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Bear: *licking paws* Halsin, you have odd companions. This one came over and wouldn't stop talking to me, but the honey he gave me is very good.

Gale: *Verrrrry carefully trying to slide away from the bear*

Concept: one of the companions chilling with Halsin in bear form just chatting about nonsense

then Halsin walks over

I know a lot of people think Halsin whittles a duck for the player simply because he likes them or for the metaphor of 'coming home', but I honestly think he's a sentimental creature and it goes deeper than that.

your very first conversation as friends, you have to push quite hard to learn what he likes. I think a century of being Archdruid meant people didn't actually care about who he was as a person, only that he could fix their problems.

So when the player makes an effort to get to know him - a genuine effort and not allowing halsin to give a polite dismissal- it's novel for him! And you've endeared yourself to him greatly with that one conversation.

So when he has the chance to make a gift for you, he chooses something out of the most romanticized memory in his mind.

The simple conversation where you got him to speak of whittling and ducks

A simple conversation for you, but one that meant the world to him

What particularly frustrated me the first time I played was that Shepard can literally tell them that it wasn’t their choice, that Cerberus rebuilt them while they were in some sort of coma. But that line comes right before being accused of betraying the Alliance and them. So I ended up feeling like I had been talked over and ignored. It’s realistic but damn, it’s still frustrating every time it happens. 

you know whats hilarious about the games and the fandom giving ashley and kaidan such a hard time about criticising shepard’s decision to work with cerberus. is that they end up being right. cerberus was lying to shepard. the illusive man hand-picked kelly, gabby, ken and joker in order to give the impression of a friendly cerberus. hell, kelly was feeding reports back to TIM on shepard’s mental state throughout the entire game behind their back. and then at the end of me2, when push comes to shove? it turns out that the whole time the illusive man’s motives were getting his hands on the technology in the collector base in order to support cerberus in its pro-human agenda. and even then its made quite clear throughout the game that he doesnt really give that much of a shit about the colonies, considering he used horizon as bait. so like. idk man

Coming back to Ghoulcy after a long break. Upon rewatching the show again, I honestly feel more strongly than ever that there's gonna be some canon Ghoulcy in the show at some point...

But I wanna clarify what I mean by that...

If that happens, obviously that's gonna create a bit of a love triangle between Lucy, Max and The Ghoul. And honestly, the triangle's probably gonna end up being pretty one-sided. Like I can't say whether I think Lucy will develop feelings for Cooper. But I definitely think its setting it up for Cooper to start having feelings for Lucy. And I think Lucy and Cooper might bang, just because Lucy is one horny lady with not a squeamish bone in her body lol.

Of course, that would definitely complicate things between her and Max even more than they already are. (You know, her dad being the one who blew up Max's home, the fact she offered to have him live in the vault with her but probably won't want to return after what she's learned, Max now being a knight, etc.) And who knows whether they will find each other and end up being together in the end, but...

Whatever the case, I don't think there's going to be a happily ever after for anybody. Not for Lucy and Max and definitely not for Lucy and Cooper. But it's certainly an opportunity for a lot of interesting drama and frankly, as someone who's been playing the Fallout games for 10+ years, I'd honestly be kinda disappointed if there wasn't some kind of human/ghoul relations going on. I mean, it's no more weird or ridiculous than any other absurd piece of lore in the Fallout universe. It's absolutely on brand 100%.

And if you think they won't do it just because they're worried about what people think... I would argue, they incinerated puppies in the beginning of the second episode... I don't think the show gives a shit about how anybody feels lol. The people making it are obviously passionate about the games and being true to the universe they're expanding upon. They've already fully embraced the dark and quirky elements and tone of the games. And they seem pretty cool with the Ghoulcy shippers too haha. So no, I don't think it's delulu to think there might be at least a little somethin' somethin' happening between Lucy and Cooper. Even if it's Cooper just pining hopelessly over her. Obviously, I could be very wrong. But I don't think I am. We'll see what happens, though. I'm sure I will still love the show even if it doesn't, but damn it would be fucking rad if it did lol.

I wish I could describe just how weird it is to see so much love for this character when you're coming in from a fandom era where the overall attitude towards him was "Ew, he's old" or "He's SO borrrrriiiing!" And most of the affection was neck and neck between Solas and Cullen.

The pendulum has swung I guess

The only reason Blackwall doesn’t look like this in game is because if he did look like this no one would want to sleep with egg man or the catholic cop

collection of useful things tumblr has taught me:

even if you can't fall asleep, laying down with your eyes closed will still rest your body

you don't have to brush your teeth standing up

you don't have to do any chore standing up, from dishes to showering

you don't have to shower with the lights on

if you can't brush your teeth, flossing and a tongue scraper gets rid of plaque and bad breath

if you can't do that, mouthwash kills a lot of bacteria

eating "unhealthy" food is better than eating no food

you can make the same meal everyday for however long you still want it

some pills come in syrups or chewables if you can't swallow them

kids nutritional shakes can be a quick way to get fuel if you can't eat/don't have time

if walking hurts/exhausts you on a regular basis, canes and rollers are for you, no matter how young you are

we have free will—if doing something "out of the ordinary" makes life easier for you, do it

Touching on Gale, Wyll, and Halsin's traumas being a bit undermined in parts of the fandom

So one thing I notice on Twitter is how some people act about the bg3 characters whose abuses were perpetuated by women.

Gale specifically for this reason (but I will touch on others)bbecause I see him dismissed super often as "can't get over his ex".

But Gale's case obviously be has the line of Mystra being like "she was my muse, my teacher, and then my lover" and sure to some that's a red flag in itself (when it comes to adults I don't really give a fuck about teacher/student) but if you view it from not only Gale's own words "ive been connected with the weave for as long as i can remember"

And that doesn't distract from his genuine love of magic of course. And it also doesn't mean that he's actually been in connection with mystra for an amount of time.

However, if you ascend Gale, and he becomes a god, you get a bunch of new little things. Tara reminiscing of course, but you get a letter from Elminster, detailing that Mystra had Elminster scope out Gale when he was eight!

And sure is that pretty cool that he's a prodigy that got the attention of the goddess of magic at that age? Yes. Mystra is, however, known in forgotten Realms lore to seek young young boys who are in tune with magic to make into her chosen. And from context clues, her chosen can be anything from Elminster and Volo, dedicated wizards who try to keep things in check, etc etc. or they're somewhat of playthings to her.

Minsc also has a conversation where me mentions that weave-touched boys in his homeland were hidden away to hone their craft, then suspecting that it was because of Mystra, given Gale's case.

Gale always seems so proud that he got to bed a goddess, and on the surface, hell yeah, that's cool.

Gale continued to have her attention even as he went to Blackstaff Academy, and Mystra eventually did take him on as an apprentice directly to her, later making him her chosen, and sleeping with him.

The reason it bothers me that people dismiss all of Gale's stuff to just "he can't get over his ex" is because that's is like almost textbook grooming? She was in his life from a young age, shaping and moulding him up as he grew up to be her perfect chosen, rewarding him by sleeping with him, and so on. And then of course casting him away when he has his folly with the netherese orb (and to be fair, it very well could have looked like to her that he was trying to seize the power himself and yes the orb does siphon off weave. That is a problem for the mistress of the weave yes).

But she also tells gale to KILL HIMSELF for her forgiveness.

Gale is much more than "unable to be over his ex" this woman was in his life since he was a kid. She's almost all he has ever known. If course it's going to be difficult for him to 1. Say no to her. 2. Get over the fact that he's lost someone that he spent his literal entire life dedicated to. Honestly if asked, I don't even think Gale would acknowledge or really see that what he went through was, in fact, abuse until it was spelled out in front of him. (Which does happen somewhat with the player character pleading to him that killing himself for mystra's forgiveness is actually horrific and that he should in fact be angry for how he was treated)

Similarly, and this one has been discussed a lot, Wyll and Mizora. Wyll was 17 and actively trying to help his people. 17, in a vulnerable state, willing to do anything to help and prove himself. Mizora very clearly took advantage of him, and regards him as a "pet", refers to him being "leashed", and so on. Personally, I do dislike the sexualization of their relationship, because it very much is also grooming (although a different type. Rather than manipulating and shaping his life from the ground up, she takes advantage of a vulnerable and desperate state to manipulate and contract Wyll into doing her bidding. I won't go too deep I to this one because it has been discussed to hell and back. But I did wanna touch on Wyll's situation as well.

Also, Halsin as well, though that has also been discussed in many retrospectives by a very good friend of mine. Halsin's trauma often get dismissed due to his polyamory, open sexual nature, and his own somewhat diminishing/dismissal of it, which honestly I love the representation of, cause for a while I did that with my own trauma. Halsin was a sex slave to a house of Lolth-Sworn drow, a matriarchal society, where the men are generally used as fodder or for breeding, though male Lolth-Sworn drow can be wizards and rise in the ranks if wizardry, but are limited everywhere else. (Minthara mentions that the third male, and every subsequent male child after third are killed for being"useless"). Halsin often referred to them as "hosts" rather than being captors, (though he does touch on that if the Player Character threatens to sell him back into slavery). Again, everything I'd have to say here for Halsin has entirely been discussed top to bottom by a friend, their link is below!!

Anyway, long story short, I dislike it a lot when Gale, Wyll, and Halsin's traumas and abuses get diminished, even if/when the character themself doesn't see or acknowledge the abuse in the same lens that we, the players, do.

-Gee, if only there was some way to make him tougher, to make him a class that is specifically designed to do that instead of control the battlefield and buff companions and debuff enemies.....what do you think, Withers? Don't you feel so frustrated that all our companions have these classes and no way to change them? Oh wait.....

-Should I ask if these same people have a problem with Jaheira or do they magically somehow manage to make her work because they're willing to figure out how she works best?

-Do they know how to make the Druid class work, or is this something they're using as an excuse for their bias? I mean, I struggled with the Barbarian class, but that doesn't mean Karlach should be considered useless nor that the class is bad.

-If you send your cleric to do the tanking, should we be surprised if they're getting stomped on? The whole point of the Druid class is making the terrain work in your favor. That's how Larian games work in general too. It's why there are high ground penalties, why you pay attention to elemental resistances, why concentration spells are a pain because they cancel each other out, why stats affect how far you move or how fast you react.

"Halsin is useless he can't take a hit and he's not strong"

HES NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HE'S A DRUID.

"He can't cast spells in wildshape smh what's the point"

Wild shape is a defense mechanism! You only wild shape as a last resort. Druids have a lot of spells meant to keep enemies away, you cast wall spells, field of thorns, everything you can to keep enemies away. Once in wild shape, they gain a new set of hit points. So say halsin gets down to 3 hp and he's suddenly surrounded by enemies. THAT IS WHEN YOU WILDSHAPE. Thats why wildshape only gets like 2 charges!!! Don't send him into a hoard of enemies in wildshape he's gunna get killed!

Gods. I'm tired of people saying he's useless in battle. You just think bc he's giant and can be a bear he's supposed to be a a melee attacker. He's squishy!! He's a lover not a fighter!!!

In case anyone wants to hear it in game or keep his approval level low so that he never brings up romantic feelings, casting charm or friendship scrolls or spells on him will artificially lower it for you every time it's cast. Just make sure to stop once he hits Low Approval and you'll get to hear the disapproving snark in all its glory without him leaving the party.

Or just keep going if you want him to leave.

low approval/annoyed Halsin is so funny he's just

"I can NOT be assed to help you useless twats but FINE... I will anyway for FUCK'S sake"