#relatively anyway. his backstory has some soap opera level drama surrounding him

[vagueiish]

thinking about my boy oli and how i still think he'd be a terrible companion, but maybe not?

at the very least, i think i've kind of figured out what the... end choice? the actual major split in the road would be for his personal quest/arc. which, major spoilers for the ending of bg3, so...

but i think the real Big Choice in his companion quest would be during the 'who should become an ilithid' conundrum. majorly irrelevant if you trust the emperor, so maybe i'm not quite on the right track? because i'm not quite sure where else his story should lead other than 'has he come to value himself enough that he doesn't sacrifice himself at the end just because he thinks that's all he's good for?' and whether he offers to become a mindflayer or has to be persuaded or refuses.

because his arc/story, though the major themes kinda vibe with the rest of the group, is much more lowkey. he has no ties to baldur's gate -- that he's aware of, anyway, having spent his whole life thinking his mother was dead. not knowing she's alive and thriving in baldur's gate -- and no skin in any of the god/devil related shenanigans.

i suppose his patron could enter the arena and remind him of his own pact, but his pact involves him having to have a child before a certain age.... and, honestly, that whole angle does not sound appealing to me right now, lmao. i suppose it would tie into autonomy or whatever, but that feels like a whole ugly can of worms and i already have a plot bunny for that for later on, post-game. it's quite fucky!

but his whole thing is that, his whole life, he's been told that he's ruined lives simply by being born. he feels he has to make up for it by doing whatever he can for others. which makes him perfect as a completionist pc, lmao, it makes character sense he'd do All The Things. as a companion... eh, not so much? maybe throughout the game he offers to do some of the more dangerous things to keep the pc from getting hurt - 'hey, I can read the spooky book if you'd like. that way nobody important gets cursed, should it actually be evil!' 'hey, maybe you should let the bard try his dangerous procedure out on me! that way nobody important gets hurt!''hey, lae'zel, maybe you should let me use the ominous looking chair first. as a test.'(which, I wish that was a fuckin dialogue option, lmao) etc. but i'm...not sure how to make that into a questline

but the major themes of the others involve subjugation to others in some sense. breaking free from that -- or not it's a choice. oliver... his arc, as i'm conceiving of it doesn't really have that breaking free moment? or maybe i'm just looking at it wrong. because all the others' shit kind of boils down to 'do you see worth in yourself? are you worth the effort of healing/recovery? is reclaiming yourself worth the fear and possible danger that comes with eschewing all you've ever known?' or something around there. right?

oli... i don't know. he doesn't really have anything to break away from, at least not in the immediate area. he's already far from home. again he has no immediate connections to the plot or the city, other than his mother, who would definitely factor into his questline.

maybe he starts to realize that what's happening back home actually has been shitty for him this whole time, and he actually hasn't deserved it? he doesn't actually ruin lives simply by existing? maybe if he's not the leader, no longer the one who has to figure everything out for everyone else and so can distract himself from his own issues...he's forced to deal with his own issues.

maybe it's he's finally realizing he's never really been his own person? since his parents died when he was like... 5. the vast majority of what he's done has been for others. p much everything. he doesn't even join the party for himself but to help the others with their tadpoles. the same fuckin issue he has.

i don't know. kinda feels like i'm on the cusp of something, but my brain is fucky. i really do like the idea of the culmination of his personal arc being the mindflayer choice, getting to a place where he cares enough about himself to say no, actually, he doesn't want to do it. maybe to a place he cares enough about himself that you don't even get the option to persuade/intimidate him. he's more than what he can do for others. more than running himself ragged and making sacrifices. he gets to be selfish.