#bog post

[frogyourbog]

i need to see how the tiktok girlies are reacting to luke’s betrayal

im begging someone to show me

[bogunicorn]

all of their bad writing and spreading of misinfo aside, i do genuinely feel for nick in this situation. the way that james has discussed nick - alternately fawning over them and using them as a shield, passively blaming them for "all the bad stuff in the videos" while trying about how they don't speak to him anymore - pinged to me as exceptionally manipulative and shitty from the very first "apology" video.

somerton's manipulation of his audience and mistreatment of other creators is pretty gross and obviously morally shit, but the way he's spoken about nick post-hbomb-and-todd-videos has struck me as exceptionally vile. naming nick in his suicide note as someone who's alternately to blame for his suicide (because he lost "his only friend") and also someone he's ~looking after even in death~ (scheduling videos/keeping videos up "for nick's resume", even when all things indicate that nick wants nothing to do with the videos or james anymore, let alone as points on a resume) is, in all honesty, abusive. it casts james as both victim and martyr in his (ex-)friendship with nick and implies that if nick had just stood by their friendship in this trying time, maybe he wouldn't feel the need to die, and don't you wish you'd managed to work it out, nick? aren't you sad that you weren't more forgiving and supportive before he died, or so he wouldn't have to?

i hope that nick has a strong support system and sets strong boundaries with james going forward. i hope they have access to a therapist, or at the very least close friends or family that they can lean on here. as someone who's had a partner who frequently threatened to commit suicide and attempted while i was present, i know how deeply traumatizing this kind of thing can be and how long it takes to get out of your system.

[karlastarion]

I'm so curious about Kagha, because she's so different from Halsin. She and Halsin are both wood elves, and I get the sense that Kagha is probably not ~young~ but she's not nearly as old as Halsin. When you deal with the Shadow Druids, she's very quick to defer to him and treat him like a teacher she's disappointed. He probably mentored her, if he's chosen her as his second in command - though, I would bet it's in more of a general thing in the way that the First Druid is everyone's mentor, rather than the clearly more direct and specific mentorship he has with Nettie as a healer.

Canonically, Halsin isn't an exceptionally good leader. He's not bad at it, and he has good instincts. He correctly surmises that after the dust-up with Kagha and the tieflings, the Emerald Grove needs an outsider to step in and lead without being tied to any particular grudges or politics. That's savvy enough that I think Halsin was a good First Druid, he just wasn't especially good or great at it and clearly didn't like the position. At worst, I think he let some situations fester because of his focus on the Shadow Curse.

But I'm not ready to say that he didn't realize Kagha was a proverbial snake in the grass ~the whole time~, because I don't think she was. I think she was genuinely and recently radicalized by the Shadow Druids. I think she probably had something of an edge before, maybe she was a hardass or had a mean streak or something. Regardless of how I feel about the quality of the Shadow Druid subplot (which is that I think its pacing is meh and Kagha's face-turn is way too fast and kind of shitty), I think it speaks to the fact that her care for the Grove is genuine. That perhaps Halsin's failure with her wasn't in not realizing she was A Bad Person Actually, but in not tending to her insecurities or noticing that she might be feeling isolated, if she was so effectively shaken by the Shadow Druids' fearmongering.

The recent wave of IRL cults should have taught us all by now that everyone is susceptible to cult tactics if they're sufficiently scared and alone, and BG3 is a game riddled with various cults. You don't have to already be a bad person, or a stupid or weak person, to fall for them. And I think Kagha's story is way less interesting if you just think she's an evil power hungry shrew too stupid to keep herself from being radicalized.

She clearly has a nasty streak, but her apologies and regrets also sound sincere, if you manage to hear them. Even when she isn't "redeemed", she accepts her punishments, even if she does so bitterly and not believing she was wrong. And I have to wonder just how much of that mean streak is self-defensive rather than inherent in her, how much of it is that she struggles to admit failure and learn from it. Or how much is her modeling Halsin's level of single-minded commitment, picking a methodology or an action and throwing all of her weight behind it, even when it may no longer be working.

I wish characters like Kagha got nearly as much love and fandom development and benefit of the doubt as someone like Ketheric. I think she has a ton of potential for that, and way fewer crimes to her name than other fandom favorites who just happen to also be, you know. Men.

[solavelyan]

inquisition should have been M-rated just so solas could say cunt

Eta: I desperately need everyone who reblogs this to know that I don't actually think DAI was rated T, I was just really high when I posted this and weed makes me real dumb, ty

[rowyngoldeart]

[azure-arsonist]

Reblog? No. Rebog. *sinks back into my swamp*

[lilaclands]

Nipping down to the bog, anyone want anything?

[rat-loaf]

I need to decompose in the bog and come back as some twisted spirit. Ya know? I think I’d benefit.

[smolgaycat]

Thoughts

Erupting from my head the noisy words unknown by others 

Private in the silence of night

Buzzing bees in a field

Flowers falling from the trees but only in my mind

Anything can happen here fantastical stories and magical adventure

Whispering a secret untold but mine

Nights a time I should be asleep

Days a time I should wake

Time irrelevant it doesn’t control me

The limit it gives me

The limit it gives us

Dead before we met

Alive even after

Another person will take my place

I’m scared

I don’t want to go

But I know you’ll fall in love with me again

Rain a constant dribble a gray sky

The fog of the morning in my mind

Fogging my memories making my head spin

The weather, sounds and smells and sights

A song of joy or dread

To provide and cause one to grow

By a lake under a log

A perfect home for a frog

My toadstool home and mushroom umbrella dancing in the rain

The buzz of food

[tempertyzias]

"liveblog"? no no I said live bog. I live in a bog.

[peggy-sue-reads-a-book]

When I am old, you will call me the Crandmother because I am bitter and hope by then to live in a bog.

[frogyourbog]

idk is this anything

[bogunicorn]

Inquisition companion coffee orders and how they'd be at a coffee shop, based on the less than a year I spent working at fake starbucks many years ago. In a different order than my last post, just for the hell of it. Some of these are based on real customers that I still remember. I wrote this at 5am when I was high and unable to sleep so keep that in mind if you think I'm wrong. I'm not wrong but you should keep it in mind. H'kay let's go

Josephine: large americano, extra shots, cream and sugar and sometimes a shot of a seasonal flavor if it's a special day. She comes in twice a day, she tips, and the baristas are all trying to figure out how she hasn't had a heart attack yet from having that much caffeine every day. Staff knows her name and likes her.

Dorian: Iced white chocolate mocha. It's the only thing he gets. He will not drink it hot. He will not try a different flavor. He shows up in the morning and orders two, one with ice and one without, and be puts the one without ice in the fridge to drink later. Staff knows him on sight, but they make him state his order every day as if they don't because he doesn't tip.

Varric: regular brewed coffee, but he likes to hang out at the cafe, work on his books, meet with people, etc. He's really nice, he over tips, and sometimes the staff "forgets" to charge him for a refill. He also orders whatever food they're running out of because he figures that means it's popular and therefore good.

Solas: Decaf brewed coffee, and then he puts a disgusting amount of sugar and cream into it. He actually hates coffee and refuses to drink caffeine, but he doesn't come for the drinks, he comes to people watch and do life drawings. He needs the coffee so he has a purchase that can reasonably last him hours before he's expected to spend more money, and hot coffee won't leave condensation on the table and get his paper wet. Staff knows him and their advice to each other is not to ask him questions because he will answer you, at length, in great detail, if it's something he knows about. But he occasionally just puts a couple 20s in the tip jar, so they've decided he's cool but kind of a weird nerd.

Blackwall: Seems like he'd be a "just a NORMAL COFFEE" kind of guy, but he's actually one of the staff's favorite customers. He's some kind of blue collar worker who comes in on the way to work and on the way home, and he gets the same thing every day: regular hot latte in the morning, decaf hot latte at night. He's always there at rush times, but he's polite and he tips even when service is crowded and messy. The baristas start making his coffee when we walks in the door if they notice him, so he rarely has to wait, but he seems flattered and grateful every time.

Sera: Her order is different every time she comes in and it's always something all fucked up and weird. Half the time she just shows them a screenshot on her phone of some complicated meme recipe from TikTok, or she wants whatever technicolor monstrosity frappuccino that's on special. The staff dreads her order, but she also has a habit of getting belligerent with customers who give the staff a hard time, so they're pretty sure Sera is like a part time security guard who demands meme drinks in payment. They're allowed to complain about her if they want, but they'll malicious compliance the fuck out or anyone else who does.

Iron Bull: He doesn't have a single go-to order, but he's nice and likes to ask the staff for recommendations if it's not too busy and lets them test new recipes on him. He always tries the seasonal flavors at least once. Sometimes he comes in with a group of friends who look like trouble on first glance, but Bull pays for them all at once, doesn't let them order blended drinks, and always makes sure they clean up after themselves, so it's okay.

Cullen: Just a NORMAL COFFEE. He's totally overwhelmed by the amount of choices, but this is the closest place to his office and getting out to buy coffee is his excuse to take a break and stretch his legs. The staff knows him and actually responds to "just a normal coffew" because it's too much trouble to interrogate him about which roast or what size cup, because last time he said, "I don't know, something dark? Whatever has the most caffeine in just a regular size to go cup." He's been drinking a medium blonde roast for years and still doesn't know what blonde roast is, save that he thinks he doesn't like it.

Leliana: Two shots of espresso over ice. Leliana had shit to do and she needs that caffeine in her body as fast as possible. The ice is there to keep her from burning her mouth off. She drinks it like it's whiskey and throws out her cup without even breaking stride.

Cole: Year round pumpkin spiced latte. If they're out of the syrup, he gets the cheapest thing on the menu, no add ins, and then doesn't drink it. He rarely comes in on his own; Cole is usually there with a friend and is aware that it's rude to be there without buying, but the pumpkin spice is the only thing he actually likes. He's polite but he creeps out the other customers with his thousand yard stare.

Cassandra: London Fog, but she never remembers what it's called. She drinks it because she wasn't sure and someone recommended it, but the name just will not stick in her head. She orders it as "hot Earl Grey tea with milk", she listens every time they say "okay, so a London Fog", but by the next time she's in she's forgotten. It's not really a big deal, though, she seems pretty overworked. At this point the staff would be sad if she did remember, honestly.

Vivienne: "The Usual". Literally only one barista knows her order, because it's some customized thing that that specific barista made for her once ages ago. Viv knows what's it in but she will not tell you because she doesn't trust anyone but that one barista to make it. If her regular person isn't around, she just gets a hot latte with sugar free vanilla. That one barista also won't tell you what's in it, but that's because Vivienne tips them directly instead of in the jar and they don't want to ruin a good thing.

**also if you like this and think "i'm gonna give this fine person a follow because they're so funny about dragon age", i made a new DA sideblog at @skyholdstarbucks where i'd post anything similar to this in the future

[karlastarion]

part of why i like wyll and lae'zel so much is that they're the two youngest members of the group (wyll is 24, lae'zel is about 22, iirc) and i think they match each other's energy level in a lot of ways. they're both kind of over-enthusiastic in their dedication to their respective causes, they're both incredibly dramatic, and lae'zel's curiosity about unfamiliar cultures can be more than indulged by wyll's eagerness to tell legends and folk stories and share anecdotes. they can get through each other's barriers without really having to try because that's naturally baked into their dynamic.

[solavelyan]

if bioware can't complete/release/whatever the next game if they pay proper severance, then the next game should not get to come out <3

[queermoths]

i love being a silly little menace living in a bog with all the bog creatures like frogs and algae and mushy earth and gnomes and your mum <3