#thanks mizora for giving him handles

[perfectoh]

nothing, NOTHING, could have prepared me for this. WHY are people sleeping on this wonderful man

[lesbianralzarek]

i have a lot of gripes with the way mizora's sex scene (and honestly the relationship she has with wyll in general (thanks, christmas animation)) is handled, but its not necessarily a terrible addition to an rpg where you can do some bad shit (iirc you cant fuck mizora if you assaulted the grove tho, so mostly good pcs even get this option). what is terrible is the lack of gravity given to it, and the fact that you can only betray wyll in this way. if you could also fuck gortash or shar, and doing so had tangible consequences no matter what, id be much happier with it. as it stands, a player who is in good standing with wyll (or doesnt play with him anyway) and is romancing astarion, shadowheart, or even fucking karlach (why is this not a dealbreaker for her???) gets away with it. why is fucking the woman who owns an origin character's soul and calls him her pet and turned him into a devil and has condemned him to eternal torment not a big deal?

it would also sting less if (and i say this as a lesbian) wyll had a sex scene. wyll is the only romanceable character with no sex scene, and his abuser gets a long-ass full frontal cutscene. come on. do larians writers understand that abuse against men is always bad, or is it okay when the abuser is a sexy white (coded) woman? wylls selflessness to the extent of self-harm is a core part of his character, but its fucked up that everyone gets away with hurting him. he only leaves if you attack other people (the grove), but you can do whatever you want to him personally. you cant hurt mizora, even though shes hanging out in. your. camp. because who gives a shit? hurting a black guy is a victimless crime in this game

[wellthebardsdead]

Lucy: *steps into the devils den slightly* Voss, out here.

Voss: you made it! Good, please you must accept the devils deal whatever he asks you must-

Lucy: shhh. Shhh… I’ll handle this. Meet me downstairs. *smiles warmly*

Lae’zel: you must trust her, Kithrak.

Voss: *nods* yes… I will. I will meet with you downstairs. *walks by them and freezes as Lucy takes his face in her hands and gently heals his wound*

Lucy: That looked painful… go on. *smiles and let’s him go*

Voss: *touches the healed wound in surprise before nodding his head in thanks and leaving*

Lucy: *looks to the group* wait out here.

Everyone: WHAT?!

Lucy: I’ll be fine. Don’t worry. *smiles and walks into the room, closing and locking the door behind her* Right. Cards on the table. I’ve entertained your little performance long enough because I find you amusing. But quite frankly I’m tired and not looking for a fight, and I’ve had you pinned for checkmate for sometime now.

Raphael: is that so? Care to elaborate?

Lucy: you want me to get you the crown of karsus in exchange for the Orphic hammer that I need to set Orpheus free. With that you intend to unite the hells under your rule as- *clears her throat and gestures with her fingers* ‘arch devil supreme’ and move on to conquer other realms.

Raphael: *not surprised she’s figured it out given how she’s been leaps and bounds ahead of him at this point* indeed. And I have a proposition for you in fact. With the crown in hand I can free you from whomever the devil is that’s taken over Zariels reign when I take their head along with all of the other arch devils whom oppose me. And you can rule at my side as my consort.

Lucy: *snorts* you sound like Astarions bad ending. *laughs and sighs as her head tilts to the side with the weight of her horns as a third set begin to grow again making a crown of six fit along her brow and temple like a ram* my answer is no. Now let me ask you, a question dear… If your father with all the powers of a Demi god and an arch devil had the foresight not to use the crown, what makes you think you’ll succeed with only a fraction of that power? You won’t even be able to get past my layer.

Raphael: your- layer?… no- *finally realising she’s not just a favoured warlock or mortal acting on behalf of another devil and feeling like an idiot for not adding it up sooner*

Lucy: *grins* And- one more question… *transforms into her arch duchess form in all her hellish glory, the heavenly glow already burning brighter than hellfire as Selûne and Lathander both recognise her good deeds* Why, shouldn’t I just go tell your daddy dearest. What you’re up to? I’m certain he’d Looooove, to know.

Raphael: y-you wouldn’t dare. Not after I helped your- spawn cure himself and those other pathetic whelps!

Lucy: help is a strong word when it was in fact a deal. And oh… I would- *snaps her fingers making a portal to mephistar appear* give me the hammer. Set hope free and swear you’ll never let harm come to her again… and I. Won’t tell your father what you’re up to.

Raphael: *pure uncontainable rage clear on his face* y-you- You can’t do this!!

Lucy: oh but I can. And I will. *walks towards the portal, her foot literally through it as she moves to step into the palace*

Raphael: NO! Okay! Fine! You win! I’ll do it! I’ll do anything just- *sighs looking visibly defeated*

Lucy: *looks back at him playfully* promise~?

Raphael: *summons the hammer and a blank contract* whatever your terms… I’ve no choice but to agree to them…

Lucy: *smiles* good. *walks to him and writes out the contract, reading over it to be certain of no loopholes before signing it and handing it to him*

Raphael: *sighs and begrudgingly signs it, only for a pair of cufflinks to appear on his sleeves bearing her symbol* what? *looks at the contract again, eyes widening in visible surprise*

Lucy: there was an opening in my court since I got rid of Mizora. And, under my banner. You’ll be safe-

Raphael: from my father…

Lucy: Mhm. And if anyone questions your actions up until now you say-

Raphael: I was doing it for you…

Lucy: bingo. Now. Go let hope go and apologise to her.

Raphael: …Can you just kill me instead-

Lucy: *takes the hammer and slaps his ass with her free hand* go!

Raphael: PLEASE DONT MAKE ME DO THIS! *watches her leave* … *re-reads the contract, still in a state of shock* I’m… her consort… *watches as a ring appears suddenly on his finger* … *hugs the contract to his chest and falls back on the bed* I’m married.

*meanwhile*

Gale: what did he ask of you?! What did you sign?!

Lucy: *putting the hammer in her bag of holding, the emperor still silenced after she snapped him away again* Technically, my marriage license.

*also meanwhile*

Mephistopheles: what is your report?

Haarlep: excellent news! It turns out the young master was attempting to retrieve the crown at the behest of the new arch duchess so she may ingratiate herself to you your grace. Oh and. They just recently got married.

Mephistopheles: …WHAT?! OF ALL MY SPAWN SHE PICKED THAT WET HANDKERCHIEF?!

[blackjackkent]

Despite the Emperor's assertions that they must immediately prioritize finding Gortash and Orin and getting their Netherstones, Rivington immediately sidetracks Rakha by throwing the world's bravest child at her.

"Erm. 'Scuse me. I can't find my mum."

I did not feel super strongly about Yenna's bravery previously, because she approached Hector for help, and Hector is basically a walking sign that says "I'm An Altruistic Monk, Please Ask Me About Your Missing Family Members."

In this case, however, she is approaching Rakha, who looks like this currently:

So I think she deserves a bit of credit for that. XD

Rakha definitely doesn't have a database entry in her empty brain for how to handle a small child approaching her and asking for help, nor would she even know where to begin looking for the girl's mother. And the beast in her head, seeing this small innocent child and her even smaller and even more innocent cat, immediately growls excitedly, and so for a moment Rakha simply blinks rapidly at the girl while trying to settle her own thoughts.

(The game doesn't give us a chance to switch characters for the conversation, but I think Wyll is the one who actually handles this discussion - though Jaheira is about to jump in when he speaks.)

Wyll crouches down to the girl's height, immediately plastering on a comforting smile in spite of his preoccupation. "What's your name?" he asks her gently.

Immediately the girl relaxes; Wyll has this effect on most people. A smile flickers onto her face in answer. "Yenna!" she tells him eagerly. "And my cat is Grub," she adds, gesturing to the small furry creature at her feet. "He's shy," she explains brightly. "I'm not."

A slight pause, and then the smile fades again, anxiety replacing it. "My mum is called Emery. She went to go get some herbs - for her spots. She was sick. And she was supposed to come back the same day." She swallows, shifts uncertainly from foot to foot. "That was last tenday, though."

Rakha tilts her head. Spots? she thinks, parsing out this latest strange description. From the illness. The woman was sick. Left the girl and didn't return. Ten days.

Likely dead. The beast grumbles in her head. Death by illness has no appeal for it. It is too clean, too neat, leaves no blood on anyone's hands.

Rakha has no recollection of her own parents. Wyll has described his father - who often left for long journeys, such as the one he was on when Mizora forged Wyll's pact, and turned away from his son when Wyll needed him. Then again - she has also heard Karlach describe a family life much more close-knit. If this girl is so worried, perhaps her mother is - was - more like that.

"It sounds as if your mum is--"(*) she starts to say, then grunts as Wyll elbows her sharply in the side.

"I don't know where your mother is," he says, cutting across her, his voice still low and soft. He reaches into his pack and pulls out a fistful of gold. "But here. Take a few coin."

(A/N: ...Fascinating. :O Hidden depths...

Legitimately surprised that these two approve and Wyll and Jaheira don't when I have Rakha say this line on Wyll's behalf in-game. But they definitely approved in-character if not numerically. :P)

The girl's eyes widen as she takes the handful of gold carefully. "Oh! Erm... thank you so much!" she says. "I don't have anything... and you can't do anything without any coin." She grins shakily. "I'll pay you back. When I find my mum," she says hastily, and darts off, the small cat waddling along behind her.

-----

Rakha watches the girl go, and her eyebrows knit tightly together in thought.

"We will not get the coin back," she mutters, visibly thinking over this moment and its implications. "The girl's mother is dead."

"She knows," Jaheira says quietly from behind her. "I imagine she has known for some time."

-----

(*) One of the in-game dialogue options is to say "It sounds like your mum is probably dead," which Yenna doesn't like very much. I'm playing very fast and loose with artistic license on this scene because Rakha is, as always, blunt as hell but I also think Wyll would prevent her from being too much of a dick to Yenna. XD

[loquaciousquark]

Whichever Tav question you haven't been asked yet, but would really like to answer!

Ohh, this is so kind, thank you! I'll pick:

22. Has your Tav become particularly close to anyone romantically and/or platonically in their journey? If so, who, and what is the relationship like? If no, why not?

I picked this mostly because right now I'm working on developing Tavish's relationships with the companions. Astarion is easy - mutual protection and transactional FWBs turning into something more as they grow to understand each other better - but I'm having an interesting time sussing out the rest.

Karlach - very easy, a big sister she never knew she wanted. She looks up to her tremendously, admires everything she is, and wants to be a better person from her influence.

Lae'zel - terribly intimidating at first. Doesn't understand why she doesn't lead - she clearly knows what she's doing and Tavish would happily follow her orders. However, seeing the way she handles Korru and some of the other refugees makes her wince. Keeps a little bit of distance between them until the creche, and then they grow very close; Tav empathizes with that feeling of having every support yanked out from under you at once. Lae'zel takes her under her wing in her martial training, and Tav shares her weird lock & key preferences in a way I think Lae'zel would genuinely enjoy. Tav also likes listening to Lae'zel; she finds her storytelling diction poetic and beautiful, and even if she doesn't understand the content, she likes the rhythm and music of the words.

Gale - a blorbo she doesn't understand but whom she'd instantly kill for to protect. He's so diffidently out of place in the wilderness, even moreso than she is, and while any nascent feelings for him withered the moment he started talking about libraries and armchairs, she feels fiercely defensive over him and wants him to be happy and safe. Daydreams about building him a lovely enclosure with lots of natural light and air and mesh walls to keep the bugs out and lots of spellbooks for enrichment, that sort of thing. She doesn't really understand him or his ambitions (again: int 8), but she cares for him tremendously and would absolutely help him hide a body if he asked, no question. Can think of him a little patronizingly once in a while, until he does 600 lightning damage in one turn and she remembers exactly how deadly he can be behind the doubt.

Wyll - likes him quite a lot and treasures his approval, but unfortunately I don't think she really respects him by the end of the game. He loves his father and he's done so much good work as the Blade, and she deeply admires both of those, but the way he refuses to regret his pact and at the same time wants to get out of it while still despising Mizora while still taking her powers is more emotionally complex than she's really able to compass, much less help shape. Still ride or die, but he wouldn't be the one she'd go to for advice.

Shadowheart - where I'm struggling the most, because I personally love Shadowheart so much and I'm not sure Tavish does until end of Act 2! I think they look at each other respectfully through most of Act 1, get real tense with all the Shar stuff in Act 2, and then get close again in Act 3. I do remember there was one point in 2 where you find some documents saying things like "Shar thrives in shadow, may your steps be silent and swift" and "to take from others is to give them loss" and stuff and I was like well! maybe Tav is into that! and then we got to Malus Thorm and the corrupted shades and I was like well! maybe Shadowheart shouldn't be into that!! I think Tav really likes teasing out moments of lightness and laughter from her, initially as a personal challenge and then later out of sincerity. In many ways it's like Astarion; flattery and saccharine sweetness because they both know she doesn't mean it, and it makes Astarion laugh and Shadowheart be all prickly, but later it flips and she does mean it, and it makes Shadowheart smile and Astarion prickly instead. Ha!

[cfcreative]

5, 11, 16 for the ask game pretty please <3

OK, this time my excuse is that I was very, very sick for the past few days. Hopefully the next potential ask I will be faster with.

5. Describe their idle animations!

I do love this question so thanks in particular for asking it. 💕

Kory tends to/prunes the vines on her tent (see this post for the tent description). In the daytime she’ll appear to take leaves off and put them near her mortar and pestle. At night she’ll take off a flower and do the same.

Related to that, she has an animation where she is sprinkling things into the mortar and pestle, then turns around and uses it for a while, before putting it back.

She’ll sit at her table and scratch out some notes on a piece of paper-but she uses a claw instead of her quill, and then dunks it into a dish of water to clean it off.

Much like Jaheira has an animation where she talks to rats, Kory has an in-depth conversation with a crow that comes to perch on the top of her tent.

If the owlbear cub is recruited, Kory has an animation where she turns into an owlbear and does a loop around the camp with him and Scratch.

Epilogue Animations

(Thanks to @optiwashere's lovely response to my ask for the idea… this post wouldn’t have been a classic ramble without it!)

Based on the previous ask I answered if Kory winds up with her “bad ending” there will be a moment where Tav hears a rustling in the woods, and sees a green-eyed wolf. It growls at them—if Tav passes an animal handling check, the wolf looks at them with sad eyes and runs off. If they fail, the wolf snarls and snaps at them and runs off. That’s all you’ll see of her if she ends up with that bad end.

In any good ending, Kory will do the following:

Kory will have a little “druid huddle” with Jaheria and Halsin, discussing their preferred forms (Kory emphasizing Owlbear and Air Myrmidon).

Kory checks in with Halsin on how the Shadowlands is recovering.

Kory speaks to Withers about Arabella—he assures her that “the girl will be fine” and Kory is a little miffed when he won’t speak about it further.

Kory turns into a Cat to apparently discuses something eye-to-eye with Tara.

Kory turns into an owlbear and romps around the party with the no-longer-cub.

Kory gives big pets to Scratch.

Depending on what Kory winds up doing/who she might have hooked up with post-game (details in this post!) she has some additional stuff.

In any “Kory winds up in Avernus” ending:

Kory has chat with Gale about how the spell “plane shift” works, since she might need it to get them home soon.

Kory expresses delight over whomever is taking the Owlbear home, and laments that she wishes she could have been an option.

If just Kory and Karlach wind up in Avernus together their animations include:

Kory bemoaning that her outfit “looks ridiculous for this event.” Karlach: “I could always help you take it off, Soldier.” Kory: “Later! I wouldn’t mind a private swim before we have to go back.” Karlach: “Sounds like a plan.”

Karlach and Kory do a goofy little dance together.

Karlach and Kory have a little strategy session about getting those plans for her heart fix.

If Kory/Karlach/Wyll all wound up in Avernus:

Kory bemoans the outfits to Wyll. “Karlach’s looks good, ours are ridiculous!” Wyll: “I’d suggest you take something from the trunk but if we have to go back suddenly you’ll want the armor, not a dress shirt.” Kory: “Ugh, I know.”

The trio have a strategy huddle about getting the plans for Karlach’s heart and possibly getting rid of Mizora for good.

If Kory ends up on the Farm with Shadowheart:

If they adopt the Owlbear Kory is absolutly overjoyed and the two of them have an excited conversation about his dietary needs.

Kory has a conversation with Halsin and says “…she brought him home and named him Bubbles!” Halsin: “Oh ho, that’s sure to amuse the Oak Father.”

Kory has a brief conversation with Volo: Kory: “Shadowheart and I decided it would be easier to run a farm together so that’s what we did.” Volo: “And thus… they were… roommates.” Kory (tail thrashing) : “Why are you saying it that way?”

If Kory is a in charge of the garden in Baldur’s Gate:

She has a brief conversation where she slightly guilt trips Jaheira about how Kory sees Jaheira’s children more than she does.

She and Wyll have a positive conversation about the reconstruction of Baldur’s Gate.

Kory will encourage Astarion to come visit the gardens “We have night blooming flowers now; the Society of Brilliance helped me procure some from the underdark that would grow up here!”

11. What is your Tav’s go-to comfort food? Honestly, Kory spent so much time in the woods it’s a lot of basically nuts, berries, basic tree fruits, and leafy greens… and then Elminster shows up demanding cheese. Good cheese is revolutionary for Kory.

Have you ever had an apple/walnut/arugula salad without cheese? Then you add blue cheese or gouda or feta and suddenly it’s a whole different ballgame. Bam! Suddenly Kory’s got a whole new outlook on food. She tries a lot of new things on this journey, but that apple/cheese/walnut/arugula salad is her favorite.

Gale finds Kory jumping on the cheese train a little exasperating, honestly.

16. What do they do for fun, when not adventuring? What are their hobbies? Gardening! Kory adores cultivating herbs and flowers especially. Once she finds out “flower arrangement” is a thing (she’s never encountered that concept until Baldur’s Gate) she’ll try her hand at that, and eventually seasonal wreaths.

You know, once her girlfriend’s heart is fixed.

Thank you again for the asks, Bear!

If anyone else wants to ask something, the list is here!

My answers to 2, 3, 4, and 6 can be found in this post!

[xanfeursel]

heard you were bored so here are some questions :) (i realized halfway through that these are all durgetash because those little shits have taken over my mind) do you like leaning into the angst of durgetash or do you prefer the more lighthearted (aside from the atrocities) dynamic? if larian dropped a gortash romance, is there any icks that would absolutely ruin it for you?

or conversely, what would be the best thing they could add in a hypothetical gortash route?

what were your biggest inspirations for lophi and vyper? do you prefer one over the other or are they equal in your eyes?

(hopefully you won't have to answer these since you'll get out of work soon)

HELLO ANON. im sorry to tell you infact waited till i actually got home to answer these because i have!!! THOUGHTS and OPINIONS about the questions asked . thank you very much btw these are all really good questions ill have fun answering

FIRSTLY, it all depends on the kind of durge gortash is being paired w imo. with vyper i tend to lean more into These Two Are Fucking Insane while w/ lophi i lean more into the sort of melancholic 'angsty' side of durgetash that i think can be real yummy too. and it's all because of who vyper and lophi are as characters pre-tadpole, too. vyper liked being a loud insane freakus while lophi was a lot more reserved and kind of a miserable mess, and that informs their relationships w/ the characters around them. i think both are good and fun to explore and i definitely like exploring the more angsty side w vyper x gortash and vice versa w lophi x gortash, so. i guess both. really. LOL .

secondly, going to answer both of the gort romance related questions in one, but i think i'm probably in the unpopular opinion that gortash doesn't really neeeeeeeed a romance and i could go without it in game. i do think he deserves more content and screentime, but that's something i can say about orin also, and frankly a Lot of parts of act 3. me and act 3 have a toxic on/off again relationship. alright.

that being *said*, if i was mr larian and i was to implement a gortash romance, i'd have it be something exclusive to a durge/evil run. or at the very least, have it have consequences with your party (i.e karlach leaving or something. love gort but i do not think you should go off romancing him scott free).

i Do think having it be exclusive to a more evil-aligned run would help add more actual content to doing an evil run (and god knows we need some with how bg3 seems to like punishing people who just want to do the evil options They Gave You) and would make the most sense, but all in all i'd just hope it's handled better than the mizora sex scene cause god how that whole thing is handled still pisses me off. hopefully this all makes sense

tl;dr, its a fun idea but i can very easily go without it especially knowing how the game treated its one other antagonist romance option

now for the lophi and vyper question... i do obviously have my biases towards vyper /looks at my blog theme/, but i genuienlly cannot pick favourites with them besides that... i use them both to explore different aspects of the durge origin in different ways bc despite what some other people say i Do think you can be very flexible w durge as a concept despite the pre-established lore for them ^_^ and i think it's very fun to play around with.

as for specific inspirations, lophi takes a lot of insp from vintage pierrot art + has accidentally gotten a very 1920s makeup vibe in My Mind. i should also note her name comes from the scientific name for anglerfish, cuz thats what i had in mind when giving her those freaky sharp ass teeth i always draw her with

and while of course, both of my durges are trans, lophi specifically was birthed from my want to make a dark urge that leans in as heavily as she possibly could in the whole trans allegory thing. so theres that as well!

vyper's specific inspos are harder for me to pinpoint cause he's much more of a 'made up as i went' character than lophi, given he was my First dark urge and i didnt really fully know what i was going into all this yet while making him (and also i was maybe a little bit high while doing so...lol) THAT SAID THOUGH, i did initially make him with akira fudo from devilman in mind. he has the horn style he does because it reminded me of devilman ... although the akira insp is very lose and barely effects his character now.. ~_~ despite bg3 being my main fixation atm devilman is still a very very important piece of media to me so vyper being loosely akira-pilled is not too surprising if you know me well enough lololol