#it's fine I had Lae'zel pick her up

[wolfsong-the-bloody-beast]

I was looking through my screenshots and found out it wasn't just Karlach who was hanging around during the romance duel. Gale was there, too?!

And then he just finished reading his book and left. I was so distracted by Kesh bleeding out and then by finding Karlach chilling at Lae'zel's tent that I didn't even notice him.

Umm, somebody? Lae'zel? Darling terror of my life, source of my... blood loss? Karlach? (imitates Gale's voice poorly) A hand? Anyone?

[baldursgate3tempobsessed]

Astarion teaching Tav embroidery/sewing. Preferably with him dragging them onto his lap for a close-up demonstration.

Why do I make everything so long? Do I have a problem? There is always so much introspective nonsense idk man. Anyway adorable idea actualized below!

Also mentions of sex but this is totally sfw. I went with the timeline of when your sleeping together but he hasn't quite admitted his feelings to himself, as a side!

~

Astarion had no idea how he became your camp's designated seamstress. How was it possible that a team of eight adults were all incapable of knowing the basics of such a fundamental skill?

Then again, Karlach seemed to be perfectly fine with wearing her clothes to tatters. Wyll was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Lae'zel, for some gods forsaken reason, was only capable of fixing up heavy armor. Gale seemed to prefer eating magical clothing items versus being able to salvage them and the rest were mediocre at best.

The look of confusion on Shadowheart's, who was the second most skilled by far, face when Astarion tried to explain a ladder stitch was enough for him to give up entirely. It was quicker to fix the tears then to explain simple concepts to simpletons.

Brats. All of you. With one who was significantly more brazen than the rest when it came to using Astarion as their personal tailor.

Tav, the lovely thorn in his side. Who could handle wielding a glaive with startingly accuracy, but somehow managed to consistently stab themselves every time they picked up a sewing needle. It was impressive, how useless someone who was otherwise extremely competent could be.

Impressive as it was frustrating. Because somehow you managed to destroy your clothes more often than anyone else. Always bashfully handing him over torn trousers and ripped shirts every other night. Anyone else he would have told to fuck off by now. Even the rest of the camp knew better than to test their luck with anything more than once a fortnight. But you lacked the very basic level of self-control.

It was his own fault for giving you special treatment in the first place. But sleeping together did warrant a few extra benefits. He got your protection and you got to experience the pleasure of being with him. Simple. Or it would have been if you didn't insist on making things complicated.

Because Astarion was starting to feel things. Things that he hadn't anticipated. Because your company was... oddly pleasant. You were an interesting little thing, he had to give you that. Well-read and talkative, but not boringly so. No, Astarion sometimes found himself losing track of time when he was with you. A simple question could easily turn into a two-hour conversation about the silliest things. It was... nice. New. And oh so different from what he was used to.

Cazador didn't even allow him or his brethren to speak in his home, let alone speak to each other unless it was strictly necessary. But here he was free to do whatever he pleased. And he was finding that included being near you, despite how differently you both saw the world.

He couldn't quite blame you for your delusional optimistic views. As a Tymora worshipper you were basically doomed from the start to believe inane concepts like good fortune, luck, and gods, the good that could be found in "anyone".

You were as sweet as you were aggravating and Astarion truly, honestly, had no idea how your insane trusting nature hadn't managed to get you killed yet. But then again he... kind of liked that about you. He liked that you trusted him. It made his life more convienet and... it was nice to be seen as a person worth confiding in. Instead of the blood-sucking monster he really was.

He... liked that. He liked you. A fact that he didn't enjoy thinking about. He didn't really know what to do with it, and the implications of where his feelings could lead were starting to become unsettling. So he pushed it out of his mind. It was an easy thing to do when doom was always looming in the background. He had plenty of things to think about that didn't include his fondness for you.

Like the inner-rage you caused when you managed to somehow rip the same shirt twice in one day.

"That's it," Astarion announced when you bashfully asked for his help yet again, "Come here. I'm teaching you how to sew."

"But you always get mad when you try," You whined. But despite the hesitancy you still obediently sat next to him as he got out the sewing kit, "Do you promise not to snap this time?"

"That depends," Astarion said with a roll of the eyes, "Do you intend on not maiming yourself with a sewing needle?"

Astarion smirked at the way that made a blush crawl up your neck, "That was one time!"

"Actually darling it was closer to seven," Astarion corrected as he snatched the shirt from your hands, "Now pay attention. Look at where the tear starts. Notice how it's on the seam?"

You nodded along as Astarion explained the basics to you. He could tell that you were trying your damndest to pay attention, but when it was your turn to hold the needle your hands couldn't stop shaking. Astarion frowned as he tried to watch you work, his view obfuscated by the angle and the flow of your hair.

Well that wouldn't do.

Before he could think better of it he was hauling you into his lap, ignoring your surprised squeak as he situated you just right.

That was better. At least now he could see what you were doing. It was a sloppy stich, sloppy enough for him to undo it before putting the needle back in your hand.

"Now do it again," Astarion ordered, "Let me see what your doing wrong."

Astarion watched as you tried again, frowning when he realized your shaking was even worse than before. In fact, you seemed more nervous than ever, your face red as you kept your eyes down.

It made Astarion torn between watching your hands and looking at your face. You really were adorable, getting all worked up from simply being in his lap, all while trying to stay dutifully undistracted. He could almost hear your heart racing, obvious through the tension coursing through you.

Silly little thing, acting all shy like he hadn't already literally been inside of you. But at least you were doing better, your stitching straighter than Astarion had ever seen it. Maybe he'd have to make the lap-sitting mandatory from now on, for the good of your learning.

"See," Astarion said softly, his breath tickling your ear as he leaned in closer, "You're perfectly capable of learning this."

"So it looks good?" You asked, taking a chance to glance at him. Astarion hadn't realized just how close the two of you really were. He had never... seen you like this before. So closely. Even when you slept together, he had been a bit distracted by other parts of your body. He never noticed just how many light freckles were hiding across the bridge of your nose, how your eyes looked almost golden in candlelight. You smelled nice too, sweet. Like you had been rolling around in a field of lilies. Considering your personality, Astarion had to wonder if that's exactly what you did.

It would take almost nothing to press your lips together. Barely a turn on the head.

"Astarion, are you listening?"

The sound of his voice snapped him out of his revelry. He straightened, clearing his throat as he looked over your work again, embarrassed in a way that he couldn't quite describe.

Maybe you weren't the only one being affected after all.

"It looks better," Astarion said honestly, "But still needs work. You'll almost certainly be needing more lessons."

Preferably like this. Astarion wasn't quite ready to let you go yet, not when you felt so pleasantly warm in his lap. But luckily enough for him, you didn't seem quite so keen to leave.

Astarion tightened his hold on you laughing at the way it made you gasp, "But that's enough for today. I think you've earned a reward. Don't you?"

"I-yes?" You said back, your eyes flitting from Astarion's mouth and back, "Please?"

You really were too precious. How could he possibly say no to that?

Astarion grinned as he tilted your chin up, finally pressing your lips together. It was an odd feeling, kissing someone when he couldn't stop smiling, but he supposed you just had that effect on him.

Maybe being the camp seamstress wasn't so bad after all.

[soldat-buck]

i had a vision while making coffee this morning

bg3 culinary headcanons: Companion Edition

- Shadowheart: absolute zero regard for contamination while cooking. kitchen habits of a permanent bachelor. licks the tasting spoon clean and keeps using it to cook. eats hot cocoa straight out of the container with a spoon. thinks pouring ranch over an entire head of lettuce and eating it like feral animal while holding it over the kitchen sink counts as "salad". if you can get past the contamination thing, the food she makes actually tastes pretty good, even if it's sometimes odd (she cooks like a stoner, despite being perfectly sober. she is just Like That).

- Astarion: perfectly capable of cooking, and actually can cook quite well. food may not taste the same after becoming a vampire, but his enhanced sense of smell tells him nearly everything he needs to know about how to season and cook food properly. he doesn't cook because he doesn't like to (washing dishes? by hand? no fucking thank you, being undead is harsh enough on the nails and skin. finding a good lotion for normal undead dryness is already impossible)

- Lae'zel: in the modern world, if her life took her in a chef direction, she'd be in a Michelin star restaurant as the world's best and most terrifying sous chef. she absolutely would throw a knife at you for fucking up her plating (she'd intentionally miss. the first time). no nonsense is ever tolerated in her kitchen, but that doesn't necessarily mean she's got temper issues (her coldness and lack of tantrums is what makes her terrifying). she'd put Gordon Ramsay in his place for his rage theatrics and then make him weep with joy after serving him the most competent omelet he's ever had in his life. if she likes you, you may address her as "Yes, Chef!" outside of the kitchen.

- Karlach: uses 4 pots to make ramen. not because she's doing anything fancy or elaborate with it, the first pot was too small and started boiling over (whoops). the second one was, oh hold on, that's a cast iron pan, maybe you're not supposed to use that for boiling liquids, huh? wait shit, can't use this one either, i'm not supposed to use metal spoons on nonstick, don't want to scratch it. There we go! this one is the right size! and if i scratch this one, it's fine! wait, where the fuck did the flavor packet go (you should definitely be concerned about leaving her alone for the weekend)

- Wyll: very resourceful cook due to his Blade of the Frontier days. can improvise a meal out of damn near anything. can identify every edible plant and mushroom and tell you how to use it in a dish. would carry an herb garden in his adventure pack if he could. would absolutely thrive on the show Chopped (he's actually banned from auditioning again because it's not fair to the other competitors to have him on). he could make you a dessert featuring rattlesnake and fresh picked clover, and you don't know how or why, but you actually like it

- Gale: approaches the kitchen the same way he approaches most things in his life - academically. knows the proper safe temperature to cook meats/etc to, knows how to brown an onion, knows what seasonings are typically used together for certain flavor profiles and how to match seasonings to proteins. knife work sucks because he uses mage hand for mise en place and his mage hand has shitty DEX, but he's scared of his chef knife from the one time he sliced his thumb open (he was cutting an onion with improper hand placement and the knife slipped)

- Minsc: would exclusively eat by dumpster diving if it weren't for Boo's disapproval. eats like a human garbage disposal. he will eat a n y t h i n g that fits in his mouth, he is the least picky eater you will ever meet. does not understand how food challenges in the show Fear Factor are supposed to be challenges

- Halsin: world class forager. very competent hunter. prefers to eat everything as raw as possible. understands but doesn't believe in strict food safety because obviously stomach acid kills germs (and anyway, a little dirt here and there never killed anyone; exposure to germs is good for your immune system). open-mouthed kissing him is gambling with your health. makes the best vegetarian salads but do not trust any chicken he has "cooked". people with weak CON might want to consider avoiding his food

- Jaheira: uses Talk to Animals to Cinderella/Ratatouille rodents in the kitchen. she commands them like she's in perilous battle and the entire world is at stake (also rodents are worse to direct than cats, they do not know the difference between left and right. there's a lot of "No! Not that cupboard, the other one! NO, the OTHER other one! Flank him, he's off balance!"). making a cup of tea is a convoluted, stressful process that takes 10 times longer than just boiling the damn water yourself

if you want more bg3 culinary headcanons, there's also: the Absolute Edition

[moonselune]

Hiiii I'm the person who requested the fireball prompt and OMG I loved it so so much it was amazing :D I was wondering if u could do a follow up to it where Tav is, for the most part, all healed up and better but they now struggle to do certain things due to the massive burn mark on their back? Like they can't fully stretch their back to put a shirt on or they can't perform certain moves in combat due to it hurting too much and the ladies just help and support them through it??? I think it'd be really cute

You're right, this is really cute

─── ･ ��ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

Karlach:

Days had passed since the battle, and though your wounds had mostly healed, the large burn scar on your back remained a constant and itchy, reminder of the sacrifice you had made for Karlach. A sacrifice you would commit a hundred times over.

One morning, you struggled to pull a tunic over your head. The fabric caught on the scar tissue, sending a sharp pain through your body. You winced, gritting your teeth as you tried to continue.

“Let me help you,” Karlach's voice came from behind. You turned to see her standing in the doorway, her expression a mix of concern and determination.

“I can manage,” you replied, though your voice lacked conviction. Karlach stepped forward, gently taking the tunic from your hands.

“I know you can, but you don’t have to do this alone, babe.” She carefully helped you slip the tunic over your head, mindful of your injury. Her touch was surprisingly tender for someone so strong and fiery.

“Thanks,” you murmured, feeling a mix of gratitude and frustration at your own helplessness. Karlach smiled, her eyes softening as she looked at you.

“You took a fireball for me, you idiot. The least I can do is help you get dressed.” She pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead, her lips lingering for a moment longer than necessary.

Later that day, as you trained with the others, you found certain combat moves difficult to perform. Every twist and stretch sent a sharp pain through your back. Karlach noticed your struggle and approached you, her eyes filled with concern.

“Let’s take it easy today,” she suggested. “We don’t want to aggravate your injury.”

“I'm fine, Karlach” you protested, frustration evident in your voice.

"You're not, babe " Karlach mocked as she pulled you out of training with Lae'zel. Karlach placed a reassuring hand on your shoulder. That you quickly shrugged off. "Hey, I know it's rough, soldier okay? But you are going to get better. We’ll adjust your training. Focus on moves that don’t strain your back. I’ll work with you.”

Her tone left no room for argument and you nodded, placing your head against her shoulder to hide your displeased scowl. You didn't want to have different training schedule, you wanted to train with the others. You knew you sounded like a child and as if Karlach could read your mind she patted you on the back.

"It's all gonna be okay."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

Minthara:

Days turned into weeks, and though your body healed, the large burn scar on your back remained a painful reminder of the battle. Simple tasks, like performing certain combat maneuvers or even just reaching for things, had become difficult and excruciating.

One morning, as you struggled to put on your armor, the pain in your back flared up, causing you to drop the breastplate with a groan of frustration.

"Let me," Minthara's voice cut through the silence. You turned to see her standing in your tent entrance, her eyes narrowing as she took in your struggle.

"I don't need your help." you replied stubbornly, even though the pain was evident in your voice. Minthara's expression softened slightly, though her tone remained firm.

"You do not have to prove your strength to me, nor do you have enough of it currently to defy me. Allow me to assist you." She stepped forward, picking up the breastplate and helping you slip it over your head with surprising gentleness.

"Thank you," you murmured, feeling a mix of gratitude and frustration at your own limitations. Minthara's eyes met yours, a hint of vulnerability shining through her usually stern gaze.

"You protected me at great cost to yourself, my love. The least I can do is help you with this." She adjusted the straps with deft fingers, her touch lingering on your shoulders for a moment longer than necessary.

After managing the breastplate, you couldn't hide the residual pain you felt. You sighed and rested your forehead against hers in slight defeat. Feeling your pain, Minthara wrapped her arms around you and held you. She would be there for you, no matter what.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

Lae'zel:

The weeks following the battle were challenging as your body slowly healed from the severe burns. Despite the magical healing from Shadowheart and others, a large scar remained on your back, a constant reminder of your sacrifice. You did your best to hide the lingering pain from Lae'zel, not wanting to appear weak or burden her with worry.

One evening, as you struggled to pull on your shirt, the pain became unbearable. You winced, your movements slow and deliberate as you tried to stretch your back. Lae'zel entered the tent, her eyes immediately narrowing as she observed your struggle.

"Why are you hiding this from me?" she demanded, her voice laced with frustration and concern. She had been pestering you all week about your injury and each time you had assured her that you were fine. And you were going to do it again.

You forced a smile, trying to downplay the pain. "I'm fine, Lae'zel. Just a little sore, that's all."

She stepped closer, her gaze intense. "Do not lie to me. I can see the pain in your eyes. Why did you not tell me?"

"I didn't want you to worry," you admitted, your voice soft. Lae'zel's expression softened slightly, though her tone remained stern.

"I am a warrior, but even warriors need help sometimes. You are no exception. Do not be foolish." She reached out, gently helping you with your shirt, her touch surprisingly tender. "Next time, tell me. I do not want to see you suffer in silence."

You nodded, grateful for her support. "Thank you, Lae'zel. I'll do better."

Her lips curled into a small smile. "See that you do."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

Shadowheart:

Despite your reassurances, Shadowheart remained deeply affected by the incident. The guilt gnawed at her, driving her to constantly check on you and cast healing spells whenever she could. Even though the scar on your back was a testament to the limits of magic, she refused to give up.

One night, as you prepared for bed, you winced in pain while trying to stretch. Shadowheart was at your side in an instant, her hands glowing with healing energy.

"Shadowheart, please," you said gently, taking her hands in yours. "You've done everything you can. The scar will fade in time."

Her eyes were filled with sorrow as she shook her head. "I should have been more careful. If I had just turned around…"

You cupped her cheek, your thumb brushing away a tear. "It's not your fault. I saved you and then you saved me, and I wouldn't change a thing."

She sighed, her resolve wavering. "I just want to make sure you're okay. I can't stand the thought of you in pain."

"I'm okay because of you," you replied, your voice filled with sincerity. "Just having you here is enough, my love."

Shadowheart nodded, though the guilt lingered in her eyes. "I'll always be here for you. I promise."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

Jaheira:

As your body healed, the scar on your back became a permanent reminder of the battle. Jaheira, ever the practical one, took it in stride, offering both assistance and lighthearted comments to ease your discomfort.

One morning, as you struggled to perform a combat move during training, Jaheira approached with a wry smile. "Need a hand, my dear?"

You sighed, frustration evident in your voice. "This damn scar. It's making everything harder."

Jaheira chuckled, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "I think it makes you look rather distinguished. Sexy, even."

You felt your cheeks flush at her comment. "Jaheira, please."

She stepped closer, her touch gentle as she adjusted your stance. "I'm serious. It's a mark of your bravery and strength. Wear it with pride."

You couldn't help but smile at her words. "You're always so supportive. Thank you."

Jaheira's expression softened as she pressed a kiss to your forehead. "We're in this together, my love. We'll get through it, scar and all."

Her words and presence bolstered your spirits, reminding you that, despite the pain, you were never alone, not when you had her.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

I did run out of steam a bit with this, I'm trying to build up the queue for when I am away (when you read this I will be slumming it in a field likely dying of hay fever and family criticisms). Hope you guys enjoy it tho - Seluney xox

[what-is-it-to-be-pk-esque]

Omg the love triangle/breakup dynamics in BG3 kill me

Astarion offering to have a sordid affair down the road if you romance Wyll is amazing - and you can agree to that lmaooo. Honestly his retorts and jokes about Wyll if you pick Astarion might be the funniest in the bunch, love that he calls you a scoundrel if you agree hahaha

Karlach's got some really kind and funny things to say about Astarion as long as you get his act 2 scene before you sleep with her (the throwing his pomade into the river comment, joking about sharpening stakes, saying he's not one whose heart you should play with, etc). If it's the other way around you def feel like a piece of shit for picking him and she is right to make you feel that way lol. Also let her be the one to end things, don't tell her you're ending things first unless you want to cry, holy shiiiiiit 😭😭😭 I swear she makes me wanna cry more than anyone else this whole game (such good acting!)

Shadowheart, she also has some really insightful things to say about Astarion if that's your love triangle, but I think you can't really do an act 2 scene with her until the end of Act 2 / early Act 3? So in early act 2 she only gets one breakup option instead of 2 like the others, which only happens from Shadowheart initiating the breakup after you get the other person's act 2 scene. Regardless she & Wyll seem to take a breakup best imo

Meanwhile from what I can tell Gale does not take it well if you pick someone else no matter which order you do the love triangle. He's either super hurt or pissed no matter what I did even though I didn't even kiss him in the weave in my game!! I had no way to tell him let’s just be friends before anything with Astarion happened, although to his credit he does have one or two okay responses of wanting you to be happy as long as you let him down gently in the convo before his act 2 scene. He's just clearly very hurt and down bad though, I felt awful the whole time lol, almost as bad as with Karlach

When I've tried to make the love triangle happen with Lae'zel, she was just ultra salty no matter what I did & Astarion only had like one non-generic line 🤷‍♀️ might also be bugged cause when I tried to pick her after getting his Act 2 scene she said nothing and all I could choose was leave/breakup. Felt like they didn't add as many options for her? You can tell it def affects her though cause even though she's pissed she says your "bruises will scar" :( so... still a bummer

Similarly for Wyll if you choose someone else over him, his comments are mostly generic about writing your story and honestly he’s pretty mature about it, but you don't even get to tell him you wanna date both, which is where they can say some pretty emotional/funny stuff, so again, doesn't seem like a lot of variations were put in for him

I find it interesting that you seem to only get the "you chose me instead of X?" dialogue with Astarion if you break it off with Shadowheart or Karlach, where you can tell him you're "dead serious" about the relationship. Unless I missed it, he didn't have anything to say when I talked to him after breaking up with Gale or Wyll or Lae'zel, which is when that dialogue pops up with the other two.

He seems to have the "i hear you have a new lover / what, why?" speech with everyone though. If you choose someone else over him before his act 2 scene he has the same various replies of "lucky you, you'll think of me / i'll think of everything we did / having you once was enough" etc, but if it's after his act 2 scene it's all "I didn't think / you were a mistake" :( and you'll feel terrible about yourself

ALSO while I'm talking about it, idk if this happened to anyone else, but the "I hear you have a new lover" speech was bugged for me for Gale/Wyll/Lae'zel, so he skipped saying the 1st shady unique line for them, BUT I could see it in the journal. Karlach's seemed to work fine though. Adding pics for reference minus Shadowheart

UPDATE ok it is a known bug and Shadowheart def has variations too, adding the youtube link for these. Also I had NO idea about the act 3 versions, omg these are SAVAGE towards Wyll and Gale ahhahaha

[erme-aeterna-arts]

finished my spawn astarion origin run! it was actually my most ehh good-aligned run, which is somewhat ironic since it's astarion but yk origin runs 🤷‍♀️ and it was going so well right until the end where

1 wyll broke up with him bc ulder died (i had no idea it could happen at all 😭😭)

2 lae'zel got caught in one orin's relentless jumps while chained to the altar and died

3 karlach died alone bc astarion had to run away from the sun (and here i was hoping to go to avernus with her, but no! this is really so fucking sad because he didn't even get to keep the promise to stay with her till the end due to also burning, there was just halsin awkwardly telling her not to let go (??))

but well, at least i got to pick one of astarion's endings from his pov, that's also interesting, he’s staying an adventurer

you can also really hear him in these lines (and alternative routes as well) regarding dangers! killing! drama! ig he'll be fine haha

(this also leaves me curious about solo endings for durge, since you can't have them as a companion, there's no way to find out what resist durge would do otherwise, so i'll have to check it out somehow some time)

so now i have done both aa and spawn endings as origin, there are still some things i'd like to try left, but i think it's going to be shadowheart origin run next

[shewhowas39]

Juniper & Starlight - Chapter 34: "Behind Blue Eyes"

rating: Explicit pairing: Astarion x f!durge (June)/OC fic summary: Between the nightmares, prophetic visions, and violent hallucinations, June is losing grip on reality, but she has enough awareness to know that Astarion's flirtation is part of some sort of con. He barely even likes her, after all. When she decides to call his bluff and play along, thinking he'll back down, she's surprised to discover that she and the vampire have more in common than either could have anticipated. And his touch might be the only thing that can keep her sane.

chapter title: "Behind Blue Eyes" chapter summary: in which Shadowheart and Lae'zel wanna fight each other, June and Wyll find the owlbear cub, and Astarion has an unhinged request. content warnings: intrusive thoughts, sad animal (but unharmed), eyeballs

A/N: sorry for the delay on this one! things have been busy, but i'm back! i hope you enjoy the unhinged bit in the last part of the chapter lmao

***

PREVIEW

“I’m sorry - you let that ignorant buffoon do what to your eye?!” 

Astarion stares at June in horror. Her eyes - her beautiful, remarkable, unforgettable eyes - tampered with by the stupidest man on the Sword Coast. And now one of them has been removed and replaced by an inferior fake, this one with a pale blue iris with an eerie, silvery sheen to it. It’s striking, sure, but he loved her real eyes. 

He’s going to kill Volo for this. Drain him dry. Toss the body into the river. The world would be better for it.

June, for her part, seems fine. In fact, she seems frustratingly calm about the whole thing. Despite the fact that one of her bloody eyes has just been removed. 

They’ve set up camp outside the temple tonight. They haven’t finished going through every room of the place in search of things that will help them move forward, but the stench of the place had both Astarion and Shadowheart declaring that they’d rather sleep outside this time. It was a rare moment of agreement that Astarion suspects will never happen again. 

So Gale and June had taken the time to cast a few wind spells to blow the remaining stench in the air away from the area outside of the temple, and it was back to camping. Now, with tents set up, the group were mostly just chatting and doing various pre-rest activities. It was just as Astarion was on his way to pick up a book from his tent that he got close enough to June to notice the change in her eyes. 

She hadn’t even told anyone what the bard had done to her. Just continued on her evening as if nothing strange had occurred. The mad woman! 

“He thought he could get the tadpole out,” she says, as if this isn’t an insane explanation. 

“With an icepick?”

She shrugs. “The needle didn’t work.” 

Astarion buries his face in his hands and groans. He doesn’t uncover his face before asking, “Did you honestly think this would be successful? You know the man is a self-aggrandizing moron, right? Not a bloody doctor?”

He’s glad he can’t see the nonchalant expression he’s sure she must have or the shrug she must give of her shoulders when she says, “No, but I was curious.” If he did see it, he may have been tempted to kill her, too.

“Of-fucking-course you were curious.”

[blackjackkent]

In some ways, I feel like Rakha's liveblog ends up being a lot more streamlined than Hector's bc I have a lot less writing about "Here's how I solved this puzzle for the first time." :P

This puzzle, for instance. Not a particularly interesting one, if I'm honest. The interesting part is what lies behind the door it unlocks.

Another brain to talk to in Gortash's machine, and an enormous carved mural labeled "Desecrated Relief."

As Rakha halts in front of the relief, her mind spasms again in her head and the voice of the Absolute booms through her.

"--OUR -destiny----- DESIGN- downfall....---"

Narrator: Your tadpole echoes. Not with presence, but memory - tinged with loss.

"-THE GRAND DESIGN----- -order--- --perfection---- ---- UNITY--- every plane AS ONE--- every being- ---IN THEIR PLACE---"

Narrator: That loss blooms into a sudden fury, burying claws in your mind.

Pain - agonizing pain and grief and loss, as real in the moment as if she were feeling it herself.

"---taken--- --corrupted--- --GONE-----"

The Absolute screams in her mind, a wail of anguish... and then fades.

Narrator: And just as suddenly, pain and memory are gone - leaving only stone once more.

"The Grand Design," Lae'zel mutters icily. "It is every githyanki's duty to ensure the ghaik empire is never reborn."

"The Grand Design," agrees the guardian, whispering through their minds, a soothing balm after the Absolute's screams. "The restoration of the mind flayer empire. The dream of all illithids."

Rakha nods slowly. She feels rattled and unsettled by this glimpse into the Absolute's thoughts, by its visceral grief at the loss of its own tyranny. While the memory had control of her, that grief and rage was hers, just as the beast's violence is hers in the moments it takes control of her.

She shudders. Will there ever be a time, she wonders, when my mind is mine alone?

She picks up the heavy jar with the brain and drags it back to Gortash's machine.

-----

This one is labeled "Waking Mind," and it is remarkably composed when Rakha activates it.

"Hmmmmm," it says thoughtfully, squinting at her. "Fine bones. Sharp jaw. Some variety of elf?"

Rakha considers correcting it, then decides not to bother. Half-orc. That's what Gale says at least. She remembers nothing; for all the connection she feels to that particular identity, she might as well be an elf.

The head is still talking, anyway. "Pretty enough for a flesh-prison," it says briskly. "If not the noble githzerai features I was born with. I'd guess you're no willing guest of the ghaik either. Perhaps we might aid one another."

"You called yourself 'githzerai,'" Rakha says slowly. "Is that some kind of githyanki?"

Out of the corner of her eye she sees Lae'zel roll her eyes with a muted chk.

The head is equally unimpressed. "Oh, for a set of hands to slap your face," it snaps. "The yanki lost their way the moment Gith threw down the ghaik empire. Only we zerai continue the war to end the ghaik forever. Only we fight them on their own battlefield - the mind."

Rakha rapidly extrapolates a few things from this. The zerai and the yanki are similar but not the same - splintered factions of Gith's whole. Perhaps like those who follow Orpheus, as Lae'zel has described. But she also discerns - this brain is not like the others. It knows its state; it knows it has no body.

"You're remarkably sane," she says matter-of-factly. "For a pickled brain."

"A githzerai's mind is not so easily cracked," answers the head curtly. "Our discipline was the very reason we were attacked. My order taught a psionic technique much-feared by the ghaik. They destroyed us for it and kept me as a trophy. I never broke, but... I've spent all these centuries awake. Aware. So here is my offer. Use your tadpole. Erase me, and I will pass my technique on to you."

Rakha's eyebrows lift thoughtfully. A gith mental technique designed to fight off illithid influence. Something that might push back the tadpole, perhaps? Might help her carve out peace in her own head?

The idea is tempting, as anything that might quiet her mind always is. And yet...

Narrator: [INSIGHT] You catch the lie - the monk isn't telling you everything.

It's subtle, a slight flicker of the eyes away, the minutest hint of indirection. But it's enough.

Her jaw sets in a scowl and she clenches a fist at her side. "If you want my help," she growls, "then tell me the truth."

The head shudders and its eyes go very wide. "All right!" it wails. "I-- the ghaik did not find my monastery. I led them there! They promised me immortality and they gave it! I have been their rotting trophy for centuries!"

Narrator: As her agitation swells, so does her latent psionic power. To your tadpole, that guilt and terror are almost... fragrant. You realize the illithids locked her away not as a trophy, but as a fine vintage.

"Please..." the head pleads desperately. "Touch my mind and purge it. The moment you do, my knowledge will be yours."

The beast would enjoy this mind's death, she thinks vaguely, but only as a by-the-way sort of thing. There is no blood, little pain. For once, this time it is the tadpole that is hungry; she could reach out and consume rather than purge, draw its energy into her by force.

It takes all the strength in her to resist that instinct, to simply reach out towards the other mind and brush against it, gently, gently...

She is so tired of having to fight down the things that would have her rip and tear like a mad animal...

[ILLITHID] Reach out and purge her mind.

Narrator: The awareness that floods you is nothing like the tadpole. It is tentative, and tinged with the loneliness of eons. It fades beneath your touch, but you feel something left behind. A fragment.

"It is only knowledge yet, without comprehension..." whispers the head, its voice fading with each word. "But when you use it, you will... see... and I... I see..."

Its voice drifts into nothing and the head again goes still and slack.

For a long time, Rakha stands very still with her eyes closed, looking inward. The knowledge the zerai gave her had no answers in it, not really. But it settles in the back of her mind, a stabilizing force, a new pillar, a new retaining wall. It is not peace, but perhaps a new glimmer of strength.

"Are you all right?" Wyll asks.

Rakha shrugs.

"Chk," Lae'zel mutters. "A githzerai monk. And a traitorous one at that. What good to drag its little secrets from its broken mind?"

Rakha speaks - a little slowly, as if she is swimming back from the bottom of some deep pool and reacquainting herself with the air. "It... had suffered enough," she says haltingly, and her eyes flick to Wyll in a silent question. A request for confirmation.

He nods, takes her hand and squeezes it gently. "Yes," he agrees.

[urarart]

Teenage teasing

Ok so- I got lost in the brainworms (hah) and just had to write this. 2k words in an hour and a half is a new record for me, though, and this fic was a pure delight to write.

For any tags and warnings:

Characters: Tav (Eira, she/her, set personality, check my blog for further information and whatnot), Halsin, all six Origin companions, and the tadpoles

Warnings: Absolutele shameless thirsting, and equally shameless teasing. Also probably second hand embarrassment

Relationships: Everybody being friends with each other, and one-sided attraction towards Halsin from Tav

Timeline: A few days after the party, but the setting is still in Act I

It's an uneventful night at camp.

Everyone exhausted of the day before, all camp members were doing their leisure activities in peace.

Lae'zel tending to her weapons, Astarion reading his book, Shadowheart in her own corner a while away, Wyll and Karlach practicing some dance at Karlach's tent, Gale organizing his own items including the food, Eira reading a book they picked up on their travels, and Halsin whittling wood.

It was supposed to be an uneventful night at camp.

// This is so unfair \\

At the sudden sound, Astarion pauses his reading, his ears unconsciously perking up.

He looks up.

Everybody is still focused on their own activities.

// Who told him he can be so cute? \\

He can't locate the source of the noise.

Gale also stops, his hands freezing in mid-air, and turns towards the center of camp.

Astarion raises an eyebrow, a silent question, and Gale shrugs and shakes his head in response.

// How was I supposed to know he'd be this adorable in his down time, making wooden DUCKS??? \\

Lae'zel stops polishing her sword, a scowl on her face.

She shoots a glare at Astarion, and he puts on an offended face.

// Ugh and he has such pretty hair... I just want to kiss him silly and mess it all up \\

At that, Karlach slows down, a smirk on her face.

// And maybe sit on his face as well \\

Wyll trips over.

Karlach wordlessly helps him up, trying her hardest to hold back a laugh.

Halsin looks up at that, and asks him if he's alright.

Wyll takes a second to respond.

“Yeah I'm.. I'm fine. Don't- Don't worry about me.”

He shakes off the grass on his face.

“I think I heard Shadowheart call me.”

And he leaves the scene at that.

Astarion shuts his book closed and sits on the ground- whatever is going on now is way more entertaining.

// Aww, but they were dancing so well... \\

Karlach shines at the compliment.

By now, it's obvious who the source of the daydreaming is. The remaining members- Karlach, Astarion, Gale and Lae'zel- all share a look of various degrees.

Only Eira is not in the know.

// I hope I can dance with Halsin like that someday \\

Ah, young love, Gale thinks.

Which is immediately followed up with-

// And a different kind of dance as well \\

A blush creeps up his neck.

These thoughts are supposed to be private, especially when they're of this degree.

...yet he can't turn away.

Astarion wears a mischievous grin, while Karlach is full on smiling, the gums of her teeth showing.

It's obvious how Eira is not looking at the book anymore, completely enraptured by everything Halsin does.

// How someone that huge can be so cute is BEYOND me \\

Lae'zel scoffs, while Karlach coos.

// He can split me open like a walnut and I wouldn't even complain \\

Gale sputters, while Astarion simply chuckles.

Karlach has less success in keeping in her amusement, if she was trying in the first place, by giggling like a maniac.

Eira is none the wiser, no hint of shame on her face, her thoughts wandering off course all the while.

She doesn't know, does she, Astarion thinks.

Gale sends the three a furious glare, his embarrassment reaching new levels, urging them to do something about this.

Astarion thinks it over once, twice.

Sure, he'll extend an olive branch.

// You know, darling, if you want him to bed you so bad, you can just ask him \\

// Well I can't just walk up to him and ask him to nail me down to the ground like the Oak Father intended! That's rude! \\

Gale bangs his head against his bag, tired of it all.

// Tsk'va, coward. \\

Ah, thanks for the helpful contribution Lae'zel, Gale internally thinks. It seems like they're not intending to make Eira stop, and who knows if she realizes the situation.

// I do have to admit, soldier, I never expected you to have such thoughts \\

THANK YOU KARLACH, Gale screams internally.

// What do you mea- \\

At that point, the stream of constant dialogue stops.

He looks up at Eira, who seems to have frozen up in time, her gaze a thousand miles away.

Slowly, her mouth pulls back, her eyes widen, and a small but rapidly growing yellow blush spreads her face, daring to overtake her natural green skin.

// YOU GUYS COULD HEAR ME THE ENTIRE TIME?????? \\

She looks at their faces, their answer obvious.

She covers her face with her hands, shame shrouding her entire body.

// Oh I'm sorry that was- no I'm- UGH I'm sorry- \\

// Dearest, it's fine, it's fine. If anything, this was a nice shake up of our usual routine- and we learned you're not as frigid as we thought \\

She sends him a glare at that, still yellow in the face.

// I don't even have any words for you, of course you'd enjoy my shame like this \\

She mindlessly combs her hands through her hair, making a mess of it instead.

Gale decides it's time to step in, to remedy the situation.

// If I can say anything, Eira, we don't mind you thinking this, it's a healthy outlet \\

He awkwardly coughs.

// But maybe try not to use the tadpole to... declare your intentions like that. \\

// I didn't even do it on purpose! \\

// This lusting of yours was so strong you used the ghaik powers, you mean? \\

// ...well if you say it like THAT \\

Astarion lets out a laugh so loud it startles them.

“Is staring at the ground mindlessly so entertaining, Astarion?”, Halsin asks.

“Hehe- well. You can say something like that, yes.”

// If you say anything to him I will stake you, don't you DARE \\

// But what's the fun in not doing anything~ \\

“So, Halsin-”

Astarion speaks the next words, but no sound is said.

He stops his question, tries saying something else, but nothing comes out.

He turns to the only suspect.

Eira cast a Silence spell on him, the brat.

���Are you alright? You were asking me something?”

Astarion shoots a glare at Eira, which then transforms into a smirk.

// Well, if I can't speak, then body language works \\

// nO DON'T DON'T DON'T DON'T- \\

Astarion ignores her pleading, and stands up to walk over to Halsin.

He, however, fails to notice the leg Karlach sticks out.

He stumbles forwards, ungraciously, and Karlach takes that moment to sweep his leg under him.

He falls to the ground, hard.

“What he means to say, big bear, is that he had a bit too much blood for tonight, so he's out of his mind right now.“

”You mean he's drunk?“

”Yep yep!“

// Thank you Karlaaaaach \\

Karlach winks at Eira in response.

“So, Halsin, ever had any lovers in the past?”

// KARLACH WHY \\

Astarion looks up, still on the ground, repositioning his body to make it look like he wants to lay there, assuming a comfortable position, with one knee in the air and an arm resting on it.

“Hm. That's a sudden question, but yes.”

Halsin sets down his project, the duck almost finished.

Eira covers her face with the book, her curious eyes peeking over the edge.

Gale sighs.

Even though he's among the youngest, in comparison to elves, he sure feels his energy being drained quicker and quicker by this teenage teasing.

“Ohhhh do say more~”

Halsin chuckles, a bit of a frown on his face.

“I'm not sure why you're suddenly curious for this old elf's past relationships.”

“He's uncomfortable, Karlach, leave him be.”

Astarion turns his head towards Eira so fast, it was almost like it snapped.

// Trying to save him from embarrassment, huh? You might as well be declaring your wanting for him right now, darling \\

“Well- oh I can talk, finally- we were simply curious. It's called bonding, you know?”

He narrows his eyes.

“And besides, why do you care, Eira? You never had any, so why does it matter to you?”

She puts her book down, almost slamming it to the ground, her mouth a thin line, her eyes burning with fury.

“It's called common courtesy, Astarion. Not like you'd know what it means.”

“To answer your question, Karlach- yes, I've had previous lovers, but they never held for long.”

“Hmm, a believer in carnal desire, then?”

“I- well, that's crude wording Lae'zel, but yes. You can call it that.“

Astarion nods in understanding, ignoring the way Halsin doesn't speak about it with pride.

He mindlessly picks up his duck again, continuing the project.

”My heart doesn't stir lightly, so I never had the bliss of calling someone my lover.“

”But you DID have sex, right?“

”Of course.“

Astarion chuckles.

”So, when does your heart shake, or whatever that wording was. What does it take to move the beast?“

Halsin raises an eyebrow in response.

“Why are you so curious?”

“No reason~”, Karlach grins.

Halsin hums, thinking for a second.

“Thinking back, there is no pattern in any of them. Nothing with race, gender, body, or conviction. There were a few that I refused, but the ones I wanted were all good by soul, nothing else.”

“Ah those blessed souls, to have the grace of your company for a single night without putting in the work.“

”Fangs you know you're not any better.“

He only shrugs in response, and then turns to lay on his back, his arms splayed by his head, his shirt falling open just a bit.

He turns towards Eira.

”Any questions you have, my friend? Surely you must be buzzing with them, you never know when to shut up without concerning the others' privacy.”

She only frowns in response.

“If... If I can ask, and do say if it's rude or anything like it.”

“I don't mind, I will answer to the best of my ability.”

“...these... experiences you have. Were they all with humanoids?”

It takes a few seconds before the question is understood, Gale getting the hidden message before any of them.

”What kind of question is that, Eira?!“

”I'm just curious!“

// pfffttTTHAHAHAHA- \\

“Tsk'va, sorcerer, that you'd ask.“

”Oh come on Lae'zel!! I regret asking already. And stop laughing, Astarion!”

She crosses her arms, an annoyed pout on her face.

“...there was this one instance.”

All heads turn to Halsin immediately.

“One day, I was grazing through the forest while my wildshape was a bear-”

“Ugh, seriously? You fucked a bear while you were a bear? That's dirty, even for me, and I've seen some stuff.“ Astarion waves his hand, bored.

”-if you can let me finish my story. But while I was in the forest, I forgot it was the mating season, and a female bear tried to claim me. However, she didn't appreciate my refusal, especially when I turned back into my Elfish form, and that is,“ he holds a hand to his face, touching his scar, ”how I got these marks.”

Karlach and Gale stare at him, stunned. Eira covers her mouth with her loose hair out of shame, and Lae'zel looks mildly interested in the story.

Astarion, well.

“Boooooo, you couldn't go through with it. Cowarddddd.“

”I would never disrupt the cycle of nature like that- and to answer your question, Eira: yes, only with humanoids.“

It's awfully silent on her part.

While Karlach and Astarion continue to talk and joke with Halsin, she remains quiet.

So quiet even Lae'zel gets confused about it.

”Sorcerer, did Gale cast a Silence spell on you? Why are you-“

// HE DIDN'T GET THOSE SCARS FROM FIGHTS AND I NEED TO GIVE HIM NEW ONES \\

The force of the connection stuns Lae'zel halfway, and a little chuckle escapes her.

Eira looks at her, wide blue eyes staring in shock.

Lae'zel only nods in response, her approval granted.

Gale has decided to completely separate himself from the conversation at that point.

They hear a yell from Shadowheart a distance away.

“What was that I heard?”

Halsin looks in her direction, confused.

”Nothing happened, what's wrong?“

”Something about scafjskflj!”

She gets shushed by Wyll before she can finish her sentence.

She slaps his hand away, but he hurriedly talks over her.

“Nothing, we just thought an animal was walking nearby and got spooked!”

He talks in a lower, quiet voice to Shadowheart, too soft for the rest of camp to hear.

“Ah, that's good to hear. Nature lives on as it should.”

“Ugh you bo~ore me with all that nature talk every time. That gossip just now was way more entertaining.”

“Right, of course. Although I'm sure you have more interesting stories in comparison to mine.”

He holds up his wooden duck, looking for faults or anything he can improve.

He's quickly satisfied, however, signified by a small smile.

“Well, this is done.”

“It looks good, very neat and super cute!”

“Yes, yes, that's a nice wooden duck, whatever.”

Astarion turns to Eira at that, his grin so wide his fang pokes through.

“Darling, you like it as well, right? His duck.“

She takes a deep breath in, both frustration and shyness evident in her face.

The insinuation of Astarion's comment was not lost on her.

”Yes.“

Short and sweet.

Seems like I got to her~, Astarion notes.

We're not short on entertainment in this camp for sure.

He grins, sharing a look with Karlach.

She smiles in response, a twinkle in her eyes.

Oh this will be a very interesting time at camp.

[justmightyshadows]

Be Good For Me

Wrote about Jaheira/Lae'zel. This one is NSFW.

If you like it you can give me kudos/comments on ao3

Summary:

Jaheira is sent on a mission to collect information about a hidden book and gets to choose whoever she wants to accompany her. She chooses the best soldier on the team and learns more about the muscled warrior's set of skills during their time together.

“We’re running out of time and I don’t have the skills that you do for espionage and sleuthing. Can you find us more information on Elder Brains? We can’t be going into this flight blind.” Tav leaned back against the stone pillar, pushing her short black hair out of her face as she talked to Jaheira. The half-elf eyed her curiously, the corners of her mouth were down in a semi-scowl. Their alliance was not the strongest - Tav had made more than a few choices that had gotten under Jaheira’s skin but now, now they needed to work together without bringing up the past.

Jaheira looked out at the camp below them and watched the companions working on their chores.

“You can have your choice of who you want on your team. I defer completely to you on this.” Tav offered this olive branch with the hope that Jaheira wouldn’t just turn her down. She was sure the woman would pick Minsc especially after everything they had done to get him. He must be the type of warrior that you needed at your side at all times.

“Fine, I’ll do it. I choose Lae’zel. Have her ready to go by dawn.” She said, lowering herself down the ladder without waiting for a response.

Tav watched the githyanki warrior squatting Karlach in the corner for her midday training. At least now Tav could focus on dealing with Voss without her commentary. She followed Jaheira down and gave Lae’zel her marching orders as she headed back to her own tent. Minthara was sprawled out on her bed, the opening of her shirt tempting and low to show off her chest.

“Who did she pick?” Minthara asked in a slow drawl of words.

“Lae’zel.” Tav answered quietly and watched as her lover’s eyebrows arched upward in surprise.

“Now that is unexpected.” She brought Tav’s head down to rest on her as she propped open a book her eyes scanning the words on the page but her mind deep in thought.

*****

The sun hid beneath the horizon as they left camp - each carrying only the necessities for their trip. Jaheira planned it to take at most two days, which was more time than Lae’zel had spent away from camp in awhile. She trudged along one step behind Jaheira her ears swiveling for any sound that might be out there.

“Keep up, Lae’zel.” Came Jaheira’s stern voice and she smiled to herself as she heard the pattering of feet as her obedient shadow came to stand next to her.

“We shouldn’t worry about an ambush but we could be separated if we are too far from each other, that is what I worry about in two woman groups like this.” Her small nugget of wisdom was met with a curt nod of the head. Lae’zel was content to travel in quiet usually only commenting on things she found extraordinarily different from her home or any dangers she felt she needed to alert the group to. Today, however she looked over at Jaheira and asked

“Why did you pick me? Of course I am the best warrior among us but is this a task for a warrior?” Her voice betrayed none of her worry even as Jaheira saw her adjust her perfectly aligned armor needlessly.

“I don’t trust Tav fully so I didn’t give her all of the details. Where we’re going I’ll need muscle. For this mission you need to be my bodyguard. At the tavern I will get needlessly drunk and get a certain target there to give me information. You need to make sure I don’t get harmed as I do so.” She gave the information like a briefing to keep Lae’zel engaged.

“Getting drunk is a foolish thing you people in Faerun do. It is self-indulgent and shows a lack of self-control.”

“Yes, but not only is it fun it also gives you a job. I thought it was something you could handle, was I wrong?” Jaheira tried desperately to hide her smirk as she watched Lae’zel suffer through wanting to be the best at the job assigned to her and hating the job outright.

“Yesssss. I will handle this task. It will be easy for me.” Lae’zel said with brimming confidence.

“Good because it is just over this hill.” They crested the hill in silence and made their way into a large wooden building at the center of a small town square.

Jaheira found them seats in a booth in the corner but with open sights to the bar. She checked them into a room and stashed their things as Lae’zel settled in - her eyes trained on the various people coming within Jaheira’s vicinity. Soon though the druid was throwing pints back with a tall orc woman and a thin high elf. The three of them chatted and laughed their drinks sloshing around down the fronts of their shirts. The high elf reached for something in his pocket and Lae’zel began to rise from her seat expectantly - it turned out to just be a scroll of some kind that he showed to Jaheira with a smile. They moved their heads towards it and whispered something which made the Orc laugh and blush.

The night continued like this until the two visitors left and were replaced by a hooded man. He moved to sit close to Jaheira and finally Lae’zel went over to her. “Why don’t you come back with me then? A fancy woman like you - we could have a lot of fun.” He was drunk but also had grabbed her forcefully by the wrist hoping to drag her off somewhere no doubt. Lae’zel took his hand and gave a sharp warning “Unhand her or lose the hand.” His eyes widened but he made a mistake. The enemy only ever needed to make one mistake in front of her for her to bring her swrod down over their heads. This one reached for his sword as if he were going to fight her, as if she would ever give him the chance and with one swift motion she severed the hand from his body - tossing the loose appendage at him like a small trinket.

“Leave.” She said tossing Jaheira over her shoulder as she laughed uncontrollably at the scene.

“He should have just let go! HAahahahhaaa. We should have another round!” She said to Lae’zel who ignored her and brought her up to the room.

“I hope that was enough drinking to get our task done.” Lae’zel said as she placed the woman on the couch. Jaheira was still laughing as she dug around the front of her clothing sloppily and pulled out a small bottle. She downed the contents and looked up at Lae’zel completely sober. A feat of druid magic to have her sitting here sober after the number of drinks she had

“Aye - we got what we needed. Our next target is where they keep this book.” She handed the small scrap that the elf before had been waving around. Jaheira had won it off him during one of their many rounds of drinking.

“Good. Then it was not a wasted evening. Should we regroup with the others?” Lae'zel wanted to continue forward and get the book so that they could be done with this brain and the worm in her head.

“After we get a good nights rest here we can meet up with the others in the morning. I’d love a bath without that vampire looking at me.” Jaheira responded her arms stretching up to the ceiling. It would be nice to be away from Tav too, Jaheira thought - her drow lover always seemed to be plotting something and it was tedious to deal with every day. She slid out of her clothes and let them sit on the floor as she prepared the bath.

Lae’zel followed the druids motions aware of the shape of her body and the movement of her breasts as she did so. Usually the nakedness meant nothing to her but as she shed her own clothing she became aware of the differences between them. A part of her wanted to know what Jaheira thought of her - if she saw something worth looking at as well.

The steam billowed off the bath as Jaheira lowered herself in with a deep sigh and stared up at Lae’zel hovering near it, her face in a serious scowl as she tried to avoid looking at her breasts.

“Get in Lae’zel.” She commanded and watched as the soft look came over her eyes and she slipped her body into the water. Lae’zel looked over Jaheira’s body and squirmed as if she had something to say. It was cute to watch the strong warrior become so timid at the sight of her. She could lead her to pleasure or tease her until she admitted how she felt. She could admit how she felt, the real reason she had chosen her to come with her - but maybe that was a talk for another day.

“Your desire is all over your face Lae’zel I am old enough to know it. Is it because we are alone? You don’t have Shadowheart to stare at and now even I am looking good in this light?” She threw her head back and laughed as Lae’zel dipped even lower into the hot water. Her eyes the only visible thing for a second until she lifted just enough to allow her mouth to respond.

“You are an exceptional leader. I have seen it many times before now I simply have not had the opportunity. I want to taste you.” It was almost a pleading that she pushed out - she needed to taste her, to be praised by her while no one else was around.

“So eager.” Jaheira tried to think of a witty thing to say but instead rose and left the bath, the water dripping down her slowly as she looked back at Lae’zel. This wasn’t a new feeling but it had been awhile since she’d let someone get this far - the lust in Lae’zel’s eyes was so tempting.

“Come. I want to know how you’ll do at this task as well.” She put a hand out for Lae’zel, and they toweled each other off. With one sweeping motion Lae’zel lifted her and placed her on the bed coming to rest in between her legs.

Jaheira wove her fingers expectantly into the lacy hair on Lae’zel’s head guiding it to her belly where she received a chorus of suckling and the sensation of sharp teeth playfully nipping at her flesh. She let out a smile, it was a joy to be touched in such a way but her mind had more in mind than cute foreplay. She pushed her lower over the soft silvery bush to the source of her want and Lae’zel obeyed her without a word her mouth finding Jaheira’s clit, her chin resting on the wet want as she did so. Jaheira pressed down on her head, her palm fully on the back of her scalp “I want you here, Lae’zel.” She whispered in between moans. The young warrior was skilled of course, her focus making her an excellent partner in bed, especially for this specific task. Jaheira made herself stop speaking as she rode the waves of pleasure, allowing her most trusted soldier to work. Her eyes went down to fix on Lae’zel and she was met by the full yellowed eyes begging, pleading as they always did for a kind word - one only she could give.

“Gods, you feel amazing.” She cooed and used Lae’zels face to rub against her entrance as reprieve from the feeling of her throbbing clit. There was smirk to those big yellow eyes now and her grip clamped down on the edge of Jaheira’s thighs, stopping her escape as she placed her tongue over the needy mound of the druid’s want. Lae’zel’s strength aided her as she held her close with one hand moved the other upward to the aroused flesh of her nipples, placing it in between her fingers.

Jaheira lurched upward her breath catching and her body writhing as she was worked closer to her climax until she could not take it any longer. Her own hand tried to mimic Lae’zel’s touch on her other nipple and found a strong heat rising up in her. “Lae’zel…” she moaned out in a wet sobbing fashion her body overcome with feeling.

She closed her legs over Lae’zel’s face forcing her to keep going as her climax dulled to nothing. The woman’s tongue lapped over her clit feverishly circling it with precision and settled on teasing her entrance as her heart rate lowered. Jaheira only released her when she could feel the woman struggling for breath. With a great gasp Lae’zel emerged - her eyes hungry for the next words that would fall from her lips.

“That was great Lae’zel. I see your mouth is as good as your sword.” She said wiping the edges of her face as she lavished her with one sentence of praise. Lae’zel fell into her - her head in between Jaheira’s breasts as the druid undid the braids in her hair. Humming softly to herself and admiring the view in front of her. The wet slick between her legs rubbing on Lae’zel’s toned muscles. Yes, she was fantastic and if this was going to be the outcome she’d have to choose Lae’zel for many more missions away from camp.

[thatfreshi]

"Unsavory Purposes" (Uni AU P. 4)

No, I didn't write a filler part. How dare you ask me that? I would never write fluffy filler bc I want all my little guys to be happy. Anyways, Gale intro finally!!!! Also we get to see the only other ship I have planned for this fic series...

@justporo

You, Shadow and Lae get breakfast after shooting the shit for a couple hours. The smell of eggs and potatoes fills the air as the three of you reach the bottom floor of the dorm. It's bustling with people, all trying to get somewhere. It's Sunday, and classes start tomorrow, so people are scrambling to get their textbooks before they go on backorder. The three of you part ways to put together a plate, and eventually come back together at a booth next to a window.

"Ugh, I was enjoying having a break. Back to the grind for me I suppose."

Shadowheart sighs, moving cheesy eggs around on her plate.

"You love it, don't act like you're not a workaholic."

Before they can start arguing again, a stressed man comes over to talk to Shadowheart.

"Is it true? Did Astarion really tell your entire floor to come to me if they have an issue?"

"Oh Gale, it's sweet that you're even asking. Of course he did."

Gale puts his head in his hands.

"I'm going to kill him. Mind if I sit Shadow?"

"Not at all. Tav, this is Gale, artist extraordinaire, TA for Ms. Mystra."

"Yes, it is indeed I. Thank you for the wondrous introduction Shadow."

Finally, someone's major here has piqued your interest.

"Oh, what do you study?"

"All kinds of things, but my thesis is going to be a series of paintings."

Lae'zel rolls her eyes.

"The arts. So silly, what a waste."

She stabs her eggs with her fork.

"Why, are you thinking of majoring in some kind of art?"

You shrug.

"Honestly, I don't really know yet."

Shadowheart almost spits out her water.

"You... you don't know your major? This place is going to eat you alive."

She and Gale laugh to themselves, but it doesn't bother you. She's not wrong after all, it's odd that you haven't picked a major at this point. There are just too many good options.

"Well, you could be like Lae'zel and study something boring like history."

Shadow playfully nudges her arm, to which she grumbles.

"I didn't come here for a degree idiot, I came here to run."

It's silent for a moment, before Gale solemnly speaks up.

"How is it by the way? Your leg?"

She almost seems sad, but quickly shifts her expression.

"It's fine."

And that's the end of that conversation. Gale doesn't pry any further, but it clearly has him concerned. You realize you actually don't know what's wrong with her leg, other than that it's stiff when she walks. Before you can ask what happened, Shadowheart interrupts.

"Holy shit. Who is that Gale?!"

You turn inconspicuously to where she's looking, and you see the skater from last night, Karlach.

"Oh, she just transferred. Karlach. Apparently the best wrestler we've had in years."

"She looks like she could carry me to safety..."

You smirk.

"Shadow, you're staring at her."

She quickly averts her gaze, blushing.

"Right. My bad."

It's too late though, because the wrestler is now walking towards your table.

"Hey there! Sup Gale?"

"Nothing much Karlach. The dorm treating you well?"

"Oh hell yeah. I just thought I'd come over because your friend was staring at me, didn't know if she needed something."

The woman's voice is a little playful, almost as if she knows Shadow was staring for... unsavory purposes.

"No- I... I'm sorry. You're fine, I don't need anything. I mean, I need some things, like food and water and-"

Gale turns to her, mouthing something along the lines of 'shut up.'

"Well, alright. Good to see you Gale! Off to get some breakfast."

Karlach then winks at Shadowheart, before sauntering off. You're in shock from the massive flirting that just happened in front of you, and Gale is as well. Lae'zel is ignoring it all, still stabbing away at her eggs.

"Shadow... how did you even manage to pull that off."

"I have no idea because I certainly panicked! But dear Goddess do I NEED her to crush me."

You and Gale laugh.

"What! I'm serious, she could destroy me with those thighs and I would thank her."

"You're going to scare off your new friend Shadowheart. Tav, I apologize on her behalf. She doesn't know how to act around buff women."

"It's alright! I think it's sweet. You two would be cute."

"We would be, wouldn't we..."

[moontheoretist]

I recreated my Warden from DAO in BG3. But now I noticed that I made a mistake and didn't remove "history" from her skills. As if lady luck was in my favor, she seems to be failing history rolls that would throw me out of the immersion that I'm playing someone who fakes being Faerunian xD I picked spells for her that are the most similar to DAO starting spells. It's hard to find the exact equivalents but I did it.

I chose a wizard because of the Circle and then at level 2 Necromancer because my Warden Amell is an entropy mage and Necromancy has the most spells related to siphoning life energy and stuff like that (also I wanted to try it). Now only to figure out Arcane Warrior / Battlemage.

I used some mods to give her nice and unique nighty night clothes.

Of course I had to dye them in the typical Grey Warden's colors.

I picked up Shadowheart and funnily we managed to enter the Crypt from the beach, so we went at the crypt first, robbed the sarcophagus, fought the skeletons etc. We just didn't tackle the full robbers party, because when I tried we died. So I accepted that killing 2 was enough and left the crypt and got a funny deception quote xD

"You have awoken me from my slumber - now I crave your blood!"

I faked being the big bad sleeping in the crypt and they run away xD

Then I recruited Lae'zel and Gale. We went to full rest and learned what the fuck is ceremorphosis. Then we went to sniff around the crashed Nautiloid. Astarion tried to kill me (very Zevran of him) and I headbutted him, because why not. I'm a Grey Warden Commander dammit, no elfy rogue will scare me (again). Then we recruited the guy, fought the goblins at the Grove. I used the first merchant as a fake reason why I could equip modded armor in the Warden's colors:

(This is a face of someone who hates being woken up at night).

I asked Astarion who the fuck he is, he said he is a mere Magistrate and then we had to long rest, because I wasted all my spells on goblins and bugbear to save that one Tiefling with the soul coin and look at that, Astarion went for the neck exposing himself right away, because his cutscene is connected to full rest and we had to full rest. If we only had a half-rest he would first go to hunt alone. But anyway, he wanted to drink my blood and I said "Are you mad?" because I play a person who has taint in their blood, so it's dangerous even for an undead to drink it. Who knows what could have happened!? Anyway, thanks to the fact that we have found several copies of the Curse of the Vampyr books in the crypt that contained basic information, we faked knowing what a vampire is, and as of now nobody suspects a thing. Safe!

Astarion went away unhappy none the wiser that he just dodged a possible "turning into a Darkspawn" bullet. Then in the morning we had a conversation where we acted as if being a vampire was totally fine, and I didn't just call him mad for wanting to drink my blood.

I was looking out for you, you will thank me someday.

BTW apparently I can't change +5 to history, because it's fixed:

[jb-nonsense]

Getting close to the end of Act 2 in Baldur's Gate 3 with Talilah and I just want to be slightly amused at how the cards fell with her romances.

So background for people who don't know. Talilah is a bard, chaotic good alignment more often than not. Background is part of a performing troupe who would steal from the rich, give to the poor. Her troupe gets caught by a cruel nobleman, she escapes.

Now that that's out of the way. We can discuss the romantic issues she's had thus far.

Wyll - This seems a given with their backgrounds. I was like "wow this would work well, they get along, they have similar views" and I was fully for it, Talilah had a crush on him. But then we get to the tiefling party, where when she looks for him, she doesn't see him right away which leads to

Astarion - first companion she talks to because he's right there. They've had ups and downs, definitely tension since he held a knife to her throat and she headbutted him when they first met, but similar senses of humor, and Talilah enjoys dragging him to do good things kicking and screaming. She says "sure" to the celebrating with sex, it's just for fun, whatever. Wyll seems to want alone time, fine, it's a fling. Laughs a bit at Astarion's performance when she meets up with him but that's that.

Wyll & Astarion - So now we get the love triangle with these two. Talilah and Astarion tease each other but start getting closer, Talilah and Wyll are still best friends. And then we get the dance scene. Go into it. Talilah and Wyll kiss. Talilah realizes her emotions are...A bit more complicated and does not spend the night with Wyll. Because she feels guilty. The next day, talks to Astarion. Astarion is completely expecting her to pick Wyll over him when he explains Wyll would not be into a throuple and is utterly surprised when she doesn't. Also, she is surprised. See where it goes. Wyll is heartbroken bff.

Karlach - Apparently Karlach and Talilah did not communicate well and Talilah accidentally broke her heart wups.

Meanwhile Gale, Lae'zel, and Shadowheart were watching from the sidelines with popcorn.

[myreia]

Rating My Wild Magic Incidents & Other Disasters

When I say my Tav is a walking disaster, I mean she's a walking disaster. Sometimes a deceased disaster.

Spike growth while fighting mud mephits. Lae'zel was already dying of a wound going necrotic from stepping on a trap in the swamp. Shadowheart and Niam survived by misty stepping to a rock to get the high ground and flinging down spells while clinging to each other and covered in mud. 2 party members died, but 2 survived. 7.5/10.

Set everything in a 6 meter radius on fire while freeing Volo. Immediately turned the whole goblin camp hostile. Full party wipe. 0/10.

Swapped positions with the hag, ragdolled, and died for reasons not related to wild magic. 4/10.

Enlarged herself and reduced all the townspeople at the circus, leading to a giant enemy monching on the innocent civilians. No party wipe, but civilians lost. 2/10.

Picked up a lute with no practice and proceeded to terrorize the streets of Baldur's Gate with her bad music. 6.5/10 for trying.

Set everything in a 6 meter radius on fire while resisting arrest. Local journalist looked on shouting "This is front page material!" Yes, good ser. This was front page material and it didn't even make it into the broadsheet. -10/10 for that, 12/10 for surviving and not having a full party wipe against all odds. Gale died, but that's a regular occurrence at this point, nothing to stress over. He's fine.

Scratch walked through the gate and stopped, blocking Niam in and she couldn't jump over him. 20/10 because Scratch is a good boy.

Spike growth while frightened by githyanki and couldn't move. Full party wipe. -20/10 because this was the fight I had to reload the most.

Set everything in a 6 meter radius on fire while she was in the basement storage of a fireworks shop. She has never been more dead. -100/10.

[mumms-the-word]

A Macabre Masquerade - Ch. 1

Ch. 1 - An Invitation

Characters: Tavs (multiple), Gale, Astarion, Karlach, Wyll, Lae'zel, Shadowheart, Halsin, Minthara + other OCs Plot: One year after defeating the Netherbrain and saving the city, Dani and Gale receive a mysterious invitation to a masquerade ball. The invitation specifically invites them to participate as the Heroes of Baldur's Gate. However, when they get there, they soon realize they aren't the only Heroes of Baldur's Gate that got invited. A/N: You ever wish your Tav and their LI could attend a lush masquerade ball? Are you disappointed that Larian didn't give us the masked event of our dreams, with political intrigue, murder, subterfuge, fine wine, and more importantly, sexy dresses and glittering masks? Yeah, me too. So I decided to write my own. This is a little inspired by the BG3 Fic February prompted for Day 29: "AU of your choice!" But this is going to be a multi-chapter fic that I update every now and again featuring not just my favorite Tav, oh no, but multiple Tavs, some of them my own, and some of them from my friends. Stay tuned to see who shows up!

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | BG3 Masterlist | AO3

The invitation had appeared one evening from thin air, without a sound or a flash of light. One moment the silver letter tray that sat on the polished side table in Dani and Gale’s front room was bare and the next there was a letter centered neatly on the tray. Dani only just noticed it on her way to check that their door was locked for the night.

“Gale?” she called, picking up the letter. It was sealed in a thick, creamy envelope, the paper fine and expensive. Her name and his were written in elegant script on the front. Gale and Meridan Dekarios.

“Yes, my love?” he called back from another room. 

“Did anyone come by with a letter this evening?” 

“Not that I’m aware of.” His voice grew closer and he appeared in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe. He’d dressed down for the evening, his vest and jacket discarded and the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up. He tilted his head, regarding the envelope in Dani’s hands curiously as she flipped it over to examine the wax seal that held it closed. “Strange. I collected all our letters earlier this afternoon. I would have noticed if I missed one.”

“I know,” she said. “And I didn’t hear anyone knock.”

“Is the seal anyone we know?”

She shook her head, bringing the letter over to show him. The wax seal was pressed with a symbol she didn’t recognize, a strange runic marking that meant nothing to her. It didn’t look like a patriar’s seal, and she would have recognized it if it came from someone like Duke Ravengard, Counsellor Florrick, Nine-Fingers Keene, the Harpers, or any of her other former allies. No, this was something new to her.

“Strange,” Gale murmured again, taking the letter from her hand. “It looks like a magic rune, but it isn’t one I recognize.”

He hovered a hand over it, glowing purple with Weave magic and tinging the envelope with a faint purple aura as well, but it remained unchanged. He frowned, letting the spell fade away and flipping the letter over to examine the writing, and then shrugged. “I can detect some kind of magic on it, but I can’t tell what. But it isn’t cursed or magically sealed, if that’s what you’re wondering. What do you think, my love? Shall we open it and sate our curiosity at last?”

“Oh, sure, why not,” Dani said, wrapping her arms around one of his arms and resting her chin on his shoulder. “Go on, then. Let’s see what the mystery letter says.”

He broke the wax seal and opened the envelope, pulling a folded letter from inside. No, not a letter, Dani realized, as he unfolded it to reveal glossy, gold-embossed swirls around the edges and careful, elegant script in the middle. An invitation. 

“To the great Heroes of Baldur’s Gate. You are cordially invited to attend a masque,” Gale read aloud, his eyebrows quirking upward with interest, “held on the thirteenth of Marpenoth at the summer home of Lord Aubron Dormire. Masks required for entry. Please collect your mask at the Manor Gate between Bloomridge and Manorborn.”

“Dormire? That doesn’t sound like any patriar name I’ve ever heard,” Dani said. But when she looked at the address listed on the invitation, she recognized it as an address in the Manorborn district of the city, where the wealthiest of the wealthy lived. “Interesting. I wonder what they want with us.”

Gale scoffed. “We receive invitations all the time for all sorts of events, my dear. Everyone wants the Hero of Baldur’s Gate at their party.”

“Yeah, but it's been months since we stabbed a big ugly brain to death, darling. I think the interest has died down a little. And it’s heroes, plural. We're both invited.” 

In reality, as Gale had pointed out, the invitations had not really died down in the months since their grand victory. Every day there were new letters from patriars seeking new connections, merchants hoping to make deals, fans who simply wanted to chat, and of course friends and family who were eager to catch up. The fact that this letter had magically appeared from thin air made her a little more inclined to pay attention to it, however, over the usual letters they received.

“The thirteenth of Marpenoth,” she murmured, turning her head so that her cheek rested on his shoulder. Though she was careful, as always, not to poke him with her horns.

"Yes. About a tenday from today."

“No, that's not what I'm thinking about. That’s the anniversary of our defeat of the Netherbrain. Don’t you remember?”

“How could I possibly forget? It was only one of the most significant moments of my entire life.”

And, Dani recalled all too well, one of the moments he’d very nearly given in to Mystra’s command to sacrifice himself. She tightened her hold on his arm, grateful that he hadn’t. That he was still there with her, especially now that he was her charming husband.

“I wonder if that date has anything to do with this event,” she mused. She straightened up. “I should ask Astarion or Shadowheart if they’ve received invitations. Maybe this could be another chance to gather the old party back together. Or most of it, anyway. Lae’zel is still busy...er, somewhere on the Sword Coast and I haven’t heard from Karlach or Wyll in a couple of tendays. I’m half-inclined to get Helsik to open another portal to Avernus for me, if it didn’t mean forking over another heap of gold. Maybe I should just send another sending…”

“I’m sure they’re fine,” Gale said. “They looked none the worse for wear six months ago at Withers’ party, so I’m certain another six months won’t have made a difference. Besides. I’m not sure an invitation like this would have made it to Avernus.”

"It made it past your usual arcane lock charm and the deadbolt on the door itself. You don't think a similar invitation could reach Avernus?"

He relented with a shrug. "A fair point. Very well, we'll ask. I'll prepare a few sendings and get the components for the spell ready."

“Perfect. We should also ask Astarion, Shadowheart, maybe Jaheira,” Dani said, ticking names off on her fingers. “Maybe Halsin? Though I can’t see either of the old druids wanting to come to a masquerade. Doesn’t seem like their thing.”

“The real question is whether we are going,” Gale said, finally folding up the letter and tucking it back into the envelope. “Are we?”

Dani shrugged. “Well, why not? Don’t you think it would be fun?”

“It’s a mysterious letter that has shown up as if conjured from thin air, has traces of magic, and is marked with a runic mark as its seal. It could be dangerous. It could be a trap.”

“Exactly,” she said, poking him in the chest. “Fun.”

He sighed and shook his head fondly, wrapping an arm around her waist and drawing her closer to him. “Your idea of fun and mine rarely align, my love," he said, gently tapping the tip of her nose with the envelope in his hand. "But very well. If you wish to go to this masque, we shall go. On one condition.”

Dani looped her arms around Gale’s neck and tilted her head. “Name it, love.”

“I get to dress us both for the occasion.” He grinned down at her. “If we’re to attend a lavish masquerade ball, we should dress the part, don’t you think?”

“Are you promising to take me shopping, Gale Dekarios?” she asked, matching him grin for grin. 

“Of course. Only the finest for Dani Dekarios, my beloved wife.”

"And we'll go to the masquerade? Even if it's a sneaky little trap?"

"We shall indeed." He bent his head to brush a kiss against her lips. "I was just thinking it had gotten a little quiet around here. Perhaps we're overdue for an adventure."

"Be careful what you wish for, my darling," Dani said. "But if it's adventure you want, it's adventure you shall have."

[thievescanted]

cal-as-companion questions part 1

this is @omgkalyppso's fault btw

Where can your Tav be recruited? Are they first encountered on the Nautiloid, or in the Nautiloid crash region? Or are they not recruitable until a later act?

cal can be found on the way to the grove just outside the nautiloid crash region, arguing with a man who, believing her to be dead, had been rifling through her bag. upon your interruption, the man will say he’s sorry for the mistake, but insist to you that he really did think she was dead. passing a DC 22 investigation check will reveal that there is something off about the way she breathes - it seems more deliberate than automatic.

when you realize she’s tadpoled too you can ask her to join you - she will be reluctant about it and tells you she doesnt play well with others. if you take her word for it though she says “Ohh ha that was a joke! No, we should definitely stick together. You could clearly use the help. No offense.”

Do the other companions have special comments or reactions upon recruiting your Tav?

astarion and shadowheart do nottt trust her lol

shadowheart: Are you quite sure we need her company? Far be it from me to question your judgement, but there’s something off about her. Something about her eyes, perhaps - they have this… cornered animal quality about them.

astarion: (looking over tav’s shoulder at cal, squinting - clearly is seeing something you don’t) Hm? Oh, I’m sure it’ll be fine picking up another stray. Probably.

(after a long rest you can get the following banters if theyre both in the party:

astarion: you look cold, moretti. do you need a jacket? cal: you offerin’ me yours, sunshine? astarion: ugh. no, the last thing i need is for any of my clothes to come back reeking of cigarette smoke. i was only making an observation.

cal: you’ve got red on your collar there, astarion. what is that, tomato? or maybe - astarion: what? where? i - cal: (cackles) astarion: (sourly) oh, do fuck off.

they are playing undead chicken)

Does your Tav have any comments or advice when you recruit other companions?

of shadowheart: So you're taking this one with us, then. She doesn't exactly seem the friendly sort, but then I suppose neither do I. of astarion: I'd be careful of that one. Just take my word for it, yeah? of wyll: He's coming along, then? No, I don't mean anything by it. He seems... (wrinkles her nose) nice. He seems perfectly nice. of karlach: (clearly not paying attention to you, very clearly trying to see karlach) Sorry, did you say something? I was admiring the view of the, uh. Landscape. Just appreciating nature. of lae'zel: Sorry, did she say she knows how to get these things out of our heads? Why are we following you? No offense. of gale: Gods, but that one can talk, can't he? Can't say I really understood any of it. Ugh, wizard shit.

What sort of general actions raise or lower their approval?

cal will act soo annoyed about you choosing to help people (“Listen, I don’t mean to get in the way of your whole… (dismissive hand-wave) hero thing, but I do feel compelled to remind you that the matter of the fucking brain parasites in our heads is kind of time-sensitive. But by all means, let’s stop and help every sorry bastard we come across.”). she then proceeds to approve of it every time. she also approves of you giving people money. fucking with rich people nets huge approval. also she likes if youre kind of mean to people. dont worry about it

Are there any instances where your Tav can permanently leave the party, depending on player character actions?

honestlyyyy i think cal will straight up leave the party if you encourage wyll to sign a new contract with mizora. she really values autonomy, and i think telling him to give up his life for that of his father would make her lose a lot of respect for you. she won't leave the party if you help the cult raid the grove, but it will drastically lower it to the point where if she disapproves further she may leave lol

Do they have any secrets that can be revealed? What are the prerequisites for this secret coming to light?

she uhhhh died when she was 21, and was brought back to life by a woman named teverezhta; the condition for cal's revival was that she carry parcels for teverezhta around faerun. she doesn't know what's in them, or what theyre for (you later find out that one of the things she was delivering was shipments of the tadpoles youve been finding around - she was not aware of this). failure to comply with the terms of the contract would mean that tev could kill her automatically; however, the parasite currently gets in the way of this so cal has significantly more freedom. tev also can't currently track her by magical means

somewhere near ethel's house you can find a crow. if you speak to it it will just caw at you, with a note that the crow seems unusually intelligent (with animal speaking: caw. fuck off. caw.) the next time you long rest, the crow will appear in your camp and reveal itself as an half-elf man named emil, who informs cal that their business is not finished yet - tev may not be able to magically track cal, but if she finds she hasnt been doing her job, she'll find her and kill her herself. fortunately her current job is to continue investigating the cult

after this cal will explain her death and her contract to the best of her ability (she remembers neither, only that they happened). it's clear throughout the conversation that she worries youll see her as a liability

Do they have their own personal quest that spans the course of the game? Can it take different branching paths depending on the choices the Player Character makes?

YEAH. so you later find out that there's a piece of. someones soul that was inadvertently stiched into cal's heart during her resurrection - the intention had been for her to be a vessel for this soul, but it didnt quite go as planned so the teverezhta family found a different use for her. HOWEVER that piece of soul in her heart does give her the ability to utilize limited necromantic magic. growing that soul would increase her range of abilities, but also make her less herself (she'll eventually develop a second shadow, and her reflection will occasionally be. not her)

the end id define as the "good" end would be one where tav helps free cal from her contract. im not entirely sure how that would happen just yet, but it would mean she would be properly Alive again, albeit with that soul in her still

What do they say when the Player Character asks them to stay in camp? How about when the Player Character asks them to come adventuring again?

> I need you to go back to camp. Cal: What, really? Won't you miss me? > I'll find you later - go wait there for the time being. Cal: Fine. I'll go stare at some rocks and wait for you to get back.

> Come with me - there's work to be done. Cal: Thought you'd never ask. Try to keep up.

Does your Tav have any escalating conflicts with one of the other companions, like Lae’zel and Shadowheart’s knife-fight?

NOT..... really? like cal and astarion realize pretty quickly that theres something Going On with the other in an undead or undead-adjacent kind of way, but will have agreed to keep their noses out of it. they'll allude to it in banter from time to time to get a rise out of the other, but its - mostly - friendly

Are there any unique NPCs associated with your Tav that can show up during the course of the game?

emil will show up from time to time to annoy cal. he will flirt with the pc - to annoy cal - but nothing will ever really come of it. you can ask him about his family, and he'll give some answers. in a way that annoys cal somehow. he'll often show up as a crow, but he's like as not to appear in his genuine form

Are there any moments in the game that trigger unique dialogue for your character? (Like Gale’s anecdote about the barfight after you save the goblin prisoner)

(upon finding the necromancy of thay): (sarcastically) Necromancy. How lovely. Ugh. We're not taking that with us, are we? I think that's real, actual skin on it. (if you give it to astarion): Listen, I like Astarion as much as the next guy, but are we really trusting him to be normal about that?