#but he's just not in a real villain position for tav/durge | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

red-dead-sakharine · 4 months

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Korrilla insight check

When you speak to Korrilla in Sharess' Caress after taking Raphael's deal, there's an insight check that gets you some rare dialogue if you don't press her on it.

Notables:

"He's as honest as his life is long" - He does not lie to you. His contract might have loopholes, but that's on you for not reading right.

"treats me right and feeds me well" - He's good to his allies as long as they do good work (he notes in one of his journals that Korrilla does a good job)

"he's barely been home since he met you" - Likely why the HoH is in such a state. I doubt a being of order would approve of the rotting dinner table.

"I hope things turn out well for you" - She likes us. Raphael likes us. They like us.

To me, he's not an actual villain. He has a clear liking for the main character. And he only attacks us if we betray him and rob his house. Yes, he's lawful evil. But he's not a villain to our story, unless we become a villain to his.

Alternative convo path:

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netherese-blorb · 2 months

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Troubling Thoughts on Wyllstarion from my Wyll Origin Playthrough

I started a new run to fulfill my Wyllstarion fantasies of princely good boy Wyll learning to let loose while teaching manic-pixie-dream-pire Astarion about true love. But I'm near the end of act 1 and as I'm gaining a better understanding of these boys, it's pretty clear that this relationship is going to be bleak.

Putting Wyll in the position of the player character, where he narratively has total agency, but also no pre-determined stances on the events of the story, is oddly perfect for him. My initial read on Wyll was that he's an idealist with a rigidly lawful-good alignment that makes him an easy mark for hucksters. But now I get the sense that, rather than having too strict a moral code, his gullibility ultimately stems from being too weak-willed (no pun intended).

He wants to do the right thing, but other than "self-sacrifice = hero = good", he doesn't have a strong idea of what that means. He doesn't have a clear ideology or divine mandate to guide him like a lot of the other companions do, but he also doesn't have any newfound freedom to embrace like Astarion and Karlach. All he has are fairy tales and an adolescent understanding of his father's politics. His confident bravado thrives when there are innocents to protect and/or villains to slay, but the moment a situation becomes more morally complicated than that, he's totally lost.

It's why Wyll the monster hunter still has dialogue options to immediately offer himself up to Astarion the undead vampire without any real convincing. It's why the drama around Mizora is more about her being an abusive boss he personally has to bear, rather than any larger ethical concern about his work aiding an objectively evil demon's agenda - but also why he's so easily convinced to disobey Mizora and accept Karlach. (Also-also, and this may be a cope on my part, I think it explains why tav/durge has to make the decision for him about selling his soul again in act 3. He truly can't handle it.) There's no need to manipulate a man who's already so desperate to martyr himself, or better yet, to have someone just tell him the right thing to do.

To bring it back to the point, Astarion's seduction is designed to ensnare insecure romantics like Wyll. On top of that, his tortured backstory hits all of Wyll's pain points. The fact that Cazador was operating right under his nose, in his city, while he was off dancing at balls (maybe even with representatives of the Szar family) would send him into a spiral. Did the other nobles know? Did his father know? What more could have been done? It chips away at his reality, and he looks to absolute pinnacle of mental health and stability, Astarion Ancunin, to fill in the gaps.

Even if both of them come into the relationship with the best of intentions, neither are emotionally equipped to move past a victim/savior dynamic. Astarion makes Wyll feel like a hero and Wyll makes Astarion feel safe. No one pushes the other to learn or grow. In act 3, Wyll helps Astarion ascend as a kind of reparation for his suffering, Astarion convinces Wyll to put himself first for once and keep his soul. Even if they rescue Ulder in time, eventually the title will pass down. I don't see this going any other way than ascended!Astarion using his spawn Duke Wyll Ravengard to rule over Baldur's Gate with an iron fist for time eternal.

If my feelings change as I continue the playthrough, I might add some updates, but I'm also interested to hear other's thoughts about this, so feel free to add on!

#wyllstarion #astarion/wyll #astarion x wyll #wyll/astarion #wyll x astarion #wyll ravengard #astarion #wyll #me #discussion #headcannons #bg3 spoilers #bg3 headcanons #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #I'm in deep lads #this playthrough was supposed to be a fun romp bc act 3 on my tav run was stressing me out so much #and yet here i am

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