#( intro : Aylin )

[queenoftheimps]

Inspired by this conversation with Isobel after Act 2

[thcrnedthrones]

{ayca aysin turan, 30, cisfemale, she/her} We are so glad to see you safe, (ADOPTED) PRINCESS AYLIN ROSI of ATHENS! It’s dangerous out in the world these days, but I hear that you are SWEET and KIND enough to handle it. Just don’t let your NAIVITÉ bring you down! Stay on your guard, because with your secret being at risk for exposure, you wouldn’t want everyone to find out SHE CANT STOP THINKING ABOUT THE MAN WHO SAVED HER LIFE AT THE RECKONING.

/ BASICS /

name: aylin rosi of athens nicknames: n/a age: thirty-seven birth: september 25th status: princess of athens sexuality: heterosexual pronouns: she/her marital status: unwed, unbethrothed

𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 —

eye color: blue-green hair color: brown height: 5 ft 5" weight: one hundred and thirty pounds

𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞 —

(adoptive) father: King of Athens ( (adoptive) mother: Queen of Athens siblings: younger sister - Zelenia Rosi of Athens

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 —

spoken tongues: english, greek, positives: charming, kind, courageous negatives: impulsive, stubborn, rebellious, reckless moral compass: lawful good

/ ABOUT AYLIN/

Aylin was found swept up by the waves on the shore of Athens when she was an infant by the King and Queen who took her in and thinking they could not have any children, raised her as their own. They named her Aylin because of how bright the moon was the night that they found her, and thought that she was a gift from Aphrodite because of how she was found on the shore spared by the gentlest waves touching the sand.

She was raised in a household where she was loved, and when the King and Queen had her sister Zelenia she was thrilled, and continues to think of her sister as her closest friend and ally.

A lot of people in Athens don't think of her as a true princess because she wasn't born to the King and Queen, and she understands that while it hurts to not be thought of as a true part of the only family she's ever known, but she is fully aware that Zelenia should inherit the Athenian throne, and she's more than happy to simply be there for her sister when it comes to that.

A true romantic, she has never been in love and cannot wait for the day that she experiences it for herself - a love like the one she's seen in her parents relationship.

She was present at Lal Qila and was put in a position where she could have been killed, but a handsome stranger (Timur) stepped in and saved her life. He was there one second and gone the next disappearing into the chaos, but she still remembers his face like it's etched into her memory. Her family thinks that she is making it up and that it was a result of an injury from the events that occurred, but she is holding strong to the fact that the man does exist, and finds herself constantly thinking about him.

[bloodiisms]

CHARACTER INTRODUCTION

(   hande ercel  .  cis woman  .  she/her  )       —       blasting  running up that hill by  kate bush  down  main  street  we’ve  spotted  aylin demiral  sporting  their  bloodstained diamond necklace.  the  twenty-nine (five-hundred and fourty-six  year  old  vampire who’s  been  in  town  for  a month  often  can  be  seen  trying to focus on a book instead of her thirst, giving in to temptation, going out shopping, drinking blood until she's numb & trying to blend in with mortals  or  working  as  a  psychology professor  at  portum university.  people  say  they  display  passionate  and  self-destructive  traits,  but  we  rather  trust  their  vibes:  the call of the void, hedonism bordering on obsession, silence after a night of laughter, biting off more than you can chew & sacrificing yourself for the sake of love .  also,  we’ve  heard  they  love  a good blood feast !   aren’t  they  fascinating ?   

QUICK RUNDOWN

tw: blood, murder, cheating, exploitation, addiction

the daughter of a Turkish nobleman, Aylin grew up surrounded by luxury and fame. With her older brother inheriting the family's name and fortune, Aylin was meant to wed somebody else. Someone whose influence would strengthen their claims in the long run, so Aylin, being a good daughter, agreed to the conditions that were linked to her father's wealth.

Aylin travelled to the far corner of this Earth to find someone worthy. Reckless, spoiled, lionhearted, many had heard about how she spent her father's money for dresses, fragrances and jewelry, which only attracted the worst of the worst. A selfish man ready to wed her, only to bail once death knocked on his door. She'd loved that man and got to know him over months of bonding. Alas, her chosen one had heard about her father's influence and decided to ask a vampire for help in exchange for money and a fitting background to match his credibility. Smoke and mirrors, as Aylin found out later on, only to gain power and influence.

Owing a good sum of money to a vampire wasn't a smart move, however, as he'd later claim her boyfriend's life as a payment. Aylin, being Aylin, gave up herself instead. An immortal life to protect her boyfriend, only to realize what he was really after: a place on top of the Turkey. Regardless, once turned, Aylin killed and feasted on him the moment she found him again.

She's an absolute blood addict, think Stefan Salvatore meets Megara from Hercules (due to the backstory) - Aylin doesn't know when to stop or how to cope with immortality. It's not exactly a curse to her, she enjoys what she is, but there's a price to pay - that price is, and has always been, her own morals.

Years upon years of hedonism, excess and a lack of self control, Aylin is what they'd call a blood lover, a connisseur, a hungry monster, running from one city to the next, only to settle where she is now, hoping, that her own past won't haunt her future.

EXTRA

Zodiac Sign: Pisces - People born under the Pisces sign have an intuitive understanding of the life cycle and thus achieve the best emotional relationship with other beings. Pisces-born are known by their wisdom, but under the influence of Uranus, Pisces sometimes can take the role of a martyr, in order to catch the attention. Pisces are never judgmental and always forgiving. They are also known to be most tolerant of all the zodiac signs.

MBTI: ESFP - ESFPs are vivacious entertainers who charm and engage those around them. They are spontaneous, energetic, and fun-loving, and take pleasure in the things around them: food, clothes, nature, animals, and especially people. ESFPs are typically warm and talkative and have a contagious enthusiasm for life. They like to be in the middle of the action and the center of attention. They have a playful, open sense of humor, and like to draw out other people and help them have a good time.

Enneagram: Type Four - Individualists may stand out to others from their unique choice of fashion, unconventional lifestyle and interests or creative works. Offbeat yet endearing, Individualists have a relentless drive to discover and understand who they truly are, deep down. Creation — not consumption — is the key to their well-being.

Temperament: Sanguine

Moral Alignment: Neutral Evil

Primary Vice: Gluttony

Primary Virtue: Charity

Element: Fire

Vampiric power: atmokinesis

wanted connections

[aylinxc-s]

[cis woman and she/her] Welcome to Aurora Bay, [AYLIN CARRIGAN-SADIK]! I couldn’t help but notice you look an awful lot like [HANDE ERÇEL]. You must be the [THIRTY] year old [RELATIONSHIP COUNSELLOR / PSYCHOLOGIST]. Word is you’re [PATIENT] but can also be a bit [ISOLATED] and your favorite song is [THE PROPHECY BY TAYLOR SWIFT]. I also heard you’ll be staying in [AURORA BAY DRIVE]. I’m sure you’ll love it!

INFORMATION:

fullname. aylin carrigan-sadik.

nicknames. lin, linny.

gender. cis woman.

pronouns. she / her.

d.o.b. june 29th, 1994 | ( 30 years old )

astrology. cancer ☀ scorpio ☾  sagittarius ↑

birth place. istanbul, turkey.

hometown. aurora bay, california.

current residence. aurora bay, california. ( @aurorabayaesthetic​ )

occupation. psychologist (relationship counsellor).

religion. non-practicing muslim.

tattoos. none.

piercings. ears pierced.

marital status. married (separated).

sexual preference. heterosexual.

family. unknown ( birth father ), sabiha sadik ( birth mother ), sydney carrigan ( adoptive father ), janelle carrigan ( adoptive mother ), @gavin-carrigan ( adopted brother ), @hcnter (adopted brother).

children. none.

CHARACTER INSPO:

alice ( don't worry darling ), beth anne stanton ( why women kill ), kate king ( the other woman ), charlotte yorke ( sex and the city ), love quinn ( you ), nina sayers ( black swan ).

PERSONALITY:

+ responsible, patient, caring. - timid, submissive, isolated.

BIOGRAPHY:

( tw: abandonment, adoption, death )

Aylin’s life has always revolved around proving herself. There isn't much known about her life before she became a Carrigan other than that she was born in Istanbul, Turkey. Adopted by the Carrigan's when she was turning two years old, it's uncertain as to why she was abandoned, but when she was found wandering around a marketplace, she was taken to a local orphanage when no one came to claim her. Moving to Aurora Bay was more than a culture shock, but thankfully, she was young enough to assimilate and her adoptive parents was veterans when it came to bringing children into their home. While her adopted home life was full of genuine happiness and love, there was always the feeling that Aylin had to be the best at everything she did. Her parents filled her life with activities; swimming, gymnastics and especially ballet; her favorite of them all.

Full of encouragement, her parents enthused that she should continue and enhance her ballet skills and soon she was fast-tracked to be a lead ballerina. And for so many years, this strict life of dance was all she knew. Graduating high school with good enough grades, the plan was to continue on dancing in college. But life never goes according to plan. When practising relentlessly in a pas de deux, Aylin took a spill and it resulted in a severe head injury that required surgery. Her parents, while supportive, decided that maybe she needed a break from ballet while she recovered.

As her recovery progressed, Aylin realised how much time had gone by without her knowing. She had missed proms, dates, boys and parties; all the things that make up a childhood. After a lot of thought, she decided to retire from dancing and study psychology at the USC. Well, it was her freshman year that she met a senior studying business who charmed her so hard that they were married within a year. Aylin had experienced what she thought was love before, but never like this. She was enamoured from the moment they met. And while she knew her parents would never bless their marriage for being so quick, it didn’t matter. He was all she needed now. 

When it came to arrange the wedding, Aylin had her heart set on finding her birth mother and inviting her. She never told anyone in her family, lest they think they weren't enough for her. There was a deep need to understand where she came from. Since she was now over the age of eighteen, she was able to do so. Despite the protests of her soon-to-be husband, Aylin tried her best to find her mother but could only ever find her name. Sabiha Sadik. Those she contacted advised that her mother was no longer alive and this left Aylin heartbroken. When it came time for her to change her name, she decided to add her birth mother's name at the end of her name, instead of taking her new husbands. It caused many arguments between the two, but Aylin held steadfast that she needed to honor where she came from.

After they were married and both graduated, Ari and Aylin moved to Silicon Valley, where her husband was in deep in developing new businesses from the ground up. In Aylin's mind, however, this meant settling down and starting a family. However, her husband received a promotion, one that he refused to turn down even if it required traveling most of the time and leaving no space for kids anytime soon. It took long hours of ‘mature’ discussions before the two finally came to an agreement, one that Aylin wasn’t entirely content with but she was not about to end her marriage over it, otherwise her meticulous ten-year plan would have definitely fallen apart.

When Ari and Aylin returned back to Silicon Valley from Aurora Bay for his work, she thought it was the right choice. She was doing everything she could for her marriage and it looked like it was working. But it all came out on her 30th birthday. The deep dark secret that had haunted their marriage finally came out. Once Aylin had learned of the emotional affair Ari had with his co-worker, she couldn't stay. It was the betrayal, the lying - the thought of denying herself for so long to make a marriage work that was doomed from the start. Without a second thought, Aylin packed her stuff and moved back into the holiday house in her home town.

born in istanbul, turkey — she was adopted by the carrigan’s when she was two years old. she has lived in aurora bay for most of her life until she went away to college at university of southern california. she then lived in silicon valley, los angeles until recently.  — ( possible connections: old friends, childhood crushes, chance encounters, college buddies from usc )

she’s the adopted sister of gavin & hunter carrigan and child of the carrigan’s, who are obviously quite well-known around aurora bay. she’s more reserved and not interested in the spotlight.  — ( possible connections: family friends, connections through gavin / thomas )

( tw: injury ) used to train to be a ballerina until she took a massive fall and suffered a head injury that required surgery. she still requires occasional trips to the doctor to manage the headaches she suffers from.  — ( possible connections: ex-dance friends, ex-pas de deux partner, friends from around the hospital. )

due to the uncovering of her husband's emotional affair with a co-worker, aylin has taken a temporary separation from her marriage. since she has been married for just under ten years, she hasn't been single in quite some time. — ( possible connections: flirtations, blind dates gone bad (probably), friends who encourage her to get back out there )

currently working as a psychologist at her own firm in town, she specialises in relationship counselling. she’s renting a room in a larger office building that houses a multitude of businesses. her clients range from any age, orientation or stage of life. — ( possible connections: client couples (both together or separately), colleagues, other professionals in the building, work friends )

lives in aurora bay drive and you can oftentimes find her going for walks with her dog early in the morning, especially around aurora bay lighthouse. she’s definitely the type to be involved in any committee or club that is nearby, anything to get out of the house. — ( possible connections: good/bad neighbors, fellow dog owners, people around town, wine club member, book club member. )

around town, you can usually find her sitting at driftwood cafe enjoying a nice cup of coffee (with oat milk), grabbing daily baked goods from sweet nothings bakery or attending her regular kickboxing and pilates classes at titanium gym. — ( possible connections: kickboxing partners, regular server at driftwood or sweet nothings, chance encounters )

loves cooking & baking, especially for other people. if she ever finds out that you’re without a dinner, expect a care package delivered first thing the next day. food is her love language, especially from her home country. — ( possible connections: mom friend, therapist, dear god let this woman feed you plz )

CURRENT CONNECTIONS:

adopted sister to @gavin-carrigan and @hcnter

wife to @aricohenx (not in-game) - currently seperated

depressties with @luckylewis

had her house broken into by @silascody

[bcttlcscars]

                                              ─ 𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫.

                   pinterest          /          musings          /          connections

✧ ˚ 　· 　　 .   the  continent  welcomes  AYLIN  ESER  of  THE NIGHT COURT,  the  HEALER  of  THE DAWN COURT.   when  the  HIGH FAE  is  glamoured,    she   bears  a  resemblance  to  ÖZGE YAĞIZ.   the  26  /  231  year  old  CIS WOMAN  is  reputed  to  be  PASSIONATE  and  SCRUPULOUS  but  a  decade  of  war  has  left  them  CYNICAL  and  BRITTLE.   if  created  by  the  cauldron,  they  would  be  made  in  the  likeness  of  THE SMELL OF LAVENDER AND HERBS WRAPPING AROUND LIKE A WARM BLANKET , WASHING BLOOD OFF ONES HANDS YET IT STAINS YOUR HEART and A CLUSTER OF STARS GUIDING THE WAY HOME.   whispers  throughout  prythian  claim  that  their  allegiance  lies  with  THE DAWN COURT,   where  they  conspire  to  PREVENT ANY MORE DEATH AND PROTECT THE CAULDRON.  

important stuff:  blood mention tw , parental loss tw, death tw, depression tw                     - graphic credit (x)

stats.

FULL NAME: aylin eser

AGE: twenty-six / two hundred and thirty-one

PLACE OF BIRTH: the night court - grew up in the dawn court

ZODIAC: sagittarius sun, taurus moon and scorpio rising

GENDER: cis woman

PRONOUNS: she/her

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: pansexual

STATUS: unmated

CURRENT LOCATION: under the mountain

FAMILY: esmeray eser ( mother, healer of the dawn court ) † , unknown father ( member of the night court ) and high sibling ( member of the night court - wanted connection )

POWERS / ABILITIES: healing abilities and high fae abilities such as enhanced healing, strength and hearing.

aesthetics.

collecting flowers and pressing them between the pages of ancient texts - rewriting a dark history. being taught to count to ten before opening your mouth. staring at a ghost in the mirror; the face you wish to forget will always be the one you see. standing strong and steady like the horizon; yet your mind is being pulled under by the waves. the spilling of sugar as you laugh with an old friend over tea. the sharp scratch of a paper cut, blood staining the pages of your favourite book. midnight swims under the stars, the chill of the night softened by the warm blanket that is waiting for you. countless deathbed confessions stored away in the corners of your mind, secrets no one else will get to hear. perpetual sense of longing for something you may never find. bathing in rosemary and honey - an old wives tale to wear off signs of ageing. 

biography.

Born in the Night Court, Aylin was born with the same pointed ears and healing abilities as her mother while her father remained unknown to her. Her mother, Esmeray, sought knowledge throughout the land of Prythian in her youth. Traveling from court to court (when allowed) to train and advance her skillset. Although a few years after the birth of her only daughter, she returned home to the Dawn Court. Given her mothers status as one of the favoured healers in their court, the same responsibilities were placed on the fae from a young age.

Things suddenly came to a halt as the war began. Under the protection of The Dawn Court, Esmeray became unsettled. After spending her whole life training on how to care for those in need; she was sitting on the sidelines. Aylin tried to placate her mother, but ultimately it was her moral compass that resulted in her untimely demise. Against Court orders, she traveled to the Day Court. She didn’t care about the politics of the war, she needed to help those in need.

Aylin never found out if she made it to the battlefield - her body was carried home by a mortal seeking sanctuary in the Dawn Court.

Lost in her grief, Aylin kept her head down. Lurking in the shadows, unseen and unheard. She only emerged when called upon for her duties. The light in her eyes faded with each passing day. Everything she had ever known was torn away from her in an instant.

As the war raged around them, more and more people fled to the Dawn Court.  Allowing Aylin to spent her time trying to help those whom had been out on the battlefields with the memories that haunted them and the wounds which cut much deeper than the surface. All while her own memories kept her up at night.

Time moved forward and whispers began about the wall being erected, she became curious as to the whereabouts of her father. Going through her mothers belongings she found journals she had kept while on her travels. Most of the pages were filled with medical studies and rushed drawings of herbs that would aid in different healing processes. The only thing that stuck out to her was the large gaps in her time at the Night Court.

Aylin shelved the thought for another day as she was called upon by her court to travel under the mountain.

[fvnnyvalcntine]

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗢𝗗𝗦 𝗙𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗔𝗧 𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘!

ei, aquela ali é IVANNA SAKHNO? não, é só AYLIN, uma personagem CANON de BALDUR'S GATE 3. ouvi dizer que ELA tem VINTE E SEIS ANOS, mora em aspen cove há OITO MESES e �� uma ATENDENTE em SPRINKLES ICE CREAM SHOP. ela NÃO TEM suas memórias, o que pode justificar o fato dela ser um pouco PROTETORA e LITERAL sempre que a vejo andando pela cidade.  

no universo de bg3, a aylin é filha de uma deusa e é imortal, tipo um anjo. só que ela não tem nenhuma das memórias da vida passada, então não tem ideia da própria capacidade de brotar asas quando quiser ou de sua imortalidade.

em aspen cove, ela só é uma atendente extremamente empolgada e enfática do sprinkles ice cream shop. o pessoal acha até caricato o jeito que ela fala de sorvete, com tanta paixão e empolgação, como se fosse a razão da vida dela.

ela é meio justiceira das ideias, é super forte e boa lutadora (e mesmo que cascavilhe bastante as próprias memórias, não consegue achar uma explicação muito boa pra isso) e incapaz de ver injustiça acontecendo na frente dela. ela é bem defensora dos oprimidos nn

é extremamente monotemática e quando fica obcecada com alguma coisa, só fala disso.

ela não tem vinte e seis anos de verdade, tem mais de um milênio de vida.

[prcttyvxnom]

aylin cavus ┈ « tag drop. »  

[bengiyo]

23.5 Ep 2 Stray Thoughts

Last week, we started our first big GL from GMMTV and were introduced to so many fantastic characters, including but not limited to: Disaster Lesbian Ongsa, Sunshine Girl Sun, Obsessed With Aliens Aylin, Eldest Daughter Alpha, and the Boy Who Means Well Mawin. Ongsa is so gay that she passed out in school because Sun touched her. She’s so gay that she forgot that women sometimes date men. Two teachers are trans. They’re reading Ender’s Game, a story about destroying those you believe to be your enemies and only through trying to destroy them does a boy bred and trained to kill the other does he come to love them. I’m having a great time.

Sometimes I forget that AJ/JJ are only 23. I’ve been watching these boys play high schoolers for six years now, and I’m sure I will for six more.

Mawin is Mawin. How dare you?? Euro continues to be great at comedy.

I appreciate the rainbow at the end of the intro. Make sure people know this is about gay people.

Episode 2: Universe Club

Very much enjoying Ford and Earn as the nosy friends.

Sun is so confident in her flirting in these DMs.

What’s with the trans color pattern around the floral club? I hope this is a teaser for later!

Wait! Is Mawin interested in Tinh?

Is this going to be like Geography Club (2013) where the club is secretly just for the gays?

Now why would she throw her phone away and not just close the account? That makes no damn sense.

Why are we blaming a curse when she threw her own damn phone away?

Yes, Charoen, call her ass out.

When I was a kid, I watched bird shit land on a senior who was wearing a cast at the time. She was horrified.

Accidentally ghosted Sun and now she thinks she’s cursed! Ladies, please!

I am invested in the dynamic between Teachers Bambam and Nida.

Latte is always panting. I feel so bad for this dog. They probably have the A/C off to cut down on ambient noise.

I respect Sun for not being petty and leaving Earth on read.

Ton is feeling like he might be family. I’m feeling good about this since he played Ta and Non before so we know he’s down to clown as a queer character.

I’m still with this show. I like seeing Milk play a character with a lot of energy after UMG, and I like that they’re continuing to let Love play self-assured characters. I’m also enjoying the rest of the cast in this. It’s been a fun two weeks so far.

[animentality]

Can I just bitch about Baldur's Gate 3 for a second-

JK, I'm not fucking asking.

So Ketheric Thorm...got an entire fucking act basically DEDICATED TO HIM.

The Shadow Cursed Lands suck because of him. Everything in that zone is fucked because of his nonsense. Every enemy you fight is either related to the shadows or the Absolute plot, which, as far as you know at that point, is tied directly back to him, and him alone.

And every fucking person you meet, rounds him out in some way.

Thisobald, Gerringothe, Malus, these are all unique looking and fun bosses. And they all round out Ketheric Thorm, showing us his fucked up family, and how terrible their impact has been.

Balthazar, Z'rell, even Aylin and Isobel- all thematically and narratively tied to our Shar/Myrkul worshipping bitch.

Even Halsin and Thaniel, Minthara and Shadowheart...all of them have ties to Ketheric.

And that's great and all. That's probably why I, unlike many others, actually enjoy Act 2 a fair bit.

But then. We get to the dreaded Act 3.

Which is a bloated, disorganized, incoherent mess.

But worse than that is... Gortash and Orin are our next big bads, yeah? And they have a kind of fun intro, that makes you think ooh, the next big bads...

And then.

And then what happens?

You can kill Gortash immediately, pretty much at the beginning of Act 3. No build up. You can just do that. Sure, you can do the Steel Watch or the Ironhand Throne quests...but tell me.

Could you just go up to Ketheric Thorm and kill him at Moonrise? The answer is no. Even if you skip a lot of content, you still have to go through a million other tasks before you can face him, AND the big boss battle at the end is entirely him and Myrkul. It's EARNED.

But Gortash? Well, fuck, he's fucking dead before you can even face the final big boss.

And Orin? Sure, you have to collect a bag of hands to get into the Temple...but so what? That's maybe two or three quests, but you can circumvent them. Besides, as soon as you kill her, she vanishes from the narrative and doesn't matter. She's a somewhat easy boss battle, but the actual build up isn't intricately tied into the narrative of Act 3...because there is no inherent narrative to Ac 3.

Act 2 was about an insane man's descent into villainy after losing the people he loved most.

It was tragic, but at least thematically consistent.

The fuck is happening in Act 3?

Gortash is committing war crimes because he's tyrannical, and Orin is murdering indiscriminately and just for funsies.

at least Ketheric's entire thing is about defying the gods, using them for his own gains, and similarly, being used by them.

But Orin? She has one sympathetic scene, and then she dies immediately after.

Gortash you can just kill and then he doesn't matter, or you can side with him, and then he just dies, and doesn't matter.

It's utterly baffling and mildly infuriating.

I know Act 3 was hit with the cut content rush and all, but I feel like you could've spent your time actually bothering to build them up the way you built up Ketheric. You could've given us political quests or world building quests with Gortash, especially given how manipulative he is, or given us more madness and shadows and underground labyrinths and spooky monsters with fucking Orin.

Instead of garbage quests like the Wavemother, Mystic Carrion, Stop the Presses, and Lady Jannath's Torture House, you could've given Karlach a quest related to fixing her heart, which would've tied into Gortash's plots, or given Gale more to do than simply go to Sorcerous Sundries, or tied Cazador to some kind of patriars plot, or had Wyll's father do more than be kidnapped and then later saved.

You could've given Halsin literally any fucking quest, instead of bringing in Jaheira or Minsc. But most importantly.

I just don't get it. Gortash runs Baldur's Gate. You could've easily tied him to a lot more quests, and made him far more threatening or hard to take down. You could've also made Orin feel like an actual threat, and not just a mild nuisance.

It's just kind of...it irks me.

Not just as a Gortash stan, but as a writer, because it's so odd, to have 3 perfectly decent villains...and only flesh out one.

The other two might as well be optional mini bosses.

[oathkeeper-of-tarth]

I want to talk a bit about a thing I played around with... this last February, apparently (in the midst of quitting my job and upending my life? wow). Consider this a sort of vague and casual interest check, as well, simply because I'm curious.

Note that this specific little self-indulgent project isn't publicly available and most likely won't ever be - I just had a couple people I know run through it for fun, as it's super rough and ultimately kind of pointless as-is. But I am actually interested to hear what people around these parts think of this kind of interactive fiction as a fanfic format. If I suddenly decided to go all in on writing, I don't know, a post-game Selûnite mini murder mystery in something like this, would this even be a kind of fanwork anyone would want? Or want to participate in, even?

In any case, what "this" even is is me messing around, first in Twine and then in Ink (which was brought to my attention thanks to Heaven's Vault being one of my favourite things ever). Then trying out what hosting things on itch.io looks like, after which I tried out both Unity and Godot variants of plugging the Ink into an existing engine - this was pretty much a test vehicle for me to play around with for a couple of evenings in a private little game jam. Outside of poking around Ren'Py five million years ago, this is the first time I've actually tried making anything interactive in this sense. And honestly, I loved it!

It's really not much, writing-wise, at about 5k words total. Just a bunch of scenes harnessing that sweet, sweet BG3 hyperfixation, shaped purely around me trying out different things in a technical sense and using the characters as a sort of shorthand while doing so. So you have fairly classic branching dialogue trees (Wyll), scenes that change when you leave and then come back (Jaheira), scenes that briefly diverge but end up at the same place and set some flags in the process (Aylin, Lae'zel), some stuff hidden behind checks you need to make (Halsin, Shadowheart, Isobel), and completely random events that may or may not happen during certain scene transitions (Orin). What I identified as the essentials, really.

I did a bit of exploring ways to incorporate small changes to encounters depending on which order you do them in. As a very simple example:

The above basically means your dialogue changes very slightly depending on if you found Shadowheart before talking to Aylin. Additionally, if you ask Aylin to tell you where Shadowheart supposedly went (which is completely optional even if you do talk to Aylin first), you'll have a bit of extra dialogue in the scene with Shadowheart when that flag up there gets checked. So some very, very basic reactivity - just for flavour, here.

My skill checks were plain d20 rolls without modifiers and with fixed DCs - a simple "create your character" intro bit would be perfectly doable, though, to get some stats and bonuses going. But roll badly enough and you can always make a complete ass of yourself in front of the Blade himself!

Visuals are super rudimentary, obviously. Taking a zoomed-out screenshot of the BG3 camp and blurring it to get this nice, chill background where that damn fire actively interferes with readin-- I mean, look at this, dynamically changing the look of the text to convey a shift in mood!

And, of course, a little structure of options and checks to get some of the good old "choices and failures having meaningful consequences":

(...for Shadowheart, at least. Sorry.)

In conclusion, this was all very fun to try out, and I can see a bigger project spiraling completely out of control because it's so tempting to try to cover everything in the universe and make everything branch out infinitely! But I also definitely want to do more of it, beyond this little proof of concept/experiment. I'd also love to encourage people to try their hands at this themselves - both of the tools/languages I mentioned and linked up there are very beginner-friendly and very well-documented. Give them a try! There's also a sea of works already out there to jump into, to see how these things can be used and the interactivity part leveraged to great effect - I've still barely scratched the surface, myself.

[sassy-bi-latina]

Finally managed to watch 23.5 episode 12. And my overall thoughts are that it was a good fluffy show. Very feel good. If I rewatch it I'll ignore episode 10 and 11 because with the exception of a couple scenes, it was just a goddamn mess.

It was not perfect but it wasn't so bad. I do think they should have focus more on the girls. Like, Sun's friendship with Aylin. Shown more of Ongsa's group friend. Shown more of Alpha's storyline. Having the full confession of the teachers. Someone showing Ton what personal space is and the meaning of no. Among others.

I DO think that the show is a very good improvement from the book. Not that it was difficult cause I truly disliked the book but whatever. They did well at adapting everything.

Could have done without the outing scene but we already knew that.

I would have also liked at least one reference to Alpha's bisexuality besides the intro. Like, Ongsa struggling and Alpha being been there, done that or when the parents found out a mention of Alpha being into girls or her being in collage and being popular with the girls, I don't know, man. Just something.

On another but similar note, I will forever be Ongsa's and Alpha's father is bisexual and the only straight person in that household is the mother.

Can't wait for what else these girls bring to the table. They did an amazing job overall. And their chemistry was just very good.

To the writers, props for you but repent for episode 10 and 11

[discontentramblings]

people talk about ketheric thorm having the coolest villain intro and, to be fair, it IS pretty sick

but i only saw it on my second playthrough

on my first playthrough, i got all the build-up about how scary ketheric was but i didn't actually go to moonrise towers until after i had freed dame aylin and started the final assault

so my first experience of ketheric in-game was him getting his ass beat by an all-powerful lesbian than scurrying away underground

all that build-up and he couldn't even handle ONE lesbian

[yourtwistedlies]

THE INTRO POST IS SO PRETTY AND WHY WAS I NOT AWARE THAT YOU LIKE SM KPOP😭😭😭😭

[ ⁀➷ to aylin!! ]

AHH TYSM BABES!! YOUR INTRO IS EVEN CUTER THOO>>

also yeah 😅😅 im a bit of a kpop fan (yeah sure. “a bit”? nobody believed that for a second) lmao

i love all the groups i have on there, but mainly, i really love newjeans, le sserafim, and a bit of itzy and ive (also EVERGLOW ARE MY QUEENS)

ive been getting into txt more (i can see you coming back for more ♫♪) recently tho!! probably my fav boy group so far

[un-motivated-writer]

bg3 tav/durge intro part 6

meet Rhia (she/her)

tav

Race: seldarine drow

Class: cleric/paladin of selûne, oath of vengeance

Personality: strong-willed, determined, takes no bullshit, can come off as a bit self righteous, confident in her abilities, optimistic realist, easygoing to an extent

Romance: Shadowheart

Complete/Incomplete: incomplete (in rivington)

Good/Evil Run: good

my comments and links to other intros below 👇

Notes: briefly mentioned in my previous post (part 5 linked below), rhia is the last one i'll be sharing for now and also one of the two that i don't have a backstory or personality written out for in my personal notes yet. this is just how i've been playing her and the vibes i get of her personality and backstory as the game continues.

i originally had downloaded the mod "deities for paladins" but then i noticed some glitches with it so i decided to uninstall the mod and multiclass her into a cleric/paladin. she's one level in cleric and the rest in paladin.

rhia is technically an offering to a deity that's around me often within my witchcraft practice, rhiannon, hence the name. rhiannon is a welsh goddess of the moon, horses, sovereignty, and a multitude of other things. i had been wanting to try out the paladin class anyway so it worked out. she's been really fun to play!

i will also never get over romancing shadowheart as a selunite. it's so worth it to me.

fun fact, in the dame aylin scene when shadowheart makes her choice, my game glitched when i clicked the [selune cleric] dialogue option to save her, i believe it was. instead, my game decided to have shadowheart off dame aylin so i almost got dark justiciar shadowheart. i save scummed (and i always will) so i went back and chose a non-selune option of basically telling shadowheart that it was up to her to make the decision and that had shadowheart choose to spare her life. when i accidentally got the first scene, i panicked so bad and couldn't decide between watching to see what happens and going back a save. i had decided to go back a save in the middle of the scene because i didn't want to spoil it for myself if i did ever do an evil run, which is something i'd like to attempt once the evil endings come out. i was also annoyed that that happened. it made me start daydreaming of AUs of what would happen if i did let shadowheart become a dark justiciar while playing as a cleric/paladin of selune. i can imagine that rhia (and willow) would be extremely pissed off and upset and i think rhia at least (i don't know what willow would do, i haven't thought about it too much) would kick her out of the party.

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5

[deepbluefrog]

I started paying attention to mods around that part of the Temple of Shar.

There are many gems already available.. if you are on PC, it is worth the effort the learn how to install these mods.

Some of these mods address events or characters that happen further down the story but I didn't feel like having multiple posts about my mod list so I included them here.

Quick tip - the BG3 Mod Manager tool is definitely your friend.

Quality of life mods No Intro - This is 2023 and we still have to click through logos and animations. Multiple times. Every time the game loads. Why can't games have a checkbox in settings to skip intros? or better yet, show these intros the first time the game runs if you must and make them disappear automatically. Is that too much to ask?

Achievement Enabler - I understand the reasoning behind blocking mods for achievements, but that feels pointless when it comes to cosmetic mods. Why should Steam care if I use a mod to add a skin to my dice? and really, why should they care even if we have mods that help us cheat on achievements?

Aether's Immersive UI - With no Photo Mode, this mod is essential to keep the UI uncluttered and immerse yourself in the game. Native Camera Tweaks - Perfect complement to the immersive UI. This mod allows you to look up, look down, get closer to the characters and enjoy views of the games that were not possible before.

WASD Character Movement - This mod changed the experience of the game for me more than any other. Not only you can move around more naturally, but centering the camera on the selected character has the unintended consequence to keep everything in line of sight. No more 'looking over the ledge' or 'around the corner' to see if something is about to attack.

Infinite short rest potion and Infinite long rest potion - For roleplay purposes, I needed a way to force a short or long rest without breaking the flow with a visit to the camp. These mods are useful when you get back to back combat with no logical excuse to rest at the camp (like it happened to me after getting a beating in the Temple of Shar then going to the Moonrise Tower, and then fighting Ketheric Thorn and his minions - twice!).

Custom dice Mysterious Artifact Dice - numbered and non numbered - I can't imagine a more perfect skin. Diamond Dice - That was my favorite before the Artifact dice came out.

Nostalgia BG2 Mouse Cursors - I didn't realize how much I missed these icons until I saw them again in action.

Shadowheart's hair Shadowheart hair change - Simply changing the color of her hair just didn't make sense as a symbolic action to reclaim control of her life. The change had to be more dramatic and yet keep some continuity. This is a solution I came up with after researching forums and it is working nicely even though it requires some manual editing of config files. Back to Black Shadowheart - This one is useful if you want a sense of continuity of a drastic cut without a magical color change.

Effects tuning Blood Of Lathander Re-divined - Much needed adjustment to a weapon that had to be hidden under layers upon layers of security and puzzles only to turn out to be a modest magical mace. Overpowered Aylin and Isobel - Seriously, I was expecting to see a glorious Dame Aylin mopping the floor with Ketheric Thorn after what he did to her.. only to be disappointed when she was incapacitated in the first half of the fight. For an immortal daughter of a Goddess, she needed to be beefed up. To balance things a little, I used a combination of the 'lite' version for Isobel and the full version for Aylin.

[bloodiisms]

HAN JAE-SEONG (demon | 460 yo | manager @ envy)

— intro | wanted connections | mirror | about | aesthetic | music

AYLIN DEMIRAL (vampire | 546 yo | psychology professor @ portum university)

— intro | wanted connections | mirror | about | aesthetic | music