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rim-draws · 2 months

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Alright, they've lived in my brain too long; Time to air out my thoughts about the polyamory in BG3

To give a little context: I am currently ethically non-monogamous with my primary partner of almost 7 years. I am not a monolith of thought when it comes to polyamory/ENM/open relationships. These are my own personal thoughts and feelings. I've also completed the game with Astarion and Halsin romanced. Spoilers ahead, read at your own risk.

TL;DR - I don't share the current opinion of whether or not Astarion is okay with Tav pursuing Halsin and the discourse around his agency and choices in the relationship are bumming me out and frustrating me.

I am getting increasingly frustrated about the conversation about Astarion being polyamorous/okay with Tav being with Halsin in the game, primarily because I think a lot of the "think pieces" are coming from 1) monogamous people who have only ever been monogamous, 2) monogamous people who have been burned/cheated on/forced into polyamory by a partner (I feel for ya'll, that wasn't okay), 3) people who are very VERY protective of Astarion, and 4) people who are blatantly uncomfortable with polyamory. My goal is not to invalidate anyone's experiences, but to share an alternate perspective.

I do think that Astarion is not only okay, but happy with Tav dating Halsin. I glean this from how he responds to being poly with ANY OTHER companion. If you ask him to share with literally anyone else, he will say no and give his reason.

Gale: He doesn’t want to be in a love triangle (which with Gale, it would be).

Lae’zel: He’s uncomfortable and Lae’zel would kill him (also true).

Wyll: He knows Wyll is old fashioned and monogamous.

Karlach: He knows Karlach’s feelings for you are strong and he doesn’t want to stand in the way of that (he even says he’d be cool with an arrangement but knows Karlach will need all of your affection based on what she’s been through).

Shadowheart: He would be cool IF Shadowheart had more experience and ya’ll were together longer. But he knows Shadowheart is fragile in her current state.

Minthara: He REALLY doesn’t like this idea and will dump you immediately.

I did also see that ***SPOILER*** they updated or are updating some of the spawn Astarion language to have issues with your affair with Mizora should you pursue it, and it requires a persuasion/deception role to keep you two together.

Up to this point in your relationship with Astarion, he has become more comfortable voicing his opinions and concerns with you. He is learning to value his autonomy and his non-physical relationships. He will tell you when he doesn’t want to do something. In fact, he’ll break up with you over pushing his boundaries. He is fine with you pursuing the Drow twins and fine with you sleeping with Haarlep, even comforts you when Haarlep uses your form. So when he says he is okay with you pursuing Halsin, he means it. Yes, he voices his insecurity with you that you may be pursuing Halsin because you and he haven’t had sex in a while. But he acknowledges that Halsin has experience in this arrangement and doesn’t pose a threat to your relationship. Plus, if you kiss Halsin in front of him, he’ll say “don’t mind me, I’m just enjoying the show.”

To me, the idea that this is the ONE thing that Astarion doesn't have agency over in an arc of showing he can speak up for himself is you sleeping with Halsin is an idea that takes more agency from Astarion. He is a grown man. A 240 YEAR OLD man. That trauma he's endured does not mean he needs to be babied or coddled because he can't make his own choices. I think that's an unfair assumption to put on him that Halsin and Tav being together is the ONLY thing he can't enforce his boundaries on.

If he didn't want you to be with Halsin, he would say no like every other monogamous character in the game.

If you want a good example of someone saying yes just because they want to keep you, look at Karlach. You can tell she is HEARTBROKEN when you ask her, but she says “I don’t want to lose you”. That is not an enthusiastic participant in a polyamorous relationship. Astarion says “yeah, go for it! Just give me some reassurance”. Polyamory is not immune to insecurity. I've asked for reassurance in my own relationships and so has my primary partner. That’s not unenthusiastic. That’s realistic as shit. If you ask him about the relationship after you finish his questline, he doesn’t need reassurance because you’re having sex again. That’s also super realistic.

Am I sensitive to this as someone who practices ENM? Almost certainly. It's hard to see a lifestyle I live be villainized and claimed to be "forced" onto characters. I was actually really excited that I could pursue both Astarion and Halsin, and that Halsin places so much importance on consent and not misleading your partner. And it sucks SOO much to see one of my favorite characters be reduced to "oh, he's only doing it because he's afraid to lose Tav." It makes me almost feel bad for liking the interactions between them and enjoying to option. Do I think people mean to make me or other poly people feel bad? No.

But it does.

Headcanons are headcanons. I get it. People are absolutely allowed to interpret the poly aspect of BG3 how they want to. People are allowed to feel uncomfy with how it's portrayed and not pursue it. But it still bums a queer ENM Astarion and Halsin lover out.

Now excuse me whilst I live out my Astarion x Halsin x Tav polycule fantasies in the form of fanfiction.

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rim-draws · 2 months

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BG3 Tav Backstory Bash

This is a challenge to help people flesh out their Tav’s backstory by exploring their past. It is organized into four sections with seven prompts. You can treat this as a monthly challenge or a general project. You can write headcanons, fics, or share art based on the prompts! You can interpret the prompts however you want. If you want to share use the tag #bg3backstorybash

Baby:

Parents

Birth

First word

When they first walked

Tantrum

First sickness

Thunderstorm

Childhood:

Friends

Siblings

Getting into trouble

Birthday

Games

Learning something new

Trauma

Teenager:

First love

Rebellion

Running away

Reckless behavior

Peer pressure

Growing pains

Taking responsibility

Adulthood:

Their “first time”

Serious relationships

Work

Leaving home

Aging

Finding your place

Staring a family/found family

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rim-draws · 2 months

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I had a tattoo client ask if I ever used AI to design tattoos for me. Man I spent the better part of a decade doing shitty bit work as a graphic designer and now that I have the space to do whatever I want, I'm gonna let the computer generate random garbage for me? What next should I have a computer that eats my dinner and fucks my wife?

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rim-draws · 2 months

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Gale x Taph #2 - For Rim-Draws

Song Inspiration: "Sober Up" by AJR ft. Rivers Cuomo

Another One Shot For @rim-draws <3 Thanks for requesting this! I had a great time writing it, and thank you for your donation to my Ko-fi!

Would you like me to write a BG3 one shot for you? Check out this post and send me a message <3

As it turned out, being in a relationship with Taph was not quite so different to not being in a relationship with her– at least so far. The only real difference, Gale had found, was that they bickered a little bit less. That, and Taph allowed him the joy of holding her hand when they sat around the campfire with their companions, but only if he asked. It wasn’t that Gale was frustrated by the way Taph was still so hot-and-cold with him despite acknowledging their feelings for each other, no. He was just deeply confused. Granted, his own relationship history wasn’t exactly healthy by any stretch of the imagination so he didn’t have much to compare to, but even so Gale was fairly certain it was supposed to be…not like this.

Of all of their companions, Wyll seemed to be the closest to Gale in thinking when it came to romantic relationships and how he viewed them. The two of them had also become fast friends, often joking they were the group’s moral compasses (even if the compass was often ignored), so he felt comfortable opening up to Wyll about his confusion on where his relationship with Taph stood.

“Mate, I think you just need to talk to her,” Wyll advised one night as they finished their goblets of wine. “I know communication in relationships is not…something you’re used to–”

“That’s certainly a delicate way of putting it.” Gale laughed bitterly. By now, the warlock was well aware of Gale’s sordid history with Mystra, and like everyone else in camp, Wyll agreed that Mystra had only ever been looking out for herself when it came to her relationship with Gale.

Wyll laughed. “I’m just saying…maybe she isn’t either. You may have to be the one to take the leap.”

Gale sighed. “Once again, Wyll, I find myself in awe that someone so young could be so wise.”

“I’m not that much younger than you!” Wyll squawked with a laugh.

“I’m nearly a decade your senior, friend,” Gale reminded him as he stood up. He needed to find Taph. Gale finished the remaining liquid in his goblet and handed the empty vessel to Wyll, clapping him on the shoulder as he walked by. “Thank you, Wyll, for the sage advice. I shall let you know how it goes.”

Taph was not in her tent, and it was not her turn to take the first watch, so Gale immediately worried. It was late enough that none of them should be wandering alone (except for perhaps Astarion, who needed to wander alone at night to feed), no matter how skilled they were in their various crafts. Gale was about thirty feet from their campsite when he heard the sounds of a lyre coming from the west, and a soft smile bloomed on Gale’s face. He should have known the sorceress snuck off to play her instrument– that seemed to be where Taph felt the most at peace. Though the fact that she snuck off to play was unusual– she was a performer by nature, and playing in front of Gale and the rest of the group was not something that had ever seemed to make her uncomfortable before. Gale’s curiosity had been piqued.

As Gale drew closer to the sound of the lyre, he also began hearing the sound of Taph’s sweet voice, singing a tune he did not recognize. Was she working on something new? He found her in a clearing with a small lantern illuminating the immediate space surrounding her, though the moon was bright enough that evening that she probably did not need it. Taph looked radiant, bathed in the moonlight. Drow were often striking regardless of the time of day, but Gale had come to learn that they truly were their most beautiful in the darkness, where the lights were low, only illuminated what needed illuminating. In the dim light, it sometimes seemed as though Taph was almost glowing. Gale smiled at the sight of her before announcing himself. “There you are! I was wondering where you’d gone off to.”

The drow jumped slightly regardless of Gale’s efforts not to startle her. Her mask was on the ground next to her, and it made Gale feel all warm and fuzzy inside when Taph did not immediately reach for her most treasured accessory to throw it back on her face. He’d meant it when he told her that she shouldn’t hide her eyes away from the world. They were beautiful and expressive, and quite honestly that she still felt the need to wear her mask at camp with their friends saddened Gale. It was nice that she trusted him enough to leave it off when they were alone (which, admittedly, hadn’t been very often), but he wished he could somehow give her the confidence to share her beauty with everyone else.

“Sorry, I’ve been working on something, and I needed some peace and quiet to finish it.” Taph explained her absence, but Gale waved his hand.

“No apology necessary, dearest, and I completely understand wanting to get away from the madness of camp. It’s gotten quite full now that Halsin, Scratch, and the owlbear cub have all joined us,” Gale replied with a warm smile and a wave of his hand. Gale strode over to the sorceress and sat down beside her. “This is actually rather convenient, as I sought you out in hopes we could talk.”

Taph immediately looked wary, and she raised an eyebrow at him. “Talk? About what?”

Gale paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to best approach the subject. He didn’t want to seem too needy, or like he was accusing her of not doing enough to show him she cared. A delicate conversation, to be led by someone who wasn’t always the most delicate in explaining how he felt. Surely this wouldn’t end in disaster at all. “I just wanted to make sure you’re still happy? With us, I mean.”

Taph stared at him in confusion and Gale immediately began regretting even bringing up this conversation at all. Had he completely over thought this? “What I mean to say is that since we established that you and I are in some sort of romantic partnership, not…not much has changed? So I suppose I just wanted to make sure that this is…something you still want?”

“You’re talking about sex, right? The fact that we haven’t done anything. It bothers you, doesn’t it?” Taph continued to eye him warily, and a horrified look spread across Gale’s face.

“Gods, no, that’s not it at all! I mean, don’t get me wrong, I would be honored to lay at your side beneath the stars now that I don’t need to worry about any undue excitement causing me to explode, but that isn’t what this is about,”

Blush crept across Taph’s face as Gale admitted that he would like to, someday, sleep with her and he instantly regretted ever bringing it up. “I just meant that you don’t seem to be very…interested. In me. Or anything much to do with me beyond sitting next to me at the end of a long day and holding my hand, or walking beside me when we travel. If it’s a matter of what you’re comfortable with, I understand and will respect whatever boundaries you put into place, but I do need you to talk to me. Much as I would like to be, I’m not a mind reader, so I only know how you feel and what you need if you express it.”

Taph stared at Gale as he talked at her. Gale was rambling, but that’s just how his mind worked when he knew he said the wrong thing and he needed to backtrack to fix it. It was all word vomit until he found the right thing to say, and the fact that Ao granted him the gift of verbosity but not the ability to always use that skill correctly was honestly a curse.

“You know, I came out here to finish a song that I’ve been writing. For you.” Taph admitted with a soft smile on her face, the blush creeping back in.

“For– for me?” Gale confirmed with surprise, and Taph nodded.

“You’ve probably noticed I’m not very good at talking about my feelings, but singing about them? I could do that all day. Would you like to hear it?”

The surprised look on Gale’s face did not fade, as nobody had ever given him a gift like this before. For Taph to write him a song…she must really care, he surmised. “I would love to hear it.”

“Okay, just be warned, I’ve literally just finished it and was practicing, so it might not be very good.” Taph warned him, and Gale shook his head.

“That you wrote me anything at all means I already think it’s wonderful.” Gale reassured her.

Taph began plucking the strings of her lyre. The melody was soft and lilting and even without words, Gale was already transfixed by the music itself. Then Taph started to sing. The lyrics were their story: how they met, how she didn’t care for him at first, how her feelings for him took her by surprise. These were all points, of course, that Gale already knew just from talking to her (and being there), but hearing in the form of a song made it sound much more romantic. The song continued, and Gale’s heart did a backflip in his chest as Taph sung about wanting him. About kissing him, about feeling his body against hers, about making love under a blanket of stars, just as Gale had mentioned earlier whilst rambling. She sang about the way he looked at her, and how it made her feel safe, and Gale had to stop himself from leaning towards her and kissing her right then and there.

When the song ended, Taph blushed and averted Gale’s gaze entirely, like she could not believe she’d just bared her soul to someone so fully. She almost looked embarrassed. The song was the most vulnerable he’d ever seen Taph be, and the fact that the sorceress was willing to be so vulnerable with him? Gale just might fall in love with her. “Yeah, so. That’s the song. I hope it helps.” Taph told him awkwardly, and he saw the familiar look in her eyes like she wanted to retreat as quickly as possible.

“Helps?” Gale said with an incredulous laugh. “Taph, it was wonderful. I am honored to have had such a lovely song written about me. Knowing you feel this way…it certainly makes me feel better.” He reached over to her and took her hand in his gently, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand.

“Okay, good. I’m glad. I didn’t know how else to tell you without feeling like I wanted to burst into flames and die from embarrassment.” Taph laughed softly.

“What is there to be embarrassed about, sweetheart? You’re human–so to speak– emotions are part of humanity, whether we like it or not,” Gale chuckled. “Look at me?”

His request was gentle, but he wanted to look into Taph’s eyes as he was as vulnerable with her as she’d just been with him. “For what it’s worth, I feel the same way you do. I want us to have it all. Everything you sang about and more. Nothing would give me greater pleasure,” He smiled at her. “May I be so bold as to ask to kiss you?”

Taph chewed on her lip for a moment, but a smile was blooming on her face as she nodded. Gale’s heart did another backflip as his eyes lowered to her mouth, and he reached out to cup her face in his free hand. Gale leaned forward, averting his gaze back to her eyes only for a brief moment to give her an opportunity to change her mind. Instead he was met with Taph leaning in, and their mouths connected in a soft, sweet kiss moments later.

Gale’s heart soared. Kissing Taph was even better than he’d imagined it to be, and now that he’d done it once, he never wanted to stop. This woman had him under her spell completely, and Gale felt like the luckiest man alive.

#bg3 #female tav #my tav #thankyu for doing my comm !!#they are very soft i love

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rim-draws · 3 months

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Get to know my Tav

🪓 Mustav Rockhead 🐾

Wildheart Barbarian - Bear Heart + Aspect & Way of the Open Hand Monk | High Half-elf

Commonly known: Tav | They/Them

What is their

1. favorite weapon?

- Longswords and Hammers. The chunkier and bigger the better.

2. style of combat?

- Hit hard and plenty. Avoid fights when possible but never run from one when initiated. Stratergies are for pussies and they are one of them.

3. most prized possession?

- Random instruments found on the road. It reminds them of their sister.

4. deepest desire?

- To smash and be smashed. Pls.

5. guilty pleasure?

- Being called pretty.

6. best-kept secret?

- They have never bedded or been bedded, ever.

7. greatest strength?

- The ability and audacity to wholeheartedly believe they can carry and body anyone.

8. fatal flaw?

- Inability to understand it is them who is pushing everyone away even though they crave closeness and bonds.

9. favorite smell?

- Oak tree/moss, honey, herbs, etc.

10. favorite spell or cantrip?

- Speak with Animals. They believe it is the only spell they ever need.

11. pet peeve?

- Going out of their way to do things for free.

12. bad habit?

- Pushes themself, and their companions by extension, to their limits.

13. hidden talent?

- Know how to make bread.

14. leisure activity?

- Playing with and petting Scratch and Owlbear. Occasionally ask Halsin, politely, to wildshape into a bear to pet him.

15. favorite drink?

- Anything that is drinkable. Recently come to enjoy honeyed drink.

16. comfort food?

- Bread. Used to make it a lot as a child for his family when their father would not bring back food.

17. favorite person?

- Halsin by a very long shot.

18. favored display of affection (platonic and/or romantic)?

- Any form of physical touch and acts of service. They would move mountains for his friends and family if they ask.

20. free-response! Is there anything else about your Tav you'd like to share?

19. fondest childhood memory?

- Bug catching in summer.

- Tav is the type of young person who knows they're young, knows they have flaws but are still idealistic enough to think they can overcome them all in one day.

- Tav is a dick, selfish at their core. But gets easily attached to every creatures and beings, from trees to animals to other races. And once they're attached, they will do just anout anything at all for them. Either it be saving or destroying the world. Tav knows this about themself, therefore had convinced themself that they thrive when working alone until they're reminded otherwise.

Get to know Tav's siblings: Taf, Taph

Last names are title/nickname given.

#get to know my tav #bg3 tav #my tav #bg3 #bg3 oc #nonbinary tav

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rim-draws · 3 months

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Get to know my Tav Durge

🥀 Taffan Deathbane 📿

Way of the Four Elemenents Monk | Mestopheles Tiefling

Commonly known: Taf | He/him

What are their

1. favorite weapon?

- Preferably none, fight mainly unarmed.

2. style of combat?

- Quick and efficient, not above shoving everyone down chasms.

3. most prized possession?

- The little decors on his horns. It is the small gifts that people and children decorate on his horns as he pass by their villages.

4. deepest desire?

- To leave the world better than he found it.

5. guilty pleasure?

- Shedding blood.

6. best-kept secret?

- He's a Baal-spawn. Originally kept as a secret to his fellow monks but after the nautiloid, he doesn't remember and often sucks in his urges as best he could.

7. greatest strength?

- Fundamentally kind.

8. fatal flaw?

- Fundamentally kind against his fundamentally cruel urges.

9. favorite spell or cantrip?

- Fire fists.

10. pet peeve?

- Being tail-yanked.

11. bad habit?

- Tapping his feet or shaking his legs when nervous/ansty.

12. hidden talent?

- Surprisingly good at instruments.

13. leisure activity?

- Meditating.

14. favorite drink?

- Plain water or something with little texture and taste.

15. comfort food?

- Bread.

16. favorite person?

- Astarion. After him are his siblings, even Tav who he cussed out as a child.

17. favored display of affection (platonic and/or romantic)?

- Hugs. Burrying his face into people's hair.

18. fondest childhood memory?

- When he caught a particularly big bug in the back of the house where he grew up. He remembers another kid was there who technically caught it but gave the credits to him, hence his immense joy. He doesn't remember who the kid is.

19. free-response! Is there anything else about your Tav you'd like to share?

- Though he is the one to denounce his siblings and chase Taph away when he was at his worst, he grows to be extremely protective of them both. Despite this, the difference in world view and Tav's anger towards Taf still causes explosive fights that thankfully doesn't end in another bloodshed.

Get to know Taf's siblings: Tav, Taph

Last names are title/nickname given.

#get to know my tav #dark urge #bg3 durge #bg3 oc #bg3 tav #my tav #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #male tav

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rim-draws · 3 months

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Get to know my Tav

💫Taphilia Nightshade🔮

Draconic Sorcerer & Bard | Seldarine Drow

Commonly known: Taph | She/her

What are their

1. favorite weapon?

- Staff and a Dagger.

2. style of combat?

- Distant attacks and general support.

3. most prized possession?

- Her masks. She believes it adds an air of mysque and also limits her race and bloodline from being noticed. Though she is unaware it is one of the reason why she's so unreasonably self conscious about her appearance.

4. deepest desire?

- To be happy. So far, it has been most difficult.

5. guilty pleasure?

- Engaging in carnal pleasures for the sake of using the other person to pretend, for just a moment, it was more than merely physical.

6. best-kept secret?

- There was a famed dancer in the Underdark named the Firefly. Later, upon the distant villages on dirt roads, there was a famed singer who was nicknamed the Songweaver. And in the outskirts of Baldur's Gate, there was Whisperwisp - the bard of the stars. They're all the same person.

7. greatest strength?

- A talented performer, can lie without blinking and is often hard to read.

8. fatal flaw?

- Had "performed" so often she had lost track of her actual self, therefore unable to form close and vulnerable relationships despite craving one.

9. favorite smell?

- Old books. It just so happen someone has their clothes casted to smell like it all the time.

10. favorite spell or cantrip?

- Vicious Mockery. Sometimes she isn't even casting.

11. pet peeve?

- Being pointed out as a drow then mistaken for a Lolth worshipping drow.

12. bad habit?

- Running away from confrontation (despite running towards a fight).

13. hidden talent?

- Has an eidetic memory and Hyperthymesia, ie. can remember and recall nearby everything with great precision. Makes forgetting one's mistakes very hard.

14. leisure activity?

- Strumming her lyre or whistling.

15. favorite drink?

- Tea. Hibiscus tea in specific but people keep mistaken it for something else. So just green tea now.

16. comfort food?

- Stalk of tnllimac in the Underdark. Bread in overworld.

17. favorite person?

- Her previously long lost siblings. And Gale.

18. favored display of affection (platonic and/or romantic)?

- Platonic: cooking a meal together.

Romantic: as long as it's sincere, anything is a favourite. The way she, specifically, express her affection is through quality time.

19. fondest childhood memory?

- When she was very, very young, her siblings used to hang out closely together amd practicay raised each other. Her fondest memories often falls on those days of her youth, specifically summer days where bugs are around.

20. free-response! Is there anything else about your Tav you'd like to share?

- She's the youngets but the most mature of her siblings, often reigning them in. She's also, unknowingly to her, the glue that binds them together.

Get to know Taph's siblings: Tav, Taf.

Last names are title/nickname given.

#bg3 tav #bg3 #female tav #get to know my tav #bg3 oc thoughts #bg3 oc

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rim-draws · 3 months

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Baldur's Gate 3 Companion!Tav Ask List

What if your Tav was a recruitable companion, instead of the main character? (contains major spoilers for the game, and for some dark urge runs as well)

General

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

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

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

What sort of general actions raise or lower their approval?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Story Specific

How does your Tav advise the player character when it comes to the Dream Visitor?

How do they advise the player character on Raphael?

How do they react to Astarion biting the Player Character?

How do they react to the Player Character letting Abdirak whip them?

How do they react to the Player Character taking their first tadpole power?

Will they stay with the Player Character regardless of siding with the goblins or the tieflings, or is it possible for them to leave the party permanently?

What can they be found doing at the tiefling/goblin party?

Do they have comments on who the Player Character chooses to spend the night with?

Do they have unique dialogue if the Player Character lets them die when they steal the Blood of Lathander?

How do they react if the PC licks the dead spider in the Gauntlet of Shar?

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

Is it possible for your Tav to be kidnapped and replaced by Orin? How is Orin's deception revealed? How do they react to the PC rescuing them in the Temple of Bhaal?

How do they react to the PC either allowing Astarion to ascend or convincing him to spare the 7000 spawn?

How does Tav react to the PC becoming a mind flayer? Can they offer to become one themselves? Does their reaction change if they’re romanced?

How do they react when the Dark Urge first reveals their amnesia and murderous thoughts to them?

How do they react to the Dark Urge killing Alfira?

If romanced, how do they react to the Dark Urge trying to kill them in Act 2?

Romance

Is your Tav a romanceable character? Are there any specific requirements to romancing them?

Does your Tav need to be flirted with to start the romance, or will they approach the PC themselves if approval is high enough?

Are they a polyamorous or a monogamous option?

Do they have a special romance scene at the tiefling/goblin party?

Does the romance have different branching paths, or just one route to take?

How do they react to the player character breaking up with them, or choosing another character over them?

What questions can Zethino ask the PC about Tav in the Love Test?

If they’re poly, do they have a reaction to the PC engaging in a relationship with Halsin?

How do they react if the PC has sex with Mizora? The Emperor? Haarlep?

Will they join in with the PC and the Drow Twins, or no?

What are Tav’s plans for the future? Do they propose to the PC, or is marriage not something they’re interested in?

Free space! Share anything from your companion!Tav au!

#watch me do these without a single person asking me to bc i want to

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rim-draws · 3 months

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30 Questions for your Tav

These questions can be used as an Ask Game or just answering them all for fun character development!

(Dark Urge edition here)

What was your Tav’s place of birth and raising like?

What relationship did your Tav have with their family/guardian(s) growing up? Has that changed with age?

Did your Tav receive any formal or informal education? If yes, how well did they learn? If no, why not?

What hobbies does your Tav have? How did they acquire these interests?

Did your Tav have any formal or informal employment? If yes, what was their job? If no, how did they make ends meet? How did they feel about it?

What is your Tav’s favourite childhood memory?

What circumstances led to your Tav becoming their Class/Subclass?

Did your Tav have any romantic and/or sexual relationships prior to their illithid adventure? If yes, who was it with and what was it like? If no, how did they feel about being single?

What was your Tav doing when they were taken by the mind flayers?

What would your Tav consider to be their greatest skill? Is this accurate?

What would your Tav consider to be their greatest flaw? Is this accurate?

What opinion does your Tav have about the Gods?

How does your Tav feel about the wilderness?

How does your Tav feel about the city?

What motivates your Tav to either embrace or resist the tadpole?

How does your Tav feel about killing?

How good of a liar is your Tav? How do they feel about lying?

What is your Tav’s greatest fear?

What is your Tav’s greatest desire?

What is your Tav’s greatest regret?

How does your Tav feel about love?

Has your Tav become particularly close to anyone romantically and/or platonically in their journey? If so, who, and what is the relationship like? If no, why not?

What are 2-3 songs that your Tav would relate to?

What first impression does your Tav give off to strangers?

How does your Tav feel about what others think of them?

Does your Tav have a treasured item with them? If yes, what is it and why is it special? If no, how do they feel about item sentimentality in general?

How does your Tav feel about giving and receiving orders?

How well does your Tav function under pressure?

What advice would you give to your Tav?

What are your Tav’s intentions/goals after the end of the game?

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rim-draws · 3 months

Text

Faerûnian Writing Challenge

Day 7 + 8 | SFW

A heated argument + Everything will be ok, as long as we're together

How does a Barbarian process emotions?

It’s not a secret that Tav is the youngest of the group when it comes to actual years they’ve actually realistically lived. With the exception of Lae’zel who, technically, still have lived longer even if aged differently due to the complications of Astral Planes and what not.

They can live with being the youngest.

It’s good to be young, much to learn, much yet to experience. But being the youngest and leading a gang of travellers to save… the world???

“Why don’t we just… eat all the tadpoles and take over the Absolute?”

With so much at stake and so much that could be tempting for the young and reckless, how long can a mere person resist?

Tav’s voice seemed to echo in the vast silence of the makeshift camp.

They’re still on the road. This rest is just supposed to be a short one. Forever away are the first few camps they’ve set now. No more are they surrounded with soft chirps or steady streams to ground these silences into. Instead, it’s just silence. Eerily so.

“I… don’t see why not?” Astarion chimes in, even if a bit hesitant, as he addresses the group. “It’s a good idea, no? We’ll have all the powers we’ll ever need. No one can hurt us, no one can threaten us, erase or alter our memories, put bombs in our chests or bind us to convoluted contracts.”

“You both are hearing yourself, yes?” Wyll speaks slowly, eyes scanning, zeroing on Tav and their blank expression. “I tolerated the underhanded ways the goblin incident was handled and with the way we’ve been friendly with the Absolute up until this point because I believe we’re doing it for a cause, not so that we’ll be joining their side!”

“It doesn’t have to be their side.” Tav pushes, “We can be our own side. Not ‘good’, not ‘bad’. What even is good and bad, anyway? We’ll just be… us.” They push again. “You can imagine it, right? Having enough power, so much power that we won’t have to grovel, to steal, to lie, to beg for people to notice us. Even you, your father will be proud of you. Forever.”

“You are beginning to sound like them…” Wyll’s voice trails off for a moment. He steels himself, expression more serious than Tav had ever seen him before. “Even if we make my father proud of me, I know, in the depths of his mind, he is still deeply disappointed in me and even more as the days stretch on. That is not what I want.”

“Humans live for barely 100 years, it’s not like he has much left of it and he already makes you suffer all this time.”

“It’s short relative for you lot but it is a lot for us. We have to live those years, day in, day out. He will be trapped in his body like a personal jail cell forever.” Wyll shakes his head. “I don’t need that. I don’t want that. For anybody, much less my own father.”

“But surely you recognize the power we would gain? Look at what I could do! What Astarion could do! We all could be so much more!” Tav turns to Gale, grabbing his hands with only one of theirs,the other on his chest. “You understand, right? It surely can’t feel great to have found out all Mystra wants from you is for you to die. No, to kill yourself. Don’t you want revenge? Or to prove her wrong? That you are more than a mere wizard, some human toy she can use and then throw away once she’s bored?”

There is a subtle shift in Gale’s expression. He’s contemplating. Knowing how bad of an idea this is, he still contemplates. He still wants it. If everyone starts to have a single seed of doubt, it could blossom. And it could be catastrophic.

Wyll pushes between them, physically pulling them off of Gale. “Mystra did not tell him to kill himself. She wants him to sacrifice for the greater good.”

“And that’s better?”

“No! It’s not and it surely can’t be the only way nor the way at all. What you are suggesting is not good either! It will mean sacrificing the life and freedom of many for the advancements of the few who happen to be us. Nothing will change!”

“Change what? The status quo? What’s the point of changing the status quo if nothing changes?” Tav is getting louder. More defensive. Even they, themself haven’t figured out why.

“What do you mean ‘nothing changes’? We will release thousands of slaves! Potentially eliminate the birth of thousands illithids, strip power away from those who abuse them! You saved the tiefling from the goblin raid, cease the fighting between them and druids. We are alive right now on this cursed road because it’s those people who have provided us shelter! They are suffering, crying or mourning and lost because of the Absolute, the very power you want to overtake!”

Wyll is being patient. Wyll is being kind. Incredibly so. Tav might not understand much but they do understand this. Still, they stubbornly argue. “So? We just won’t be like them! We have you, the Blade of Frontiers who sacrificed his own free will and binds himself to a devil to save people! What's to say we’ll be corrupted?”

“We are all people. Anyone who is given unlimited power, vast resources that remain unchecked will be corrupted. You say we’ll have I to keep us in line but even now, you are against me. You’ve left me, who you claim as your voice to reason, for dead for days! Forgive my words but once you’ve gained the power of the Absolute’s, I don’t trust you won’t just kill me at a moment’s notice.”

Tav feels it coming. Like a wave of a sudden rush of emotions, those that they’ve been holding deep inside. They feel themself scream. Rage.

“But how else can we do this?! We struggle against every enemy! Every time we fight, it has been life or death!

I don’t want Gale to explode! I don’t want you to keep losing your life to a stupid contract! I don’t want Astarion to be trapped in the shadows forever! I don’t want Karlach to implode! I don’t want Shadowheart and Lae’zel to fight the people they grow up with!

I don’t want anyone to die! I don’t want to be alone again!”

Their blood boils. Their eyes glow. No different than how they rage in battle, in bars or random banter that goes too far. It’s familiar yet fundamentally different.

Their muscles flex as they grind their teeth. Tears follow the path of their cheeks down to their chin as they bare their dull fangs, hands curl in tight fists.

Astarion shushes softly. He pets the curl of Tav’s back - tensed and solid. “Now now darling, no need to worry your little head so much. We’ll find ways to keep our people alive. We made it this far, it can't be that hard.” His voice is teasing, like it often is. But his eyes are soft, even his touches are. Pale fingers on the spine that slowly softens.

“A weeping barbarian, a rare sight.” Gale touches their hand, patting it gently. He’s lost for words but Tav knows well enough what he’s trying to say, the sentiment he’s sending. The fists flex for a few moments before relaxing. Tav’s breathing grows heavy as they try to regulate.

“We’ll find another way. Astarion is resourceful, spawns like him can have means to be happy. Gale is a brilliant man, he’ll figure out how to best his orb condition without blowing himself up. Same goes for Karlach. And as for Shadowheart and Lae’zel, Hells, for all of us, we could always solve our problems together. Like we’re doing for Halsin, we’ll do for each other. Even after this all ends, perhaps, if the fates allow it, we can continue to travel together.” Wyll presses his forehead against Tav.

It’s hard to tell where their eyes are looking as the light of the rage blinds it. Perhaps they’re looking at Wyll, searching for the truth in his eyes, finding solace in his words. Perhaps they’re gazing downwards, watching the bright tears that drip down to the dark grounds below, counting them one by one, to be coaxed out of rage.

One never knows what they’ve gained until the fear of losing them becomes all too real.

Tav had never felt alone because they’ve never felt anything but. They’re too young to experience too much grief and lost, too young to have gotten used to it. Now, Tav isn’t alone anymore. Perhaps it’s a blessing, perhaps a curse. Now they know what it’s like to have something to lose, something to live for. Something to grieve, something to celebrate. And the people to do it with.

Even power, now, doesn’t seem to worth as much as this.

#BG3FicFeb #tav is having a moment #one can have sorrowful rage cant they ??#nonbinary tav #bg3 tav #my tav #bg3 #bg3 writing #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 oc #bg3 fic #baldurs gate tav #wyll ravengard #bg3 wyll #astarion

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