#Shadowheart you will always be famous

[lepusrufus]

Award for my favorite Durge scene goes tooo...

[nebulousfishgills]

I think I'm legally obligated to do one evil run of Baldur's Gate every so often, less so because I think it's fun, and moreso to remind me just how much I fucking love Minthara.

Like lookit that angy face lol

For valid reasons I unfortunately had to turn her down this time around since I couldn't in good conscience make Emily break up with Astarion/Henry (god bless modders)...

...although if I think about it, Emily dumping him for a platinum blonde with red eyes is accurate, but no, I couldn't...

...so that's the *perfect* excuse for another Evil Durge Run. Romancing Minthara... that'd make three evil runs out of five runs total... should I bring this up in therapy tomorrow?

Cause apparently I have A Type:

[vspin]

On Act 3 and the lack of companion reactivity and dialogue.

So, I officially hit 400 hours on BG3 yesterday (no lifing it lmao) and I've been thinking about some things I wish Larian would improve or wish that they had implemented. A big thing that comes to mind is how much companion reactivity and dialogue abruptly stops in Act 3.

Act 1 really shines with companion reactivity. They always have something to say to the MC, to NPCs, or even to each other! I love the interaction after you use your ilithid powers for the first time and it's a 4 way conversation between everyone.

Then we get to Act 3 and there's such huge drop-off. Some big offenses:

Very little reaction to quests and locations. When I killed Raphael I only got comments from Astarion and Gale! Seriously?? We just survived a trip to the Hells! This happens with multiple quests

Blank faces when Durge is killed by Bhaal.

Camp is lifeless. Everyone just stands in front of their bed, There are no interactions.

In my playthrough, the Emporer admitted to my Tav he was manipulating her and didn't really care. It was bummer I couldn't talk to the other tadpole gang about it.

I remember coming across a Druid in the city. He was trying to heal a tree. So I went back and grabbed Halsin because he was complaining no one in the city cared about nature or balance. So I thought surely, he would have an interaction here! Nope, nothing!

As soon as you finish a companion's personal quest that is basically the end of your interactions with them; even if you romance them.

What I'd like to see: (Disclaimer: Just my opinions. I have no expectation of any of this being added to the game)

More camp interaction between companions. Jahiera and Minsc had a great example of this. Let there be a quick cutscene of Minsc and Halsin arm wrestling. Shadowheart, Karlach, and Astarion drinking wine. Anything. DA:I did a great job at this. It seemed like anytime I approached someone for dialogue they were in the middle of an interaction with someone else. Or events like the card game. It brought a lot of life into the party.

More random city encounters. They did a good job with Karlach; she has interactions with the steel watcher and her friend Fitz. Would have been cool to have some of those with Wyll, maybe he meets another noble or a flaming fist and has to deal with their shock of seeing him as a devil. Or with Gale in Sorcerous Sundries (he is a famous wizard after all!). Astarion mentions he needs to keep a low profile in the taverns; what if someone called him out!

More reactions to story events.

Expand on romances a bit more. We don't need it to be a dating sim but if you finish your LI's quest early on get used to just asking for small pecks and that's it. I would like to see more romance-specific dialogue for quest reactions.

And Finally:

We needed all companions at the final battle. Everyone should have been at the main keep before confronting the brain. You should have had your final conversations with them before you all potentially die in battle. DA:O style. A passionate kiss with your LI (not a tiny little peck lmao). This was a huge exclusion.

Anyway, these are my thoughts on the matter. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

[coriphallus]

The Dark Urge thoughts (and prayers)

anyone whos been following me knows im absolutely not normal about durge and i wanna share some tidbits that are implied, but not necessarily canonised, from their story;

I already made a post about it but it seems like bhaal has a degree of control over whether they live or die. he can deny them death, if they fail the duel with orin.

bhaal can command the slayer. he forces orin to transform if you talk to her about sarevok and the scene makes it clear that its against her will.

bhaal manipulates his kin in a subtler way. in the colony you can find a letter from old durge thats apologising to his father for 'liking' gortash. you can interpret their relationship as something deeper but even if it wasnt, this reads to me as terrified and desperate.

the reason being, if you have a LI in act 2 you get the famous bondage scene. coupled up with the letter above makes me think this is a pattern. bhaal can use their feelings against them. he did it with sarevok and orin's mother, orin's mother and orin, etc... it's not as straightforward as 'if you disobey ill kill the one you love'. you will. durge will.

bhaal is testing them in act 2, he revels in chaos, sure, but in the grand scheme of things he doesn't care about isobel. even if you tell scel that you'll kill her you're told that youre too late, you ignored your urges. from durge, bhaal doesn't expect calm calculated murder, he expects blind obedience. failing to receive that his first punishment is to take away something they cherish. there are no half measures, theres no bargaining with a god.

we get so many snippets of information that this has happened before, their foster family being their first victims. theyre made to kill their support system with their own hands, with no one to blame but themselves. they are actually apologising to their father for being fond of gortash because (in my humble opinion) theyre genuinely afraid.

how many times could this have happened, how many nights durge couldve woken up covered in the blood of someone they love until they gave in, became daddys obedient puppet?

durge is groomed for murder. scel says 'you always failed to conduct yourself without me' and given who he is i dont think hes talking about table manners when he says 'conduct'. durge needs 24/7 oversight to set themselves right lest they get tempted by softer things. lest they dare to step away from bhaals grand plan.

durge do have a choice. just as shadowheart had a choice, just as wyll or astarion had a choice. its a choice only in name.

theres no ending besides refusing bhaal that their friends and LI wont die by their hands. the entire lore of bhaalspawn is that theyre meant to conquer the world in his name and slit their own throat a top the mountain of corpses. as cazador aptly put, 'theyre made to be consumed.'

you can pray to bhaal and the narrator says he won't accept [any offering] but the entire world.

durge (and bhaalspawn) do get some sort of euphoria from murder. they crave it like an addict, but bhaalspawn (on prev games) don't constantly have to grapple with these urges as durge does.

now durge is a slightly special case but not in a good way. its implied that theyre not like a regular bhaalspawn, that theyre made by bhaal directly -so to speak-. which is to say, if youre playing a drow, they are bhaals closest approximation of a drow rather than a drow flesh and blood.

thats why theyre fighting tooth and nail against these urges every step of the way, they are literally bhaal himself(in essence). the personality they develop, the person who calls themselves 'tainted' and 'wretched', the character thats making choices throughout the game, theyre the tumour.

theirs is the story of cycle of abuse cranked up to 1000 and it is in parallel to all other origin companions.

[boodarko]

shadowheart you will always be famous 🖤

[baldursgate3tempobsessed]

I’ve binge read your blog tonight! Amazing! I was hoping your requests are open if not please ignore this message 😊

What about astarion x tav reader , who’s an artist - astarion who’s dying to look in a mirror but she depicts him perfectly , possibly angst to fluff? Feel free to take this prompt any which way, I thought this would be wholesome 😊

Aww, that's so cute!

This reminds me of that comic that's floating around here with Tav drawing him and Astarion, not knowing what he looks like anymore, looking over their shoulder like "ooooh you got a crush on this random man we don't know. who is he?" So I mixed that vibe in here!

This is set just a bit before he realizes he's in love with you because I love that for him.

~

Astarion wasn't worried. He wasn't obsessed, he was just intrigued. Curious even, mildly perplexed at worst. Because he had no idea why he kept catching you drawing the same elf time and time again. And you refused to tell him why.

Now, in all fairness you did occasional sketch out other members of your group. Not everyone, just the few who had the patience to stay still while you worked. Wyll, Shadowheart, Halsin. It was a passion of yours, your art, something that Astarion always liked about you. It helped that you were fantastic at it. You're drawings were so life-like, capturing nearly every feature on their faces. They always left Astarion sincerely impressed, the few times he had managed to see them. Because for someone so talented, you were oddly secretive about your sketchbook.

Now that didn't exactly stop Astarion from seeing them. There were the times he would shamelessly watch you over your shoulder, only leaving when you noticed him and started flailing to cover up your work. He also took the opportunity to occasionally steal it from your tent while you were gone without him, a consequence of you trusting him. He had warned you about that, hadn't he?

You really did create beautiful work. From picturesque scenery to your famous portraits. Though it seemed you had a favorite subject, that damned unnamed elf. You knew the man well enough to draw him from memory it seemed, because Astarion would have remembered running into that face.

Why you never asked the man you're sleeping with to model for you instead of this stranger, he wasn't quite sure. But it was starting to bother him. It didn't help that he was objectively handsome, attractive in a semi-mysterious way. It was even worse that you would start blushing and stuttering whenever he asked about him. You wouldn't even give him a name, just vague stumblings.

"He's um, from Baldur's Gate," You had mentioned once, completely avoiding Astarion's eyes, "It's um. Not important."

"So you'll be introducing us soon then?" Astarion had asked, half-hopeful that you'd deny it. His life would be a lot easier if the mystery man turned out to be a long-dead lover.

But instead you just gave him a shaky nod, "I-sure. Y-Yeah. One day."

And you had left it at that, staying infuriatingly vague whenever he brought the subject up.

Astarion wasn't worried. He wasn't. Or maybe he was, purely off the fact that it couldn't be healthy to be so obsessed with one man's face. Especially if the man in question wasn't him.

Astarion was aware that he was attractive. He had to be for everything he'd gotten away with over the years. But he literally could not know how he matched up to this... random stranger. Who, by the way, had done nothing to help you while you had a mind flayer parasite trapped in your head. Astarion certainly had that over him at least. But he wasn't quite sure if he matched up in... other areas.

Astarion wasn't exactly used to being self-conscious. At least not when it came to his appearance. The ability had been taken away from the second Cazador got his fangs into his neck. He still thought about it, often in fact, that he had no idea what he looked like. But the enamored responses he usually received by existing quelled most worries.

Now though... now he had to wonder. And he wasn't a fan of the feeling.

He hadn't wanted to ask for your help in seeing himself, he was hoping that you would have offered on your own by now. But since that was clearly not happening, Astarion had to bring matters into his own hands.

He watched as you fiddled away in your sketchbook, suddenly obsessed with replicating the tassels on his favorite pillow. According to you it was one of the few things you didn't know how to draw perfectly, despite it looking just fine to everyone else. Astarion supposed that the artist mind just worked in mysterious, semi-frustrating ways. Ways that he frankly did not understand.

"How would you feel about drawing me sometime?" Astarion asked suddenly, his brows going up to his hairline at how the simple question made you flinch, "No offense darling but I do believe I'm more interesting than a few tufts of string."

You weren't looking at him as you answered, still scribbling away with now-shaky hands, "I-um, I'm not sure if you'd want me to-"

"Why ever not? Frankly my dear I'm a little offended you haven't asked me to model. It would be nice to be aware of what my own face looked like."

That at least got your eyes up. You looked oddly guilty, fiddling with your pencil, "I-shit. I'm sorry. I should have thought about that."

"It's fine," Astarion said with a wave of his hand. He was used to being a last priority, he didn't take offense, "Besides, you can make it up to me now. What do you say?"

You swallowed, avoiding his eyes as you nodded, "Y-Yeah. I can do that. Um, sit up a little for me?"

Astarion listened, excitement starting to crawl up his spine. He was actually going to see his own face again, for the first time in centuries. All because of the person he love-cared for. Cared for deeply. Who still made him borderline beg for the privilege but oh well. Beggars couldn't be choosers. He had learned that lesson many times.

It took a long time before you were finished, nearly three hours. Not that he minded, if anything he appreciated how seriously you were taking it. And who knows. Maybe if his face managed to be interesting enough, you'd abandon your other muse in favor of him. He could only hope.

"Okay," You said eventually, setting your pencil to the side, "It's done. But... just don't laugh, okay?"

Astarion barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes, "Is my appearance that amusing?"

"No but-gods, here. Just look at it," You said, tossing the sketchbook to him, "Be gentle."

Astarion caught it, excited to hells and back as he looked down. Only to find the exact same elf he'd been seeing for weeks. Except this was more detailed than all of the ones from before. He could see... everything. The scars from that dreaded first night with Cazador, two barely there moles on the right side of his face, the exact flow of his hair. He was beautiful, a fact he was aware of, but it was still nice to see. He just... hadn't realized how many times he had seen it.

Astarion swallowed, looking up at you with wide eyes, "You've been drawing me? This whole time? I've been your 'mystery man' from Baldur's gate?"

You shrugged, picking on a string on your pants instead of looking at him, "You make a good subject. And we spend a lot of time together. And... I should have told you when you first saw it. But I just...." You trailed off with a sigh, finally gathering your courage enough to look him in the eye, "I didn't want to freak you out. I know it's a bit... creepy. I guess I didn't want you to know just... how obsessed I was. Or am."

It made sense. In all honesty, the Astarion from mere months ago probably would have found a way to find offense. But now it just felt... sweet. It made him feel warm, and incredibly idiotic. Here he had been, fretting over his non-existent competition. While this whole time he was the one constantly invading your mind. It was a strangely validating feeling. Almost like maybe... you would still want him when all of this was said and done.

He hadn't started this relationship with that in mind. In a perfect world, he'd use you to kill Cazador, cure himself of the tadpoles, gain his own freedom, then be on his merry way, you're feelings on the matter be damned. And he was actualizing that plan perfectly, if this new news was anything to go by.

So why was it suddenly making him feel ill? You had been nothing but kind to him. Accepting, trusting, all to someone who deserved less than dirt. And what would this all end in. Him abandoning you after everything you'd done?

Or maybe... it was about leaving before you had the chance to do the same.

"Do... do you not like it?" You asked, obviously nervous at his stunned silence. But it at least snapped him out of his own thoughts.

Astarion rushed to shake his head, going as far as to move to sit next to you. He took one of your hands in his, feeling uncomfortably sincere as he spoke, "I love it. Thank you for doing this for me. Thank you for all of them. I am more than happy to be your muse darling. There's nothing I'd like more."

"Really?" You asked, looking so hopeful it made his heart clench in his chest.

"Really," Astarion said, moving to cup your cheek, "But I will be expecting payment for my services. I hope you realize you'll be sleeping here tonight."

"No complaints here," You murmured, right before his lips touched yours. You were smiling into the kiss, sweet enough to make Astarion want to scream.

Just what had he gotten himself into with you?

[wheretheharekissesthefox]

Open up your loving arms - Chapter 2: Ridding stagnation

Astarion asks Gale about cleaning out the unused spaces of their tower house to give Tav and Shadowheart some personal space. The wizard agrees and the vampire spawn sets to work. Shenanigans occur and plans are made.

(Trigger warning (18+): character study, the feels, author's self-indulgent domestic fluff, graphic description of sex, smut, anilingus, anal sex, body worship, coitus a tergo, dirty talking (sort of), fingering, gentle sex, hand job, missionary, smidge of praise kink, vaginal sex)

Notes:

This is self-indulgent domestic fluff. I want this little bunch of weirdos to be happy. They deserve it. This fic mostly drives my post-canon headcanon forwards regarding character study/development.

Two other fics (The sight of spring & Of demons and monsters) are mentioned.

To avoid confusion: In one of my other fanfics, Halsin and Tav had named the owlbear cup Naïlo, which means 'night breeze' in the Elven language.)

My OC Monty first appeared in Gale's origin fanfic.

Also, long story short; Tav’s married to Astarion, Gale and Shadowheart. Astarion and Gale are married. Halsin’s Tav’s and Shadowheart’s additional lover. They’re in a closed polyamorous relationship, except for Halsin who apparently sleeps his way through all of Faerûn.

"Darling, why is that insufferable, utterly annoying man in our living room again?" asked Astarion when he'd caught Tav in the kitchen as she was brewing more tea.

"Because we're colleagues," the bard replied. "And he helps me."

The vampire spawn made a face.

"How can someone who's much less talented than you be of help?"

His wife shot him an amused look.

"First of all, thank you for the compliment, love. Secondly, I might be more talented than Volo, but he's the one who's famous and is in contact with publishers and printing companies."

"Oh, you sly dog," Astarion grinned and Tav snickered. "I just fell a little harder for you."

He kissed her passionately, turned on by her competence and cunning.

"Now, let me entertain our guest a bit more," she whispered teasingly, and with one last kiss, she vanished into the living room where Volo kept bragging about his newest work about owlbears.

Astarion didn't listen very long, too annoyed about all the incorrect statements. Tav, on the other hand, was far too kind-hearted, as always, and tried to gently correct and educate the insufferable artist. Meanwhile, Astarion went back to decluttering the upper floors.

Tav moaned blissfully as she made love with Gale. The wizard leisurely rolled his hips into her while kissing her and holding her hand. The bard had her legs wrapped around his waist and now, she placed a foot under her husband's buttcheek to push him closer. Gale panted against her shoulder, thrusting harder to comply to her wishes, and snaked a hand between them to get her off.

"Mmh, yes!" mewled Tav, arching up into him.

Gale spilled into her with a low moan, his fingers continued to rub circles over her clitoris. The bard whined and came with a sob. Panting, they kissed lazily and the bard stroke the wizard's chest-length hair.

"You're so beautiful," she told him sincerely. "I love you."

"I love you too," smiled Gale, still floating in post-orgasmic bliss. He rested on top of her, knowing that Tav didn't mind it and didn't get squished under his weight. Her strength and width were rather impressive.

Gale knew that Astarion liked being manhandled and held up by her, and he wondered if he'd like it too. Most probably, the wizard concluded. He liked everything his wife did. He adored her, nay, worshipped her.

Gale lifted his head to look at Tav and ran his hand through her very short hair. At least, she didn't sport the ugliest haircut in all of Faerûn anymore since Shadowheart helped her cut it evenly. But even before, when they'd met after the nautiloid crash, the bard had been beautiful. – Well, at least in his eyes. It was no secret that Tav had a type of unconventional beauty that wasn't desired by the masses, but she wasn't meant to be adored by the masses anyway.

Smiling, Gale leaned down to kiss her broad, freckled shoulder and she hummed approvingly. They finally moved apart and the wizard lay down on his stomach with his head on his arms to let the bard work her other kind of magic. Tav was a rather talented masseuse. Gale groaned in appreciation when his wife started to work on an especially stubborn knot on his shoulder. Her hands were always so clever, no matter if with instruments, pickpocketing, or otherwise.

"You're way too tense, love," she told him. "You work too much."

Gale hummed non-committally.

"I know you love teaching, but you tend to spread yourself too thin. We admire that you can achieve anything when you put your mind to it, but your weakness is to be too ambitious. You don't have to prove that you're worthy all the time, we know you are."

Tav moved further down, rubbing circles into the skin on both sides of Gale's spine. The latter hissed at the pain.

"You're so stressed that you've stopped eating again, and don't deny it, love, I'm not dense."

The wizard grunted, but kept silent otherwise.

"You're working on too many projects at once," Tav continued. "You have a full-time job at the academy, at the same time, we're finishing the book about our travels, and you're writing your own research papers on the side. You must slow down or otherwise you'll burn out."

"But there's so much I want to do," Gale defended his actions. "It feels like I'm running out of time."

At that, the bard barked a laugh.

"You're a wizard, love. I'm sure you'll find plenty of ways to prolong your lifespan. You'll definitely live longer than me."

Gale wanted to protest, but Tav scooted further down to press her thumbs into his buttcheeks, and he yelped. He turned his head to glare at his wife, but she nonchalantly shrugged, explaining: "You're terribly tense. That's what you get from sitting and standing around all day."

The wizard sighed deeply and pillowed his forehead onto his arms again. It was fruitless to argue with her. Tav moved on to his legs, relentlessly massaging his muscles.

"How's the knee?" she asked caringly.

"It's fine," answered Gale.

Back when they'd fought in the goblin camp, one of the little creatures had snuck up on him when he'd been distracted by casting a spell, and had shattered his kneecap with the iron handle of a broken axe. After the battle, Shadowheart and Halsin had done their best to heal the damage. With the help of his mother's potent salve recipe, Gale had nursed his knee further. Nonetheless, it still troubled him sometimes, especially after kneeling for a while.

"Maybe, you need a change," Tav told him now. "You talk about becoming a private tutor often enough and I think it'll do you good. That way, you'd have more free time for all your other projects."

Gale pondered about it silently.

It was true that he complained about his students on a weekly basis. Especially dear old Tara had to listen to his rants.

"Maybe, you're right," he muttered.

"Of course I'm right, I'm your wife," snickered Tav.

She took his foot into her hands and pressed her thumbs into the sole, making Gale groan. He appreciated her pampering.

At the beginning of their relationship, he'd always felt bad for being taken care of. Mystra had taught him to always serve instead of take, and for a long time, Gale had felt guilty when he'd received affection without doing anything in return. But he'd gotten better about it over the past six years. It helped that Tav loved to shower her lovers with affection and that she happily pleased them without expecting a quid pro quo.

Finally, the bard seemed to be satisfied with her work and let go of her husband's foot. She placed a gentle kiss on each of his buttcheeks.

"At least, promise me to eat regularly. You've gotten awfully skinny again and it just doesn't suit you."

"I promise," Gale answered with a sigh.

"Good," she smiled.

A shiver ran down the wizard's spine at the praise and he blushed slightly. Tav noticed it with a grin and kissed his spine.

"You're so good for me, Gale," she whispered and goosebumps spread over the addressed's skin.

Tav licked a stripe up his crack, making him gasp.

"Get on your knees for me, love."

A bit anxiously, Gale looked over his shoulder. He knew she wouldn't be mad if he'd say no. But, as it was so often the case, curiosity and academic studiousness got the better of him. Thus, the wizard brought his knees under him with his head and shoulders still on the mattress, ass in the air. Gale felt embarrassed and turned his face into the pillow. Tav spread his cheeks apart and started to eat him out enthusiastically, pushing her talented tongue into him. Gale couldn't hold back a guttural moan. The bard kissed his rim before carefully sliding two well-oiled fingers into him and stroking his prostate. Her husband mewled, eyes rolling back in his head.

"That's it love. Let loose, enjoy it. You're doing so well," praised Tav and went back to licking into him between her fingers.

Trembling, Gale wrapped a hand around himself and started to stroke. He came with a high-pitched moan, vision whitening due to the intensity, and spilling over his hand and abdomen. The wizard collapsed onto the mattress, panting elaborately. The bard placed one last kiss on his buttcheek before kissing Gale's shoulder.

"You're wonderful," she murmured, lay down next to him, and pulled him into her arms.

Gale sighed happily, placing his head on her broad shoulder, and linked their fingers together. She had surprisingly small hands for such a strong frame, but since she was shorter than him, it probably made sense.

"Did you enjoy it?" Tav wanted to know.

"Yes," muttered Gale, hiding his face in the crook of her neck, and she smiled amused.

"Good. I wasn't sure if you would. Astarion told me about your little... hm... 'discord'. But he was also the one to encourage me to try it. He said you might prefer it if I eat you out instead of him. He's still a bit scared, you see. He thinks he'll lose control again as soon as he buries his tongue in you."

Gale blushed even harder and wanted to hide somewhere. Why must his spouses always be so blunt when it came to bedroom activities? He doubted that he'd ever get used to it.

"I trust Astarion's judgement," the wizard replied then. "He's come a long way."

Tav nodded.

"He's such a sweetheart, isn't he? Even though he often hides his true self behind his mask of sass and sarcasm. But he'd opened up around us and I'm very proud of him."

"Mhm, me too," muttered Gale smiling.

Now, the bard turned a bit to look at him.

"I'm proud of you too, Gale. You also went through so much and you do well."

The addressed blushed again.

"Thank you. You can't imagine how much your words mean to me."

"I do," said his wife and attempted to kiss him.

But Gale held her back to mutter a spell first, cleaning her mouth, before leaning over. Happily, Gale sighed into the kiss and deepened it while caressing Tav's cheek. Somehow, it was so easy to be with her, she was always understanding, caring, and a ride or die. He loved her for it. Gale wrapped a hand around the bard's shoulder to pull her closer.

On Friday afternoon, Gale was visited by his childhood friend Monty who'd been (and still sometimes was) Elminster's assistant. Together, they'd gotten into loads of shenanigans in Shadowdale during the time Gale had been tutored by Elminster as a teenager.

Now, they were both in their thirties, and sitting in the cozy living room of Gale's tower house, a purring Tara on their lap, a snoring Scratch and Naïlo at their feet, a cup of tea in hand and a piece of vanilla cake balanced on their knees. They chatted about all kinds of topics, talked shop, and reminisced about the past.

"I'm relieved that everything turned out alright," said Monty with a sigh. "So many unfortunate things happened to you; Mystra, the Orb, the Mind Flayer parasite... I'm glad you found happiness and people you love. Your spouses and Shadowheart are lovely. I was so excited to finally meet them at the wedding. You've told me so much about them and I couldn't wait to meet the saviours of Baldur's Gate and all of Faerûn. You're basically famous, legendary almost."

Chuckling, Gale replied: "Now, you're exaggerating. We saved the world, sure, but most of our deeds are already forgotten. There are always new horrors waiting on the horizon one has to worry about. And to be completely honest with you, I'm relieved people don't treat us like heroes. It would be incredibly awkward."

At that, the tiefling laughed.

"You're probably right. If you'd be famous, we couldn't meet up on a random Friday, but must schedule it at least three months beforehand."

Gale joined in his laughter.

"You should visit me and Linard in Shadowdale," Monty told him now. "We built a house with an attached smithy and a laboratory. I'm trying out some new distilled fruit brandy at the moment and Linard's working on some handy daggers."

"I'll swing by," Gale promised, smiling. "Your partner made a lovely first impression at the wedding and the kitchen knives were a very thoughtful gift."

Monty chuckled.

"Linard prefers to make knives and daggers instead of swords and other weapons. That's why some people say he's a useless smith, but I disagree. Knives and tableware as well as shovels and axes are way more important on a daily basis than weapons."

Gale nodded agreeingly with a hum.

Monty stayed for dinner and he thoroughly enjoyed the passionate discussions with Gale and his family. It warmed his heart that his old friend had finally found a place where he belonged, with people who loved him and cared about him.

Around midnight, they said their goodbyes and Monty opened a portal to Shadowdale. As soon as he stepped through, the tiefling was surrounded by the sound of the nightly woods, his hometown quiet and asleep. Monty unlocked the front door of his home as quietly as possible, shutting the heavy oak wood behind him, and toeing of his boots. The smell of metal, fire, and herbal concoctions hung in the air. They complimented each other perfectly, the alchemist-wizard and the smith. The only light source was the low-burning fireplace.

"Ah, you're back."

Linard's deep, husky voice came from the rocking chair in the corner as the tall, broad, blond human stood up and made himself known. Monty smiled.

"Hello, love."

He sighed happily when his partner kissed him. The latter stroke the tiefling's cheek.

"It seems like you had a lot of fun with Gale," Linard remarked, smiling softly. "You must tell me all about it tomorrow. I'd love to hear the newest gossip regarding the saviours of Baldur's Gate and your first crush."

With a heated face, Monty snorted a laugh, grateful that his red skin prevented him from blushing.

"You're an idiot."

"You love me."

"Never said I don't."

They kissed again and things got heated quickly. They hurried upstairs, leaving a trail of clothes behind them. Linard pressed Monty up against the windowsill, kissing him breathless.

"I missed you, sweetling," said the smith. "Now, turn around and let me greet you properly. "

Grinning widely, the addressed complied, leaned forward, and put his hands up against the windowsill. Linard grabbed the oil and started to open his partner up with his thick fingers. Monty squirmed and moaned, widening his stand. He gazed out the window while Linard started to rim him and the tiefling cried out into the silent night in pleasure. When Linard finally deemed him ready and stood up, the tiefling asked teasingly: "Are you jealous for some reason?"

The human snorted a laugh.

"No."

He pressed himself closer to his partner, rubbing his erection against his buttcheeks.

"There's no need for jealousy," replied Linard, grinning, "because I know I'm the one who wakes up next to you every day, makes love to you, and knows exactly what you like."

And with the last sentence, the smith grabbed the base of Monty's tail and tucked it upwards. The tiefling moaned, eyes rolling back in his head, cock drooling precum onto the wooden floor. He arched his back more and tightened his hold on the windowsill.

"Gods, Lin, fuck me already!"

"Today's youth has no patience," tut-tutted the smith teasingly, but he finally pushed in and bottomed out.

Monty threw his head back with a cry, loving the way he was stuffed full by his partner. Linard set a fast pace, almost pulling all the way out before slamming back into the tiefling and hitting his prostate with every thrust. The smith revelled in his lover's cries of pleasure. He ran a hand down Monty's front, caressing the ridges along his sides. Finally, he wrapped his hand around the tiefling's dick and rubbed his fingers along the ridges at the base of it.

"I'm not jealous because we fucked so many times that I know your body better than anyone else."

He flicked a finger against his partner's straining erection, making him moan gutturally.

"I'm not jealous because I know you love me and you are mine."

Linard sheathed himself deep in his lover and came, filling him, while he kept stroking him. With a loud moan, Monty climax too, spilling all over himself, the hand around him, and the floor. His ass flexed, trying to milk his lover dry. Linard leaned over him and placed a tender kiss on Monty's shoulder.

"You're right," panted the latter. "I love you and I'm yours."

At that, the smith hummed pleased and kissed his neck.

"Let's clean up and go to bed, hm?"

"Yeah," said Monty and chuckled.

[eliteseven]

Baby Jen 100% has her mum’s big wet puppy dog eyes when she’s sad and her skrunkly face when she’s disgusted.

Oh yes she does 😍

Serena is obsessed. She’s just holding up her bite-sized little BabyHeart with the proudest smile and tears in her adoring gaze. I say it all the time but she has two (2!) Shadowhearts now. She feels like she won the mf lottery in this life.

And she’s STILL excited like that, even when Baby Jen is being petulant and throwing a little temper tantrum, making the famous “Shadowheart Disapproves” frown.

Shadowheart will always sigh exasperatedly and ask “how ever did you put up with me?”

And Serena just tells her “How ever did I get on without you both, is the question.”

And…oop Shadowheart is suddenly ready for another 🥵

[simpofwaterdeep]

I figured I'd talk about how I imagine relationships between Melpomene, my half tiefling bard Tav, with the companions would be and how they came to be. Plus how I imagine life was after the reunion party. Since I want to start letting myself open up about my OCs and all.

Since I expect it'll be long! More under the cut!

-

Lae'zel - It's hard to trust someone who keeps reminding you of the discrimination you experienced growing up. Melpomene really had to learn to trust Lae'zel after so many of her harsh words would remind her of her life growing up. It wasn't until the Créche that Melpomene started to really understand Lae'zel. As time passed on and they started trusting Voss, Melpomene had already began to call Lae'zel her friend. By the time Vlaakith revealed her true colors to Lae'zel in their second confrontation, Mel was ready to defend Lae'zel with whatever she had. Goddess powers be damned. This was her friend. Melpomene encouraged Lae'zel to lead her people in the end after the Absolute's defeat and Orpheus' death. She misses Lae'zel immensely and hopes one day they can meet in the realms or in the Astral Plane. With help after events of the party, she'll often write Lae'zel letters of updates on her life.

Shadowheart - Melpomene wasn't sure exactly how to take Shadowheart. Rescuing her from the pod was a decision she would never have changed. But she felt Shadowheart didn't like her all that much. So she let herself distance herself from Shadowheart. As soon as Shadowheart finally opened up being a follower of Shar, Melpomene was surprised. A secret like that isn't one shared easily, nor was the night of the wolves. After this Melpomene let herself get closer to Shadowheart. And over time grew to love her and have a sisterly relationship like she'd always wanted with her half sisters. After everything they went through with the Nightsong and the Nautiloid, Mel would trust Shadowheart with her life. And Melpomene stuck by Shadowheart's side throughout finding out the truth and saying goodbye to her parents. After the events and party, Melpomene encourages her new found sister to visit her often in Waterdeep. She even trusts Shadowheart to help deliver her and Gale's twins.

Karlach - After the death of her mother, Melpomene didn't get to grow up with a lot of tieflings or tiefling kids. Being stuck as a servant to her human stepmother and half sisters, Melpomene rarely was allowed to mingle with anyone tiefling. So meeting Karlach and becoming her friend was a blessing. Melpomene had an attraction to Karlach but never acted upon it as she grew to only love her as a best friend. Karlach was a reminder to Melpomene that it was okay to be bitter about the injustices you rightfully didn't deserve, but to not let it have you become a cruel person. Melpomene decided to add taters to her linguistics just for Karlach after visiting her parents' graves and empathized with her parents' loss. When Karlach faced Gortash, Melpomene let Karlach get her anger out. Something she wished she was strong enough to do. It was hard to convince Karlach to go back to Avernus with Wyll, as Melpomene understood Karlach wanted to stay. But she pushed Karlach to not give up. Melpomene was excited to find out she and Wyll got together as she had hoped they would. After Karlach and Wyll eventually found the upgrade to stabilize the engine once and for all and return afterwards, Melpomene makes them the godparents to her and Gale's twins.

Wyll - Being from Baldur's Gate, and a servant in a noble house, Melpomene had obviously heard of the great Blade of Frontiers. She was excited to finally meet the famous Blade and quickly became friends with him. Even learning a sword trick or two to help her with her inexperience. When things calmed down between Karlach and Wyll, Melpomene could sense something budding between them and often hoped they'd end up together. Melpomene was shocked to learn Wyll was of nobility. She empathized greatly with Wyll when it was revealed who his father was and the falling out they had. Melpomene's human father never tried to have a relationship with her and he died shortly after her arrival to his home. She made it her personal mission to help mend the relationship between Wyll and Ulder. When it was successful, Melpomene admittedly felt a twinge of jealousy. But she refused to let it ruin their relationship. When she named Wyll and Karlach the twins' godparents, she had Wyll invite his father to meet them.

Astarion - Just like with Lae'zel, it's hard to trust someone who tried to kill you. In fact Melpomene despised Astarion. Their rivalry with morals and what's right and wrong often had these two butting heads. Melpomene even outright told Astarion the night of the tiefling party she'd rather have sex with a goblin. But that didn't mean they never had their moments. In times of mischief, Melpomene let Astarion indulge himself out of her own morbid curiosity (an example being letting him open the barn doors to reveal the lovely couple). But as Astarion started to open up more over time, Melpomene grew to care for Astarion. Especially in his moments of truly caring for others' safety such as rescuing Mayrina and pointing out they had to be careful to not kill Ethel to save Vanra. Even viewing him as a big brother she had a sibling rivalry with. And like all sibling rivalries, there came times of truce. Melpomene showed her care for Astarion by standing up for him and refusing to hand him over to the Gur. When Melpomene convinced Astarion to not follow through with the ritual, she showed great appreciation for his strength and difficult decision to free the prisoners of Cazador. She often worried for Astarion when he ran off to find shade when the brain was destroyed. After she found out what happened after, Melpomene was immensely proud of Astarion for becoming better. She'll sometimes have him babysit when Shadowheart or Karlach aren't available.

Gale - When she saw this hand coming out of the portal and sensed the danger this person was in, Melpomene didn't hesitate to pull him out. But to her great surprise and shock, Melpomene found herself drawn to Gale. Considering how she found him having a bit of an ego and had a distrust of nobility, which she felt he often made known, she carefully kept him at a distance. But she'd often find herself coming back to putting her distrust aside. Even having twinges of jealousy whenever he showed great interest in Lae'zel. When Gale revealed his condition to her eventually, Melpomene felt a greater connection to him. Even finding herself growing warm as he bowed to her and exclaimed "My lady, I bow to your boundless kindness." From then on Melpomene let herself become closer to Gale. She didn't understand why she had imagined that kiss in her moment learning the Weave with Gale nor her unusually emotional outburst at Elminster. She found herself hurt when Gale admitted he considered using the orb and had an argument with him over it. Melpomene realized she had fallen hard for Gale, something she'd never let herself do, in the Shadowlands a day or two after their argument when he was downed in the first battle. But having grown up hearing no one would love her or have any interest in her, she tried to repress it. It was futile however as even her yearning was exposed to Commander Zhalk at the towers. When she noticed Gale's flirting she remained cautious as not to get hurt or used. But to her surprise, Gale's reveal of being in love with her allowed her to finally let herself be in love. This didn't mean they didn't have their moments, especially trying to convince him not to use the orb or take the crown. She wanted Gale for who he is, not a completely irreversibly changed being. She and Gale changed each other for the better. They soon found they were expecting after the defeat of the brain and had their wedding four months after. Melpomene of course adores Tara almost as much as Gale does.

[fates-calling]

As much as I love Gale becoming a professor and returning to Waterdeep post game, I adore him becoming an adventurer.

Hear me out.

Gale, learning spells that he never would have touched while he was in Waterdeep & with Mystra, spells like Witch Bolt & Magic Missle. Unimpressive and built to do one thing, hurt your enemies. He relizes quickly he had a nack for these kinds of spells, spells that Mystra would have never been impressed by. They're crude and simple.

He feels bad at first, for finding accomplishment when he preforms them well. Mostky, because he has never been too fond of hurting people. Though, he finds himself enjoying watching evil crumble. But these feelings slowly fade faster than he thought they would.

Whenever Karlach yells "Fuck yeah! Fireball!" During the heat of battle and begs him to teach her (which he as kindly as possible refuses to do) as adrenline & pride rush through him. When Wyll claps a hand on his shoulder after a hard won battle, and grins at him saying: "You're a life saver" and he feels utterly triumphant, and a bit smug.

When Astarion pulls him into a suprise hug, out of sight from everyone else after killing Cazador: and simply tell hims when he pulls away, "I didn't know you learned Sunbeam." And his heart leaps woth a fuzzy-warmth he would never associate with the vampire.

When Shadowheart presses a hand to his forehead for a Cure Wounds after he got a bit too close to the battle and affectionately calls him an idiot for it.

When Lae'zel gives him a wicked grin as his Lighting Bolt downs enemies by the handful without breaking a sweat. Utterly impressed, and perhaps, a bit turned on: making him flush fiercly.

With every battle he wins,every drop of blood he sheds: Gale moves further and further away from the man he was. Further and further from the man who was willing to die for Mystra's forgiveness. He becomes a hero. He becomes a man who craves power - his ambitions & passion once more relight, more so than he ever before as he spots that crown ontop of the Netherbrain.

A man, that by Act 3 is enthralled as he sneaks with Astarion, dodging deadly traps to raid one of the most famous wizard's in Baldur's Gate safes. Read knowledge that had been kept from him, and thousands others. Be able to face the goddess of magic herself, and essentially, tell her to get fucked. To be able to apeak his mind to her instead of rolling over and taking it!

And in the end?

He finds out that he is simpky Gale. And that Gale is good enough. That Gale likes adventure and danger. Oh, will he miss Waterdeep and his mother, but he can always visit! Send letters home. He cant quite give up on all of these new things he has discovered. He doesn't need the crown, or Mystra. He doesn't rven need big fanyc illusion magic as he forces reality to bend to his will with the Weave, though, he still loves and pratices it.

No.

This time - reality is enough. He is enough. And sure, reality isn't always pretty. Sometimes reailty is Lea'zel handing you bloody scrolls you know she plucked off a body. But she knew you would want them. Sometimes, it's trying to make a dinner for five (and you) straving adverntures with nothing but potatoes and a cheese wheel you plucked off of goblin corpses.

But it's yours. And it's you for the first time.

Also.

Someone has to keep Astarion in check, and help the rouge protect the Sword Coast with Wyll serving Avernus. And who better than, a master of the Weave like Gale to help him protect it from the shadows, and tell him no. Sometimes.

[vagabondfandoms]

More Than A Moment

Falls On Me Part Two

Day Nine: Rosymorn Pilgrimage Route

Rating: Teen

Previous Parts: Falls On Me

Tags/Warning: Gale POV, Gale x Female Tav. Gale needs reminders to eat, a brief mention of Gale's past sexual escapades, and light-hearted teasing from the group. Approx: 1300 words

Sorry for the delay in uploading the second part of Falls on Me. I was fighting with the second half of this chapter. So I decided to expand the more playful part so I could release it as its own. The next chapter will contain more serious story points aka Githyanki Creche.

---

The Tadpole Troupe has been on the road a couple of days since they left the sanctuary of the Druid’s Grove. They encountered gnolls and a Zhentarim hideout on the road to Baldur’s Gate but nothing proves too perilous for the group of now eight. 

Halsin decided to join their team, having both knowledge of the Shadowlands surrounding Moonrise Towers and a personal vendetta to see that area free of the darkness plaguing it. Gale doesn’t mind having the druid on the team, the wood elf brings a certain level-headedness to the group that only a man who lived as long as Halsin could provide.

Knowing the area the best, Halsin recommended two routes to Moonrise. The first was through the Underdark and the second was through the mountains. Lae’zel was still keen on visiting the Githyanki Creche, claiming the zaith’isk could purify their minds of the mind-flayer tadpoles. Since the tadpoles were still a huge concern for the majority of the group, they headed to the mountain pass with only mild grumbling about “not trusting the gith” from Shadowheart.

The Mountain Path proved treacherous with the road not being maintained for several years. The locals living at an inn claimed it was once a popular pilgrimage route for the followers of Lathander but ever since the Githyanki took over the area, nobody travels to the monastery anymore.

Even with the road being rough, Gale can see why the area was once a popular destination. The scenery was breathtaking with its spectacular mountain vistas, waterfalls, and views of the vast landscape below. The trees are lush and just starting to turn their autumn colors. Gale wishes it was a few weeks later into the year so he could see the valley in its full colorful splendor. 

On more than one occasion Gale finds himself stopping to enjoy his surroundings while giving his legs a well-needed break. During these rests either Copper or himself will wander to each other and share a snack between them. It was nice getting reminders to eat and drink because Gale was extremely bad at remembering on his own. His mind was always too occupied with his research and education, to think about caring for his body. 

The wizard often wished he had a spell that could take care of all the menial everyday tasks, such as eating, drinking, or going to the bathroom without him having to stop what he was doing. But once he eats a delicious meal he remembers why he loves food so much and feels a little guilty (in a voice that sounds awfully like his mother) for denying his body such nourishment. Being on the road, however, is making Gale miss any type of food that wasn't dried, salted, or half rotten. 

“I wish we were back at my tower in Waterdeep,” Gale grumbles sourly to Copper as he takes a bite of dried fish. “I have an excellent kitchen and a wine cellar to rival Ondal himself. I could make us a sumptuous home-cooked meal of quipper fish topped with my mother’s famous hundur sauce.” He waves the half-eaten fish in the air wanting to throw it away but takes a bite to finish it instead. “A far *munch* better meal than this pathetic thing.” 

“You would want me there? At your home?” Copper asks with a slight blush on her cheeks. Gale always likes when Copper blushes but instead of getting distracted this time by the adorable redness of her cheeks, he notices the surprise in her voice. 

“Of course!” Gale encourages, placing one of his hands on hers. “You can meet my mother and Tara as well. But I might not invite them to dinner… they can be awfully nosey and I want our first real meal together as pleasant as possible.” 

“What else are we going to do?” Copper says happily, playing along with the fantasy. She even laces their fingers together and slightly swings their hands back and forth as they start walking.

“Well, after keeping up our appearances with my mothers. Tara likes to think I’m her kitten even though I outweigh her 10 times over.” Gale adds quickly. “We can take a walk down near the waters. There’s a lovely stretch of beach between Watching Tower and Habor Watch. If we are adventurous we could even travel up to the beaches near West Gate. But to be honest, I would like to stay close to home. It makes for a quicker getaway if the mood takes us on more romantic routes.” 

“Gale!” Copper shoves him playfully in the shoulder, stifling a laugh. “Are you telling me in a roundabout way that you made love in the sand before?”

“Well it wasn’t my most proud moment,” Gale confesses, a playful glint in his eye. “I had sand up my arsecheeks for a good day or two after the encounter. Not even a spell could fix it. But I expect no wizard ever fully committed themselves to try to develop a sand-in-the-bahoochie removal charm.” 

Copper starts laughing and Gale can feel the vibrations through their cusped hands. He’s on the verge of laughing too when Copper gives him a heated stare. “Soooo, since we established the beach isn’t your favorite spot to make love. Where is Mister Waterdeep’s preferred locat….” 

Before Copper could finish her sentence, Astarion comes barging between the flirting couple, breaking their hold on each other’s hands. “Urgh, enough of all this sweet talk! It’s making me feel sick,” the pale elf complains.

“HEY!” Karlach and Shadowheart shout in unison. 

“It was just getting to the good part,” Karlach whines as Astarion sticks his tongue out to taunt her. 

Scratch and Owlbert Dark Feathers sensing the playful energy, start to run in circles, jumping up at their human companions wanting to join in on the fun. Their joyful antics just upped the chaotic energy that erupted around the befuddled couple.

“I was looking forward to hearing more.” Shadowheart sighs as she leisurely passes Gale and Copper as Karlach, Scratch, and the Owlbear Cub barrel past them after the teasing vampire. 

Gale quickly catches sight of a mischievous gleam in the tieflings eyes and sees within seconds that she captures Astarion and gives his head a noogie before quickly letting go so he doesn’t catch on fire.

The cleric smirks as Astarion lets out a big yowl and fixes his hair. Shadowheart continues talking, ignoring the chaos around her, directing her next words back towards Gale. “Walking gets awfully dull and a good fantasy story makes the time go by faster. But next time, avoid yapping about sand in your bum and get right to the good stuff.”

“Rude!” Gale calls out after Shadowheart. “They were listening in to our conversation.” 

He huffs in annoyance, looking at Copper for agreement but noticing she was shifting her feet, looking flustered. “Well, we shouldn’t expect anything to stay private with this group.” She mumbles, chewing on her lip. “Not with how close we have to travel and the tadpoles connecting our minds.” 

“That dampens the mood a little.” Gale sighs at the reminder of their current tadpole situation but perks back up when he reclaims Copper’s hand, giving her a flirty smile. “I liked where this conversation was going. Should we continue anyway?”

“Gale. Not in front of the others.” Copper cautions, her eyes shifting around, giving Wyll an awkward little wave as he passes. Both sensed the young man was trying to suppress his laughter since he witnessed the whole silly event from the rear guard. 

“I can only stand one embarrassing incident per day.”

Gale chuckles at the woman’s nervous antics, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry dear. I’ll keep your modesty intact for another day.” He pulls her close for a quick side hug for extra reassurance as they join the group up the mountain path.

---

Author's Note: A small heads up. This story might update slower than Part One since it's summer and I need to enjoy the warm weather while it lasts. *lives in a cold northern climate.*

[seluneclerics]

Valeris & Shadowheart you will always be famous

[fangbanger3000]

Get to Know People Better Tag Game

get to know people better tag game

thank you @savriea and @graysparrowao3 for tagging me im sending you sunshine and siamese kittens

three ships: assuming this is best limited to being within the bg3 fandom (don't get me started on daenerys missandei i'll never stop), i'll try to keep it within those means!

lae'zel x shadowheart: i mean come on. need i say more? hot women with religious trauma who hit hard and love harder. fuck. my babygirls. my angels.

aradin x rugan: fucking hear me out. first of all: this is @graysparrowao3's fault. read their fics if you haven't. second of all: that complicated relationship between a young man and an older man who somehow appears as his father figure but also an object of his desire at the same time. daddy issues x1000. does he want him to rail the daylights out of him or does he want him to pat him on the shoulder and tell him "you did good, lad"? i don't know. aradin doesn't either. rugan hopes for the first option.

wyll x astarion: besides astarion canonically having a crush on wyll, i just love the idea of these two. astarion's hatred for heroes and wyll's conflicting must save everyone i am the hero of tralalala but also here's my infernal patron. i don't have a lot of working brain cells right now but these two are the ultimate grumpy x sunshine and i love it.

first ship: i honestly don't know! i think the first i can think of is from when i was like ten reading shiver by maggie stiefvater for the first time. i really wanted grace and isobel to kiss. and then i really wanted sam and cole to kiss. but unfortunately everyone was straight for some reason.

last song: famous last words (an ode to eaters) by ethel cain!

last movie: everything everywhere all at once. for like, the sixth time. i sobbed just as hard as the first time and i had to call my mom afterwards.

currently reading: nothing! i've barely read anything that wasn't fanfiction this year, which is insane. my goal was 60 books and i have finished one (1), which was feed them silence by lee mandelo. i was also reading electric idol by katee robert, but then i lost my kobo :((

currently watching: true blood and hotd

currently eating: earl grey with a teaspoon of honey

currently craving: sleep but also finishing my chapter

favourite colour: purple. all shades. but especially this one. and this one. and this one.

favorite flavour: black currant and cherry get me every time

current obsession: aradin. aradin. aradin. drawing. my own fic and my upcoming fics, which i think about much more than i should.

last thing I googled: i googled the @ - sign because i don't know how to type it on this keyboard lmaooo

Favourite season: fall. always.

skill i’d like to learn: i really wish i was better at drawing. it's always been very daunting to me because i'm a if-i'm-not-great-straight-away-i-give-up kind of person. but i'm practicing! i've been drawing @tiefling-enjoyer's dagon a lot, alongside my own oc, which has been fun!

best advice: don't do it, eleanor told the little girl; insist on your cup of stars; once they have trapped you into being like everyone else you will never see your cup of stars again; don't do it; and the little girl glanced at her, and smiled a little subtle, dimpling, wholly comprehending smile, and shook her head stubbornly at the glass. brave girl, eleanor thought; wise, brave girl. - Shirley Jackson, haunting of hill house.

i have no idea who has been tagged but i'll do @tiefling-enjoyer because hi my dear and also @rosymornmonastery because she hates it when i tag her in stuff <333

[grief-worn]

hair down shadowheart you will always be famous.

[emmy-dekarios-bg3]

Heart of the Weave - chapter 33

Today is the long-awaited day of Shadowheart and Astarion’s wedding ceremony, and I am so thrilled to see two of my people get married; on top of that, I get to be a part of it by being the maid of honor. Gale is at their cottage with Astarion, Jenevelle, and their baby Asher, getting ready for the big day and assisting Astarion with looking as dashing as ever, which isn’t hard since that man is “the most fashionable bastard in all of Faerȗn.” Famous words of Karlach.

Shadowheart takes a deep breath and turns around to face me with her back against the mirror, her face expressing an intense amount of nervousness. Her white dress is flowing to the floor, with laced floral sleeves that cover her arms. Her silver hair is not in a braid for once, but let loose and hanging down to the middle of her ribcage, curled beautifully. She’s nearly unrecognizable.

“Well, what do you think?” Her voice is a little shaken and quiet, but I can tell she’s over the moon excited, just nervous. Understandably so. I place my hands on her shoulders and stare deep into her eyes with the utmost seriousness, smiling at her.

“You are absolutely beautiful.” She really is embracing the aesthetic of Sȇlune, I’ll give her that. She reciprocates a smile and closes her eyes, inhaling once more. Out of nowhere, the front door bursts open and here comes Gale and Astarion, though they aren’t supposed to be here. And…other guests as well. A lot of them.

“What the Hells –” I exclaimed, completely shocked and a little terrified; I did not expect the door to open like that.

“Astarion! You aren’t supposed to see me!” Shadowheart panics and looks around the room, trying to figure out what to do. “Damn it… Too late now, I suppose.” Why on Earth could they possibly be here?

“Listen, it’s about to start pouring rain outside. We got mildly wet, but not too terribly at least, still somewhat presentable for a wedding. On that note, I told Astarion we could hold the wedding here at the tower. I know it’s last minute. I’m so sorry this happened,” Gale explains, looking at me with those brown puppy-dog eyes. I understand, situations happen, and luckily this is one that can easily be fixed. The ceremony was originally going to be outside at a nice venue here in Waterdeep, but of course it’s going to be pouring down rain on a special event like this. Damn.

I look over at Astarion and catch him admiring his bride, his red eyes twinkling as he smiles amorously at her. I suddenly remember the same look Gale gave me on our wedding day, and he still looks at me the same way many moons later.

“Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter where we get married, right?” Shadowheart mumbles, a smile forming back on her face. “Regardless, it’ll be a special moment for all of us to remember and that’s what counts.” Gale holds Jenevelle in his right arm while he holds out his left arm for me to grab. I hook my arm around his and we strut toward the library area to get settled for the ceremony.

“Reminds me of our wedding day,” Gale comments as he holds on to my arm. “I’m ready to witness our friends embrace the same feeling we did that day.”

“Oh, me too. I’m so happy for them. I wish I could relive that day, to be honest.” It’s true, I think about our wedding day all the time.

The many guests follow us through the tower, admiring the hallway of many paintings of cats and portraits of Gale as a child with his family.

“Wow, very impressive tower Gale,” Rolan comments. “I wish I didn’t live so far away so I could learn from the best. I mean it this time, you’re the best. Not Lorroakan… I can’t even say his name without flinching.” I just know Gale is blushing internally; the hallway is rather dark so I can’t see his facial expression.

“Maybe I’ll come down eventually, we can learn from one another. It’s always nice to be acquainted – erm, friends – with another wizard.” Gale’s voice is eccentric as he talks with our tiefling friend Rolan, and I love to hear it. It’s been awhile since we’ve gotten together and hung out; I believe the last time was a couple years ago after Gale came home from defeating those Bhaalists in Baldur’s Gate.

We make it to the library, opening the mahogany doors. The guests get seated in the room, awaiting for the ceremony to start. Karlach and Wyll take Jenevelle, so that Gale and I can walk down the aisle and stand at the front with Astarion. Alfira and a couple other bards are off to the side, playing their flutes, lyres, and violins to a song called “The Queen’s High Seas.” It’s a calming, beautiful melody I always had my mother play for me when I was growing up; a familiar tune that brings wonderful memories. Halsin stands up next to Astarion, prepared to initiate the ceremony. No one could possibly do it better than him, to be honest. Well, maybe Withers, but I feel he would drag out the ceremony longer than it needs to be. Then, we have Rolan getting the cake set up on the table over by the entryway.

Gale and I walk down the aisle, reminiscing our own wedding as we do so. No, no. This isn’t our wedding. It’s not time to cry, I think to myself. Gale and I split ways, where he stands next to Astarion and I’m on the opposite end, holding up a bouquet of daffodils. Astarion is trying to keep his composure, but I can see deep within his eyes he’s nervous as hell, when he’s normally the type to say, “I just want to get this over with.” This man has truly healed over the years.

Shadowheart gracefully prances down the aisle with her glowing presence. I notice Asher, who is now – barely – able to walk, sitting next to Wyll. If he were human, he’d be almost three years old, but alas he’s a half-elf and just now hitting the human-equivalent of a one year old. He reaches up at Shadowheart as she passes him on the aisle, his face lighting up as she approaches the altar.

“Mama, mum!” Those are the only two words he can say, but he said them so sweetly.

Shadowheart approaches Astarion and he turns around to face her, even though he already knew what she looked like to begin with. Oh well, though. They exchange glances of ecstasy as she stands before him. Halsin clears his throat.

“We are here on this absolutely beautiful yet rainy day to unite these two lovers to bind them together eternally with love. These two met through an unexpected journey after a nautiloid crash, not realizing their fate or love until reuniting again in Baldur’s Gate many moons after the defeat of the elder brain. Through the thickness of the most evils, they have stood with one another, facing challenges and unexpected losses.” Shadowheart’s eyes are tearing up, but she still manages to keep a perfectly beautiful smile. She reaches back for my hand and I take it as she tries to fight a river of tears.

“It’s alright, Shadowheart,” I whisper to her. Her and Astarion still hold an intense gaze. I can tell she truly loves him with all her heart, but at the same time, she’s wishing her parents were here. The two moon notes that her parents became after death are floating next to her on the altar.

“May Silvanus guide you both on this wonderful journey through marriage together. May your unconditional love be eternal,” Halsin adds. Astarion gently takes Shadowheart’s hands and they both close their eyes as a wave of light brushes over them, as if they’re being blessed.

[bloodiedrogue]

for the caompanion!tav ask:

general - 3 and 9

romance - 1, 3, 9 and 10

3. does your tav have any comments or advice when you recruit other companions?

yes! she definitely does. considering she has connections with a few of the other companions before the kidnapping, she has quite a bit to say about them!

on wyll: "ah, the old blade of frontiers. you know, he and i go way back, yeah? good guy. a bit too good sometimes but definitely someone you want at your side. you're lucky to have him."

on shadowheart: "oh gods, a shar worshipper? hope you're ready for doom and gloom galore! they're awfully depressing people and that's saying something coming from me."

on gale: "gale of waterdeep, huh? never heard of him, have you? because if you have you have to tell me. i don't want to look stupid in front of him if he's famous."

on astarion: "what do i think of astarion? ha! i trust him just about as far as i can throw him... and i'm pretty shit at throwing, so, uh... yeah."

on karlach: "i can't believe karlach's the one wyll's been chasing down all this time. i mean, have you seen her? there's no way he'd be able to kill her. she's too hot —i mean... strong."

on lae'zel: "i've met a few githyanki's in my time. none as bloodthirsty as lae'zel though. she's on a whole other level that honestly, i can't help but admire."

9. does your tav have any escalating conflicts with one of the other companions, like lae'zel and shadowheart's knife fight?

i wouldn't say there are any particular arguments necessarily. given the nature of zayis and astarion's relationship though, i'd say there's a lot more interactions specific to the two of them that the player can receive if they're both in the party at the same time.

with the pale elf quest specifically, zayis will often weigh in on a lot of the cazador talk, and if the player takes a long rest inside of cazador's manor, zayis will come talk to the player in the middle of the night, expressing concern for astarion's desire to ascend over cazador.

(i realize this doesn’t really answer the question but… i’m tired)

1. is your tav a romanceable character? are there any specific requirements to romancing them?

i definitely see zayis as a romanceable character but it'd definitely be difficult. similar to astarion, she's quite the liar when it comes to her true feelings, so it'd take a lot to get her to properly warm up to you. to do this, you'd definitely have to be honest with her at all times to show her that it's okay to open up.

3. are they a polyamorous or a monogamous option?

zayis is polyamorous with the (sort of) exception astarion. due to the nature of their past, zayis doesn't trust him in the slightest and thus can't accept a shared relationship.

(that is, unless the player has a very high approval rating with both characters and can trigger the appropriate dialogue to convince them to "get back together".)

9. how do they react if the pc has sex with mizora? the emperor? harleep?

considering zayis is poly she's fine with pretty much everyone but the emperor because she finds mind flayer's to be absolutely repulsive and cannot understand why anyone would want to fuck that.

10. will they join in with the pc and the drow twins, or no?

zayis will always join in but if the player has managed to enter a poly relationship with both her and astarion she will always disapprove, knowing astarion isn't really into it.