A Cheese Wizard's Fixation

[cheddar-mancer]

Hey hey, fellow adventurers!

I'm opening up some simple commission work to help save up a little extra money for:

-paying off the new drawing tablet ($400)

-take the edge off a few bills (who knew the dentist was so expensive.)

I do D&D, Baldur's Gate 3, OCs, and more for art! (Ask me about pet portraits!)

Please feel free to message me if you're interested!

Email: [email protected]

Message/inbox via Tumblr

Bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/cheezedwizard.bsky.social

[daemon-in-my-head]

Still of the belief that Gortash is so Gortash because he simply can't accept that his life and childhood have been shit for no particular reason. Like he can't accept a bad day is just a bad day. For him everything has to have a reason and justification and if there's none he will create one if he has to. After all he has justifications for everything else he does and the terror he unleashes as well.

And that's also why he himself is so fucked up and stuck. There was no reason for what happened. He knows this, subconsciously, he is smart and quite rational after all, but he simply can't accept it. It has to have a reason, there needs to be purpose otherwise all the pain and misery will have been just that and that's something he simply can not deal with.

So he destroys himself and others and talks about a grand purpose and how it's for the greater good when in reality it's just a man refusing to accept that his agony had no reason. That he, much like everyone else, is a plaything for the gods or the fates and that's a truth that he refuses to live with. That's why he calls a titan his equal. That's why he's obsessed with what parents do for their children. That's why he needs to find out how much agony one can endure before dying.

It's simply to justify what happened. The downfall of the Chosen who prides himself on rationality was that he refused to accept his emotions. That he wasn't destined to be the hero or the shining knight, that he was just like everyone else. That he's just human, with everything that entails.

[sybaritick]

But the idea that you got something in exchange for what you suffered is far more appealing than the truth that suffering is ultimately pointless and harmful -- it does not grant you anything. Hence describing it as cope-- much easier to accept "mathbrained because of the way they treated me" than "I would be better off, both cognitively and in general, if I had not experienced that childhood trauma." The second is the truth, but what a truth to have to swallow. Inferiority, however minor, that you can never shake off. I can't accept it because it would be an excuse for a lesser outcome.

it's this! (totally agreeing with you i just wanted to add this bc i think the same thing about him. he has to accept that the suffering was meaningless, but that is very hard to accept: in order to cope with abuse, people build a narrative around it, and that narrative becomes load-bearing in how they think of themselves. taking that apart is of course possible and part of healing from trauma, but extremely challenging.)

[luna-azzurra]

Tips for Writing Injuries

✧ Broken ribs suck. You don’t just “walk it off.” Breathing hurts. Laughing hurts. Existing hurts. Characters with rib injuries won’t be doing heroic sprints.

✧ Concussions aren’t instant naps. Dazed vision, nausea, dizziness, maybe even personality changes, but they’re not going to collapse neatly like in the movies.

✧ Blood loss is sneaky. It’s not just about dramatic pools of blood. It’s dizziness, confusion, and the body getting cold as circulation tanks.

✧ Adrenaline lies. Someone can take a serious injury and not feel it until the fight’s over. That “I didn’t realize I was bleeding until later” trope? Very real.

✧ Twisted ankles are brutal. One bad step and suddenly running is off the table. Even walking hurts like hell. Perfect way to ground a chase scene.

✧ Burns linger. Even small burns hurt more than most people expect. Blisters, infection risk, constant pain, it’s not just a cool scar later.

✧ Dislocated shoulders = useless arm. Characters can’t keep swinging a sword or firing a gun. They’re basically fighting one-armed until it’s fixed.

✧ Shock is a thing. Pale skin, trembling, rapid heartbeat, and eventually disorientation. A character might not even realize how bad their wound is.

✧ Stitches aren’t magic. Getting sewn up is painful and recovery takes time. They’re not instantly battle-ready after a needle and thread.

✧ Scars tell stories. Some fade, some don’t. Some stay sensitive forever. Don’t forget the aftermath when the wound becomes part of the character.

[crocodiller]

Rowan Comic - Descend Part 3 So much for simply kicking some old man's undead ass. Why is nothing ever easy around here? First - Previous -

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[gothicspork]

The flu sucked but this kept me going.

[ohcaptains]

[enyter]

[scalycat]

OC checkpoint because I'm curious... What's the physical trait you like the most on your OC's face? A little detail you love paying attention to when you draw them. Their face just doesn't feel complete until you've added that thing. Tell me

[crocodiller]

Rowan Comic - Confessions Part 3 Astarion is very fortunate that Rowan happens to like him more than Rowan hates people lying to him. Fools in love etc etc Also, not pictured is Rowan imploding because ✨ holding hands ✨

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[casperxp]

I want more aromantic characters who are not also asexual !!! I want more characters who 100 percent want to get it on but just don’t feel any romantic feelings for anyone. I want more aromantic characters with “friends with benefits” except it’s literally just that. That’s their best friend and sometimes they let them fuck. More aromantic characters please !!!!

[crocodiller]

~Bat Update~ The bats will be going up for sale on Sunday, May 17th at 5 PM EST! Again, there are only a limited amount, so if you're interested in snagging a bat plush, please keep an eye out for the launch post here at that time! 🦇

[j-l-kepler]

the extraordinary @tcustodisart made a fucking badass faux cover of their tav Connie (connie is the best) which was inspired by the new Astarion book, and i'm a hack fraud and decided to make one of my best girl briar

i even copied the funny author tagline sorry tcustodisart you did it first and you did it better

HONESTLY im pretty proud of what was supposed to just be a simple doodle. amazing what one can achieve in like 2 hours in the wee morn

i hope more people do this for their tavs bc this was really fun

what if i did a lil fake blurb

Horror nips at her shadow. Wherever it is cast, calamity is doomed to follow. But before the monster hunter's rote misfortunes took root, her bow was aimed at a very different kind of beast.

Briar Lockren has never been one to shy away from the face of evil. Between the Church of Cyric's teachings and her spiteful father's neglect, Briar has seen enough for a lifetime. But where the Prince of Lies would aim her bow at the innocent, she has sharpened her arrows for the foes that creep from the Spine of the World and threaten Luskan's borders.

Though her heart has abandoned Cyric's ways, it still beats for one of its members: Ronan Amberclaw, her closest friend in that hell of his father's making. Though their paths have diverged at the , a common enemy has brought them together time and time again. And the enemy of her enemy beckons her back into the fray.

When shipments coming and going along the Blackford Road start disappearing, Briar soon realizes this is no simple series of monster attacks. Ronan and Briar descend again into the vile underbelly of Luskan as a Banite conspiracy unravels. Missing persons, mysterious deaths, and strange dealings with long-dead foes reveal a plot that could threaten the entirety of the Sword Coast.

But which of the evils is truly the lesser? Is she strong enough to coax Ronan from the shadows, or will he pull her out of the light? Whatever the case may be, she'll face it. After all, Briar Lockren has never been one to shy away from the face of evil.

--

been thinkin a lot about briar's history with ronan~ i've honestly considered writing a lil novella about it since they did a bunch of stuff before the whole "i'm the chosen of cyric, woe curse be upon thee" shtick. after all, briar was hanging out with a cyricist by accident, and the biggest reason they stayed in contact in the way they did was because they had a common enemy: banites!

i think stories where the bad guys team up with the good guys are so fun because sometimes there simply IS a bigger problem that would be SOOO beneficial to either side for either reason. briar wants to protect luskan, so she teams up with the weaker sect of cyricists bc she knows and trusts ronan (having grown up with him and been close with him due to their similar treatments). luskan has a lot of establish Banite spots but its Cyricist influence is pitiful. great for the cyricists - they take out the Banites, they fill the power vacuum!

it's really fun to think about how they were during this time, because they were both decently different briar's a lot more snarky and fiery while ronan's sarcastic but still so capable of vulnerability when he doesnt realize it. there's a reason they like each other, but that's also in tandem with the ways ronan was just a less obvious abuser to briar. which is really interesting for me to explore in my thinky brain.

it was also this particular mission that lead up to the inciting incident of briar's story in the main game - that being Ronan betraying and killing his father. something he did because, during this mission, briar tried to convince him to leave his father's shadow. SHE meant literally leave because she thought his worst qualities were because of his father's domineering personality, while ronan thought "if i kill my dad and take over the cult, then briar and i will be the top dogs and she'll get to come live with me instead of this romeo and juliet thing". dad dies, the entitlement and underhandedness of the power grab earns ronan his status as cyric's chosen, and the rest is HISTORY

if this book were real, it breaks my heart to know how it ends. with briar running out that door and ronan setting the curse that would haunt her for three years. it's a tragedy, that's for sure.

i hate you, ronan amberclaw

briar babygirl im so sorry your boyfriend turns out to be the fucking worst

oki bed time

[crocodiller]

What a bad influence, don't listen to him 🩸 I finally finished a bunch of adorable, fluffy bats! Took me long enough 😅 And now there's a devious ascended version! I made two of each kind, spawn and ascended, so four bats available in total. And I will most likely not be making more, so this will be a limited sale! More details coming soon~!!

[crocodiller]

Rowan Comic - Confessions Part 2 I wanted to expand on this scene with a what-if where Tav can be upset without it just jumping to a breakup. Since Rowan never wanted this relationship to be casual, he'd definitely have a lot of emotions!

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[gothicspork]

🏥 No one asked for this but I already drew a modern nurse Hyve for a tavqotd in Bsky.

OC Outfit Doodle Ask

[cheddar-mancer]

17 and 31 for the Tav asks?

hohoho~ 17. Does your Tav's starting armor reflect them?

It's really hard to qualify a barely held together coat as "armor", but so goes the way of the squishy caster class and their love of light armor Fun lore drop time though-- That coat quite literally IS Kas's starting armor (and all they have to their name early game) as it was the first prize they ever received in their pirating career! They've kept it all these years out of sentiment and it's something that brings them a strange comfort. This coat is literally the only consistent thing that this sewer rat has ever had to their name. They've even gone out of their way to keep the nasty thing around and of practical use to them; repairing any rips and tears, adding extra pockets for inventory, embroidering a map on the inside , even dying larger patches to hide how much has been replaced. One could even debate at this point is this even the same coat anymore with how many times they've "fixed it". one thing that was never fixed though was they never really grew into the coat, despite thinking that they might.

Honestly the coat is a reflection of Kas in a sort of sad way. Both have seen a lot of wear and tear. Picked apart and stitched back together to be of more use but to the point where it's basically unrecognizable from the original. Both coat and tiefling could be viewed as both damaged beyond repair and better off discarding, depending on who you ask...

31. What does your Tav think of the Underdark and the Myconids? terrifying yet fascinating at the same time. The Underdark is full of cool shit, but also most of that cool shit is really interested in killing you in a very not quick and painless way! Very much like the sea The biggest thing that they dislike about there is that you can't see the stars. It is way, way, way too easy to get lost and separated. As for the Myconids, the heebees were jeebee'd, but they wanted more! What funky fellas! Haha look at them make the dead bodies walk around without necromancy! Listen to them speak into the mind at ease--Ok maybe the myconids have rustled a few jimmies for Kas. TDLR: Curious but uncomfortable!

[cheddar-mancer]

17 and 31 for the Tav asks?

hohoho~ 17. Does your Tav's starting armor reflect them?

It's really hard to qualify a barely held together coat as "armor", but so goes the way of the squishy caster class and their love of light armor Fun lore drop time though-- That coat quite literally IS Kas's starting armor (and all they have to their name early game) as it was the first prize they ever received in their pirating career! They've kept it all these years out of sentiment and it's something that brings them a strange comfort. This coat is literally the only consistent thing that this sewer rat has ever had to their name. They've even gone out of their way to keep the nasty thing around and of practical use to them; repairing any rips and tears, adding extra pockets for inventory, embroidering a map on the inside , even dying larger patches to hide how much has been replaced. One could even debate at this point is this even the same coat anymore with how many times they've "fixed it". one thing that was never fixed though was they never really grew into the coat, despite thinking that they might.

Honestly the coat is a reflection of Kas in a sort of sad way. Both have seen a lot of wear and tear. Picked apart and stitched back together to be of more use but to the point where it's basically unrecognizable from the original. Both coat and tiefling could be viewed as both damaged beyond repair and better off discarding, depending on who you ask...

31. What does your Tav think of the Underdark and the Myconids? terrifying yet fascinating at the same time. The Underdark is full of cool shit, but also most of that cool shit is really interested in killing you in a very not quick and painless way! Very much like the sea The biggest thing that they dislike about there is that you can't see the stars. It is way, way, way too easy to get lost and separated. As for the Myconids, the heebees were jeebee'd, but they wanted more! What funky fellas! Haha look at them make the dead bodies walk around without necromancy! Listen to them speak into the mind at ease--Ok maybe the myconids have rustled a few jimmies for Kas. TDLR: Curious but uncomfortable!

[euryalex]

Baldur's Gate 3 Tav Ask List

May contain spoilers!! Please reblog!

• Origin & Class 1. What is their backstory and why did you choose it? 2. What is their class (+ subclass) and why did you choose it? 3. Do they multiclass? Why (not)? 4. Is there a reason why your Tav starts out as Level 1? 5. Does your Tav have family members? Are they close? 6. Does your Tav have any friends from their past? Are they still friends? 7. Does your Tav have connections to other characters (I.e.: NPCs)? 8. Where did your character live before the events of the game? 9. Does your Tav have a different class/race/origin than in the game? (I.e.: Your Tav is Aasimar, fisherman backstory ...) 10. What was your Tav like as a child?

• Prologue 11. What goes through your Tav's head when they wake up on the Nautiloid? Are they scared or do they push those feelings aside to focus on escaping? 12. How does your Tav feel about Us? Did they free them, maim them or leave them behind? 13. What was your Tav's first reaction to Lae'Zel? 14. What was your Tav's first reaction to Shadowheart? 15. Does your Tav use their Arcana knowledge to free Shadowheart or do they use the rune found in the next room? 16. Does your Tav help the mindflayer against Commander Zhalk or do they run straight to the helm? 17. Does your Tav's starting armor reflect them? If not, what would they wear instead? 18. If you could, would your Tav see any of the other companions? If so, how would they react? 19. What's your Tav's personality like at the start of the game? Does it change as the game goes on? 20. Finally, what does your Tav feel as the Nautiloid crashes? Are they scared? Are they thinking of a way to survive?

• Act 1 21. Which companion do you get first? If you get Shadowheart first no matter what, who's the second one? 22. What is your Tav's first impression of the other companions (Astarion, Gale, Karlach, Wyll ...) 23. What's their opinion of Emerald Grove? Do they help the tieflings or side with the druids? 24. How does your Tav feel about Mol and her friends? 25. What does your Tav think of Aradin? 26. What does your Tav think of the Raphael? 27. Does your Tav adopt Scratch and the Owlbear cub? Did you name him? 28. What does your Tav think of Auntie Ethel? What do they tell Mayrina? 29. What does your Tav do about the Goblin camp? Do they free Halsin or side with Minthara? What's their opinion of them? 30. Who does your Tav think of when they go to sleep at the goblin/tiefling party? Or are they lucky and do they get to spend the night with the person they want? 31. What does your Tav think of the Underdark and the Myconids? 32. Does your Tav help Glut or do they fight him? 33. Do you bring the potion ingredients to Omeluum and, if so, did you drink it? Did you barter for his ring? 34. Does your Tav react to the Sussur flower (Sorcerer) or how would they react if it affected them? 35. Do they deliver Nere's head to the Myconids and save the slaves? 36. Did your Tav fight the Forge Protector? How did the fight go for them? 37. Did your Tav go to Creche Y'llek? Did they know something was up with the healer? 38. Did your Tav deface the portrait of Vlaakith? 39. Did your Tav get the Blood of Lathandar? 40. Did your Tav agree to kill the Guardian or did they go talk to them instead?

• Act 2 41. Which way did they take? Did they run into Elminster? What was their opinion of his news for Gale? 42. How does your Tav react to the shadow curse? Are they scared of the dark? 43. What does your Tav think of Jaheira and the Harpers? 44. What does your Tav think of Isobel? 45. Does your Tav help Mol win against Raphael? 46. Does your Tav help Astarion make a deal with Raphael? 47. Does your Tav help Markus or do they warn Isobel? 48. Does your Tav steal the moonlantern from Kar'Niss or do they fight him? 49. How does your Tav react to Ketheric Thorm? What about his family (Gerringothe Thorm, Malus Thorm ...)? 50. Does your Tav save the tieflings & gnomes? 51. What does your Tav think of the Gauntlet of Shar? 52. What does your Tav think of Dame Aylin? 53. Did your Tav help Art Cullagh? 54. What did your Tav tell Arabella about her parents? 55. Did your Tav reunite with Us? 56. What did your Tav think of the Mindflayer colony? 57. Did your Tav free Zevlor? Did they free Mizora? 58. Did your Tav complete the Brain Node puzzle? 59. Did you use the Minds you find on the head near the brain node puzzle? 60. Did you clear Moonrise Towers of the shadow curse?

• Act 3 61. How does your Tav feel about Baldur's Gate? Is it their home? Is it their first time in the city? 62. What's their first impression when they enter Rivington? 63. If Shadowheart got a new haircut, how does your Tav react? 64. What does your Tav do with the trapped kids' toys? 65. Does your Tav go to the circus? Do they like the activities? 66. Does your Tav help with the murder investigation? 67. Does your Tav meet Tara? What's their opinion? 68. What does your Tav do with the Mindflayer in the windmill? 69. Does your Tav run into Orin? If so, what's their first opinion? 70. Does your Tav make a deal with Raphael? 71. Does your Tav 'spend time' at Sharess' Caress? 72. How does your Tav enter the city? 73. Do they free Florrick? 74. What do they do at Gortash' coronation? 75. What does your Tav do with the serial killer running rampant? 76. Does your Tav tell Dame Aylin about Lorroaken? Do they help her fight him? 77. Does your Tav go to the House of Hopes? If so, do they sleep with Haarlep? 78. Does your Tav help the Wavemother? 79. Does your Tav rescue the prisoners in the Iron Throne? 80. Does your Tav free the slaves from Steel Watch Foundry? Do they side with the Gondians or with Wulbren? 81. If you saved Oskar in Act 1, did you meet him again? If so, did you help him? Did you side with the Mystic Carrion or with Thrumbo? 82. What does your Tav do with the Counting House robbery? 83. Does your Tav reunite with Mayrina? Do they fight Auntie Ethel? Do they save Vanra? 84. Does your Tav find all of Dribbles' body parts? 85. Who did Orin abduct from your party? 86. Did your Tav complete the trial of Bhaal? 87. Did your Tav side with Gortash or did they agree to kill him for Orin? 88. Does your Tav successfully resist the Nether Brain? 89. Does your Tav side with the Emperor or do they free Orpheus? Do they become Illithid to use the Nether Stones or does one of their companions do it? Do they give the Nether Stones to the Emperor/Orpheus? 90. Do they betray the Emperor/Orpheus/their companions for the Absolute?

• Epilogue 91. Does your Tav get a happily ever after? 92. Where does your Tav end up after defeating/siding with the Nether Brain? 93. What do you think happens to the party, afterwards? Do they go for drinks? Do they go their separate ways? 94. Years after the game, what do you think your Tav is up to? 95. What do you think of your Tav's development throughout the game? If you compared them to who they were at the start, what would be different?

• Companions 96. Does Lae'Zel remain loyal to Vlaakith, or does she follow Orpheus? Or neither? 97. Does Astarion kill Cazador? Does he remain a vampire spawn or does he complete the ritual? 98. What does Gale want? The crown for himself? For Mystra? Or has he given up on chasing power? 99. Did Wyll get freed from Mizora? Did he save his father? 100. Did Karlach get upgraded? Did she turn Illithid? Did she return to Avernus? If so, did Tav join her, or Wyll, or both? 101. Did your Tav recruit Minsc? What's their opinion of him? 102. Did Shadowheart turn to Selûne or did she remain loyal to Shar? Did she free her parents or let them go? 103. Did Tav help Jaheira with the Harpers? 104. Who did your Tav romance? How did this romance develop throughout the game? What happened at the end?

105. Anything you want to say about your Tav! Give a random headcanon, answer a random question, say whatever you want!

[j-l-kepler]

hey if you wanna ask my active goobers questions at literally any point i got some goobers i like to draw and also some other goobers if that strikes your fancy