#though I'm actually dating Karlach
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he 🩸
#I am not immune to the bald gate#though I'm actually dating Karlach#my art#bg3#bg3 fanart#astarion#baldurs gate 3#fanart#artists on tumblr
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astarion origin playthrough worth it just for all the extra moments where he does the "sad wet cat" face
#bg3#bg3 spoilers#thoughts about media#astarion#*kisses his forehead* my awful little bastard man... i love you and your big sad watery eyes.#IT'S SO FUCKING QUIET THOUGH IF YOU YOURSELF ARE PLAYING HIM GOOD LORD#I'M SO USE TO HIM COMPLAINING TO MY TAV!!!!#OR BANTERING WITH HIM OR KARLACH OR WYLL!!!#I MISS HIS THEATRICS!!!!!!!#not that it's ENTIRELY quiet. until i found karlach i was travelling with shadowheart lae'zel and gale.#and let me tell you. gale and lae'zel do NOT shut the fuck up if they are together.#they were literally having an entire tinder date while we were trecking through the woods to go get karlach.#i NEVER knew they talk so much because while i've travelled with them individually in past saves...#...i've NEVER had them in my party at the same time!#gale is actually pretty nice to lae'zel! he asks a lot of questions but doesn't condescend her as he does others sometimes.#that's probably because he's afraid of her though. I would be too were I nothing more than a wizard with 8 strength.#I do like how you can look at pretty much any two companions and get a well written and generally enjoyable dynamic!#It feels like they considered that a lot of people would want to maybe pair off the companions they didn't romance with each other!#and wanted it to be easy for really any pairing to work... if a person just paid attention to their shared interactions.
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i'm still fucking around in act 1 of bg3 (i am slow and savescum and also keep making characters) but i'm already annoyed that your companions will only want to date whoever the player character is and not each other. my monk tav just wants to maybe write a manual on how to find inner peace when everyone around you is a dumbass!
i feel very strongly that gale should, in another act of wizard hubris, decide that actually he needs a side project when he stops making progress on his main one, and that he definitely, absolutely can and will find a magical solution for karlach's heart/oven issues. astarion should take one look at wyll and think, 'ah, a goody two shoes, i bet i can make him worse, i need a distraction from my anxiety anyway' and throw all of his 10 cha into flirting badly, and wyll, possessed of 17 cha and emotional intelligence and also common sense, should think, 'that's cute but i bet i can fix him'. they are in a romcom. meanwhile shadowheart and lae'zel are having the enemies to lovers slowburn of the century and i'm mad i can't make that happen without having to play as one of them.
#i don't actually know if gale deserves to kiss karlach but he does deserve to fill notebooks with his ideas on how to fix her engine#actually i think it would be funnier if karlach then kisses halsin about it i just haven't seen enough of him to get a feeling for that#wyll and karlach are of course incredible and they deserve kisses but i'm currently obsessed with astarion saying that#all monster hunters are bad but maybe we can make an exception for wyll#anyway i am pissed about player characters not being voiced because ea players thought it interfered with their rp.#i get it though. that's exactly why i want them to be voiced#but like. please! i never want to date companions but i like that in dragon age they will get together with each other
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So I've finished my first run through of the game and did the epilogue which was just so precious! But anyways, it made me think, how would the companions react upon announcing at the reunion you and your partner are expecting!
I actually don't do requests but I like this one. I haven't made it to the epilogue yet in game but I think I can still answer these. They might be short though so please forgive me! 😔
I also tried to keep the reader's sex and gender as ambiguous as possible, but some words are hard to convey in gender neutral terms. Also the reader's partner is not specified.
But if your partner is Astarion (like my Tav's) I feel like everyone would have a similar "Is that even possible!?" reaction, except maybe Gale cause he's well studied.
Shadowheart
If you're the pregnant one she remarks on how she thought you were getting fat.
Like girl has no chill.
But if you're the father I can see her teasing you about not being able to keep your hands to yourself around your partner.
Proceeds to gift you gothic style clothes for the little one when it's closer to the birth.
Wyll
He immediately congratulates you both and wishes you well on your new adventure in parenting.
Assures you that the two of you will make a beautiful baby.
Also he asks to touch the bump if the pregnant person is showing. 🥺
Buys toys for the baby before it's even born.
Karlach
Immediately screams "FUCK YEAH I'M GONNA BE AN AUNT!!!"
Runs around to tell everyone else and buys you both drinks to celebrate for the occasion.
Needs to be reminded that drinking is bad for the baby.
Will plant a big smooch on the baby bump if the pregnant person is showing.
Starts wearing a T-shirt that says "BEST FUCKIN AUNT EVER." Also gets a matching shirt for the little one.
Lae'zel
Unless she has Xan she isn't particularly interested. She'd probably still congratulate you in her own githyanki way I suppose if you're on good terms.
If she does have Xan she suggests they spar together some day. Though she is confident her son will be victorious.
This is probably her own way of having a play date for your children.
Gale
Congratulates you both and wishes the two of you the best.
Offers to teach the child magic when they become old enough to learn.
Buys you lots of parenting books and tries to help by reminding you lots of useful facts, but in the end he kinda just low-key starts to be a bit annoying.
He means well though.
Astarion
Of course he may already be well aware of the pregnant person's bun in the oven depending on how far along they are.
His vampiric senses alert him to the little heartbeat within, you see.
"Enjoy your last few months of freedom and sleep filled nights while you can, darlings!~"
"But really, I am rather happy for the two of you. Especially you, I didn't think you had it in you." He says condescendingly to the father of the child.
Honestly he's just a little bitter he's single and alone.
Pretends not to have any interest in touching the baby bump, says he has no interest in the little creature growing inside.
But if he has a good relationship with either of the two parents he will make the baby eccentric little outfits. Especially goes all out if it's a little girl. Purple and red ruffles all over.
Will get very offended if he doesn't see the baby wearing them.
He put his soul into those outfits godsdamnit!
#bg3#baldurs gate 3#astarion ancunin#astarion bg3#astarion x reader#astarion#gale x reader#gale dekarios#karlach x reader#karlach cliffgate#lae'zel x reader#lae'zel of k'liir#shadowheart hallowleaf#shadowheart x reader#shadowheart#wyll ravengard#wyll x reader#bg3 headcanons
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"Some Kind of Melancholic Mist" (Uni AU P. 8)
tw - themes of anxiety
As all good moments do, this one ends. You're almost too busy taking in Astarion's genuine smile to notice when he goes to check his phone. You don't pry, but he clearly isn't happy with whoever's calling him.
"Sorry, I have to take this."
The mood shifts very suddenly, like it felt at the party that night. You stay silent, not wanting to interrupt. When he puts his phone up to his ear, you notice the scrap piece of paper you wrote your phone number on, folded in the back of his phone case.
"Yes?
You said tomorrow.
No I-
Yes.
Yes I know.
When?
Now? That's-
Yes.
Yes, of course."
The call ends abruptly, and you see his hand tense around his phone.
"You have to go?"
"Yes, sadly. This though? It was... it was nice. And I'm sorry."
"Why?"
"Because I believe you have poor taste in people, and I hope it doesn't get you hurt. That's all. I'll see you around."
Before you can say goodbye, he's gone, like he turned into some kind of melancholic mist. The magic of the moment is tainted. It's as if that entire hour disappeared, sand running through your fingers. Not sure what to do with the sudden downfall of your feelings, you travel back to your dorm room, and find Gale standing outside. He's on the phone, a big smile across his face.
"Of course. I'll see you then."
You have an evil little smirk on your face when he notices you approaching.
"Was that... your secret lover?"
He almost wants to roll his eyes, but talking about her is just too exciting.
"Yes. God, she's spectacular. Surprised she even wanted to start seeing me, but it's far too late to question it now! Just have to enjoy the glorious hand I've been dealt."
"Nice to know at least one of us is happy. You here to see Shadow?"
"Yes. Apparently Karlach messaged her privately, asking if she wanted to go to some diner tonight, and now she's all nervous."
"Then I guess we have ourselves a mission Gale."
The two of you shake hands like you're in some cheesy sitcom, and laugh to yourselves. He holds the door open for you after you scan your key.
"Where have you been by the way? I saw you skulk off with your little lover boy."
"It's not like that. I just think he's nice, misunderstood. We talked about philosophy stuff for a while. It was really nice actually."
Your conversation is interrupted by Shadowheart, who walks up to the two of you with both eyes done in a completely different makeup style, somehow both being intensely sad and greyscale.
"There you are Gale! I can't decide if I should do the winged liner with the glitter shadow, or the smudge with the matte! I have like an hour!"
He grabs her hands.
"Okay first of all, you know doing the smudge only looks cool on TikTok. Second of all, you would really give up the opportunity to show her that you know how to do a cat eye?"
"Ugh, you're right. See, this is why we're best friends! Because I'm pretty and fun and smart, and you're the voice of reason!"
She walks off to the bathroom to wipe off the right eye, and Gale follows.
"Hey, I am also pretty and fun and smart thank you very much!"
You follow the two of them to the tiny bathroom as Shadowheart haphazardly starts removing the eyeshadow.
"You two have to come with me, or else I will make a fool of myself. And you know I hate making a fool of myself."
"Shadow, she most certainly wanted this to be a date."
"Yes, and I won't get a second one if I look like an idiot. Please?"
"I'll go, but if I'm a mood killer that's your fault."
She then turns to you.
"Uh, sure! I have nothing else to do."
"Thanks! I would hug you guys, but you know I hate touching people."
After arguing with Shadowheart about what outfit she should wear, the three of you pile into Gale's car.
"I'm telling you, if I have to drive there I will throw up."
"Fine, I'll believe you, but you're paying me for gas."
You sit in the back because Shadow calls shotgun, but you don't mind the roominess. Gale's car is one of those sensible vans, a mom-mobile type. It's close to 4:30 now, and you stare out at people walking down the sidewalk, going about their daily lives. You wonder about the strangers, if they're happy, if they're off to do something important. When you get bored of theorizing on the lives of others, you go back to scrolling through your phone, and you're met with a message in the newly made group chat.
mama_k: Hey guys! Just wanted to say hi :)
Shadow giggles in the front seat.
"Agh, she's adorable! Gale, I don't know how you don't understand the hype around her. Karlach's wonderful."
"Well, firstly I'm a taken man. But also you barely know her."
"She's like a golden retriever! Tav, you get it right? Or are you still thinking about your new pale friend?"
"I'm telling you, it's not like that."
"It was like that when you had sex with him."
You kick the back of Gale's seat.
"He didn't even like the sex anyways! So it's whatever."
Shadowheart turns around to look at you.
"Wait, you're telling me you had sex with him, and it was bad?"
"No, that's the confusing part, is that it was really good, he just didn't seem into it?"
"Well, when you fuck as much as he does, I'm sure you get bored."
You and Shadow both turn to Gale.
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, working with Mystra I hear plenty of things from other people in the arts. Assistants, hairdressers, make-up artists. Let's just say plenty of them have experiences with him."
"Well, I mean whatever floats your boat I guess. I'm not one to judge, love a good one-night stand when I'm desperately single."
Gale and Shadowheart continue to talk about her ho phase, as well as her upcoming date that you two are crashing. You think hard about Gale's comment, and what that means for you. Technically, it means nothing, especially if you were just one in a long line of hookups, but why go through the effort if he didn't even enjoy himself? Perhaps you really were just that rusty. Before your thoughts run any deeper, you've arrived at the diner, a small place with an arcade in the back. Karlach knocks on the window next to Shadow, scaring everyone in the car. When everyone calms down from the fright, the four of you make it inside.
"So, you brought along Gale and Tav?"'
The wrestler seems a little dissapointed.
"I just thought they'd be fun! But I'm sure if we get bored of them, we can ditch them."
The two women laugh, grazing hands, which causes Shadow's face to go red fairly quickly. All four of you order some greasy food, cheap stuff to share between all of you, and you quickly find yourself sitting in a small booth next to Gale, across from the two sapphic lovebirds. You all shoot the shit for a while, picking at boneless wings and cheese fries, feeling like true college kids. It's close to 6 now, and Karlach has slowly inched her arm over Shadowheart's shoulder. While you smile at the sweet moment, the two staring into each other's eyes like middle schoolers, your phone vibrates in your pocket. A call from an unknown local number. You step outside and answer the phone.
"Tav?"
The voice from this afternoon.
"Yeah?"
"Can we talk... please?"
You almost don't know what to say, surprised Astarion even called.
"Sure. What about?"
"No, I mean in person. I really don't like phone calls, I just- I'm freaking out."
#baldur's gate 3#baldurs gate astarion#astarion#astarion x reader#astarion x tav#angst#fluff#freshiau
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So I stayed up ungodly late last night playing through the Cazador quest/conclusion (?) of the Astarion romance and I have a lot of thoughts!
Overall, I LOVED it. Absolutely loved it. I love how much he has to say about the mansion, I love the design and weirdly oppressive layout of the space, the sinister door, the annoying button/attic puzzle, his relationship with Go...dey? The bone man! When I saw that room was called the kennel I literally said "oh no" out loud.
The one thing I'm mad at myself about is that I didn't understand how to actually get into the stupid palace to start the quest! I couldn't get up that dirt incline right next to the map marker so I thought I had to get into the upper city via Baldur's Gate on the left--that the palace was in the next area altogether--so I've been dithering about with murderers and Lae'zel getting kidnapped (D:! she's safe now though) and hag children and a million other things WHEN I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLING CAZADOR THIS WHOLE TIME. Harrumph.
Anyway, once I actually made it into the darned palace, I didn't have any trouble at all with the fights until I got to Cazador himself. I did think the ritual skull on the pillow was a nice touch, and I loved the confrontation with Sebastian in the cell, just in case the PC has any doubt left about how sane/human these spawn still are. Seven thousand souls! That's so many!! Seven is a lot, but seven thousand, yikes! There was also one room with some levers at the end of the tedious attic puzzle that appeared to have no purpose; I guess it was unfinished from the design stage, as dozens of Reddit threads/forum posts all agree there's no clear puzzle solution or interactable element. Really, the first design misstep I've seen from the game, and even that was pretty minor!
Then came the confrontation with Cazador, and for all I didn't even get touched in the werewolf fight earlier this fight WRECKED me. I didn't understand the mechanic and got everyone sacrificed for the ritual the first time (was focusing on the adds first), and then the second time I checked the journal and it said "Help Astarion" and so I wasted two turns getting to him only to discover they meant "help Astarion by killing Cazador," not "free Astarion with the Help action" because that sure didn't work, so he got sacrificed again! Then the third time I focused Cazador better until he Called Lightning on Shadowheart and Karlach and killed them both, and then I finally scraped it out on the fourth try. A really, really tough fight! If I didn't have the six summoned ghouls from the Thay book I don't know if I could have done it with this party.
The choices available afterwards are FASCINATING. I played through them all again, and I loved that in every version he absolutely butchers that vamp with as much violent stabbing as I've seen in a video game. And that little flip of the knife to the reverse grip! So deft! He's a rogue! It's like there's thought and care behind these animations!! Incredible! The choices where you don't help him are absolutely awful--the enraged venom in "I'd say good luck out there, but honestly, I hope you die screaming"--and the flat "Your companion has permanently left the party" made my stomach clench. The version where you help him ascend is also horrifying; are there many other quests where both companions are like, "this is a HORRIBLE IDEA, don't do this!!"? And afterwards Karlach said something about "all those souls..." and she looked like she was about to cry, which was the second worst thing in the world aside from the time I had to break up with her because I didn't realize we were dating. Everything is red and evil and we get nice close-up views of the spawn in agony and bursting and then Astarion's eyes glow red as sin forever. I did really like the explicit confirmation that the infected can use the parasites to see out of each other's eyes; that's given me a couple fic ideas already!
I will say the scene of him crying & screaming was unspeakably cathartic and I was yelling at the screen to let me hug him. YELLING. Thank God I live alone! Again, the tenor differences between this scene in the "insight/persuade him to be better than Cazador" track vs. the "flatly deny to help him" track were shocking. I can't believe how different the exact same animation set felt between the two versions! Unbearable relief & grief vs. total impotent despair--no wonder he tries to kill you in a few of the bad endings (on top of deciding on his own to snap the staff & trap the spawn forever).
Regardless, once the ritual was disrupted and the spawn were saved and freed and Cazador was a lolling pincushion, I couldn't figure out how to trigger the follow-up scene I KNEW had to be there, even though I'd already done Shadowheart's personal quest & should have known I needed to long-rest, lmao. I wandered around like a dope for several minutes before finally triggering it.
I really, really liked this romance scene a lot. I liked that there isn't even an option to break up at this point; just like ME3, the romance is locked in and you can just play around inside that structure, which I thought was fantastic! I am sad that it opened with what I expected, which is him resigning himself to eventually being trapped in the darkness & never seeing sunlight again, and the fact that the game let you pick "maybe we'll figure something out with the tadpoles" only for Astarion to express doubt does make me worried for long-term outcomes. My favorite options once you get to the graveyard were to just stay back and let him talk, but I'm honestly really delighted that we got this scene of pretty significant emotional closure for him, and I loved the animation of him carving the year into the headstone. It seemed so immersive & real that even though we can't read the text, we know exactly what he did.
The only incredibly, incredibly, INCREDIBLY minor things I didn't adore about this scene are that first, when he tells you he loves you, his head animation is weirdly still/frozen the whole time on that set of lines despite his expression changing, and it honestly broke my immersion a little bit. The ambient movements of the characters have been so realistic for so many dozens of hours that to have this seriously critical and important moment for the character be almost rigid, especially against a completely silent music-less background, made it stick out as an "oh yeah, this is a video game" reminder. Bummer!
The other thing is that it's icky to have sex in a graveyard, lmao. Tavish doesn't really care because it's just dirt under them--he's literally standing in front of her, so as far as she's concerned it's not that different from the forest--but I did grimace a little. Someone give these dingdongs a bed! or at least a roof!
Anyway! A fantastic romance and super strong writing/consistent characterization throughout, and I'm pumped to see where it's going to go next. I'm still so curious about how the tadpole outcomes will affect things and faintly hoping for a deus ex machina to keep him in the sun, though I suppose that's what fic's for. Regardless, full sign-off on an utterly satisfying romance; so many little things dropped throughout were EXACTLY what I wanted--you can even accuse him of sincerity in the graveyard scene, which is precisely the arc I was hoping he'd have! He didn't even like you in the beginning and now we're smooching next to a bunch of dead people. What isn't romantic about that?
10/10 Larian, thanks for making me a mess for another white-haired grump.
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When is there a difference between "Playersexual" and characters in an RPG just being bi?
"Playersexual" refers to an entire cast, not a singular character.
Playersexual is when every companion is a romance option regardless of the player's gender. They're all bi, they're all single, and they all have zero romantic conflicts in the cast, and they will all patiently wait for you to make up your mind.
I've only experienced two games that actually indulged in this myself. Dragon Age 2 and Baldur's Gate 3, where almost every party member save one or two (The player's surviving sibling in DA2 and Jaheira and Minsc in BG3) is romanceable regardless of gender, race or class. Though I'm told Larian's other games do this as well.
Playersexual is bad because it really breaks the storytelling over its knee when it comes to romance. It's the point where Romance in RPGs stops being another story you can take part in and starts becoming just a glorified dating sim and it attracts the discourse and audience of one. I don't know if any of you remember, but when DA2 first released, the audience was just as intrusively horny as BG3's is right now.
It makes characters feel less like their own people and more like set dressing. Like they don't have lives that exist outside of the player. Not only do your characters feel more plastic, but it speaks to a writer being thoroughly unimaginative.
In BG3's case this is just part of a wider problem of Larian having poor character writing in general, and most of their characters, sans Wyll and Karlach, are just half-realized carbon copies of previous Baldur's Gate characters.
There's a scene in Mass Effect 3 where Male Shepard flirts with Traynor and Traynor turns him down because she's gay, and Shepard is just like "Oh I'm so sorry!" And Traynor's really smug about "breaking the famous Commander Shepard's heart" and they're both laughing and playing more chess.
It is undeniably the cutest scene that Male Shepard is able to be a part of, especially since it defies the 'meme' of Shepard being an unrelenting horndog. And it works because Traynor is a fully realized character in her own right with more character work on display in five minutes than most characters have in entire trilogies.
This is especially irritating when the writers of DA2 and BG3 just went "Oh every character is bi/pan" because it sidesteps the actual problem. Just because you're bi in a fantasy world doesn't mean you're going to immediately be attracted to the party leader.
In BG2, Viconia is the only romanceable party member who will NOT get into a relationship with an elf (half elves are fine). Why? Because she's a drow, and they fucking HATE elves. Aerie is the only romanceable party member who is available to a Gnome player because she's fully assimilated into Gnomish culture. These are the only instances where the racial restrictions of the base game romance options are actually interesting, the rest just copy the only 4 races the writers could apparently take seriously.
In the modding community, modders mostly just copy-pasted the "Humans, Elves, Half Elves, Halflings, Straight Romances Only" schtick wholesale, with the exception of Imoen. This is the same problem of being "playersexual" where the same settings are copied wholesale for every companion without thought, rhyme or reason.
It's very telling of how little thought was put into the characters, even before we get into how poorly DA2 and BG3s companions are written to begin with.
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Baldur's Gate 3, via Osmosis
So I think I played the first Baldur's Gate game for like an hour at a friend's house back in college, and all I remember about it was how delighted I was by the miniature giant hamster. I didn't even know there was a second game until I started hearing people get excited about the third one. That's about the sum of my knowledge of this franchise.
So without more ado, here's what my tumblr dash has taught me about these blorbos (I got @malaloba to huck the screenshots at me, so I didn't spoil myself on the names)
I want to say this one is Shadowheart, but that's too on the nose. She's probably .... Mythrin... Mithras... Mithotyn... Nope, I haven't got it.
She looks grouchy, and like she has a very good reason to be grouchy, and I would assume she's a combat class from her armour, but that's all I've got.
Gale (or Halsin)
I know this one! He's the one who turns into a bear in The Cutscene that broke the internet for a few days. That means he'd be a Druid, right? I think he cross classes or something, though.
I hope the furries are having a great time drawing him as an anthro bear with a very large weenie.
Astarion!
This vampire twink was all over my dash long before the game was released. Apparently he has a tragic backstory and is a jerk about it in a way that is either annoying or endearing, depending on the player's opinion of vampire twinks.
His main role in the game, however, seems to be comically failing to pick locks. This means he's a Thief.
Apparently the thing with the bear just had Astarion as the player character, and he isn't canonically dating the bear guy. Oh well.
Halsin (or Gale)
The Other One who is Not a Bear. I would have said Bard for his class, but he's glowing a bit much for that here, so maybe a caster? I feel like he's more popular in areas of Tumblr that don't cross my dash.
Karlach or Karlak or something (not Karkat, that's a Homestuck thing).
Lesbians love her! She is large and angry and apparently really easy to romance just by approving of her chopping things with her axe. I think she was a child soldier? I see a lot of jokes about her crappy ex. I think her ex is actually her god and not her ex, though.
Anyway, she seems like a prototypical Barbarian, good for her.
EDIT: I just remembered that she has PLAGUE, and is on a quest to Stop Having Plague. This is apparently her ex's fault
Laz'el. Lae'zel. La'zael. Something along those lines.
I've seen treatises on her backstory and characterization, and she sounds like a really interesting character. Grew up in a cult of some kind, got dead or something, got abandoned by a crappy god (who might have also gotten dead or something), and is now wandering around trying to figure out how to exist in a world that isn't a cult. Apparently Other Players don't like her and dont't get what's up with her, which is a sore point for her fans (It's very possible that I'm mixing up portions of her backstory and fan reception with Karlach's)
Her nose weirds me out (some uncanny valley thing between a skeleton lack-of-nose and a nose-nose), but I think she's pretty neat.
Ok, so if the blue lady at the top of this post isn't Shadowheart, then this one is Shadowheart.
When I first saw the name Shadowheart, I thought it was someone's OC, and then I thought it was a generic name for the player character. From what I can gather, she's Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way with the stupid scraped off. She seems to be younger than most the other characters; she and the red tiefling are the kiddos of the group (Astarion doesn't count, because vampire).
I think she grew up all sheltered in a weird little cult, too. Did ALL these characters grow up in weird cults? Is that a theme? Did I hear one backstory and apply it to a dozen different characters?
I happen to know for sure that this guy's name is Wyll. Good for me.
I don't know beans about him but I suspect he might be my favourite character when I do finally get around to playing, just from how his peronality is conveyed in fanart.
I get the impression he's the Only Sane Man to all these characters who grew up in cults and divorced dead gods and got vampire'd and whatnot, but he also has horns in like half the fanart and screenshots and is clearly Haunted (metaphorically, figuratively, literally, probably all of the above), so who knows.
As for the second figure here, I know the premise of the game is you've all got brainworms, who are in leage with a mindflayer con man who you can bone but who is also running some sleezy marketing scam, so maybe that's the brainworm made manifest?
I also see a lot of talk about character called Dark Urge, and the fan art doesn't look like that, but if Dark Urge is a manifested brainworm, then it could take various forms.
#Baldur's Gate 3#BG3#I would tag the characters but the whole point of this post is that I don't know most their names#so oh well
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Glad I took a final look around, bc there's a whole chest of letters (loabeled "Chest of Grateful Words") and some Baldur's Mouth Gazettes pinned up on a board.
Various fun newspaper headlines first:
"Fresh Stock: An Interview with the New Master of Ramazith's Tower"
"Thorm's Army Dispersed from Baldurian Borders"
"Report: Stone Lord Killed by Beloved Ranger"
"Harpers Out of Hiding: Secretive Sect Step Forward to Aid City"
"Almond Cakes of Avernus: Elturian Refugees - and Owners of City's Newest Cafe - Share Their Recipe"
"Site of Foundry Blast Still Sectioned Off, Says Fist"
"New Waveservant at Umberlee's Temple: No Leads on Desecration"
"Ravengard Returned to Full Strength"
"Gondians Disband: 'Gond's Time Has Come and Gone'" (A/N: Bongle will be pleased. 🙄)
"Duke Stelmane's Murderer Still at Large"
"Planar Pains: City Caught in Center of Githyanki War?"
"Volothamp Geddarm's Guide to Baldur's Gate: Bard Seeks Contributors to Newest Edition"
"Last Holdout Cultists Cleared from Temple of Bhaal"
"Iron Throne Wreckage Continues to Block Shipping Lanes, Complain Merchants"
"Settles Bound for Lands Upriver Amid Claims Curse is Lifted"
"Business Boom - Take Your Troubles to the House of Grief"
"Witnesses Encounter Vampire Spawn - And Live to Tell the Tale"
"Six Months Since the Assassination of Archduke Gortash"
"Small Sun: Tour New District Built by Elturian Refugees"
"New Bardic School, Tiefling Founder, Secures Upper City Funding" (A/N: AHHHHH Go Alfira Go! :D )
"Jannath House to Host Evening of Art and Culture, Celebrating Salvation of City"
"Monument Planned for Heroes of the High Hall"
I love all of this. :D
Also a quick side note because I need to shout out my favorite bit of the ambient dialogue in the camp - everyone has been making random comments the whole night, but every once in a while, Shadowheart comments: "Withers has a keen eye for a nice vintage. Why were we scrounging in barrels and crates for supplies when he could source these? Gods, I remember one evening we had to eat fourteen apples, some fish heads, and a stale loaf of bread just to get by."
lolololol <3
On to the letters!
"Official Guild Letter":
Aw. :)
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Wehhhhhhh. <3 I'm glad we got you free of the curse, Art. Poor guy.
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Hector still hates you, Valeria, and this isn't helping.
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Atta boy, Mr. Duke.
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I'm assuming Beard Man is Elminster. :D Excellent. I think Hector probably has Gale keep an ear to the ground on how she's doing; the whole group felt very protective of Arabella.
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Oh, shut up.
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[incredibly loud squinting from Hector] You are so FUCKING creepy, ma'am. And if you come anywhere near Astarion again, by the way, Hector will kill you (if Astarion doesn't do so first).
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Aw. I'm glad they were able to find some kind of stability, even though there was no real good outcome to that situation. :(
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Florriiiiiiiiiiick. <3 She's so cool. I wanna be Florrick when I grow up.
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This is kind of sweet actually. Growth for everyone.
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EEEEEEEE :D I love this so much. She deserved such a good ending and she got it. (Though people KEEP putting Hector's names on things; I think he's giving up on fighting against notoriety. XD )
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HI DAMMON! Hector definitely makes sure Karlach sends him a super nice letter bringing him up to date. He's a saint in their eyes, made it possible for them to be together at all.
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Hee. Elminster turned out to be interestingly nuanced in terms of Gale's storyline; he didn't really seem to approve of how Mystra was treating Gale, but also wanted to toe the party line of the goddess of magic. Hector's a smidge skeptical of him as a result. But good to hear he and Gale are still on good terms.
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<3 If Nocture eventually decides to leave the Sharrans, and Shadowheart goes to help her, Hector would absolutely be there to help as well.
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Eyyyy, Voss. I love this because he greets Hector with the title "She'lak", which means 'benevolent burden' (a term for a do-gooder hero), which I already headcanoned was what Lae'zel calls Hector. So she's got Voss doing it too, which absolutely makes Hector smile.
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Aw. Hope seems to be doing okay. <3 As okay as she can be under the circumstances at least.
@writer86 pointed out to me that the House of Hope would make perfect sense as a regular headquarters for Hector and Karlach and Wyll; I think they probably go there pretty regularly for time to rest and recuperate.
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Aw, Mayrina gets a happy ending! This is great! She didn't end up naming her son after Hector after all though lol. Which he's fine with tbh.
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Oh no. XD
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I love the implication that Nine-Fingers might have just randomly showed up too and been the only non-companion here besides Tara. XD That line about getting Jaheira to sing intrigues me. Fodder for a one-shot perhaps...
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Zevlor is such a great character, man. I think this is a good end for him, and hopefully he finds peace and happiness in it somehow, in the end.
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Awwwwwww. Atta boy Geraldus!
It's incredibly unclear to me how easily Hector and co. can or cannot get out of the Hells. But if he has the freedom to do so, he would absolutely be there. (Though honestly, lbr. It should be Jaheira.)
#bjk plays baldur's gate 3#hector carlisle#casually getting around this stupid image limit by using the rptt account as image hosting
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Baldur's Gate 3
5/5, obviously
Not much to say about this one, honestly! I'm a huge d&d nerd, and this game was amazing, so of course I loved it. The story and the battles were both really fun, deep, and interesting.
Played a tiefling ranger, dated Gale and then ditched him for Halsin only because I couldn't get Karlach to love me. But in the end I went to hang out in hell with her and Wyll because I couldn't let her go alone! We actually saved everyone, including Wyll's dad and Orpheus (even though we turned him into a mind flayer), which I'm proud of.
I really really loved what the game had to say about growing beyond the bounds placed on you by prejudice, society, or your history.
I think we played this for at least 125 hours, the longest I've ever played a game, so I definitely don't have it in me to do multiple runs. But maybe in a couple years I'll try a dark urge run to see what that story's all about. :)
Anyway, finished this game about a month ago but haven't written about it because what even is there to say that hasn't been said? but I guess the answer is "this". I'm actually about finished another game rn so keep an eye out for that post I suppose. :)
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ACT 3 SPOILERS BELOW for RAPHAEL/HOUSE OF HOPE, NIGHTSONG, SLIGHT KARLACH, AND SLIGHT ASTARION.
Damn. Go off, queen! XD Break his spine! Oof.
Astarion T_T
Anyways, I was going through the factory trying to figure out how to save all the gnomes and naturally ended up killing the guards there, and while I was looting their bodies...
GAME, WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS. OW. I DIDN'T NEED THAT. WAY TO DIG THE DAGGER IN THE HEART.
Also, yay! Astra's famous now, lol.
KARLACH, I SWEAR TO GODS IF THERE ISN'T A HAPPY ENDING FOR YOU I WILL SCREAM. YOU DESERVE ALL THE HAPPY ENDINGS, MAMA K.
I love Karlach with all my heart T_T
TELL HIM, QUEEN!!!!
Wasn't expecting Astra to get hit on by a pirate, but you know what? After that rude Djinn, this is very nice. Thank you, ma'am. But she's dating the red-eyed elf beside her, so~ yeah... well, the elf and a bear man.
TO THE HOUSE OF HOPE!!!!
KARLAAAAAACH~!!!!!! T_T
Y'know, Astra's actually looks really good in that outfit. Huh.
Oh, shit.
HEY, BUDDY! HAVEN'T SEE YOU SINCE ACT TWO!!! FANCY SEEING YOU HERE!!!! YOU, UH, AREN'T GONNA HELP RAPHAEL KILL EVERYONE, RIGHT???
Oh, thank gods. I was gonna quick load if I didn't pass it.
The song for this fight. Was. So. Freaking. GOOD.
Also, I'm really glad I had Astra learn the "Hold Monster" spell when I did because yoooo that came in handy. Though I did kind of... not realize the fountain could restore everyone's spells and health until RIGHT before the Raphael fight, so Karlach and Astarion were doing the majority of damage to the imps and stuff so Astra and Gale could save their spells. Sigh. I be so dumb sometimes.
We are amazing. Thank you, Hope.
How can one man be so pretty, even when covered in blood???? Especially when covered in blood??? T_T
Sir, Astra wants out of this one-sided toxic relationship. Please stop. You are giving her absolutely zero reasons to side with you over Orpheus. What the frick.
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Took a break from BG3 today but I'm slowly making my way through Act 3. The city proper is incredibly overstimulating so I'm having a harder time actually getting through it but I'm still having a good time
Found Volo being a damsel in distress once more. The fight was a joke thanks to some great rolls in my favor for AOE spells hahaha.
I broke Wylls contact but still found my way to the Iron Throne and saved his dad. It doesn't feel like that should have been an option because the game is now acting as if Wyll didn't break his contract? Like his dad gave me the "go find the dragon that sleeps beneath the city" quest along with that book that I already got before from Eltan....
I gave that dwarf to the Umberlans and I feel bad about it? He was kinda dicky but he didn't mean to hurt anyone, and he DID help me get to the Iron Throne without putting up a fight about it. But I knew that I would have to fight those ladies if I didn't give him to them, and I was already down a party member bc I accidentally got them exploded in the Iron Throne........ oops. Sorry Astarion.
Orin kidnapped Laezel and I'm still pissed about it, man. I wanted to kill Orin first but I don't wanna chance Laezel beefing it so I guess I'm going after Gortash first. Augh
I totally forgot to stop the presses which annoys the piss out of me, but the consequences aren't even that bad so I don't care. My brother told me that that quest was annoying anyway lol.
I went on a date with Karlach! It was super cute!! Of course I'm an ace ass bitch though so when it got intimate I got embarrassed and took off my headphones and looked away. 💀 I could've just skipped through the cutscenes but I'm kind of an idiot. Lol.
The Emperor then IMMEDIATELY started flirting with me. Dude I'm sorry but. I'm not... I can't. I can't do it. Did I consider it in order to get the achievement that I know exists? Yes. But I just can't man lmaoaoshdhfif.
Next time I play I will be heading straight into the factory. Gortash is pissed with me now so I know that his steel goons will drag me away the moment they spot me, I'm sure...
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I don't play baldur's gate, and I am not too versed in the lore, but I have watched my friend play it and have attempted it a few times (it went very badly, I am a terrible gamer), and my takeaway is that the game is defo fun and time consuming but man do these characters need better standards, but like me too since I'm lowkey getting smitten by them. I get it's the trauma but oh my, idk maybe it's because I can sympathise with them but I feel like they deserve way more that what you're allowed in the game and that's why I feel that they could do so much better
This game is also way more horny than I initially thought so I get whiplash from some of the options at times, the amount of times deep moments lead to sex has me appalled, in a good way.
I finished my first run semi-recently and I agree with some that you said, though I will also let you know that there have been patches recently that just makes the horniness of some companions a bit more natural and less "everyone loves you almost instantly and is horny for you". There are also more updates planned so while yes, that lead to some weird experiences (Gale thought we were in a relationship but I was wooing Astarion?? So afterwards he was mildly pissed lol) I think it was just a trial and error phase before adjustments. And I can say that because I had a "screw around (literally) and find out" run and I fucked everything I could when the chance arose.
My personal theory is, I think the studio just didn't want to have the controversy that Dragon Age had, where people complained that romance options had specific preferences so you couldn't date some romantic leads with specific sexes/races. And well, because everyone is okay with everyone in BG3, the characters ended up liking you all at once. Otherwise, the "times" that BG3 plays in was just horny, let's be honest.
As for the characters... while I do think there are some narrative elements and endings that could be implemented for them that I'd like personally (but probably would be too much to demand from the studio, like I understand that there must be limits to our imagination and wants too), I actually liked the "depending on your choices, you get to know a character"-vibe. Nothing more, nothing less. I don't know... I just feel like that even if I don't like some of the endings, they were realistic and made sense. I, personally, would like an ending where we go to visit Karlach's friend for dinner with her but we can't have everything we want lol :')
I do feel like despite that, the characters have rounded personalities. I didn't feel like there were weird twists or changes at the end that were unreasonable with the goals and what you learned about the character throughout the game. Heartbreaking, maybe, but they made sense realistically. Also trauma-bonding might not be the healthiest way to get closer to someone but it sure works lol
Aaand! By leaving open some choices, you allow the players to come up with their own ideas of what happens to the characters later! Personally, that's what I really like!
Sorry for the rambling, I just really enjoy delving into this game and all it has to over and then think and talk about it ^-^
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Rosy i haven't gotten too far into Baldur's Gate yet and just. so much is going on.
Lae'zel hates me despite me trying to help her.
Shadowheart and Gale my beloveds <3
Astarion why are you Like That (/pos)
Wyll. just. Wyll <3
why are all of the people in my party so pretty. oh my gosh.
these are my thoughts so far, anyway. may be subject to change
Lae'zel is just... like that, unfortunately. I'm actually dating Shadowheart in my current file, the other light of my life <3 goth gf.
Astarion is. very special. god bless. (affectionate)
also WYLL.... I LOVE WYLL I wish he spent less time on the ground during battles LMFAO. I'd love to have him in my party more but. well. (plus I gotta keep shadowheart, astarion, and KARLACH MY ABSOLUTE BELOVED OUGH JUST WAIT TIL YOU MEET HER)
I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE HAVING FUN THOUGH!!!
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Got spoiled twice in casual browsing this afternoon, so decided to go ahead and play through the epilogue on my original Tavish save set so I'd at least get the comfort of seeing the big stuff for the first time on my own. (Thanks to @eponymous-rose for keeping me company despite spoilers!)
I am honestly SO HAPPY with 99% of the epilogue! Everything with Wyll, Karlach, Jaheira, Halsin....if I keep going I'm just going to name all the characters but ESPECIALLY WYLL AND KARLACH. Oh my gosh, the hints towards finding a forge in the Hells! Wyll's eye! His armor looks so unbelievably dumb but I guess when you're living hand to mouth in Avernus you make what you can get. I bet it's not as good as that Helldusk armor I had him in, but oh well.
Tara was there! We got to talk to Tara! And tell everyone Astarion & Tavish were dating! And so many people wanted to talk about what we were doing and what we were up to--ahh, I loved it. I will say I cackled like a loon at the idea of Tav giving a lecture at Blackstar Academy or whatever it is and Astarion sitting at Gale's desk kicking up his feet and knocking over all his desk decorations.
Scratch got new animations! Throwing the astral prism as a fetch object was absolutely inspired, and the little animation set where he just sits down and gnaws on it and throw it around--so unbelievably cute. And he sleeps! He sleeps on its side and it's so STINKIN cute! And the owlbear going to live with Shadowheart--I'm cryyyyying, I'm so happy for her and her cottage and her hoard of animals and her million flowers I'm sure are there.
And even the little QoL things like having a chest full of clothes and dye! So thoughtful and nice! I would have killed that halfling for a potion of animal speaking, though - I'll drink one before the Netherbrain next time to make sure it carries over.
The only teensy weensy tiny itty bitty complaint I have is that I wanted to be able to kiss Astarion at this party. Just once! And I wanted him to go out and be merry with everybody! I'll accept that he's feeling skulky and be satisfied immensely with my hugs, but Tavish on the new run hasn't gotten to Moonrise yet, so I'm starving for a lack of kisses here, augh.
I loved every word Withers said. I loved every second/third/fourth round of dialogue for all the companions. Jergal is such a dang bro and he seemed so enthusiastic to get to hang with the fam. Bless!
I do wonder if it's possible to try to kill people at this party - there were certainly enough death-causing implements and scrolls floating around!
And then the END CREDITS?????????????? Raphael ranting about THE CROWN OF KARSUS?????????????? This does explain why Gale made a point of saying it had gone back to Mystra when we most deffo left that sucker in the river, but HELLS-RELATED DLC???? I THOUGHT KARLACH AND WYLL WERE JUST LEAVING THEIR FATES OPEN-ENDED AND THEN ACTUALLY JK WE MIGHT BE GOING THERE??????????????????
Surely this is a promise of upcoming DLC, surely. I have no idea if they intend this to be paid or free (honestly I think it should be paid) but either way I'll throw every dollar I have at them if and when it comes out. How is Raphael alive. How is Mystra going to keep the crown from him. How are we going to get the gang back together. What does Zariel's area look like!! Will we get to go past level 12!! How is Raphael ALIVE!!
I honestly just had the biggest grin on my face the entire time. Every conversation, every hug, every gesture. What a complete delight, and I can't believe we get it for free.
(Sidenote: I was also beyond overjoyed that this patch also fixed the Astarion epilogue, the broken scars cutscene, and apparently the kisses. Again, Tavish hasn't gotten to at-will kisses yet, and I'm DYING.)
(Sidesidenote: I couldn't get any of my first game saves to load after a certain point [turned out to be due to an old mod I'd uninstalled] and troubleshooting that to get the saves to work again was honestly really fun, ahh.)
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"i love you more than the stars"
hi there! i'm astra and this is my oc blog! asks are open and i'll also do my own miscellaneous writings on occasion. likely some reblogs of whatever i think matches a character's vibes/reminds me of them too. oc descriptions/tags are below and will be categorized by universe! any posts with me talking will be tagged #astra talks
Baldur's Gate 3
ehe my current fixation
Seraphine (Sera)
Tav
she/her ✧ 24 ✧ tiefling ✧ draconic bloodline sorc ✧ acolyte
Romance: Karlach (tho i also ship her with Shadowheart)
Story Progression: Act 3
Route: Good
Deity: Selune
Sera's a sweet girl, with the general philosophy of trying to help people out wherever she can. When her powers awakened when she was little, they overwhelmed her, nearly killing her. The conflict between her infernal fire and draconic ice was nearly too much for her, but she was saved by the members of the Selunite enclave near Baldur's Gate.
Euphoria (Euphie)
Dark Urge
she/her ✧ ??? ✧ tiefling ✧ rogue/bard ✧ haunted one
Romance: planned Astarion
Story Progression: Very early act 1
Route: Redeemed/Let's Not give into the Urges
Euphie is having a terrible time! She's only just started on her journey but it's. well it's pretty rough. Horrible headaches, urges to kill that they're disturbed by, no memory, threat of ceremorphosis. Fun times! Trying to be somewhat of a decent person to both appear not completely insane to their new companions and in an attempt to counteract their urges. But then the urges make them feel terrible for doing nice things.
🪐Vultsquest
a space campaign i've been playing for many years now that hosts a wide variety of planets and people. run by a friend who doesn't use tumblr.
🌌 Celeste Drakkina (#celeste, #celeste drakkina, #celeste chats)
✨ she/her ✧ 20s ✧ aldrakion ✧ musician & philanthropist
✨ my sweet adorable little dragon with catgirl energy. a traveling musician and philanthropist who's stumbled into a chaotic and at times, exhausting adventure in an attempt to save various planets and the galaxy as a whole. an absolute softie and very sweet. moonlights as the pop idol dreampop dragon (or simply dream). engaged to neve and zelda/evie, who belong to a friend. poly lesbian.
✨the one in the header image
🌟 Althea Rehm (#thea)
💎 she/they ✧ 20s ✧ nephilim ✧ doctor & researcher
💎 oh no you fucked up look what you did she has anxiety
my nervous little science girlie who has anxiety from living in a dystopian surveillance state! its ok though she's been working in the rebellion as a doctor and researcher of the strange magic crystals referred to as "shards." very curious, prone to getting caught up in her work, and very passionate about it. socially inept but tries her best and is very sweet. best friends with perse, dated neve and zelda. ace lesbian.
💎 comes in 2 flavors: either pre-canon before she died or a speculative post-canon where she gets better.
💎 the one in the pfp (older design, she's a deer girl now)
🔥 Persephone Adar (#perse)
☙ she/he ✧ 20s ✧ nephilim ✧
☙ sometimes you gotta make a hotgirl and shes mine. literally! she has fire powers. an absolute icon. a member of the rebellion who works in both nursing and as a therapist. she is not actually qualified to be one but you kinda get what you get in a dystopia. can be a bit blunt, likes to joke around with people, but deeply loyal and cares a great deal about those close to her.
☙ she was also the affair child of a corrupt politician and found to be useful in covering up her half sister's powers so she grew up as a personal servant to her. until she found out, lashed out, ran away to the rebellion before she got herself killed, nearly died in the process. but she met thea and they managed to survive, get rescued, and make it there together. they've been friends ever since.
species info:
aldrakion: custom part-dragon species. was created in a series of supersoldier experiments, though only one successful subject capable of transforming into a full draconic form was ever created. and then immediately lost lmao. that's celeste! she had no idea about this for a while. the project and its perpetrators have been taken down and brought to justice, and the subjects freed.
demon: a bit different flavor of demon than your traditional sort, it's a species with a wide amount of variety in forms, which are constructed by the individual once they reach maturity. they also can possess various sorts of powers, which vary based on the individual, but are rare.
nephilim: the product of reproduction between a demon and a human. tend to possess humanoid forms, and cannot decide their appearance at maturity. however, they are more likely to have powers.
📜 Dlennverse
world is by @imasyd
🌙 Yutsuka - 結月花 (#yutsuka)
🌕 she/her ✧ drow ✧ lunar magic sorcerer
🌕 sometimes you are one of the problem children of a lolth worshipping family who got moon magic after touching a moon shard the family has as a trophy against ellistrae and uh what are they supposed to do with you know? but you come to the surface with your cousin to have a better life and are also trans. that's her. her cousin is sakanai who belongs to @kaoala and also helped me with making her :)
🌕 she's currently wandering around sightseeing and painting what she finds on her adventures! she also enjoys pressing flowers and other plants. seems elegant and refined but gets easily excited over new places and cute things.
🌕 i want to write a nice sentence for her name but the characters mean to complete, moon, and flowers!
🔥Perse (Dlennverse edition, #perse)
☙ she/they ✧ 21 ✧ tiefling ✧ gloom stalker ranger
☙ unfortunately girlie still comes from a fucked up situation but shes also slaying and got out earlier good for her.
☙ i would love to talk more about her lore junk buuuut she's slated to appear in a murder mystery so no spoilers besties <3 you can still ask me stuff about her though!
🌟Thea (Dlennverse edition, #thea)
🦌 she/they ✧ 20s ✧ deer shifter ✧ alchemist artificer
🦌 wow! a less traumatized version of her? wild. she is just a cute nice little potion girlie having a nice time. good for her :) wip.
⛅Tag System
🌈 astra talks - anything where i talk out of character!
🌈 (character name) talks - in character, will be used unless there's another stated talking tag mentioned (ex: #celeste chats for celeste)
🌈 (character name) asks - if an ask comes from a particular character!
special shoutout to my lovely friend over at @bbbearwin for the inspiration to start an oc/rp blog and also borrowed format idea i love youuu
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