#the bg3 brainrot is real

[whydoihavetoart]

lost in the sauce

[somefanchick]

I'm obsessed with BG3 Character Narratives (Some Companion Quest/Story Spoilers)

So it's almost common knowledge at this point that the origin companions have a common theme, power imbalance that victimizes the companion. However, my favorite part of this is how relatively unconventional. I say this because a lot of media that shows power imbalance showcase an abusive boyfriend or husband, which is 100% not the case in BG3. (I'll try and fail to be brief.)

The only abusive romantic relationship that is showcased is Gale's relationship with Mystra. She grooms him, mistreats him, and even tells him that she'll 'forgive' him for his past 'sins' (literally trying to help her and gain back some power over his own life) if he ends his own life for the 'greater good'. She has power over his craft and every essence of his life.

Shadowheart and Lae'zel both have to deal with goddesses that they give everything to betraying and lying to them. Lae'zel focuses more on the goddess thing, while Shadowheart's story is more focused on the betrayal of the people who raised her under the goddess's instruction. Both have to come with the terms that everything that they had been raised to believe being a lie. The 'families' that they trusted and who held power over their emotions and homes were in it for their own gain and not caring what happens to Shadowheart or Lae'zel.

Karlach was stuck with a demonic overlord, similar to Wyll (who I'll talk about in a second), but her story focuses on her relationship with Gortash in the end. It focuses on how she felt safe taking care of him and he tossed her aside without much care. I don't even remember what he gained or if he gained anything by giving Karlach away. She gave everything to him and he took it and gave it away without a second thought. She was a child who grew up too fast. Gortash was the only person she could be less adult around. And he just tossed her away.

Wyll is under the power of a demon who can curse him and ruin his life even more if he disobeys. He is the probably the most aware of how bad this relationship is, since he knew it was a bad idea even before striking the deal with Mizora. He was a victim of circumstance who is still paying for his sacrifice at the beginning of the game.

Astarion is also aware of how abusive Casador is, but he was fooled into thinking Casador was good before he was turned. But after that Casador is a classic abusive relationship. There is little emotional manipulation, Casador mostly relying on his physical and mystical power over his spawn to control their actions. As well as relying on general mistreatment and abuse to keep them in line and further his own motives.

All of these relationships are semi-realistic. While magic and vampires aren't commonly in the real world, the dynamics still exist. Male victims of grooming and abuse at the hand of girlfriends and wives, families and communities that put their gods or themselves over the children stuck in those situations, people who pour their hearts into trusted adults only to be tossed away, people who sacrifice their happiness and get themselves in bad situations to better the lives of those they love, and men used by other men who abuse and harm them. These are examples of abusive power imbalances that get commonly overlooked and ignored in media in favor of the (slightly more common) dynamic of a man abusing a woman.

As a storyteller, I really appreciate the writing of BG3. These companion stories highlight experiences that get overshadowed in other media. I know these writers really cared about those people and wanted to give them a character they could relate to in some way to help prove they they aren't alone.

And for that, I say thank you.

[teaprose]

"But think what I offer. The vastness of eternity to explore, the Weave at our fingertips... You would really prefer me as I am?" >> Stop his protests with a kiss.

[aimie-academie]

Doodles of the day

Craving cocktails

Messy, messy sketch of a certain Acunin

[pandabandanna]

them

[sototesschmee]

Astarion rejected my Tav 😭

[cellphishthekaiju]

Crackpot Theorycrafting: Prince Orpheus is the son of Gith and Zerthimon

I know I'm quite 'late' putting this out but I needed to let it ruminate for a while longer. To preface, there's very little evidence in Baldur's Gate 3 and even Dungeons & Dragons lore, as a whole about who Orpheus's father/sire was... so this theory is almost entirely conjecture and brainrot.

Don't take it as anything solid, this is just the ramblings of a lunatic with nothing better to do with her time.

Also, (obvious) spoiler warning cause it mainly uses stuff from Baldur's Gate 3's story. Most information is sourced from The Forgotten Realms wiki as it's the most 'decent' source of D&D info for me to find relatively quickly and be accurate.

Anyway, on with the show.

Baldur's Gate 3 establishes some 'certain' things about Orpheus's connection and role within the githyanki lore (and D&D lore) as it is nowadays.

For those who are not in the know, the 'gith' were a slave race to the Illithid Empire but thanks to the strength and collaboration of Gith, Zerthimon and Vlaakith, they fought and gained their independence and brought the Illithid Empire to its knees but were soon wrecked by a civil war, called the Proclamation of Two Skies, that tore the gith race into two distinct factions/culture; the Githyanki (gith who followed Gith and Vlaakith) and the Githzerai (gith who followed Zerthimon).

The first time you meet Orpheus, some interesting things are immediately noticeable about him, starting with the gith himself(ignoring the infernal chains, that's a different story). Orpheus exhibits attire, body art, and a beard that is characteristic of the Githzerai and even his in-game class is that of a Monk (as well as his honor guard). What's this have to do with his relation to Zerthimon?

Githyanki don't look and dress like this and, to be honest, Orpheus's whole 'drip' looks more like Githzerai 5e art than Githyank art.

However, Orpheus identifies himself, quite confidently, as a Githyanki (and BG3 gives further 'evidence' of this through some of the endings, when he departs on a red dragon), so I suspect he never actually spent time with the Githzerai yet has chosen to embody the philosophies of an important role model... which had to be Zerthimon, before the civil war. Very flimsy proof of fatherhood, I know, but it makes sense in my deranged mind.

But Lae'zel says githyanki reproduce asexually. Sure... as far as she knows. We have no real 'facts' if the information Lae'zel was taught (all controlled by Vlaakith, mind you) was right, wrong, or only partially correct. Perhaps they can but if that was their 'primary' form of reproduction, I feel like the githyanki would be nowhere near as diverse-looking people as we see them... but that's just applying logic for the sake of my own headcanon.

Anyway, given that we have no real confirmation of event timelines, I also assume Vlaakith I is the one who imprisoned Orpheus in the Astral Prism after he rebelled against her in retaliation for trading Gith to Tiamat. (a slate inside the prism itself states Vlaakith I was the one who commissioned it's construction and, assumedly, the shackles as well, given their infernal design), which would suggest Orpheus was around/existed before or during the civil war, at least. There's not reason I can think of Vlaakith, any of the Vlaakith's would permit him to persist to threaten her reign plus his useful ability served her greatly.

Well, I hope ya'll enjoyed my insane rambling. If you'd like more, just let me know. I'm always open to suggestions (doesn't even have to be BG3 related).

[silver-horse]

I just realized that baldur's gate 3 became the second most used tag on my blog and the first tag is just the generic "funny"

Also "Astarion" is the 10th most used tag on my blog and among character tags he took over the first place.

[necile]

In a deep Baldur's Gate 3 pit, but I'll be back soonish!

[phantomram-b00]

When it come to dnd/bg3:

[it-was-rose]

New theme😔

[mercymaker]

the urge to download seven million more mods and then spend 3 hours making thoriel is so fckn strong i'm going to tear the carpet under my feet to shreds (with my teeth)

[lostinthedirewoods]

Alrur Toggath, the Oathbreaker Knight, who sold her wretched soul to the Failed God

A banished Bhaal-spawn finds a way to satisfy the Urge by taking an Oath. She served an exiled princess of a faraway land, aiding her journey to reclaim the city and make those who wronged her pay the price. Together they left a bloody trail leading from the haunted woods to the city hall.

They succeeded and the Princess became a Queen , the loyal warrior became her Royal Knight. Their fleeting romance was cast aside until the land settled. The war has ended so the bloodthirsty Paladin became restless. Sleepwalking, nightmares, and bloodied hallucinations plagued her every day, but the enemies are no more, she has fulfilled her oath.

Until one day she wakes up from an unusually peaceful sleep, instead of usual dark sheets she finds white gold luxury ones stained with blood, and cooling skin beneath her hands. Her vision blurs a bloody haze, as if a red curtain is dropped, the coldness on her hands run straight at the heart, gripping it in an vice-like hold. Overwhelmed, she fled, back to the shadowed wood they escaped from just years ago, its darkness feels like a warm embrace from an old friend.

The Oathbreaker Paladin consumed by grief and rage, cursed her own Bhaal blood to the dark woods, it caught the ears of the strange blood-red boulder. She begs to be free of living nightmares, to not see the cold body of her lost love behind closed eyes. They answered, her memories taken away, in exchange for an eternity of service.

[stardew-atlantis]

I HAVE NOT OPENED TUMBLR IN A HOT MINUTE BUT I CAME BACK TO YELL ABOUT THIS!!

Another tiefling joined the 'Emotional Support Tiefling' group for our all fav traumatized companions! Say hello to SJ from @stardew-atlantis

[cellphishthekaiju]

Me: almost done with this Werewolf Shad'zel piece. It'll be a nice Christmas 'gift' to all the folks who enjoy and encouraged this series on this particular brand of brainrot...

also Me: what if we did a Crossover piece?

Me: Go on...

Also Me: Rewrite Baldur's Gate 3 to the plot beats of the Underworld series.

Why am like this?

[pocket-dragon]

Her