#minthara is not the kind of person who would back off and run from a fight - and is definitely not spooked about assassinations

[trappedinafantasy37]

POV: Evil murder kitten tries to evil murder you in your sleep. She's desperate for a reason not to evil murder you because she does not want to.

[whaledenwtf]

Hello! This might be a weird request but what about Gale, Halsin and Astarion with a s/o who's super cute and friendly and overall just a gigantic sweetheart who also happens to canonically be horrifyingly powerful. Like potentially even more destructive than Gale and the orb. Enemies who know their lore turn and run just at the mention of them and their name strikes fear into many hearts but then the camera pans over and it's this short sweetheart of a person. Literally this post basically

Thank you so so much, I really love your writing! Also Happy Holidays sweetie! ☺️

I love this idea!! I made it headcannons so it wasn't too long to read! REQUESTS ARE OPEN!! Please ask more, I love writing things for people <3

REQUEST HERE

Headcannons: Astarion, Gale and Halsin with a super cute friendly S/O who's horrifyingly powerful

Warnings: None, this is just indulgent FLUFF, Minor Spoilers for Act 1 and for Gale and Astarion's Lore

Astarion

You were always sweet with Astarion, and only made him feel comfortable and safe.

After he told you he was a vampire, you accepted him despite everyone else telling you not to!

When you told him you could beat Cazador, he didn't believe you at first because of your sweet nature.

The first time he realized you were a legend was when you guys raided the Goblin Camp to save Halsin.

You initially told everyone your name was Tav, so nobody really knew who you were.

Every Goblin met their end with a swing of your weapon, gutting them before they blinked.

It scared your companions, honestly.

When you got to Minthara, you told her your name was (Y/N), and she backed away from you.

Astarion was confused until Karlach, Wyll and Lae'zel spoke of your legendary moniker.

Wyll may be known as the "Blade of Frontiers" but you were known as "The Walking Death" and that was thrilling for Astarion.

Every monster, creature and being met their demise when face to face with you.

Astarion was a slave for 200 years, only knowing the bare minimum from Cazador. But knowing you were on his side, and under his thumb, that thrilled him!

Once you apologized about lying to your companions, they all welcomed you in their arms, especially Astarion.

As he slowly falls in love with you, he realizes that he likes knowing his significant other is not only powerful and showed no mercy, but showed him life through another lens.

You show him that love doesn't make someone weak, but stronger.

You're powerful, and having you by his side makes him feel unstoppable as well.

He is very grateful for you. You will pull him from Cazador's clutches and stay with him through it.

Despite your sweet nature, you kicked ass. You saved everyone you could, which annoyed Astarion. But he loved you despite it, and always will.

After all, why would he run away from the first good thing to happen to him?

Gale

He was also confused about who you were right away. As a scholar he spent most of his time in books, rather than the battlefield.

Honestly, his mind was distracted between the Netherese Orb in his chest and Mystra.

When you pulled him out of the portal, he was struck by your kindness.

Then he was struck by your beauty when you fought valiantly for your companions.

He was excited seeing someone so powerful near him, and honestly fell harder.

After telling you what Mystra did, you told him you'd kill her.

He laughed you off, until he saw what you could do.

Now he's worried he won't have a goddess to worship.

Your battle prowess is astounding, and he can't help but admire you as you shout commands to your companions.

You always were gentle with Gale, soft touches and sweet nothings between you two.

He always finds it difficult to associate you with your title.

"The Slayer of Man and Beast" he's heard Lae'zel and Shadowheart call you.

You always chuckle and tell them "soon you'll have to add gods to that"

Now he's even more worried about his goddess

Over time, he considers you his goddess. After all, you've protected and respected him much more than Mystra ever had.

When he tells you about the Netherese Orb, you shrug him off.

"Nothing will keep me from you, not even a bomb."

Wow

When you two are alone, he caresses your muscles and your hands. He's in love with the idea of his significant other being this battle-worn individual set to protect him

Throughout your adventure, you remind him that you would protect him with your life.

"All for little old me?"

"Nobody will stop me from protecting you. No monster or goddess."

Man you really hate Mystra for hurting Gale so bad.

You dream about smiting her and protecting Gale in your arms.

While adventuring, you always keep Gale by your side. Everyone teases you for it until you shoot them a warning glance.

You're so so good to him. You take hits for him, heal him in battle, and heal him in the privacy of his tent.

"You're too good to me." He muttered once, eyes closed.

"You've never been treated right. It's my personal duty to make sure you never doubt yourself ever again." You replied, kissing his eyelids.

He just fell harder.

Halsin

He actually knew who you were before you saved him.

When you said your name, he bowed his head in respect.

"An honour to put a face to the name" He said to you.

You told him you loved how big and safe he was.

"You're the one who would keep me safe, little one."

He wasn't wrong. You've saved him multiple times throughout your adventure.

You were very sweet with Halsin, always leaning against his arms and closing your eyes when you sit together in camp.

He found it amusing, seeing such a feared individual be so innocent and kind with him.

In his 350 years of existence, he's never been so captivated by someone like you.

When he tasked you with eradicating the Goblin Camp, he enjoyed seeing the fear in Minthara's eyes when you said your name.

Despite being a druid, he knew that with life also came death. He accepted your past.

He found the juxtaposition of your personality endearing.

One day, he was in wildshape lounging around as a bear. You laid on him and spoke about different topics regarding your life.

In that same day, he saw you obliterate 20 goblins on your own.

He never thought he'd be aroused by someone killing goblins, but you did that.

You also knew all the spots to scratch when he was a bear??

Yes that's the spot. Right behind his ears.

He liked seeing the way you treat your companions with such kindness.

You showed respect and compassion to those who you find deserve it. You helped people find safety, and feel safe.

It was beautiful, the way you showed such love to those who were close to you.

He always compared you to the ocean.

"Why the ocean?" You asked him once.

"You can be calm, bring peace. But you are also wild, strong in the most beautiful way." He replied.

He enjoyed the way you blushed.

One time, you asked him to wildshape and you rode him into battle. Nothing is scarier than seeing (Y/N) "The Tempest" riding onto a bear.

Even your companions were scared

Ever since then, you always did it. It was like couple bonding, somehow??

Gods, he loves his little tempest

Hope this is as enjoyable for you guys to read as it was for me to write!!

[thedomesticanthropologist]

I have something that's been bugging me regarding a moderately popular request from fans to add a way to romance Astarion without having sex with him.

There are so many reasons why this is a very sweet but poor take. I'll start with game reasons and then explain the trauma connection

That route would then become the "Morally pure" or "Only Right" option. Now I know you're just thinking personally you would be more comfortable with that kind of story but people absolutely would not leave it alone. I already see how the ascended versus spawn ending conflict looks, now imagine having a completely morally pure Romance run where you never once do anything that has a perceivable negative connotation.

I could carry on, but now I'm going to move into speculation, fueled by my perspective, which is informed by my experiences:

He wouldn't have gone for it. Certainly not in act one where he's doing everything he can to pin someone down, and this is the only skill he thinks he has at this moment, he's acting on instinct his instinct is to seduce.

You can say that you try to build a friendship throughout act one just like you would in the regular route because hey we also have halsin and minthara who you don't even get to romance until later on in the game, sure, I hear you. So in that case, having not romanced you in act 1 he is now on par with however he would be in a friend playthrough.

He is also in a completely different mental space by the end of it, and since he never had to pretend to be in love with you, he never had to keep up a facade of a developing romance because he wasn't banging you, which he considered a transactional thing that was part of the whole "getting protection" thing

Let me expand a little. Even if you were flirty back, Astarions plans were always "seduce you, sleep with you, manipulate your feeling so you'd never turn on me" and he believes that the sex is part of how you get something out of it too, since he sees NO VALUE in himself as a person, and states in game that he has little to offer but complications.

He would close the book on you romantically the minute you didn't let him sleep with you, just like he does in a regular playthrough. If you wrote it as him going along with a slow burn seduction, same romance talk but no sex, maybe even teasing him along, you may have gotten through Act 1, I will give you that that could be written, and would make great fanfiction. But we are talking about putting this in the canon, in the game, keep that in mind.

Say you get to act 2, the point where he says he needs a break from sex. If this gets you excited, thinking "this is where it pays off" .... No! Because he would never have that conversation, due to not having had sex.

How could you re-write it? Maybe he wasn't in a relationship with you this whole time even though you were pursuing him but you said no sex which would have frustrated him (you see where I'm going with this)

Maybe this is the point where you say like I would like to help you fight Cazador and do everything as your partner because I love you, or... However. You'd have to have the romance confession, because he couldn't confess to you because the only reason in his mind he confesses to you is out of guilt from having used you for you guessed it

SEX

So now let's say you fully support him when you're saying romantic things to him and for some reason you write in that he's tolerating this and it's fine,

He's a complete wreck all the way up until the end of the Cazador quest. This is not the time where he would be getting cuddly and snuggly and Kissy or even spending more time with the main character because in the Canon he is so upset that he's pretty much snapping at everybody, if you romanced him he's taking a break and he will not commit to what you guys are and he's still putting on a bit of a front with the same kind of language and tones of voice he used when he was manipulating you and act one showing that he's kind of going through the motions right now.

So you would have to rewrite the entire romance that from this morally pure point of view he would be in such a better place emotionally with you or the romance wouldn't be able to start until after cazadors quest.

Then you get into endgame where you either ascended him or you left him as a spawn, and the friendship route does what it does but how would you write the graveyard scene how would you do any of this because he would have had no reason to confess any of his trauma to you ever because you were so supportive how would you have gotten that information out of him?

If you didn't know any of that stuff then why is he bringing you to the graveyard how deep did your relationship really get? How did you get a relationship that's deep with him when he wouldn't have divulged that information?

You even see in the love test he is a very private person and the only reason he was ever honest with you was to apologize for how he manipulated you with sex.

I actually could keep going on about this but I'm using voice to text and it's midnight and I should probably just go to bed so anyway I'm not here to super duper put you guys down or anything I think it's very very sweet I think it is beautiful and I think you should write fanfic about it.

I do not think it belongs in the game

Now you go enjoy the things you enjoy, I will read all of your fanfiction, I will love all of your art. I enjoy the hell out of you beautiful creatures who just want the best for this sad vampire man. And wait, can you make it work in his Origin?? Idk maybe try that idea out I haven't thought that one through.

Sometimes really good writing puts us in positions where we feel a little uncomfortable. And that just makes it good writing. I love you all thanks for coming to My Opinions Based on the information I Currently Have 😂

[johnandrasjaqobis]

Sooo I did say I needed to write up a summary of Joseph's ending (including screenshots for funsies and to break up the inevitable wall of text)

but of course to do that I need to set some Context (only the relevant parts, I swear) SO my idiot son, fresh off the Nautaloid, negative memories, +1 tadpole, and also somehow eldritch blast ??

(he was a fighter of some sort before, I think, I had been considering paladin for this run but it didn't make a whole lot of sense to have divine magic when you start out with Nothing, so I figured the desperation of that situation is the. perfect opportunity for some outside force to Help.)

and, of course, this will be long so UNDER A CUT IT GOES

He had zero idea what exactly was giving him the powers, but there was so much going on it wasn't really a priority to look into for the first good chunk of plot. Joseph just barreled his way through looking for literally anyone who would give him any fucking answers, and was legitimately kinda being dragged into being a halfway decent person with the party's influence (if there is one constant about this man, he is far easier to manipulate than he'd ever admit). Still used every tadpole they came across because there was the constant feeling of being so much weaker than he should be, and the tadpoles gave a not insignificant edge in combat. Thanks to the weird accidental connection to the zaith'isk, he was very good at it - and for a guy who feels like he's not very good at much of anything anymore, it was a lot.

(he also tried to pass the tadpole stuff off as warlock abilities, with marginal success, it did involve casting shatter centered on himself once and knocking himself out, that's not important)

all that to say when the Emperor offered the astral tadpole, there was some temptation; the main thing that made Joseph keep pushing back was the fact that Lae'zel hated the idea of it. but (and here is where I wave fondly to fully canon events as they pass by) good ol' Empy chose this time to try and press in on the fact that Joseph had already benefited so much from illithid powers. Moreso than he was fully aware, in fact. since the Emperor was technically his patron.

(sometimes you see this absolute feral little asshole of a man who, unfortunately, is a rather important part of your plan, and realize that he can't do shit anymore. so sometimes you gotta sigh heavily and give him a hand. or tentacle, perhaps.)

anyway when it came down to it the DC was 21, Lae'zel was pissed, and lo and behold

fast forward a bit. the Emperor is a bitch, they do not get along, but mostly mutual goals so whatever

and then we get to Baldur's Gate. Joseph has one (1) meeting with his ex, who is incidentally the first person who has actually given any actual answers, and every chance of some kind of redemption arc is immediately thrown out the window

because. yeah, remember that mention of being easy to manipulate? pre-tadpole Joseph wasn't much different in that regard. His loyalty is a character flaw at points, and his loyalty to Gortash was second only to Bhaal himself (and even that divide was being pushed at, which terrified him, obedient son that he was, forgive me father indeed)

he learned why every high ranking person in this dammed cult seemed to know him. Why the Absolute itself seemed to revere him. Why Stillmaker felt so familiar. And he fell right back into the old patterns and the old plan.

proceeded to lose multiple friends for it, too, there's only so long the whole "I'm just staying on his good side to get information" excuse is obviously, how you say, bullshit. Karlach and Wyll both left after they got Gale back from Orin. Shadowheart stuck around a little longer, but eventually having to help kill the little group of Gur after watching a ceremony that killed thousands just tipped things too far.

Joseph went into the finale with like. three friends: Astarion (freshly ascended), Minthara (delighted by the opportunity for power grabs), and Lae'zel (increasingly skeptical and disappointed by her idiot amnesiac boyfriend).

(and god the situation with Lae'zel hurt. Karlach definitely tried to warn her of how badly this was all going to go to shit before leaving. there was a moment with Shadowheart with the very weary "I do think he loves you. I just don't think that it's going to be enough." getting to watch as Joseph just fully clicked with this man he so obviously had history with. like give this girl a break.)

but again, that loyalty, which meant he definitely did get the Orphic hammer because he wasn't about to just turn his back on Lae'zel's whole mission, and also fuck the Emperor actually

however, speaking of the Emperor, that does require a bit of a backtrack because Joseph did have to kill his sister and then also said fuck you dad, it's your dream not mine, etc and was exsanguinated for his troubles. only to be pulled back again by the weird skeleton guy who refused to stop following them around.

See friends, I think there's something...a little extra, in being killed by a god, especially when it was the god who created you to begin with. Bhaal might have aimed a little poorly, only fully destroying the Urge side of things, but the god of murder murdering you holds weight. As does being pulled right back out of death by the now unemployed god of death.

That whole situation might have. Severed some connections. Formed some new ones.

Fast forward again.

Holy shit the brain is big.

but they had the plan, perhaps a little trickier now, but they'd get the brain back under control and split the stones again, Minthara can wield the third, Astarion can help run things with his own newfound powers, Lae'zel can use whatever resources from this plane she needs to go kill Vlaakith, there's a plan

and I mean. we all know how this part goes. Larian I just want to talk.

In a very fitting "dice telling a story" moment, after Gortash fell I rolled three consecutive 2's. (Minthara tried revivify immediately, of course she did, but maybe it was the splitting migraine they were all fighting through or maybe something the brain did, or maybe Bane himself wouldn't allow it, but nothing would take.) Joseph doesn't remember screaming, but by the time Empy yanked them into the prism, his throat was definitely damaged.

Joseph nearly passes out and does end up just staring at the body (because at least Empy was polite enough not to just leave Gortash there, god can you imagine) for. some amount of time.

of course he'd lose this, of course it's the one person who really knew him before, who was still perfectly willing to work with who he was now, who gave him a purpose that was more than just killing literally everyone, who appreciated the skills that came with said killing but appreciated the skills that had nothing to do with it, who Joseph trusted despite literally every bit of common sense

Fuck that, actually.

The Emperor snaps at him that they don't have this kind of time, Joseph snaps right back that they're in the fucking Astral Sea, time passes differently, they've got a moment.

He asks the others for a moment, just go regroup a bit, he'll catch up, and this has happened enough over their travels that they don't hesitate too much before leaving him alone

and then he starts calling for Withers. First just mentally, then out loud, then enough to make him taste a little blood again, because Jergal you fuck I know you can hear me

takes a moment, but. he does show up. just so casually stepping out from behind a rock, good ol' Peepaw, Withers, literally Jergal himself

and also Joseph's fairly recently self-appointed new patron

(he'd had suspicions for a bit, the fact that he and the Emperor had been at such odds recently, especially the fact that he could complete the whole "heist" from the House of Hope with absolutely no consequences, there was a pretty solid feeling. this just confirmed it.)

"Bring him back." "No."

but if warlocks are known for one thing, it's making deals. how invested are you in seeing this Absolute stopped, huh Jergal? In sticking it to the Dead Three? You've already yanked one of their Chosen back, what's one more?

"I could try -- do my godsdammed best -- to stop this thing for good. Just like you want. Or I could use these stones and burn down the fucking world."

and it's a good thing they're in the Astral Sea because the silence is long. but eventually there is. a very reluctant agreement.

after, of course. after the Absolute is destroyed (if you die in the process and it enacts the Grand Design, not much else will matter anyway, if you succumb to the temptation and take control, there's no bargain to be fulfilled).

So. Somehow, in fate's favorite sort of irony, the guy who pulled Joseph off of any sort of path toward redemption ended up being the reason that kind of forced his hand there anyway.

They destroy the brain. Astarion and Minthara are expectedly disappointed, but can kind of appreciate the impossible task that it would have been to control that thing indefinitely. The tadpoles are evaporated (Joseph is left with scarring because you can't tell me that level of change being stripped away so quickly leaves you without a mark). The city is saved.

And Enver Gortash gets to wake up, inexplicably, on the docks and go through seven stages of grief as he realizes what happened to his plan. (The plan got you fucking killed, you absolute dumbass.)

implications beyond that are mmmmmm many and complicated. but. hey, there's always the next plan.

[cicerosfavouritelistener]

You!

*points*

I unfortunately don't know all your OCS so GO WILD. Your favorite one, I guess!

(this is for the wholesome OC ask thing)

4, 7, 20, please

SAME AS THE LAST ONE! Order's gonna be Slips, Ja'ava, Cheese Man, Rorin, Lorzios and then Lixkasalor!

Warnin for BG3 spoilers!

4. What is the thing they like the most about their friends and what is the thing their friends like the most about them? Slips: What they like most about Cicero and Ja'ava is that while the two of them can take care of themselves, because they're so short if they rush ahead and there's like, Bandits, and then Slips walks up behind them towerin over typically the bandits'll run off. Cue the three of them having a fun time trying to beat each other in who can kill the most bandits. What their friends most like about Slips is probably their ability to be honest with them and also the way they care. Slips doesn't care about a lot of people, so the few they do are incredibly loved.

Ja'ava's favourite thing is how Slips is fully open to any crazy idea Ja'ava had mid battle. Pick Ja'ava up and fling her as high into the sky against a Dragon? Hell yeah. Let Ja'ava run up their back to scramble onto a ledge? Lets go. Slips likes having someone who has known them for so long that they don't have to explain anything about why they're doin whatever they're doing.

Cheese Man likes that they let him stay somewhere where he'd be safe rather than in the freezing Skyrim where most people aren't too fond of him (he's not fond of them either.) They can bully him for being a dickhead.

Rorin's best friend is an Orc called Zuzu (@plutoprophecy's OC). He appreciates her not despising him despite him being everything she stands against (He is Tamriel's biggest and Bestest liar) and yet she and he become besties. She is the one person He trusts with *most* things. There are a few things a man must keep to himself. He does like all of his other friends who make him feel comfortable, but Zuzu is definitely the main one. Idk how his friends feel about them. Lorzios' best friends are Shadowheart and an Ascended Astarion, and her girlfriend is Minthara. Lorzios likes that her friends are strong. Her friends like that she is strong. They're all just a pack of fucked up people. Then there's Gale who Wishes They Weren't Horrid People.

Lixkasalor has no friends. They have puppets they prefer and puppets they don't. Astarion was their favourite puppet, poor guy, went from Cazador to them who ended up taking over the world with the Elder Brain. Shadowheart, Wyll, Astarion, Karlach, Jaheira and Lae'zel would all hate them if they weren't under their Mind Control. Scratch and the Owlbear Cub however are fine and fully loved.

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7. What is their favourite movie, or a movie they would really enjoy?

If Slips had a favourite movie it'd either be Donnie Darko or Eraserhead. Leaning towards the second because they would point at weirdly shaped rocks and in a weird voice say "That's the Eraserhead baby".

Ja'ava's favourite movie is the Indiana Jones ser- HA! YOU THOUGHT? No Ja'ava lives to watch documentaries on how various machines and stuff are made.

Cheese Man watches The Kings Speech. No one should ever let him choose which movie to watch.

Rorin either watches Wog Boy or Die Hard. They also like just about any romcom.

Lorzios loves anything that's got a lot of Gore and Blood.

Lixkasalor would watch movies that are made about themselves. The ones that paint them in a good light and ones that depict them entirely as the villain, they enjoy all of it.

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20. What is their hidden talent? Is that a skill they’ve been practising since childhood or just something they happen to know and never had the chance to show? Besides, was it something forced upon them, taught by someone close, or they picked it up themselves?

Slips and Ja'ava's is kind of a two-in-one, ever since they were kids they practiced mimicking each others voices and they're REAL good at it.

Cheese Man can lick his elbow. He practised a lot as a child because he wanted to prove he was better than the others.

Rorin's doesn't have one. He's just a Bosmer who lies a lot.

Lorzios' hidden ability is being the Cutest Slayer you've ever laid eyes on. She is SOOOOO cute you don't want to try stop her, in fact you want to spread your arms out so she can play with your intestines as much as she wants!

Lixkasalor doesn't really have 'hidden talents', They're very open about who they are and what they can do. Though, for a dragonborn, they're *very* skilled [redacted]

[wvrlock]

How would fallahan try to charm/change their behavior in front of each "canon" companion? In what ways would they try to appeal to each? Are they a good judge of character in the ways they try to appeal to people? How successful are they, usually?

I always joke that he has better deception than insight so he can lie to himself, but the fact is that he also has very high insight, numerically and factually. He doesn't include his own feats in his songs all that much (for his own safety, but he'd gladly brag about them) but he is so extraordinarily good at reading people that he was the one to orchestrate Zariel's redemption, he gave the paladin the words he had to say to move her. He also persuaded Tiamat's champions to help them out, and Bel to aid them in their search for Zariel's sword.

He asks himself "what are they feeling?", "what do I have that they need?", "what is their weakness?", and changes his words and behavior depending on the answers. He can improvise, but ideally he would gather the information he needs before an encounter, rather than during.

It usually works if he wants it to work, and even if he encounters someone who employs similar techniques he likes playing the "I know that you know" card, confidently displaying false friendliness and openness. And he doesn't mind downplaying himself to flatter the other party, which is precisely why he excelled at dealing with devils. At worst, he doesn't come off as trying to deceive, just trying to please.

"If he wants it to work" essentially means that he doesn't bother trying if he doesn't have something to gain, he'll just show his usual arrogant, playful personality that some people find fun and others irritating.

(Companions under the cut because boy this got LONG)

He likes Astarion, and honestly he wouldn't need to change a thing to be liked back. They share a sense of humor, many of their tastes and their signature sassy personalities. He would be 100% genuine to him.

She doesn't care much for Shadowheart, or so he says. There's this running gag about how Fallahan always ends up surrounded by very religious people being an agnostic himself, and he would be in his most brutally honest behavior about her religious trauma, but he doesn't really need anything from her.

Same goes for Gale... Fallahan is always intrigued by things he doesn't know and the arcane, and would love to have someone ramble about it for hours, but something in his personality kinda irks him. He's a romantic nerd, but like... the wrong kind of romantic, and the wrong kind of nerd. He'll bite his tongue on his opinions about the whole Mystra situation because he KNOWS he'd come off as the asshole he deep down still is.

Now, Wyll. Wyll IS the right kind of romantic nerd. Fallahan would be soooo nice and charming. He likes heroes, he likes stories, he likes drama, he could listen to him talk forever. He would share opinions on literature they both enjoy, and write about him, and be playful and flirty. I think he would totally try to get into his bed (Fal does have a habit of collecting lovers as 'trophies') while masterfully avoiding every one of Wyll's romantic advances, if they happen. He's interested in flings, not romance (that's what he says).

Lae'zel is. Uh. She's too straightforward to fall or even care about his charms. Not only he wouldn't try but he would keep a very careful distance.

Same goes for Minthara, who's even worse because she's used to sycophantic diplomats, she would be unimpressed and unamused. Not to mention that he's a very high elvish elf, and the kind of arrogant male she would despise. Nope. Not happening.

Halsin is... nice, but the most they'll have in common is that in some verses Fal's partner (@stagsworn) and he would be friends. But that's the extent of it. He doesn't need any tree-hugging dilf to psychoanalyze him, thank you very much.

Jaehira is just. No.

Minsc is the wrong kind of brute. His opinion on big dumb men is that they're either fuckable, or not worth his time. He'd be sassy to him, but also very careful not to anger him, which means holding his tongue most of the time.

Karlach is fine. Kind of a slow-burn thing because he'd take longer to understand where she's coming from, but he'd be genuine... genuinely nice. Not because he doesn't want to get on her bad side, but because he does find her quite entertaining.

[prynnehesters]

love how this little vent blog became my "post dumb shit about bg3 blog" bcuz ive started thinking about the types of players who would play the origin/secondary companions in bg3. im basing it off of ppl i've played with and how games run

shadowheart- dnd veteran and/or mom friend. knew party needs a cleric but wanted something interesting.

astarion- goth/theatre kid (or both). incredibly creative, didn't really go w any of the hooks the dm offered and made their own backstory.

lae'zel- person normally plays human fighter or fighter in general so they wanted to spice things up by being a githyanki

karlach- probably first time dnd player. dm helped a lot with backstory. just excited to be there

wyll- i can't decide if the person playing him is a first time caster or a first time dnd player. i feel like his player could've played either half casters or fighters before committing to being a warlock (i do feel like his player initially wanted to be a ranger or a paladin but decided against it bcuz eldritch evocations seemed neat

gale- person who wanted to make a crazy mary sue backstory. lmaooo. idk but like, out of everyone, his backstory is very nuts. wants to be main character.

halsin - joined a few sessions late, then took some time off, then came back. someone known for making characters that are kind of joke/meme-y. or a DM character

minthara- someone who has to have separate sessions cuz they keep turning on the group (jk, but this did happen to me once)

jaheira- controlled by DM or veteran dnd player who joined in at the end

minsc- a character from a previous campaign that became a meme (ditto in this game). controlled by DM

[trappedinafantasy37]

Alright! It is finally time to face the Elder Brain and end this run. For a little disclaimer, I did complete this run just a few days before Patch 7. I just have posting paralysis and shit sits in my drafts forever before I post things.

Shadowheart tried to dominate the Elder Brain. But, her plan was an abysmal failure.

And doomsday has arrived for the city of Baldur's Gate.

Pro tip: before walking into the apocalypse, make sure your pet illithid is well fed. Locally sourced brains are the preferred nutrition, but store bought is fine.

Despite the apocalyptic scenario she finds herself in, Minthara is enjoying herself and having a grand old time. Definitely the kind of person who thrives in chaos and is her most calm when shit hits the fan.

At the beginning of this all, Shadowheart was alone, trying to navigate the dangers by herself. She felt that she did not need any allies as they would be nothing but liabilities. But Minthara was the one who, ironically, pulled her out of the darkness and gave her the push she needed to step away from Shar. She never could have made it this far without her.

A failed Sharran, a drow, and an illithid walk into a bar...

Meet my friends!

RAWR!

Now this is what I call some quality gameplay! No one can attack you if they can't see you. And even if they could see you, you've evoked the "you can't touch me" rules!

In a final act of desperation, the nether brain pleads for its life, trying to entice Shadowheart into becoming Absolute. Of course, Minthara wants Shadowheart to take the brain and they can rule the world as gods. Sadly, Shadowheart has turned into a helpless do-gooder and destroyed the brain. Lame.

Yay! They saved the city and Minthara unintentionally did a good thing! Now, she wants to get shitfaced so she can forget the awful experience of being a hero against her will.

So, Shadowheart sleeps and Minthara trances, right? Meaning Minthara wakes up long before Shadowheart does. Therefore, Minthara has spent at least 4 hours just sitting here, staring at Shadowheart and waiting for her to wake up. I mean, I would do the same thing too...

Babygurl, it is just me and you here. Who the hell do you think I've been partying with without you? Who are you so afraid of? Who are you trying to poison?

You know, Withers could have just visited the evil lesbians in Baldur's Gate instead of throwing this lavish and extravagant party in the middle of nowhere.

Whoooo boi! This has probably been the longest it has taken me to ever complete a run in Baldur's Gate. Not because it was difficult, but because I was fighting burn-out at the same time, and, well, life stuff happened. But now with Patch 7 being here, I can finally download and install some mods to bring back that spark and replay Daedra and maybe complete that Karlach origin that I keep putting off. This will probably be the last time I do a Shadowheart origin as I have already done it three times and I miss her as a companion.

This is my first duo run and I have had a lot of fun with it. Knowing that I only had two companions and limited resources really made me approach combat and scenarios more tactfully and prepare in advance. It also provided me with some really good RP reasons to make some not so morally good decisions. This was a run that started off with Shadowheart making evil decisions out of necessity and survival, but then her selectively choosing to be good and to be better as she knows she has the power to be better. And having a powerhouse like Minthara at her side certainly gave her the confidence. Of course, Minthara had to get dragged through all this character development, grumbling and bitching about it the entire time. Although, I do not think she learned the same lessons as Shadowheart did as she is still up to her same old drow shenanigans.

This entire run was completely inspired by a random Shadowthara gifset I came across months ago and I knew I just had to do it. Shadowheart and Minthara have very quickly become one of my favorite ships and is my second favorite ship for Minthara specifically. I always knew that Shadowheart and Minthara had some overlap in their stories, but I didn't realize just how much they did overlap. I feel most people probably would have had Shadowheart go the DJ route with Minthara (and would be the canon route if Shadowheart only had Minthara by her side). So I went the opposite direction and found a good RP motivator to make Shadowheart reject Shar instead. To be honest, I think Minthara and Selunite Shadowheart mesh better together than DJ Shadowheart (although DJ Shaodwheart and Minthara are delicious in their own way).

Now that the run is completely over, I will get to my final wrap up in the next coming days. I will also polish out the chapters I have already written for my Shadowheart fic and start getting it published. And for all those who have followed me through this run when you really didn't have to:

Thank you!

< Orin |