#musings about bg3

[bones-and-bondage]

Some people can’t be brought back. In a world where Revivify and True Resurrection scrolls exist and Temples offer services to bring back those who can afford the components, some people still can’t be brought back.

Isobel Thorm couldn’t be brought back. Ketheric begged Selune for his daughter back and was answered with silence. He turned to Shar and she turned his grief into a weapon, but she would not bring Isobel back. And when he turned to Myrkul, what he brought back wasn’t fully right, and Isobel coughs and she knows there is something wrong, even as we as players can look behind the scenes and see she is undead, not truly living again.

The Dark Urge can beg Withers to bring back Alfira, and he gives a resounding no. He says she is at peace where he can never torment her again. Is it punishment? Is it to keep Alfira safe from what the Urge might do to her again? Or is it because some people, killed some ways, just cannot come back?

Is how the person died part of the ultimate decision as to who could come back? What power would Bhaal have, after all, if every victim murdered in his honor was just revivified?

What of Mayrina’s husband Connor? Did she seek out the Hag to return her husband because there were no temples available to her nearby? Because she couldn’t afford the cost of their services? Or had something else decided he, too, was to remain dead?

If Revivify had made death a non-worry, there wouldn’t be so many gods of the dead.

[alibonbonn]

A @corviiids tweet that is very important to me 🙏 I'm always thinking about spawn Astarion how he loves the sun

[invinciblerodent]

This is going to be very ranty and disjointed, probably borderline incomprehensible post, but with the "return" of Dragon Age Discourse (and really, did it ever go anywhere?) and me repeatedly seeing the complaints and dismissals of DA:I as a "chosen one"-type of a narrative, I just.... I keep finding myself thinking about the relationship of truth and lies within the game.

Throughout the course of DA:I, the idea of a malleable, flexible personal identity, and a painful confrontation with an uncomfortable truth replacing a soothing falsehood, follows pretty much every character throughout their respective arcs.

There are some more obvious ones, Solas, Blackwall, The Iron Bull, their identities and deceptions (of both those around them and themselves) are clearly front and center in the stories told about them, but this theme of deception (both of the self- and the outside world) is clearly present in the stories of the others as well.

Like, for example, ones that come immediately to mind are stories like that of Cullen, who presents an image of a composed and disciplined military man, a commander- all to hide the desperate and traumatized addict that he sees himself as.

Dorian grappled with the expectations of presenting the image of the perfect heir to his father's legacy, the prideful scion of his house, his entire life (he even introduces himself as the result of "careful breeding", like one might speak about a prized horse)- all while knowing that his family would rather see him lobotomized and obedient, than anything even just resembling his vibrant and passionate self.

Cassandra calls herself a Seeker of Truth, and takes pride in that identity- only to learn that in reality, she has been made a liar, a keeper of secrets, without her knowledge or consent, and it is up to her to either uproot the entire organization and painfully cut out the abscess it is to build it back from the ground up into something respectable, or let the information she had revealed sit, and continue to fester.

And this theme continues and reframes itself in, among others, things like Sera's own inner conflict between her elven heritage and her human upbringing, or in Cole being caught in this unconscionable space in-between human and spirit, between person and concept, etc.

The Inquisitor isn't exempt from this either.

I feel like this is where the core of the many misunderstandings of this plot come from, why so many people continue to believe that Inquisition is a "chosen one" or "divinely appointed" type of story, because I think many might just... not realize, that the protagonist's identity is also malleable, and what they are told in the setup/first act of the game is not necessarily the truth.

The tale of the Inquisitor is the exact opposite of that of a "chosen one" story: it's an examination and reflection of the trope, in that it is the story of an assumption that all wrongly believe to be the truth, and thrust upon you, even if you protest. The very point is that no matter who you choose to say that you are, you will be known as the Herald of a prophet you don't even necessarily believe in, and then that belief will be proven wrong, leaving you to cope with either a devastating disappointment if you believed it, or a bitter kind of vindication if you didn't.

There's a moment just after Here Lies the Abyss (when you learn of the lie you've been fed your entire journey in the game) that I don't often see mentioned, but I think it's one of the most emotionally impactful character moments, if you are playing an Andrastian Inquisitor who had actually believed themselves chosen (which I realize is a rather unpopular pick, lol): it's when Ser Ruth, a Grey Warden, realizes what she had done and is horrified by her own deeds, and turns herself in asking to be tried for the murder of another of her order. As far as she is concerned, she had spilled blood for power, and regardless of whether she was acting of her own volition at the time, whether she had agency in the moment, is irrelevant to her: she seeks no absolution, but willingly submits to any punishment you see fit.

And only if you play as an Inquisitor who, through prior dialogue choices, had established themselves as a devout Andrastian, can you offer her forgiveness, for a deed that was objectively not her fault- not really.

You can, in Andraste's name, forgive her- even though you, at that point, know that you have no real right to do so. That you're not Andraste's Herald, that Andraste may or may not even exist, and that you can't grant anyone "divine forgiveness", because you, yourself, don't have a drop of divinity within you. You know that you were no more than an unlucky idiot who stumbled their way into meddling with forces beyond their ken.

You know you're a fraud. You know. The game forces you to realize, as it slowly drip-drip-drips the memories knocked loose by the blast back into your head, that what all have been telling you that you are up to this point, is false. And yet, you can still choose to keep up the lie, and tell this woman who stands in front of you with blood on her hands and tears in her eyes, that you, with authority you don't have, grant her forgiveness for a crime that wasn't hers to commit.

Because it's the right thing to do. Because to lie to Ser Ruth is far kinder than anything else you could possibly do to her, short of refusing to make a decision altogether.

There are any number of criticisms of this game that I can accept (I may or may not agree depending on what it is, but I'm from the school of thought that any interpretation can be equally valid as long as there's text that supports it, and no text that contradicts it), but I will always continue to uphold that the Inquisitor is absolutely not- and never was a "chosen one".

They're just as small, and sad, and lost, as all the other protagonists- the only difference is that they didn't need to fight for their mantle, because instead of a symbol of honor, it acted as a straitjacket.

[barilleon]

One thing that I've noticed about Baldur's Gate 3 is that sometimes it really does feel like your companions are being piloted by other players. Sure, there's the standard approval system that most CRPGs have nowadays, but there is an even more powerful mechanic at play here: giving the player the option to shut the fuck up.

There are tons of moments when your companions are forced to confront parts of their past they can't shake. You always have the option to speak up for them if you like, but most times you also have the option to say nothing (sometimes the prompt is literally "say nothing," sometimes it's "let [character] handle this."

And this is such an important tactic of playing at the table: turning the spotlight onto to another player and letting them handle it. Because the story isn't just about your player character, it's about all of you.

When you do choose that option, I've noticed more often than not that the character approves of you letting them take the wheel. When you try to speak up for them, they may not express disapproval, but it comes up in the fiction. I tried to defend Astarion once and an NPC was like, "You're letting swine speak for you now?" and Astarion shouted, "I don't need anyone to speak for me!" He's right! This is his moment! Why did I say anything?

Baldur's Gate doesn't have to do this! There's no actual person piloting your companions. And in games a lot of people will say it's usually best practice to keep the spotlight on the players. But BG3 is a video game based on a tabletop game, and I think this is one of the main differences between the two. Maybe it's a tiny detail, but giving the player the option to relinquish the spotlight (and oftentimes encouraging and rewarding it) is such an incredible detail, and faithful to the medium the game is trying to emulate.

It's also a great lesson for everyone who wants to be a good player at the table: if it's not your scene, consider shutting up and letting the spotlit player handle it.

[dumbofass-homo]

I've been thinking about how Halsin is always the caretaker.

He takes care of nature, but that's obvious. He takes care of a bunch of orphaned kids in the endgame. He took care of the grove, healed people, took in refugees. He cares about Tav (even if he is not Tav's partner) and the rest of the weirdos in the party. He cares.

It's so easy to forget that he is also a person that needs caring for. He is large and always has his emotions under control, so people tend to brush off his needs, sometimes subconsciously. And he is used to it, living for as long as he has.

It even shows in the fanart and fanfics - he is almost always the one to offer support and encouragement, emotional or otherwise. In the smutty works, he is almost exclusively the top, caring for his partners'pleasure.

I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this or what I'm trying to say, but I think he would just melt if his partners and/or companions would slowly start taking things off his shoulders.

The children want bedtime stories? Astarion will do you one better. He will act out the heroic victory over a certain vampire with so much flare he will be the talk of the settlement for days to come. He most certainly didn't do that to get the kids off Halsin's bear back and most definitely doesn't enjoy his new fans.

Lae'zel isn't affectionate, no, not at all. It's just that when she sees how dull his blades are, it infuriates her. Definitely. So she takes them, along with his armor and polishes everything to perfection, just like she would her own. The githyanki cannot allow their metal to be in less than perfect condition, you see.

New refugees came to the settlement and Tav gets them settled, shows them the place they've built and makes sure they know they're safe. The newcomers are a little baffled that one of the saviors of Baldur's gate is so normal, and it gives them reassurance. Tav wants to make sure not everyone needs to look to Halsin for the smallest things.

In the midst of the shadow curse, despite their animosity, Shadowheart infuses several items around camp with light. She knows he must miss the sun.

In Rivington, Gale scouts for ingredients for a certain cake. He can't find what he's looking for, the settlement is very short on sweets. But with his little eye (and a bit of magic) he finds a honey bee hive. A few blisters and agry bees later - a small honeycake is done, served with tea. Gale didn't want to make assumptions but Tav had told him their favorite bear loves honey.

On a particularly dreadful night, Wyll invites Alfira to play them a few tunes. He goes from person to person and gets them to their feet to do a little dance. Halsin is sure he has two left feet so he is reluctant to try - but everyone cheers and encourages him so he does, peer pressure be damned. He steps on Wyll's feet and has no idea how to move his body in sync, but Wyll isn't phased by it. He moves and twirls him around and Halsin is sure that looks absolutely ridiculous - but he is having fun, for the first time in a long time.

[daemon-in-my-head]

Actually I'm not done for today-

Given how Karlachs whole Soul and Body thing works despite the deal between Gort and Zariel, it is to assume that if a 3rd party sells you, it is not your soul being traded but your body instead. Aka, you really are just a commodity/slave being sold, and you may lose the ownership of your body, but despite devil dealings, your soul still belongs to you.

This also explains why Gorts' soul immediately ends up in Bane's grasp rather than the HoH or smth. Because Raphael may have been the owner of his body, but the soul belonged to Gort the entire time, and it stands to reason one of the main motivations Raphael has for torturing kid Gort is to gain his soul in exchange for peace or some shit.

But this also means there is a high likelihood Gort was aware of what the deal entails, the transfer of ownership of his body and not soul, meaning he knows his body is technically speaking Raphael's property.

And petty and spiteful as that man is, I propose a lot of the shit he did was deliberately aimed at ruining his body, for he's aware it is not his own but Raphael's. And spiting Raphael and fucking over or ruining his shit is one of Gortashs most beloved past times.

So basically, Gortash does not care how horrible his body is suffering from his strict regime or Bhaalspawn antics instead he takes twisted pleasure in mailing his physicians reports to the House of Hope, always keeping Raphael up to date on how hard he's ruining some property of his rn.

[polluxii]

my bloodthirsty muse

[junpickles]

I'm quite happy with how the reflections and the background turned out. Since Nel has the dark urge background, I tried to incorporate more red light in the background and shadows, to hint at the darkness, the vileness always lingering behind every action of hers. That it is easy to just let herself sink and give up control, let herself be enveloped by the urge.

The urge is the past, a reflection of what used to be, a moment frozen in time that is desperately trying to claw itself up and out of the depths of her soul.

Or something, I'm only in act 2 for this playthrough, I don't know what'll happen. 🤷‍♀️

[telumendils]

me when two characters who've never known a gentle touch are slowly learning how to be gentle with each other

[lcftyambiticns]

Verse I'm currently working on plus a lot of thoughts:

*drum roll* ....... SHARRAN LORROAKAN.

Hear me out. We know he wants to be powerful and immortal, he is morally flexible as a rubber band and I HC that he is pissed at Mystra for leaving him on read. And he is pissed at Selûne bc her daugther bane'd him haha The perfect storm. BUT, I can't emphasize enough that Lorroakan values his independence above all else, and I'll stand by that!!!11! The way he is sooo insistent to capture Aylin (*clears throat*, pardon me, DAME Aylin!), despite being a wizard who likely knows a thing or two about pacts, potions, and other methods of achieving immortality, really says something imo (Well, there's THAT, and Lorroakan simply thinks it's the easiest route to immortality, I guess. HE isn't the one putting himself at risk to find Aylin; he just pours a ridiculous amount of gold into it... The wand, the information itself, printing 3708900 pamphlets,...) Anywayyy, With all those other alternatives such as potions and pacts, there are trade-offs. Strings attached, contracts, and side effects that Lorroakan just doesn't want to deal with unless it's absolutely necessary; like when he's dead or dying (HELLO, PLOT-HOOK??). So he won't casually call upon Shar or any deity.

I still think this concept could work in so many ways!

ONE, Lorroakan sits on a treasure trove of artifacts and books Ramazith left behind, and who's to say he doesn't stumble over a tome about the Shadow Weave, or some kind of Sharran artifact?? To quote Rolan, "Lorroakan barely knew his alphabet"' — so it's not unlikely he'll just pick up a random book or smth without knowing what it is, and end up with a Shadow Curse, or otherwise corrupted by Shar. (side eyes @shadovan)

TWO, Alright, but what if Lorroakan doesn't end up on the Sharran path by accident? Lorri is clever. You can't convince me otherwise. He knows getting into the Shadow Weave is dangerous as FUCK, and he won't touch it unless he finds a way to interact with it without drawing Shar's attention. (shout-out to @deaddoveadventures 's Raistlin who is currently Lorroakan's partner in crime doing exactly that, lmao).

Spoiler alert, it probably won't work.

THREE, ALSO the daughter of SELÛNE bane'd him!!!?? I've been entertaining the thought of giving Lorroakan a post-Aylin Wight verse.

(That "someone" being Shar). I mean, come OOOON, this has written Lorroakan all over it, but it'd work just as well without Lorroakan returning as a Wight. Shar can just miracle him back to life, I suppose.

[razzberrydazz]

Me, realizing one of the many reasons I like Shadowheart and Astarion so much is because they read as having BPD to me, because I am a person with BPD and I project myself the hardest on characters I see myself in. It's MY comfort characters and I'll project on them however much I want 🤡😈

So I broke down the base criteria of BPD symptoms (you only need to tick 5 of the 9 criteria to be able to be diagnosed with BPD) and how both Shadowheart and Astarion can be interpreted as having and expressing the various behavioral criteria.

The main criteria: Fear of Abandonment, Self-Harm and/or Suicidal Thoughts, Chronic feelings of Emptiness and Dissociation, Unstable Self-image and sense of identity, history of unstable relationships, impulsive and self-sabotaging behavior, mood swings, extreme anger, Paranoia and disconnect from reality. It's not explicitly a criteria, but it's incredibly common if not a prerequisite that people with BPD have prolonged past trauma that caused them to have these maladaptive behaviors.

Both Astarion and Shadowheart have the traumatized unstable past to explain their behaviors (Shadowheart DEFINITELY has SEVERE childhood trauma since she got kidnapped and forced into a horribly abusive and manipulative cult, while Astarion has the trauma from Cazador's centuries of abuse and manipulation)

Both of them have SEVERE trust issues (Shadowheart from being in a cult as well as her attempts to pit Tav against Lae'Zel because she's distrustful of her {she has good reason to be when she's carrying a Gith artifact, as well as the Githyanki's long history of brutality and oppressive regimes}, Astarion from being so severely abused by Cazador despite his attempts to please the vampire lord, both of them can latch onto Tav and trust Tav entirely too Much once they're shown a shred of decency)

Both have Extreme fear of abandonment that they deal with in different ways (Shadowheart avoids abandonment by generally pushing people away and keeping them at arm's length so she can't grow attached especially if she stays Sharran, then latches onto the player far more than she should if no longer Sharran because Tav is her last tether of trust and warmth; Astarion avoids abandonment by trying to seduce you and get in your good graces as quickly as possible)

Both have unstable self-image and identity (Astarion doesn't even remember his own face before turning into a vampire, Shadowheart has to double down and recite the Sharran dogma to herself near constantly because she is unsure of her faith and by act 2/3 has QUITE an existential crisis on her relationship with Shar and Selune and cuts her bangs and even dyes her hair if no longer Sharran)

Both have a history of unstable relationships (Shadowheart can't even remember most of her possible past relationships due to the memory wipes, the main relationship she does remember is that of her with her cruel capricious goddess Shar, and if you go Selune route in Shadowheart's personal quest she will latch onto Tav and ask them to be with her forever with the clear implication that she's afraid Tav will leave her; Astarion hadn't been able to maintain a single good relationship in his entire time under Cazador because he had to lure his lovers to his master)

Both have impulsive and self-sabotaging behaviors ESPECIALLY Astarion imo (Astarion's perceived initial hypersexuality and inability to say no to sexual intimacy for most of the game, his want to do the ritual which overall has a far worse outcome for himself and others, his attempt to feed from Tav without their consent and possibly kill them in the process, his approval and encouragement of evil actions that reinforce that Tav is not trustworthy; Shadowheart's attempt to kill Lae'Zel by holding a dagger to her throat while she slept was definitely an impulsive act, and if she throws away the spear of night in act 2 that was Definitely done by impulse and not of active thought, and her cutting and dying her hair was most definitely done on impulse imo)

Both appear to have chronic feelings of emptiness and dissociation (Astarion largely because of the chronic vampiric gnawing hunger as well as him appearing to dissociate during some sex scenes, Shadowheart feeling emptiness largely due to the loss of her memory and mind as well as her dissociating via prayer because Sharrans try to empty themselves of all emotion to feel the emptiness and loss that Shar upholds)

Both of them have appear to have varying anger issues (not as much as other characters at times, as both Karlach and Lae'Zel DEFINITELY have worse anger issues at first glance if you ask me) and different ways they deal with it (Astarion is quite murder happy about it, such as when he can kill the Gur bounty hunter without caring for Tav's input, and Shadowheart's anger and resentment towards Lae'Zel and Selunites causes her to verbally lash out at any mention of Selune while at one point physically threatening Lae'Zel with her dagger and possibly killing her if Tav doesn't intervene or eggs her on, though I think most of Shadowheart's anger is turned inward and turned into her mentally anguishing that she's not a good enough devotee to her goddess)

Both have Extreme paranoia and suspicion of others (Shadowheart is distrustful of others by default and is especially paranoid about Lae'Zel due to her being Gith, Astarion is paranoid of being taken back to Cazador and holds Tav at knifepoint at first accusing them of being the one that kidnapped him before Tav assuages his fears)

Of the BPD criteria, I'd say outright Self-Harm and Suicidal Ideation shows up in both Shart and Astarion the Least (Gale has EVERYONE beat in the suicidality department); they both most definitely want to live, though they both still do Self-Harm usually through their self-sabotaging actions. I wouldn't count Shadowheart's stigmata hand wound as Self-Harm since it was Shar that inflicted that on her and not Shadowheart inflicting it on herself. If anything, it could be argued that Shadowheart purposely doing things she knows Shar would dislike in order to activate the wound is some form of self harm possibly? Shar is her abuser so I still am firm that her wound is not Shadowheart harming herself even if she knowingly does things to activate it because it is the fault of her abuser for hurting her.

As for extreme mood swings, often times those can be pretty well concealed and be mostly internal instead of external if someone is good enough at masking their emotions. Of the party members, Shadowheart and Astarion and Gale mask their emotions the most. Karlach has pretty outward mood swings, she's very expressive, while both Shadowheart and Astarion (and Gale) are typically pretty withdrawn and wear a mask of false smiles. Shadowheart definitely seems to be chronically depressed or otherwise ruminating and not having a good time mentally. If she has mood swings they are likely turned inwards and not outwards. She does have outbursts of anger and panic indicative of rapid mood swings at times, however. Astarion's dramatic catty antics could be read as mood swings judging how he reacts to Tav's various actions. Both he and Shart are very catty.

Overall, both Shadowheart and Astarion can be read as having enough matching behaviors to the BPD criteria for me to confidently say they're coded to have BPD, even if it's not explicitly stated as such.

Sidenote, sometimes people with BPD can experience minor hallucinations especially auditory hallucinations, and Shadowheart most Definitely had auditory hallucinations of Shar judging and shaming her if you ask me. It could have actually been Shar in her head yes, but it could also just as easily have been Shadowheart's own mind tormenting her.

BPD can also possibly predispose people towards Psychosis, black and white thinking, and delusions, though it's not a definite. Astarion's obsession with completing the ritual insisting it will protect him for good could be seen as a possible delusion of grandeur. Shadowheart definitely has black-and-white dogmatic thinking while under Shar's thumb. They need so much healing.

All of this is my interpretation to support my headcanons of course, these also enable my shameless projecting on these two catty characters. I'm a borderline bitch and if I can't get a stable personality myself, store bought is fine!

A lot of stuff is speculative and that's fine with me.

[bhaalergate]

I was thinking on Bhaal worship today and how one honours him "properly", based dialogue and various texts/journal entries that can be found throughout BG3, as well as my own headcanons.

In the Dark Urge's own journal, he chastises Orin for how meticulous she is in her work and how premeditated it is.

This got me thinking about what it means to a Bhaalist to kill, and here is where more of my own headcanon comes in. While there is sadism involved and sadists are attracted to Bhaal worship, sadism is not the point of it. There doesn't need to be any ritual involved; killing is the ritual. Death granted by another hand, to a Bhaalist, is the greatest gift they can offer. It is a blessing, for only in death is man pure. Only in death is he honest. Murder, to a Bhaalist, is baptism.

[transgenderkris]

i think we can stop giving characters abs now. like, some real life people do have abs without being dehydrated and are genuinely strong and healthy bc they arent neglecting or hurting their bodies to have those fake-ass chiselled muscles, but i think we have enough characters with unnecessary abs to last us for another like, decade. an 8 str wizard who's been holed up in a tower for years probably doesnt have abs. as creators of art we can take liberties with the people we make but sometimes you gotta really look at the person on the paper and ask yourself if they do 50 crunches per day

[mintytealfox]

spoilers for act 3 (Dryad scene with Astarion), my thoughts on finding out that some people are upset with the scene

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I think its interesting that some people are upset with the dryad scene with Astarion and 'feel like they are lying to get Astarion approval' but in all honesty the 'approval' answers make the most sense to me, especially with who he is and how he works.

Like, here is this rando who wants to hear us air out the dirty deep laundry and honestly number 1 rule in relationships (for me anyway) is don't share secrets or deep stuff about your partner to strangers or just anyone. That information has been entrusted to you, and should be locked in the shared safe you both now have, ESPECALLY when its someone like Astarion who hasn't trusted a single soul for 200 years, until now. Your Tav is special, and extremely rare, in his eyes and he has made a huge leap to finally trust in someone.

saying the 'real' deep answers out in the open in front of this stranger would feel like a betrayal of that trust of 'please don't share my vulnerable self to outsiders, I trusted you with this, I even told you, I put on an entire facade to survive, a carefully put together facade to protect myself. Why would you just hand over what hides inside, for safety, to just anyone?'.

Like, me personally, I would be horrified if my partner did this to me.

Scenario: we are at a circus, which is supposed to be fun and silly and vibes. This dryad thing seems like an interesting attraction thing, lets have fun with it! -Partner immediately lays out my deepest truths in front of the 'attraction' host- Reaction: "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU??? WHY WOULD YOU TELL THEM ALL THAT??"

I believe that, Astarion believes this is going to be a fun thing with his love, where they are on the same page where they can joke and play off of each other's wit, and that is why I think he agrees to take on this 'quiz' with you cause he trusts you to protect his inner self that he has shared with you. And that theory solidifies for me cause he is laughing and having a blast with all of the 'silly' unserious responses and is very happy with you, cause you are both on the same page and he knows, even more so now, that you can be trusted always and you have his back at all times, even in situations like this. If he was the one having to answer these questions, he would likely do the same, to protect your inner self that you entrusted with him and having a laugh with you and giving unserious answers.

He knows that you know his deepest secrets, because he has let you know them, you don't have to prove that to him. What you have to prove is that you will protect that vulnerable side of him, that is still raw and in need of protecting, alongside him.

but anyways these are just my thoughts on the topic~ (🌸ゝ◡･)ﾉ♡

edit: adding extra thoughts that just came to me and added to tags but decided to just add here

#you aren't lying to each other here#you are keeping this surface level for the dryad and who cares about that lol#you know each others truths and know to protect them#saying his truth out loud to this stranger is a way of saying you lied to him#lied about keeping his true self safe from strangers and potential threats

[daemon-in-my-head]

Ironic how the man who always wanted to be in control, wanted to take it, claim it, never give up on it, who gave everything for the promise of the aforementioned control, who went as far as worshipping a tyrant, a god of controlling himself and others, who, on the surface at least, puppeteered people as he liked to delude himself into thinking he'd been in control, wasn't even in control of his own body during his last moments and will never be of control in his eternal afterlife init?

But the people he sought so desperately to control, the people whos fates he thought he had taken hold of, the dying woman and the heretic fanatic, were the ones allowed to take control, defy him and their masters, even if only for their last moments to be truly their own?

Fucking funny ain't it-

[quinloki]

YOU CAN'T COVER THE SMARY MAN IN BLOOD AND MAKE HIM LOOK AT THE SCREEN LIKE THAT AND THEN EXPECT ME NOT TO BUY THIS GAME.

THIS IS BULLSHIT.

GAH! Fuck I don't have *time* to play the D&D dating sim game right now!