These aren't fully in the game yet- they are marked as Impossible- but they are voiced and in the text files as well, so likely will be fully implemented in the next patch! I am excited about this- before, the companions seemed oddly mirthful/apathetic about Astarion's fate, instead of nice like (most) of them have been rewritten to be here. (Minsc, however, keeps the same response as before, "We will find you, Astarion! AND BOO WILL BRING A SUNFLOWER!" Which is fine because his previous response was perfection!) This is very welcome!
Lae'zel: Call him man or call him monster, but Astarion was a force against the Grand Design. He deserves to bask in the sun, not to hide in darkness.
Shadowheart: Poor Astarion. How he loved the sun- if only the feeling was mutual. I hope that isn't the last we see of him.
Wyll: Astarion! Gods, what a horror, to feel the sun on your skin for so long, only to be forced back into the shadows.
Gale: Astarion! Cured of one affliction, only to be reclaimed by another. The sun is no longer a friend to him, but we must be- he'll need more solace than shadows can provide.
Halsin: A cruel blow- Astarion loved feeling the caress of the sun... only now it gouges him with its claws. Perhaps we shall meet again, beneath a shield of darkness.
Jaheira: Be well, Astarion. Hide while you must- but do not think your city is done with you just yet.
Minthara: Astarion is cursed to flee the sun as I am cursed to walk in it. Do not belittle him with pity- he is a survivor, and will thrive upon what bounty the darkness provides. There is life in him yet.
Karlach: Astarion. Burnt by the sun again. Godsdamn, that's fucking cruel.
open a document and start writing
Finally starting my short little Karlach comic series, yay~
Even tho she clearly has some issues, to me Karlach (+ obiously Wyll) is probably the most mentally stable person in the group and I wondered how does a character stay this sane after suffering hell for so long. And because she misses her parents so much I thought, once in her life she probably experienced the most wonderful love.
Here's my lyric comic based on the song "Water Witch" by the Secret Sisters
I somehow knocked this out in three days
I've rarely seen a more validating sentence in my entire life.
By existing as a citizen in and paying taxes to the imperial core, we automatically hold complicity in imperialist oppression because we are literally footing the bill for it. That is just the basic nature of being born to privilege in systems of oppression in general. We can be disadvantaged and marginalized in every single other consideration and we still have to understand and cope with this, and ensure we leverage it as effectively as possible.
Voting abstinence/sabotage does not absolve us of our responsibility to do everything in our power to lessen harm, but it DOES show that when our personal morals aren't satisfied, we retreat into (imperialist, this time) privilege to 'wash our hands' of the situation and declare it's not our fault and it's not our problem.
It is OKAY to have content preferences and to be uncomfortable with certain ships or topics, controversial or not. It is OKAY to distance yourself from such content and block certain tags or creators.
It is NOT OKAY to actively hate and harass real people for creating content of fictional characters that features things that make you uncomfortable.