bloodsoakedurge

[bloodsoakedurge]

Hey y’all!

Wanted to give a quick update regarding my semi-hiatus and all. I just finished up meeting with my thesis defense committee to present my results to them and everything went well on that front. Have some more things to work on for the next time I present and to add them to my thesis, but it went very well!

In other news, I did also finish applying for some Weather Service jobs, so hopefully I’ll get an interview with one of those offices in the coming weeks as well.

All of this said, I do finally have a moment to breathe and not be nearly as stressed as I have been. I can’t say if I’ll be doing any writing, but I will attempt some over the coming days and next week. Thank y’all for your patience, but I will hopefully be around a bit again now!

[bloodsoakedurge]

Semi-Hiatus Announcement

Hey everyone!

Apologies for not being around here for the last few weeks and all, as many of y'all know, I was hooked on my Baldur's Gate 3 character, Balasar, over @bloodsoakedurge. Today though, I have a quick announcement that pertains to both accounts.

For the foreseeable future, at most until after my finals on December 14th, I will be taking a semi-hiatus. I'm hoping I'm not actually away from either account for too long, but I have been working heavily on the last bit of my research for my thesis, have begun writing the actual thesis paper, and applying for jobs as well.

The past two weeks in particular have been busy, but I think I might have some time here soon to do a bit of writing and have a quick breather for myself and all.

But yeah, if I do end up doing a bit of writing, it may be slower is all. But I will hopefully be back to writing more soon!

[bloodsoakedurge]

Semi-Hiatus Announcement

Hey everyone!

Apologies for not being around here for the last few weeks and all, as many of y'all know, I was hooked on my Baldur's Gate 3 character, Balasar, over @bloodsoakedurge. Today though, I have a quick announcement that pertains to both accounts.

For the foreseeable future, at most until after my finals on December 14th, I will be taking a semi-hiatus. I'm hoping I'm not actually away from either account for too long, but I have been working heavily on the last bit of my research for my thesis, have begun writing the actual thesis paper, and applying for jobs as well.

The past two weeks in particular have been busy, but I think I might have some time here soon to do a bit of writing and have a quick breather for myself and all.

But yeah, if I do end up doing a bit of writing, it may be slower is all. But I will hopefully be back to writing more soon!

[bloodsoakedurge]

Real quick update: I'm hoping to be around some time in the next few days to work on stuff, but I am strongly considering a brief semi-hiatus because I have been incredibly busy with school. On top of that, I am starting to apply for jobs, so that is also taking up some of my time as well unfortunately.

But, I will be back around here soon. Not entirely sure when that may be, but I think it will be soon!

[bloodsoakedurge]

Ok, ok, I swear I’m not dead or anything! I’ve been incredibly busy with school, so I haven’t really been around here the last few days and all. But, I hope to get to some more writing later today or this week and get some of those replies and asks out.

Apologies for the silence on my end, but I have been around!

[bloodsoakedurge]

Happy Halloween y’all!

I wasn’t really able to do much today in terms of writing thanks to the combination of my classes until 12 PM and then I ended up driving two hours to go see a movie with friends tonight, which starts in a bit.

This is all to say I likely won’t do anything else tonight and I apologize for that. My activity has seemed to be all over the place, but I’m hoping to attempt some writing this weekend, we will see.

I hope y’all have a great rest of the night regardless, I’ll see y’all a bit tomorrow I hope.

[bloodsoakedurge]

WE'RE SO BACK RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bloodsoakedurge]

Good morning y’all! It appears my WiFi is actually cooperating today, so I’ll hopefully be able to do a few replies later this afternoon after my classes. I hope y’all have a fantastic Halloween and I’ll see y’all a bit later!

[bloodsoakedurge]

Our wifi never really came back today like the power did, so I think I'm just going to call it a night for me. I'll try and work on some replies tomorrow, but I'm going to a movie tomorrow evening and likely will be gone for a good portion of the day. That said, I'll see about trying to do some things here and there.

[bloodsoakedurge]

Another quick update: they restored power to our complex a bit ago, yay! WiFi is still spotty at the moment but I’ll see about trying to do some writing in a bit if the connection improves. I’ll see y’all then hopefully!

[bloodsoakedurge]

Still no power here at my apartment, so writing and everything is still on hold for the time being. I have no idea how long it’ll take for it to come back online, but the utility company said it could take a few hours at the worst. So I’ll see if I can even do anything here today or not.

[bloodsoakedurge]

Good morning y’all! Like I said last night, I hoped my internet would be better today to get to more writing, but ironically enough, I just woke up to the power in my apartment having gone out.

So, uh. Yeah. That’s great.

I’ll be on at some point though, I hope.

[bloodsoakedurge]

I basically have no WiFi currently at my apartment, meaning I don’t think I can do much the rest of the night around here. With that, I’m also tired from my early classes today, so I’m just going to chill the rest of the night before I go to bed. Hopefully, the WiFi is better tomorrow so I can do a bit more writing, but I’ll see if anything has improved by the time I get on.

Y’all have a great rest of the night though, I’ll see y’all tomorrow!

[bloodsoakedurge]

✏️?

Iɴᴄᴏʀʀᴇᴄᴛ Qᴜᴏᴛᴇs Gᴇɴ��ʀᴀᴛᴏʀ // @bloodsoakedurge

Balasar: Katya, why does your bucket list have ‘Die’ on it? Katya: So I can die feeling at least a little bit accomplished.

-

*Balasar comes home absolutely drunk, undresses, and stands in Katya’s bedroom.* Katya: Babe, are you.. coming to bed? Balasar: No thank you, I’m sure you’re lovely but I have a girlfriend. Balasar: *Lies on the ground and falls asleep* Katya: ...

-

Balasar: No, this is not a mess. You know what I consider a mess? Katya: Your life? Balasar: I- well yes, but-

[bloodsoakedurge]

if you’re ever losing an argument hit’em with the “you want me.”

[bloodsoakedurge]

I’ve been having some thoughts about Balasar and his younger years before he was taken by Bhaal cultists and right after he was taken. I personally like to think Balasar would fight them for as long as he could, just to try and get free, but… I think he’d eventually get broken down thanks to Bhaal and the Urge already being in his head prior to joining the cult.

I do think he probably would have killed a cultist or two in defense of himself around the time he first arrived at the temple.

All of this to say I’m considering fleshing out Balasar’s backstory from his younger years more-

[bloodsoakedurge]

Balasar had no idea if Thorm had actually been able to see the memories he had shared with Z'rell in any capacity. He imagined that it maybe was possible, considering the fact the general seemed to be the head person of the army that he had found, but it was unclear to the Dragonborn for the time being whether or not that was true. He watched both Thorm and Z'rell, waiting for any sort of confirmation on the matter before he saw the brief hand being held up to signal for Balasar to wait.

And despite a large part of him wanting to go after the two, he did as he was instructed... if he could avoid any further confrontation with the general and his second in command at the moment, especially after finding out Thorm would not be taken down easily, he would do what he could to avoid it. It was against his instincts, against every part of him that was screaming to chop off his head and stomp it into the floor, to ensure he was dead before anything else happened. And even then... Balasar imagined that wouldn't be enough to put the general down either.

What that required was beyond Balasar, but that was not the point of this discussion. He was there to find out more about his past, to fill in gaps that had been present for so long without a single bit of information having been thrown his way. This was truly the closest he had gotten in a long while to get answers...

As he waited for the two to finish their discussion, he couldn't help but feel a pit forming in his stomach. Something about the entire situation still felt off to Balasar and he couldn't help but wonder if Thorm had some other ideas in mind for the Dragonborn while he was here. As he watched Z'rell leave, leaving just the two of them, the silence that spread across the room was unbearable, but the Dragonborn dare not speak before anything came from Thorm's mouth. And when words did start coming from him, he didn't know if they were ones he had wanted to hear...

❝I only remember bits and pieces of information that my brain wanted to remember, it seems,❞ he remarked softly with a shrug of his arms, ❝It's clear you remember more about my own past than even I do... you know about that person, Orin, who she is...❞

But before he could question the general about Orin any further, Thorm had already moved on to his next thought. About Gortash and some sort of plan that had apparently taken place while Balasar was around. Some plan that had apparently been carried out and how he himself had apparently been a part of it. But not just any part... a crucial part, having played a role that seemed vital to the entire operation that Thorm was still running.

It was very clear to Balasar that there was more to his past than he had thought. Much more than he would have ever remembered in his current state. And, in a way... that worried the Dragonborn.

❝I... can not say I remember anything about a plan, nor do I remember anything about someone named Gortash. But... if I had to imagine, he would have to be in a situation that is similar to both you and this Orin person,❞ he commented before he had a brief memory cross his mind. Recognition crossed Balasar's face as he remembered the smallest bit of info about Gortash that he had learned in his travels.

Something about him being a ruler of Baldur's Gate...

❝I... do remember hearing about him during my travels. About him becoming a ruler over Baldur's Gate or something similar. Something that I imagine is incredibly useful for.. what you may be doing here.❞

And finally... the last question that Thorm asked him. About why he was here, beyond just finding out about his past. Balasar felt part of him run cold at the question because frankly, he didn't know if he wanted to answer that. The talk with Jaheria stood out in his mind, to find a way to defeat Thorm and to get rid of the Shadow Curse on the land... something that he didn't want to bring up, in any capacity. But would Thorm be able to see through any lie he spoke?

There was only one way to find out.

❝I had heard some rumors about an army gathering here regarding the Absolute. While I didn't know much about them, I was told to come here to try and find a way to get some help with the parasite that was lodged in my head. The parasite that you do not appear to have,❞ he spoke with confidence, despite the fact that it was partially a lie, ❝Is there a way to remove it from me? As much as it has been useful, I would... rather not turn into a Mindflayer, if I can help it.❞

Ketheric remained quiet as Z'rell tried to bear the memories shown to her by Balasar's tadpole -- his mind. His eyes trained on the white Dragonborn, not his disciple, as the two connected. He had no tadpole himself, of course, so he could only wonder ( for now ) just what the half-orc was seeing inside.

When they finally broke apart, he couldn't help but notice that his second in command looked just a bit shaken.

Fascinating.

He held up a hand towards Balasar, signaling him to wait as he tilted his head towards Z'rell, who quickly and quietly filled him in. The only indication Balasar would receive as to the General's feelings was a brief twitch of a pointed ear - blink, and he would've missed it.

She was quickly dismissed afterwards, leaving only the General and the Dragonborn in the room - Ketheric giving the other a still unreadable look.

"You remember Orin, then?" He started plainly, "Your heritage?"

Ketheric's head tilted to the side as he looked over his former colleague, "Do you remember the plan I wonder... the role you played. How lesser we are for your absence. Your sister acting in your stead alongside Gortash and I."

A huff, almost a laugh, were the General capable of such a thing, "Gortash. I wonder if the name means anything to you now. He did not appear in your link with Z'rell."

"What do you hope to gain here, Balasar?" He asked, finally using the Bhaalspawn's name, "Your memories, yes. But there's always something more, isn't there?"