So I've already shared parts of this on a discord server, but I have to scream about Ketheric Thorm on here as well. Obviously spoilers about the character under the cut! It's a long one.
The entirety of act 2 is about him, right? Jaheira, Shadowheart and numerous other NPCs shit on him for his fickle faith. First Selune, then Shar, then, as we meet him, Myrkul. You hear about his changes of faith on a whim, you hear that he's the person responsible for the shadow curse, he is painted as a villain, plain and simple.
You can figure it out pretty early on that Isobel was resurrected and that she is his daughter; the detail as well that he wants Isobel alive is so on the nose, it gives him away completely but there are still a few questions that remain unanswered, mainly about his faith.
And then you get to the mausoleum and the picture assembles; this entire tragedy, the death of hundreds if not thousands and the complete ruination of a landscape was all, ALL because you had this absolutely wrenched, heartbroken father who had lost everything and nobody answered his grief. He was left woefully alone, the Goddess whose daughter his daughter was involved with did nothing to save Isobel.
Imagine outliving your wife and your daughter. Imagine dedicating your life to fight the Lady of Loss, your Lady of Silver's enemy, and then be left so completely alone and in silence with your grief, with your loss. It's so, so poetic how and why he turned from Selune, and it's so understandable as well; he broke. His spirit completely broke. He couldn't deal with that void of having lost the only two important people in his life, seemingly undeservedly so. He was going mad with this and a lot of his ire was likely targeted at Aylin who, in his eye, represented Selune; she's literally her daughter, after all, and it was implied that even before the deaths of his family, he sort of saw Aylin courting Isobel as Selune taking his daughter from him, despite his service. This relationship was clearly not seen by him as a boon of "giving his daughter to the Moon-maiden".
His ways in the past clearly didn't spare him from tragedy and having to cope with it (which he clearly didn't, he snapped under the weight of his grief). He was clearly angry and unable to do anything, furious and helpless, which is a dangerous combination. A good part of his first change of heart must have been fuelled by a sense of revenge.
But then Shar didn't provide any balm to his aching heart either. If you read his letters in Grymforge and in act 2, he is so focused on enacting the will of Shar because he believes that healing lies in oblivion. Everything would be easier if he could just forget, if the damn world could just forget, if nothing was remembered because without Melodia and Isobel, nothing was worth remembering.
Then came Myrkul. Literally the only god who was not only able, but WILLING to give back his daughter to him. Imagine spending your all, EVERYTHING you have to serve two gods who would not give a single shit about the greatest suffering in your life. You were basically nothing, your loyalty didn't matter for shit, everything that was taken from you amounted to no recognition whatsoever: you should simply cope and seethe. Your grief will not simply go unanswered (which is not inherently antagonising) but ignored.
And then comes this supposedly evil entity who can alleviate your pain just like that, snap of a finger and it's a done deal.
I am so serious when I say that I believe Ketheric's main incentive was to extend Aylin's immortality to Isobel as well. You can read in her diary that she feels a taint after having came back, and there are things not even Selune can cleanse, but at this point, Ketheric doesn't care about Selune, vengeance is secondary if not tertiary, he's done that war during his Shar years and what did it give him? Literally nothing.
He doesn't even care about the fact that Isobel is still her cleric. He cares about the single most important fact: Isobel is back. Life is worth living again, there is something for him, and it was not Selune or Shar who gave it to him but Myrkul, and for this singular gift, he would raze the world for the Lord of Bones. Like people can clown on him for being disloyal but the man has the loyalty of a dog bonded to its owner.
He is powerful and is willing to go to insane lengths for crumbs. What is raising a single life for a god? Nothing. It has happened and it will happen again. But Ketheric will go to the ends of the earth to serve the single god who actually listened to him. The one god who didn't ignore him.
He knows that what he does is not the morally upright thing! He is so insanely self-aware that allying with Orin and Gortash and doing this entire plot with them only to then betray them is morally reprehensible at the best of times, he knows that people hate him, etc-etc. He was a Selunite at one point and he's not stupid. He just doesn't care; it could be literal Asmodeus and he wouldn't care as long as he got what he wanted, no matter the price.
He is probably the only one from the three of the chosen who has complete clarity over his situation, he almost sways (if you pass the check during his confrontation), he is not an inherently evil man blinded by power.
But he is inherently loyal to those deserving, and as of the story's standing, completely broken by his grief. In his eyes, at this point, the only one deserving loyalty is the one who actually listened to him. Isobel lives. It doesn't matter that she hates him, that his entire life has fallen apart, that literally nothing else that is good has come of it, because Isobel lives.
I don't think he regrets a single thing. His consciousness might tear at him at the end, but I believe he would do everything over again, exactly as he did, because in the end, his daughter was brought back. Because what would a grieving, broken parent give to bring back their child? Everything. Absolutely everything. And it's such a simply given answer, no second thoughts, no doubts.
Nobody can tell me that this man is fickle. Nobody. This man was willing to burn the world to the ground, create a Boudica destruction layer all by himself for the one single thing he wanted. For any God that would listen.
I don't know, I just have a lot of thoughts about his character.
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playing bg3 a lot lately!!! some highlights (act 1 spoilers):
wyll is lying unconscious on the floor. shadowheart runs over to help him up, slips in the grease, and lies on the ground in defeat. the camera immediately cuts away. i lose my shit laughing
astarion then proceeds to slip in that grease puddle THREE TIMES on his way out of the room
"watch this - astarion NEVER fails at lockpicking." (he proceeds to fail at lockpicking twice consecutively)
gale disengaging from an enemy so he won't immediately get squished like a bug. the enemy ignoring every other member of the party to charge at him full force and oneshot him into death
astarion being the only party member not to fail every fucking nature check and therefore ending up sounding like the world's snarkiest tour guide
ethel teleporting mayrina directly into my cloud of daggers at the end of the fight, not even bothering to move herself out of the cloud, so both of them died simultaneously and i had to reload
gale being restrained, put under a silence spell, and set on fire, making him essentially fucking useless and also killing him faster than anybody could get him unstuck because he is squishy and flammable
the entire party slipping on grease and falling down the stairs in PERFECT UNISON
me, my bf (in our co-op save), and karlach, accidentally triggering the ragzlin fight... then we realise astarion isn't anywhere on the initiative menu, nor is he in the room. i switch control to him real quick to discover he's having his own separate boss fight against priestess gut and like twenty goblins, the poor sod
my bf getting arrested for theft within maybe 20 seconds of entering emerald grove, whilst i was still stuck in dialogue and could do nothing to stop him. he then forgot to re-equip his gear after getting it from the prison chest, despite me reminding him a bajillion times, which led to some INTERESTING combat encounters
"well, astarion is doing okay!" an enemy runs up and throws astarion off a balcony, knocking off half his health. "...ok well he WAS-"
getting jumpscared by gale's laugh, courtesy of a timmask
accidentally destroying a bridge mid-fight! it did absolutely nothing to any of the enemies but it took out lae'zel AND shadowheart in one fell swoop
getting confused by the blessing effects looking simular to the blue circles used to show allies, and therefore letting astarion fire bolt shadowheart to death before realising, in a moment of quiet horror, what i had just done
wyll killing half the goblins by shoving them off balconies instead of actually fighting them lmaoooo
"wait, where the fuck are karlach and astarion?" (the answer is always "they forgot to jump ten minutes ago and i only just noticed, so they're in a cave halfway across the map")
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Hello!! Could I please get an order for Charles leclerc for chocolate cake and berry trifle on the house?? Thank you I love your writing :))
bakery menu
want to submit your own order? then hit up the menu for more information! i know some folks have been asking if i write for other fandoms and i do! i accept from the likes of bg3 to call of duty, but i'd love to experiment outside my comfort zone! all i ask is that the person or character is over 18 (for obvs reasons)! as for this sweet little prompt, i couldn't say no to a lovely little fic starring charles! i chose for the on the house order to be an AU for school, just to switch things up (i hope that's okay!) but thank you!
chocolate cake ("do you feel that? that's what happens when i think about you all day.") + berry trifle ("wrong. try again.") + on the house: coconut water (alternate universe - university au) served by charles leclerc (formula one)!
cw: smut/pwp, university au, missionary, gentle sex, praise, romantic, student!reader, student!charles
it had been a busy last couple of weeks, with the wind down of university. you were rather tired, often spending nights in your boyfriend's apartment due to it being closer to the university you both attended.
the apartment was three bedrooms, where charles and his two brothers all lived. it was a bit of a party when you slept over, and you were certain that arthur was using the shampoo you left there. regardless, you still got a good night's sleep and breakfast in the morning.
dinners were more your forte.
charles wrapped his arms around you and dipped his nose into the crook of your neck. he moved you from side to side as you checked on the pasta noodles. he whispered in your ear, an intimate moment between you two, "do you feel that? that's what happens when i think about you all day."
you giggled and looked over your shoulder to get a better view of him, "are you sure you're not trying to seduce me to get my recipe."
he kissed your cheek softly, "no, no. if i wanted that, i'd simply marry you. then you can make it for me for the rest of my life." he laughed.
"where's my plate?" you heard arthur's voice at the front door. you froze for a moment as the youngest brother put his bag down and headed towards the small kitchen.
charles looked his brother and said, "wrong. try again."
the two men looked at one another and arthur said, "you can't be hogging all the food, charles. you have to share too!"
charles glared at his brother, "my girlfriend is making it! you can make your own. don't you have somewhere else to be tonight?"
you chuckled and got out of your boyfriend's arms to strain the noodles. you couldn't deny, it wasn't a day without interest when you stayed with them. you'd like to say that the three of them got along quite well, but they were all brothers after all.
after dinner, you and charles went to his bedroom, leaving the dishes to be done in the morning. once the door was closed behind you, he started to pull at the bottom of your t-shirt, getting it over your head.
your lips touched his and you started to undo the buttons of his shirt before it was off your shoulders and your hands were splayed across his chest. the kisses were tender, but they were slowly starting to grow more hungry.
he stripped you of your clothes with a little help from you then he was taking his own clothes off. he loved the sight of you by him, in the low light of his bedroom.
the city was alive outside and the lamp on his nightstand cascaded a warm light throughout the room. his hands trailed along your body and you kissed him deeply on the lips. he loved the taste of the chapstick you often wore, he melted a little further into your kisses before he got you onto your back.
he propped himself by his hands on either side of you. he looked down at you and rubbed his cock up against you. you blushed and wanted to cover your face with your hands.
"no, no." he said softly, "i want to look at you, you're so beautiful. especially when i am having sex with you." he guided his cock into you and watched you squirm a little bit.
oh, you were so beautiful was all he could think about as he slipped in nicely. you tensed up and clung to his shoulders. there was a soft intimacy to it as the two of you kissed once more. you could feel the pleasure wrap in your gut as you moved against him.
"i love you." you said.
"i love you too." he panted, "you're beautiful. stunning and so smart. i want you for the rest of my days. i cannot wait until we have our own home together." his kisses were sweet as he rutted against you.
you smiled up at him, "you're such a sucker for me."
charles said, "then i'll be your sucker" he knew you loved him too, you just had a hard time accepting his praise. but too bad, he'll keep praising you for the rest of your lives! even when you are old and grey.
you leaned into his touch and moaned against him as your bodies moved together. you held onto his shoulders and your expression changed when he rubbed up against the sweetest parts of you.
"i want you forever, charles." you said softly, "i'm so happy to be with you. thank you, you've made university more manageable because you're with me. so thank you."
he chuckled and pressed his forehead against yours, his body still moving, "no need, my love." then went in for another tight kiss.
you two were a good fit, you studied together, ate together. you both had friends of course, but charles enjoyed spending time with you. you remembered one time he went clubbing with a few people in his program and you received a photo from carlos of charles passed out on a couch with his phone open. on his screen was a picture of you, he had fallen asleep looking at you.
it was endearing, and it made the blush got up to your ears.
"i need you." you said softly.
"i need you more." he replied with the same tenderness.
you held onto him and kissed him deeply as you tightened your legs around him. the kiss grew hotter as you felt yourself reach the peak of climax. you moaned into the kiss and clung to him tightly.
his pace started to stagger after you climaxed. he groaned into your kiss as he started to really push his cock as deep as it would go. his head felt heavy with lust as he moved against you. when he broke the kiss, he looked at you with a big smile on his face and said, "i love you." before he got every last centimeter into you and climaxed.
he continued to move against you for a couple more moments before he slowed down to a stop. he kissed you roughly on the lips and said quietly, "mine." before he laid out beside you on the bed.
both naked, sweaty and tired. charles pulled you against him and kissed the side of your neck. he basked in your warmth and whispered sweet nothings into your ear.
"you're still not getting the recipe." you giggled.
he held onto you tighter and said, "my love, i already told you my plan. once we're finished with school, i want to marry you. and you can make me that pasta for the rest of my days." he laughed a little and kissed you once more.
you felt gooey inside and nestled against him. you sight contently, that sounded like a plan. <3
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