#wtf are you doing Larian

[bones-and-bondage]

Who wants to write a fic of Gortash fucking Franc Peartree nasty in his new house in honor of the old letters? How many variations do we think everyone can come up with?

Should I make this a writing challenge on AO3?

[fortheillithidbaddies]

So what's Astarion been up to since patch 2?

Started wearing blurring powder to make everything look smooth

Dropped conversations that add to his flavor because who needs nuance or RP options

Decided to stop being visible to the character when they're talking to him - he does not want to be perceived and that's ok

Stopped kissing characters for a while - he's fine with kissing again though...mostly?

Decided to start looking at characters like a cartoon villain during some character building conversations because if he didn't how else would you know how to feel

Gained physics and started being able to thigh slap himself

[plaguebirds]

inviting myself into the minthara bullshit that happened w this (using the bhaal deity mod here so i Know this is cut content but still)

[melviships]

(sees all the shit everyone is going through) (sees I have to support the batshit decisions they make in order for them to be romanced / favored) mm, ah, okay, sure

[kellerybird]

about to lose my actual fucking shit

my new test game saves/loads just fine

but my main one won't load no matter what I seem to do

biting killing maiming akladfhhkaldjdhsklakdhgdhajla

[eldrichthingy]

gods if larian won't fully fix minthara (dialogue lines, romance- like just. please) in next patches before the year ends I'm going to fucking cry

[northlandcleric]

I’m going to finally go on a long ass rant that’s been building up for a while now:

I really fucking love how yall go and say “angry about Astarion kisses for whatever reason,” like yall don’t know.

And to add, these pics are literal datamined dialogue that has been floating around for a while.

And then idk if you’re being deliberately obtuse, but wtf kind of response is this? Yall are just feeding that delusions at this point.

Because yes! We do think Larian is only going to give something to one companion and not the others because that’s all they’ve been doing since release!!

For god’s sake, the company love child and thirst trap of the game has not only gotten extra content(that was confirmed by writer) to fit in perfectly with the Dark Urge origin, but they keep adding more shit for him! He already has a grand total of 9 scenes where 6 of them can be romance. The SENIOR NARRATIVE DESIGNER said they prioritized Astarion over the others.

Meanwhile, we have, on release:

Gale, who is so damned buggy that everybody knows him as the desperate, horny, still caught up on his ex, magical item consumer: 6 scenes with 3 that can be romance.

Wyll, whose romance and story is so fucking short it might as well not exist: 5 scenes with 2 that can be romance.

Karlach, whose story is not even damn finished properly: 4 scenes with 3 that can be romance.

Minthara romance has been bugged since the beginning.

All of these other companions that do in fact exist keep getting neglected, but yall have the audacity to freak out when his kisses are bugged? Heaven forbid.

And aside from the companion neglect, Act 3 is still bugged out. Content was cut in full release to the point there are too many loose ends and quests that go nowhere. And no epilogue.

I’m just tired at this point. Love the game, love most of the characters and even more of the side characters. And I really wish this was talked about further than Tumblr, but any other platform will get you mass attacked.

Anyway, doubt that this will get far, but hope I can at least help start some conversations.

[kozh-lucium]

BG3 Patch 6 teaser

Sooo... yeah. About that tweet Larian dropped. The one with Astarion and Gale. You know, as someone who used to ship them, I FUCKING HATE IT. Wtf Larian.

Honestly, it's not the D/S nature of that kiss that bothered me, but the expression of Gale AND the fact that they use him to showcase this kiss. Gale looks like he's so scared and ready to cry.

I get they want to do the biggest ship on the fandom, since previously we get SH/Laezel and Halsin/Astarion, but c'mon, Gale, who has been on the groomed/manipulated relationship before? The guy who very much implied that d/s isn't his cup of tea? Sure let's use that guy (/s).

I mean... ugh I get it, I probably overthinking it and it's simply from marketing purpose. But sorry I can't change how I feel that easily.

Moreso when Gale has been the butt of so many (sometimes degrading) jokes, both from the community and Larian itself.

And of course many people love that kiss simply because "Astarion is so hot there uwu". Not that I disagree (about astarion in that regard) nor wanting to speak ill of them, but idk, it's just feel a bit hypocritical when they're picking pitchfork whenever Astarion is depicted is a slightly degrading manner but is okay with other companions (especially Gale) is on the receiving end.

Tl;dr I'm on overthinking mode and absolutely hate how Larian decided to throw gasoline to the fire and stoke the already horny BG3 fandom.

[hamartia-grander]

Another thing I will be forever angry about is that Araj Oblodra, one of the only drow with Black features, is written the way she is. Why did larian feel the need to make all the antagonists for astarions questline poc? You’ve got cazador who is asian-coded, the gur who are based off romani ppl, and araj who is black-coded

Like wtf larian

Yeah that too... And having Araj be the only one besides Cazador to talk to Astarion like that, with the literal wording of like "does he belong to you" is badddddd. They want the reverse slavery trope without doing the leg work required so it just falls completely flat and makes Araj and Cazador super one-dimensional, while Astarion is fully fleshed out. I mean, Araj from the get go comes across as a very cartoonish "this character is the Obviously Bad Character", with no deeper consideration for the fact that she is Black coded, and a drow. And Cazador is the only Asian character who's not a copy/paste NPC. Like what the fuck.

[thebestofastarion]

PATCH FIVE SPOILERS FOR ASCENDED ASTARION

So I found out something today that is a "wtf" moment for Ascended Astarion at the epilogue party included in the latest patch from Larian.

I couldn't upload the clip for some weird reason, so screenshots will have to do (I'm sorry about that).

Details are below the cut, and hopefully, this doesn't spoil it for anyone who has yet to get to the new patch five content. The post has also been tagged with spoiler tags.

Astarion turning into a bat and killing Volo:

Sorry, Volo, but you're toast, buddy (or is that bat food?)

Then something astonishing happens: check out Withers in the background walking towards Astarion.

He engages Astarion and says the dialogue above. Understandably, ascended Astarion is in his 'defensive body posture.' 😅

And then it cuts to Astarion and a portal of some type opening up behind him

And Withers politely tells Astarion he's done with his crap 😧

Little ol' Withers is proving just how powerful he is... and if you cross him, there will be hell to pay. But poor Astarion, I am so sorry, but ascended or not, you're not winning this one.

This may be a banishment spell. But it could also be a portal spell to another location in Faerûn. I doubt we'll ever know, as this is right at the end before the credits.

Also, shed a tear for poor Volo... he didn't deserve to go out like that 😥

Original clip by @BringYourRuin on Twitter

[sailorgundam308]

On Karlach-gate

I’m gonna talk a little bit (lol, lie, a LOT) about Karlach’s endings and her companion storyline in Baldur’s Gate 3.

This feels like opening a can of worms, and it took me a while to gather the courage to do so. Not because of other people, but because of how many thoughts and feelings I’d have to face to put my opinion into words. BUT before I go full steam ahead, a few disclaimers are in order.

First, this is spoilerland. It is full of it, all around you, and there’s no escape. So if you’re not into reading about every single Karlach related spoilery thing I can think of in the game, don’t read this. (There are spoilers of Final Fantasy 16 too, so beware)

Second, I shouldn’t have to say it, but this is merely my opinion. Granted, I enjoy having my opinions corroborated by evidence - to a problematic degree -, so this is gonna be a long and painful text. Still, an opinion is neither wrong nor right (though it can be shitty or nice lol).

And third: I loved the game. I still do. But not as much as I thought I would have based on the first half of my experience with it. Currently I have - and I shit you not - 762 hours of Baldur’s Gate 3 - 500 of which are just in my first playthrough. I bought the game in the pre-sale (I played Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2 when I was a kid/teen, so I squealed and jumped into it when I heard there was a 3). Two weeks after I’d started playing it, I bought 4 extra copies of the game to give to my best friends so they could enjoy it too. I can’t compare the game to others because I am not a proper gamer. But I am comparing the game to ITSELF (and perhaps that is the problem). That is to say: I enjoy BG3 and support Larian and everyone who worked on the game - thanks to them I put (lost) 700h of my life in the Forgotten Realms (and I fucking love me some Forgotten Realms).

Unfortunately, the quality of the main story and the companion’s personal stories are not consistent throughout the game. While I might not be an experienced vidya gamer, I can at the very least attest to my satisfaction in relation to the way the narrative was implemented/delivered in the game - or wasn’t.

Which is where the issues begin, and so does this long rant.

My comments are about Karlach and her story, because she and Astarion are my favorite companions and I am generally satisfied with how we experience Astarion’s story in the game. But I don’t feel the same towards Karlach’s.

//

In regards to the main story, Act 1 - and even Act 2 to a lesser degree - have consistent storytelling, cohesive and interesting narrative moments, with twists and turns. But Act 3… We know it, right? It feels like being in an electronics shop on a Black Friday. Compared to Act 1, Act 3 is a free for all, rushed, disconnected and random festival of “wait, wtf?”

The companion’s personal quests also have issues, but in a different way.

Something that bothered me a lot is that there is no consistent narrative care and quality among the implementation of the companion’s personal storylines. Essentially, some companions have their personal stories aptly and extensively implemented and integrated into the progression of the game, while others don’t - to very different degrees.

For example, you have characters who seem to get priority attention put into their (implemented) writing, questlines, dungeons, dialogues, animations, and insights into their past. Most notably is Shadowheart. She has the only cinematic flashback, 2 fucking huge dungeons and several key personal closure moments throughout the span of the game - Shar, Nightsong, Viconia, parents, her tief friend, cemetery is what I remember off the top of my head (so if you think she still got the short straw I WILL strangle you). And, then, you have severely neglected characters like Karlach.

When I say neglected, it’s not a matter of Karlach’s story being less interesting than the others’ (I think it’s def MUCH cooler than SH’s, for example), but that there is so little of it seamlessly and carefully implemented in the game we get to play. If you don’t believe me, just open the quest journal after your endgame and read through every single companion’s personal quest journals, then read Karlach’s again. There it is. Nothing I say will compare to just looking at it with your own eyes. It’s kinda crazy, honestly. It’s hard to deny that something there went wrong and still argue Karlach is supposed to have the same level of “origin companion” importance.

//

Unlike many people I communicated with, I am not that opposed to the current Karlach endings we get in the game - but I am not "okay with it" either. Let me explain.

The current endings are not ANYWHERE near good (in the sense of satisfying). In fact, if you compare Karlach’s ending to ALL other companion’s endings (yes, even Astarion’s), her possible outcomes become pretty bad pretty fast. When side by side, the others’ ‘bittersweet’ endings quickly start to seem mild or even happy in comparison. Karlach definitely drew the short straw (or the writers put the short straw in her hands - so short in fact that there were moments when I wondered if someone in Larian had something against Karlach).

All that said, I diverge from some people in that I don’t wish for a happy ending for Karlach - I don’t think it suits her, nor does it suit the game. Even a full resolution would not fit, I think. But there seems to be an entire spectrum between “absolute worst” (death and becoming a mind flayer, which is essentially the same shit), “lame and unfulfilling” (no hope of changing her situation, just going back to Avernus to be forever stuck in a warzone - but alive), and something we DON’T get for her, which is “bittersweet”. There are levels of bad endings, and Karlach’s endings are on the worst bit of the spectrum. Though I don’t personally wish for a happy ending for Karlach, I wish we had a ‘happier’ one.

For context: By the time I finished my first (Tav) run, Patch 2 had been released (because I'd stalled and refused to finish with the launch ending for her). Still, I did not get the Avernus epilogue scene for some reason (perhaps because I had not romanced her), so first I watched her die, and it was horrible. Then I redid the save, and decided to go with her to Avernus.

In either case, I got just a black screen and then a cinematic of the city and the narrator telling me how epic, heroic and FULFILLED I should be feeling (even though Tav was never a hero and I never gave a fuck about being heroic in my play) - which sounded like insult to injury as I had basically JUST watched Karlach die and couldn’t care LESS if the people of Baldur’s Gate were saved. Fuck’em. What the fuck do I care about the city or strangers when one of my most beloved companions just burned alive in front of me?

Fuck off, Larian. <- That’s how I felt then (ok, kinda how I still feel when I think about it). Insulted and empty. I felt like the game was trying to railroad me to feeling some sort of epic fulfillment that wasn’t there. That seems worse than regular railroading… Like, railroading my feelings? No, thanks.

For me, there was no ‘epicness’, there was just numbness and a bad taste left in my mouth - a feeling that all my effort and time put into the story turned meaningless in the end. And let me tell you, that is NOT a feeling you want people to feel at the end of a story you tell (esp when some of us sick fucks spent 500+ hours in game).

Since I did not get the cinematic epilogue with Karlach in my Tav ending (just the fade to black) I was left with nothing to hang onto. I had nothing in the game that gave me a sliver of hope of something - anything - else happening after the credits rolled (I have since heard from one of my friends that this might have changed a bit).

//

But, if I don’t want a happy-happy ending for Karlach, and I don’t particularly care for her endings as they currently are, wtf do I want?

Well. I’m not entirely sure, but my best guess is two things.

First, the “easier” one:

If you finished Astarion’s story with him as a romanced partner and as a spawn, you get a conversation with him about the future. Granted, this scene is underwhelming (and he feels quite OOC), but it does have something that I consider very important for us players who cared about him and dedicated hours of play to help him in game. We have the option to say we will try to find a way for him to stand in the sun again. That is not a guarantee that we can do it, nor is it a scene clearly showing us in the future doing so. What it is, though, is a seed of hope, in canon, that lets us believe that there might be a way. So we can use our beautiful headcanons to imagine what the future of our Tav and Astarion could become, based on something canon. It creates the important feeling that the story will go on, and, moreover, that things that are currently shitty for him (losing his ability to move freely under the sun - among other things), might have a workaround. For me, this is crazy important in order to feel fulfilled - and it is one of the reasons I said before that I am generally satisfied with Astarion’s story arc and how it ends. I don’t need the game to spell it for me, just to give me that glimmer. The rest I can do it myself in my own head.

Which takes me back to Karlach and the biggest issue I have with her Avernus ending, and the first thing I wished we had in the game - a sliver of hope for her. At the VERY LEAST, I wanted to have something in game - a dialogue option tweak, or any lazy indication - that hinted that even though we are returning to the Hells with her, it might not be forever. That there might be some secret hidden in Avernus that could still help Karlach become free - or free-er, at least. We might not ever be able to get her heart back, in the same way we might not ever be able to cure Astarion’s vampirism, but if the game gave me a fucking tiny hint that going to Avernus might lead us to fixing/changing her engine to the point she might be able to see the Material Plane again without immediately burning to death… (just a vacation in Faerun, whatever).

Just that would make her Avernus ending less miserable, and minimally fulfilling. My head canon building abilities would still be doing most of the heavy lifting in that one - for SURE - but it would at least be something. The shittiest and tiniest improvement from her underwhelming and terrible ‘best scenario’ ending.

(Just let me add that a friend told me that now she has a dialogue option where Tav can say they’d still look for a cure in Avernus, which might be new. I haven’t checked if it’s a new dialogue tweak or if it’s just the delusional/in denial Tav dialogue options repeating “no, you’ll be fine!” even when Karlach is literally dying in front of them.)

Now, what would I REALLY want for Karlach? (oh boy, watch out for the burst of anger >>)

What do I think would be fair for me (and everyone), as a consumer and a player, who is really into Karlach as a character, who loves her, cheered for her, went around the game always paying attention to anything that might remotely relate to her story and problem?

I want her STORYLINE to be rich. As rich as fucking Shadowheart’s. I want to have to fucking scroll down Karlach’s personal quest page, like I have the other companions’, because there’s so many twists and turns there, because it was written carefully. I want her quest updates to be more than “fetch infernal iron/ bring infernal iron to Dammon/ hold onto the infernal iron and wait/ NOW bring infernal iron to Dammon/ the end.”

I want her fucking quest to not LITERALLY END AT THE BEGINNING OF ACT 2. Because it fucking DOES.

You get a second upgrade as soon as you reach Act 2 and the Last Light Inn if you want (you can walk right up to Dammon). And you also learn Karlach will die and that’s that. And good luck to you, player, to manage to find motivation to go through the rest of the game and finish it already knowing that there’s no helping your favorite companion.

Even though Karlach’s quest does not read as complete then, it IS, for all effects and purposes, over. What is left is for her to be taken to Gortash - and not to KILL HIM herself, mind you - freak the fuck out because now she just gotta wait for death, and bam. Companion personal storyline complete. Enjoy the rest of the game (insert BG3 giving you a big middle finger right here).

That is the part that really, honestly, does not go down with me. I cannot swallow it. Karlach has the background story to have richly written interactions with Tav/NPCs and more twists and turns to her questline. SO much more. But she barely gets anything.

The game puts Gortash as her big nemesis (Zariel, her actual enslaver, is whatever, apparently), and you still can simply skip taking Karlach with you in the fight. Even if you care enough to have her in your party when you do, she gets no big wow moment with Gortash (like Astarion gets with Cazador, SH gets with Shar AND Viconia, Lae’zel gets with Vlaakith, the lot). You, Tav (or any other character for that matter) can be the one to finish Gortash. Doesn’t change anything, even though the game clearly puts him as Karlach’s evil guy.

Fun fact, you actually have to kill him anyway regardless of Karlach for the main quest - with or without Karlach. It doesn’t really matter. Karlach doesn’t really matter for this bit of the story. It is NOT really her moment. She has NO real moment of her own (except when she dies - oh, wow, thank you I guess). And I hate it.

We do get the best and most heartbreaking monologue in the game after Gortash’s death (if Karlach is there AND you care to talk to her). Karlach then has the first real meltdown, the first time she lets her truth connect, and feels the feelings she has kept bottled up inside. And it fucking HURTS.

In my first run, this was the moment when I dropped the game for more than a month. Because I realized there was nothing the player could do for Karlach. Not because I, the player, did not want it, but because the game does not let us. The game railroads us into simply dropping her quest.

To boot, we realize when we reach the endgame, that even if you had NEVER cared for Karlach, never upgraded her engine or did her questline’s shallow fetch quests, her ending would be EXACTLY the same. She would not die faster because you did not upgrade her. She would still last until the final fight, then immediately ‘start to die’ afterwards.

There is no REAL influence from the player in Karlach’s destiny. In this sense, she feels like a random NPC that is just there as a companion because fans liked her in EA (or so I heard). Though most ironically, even some NPCs have their outcomes changed drastically by our actions and choices in game. (And if you come to me saying Karlach’s outcome IS influenced in the game because you can kill her or not in the beginning, well, go suck a fuck. Any companion can be killed, and you know that’s not the point)

//

In other words, what really, REALLY bothers me in the whole Karlach’s situation is not the outcome options she has at the end - at least that is not what MOST bothers me.

What bother’s me is that, even if she is the companion I want to know more about, the one I want to run around the map for, have one, two, six fucking humongous dungeons to clear JUST for her, hear about her past for hours on end, meet her friends, her enemies, have her story be told with as much care and detail as all the others are… Even though I want all that - and I should have it, because everyone else gets it - I can't have it.

I just get the basic, shallow and (infuriatingly) ultimately USELESS fetch quests. The fetch quest only ‘truly matters’ if you romance her and want to have sex with her. If you want to help her as a friend, or if you just have her occupying space at camp - it makes NO difference.

You will still end your game with 6 or 7 lines of one-sentence quest journal entries and Karlach’s fate being decided by a 1 and a half minute dialogue (with not even a lazy persuasion dice roll) in the epilogue.

THAT is what seals Karlach’s fate. A dialogue box, once, in the final minutes of the game.

(Watch out, my turn to rage)

The excess infernal iron you found and kept? The ENHANCED infernal iron you got from the Steel Watchers? The WHOLE Steel Watch thing, including the mention that Karlach was a prototype for them - and they are doing just fine in the Material Plane? The FUCKING Gondians? The Ironhands? Them BOTH? Even some random Ice Metal pieces you get in the underdark and shit? The mentions of the House of Wonders? Gale’s scroll of True Ressurection? Vlaakith’s Wish spell? Gale ascended to godhood??!

NO. Fuck you in particular, for even remotely thinking ANY of these things could help your little hellion companion. You dumb hopeful FUCK.

The game was just trying to trick you, giving you all these possibilities and hope, to then pretend they don’t exist and railroad you to the dialogue at the pier - because THAT is what truly matters.

Oh, and do not forget how you should feel the epicness of that ending cinematic all the same, feel fulfilled that you are the “savior of Baldur’s Gate” or whatever shit the narrator tries to tell you with a voice that sounds like they’re smiling and you should be too. You should be thankful, little player, that there is even the chance to get Karlach back to Avernus - because THAT is the bittersweet ending that puts her story in equal standing to the other origin companions’ stories (<- irony right here).

...

Man. I CAN’T. I can’t even continue. I got into a rage typing spree here that no shit gave me a headache. It’s just all so ridiculous that it turns offensive.

Explains why I don’t usually go deeper into this subject, because it doesn’t feel good at all, just frustrates me to no end. I got NO JOY out of my endgame, NO fulfillment. And as I felt it sink in that THAT was it, the narrator talking to me as if I should be glad came across as condescending and insulting to an absurd degree.

//

That is to say... I wasn’t happy. But being sad about the ending of a game is not always a bad thing. Having a beloved character die in a game is not always empty and unfulfilling.

I am reminded of a previous launch this year, FFXVI, and my favorite character in that game: Dion Lesage. Granted, the style of game is completely different, but I will use Dion’s death as an example nonetheless. Dion dies in that game (boo, spoiler, I warned you). His death cannot be avoided because FF has a linear story - his outcome is not supposed to be avoided, whereas BG3 is a choice-based game where the player should be able to influence the narrative with their choices.

Well, in FFXVI my favorite character dies. It IS sad as fuck, it made me tear up and feel melancholic for a while and all that shit. But what it DIDN’T do was make me feel numb, empty and unfulfilled. I didn’t feel his death was UNFAIR. Because the story of Dion until his death was meaningful. It was well crafted, interwoven into the game’s main narrative, and told with the importance it should have. His death also was not meaningless, he died and the story of the game could not have continued on as it had without him. He was an integral part of the narrative, and so was his death. It was SAD, yes, but it was MEANINGFUL. It was important. He didn’t die alone or just dropped dead in a corner after the game was over just because. People cared that he died. He mattered.

I did not feel any of this about Karlach’s death. And I strongly suspect it is because her journey until her death was not as rich, not carefully crafted AND implemented, not meaningful enough (or at least not presented to us as such)… It was not delivered in the way that she deserved. Especially for the companion who will certainly die among the lot. She should have had a journey as deep and layered as the others (if not even more) if the plan was to have her die either way.

Gale also has death looming over him most of the game, doesn’t he? But his death is the one that might have an impact in the grand narrative, be the game changer. And EVEN THEN, he has a way out. He has a True Resurrection scroll in his little secret pouch. He has Mystra throw a deus-ex at the last moment. But Karlach… well, fuck her in particular?!

//

I can’t claim I know much about how Karlach came to be an origin character. I never played EA, and just read about it. Yes, it might have been the case that she was the last added origin companion, that she had to be squeezed into the already almost-ready game somehow. But, excuse me, that is sloppy. And if that was truly the only thing that happened (which we can't know), I doubt no one at Larian was concerned about her becoming one of the most popular companions (cause she already seemed to have been in EA), and people noticing how poor her story progression was.

This might be unpopular but, sometimes I think they should have left her as an NPC, or a secondary companion option like Halsin, Jaheira or Minsc. (Ok, that might be me being extreme and angry due to my frustration, but I still wonder.) If I could not deliver the same level of quality, carefully crafted and integrated character into a story, would I still half-ass it? ...I know. Calling it “half-assing” isn’t fair (I am comparing BG3 to itself and that is a HIGH bar, because when BG3 gets it right, it knocks it right out of the park).

I’ll also be the first to admit that, if she was so 'poorly presented in game', no one, me included, would be so fucking mad about her circumstances at all. The fact I care so much to let this issue ruin my game experience - if anything - attests to the capacity BG3 has to immerse players in its world.

But I also know I am not complaining for nothing.

//

The way I feel has pretty solid grounds - so much it was one of the first things Larian patched. But it was a feeble attempt, in my eyes, because the real blatant issue with Karlach is not in the last 3 minutes of the game - it is in the span of all 3 acts. It is her personal questline in its entirety, the development of her story in game and the level of influence and interaction we as players truly have throughout it all. It is the fact she does not stand at the same level of the other companions (not out of merit as a character, let me be clear, but due to execution and implementation of her story in the launched version of the game), nor do her quests or her (lack of) dungeons and truly meaningful unique crafted content.

She is a charming, beloved character and, even if Larian really truly wants to die on the hill of “Karlach is a tragic character who must die”, they could do so and still make (some of) the players feel fulfilled by having the journey with Karlach, from Act 1 through Act 3 and that damn pier, be rich, intricate, layered, funny, badass, bloody, sad, painful, relatable, sweet… Just like she is.

//

So that is what I wanted:

Not necessarily have her be 'cured', marry and have kids or whatever shit is happily ever after - I think it doesn’t suit her (it might have, in an alternative universe, but not in the one presented in game, with THE Karlach we get in game).

But have her story receive the highlights it deserves, including locations, NPCs and interactions - so even if we just get the 3 outcomes for her we currently have - Avernus, death or death by mindflayer - we could feel some level of closure.

Or, even better: have her journey be richer, AND give us the sliver of hope for the Avernus ending. Make Dammon say that there is something somewhere in Avernus - a blueprint, a special crafting material, a DUDE, or Mizora imply there's a chance to bargain with Zariel (whatever!) - and that we might, perhaps, just MAYBE, be able to finally actually DO SOMETHING.

And then just leave us, the players, to let our minds wander on, imagining how that would go.

That, honestly, could be the thing able to redeem the terrible ending experience I had in my first playthrough. A fully implemented story progression befitting Karlach and just a hint of hope to hang onto.

//

It doesn’t seem absurd, does it? Though the implementation of a richer story (perhaps a dungeon or a sneak peek of Zariel) of course would involve a lot of new work and re-work. But for a game that turned out so big and successful - and a character so cherished - it doesn’t seem out of the question.

Too bad I’m not Swen so I can’t do it myself.

Instead, I write long rage posts on an almost anon account on tumblr. Thank you, tumblr. >>

PS: I got really angry up there, didn’t I? LOL. I’m as easy to get heated as Karlach, it seems. Oops.

[spicyraeman]

Instead of fucking with Gortash lore, Larian should make Jaheira romanceable =w=

Now, with Laezel x Jaheira , how are Jaheira's kids reacting and how much comedic is it ? ^^

I would agree with you except I 100% do not trust Larian to not fuck it up spectacularly considering how bad they fumbled some of the current romances

As for Jaheira's kids reaction to Lae'zel and her, Rion and Jord are 1000% giving them shit for the rest of their lives. They're both the butt of just so many joke after the whole initial WTF of the situation calms down. Rion is just looking for any excuse to slip a dig into any interaction they have, Jord a little less so but if a good opportunity arises he's not letting it slip by. Don't think the younger ones quite grasp the fucky-wucky-ness of their relationship until they're older tho

[eff-plays]

Wtf is Larian even doing at this point? Who asked for hornier Astarion lines? Out of all the things that needed improvement in the game, they chose those lines? Well, priorities, I guess, since apparently the devs have freedom to work on what they want.

It's indeed very embarrassing seeing most if not all fans gushing over them lmao. Oh but when it comes to his new reaction about cheating on him with Mizora, you do have some weirdos out there calling him OOC over wanting to break up with Tav, I'm not kidding...but to be fair, Larian didn't help either by including his actual reaction a full year after launch. Don't get me wrong, it's better to have this in the game now rather than never, but AA's reaction was there from the beginning, what's the excuse for Spawn not having it?

These people have all gaslit themselves into believing that Astarion's act 1 persona/hedonistic facade is truly genuine and I'm baffled. Like, is the horniness clouding their judgement? How can they not see he's bulshitting their Tavs and is not meaning any of the flirty crap he's spewing? TBH, what's worse to me personally is that WOTC is clearly leaning into this aspect of Astarion and any future content with him is going to be act 1 cringiness and most of his fans don't mind it at all, quite the opposite, they want it really badly.

Yeah, they've also given Spawn-exclusive kisses to AA from what I hear? Even though the Spawn ending already had a huge disparity of content compared to AA? Not that I want more Astarion content at this point, any new thing they add just makes him worse.

It's just more of the reasons I'm completely over BG3 tbh. Their priorities are fucked, they don't respect their own canon, and they pander to the weirdest worst creeps of fandom for seeminly no reason.

I saw a good video about Astarion being a subversion/deconstruction of the seductive vampire, and it seems that Larian themselves just want nothing to do with the subversion part, and neither do most of his "fans". It's really disappointing because his original writer was very purposeful with how he wrote him, but at this point I guess it's futile to expect Larian to stick to anyone's artistic vision if they're not part of a fringe group on a forum threatening to doxx their employees.

[what-is-it-to-be-pk-esque]

Omggggg so I'm only like 5 mins into the BG3 epilogue and I already love everything about it so far ❤️ I had to write out my current initial thoughts about each romanced spawn!Astarion option.

So of course I couldn't resist and saved right when Astarion asks about what's next in the relationship/what you want so I could see everything & ughhhh my Tav & him are so cute with every option. I am still SO TORN between the 2nd/3rd options of underdark or sun cure.

On the one hand i'm like yeah! My Tav is an optimist so let's go find you a way to be in the sun again!! but also I kiiiinda feel like we have a responsibility to go help out a bit with the spawn in the underdark even though when it was discussed earlier in my game he said he wasn't going to volunteer for that (another positive imo though is underdark = less constantly worrying about the sun coming up, outside of nights where we decide to go topside). It's a lil messy, but so is he, and it's also a way for him to deal with the consequences of his choices - a theme brought up frequently in his story.

His reactions are v. cute about the "let's be heroes" and "quiet life" options too but that seems less... fulfilling or a good fit for them imo?? Being heroes is fine, but either way that doesn't really address the very real problems that would come up while living with him (and felt like a weird fairytale ending cop-out) so I didn't want to do that

I love love love that most options say the next 6 months with Tav are a happy contrast to the past 200 years, but I'm sad you don't get that line if you go with the underdark option (but I do love that you get to make a fortress a "home" which is great cause he def enjoyed like... all of the ruins in the game haha). So i'm still sitting here like a clown debating on what I'll "officially do" 😭 Probably doesn't matter and you can headcanon whatever but still haha. I want to do both, why can't we live in the underdark but take little adventures in Faerun to go find leads on items or spells or whatever that might be able to let him go enjoy the sun!?! Also my Tav is a half-elf so she'll need to figure out how to expand her lifespan to better match his if they're gonna "have forever" like he says. There's no way they're just spending all their time down there just being leaders (and let's be real he'll have relevant input of course, but it's your Tav probably making most of the better judgement calls lol)

Lastly, I haven't peeked at his reaction to the last option yet but can I also just say @ Larian WTF stop offering me opportunities to break up with him!! I mean I'm sure some people do it and want this, but after everything you're telling me your OC is gonna wake up all adorably next to your sweetie & break up with whoever you romanced right after you saved the world!?? Nah, couldn't be me lol, no matter who I picked that is not the goddamn time for a breakup you heartless person lmao

[animentality]

So I’ve been scrolling through the Durgetash tag and wtf.

First I’m fcking heartbroken that my Durge will not experience the moment of finding the letter/s to Franc in it’s original form or at all(?)

And THEN I FIND queerphobic posts and insane comments about Gortash “definitely not” being queer or “just having had a “business relationship” with Durge..? Even tho there’s enough evidence✨

Now… remember when we all adored Astarion and then more and more ppl started joining the tags, groups whatever and now it’s a whole toxic mess that you cannot scroll thru without getting a headache? (It’s sad the magic of it all is kinda dare I say gone.. I just look at it/him idk different, involuntarily at that, but I’m glad that Durgetash is giving all that back in insane amounts that let’s my adhd feet kick in dopamine fully-sated energy *incoherent babbling*)

I think the same is (bhaal forbid) maybe swapping over to Durgetash and I’m scared … cuz this, here… what y’all create! (art, hc’s, stories & just fun post’s overall) is so fxking special and so lovely🌷

And I really fxing hope that the ppl at bg3/larian have a REALLY good reason to *cough cough* meddle in each other’s I MEAN OUR affairs, when we already barely have anything, WHAT WAS THE REASON– just why, there’s enough bugs and crashes or other stuff that needs tending WHY TAKE AWAY?!

Good day and thank you for sharing your thoughts with us and without sugarcoating anything ❤️

I hope a build-a-bear lil dragon or whatever appears outta nowhere for you, that says stuff when you squeeze too hard (just like Durge–) like “ah my favorite bhaalspawn/ my favorite assassin” :)

First off, I hear that some people still see the letter, and others do not. Apparently, it's SUPPOSED to have replaced it, but some people just have computers that are built different, I guess. So you might possibly see it. Not sure.

As for if toxicity is spilling into the Durgetash fandom...maybe? I don't know. We were all pretty civil. I admit, I lost my cool for a minute there, but to be FAIR TO ME, I have not STARTED anything with anyone in literal years.

This was someone sending ME a reply that really pissed me off with its biphobia, like, absolutely ticked me off in one foul swoop.

But for the most part, it's not THAT Combative. But this note changing HAS divided people quite a bit.

So I don't know.. I want to believe durgetash and gortash love are still not mainstream enough to maintain the levels of toxicity that astarion fans seem to cultivate like horticulture.

We'll see.

As for why they changed it...I don't know?

Really seems odd. Maybe they didn't like the tone of it.

Truthfully, as much as I love that note for just being so out of pocket and weird, I admit it's more in character for Gortie to be a more serious guy...but honestly?

It's the fucking game's fault that they made Gortash a boring villain. They FORCED us to cling to his every note. To read more into his interactions with the Dark Urge.

To love that one iconic letter from him.

So they can't walk back on their weirdness....unless....they're planning on....expanding his role....

O.o

We'll see on that too.

Anyway. Thanks for the ask and glad I can entertain! By being an asshole! And a lunatic!

I NEED a Gortash plushie to keep my Dark Urge company!!!

If anyone knows where I can get one, I need that ASK or DM.

[invinciblerodent]

I'm rambling cause I'm bothered and saw you mentioned it once so lol, feel free to ignore this is you want hun xoxo I genuinely did not want to believe that people were complaining about the lack of consent/the fearful/uncomfortable expression and body language on tav in the ascended astarion kiss scenes, like I straight up couldn't believe it, but i just looked at the patch notes for a hotfix in patch 6 and saw three separate people commenting to complain about it being "traumatizing" and wanting it to be more consensual and for him to be more dominant rather than cruel.... losing my mind i hate it here, gg on missing the point to those ppl. Rather than asking for maybe like a pop up saying "hey you chose the evil route, he's going to be evil and manipulative TW" they want it completely changed to fit their narrative and ideas. He isnt dominant hes meant to be bad, I feel so defeated they got what they wanted... Larian literally giving in and changing the point of that route is so frustrating wtf, that completely alters the whole thing...

No yeah, I totally agree with you on that.

I think I'm not even frowny about it being the way it is-- I'm obviously okay with people misunderstanding the whole route (I'd be having a really bad time if I wasn't okay with people misinterpreting media on the misinterpreting media website lol), it's not a big deal, if they want to entertain their whole "sexy dommy vampire daddy" fantasy (which, lol, this guy? really? this sopping wet rat whom I love?) it doesn't bother me-- usually I just block the people whose takes I find obnoxious or tone-deaf, and I don't even mind the expression being more ambiguous than straight-up fearful, because it allows for it to fit with a wider variety of characters.

What I dislike, upon further reflection, is how much this now comes off as if the changes are being made because of the complaints.

Even if the expressions were always intended to be more ambiguous and they just took it a slight bit too far on accident, even if it was always meant to be the way it is going to be now (which I agree, is a better way for it to be, just from a character customization point of view- i can imagine a number of characters who wouldn't look at A!Astarion like a scared bunny even if they're not "into" his cruelty), just because there was such a vocal minority responding so loudly to it and it's being changed the way they want it, it kind of makes it seem like it's setting a precedent I really don't like. Which is a precedent that says "instead of examining the actual story being told and examining the choices we made that lead to the outcome we dislike, we should just complain and yell loudly enough until all the uncomfortable aspects of it are edited out of existence". I really don't like that. (Have these people never played an oldschool otome game, with actual bad endings? Have they never had a handsome anime boy sneer into their face about how much he hates them because they didn't give him enough gifts on day 5???? Have yall never gotten friendzoned by anime boys???????????)

I already don't make much of a secret out of how much I'm not a fan of the kind of access fandom has now to the creators of the piece of media they enjoy-- how uncomfortable I am with people, like, referring to actors and game developers by their first names as if they were trusted friends, how prone people are to going through someone's twitter likes with a fine-tooth comb, and how much insight (even if we don't want it) we are given to people's completely innocuous comings and goings. I already don't like how much control people feel like they have over art created by other people.

Idk. I know Larian is trying to be a "cool game studio", and they're trying to please fans to retain their darling status, and I think it's to their detriment. I love the game they made (of course I do, I've been talking about it non-stop for the past year lol), but I genuinely hope the chunk of change they got from its success will allow them to just take a breath, and put out their next game with the confidence, and the finality it deserves.

please let's just go back to releasing a game fully and not futzing with it beyond bug fixes a year after release still, please let things just be finished and done and jfc please let's all just collectively grow some media literacy, we can't keep pissing on the poor like this they're already soaked to the bone, please