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Turns out it's not just the romanceable companions who got shiny new kiss animations in the update.

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The Dark Urge x Gale

Just found out "because I have someone else to live for" is one of the choices that Gale can answer Mystra in his origin 🥲

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Kinktober 2024 - Day 8 [Dominatrix]

Minthara is my absolute fave out of the cast of companions and it's criminal I haven't drawn her in her full glory outside of commissions. I also LOVE the dynamic between her and Gale, so I'm debuting my cis Gale just for Minthara to crush his balls. Nearly didn't get this one out on time, but I hope you guys enjoy it!

If you’d like to see these in full, check out my Patreon which you can find through the link in my bio. All my NSFW posts are exclusive to my Patreon page.

Patreon | Instagram | Redbubble

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Gale: I’m sad

Minthara: Reasonable human male emotion

Gale: No one likes me…

Minthara: So? You don’t have to be liked to be happy

Gale: You’ve never given a pep talk before, have you?

Minthara: I would rather burn in Avernus than have an ounce of ‘pep’ in my talk

Minthara: But I am attempting to help

Gale: …

Minthara: Would you like a… hug?

*Gale and Minthara share a very awkward hug*

Gale: That was awful

Minthara: We are in agreement

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She does like him 😭

This is the new Patch 7 non-romanced epilogue with Minthy as a Gale Origin and guys I adore it...

Here is a link to the video on my youtube channel:

https://youtu.be/kYmO66GatpI

I’m convinced Tumblr compresses videos

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A sketch I did a while back. Maybe Gale wouldn't mind Minthara stepping on him...

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i think astarion is a quiet moaner. When he stops performing, stops making all the right noises for you at the right moment, and just lets himself make the sounds his body makes. He makes quiet, little breathy moans when he pushes inside of you, sometimes he’ll try to hold them back and they’ll turn into little whines or sharp inhales. If you pull him close enough you’ll realize that with every thrust he makes a little nghh-! noise.

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Astarion likes missionary sex. Likes being able to see his love’s face and the way their body reacts to his.

He loves being able to lace his fingers with theirs, and press their hands to the mattress. It grounds him just as much as the steady eye contact does. Doesn’t matter if he has to coax them into it, murmuring “eyes on me, darling” as he rolls his hips into theirs.

He loves the way he can hold them close to his chest as he comes with their thighs wrapped around him, completely engulfed in one another.

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One recurring element of criticism of Halsin's romance that frustrates me is this:

Halsin is judged by the worst aspects of the polymance. If the player in particular feels that, say, Shadowheart doesn't/shouldn't be okay with poly, this is an indictment of Halsin and his romance.

HOWEVER, Shadowheart being "wrongly" okay with poly is NOT held against the quality of her romance; it is judged as a whole, with her take on polyamory neatly excised from the criticism.

The other companions are judged exclusively by their solomances, whereas Halsin's solomance is VERY rarely the yardstick used to judge the quality of his writing. Simultaneously, any perceived faults of the handling of polyamory are blamed on Halsin, and Halsin alone- a black mark against him/his character/his story/his romance and no one else.

It seems so blatantly unfair, and it's really hard to point this out without being accused of being an "oversensitive Halsin fan" who "can't take criticism of their fave."

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You must gather your party before venturing forth… some vintage style bg portraits of the faves for fun

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i know people complain/make fun of Astarion's attempt to bite Tav or origin characters because like, he's seen how everyone fights, everyone's on edge, and he thought they wouldn't wake up to him BITING them?

sure, he's pretty desperate but personally i hc him as counting on Tav to wake up. he wants to confess that he's a vampire, he just doesn't know how. whether consciously or subconsciously he wants to get caught, and he chooses who he thinks will most likely hear him out.

it makes even more sense since he still tries to bite you as Karlach, when he should know damn well he can't even touch her.

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Analysis of each character's final words in the new Dark Urge evil ending

If you are romanced to a character, you have the option, when taking the new version of the Sins of the Father ending, to kill your partner in front of the others in your party, killing them with one last kiss. They then give their last words and pass away. I love each and every one and feel they are incredible characterization moments.

So let's break these down!

Lae'zel:

I... I am glad it was you. No other blade would have sufficed.

This is something that hammers home that, Vlaakith or no, Lae'zel deeply believes in all the ideals of a Githyanki. Life is a privilege for the strong, and death is the price of weakness. Further, if romanced, Lae'zel will affectionately call you "the source of my bruises" many times. If she has to die, if she has finally found the one person stronger than herself, then she is "satisfied" that it is you- who she both loved and admired. The only one she would ever consider worthy of besting her.

Karlach:

Fuck you.

Short, simple, and to the point, just the way Karlach does everything else. She's already gone through all her stages of grief with her engine- well, almost all of them. Anger still remains. She burns hot until the end.

Wyll:

I... I forgive you.

This isn't just Wyll being a good guy. This is heartbreak, and guilt. Guilt for not saving you from Bhaal's influence when he was so sure he had. Heartbreak that after he gave his literal soul to save as many people as he could, he couldn't save you- and couldn't save others from you, either. All he sacrificed, negated in an instant by the person he loved and trusted most. Of all the characters here, Wyll (tied with Halsin) sounds the most obviously broken, and it's easy to see why, given that he is self-sacrificing to a fault.

There was a set of scenes datamined from the game, where at the Morphic Pool, the Netherbrain would have taunted the players, causing them to hallucinate things related to their fears and insecurities. Wyll's would have been a vision of himself talking about how he was never a hero, how the Blade of Frontiers was a farce all along. One can't help but think about that scene here, wondering just how much blame, bordering on self-loathing, he might feel here.

Dark Justiciar Shadowheart:

I... I'm coming to you, Lady Shar.

Another short and simple one. By becoming a Dark Justiciar, Shadowheart has fully embraced the nihilism of Shar's teachings. Why be saddened or angry at her own death when this is just what she's embraced with all her sacrifices?

(Sidenote: this does also answer a question I had, namely, what was going to happen to everyone Durge kills. Thankfully it seems they aren't actually going to be sacrificed to him as such, and will indeed end up in the realm of their deities. This makes Bhaal's plan even DUMBER, because deities in DND lore need worshippers to have enough power to exist. Killing everyone at once just guarantees that soon after Durge dies as the last person alive, so too will Bhaal fade from existence.)

Selunite Shadowheart:

I... I thought we were going to save each other...

This Shadowheart rejected everything she knew. She was scared to defy her goddess, but worked up the courage- thanks to you. She thought you would have a new life together. She believed in you. She thought she would get to return the favor, and help you turn the page on Bhaal, too.

She's not just heartbroken for herself; she's heartbroken for you, too. Heartbroken at the life you denied both her and yourself.

Gale:

You made me want to live...

From the moment the orb entered Gale's chest, he knew he was at risk of dying. Then Mystra all but marked him as a dead man walking. But despite that, he finds love with you- and for the first time thinks maybe there is a purpose for him beyond Mystra. That he isn't more useful to the world dead. More than that, he wants to live to be with you, to enjoy your company and companionship. And then you kill him, and do the one thing WORSE than what would have happened if he'd never been pulled from that rock.

It almost would have been kinder to just hack his hand off the first time you met him, though Gale may or may not agree.

Spawn Astarion:

I should have killed you when I had the chance...

The angriest, most bitter response out of all the romanced companions, a step beyond Karlach's "fuck you." This is beyond "fuck you" and even beyond "I hate you." It's "I regret every moment I spent with you." You made him believe he could have better. That he could recover from what Cazador did. You even convinced him to spare the 7,000 spawn and that he could be something better than Cazador.

And now you reveal it was all a lie. Astarion is probably thinking that you talked him out of completing the ritual solely so he'd be easier to kill right here and now. How many regrets are flashing through his mind, how many moments where he wonders if things could have been different if only he'd done this or that, even aside from killing you?

All he wanted was to live as a free person. And then the first time he thinks he has that at last, he loses it as the world ends.

Ascended Astarion:

No... no, this can't be... I can't- you can't- no...

In contrast to spawn Astarion, ascended isn't angry, because he doesn't have the clarity, the ability to process what's happening. Spawn Astarion could tell he'd been betrayed.

But Ascended? Ascended, who went through so much to become one of the most powerful beings in the world, only to STILL lose without fanfare? And by you, his own spawn who he thought he had under his control? It isn't betrayal, because he is bluescreening; he can't comprehend what happened or how or why. How could he have been killed, and by you of all people? Was all he went through killing Cazador really for nothing? How could it be when he was supposed to be the most powerful? Was power actually meaningless all along?

He doesn't say anything of substance because he can't understand what's happening here.

Halsin:

Thaniel... goodbye...

Halsin is the oldest of all the companions. He's experienced the most loss of anyone; his birth family, his fellow Druids, and, for a time, Thaniel. He has had more than enough time to contemplate his own mortality, because he's already lived multiple lifetimes.

So here, two things are happening. One, he isn't expressing anger or betrayal at his murder- because he is more than wise enough, and humble enough, to understand that there are worse things than what has been done to himself. Instead of himself, he is thinking of the world he's leaving behind that is about to fall- and most of all, of his most important person, the one who gave him a purpose, who was there when no one else was, who he failed once and only just got back. The closest thing to a child he'll ever have. In his last moments, instead of himself, Halsin is thinking of those he loves.

And second, it's an almost deliberate snubbing of Durge. He willingly walked into that kiss, knowing full well it would be the last thing he ever did. He gave you his death, he pleaded with his own god to forgive you and him both. He gave you everything he felt he owed you, and no more- no begging or sobbing. Instead, he comes as close as he ever gets to selfishness, and spends his last moments thinking about the thing that makes him the happiest- which could have been you, in another life, if you hadn't done this.

Minthara:

No... we were meant to do this together...

Heartbreak, disbelief, and betrayal. You spent so many nights planning this out. She had been cast aside by her people, her goddess, and she was going to get the last laugh. She was going to crush them personally under her heel and prove she was the best (or second best, behind you) of all of them. She's devastated she won't get to help you torture all those souls and take what she feels was owed to her. But interestingly enough... no anger. Probably because it was overshadowed by the sheer heartbreak, but also a sign that even in those moments, she still admires you for your ruthlessness.

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I am so tired of illiterate dumbasses "informing" all the fandom of things that never happened with Halsin and getting others to take them as fact.

Halsin does not, in fact, fuck animals, much less Tusk (where the fuck did that even come from)

It is, in fact, no longer canon that Halsin killed Isobel. Many fans, including myself, like it and incorporate it into our headcanons, but it is no more canon now than Wyll losing his eye to goblins.

Halsin is not, in fact, Drow-racist. Everything he hates Minthara for is because of her own actions, not because of her being a Drow.

Halsin did not, in fact, ban Drow from the Grove. Drow rarely reach the surface to begin with, let alone feeling a deep affinity for the surface's flora and fauna.

Halsin did not, in fact, mistreat/bully Shadowheart in the Shadow-Cursed Lands. She mocked his trauma, and he responded with a playfully rude remark.

Halsin was not, in fact, added solely because of horny EA players. He was added because of EA players who liked everything about his character, inclding his looks, but not limited to them.

The datamined ultimatum with Minthara was not, in fact, cut before release; it was added after, then abandoned when fans became outraged. Similarly, it is not, in fact, canon that "when this scene was added", Halsin was the one who killed Isobel, making him a "hypocrite."

It is not, in fact, canon that Halsin encourages cheating in relationships.

It is not, in fact, canon that Halsin does not respect boundaries/consent/refuses to take no for an answer.

It is not, in fact, canon that Halsin has a prurient obsession with Thaniel.

It is not, in fact, canon that Halsin is a sex pest.

It is not, in fact, canon that Halsin pressures Astarion/Karlach/Shadowheart into polyamorous relationships they can't consent to.

Etc....

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TBH I feel like if any set of stats for Jaheira/Minsc/Halsin/Minthara should be taken as canon, it should be their pre-recruitment NPC ones, and not the ones after that just redistribute their stats to be the default for their class.

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So here's a very sad pattern for Halsin: he is used to putting his feelings to the side as well as dealing with everything alone.

If the Rite of Thorns completes, he says "The Rite of Thorns...? No. The grove is lost to me. To everyone. It's useless for me to stay here... there's nothing left to fight for. I will find you at your camp, and help you with your problem. Right now, I... I need to go be alone."

In the cut scenario where the player could interfere with Halsin's portal, collapsing it and dooming the Shadow-Cursed Lands: "Words won't repair what's been done to this land. Nothing will... I need to be alone" and "there is nothing more to be said... I need to be alone."

There are also lines in the goblin camp, if Kagha or all of the Druids have been killed, where Halsin indicates that he is experienced in compartmentalizing his emotions until he can feel them properly.

If Kagha dies: "Kagha... This is my fault - I was her teacher. I will mourn her when I can. But there are other matters to attend to before that."

If the Druids die and the player explains (as opposed to taunting Halsin): "Then... then it is as you say. They forgot their principles; you had no choice. I will mourn them when I can. But there are other matters to attend to before that."

It says a lot about Halsin, I think, that he is so ready to put off grieving properly when he learns his second in command or all of his Druids have died, and that he is used to the primary way for him to feel pain is alone.

He says it repeatedly, how he lost his confidantes and peers to the Shadow Curse, and they were replaced with unrelenting responsibility. It was so bad, his isolation so total that the Druids let him slip into a very dark place mentally. He mentions having grown overly fond of honey mead and nights alone (processing his grief entirely alone, and also depending on alcohol to do what human connection couldn't), and that he was so stressed he began to look fondly on his past as a sex slave, because it truly felt like a better alternative for him than what he was currently facing. He was miserable and lonely and honestly, likely very unwell mentally- and no one at his Grove intervened, leading to him having an instinctive need to do everything alone by the time you meet him. He doesn't even expect others to help him physically anymore; listen to how shocked he sounds when you save him from Orin. "You came for me... thank you."

He's so used to having to bear everyone's problems and his own too. It just breaks my heart. :(

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Subby top Halsin

Telling him to be a good boy and wait

Practically following you around by the end of the day until you’re finally alone

He’s not allowed to do anything unless you specifically tell him to

Telling him to slow down, you never told him to move that fast

He obeys but you can see just how much restraint it requires of him not to just fuck you into oblivion

Telling him to stop completely just to tease him

He was so close and now he has to sit still, deep inside you

He whimpers at any slight movement you make and near begs when you clench down around him

You let him move again but only slowly and directly instructed “in” and “out”

When you’ve finally decided the bear is enough of a mess you tell him he can set his own pace

But he has to keep it until he cums

He has no problem setting a harsh pace and keeping it after all of that

Not that he lasts too long anyway, he’s too desperate for that release

When he finally floods your insides and slows back down, you hold your bear close, telling him not to leave just yet

You wanna feel full for a while