Lily Orchard and Imoen: It's Worse Than You Realize
We’re all aware that Lily Orchard loves Baldur’s Gate, the Imoen Romance mod, and that she ships the player character with Imoen. She calls it her favorite romance, but also that “she doesn’t use the mod for the romance, there is a friendship path.” And if she really wanted to, she could argue that “Well it’s not technically incest, the dad is a god so, anything goes!”
These arguments do not hold water, but I think a lot of people just don’t talk about how these arguments fall apart because not many people 1. have played Baldur’s Gate or Baldur’s Gate II and 2. would want to play through an entire mod and romance their fictional maybe-sister.
I have played these games on console, so I am unable to mod even if I wanted to. HOWEVER, due to the nature of Infinity Engine modding…The scripts are all available in the files.
I’d like to go through some of these scripts of the most updated version, 4.1.2. Before anyone accuses me of editing Notepad to make things look worse, the mod is available here: http://imoen.blindmonkey.org/. You’re free to either download and play it or look through the scripts itself.
MASSIVE warnings for incest, and SA. I also honestly wonder just how much this mod has influenced Lily Orchard’s writing style. You’ll see what I mean as I go. So, a warning for that kind of writing—cringy and weird.
Is it incest?
First some context for those who have not played Baldur’s Gate—The player character, henceforth referred to as Charname in the files, is a Bhaalspawn. Imoen is your childhood friend—and is revealed to be a Bhaalspawn too. Same dad, Bhaal, the God of Murder. So you can imagine the issues that come from that dynamic.
Most Imoen fans who like to romance her will usually handwave the incest argument due to your God parent. He took many different forms when he had his giant horde of children. Even the mod Q&A does this…but you’ll already see that no matter what, the mod does consider them siblings:
(File: README).
A lot of time is devoted to either Imoen or other party members arguing that the relationship is wrong due to your relation. Due to the nature of scripting, it doesn’t say clearly whose speaking, so I’ll be highlighting dialogue, pink being Imoen, yellow being Charname, and green for other characters.
(File: RomanceContent)
A large part of the romance is you convincing Imoen to stay in the relationship. So much dialogue is just about how weird and creepy it all is. As Lily has said in the past, she loves that it doesn’t shy away from the topic.
Companions like Jaheira will call Imoen out:
(File: banter).
Even Sarevok calls it out:
(File: SarevokInterjection).
There’s a dream where yours and Imoen’s foster dads chastise you and point out for a male Charname the baby question:
(File: GorionWraith.)
So it is considered incest in the mod. No getting around that angle here. However, it’s important to note exactly when this romance happens. You do, after all, save Imoen from torture.
Sexual Violence
In Baldur’s Gate II, Charname and Imoen are captured by the villain Irenicus, with Imoen staying captured for a lot longer than Charname. After you get her back, you’re able to start her romance. Specifically, there will be a night where you have a campfire, and she plays a lute. Then you chase her and have a tickle fight. You’ll notice this is Lily’s favorite scene, according to her video on Imoen: https://youtu.be/hvm1Q859mLI?si=csV7z3vsfqVrs-Zw&t=2551
This is also the scene where you can choose to pursue the relationship…
(File: Campfire).
But the romance all begins after you save her from her torturer. She has a scene detailing some of it to you:
(File: Torture).
The timing is bad, in general, for romance. It adds another toxic layer to the dynamic. The torture stealing your soul, and Irenicus being a weirdo creep anyways, some people have read it as SA in the vanilla game. I think any torture like this would be enough on its own, but I won’t lie and say you can’t read that into it.
But there’s the other main controversy this mod had, outside of the big elephant in the room. See, you’ll notice in the FAQ, that a lot of scenes got removed or rewritten as it was updated from 1.0 to 2.0:
(File: README).
The content is still the same, but rewritten. So, I think when it comes to understanding this section…The torture Imoen went through in the original version is not just physical.
(File: Imoendia, 1.202).
If you look up reviews for Imoen Romance, especially the original, most are probably going to talk about it being very crass (even if they praise it).
I wasn’t sure if adding any of it was a good idea, but I suppose it would be better to have the evidence available here. This person is correct—Charname can attempt to force themself onto Imoen in v.1.202.
(File: Imoendia, 1.202).
The original files are still available from the mod website. When Lily says, “You know this mod had a dedicated team because it took ten years to complete,” most of the updates from the original release in 2003 and 2.0 released in 2014 were about changing the owner of the mod, and for rewriting. It was not worked on consistently for ten years—it was more that it was in limbo for long periods of time.
Now, Lily is NOT playing this version on streams, or as far as I can tell, talking about this version in her posts. However, if she’s been following the mod development for a long time, she KNOWS this version exists, AND knows that it happened and was a controversy. And she has to know that the original writer was still part of the team and writing content for it as it was updated:
The key story beats are all there in both versions, even some of the crassness isn’t gone. You literally can call Imoen a slut in any version of the mod. So, I think it’s worth pointing out that she is playing a mod that started off with writing everything...we'll say worse. And she has never once mentioned these elements in her reviews of it, never once called this guy out.
“Friendship Path”
There are paths where you cool the romance and can have Imoen date someone else. That’s really not important to the argument though. It’s not called the Imoen Expansion mod, it’s called Imoen Romance. No matter what, Charname will have weirdo incest dreams about their sibling. As an example, there’s one about seeing her nude while going skinny-dipping:
(File: myoungim).
It’s narrated by a dream version of Imoen, who’s weird and all over you:
(File: IMDREAM).
This is explained to be your Bhaal blood corrupting you.
(File: IMDREAM).
This will happen anytime the mod is installed. Even if you go down a different path, there’s no way NOT to have your character be attracted to Imoen. You just decide not to act on it in the friendship path.
There are literally other Imoen content mods to install—Imoen Friendship, Imoen 4 Ever. As far as I know, these do not have your character attracted to Imoen at all. The fact that Lily chooses this mod above all else…There’s no getting around that. She does, after all, describe her Charname—Aryana (I can’t get over her naming her character Aryan…)—and Imoen as ‘two married siblings’:
For those who don’t think these are Lily’s characters:
There’s probably more to screenshot. There are a lot of sexual scenes in this mod (as you can spend ‘quality time’ together). There are more conversations defending incest. I probably could’ve included every single time some weird meta joke happens as an example of just how much influence I think this has had on Lily’s writing… but for all Lily whines and complains, she certainly loves playing games with very explicit incest in them. That's all this has proven.
I just think people did not know how explicit this mod is, because despite all her praise, she cannot get her fans to ever play BGII.
After some investigation, I can safely conclude that Lily is supporting the work of blatant incest fetishists. And playing their work and sharing that with her audience. But not in a way she can hide anymore.
So, the current owner of the Imoen Romance mod is named T.C. Dale.
On the website under the fanart section, there are links to T.C. Dale’s website. I’m assuming this once hosted fanfiction. This is now deleted, instead to focus on their original erotica fiction. Which, unsurprisingly, includes incest (sorry for the gross description):
(source: http://www.tcdale.com/erotica/)
Do not harass this author. I’m sure they have no idea who Lily Orchard even is, and since they’ve scrubbed all the Imoen stuff off their blog, I don’t think they care that much for the project anymore.
EDIT: Not scrubbed of Imoen content. There is in fact an erotica titled “The Rape of Imoen” on that page…
Regardless, this is the current owner of the Imoen Romance mod and head writer, alongside working with the original creator. Lily is supporting the work of people who blatantly and openly fetishize incest.
Lily also knows who these authors are, having mentioned them in her Imoen video: https://youtu.be/hvm1Q859mLI?si=UoDTD6vIH-bmXIj8&t=1921
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I wonder if CD-Call’s interest in Tabitha Suzuma’s work was because the author said that she wanted to defend “consensual” incestuous relationships in ‘Forbidden.’
Guess I missed the part in The Mummy 2 where it was revealed Jonathan had been sharing a bed with Rick and Evy. Come the fuck on, Lily. Also, as a media critic, in what world would it be acceptable for any other writer to give all their characters the exact same cookie cutter mode of expressing closeness - if she misuses the word 'motif' again...
"Iris had just saved their wedding from disaster." Do you think she'll mention at least some of the disaster was Kiera being unable to cope with the idea of moving out of home from her sister and nearly calling off the wedding as a result?
I’m so fucking tired of Lily’s co-sleeping kink.
And yeah, I’m calling it a kink at this point because it has happened WAY TOO MANY TIMES in her works.
I do find how much CD-Call and Mikaila hate Jaheira and find her romance so disgusting to be fascinating. Talk about stones in glass houses when it comes to judging someone’s shipping choices.
And with Jaheira, even people who’ve only played BG3 either really like her or are neutral. I’ve never really seen someone outright hate Jaheira and make digs at her character all of the time.
Is it just that any woman with authority and a backbone scares the shit out of CD? Is it because unlike Imoen, who’s 19-20 at most, Jaheira is older and acts mature even for her adult age? Is it because the Imoen Romance mod also wrote Jaheira to be homophobic for some reason? Take your pick, it’s likely all of the above.
I choose to believe CD’s just jealous that her fave will never get any love, attention, or even a proper fancam without BG3 footage; and of the fact Jaheira aged like fine wine.
Totally Real Anon: Hey can you recommend companions for me in BG2 in a way that would allow you to poke at the BG3 fandom again?
CD-Call, in all her wisdom: You should download not one, but TWO incest romance mods. You’re welcome!
Reason I suspect it’s not a real person is just how this list is so long for no reason, and some of these comparisons (Shadowheart and Saerileth? MINTHARA AND JAHEIRA?) feel completely written out of spite.
There’s the obligatory “You can romance Imoen with mods!” mention, which she will always mention even when irrelevant, someone asking for romance recs in a game aren’t going to immediately start with a modded romance. Doesn’t make any sense.
But, you’ll also notice that Sarevok is included with the mention of a romance mod.
Sarevok is Gorion’s Ward and Imoen’s half-brother, and also the main antagonist of BG1. Hey CD, why do you know of and possibly download an incest mod for SAREVOK? I thought you were disgusted by how Larian made him so evil in BG3 by having him committing incestuous abuse against his family?
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In case this wasn’t obvious, this is CD-Call’s other Baldur’s Gate OC, Seryna, and she’s the child of Aryana and Imoen. The pink hair (from Imoen) and being half-elf (Aryana is an elf, Imoen is human), as well the mention of ancestry and genes, especially recessive genes, it’s all just a dead giveaway. Recessive genes are a big problem when it comes to the children of incestuous couples.
So. The reason she has this character disabled is because she was born from incest, I suppose. Which weirdly just makes me feel quite sad for this character? She looks miserable to even exist?
I’m remembering a joke CD made about Sarevok in BG3, that ‘he’s copying Aryana and Imoen!’:
In BG3, it is revealed Sarevok abused his daughter to create the character of Orin—as in, he is both Orin’s grandfather and father. Orin does not know this unless your player character reveals it to her, but Sarevok does use his position as her grandfather to abuse, manipulate, and groom her into total servitude to Bhaal. Orin says as much, she did everything not for Bhaal, but for Sarevok. This is the big reveal of Sarevok in BG3, that is what sets him apart from his previous self in BG1+2.
So, is Aryana… grooming her own daughter-niece too, to see her ancestry as ‘divine?’ Seryna IS described as the ‘Berserker’s Progeny.’ Is that the joke of this character sheet? Don’t think you’d get even Mikay’s fake giggle for that one.
Okay, outside of my obvious snark, the possibility of a child is a pivotal part of the Imoen Romance mod. Various characters around the couple will bring up that their child would be an abomination:
(File: SarevokInterjection. Green is Sarevok, Pink is Imoen).
(File: GorionWraith. Green is Imoen’s foster parent. Charname is the player character.)
And it’s clear to me that CD has a fixation on ‘mutant baby children born of incest.’ Because this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this from her:
(Source)
C!Lily and G’s daughter, Bonnie, is a hybrid of a human and a Gardevoir, and is described as an abomination, a monster, and a ‘cryptid baby.’ You can argue how it’s about the child being part monster, a lab experiment gone wrong, and the fact that C!Lily and G are not biologically related.
Problem is, CD played her hand by making the joke of how C!Lily and G are considered to be sisters while Bonnie calls them both her mothers:
(Source)
And while I do try not to get into my personal feelings on this blog, it’s actually really startling to me to include a hypothetical child into your fetish. Especially when all it’s amounting to is going “Wow, isn’t this so taboo and fucked up and weird of me? This child is so gross and disgusting! Haha incest!”
Oh okay, so when you flashed your documents during today's stream...
... and "Crumbling Down.RTF" was one of the files listed...
... that wasn't Crumbling Down, the erotic retelling of Baldur's Gate 2 (by way of the Imoen Romance Mod) as written by TC Dale, co-author of said mod, was it? That was something else entirely?
She’s shown Crumbling Down on her channel, to imply T.C. Dale’s writing is better than BG3.
She also denied reading Crumbling Down last year, after I reported this.
It’s also not just Dale. She has talked favorably about the original creator, and later co-author of the Imoen Romance mod, Israel Barbuzano, in the past. Which I am only noting here because I find it interesting he’s not credited as an author in the likely self-ask anon, when he has also published things outside of erotica (I can’t speak to their quality or content), and CD has recently used (or was inspired by) his music on her blog, the Imoen’s Theme post.
Oh okay, so when you flashed your documents during today's stream...
... and "Crumbling Down.RTF" was one of the files listed...
... that wasn't Crumbling Down, the erotic retelling of Baldur's Gate 2 (by way of the Imoen Romance Mod) as written by TC Dale, co-author of said mod, was it? That was something else entirely?
The question I have is who decided to do the petplay kink with Aryana and Imoen; Mikaila as the artist, or CD as the author? It wasn’t a thing before, not until Aryana became an anime catgirl in their shared comic.
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Lily has tried to dodge accusations of knowingly supporting media with incestuous material in her videos and Tumblr by claiming "I just used a picture of a book, I never read it." This is how she dodged accusations of liking T.C. Dale's work (one of the Imoen Romance mod writers) and for "Hale."
Fine, let's use something she has talked about in-depth before. Let's talk about a book Lily has said over and over that she likes, has read, and features incest: Forbidden.
(Source)
(Source, from Sai)
I'm sure you know the warning the following text will have. We'll go over some parallels between the book and Lily's writing, but also talk about how Lily's actual, real opinions on the topic are shared by the book.
Did I want to read a book on this? No. I skimmed some excerpts, I watched some YouTube reviews, and I read through Goodreads reviews. Maybe this is still not enough for Lily, but think I have enough evidence to say no, this book isn't what Lily says it is. It isn't a dark examination over the dangers of parentification: It's trashy YA taboo romance that preaches that consensual incest is okay, actually. That's the audience and that's how it's written. If you'd like a 2-hour breakdown of the book, here's one for you. The book was a popular “dark romance” in its heyday, a genre that gets criticized for romanticizing abuse, incest, and other dark topics.
Forbidden features Lochan and Maya, a 17-year old bad boy who couldn't talk to anyone growing up but Maya, his 16-year old sister. Now he just can't get close to anyone except her even when he tries, and Maya can’t help but be attracted to him. He's always brooding, even when everyone in high school finds him so hot and attractive. The book is very explicit despite the rating, there are sex scenes between the pair.
As children, the two grew up using their own secret language, similar to ones developed by twins. It's perfectly normal for twins, not normal at all for children with any sort of age difference, I don't think I've ever heard of a case like that.
Lochan and Maya are obsessive over each other, and Lochan is very violent. Maya starts the relationship, but Lochan is the only character who is truly allowed to be sad about this state of events and cry about it. It ultimately ends with Lochan in jail killing himself after being caught with his sister ‘to take the blame’. That is the entire book. He kills himself not due to guilt but because he is labeled as abusive when his 13-year old brother reports them due to being male and older than Maya. It’s framed as a necessary sacrifice so Maya can continue taking care of the younger siblings.
There's a lot of parallels between Lily Orchard's writing and Forbidden:
-Siblings sharing a bed. Obviously in this book that leads to inappropriate things.
-The characters being mean and even violent towards other people, especially ones who call them out, or say they need help, basically anyone speaking against the pair. Lochan chokes his young brother as an example.
-Using words like "more than a sibling" to describe their sibling. "How to explain that Lochan has never felt like a brother but like something far, far closer than that – a soul mate, a best friend, part of the very fiber of my being?"
-The "not able to speak to anyone else" thing, Lochan only being understood by his sister. G and C!Lily and Iris and Kiera have this dynamic.
-Weird nicknames and pet names for each other. Maya calls Lochan "Lochie." I think all Lily OCs have nicknames which is strange, but what came to mind was Aryana and Imoen: Imoen calls her “Ary,” Aryana calls Imoen "Immy."
There are other specific ideas featured in this book that I think Lily agrees with, and ultimately informs why she likes it over other media talking about similar dark topics.
The book shows that both Lochan and Maya are toxic, with Lochan being extremely violent and possessive and Maya very manipulative. However, he's allowed to be sad and cry about how he “has to” be in a relationship with Maya. Maya meanwhile wholeheartedly embraces their dynamic, and technically starts it by flirting first. Due to the accusations, Lily has been stressing how it’s always these fictional girls that push themselves onto their sibling and that the brother did nothing wrong, such as Ashley Graves from The Coffin of Andy and Leyley.
Lochan also becomes obsessed with how he'll be punished if they're caught, as he explains that no matter what he'll be seen as the abuser because he is a male and older. This is partly why he kills himself at the end of the novel when they're discovered. Lily has talked about how male victims aren't talked about enough, due to her being AMAB (using Utena as an example). She has even compared herself to Johnny Depp in the past. The real life topic is complicated, but I do find it weird to fall onto "I'm an AMAB victim" to try and weaponize that against your accusers because of what they also were assigned at birth.
The book also just talks a ton about consensual incest. It doesn't read as "characters who are really going through this horrible thing and are coping however they need to." They feel like mouthpieces to project onto rather than characters, which from this interview I found, the author seems to agree that consensual incest can be okay and that we shouldn’t judge people. Basically, Maya and Lochan will call anyone against their romance bigoted, that what keeps them apart are dumb evil laws, that their love is real and that it's just like being gay, it's just like civil rights. Kit, who is the pairs’ 13-year old brother they just barely take care of, reports them. He's portrayed ultimately as a brat, as wrong to have done this, and who regrets what he did.
The old RVI video on the topic all agree on these points, basically that if both parties consent then you should accept it.
"Being together, we harm nobody; being apart, we extinguish ourselves."
“They’ll never stop us. Not as long as this is what we both want. But you’ve got to stop thinking it’s wrong, Lochie. That’s just what other people think; it’s their problem, their stupid rules, their prejudices.”
"There are no laws no boundaries on feelings. We can love each other as much and as deeply as we want. No one Maya, no one can ever take that away from us."
I really suggest scrolling through some Goodreads reviews, who all seem to go into how the book gave them incestual fantasies, or convinced them that incest isn't bad actually. I hope they were just young when they read it since it was marketed towards teenagers. Regardless, I do think a book on this topic that somehow ends with anyone going "This was really cool and/or hot” is actually not a good representation of that topic.
(Source)
(Source)
Lily liking this book as much as she does is ultimately very bizarre. If she isn’t into incest and doesn’t care for YA, I guess she just really likes reading very very melodramatic books. It does match her writing style.
Wow, so the only way she could think to describe Wyll, both her supposed favorite companion AND the only Black companion in BG3, is to both call him a bitch for being manipulated and abused by a grown woman since he was a teenager, AND to compare him to a slave.
Lily is now openly talking about shipping her player character with Imoen using the Imoen Romance mod. Which we all knew.
However, I personally am confused by the narrative of this post, as she both has explained why she ships the pair and she has always recommended this mod to others. Let's break it down, there's a lot to debunk here. Warnings apply, for text discussing incest and SA.
First, she recommends the mod to her followers. She lists it as a Must Have for BG2 with no accurate trigger warning either.
-
(Source)
She also has consistently called it either the best romance she has ever read, or her favorite RPG romance. That doesn't scream "I don't recommend it to others." She literally made a video promoting it on her channel.
Second, this post from 2019 implies that it was during that year she played at least the romance path of the mod for the first time to write a review.
(Source)
However, it IS possible that both can be true. She could have experienced new content in 2019 despite playing with the mod when she was younger...IF this review is about playing the updated version, which came out in 2014.
And her talking about the mod helping her in childhood is about the original mod created in 2003, which included the option to rape Imoen and other horrid crass content that was removed in later versions. You can read more here for information on the mod I collected.
(File: Imoendia, 1.202. Yellow is Charname/Player Character, Pink is Imoen.)
And this would track, because Lily Orchard is a fan of Israel Barbuzano, also known as Israel Blargh! and Lord Mirrabo, the original creator of the Imoen Romance mod before T.C. Dale. DO NOT REACH OUT TO THIS PERSON FOR ANY REASON.
(Source, his website.)
-
(Source; using his writing in a complementary manner over listing any official writer on Baldur's Gate to discuss "good RPG writing." Who is going to know what "Israel Barbuzano-level storyline" means?)
(Source; Using the music he made for the Imoen Romance mod in her video.)
Also, notice that she says the ONLY reason that Ward/Imoen is problematic is their being siblings. That isn't accurate to the mod itself, as you have to manipulate Imoen into staying in a romance with you in the current version of the mod. BUT, this is accurate to how Lily talks about the relationship.
-
(Source) Yikes.
Finally, "The reasons I ship Gorion's Ward and Imoen are personal," are just not. Her entire video essay on Imoen provides why she ships her Ward and Imoen. It's because she likes Imoen being so attached to the player no matter their crimes or actions. And yes, features Aryana (her player character/Gorion's Ward) and Imoen romancing and kissing in the gameplay footage she has.
(Do I need the mod files for this one?)
(File: RomanceContent, v4.1.2. Pink is Imoen, Yellow is Charname/Aryana. Dialogue is only initiated after starting romance.)
(File: GorionWraith, v.4.1.2. This is the same scene where figures taking the shape of your foster dads chastise you for the relationship.)
I was correct, Lily was talking about and playing the ORIGINAL mod created in 2003. This one had more offensive content, mentioned above (namely the ability to assault Imoen). This is why Lily does NOT talk about how good Baldur’s Gate is on its own, she only praises mod authors such as Israel Blargh and T.C. Dale for their writing.
And I was correct the reason she’s able to ‘ship’ this content is that in her mind certain options are listed as ‘bad’ and certain options are listed as ‘good.’ “Nevermind the incest and abuse, the code says what I’m doing (manipulating my video game half sibling into a sexual relationship) is perfectly okay because I clicked Option 1.”
Which you’ll notice is repeating the argument for consensual incest, just in the context of a video game. That whole ‘it’s okay if both parties agree to it and there’s no abuse ever involved somehow.’ Lily has not changed since she argued for consensual incest back in the RVI days, she just knows to keep it to roleplay now.
Also thought it’d be important to mention when she’s talking about how sweet and caring Gorion’s Ward/Imoen are as an incestuous couple of half siblings. Even outside of the mod content itself featuring gaslighting and assault, Lily Orchard has directly compared her ship of Aryana/Imoen to Sarevok’s abuse against his daughter and granddaughter. What choice does this reflect? ‘Always the most caring, gentle, supportive?’
No Lily it is not JUST one video game incest mod written by incest erotica specialist and author of "The Rape of Imoen" TC Dale.
[Lily's Post]
It's also the incest games. The incest art. The incest books. The incest movies. The old videos you did on incest. The constant incest self asks. The incest in your own writing... need I go on?
It's almost impressive how much incest shit Lily's been shown to have saved/written/whatever. She's got to be DIGGING to find this shit caus
Sure would be a shame if there's video evidence of Lorch proudly admitting to writing Stockholm. Wouldn't that just be embarrassing.
Oh "Th
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Lily is now openly talking about shipping her player character with Imoen using the Imoen Romance mod. Which we all knew.
However, I personally am confused by the narrative of this post, as she both has explained why she ships the pair and she has always recommended this mod to others. Let's break it down, there's a lot to debunk here. Warnings apply, for text discussing incest and SA.
First, she recommends the mod to her followers. She lists it as a Must Have for BG2 with no accurate trigger warning either.
-
(Source)
She also has consistently called it either the best romance she has ever read, or her favorite RPG romance. That doesn't scream "I don't recommend it to others." She literally made a video promoting it on her channel.
Second, this post from 2019 implies that it was during that year she played at least the romance path of the mod for the first time to write a review.
(Source)
However, it IS possible that both can be true. She could have experienced new content in 2019 despite playing with the mod when she was younger...IF this review is about playing the updated version, which came out in 2014.
And her talking about the mod helping her in childhood is about the original mod created in 2003, which included the option to rape Imoen and other horrid crass content that was removed in later versions. You can read more here for information on the mod I collected.
(File: Imoendia, 1.202. Yellow is Charname/Player Character, Pink is Imoen.)
And this would track, because Lily Orchard is a fan of Israel Barbuzano, also known as Israel Blargh! and Lord Mirrabo, the original creator of the Imoen Romance mod before T.C. Dale. DO NOT REACH OUT TO THIS PERSON FOR ANY REASON.
(Source, his website.)
-
(Source; using his writing in a complementary manner over listing any official writer on Baldur's Gate to discuss "good RPG writing." Who is going to know what "Israel Barbuzano-level storyline" means?)
(Source; Using the music he made for the Imoen Romance mod in her video.)
Also, notice that she says the ONLY reason that Ward/Imoen is problematic is their being siblings. That isn't accurate to the mod itself, as you have to manipulate Imoen into staying in a romance with you in the current version of the mod. BUT, this is accurate to how Lily talks about the relationship.
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(Source) Yikes.
Finally, "The reasons I ship Gorion's Ward and Imoen are personal," are just not. Her entire video essay on Imoen provides why she ships her Ward and Imoen. It's because she likes Imoen being so attached to the player no matter their crimes or actions. And yes, features Aryana (her player character/Gorion's Ward) and Imoen romancing and kissing in the gameplay footage she has.
(Do I need the mod files for this one?)
(File: RomanceContent, v4.1.2. Pink is Imoen, Yellow is Charname/Aryana. Dialogue is only initiated after starting romance.)
(File: GorionWraith, v.4.1.2. This is the same scene where figures taking the shape of your foster dads chastise you for the relationship.)
