#wizard city specifically is next!

[homunculus-argument]

I've got a book draft project that I call Book I Am Not Working On that I probably haven't touched for like four years now. I originally wrote the first draft of the first book like 10 years ago, didn't like the ending, and decided to write a Next Generation Reboot with the previous cast's offspring and niblings as the main characters. Skipping the world ahead 20 years, and having the new protagonists be Standard Fantasy Book Protagonist Aged, in their late teens and early 20s, they learn about the past book's events in glimpses, as almost mythical legends.

The new story's main protagonist is the niece of a character I originally wrote into the first book as a gag - a naive Farmboy Hero. In this one he's taken up the role of a Grim Mysterous Mentor, who tags along on the protagonist's misguided quest because he knows that he can't stop her, so the best he can do is help. And he mentions that there is this wise man that he used to know in his youth, who lived in this specific city - he is wise in the ways of the world, and if he is still alive, he should be able to help them.

The protagonist agrees to go find the man, and for the first quarter of the book, this Wise Man that Old Uncle Hiram Knew In His Youth is this grand and surely legendary Wonderful Wizard of Oz kind of a figure, who is surely all-powerful and could fix anything. After all, old uncle Hiram would trust him with his life, and uncle Hiram doesn't trust anybody.

And then they finally make it to The City, and find The Old Friend. Who is a completely normal-looking middle-aged guy in an apron, kind of fat and slightly balding, busy with five kids and a grandbaby. And he's just as surprised to see the protagonist and her uncle at his door.

So the protagonist's uncle and his friend retire into a more quiet room to discuss the problem at hand while the protagonist and the friend's eldest daughter head out to find new, additional problms, fully trusting that these Adultier Adults will know what to do.

Meanwhile, the two old friends sit down, and the Old Friend looks at the protagonist's uncle, just going "dude for fuck's sake. Twenty years and you haven't changed at all. All these years I thought you were dead and then you show up at my doorstep, plop a felony level problem on my lap like 'hey lol this wasn't even my problem before I decided to get involved, pls help lol' and expect me to fix it."

And Old Uncle Hiram, who in fact is only in his early 40s and suddenly doesn't seem all that old and wise at all, just shrugs like "yeah I kinda gambled my life (and my niece's life btw) on hoping that you wouldn't have changed at all, either. That you would agree to help us, while calling me a fucking idiot the whole time."

And the old friend goes "yeah no shit of course I'll fucking help. You fucking idiot."

[justporo]

Be my remedy

Being in an established relationship is still very much uncharted territory for both Astarion and you. Thankfully, your companions arrange for you to have a moment of privacy.

MASTERLIST | AO3

Author's Note: Well, this was supposed to be nothing but a little warm-up drabble. But by now I doubt my ability to write anything below 2k words... So here you go with some fluffy fluff, enjoy!

Pairing: Astarion/GN!Tav (You) Warnings: talk of past trauma if you squint Wordcount: 2,2k

Song: Be My Remedy - House of Say

~~~

It hadn’t been that long since Astarion’s confession at Moonrise Towers and your promise to each other to actually try and be in a real relationship with each other. You’d agreed to take it slow and especially allow Astarion to have all the space he needed.

You couldn’t be happier. Your heart was overrunning with love every time you looked at him. Wanting nothing more but to see those soft happy smiles from the vampire again. Those he gave you in these moments when he felt comfortable and content while being with you – even if those were still short and mostly quickly overpowered by other stuff: worries about the next day, insecurity, fear of the future in general, Gale being annoying.

And the way it’s been almost chaste with him since you’ve committed yourselves to each other almost broke you. With how gentle and tentative this budding relationship was this far.

You’ve gotten used to spending the evenings and nights together in one of your tents. And you enjoyed the time spent simply talking or cuddling endlessly.

You’d also stolen small little touches and kisses time and again when the others were around. But you were still cautious with it. Partly, because this was first and foremost for the two of you to share and keep. But mostly because a sudden shyness had somehow befallen both of you, now that it was more than just sultry flirting and sneaking off into the woods at night. Now that you were both sure that real feelings were involved on both ends, it was suddenly so different. And – without specifically putting it into words – you both felt a lot more vulnerable about what it was the two of you shared now. And the thought of someone carelessly putting strain on it scared you.

Not that the others didn’t know already. Of course, they had noticed. Although Astarion and you might have been wrapped up a little too cozily in your new little bubble of tender affection - to notice that they had noticed.

But the others had more or less silently agreed to not pester you about it although Gale could hardly hold back all his comebacks he’d painstakingly come up with. Karlach had needed to be elbowed more than once to not squeal out happily when she, for example, had seen Astarion cautiously grab your wrist, lifting your hand and pressing a small kiss to your knuckles. Coincidentally at the same time that Lae’zel had to be pinched in the side to stop making loud gag noises observing the same scene.

The day had been long and exhausting. Everyone had been happy when you had finally set up camp and barely even spoken when you’d sat around the campfire enjoying the latest of the wizard’s dinner creations.

You were sitting next to Astarion – like always as of late – and were softly talking to him. You were both excited to finally see your hometown again, no matter what more horrors might await you there. Sharing bits and pieces about different places in the city you each liked and how your experiences of being Baldurian were both so utterly different, you didn’t even notice how anyone else had been quietly getting up and leaving for their own tents. A few understanding nods and glances had been exchanged and now it was just you and the vampire sitting next to the warming fire.

“I really need to take you to my favourite tavern some time, you’re absolutely going to hate it”, you said to Astarion with a huge shit-eating grin while the vampire answered with a pained grimace.

“I’m beginning to ask myself why I volunteered myself for this relationship”, Astarion muttered mockingly under his breath and dramatically rolled his eyes at you.

You laughed and softly slapped his arm. And then you realised that you were the only ones still sitting by the fire. You looked around and found that no one even was in sight – very suspicious.

When you pointed that fact out to Astarion, he smirked: “Well, maybe our friends all got a sudden lesson on privacy.” “Astarion!” “What? I have nothing to do with this, I swear!”

You gave him a look and crossed your arms over your chest while he kept insisting that for once he was totally innocent (“Actually quite like most of the time, love, you are – all of you – just way to used to just, of course, conveniently blame everything on the big bad vampire!”).

The vampire pouted now, making these big red puppy eyes at you. You were pretty sure he’d already figured out that they made you positively melt and give him just about anything – bastard.

And it got you now, too. So you scooched a little closer to your vampire on the log you were both sitting on and embraced him tightly. You could hear the sigh Astarion loosened when he felt your arms around him, and you could really feel how he relaxed into your touch. His shoulders relaxed and his usually very straight and tense spine was allowed to bend towards you as he wrapped his arms around you in return.

Your thighs and knees were mushed together as you held each other. You buried your face at his chest – directly at the point where his shirt was opened, and you could feel his cool and smooth skin. You sighed as well now. Meanwhile Astarion put his chin on top of your head.

Ever since the first hug you had shared you lived for these moments when you could just hold him. Just knowing how much comfort it gave him, even though he himself might not yet be ready to admit to himself how touch-starved he was for non-sexual intimacy that had to go nowhere but the present moment.

And you were right there with him – basically never really in your life having had someone who would have held you to just console you or just because.

You remained in the embrace for quite some time. Astarion’s hands softly moved up and down your back as you held onto him desperately and tightly – not willing to ever let him go again.

After a long while you felt how the vampire’s hands sneaked both downwards. And then with his roguish quickness, Astarion grabbed you – one hand under your knees, one on your butt – and lifted you on his lap.

You yelped and clawed your hands into his shirt as you stared at him in surprise.

Astarion grinned playfully at you, adjusting you on his lap until you were both comfortable. You were still flustered by this sudden change of position and your mouth opened and closed helplessly a few times. Not because you didn’t like it – quite the opposite. But this was a sudden step up in public display of affection for him – at least the possibility of someone seeing you like this was existent.

When the vampire saw your reaction, his smirk dropped and he started fidgeting: “Oh uhm.”

He cleared his throat a little, his eyes darted around. And it was only made more awkward by the fact that you were so close to each other and he was firmly holding you so you didn’t slide off his thighs.

He coughed again and you felt that he struggled with holding your gaze. By now you had adjusted to the new situation and were quite endeared by how shy Astarion had gotten all of a sudden: overwhelmed by his own courage.

“Ah, I hope this”, Astarion finally began and wiggled his arms and legs around (which in turn made you wiggle around and giggle), “this is alright with you?”

You looked straight into his eyes once he had found it in himself to hold your gaze again. You softly cupped his cheek and let your thumb wander over his cheekbone: “It is – more than alright even!”

For a quick moment you softly dragged his face down to yours, so his forehead touched yours shortly. “I will just tell you if something’s not fine with me, Astarion. And…”

Now it was your turn to fidget awkwardly. You were only barely more experienced in this relationship thing than he was, but you were absolutely keen on giving him the space to find out what all this meant for him.

You took a deep breath and leaned back a little. You saw a single curl fall onto his forehead when you moved away a bit – you looked at it when you spoke again.

“And I’m more than happy to let you explore and experiment with what you want and expect from all this - whatever it is”, you finally finished and felt how a blush crept up your neck and then onto your cheeks. Although it might not seem much this had cost you some overcoming. Too many times had you had bad if not downright horrendous experiences with people you had offered too much before. But you were completely sure of doing this with Astarion. He had your full trust and you wanted him to know that and be as free as possible to explore this new chapter in his life.

You were still mesmerized by the soft strand of hair on Astarion’s forehead. So you lifted your hand from his cheek and lightly, between two fingers, moved it up again. A tiny sigh left the pale elf’s lips at the innocent gesture.

The vampire looked at you as your hand now lightly wandered through his hair. His eyes were shining like rubies in the warm, flickering light of the campfire. He carefully lifted one hand up to cup your face with one hand. He let his thumb wander over your bottom lip and that was also where his gaze dropped.

“That means an awful lot, my love”, he replied softly. “I promise to always tread carefully with the trust you’ve put in me.”

His eyes found yours again. “And I guess I know what I want to do with this trust right this moment.”

He leaned in to kiss you. His soft, cool lips met yours tenderly as any remaining thought in your brain just vanished. Your hand in his hair softly curled around one of his pointy ears, your thumb gently wandering over the edge of it.

You let him set the pace, patiently allowing him to decide how much he wanted. But you didn’t need to wait for long: Astarion’s lips parted and he eagerly deepened the kiss, making you sigh into his mouth yearningly as your other hand, that had been on his chest, now balled up in his shirt and unconsciously tried to drag him even closer.

Astarion’s hand was still cupping your face and now spread out. Caressing you lightly from your cheek, down your neck and almost reaching to your collarbone with his long, elegant fingers. His other arm was holding you securely on his lap but also subtly pushing to lessen the space between you even more.

It was passionate but delicate at the same time. Inducing a fire that was burning brightly, powerfully and, most of all, warming while not being all-consuming or destructive. And you were sure that this fire would keep burning unyieldingly – especially if it was fuelled passionately like this.

After a while of getting lost in the kiss Astarion’s hand wandered slowly from your face to where your hand was still clawed in his shirt – desperate to hold onto him forever – and softly loosened it, so he could hold it. He very tenderly pulled back as your mouth left his with a long low sigh leaving your still parted lips now swollen from kissing.

Your eyes were probably still glazed over but you saw how Astarion too only slowly seemed to come back from that particular cloud you’d just been on.

“I hope that was alright as well?”, he answered with his signature smirk and a teasing tone after a few more moments of regaining composure. You were just about to scold him for ruining such a romantic, emotional moment, when you heard something.

Somewhere behind you, you heard something squeal – almost as if someone was torturing a squirrel? You turned around on Astarion’s lap and quickly spotted… Karlach peeking out from behind her tent flap, her hands balled up into fists and lifted to her mouth. You could feel her giddy, happy energy from over where you were sitting. But you were too flabbergasted by what the tiefling had obviously just observed.

You felt yourself flush from head to toe. “KARLACH!”, you shrieked as you heard Astarion laugh (albeit a little nervously).

Karlach’s eyes widened as she realised that she might’ve been a little insensitive about this all.

“Uh – I’m sorry. I just…”, she started and then stopped again. “I’m just so happy for you”, she blurted out and you saw some of her joy return. But then she remembered that she should probably leave you alone. “Alright”, she muttered while she made to disappear into her tent again. Quickly she lowered her tent flap down again and was gone.

But then she stretched out her arm once more, offering you a firm thumbs-up.

“But just so you know, we’re all rooting for you two”, were Karlach’s final words before disappearing for good. You blushed again and turned back around to find Astarion smile genuinely at you. He softly started to laugh, then more and more. His head fell back and his eyes closed and you couldn’t help but join in.

And then that was settled.

Tag list: @spacebarbarianweird @sunfire-ancunin @tragedybunny @dependsonthedream @tallymonster @magazzne @micropoe10 @aoirohi @my-bunny-prince @lumienyx @fayeriess

[dyvimwhitehart]

i will actually never be over the narrative importance of azteca. yes it’s the first time the wizard fails, but that failure results in the destruction of an entire world, which means the death of most of its denizens and a great deal of its culture. and the fact that it’s predated by worlds like dragonspyre and celestia, specifically

azteca was less accessible to the rest of the spiral (in comparison to worlds like wizard city, marleybone, zafaria, etc) already. by the time the yw reaches it, they’ve already been to their share of since-destroyed worlds. they are, however, always seeing the aftermath of the destruction

they’ve wandered around the destroyed academy in dragonspyre and seen the lava moats in the streets and talked to the ghosts, all those things coming together to slowly paint a picture of what was once a functioning society. and then the real tragedy of that, i’d argue, hits full-force in the hall of time when the yw gets to step into and witness the old dragonspyre in all its beauty and greenery. i think this has to be a really pivotal moment for the yw because old dragonspyre looks somewhat like wizard city. they’re a child that’s realizing, if i DONT succeed in beating malistaire, current dragonspyre is what my world and all the worlds i’ve visited since will become. and they DO succeed!

and then they are sent to celestia, another mostly ruined world. it’s brighter than dragonspyre, but there’s a hell of a lot more activity, and the overall tone is much different. however, the wizard has been introduced to destruction in dragonspyre and has had their worldview of places like that forever changed. they know what was at stake and what has since been lost. it’s a great way to start the second arc that i think can pair really well with the young wizard’s growth to young adulthood. this is where morganthe is introduced, and the next chase begins, and once again— they know what they have to do and the consequences of what happens if they don’t succeed

but there’s just absolutely no way they can see azteca’s destruction coming. even if xibalba is an ever persistent presence, even if ruin has been foretold— the wizard has never lost! morganthe plays them like w fiddle! and azteca is the first destroyed world they spend a long time in prior to its destruction. they get to know it’s citizens, they spend time in some of the most beautiful and lush locations in the game, they immerse themselves in aztecan culture and practices. they grow to care about this place before it’s all wiped away so that, when it is, stepping into the ruined zocalo doesn’t feel the same as stepping into the ruined basilica or the celestian base camp. it has to hurt so much more, feel so much heavier, like a personal loss rather than just a mission loss

and to go to khrysalis right after that? to immediately have to rally the burrowers and the mantises? to walk around a world that was thought to be lost, but is still clinging on, and have to do that all over again????? man

[ossidae-passeridae]

13 :)

Question from here

13. Were the Jedi right or wrong to ban attachments? What constitutes an attachment?

SO GLAD YOU ASKED

Attachment, as the word is used in Star Wars, is an attempt to translate the Buddhist idea of upadana. I… don't think it's a good one — I would have used rapacity personally — but uh, points for effort I guess. 

More than anything else, it's specifically and explicitly a cause of suffering. 

It's not love, not in any positive connotation of the word. It's coveting. It's greed. It's wanting to possess someone, not caring what their feelings are on the matter. Not letting them go, even if they beg. It's needing the next hit of a drug to function, even if you hate what the drug does to you, hate the person you become under the influence.

@gffa has an excellent post on attachment as we see it in the core lore (movies, TCW, word of god etc) if you want further explanation/examples.

So, back to the original question: are the Jedi right to ban attachments? (An aside: they don't ban it, they're not the church, but we'll ignore that for now.)

The Jedi are magical space wizards, with the power to cause mass destruction. They choose not to, because they've grown up understanding that they must be responsible, and live harmoniously with the world around them. This keeps both them and their society safe(r). 

Do I think people with built-in abilities to raze cities should be controlled by greed and fear? No, actually. I think that's a terrible idea. We had one darksider with Jedi-level powers completely destroy democracy in what was once the Republic after plunging the entire known universe into a years-long war. One. There are 10,000 trained Jedi Knights. 

I don't want to even imagine that universe. 

(All opinions expressed above are solely those of pass e. ridae and do not express the views or opinions of any affiliates or associates, passerine or otherwise)

[chronurgy]

i loveeeeeeeee your hc about gortash in all your tags!!! can you share your favorite hc about durge/gortash shenanigans in the city?

Yeah absolutely! Shenanigans hmmm....

Some of these will be a little more specific to my durge (Vesper, half-drow wizard) than others

During the Hall of Wonders heist, gortash specifically left some guards out of his reconnaissance to test how Durge handled themselves under pressure. He wanted to know if this was someone he would work with or someone too crazy to manage.

Gortash and Durge did a heist in the House of Hope as a trial run for their heist of the Crown - this is when they stole Raphael's shoes (the helldusk armor boots that Gortash keeps in the chest at the foot of his bed). Gortash didn't tell them about his history there or with Raphael before they went in. I think after seeing him there Durge did put at least pieces of it together and really left lots of burn marks and blood and guts spread around in their wake to get back at Raphael. They also broke at least one priceless and irreplaceable vase on "accident" while they were there. Their ire towards Raphael from this realization actually manages to carry over even when they can't remember why and it's partly why they're so determined to kill Raphael and so insistent that they won't work with him.

Gortash takes Durge to fancy parties, for a number of reasons - as a bodyguard, to bring them close to a murder target, to introduce them to the kind of high society stuff they'll be involved with as his co-ruler. But also because he loves to show them off, his darling assassin, loves the vicious little comments they make about the other attendees. He starts finding excuses to bring them to any party he can because he only ever enjoys these parties when they're with him, when he has someone just as brilliant as he is at his side. Durge usually has to attend in disguise but sometimes just dressing up fancy enough not to look like a sewer rat is enough to fool people.

Gortash is the kinda guy who will work himself to exhaustion and then fall asleep at his desk. The first time Durge found him like that, completely dead to the world on top of his diagrams and sketches, they thought about killing him. They imagined every detail, knew exactly how it would go. It would have been so easy, because he's so defenseless like this. They see his eyes moving under their lids, see his hands flex, and little expressions pass over his face - they know he's dreaming. They wonder what he's dreaming about (is it them?). And they don't kill him. They just watch him sleep, fascinated by the differences between the waking man they know and this unguarded sleeping one. They leave before he wakes up. I think they do this a couple of times before he finally catches them (maybe because they try to stroke his hair or something in a fit of softness). At first he's like, "oh my apologies, please don't hesitate to wake me should this happen again" before he puts together the look on Durge's face and realizes they've been watching him sleep and tried to like, touch his hair. He considers this a success because they could've killed him a whole bunch of times and didn't and they seem to be developing some sort of feelings towards him. He resolutely does not acknowledge the existence of any things he could possibly be feeling about this. Not at all.

Gortash keeps a large fancy estate in the city, Durge has a guest room there - it starts out as just an extra room but as they spend more time there Gortash starts to customize it more to their liking. He also moves their room to be next to his once he realizes that they're staying over more often, blaming a maid for knocking over a candle and causing fire damage in their old room when they ask why it was moved.

I think one night they have to have at least one really stupid caper they pulled off while extremely drunk that neither of them will talk about - as an example, they got super drunk, decided that since they were so good at heists they should do more of them, broke into some patriars estate, and stole a ton of fancy liquor. They also stole the bust of some guy from the entryway and staggered up the stairs to escape out the window of the daughter of the house's dressing room. Anyway, they woke up the next morning on the floor of Gortash's bedroom, extremely hungover and both of them (and the bust they stole) were wearing fancy little fascinator hats they can't remember but must have stolen out of the dressing room. They try to laugh at each other but gortash just ends up violently throwing up in a trash bin while durge lies on the floor with their eyes squeezed shut because the room won't stop spinning. They refuse to speak of this and will adamantly deny it ever happened if asked. Durge absolutely killed sceleritas while trying to force him into a stupid hat. The exact series of events might need some workshopping, but the core idea is some extremely stupid adventure the two of them had together that neither would ever admit to but is also a cherished memory for both of them.

Gortash's gauntlets (before he had the netherstone) used a series of capacitors and a setup akin to a self winding watch to generate an electric charge that he could attack people with. He designed them himself.

Vesper finds these gauntlets fascinating. When they first meet in person, he shows them off and discusses their construction and it's the first thing about him that they find impressive and intriguing.

As a gift, Gortash gave Vesper a set of sharpened rings designed after his gauntlets.

Vesper actually helped Gortash with some of the designs for the steel watch, looking at the plans and making suggestions - they were especially helpful when it came to the magical portions of the construct.

I think the closest the Urge ever comes to forcing Vesper to kill Gortash isn't when they first meet or during sex. It's one day when they're waiting for some spy's report, so they're sitting around in his room. He's tinkering with something at his workbench, and they're sitting at a desk working on a spell. They realize they need certain special inks for the transcription and look up to see them in the desk's little shelving unit and then they look closer and realize the desk is stocked with all the things a wizard needs - inks, chalks, paper, magical components. And this is the desk they always sit at when they're here and need to do some work. And Gortash has stocked it as a wizard's desk. He's made it their desk. And he's working at his workbench and they're working at their desk together in companionable silence. It's domestic, almost. And that's when the urge hits, with just absolutely crushing intensity, and they turn on gortash. Jokes on them, he's into that shit. After some back and forth between them (the level of explicitness is up to you! Or me, if I can get my act together and write this!), Vesper more or less jumps out the window and spends the next couple of days cutting a bloody swathe through baldur’s gate. When they finally return to him, gortash just asks them if they enjoyed their little vacation. After that, even when recreating much the same scene, the urge never comes on as strongly again (they don't know it at the time but this is the first time they've managed to throw off Bhaal's yoke when he really wanted them to kill someone. He never pushed that hard again with gortash because he's afraid of the consequences, though he still does push them to kill him a little bit).

Gortash gave durge a number of gifts over their acquaintance, both practical and fantastic: jewelry, enchanted items, clothes, shoes, books, any and everything you can imagine. He loves seeing them using his gifts, carrying or wearing something he gave them, because it helps mark them as his. He spends absolutely lavishly on them, buying them beautiful and fancy clothes for them to wear when they're in his house or out with him in public. He also buys them more practical gifts, well-fitting boots, weapons, armor, all of it enchanted and worth a small fortune.

On some of his gifts to Durge, he encodes messages for them in their cypher. They say things like "For my dearest assassin" and "To the sorrow of all" on a weapon and "pari pasu" (Latin for with equal step) and "I've always liked to play with fire", plus any number of other things.

Gortash has a thing for Durge wearing his clothes. One cold morning durge throws on his black coat when they get out of bed to check something and seeing them wearing nothing but his coat is such a thing for him that he ditches all their plans for the day to spend the day in bed with them.

Gortash has a number of affairs, to help his star rise in the upper city. He may use them to make durge jealous, but they are ultimately people to be used and discarded. He doesn't care what they do, because they're tools. Durge is his. His partner. And that's why he doesn't share.

[lanafofana]

WIP wednesday

I want to write something cute and fluffy and sweet but all my heart knows is hot chip and angst.

The Inescapable Inevitability of Goodbye

It started with Lae’zel. Tall and proud. Regal. Astride a dragon that Tav had been powerless to talk her down from. The look she had given Tav could have cleaved her chest wide open. A lifetime of words in one fierce stare and then she had nodded, just once, and the dragon had launched to the skies.

Goodbyes were inevitable, she reminded herself, heart pounding with loss.  

Next had been Karlach and Wyll. Beautiful, incadescent Karlach who had nearly given in to her fate but for dear Wyll, the voice of reason and conviction to change her stubborn mind at last. Their goodbyes had been hasty, desperately quick. Tav’s not even sure she could remember the words they exchanged, nothing specific.

But long after they’re gone, in the secret quiet places of her mind she hears Karlach’s voice saying, “My friend, my companion, I adore you.” She keeps it close to her heart so she might be warmed by it when all other sources of warmth were sapped from her. 

She’d hardly taken a beat to process the emptiness of a Faerûn without Karlach Cliffgate and Wyll Ravengard when Astarion had gasped, his skin flaking away like burning ashes. He’d run for cover and that had been that. Another gaping wound in her chest. She wondered how it kept beating. 

Standing at the edge of the docks, grasping for something to feel victorious about Gale had materialized, staring at the horizon. Right. The crown. His duty. She was proud of him, he’d come such a long way from the wizard who had fallen out of the portal so long ago. Traded his pride for humility, his ambition for wisdom. His course was set, soon he would retrieve the crown and reforge it, taking it to his goddess. 

Tav smiled and cupped his face, ignoring his surprise. No matter how long they took dithering at the door, the goodbyes were inevitable, she had learned to grasp at what comfort she could when she could. So she stroked his beard with her thumb and memorized the exact shade of his eyes when they’re emblazoned by a smoldering city. Before he could give voice to the concern in his gaze she’d patted his cheek fondly and stepped away. 

Their night of celebration passed in a blur of music, laughter, drinking, dancing and fucking. When she woke up and rolled over to see Halsin already looking at her softly she felt another hole burning through her chest and she hated that she wasn’t even surprised. Only resigned.

Goodbyes were inevitable. 

When he began to explain the path he was now set on, his place in this post-Absolute world she smiled and nodded. Said all the right things. Because she had learned a long time ago that goodbyes were not for her, never for her, they were for other people. An opportunity for them to glean a measure of comfort and it was her place to provide it.

So she smiled while her heart cracked open and she congratulated and she soothed while the brittle spaces between her ribs turned to dust.  She promised to visit because lying came as naturally to her as breathing. And then she left.

Sometimes you had to be the one to leave first when someone told you goodbye. 

She lingers in the city, telling herself it’s to help the wounded. Tending and nurturing and healing she fills her days with servitude to those in need. At night she sits at her window, staring out at the view being rebuilt. Each night the scenery changes little by little, the wounds closing, the Gate piecing itself back together. Erasing the scars with repairs. 

She sits, and she watches, and she plucks at the chords of her heart, testing how sharply the pain twangs, and thinks about how a thing must be broken beyond recognition before it can be fixed. And wonders, if there’s nobody left to help with the restoration, can a thing be pieced back together at all.

Or if it really matters, when all her heart has ever learned to play was the same melancholy tune.  

She wakes one day and Shadowheart and her parents are gone. Jaheira and Minsc and Boo too. Forging the new paths of their lives. Tav wonders what it must feel like to hold a world of possibility in your own hands. Is it heavy? Does it burn? She packs her things and goes to the dock one last time. 

The sky is no longer on fire, the streets are no longer littered with corpses. When she drinks in the air she can smell fish and wet stone and something briney that gusts in off the water. 

“Good bye, sun,” she says to the gulls that cry over the harbor. 

“Good bye, sea,” she says to the horizon, blue and sparkling in the late morning light.  

“Good bye,” she says to her adventure, the Gate, and the million and one tiny little might-have-beens that tumble out of her heart and into the sea. 

She dries her face and tells herself the ache in her chest is a bruise and not a tear. 

“It’s time to go home.” 

[shroomyart404]

I’ve been thinking about the thunder legion, more specifically how they came to Fairy Tail. Because out of all the characters we see stuff about, we don’t see anything about them or their initial connection to Laxus.

So I got to brewing

Evergreen was the first to meet Laxus, she was maybe 12 when Laxus passed through with one of the adults in Fairy Tail. They were on their way to the train station to get back to the guild and stopped for food. She overhears Laxus say they’re headed to fairy tail and she gets so excited by the fact theirs a fairy guild she interrupts and asks Laxus numerous questions, saying she’s gonna join. So when she shows up 2 years later, dropped off by her older brother, Laxus isn’t too surprised. He is a bit caught off guard though when she only seems to hang around him though - he’s the only person she knows and joining a guild isn’t like what she’d thought.

It was just her and her brother, and he thought Fairy Tail would be a good place for her to start making friends and earn money she wouldn't get back home.

Between meeting Evergreen and Evergreen joining is when Bickslow meets Laxus and joins Fairy Tail.

Laxus had finished up a solo mission, and needed a place to stay afterwards as it was getting to night. And he was hungry. He passed through a really run-down town, grumbling about how he wasn't gonna find much out here until an old man calls him over. it's clear Laxus isn't around here, and after confirming that Laxus is a wizard asks him to protect the house for a few days in exchange for food and shelter.

Laxus agrees and stays out on guard the first night, watching as some kids his age make their way through town going to houses and taking food, led by a lanky boy with a trail of 5 dolls following him. One of the kids tries to approach the house Laxus is guarding but is quickly scared off. The next night, similar happens, but this time the lanky kid, Bickslow who is clearly the ringleader of this group, approaches him.

"You're messing with the wrong place. I suggest you leave before things get messy." Bickslow says, and Laxus refuses. So, Bicks challenges Laxus to a fight. And to no surprise Laxus wins, and before he helps Bicks up he asks what's even happening around here.

Bickslow tells him about how the city was plagued by attacks from a dark guild that's now been disbanded. The town didn't have the money or the resources to rebuild, Bickslows friends were caught in the crossfire of the dark guild's anarchy - these friends' souls are the ones in the 5 toys, later to be his totems. Laxus knows he can't help, but he tells Bickslow that money's needed he can join Laxus on higher-earning quests. Help keep other towns from ending up like this. This convinces Bicks, and the future of the town gets better because Makarov talks with his connections and the town gets rebuilt.

Finally, Freed. It's maybe a year after Evergreen joined. Freed has been travelling around Fiore trying to find someone who could take away his "curse" (the forbidden magic). He often goes to the cathedrals and such, but most either direct him on to the next or to wizarding guilds - which Freed doesn't want to go near fearing rejection. He comes to Magnolia, and after Kardia Cathedral also say there's nothing they can do, he's sat on the steps knees pulled up to his chest.

"You crying?" Evergreen approaches him, having nothing better to do while she waits for Bickslow and Laxus to be done with whatever they are doing.

"No." Freed doesn't look at her, which Ever finds rude and gives a huff.

"Well then stop looking like you are."

"My sadness is none of your business."

"So you are sad?"

the conversation carries on like this back and forth, Freed utterly confused how this girl keeps asking questions and invading his business. Eventually, Laxus and Bickslow come over to ask Evergreen who she's talking to.

"Oh, I dunno. I didn't ask his name."

"Freed. My name is Freed Justine."

"It's got to be a bit cold sat on those steps," Bickslow says

"Does it matter? I've got nowhere further to go on my search."

"Then you can get out of the cold, don't go being stupid." Laxus holds out his hand to help Freed up, and he takes it. They take him along to the guild so they're out of the cold and have some food. They ask why he's in Magnolia, and Freed reluctantly tells them about his fruitless search to have his magic taken away.

"Well, you've come to the right place," Laxus says, and Freed has a look of hope.

"Really? You mean there's someone here who can take this curse away?"

"Nope. but there are people a bit like you here." Laxus gestures to Bickslow and Evergreen. "I seem to keep collecting randos with weird eyes, what's another one."

"Hey!" Evergreen huffs and gives Laxus a shake "But he's right. You'd fit right in, Freed."

And thus, the Thunder Legion was formed.

[sweetfire01]

Okay but,,,, what if Daddy Howl,,, and little reader,,, and can't escape because moving castle,,, and being dragged to nest-bed by bird form Howl??? Yes? Yes??? YE S?????

Y E S

Y E S

It's too long so I had to divide the fic into two part (for now, if I don't get more ideas 👀)

I'll talk about the nest in the next one!

Baby dove pt.1 (Daddy!Howl)

You couldn't stand staying here anymore. It was all becoming too overwhelming and disturbing, especially with Howl's overly protective behaviors. You didn't know how to describe it, but you had this strange feeling that you needed to get out of here as soon as possible, before things got worse. It was going well the first day he took you in, but the way he started treating you like a fragile little thing made you shiver. that's why today you took advantage of one of his long bath, trying to escape to the capital the moment he closed the door behind him.

You didn't have a specific destination in mind, you would have been chappy to reach the countryside, get on a farmer's cart and reach some remote village. You had only visited the city a couple of times and only the center and the streets around the house, but it wouldn't be too difficult, right? Wrong. Everything was more crowded than you remembered, you had to go around closed streets, squeeze into narrow tunnels, walk between stalls and almost risked getting arrested when you found yourself in the middle of the street during a military parade. The second time you passed the exact same perfume shop, you realized that you were lost. You didn't know how long you had been walking, you hoped that the Wizard hadn't noticed your escape yet. The fear of finding him behind you hadn't left your body since you went out. You forced yourself to walk again. Just in case he was on your trail, it was safer to blend into the crowd than to stay still. You had also tried going into shops to rest, pretending to take a look at the mirrors displayed inside or looking for a new wall clock. And every time you heard the people behind you commenting on your less than elegant appearance and wondering if you really had the money to buy that snakeskin belt. Rich people like them were able to buy expensive things. But you? Oh well, who care, a snakeskin belt wouldn't have improved an outfit as sloppy as yours. You were offended: you were only wearing a white shirt and light blue pants that paired with a vest of the same color. Pretty simple, sure, but not sloppy! When you heard the owner of a jewelry store muttering about how he had to keep an eye on you to prevent you from stealing, you stormed out. You were REALLY tired, running away from a crazy man, starting to get hungry, and you were called a thief? Fuck everyone. Fuck that shopkeeper, fuck this fucking city and its snobbish people, fuck Howl and above all fuck that Witch. And fuck Howl again. Fuck this sudden festival too. You didn't even know what it was for, but if everything hadn't been so chaotic today, you would have been able to get much further than this. How big was this city?? Only when the sun began to set the people head home and you wished you could take refuge in some inn and spend there the night. Unfortunately you had no money, just a few coins with which you hoped to be able to buy dinner for the evening. It had been a very unplanned escape. You sat on a bench. Damn, at least 5 minutes, your feet were starting to hurt. You prayed with all your heart that Howl was still in the bathtub. His baths were always so long, why did today have to be any different? But you couldn't get rid of the anxiety that he was behind you, ready to take you home. And now that there were few people left on the streets, you felt even more vulnerable. “Are you tired, baby dove?”

This was...HIS voice. You jumped up. There he was, off to the side, closer than you expected. You stared at him trembling, frozen in fear. He just chuckled. He didn't seem angry, not even irritated "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Come on, let's go home, it can get cold in the evening." He took off his jacket to wrap it around you. At that moment you recovered from your state of shock and now all you wanted to do was run, escape. But he didn't get upset, no, he simply grabbed your wrist and pressed it to his chest, stroking your hair. It was supposed to be an attempt to calm you down, but you were only getting more agitated, squirming in his hold. “Let me go, let me go!” "Baby dove, it's late, we have to go." "NO!" You gathered all your strength and pushed him away. You caught him by surprise and he almost fell backwards as you ran away. But your escape was short: you made it about ten meters before you felt your leg being pulled back, causing you to fall onto the road. You at least had the readiness to break the fall with your arms, even if your palms started to burn immediately after the impact.

"And that's why we don't throw tantrums and we don't run away." Howl scolded you, this time with a hint of firmness in his voice, though his tone remained condescending. Like a parent scolding a toddler. You wondered if that "don't run away" was meant just for now. Probably not, but you didn't dare to ask. He knelt down to see if you were hurt and, once he noticed that you had only grazed your hands a little, he picked you up. "If you were a good little fledgling, I would have made you walk on air with me. It seems like that will be for another time, hm?" And with that you felt his body change, filling with feathers while two powerful black wings emerged from his back, his legs transformed into bird legs and his arms into claws. If you hadn't already seen him in this form, you would have screamed in terror. It doesn't matter, you screamed anyway as he took flight and you held on for dear life, desperately squeezing your eyes shut. You were high, too high for your liking. "Don't worry, baby dove, Daddy will never let you fall." He whispered in your ear. You didn't processed it, too scared to listen.

It was a relief when you landed in front of the house. And the warmth of Calcifer that hit you when you two entered felt good. You didn't realized how cold it had been outside, despite Howl's jacket. He didn't let you go, taking you directly to his room and placing you in your bed. "Take a nap, baby dove. You're tired. I'll wake you up for dinner, okay?" he planted a kiss on your forehead before leaving the room. You laid there, legs aching, starting to cry silently. All the effort you had put in for nothing. And the fact that Howl didn't even recognize this as an attempt to escape made it worse. It made you feel pathetic. As if it were all a toddler's tantrum.

[captainofthetidesbreath]

Downfall! I am EXHAUSTED, so I don't have any pre-roll here, but I am EXCITED. So, there are TWO bingos:

one for narrative stuff and mechanics, which has 49 items, located here

one entirely for specifically PC details, which has 40 items, located here

The items for both lists are under the cut. I don't necessarily have any notes right now—but yes, "Bolo joke" is there because it's funny to me and my friends. As always, if you have any questions about what a square is intended to mean, feel free to ask!

I may potentially add a couple more squares in the next half hour, but I'll make a post stating what I added. To play with those squares, just refresh your card.

Putting the Brutal in Brutalism

Apogee Solstice mention

set on Apogee Solstice

Vestige of Divergence

Arms of the Betrayers

Factorum Malleus mention

Frigid Woe mention

Aeorian Hunter

other Aeor project named

lack of windows noted

lack of windows explained

divine magic disrupted

lose contact with gods

prophecy

Bolo joke

Halas mention

Somnovem mention

Brashaar mention or appearance

Athodan mention or appearance

Prime Deity appearance

Betrayer God appearance

Predathos mention

Ethedok or Vordo mention

new Aeorian named

other known character mentioned

Avalir mention

Zemniaz mention

other flying city mention

new location named

previously named Aeor ward

Cognouza Ward still attached

Cognouza Ward missing

location other than Aeor visited

no initiative

initiative

multiple initiatives

pre-5e spell used or mentioned

Divine Sense

Divine Intervention

Scrying

Commune

Arcana check

Deception check

History check

Insight check on NPC

Insight check on PC

Perception check

Persuasion check

Religion check

Stealth check

Dramatis Personae

artificer

barbarian

bard

cleric

druid

fighter

monk

paladin

ranger

rogue

sorcerer

warlock

wizard

multiclass

2 or more clerics

2 or more paladins

2 or more wizards

2 or more multiclasses

Celestial warlock

Divine Soul sorcerer

Path of the Zealot barbarian

unclear subclass

homebrew subclass

PHB subcass

XGTE subclass

TCE subclass

subclass from other official source

level 6 to 10

level 11 to 15

level 16 to 20

follower of Prime Deity

follower of Betrayer God

Aeormaton

from another plane

from Issylra

from Marquet

from Tal'Dorei

from Wildemount

official Champion

homebrew feat

[y-rhywbeth2]

Lore: Common Phrases & Words

Accuracy Disclaimer & The Other Stuff [tldr: D&D lore is a giant conflicting mess. Larian's lore is also a conflicting mess. You learn to take what you want and leave the rest]

Abeir-Toril Why it's called the "Forgotten" Realms History | Time & Festivals | Lexicon [1] [2]| Languages | Living in Faerûn [1] [?] | Notable Organisations | Magic | Baldurs Gate | Waterdeep | The Underdark | Geography and Human Cultures --- WIP

Translating some earth phrases and words into their Faerûnian equivalents, plus some words specific to Faerûn; Here's how make friends and insult people in Faerûn. Also they have coffee, guitars and health insurance.

Also included a handful of Waterdhavian phrases and words.

-

Phrases and curses:

"Before all the gods..." - "I swear to god..."

"Well met" - default greeting; hello

"Well again" - greeting between acquaintances, business partners and friends.

"Well enough" - agreement; "ok", "that's fine with me"

“Never undress in a room with a window, a Harper may be near!” – "Be careful what you say, you don't know who's listening. an interesting warning courtesy of Waterdhavian noble matrons.

"Haularake!" - The polite way to say "gods fucking damn it!" while in front of small children.

"Hrast!" - Damn it!

"Hrasted [thing]!" - Damned [thing]!

"[Deity]'s Blood" - eg "Cyric's Blood" Religious oath, rather like jesus christ. Contracted version of Blood of [deity]

I swear that I have seen "Umberlee's Teats" and "Cyric's Balls" said somewhere...

"Being an ox-haunch" - "Being an asshole"

"a breath" - a moment, a second; "wait a breath"

"A breath or two" - A moment/second; eg, "give me a breath or two to finish this."

"A goodly breath or three" - a minute. (Waiting for a notable amount of time, maybe ten minutes, but not that long.) -- The dwarven variant is "but a little while" -- Halflings call it a "long song"

"Counting like a halfling" - Being contrary just to be difficult Most of the Realms counts on their fingers starting with the thumb, halflings do it the other way around.

"Naeth!", "Naed!" - Shit!

"Sabruin" - Fuck you, Fuck off.

"Lay down [good] coin" - "pay [a lot] for something"

“Resourceful as a bard”

"Life's better when you're not a frog." - "Avoid wizards."

“Sweet water and light laughter until next we meet” - A goodbye said between nobles. Technically an elven farewell, but human nobility decided it made them look cultured or something.

"Gone to Daggerford" - Waterdhavian phrase meaning to hide from the law by lying low outside the city

"Black as a black opal" - used to describe people who seem evil, but aren't really. (Especially if they'd dislike you saying so)

- Faerûnian Lexicon:

Scorchkettle - a Karen.

Dining-house - a Restaurant

Glim - Eye-catching, beautiful, flashy

Kaeth - Coffee ~Fireswallow - a colloquial term for Coffee.

Yarting - acoustic guitar

Short scroll - Newspaper

Nandra - mediocre, meh.

Dael, daelin - a year, years

Saer - a term to address nobility when you don't know the proper title, or when they're children

Lackwit - Idiot

Roundskull - a prejudiced idiot who doesn't use their brain; "often applied to local folk who sit drinking in their tavern displaying prejudices and repeating the words of their parents and grandparents, rather than making their own judgements about changing conditions around them, and new concepts, items, and customs."

Handfast - an engagement (to be married) Handfasted - engaged

Goldnose, Goldnosed - Haughty. aka. "Has a stick up their ass." Highnose - as above

Lackcoin - a derogatory term for those living in poverty.

Darkmorning - the early morning hours between midnight and sunrise

Highsun - Midday

the Eavestrough - the Gutter

a Bell - an Hour

a Candle - an Hour

Festhall - a type of establishment found in the Realms. A kind of fusion between an inn, laundromat, spa, night club, brothel and casino. I'll explain these in another post. Suffice to day that BG3 is the most accurate portrayal of how damn horny this setting is that I've seen in a CRPG so far.

Blesséd - an elven loanword referring to immediate family.

Harhand - a labourer (minimum wage employee)

Healthshield - Health insurance, also known as a "healing-bond"

Fire-bond - Fire insurance

Rivvim - horny

Dawnfry - colloquial term for breakfast A common breakfast, especially for travellers at camp, is to quickly fry the leftovers from last night's meal.

Highbite - colloquial term for lunch Long variant is "Highsunfest."

Latebite, Evenfest - Dinner Abbreviation of "Eveningfeast."

the Art - Magic

Lackspell - a weak, or novice wizard

Aloft - Upstairs; "she went aloft/upstairs."

High-coin - Expensive; or referring to a high paying job Low-coin - Cheap; or paying minimum wage

Finework - intricate and valuable metalwork. Silverware and jewellery, for example

Finesmith - a smith who works with precious metals.

Hiresword - Mercenary

Stareyed - naïve

Shraehouse - a type of very small tavern

Fastmud - Cement

a Swords out - a brawl or violent argument

a Smur - a light, misty rain

Beast-men - common word for ogres

Big Folk - Term used by gnomes and halflings to refer to the other races

Longears - term for an elf

Little man - insult aimed at dwarves

a Blackstick - something like a grease pencil. A writing utility made of a stick of thorden (juniper) wood that can be sharpened on one end, which is then slightly charred and used to write with.

a Blandreth - a three legged cooking pot

a Boot - a Traveller

Dadacky - Rotten, Decayed

Heartstop - a Heart attack

Coin - Money; "I've got no coin until I get paid next week."

a Broad Cry - Headline of a newspaper/broadsheet

Holy hand - a temple guard

Tenday - equivalent of a week (10 days instead of 7) Other, less commonly used terms include; an "eve," "hyrar", "ride" or a "domen".

the Elf day - the Weekend. The tenth day of a tenday, sometimes a day of rest.

House storming - a burglary; home invasion

the Realms Below - the Underdark

a Black Robe - a magistrate [Waterdhavian dialect]

a Sun - a platinum coin [Waterdhavian]

a Dragon - a gold coin [Waterdhavian]

a Shard - a silver coin [Waterdhavian]

a Nib - a copper coin [Waterdhavian]

[sforzie]

Summary: Curious about his son's new girlfriend wife 'contractually bonded partner', Mephistopheles proceeds to mildly stalk her through Baldur's Gate. It goes about as well as you'd expect. ___

Mephistopheles was admittedly perplexed when he heard that his son had begun lodging with a mortal woman. Not just lodging, no, word was that Raphael and this woman had mutually signed a contract that bound them together in some sort of undisclosed relationship. If the pair had been mortals, the devil might have written it off as some sort of youthful elopement. But this was Raphael that was being talked about, and while his son was certainly still a brat he was far from young and foolish.

He sought out information on the woman, and was able to determine that she was a tiefling, not quite thirty summers of age, who had been part of the group of tadpole-infected adventurers who had stopped the relatively recent invasion of mind flayers that had been focused on the city of Baldur’s Gate. There was little else to go on, and Mephistopheles remained puzzled as to what about this woman could have drawn his son’s narcissistic interest.

So he decided to see for himself.

One day, he received word that the woman–Livia, was her name–was making a trip from the Hells and back to Baldur’s Gate. This was apparently something she did on a somewhat regular basis. Curious, Mephistopheles took on a mortal guise–that of a ruggedly handsome tiefling, thank you–and followed the woman to the mortal plane. 

He knew her when he found her, because she absolutely reeked of his son’s magic. Livia was a tiefling woman with pleasantly dark gray skin and black hair that was streaked here and there with crimson. She was pleasantly built–nearly tall, with gentle curves and long, curling tail. Mephistopheles could immediately understand why the average man would find her appealing. Hells, he certainly found her appealing, and briefly considered it a pity that she had been foolish enough to contractually bind herself to Raphael. She could have done so much better for herself…

He followed her at a somewhat careful distance through the busy city. He was impressed by the confidence in her stride, how despite being a tiefling she did not lower her gaze to those around her. She clearly did not care that she was viewed by other mortals as less-than, as tainted by her infernal ancestry. She kept her head held high, horns arcing behind her with elegant poise. Livia seemed to be on some variety of shopping trip, as most of her stops in the city were at various market stalls and shops. If she was purchasing anything, he could not be certain for sure, as she carried no packages with her from one business to the next.

One of her last stops, in the middle of the afternoon, was at a wizard’s shop in the lower city. Sorcerous Sundries was a messy, loud place, full of the mortal realm’s finest of middling magics. Mephistopheles found it all quite quaint, but managed to keep his opinions to himself as he trailed after the woman. She meandered through the shop, her pivoting gaze indicating to him that she was looking for someone specific. She eventually found her target on the second floor in the form of a ruddy cheeked tiefling man garbed in a wizard’s attire. The man stopped in his industrious fussing over a bookshelf to smile brightly and pull Livia into a hug. His enthusiasm in seeing her was quite evident by the happy wagging of the tip of his tail.

Mephistopheles wondered if there was something going on between them. He pretended to browse a nearby shelf while Livia chatted with the other tiefling. He couldn’t quite hear what was being said–the shop was rather noisy–but could still tell that the young man was gushing enthusiastically about something. A few minutes passed, and then another pair of tieflings came clamoring up the stairs. They both hugged Livia with the same ferocity as the first tiefling had.

Ah, Mephistopheles thought, just friends.

His target continued chatting with the tieflings for nearly half an hour before going on her way. Downstairs, she bought something from the shopkeep before again venturing out into the city. Mephistopheles briefly lost track of her in the busy streets, before eventually finding her once more as she made her way into a tavern. He decided that there was no harm in more directly approaching the woman here in a bar, as in a place like this striking up a random conversation with a stranger was not all that unusual.

She was ordering a drink at the bar when Mephistopheles joined her. He sat on the adjacent stool, curling his tail around the base so that he did not topple off of it. They sat side by side in silence for a few minutes, she sipping from her glass while he turned his in his fingers.

Finally, he said: “Do you come here often, miss?”

It took Livia a moment to respond. “Now and then, though not as often as I used to.”

“Moved on to greener pastures, eh?”

“Something like that.” She did not turn her face away, but Mephistopheles still got the impression that she was not interested in speaking with him. That was quite rude, he thought. He knew his mortal guise was attractive–it still looked like him, after all–and he had gotten his fair share of appraising looks while following the tiefling woman through the city. So, why did she have no interest in him? He was definitely more attractive than his son.

He decided to try again. “Tell me, young lady. What’s a lovely thing like you doing in a place like this?”

Livia looked at him from the corner of her eye. “Truth be told, a tavern is one of the best places to get all of the latest gossip in a city. And I do so like to be kept up to date on my gossip.”

So she claimed, he thought, but the woman had yet to speak to anyone else in the tavern.

“Gossip, you say? What of interest have you heard, my dear?”

“Nothing yet.” She set her glass on the counter and made a show of looking around the tavern. “Things in the city have been quiet as of late, at least on the surface.”

“And under the surface?”

She shrugged. “Who’s to say.”

Mephistopheles considered her nearly blank expression. What was she hiding from him? “You know, for someone who claims to be seeking out gossip, you do not strike me as being particularly adept at it.”

Livia blinked slowly. “Oh, I don’t know. The day is young.”

“I could offer you something far more tantalizing than petty gossip, if you were interested.” He leaned toward her. Livia did not flinch at his approach. She stared at him with lowered eyelids.

“Is that so? What did you have in mind, good sir?”

“I could certainly show a pretty thing like yourself a good time.” He grinned toothily at the woman. “I could take you places you’ve never been, and show you sights that you have never seen.”

Livia hummed to herself, seeming to consider his offer. She picked up her glass and murmured into it: “You could indeed.”

“Are you not curious, my dear? You would never want to return to listening to gossip in taverns when I was done with you.”

“You sound quite confident of yourself, sir.”

“I have no reason to be otherwise.”

He watched as she leaned back slightly and looked him over–from his long black horns all the way down to the red tail that was still loosely gripping the leg of the barstool. The bright pink tip of her tongue briefly darted into view as it traced the line of her lower lip.

“I see. I daresay my darling would have told me to expect such bravado from you.” Livia leaned in and lowered her voice. “Mephistopheles.”

He felt a jolt in his back. “Pardon?”

“You heard me, sir.”

The archduke hesitated, reluctant to drop his ruse so quickly. However, the tiefling looked quite confident in her assessment of his identity. How was that even possible?

She stared at him, waiting.

“Guilty as charged,” he finally conceded, still sincerely surprised by her observation. “How could you tell?”

Livia took a sip of her drink.

“You ordered an expensive drink, but haven’t actually consumed any of it. Not even a sniff. I know from listening to Raphael complain about you that you absolutely refuse to consume any of the ‘tepid swill’ produced in the mortal realms, and only stock your cellars with the finest of vintages produced on other planes.”

“A bold observation, but I could also be trying to stay sober while seeking out company.”

“Perhaps.” Livia tipped her head to the side and stared at him. What a piercing gaze she had! Her eyes flicked from his face and again down his front, and then back up to his horns. “Your glamour may be first class, but you still reek of the hells to anyone in the know. And on top of that, you… well, ‘smell’ isn’t the right word for it, but you smell very similar to Raphael. On a manifested level. You have a markedly similar aura.”

“And how would a little thing like you even know how to sense that?” He watched as she continued to study his face for a moment, a distinctly unimpressed look on her face.

“I fuck your son on a daily basis,” she said blandly into her glass. “And my essence has been infused with his own. I think I know what he feels like.” Livia gestured with the glass, pointer finger flexing to draw his attention to a thin golden band that looked as though it had been etched into her skin. Indeed, focusing on this strange trinket was enough to tell Mephistopheles why he sensed his son on her. The ring was composed almost entirely of his magic, of his essence. Even without touching it directly, he could detect a plethora of bits of spells woven into the band. A glamour, location spells, protection wards… He wondered if she had any idea of the true nature of that ring.

“Well then. I must concede defeat, little lady. You have indeed sussed out my true identity.”

“Of course I did.” Her pretty lips pinched briefly. “So, why were you following me all day? I knew you were there–you were kind of obvious.”

“Ah, I do apologize for my lack of stealth, my good lady. I must admit, when I heard that my son had become involved with some mortal woman, I was intrigued as to who might have drawn his attention away from his mirrors.”

“I suppose such curiosity is to be expected.” She set down her glass. “And, what did you learn?”

The archduke huffed softly. “Truth be told, only that he had become drawn to a beautiful, confident woman. I cannot profess to understand what really drew him to you.”

Her lips pulled into a smug smile. “Good.”

Mephistopheles hoped that she did not hear the faint sigh that escaped him. This little tiefling was far too good a woman to be wasting her time on his son. He could put her to much better use than Rapahel. A clever spy, perhaps, or at least a lovely new concubine with which to entertain himself.

Pity.

Of course, he could steal her away and take her back to Cania if he truly wished to, there was nothing that she or Raphael could do to prevent that. It could be interesting to do just to see his son, still flush with the power of the Crown of Karsus, come thundering into his domain to reclaim his pet. However, he had made a pledge of fealty to his son in exchange for being left in control of his assets in Cania. It would be unfortunate to have to waste time and resources over so trifling a matter as a mortal woman.

Livia was ignoring him now, seemingly, having picked up his untouched glass from the bartop and pouring half of its contents into her own. He could not tell whether or not her indifference to his station was sincere or an act.

She was a charming little thing, he thought. Perhaps just the sort of distraction Raphael needed, seeing as Haarlep had clearly ceased to be effective at their job ages ago. That was what his son needed, after all–distractions, things to keep his devious little mind occupied. Mephistopheles decided that, for the time being, Raphael could keep his new little toy.

“So, tell me, little one–Livia, wasn’t it? What did you buy at the wizard’s shop?” he asked after a few minutes. Livia’s shoulders jerked slightly, as though she had forgotten he was there, and after a moment of hesitation she pulled a paper covered bundle from her cloak. She unwrapped it, revealing a fist sized chunk of a dark red and black stone.

“Bloodstone,” she said. With a hint of shyness, she added: “It’s for Raphael. He likes to use bloodstone in his preparations of the ink he uses on his contracts.”

“I see.” Not what he had expected. “Did he send you here to purchase it?”

“No, of course not. But, I heard him grumbling about his stock being low the other day. I thought I would get some for him, since I was already here.”

A curious action on her part. “What reward could you hope to earn for such a menial task?”

“Reward?” Another sharp shrug. “Oh, I don’t know. Perhaps a smile? A kiss between the horns? At the very least, it would be one less thing for him to complain about for a few weeks.”

Mephistopheles tried to imagine his son smiling at the woman, but found it difficult. Imagining Raphael showing any sort of real affection to anyone but himself was nearly impossible.

“That’s all?”

“I need nothing more.” Livia drained the last of her drink. “I already have everything that I could want.”

He watched as she opened a pouch and set a coin on the counter next to the empty glass. “And, what was it that you wanted?”

Livia looked up at Mephistopheles, and her blue eyes gleamed.

“Him.”

[purgetrooperfox]

say more about gale and cazador right now please?

all I'm saying is that in the context of bloodweave and assuming that Cazador has some means of tracking the gang (which is plausible, once they reach the city), snatching Gale could be one of the first measures to bait Astarion back to his palace. of course Cazador would figure out this gap on Astarion's armor, he's known him for two centuries, he sees the turmoil and the care and – gods forbid – the affection.

say it's a late night out, for example. maybe Astarion got a secondhand buzz going, but he's definitely invested in seeing Gale cut loose. just a little. after all, he's never known wizards to be particularly adventurous in their explorations of physical, chemical influences. seems like it would be interesting (telling, even, of what dark urges hide behind warm smiles and boisterous language). say they hit up the Blushing Mermaid, since Gale wouldn't be tempted by Sharess' Caress. anything is more comfortable than the Elfsong, if you ask Astarion.

Cazador's spawn are thoroughly conditioned and highly trained to know just the right buttons to push, strings to pluck, vices to encourage. maybe Cazador sets one of them on him, a specific "bring him back to me and you will earn my favor" type, because this is how one gets under Astarion's skin. to this old sibling of his, Gale is just another mark. they don't know. they can't know.

and how can Astarion intervene without giving himself up? or worse, maybe his attention is drawn elsewhere when Gale slips out the back with a face that would have been familiar, had Astarion only seen it. if their relationship is mostly tension at this point, so Astarion notes Gale's absence and opts to rationalize it as "oh, he must have found someone else to lose himself in tonight". if there's fear ingrained in that, just by virtue of being in Baldur's Gate. so when Cazador's next nighttime psychic horror visit comes, it's confirming the worst-case scenario.

then the wondering. what's been done and what's yet to come. has Gale been made a spawn, and if he has, then is the tadpole protecting him, or has that beautiful mind of his been cramped into the confines of Cazador's demands? is he locked in a dungeon cell, being conditioned for the eternity to come? if there is eternity to come, then is the orb stabilized, is it safe, will he live–. is it better or worse, to know what he might go through or to wonder what the alternative might be? if he's been kept mortal, but tortured for torture's sake? or used for the others' training?

and then Gale. poor, sweet Gale, dropped into the hellscape that's been Astarion's life*, knowing why he's there, knowing that he's bait. shutting out every pulse of the tadpole so no one sees, no one knows, but most of all so Astarion doesn't feel obligated to save him. his life is forfeit anyway. for all this pain, the most important thing is to keep it from bleeding through his psychic connection with Astarion. Astarion, who finally found freedom, tasted joy, clung to kindness like its supply was finite.

because the worst case scenario in Gale's mind is that he dies, and then he explodes.

and the worst case in Astarion's mind is that Gale can never die, and then they're the same.

[randoimago]

Watching the Sunset Together

Fandom: Baldur's Gate 3

Character(s): Rolan

Type of Request: NPC Winter Event Thingy

Note(s): I literally saw this post earlier today and decided I wanted to write drabbles/oneshots (whatever I have inspo with at the time) for various characters. Except I wanted to specifically do it for NPC's.

Since this is so very last minute, I'm only really seeing what NPC's you guys want to see stuff for and if I think it fits (or if I vibe with the NPC) then I'll choose which of these days to write for them. I went with Rolan for number 1 because I love him dearly and this idea came very easily to me.

If there was one thing Rolan could say he loved about Ramazith's Tower, it would be the view. Standing outside the tower and looking down at the city below him, seeing how small everything looks from this height, it really puts things into perspective. Not only that, but seeing the ocean of the docks in the distance and watching the sun begin its descent over the water gave him a sense of calm, of peace.

"Well, it was peaceful," Rolan says aloud, an amused smile on his face when he hears the noise of the portal behind him.

He half expects it to be one of his siblings, mainly Lia, wanting to try one of the "weird Wizard things" in the tower. When he glances back, there's a pleasantly surprised look in his eyes as he sees you.

"And what brings you here? Was my illusion downstairs still no fun?" He asks, smiling a bit as he remembers the conversation you've both had about his little illusion and how you grew bored with making faces at it due to not getting a reaction. He had told you that his siblings say the same thing.

"Not quite, it just doesn't have the same smugness you do," you reply and Rolan rolls his eyes playfully before stepping aside on the balcony so you can join him if you want. He just barely suppresses the happy smile when you do stand next to him. Rolan makes sure his damned tail is coiled around his leg so it doesn't go to yours.

"Oh? Then what brought about this visit?" He inquires, a tad curious as he tries to not be too hopeful about whatever reason you might have.

"Just decided to visit and see how you're holding up," you answer and he suppresses the contented purr that wants to pop up. You've heard his purr before and teased him for being exactly like a cat, to which he defended himself profusely before pouting. The laughter that escaped your lips afterwards almost made him purr again, not that he'd admit it.

"Busy. I've had to deal with a lot of Lorroakan's former associates. Some of them being very happy that the place is under new management while others, not so much." Rolan noticed the concerned look on your face and he gave you a teasing smile. "What? You don't think I can handle myself by now?"

"Considering what a piece of work that bastard was, you can't blame me for being worried about what his friends might be like."

"Aw, you're worried about me?" He teases more and chuckles happily when you playfully shove him in response. In the past, he might've been insulted that you worried, but now it makes his heart beat a bit faster.

"Seems you enjoy me worrying, judging by your purring." His chuckling stops momentarily as he makes a face when he realizes that at some point he did, in fact, start purring at the banter between you two. A scoff escapes him and he rolls his eyes when you start laughing this time. His "annoyance" fades easily as he takes in your happy features and how they're accented from the rays of the setting sun in the background. He has to look away to glance back out to the cityscape, glad that his skin is already red enough to hide any blushing he might be doing.

"Things have been rather peaceful lately," Rolan says, changing the subject. "It's nice being able to finally relax after everything and just look at the sunset."

He hears a contemplative hum from you and he glances over for a moment, your eyes locked on him.

"The view is rather lovely," you agree softly and he feels his heart thrum faster. A slow smile crawls onto his lips before his eyes move back to the sunset, as do yours. He's glad you don't mention his tail that has wrapped around your leg gently as he stands a tad closer to you, his eyes glancing back to you for a moment more.

"That it is."

[utilitycaster]

Fighter Breakdown Tracker, episode 3x78

Welcome to what was originally an opportunity to talk about the myriad wizards (not Myriad wizards, a separate concept) of Campaign 2 that occasionally gets co-opted into other things when the thought arises. Anyway, obviously the main event was the Barbarian Breakdown and, relatedly, the Party Breakdown, due to their Communication Breakdown, giving Allura Vysoren specifically her 19th Nervous Breakdown, but I've already talked a lot about Ashton. How are the fighters doing?

As a reminder: characters are included on the basis of 1. are they a fighter, 2. are they remotely relevant to this campaign, and 3. do I have something funny to say about them. I cannot stress enough how important item 3 is in the decision process; do not make requests, my muse speaks to me and that is how the characters (and, to be honest, classes) are chosen.

Cassandra de Rolo: Yes! According to the Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting (not reborn) she's multiclassed into fighter! Anyway that plan to go to the ziggurat went well, huh? totally normal and great. I like to think that due to her rogue levels she saw Fearne march down the ziggurat steps and just peaced out and has been chilling in Pike's little cabin ever since. 4/10: normal "is the world ending" concerns but otherwise she's having maybe the best day anyone on the Whitestone War Council can.

Jarett Howarth: he's specifically avoiding Bells Hells because motherfuckers keep teleporting from Marquet and not bringing any fusaka. This, plus normal "putting the Pale Guard on a war footing and also there's a really mad goat lady in the garden" bumps him up to a 6/10.

Orym: my serious thoughts about the space made for Chetney, FCG, and Imogen to step up aside I honestly think the semi-joking narrative of Orym going off in a huff and working out his feelings quite literally via the power of elaborate bodyweight calisthenics of the sort that grant you 20 Dex and 10 Str would be good for him. Allow yourself a little pettiness, Orym; it's good for the soul. 5/10 because I don't fucking know; we'll see next game.

Ariks Eshteross: I hope he's at peace and buried next to his love as requested; I still haven't gotten around to making those cookies actually and frankly I've had much more of an eye on the gunpowder tea shortbread. 0/10; I like to think he has found true rest.

Bertrand Bell: These motherfuckers have not visited the grave of their namesake at ALL. Traipsing around the Raven Queen's temple - literally everyone but Laudna and FCG has wandered over to that corner of the city - and NO ONE has taken a moment to pause and reflect. He died as he lived: everyone kind of setting him aside for more important matters except for followers of the Raven Queen. 8/10 because hopefully he was entertained by the raven show that got put on but also, come on man you couldn't stop by at all?

FRIDA: I have to imagine things in Vasselheim are wild and it's going to be missing FCG hours, but at least they're in great company! 5/10; they're a pretty even-keeled robot all things considered but the situation is pretty tense.

Otohan Thull: My sole regret about how great this episode is and the fact that we're dropping into the Fey Realm for a bit to have some much-needed time to regroup is that we are likely delaying their richly deserved demise. Anyway everyone's beloathed Palpatine knockoff is unfortunately super unflappable; another reason why they are boring as shit and why I very much want Bells Hells to make the bridge a little bit bloodier on the way up. 3/10.

Percival Friedrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III: Here's the thing. All things considered, his personal position is stressful, but not terrible. The ziggurat did not blow up; Gwen appears to either have not told him about her Delilah incident or did so in such a way that he didn't realize what was going on; he doesn't seem to have noticed the break-in into his parents' bedroom yet; Allura was reassuring re: Whitestone likely being safe (although...it's on a ley nexus so watch out!); and he got to deliver the line "ever since I met you, I knew you were destined for stupidity" which is actually how he specifically blows off steam. On the other hand, every single window in the castle has been destroyed, Allura had to leave, and I just checked and confirmed that Pike does not have the mending cantrip. Maybe one of the local clerics does? Maybe one of his kids does? Maybe Vilya or Ebenold does? Maybe Grog's in town and can be convinced that the role of the Grand Poobah etc etc is fixing windows? 6/10.

[mask131]

So you want to know about Oz! (5)

Now that we looked at the MGM-continuity of movie and cartoons adaptation, I propose you in those post some adaptations that are either more in line with the original novels or... just not following either the novels or the MGM movie, and just doing their own thing. Since there is a lot of Oz adaptations, for this movie I will stay by American productions, post-1939.

First my three faves, and the rest will be under the cut.

2005's The Muppets' Wizard of Oz

This movie did quite poorly upon its release - and of all the Muppets movies, it is not considered to the best in any way. There is notable use of some old CGI that aged very poorly when it comes to the Wizard's scenes... But, not only does it have one of the most hilarious depiction of the Witches of Oz ever (what do you expect when they are played by Miss Piggy?) and some cool songs - this movie has the honor of being the most book-accurate, book-faithful adaptation of The Wizard of Oz there ever was. (Well outside of Japanese animes I'll talk about later). Yep... this Muppets parody is the closest you can get to experiencing the original novel as a movie. Crazy, right?

2011's The Witches of Oz

Originally it was released as a mini-series in two parts ; and in 2012 it was recut and edited as a single movie known as "Dorothy and the Witches of Oz" (but the single-movie version deleted a lot of scenes and segments from the complete mini-series). It tells a sort-of sequel to the Oz books (yes ALL of the Oz books), while mixing it with urban fantasy - as young real-life Dorothy, all grown-up in 2000s Oz, is depicted as the current author of Oz books, only for her to discover the fictional adventures in Oz that were written about her are real, and Oz is coming to New-York to get her...

Now... this mini-series aged VERY badly. The special effects are so cheap, most of the characters are insufferable, the plot is very weak... BUT! BUT this mini-series deserves to get some attention and to be known due to specific elements, such as, the most badass depiction of Langwidere ever ; Christopher Lloyd delightfully playing the Wizard of Oz... And the Wicked Witch of the West! This incarnation of the Witch is without a doubt one of my favorit reimaginings of the character, striking the perfect balance between the character of the original novel and the MGM Wicked Witch. Just in design she is the coolest Wicked Witch of the West there ever was. Too bad the rest of the mini-series is... quite cringe.

2017's Emerald City

Yet another proof of the "Oz curse" that plagues most of Oz adaptations - because the series got cancelled after its first season, leaving the show unfinished.

What is Emerald City? It was an Oz television series from the era of "post-Game of Thrones". Since the success of GoT, every channel and network tried to create its own dark and gritty big-budgeted high fantasy series... And "Emerald City" is what happened when Oz got caught in the trend.

People were very divided on the show (hence why it ended up cancelled) - some people adored its beginning and got tired of it by the end, others hated the first episodes but by the final ones were eagerly awaiting for the next season. On one side, most people agree that it is too much and that the show handled itself in a strange way, everything being a bit crammed-in. This TV show is actually adapting simultaneously THREE different Oz novels (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz), all mixed together in a new, dark, adult iteration of Oz, so yes, that's a LOT.

However the show does work out several very cool and interesting concepts, playing around with both the MGM and the novel heritages. And while the story can get a bit convoluted due to the so-many plots and subplots mixing each other in a complicated way and not giving each other enough time to breath, the visuals are 10/10. There was a real visual effort on this show that makes it entirely worth the watch, if just as an eye-candy. They literaly used GAUDI ARCHITECTURE for the Emerald City, come on, how cool is that?

And also it is one of these shows were several actually working languages were created by experts, so that's always cool. I always stand by fictional linguistics.

Now I'll go a bit quicker for these ones because else it's going to be one LONG post:

In the 1960s, there was one animated show that dominated the Ozian landscape. 1961's Tales of the Wizard of Oz.

One of the early creations of the future Rankin/Bass studios, it is a cartoon that reuses the settng and characters of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"... But not the plot X) Basically Dorothy and Toto end up entering Oz by... by a hole, as if she was Alice. And there she meets her companions and each episode is about them trying to have a wish granted by the Wizard of Oz, or trying to avoid the schemes of the Wicked Witch. So... it is quite a VERY loose adaptation, and the modern cartoon "Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz" is kind of a modern heir to this old cartoon.

After 114 episodes, there was an animated special created to conclude the show. Called "Return to Oz", it IS actually an adaptation of the plot and events of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"... But happening after all of the events of the cartoon, and thus taking a different direction in terms of set-up.

1969's The Wonderful Land of Oz

This low-budget movie was an adaptation of the second Oz book, "The Marvelous Land of Oz". There's quite a lot of interesting stories surrounding this production - from Judy Garland supposedly having been intended as the narrator, to the background actresses having appeared in nude films created by the movie's director... However the movie tend to be ignored or forgotten compared to the other 60s Land of Oz adaptation...

1960's "The Land of Oz". First episode of the second season of Shirley Temple's Storybook

This was a much more famous adaptation of "The Marvelous Land of Oz", if only because of Shriley Temple's name. Retrospectively, I should have added it in my previous Oz post because this mini-movie takes a lot of visual cues from the MGM's Wizard of Oz, such as the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman being designed after their MGM incarnation, or Glinda's outfit calling for the MGM Glinda's design.

1980's "Thanksgiving in the Land of Oz"

An animated special for Thanksgiving of the year 1980, which is - as the title says - about Dorothy going to celebrate Thanksgiving in Oz. In 1981 it was re-cut to become "Dorothy in the Land of Oz" (with most Thanksgiving references being removed so the animated short could be aired at any time of the year - which is quite a challenge since the special is ALL about Thanksgiving... Dorothy is literaly brought to Oz by a "giant green turkey ballooon", come on!)

1987's Dorothy meets Ozma of Oz

This animated middle-sized movie is an adaptation of the novel "Ozma of Oz", and remained for quite a long time the only adaptation of Ozma of Oz alongside Disney's Return to Oz.

1997's The Oz Kids

A direct-to-video cartoon series that is just what it says. We follow the adventures of the children of the various protagonists of the Oz novels. Dot and Neddie, Dorothy's children ; Bela and Boris the children of the Cowardly Lion ; Tin Boy and Scarecrow Junior ; the son of the Nome King, and more...

2007's Tin Man

Ah, Tin Man! A cult-classic a lot of people remember fondly - especially on Tumblr. This mini-series was part of the long suite of SyFy "dark sci-fi" fantasy reimaginings (2011's Neverland ; 2009's Alice, etc).

Described as an "adult steampunk reimagining" of the Wizard of Oz, it depicts the adventures of DG, a waitress of Kansas, as she gets taken by an interdimensional storm to the otherwordly "Outer Zone", and there befriends a telepathic leonine humanoid, a man who lost half of his brain, and a former cowboy-like law enforcer of the dictature a wicked witch-queen set upon the Outer Zone...

Speaking of steampunk, the last two Oz adaptations I want to talk about are...

2015's Lost in Oz

This animated show was part of Amazon Prime Video early days at producing its own content. Originally it was just a pilot episode released in 2015. Since the pilot episode proved good, it became a three-episodes mini-series in 2016. Since THIS mini-series proved good, it became a full season in 2017. And since this first season proved good, a second season was released in 2018. And then they stopped.

At first it seems that this show is just an "updated" version of The Wizard of Oz: Dorothy and her dog Toto gets transported to the Land of Oz, and must find a way to get back home while making friends and all together fighting through the many plots and scehmes dividing the land... Except that this Oz is a more modern and updated Oz filled with magi-tech, and Dorothy's companions are not exactly your traditional band... Turns out Dorothy has to team up with Ojo, here depicted as a "giant Munchkin", and a teenage witch by the name of... West. Yes, she is the (not so) wicked witch "of the west".

And thus starts a quite unique retelling of Oz where the three teenagers must face various threats taken from later Oz books: Langwidere, here West's evil aunt ; the mysterious Crooked Magician ; and Roquat, the Nome King.

And a last steampunk Oz for the road: 2018's "The Steam Engines of Oz". This Canadian animated movie is actually an adaptation of an Oz graphic novel of the same name, by Erik Hendrix and about a modernized Oz set after the events of "The Wonderful Wizard". A young mechanician of the Emerald City, Victoria, is chosen by the Good Witch of the North to help fight the ever-growing expansion and industrialization of the Emerald City, pushed by a Tin Man who became a cruel dictator of Oz...

[lunastrophe]

I'm curious if you know of how the other casting classes, like Bards, Sorcerers, and Warlocks are seen in Loth-sworn societies? If it's mentioned at all.

Oh, this is a really interesting topic! 😃 There are some information on drow bards, sorcerers and warlocks in Drow of the Underdark (3.5e) - I find especially the concept of drow bard totally awesome.

🕷️ Drow Bards - surfacers often do not realize that drow have an ancient bardic tradition, "one that transforms the traveling entertainer, trickster, and storyteller of the surface into one of the most horrific taskmasters and assassins of the Underdark".

Drow bards are somewhat uncommon in drow societies and they often do not travel the world, but usually connect themselves to some noble House, join a theatrical troupe or become employees in various city locations for artistic performances.

Performing can be deadly dangerous to a drow bard, especially since drow tastes are notoriously fickle - bards who fail to amuse their clients sometimes find themselves a part of the next performance: "disappointed audiences are not shy about taking out their frustrations on those who fail to provide suitable entertainment. The fatality rate among performers is high."

Many drow bards study various means of death-dealing, including the use of poisons, and are skilled spies and assassins. Sornafein, patron of Matron Mother Zhindia Melarn from Menzoberranzan, was a bard - he was known to kill his rivals with strings of his instruments.

Drow artists in general are considered "even more decadent than typical members of their race".

🕷️ Deathsinger is a specific type of a bard, unique to drow culture. Deathsingers are rare and they combine their bardic skills with necromancy - they are able, for example, to control the dead through their songs.

🕷️ Drow Sorcerers - their position in drow societies is usually similar to that of drow wizards and arcane spellcasters in general. "Wizards and sorcerers are found in nearly equal numbers among the drow (...) and sorcerous talent runs strong through the chaotic and inherently magical drow."

🕷️ Drow Warlocks - "warlocks are not unknown among the drow, but they are seen as something of an oddity. The race's affinity with and connection to the Lower Planes is too great for them to not exhibit some sort of taint from beyond, and demonbinders are among the most common examples found."

Drow warlocks have "strong links to the Abyss and to Lolth, but those ties more directly bind them to Lolth's servants - her demons - than to the Spider Queen herself."

Also, I just found a curious thing about female drow warlocks:

If powers of a female drow warlock come from bargains with (or descent from) demons associated with Lolth, she can be considered blessed by the Spider Queen. If such a female meets all the other priesthood requirements, she can have the status of a priestess, even though she is technically an arcane spellcaster.

Apparently, this is one exception to the rule that all drow priestesses must be divine spellcasters. Such "warlock priestessess" are rare, though. They are also expected to serve the church and the noble houses rather than to run them.