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powdermelonkeg · 10 months ago

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just saw ur gale/mystra analysis post. im new to the game and dnd lore and honestly… ur take on their relationship feels like the most natural/compelling one??? esp since its all too easy to simplify topics that have many facets and nuance….

thanks for sharing i love analysis and reading people’s takes on narratives : D

My pleasure! (Bee from the future here: congrats, you spawned another meta!)

I love complicated characters, WAY more than I like a clear cut-and-dry case. Flaws, to me, are what make a character compelling and lead to interesting stories about them with choices that can get them into situations. I'm both writing a fanfic and running a campaign where I'm playing as Gale, and in the interest of portraying him properly and in-character, I've gone into SUCH a deep dive into all the decisions and facts that make him him.

It helps to, y'know, also be in love with the fictional wizard, but I digress

The thing about Baldur's Gate 3 is that no character in there is perfect. I've seen a couple analyses about the theme of continuing cycles of abuse vs breaking out of them, but in my mind, in terms of the characters themselves, it goes like this:

The origin characters have just come out of the lowest situation of their lives (Lae'zel being the exception; being tadpoled is a gith's worst nightmare. You're seeing that lowest situation in real time).

Not the lowest point, mind. Gale's lowest was probably the day after he got the Orb. Wyll's was probably the day his father cast him out. Karlach's was the day she lost her heart. But the lowest, accepted normal for them is what they've just left.

They're then thrown out of their depth and forced to rely on you to live. That's #1 priority: living. We get the extremes of these characters before we get their nuances, because they're quite literally at their breaking points.

Then once we get to know them, we see their wants, their hopes, their fears, as they open up to us. Every companion's story is at their own pace, but they all have a moment where they ping-pong between despondency and desire. Sometimes that desire is what we know isn't good for them, like Shadowheart wanting to be a Dark Justiciar. Sometimes that despondency is only for a flicker, like Astarion's realization that he's condemned 7000 people to a half-life of tortured spawnhood for as long as he's been a vampire.

Romance lets us crack all that open more, because if you pursue a romantic partner, they see you as their closest confidant. They WANT to trust you, so they're more willing to explain how they see the world and what decisions they want to chase.

And then their endings. Those often get simplified as good/bad, continuing the cycle vs breaking away from it. But how is Duke Wyll on the same platform as Ascended Astarion? He's not evil, he's not even entirely unhappy. He might even have broken out of his abusive cycle with Mizora, if you played your cards right. And Ascended Astarion is overjoyed, even if he is remarkably more cold.

I think that the endings are less a dichotomy of "this is good for them" vs "this is bad for them," and more one of "bringing out their best traits" vs "bringing out their worst."

Wyll's worst trait is being willing to sacrifice his own wants for whatever people desire of him. His best is standing for what he believes in and ensuring people are safe. Duke Wyll leans into that necessity to turn the other cheek in the name of people who count on him, while the Blade of Avernus has seized that moral compass of his and forged it out of mithral.

Shadowheart's worst trait is blind obedience at the cost of her individuality, while her best is her desire to be kind to things that don't deserve to be hurt. Mother Superior Shadowheart's whole life is defined by Shar. Selûnite Shadowheart's life is defined by her hospitality, especially towards animals.

Karlach's worst trait is how willing she is to accept that things are (to quote her) fucked, letting despair override hope. Her best is her durability in the face of horror. Exploded Karlach would rather die than try to work out a solution in the Hells, because she's terrified of facing Zariel alone. Mindflayer Karlach has accepted her fate and decides to give up her heart and soul to go out a hero, losing who she is. Fury of Avernus Karlach is willing to keep fighting for a solution, and by the time the epilogue happens, she's got her sights set on one.

Astarion's worst trait is his desire for power over people. His best trait is using the tools he has to his advantage. Ascended Astarion has let his powerhungry nature and paranoia lead all of his decisions, with his sights set on dominating mankind. Spawn Astarion has embraced what he is, and carved out a life for himself where he can do as he pleases.

Lae'zel's worst trait is her blind fanaticism, while her best trait is her individual dedication, making her loyalty a marriage of the two. Ascended Lae'zel is a meal for the lich queen, turning a blind eye to all Vlaakith's tried to do to her and literally being consumed by her fervor. Champion of Orpheus Lae'zel has turned her loyalty into something productive for diplomacy. Faerûnian Lae'zel has seized her individuality by the throat and decided her own future.

And then Gale. Gale's worst traits are his hubris and, paradoxically, his low self worth. His best traits are his creativity and wonder for the world. God Gale is the embodiment of ambition, having burned away all but that in pursuit of perfection. Exploded Gale has let his remorse blot out all hope for a redemption in which he does not die, because he thinks he's earned it. Professor Gale leads his life by embracing the school of Illusion and letting his creativity thrive, teaching others to do the same. House Husband Gale has multiple creative projects he's working on, and Adventurer Gale is always finding new sights to see and wanting to share them with you.

There are arguments to be made on which ending the origins are happiest in, certainly, or which one benefits them the most, but each ending represents the extreme of a facet they possess.

So with all that, there's a sort of malleable method to figuring out the ins and outs of a character.

You take their endings—all of them, all variables they can have—and reverse-engineer the flaws and details they carry. Then you start to notice how those work into their approvals for minor things: Astarion approving of your taking of the Blood of Lathander, or Shadowheart approving of standing up for Arabella. Getting a list of approvals and disapprovals is helpful, but having those endings on hand tells you why they react like that to a majority of their decisions.

You take their romance-route explanations of how they act, and apply those to earlier decisions. Astarion's confession to manipulating you and Araj-prompted admittance to using himself as a tool brings to light how he reacts to your decisions, regardless of his actual opinions on them. Wyll's fairytale romance and love of poetic adages speaks to his idealistic nature, and why he takes a sometimes-blinded approach to decisions in which the "right" answer isn't always the smart one.

You take their beginning reactions to stress and use that to measure how future decisions impact them. Lae'zel locks down and gets snappy when she's scared, while Gale immediately turns to diplomacy. Shadowheart has gallows humor, while Wyll turns to quiet acceptance. If they break from these and seem even worse, you know the situation is more dire in their minds than having seven days to live.

And then you factor in all their fun facts and dialogue choices and backstories.

A wizard falls in love with a goddess and her magic, attempts to retrieve a piece of her power for her, is scorned for his attempt and is cursed to die.

Give that backstory to a Tav. Look at how it changes.

A chaotic good wizard fell in love with a goddess, thought retrieving a piece of power for her would be a showy bouquet of love, and was punished for not thinking things through.

A lawful evil wizard fell in love with a goddess's power, snatched the most precious thing she owned, tried to use it to barter his way through to the secrets she kept, and was given a swift retribution.

Same backstory. Same class, same act, same goddess. Wildly different connotations. Wildly different conclusions as to who is in the wrong.

If you take all there is to Gale, all that the game shows us makes up his character, and apply it to this backstory, you get what really happened:

A wizard, enamored with magic, fell in love with a goddess. His desires led him to want more than she was willing to give. In his well-buried fear of inadequacy, he concluded that the reason she wouldn't indulge his ambitions was because he just hadn't proven himself worthy enough. So he tried to prove himself, but he lacked the context for what he was proving himself with. And the goddess, seeing a weapon that had killed her predecessor, saw this ambitious wizard as losing his way and coming for her just like the weapon's creator had. She was angry, she withdrew his link to her, and he didn't know why. So he drew the conclusion that she took his powers to punish him, and let that encompass his fall from grace.

Was he wrong to reach for what was out there?

If you knew that the answers to everything you cared about were not only known, but kept by someone you loved—someone who adored you—what would you do to ask to see them? What if your curiosities were if there were other planets with life out there, or how dark matter worked, or whether or not we could one day travel in the stars? What if it was the potential cure to an illness that's little-understood, or the way to make a program you dreamt up, or the scope of the true limits of your artistic talents? Would your answer change?

Was she wrong to cut him off?

If you were once hurt, and the person you loved—the person who adored you—brought the thing that caused it to your door, believing you'd want it, how would you react to seeing it? What if that thing was someone you thought you'd broken contact with, like a friend or family member you'd been trying to avoid? Would your answer change?

That's the sort of scope that needs to be applied to this, on both sides. You have to take the perspectives of each party, and apply two analogies instead of one.

Gale saw the vastness of the universe, untold wonders, the solution to every question he could ever dream up, and saw Mystra as withholding this from him because she thought he just wasn't worthy enough. To claim Mystra knew his perspective does her a disservice.

Mystra saw a cruel weapon she thought long gone, in the hands of someone who could use it, brought right to her, and thought Gale was willingly following the path of Karsus. To claim Gale knew her perspective does him a disservice.

Should Gale have researched his prize more, so he knew just what he was obtaining? Should he have kept his hands off a cursed book that would devour him? Of course he should have.

Should he have given up on chasing his dreams?

Should Mystra have understood that Gale's pursuit of power was nothing like Karsus'? Should she have communicated when she was angry instead of giving the cold shoulder? Of course she should have.

Should she have given him the benefit of the doubt?

That's the root of their falling out. That's what leads to hurt being inflicted. Understandable, human reactions to the situations they perceive. Unhealthy, unwise choices made afterwards.

You work backwards from this to figure out their dynamic as Chosen and goddess. You work forward from this to understand more of where Gale and Mystra are during the events of Baldur's Gate 3. Gale reached too high, and understands this. His goddess hates him, and he regrets this. Mystra isolated Gale, and understands this. Her Chosen wants redemption, and she wants to make it happen.

Just like we took Gale's character into account, we also have to take Mystra's.

A goddess is faced with a problem. She uses someone who's desperate for approval to solve it, by telling him to kill himself.

An evil goddess is faced with a threat to her reign. She sees someone who's unfailingly loyal and hates himself, and elects to have him tear himself apart rather than do anything about it.

A good goddess is terrified of the future. She sees someone who tried to hurt her, who's going to die anyways, and tells him to use it to save the world.

Same story. Same act, same power, same pawn. Different character. Different perspective. Different outlook on whether or not this is the right thing to do.

Mystra has died, multiple times, to people trying to stake claim to her domain. Someone appears with the very thing that could do it again, right as she's regained her stability.

She does not see mortals the way mortals do. She is timeless. She is eternal. She has a duty to protect billions of people, and one person lost to protect that number is more than worth the sacrifice.

People like to bring up the Seven Sisters as proof of Mystra's cruelty. For those unaware, Mystra asked permission to, then possessed, a woman, used her to court a man (with dubious consent from the woman), and bore seven children, all of whom were capable of bearing Mystra's power as Chosen without dying. The woman she possessed was killed in the process (reduced to no more than a husk, then slain by her now-husband, hoping to end her suffering), and the husband was horrified by the whole story.

Mystra needed Chosen in order to restore herself in the event that she was killed again, to prevent magic as a whole from collapsing and wreaking havoc on the mortal realm, like it had in the few seconds Mystryl had been dead. Elminster, Khelben Blackstaff, and the Seven Sisters contributed to this. The more Chosen she has, the better; what happens if Elminster dies? She can't afford to have all her eggs in one basket.

Mystra has Volo (yeah, that Volo) as a Weave Anchor, imparted with a portion of her power to prevent the Weave from shredding itself to pieces in her absence. All Chosen of Mystra are Weave Anchors by nature. The creation of Weave Anchors was mandated by Ao, the Overgod, and Chosen are the best way to make sure those anchors aren't drained by ambitious people hoping for godlike power. Chosen can, and will, defend themselves, unlike static locations (which Mystra also has). The anchors are why the Weave wasn't completely obliterated during Mystra's last death, when the Spellplague rose up, because they stabilized the Weave around them.

Everything Mystra does is in the name of the big picture, to prevent a catastrophe like the fall of Netheril from happening again. Her restriction of magic, her numerous Chosen, her creation of Weave Anchors, her destruction of those who would claim her power, it's all in the name of the stability she's been charged with. Dornal Silverhand's grief and Elué Silverhand's death, while regrettable, were worth it to bring seven more anchors into existence to save all of the Material.

So someone appears with the Crown of Karsus, potentially powerful enough to try to kill the other gods in the name of the Dead Three. She can't risk being a target of them. She can't risk the destruction of magic again.

Gale is going to die. He lives in fear. He begs for forgiveness.

In Mystra's eyes, she's offering him the best outcome. She'll let him die in service to her, to save Faerûn, and she'll forgive him. He's going to die anyways, and if he does this, she'll give him everything (she thinks) he could ever want in her realm. She's asking him to do what (she thinks) is the right thing.

"She would consider what she considers to be forgiveness."

Notably, she leaves the decision in his hands. She doesn't have Elminster lead him to the Nether Brain. She doesn't activate him as soon as he's there. When he lives yet, she doesn't revoke the charm that keeps him stable. And when he declines, when he lets it go and starts pursuing Karsus' path, she doesn't smite him on the spot.

She is (she thinks) being incredibly patient. If Gale is going to try to be Karsus II, she's ready for him. If he decides to walk off and keep the Orb, he's dug his own grave in the Fugue Plane (those who don't have a god to claim them roam endlessly as husks and form a wall of bodies around the City of Judgement).

From her perspective, she's not being unreasonable. But from the perspective of a mortal, she absolutely is.

"Now, I have a question for thee: what is the worth of a single mortal's life?"

This is a question she cannot answer properly.

I think a lot of characterization is lost whenever someone paints one of them as being totally in the right. But I also think you have to be invested in them as characters to want to see that characterization. If you want to write about Mystra, you have to try to get into her head, analyze the decisions she made, figure out why she thinks she was right, and follow the pattern.

Gale's sacrifice is a very predictable thing for her to ask for.

#bg3 #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #mystra #long post #like really long post holy hells #did not expect this to go on for this long #swearing tw #< for karlach #oh yeah #astarion #karlach #wyll ravengard #shadowheart #lae'zel #ask bee

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trappedinafantasy37 · 2 months ago

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Let's talk about Shadowheart's newest evil ending.

Honestly, I think it looks pretty cool! I do like the way where it portrays Shadowheart as simultaneously pulling on the power of Selune and Shar at the same exact time. At first you might think this would be exclusive depending on the Nightsong choice. But, according to Dame Aylin, what belongs to Shar also belongs to Selune. Neither god can exist without the other and their powers are inverses to each other. Where there is darkness, there can be light, and Shadowheart has every intention of taking full advantage of it. I also like the little explanation as to how encapsulating the powers of both goddesses and forging her own path outside of them makes her feel whole as she otherwise would not be.

I also like that it demonstrates the absurdity of the centuries long fight between the two sisters by making it a mortal problem. The people we see are just killing each other solely because of their perceived allegiance to the "wrong god". And it's reminiscent of the petty conversation between Shadowheart and Isobel (the entire interaction is actually much more petty in the Shadowheart origin). These two characters had no justifiable reason to dislike each other except for the fact that their gods don't like each other.

To sum it up, Shadow is essentially pulling in the powers of both gods to become her own god and form a new church in her name. Instead of wasting her time being faithful to other gods, she is going to flip them off and make others be faithful to her instead. Thanks to her prior relationship with the Sharran cloister, she knows exactly what she needs to do to make people faithful to her and she will definitely lean into that Sharran training.

I have pulled my previous saves and can confirm that the ending is the same regardless of whether or not Shadowheart is a Dark Justiciar, and I don't think it should be. Before I really dive into it, her evil ending is out of character regardless of which path she goes down, although I think it makes more sense for Moon Shadow than DJ Shadow.

Dark Justiciar Shadowheart

I did see a complaint the other day on TikTok that DJ Shadow should say "in Shar's name" when she claims the brain similar to how Durge claims it in Bhaals name. I'm kind of on the fence about this one because Shar and Bhaal do not want the same things about the Absolute. We know that Shar does want the Absolute destroyed. So for DJ Shadow to claim the Absolute, she is renegading against Shar which is wildly out of character. And if she is renegading against Shar, she would not be claiming it in Shar's name but her own.

We all know and joke about how much of a terrible Sharran Shadowheart is, even as a DJ. But this is someone who has chosen their path and is fully dedicated to Shar. She has decided she will enact Shar's will to the letter and won't stray. Sure, maybe Shadow would stretch the rules over little and trivial things (like still having a situationship with her romance partner after Shar told her not to). But claiming the Absolute is way too big of a deal and I don't think DJ Shadow would do it. Essentially the most evil ending does not suite an evil Shadowheart cause it's not the right flavor of evil.

However, if DJ Shadow were to claim it in Shar's name, it would not at all be the ending we got. She would not use the Absolute to cause a civil war between people, nor would she become a new god in her own right, nor would she use an ounce of Selune's power (especially since DJ Shadow would not know how intertwined the sister goddesses are). DJ Shadow is a very dedicated and faithful servant of Shar and would never think to elevate herself to Shar's level. Shadowheart became a Dark Justiciar, not because she wanted the power of one, but because she wanted to be a better servant to her god. She would do the same with the Absolute. She would specifically use the Absolute to drive the world into Shar's "endless darkness". She would fill the people with hopelessness, despair, grief, loss. She would inflict all of Shar's doctrines on the world. She would bring people into Shar's embrace, not turn against Shar at the eleventh hour after everything she sacrificed just to get there. I can even see DJ Shadow using the Absolute to expand the bounds of the Shadow Curse if it isn't resolved. That is, if Shar would allow Shadowheart to claim the Absolute at all.

Moon Shadowheart

One of the things that is really easy to miss is that Moon Shadow never fully embraces Selune, which is why I have a hard time calling her a Selunite. Selune is most certainly stretching her arms out to Shadow, ready to embrace her, but Shadow has not taken that step yet. When she first rejects Shar, Shadow knows deep down that she is being empowered by Selune instead (because what belongs to Shar belongs to Selune) but Shadow is in active denial about it until Dame Aylin kind of forces her to accept the truth. One of her default endings is of her still calling Selune the "Moon Witch" and doesn't feel particularly drawn to her just yet. But she spends all six months attempting to learn about Selune, learn about herself and her past and see if maybe she can be drawn to Selune. All that is important to her is that Selune is not like Shar and will allow Shadow to forge her own path, even if Selune is not happy with it.

As ironic as it is, this is the version of Shadow that I can see taking the Absolute for herself, albeit still a little OOC. Moon Shadow will actually have the freedom to claim the Absolute for herself cause what is Selune gonna do? Stop her? Pfft, she didn't even lift a finger to save her own child from being tortured for a century (although not because she didn't want to but because she's following Ao's rules). Considering how Shadowheart's personal story line ends, I feel you could easily squeeze some evilness out of it. Now, this is a little headcanony to try to make some sense as to why Moon Shadow would claim the Absolute (even though it is all OOC).

In the event she kills her parents, Shadow gets thrown into grief, loss, and guilt. Despite the fact that she rejected Shar and is supposed to have been "embraced" by Selune, she is still experiencing all the same things as when she was just as devoted to Shar. So, she rejected Shar for what? She lost her god and she still feels like shit, she is still in pain. Sure, she could learn to get past this, but she may not. While holding the stones and on the verge of godhood, she realizes she has been nothing but a toy between two gods who don't know how to settle their issues maturely. One god has actively tormented her her entire life, while the other god knew it was happening and did absolutely nothing to help. Shadow betrays the Emperor and claims the Absolute to become a god. Using all her lessons from her time in the Sharran cloister, she could show Shar how it's really done and demonstrate to Selune what happens when you become too passive. And this Shadow knows about the entanglement between the two goddesses and could still call on Shar's endless darkness if she needed to and would use Selune's light as a method of torment rather than guidance. I honestly feel like she would purposefully imprison Dame Aylin again out of pure spite. As powerful as she may be, the aasimar is nothing against a god.

A Shadowheart that spares her parents is probably the least likely version to claim the Absolute, but I still think you could make it work. This version of Shadow is content with the curse tying her and her parents together because they have all agreed that whatever happens they will do it together. But perhaps she realizes that it doesn't have to be that way and she and her parents don't need to suffer. To endure the pain is to please Shar, and she is tired of pleasing Shar. The most daunting part about chronic pain is that it does have a habit of driving people to madness and Shadow is aware this. Shar would gladly enjoy watching all the Hallowleaf's eventually go mad in the end. And it's not as if Selune is really doing anything to help either. She cannot rely on the gods to help her, and to become a god is to free herself from a gods curse, or at least give her a fighting chance to get rid of it. Forming a new church and becoming a new god will only strengthen her, give her enough power to loosen whatever grip Shar still has on her. But this Shadowheart is directly attached to Shar and would have no problem using it. If Shadowheart cannot get rid of the curse herself, then perhaps she can give Shar incentive to let her go.

Conclusion

Shadowheart actually should have gotten two different evil endings similar to Durge and a Moon Shadow should have had slight variations depending on the state of her parents. Shadowheart's personality, motivations, desires, and goals are all dictated depending on how dedicated she is to these gods and the endings should reflect that. The ending that we did get I feel is the most fitting for Moon Shadow who did sacrifice her parents because she did everything she was supposed to do, and yet she still suffers and she is still alone. This version of Shadow I can see becoming enraged and vengeful against Shar and Selune and wanting to bite back.

Don't get me wrong, I like this ending. But it also demonstrates one of my biggest gripes with how BG3 depicts evil and it seems like evil cannot exist in this game without it being comical. It cannot exist without it being in your face that it is evil, otherwise people might "miss it". Sadly, this means that characters are forced out of character to shoehorn them into evilness as there is often very little narrative explanation or build up as to why that character would choose the evil option. Sure, I think if you stretch it enough you could argue that the ending you get for Shadowheart is fitting regardless of whichever path. I mean, this is an RPG and we all come up with our own reasons as to why certain choices and outcomes make more sense over others (hells, I just did that in this post!).

Either way, I am glad that we did get these new endings. Even if I feel that some of them are OOC, I still appreciate them and I am grateful for the free treat Larian did give us.

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #evil endings #patch 7 #shadowheart #dj shadowheart #dark justiciar shadowheart #selunite shadowheart #i'm not saying that i dont like these endings because i really do #i love seeing all the characters become morally dubious gods who are about to do some morally dubious things #and living as their worst selves #and i do like that they do give you some wiggle room to make your own headcanons with them #i just find it absurdly hilarious that shadowheart would canonically destroy the brain regardless of if she's a dj or not

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parvulous-writings · 10 months ago

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no idea if nail polish exists in the 5e world, but it does now. how about a chill day for the companions where everyone does their nails? or is tav/durge doing the painting for everyone?

Summary: Camp has a nail day!

Warnings: Minor spoilers for Shadowheart's various arcs, same for Karlach. One swear word.

Notes: if it doesn't exist, it sure as hell does now! Also apologies that this took so long - New year is a busy time at work, and I've got a minor injury with my hand, so I'm working as fast as I can, but it's a little slower than normal!

I've included all the recruitable companions, besides Minthara, who is not included purely because I cannot accurately write for her just yet!

My requests are currently open! My pinned post (found here) contains both a list of characters I write for, and a masterlist! Original character list - please request for these too!

Not my image

Time on the road where everyone is able to relax is very scarce commodity, so when it does crop up, you're always the first to suggest grabbing it by the horns and making the most out of the day - not by training, or planning your next moves, but typically with something more laid back.

You're camping close to Rivington when you get the first day-long break in weeks, so that morning you venture into town to have a quick browse of the stalls; perhaps you can find some food that will remind the various Baldurians in camp of their home? As you're starting to make your way back to camp, something catches you eye - a nail polish kit, going for quite cheap. You can hardly restrain yourself from buying it- you already know that it will bring a lot of much needed joy into camp.

Astarion is quite intrigued when you announce the spoils you've returned with. For too long he's craved petty vanity again; and even if he can only get it from painting his nails, he's willing to grasp at that chance. "What's this?" He hums, peering over your shoulder, trying to get a good look at all the colours that the kit contains, as well as the equipment. The first thing he does, given the chance, is start tending to his nails - cleaning under them, pushing back the cuticles, trimming and filing them into shape, the works. He spares no time making sure that everything is as he envisions. Sure, the colours he eventually settles on may not match the rest of his armour, but his new manicure matches his more comfortable clothes, so that's good enough for him.

Gale is... Unsure if this is the right kind of thing for your journey. "We have many more pressing matters to worry about, besides our appearances." He practically grumbles to you. "Might I suggest actually focusing on planning our next move?" It doesn't actually take a lot to convince him to sit down and let him do one hand of nails on him. You paint his nails a lovely shade of dark navy blue, which looks black in the shade, but blue when hit by light. You start speckling dots of white here and there to make them mirror the night sky, when Gale tells you he'd like to do his other hand himself. Of course, you let him, and about twenty minutes later, he's back to proudly show you his work. It's a lot shakier than the side you had done, but he looks so proud of himself for being able to emulate your skill even a little bit, you don't even nitpick in a teasing way. When it inevitably starts to chip away, he's absolutely devastated, but doesn't say anything until you all get an opportunity to rest properly again.

Justiciar!Shadowheart instantly dives for the black varnish. Nothing more, and nothing else. She doesn't dwell on it, but in some vain way, she feels like she's carrying a part of her goddess' revered darkness with her, even if it will chip away eventually. That just reminds her that everything on this plane is fleeting, and finite, always eventually consumed by loss. Selunite!Shadowheart adds a little more colour to her nails - dots of white, or purple are incorporated, intricate little designs that pay homeage to both her life as a Sharran, and her family heritage as Selunites. She takes great pride in the designs she makes, and often spends a very long time making sure that they are just like how she imagines in her head.

Lae'zel doesn't particularly like painting her nails - she feels it takes away from her aura of formidable warrior. She will, however, sharpen her nails on a regular basis - just as a back-up plan if she loses her weapon, or perhaps gets caught by surprise and needs to scratch out some eyeballs.

Karlach pre-upgrade loves to watch you do your nails. As in, she will actively sulk if you don't let her watch, or have some tiny level of input. She'll huff and pout, but eventually goes to sit elsewhere with a quiet "fine, whatever.." Post-upgrade Karlach is so eager to have her nails done, she's bouncing back and forth on her feet. She can't decide on a single colours - especially not by herself. "They all look so pretty!" She exclaims, waving her hands about in glee. So, unable to make a decision, she takes her favourite colours, and has all of them on her fingers - repeating a similar process on her toes with her second favourite colours. "This is the best thing we have ever done! ... Besides beating the shit out of Thorm... so, the second best thing!"

Wyll tidies his nails - similar to Astarion. He wants them to be a much nicer shape than they have been up to this point - makeshift files had not been too kind on his nails, and he was tired of catching them on things. He takes great care in shaping them and removing any chips or quicks - it's an activity he takes great pride in, and he'll happily do the same for you if you ask him to! As for colour, Wyll likes to go for a clear coat, purely for protecting his nails; though he has been known to paint his nails black, for dramatic effect. He loves his nails - not to the point that he preens them at any given moment, but enough to give them the time and care they need to keep healthy.

Halsin doesn't particularly like the idea of polish. Sure, it looks pretty, but he'd rather not wear it himself - there are other ways, he's found, that you can change the colour of your nails. (When you ask him what he means, or even to just elaborate a little bit more on how he knows this, he simply replies with "I once had a... Somewhat rebellious streak in my youth.") So it's likely that the only thing that he uses in this particular kit is the file and buffer - which looks absolutely tiny in his hands, it's quite funny.

Minsc doesn't do his own nails - at all. He won't even file them, he just either bites them or they snap off (usually it's the former). Instead, he takes care of Boo's claws. "Now, now, my friend. Do not call me strange - if I do not care for Boo's mighty claws, then who will? The paws of justice must be well cared for!" Insists that every few days he must re-file and re-buff Boo's nails, and will not take no for an answer. He also tries to convince you that Boo is trying to tell you the same, but by the way the little rodent's head shakes when he sits on Minsc's shoulder tells you otherwise.

Jaheira almost laughs when you suggest doing her nails. She wants to them herself, but, eventually she does ask you to help her. "It seems I'm a little out of practice.." She chuckles. "Perhaps some company wouldn't be so bad... If your offer still stands, of course." She LOVES having green nails. Sage green is her favourite, but she likes all of them really. Sometimes, if she's feeling particularly happy, she'll let you paint little golden leaves on her thumb - but that can be a rare occasion, because she doesn't want such skill to always go to waste.

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sleepingdeath-light · 5 months ago

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shadowheart smut hcs ; 18+

requested by ; nobody / self indulgent

fandom(s) ; baldur’s gate 3

fandom masterlist(s) ; here

character(s) ; shadowheart (including: her dark justiciar ending, her selunite ending, and how she is during the main game)

outline ; “smut hcs for shadowheart”

warning(s) ; sexually explicit content, switch!shadowheart, sadomasochist!shadowheart, lingerie kink, corruption kink, role play, praise kink, body worship

minors and ageless blogs will be blocked

main game shadowheart / general headcanons

she’s a switch by nature and can be either a harsh dominant who delights in putting you in your place and flaunting her authority and power over you, or a bratty submissive who is intent on making you earn your place in her bed and won’t make her submission come easy — her demeanour remains the same for the most part regardless of her role, as in she’s not going to suddenly become an obedient little princess once she’s in your bed and allowed you to sexually dominate her, but when she’s subbing she’s more likely to try and push your buttons and try and get you to break and punish her (or, at the very least, to prove to her that you’re able to keep her under control without taking things too far and breaking an agreed upon boundary)

she does have some sadomasochistic tendencies and certainly won’t shy away from rougher forms of play if that’s what you enjoy (e.g. spanking and other forms of impact play, choking and other forms of breath play, hair pulling, marking, etc.), but it’s not exactly something that she brings up during a casual encounter unless you’ve already displayed an explicit interest in those things — otherwise she’ll only really bring up that side of herself after you’ve already been intimate once or twice and are familiar enough with each other to engage in that sort of thing without taking any serious risks (of course being a cleric herself she’s more than capable of healing you both if things get dicey, but she’d prefer to save her energy and spell slots for a time when they might actually be needed, i.e. one of those battles your ragtag group somehow keeps running headfirst into every couple of hours on your way back to baldur’s gate)

shadowheart generally prefers to be on the bottom of whatever position you’re in (and will rebuke any accusations of her being a ‘pillow princess’ because of this preference with about as much sass and snark as you might have come to expect from her), but she’s not completely opposed to topping if you’re less experienced than her or just really uncomfortable doing that (sex isn’t as enjoyable if only one of you is getting off, so if you mention your preferences or limitations to her then she’ll just help you work around them without getting offended or turned off or anything like that) — when it comes to the actual positions themselves, though she’s pretty much up for anything that she can comfortably contort her body to accommodate there are a set few positions that are unbeaten favourites of hers: missionary, cowgirl & reverse cowgirl, and wall/standing sex

while she’s not one to dress up herself (not least of all because your current lifestyle doesn’t really make purchasing and carrying around impractical outfits like lingerie very feesable) she definitely makes her appreciation known whenever you make an effort to pretty yourself up for her and won’t make any attempts to disguise her flirtations or the way her eyes are trailing up and down your body — bonus points if you surprise her with this after bringing her to a secluded area away from camp with plenty of good (or at the very least not-as-shit as the stuff you usually end up getting stuck with on the road) wine and enough food to keep you going until you’re forced to walk back to camp and actually get some rest before another day of travelling, fighting, and problem solving

she’s very talkative during foreplay, both as a domme and a sub, and she’s more than capable of using a mixture of praise and teasing and demands in order to get you into bed with her — the better she knows you the better she gets at pushing your buttons, quickly picking up on exactly what language, what phrases and in what order, are the most effective at getting whatever response she wants out of you (be that to make you flustered and aroused, to help guide you into sub-space, or to goade you into fucking her into her ‘bed’ until she’s too far gone to think about the tadpoles in your heads or her future under lady shar’s guidance)

you’re far from her first partner, which is something she’s never tried to hide from you, and even if she can’t remember specifics in her current state it’s still abundantly clear that shadowheart knows exactly what she’s doing (even if it does take her some time to adapt to your specific needs and preferences as a lover) — this also means that if you’re inexperienced with others that she’s familiar enough with her own body and what she enjoys to help you out and guide you (she will absolutely tease you for it, as she does with most things, but it’s not intended maliciously and she does let you know that she appreciates your efforts and that your lack of experience nothing to be ashamed of)

shadowheart equally enjoys giving and receiving oral, but she does have some preference when it comes to how you both go about either of the two — when she goes down on you she tends to take her time with you, giving you just enough stimulation to make sure that you feel something and react to it without giving you enough to actually push you over the edge, refusing to go further until you stroke her ego enough and beg for it in the way you know she likes (and then she’ll go rough and fast, skilfully pushing you through orgasm after orgasm until there are tears streaming down your cheeks and your voice is too hoarse for her to even hear what you’re saying anymore)… and when she’s receiving oral she much prefers to mount your face and just be able to use you to get off, riding your tongue and lips as you grope at her thighs and moan and groan into her cunt, trying to keep her voice steady as she praises and teases you, not stopping until you lose your patience and grab onto her hips and take control from her (or, if she’s the dominant one that evening, until you perform the agreed upon safe-action and snap her out of her fervour)

dark justiciar shadowheart specific headcanons

she’s equally as comfortable topping or bottoming for you, but once she’s accepted her new role in the nightsinger’s church shadowheart becomes much more confident as a domme and much less willing to hand over control to anyone else in any context — and as a domme she becomes much more sadistic and willing to degrade and hurt you (that being said, she still never crosses your agreed upon boundaries and never does or says anything that will push you away from her or leave any serious lasting damage in its wake — she may be crueler these days, and her lady may not permit any outside attachments, but she still does care for you and doesn’t want to lose what little of your connection still remains before her goddess forces her to cut you off)

she’s comfortable enough with flirting and playing with you in public and semi-public settings as long as you don’t act overly familiar or intimate with her (she’s a dark justiciar now, love isn’t something that’s welcome in her world) — so while groping, grinding, spanking, fucking, and making out are all on the cards as long as she’s not in a sacred place or around company where such acts wouldn’t be permitted, things like kissing, hugging, cuddling, and the sharing of ‘sweet nothings’ are all off limits for you both

in previous years she was never too fond of being called any specific thing in the bedroom, nor did she ever feel the need to call her bedmates anything in turn, but recently she’s found herself to be extremely receptive to you referring to her by her title (‘dark justiciar’, ‘justiciar’, or even ‘mistress’ in the right circumstance), and calling her that is pretty much guaranteed to have her giving you a look that promises nothing short of an eventful evening and a struggle to walk the next day — honestly doing anything that praises her for (or generally just emphasises) her devotion to lady shar and her role in her church is enough to appeal to her ego and get her hot under the collar (does this count as a religious kink? maybe)

she has a very distinct and obvious corruption kink and constantly teases you about leading you down a darker path and converting you to her lady’s church, sprinkling these comments in amongst her usual teasing when she’s got a finger or two inside of you (or when you’re inside of her) — granted for as much as she wishes you’d join her, shadowheart does still value you as a person and won’t force you to convert as she has others in the past… but if you engage in a bit of roleplay in the bedroom and decide to indulge her thoughts and lean into the whole corruption and conversion thing then she’s definitely not going to be complaining about that (in fact it’s only going to make her more aroused and more desperate to hear you scream her name)

because she’s no longer able to publicly claim you as a partner, nor behave in any sort of way that might indicate a sense of monogamy or devotion between the two of you, shadowheart has developed something of a marking kink when it comes to you and you’ll rarely make it out of an encounter with her without an obvious mark or two — most of her marks are hickies and bites as those are the easiest for her to give you, but she’s also partial to the idea of permanently branding or scarring you in some way (with your express approval, obviously)

as a justiciar shadowheart’s pretty much always busy with some task or another (overtaking a town, demolishing ‘lesser’ gods’ temples and artifacts, educating and finding new recruits, helping other believers settle into their new roles in the church, etc.), which means that it’s exceptionally rare that the two of you are able to afford to be with each other for more than a few minutes at a time — thus quickies have become a necessary staple of whatever it is you share: pushing each other against the wall and making out with your hands under each other’s clothing to hurriedly get off before she’s called off to the thousandth meeting of the week, bending her over her desk and fucking her to completion (or vice versa) before she’s set to retire for the evening, sneaking away during a rare get together with old friends to get off amongst the shrubbery and returning back to camp before anyone noticed your absence, etc… (needless to say you both become very familiar with each other and consequently very effective at making the most of what little time you have)

she prefers positions that allow her to be more detached from you as she struggles to fully repress her old feelings when she’s with you: doggy, concubine, reverse cowgirl, one of you facing the wall and the other stood behind you, and so on — if she can’t see your face then she can’t get distracted by things that should no longer influence her, which means that you can both keep seeing each other without shar’s explicit disapproval

selunite shadowheart specific headcanons

after a lifetime’s worth of pain and strife, she finds herself settling into her new quieter life with you and greatly enjoying the chance to slow down and appreciate the little things about being in a relationship that she would have never given much thought before you — this naturally means that she leans more towards long and thorough foreplay (with lots of body worship, praise, and playful banter) as opposed to quickies focused on just getting you both off as soon as possible (it also means that she’s much more cuddly and affectionate after sex, but that’s neither here nor there)

she prefers positions that allow for the most intimacy and connection, such as missionary or spooning, but there are occasions where she wants nothing more than to just be fucked stupid until the pains of her past can’t reach her at which point she generally doesn’t care what position she’s in as long as it ensures you hit all the right spots inside of her when she needs you to — either way, she’ll still appreciate you making the effort to make her more comfortable (grabbing her hands and squeezing them reassuringly, kissing her lips/cheeks/spine/shoulderblades/neck, whispering comforting words and sweet nothings just low enough for her to hear them, etc.), and know that she’s always going to do the same for you when she’s able to do so

as much as she adores the relaxing mundanity and routine of your new life together, she can still appreciate shaking things up with some roleplay here and there — usually this means roughly recreating certain scenarios from your adventuring days or handpicked scenes from the books you’ve picked up from stores much like sharess’ caress, they’re always a little bit silly and a smidge awkward at first as you each take some time to settle into your roles, but it’s always a good deal of fun and absolutely worth the time it takes to set up beforehand and clean up after you’ve had your fun (she always insists on being very thorough about this after going to sleep after one half-assed cleaning and waking up to some assorted flower petals stuck to her backside… including one that she later realised to be an irritant if left in contact with the skin for a long period of time, like sleeping on it for several hours… needless to say she was not pleased about that)

settling down doesn’t make her tongue any less sharp and even years after making a home with you she’s still just as able to tease and banter with you as she was back on the road to baldur’s gate — of course nowadays her remarks aren’t as biting and usually come when she’s either being a brat and goading you into taking charge, or when she’s teasing you for being so reactive to her touch as a domme, and there’s a lingering softness in her voice that was never there before, but rest assured that domestic bliss hasn’t tamed that part of her and, gods willing, it never will

now that she’s settled down and actually has a stream of income, she’s much more able to doll herself up to surprise you after you’ve been out tending to the garden and the animals all day — she has an extensive collection of lingerie sets in different styles that all somehow manage to suit her perfect despite the stark differences in design and materials from one set to the next

she’s very vocal about how much she enjoys watching you work the land and how distracting of a sight it is for her, especially if you happen to roll up your sleeves to do it, which naturally means that the best way to rile her up is to do exactly that and then ask her if she wants to go inside and take a quick break from your daily chores — you will not make it to your bedroom, you barely make it far enough into the house to land on the settee before she’s on you because she knows exactly what game you’re playing at and she’s not about to waste any more time than she needs to in order to get exactly what she wants

shadowheart is a big fan of outdoor sex so long as nobody else is around to catch you — for example, she’s perfectly fine making love to you on the beach beside a secluded lake or in the middle of the forest on a moonlit night, but she’ll politely shut down any propositions from you if she knows that there are other people close enough by that they could hear you and catch you both in the act

#sleepingdeath #minors dni #minors will be blocked #ageless blogs dni #ageless blogs will be blocked #smut #smut hcs #gender neutral reader #bg3 smut #bg3 x reader #shadowheart x reader #shadowheart smut

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naughtybg3confessions · 6 months ago

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Doing a Shadowheart/Tav/Halsin run has honestly changed something in me. I just can't get over how beautiful it is that they can go from a kneejerk animosity between a Sharran and druid who fought Dark Justiciars at Reithwin, to potentially lovers.

........ I also can't stop thinking about my Tav gently helping her as she struggles to take Halsin's massive cock. He'd stroke her thighs, praise her for doing so well and being so good for them, murmur sweet nothings in her ear as her legs shake with the effort not to crumple in Halsin's lap, and once her legs do give out, they'd both help her fuck herself on Halsin's cock... And, once the druid pumps her full of cum, it's Tav's turn, and he can eat it out of her and taste the pleasure of both his lovers at the same time. While he gets pounded within an inch of his life.

#dirty confessions #shadowheart #halsin silverbough #polyamory

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bhaalbaaby · 1 year ago

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How do you think the companions would react to Tav being a virgin with intimacy issues?

oooh. i have thought about this before with one of my tavs, but never fully fleshed it out, so here are some headcanons for you ♥

gale would be understanding and wouldn't force tav to do anything they're uncomfortable with. he wouldn't want to push any boundaries. if anything, he'd take it as an opportunity to woo tav with small romantic gestures like holding hands and sitting near each other at camp. he also may make a wizard joke about virginity and something about his first time to try to help ease their discomfort. he would also find books with similar premises and read them to tav. he would be very gentle with them if they decided to sleep with him for the first time, making sure they're comfortable and again not wanting to push them out of their comfort zone.

wyll also would be understanding. he is willing to wait until the end of time so long as tav is comfortable. he would be a gentleman towards tav, giving them gifts and trinkets that reminded him of them. he'd like to take them on strolls around the camp and anywhere calm area they find while adventuring, maybe even picnicking and reading sonnets he wrote about them. while i don't think wyll has intimacy issues of his own, i do think after talking to tav, they would come to an understanding that they would wait until a very special moment happens when everything feels right. he would have to tamper down his excitement to make sure he doesn't cross any lines, but it would be an enjoyable time for better times to come.

lae'zel wouldn't understand it at first since it's just physical actions. she wouldn't coerce tav, seeing it as failed lay. however if she sees them still attempting to woo her, she'd allow it since she sees them trying to chase her. this would be a lot of communication between lae'zel and tav as lae'zel has her own intimacy issues since she saw it as a priority. she'd try her best to understand her partner after a bit of convincing since she will be pent up on her own. if tav decides to sleep with lae'zel for the first time, it would require even more communication and groundwork/rules so it would be comfortable for tav and lae'zel would learn that even softness can be erotic and enjoyable.

shadowheart would use this information as blackmail should it come to that with an 'understanding' ear, relating because she cannot remember her first time. she'd mostly see them as a friend she shared a potential wine-drunk kiss with. she would try to build up their intimacy by asking them to meditate with her and try to get them to talk about why they think they may have intimacy issues/wait to have sex, but this time just as knowledge instead of blackmail. she wouldn't want to make them do anything either since she is focused on her mission. after her mission depending on the choices, dark justiciar shadowheart would want to 'cure' tav of their 'ailment' to help them process and move forward, not so they can sleep together, but truly out of the goodness of her heart. selunite shadowheart would be ready to sleep with tav whenever as part of her new path of accepting her fears and would hope they would be comfortable enough with her to do the same.

karlach would want to help tav the best she could, knowing how it is wanting to do something like that, but not be able to. they would find non-touching ways to show intimacy (mostly out of necessity) but it would help build their bond and ease any insecurities tav may be harboring since physicalities are out of the way for now. once they can touch, karlach has to keep herself together like wyll since as excited as she is, she doesn't want to alienate her partner by wanting to have sex right away and she also doesn't want to disappoint them by being their first when she's 'out of practice.' when they do have sex, it's very passionate as karlach lets tav take the lead on what they do and how they do it, stopping if things get overwhelming.

astarion wouldn't know what to do with tav at first since his plan would fall apart immediately. he wouldn't want to force himself on them since he isn't compelled to and wouldn't want to put his safety at risk by doing that either. so he plays the long game, seeing what tav likes and dislikes. he will butter them up with compliments and pick up lines that work in the past while allowing them into his space without expecting anything in return. since he feeds on them, it's easier if they share bedrolls which is a lot for the both of them. tav at first prefers to have their rolls next to each other so there's a closeness, but still a barrier and so astarion doesn't disturb their rest since he doesn't sleep/meditate for too long. but slowly they get down to one bedroll and sharing body space becomes more common even if sex is not happening. by the time this happens however, astarion makes the decision that he himself is not ready for that type of relationship with tav, not wanting to feel the ick that he has when it comes to sex. if astarion stays a spawn, he will still take his time when it comes to tav and moving forward with sex. he is fine with small things like kisses and will start small with foreplay until they are both comfortable with going all the way. ascended astarion would not have the time and energy for tav. he would hold it over their head that since they are bound to him, so is their body. i don't think he would compel them to sleep with him, but he definitely would bring it up more often than tav would be comfortable with.

halsin would be understanding with tav, praising them for at least being upfront and honest about their situation. he knows it's not easy to have intimacy issues as he has his own. If he senses tav is interested in him, he would be respectful of their boundaries, widdle trinkets while they have time near each other. he would also try to find something in nature similar to tav in hopes of them understanding they are not alone. if they choose him, he would try his best to contain himself as he knows the bear form would be absolutely too much for tav even if they think it wouldn't.

minthara wouldn't understand unless it was a reason caused by someone else because she would vow to end the person who caused harm to tav and caused their issues. if it doesn't stem from that, it would take her mind a little bit to understand why tav has waited and their issues. she would wait until they're ready and hope it wouldn't affect how tav is out on the battlefield. as the two get closer, she would be more willing to spend time with them by showing her culture if they aren't drow or duegar, and just spend time with them the best they could. if they choose her for their first time, it would be an intense, but enjoyable time. i don't know how she would react to a drow male having these issues however. i think she would have to do a lot of self-reevaluating and reprogramming her mind from lolth to be able to accept them and move forward.

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imagineitdearies · 2 months ago

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Hey I loved loved loved your fanfiction as I’m sure everyone here did but now I, going through withdrawals I can’t find anything similar or as good as yours. So I’m curious what your favourite bg3 fanfiction are?

Hey there!! Awww, thank you ☺️ I sort of got super focused on writing PS for a while there, so I can't say I know of all The GreatsTM in this fandom. I will share what I have enjoyed/am currently reading though (almost all of it involving Astarion), but anyone else should feel free to add your favs in the comments!!

As always, please check tags and read at your own discretion!

Finished ones I've enjoyed:

Seducere by Tlon ~ Astarion/nb!Tav ~ Astarion doesn’t need a reflection to know himself – two hundred years of servitude has shown him exactly what he’s good for. Odd that his new partner seems to disagree.

Nothing is safe by foxflowering ~ Wyll/Astarion ~ "Wyll's the sort of prince-type I would have once dreamed of marrying. When I was about thirteen."

Carving through the dark by skitter ~ Astarion/f!Tav ~ Wren and Astarion descend into the Underdark in search of a new purpose, and learn a few things along the way. Namely, that healing isn't linear and sometimes love takes the long way round.

Astarion Origin Party Nonsense by starkraving ~ Astarion/Karlach; Astarion/Cazador, sort of Astarion/Wyll? ~ A collection of things that ostensibly happen in the same little mental universe. Loosely based on the events of an Origin Astarion run and the various questions it inspired. (All but one in the series is finished so I'm counting it, lol!)

All Our Missing Parts by Viraaja ~ Astarion/Halsin ~ Halsin discovers Astarion was turned before his maturity and all the sacred elven rites that come along with it. Including the sex one.

Friday Nights by SadinaSaphrite ~ Astarion/Gale ~ Professor Gale Dakarios loses his research, his magic, and his lover Mystra all at once and only has himself to blame. When he goes to drown his sorrows, he meets a pale stranger with mysteries of his own.

visions of your love by LargeOctahedron, notyournoise ~ Shadowheart/f!Tav ~ Shadowheart is tired of doubting - of feeling her heart twist whenever she looks at Tav without knowing whether they feel the same. One night, tired of sitting and hoping Tav will approach, she tries to read their mind, only to find them in a rather compromising position.

WIPs I'm following:

Palmarosa by thespectaclesofthor ~ Astarion/Raphael ~ Astarion is stuck in the darkness once more, yearning for sunlight with every fibre of his being, while bitterly reflecting on all the things that were denied to him. Raphael knows Astarion's desperate, and comes to him with not one, but two horrid contract offers that Astarion loathes and dreads in equal measure - but the prize at the end of both are too good to turn down.

To Defy the Gods by ~ Shadowheart/Tav ~ Dark Justiciar. Mother Superior. Shar's Voice Made Flesh. Her Chosen. Shadowheart had emptied her heart of falsehoods, of the illusion of life and love, and accepted the inevitability of loss. Almost.

A Dog's Retreat by ~ Halsin & Astarion, past Astarion/Cazador ~ For most, it was just the end of the Absolute. For Astarion, it was the end of two hundred years of agony. And the transition is steep and slippery. Now, all he can do is hope that there are enough pieces of him left for him to pick up and somehow put back together. Too bad hope has never been Astarion’s poison of choice.

A Warm House, A Ruddy Fire by DepravedJJJSchmidt ~ trans!Astarion/Cazador, trans!Astarion/m!Tav ~ Mr. and Mrs. Cazador Szarr have an ideal marriage. Astarion doesn't know if he will be able to survive another year of it. (And I don't know if I'll survive another chapter tbh, but like a burning building I can't look away 😬)

Alright, that's all I can think of! I'm a bit distracted all over again thanks to the original novel I'm working on now, but hopefully you find something new on this list you end up enjoying 🩵 this fandom is full of so many talented people!!

#fic: perfect slaughter #ask me anything #ask me anything: non ps #bg3 fanfiction #bg3 fanfic rec #baldur's gate 3

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meanbossart · 3 months ago

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Hiya! Thank you for that fantastic art of the two of them in the Bhaalist AU.

I've kind of been assuming that in the Bhaalist AU, everyone except Astarion got their bad end. Is Shadowheart a Dark Justiciar in this timeline? Also... did Drow rejoin the efforts to take over the Sword coast with the absolute, even if temporarily? Since we only see the one stone in the piece, but that doesn't mean he isn't hiding the other two elsewhere, like in his side? Did he help destroy the brain anyway, and just keep the stone for the sake of showing off?

Soooo basically I don't find the evil endings to the game particularly interesting. They are very, well, final, and with some exceptions imply that everyone around you is now a mindless zombie with no free will of their own. That's not very rich grounds for creative writing (or I'm just not that creative LOL).

So you can assume that in this timeline that I have going on with Bhaalist DU Drow, the goals all remain the same but they just aren't as simple as the game makes them for you. The control of the brain is still a work in progress/unstable, and the stones, while all in DU drow's possession, remain split, and their main use now is really as a bargaining chip as he attempts to grow his own influence and the cult's.

I think Shadowheart would have followed the same path as she did in the "canon" run (since Du Drow didn't have to persuade her to spare the Nightsong either way) but then given to Viconia in act 3 after they grew apart as DU Drow dug his heels deeper and deeper. Gale would have been killed because the last thing DU Drow wants is another god to compete with, as well as the Emperor, Orpheus, and Karlach. I don't know if there's any universe where this is possible, but I could see him also pushing Wyll to take over his father's role as duke and swaying him to operate in a way that is favorable to Bhaal's plans. Maybe we can have evil Wyll, as a treat 🤔

Sarevok is dead. Halsin is dead. Jaheira is dead but Bhaalist DU did try to get her to come to his side. Astarion spends his days lounging dramatically in bed, wearing beautiful flowy clothes and reminding DU Drow about how great and powerful he is while trying not to roll his eyes. He wears the stone all the time and really resents it.

#ask #bhaalist du drow #bg3 spoilers

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shadowshrike · 2 months ago

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I just realized I'm missing a fun detail in my post about Halsin's treatment of Astarion's Ascension - his reaction to asking a story of the player in the Epilogue if the player is Ascended Astarion.

For those who don't know, the stories you can give Halsin in the Epilogue change depending on what character you play and the circumstances of your character at endgame. There are almost 30 different possible lines.

It always starts the same way:

Halsin: Please, spare no details. I shall not lie - I have an ulterior motive in wishing to hear all. It is the children, you see. My charges. Halsin: Their appetite for bedtime tales is greater than I could ever have anticipated: 'Another story, Daddy Halsin, another!' is the chorus that greets me each nightfall. Halsin: They have all but exhausted my repertoire in but a few short months - no mean feat, given the lifetime I have lived. I desperately need new material, please. My reputation is at stake. Player: All right, let me see what I have... Halsin: I am all ears. Though I never cared for that phrase. A rather unsettling image...

When playing Ascended Origin Astarion, this is the exchange afterward:

Astarion: My tales are a little heavy on murder and sex. But if the children want to hear them... Halsin: Hmm. Perhaps I can substitute the bloodlust and... eh, general lust for cuddles and animals in the retelling. The children may be confused, but no matter - they will soon be asleep. Halsin: Even with a few little white lies, rest assured that they shall be engrossed. Thank you.

The audio of Halsin's initial reaction for your listening pleasure:

Halsin's awkward fumbling for a way to somehow make use of Astarion's tales about murder and sex in bedtime stories for the children is the funniest thing to me. He could just say "You know what? I appreciate the stories, but maybe your flavor of adventure would be better for the kids once they're older." That's what he does with his own raunchy stories, after all.

Player: I expect you'll have a few tales that will need to wait until they are older. Halsin: More than a few, I should think. At least I shall be equipped to explain the birds and the bees when the time comes, but I hope that time is quite a while off yet.

He even does it to Dark Justiciar Shadowheart:

Shadowheart: Tell Halsin of how you consolidated your power over Lady Shar's church, purging the disloyal with bloody vigor. Halsin: My. Perhaps a tale for the older children, once I trim off a few of the... less savoury details. But thank you, all the same.

But no, Halsin is going to somehow force Lord Astarion's stories to be safe for the little kiddos. It's hilarious to imagine him feeling the need to make big, bad Astarion and his life of debauchery feel included in Halsin's own more bucolic existence. He may accept Astarion's wild stories into his repertoire, but Halsin is internally making note that Lord Astarion is absolutely not a good fit to ever become "Uncle Astarion". Some friends (or lovers) are only for adults to meet.

And, because I know some will be curious about how this compares to his other ends, Halsin's need to censor Astarion's stories is actually true for every version of Astarion. I just find his Ascended version is just the most blatant about it, though he's amusingly almost equally uncomfortable with a Spawn Astarion who has killed Cazador:

(Spawn, Cazador dead) Astarion: I've been revelling in my freedom, rediscovering the joys of the night. Halsin: Sanguine joys, no doubt? Perhaps I shall smoothen out some of those details - the children do not need to know the full truth of your diet. But they shall be rapt all the same, thank you.

The version where you've chosen not to kill Cazador before finishing the game is censored in a much different way, essentially turning Astarion's depressing story into one of perseverance.

(Spawn, Cazador alive) Astarion: Halsin, I've been hiding in sewers and eating rats. It's not a glorious tale. Halsin: Ah, but the glory can be found in the telling. The children love tales of underdogs, facing odds most unlikely. They shall appreciate your story, trust me.

You could dive into a huge analysis about this particular response regarding the morality of shielding children from unhappy endings and the enticing nature of stories about 'nobility in poverty', but that's a heavy philosophical debate I don't feel is suited for this silly little post. I just find these bonus endcaps really fun for the few who have persevered through an entire Origin run, and it's an extra crumb for the few who enjoy Ascended Astarion's odd chemistry with Halsin.

#baldur's gate 3 #ascended astarion #halsin #astarion #analysis #bg3

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arainaizevran · 1 year ago

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Origin Shadowheart has some unique dialogue options for Wyll's act 3 romance scene:

Wyll: I love you. Will you be mine - today, and tomorrow, and reaching into eternity?

Justiciar SH choices:

Eternity will yield to Lady Shar's darkness, eventually. If you are content to share me with her... I accept.

Lady Shar may not approve of such a commitment... but you can make it up to her, surely. Take the acorn.

I'm not sure I can promise eternity - Lady Shar demands fealty... this is a lot to take in.

Enemy of Shar SH choices:

Sometimes I feel like I never had a yesterday. But that doesn't mean I can't have a tomorrow. Yes, I am yours.

I'm not sure I can promise you that much. After Shar, I need to live my own life. This is a lot to take in.

The "I'm not sure" response leads to this:

Wyll: It is. I swear, I've lived a thousand lives since I've known you. But I'm ready to live a thousand more, if you can bear me.

Justiciar SH: I am Lady Shar's - she will always come first. But if you are content to share me with her... I accept.

Enemy of Shar SH: Bear you? My life didn't start until we met. Of course I want to be with you.

There's also a unique line for Justiciar SH to offer a night together instead of committing to marriage:

SH: I cannot promise you eternity - I belong to Lady Shar. But even she will not begrudge me tonight, if you wish...

Which of course leads to a DC 20 Persuasion roll, and the responses are the same just like with regular Tav.

#.txt #baldur's gate 3 #shadowheart #wyll #wyll ravengard #shadowheart x wyll #wyll x shadowheart #bg3 #bg3 spoilers #*

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ravel-puzzlewell · 1 year ago

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can we talk about shadowheart tho. her writing absolutely baffles me. like. when she admits she's shar's cleric, she gives u a speech about how shar is misunderstood and that like she's all about exposing bad ppl, toppling corrupt governments, using shady methods to get shit done, etc.

cool, so she believes that shar achieves good goals, so like. to me it seemed that her arc would be about realizing how it's not true, becoming disillusioned in shar, cue good old thats me in the corner losing my religion etc etc

and it just never happens? like we see a lot of evil shit shar has done all over the place and shadowheart never questions it, never even tries to rationalize the answers to keep her faith, its like she just doesn't care. and we as a player can't confront her either, we can't say shadowheart do you think shar successfully utilized girlpower when she cursed entire region with radioactive shadows and split it's spirit in half? instead we find like. shar's torture device secret chamber and shadowheart goes awww i wanna be a dark justiciar so baaaaaad

and then. then at culmination, at scene where she's deciding to kill aasimar or not, you can't give her arguments. you can't be like look at everything that shar has done all over this place, do you still believe this is for greater good? what greater good can justify this? what higher purpose is there in senselessly killing a prisoner again and again?

no you can only say like. you can't allow your goddess to control you! what do you meeean. like??? this isn't how faith works. clerics supposed to like. BELIEVE in the same things their god does. so far shadowheart was pro-everything shar-related she saw. she's like. enthusiastically into it. even if she's brainwashed, she still very much WANTED to be dark justiciar. and now it's all - oh, its shar "controlling" her. like. Shadowheart even said that shar's head nun or whatever told her that she isn't ready to become dark justiciar. This is very much shadowheart's own initiative. Why is it framed around like listening to yourself, instead of changing BELIEFS?

and THEN. after she doesn't kill. aasimar says. "Don't you find it oh so curious you would spurn your Dark lady? Perhaps you feel a stirring of the truth already" and then later reveal that shadowheart was like. selunite kidnapped by shar ppl. and this is why she didn't kill aasimar. WHICH??

like apparently shadowheart is the first to show mercy in a century not because she had a chance to live outside of cult for a while, meet and befriend new people and broaden her worldview, realizing her cults doctrine is false. no no no. she did it bc she's just INHERENTELY a good person. she just like. had intrusive thoughts urging her to be good. she just needed listen to herself. bc she's actually a selunite and not sharran. and like, all other dark justiciar apparently are just inherently evil and it was never possible for them to choose not to kill.

like how do you take a perfectly serviceable narrative about cult member escaping brainwashing due to being able to socialize outsife of her cult and instead make it about Selunite essentialism.

#brainworms gate #there are two genders selune and shar #and evil shar endocrinologists are just waiting to kidnap innocent selunite children and turn them into sharrans #but their true selunite nature will always prevail~~~~

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eldritchelfwriter · 3 months ago

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What might have happened for Shadowheart & Florwyn after Reaching For You?

Massive spoiler zone for Reaching For You, the Dark Justiciar redemption one shot over on AO3, so don't read if you haven't read that!

Originally I was just going to type up some thoughts about things that might have happened next but instead I've ended up stream of consciousness writing the whole plot of a sequel story that I strenuously advise that I will never write. Don't consider this 'canon', it's just thoughts that flowed out, have your own head canons for sure.

Apologies that there are a couple of REDACTED's where there's something that hasn't been revealed in Shadowheart Begins yet that I don't want to spoil, but I think it would be relevant here.

There are 3,000 words coming so grab a cup of tea.

* * *

Florwyn and Shadowheart have finally reunited, but they have a long way to go, to find their new way as a couple and as individuals.

Florwyn is mindful of not wanting to push too hard and fast after everything Shadowheart’s been through, and they are both a little awkward with each other at first. Shadowheart has her own room in the castle and space to rest. She sleeps a lot, in the first couple of weeks after her ordeal in the Harper safehouse.

Shadowheart is privately a little afraid to be alone, but doesn’t tell Florwyn. Fortunately, Cirrus the dog, of his own accord has taken to sleeping at the end of Shadowheart’s bed, rather than Florwyn’s.

She has a lot of nightmares about Shar, and every day she wakes up wondering if being here, with Florwyn, is real, or if she’s dreaming. Then, a soft knock on the door each day at the same time reminds her it’s all real, and she sees Florwyn bringing her tea in bed with that patient and loving look in her eyes … every day, tea and a chaste kiss while Shadowheart recovers and starts to make the first steps toward being a person without Shar. They are very polite with one another, still trying to find their way. And for Shadowheart, receiving any kind of kindness at all feels overwhelming. Frequently she is secretly in tears when Florwyn leaves, just to be cared for.

One day, Florwyn pulls open the curtains in Shadowheart’s room and the light that pours in doesn’t scare Shadowheart any more. She greets Shadowheart, gives her her morning tea and leans in for her kiss, but this time, Shadowheart asks her to wait a moment. Placing the cup of tea on the bedside table, with nervous hands, Shadowheart pulls Florwyn in for a kiss that is anything but chaste and leaves them both dazed.

“I love you,” Shadowheart whispers. It’s the first time she’s said it since that moment in the Harper safehouse.

And Florwyn can see, there’s new life, and new spark in Shadowheart’s eyes.

“I love you, too,” Florwyn whispers back, heartened.

It’s a new day in every way, and this time, Shadowheart and Florwyn spend the whole day together, as Florwyn shows her properly around both the castle, and some of the grounds, Cirrus gambolling along at their sides.

That night, they resume their old habit, of reading together with a drink, but this time it is in front of a fire in the lounge – a room that is covered in books from wall to wall, save for the fireplace. Their eyes wander over the top of their books at each other frequently.

As much as Florwyn is mindful of Shadowheart’s recovery and the big personal journey she has ahead of her, Shadowheart is also mindful of how much she hurt Florwyn all those years ago. Florwyn’s heart is still tender both from that hurt, and the loss of her wife. She doesn’t want to push too far and crush the fragile thing they have between them, any more than Florwyn does. Just holding each other and a few kisses feels like a great deal as it is, given how affection-starved Shadowheart (and Florwyn) have been for a long time.

Night time reading and drinks continues for a while, the space between them growing ever more electric, and then Florwyn leaning herself comfortably against Shadowheart turns into a fierce desire in Shadowheart to kiss her that she cannot and does not ignore. The stories they had been reading soon topple to the floor as they kiss and slowly, almost gingerly allow their hands to roam and relearn the feel of each other. And then they are holding each other for so long, that they fall asleep on the sofa and wake up in each other’s arms to Cirrus licking both of their faces, wondering where his breakfast is.

The next night, it’s even more electric and neither can read at all. They once again end up making out but suddenly stopping when things are about to get frisky. And Florwyn asks, “can I ask, why you stopped?” and basically, Shadowheart is like “I was stopping for you because seemed like you wanted to take things slow,” and Florwyn is like “oh I was being extra respectful of you” and they both realise they absolutely want to fuck each others pants off and there is no reason not to, so they do just that right there and then in front of the fire, and all is wonderful in the world as they both realise just how much they still love each other, after the intensity of the time with the Harpers and then the sudden change to being just alone together.

They move into the same room together and wake up beside each other every day now, because there’s no need to hold back from the fact that they’re both utterly besotted with each other.

There are good days and bad days for Shadowheart. Sometimes she is so filled with grief and regret she cannot get out of bed. On others, she finds Florwyn on the castle rooftop experimenting with sorcery, or takes Cirrus on rambles through the countryside, or tries her hand at baking and other little domestic thing, trying to take care of Florwyn and be as thoughtful of her as much as Florwyn has been of Shadowheart.

Florwyn can see that this life here is a little lonely for Shadowheart, but they have to be pretty careful about going out given Shadowheart has a lot of enemies and did essentially just abandon the Sharran church which has now indeed been decreed illegal. Florwyn sends out letters to Karlach and Astarion who each visit separately. (Karlach incidentally, did not have her heart fixed as per Shadowheart Begins, because Shadowheart never met Yrre. She went to Avernus with Wyll and they eventually found a cure there).

Things are a little frosty at first with Karlach, Shadowheart still feeling hurt by her sense of rejection in the aftermath of her decision at the Gauntlet. But Karlach is nothing if not forgiving and loving and also just incredibly proud of her for finally choosing the light, and it’s hard to stay mad at Karlach, so things melt between them fairly quickly. It feels even easier with Astarion, because he is a person who made a fair few questionable choices in life, so she feels like she isn’t being judged by him, for all that she is facing up to the enormity of the consequences and loss her decisions have brought about.

Eventually though, it becomes clear that Shadowheart needs a life of her own, not just being inserted into Florwyn’s. She feels useless without her power, and her religion, and is still trying to build up her sense of self. She needs something of her own, to fill the gap where her old life use to be.

Jaheira comes to stay and while her and Florwyn are catching up, Shadowheart goes on a walk on the rocky shore by the castle, just thinking about stuff. And there she finds an osprey with a broken wing. It breaks her heart that she cannot heal any more. And something in her needs to see that osprey fly again. She gathers it up, paying no mind to its slashing claws leaving deep cuts in her arms as the frightened bird is taken to the castle, to Jaheira.

Florwyn is immediately freaked out to see how badly Shadowheart’s arms are bleeding, but Shadowheart is only interested in whether Jaheira can heal the bird – not her. She isn’t even bothered by the pain, what is pain to an ex-Sharran, anyway? Jaheira seems to understand what is going through Shadowheart’s mind better than Florwyn. She heals the bird first, and Shadowheart’s arms second.

The bird picks himself up, and Shadowheart watches him fly off, until she can’t make him out any more, feeling teary. She had needed to see that broken things could be healed. She is a broken thing that needs healing herself. And she wants to be able heal again, somehow. That was the only thing that had felt good, under Shar. Perhaps in healing others, she can start to heal all of her own wounds. People have burned her time and time again … but animals don’t judge. Perhaps she could start there. Only … she isn’t a cleric any more, and she’s not in any shape to commit to any gods right now.

Jaheira doesn’t seem surprised, when Shadowheart asks her if she can teach her druidcraft. And when she learns to talk to animals it’s as though a whole new world opens to her. The osprey becomes her friend, as well as other creatures that roam near the castle. Every time Jaheira visits, there is more to learn, and she spends the time in between working hard to master what Jaheira has taught her, with Florwyn’s proud encouragement.

As she works, she begins to come to terms more and more with the darkness she was not only involved in, but actually helped propagate. She wonders what became of the cloister, and who is in charge now. She has a feeling will be XYZ, her former ruthless deputy. And as she works through the things she ordered and was part of as the head of the Baldur’s Gate church, eventually, everything comes back to where it all really started – the decision that changed everything, killing the Nightsong, Selune’s daughter. No apologies she makes can ever take back everything she’s done, everything she’s part of, but she needs to start somewhere.

On a moonlit night, by herself, she tearfully apologises to Selune. And she feels a sense of a mother’s grieving heart understanding the grief she herself feels for her own, fucked up life and everything she’s done. And she feels forgiveness. “Why? How could you? After what I did? What I’ve done?” She asks, weeping. Selune shows her the true memory of what happened the night she was taken which kind of breaks her, but now she knows the truth, and Selune tells her that it is remarkable that she has been able to turn to the light after all that was taken from her, all the brainwashing she was subjected to. Selune, too, is sorry for what happened to her as a child and what she was subjected to since. Selune tells her to find her own path and as a result of the meeting, she is a circle of the moon druid multiclassed with life domain cleric.

There comes a time though, when the sporadic lessons with Jaheira aren’t enough, when Shadowheart needs more. She needs to find what she is capable of, and who she is, and to do that, she will need to go out into the world and leave Florwyn behind for a while, not just slot into Florwyn’s life. It will be a risk to be out in the world, when there will be Sharrans with a grudge, but staying safe and isolated isn’t going to help her grow.

Their farewell lovemaking is desperate, their parting heartwrenching, and Shadowheart leaves the castle and joins Jaheira and the Harpers, so that she can learn “on the job” with Jaheira. It feels good to do some good in the world – she wants to do some good in the world, after all the darkness she once spread. It feels like she’s starting to pay off a debt by putting some good into the world.

But she can’t be known as Shadowheart, out in the world where there are angry Sharrans. Jaheira asks her to pick a new name and she shrugs and says the first name that comes to mind.

“Call me Jenevelle.”

She doesn’t even know where she’s heard the name before, but it has a familiar ring to it.

Gradually she rises through the ranks of the Harpers, gaining respect. She doesn’t see Jaheira as often as time goes by, but when they do there is a fair bit of banter and jokes that she had better not piss off her “mother-in-law.”

For a few years Shadowheart and Florwyn’s relationship is long distance, seeing each other for odd weekends or weeks here and there where their reunions are desperate and intense and buoyant until the inevitable crushing moment of departure. They send each other regular, heartfelt letters, each savouring the arrival of a new letter, and treasuring the letters and rereading them often.

Meanwhile, Shadowheart realises the strange patterns she is seeing in the work the Harpers are undertaking follows a plan that had been devised by her deputy in the cloister that she had shelved. She knows who took over at the cloister after her now.

While she and the Harpers are working to take down the (now illegal) Sharran organisation, Florwyn is reflecting on what she wants in life too. She had been living a life of almost complete solitude for so long, something that Zeera couldn’t handle (hence frequent travels to visit friends), and it obviously isn’t suitable for Shadowheart either. She realises she has become what she has always despised – she’s become a bit like a wizard in an ivory tower but a castle instead. REDACTED.

The castle and its everchanging weather is brilliant for a storm sorcerer, surrounded as she is by an ever-chorus of wind that never leaves her feeling alone, but it’s gloomy and lonely for anyone else. Perfect if she wants to be alone all of her life. But she doesn’t want that, she loves Shadowheart too much. They’ll need to come up with a new dream for life together, if this is going to work.

The letters continue, and Shadowheart is becoming more confident. She can’t change her past, but the future is in her hands, and she’s shaping it herself now.

Shadowheart and the Harpers manage to fight and disband the Sharran organisation, and Shadowheart can only pity her old deputy. She can’t believe she used to be part of all that.

Then one day, Shadowheart receives a letter from Florwyn telling her that Cirrus has died. And something in Shadowheart knows that she is done here now, and it is time to move forward with something new. She and Jaheira, whom she is quite close to by now, talk long into the night.

Florwyn runs out to greet her when she returns home, flinging their arms around each other as Florwyn weeps, Shadowheart feeling rather weepy too, but not just because of the dog. Because Florwyn’s arms are where she belongs now. She feels worthy of Florwyn, and like she can be an equal partner to her now.

Florwn exclaims over Shadowheart’s new hair cut and style, which felt like an important step for Shadowheart in defining the new her, and for a few days they are caught up in the excitement of being together again, of kissing, and holding and making love and all the wonderful little things about each other. It feels like their love has only deepened through their time apart.

Florwyn is of course expecting Shadowheart to leave again soon. But she can see how much more confident, and happy Shadowheart is. She likes these changes in her, she can see that this time she has had has been good for. But it also makes her heart hurt to think that perhaps she is too unexciting for Shadowheart, because she feels deep in her heart that this visit is the end of something, though she doesn’t know what yet.

Then Shadowheart gets up the courage to tell Florwyn that Jaheira has given her a job offer, something different to what she was doing before. Something she would enjoy, and would enable her to keep doing good. But it would mean moving closer to the city … would … is there any chance … would Florwyn come with her?

Florwyn’s tears make Shadowheart think the worst until Florwyn flings her arms around her and says of course my love, anywhere you are is my home. And Florwyn explains she had been thinking much the same sort of thing, and that she’d like to dream anew with Shadowheart, something for both of them. And so they leave the castle behind.

To the small farming community nearby, they know they can go to ‘Jenevelle the healer’ any time – whether for themselves or their livestock. But to Harper trainees, the little wildlife rehabilitation centre she and Florwyn run is a secret training centre for twelve weeks of the year. Here they learn about subterfuge, and spying and all the things that Shadowheart learned as a Sharran that were intended for dark deeds but which she teaches both for good, and so that the Harper trainees can understand the enemies they are up against. Here, also, Shadowheart trains animals as messengers for the Harpers.

Here also the arcanists among the Harpers learn to spot arcane traps and the like from Florwyn. REDACTED.

They go into the city sometimes, to purchase more books of course, but also to visit Alfira’s school. Alfira doesn’t say anything, but she has suspicions about who Florwyn’s druid/healer partner ‘Jenevelle’ might really be.

One day when there are no Harper trainees, and Shadowheart is outside planting vegetables, while her dogs and other animals play around her, a voice calls out in greeting.

It’s a surprise visit from Jaheira, who has become as much a mother to Shadowheart, as she has to Florwyn. For the first time Jaheira doesn’t just seem old, she seems frail. But she is pleased to see Shadowheart. She is ushered excitedly in by both Florwyn and Shadowheart, and eventually, after the initial catch ups, Jaheira gives them her news. She is retiring from the Harpers – for good this time.

She is proud, so proud of them both. Her stay with them is short, but somehow, it feels like she is saying goodbye without saying goodbye, as she hints that there is only one last great adventure for her now, and it’s nearly time.

They are both try not to weep and cling to her when she leaves, but she puts up with them. But she seems excited for a new adventure again, something completely different. It is clear from the way she talks that she is looking forward to being reunited with Khalid.

Things would have gone very different for both of them, if not for Jaheira. Two orphans who were lucky enough to have someone take them under their wing and give them a guiding hand and a bit of love. Is that something they would want to do for others one day, too? Something to think about …

Holly, their silly Irish setter bunts her head into them, wanting a pat, breaking the moment. And then Shadowheart takes Florwyn’s hand, and says, “come on, love. Let’s go inside.”

They are both home. Because home will always be with each other. But perhaps, there could be room for more, in the home of love they’ve built.

Once again it is the end of something. But perhaps, it could be a start to something else, too.

* * * * * *

For the record I felt very teary when it came to saying that Florwyn and Shadowheart were having time apart, and I straight up started crying at the Jaheira bit at the end.

If you have guessed the parts that are redacted, I'd appreciate if you could keep them to yourself and out of the comments for the moment so that it will hopefully be a surprise for readers of Shadowheart Begins when the reveal comes. :) (I have no intention of revealing or confirming in advance what it is).

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