theannoyingurge

[theannoyingurge]

Lord of pettiness here, he cannot stomache the thought of karlach travelling with his precious bhaal babe 💕 I see you gortash. I see what you did.

[theannoyingurge]

How can i write deep admiration and approbation without it coming off as love or attraction

Hi, thanks for asking! There’s a fine line between admiration and love, but one that can be easily blurred. Here are some tips to avoid this.

Writing Admiration Without Attraction

1. Focus on respect, not yearning.

Romantic feelings or attraction often carry an element of longing—a desire to be closer, to be noticed, or to connect in an intimate way. Admiration, however, is more framed around respect. The character isn't dreaming about the other person or fixating on them in a way that feels personal, but is awed by their skills, intellect, principles, or character. In other words, focus on accomplishments and character rather than physicality.

Ex: Instead of lingering on their eyes or the curve of their smile, noticing things like their determination in the face of hardship, their intellect and the way their mind works, their unwavering principles in a corrupt world, their influence on others, how they inspire or lead, wisdom, bravery, dedication to a cause, etc.

2. Use language that shows reverence, not intimacy.

Words matter. If you use words associated with romance (captivating, alluring, intoxicating), odds are readers will assume romantic feelings. Opt for other words that suggest respect and awe instead:

Ex: Words & phrases like dignity, grace, wisdom, fortitude, resilience, unbreakable will (admirable qualities that one may aspire to achieve themselves).

3. Frame it as aspiration, not infatuation.

A great way to separate admiration from romantic attraction is to show that the character wants to be like the person they admire, not with them. This shifts the focus from desire to aspiration, which admiration often stems from. The idea that the person embodies something the admirer values or wishes to cultivate shifts the focus from them to their influence and how they affect and inspire others.

4. Be careful with body language.

Physical descriptions can quickly veer into romantic territory if you’re not careful. Rather than focusing on lingering touches, physical perfection, or other body language that could be interpreted otherwise, have it signal respect or camaraderie. A good rule of thumb: admiration respects distance, attraction tries to close it.

5. Show admiration through actions, not just words.

If a character admires someone deeply, they don’t always need to wax poetic about it internally. Let their actions demonstrate it:

Ex: Seeking their advice or opinion, defending them if others speak ill, following their advice, trying to emulate them or model their behaviour, feeling a sense of privilege for witnessing their greatness, etc.

---

I procrastinated on this one for a bit, but hope it helped nonetheless. Happy writing!

Previous

[theannoyingurge]

since I was talking about my Trans Wyll Headcanon and how it relates to his relationship with his father, I also want to say that, I don't think that Ulder is a villainous character (even though he was originally introduced as an antagonist).

I actually really LIKE his character. I feel like people don't afford him the nuance he deserves (especially compared to the essays people will write about REALLY evil characters like Gortash)

Ulder's character was conceived to be an embodiment of traditionalism and good intentions misguided into regressive lines of thinking—he's the "good cop" (that is, the cop that has deluded himself into thinking he's doing good when he's just perpetuating the problems he's trying to solve). He's every conservative parent who believes their kids have failed for meeting the impossible standards they've placed on them

and yeah, I get it, I'm sure watching a fictional politician/deadbeat parent getting eaten by exploding spiders is cathartic to a lot of people.

but maybe I WANT to imagine a world where a man like Ulder could genuinely change and make a sincere effort to rectify his mistakes and the problems they've contributed to don't need to be solved through gratuitous violence befallen them. maybe I want to imagine a "good" cop actually quitting and doing some real good with his life. maybe I want to imagine going no contact for the rest of your life doesn't need to be the only answer for everyone who has a shitty relationship with their parents.

I don't know you can crucify me I guess

[theannoyingurge]

i'm always vaguely uncomfortable with all the Ulder hate (even though it's mainly on Wyll's behalf) it always has a bit of an. Undercurrent to it. however, upon seeing Ulder's official portrait I wonder if he'd get as much flack as he does if he looked like this in game

DILF powers activate

[theannoyingurge]

Gortash: *to Bane* I think Bhaal's Chosen has grown rather fond of me 😏 Durge: *to Bhaal* Father, please, let me kill him.

[theannoyingurge]

Speaking of killing being a commonplace activity on Toril and giving religions centred around evil gods legitimacy: sin-eating would've be a good function for evil priests rather than just evil for evil's sake (well, their priests). Shar kind of has the theme in the erasure of negative emotions and memory, even if she's just using it as a trap. (For bonus points, trauma, acts of cruelty and taboo do stain you and very much can lead to being condemned to suffer in undeath (some of whom are bound for the Lower Planes on destruction) so wanting to be 'clean' before kicking the bucket is desirable.)

Idk, come to Mask to be purified of your theft; Loviatans already do dish out punishment; Bhaalists will wash the blood on your hands from those profane kills and give it, purified, to Bhaal...

[theannoyingurge]

Concepts like sex magic and fertility deities in fantasy are actually really interesting to me as a person with a lot of interest in anthropology and mythology like Yes I am curious about the weird sex that elves have but its pretty much exclusively explored by authors who are Weird Horny Dudes and forget about putting that stuff into a d&d campaign

[theannoyingurge]

The 'Durge with some degree of peripheral neuropathy (and potential epilepsy(?)) due to the stabbing, violent finger-breaking panic attack in the pod, and three months of dying under Kressa's scalpels' headcanon and the 'Durge developing a severe caffeine addiction trying to avoid sleep' headcanon are fighting.

I've actually heard conflicting comments on whether caffeine helps or harms when you have nerve damage... but also part of my brain is eyeing Durge's suicide drive and going hmm. They probably don't give a fuck.

Halsin: 'I'm not sure you should drink that, considering your health.'

Vel: *looks him dead in the eyes and drinks an entire carafe of Calishite style black kaethe all in one go without breaking eye contact*

[theannoyingurge]

hello tumblr user. in front of you stands a confident and outspoken character. your challenge today & forever is to consider the possibility they may simply have self-confidence and are not just faking to secretly cover up massive insecurities. good luck

[theannoyingurge]

#Durge version: Remember how you resurrected me against my will and my entire existence is kind of your fault?

Love Durge being salty about this forever. Particularly if they remain loyal to Jergal. Whether that's due to trauma bonding, or just to annoy him with responsibities (it's only fair). Or my personal favorite - they somehow discover his master plan to rewrite history and think 'Brilliant idea! This pantheon is incompetent. Let's start over, and I'd better not be in the next draft.'

I wonder if prayers on Toril can follow something like the ancient Greek pattern. Like; '[I am addressing [name]], [epithet/thing that you do in your capacity as god/domain that you hold/your servants] [repeat epithet/role as much as you like], [remember thing I did for you, or those times I behaved as your doctrine teaches?] [here's my request]'

'Hail Pitiless Jergal, Lord of the End of Everything; Scribe of the Doomed who knows the names and final destinations of all; The Silent Slayer, Bringer of Strife and Embodiment of Death who ceded his throne and meted power unto all the Lords of the Dark Gods; Seneschal of the Crystal Spire whose wise counsel is given unto the Lord of the Dead... So, hey, remember how we basically unwittingly served you and your goals during that three months with tadpoles in our brains...?'

(...Bane's prayers in this style would be amazingly long, I think.)

[theannoyingurge]

You'd get smote for it if you push it too far, but considering Bane's exasperation at being asked for directions (and then giving them) I think it would be funny if he became the party's go-to god for those prayers.

'I call to the Dark Lord Bane, before whom all rulers must bend knee; whose gauntleted Black Hand brings all under rightfully ordered rule; Lord father of the Fiend King, yada yada. Who - by his own admission - we serve with every enemy slain and humbled, and every chest ever opened in the hopes of wealth and the power it brings with it... Where did I leave my keys, and how far are we from Samargol?'

'You do realise I'm not a god of travel or divination?'

'You can consider it practice for when you 'inevitably' take those portfolios and become king of the gods, I guess.'

[theannoyingurge]

Thinking about how skin-to-skin contact generates 'love' hormone and how Tav/Durge and Astarion become more and more attached over time via feeding sessions 👀

[theannoyingurge]

Going insane over how Durge, whether they resist or not, is forced to kill those who were closest to them before they lost their mind.

You can plead with Kethric, but he's too far gone. He's hurt too many people. He's squandered every opportunity of connection because of his grief. You have to kill him.

You can ignore Orin, refuse to fight, but in doing so, you become a monster like her. You have to kill her to save yourself, even if you refuse your father. Even when you know she's been hurt like you, twisted by the expectations of others. You have to kill her.

You can stand with Gortash, take his Black Hand, and promise a shared kingdom. You can make deals and return to the echoes of partnership (in whatever capacity: romantic or otherwise). You can betray Karlach and Wyll's trust because you can't have both. He can stand with you against the Netherbrain. But he'll still die, and a part of you knew he would. You have to kill him.

The Dark Urge, in every capacity the story offers, is both a story of redemptive triumph over your abusers and the awful truth that you have to kill the ones you might have loved once.

[theannoyingurge]

Anyway I think we should really give BG3 more credit for making one of its major antagonists, the Chosen champion of the god of tyranny, a smug tech bro pushing AI for law enforcement applications and lying about how it's produced and programmed.

[theannoyingurge]

*Looking closer, you realise you've seen this thorn in the wilds - it's Kelemvor's Kiss, a briar from the Dalelands. And a deadly poison.* RANGER

The fact that it's described as being a Dalelands flora (why specify that region if its range extends to the Heartlands?) implies to me that ranger Tav and Durge are fairly travelled to have encountered it growing in the wild.

I mean, it could be invasive, but I find that the more boring answer, so I'm personally ignoring it.

Younger ranger Durge passing through Shadowdale and passing by Elminster; Elminster just going: 'Nope. Not this shit again.' He just shovels some extra-strength weed into his pipe and pointedly does not see the Bhaalspawn, just as he does in-game. He's got a goddess to resurrect and quite possibly a Gale to manipulate into becoming Chosen material.

[theannoyingurge]

bg3 was so crazy for making a side quest about religious fighting, terrorism, political extremism, racism and genocide if you decide to kill everyone on one side, and then made everyone involved in this sidequest have the stupidest names. how am i gonna appreciate the actually really good storytelling of history denial and a fall to extremism when coping with survivor trauma by putting all the blame and anger on a different group of victims and becoming warped and unrecognizable to loved ones that you push away with your single-minded hatred when the cunt’s name is wulbren bongle and his gay friend is barcus wroot and his engineer group has names like skikpick bumpnagel and lunkbug and the people you can commit genocide against are named toobin and zumbo pumbo

[theannoyingurge]

DURGETASH CONTENT FROM LARIAN I REPEAT DURGETASH CONTENT FROM LARIAN THIS IS NOT A DRILL

(it’s a 15 second meme but still)