whomuses

[whomuses]

// Hi folks.

So, it's come to this. I'm really sorry, but I'm going on hiatus and I don't believe I will be back. My focus here has been shifting for quite a while, and it seems that my fixation has now changed entirely, which means I've lost all muse for BG3. I'm really sorry to do this to you all. Obviously, all threads will be discontinued. I love you all, so much; thank you for being so welcoming and lovely to me in this community. I think of it fondly. I'm still going to be durge at events, I still love bg3, but my creative desires have dwindled away and been changed for a new fixation. Take care, all; I love you.

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// Sorry folks, still about, hoarding replies; life is throwing a lot of curveballs at me, we might be getting evicted soon, and I'm trying to handle that.

[whomuses]

The first ten pages of There's Something Here!! All in one nice neat package for you to read.

Updates every friday.

[whomuses]

// Sorry folks, still about, hoarding replies; life is throwing a lot of curveballs at me, we might be getting evicted soon, and I'm trying to handle that.

[whomuses]

It's Shadowheart!!! Check her out! She has a funkier attack than a breath one. Originally she was meant to have ice breath, but I decided that was a little dull. :]

comic starts here

[whomuses]

The Golden Girls pt 1

Quotes from The Golden Girls gently modified into starters. source.

"I could get herpes listening to this story."

"I've been having a good time, and there wasn't even a man in the room."

"My mother used to say: the older you get, the better you get. Unless you’re a banana."

"People waste their time pondering whether a glass is half empty or half full. Me, I just drink whatever’s in the glass."

"Pray for Brains."

"No matter how bad things get, remember these sage words: You’re old, you sag, get over it."

"You're one chromosome away from being a potato."

"Crying is for plain women. Pretty women go shopping."

"Excuse me, but have I given any indication at all that I care?"

"I know this is a long shot, but did you take much acid during the Sixties?"

"My son married a welder. Too bad she didn’t weld his zipper shut. They got 10 kids they can’t afford."

"Nobody ever believes me when I’m telling the truth. I guess it’s the curse of being devastatingly beautiful."

"Jealousy is an ugly thing. And so are you, in anything backless."

"I know I look square, but I’m like my father’s tractor. I take a while to warm up, but once I get going I can turn your topsoil till the cows come home."

"Eat dirt and die, Trash."

"No one in my family has ever seen a psychiatrist…except of course, when they were institutionalized!"

Forgive me, but I haven’t had sex in 15 years and it’s starting to get on my nerves."

"I'm jumpier than a virgin at a prison rodeo."

"Look, you didn’t ask me for my opinion, but I’m old, so I’m giving it anyway."

"Go hug a landmine!"

"After 80, every year without a headstone is a milestone!"

"I always take a deep breath before I greet a man. It thrusts my breasts forward."

"I hate Jell-O. If God wanted peaches suspended in midair, he would have filled them with helium."

"Isn't it amazing how I can feel so bad, and still look so good?"

"I thought you wore too much makeup and were a slut. I was wrong. You don’t wear too much makeup."

"It was at that moment I realized my bosoms had the power to make music."

"If this sauce was a person, I’d get naked and make love to it."

"When a 22-year-old girl marries a man who’s 80, chances are she is not after his body."

"It's time I gave something back to the chicken community. A chicken once saved my life."

"It is not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it."

[whomuses]

He was half tempted to comment on that first little statement - his own connection was Mystra had been entirely different to that which most wizards had with her. He was a chosen, had enjoyed her form in the Astral plane, had a power which worked in his family which was perhaps a gift entirely from the Weave and Mystra directly but… she had not taken away his ability. At least, he was fairly sure she hadn't. His weakness had come from whatever the Orb had been doing and of course then the tadpole - she had never severed his connection. He had heard of her doing that to other wizards, totally setting them adrift from the weave in her great rages, but… as time went on, he wondered just how much control she had over those who utilised her weave.

"I would love to teach you, at least as best I can, Osian. There is so much joy to be found in magic, things far beyond simple - fireballs and weapons. They have their uses, of course, I do not doubt that the intention towards violence has been useful to us both but - well - I have always felt a great joy in the schools of illusion. To allow others to see things which are not there, the mystery of it all, oh! The lights and loves and - yes - yes, I will do my best. And, well," he chuckled, "It shall make me feel better to still have uses on the days that I am not well enough to join you in the battlefield."

Osian was barely in his fifties - most humans would be slowing down, perhaps even contemplating where to spend their final moments. Yet, for Osian, he wasn't close to adulthood. Or rather, what fellow elves would consider adulthood. He would still be a child, one still using his child-name. It would be another lifetime before he's considered mature enough - truly he shouldn't be out here at all. It was the equivalent of letting a pre-teenager roam the Swords Coast.

Maybe that was why the Weave was held back from him? He thought perhaps he was simply not mature enough - not strong enough mentally to harness it. But then he realised children seemed to grasp spells he had to put a great deal of effort into casting. There was something amiss here... Osian often felt he needed to chart a new course for himself... But he did so adore magic - it just didn't love him back.

"If even you feel distant from her, then I do not stand a chance at being able to get some answers from her then..." Osian responded, tone rather defeated, yet somehow not surprised.

"W-Wait, you will?!" Now the surprise flooded his voice. Leading quickly into excitement. He had heard stories of wizards such as Lorroakan and whispers of Mystra's Chosen in Waterdeep within the community - so to be taught by him in the flesh? It seemed rather too good to be true amongst all this chaos the last couple of weeks brought them. "Amazing! Yes, thank you!" Osian seemed more vibrant now than Gale had ever seen him. "B-because I have the somatic components down, the words I know like the back of my foot - no... hand-" He corrected, tripping on his second language. "A-Anyway, I know my materials it's just the casting itself. I'm missing something. Maybe you can help me figure out what it is. An observation. That way, it shouldn't be risky to your...situation. Right?"

[whomuses]

Talk To Me Like An Adult

For those relationships where you have to deal with lifelong expectations, families, partners etc.

"I'm never going to be all the things you want me to be."

"I just want you to be happy..."

"I don't want you waking up one morning sad about the choices you made."

"I have to live my own life."

"Despite my flaws, I'm basically an honest, decent person."

"Can't you just love me for that?"

"I already love you."

"Can you forgive me?"

"You go through life not thinking."

"When are you going to grow up and accept some responsibility?"

"If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I'm going to throw you out."

"You have to let me find my own place in the world."

"There's nothing wrong with the person I am."

"Yeah, it's taking me a little time to figure myself out."

"No matter who you are, I'll always love you."

"I know that you want to do right by me."

"You need to apologise and beg for forgiveness."

"I wouldn't hurt you for the world."

"I'm all ready to go."

"I want there to be something out there for me."

"I don't want forget about it, I don't want to forget about you."

"I'm not a perfect angel, I make mistakes."

"I want you to know that you're special."

"I don't want to be special or perfect, I just want to be a person."

"We need to be able to talk about things like this!"

"Sometimes I need to remember you as you were, not as you are."

"Of course I love you, but you're still who you were before."

"When did you go? When did you learn that?"

"You call me, the moment you get there."

"Every other week, like I promised."

[whomuses]

At least in some way, she was right. Gale wasn't confident what would occur with his corpse should he happen to - well - die - but he was fairly sure that it would be bad. He imagined the detonation wouldn't be immediate, but once that orb realised that the source of it's life and weave was gone, well… it was up to chance just how massive the destruction that followed would be. It was scant comfort that he wouldn't be alive to experience whatever devastation would be left in the wake of his body.

He was eating slowly, more rote than anything else. A strange flashback to the time when the orb was fresh and new, when he ate to survive out of the necessity of those lives around him, Tara's badgering being one of those few things that actually motivated the man to maintain some semblance of life. Yet his mind, darting back again and again to what freedom he could smell…

Don't trust her, he knew that, of course he did, but the devil was taking an interest and Gale was nothing if not someone who loved to discuss magic in all it's forms. His lips twisting to a frown as she spoke about the death that hung over him, over all of them; death's door, yes. He had been one foot over that threshold for quite some time now…

"Karsus." he said, finally, softly, "The cause of most of my malady, and yet - potentially the solution bearing down upon me. The crown which sits on the brain - it may very well be my salvation. If I could reforge it, take possession of it - the orb's corrupted magic should… return to it, as such, reform, and, well… free me of it's taint, at the least. Death would no longer have to be… assured. I need only retrieve it - and - well - figure how to study it, learn it, remake it…"

Admittedly, the wizard was maybe doing worse than he wanted to allow anyone to know. The pain in his chest was near constant, no matter how much he fed to the damnable orb; he was distracted, mind buried in thoughts of Karsus and the Crown, of what he might be able to achieve, of what they were looking at. His condition was, undoubtedly, terminal, and yet now… a morsel was being dangled in front of him, and things such as food mattered little. Of course, whilst his fevered mind was dashing off ahead, there was the matter of the devil in their midst. He couldn't trust Mizora any further than he would throw her, but his lack of appetite was more than just that. The curl in his lip was hard to hide, as he stared at the meat and it's meagre accompaniment. "Yes, because trusting you to not insert a subtle toxin into it, hm?" despite himself, though, Gale did not think Mizora wanted to kill him. Not yet, at least. She still had use for him, after all. After a moment's hesitation, he reached out and pulled the plate towards himself, grateful that the head of the beast was gone. By all accounts, he should want this, but his brain was already seizing back onto thinking about what possibilities lay ahead of him.

His scowl was adorable, admittedly. Mizora chuckled as if Gale had just made a hilarious joke and not accused her of attempting to murder him. The Cambion said with an almost flirtatious undertone: "If I wanted to kill you, I would have done so already. Why else do you think Wyll was so terrified when I said I was going to stick around in your camp? Poor pup dreaded waking up one day, and you lot missed your heads!" Her smirk was vile. "Luckily for you, these tadpoles in your skulls give your life a little insurance." She tapped her claw against the side of her temple. "Besides, who knows how that orb in your chest would affect your carcass were you to die? I'd rather not meddle with that."

Once Gale finally took the plate and began to eat, Mizora settled down in front of him. Her tail looped around her ankles, and her wings relaxed. She watched him with the curious intensity a cat has when it finds something of interest. Her ruby-red eyes shimmered as she analysed Gale Dakarios' demeanour, swiftly taking note of the fact that while he was eating, his mind seemed greatly preoccupied with something else. There was a feverish gleam in the wizard's gaze. Hope and determination, born out of pure despair. The kind of hope which came hand in hand with recklessness. The type of gaze Wyll himself wore whenever he devised a particularly risky and foolish plan.

"There's something on your mind, isn't there?", Mizora finally broke the silence after a while. Her voice had lost its playful teasing and instead became smooth velvet. Calm and slow, calculated. The same type of voice she had used to coerce Wyll into his deal all these years back. "And why shouldn't there be? You are on death's door, doubly so than most of your friends. If the transmorphosis does not do you in, then that orb in your chest will. You've been running from the problem your whole life, trying to find a solution after the next. All dead ends. Yet something changed, didn't it? You finally found a tangible solution, didn't you? Something which could make all your problems go up in smoke and trouble you no further. Something which goes beyond your wildest dreams. And yet it is just out of reach. Oh, I can only imagine the frustration you must feel."

@whomuses cont. from here.

[whomuses]

Peacefield

Lyrics from Peacefield by Ghost gently modified into starters.

"Pieces of what we could have been."

"Pieces of a shattered dream."

"Child, take your dark memories."

"Take your memories like seeds and plant them far from here."

"Sow them."

"Feed them."

"Through rain and shine."

"Your love will be born again."

"The dawn of prosperity."

"A faded scar."

"And in the calamity?"

"A slaughtered Tsar."

"We all need something to believe in."

"Until it's over..."

"Anything, anyone, any time."

"B ut it's not over yet."

"This is what dreams are made of."

"This is what they're afraid of."

"A rhyme with no reason."

"When they finally reach you..."

"You will have seen through the darkest season."

"Your love, bright as the starlight."

"Oh, child, still we can see."

"A black moon..."

"Oh, child, stay close to me."

"The end of a monarchy."

"A state machine, unable to forsee."

"The widow queen."

"Every new generation hails a grand usurpation."

"Devoid of treason for a man in a mirror."

"It's all getting clearer."

"That dark is the season."

"We are legion, join us."

"One day, fate will find a way through the marches of death."

"We're back to the bearer of light."

[whomuses]

Caedes was alert, always, barely ever able to allow their mind to switch off enough in order to not be totally and utterly on edge. But with everything that was going on, with the fear about the theoretical life that could be going inside them, he was… distracted. Twitchy, glancing around constantly but seemingly not aware of anything beyond checking that Gale had not somehow begun to follow or tail them. The idea of the wizard being sneaky was perhaps a little ridiculous, and yet they couldn't stop looking… just trailling behind Osian, tail twitching erratically.

As they stepped into the lodge, his nostrils flared, taking in all of the scents of the place. It was definitely a more intense smell of dragonborn than they had felt before, even in a place like Baldur's Gate, which was a true mixing pot of societies…

When he spoke, Caedes finally seemed to focus, accepting that Gale wasn't here and following them in without notice would be impossible.

"I think I'm pregnant." they said, gruffly, straight to the point, "I need to… know. I need to know what my… options are. Or if I am imagining it, some… foolish fancy…"

Osian nodded with a gentle smile in agreement as they both started to make their way through the streets of Baldurs Gate. The others back at camp knew they were both in the city and so none would grow suspicious if they were gone for another hour or more.

The streets were bustling as always, but Osian tried to worm them through side alleys and smaller roads to avoid crowds as much as possible - for both their sakes. Also it aided in avoiding the one person Osian really didn't want to bump into right now - not when he had been doing so well.

"Here we are," Osian opened the door for them to go through first as they reached The Lodge. Seemingly a sanctuary - certainly one Osian had been jealous of when he first discovered it's existence. Seemed rather an honour to be able to walk around freely. The wood elf was usually loathed to be the one to approach another, but spending so much time with others these past few months - it had become easier to speak up to defend and support a friend then it was to speak for himself.

"Excuse me," Osian, surprisingly brazenly, addressed the dragonborn he mentioned previously, bowing his head a notch out of politeness. "My friend here needs some specific help." Osian muttered softly so only Caedes can hear him for a moment. "Do you need me to explain or are you comfortable enough to do it?" He asked, not wanting to needlessly stress Caedes more than necessary.

[whomuses]

well this got away from me a wee bit.

This is my mermay art! I don't think I've ever actually... done mermay before, but here we are. I had to do DUrge as a merfolk, of course, because... DUrge. This has taken... crikey, at least 30 hours of my time. I might offer prints or something of this because it has been a major labour of love lmao.

Detail shots under the cut.

[whomuses]

I was overcome with the need to make this for some reason.

[whomuses]

It's Been Going On So Long

You are a Warrior. You are a Survivor. You are a Fighter. Against all odds, you are alive.

"For the love of God, you can't give up now!"

"What was the point of all this fighting, if it ends like this?"

"Why would I hang on if it was all a waste of time?"

"Do you have any idea how much I gave up to be here?"

"I've fought every minute of my goddamned life."

"Maybe it's not enough to be fighting. Maybe I want to rest."

"Don't you get it? It's over. It's finally fucking over."

"Win or lose, right or wrong, who gives a shit? We suffered."

"I want it to be over. I don't care which way it goes."

"I didn't sign up for this. Nobody did. It wasn't fair."

"You don't pick the side you're on in a fight like this."

"You gave it up willingly, that's what they say. Your life. It's bullshit."

"Show me a single person out there who truly believes this is for the greater good."

"So we kill, and we destroy ourselves, and we cast away heaven for a rich man who never even knows a moment of decay."

"I will carry this with me for the rest of my fucking life."

"I hope to god one of the other poor bastards out here takes me out first."

"I don't want to face what I've done. I don't want to be called a hero, either."

"I'm alive. Fuck, I'm alive. Why am I alive?"

"I don't understand why I was chosen to survive this. I was never special."

"Don't spin that shit about us being the chosen ones. We were here, nothing more."

"A million more lie dead and I am crawling through it all like a cockroach."

"There's nothing noble about this death."

"Why would you choose this? Why would anyone choose this?"

"My hands are burning. I can see the blood, every drop of it."

"Soft bed. Warm food. Hot water. Creature comforts, I think they called it, once. Makes sense."

"We're all little more than beasts out here, tearing open carcasses."

"And I'll do it, because I have to, because against it all, my head screams at me to survive."

"Pick it up, soldier. Point it, soldier. Pull the trigger, soldier. Don't ask questions, soldier..."

"I am not your fucking sacrifice."

"Go on. Do it. But can you pull the trigger when you look in my eyes?"

[whomuses]

They had been jumped too many times. He was too on edge. Exhausted, hungry, but immensely alert when it came to anyone approaching camp. The smell of a body coming nearer reached his nostrils through the cooler night air - reaching instinctively for his trident, holding it tight in gloved hands, tail lashing behind him. Half ready to reach for a spell, a shocking grasp perhaps, or something loud to wake camp --

Starting with friend wasn't enough, would never be enough, to convince Caedes this man wasn't a threat. The growling was growing deeper, all of his fangs on display, hands tightening on the weapon as the other spoke. Attack, whispered the corrupted parts of his brain; that which hungered desperately for death and slaughter, how good it would feel to sink his fangs into flesh and tear and rip -

"You… who are you?" he demanded, firmly. "Why are you in these woods?" they lowered the trident - enough to point the tip at the others' chest. They reached out instinctively with the tadpole, the mind flayer parasite that was trapped inside his head, unable to transform and enhanced - to see if the other was afflicted the same way.

Maybe this dragonborn was the groups leader, or perhaps taking watch. Either way... Jack took a deep breath, something in his mind telling him to just keep still, back out, find another way to the road. He moved his hand from the tree he'd been holding for support, and noticed a leaf... a simple, single green leaf from an otherwise dead tree. One he was certain hadn't been there before. One he knew he didn't help grow there himself.

He pushed forward, taking that as a symbol from the Wildmother that he was on the right path. Despite his fears of the stalking dragonborn ahead of him.

"Friend?" Jack spoke up, raising both hands, showing he was unarmed. He wore faded brown leather armor, clearly showing wear and tear or perhaps bought second hand. He had a scimitar at his side and a wooden shield at his back with the symbol of the Wildmother, a shepherd's crook in a wreath of wheat. If nothing else, Jack had artistic skills.

"Might I join your camp for the night?" Jack was limping, the few steps he approached before stopping. "I'm... short on spells, I'm afraid. Couldn't do much for myself turning my foot in the woods."

That wasn't entirely true, but he wasn't about to loose a defensive spell over an ankle that might heal with proper rest, should he run into trouble... and sense told him Caedes looked like trouble. But he had faith... and this was where he was meant to be, he was sure of it.

[whomuses]

Burn The House Down

Lyrics from Burn the House Down by AJR gently modified into starters.

"I used to keep it cool."

"I used to be a fool."

"It's all about the bounce in my step."

"You can watch it on the news."

"Whatcha gonna do?"

"I could hit refresh and forget."

"I could forget I used to keep it cool."

"Should I keepp it light?"

"Should I stay out of the fight?"

"No one's gonna listen to me!"

"If I write a song?"

"I'm preaching what is wrong."

"Will they let me sing on TV?"

"Should I keep it light?"

"Way up, way up we go."

"Been up and down that road."

"Oh no."

"We gon' burn the whole house down."

"Watch me stand in the line."

"You're only serving lies."

"We've got something to hide."

"Yeah, I used to let it go."

"Walk into the show."

"Gawking at the tricks up your sleeve."

"It's too good to be true."

"But I'm in a room full of entertainers and thieves."

"Should I hang my head low?"

"Should I bite my tongue?"

"Should I march with every stranger?"

"Used to hang my head low now I hear it loud."

[whomuses]

His eyes perked up a little at the mention of the forest; his body and mind desperately craved being amongst the trees again, the sound and smells of life and nature, and to take his shape… his eyes flashed briefly gold but he controlled the urge to transform, keeping the bear contained.

"Anything that can help us in this battle seems it would be a good idea. And if that means I can get away from the city and back into the woods for a little… well," he chuckled, "Far be it from me to refuse to help you with this quest."

She was going to regret going down this path, but they needed as much help as they could get, and they were running out of options... and time.

"I know someone who lives outside the city near the small forest to the North. She might be able to help us if she's in the mood. Even if she doesn't lead us her strength, I'm sure she'll at least have something to help us." If they caught her in a good mood.

"We'll also need to pay a visit deeper into the woods there to get something I think will help. Even if it's just a small chance it'll increase our luck."