#blorbo from our mental breakdown

[thestarlightforge]

i would just like to say that if “Agatha All Along” is any indication, the birthday wish gods may have forgiven me, birthday wishes are back & i might be about to have an awesome year 😆

[yeetmeoutthewindowdaddy]

A deep dive into Zevlor's devotion (Part 3) Zevlor's actions during Act 1, an analysis of a man who is barely holding on:

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BG3.

These series of posts were originally one loooooong post— but apparently Tumblr has a character limit, and I found it; so now it's been split into several parts/posts.

(Part 1) Everybody hates tieflings, and how discrimination impacted a young Zevlor.

(Part 2) Elturel's history and culture, the Hellriders, and Zevlor's paladin oath. (Part 2.5)

((Part 3, this post, is where the meat a good chunk of my Zevlor analysis is.))

(Part 4) Zevlor's actions during Act 2, an analysis of a broken man.

(Part 5) Zevlor's actions during Act 3, an analysis of a man with his faith restored.

(Part 6) Zevlor's actions during/ after the epilogue, not all endings are happily ever after— especially not for a tiefling.

(Part 7) Zevlor in a romantic relationship.

I don't think many bg3 players understand just how dedicated and loyal of a person Zevlor is. This ADHD hyper-fixation fueled multipart-thesis is meant to show how Zevlor's past is as tragic as any of the origin characters'/ Durge's. It's meant to show how horrifically broken Zevlor was when he "betrayed" the other tieflings. It's also meant to show that our beloved blorbo would probably be fervently obsessive if he was in a romantic relationship.

Most importantly: It demonstrates how our favorite man Zevlor was most likely a fanatical religious zealot my dudes. He was (probably) a part of the Faerûn equivalent of the Spanish Inquisition lite.

I have kept this as factual as I am able to. Please keep in mind that Baldur's Gate 3 plays it fast and loose with the DND/ Forgotten Realms canon and lore, on top of DND/ the Forgotten Realms itself regularly disregarding and changing it's own lore and canon. DND lore and canon as a whole is a mess. It has multiple universes that sometimes interact and are maybe separate from each other. Full disclosure; I've mixed 1e-5e lore together FUCK 5.5e, because parsing through what is currently considered canon is a nightmare. As far as I'm concerned, as long as a piece of lore was canon at some point in the past 50 years— it's fair game. @y-rhywbeth2 in this post has a more in depth disclaimer. Also please check out their headcanons and lore breakdowns, they're so good.

THIS PROJECT TOOK ME OVER A MONTH TO WRITE. I've tried to find all grammatical and spelling errors. I've tried to ensure that I've cited the correct sources in the correct places.

Before reading this way to long post please look at itsclydebitches analysis on Zevlor. [Alt] Which provided me with so much insight to his character and kickstarted my obsession with him. Also, @itsclydebitches puts ideas into words better than I do.

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● (Part 1) Zevlor before the events of BG3:

Here is what we know, for sure, about Zevlor:

Zevlor is a tiefling.

Zevlor achieved the rank of commander in the Hellriders.

He survived the city's fall into the Hells.

He was a paladin.

He does not have Darkvision.

Finally, here are the headcanons I have cobbled together based on the available albeit often times conflicting information I have gathered: (Hard facts are in green, everything else is speculation on my part.)

The youngest I would put Zevlor at is his mid 50's. The oldest I would put him at is his late 60's.

So this means that he was approximately 5-15 years old during the vampire crisis. Mentally, these are very formative years for a person. It really isn't a stretch of the imagination to assume that this, along with the miraculous appearance of the companion, set young Zevlor on the path to becoming a paladin and a Hellrider.

There aren't many elderly Hellriders around because most die in the line of duty. To have survived into his old age is a testament to Zevlor's skill, dedication, and luck divine favor.

(AN: In Zevlor's Sleep Stories, "a non-profit project created for and run by fans of Baldur's Gate 3 and its characters.", in episode # 8 - Oathsworn Glenn McCready, the official VA of Zevlor, (I only point out that the stories are narrated by the official VA because I think it's really cool that he and the fans have collaborated on the project. It is not meant to imply that him narrating the project means he has any opinions on how Zevlor is depicted in them, nor is it meant to lend any weight to the Sleep Stories being regarded as canon. Please check it out, it's an amazing project.) narrated a story in which Zevlor was stated to be 10 years old when the Companion first appeared— making Zevlor ~60 during the events of BG3. Zevlor's Sleep Stories is NOT canon, but I'm going to view this one story as canon in my heart; unless/ until Larian releases content/ info that contradicts it.)

This post [alt] by @nightmarist and @space-blue with contributions from @haru-sen is a wonderful source for some history of Elturel, how the Hellriders and Zariel are connected, how paladin's and their oaths work, and an analysis of how being exiled from Elturel changed/ impacted Zevlor's oath.

Zevlor would have had to devote himself 3x more than a non-tiefling Hellrider would've:

Hellriders were held to a high moral standard in a city that already had strict moral codes of conduct.

The Order of the Companion members took the Hellriders dedication a step further by swearing an oath to the city on a god.

Zevlor would have been under intense scrutiny for the crime of being a tiefling. For him to have made the rank of Commander despite this means that he proved, beyond a shadow of a shadow of a doubt, that he was devoted to protecting Elturel.

For added angst I like to headcanon that he had only achieved the rank of Commander a few tendays before Elturel fell into the Hells. And that it took so long for Zevlor to achieve the rank of Commander because he was rejected for promotions in favor of someone who wasn't a tiefling, even if they were less suited for the job than Zevlor was. And that if he wasn't a tiefling then he would've become a commander many years earlier.

Which means that for the entirety of his adult life Zevlor wholly devoted himself to being a Hellrider. He had to forsake everything else, being a Hellrider was his life's purpose.

That level of dedication cannot be faked or forced. He truly believed in being a Hellrider and what the Hellriders stood for/ represented.

And he was thanked for his years of unyielding service by being

● (Part 2) Banished from Elturel:

Zevlor's years of service, his countless sacrifices, and unwavering dedication to the protection of the city and its inhabitants meant nothing to the people of Elturel after the city was returned from the hells. Tieflings looked like the devils that had tormented them in hell (nevermind that the tieflings were also subject to the abuse from devils) and as such they were blamed for the city's Decent into Avernus.

"Many if not all the city's tieflings were exiled from the city, thanks to a new wave of misplaced fear and newly-formed prejudice."

This hatred from the people he loved so dearly didn't lead to Zevlor breaking his oath, it shattered Zevlor's very faith itself. (FFS, I can't find a clip of the Narrator describing Zevlor's time in/ just after Avernus when you click on him when he's in the mindflayer pod in Act 2. Please just trust me on this one.)

Zevlor didn't break his oath, it was broken for him. Hellriders swear to "Serve the realm of Elturgard, and defend the city of Elturel body and soul.", and he was forced to abandon the city.

Earlier in this series I had mentioned how exiled Hellriders were stripped of their gear before being cast out of the city. Zevlor, and the other tiefling Hellriders at the end of the game, still have some of their Hellrider gear. [alt] This makes me think that the other Hellriders refused to completely strip their tiefling family members of their gear because they did not agree with the city's bigoted decision. Letting them keep their gear would have been a subtle hint (and resistance to the city's authority) that the other Hellriders still considered their tiefling comrades as fellow Hellriders.

Whether the exiled tiefling Hellriders were still considered members of the Hellriders by the remaining Hellriders or not, Zevlor was now a

● (Part 3) Refugee:

But Zevlor still had a purpose, he and his fellow banished tiefling Hellriders swore to defend the civilian refugees on their journey to Baldur's Gate.

Tilses, and I assume the other Hellriders, still referred to Zevlor as Commander, and still considered him a Hellrider. She believed that no one could revoke their membership to the Hellriders, but Zevlor did. "They can [take away our Hellrider membership], and did. Avernus changed things — best we get used to that." - Zevlor

They were attacked multiple times on the road, and they had many casualties, and so Zevlor carried on as he always had— as a paladin sworn to protect his people. The refugees and the other, younger, Hellriders needed him to be a strong leader with unwavering faith, so that's what he was— but it was all an act. An act that got harder and harder to keep up as the days wore on and the rations, and survivors, dwindled.

But then they stumbled upon a possible salvation,

● (Part 4) The Emerald Grove:

They were welcomed in with open arms by the Archdruid Halsin. For the first time in who knows how long the refugees could rest. Sure, most of the other druids seem to barely tolerate the tieflings— but the Archdruid had made his position on their continued sanctuary within the grove clear.

And then the Archdruid Halsin went off with a set of very inexperienced and racist adventures, leaving a woman who could barely hide her contempt for the refugees as temporary Archdruid. Which should have only been for a few days at most, Zevlor knew he could play nice long enough to placate Kagha until Halsin returned, it was fine.

But Halsin didn't return, because he'd been kidnapped. And worse, Zevlor find this out because those inept adventures brought a pack of goblins right to the gate of the Grove.

I think the goblin attack was when Zevlor truly began to crumble. He would've been overwrought with guilt and self-doubt. Had he not spent ~20 seconds berating and interrogating Aradin over leading goblins straight to the Grove, and instead used that time to open the gate, then Kanon's death could've been avoided.

Worse still is that he ordered a man who wasn't wearing any armor to open the gate. Zevlor blames himself for Kanon's death, and he would mentally self-flagellate himself over his own cowardice: How he, a Commander in the Hellriders, took cover while Kanon, a tailor by trade, bravely continued opening the gate while the goblins were firing arrows at him.

After a hard-fought battle, the goblins are defeated. Then Aradin swaggers in acting as though he didn't just do a profoundly stupid thing by leading the goblins straight to defenseless citizens. Not only that, the uppity shithead Aradin blames Halsin for getting himself kidnapped. And then Aradin strikes a nerve, calling Zevlor a coward (and a slur). I think that Zevlor is already contending with his own guilt from thinking that he himself acted cowardly. For Aradin to call him a coward, on top of all the other stupid shit he's been spouting off, is too much to bear, and Zevlor's rage/ self-loathing is about to erupt into violence.

Luckily, the group of actually competent adventures who arrived and saved the day also managed to diffuse the tension between Zevlor and Aradin.

Or not. Leading to Zevlor punching the overtly racist idiot.

Punching Aradin (acting on his inherent desire for violence*, specifically) is something that I believe is wildly out of character for Zevlor. Aradin isn't the first mouthy prick he's come across, and if Zevlor had responded with violence to all of them then he wouldn't have been able to become a Commander. The stress Zevlor's been under has finally boiled over, and now that he no longer considers himself a Hellrider (and is constantly in survival mode trying to keep himself and the other tieflings alive), keeping a tight lid on his anger isn't something he really cares about anymore.

*"Tieflings also had access to an ability known as infernal wrath, which channeled their innate rage and potential for evil into their attacks for added effectiveness."

I cannot emphasize enough how much self discipline and restraint Zevlor has. His infernal heritage in combination with the overt discrimination he has undoubtedly faced his entire life, plus a healthy dose of pride, are a vicious cocktail of honestly justified anger issues. (AN: Based on him having more physical infernal features than the other tieflings do [alt] I headcanon that he possesses a temper closer resembling a devil's than the less infernal-looking tieflings do.)

Zevlor has been unchained. When it becomes clear that diplomacy won't work Zevlor tells the player that Kagha is their main obstacle, and that without her influence the other druids may see sense. The way he phrases this sentence allows Tav to "read between the lines" and see that Zevlor is open to killing Kagha, while also giving himself plausible deniability. Zevlor didn't suggest murdering Kagha, Tav did. Zevlor is "still hoping that Kagha can be swayed from this madness.", but if not... well, surely Tav understands how "Leaders need to make tough decisions. We do what we must."

Notice how slyly he phrased that— "we", subtly putting himself and Tav in the same category/ on the same team. But most importantly he never outright says to Tav "I want you to kill Kagha", it's implied. His 17 charisma and years of politicking around racism and red tape really shows here; because if shit goes south and Tav fails in their assassination attempt then, even if he has ingested a truth serum, Zevlor can honestly tell the druids that he never asked Tav to kill Kagha. If Tav doesn't suggest killing Kagha then Zevlor doesn't bring it up, and instead asks Tav to take out the goblin camp leaders.

(I am only citing this one dialogue tree option. There are more dialogue tree options, but I can't find videos of them and I am currently unable to play BG3 to explore the different options myself.)

Zevlor is proficient in using manipulation tactics and his knowledge of psychology to garner his preferred outcome. To be clear— I don't think he would have acted in such an underhanded way before being exiled, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I do think that pre-descent Zevlor was no stranger to using manipulation/ his psychological insight to achieve his goals, he would've had to because of the prejudice he faced, but it would've been used for more benign reasons (such as being treated with basic respect instead of open contempt).

(AN: Manipulation in and of itself isn't inherently bad, we all use manipulation to some extent in our day to day lives. So long as they are not abused little white lies and benign manipulations, along with having/ using tact, allow society to smoothly function. Like how saying "Please get me a glass of water." is perceived more favorably, and is more likely to convince a person to get you a glass of water, than "Get me a glass of water." Saying please is considered polite, and people are much more likely to acquiesce to a request if someone is polite. 'You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.' Or how you might wait until after someone has eaten to ask them for something, because they're more likely to agree to your request when they're not hangry.)

Zevlor was once a very proud man, and he had every right to be— becoming a Commander in the Hellriders is a remarkable achievement. Becoming a Commander in the Hellriders in the face of profound discrimination? Nothing short of a triumph. The Zevlor we meet at the Grove is a shadow of the man he used to be. The fall into Avernus and everything that happened after it has sucked most of the life out of him.

We still catch glimpses of the proud Hellrider Commander with the power of god and anime on his side that Zevlor once was. This post [alt] by @dimmadoome demonstrates not only Zevlor's pride, but his infernal temper and possessiveness (which I will cover in a different post). Listen to his speech here. This is a man who has lead his fellow warriors into battle. A man who fought for what he believed in and refused to give up even in the face of insurmountable danger. You can see the hell fire in his eyes blazing bright with righteous fury.

And then there's the speech he gives after defeating Minthara. Note his emphasis on the tieflings being not just survivors, but family. When he says 'family' he has a proud, gentle smile. (His high charisma and experience with giving rousing speeches may be the only reason why his mien changes during this part of his speech, but I think he's being sincere.) If you start that video from the beginning you can see him take a moment to collect himself because he's exhausted, but he knows his people need him to be a strong unflappable leader.

(Did you catch how he quickly pivots from hauteur "Tymora smile on me." to deference "We did it. You did it."? Manipulate, mansplain, malewife the hell out of them Zevlor.)

This portion of the video highlights Zevlor's loyalty to his comrades in arms. He calls Tav family— remember, Hellriders are extremely loyal to one another (and tieflings are very loyal to those who prove themselves trustworthy), this is how he behaved towards all his fellow Hellriders before he has cast out of Elturel. His faith is still broken, but Tav/Durge/Origin has reignited a glimmer of hope in him.

I think this is the only time I've ever seen this poor man actually relax and smile. But then he immediately goes back to looking pensive and walled off. I may be delulu and reading too far into things, but I don't think this is merely his character model returning to its default— I think it demonstrates exactly how Zevlor has been living for years: Silently admonishing himself for letting his guard down and his control slip. Desperately wanting to let go and forget himself and his propriety for a while but being unwilling, possibly unable, to do so.

That being said he does somewhat relax at

● (Part 5) The Tiefling Party:

There isn't a lot to say here. Zevlor isn't imbibing (much) to ensure that he keeps his wits about him— both so that he can supervise the people who are partying, and keep watch for potential threats. Even though he's not partying, Zevlor is elated to see the tiefling refugees smiling and relaxing. He knows that the journey ahead of them is fraught with danger/ trials and tribulations. He even looks the other way when his people spike the punch to make purple drank.

In Early Access to thank Tav for saving them Zevlor made a (bugged) light show where every light in it represented a life that Tav and Co. had saved. The party is the last time Zevlor is happy and hopeful before everything falls apart, as we will see in the next installation of this series: (Part 4) Zevlor's actions during Act 2, an analysis of a broken man.

Here's a link to the master list for this series.

Thanks for reading!

[saintlethanavir]

✨ Hey you! yes, you 🫵✨

✨Do you like getting monthly drawings of your blorbo?✨ Maybe some stickers in the mail? ✨How about your name in a game or even full early access to the whole process of said game?✨

✨Boy have I got a place for you! ✨

If you've read this far, hi! I'm Lev, local eldritch horror who draws silly little guys and I've got a deal for you! My husband @thecoffeerain and I run a patreon/Kofi where you can support our household and visual novel game just by giving £1 a month or more (if you are so inclined)

✨ The Fun Stuff ✨

Our Visual Novel in development is called Beyond Blood and it's all about supernatural creatures finding love in a small town + some vague apocalyptic events possibly. By becoming a member you can get full updates of the project all the way up to voting on characters and story elements, and get bonus content you won't see on social media!✨ You also get optional access to the equivalent patreon tier, if you'd like to see our non Beyond Blood content or even get more goodies!✨

(below is concept art for the game and only one lineup of many for Romance Options)

Beyond Blood Kofi✨

(click to view tiers in full res)

We also have a generic patreon filled with fanart, oc content, a sticker club, exclusive drawings, monthly requests, and voting on lots of different things! Even from just £1 you get access to sketches, full wips, early access to full illustrations, and voting on collabs between myself and Jack!

(ex. Of monthly sketches for patrons. On the left is Ellinor for @bitchesofostwick done by me and the right is an oc for @anonbea done by Jack!)

Patreon link ✨

(click for hi res! Here are the descriptions of the patreon tiers)

✨Not so fun stuff (why I will be queuing this every other post for a bit)✨

Both of us work grueling jobs that we are severely struggling with. We are both disabled, trans, and Neurodivergent. I work 8-9 hour days on my feet constantly to the point I've developed a need for a cane just to be able to get by. I'm also AUDHD and have begun to experience symptoms of severe burnout but I cannot stop working retail. Currently the NHS has decided I'm too high functioning/not bad enough to qualify for CBT or other therapies for my PTSD as well, despite the fact I've recently undergone traumatic events and have had multiple breakdowns. So if I want to treat these things I have to pay for it out of pocket and I cannot afford that.

My husband is in a job that has him constantly exhausted from early days and late night shifts, and the environment is not only discriminatory towards trans people but also to those with mental health issues. But again he can't leave his job.

Both of us are at our limit and we need something to change.

Anything helps, even just a reblog.

[aihoshiino]

I find it so insulting how aka concluded kana arc, not only did she not get any spotlight for her graduation as a conclusion for her arc, not only does she just get left by the waste side as she never knew aqua loved her, her last line in the entire series is her screaming having a mental breakdown because now the last person she loved has gone away, like it feels like aka had a personal vendetta to make kana as miserable as possible this entire series, like what was the point of her basically going through hell, and she doesnt even get an actress award in the end

It's funny to see people assuming Akasaka dislikes Kana now because the fandom party line was always that she was his pet character because she (checks notes) had involvement in the story and they didn't like her lol

Speaking as someone whose greatest joy comes from putting their favourite characters through the salad spinner (me and my friends Literally get together once a year or so to write our blorbos going thru mutual killing games together), I actually think Akasaka feels quite fond of Kana and though it's not a GOOD moment for her, emotionally speaking, it's a big dramatic moment focusing on the depths of her feelings and letting her finally confess her love for Aqua explicitly in such a huge bombastic way. From an author's perspective, I think this was supposed be some tragedy catharsis for Kana - @greatwyrmgold has a really excellent post that (among other things) compares & contrasts the portrayal of Kana's grief VS Ruby's. And like... idk, to me, one of these characters feels very much like a character the author knows well and is energized to write while the other feels more like an obligation. Can you guess who is which?

[karkkidoeswriting]

Happy BB!

We love all our blorbos but who'se your current favorite and how hard is it to be them? ;)

Happy BB!! Thank you for the question! :D

Valeri, who is one of the main characters of Bear Castle Cycle, has been living rent free in my head for a while now as I've been writing his storyline. You're definitely making the correct assumptions here, it's not fun being him. Since the common wisdom is that you should set the expectations for the story in the first chapter, his storyline start with him getting beaten up :) And it's just downhill from there. He's a tough stoic soldier type, or like that's what he tries to seem like, when in reality he's an anxious emotional mess, but basically it's a story of him getting into Situations and witnessing the Horrors until he has a proper mental breakdown and cry. And then he can be put in more Situations, but now with a little less repression!

I like to make warm ups of the characters I'm currently writing whenever I'm painting so I think these warmups I've made illustrate quite well how not good time Valeri is having. First one is from the beginning of the story, second is from roughly the 2/3 point of the story.

Tagging @bardic-tales @creators-club

[kaptainandy]

okay okay everyone always talks about how a medieval peasant wouldn't survive seeing/knowing about [insert modern day thing] BUT have we considered the following: would horror movie actors survive scrolling through the tumblr tag of the movie(s) they were in?

this is not only testable with many of the subjects in question being alive, but also put any horror movie into the search bar (if it was made in the 80s or 90s the following is even more likely to be the case) and i guarantee you the first 15 posts will include murder man either as a cat boy or in a maid outfit (or both), the most passionate gay lovemaking between either two very queer-coded characters or the most queerphobic characters to ever exist, a 100k fanfic that is actually really good (and really gay and horny amen), a meme that is incomprehensible to anyone above the age of 45 y/o, someone having a mental breakdown over the grainiest behind the scenes photo you've ever seen, grotesque (affectionate) monster girls having brunch, and/or someone having a religious experience over the most gremlin little guy to ever live.

i say all of this with the utmost love and respect as part of the community. no villain is safe from uwu-ification and we will reach knee-deep into the plot to pull out queer subtext like we are mining for rare ores to trade at the market that will save our village from starving. and i think that's lovely.

the "[insert youtuber here] reacts to their tumblr tag" was a popular trend about 10 years ago but they're already living in-tandem with fandom/online culture so there was little to shock or awe them. give me 65 y/o joe actorman sitting in front of a computer and facing what millenials/gen z have crafted in reverence through a sleep deprived-induced haze. this test will separate the blorbos from the glupshitos.

anyway i think i accidentally took 2 of my adhd meds today uwu

[fuck-you-upmusicbracket]

Space Oddity (David Bowie)

Ground Control to Major Tom/Your circuit's dead, there's something wrong/Can you hear me, Major Tom?/Can you hear me, Major Tom?

"If you've never listened to this song and had a minor mental breakdown, have you even lived? Oh my god.... the stars look very different today... THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG CAN YOU HEAR ME MAJOR TOM"

Poll Runner: Yeah so, has anyone here ever read Wonder?

Lower One's Eyes (Nuyuri)

I wonder how many times I’ll be made to remember it again/It’s only us/If we are to be separated, if we are to lose our way/I’ll make sure we’ll be connected this time, no matter how many times it takes/If you will stay here with me, if I could just keep you from leaving/I’ll make sure this feeling no one else knows —everything I live for— is right.

"Good God. Good Lord. Have you ever wanted to be emotionally rent from your bones by lesbian witch anime Jesus? Now You Can. This song is based on An Urgent Appeal, a short story written by Osamu Dazai - a retelling of the betrayal of Jesus Christ from Judas's perspective. The original story goes from high, reverent adoration and praise to insults, but throughout the whole piece, the purest emotion is devotion. Jealousy and devotion, devotion so powerful it is wrenched and warped into something far worse. It's love so powerful it corrupts. It's codependency. It's loving someone so powerfully that betraying them feels like an act of love in and of itself. It's spiraling so deeply into love that you've lost your way, that you can't go anywhere without their hand, that their hand is gripping your heart and strangling you and you can't breathe anymore. It's doing anything to breathe again. You'd do anything for them. Lower One's Eyes is this, distilled into song form. Aside from the absolutely unhinged blorbo-able emotional basis and absolutely slappin music, the MV for this song is GORGEOUS. The masks that bathe the same scene or silhouette in different colors and patterns are incredible - especially the parts where it shows something else (like the witch's seat being occupied with Madonna lilies, symbolic of the Virgin Mary; or the fact that, whenever the witch is silhouetted, there's always a cross pattern in her shape). The animator went ALL OUT with the symbolism. The Judas trees in the background. The maid (Judas)'s association with yellow, the color that became representative jealousy and betrayal BECAUSE OF JUDAS. The album art showing the maid with a snake coiled around her neck and taking a bite from the original forbidden fruit!!! The witch's earrings being shaped like an ichthys!!!! The level of detail is insane!!! There's probably even some things I MISSED. It's an incredible piece of art both visually and aurally. 25/10 would hyperfixate on for 3 months in a row again."

Lower One's Eyes submitted by @bitter--unicorns

[catnykit]

What is "whump?" I keep seeing this word and I still haven't figured it out. Please advise.

"Stories where physical or emotional pain is concentrated on a favorite character, several times and in a brutal way. Very similar to Hurt/comfort but differ since Whump fanfics are usually written for the pure pleasure of seeing the character mistreated and beaten."

They are basically stories where we grab the character and torture em and then we see what happens next :3

For fun <3

No,We are not psychopaths,Is more like a way of coping from our own pain with fiction!

Most ppl in the whump comunity are actually pretty chill!!!

Why would you hurt someone irl when you can write a hurt/No comfort whump 20+ fic of The Character™

whump is not always about torture,But it aslo can be of just seeing a character in discomfort y'know

✨️FOR THE WHUMPFLIESS✨️✨️ That lil satisfaction that the Whump brings

Many people got diferent kind of whumpflies and sometimes it isnt even that! Sometimes is just the need to analize a fictional blorbo's mental breakdown!!!!♡♡♡♡♡

[emerald9d]

Ricka

No ask prompted this, this time. I just need to talk about her because she's, like, the other main OC of mine, right up there with Shelly. I just... don't draw her as much as I should.

The art here is in no particular order and the last two are actually Allie, a "version" of her I used for a tabletop campaign where the setting was different enough (Princess: The Hopeful, for those who are wondering) that she needed a new background and name. She basically looks and acts the same though. Also ignore that other guy for now lol.

This is going to be more rambly than when I described Shelly.

So yeah. Her full name is Ricka Rene Fuyu. She lives on Earth... or, well, "Earth." It's called that, and it even resembles our current-day world. But, there's a bunch of people with pointed ears, and most everyone can learn telekinesis. (though it's difficult and not THAT useful to most people, sorta like martial arts. guess what there's a lot of martial artists in my stories)

Also the ladmasses are (roughly) the same but everything else is different! Ricka lives in "The Triad," a collection of three closely located cities situated around the location of current-day Moscow. Ricka lives in Trifol, the "poorest" of the three cities. The other two are Slayton, a more froufrou college town, and Elaros, the capital of the country.

The tech is very "30 minutes into the future." There's fancy prosthetics and crazy computers and power armor, but most people can't afford them, and see them infrequently. I hesitate to call it cyberpunk, but its in that ballpark for sure. (Half of Ricka's design is "wannabe Matrix character") The most noteworthy development is "biotech drones," however, mindless attack-and-defense robo-creatures have started filling out military and police forces worldwide, courtesy of a subsidiary of Unity, a massive corporate conglomerate with its sites on controlling basically every major industry in the world. The only thing they haven't broken into fully, however, is the energy industry...

Anyway, Ricka couldn't be more different than Shelly, at least outwardly. She's quiet and reserved, and slow to react emotionally. (dissociative, really) But she's quite technically intelligent, and has a rich inner world, which she will show off when she lets herself relax and open up. This girl has opinions. And memes. And blorbos. She's basically the equivalent of a seasoned lefty Tumblr user. She's kind of my answer to the Rei Ayanami type of character, though her influences are myriad. Many years ago she started off by being a ripoff of Lucca from Chrono trigger. How far she's come.

Llife for Ricka started off promising enough. But, when both her parents died when she was 8, (one from a workplace accident, the other from cancer) only her grandfather and older brother were left to take care of her. (or take care of the older brother, for that matter)

For the next several years the family struggled with poverty, and mental illness. Ricka in particular barely hung on through the course of middle school, before succumbing to a massive breakdown at the beginning of highschool. Though, if there's a silver lining, is that she grew close to a former friend of her parents, who she sees as an uncle of sorts. Some particular interests of his, like boxing and motorcycles, rubbed off on her. (I know she's doing karate stuff in that one pic, but I changed my mind on that later)

After her breakdown, even her somewhat conservative grandfather had to admit her struggles needed to be taken seriously. Thankfully, around that time the family's finances improved somewhat. Since then, she's had a therapist and homeschooling, while pursuing her various technical interests as best she can.

The story begins with her starting university at 19. A rather big step for her considering her history of social anxiety, she's confident she can handle it. And she does! Especially with the help of a friend of hers from online, who also happens to be attending the same university as a transfer student.

However, despite making some irl friends, the future still presents a struggle. Corporate interests rule higher education to the point that they outright dictate what majors are available to matriculate into. It's hard to be an engineer when the powers that be decide that there's currently enough engineers.

Being around attentive friends who aren't used to her quirks reveals just how odd some of those quirks are. Which then leads to a discovery both illuminating and somewhat upsetting. See, I said telekinetic powers exist, but not telepathic. So mind-to-physical influence, but no mind-to-mind interaction.

Well, it turns out Ricka is unnaturally good at knowing what people are feeling, and where they are, and what they're about to do. To the point that it becomes clear she's got some special, unheard of mental abilities. And that, furthermore, she's had these powers, unknowingly, for most of her life. It becomes clear that it was actually a major source of her social anxiety, as the feelings of those around her overwhelmed her to a supernatural degree. However, Ricka's conditions are still quite real. Knowing the reason (or, at least, a reason) for her issues does not make them go away overnight.

While grappling with that, some strange things start happening to people around campus, which leads her and her newfound friends into unwittingly becoming a group of amateur sleuths. Ricka's empathic powers, naturally, become very useful for this task, making her into the functional core of the group. This then leads them into stumbling across things that they weren't supposed to know, and... well, the plot had to start at some point. What happens from there is a conspiracy thriller of unreasonable proportions.

Because, you see, those empathic powers didn't come from nowhere. And where they did come from...

...

One more thing. A somewhat more recent development is that she lost her left forearm when she was young. Or, hell, maybe she was born without it. Either way, she wears a prosthetic a lot. Normally... well, I'll let Ricka herself explain, in a block of narration I wrote randomly a little while ago:

My prosthetic could be covered by insurance. Well, kind of. The school health insurance will get you a part, but only within a certain price range. And, really, that’s not unreasonable. A fully articulated human-like hand is a bit much for the everyday, especially for your typical student. I’m not your typical student. And I don’t like being told what to do by an insurance company. No, the only thing that’s covering this hand is a leather glove.

You can see that leather glove in the pic where she's princess carrying that guy. And the prosthetic itself, uh, coming apart in that one doodle.

She also wears a simpler hook/pincer sort of prosthetic half the time. But she got that more advanced one at a young age, and has basically been learning how to maintain and adjust it herself for years. It's kind of her pride and joy. If it wasn't clear already that she's a big smarty pants.

So, yeah. That's Ricka. I find her a harder to think about because she's less upfront than Shelly by a long shot. Her presence doesn't come with the same bombastic instant gratification. It does however come with an internal narration that would feel at home in a hard boiled detective mystery novel. So, that's something.

[mysticstarlightduck]

Happy Blursday! Which of your blorbos should come with an instruction/care manual and what might it say?

Happy Blursday too, @writernopal!

Oh, definitely Bryn, Tanwin, and Nethen for this one!

Those characters have been through a lot, and have some heavy trauma which often triggers them. They should definitely come with a care manual, cause their emotional package is heavy.

But since those are too many characters, I will do the "instruction manual" only for Bryn. It would say:

Be supportive, not condescending. Do not treat him like he is weak, because he is not and can get stabby really quickly at this, and you don't want to be at the receiving end of this stabbing.

Do not, under any circumstances speak anything favorable about High Lady Avaline. Also, if possible, do not touch him unless he wants to initiate the hugging. Bryn is touch averse and not realizing this will get someone stabbed, and it will most likely end in the wounding of the hugger.

DON'T LET FIRE NEAR HIM. Seriously, do not. My boy despises fire so much that he'd rather feel cold during a blizzard than sit by a fire. If you don't want a young mercenary having a breakdown, don't let fire near him.

Help him in his revenge quest, and be supportive of his intent to destroy the House of Lady Avaline. This is seriously the best and quickest way to get in his good graces. Want Bryn to help you? Then help him in devising a plan to see that royal piece of work dead.

When around him, do not call anyone "insane", and respect those who actually are mentally ill in some way. His older brother succumbed to madness after the Agrannorian Civil War and the themes surrounding that are still a very sore wound to Bryn.

MAKE STRAWBERRY DESSERTS. I refuse to elaborate further. If you want to be friends with our bitter stabby mercenary boi, make him a batch of strawberry cupcakes and a medieval smoothie.

Spar with him. Help him win the brawls he starts. Support his fighting against the world and he is going to respect you. (My boi is the representation of the vine "I will not hesitate", and you better be on his side when he does this).

Bryn is surprisingly stealthy, so learn to not be scared whenever he pops up behind you in a shady alleyway. That's just his way of saying he is your friend.

Bryn may not seem like it, but he likes bad jokes. If he seems especially chatty or in a good mood, do make a lot of bad jokes and tell funny stories. He will be kindly amused. Even though he will likely not smile and remain with the same scowl on his face.

Also, on that note, it is vital to learn to distinguish his "I am your friend and this conversation pleases me" scowl from the "I will kill this bitch and dance on the blood of my enemies" scowl and the difference is very subtle. But there is a difference, and you better be good at noticing it.

[thestarlightforge]

Doodled on the board at work today. Thinking of them. Blorbos from our mental breakdown ☺️

[insipid-drivel]

Hi there, this is awkward but what does each alter take care of for Insipid?

It's not awkward at all! We all have certain "jobs" that we specialize in that are based on both natural proclivities and on our personalities.

Alex (me) handles most health-related day to day stuff. I make sure the meds get taken on time, refills are called in, and organizers are arranged every week. I also help out with stuff like treating illnesses and injuries. I usually get called a doctor, but I'm really just kind of a permanent med student. Medicine's my thing.

Odd (yes that's his real name) isn't a big talker and usually doesn't say much without at least one insult included. He prefers to write and paint to express himself, but is essentially the epitome of "the one guy that never talks until nobody knows what to do". He's honest, doesn't give many fucks, and contributes to things like writing projects and other crafts. He's the guy we call on when someone needs to be told to go fuck themselves while walking backwards out of a crappy situation. His best friend is Marchosias, and Marchosias talks more than enough for the both of them.

Marchosias is demonic in nature and used to be aggressive and vicious toward Insipid when we were very young. His whole deal was a misapplication of pent-up anger and loathing directed toward Insipid's abusers. He's probably the most stereotypical of the "bad alter" stereotype, but the reason for it is because he didn't understand how to apply his anger and motivation productively. After he learned some manners (read: Cassandra beat the everloving shit out of him), he's become a great guardian and protector. He can break through flashbacks and lucid dreams. He's very chatty, but if I were to sum up his DND alignment, I'd say he's "Chaotic Bastard" all the way.

Sal is the in-brain blorbo. cinnamon bun. precious bab. He's a natural therapist or counselor-type, loves all things cosmetics, and is generally the best boi for if you need cheering up. He and Insipid heckle bad horror movies together. He also handles our self-care, wardrobe, and even gift choices. We will all collectively kick your ass in a Wendy's parking lot if you make him cry.

Cassandra is basically my "twin". She's the eldest of us all and the most protective. She kept Insipid from being diagnosed until relatively recently so we wouldn't end up being institutionalized or not given an opportunity for Insipid to choose what to do with us for themselves. She's a pretty standard "Enforcer", you could say. She's able to induce temporary states of pain asymbolia (can't suffer from pain but can register if you're hurt) and has saved Insipid's life a few times from various circumstances.

Aever is basically my boyfriend. It's kind of hard to explain how it works for us, but his interests and capabilities are especially tuned into Insipid's central nervous system (brain and spinal cord + some other large nerves). He's able to construct mental safe spaces kind of like the Holodeck on Star Trek to provide us with settings to write in as well as safe spaces for if Insipid needs a rest. In cases where Insipid's in a lot of nerve pain, Aev's been able to get in there in ways Cass sometimes can't and shut it down.

That's just what we can do on our own. We're able to work in tandem or in groups. The main six of us are always on-shift and rotate duties based upon the situation and who needs rest. We're able to do things like redirect hypervigilance from C-PTSD, to halting emotional breakdowns, to writing stories featuring us all. Writing is how we got to where we are now, as well as how we stayed hidden for most of Insipid's life. We talked to them as their "characters" would in their imagination, which was also how we were able to develop our own unique identities and even appearances! The dude in our profile pic is a commissioned portrait of Odd. He smokes like a broken stove and doesn't remember how to smile.

Thanks for asking us! If you have a question for any specific one of us, just say so. We can switch pretty fast when we're just typing.

[anemicjellyfish]

"If Stolas has to live with Blitzø... and get to know each other as friends..."

I love speculation. And I actually like the idea of Stolas & Blitzø being roommates whether they're in a relationship or not. Because I believe this person is correct that Stolas may need to experience the way that the lower classes live in order for him to realize the inequality. It's a bit of a "show, don't tell," thing; I don't think a sit-down with IMP or anyone else will make him understand. I give this person credit for realizing that in their own words.

But I entirely disagree that Stolas deluded himself into thinking they're friends. I think Stolas tried to make a friendship out of their transactional deal. And it was functioning to a degree.

There's strong evidence that Stolas and Blitzø had contact in the time between Blitzø taking the Grimoire and the deal being made, but we don't know how long that time period is. Whether or not it was all sexual is debatable, but Blitzø wouldn't have a button in his office labeled "Stolas" before their deal was made if Stolas didn't make contact in between the Not Divorced party and Murder Family.

There's also evidence that these two talk outside their deal, with Stolas commenting on Blitzø's social media, the texts, and the photos of Blitzø's horse drawings on Stolas' phone. Which means Stolas was making an effort to know Blitzø outside of the deal. I wouldn't call that deluding himself.

As an aside, I can't see their future being "start over as friends and maybe have a relationship later." Whatever happens is probably gonna be rocky and difficult to navigate for both of them. Neither really know how to be in love, but I can't see the show dragging out a friends-to-lovers arc when both of them have such deep feelings for one another.

I'll cover Vassago quickly, because this reply is already to long and convoluted, and also I had a C-PTSD-related mental breakdown a few hours ago. We know precious little about him. Confirmed: 2 sentences of dialogue in the trailer, Viv said he's a "good boy," and he's a gay man. I have nothing for or against Stolago (despite resting a significant amount of my sanity in Stolitz), but that is nowhere near enough information for me to think Vassago is a love interest for Stolas.

I wholeheartedly disagree with Apology Tour being "foreshadowing" of a jealous Blitzø. That was our look at a jealous Blitzø already in progress.

I'm not seeing how Stolas dating Vassago will lead him to both understand a healthy relationship and still end up with Blitzø. Blitzø has some growth to do as well, and I'm not sure where else he's going to get it aside from learning alongside Stolas.

"What if there's something here for us to glean, for you to teach and me to try to learn."

That! That is foreshadowing! These two both need each other to make progress in their understanding of being in love.

I wanted to make this even longer, but I've had a rough 10 hour shift today, along with a little mental health episode when i got home, and I just can't stay awake to type out more? I hope any of this makes sense. I wish capitalism would give me more time off work so I can type about the blorbos on tumblr.

And hey, if I end up being wrong, it's cool. Lik it's just a show. But with the almost 2 seasons we've had so far, I really can't see a love triangle being placed in here? Even temporarily, it just doesn't feel like it would work?

This is why I'm against a love triangle...

This is why I'm against a love triangle guys, because this idea genuinely disturbs me.

I'm sorry, this idea sounds really fucked up to me...

Because imagine being Blitz:

This guy confesses his feelings to you

You guys have a falling out but you patch things up

Shit happens, so you give this guy a place to stay in your home, and you also offer him a job

This guy, despite still having feelings for you, then randomly decides to romantically date someone else WHILE YOU LIVE AND WORK TOGETHER

My dude this isn't just effed up from Blitzø’s perspective, it's also effed up for the guy Stolas is dating perspective.

No hate to Stolago fans right now, and if it does happen, fine, but please not like this...

I really would rather have Stolitz go through eternal limbo than what this fan suggested.

Also, if this were to happen, we aren't getting haha funny Jealous Blitz from this, we're getting Depressed Blitz who thinks he's gonna die alone.

~~~

Note: Yes, this is the same guy that keeps on messaging me on reddit. He's now commenting on my reddit posts too.