#V BGIII.

[mieluselul]

starter / @recitedemise

the moshfeghs , though unknown in these parts , were notoriously eccentric people. aneska , for all her haughtiness , makes no exception. " ugh , gale , " whimpers she , leaning with much drama against the front of his desk. " can't you put down those books ? i want to talk to you. " there's something like a pout here , & she tilts her head , before letting out a theatric little gasp , & suddenly slinking back up ⏤ this time , with perfect posture , & wearing a smile. " oh , & i have something you might want. "

[vergilberg]

whatever you do DON’T think about the amount of anguish and grief and rage that Astarion must have felt as he killed Cazador, and the same anguish and grief and rage and then relief he must have felt afterwards, sobbing and crying because finally, finally he is free from the man who tormented him for 200 years … but also DO NOT think about the fact that, despite killing Cazador, he is never going to get those 200 years back, that he is mourning the loss of his life and his past and how he can only move forward and try to live a better life and— (gets run over by a truck)

[argentumcor]

Why I Believe V is Default Female

I'd like to preface this by the fact that, in RPGs, I don't care about the sex of the default character. Commander Shepherd is written to be a guy, if you look at the scanned-in face of a model used for the default. Fine, don't care. I don't care that Revan is canon male and the Exile canon female. I do not care. I'm not a feminist of any sort. I am certain that, if the Cyberpunk 2077 tv/movie thing gets off the ground (you know how many of these things I've seen flame out in my time?), V will be portrayed as male, because demographics and frankly it's for the best because female characters in genre stuff are written very badly 99% of the time in AD 2023.

I write this because I think the game makes the argument for me that V is written to be default female. Feel free to disagree, it is not particularly important in the grand scheme of things, or a small scheme of things, or even to the game's story, but it is nerdy fun. Do you remember that? I remember that. Good times. We should bring them back.

Whew. Okay. Let's get this show on the road.

Game clothing pieces. There are more clothing pieces designed to be worn specifically by female characters than male ones- the bustiers, the bras, the skirts, the dresses, etc. Oh, I know the male characters can wear these. But the thing is that while a woman holding in a bustier and jeans can look like a cool and dangerous action hero, a man in a bustier and jeans may look like fun to you, may look quirky and interesting to you, may tickle you in a particular way, but he doesn't look a cool and dangerous action hero. V is written to be an action hero, that is the character's role in the story. As the game mocks attempted subversiveness relentlessly, it's not trying to do that.

Johnny's commentary. This is a little bit more...in depth. Johnny talks quite a bit early on about how V's body is different. If V was male, this makes not very much sense, especially the hormone comment. Why?

Ok, well, male V is pretty close to Johnny physically, not just in age (26 compared to Johnny's early 30s) but also build. Men do not experience huge hormone variability at that age most of the time, and the little details he mentions (things being the wrong size) would be only noticed in very limited contexts. The big ones would be the not-missing arm (dependent on cyberware I guess) and the lack of drug-induced physiological damage. By the time he dies, Johnny was a patched-together addict who probably wasn't neurologically capable of thinking rationally. V is not even close to that.

A female V and Johnny are in a different boat when it comes to his comments. The differences are starker, from body structure to hormonal levels that change noticeably day-to-day. It would be right there for him from moment one, contributing to the confusion of the situation- which we see on screen.

The "V is not Johnny" factor. I think. thematically, a big part of the story is how V is not Johnny. V's apartment is not covered in Samurai memorabilia. V is not even a part-time musician. V is not any kind of would-be revolutionary, at least not more than anyone else in a city where people wear and graffiti and say "fuck the corps" all the time. V is written to be other than Johnny, a whole other person, not some sort of twin soul or someone who is easily an accessory to him or vice versa.

This fuels their interpersonal conflict and, I think, Johnny's fondness for V, as well as backs up that game's focus on the value of humanity. V being female reinforces this aspect. It makes her more 'not Johnny' and I think things that reinforce that are really important to the game thematically.

The original cinematic trailer. If I do another run through, I really need to download the mod giving that appearance option. Oh, and Jackie's chica sounds cooler than mano, don't @ me.

All this, of course, comes from the idea that V is not written to be a BGIII style 'player insert', but a specific character. Some of this is done by the way the game pushes you to not be an asshat and the decent people you meet who are V's longtime friends, but V is written to be a specific person with some room for flavor here and there, not a lump of clay like Commander Shepard, Revan, the BG series PC, etc. This frustrated a lot of players who thought they were getting Cyberpunk GTA, but it's part of why I find the game so compelling. It is trying to tell a specific story, one with a bit of mythopoetic flare, even, and so V has a default.

Thank you for coming to my stupid TED talk, this why I refer to V as she when discussing the character.

[mieluselul]

oh , she's already starting to like paerin. of course , everyone in their little gaggle of misfits had their own certain ... charms , she'd supposed. but ... some of them ( most of them , truth be told ) were just so stuffy , & honestly , sort of boring. & to stumble upon such a sight ⏤ their mighty paladin , skipping stones across the river & grinning like a child ... it brought her strange joy. & given their current situation , shouldn't they take what they can get ?

" oh !! sure , i'll give it a shot. " she concedes , palming the stone with a smile. & it isn't her usual sly sort , either. only genuine amusement tugging at the corners of her lips. & she is so wrapped up in the simplistic , stupid delight of actually being invited into his little game , she even doesn't consider that she might just miss. which , of course , is exactly what happens. it skips once , twice , only to rather unceremoniously bounce off the side of the log & back into the depths of the river.

she squints , as if confused at her own failure. " fuck. you made that look way easier. "

"What's going on here? Fun and games?" @mieluselul ⇢ doctor who

The  evening  is  warm,  the  stream  slow  and  trickling,  the  hour  not  late  enough  to  sleep  but  too  late  to  get  much  else  of  anything  else  done.  It's  a  quiet  hour,  for  once;  he's  parked  near  the  stream,  and  there's  a  little  stack  of  river  stones  he  has  nearby,  and  he's  skimming  them  idly  at  log  some  distance  away  across  the  stream.  He's  often  restless:  he  fills  his  time  with  things  to  do,  and  whittling  away  his  rest  time  with  idle  time-fillers  keeps  his  mind  busy  and  firmly  away  from  the  dimmer  places  his  thoughts  like  to  otherwise  settle.

"  Aye,  somethin'  like  that.  "  In  fact:  he  squints,  aims,  tosses  it;  it  skips  across  the  water  once,  twice,  and  then  thoks  off  the  log,  into  the  log,  and  clatters  once  or  twice.  And  oh,  he  sends  a  grin  up,  back:  he's  completely  proud  of  himself,  a  little  smug.  "  There's  a  hole  in  it,  "  says  he,  realizing  only  a  heartbeat  too  late  that  he  probably  looks  half  a  fool,  and  then  decides  a  heartbeat  after  he  doesn't  give  much  of  a  shit.  He  offers  a  smooth  up,  brow  inclined.  "  Y'want  t'try?  "

[mieluselul]

starter / @vvasilisa

" i was supposed to get married once , too. " she says , & the words sit heavy in the air for but a moment , before she is swiftly undercutting her own sincerity. " i mean , the guy was a complete douchebag , so i ended it , of course. but , you know ... i think that killing him might have been a good option to consider. "

[mieluselul]

starter / @crookedtouch

" you know , in my country ⏤ vampires are the most reprehensible creatures of all. " she giggles , licks her teeth , & it's enough to show her fangs. " i think you're just delightful. "

[mieluselul]

aneska + isolation.

aneska & the years spent in solitude after her parents , & in fact the whole world deemed her to be a monster , rather than an angel. journaling , weeping , knitting. how she missed & so craved affection. for a time in her young adulthood , she would once again emerge , only to care for her ailing father after her mother & siblings left him in his time of sickness. upon his recovery , she fell back into her depression. her father sent her away to baldur's gate eventually , tiring of her severity. were it not for the nautiloid abduction , she would have had her wings removed & her fangs filed down. she still believed / believes herself to be divinely touched , but is unable to cope with dissonance of how she was once adored & is now so hated by those she holds the dearest.

[mieluselul]

black shoes , black dress ⏤ long , black hair , smooth & straight , bobbing perfectly with every dip & twirl. black eyes , lashes , brows. dark , dark , dark. faint vanilla aroma , perfume rolled conservatively against pale wrists , & the back of the neck. red , red lips. cuttingly beautiful. wings are tucked neatly , discreetly , against the flat of her back , & smiles are tight lipped. all things unseemly are hidden , because she ought to be perfect , perfect , perfect. this may very well be her last chance to flaunt her pedigree.

& of course , it simply wouldn't do if she couldn't make of herself a credit to her partner. that damned wizard , always so finely groomed & so perfectly well mannered he nearly might have outdone her , were she any less debonair.

" my , my , mr. dekarios. are you quite sure i'm the only heartbreaker between us ? " eyes narrow , playfully accusatory , as she takes in his visage ⏤ she finds it rather hard to believe he's no admirers of his own , somewhere amongst the crowd. " it's one thing to have a natural charm about you , but another entirely to talk so sweetly to a girl who has your hand in a dance. i might get the wrong idea , & then what would become of my party of suitors ? i fear they'd be entirely adrift ! " said in her typical dramatic fashion. oh , she does so love to tease him. of course , she has no fear that he might take any offense. there's truly no hiding her adoration for him. while she loves all her companions quite fervently ⏤ she loves the ones who amuse her the best.

" though , that might not be such a terrible thing. "

@mieluselul asked: (royal ball): our muses dance at a royal ball. / Royal, Fantasy Romance, and Spice: still accepting.

The party thrown to wrestle their favor comes most decadently. There are fires everywhere, conjured motes of embers and crystal chandeliers. Romantics waltz about, their soiree daydream impossibly drusy, and from beyond those windows from beyond thick drapes, the Sword Coast, shimmery, bobs with stars. It's a scene from a novel, a young woman's fancy as she curled up in bed. It's the hour for suitors, for those weighed with prospects to swoon and mingle, and had there ever existed a world most fabled, this, this here, would be it.

To no one's surprise, Gale would favor a book.

The wizard—in few words, that is to say—is no stranger to such, um, extravagance, he'd call it. One look his way would likely show that, he supposes, his suit pressed nicely and his hair tied sweetly, all manners with smiles and courtly steps. He holds to Aneska, her waist slid comfortably beneath his palm. She's dressed well, too, a dark, coquettish drip amongst Baldur's Gate's finest, and if she looks dolled up to both ruin and kill, well!, the wizard, twirling them, already knows. "I'd believe you were a pillar among those students of the Art having your hand tonight," he praises, their motions borderline magical. Afar, Gortash's entourage watch with wine. "Though I would advise against so thoroughly charming the Baldurian elite. Our party's running rather short on room last I checked. Ensnaring a train of suitors would hardly be conducive, and here I had pinned you as more of a romantic! Though one could argue a heartbreaker requires it. I've the sneaking suspicion I'm making a few enemies."

[mieluselul]

starter / @shemurder

" ugh , this place fucking reeks , " aneska moans , lithe fingers pinched at the bridge of her nose. " gives me a migraine. god , this halsin guy better be worth it. "

[mieluselul]

starter / @aeyln

" you're an angel ... " she sighs , gasps , takes in the sight. it's beautiful. dame aylin is beautiful. lord , how it burns her. " fuck. i think i'm jealous. " ( oh , & of course she is ⏤ but if the twitch of her brow weren't proof enough , then aylin could always look to the twitch of her own failed , fleshy wings , sporadic & sprained & bursting from her shoulder blades with little grace ... to be in the presence of true divinity ... it twists the knife. )

[mieluselul]

@oathwilled : " can he do a speech ? the demented fucking piss - mad archduke shithead ? " / accepting

" oh , honey , of course he can give a speech. " aneska speaks with half a mind , her eyes dragging up & down the cobblestone paths down which they walk , the scaling bricked walls of the castle ahead. this land is simultaneously familiar & foreign. a comfort , in some ways , & deeply unsettling , in others. " the demented , piss - mad archduke of baldur's gate is ... he's utterly insane , but he's also ... " she gestures with her hand , & it's a vague , shaky motion. " inventive , unwavering ... attractive. "

gods , it's just like home. under any other circumstances , she would thrive in this kind of environment. but against a power like his ? there is only so much that they can do under the watchful eyes of enver gortash. she treads carefully , here. " not only can he give a speech , but half the crowd will be sopping wet before he's even opened his mouth. we see a walking , talking prick , but everyone here ? everyone here seems to see some kind of almighty savior. it's pure delusion , sure , but he's exactly what these people think they need. even without the tadpoles , it's typical politics , really. as inane & cultish as it all is. "

[mieluselul]

" well , thank god i don't have to worry about that. " she says , & this , too , is a lie ⏤ in the sense that she is much more disappointed than she is thankful. & who could blame her , really ? aneska is & has been an undesirable thing , untouched by any covetous hands. she has never been sought after. & this is a great shame. a terrible shame. not that she would ever show it. " i left my home country , when it all went to shit. i'll never see any of those pricks again. "

' ―sounds like a wonderful man, really. ' sarcastic tones stirred a tongue / half a breath comes clicking between teeth. love, a hideous thing. & you ponder, you ponder over your own failed trysts. a witch has once stolen your heart & more, more than once, methodically even [you wished it was just metaphorically as well] hm. maybe a lifetime ago, yet something like that, love? it lingers ―― good or bad. & a nod is offered. ' y'know, probably was the best option. given how people seem to not stay gone for too long. ' a joke. yet, the faintest hint of sincerity can be found.

[mieluselul]

@honortodth : what if they kissed !! / accepting

" feanoooor , " sings she , & her voice is like milk & honey ⏤ smooth , thick , & warm. ah , but it is sweet music , which cuts so clearly through the din of the party , & so fittingly draws attention to her entrance ! introducing , the inimitable aneska , who glides so easily through the crowd , appearing at once both completely at ease & entirely roused ! there is no doubt about it , she thrives here. of course she does. her childhood was an unending series of galas & balls : & it shows , in the practiced sway of her hips , & the warm , flirtatious smile with which she greets each & every attendee whom she happens to walk by. it's an impressive display of her pedigree , really.

but of course , here , now , things are ... a bit different. yes , those sharpened debonair instincts of hers have her fluttering about , smiling & batting her eyelashes at any guests that might need a bit more stirring. but tonight ? she intends to use them for more selfish purposes than that. yes , tonight she has her sights set on a certain someone ... a new fascination of hers , a man of the elven variety. " tut , tut ! are you hiding away , dragul meu ? don't you know the host is meant to mingle ? " but she's smiling , grinning , unabashedly amused , pearly fangs flashed with reckless abandon.

" well , it's alright. i brought you some wine ⏤ & some company. " & in one fluid movement , she props herself up on her toes , offers feanor a chaste kiss to each cheek , & easily slides a spare glass into his hand. she is suave , energetic , if not a bit overbearing. but above all else , she is radiant , in a way she is not so typically. & so it is with a giggle & a twirl of her hair 'round her finger that she addresses him next. " i mean , it'd be a terrible shame , if i left you here alone , wouldn't it ? shouldn't our hero , our knight in shining armour , be utterly drowning in gifts & praise by now ? i mean , i know you're a humble guy , but seriously ... i think you're deserving of a bit more ... how do you say ? positive attention ? "

oh , but she's not done. it's here that aneska leans against the object of all this flirtation , one arm outstretched dramatically over his shoulder ⏤ & she peers up at him through curled lashes , mischief & delight dancing in the light of her eyes. in her free hand , she so gently swirls her still - full glass of wine. the motion is slow. hypnotic. " & , really ... a handsome guy like you , alone , on a night like this ? with all this laughter , & the music ... the drinks , & the firelight ... it's all so very romantic ... " & she tilts her head up , up , but drops her gaze down , from his icy blue eyes , to his lips. oh so close. & she wants it. " don't you think you should embrace all of this ? wouldn't you like to indulge ? "

[mieluselul]

@weavesick : " who said i never killed anyone ? " / accepting

how scandalous , how alluring ! aneska would hardly expect for gale , so cordial & shrewd , to be a killer. even more , she would hardly expect for him to admit it. oh , but there's no judgement here , of course. she is no angel herself , despite her best attempts. & the truth is , to hear that the devil might sit upon her companion's shoulder , too ... it draws her to him. she's always had an appetite for the damaged. they tell much better stories.

" oh ? " & there , her intrigue is made all too apparent. he can see it , she is sure , in the way her brows raise , & the way her gaze falls so eagerly falls upon him. she imagines ( without meaning to , but she has always looked at the world through a poet's eyes ) what he might look like , in the act of it. taking a life. how his brows might furrow , & his eyes might narrow , & his hands might flex against his quarterstaff , or perhaps even the flesh of a throat.

with a maidenly tilt of her head , she raises a delicate hand to her heart , & offers him a coquettish little ghost of a smile. it is simultaneously sympathetic , & playful. sorry you were driven to such lengths. oh , but how enthralled i am , by the mystery of it all. " i should apologize , then , for underestimating you. though , i can't say i'm not surprised. that a man like you might be driven to murder ... well , maybe it's a faux pas to say it out loud ⏤ but it makes you so much more fascinating. "

[mieluselul]

continued / @saintsdawn

when in good spirits , aneska ( despite her rather explosive personality ) can be saccharine , gracious , easy to please. which is why , when florence laughs , she does , too. a bright , airy giggle , paired by an emphatic clasp of her hands.

" yes , exactly !! " & her smile settles , here , into something more reserved , almost sly , but still sweet. " i mean , i've been told that i'm a blazing cunt , but , you know ⏤ " she winks , shrugs , " isn't that how it goes ? i'm a beautiful , honest woman with a sense of humor. i don't think i'm so bad. but people will tell you that i'm a nasty bitch. "

[mieluselul]

" right , of course , but , um ... " & aneska pauses , furrows her brow , drinks in her surroundings. " what exactly are we looking for , again ? a cow ? a bird ? some guy wearing leaves instead of underwear ? you know , since those druids were actually fucking useless. "

she wasn't wrong, but morgana wasn't about to give her the satisfaction. her eyes flit to hers for a moment and the tiefling sighs, crossing her arms over her chest. ❛ we'll have to find him first. keep your eyes peeled. ❜