My FL main went through some really weird, organic development over the...oh god, I think it's been five years since I started playing now.
So my main is named Skadi Larkin. They are a little bastard. They started out extremely 2D; I named them after my favorite Norse goddess and the protagonist of the book I was reading at the time. I originally wanted to make them female like both of their namesakes, but the second I saw the third-gender option, I thought it was too good to pass up. This is where they got their primary base characterization as a mad scientist who wanted to Cause Problems.
Then I started the Nemesis ambition and forgot which option I'd chosen for who I was trying to avenge, so they lost both their lover and their older brother under tragic circumstances (only the lover was killed by Nemesis's antagonist, though).
Then I got an Exceptional Friendship and had to give my tragic backstory in order to gain entry to the House of Chimes. Skadi pulled said tragic backstory (orphaned in a hansom accident) more or less out of their ass, but it did establish that their parents are dead.
Somewhere down the line, I realized that technically Skadi is a linguist, since the Correspondence is a language, and I made that their profession on the Surface as well.
Around this time, I started working on character designs for my fan comic. I got really into messing around with skin tone, and somewhere along the line thought it would be fun to draw Skadi (who was originally white) with darker skin, and it stuck.
Then I abruptly realized I was taking a lot of options that increased my Melancholy, and almost all of them were based on the Surface. So now Skadi has a longing for the Surface.
I left the game for a few years, but somewhere during this stretch of time, and I don't know how this happened, but I decided Skadi was now Native American; specifically, Metis. I changed their design to incorporate a sash woven in a style characteristic of the Metis, which also added a bit of color to their design (which was mostly black or grey at this point).
During this time, I started incorporating Skadi into my fan comic. This would eventually lead me to actually flesh out their backstory in greater detail. When I started playing the game again, I also created my first alt by total accident (long story), and I decided to weave her backstory with Skadi's.
So Skadi is in the interesting position of being an Indigenous person who is what we'd probably consider Two-Spirit today but they'd just call "Bollocks to that gender crap". They never belonged on the Surface, since the Metis are in a bit of a liminal space compared to other tribes due to their interesting background (the Metis are the descendants of French settlers and Indigenous inhabitants, mostly Cree), and Skadi exists in a liminal space within that liminal space due to only being half-Metis and raised primarily in white culture, although they still maintained a connection to it through their late mother. They also never belonged because no one else on the Surface outside of the communities they already felt isolated from would ever accept them for their gender. London gave them a chance to express one of those, but not both, and despite knowing that the Surface hates them just for existing, they still long to return.
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Hi, dearie! Do you mind if I ask you a quick question? What are your thoughts on Booster Gold and what happened with Dick at some point of his series ( Booster Gold Vol. 2 )? 'Cuz I've always loved the fact that he took him back in time to see his parents again just because Dick needed it.
Ohhh from Booster Gold #25. Yeah, it was sweet that Michael did that favor for Dick. Only thing I was kinda confused about is the fact that young!Dick and his parents were celebrating Christmas in a house. Although, I guess it would make sense for Dick's parents to do a short-term rental during the circus's off season.
Honestly, I was kind of surprised that Dick wanted to go back in time to see his parents instead of going back in time to see Bruce. Only because Bruce's death was much more fresh in Dick's mind at that point and I can imagine him missing Bruce so much that he'd want to see him again. But! I feel like his decision to see his parents made more sense when Booster thought, We get so wrapped up in this crazy life that true happiness forever eludes us. For many, the costs are almost too much to bear. So a little reminder of who we are, of what we work for on behalf of others… well, it can help.
Because sometimes Dick needs to go back to his roots to ground himself, and I feel like seeing his parents would help him forget about all of his burdens and responsibilities for a little while, and it would also just be nice for him to be present during a simpler time in his life. Also, since it's been so long since Dick has seen his parents, I'm sure there's certain things he's forgotten about them (what they look like, what their voices sound like, etc.), so I can see that being a great opportunity for him to get a refresher. And now he can remember the last time he saw them as that Christmas moment rather than the moment his parents fell to their deaths.
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Astarion: Finally, we're catching up on our puppet master. And the hunt ends at Moonrise Towers.
screaming crying throwing up over this line with durge and romanced astarion on my duo run. they both start as puppets, then are free enough of their former masters to make their own choices, then they both have a choice: chain themself to their master or be free.
with durge that's either resist or become bhaal's chosen. If they resist, they're marking to certain death. To be free of Bhaal is to die, and I think they're acutely aware of that. To become his Chosen is to extend the amount of time they live, but they know it won't truly be living, if they live their life in service to another.
with astarion it's to break the cycle of abuse and be more than what nearly 200 years of empathy-breaking hell - Sisyphus pushing up the boulder but make it seducing people, eating rats and insects, night after night, knowing everyone you touch is doomed to die - made him OR unchain himself to everything Cazador did by killing Cazador without ascending, allowing him the safety of his abuser being gone so he can finally start feeling and healing without the ever-present threat of becoming a slave to Cazador again.
Their romanced "bad" endings all require someone to become the other's puppet. If Durge becomes Bhaal's Chosen, they force Astarion back into servitude and make him no more than a puppet after taking over the Absolute to start slaughtering the world in Bhaal's name. If Astarion Ascends, Durge either agrees to the loss of their independence and personhood by becoming a spawn OR the relationship falls apart.
I don't have anything else to say I'm just screaming about this lmao
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