#chaoticbard

[apalestar]

@chaoticbard for a plotted modern verse starter.

For once Astarion found himself off the roster for tonight’s entertainment. He didn’t need to dress in his attire prepared specifically for him to dance on the pole. To show himself off for the crowd. No, the master, Cazador wanted him on the floor serving drinks.

The nightclub portion of the complex to hold a musical accompaniment for the guests. Tickets paid in advance. The stage accounted for. The establishment brimming with idiots soon to be parted from their coin on the casino machines and expensive menu items. The Palace cantered to an upper middle class and above clientele. Cazador didn’t suffer the uncouth. Except the illicit murders committed behind closed doors, but the guests were unaware about those.

Astarion sauntered across the floor from table to table. Serving the orders and presenting himself with a smile. Tomorrow he would be back on the menu as it were. Expected to provide the ‘nightly service’ in his chambers.

He noticed her on the stage. The Dragonborn meant to serve as the opening act to the more popular band advertised. She was a rare sight even somewhere as metropolitan as Baldur’s Gate. Her musical number faded into the background. Astarion’s attention drawn elsewhere. He was always watching the spawn.

His shift passed off to another. One of the mortal sycophants that worshiped the ground Cazador stepped on. Behind all the throbbing bass of the music and the roar of the gambling crowd lie a tucked away hallway. Here housed the spawn who served as courtesans in the Palace. Their rooms sectioned off not for their benefit for the purpose of serving others with their bodies.

Each door with a keypad off to the side. Only by interacting with it did the door open. Astarion took residence near the end of the long hallway. All the noise from the casino and club muted here. Barely audible.

He hoped for a rather quiet evening to trance. Perhaps indulge in one of his vices.

[ferinehuntress]

◈　 ⇢  @chaoticbard　 ⋯　 — Continued Ask ♡ 　　⸻　Isobel provides some well needed comfort at Last Light Inn.

How much weight rested upon Bard’s shoulder? The constant give and take and fighting against something in her brain that shouldn’t be there? Isobel knew stress intimately, like a set of tendril vines that threaten to drag her under the dirt. Isobel often struggled to breathe, and the only person she could confide in was Jaheira. She feared to tell anyone else the truth, even Alaara. Would she, too, turn against her? Would she threaten to kill her? As much as she wanted to expect the good in people, she could easily see any of them turning on her to end her life, or worse, give her to her father.

Isobel made sure to keep her hands gloved to hide her icy touch (out of fear) and frequently warmed these gloves by the fire. Hands intertwined into the dragon’s, holding them gentle but with strength to encourage her. “I cannot imagine the burden upon your shoulders, Alaara, and what you are risking for everyone here,” Isobel pulled her gently, and offered a chair to her next to the fire and then pulled up her own rocking chair to sit down in front of her.

“Selune will not remove her protection for any of you, and as long as I walk and breath, the spell will hold. No matter how many times you have to enter the shadow curse, it will protect you,” Isobel vowed and squeezed her hand gently. “As of right now, the only request I have is that you stop Ketheric. I have tried to find ways to do it, and even being the Chosen of Selune, I do not know how to stop him. He wasn’t always immortal, from what I read. So, somehow, something is keeping him that way. Maybe some kind of magic or some kind of tool. Maybe he’s stealing life from the surrounding cultist. I want to help, but,” And just as she was about to speak the heavy cough ripped through her lungs. She lifted her hand up, her chest heaving as the pain gripped at her throat.

As quickly as it came, it went, and she took a breath. “I have to keep this barrier up, and I fear if I leave, it will not hold long. I’m stuck in a position and cannot do anything,” Isobel voiced frustration as her brows lowered and shook her head. “So please, if there is anything else I can do, any way to ensure your success, I will.”

[warwaited]

@chaoticbard

Her nose wrinkles slightly at the extent of the laughter, if not its presence at all, but the paladin waits for Alaara to laugh herself out before she waves a hand dismissively.

"By no means do we need the largest possible drum. I just meant something a touch larger than a dinner plate - perhaps not in camp, but... afterwards. Once our campaign is completed, and you can turn your mind to the idea of recounting all this, rather than experiencing it." War rolls her shoulders, then shrugs casually.

"You will have to tell me about it once you begin drafting."

[lcftyambiticns]

📜 . . . @chaoticbard : ❛ You could have died, you know. ❜

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ"YES, I AM QUITE AWARE I could have died, thank you very much! And so could you!" He spat, glaring at her. The adrenaline was still coursing through his veins.

Lorroakan was no hero, and he was perfectly content with that. The fine line between valor and folly was often blurred, and the dead didn't reap the rewards of their so-called bravery.

Yet, he had still risked his own well-being to save Alaara. The bard who never failed to test his patience. His companion. He sat on a fallen tree, wrapping a makeshift bandage around his lower arm where the blade had nicked him.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Your reckless stupidity nearly got both of us killed! From this moment on, you will do exactly as I say, or so help me, I will leave you to whatever fate your foolishness brings upon you!"

𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬

[shimmerbeasts]

For gods' sake. Alaara shook her head, shocked by what he'd said. Sure, drow were a more violent race but- for any of them to survive multiple attempts on their lives... That was nothing to shake a stick at. At least- it wasn't in the assassins were any good. And most drow were. "Yes," she answered. "Multiple attempts? How is it that you all live this way? Why? What purpose does trying to off one another serve when you all live in the Underdark?"

"I could claim it is something about culling the weak and making us stronger in turn", Felicitas replied, putting the bottle down, "I could claim that to survive Hookhorrors, Bulettes, Beholders or Minotaurs, you need to be strong of mind and body, but let's be real, that would only be half the story."

She blew a raspberry. Looking back at the Dragonborn, she continued: "Let's just say, religious zeal and a rigid hierarchy of Houses, where you cannot afford to lose face even once is an amazing cocktail to grow up on." The drow rubbed a hand over her neck, massaging a strange burn mark on her skin. Upon closer inspection, Alaara could make out the sigil of the Baenre family.

She smiled sourly. "I should not even be the target of assassinations", Felicitas admitted, "I am a bard. We are literally there to entertain the houses. Plus I was a serf, so I should be even less of a target. I am not even a person in drow culture. Sure, I am more than a slave, but not a lot. But you end up witnessing an incidence where a lot of high-ranking house members die and suddenly, you are the enemy!"

@chaoticbard cont. from here.

[starbvund]

@chaoticbard plotted starter

This place brought back so many painful moments in Halsin's life. The darkness here had snuffed out the last remnants of a careful elven youth. The war colored his past in an irrevocable way. So many good friends and comrades lost to Ketheric's ambition. He didn't know what he expected returning here. Hope, perhaps. Silvanus had blessed him more than most. Rewarded him with his faith in a way to restore this land; salvage it from the blight infesting it.

He'd thought his rescuers and saviors of the Grove would extend that grace towards his mission. He hoped, but didn't expect it. What he hadn't banked on was the little cleric of Shar. She who rejoiced in her Lady's darkness and all the sorrow it wrought. She bleated her vitriol in his direction. It reminded Halsin of a petulant child lashing out with doctrine beaten into them over years.

He forged on attempting to be the stronger person in the situation. But even he had limits. Limits he quickly was brushing up against. A knife in hand he flicked it over the shapeless cedar block in his hand. Something to take his mind off this place. To help him forget some people out there wanted this blight. This infection to continue.

Halsin startled when Alaara approached him. His knife strayed nearly enough to nick flesh. His large frame twitched in his surprise. "Forgive me, friend. I didn't see you. How can I help you this evening?"

He assumed it was evening. Here time was all relative. The sun's rays didn't reach the ground.

[ceruleanscarred]

Vorel asked @chaoticbard to fix her lute.

As the instrument is handed over, it jostles slightly in Alaara's hands, especially when a replacement is mentioned. As if it was offended by the idea.

"Oh I don't think I'd be able to part with this one. It was a gift from someone I met on my travels, and its... taken a liking to me, I think." The lute had a warm golden shimmer to it, like it was bathed in comforting sunlight.

"Actually, could you show me how to repair a string? It's the first time one has broken, I'd like to know how to fix it if any others break in the future, even if my hands are too big. I should at least try."

[bloodedhearts]

"Don't worry. I'm not tired, so I will make sure our camp is safe." Well, there's more to it, of course, but Astarion won't admit this. For now, anyway, he thinks this alliance could be very useful to him, so he doesn't plan to waste it. He's convinced he's good at hiding the truth, but right now, he just really needs blood, and it's probably written all over his face.

@chaoticbard ❤'d !

[fatedmuses]

@chaoticbard asked: [COMFORT] The sender gently embraces the receiver, offering a reassuring hug

Gale froze a moment, before relaxing into Alaara, wrapping his arms around her in return. Emotions churned in his stomach, a swirling ache that made him realize how much he needed this. When was the last time someone had hugged him? Certainly before the orb lodged itself in his chest.

He leaned into the hug further, letting his head rest against hers. Gods, he wanted to just stay here forever. How long had they been hugging, was it too long now? Well, she was the one who started it, she could finish it.

"You know, I've never gotten to hug a dragonborn before," Gale said lightly, hoping not to betray his emotions. "It's rather nice. Do all dragonborn give good hugs, or just you?"

[harpershigh]

"Jaheira, you're like the cool grandmother I never had. I hope I'll be as amazing as you when I'm older."

Jaheira blinked, momentarily taken aback by Alaara’s words, but her expression quickly softened into something warm and genuine. “The cool grandmother, am I?” she said with a small, amused smile. “You’ve certainly found a way to flatter an old Harper.”

She paused for a beat, then added gently, “And you’ll be more than amazing, Alaara — of that, I’ve no doubt.” Her gaze lingered on the dragonborn, a touch of curiosity sparking in her eyes. “But… it makes me wonder. What was your family like, if I may ask? I suspect you didn’t need a grandmother like me to make you the strong soul you’ve become.” Her tone was light, simply an open invitation to share if Alaara wished.

[apalestar]

"Is your middle name Edward by chance? I heard someone call you that."

@chaoticbard Day put you up to this.

"Do I look like an Edward to you? Last I checked, I'm still elven by birthright. Most of us know better than to name ourselves something so terribly uninspired." Either that or something so inspired by nature it made Astarion flare his nostrils in a show of distaste.

[swashbucklcr]

@chaoticbard | starter call

Bards. The one collection of people his father hated more than elves. Anyone with the notion of dabbling in the arts of music or poetry that wasn't a crude limerick, a sea shanty about shagging a woman, or gutting a noble was always on the receiving end of Dunstan's fist.

It took Finn many months to adjust to his father's odd hatred for such things, but with the encouragement of the crew to listen to their captain, he eventually agreed to his father's wishes and hatred. Over a decade later, now in a camp with a very different crew, his father's words and actions still echoed in his mind as he saw Alaara working away on what he suspected was a poem or some prose of some sort. The initial thought was his father's rage, turning to his own rage, the desire to take her work and toss it into the fire, call her an idiot for putting time and energy into such things when they had a fight ahead, but then a second thought seeped in to overwhelm the initial. They were a team, a crew; they had to support each other in whatever way if they wanted a chance to survive this mess.

Instead, he silently observed Alaara at work, wondering what the bard was developing. A curiosity within him only grew—was it a song? What instrument did it need? A lute, maybe? It had been so many years since he even held a lute. Could he even play it anymore? Questions he didn't dare to voice as he simply watched, the scowl fading to the face of a man deep in thought and wonder.

[warwaited]

☢ What fads/trends are you so over?

I genuinely can't even vocalize how little i care about your high-contrast monochrome screencap edit. Like, yeah, I'm sure it took a fair amount of time and effort, and obviously it's a popular aesthetic or else there wouldn't be so many of them, but are these things supposed to look different from each other? Am I getting punked? How did the Cool Thing Online become looking at laser scans of a bunch of stock images layered on top of each other with the face of Blorbo from Shows looking faintly perturbed in the middle of it?

[shimmerbeasts]

Mizora. The every day pain in the ass for Wyll and Karlach, and, if Alaara was brutally honest, herself as well. For once, she wasn't acting a prat. Her tone was still haughty as ever, but the question in and of itself Alaara was glad to answer. "What makes for a good legend? Hmmm. Stories about defying the odds. Being a hero. Doing what's right. Stories about someone who has flaws, but keeps doing their best in spite of them. People that overcome great hardship to end up in a better place. Stories that can teach others lessons," she answered.

"Of course, those aren't the only sorts of legends that exist. Plenty are warnings to heed."

There was an unspoken truth in being a warlock's patron and interacting with other people, outside of your chosen charge. Most, if not the whole world, eyed you with suspicion. Add to it the fact that you were a fiend, and immediately that suspicion turned into hatred. Mizora had long learned to brush the views of others off, only concerning herself with them when someone actively tried to dissuade Wyll from her chosen path. Most people, who tried to convince Wyll to free himself from her influence, wound up dead.

The same fate would have befallen the gang of misfits, her pet had chosen as his new playmates, were it not for the simple fact that they all had the same affliction. The Ilithid tadpole in their skulls ensured that Mizora needed them to stay alive if she ever wanted to have that intrusion upon her territory removed. Thus the Cambion was forced to swallow the insults and bide her time. It was at least made easier by only appearing selectively, and even then, when she chose to meet Wyll as regularly as she had done before, they always met outside of the camp or in his dreams. After all, her pet couldn't slack off in his skills, particularly now that he had such a new and strange body.

Thus Mizora mostly made nice (somewhat) with the group as a means to pass the time. Also because she wanted to figure out whom she might have to kill first, should things come to it. She had chosen to speak with Alaara as she had become the elected leader, and also because Mizora had heard whispered rumours of the Dragonborn being tied to a strange massacre in a tavern. That alone had been enough to spark her curiosity as "bard" and "massacre" normally did not appear in the same sentence.

"Fascinating", Mizora replied, "Though I have to admit, isn't there a certain danger in how we define heroism and what is the right thing to do? After all, there are so many cultures in Faerun. What is seen as heroic and right in one culture might be regarded as cowardly or even immoral in the other. Or do you believe in certain universal truths and experiences all cultures share? Which is why certain themes like revenge, love and betrayal appear in all stories ever told?"

@chaoticbard cont. from here.

[ceruleanscarred]

The last few days had been one misfortune after another. Ever since that abduction, the tadpole, the crash... She hadn't even given herself time to process it all, she had to keep herself busy. To keep herself sane.

She'd taken the job perhaps a bit hastily, but it was work. Guard a caravan of supplies, how hard could that be? She'd done that before, plenty of times in fact. Easy coin... until the damned Gnolls attacked. They'd rushed down from the hills, overwhelming the cart and slaughtering the people she'd promised to protect. Vorel was the last one standing.

Her roars and battle cries were vicious as she fought for her life against the attackers, swinging her huge halberd and cleaving some of the beasts in two. But it wasn't enough as more swarmed down from the hills firing spells and arrows.

"Stay standing... I have to stay standing...! I can't die here...!" she told herself before lightning crashed from her jaws, the sound booming through the ravine.

{ @chaoticbard }

[lcftyambiticns]

👌 😎 💥

DJ said ALL THE SHIPS

Jk, yes!

PLATONIC: Even though we didn't have a consistent thread, with every thing we write I feel like they grow closer <3 Imo, we're already (almost) there.

FAMILIAL: Hmm. I mean. If you close one eye and cover the other, they do look related...? xD

ANTAGONISTIC: You know, there is a lot of potential for things to go sideways at any moment. In the end, Lorroakan could stab Alaara in the back for power (Netherstones) or for a chance to capture Aylin. While I absolutely see a path for his redemption and to become a better person due to his ✨ Tav!experience ✨, the allure of power is strong. And he's closer to it now than ever.

SIMPLE SHIPPING MEME!!