#gonna make one for rhykker too

[robyn-runestone]

I came across the ‘Get to know my Tav’ trend, and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to flesh out Carlyle a little more.

Carlyle | Seldarine Drow | Bard | He/Him

favorite weapon: Rapier

style of combat: He prefers toying with his opponent by darting in and out and making quick strikes

most prized possession: His violin. He cares for that thing like it’s his own child.

deepest desire: He just wants to feel like he belongs with something or someone, though he’d rather die than let anyone know that.

guilty pleasure: Crappy mystery novels. He eats that stuff up.

best-kept secret: The reason why he acts like such a jerk to everyone he meets is because he hopes it’d stop them from getting attached to him. After failing to prevent his apprentice from being killed, he decided that he was unworthy of people’s kindness, and even less deserving of their grief. He decided that if everyone hates him, then it would be easier for them to move on when he dies. This backfired when his party noticed how kind he is to children, and soon they began to see even more evidence of the soft heart under his prickly exterior.

greatest strength: He’s really good at grabbing people’s attention. He’s always the one who acts as a distraction when needed.

fatal flaw: Because of the shame that came from his apprentice’s death, he always snaps at/makes fun of people in hopes that they would give up on him.

favorite smell: This one specific perfume he got at a market that smells woodsy and a tad floral. He never uses it because he doesn’t want the smell to run out.

favorite spell or cantrip: Cloud of daggers. He likes using it to trap his opponents in enclosed spaces.

pet peeve: People who don’t care for their weapons properly. 

bad habit: Even after deciding to stop being a jerk, his first instinct when interacting with people is to act snappy with them. It’s hard for him to grow out of the habit, but he is trying.

hidden talent: Because he lived alone for so long, he had to learn how to cook for himself, and became really good at it. He once made a kick-ass beef stroganoff, and Karlach and Wyll often beg him to make it again.

leisure activity: Curling up in a little hidden nook to write songs or read.

favorite drink: Chamomile tea, but like the really fancy ones with the spices and berries and stuff.

comfort food: Literally any kind of soup, especially if he has some bread to go with it.

favorite person: 20 years before the game, he had an apprentice named Yarrow. They were really close, and he almost saw her as a daughter. Every year after her death, he would play the first song he ever taught her in remembrance of the girl.

Later, he fell in love with Astarion. After knowing how it feels to be loved back after being deprived of it for so long, he decided he couldn’t go back to pushing people away again.

favored display of affection (platonic and/or romantic): Carlyle is a huge fan of physical touch, though he has a hard time asking for it. Him and Astarion sometimes read together so that they could have an excuse to cuddle.

After Karlach had her engine modified to allow her to touch others, they both got a lot of hugs from each other too.

fondest childhood memory: His mother and father singing to him at bedtime, and him trying to drowsily sing along before sleep overtook him.