#Last time the brainrot was this bad was with a ship (Vax'ildan and Keyleth from Critical Role)

[emerysarchive]

Genuinely I just have to write these headcanons out for the sake of my sanity XD

I thought I could structure it, but as always I just end up rambling and this is more from my Tav p.o.v than Gale's.

Tav is named Maeve (she/her) a wood half-elf abjuration wizard (with 1 level in cleric). I have a post about the specific headcanons for her.

Since Bg3 has no artificers I settled for the guild artisan background. She's crafty and no layer of the Abyss has ever seen this much anxiety stored in a single half-elf. She is trying her best and at the end of the journey happened to have some gray hairs already showing.

Be wary of spoilers, especially for act II and the occasional sarcastic/sassy remark (and all grammar mistakes, English isn't my first language and this is only loosely edited)

(Some events are out of order is what I mean...mostly)

CW: anxiety/panic attacks, suggestive content (at the end of act II...how surprising)

Edit: Ok as I'm writing this, it feels like a bullet pointed fanfiction XD.

Get ready for ✨ organised chaos ✨.

Act I

• Maeve never saw herself as a leader, until she was unceremoniously thrown into the position.

• Meeting Shadowheart after the crash she assumed it's going to be a team effort until they found more allies. She realized that in order for this to work there has to be someone to organise everyone otherwise it's going to be chaos.

• With two wizards in a party she knew that she will have put all of her alchemy knowledge to use. Those scrolls don't come cheap after all so they need to be resourceful.

• She was all too relieved when Gale offered to cook for the camp.

• "I assumed your left eye wasn't twitching because of the unwelcomed guest in our heads."

• Early on it became a habit for Gale to cook while she was nearby making potions, elixirs and coatings with the occasional bomb thrown in the mix.

• Then she learned there's an actual, magical bomb in Gale's chest. The kneeling surprised her more than that revelation.

• This innate curiosity and immediate acceptance took Gale by surprise. He thought she would cast him out of the camp however he was greeted with assurances and the promise that she will help him with the orb.

• Maeve is familiar with wizard arrogance so having Gale around made her feel like she's back at the academy among her peers...just in a more life threatening environment.

• This wasn’t exactly what she meant when she wished to go on a adventure after graduating a couple of years ago.

• She has heard many wizards wax poetic about their life goals, but most of them only end up sounding like shallow, pompous assholes (Honestly with any topic).

• Gale was in that category until she got to know him and admit to herself that she has never met anyone with so much genuine love and passion for magic.

• Magic isn't just a tool, it's an art form.

• With a new outlook she wanted to get to know Gale of Waterdeep. She already had heard about him, but wasn't ever interested to know anything further. Now she had the chance to personally get to know him.

• The second she learned he liked to play lanceboard she underwent a side project to make him one out of wood. It was nice to make something for a friend for once and not just because they needed to survive.

• Speaking about that, thanks to her dad she had always been careful about not accidentally poisoning herself when it came to suspicious plants. That streak of luck ended when Nettie cut her with maybe the only poisonous plant she didn’t recognise.

• Gale's reaction was sweet, but the underlying subtext made her worried (there can be only one person willing to sacrifice everything for everyone).

• When they saw the goblin prisoner and the tiefling aiming the crossbow at her. Maeve stepped between without question, knowing that the bolt will bounce harmlessly off of her arcane ward. The tiefling woman didn't know though, but Gale did and even then he couldn’t help but admire her courage.

• Many quiet evenings with each other as company (also the occasional story times), as well as dangerous fights later new feelings started to arise when around Gale. She hadn’t had a crush in a very long time and knowing their situation this was rather unexpected.

• On Gale's side he hadn’t met anyone who goes starry eyed at ancient artifacts or historic places. Especially the cursed kind.

• Also her excitement about finding new potion recipes as well as plants have never been more endearing.

• Her keen focus on her work made him hard not to steal all to many glances towards her when he was reading or cooking.

• She always had her hair braided, in a ponytail or mix of both so the times she let's her brown hair loose (the red highlights were starting to fade) made something stir in his chest that wasn't the orb for once.

• When she's doing alchemy some rogue strands of hair tend to caress her face that he wants to gently brush aside...

• One night she found him staring at the minor illusion of Mystra. While it was strange how she felt when he talked about her, she could understand for a wizard to be fascinated of a diety who is magic itself. What she didn’t understand were her own feelings. Every other wizard worships Mystra or has some kind of token of hers. But Gale had a rather person first hand experience. Was it truly jealousy?

• When asked to experience this raw feeling of magic, poetry and beauty she couldn’t deny it, but what she could, for the moment, were the butterflies when he walked past her so he could teach her the right incantation and somatic components to channel the Weave.

• With a precision of a surgeon she copied his movements. The sudden rush made her pleasantly surprised. Next he asked the concept of harmony and she thought of her family, only for purple light to spark and then an aurora surrounded them.

• Another rush of emotions went through her as she accidentally touched his hand when she stepped back.

"You did it. You're channeling the Weave. How does it feel?"

It was magical. Sensual even. The connection...the intimacy. She knew this is a risk, but it was hard not to convey her desire. A romantic walk on a beach, their hands in each others as they walk and admire the celestial canvas.

She would have assumed it was just her embarrassment rushing through this connection, until she felt elation and that certainly wasn't hers until Gale spoke.

"Sorry. I wasn’t expecting...but it is a pleasant image to be sure. Most pleasant, in fact. Most welcome."

• Well at least she won't have to die tonight.

• At the tiefling party though she was blindsided when some of her companions expressed their desires to spend the night with her...she even had to ask Lae'zel if she's asking what Maeve thought she's asking. Apparently treating someone like an equal and a person might send off the wrong message to someone who is deeply traumatised or had been brainwashed....or both.

• At least Karlach and Wyll didn't misread the signals.

• She approached Gale last only because of the idea of doing that made her feel nervous. He had assured her that day after that he meant what he said, but still. The nerves went away when he spoke of Tara, his tressym (not a cat) and then the loneliness of being in his tower for a year.

• It was heartwarming to hear she reminded him of someone very important to him. She would want nothing more to see her own family, even just for a moment.

• To lighten the mood she joked she's actually a nymph in disguise when regarding the comment that he should be finding more mortal friends. She couldn’t help but prolong the conversation as long as she could. After all she knew that Gale would have a chance to make a list long enough of what he likes about her until dawn. Or maybe it's just wishful thinking and her desire to listen to him longer.

• He insisted that she go and enjoy the festivities. Begrudgingly she did, ending the night fantasising about Gale.

• The Underdark was truly quite a perilous place. She had never seen such a fascinating flora and was all to eager to try to experiment with it....even if it cost her arcane ward charges in the process.

• Her dad would be disappointed in her approach, but to be fair she has no idea what kind of safety precautions she needs with these plants.

• The sussur flower was particularly interesting, as well as the bark they got for the mysterious blueprints they found. Granted when the flower nullified her magic completely it made her feel not just vulnerable, but hollow.

• The only true highlight of the Underdark was when they found the Arcane Tower and the magical construct named Bernard. Sure, Gale found the excessive use of poetry a bit too much, but she found it creative and sweet. Going through books and finding magic items set her spirits higher after trying not to get incinerated by mushrooms and exploded by traps. The sudden spectator didn't help this journey be a bit less tiring.

• As for Grymforge, when they were done with Nere it made exploring the place much easier. What wasn't easy was the fight which left more than just physical scars.

Act II

• Ever since Maeve had learned to channel her arcane ward onto others, she had been doing nothing but that, even to her own detriment.

• This made Gale worry more, especially after the Nere fight where he nearly died. This prompted Meave to focus on protecting him more than before. He didn’t have an extra suit of armor like her no matter how temporary it is.

• Protection, banishing enemies and nullifying magic is her field of expertise. Gale was very aware of the point of her chosen school of magic. She's becoming a master at a rapid pace. It was always breathtaking seeing her in action. The cold, steely focus, the magic of her wards, the pure determination and optimism despite their dire odds.

• Even still, the guilt didn't leave him and he made sure to be useful and less of a burden next time. She put trust in him, he couldn’t fail her like that again.

• It's just a matter of time when the energy of her ward runs out. He fears what will happen then.

• Their journey lead them to Shadowlands where an unexpected person waited for them...rather Gale specifically.

• You know, Maeve thought that meeting THE Elminster would have been the highlight of her wizarding career. Instead the archmage rolled in all his cheese loving glory to give the most outrageous request from Mystra. No, not a request, basically a death sentence.

• Whatever respect she had for her disintegrated in an instant. What else was completely turned to ash was her heart when Gale accepted this suicide mission without a shadow of a doubt.

• Everyone in the camp was outraged, even Shadowheart who was faithful to her goddess expressed the same sentiment. Maeve had a moment of levitity when Karlach mentioned she could go to Gale and say that she has never read book since she was a kid. Even still her heart grew heavy with dread.

• Afterwards Gale became more forthcoming about his feelings towards her at odd times. This threw her off a bit, though were also welcomed surprise. She feared that if she doesn't talk him down she's going to lose him forever. This is not the beginning of the end for them.

• As they got closer to Moonrise towers she had her own revelation or rather enlightenment. It wasn’t because she had gotten nearly drunk by whatever ghastly concoction Thisobald Thorm had made. Her mind had stayed surprisingly clear with her allies helping her. She had already accepted that no amount of divinity will save her digestive system, but somehow it stayed intact.

• The revelation in question had her reevaluate her decisions. She can't save everyone if she keeps making herself as a sacrificial lamb in every fight. She was confident in her companion fighting abilities, after all they were all doing the most damage to their enemies. She just tried to keep them safe from dangerous afflictions that magic can bestow or even spells that could do near fatal damage.

• What forced her to face this was literally facing a dark version of herself and her fellow companions. More so the latter. She knew this was a trial however seeing your evil, illusionary friends die, especially the man you care for dearly (almost love if not already), will leave a mark on your psyche.

• If she's gone she doesn't know who will step up as the next leader. She has to make sure all of them survive the fight against The Absolute. And she still has that lanceboard to finish, gods be damned.

• She's not the hope as the High Harper called her. Or really everyone in that inn. Actually she was getting quite tired of that title. And getting titles in general, mycanoids truly went over the top with them. She was already crumbling under pressure and their exploration of the Shadowlands helped her stay distracted.

• Then Mol had to get kidnapped only to prove that she can't protect everyone. It was more like a sick, cruel twist of fate. The children reactions had her have the long awaited breakdown during the night.

• She felt it coming like a storm so she made sure to be away from the camp. Scratch and the owl bear cub were surprise guests, but the emotional support she needed that night.

• She steeled herself even more. If a fight can be avoided then she will use trickery if needed. It happened with the drider, then Thisobald, then the devil Raphael didn't particularly like. Gale shared his admiration for her silver tongue, but also the slight fear.

• She hoped he didn’t mean it seriously and more as a compliment, but this made her get back to herself just a bit. A bit more feeling, a bit more emotive, a bit less fake.

• Then she saw the projection Gale had made before the fateful fight. It made her stop and collect herself, trying not to get caught in the current of the worst case scenarios.

"He wouldn’t go and face it alone." She thought to herself, gathering whatever crumbs of her courage she had left.

She followed the path Gale's projection had pointed at (she had to do everything to not go into a full sprint). Seeing him doing his magic, sitting on the grass made her feel like she could finally breathe.

"He's alive. He's here."

She had almost missed the illusion Gale had made, even if it was brightly illuminated in the sky. Her focus had only been on him, a thought nagging her mind that perhaps this is just a dream and will turn into a nightmare once she wakes.

But this wasn’t. This was real. She sat next to him and gave a hesitant smile. He started talking in a way that sounded like a goodbye more than anything else.

"You seem especially philosophical this evening. Are you all right?" She teased despite knowing full well the answer. She just wished desperately he would have a different one this time.

"I will be, soon. I am perhaps just one hard day away from being without any troubles at all. This may be my last night alive. I wanted it to be under a canopy of beauty and wonder...with company to match."

She stared at him, hanging on his every word.

"I thought this place might bring me peace. I thought it might make the weight of what I must do a little lighter...but I'm not sure."

In her life she always had a way with words. Written more than spoken though, she wasn't as eloquent as him...outside of tricking your way out of life threatening situations.

When it came to expressing her own emotions, she couldn't weave her words to make it sound like poetry...so she tried honesty.

"I refuse to believe this is the end. We'll find another way, I promise." Her desperation almost came through her voice.

She tried to convince him again, once he didn’t seem to budge at all. This is not the right way and this is not his fate. It won't be.

"Nothing is inevitable. Not when we face it together. You don't have to die."

The mood shifted, the magnetic pull she had for him got stronger. It was nothing like the connection they shared in the Weave. You don't need magic to feel the unshackled intensity of emotion...the bond they clearly shared with one another.

"I'm so very glad you came, to share this with me. I know this is all unreal, but I created it for you. You must know that you're...That you're very special to me. If things were different, if we were home, I'd have taken time to do things properly. To say it all better. But time is short. I'm in love with you."

There was no hesitation in her response. "I'm in love with you too."

The tension in his body dissipated as she smiled. "That's a relief. It would be a shame to spend my final hours making an ass of myself."

Previously when she had kissed anyone she had never really felt anything. It was just another thing couples tend to do. But maybe it was the danger, maybe the uncertainty of their future that made their kiss spark a fire in her.

"I hope this wasn’t a parting kiss."

"Not if I have any say in the matter."

She knew the desire to make things perfect, but to bond in a way gods do? She wanted the real him, the man behind all of these grand illusions he had created. She wasn't a goddess he needed to 'wow'.

Still she decided to indulge him and he created a projection of his home. It was finally nice to have a picture painted more clearly of the place he lived in.

She was all to engrossed in everything, especially the part about books and the enchanted piano. The last thing that made her grin the most was the sunset. How she missed it...it was almost like she felt the warmth from the ray of lights.

Then the underlying melancholy breached this blissful ignorance. She sat down, making him turn his attention towards her.

"My favourite spot. Many times, evening turned to night and back to daybreak once more while I sat here, lost in words."

He mentioned a book called "Art of night". Of course leave it to him to seduce someone with a book. She wasn't someone who particularly enjoyed such physical intimacy. It wasn’t the first thing she desired to do with her partner or the tenth for that matter.

The thought of having the stars be their bed and intertwining souls, while sounded magical, it didn't make her think of the act all the more romantic. Perhaps it's the wood elf side of her talking.

Nevertheless she allowed her soul to drift what might be the Astral Plane just to feel what it is like and it confirmed to her that truly the best illusion would be a physical bed and their skins touching each other. This was all impressive, but she noticed perhaps it's finally time to show him how pleasant bonding as mortals can truly be.

~

If you made it this far, congratulations. Here's a cookie 🍪.

Rest of Act II and III might be coming at some point *shrugs*. Honestly I just needed to write this out, as mentioned at the start. Now I feel more sane and can focus on my writing projects.