#and make more time to play BG3 too since that also made me want to draw and write things sometimes!

[elgaladwen]

Tifa Lockhart

[feyascorner]

NO BECAUSE I NEED TO TALK ABOUT ASCENDED ASTARION FOR A SECOND

I feel a lot of people think he just lost his soul when he went through with the ascension (myself included) but replaying for the third time (this time w/o rushing lol), it’s more obvious that he’s still him.

Of course, there’s a very obvious difference between spawn astarion and ascendant astarion in his dialogue, especially if you romance him. Ascendant astarion, in the state that he is immediately after ascension, is absolutely not a healthy representation of what a relationship should look like and should not be desired. Obviously some people think he’s hot but for the sake of the argument just go along w me here.

Regardless I don’t think the ascension changed him THAT much as a person. In fact I’d argue that NOT ascending changes him more (for the better). Ascending just made parts of him (the less forgiving traits) that much more prominent.

Looking back on Act 1 during the tiefling celebration (assuming you don’t side w the goblins), he clearly says he doesn’t revel in being a hero. And throughout the game he makes it very clear he’s willing to be selfish because he hasn’t been allowed to be selfish for the past 200 years.

And this selfishness manifests into him wanting power so he won’t face the same environment again. He’s always wanted power, and if he chooses not to ascend, he’s letting go of that part of himself. Not only does he go against what he’s believed for most of his life as a spawn, but accepts that being a spawn is okay with him. If he chooses to ascend, he’s amplifying that power hungry aspect of himself, putting act1/2 astarion’s personality in the basement, but he’s still there.

This applies to how possessive he is of Tav after the ascension too. He’s always been possessive, even if he doesn’t make it alarmingly obvious. Though rather than possessive I’d describe it more as a fear of being abandoned in act 1/2.

For example, when you drop the Githyanki Crèche on him he gets genuinely annoyed for a few seconds and then he thanks you for apologizing in a much softer tone, like he’s trying to repair any damage he might’ve done by getting mad at you. At the time, he still thinks of himself as weak, and therefore cannot bring himself to be possessive since he has no power to back it up. Instead, he manifests these feelings by doing everything in his power to please you even if it goes against his emotions. And while he doesn’t particularly love Tav going off with other people (as seen with the dialogue after you sleep with Mizora), he pretends that he’s okay with it just to keep you by his side. This tendency to please Tav in hopes they’ll stay is also seen in how he asks for your permission before he kills the Gur at the hag’s house.

Now, once he does ascend, he realizes he has the power to support all these darker emotions he feels. It turns twisted as a result, bringing us to the ascendant astarion we have today.

Spawn astarion, however, lets go of these emotions in a way, or displays them in a more healthy manner. It’s why his arc feels much more satisfying this way because ascendant astarion isn’t really changing, just adjusting. Spawn astarion goes through more raw character development which is also why I cannot bring myself to ascend him even in my evil durge play through!!

anyway yeah I made this account to do stuff like this hope you enjoyed my little rant🫶 this is just my personal opinion obviously but pls lmk if anyone thinks differently bg3 lore is so interesting

[space-blue]

BG3 Fic Feb Comic Edition, Day 20 :

Tav gets a proposal from their partner. In which Gale offers to pay the bill on a fancy new outfit to wear around camp, so long as Tav lets him pick the cut. He's fallen for his love's chubby body and thinks he deserves better than the rags they made it to Baldur's Gate with.

With a small rambling H/C below the cut on Gale's relationship with fat, and a chubby/fat LI.

In which I posit that Gale's abs are fake, and a relationship with a fat or chubby Tav can change his view on his own body.

I saw the debate going around early on, and it has stuck with me. Are Gale's abs real? Do they make sense on a man who has been on a self-imposed year of isolation in his tower? A gourmand who loves to cook?

I've seen art that shows him working out, and I've seen lots of art in which the abs are replaced with chubbiness he's either fine with or self conscious about. But see, I'd like to think that Gale, the good dancer of Blackstaff academy, Chosen of Mystra, prodigy fretted over since boyhood, would have a particular relationship with "appearances".

Let's imagine that his looks are exactly as they are at the start of the story. He has a six pack, depression, and a magical black hole stuffed in his chest that pushes a strange hunger on him. He eats magical artefacts to upkeep it, and delicious dishes to soothe the sadness and anxiety.

Except now he's on the road, making do as best he can, prepping meals out of what we can scrounge. So for a while the intense physical effort of the adventure, paired with bare bones meals, would maintain his physic. But eventually, nature would take its course, and arriving in the environs of Baldur's Gate, sweets are available again, as well as real, restaurant grade food. His waist thickens, his cheeks fill out, he's less gaunt. He's got the glow of a man in love, too.

But even deeply in love, Gale struggles to fathom that Tav could love him as he is. Well, no, of course Tav loves him, but Gale is only offering so much, and isn't that bad? Tav, who he now loves more than his own Goddess... Tav deserves more. Deserves better than puny, human Gale. I think God Gale would come with chiseled silver abs because it's the vision he has of perfection. An ambitious body should be flawless, right? And Mystra, his Goddess, is a skinny depiction of "perfection" herself, isn't she?

So in his mind, fat is still a flaw. Assuming we manage to show him the light and guide him away from godhood, that he is truly who we love, as we love him, I think that Gale, master of illusion, would still want to present the best way possible for Tav. Having regained his old abilities, he'd be tempted to trim himself again.

I think his abs, in that context, are a lazy wizard's artifice. Anyone at Blackstaff can do it, and does. Being chubby, to them, is an aesthetic choice. And if it's not in fashion, then why indulge it? But also why work out, when time can be best spent hunting and reading books, writing essays, and sourcing collections of rare artefacts? Or eating 5 stars meals at the best restaurants in Waterdeep? There's only so many hours in the day, and so much to do. Plus, we've seen his home, and he pointed out the magical piano that plays itself (wink wink), not the dumbbells and workout bench.

No, Gale would be tempted to go back to his easy snatched waist, and probably would if his LI was slim. He's got a tendency for self-consciousness. I like to imagine that he kept the six pack through his great depression era because he just couldn't stand the idea of slipping in appearance this much, and having to get a new wardrobe. We already know the beard is unusual, and that he keeps it because he likes it, to Tara's dismay.

I think a fat or chubby Tav would help Gale relax. He falls for this person, and they so happen to be fat. All right, so what? He leans more towards intercourse in the Weave anyway, so bodies aren't so high a concern. But after Gale declares his feelings (which are returned) and the intimacy with Tav becomes more physical (small caresses, sleeping and cuddling together, hugging...) I think he'd start seeing the light.

He'd press himself into Tav and be completely overcome with the pleasure of having all this softness be for him. That Tav being chubby means more of Tav to have.

Slowly realising that Tav's fat isn't making them any less gracious or fetching in their clothes, and that a lot of the things Gale was worried about in himself were image concerns brought by the gazes of others. Expectations put on him. What a wizard of his standing should look like, that being a gourmand should not get in the way of being Mystra's arm-candy Chosen.

If Tav's chubby belly is such a delight however, then why should his be an issue? I think Gale would remain nervous and try to open the conversation, rather than not mention it or deciding to make the change on his own. Because ultimately, even being more relaxed around the idea that he's gaining weight again, he'd be nervous that this might not suit Tav's tastes.

That's the problem with being a wizard this powerful. You can influence your self and your image so much. Heck, there are spells that can resculpt your very face, so why would someone like Gale, who has carte blanche on himself, dare disappoint his love?

Tav would have to work to reassure him, but imo would have less struggle is they are a man, or masc, because Gale couldn't use the "beauty standards for thee" logic loop. A handsome man who makes tight shirts look inviting? Fat softened pecs becoming the greatest pillow he's ever rested his chest on? Seeing a form of desirable beauty in his lover that he's slowly growing to mirror? He'd wax poetic about it, get in his feels.

Tav could whisper a soft, 'Please, be yourself.' and Gale would never concern himself with six packs again, nor be afraid to develop his well-settled-professor's body.

Gale's taste remains a tad refined, and I think his concern with appearances would not go away completely. It's just that, settled in Waterdeep, he'd drag Tav to his favourite tailor, and commissions well fited clothes for him. I can see Gale being quite on top of fashion, and anxious for everyone to see Tav under his best light, especially early on as they meet the family, his circle of friends, the faculty... Stressful days, during which being able to sink into Tav's soft embrace would be the best of cures.

[ckda]

Val'ka'h - Bg3 Dark Urge/Tav

Here’s my once Tav-now Durge, named Val’ka’h. He’s a small storm sorcerer, probably chaotic neutral or good for alignment. He very much became his own character after my tav playthrough. As I finish’s up the Durge one, he’s really come into a full one. Now he has a whole (horrific) backstory with all the angst that comes with being a pretty male Drow and ya know all the Dark Urge junk. Some fun little tidbits under the pics but some a spoiler-ish just a warning.

Have way too much lore below the cut.

Val’ka’h

- had no idea when I started Drow pretty much only have white hair if not half, so his name changed to be named after thar trait. Not sure how accurate that drow naming conventions list was on reddit but here we are lol

- I wanted really long hair so I got the mod for that very soon in…which led me too giving him the same hairstyle as Orin in my tav playthrough before even knowing who she was. This went great with the Durge stuff because I think it would be sad if they used to do eachothers styles if they were ever close.

- His powers woke up kinda late in him, as a means of desperation to survive when his agency and independence was threatened at its worse. I like his powers being based around the sky and mostly lightning magic since there is no sky in the underdark. The powers also made him even more sought after though to be used.

- Full on glass canon. A very powerful sorcerer rediscovering his abilities but damn does he have so few hit points. He’s killed people with just a cantrip and enough lightning chargers in my playthroughs, but gets downed at some point like every other fight.

- Women probably kinda freak him out because of past experiences. Just listen to Minthara talk for 5 seconds you'll get it. He doesnt show this at ALL though and also realizes it’s a bit irrational outside of the where he’s from. Karlach scared the fuck out of him after killing Alfira without her realizing. Eventually, he becomes plenty comfortsble with the girls though, each in there own way.

- I had the original idea after delving into some drow and underdark stuff that Elisitree and Lolth kinda shared space in his head. His power I think came from her, or at least maybe parentage side that worshipped her, and woke in him as a means to free him from Lolth, which only sort of worked as Elisitree is a goddess but still struggles for grasp with her people in the underdark. Not sure if that’s how any of that would “accurately” work but whatever.

- Dark Urge playthrough altered this, as I think that Bhaal actually being the one to step in the or at least claiming to be as a means to pull him into loyalty towards him. Elisitree I think would still be fun to hace a play here, thlugh again, trouble gaining a foothold or even communicating maybe because of the power inbalance.

- This worked even better because the instance when his powers first arose, I imagined it was a huge burst and lash out and killed a large amount of those in the House he was currently in servitude for. So this likely could garner attention from Bhaal.

- He tries to sing, but only where no one can hear him.

- LOTS of scars. Durge typical stuff I figure, along with hard time prior to the surface. I romanced Karlach on Tav run as she was my fav but as I was making Val'ka'h more characterized Astarion or Lae'zel made more sense. Ended up with Astarion cause him with Durge in general is just so damn fitting. So thats where the neck bite is from heh.

- Obviously, he eventually got to the surface to escape the hunting and huge target on his back. So now he has a fuck ton of freckles from the sun.

- Along with the black hair, I gave him the unique claws/nails and fangs was just fun. This I think could've been seen as "unique beauty" within the drow so maybe thats why his mother kept him alive against the norm for male drow born in his standing.

- He LOVES music but has never gotten to pursue it to any degree and is extremely shy about trying to and his interest in it at all. He kept one of each type of instrument all throughout the journey, mostly quietly and not noticed since picking them up was so far apart until Astarion noticed them all when they holed up in Elfsong in the city. He doesn't bring it up but does buy him a music box. (If you haven’t used one in game yet, go do that.)

I have WAY more I could talk about with him but I'll end it here. Im about to confront Orin after Astarion's ordeal so maybe more of the backstory will change around it. I posted this to the bg3 community page without realizing how damn long it is, and I was holding back then...geez haha

[lemonsrosesandlavender]

Fic Writer Questions

Thank you @graysparrowao3 , this was a great post to come back to Tumblr with :) I tag @redroomroaving @darkurgetrash @forget-me-maybe

Let’s go!

How many works have you got on AO3?

Not counting the two in Volo’s Erotic Library collections, 27!

What is your total word count?

271,334 (excl. VEL!)

What are your top five most kudosed works?

1. Sharp Teeth (624)

2. Après Théâtre (291)

3. Planar Tears (259)

4. Sharess’s Sundries (188)

5. Tail and Tongue (123)

1 was the definition of catching the Rolan wave (but it’s also a really good fic too, and I’m proud of it). 2, Après Théâtre, was my first ever fic, a WWDITS S2 continuation written in lockdown. I got very lucky with its reception!

4 and 5 are definitely the combination of “smut at the peak of the Rolan fandom”, and also the immediate follow-ons to Sharp Teeth, which nets them more foot traffic. (… and also milder kinks than some of the weird shit I’ve posted since lol). I love receiving a little kudos train in my email from someone who’s clearly devoured the whole Sharp Teeth series in one night!

(Also Tail and Tongue is a godawful name that makes Rolan sound like stew, but it’s also kind of hilarious to me because of that so I guess it stays. Note to self for future: no disembodied parts for a “sexy” title!)

What fandoms do you write for?

These days, basically just BG3— but I finished my “last” fic for Ambition: A Minuet in Power in February and immediately got hit with more Ludovico thoughts so we’ll see. I did once sketch out an entire longfic reverse isekai thing for Ludovico and Yvette, with 18th century priest Ludovico falling through a wall into 2010s-to-modern Paris and meeting Yvette… but after Planar Tears, I need to take a year-long break from big plotty longfics for life reasons, so that’s a “maybe one day” idea.

(Relatedly and always: play Ambition: A Minuet in Power, people! It is so much fun!)

Do you respond to comments?

Always. Always always always. The only situation in which a single comment goes un-responded to is if someone left like 6 in a row, and then I might group some of my replies to a later comment. (But at this point, I just like replying to each individually lol).

People reading and enjoying my writing is such a gift; I will always want to say thank you and express my appreciation back.

What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmm. Well, all my fics so far have happy endings! I have an original novel on the go that I firmly think will end up ambiguous rather than straightforwardly happy.

Fae Bindings will probably be the “angstiest” for my fics, because it’s not possible to completely fix dead-siblings, post-Lorroakan Rolan. He will be happy… but in large part because he’s lost parts of himself he used to hold dear. At least he’s got a loving, sexy, totally-not-manipulative Fae reader to take care of him through it!

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

It’s got to be Sharp Teeth. Planar Tears will also have a happy ending, but the overall bouncy tone of Sharp Teeth lends itself to the most uncomplicated happiness. They have the Tower, and each other, and Rolan has his family and Tav-Reader has her friends. And they’re engaged! That epilogue made me very happy to write.

Have you ever got hate on a fic?

No, and at this point I think I’d truthfully find it quite funny. The closest I’ve got is someone on Reddit complaining in a “what do you hate most in fics thread’ about the untagged eartonguing in what I am absolutely sure from the timing, description and their profile was Sharp Teeth. I have subsequently tagged it because it literally just didn’t occur to me, but it does crack me up that a bit of consensual tongue-in-ear generated such a violent EW NO response. I guess I wrote it very vividly! ;)

I actually have “concrit welcome” tagged on Planar Tears, but no-one’s given me any except a query about my dialogue formatting (British, and sticking to it I’m afraid! I love our non-intrusive single quotation marks. Although I think I maybe follow American style rules about putting dashes inside quotes, so I should maybe make that more consistent some time).

I’d genuinely love to hear stuff like “I really enjoyed X subplot, but it felt like it came kind of out of nowhere?”, or “I see why you needed Y plot point for character growth, but it dragged a bit”, since I’m always trying to hone my skills, and I feel like on a story-telling level it’s particularly hard without outside input. But I also know concrit is hard work and a gift in itself, so I understand why I haven’t got any!

Do you write smut?

Hahahahahahahahahahahahhahhahhahhaha

Do you write crossovers?

Not as yet! I do really enjoy crack though and crossovers lend themselves to that.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of. I’d be open to it if someone asked!

Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

I currently have something cooking along these lines ;) But it’s early days, so I’ll say no more!

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Oh man. I don’t read fic for them, because the book closes their story absolutely perfectly— but it’s Elizabeth and Darcy all the way. I have loved that ship since I was 11-12 and fell headfirst into Pride and Prejudice’s embrace.

What are your writing strengths?

I think I’m a good plotter. There’s perhaps a little drag in the midsection of Planar Tears, but I overall really think I crafted a story that sets up the stakes, gives the characters opportunities to grow (and fail) and lets us have some fun on the way. And now, we’re about to run into both Lorroakan— who’s been a lurking, teased-but-not-seen presence through most of the storyline— and well, I’ll let my readers guess why Ethel’s ring has made its reappearance, but I think it’s fair to say she is this novel’s overarching antagonist, and that storyline will hopefully come to a satisfying conclusion!

The next challenge, I guess, is to fully plot out my original novel without the stabilizer wheels of pre-existing canon to catch me. I could also definitely tighten up my plotting skills more generally!

Also I think I write banging smut, but I think I might be biased there ;)

What are your writing weaknesses?

Overly breathy writing, especially in emotional or smut scenes. I need to commit to punctuating more sentences, rather than em-dashing the entire way through it. It reads far better to me when I go back and do that after the fact!

Generally speaking, I’m still yet to hit my own “style”, I think. It varies a lot depending on my latest reading; I sponge it up and then it just leaks back into my own writing. Lately, I’ve gone back to The Age of Innocence to finish it, so my readers can probably expect a slight uptick in formality for Planar Tears chapter 33…

Thoughts on writing in another language?

This reminds me I need to go and fix the little bits of Spanish in Après Théatre (because Guillermo canonically talks to his mum in Spanish, and I did a TERRIBLE job of it lmao).

This is half a joke, but I tried to write “Short Shorts (And Cold Beer) ” in American English (since it’s based on 80s American summer camps) and only half succeeded lol. I am SUPER sensitive to Americanisms where they don’t belong, so no doubt a transatlantic version of me would be annoyed by in the inverse in my own writing there! (I still say Rolan has a “stilted Baldurian accent”, so we’re sticking with the very British accent he has in the game and pretending it’s a Waterdeep vs Baldurian/Elturian difference. American Rolan would sound so wrong!)

First fandom you ever wrote for?

What We Do In The Shadows! I absolutely love writing comedy, and WWDITS was a pandemic lifeline, a much needed infusion of joy.

Favourite fic ever written?

Planar Tears, as ever. We are now in the very final strait, and in my draft Rolan and Catrin are poised on the doorstep of Sorcerous Sundries, about to meet Lorroakan and face a storm of events that has been gathering throughout the whole novel.

I can’t believe I’m this far through it. Far later than I thought I would be, but it was always ambitious to think I’d keep up a one-chapter-a-week schedule anyway. Over a year for 100k+ words (whilst writing other things on the side!) is not only reasonable but far in excess of any writing I’ve ever done before— and I can’t express how weird I’m going to feel when it’s done. My god. But at the same time, I cannot wait. Rolan and Catrin and all my lovely readers deserve their conclusion, and I’m feeling optimistic about writing a good one.

[rexkqjil0]

So,

I wanted to draw a charcter that I intend to play in a future dnd campaign, but I didn't want to make a full on drawing of them, since I wanted to basically sketch them out in more detail to see what worked and didn't work. So here's what I came up with.

Firstly: I was unsure on how to make their hair as While I had been using heroforge and bg3 as references, I didn't want to fully copy over stuff from there. As such After I drew the base nude body (which I won't put here in this post btw, if you need to see his dick you're gonna have to look elsewhere) I made a bunch of head shots and attached a hair and beard style to them, and then had some close friends vote on them.

While the beard styles were actually quite split between B, C, and G, the hair styles had a clear winner being B. And eventually the winning beard was also B.

With that said I actually quite liked beard and hair D and since B was just copying the style over from bg3 I decided to merge the two of them and reuse the basic figure of C for the dim form of the hair (since they emit light via their hair and They can dim that light I wanted to make a uniqe style for that so they wouldn't be bald).

With that out of the way let's talk about the underwear first (since that image has the full burn hair on it)

Originally, back when I was first conceptualizing this charcter I had the idea that they would be so hot that cloth wouldn't be able to be worn by them. So I had them wearing metallic underwear (scalemail at the time). Even though this didn't carry over to the more current version of them I still liked the way that would look. So I changed it to chainmail (using a free downloaded material from the CSP site which I can't remember right now but I'll reblog with it when I'm on my pc) as that was easier too find references for than scalemail.

Despite the fact it's meant to be metallic there is still a layer of cloth underneath the chains, as I wanted a reason why it wasn't jingling whenever he moved, plus metal on metallic parts would porbbably hurt. As for the fit while I admit that part of it was *ahem*, sex appeal, I also wanted to make them seem a bit destitute, like that was the bare minimum for them, hence why the buttocks aren't fully covered by the underwear.

Now for the binds and dim hair

The binds came from a desire to add both decor, and asymmetry, while also being kind of contradictory.

These are shackles (one being literal) that he has, they're are pretty as can be seen with the gems but they are still there to control him and keep him in line. He's a slave to whatver put them on him no matter how decorated they can seem.

From a mechanical sense too, these take up attunement slots, limiting the kinds of tools and strategies that he can employ, making his life significantly harder.

That's the idea anyway, I can only hope that it was executed well.

Also, yknow those large gashes on his body? Well Fire is supposed to come out of them like hair!

It's a small thing but I wanted to make him harrier while still expressing that sealed power from his binds. So once most of them are removed he will look more like this. Plus I like scars so this let's me do both.

Now for the outfits

Starting off: his starting adventuring outfit

I based this off both the armor some gladiators wear, along with some influence from the Azer armor in bg3 size I wanted to emphases his metal body and also mobility. There's alot of small details here I've labeled on the image so I'll only go over the major things I wanted to express.

Firstly, I wanted this to look just a little cobbled together and very much worn. While I haven't put too much texturing or detail on this I tried implying that with the colors, having them all be drab but NOT rusty. Despite the fact this is cobbled together its still taken care for by someone who knows how too.

It's also just a bit ornate as can be seen with the insignia on the belt and the cut on the staps of the leather skirt. And the back is intended to be far less visually appealing, with the chainmain loincloth thing not being as nicely cut.

Speaking of, the chainmail is meant to look newer and nicer which is why it's blue instead of an orange or yellow color like everything else

There's also a slightly alternate version of this outfit with a backpack:

The idea behind this is that he has to go to dangerous places to retive materials for his master, usually valuable metals but sometimes gems or other items used in smithing. So it's made of metal so that the contents are safer and more likley to make it back to him.

Outside of the dubious logistics of attaching said pack, I also mention how these are meant to look like bondage binds in a sense. They wrap around him tightly and cover a large portion of his body. It's a small thing mostly born from attempting to justify the logistics but it's there.

Now for his camp or leisure outfit:

It's not much, which is a running theme with his design. I based it a bit in a blacksmiths apron but just more open as he doenst have any other chlothes underneath it.

The flaps help with mobility and give the outfit just a bit more shape. The back part also is lighter since it would be less dirty. And you can see on the side how it's worn. Since this charcter is going to be making things I thought something blacksmith-like would look best.

Oh I just relized I never talked about the goggles, I just thought they would look neat and give a small inventor vibe to him. The link between both lenses has a notch at the top so that the gem isn't covered by it (it's quite sensitive).

Also this guy smokes. So here he is with with a fat blunt

So yeah

This is what I've been working on for the past few days, I still intend to make a full on proper drawing for July but I couldn't get this man out of my head and I needed to draw something.

That's all for now, all criticism and praise is welcome as this is the first time I've really tried to "design" a charcter, and I've got much to learn.

Have a nice rest of your day, and thank you for reading my ramblings.

[sovonight]

since it's come up a couple times, i thought i'd just make a post about it! here we go:

i keep seeing you talk about this xan guy, but who is he?

xan is a potential companion in baldur's gate, the first game in the baldur's gate series. in the vanilla game, he has basic voice lines that play in reaction to commands, other companions, and the locations you're in. in fact, all of his voice lines can be viewed in the "quotes" section on the wiki; that's the extent of the content he has.

wait, i thought he was a full-fledged companion with friendship and romance paths? also, isn't he in baldur's gate 2?

he is, but only with the use of mods!

BG1NPC adds xan's banter, commentary, and romance path to bg1 (alongside a lot of other things, take a look at the readme!)

Xan's friendship path adds xan's friendship path to bg1

Xan BG2 NPC adds xan to bg2, as well as 2 romance paths, a friendship path, and a new soundset

Alternate Xan Soundset for BG2 restores xan's bg1 soundset to him in bg2, because nothing beats the original

if you want to romance him, make sure to play as an elf, unless you're ready for a bit of heartbreak ;( non-elves can romance him for a bit in bg1, but at one point you'll be forced to break it off.

i'm interested in playing the series, but where should i start?

i've broken it down here!

do you have any other mod recs?

i still play with the original (non-ee) games, so a lot of my mods are just widescreen fixes & bug fixes that are already covered in the ee games. but one list i have on hand is glittergear's bg2 mod recs!

why don't you like xan in bg2?

spoilers ahead, but:

i don't agree with his characterization and the execution of his romance paths as a whole

his bonded bg2 romance is worse than his bg1 romance, and intimacy with him almost always involves sex now, when it didn't before

he's been made ridiculously old

he's out of character, and many of his reactions are just odd

i don't agree with his death, and here's more paragraphs why

bonded xan is too ready to serve goddess!charname, when based on past behavior i'd think he would have a firm stance against it

his player-initiated dialogue options are poorly thought out

he was altered to have proficiency in darts instead of slings. darts fucking suck, why would you do this to him

his behavior would hurt radri, a lot

the list goes on

why are you still drawing/writing about him in bg2, then?

i love xan and radri together, i can't just write him out of bg2

😔 i can fix him 😔

but you think xan in bg1 is perfect, right?

not totally, i've always felt like his romance was biased in favor of one personality type

he is SO ace-coded to me, but his author clearly had a different vision for him

there's more, but they're all minor nitpicks compared to my complaints about him in bg2

you've complained a lot about him, so what do you even like about xan??

he's just so ridiculous, in the best ways

he can be snippy and dramatic, but also so kind

i love his romance in bg1

i enjoy his habit of carrying charname for romantic gestures, even though radri is like 200 lbs with light armor, and he's, what, 130 lbs sopping wet? i know, he was probably written with an elven waif of a charname in mind, but it's almost sweeter to think of him going out of his way to make it happen

you keep mentioning radri, but who is she?

my gorion's ward, my bhaalspawn, my charname, my beloved protagonist

she's like the kicked puppy to xan's pathetic kitten

here's an introduction, but honestly, it's easier just to read about them

why do you like the series, but not baldur's gate 3?

baldur's gate 3 has next to nothing to do with the series and should've been named something else

i was disappointed by it when i did play it

there's a sexual overtone over the entirety of the game

i'm tired of romances that put sex first

it's impossible for me to relax and enjoy the game

again, it's a really horny game

i'm just way too ace for it

bg3 overtakes all search results when trying to search for information on bg1 (which, being titled baldur's gate, doesn't get the benefit of a number to set it apart from the other games). sure, filters exist, but that doesn't change the fact that an era of easy information retrieval is over

what do you think about the references to xan in baldur's gate 3?

i want to die

i would rather kill xan myself than let bg3 touch him

it's a small mercy that he wasn't cursed with an actual cameo

[quenthel]

i made this post 7 million times but like the bg3 top moment for me are like (after not having played it for more than a year)

Gale sex scene bc I want video games to do weird stuff w intimacy and sexuality like that since they could be doing ANYTHING. like fuck it lets float around. and its EARNEST.

His male manipulator moment on the boat is just funny ngl.... especially how he acts like he does not want to break up w you while he hints that he in fact wants that... the two things i liked abt gale was his hubris and his depression and unforts they kind of wrote those out of him oops

Emperor sex scene for a similar reason. its very very earnest and you are just making love to this manipulative monster it fucking rules.

Laezel mind chair is cool bc its the first crack in her worldview and the way she is screaming about her devotion while she is in pain rules... and if you let it go long enough she gets permanently worse as a companion it rules.

similarly, her love scene in act2 is epic bc she lets her facade drop slowly and its a satisfying moment.... the act3 one is a bit too corny for me and on the nose tho like she is explaining her own character to somebody stupid lol

jaheira's distant mom act was cool as fuck too bc i love when women are shitty mothers... its fun each time and she sucks at it supremely

and the durge scenes:

sceleritas fel showing up: i knew this shit was good the moment this happened. like oh i get a weird butler?? a butler??? im seated.

murder tribunal: i just love it bc there are so many ways it can go and it hints at what durge's life was like back when they were still at large....

all the durge stuff in act 2 slowly building towards the kressa bonedaughter reveal: it was mindblowing to experience this and slowly piecing the mystery together... the horrible realization about who your character is was just awesome like tbh i called the bhaalpawn thing bc i played bg1-2 but it was still so cool to really see it bloom....

speaking of act 2 fisting that crack in the wall and talking to the elder brain as it criptically trying to appeal to you is such an awesome scene i was so obsessed... its just cool as fuck

orin's sicko manifestations in act3: once again i just love the exploration of durge's life and a bit of a deeper dive into their relationship w orin... i wish there was more but maybe she is mad her epic plan did not work out lol

and then the bhaal temple which is obviously the highlight of the game for me.... its the emotional high point its everything.... every little detail there rules like the bhaalist renting library of murder scrolls, that one woman who is taking bets on everyone's skins, the cannibals happy to see you, the orin breakdown if you happen to trigger it... its so mwhah mwhah. and if you side w pápá jaheira and co coming to kill you... its beyond epic.... the withers scene is a little bit corny ngl i wish rejecting bhaal had more gameplay consequences but what have you...

also i famously hated the epilouge party bc its pointless imo. but the bad epilouge you get if you accept pápá's offer and then dont do the thing so durge loses their mind and stalks the meetup is very very good....

[forcedhesitation]

I definitely do not have the time for a full essay's worth of commentary on the Casting of Frank Stone, but I definitely could give you that if I did. There is...a lot to take apart there. I am certainly...fascinated...by some of the writing & gameplay choices they made, to summarise my thoughts somewhat vaguely.

A few spoilery comments under the cut.

Like I said, I don't really have the time to offer extensive analysis (a full paper) of the game, but I do want to say a few things.

First and foremost: Do not purchase this game. In the words of Mr. Otzdarva himself: Go and watch someone play it instead. Your play through will be 95% the same as theirs. It is not worth your 50 dollars. If you still want it after you've viewed someone else's playthrough, that is your own right.

I honestly became annoyed with the writing much faster than Mr. Otzdarva did, and at first I thought it was because I was spoiled by BG3's infinitely better writing. But no, it's rather that he was being very patient. He finished with a rather negative opinion of the game, after thoroughly going through it to test just how much control you as the player really have.

I will be fair-- It is certainly a visually stunning game, as far as Supermassive titles go. Much better looking than The Devil in Me. The music is also incredible. And some of the voice acting was well done and added much needed life to otherwise bland characters.

But good grief is the writing utterly nonsensical!! Even if you respect the "a multiverse exists, so anything is possible" fact which is canon to Dead by Daylight itself, it still doesn't make any damned sense. I mean, is it ever explained why there is time travel involved? Or how it is even possible? Did they simply expect people to just assume that Augustine figured out time travel in a certain timeline? Does it have something to do with the Entity, since it can clearly traverse time? If so, why was Sam able to voluntarily time travel to Madi & elder Linda's timeline? Why and how the FUCK is Frank Stone first bound to the mill and then camera using what is clearly the same magic as the horologium, when we know the Entity has not yet been brought to that timeline??

And playing the "anything is possible" card would be fine to explain certain things, I will concede, but it really starts to feel meaningless when you realise just how many massive plot elements are never explained and that none of your choices really have any impact on the ending of the game. The story literally ends the same no matter what you do. And to be fair, I do not think it is a bad ending at all. Barring the corny "trial starting" sound that they jammed in at the last second, I thought the ending was one of the better parts of the game. It works great to make you feel hopeless, and like there is truly no escape from the Entity. I just feel that this format of a "your choices impact the outcome of the story" game was the incorrect format for the story they wanted to tell. Because it truly doesn't even matter if you get everyone killed, or you save everyone-- everything happens the same way and the world's fate is the same.

There are other things that bothered me, too. I thought having Frank Stone appear as this corny, glitchy spectral monster for most of the game was...a terrible choice, both design wise and writing wise. Now, I do not think killing him in the opening was necessarily a bad decision. I honestly thought it was a bold choice that functioned well to surprise the viewer and urge them to continue, so they might discover how the story plays out after the death of the titular character. But keeping him as this ghoulish creature, that honestly looked as though it were from some solo indie developer's first low budget horror game, was awful. He did not feel threatening whatsoever, just wildly out of place in a visual quality sense. I hate the final design much less, it is certainly much more threatening and much, much more gruesome, but it still does not make sense as to why he looks that way. The Entity still had not taken him, why did he appear as this inhuman monster before his entry into the Fog? They should have kept a more humanlike design until the very end of the game, when the Entity arrives. Then, a transformation sequence where the Entity mutates him should have been restricted to the ending where no one from the cast is seen in the Fog, so players at least get something different in that allegedly "unique" ending. After all, if a cast member does get taken, at least you get to see visions of what followed the 1980s storyline.

Also why did Augustine work alone when she is clearly part of the Black Vale? The excuse of "the cult didn't exist yet" doesn't work here, because she can time travel and is fully aware of the multiverse she exists in. Like... I thought elder Linda's mention of secret passages being for staff "so they are seen as little as possible" was foreshadowing for Augustine having fellow cultists aiding her, but it just went nowhere. Another thing that goes nowhere is the baby that Sam can save at the very beginning. Should the baby live or die has absolutely no impact whatsoever on the story, which feels like an enormous mistake to me. That baby should have grown up to be a character that the cast could have interacted with to gain...oh I don't know, some piece of important knowledge, or an item, that could then later change the fate of the cast. This way, the player's choices in the 1960s segment actually have an impact on later gameplay, rather than meaning absolutely nothing.

I'd also love to know why the hell elder Sam was sent alone to prevent this situation from occurring, when the Imperatti (I think they were called? The parents of the Pariahs, or something, right?) would have surely realised the gravity of this situation? Like, how does this make any sense? And this is far from the only moment that makes no sense at all.

Why do Jaime and Robert have almost no relevance whatsoever after the 1980s segment concludes? Robert is guaranteed survival of this segment, as that part of the game is written so that two characters always survive-- be that Linda and Robert, or Sam and Robert. As annoying as Stan was, I didn't hate him because he had great dialogue that pushed other characters to have different dialogue than what we were used to. But it felt scummy that Robert was just given this sad, offscreen death instead of being included in a lot more meaningful way.

Not going to lie, it reminded me of how in Stranger Things 4, Patrick was the one teenager whose trauma wasn't really explored or given the same respect as the others. It's like the writers went, "Guys, guys! It's okay! We still have the other Black guy! This makes our game Diverse, and therefore no one could possibly complain!" Meanwhile, we get an entire cutscene about Madi's nightmares, and elder Linda's movie career and associated trauma is talked about numerous times. But all we know about 2024 Robert is that Stan took advantage of him, and then he later died, utterly miserable. Also, Sam somehow knows about this and he and Stan know one another, despite this Sam being from a different timeline than elder Linda, Madi, and Stan himself.

And Jaime, poor sweet Jaime, he really just feels like he's there as someone they can conveniently kill to shock the player. The first chance he has to die results in a horrible, very graphic death (although not the most graphic in the game by a long shot) that I feel many players will encounter because they see it as reasonable to visit the curiosities shop first, and then to later attempt to save Chris (even though her fate is the same here, regardless of what you do). And even if you should keep Jaime alive through that first confrontation with the spectral Frank Stone, it's not as though his survival impacts following events. He can die again, when fleeing Frank with Bonnie and an injured Linda. Why they have Linda, who has a gaping hole in her shoulder, attempt to pull Jaime up the platform alone while HIS OLDER SISTER just WATCHES is beyond me. But writing his death, whether it be here, or earlier, to have no impact on Bonnie's fate, or any future events, is plain bad writing.

You cannot save Bonnie, no matter what you do. And this scene makes no sense. When Frank grabs Bonnie, Linda points the camera at him, which should work. There really isn't any reasonable explanation as to why this should not work, or should not even momentarily distract him (Which could have led to a different ending where Bonnie lives and Linda dies instead?), because in the storm drain, so much as yelling at Frank causes him to abandon whoever he's attacking to seek out the new target. I suppose, at the very least, 1980s Bonnie's death does serve some kind of purpose in the 2024 storyline, because it serves as foreshadowing for Madi's potential fate. But just like Robert, 2024 Bonnie is given a sad offscreen death and we never really learn about how she or Jaime survived that night at the mill.

And I will say, it just feels shitty from a player point of view, to make it so you cannot save certain characters. Like, I'm sorry, is that a canon event? Where is Mr. O'Hara? Because Madi must be a god-damned anomaly, being Bonnie's daughter!! And Chris- god- Chris who mysteriously travels through time...I really do hate this part of the story because understanding its purpose can only happen if you manage to get the secret ending where she goes through the projector screen and DOESN'T burn and die. Which would require you to not have taken the pocket mirror or given the "protective" amulet to her. This unlocks a secret ending where she goes back in time to the moment where she, Jaime, and Linda were inintially shooting in the mill, right before Sam interrupted them. I took this as the writers trying to show us that there would be one timeline in which Frank Stone is never released (not sure how he ever was in the first place, really), likely saving them from the Entity. But other than the player somehow luckily getting this ending, I really don't see the point of Chris' time travel, because she can also be sent immediately back in the horologium, which does nothing meaningful. And why does it have to be Chris? Why not write it so it could be her or Jaime, so that maybe the player's choice to have her and Jaime breakup or not actually has some kind of impact on the gameplay?

One of the worst things about the game though, and I cannot stress this enough, is how badly the references to DBD are integrated. I love a good reference-- it can serve to add a little playful flair to a moment, or even go so far as to have the viewer look at the piece from a different perspective they had not previously considered. Buuuut... this is only if the reference is done well. And, well, what this game does could hardly be described as tolerable, even. In was so heavy-handed, it felt almost as bad as product placement in a Michael Bay movie. Many of these "references" felt out of place to the degree that someone with no knowledge of DBD would be likely able to pick them out, because they heavily disrupt either the game's aesthetic or the gameplay itself! One generator was funny, and honestly expected, but THREE of those damn things? Clunky, corny, and honestly? Lazy.

Unfortunately, I feel those three adjectives describe how I feel about the game overall. I feel bad for the people who put hard work into making it, because there is potential there for something great. But it really felt as though they were pushed to release this game as quickly as possible, so BHVR could sell us a 50 dollar, five-to-six-hour advertisement for their next DLC chapter. Hard to think anything else, really, when completion of the game is followed by a a literal ad for it.

All I can say is-- I really hope we get 2024 Linda as a survivor. It seems more likely that it will be Madi, but it is possible we could have a two-survivor chapter (unless they specifically outlined in the roadmap that there are no upcoming 2-survivor chapters?).

Madi and 2024 Linda would be cool though. We have no older women as survivors, despite having more than one older man. I think it's about damn time. And I love the mother/daughter bond that can sort of develop between Madi and 2024 Linda in the game.

[kittenintheden]

Hi Kitten! I can’t wait for your fic to drop on Easter-Sunday! You’re like the ester bunny but for thirty Astarion fans and I am all here for it xD

That said, since you posted your first teaser I started my second BG3 run and your first line „Astarion has a tell“ made me realize that he actually does, in game, too. I guess first time around I didn’t know Astarion well enough yet and also I was simping too much over the cut-scenes to really notice it lol But your sentence helped me put into words that he does have a tell for when he is actually sincere and vulnerable and I wanted to share!

It’s all in the fingers. Usually when you interact with him his body language tries to get all your attention. His movements are big, he leans in towards you, and his words and gestures can seem a bit theatrical. But every now and then, when he shows the tiniest bit of vulnerability, he suddenly folds into himself, and he starts playing with his fingers. He even seems to avoid your eyes, looking down at his fingers. His whole demeanor screams „performance is over“.

And now that I think about it: that makes the closeup on his hands and fingers after the moonrise tower hug scene even more meaningful somehow.

How do you think Act 1 Tav would react when she notices this?

hee, yes, he very much does. Neil Newbon was so intentional in the way he portrays Astarion's body language and tonality as you progress through the game. Astarion *is* very theatrical and exaggerated, intentionally so, as a distraction. look over here at my dramatics, not at me directly.

in early game he tucks his chin and keeps his face very controlled for the most part during romantic-coded interactions, not smiling with teeth. he's still operating on his instinctual manipulation tendencies, which means he's hiding his predatory/monstrous nature as much as he can.

later, when he's more comfortable and friends/romantically involved with the player, his posture loosens a bit and he's far more likely to smile with teeth, showing you his fangs because he knows you're not going to turn him away because of what he is. so! your observation is right on the money.

I think Act 1 Tav's reaction is pretty well represented in-game depending on how you're RP'ing your Tav. they can be very hurt by the manipulation, they can clock in and be understanding, they can clock it and not care because they just want to have a good time, etc. I tend to play and write confident Tavs, personally, so my Tavs may clock it early or not depending on their stats and rolls, they might call it out or let it ride until he's ready. either way, they get it and they appreciate his honesty when he gets there.

[gryffintheparrotcat]

Just finished my first da:i run (didnt play the other two dragon age games yet, yes yes I know that's like a cardinal sin but I didn't want to buy 3 games and start with the crustiest and then potentially end up hating it. I'm already starting an origin run alright🙏)

I finally get why DA fans kept saying DA does companions (and honestly story choices too) better than bg3. I couldn't agree more. The character creator also being a proper rpg character creator and not just a few face presets warms my rpg gamer heart. I've successfully been converted to DA. The only thing I miss about bg3 is actually seeing what my character will say and being able to save and load during dialogues. The amount of times I picked the wrong option or just started looking the quest up to see what those dialogue options would be when said out loud...

I saw a lot of warnings not to start with da:i since it doesn't explain lore at all. However those signs didn't warn me because I can't read. Going blind into it was definitely a turbulent experience, I feel like I still don't get half of the beef between the nations but honestly I managed well. Standing on the side of the oppressed out of principle didn't fail me (I did make enemies with basically everyone tho...)

The ending (specifically the trespasser ending) has me feeling very emotional rn (unlike bg3-). My poor inquisitor really can't catch a break huh. He didn't even want to be inquisitor in the first place & now his boyfriend is in a whole different country and his arm is well... not well. (Solas when I catch you, you hetero bastard we could've been nerdy elven mage couple goals but nooo your plans include women and world destruction).

Anyways clawing at the bars of my enclosure playing DA is the only thing keeping me sane rn and Veilguard is taking it's damnest time. At least I have two more games to get through in the meantime ig. Unlike bg3, DA:I actually made me want to play the previous games (yk how good sequels in a series are supposed to- ok i'll stop the bg3 slander now).

We'll see if the brainworms, of which there are plenty, are strong enough to turn my ideas from mind to paper.

[midnightwind]

Self Promo Saturday

tagged by @pixiedurango (sending many handfuls of confetti in your direction~) and since it is now finally Saturday in my time zone, let's crack into my projects shall we?

Clipped Wings - Dragon Age Veilguard Fic

Following the adventures of Mirenna "Rook" de Riva, Clipped Wings is a slow burn Rookanis fic taking place right before the events of Veilguard up until the final scene, fates willing. Follow Renn's journey and adventure through the growing pains of an occupied Antiva and contesting with the elven gods from her discarded past!

It's up to 6 full chapters now! Currently on a bit of a break while I write more, replay the game for fresher scenes, and ensure the quality and plot are up to snuff. The masterpost for it over here has some extra excerpts you can peek while waiting for the next update, or you can peruse the published chapters over on AO3 or archived on my writing blog if you want to avoid my endless yapping here~ The published chapters make up a whopping 32,729 word read!

Read It: Main Blog - AO3 - Writing Blog

The Sound of Your Voice - Baldur's Gate 3 Fic

It was supposed to be a quiet morning, but a short, bitter exchange between Astarion and Shadowheart has Tav paying just a little too much attention to how words are shared.

If BG3 is more your speed, I wrote a oneshot that takes place inside Act 1 of the game! It's a Tavstarion ficlet featuring a nonbinary demi Tav! Just short of 5k words, it's a darling little read I'm still proud of!

Read It: AO3 - Writing Blog

Call of the Stars

Nikolai Zepar was supposed to just be the eldest child of the small town's doctor, but he's heard a call from the heavens his whole life. Waking from trances in strange places with no memory of how he walked there, he grew up afraid and isolated. Until one day, he finally answered the voice. Emera has gifted him power and purpose, but when you can't remember the price you paid for it, how good can the adventure be?

This is a loose collection of little writings and stories I've made for my dnd warlock, Nik. If you've seen me post my little purple bastard and wondered what his deal was, I've posted the design document, some pre-campaign writing prompts, and current game downtime documents! This is mostly an excuse to put my son in front of more people.

Read It: Writing Blog | See Him: Main Blog

do it for him

My Art

If reading isn't your thing, I sure do have a bunch of OCs I draw! Nik is the main one, but I have several dnd characters I swap obsessions with! You can browse my entire history of art (dating back to when I made this blog back in 2012! holy shit!!) or browse by character! I'm self taught and have been doodling for my whole life~

My Art | My OCs

My Videos

I also sometimes record my friends and myself gaming and make little highlights over on youtube! The last video I made was for R.E.P.O. and it's 21 minutes of little robot hijinks and death! I also have a playlist of individual highlights from playing Lethal Company, or longer vods from when I raided in FFXIV during Asphodelos, and have a chunk of my unedited play through of Endwalker you could watch! I don't stream much anymore because I tend not to have the energy, but I do have a twitch as well! (there's also a few Monster Hunter Rise vods over there, because I love that game)

My Channel

and that's most of everything I dabble in and share publicly! I don't really believe in deleting stuff once it's out there, so you can really deep dive my writing blog or art tag to see how far I've come (or how I've stayed the same lol) if you took a peek at any of my work, I thank you profusely! and thank you again, Pixie, for the excuse to show off all my little hobbies~ I've been creating stuff since I could hold a pencil and while not all of this is that recent, it's still fun to share!

if you want to share your work (and you should, it's very fun!) then please do your own promo post! you can blame me for it and I'd love to see what you guys get up to, too!

[seoafin]

diff anon here but omgg daredevil!! matt murdock my beloved <3 i used to have a daredevil hyperfixation so long ago so maybe ur post IS my sign to rewatch the netflix og then ddba after hehe did u use to write for dd before if i may ask?? who are ur faves??

anyway!! how are u morgan?? i was just wondering do u still play video games on the switch? if yes, what are some of the recent ones you’ve enjoyed??

i found out i havent used mine for like more than 2 years (college tingz </3) until i reopened acnh and my villagers told me lol but im almost graduating so i have a lil bit of free time to play now!! 

i was thinking of buying house in fata morgana since u recommended it before (i refuse to play on my laptop bc i enjoy consoles more and they said the steam ver’s incomplete?? ugh) but its still so expensive on the switch rn so i am just fjsjkfd :-(

i also saw u mention jack jeanne, virche evermore, and olympia soiree before!! were they good?? i REALLY should finish p5r or nier or collar x malice first tho (i am such a fake #gamer)…..there are also soo many games on the ps5 that i wanna play like bg3, the ff series, genshin, infinity nikki and more but alas i do nawt own a ps5 </3 maybe one day!

just also wanted to say that i’ve been enjoying ur dc works sooo much u just never disappoint when it comes to writing!! and the person who said they’d traverse fandoms for u??? they are So Real ����‍↕️ bc i would too!

also!! im just curious–did u ever write dick x mc x jayson before (as a love triangle and not as '&' or platonic w/ jason)?? bc look i love looove mc and dick’s relationship and chemistry together so muuch but THAT scene with jayson in the manor??? ohhh the chemistry was CHEMISTRYINGGG (or is it just me?? 😭 help sorry if i made it weird...) 

ANYWAY!! i apologize for yapping and asking so much questions, morgan!! i genuinely hope life is treating u great these days!! sending u good vibes!! 🍀💫🩷)

i've never written for daredevil but i do enjoy matt's comics along with the role he plays in natasha's life as the moral center of her life whether they're together or not. I think he occupies a very different love interest role for her separate from clint/bucky

yes i occasionally do play on the switch, but being a slave to capitalism means im tired when i get home and the only thing i can do is read. i'm slowly making my way through disco elysium though <3

i liked jack and jeanne. ive heard good things about virche evermore and olympia soire. i would also like to get a ps5...one day. when i work normal hours lol.

and HAHA yes. my old dc dick fanfic ended up being jason endgame bc i was SO ANNOYED at his failgirl ric arc. i was like welp. that's retconned now.

also saw u mention jack jeanne, virche evermore, and olympia soiree before!! were they good?? i REALLY should finish p5r or nier or collar x malice first tho (i am such a fake #gamer)…..there are also soo many games on the ps5 that i wanna play like bg3, the ff series, genshin, infinity nikki and more but alas i do nawt own a ps5 </3 maybe one day!

[alls-fair-in-pride-and-prejudice]

The Ever Seeing Eye

(A/N: Continued from here, featuring my warlock Tav who is in a romantic relationship with her patron. I actually made this warlock character and her pact before playing BG3. It was a little too perfect how well it worked out for causing conflict >:) Also, I'm well aware that there is more than just the one artifact in Ethel's lair/on her person. I'm switching it up for drama. Also, defeating her in the tea house was accurate to my playthrough if anyone would like to know how I did it I can make a separate post. Part 4 here)

What is it about fey that they delight so much more in screwing over a fellow fey than any other creature?

Lyra ponders this question, along with wondering if that is precisely why Midnight adores her so rather than taking a lover of his own kind, as she delves into the hag’s lair.

Of course, Lyra, no stranger to dealing with fey, has already disposed of the hag in the tearoom upstairs, much to Midnight’s delight. “I can sense a delightful trinket down there in her workroom, a necklace, not too far from that human you’re so intent on rescuing,” he whispers in her ear, “I want that one. Fey magic should stay with fey, after all.”

Shouldn’t be a problem at all.

But it would just so happen, that as they have descended the stairs into the green-lit museum of hag horrors, Gale clutches at his chest, and looks to Lyra pleadingly. “I uh, I don’t suppose you looted any magic artifacts off the hag corpse upstairs, did you?”

“Potions, yes, artifacts, no,” Lyra answers. “We just fed you two days ago. You went without an artifact for several days since the crash. What’s changed?”

Gale’s eyes are desperate as he shakes his head in bafflement. “I’ve no idea… but something has changed. I could feel it before, the last one did not satisfy the way it should have… Perhaps something more powerful would do the trick.”

Lyra sees the strain in his face. This condition saps at him. “Do you need to wait in camp, then? You’re clearly unwell.”

“And leave the lot of you to face a hag lair down a wizard? Perish the thought. Old biddy might be dead, but this place is sure to have plenty dangers on its own. We press on! Besides, where better to find a suitable artifact than a hag lair? Surely she has something stashed away.”

Lyra frowns, knowing for a fact she does, and praying that she happens to have more than just the one.

They point the way out for all those fortunate enough to still be alive and intact once the hag’s magic wore off. Most of those wearing the masks were too far gone, and both Gale and Lyra could tell that attempting to remove the masks would have disastrous consequences for them.

Mayrina showed the way to the workroom, with a portal out of the lair. Lyra zeros in on the necklace immediately, picking it up from the desk and inspecting it, considering. After a moment, Gale says, “ah, delightful, you found something. May I?”

Lyra pulls away from his reaching hand. “Isn’t there something else in here?”

“All we’ve found are a collection of very non-magical rings and some dodgy potions that I would not drink for a hundred gold,” Astarion reports.

Lyra saw what happened to Wyll for disobeying his patron. His body is permanently altered for it, and he got off easy.

But surely Midnight would never be so cruel to her? She loves him. They’ve been lovers for over a year. And Gale… she doesn’t know the specifics of his condition, but he seems he would die without it. There is clear pain in his eyes.

“Swear to me that you need it, really need it,” Lyra says, meeting Gale’s pleading eyes.

“I swear upon the weave itself, that it is a matter of life and death.”

Lyra hands him the necklace, and he smiles in relief. She has just enough time to enjoy that grateful smile before she collapses, and the world goes dark.

[1800duckhotline]

im new here and missed your bg3 phase entirely can i hear what makes the game so sucks for you (or ill go look in the tag! fine too). i love to hear people bitchin about games everybody else doesnt wanna criticize

omg hello... first of all welcome to my twisted mind etc. my blog is an array of a completely random agglomeration of interests so im sorry if i shift from posting from x to y at the speed of light LMFAO. my bg3 obsession phase was definitely a strange exception but i guess it is what it is

and def i can give u the sparknotes version of my criticisms for the game, which are both rational and not and you're free not to agree and so forth, i'm just one guy expressing an opinion which i think i'm entitled to since i've played this game for over 200 hours almost i am fairly sure. i was not okay.

obviously i'll be mentioning spoilers fyi. i got long here but i promise this is just the Resume of my actual opinions

i hate the fact everyone sounds british except minsc or jaheira. i just dont like it. like a few characters here and there its nothing that bothers me but i'm tired of british accents in fantasy media. it makes things more of a snoozefest

for a game that prides itself on characters being reactive and interactable (esp companions) more often than not the companions reactions have been disappointingly lackluster and straight up Sad because they're so Nothing. i.e. durge reveal

i think not having tav/durge voiced was stupid. my onion!

the game is not as revolutionary as people make it out to be when it comes to character design and good lord the character creator to me is offensive. the companions are all EXTREMELY SAFE when it comes to 'conventional beauty standards', and while i'm not surprised nor did i expect any less, the lack of body diversity to me is just so... boring. it's so nothingburger. like i love projecting hcs and shit but i wish i didn't have to do that

wyll having so little in terms of content and writing and reactions in the game compared to astarion (and let's also say shadowheart bc on a technical level she's the second favorite of larian) is genuinely the worst thing to me because his concept is charming and interesting and larian just decided to do nothing with him. players that are black and/or poc obviously have said this a trillion times, i'm just echoing the sentiment because i also hate how blatant it is, esp when i read up and watched how he used to be in EA. like not to say the writing there was stellar but he had dimension. larian just does not give a fuck abt him and it is irritating lmao, esp since astarion has tangentially 0 actual involvement with the game's main plot in his arc WHILE WYLL LITERALLY GETS HIS ARC SIDELINED BY THE EMPEROR I FUCKING HATE THAT STUPID TURN OF EVENTS SO MUCH

act 1 is probably the best optimized out of all the acts, with the optimization being probably up to midway of act 2. then it alllllll goes downhill. i said it so much but i never get tired of saying it: act 3 is so poorly organized, so many good ideas all smushed together in an indigestible slog of an act with too many quests flattened in one single serving making it so fucking hard to want to get it done. which is awful, because a lot of poignant plot events and fights happen in act 3. i'm still of the firm belief they should've made an act 4. considering this ties in with the aforementioned issue where wyll was supposed to get more content... and it got cut out 'for time'.

i fucking hate astarion fans. i trust like 2 people that do like him. i genuinely was so indifferent to him in the game. like he's fine as a character. i just dont like him much because of the fans. Again ties in with the wyll issues too because people love to pretend astarion would be in wyll's place in the dancing scene when astarion would call you slurs and kill you if he could

also like think what you will of minthara but i think it's criminal that she's a companion and alongside wyll is left to rot at the bottom of the game's code. it's definitely more egregious for wyll imo but like. idk i also am not a fan of this esp since i discovered halsin was added as a companion because THE FANS begged them to. seething

again, there's people more well equipped to discuss this and i did reblog and share posts abt this before on my main account but the embarrassing fantasy racism is there and it's an innate problem of dnd. i think it should be mentioned and kept in mind regardless if it's done well or not (which i don't think it was).

this is less abt the game itself and more abt the fandom but i genuinely cannot fucking stand people who are so aggressive at users who have sexuality headcanons for some of the characters of the game. i've seen people have SO much fucking vitriol towards lesbians having lesbian hcs, specifically, gee i wonder why. this hasn't happened to Me but i have witnessed it.

i think that's more or less the Issues i have with bg3. you're free to ask anything in specific but like... i dont hate the game. or i wouldnt have played it so much. but it should not have been GOTY to me. sorry. like there's so much i just think is wrong... but im just one guy.

i usually prefer completely different types and genres of games, so obviously i'll be more dissecting towards a game i tried out of curiosity and Liked, but with many grievances. the type of stuff i usually like is also far from perfect but i judge a lot of those things in bg3 because of how the game presents itself as in advertisement and social media posts, as well as just like, the steam page. i have plans in the future to try similar games to bg3 to see if it's a common problem within that genre or if it's the black sheep (for me) but for now it is how it is

anyways i did also like a lot of parts of the game, it's just, i can't really reccomend it without mentioning what i didn't like you know?

[weaveandwood]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

I was tagged by @mumms-the-word ages ago when I was in the throes of a Shitty Time™️ but now I'm finally able to answer these questions! I feel like it's fitting because I just passed two really big writing milestones, too.

I think at this point everyone I would tag has done this, so consider this an open tag if you want.

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

I have published 11 works on AO3

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

114,914 - in one year! bananas.

3) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Snake and The Crow

Midwinter in Waterdeep

Weave and Woods

Stay

The First Time

a nice mix of Dragon Age and BG3 so I'm happy about that!

4) What fandoms do you write for?

Right now, only Dragon Age and BG3 (and BG3 has kind of taken a backseat since I got pretty burned out on the game - I'll get back to it with patch 8). I'm always playing new things though, so who knows where inspiration will take me this year!

5) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Absolutely. I don't get a ton of comments regularly so it's always a nice treat when one appears in my inbox and I like to show my appreciation for someone taking the time to leave a comment.

6) What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't really do solely angsty endings, but of the ones I've written, probably Midwinter in Waterdeep. It's not really angsty, but it's a different take on what happily ever after looks like for Gale and Tav. More bittersweet than anything I suppose.

7) What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

The Snake and The Crow for sure. The entire fic was sadness layered with angst layered with sex layered with more sadness that built to what I think is a very satisfying, believable, and happy ending for Bianca and Ashur.

8) Do you get hate on fics?

Nope. I'm a small author and my works don't reach a large crowd.

9) Do you write smut?

Yes and I love it. One of my favorite things to write.

10) Do you write crossovers?

I never have, I don't think my brain is big enough.

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No, at least not that I'm aware of. None of my fics do huge numbers like some on AO3 so I doubt it.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

13) Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Negative. I'm not really good with group projects lol

14) What’s your all-time favorite ship?

oh mannnn there's so many. I can't choose just one that's cruel! so I'll do my top 3

Cullen/Lavellan Ashur/Rook (BIASED hehe) Gale/Tav

15) What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

At this point, there are a couple ideas in my google drive that I'm not sure I'll flesh out, but more than likely a three part story following my non-canon Inquisitor Leni from Crestwood breakup, to meeting with Rook, to reuniting with Solas. Idk if I have a Solavellan fic in me.

16) What are your writing strengths?

Hmm, smut for sure. I am good at describing thoughts and emotions well. and Uh....I think I'm alright at coming up with ways to twist the source material into something unique, even if I am following a game's overall plot.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

Action, poetic language, a conservative use of the em dash.

18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

I think using a phrase here or there as flavor is nice. But I would not be fluent enough to go really hard on it.

19) First fandom you wrote for?

BG3! Weave and Woods was my first foray into writing creatively.

20) Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Right now, I want to say The Snake and The Crow. It was so fun to write for a pairing that had hardly any fics (there were EIGHT when I first published in early December, and zero smutty ones, now there are almost 60!) and it was also fun to write for a pairing that doesn't exist! Making Ashur my own and giving him thoughts and goals and motivations that are never explicitly stated in the source material really made my creativity flourish and I tried things in that fic I never thought I could do. My Ashur is different from every other Ashur, and to be one of the first is like...idk I feel like I really planted the flag for the ship. It's a cool feeling. Honorable mention to Midwinter in Waterdeep for saying "Hey what if Tav left Gale and they didn't talk for over a year and rekindle their romance after a chance encounter?" And me for having the audacity to write something like that only a month into my writing journey.