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pensola · 11 days
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Five-seven years and a long break from Overwatch later and I found this picture again, it makes me happy and I definetely agree with you, we like what we like and it is all in good fun. ^_^ Again thank you for making this suggestion a reality!
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He would make the best overkill bath bombs <3
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pensola · 12 days
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In a way I can agree, but mostly I disagree. I think Gortash will definetely think he is a good father, but, especially if we view it from our modern point of view, I mostly see him as being bad based on how he acts in the game.
We know he was sold young, and as an adult he sold another young person under his wing. When she confronts him in the present, he rolls his eyes and claims he gave her opportunities and that the experience made her stronger, that him selling her was him showing his faith that she would get through it. Nevermind that her life was ruined, that she never had a say and that she now is being hunted the last few months left of her life, unless she goes back to the place she was sold to. Nevermind that she herself says it was not right for him to do that. Nevermind that he easily changes tunes and tones depending on who he speaks to and what he can get from it. In this case, he knows how it feels to be sold by those you're supposed to trust, and he gladly did it and tries to excuse it as something good, in front of the woman he sold.
He also still keeps slaves and tortures hostages for them to work for him, in order for him to have power for himself.
We know he grew up in an indebted family (which was why he was sold), was treated and abused while enslaved and that he began with very little when he got free. Yet in the present his propaganda is centered on him having all the power and money. His luxury causes others to starve, because it is all about him and his needs, not others; he starved as young, and so he will rather starve others so that he can thrive.
Gortash is a tyrant. He is the Chosen of the god of tyranny, whether you think he is just pretending or not does not matter, I doubt Bane would have chosen him if his mindset did not aling, and I highly doubt Gortash would fake having a tyrannical view in politics while actually being a fair leader. And I think that mindset would continue to his family. He wants power, and he was to be above everyone. Thus he is the superior to his children. They must respect him, and if they do not, then they must fear him. They are his equal in social rank, but they must never think they can usurp him or take from him what he does not gift them. He might just as well treat them bad because that was how he got to where he is today, and if he was not given any support, then nobody else deserves it.
If he treats them well because love is stronger than fear, then he is manipulating them for his own gains, not because he loves them back, and that is not good father material. I also think that, based on the fact that Karlach is the closest (CANON) person we know that genuinely loved him, and he betrayed her and sold her as a slave against her will, and then rolls his eyes and mocks her anger when she escapes ten years later, I think it says more about what he views of love as a tool against others, than a strength for him.
I can imagine in some ways that he could have been a good father, but mostly in the way where he teaches the child bad morals, because no matter what, as long as he is associated with Bane and he very much wants to be the one master over Baldur's Gate (and the continent, and the world), regardless of the people he hurts, I think he is incapable of doing much good for his children.
Controversial but I honestly think Gortash would be a good* father. He’d still be evil of course. He’d teach them how to manipulate and murder people, but he’d be a devoted dad both to spite his own parents, and because he knows loyalty through love is stronger than fear.
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pensola · 16 days
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They looked at Frozen and really said "fine, we'll make an animated musical about Scandinavian fairy tale and culture ourselves, then."
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Kvitebjørn: Østenfor sol og vestenfor måne (White Bear: East of the Sun and West of the Moon) will be released Christmas 2024.
In the epic fairy tale The White Bear, we meet the fearless and daunting Liv, who longs to leave the valley she lives in. By the mountains she meets the polar bear White Bear, and she becomes both curious about and fascinated by this beautiful creature. In White Bears ice palace, a warm friendship blossoms between the two, because White Bear is not just a bear, he is also the prince Valemon, cursed by a witch who threatens to ruin the entire world. However, can the curse be broken so that they can save the world, and find happiness...? Based on Asbjørnsen and Moe's classic fairytale.
Unofficial translation of the song in the video:
Who is he? Who are you? White Bear, tell me now. You're my friend, of that I believe.
The bear that comes in the day is my friend, I know that now, But what about Valemon? Who is he?
I know nothing about you, While you know all about me. White Bear, Valemon, White Bear, Valemon, Who is he? Yes, who are you?
Yes, who is he? Who are you? You are in the night and the ice, But in a weird way it's like warmth and light oozes from you, like a breeze So what, Valemon? Who are you?
I know nothing about you, While you know all about me White Bear, Valemon, White Bear, Valemon, Who is he? Yes, who are you?
Yes, who are you? Who is he? Yes, who are you? Ugly or beautiful? Kind or cruel? Boring, loving, wise or stupid?
No, I know nothing about you while you know all about me White Bear, Valemon, White Bear, Valemon, Who is he? Yes, who are you?
White Bear, Valemon, White Bear, Valemon, Who is he? Yes, who are you? Who are you…?
Who are you, really?
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pensola · 1 month
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TODAY: Palestinian and Irish-American activists marched for Gaza in Rochester, NY on St. Patrick’s Day. Participants proudly displayed banners with Palestinian and Irish flags that read, “Occupation is a crime from Ireland to Palestine.” from BreakThrough News, 17/Mar/2024:
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pensola · 2 months
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Here is what I have done on my character where I did not have Wyll with me, but should work with him, too:
First, bring Potions of Speed, Elixirs of Bloodlust and at least one Haste Spores Grenade. Make sure at least one character has the Magic Missile spell, and yes, bring Misty Feet and Dimension Door. If one character is able to have the other door spell unlocked, the spell level 6 one, that is open and requires concentration, bring that too, because the captives will use it. If you bring Astarion, I suggest having him on the side with one door and one person stuck in the chair.
If you have any other temorary buffs or potions, you can give them after the cutscene quits, you have them for 10 rounds and you have 8 rounds at most to save everyone, so if you can give people anything, feel free to do that. I like to give my characters the Bloodlust buff here, because my focus is to have as many actions available as possible to compensate the lack of rounds.
The first person to go down the stairs (or whatever they are called) throws Haste Spore Grenate on the ground, so that everyone will have Hastened for one round. I usually take this opportunity to try to kill the monster closest to me, or I try to go save Wyll's father, depending on what character throws the grenade.
I have Gale and the meelee, in this case Lae'zel, come down together. Lae'zel kills the monster in the first room, with Bloodlust she then gets an extra action.
Gale either Dimension Doors her or uses the other door spell, and they are both in the big room with a reactor in the middle. Try to get her as close as possible to the other monsters, and have her NEARLY kill another monster, then switch to Gale and have him kill the monster, gaining an extra action. I use that action to Magic Missile on all the cell door handles to open them, and the rest of the missiles are poured onto the second monster. Lae'zel can take care of that as well. Ideally all three monsters mentioned here are dead by now.
Astarion runs as far as he can to the room with one cell and a chair captive and then Misty Steps over the water, so that the monster in the other corridor does not see him and initiates. With two actions I use Sprint or whatever it is called and get close enough to manually release the guy in the cell and rescue the woman in the chair.
Now, it is possible that you have an extra mission where you must go into the corridor, or you may not. If you do not, then see if you can get this character out of the room. Even if this takes next round, as soon as you and the captives get out of the room, press the door handle to close the room off, because this is a spawn room where the monster spawn, so closing it off means the spawn will not disturb you for the rest of the game.
If you do have the extra mission, then go into the corridor, and if you have Magic Missile on this character (either prepared, from an item or as a scroll), use it to close the room, and hopefully reach the door handle that leads to your extra mission. This might have to happen in the next round. The monster should focus on you now, but you can also try to kill him. This extra mission is not that stressfull, honestly, so if you want to make sure the captives survive, kill the monster first.
I think this marks the end of Round One.
Round two, the person that is saving Ravengard must first kill the two monsters in the room and release the captives. I use Dominate Monster/Person on the monster with a net, because then it will perhaps help me stun the other monster, and I will not risk getting stunned myself. Then I drink a Potion of Speed to get an extra action and release the prisoner; even if the prisoner gets hurt, he should not die. Feel free to summon Us or Scratch to help kill off the remaining monster, but if it is occupied, you can also leave it.
By this time, Lae'zel and Gale should honestly be done with their room, so they can teleport or sprint back to the main room and release the prisoners there, perhaps they can even touch the Haste Spores Grenade area to get a free extra action, then they can run over to the spawn room if you were unable to close it, and close it since the spawning begins this round. You could also send them on their way to assist saving Ravengard.
The extra mission person finishes the extra mission. I cannot say more to avoid spoilers.
This should potentially be the end of Round Two.
This round, release Ravengard, preferably manually so that you do not use an action, and then throw a powerful Potion of Healing on him unless you are a healer and can heal him. If the character is physical damage, you can throw two potions. If you are lucky enough like I have been, he and my character shared initiative and I switched to him to do my thing before switching back to her, but if he does not share my initiative, then I either heal him more, or I attack and try to kill the remaining monster in the room, and set myself up to have some distance from where he will jump on his turn, but close enough that I can get back to him. Potentially, you can try to be outside of the room, this is best.
At Ravengard's turn, have him jump forward, try not to have him land by the Dominated monster, but if you do not have the dominated monster, then feel free to not care. A scene will trigger here.
You can potentially have Gale or someone else use Potion of Speed here, Misty Step/Dimension Door to Ravengard, help him and then Dimension Door him to safety.
As soon as no party characters are in that cell room, and no captives, use the handle to close the door, and then use the rest of the rounds to get out. All remaining monsters should be stuck in closed rooms and use their actions to try to open the doors, which they usually fail at because of the Medium Toughness.
And voila, I have managed to get this done on four rounds, I can probably do better but I have been satisfied so far.
Good luck!
SIGHS as she opens up bg3 to finally do the fucking iron throne quest she's been putting off so she can finally get to endgame
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pensola · 3 months
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Xaela Lore Through the Fishing Log
One of the reasons Xaela is my favourite clan in XIV and Azim Steppe is my favourite zone forevermore is due to the lore presentend and how they are consistently shown and used. Not like how Seekers are given lore that is then contradicted in-game, or any other races/clans that are given lore but then it is all ignored because XIV prefers geographical culture and lore nowadays (which is fine, I just wish they would USE the lore they give rather than give arbitrary racial/clan lore that then never come up). Xaela's tribe facts are actually a thing that is used and referenced in the zone in many ways, MSQ, side-quests, FATEs and more. There are so many ways to learn more about the tribes and the zone's history, and it feels relevant. Azim Steppe was the first zone I ever completed all side-quests on, and I actually stopped the main-story-questing in order to do it because I was so curious about their place and culture.
One thing I love is how even the fish you can catch present humorous lore about the zone, and that the Azim Steppe fish lore stays consistent. Sure, it is never referenced anywhere else, but it is a charm to it. I just wanted to add in the ones I have found so far that I found related to lore and were not the general "the fish is named/looks like this because reasons" descriptions down below. A quick summary of Xaelan fish lore:
-The Xaela like fish. A lot. - Fishes are personifications and gifts from the gods, sometimes a representation of their love for the people they created. - Being reincarnated as a fish is seen as a high honour, only thing better would godhood. At least if you are a beloved animal.
Cavalry Catfish: The “cavalry” of its name arrives from the popular rumor that an esurient school of the catfish split a river-fording horse in two, devouring it from the stomach out. Horse-lovers and the weak of stomach might steer clear of this “meal that eats you back.” - Noted since there is a tribe that do love their horses, so I liked that addition.
Dotharli Gudgeon: This freshwater fish commonly found in the upper One River is also known as the Mol gudgeon, the Kahkoli gudgeon, the Dataqi gudgeon, the Horo gudgeon, and after whichever other Xaela tribe that insists their ancestors first caught the species. - Always love when the specific tribes are mentioned, if only because it is funny.
Dawn Herald: Denizen of the middle and lower rivers of Othard who loyally serves as the eyes of the Dawn Father, to hear the Xaela tell it. Dusk Herald: Looming larger than her dawn relative, the dusk herald benights the waters with silver-blue scales of twilight in devout service to Nhaama. - Just funny how the fish lore keeps reminding us how the Xaela view fishes as sacred and important to their gods.
Flamefish: The act of swallowing the sun burned a permanent orange hue in to the scales of this hungry fire-eater and brought about the first eclipse, in case there was any question concerning how that astronomical phenomenon occurred. - Again, fish are so important to the xaela. "Oh, the first eclipse in the world? No, no, that's not a bad omen, a fish did it."
Fickle Krait: Feared and reviled by the public for the role its deadly venom played in the infamous assassination of a feudal lord, the snake itself is blameless, exhibiting a passive temperament and not ordinarily given to biting. - I added this more because it is interesting that it mensions "feudal lord", something more suiting Yanxia than the steppes, yet the fish is only found in Azim Steppe's waters. Can help describe how some commoners in lower Othard would assosiate with the steppes.
Glaring Perch: Fiercely territorial from birth, the younglings seek to intimidate any and all who enter their perceived sphere of dominion, kin included; a posture that sits perfectly well with the Oronir. - Either the Oronir find the Glaring Perch's protectiveness well-working, or they identify with the fish' territorial attitude, and either way it is hillarious to think about.
Eternal Eye: Unblinking sentinel left in the wake of the Dawn Father and Dusk Mother's departure to watch over the Xaela in their absence. - Again, fish are mentioned to be the Xaelan creation gods' important servants.
Soul of the Stallion: "A rare white freshwater fish believed to harbor the soul of a once-proud steppe stallion" and "According to the existential hierarchy of Xaela reincarnation, fishliness is next to godliness. Horses who serve their masters well in life ascend to the waters afterward, with the most noble of destriers reborn in pristine scales of white." - This, I find, is the most important one. We know at least Dotharl and one other tribe believe in reincarnation fiercely, it would not be farfetched to assume it is what many or most Xaelan tribes believe. We do not know if this is a hierarchy for animals specifically, since they only mention horses, but still, it is written in canon that Xaela believe the only lifeform greater than fish is deity, and that is amazing.
Nhaama's Boon: A fish held in the highest esteem by desert denizens, who deem it a gift from the Dusk Mother herself. It's edible, but far from transcendent. Nhaama's Treasure: "A queen among Nhaama's boons, and lady of the waters of Dotharl Khaa." and "Believed by many of the Azim Steppe's Xaela tribes to be a gift from the Dusk Mother herself, this large wavekin is oft presented as a reward in contests of mettle held during sacred festivals." - If I ever make that fanfic where there is a big festival after the nadaam, I will absolutely include tribes gifting the Mol and my Warrior of Light this fish. My WoL is Miqo'te so she might wonder if it is an insult until it is clarified for her.
The Unconditional: "Not so much a lord as a god of Dotharl Khaa, this particular specimen is thought to be a blessing sent by the Dusk Mother and Dawn Father themselves. As such, this catch might be best left unboasted of." and "Possessed of both a dorsal fin not unlike a crescent moon, and a tail fin not unlike the rising sun, this distinctive wavekin is believed by nomads of the Azim Steppe to be the corporeal manifestation of the Dusk Mother and Dawn Father's love for their children on Hydaelyn." - I just. I just love how the fish are represented so often to be gifts from the gods to the xaela, and that they are considered reincarnations to strive for right next to godhood, and here it is explicitly said that it is quite rude, even insulting, to catch certain fish, this in particular.
Zagas Khaal: "A freshwater fish extremely common to many of the One River's northern tributaries. Its name literally translates to "river fish."" and "Ask a nomad of the Azim Steppe to blurt out the first fish that comes to mind, and without fail you will hear the name of this pervasive species, followed by an awkward silence." - I guess the joke is that they ask someone from a place with basically only a few rivers what the fish they think of is, and they just say "fish from the river".
Steppe Skipper: This fish's aerodynamic green fins allow it to jump to conclusions rather than go through the motions. The Auri Xaela, who know a thing or two about shortcuts, regard the steppe skipper as a portent of good things to come. Dry Steppe Skipper: Unlike its purportedly “lucky” brethren, encountering this withering-grass-colored variety of steppe skipper is regarded as an omen of ill fortune among nomads. Dry humor is often lost on the superstitious. Blade Skipper: Several of the Azim Steppe's nomadic tribes believe this blood skipper, native to the One River, leapt from the depths of its Yanxian home and rode the thick blades of lush Steppe grass all the way north and east to the Upper Yat Khaal where it now dwells. Garden Skipper: Some of the Othard's nomadic tribes view this large green skipper as an ill omen that their journey is about to end, and have been known to go as far as abandoning their fishing rods to the river rather than risk reeling one in. - Can we take a moment to appreciate how most of the skippers are used to determine someone's luck and fortune?
Dawn Crayfish: Devoted disciple of the Dawn Father who battles his sworn enemy for control of the Azim Steppe, and rises as his rival sets. Dusk Crayfish: Devoted disciple of the Dusk Mother who battles her sworn enemy for control of the Azim Steppe, and waxes as her nemesis wanes. - Who else are loving the amount of duelling sealife in Azim Steppe? I certainly am not!
Bowfish: Xaela archers often present offerings of this high-strung arciform fish to their gods before venturing forth on the hunt.
Tao Bitterling: Though the breed is generally deemed unfit for consumption, the Mol nevertheless persist in fishing for them per the bidding of their holy men; a case of faith operating contrary to nature's plan. The Word of God: "A king among Tao bitterlings, and lord of the waters of Tao Khaal." and "The Mol believe they are made to endure divine trials that they must overcome to prove their worth. Catching a blessed Tao bitterling was one of these trials. Seeing as they did not catch it, their god will now punish them." - I always like whenever lorebits remind us that the Mol are considered weirdos by the other tribes for how much to the letter they follow their holy men and old gods.
Sun Bass: Azim in the sky is said to partake of this fish fit for a god, though you'll want to think twice before partaking yourself, as the parasites that riddle its body have proven potentially fatal to less-than-divine diners.
Sweatfish: The arduous sister of the Seraphim shines the glorious sunlit streaks of her Dawn Father against the ominous night sky of her Dusk Mother, and is said to be birthed from the very beads off their battle-wet brows.
Duskfish: "A khan among hardscales, and lord of the waters of Azim Khaat." and "Xaela legend has that this massive wavekin was born from a scale shed by the Dawn Father. Scholars insist it has simply had the good fortune not to be eaten."
Nhaama's Claw: A bivalve mollusk thought to resemble a claw of the Mother of the Dusk.
River Clam: One man's dross is another man's dinner with these clams, and while the Xaela may turn their nose up in the steppes, the Yanxians are more than happy to chow down by the river. - They are not fish, so I guess the Xaela simply don't care about clams that much, haha.
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pensola · 3 months
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For my Warrior of Light, I wanted a name that worked in-canon and that was somewhat easy for me to remember alongside a meaning. I knew I was making a miqo'te and wanted a Seeker of the Sun, and there were only two tribes that had been shown in the game, so to make lore easier for me since I had just entered the game, I decided it would be either U or M. I looked up some names, and found out I liked the name Mnemosyne, since it is the name of a Greek memory goddess, and it fit with now tribal letters worked. But because I didn't want the o, I made it M'nemesyne.
For the surname, I somehow forgot to check what the nunh's name was and just chose Rhan because I liked the way it looked, and found out later that it would mean there was a M'rhan Nunh at some point, which the story implies did not happen. So, I stood there, and decided that what the heck, M'nemesyne Rhan is a tia-child, in that M'rhan was a tia when she was conceived, which also explained why her name was so long, which in Seeker culture apparently meant the person was low in the tribal hierarchy. I also for extra angst gave her a mark under her eye that was meant to be a mark of shame, to signal if she ever moved to another tribe they knew she came from an inferior father. Which in the end caused endless hilarity when we get to the M-tribe and their sidequests.
I am aware that I could cheese it and say that M'nemesyne came from a different pride/group/sect of the M-tribe, but I personally like to follow canon as close as possible, and since I did make her be M on purpose, I wanted to try to make it work with canon. I have pretended in my head, however, that she and another nunh-OC established a new group/pride/sect of the M-tribe after Endwalker that later moved to the Island Sanctuary. Now that I know more about the lore and world (and how little Square care to be consistent about miqo'te lore, haha), I sort of wish I had either cheesed it or made her be in a tribe not shown in-game, but I made my bed, now I lay there quite comfortably.
WoL QotD: What made you choose your WoL's name? Does it have any important meaning or did it just sound nice?
Follow up: Is it lore accurate? If it isn't, why not?
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pensola · 3 months
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There’s this weird tendency among fandom types where they’ll take a character, and insist that they are fans of them, before changing their design, age, pronouns, backstory, blood type, species, hometown, favorite color, zodiac sign, medical history, and every other facet of their being.
They will then violently insist that this version is superior to the canon one and act like they “fixed” them and it’s like. Buddy that’s not the same character anymore. That’s just your own oc commiting identity fraud. Like. I get the desire to experiment with different interpretations of a story. But first of all it’s okay to just make an original character if that’s what you really want to do. And second of all, are you even really a fan of the character you “fixed” if they’re a completely different person afterwards?
Like. Idk dude for somebody who claims to be a fan you sure don’t seem to like them as they are :/
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pensola · 3 months
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I would like if Wuk Lamat turned out to be the antagonist. Not even a villain or evil, but an antagonist who means well but who makes everything worse, or that she means well but she has been manipulated or groomed in some ways, but I doubt it will happen if only because I think they know they would get some ugly sideeyes if their first Hrothgar woman, and probably the only one prominent, is either evil or is manipulated by the villain. I like the points, here are some explanations I figure:
Wuk Lamat mentioned there were four people that have a claim to the throne I think; she and her unsuitable brother are two of them, and if adoption is equal to blood in Tural, then her miqo'te scientist brother is also in line, though how interested he is, we do not know. That leaves one enigma. Most likely Thancred and Urianger are allying up with either the scientist or the other one. Though I never trust Urianger and they both have a bad habit of assuming everybody must be babied and manipulated rather than trusted and communicated with, Urianger DID say he would try to be better in EW, and they are firmly on the side of good so I doubt they would just let the WoL and the twins ally with someone who is suspicious if they knew anything more.
Erenville seems more like he worries about her not being king material. She dislikes ceremonies and titles and seems to not think that far ahead of implications or reasons behind these rituals, which would make her not only unsuitable to represent her nation, but it would also make her deeply uncomfortable and unhappy. She is also fighting more so that the wrong person won't get power, rather than because she believes she is the right person, which is a coin toss on whether makes one a good leader or a bad one. So I can understand his reluctance if she is good.
I found it a bit suspicious myself that the king's two adopted children so far happen to be a hrothgar woman and a miqo'te man, both which are considered (and in which at least one hrothgar culture revere their women as leaders and queens), but I chalked it up to the game developers wanting to show off the female hrothgar and them wanting a male miqo'te since G'raha and Erenville were so successful. A bit like how they probably won't have their one prominent hrothgar woman be evil, they probably won't make the mamool ja king evil since part of the theme of Tural is that all the races and cultures are equal there and they move away from the idea that the "beast races" are different.
It would be interesting if she did turn out to have ulterior motives and be darker/deeper than a free-spirited anime protagonist who is hotheaded but naive, but fortunately she has charisma even if that is all she is.
okay sorry one more 6.55 thought
wuk lamat is starting to give me off vibes honestly? I'm not sure that she's a totally reliable narrator here and I'm curious to see how the tural storyline plays out.
if the guy she's up against is so bad, why the hells would urianger and thancred agree to join their side?
erenville, who knows her, really doesn't seem too stoked abt the idea of her being the new leader
tbf it's probably not her misleading us on purpose and rather what her "father" is feeding her, but there's something iffy abt it all imo
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pensola · 4 months
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For Bane I imagine that it depends on what marriage means in the world/culture it takes place in. If a marriage is supposed to be between equals, where both have the choice, then perhaps Banite marriages do not exist and Banites only marry with non-Banites to further his rule. If marriage is technically unequal, or that one is supposed to be in some shape or form subservient or has a duty to the other person (make children, take the partner's name, serve in general, protect/deal with the house and so on), then they would probably have it because it would be another form for hierarchy which he loves. It would basically be a ceremony where one person willingly becomes another's personal loyal servant (after Bane, of course) and the other person takes the first one in as their favourite servant.
So there is no Faerûnian deity of marriage, because they all demand to be the deity called on to bless their followers' weddings... and this just makes me morbidly curious how the various wedding ceremonies go with evil gods (although I have a hard time picturing some faiths having weddings: Shar's all about nihilism; Malarites would consider it part of the disease of civilisation...).
Beshaban weddings; do you have to bring horrific misfortune to everybody you meet on the day so that those people get all the bad luck your goddess would otherwise curse your wedded life with?
Talontars: Do you poison each other instead of exchanging rings?
Banites: ...I don't even want to know, but I feel like somehow you also get married to Bane because god knows it's all about HIM.
Literally drawing a blank on Cyricists. Do you have to crash somebody else's' wedding and either destroy the relationship or kill everyone there? Then you take the ceremony for yourself, eat all the food and dance together on the bloodstained dance floor as the reanimated corpses of the band play for you?
We know Bhaalists go in for murder-suicide (undeath is an acceptable outcome too)
I'd particularly love to see a Myrkulite wedding, I just know he'd show up personally to "bless" the union. I can't actually picture them having any (because this religion is all about the dead) but I wouldn't be surprised if Myrkulites have some kind of ghost weddings where you can get married after you're dead.
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pensola · 5 months
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Apparently Hope is a cleric of Lathander, and she has been Raphael's prisoner for centuries and was moved to Gortash' prison after he escaped. I wonder if there were any connections thata they did not have time to explore.
Pretty crazy how the creche takes place in an abandoned Lathander temple. Pretty random that the third god devoted area after Silvanus and Selune (goblin camp) is Lathander. Pretty silly that you have quests for Lathander. Like they want you to know about Lathander. Just kinda weird.
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pensola · 5 months
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Regarding the name, from what I know it has the name Eurovision because it was developed by the European Broadcasting Union, and it is bincluding countries within the European Broadcasting Area, which envelops more than Europe. Only Australia is not in that area, but they were invited some years ago during an anniversary, I think, because they had a huge Eurovision fan presense. After that first time, they just didn't leave.
Regarding this year's Eurovision, I already contacted my broadcasting channel regarding this, I also found this Change.org poll. Not sure how much it helps, but I will place the link here just to be sure. Petition · Ban Israel from Participating in Eurovision 2024 · Change.org
israel has now officially been announced as one of the countries participating in eurovision 2024
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meanwhile russia is still banned, for the third year in a row. the double standard is just sickening
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pensola · 5 months
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Just because I am bored, here are my various characters that I have played, am currently playing or plan to play:
Siova Tav
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My first character, she was made pretty much just because I found it very funny to have a devil-looking character get powers from a god, so I chose the most good-oriented-sounding god from the cleric list... and somehow I ended up falling in love with her.
She grew up in the Open Hand Temple after her father was murdered and her mother left her there and never came back. I imagined her to be a lot like Tohru Honda from the "Fruits Basket" manga/anime, where she is not book-smart but has a lot of wisdom and kindness that makes people like her and feel safe around her. She has her long hair in a braid because her mother's family used to do that as part of a tradition, she dislikes having the hair free. Her eyes are also naturally darker, but got a glow after Ilmater accepted her as his cleric. She loves meeting people belonging to different gods and to learn from their point of view the world, but over time she is not afraid to stand by her own views of the world, life and divinity, which lead to quite a few arguments between her and especially Wyll, Gale and Astarion.
She romanced Wyll and followed him to Avernus to take down Mizora, although she does not want to adventure forever. Because I want the best for her, in my head she convinced/Command'ed the two opposing Prism-prisoners to cooperate, and used her Divine Intervention to save Karlach since I never had to use it in the story.
She is my main Tav, the other characters are there more for fun to make slightly different choices.
The Sad Surge
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This is the Dark Urge of Siova's story. Technically she does not have a name, but because all my characters accidentally ended up having "S" first in their names, I call her Surge. She has selective eidetic memory with anything to do with death and blood (for example she can easily recall murdering Siova's father in all its gory details from a random urge to kill, but otherwise her memory is very blurry).
Surge and Siova never meet; while Siova was busy with helping people around her, Surge ran past it all in order to get to Baldur's Gate and take back her birthright. She was killed by Orin, and Siova found her corpse after defeating Orin.
I am making an "alternative" story for her where she does follow the regular Dark Urge-playthrough with companions and such, but still waiting to see where that goes. Apparently elves have a child name until they are considered adults in their 100's, so the idea then would be that she would finally make a true name for herself, if she went with a redemption story.
Sharin
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The bard, a lover of colour, fun and freedom, Sharin is willing to help others around her, and takes everything with a laugh most of the time. Seems to be unbothered by almost anything with the exception of other people claiming her in any shape of form; she romances Astarion but him flirting by saying "tonight you're all mine and I'm all yours" was a big turn-off even if she knew what he meant. As such, she hates Raphael and uses every opportunity to make fun of him and insult him, because she was very provoked by the idea of selling her soul to him. Unlike Siova Tav who happily shares her past if asked, Sharin hardly ever alludes to it even if there are hints that there are more to her than it seems; she is a drow who has lived on the surface for a long time, she carries a lot of Lolth-sworn knowledge but has the look of a Seldarine, and sometimes has the bearings of a noble as well as an entertainer. She often jokes that she might embark on her own journey of growth when the Absolute is taken care of alongside Astarion.
Sharin angered the Emperor and was forced to take Raphael's offer, putting her soul on the line to save the world. Knowing this and her hatred of being owned, she asked to be made an illithid, and had Gale gather the Crown of Karsus before having Orpheus complete her transformation and killing her; the idea was that ceremorphosis destroys the mortal soul, meaning there would be no soul for Raphael to claim when she failed to give him the Crown. Thus she would save the world, free an old prisoner and give the finger to Raphael one last time (she never went to House of Hope, she had no idea it was there).
That is, that WAS the plan, but then Patch 5 arrived and Withers revealed that for some reason she still had her soul after the ceremorphosis, and she was met by a very angry Raphael.
Sissi
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Sissi is a Paladin with the Oath of Vengeance. Having grown up as an urchin, then taken in by some noble people far away from Baldur's Gate that since were killed by and with their killeds in an explosive robbery, Sissi vowed to help give vengeance for those that deserved it. She is a "do unto others" and "ride and die by her friends" kind of gal; if someone is kind of her, she will be kind back, but if she has a reason to begrudge, she will carry that forever; only reason Wyll survived trying to attack Karlach was because Karlach vouched for him and Sissi would easier keep an eye on him, otherwise she would have killed him.
With her, I made her mostly for fun because I wanted an all-girl group (with the exception of Wyll because I am weak and Halsin because Sissi romances him; they are never allowed to be used), who were all tanks. Karlach and Lae'zel stay as their classes, same with Jaheira except she is constantly in owlbear mode if I need her, and Shadowheart was respecced to War Domain Cleric. She was also made a half-orc more because I wanted the colour differences. I am still playing Sissi, but with her I am actually thinking about having her attack Gortash first chance we get, just to see what happens and if I will be able to defeat him, the guards and the Steel Watchers, because again, ride or die, and Karlach wants him dead? That's reason enough to blast the ceremony. Also at first I thought to have her romanze Lae'zel or Karlack, but I read somewhere that half-orcs have a shorter lifespan, so I found it funny if she was only 30 but mentally 45 or the like, or at least that she was mentally the same place as Halsin, even though she does not have the same life experience, and so they ended up together.
Su'zan
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This is Su'zan, who's bakground I am still not quite sure about since I have just started her. She is the Sorcerer of my characters, specifically a Wild Magic sorcerer; her hair, scar and eyes are results of Wild Magic Surges. She is going to romance Karlach, who will be a Wild Magic Barbarian. More than that I am not sure, I look forward to learning more about githyanki through her!
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pensola · 5 months
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My suspicions are thus:
He wants to take revenge on Raphael for what he experienced in House of Hope. We know that Raphael wants to pay back what was doen to him, with the way he tadpoled his parents and is breaking down the Guild (which was apparently the people that would kill him and his parents if they did not pay the money), and so on. I can imagine him then wanting to find a way to House of Hope.
He was planning on going there to rescue Hope. Apparently Hope now is in the prison Gortash used to be in, so I do feel it would make sense that they had met or knew each other in some ways. Why Gortash would want to rescue her, I am not sure of. Perhaps he wants everything Raphael has. Perhaps her powers are useful to him, since it seems like Hope is suppoed to be a quite powerful cleric. Perhaps there is a small part of him that is not made of shit that wants to set her free.
He might look for a contract or something.
The hottest boys you know are up at night pondering why Gortash was writing Helsik about getting into the House of Hope just before he died
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pensola · 5 months
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Mildly heartbroken again about how many of the Durge specific lines in Act 3 are centered around being daddy's favorite. My father loved ME best he demands you bow to ME this city is MY gift from him I'm his special little heir. The fact that this almost never works in Durge's favor, even in circumstances where you'd sort of expect it to (like in front of the Murder Tribunal).
Because Bhaal made you, yes. Made you specially, made you in his own image. But it doesn't mean he loves you. It doesn't make you special to him. He didn't stop Orin from turning on you. Won't punish her for it, only tells you to handle it yourself. Months of living vivisection at Kressa Bonedaughter's hand and he didn't do a thing. He doesn't appear to you after the nautiloid, explain your purpose, the way home, or even who you are. All he sent was a butler to make further demands of you in exchange for meager power-ups. Right up until you prove yourself the clear victor, and Last of your Name, Bhaal can't be asked to lift a finger for you.
I've been thinking about that cut ending where Durge is demoted to breeding stock for Bhaal. How this implied to be what's expected of you even if you do everything Bhaal asks. Willing or no you'll be churning out babies.
To Bhaal, Durge is an experiment of varying success. No more and no less. And all that love Durge can try to cash in on is worthless, because it doesn't actually exist
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pensola · 5 months
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pensola · 5 months
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If devils and hellpowers give off whiffs and smells of sulphur, I sort of imagine that magic from the Weave smell somewhat like deep sea seawater. So him being so close to the Weave, I imagine that he smells somewhat like seawater and a hint of old paper. But I can also imagine that he puts on perfumes or musks that he knows is popular, he is good with people and wants to be liked, so I can see him going for pleasant smells he thinks others like. Just my guess, of course.
what do u guys think Gale smells like?
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