#( bg3 has me cornered in an obsession )

[soulrph]

some vibes that i absolutely think need to be explored in a dnd thread (bc baldur's gate 3 has the lot of us CAUGHT!)

first, characters sitting by the campfire. cooking a nice meal with the supplies they've gathered along the way. maybe they use a very highly sought-after ration as a treat after a long day, like cream or fresh meat or a spice of some sort. they sit around the blaze together, and tell stories of their earlier travels, adding ingredients to the meal and fuel to the fire, and bonding as they discuss what's next in their shared adventure.

i also love the potential of them walking together along a long, winding country road! maybe they pick some flowers idly, or for each other, or maybe they find herbs or vegetables or fruits to add to their supplies. maybe they overhear footsteps up ahead and have to decide between keeping to the path or rushing into the nearby stream to avoid being seen or smelled. perhaps they have a horse, or two horses, or even a carriage, or maybe they're just walking along together. they could discuss what's next in a journey, or their choices from earlier encounters. if we think of roads as liminal spaces, this is an opportunity for many things to be happening, from a fallen tree blocking the road, to the road forking at a junction in the woods, or enemies/allies travelling along the same path, or even a side quest of sorts awaiting them in the woods!

character A meets character B when they're wounded and unconscious, and brings them back to their camp, either out of fear of what might happen if they don't, or for concern for B, or maybe they recognize them from somewhere! they nurse them back to health, and have to fend off attacks along the way because B is too weak to retaliate, and ultimately it leads to a curious bond where neither are willing to separate from the other, but they also don't know nearly enough about each other to understand what makes them trust each other so much.

the last one for this post: the two characters have travelled a long way. they're tired and weary, battered and bruised from past battles, and they find themselves in a merry kingdom that welcomes them heartily to a party, where they get to eat and rest and bathe and dress in finery and attend a ball together. and this may sound romantically leaning, but i also think it works in a platonic sense or a parental sense, because i think the concept of watching someone you've grown to care about finally laugh and smile and enjoy themselves after a long, brutal journey, is smth that would make many people very happy. and they get pulled to their feet for a dance, and this night of levity and merriment, as beautiful as it is, still inspires a transformation in the journey. perhaps the more experienced or worn-out of the two decides to slip away in the middle of the night, leaving a letter that begs the other to stay where they're happy and safe and allow them to finish the journey alone. or maybe they're about to leave but the other character intercepts. like there's so many outcomes for this one besties!!

[archive-arcanum]

A Loving Kind of Jealousy ⋆ BG3

18+ Themes ⋆ Multi-Character Headcannons ⋆ Part 1/?

In which the characters of Baldur's Gate 3 experience a little (or a lot) of jealousy watching their Tav interact with other folk.

Word Count: 380

Astarion Ancunin ⋆ 10/10

At first experience, Astarion is inclined to pretend he doesn't care. Even moreso, his first inkling is to pretend he finds it sexy to witness others wanting his Tav. Others wanting them in all the ways only he can have them. His debonaire, sensual facade returns-- anything to keep his Tav from potentially becoming upset with him for his negative feelings.

If his Tav manages to coax him out of the corner that is his deepest fears-- it turns out, Astarion is a terribly jealous man. He wants his Tav all to himself; hand in hand, heart to heart. Why would his lover ever seek another?

"You wouldn't do that, would you? Please don't go. I simply couldn't take it."

Archdruid Halsin ⋆ 2/10

The Archdruid of the Grove simply is not a jealous man. He could watch his Tav saunter bare naked through an entire tavern, and merely lean back with sharp, gleaming eyes and comfortably crossed arms. Halsin is terribly proud of his beautiful Tav-- and has no problem with showing them off when the chance arrives.

However, once his Tav is done and finished being flaunted, Halsin lives for a firm reminder. They. Are. His. Firm hands and warm lips, whispered teases and loving gazes. Halsin is obsessed with his Tav in all the best ways.

"All finished playing, my little bird? Come now... Back into my arms."

Jenevelle Hallowleaf / Shadowheart ⋆ 7/10

The way Shadowheart's insecurity follows her about is haunting, and deeply saddening. In the same way Astarion is fearful of abandonment, Shadowheart fears it, too. But instead of being able to mask it behind confidence, she shuts down. Suddenly, she's nowhere to be seen-- her Tav left looking this way and that for a sign of a lover that simply isn't there.

She doesn't do it to cause harm-- she would never want to harm the one she loves most. But when her relationships are threatened, all Jenevelle can think to do is run away. Once her Tav finally does find her, tears typically follow. All she wants, though, is love and assurance. Maybe someday, she'll learn that there's no reason to run away.

"I'm sorry-- I'm so sorry, Tav. I love you so much, that it scares me."

[rottenbrainstuff]

BG3 playthrough - House of Hope

Man I’m getting legit sad I’m getting so close to being done.

Unpopular (?) opinion - I have read people explaining up and down and back and forth about how pressed they are that Haarlep says Raphael is bad in bed, how Haarlep is unreliable because he hates Raphael, how he’s an incubus so his standards must be very high, how Raphael is probably purposefully doing this or that because Haarlep is a spy keeping an eye on him for daddy so of course he’s not going to appear vulnerable in any way, even how sad and conflicted Raphael must be, being a cambian…

Honestly - I have zero trouble taking Haarlep at his literal word. 100%. Raphael’s house is literally full of paintings and statues of himself. He wrote an entire book that’s nothing but descriptions of different scenarios of him being crowned with the crown of Karsus. His diary entries are absolutely insufferable. He is the textbook definition of hubris and vanity. I have zero problem believing Haarlep literally. And I say all this affectionately, by the way: Raphael is one of my favourite characters in the entire game. But it’s kind of like how everyone wants to soften out all the rough edges on Astarion - I like him like this. I think it’s hilarious that he’s so vain. His hubris is so funny. His opinion of himself is so high and his confidence in his victory is so complete, but his personal incubus is sitting here lounging in his bed absolutely roasting his ass to complete strangers with very little prompting. I think he’s a great devil character and I don’t want to make up excuses for his behaviour in order to humanize him. I definitely do love complicated antagonists who have more to them than it first appears, but honestly I just do not get that vibe from him. And I love him for it.

Haarlep was so funny btw. I just love it when actors are having fun. That must have been so funny to come in and voice the character, like, ok so for today, you’re doing the same voice as before, except make it slutty and bitchy this time. It makes sense I guess that Haarlep can change into a female form if you want, of course he can, and I think it’s funny that even when Raphael wants to shake things up a bit, it’s still with a version of himself, but myeh, that whole thing felt to me like a “hey don’t worry if you’re icked out, we have a girl option too that we can totally switch to if you want.” Maybe I’ve just read too many forum arguments about how there’s too many gay people in this game and people are crying to have a toggle to turn it off, and it makes me hostile to anything that smacks of trying to soothe people’s hurt heterosexuality. (because like, theoretically there could be lesbians who object to the scene as well?) Oh well. Still funny in the end. I was going to go through with just sleeping with Haarlep to avoid a fight, because that’s the direction my tav generally likes to go, but then Astarion got very concerned and made me feel bad, so I changed my mind.

Well this whole area was fun. I loved Raphael’s house. I loved all the details. I loved the debtors, the tacky ostentatious bullshit in every corner, I loved the rotten banquet. Is that its natural state and he charmed it to look fresh when I arrived? (disgusting, I love it) Or has he just been so pissy about whatever went wrong with the skeleton folks at the table that he’s never bothered to have it cleared and has left it there in a temper tantrum as a lesson? (ridiculous, I also love it) I love how absolutely, singularly obsessed Raphael is with my party. I know it’s because we are the means by which he thinks he is going to get that crown, but it also feels personal and weird and uncomfortable. I love that my contract has this place of honour in his archive. It’s almost touching, if it wasn’t my fucking soul. I love how absolutely self-assured Raphael is, how confident he is that his plan is going to work, how the possibility of a failure or a trick, like, he doesn’t even have the capacity to consider that a possibility. It SO GODAMNED FUNNY to kick his ego-inflated ass when he was SO FUCKING SURE that he would win. Raphael you are such an insufferable idiot. I love him. I’m so glad the VA won a Bafta.

The Raphael fight is tricky, but honestly, half of the trick is that before you even get there, you have to fight your way to the foyer past the most annoying enemies. I guess Hope’s divine intervention which can restore your spells and HP helps to balance that out though.

It was surprising to see I was able to get Yurgir to side with me in the fight - I had assumed he’d be SO fucking pissed after I tricked him in the Shar gauntlet. Now I have an additional ally in the big brain fight! …except he really wasn’t all that helpful in the Raphael fight, not at all. He’d go invisible, pop out of invisibility, knife someone for maybe 7 HP, then pop invisible again. I guess every little bit helps but…? Come on dude. At least stay visible so you can soak some hits.

Apparently it’s possible to make Korilla survive the fight? I was… NOT able to do that. You get some extra dialogue if you do, but the fight is hard enough to win even without trying to manage a hostile NPC who is usually the first one Yurgir targets. Sorry Hope, sorry Korilla. How come you can cast Otto’s Irresistible Dance on Raphael, and it will incapacitate him, but it won’t make him actually boogie? I was so excited to see him dance, and then he didn’t, he just stands there.

It doesn’t even need to be said - Raphael’s fight song is of course amazing, chef’s kiss, perfection.

Anyway, bard vs bard fight, very fun, when you kill him Raphael crumples dramatically to the ground, I love the big boss fights in this game.

Coming back, I got a stupid lecture from the Emperor about how naughty naughty I was being. Sure asshole, lecture me about trust, that’s really rich coming from the guy who didn’t trust ME with anything, and I had to pry the truth out, unwillingly, in stages. I can’t fucking wait to doublecross that guy.

If you attack Helsik, Raphael’s boss song also plays? That was… a little bit strange! I wanted to see what was in her basement, but the fight with all the gilded imps and Minotaurs and whatnot was such a pain I didn’t bother. Apparently you can access the basement through Dammon’s basement anyways, if you really want to see it, so. I DID make sure to pickpocket those gauntlets back off her cause I want them.

Mannnn. I’m almost done the game. WTF. All I have left to do is go give Mol her contract, talk to Voss in the undercity and piss off the Emperor, get my poop in a group and… that’s it. I’m off to fight the brain. I’ve been playing this playthrough for six months, and I’m almost done.

[not-poignant]

1 & 13 for palmarosa! I'm so hooked on it and it's lovely to immerse myself in such a crunchy, well-written dynamic :3

Oooo less go, Palmarosa time :D (I'm so glad you're enjoying it!!)

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?

So, I looked for Astarion fics early on and saw a lot of Astarion/Halsin, Astarion/player and general pairings I wasn't super interested in, or scenarios I wasn't very interested in. I tried a few, didn't bookmark any, and was like 'hmmm, I expected some more angsty fics for Astarion.' At the time - which to be fair was quite some time ago and the fandom has grown since - everything biased towards very fluffy, or very dark, but where Astarion had the power and was the top, and it was just not quite what I was looking for.

I knew I wanted to do something with Astarion, but I didn't ship him with anyone. I don't ship him with Gale, I didn't want to write an Astarion/player fic, I don't ship him with Halsin, etc. (I am playing an Astarion/Gale run now, but mostly because I enjoy their bitchiness and not because I truly ship them). But when we started spending more time with Raphael I started thinking 'hmmMMMM WHAT IF....'

I looked for fics, there was like 3 at the time (literally, mine is the fourth in the rarepair on AO3), and it was like 'well.... ehhh.... we'll see.' At this point I knew what Astarion's endings were - good and bad, according to Larian - and I didn't like either of them. I was kind of salty in advance that some companions get very clear cut happy endings, and others get sort of...shafted either way. And around that time I was like well... if we take Astarion's 'good' ending (according to Larian) and then actually give him the things I wanted him to have at the end (sans my player character, because I don't like player/X fics), then I could do something with that.

I knew I was shipping him with Raphael, but I actually spent a fairly long time thinking about how to solve the sunlight issue, and what Raphael would want in exchange for that, and how much that would actually matter to him, and why he would offer something like that, and what that would mean for a run where he was killed. I made a lot of thorny choices early on, like killing off Hope (she survives in my run) so Raphael could return to the House of Hope, etc.

But yeah! Basically a very classic 'once more fandom wasn't delivering a weird specific niche thing I wanted in any pairing, so I found a weird rarepair that almost no one was writing, and decided to do what I wanted in that little corner' scenario + 'I love BG3 as a game but fuck what they did with Astarion's character right at the end, I'm going to make a third ending just for me.'

...I'm both really stubborn and pretty weird actually when it comes to writing fanfiction *hangs head*

I'm just kind of obsessed with Astarion, he's a very specific kind of character 'type' for me (he gives me Felix Harrowgate from Doctrine of Labyrinths vibes and frankly I wrote a similar-ish fic about him too at least in spirit). Raphael I find fascinating. Because we get so much less information about him, I can put more of my own needs for the fanfiction into him, and develop his back story in a more robust manner in a way that suits the pairing. Him being a cambion, being able to add monster fucker elements, being really certain mentally that he's like... that he doesn't have a very 'classically' human way of thinking, makes him extremely interesting to me as a love interest to write!

(Not gonna lie, part of me actively resents how fluffy fandom is getting, and I wanted to put more rape and dubcon into AO3 overall for Astarion in particular. Like, I want more angst and hurt/comfort etc. I get that his back story is tragic, but I also wanted to push that in a different direction, and I really love writing a character that's been through so much awfulness they become almost expectant of it? That's also a Felix Harrowgate vibe. It's fun kind of...guiding those characters specifically to a better place internally, and not just externally).

13: What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn’t listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?

The Palmarosa playlist! I put it on every time I write for this story. Some songs I listen to more than others, Trench and Menace generally accompany me during the more sexual scenes for example. And I have put on the instrumentals for I Want To Live from the official BG3 soundtrack (by Borislav Slavov) on repeat for sections as well. I still am expanding the Palmarosa soundtrack but I have enough kind of music to also be comfortable writing the story as well. :D

--

From this fanfiction meme!

[m-art77]

I think staying contained in the Durgetash and Shadowheart side of the fandom has saved me a lot of grief. Every time I hear about the overall BG3 fandom it sounds like a dumpster fire. What is even going on over there???lol everything is always relatively chill over here in my obsession corner

[velnna]

Hi Maf! I found Stray Souls just before the season 2 finale last year and have been following your art and stories since then. (I was kinda hoping you’d pick up BG3 from your prior D&D mentions cos I was excited to see what drawings would come of it)

I bought BG3 and played obsessively for all of 13 hours. Then I suffered a head injury. (Which is apparently a thing to take seriously :( ). So for the past 3 weeks I’ve been home off work to recover. The plus side is I’m fine as long as I don’t do things that trigger the injury – unfortunately, everything triggers the injury lol. So I’ve been feeling fine but bored out of my mind, and have spent the last 3 entire weeks in my dark house scrolling through my phone at 0 brightness through sunglasses. Meanwhile, BG3 has been over in the corner screeching at me to play it, and I feel fine enough that I could, but I know that if I tried it would make my brain tingle immediately in ways it probably shouldn’t. (But that would make the story more immersive with the whole tadpole thing, though!)

ANYWAY TLDR: Thanks for letting me BG3 vicariously through Staeve. I’m so bored and everyday is the same and one of the few things I’ve been looking forward to each day is your little campaign journals. I love your humour, the little guys look great in your style and I’m getting my fix without being too spoilery. I don’t social media well but I wanted to drop a little appreciation note. Aaaaanyway have a great day and thanks for reading my spiel :)

Woahh I hope you recover swiftly! Happy to provide relentless BG3 content in the meantime

[changeling-fae]

G, L, Y, U for the asks!

Thanks!

G - Have you ever had an OTP? If so, do you remember your first one? Who was in it?

Lol, boy, and how! I live and breathe otp’s. My very first otp was probably Seto Kaiba x Serenity Wheeler, from YuGiOh. They were the first fanfic I ever read on fanfiction.net, lol. First otp ship I ever contributed to fandom for was Sesshomaru x Kagome from Inuyasha, where I wrote my very first fics and did fanart.

Though if we want to get really cheeky, I could argue that my very first ship was the knife and the spoon, from cutlery and making them kiss as a tiny kiddo, lol.

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves. (Characters you’re neutral about are fair game, as are characters you merely dislike. Characters that you absolutely loathe with the fire of ten thousand suns are exempt, as there is no point in giving yourself an aneurysm over a character that you hate.)

Hmmm, this is weirdly tough for me, not the complimenting part, but because I have a weird metric of how I view characters. Hm, let’s go with… Mizora. I’m overall neutral on her but I appreciate her petty bitch energy. If I were a cambion, I’d like to be as ambitious as Raphael but in reality I’d be like Mizora and I do appreciate a good petty play. It’s the Gemini in me, lol.

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

I have many favorites but I’ll go with Harley Quinn from Batman, Grunkle Stan from Gravity Falls, and since brainrot be real, Raphael from BG3.

Harley Quinn has been a favorite character of mine since I was a kid watching Batman the Animated Series. I’ve always been a fan of theatrical aesthetics (circus, theatre, commedia dell’arte, etc) and she’s just such a fun character. I’ve really liked over the years how she’s waffled between villain and anti-hero and how she’s not a perfect victim. Also Harley Quinn x Poison Ivy is a top tier ship.

Grunkle Stan because one of my biggest weaknesses in fiction is a sad morally grey older man but who is also protective of his family. He’s fucked up in his life so many times but he keeps trying. I’m a sucker for that. But also he’s just a great character. He’s made me laugh and cry and honestly that’s just a good criteria for any character. I’ve 100% played the fanmade Grunkle dating simulator and no regrets or shame.

And speaking of morally grey, or in this case, completely terrible older men. Raphael, my beloved. I played BG3 in its EA days and the very first time he appeared I was smitten. His voice obviously but also he had my favorite introduction into the game (and still does). The fact that his devil transformation involved a snazzy belt and different shoes is what really sold him to me. He’s so stupidly extra and it calls to my theatre kid nature, lol. I do miss the EA days of him roasting our camp 5 sec after inviting himself.

All that being said, I just enjoy his character within the game too. I like that he’s obviously a villain but he’s chill with us. In part because he wants something from us but I like that it kinda transforms for him into a double obsession. Obviously, crown comes first but there’s something just so delightfully fun about him writing about our character in his journal (entry number 2 is the stuff ships are made of). That he’s a cringefail theatre kid with daddy issues while being thousands of years old is partly what makes him endearing. I loved finding his fanfiction in his house and I love how stupidly bad his hell domination plan is (you’re doing amazing sweetie).

And one other bonus to liking his character is I got to make new friends and moots in particular in his corner of the fandom. 💖

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (i.e., fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)?

Hm, I’d say currently, Helluva Boss, I’ve got a couple friends into that show. It’s certainly on my list of things to eventually sit down and watch but for now I see it through what my friends show me. Looks good though!

[cetra]

i really want to do an evil playthrough (mostly bc im obsessed with morally flexible gale), do you have any tips for making the most of the more empty game?

Making Gale kinda insane is reason enough to pursue this kind of playthrough 🧡 I WILL DEFINITELY HELP YOU THE BEST OF MY ABILITY...... Although admittedly even i find myself struggling to make the most of the chunks of missing content which is probably obvious given how much I've complained about it on this blog 😭 BUT with enough time management and making peace with the fact that a bit of Emptiness is inevitable in some places (SORRY) you can still have a fun time going evil in BG3.

I assume that bc you're asking you've done a traditional good/neutral playthrough. If you havent done so already and this is your first playthrough….. I mean i'm glad I'm talking to someone as crazy as me since my first playthrough was also evil (+ submissive Dark Urge on top of that) but i think most people would recommend against going evil in your first.

so as far as missing content goes, you'll notice it's most obvious when it comes to quests and sidequests. for one, if you go the traditional route of raiding the grove you'll probably be missing a bunch of companions. Wyll, Karlach and Halsin. So you will naturally lose the first two's companion quests which span the entire game, as well as miss out on a certain quest in Act 2 that requires Halsin. Which really sucks. if I'm not mistaken you will also lose any and all story content involving the Tiefling refugees, and from what i understand those are some pretty decent stories and characters as well. You can circumvent the missing story content relatively easily though even if you'll have to rely heavily on side stuff and RPing your way around things. Here's my advice for that:

Going Dark Urge. i know people like to play custom characters, but Dark Urge will give you a lot of unique story content as well as quests (mainly in Act 3) which really fleshes out the narrative and makes up a little bit for the stuff you'll lose. If youve already played a resistant Dark Urge in another playthrough, you can go submissive in this one to shake things up (although it still may feel redundant, I know). HOWEVER: Playing as a submissive Dark Urge will definitely make the game harder, because in an evil playthrough where you aren't killing literally everyone you'll still have a lot of opportunities to not necessarily help people, but manipulate and lie your way into getting them to join you. if you're really worried about the game becoming harder, then I suggest not going Dark Urge. Otherwise i do recommend it if you're seeking more content for an evil run, and in my opinion there's enough stuff left open in their backstory that you can still fill in some blanks with characterization and lore (Or you can just retcon or rewrite certain stuff honestly. it's your character do what you want 🧡)

Doing both the Underdark AND the Mountain Pass. chances are you've probably done this already and you should be doing it anyways regardless of the type of playthrough, but it's especially important here because it really does add hours of content, opportunities to grind XP and find gear

Taking advantage of all the small little features that the game has to offer, like alchemy, exploring every area from corner to corner and reading every book and letter you come across. For the second, you'll definitely want to play as or keep someone in your party whos good at lockpicking and disarming traps because if you're venturing into every hatch and cave and crypt chances are you'll be doing a lot of that 😭 This suggestion is definitely more about just adding more time to your playthrough than it is actually getting the most out of the narrative, but the more exploration you do the more likely you'll find out cool stuff about the world of the game, get XP and gear, and even unlock some side quests or progress in existing ones. If you're a good little gamer though, chances are you're already doing this stuff and in that case I'm sorry my advice falls flat here

This post contains links to the checklists for each Act so you can make absolute sure you've done every quest possible. again, a few of them you'll lose, but you'd be surprised at how many you can still do. I'd actually say theres a lot

Depending on certain choices and actions, you may also lose Jaheira (although there is a way for her to survive even in an evil playthrough I think through deception?) and Minsc as companions, as well as allies like Isobal and Aylin. The latter is especially annoying because they really come in handy throughout Act 2 and Act 3 from my understanding. so because you lose them the game becomes a lot more difficult in places. If you want to get as many allies as you can and minimize the amount of times you'll end up being frustrated by the game's increased difficulty, i suggest (you can skip this part if you really don't care about the game becoming a bit harder):

Consider not using this playthrough as your Tactician run. Balanced is probably your best option if you want a bit of a challenge without it being impossible, but even THAT ended up being too difficult for me at certain points, especially in battles where I would have had allies in a good playthrough. Also don't be ashamed of needing to switch to the lowest difficulty if you're really struggling. or even using cheats or mods (Never let anyone bully you for doing these things)

Not killing Auntie Ethel and letting her ally with you in Act 3. this feels heinous I know, but this is an evil playthrough after all and believe it or not Gale actually approves. You can get her by accepting a task to kill someone from the pirate at Blushing Mermaid during the Save Vanra quest

This guide will tell you i think most or all of the other recruitable allies. Again , a good amount of them you will probably not be able to recruit by the time Act 3 comes around depending on how willing you were to kill them or commit actions that lock you out of recruiting them, but if you're okay with metagaming and finding an RP reason to help some of them and get them on your character's good side then by all means go for it.

Experimenting a LOT with builds and team comps. finding which builds make the game less clunky for you, looking at the bg3builds subreddit. Prepare to do a lot of respeccing and possibly using multiclass combinations that may seem weird at first but end up working beautifully. one companion I think you MUST have in a more difficult playthrough (and any playthrough let's be real because she's the best) is Lae'zel. Just keep her as fighter and exploit her action surge. Shadowheart, Minthara and Astarion are also excellent, and probably the other guys you'll want with you and Lae'zel switching them in and out as needed. Personally i keep Gale around, but he can admittedly be kinda squishy. Divination or evocation wizard + storm sorc probably works best for him, but a build's effectiveness is always according to the individual playing and their own play style so take any build advice with a grain of salt. If you plan on having your character killing some companions though, hirelings are a must here, and they should have decent enough variety that you'll find a team composition that works for you with them.

This got REALLY long and i need to sleep soon (Which means a lot of this might look jibberish or be full of typos/grammatical errors I'M SO SORRY.......) so I'll just leave things at that, but hopefully this is a decent place to start as far as preparing yourself for an evil playthrough goes. My ask box is always open any time you have other questions about how to make the most of this adventure or want to update me on how it's going :3 I hope you have fun, i've definitely enjoyed my time playing a terrible person in this game even if it leaves a little to be desired. Take care 🧡

[cafalla]

Game Informer Magazine (November 2019, Issue 319) Scans

I try to focus on mainly scanning older items, but I found this Game Informer magazine and couldn't pass it up.

I mean gosh, anything pre-Covid may as well be a relic, right? (jkjk)

Unfortunately the front cover is a bit damaged, but I still really love this art collage of Pikachu and the Sword and Shield starters!

Here's some scans from this issue that I like!

Starting off, here's the fanart page.

These fanart/personal creation corners are my favorite pages in hobby magazines. It makes me so nostalgic for being a preteen and wanting to make and submit my own art in hopes of it being featured!

When I was about 13, I was obsessed with DeviantArt. My dad showed me how to use the scanner so I could scan my own art and post it (on the family computer, of course). My sister came to me one day and asked me to scan her comic that she wanted to submit to the in-game Club Penguin newspaper/magazine.

I didn't play Club Penguin much (I was a Neopets girl), but I fondly remember her being so proud of that comic. I helped her scan and submit it, and asked her every day if it got put into the paper. I don't think it ever did, but it was a fun time waiting to see if it would.

Speaking of Neopets, I also really loved the Neopets paper. I'd spend hours browsing backlogs of the paper to look at the fanart and read the fanfiction that was posted there.

Good times!

----

I thought this League of Legends art was super neat, but the whole premise of this article is hilarious to me.

Like...ok, Riot/League. iykyk.

I'm a fairly new League of Legends player - I started playing after watching Arcane. My bf has been an on-again off-again League player, but I was always too intimidated to get into it. I actually got into it first from Team Fight Tactics, and then started playing ARAM, and only recently started dipping my toes into Summoner's Rift.

Anyways, as much as I love the game, people can be SO mean. So just seeing the article title and thinking of all the rudeness I've seen in-game is pretty funny. I know a lot of good people play and work on this game though, so I appreciate the optimism and work to make the community better.

Granted, this article isn't only about League of Legends. But I think having them as the front cover for the article is kind of hilarious.

----

As a Pokémon fan, I thought this top ten page was a fun look at past gym leaders, especially considering the cover story for this issue is about the new (at the time) Pokémon mainline games.

The judging criteria is not clear at all. That's ok, there doesn't need to be a reason to do a top ten list - I'm assuming these are just this guy's favorite gym leaders. It is refreshing to see some leaders who don't normally wind up on these kinds of lists though, like Wulfric, Maylene, and Korrina.

This is really wanting to make me go back and play Let's Go! Pikachu lol.

----

Ok, so admittedly I knew nothing about Baldur's Gate 3 until the day it came out and I was like 'What the heck is this game everyone on my friend's list is playing?"

My bf ended up buying it for me and we played it co-op. Definitely deserved all the hype and praise it got.

So color me surprised when I was flipping through this magazine from 2019 and saw mention of Baldur's Gate 3.

There's a whole interview in here with the founder of the BG3 game studio. I knew this game was in development for many years, but I just completely missed the hype leading up to it.

----

Now some scans from the main cover story about Pokémon Sword and Shield.

These aren't all the scans from the spread, but I just wanted to show some of them off! I love multi-page stories about things where they feel almost like scrapbooks with how the graphics are arranged.

----

Here's a preview about the Final Fantasy VII Remake.

I've never played a Final Fantasy game, and though I'd love to someday, I'd have no clue where to start. I do love the character designs and I thought this game looked beautiful when it was announced.

And some more previews for various games.

Little Town Hero was actually on my radar at the time, as it gave big Fantasy Life vibes (and I LOVED Fantasy Life). Also, I just learned from this article that Toby Fox was brought in to compose? Amazing.

I looked it up and it's available on Steam, but disappointingly the reviews seem pretty mixed. I'm gonna add it to my wishlist and grab it when it goes on sale.

----

Here's a couple of reviews from the review section.

And an ending fluff page about creepy Pokémon pokedex entries.

And that's it for this one!

The full magazine is available to read over on my Internet Archive account.

Thanks for reading!

[residentdormouse]

Nine People I'd Like to Know Better

Thanks for the tag @sorceresssundries! Been a while since I did one of these,☝🏻BUT tbf, I've been living in my last Hyperfixation on The Stand for about three solid years. My little corner of Tumblr hasn't changed much 😅 -- Still working on dipping my toes into a larger fandom pool now with BG3 and testing the waters. Shock to the system coming from the tiny fandom I called home for so long, I can say that much.

Last Song I Listened to: Dirty by grandson. Random 'Liked Songs' shuffle on the commute into work today, and grandson always gave me Lloyd vibes. *Probably going to be a bit before the BG3 characters start taking over my Spotify, but pretty sure the future is speeding headfirst in that direction.

Currently Watching: Kind of ashamed to report nothing new right now. Our TV lives on the PS5. My son always wants Fortnite/Minecraft, and my husband and I both have our Baldur's Gate runs going. My son is into Dr. Who now though, so we usually have one of those around bedtime. Does that count?

Sweet/Savoury/Spicy?: I have a horrible sweet tooth, but I also love savoury. Spice will kill me though. Hard pass on anything hot above basic table pepper, and that's pushing your luck.

Relationship Status: Married with two kiddos.

Current Obsession: Baldur's Gate 3 has taken over my whole entire brain. Specifically, one beautifully cheeky wizard. Beyond intelligent, with a proclivity for witty quips, and an aura of being doomed by the narrative.... I never stood a chance, truly. (I have a type...)

Like I said, my Tumblr hasn't changed much, and I think I've hit most people up with this one already. I will leave an OPEN TAG though, if anybody wants to join in!!

If you're reading this, and you're seeing me because of BG3 - I'd love to know you all more since I'm still the new kid here 😅 - so please consider yourself '@'d if you'd want.

[maintitle]

Weird thing, and I'm not sure if it's age or what, but as I get older I'm finding that my favorite kinds of games stress me out a bit. For example, I've been going kind of slow through BG3, which is odd because when I was young I would've beaten that in a weekend.

The reason for it is partially because I find the combat difficult (it's easier than the first game, a game I never beat despite really loving it), but mostly it's because I think I've replayed these kinds of games so much that I obsess with perfection. The main drive for me is maximizing content and approval with my companions and trying to get as many side quests in as possible, and I think that stresses me out in games where that either takes a lot of time (BG3) or that have long stretches of nothingness between those things (DA:I). That stress doesn't extend to older games, but I think that's largely because I know every corner of them at this point.

Weird thing is, I don't think this is a bad thing, especially in the context of BG3. I stress out about these details because I WANT to engage in the game as much as possible. And yes, I should really ease off because that stress ruins some of the randomness of choices in a first playthrough, but I still don't think wanting to do well by companions in the first playthrough is at all a negative from that experience. Outside of literally one situation (I repeated the Isobel kidnapping until I succeeded on it, largely because I was fucking pissed off that I could easily win the scenario but kept rolling ridiculously low. THAT was stubborness.) I let my rolls determine the plot and don't try to minmax things... but I WILL fight for high rolls with companions. I WANT to get to know them, so going through a new game can sometimes be stressful because the appeal of the game is getting to know these characters.

Still, I do think the stress of that interferes a bit with my experience. My first ever run of the Mass Effect series saw me play the third installment without Garrus, because I played ME2 about six months before ME3 came out and I just never thought to check if he could be saved until I realized during ME3 that there was footage of him ABSOLUTELY being in the game. THAT was a unique experience, so I should want to re-experience it, right? Well... Inquisition taught me different.

I like Inquisition. I liked it at release... but I was also in a really tough place in my life at release. I had just had life changing surgery, and I was sleepwalking through life for a really long time after it. I had to come to terms with my mortality at a very early age, and I didn't quite realize through the trauma yet that I now had a disability. The surgery took so much out of me that I played DA:I for the first time and I just didn't do a good job engaging with it. My girlfriend at the time REALLY wanted me to engage in it, so I did it, and my large reaction to it was pretty much 'oh, cool' and moving on. I was too out of it to truly engage and enjoy the experience.

I replayed it in 2020 and it was a TOTALLY different experience. I dumped a lot of time into it, and while the game has some pretty glaring flaws (fucking hell the world is so empty and so few of the quests in it actually matter), but despite that I think it's really, REALLY fantastic. But that experience taught me that I WANTED to put my best foot forward into a new game in this kind of genre... and I think that's the source of the stress. I was ambivalent to a fantastic game because of general malaise, and I DON'T want that to happen again, so I'm being a perfectionist trying to get everything right with the companions and that slows me down A LOT. Like, I have 69 (nice) hours in the game according to my save file, but I have 86 hours in it according to my PS5. Now, a lot of those hours are me fucking around with character creation in order to make my ten thousand D&D characters, but still, that's a lot of reloading.

But the end point here is, I think it may have enhanced my experience of the game. While it's deprived me of some UNIQUE experiences, it's also made me deeply care about the game, and I think that vastly outstretches what I've lost from it. It's kind of special to immediately care about a game so much you engage in this kind of behaviour, and I can't honestly say that's anything but a positive. And I am ABSOLUTELY sure the same with be true of Dread Wolf, and while that's a bit stressful as well, I greatly look forward to that stress, because that stress is part of what makes this mini-genre appealing to me. It's never been the overall plot or even the world, it's all about the characters, their stories and themes and how you relate to them. That's the heart of the genre, and I'll be damned if I'm not gonna work my ass off to see their best sides.

[sol-consort]

God that vibration in a Turians voice is what made me realize that “oh Garrus IS hot” in Mass Effect 2 because I liked him in 1 but didn’t think he was hot yet. I must’ve been too focused on trying not to romance someone in 1 which I almost failed at. Also I know that people have already said this out of the blue but I do hope you’re okay, you’re a cool dude who makes dope stuff even if I don’t comment which I should and pretty much the reason I’m still somewhat active on tumblr now

I feel out of the loop because I am desperately trying to find ME2 Garrus hot but something about how dismissive and distant he is puts me off. No like I tottally get it you've been through a lot BUT I WAS DEAD.

I LITERALLY WAS DEAD FOR 2 YEARS AND ALL HE HAS TO SAY "oh Shepard it's you." FUCK YOU MAN I WAS GOING IN FOR A HUG.

I haven't done his loyalty mission yet so maybe he will warm up on me eventually. Idk no strong opinions on romance so far except for the theif girl but she already has someone so I am fucked.

I was fully planning on cheating on Kaidan here.

I imported my ME1 save and the game currently has me flagged in Kaidan's romance because his picture is in my bedroom. It's supposed to turn down when I cheat on him and he will confront me about it in ME3

But now. I can't find anyone fuckable. Even Garrus who I was down bad for because of the stars in his eyes literally became batman 2.0 and is blasting my chemical romance from the back of the ship but no one wants to confront him about it and instead hope the phase ends soon.

Jacob is. Jacob lacks rizz. Jacob makes me feel like I'm sexually harrassing him because of how uncomfortable he seems whenever I pick a romance option. I actually had to google if he was romance-able just to make sure I wasn't doing anything wrong.

Who's left huh????? Who's dick I supposed to suck in order to get my shepard a malewife??

There is Liara. Liara is always fucking there standing in the corner. Ruining my Kaidan romance and tricking me into her romance like some kind of fae.

I hope the Garrus fever infects me soon too because it looks like I will end up staying loyal to Kaidan against my will. That man probably spent the two years after Shepard's death to make sure all men in the galaxy are unfuckable and all hot women are straight, just on the off chance Shepard comes back to life and tries to get some.

I mean he isn't wrong, Shepard flirted with him while on the job and while being his captain, he knows his commander will flirt with their co-works without any shame so why even take the risk?

God I miss Ashley.

On other news, I keep meeting Turians I want to fuck. Who are not an option to fuck. It's a twisted irony of fate because I keep refusing Garrus.

Also I'm starting to regret the fact I made Anderson the council. He seems really sad, but man it felt great watching Udina get told to fuck off.

Is he happier if he doesn't become the council? What choice did you make? Does he become something else then or do we even get to meet him?

And it is funny how all of this is your fault. I wouldn't have installed Mass effect or gave it a chance wasn't it for you ask a long while back. I would've let it rot in my library for a year then finally gave it a chance.

You stole my bg3 obsession and replaced it with mass effect! How dare you! I am very thankful you introduced me to this because I never realised how fun fps can be. I even bought another fps on sale today, called hellsinger.

But it is really freaky how much such a small thing like sending an ask detoured my life so much and changed my interests. It's a whole new side I wasn't even aware of its existence.

Thank you, genuinely. But I have learned my lesson and won't fall to your tricks twice. I'm not even gonna search up that other game you recommend until after I finish mass effect. Just in case it turns out to be jaw dropping too.

But the director ME2 took in gameplay isn't my favourite. I'm too squishy and the enemies are too squishy now. I can't be a cool sniper jumping from place to place and headshoting enemies. Now I have to hide behind fucked up barriers and wait for the enemy to reload or use my invisibility then I go in for the snipe.

The weapon feels more limited too, I get that they made them more unique but I prefer having the stats menu more. I only have two snipers so far and I hate both of them but I'm forced to use one because there are so little options.

It feels more resident evil-ish? Or maybe because I'm on veteran difficulty? I tried lowering it but it doesn't fix the issue.

My problem isn't that the enemies are dying too fast my problem is that I am dying too fast. I hate the new points system and level up too, I miss the more detailed one in ME1. I also loath the hacking minigames in here.

The dialogue and animations improved a lot tho, the missions diversity too! The heist one was such a blast I felt like I was in a movie. It was so cheesy and cliche in a very endearing way oh my god.

I like my Shepard but I miss their face scar. Why did they remove that option? I had it in like a cool reminder of the blitz or something.

Also if you pick earthborn you get these two wholesome newsrports

And this one for War hero

They made me smile. But also wtf people are having WEDDINGS on MY memorial??? GET OFF MY STATUE.

I also wished that people would've had a bigger reaction to us showing up alive, yk? Not even a hug so far. Even Anderson :(

But yeah that's all for now.

And I appreciate it dude, checking up on me. You're cool too. And about the comments, I can't exactly force you to do it, I can't force anyone, it's just a choice they make everyday.

But I am curious because I never thought you were one of my readers. You don't leave likes on my writing posts, and you have only sent one or two requests so long ago. You do like my writing advice and opinions sometimes. Is that why you follow me? Because I'm funny ofc.

But nah don't tell me. I don't wanna know, it will ruin the mystery. I pay attention to the posts each person who frequents here likes, and I get a general idea of their preference. Sometimes, I can predict which posts will be liked by who and which will be ignored by others. It's a fun minigame. Humans love patterns.

But yeah. I don't want random comments on stories or fics you haven't read or finished. I want them from the people who read and liked the story. I want to hear their opinion I want to know what they thought. But if you are dinning and dashing then...again I can't force to do anything. It just makes me sad really.

I like talking, but not about myself or feelings. I am the way I am, flaws and all and I don't have to explain it. This cycle will repeat, I might give up tomorrow, I might not, I can't predict the future. One day my thread will eventually snap.

But not today, I'm still working on fics, I am still posting. I'm not giving up yet.

And I hope this inspires you in any way since you're back to writing, I hope that you don't give up too no matter how scary quiet it gets. I hope you're more resilient than me. I hope you love what you write because it is very deserving of love.

[rottenbrainstuff]

BG3 playthrough: Ethel’s hut + other notes, what makes a fuckable monster?

(spoilers)

As I tie up all the loose ends before I go into the underdark, I finished all the stuff in Auntie Ethel’s hut.

Oh damn was that ever fun! The big siege was definitely the most fun general fight, but Auntie Ethel is the most fun individual enemy. Hags are MEAN. Her whole area was so much fun, great atmosphere in the bog, my characters bled themselves several times on all the spike traps. And what a great big collection of horrible lies and suffering and misery. She is a fun character with a ton of really great lines.

And damn! her vicious mockery! I know everyone said to cast silence on her to prevent her from casting her annoying spells, but I was just enjoying the vicious mockery too much. Asking Astarion if he still had rat in his teeth. Teasing Wyll about his daddy issues. I knew she had specific insults for the companions, but I didn’t know she also had race-specific insults for Tav so that was a surprise. She told my drow character to “kneel, boy, just like the matriarchs showed you!”. To a half-elf she can apparently say, “I wonder which parent regrets you more, half breed!” Damn lady, damn!

Found Gandrel outside. I found the dialogue in this encounter and the chat with Astarion afterwards to be a little bit wonky, like maybe the scene was rewritten or re-edited a bit because there’s too many variables to consider (ie, did you already find out Astarion is a vampire or no? Are you romancing him or no?) and it’s been put back together oddly. Or something. It’s hard to explain. After fiddling around with all the options, it seems to me that the best option is to leave Astarion at camp for this encounter. If you let him talk to Gandrel, you’ll get a big chunk of approval if you let him kill the hunter, sure, and it would definitely be fun letting Astarion rip into a monster hunter that’s been set on his trail. But man, Gandrel has done nothing wrong? Yes they’ll take Astarion to Cazdor, but if you leave Astarion at camp, he’ll explain their kids have been kidnapped and they’re trying to get them back. I don’t want to kill this guy? Just leave Astarion at camp to avoid the disapproval you’ll get by not letting him commit murder, Gandrel will have much more information to give, about their kids and about Auntie Ethel, and then you can chat with Astarion afterwards. Seems like the best to me. Oddly again, if Astarion WAS with you, you can ask him what he did to the gur that they have it out for him now, and he’ll say he doesn’t know. (which appears to be true) If Astarion WASN’T with you, and you learn from Gandrel it’s because he was with the group of spawn that took their children, you can’t confront him with this information, which seems like it would be a pretty important topic of discussion that you’d want to hear more about!

Anyway like I said you do get a whopping 10 approval if you let Astarion have at ‘er, but I don’t need that approval, you don’t NEED to let Astarion do all the shitty things he thinks he wants to do. He stayed at camp and behaved himself. Interestingly, you have dialogue options to tell Gandrel that Astarion is under your protection, and you can tell him to back off. I assumed this would lead to him attacking us, but surprisingly it didn’t, and Gale will give you approval for defending your friends!

(I’m still romancing Astarion but damn guys I’ve really fixated on Zevlor as the background NPC that I’m going to get obsessed with… sad old characters with shame, can’t resist)

I went to clear out the goblins in the camp to make the road safer for my tiefling friends (boy I’m sure when I run into them in act 2, everything is going to be great!!!) and was pleased to see Abdirak isn’t hostile when the rest of the camp is. Extremely amusingly though, the AI had plotted him an exit through a burrow in a wall, so I found him standing in a corner fretting that he was too big to fit through the small hole, lmao.

I think I’ve got a handle on all the companion’s approvals and when to bring them out and when to send them back to camp, all except for Karlach. I don’t quite get her vibe yet. She usually likes the cute options and the sentimental options and sometimes the aggressive barbarian options, (ie hiring the ogres in the blighted village) but not everything and not all the time… I haven’t quite figured her out all the way yet.

I was joking with a friend about the possibility of a mindflayer romance later on and how I’m surprised that this option has absolutely zero appeal for me (at this current point in time anyways, we’ll see how things pan out) because normally I’m all about the monsterfucking. My friend said, awww, but aren’t the mindflayers just cute little baby cthulhus? And you know what, I think that’s exactly it right there.

I can be attracted to the monstrosity when it’s a metaphor for some kind of relatable human condition. Werewolves, vampires, walking corpses, fishmen, horrible disfigurement, whatever it is, when it represents loneliness or dangerous sexuality or alienation or trauma or whatever, that’s a fuckable monster.

Now Cthulhu and all the Lovecraft monsters were always really frightening in a way that’s totally different though, and totally unique, because they are very specifically not human in any way, they have no relatable human qualities, they cannot be reasoned with, appealed to, or even truly understood. That’s what makes them so frightening. And yeah. A mindflayer I think for me fits into that category of monster. It can’t be sexy because there’s no relateable humanity.

So then, it follows… in theory… all Larian has to do is make a mindflayer with humanity and then it’s a possibility I’ll be onboard. LMAO. Let’s see how things end up! I’m excited!

I’m wondering now if it was a good idea to play as a dark urge, and a drow, and a bard, all for my very first playthrough. The durge background adds so much interesting flavour, the dialogue details for drow are fun surprises, and bard IMO consistently gets the very best dialogue options, at least the ones I personally find the most amusing… I mean I am sure they put just as much detail into every other thing too, but man it’s hard for me to imagine enjoying another run with different options as much as I’m enjoying this one. I think next time maybe it would be interesting to play a paladin? See how far into the game I can get before a tough roleplay decision makes me break my oath?

Did I mention before, how amusing it is to be a dark urge? I get the option to tell pretty much everyone I meet about my violent fantasies. Just, oh btw also, I fantasize about blood and slaughter, haha, what should I do about that? Even funnier is that every single person I talk to completely doesn’t get it at all, and says oh haha everyone does that from time to time, just go kill some goblins and you’ll be good.

I just dealt with the fire in Waukeen’s Rest and cleared out the zhentarim hideout (fuck those guys) and am currently deciding what I want to do about that githyanki patrol, and then I have nothing left to do here - on to the underdark!

[hismercytomyjustice]

Low key still stressing about my BG3 fic ending soon (I will just be very sad because of the end of the “Fellow Mind Flayers to-be” Support Group), so I was looking back at the HH fic I actually fucking planned and I’m really happy with it so far. ╭( ･ㅂ･)و

Distance has made the heart grow fonder (the crippling perfectionism shut the fuck up)? I actually added some more to it yesterday too. It’s currently sitting at six chapters and 35k words. Only problem is I still don’t know how the fuck to end it… So it’s not going anywhere until I sort that out because I am trying very hard to be a reformed fic orphaner. (￣x￣;)

It’s a gen fic, absolutely nothing like my unhinged Radioapple HH series, but god the amount of fucking research I have gotten to do because of my obsession with being as historically accurate as possible… Straight up heaven!!!

ªʱªʱªʱ ꉂ╰(°ㅂ° )╯ NO ONE CAN STOP ME!!!

Ahem.

Idk if it will garner the same kind of reception (tbh probably not, I feel like my gen fics are never as popular as my explicit ones), but I’m completely okay with that because I am having a grand ol’ time writing it!

Even if I may have written myself into a little bit of a corner at present… orz So much easier writing multi-chapter fic endings that follow the natural progression of the original source material…

But if I could make it through goddamn chapter thirteen of my BG3 fic and a too cooperative Cazador, I WILL MAKE IT THROUGH THIS TOO! ( ✧≖ ͜ ≖)

I just gotta push through! And maybe try a few different approaches to figure out what might work best. Or just do some more brainstorming or something.

And, most importantly, try not to overthink it.

I also might be getting some preliminary ideas for another BG3 fic, but I’m not making any real commitment to that until I actually start putting words down.

Long lost Modern AU POTO fic I started back in January: ……..

Shhhh. Shhhhh. Maybe one day I will return to you, my beloved… Blame BG3 for derailing me…

[deaddovestellnotales]

OC meme

Tagged: @lolthslover Thanks!! I really appreciate you tagged me! <33 Tagging: @inscrutable-shadow @i-eat-worlds

B A S I C S

Full name: Curumë

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Pansexual, Demiromantic

Pronouns: He/Him

O T H E R

Birthplace: (im still trying to figure that out)

Job: Adventurer (Class: Warlock), former Burglar (Class: Rogue)

Phobias: Curumë fears confined spaces as well as tight grips. He hates the feeling of being cornered and held tight in a spot. It makes him feel like choking. Curumë additionally finds deep bodies of water very unsettling, because he doesn't know what lies beneath and the thought of drowning terrifies him.

Guilty pleasures: Curumë has a weakspot for cute animals, such as bunnies or kittens. He'd never admit it though. Another one is his taste for expensive wines. It's a guilty pleasure for him, because he feels its somewhat snobbish, but he just can't help it.

Hobbies: He enjoys high-stake gambling. He also enjoy's doodling. Not that he has a talent for it. It's just something he finds fun to do and which gets his thoughts flowing. Another hobby he picked up after being forced into a pact with his patron is knife throwing. At first he just did it to practice his combat skills, but he actually enjoys it quite a bit, especially showing off with it.

M O R A L S

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Sins: Greed, Pride

Virtues: Loyalty to the people he considers his friends

T H I S O R T H A T

Introvert / Extrovert

Organized / Disorganized

Close-minded / Open-minded

Calm / Anxious / Restless

Disagreeable / Agreeable / In between

Cautious / Reckless / In between

Patient / Impatient / In between

Outspoken / Reserved / In between

Leader / Follower / Flexible

Empathetic / Unempathetic / In between

Optimist / Pessimist / Realist

Traditional / Modern / In between

Hard-working / Lazy

R E L A T I O N S H I P S

OTP: I don't really have anyone I ship him with but I am also currently fleshing out his relationships and other people in his life. If I had to think about BG3 though and pick one of the companions... Either a hate-ship with Astarion, or a pretty functional one with Wyll because they can relate probably, though they would clash a lot about their ideals.

Acceptable Ships: What's that? I only know extremes!

OT3: None

Brotp: Astarion (but like Hate Brotp? LOL), Karlach maybe

Notp: Astarion (if you don't like hateships), but I also don't think that any of the other companions except for Wyll would even be compatible with him.

B A C K S T O R Y

Before embracing his current life as a Warlock, Curume was an unremarkable street thug, a cog in the wheel of a criminal syndicate. Most of his endeavors involved low- to mid-level thefts, securing a life of comfort beyond the constraints of rules and regulations. Why labor within the confines of society when circumventing it could lead to a more lucrative existence?

Yet, Curume wasn't entirely without morals. He shared his ill-gotten gains with his gang members and friends from the criminal underworld when circumstances allowed. One of his daring heists led him to target a bizarre, reclusive wizard known for his obsession with ancient history, religions, cults, and arcane artifacts. While others deemed the wizard eccentric, it was an irresistible challenge for Curume.

The heist unfolded strangely, leading Curume into the heart of the wizard's library, a treasure trove of cryptic documents, enigmatic relics, and ancient tomes. His curiosity got the better of him, especially when he discovered an unusually adorned map. With a keen sense for opportunity, Curume handed over most of the loot to his client and gang, retaining the map and the cryptic notes strewn across the wizard's desk, hinting at even greater treasures.

Over the following months, Curume delved into deciphering the notes, many of which were written in an unfamiliar, archaic script. He indulged in countless daydreams about the potential rewards the map could lead to. Finally, he unraveled the truth: the language was abyssal, a fiendish tongue. The map pointed to an ancient temple that promised unimaginable riches from the depths of the hells.

Curume's thrill-seeking spirit couldn't resist the call. Alongside his most loyal comrades, he embarked on a journey to find this temple, hacking their way through dense undergrowth as they ventured deeper into the wilderness.

Upon entering the temple, things took a dark turn. Despite the tantalizing artifacts of immeasurable worth, it was a specific item that captivated Curume: an abyssal dagger, resting upon a sinister altar. The moment he laid hands on it, a fiend was summoned, locking the temple doors and rendering the party paralyzed, unable to flee, speak, or fight.

Horror washed over Curume as the fiend reveled in the idea of dragging them to the hells for their audacity. In a moment of desperation, Curume was allowed to speak and made an impulsive offer: he'd surrender his soul for their freedom.

But the fiend merely chuckled, explaining that Curume's soul alone wasn't enough to also save his companions. In a sinister twist, his companions were whisked away to the hells, leaving Curume to face a contract. Grinning, the fiend urged him to sign, adding a cryptic condition: "I'm not all malevolence. All I ask is that you occasionally deliver artifacts, knowledge, and fragments of wisdom to my temple. A small while, but a while nonetheless."

Yet, the most crucial line for Curume was this: "Perhaps offer the most precious thing you possess next time, and I'll release your companions as well." With that, the fiend vanished in a sulfurous haze, leaving behind only a note that encouraged Curume to explore his newfound Powers

For More Information about Curumë (including moodboard, playlist, etc.) check out his notion website: https://fish-hearing-c49.notion.site/Curum-DnD-Edition-3be1dbca1c6a4d2d9e530ee95a9277a2?pvs=4

[sylvainahyperfixation]

honestly playing bg3 has really just made me realize how much i've curated what i see online because i keep forgetting straight people are a thing. straight women that romance astarion every time on various females (or males). all sorts of shart and baezel lovers. karlach is my wife posts. i need a green flag so i romance wyll posts. more love for gale guys! and im in my corner like guys she's perfect(ly gay). which also makes male tavs in minthara screenshots feel like a punch to the stomach (not in a bad way, idk why im surprised every time tho)

another bonus: realizing how many peoples moral justifications are so ass backwards. and the way they fully apply their morality to video games as if fiction isnt there to help you explore the unsavoury bits of life. or worse judging others who would pick evil options. or not understanding that being selfish (which a LOT of people are irl, probably overlapping with the same type of people that obsess over every good decision in game) is a legit way to be pretty morally bankrupt in the game. (for example: i'll burn down the village if you paid me and loot all their stuff, then if the victims paid me again with all their remaining gold cuz it's all they can afford i'd kill you and loot the rest off your body. but i WILL help. but not out of the goodness of my heart.)