rowan-of-waterdeep - Tumblr blog

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Daily Wyll!

Wyll: Poor thing - a life of torture! We should let her go. Shouldn't we?

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Wyll:

*lips twitching*

...

...

Needs more mermaids.

Maybe a merman or two. With big muscles. And seaweed for hair. Especially around... umm... no, I haven't thought about this at all, why do you ask?

This request was sent to us and we made a poll in response to it. Send the situation (in which you want to see a Blorbo) to our inbox and we’ll make a poll for you where people can vote if they think their Blorbos would survive said situation.

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Daily Wyll!

Wyll: To camp. Father should know of Ansur's fate.

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Daily Wyll!

Wyll: A thief walks free. Is this truly justice?

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they say if you repeat the word "wyll" three times in the mirror the larian employee replying to you disappears from twitter

— ripped apart by wild dogs (@barcuswoot) September 7, 2024

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We're running theme months in the Wyll you be mine community, and this month's theme is Dragons.

Ian showed us this gorgeous art of Wyll dressing up as a bronze dragon and I'm OBSESSED. 😍

Wyll dressed up as a Bronze Dragon

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Sarabandes!

I once beat the record for the most sarabandes danced in a single evening, much to the exhaustion of the good ladies and gentlemen of the Gate.

- Wyll Ravengard

Basic steps for a slow sarabande:

Dive into the nature of the sarabande dance (hint: it was considered spicy AF):

(I'll be honest, I skim-watched that last one, because I'm not great at paying attention to video content)

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Daily Wyll!

Wyll: My last seven years have been defined by the secrets I carried. I feel light as a feather now that I've shed them.

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He's umm... Selunite? 🤐 🌜

Daily Wyll!

No dialogue, just happy Wyll. 💙

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I came across this NSFW fanfic writers' alphabet template a few days ago, and thought it'd make an interesting exercise to fill out for Wyll and Dash.

BUT me being a wordy bastard at the best of times, I think I'll spare y'all the misery of an epic-length screed. Instead, I'll just tackle one letter every day or two (or 3 or 5, I don't need more pressure).

Sooo starting with A...

A = Aftercare

(what they’re like after sex)

Both Wyll and Dash are heavy on the cuddling. They enjoy the physical contact as they come down, but with their pasts, it's also very much a reassurance that they're OK, nothing bad has happened, that they're still connected and loved.

Sometimes there are tears. Sometimes panic that needs to be soothed. 

Sometimes cuddling is NOT quite the answer, and this is something that Wyll found difficult to process at first. That he will almost always want arms around him holding him tight, but Dash? Dash usually wants that, but when he doesn't, he REALLY doesn't, and it will send him further into a panic attack. So Wyll sets out to figure out how to react appropriately to a panic attack, and what Dash needs in those moments. 

And y'know, I love that part of (my headcanoned) Wyll. His tendency to meet something that utterly baffles him, that he'd usually just withdraw from, and he might not handle it well in the moment, but he goes away and thinks. He's had plenty of time to learn to sit with his thoughts, out there in the wilderness. And he loves Dash, wants to protect him with the deep urge of a person who's always protected those he cares about, but now has someone who cares about him in return. So he can't let Dash down. Can't fail him. It's a little trauma response, a little upbringing, but also a lot of *this is the person I want to be*.

Dash has never really had someone do  aftercare for him, and it's such an odd experience for him. He's legitimately confused the first few times things go awry or he has a weird reaction because it's OK - Wyll doesn't get angry or frustrated with him. He just wants to help bring Dash back to an even keel, and he's happy to step outside his comfort zone to do it. 

Likewise, Wyll isn't used to the idea that he can be less than "perfect" and remain worthy of love and affection. When he needs something extra during or after sex, he's always a little surprised that Dash isn't pulling away. Especially as his anxieties and panics tend to revolve around having caused harm to Dash.

I like that they get to fuck as much as they want, true, but I also love that they've grown to be such caring, healing supports for each other as they heal from past traumas.

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I have a love-hate relationship with the character of Astarion.

I love the depth, the emotion, the sheer humanity that Larian managed to imbue into that little bunch of pixels.

I love that Larian pulled Neil in time and time again over four years to work on Astarion *with* him.

I love that Neil helped to shape Astarion's story. Advocated for him. Pushed for the *right* dialogues. Was the person to say "He wouldn't say that!"

I love that Neil is both passionate about Astarion and vehemently does not want to be him.

I love that Neil did such a wonderful job on Astarion's voice and movement. He deserves every damn award he's received.

I hate that the other actors didn't seem to get the same opportunity to engage with their character and put out the same sort of performance as Neil did. Because yes, he did an amazing job. But the playing field does not seem to have ever been level.

I hate that Neil in particular has had so many issues with fans because a vulnerable hurting character attracts the predators.

I hate that the other characters didn't get the same level of attention and love, and that it shows so damn dramatically.

I hate that Wyll, our only Black companion, got 6 months of Theo shoved into a sound booth with lines thrown at him and often no idea of what would be coming that day.

I hate that Theo seems to have never had the chance to really grasp or understand Wyll's story, let alone advocate for him, because everything was so rushed and he was basically burning the candle at both ends.

I hate that it shows so much in Wyll's story, his interactions, everything.

I hate that I love Astarion and constantly resent this fictional character a little because he gets to be an oil painting and the other characters are a collection of crayon drawings and sketches.

I hate that despite the glaring issues with the characters and questlines, Larian has still done better than most *major* game studios when it comes to thoughtful, considerate representation and diversity, and how far there is to go.

I hope that Larian were using Astarion as a litmus test. That they wanted to see if pulling in the actors at the start and engaging them heavily - instead of worrying about spoilers and leaks to the point of hurting their game - would lead to a better, more real character. If maybe having a single person advocating for each character would provide a better, more cohesive user experience in the end.

I hope they learnt that yes, people will engage far more heavily with a character when they're rich with detail and feel like real people.

I hope they learnt that to do that, you NEED to have someone in charge of keeping the character on track so you don't wander off into the weeds trying to follow every bit of customer feedback, especially when it's racist or sexist or transphobic or homophobic.

I hope they learnt that yes, letting the actors engage with their characters creates a bond that enhances the performance and adds veracity to emotional scenes. It makes the story feel as though it has a flow to it.

I hope that in their next game, they do better.

I hope that we, collectively, expect them to do better.

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Daily Wyll!

No dialogue, just happy Wyll. 💙

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Daily Wyll!

Wyll: To my father, I was only ever a boy. Incredible, that he can see the man I became.

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Daily Wyll!

Wyll: But as ambitious as she is, Mol's no fool. One way or another, she'll see there's no winning Raphael's game - and she'll walk away.

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Things that are unlikely to help at all:

My headcanon is that his full given name is actually Wyllyck, but by the time he feels comfortable disclosing his past, the time for that revelation seems well gone

Nevertheless, in my head, I call him Wylloughby. I don't know why, except freaking Jane Austen got the name stuck in my head.

I hate that Wyll is short for Wyllyam. Because Wyllyam looks so goddamn wrong but somehow Wylliam isn't any better. It's a mess. A veritable alphabet soup of a name. Ye Olde Wyllyam. That's true commitment to the bit. Well played, Ulder Ravengard and Mrs. Wyll's Mom. Wyll fucking played.

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Daily Wyll!

Wyll: But you are stronger than the hunger. You can resist, you will resist. I'm sure of it.

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Daily Wyll!

Wyll: Let's dash for the exit, lest we suffer the full extent of Vlaakith's fury.