darling. do not ever call me darling. goodbye. dont write again.

okay WHY does every line other than hugging him is kinda mean to gale 😭😭 it's true he is my least used companion in this run along with halsin but like.... i dont hate gale at all lmao im planning on using him more in my next run (the same with the other less used companions) (although so far i really do not care for halsin sorry bro) but yeah so i hugged gale...

tara is judging me (another thing is, i literally saw tara once in this run, im guessing she would show up more if i focused on gale more??? please say it happens because i wanna see tara more too lol)

also chose this option just for the chaos of it. can you even imagine. do we want astarion near impressionable young pupils. (gale was pretty okay with it but sir, reconsider please)

i also hugged karlach!!!!!!! well of course!!!! she's glowing blue 🥺🥺🥺 i LOVE how karlach is optimistic about fixing her engine. girl pleaseeeeee dont die the world need you :((((( i loved her epilogue scene so much oughhhhhhh how she's playful but also so emotional!!!! mama k i need youuuuu

and wyllllllllllll i wish i could hug him too ://////// but i love how he's going after mizora KILL HERRRRR let's kill her ughhh let wyll do things for himself!! i love it here!! and he became a ranger 🥺🥺 ranger buddies!!!! lou and wyll and minsc and honorary member astarion (he multiclassed into gloom stalker lol)

speaking of minsc, i want to use him more in my next run too!! this run i recruited him a little too late, and im already a ranger so... i find him genuinely amusing honestly, i dont know the general opinion on his silliness but i feel like i will really enjoy his character!! i especially want him and jaheira in the same party to have more fun lol

seriously the most important character in the game btw ☝

scratch playing with the prism was also soooo 🥺 my little friends... the cub calls scratch big brother 😭😭

and hugged shart too :)

press x to doubt tho 💀

lmaooo can't believe this is a real line:

i like how they look like they're having a conversation here. badass women i need u (also i know i said it already but, more jaheira pls?????? more jaheira im begging??????? she needs voicelines and idle animation at the party pleaseeeeeeee)

weird bug with astarion and his knife tricks made me laugh here:

also, volo literally inviting himself to the party 💀 withers dialogues and ending cutscene was fun too lmao

MY FRIENDSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

thank you for listening to my ted talk fr if anyone read all this, you're my friend too let's go to fae-run and take tadpoles together 🤝

#wow this is long. can you believe this game took me 3 months. im kinda proud that i didnt lose myself completely and took my time lmao #playing bg3

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nonsensegnomes · 4 years

Audio

There are two people in the room and they are enacting violence upon each other, or, That Moment in PARTIZAN 28.

All credit to Friends At The Table (friendsatthetable.net). You can support their patreon (friendsatthetable.cash), which also has their Best Work™ : Bluff City.

Transcript below the cut!

(Courtesy of vesta, transcriber for Transcripts at the Table)

JACK: Yeah I think Clem just like, turns her head and screams at this person carrying the- the plastic cups and just says like,

JACK (as Clementine): Go below decks! Take your friends with you!

JACK: Like, even at 15 feet away, what is being said to Clem is so embarrassing that she’s just like, everybody get the fuck out of here.

AUSTIN: Uh huh.

AUSTIN (as Gur): Clem, that was unnecessary.

JACK (as Clementine): Fuck you it was unnecessary! Now you want to talk?

AUSTIN (as Gur): I’ve always been available to speak with you.

JACK (as Clementine): Yeah, not to listen.

AUSTIN (as Gur): You need friends if you want someone to listen to you, Clem. You have none. Not anymore.

JACK (as Clementine): I have friends.

AUSTIN (as Gur): Name- name one.

[pause]

AUSTIN (as Gur): Regardless,

JACK (as Clementine) [overlapping]: Sovereign Immunity is-

AUSTIN (as Gur): Oh. It’s not my place. Regardless, there are no amount of friends that you have that will change the outcome of this. I’ve done what I can for you, Clem. Out of… a misplaced sense of loyalty perhaps. There are those who want you killed. You have until mid-week to leave this vessel with all of your things. I don’t care where you go. I would advise not going to Cruciat.

JACK (as Clementine): [dripping with petty sarcasm] I would advise not going to Cruciat. You- is this a funny joke? You making a funny joke? As you wave me away?

AUSTIN (as Gur): They’ll string you up there.

JACK (as Clementine): Mmm. Mhm. Do you like to think about that? The- the enemies of your revolution getting- getting strung up in the streets.

AUSTIN (as Gur): No, which is why I petitioned to let you live.

JACK (as Clementine): Oh, what a gift! You know what I'm gonna do? I’m just gonna- fucking where am I gonna go? You’re sending me off to die.

AUSTIN (as Gur): I’m sending you off to d- you are one of the richest people on this world, Clementine Kesh. Every- if this is what counts as being sent off to die, maybe you’ve gained a little perspective of what it is like to be anyone else on Partizan.

JACK (as Clementine): You took my fucking throne away from me!

AUSTIN (as Gur): You never had a throne!

JACK (as Clementine) [overlapping]: You have probably warmed your hands around its fire. I bet you’ve fucking taken that thing and burned it, can’t stand to look at it.

AUSTIN (as Gur): [frustrated] You don’t listen, we build tables with- [sighs]

JACK (as Clementine): Bullshit! All of that sanctimonious bullshit that we spend, we spend hours workshopping the nitty gritty of this “build thrones, not tables”- are you gonna put it on a fucking banner?

AUSTIN (as Gur): That’s not even what it is. [sighs] Clem. This is not a thing I can change any more than I already have.

AUSTIN: And there is a moment here- so. I wanna communicate there’s a moment here where Gur looks a little bigger. Just like, stands just a little bit taller than we’ve seen them before. And- and the rain is here.

JACK: Yeah. Can it start raining? AUSTIN: Yeah, it’s the rain. The rain is here.

JACK: Just like- lens flare the red lights around-

AUSTIN: Yeah, yeah.

JACK: -the, like red warning lights flashing on the like-

AUSTIN: Uh huh.

JACK: the balustrades.

AUSTIN (as announcement) [overlapping]: All personnel please return below deck.

AUSTIN: You know, that style of-

JACK (as announcement): Heavy storm approaching.

AUSTIN: Yes, exactly.

JACK: We have a computer system that just says stuff like that, it’s great!

AUSTIN: Yeah, it’s fantastic.

JACK: Um. Hm.

JACK (as Clementine): Yeah but there are things you can change, can’t you? You were quite happy to make this fucking- make this fucking boat disappear. You waved your hands, the boat disappeared- as soon as- as soon as I stop being useful to you, I- who took this fucking vessel for you?

AUSTIN (as Gur): I never- I have never underestimated your value or what you’ve done for this cause.

JACK (as Clementine) [overlapping]: You keep saying this, and then you keep demonstrating that you are underestimating it.

AUSTIN (as Gur): Because of what you’ve proven. I once estimated great things for you. I saw the world you wished to build. One more liberal, more fair in- in margins. And I thought, perhaps that world would be better than ours. Not utopia, but a step. And now I know you can’t even achieve that. You’ve had every opportunity! You're right, you did take this vessel. And within moments you’d lost it. Because you have no idea how to build anything around yourself. You’ve no idea how to do anything other than dream of a throne.

JACK: Just like rain, sideways, like plastering- Gur Sevraq does not have hair, do they? Just-

AUSTIN: No, no.

JACK: -a bald metal top.

AUSTIN: Yeah, bald metal hai- head, yeah.

JACK: Plastering Clem’s hair to her head, just bedraggled.

AUSTIN: Ohh. Yeah.

JACK (as Clementine): You know I know exactly what you’re going to do. I know exactly how this is gonna go for you. You’re gonna send me off to god knows where, where I’m gonna get fucking pecked apart by birds in two weeks, just you see. The money will go really quickly.

[MUSIC - “MINUTEHAND. GLACIER. BITTERTASTE.” starts]

JACK (as Clementine): [continued] And then you- you and your friends, are gonna fucking- you’re gonna sit around some little table. Some- some puny little table, and you’re gonna be really cold. And they’re gonna say, “oh, Gur Sevraq! W-w-what magic trick can you do for us now?” And then you’ll say, “the time isn’t right-” and then the time will be right one day, and you’ll snap your fingers and you’ll make something fucking disappear, or something appear, or you’ll let someone see a dog that they’ll get one day. Because you fucking love that stuff! You- you love those moments where you-

AUSTIN (as Gur) [overlapping]: [brimming with anger] Do. Not. Make a joke of my faith, Clementine Kesh.

JACK (as Clementine): Of- of the magic tricks? Of the little golden ball? I’m grateful for the fact that that ball means that I can use my mech a little better. The ball doesn’t speak to me in any kind of way. I don’t think the ball speaks to you in any kind of way other than-

AUSTIN (as Gur) [overlapping]: I took the ball when I killed the Elect that came before.

JACK (as Clementine): Yeah, yeah, we’ve all killed people. You like to stand up there, and you’re going to at that table. They’re gonna say “oh no, Orion’s coming. Columnar’s coming”. Because they will come. Those ships are moving now. I will be long dead before they arrive, and I will be grateful for it. But you’ll stand up, and you’ll hold that little ball up, and you’ll do something and they’ll go ohhh-! clap clap clap clap clap [clapping sounds]. And you will be so fucking happy at what you are able to offer those people in that little moment.

JACK (as Clementine): [continued] I don’t think you worship your god. I think you just like to feel like you are one.

[music ends]

AUSTIN: I push you off the edge.

JACK: [laughs]

AUSTIN: I push you off the edge of the ship. I push you off the edge. Just like, nothing. Like it’s nothing. Like, push.

JACK: Just like- a weightless body-

AUSTIN [overlapping]: Or, Gur tries to do that, I don’t know that that’s Clem- Yeah, yeah it’s your character,

JACK [overlapping]: I think there’s-

AUSTIN [overlapping]: I cannot just do that.

JACK: No, no, it’s amazing! It’s great! [chuckles] It’s great. I think there’s just a moment of perfect shock. Of- of having been- we have seen Clem get outflanked in basically-

AUSTIN: Yeah.

JACK: -every way a human can get outflanked? But I think being pushed from the top of Fort Icebreaker-

AUSTIN [overlapping with Jack]: Fort Icebreaker Prime, yeah.

JACK: By a- by an ascetic monk? [Austin chuckles] Is so monument- like, her mouth is in an ‘O’.

AUSTIN: Right.

JACK: Just backwards, just lift- lifted partly by the wind, backwards off the top of Fort Icebreaker-

AUSTIN [overlapping, crosstalk]: The wind is blowing, the thunder is hitting,

JACK: Lightning strikes.

AUSTIN [overlapping]: Lightning hitting, yeah.

JACK: It’s like fucking lightning hitting the ocean.

AUSTIN: I think there’s a beat.

[MUSIC - “SOFTPOINT. UMBRAL. TOUCHPAPER.” starts]

AUSTIN: [continued] And then I think Gur Sevraq like, the actuators in their face just go like bwaaah, and like there’s a moment of recognition of this terrible thing that- that they’ve done? He’s like, [sighs] and then, like, rushes over to the edge to look over the edge if you’ve hit the water yet? Or if you’re still falling, or?

JACK: I don’t think it’s either of those things. I think- I think with one hand, [Austin chuckles] with the strength of somebody who has been piloting a mech. Who- who has been fighting on the front-

AUSTIN [overlapping]: Had been working out in the cells, uh huh!

JACK: [chuckles] -and has been working out in the cells! Clem just pulls herself up to the up- up to the surface. They are like- they are like- they are like a foot from the edge, right?

AUSTIN [overlapping]: Oh yeah. They’re right against this thing. Yeah.

JACK [overlapping]: They’re like, they are now standing right on the edge.

AUSTIN: Yeah.

JACK: And I think Clem just pulls like a little knife. Like a knife from a- what’s the most stylish and craven place to pull a knife from? Is it the boot.

AUSTIN [overlapping]: It’s the boot, yeah.

JACK: It’s probably the boot.

AUSTIN: Yeah. Uh huh.

JACK: Just pulls the knife from her boot and just goes- just furious, screaming, goes at Gur Sevraq.

AUSTIN: I mean, the thing about Gur Sevraq is we don’t look under the robes very often, but Gur Sevraq has eight limbs.

JACK: That’s bonus limbs! That’s more limbs.

AUSTIN [overlapping]: Bonus limbs. You know, he’s like a spider under there, and each of those limbs ends in like this sharp metal arc you know? And they just- I think that- we just have to- if you’re good with this, just like the most Coen Brothers five to seven seconds of weird violence. Upsetting-

JACK [overlapping]: Weird- upsetting like, asymmetrical violence? Like you know the Coen Brothers, the way they do fights where it’s just like oh Jesus, there are two people in the room and they are enacting violence upon each other.

AUSTIN: Yeah. Uh huh.

JACK: I think Clem- I think Clem shears a plate off Gur Sevraq.

AUSTIN: Right. The robe goes- gets cut open and gets caught in the wind. In fact the wind just catches it-

JACK [overlapping]: Snatches it off, yeah.

AUSTIN: This incredible, robotic spider humanoid body underneath.

JACK: Is this sort of- is this a sort of like, is Gur walking on more than one leg, or?

AUSTIN: They can- sometimes they can- sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. And that’s part of like when they stand up, they like, push themselves up with four different limbs, you know what I mean? Like really tall, big, like, so much- you know. Eight times- like Thisbe height, if they want to be. But they don’t ever do that. And then- and then yeah, I think we get like, the- one of the blades of his limbs just goes like right through the shoulder blade of Clem. You know?

JACK [overlapping]: Oh Jesus. Yeah. There’s like Clementine-

AUSTIN: Like it’s nothing. Like it’s putting knife in bread, you know? JACK: Clementine goes down, Gur picks her up again.

AUSTIN: Right.

JACK: How do we- what is the- okay. We are-

AUSTIN: I think, is this-?

JACK: What do we do?

AUSTIN: I think the knife is- we’ve stabbed each other. And we’re a foot from the edge of this thing. And I think the thunder hits, and the lightning hits, and the lightning lights the entire sky and we see them silhouetted against-

JACK: Knife goes off the edge.

AUSTIN: Knife goes off the edge, Cruciat’s behind them, you know?

AUSTIN (as announcement): Please- please- all personnel, (laughing) leave the top decks and return-

JACK [overlapping]: And like a claxon going-

AUSTIN: Yeah like, waah! waah! waah! And then the lightning hits again and they’re gone.

[klaxons sounds twice in music]

JACK: Oh Jesus!

AUSTIN: And we just, we see them falling- fall-

JACK: We see them fall. Is there any impact on a piece of- on a piece of Icebreaker as they fall?

AUSTIN: Yeah, definitely right? This is not a clean fall. This is not the- this is not the Broun and Thisbe fall where it’s like loving embrace of two friends who are caring for each other-

JACK [overlapping]: No, the violence of the fight continues on the way down-

AUSTIN: It doesn’t stop- right! They land, they hit, they slam against some outcropping, and then like there’s another stabbing motion.

JACK: A limb breaks.

AUSTIN: Yeah! And then, and then a tumble, and then both of them. Both of them. I- it always had to be. It’s almost- [chuckles] I always- since the two of them met.

JACK: [chuckles]

AUSTIN: Had to be they stab each other-

JACK: And just down. Just down into the water. Blast doors close on the top deck.

AUSTIN (as announcement): All personnel please return below deck.

AUSTIN (as announcement): [continued] All personnel please return below deck.

AUSTIN (as announcement): [continued] All personnel-

#friends at the table #f@tt #fatt #PARTIZAN #PZN #partizan spoilers #like the BIGGEST spoilers. for that ep anyway #partizan 28 #audio #my post #saw no one had done this yet and i HAD to bc it just genuinely makes me so happy every time i hear a second of this audio #it's like being a kid & smashing dolls together until they break it's GREAT #friends at the table spoilers #like i absolutely want to reiterate for anyone not up to date yet it's LITERALLY the last 15 mins of the ep #+ the whole thing is just indescribably better when you hear it in context w/ those 28 eps of buildup

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hobidreams · 3 years

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RAAAAIIINNN!

February 1872 is perfect. I don't think I can say anything else, there's not much to say really-- you've already written it all 💟

It is just the right amount of everything and the perfect drabble before the final chapter. My heart swells with relief, delight, and love just--ugh, it's so so lovely 🥺💟 You are so right with all the hints and answers you've been giving us with your asks. Thank you for giving us this! I am completely putting my 100% faith of the final (omgg) chapter in you, in whatever you choose to end it haha. I saw your posts you were sort of having a hard time writing the finale and I'm so sorry about that 😥 must've been bc you want it to be perfect. But also like, it could go on (that would be hard for sure haha) and I do like to read some more chapters of MLT and mini drabbles the two's relationship bits and other side characters' stories as well? Yes pls 😂 jk! That would be hard and too much pressure and for sure you still have a lot of more stories you want to write (future fic or in your life). Tho looking forward for mini drabbles in the future for this series 👀💕

(Ooh I just looked at the MLT masterlist, and there's a "finale/epilogue"?! Omgg can't wait!! 👀)

So I don't have a lot to say about this chapter (because as I said, it is just so perfect!) but I had some reactions on several lines while reading it because I think I'm in a rollercoaster ride with emotions with this one-- in the best way. Here are some (the whole drabble is amazing really) highlights that made me "scream" as if i'm watching an intense scene of a really good show while shouting at the tv haha:

"But now. Now, the reality of living without him is too much to bear without putting voice to your truth at least once."

I think this is the represents the whole feeling of OC with this chapter and onwards. Finally, she's speaking up for herself and being so brave and vulnerable at the same time. Letting herself be seen as vulnerable and standing her ground. I think, she's not just doing this for her and Jeonha's relationship but equally for herself too, as a person. Beautiful.

My breath hitched and I squeeled when she instantly confessed to the queen hahaha it's so intense haha

I knew it, I knew that I like the Seong-nim, there's just something in her haha. She's so cool. Haha

" There must have been others trapped by royal responsibility. Others who have let themselves be happy."

What does this mean? 👀 omg haha or just something she said? anyways

“I certainly don’t plan on being alone for the rest of my life. And there are plenty of eligible men in this palace.”

YES QUEEEN, YOU GO GET IIIIT!! 😂

"She speaks with such authority that you can’t help but feel envious. It seems to come so inherently to her, while it has taken all of your courage to even be here. To speak. But still—You are here, standing your ground. You are fighting for yourself." - just so proud of our OC 🥺❤ yes gurl, you deserve it! You value so much! BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!

"Elegantly, Seong-min reaches out her hand, beckoning you to do the same. Though you are bewildered, you offer yours before you can think better of it. She links your fingers together in an uncharacteristically delicate hold."

Aww look at our girls supporting each other!! ahuhu i can't, it's so sweet and wholesome 🥺it's also sweet that she have similarities with the former queen ❤.

“Jungjeon-mama… I must go,” you say. She smiles widely as she releases your hand. “I know. Go. Quickly!”

RUN BICH, YES, GO GET YOUR MAN!!!!❤

“Eunuch Kim,” He starts, without looking up. “I told y—”

“Jeonha.”

Yoongi’s eyes flash up with an almost inhuman speed. "

oh my.. can you imagine somone does this to you everytime you call them? Ugh my heart 😂 my breath hitched again and my heart leapt up that it goes through the roof haha

I really love she just keep on going, saying what she wants to-- no one can stop her now!! she's finally not letting herself stop her now for sure! Ugh, so proud of her ❤ yes gurl, SAY IT!! 😂

The whole confession of OC to Jeonha!!! The whispers, the murmurs, OC's realization, their adorement to each other, the gradual moving towards each other!! Until they do hold each other!! So tender and so lovely!! 🥺❤

“Powerless, when you have all this power over me?” He asks, almost amused at the absurdity of the thought."

aaand now my heart shoots up to the moon ahahahah

Oh the LOOKING AT THE EYES AND THE HAND HOLDING!! 🥺

"Your voice is a whisper when you confess, “I want to have a family with you.” The secret lifts from your chest, blooming in that precious space between your bodies. “I do too,” he says, “So much.”

at this point you can just hear the explotion of my heart from afar out there in space idk haha

Thank god OC is a healer and is so good at medicine as well 😂 and also

This whole thing 🥺❤:

"“If we never try, there is never the possibility we might succeed.”

Yoongi gives a surprised bark of laughter, the sound waterlogged with emotion thick in his throat. “My mother. She used to say that.”

“I know. And it’s only now that I understand exactly what she meant.”

Cackled when he yelled to call for Eunuch Kim and their whole exchange, of course he nearly bumped into the door frame 😂

“The man is absolutely delighted,” Yoongi mutters when you are alone again, his voice as sarcastic as it is fond. “I know exactly how he feels,” you say, grinning as you pull your king, your love in for another kiss.

Ohh really. My heart is just glowing like it's about to burst haha 🥺

Gah can't believe we have to say goodbye to the story but I cannot wait for the grand finale!!💟 I'm sure it would be amazing and have a lot of heart because you put your heart in writing it. Also, sorry I basically copy-pasted your words haha, i just want to express how good these are haha, my emotions are again, at high but def in the best way! Aaand also this is too long sorry Hahaha 😅 I have way too many feelings haha.

Thank you 🥺❤ this is really beautiful and absolutely also one of my favorite chapters in this series. Truly, it's also beautiful to see your journey as a writer with this (and other series/drabbles too), as we read the character's journey as well.

So excited for finale!!! Also I hope you take your time and please take care of yourself as well. Don't rush or pressure yourself too. Just write a finale that you've always envisioned and importantly, a finale that you love (and loved writing). Talk to you soon! Hope you're doing good and good days are ahead! 💟

- 🧇

AHHHHH DEAREST 🧇 ANON!!!! how dare u come in here and steal my heart like this 🤧🤧🤧 this is so so kind of you to send in. im seriously so happy that so many lines resonate with you and thank you for trusting me with it ✨✨✨ i would love to write more drabbles but right now my brain is really focused on "finish this and pass out for a few months" so we'll have to see, lol! i also want to focus more on my original fiction so idk what the new year might bring. but i wanna make more content for this universe bc it is my baby 🥺

the line about the others and responsibility--it's meant to imply that ppl in the past have also been as transgressive in terms of not playing by the palace's rules hahah. like.. ur not the only one who's human, oc!!! 🤣

pls never apologize omg it was an absolute treat to read all your reactions and my heart feels SO full 💗 im just so blessed with y'all wonderful readers and anons and i just 😭😭 makes all the hardest times feel worth it. i was stuck for a long time on so many of the sections in this chapter but im glad i pushed through asdl;fkj

talk to you soon babe!! i really want to come back with a finale i can be proud of. so wish me luck LOL. im maybe nearing the halfway point..............? but the end is still not in sight 🤧 please take care!!!! stay hydrated!!!!

#rain reply #🧇 anon #moonlit throne #🥰🌸🥰#you made my day !!

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