piltoverfinest

[piltoverfinest]

One of the first things I ever drew with Jel back in March, from when I was getting a feel for this brush!! Never got around to sharing it -

Looking at this makes me miss drawing with this brush so much :(

[piltoverfinest]

Some assorted Wyll & Karlach Childhood Friends au thoughts

Baby Wyll and Karlach get along very well, but they do have their disagreements: Wyll wants to be a flaming fist when he grows up. karlach thinks the flaming fist are stupid (they are) and wants to be part of the Thieves Guild (she is not sneaky at all). Wyll secretly thinks being part of the Thieves Guild would also be cool but will not admit it. (stubborn)

When Karlach first tells her parents she's friend with a patriar's kid, they fully don't believe her. (That's nice, love). Until she brings a kid home for lunch with nice clothes and very good table manners, who introduces himself as Wyll (with a "y"!) Ravengard.

Karlach brings Wyll out one weekend to play some kind of football/kickball/community game, the Baldur's Gate equivalent of baseball for 50's America. All the tiefling kids have little hodgepodge padding wrapped around the tips of their horns so they don't poke anyone's eyes out. Karlach is pretty good at the game, though if she's not in the direction action she get's bored. Wyll is very enthusiastic- whether or not he's any good is up for debate. Every kid walks out covered in grass stains and mud. They get streetfood on the way back.

They both have very similar taste in make-believe games; they like to do great adventures and fight monsters and play bandits and soldiers and heros with sticks, ect. Wyll really really likes to reenact scenes from the adventure stories he's been reading; Karlach cannot sit through a chapter of a novel for the life of her and always goes off script when they reenact one. Wyll's one goal in life is to convince her off how cool adventure books are; Karlach loves letting him tell her about them, though.

Wyll and Karlach love to go exploring. They are menaces. Literally wandering through abandoned buildings and getting as far from the city as allowed looking for secret tunnels and underground lairs and adventure!

just wyll on karlach's shoulders so they can reach something on like. high up ledge. sneaking pie from a windowsill type of behavior.

wyll and karlach go fishing/looking for treasure in some shallower parts of the chionthar with a cobbled together net. and through shenanigans they absolutely fall in. it is the middle of Marpenoth (winter, essentially) and they have to run back to wyll's house with all they're little treasure's piled in their shirts. just shivering so bad. they climb up the side and go through the window to get to his bedroom. both of them are worried they're gonna get hypothermia and die (karlach is especially worried about wyll cuz she runs hotter). of course, they do not tell anyone what happened. but they get a bunch of blankets and lit the fire and like shiver next to it while looking over their trinkets. both of them remember hearing that when you get hypothermia people give you whiskey to warm you up, and they debate breaking into the spirits' cabinet to take some. (outcome: unknown). they put the wet clothes on the windowsill so that they dry, and weeks later the maid finds that the river water has ruined some of the detailing on the window and is very confused. Karlach does not fit into any of wyll's stuff so he sneaks into his father's room and steals some of his stuff. Karlach goes home like six hours later in very nice but incredibly baggy clothing.

They really do try their best, but the ravengard's house servant is so tired of them tracking mud into their townhouse. ulder makes him clean it up every time. but unfortunately it does still happen.

just wyll having lunch at karlach's. sprinting from his tutoring sessions in his nice shoes in order to make it. he makes food with karlach and her parents and is Very Helpful

ulder trying his best to be welcoming to karlach- even though he very much cannot talk to kids- mainly because he understands its good for wyll to finally have a friend. this does not stop him from being disappointed in their shenanigans. just karlach and wyll being sat down in two chairs in his office, covered in mud and leaves and scratched to hell, as he sighs deeply and goes, "what did we learn this time"

ulder taking wyll and karlach to the circus! they have a very fun time! ulder hates the circus but he Perseveres! they come home covered in chocolate and sick on like. 1400's deep fried twinkies.

[piltoverfinest]

Listen. Listen. I had a thought (yes a single one because Karlach and Wyll have taken over my mind completely) and I am nothing but not intend on adding more salt to open wounds.

Karlach and Wyll both grew up in Baldurs Gate. Very different parts of it, granted, but Ulder Ravengard strikes me as someone who would encourage his son to know all of the cities people, rich or poor. And we know Wyll is certainly the type of person to try and look over this stuff, to strive for being the kind and popular leader one day.

So, young Karlach and young Wyll become friends. Like, best friends. Karlach is this courageous, never-scared spitfire, a perfect balance to Wyll's demure and safe upbringing. They spend almost every day with each other, roaming the city. And as they grow older, they eventually crush on each other. It just...happens. It's a natural development but Wyll gets more and more involved in his duties and Karlach needs to break out of this hole she grew up. They never tell the other how much they actually mean to each other. And suddenly Karlach is gone, nowhere to be found and only a few weeks later Wyll makes the hardest decision of his life and just like that- poof, their lives change forever.

(Let's put a 'Read More' here because like everything I ever write, this turned out longer than I wanted it to be. Ooops, I guess.)

Now, we all know Mizora twisted things so nobody remembers the imminent attack and Wyll got sent away by his father. But what if she didn't just alter the memories of the people around Wyll but in addition, also took something from him. Zarliel already had Karlach in her claws, so, naturally, if you are a devil with the chance to add even more pain, you do. Because come on, it just cant be a coincidence that Karlach and Wyll were enslaved by the same devil. It just cant be. And that way they made sure Wyll would also never come after her. Or at least not to save her. So again, just like that - poof, no recollection of Karlach or his feelings for her. No memory of her laughter and friendship.

Which brings us to poor Karlach, recently sold by the man she trusted, cut off from all of her friends and family, left to do Zariel's bidding. Her heart gets taken, replaced with infernal iron and hot blazing heat and yet, she doesn't brave. She grinds her teeth and hangs on to the hope of survival. Of one day returning to Baldurs Gate. And she won't give up on her positivity. She can't give it up, it's all she has left. So when the war is finally over, she dares to breathe and hope to be set free...only to be told there's someone out to kill her. The Blade of Frontiers. She has no idea who that person is, just knows that he's a monster hunter. Being thrown in the same pot as devil's and lemurs stings more than any dagger she ever felt.

So she runs, hides, until she finally meets him. The Blade of Frontiers. A knife to her throat and she's frozen. Because that isn't the Blade of Frontier. That's Wyll. Same brown eyes (or at least one of them), almost the same handsome face except for the newly added scars. He's the same Wyll and yet he's not. She whispers his name and realizes the second he looks at her, talen aback and confused, that he doesn't remember. He has no idea who she is. And that hurts even more than when Zariel cut her heart out. Her closest friend, the one person she ever felt love for and here he is calling her a monster. A devil. Scum under his boots. Threatening to kill her.

She has no choice but to fight back and push him off. Run again. Hide again. And suddenly she wakes up on a weird ship and she's out of the hells. And Gods is she happy. Gods is she scared. Gods is she broken. For the first time in years the horrors of everything catches up with her. The first few nights she spends crying, curled up in fetal position, trying to figure out what to do next. Who to go to when the only person she trusted has forgotten all about her. She wants to hate him. She wants to be mad. But she can't. She still carries love for him where her heart used to be.

Wyll doesn't know why but ever since their meeting in the hells, he can't close his eyes without hearing this darned devil's voice. Not Mizora's snears and petty remarks, he's used to ignoring her by now, but Karlach's. A laugh so catching he can' help but smile in hid sleep, even though he's sure he has never heard her laugh before. Her soft whisper of his name. His real name. Wyll Ravengard. How did she know? He hasn't been Wyll Ravengard for a long time. Noone seems to know Wyll Ravengard anymore, do who is that devil woman? He keeps tossing and turning, the strangest dreams of sharing his first bottle of beer with that flaming woman, hidden on the Pier of Baldurs Gate. Leaning in with the untamable urge to- But it's all so fuzzy.

When they meet the next time, Wyll is with a group of people and Karlach has never begged for her life but she knows she doesn't want to die by his hand. It can't be. She is pretty sure this will be her last day, though. She can't take 4 people all on her own when one of them is Wyll. She cannot, will not, kill Wyll. So she begs and pleads, tries to explain, tries to convince him and for some wonderous reason, the leader of their group understands her dilemma. And Wyll sees his error. He lets his blade sink. He lets her live. More than that, as soon as he realizes his mistake, he willingly pays the prize Mizora forces upon him. He turns into the very thing he hunted, turns into a devil for her just to keep her safe.

That night, the first night at camp, she cries again. Quietly. Hidden behind some rocks. It's tears of relief but also shame and guilt. Wyll is a devil because of her and if only he knew...he would never forgive himself. She will never forgive herself for the sacrifice he had to make for her. If only she knew, maybe she would have let him kill her. So she decides, with a heavy heart, if he doesn't remember then he doesn't need to be reminded. She doesn't need to add to his torment by throwing her own feelings in the mix.

Karlach puts on a smile, swallows her feelings and acts like the person Wyll turned into, the Blade of Frontiers, isn't the most beautiful person she has ever met, inside and outside. Like his unbreakable kindness doesn't make her heart swell. That the jokes that fall flat an the other's ears make her brust out into laughter she hasn't felt in years. The way he immediately is ride or die for her again reminds her of their time together and sometimes, she catches herself looking at him. Longingly. Remembering. Wishing for something that will never be. Staring at him during her night guard while he's slumbering peacefully.

All the while, Wyll knows something is up. Something is not what it seems. He notices the things that seem too convenient to be a coincidence. They both grew up in Baldurs Gate. Mizora works for Zariel, who stuck her claws into Karlach, too. She vanished just weeks before the Dragon attack. She knows his name. His full name. His real name. And the way she looks at him sometimes, so full of pain and longing...

Then there's the matter of his dreams. Surely, some of them are purely a reaction to his undeniable attraction to Karlach because good Gods, she is bold and loud and strong but also, despite the misery she was put through, she has remained soft and hopeful and a beacon of glowing positivity. She is absolutely perfect. It took him only a few nights to fall for her completely. But other dreams feel...too real to be a figment of his imagination. They feel like memories.

It doesn't come back to him until they free Mizora and she agrees to set him free in six months. That night, the memories take over his euphoric, open mind, swarming and flooding him. Defending a teenage Karlach from someone twice their size because she decided to seek a fight for fun. Holding her hand, staring out at the endless ocean, leaning in and then fleeing like a coward. The only time bravery left him hanging. Karlach showing him her favourite places in the Baldurian slums, sharing foods of her home with him. And gods, the love for her almost bursts from him when he wakes with her name on his lips.

He looks at her then, over to where she sleeps and he can't hold it in. He crawls towards her, quietly puts his head next to hers and the only thing he can say is her name. Karlach blinks at him, surprised, then suddenly vulnerable and finally her yellow eyes flood with happiness and emotion. He puts his arms around her as soon as she smiles. He whispers her name in her ear, the same way he did when they were seventeen and it only takes her a moment to notice, the sound still carved into her chest. She closes her eyes, leans her head against his.

And finally, after years and years of torture, she is home again. And finally, after years and years of searching, Wyll is too.

[piltoverfinest]

i want to be clear: I hate this man.

[piltoverfinest]

Things cats were right about all along:

Fuck staying hydrated by drinking enough water - eat! more! wet! food! (watermelon, cucumbers, SOUP!)

Feels great to be really high up in your house where you can see the whole place (loft bed loft bed loft bed loft bed!)

Express yourself as clearly as possible when people are touching you and you don't want them to.

Optional, but you can also express yourself clearly when your people are not touching you and you want them to.

Sometimes it's important to just go "hmm. actually, I don't care" and wander off.

You don't have to be the strongest or toughest to defend yourself, it's enough to just be difficult enough to not be worth the trouble.

Ghosts will eventually leave if you stare at them for long enough.

[piltoverfinest]

First set of portraits - done ✔️

[piltoverfinest]

Bed, wed, or behead Hassian from Palia

[piltoverfinest]

A whole year of writing Fuel on the Fire...and it's the first time we have Hassian & Reth in the same room. I don't know what to tell you, I wanted it to happen sooner and more often but well, the story ran away from me.

Safe to say this chapter is a little...uhm...explosive?

[piltoverfinest]

Was it here that you requested some Reth? (Previously @sidheilustra, new Palia side acc here)

[piltoverfinest]

It’s honestly insane how little narrative cares about Wyll. Even the scene where Mizora appears and blackmails him to prolong his contract doesn’t look heavy at all. It’s supposed to be heavy, but the way they keep portraying Mizora as witty just ruins it for me.

Maybe I’m absolutely wrong but something tells me that if Cazador ever appeared and blackmailed Astarion to return to him it would be portrayed way more heavily and content-worthy.

It feels like Wyll doesn’t even have a place nor time to proceed all the horrible stuff he went through just for being a teen and wanting to do a heroic thing.

Hell, even when he got turned into a demon it just doesn’t feel heavy at all.

[piltoverfinest]

A hero at heart

[piltoverfinest]

I might draw more in the future (this is meant to be a lead-up to jelssian) but well the big ol dwagon age is coming out and i'll be lost to that for a bit 😔

[piltoverfinest]

rating the guys on a scale of how mid to how good i think the dick would be. einar excluded because i don't think galdur have any organs at all? anyway worst to best: jel, chayne, kenli, badruu, zeki, hassian, reth, nai'o, hodari, ashura.

[piltoverfinest]

It's almost November. Which means: I started writing Fuel almost a YEAR ago. A WHOLE GODDAMN YEAR! And I am still not even close to being done with it. I just...I have no words for this.

We are currently at 72 planned chapters, give or take. 167,154 written words. 3 Google docs bc Google can't take the volume *lol* 354 full pages.

I mean...that is insane. A whole year of my life. Crazy how things turn out.

[piltoverfinest]

me every single time i’m on the edge of going fully insane about a new fandom: haha what if i just checked ao3. just for fun. just to see what there is. i won’t save anything or get in too deep i’ll just do some recon. i’ll just go see. for fun

[piltoverfinest]

"Are You Here for Me or the Soup?"

"Are you sure? It's good soup!" commission of Reth from a friend in the Soup Server

[piltoverfinest]

i love saying “i’m being normal about it” bc i’m actually a filthy fucking liar and i’ve never been normal about anything a single day in my life