noblesandsstories

[noblesandsstories]

heeppy hoolida

[noblesandsstories]

Pale Pastels: The Start of a Joke

Astarion x Original Fem!Tav

->Humor, nothing too serious yet, Fleur being her silly little self, mentions of a dagger, mindflayer parasites, canon divergence.

Border by: @adornedwithlight

AN: Holy delays Batman. I'm so sorry for how long this chapter took. I know I did that poll a long time ago and nothing came of it, but I got hit by a lot of stuff at once. Plus the intro of Gale threw me for a loop for a while before I decided what to do with it. This has barely been edited, sorry. Gods willing, I'll be faster with the next one, though I don't have too much of an idea for what to do there. Anyways, enjoy!!

Update: Did a bit of a rewrite, not too much. Just a bit of polish.

A red-haired high elf was hovering over an unconscious half-elf woman. It had not been long since she herself awoke on the beach, the half-elf being the first living creature she found, if barely.

She was breathing, but she had yet to wake.

The redhead bent down, reaching out and lightly shaking her shoulder. The woman’s eyes creaked open, looking around as if in a daze, soon focusing on the woman standing over head.

“Rise and shine, sleepyhead! Hope I didn’t ruin any good dreams,” she chirped, a friendly smile on her face.

The woman on the ground blinked for a moment, before replying, “Where are we?”

“Haven’t got a single clue. Hopefully we can find a settlement or something,” the high elf offered her hand. “We haven’t met properly. I’m Fleur.”

The half elf took the hand, using the momentum to stand. “Shadowheart.”

“A pleasure, though I wish it were under other circumstances. Don’t forget your trinket.” 

Shadowheart momentarily gawked as Fleur handed over an old looking icosahedron with unfamiliar runes etched on the sides. She quickly snatched it from her hands and put it away.

“Thank you,” Shadowheart spoke slowly, suspicion heavy in her eyes.

Fleur turned away, scanning the beach before taking in the crashed ship.

“Hell of a landing. And I’m assuming our Gith friend decided she had better places to be. Wish her all the best, even if she wasn’t the most pleasant at first introductions.”

Shadowheart snorted, “Gith are not exactly known for their friendliness. I’m sure she’s probably forgotten all about us.”

Fleur released a dramatic sigh. “Oh well. We’ll probably want to get moving, if you’re feeling like you can travel right now, of course. There looks to be a lot of rubble around, maybe we can find something to let us know where we are.”

“We?”

“The way I see it, we don’t even know for certain this is Faerún. We could be in the Fey Wilds for all we know. And I don’t think us moving independently is a wise idea if we don’t know where we are.”

She quickly added, “I won’t force you, and the gods know I can’t hold you captive.” She glanced at her mace.

Shadowheart sighed. “No, you’re right. Especially with this parasite problem. Best to stick together.”

Fleur grimaced, “Fuck, I forgot about that.” 

The dignified air and formal appearance so quickly fell to what can only be described the look of a kicked puppy, Shadowheart couldn’t help but to laugh.

Fleur’s shoulders relaxed slightly, a small twinkle in her eye.

“My sorrows that funny?” She teased.

“Absolutely hilarious,” she countered. 

“Glad to be of service. Now, shall we?” Fleur made a dramatic bow, hand extended towards the unknown.

The odd pair kept to the outskirts of the crash at first, maneuvering around the brush and debris left behind. And of course, freeing the dead of anything useful. Living take priority.

“Do you recognize anything?” Shadowheart asked as she gathered a small sample of a plant nearby. She recognized it as an alchemical reagent that could come into handy.

“No, and that’s saying something. I’ve been all across Faerún a few times.” She pocketed some gold from a body then poked one of the moving brains with her foot cautiously.

“Oh? Are you a traveler?” 

“Of sorts. Traveling circus,” she beamed.

Shadowheart did not look surprised, it would definitely explain Fleur’s odd clothing. And bright colors.

“HELLO?”

The two stopped at the shout of someone’s voice, looking around to see who could be yelling.

“Hello?” Fleur called out, before her eyes caught on a purple rune, glowing with magic. And a hand sticking out.

“Is someone out there?”

Shadowheart and Fleur looked to each other, confusion on their faces, before Fleur advanced towards it, eliciting a hissed “Careful!” from her companion.

“Are you in, uh, this?” Fleur asked, projecting her voice.

“Gods, finally! Yes, I’m here. I need a hand,” the voice came.

Fleur paused, her head tilting slightly. She turned to the half elf behind her.

“Do you think you could pull him out if I try to stabilize the rune?”

Shadowheart thought for a moment. It was not a completely unreasonable idea. She had seen twigs that looked stronger than Fleur, but she couldn’t deny she had magic. It seemed like a solid enough plan.

“Tell me when to start pulling,” Shadowheart replied, stepping forward to stand next to the elf.

Fleur reached out, touching the tune with one hand, in the other little lights began to flicker and sway. She hummed very quietly under her breath, the lights beginning to dance around her fingers. 

The crackling of magic began to subside, and Shadowheart took that as her cue grasping the hand and pull with all her might.

A bad idea, it would seem, as the man came out easily and she began to descend backwards, him in tow. Fleur darted forwards, grabbing at them in a feeble attempt, but tripped and fell alongside them.

For a moment, they all just laid there in silence, before Fleur started hysterically laughing. 

Shadowheart and the man from the rune looked over to her.

She finally wheezed out, “With how our luck is going, we’ll end up back in Avernus!”

And then he started laughing as well. Soon Shadowheart couldn’t help but crack a smile.

After the laughter died down, Fleur turned to the man. “So who might you be?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Astarion heard the group before he saw them. Three voices, two he recognized from the ship, they weren’t even trying to be quiet. He triple checked his dagger was where he needed it to be, once again, considering poison, but if he accidentally nicked them before he got information, he’d be stuck with no answers.

The group rounded the corner, their leader being a bit too hard to miss, in a pastel pink outfit with flaming orange hair. The half-elf was with her, but instead of the gith, their third was a human in a bright purple robe. He waited till they got closer, and then ran out.

“Help! I need help!” He cried, trying to sound as pathetic as possible.

The pink one turned to him, said something to her companions and bounced forward.

“What is it?” She called as she approached.

“Thank the gods,” he pants for extra detail. “I cornered one of those brain things.”

  “Alright, alright. Let’s see…” She creeped forward, her hand dropping to her side with a roll of her shoulder, footsteps hardly making a sound. Just as she went to peek around the brush, a boar sprinted out, making her jump back.

Astarion took this as his chance, grabbed her around the chest, pressing her towards him, and brought his dagger up.

Her hand coming up was the last thing he saw before a gooey substance was on his face, blinding him.

“WHAT IN THE HELLS?” He cried, stumbling back as she pressed away. 

He heard a gasp before a laugh. Just great.

“What is this?!” He demanded as he wiped at his eyes.

“Oh hush,” the pink one chastised, “For a man who was about to take my throat out, you make a fuss when someone gets one up on you.”

“It’s in my damn mouth,” he began to spit trying to get it out. 

Both of the companions were laughing now.

He finally fumbled for his handkerchief and managed to wipe the substance away from his eyes.

He was greeted to the pink one, looking less than amused at him, and his handkerchief stained a vast assortment of colors.

“Is this PAINT?” He shrieked.

The laughter doubled.

“Serves you right,” the pink one scolded. “Here I am, trying to be nice, and you decide to throw it back in face. Should have let the boar handle you.” It sounded like she was lecturing a small child. And he was actually starting to feel bad, though mostly because he just got duped by a girl wearing all pink and paint of all things.

“If this stains my shirt, so help me- “

“Oh, for the love of- It comes out with water and scrubbing. Soap makes it faster, but it doesn’t stain. My bigger question is why you felt the need to stick up random strangers who anyone could tell didn’t have money since they just survived this!” She waved her hand to the flaming ship behind them.

Astarion felt like he was going to start screaming. “I was trying to get information. I saw you two on the ship before it went careening down.”

“I don’t see what information we could offer you that you couldn’t gather for yourself. We’re infected by parasites that will eventually turn us into mindflayers, and we are somehow not dead yet. The better question is do you have any new information that could help us?”

The two bystanders had finally stopped laughing at his misery and both had a focused look on their faces. 

He shook his head. “Of course this would turn me into a monster,” he bitterly laughed and then looked the pink one in the face, finally getting a good look at her.

She was a high elf, like himself, but her cheeks were slightly rounded, giving her a faint heart shape to her face. Her eyes were a bright sapphire blue and just looked like the eyes of a mischief maker. Her hair was indeed that bright orange, done in an intricate bun style; however, now he could see the dyed pastel pink stripes through it. Her clothes were intricate, but nothing any well-reasoned noble would be caught dead wearing. Instead, she looked like…

“Are you a bloody clown?”

Her face fell, the most genuinely upset she looked throughout their whole conversation. “I’m not a clown, I’m a jester. There’s a difference, even though most laymen can’t seem to comprehend it.”

It felt like it was supposed to be a jab, but he could really care less about the difference between different circus performers.

“We’re currently on the hunt for a settlement or camp or humanoid that is willing to give us any kind of directions. You wouldn’t happen to have any idea where we are?”

“Not a clue,” he says, putting away his handkerchief. He really got himself in a bit of trouble. He snuck another glance at the trio as he bent down to pick up his dagger. The elf in pink had turned back to her companions and was talking to them about where to go next, bringing up a temple they saw not too far down the shore.

He didn’t want to deal with her nonsense, but the truth of the matter was he was totally screwed on his own. If there were any more mindflayers around or, Gods forbid, Cazador tracked him down before he was ready, he was not going to put up much of a chance. And while this troupe certainly wasn’t looking like they’d be much more help, it was something. 

He could work with that for now.

“Now that I’ve thought about it,” he announces, grabbing their attention,” How about we travel together for now? Safety in numbers and all of that.”

The pink one cocks her head to the side. “What’s your name?”

He gives an overdramatic, scandalized gasp, “How could I have been so rude as to not introduce myself. I am Astarion, at your service.” He gave a half bow for effect.

She thinks for a moment, before giving a bow in return, “Pleasure to meet you, I’m Fleur. Welcome to the adventure. This is Shadowheart and Gale-“

Shadowheart stepped forward, taking Fleur’s arm, “Are you sure we should trust a man who just held a blade to you?”

Fleur flashed quite the disarming smile. “For one, I took care of him rather easily. And think of it this way, if he kills us in our sleep, we won’t be mindflayers in the morning!

“Now, to that temple we saw along the shore. Even if we don’t find anyone, maybe there’s some trinkets we could pocket!”

Maybe this was a person he could work with.

[noblesandsstories]

I already feel a lot better about this and it was minor edits.

Pale Pastels: The Start of a Joke

Astarion x Original Fem!Tav

->Humor, nothing too serious yet, Fleur being her silly little self, mentions of a dagger, mindflayer parasites, canon divergence.

Border by: @adornedwithlight

AN: Holy delays Batman. I'm so sorry for how long this chapter took. I know I did that poll a long time ago and nothing came of it, but I got hit by a lot of stuff at once. Plus the intro of Gale threw me for a loop for a while before I decided what to do with it. This has barely been edited, sorry. Gods willing, I'll be faster with the next one, though I don't have too much of an idea for what to do there. Anyways, enjoy!!

Update: Did a bit of a rewrite, not too much. Just a bit of polish.

A red-haired high elf was hovering over an unconscious half-elf woman. It had not been long since she herself awoke on the beach, the half-elf being the first living creature she found, if barely.

She was breathing, but she had yet to wake.

The redhead bent down, reaching out and lightly shaking her shoulder. The woman’s eyes creaked open, looking around as if in a daze, soon focusing on the woman standing over head.

“Rise and shine, sleepyhead! Hope I didn’t ruin any good dreams,” she chirped, a friendly smile on her face.

The woman on the ground blinked for a moment, before replying, “Where are we?”

“Haven’t got a single clue. Hopefully we can find a settlement or something,” the high elf offered her hand. “We haven’t met properly. I’m Fleur.”

The half elf took the hand, using the momentum to stand. “Shadowheart.”

“A pleasure, though I wish it were under other circumstances. Don’t forget your trinket.” 

Shadowheart momentarily gawked as Fleur handed over an old looking icosahedron with unfamiliar runes etched on the sides. She quickly snatched it from her hands and put it away.

“Thank you,” Shadowheart spoke slowly, suspicion heavy in her eyes.

Fleur turned away, scanning the beach before taking in the crashed ship.

“Hell of a landing. And I’m assuming our Gith friend decided she had better places to be. Wish her all the best, even if she wasn’t the most pleasant at first introductions.”

Shadowheart snorted, “Gith are not exactly known for their friendliness. I’m sure she’s probably forgotten all about us.”

Fleur released a dramatic sigh. “Oh well. We’ll probably want to get moving, if you’re feeling like you can travel right now, of course. There looks to be a lot of rubble around, maybe we can find something to let us know where we are.”

“We?”

“The way I see it, we don’t even know for certain this is Faerún. We could be in the Fey Wilds for all we know. And I don’t think us moving independently is a wise idea if we don’t know where we are.”

She quickly added, “I won’t force you, and the gods know I can’t hold you captive.” She glanced at her mace.

Shadowheart sighed. “No, you’re right. Especially with this parasite problem. Best to stick together.”

Fleur grimaced, “Fuck, I forgot about that.” 

The dignified air and formal appearance so quickly fell to what can only be described the look of a kicked puppy, Shadowheart couldn’t help but to laugh.

Fleur’s shoulders relaxed slightly, a small twinkle in her eye.

“My sorrows that funny?” She teased.

“Absolutely hilarious,” she countered. 

“Glad to be of service. Now, shall we?” Fleur made a dramatic bow, hand extended towards the unknown.

The odd pair kept to the outskirts of the crash at first, maneuvering around the brush and debris left behind. And of course, freeing the dead of anything useful. Living take priority.

“Do you recognize anything?” Shadowheart asked as she gathered a small sample of a plant nearby. She recognized it as an alchemical reagent that could come into handy.

“No, and that’s saying something. I’ve been all across Faerún a few times.” She pocketed some gold from a body then poked one of the moving brains with her foot cautiously.

“Oh? Are you a traveler?” 

“Of sorts. Traveling circus,” she beamed.

Shadowheart did not look surprised, it would definitely explain Fleur’s odd clothing. And bright colors.

“HELLO?”

The two stopped at the shout of someone’s voice, looking around to see who could be yelling.

“Hello?” Fleur called out, before her eyes caught on a purple rune, glowing with magic. And a hand sticking out.

“Is someone out there?”

Shadowheart and Fleur looked to each other, confusion on their faces, before Fleur advanced towards it, eliciting a hissed “Careful!” from her companion.

“Are you in, uh, this?” Fleur asked, projecting her voice.

“Gods, finally! Yes, I’m here. I need a hand,” the voice came.

Fleur paused, her head tilting slightly. She turned to the half elf behind her.

“Do you think you could pull him out if I try to stabilize the rune?”

Shadowheart thought for a moment. It was not a completely unreasonable idea. She had seen twigs that looked stronger than Fleur, but she couldn’t deny she had magic. It seemed like a solid enough plan.

“Tell me when to start pulling,” Shadowheart replied, stepping forward to stand next to the elf.

Fleur reached out, touching the tune with one hand, in the other little lights began to flicker and sway. She hummed very quietly under her breath, the lights beginning to dance around her fingers. 

The crackling of magic began to subside, and Shadowheart took that as her cue grasping the hand and pull with all her might.

A bad idea, it would seem, as the man came out easily and she began to descend backwards, him in tow. Fleur darted forwards, grabbing at them in a feeble attempt, but tripped and fell alongside them.

For a moment, they all just laid there in silence, before Fleur started hysterically laughing. 

Shadowheart and the man from the rune looked over to her.

She finally wheezed out, “With how our luck is going, we’ll end up back in Avernus!”

And then he started laughing as well. Soon Shadowheart couldn’t help but crack a smile.

After the laughter died down, Fleur turned to the man. “So who might you be?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Astarion heard the group before he saw them. Three voices, two he recognized from the ship, they weren’t even trying to be quiet. He triple checked his dagger was where he needed it to be, once again, considering poison, but if he accidentally nicked them before he got information, he’d be stuck with no answers.

The group rounded the corner, their leader being a bit too hard to miss, in a pastel pink outfit with flaming orange hair. The half-elf was with her, but instead of the gith, their third was a human in a bright purple robe. He waited till they got closer, and then ran out.

“Help! I need help!” He cried, trying to sound as pathetic as possible.

The pink one turned to him, said something to her companions and bounced forward.

“What is it?” She called as she approached.

“Thank the gods,” he pants for extra detail. “I cornered one of those brain things.”

  “Alright, alright. Let’s see…” She creeped forward, her hand dropping to her side with a roll of her shoulder, footsteps hardly making a sound. Just as she went to peek around the brush, a boar sprinted out, making her jump back.

Astarion took this as his chance, grabbed her around the chest, pressing her towards him, and brought his dagger up.

Her hand coming up was the last thing he saw before a gooey substance was on his face, blinding him.

“WHAT IN THE HELLS?” He cried, stumbling back as she pressed away. 

He heard a gasp before a laugh. Just great.

“What is this?!” He demanded as he wiped at his eyes.

“Oh hush,” the pink one chastised, “For a man who was about to take my throat out, you make a fuss when someone gets one up on you.”

“It’s in my damn mouth,” he began to spit trying to get it out. 

Both of the companions were laughing now.

He finally fumbled for his handkerchief and managed to wipe the substance away from his eyes.

He was greeted to the pink one, looking less than amused at him, and his handkerchief stained a vast assortment of colors.

“Is this PAINT?” He shrieked.

The laughter doubled.

“Serves you right,” the pink one scolded. “Here I am, trying to be nice, and you decide to throw it back in face. Should have let the boar handle you.” It sounded like she was lecturing a small child. And he was actually starting to feel bad, though mostly because he just got duped by a girl wearing all pink and paint of all things.

“If this stains my shirt, so help me- “

“Oh, for the love of- It comes out with water and scrubbing. Soap makes it faster, but it doesn’t stain. My bigger question is why you felt the need to stick up random strangers who anyone could tell didn’t have money since they just survived this!” She waved her hand to the flaming ship behind them.

Astarion felt like he was going to start screaming. “I was trying to get information. I saw you two on the ship before it went careening down.”

“I don’t see what information we could offer you that you couldn’t gather for yourself. We’re infected by parasites that will eventually turn us into mindflayers, and we are somehow not dead yet. The better question is do you have any new information that could help us?”

The two bystanders had finally stopped laughing at his misery and both had a focused look on their faces. 

He shook his head. “Of course this would turn me into a monster,” he bitterly laughed and then looked the pink one in the face, finally getting a good look at her.

She was a high elf, like himself, but her cheeks were slightly rounded, giving her a faint heart shape to her face. Her eyes were a bright sapphire blue and just looked like the eyes of a mischief maker. Her hair was indeed that bright orange, done in an intricate bun style; however, now he could see the dyed pastel pink stripes through it. Her clothes were intricate, but nothing any well-reasoned noble would be caught dead wearing. Instead, she looked like…

“Are you a bloody clown?”

Her face fell, the most genuinely upset she looked throughout their whole conversation. “I’m not a clown, I’m a jester. There’s a difference, even though most laymen can’t seem to comprehend it.”

It felt like it was supposed to be a jab, but he could really care less about the difference between different circus performers.

“We’re currently on the hunt for a settlement or camp or humanoid that is willing to give us any kind of directions. You wouldn’t happen to have any idea where we are?”

“Not a clue,” he says, putting away his handkerchief. He really got himself in a bit of trouble. He snuck another glance at the trio as he bent down to pick up his dagger. The elf in pink had turned back to her companions and was talking to them about where to go next, bringing up a temple they saw not too far down the shore.

He didn’t want to deal with her nonsense, but the truth of the matter was he was totally screwed on his own. If there were any more mindflayers around or, Gods forbid, Cazador tracked him down before he was ready, he was not going to put up much of a chance. And while this troupe certainly wasn’t looking like they’d be much more help, it was something. 

He could work with that for now.

“Now that I’ve thought about it,” he announces, grabbing their attention,” How about we travel together for now? Safety in numbers and all of that.”

The pink one cocks her head to the side. “What’s your name?”

He gives an overdramatic, scandalized gasp, “How could I have been so rude as to not introduce myself. I am Astarion, at your service.” He gave a half bow for effect.

She thinks for a moment, before giving a bow in return, “Pleasure to meet you, I’m Fleur. Welcome to the adventure. This is Shadowheart and Gale-“

Shadowheart stepped forward, taking Fleur’s arm, “Are you sure we should trust a man who just held a blade to you?”

Fleur flashed quite the disarming smile. “For one, I took care of him rather easily. And think of it this way, if he kills us in our sleep, we won’t be mindflayers in the morning!

“Now, to that temple we saw along the shore. Even if we don’t find anyone, maybe there’s some trinkets we could pocket!”

Maybe this was a person he could work with.

[noblesandsstories]

At some point "fanfic can be as good as professional writing" became "fanfic should be as good as professional writing" and that's caused major damage to fandom spaces.

[noblesandsstories]

Noble's Masterlist

Baldur's Gate 3

Pale Pastels- Astarion x OC fic Chapter 1: The Start of a Joke Chapter 2: A Crypt to Creep In

MasoKitty ASMR

Of Bats and Bunnies - Jasper x OC anthology How They Met The First Date (AO3) Cold

More Coming Soon!!

Border credit: @saradika-graphics

[noblesandsstories]

I think I'm going to rewrite the first two chapters of Pale Pastels. I wasn't super proud of them to begin with and I think that's really messing with me.

[noblesandsstories]

I just couldn't help it

[noblesandsstories]

To make up for going in circles on this last chapter, I've decided to entertain myself with the Incorrect Quotes Generator. Enjoy things that made me cackle:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Astarion: *confused* How many kids do you have? Fleur: Biologically, emotionally, or legally?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fleur: *Gently taps table* Astarion: *Taps back* Gale: What are they doing? Shadowheart: *Tired* Morse code. Fleur: *Aggressively taps table* Astarion: *Slams hands down* YOU TAKE THAT BACK-

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Astarion: This is a mistake. Fleur: *Enthusiastically* A mistake we're going to laugh about one day! Astarion: But not today Fleur: *Still enthusiastic* Oh, no. Today is going to be a mess.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Astarion: How petty can you get? Fleur: *Sips tea* I once edited a Wikipedia article to win an argument I was wrong about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This chapter will be done soon I swear.

[noblesandsstories]

Halfway through chapter 3 and I realized I completely forgot to mention anything about the tadpoles.... I knew I was forgetting something. And now I have to find out out to fix it naturally.

[noblesandsstories]

Resources for Writing Sensitive Topics

As always, when writing about sensitive topics/injuries/illnesses, we encourage everyone to research and tag works appropriately. This is to ensure that the whump community can remain a safe space for everyone, as well as assist writers in creating well-informed works that avoid offending people and stereotyping, romanticising, or sensationalising hard topics.

Below are some links to resources we and others found useful - we'd like to thank the wonderful members of our community for helping us with finding great resources.

Blogs/Tumblr Posts:

@cripplecharacters - A whole blog dedicated to helping people write disabled characters.

^ A Guide to Writing Disabled Characters

@writingwithcolor - A whole blog dedicated to writing and resources centered on racial, ethnic and religious diversity.

^ Stereotypes and Tropes Navigation

Resources for Writing Injuries (Tumblr Masterpost)

Resources for Writing Sketchy Topics (Tumblr Masterpost - please note that a couple of links are broken due to the post being 7 years old, but many are still working!)

A guide to designing, drawing or writing characters who use mobility aids (Tumblr post)

Writing A Blind or Visually Impaired Character (Tumblr Post)

Independent Websites

Avoiding Stereotypes in Fiction: Characters with Mental Health Issues (WritersHelpingWriters)

How Do I Depict a Disabled Character Respectfully? (Fay Onyx, Mythcreants blog)

Respectfully Depicting a Character Adapting to a Disability (Fay Onyx, Mythcreants blog)

Writing Deaf Characters (T. Frohock, author.)

How to Write Deaf or Hard of Hearing Characters (Melanie Ashford, Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association)

How to Write a Blind or Vision Impaired Character (AllWriteAlright)

If anyone has any additional sources, feel free to share them in the reblogs/replies!

[noblesandsstories]

This is some shit Fleur would pull, and I love it.

The seminar devolves into Shadowheart and Lae’zel finding acceptable ways to insult each other while Karlach laughs them off and Wyll wonders why we can’t all be nice.

[noblesandsstories]

As always if you see any grammatical errors or tags I might have missed, please let me know.

Pale Pastels: A Crypt to Creep In

Astarion x Original Fem!Tav

->Hijinks ensue, mentions of traps, violence against skeletons, Fleur stabs herself, she's doing her best guys, Astarion's only been here a few minutes and he's fed up, oh hey there's plot guys! (At least in spirit), we're starting the slow burn here, kinda.

Border by: @adornedwithlight

AN: Calliope herself spoke through me, this had around 200 words when I started and this baby is at around 1,600. Hope y'all enjoy, starting to set up pieces of Fleur's stat block and a bit of her and Astarion's dynamic. Oh and I've never really wrote combat before, hope it wasn't too much of a pain to read. Bon appetite.

This temple was a great idea, decent loot, especially looting the bandits camp after Fleur sprinted up to them, frantically going on and on about mindflayers eating people. They didn’t stick around long after that, and it took the trio left hiding in the bushes a lot to not burst out into laughter at her performance of a woman who witnessed untold horrors.

Overall a rather good experience.

The group had found a book that had some kind of magical seal on it. Gale was fascinated with it, trying to break the spell desperately. Astarion only rolled his eyes.

We could be here a while, he thought. He slipped out of the room, hoping to find some kind of loot, or at least something to pick at while he was bored.

What he did find was a room full of tombs, with more traps than he’d seen in a long time.

Must be something very worthwhile here, better get to work. The elf pulled out his tools and carefully stepped over to the closest sarcophagus and began picking at the lock. Just as he opened it he turned his head to check over the room…

Just in time to see Fleur about to step on a pressure plate.

“DON’T.”

She froze, looking at him with wide eyes, foot suspended in the air.

“Can’t you see there’s traps everywhere?” He hissed.

To her credit, she did look like she was carefully observing when she double checked the room, but when she turned back to him, her face held a sheepish smile.

“No,” she said apologetically.

Astarion sighed. “Why are you even in here?”

“Same as you I recon. Watching Gale try to open a book that doesn’t want to be opened is extremely boring. Figured you’d at least be entertaining to stand next to.”

Astarion really didn’t want the company. But he knew he needed to start playing his cards carefully, lest he wanted to end up in dire straits. For now, playing nice with the candied bard would probably be a benefit.

“Fine, but take a step back and let me guide you over. There’s not many floor traps, but I can bet that they’re all synced up to one another.”

She dutifully obeyed, and he made his way over carefully.

“Ok, now watch my feet.” He over dramatized his steps, going slowly, and one by one, but in the interest of not learning what these traps do, he’d greatly look as foolish as he’d need to. Fleur diligently followed his movements, eyes analyzing every slight angle, until he was certain she was far enough from the main plates to do much harm.

“Now, sit tight and don’t do something stupid, darling,” he drawled in his usual flirty tone.

Fleur just gave a bright smile, “I’ll do my best.”

Astarion turned back to the sarcophagus, poking his head in, finally. A few pieces of gold. Not bad. He moved on to the next one. He heard the light footsteps as he knelt for the next one.

They made their way through the room, coffin by coffin, even found a chest with some basic loot, Astarion dutifully working on the locks, Fleur quietly observing. Honestly, Astarion found it rather nice.

Until Gale and Shadowheart walked in.

“We figured the book out!” Gale exclaimed. Astarion thought he looked like a dog trying to impress it’s master, poor bastard.

“Don’t walk in!” Fleur called out. “This place is trapped up.”

Shadowheart just cocked her head. “Yes, it’s very obvious there are traps here. Thanks for the warning.”

Fleur only looked a little bashful when she replied, “We’re almost done here. Go on and we’ll catch up!”

The two moved on and Astarion quickly picked the last lock. He fished out the last of the loot (a few pieces of gold and a healing potion), and stood.

“Now to get you and I out of this room safely, my dear,” he crooned.

“Do you mind if I do something first? Promise won’t be too bad,” she asked.

“Of course, as long as you don’t stab me,” he gave a careless laugh. She didn’t seem like the type to do something, right?

She stepped up and straightened his collar, fidgeting with it for a second, before giving a nod.

“That should work for now. At least you can pretend like it’s a weirdly placed mole.”

If Astarion’s heart could stop, it would have then.

She knew she knew she knew she-

“We do need to find a higher collar if we don’t want someone stabbing before asking,” she looked up to him with a beaming smile. “Now let’s get going. Don’t want them thinking we’re going to elope. You might have to show the way out though. I still don’t see those traps.”

She didn’t care. Or she was behaving like she didn’t care. Astarion couldn’t follow.

And it quickly left his line of concerns when he noticed Fleur almost step on a trap, again.

“WAIT-”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They met back up and found a more open room, that they began to move through, spreading out slightly. Astarion did his best to follow Fleur’s every move, but not to keep her from setting off traps and getting them all blown to Avernus. But to follow her eyes.

Eyes that couldn’t see a pressure plate that was quite obvious but could catch bite marks on his neck. Eyes that shone a rather beautiful shade of blue. Actually, now that he looked at it, something was off about her eyes. What could be-

“Hey, what do you think this button does?” Fleur asked, turning to Astarion.

“Opening the door next to it, I assume,” he responded.

“Then why the button,” she mused. “Why not just have the door, like everywhere else.” She paused for a moment, then turned back to the other two, “Move closer for a bit. I’m going to push this and I’d rather have heads where I can see them.”

Astarion snickered, “Sounds like you’re talking to children.”

Fleur sent him a weak smile, “I’m more used to that than talking to adults. Brace yourselves.”

She pushed the button, and as he predicted, the door opened.

What he didn’t predict was the skeletons strewn about the room to get up.

“Oh shit,” Fleur whispered.

The battle, if you could even call it that, began. Astarion moved forward, deciding that the bow was the best course of action for now. The skeletons were far, and he highly doubt he’d get too close without something horrible happening. He shot one on the ledge above them dead on, staggering it slightly.

A slew of spells slung their way, a firebolt hitting Shadowheart and a ray of frost, which he managed to only be nicked by. Before much else could progress, Fleur channeled a bit of magic, and without warning…

“Even alive, you must have smelled like something rotten.”

The skeleton above them fell into pieces, a bit of excitement fueling him. They definitely could stomp these things.

Another skeleton ran forwards, getting a good hit on Shadowheart. She hit him back, adding an extra shove with the shield as Gale cast firebolt, sending flames to one of the skeletons further back in the room. The skeleton furthest back began casting before everything went quiet.

Silence, how marvelous. And I’m surrounded by casters.

He ran around the group and the skeleton challenging Shadowheart, aiming at the one holding up the spell, and launched an arrow. The fucker didn’t fall, and the spell stayed strong.

Another lobby of spells came their way from the other two skeletons, hitting Gale and Fleur this time. With the silence up, he wasn’t expecting much. Fleur ran up next to the skeleton in front of them, and raised up a dagger.

And brought it down with the worst form he’d ever seen, not just missing the skeleton by a wide berth, but cutting herself in the process.

Astarion wasn’t even sure he had seen it quite right, until the blood trickled down her arm. If it wasn’t for the silence spell, he’d be yelling so loud, he could probably do damage. How do you fuck up that poorly?

He didn’t miss Shadowheart’s eye roll and she swung again with the mace, this time seeming to do slightly more than the last.

Someone had to, he bitterly thought, as sprinted to move out of the radius of the spell, before casting his own back to the skeleton that was holding up the silence spell. This time the creature fell, and with it the spell. He wasted no time turning around, pulling out his rapier and finishing off the brute.

“Since he’s now dead, let’s try sticking to things that are useful?” he sneered.

If looks could kill, Astarion would be dead again from the glare Fleur sent him, but she said nothing, instead braced herself for the ice spell sent her way. Another spell was slung to him, but he managed to easily dodge it.

Shadowheart sent some kind of holy spell to one of the skeletons, downing it instantly. Gale casted another small flash of fire to the other one, which Astarion finished off with an arrow.

They waited a beat, seeing if anything else would rise from the coffins around them, but once it proved still, they all began put their things away.

Astarion turned over to Fleur. “What’s the point in having a dagger if you don’t know how to use it?”

“Listen, Mr. Snark, not everyone is built for combat,” she huffed. “If anything, I’m just glad it wasn’t worse.”

Astarion had never really noticed the pouch at her hip, and when she opened it, he noticed it was a set of daggers, most of them designed for throwing. They were well polished, and carefully shined. But that wasn’t nearly the detail that caught his eye the most.

What caught his eye was one of the larger daggers was missing.

[noblesandsstories]

Pale Pastels: A Crypt to Creep In

Astarion x Original Fem!Tav

->Hijinks ensue, mentions of traps, violence against skeletons, Fleur stabs herself (she's doing her best guys), Astarion's only been here a few minutes and he's fed up, oh hey there's plot guys! (At least in spirit)

Border by: @adornedwithlight

AN: Calliope herself spoke through me, this had around 200 words when I started and this baby is at around 1,600. Hope y'all enjoy, starting to set up pieces of Fleur's stat block and a bit of her and Astarion's dynamic. Oh and I've never really wrote combat before, hope it wasn't too much of a pain to read. Bon appetite.

Update: Did a bit of polish so everything would flow better!

The temple was a great idea, decent loot, especially looting the bandits camp after Fleur sprinted up to them, frantically going on and on about mindflayers eating people. They didn’t stick around long after that, and it took the trio left hiding in the bushes a lot to not burst out into laughter at her performance of a scared woman who witnessed untold horrors.

Overall, a rather good experience.

The group had found a book that had some kind of magical seal on it. Gale was fascinated with it, trying to break the spell desperately. Shadowheart seemed amused while watching him. Astarion couldn’t care less.

We could be here a while, he thought. He slipped out of the room, hoping to find some kind of loot, or at least something to pick at while he was bored.

What he did find was a room full of tombs, that was practically covered in traps.

Must be something very worthwhile here, better get to work. The elf pulled out his tools and carefully stepped over to the closest sarcophagus and began picking at the lock. Just as he opened it, he turned his head to check over the room…

Just in time to see Fleur about to step on a pressure plate.

“DON’T.”

She froze, looking at him with wide eyes, foot suspended in the air.

“Can’t you see there’s traps everywhere?” He hissed.

To her credit, she did look like she was carefully observing when she double checked the room, but when she turned back to him, her face held a sheepish smile.

“No?” she said apologetically.

Astarion sighed. “Why are you even in here?”

“Same as you I recon. Watching Gale try to open a book that doesn’t want to be opened is extremely boring. Figured you’d at least be entertaining to stand next to.”

Astarion really didn’t want the company. But he knew he needed to start playing his cards carefully, lest he end up in dire straits. For now, playing nice with the candy-colored bard would probably be a benefit.

“Fine but take a step back and let me guide you over. There’s not many floor traps, but I can bet that they’re all synced up to one another.”

She dutifully obeyed, and he made his way over carefully.

“Ok, now watch my feet.” He over dramatized his steps, going slowly, and one by one, but in the interest of not learning what these traps do, he’d greatly look as foolish as he’d need to. Fleur diligently followed his movements, eyes analyzing every slight angle, until he was certain she was far enough from the main plates to do much harm.

“Now, sit tight and don’t do something stupid, darling,” he drawled in his usual flirty tone.

Fleur just gave a bright smile, “Only if you do the same.”

Astarion flashed her a smile before turning back to the sarcophagus, finally getting to poke his head in. A few pieces of gold. Better than nothing. He moved on to the next one, hearing light footsteps following him.

Time passed as they made their way through the room, coffin by coffin, even found a chest with some basic loot. Astarion dutifully working on the locks, Fleur quietly observing. Honestly, he found it rather nice.

Until Gale and Shadowheart walked in.

“We figured the book out!” Gale exclaimed. Astarion thought he looked like a dog trying to impress its master, poor bastard.

“Don’t walk in!” Fleur called out. “This place is trapped up.”

Shadowheart just cocked her head. “Yes, it’s obvious there would be some traps in here. Thanks for the warning.”

Fleur only looked a little bashful when she replied, “We’re almost done here. Go on and we’ll catch up!”

The two moved on and Astarion quickly picked the last lock. He fished out the last of the loot (a few pieces of gold and a healing potion) and stood.

“Now to get you and I out of this room safely, my dear,” he crooned.

“Do you mind if I do something first? Promise won’t be too bad,” she asked.

“Of course, as long as you don’t stab me,” he gave a careless laugh.

She stepped up and straightened his collar, fidgeting with it for a second, before giving a nod.

“That should work for now. At least you can pretend like it’s a weirdly placed mole.”

If Astarion’s heart could stop, it would have then.

She knew she knew she knew she-

“We do need to find a higher collar if we don’t want someone stabbing before asking,” she looked up to him with a beaming smile. “Now let’s get going. Don’t want them thinking we’re going to elope. You might have to show the way out though. I still don’t see those traps.”

She didn’t care. Or she was behaving like she didn’t care.

And it quickly left his line of concerns when he noticed Fleur almost step on a trap, again.

“WAIT-”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The group came across a giant room with a giant statue, Shadowheart explained it being a scribe god of some kind, Astarion really couldn’t care less. He was busy following Fleur’s eyes.

Eyes that couldn’t see a pressure plate that was quite literally under her nose but could catch bite marks on his neck. Eyes that shone a rather beautiful shade of blue. Actually, now that he looked at it, something was off about her eyes.

“Hey, what do you think this button does?” Fleur asked, turning to Astarion.

“Opening the door next to it, I assume,” he responded.

“Then why the button,” she mused. “Why not just have the door, like everywhere else.” She paused for a moment, then turned back to the other two, “Move closer for a bit. I’m going to push this, and I’d rather have heads where I can see them.”

Astarion snickered, “Sounds like you’re talking to children.”

Fleur sent him a weak smile, “Brace yourselves.”

She pushed the button, and as predicted, the door opened.

“Oh shit,” Fleur whispered.

What wasn’t expected was the skeletons strewn about the room to getting up, grabbing their weapons beside them.

Astarion didn’t hesitate, shooting forward. He knocked an arrow and shot one on the ledge above them dead on, just before a slew of spells slung their way, a firebolt hitting Shadowheart and a ray of frost nicking him.

“Even alive, you must have smelled like something rotten.” Fleur’s vicious mockery hit the same skeleton he did, resulting in it falling to pieces.  

Another skeleton ran forwards, getting a good hit on Shadowheart. She hit it back, adding an extra shove with the shield as Gale cast firebolt, sending flames to one of the skeletons further back in the room. The skeleton furthest back began casting before everything went quiet. Making Astarion realize he was standing between 3 casters.

He ran around the group, aiming at the one holding up the spell, and launched an arrow. The fucker didn’t fall, and the spell stayed strong. Shit.

Another lobby of spells came their way from the other two skeletons, hitting Gale and Fleur this time.

Fleur ran up next to the skeleton in front of them and raising up a dagger…

Bringing it down with the worst form he’d ever seen, not just missing the skeleton by a wide berth, but cutting herself in the process.

Astarion felt like he was going to go into shock.

Shadowheart rolled her eyes, swinging the mace again, successfully hitting it.

Someone had to, he bitterly thought as he sprinted out of the radius of the spell, releasing another arrow, hitting the skeleton that was holding up the spell. This time the creature fell, and he wasted no time turning around to look at Fleur with a sneer.

“Ready to be useful again?”

If looks could kill, Astarion would be dead again from the glare Fleur sent him, but she said nothing, instead braced herself for the ice spell sent her way. Another spell was slung to him, but he managed to easily dodge it. Shadowheart sent some kind of holy spell to one of the skeletons, downing it instantly. Gale casted another firebolt to the other one, which Astarion finished off with an arrow.

There was a beat of silence, as if they were all waiting for something else to pop up.

Astarion turned over to Fleur. “What’s the point in having a dagger if you don’t know how to use it?”

“Listen, Mr. Snark, not everyone is built for combat,” she huffed, moving to put her blade away. “Just be glad it wasn’t worse.”

Astarion had never really noticed the pouch at her hip. It folded open revealing a set of beautiful looking daggers. Most of them looked like smaller throwing daggers, and they were well maintained. At the top was what looked to be a space where two larger, more close combat designed daggers, would sit.

Curiously, there was only one there.

[noblesandsstories]

I'VE BEEN SPELLING FLEURS NAME WRONG THIS WHOLE TIME

God's above I want this second chapter out today, even if it's 200 words and a prayer

[noblesandsstories]

God's above I want this second chapter out today, even if it's 200 words and a prayer

[noblesandsstories]

On an unrelated note, I'm so happy to see people like Pale Pastels. I posted that after a shitty day hoping for the best, and I truly received that. Thank you guys so much <3

[noblesandsstories]

LMAO

putting bg3 point and click voicelines together to sound like a conversation has brought me great joy, so. here's gale, karlach, shadowheart, and astarion doing a terrible job of sneaking around