#so the start of act 1 was just gale being down two turns in

[stephart09]

POV: you forgot to cast mage armor and now the wizard is down

[thechaoticdruid]

[Firsts] (1/2)

Pairing: Astarion x Named F!Tav

Plot: Astarion's been acting way too flirty lately. Seriously it was starting to weird Winnie out. She knew the man flirted with pretty much everyone in the group, but lately since she'd given him a taste of her blood it seemed much more targeted at her and very aggressive. Could he actually be attracted to her? Pfft! No way!

Content/Warnings: Sexual themes, sexual humor, light smut, no actual sex yet, making out, dry humping, groping, violence, blood, death, Winnie has very low self esteem, Astarion being a perv, Virgin MC, Astarion bullies Gale, Gale has one sided crush on MC, oblivious MC, Astarion being Astarion, body issues.

Second part: [2/2]

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Things had kinda been weird for Winnie ever since she'd discovered one of her companions was a vampire. Astarion had always been rather flirtatious with the members of their merry band of weirdos, but now it was different. Ever since he'd gotten a taste of her blood his flirtations seem much more targeted towards her. 

Winnie would most often brush them aside. It didn't mean anything after all. Either Astarion was just a naturally flirty person or he wanted to butter her up so she'd be more likely to let him have more of her blood. The female druid was certain these flirtations weren't anything serious. 

Men like Astarion did not pursue women like Winnie. The human female wasn't exactly sure anyone would ever pursue her, but it definitely wouldn't be someone as breathtakingly beautiful as the pale elf. 

Winnie glanced around the blighted village before pushing through the door of an old abandoned house as she began to remember something one of the elder druids in her circle said when she was a child. “She's nothing but a weed amongst the flowers.” The old bitch had said.  Winnie rolled her eyes with a sigh as the others scouted the area.

“This looks like a suitable place to make camp.” Gale stated, looking around.

“It'll serve.” Lae'zel added and dropped her pack on the ground near an old fireplace. 

“It'll be nice to at least have a roof over our heads for once.” Shadowheart chimed in as she walked over and glanced over an arrangement of books that littered one of the walls. 

“Pft, if you can even call it that! This hovel is practically crumbling!” Astarion exclaimed.

“If you'd prefer to sleep elsewhere, be my guest.” Winnie replied before setting her own things down.

Wyll looked over the fireplace and checked around the house for any fire wood, but unfortunately there didn't appear to be any in sight. 

“We might want to go find some wood to build a fire before nightfall.” He suggested.

“I can do that.” Winnie stood up, “I'll see if there's anything else we can scavenge nearby.” 

“I'll go with you. It would only be the gentlemanly thing to do, accompanying a lady.” Gale piped up.

“Yeah sure, come if you want.” Winnie shrugged before turning and leaving the ruined house.

Gale followed after her before the two were also accompanied by Astarion.

“I’m coming too.” He said, sauntering up behind Winnie. 

“I'm surprised Astarion. I didn't think manual labor was your forte, nor yours either Gale.” The druid female hummed.

“Well I'm not about to let you go and do all the work alone!” The wizard added.

“And I never said I was going to help, watch Gale fail miserably to impress you perhaps, but I am certainly not going to risk damaging these nails for firewood.” Astarion sassed looking over his pointed vampire spawn claws with a pout.

Winnie rolled her eyes, ”good gods, might as well have let me go alone.” The druid female muttered, walking off ahead of the two men. Her eyes scanned the blighted village. The place was crawling with goblins and even though they let the party pass through on the count of them being ‘True Souls’ Winnie wasn't very convinced that they would be friendly enough to offer her group supplies. 

Her and the boys continued to search about, Astarion seeming all too pleased to give Gale a hard time today. Eventually after passing a large gate and strolling towards the edge of the ruined village the three adventures came across a shed.

Winnie stepped towards it, immediately coming to a halt as she began to hear low grunts and moans coming from the other side of the door.

“Oh dear….” Gale exclaimed, a look of horror adorning his bearded face.

“Do I even want to know…?” Winnie turned pale with disgust.

“I do! Sounds absolutely disgusting heh heh heh..”Astarion chuckled with a mischievous glint in his crimson red eyes. 

“You want to take a peek be my guest, but don't expect me to rush in after you.” Winnie rolled her eyes looking back at Astarion. 

“And here I thought you'd be interested in joining the fun, darling.” Astarion gave Winnie a wink before swinging the door open, a giddy shit eating grin spreading across the pale elf's face. 

“Oh gods….” Winnie gasped as she and Gale looked forward seeing a bugbear and a lady ogre in the ahem doggy style position. The two humans' faces were filled with horror and disgust while Astarion still had that same stupid grin on his face.

“WHAT THE HELLS ARE YOU DOING!?” The bugbear screamed as he pulled away from his lover. 

“Uh…. I'm very sorry! W-We were just leaving!” Winnie said nervously, face turning red in embarrassment.

“You two make a lovely couple by the way!” Gale said, trying to deflect any tension, but the two lovers did not seem to appreciate the compliment.

“Kinky.” Astarion clicked his tongue with a smirk. 

“MOMENT RUINED! I SMASH YOU!” The ogre suddenly pulled out a huge club and slammed it down right in Winnie's direction. Luckily the druid was able to leap back just in the nick of time. 

The bugbear began to charge in her direction only to receive an arrow to his shoulder, swiftly shot by Astarion who’d quickly climbed atop some nearby crates.  Winnie quickly unsheathed her scimitars from her back, rushing the bugbear and slashing him across the chest.  The she-ogre growled and took another swing at Winnie, prompting Gale to cast magic missile hitting both the ogre and bugbear. 

The bugbear let out a loud scream of pain before dropping down onto the ground.

“NO GRUKKOH!!!” The ogre shouted, tears welling up in her eyes before she glared at Gale with pure hate and rage. “YOU WILL DIE!!!!” 

Quickly before she can move to smite Gale with her club Astarion is quick to notch an arrow and fire it, hitting the ogre right in the left eye. Gale hits her with a bolt of lightning before Winnie makes a dash to run behind her. She then turns and uses her druidic magic to summon a vine from her hand and lasso the ogre’s leg, yanking on it hard. The beastly female tumbled back letting out a cry as she fell to the ground. 

Winnie then took the opportunity to leap up on top of her and slam her scimitars right down into the ogre’s chest, piercing her heart. Blood splattered upon the druid as she pulled her blades out of the she-beast’s chest, getting on her face and shoulders. She panted and hopped down off the large corpse. Astarion's ears turned a bit pink as he glanced over at the blood drenched female.  Honestly he had to admit…..That was kind of hot…

“A pity we had to put an end to the two lovers.” Gale spoke up.

“Better them than me.” Winnie said wiping a bit of blood off her face.

“Darling, hold on a moment. Allow me to help.” Astarion said, quickly rushing over to where the human female stood. Her strange fushia colored eyes looked back at him with curiosity. The vampire ran his thumb over her cheek, collecting a bit of blood before all too eagerly sucking it off his digit. His thumb pulled out of his mouth with a wet pop. “That was a very….enticing display you know?~” He purred seductively in her ear just quiet enough for Gale not to hear. 

“Uh…Thanks…” Winnie looked off to the side checks turning bright red. 

“Ahem! Well shouldn't we return to work? The sun’s nearly gone and we have yet to find some firewood!” Gale piped up, trying to change the subject before stepping in between the rogue and druid.

“Actually darling, I think our dear druid should probably take a rest. She did most of the fighting after all.” Astarion put his hand on Gale’s shoulder.  “And offering to get the firewood for her would definitely be the gentlemanly thing to do.” 

“You're not going to offer to help me are you?” Gale rose an eyebrow.

“Oh gods no! My dear wizard, you can't expect me to leave this sweet little thing all by herself?” Astarion said before moving piece of Winnie’s messy brown locks out of her face.

“I'm perfectly fine guys….I can actually just go get the wood by myself….” Winnie said feeling Astarion's hungry eyes leering at her. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. Why was he being so aggressive with his flirting today?

Winnie wasn't exactly too worn out, but at the same time she really didn't feel like feeding this overgrown mosquito tonight. Partially because she had been getting devoured by actual mosquitoes left and right since they’d wondering the wilderness. 

“I'm not sure if it's wise to leave a lamb alone with a wolf.” Gale gave Astarion a suspicious glare. 

“Hey! If anyone’s a wolf it's me!” Winnie pouted and crossed her arms. She was rather offended Gale didn't seem to acknowledge her most used wildshape.

“A wolf and a panther then.” Gale said.

“How dare you! I would never lay a finger on our darling leader!” Astarion crossed his arms.

“Okay, I think we've wasted enough time already.” Winnie said before wild-shaping into a black bear and wandering off to collect the wood herself.

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Later that evening after Winnie had brought back the firewood she shifted back into her human form and hid herself away from the others, making herself comfortable in what was left of the ruined house’s bedroom.  She glanced up at the mirror beside her, studying her face. Dark circles colored underneath her eyes, left by sleepless nights. Messy brown locks that never behaved no matter what she did.  A scarred lip from her first real battle. And her body oh how she despised it. It was far too plump for her tastes.

"Nothing but a weed amongst the flowers."

“Why would anyone ever fall in love with you? You're disgusting!”

“Just as fat as a deep rothé and twice as ugly!”

“She's definitely gonna die alone.”

Winnie’s brows knitted together before she stood up and slammed the mirror into the wall, shattering it into a million tiny pieces. She breathed in and out, taking a moment to process what she had just done. The young druid honestly had no idea what had come over her. Why were these tormentful thoughts all coming back now?

Surely there were better things to be thinking about!? The disgusting parasite in her brain for one! She needed to get it together, or risk turning into something much more grotesque.

Winnie needed to get some air. She left the house through the back entrance and stepped off into the nearby forest, breathing in and out slowly. She closed her eyes and just took a moment to listen to all the soothing sounds of nature. Frogs croaking, crickets chirping, an owl hooting above the trees and footsteps…

Wait, footsteps!?

Winnie quickly turned around, her hand reaching into her pack for a blade when she noticed a familiar pair of red eyes looking back at her.

“I was hoping I'd finally be able to get you alone.~” 

“Astarion? Look, I'm really not in the mood to give you blood tonight. Maybe tomorrow?” Winnie sighed and rubbed the back of her neck.

“Oh, I'm not here for that darling. I'm here for you.” Astarion approached, eyes looking her up and down as his perfect pretty lips formed a painfully fake looking smile.

“You need my help with something?” Winnie tilted her head in confusion.

“In a manner of speaking. I've grown rather attached to you if I'm honest.” Astarion placed a hand on his hip.

“Ah, well that's sweet of you to say. I'm really glad to have made some friends on this journey.” Winnie said with a smile. 

“Oh my sweet. I'm not talking about friendship. I'm talking about desire.~” Astarion leaned a bit closer. His breath hit Winnie’s face as he slightly towered over the short female.

“I…. Don't follow….” Winnie said awkwardly. Astarion blinked and then proceeded to pinch the bride of his nose.

“Oh for gods sake. SEX. Darling, I'm talking about sex.” Astarion said with annoyance, crossing his arms. Winnie’s face turned bright red as he finally spelled it out.  It finally explained why he seemed so aggressive with his flirting lately. But at the same time Winnie just couldn't believe Astarion was actually making a pass at her. Her of all people!

“You're joking, right?” Winnie chuckled nervously.

“Why would I be?” Astarion gave her a confused look.

“Wouldn't you rather spend a night with one of the others? Lae'zel or Shadowheart? Or maybe even Wyll?” Winnie asked.

“Ha! Please. As if I'd waste my time with one of them! I have standards, dear.” Astarion said sassily.

“I'm just…You have seen me right?” Winnie said, looking away shyly. Astarion couldn't help but frown for a moment. Winnie seemed very....well insecure. It was clear she didn't seem to believe he could in any way find her attractive. He was however quick to resume his flirty persona.

“Indeed, I have and I find you to be rather delectable looking.~” 

“Yeah, yeah stop messing with me, okay. It's not funny.” Winnie rolled her eyes and turned to leave. Astarion internally panicked. Fuck. He couldn't let her leave. It would completely ruin his plans! 

“I'm not! I crave you!” Astarion quickly grabbed hold of her and pinned her to a tree. Winnie let out a grunt before looking up and blushing darkly.

“I want to feel you squirm under me.~” He said huskily. Winnie was at a complete loss for words. What the hells was she even supposed to fucking say to that!? Her heart was pounding so fast and she honestly felt like if he said one more word she'd faint right there. “And I know you want me too.~ I've seen how you look at me. How your heart races when I'm near. And don't think I haven't noticed the little lustful glances you give my backside you naughty thing!~”

“I-I-I…OKAY YOU'VE MADE YOUR POINT!” Winnie said, and pushed against him, making him back up.  She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take before she suddenly melted into a puddle. Winnie was not used to this kind of attention at all. “Sorry I just…I'm not used to this…” Winnie said, a bit embarrassed, “feel like I'm going to explode…Heheh…”

“Cute.” Astarion smirked at Winnie’s nervousness.

“I've never been with anyone if I'm honest….Hells I’ve never even been kissed.” Winnie looked down, honestly feeling rather ashamed.

Oh gods, why did you say that!? Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! 

Astarion then gently took her hand, “I would be happy to teach you.” He said before planting a soft kiss on her hand. Winnie took a deep breath, nervousness filled her belly. She looked into his eyes and nodded, “okay.” 

Astarion cupped her cheek, his crimson red eyes staring into her pink ones as he rubbed a cold thumb over her cheek.  Winnie closed her eyes and puckered her lips, slowly anticipating for him to make the next move.  She felt his breath hit her face before his soft lips met her own. At first it was sweet and innocent, nothing but a chaste little peck. But then he pushed her back up against the tree and pressed his body against hers. Winnie gasped feeling Astarion grind himself against her, allowing him to snake his tongue into her mouth deeping their kiss. His free hand reached down to cup one of her ass cheeks, giving it a firm squeeze through her pants. 

“Mmmm!” Winnie moaned into his mouth, her arms slowly finding their way around his neck as she squirmed. She could feel a hard growing bulge prod her core as he pushed his hips against her own. His tongue swirled around her own, exploring and dominating her mouth, but eventually she was forced to pull back for air.  A string of saliva connected their mouths as they pulled back. Winnie panted, staring back at the vampire who was seductively licking his lips. One of his hands was still groping her ass. 

“A-Ah!~” The brunette haired druid let out a whimper as the elf pressed his clothed cock into her. 

“You make such adorable sounds, darling.” He purred before planting another kiss on her lips. Winnie quickly returned it before Astarion began to move down her jaw, trailing kisses lower. 

His tongue lapped over her neck before he quickly began to suck on the delicate skin eagerly.

He kept one hand on her ass while the other reached up to undo her the buttons of her shirt.

Winnie bit her lip as she felt the cool air hit her breasts, her nipples hardening quick.  

Astarion smirked, his eyes hungrily eyeing her well endowed assets. Who knew she could fit something so big under her shirt? If he'd known they were this large he'd have bedded her sooner. Astarion licked his lips before leaning in to plant a kiss on top of one of her breasts. Unfortunately before his mouth could make contact with her skin he ended up being rudely interrupted. 

“There you two are-” Gale's voice trailed off, his face turned bright red.

“Is everything okay….Oh….” Wyll’s eyes widened as he peaked out from behind Gale.

“What is it? Did something happen!? Oh well that's interesting…” Shadowheart said, appearing behind Wyll. 

“Chk! As expected. It was only a matter of time.” Lae'zel seemed completely unfazed as she stood beside Shadowheart.

“Ooh Winnie! Get it!” Karlach cheered, jumping out from behind the others, tail wagging with excitement.

“Do you fucking mind!?” Astarion hissed and pulled back, glaring at the others as Winnie quickly turned away and buttoned up her shirt.  This was so fucking embarrassing! Her pink eyes quickly scanned the area for a hole to crawl inside.

“And here I was worried you were planning on eating our dear friend. Although I suppose I'm technically not wrong….” Gale hummed.

To be continued………

Note From TheChaoticDruid: Just gonna say, the last part was inspired by an infamous Dragon Age Inquisition scene. XD And I was going to try to fit both parts into one, but it just got so long that I decided to cut it in half.

[atelierlili]

Katniss, Peeta, and the messy in between.

For a while I've been seeing the sentiment of blaming the distance between Katniss and Peeta after the 74th games on Peeta entirely and I think it's rather unfair. It's a messy situation involving two teenagers who are both valid in their feelings at this point in time.

There's multiple things going on at the end of book 1 in regards to Peeta's relationship with both Katniss AND Haymitch that it feel unfair to blame him, when Peeta, like Katniss, more often than not, is the last one to find out other people's intentions/plans, even from his own allies.

Now before I start, I feel like I must preface this by saying I'm not bashing anyone in this analysis so if you're gonna say something rude and mean about my babies, make that U turn cause I aint having it. Also I'm a yapper so this is gonna be really long lol.

It begins on the train tracks. Katniss and Peeta are walking along the tracks when Peeta picks her a small bouquet of wildflowers as Katniss is struggling to convey the kind of danger they are in, while also being paranoid that they're being watched. At this time, she also connects Gale to the wild flowers Peeta has picked for her and its adding her anxiety to the point where she can't even pretend to be happy at Peeta's gift. And that's something he picks up on.

When the train makes a brief stop for fuel, we’re allowed to go outside for some fresh air. There’s no longer any need to guard us. Peeta and I walk down along the track, hand in hand, and I can’t find anything to say now that we’re alone. He stops to gather a bunch of wildflowers for me. When he presents them, I work hard to look pleased. Because he can’t know that the pink and-white flowers are the tops of wild onions and only remind me of the hours I’ve spent gathering them with Gale.

“What’s wrong?” Peeta asks. “Nothing,” I answer. We continue walking, past the end of the train, out where even I’m fairly sure there are no cameras hidden in the scrubby bushes along the track. Still no words come. -THG - Chapter 27

Its not until Haymitch appears and drop the bomb and bows out that Peeta finally catches on that Katniss and Haymitch are still playing up the lover act without his knowledge.

Haymitch startles me when he lays a hand on my back. Even now, in the middle of nowhere, he keeps his voice down. “Great job, you two. Just keep it up in the district until the cameras are gone. We should be okay.” I watch him head back to the train, avoiding Peeta’s eyes. “What’s he mean?” Peeta asks me. “It’s the Capitol. They didn’t like our stunt with the berries,” I blurt out. “What? What are you talking about?”

“So, what you’re saying is, these last few days and then I guess . . . back in the arena . . . that was just some strategy you two worked out.” “No. I mean, I couldn’t even talk to him in the arena, could I?” I stammer. “But you knew what he wanted you to do, didn’t you?” says Peeta. I bite my lip. “Katniss?” He drops my hand and I take a step, as if to catch my balance. “It was all for the Games,” Peeta says. “How you acted.”

-THG - Chapter 27

The truth comes out. Uh oh. It seems this star crossed lovers act when on longer than Peeta expected. Granted, I don't recall him or Katniss ever making their status official, but somewhere between the cave and now, Peeta thought both him and Katniss were on the same page about their feelings. He's not wrong for thinking Katniss liked him back, she does, what he didn't account for is Katniss not knowing herself that she liked him back.

I think Peeta learning the truth through Haymitch and not Katniss starts them on the wrong foot. Because she isn't honest with him for a majority of the time in this scene. Yes, Katniss was worried if the capitol could hear them, but even after Haymitch lets them know they can talk freely, she's still isn't 100% honest with Peeta.

Now here comes the big question.

“It was all for the Games,” Peeta says. “How you acted.” “Not all of it,” I say, tightly holding on to my flowers. “Then how much? No, forget that. I guess the real question is what’s going to be left when we get home?” he says. “I don’t know. The closer we get to District Twelve, the more confused I get,” I say. He waits, for further explanation, but none’s forthcoming

I'd be more than happy to dump all the blame on him for being a pissy baby after the revelation if it weren't for that last part at the end.

Peeta's hurt, yes, but he can rationalize that Katniss had to play lovers for the games, but here, right now, he's asking what he should be expecting when they get home. The words aren't there, but the subtext is loud and clear.

This is a confession. I'm hurt. But I still like you. Do you like me? Will we have something when we go home and the cameras are gone?

Katniss gives him her most honest answer yet. She doesn't know. She's confused and she's getting more confused as they get closer to home. And that's it. That's her answer. But it isn't enough.

Peeta explicitly waits for more of an explanation from Katniss. He hears nothing about her thoughts, feelings, fears. He only knows what she tells him. And when he doesn't get it, there's no other way to take it as a rejection.

So now what?

“Well, let me know when you work it out,” he says, and the pain in his voice is palpable. -THG- Chapter 27-

“No, I ate at the Hob,” I say. “But thank you.” My voice doesn’t sound like my own, it’s so formal. Just as it’s been every time I’ve spoken to Peeta since the cameras finished filming our happy homecoming and we returned to our real lives. -CF- Chapter 1

The camera crews and reporters packed up and went home. Peeta and I assumed the cool relationship we’ve had ever since. -CF- Chapter 2

And this is why I feel like it's so unfair to solely blame Peeta for their distance between THG and CF. This distance came from both sides.

Peeta ends Book one asking Katniss to be honest with him once she figures her own feelings out. But she never does. She just picks up her life and tries go back to what it was before the games.

Was he waiting for an answer? How long did he wait? When did he give up and accept that whatever was the 74th was something his mind made up while he lying half dead in a cave?

Katniss has a valid list of a million things that are clouding her feelings for Peeta. We know them because we're stuck in her head. But Peeta isn't. And to be honest, I don't think he ever knows all of them throughout the trilogy.

I want to tell him that he’s not being fair. That we were strangers. That I did what it took to stay alive, to keep us both alive in the arena. That I can’t explain how things are with Gale because I don’t know myself. That it’s no good loving me because I’m never going to get married anyway and he’d just end up hating me later instead of sooner. That if I do have feelings for him, it doesn’t matter because I’ll never be able to afford the kind of love that leads to a family, to children. And how can he? How can he after what we’ve just been through? -THG- Chapter 27-

And this isn't a silly little fling for Peeta. He's liked Katniss since forever. Has there been other girls that caught his eye? Yes, maybe, but Katniss Everdeen has always been a soft spot for him.

Now, there is a part of him that now as to wonder WTF was going on in the Games, in the Cave and the Interview that followed after. You know the one, where Katniss cries into his chest, buries her face into his chest and practically sits on him the entire time.

Unlike Katniss, Peeta now has to question everything because the rug has just been pulled from underneath him. Yes, he's aware about the lover act and playing it up for the audience, but he isn't aware that Katniss and Haymitch have some crazy telepathic connection to each other that was guiding how Katniss would act towards Peeta in the games. He was even delirious half the time. How far did that go? When did it even begin? He knew that Haymitch was sending packages to Katniss instead of him.

I'm not making this shit up because it's the one thing that Peeta outwardly expresses frustration at (especially) Katniss and Haymitch.

“This has to stop. Right now. This — this — game you two play, where you tell each other secrets but keep them from me like I’m too inconsequential or stupid or weak to handle them.” “It’s not like that, Peeta —” I begin. “It’s exactly like that!” he yells at me. “I have people I care about, too, Katniss! Family and friends back in District Twelve who will be just as dead as yours if we don’t pull this thing off. So, after all we went through in the arena, don’t I even rate the truth from you?” - CF - Chapter 5 -

So what is the point i'm making here? Oh right. I think Peeta is 1000% justified in withdrawing from Katniss after the train tracks. What else is he suppose to do? This isn't something he can bounce back and recover from right away. Taking a step back is the most mature thing to do in this situation. For his sake and hers.

I dislike the notion that his apology denotes complete wrong doing on his part. He's having a human moment and he navigates it better than most would. Yes, he freezes her out, but he doesn't berate her, blame her or is mean to her. He just fucks off and deals with his own emotions and only shows up to play the perfect boyfriend. (And when he does, he never does it with malice OR resentment, at least to from Katniss' obervation.) What other alternative is there? He's genuinely hurt and I feel like expecting him to be comforting and supportive on and off camera when he's hurting inside to be unfair.

We sympathize with Katniss because we're in her head 24/7. We can get to hear her yearn and pine for Peeta after the train tracks. But Katniss also just doesn't mention her every trying to fix her relationship with Peeta between books. She lets the ice freeze over until Peeta comes back to ofter friendship instead. Yes, she has trauma and more hang ups than the average modern day person, but so does Peeta. Trauma is an explanation, not an excuse. If Katniss is allowed three books to figure out her feelings for Peeta, Peeta should be allowed the in between of Book 1 and 2 to figure out his with Katniss.

There should be more nuance when we look at this point in time where Peeta and Katniss' relationship is estranged. Peeta has a lot of reasons why he might want distance from her and I think it's unfair to blame him for it. From him questioning the games, Katniss and Haymitch's involvement with each other and Katniss non-answer of a rejection to his feelings, there's a lot of things he needs to sort out himself. Yes, she saved his life, but she also doesn't answer a lot of questions he asks of her. Katniss doesn't owe him a relationship for what happened in the games, or even her reasons why she's not ready for a relationship. But in turn, we shouldn't blame Peeta if he personally needs time to pick himself up, to figure things out himself. And this is just one thing on top of the trauma that follows both of them after the games. He also just fucking lost his leg LMAO

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

33 47

Gale x Single Mom!Tav, Gale x Gwen, Gale x Tav

Baby Fic + Not a Date

Send Me 2 Prompts and a Pairing

A/N: You didn’t tell me which characters to use, so I decided to go with Gale and Gwen (a Single Mom!Tav I’ve had in my brain for a while). If you’d like a specific paring, send me another ask with the prompt and I’ll see what I can do.

So basics out of the way, this would happen some where in Act 1

Gale has a growing admiration for Gwen, but for a variety of reasons is pressing down any feelings beyond that (and admittedly not doing a very good job of it)

Gwen at this point has reunited with her daughter Clara and, knowing she’s safe, has unclenched enough to actually turn her attention to the very handsome wizard in her company

Gwen decides to leave camp for a moment to gather supplies and Gale comes with her with the excuse that he’d like to actually see what she’s buying so he can have some say in what he cooks for the group

The fact that it’s just the two of them goes unmentioned

It’s on the road they find an unfortunately familiar sight of dead bodies on the road, but a cry from the over turned cart capture the parties attention

Gwen immediately pulls the crying infant from the rubble; it’s clear enough what happened and whose bodies are lying at their feet

Gale has never considered himself the fatherly type, and he can’t say he ever thought of a woman portraying maternal instincts as anything beyond admirable

Seeing Gwen so carefully handle a new born, on top of how much she clearly loved her daughter stirs something in his chest (and for once it’s not the orb)

Gwen then all but plops the poor child in his arms before she goes searching around for something among the remaining boxes

Gale has no idea what to do and it’s obvious the child knows it as they start crying

That gets Gwen’s attention but instead of taking the child back, she just corrects him on the right way to hold them

Gale can feel actual nerves coming on, not a sensation he’s familiar with, but this isn’t really a familiar situation

Gwen remains unphased and suggest he start talking

He’s surprised as he’s been told more than once that his ramblings would only disturb people

Gwen counters that he’s voice is very soothing and the little one just wants to know somebody is looking after them

Gale hopes his cheeks aren’t noticeably red at the comment before turning his attention to the child and just starts talking

Miraculously, it works

The child calms down enough to Gwen to gather some of the supplies and the two of them to head back to the Grove where hopefully the child can be properly looked after

Gale finds himself carrying the child the whole way back talking about just about anything that comes to mind

Gwen can’t help but look back over her shoulder, suppressing a smile

He really couldn’t just be intelligent, kind, handsome, he had to be good with kids too, in his own way

If she wasn’t already set on being with him, that image alone just about seals the deal

[thegreenthepeacetheorange]

Everlark (Catching Fire, Ch. 1-4)

(here we go again gang)

katniss constantly repeats that she's not sure of what she feels for peeta in these chapters and also that it wasn't just an act: "it wasn't just a strategy for peeta. i'm not sure what it was for me//i'm not indifferent (said to snow)//my love... was something of an act//there had been times where i didn't honestly know how i felt about him. i still don't really"

the way katniss describes gale vs the way she describes peeta is so funny. she acknowledges gale is handsome but then it's "dark straight hair, olive skin, grey eyes." peeta however: "peeta crosses to the table, the sunlight from the window picking up the glint of fresh snow in his blond hair. he looks strong and healthy" - like. it's almost like everytime she sees peeta it's through the lens of the romance cam. the descriptions are very 'main love attraction in a romcom movie arriving on the scene.'

they've not really spoken much (or at least in their usual way of talking) in about 6 months at this point so their relationship is a bit stilted. the sound of his voice is enough to twist her stomach with unpleasant emotions like guilt, sadness and fear. but she says there's longing too, only the others emotions are too powerful.

"it's not until he's handed haymitch the heel that he even looks at me for the first time" - she's been watching him all this time, while he avoids her eyes, waiting for him to look at her. and she feels some type of way about him not looking at her.

when her talk with snow finally turns to peeta, she finds she can't keep ahold of snow's gaze.

she feels disgusted that she's having to talk to snow about her feelings for "two of the people i care most about." - peeta, who she only started speaking to less than a year ago, has come to hold equal weight in her eyes as gale at this point.

in these early chapters in catching fire, we really see katniss correlate peeta with the capitol/the games. like something she's having pushed on her by this powerful entity that she resents. she notes many times that she's kissing him or hugging him or whatever for the audience, because she has to. and snow coming in and ordering her to "convince me" amplifies all that by a million. then when haymitch points out that her romance with peeta is going to have to be forever, she also stresses because her right to choose between boys or even to choose between being single or not is completely taken away from her. which fuels her more negative feelings on her situation with peeta.

again i will note that she likens haymitch's choice of being alone as "solitary confinement" - it's not something she deep down wants for herself

have to discuss her first kiss with gale (sorry)

her description of her first kiss with gale feels more romantic than her first one with peeta tbh. she mentions the warmth of his lips, his hands easily entrapping her, her making a noise in the back of her throat. her curled up fingers resting on his chest.

but then when she tries to reflect on the kiss, all she can remember is the pressure of his lips/the smell of the oranges they had. and she says it's pointless comparing that kiss with the many she's had with peeta and that she doesn't know if any of them counted. again, this is more of her feelings about cameras and the capitol taking over.

i also think her kiss with gale felt unnatural to her compared to the kisses she's had with peeta when they had fallen into their domesticity rhythm.

anyways both her and gale pretend like the kiss didn't happen but because of it gale has broken some "invisible barrier" between them and they can't go back to having their friendship of before.

even though she's not talking to peeta really still, he is still one of the key 3 people she thinks of confiding in - but she doesn't want to break him more and at this point is pretty convinced of his love/goodness that she knows he will "perform" regardless of if he knows of snow's demands or not

this is what she says about her and peeta's first kiss in months: "i can feel the steadiness that peeta brings to everything. and i know i'm not alone... he's still looking out for me. just as he did in the arena. somehow the thought makes me want to cry"

on peeta's body hair: "i can remember peeta's now, as i bathed him by the stream. very blond in the sunlight, once the mud and blood had been washed away" - very intimate

katniss is OBSESSED with peeta in the sunlight. the snow in his hair in the sunlight, his body hair in the sunlight and in a few chapters she'll notice his eyelashes in the sunlight i think in the last book she also mentioned peeta's face illuminated by the sunlight coming in through their cave. like it really feels like there's this glow around him in her eyes.

peeta's apology. so soft, so sweet. and he just wants to try be friends. at this point, he really thinks katniss was completely faking it and gale is her real boyfriend and he still comes to her with his little apology and the idea of being friends. he's just so...

she smiles when they have their conversation about their favourite colours. like a genuine one

she imagines the orange of his sunset and thinks beautiful. this leads her to think of his cookies. she associates beauty a lot with peeta, like at the end of THG when she says peeta looks beautiful the first time she sees him post-games.

later on when she sees the orange dress patterned with autumn leaves, she thinks how much peeta will like the colour. she's obsessed. peeta is going to think i'm so pretty in this orange dress! (she doesn't say or think this but you know, it's there)

they go straight to handholding again (but friendship handholding of course!) (an aside: i don't think i've ever just held my friends' hands and she also never hold gale's hands)

so many of peeta's paintings featuring katniss.

one of katniss's key nightmares is peeta bleeding to death

when peeta offers rue and thresh's families one month of their earnings every year, that comes completely from him and his heart. he didn't even know those two but for what they did for katniss and because he knows the needless brutality they faced, he does this. and it mirrors what katniss thought of doing for them when she found out thresh had died that night. they are in tune. "at this moment, it's impossible to imagine how i could do any better... so when i rise up on tiptoe to kiss him, it doesn't seem forced at all" - he continues to win her over, despite how much she thinks she has to act for the cameras

[parkkiablah]

Matchmaker - pt. 3 (Rolan x Tav)

part 1 part 2

You were enjoying a quiet day at home, a cup of tea in your hand and wearing your most comfortable outfit. It felt strange to you to have such a peaceful day. The Absolute defeated, the people you grew close with over your travels living their own lifes now, while some of them are nearby, some others are not and it feels foreign to you, being alone again.

It wasn't like you didn't enjoy it, still it had a feeling to it you couldn't really put into words.

A knock on your door pulled you out of your thoughts and you walked over to the door opening it.

Your mind had made up a few people who could be here visiting you, but it never would have guessed for Rolan to stand there. He looked nervous, avoiding your eyes as much as he could.

"Oh, I wasn't expecting you Rolan.", you said surprised.

"I'm sorry to come by unannounced.", he responded, looking down to his feet, visibly uncomforable. "I wanted to ask for your assistance on something."

"Come on in then.", you say and he steps inside your home, awkwardly standing in the middle of the room, taking a look around. "So, what is it you need help with?"

He sighs.

"You probably noticed that Cal and Lia can be very.. persistent, when they have an idea on their mind.", he started explaining, looking at you, waiting for your reaction before continuing.

"I was already sure of that back at the grove, when they were convincing you to stay with the other tieflings.", you said, amused by the thought of it and remembering how annoyed he was for you to side with them. Honestly it was probably the best choice for all of them.

"Oh how I hated you for agreeing with them." He smiled at the thought, his opinion on you obviously had changed a lot. "So, they have set their minds on something and I do need your help getting around that. They keep bothering me with it nearly every day and it's getting in the way with my studies.", he said. His eyes were avoiding yours and you swore his ears and cheeks turned an even darker red.

"I'm always glad to help, count me in.", you said. After all, having a chance to spent more time with Rolan didn't seem like a bad deal.

"You're already agreeing, before you even know what I was going to ask of you?", he said, shaking his head in disbelieve.

"Oh, right. Go ahead then."

"So.. I uh-.. I want you to act like we are dating, so they leave me alone with that topic.", he said and he did seem like he just wished to disappear.

You just stood there for a moment looking at him. He wasn't serious, was he? It kind of made sense to you, the last time you had met Rolan, his siblings basically dragged Gale out of the tower just so you were alone with Rolan.

You did like him, it's not like you were put off by the fact he wanted you to act like you two were dating. The fact that actually put you off was the part where you were just pretending. But would it be so bad to just pretend? At least it might feel like you are one step closer to actually dating him.

"Okay, I'll do it.", you said.

His eyes wide and landing on you now.

"Oh.. I wasn't expecting you to actually say yes.", he admitted.

You couldn't say no. It probably took a lot of courage for him to even ask for your help generally.

"Well, you asked for my help and I am not someone to deny it.", you force yourself to smile at him.

"I mean, we don't have to do that forever, just for a while so they stop getting on my nerves."

You gulped down whatever feeling it was that made you feel like saying you can't do that.

Of course he wouldn't act like he dated you forever, why would you feel so disappointed because of that?

"Of course, that's fine. So, what should I do?", you asked him. After all you agreed, so you need to play your role in this act.

"Uh- I haven't thought about that, but I guess holding my hand and something like that will do?", he said. "Do you want to come visit me at the tower tomorrow?"

He was looking at you, he seemed happy you had agreed to helping him. His gaze on you, waiting for you to agree.

"Sounds good to me, honey.", you said, hiding your emotions behind a smile. You weren't sure what you got yourself into, but there was no turning back now.

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow then.", he had avoided his eyes when he heard you call him that. He would have to get used to it very soon if he wanted this to work out.

[rpgchoices]

Dark Urge fixed some of the problems I had with act 3

This post has SPOILERS. BIG SPOILERS for both Baldur's Gate 3 and Dark Urge. If you check my tag dark urge I previously wrote an act 1 + act 2 summary of what to expect from it, without any spoilers. Without spoilers, very briefly: expect to have a past you cannot control (of course), your character will say some messed up stuff, you can give in the urges or resist but there are at least two scenes you have no control over, you do get loot for giving in the urges, the story has more mystery and lore, act 3 is the culmination of Dark Urge story too and you can have a happy ending.

Now with SPOILERS

I will go over the acts and write down what extra content happens when you compare Dark Urge to Tav, with BIG SPOILERS. If you want to see why I think Dark Urge is so much better for the story, skip everything and go directly to act 3. A general big change is that as Dark Urge you automatically get the "Baldurian" dialogue because you are from Baldur's Gate.

Act 1: In act 1 there is little Dark Urge content but an introduction. I kind of wish the game had just gone with DU (Dark Urge) instead of Tav directly, to hide the secret better, but I also like Tav a lot and I don't always want to play as an ex-murderer. Still, if you roleplay well the idea is that DU has these violent urges and think they are caused by the tadpole. So you will have to ask your companions about it, and the suspicion remains for half of act 1, at least until you give in the first obligatory urge. The narration oftens tells you that DU wants blood and carnage, wants to feel life slipping away and, well, wants to murder, and you can give in these urges (ex. attack people, bite someone's toe off, kill Gale?? or at least cut his hands) or avoid these urges. Everything else is exactly the same, a part from the fact that DU has a REASON for being on the Nautilus. While Tav is just one of the random people the Nautilus has taken, DU is the one who was put there on purpose.

There are two big events in act 1 and some smaller ones. You can kill a squirrel, but it did not trigger for me, so I don't think it is an obligatory event, but you will kill a bard. Alfira will come to your camp after you sleep a n amount of nights, and she will want to join your party. This happens even if you had not met Alfira in the game. During the night DU will brutally kill her and at this point you can hide the body, or confess your crimes, up to you how open with them. I always chose the option to confess. If you confess immediately you will have a group chat with your party and you can defend yourself (ex. I don't know how it happened but I must have been the one who killed her), or you can wash the blood and then volunteer the information the next morning when the body is found. There is actually a metagaming way to save Alfira… when you get the night scene, reload to the save before, go to Alfira, use the incapacitate instead of the killing option (in actions) and knock her out. Because she is knocked out, the next night a new bard NPC will come to your camp and will be murdered, but not Alfira.

After the murder you will meet the butler. It is immediately clear this is a magical being, and he knows you. He knows DU likes to kill, and he is surprised if DU refuses to give in the urges or even feels guilty for what he had done. You will also get an amazing cloak that turns a character invisible after a kill (it is great for Astarion's sneak attacks).

For the rest of act 1 there is little more content. You can talk minimally with your party about what happened or your urges, but that is it.

ACT 2: In the underdark and during the mountain pass there is no real content, but stuff starts happening at Moonrise Tower. You will meet characters who suddenly knows who you are. They are pretty cryptic about it, but they talk to you as if you were one of them who suddenly disappeared. It really feels like coming, well, almost home. Ketheric remembers you, even the jailer remembers you. There is also a cat in Moonrise Tower who is scared of you and if you talk with them DU WILL kill the cat, so be mindful to avoid talking with cats in the Tower. The skeleton dog from Ketheric room? He also remembers you and your smell.

When you put your hand in the cracks of the wall and hear the brain you will also get new and different dialogue.

After you meet Isobel, you will see your butler again and he tells you that to have a real gif this time you will have to kill Isobel. The quest will be there but you do not need to complete it. If you do not complete it, the butler will come back at night after the Moonrise Tower fight. This is where he asks you to kill your lover (in my case it was Astarion). He tries to convince you and if you say no, this is also where you find out that you cannot really control the urge - you will have to pass a wisdom check to take enough control to wake up your lover and tell them what is happening. At this point, they will tie you up because you are not in control anymore. You can pass 3 wisdom checks to try and thank them, or you can give in the urge but it does not look like there is any difference here but dialogue. The next morning you will have an extra talk with your lover and the party as well.

At this point it looks like the butler abandoned you because you failed your Dark Urge quest.

Another small thing, while under Moonrise Tower you can explore a bit and you will find one of the pod that smells like your blood and other small traces and hints to the fact that someone wanted to get rid of you and that is why you ended up on the nautilus.

Act 3: Act 3 is where most of the stuff gets resolved and things really come together. Orin targets you because you are family, you are her brother. She hates you because you were the Bhaal chosen one. My favourite part is that this really explains why the Chosen three's plan is failing. You were supposed to be Bhaal's chosen, not Orin. Multiple characters (Gortash and Sarevok) comments on how you were such a better Chosen because Orin is fickle, that is why she turns against Gortash. Gortash and Orin against each other always confused me during my Tav game, mainly because it felt so unexplained - like, they were so close to their goal, why is everything crumbling? Because she was never supposed to assume that role. She grew jealous of DU, chosen of Bhaal, and got rid of him by inserting the tadpole in his brain and discarding him.

When you talk with Gortash you also gets even more insight. It is clear that Gortash likes you, that is why is asking for an alliance. Not to a random adventurer called Tav, but to his old ally and friend. You and Gortash basically devised the whole plan, YOU took the crown, you were a fundamental part of it. And suddenly you stopping it (or taking control of the brain) for me had so much more meaning. While playing Tav I always wondered why is Tav even in charge, but when I played DU it really seemed like this was THEIR mess to fix. The confrontation at the temple of Bhaal is the end of the DU storyline which also wraps up why Withers was even with you.

You confront Orin and after you kill her you will meet your father Bhaal, who will ask you to become his chosen again. You can agree, and then at the end you will be able to claim the brain in Bhaal's name. But if you refuse, and give in the guilt for having murdered so many people (before your amnesia), Bhaal will take back his blood and leave you dead on the ground. At this point Withers will come in (and we know Withers is Jergal, the god of death before the Three) and will revive you. You will be born anew, your past is lost because the urge in you had been taken away but the memories with it. You can ask him about those memories too and he says that he can show you the names of your victims if you so desire. You are also a blank slate, a new person born from what you have learnt in your journey instead of your past. So yeah, you can have a good hopeful ending.

More importantly, this fell so well in the themes of BG3 especially the ones of being born again, changing and gods fighting for their chosen. Like Selune and Shar were fighting for Shadowheart, your character was also in the middle of a play of gods. Given Withers was with you since the start, it really feels like he was aiding you not at random, but because you were an escaped chosen one who could be stolen from Bhaal. And being born again and getting rid of your master/tormentor/powerful god/dictator fits so well. ALL your origin companions are in a certain measure subjected to absence of freedom or imbalance of power.

(Also before the Bhaal mission, but after the lover's personal quest you will have the option to break up with them and worry about the danger of killing them, which gives you an extra cute scene).

After the Bhaal mission there is no more content for DU and everything else seemed the same!

[xetlynn]

The Hunger Games- The Protector: Chapter Three, The Interview

(Peeta Mellark x Reader)

[two] [three] [four]

"Throw the metal thing over there." I nudge Peeta. He gives me a dirty look.

"What? No. Haymitch said we're not supposed to show our skills." He argues with me, I roll my eyes.

"Those guys are looking at you like you're a meal, throw it." I ignore what he said about Haymitch. The blond glances over to the guys, defeated he does as I say.

I see the Careers grow impressed and I walk away with a tiny smirk. If anything Peeta can ally up with them, make it far in the Games.

I walk away, going to the spears. I probably shouldn't but I need to see what I'm possibly working with. I picked it up. It was hefty, obviously better than anything I've ever had hunting with Gale and Katniss.

I swing it around, stabbing the air. It wasn't something I wanted to work with. I placed it back moving along to the other weapons. The knives were nice, easy to throw. I'll have to make sure I get a few in the Game.

I bite the inside of my cheek, walking around, observing the others and how they fight.

Districts 1 and 2 being slight show offs. Not surprising though.

I spot Peeta in the camouflage station, raising a brow as I walk over to him. "Hi." I speak up. "Hey." He mutters, doing some final touches.

"How did you do that?" I ask him, admiring the work. "I uhh, I used to decorate cakes down at the bakery. I'll show you." He goes next to the tree, showing how similar it is. "See?"

"Wow, that's amazing." I compliment him. "Yeah, thanks. Hey, I think you have a shadow." He directs my focus over to the little girl from 11, who I found out is named Rue. She hides behind a pillar.

I give her a small wave. I don't know how anyone could kill her. The thought brings me back to the whole point of why we're here. My chest tightens.

"Tomorrow they'll bring you in one by one and evaluate you. This is important because higher ratings will mean sponsors. This is the time to show them everything. There'll be a bow, make sure you use it-"

"Haymitch, I told you I'm not the best with a bow." I stop him, he sighs and looks at me. "Peeta said otherwise yesterday, just try, sweetheart." He then continues on with what he was talking about as I slump down.

"Peeta, you make sure to show your strength. They'll start with District 1 so the two of you will go last. I don't know how else to put this. Make sure they remember you." He instructs us. The two of us look at each other then back to our mentor. Nodding to let him know we understand.

We've now been waiting in the Training Center for our evaluation. It's been a while and while each person goes in I wonder what they showed them.

How will I compete against any of them? Would I even want a high score? If I get a high score that means that the rest of the districts are going to target me as being lethal.

Wanting to get me first. But if I get too low that shows me as weak, they might want to get my kill over with but that also means I can act weak and they won't know my true strengths. Less sponsors as well. I need the sponsors though. I'll just listen to Haymitch...

"[Name] Everdeen." The caller announces my name and my breathing hitches in my throat.

Immediately I feel like I'm going to throw up as I stand up. "Hey, [Name]. You got this. Shoot straight." He encourages me, I nod my head as I enter the room where the Gamemakers have been. I observe them, they're obviously bored.

I grab a bow and arrow.

"[Name] Everdeen. District 12." I announce myself, getting into position. I pull the arrow back then release but I miss the center.

I hear the Gamemakers laugh, turning away from me. I grab another arrow hitting the center then another that hits the other one, splitting it right in the middle.

When I faced the men above me nobody was paying attention. I breathe heavily, the adrenaline in my body coming out. I notice the roast pig on their table. An apple in its mouth.

I think about Katniss. How she taught me to aim for the squirrel's eyes. How she told me I was getting better and better.

How I knew if she was in my spot she would because sometimes she makes reckless decisions. But it's okay because I was there to protect her. If I do this though, who would be there to protect me?

"Hey, hey, who ordered this pig?" Seneca Crane questions the other men as they begin to crowd it and I knew this is the one chance I had to do something reckless.

Without giving much thought I quickly pulled the arrow back and shot the apple. The Gamemakers stare at me in shock.

I take a bow, "thank you for your consideration." I place the bow and arrows back. Leaving the room.

Oh god, why did I actually do it? How stupid am I? My family could get hurt. Prim, Katniss, Zayden. Oh god, oh god.

I ran to a trash can as the adrenaline left my body and so did the food I ate this morning.

"Hey, what happened?" A voice asks me after I finish throwing up. I lean my arms against the sides.

"Haymitch?" I mutter out. "It's me. Why are you throwing up." He helps me stand up correctly. "I did something so stupid." I hide my face in my hands. We begin to walk away so no one can hear what I did.

I explain how I missed the first shot and when I did the second and third they weren't paying attention, I got mad so I shot the apple. He was quiet the whole time I spoke. But when I was done he began to laugh. I furrowed my brows. "What's funny about that? They could hurt my family." I exclaim.

"[Name], they would've told you that. They let you walk out. That's nice shooting." He nudges me and I roll my eyes. "I can't believe I missed the first one." I frowned.

"Are you crazy?" Effie yells at me, pacing back and forth. "I just got mad." I mumble. "Mad? You realize that your actions reflect badly on all of us. Not just you." She tells me but Cinna steps in. "They just want a good show. It's fine." He assures her.

"How about it's just bad manners, Cinna! How about that?" Effie huffs. Haymitch walks downstairs to meet where we all are.

"Well, finally! I hope you noticed we have a serious situation." She seems glad the blond is there, not knowing we already talked about this and it seems he wants to feed in her frustration, acting as if he wasn't there to console me earlier.

"Nice shooting, sweetheart. What did they do when you shot the apple?" He smirks, joining me on the couch. "They looked pretty startled." I tell them.

"Oh? Now, what did you say, "thanks for...?" He laughs. "Your consideration." I joined him.

"Genius! Genius." He claps his hands and then points at me.

"I don't think we're gonna find this funny if the Gamemakers decide to take it out..." Effie's sentence quiets down.

"On who? On her? On him? I think they already have. Loosen your corset, have a drink. I would have given anything to see it." Haymitch tells her in all seriousness.

The television turns on, cutting off our conversation. Caesar Flickerman pops up on the screen.

"As you know the Tributes were rated on a scale of 1 to 12 after three days of careful evaluation. The Gamemakers would like to acknowledge... From district 1, Marvel with a score of 9. Cato with a score of 10, Clove with a score of 10." And so on and so on. The only one I really paid attention to is Rue, she got a pretty high score for her age, it being 7. Then it gets to 12.

"From District 12, Peeta Mellark with a score of 8." Caesar's voice says.

"Peeta!" Effie says excitedly.

"Bravo." Haymitch nods his head to the blond.

"That's great Peeta." I tell him.

"And finally," I sit up straighter. "From district 12, [Name] Everdeen, with a score of... 11." My jaw drops.

"[Name]!" Portia, Peeta's stylist exclaims.

"Outstanding." Cinna says. Effie lets out a whoops.

"Congratulations." Peeta smiles and I thank him.

"I thought they hated me." I let out a breath I didn't think I was holding.

"They must have liked your guts."

"To [Name], the protector from district 12!" Cinna pulls me into his arms.

That's the nickname I got from the Capitol and Caesar Flickman. Being a protector of my cousins. Also showing clips of me in the Training Center when I did small things for Peeta. A little excessive but if it helps me get sponsors.

"She's staring at all my jewels. She cannot take her eyes off them. Frankly it was rude." Portia was complaining about some lady, it was getting annoying listening to these people's problems while in my district we're struggling to even live. These people complain about how a color is out of place somewhere.

"Oh, Haymitch. You should join us. We're having some of your favorite dinner." Effie waves over the drunk man, I tilt my head to the side. Wondering why Effie knows that.

"Oh, lovely." Haymitch hums, joining us at the table. "Where's Peeta?" I ask.

"He's in his room. Now listen. Tomorrow's the last day. And they let us work our own tributes right before the Games so you and I will be going down at 9." He explains to me.

"What about Peeta?" I question, not understanding why we're talking without him.

"He says he wants to be trained on his own from now on." He tells me, I felt my heart sink a little bit. Separate? It was just getting easier knowing I had him by my side.

At least making it a little farther in the games. Maybe even survive off of each other. Even though at the end it would be inevitable to fight we could've let nature take its course. I don't know.

That's dumb to even think. He's probably right about making it separate. Not having us depend on each other and get too emotionally attached to die at the end.

"I don't understand... I mean I do. Only one winner in the end." I try to force out a smile.

"We should have chocolate covered strawberries." Effie switches the subject once the atmosphere gets too serious. I was a little grateful.

"Oh my, yes." Portia claps. "Please." Cinna digs in as well. I sit there silently, thinking about Peeta. I shouldn't have been so nice these past few days.

"Thank you! Thank you! Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome to the 74th annual Hunger Games! Now in 5 minutes, they're all going to be out here. All of the Tributes that you've heard about. Are you excited? Let me hear it!" Caesar Flickerman announces and I look up to Cinna with wide eyes.

"Amazing." He says in a hushed voice, admiring his work. "I don't feel amazing." I hold myself.

"Don't you know how beautiful you look?" He asks with a smile.

"I mean I am sure I am because of you. But I just have this feeling that no one is going to like me, what if I mess up? Say the wrong thing?" I begin to panic, holding my chest now.

"You made me like you. You're a natural with people." He attempts to assure me but I shake my head.

"Out there I have to... try..." I slump my shoulders. I'm just glad I'm the last district because I'm not ready to go out there.

"[Name], you don't have to try as hard as you think. I'll be there the whole time. Pretend that you're talking to me, okay?" He places a hand on my shoulder. I think about it before nodding my head. "Okay."

I glanced in the mirror in front of me, I wore gold makeup, red blush that would make you think I was sunburnt.

My dress was black with gold shimmers around the neckline and then at the bottom. If I twirled it the bottom would ignite in flames. It was beautiful.

"From District 12, you know her as the Protector, and girl on fire! Well, we know her as the lovely [Name] Everdeen!" Caesar shouts and I walk across the stage, it was larger than I thought it was going to be.

I waved to the crowd, forcing a large grin on my face. Thinking about happy moments back home to make it more genuine.

"Welcome! Welcome. Well, that was quite an entrance you made the other day." He says and I nod my head.

"I know it was very electrifying. Feeling everyone's excitement about our outfits." I try not to seem like I was out of breath due to my anxiety. "And being on fire I mean, I was worried somehow due the adrenaline I wasn't feeling the burn." I chuckle as he seems to force out this laugh kind of surprising me.

"When you came out of that chariot, I have to say my heart stopped. Did  any of you experience this as well? My heart stopped." He asks the crowd who agree with him. "So did mine."

"Now, tell me about the flames. Were they real?" He switches to the next question. I look over to Cinna who nods his head.

"Yes, I'm wearing them today. Would you like to see?" I ask. "Wait, wait, wait. Is it safe?" He nervously laughs. "Of course."

"What do you think, folks?" The crowd screams in response.

"Ha ha ha, I think that's a yes!" The both of us stand up, his off to the side. I go away from the chairs and begin to twirl around, the flames coming out. I hear the crowd cheer so I start to slow down but in heels it's a little difficult. Caesar helps me balance.

"Woah, steady! Lovely, thank you. That was really something. Thank you for that." He says as we sit back down.

"I have one more question for you. It's about your cousins. You seem to have some protector energy. We were all very moved. I think, when you volunteered for her at the Reaping. Did they come say goodbye to you?" He asks, my chest tightens thinking about them. I take a breath before speaking.

"Yes, they did."

"They did, and what did you say to them in the end?" He quizzes, I look to Cinna again. I didn't want to tell him something so personal and vulnerable but with Cinna. I can so I need to focus on him.

"I told them that I would try to win. That I will give my all to come back home to them." I say .

"Of course you did. And try you will. Ladies and gentlemen, from District 12, [Name] Everdeen, The Protector!" I wave them goodbye, hurriedly but in the same slowly leaving the stage.

"You did it, darling. That was incredible." Effie pulls me towards her. "Thank you." I give a polite smile.

"Nice job, sweetheart." Haymitch tells me. "Thank you." I repeat. "Nice dress, too." He then whispers to Effie. "Not yours."

"Please welcome, Peeta Mellark! Peeta, welcome. How are you finding the Capitol? Don't say "with a map." Caesar laughs.

"It's different. Very different from back home." Peeta answers. "Different? In what way? Give us an example." The host questions, looking very interested. "Uh okay, well, the showers here are weird."

"The showers?" He's surprised by the boy's answer. "Yes."

"Do we have different showers?" Caesar asks, looking at the crowd who are shocked as well. "I have a question for you, Caesar. Do I smell like roses to you? Take a whiff." Peeta scoots closer to Caesar who's hesitant. "Um, alright?"

"Hmm... yes. Do I smell like it?" I fold my arms, feeling a little cold as I listen to this. Watching on one of the screens.

"You definitely smell better than I do." The crowd's laughs make me a little self conscious about my interview now. Feeling like I bombed it. "Well, I've lived here longer." Caesar points out. "That makes sense."

"Very funny. So, Peeta tell me. Is there a special girl back home?" He grows serious asking this question as if it was very important to him.

"No. No, not really." Peeta shakes his head. "No? I don't believe it for a second. Look at that face. Handsome man like you. Peeta... tell me." Caesar denies what he's been told, so shocked about it. I step a bit closer to the screen.

"Well, there is this one girl that I've had a crush on forever now." He says, the crowd all "awes"

"But I don't think she actually recognized me until the Reaping."

"Well, I'll tell you what, Peeta. You go out there and you win this thing, and when you get home, she'll have to go out with you." Caesar advises him.

"Thanks, but, I don't think winnings gonna help me at all." The three stylists behind me feel for him as I just stare at the screen. "Why not?"

"Because she came here with me." Peeta says and I feel like my world just got dizzy. How... How could he say that? Use that in something like this? I look back to Haymitch who has his hands up defensively.

"Well, that's bad luck." Caesar frowns. "Yeah it is." Peeta agrees. "And I wish you all the best of luck." Caesar tells him.

Peeta thanks him, he leaves the stage and I go up to him.

"What the hell, Peeta? Why lie and put me into it!?" I pin him against the wall.

"You say you want to train alone, I understand that but then you drag me into some love story that's not even real!? What if I had feelings for you as well? Huh? You put it out there during our last days! And not even to my face!" I angrily shout in his face.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Haymitch pulls me away from him. "No! I want to know!" I scream.

"He did you a favor." Haymitch tells me and I huff. "He did something stupid. I don't care if it helps. I should've known beforehand if that's the play we're using." I glare at my mentor who sighs.

"It helps that you didn't know. You could've slipped up. You seem to be very anxious even under all that pride. He made you look desirable, sweetheart." He explained to me but I just scoffed.

"He's right, [Name]." Cinna jumps into the conversation.

"Of course I'm right. Now I can sell the star crossed lovers from District 12." Haymitch smirks. "We are not star crossed lovers." I argue.

"It's a television show! And being in love with that boy might just get you sponsors, which could save your damn life. Ok. Why don't you get out of here. Maybe I can deliver you both in one piece tomorrow." Haymitch points out of here. Peeta already left with his stylist. I shake my head in disbelief.

"Manners." I hear Effie whisper as I walk away.

Masterlist

P.M. ML

Taglist: if you want to be added lmk!

[malicedafirenze]

I unintentionally skipped a lot of the romance content in Baldur's Gate 3 and I want others to learn from my mistakes:

So: I managed to lock myself out of romance entirely and ended up alone, which was a huge bummer and a serious crack in my motivation to play the game. I finished my playthrough (because I was already close to the end of Act 3 when I realized it), and plan to do another one eventually. I'm making this post in hopes of a) keeping others from making the same mistakes and b) to possibly get some additional insight re. what to watch out for in my next playthrough.

PSA: Pick a Partner before Act 3

The key learning here for me was this explanation from the poly mod

In BG3, romance is divided into 2 steps: dating and relationship(also called partner). Dating is basically where you are at after the 1st romance scene. Relationship is where you are at after the 2nd romance scene (relationship also unlocks the kissing menu). BTW, If you enter A3, all dates will break up with you (partners won't, ofc).

I hadn't realized this until well into Act 3, at a point where going back to a save to properly fix it would have meant replaying large parts of Act 2 as well - I decided to finish my run instead and then start a completely new one later.

Note: lots of spoilers below. (click here to read this post on reddit instead)

My Romance Woes

I read in advance that you couldn't romance multiple people (except for the specific Halsin combos with Shadowheart and Astarion) and therefore turned down Gale and Lae'Zel early in the game (not realizing you could just date/bonk them without fully committing or getting anyone upset)

I didn't take approval all that seriously, thought I'd have more opportunity to fix things later. I was playing pretty good guy, and ended up with high approval for Karlach and Shadowheart, but low for Astarion. Weirdly, I don't recall an option to romance Shadowheart (no clue what I missed?) and the only option I had for Karlach was at the Tiefling party, where I went with Astarion instead. I had a scene or two with him, but then didn't progress further in the relationship, without really realizing what I was missing.

I wanted to romance everyone, sat on the fence for too long, and ended up not romancing anyone at all, by missing a thing or two in act 1 and 2 and being too late to fix it in act 3. Don't be like me, it feels bad man.

Early Act 3, I got Astarion's breakup dialogue ("we haven't spent a night together in some time" --> him explaining it was just transactional and he doesn't see the value in it anymore) and got super worried, but when trying to look up if I'd messed up, I didn't find a clear answer for without more spoilers, so I just continued playing Act 3, including all of the companion quests.

I later learned that I missed out on at least one important Astarion romance interaction by not going to Moonrise Towers until after freeing Nightsong. (when the Towers are already on high alert, i.e. I could only fight and not have a lot of conversations)

After realizing I had messed up companions romance, I instead fucked everyone it was unwise to fuck (Emperor, Mizora, Harleep...) for fun and to see what would happen... but chickened out and reloaded after Emperor and Mizora. Still, got to enjoy some fun content that way!

The ending I got (going to Avernus with Karlach) was really cool and made me cry a lot. I then did try to reload my last save though, to see if I'd get any other epilogue content if I didn't go to the Hells, but... apparently that scene on the docks (Astarion goofily running off, everyone kinda agreeing to go party after this, no other conversations with anyone again.... is just... it?

Idk how much of this is the lack of romance, but I really felt like something was missing there. I at least wanted to talk to everyone again one last time.

This is a post about my romance failures and regrets so I'm not gonna talk about everything else that I loved about the game, but just in case this is getting a bit too negative: I had an absolute blast with the whole game regardless, I'm stoked to give it another go the "proper" way (i.e. with romance). I also generally think it's really fucking cool that this game's romance options depend on how you behave, and that you can't just e.g. give someone the right kind of gift 20 times in a row to make them love you, like it works in games like Stardew Valley.

Next Playthrough Plans

I'll probably wait for another patch or two - considering how much got fixed and tweaked with the first three patches, I suppose it's worth to wait a bit and see what's coming

I'll play with the Poly mod next time and try to romance all of the Origin characters.

I plan to play with the camp notifications mod, as well as the approval ratings in dialogue mod. Both in hopes of being able to game the romance a bit better and get much of the romance in one playthrough

I'll play Dark Urge (haven't seen any of that so far!), but probably still go for a "good" playthrough mostly

I plan on equipping & levelling all Origin companions and switch them out more freely, in order to get approval from everyone and edit my party as makes sense depending on story events (e.g. take Lae'Zel to the Creche, take Gale to the Ketheric fight...)

I want to romance everyone. I already saw some tips for early game Astarion approval and assume the aforementioned mods will help in optimizing this

Am probably not gonna do anything all that differently otherwise because my heart can't take an actually evil playthrough

Aand that's about it. As mentioned, I'm mostly posting in case this helps anyone else.

I was really damn sad when I realized I had locked myself out of all romance, because the romance was a significant part of my motivation to start playing this in the first place. At the same time, I loved so much about the game that I still got a lot out of it in 110+ hours even with minimal romance content.

If you see any red flags about my plans for the next playthrough (or if you have experience with the mentioned mods!), I'd appreciate comments and insights. Other than that, here's hoping others can learn from my mistakes. Thank you for reading <3

[verai-marcel]

Your Hearth Is My Home (BG3 Fanfic, Astarion x Female Reader, Part 8 of ?)

Summary, Notes, Tags, & Part 1 are here.

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

AO3 Link is here, my dear.

Word Count: 4287

————————————

Act I, Chapter 8 - The Mountain

Lae’zel was waiting under an archway in the middle of the path. Wyll wordlessly handed over her backpack as she rejoined the party, seamlessly taking point as everyone continued up the path that veered west. You followed the others up the trail, silently thinking about your next move. Should I stay or should I go?

Along the way, you found a trader to offload some of the random wares you had collected, but she also asked for what amounted to a baby for experimentation. So you just quickly bartered your useless items and went along your way, while the others held Lae’zel back from slashing the trader’s throat open.

As the sun began to set behind the hills, you reached a cable car and a rusty wheel.

“We shall cross and set up camp on the other side,” Lae’zel commanded, pointing to what seemed to be a defensible cliffside.

“I would agree to that plan, if we could get this contraption to work,” Gale said as he poked the prodded at the wheel. “There must be something around here to unlock it, a lever or mechanism…”

Karlach walked up to it, took one look, and yanked at the wheel with all her mighty strength, forcing it to turn. There was a moment’s pause before the cable car finally creaked along, echoing off the cliffs below.

“Got it!” she said happily.

“Ah. Right,” Gale said, frowning for a moment before shrugging nonchalantly. “Well, at least we can cross now.”

You got onto the cable car and rode it across the chasm. Looking out at the landscape, bathed in the crimson light of the setting sun, you sighed. It was getting harder and harder to leave now. How would you navigate back to the River Chionthar on your own?

At least for now, you had this lovely landscape to stare at while you figured out your next move.

You glanced over at your companions, who were being uncharacteristically quiet as they, too, admired the view. Looking at each of them in turn, you wondered when you had begun to care for them on a deeper level. Your eyes lingered on Astarion for just a moment longer than the rest.

His eyes flickered over at you. Catching your gaze, he smiled knowingly.

Ah shit, he caught me.

Quickly looking away, you stared out at the canyon again. You had to admit, he was rather lovely with the waning sunlight against his skin, his hair perfectly in place despite having a full day of traveling behind him. If he just stayed quiet and didn’t spit out unwarranted flattery every two seconds, you might have thought him attractive.

Why do my eyes keep gravitating towards him?

You worried about him, more so than the others. You thought about his behavior and wondered what you could do to help him. You cared.

You closed your eyes. When the fuck did that happen?

Taking a deep, slow breath, you opened your eyes and stared out at the landscape once more, clearing your mind until you arrived at the other side. You followed the others down the hillside to a nice little area that had a partially ruined stone building and an old, gnarled tree that overlooked the canyons below. As you began to set up the spot for the campfire, everyone else picked a spot for their tents and started setting up. 

Seeing Astarion fumble the parts of his tent, you went over to help. He seemed a little less experienced than the others in such things.

"Mind where you face the tent," he said without looking at you as he tried to hide how much he was struggling with the poles. "I don't like having the sunlight hit me straight in the eyes in the morning."

You took the poles from his hands and deftly put everything together. Of course you knew how to set up a tent properly. Who the hell did he think you were? 

But when you caught the small smirk on his face, you knew immediately he was just pulling your chain, and in your infinite maturity, you stuck your tongue out at him.

“Careful darling. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

You immediately put your tongue back in your mouth and scowled.

You quickly finished helping him so you could prepare a meal with some of the camp supplies. You snacked on some of the cured meats and cheeses as you cooked, so that by the time everyone was done with their own tents and had gathered around the campfire, you were mostly full. After serving up the meal, you excused yourself to prep everyone's tents with your various spells, giving the excuse that it was getting late. You could see them all at the campfire, hearing them discuss their next move, along with some friendly banter as well. 

You were a bit surprised to see Astarion lingering at the campfire. He usually left before a meal, not returning until everyone else had fallen asleep. You could hear him being smarmy and charming, eliciting laughter from the others. 

Guess he finally decided to open up. 

Or, perhaps, the whole group had grown closer while you weren't there. Seemed like a natural thing, after all. They only really saw you in the evenings when they came back from their adventuring. The rest of the day, they spent with each other. Sure, you've had a day here and there with some of them when they guarded the camp, but that didn't make up for the time they had spent together. 

You suddenly felt very alone. 

As you finished Shadowheart's tent, you could hear her walking towards you. She had a naturally quiet step, neither ambling like Wyll's nor quick like Lae'zel's. You turned to her, just in time to catch her reaching out to you. You forced yourself not to flinch like you had with Gale. 

Her hand landed lightly on your shoulder, a feather touch. "Are you alright? You seem a bit down."

You smiled. Since you had come across her first, Shadowheart held a special place in your memories. She had been so prickly at first, but you had been insistent in treating her. Now, you'd almost consider her a friend, if only she didn’t seem so distant all the time.

"I… I'm not sure if I should stay," you confessed. Turning to her, you saw her shocked expression, but you continued. "I'm a liability. I'll just hold everyone up when we're traveling. I can't fight, I can't jump very far, I can't—“

Shadowheart shook your shoulder once. You hadn’t realized that you were starting to breathe faster with your rant. "You're not a liability,” she said. "You—" 

She let go of you and took a small step back. "We like coming back to you at the end of the day. It makes getting through every battle, every setback, so much easier knowing that we can come back to you for a hot meal and a nice, warm tent.” A soft smile spread across her face. “You make camp feel like home."

You couldn’t help but smile back. You were touched.

"And you've been so accepting of all of us, and our… quirks,” she continued. “You truly are special, you know that, right?"

Deciding to keep your self-deprecating thoughts to yourself, you replied, “I’m grateful for the compliment.”

She nodded, then looked at you seriously. “But if you ever do feel like you’re in danger with us, we’ll understand if you want to leave. Don’t feel any pressure to stay.”

A little too late to say that. “Alright, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Patting your shoulder, she left you to your thoughts as you finished the rest of the tents.

***

After cleaning up for the evening, you went over to the outcrop that overlooked the canyon below. The moonlight lit up the forest below, and cast a silvery glow on the ruins behind you. Sitting beneath the tree, you wondered if your voice would echo off the cliffs. 

"Perhaps I shouldn't," you mumbled to yourself. 

"Shouldn't what?" 

You turned to see Gale walking up to you. He plopped himself down on the soft grass beside you. 

"I was wondering if my voice would echo down there, but that might attract things we don't want."

"A wise decision, although you could try it when we leave this place. For knowledge's sake."

You grinned. Of course. Anything for the sake of knowledge.

The two of you sat quietly, enjoying the scenery, but you knew it wouldn’t last long.

“So, how long did you live in Waterdeep?”

There it was. You debated how much to tell him. “A few years,” you answered vaguely.

“Ah.” A few more moments passed in silence. “I get the feeling if I ask anything more, you’ll give me increasingly ambiguous answers until you feign tiredness and head off to bed.”

You smiled. “You understand me so well.”

“I’d like to think after the time we’ve spent together that I understand you a bit better than when we first met.” He was smiling at you, and though you wanted to brush his hand to get an idea of what he was feeling, you decided it might give the wrong impression. So you refrained and just nodded.

“I have a tower in Waterdeep, you know,” he said, filling the silence. “You’re welcome to visit, if—”

Gale suddenly doubled over, gripping his chest.

“Gale!”

He held out his hand. “I’m alright. I just…” His words stopped as he took a deep breath. He was clearly in pain.

Debating if you should diagnose him, you watched as he grimaced and leaned back, taking in deep breaths of the cold mountain air. Dammit, I have to know. You took off one glove and reached for him. As your hand covered his hand over his chest, you felt as if your very soul was getting sucked in. You quickly pulled away, but you already felt a slight drain, as if threads of magic had been dragged out of you.

“What… what in the hells…” you muttered.

He looked up at you, surprised as you were. Taking another breath, he straightened himself. “I… I seem to be a bit better.” He looked up at you. “This has never happened before.”

You raised an eyebrow.

Gale looked apologetic. “Well, I should say I’ve never absorbed the Weave straight from another person before.”

Your eyes widened. As he explained himself, he admitted that he had been ‘eating’ the less useful magical artifacts that the party had been collecting, and he also confessed that lately, it hadn’t been as effective.

“That’s the reason I came to talk to you. Granted, I did procrastinate a bit.”

You raised an eyebrow.

“The rest of the party knows about my… condition.” He sighed. “I told them the other day while we were coming back from the goblin camp. Thankfully, they have decided to let me stay. But you…” He held his hand out to you. “You should know what happened, so you can make the choice. If you want me to go.”

You gave him your gloved hand. He held it to his chest, and you saw his memory. But with his magic intertwining with yours, you also felt his memories on a deeper level, even without direct skin contact. You wanted to both slap him and give him a hug after seeing it all.

“So. I’m a walking time bomb,” he said after he let go of your hand. “I understand if you don’t feel safe. Tell me to leave. I won’t be offended. It’d be the wisest choice, honestly.”

It was hard to make that kind of decision looking at his sad face. You turned back to the canyon and stared up at the moon.

You suddenly had a thought. Turning back to him, you asked, “Can I try something?”

He tipped his head quizzically. “Sure?”

You took a deep breath and hummed a melody of moonlight, letting the silvery strands of magic float around you, creating a soft scarf made of ephemeral threads. Slowly moving your hands, you directed the gossamer garment straight to Gale’s chest.

The symbol on his chest glowed as it absorbed it directly. He gasped.

“Did it work?” you asked. “Do you feel better?”

“You… how…” Gale touched his chest in wonder. “No one else has made that work.”

You shrugged. “I don’t know. I just had a hunch.” 

He smiled softly at you. “Well, I greatly appreciate it.” He paused, as if he was about to ask you something, then thought better of it.

“I think you should stay,” you said after a few moments. “After all, it would seem that my magic will help you, o great wizard of Waterdeep.”

He chuckled. “Indeed, it does.” Giving you a slight bow, he thanked you and went back to his tent.

You wondered if it was wise to use your power in this way. Your mother would have probably told you it was a bad idea. After some research into your peculiar magic, a wizard could figure it out. They’d know where your magic came from. After all, that’s how you were discovered after the raid on your village.

Stretching your back and yawning, you headed back to your bedroll. You were tired after feeding a wizard some magic, and you still needed to feed another.

I’m feeding people in all kinds of weird ways.

***

1489 DR, Three Years Ago

It had taken a year, but you had escaped from Waterdeep and made it to Baldur’s Gate. Covering your tracks, you had traveled in an unusual pattern in an attempt to throw off anyone who might be tailing you. Not that you thought anyone really would; after all, you had just been a mere servant of one of the masked lords of Waterdeep. You were pretty sure he didn’t even know that you knew his identity.

But ‘pretty sure’ and ‘absolutely sure’ were two separate things.

You were looking at a map of the surrounding area, deciding what small village to start your new life, when you noticed a man looking at you from across the road.

A tingling on the base of your spine made you pay attention. You started to walk back to the flophouse, keeping your wits about you.

The man continued to appear out of the corner of your eye in various locations as you walked back from the lower city towards Wyrm’s Crossing.

What in the hells?

Instead of heading into the flophouse, you continued past it towards Rivington, hoping to make the man believe you were heading into the village beyond. You made a wide circle and slipped in and out of alleys until you didn’t see him anywhere for a good thirty minutes. The sun was beginning to set and soon the taverns would be streaming with folks looking to drown their sorrows or talk a poor sap out of the shirt off their back.

Thinking yourself safe, you headed back to the flophouse. There were a few people around the lobby, and you weaved past them all to head up the stairs to your bed for the night.

Turning the corner, you saw the man, sitting on your bed. Before you could turn and run, he leapt up and grabbed your wrist. He had no killing intent, but he definitely felt malicious.

“Don’t bother tryin’ ta run, sweetie. I paid the landlord to ignore anything ‘appening up ‘ere.”

That money grubbing arsehole. You tugged at your arm. “What do you want with me?”

“The lord put out a bounty on your ‘ead, alive only.”

Son of a bitch thinks I’m still useful. Well, that’s a relief. Better than dead. “Can’t have been worth much.”

“Barely worth the time. More of a ‘if you see ‘er, grab ‘er’ kind of bounty. And ‘ere you are.” He patted the dagger on his belt. “So ‘ow’s about you come quietly, and I don’t cut yer pretty little face.”

You swallowed. “F-fine,” you stammered. His grip slid up to your shoulder, and he pushed you out of the room and down the stairs. The proprietor glanced at you and quickly looked away. The other people in the lobby avoided eye contact, not wanting to get involved.

Of course. No one helps when it’s not their problem.

Darkness had fallen on the city, and with it, the ability to be seen clearly. You waited until he had marched you further and further away from the buildings, before you started to hum.

“What’re you singin’, sweetheart?”

You didn’t stop humming. 

He shook your arm. “Answer me, wench.”

You looked at him, dead in the eye, and kept humming.

His own eyes began to droop. “‘Ey, what…” He shook his head, but it was no use. “Yer tryin’ somethin’ tricksy, aren’t ya?” he slurred as he let go of your shoulder and clumsily pulled out his dagger.

You immediately grabbed his fist with both hands, turned the dagger towards him, and slammed your whole body into him. Your humming wavered slightly, but you continued. You had to, otherwise he’d regain his strength.

“You… bitch…” the man gurgled as his weight began to fall forward, his forehead touching your exposed skin above the neckline of your shirt. You staggered backward as the shockwave of death from him spilled into you. Gasping for air as if you had been the one stabbed, you kept pushing to make sure the dagger went in deep. 

When you felt him start to push against you, you resumed humming like a madwoman, desperately trying to keep the spell intact.

The man let out one last groan as he succumbed to both his injury and your sleep song. You let him fall to the ground as you side-stepped out of the way, stumbling and falling to your knees.  Clutching your chest, you attempted to catch your breath past the agony in your chest. It felt like a white-hot slicing pain shooting through your entire torso, your heart pounding a hundred miles a second as if it wanted to make a rapid exit from your body.

Gods, it fucking HURTS. No wonder Mother told me never to hurt anyone.

You felt your stomach roil and rumble before you quickly turned away and emptied out what little contents you had, coughing and spitting for a while before you felt like you could breathe normally again. 

I never, EVER want to do that again.

Looking at the corpse, you gathered your courage and pulled the dagger out of the man’s body, flung the blood away, and cleaned it on his armor like you had seen guards do in the past. Then you turned towards the east, stumbling away into the night, away from Baldur’s Gate.

You sure as hell didn’t want to be here when the guards found the body.

***

1492 DR, Present Day

You were grateful when the light chime of your alarm bell, coupled with a soft hoot, and the padding of multiple sets of feet woke you up. You could still smell the tang of blood and the taste of bile in your memories, and reached for your canteen of water to wash it away before getting up.

Astarion had returned, and to your surprise, he seemed a bit unsteady on his feet. You headed towards him, watching him feed scraps of a dead animal to Scratch and the owlbear cub.

“There you go Owly,” he slurred as he gave the cub another bone with decent chunks of meat. “Grow up nice and strong so you can bring me back something fresh.”

"You're naming him Owly?" 

"And why not?" 

"No reason. Just a bit surprised by how… cute, it sounds." You watched as he staggered towards his tent, clearly buzzed. Out of worry, you followed after him. "Are you drunk?"

"I have drunk," he slurred. "A whole bear. Not a beer. Hah."

You stared at the blood on his shirt. “Erm, your sleeves—”

"He took some of my blood, and I took all of his."

His usually perfectly coiffed hair was disheveled and his clothes were bedraggled. You kept following him until he was about to open the flap to his tent. He paused, then turned around to stare at you. "Need something?" 

You shook your head. "No, I… I was just checking on you. Do you need anything from me?" 

He smiled. "I am well fed tonight. But I still need you." He leaned in closer and reached out to lightly caress your arm. You felt nothing through his touch.

He's doing it again. Sighing, you looked at him for a moment longer. Maybe he was just lonely. “Would you like me to spend some time with you?”

"Oh, a bit more forward tonight, are you?" He opened the tent flap and gestured for you to enter.

Rolling your eyes, you entered the tent and plopped down on the ground. You patted the bedroll in front of you. “Sit, please.”

“Will you climb into my lap?”

You sighed. "Just sit down, please."

Frowning, Astarion sat down next to you, his movements still smooth and graceful. Clearly he wasn't that drunk. 

Now that you were here, you weren’t sure what to do. As you glanced around his tent, you saw the brush on top of his pile of books and suddenly had an idea.

“Can I brush your hair?”

He cocked his head in confusion, like a puppy.

"Your hair is a mess," you explained, gesturing at his head. 

He immediately reached up and started to run his fingers through his hair. In his inebriated state, he was only making it worse. 

You grabbed the brush and scooted around so that you were behind him. “Let me take care of it, please.”

He turned his head to look at you for a moment before he faced forward again so you couldn’t see his expression. “If that’s what you want,” he mumbled.

You got up on your knees and began to run the brush through his hair, picking out bits of twigs and fur. "So, how did the bear taste?”

He shrugged. “Like a bear, I suppose.”

“I’m impressed that you can differentiate the flavor. I've tasted boar's blood and my own. They don't seem dissimilar to me.”

He turned his head toward you, a slightly haughty look on his face. “My palate is on a different level, darling. I can taste the life essence within, like a seasoning. A bear just exists. It doesn't think, it doesn't lament, it doesn't dream. But it has a lot of life, so…” He gestured dismissively with his hand. “I suppose it’s like drinking a cheap ale. Doesn’t taste great, but it’ll do in a pinch.”

You watched his expression change, hooded eyes and a sultry smile blooming on his lips. “But you, you must have the loveliest dreams, because your blood tastes like a rich liqueur."

He’s clearly just making shit up. “I thought you said it tasted like honey wine.”

“That was the first time. It changes, probably depending on your emotions. But there's always a sweetness to your flavor.” He turned his body towards you and leaned in closer, looking into your eyes like some fawning sycophant.

You ignored him, moving your attention to his torn and dirty sleeves. Unable to brush his hair since he was facing you, you cast prestidigitation to remove the dirt and blood from his sleeves. 

“Did you enjoy your meal?” you asked after a while.

“It’s nothing compared to, well, other things I could be dining on. Bears are certainly better than the rats and bugs Cazador served me.”

You gasped. A rat would certainly not have enough blood, a bug even less so. You fumed, irrationally angry on his behalf. "I would kick him in the balls for making you go hungry," you hissed in anger.

Astarion looked taken aback by your outburst. But then he laughed. “You? Kicking him in the balls?” He laughed more. “That would be a sight.”

You chuckled with him. “Glad I could entertain you. Now turn back around so I can finish with your hair.”

“Bossy little thing, aren’t you?” But he obeyed your command. Quietly, you worked through his hair, pulling out the last bit of debris and brushing it all back into place. Scooting around him, you took his sleeves into your hands and began to hum your mending cantrip. After a few minutes, you noticed out of the corner of your eye that he had relaxed. His eyes drooped, as if he were going into a trance state. 

Out of curiosity, you brushed his hand. You could feel a faint emotion coming through. It was muddled, like a thought struggling to come to the surface.

Well, at least he isn’t shielding so hard anymore.

You finished mending his sleeves and pulled away.

His eyes shot open.

Not a word was spoken, but you had a funny feeling from his expression that he wanted you to stay. You touched his hand.

Nothing again. Oh well. “Do you need anything else?”

He looked away. “No, I’m fine.”

He isn’t fine. But you had no choice. If he wasn’t going to ask, you couldn’t force him. You wouldn’t force him. “Alright. Then have a good night.”

He began to lean forward, then stopped himself. 

Oh, you poor, touch-starved soul. You leaned in and pressed your forehead against his. “Sweet dreams,” you murmured.

“Sweet dreams,” he whispered.

The last thing you felt as you pulled away from him and left his tent was a lingering emotion, one that was hard to describe. But you knew that it pulled at your heart and made you want to stay.

-------------------------------------------

Chapter 8 End notes: My chapter word count is just all over the place now, haha. Thanks for reading! And if possible, please help spread my fic out into the world by reblogging, I'd greatly appreciate it. ICYMI: I did a couple of sketches of Hearth Witch's outfits here.

Let me know if you want me to tag you every time I post a new chapter! Tag List: @numblytemporary

[iaus]

5, 6, 8, and 18 for the asks 👀

5: first sentence of the fifth paragraph of an unpublished WIP

cheating because these lines go together so well. but from hunger pains:

And Jace burns. He wants to shut Porter up, to claw at his revealed skin and tell Porter if he’s not going to feed him the least he could do is fuck him.

6: the word that appears the most in your current draft (wordcounter.net can tell you)

i'm gonna scream. porter is the word that appears most in darling with a whopping 115 uses. which I MEAN YEA. if we ignore the names... back is the most used word with 36 uses. huh.

crying i ran part of the epilogue draft through here and porter is still the most used word. i'm sick.

8: if you had to write a sequel to a fic, you’d write one for…

hmmm at the moment i'm pretty content with the endings (and future endings) of my sb stuff.

one day getting motivation/energy to go back to my darkest dungeon fic i'll crawl home (to you) would be so cool. mostly because it would require a lot of world-building and require a re-exploration of damian and tardif (who are leagues healthier than sb when one of them is a mass murderer and the other a literal walking corpse) and how dd2 changes them...

or?? finishing?? the arc i started with my bg3 fic? cute little thing where gale takes care of my oathbreaker paladin after he takes a consensual walloping from that loviatar worshiper in act 1. i actually have two follow up fics for this but. lost interest in writing for bg3 very quickly.

18: if you keep them, share a deleted sentence or paragraph from a published fic

so.... i mentioned in the most recent chapter of epilogue that i had to delete/rewrite a scene like 3 times? i'm gonna pull from there. i had to make a separate document for this scene and i just called it INTERLUDES. because i'm as we all know. long-winded i'm gonna share more than a paragraph (teehee) of this big ass cut scene. because i spent SO long on it.

Porter rubbed the curve of his ankle and smiled indulgently. “C’mon, Jace. I’m being a considerate coworker.”

That had made it worse, somehow. “Sober me up. You do it all the time.”

“Tapped out—some of the seniors got rowdy last period.”

Jace rolled his eyes. “Fine. Take me home. One condition.”

Porter hummed, still rubbing circles along Jace’s ankle.

“No. Asking me about.” He waved his hands vaguely.

Porter had agreed, then stood and tucked Jace under his arm. Told everyone they passed: Stardiamond’s cut off. Just looking out for him.

“You,” Jace had announced as Porter fiddled with his truck's climate control. “Did that on purpose.”

Porter grinned at him. “It’s winter break. Everyone will forget about it.”

Jace narrowed his eyes. Porter turned down the music. They drove in silence.

It had never bothered him before how little he remembered of it. The fallout was much more memorable. Much more galvanizing.

“It was an accident,” Jace finally said, head feeling unfortunately clearer. He recognized the streets. They weren’t going downtown; they were still in Tillering—winding the streets to Porter’s house. “It was… like a wild magic surge.”

Porter had stayed quiet, keeping his eyes on the road. Snow was finally beginning to fall (what a strange detail to remember so clearly). Despite the empty roads, Porter signaled his turn and as he was slowly easing onto his street he finally spoke: “Didn’t think you were that kind of sorcerer.”

“I’m not.”

Porter stayed quiet the rest of the drive; uncharacteristically, he did not push—but he did reach over and put a hand on Jace’s knee. He kept it there, an unending point of warmth in the winter chill. He should have asked Porter to drive him back to the school.

He felt sober enough to drive. To go home.

But something ugly was crawling up Jace’s throat—a wave of sudden doubt. If he asked Porter to do that, if he drove home and started the winter break alone in his beautiful, empty townhome…

Would they—

[coreene]

I've read this post about how differently the narrative in this game (Astarion's romance in this case) can change depending on your choices and they are so right about that. Gonna ramble a little about Astarion under the cut.

My experience with Astarion's act 1 romance has this kind of duality in two different playthroughs. In my 1st run I missed a lot of stuff with him that would increase his influence and he ended up proposing to my Tav around the time they found the goblin camp. And then I stalled that until the tiefling party because I like that scene more.

In my 2nd run he propositioned the day after he bit her and it changes the narration soooo much imo.

In the 1st run it really felt like they were getting closer and a tension with affection was building between them. While Astarion's motives are dubious I still felt like he had started to like her.

In the 2nd run though, it's fully about manipulation and using sex to gain Tav's favour. She let him drink from her and supported him. Everyone talks disapprovingly about him being a vampire. Like Gale will question if he's genuine, Wyll disapproves if you let him stay in camp, Shart basically mocks him. So he truly needs Tav to defend him against the others. So what does he do? Offers sex to you for that protection.

In my 2nd run the bite happened on night 3 and he propositioned on day 4.

In my 1st one he wanted to proposition on day 7 right after that Abdirak thing. It made the narrative he was actually turned on by that and by her and protection was an added bonus because he's been with the group for 4 more nights after they learned he was a vampire and it was all good, other than some know it all comments from Wyll. He had no reason to fear the rest of the camp because no one had tried to stake him. So his offer for sex felt a lot more genuine.

I stalled that talk till the day of the tiefling party which was day 10 in my run because I was worried it would break that scene and I was recording those things. And if you got propositioned and agreed to sleep with him after you save the tieflings (so basically right before the party) - he'll ask you with the bottle again and you don't get that choice (I think) to make him say please. He'll just say something like we'll see each other when things quieten down. And the scene plays as it does.

In the 2nd run I got his little treat lines in the tiefling party and it felt so out of place. Because in the 1st one he said that after the scar scene and it pushes the intimacy. Getting it before then solidified the feeling that he was manipulating Tav and using sex to do it.

I have just made it into act 2 in the 2nd run but so far I've caught up with my 1st one. I doubt it'll be different then.

I love love love the fact that such little things can change a run so dramatically.

Anyways thanks for reading all of this pointless drabble.

[sewermageboy]

Next question :3c

Romance <3 for Hyacinth (regarding the purblecule if you have the time?)

Asks 22, 23, 35

In reply to this ask meme, time for romance hehe. Gonna be mostly Astarion focused, but I'll add in some Gale 'n Brie just for u <3

22. How does your Tav act around their crush?

They flirt naturally with both Astarion and Gale, confident in their ability to fluster and flatter as needed. Things get a bit awkward with both of them eventually.

With Astarion it's after it's revealed that their first two hookups were something he was not entirely into, making Hyacinth feel incredibly guilty for not having picked up on the extent of his act. They figured that he was trying to manipulate them in a way, that he was trying to get into their good graces, but finding out the extent of his past, how much suffering this exact thing has caused Astarion before, that unsettles them immensely, though they do push those thoughts aside to be there for him when he needs it post Moonrise.

With Gale, the awkwardness would start once the Purblecule would start.... purbleculing, aka when he and Astarion become an item. Since Gale and Hyacinth flirted a lot in Act 1, and Gale turned Hyacinth down to be with Brie and to let them be with Astarion, when the possibility of sth between them returns, they're unsure if they should revisit their flirting, or leave it be considering they'd already been rejected once. (Brie and Astarion would help them along, ofc.)

23. What is your Tav’s favorite moment they’ve had with their lover?

Astarion: After their second hook-up at the tiefling party, they end just lazing on a blanket together and watching the stars, talking about being about to venture into the Underdark, and how that makes them nervous. Astarion comforts them, for the first time allowing Hyacinth to see his softer side. He tells them that they should stay there and watch the sun rise, soaking up as much of it as they can before they head below.

Especially after the Underdark and then the Shadow-Cursed Lands, it becomes a ritual of theirs to watch the sunrise together every morning, from the roof of the Elfsong Tavern once they reach the city, enjoying the novelty of a drow and a vampire being able to do so without pain.

Even when they both lose that ability with the removal of the tadpoles, the memory remains.

Also, healing grave sex.

Brie: Honestly an amalgamation of small moments of trust and support and confidence, I think, leading to a night where they're sitting by the fire together, sharing stories and tales, with Hyacinth's head resting on her shoulder, and the realization just hits them then and there that they love her, and that they would give everything for her, that she's become their rock.

Gale: When Brie and Astarion venture into the Underdark, and Gale and Hyacinth return to Waterdeep together, where they reunite with Hyacinth's daughter Cal, and her father Ben. I think one of their favorite moments of him is watching him interact with Cal, specifically watching him patiently teaching her the spell Scholar's Passion to allow her to study magic despite her dyslexia. It just fills them with so much affection for both of them that they think they're gonna burst with it.

35. How does your Tav react to wearing the Wavemother’s robe? How do they react to their partner wearing it?

Wearing it themself? They're the hottest bitch in Baldur's Gate and they know it.

With Gale and Brie, Hyacinth is their personal hype-person, their very own cheerleader (and very intrigued by Gale's thighs).

With Astarion, they'd be a bit more reserved, making sure that he's wearing the robe because he wants to, not because he feels like he has to, but they would be just as delighted honestly.

Had to add some screenshots bc I love them so much <3

The polycule that judges together stays together

[goatsorcery]

>:3 Alright Frank, my turn. Please share your bg3 brain worms (tadpoles). Favorite character(s)? Preferred companions? Do you have a consistent party? If not, how do you choose your members at any given time? I am very curious if it’s the latter because as I mentioned, I don’t really ever switch it up.

you said in the tags of your answer to write as many paragraphs as my feelings can fill… and well… it’s a lot haha :)

i love all the characters so much! they're all so unique, interesting, and charming in their own way. i'm only in act 2 myself (about to finish it though i think) so i haven't gotten to see everyone's full stories yet. narrowing down a favorite is so hard! i change up my party every once in a while, but consistently i still always bring wyll or shadowheart so I guess they would be my favorites!

i love wyll so much, im always a sucker for characters who are able to stay postive and optimistic even through the worst of times. I also love characters (especially in fantasy) who are primed to be the main character either from their backstories or narratively (alistair in dragon age and aragorn in lord of the rings are other examples); wyll, who is a monster hunter but is first and foremost a protector of the people, (there are other details about him that I wont spoil for you that also lend to this) has all the makings of a classic fantasy protagonist, but he never expresses the desire to be the leader (i guess, unless the player plays as him haha) or to get any recognition for helping cure the tadpoles. other possibly-spoilery tid-bits about him that break away from or invert fantasy character archtypes help to really round out his character in an interesting way.

I loved shadowheart pretty much instantly (shadowheart and lae’zel being the first two companions you meet is everything, i love them both and their dynamic so much) shadowheart is a bit of a mystery, even to herself, which is fascinating to me. I find her whole story, so far, really interesting, and I’m excited to see where it goes and what else is learned about her through the rest of the game. i love characters who are so dedicated to one goal to the point that it’s all that matters to them and it’s all they are, but then the story challenges their dedication or pulls them from it for a larger cause.

i switch up my party every once in a while, but its usually just to swap out characters for quests that are relevant to them or that i think will prompt dialogue or approval from them. i think my game is a bit bugged, because i didn't even realize there was party banter until very late into act 1 (also just might be  because i fast travel a lot) so i've been switching out characters more to see what conversations they can have.

my go-to parties in act 1 were wyll, shadowheart, and lae’zel or wyll, karlach, and lae’zel (this was mostly because of combat game play, karlach and lae’zel with their extra attack or shadowheart as an extra healer was so helpful when I was still trying to learn the combat system).

in act 2 my go to party is wyll, shadowheart, and karlach, or wyll, shadowheart, and halsin depending on if im just exploring/doing side-quests or if i know I’ll run into heavy combat. karlach regularly one-shots enemies with 30+ hp and having her extra attack is the only way i get through combat most of the time (even on the easiest difficulty, combat continues to kick my ass).

when I reach act 3, I plan on mixing up my party more, depending on what’s in store for act 3 (I have surprisingly not been spoiled on anything that happens in act 3).

combat is the main reason why i don’t switch up my parties more since i get used to having certain spells or abilities. on my second play through (which I’ve already started planning even though im not close to being done with my first lol) i plan on trying to mix up my groups more to get more banter and to spend time with other characters I haven’t had much chance to. I rarely take gale or astarion with me (unless there is a relevant quest) but only because of combat, i feel like other characters have more useful abilities then they do. which is a shame because i like them both a lot, and want to get to know them better. my tav is a cleric, so that also factors in to party make-up. gale’s party banter is always bugged for me as well which is a bummer, the captions will pop-up but his voice lines never play.

one thing i like so much about the characters is that they all have interesting interpersonal dynamics. it really only comes up in banter and the occasional camp conversation but its enough to make it feel like they're all actually interacting in camp. whether or not they fully get along, they still all seem to care about each other which i love! its the friend group you'd never expect (most of who would probably not get along or get the chance to interact if the circumstances were different) but they all end up being close in some way or another. shadowheart and lae'zel's dynamic is especially a favorite of mine, i always love characters who don't get along on the surface but are actually "no one's allowed to be mean to them except for me". shadowheart and astarion are a bit like this too, with each other, and astarion with the rest of the companions as well. another one of my favorite party dynamics is wyll, shadowheart, and astarion; three people I wouldn’t have expected to really get along but the first time i had them all in my party I triggered like three conversations in a row where they were flirting with each other (my favorite of their banters is astarion saying he’d drink from wyll if he could chose anyone in camp after shadowheart asks him and then her sounding disappointed that he didn’t pick her. in my play through shadowheart then asked astarion if he was single less than a minute later lol).

my favorite character dynamics are:

wyll and karlach

wyll, astarion, and shadowheart

shadowheart and lae’zel

[ramblingnerdsposts]

Hello people!

Yes, after 8 months, there’s finally another rambling. I was just lacking something to ramble about really.

But I’ve been playing a bunch of Baldur’s Gate 3 lately, so let’s talk about that!

Disclaimer: This will contain spoilers for some elements of Baldur’s Gate 3. If you haven’t played and want to go in blind, come back to this post later.

So, something I’ve noticed about the 6 origins characters as I was playing Act 1 and watching some clips online (not counting Tav and the Dark Urge for this rambling) is that it seems like there’s 3 different sets of character arcs for them, each set having 2 of the characters. Let’s list them.

Those whose arc rests upon mostly their growth as people, that being Gale and Astarion.

Those whose arc is about breaking free from or conforming to a doctrine they have been following their entire lives, with Lae’zel for the cultural doctrine and Shadowheart for the religious one.

Finally, those whose arc does not rely upon their character growth, but on dealing with their circumstances, being Wyll and Karlach.

Let’s break them down, starting with our favourite magic devourer and vampire spawn. Their whole journey is about them growing as people, with Gale growing into a new person that won’t commit the same mistakes he made in the past (like the whole thing with Mystra) and Astarion being about developing himself away from Cazador and possibly opening himself up for friendship and love. The two might dislike each other, but they’re going through a similar arc. Crazy. Makes the romances particularly filled with character development.

Now, for the two lovely ladies, as stated, their whole thing is doctrine. Should Lae’zel still follow what the Githyanki have taught her, or find her self-expression? Should Shadowheart still worship Shar, or turn away from the goddess? Again, hate each other, but similar bases for story arcs. For romances, same as above.

Finally, Wyll and Karlach are also similar in that sense. Neither of them has to break away from a doctrine, and they’re already good people who don’t have to change and grow that much. However, they both have to deal with difficult circumstances. Wyll with his pact with Mizora and Karlach with her Infernal engine plus the whole situation with Zariel. Their arcs are more about them dealing with how these elements affect their lives.

I feel it’s interesting that the characters who tend to dislike each other the most (or tried to kill each other before making up in Wyll and Karlach’s case) have rather similar basis for arcs. Of course, in the details their arcs are different, but overall they’re somewhat similar.

Just a rambling to deal with Baldur’s Gate 3 brain rot :p

[separatist-apologist]

so i just finished my first bg3 campaign and it was so fun. i made my tav a wood elf/fighter, but i wanted to try something else for my next playthrough. what's your race/class for your tav? i was contemplating trying a tiefling, but i'm also thinking of doing a dark urge run so maybe a dragon or drow? though i'm not sure i'm ready for pure evil because i love my tiefling babies too much. i love being being to just smack the crap out of enemies, but i think i had the most fun with shadowheart's cleric powers. then i was thinking maybe a bard or a monk since none of the companions are one, but idk how they play. and i feel like if i play as a paladin i would break my oath by accident in like 3mins. i was also thinking maybe i could try a sorcerer, but idk if there's a big difference between them and wizards/warlocks and we already have gale and wyll.

all this rambling to say i need some advise lol. i had so much fun i want to start a new campaign, but there's just so many choices. and i know you can change your class with withers, but idk that feels kind of cheesy sometimes. help me obi won sepnobi, you're my only hope.

Okay so I did play a monk- I did a wood elf for the extra movement speed so I'd take that route OR half wood elf. You could also just do any race and use one of the bonuses for alert, I think? Whichever one adds to your movement speed, I forget off the top of my head.

For monk, way of the open hand is the BEST subclass. Don't let the 4 elements seduce you- those spells SUCK and monks do CRAZY damage unarmed and with just their bare hands. I took Orin down in two turns and she never got a chance to hit me because I stunned her on my last hit, then she forfeits her turn, and you just wipe her out. It's the easiest time I've ever had in every high level boss battle. If you build your monk right, you can do an incredible amount of damage per hit, and you get three/four (I forget the final number) hits per turn. I cannot recommend the monk enough.

PLUS if you get the cursed amulet from the grymforge, you get some fun little monk dialogue, too.

I always play DUrge- if you've never done a Durge run, plan to play as a redeemed DUrge or DUrge doing their best because in my opinion, that is hands down the most narratively satisfying story for a player character. It puts you directly into the plot, too.

I have played a paladin which I think is my favorite class in the game. If you're worried about breaking your oath, try Oath of Vengeance first- its REALLY hard to break your oath (trust me on that hahahaha- I break my oath all the time in act 1 because I want the hags hair.)

This is so long but sorcerer is a good class for a Tav because of the high charisma. I prefer wizard to sorcerer because they can learn two spells to every one a sorcerer knows, so a wizards spell book is larger and Gale can also learn scrolls, too. Sorcerer's get that quickened spell though, which is nice. I played once as a draconic sorcerer and it was fine, but not my favorite.

The most fun I ever had was playing the cleric of Mystra while romancing Gale and the monk- we just dominated every fight in the game.

Right now I'm playing the emo cleric of Lathander and I'm having a really good time- I did human for her. I really like playing as a human- its my second most played race just behind Tiefling which is also fun!