#This is so unserious lol

[eliteseven]

A prompt request! Feel free to make requests here

Chapters: 1/1 Rating: Mature  Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply  Relationships: Shadowheart/Tav (Baldur's Gate), Additional Tags: Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Hurt/Comfort  Series: Part 4 of Of Night Orchids, Lace, & Steel

Summary:

After missing the reunion and being presumed dead, Tav returns from helping Karlach in Avernus and wants nothing more than to go home to Shadowheart...if there's still a place for her, that is.

Prompt Request: “Tav returning from Avernus! but there was no reunion party so Shadowheart has had no idea if Tav was alive or not for some months/years (whatever amount of time). And Tav somehow finds Shadowheart’s address, idk maybe the duke or Gale had it or something lol”

(*Takes place in the NLS series universe)

The sweet scent of spring bloom reminds Tav that each step she takes carries her further away from the literal flaming hell that is Avernus, and towards life. 

It’s a long and winding road she follows, up into the wooded hills and further away from proper civilization, and she can’t help but smile at the realization that crosses her mind. Shadowheart did always say she wanted to live somewhere closer to nature; a place in which her parents could thrive, heal, and make up for lost time. 

She doesn’t know exactly where she’s heading, either- but the instructions came from a most trusted source, and she has a deep seated feeling in her chest that she’s headed in the right direction. 

The portal that had spat her back out alongside Karlach, had so conveniently placed them just within Baldur’s Gate’s upper city walls. Coincidentally, they were also just within reach of the newly declared Duke Ravengard, who was eager to provide aid they so desperately needed. 

Bloodied and only a little broken, they’d been brought to the Gate’s finest healers, for only the most pressing of their wounds. There, they were informed by Wyll himself that both of them were presumed dead, once they’d failed to show up at what was, apparently, quite the reunion gathering for their traveling party. 

Overjoyed to see them both alive as he was- Wyll’s words cut deeply, like taking a jagged spear directly to the heart, in Tav’s case. 

Though she and Shadowheart were more or less sworn to each other, they were barely given any time to say goodbye, with the way Karlach’s condition had suddenly taken a turn for the dire. Shadowheart had to stay with her parents, though she wore a look of deep inner turmoil as she was forced to say goodbye to her lover. She cried despite her attempts to appear grounded, and she kissed the shaking hands cupping her cheeks- the same hands that had tirelessly wrenched her free from Shar’s grasp. 

They’d only just done away with the Netherbrain- to suddenly lose Tav again, unsure if they’d ever see one another again, was simply jarring. 

But Tav had given her a little smile- the kind reserved only for her, in their most intimate moments, and whispered to her that she had an entire life to live out- with her parents by her side. 

Shadowheart had nodded, frantically, mumbling promises of a cottage, of a space reserved just for Tav herself, whenever she returned. Not returning was simply out of the question- it was an eventuality Shadowheart refused to acknowledge. 

Whether Tav was in Avernus or the ninth layer of the hells itself, she would return to Shadowheart. 

That was the unspoken promise she made between desperate kisses, her fingertips grazing Shadowheart’s one last time as she stepped into the portal, hearing it suddenly fizzle out behind her with a sickening hiss. 

Suffice it to say, Wyll’s words brought newfound fears into Tav’s mind. 

They’d been gone for months- the better part of a year. It had felt like several decades, by the time they’d succeeded in breaking Zariel’s infernal grasp on Karlach. There could be no telling if Shadowheart had decided to move on, if Tav was nothing more than a fond memory from her past. 

But the deed was done; for all the horrors they suffered, for every atrocity they’d witnessed, Karlach got her wish, her return to normalcy. 

And for that alone, to know that her (now normal) heart could beat freely, away from the poison of Zariel’s influence, or Gortash’s deceit, Tav was happy to do it all over again. 

It was Karlach’s choice to stay behind with Wyll for some time- a choice Tav could hardly fault her for, knowing how well the two got on in their prior travels together. 

Now that she’s finally free- without the threat of overheating or erupting into flames, Tav figures Karlach will want to take her time exploring possibilities she never could have imagined. 

And so- with aching legs carrying her- (Wyll had offered her a mount and she’d refused, instead taking the journey to ground herself emotionally for whatever she would find), Tav nears her destination with a trembling heart. 

There are steps dug into the incline she finds herself approaching. In the dirt, Tav recognizes a myriad of animal tracks, mixed in amongst the boot prints. 

Now she knows she must be in the right place. 

The sun warms her back, not infernally so- just enough to set a warm glow across her skin, to remind her that she’s back. The flower-covered meadow that spreads over the side of the hill seems to dance and sway in the breeze, beckoning her forward. She can see the beginnings of a structure- a barn, first, and then she sees it. 

A cottage. 

Quaint, simple, but ever-so-inviting, surrounded by patches of neatly organized crops. 

It’s home, Tav’s heart immediately goes into overdrive at the sight, but she painfully swallows the feeling back. 

It’s Shadowheart’s home, nothing more. 

She cannot expect anything more- it wouldn’t be fair to make assumptions that Shadowheart would cease living until her return. 

Tav nearly stops in her tracks when she sees her. 

A figure, knelt and dressed in white- likely one of Arnell’s old shirts, repurposed for her new life working in the garden. White hair cast loose- no longer restricted by a tight, orderly braid. She smiles as she works, amidst a patch of night orchids clinging to the shade provided by a looming tree. 

Tav goes weak in the knees, her voice dies in her throat at the mere sight of her. 

Their time apart has been kind to Shadowheart, it seems. 

She looks not a day older than when Tav last saw her- and somehow, she knows it has little to do with her seemingly non-existent half-eleven aging, and more to do with a year of life well-lived under the sun. 

A growl draws Shadowheart’s attention, and though she looks in the opposite direction of Tav, the simple tilt of her head infuses life into Tav’s very soul. She wishes to drink in the sight of her- every angle, every minute detail of the face she’s dreamt of pressing her lips to for months. 

“What is it?” Shadowheart’s curious whisper is barely heard over the sound of birdsong and running water nearby- and yet, hearing her voice in any capacity renders Tav absolutely breathless. 

She opens her mouth to speak, tries to approach, to do anything really- but finds herself rooted to the spot for a moment. 

Whomever Shadowheart is talking to- the notion that she might not be alone gives Tav pause. In this instant- she can pretend, for just a moment, that she never left for Avernus- that Shadowheart is hers and hers alone, and they’ve built this bucolic, wonderful life together. 

Willful as Shadowheart is, Tav can see that her homestead is sprawling- to the point where she must have had help. She feels a burgeoning sense of guilt, like black bile, seeping into her chest and constricting around her heart. 

She wasn’t there for Shadowheart. 

In what could be argued as the most difficult time in her life after leaving Shar, Tav had all but abandoned her, without any means of communication. 

Yes- to help Karlach, to drag her away from death’s door, but she was decidedly absent from Shadowheart’s life, all the same. 

She cannot be upset if another figure is to emerge from the cottage; she’s had this nightmare several times in Avernus, where waking thoughts become fodder for nightmares that rip into one’s very essence. She cannot be upset if Shadowheart has found solace in the arms of another- perhaps someone better suited to this life than Tav herself. 

She knows her own selfishness- knows how cruel it is to hope Shadowheart wants the same things that she might have thought she wanted nearly a year ago, before they parted. 

And Tav knows she’ll never get anywhere if she remains rooted to the spot. 

She clears her throat, draws in a breath, and steps forward- ready to throw caution to the wind, to announce her presence and show her hand, for better or worse. 

Her instincts tell her that something is watching her, and it certainly isn’t her former lover. 

She has no time to react when a russet colored blur darts at her from around the corner, a snarling mess with bared fangs. Tav reaches for her dagger rather than her sword, and in her panic- realizes she’d broken it in Avernus, and never sought a replacement. 

She’s knocked into the dirt forcefully, her head slamming back into the soil as she feels a massive weight pressed upon either of her shoulders, pinning her down. 

Read the rest on AO3

[missn00tson]

Song of the day

[minjimunji]

bi 4 bi percabeth,,,,, 👉👈

[shepscapades]

Contrary to popular belief etho and bdubs are not divorced and in this essay I will

[morningstarwrites]

Drew a silly comic based on the (Persephone Alastor/Hades Lucifer) AU from @nekophy I just couldn't stop thinking about it!!

[juricore]

toxic yuri this toxic yuri that. and just when you think it couldnt get any crazier they break out the spinning piano

[euthymiya]

Satoru “proposes” to you as a silly, cheeky joke with a little paper ring he makes with a straw wrapper but you say yes. You say it because of course he can afford some sickeningly expensive ring and of course he can make it some big grand gesture because he’s Satoru and he has the means but you just want to marry the guy. And he gets rather offended that you say yes at such an underwhelming proposal. If I ever propose to you without a fancy ring and an elaborate plan, just slap me, he pouts.

You start calling him your fiancé after that. And even though he’s mortified about your answer every time people excitedly ask what the proposal was like, he doesn’t hesitate for a second to call you his fiancé either.

[k-wame]

JACOB ELORDI He Went That Way (2023) dir. Jeffrey Darling

[muwitch]

hello dragon age fandom

case closed

[nihtscada]

these will never be unfunny

[godzillawillsaveus]

Rewatching Grotesquerie and this is killing me lmao!! Why the fuck did he slide up on Mother Superior like that talking about OnlyFans!!!! The side eye she gives him is so fuckin funny, I can't stop laughing 😂😂

[aroaceleovaldez]

forever mad that HoO introduced Diocletian's scepter as an object but. gave it to Nico and had Jason promote Frank about it.

Like. Okay here is an object that can summon the dead. It can only be used by a child of Hades/Pluto and a Roman officer in unison. HAZEL IS RIGHT THERE!!!!!

Nico can already summon the dead! He doesn't need a special object for it! Literally IN THE SCENE WHERE THEY GET THE SCEPTER, NICO RAISES THE DEAD. HE'S NOT WEAK ENOUGH THAT HE CAN'T! Hazel meanwhile has never raised the dead before (kind of - she did a little bit like once)! Theoretically she's fully capable of it but she's never properly tried it before! Giving her an object to help facilitate practicing with that would be perfect, especially given the scepter expires after a certain number of uses! Also, since Hazel ends up a praetor in TOA anyways, there's no reason why she shouldn't get promoted to be able to use the scepter all on her own! In fact her getting promoted in the House of Hades would be the perfect place to do so because it's a scene where she's taking the lead and saving everyone else! In fact it's a significantly better place to promote her to praetor over the scene where she ACTUALLY gets promoted! And even if you don't have Hazel promoted instead, then you'd still have it be Hazel and Frank working together to command the armies of the undead, which is perfect because they're a couple and it'd be a great way to show how well they work together!!!!!

LITERALLY THERE IS NO REASON TO NOT GIVE IT TO HAZEL. WHAT'S THE DEAL.

[planetsandmagic]

blue spring

[minjimunji]

Uhhhhh I genderbent them,,,,, 🧍🏻‍♀️

[drgnflyteabox]

cw noncon

Frankenstein / poor things au Victorian vibes where johnny has suffered his head wound, and Simon is the fucked up doctor who brings him back (Wrong). You, his wife, already frustrated by your husband's aloofness decide to snoop in his laboratory whiles he's away. You find the key, and open the door... ...

You find out the hard way that the rumours of his monstrousness are very real and live in the body of this man-creature-specimen-

When Simon comes back to Johnny pinning you down with his weight (and his cock) he shrugs and says there's a reason this door was locked, stupid girl.

Might as well make you part of the experiment.

[ritzcuit]

ppl who follow me are tired of me saying this, but if i could address the aa fandom directly... i rly would just ask that people like, stop being mean about dd and soj. like thats all i want.

im not even IN the fandom anymore, so i have no reach. i draw fanart and make my little ship posts but thats all. and thats bc the wider fandom ... is so fucking mean sometimes. omg. like its just not fun!!

but really, specifically, its about the dd and soj thing. the "play ace attorney we have so many games and [MOST OF THEM] are good!" thing. like, its fine if you dont LIKE dd and soj, obviously!! im not saying you HAVE to!

but "i dont like these games" and "these games are objectively bad and no one likes them" are entirely different statements.

plenty of people like dd and soj, even have them as their favorite games. i know this bc my soj fanart gets notes 😭 i have ppl in my tags excited and happy when i draw dhurke and datz. bc we like these characters!! and like to think about them and the story they come from!

...just bc YOU dont like soj, doesnt mean a lot of ppl dont like soj! so i really dont understand the drive to constantly talk down and insult these games?! like ... why be negative. u could be nicer. its possible and easy and then doesnt drive ppl away from the fandom bc their favorite games are being trashtalked all the time.

a lot of ppl find the space family dd interesting! they LIKE the phantom and his concept as a character! they LIKE soj and all of the political settings! it doesnt rly matter that they are, by and large, A Little Flop, bc people still LIKE them and like making content for them and thinking abt them and playing in the space and...!! like. why hate that? why constantly put us down for enjoying smth you didnt?

just dont need to constantly make slights at how "bad" and supposedly unenjoyable dd and soj are. cus not only is it mean, and makes the fandom hostile, but its literally untrue. i dont even consider myself in the fandom anymore bc all the fun is taken out of it when i have to brace myself for shitty comments like this whenever i read a post abt the series!

and i rly wish i could just Not Care what other ppl say. a lot of my friends dont care. but soj is like.....ive spent the past 5 years loving that stupid ass mediocre game. like its deeply important to me. and i just feel like a lot of ppl would have some fun with it if they werent constantly told how bad and skippable it is. im sure dd fans feel the same way.

its very cliquey. its very "the popular opinion is correct and if you dont agree, you dont get to play with us". it just sucksssss