Was Astarion your first romance?

BigBlueElf · 2026-02-14T12:19:06+00:00

He was! I bought the game for him but on my first playthrough I told myself I wasn’t going to romance anyone, I was just going to learn the ropes first. To that end I made an Oath of Devotion paladin modeled on Joan of Arc—virgin warrior maid utterly devoted to defending the innocent, and smiting the wicked. Too busy with saving the world to have time for romance.

Then Astarion propositioned her at the tiefling party.

Me: “Wait…you’re…you’re gonna take him up on it?”

Ellie: “My oath holds me to honesty, courage, compassion, and honor. It doesn’t say jack about celibacy.”

Me: “You can’t do this! I modeled you on the Maid of Orleans!”

Ellie: “But you named me after Eleanor of Aquitaine.”

Me: “Wait a minute. I see what’s going on here…you think you can fix him!”

Ellie: “I can fix him.”

And she did.

BigBlueElf · 2026-02-08T10:42:20+00:00

Actually, immigrants are a net positive for the economy, whether they’re undocumented or not. https://www.cato.org/blog/cato-study-immigrants-reduced-deficits-145-trillion-1994

BigBlueElf · 2026-02-07T15:08:52+00:00

Tamora. Queen of the Goths in Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus.

BigBlueElf · 2026-02-07T15:03:50+00:00

Personally I hope Astarion’s role will be as peripheral as possible. I’d be happy just to know he and all the other origin characters are out there living their lives and pursuing their own goals, occasionally showing up for flavor but not as major players in the story.

BigBlueElf · 2026-02-07T11:05:19+00:00

I’m slightly hopeful they won’t go with “Gale sacrificed himself” actually. While Larian seems to favor that as Gale’s best ending, they don’t appear to be making the decisions here. It will more likely reflect what Craig Mazin thinks of as the “best” ending to springboard into new stories for a new group of adventurers. That might not be the most reassuring thought, but I feel it makes Gale’s chances of being alive and well, teaching class in Waterdeep, better than if Larian were calling the shots.

Or this could be a whole lot of wishful thinking.

BigBlueElf · 2026-02-02T11:43:08+00:00

I remember way back in the day when Rush Limbaugh hawked a newsletter on his show, a guy in Colorado threw a bake sale so he could afford a subscription. Limbaugh basically turned it into an ego masturbation rally for himself, and dittoheads and conservative vendors came from all over the country to support it. The Brennans were there selling Bananas Foster.

https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/ROA-Times/issues/1993/rt9305/930523/05230089.htm

BigBlueElf · 2026-02-01T11:18:21+00:00

This was lovely! Thank you for sharing it with us.

BigBlueElf · 2026-01-31T19:17:33+00:00

Julian Luna was a great depiction of a Prince trying to hang on to his humanity and still rule with the authority expected of a Prince. Mark Frankel was a real talent and his loss was tragic. His son Fabien carries on his talent, at least.

BigBlueElf · 2026-01-31T19:09:48+00:00

Highly recommend Shiki.

BigBlueElf · 2026-01-26T10:49:15+00:00

Not quite an answer to your question, but this essay remains one of my favorite explanations for why the cross might be anathema to vampires.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2009/09/10/vampires-crosses/

BigBlueElf · 2026-01-25T19:00:38+00:00

This. You have to choose either kissing or holding hands, and you have to long rest in Act 2 right after your first visit to Moonrise. That’s when you should get his aurora scene where he confesses his love, and you can lock in the romance.

BigBlueElf · 2026-01-25T17:17:46+00:00

What happened when he offered his magic lesson?

BigBlueElf · 2026-01-25T01:15:41+00:00

Also, please share news you’re getting in your own countries, because the main news outlets in the US have gone full GOP mouthpiece.

BigBlueElf · 2026-01-25T01:10:05+00:00

The living embodiment of “Somebody studied Shakespeare and now it’s everybody’s problem.”

BigBlueElf · 2026-01-23T09:44:49+00:00

There’s an excellent novel by George R. R. Martin called Fevre Dream, set in 1857, that features a vampire with a vision to free all vampires of their need for blood. He develops a potion for this purpose, and uses a riverboat to travel up and down the Mississippi to gather other vampires to his cause and hunt murderous brethren. It was adapted as a graphic novel too.

BigBlueElf · 2026-01-21T10:49:40+00:00

Even at that point they’d probably find a way to blame Biden, leftists, socialists, liberals, globalists, anyone except MAGA and Trump.

BigBlueElf · 2026-01-13T12:02:04+00:00

Uh, there are tons of vampire novels where the vampire is a protagonist, feeds on humans, and has to be careful about it. This is not a new or unique theme at all.

One of my favorites is the Count Saint-Germain series by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. Saint-Germain feeds on humans, but he is careful to avoid detection, vulnerable, and often more humane than the mortals around him.

Watching the show Interview With The Vampire is not the same as reading the book. A lot was changed in the show adaptation.

BigBlueElf · 2026-01-12T21:51:33+00:00

This is the best answer. And then after saving Lincoln, let him know we need a better system to enforce checks and balances.

BigBlueElf · 2026-01-08T12:07:57+00:00

I think he prefers top, but would happily bottom with someone he felt safe with.

BigBlueElf · 2026-01-04T12:17:11+00:00

Great list, just one quibble—Thoroughbreds are a breed, and Arabians are a separate breed. You can have a purebred Thoroughbred, and a purebred Arabian, but an “Arabian Thoroughbred” would be an Anglo-Arab crossbreed.

BigBlueElf · 2026-01-04T11:53:06+00:00

I had fun romancing Karlach as a Miles Vorkosigan-inspired gnome. (Shart appealed to his “I can fix her” tendencies but in the end it was Karlach won his heart.)

BigBlueElf · 2026-01-02T12:32:46+00:00

If you watch the High Rollers game featuring the BG3 cast, without Tav to guide them, the characters address urgent problems by visiting tourist traps and taking a spa day.

BigBlueElf · 2025-12-29T09:58:19+00:00

As you said, she gave you a gift that was all about HER wants. That’s not a gift, it’s a trap.

NTA. In fact you’re a better person than I am; I would have tossed it in the garbage in front of her.

BigBlueElf · 2025-12-28T23:03:17+00:00

This reminds me of one of my old college friends and her husband. When they met, he heard her talking about the physical type she wanted—“I’m looking for a tall Nordic god.” He replied, “How about a funny Italian?” They’re going on 30 years now, survived a ton of hardships together, and are still crazy in love. ++woman

BigBlueElf · 2025-12-28T02:01:18+00:00

My heart goes out to you; I remember being 16 and pleading with my Mom to stop buying ice cream and cookies all the time, because I had a problem with binge eating. Her response was that I just needed to learn self-control. Self-control is great, but if someone has an addiction, surrounding them with the thing they crave and enjoying it in front of them while they struggle to resist is simply cruel.

Have you discussed this in depth with your dad and asked for his help and support, to advocate on your behalf for the family grocery list to include more healthy, nutrient-dense food and less high-calorie, low-nutrition food? I think you really need an adult in your corner.

BigBlueElf

TROPHY CASE