#bloodweave critical

[galedekarios]

Keeping this anon, but I hear you hate bloodweave. I was curious on your take to why.

You don't have to reply to this if it makes you uncomfortable thought!!

i'd like to preface this again by saying that this is my opinion. idc what you ship.

i've talked about this here, but i don't mind reiterating my points:

they have no chemistry, to the contrary, gale shuts him down right away during their first talk and ast*rion's manipulation attempts. i assume that gale sees right through him from the beginning. a lot of people love to hc gale as naive as or as completely taken with ast*rion, but it's the complete opposite. i imagine his many years in waterhavian society made him realise quite quickly what type of person he's dealing with. the relationship they have doesn't progress much from that. by act iii they - at best - begrudgingly tolerate each other.

they are diametrically opposed in the things they value as people as well as their morals. gale is kind-hearted, he approves of helping those in need, children, mothers, slaves, refugees, even the animals you meet in-game. he seeks to avoid bloodshed, approves of letting people who want to pay the party back for their help keep their money and belongings. he seeks knowledge and even power not for selfish reasons or a taste for the darker things, but because he seeks to better their odds of survival against a seemingly invincible foe. ast*rion meanwhile is selfish and cruel and vile. he delights in violence and bloodshed, he finds the struggle of people caught in the crosshairs amusing. he is greedy and short-sighted, seeking power for himself, no matter the cost to others.

they are completely incompatible in terms of what they look for in a relationship and a potential partner. gale wants and needs a deeper connection, a tangling of the souls, and he needs someone to be there for him unequivocally, to love him for who he is as he is. he is not taken in by someone's looks or image they present of themselves, nor does he do hate sex / endless bickering / enemies to fwb / etc.

the first things he cites for trusting the protag are their good actions (helping mirkon, helping arabella, seeking to ease the tension between zevlor and aradin), it's all those things that at first make him trust the protag and later - when they unselfishly offer him help, give him artefacts - makes him fall in love with them. sex and immediate gratification isn't important to him. sex is a component - one way in an array of ways to proclaim love.

for ast*rion, it's manipulation first and his entire romance hinges on that. his partner falling for his looks and his text book manipulation into sex. that's already where this breaks apart for me in terms of this ship because that doesn't work with gale.

add to that ast*rion's cruel remarks about gale's when he is need:

[after gale's background story reveal] You'd have us debate? That Netherese jack-in-the-box should be a blip on the horizon by now!

[after mystra's demands] I can't believe Mystra's demanding Gale sacrifice himself to destroy the Absolute. It's just a waste of a perfectly good cult that we could be controlling. And a waste of a perfectly good Gale, I suppose.

[at the stormshore tabernacle] Well? Go on, then - it's rude to keep a goddess waiting.

[after orin potentially kidnaps gale] So, we kill Gortash or Gale dies? It's not an easy call. On the one hand, killing Gortash would be fun. On the other, Gale can be very annoying. We should probably save the wizard, though. He does have his moments.

i think it's very clear, given the fact that these reactions range from act i to act iii, that he doesn't give a singular fuck about gale. contrast this to karlach's reactions, or even shadowheart's:

Karlach: That bloody freak won't get away with this. That's my wizard she took. And we're going to get him back.

(particularly karlach has many reactions like this.)

...unless you play either of them as an origin char and make the most ooc choices, i do not see how this pairing is supposed to work.

additionally, as i've discussed more in my previous post, the parallels people draw between them are shallow at best or can be drawn virtually between any of the other origin companions, or are non-existent at worst. ast*rion having a reading animation that he shares with gale (as halsin and shadowheart do too), or having their tents next to each other (like wyll and gale do in act i) isn't really enough for me.

as i've said previously, i have tried to engage with the pairing because it's sadly inescapable since people often don't bother tagging, but there's nothing except shallow ooc stuff.

[eyes-of-nine]

while canonically impossible I love the idea of gale and caleb being neighbors

[odditiesanddeities]

if i had a nickel for every time that i found a ship from a dnd-related source that featured a white-haired, initially antagonistic man with a brown-haired wizard that had a beloved cat, i'd have 2 nickels, which isnt a lot but its weird it happened twice, right?

[popcornhog]

If i had a knickel for everytime i ship a scruffy, powerful wizard who’s always close to combusting (which is caused by their own hubris) and their flamboyant, suspicious and secretive feline coded companion who has ties/work closely with blood, i’d have two knickels. Which isnt much but its weird it happened twice🗿

[dreamingofthewild]

I wish people would stop coming up with strawman arguments and hasty generalisations to discredit others in the fandom.

If you do not like a ship, at least have the decency to explain the reasons why you don't instead of over simplifying it so that it is easier for you to argue against. If you don't understand why people like something, try to look at things from their perspective. Otherwise, just block or scroll past the content you do not like.

If you don't agree with someone else's criticism, then share your point of view instead of exaggerating, taking people's words out of context, and resorting to ad hominem attacks as if you have a moral high ground for doing so. Otherwise, block or move on if you do cannot understand or do not like their perspective.

Generalised statements such as people only like X because X are often incorrect, biased, and reactionary responses based on the idea that anyone who likes something you don’t must be a degenerate. If you have statistical data and concrete examples from a wide pool of people, then please feel free to share them to back your statement up.

In other words, if you are going to criticise, learn how to do it properly without over generalising or attacking people. Try to understand their perspective. You don't have to agree or change your mind.

[zeniva]

okay but how does one make friends on tumblr? I've always been lurking around but the "how" of interactions on here is what's pushed me away for years. but I want to stay here, it's so cosy... only I want to stay here with friends?? begging on my knees for friends at this point lmao

[trashcritter]

I regularly come across black and white or line drawings that I cannot immediately tell if the fanart is BloodWeave or Shadowgast and I think that’s beautiful

[dgoul]

once again, i keep getting confused on wether the white guy with long hair and beard and his white haired elf beauty boyfriend are

Shadowgast

or

Bloodweave

(bonus: Fenhawke)

[sanasanakun]

The weed is making me courageous so I think my biggest unpopular opinion for Bg3 is I don’t think Astarion is sexy or cute or anything at all really. He’s just there. Like he’s just a dude with an attitude problem lol like I keep seeing people compare the man to a renaissance painting like he’s fucking Lestat. Dude wishes he was Lestat lmao he’s just some white man with high cheekbones 😂😂

[kirbles]

sorry bloodweave music posting again

i'm trying to decide if gale and astarion would be lady gaga fans. i'm biased cuz she's literally one of my all time fave artists ever. and i think they would.

but specifically astarion would be into the fame monster / artpop / chromatica eras

whereas gale would be fond of joanne / a star is born / the tony bennett collabs

[sunfloralchaos]

Also horrible sketch crop with a missing hand that I've not sketched in yet but I'm doing unusual things (drawing groups doing casual stuff)

[galedekarios]

You don't have to ship it, but they do have their similarities—enough that it really isn’t any two white dudes shoved together (unlike one pale elf and another wood elf are). Their personalities, alignments, and histories make them very different people, but some of their goals, struggles, hobbies, motives, requirements, and unpopular moral opinions align in ways that they don't with other origins. I think what similarities they do have are the reason why they butt heads at first, and why Gale later on softens up to Astarion as he becomes more comfortable with himself. They check a lot of the requirements for mirror characters, and it's a ship that's at its best when people hone in on that rather than using it to write out their yaoi punching bag Gale x perfect pained princess Astarion fantasies.

i was debating not answering this because this isn't really something of a debate for me or something that i will change my opinion on.

they share the same levels of surface similarities with everyone else in the roster, if you truly want to put your mind to it.

my point is not "don't ship" or "ship", my point is these sorts of shallow parallels can be drawn between any and all of them. it doesn't translate to them being "made for each other" or "written for each other" or being "narrative foils" or "mirrors".

some of their goals? which ones exactly? getting rid of the tadpole? regaining agency? learning to live the life they feel they lost? again, that's something all of them share.

what struggles? overcoming an oppressive relationship? again, that's something all of them share.

what hobbies do they share? reading? because they share the same reading animation despite ast*rion never talking about books? on the contrary, he even derides reading and books as a waste of time.

what motives? motives for what?

what requirements? consuming something? karlach needs infernal iron in order to survive.

what unpopular moral opinions? about what? in which respect?

it's all so shallow.

people mistake where gale's "unpopular moral opinions" come from in opposition to ast*rion's: in the beginning, they come from pragmatism and being smart enough to recognise that the group is facing a seemingly unwinnable battle against an unknown entity that is controlling an entire army to later finding out it's a legendary elder brain with a macguffin on its head. it's not about hubris nor is it about being unhinged or selfish. it's pragmatism against insourmantable odds and it's selflessness by act iii that makes him offer his sacrifice even if you have convinced him to live. if we are speaking about the crown, the boat scene beats you over the head with it stemming from gale's loss of faith in m*stra and wanting to be better than her in order to help - themselves and others.

they don't check "requirements for mirror characters" in any way that the others do not. i could take any and all of these "mirrors" and apply them to every other companion in the game if that is the level of "depth" we are using.

if we look past the shallow parallels you can draw for basically all of them, we see gale shooting down ast*rion's manipulation tactics right away ("i do enjoy our walks together. don't you, gale?" "uh sure. in silence."). we see their different approaches to what the journey throws at them. gale enjoys helping people, for no gain at all, and diplomatic solutions (arabella, mirkon, mayrina, zevlor, etc.), he needs someone who is on his side, someone who is willing to accept him for who he is. gale is genuinely good-hearted and kind. that is why they butt heads early on. not because they are similar. in opposition to that, ast*rion delights in cruelty. he is so needlessly and often. towards those in need, towards children, towards animals. he is out for no one but himself. he shows little emphathy to anyone, with the exception of himself always ("the problem with what cazador has done is that he did it to me.").

ast*rion in particular is often downright cruel and degrading to people around him, he's cruel and degrading to gale, to the problems he faces and who he is as a person (just a few examples from the top of my head):

from the moment when gale reveals his backstory ("why isn't this netherese jack in a box a blip on the horizon already?") to the mystra reveal (being more focused on what it means re: controlling the cult than gale's impending death), and his casual dismissal of who gale is as a person at every other turn ("i don't care what's in every mind flayer colony, gale - nobody does. except you."), to delighting in the fact gale was kidnapped by orin.

are k*rlach and gale foils because they share a bomb in their chest?

are sh*dowheart and gale foils because they share religious trauma?

are w*ll and gale foils because they share having a relationship with an incredible power imbalance with a female entity?

are h*lsin and gale foils because they both have a library?

are w*ll and gale foils because they have their tents set up next to each other in act i?

to wrap it up: they are completely incompatible to me.

they are "mirrors" or "foils" in the same way that karlach and gale are. or gale and wyll. or gale and shadowheart: at the most there are parallels you can draw that are tenuous at best and shallow at worst. the broad same general narrative structure doesn't create narrative foils.

i've tried to engage with this ship to see what people are doing with it and the relationship usually starts in the same way over and over again in a way that gale's character a disservice.

gale isn't someone who cares about physical attractiveness, nor is he someone who is into one night stands or sleeping with someone for the sake of it while ast*rion's entire romance set up hinges on the fact that you are being manipulated by him, sex and attraction as a springboard.

gale's entire romance set up hinges on the fact that you accept him as he is. it's a slow burn. mystra's missive forces his hand into confessing early and sharing himself with you in what time is left to him - sex is a component of a greater whole.

gale also isn't someone to just take insults or abuse or dismissal and then still run after said someone to have a relationship, he isn't someone where enemies to lovers work or fwb (both things that seem to be quite popular with this particular ship).

i'm not even going to touch on the 'dubcon' aspect i've also seen a lot of forcing 'favours' from gale because he needs magical artefacts because that's a whole different can of worms.

again: this is not a don't ship post. you are free to ship what you want. this is solely a this relationship doesn't work for me, much less as narrative foils, post, and i have seen nothing that would convince me otherwise in the game or from the people who do like this ship.

[astarionsknife]

People not understanding why bloodweave is popular or claiming it's only popular cus it's 2 white men.

Take this from someone who didn't care and even hated bloodweave at the start. A lil list of what made me fall in love with this ship.

Opposites but the same. They're mostly opposite of each other but both of them want power. Both of them are smart in certain fields and insane idiots in others.

Enemies to lovers. Yes I'm a sucker for the trope. I totally see Astarion absolutely disliking Gale at the start. And Gale finding Astarion annoying or whatever you will.

Trauma bonding

Mortal x immortal. Come on the idea of a human and an elven vampire...

Gale is stupidly kind and Astarion doesn't know how to deal with kindness. Especially without feeling the need to pay for it in some way.

They're idiots.

There's a lot more even. But I just wanted to share my main points. I'm also a multishipper so bloodweave is by far not the only ship I have. Be it karlach x astarion, wyllstarion, Gale x halsin, bloodbear, minthstarion ,fuck I even ship my own ocs with a lot of the characters in the game (not just my tav's, but existing ocs of mine). And yeah, they might not make sense. It's fair if you don't like the ship. But to constantly go around and berate people for liking it? To claim it's based on only fetishism or racism? Kinda wild. Shipping is just a part of any fandom and some ships will seem more popular than others due to some more vocal content creators in said fandom.

Also I am biased cus I do equate bloodweave to my own relationship. Despite my own wife not seeing the appeal of the ship.

[towards-toramunda]

I raise you “Oh this new shadowgast art is so soft I lov- oh no wait thats bloodweave”

As a fan of the dnd/rpg/high fantasy genre I have definitely experienced the “seeing a b/w sketch of a wizard with a book and a cat and not knowing for a second if it’s Anders, Caleb, or Gale” but I’d like to note a new variation which is:

“Oh, that’s a cool hairstyle on Yennefer—wait. That’s Shadowheart.”

[dreamingofthewild]

Rant about fandom culture incoming. Please feel free to scroll by ❤️

As someone who has never been in a fandom before and only recently got into "nerd culture," I find the idea of getting upset about shipping and headcannons very jejune. Especially in an RP game that lets you explore different relationships and routes.

Fanfiction is not about what is real or canon. It's about exploring the characters, imagining them in different settings, or alternate universes.

Shipping is the act of creating a romantic pairing between two people or characters who are not otherwise romantically linked. People ship two characters together for a variety of reasons. Usually, they like the dynamic or the chemistry and want to explore it further.

BG3 is a role-playing based off of a role-playing game that also lets you role play as one of the main [origin] characters. The game let's you explore many paths depending on how you want to play.

Every ship is a valid role-playing variant.

But it's not just about shipping, I have also seen people judge others for how they choose to play the game or chastise others for ignoring "canon" whilst ignoring canon themselves.

People write essays or create blogs dedicated to hating specific characters and judging the people who like them (why bother?). The characters are complex and change depending on how you choose to play the game.

From what I have observed, there is usually some kind of bias behind strong opinions, and there will always be something in the game you can use to defend or disprove a view. The curtains are not always just blue, but sometimes they are.

Just accept that people are going to like characters you don't, ship characters you don't, and choose different in-game choices. Your headcanon, your opinions, and your preferences are not everyone else's. This is a role-playing game where you get to make your own choices, and fanfiction is about exploring scenarios outside the source material. There is a lot in the game that we don't know or that is down to interpretation.

Surely, there are better things we could be doing than writing lengthy posts about why we don't like something and discouraging others (me included as I write this post).

Focus on reblogging what you like or creating the content you want to see. I'm tired of people telling others they're doing fandom wrong and acting like their opinion is the only correct one that is free from any bias. No one is free from bias.

All of this, just to say, I wish people would let others enjoy the game how they want to. Most people do, but there are always a few.

You're not a clown for sympathising with Astarion, shipping Astarion with Gale, imagining Gale with kids post game, or exploring darker character paths.

People project onto all of the characters just as much as they identify with them. And I am sure that there is not a single ship out there that does not have some fanfictions that are a little ooc or where people explore the dynamic different to how it would be in the game. Even with oc x origin ships sometimes. So that is not a valid reason to discredit something you don't like. Especially if you're okay with it when it is not something you personally dislike.

Neither is the fact that you can do what you want in an origin run because they gave us the option to play as them and control their story. If origin runs don't count, then that means no ship is valid except the one between an origin character and Tav. Not just the one you don't like. People often see what they want to see and take any evidence that supports their view, whilst disregarding or finding ways to discredit the ones that don't.

Also, I love it when people claim not to care who people ship but then proceed to create a lengthy post about why they shouldn't be shipped. Including calling the people who ship them clowns or another derogatory term. People who are actually indifferent don't bother to go to such lengths to discredit it. Even if it is just on your own private blog with the names censored, why take the time, especially when you supposedly don't care?

When you're chronically online, you start to notice some patterns. That's all I'm saying.

[skye-the-dragon]

Bloodweave x My Tav, angst things

Tw/Cw: Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Ideation, Self-Harm, Eating Disorders, past Sexual Abuse and Torture

Sometimes, when being intimate, Astarion gets flashbacks of Cazador’s abuse. Of course, Zion and Gale immediately stop when they see it, but they wish they could just will the memories away for Astarion not to hurt. As is, they simply do whatever they can to help him through it

He also still sometimes feels as if he doesn’t have worth past his body, since he’s been conditioned to believe that for 200-ish years

Back when Gale was with Mystra, he used to watch his diet obsessively, wanting to appeal to her godly standards. There’s still times when he starts to starve himself, despite knowing Astarion and Zion love him as he is. He can’t help it, old habits die hard

He also gets insecure about his weight (He’s chubby no I don’t take criticism). Zion and Astarion do their best to reassure him, but sometimes it’s still not enough and he ends up watching his diet obsessively again

Zion has depressive episodes from time to time. Sometimes, when it gets bad, they have to force themselves to ask Gale to put the hold person spell on them, until they can trust themselves to not do anything all of them will regret. Other times they don’t manage, and end up scratching their forearms until they bleed

The three of them don’t argue often, it’s mostly playful banter, but when they do it’s not pretty, whatever the subject of their argument may be. Astarion slips back into his mask, Zion’s mind numbs them as a defense mechanism, and Gale just feels so, so guilty. For the most part Zion is the one to resolve the aftermath, because despite their numbness they still want Gale and Astarion to be happy

On that note, Zion would do literally anything for the two of them, even to the point of disregarding their own needs, comfort and/or safety

They once let slip that, if they knew how, they’d kill Mystra in an instant. Gale tried to talk them down, and it led to a serious argument between the two. For once Astarion had to try and resolve this one. He did manage, but not without trouble. Gale still lowkey holds it against Zion they want to kill the goddess of magic

Zion often talks about their own death, or death in general, as something more good than bad, even beautiful, because their depression and suicidal thoughts have forced them into that mindset to stay somewhat sane

Once a person found out Astarion is a vampire. He ended up killing them for the word not to spread. He came back to the tower really shaken, despite knowing it was self-preservation that caused him to do that, but he still felt guilt. Zion and Gale still don’t know about it, but they have their suspicions

If I think of anything more I’ll make another post lol