#oh if only larian cared!

[grapecaseschoices]

#or there's not much to work with or the writers failed or w/e bullshit excuse they come up with for not engaging w women who aren't their oc#& then they turn around and give an irrelevant male NPC a whole personality and backstory!!!!!#if you do this regularly you're a misogynist. sorry not sorry (@/lelianasbong)

some people would say "this work of fiction just has the guys better written than the women" and will cite something like this as the example

[tuxedo-rabbit]

You know, one of the most interesting thing about BG3 to me is that all the different choices and RP moments you can make mean that it's very easy to have a multitude of playthroughs that don't neatly fall into the boxes of "good" or "evil" runs.

The other interesting thing is that whenever Larian talks about their game, it feels like this was a complete accident.

[feyascorner]

i'm not saying i dont understand why larian stops us from romancing astarion if we don't sleep w him in act 1, but i'm saying i want to romance astarion without sleeping with him in act 1.

can you imagine the sheer confusion of this man when you reject his advances not once, but twice? he pulls out all the big guns too, showering you with flattery and flirtatious comments every hour of the day, but you're not having any of it.

"we barely know each other," is your automatic answer when he approaches you at the camp celebration.

"must we know one another's ins and out's before truly getting to know what we have to offer? what our bodies have to offer?" he grins, but it only makes your face fall.

you go to bed that night straight after the party, and he just stares at the back of your head from his own bedroll, utterly appalled at what just happened.

he decides that perhaps you genuinely don't find him attractive, so he begins to hatch another plan to seduce some other poor fool in the camp, but he constantly finds his eyes drifting to you anyway. even as he puts up with wyll's all too noble chatter in hopes that he'll provide the protection astarion seeked from you, his red eyes are looking past the warlock's head and to you.

oh shit, he thinks. there's something very very off here.

from the transition between act 1 and 2, he's basically in denial about his feelings. but when your party officially reach moonrise towers, he honestly just accepts his fate and that you won't reciprocate his feelings, especially after how strongly he advanced on you a few weeks ago. he's surely scared you off.

but when you defend him in front of that foul drow at moonrise, he thinks that you almost sound like you care for him.

it's a small flicker of hope, and he decides to blurt out his words at camp---admittedly less gracefully than he'd hoped--and when you accept his proposal to be something more, he's back to be confused again.

"what? why?--" he stops himself. "--I mean, I know why, but why?"

He's supposed to be the experienced one in relationships, but he's reduced to a blubbering fool when it comes to you.

I know it'd be an extremely long wait if the game finally lets you sleep with him after you defeat Cazador, but I think it'd be so gratifying? spending hundreds of hours just getting to know this silly guy and realizing hey, he's not so bad! and him realizing that love can come without all the physical aspects of it. or ofc maybe there's the very real possibility I'm just a sappy romantic idk...

[galedekarios]

🔮 patch 7 will finally address the morena dekarios conversation bug 🔮

from larian's patch 7 highlights [source]

this dialogue, which has been bugged for about a year now, will finally be addressed in patch 7:

Player: So your last name is Dekarios? Gale: It is. Courtesy of my mother, the inimitable, dare I say it sometimes unavoidable, Morena Dekarios. It’s been so long since I’ve used it. 'Gale Dekarios’ cuts a poor figure next to the wizard prowess of 'Gale of Waterdeep’. Player: Gale Dekarios… I think I like him more. Gale: You like so many things about me I’d have sooner discarded… Your generosity is quite wonderful. Gale Dekarios likes you too. Very, very much. Though let’s keep his exitence between ourselves for now. - Player: Doesn’t your mother mind? Gale: Oh, she’s happy if I’m happy. Morena couldn’t care one jot what I call myself. Tara’s the real stickler for using it. Has done since I summoned her. I’d prefer you not follow her example, if that’s all the same to you. 'Gale’ is more than sufficient. - Player: You’re right. Just 'Gale' is better. Gale: I agree. And on the plus side, if I get myself into any truly cataclystic straits during the remainder of our journey, my family name will go untarnished.

as of right now, you are only able to trigger this conversation with gale via console.

if you want to listen to tim downie's delivery of these lines regarding gale's last name and his mother morena, you can do so here:

[cheekylittlepupp]

You all know A Astarion's epilogue outfit, but have you ever wondered whether it's bats or dragons? Me and @egooppidum were wondering that today and we came to the conclusion that it's 100% dragons. The symbolism is SUPERB. Hats off to Larian for this.

Brace yourselves this might be a bit long ~

"Red dragons are covetous, evil creatures, interested only in their own well-being, vanity and the extension of their treasure hoards. They are supremely confident of their own abilities."

"Rarely, red dragons would adopt a protective yet patronizing manner towards creatures they saw as inferior that lived within their self-imposed borders" - Oh you precious dark consort, how lucky you are to have the greatest vampire lord as your master, for him to bless you with his eternal gift, turn you into his spawn, his right hand.

"Red dragons believed that if a being was not strong enough to protect what it had, then it did not deserve to keep it. This applied not just to treasure, but to life. They despised weakness among their own kind." Literally ANY line from him when he talks about his former 'weak and pathetic self'.

Him being obssessed with power and how that's the only important thing in this world. This would be huge if I added all of those lines tbh.

"Red dragons were known for their swift and fiery tempers—if angered, they would explode into a destructive rage and become even more impulsive and vengeful" - Practically his entire dialogue when you break up with him after the ascension or declining to become his spawn. Even subtly threatening you

"Such rages were in part due to their fragile pride and feeling that any loss, insult, or defeat meant a loss of status if not addressed—causing chaos and destruction assuaged wounded pride and mitigated lost status" - He sees himself as the best version of himself right now and the fact that you reject him, in any kind of way wounds him greatly. This is why he starts hurling insults at you, to hurt you back, to try and cover up the fact that you just shattered his ego

"They were the most avaricious and were constantly looking to expand their hoards with treasure, they were the most obsessive collectors." Recall how he calls you his treasure and how you’ll be together forever, he will have you forever. He is in fact obsessed with wealth. He would also like to sequester you in a deep chamber in his lair, I mean palace and keep you all to himself.

"They would also boast about their magnificent hoards." Him at the epilogue party. ESPECIALLY in the non romanced version.

"Preferring their own company and engaging with others only when it had purpose, they were solitary creatures and cared little for news of other types of dragons, though they did look for news of other red dragons in their area and of affairs in the world in general. They used other charmed creatures as messengers, informants, and spies to bring them information"

"And of course they were recognized by their scarlet and crimson scaled hides" self explanatory really ~

"The vanity of red dragons was often revealed in their prideful postures and the looks of disdain with which they regarded all others"

"To have is nothing, to keep is all."

"In fact, in many ways, they were most like hoursecats" I had to add this, it's too funny

Okay I'm stopping here because This will be massive if I don't shut up. We can replace "red dragons" with Astarion and it would fit perfectly. I'm leaving you guys the link for the red dragon wiki, have fun with it ~

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Red_dragon

[meanbossart]

Ok it's possible someone has already asked this and I just haven't seen it yet

But what would it be like, if Drow was a recruited party member, and got romanced by Tav/player? How would he act? Would it impact his character arc in any way? (Is it even possible?)

Oh man I got FAR into the weeds of his hypothetical romance here. Light mechanics, how to get on his good side, and some themes.

The TLDR is that his arc is all about managing his penchant for co-dependency with allusions to Dominant/submissive dynamics. His quest has basically three outcomes:

-In one, you get a sweet, caring man who is a little shut-off and otherwise deeply flawed as most people are. He respects you, looks after you, but ultimately sees you as an equal.

-In the "accepts bhaal" route, you get an egomaniac who sees the both of you as if bound in flesh. He's overwhelmingly intense in everything he does, including his love for you, which he requires be expressed and taken loudly and violently. It's essentially what he wished he had with Orin.

-In the "lost to Orin" route you get a sad little puppy-dog who follows you around and does whatever you want, including take his own life. He's entirely dependent on you as the only person who can keep his urge somewhat in check, insecure, scared, and needy.

(dialogue from this post)

I REALLY liked Larian's decision to make the "bad" outcomes of some of the romances to be kind of... Fetishistic in a self-aware way? You want to relive your high-school years by dating that witchy-goth girl who kept you a secret from her parents until your relationship collapses because, despite appearances, she'll never be hardcore enough to stand up for herself? DJ shadowheart. You want to live out your immortal vampire lord wife fantasy until you become a dusty old fling that he keeps in his closet as eternity and power wear his zest for life and love completely down to nothing? Ascended Astarion. You want to finally Fix Him? God of ambition Gale (a joke. Kind of).

So, I wanted to keep that trend going. DU drow "bad" outcomes are definitely more of a fun fantasy, meanwhile his refused-Bhaal route is almost boring by comparison.

You would be able to affect his path both as a romanced Tav or just as a friend, BUT the only way to survive the end of the game if he's accepted Bhaal would be to be in a relationship with him. You also get to encourage him to follow either the accept or refuse path throughout the game - I'm not really sure how the "lost to Orin" outcome could occur with him as a companion though, mechanics-wise. I'll figure something out eventually.

[bellamer]

The infantilization of Astarion by the fandom, especially by the white people in the fandom needs to stop. Because why come they’re trying to villainize Wyll for the rat diet comment and him going through something traumatic with his comment about his horns and the like but in the same breath will ignore all the heinous shit Astarion says and does ? Like every other fucking thing out of his mouth is a violation against something be it humanity, nature, society or whatever but as soon as he gets dished back what he throws out it’s “oh the poor baby, let mama hold him” as if he’s the only one who’s went through or is going through something shitty.

And let’s not forget the “we’re not racist we just prefer Astarion because Wyll is boring !” but again in the same breath will download all of the mods that give Wyll’s dance scene and all of his characteristics to Astarion because they desperately want Astarion to be the Prince Charming that Wyll is because they’re extra deep in denial that Astarion is bitchy

And it doesn’t even stop at Wyll, they villainize Gale when Gale is as much of a victim as Astarion but because of that snarky “are you studied in magic” comment he makes when you meet him because you’re all in a desperate situation where a tadpole is going to explode your heads and turn you into a tentacled freak, he’s automatically labeled the devil and a mansplainer but in the same breath will ignore any of the fucked up shit that spills out of Astarion’s mouth

And Larian, oh sweet dumb Larian, absolutely condones this behavior with every fucking update because you know instead of fixing all the other broken shit they’ll bend over backwards for Astarion fans and add a bazillion new fucking endings for him and rewrite a kiss scene to be more tender after he’s ascended to become an evil and controlling bastard but don’t even bother to fix Wyll’s greeting that they themselves fucking broke

I have a lot more to say about this because the behavior I’ve seen from a lot of Astarion fans is abhorrent and I really don’t give one shit two shit red shit blue shit who’s offended by this statement. If you’re normal about Astarion I don’t care. If you’re an Astarion Wife who villainizes everyone else and treats him like a poor little baby who doesn’t know any better, I want you to play the game without fucking Astarion got once in your god damn life and actually see what more the game has to offer

[ilikedetectives]

I romance Minthara as Tav and in both occasions where my Tav: (1) refused illithid power and saved the city and (2) accepted illithid power and saved the city, Minthara does mourn the fact that Tav refused the power to literally become a god, but understands and quickly looks forward to future conquests. And not only that, she chooses to take Tav's name (huge deal for a matriarch society like drow, let alone the Baenre family name). Minthara is also willing to die along with Tav during the final battle!?!?!? She cares for Tav ok.

So it makes no sense for her to breakup with Durge on the spot for refusing to be a god's slave, when she doesn't break up w/ Tav for refusing to be a god altogether. And this is shown in the Elfsong Tavern ending and the epilogue. Being a god sounds wayyyy more powerful than a god's slave. Not to mention commanding an army of illithids and the power to create more fighters for yourself??? Did I also mention the ability to control dragons if you seize the brain? lol

Minthara: there is nothing we can not do together...But despite everything we gave up when we destroyed the brain, it is good to be here with you.

And even if Durge didn't seize the Netherbrain, her attitude is more of "the past is in the past, I look forward to future conquests."

Given that Larian brought back the writers for the epilogue, they must have looked into the ending with redeemed Durge to write the epilogue, so tbh I'd go with that instead.

Also not to mention if Durge rejects Bhaal, Bhaal instakill Durge but Withers revives Durge, which frees Durge from Bhaal. I feel like that should be celebrated?

TLDR: It is in character for Minthara to be mad Durge gave up their power as a knee-jerk reaction for the first few mins (also Emma Gregory's performance is *chef kiss*), but it is ooc for Minthara to refuse to see the reason why and not give Durge a chance to explain.

Oh and this is if you ignore Minthara's entire character arc with Orin (Bhaal) and her relationship with Lolth and the Absolute. After Lolth and the Absolute, Minthara would never want to be under another god's control again (She explicitly states she prefers to die than be under the Absolute's control again if Tav kicks her out of the party). So if anything she would want to be "The Absolute" herself. The whole point of starting a new house is being free from constraints and obey no god.

Minthara in other words: it sucks you didn't seize the brain as an illithid, because the brain sex we could've had.

Minthara's disdain for the gods and the idea of serving/sacrificing for them is explicitly stated throughout the game. She craves power, but never at the expense of one's freedom/life.

Even with Vlaakith, the only reason Minthara doesn't wanna anger Vlaakith is because Vlaakith can and will floor your entire party instantly. Not because she wants to serve any fickle god. And let's not forget where Minthara wants to go spit on Lolth's statue in Baldur's Gate lower city.

TBH I don't think Larian would add a persuasion check simply because that requires new dialogue and voice lines, as datamine dialogue doesn't show any additional content besides this abrupt breakup. So Larian would need to bring writers and Emma back if they want to do this. Or the cheaper solution is remove it? Either way there's a mod for it already so hail modders XD

Anyway, I'm glad what I have for my Durge and Minthara deviates from the game almost entirely.

[fishysaltine]

I’m going to be so real-

I am SO GLAD for the new Ascended Astarion kiss.

Not bc I like it (or ascended Astarion, the kiss itself is disgusting Imo) but I feel like there’s even less room for “Oh!! He actually cares for you!” But I’ve see a lot more “this makes me uncomfortable” or “this is icky”

Good. That’s the point.

That fear in Gale/Tav/Durges face is intentional and raw. Larian could have put a playful smirk. But they didn’t. It is fear, concern, and uncertainty. Ascended Astarion is lost not only to himself, but the person who loves him enough to get on their knees for a kiss. Spawn Astarion would never.

(Also the body language being so different that you can immediately tell it’s not Spawn Astarion, Neil is an artist, assuming he did the mocap for these scenes. It’s the little things.)

[honeyandmahogany]

Two of my favorite screenshots I've gotten of our beloved boy. Sometimes I'm so tempted to reload right before I got to Last Light Inn or in front of the Thorm Mausoleum just so I can see him again. This man has me in a damn chokehold and I'm all here for it.

(Oh my God oh my god oh my god his complexion is so beautiful HE IS SO PRETTY!!!! ONE KISS LARIAN STUDIOS, ONE DAMN KISS. I don't care how smug and egotistical he is and if he only sleeps with himself or if he's terrible in bed. I WILL KISS AND DO MORE WITH HIM.)

[daemon-in-my-head]

Okay, my actual unpopular opinion. Cw for abuse/amnesia/head injury. I'm feeling in a venty mood today.

I think Larian did a piss poor job with Durge. There are some incredibly heavy and dark themes in the Durge Storyline but they're used for fucking comedic relief or not really touched upon whatsoever. Their interpretation of it is 'oh lol edgy go piss yourself or smth' while completely disregarding most of the time how fucked up that story is.

In general, I severely dislike the way they handle Amnesia or head injury. The characters just accept that they know jack shit, and there's 0 way it influences them like the fuck? The fear of forgetting is a real one, and a lot of people dread that. Even more people who have lost some memories for whatever reason would like to have them back or feel grief and loss over it, but here it's literally just a cute lil character quirk despite multiple people having that? Also, a fucking Lobotomy that's touched upon maybe twice despite Durge having severe fucking brain damage, apparently still suffers dizzy spells and forgets near everything they learn again? Seriously?

Also, the whole Orin and Gortash bit. It's pretty plain obvious these people were severely abused as children and the game makes no effort to hide it, but it also lets you express 0 pity or empathy and, at best, enables you to encourage their fucking abusers? Are you shitting me? The sole fact that you gain an advantage over Orin if you straight-up torture her emotionally is so fucked up and not in a good way. You literally only have the option of disregarding her, taunting her or telling her 'yo gg you were never loved and only viewed as a tool by everyone around you'. I get they're villains, but making fun of abuse is in no way cool, to say the least, and the game in previous acts had a very clear stance that not everything is black and white, so why is it suddenly fine to portray people in that exact way? "Everyone deserves a chance except for these guys in particular."

I love all these characters and the game in general, in fact I pretty exclusively play Durge (just not how they intended), but I have very passionate feelings about how they and their stories are being (mis-)treated so blatantly. Yeah, sure, not everyone can have the same amount of content or care as Astarion, but giving you the option to learn about how fucked up their life was and then only say, 'oh lol u deserved far worse actually' is incredibly fucking poor taste. And forgetting massive parts of your life is not just a cute little quirk or plot device but a very real response to physical and psychological trauma. Which they imply it is in these cases too but we're just gonna brush that off.

[rinriya]

BG3 ending (spoilers)

I finished BG3. And I.. I'm so devastated right now. Not in terms of relief or "oh, such a good game has come to an end, idk what to do next", I just don't understand what happened. I am disappointed. I need to speak out. Otherwise I feel like I can burst into tears because of indignation.

And I beg DON'T READ THE POST FURTHER if you haven't reached the end. There will be plenty spoilers. DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE GAME.

So. Is this really the end? Is this… what we've been so actively waiting for 3 years? Maybe there will be DLCs no less than another full-fledged act? Otherwise, I cannot understand what was the point MC to do all of this?

I.. damn, this is hard. I waited so long for this game, but now I criticize it. Okay, phew. I'll get myself under control. Phew. Sorry.

We were promised different outcomes, different endings, many choices. But what did we actually get? You either save Orpheus (the Emperor becomes an enemy), or help the Emperor (Orpheus dies), or you/your companion turns into an illithid. And like.. who cares if you continued to refuse the powers. It's unavoidable in any case. You cannot form an alliance, you cannot win without a tadpole. You are linear in your final choice.

Your companions?

Wyll leaves to Avernus. Karlach returns to Avernus. Astarion can no longer stay in the sun, he begins to burn and therefore runs away. That moment… it broke my heart. My MC romanced him, couldn't he followed Star? Was it not possible to add some extra scenes? It doesn't matter to anyone. He ran away? Well meh who cares. Only Shadowheart says something like "oh, how sad, he can no longer walk in the sun."

I wanted to help him damn it! Both him and Karlach. And Lae'zel too, but game not allowed me to do so, forcing to choose: either the giths fate, or your ally. Choose.

I wanted my friends to live happily even without tadpoles! Why the hell I was saving the world, if my companions can't be happy? For the sake of a good ending, I should have let Stari to perform the terrible dark ritual? Or turn Karlach into a squid? Minsc and Jaheira are just fanservice for old fans. More or less good end has Gale (still with bomb inside him), Shadowheart and the Emperor himself.

And what about all my decisions? Where are their consequences? What happened to the vampire spawns? With a grove? With the forest? With Hell, where we killed a mighty devil?! With the Ironhand clan, who now have a new leader? Larian Studios, was it really so hard to write at least in text about everything that happened? Like in DOS2 at least? Or about our companions future life. At least about them!

It feels like even if I decided to play as pure evil.. there would be no difference, because I just don't know what my actions led to. But I can't play evil, I just can't hurt anyone. Yes, I'm boring person who loves happy endings and when everyone doing great.

BG3 received its fame, glory, attention. Obviously will receive a bunch of awards, because its ratings beat all records, but inside me.. there is just emptiness. I can headcanon a happy ending with Astarion, truly free Lae'zel, who will be no longer chased by Vlaakith's servants and Karlach with repaired heart. But it will all be in my head. Not in the game. Baldur's Gate 3.. is like a beautiful (really beautiful) wrapper, but the candy inside turned out to be simple and not very different from the others.

I'm sad. Very sad. And I'm sorry for this flow of words. I had to speak out. Now I feel a bit better. I really want to hear your opinion, because now I'm mentally hurt. I obviously triggered the high expectations for this game and get a painful kick for that.

[lusciouswhiteflame]

This is not for you darling!

I started honour mode with Nyv and friends.

Their "How I met him" story starting over for the 3rd time. Astarion seduced Nyv (Durge) in middle of the Goblin camp. Always picking the most romantic spots to chat. The tiefling party is over and now they're heading to the next location.

** potencial durge Spoilers everywhere from here **

Let's see how long this journey lasts. I really want to see them getting the trophy, but I also regret this mode. I want to try so many things. So many dialogue options. This time I got the performance feat from Alfira (oh Alfira...) . I'm actually enjoying to see Nyv play different instruments, also seeing him whistle lmao (I didn't know he could make money out of it as Assassin too). I'll probably give Astarion the performance feat only to see them duet. But I must be careful. It's honour mode after all. I'm already afraid of House of Grief.

Also it gave me an idea for the next durgestarion run. Duo Rogue Assassins luring their victims with their performance. Walking around looting corpses is tedious, so let's just gather them in one place and boom, said Astarion. And Durge smiled. They'll sneak for more formidable opponents.

I also want to mention I digged a grave in the emerald grove and found out more about Durge's...uh... preferences... and it only made Durgestarion make more sense I'm smirking. A match made in heaven hell or wherever indeed.

Also this time I picked a different dialogue option and found interesting how Astarion encourage Durge to embrace his nature and let his kller instinct unleash. But I know, when the urge actually takes over Nyv, he wants him to resist. To be himself. He approves and loves Nyv's violent nature but only if Nyv is Nyv. And that's interesting and lovely. He wants the safety Nyv provides but... not at any cost. Also he doesn't want to get klled by the urge. Obviously. But still.

It's baffling (in a good way) how much commitment he shows with Durge. He stays to make sure Nyv is ok through the urge. He KNOWS Nyv would do it for him, and he wants to do the same. That's beautiful. To think he was struggling and feeling stupid to fall for durge makes it all the better. Astarion and his machinations. I'm glad durge is there to be the actual mastermind from now on.

I really want to play as Astarion origin and find Durge (Nyv) and recruit him. Please Larian. PLEASE.

By the way, I bought Divinity OS2, Baldur's gate 1&2 on ps5. Take my money. Thank you.

Ok I think it's all for now. Sorry for the looooong ranting. If you made it this far thanks for reading, and wish me luck with this mode 😉

[raviolirash]

Do you insert any of yourself into your OCs? Maybe some more than others? Or are all they completely different people than you?

(I'm struggling to make an OC that's not very self-insert like)

This might get rambly lol

I don't care if a character is a self-insert most of the time. As long as it's not shit like YIIK where it's Rantsona: The Game but we don't have time for that rant.

I think putting your own biases and lived experiences into OCs is ultimately unavoidable, and each of my OCs definitely carries a piece of me. They deal with themes of not having an identity after years of abuse, toxic parents, struggling to not become bitter and jaded and cynical, being an outsider and a foreigner, a lot of anger. But they're barely anything like me as a person irl if that makes sense.

I'd wager that a lot of popular hero fictional characters are self inserts at heart. When writing heroes people tend to write characters they want to be. And ain't nothing wrong with that. I also think it's great to base your characters on traits you admire in other people. A hack I guess is to spread it out. Take one trait of yours, make it a flaw, and have the narrative deal with it. But ultimately: fuck all the rules just have fun with it.

Here's my children in brief and how I shaped them in case it helps. Under a ReadMore because jesus christ this got incredibly LONG. I have terminal brainworms. Thanks Larian.

Dalia is a fool. A wood-elf druid who grew up outside of society and was never subjected to any cruelty of the world until the tadpoles happened. She completely unironically believes that she can fill the Hells with flowers. It's a character flaw in the beginning, but turns to an admirable strength as somehow she isn't completely jaded after the harsh journey. She is changed and stronger, but she never became bitter.

On the opposite end, Raga is a tiefling thrown out of the city who is just bitter at the world and wants to become a Creature. Astarion seems normal compared to them. People already stare at them in disgust and fear so why stop. Fuck it! Eat worms! Oh no, I don't want to become a full mind flayer and lose more than I already have. I want to live. Oh shit, oh fuck. Make it stop!

Vėlė is my problem child. I don't need to get into the harsh and dogmatic drow society and make this post longer. Prior to the story she had never been given a painless space to explore her own ideas, or question them, or be taught that they are wrong. As a result she struggles with everything. She is always conflicted about what the right choice is. In the end, she no longer fights to survive for only her own survival as she had been taught. She now fights to survive so that she can fight for her friends and people who can't hold a sword.

Then you go from there when shaping their personalities and speaking patterns and habits they have and mannerisms etc. They might be based on me in their own ways, but none of these chucklefucks speak the way I do. And it's a fun thing to sit down and figure out what kind of person their respective societies would spit out.

Vėlė is a master of survival, and that includes a sharp silver tongue that I wish I had instead of being stunlocked. She will make very bad choices with good intentions because she's struggling to fight a worldview that has done more harm than good. She would be eloquent, as choosing the wrong word meant death back home. When in a relaxed environment like talking to her companions at the end of the night, that stiffness gradually fades away as she can shut off Survival Mode. You might actually hear a joke.

Dalia would be terrible at Common, in turn focusing more on giving gifts and practicality instead of trying to form a sentence when it comes to bonding with her new companions. She struggles as a leader, not being the best speaker. She will always choose to make her point with actions instead. Dalia is not dumb by any means. Ah yes. The struggle of having to do 5D math in order to express yourself in another language. That's nice.

Raga is just angry but a lot of that anger does come from an identity crisis as they have no idea who they are. So it translates to the more they speak the less time to eat worms and modify their body. You can't lose yourself and replace yourself if there was nothing there to begin with. But plot twist: there was something there to begin with.

I better stop this post here thanks for reading lol.

[bleeding-star-heart]

I'm not sure if we're supposed to agree with Gale's assessment of his backstory, but I sure as hell don't regardless

I mean, the way he frames it, we're supposed to think of him as on par with a world-destroying egomaniac bent on becoming a god. Except...Gale never intended to become a god. He just wanted more magic power-something he's been trained to do all his life. And when he found that there was magic that should belong to Mystra but didn't...his goal was to RETURN it to her. Which, in most logical minds, means he's actually pretty trustworthy with that power. The fact that Gale was wrong about the orb doesn't change that. And, oh, boy, Mystra's reaction does NOT make it better. Her response to her boyfriend trying to get her a present but failing is...order him to die "for the greater good". Essentially telling him to kill himself. Essentially, Gale's story reads less like an ego trip and more like someone in a REALLY toxic relationship. Like, in modern terms he's basically an autistic guy (because he gives off some autistic vibes to me a bit) whose boss happens to be his girlfriend. And he wants a promotion, but she won't give it to him. So, one day, he finds this beautiful diamond necklace on Craigslist and decides to give it to her, thinking this might get him a promotion. So then he goes to pick up the necklace from the Craigslist guy...only, it's Craiglist. So, there is no necklace, and the guy is a drug dealer, who ends up shooting Gale several times and dumping some bags of cocaine on him. And instead of being sympathetic, or caring, or moved at all, Gale's boss/girlfriend decides to fire him. And leave him to deal with the bullet wounds and bag of cocaine on his own. And later...well, you know. Yeah, I HOPE Larian isn't trying to make Gale out to be the bad guy. That's one parallel with Anders we do NOT need.

[adaptacy]

A Found Flame {Pt.7}

Pairing: Mentor!Gale Dekarios x Apprentice!GN!Reader

(Previous Chapter) – (Next Chapter) ➔ (AO3)

A/N: i haven't finished the game personally but i have seen (minor) spoilers of the epilogue and uhm... i feel so validated knowing what his job is after the events of the game. complete, even. so glad larian agreed with the fandom on this one :) also warning for slight mentions of smut/nsfw material!! no actual smut here, but just beware. MDNI

Word Count: 3.2k

The early morning went about as you’d expected; Serving salmon for the Tressym and warming up what remained of the mushroom stew despite it not being much of a morning meal. Seeing as how the stove was being used, you decided it best to make yourself a cup of coffee along with the soup, though the pairing wasn’t a very pleasant one. Better than nothing, as you weren’t sure you’d manage to survive the day without some form of caffeine, and coffee was the only way you knew how to access that booster. Once you finished your makeshift meal, you spent a little while cleaning the kitchen, and then found Tara waiting for you in the study, planted in front of a very familiar book. 

“Flames and Fatalities,” you remark, and Tara purrs in response, pressing a paw to the left page, one claw unsheathing to tap at the passage she pointed to. You step closer to get a better look, and your hand rests on the back of Gale’s chair. You hesitate, unable to avoid the feeling that you’re lacking permission to sit in it. To sit at his desk. To take his spot. This chair isn’t meant for you, and you’re sure you’ll insult the tower by making any attempt to replace him. He isn’t here, and he isn’t dead either, and yet you struggle with the idea of disrespecting him.

“Oh, dear, it’s not going to eat you – Sit,” Tara mews, rolling her eyes at your conflict, and you force out a nervous chuckle. Pushing past the discomfort, you pull the chair out and take a seat, hovering on the edge of the chair, not wanting to take up any more room than absolutely necessary. Tara either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care, as she pulls her paw away and tilts her head up, expecting you to read.

Clearing your throat beforehand, you give a meek roll of your shoulders and begin reading the passage. “Chapter six, Avoiding Accidental Amalgamations,” you over-pronunciate as you fight not to twist your own tongue on the words, “Spark spells and their synergies… Uh, fire and freeze frustrate– Gods, does everything have to be an alliteration?” You grumble, shaking your head. 

“Wizards and their wordplay. Mr. Dekarios is merely a fraction of the pride most take in their language. Overdone, if you ask me. Carry on,” Tara dictates, and you nod, finding your place on the page once more. You continue to read aloud, going over the reactions of different spell types, ranging from fire, to force, to thunder, to psychic, and everything in-between. Including some you didn’t know of, despite all the reading you’ve been subjected to. 

“Wouldn’t ‘radiant’ be the same as fire?” You ask, and Tara shakes her head, her tail flicking. 

“Hardly! Oh, dear, this will be a long journey, won’t it?” She sighs, and you chuckle awkwardly, not sure if she means it as a tease or a slight. “Fire-based spells, such as the flame bolt you cast the other day, or more… trained skills, such as fireball, rely on heat; the physical form of sparks, blazes, and what have you,” she explains, her tail twitching, reminding you of Gale’s gesticulations whenever he explained similar topics. The parallels are amusing, making you feel a little more at ease with his absence. “Radiant spells, however, have direct connections to religion. The spells that devoted clerics or paladins most commonly use, for example, are usually spells that make use of their religion, which comes in the form of radiant lights. Examples of said spells include guiding light, sacred flame, and so on and so forth. Are you particularly devoted to a certain God or Goddess?” She asks. 

“Well, I was closest to worshiping Mystra, since Gale was so fond of her, but not so much with my knowledge now. My parents both worshiped Lathander, but I never really ‘devoted’ myself to one specific deity,” you explain, leaning back in the chair, allowing yourself to get a little more comfortable.

“Radiant spells require the channeling of devotion, so it’s unlikely you’ll come across such spells in your practice. Anyhow, I do assure you that the two are quite distinctly different,” she reminds, and you give a small nod, returning to reading the passages in the book. 

The ‘lessons’ (though it soon felt more akin to storytime as you read infodump after infodump aloud to Tara, and even she seemed bored after a while) continue until you reach the end of the chapter, at which point Tara promptly excuses herself for a nap. Frankly, you were surprised she didn’t doze off during your reading. 

Scanning over the thirteen pages again, you decide that reviewing would best be saved for a time when you weren’t feeling so zapped. For all the reading you did, decoding the tongue-twisting alliterations took up most of your brain power, so the processing part of the lesson was sorely lost on you. Using a spare feather to mark your place in the book, you close the guide and stand up from Gale’s chair, only now realizing just how far you’d been sitting back on it. Any of your previous reservations seem to have been pushed entirely aside, and you glance around the study as if to offer apologies to the room. 

Tara, resting in the small nook by the fireplace, appears to have already dozed off, and you’re left not entirely sure what to do with your time. Usually, at this point in the day, Gale would make a request of you, or allow you to find some story or written lecture to occupy yourself with, or you’d be in charge of picking up around the study, but…

With only you and Tara, there isn’t much of a mess to clean up after. Everything was exactly as you’d left it last night, save for the Flames and Fatalities book being removed from its usual place on the shelf, but you figure that it’s best to leave it out for now, as you expect to return to it before long. 

You don’t need to make lunch, as you aren’t currently hungry, and there’s not the usual extra wizard to feed. It feels lonesome, really. You’re not much of an apprentice without a mentor. Not much of an assistant without a boss. Not much of yourself without him. 

Mildly unsettled at the reminder, you do your best to think of some way to entertain yourself, and you are quick to recall the plans you’d made last night. Seeing as how Tara tends to sleep in his room, her napping in the study grants you a short, but sure, opportunity to ‘peek’ into his bedroom without fear of interruption. 

Breaking and entering is hardly the right term! You live here too, and you’ve seen inside of it before, even if you haven’t necessarily been invited inside or actually ever stepped foot past his door. 

Anyways, since the rest of the tower is remarkably tidy, you can only imagine the mess that awaits behind his door. Blaming it on your lack of direction, you figure the best way to stay in touch with your role as apprentice is to do some gentle rearranging and fixing of his bedroom. Almost like a gift to him, upon his return. He’d surely be delighted to find his private quarters in a much better condition than he left them.

And if you just so happen to find the rumored book that somehow completely changed his mind, you wouldn’t be complaining. 

So, with a quick regard to Tara to ensure she’s paying no mind to you, you step towards the dark door that you’d only ever seen cracked open or completely closed. He’d never given a direct reason as to why he kept his private quarters so private. In his defense, you’d never asked, for fear of seeming disrespectful or potentially upsetting him.

Oh, how far you’d come. 

Perhaps your comfort had festered into the slightest of flaws. It was fine in moderation. But maybe you were a little more comfortable than the term ‘moderation’ could bend to fit. Recently, you’d made quite the series of advances that certainly tested the limits of your business-based relationship with him. Though he was hardly innocent of making similar leaps in faith, and sometimes you wondered just how far you could take it. Of course, when you found your mind wandering, you were always quick to shut down such adventurous hypotheticals, as he was your mentor, and you, his apprentice. That was all it would ever be. Nothing more, and hopefully, nothing less.

Besides, he’d made it perfectly clear he was neither interested in nor gifted with the time he deemed necessary to pursue romantics. Between the pressing matter of the orb and how busy he was in his day-to-day life, you’re nearly positive that a relationship is the last thing on his mind at any given time. 

The door creaks when you open it, and you cringe, but Tara remains settled and, by all appearances, soundly asleep. So you push it open just a little further, enough to awkwardly shimmy inside, and you’re met with a much stronger scent of dust and… sage? 

There’s a bed, round and draped with messy indigo silk, in the middle of the room, pushed up against a wall with an equally circular window, the panes split into four sectors by silver dividers. Those dividers stop at a smaller circle in the middle of the window, forming a pretty design to compliment an even more gorgeous view of the water. You doubted that the balcony, as pretty of a sight as it offered, hardly surpassed the view that this window had, and it makes you wonder why he didn’t mention it when you previously asked if he missed the stars. 

The room is, as you expected, in quite a disastrous state – The bed is lazily arranged, the four satin pillows messily strewn across the head, and the silk blanket is on the verge of dressing the floor rather than the mattress, making you wonder if he even bothers to make use of it when he sleeps. Bookshelves line a foot and a half of wall space on either side of the window, though the dust stacked up on most of them is visible even when you’re a few yards away, and you have to stifle a cough just thinking about trying to neatly clean them. 

You’re quite sure that those bookshelves were incredibly neat once upon a time, but now the books lean in all different directions, making it obvious exactly where a book was plucked from the company of its comrades, and was never important enough to put back. It also helps that there are piles of books stacked around the room. There’s one stack to your left, just narrowly avoiding being knocked over by the arc of the opening door, and another one-and-a-half by the right side of his bed. A few other, shorter stacks litter the floor, most pushed against the nearest wall, though it does little to make the floorspace appear any neater. 

There’s two rugs – one large dark blue rectangle that is unevenly layered underneath the foot of the bed, the longer sides stretching out to the left and right, and another small red square that nestles underneath a cat tree, and you realize that the natural wooden posts are the most probable cause of the underlying cedar scent of the room. Still, the sage goes unexplained, at least for the time being.

You close – or, nearly close – the door behind you, curious as to where exactly you should start searching. Or– tidying. Where you should start… tidying. 

Naturally, you’re drawn to the bed. Despite the complaints of your initial hesitancy, you dare to take a seat on the edge of it, your hand brushing over the strikingly soft satin sheets, matching the maroon of the messy pillows, and you struggle to see a world in which a man who sleeps on this level of comfort could possibly wear the same weary exhaustion that Gale’s eyes do. Surely, anybody who was gifted this absolute perfection of a sleeping space would receive the best rest known to man, hells, even known to any of the gods. And still, it isn’t quite enough to balance the scales of Gale’s stress. 

You frown, momentarily finding yourself pitying him, but you quickly shift your thoughts, knowing very well that pity won’t help anyone. Slightly subconsciously, you dare to arrange his pillows a little neater, lining them up against the fabric-wrapped, shell-like headboard. Continuing, you grab the silky indigo that washes over one half of the bed and pull it closer, and only then does the origin of the sage make itself known. Double-checking your assumption, you pull one handful of the blanket closer to your face, slowly inhaling, and your suspicions are confirmed. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that they smell exactly like him, but it does come as a surprise just how much that detail soothes you. 

A little strange, you have to admit. Perhaps it’s the familiarity that has you grasping it a little tighter, running your thumbs over the impossibly soft texture, holding it close enough to continue enjoying the aroma. Barely has the sun managed a full cycle since he’s left, and gods, you miss him already. It’s embarrassing, a little shameful, and you don’t appreciate the places your hypothetical imagination wanders, contemplating the permanent loss of his company, how distraught such a development would render you. 

So you hold the blanket for a little longer before eventually conceding, scoffing silently at your own perceived immaturity, and you return to your initial plans; straightening his bed. You fix the blanket, lightly tucking the edges between the mattress and the bed frame to keep them in place. You continue around the bed until your foot hits something beneath it, and you first believe it to be one of the feet of the bed frame, though it’s out of place, and uneven compared to the placement of the other supporting posts.

Allowing curiosity to get the best of you, you kneel, and find four books pushed underneath the bed, stacked too neatly to be accidental placements. Well, you did have two goals, after all. And maybe these are the books you’re looking for. So you reach underneath and pull out the stack, placing it on the bed. Interestingly enough, there is barely a lick of dust to be found on any of the books. There’s no title covers on any of them, not even a sewn in phrase or name on the spines of the books. 

How mysterious…

It would be positively insane of you to not indulge and examine these books a little closer. And you’re nothing if not sane. So, you sit on the bed once more, even shuffling up to the head and getting a little more comfortable as you grab the book off of the top of the stack, the forest green leather showcasing mild signs of wear, as if it’s one that’s been combed through, maybe with more urgency than usual, many times. Your curiosity only builds with your anticipation, and you scan the inside of the spine, noticing a few poorly tagged folded corners of pages, as if to mark his place in the book, though given the appearance of multiple markings, you doubt that’s the true reason behind them. 

Deciding to see what exactly intrigued him about the different sections, you open to the first folded page, expecting to find lectures on spells, or the weave, or magic, and…

What you find isn’t completely different from what you expected, but it’s definitely not what you would have imagined the Gale Dekarios owning in any universe. It doesn’t help that your eyes immediately locate the words ‘erotic’ and ‘stimulation’, but taking a moment to read the entire page does very little to assign those words to any normal context. 

You knew he owned plenty of spellcasting books and story books, more than you knew to even exist, but finding an explanation on how sexual encounters ‘in’ the weave (whatever that might possibly mean) work was not ever included in your general assessment of his belongings. Part of you wants to assume that he only had this in his collection because of his endless studying of the weave’s potential uses, but the louder part of you is not paying much heed to Gale’s reputation. 

And yet you find yourself reading on. Maybe his reputation isn’t the only reputation at risk. 

All things considered, it’s quite an interesting read; from explanations on astral bodies and heightened senses, to the many ways that magic can be applied to more intimate occurrences, and it does make you just slightly more keen on learning how to manipulate magic like Gale can. 

Not in these ways, of course!

But it does pique your curiosity, to say the least. 

You read a page or two and then flip to the next dog-eared section, suspending any of your disbelief that this was actually happening, that he had such questionable literature stored away, and continue to read. At this point, you’re only digging him a deeper hole, and you’re not sure you’ll ever be able to see him the same way. This section of the book continues with the theme of magical intimacy, though delves into more personalized – ‘solo’ would be a better term – events. 

There is a small attempt to pull your eyes away from the text, but it’s much like viewing a carriage crash, some spectacle of horror, only that the horror is embarrassment, and you’re unsure if you’re more ashamed of yourself for reading it, or of Gale for owning it! It’s no help that your imagination, as cursed as it surely is, is rather quick to form some fragmented image of Gale following the steps in the book and making far more degenerate use of his mage han–

The book is closed. Abruptly. Forcefully. You cannot read anymore. You shouldn’t have read that far, you shouldn’t have investigated, you shouldn’t even be in his room in the first place. If only you knew just how ‘private’ his quarters truly were. 

There’s three more books. And you may never have another opportunity to learn about this side of him. 

You’d be lying if you said you haven’t been curious before. 

After all, he was involved with a goddess, and that was surely no easy feat. 

But you know better. You’re prying, you’ve more than gotten back at him for ditching you, and you were raised better than to push boundaries. Boundaries that, mind you, you have snuck past, and you can already feel a burdened guilt beginning to stir inside of you. You place the green book back on top of the stack and push them under his bed once more, finishing up your tidying of his bed and you promptly leave, fully prepared to be haunted by your relentlessly imaginative mind for the next few days.

Still, you have to admit, for someone so objected to the idea of romantic pursuits, he sure does know how to keep himself satisfied. Or… so you assume.

Damn, you really need to find something else to think about.