#it's fully Wyll who saved Karlach's life there
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wavebiders · 1 year ago
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The thing that really gets me about Wyll and Karlach is just how their bond is allowed to have the importance in their narratives that it has
I mean, in games like these the cast is always going to be centered around the pc. Sure, the relationships between other companions can be developed through party banter, commentary, or even cinematics, but at the end of the day everyone's most significant relationship is always going to be the player. That's the person who most affects them and where their story is going
With these two, it's not even that Tav isn't vitally important to them both, but it's meeting Karlach that changes Wyll's life one way or another. It's Wyll that's the first person to stick out his neck for Karlach, and sends her reeling. Their bond alone is enough to convince Karlach to go to Avernus and stay alive
It's a very bold choice to risk limiting the player's importance in order to drive home the connection between two characters, and I really appreciate Larian for going there
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autistichalsin · 4 months ago
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Analysis of each character's final words in the new Dark Urge evil ending
If you are romanced to a character, you have the option, when taking the new version of the Sins of the Father ending, to kill your partner in front of the others in your party, killing them with one last kiss. They then give their last words and pass away. I love each and every one and feel they are incredible characterization moments.
So let's break these down!
Lae'zel:
I... I am glad it was you. No other blade would have sufficed.
This is something that hammers home that, Vlaakith or no, Lae'zel deeply believes in all the ideals of a Githyanki. Life is a privilege for the strong, and death is the price of weakness. Further, if romanced, Lae'zel will affectionately call you "the source of my bruises" many times. If she has to die, if she has finally found the one person stronger than herself, then she is "satisfied" that it is you- who she both loved and admired. The only one she would ever consider worthy of besting her.
Karlach:
Fuck you.
Short, simple, and to the point, just the way Karlach does everything else. She's already gone through all her stages of grief with her engine- well, almost all of them. Anger still remains. She burns hot until the end.
Wyll:
I... I forgive you.
This isn't just Wyll being a good guy. This is heartbreak, and guilt. Guilt for not saving you from Bhaal's influence when he was so sure he had. Heartbreak that after he gave his literal soul to save as many people as he could, he couldn't save you- and couldn't save others from you, either. All he sacrificed, negated in an instant by the person he loved and trusted most. Of all the characters here, Wyll (tied with Halsin) sounds the most obviously broken, and it's easy to see why, given that he is self-sacrificing to a fault.
There was a set of scenes datamined from the game, where at the Morphic Pool, the Netherbrain would have taunted the players, causing them to hallucinate things related to their fears and insecurities. Wyll's would have been a vision of himself talking about how he was never a hero, how the Blade of Frontiers was a farce all along. One can't help but think about that scene here, wondering just how much blame, bordering on self-loathing, he might feel here.
Dark Justiciar Shadowheart:
I... I'm coming to you, Lady Shar.
Another short and simple one. By becoming a Dark Justiciar, Shadowheart has fully embraced the nihilism of Shar's teachings. Why be saddened or angry at her own death when this is just what she's embraced with all her sacrifices?
(Sidenote: this does also answer a question I had, namely, what was going to happen to everyone Durge kills. Thankfully it seems they aren't actually going to be sacrificed to him as such, and will indeed end up in the realm of their deities. This makes Bhaal's plan even DUMBER, because deities in DND lore need worshippers to have enough power to exist. Killing everyone at once just guarantees that soon after Durge dies as the last person alive, so too will Bhaal fade from existence.)
Selunite Shadowheart:
I... I thought we were going to save each other...
This Shadowheart rejected everything she knew. She was scared to defy her goddess, but worked up the courage- thanks to you. She thought you would have a new life together. She believed in you. She thought she would get to return the favor, and help you turn the page on Bhaal, too.
She's not just heartbroken for herself; she's heartbroken for you, too. Heartbroken at the life you denied both her and yourself.
Gale:
You made me want to live...
From the moment the orb entered Gale's chest, he knew he was at risk of dying. Then Mystra all but marked him as a dead man walking. But despite that, he finds love with you- and for the first time thinks maybe there is a purpose for him beyond Mystra. That he isn't more useful to the world dead. More than that, he wants to live to be with you, to enjoy your company and companionship. And then you kill him, and do the one thing WORSE than what would have happened if he'd never been pulled from that rock.
It almost would have been kinder to just hack his hand off the first time you met him, though Gale may or may not agree.
Spawn Astarion:
I should have killed you when I had the chance...
The angriest, most bitter response out of all the romanced companions, a step beyond Karlach's "fuck you." This is beyond "fuck you" and even beyond "I hate you." It's "I regret every moment I spent with you." You made him believe he could have better. That he could recover from what Cazador did. You even convinced him to spare the 7,000 spawn and that he could be something better than Cazador.
And now you reveal it was all a lie. Astarion is probably thinking that you talked him out of completing the ritual solely so he'd be easier to kill right here and now. How many regrets are flashing through his mind, how many moments where he wonders if things could have been different if only he'd done this or that, even aside from killing you?
All he wanted was to live as a free person. And then the first time he thinks he has that at last, he loses it as the world ends.
Ascended Astarion:
No... no, this can't be... I can't- you can't- no...
In contrast to spawn Astarion, ascended isn't angry, because he doesn't have the clarity, the ability to process what's happening. Spawn Astarion could tell he'd been betrayed.
But Ascended? Ascended, who went through so much to become one of the most powerful beings in the world, only to STILL lose without fanfare? And by you, his own spawn who he thought he had under his control? It isn't betrayal, because he is bluescreening; he can't comprehend what happened or how or why. How could he have been killed, and by you of all people? Was all he went through killing Cazador really for nothing? How could it be when he was supposed to be the most powerful? Was power actually meaningless all along?
He doesn't say anything of substance because he can't understand what's happening here.
Halsin:
Thaniel... goodbye...
Halsin is the oldest of all the companions. He's experienced the most loss of anyone; his birth family, his fellow Druids, and, for a time, Thaniel. He has had more than enough time to contemplate his own mortality, because he's already lived multiple lifetimes.
So here, two things are happening. One, he isn't expressing anger or betrayal at his murder- because he is more than wise enough, and humble enough, to understand that there are worse things than what has been done to himself. Instead of himself, he is thinking of the world he's leaving behind that is about to fall- and most of all, of his most important person, the one who gave him a purpose, who was there when no one else was, who he failed once and only just got back. The closest thing to a child he'll ever have. In his last moments, instead of himself, Halsin is thinking of those he loves.
And second, it's an almost deliberate snubbing of Durge. He willingly walked into that kiss, knowing full well it would be the last thing he ever did. He gave you his death, he pleaded with his own god to forgive you and him both. He gave you everything he felt he owed you, and no more- no begging or sobbing. Instead, he comes as close as he ever gets to selfishness, and spends his last moments thinking about the thing that makes him the happiest- which could have been you, in another life, if you hadn't done this.
Minthara:
No... we were meant to do this together...
Heartbreak, disbelief, and betrayal. You spent so many nights planning this out. She had been cast aside by her people, her goddess, and she was going to get the last laugh. She was going to crush them personally under her heel and prove she was the best (or second best, behind you) of all of them. She's devastated she won't get to help you torture all those souls and take what she feels was owed to her. But interestingly enough... no anger. Probably because it was overshadowed by the sheer heartbreak, but also a sign that even in those moments, she still admires you for your ruthlessness.
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normal-thoughts-official · 10 months ago
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here is the thing
when i started playing bg3, i didn't expect wyll to be so devoted to karlach. her devotion to him is a given; the guy risked his life to save her when they had literally just met. of course he matters so much to her
but wyll matched that same devotion right back, as if she had been the one to save him, even though karlach never really got the chance to do anything of that magnitude back for him
but then i think about it
mizora's punishment plays directly into wyll's worst trauma. to be suddenly branded as demonic, so people will always look at him and see that first. like his father did. like the whole city, everyone who ever knew him, did. no amount of good deeds will ever be enough to compensate for his association with evil; his soul will burn in hell and he will not be welcome anywhere because he's a greedy warlock who made his choice. i don't know if that is actually true, but he certainly thinks it to be, if anything, from his assumption that the people of the grove (whose lives he had just saved, and who had known him for at least a few days as nothing but a kind hero who looked out for them) would be unable to look past his appearance and wouldn't want him near them
and mind, mizora clearly wants wyll to stay isolated. why else would she forbid him from explaining the circumstances of his pact? what could she possibly gain from that, other than making sure he can never dispel the notion that he made a deal with the devil simply for power?
so it makes sense that that, more even than the non-consensual body modification, was the punishment. to put his warlock status on display, so that people would immediately be offput by him - and even if they aren't, he will be sure they are
his own father couldn't stand to look at him, and that was back when he had just lost an eye
but the first thing karlach tells him is this:
"Thank you for seeing me for who I really am. And... I think I can see you for who you really are, too. A hero"
obviously, it's common sense for her to see him like this after he just saved her life at great, and at the time unknown, personal cost. but it would also have been common sense for his father to know that the son he himself raised and who's nothing if not a paragon of kindness and duty wouldn't just decide to sell his soul for power out of the blue one fine day. or that, if he keeps trying to say something but can't, then there might be more to the story. for fuck's sake, he lost an eye. and yet, ulder didn't. wyll's association with the demonic was enough to dispel everything about his personhood, his values, and his actions. and now said association was branded, quite literally, on his forehead
and karlach's suffered so much at the hands of devils. just like with the other tieflings, he expects her to be unsettled by him, at the very least
but then she says that she looks at him and sees only a hero. the man who saved her. the man who cared enough to listen and do what was right. the man who sacrificed something for her, who had to make a choice no one should have to make
he had saved an entire city when he first made the pact, and yet not one soul in it was able to see that. see him
but karlach did
karlach does
and not only that. not only is she the first person in perhaps his whole life to put more weight to wyll's personhood and actions than to mizora's; but she knew he needed to hear that. she says it like someone who's trying to offer a comfort in a hopeless situation, which is exactly what she's doing. she knows that he is afraid of being rejected
and of course she does
she is the one who comes closest to fully understanding him.
can you imagine being wyll and seeing karlach's story play out in dizzyingly rapid succession in your mind? had a pretty good, happy life, then in the span of one day everything changed when she was associated with the demonic. she lost everything and everyone she ever had. from then on, she only knew one thing: to fight. no rest and no friends and no breaks, just endless, senseless fighting. her body was changed against her will. she hadn't been touched in a positive way in ten years. even fucking mizora was there
that's his story, too
sure, he might not have been literally unable to touch people, but neither was karlach when she was in hell. he's been completely alone except for mizora for the last seven years, at least in the ways that matter. nothing in his life was constant, except for the fighting and the humiliation at a devil's hand. and the loneliness
of course he thinks it's a trick. it hits too close to home
and of course he can't help but listen anyway. because wyll is nothing if not compassionate, and he's just watched a tldr of his own pain inflicted on someone else
so when karlach says that she still sees him as himself first?
he is reminded that she gets it
for the first time in seven years, he is not alone, and he is understood
of course he would do anything to keep her in his life, just as she would
in a way, she did save him, too.
(slightly late meta submission for @thekindredcollective's wyllstravaganza2024, day 19: bond)
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brekkie-e · 1 year ago
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I need more people talking about how the ideal thematic party is Wyll, Karlach, and Astarion. All three bound in the shackles of servitude in some capacity, all three in some stage of being sold to hell.
Karlach and Astarion being two sides of the same coin. Years of servitude, physical and emotional torment, and rage under their belt. Nothing but the burning desire for revenge and the desperate ache to live flowing through their veins. They're both drunk on freedom and life. They get the other person, despite responding to their new found freedom in completely opposite ways. You can see it in their banter though. They get it. There is not a lot of judgement between them. If Karlach needs to laugh hysterically because she's here on the material plane, walking in the sun, and just can't believe it? Astarion can't even bring himself to judge.
But Wyll? Wyll is careening towards joining them in their suffering. He's got one foot in the door. He already knows a little of the pain that comes with being on the end of a leash, but he has only just begun to fully feel the consequences he is destined to face. The thing about Wyll though is he's desperate to save everyone but himself. He's quick to back Karlach and Astarion in their fights against their tormentors. But when it comes down to it he's fairly passive in his quest to free himself of Mizzora. Atleast in my experience, it fell to Tav to capitalize on oppurtunities to out think her. It fell to Tav to push him to TRY. That's not a critique on Wyll, but when you put that thematically next to Karlach and Astarion who are near feral in their desperation for freedom- it is really interesting. And it's easy to imagine the two of them becoming determined to ensure he doesn't fall victim to the same fates they did. He's trying to save them, while they're trying to save him.
Or, countering my own point, imagine how frustrating that would be for Karlach and Astarion. Knowing that this great guy, this larger than life hero who always has a silly pun and a dashing smile on hand- doesn’t seem to understand the gravity of his situation. He’s still smiling. He’s still soldiering on as though nothing is wrong. He’s not taking the initiative to escape it, and he’s not coming up with any possible solution. He’s content to keep spending his time helping people and putting them before his own needs. Now, Wyll isn’t necessarily as fine as he seems. He’s by no means ignorant of or unafraid of the fate that awaits him. But he puts on a good front, with that big old Charisma modifier of his. And I imagine that could easily drive Astarion and Karlach mad.
That’s without going in to the fact that Astarion has an infernal pact carved on his back, and will be sold to hell as well if he doesn’t find a solution. And he hits the ground running the moment he finds out. He is not about to let that happen, and goes to great lengths to find out how to fix the situation. So there is a contrast with Astarion and Wyll not only in their reaction to their own tormenter’s, but with their goal of evading hell.
Because of how each of these guys’ situation is so closely related to their own, I think many moments would arise of stepping on each other’s toes while processing their trauma. Karlach and Astarion know better than most what Wyll is going to go through if he doesn’t take this seriously, and he makes PUNS? If they could go back to the day before their lives changed forever, they would do everything possible to make sure it never happened. They didn’t get a warning. He has his written on paper. In glowing ink. There could be so many incredible arguments between these three because personality wise- more often than not it would be Karlach and Wyll agreeing. Which would make the moments Karlach ends up siding with Astarion because Wyll made light of something at the wrong time all the more poignant. Karlach and Astarion agreeing on something and being a united front trying to drag Wyll to action would be such a powerful scene.
It becomes even more fun when you consider their personalities. Wyll and Karlach being the indisputably kindest characters of the group, but being so narratively tied to the one who is morally bankrupt. When someone is altruistically good and helps people for no reason Astarion usually gets frustrated with the fact they don’t understand how cruel the world is. He doesn’t do that with Karlach. He can’t do that with Karlach. Because she’s him. She’s the part of him who rages and screams and let’s every swear word fly and embraces how much hurt she is carrying and how entirely unfair it is. He sees that in her and I think some part of him is validated by it. So when she is unbearably kind and refuses to believe that there’s no good left in the world, who is he to tell her she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She has just as much baggage to back her up as he does. He just walks off and let’s her have it in most of the banter I’ve heard. The flip side, he validates her own need for vengeance and doesn’t let her feel like a bad person for enjoying taking her anger out. She deserves it after everything that’s been taken from her.
Wyll is a similar situation. He is a constant example of the goodness of humanity. A reminder that it is more important to remain true to oneself even at the expense of power or comfort. He stays true to himself, and is forced to abandon his home. He stays true to himself, and is forced to endure a form that is foreign to him. He stays true to himself, and forsakes the safety of the material plane. In the process, he sacrifices the powers of his pact. He willingly gives up the position of Grand Duke so that he can be the tool for good that he thinks the world needs. Of course, a million points can also be made about all that he’s willing to sacrifice if you go the route of maintaining his pact- but I’m working off of what I personally saw play out, which was destroy the pact but save the Grand Duke.
Wyll’s personality playing off Astarion’s selfishness is so interesting. The first things Astarion reaches for in every situation are power and comfort. Silk sheets, a good wine, unholy ascension- whatever the whim of the day is. Being forced into the company of someone who constantly reminds him there is a vastly different approach to life would both be frustrating and eye opening. Especially when that example is backed up by Karlach whom Astarion can’t help but respect and find oddly comforting. Vice versa, as Wyll is an example of selflessness to Astarion, he is an example of selfishness to Wyll. Where Wyll and Karlach drag Astarion kicking and screaming towards recovery, he might have his own soft moments of begging Wyll to put himself first. Just once. Being selfish about your needs does not make you a bad person. A dynamic made even better by Karlach being the background example that being unapologetic about your needs is okay. All of these little elements play off each other so well.
Now how do these guys come through for Karlach? Stability. Which is a word I NEVER thought to use in reference to Astarion before. But I’m serious. Day one of freedom for him? Where is his mind? Completely focused on how to make sure it lasts. How does he secure the situation. How does he make himself safe permanently? He is a self proclaimed ideas man, not much of a planner. And yet, he IS coming up with ideas. He is thinking ahead about the future, and planning to take every chance he can to secure his freedom. Karlach is living in the moment, taking each day as a blessing and not letting fears of the future hold her back. And she deserves that. But it’s good for her to have someone pulling her back to earth and reminding her to do more than live in the moment when it comes to the big things. I’m serious, if they all three put their heads together and worked as a team not only would they be able to accomplish anything- the found family potential is absolutely limitless.
So- long story short. I personally find them to be the most satisfying and interesting party dynamic you can play with. It’s rewarding on a lot of levels, and also has some of the best friendship dialogues in the game. Which I’ve noticed there just isn’t a lot of friend-centric commentary or scenes in the base game, but this party does seem to get more than other’s I’ve worked with. I think that’s a larger issue than just which party build you run with, but I do enjoy that you can get a satisfying found family feel with this crew. Of course, romancing them as eachother also works pretty well too- the dynamics are just as good for that. Personally, I enjoy romancing Astarion and then keeping Karlach and Wyll as besties, but there’s a lot of ways you can run with it.
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val-in-the-underdark · 5 months ago
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Grief, Pt. 2
I have a thread on Twitter talking about Astarion's grief that I will bring over here eventually, but it's something I thought of again while trying a new path last night.
I'm halfway through Act 3 with Val and I decided to see what would happen if I didn't take Astarion to Cazador's (I've done this quest like 8 times so I'm just doing separate saves to try things out).
It's a pretty rough path to go because Astarion is understandably upset. You robbed him of his choice to ascend or not, and his story is all about lack of free will (he and his siblings are enslaved after all), among several other things.
But if he doesn't break up with you, he tells you that Cazador held up a lot of space in his life and now he feels empty.
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The quote before this is that Astarion thinks he would have felt differently if he had killed Cazador himself, but even if you take him with you, he says he feels numb and empty (said here if you defeat Cazador before dealing with Lorroakan).
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Several characters in the game have this in common like Dame Aylin, Lae'zel, Shadowheart, Karlach, and Wyll, who are all in different stages of mourning a loss. Losing a future. Losing family. Losing freedom.
Grief can be a non-linear process and not the same for everyone. The five stages often quoted are never in a straight line like you would think. You might feel angry right away and hold that for so long that you cycle through everything else later.
Astarion is angry for a lot of the game in part because he's grieving; he was young and then enslaved for centuries with nothing to call his own. He has lost everything including his sense of self, something he will have to rebuild over again after the ending of his quest, The Pale Elf. How he does that is up to you, but with Cazador gone, it's no wonder he feels lost after two centuries.
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Lastly, and I find this interesting, is the conversation that Tav/Durge can have when about to kill Cazador (again, if you decide not to take Astarion).
I think that all the evidence you encounter in the palace and in the dungeon isn't there to make you feel bad for Cazador (I mean, you could but you'd be a better person than me LOL). The purpose of Vellioth's lessons and this particular dialogue, etc. is to foreshadow Astarion's potential transformation into the Vampire Ascendant.
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Ascended Astarion is a new kind of vampire, yes, but he's still a full vampire. He's not 100% outside of the mentality that full vampires have. For instance, when he first tells you about Cazador in Act 1, he says that vampires are scheming and power-hungry beasts.
This is evidenced by things you find in Cazador's Palace including the fact that he was hosting a final "feast" before the ascension ritual where he was gathering information (pretty sure this person said they worked at the Counting House).
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Ascended Astarion is doing something similar in the epilogue when he tells you to bring any secrets right back to him - he's scheming and biding his time just like Cazador.
While we don't know exactly is going through Astarion's mind when he ascends, I sometimes wonder if there is a layer of him trapped like Cazador. I've argued in another thread that I don't think Ascended Astarion will fully deal with his past the way Spawn Astarion has to in order to move on, but maybe I'll re-post that or revise that for another time.
Anyway, while this path is interesting for lore reasons if you really love Astarion, it does feel hollow and anti-climatic because there's a lot of emotional payoff in the final confrontation.
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xxcherrydevilxx · 5 months ago
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“For Her” 1/3 
— Karlach x Fem!reader
— Warning: Angst, so much angst, some spoilers? Idk not really but just in case
— Summary: You would do anything for your beloved Karlach not to die from her infernal engine. She deserved the world, to be free, and gods you would give it to her. Selling your soul to a devil in exchange for her is nothing, you would do it every time for her, always for her. — Author's Note: This was supposed to be a one-shot, I have decided while writing that there is no way in hell that I could do all I want to do in one story. I am splitting it up into three parts! This is the first, the second being fluffy smut, and the third is the crescendo with you getting taken to the hells! I don’t know when those other two will be out, it could take a few weeks or more to get em just right! But fear not, they will happen.
— Word Count: 2.7k 
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The blood from Grotash’s corpse soaked into your robes, the sticky confirmation of the man’s death gave you a somber sense of accomplishment. However, for Karlach, it seemed only to ignite more rage and fear in her. Her ragged breathing drew you out of your dead stare at the mutilated body at your feet. 
“My love?” you hesitantly called, noting the lashing of her tail and your companions moving a step back. You had never seen her so… angry before. 
“So Gortash is nothing more than a pile of flesh?” she asked no one in particular. The toe of her boot kicked his head, as if willing for him to get back up, to make this mean something more.
You moved to lay a hand on her shoulder, to offer her some form of consolement, but she lurched from your grasp. The fire underneath her skin began to light and cast cruel shadows across her face, the temperature rising a degree.
“There's nothing, is there? I killed the bastard who ruined my life, and now my prize is to crawl into a corner and die.” her breathing hitched and the engine inside her flared with power as she let out a loud cry, her hands balling into fists. 
“Am I fucking missing something?” she called, her lips pulling into a snarl to bare her fangs at you. 
You. 
Your heart, the warmth to your cold, the being who smiled at you with such adoration. The one you would do anything for, the one who was dealt a cruel fate. 
“-I'm dying, I’m going to die,” her voice echoed off the palace walls. The flames curled and licked up her form, growing more intense as the seconds passed with tense stillness from everyone but Karlach.
“It’s- you won't, I refuse to allow it,” You immediately answered. Your voice caught and broke as you watched her feral eyes turn to you. The anger, the pain...
The eyes you stared into when you desired her compassion and love. 
All of that was gone now, she was fully engrossed in her rage and suffering, and you couldn’t hate her for it. 
“You can deny it all you want, soldier, but I'm dying, and you get to live.” Her lips turned up into a cruel smile, “And you- you get to watch the stars, warming your hands on the fire, dancing, eating, making fucking love- all of it, all of it,” she threw her hands up as if in defeat. The fire roared and her screams of anguish echoed off the walls. You gave her a helpless look, what could you do? What can you do to save her- to give her more time? Gods anything and you would do it, anything-
A deal. Karlach had finished her long, well deserved, tirade and told you that you could find her in camp later, once she had time to process. Your companions gave the both of you pitiful sad looks, some clasping their hand on your back as if a sign of moral support.
Your throat felt dry and scratchy, your eyes hot as if tears were about to overspill them. Your hands, still sticky with blood, clutched and let go of your robes as your mind worked frantically. Wyll was still by your side, waiting for you to speak, to ask for anything. That was always like him, caring for you and Karlach. 
Your voice sounded pathetic in your ears. “Can you- can you keep an eye on her for me, I have to… I just-” You cut yourself off, taking in a ragged breath as you felt the tears slip down your face that must have been covered in gore. 
“Of course, anything for you,” Wyll responded softly. Rubbing his calloused hand across your back. You felt more tears roll down your face and a guttural sound slip past your lips. It sounded so broken, you half thought it couldn’t have been your voice making such a sound. But when you felt Wyll pull you into a hug, a tight desperate hug, the sound which could only be described as heartbreak incarnate wretched itself from you yet again. You clung to Wyll, wailing like that until you could no longer produce tears, your fingers digging into his armor as if you could ground yourself with just action. 
You didn’t tell Wyll where you were going, you knew he and the rest of your party would try to stop you... But they couldn’t stop you from doing this. No god, tadpole, or what-have-you could stop your feet from moving towards the only cure for your beloved you knew of. If she knew what you would do for her, the lengths you were willing to go to for her, she would yell at your idiocy, say it wasn’t worth it. To you she was all you had, were you not supposed to try everything in your power to save her? If only for her to live longer, even if it meant without you.
The door that you stood in front of seemed to whisper your deepest desires. Was it because you were at Sharess' Caress? Or because a devil who probably knew of your arrival was waiting ever so patiently for you to knock. 
You rubbed your arm over your face, trying in a desperate attempt to seem more presentable. However, with the blood you tracked up the stairs and your puffy red eyes, all it did was further make you look desperate. Just what Raphael was hoping for. 
You brought your hand up to knock, the door opening after one tentative hit on the oak wood. He waited there, a devilish smile as he leaned languidly on the door.
“Well, pet, this is a welcome surprise.” he purred, opening the door more to allow you inside. The luxury of the room still astounds you, the plush bedding, and the intricate rugs that soften your step. 
“I see you are in dire need of counsel.” His eyes watched, and a brow quirked as he saw no one else follow you inside. “And you've come alone, my pet.” he smiled, flicking a wrist and making the door shut snugly behind you. 
You stood in the middle of the extravagant room numbly, the blood on your shoes soaking the carpet. You watched the blood expand across the floors as prayers flashed through your mind, gods knew this was the only way, and yet… 
“Even without that fiery tiefling of Zariel’s… How interesting,” He hummed, his voice almost beckoning you to spill your desires. You found your eyes looking at him, he had found himself a plush chair to lounge in while he waited for you to do what he had been wishing for. His long nails tapped on the arm of the chair, a knowing look in his eyes. The mention of Karlach made your heart constrict. 
“Tell me, small pup, what you need to ask of me without your companion's knowledge..”
You bit the inside of your mouth, your eyes skirting away from the man who sat in front of you like a king waiting for a peasant to speak, to beg. 
“I think you know,” Your voice, rough from sobbing, still held traces of venom. A click of the tongue from Raphael made you hunch your shoulders. 
“I am here to make a deal, my soul- whatever you desire- for Karlach’s freedom,” you willed your stern glare to find its way back up to Raphael. He stared at you with a knowing gaze, the hint of a smirk curling his lips. His eyes found their way to his nails, examining them as if bored. 
“Ah, love, how precious,” He cooed mockingly, his nails reflecting their sharp edge in the light. “Kneel,” he ordered, one long claw-like nail pointing to the ground for you to follow suit. Your knees buckled and you hit the blood-stained rugs, half aware of the small tendrils of pain shooting up your knees, you would have bruises come next sunrise.
If you saw the next sunrise.
But, if all things go well, Karlach would. She would see the next sunrise and the next for years to come. Warming herself in the rays. Safe, from Zariel… from her infernal engine… never alone again. If this is what it takes, kneeling in front of a devil and selling your soul to him, you would. You would do it a thousand times over. 
“Zariel wouldn’t be happy with me, you know, I would be taking away her prized fighting dog.” Raphael talked, his tone dripping with the same condescending attitude you would expect of him. You had to press your palms into the ground to steady yourself. You wished you could jump him, dig your nails into his eyes, and hear the pop, to bite his neck out. Using you this way, using your love this way. But you were too tired, so tired…
So, so tired.
You wanted to sink into a bed, soft and filled with feathers. To hear the hum of your beloved, happy and content and safe, gods you wanted her to be safe. To be cherished, if not by you then someone else… But who were you fooling anyway? you didn’t deserve her… Not for a second. She was good, kind, beautiful - despite her years in literal hell. The only good thing to come from this cursed tadpole and doomed savior mission was meeting her, rescuing her, and getting to love her for all you were worth.
So you painted a smile on your face, your eyes as big as moons as you looked up at Raphael with what you expected would make him stutter in his condescension. There, you saw it, a flicker across his eyes, the stilling of the tapping. 
“Why would Zariel mind if you brought her the crown?” You asked, a coyness edging itself into your voice. A lie, ruse, whatever you would call it. Yet Raphael didn’t know that if you played this right, and you would, gods you would. 
A darkness shuddered past his eyes, and with it the candlelight flickered all around you, causing you to flinch. 
“The crown is mine,” He hissed. Standing from his chair and stalking over to you, looking down at you with disdain. Your eyes widened, this time not in pleading but in panic. You brought up your hands, swaying on your knees as you bowed your head. 
“Of course, I was foolish. my soul then?” you begged, cowering. He let out a sharp laugh pressing the toe of his boot underneath your chin, bringing your face harshly up to look at him where he stood above you.
“Not enough, pet, try again,” he commanded, his eyes boring into yours. You swore you could see the licks of flames in them, the hells itself reflecting. Perhaps even all the souls he stole before, screaming at you to flee. 
But you couldn’t. Not now. Not ever. 
“Use me as a dog, and I will do your bidding, bring you the crown, Zariel couldn’t lay a finger on you then,” you babbled, your voice high-pitched and wobbly. Were you losing in this battle of wits? How could you gain the upper hand? His foot had left your chin and was now digging itself into your upper thigh, making you hiss in pain as you looked down. Not a soul, not a crown…
“Gift me to her once I slay the absolute, a better fighter to trade,” You blurted, and the pain from his heel digging into you let up, ever so slightly. 
“Think of it, she wouldn’t need Karlach if she had me,” you continued, sweat dripping down the side of your face. An idea flashed through your mind, so sick it wanted to make you gag. Horrible. Something you would regret ever speaking aloud. 
Yet, if it promised her freedom…
“Gift her lover to Zariel, think of the everlasting pain it would put onto her, her cost of freedom being her first love at the mercy of Zariel,” It felt like bile on your tongue. The only saving grace was that you hoped she would find another, forget your love, and be happy again. Nevertheless, you hated the words that spewed from your mouth. You hated more the look of delight that washed over Raphael as he sauntered away from you to sit back down. 
“Promising, very promising, my little pup,” you hung your head in shame, your vision cloudy as you pressed your hands hard into the floor to stop yourself from falling over in defeat. 
Gods, what have you done? 
“A deal, my pet, sign here.” fiery paper appeared in front of you, a quill dipped in blood-red ink- you hoped- alongside it. You shuddered, shaking your head ever so slightly. 
“Do you not have to converse with Zariel?” you whimpered. Wishing to stall for time, if only to have a few more seconds of freedom. You wanted to run back to your camp, your home. To cling to Karlach, to cover her in kisses, thread your fingers through her hair, touch every bit of her. Sear it into your memory. 
“Ah, no, I think this will suffice her…” he paused, licking his lips as he gave you another devilish smile “Only, and only if you do kill the absolute, the contract will then be activated. Her engine fixed, you whisked away to the hells.” he ran a hand through his hair, you could tell he felt smug about his idea, which was just your idea with extra padding. 
But this gave you time, sweet precious time with Karlach. Before your lives were both broken by your decision… yet, the benefits far outweighed the cons. With a cringe, as you picked up the quill, you signed the dotted line. Your soul and body now belonged to Raphael, you just hoped you could keep your promise.
“Wonderful little mouse!” he clapped, whisking the contract through the air to bring it to him. He licked his lips as if this was the most tasty meal he had ever devoured, and you wanted to rip the contract to shreds, quick and fast. 
“You can run along to your sweet if you would like,” he continued, bored of you already. He snapped his fingers and the contract and quill both disappeared. You were free to go now, yet as you left the far too beautiful devil’s den you swore you felt two axes hover over your neck. One, the ability to actually do the deal you signed on for… if you couldn’t make good on your promise, what then? There had to be loopholes, the contract wouldn’t be voided, and he would never allow that.
And the second, far more scarier, was if you made good on the promise. You could already feel the swift breeze of the proverbial ax as it loomed overhead. You ran a hand along your neck, feeling the sweat and grime build up. Your body was so tired, your mind had been pushed to its limit during the tense negotiation with Raphael, having to use every advantage you could think of. Now, you were signed off to one of the most notorious demons that lurked in the hell…
 Zariel. 
You shook slightly as you continued to stumble back to camp, holding yourself up by leaning into walls when you could. You felt sick, every part of you ached and you had hot flashes and chills a-plenty as you stumbled into camp. You wanted to curl up and wait for your freedom to slip. 
“Ah, soldier, where have you- gods are you alright?” her voice…it sounded like church bells, a lover calling you inside, a harp being played in the heavens. Her arms encircled you, worry etching itself across her face the longer she gazes down at you. She smelt of brimstone, sweat, and a hint of sweetness.
She smelt like home.
Her arms, her lips, her beautiful eyes. Gods, you never would stare into those eyes again. You would never feel her strong assured arms- 
“H-hey Karlach!” you let out a startled gasp. She had lifted you up, princess style, to carry your tired frame to her tent. 
“Let me take care of you for tonight, you look like you've seen the hells,” she mumbled into your ear, brushing her lips across your temple before dipping the both of you into her closed-off tent. 
You didn’t have the heart to tell her, you would see the hells soon enough. Because you traded yourself for her, groveled at the feet of a devil. You wouldn’t have it any other way.
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majorasnightmare · 2 months ago
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continuing from my last post about tadpoles and brain damage and disability, and also on that whole "for Development Team reasons the party does not react to dark urge Lore Drops, but im interpreting it as character flaws anyways" dealio
immediately post absolute befuckening its like. the fucking DRAMA
because its a steadily increasing amount of Emergency Crises. like first of all astarion is now subject to vampire rules again and starts burning in the sun, so being the de facto leader dirge obviously rushes to shield him as best he can and drops a darkness cast on top of themselves, except hey. the worm thats been holding your brain together? just dissolved into thin air. fun fact about brain bleeds: it actually starts oozing down your esophagus, and only rarely leaks out from your eyes, and nosebleeds are typically a sinus capillary bursting from stress or irritation. it will on occasion leak from your ears, especially if its alongside a skull fracture (which will leak fluid from your ears first)
so id like to think that even before dirge starts showing symptoms, astarion starts to smell the blood on his breath, and then it just quickly spirals downhill from there as the wound reopens due to not healing properly in the first place. starts trying to find a way to get astarion to safety before trailing off and then gets increasingly heavy on astarion as he struggles to support himself, and it quickly becoming obvious something is Very Wrong. dirges injury not following explicit realism because Bhaalspawn and Drama, so even as it reopens its trying to properly heal, leading to oedema, the inflammation and swelling causing aphasia. so now your stuck about to be burned by the sun as soon as this cast is over, and the partys main crisis solver is now PART of the crisis, and steadily losing the ability to meaningfully communicate and becoming more and more of a dead weight
so now we have TWO crises, and one of them is the guy whos spent the past several months being the Guy Who Plans Our Way Out Of The Crisis. after spending so much time offloading the mental burden of problem solving onto this One Guy Whos Admittedly Pretty Good At It, now we have to handle an exponentially worsening situation. no telepathy cuz the worms are gone, so theres the struggle of trying to communicate whats happening quickly and clearly. no spell slots or resources cuz we just went through a boss rush. wylls all out of warlock juice cuz his pact with mizoras been fulfilled and she dipped. does an abandoned house count as public? run in, claim it, and invite astarion in while you support/drag dirge into the building, whos quickly becoming insensible, and then on top of all that we have to deal with karlachs engine. because anything that can go to shit right now, absolutely will
its like. everything gets offloaded onto him, because he cares and hes capable and hell get it done, so he makes the decisions and he talks to people and haggles with traders and gets them a free inn room and helps all their personal problems and life crises, and everytime he broaches the idea of asking for help for himself, it gets shut down. im having these urges for violence that really scare me, what do i do? its normal its fine it isnt anything to be scared of, everyone experiences this, just focus on killing whats in front of you. and then alfira dies and everyone pulls away, asks whats WRONG with you, and its like. oh. okay. i have to do this by myself. and if i dont, then ill fail, and people will pay the price, and the people i love will rightfully hate me for my lapse of control. and then no one reaches out, about the injury confirmed by omeluum, or about kressas torture, and further still they ask him to face the only two people left who ever knew him before he lost everything, and kill them. and he cant save either of them and has to choose his loved ones NOW over his loved ones THEN, and everyones too embroiled in their own issues to even really fully realize.
and then you cant ignore it anymore. you cant ask him how to handle this, what to do, have him guide your hand or comfort you, because now HES the crisis. the problem, confirmed a hundred times over by a hubdred different people, stares you in the face and refuses to be ignored anymore. the defining injury, the last remaining legacy of a past you never really reckoned with because you sat on the sidelines for it, the last echoing rattle of a ghost you never thought about, is now here to claim the friend who saved your life without asking a single thing in return, and its doing so explicitly because YOU never once thought about it or how to handle it. and now its all coming down around you on what should have been your final victory, but you never tried to tie these threads up!! and if you dont figure something out NOW, your going to lose EVERYTHING
like god. i love it. i think everyone should have to sweat, and try for just a day to handle the sheer load of bullshit dirge had to deal with daily. like it isnt enough to care when he doesnt ask anything of you, now you have to put your money where your mouth is and do it of your own volition cuz now he cant ask for help. and not just him but you have to save your other two friends having their own crises concurrently, all while feeling woefully unequipped and worn down and exhausted, and maybe think about how youve never seen him sleep except in those brief and short rests you take while on the road, and how he has to bury his face in blankets every morning to hide from the sun or else hell vomit, and how much medicine he has to take just to do the same shit you do every day.
and like. of course all the origin characters are CAPABLE of leading! its just that theyre never made to in the same way they are during an origin playthrough, cuz in those there isnt a tav or a durge to save them for them. they have to do it themselves, and help carry everyone else besides. but that just adds to it for me, like you COULD have done something to help this earlier, but you didnt, because this was easier and didnt seem to have any consequence because.. what exactly?
that he just seemed inhumanly durable? he could handle it, he could do it, hes been doing fine so far, if he needed help hed ask for it (nevermind that youve forgotten that when he did last time, you wrote him off and then didnt connect the dots between a bard dying in camp and the upsetting scary violent urges he asked for help with before. do you ever wonder how scary it might be to wake up having absolutely zero control over your body and the actions it takes and seeing that, without your awareness, you killed someone you wanted to journey with? brutally, violently, sadistically murdered her, all without even a shred of awareness. you cant be trusted to lose control of yourself for even a moment), if he wanted to talk about what happened with kressa hed say so, if there was something to say about his injury it wouldve been said, if he ever reached out to me id have helped him like he helped me, but you didnt and you didnt and you didnt and now everythings going to shit and you dont know what to do because your first instinct is to ask him but you dont even know if hes conscious anymore, laid out on omeluums desk and steadily bleeding where you cant stitch it closed, and you have to make sure astarions okay, that karlachs okay, that your all okay, and he did this every day this whole time.
like personally i really just enjoy putting the party through their paces, JUUUST a lil bit
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taki-yaki · 8 months ago
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Prompt: Tav that's somehow acquainted with Drizzt. I don't know where his situation fits in the BG3 timeline, so I don't know if Tav being Drizzt's daughter's friend or classmate would make sense. Maybe a neighbor, or the apprentice of one of his party members? I honestly just want to see Astarion fangirl over meeting someone who has close ties to Drizzt Do'Urden.
Briennelle Zaharina (Drizzt’s daughter) would be around the age of 4 during the events of Baldurs gate 3. But an apprentice adventurer who teamed with Drizzt would work.
Astarion x Drizzt Apprentice Tav
As an Elf, you were aware of how long your kind lived for, even outliving many other races in kind. Instead of being stuck inside the walls of Evereska, you longed to venture beyond them. Travelling from town to city, helping with any problems that plague the area. Until you arrive at Baldur’s Gate meeting the famous Drizzt the drow, offering to become his apprentice just for the time he is within the city on his quest. 
Although he was hesitant at first to accept, he agreed after seeing your innate magic abilities in combat. 
Despite your time as his temporary pupil only being short through the eyes of normal elves, the experience to you felt as if it was a main part of your long life.
After your encounter with the famous drow, you would continue your travels across the sword's coast, always returning to the gate to reminisce upon the skills that your mentor taught you. However, during one of these trips to the city, you were abducted by the mind flayers, soon having a tadpole forced inside your head.
During one of these first few nights with your new companions, Wyll was exchanging stories around the campfire of his travels as the blade of Avernus, he would bid you to tell tales of your travels throughout the sword coast, with nearly everyone's eyes on you, except for a pale elf who was pretending to read a book to act disinterested, despite his ears seemingly twitching whenever someone blabbed about others.
As you told your tale of your ventures in Baldur’s Gate, you offhandedly mentioned how you met the notorious drow when you noticed Astarion fully snapping his attention towards you, seemly engrossed for a moment of the comment you made before swaying his eyes towards the book once again.
The next few nights would consist of you telling a story or two about Drizzt casually to Karlach or Wyll with Astarion occasionally dismissing some of your tales seeing them as nothing but farfetched stories at first, “Yes darling, and I’m a princess of house Nightstar and married to a tarrasque named Johnathan, anything else you have to say?”.
However as the tales would start to sound more believable, he would start to inquire into them, asking questions such as what was Drizzt’s eye colour and other minutiae details, which would quickly devolve into an argument at camp about whether the drow’s eye colour was a lavender hue or aquamarine or other minor details.
During another late-night argument once again about Drizzt, Karlach spoke aloud “Fangs if I didn’t know any better I’d say that you’re a fan of Drizzt”, his mouth quickly shut upon hearing Karlachs words, “As if I would fawn over such a thing, dear that is for children, I’m only correcting your ‘mistakes is all”, before he attempted to smoothly retreat towards his tent for the night.
The next night, the arguments between you seemed to have ceased, with you both only acknowledging each other through silent glances across the camp. It isn’t until you confront him, once everyone else has gone to sleep for the night, that he attempts to withdraw to his tent once again, apologising for arguing over such trivial things, but it isn’t until he interrupts you with a soft sigh before stating 
“I- I never said I disliked your fables, my dear”
“When I was trapped under Cazadors thumb, I would daydream of the drow one day coming to save me from his hell, a revolution of sorts against him.” turning to avoid your line of sight, uttering in a hushed whisper “But that never happened”.
“You know, I’m not your exact ‘Drizzt’ type, but I promise, I’ll kill your vile master, I’m certain Drizzt wouldn’t have stood for such a thing as do I.”
As he looks down upon you, in silence, he lets out a little chuckle, before offering an outstretched hand towards you.
“You know, It would be nice not to have to rely on you as my great protector, but... well, I do appreciate the thought.”
Raising your head to meet him face to face, reaching out to clasp his hand softly. 
Throughout the rest of that night, the two of you spend the rest of the night in long discussions about your fondness for the legendary drow.
It isn’t until you arrive at the city that the two of you discuss Drizzt's latest adventures that were published within the new books. Reading the book together, actively discussing each tale that was told and just for a moment, true peace was found between you both, despite all the horrors you’ve been through with the absolute.
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the-eldritch-it-gay · 11 months ago
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WIP Wednesday Whenever
I got tagged by @isayashai and for once I actually have something on hand to share :) tysm for the tag!
I am not in enough of a brain space to tag people, so if you see this and want to share a WIP, consider yourself tagged!
//
It hit Wyll suddenly, as he dodged the wolf lunging at him—the wolf hadn’t actually hurt him. The snapping jaw always caught a space next to him, claws and teeth just shy of doing any real damage. Even as blood dripped from the wolf’s maw, none of it was Wyll’s.
Wyll slowed his movements, lowered his sword slightly.
Snarling, the wolf stepped closer. Even hunched low to the ground, the wolf stood as tall as him at the shoulders. When the wolf was only a few feet away, Wyll suddenly felt his tadpole squirming behind his eyes, connecting with the parasite in the wolf. Before Wyll could even consider how that could be possible, the wolf’s thoughts suddenly flooded his mind.
Do it. Be the hero. Kill me. Get it over with. You’ve finally seen the real me, have the courtesy to show me who you are. Whether you're like him or not, whether you’re a hero or not, you can drive your blade through my chest and know you are right. You always are. He always was.
Wyll stopped, hesitated, lowering his sword fully. 
The wolf growled, maw stained red, patches of fur matted with blood from where his sword managed to hit. As it stepped closer, teeth bared, Wyll’s tadpole once again connect with the wolf’s.
Do it. Be the hero. Kill me. Get it over with. You’ve finally seen the real me, have the courtesy to show me who you are. Whether you're like him or not, whether you’re a hero or not, you can drive your blade through my chest and know you are right. You always are. He always was.
Wyll’s mind flashes back to the nightmare that awoke him, the horrified faces as he transformed into his deviled form, hellfire consuming him and leaving something monstrous. The disappointment, the terror in the eyes of everyone as Mizora appeared behind him.
Wyll didn’t regret it, he told himself, he didn't regret it. He would make the deal with Mizora again, he would spare Karlach’s life again. He saved countless lives with his pact, he gave up his human form to spare an innocent woman. Wyll Ravengard, The Blade of Frontiers, was a hero, everything he did was right. He killed devils and monsters.
The creature before him was a monster, littered around him were the mutilated bodies of humans and animals alike. It had killed countless people, may kill countless more. 
Yet…
“I don’t think you want to hurt me,” Wyll said quietly, searching the wolf’s eyes for understanding.
I can hear the blood in your veins. I hunger to tear open your flesh and devour you. The desire consumes my mind. I will hurt you. It is only a matter of time.
“You haven’t hurt me yet, you had the chance but didn’t,”
I won’t let you win, I won’t be fooled by the hero act. Not again. Not this time. I won’t let you touch me. I won’t let you pretend it’s love. Show me your true self, not the act.
Wyll dropped his sword, dropped to his knees, raised his hands to surrender.
The wolf only saw the sudden movement.
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art-bvrn · 10 months ago
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windows to the soul
✧ socials ✧ inprnt ✧ kofi ✧
we often hear about how eyes are the windows to the soul. i wanted to capture each of the origin companions’ eyes (souls) during the height of their personal quests. so here’s the thought process/background of each drawing:
SPOILERS BELOW IF YOU HAVEN’T FINISHED THE GAME
Astarion - when he looks towards Tav, asking them to help him complete the ritual. how desperate he looks to be free of the torment but also how conflicted he is deep down at having to sacrifice all the spawn. he knows now that cazador was just like him. but the power blinds him to the fact that he will become another cazador.
Gale - when he shares a moment of peace with Tav, watching the conjured sky as he accepts his death. he’ll sacrifice his life for a god who doesn’t care for him, thinking it’s for the best. a god that has taken years of his life and groomed him as a child. he doesn’t see any of that. he only sees that dying will atone for sins that are not even his to begin with.
Karlach - when she defeats enver gortash - the man who was responsible for her pain. yet, it doesn’t help her. it doesn’t bring back all the years she lost. it doesn’t take away the torment. it doesn’t change the fact that she’s dying. there is no glory and no vindication. only this overbearing despair.
Lae’zel - when she looks towards the sky with Tav. she has believed in her god. killed for her. bled for her. but her god is false. everything she believes to be true is not. she doesn’t know how to grieve the loss of her self - of ambitions unfulfilled. her love and pride for her people lay in limbo - a place where she has no choice but to face all these painful questions alone.
Shadowheart - when Tav tells her to do whatever she feels is right. that someone trusts her to trust herself - someone who only remembers bits and pieces of her life. she, who has unknowingly devoted her entire life to a god, now falters, knowing she will be punished for her blasphemy, and ultimately, her betrayal.
Wyll - when the devil asks him to renew his contract to save his father. sweet, young, wyll. only a child when he was cast out yet his love for his father - the man responsible for his exile, a man who he has not seen in years - remains steadfast. ultimately, neither choice grants him his freedom. not from guilt and not from mizora.
NOTE:
hello! i really wasn’t expecting that much love on my previous uploads for the bg3 characters 😭 to be honest i was expecting maybe the occasional bot but to have real people like and reblog and say nice things has truly been amazing!!!
i’ve always been a lurker more than a poster (aside from that one time in 2015 i tried to write imagines for fallout) so i’m still learning proper tumblr etiquette and what not
idk how to respond to the people who reblog and say such nice things in the tags 😭 but know that i see it and appreciate it fully <3
anyway thank you for reading, liking, reblogging, and/or commenting!!! :))
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sorcerous-caress · 1 year ago
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Oooh I made a human Durge priestess of lolth in one of my playthrough ( unhinged I know). Could u do companions reactions to that
I don’t know what why but human priest / priestess of lolth who actually received blessings / favor from her sounds funny as hell
— RED Anon
That concept is so wild anon, bless your Durge.
Like not only they abandoned their father, a whole god of murder, and went to worship Lolth instead. But also them being a human who just subscribed to Lolth's agenda and she found it so hilarious that she granted them a priestess blessings, A PRIESTESS OF LOLTH.
Drow noble women start whole fights just to get this position.
Companions reaction would be something like:
"...why? Just why?" // Gale, Wyll.
They're mostly confused. You were supposed to be a human team and all of that. Gale is especially a hypocrite by mansplaining how Lolth wants humans as slaves for drows as if you're a naive baby who doesn't know better. Wyll is hoping it's a phase, and you'll see the light eventually.
Doesn't care much, you do you // Laezel, Karlach.
Laezel doesn't concern herself with the mythology of Faerun. The only queen she cares about is vlaakith. Karlach has seen much worse in hell, so Lolth seems like a lesser evil in comparison. She knows to judge you on your actions and not who your boss is.
Suspicious of you // Jaheira, Halsin.
They have a very terrible past with Lolth worshippers. Both of them will keep an eye on you and all of that. Maybe even get jumpy or look at you weirdly whenever you're too nice to them. Most elf groves have a strick "kill drow on sight" policy because of the surface raids.
Although since you're a human, they'll mostly think you're just in need of guidance and your misdeeds will be easily forgiven and overlooked because they think you don't know better.
That is so fucking funny but also stay away // Astarion
You know he always thought he'd make such an amazing drow, besides the whole matriarchy and using men as slaves thing. If he looks past it, he really is fascinated by them. Also it's hilarious that you were such a traitor to both your god father and your own race, Ha.
But also don't bite his head off, he knows that Lolth demands high elves as sacrifices for her so don't even think about coming his way.
Fuck you, your goddess is shit // Shadowheart
While Lolth and Shar don't have much beef between each other, their followers definitely do. Their domians overlap a lot, so followers will occasionally migrate from one goddess to the other. Viconia herself used to follow Lolth before and now despises her after Lolth retracted her blessing from Viconia's house and made them fall as a noble house. That's when she found Shar.
I believe she will teach that hatred into Shadowheart.
Minthara
It's complicated. She abandoned Lolth but she is still a paladin who swore and oath to her. And Lolth doesn't seem to have abandoned her just yet.
Lolth sees drows as her property, her toys. She doesn't care for what they personally think or feel. She plays with them and wagers their lives like it's nothing.
Minthara knows the only reason Lolth still grants her power is because she finds it amusing, she is toying with her. Lolth adores chaos and Minthara is a great tool to cause it.
When she meets you, she will think you're another one of Lolth's toys. Either sent to entice her back into the spider queen's embrace and seduce her. Or you're also a victim of her cruelty.
Yet she is curious, you're not a drow, you're a human. That is unheard of. So you fully chose Lolth by your own free will? She honestly doesn't know what to think. She both is annoyed and fascinated by you.
You represent the past life she escaped from, but you also represent the new beginning you granted her by saving her. Deep down she thinks if you stealing her heart is just Lolth stringing you like a puppet.
Also, Lolth can possess any of her priestesses at will, so she can simply come down to have a chat with Minthara through you if she felt like it. And that does put Minthara on edge.
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zorlok-if · 1 year ago
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if the zorlok cast were bg3 characters, what would they be and what kind of decisions would they make?
I'm assuming you mean who they would be in BG3 and not what kind of characters they would play. Also, hmm, don't want to give away spoilers here, so if you look below the cut you can see what I think they'd be up to (just beware of spoilers).
Tommy: Human, Level 9 Warlock (Fiend + Chain) / Level 3 Bard (Valour)
Dev: Wood Elf, Level 11 Rogue (Thief) / Level 1 Warlock (Archfey)
EJ: Human, Level 12 Sorcerer (Wild Magic)
Adam/Eve: High Elf, Level 7 Cleric (War) / Level 5 Paladin (Vengeance)
Lucía: Half-Elf (Wood), Level 7 Ranger (Gloomstalker) / Level 5 Rogue (Assassin)
Ciel: Lightfoot Halfling, Level 6 Barbarian (Wildheart) / Level 6 Druid (Moon)
Danny: Drow (Seldarine), Level 9 Paladin (Oathbreaker) / Level 3 Warlock (Fiend + Blade)
The Celestial: Aasimar Forest Gnome, Level 10 Wizard (Transmutation) / Level 2 Cleric (Knowledge)
Rose: Human, Level 12 Bard (Lore)
[Beware of Spoilers Below!]
Tommy
Not romancing anyone (obviously, he's 15)
Best friends with Wyll, Karlach, and Gale. Shadowheart is too cool for him, he's way too intimidated by her. Lets Astarion do whatever the hell he wants. Lae'zel scares the shit out of him. Adopted by Halsin the moment he meets him.
Just wants to hang out with the cool tiefling kids
Very easily persuaded by Raphael. Wyll and Karlach are constantly trying to talk some sense into him.
Aylin is the coolest person he's ever met
Sobbing his way through the horrors of Faerûn—I can see him in a little crumple at Withers feet, blowing his nose on Withers' decaying robes as bone daddy breaks the fourth wall and stares into the camera miserably
Eventually hardens into a truly terrifying force to be reckoned with (Karlach is very proud)
Tommy has two hands, one for Scratch and one for the owlbear
Dev
Romancing non-Ascended Astarion and fucking Halsin occasionally, Lae'zel and Shadowheart are xyr besties (xe forces them to get along), Gale amuses the hell out of xem, Wyll and Dev are constantly trying to one up each other's stories
It's either Ethel or Volo, whoever xe comes across first, but that eye's out of xyr head comically fast
Just wants to talk shit with Withers all day, hates that he never has much to say to xem
Wants to kick the shit out of Rolan but keeps saving his life somehow
Always covered in blood. Like it doesn't make sense half the time. How did that much blood splatter on xem? Why is it still on xem?
EJ
Absolutely head over heels in love with Gale, friends with and trying to fix everyone, Astarion terrifies them but they won't give up on him, they know there's a good person hiding beneath that veneer
Panicked and accidentally yeeted a gnome
Tried a tadpole once, wasn't for them
Holding Gale's hand and squinting through every dark space
Sleeps cuddling the owlbear and is always covered in feathers
Adam/Eve
In a relationship with Lae'zel, didn't get along at first but Laez grew to respect A/E and A/E was charmed by Lae'zel's... strengths. Shadowheart is their sister, hates it when the girls are fighting. Friends with Gale and Karlach. Doesn't trust Wyll fully. Never let Astarion join them. Immediately enamored with Halsin but Lae'zel is... stronger.
Normally out of spell slots cause they're terrified of long resting
Loves potions and alchemy, will stop every 30 meters to pick yet another sprig of balsam
Doesn't make deals with villainous beings. Doesn't trust any voices in their head. Doesn't respect any gods they come across.
Loviatar loves them
Lucía
In a relationship with Karlach, best friends with her and Wyll, had a crush on Shadowheart before meeting Karlach, never liked/trusted Astarion and staked him the minute he tried to put his fangs on her throat, Jaheira is her idol, probably left Lae'zel to die (cause she didn't want to upset Shadowheart)
Speaks to every single animal, picks every single lock, looks in every single barrel, fails almost every charisma check
Scratch is always by her side
Will go to Hell for her besties 😉🥲
Ciel
Dating Shadowheart, really close with Astarion and Minthara... But, seriously, they have a big redemption arc. They grow and change alongside Shadowheart, both goth edgelords are completely changed by the end
Starts the game eating every tadpole (like the Guardian barely has to suggest the idea, it's already in their mouth) but goes one step too far and suddenly becomes terrified of what it means to be monstrous(/illithid)
Diplomacy? Ha. Sorry, that's not for them. They only like talking to animals and corpses.
Loves permanently seeing invisibility...
A loot goblin, their high strength score is great for fighting and jumping and shit, but mostly for the increased carrying capacity
Mol is their idol
Danny
I'm honestly not sure who they'd be in a relationship with, I think they'd be close with everyone but I don't think they'd be in a headspace for anything more than friendship over the course of the game, maybe after the fact they'd grow closer with Shadowheart but that would just be my headcanon, they wouldn't romance anyone (no matter how much Withers mocks them for it)
They are doing everything they think is right in the moment, though they'd regret rash actions later
They empathize greatly with the undead and hate people like Balthazar who twist them to their will
No one threatens a child in their presence. Well, no one who's still alive.
They cannot pretend to be under the Absolute's thumb, they are going in swinging every time, no chance for diplomacy or manipulation
They pick up a teddy bear early on and it never leaves their inventory
The Celestial
In a physical relationship with Halsin, slept with Astarion but now they're just very good friends, sees Karlach, Wyll, and Shadowheart as eir children, loves and is very intrigued by Lae'zel, doesn't like Gale at all (cannot and will not trust a wizard like him)
Always has the Disguise Self spell going, and it's always a different disguise
Eir traveler's chest is filled with the weirdest collection of random shit you've ever seen: noble portraits, rotten eggs, gold chalices, a couple goblin corpses, poutine, 30 mindflayer tadpoles, etc.
Chats with every corpse, even the ones ey killed
Lorroakan can (and does) eat shit
Despises everything about Orin, zero redeemable qualities—even her shapeshifting, eugh, it's so... crude, no grace or skill
The moment the Celestial learns Otto's Irresistible Dance is the last moment Faerûn knows peace
Rose
In a passionate romance with Wyll but he's very good friends with everyone (they are all his children)
Does everything within his power to avoid violence. Will charm, sing, and sneak his way across Faerûn
Adopts every child and animal he comes across
The hardest thing he has to do is tell people to stay in camp. Why can't everyone always be in his party? They all make him feel so bad...
Always taking long rests (doesn't want people being tired or hurt) and spends an hour cooking a delightful meal with Gale every night
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limpfisted · 1 year ago
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While I would prefer to make it so that wyll has more agency over his own narrative
I find it extremely interesting he just CANT make decisions by himself
Like to me, that's a character beat!
Like he can make a decision to sacrifice himself, and to hurt people he thinks "deserve" it, again and again, but by the end of the game, he no longer trusts himself to make that kind of decision
He was wrong about karlach. Who knows how many other "devils."
Given the choice between himself and his father. His father, who WILL most likely have a good after life, and in dnd u know like. After life's exist, and are much longer than human lifespans and wyll is fully cognizant of like. The fact his father won't really suffer when he dies, like wyll will for all of eternity
He doesn't trust himself. He thought he couldn't get out of his pact. He had given up on his freedom. He BELIEVED in his choice. And now... now he doesn't know what to believe. He knows you are his PROTECTOR and his light in the darkness, his light in the dysphoriq and the realization he has been more corrupted by this deal (not just physically. Again. How many more karlachs were there.) And he had learned THROUGH you just how bad his "learned helplessness" is while also mozora drives down the point that he IS trapped, he IS punished, and he still doesn't know what he'll do without her and it's like
Of course he can't fucking decide, man
Thats an impossible choice for HIM. If u look at everything u learn about him. This is the ultimate evil move on mizoras side because she LET you dangle freedom over wyll. His pact wasn't even completely broken. He still had six more months. And u know what? Before he met you, wyll might have just have gone on like this with mizora indefinitely. Never being able to tell people about mizora or his Father. How is he supposed to get close enough to someone, for them to show him what his freedom really means?
You MADE it an impossible choice. Befor3 this adventure he would have simply sold his soul again. No questions asked. Hes had just a taste of freedom, though. Just a taste of personhood. He has friends now. He has people he can genuinely trust who aren't MANIPULATING him or keeping him on a leash
He NEEDS you. He trusts you! You saved him.
He literally. He literally just can't make this decision alone and whatever you choose for him hell stand by
And that's great! That's a great flaw and arc!
If the game had taken this to its conclusion and had like. A scene like astarion at his grave where wyll just takes you aside and tells you. Thank you for choosing for me. Thank you for being MY light. I trust you. I dont know what I'm doing anymore. I'm scared and lost and this is all so overwhelming. All I have had for seven years is mizora. Before that all I had was my father. I dont know how to choose myself and not them. I still don't. But I know I was right to choose to be by your side.
This is a GREAT and IMPORTANT narrative about abuse, about trust, about "heroism."
But there's no... conclusion. The iron throne/steel foundry/wyrm/gortash is this big epic quest 2hich is basically a whole act in and of itself centered basically entirely around wylls life and wylls arc and wyll and his Father (also saving the world, but baldurs gate is WYLLS. No one else can become Duke but wyll.) But wyll doesn't really get the chance to react
Like broe? Honestly. If you just add a bunch of wyll reaction and maybe even something as simple as SOME MORE DIALOGUE TREES, doesn't even have to be like a whole cutscene!. This is a compelling narrative! By itself! You don't really need to change stuff! Wyll is an INTERESTING CHARACTER! Just add some stuff!!!
Me @ larian. If yall don't get theo Solomon back in that mo cap suit right now talking about his trauma as explicitly as astarion got to
He is NOT boring. He is just the greatest victim of the act 3 curse. Help
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phosphoenolpyruvat · 1 year ago
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fuck ups from my first baldurs gate 3 playthrough (spoilers!)
- went into the druid grove, talked to zevlor, auntie ethel and no one else in the outer ring just went straight to the inner heart, freed arabella and killed kagha. yay, i thought, I'm saving the tieflings, i thought. nooo the druids and the tieflings just all killed each other because of me.
- at least that means i could get the minthara plotline without conciously chosing to betray the tieflings, right? no i entered the pool in the temple of shar before helping her escape moonrise tower so she died there, as well as the gnome dude
- when shadowheart and lae'zel fought over the astral prism i simply killed shadowheart and went on with my life
- i completly missed wyll, never found him
- i belived the "paladins of tyr" and straight up murdered karlach upon meeting her
- never got the quest with the hag until after i had killed her, somehow this led to the quest marker just permanently leading me to her house afterwards
- probably missed a ton of romance scenes somehow despite having been with astarion since the goblin party in my camp (had to chose between him and minthara that night)
- missed a lot of of stuff in the underdark and the mountain pass i think
- what's the house of grief?
- met volo for the first time in act 3
- played a warlock multiclass with paladin and i have no idea what my oath was but i somehow broke it by siding with gortash at his coronation (fully intending to betray him later of course)
- fucked the emperor
- never met the owlbear or its cub
- jaheira died in the battle of moon rise tower so i never met minsc until i killed him leading to a crying hamster sitting in the baldurs gate sewer next to his corpse forever
- halsin who?
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swordmaid · 9 months ago
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i like doing the orin duel last in yves’ playthrough bc it’s like theee climax of her story and also so she doesn’t get time to process her trauma bc I fight the brain right after hehe 🤭. but anyway throughout act 3 yves doesn’t just get her memories back as the bhaalspawn, she also gets the slow revelation of how she became one.
bc yves used to live in the lower city and she was one of the kelemvorite mortarch working in the graveyards before she got turned, id imagine current yves came across people she knew before, as well as visited the mortuary (where she spent the most time in) and found her old journal detailing her life - or lack of- after she got turned. yves managing to slowly piece together her past ; she was a kelemvorite cleric - at least that part of herself is true - but she tried to look into the ritualistic killings by the bhaalists and got killed bc of it. and then, to spite kelemvor, bhaal took that dead cleric’s flesh and face and moulded it with his to make his very own bride -> durge yves. she’s made for the sole purpose of worshipping him instead of her death god and killing for him. and when she’s killed enough in his name, he’ll consider that dowry sufficient and claim her, fully making her his.
anyway, yves’ revelation that she died and was remade against her will, and she’s essentially just wearing a dead girl’s face, and she defiled her own god and twisted his teachings in the worst way possible likeeeeee … the spiraling..!! and the meltdown …!!!! the NEED to claw at her own skin bc existing in it disgusts her. and now she’s seeing small fragments of the horrible things she has done for bhaal, and the killings she performed, and perhaps the worst thing was she remembered that she liked it. and the ecstasy that came through her whenever she did it. and when she tries to pray to kelemvor again now that she has her own mind back bhaal literally stops her heart from beating as a reminder that he holds her leash.
so when the time comes and she has decided that she’ll rid of all the bhaalspawns (and then herself), and when she’s duelling orin, I always make yves cast divine intervention to finish orin off bc it’s like her calling out to kelemvor and offering herself to him again. and when he answers her call and she denies bhaal, she’s finally granted the death she was denied of, and finally finally she can return back to her death god.
until withers is like lol no you’re not done yet
after the revival I think yves is like 🧍‍♀️ a bit shell shocked and lost. but she doesn’t have time to reevaluate herself when there is a nether brain to fight and she’s helping dismantle the very thing she crafted with gortash. and in the end she lets wyll go with karlach to avernus because she thinks he’s better off without someone like her, and after the little party they’ll have I imagine yves quietly leaves. she joins the other clerics who are helping clean up the aftermath. she doesn’t say that she was part of the group who helped saved the city, only claimed that they helped her in one point, and she doesn’t keep contact with anyone and generally tries to avoid them - out of her own shame and her own guilt.
she keeps the memories with her though - even the most disgusting and horrible ones, and with time she wrangles through them and learns to reconcile. she accepts this strange life of hers now, and she tries to help and do good just so when she finally finally reunites with the god of death again, the scales are at least tipped to her favor.
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ryttu3k · 10 months ago
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List of cool bits of foreshadowing, compiled from this post
Volo being freed from the Goblin Camp: "I can't wait to pick your brain!"
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'Wyll thanking Balduran that we haven't sprouted tentacles yet.'
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Raphael in act 1: "Hope… SUCH a tease."
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'First time I heard Barcus Wroot say "If we meet again, then we will have met again," I knew I'd be seeing him later.'
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'After saving Arabella, I was SHOOK about Arabella’s parents in Act 2 in my first run. In my second run, after you save the Grove, their parting words are surprisingly negative compared to everyone else’s and it’s very sad in hindsight. Komira says “We didn’t die today. Tomorrow perhaps, but not today. Thanks to you” and Locke says “One sorrow ended. The next soon to begin.” the FORESHADOWING-'
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'Astarion's sardonic laughter upon discovering what the tadpole will do'
'of course it will turn me into a monster…'
'hows this one foreshadowing?'
'The laughter comes with the line "of course it will turn me into a monster"
It's foreshadowing that he is 1) already a monster (which the PC technically doesn't know yet) and 2) his whole situation around escaping from cazador
He says it with a tone that's like "oh of course, I thought I was free but in reality I'm about to turn into another fucking monster bc that's just how shitty my life is." You don't really pick up on this tone until your second playthrough, after you've learned more about him'
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'Better: He say “I hope when we next meet, we’ll be wearing the same skin” if you don’t recruit him, and when you see him again at Cazador’s, he’ll have been flayed.'
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'Similarly, the option to say "It felt like you weren't really there" after the first romance scene with him. I remember thinking it was kind of a strange choice to include and his excuse about not wanting to lose control seemed convincing but somehow off.
Finding out why that line was an option in Act 2… oof.'
'He's also not even aware of whats happening to him in act 1. he only realizes this in act 2 when he starts to be more self-aware about his own feelings and starts to prioritize them over the whims and lusts of other people. Until act 2 he doesnt think about his own feelings at all. in act 1 he has almost fully convinced himself that he wants to do this because he cant see why he wouldnt. there are only benefits to sleeping with Tav. Tav is attractive and the leader of the group who can protect him so theres no reason for him not to do it. but If you play with karlach origin he has a reason not to do it(her burning condition) and is relieved but doesnt understand why he's relieved. So he lashes out at karlach to blame her for the night being ruined rather than his feelings of relief that he has a perfect excuse not to have sex with her.'
'It’s a great example of what long term disassociation does!'
'Yup. And if you manage to get him to proposition before the tiefling party he tells you “you deserve a reward” (for letting him drink blood) and you can reply “you don’t need to do that just because you feel like you owe me” and shrugs it off and says “its more of an excuse it anything”. its like hes trapped in his own coping mechanisms.'
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'Coming from someone who knew nothing about the Forgotten Realms before Bg3, I love the books you can find and read very early in Act 1. They hint at the Dead Three, Astarion’s vampirism, and Shar’s evilness. My favorite book may just be the Shar one, “The Unclaimed.” Is that not a warning for what awaits Shadowheart if she continues down the path of Shar? Amazing foreshadowing about what’s at stake, and the book didn’t quite hit me until my second playthrough, running into it again, and realizing just how much was at stake for Shadowheart. We were fighting for her soul.'
'to add onto this, theres the book that talks about Selunite rituals of children having to fend for themselves in the forest and find their way back to civilization in order to become her follower (paraphrasing) then our first glimpse into Shadowhearts memory is… her lost in the forest.'
'Withers' library of foreshadowing books.
Bro has The Unclaimed, The Curse of the Vampyr and The Mortal View: Eyewitness Accounts of the Bhaalspawn Crisis all in his library, all appearantly hundreds of years before we even come across it.'
'In my head, he actually prepped the temple in a hurry before the gang makes it there.'
(Ry's note: On that note, Withers being Jergal is pretty much spelled out long before any plot-relevant stuff like Durge rejecting Bhaal and the ending scene, mostly in the temple itself.)
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'Talking to Alfira in the grove you can ask if she’s having trouble with her song, she says “I’m about to suffer a grisly death… at the hands of this bloody song”'
'To add to that - the song is called Weeping Dawn, and Durge likely kills her right before the dawn, as you have little time to react before the companions wake up'
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'The cow in Grymforge that reveals Ketheric is back.'
'He also tells you it was a devil that destroyed the place'
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'The extremely blatant musical foreshadowing of the Emperor being Balduran, with a bit of melody first appearing in an instrumental when his true form is revealed and then re-appearing as “The Song of Balduran” in the Elfsong, the lyrics of which tiptoe right up to just spelling it out plainly.
Super obvious and in your face and yet I absolutely did not notice until like my third playthrough.'
'Not to mention the opening Larian logo animation when you first boot up the game :)'
'It just occurred to me that, since the singing in the Elfsong is supposed to be the actual ghost singing, it could literally be the ghost singing to the players about the Emperor, who is also in the room with them. The lyrics to the song actually appear in the game after all, in a book, so they aren't "meta". And the ghost would clearly know who the Emperor was, since his hideout was in her basement.'
'When you meet the Emperor for the first time (the reveal that he's a mindflayer) it's playing an instrumental version of the Song of Balduran in the background.'
'Speaking of the Emperor, he's the first guy we see when we boot up the game as there's a statue of Balduran on screen right before the main menu.'
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'shadowheart will say "we can't save them all" in a banter referring to the refugees at the grove. after my first run, i found out it was an achievement.'
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'Volo says “every story benefits from a dragon!” and then there’s a random dragon in the final battle'
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'Omeluum telling Durge someone else has been in his mind and carved a tunnel through it was a pretty good bit of foreshadowing on the Durges story.'
'Similarly, I love finding the "Disorders of the Nerves and Mind: A Treatise" book everywhere. It's such a cool Durge-related story (very tangentially related). Ditto with Durge's prayer you find in the colony in Kressa's room.'
(Ry's note: The Prayer for Forgiveness gives away everything. That Durge is a Bhaalspawn, that it's the Chosen of the Dead Three behind everything, that they used to be Chosen, that Orin is their sibling and thus Bhaalspawn herself, and that there was some kinda Thing between Durge and Gortash. Even if you're not playing Durge, it still gives away that Orin is only a replacement Chosen and there was another one earlier on.)
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'All the hints of Yurgir in Grymforge in Act 1. You find evidence of some massive hellish creature that seemingly wiped out all the Dark Justiciars, but it's a mystery that won't be resolved until Act 2'
'And you piece together why they’re there in the first place if you read books in the shadowlands, as well as seeing a certain debtor in the house of hope'
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'"Who's to say ? Perhaps my Goddess is keen to see me corrupt you . She'd be delight so see a follower of Selûne towards the darkness"
When you romance Shadowheart as a selûnite . It's pretty funny the first time but once you know what happens then it's a little bit more amusing to hear her say that'
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'just got one last night where lae’zel says that she feared the dream visitor was some illithid deception, but after speaking to voss, she believes the dream figure can help them. oh lae’zel, you truly were onto something…'
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'There's a note outside of Waukeen's Rest that basically reads "Statue of Beloved Ranger missing, please return." As someone who didn't play the previous games, it took until act 3 to learn that Minsc is the beloved ranger, he'd been turned into a statue, then un-petrified (hence the "statue" is missing), and also that's why his crime boss name is Stone Lord.'
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'Astarion's comment on Malus Thorm "He just like Cazador, utterly insane!" and both Malus and Cazador actually share the same battle theme'
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'Alfira casually dropping the line, “I’ll be gone by first light”
Yeah, she will.'
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'Act1 Astarion: the biggest threat to a vampire is another vampire. They are scheming paranoid, power-hungry beast, so why would any vampire give up control over response to create a competitor?
Ascended astarion: you wouldn’t just be some spawn on your far more than that to me my dark consort, my right hand, my most beloved spawn.
Tav: spawn? I want to be a true vampire.
Ascended astarion: and you will in good time.
Later when you ask him if whats going to happen to you now that youre his spawn:
Ascended Astarion: 'Spawn' is an ugly word. I really do prefer 'consort'.
Six months later in the epilogue Tav is still a spawn. Well, well, well, if it isn’t the consequences of my own actions.'
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'Shadowheart's wound flaring up anytime she interacts with something Selune-themed in act 1 is my favorite. Shar's method of negative reinforcement is subtle.'
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'There’s a book in True Soul Gut’s chambers that is contains what is very clearly an account of Orpheus pre-imprisonment appearing before some random citizen of Baldur’s Gate, that just seems like normal flavour text when you’re unaware'
(Ry's note: And this appears as early as the Nautiloid!)
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'the symbol of the Absolute being a mashup of the symbols of Bane (handprint), Bhaal (skull surrounded by blood drops), and Myrkul (skull in a triangle). it’s there as early as the goblin camp brands in act 1, well before you learn about the three'
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'When you explore the Emperor’s Hideout and the Emperor points out the cutlery set on his desk, he states that the butter knife is gone/missing. A direct reference to the colloquialism “by Balduran’s butter knife”.'
'Not just that!
Balduran's Butter Knife is a weapon from the previous games. It is enchanted to be stronger against shape-shifting foes.
The Sword of the Emperor, found in the same hideout has the same enchantment.'
(Ry's note: I wonder if that includes dragons who can take dragonborn-esque forms?)
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'You can find a book written by Gortash in the zhentarim hideout in the act 1 inn, before he’s ever mentioned'
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'Right before they meet with Gortash for the coronation, Wulburn fucking Bongle tells Durge, “You have a knack for passing amongst these bastards as if you were one of them.”
There’s lots of other ones, but that one was very TRAGIC! Worst person makes great point!'
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'I just realized that in the camp in the act 2 -> act 3 transition (maybe before that too?? I'm not 100% positive) if you ask Halsin a lot of questions he asks "you're not a doppelganger are you? Trying to learn all about me to take my place?" and I GASPED. It's only sort of foreshadowing since we see Orin shape-shifting in the scene between her and gortash RIGHT before but, you know, still funny'
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'Probably that Durge-specific line with Astarion during the cutscene where he asks how you would like to be killed if you turn into a mindflayer. If you ask him how you should kill him, he says "Oh my dear, I'd like to see you try". Hits different now that I romance him each time as Durge'
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'You can see Bhaal's glowing red circle on the floor beneath the Dark Urge, when customising his character.'
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