#this is an actual thing my tiefling bard tav would do and i take no criticism

[dantent]

tav, trying to flirt with raphael but rolling a nat 1: if i had to pick a favorite tea... i would pick you, shaw-tea *winks*

raphael: ...

raphael: im surrounded by idiots

-later that night-

raphael in his bed, still thinking about tav: fuck...

[thehistoriccemetery]

I saw you were in need of requests, so I bring you one.

how would the ladies react to a usually pacifistic Tav sucker punching someone, seemingly out of nowhere? when pressed as to why they did it, Tav reveals they'd been hearing the person they punched make gross comments about their partner all evening

I only did Shadowheart, Lae’zel, and Karlach for this one. Hope you enjoy anon!

CW: Violence

Shadowheart

Shadowheart’s eyes widen in surprise when your fist meets the Sharran priest’s face. He falls backwards, nearly hitting his head against the alter. She covers her mouth to conceal a smile. The smile, however, is quickly replaced with a concerned look. She couldn’t hear your conversation, what could he have possibly said to set you off? You walk back towards her, accidentally smearing blood across as you try to itch your nose.

“Is that his blood or yours?” She asks.

You turn your hands over, just now noticing there is blood on them. “Oh?” You tilt your head. “Probably both?”

“What did he do? Did he hurt you?” She asks.

“No he didn’t hurt me, he… it’s not important,” you said. “Am I gonna get like… smited if I wash my hands of in Shar’s fountain? Smited? Smoted?”

Shadowheart laughs. “It’s actually smote. And if you’re going to get smote for anything, it’s shoving her priest’s head into her alter.”

She takes your face into her hands and presses your foreheads together as you both laugh. She kisses your forehead and you wrap your arms around her. The move surprises and her hands shoot into the air, but she doesn’t pull away.

“You made the right choice… sparing Aylin I mean. I know it was the hardest thing you’ve ever done, but it was the right thing to do.” You say.

“I know, darling,” she says, relaxing and returning your hug.

Lae’zel

When Lae’zel sees you move to punch the old scholar, she’s by your side before you even make contact. The scholar hunches over, groaning in pain. Lae’zel takes the opportunity to take her greatsword down on her back. The body falls limply to the ground. “Kainyak!” She spat. “What did the istik say?”

You smiled. “You didn’t even hear her and you still struck her down?”

“If it was enough to incite any violence from you, I’m sure a swift death was a blessing,” she responded.

“The crèche is that way,” you say, pointing in the direction of the Rosymorn Monastery. You hoped it would distract away from original question. Lae’zel shouldn’t have to hear the racist and repulsive way the woman had spoken of her people.

Luckily, it was enough.

“Then that is the way we will go” she commands, pointing her greatsword in the direction.

Karlach

Karlach almost misses it, but she turns her head at the last minute to see you sock a bard right in the nose.

“Hell yeah!” She shouts, pumping her fist in the air. She’s still about 50 feet away from you, so she definitely didn’t hear what the man said or know why you punched him. She starts approaching a bit more quickly, breaking into a light jog.

Before you know it she’s standing next to you and looking down at the now dazed bard on the ground. “That was awesome!” She says, slapping you lightly on the back. “So uh… what did he do? Must’ve been a hell of a song he was playing to get a rise out of you.”

“He was… he’s not a fan of tieflings,” you sigh. It’s not a complete lie, more of a fib. He’s not a fan of a tiefling, one you are particularly fond of.

“A lot of people aren’t, unfortunately,” she says, reaching a hand out to help the man up. Your heart aches at the act of kindness for such a cruel man.

“I’ll not be taking assistance from you, hellspawn!” He spits, standing up himself and spitting at Karlach. Blood and teeth spattered against her chest.

You glare at him, ready to knock him out for good this time. A swift kick sends him tumbling back to the ground and a stomp to his right hand cause him to shriek. You won’t kill him, but his broken fingers ensure he’ll never play another about your Karlach again.

[avocado-writing]

we need a rewrite of the tiefling party where tav can actually convince wyll to join the party and have fun please 🥹

notes: love love love writing for Wyll. he's such a sweetie! Implied bard reader but not explicit.

rating: T, but there will be a spicy part 2 coming up!

The party is lively and your head is swimming from the buzz of attention. That, and the small amount of wine you’ve had: not so much as to dull your senses but enough to make you merry. Warmed with Arkhen’s Hoard you take a break from the grateful tieflings and head out towards the familiar babble of the river. The further from camp you go the quieter your surroundings get, and you’re able to breathe a little more easily knowing there aren’t half a dozen children hanging on your every word. It’s lovely to be the centre of attention because you helped them, but a little overwhelming with all those eyes on you.

Of course, that’s not the only reason that you’ve come wandering over this way.

Wyll sits with his legs crossed on the bank, staring at the way the water dances under the moonlight. He seems at peace, the calmest he’s been since Mizora appeared and sprouted those horns for him; shoulders relaxed, tensionless. 

“Wondered where you were,” you say, quietly. You don’t want to make him jump after all. It hurts your heart to see the way that his body stiffens when he hears your voice. Ah: there’s the tension again. Nevertheless, he turns to look at you over his shoulder, an easy smile on his lips - but one with a hint of sadness. You’ve studied his face enough in camp in order to know when he’s trying to hide something. It makes your heart ache bitterly that he would try and hide it from you, though. 

“Thought I’d be able to sneak away. Should have known you’d be able to find me.”

You take a seat next to him in the grass. It’s a soft spot he’s managed to pick, not wet from its proximity to the river, but green and lush from its plentiful feeding. You lock eyes with him and press a hand to your chest, mock-wounded.

“Wyll! You make me sound like I’m a bloodhound tracking you down, not someone who cares about you checking in.”

He laughs, and you see him begin to lighten again. When he smiles this time, it’s sincere.

“That’s not what I meant. Apologies. Just that I’m not surprised you know me well enough to guess where I’d end up.”

“Down by the river,” you hum, fingers suddenly itching for the feel of a lute’s strings. 

“You’re always singing that, you know?”

“I am, it’s a good song. I’ve never once heard you complain about it.”

“I’m not complaining! I never would, I love to hear you sing. Since I joined you on this journey, my life has been filled with so much music. It’s been wonderful.”

You put your hands behind you and lean back on them, allowing your face to become level with his. He looks into your eyes and, this close, you can see his breath hitch a little when your fingers brush together.

“I could be persuaded to do an impromptu performance, but I’d need my favourite person in the front row to give me courage.”

“I’m sure that you don’t need me for that. Courage is the one thing you couldn’t possibly lack.”

“To be my muse, then.”

You know if you lifted your hand and felt his cheek, it’d be warm.

“Please, Wyll,” you continue, softly. “Please come and join us. Everybody wants you there. Me especially, if I’m being selfish.”

“Ah…” you can see he’s warring with himself. On one side of the argument, he longs to indulge you. On the other side…

“I’m not sure. I think people may find me off-putting.”

You furrow your brow.

“You? The single most charming man I’ve ever met?”

Another flash of shyness over his face. You can tell that he enjoys the compliment, but his self-doubt wins out.

“Perhaps I was, before the horns.”

“Oh, Wyll. Do you think anybody up there cares about those? A group of your friends and people you fought tooth and nail to protect? I know for a fact that Karlach wants to challenge you to a drinking game.”

“That seems like more of a reason to hide! I think she’d drink me under one of the tables,” Wyll grimaces, and smiles when you laugh at his silliness. He seems a little more open to the idea, but still not completely sold.

“I don’t know… just… the children…”

“The children who love you and hang on your every word? Umi won’t stop asking me where you are, and someone needs to keep Mol in line…”

“I doubt even the gods themselves can do that.”

When he chuckles you find yourself reaching out to cup his cheek, running your thumb over the sharp ridge that was raised there when Mizora cursed him. His eyes widen and glaze over before sliding closed, nuzzling into the gesture, soul laid bare to the sweetness of your touch. 

 “Nobody feels unsettled by you. Nobody is afraid of you.”

His lips fall apart, anticipating the way you reach in to kiss him.

It’s a soft kiss. Lips dancing slowly, a waltz, noses bumping together a little, his horns grazing your hairline. Your heart soars at it.

When it’s over you sit there and breathe together. Sharing the same air, letting your blood thrum through you in an intertwined heartbeat.

“Will you come and join us? Will you come and dance with me?” you ask.

Wyll loses the argument with himself.

“Yes.”

taglist: @ghosti02art @sadandanxiouswtf @yeethaw13 @trappedinlimbo15 @infinitely-kate @dhampling @wereallbrokenangels @tilldeathdonugget

[thatfreshi]

Ok so... Idea for Astorian? What if the reader was some form of Flamenco dancer? Or something of the sorts, who acts like a bard, but instead of using an instrument they dance to perform magic. Not forced at all ofcorse!! I love the way you write him, it feels like you've nailed his character!

Uhm... if you guys want a part two... yeah. Let me know LMAO

TW - general horniness, reader is threatened at dagger-point

Recommended Song: Shirt - SZA

"Yeah, I just dance and then... magic."

The way Astarion first narrowed his eyes at you when you expressed that you couldn't really do anything else, he thought it was laughable.

"So you don't really fight, you just have fun while everyone else is actually doing things?"

"No, I have to actually be good at it! That's like saying you just open doors."

"Well that would be extremely rude because these hands do much more than open doors my dear."

You rolled your eyes, and he smirked. Now, this was before the two of you even slept together, let alone become an item. Over time Astarion has come to understand just how important of an asset you are to the group, but more specifically how he can't keep his eyes off of you on the battlefield. Whenever you can, the two of you find some time alone in the city to find you the most gorgeous flowy outfits, partially because they're easier to move in, but he also loves spoiling you, especially if he benefits from the view. He likes stitching little messages into the loose pieces of fabric, anything in between love notes and threats to people who have even thought about hurting you. The most recent one reads 'If the person wearing this is dead, you're next.'

Somehow, you and your rag-tag group have ended up being tasked with a group of bandits outside of Baldur's Gate. Does it have anything to do with the tadpoles or anything else important? No, of course not, but you have a hard time not helping people in need.

When you come across the group of bandits, it's apparent that they're not going to be a problem. While you're staking out their camp, Astarion comes behind you, whispering in your ear.

"If we make quick work of this, I'm sure we could find somewhere afterwards, for the two of us."

It sends a shiver up your spine, but you laugh it off, turning to look at him.

"You think you're funny, huh? Come on, we have work to do."

"Oh trust me, I know."

Maybe you should find a new way to cast magic, because it cannot be good for him to be horny mid-fight. Then again, it never seems to be a problem, so maybe it doesn't matter? Astarion certainly is an odd specimen, but you love him anyways.

"I am begging the two of you to stop flirting on the battlefield, please."

Gale pleads, wishing the two of you could keep it in your pants for once.

"Listen, once you find someone who completes your heart like Tav completes mine, you will understand. Until then, I'd stop complaining."

You nudge him and then whisper.

"Aster, you are talking to the guy who had sex with Mystra, and then became a literal bomb to try and win her approval."

"Damnit, I always forget about that! Fine, whatever. If Mystra were here, you would be just as lustful as I am, no matter the circumstances."

Gale grumbles to himself and walks off to the others, as Karlach prepares to make the first strike. She makes the signal, and you all take your positions. Astarion always insists on staying close to you, taking you with him on the flank if he has to. No one tries to argue, because he doesn't trust anyone else to keep you safe.

"Damnit, ambush!"

One of the bandits calls out, a tiefling. Gale casts grease, making their camp light up in flames from the campfire. Karlach strikes one of the bandits from behind, knocking them into the fire, effectively killing them. You don't realize though that one of the bandits had taken a trip to the forest to relieve himself, and he comes up behind you. Suddenly, you're swallowing fear with a dagger to your throat.

"Cease fire! Or the pretty one gets it."

As soon as the others look over in concern, the man's throat has been pierced, some of the blood splattering onto your face. Astarion drinks until your attacker hits the ground, the dagger falling out of a bloodless hand. You catch sight of Shadowheart, who is in close-quarters combat with a drow, and you turn to your lover.

"Come here!"

He doesn't ask questions, and he grabs your hands, spinning you out towards the fight as you send a fire bolt the drow's way. She falls quickly. Soon enough, Lae'zel finishes off the last of them, and Shadowheart casts water across the flames, making sure nothing else is burnt down. You try to catch your breath with the rest of the group, and you realize Wyll is injured, a gash across his shoulder. Normally Halsin or Shadowheart would deal with such a wound, but it's been a long day, and you're the only one with any healing magic left in you. With a few moves of your hips, you send out a healing ward, patching him up rather quickly.

"Thank you Tav."

Astarion comes to your side immediately after, almost as if he's jealous, wrapping an arm around your waist. As the others start going through the bandits' treasure, your lover wipes the blood off of your face.

"Surprised you didn't lick it off."

"I'm sure his blood was rancid, I much prefer yours."

If someone told you a year ago that someone saying they want to drink your blood was a turn-on, you would've laughed them all the way to Waterdeep. Now, you struggle to stand properly, holding your thighs together. He keeps his hand on your face, grip a little tenser than before.

"You need to be more careful when we're out there. I know these people were practically dead already, but some people won't try to trade you off like a token."

Normally you'd roll your eyes, tell him you obviously know that, but you just nod, and his thumb creeps over to your bottom lip.

"Astarion, we can't get this thing open!"

You're interrupted by a shout from Karlach, and Astarion kisses your cheek.

"I'll finish this later I suppose. Come my love, time to loot these insolent fools."

It's as if he set up the scenario perfectly, like he wanted the two of you to be interrupted. Hopefully he keeps his word.

[shewolfofvilnius]

Wild Magic: Chapter 1

(oh my gods I actually WROTE SOMETHING)

Read on AO3 Part 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 Notes: Genre: Romantic Comedy, Magical Adventure, Self-discovery Words: 5100 Pairings: Gale x Lia (main, developing), Rolan x Tav (background, established) Tav is a secondary character, a female tiefling bard. Chapter 1 is mostly PG-13 (w some slight comedic nudity at the end) but will eventually become Mature

Synopsis:

"Rolan always said I put the 'can't' in 'cantrip."

Gale has time off before returning to Blackstaff Academy and has been tasked by Rolan to find the cause of a worsening series of magical oddities and maladies affecting Ramazith's Tower. Mishaps that have only increased by several orders of magnitude after Lia attempted to use a scroll to light a room only to have the scroll backfire (a rare occurrence all its' own).

In the process, it's discovered the cause of the tower's unstable and increasingly...wild...magic is far closer than it appears. In the process, Lia gains both a new dimension in the sibling rivalry with her brother Rolan, a new level of annoyance at puzzles, and yet another new wizard to both frustrate and fascinate her endlessly. She might even (gasp) learn a thing or two about magic along the way. Gale, Rolan, Cal, and Tav certainly hope she will, anyway, for all their sakes.

Full 1st chapter below the break:

A snowy breeze drifted across the Lower City district of Baldur’s Gate. A red-hued tiefling woman stood in contrast against the snowdrifts swirling about her. The cold hadn’t been a surprise, however, the snow had come on suddenly as she had been picking up some supplies she had had delivered to the Elfsong. Certain couriers were…apprehensive…about delivering to the tower, but the Elfsong? No worries.

“There wasn’t a cloud in the sky at sunset – I wasn’t in there that long. Where is all this coming from”.  Lia shivered under her cloak.  “Only a few more blocks to go.  The nerve of Rolan and Tav to just LEAVE for WEEKS like that.  What do Cal and I know about running an entire magical store? I can barely cast Dancing Lights even with a scroll AND that arsehole’s notes – damnable backfires - and Cal’s even worse.  I swear if it wasn’t for Tolna the tower would have burned to the ground two tendays ago.”  

Lia, rather cross but using her desire to enact revenge against her elder brother and his lover, the so called Hero of Baldur’s Gate, provided extra warmth against the snow and cold.  To an outside observer, the gusts of wind even appeared to be in sync to whatever the woman walking by was muttering to herself.

They said they’d be gone a tenday. Two tops. Why has it been a month?!  They were just going to visit that little lakeside near that stupid grove!

Finally arriving at the recently repaired Sorcerous Sundries – and the looming tower overhead that she and her family called home. She’d never admit it, even after a potion or under duress, but she was beginning to…ugh…miss Rolan and Tav.

Fortunately, no such admission would need to be made.  Nearing home, she noticed a flurry of lights and sound coming from the nearby emporium. Half of her suddenly became hopeful that Rolan and Tav had returned; the other half apprehensive at what the activity could be if it’s NOT them. The things they’d all been through since The Descent had made her permanently apprehensive.

Rounding the corner, she could start to feel heat against the presence of the cold and snow.  Further investigation, however, came to a half when Lia carefully rounded the corner, and came face to face…with a mind flayer.

Taking an instinctive step back and reaching for the dagger she’d just obtained from Dammon, Lia assumed a defensive posture.

“Lia.  I remember you.  Please, wait” projected the mind flayer, almost with a hint of…familiarity?!

“Prepare to die, Illithid scum!”

A hint of what could almost be called fear, if mind flayers felt fear, appeared to cross the creature’s face for a moment, before a shout rang across the shop foyer.”

“Lia! STOP! WAIT!”

Making their way through a small but raucous gathering were two all-too-familiar tieflings.  Her insufferable brother, Rolan – and Tav.

Lia’s concern was immediate.  “Do you MIND telling me what that thing is doing here, you two? Last time I saw a mind flayer, they were sweeping up corpses and using water scrolls across half the lower city! I can still occasionally see specks of silver in the cracks of tile.” Lia was NOT allowing THAT thing to harm any of her friends, her family.

“Bloody hells, Lia, that’s Karlach. Giant tiefling barbarian? One horn? Persistently on fire? Tav TOLD US the sacrifice she made to save the city. Put that weapon DOWN.”

Fear and the worst case momentarily crossed her mind. Could they have been enthralled?  She’d once heard Tav speak of the suggestive power mind flayers, of their ally known as “The Emperor”.   Tav HAD said that Karlach had become a mind flayer…”

Sheathing her dagger but keeping a defensive staff, Lia looked towards the mind flayer before her. Her gaze slowly softened, and she exhaled.  “It’s good to see you, soldier.  Sorry about the cold welcome.”

“It is fine, soldier. You are not the first person I have encountered who has had that reaction. It is not ideal, but eventually, you learn to adapt. I am so glad that Tav found you all after our fight against the Elder Brain.”

As Lia looked over the mind flayer before her, a voice boomed across the room. “Apologies for the confusion, dear sister” perked up Rolan.  Rolan, for a moment, considered teasing his sister about the weather, but decided that such levity could wait until tomorrow.

“Several of them all arrived together at the Emerald Grove, where I’ve been deep in consultation with the druids there for the past few days.  I must say they seemed far more amenable to my presence this time. The new Archdruid, Francesca, has made a stark difference towards climate of the grove.”

“Oh of course now that you’re the bleedin’ Archmage of Baldur’s Gate suddenly they have time for a tiefling” spat back a still embittered Lia, remembering many of those same druids had been all too keen to cast her, her family, and their friends and traveling companions out to face sudden death just months earlier.   Lia sighed; this was an argument for another time. 

“Speaking of climate, dear sister, I don’t recall there being any forecasts from the seers indicating snow. Curious, we didn’t even encounter any prior to arriving in the city.”

Glancing towards the window, Lia looked at intently at the flakes against the glass.  “Beats me. Went to go pick up some things I had shipped to the Elfsong, and the flurries started almost as soon as I walked out the door.”

The elder tiefling, seizing the opportunity to tease his sister, could not resist. A smug grin crept across his face. “Clearly, Baldur’s Gate is merely responding to your chilly disposition, sister.”

Letting out a glare and a low growl, Lia growled towards her brother, before snapping back. “If it was your personality out there, Baldur’s Gate would be a desert in a tenday.”

A chuckle escaped the tiefling wizard’s face.  “I missed you too, sister.”

The warm moment was broken up by a shout from a younger tiefling in a silvery flowing robe. “Tav!”

Lia ran towards her future sister-in-law with a warm embrace.  The tiefling bard had become family in recent months, though she still questioned Tav’s taste in gentlemen. Her brother? Seriously? Did she suffer head trauma while fighting The Absolute?”

“I still wish the three of you had been able to come to the party” shouted back Tav. The conversation crossed back to Lia - “From the looks of it, you brought the party back to us!”

The two women looked around the room. High Harper Jaheira!  The legendary ranger, Minsc! Grand Duke Wyll Ravengard!  She’d already come face to…face? with the now-Illithid Karlach.  She could swear she also saw a cat she didn’t recognize skulking off in the corner, although she would swear it had…wings? Did she have too much sherry earlier that evening?

“Lia? Lia? Anyone home?” Tav looked at Lia with concern.

“It’s good to see so many of these faces again.  Wouldn’t have anything we have without you and your friends.  I’m just a little overwhelmed, wasn’t expecting a party.  I’ll be back. Just gonna drop these off in the kitchen!  Missed you!”

Making a hasty exit towards the top of the storefront, she stepped into the rightmost portal at the top of the stairs. One of Rolan’s first actions had been to reconfigure the four portals in the storefront for tower access – and to ward against unauthorized entry by the use of small keystones attached to a pendant. To access the privacy of the tower, one would either need to be granted access, or be a skilled enough mage to essentially function as a magical locksmith. 

The tower’s magic had been…on edge? Lately?  The keystones had largely kept the portal system stable, but without Rolan present to maintain the magic, several weird issues had arrived. Randomly locked doors.  Rooms that would extinguish all their lights when she walked in.  Two days after Rolan and Tav had left, Lia recalled, she had tried to use a scroll to illuminate a room.  While she didn’t trust Rolan’s assessment of the ease of using it, even Cal had noted the simplicity by which the scrolls worked. 

Except instead she’d nearly been electrocuted by the damnable thing. The lights in the room lit up, sure, but so did she. She spent the better part of an hour physically illuminated, as though her own skin were a light source.  Glitches had been growing more and more common since then, although Cal SWORE that they only seemed to occur when Lia was there.  Except the locks, which seemed to have a mind of their own.

Rolan had also been quick to note that no, the ‘Knock’ spell she’d seen him use to unlock the storefront once shortly after they’d moved in – after they’d been locked out – would not open the portals.  Knowing that no one save her brothers and Tav held keystones, Lia figured she could retreat to the kitchen, regain her composure with a few moments of privacy.

As the warm glow of the kitchen portal enveloped her, a few minutes away to regroup would be perf—

Hopes of a moment or two of solitude were quickly dashed. A tall human man clad in the most ornate purple mage’s robes she ever seen sat seated at a table, glass of wine and some sort of book before him.  She remembered – this was another of Tav’s friends. Gale, that was his name. Ugh, not another wizard.

“Oh, a thousand pardons. I wasn’t aware anyone would be venturing up here. Hello! I’m Gale Dekarios, Professor of Illusory Magic at Blackstaff Academy”

The man stood to greet Lia, extending a hand outward.

“Friend of Tav’s, right? Considering this is my home, this is our kitchen, and my brother indicated that the portals were locked, I’d REALLY love an explanation as to why you’re in here.” She was clearly unimpressed at the wizard stood before her, annoyance and contempt gradually simmering warmer.

“A thousand pardons, my dear…Lia, I believe. Rolan’s sister!”

The sound of a clawed hand tapping the countertop impatiently echoed around the room.  “Yes, I know who I am.  Why are you up here? And don’t call me ‘my dear’”

“Apologies again, I meant no ill will or intent” hastily sputtered the wizard. “Your brother had indicated an issue with the tower’s lock mechanisms and asked if I might be so keen as to take a look. That’s primarily abjuration, however…. you don’t share your brother’s inclination towards the arcane, do you?” asked Gale.

“Can’t say I do.  Tried, a couple of times. Rolan said I put the ‘can’t’ in ‘cantrip’.”

Resisting the majority of a hearty laugh at the wordplay, Gale still couldn’t help a small chuckle.”

“I know we’ve been having issues with locks malfunctioning, traps going off, ever since we moved in.  It’s why the portals are tied to these things”, noted Lia, showing the pendant that normally allowed them access. 

“It’s a clever mechanism, but long term the root cause needs addressing.”

“Okay, but, why the wine and the book?”

“When I entered this room 20 minutes ago, that door -” Gale pointed towards the larder entry

“The larder locked itself AGAIN!?”

“A simple ‘Knock’ spell was easily dispelled, so right now I’m observing. And for me, I’ve found a good glass of wine and some quality literature helps pass the time. Say, now that you’ve entered the room, I wonder…” The wizard’s voice trailed off, as he raised his hand to begin manipulating the Weave, quietly muttering several things Lia couldn’t quite understand under her breath.

The door to the larder swung open. 

“Aha. You’re entering via the portal appears to have triggered the next sequence in which doors are locked.”

“But why would the portal from the shop to the kitchen – OH!” Lia’s face lit up. “I saw something like this once!  It was…”

“Please, do continue, anything could be of import or significance” responded Gale, with kindness.

Looking the wizard directly in the eyes – and after shaking loose a stray thought – Lia continued. “There was this game thing that I saw once in Elturel when we were kids. You’d push a button, but when you did all the buttons around it flipped over. You had to be real careful and try to set them off in a specific order, and flip them around a few times, but eventually if you did it right, you’d get them all pushed in!”

“The wards on the doors are tied to the same magic as the portals. The portals are forced open with the keystones, but whenever you use them, it’s flipping over other locks.” Lia’s face sunk.  She might not have been a magic user, but she’d spent hours playing that game in frustration. “It means we’re going to have to set off all the locks, we’re gonna have to see which ones cause other ones to change, and it’s going to be a long night.”

“Indeed, long month more like.  Fortunately, we’ve just hit a break period at Blackstaff and I’m CERTAIN that this magical lock system would be of great note to researchers, it truly IS a marvel.”

“If you say so.”.  Lia’s frustration was palpable. The locks had been malfunctioning for weeks, and now it turns out the only way to solve it was going to involve diligence, studious observation, and the services of another wizard. 

“Apologies if this is a sensitive topic, but as I’ve been tasked to help, there IS a matter I’d like to go back to.  Neither you nor your younger brother…. Cal, I believe…have any magical aptitude whatsoever? It’s quite unusual for a family to have a spellcaster as talented as your brother while…”

Lia exhaled. She knew where this was going, might as well get it out of the way.

“Rolan’s adopted. We do not EVER make a thing out of it in this house, Rolan is our brother, but he was adopted. Hence why he’s ‘Master’ of an entire wizard’s tower, and Cal and I…run the shop, and mostly try to not get ourselves blown up.”

“Ah.  I see.  Well…” The wizard’s voiced trailed off. The conversation had stretched on now for some time, and Lia had nearly resigned herself to wanting to rejoin the party (whatever the risk to the damnable locks) when Gale’s thought finally made its’ way to his mouth.  “Has Rolan ever, you know, shown any interest in teaching the two of you?”

“He’s managed to get Cal to a point where he can use a scroll without it backfiring or causing us to need to evacuate the shop.  Whenever he tries with me, it ends…explosively.  I tried to use a scroll for LIGHT and managed to set an entire bookshelf ON FIRE”.

It was an unpleasant memory. She’d found her brother an insufferably smug teacher.  It’d all always come so easily to Rolan. Lia’d rather just have her wits and a good sharp blade.”

“When I first met Tav, if she attempted to use her instrument as a focus, she could perform minor spells, but on her own had zero capacity to cast – in fact, it would frequently result in a backfire of wild magic not unlike what you’ve just described with the bookcases.  From what I recall, you generally prefer a bow or blade to magic, however, if you’d at least like to be able to use a scroll, I believe I can help. It may even make dealing with the locks simpler.”

“Learn magic? From you? Don’t be ridiculous. I can’t. Seriously, I have tried. Hells, I have actually, proper tried.  Rolan tries to be supportive, but…he looks so angry when I try, and it backfires like that.  It wastes scrolls, and knowing his sister is SO magically inept, I just…I don’t need more proof that I can’t do this stuff.”

Lia turned towards the portals

“Tell you what – I’m not above a friendly bit of wagering, and truly, I believe this will help all parties involve.  Tomorrow morning, I’ll be at the door of the shop an hour before you’re posted to open.  This is zero risk, all reward. You don’t even have to step out into the cold.  Since you’ve said that even scrolls cause backfires, let’s start there. If I can get you to cast one scroll – something relatively harmless like Dancing Lights – without a backfire, then you get rewarded.  I, uh, I know things. About Tav. And your brother. You could tease them both mercilessly. “

“Tempting, Wizard. But how do you know things I don’t about Rolan?”

“Wizards are notorious gossips, and your brother has rapidly developed quite the reputation.  Mostly positive, I hasten to add. But replete with a story or two that could certainly cause him minor embarrassment.”

“So, wait, I get to figure out this magic thing enough not to blow up the tower with a single scroll, I get juicy gossip about those two, and I don’t even have to leave the house…. really, wizard, what ARE you getting from this.”

Looking directly into the woman’s black and orange eyes, Gale simply grinned. “My dear, there is no greater joy than to be able to show someone who believed that they are incapable of something that they indeed possess the capability.  So many in this world would be capable of so much more if they were only of the belief that they could.  I believe you can do this.”

Lia let out a small, toothy grin.  He believed in her? Even over six months after that brain had nearly destroyed the city, Tav’s friends were continually a surprise.

“Also, I MUST admit…”

Oh, there’s always a ‘but’ or an ‘also’, Lia thought to herself.

“In all my years, I have only rarely known the use of scrolls to produce the kind of wild magic surges and backfires that you’ve described. If something IS impairing your ability to manipulate the weave in any manner, including a common scroll, that’s something worth investigating.”

Her defensiveness rose once more. She was no one’s laboratory experiment or object of pity.

“Look. I have a theory – and I RUSH to emphasize, it is only a theory – I think whatever is going on with the locks and the wards and your ”backfires” as it were are somehow related. Why and how? That is what I’d like to get to the bottom of.  If I can help a charming young lady gain some skill in the arcane arts along the way?  I would consider that a win-win situation.”

Sorry, charming? Was he?  Damnation, he was at least ten years older than her.  And a wizard.  No, no, work past it Lia. Okay, say something, this is getting awkward.

“Fine, one hour before opening. Wait – where are the rest of you staying tonight?  In the tower?”

“We were able to send ahead and rent out our old suite in the Elfsong.  There’s fewer of us now, and it’s only a few streets away.”.

Alfira and Lakrissa had mentioned this suite.  Absolutely palatial.  Alan Alyth had offered them the entire upper floor suite of the tavern during their battles against the brain.

“Snow’s piling up. If you don’t head back soon, you might be stuck the rest of the night.”

“Ah yes.  Still, I could certainly picture worse environs to be trapped in for a night.”. 

A slightly uncomfortable quiet began to hang over the room, broken only by occasional howls of wind and snow pelting the windows.

“Party’s downstairs. If you’re through ‘observing the locks’, let’s rejoin everyone else.  And you, I’ll see you promptly at six.”

Gale rose and began to head towards the portal with Lia. Once more, the warm glow began to envelop them, then, suddenly, a loud POP and a chilly breeze. 

Snow? Wait, they were outside? Why did she have a headache?

“Lia, I must admit, I did not anticipate this particular development.”

Looking around, the situation quickly became clear. 

“We’re on the bleedin’ balcony of the tower!?!” let out a shocked Lia. The pair had at least landed on firm ground, but near the uppermost floor of Ramazith’s tower, and most importantly, outdoors. 

“Right, let’s look for a door or window.”

The pair searched around, and eventually Lia found an opening to a window to the library inside.  Escaping the frigid gusts of the outdoors, Gale raised his hand, planning to illuminate the lighting inside the library.

“In for a penny, in for a pound.  Lia, do me a favor, watch me, carefully repeat every motion I make, and repeat every sound I make. Clear?”

Doing an imitation of Gale, the tiefling retorted back “Watch me, carefully repeat every motion I make, and repeat every sound I make. Clear?”

Letting loose a louder laugh this time, Gale began the process of casting Light.  Lia, relaxed in spite of their situation after the joke, following along closely. Word for word, motion for motion, she had proven a fantastic mimic for the wizard from Waterdeep.

At least in terms of her attempts to copy Gale.  The results…diverged.  Gale’s attempt effortlessly resulted in the illumination of a nearby brazier.  As did Lia’s.  “Gale! Oh, my gods, I….” Before she could complete the thought, an itch began to spread through every cell of her being. An itch that became a tickle.  Laughing, Lia suddenly found herself as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.”

“Uh, Lia…”

The levity of the moment was replaced by a different form of levity as Lia found herself nearly a meter off the ground – and rising.  Leaping, Gale managed to grab her by the hand and pull her towards him. 

Equally parts amused and concerned, Lia fleetingly found herself noting the wizard’s surprisingly firm grip.   For a bookworm, he has surprisingly strong hands here.

With her attention firmly focused on Gale, she noticed his casting once more. A glow rapidly enveloped them both – and she found herself beginning to return to the ground, slowly and gently.

Suddenly, a feeling of static and a pop of light. Gravity took hold once more, and the tiefling woman came crashing down upon the human wizard, landing atop him on the ground.

Realizing she had Gale pinned to the ground, she allowed her brain a moment, then rolled off, a sly grin mixed with intense confusion. 

“WHAT IN THE NINE HELLS WAS THAT?! Gale, not that I dont appreciate the soft landing but what happened? I did your little magic thing, it even looked like it worked, then suddenly I’m airborne.  What’s going on?”

Gale attempted to regain his composure, his mind lingering perhaps just a moment too long at having just had Lia atop him.

“Lia, excluding Rolan, does your family have ANY history of magic use whatsoever?”.

“Honestly, a lot of our folks died when we were young.  Why? I already told you, I’m not a mage. Rolan and I aren’t even related.”

“I’m aware that Rolan isn’t strictly your biological sibling. However, what I just witnessed is crystal clear, Lia.  Would you like the good news, the bad news, the worst news, or what’s behind door #4?”

“Out with it, wizard!” glared Lia, albeit slightly playfully. 

“What do you know of magic users known as ‘sorcerers’?”

“I’ve heard Rolan say things. Honestly, I think he was a little jealous. They’re the ones that are just born with magic, right? No studying or…. wait, what are you saying?”  Lia’s confused statement, however, was betrayed by a knowing look upon her face.

“There exists a category of sorcerers known as ‘Wild Magic’ sorcerers. The source of their magic tends to be the most unpredictable. Sometimes it’s by pure happenstance of birth.  Others it’s by unintentional magic exposure. Some have gained their talents by interactions with demons, or with the fey.  Still others went to their deaths believing that their powers had simply been a trick of the Gods.”

“Out with it.”

“Lia, what I’ve witnessed now twice in just the last half hour with you is indisputable. Those are the tell-tale wild magic surges of a sorcerer.  Why it started with scrolls, I’m not sure – perhaps it’s particularly volatile magic, perhaps there was some sort of ward on one of the scrolls that you tried to use that caused its’ magic to backflow into you. But ONLY a wild magic sorcerer could have caused what you just experienced when you attempted to light that brazier.   You’re a sorcerer, Lia.”

The intense emotion of the situation brought forth a familiar tingle. Her eyes shot open with alarm.

“Control it, Lia.  With study, you can learn to master these – “

Gale’s words were all too late. Another flash and crackle of electricity filled the room, along with a light layer of smoke. 

“Lia, answer me please, are you okay?”

As the smoke cleared, the first things visible were a pile of clothes of the ground.

Eyes opening wide, Gale could only let out a shocked “Uh oh.” as he prepared a sending spell and tried to think of what counterspell would be proper for this.

---

Downstairs, the magical lights of the shop flickered for a third time.  Grand Duke Wyll was the first person to notice “Look, everyone, the snow’s stopped.”

“Finally. The weather seers hadn’t said anything about snow” noted Rolan, interrupted by the large man (and mighty hamster) near him. “Clearly, they did not seer this coming” chuckled Minsc. 

“Hey, has anyone seen Lia? She took a bundle to the kitchen an hour ago, and she’s not back yet.  Kitchen portal’s not working either!” shouted Cal across the room. 

“The magic in this tower HAS been rather…eccentric, dating back to even before we’d left.  I had asked Gale to look at it.”  Rolan looked concerned towards Tav. 

Suddenly, Tav heard a familiar ping near the back of her head.  A sending spell?  From Gale.

“Tav. Come quickly to the library.  Bring Rolan. It’s Lia. Portals acting weird. Wild magic”

The hero of Baldur’s Gate wasted no time, grabbing her betrothed and heading towards the library portal. “It’s Gale, he’s with Lia.  They’re in the library, and it sounds like trouble.” 

“Why would my sister be in the library? Why would she be in the library with Gale? He’d only gone to the kit- “

Remembering that Lia had taken the now non-functional kitchen portal herself, they exchanged a confused glance.

“Gale said something else.  Said that the portals are weird and indicated “wild magic.”. 

“That is most certainly bizarre, my love.  How would the wild magic of a sorcerer affect the portal system?  What does it have to do with Gale and Lia?”

“No clue.  Wyll, Jaheira,“ Tav yelled across the room, “Rolan and I are going to the library. Something’s not right. If we’re not back or you don’t get a sending spell from me in fifteen minutes, get Cal’s keystone and come directly to the library. Portals are acting weird, though, so be prepared for anything. Keystone works for up to two people.”

Wyll nodded, almost eager at the chance for some semblance of actual adventure. Minsc appeared slightly saddened to not be invited to whatever was about to go to down town.  The others continued to focus amongst themselves?

“Ready, my love?” asked Rolan to Tav

“Ready”

The glow of the portal engulfed them quickly.  Aside from a slight draft, and a marginally smoky smell, moments later, they found themselves in the library. Gale’s hand was aglow and raised over his head.  In front of Gale stood a pile of clothes and a medium sized sheep, bleating in a vague panic.

“Gale what is-“

“QUIET. NOW.” shot back the wizard, grateful at their presence but annoyed at the interruption.

A curious pairing of scents, lilies and root vegetables, began to waft over the room. Rolan quickly found himself wondering Why in all the nine hells is Gale reversing a poly…OH. OH NO

A bright flash and more smoke engulfed the room.  Before Gale – and at a distance Tav and Rolan – once more stood Lia, now in the unfortunately compromised position of being “on all fours” and, embarrassingly, naked as the day she was born.

“Oh, oh thank the Gods, thank you Gale.  That was…I am getting rid of ALL of the wool in my wardrobe tomorrow.” Gale rapidly averted his gaze as a passing thought tried to remain in his mind. Rolan looked ready to fire a spell of Blight in his direction.

As Tav went over towards Lia in order to help her future sister-in-law with her outfit and to offer comfort, Rolan angrily grabbed Gale, pulling him towards an alcove on the site. 

“Gale Dekarios. Explain, now! WHY WAS MY SISTER A SHEEP? WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?”

“Rolan, I promise, you and Tav will get a full recap in the morning.  What we both need now is to find someplace to rest, and safely.  Lia is safe, Rolan, she – “ “SHEEP. GALE, WHY WAS MY SISTER A SHEEP. WHY WAS MY SISTER NUDE AND IN THE LIBRARY WITH YOU?”

“Brother I’m fine.” Yelled Lia across the room.

“I just don’t understand WHAT IS…”

What had been an anger and confusion filled stream of consciousness set of reactions slowly gave way to Rolan’s more analytical nature.

Sheep.  Magical backfires. The angry sending spell I got from Tolna.

Rolan’s jaw started to hang open as his pupils opened so wide his eyes began to form an eclipse.

“You can’t possibly…no…she’s nor.”

With an almost giggle, a now re-clothed Lia make her way over towards her brother and Gale.  “Looks like you’re not the only mage in the family now, brother”

“Oh gods, she’s not.”

“Rolan, as senior instructor of Illusion at Blackstaff Academy, it is my solemn duty to inform you that your sister, Lia, is in fact a sorcerer. Potentially one of some moderate degree of power, if albeit near-zero control without the proper tutelage”. 

“Rolan, this is great. ANOTHER mage in the family!” noted Tav, excitedly.  Her music had provided Tav herself with a conduit to the Weave, while Rolan’s skills as a wizard were known.  Now, here was Lia – and she was manifesting magic?!  The possibilities for taunting Rolan are delightful now.

Sharing a glance at each other then towards Rolan and Gale, Lia and Tav began to laugh.

“Damnation.” grimaced Rolan.  “Still, if you can learn some measure of control”, began Rolan with a mix of pride and hesitation, “If you can learn some manner of control, perhaps you may yet accomplish great things.”

“I had offered your sister a magic lesson in the morning. I would actually still like to follow through with that, if it’s alright with you Lia?”

“You know what?” Lia glanced at the two wizards with a mix of curiosity, playfulness, and perhaps just a pinch of spite?  “I’d like that. I think I could learn a lot from you, Gale Dekarios.”

This time the glances were shared between Rolan and Tav.  Uh oh.

[haliteatiger]

This my "Tav", Silence. I'm still sorta working out her background details, but for now it's safe to say she's had it pretty rough.

Check below the cut for a lot of rambling and pointless, self-indulgent headcanons.

Her name comes from the fact that she didn't speak for the first few years of her life, instead learning to play the violin and communicating through her art. Someone started calling her "Little Silence" and it just sort of stuck. She didn't know her parents, but was adopted by a noble who saw her as a unique "pet" given her unusual appearance - even for a tiefling - and her musical and artistic talents.

Unfortunately, the guy was bad with money, and ended up gambling away a good portion of whatever Silence earned, in the end becoming desperate enough to try and auction off her virginity when she came of age. Silence, obviously, was not going to stand for this, and managed to escape - possibly killing the man who bought her in the process, she wasn't sure and frankly doesn't care.

With only her violin and a precious few belongings in tow, Silence made her way to Baldur's Gate and was eventually found by a gang of performers and thieves (that I have yet to come up with a name for) where she learned ways on how to survive on the streets and defend herself with her art. Now in her late 20s, and poised to set out on her own due to some complications within her social circle, she was taken aboard the Nautiloid.

There are two sides to Silence - one is kind of quiet, observant, and sensitive. She has a way of simply blending into the background if she doesn't want to be observed (she's good at Stealthing, I guess), and the other is her more or less "bard persona", which is outgoing and charismatic. Contrary to her name, Silence can be quite talkative when the mood strikes her. It's usually when she becomes angry, flustered, or anxious where she seems to forget words entirely and has a hard time articulating herself, which has led into some dramatic situations when she lashes out more physically.

Overall, she's easygoing, and tries very hard not to let her emotions get in the way of her making decisions, and so often comes off as more pragmatic than anything. She's also pretty accepting of those around her even if she is, in actuality, slow to trust. I guess you could say she's highly manipulative as a defence mechanism. So it's not that she lies to people, per se, but she can come off as liking someone more than she does if only to deflect harm from herself. She is not a people-pleaser, however, and has very defined boundaries in terms of how far she's willing to concede to someone, especially a stranger. She's excellent at reading people (most of the time), acts more confident than she seems, knows a little about a lot of topics, and is always eager to learn more. She can be impulsive and rude without meaning to, and has something of a sarcastic and dry sense of humor that always seems almost prepared in advance whenever she snaps back at someone. Her charisma and wit often seem to leave others with the mistaken impression that she knows what she's doing in any given situation, and thus has often been beset with expectations she's sure she's more often than not fallen short of. Somehow, people just seem to think she's the most competent one in the room because she talks a good talk. Due to her dual upbringing, she is capable of blending in with high society as well as she does low. Silence will generally act within her own best interests or those of her friends, but it doesn't really take much to persuade her to do the right thing.

A good example would be when she and the gang arrive at the druid hold and is asked to help the tieflings. Initially she denies getting involved until mocked by Astarion for "turning her back on the needy", at which point, just to annoy him, agrees to help. (Although, when pressed she admits she mostly did it because she realized they needed some things in the area anyway and helping them could be beneficial to their cause). She can have kind of an impish sense of humor and while she doesn't like to see others get hurt, probably does take more pleasure in watching her enemies die writhing in agony than she'd care to admit.

Random fun fact: Silence is a feral tiefling, and her tail is supposed to be reminiscent of a heraldic unicorn's or lion's tail. She often carries it with a curl or S shape as she has a somewhat chronic fear of it being stepped on or pulled. She also has cat-like eyes (that I've had to mod in, but really wish Larian would include them naturally in the game because why not??? Same with more variations in tails...)

Other fun fact is that Silence has a Secret Power in which she's capable of using her tadpole to influence those around her when she plays a song infused with a particular strong emotion. Unfortunately, she cannot replicate the song later, at least not in the same way or with the same impact as when she played it. This generally acts like an empathic attack on those who can see and hear her, impressing upon them the emotion she's attempting to convey through song which can manifest in the audience's minds as how she imagines it - so a full orchestra if that's what she's hearing in her head. As one can imagine, the situations in which this is actually useful are few and far between, as it would require the proper conditions and emotional preparation for it to be effective, although I like to imagine she has used it a few times on a smaller scale to calm tensions in the group when camping some nights.

Relationships with the other NPCs:

Lae'zel - Admires her strength, but is suspicious of her motivations mostly because she seems more than capable of finding this creche by herself, but instead wants to drag the rest of them along with her. Either she's hiding an altruistic side to her or something else is going on. Silence tolerates Lae'zel's nasty attitude, but also can't help but find her and her people's culture fascinating. She often tries to overlook the Gith's biting tongue in order to inquire more about it. It's a mystery to Silence what Lae'zel truly thinks of her, but it's probably nothing good (even if she seems to get bonus points every time she shows an interest in her people.) About the only time she gets anything resembling a compliment from her is when she agrees with her about the use of their tadpole or if she does something worth being commended for in battle. Otherwise, Lae'zel doesn't seem to be terribly fond of Silence's violin playing as the high-pitched tones seem to bother her.

Gale - Gale and her get along famously, and, next to Wyll, finds him probably one of the easiest to talk to in the group. They both share a great interest in magic and, at times, a similar sense of humor (which is to say she's about as bad at puns as he is). They're both well-travelled and well-educated, and if she doesn't know or understand something magic-related, she's quick to ask Gale for guidance, and enjoys seeing him in his element. Gale seems fond of her wit, open-mindedness, and appreciation and interest she takes in the world around her and those that live in it. She seems to have a genuine interest and appreciation for everyone in the group and admires her dedication to watching their backs, even if it's obvious she doesn't entirely trust any of them. He likes that she seems to know a surprising amount about wizardry despite not being one herself - at least enough to ask advanced questions about things that he might consider to be outside the interest of most bards, as well as the fact that she isn't easily fazed by things that would turn most people's stomachs or make them balk in disbelief. As could be evidenced by her rather extensive anatomy studies on the bodies of their fallen enemies ("It's free art references!")

Admittedly, Silence was a bit shocked and uncomfortable to learn about Gale's history and his need to consume magic artifacts, but as he seems sincere in his efforts to keep it under control, chooses not to worry about it and does what she can to support him, which he greatly appreciates. There's still that little nagging voice in the back of her mind, however, even if he's friendly enough to get her to forget that at times. She has to remind herself on occasion that she doesn't really know him.

Shadowheart - Shadowheart and her also get along very well, even if they're both somewhat guarded around each other still, and Shadowheart, when not in the right mood, can be very difficult to talk to just in general. But, it's Silence who is first to lower her defenses, and speak to the Shar acolyte candidly. Silence finds the two of them have a lot in common in terms of how they approach most situations - pragmatic but always erring to self-preservation or that of the group's. Shadowheart seems to appreciate Silence's amicability, willingness to compromise, and respects that, even though she is friendly, she isn't naive about it. It also helps that Silence doesn't seem to have a problem with her being a worshipper of Shar and respects her desire for privacy even without being prompted. Silence appreciates how much of a team player Shadowheart really is, with her main interests usually centring around maintaining the group and essentially keeping everyone content enough not to turn on one another.

Astarion - Even though she enjoys picking on him from time to time, it's almost always in a way that he can also appreciate. She finds it more fun when the other person is in on the joke as well. This can and does include flirting, but thus far, she's made it pretty clear that she perceives it as simply something to laugh about (even if he might be absolutely serious about it). Unfortunately, at least initially, she also finds Astarion to be one of the hardest to read among the group, and picking on him isn't something she started doing until she knew where his boundaries lay. Up until then, she approached him delicately, allowing him to lead the conversations and learning what she could along the way, which, fortunately, he seems more than happy to do. As a result, he takes her quite a bit longer to translate than the rest, and doesn't feel entirely comfortable around him for a long time to come, really only engaging with him whenever he wishes to engage with her. As a result, the vampire tends to find Silence the most comfortable and trustworthy one of the group even if she seems careful enough not to let him get too close. He's likely the first to notice how little Silence voluntarily shares about herself, often distracting the others with reassurances, compliments, and asking questions she thinks they would enjoy answering.

Despite this he appreciates that she's easygoing and down-to-earth, while still having a good sense of humor and seems to know when to take something seriously, and, while at times seemingly easily impressed with the world around her (like he's one to talk), also seems to accept it for what it is and adapts accordingly.

In actuality, Astarion has about as much trouble reading her as she does him, as he's found it impossible to tell if she's genuine in her compliments and expressing interest in others around her. She certainly seems to have a gift for getting people to trust her. She's good at taking control of conversations and deflecting away from topics she doesn't want to talk about in the least offensive way possible, and he's made the mistake of reading her sincerity as naivety. She intrigues him as almost every time he thinks he has her figured out, she does or says something unexpected, or contrary to what he would assume about her, and he's not even sure if she's doing it on purpose. It's possibly a matter of them being out of step with one another, being of differing natures, even if he gets on better with her than he has anyone else in recent memory (insofar as we know about his story at least).

About the only things that get on his nerves at times is that she's maybe a little too soft, and a little too cautious and prone to overthinking than is good for her, mostly because it ends up involving dragging them into doing something boring or "unproductive" (not to their overall benefit). Never mind that she's encouraged him to wait in camp or go on without them if he has a problem with their decisions. It also bugs him that, even if she sees the merit in using the tadpoles, she's on board with the others that it isn't safe to do so until they know exactly what it is they're dealing with. Rather by accident, it would seem, Astarion finds himself liking her more than he realizes, especially after his condition comes to light and, lo and behold, she's not only okay with it, she wants to know everything about it and how they can use it to their benefit, even if she doesn't seem to be too terribly keen on being fed off of, as long as he can sate himself with bandits and ne'er-do-wells, she's off the hook insofar as she's concerned... for now, and has basically told him that she's his "emergency supply" if circumstances require it.

Despite all this, Silence is still vigilant, and while she trusts him with certain things, doesn't trust him completely, and knows full well the lengths to which his type is willing to go to cover their attempts at taking advantage of a situation.

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

Evie (Ace!Tav) Playthrough Day 3(?)

Day 1... Day 2 - Day 4

Astarion x Evie (Ace!Tav) Masterlist

For the uninitiated, I wrote a Tav well before I ever had a chance to play the game. Now, I finally can and thought it might be fun for my first play through to be as that Tav. Or, at least as much as the game play will allow me.

These are just some of my notes and scattered highlights that I thought would be fun to share.

Let me know if you think if I should continue this and any suggestions you might have.

This actually is more Day 3/4 since I did go back and redo some stuff I wasn't keen on; yes, I've discovered the power of quick saves!

Guys I'm going to romance Gale so fast and I don't think I can hurt this man

Got the "go to hell" dialogue with him; stood in front of the goblin so he's told me at least some of his deep dark secret; basically in the green on approval

I'm not sure if I'm strong enough to reject him guys

Obviously I'll keep playing and see how it goes, but I told myself this would be an Astarion play through

Of course, it does align with my thoughts about Gale having feelings for Evie at the start, so it might all work out

Giving me a lot more ideas about slow burn Astarion and Evie stuff in act 1

Going forward from that Wyll is now in the squad!

He's so perfect and soft with the kids

Definitely more distant at the start in terms of putting on the Blade of Frontiers mask, which I actually really like for future development

Switched out some stuff and guys "Speak with Animals" for the extra animal dialogue is so worth it; I love being a bard

Volo has also been underplayed in how funny he is: I'm now picturing Evie being unsure whether to be annoyed or amused by him every time they meet

She's definitely met his type before; they have very different approaches to the role of the bard in society

Got a lot of quests and God I never wanted to slap a bitch as hard as with Kagha

The fact I can't punch her in the nose without sparking all the druids to turn on the tieflings really does hurt my soul

Evie's nails are digging into her palms the whole time

On that note, the fact you can kill Netti without consequences is objectively funny to me

I rejected even taking the poison because Evie wants to live, she's not just going to take her life

Was not expecting Netti to fight, but needless to say four against one isn't much of a fight

We walked out of there and nobody has said a thing

Also shocked that choice doesn't get Astarion's approval; I thought for sure it would

Actually that's a question I have to the internet: can you do non-leathal damage? There are some things I'd like Evie to try to steal and don't necessarily want to do lethal damage

Found the back underground passage, but turned around because I knew I would get distracted and I wanted to find Karlach

Went out of the grove, found some of the Absolute followers

Astarion not happy with Evie saying we can't trust the power the tadpoles give us

They're really not starting off on the right foot

Now debating going forward with the guy squad or going back to camp, picking up the ladies and either go back to the underground cavern or continue to search for Karlach

Suggestions at this time are welcome

[ellekhen]

Hand, Hearth, and Home

Chapter 69 - A Hand to Hold

Chapter Summary: As he proves to be a troublesome prey, Church's dream attempts to ensnare him in the sweetest, most poisonous trap. Shadowheart begins her trials for the Gauntlet of Shar. Church meets a beautiful stranger.

Pairing(s): Astarion x Male Tav (Main); Past OC x Male Tav Rating: Explicit Length: 358K+ words; Chapters 69/?? (Master Post)

Excerpt below:

The sun has gone down by the time Church makes it back into the city, but lights cast the roads in warm, flickering light. It is still early enough in the evening that the streets continue to bustle with crowds, especially with a festival in the square.

On stage, Church spots his friend — the bard D’vana — as resplendent as ever as she performs and dances beneath the glittering lights of her cantrips. Her music floats through the city long before he sees her.

He is tempted to take a pause and watch, drinking in the sweet, lilting music… but he needs to focus. Amid these crowds, his heart looks for one person. There are a myriad of humanoids with white and silver hair of all textures and lengths — it would be impossible to spot just one from here on the ground level.

And so Church makes his way into one of the taverns, weaving through the patrons as he ascends the staircases to reach the balcony overlooking the square. There are customers milling about out here, drinking and making merry beneath the stars.

Church slumps against the railing, breathing in the night air that tastes of spilled ale and smoke.

It all smells so… real.  

He must be going mad. Did he panic after Tavi asked him to move in with him? Is he just overwhelmed by… everything about that?

Has he been writing so long that he can no longer tell the difference between fact and fiction?

“Well hello there, stranger.”

Church’s heart pounds in his chest as he summons the courage to turn towards that voice. 

“Do I… know you?” the tiefling asks, even though in his heart…

You have been looking for him for some time.

“Perhaps not,” the elf drawls, stroking an elegant hand along the railing as he draws closer to the tiefling. “But I know your face. How could I forget a face like yours, even in a crowded place like this?”

Church stares and stares at him. He’s familiar, but so alien and strange as he tries to connect the dots in his mind. The links shatter every time.

“What’s your name, sweet thing?” the elf purrs, leaning in with heavy eyes — red like rubies in the lantern light. 

“I’m… Church,” the tiefling manages to say.

“Well,” the elf chuckles. “I can’t say I’ve heard a name like yours before. I’m…”

“...Astarion,” Church breathes, and gods, his head hurts but the hurt is good. The hurt is right.

How did he forget Astarion?

How could he forget Astarion?

The elf’s confident smile twitches into a momentary frown before carefully composing itself again.

“Ah, well… no,” he titters. “My name is… Petras, actually…”

“Astarion,” Church repeats, his eyes wide as he drinks in the sight of the apprehensive elf. “Gods… how could I…?”

Astarion’s mouth twitches into a small grimace as he pulls away. “You must have confused me for someone else.”

“Astarion!” Church repeats, grasping hold of the elf’s hand before it can leave his side. The elf looks at him with alarm, rage, and… fear? “Don’t you remember me?” 

Astarion levels a cold gaze upon him.

And then it softens.

“Of… of course I remember you… Church,” the elf coos. “It’s been too long, hasn’t it?”

He presses himself up against Church’s body, whispering into his ear.

“How about we go somewhere a bit quieter to catch up?”

[wrightingdungeon]

My Tav OC

People seem to like young Tav so I thought I would introduce my little Tav. In my actual DND Game they are around 16 and I just aged them up for BG3 so they would fit more. 

She is a changeling but I use an elf for a base, idk if there is a race mod that will allow changelings like Orin, but also my laptop will probably burn up worse than Karlach if add anymore Mods.

Also all of this is my Headcanon, I just think it's cute having a no brain cell baby save the world

Heres a screen shot -

Name: Sunny

Age: 16

Gender: doesn't care, they can be anyone *Watch the movie Nimona*

Race: Changeling

Class: Archer *a little multiclass in Bard*

Like family: Wyll, Karlach and Jaheira 

Best friends: Minsc, Boo , Scratch, and Fluffy (Owlbear cub)

Friends: Halsin, and Shadowheart

Awkward: Gale and Lae,zel

Stats:

STR: 12

DEX: 17

CON: 13

INT: 7

WIS: 15

CHA: 11

About Sunny:

“Who has their brain cell?” is a sentence you would hear if it were modern times, and truth be told his little twin sister has both of their brain cells.

Had always dreamed of leaving the Feywild, but had no idea she'd leave with a parasite in her head

Lae'zel did not take finding a changeling on the notaloid well AT ALL, scared the poor baby into taking the form of a dead adult human they saw. *she panicked a bit before pushing the body off the ship, first time they touched a dead body*

Had never left their sister's side, when they woke up on the beach all alone their sobs and yells for her woke up Shadowheart

Is itching to change their skin and do so at night when everyone's sleeping

That's how Asterion figured out their secret. He was feeding one night and watched Sunny sneaking off, following them he saw her change back into her normal skin. “Well, it seems camp has two monsters hiding in it.”

They cry at being called a monster, but they understand why Astarion said so when he admitted to being a vampire 

I'd imagine Sunny's blood would taste like printer ink and it makes Astarion try and scrub his tongue clean. Astarion does not bite them again

Meeting Wyll was like one of those fairy tale knight stories she had been told. Looks up to him. Approached him in the Grove like a shy fan asking for an autograph 

She and Wyll are “Blade Buddies” She does not have a blade she has arrows, and no brain cells

Even after finding out the swamp was a trick He still ate the apples because “who poisons apples?” they had a bad tummy ache, and Wyll kept scolding her while the others laughed 

Is not allowed within twenty feet of the fire because one day their potions and other liquid items were frozen and she thought it would be smart to warm them up in front of the fire…. She forgot to pull out the Alchemist's Flame flasks and damn near nuked the camp.

Wyll's dance scene is the tiefling party. She tells him she's never danced but loved to watch the higher courts dance. He happily shows her how to dance laughing when he spins them because of their happy squeals 

Sunny and Alfira serenade the camp till the last dancer falls

They aint smart but dont get in their sight, they are a marksman at heart.

Would be a Gunslinger class, but hes never seen a gun in his life. Mey Rin from Black Buttler vibes if he was given a glock

Wyll, Karlach, and Jaheira find out she is a changeling mid-fight. She gets knocked out of her human form and they attack her due to their not knowing it's their leader, thinking shes one of Orins goons who took their Sunny

Wyll stops them, shielding Sunny with himself, when he realizes that the crying Changeling is Sunny. “Stop! Stop….” “Sunny?”  “Hey, it's OK, it's ok… Blade Buddies right?”

Wyll is having a massive life-shattering moment back at camp both his best friends are things he swore to kill, but they aren't, they are his family. He feels so much guilt about how he let himself be lied to

Hold up Wyll though higher courts meant kings and queens, finding out Sunny is from THE Feywild just has him more confused 

Talking about the Feywild with them Wyll and Karlach are the first to find out Sunny is only 16. Wyll looks like -

Karlach is just laughing at him and reminds him she was 15 when she became a hell soldier. Wyll needs a drink

#got fucked before 18 trio 

Lae'zel does ask Sunny if they know Orin, and no Lae'zel not all changelings know each other

God's help Gale… He always hung out at camp due to being a walking bomb and always eatting Sunny's shiny things. So when he mistakes their begrudgingly kind acts…. it…. It didn't go well for him

It's like a fucking benny hill chase scene. Gale running for his life, Ablaze Karlach, Lighting shooting Wyll, Scratch and Fluffy *Owlbear Cub* just thinks they are running around playing.

Wyll slapping tadpoles out of Sunny's hand like a parent trying to keep a child from eating sand and rocks

Sunny will fall asleep on Jaheira, Wyll, and Halsin. She forgot and passed out into Karach one night, that was fun

Minsc and Sunny get into so much trouble they, don't mean to, Boo told them it was a good idea

When Mizora tried to make it impossible to save Wyll's father. Sunny did try shooting a arrow right between her pretty eyes

Honestly had no idea Orin was in the camp, they thought Gortash was just scaring them

You bet your sweet ass Sunny and Wyll are following Karlach to the hells

One day fighting the hell swarms a portal opens a similar-looking hand just out and motions them to come in. Thinking it's withers throwing another rager they run through.

It's the Feywild, it's Sunny's younger twin sister Sage. She had been searching like a hound dog for her sister.

Of course Sage helps Karlach with her heart, she helped keep her twin safe after all.

They live happily ever after yay!

Thank you for reading my silly little Headcannon, it was fun to put Sunny out in the world

[archive-of-note]

Murder Most Fragrant

Set in Act I of a Durge run. I used my Durge, Markus (Tiefling, Wild Magic Sorcerer) cause he’s my murder son and I love him.

Warning: Canon divergence, descriptions of gore, allusions to sexual assault, assumed sexual assault (This is told from Astarion’s perspective, and his first assumption is not “oh this weird tiefling who killed a bird has already worked his way up to mortals.”) I think I got Astarion’s thought process but I’m not so sure about his voice? However it is 5 Am and I have been writing this since at least 1:30. All mistakes are my own, cause again, one sitting in the early AM.

@simplyalexeiofficial who posted the initial prompt.

Astarion wakes up from the overwhelming smell of blood as Durge Tav is murdering *the* bard. That’s it. that’s the prompt.

The smell of blood is what shakes him from his trance. It’s living blood, not the subtle rotten stench of dead man’s blood or his own.

While the smell woke him up, it’s the sounds that really grab his attention.

Soft whimpers, harsh breaths, the slick wet sound of something moving through flesh.

Astarion ever so slightly turns his head.

That bard from the grove is whimpering, staring up at Markus wide eyed as the sorcerer crouches over her body.

Astarion rolls his eyes, both for the tieflings’ lack of subtlety and the ineffective angle Markus seems determined to keep.

The sorcerer was already low on the vampire’s list for who to manipulate, he was a bit unsettling, prone to getting lost in his own thoughts, and after he tore that bird to bits with all the glee of a toddler with a new toy, Astarion began thinking Markus might be too volatile.

Yes, an amnesiac sorcerer with wild magics would be a great meat shield in regards to Cazador, but there would be no point if Astarion doesn’t even make it to the gate.

With this new revelation of Markus’s ineptitude in regards to pleasure, the tiefling has been moved to the very bottom, Astarion may have been forced through worse, but he’d like to actually get some enjoyment from the inevitable bedding.

“…please…sto—hap—!”

If he still had blood in his veins, Astarion is sure it would be running cold.

Murderous violence is one thing, one thing Astarion can get behind and indulge in, but this… maybe he should consider going off on his own.

More whimpering, more sounds of flesh.

Then a crack. Astarion’s head jerks back to the scene, that noise could not mean anything pleasant.

The bard’s arm is stretched out towards the fire, towards Astarion, and not only is it covered in blood, there’s an unnatural bend to it.

The girl’s fingers twitch with every regular roll of Markus’s shoulders, the man letting out a few muffled grunts as he roughly pulls at something.

A high pitched wheeze from the girl, Astarion didn’t even bother listening for her name, and then splatter.

Markus stands, and between his legs and the idle back and forth of his tail, Astarion sees what he had been doing.

There’s a morbid relief in the realization the bard’s lower half is still clothed. Even if her trousers are soaked heavy with her own blood.

The sorcerer begins muttering something, an incantation perhaps, his blood soaked hands held above his head.

Astarion looks back down and makes eye contact with the mutilated bard.

Her mouth opens, broken arm shifting as she tries and fails to make a fist, silently, desperately begging Astarion for help.

He stares back at her, eyes wide.

“… accept this offering, Sanguine King, accept my humble apology for my failures.”

Disgust and rage bubble beneath the horror, doing this for a god? The gods never did anything for Astarion, and considering the predicament they are all in, the vampire is confident in his belief that all of his companions have been abandoned by their beloved gods as well.

“Take this paltry flesh, I beg of thee send a sign, I have not strayed, I have not betrayed or abandoned my mission, I beg for nothing but a chance to correct my failures, a chance to bring about the world as I have pledged.”

The bard is still making pathetic attempts to escape, as if her insides pooling around her aren’t an indication for how this will inevitably end.

Markus looks down, head tilting and tail swaying in something like amusement as the girl keeps fighting.

The man shifts his weight and Astarion freezes, even holding his breath, the air stuck in his chest putting pressure against his unbeating heart.

“They can’t help you, even if they found us like this, even if they killed me, there’s no saving you.”

Markus crouches back down, cupping the bard’s cheek to force her to look up.

“You’ve lost too much blood, tissues have already begun necrotizing, sepsis is a terrible way to die, if anything, killing you now is a kindness.”

Astarion’s stomach rolls, Markus sounds kind, his soothing rumble adding an unnerving comfort to his words.

The sorcerer rubs his thumb against the bard’s cheek, like a parent comforting a crying child.

She spits in Markus’s face, or at least she tries to.

The glob of bloody spit doesn’t even disconnect from her lips, barely more than a pathetic bubbling from her mouth.

Markus’s eyes narrow even as his lips quirk up into a forced smile.

With a harsh motion Astarion doesn’t entirely see, Markus does something that makes the bard gasp, her haggard breathes turning into desperate gurgles as her body convulses.

Markus twists his body, giving Astarion a clearer view of the bard’s death throes.

The sorcerer’s arm is buried elbow deep in her stomach, and if the angle didn’t give it away, the unnatural bulging beneath her skin does.

He’s digging in her chest cavity, and with the sudden stiffening of her entire frame, Astarion knows the man has a gotten a hold of her heart.

The air is still, the night silent, and Markus seems to be savoring the sensation of the girl’s heart in his hand.

With a sudden harsh motion, his arm twist, and the bard goes limp.

After another moment of stillness, Markus sighs, arm slowly retreating from the corpse as he stands, the girl’s mangled heart is a lump of torn flesh in his hand.

The tiefling stares down at the body, his expression hidden from view.

Another sigh, less satisfied than the last, and the tiefling begins drawing on the ground around the bard’s body.

Again he stands above the body, hands open at his sides, staring at the sky as he mutters something.

The words are quiet and rushed nonsense, even as Astarion can hear the tiefling’s heartbeat speed up, with the words becoming louder and more slurred.

Until, with a sudden choke, the tiefling stops speaking, obviously panting as he sways in place.

Markus’s head rolls, his swaying becoming even more precarious before suddenly stopping.

The tiefling looks to his hands with a gasp, his tail thrashing as he steps back, another gasp and another more panicked step back that almost knocks the sorcerer onto his ass.

Markus looks around for something, and Astarion wants to roll his eyes at the performance, why waste the energy when, as far as he knows, he’s the only person awake.

———

“Overwhelming violent desires fester in my skull.”

Markus is twitching, his jaw rolling as he picks the drying bits of bird blood and sinew from beneath his claws.

“The norm is to keep dirty thoughts like that to ourselves. But do carry on.”

Suddenly tearing the bird at the infirmary apart may have been a bit concerning, but if this tiefling isn’t just capable of violence, but relishes in it, he may be useful to Astarion.

“A feeling deep inside possesses me and whispers murder, over and over.”

The tiefling bites his nails, a loud crack coming from between his teeth before he spits out the broken off tip of his claw.

Markus sounds shaken, so Astarion tries some sympathy, “It sounds like you’ve been dealt a vile hand…” but not too much sympathy, he can’t dull this potential blade, “I say: Play it. Play it for all it’s worth!”

The tiefling’s tail twitches, the jagged barb flicking back and forth as the smell of ozone slowly grows.

“Nobody should deny themselves of their true nature.”

Markus doesn’t respond, instead wiping his hands down the front of his robes, before he picks at his nails again.

Astarion lays on a bit more concern, Markus needs to think he cares, “But, do take care of yourself.”

Markus grimaces, humming a noncommittal, but affirmative, note.

———

Astarion didn’t consider the possibility of actual possession, but with the way Markus is acting, it’s a possibility he now has to consider.

The tiefling’s panic seems to settle, not entirely, but enough that the man doesn’t look ready to collapse in a panic.

Markus stands over the body, before seeming to make a decision.

He grabs the bard and her measly bedroll, dragging them both away with some effort, but there’s an ease to his movements that imply some familiarity.

Astarion is still staring at where the tiefling vanished into the brush, thinking over his options in regards to the sorcerer.

He can pursue Markus, and hope that the bloodshed of their adventure satiate whatever demands the tiefling kill.

But if he does try, and it doesn’t work, would those violent parts of Markus begin demanding Astarion’s blood?

He needs more information.

There’s a rustling, and Astarion pretends to trance, taking note of the sounds of sloshing water and kicking dirt.

He’s properly trancing again before Markus starts snoring.

———

“Where do you think she went?”

Markus shrugs at Shadowheart’s question, not looking up from the pack he keeps reorganizing.

“Astarion?”

“Not a clue, maybe she wondered off, there are certainly many things capable of mauling you out in the woods.”

Markus pauses for a moment, eyes glancing toward Astarion before quickly returning to the pack.

“Wouldn’t we have heard something?”

“Not if it got her in the throat first.”

“Or if it crushed her lungs.” It’s the first thing Markus has said all morning, and Astarion realizes he doesn’t know which one Markus did.

“Shouldn’t we go looking? What if she’s—“

“We have illithid tadpoles in our heads, we’ve been lucky so far, but I’d rather not tempt fate more than necessary.”

“But she wanted to help!”

“And we told her it was dangerous, and that was taking into consideration all of us, if she decided she knew better, well then who are we to undermine her choices?” Markus’s tone implies finality, and no one else pushes the matter.

As they leave the campsite, Astarion notices a dark red splotch in the dirt. He kicks some loose sand over the spot, not noticing Markus watching him as he does.

[mmmm-bitch]

When Baldur's Gate 3 came out I knew nothing about it. My roommate bought it for me the second week it was out so he had someone to play with. I quickly fell in love with the game, the only knowledge I had going in was what the character creator looked like. My roommate stopped playing while we were in act 1 and we never finished our campaign. So I started many campaigns on my own, learning the mechanics of the game and just exploring. I have completed act 1 and 2 so many times. I’m sure 500hrs are easily sunk into many save files that never made it to act 3. I started to mod it, not really changing game play but to add character customization. Finally I finished my first run with a tiefling bard, it was durge resist and i loved it. I decided I needed to make one tav for every romance-able option, each of those making it to act2.

I played consistently until about mid January where I started to deal with game burn out. I had a non-durge tav that finally made it to act 3 but act 3 burn out got me hard. I’m the type of person that has to explore every inch of a map and complete every quest possible so you can imagine how much time i’ve sunk into just exploring in act 3. All I had left was rescuing the gondians and the final boss fight, but I ran out of steam and put the game down. I thought maybe playing an origin character would help me find love in the game again. So I started with Gale because he’s one of my favorites. But trudging through act 1 was even too much.

Through the entire time I played this game I was struggling hard with depression and cptsd. I wasn’t sure if it was my mental health causing the lack of interest from something I had loved so much. But I decided to just take a break, find something else for a bit.

Until this last week. I had the urge to play again, which shocked me. I tried to return to my last game in act 3 but the file was corrupted. So I decided to start a new Tav. This time around I decided I didn’t want to play the game with the “explore everything” mindset. I’ve decided i’m going to try and give my Tav a personality and stick to it, going places and doing things I think she would do. She’s a (former) Lolth Sworn Drow. I classed her as Rogue Wild magic sorcerer. And I began like I had so many times before.

This has caused me to enjoy the game like I had so many times before. I’m excited once again to play again. It’s given me the ability to make choices I wouldn’t have before, which has refreshed the game so much. I’ve contemplated making another page just to follow the story i’m slowly creating with this tav, but i’m unsure if i actually will. I don’t want to cause any pressure to the game and potentially make me avoid it again lol.

[theowritesfiction]

Hi @theowritesfiction !!!

I just wanted to say that I absolutely adored chapter 30. It was a rollercoaster. Aang and Sokka are something else, aren’t they? So are Azula and Zuko. Can’t even behave at Kiyi’s birthday. Though I would posits that the entire thing with the candles was Zuko’s fault. Also it was weirdly sweet to see Azula sticking for her friend. If violently. Though I’m pretty sure that Mai has already moved on with a new fiancé…😉

————

I also had a question/prompt I just thought up for ya. It’s an ATLA/BGIII idea.

In one of the Karlach endings, the character that the player well plays (being either a custom/Tav, the Urge, or another origin) can choose to accompany a romanced Karlach to Avernus.

Say Azula at some point is sent to Avernus through a strange spirit accident. Either during her early childhood, the night Ursa leaves, or at some point during or after the show.

Once in Avernus, Azula is quite understandably shocked at what’s going on. After wondering for a few moments she is accosted by a passing patrol of Imp. Depending at what age Azula is sent to Avernus she either deals with the imps herself or nearly killed.

While Azula is accosted, a nearby Karlach and character that romanced her see what is happening and swiftly intervene. Rescuing Azula.

From that point onwards, Azula is basically adopted by Karlach and the (formerly played) character.

Sure, Azula is in one of the hells. But she is raised by Karlach so it evens out no? Even if she has to live in the blood war. Constantly hunted by Zariel as the de facto adopted daughter of Karlach. During that time, Azula is also on a relentless quest to fix Karlach’s infernal engine.

Of course, no ATLA related thing is complete without Azutara. So at some point in time Katara (and possibly other members of the Gaang/dangerous ladies) is either sent to Avernus via spirit tomfoolery, or Azula is somehow sent back to the world of Avatar. Though I don’t know what kind of big conflict Azula and Katara would fight against. Perhaps there is a devil or a demon they have to fight against. Maybe even Zariel, on a quest to rescue Karlach? Perhaps one devil wishes to merge their plain of hell with the mortal world of Avatar. Amin to Molag Bal’s plan in Elder Scrolls Online.

That the idea! Or at least a preliminary idea for your consideration.

Hi, @745voiceofthepeople ! Glad to hear you enjoyed the latest AKN update! Yes, Aang and Sokka had to take a little dumbing down for comedy's sake. ;) Azula and Zuko are the worst - and Azula probably wouldn't have cared too much about Zuko and Mai breaking up, but Azula just finds it very offensive that Zuko would choose Jet above her best friend.

Speaking about ATLA and BG3, I actually encountered that ending for Karlach in my game. My tiefling bard romanced Karlach and ended up joining her in Avernus. Oh, and Wyll came along with them, probably to carry their bags and do butler stuff.

Avernus is a very fiery place, that's for sure. Maybe Azula could end up there because the spirits very angry with her if she maybe used her firebending to do something bad, so perhaps it was a kind of punishment for her.

I think Azula and Karlach could have a very interesting relationship. Karlach is a rather simple girl and she would need time to understand why Azula is the way she is. But Karlach also has a good heart and Azula is just a kid, so she'd try to be patient with Azula. I think Azula would be frustrated that Karlach's default approach to problem solving is to chop them with an axe. But Azula would come to appreciate Karlach's loyalty and she would become invested in helping fix Karlach's engine.

Bringing in the other ATLA characters in this scenario might be a challenge, though. I currently have no clear ideas how I would do that. :) But thank you so much for the interesting idea!

[odd-dragon]

Okay I wanna know General #7 for Morgan, Fortune, and Rhiannon

But I also want to know about the Dribbles question for all of them but especially Fortune because I think she's the only one who would be down for it being a bard.

General #7: Do they have their own personal quest that spans the course of the game?  Can it take different branching paths depending on the choices the Player Character makes?

*Quick note* - I have played with mods for most of my games, and really like playing with weird tiefling types from Astralitie's Tiefling Compendium. As such, certain character decisions were informed by this.

Morgan: I like to think Morgan has an interesting conundrum to work with, and her quest would have branches too, as she's a Baalzebub (rot and death) tiefling druid. "But Cal!" You might say "Druids deal with all the aspects of life, and there are druids that deal specifically with death and the nastier aspects of nature, like shadow druids and twilight druids!" And that's true. But Morgan wasn't trained by those druids. She's a circle of dreams druid, a healer. She has this fun dichotomy of life and death, light and shadow, growth and rot... and she's just left her circle. She's trying to find her place in the world, and come into her own as a druid, and she's teetering between the two ways she could do it. Her first introduction to this conundrum, of course, would be facing off with the shadow druids in act one, and the way she leans after that would of course be determined by which actual mainline story beat the player chose, if given the chance. In the end, it'd be a very classic nature vs nurture case, and the player would end up with either a fantastic healer and buffer with a couple decent spells and an altogether cheery perspective on life or a terrifying death-wielder with poisons and fungus and an altogether grumpy, isolationist attitude in their corner.

Fortune: Fortune is a Nightborn Tiefling, born via a pact her parents made with a Night Hag (which, fun fact, is a type of fiend, rather than fae). She was then taken and would have been trained by said hag, if she hadn't been rescued and ran off to find her own way in the world. I feel like the Auntie Ethel quests are sort of lacking in their ignorance of a hag's best asset- her coven. Fortune's quest would probably have to do with her hunting the hag who created (and tried to brainwash) her, and for simplicity's sake, I would make said hag one of Auntie Ethel's coven. There wouldn't so much be a branching quest with two outcomes as much as there would be a question of how ruthless is she by the end of it- the hag would probably have to end up dead either way, and she's not going to get much from it other than catharsis, so the question is more a matter of how many other bodies she leaves in her wake and how many people she and the player help in the process.

Rhiannon: She's the one least likely to have a long-spanning quest over the course of the game, as she's honestly the least independently-developed tav I have- she started as a self-insert lol. But she probably has a small quest, likely related to Chromatic Scales, as she is a music-lover and that shop is criminally under-used in-game.

The Dribbles Question: What do they say if the PC tries to force them to go up on stage with Dribbles the Clown?

Fortune's response: She's a bit of a tease, so she'd be reluctant at first, probably responding with something like: "...You know, I don't think this guy's up to Clown Code. You sure?" And then she'd be totally down to go up there and wreak havoc, no problem.

Morgan gets an honorable mention for: "Alright, but that's a Shadow Mastiff. You all see the Shadow Mastiff too, right? Like we fought dozens of those things in the Shadow-Cursed Lands, and they were never good news." As curious as she is, she's really not a fan of crowds... or clowns. And of course the shadow mastiff is a big deal.

Rhiannon, actually, went up all on her own in my original playthrough, so her response would probably be something along the lines of "Sure, but no promises as to quality of entertainment."

[maranull]

bg3 characters I wanna make (and one i already made)

Mar (my 1st and current run): Tiefling Druid that generally tries to do good, but will go through shady things if she's feeling curious enough. Which she often is. Has a big crush on Karlash.

Unnamed 1: Gnome Bard that is here to play songs and joke around. If an option is funny, she would do it. Is really into Lae'zel and will overwrite her here-for-the-funny mindset if there's an option that would help her lizard wife. (they're married only in her head but don't tell her that)

Unnamed 2: Not sure on race yet, but Oath of Ancients Paladin that has to "fix" everyone. Not sure how long she'll keep her oath, I'll let the game take her storyline naturally. Due to her "fixing" obsession though, she gets stuck on trying get Shadowheart off of Shar's talons. Their romance begins with a wrong mindset but develops into a healthy one. (we don't do dysfunction here sir)

Blir (Dark Urge): Dragonborn Monk. I'm thinking she retreated in a monastery trying to suppress her impulses, and after that she lost her memory. Dunno if this is countered by the actual storyline of the origin, but I'll cross that when I get there. Her main goal is to survive and keep everyone alive, all while fighting both herself and all the other enemies a Tav normally has.

[hauntedliz]

For the BG3 ask, for any except your durge (only because I've not played one yet and am dancing around spoilers, so I guess if the answer wouldn't be a spoiler then go for it!)

6, 15, 23, 40

Aye aye captain! I will keep this durge spoiler-free. Thanks so much for asking! Probably going to be pretty Phoebe-centric just for time's sake.

6. What is your Tav's origin story?

Drama timeeeee.

Phoebe is the oldest daughter of Helene (elf wizard) and Silas (human bard). She has a younger sister named Arden and two younger brothers named Gilbert and Leon. Her father taught her to play the violin and love music. Though he was a bard, he never went out adventuring like he'd planned to as a young man. He met his wife and started pushing back his plans to leave. Then Pheobe came, so he never did. He got a job in town at a shop. Unfortunately, one day the shop caught fire and he was unable to escape. Pheobe had aspirations to go out and study music in Baldur's Gate, but once her father passed she wanted to stay and help take care of her siblings. In her grief, her mother could not bear the thought of her daughter having the same fate as her husband, so she studied and prepared until she was able to use magic to alter Phoebe's memories. Helene took Phoebe to the city and erased her memories of where her hometown is. As hard as she tries, Phoebe cannot remember the place where she grew up. She has all the memories of her family and her life, but where it happened she cannot recall, so she can never return there. In the city, Phoebe goes all into her studies. Eventually she starts travelling around, playing in taverns. That's basically what she's up to when she gets scooped up.

15. If your Tav could/does multiclass, what other class would they choose?

I have not multiclassed before so this is all what ifs and could very well not be good decisions lmao.

Phoebe- a couple options here. Wizard bc of her mom (and because she sorta maybe sent Gale away during act 1... don't hate me please I was young!!!) or rogue because I think the idea of couples picking up little things from each other is cute. I could also see ranger.

Lapis- Barbarian or fighter

Honeylark- Cleric maybe?

Pippa- Paladdin maybe? Really not sure for Pip. Rogue?

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

Probably any moment post-game where Phoebe and Astarion are sitting together and she realizes they are truly relaxed. No one is coming after them, there is nothing to fight. Astarion's guard is down, and they are just existing together in a moment laughing and talking.

40. What is the biggest mistake your Tav ever made?

So funny story actually... The biggest mistake my Tav has ever made was entirely my fault, but it is canon to her run so... When I played Act 2 I kind of didn't understand the fact that I needed to go to Moonrise Towers to save the tieflings before the final battle. I kind of thought I would just do it all when I got there at the end. So the tieflings in Moonrise Towers did die. And it is Phoebe's fault and totally not mine and she has to live with that not me. (IT JUST FELT LIKE SO FAR TO GO BACK!! I DIDN'T WANT TO DEAL WITH THE GAUNTLET AGAIN I'M SORRY). And also I didn't realize Zevlor was there in the mindflayer colony, so I literally walked past him and Orin did some terrible things to him. Act 2 was traumatic for Pheebs. Luckily this is not canon to the LTFU (liz and toad fanfic universe).

[margridarnauds]

14, 19 and 10 for the tav ask game! Any tav :)

10. Was your Tav in a relationship? How did it end?

I KNOW Malla's had flings with women, especially when it could get her an edge. She's very familiar with that side of things, it doesn't surprise her. As you'd expect from a stereotypical Drow, they were relatively brief and ended bloodily. She fell into...well. A little more than lust, a little less than LOVE with Minthara at first sight, being simultaneously impressed by her, disgusted that she had turned away from Lolth, and *interested*, and there was no real hesitation as far as what option she was going to take. (For Kitrye, this would have required three acts of conflict.)

Kitrye...I don't write her as a virgin, I think she's had sex at some point in 276 years, but she's just picky enough and just discrete enough that she never bothered to tell me who. It hasn't been often and, whenever it was, it was a long time pre-canon. It would have had to have been someone who she'd formed a long-term bond with, since I generally think she falls somewhere on the demisexual side of things (she has to patiently explain to Raphael on multiple occasions that she has absolutely no attraction to Haarlep, she's attracted to *him*). Probably another Eilistraeean. Probably while she was still in the Underdark.

Ana has fucked. She is a bard, she is involved in the infernal hierarchy, AND she is Raphael's daughter, now with actual rizz. She has fucked. (My only hope and prayer is that Raphael did NOT follow in his father's footsteps and grant her own personal incubus when she came of age.) (Knowing Raphael, I am not certain that this is the case.) I do not believe she has been in an actual relationship, though -- she's currently sleeping with Astarion because, in her mind, I think it's....a bit of fun. A lot of fun with someone who matches her sense of chaos, but nothing serious. If she ends up going for Wyll, which was the planned trajectory, it will very much be a surprise for her, her kind of falling into a very serious relationship unexpectedly with someone who is very much Not her usual type. (Though Astarion would also be a surprise, since suddenly, she has to decide whether it really IS just fun.) It highlights her going from...honestly, still a relatively NICE hellion, all things considered, to developing a greater sense of responsibility and care, even beyond, say, the tieflings.

14. Does your Tav have any childhood friends?

So, because I FIRST started playing Ana in a multiplayer game with a dear friend (she now has her own single-player game), she has a semi-canonical best friend, Rikka, the barbarian dwarf. Which, given Korrilla's existence, just gives the idea of Raphael at a certain point sitting down and deciding that his daughter needed her own Emotional Support Dwarf. ("What do children want? I know!")

Kitrye and Malla were really one another's closest allies and friends, even if there was always a certain level of uncertainty in that relationship. It really was them against the world and neither one of them can ever fully forget that.

19. Any memories that stick out to you/your Tav pre-tadpole?

Malla will always remember being in the streets of Menzoberranzan, dodging the underbelly of Drow society, learning how to be quick, fast, and quiet. She might not remember the name she used to have, but she'll never forget the day she was given the name that she'd live the rest of her life by.

For Kitrye, the first time she encountered Eilistraee, the feeling of love and comfort, escaping the Underdark, how terrifying and exhilarating it was all at once, sleeping under the stars for the first time. Before that, her memories of her early alchemical experiments, under the supervision of the house wizard, who acted as a sort of mentor figure to her.

For Ana, it's a relatively simple thing, but her violin classes -- her mentor, who was a world class violinist who looked only moderately terrified to be there (they might or might not have faced some outright coercion to teach someone's little hellion as the result of an infernal contract), the first few times she was able to start playing actual SONGS and making MUSIC, feeling proud of the calluses on her fingers as they developed.