#which tells us something else

[twilightoftheapprentice]

It's a combination of the two. Note that this analysis includes ships between the character and any other companion, Tav, Durge, or the reader, so /NPC pairings such as Shadowheart/Nocturne, Karlach/Dammon, and Wyll/Mizora are missing from this analysis. I simply did not know how to include them without risking blindspots. I filtered out gen fics and did not specifically search fics tagged with /OC, /OMC, or /OFC to avoid redundancy.

Here are the origin companions, ranked by how likely they are to be shipped in fics where they are tagged, from least to most likely:

Lae'zel - 27%

Karlach - 27%

Wyll - 29%

Shadowheart - 30%

Gale - 60%

Astarion - 83%

This resembles the rankings for lowest to highest decrease when OC ships are removed in the sense that there's a big gap between Astarion and Gale and then a big gap between Gale and everyone else, with the remaining four characters all clustered together within 5% of each other. Probably this is a function of other characters being tagged in /Astarion and /Gale fics, and it seems to affect all of them relatively evenly. It's not the whole story though, because you can see that when we look at how likely characters are to be shipped in fics where they're tagged, Karlach is actually below Wyll. As a side note, when you look at the raw number of fics where the character is shipped rather than a percent, Karlach does beat Wyll by a difference of 94 fics, which is about 6% of the number of fics Wyll is shipped in. What this probably means is that Karlach is more likely than Wyll to be tagged as a background character in fics that are about someone else (Astarion).

However, of the fics where they are tagged, Wyll and Lae'zel are the most likely out of any companions (including non-origins) to be shipped with another companion. Lae'zel is shipped with another companion in 73% of the fics where she is shipped, and Wyll is shipped with another companion in 68% of the fics where he is shipped. Most other companions are clustered between 35% and 55%, with Shadowheart coming in third at 58% and Astarion bringing up the rear at 29%. The reason for this appears to be twofold. First, Wyll and Lae'zel are shipped in relatively few fics, and second, they each have companion/companion ships that are relatively popular. Shadowzel alone accounts for 58% of the fics where Lae'zel is shipped (and is also likely the reason Shadowheart is in third by a healthy margin). Similarly, Wyllstarion fics account for 39% of Wyll's ship fics and Wyllach fics account for an additional 20%. Astarion is also involved in two popular companion/companion ships (Wyllstarion and Astarion/Halsin), but those two ships only account for about 1500 fics compared to the more than 11,000 fics where he's shipped with an OC, so they don't affect his numbers much.

Edit: I realized there was a lot of overlap between /reader and /Tav fics so I removed the /reader tag from the analysis. Didn't change most things more than a couple of percentage points.

hi! i think you're the one that posted that great infographic for the ao3 stats on baldur's gate 3. i wanted to say thank you for all your hard work because it was really easy to use and i learned interesting stuff from it. i also wanted to say that it was enlightening (for lack of a better term) to see the stats for wyll

hi! Yes I am. Thank you! I'm glad you found it both understandable and interesting, that's always my goal.

A lot has been said about Wyll's treatment by Larian (thinking specifically how he has the least amount of content out of all the Origin companions) and by the fandom, and I tend to agree with that. His tag numbers are rough, and a good reminder that fandom meta and character popularity/treatment is not a flat issue, but a snarl of sexism, racism, and other interconnected issues.

top 10 for reference ^

He and Lae'zel also have the lowest decreases (of the 6 Origin companions) when OC ships are removed, which is interesting. Are they shipped more often with other canon characters, or are they shipped less across the board? My cynical hunch is that it's the latter, but maybe not. Lots to dig into with Mr. Wyll Ravengard.

[chirpsythismorning]

El being *12 hours earlier* than the Cali timeline when she arrives at Nina. Will saying ‘it’s been 9 hrs’ in the scene following his monologue in the van.

We know that at some point their timelines merged when they arrived to save her…

But we don’t know when exactly those alignments took place when they were still apart… which just makes you wonder…

[dykedvonte]

I hate the stretch lines in the front of Curly's uniform because that means the devs rushed to make a model in like a month or so and thought "They gotta at least know he has huge knockers, gotta know he's got back pain." Cause like what is the thematic importance of his tits having overhang?

What responsibility is that representing? Breast reduction? It shows an inherent greed in his character due to the excess and heshouldletmeholdone and that he clearly is blinded cause if he tries to look down his damn ladder all he's seeing is his own cleavage.

[d1sc01nf3rn0]

I'm seeing a lot of people with neurodivergency, specially under the autism spectrum say that "Laios is annoying, never shuts up, is insensitive, and I can't stand him"; and the irony is not lost on me lmao.

[rain-on-wax-feathers]

nonhuman burr, washington, and eliza!!!

[transmasccofee]

thinking yet again about Saiki‘s’s final choice in the series being “I’d rather live with my powers than die without them” bc that is seriously the single best ending of a disability narrative I’ve seen. Fuck.

[anglerflsh]

wow ive been kind of off lately I should take a day to rest an[explosion]

[dan-whoell]

i keep thinking about a phandom book club, but i have no idea how to go about organizing it or if anyone would be interested or even where to host it

alternatively is there already a phandom book club i could join? because i would love that

[trappedinafantasy37]

POV: Minthara watches you as you openly flirt with someone else.

You shiver your timbers as she quickly reminds you of who you belong to and the consequences that will come if you continue to think otherwise as you are sorely mistaken.

[specific-dreamer]

going off of my nicknames thought, cherry was really upset that night at the drive in when bob called her sherri. like usually when he calls her sherri he’s doting on her and being sweet and kind and loving all around, but this time ? him calling her sherri as a last ditch effort to try and force her to do something ? who does bob think he is trying to force cherry to do something ?

and that’s the final straw. because before bob never showed any signs of wanting to control her or anything of the sort. but using her whole name like that, like he’s her father or something? if she thinks about it later with a clear mind, she realizes she got so upset not because he used her full name, but because he was also drunk off his rocker when he did it, and it reminded her too much of her father. and all she can think is that she refuses to be like her mother, hiding in the bathroom with a bottle of wine.

so she breaks up bob because that is not a role she wants to play

[fisherrprince]

oh so alisaie’s exaggerated bully behavior is 80% fanon. saying this she casually picks up a large rock

[outlying-hyppocrate]

i have officially returned. ask me anything.

[konako]

OUATTOBER | Day 12: Prompt C: Power

Cruella is not done with Ruby just yet...

What happened next: ❎NSFW! (back-up link, lower-res)

[fruitless-vain]

I feel like it is potentially not the wildest idea that perhaps if you Hate Christmas and are going to be a Rude Ass Cunt for the entire evening it may be a good idea to not demand that the holiday happens at your house? Demanding that *you host* claiming that you *love hosting* and then, actually, getting mad at everyone for every little thing and overall just having an obnoxious attitude complaining left right and centre over any thing you can think of

You can just choose to not be a part of the holiday. You can be a grown ass adult and say “I don’t want to receive or give gifts this year” or “I’m not liking hosting so let’s do it elsewhere” or any number of potential communication tactics that aren’t Snapping At Everyone For Any Given Reason

You can just, yknow, not participate instead of actively ruining the evening for everyone you’re supposed to care about?

[lovecolibri]

Oh I am *cackling* at the producers trying to claim the show was driven by Loki and Sylvie's relationship when she refused to lift a finger to help multiple times (while platonic bestie Mobius was living out romcom moments by the dozen with Loki), and honestly they could have not had her in the season at all and barely anything would change. Like, I don't like that ship but it's still SO deeply disrespectful to give them NOTHING on screen all season while giving all the cute classically shippy moments to Lokius, and then come out after and claim it was some grand, sweeping romance and also there was nothing intentional about giving all the shippy stuff to Lokius. 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

Also, as I said in some tags, the "we can't get into Loki's head" like is just....peek absurdity. My brother in Christ, YOU'RE the writers! This character has been in the MCU for like, 14 years, played by Hiddleston who is *obsessed* with Loki. Getting into Loki's head should have been a cake walk! And even if it wasn't, IT'S LITERALLY YOUR JOB TO GET IN THE CHARACTER'S HEAD. Maybe this is why shows are so shitty? Instead of letting the characters drive the plot by getting into their heads and making choices from that perspective, showrunners instead twist the characters into a storyline.

ANYWAY.

[siilvan]

i am once again disappointed but not surprised at the COD fandom only caring about “sensitivity” when it’s convenient for them