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thranduel · 8 months

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some facts about astarion that i find very cute/meaningful :)

i wanted to share this so more people can learn about him and appreciate who he is deep down, behind the mask he wears. before cazador turned him, he was just like any other person; he had hobbies, passions and emotions. those things are still there, but they’re just hidden amidst all the darkness. he was so young when he first turned that he barely had a chance to enjoy life or figure himself out. so many people miss out on the complexity of his character due to only focusing on his physical appearance or labelling him as a cruel villain, but in order to see that he’s so much more than that and he’s capable of growing as a person, all you need to do is show him a bit of love!

- he loves embroidery and poetry

- he approves when you pet the owlbear cub because most people view it as a monster (the same way people have always viewed him). it’s like he finds comfort in the fact that you can love and care for something that most people are afraid of, and it gives him hope that you may feel the same way about him too

- if you put a flower on his grave, he smiles and says "cute"

- he comes up to you in camp just to thank you and tell you how grateful he is that you allowed him to make his own decision (after you defend him and don't force him to drink the drow's blood) because he is so used to being told what to do and he was forced to use his body for so many years

- in that same scene, he will hold your hand whether you choose to stay in a romance with him or be friends instead, because he loves and appreciates you no matter what, and any sort of relationship with you is so important and meaningful to him

- if you try to romance karlach and astarion at the same time, he tells you to choose karlach over him, even if he loves you and it hurts him to do so, because he can see that karlach loves you too. he says that normally an arrangement would work for him, but after everything karlach has been through and how fragile her heart is already, he doesn’t want to get in the way or see her hurt

- if you try to romance halsin and astarion at the same time, he just wants you to do what makes you happy, even though you can tell it hurts him if you choose halsin. he’s also worried that you’re unhappy because he hasn’t slept with you (he should never have to worry about that ☹️), so he doesn’t want to stop you from enjoying yourself. in this situation and the one with karlach, you can see that there are moments where he puts others before himself and thinks about their feelings more than his own

- if you’re playing as the dark urge and you’re trying to resist it, he is so incredibly comforting and tries to give you strength and encouragement. one of my favourite astarion lines is this: “you’re not alone in this, none of us are.”

some more lines that i love:

“i don’t hate you. because this is not you. but whatever it is, you’ll get through it. and i’ll be here to make sure you do.”

“whatever it is that’s controlling you, we can fight it. i know that better than anyone.”

“this thing won’t have you. it won’t win.”

“easy now, darling. you’ve got this. and i’ve got you.”

- when you try to break up with him because you’re transforming into a mindflayer and you tell him you’re becoming something horrible, he gets so upset that you would even think that way and tells you that you’re wonderful and he doesn’t care about what you look like. then he says he would get more stares walking down a street than you to try and make you feel better

- if you love and care for him and remind him that there is still good out there, he genuinely wants to grow, be a better person and break the cycle of power and terror that started centuries ago

- he approves when you help people that are considered outcasts or "freaks" because he has felt that way too

- he risked his life and got punished for letting a man go instead of luring him back to cazador because it’s implied he cared about him in some way and he couldn't hurt him (not entirely sure about this one, this is just how i interpreted it based on his voice and mannerisms when he was talking about him)

- he approves when you give an orphaned child food (act 3)

- he becomes vulnerable, honest and more gentle with you once you start treating him like a person, because for the first time in his life, he actually feels safe with someone

- he's extremely insecure despite the mask he wears at the beginning of the game and he doesn't believe he is capable of being genuinely loved for who he is as a person. when you get close to him and tell him you care for him and give him a hug, he is taken aback at first, but then he believes you and hugs you back. also, when you're playing as the dark urge, you get this line: "you like him for more than his looks, but he will never believe that." this is proof that astarion is so used to being reduced to his physical appearance after what he was forced to do for so many years, and he thinks that's the only reason why people like him. he struggles with intimacy and forming strong emotional bonds, so that's why it makes your relationship with him even more meaningful when he realises that you truly do love him for who he is, not just for his looks and body

- when the drow you met at moonrise shows up in act 3 and tries to make you drink something, astarion tells you to say no, because the only thing she's offering is pain and he doesn't want to see you hurt

- if you romance him, stop him from doing the ritual and help him defeat cazador, he tells you that you are the only person he's ever truly cared for

- if you defeat cazador without him and tell him you just wanted to protect him, he gets upset at first because you left him behind without telling him and he wanted to take revenge himself, but then he becomes understanding and says “maybe this is what’s best? the kind of power that ritual offered could ruin a person. even me.” this shows how much he’s grown and matured as a person and he’s aware of the consequences of too much power. the scene also ends with him telling you that he’s grateful for something that you did to help him (again).

- he becomes more self-aware, straightforward and honest over time and he doesn’t pretend like he’s perfect. he tells you that you were by his side through all the bloodlust and pain and misery, despite all of his flaws and mistakes. you remained patient with him and trusted him even though it was an objectively stupid thing to do, but he is so grateful for it because you believed he could become a better person (and he did)

- this is sad but he remembers some of the names of the people he had to lure back to cazador and even the memories he shared with them. you can see this during the scene with sebastian, and it’s clear that he actually cared about him (not sure how many situations were like this, but there was definitely more than one)

- if you say “i’m sorry we couldn’t save the other vampire spawn”, he says:

“we could have tried. we could have given them the same chance i had. i was able to go out into the world and make better choices. to go against my nature and become more than a blood-sucking monster. maybe they would have done the same. or maybe not - but did we have the right to take that choice away from them?”

this scene shows how much astarion has grown and how compassionate and empathetic he can be towards others. he understood what it felt like to have his own freedom taken away while cazador made all his decisions for him, so he didn’t want to put the other vampire spawn through that too (especially because he still feels so guilty for luring them there in the first place)

- if you romance him and he stays as a vampire spawn and you choose to help him look for a cure so he can stand in the sun again, this is revealed during the epilogue scene:

“one night, he tells you that these last six months of happy memories are the counterweight to two hundred years of misery.”

he’s finally truly happy and free, and the short time he’s spent with you is already so incredibly powerful and important to him. being with you has positively impacted his life in such a massive way that it makes all those centuries of pain and misery feel so much smaller

- another sweet line from astarion during the epilogue scene after he tells you to go catch up with your other friends and see how they’re doing:

“i’ll be here when you’re ready. i’ll always be here, my love.”

THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH 😭🫶🏼 he’s become so kind, loving, respectful, genuine and sincere. i’m so proud of him 🥹

#astarion #baldur’s gate 3 #bg3 #absolutely nobody asked for this but i just thought it would be cute to share some positive stuff about him :’)#ALSO #shoutout to the wonderful neil newbon for bringing this character to life with his incredible voice acting #astarion wouldn’t be astarion without him :)#bg3 spoilers #character analysis #meta #kinda idk what to tag this as lol #my posts

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astarionancuntnin · 2 months

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listen, obviously i love astarion for multiple reasons, but ironically when i first started the game i wasnt interested in him, at all. i was fully commited to finding karlach and dating her bc of what i had seen online about her. i had barely heard or seen anything about him other than him being "the flirty vampire" and i was like eh okay

i ended up keeping him in my party cause his remarks were hilarious and i really vibed with his energy. and then he started opening up and you get to see how the whole overconfidence and flirting was an act, he starts talking about cazador and what he went through and how determinate he is to take him down. he keeps mentioning how he cannot wait to get rid of his master and how satisfied hes going to be, and hes smiling just thinking about it

then we learn about the ritual and theres this sudden spark in him, hes convinced that its the answer to his problems, he gets tunnel vision on the ritual, and if you romance him he also thinks its the only way he can assure not only his own safety, but also yours.

and when you finally win the fight, you have to save him from himself. hes desperate, completely blinded by the power he could potentially have. if he has this power, hes never going to be vulnerable, no one will abuse him ever again.

he is willing to lose himself to make sure he never gets hurt like this. even with high approval, if you dont succeed a persuasion roll or refuse to help him, he either turns against you or leaves your party. in his eyes, at this moment, you are the one who turned against him.

if you suceed the persuasion roll, he agrees that he can be better than cazador, and before stabbing him repeatedly, mentions (again) how hes going to enjoy this

only to break down right after. even though its something hes been wanting to do for centuries, all the suffering hes been through came crumbling down after it was done. cazador is dead, hes the one who killed him, he finally got his revenge, and yet he feels this emptiness.

its done, why do i not feel better?

if you saved him, he talks to you later and admits how he wasn't himself, how thankful he is that you helped him out and most of all, you believed in him. you saved him by believing he could be more than what he saw in himself.

if you talk to him after completing dame aylin's quest in act 3 (after killing cazador), he mentions how he expected her to rejoice after defeating yet another person who intended to enslave her, but shes just tired. hes comparing her reaction to his own experience after freeing himself from his abuser

and after karlach's reaction to killing gortash, he brings up the fact that theres "no justice in this world". contrary to what he believed earlier in the game, its not only him thats been wronged for several years. even though in the end they all got to get rid of the people who ruined their lives, they are still hurting.

hes realising that killing your abuser, although it seemed like the simple, satisying solution of finally having your revenge from years of trauma, might free you, but it will not fix you. they're dead, but you still have to live with what they've done to you.

he is my roman empire

#i..................cant stop thinking about him #my posts #astarion #bg3 #astarion bg3 #astarion ancunin #pookie making me process my own trauma frfr #baldur's gate 3

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m00nlight-ramblings · 5 months

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Warm Bodies

Astarion walks in on a gift you were secretly making for him.

Pairing: Astarion x GN Tav

Warnings: none really? Some fluff and teensy bit of angst if you squint hard enough.

Requested: yes

Word Count: 1.4k

A/N: I know nothing about making clothes so if something is super off...I apologize lol. I do not approve of my work being copied or shared without my permission.

REMINDER: my inbox is open for requests!

As you ripped the seam from the thick, cotton top you were working on, you whistled quietly and bit your lip. It was late, and you were exhausted, but you were also in a just one more thing... type of concentration, so you decided not to fight it and to continue working.

Buttons were scattered across your lap, hastily discarded from the two other shirts you had worked on earlier in the evening. They rattled around as you squinted your eyes, making sure your handy work was good as you went. It must have been late - maybe 1 or 2 AM - so you gave yourself the hard stop after you finished taking apart this garment.

"Darling, I noticed your lamp light is still on...what are you doing in here so late?" A melodic voice slipped into your tent as the tent flap gently opened and closed just as quickly. Gasping, you turned around and immediately tried to hide your project.

Astarion stood, a hand on his hip and a smirk playing on his lips. "Oooh...what is this, sweetheart?" He stepped closer, peering down on the pile of clothes in front of you. You frantically waved your arms, trying to cover as much as your project as you could.

"Nothing! Nothing, I promise. Just...something." You cleared your throat nervously and stood, the buttons on your lap clattering to the ground. Both you and Astarion watched the buttons fall, and stared at them on the ground. At the same time, both of your heads snapped up and he was smiling.

"I caught you doing something," Astarion said, matter-of-factly. "I caught you doing something...something secret? Which makes me want to know even more."

"No you have not. I'm just...mending some clothes. To see if Gale could use any of them for enchanting." Proud of yourself, you smirked back, crossing your arms. Astarion eyed you suspiciously then finally looked behind you at the pile.

"For an...enchantment?" He echoed, causing you to nod in agreement. "Then why does it look like you have 7,000 shirts back there?" He walked towards the pile, and after a quick examination, he picked up the shirt you were working on when he entered, "Gods, how many do you actually have? Is 75% of your Bag of Holding filled with pants?"

"I'm trying to help, and you're getting in the way! Go away!" You teased, pulling on his sleep shirt to get him to step back. He swatted you away gently and kept looking, gingerly picking pieces of clothes up. Once he started to unfurl the pile, knowledge dawned on him.

"...it's a blanket," He said simply, quietly. He started to spread the blanket out, holding it in his hands as if it was made of the world's most precious fabric, "It's beautiful. You did this?" He looked at you, his face unreadable.

You nodded, smiling at him. You stepped around him to investigate the unfinished work, "I had the idea at the Tiefling party to start, since you told me that night in camp you got cold with what you had. So I just...kept the clothes we all no longer needed and thought it would be a nice...surprise?" Suddenly embarrassed, you blushed and pursed your lips together, looking to the ground.

Astarion said nothing, but continued to rub the blanket between his fingers. The contrasting fabrics of the velvet cape and wool robe you stitched together made a soft rubbing noise as he moved his hand. You felt your heart speed up a tiny bit - Astarion was usually never quiet, so you didn't quite understand what was going on.

"...is that okay?" You finally asked, leaning down to his level. He swallowed and slowly looked at you, bringing the blanket to his chest.

"And it's for me?" He asked. You nodded again.

"Do you...like it? Is it...too much?" You sighed heavily and stared at the blanket again, "Gods, it's too much, yeah? I knew it would be. Just because you said you were cold doesn't mean that I needed to make you a blanket-"

"I love it." He said, his voice barely above a whisper. You stopped and looked at him, a smile erupting on your face.

"You do? You don't think it's....too much that I'm making this for you? You don't think I'm...weird?"

"Oh no, you're definitely weird," He said, gently putting the blanket back in its original spot, "I'm not negating that. But...you're also very kind," He looked at you and took your hand, standing you both up. For a moment, he held on to your hand before he hesitantly dropped it, "This is a wonderful gift. Thank you...I..." He sighed, shaking his head, "I have never been given a gift like this...at least, not in a long time. It means much more to me than you could know, that you did this for me."

You blushed, lacing your fingers between both of your own hands. "That...makes me glad. I'm glad you like it. It's not ready yet...a few more shirts should do the trick, though!" I gestured to the shirt I was working on earlier, "It'll be ready probably...in a few days? You'll definitely have it before we reach Baldur's Gate."

Astarion chuckled and nodded, "That is quite alright. Take all the time you need...I didn't expect a gift like this, so you are well within your right to take as much time as you want," Suddenly, he smiled, "Though I'm not an expert, I have made my fair shares of enhancements and such to clothing...the blanket is beautiful work. You should be proud."

You smile and shrug, searching his eyes. Very rarely do you ever get to see Astarion in a vulnerable mood, one where he doesn't mask himself with jokes and charm. You like it, and you feel special knowing that he doesn't have these types of conversations with everyone.

"Besides, it'll help Wyll get off my back whenever he rips his shirt or whatever," Astarion finally broke the air with a flick of the wrist, waxing annoyed about Wyll.

You laughed and rolled your eyes, allowing Astarion the safe space, but also allowing him to step back when it all got to be too much.

"Well...I'm glad you like it," You finally said, "I'll be happy to give it to you when it's finished. And I'm sure I'll also appreciate the extra space in my Bag of Holding."

Astarion bent down to pick up the scattered buttons, handing them off to you. He smirked and walked towards your tent entrance to leave. Suddenly he turned around and stared.

You looked up from the buttons and saw his face was soft, unusual. It almost seemed like Astarion didn't know what he was feeling, either. He waited a moment before he spoke.

"I meant it when I said I have never received a gift like this before. This means-" He stopped himself, swallowing audibly. He cleared his throat before he continued, "Well, this means a great deal to me, that you did this. You are a kind person..." His eyes were shimmering as he looked at you, leaving you a bit breathless.

"I don't know if I'll ever be able to forget your kindness," He finally said, "Thank you...again." All you could do was smile and nod. Was he crying?

Astarion undid the laces on your tent flaps quickly and exited, closing it tightly behind him. You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding, and placing the buttons on your side table, you sat on your bed, looking at the blanket. You replayed the conversation with Astarion in your head, and you started to smile. How wonderful was it, that you could effect someone so greatly with just a simple, kind gesture? You started to fold the blanket and gather the materials, placing them in a more organized pile in the corner of your tent.

It was time to sleep now, and even though you were completely awake 20 minutes ago, you suddenly felt hazy and sleepy, like you were in a dream.

As you drifted off to sleep that night, Astarion lied awake in his own, staring at the ceiling of his tent. He smiled and felt his own, thin blanket on top of his body. This entire adventure, he was disappointed in his sleeping accessories - blanket in particular, nothing ever made him feel safe, or warm. Though he longed from something heartier and more luxurious, he would never admit it out loud.

And yet, you somehow knew that a new blanket was something he wanted...possibly, even needed. Soon, he wouldn't have to worry about his shivering waking him up in the middle of the night.

That night, Astarion fell asleep, and though he was sure it was just a trick of the mind, he felt warmer than he had in weeks.

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Give it up for our favorite sassy tailor, Astarion everyone. I love Astarion fics where there isn't romance/sex involved...this man needs more FRIENDS.

REMINDER: My inbox is open for requests!

#astarion bg3 #bg3 #bg3 astarion #baldurs gate 3 #astarion x reader #astarion #astarion headcanon #astarion fan fiction #astarion fanfic #astarion x tav #astarion x you

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alijuan · 18 days

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Ascended Astarion is true unlike Spawn Astarion who pretends to be good for Tav

If i see that opinion again i will explode🫠

It's funny because Astarion will only approves if you persuade him not to perform the ritual.

A lot of people don't understand the concept of grey morality and it shows. Many people justify him but this type of AA fan thinks worse of him than he really is. He needs the ritual not because he's a power-hungry villain, but because he needs safety for himself and his lover. Depending on Tav/Durge's actions, he either stays with the feeling of fear (AA is still afraid deep inside, the game files confirm this) or he fights against it and becomes truly free of Cazador and fear (spawn ending). The dialogue with Durge about not being afraid is wonderful and shows difference between SA and AA.

Astarion: This little adventure of ours has taught me that we can't let our lives be ruled by fear. Or else we never really live. Astarion: I'm not afraid. Not of you, not of your darkness, and not of our future.

The point of the spawn ending is that Tav/Durge saw him as more than just an outward image of a power-hungry killer incapable of becoming a better person. But if you can't see beyond that image, he will think that he has no choice but to continue living in the world that Cazador has built for him. If you think that AA is his best ending because he is evil then you have failed to understand his whole personality.

I feel safe with you. Seen.

Despite of his love of killing (he is a vampire after all), he repeatedly showed compassion and guilt for luring people. Before the ritual, he literally convinced himself that he should kill spawn for power. Astarion rationalises this to protect his psyche, because he’s clearly not the type of guy who can sacrifice thousands of people to the devil and not feel anything about it.

Durge/Tav: This isn’t you, Astarion. Not really. Astarion: It should be.

I really like that the player technically makes the insight check and that there’s an advantage when they're romancing Astarion. Tav/Durge could see through the image Astarion was trying to create. They saw an elf whose fear prevented him from seeing all the possibilities.

Astarion: When I look at my future, anything and everything feels possible now.

Just as Astarion saw Durge not just as serial killer, but as someone who could defeat Urge and become a better person.

Durge: I am myself at last. You don't need to fear anything from me ever again. Astarion: I knew you had that sweat heart all along. I was alarmed by you sometimes, scandalised even, but somehow by your side, I still only ever saw you.

AA fans also often ignore the fact that the game has good and bad endings in the companion stories. And it's not about morality. All companion quests are literally about how the desired and obvious path leads to a bad ending. And Astarion is no exception. In a good ending, he gets the chance to heal and finally acceptes himself and his vampire nature, in a bad ending, he gives up and regresses as a person.

Spawn Astarion knows what he wants and says it. SA is ready for a relationship and sex. Ascended Astarion can’t answer the question of what he wants, so he acts as a vampire lord should. AA is literally back to the state of the first act and has started manipulating Tav/Durge through sex again (even repeating the same phrases). This is why he doesn’t really want sex (he approves if you choose the no sex option and he definitely dissociated during the sex scene) unlike Spawn Astarion who initiated it.

Spawn Astarion is the same Astarion who enjoys “murder and terror” and you can see that clearly in his “hero” ending (more like “antihero”). And this is the ending without romance, he chose it himself. And the whole idea of him pretending to be good for Tav is actually meaningless without romance.

Ascended Astarion is the same Astarion, but stuck in a black and white world of fear and domination.

SA scene ends with hope music (instrumental version of I want to live) AA scene ends with chains.

And there’s so much more. Larian specifically showed the difference between good and bad endings in the dialogues, scenes after ritual, recent updates and even the interview so people would definitely understand, but they didn't🙃 Some AA fans (especially on youtube and larian forum) are on a new level of delusion.

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #astarion #Narrative comprehension is dead #durgestarion #astarion x durge #astarion x tav #spawn astarion #ascended astarion #такого непонимания очевидного я не видела даже в геншин фандоме

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astarion-approves · 7 months

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astarion reacts to tav being betrayed by a loved one and tav getting injured during the betrayal?

Astarion x Gender Neutral Tav! - Fucking Randy Astarion first person POV - it's alright lol I can't even think of a summary for this...

Tags: More humor than angst, first person pov (Astarion), 500+ words, drabble, poor description of a fight, OOC Astarion

Summary: Honestly, I don't know what Tav saw in that human. A complete jackass, and one that would eventually get them killed.

Read here or on AO3

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The battle started just as any other. Tav ahead of us, usually sticking their nose where it didn’t belong, insulting strangers without a second thought, or even just punching someone at random for the hell of it. It was one of the things that made me approve of them so quickly. Their… ‘I don’t give a shit’ attitude. I admired it. Loved it, really.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one.

His name was Randy. Yes, Randy, if you can believe it. A human male who was tall and lanky, but not in an unattractive way— again, unfortunately for me. Somehow he had managed to woo Tav before we’d even met. The barbarian was a complete savage, encouraging Tav to make admittedly stupid decisions, drinking past his limit, and taking advantage of Tav’s kindness without them even realizing it.

It came as no surprise when Tav spit straight into the face of someone trying to intimidate our group. Hell, I laughed in response. Watching someone wipe spit from their face in shock is never not funny. Disgusting, obviously, but hilarious nevertheless.

Shadowheart clicked her tongue and readied her weapon, Gale doing much the same but with a heavy sigh, Randy (fucking Randy, really? Seriously? Randy? RANDY?!) revealed his sword and steadied it in his hands, and my lovely self exposed my dangers— each of us ready to destroy those who stood before us.

Tav grinned at their lover, laughing as Randy lunged forward and buried his sword into the spit covered face of the one that stood before them. A dagger would have been a better choice, but who am I to judge? Right? I was only a fucking magistrate.

Fucker.

Soon other’s flooded into the area, the quick murder drawing their attention to our group. Tav and Randy worked their way through the group, the rest of us picking off the rangers that tried to hide.

A quick fight, as it usually was with our group…

But then… something happened.

A shot of fire, heading directly towards Tav and Randy— Shadowheart wasn’t fast enough to shield them and the pair were vulnerable against it. I heard Tav scream as Randy grabbed their shoulders and pushed them in front of himself. I could only watch as the fire flew towards them and exploded against Tav’s chest. They fell to the ground, landing on their side, no longer breathing.

Gale cast a spell in the direction of the killer, but I wasn’t paying attention, I was running to Tav.

They laid on the ground, their eyes open and staring into nothing, mouth hanging open as if they were still screaming from the blow. I dropped to my knees beside them, cradling their head in my lap, my hands tapping on their cheeks, words flying from my mouth but I didn’t even know what I was saying.

“Leave them,” Randy said. “We need to keep moving.”

I flung my dagger into his skull.

Shadowheart began casting spells, anything they could do to bring Tav back—

But they still laid there.

Luckily, all we had to do was carry them back to camp and Withers was able to bring them back from the dead.

Randy we left behind. Because fuck Randy.

And now, tonight, I’ll be making my first move on Tav. They’re still a little hurt from the betrayal, weeks later. And… they also tell us stories of their nightmares and the cool chill of death that lingers and haunts them—

But they blush when they look at me, and that’s good enough for me.

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alicelufenia · 2 months

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Testing new ways to recruit Minthara in Patch 6 - Part 1 (KO at the grove battle)

First of what may become a series of attempts to find new ways to recruit Minthara on the good playthrough.

Now according to the patch notes:

It's unclear what they mean by "number of valid methods". So far the ONLY valid methods to recruit Minthara are siding with the Goblins (ie the best method) or to knock her out while temporarily hostile. I go on all about it in this post.

So to start I wanted to see if the number of cases where she becomes temporarily hostile have been expanded. And the first method I wanted to test is possibly the coolest way to knock her out; by fighting her and the goblin horde at the grove! I don't need to show any screenshots of that, suffice to say, she was marked fully hostile by the game, and her knocked out status was NOT temporary (ie., said this entity would disappear permanently after a long rest)

So I played the rest out as you normally would; long resting to go to the tiefling party, then heading to the mountain pass, past the undead patrol, into the shadow-cursed lands, summoned Kar'niss, turned on him at the Harpers, yada yada Last Light Inn yada yada Isobel and Marcus.

So I arrive at Moonrise, and while expecting nothing, who do I see?

THERE SHE IS! And wearing her camp clothing cause I stole her armor again lmao (and she didn't wear the blazer of benevolence I reverse-looted into her inventory, cause she'd rather be in her PJs in front of her boss than anything from Volo. Honestly understandable.)

The cutscene plays out normally, but after going down into the prison, freeing her mind and fighting her interrogators

She just... breaks. No dialogue, not interactable, doesn't follow me, nothing. Killing the other guards outside doesn't do anything.

At first I was ready to call this whole attempt bugged (which don't get me wrong, this IS a bug)

But I thought, what if I have her play along (I never did that in my own playthrough) So I reload, and trick the guards instead.

SUCCESS! She's a follower npc now!

We deceive our way out of Moonrise, send her back to camp

Also, incredibly funny that both Astarion and Karlach approve, when Astarion is the only one who voices major objections, and earlier Karlach had this to say at camp before we headed into the prison

I guess seeing her tortured and grateful for being freed warmed Karlach's heart to her. Awww :3

Ladies and gentlemen, we got her

It's not completely without bugs. Karlach and Wyll both didn't have anything to say about Minthara's recruitment, but that might have been because I hadn't exhausted their reactive dialogue beforehand, as they both had things to say about prior events. Lae'zel, Shadowheart, Astarion and Gale (y'know the regular durge squad) all had their normal reactions.

Also Halsin isn't there cause he's currently at Last Light hanging out with Art. I hadn't even found Thaniel yet. Although I don't anticipate any interactions with those two, as the ultimatum dialogue is still inaccessible, and even if it was, involves an absolutely convoluted way to get both Halsin and Minthara that will almost never happen anyway.

Final Verdict: Recruiting Minthara by KOing her while defending the grove - WORKS!

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate 3 #baldur's gate iii #baldurs gate iii #bg3 minthara #minthara #minthara baenre #minthara bg3 #nightwarden minthara #minthara good playthrough recruitment #EXTREMELY happy this method now works #I will test later to see if knocking her out at the goblin camp while fully hostile works the same #all in all I'm a bit surprised as this is a blatant exception to the way lethality and the knock out condition works for everything else #but if it means more people can have Minthy I'm all for it!

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consistencynevermether · 7 months

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Astarion x gn Paladin! Reader hcs

A/n: this man has a death grip on me istg. I was writing some Long ass angst about him and decided to take a break for some cute hcs. I might do a few more of these with other classes, so if you’d like to see any other class lmk! Anyways onto the simping

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Alright let’s get one thing straight, this man can and will make fun of you

The SECOND you talk about your oath he’s behind you mimicking your voice with over exaggerated stances. He acts so innocent when you roll your eyes at his antics though

That being said, he actually really values someone who can keep their word. It makes him feel safe, having someone honest by his side after years of toxic manipulation. He’ll never admit to this of course

He finds the armor hot. There’s just something about polished chest plates and clawed gauntlets that look so good on you.

He mentioned once that when he was younger he fantasized about marrying the “hero type, like Wyll” so I think he secretly loves it when you play valiant knight

Please for the love of god give this man a kiss on the back of his hand, he will melt

If you're a more stoic or good aligned tav, he’ll try to convince you to loosen up a little, but never oversteps. Despite his teasings he understands how important your oath is to you, and he loves you the way you are.

Oh and if you ever get short or snarky with someone while your normally composed, this man is howling with laughter. Absolutely encourages little shit behavior

Despite his natural self interest coming first, we see that astarion does approve of you helping children later in the game. So I feel like every time he sees you protect the innocent, or fight for what you believe in, his heart flutters just a little.

You definitely work well fighting together, considering he’s not much for direct fighting and armor is quite hard to sneak in, you both complement each others weaknesses

Speaking of sneaking, Astarion has definitely pickpocketed you just once or twice to see your reaction. Nothing major, just a little trinket or maybe that tart in your backpack you were saving for later. He has to keep you on your toes somehow, plus he enjoys it when you try to chase him down (keyword- try. He’s as slippery as they come and once again, armor isn’t great for speed or sneak)

If you have a routine where you polish and upkeep your weapons and armor, he’s definitely going to keep you company. Maybe he’ll even sharpen some of his own blades while he’s at it. He likes these little mundane moments where you can sit together in comfortable silence. And his daggers have never looked better

While he finds your heroics and honor shtick endearing, you’ll need to understand he’s not looking for some protector or bodyguard. He wants to be your equal, not someone you constantly need to keep an eye on. With that being said, he does enjoy some classic romantic chivalry.

He won’t admit it but that flower you gave him a few months ago? He preserved it by pressing it between pages in his book. He treasures the little gestures you do for him

If you ever have to leave to join some holy quest or whatever for a few months, he definitely wants to come with. But if that’s not possible (maybe it’s after the events of the game and you two are still looking for a way for him to walk in the sun) he’ll definitely write you frequently and try to visit if he knows your going to be in a certain city soon

And you better have the exact👏 same👏 energy👏. Start writing love letters and maybe even send him some gifts as well

And when you're done assisting on this quest, you’d better block out at least a month of time just for him. He won’t admit it but I imagine he’s a bit touchstarved for some wholesome romantic touch

Cuddle him. Now.

While he understands and respects your oath, there’s probably a part of him that worries one day you might leave him if your god asked, or if you needed to go on a quest that might last years or decades

Well guess what? Your god can shove it

You would never abandon Astarion like that, the second you became partners you also became a package deal. You make sure to tell him that your oath is more than just a gods power, it’s a set of ideals that you would gladly follow even without a gods backing if you were ever forced to choose between them and him.

Considering he finds settling down dull and boring, and a Paladin is constantly living a life of adventure, it’s really the perfect match

#baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate astarion #astarion romance #astarion x reader #astarion x tav #bg3 astarion #baldurs gate 3 astarion #astarion #astarion x mc #astarion fic #astarion x you #baldurs gate tav #astarion x y/n #astarionxtav

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its-jaytothemee · 1 month

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Until I Met You - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Party

Pairings: Halsin x Tav

Word count: 3,924

Rating: Currently M, will be Explicit in later chapters.

Read on AO3

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Summary: A slow burn Tav and Halsin romance fic about their relationship forming between the major events of Baldur's Gate 3, and probably a little bit after too. Explores Tav's friendships with some of the other companions, but mainly Karlach. Lots of longing and fluff, including plenty of soft Halsin moments.

Tags: Slow burn, hurt/comfort, love confessions, eventual smut, light angst, implied past rape/non-con

A/N: After starting another playthrough specifically to romance Halsin, I decided to write some additional details of how their relationship forms throughout the game. Not sure how many chapters there will be yet...we'll see where the game takes me :) There will be POVs from both Tav and Halsin throughout the fic. Enjoy!

Tav retrieved one of her arrows from the many corpses strewn about the courtyard. The inside of the temple was just as bloody of a sight. Three True Souls had been defeated and the remaining goblins slaughtered at their hands. One of the leaders lingered in her mind – Minthara, the drow. When their minds mingled, Tav saw something in her memories that she couldn’t quite place. She wasn’t sure how many more of these cultists they would be facing, but she had started to feel uneasy during this past battle. It dawned on her that the only difference between her adventuring party and these True Souls was the strange artefact they carried. Had they not been chosen for this mysterious protection, they would be meeting the same fate at the hands of a different group of adventurers.

She looked back around at her companions. Astarion was limping his way between all the bodies, checking their pockets with disturbing efficiency. Gale was sitting on the ground, leaning against a wall while catching his breath and favoring a twisted ankle. Karlach was helping Tav gather arrows and other weapons around them. A golden glow enveloped their bear companion, transforming him back into an elf.

“You did it. You actually did it.” He was smiling at her, his voice full of admiration. “There are no words to thank you for what you have done today, my friend.”

“Think nothing of it, I was happy to help.” She was still out of breath from the fighting, a small trail of blood tickled her cheek.

“It was everything.” One of his large hands rested on her shoulder. “Forgive me, but I must make haste back to the Grove. I can…see to some matters there and we can discuss your next steps further once you’re able to meet me.” He placed his fist across his chest with a small bow of his head.

Tav nodded her reply as he wildshaped into a rat and ran away.

“Let’s do another sweep of the place, make sure there’s nothing useful that we should take.” She suggested, gaining a small whoop of approval from Astarion.

They did a full sweep of the temple, eventually finding a secret entrance into the Underdark. Tav took note of that for later, she thought she had heard a rumor of a passageway from below that led to Moonrise. Only if we have to go there, she thought to herself. She was desperately trying to hide her anxiety from her companions. Halsin had sensed it when they were talking, but she sensed something from him as well. More of a deep sadness than anxiety.

Luckily, they also found plenty of useful items scattered about. Healing potions, weapons, armor, an abundance of camp supplies and no small amount of gold. They loaded Karlach up with as much as she could possibly carry before making the trek back to the Emerald Grove.

Once they arrived, they took the time to sell some of the extra equipment they had found, exchanging for additional potions and elixirs. Tav was being constantly stopped for one tiefling or another to offer their gratitude. She smiled and accepted their thanks, feeling awkward about being in the spotlight. Being alone by choice for so long made it overwhelming to be the center of attention again. As a new pair of hands seemed to touch her with every step she took, a hazy memory rushed forward to the front of her mind.

She was standing in a vast ballroom, wearing a light, elegant gown. The small circlet adorning her temple was light as a feather but weighed heavily on her shoulders that night. The room around her was filled with colorful patrons. All of them dancing and spinning together, slowly getting drunk on the extravagant selection of wines. She was constantly being pushed into one suitor or another, each doing their best to woo her into their arms. Their wandering hands were not as subtle as they thought, and she had to resist the urge to break their fingers on many occasions. If she caused too much of a scene, Father would not be pleased. Just as she thought she would have to headbutt the handsy nobleman groping her ass, her true knight in shining armor came twirling to her rescue.

Tev’aron, her older brother. He slammed his hips into the drunk noble, acting equally as drunk. She couldn’t help but giggle since she knew for a fact he would never partake. He offered multiple slurred apologies before easily taking his dancing position.

“Hello, Ria.” He flashed his mischievous smile at her, his drunken façade gone. “Your suitors this evening are serious lightweights. Father hasn’t even brought out the liquor yet. Best to pass on this batch as well, they’ll never keep up with this family’s drinking.”

“My hero.” She rolled her eyes at him. Tev was her best friend, always swooping in to rescue her when her noble duties got too overwhelming. And by noble duties, she meant being fondled by strange men.

They danced together in silence for a while, Tev earning dirty looks from the men around them. His ivory curls bounced lightly around his face as they moved around the dance floor.

“Tav’ahria…” He said quietly. “Why do you put up with this? You’re more than just a pretty collectible to be paraded about. You could snap the necks of half of the men in here before anyone realized what had happened. Have you thought more on my suggestion?”

It was all she had thought about for the last tenday. Tev’aron was planning on running away to join the Harpers, and he wanted her to come with him.

“I don’t know, Tev. If Father ever caught up with us…” She could see her parents on the other side of the ballroom, laughing with some diplomat from Cormyr.

“He doesn’t care enough about us to have us followed.” Tav’ahria could taste the venom in her brother’s words.

“Just promise me you’ll think about it, Ria.” He continued, his tone softening. “I can’t bear the thought of leaving you here to be married off to the highest bidder. You deserve more than that.”

She closed her eyes and hugged her brother tightly, desperate to keep a few more moments to herself before she was forced back into her flirtatious mingling.

“Alright, alright. That’s quite enough. The poor woman is bruised to the hells and back, she doesn’t need your extra hands on her.” Astarion’s voice cut through her daydream. Tav snapped back to the present, staring at him in surprise. He was bouncing around her, slapping away hands from her arms and shoulders.

“Astarion? What are you doing?” She asked quietly, still a little disoriented from her thoughts.

“Hm? Oh, nothing I just noticed you were maybe a tad overwhelmed by the affection coming your way. I can’t have all of this attention going to your head, darling.” He smiled sweetly at her, but there was something in his expression that Tav couldn’t quite place. For just a moment, it was like Tev’aron was standing in front of her again, fighting off unwanted advances.

“Of course. Thank you.” She smiled weakly back at him, fighting the tears stinging her eyes.

“Speaking of bruises,” she poked his arm lightly, “we should get back to camp soon. A couple more and you could easily pass for a drow.” He was not amused by her joke, but Karlach was cackling behind them.

“Fine. Let’s find your new lover and head back to camp.” He shot back at her.

“Excuse me?” Tav could feel a blush moving across her face.

“Oh please, Tav. You obviously wanted to climb that brawny druid like the tree he is.” He continued teasing.

“You’re really close to getting those last few bruises my soon-to-be drow friend.” Her gritted teeth were causing her jaw to ache. Astarion thought better of pushing her and turned away with a cheeky smirk.

Tav groaned as she felt her skin getting warmer across her face and chest.

“For what it’s worth, soldier…I think he might have liked you too.” Karlach had walked up beside her, hand hovering supportively above Tav’s shoulder so she wouldn’t get burnt.

“Ugh let’s just wrap up here and get back to camp. We have a party to prepare for after all.” Tav smiled at the large tiefling, surprised by how quickly she had gotten attached to her.

They wandered further into the Grove just in time to see Halsin finishing up a heated conversation with Kagha.

“…you may stay but consider yourself a novice anew.” Halsin’s voice had taken on a much more imposing tone compared to when they spoke in the goblin camp. “You have forgotten the ways of the druids.” He dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

“Yes, Master Halsin.” Kagha gave a small bow before walking away.

“You’ll have your hands full with her.” Tav called from behind him.

Halsin’s expression immediately softened when he saw her, causing Tav’s heart to skip a beat.

“The understatement of the century, my friend. Misjudgments aside, the Emerald Grove will have need of her. Still, nature prevailed on this day. The Grove stands, and I have you to thank.” He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. She wanted to say something to him, but caught Astarion peeking out from behind Halsin, grinning at her. Tav glared back at him.

“So, what happens now? Will you still come with us to Moonrise?” She was trying to keep her voice from sounding too hopeful.

“Yes of course, I’ll join you in your camp for the celebration later and come morning, I will be at your side.” He still had his hand on her shoulder. His smile was making her knees feel weak. Astarion and Karlach could barely contain their giggles at his last statement. Their lips sputtered as they tried, and failed, to hide their laughter. Gale looked between all of them, confused. Halsin walked away with a small nod.

“I can’t help but feel I may have missed something while I was dead.” Gale was searching each of their faces for a way to decode their inside joke. Astarion hopped up next to him and slung an arm around his shoulders.

“Let me catch you up, my friend.” He dragged Gale alongside him, Tav just buried her face in her hands.

They wrapped up their business at the Grove, talking to Nettie and Rath who each gave them rewards for their efforts. Tav helped the last few straggling tieflings to pack up their remaining belongings. After a few more heartfelt thanks thrown their way, the four of them started the trek back to camp.

***

The sun was just starting to set as Halsin wandered into the small encampment. He had taken some extra time to say his goodbyes at the Grove. A letter was sent to the High Forest to request his replacement as Archdruid, a decision that brought him more shame than he expected. Not because he was leaving his position, but because of the overwhelming relief he felt after sending the letter. He never coveted that position, it was thrust onto his shoulders, but now he couldn’t help but feel guilty. Like he was abandoning those who had looked up to him for years.

Around the camp, it looked as if most of the refugees had already arrived, but there were some unfamiliar faces as well. He saw a Githyanki woman engrossed in the act of sharpening her sword, the shrill sound cutting through the various conversations. Another man with dark skin stood alone just off the edge of the camp. He looked like another tiefling but something was different about him. There was a young half-elf woman who appeared to be brooding into a glass of wine. From what he could gather, they had to be the other unlucky souls who had been kidnapped alongside Tav. Quite the curious group to be travelling together.

He looked around at the smiling faces, finding a feeling of relief and joy in them that he hadn’t seen in these people since he met them. It had been so long since he had witnessed the kindness of a stranger that he had seen today. His eyes scanned the camp until they found Tav. He watched as she stood next to Zevlor, wine glass in hand, waving her hand slowly in front of her, undoubtedly trying to waive off any praise for her good deeds today. She had changed out of her bloodied armor into a blue, sleeveless outfit. The corset-like shirt accentuated her hips, showing off more of her figure than he could see in the leathers she had been wearing. Her muscular back and arms were highlighted by the warm light of the sunset, not to mention her hair which was now tumbling freely down her back. The color and luster of the strands put the most beautiful of pearls to shame. Desire ached in his chest for the first time in years, a warm feeling that made his heart race. He felt like a lovestruck 60 year old again, he couldn’t stop staring at her, taking in every curve of her body. She suddenly turned around and caught his stare. He could feel his cheeks redden, yet he still couldn’t take his eyes off her. A huge smile spread across her face, making his heart skip a beat.

Oakfather preserve me…

She turned back to Zevlor and said something unintelligible before walking towards him. He shuffled awkwardly in place, suddenly unsure of what to do with his hands. They tugged nervously at pieces of his clothing as he averted his gaze towards the ground.

Oh, stop it you old fool. Nothing can happen anyway. You must stay focused.

When he looked back up, Tav had been stopped by a few more grateful refugees. He just barely noticed how she flinched at their touches, obviously uncomfortable by the contact. All her injuries from the day seemed to have healed properly, he couldn’t see any trace of bruises or cuts. With each person that reached out to touch her, the smile on her face twisted, no longer reaching her eyes. It looked flat and lifeless, like a mask. Eventually, she broke away again and continued towards him.

“I was starting to worry that you had changed your mind.” She called out once she was close enough.

“Nonsense, I just had a few additional matters to attend to at the Grove. It seems my absence had a larger impact than I had hoped.”

She gave him a curious look.

“It’s nothing for you to worry about, I promised you my aid and you shall have it.” He didn’t have the energy to explain himself to her right now.

“Okay, well if you want, I could introduce you to the rest of the camp. I’m sure the others are anxious to meet you.” She held out her hand. He started to reach out for her but thought better of it.

“That’s very kind of you, but I’m sure you have many other pleasantries to dole out this evening. It would be rude of me to keep you for too long.” He tried to smile back at her, but her expression fell slightly and her hand dropped back to her side.

“I uh…I do want to apologize for earlier today.” She ran a hand nervously through her hair.

“Whatever for?” Halsin was racking his brain trying to figure out what she could have done to warrant an apology.

“When we first met, I wasn’t exactly uh…subtle. I can’t help but feel that I made a real ass of myself. I’m not always great with first impressions.” Her face had turned slightly pink, now matching the color of her eyes. Halsin relaxed slightly. “When we were sent to find an all-knowing Archdruid, I was sort of expecting an old man. Not someone young like you.”

He let out a snorting laugh at that.

“Young? You are too kind. It’s not exactly a word I would use to describe my age.”

“Oh please, I put you at hardly middle age for an elf.” She was smiling again, a real smile, the sight caused another wave of warmth to wash over him.

“Regardless, let me put your mind at ease. I judge others based on their actions, and yours have spoken clearly for you. You have nothing to apologize for, my friend.” He placed a reassuring hand on her arm, noticing that she didn’t flinch away from him. “As long as we’re being honest, I was just as shocked to see a lovely noble elf to come to my rescue in a dirty goblin camp.” She blushed again.

“Now go on, enjoy yourself. Don’t waste your evening talking to me. There are many other grateful people who wish to spend time with you.”

“Take your own advice, come have a drink with me. I’d like to get to know you if we’re going to travel together.” She was still smiling sweetly at him as she placed her hand over his.

His heart started to race. How he yearned to feel a sense of companionship again, a luxury he couldn’t afford often in the last century or so.

Careful, Halsin. You cannot tolerate such a distraction now.

“Not unless you want to hear my terrible singing, or a love confession to the first soul that crosses my drunken path.” He chuckled as he slowly removed his hand from her arm, she laughed, and the sound sent a shiver down his spine.

“I fail to see the problem. I grew up in Baldur’s Gate, that was a daily occurrence for me.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it.” The words escaped his lips before he could stop them, causing his breath to catch. Tav’s expression shifted, a playful smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

“Well, there’s other things we could do to get to know one another. If you’re not up for talking or drinking.” She chewed on her lower lip as she held his gaze.

No, not subtle at all.

He could barely control the grin threatening to spread across his face. It wasn’t often that potential partners were so forward with him. A small chuckle started in his chest making its way past his lips.

Silvanus give me strength…

“I have no doubt you could think of something. You strike me as extremely…resourceful.” He took a deep breath. “But as I said, there’s many others here who wish to spend time with you. I must not keep you all to myself, as enjoyable as that may be.”

“I understand.” She said with a small smile. “I’d best go claim some of the wine before it runs out, everyone seems particularly thirsty tonight. We’ll talk in the morning?”

“Of course. Oakfather preserve you, friend.” He gave a small bow of his head before she turned away.

If Tav was disappointed, she hid it well. He kept watching her as she strode through the camp accepting handshakes and compliments, as she checked in with each of her companions, and then finally until she went and sat by Karlach holding two large bottles of wine. The rest of the evening was uneventful, he allowed himself an evening of peace watching the happy scene before him. He longed to feel as carefree as those around him, but it would have to wait. For a hundred years he had been seeking favor with Silvanus and he couldn’t lose that focus now, not even for such a sweet temptation as Tav.

***

Tav walked over to the small box containing several bottles of wine. Hopefully her embarrassment wasn’t too obvious to everyone else around her. She couldn’t quite figure Halsin out, he seemed interested in her, but it was like something was holding him back. Two large bottles of firewine caught her attention. She grabbed them both and made her way over to the riverbank where Karlach was sitting.

“Want some company?” Tav asked, the wine held out in front of her.

“As long as one of those is for me.” Karlach smiled up at her and patted the ground next to her. Tav took a seat and handed over one of the bottles.

“What are you doing out here, soldier? I figured you’d be wrapped up in vines tonight or whatever weird stuff druids are into.” She uncorked the bottle with her teeth and took a large drink.

“Eh, he didn’t seem to go for it. I wasn’t exactly delicate either. I guess we were wrong.” Tav lifted the bottle to her lips, the spice of the wine helping to drive away the cool breeze.

“Really? He seemed a bit smitten with you. Nevermind though, let’s find you someone else, my friend. You and Astarion have been awful flirty. I’m sure he’d at least be fun.” Karlach’s suggestion nearly caused Tav to choke on her drink.

“I don’t think he’s quite my type, love. He…reminds me too much of someone.” She took another large swig of the wine.

“Okay then, how about Gale? He’s got gorgeous eyes, and you two seem to be fast friends. You could always add a little something to that friendship.” Karlach batted her eyelashes at her, causing Tav to laugh.

“I don’t think I want to risk an explosion the size of Waterdeep for a night of fun. Besides, I don’t think Gale is the casual relationship kind of man.”

“Fucks’ sake, mate. I’m trying to help you here.” Karlach chuckled into her bottle.

“Well, that still leaves Wyll, Lae’zel, and Shadowheart. What do you think my chances are with them?” She leaned back onto her elbows, nestling her wine bottle in the sand.

“I think Lae’zel is still upset with you for stepping in on her ‘interrogation’ so she may be out. Wyll has been moping in a corner since we got back to camp, I don’t think he’s in a fun mood tonight. As for Shadowheart, how are you feeling about her Shar worship?” Karlach gave her a knowing look.

“Okay, looks like you’re stuck with me for the evening.” Tav winked at her.

“Well then, welcome to the club of the touch-starved and sexually frustrated, my friend.” She held up her wine bottle and Tav lifted her own to clink against it.

“Happy to be here, love.” Both of them took long drinks and settled in for the evening. They talked long after the others retired for the night, enjoying their bottles of wine and telling jokes and stories from their pasts. Nothing tragic, even though they both had their share of sob stories. Tonight, they focused on happy memories – tales of foes felled, lovers of their past, their favorite foods from Baldur’s Gate. She recounted her conversation with Halsin, trying to hide her disappointment. Karlach still insisted that she had a chance with him. Tav burned herself twice giving Karlach friendly nudges, her instincts causing her to forget about her fiery skin. But she didn’t mind, the injuries only made them laugh harder. Their words started to slur slightly as their bottles emptied. It was refreshing to sit and laugh with her for so long, Tav didn’t have many people in her long life that she could truly call a friend. But it was easy with Karlach. They ended up falling asleep in the sand, the heat from Karlach keeping Tav warm thought the night as she drifted off into a trance.

#bg3 #bg3 fanfiction #baldurs gate 3 #baldur's gate iii #bg3 halsin #halsin fanfic #halsin x tav #halsin silverbough #bg3 headcanons #bg3 brainrot #bg3 fluff #the tadfools

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malicedafirenze · 7 months

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

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

PSA: Pick a Partner before Act 3

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

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

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

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

My Romance Woes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Next Playthrough Plans

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#bg3 #baldur‘s gate 3 #baldur's gate #astarion #bg3 romance #karlach #gale #lae'zel #shadowheart #astarion romance #baldur's gate 3 romance

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august-anon · 6 months

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No one is sending me bg3 tk headcanons so i will speak a few of my own. please send me bg3 asks lol. these little gremlin people in my computer are all i can think about

Wyll is definitely more of a ler than a lee in my mind, BUT i see that man in a crop top every single night, you cannot tell me he is not also crazy ticklish. And he definitely doesn't mind it -- he just doesn't want it too much. He much prefers making his romantic interest smile and blush and laugh, and waxing poetic in that wonderfully romantic way of his to make them blush even more. I ask what we are and he compares me to the sun at different times of day in a way that makes me swoon?? Imagine how he'd describe your tav's smile and laughter and flushed cheeks. My god I am so in love with this fictional man.

I have not gotten to a point in the game yet where my bestie Karlach is all fixed up (i only just started Act 2 about 10 hours of gameplay ago -- i expect to be here for another 30-40 hours at least before we finally reach Act 3 lol), I can only assume it happens for her, and i think that when she is fixed up she would go WILD with the tickle fights. She would find it so, so much fun. She probably loves tickling, on all sides, and given how bold she is when she comes onto you the first time (I am so sorry i had to turn you down girlie ✌️😔 i already had my eyes on Wyll), I think she would definitely have 0 problems asking to be tickled or to tickle someone else

i think if i tried to tickle Lae'zel she would kill me. But also we have like, medium approval because I am too nice for her and so i don't know a lot about her lol. Y'all who have had better relationships with Lae'zel or who have romanced her should tell me your thoughts, y'all probably have much better understandings of her character than I do, I would love to know what you think about Lae'zel and tickles

Gale insists he is not ticklish. He tries to distract you with fancy words and long sentences until you forget what you were talking about in the first place, because all of a sudden you're like. Talking about the history of Waterdeep or smth. Anyways, he does this because he is wicked ticklish. And I don't think he necessarily minds being tickled, but I definitely think he's the kind of guy to wanna keep up appearances for as long as he can lol. Gale lovers please correct me if I am wrong, but I always get distracted by his long-winded explanations and fanciful way of speaking (is this how people feel when they talk to me??? i am also extremely long-winded -- as you can see from this post -- and people think i speak funny and in an abnormal manner also lol). That long-windedness comes in handy with teasing though, I'm sure.

Shadowheart is another one I can't get a read on. I have had really good approval with her from the beginning, we are somehow besties, and yet i know so little about her. She is very hard to read. I have no idea what her thoughts and opinions are here lol. I think she would regard me with great disdain if I tried to tickle her

Astarion,,,,, i don't think he'd vibe with most people tickling him, OR tickling most people. Purely from existing in fandom, despite not romancing him (yet -- he is next on my list. I can fix him), i know a lot of spoilers for his general arc in a romance. I don't think he would let anyone but his lover touch him like that (or touch anyone but his lover like that), and only after a lot of healing. It's a very vulnerable situation to put oneself in!!! I feel like for the first long while he'd be far more interesting in ler-ing, he would have to be pretty comfortable and secure to feel comfortable in a lee situation.

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animentality · 4 months

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You ever think about how the fandom will go nuts trying to explain how Astarion is ~basically~ an elven child and how he’s absolved of all guilt for everything he’s done by the abuse he endured and yet… on the other hand we also have Gortash, who very literally was a child when sold to the hells and put through who knows what manner of abuse, saw who knows what messed up shit, who has had chances to do better, yes, but has also had to fight to survive and be more than just a beggar on the streets once he escaped. And he’s the totally evil and irredeemable one according to most fans. I’m not trying to woobify him btw, it’s just always interesting how every other character gets defended on the basis of “but cult conditioning/abuse/etc” but Gortash is uniquely the worst man alive. Which he is, but also. Cmon. Astarion has a long list of innocent victims and is a razors edge away from becoming the next cazador in any given play through and yet he’s a perfect uwu angel apparently. This isn’t about saying Gortash isn’t evil, this is about saying he’s not drastically more evil than a lot of other nuanced characters in this game who get defended by the fandom masses.

ANON if I could kiss you, I would commit tax evasion with you.

THIS.

Like I know Gortash is awful, but so is fucking everyone.

Shadowheart can become a Dark Justiciar and do awful things for Shar. Lae'zel and the githyanki are a bunch of pricks who kill their own kids for showing weakness and kill innocent people all the goddamn time. Minthara obviously slaughters a bunch of innocent refugees, if you allow her to, and as a drow, probably committed a cavalcade of evil actions.

Gale's blind ambition could've nuked a fucking town. He might not have intended to become a living bomb, but he did, and by running around Faerun, he WAS putting literally everyone within like five miles of him in mortal danger. Wyll would've killed Karlach if you weren't there, and he expresses this horror, because he has definitely killed innocents for Mizora before.

Astarion would've gladly become Cazador 2.0, if you didn't stop him. He might've started out ok, but he would descend into that same evil, using you until there was nothing left of you, and treating others the way he was treated, because he sees himself as a god now.

Even fucking Karlach...who is a sweetie, and god I love her...well fuck, didn't Gortash accuse her of knowing just how shady his shit was? She was a desperate kid, yes, and he definitely took advantage of her, but he explicitly calls her out for working for him, even though she knew he was shady (if not a Banite). Plus she was his bodyguard for years. As if your bodyguard wouldn't know you were being a peace of shit?

The WHOLE POINT of Baldur's Gate 3 is that you and your companions are defined by your choices.

The option EXISTS to SAVE THESE PEOPLE.

THERE IS NO OPTION TO SAVE GORTASH.

The game gives you the option of seeing him die one way or the other way.

I'm just SAYING it's not totally fair to act as if Gortash is truly irredeemable, when out of all the villains, he at least had an idea of a better world, even if it was still self serving and frankly awful.

He was slightly better than the Dark Urge, and they GET the choice of redeeming themselves.

He never does. And maybe he wouldn't have taken it, but that's really not the point.

You hit the nail on the head, bud.

Gortash is evil, no doubt, this is true, he is not just a victim of circumstances, he made every wrong decision he could've made...

But the fandom has no problem woobifying Astarion even though that scene with Sebastian is fucking soul wrenching.

They raise their hackles at Gortash, as though he's been alive for 200 years and lured thousands to their deaths/vampirism, and they forget that Lae'zel is absolutely awful, and approves every time you murder children in front of her.

And Shadowheart spent her childhood learning to torture people.

You can say well their crimes aren't equivalent- and yes, that is true, HOWEVER.

Remember that you have met them when they were powerless.

If given power...if they had never been mindcontrolled by parasites...well shit, they might've fucking killed you.

They might've become tyrants themselves. I know it's purely conjecture on my part, I just kinda...I don't even necessarily want a redeemed Gortash storyline.

I'm fine with him just being a villain!

I just also have a working brain that doesn't understand the reflexive urge to say, he couldn't redeem himself if he tried.

I think, in this fictional world of course, that redemption should be possible. I think if they are honestly trying, and they repay the debts they incurred, then it might be justified.

But we didn't get that choice, and neither did he, and honestly, with what the game presents...I can whole heartedly say no, he wouldn't have redeemed himself. Even if he could, he would not have done it.

But the possibility does exist.

Trying to deny it makes you look like a hypocrite as you insist Ascended Astarion is still an uwu baby.

Like nah, sweetie. Good luck with that.

#enver gortash #long post #discourse children

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loquaciousquark · 4 months

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hi! i’ve been a fan of your writing since da2 and i’m so glad you’re playing bg3 now too. it’s been really interesting following your play throughs and character choices and how that ties in with your fic. i know you went with the choice to have astarion kill tav when he firsts bites her because it’s hilarious and i always want to do that, but i think i’d miss the scene after with the whole camp (and all the approval for defending him lol) and ahhhh i just don’t know! if you feel like it, i was wondering if you would talk more about your HCs around that choice and what to you makes it worth losing the morning after scene with everyone because i feel like it’s such an important group moment but… i want to punch him for killing me and also kind of slow things down with him so we stay just reluctant but oddly compelled allies for longer

Ahhh, what a fabulous question! Thank you so very much for this handcrafted opportunity to sit you down at my kitchen table with a cup of coffee and trap you for the next three and a half hours.

So the first bite scene ending in Tav's death wasn't actually intentional! I started playing BG3 in a three-person MP team with @eponymous-rose and @mystery-moose, and it so happened that my character (Tavish Gale, already ironclad) was the one who came across the boar and triggered the bite scene that night. By pure chance I rolled two natural ones on both those checks, and when it cut to the next morning and Tav was outright DEAD, we couldn't stop laughing! We had no idea what to expect or what the consequences would be, and when I switched to a SP campaign so I could horrifically binge this game like the gremlin I am, I felt compelled to recreate that glorious, character-defining moment.

However, as you note, that does mean you miss out on that lovely post-feed conversation where everyone says they're okay with him. On the other hand, you get that absolutely flat read of "Oh no. Something terrible happened here. :|" and then you get to punch him, so, you know, basically equal losses on either path. I know you get a ton of approval points after with the survival track, but I'm finding I'm not hurting for approval even in early game (I actually had to go and mod his approval 15 points lower about halfway through Act 1 this run because I was triggering his romance scene too early ahead of the party).

I actually need to probably sit down and write out the details of what happens here, but I do think a couple things take place. I know for sure that Tav fails the checks & doesn't fight it because she gets sucked into the feeling of relaxation and lethargy and the sense that nothing matters anymore. She spends most of Acts 1 & 2 fairly certain they're going to die any day, so why not live life to the fullest and do whatever you want in the moment without thinking about the consequences? If she's going to go out early anyway, why not to a relatively painless vampire bite instead of the agony of ceremorphosis? She probably realizes she's dying in those last seconds, but it's very much a "finally" instead of "oh no," so it's not really any skin off her nose.

I'm almost certain Astarion is shocked out of his mind when her heart stops. I don't think he realizes what's happened until he sits back and she's ice-cold and smiling, and his first instinct is to run off into the dark ASAP before everyone else wakes up and shanks him. Except because this happens IN THE MIDDLE OF CAMP, LARIAN, I think someone sees the whole thing go down and realizes Astarion didn't mean to do it and Tav was a brick-thick idiot who leaned all the way into her own death.

On pondering, I kind of think it was Shadowheart, who is utterly disgusted with both of them but who also knows she can bring Tav back with a scroll and does so without much drama. She'd be the kind of person to see what was going on, but who doesn't care enough to intervene or go "hey everything okay over here I can't help but notice you're engaging in some risky behavior", but who also wouldn't leap to TIME TO KILL ASTARION the moment it went too far.

I think Tav wakes up with a raging headache, and now that there are suddenly consequences she can't immediately brush off, she gets embarrassed and mad. Cue the punch, the argument, and probably everyone else waking up in the aftermath. Lae'zel initially wants to boot him from the group, I think, but Tav's anger burns out pretty quick (and she's pretty aware of her own failures to stop him), and she points out that if they're going to saddle themselves with Wyll's, Gale's, and her own baggage, it'd be pretty hypocritical to dump Astarion over his. So we still get some defense of him to the group, and I think Karlach (and probably Wyll, and honestly maybe Shadowheart who saw his fear) would be onboard with keeping him around pretty quickly. Promises never to do it again, keep your teeth to yourself, etc.

Astarion I think spends this entire conversation very, very scared and doing everything he can to hide it. I think he's completely overwhelmed by euphorically feeding on a thinking creature for the first time and then completely horrified by killing her - not because he likes her but because what if this is why Cazador commanded us not to, what if I can't control myself on my own without his compulsion, what if I really am the beast he's always said. He's panicking from the outrageous swings of emotion and talking really quickly and trying to put up a bold front, but inside he's about half a hair from snapping off into the woods and never coming back.

I think it's the punch that kind of shocks him out of the spiral, and then Tav then defending him to the group helps him flip into the "well obviously I deserve to stay and in fact to kick me out of the group would be not only stupid, but deadly" mode long enough to get through the night. He tries to put on the usual devil-may-care indifference, even though everyone can see through it, and they have a tense few days where everyone's pretending everything is fine even though it's really, really not.

Astarion & Tav are also avoiding each other religiously here, until something happens in a battle (the harpies, I think) and one of them gets injured because of that avoidance. That night, Tav stakes him to the ground and makes them talk about it. I think this is where she says she's not actually averse to him feeding on her and in fact asks him to do it that night - to get them both over the hump of what happened the first time. Astarion needs to feed without fear & she needs to not get swept up in the lethargy, and if he's going to get back to the sneering equilibrium he ought to have in the first and second acts, he needs to be successful at this and he needs to feel like he's won, or at least like he has an edge over her again. She's a little transparent about wanting to be bled in part to help him get back to this position of control, and in part because she does like forgetting the weight of reality, and in part because, again, they're gonna die in like twelve hours, surely, so who cares?

Anyway, it goes as well as it can for the two of them, even if they're both a little prickly throughout, and by the end they're a lot more comfortably back in that manipulative space they prefer. From there it moves on compliantly with canon into the party leadup (Loviatar and such) and then the party itself, and then progresses as scheduled with the rest of the game.

Ahh, it's so fun to think about these kinds of things. I'll continue to ponder, but I think this is either it for them or very close. Thank you so much for asking and for letting me ruminate! <3

#quark replies #Anonymous #astarion #tav #tavstarion #baldur's gate 3 #tavish gale #quark plays bg3

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i-was-bored-so-this-happened · 2 months

Text

Greensleeves Chapter Ten: Dream A Little Dream Of Me

Fandom: Baldur's Gate 3 Wordcount: 4.5k Warnings: Canon-typical violence

The party has bought entrance to the goblin camp, but find themselves unable to complete their mission. Something greater is at work

Read on AO3 Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

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The goblin camp is in sight. The party had permitted themselves a short break to regroup and try to establish a plan. While Lae’zel and Astarion are in favour of going in blades shining, Gale makes a solid argument for diplomacy allowing for a quicker and more precise extraction of the druid Halsin. Wyll, however, warns that they shouldn’t over-plan and Xaph and Shadowheart have to agree. The stab-happy Astarion and Lae’zel are outvoted, and she starts complaining about their reluctance to go to the gith creche until she’s assured that it’s their next priority once they know the tiefling refugees will be safe. There’s an outpost before the camp proper, guarded by goblins and a pair of worgs as well as a scout up high on cragged rocks that Astarion points out to the others. Xaph has been shuttled to the front of the group again, rather unexpectedly. There’s nothing to track.

“A war drum,” Lae’zel points to the thing, “One of those can summon warriors far and wide. Should we fight, we must destroy it.”

“Lookit, Klaw! Supper’s here!” They’ve been noticed. Xaph draws nearer and nearer until the worg starts to growl. Absentmindedly, she holds her fingers out to let her smell them. She won’t attack until ordered. The goblin who had spoken, bringing everyone else’s attention to the party, looks up at Xaph. Is that admiration in his eye, that she’s not scared of the worg? If it is, it’s replaced quickly with disgust. “Unless you’ve got another reason to be here, feck-shite.” The worg’s tongue, hot but not rough, licks up the arm of Xaph’s leather armour,

“Good coat on this animal. Healthy shine,” she remarks, sliding a hand up the creature’s head to reach that place between its ears she knows would make its tail thump if it was sitting on the ground, “From the nordiland worgata family?”

“How’d you know?” the goblin asks, “Dumb as a rock, but world-class at tearin’ out the throats of wee ones, she is. Rest of her litter’s inside, in the pens,” Worg pens. What other animals are in there? A bear, perhaps. “Beautiful beasts.”

“I’ve never seen a pack up close,” Xaph admits, “Always wanted to. They have an unfortunate reputation, these beasts.” No, she’s not a smooth talker or a good liar but she can talk about animals for days, “Battle-tested, I assume, to be trusted to guard the gates?”

“‘Course. Ripped out three bellies on our last raid alone. Be a shame if you came all this way without havin’ a look…” the trainer says. Diplomacy. Bonding over animals. This is working, “But I can’t let you pass just like that. Celebratin’ a raid we are,” he pats the worg’s side, “This one’s first outing. You’ll have to wear our war colours.” He indicates a particularly stinky pile of worg dung that sits at his feet. That’s the catch.

“Any designs in mind?” Xaph asks mildly, and the goblin cackles.

“Whatever calls to you.”

“Whatever calls to me…” Xaph acts as though she’s deliberating over the choice when really she’s trying to wrangle her worm. Images are easier than words, and she pushes an image of her scooping up a fistful of the dung and flinging it in the goblin’s face into her companion’s minds. Her tail curls up to her handaxe secure in the loop of her pack.

“Oh, yes, Xaph, darling,” Astarion smiles, “We must join the celebrations.” That’s approval if ever she’s heard it. She follows through with her projection and even as the goblin howls curses and the other sentries beat their shields with the pommels of their swords, Xaph passes her axe from her tail to her hand and buries it in the worg’s ribcage. She whispers a goodbye to the animal, a would-be-blessing. The beast is too surprised by the betrayal to keep Xaph from knocking her over and dragging the axe to her hind legs before pulling it out. Chaos has broken out around her. With guttural warcries, Lae’zel has plunged into the heat of the battle, finally allowed to draw blood. Astarion, ever the bright-eye, sends a bolt of flame into the rickety frame of a wooden structure that collapses on top of one goblin and brings the two who had been standing on top of the structure tumbling to the ground. None of the three of them move again after that. Gale-

An arrow catches Xaph’s side, just under her arm, and the force makes her twist and fall off the worg’s body. They’d forgotten about the archer on the rocks. Shadowheart changes directions and slides onto her knees at Xaph’s side, slamming her shield between them and another arrow as it sails towards them.

“Come on. Up you get.” Shadowheart says, mumbling a healing word as she hauls Xaph upright. Warmth rushes through the tiefling, not only from the healing but from the affection Shadowheart is showing. She warms even more so when the cleric sends a scorching bolt of yellow light at the scout and he falls from the rock, burning. A second worg, smaller than the first, is barrelling towards them. Xaph nocks an arrow, breathes, and speaks a single word. Laqueum. When she hits the creature, thorny vines sprout directly from the shaft of the arrow and ensnare it, bringing it to the ground. The rush of magic is even more relieving than that of healing. She’d been worried that she wouldn’t be able to perform any spells. She wasn’t exactly a wizard before the nautiloid, her grasp on the Weave shaky, but she’d felt the loss as keenly as a sting. It feels the same as it had when she’d first fired an arrow again. Magic. Gale. He’d frozen last time. Surprised, or inexperienced.

Turns out, he’s not difficult to find. Wyll races away from him in hopes of intercepting a goblin’s path to the war drum, and pulls Xaph’s eye to the wizard. She holds the image of the trapped worg in her mind and darts towards her friend but…but…he claps his hands together, and as he separates them the sound reverberates until it’s something far deeper. A clap of thunder. Detono. A wave of air kicks up dust and knocks a handful of goblins over before they’re close enough to hit him. Astarion weaves between them once they’ve fallen, stabbing with wild abandon, and Gale’s attention is turned elsewhere. This is the Wizard of Waterdeep, cradling a miniature storm in his hands as easily as he breathes. Wyll is the Blade of Frontiers, delivering well-practiced flippant lines as eldritch-red energy cracks goblin bones. Xaph is the Sunset Ranger, her arrows finding home in eyes and ears and hearts before her targets even know she’s there. Lae’zel ploughs through opponents like a scythe through grass, Shadowheart picks up the pieces with bright yellow flames and Astarion darts between the warlock and the wizard to make their kills a little bit bloodier.

Still panting for breath and some of them spattered with blood a few minutes later, the party advance on the goblin camp. A trio of drunken guards had been easy to take out after the battle at the gates, and now bottles of wine clink in Astarion’s pack and Gale holds a locket Xaph had found.

“So much for diplomacy.” Lae’zel comments.

“We can’t say we didn’t try to be civilized about it,” Gale says, “They were the ones who…well-”

“Wanted Xaph to smear shit on her face.” Wyll finishes the sentence for him

“I’m not quite that feral,” Xaph assures them, “Pity, though. They were well cared for animals.”

All that stands between them and the goblin camp now is a bridge, spiked barricades leaving a zig-zag path. The party pauses momentarily, sharing looks. They’re ready. They think. Xaph steps foot on the stone bridge and falls. Her skull vibrates, and she swears she can hear her tadpole squeaking with joy. Is this it? Are tentacles about to burst forth from her jaw? Pain blooms in her kneecaps as she hits the bridge, and her tail pinches as someone behind her lands on it, but the greatest pain of all is in her head. She brings her hands to her temples, to her ears, to her horns, pressing in and in and in to try and relieve the pain, to squeeze the tadpole out, anything. Judging by that pinch in her tail, the groans and screams behind her, her companions are experiencing a similar pain. Xaph can’t stop the screech that’s building in her throat. Maybe if she’s loud enough it will stop. Maybe if she’s loud enough she won’t feel it any more.

Hear my voice. Obey my command.

***

They are not ready. The Absolute has spoken to them. The strange box in Shadowheart’s possession that Xaph had entirely forgotten about had…protected them? All bravado has shrunk to simply courage, and that is not enough. Camp is set up, hidden among some trees. Just a short rest, they say. Just a little break. But the sun is beginning to set. Xaph snaps the fire into existence when hunger starts to rumble in her stomach. She sits with her knees pulled to her chest and her chin resting on them. Her eyes are pinned to Gale’s fingers. It’s calming, to watch someone who looks like he knows what he’s doing. They’re perpendicular to one another, Gale’s legs behind Xaph’s back as she faces the fire.

“I really don't,” his voice is almost startling, almost. People haven’t been talking much, “Know what I’m doing, that is.” Xaph lifts her head up and frowns at him. Gale taps the side of his head with the butt of the knife he’s using and gives her that wry smile, she recognises it from their first night at camp.

“The wee one.” She whispers, repeating his words from that exact conversation, and his smile warms. It rivals the fire, the way it burns itself into Xaph’s memory.

“Oh, I know my way around a carrot alright, but this?” he gestures towards the glow of light that indicates the goblin camp. “Out of the frying pan into the fire, so to speak.”

“You’re not used to combat, are you?” Xaph asks, letting her chin touch her knees again. It occurs to her a moment later that this is a rude question to ask, but he doesn’t seem to take it as such,

“Not my forte, as you might have noticed.” Gale says sheepishly.

“You did well today. Thunderwave is an impressive spell in the right hands.” She says the word and her eyes jump from his face to his wrists. Those strangely purple veins.

“I’m out of practice.” He protests.

“Not many goblin camps to ransack in Waterdeep.” Xaph reminds him. Hair falls in his face and he blows a puff of air upwards to try and get it out of the way but when that fails he uses the back of his hand to push the stray strands back.

“Well, I-”

“Take the compliment, wizard,” Xaph cuts in. He has a habit of doing that. Deflecting positive words. Sometimes Shadowheart will take them for her own when he bounces them away. Xaph rocks forward onto her knees and reaches out to tuck another errant piece of hair behind his ear. She’s careful to curl her fingers and use her knuckles rather than risk catching his skin with her nails. His skin is warm against hers. His eyes are doing that honeypot thing. Honey, spiced by the flames reflected in his pupils. “You did good.” She holds his gaze. She needs him to know she means it. His face crumples just a little bit, but she misinterprets it and pulls back and it’s effort to not lean into the absence of her hand. “Does it hurt?”

“It always hurts.” He tells her. It’s true. The pain is always there, usually wrapped around his ribs and his vertebrae and it often pushes in on his knees. Today its focus is on his shoulders and it doesn’t matter how often he rolls them and stretches his arms. The arcane hunger is still there. The sending stone Xaph had given him is buried at the bottom of his pack, in his tent, far enough away that he can’t be tempted by it. He can’t accept it, but he hasn’t got the conviction to give it back to her. Every time he casts a spell, bile rises in his throat and his lungs burn. Xaph’s concern brings cool comfort. A little.

“Did that locket help?” Xaph asks, her fingers leaving him to go to the chain around her own neck. It’s the locket Arabella’s mother had given her. It’s what allowed her to cast dancing lights, and he knows that if she was so quick to give up her mother’s ring she would give him this too without question. Gale pulls the necklace she’d given him earlier from his pocket. It’s still intact. “Hells, Gale, why haven’t you used it?” She wants to push the metal into his collarbone, where that tattoo forms a target, but she doesn’t. That would be crossing a line, surely, a line she doesn’t have permission to approach. He holds her gaze, but Xaph doesn’t back down.

“It won’t be pleasant to watch.” He tells her. Xaph doesn’t move, except to take the carrot and knife from his hand. She slices into the vegetable without looking at it, trying to instil a sense of normalcy and prevent the others from wandering over and whining about food. Gale lifts the silver chain until the crescent moon locket dangles in between them. He pulls it to his chest. To where his heart sits. As Xaph watches, his entire body reacts to the magic within the metal. What Xaph had thought was a tattoo, that circle with the spindly lines that reach up his neck and over his jaw, they shine. Bright violet, almost white. His back arches and his jaw clenches and the grimace on his face pulls the skin of his throat taut. His name falls from Xaph’s lips and she has to resist the urge to reach out and hold him in some way, any way. This is painful, that much is clear. That bright violet light lifts from the circle drawn in his skin and purple energy pulsates around him, a miniature cyclone that encloses him and Xaph. In the next moment, the purple stuff is pulled back into his body. And he breathes. Eyes closed. Still tensed. Xaph’s hand falls to his knee, the closest part of him, and the point of contact is enough to bring him back to earth. His hand is still pressed to his chest, rubbing the flat of his breastbone.

“Gale?”

“It’s working,” he tells her, “The magic is like a lullaby that sings to sleep the demon inside. A metaphorical demon, I hasten to point out,” he says quickly, “Unlike in your…unfortunate case. But I’m afraid it’s no less dangerous - and no less bound to wake up again to continue its ravages,” he hasn’t quite managed to slip back into his regular eloquent cadence, and his breathing is still heavy, “Such is the nature of all monsters.”

“I’m glad you’re feeling…better.” Xaph is hesitant to use that word.

“On the plus side, my tower in Waterdeep has never been so free of clutter.”

“Let me rephrase,” Xaph proposes, “I’m glad you’re letting me help you. Admitting yourself to aid is bravery in itself.” Gale’s glad that she looks down at her own hands because the warmth of her words hits him directly in the face and he knows he’s a terrible blush. She’s unendingly kind to him, and he doesn’t know what he’s done to deserve such softness from this woman. It’s the same softness she shows beasts three times her size. All of them strays, as Astarion had said.

“I know I ask a lot from you with few answers in return, but in time all will be told. I promise.” Promise? He can’t promise that. She deserves truth, but not that much truth. He can’t promise her this. It’s too much. She’s cupped her hands and brought them to her mouth, whispering words in a language he doesn’t understand. Magic blooms between her fingers, he can feel it, the thing in his chest lurching towards it even though it’s just been fed. The worm squirms in response, and he can sense hers moving in tandem. Still connected. The words are clearer in his mind, though he still doesn’t recognise them. Dearc fearrad. Yellow-green magic coats the tieflings hands. Chartreuse. Tendrils of it push out from between her fingers and form thin fern-like leaves, bringing light notes of fennel to the air. Matha súbh. Druidic magic, surely. Druidic language. Fás slán measan. When she opens her hands, they’re full of glowing golden berries. Gale opens his hands below hers to catch what she drops.

“Eat. They’ll help.” He obeys. It’s shaped like a raspberry, but it tastes nothing like one. It tastes like her, he realises. Or at least, it tastes like how she smells beneath sweat and mud and blood. Ginger. Saffron. Cherries, right at the end. A single strand of her magic buries itself in his chest and catches on his every breath, a string of green light arcing across the orb. The burning ache in his shoulders is cooled, just a little, and he can straighten his back without as much complaint as before. Goodberries. He’d read about these. A transmutation, taking threads of the Weave and sewing them into reality. To heal, to help. He eats another because he doesn’t know what to say, and because of a twinge in his chest behind where his hand still sits that has nothing to do with his condition. “I know we haven’t known each other long, Mr of Waterdeep, but you are my friend. You have kept my secret, and I keep yours. I care about you too much to watch you stumble around in pain. ” Friend. She cannot get further attached than that. She can’t. This is an adrenaline-allyship, fated by the worms in their heads and coincidence. Nothing more. Nothing good comes from trying to further a connection made through adventuring. A good shag, maybe, but now is not the time to think of baser wants over needs. He is her friend. She can’t keep looking at him, watching him eat. Xaph moves to put the other berries in a nearby bowl, but they go flying when Astarion plonks himself down next to her and bumps her elbow.

“Oh, sorry,” he says, with not an ounce of an apology in his voice. Before Xaph is forced to crawl around in the dirt to pick up her treasures, Gale waves a hand that lifts each and every one of them through the air and into the bowl. Astarion either doesn’t see this or doesn’t care, because he cuts directly to the chase, “Darling, Wyll’s bleeding and someone needs to take care of it before I do.”

“Fuck’s sake.” Xaph sighs, pushing up onto her feet. When she bends over to pick up her alchemy pouch, then the bowl, the open sides of her shirt fall forward to show the slight curve of her stomach and the red band of her small clothes bound around her chest. A mostly healed scratch sits on the side of her ribcage where she’d been hit earlier today. Once she’s collected her supplies she whisks off in the direction of Wyll’s tent. She taps a pole with her foot as a way of knocking on the door, then ducks inside. The tell-tale orange of her dancing lights makes the green fabric of the tent glow from within more than the oil lamp Wyll had set up. Gale pushes a third berry into his mouth and looks at Astarion, who’s looking at him as though he knows something and doesn’t like it.

“What?” the wizard asks, cherry aftertaste on his tongue.

“Don’t act so naive,” Astarion drawls. He reaches out as though to pluck dust from the shoulder seam of Gale’s robe, “I can hear it, you know, the way your heart goes pitter-patter-pit,” slender fingers tap dance on Gale’s shoulder, “Every time she calls you a good boy.”

“Excuse me?” Astarion is always forward, but this is shockingly so, “I’m not sure I understand what you’re implying-”

“Oh, yes, you do-” Yes, he does.

“She’s never said that.”

“No, not in those exact words, but that’s what it feels like she’s saying, isn’t it?” There’s stolen wine clutched in his hand. Is he drunk? Can vampires even get drunk? No, he’s not, Gale’s making excuses for him. Astarion pushes his whole weight onto Gale’s shoulder - bringing back the pain Xaph had just smoothed away - and stretches himself up to his full height, “Just bed her already, friend. If only to make her realise she has better options.”

***

Wyll and Lae’zel are on first watch, but the air isn’t cold enough to chill Xaph into her tent so she stays with them for a short while. They’ve hidden themselves in a copse of maple trees, which have proven to be common in this part of the world. Seeds twirl down around them on occasion, like shooting stars. Eleasis is drawing to a close. It won’t be warm enough to sleep outside for much longer. Xaph ensures Wyll’s arm is securely bandaged and will be kept clean until the cleric rises in the morning. Lae’zel stares up at the moon - if they didn’t know better they’d say she was misty-eyed - and shares her ambitions of becoming kith’rak, of battling among the stars, in the Astral Plane. Her voice is less grating now Xaph knows it, her heavy consonants mingling with the rustle of the trees and pausing for Wyll’s gentle requests for translation of gith words. Xaph is slowly drawn into sleep. A smile burns behind her eyelids.

She dreams. She hasn’t dreamt since the tadpole had taken her. It’s one of those dreams that tricks her into thinking she’s waking up, but her surroundings are entirely different. She lies on hard rock, blue grass brushing at her nose. White pinpricks in an endless lavender void above her, blocked by a face. Not Astarion’s, as had happened the other night. Another tiefling. Perhaps the most beautiful woman Xaph has ever seen. Her forehead is high and clear, and thick braids of hair are piled on her head in tiers. Her horns twist straight up, wrapped in silver ornamentation. Her eyes glow blue. She is familiar, and yet totally alien.

“I came just in time. You are transforming.” That voice. Xaph knows that voice, knows the way it echoes through space. This voice had spoken to her on the nautiloid. Xaph finds that she can move, that she’s in control of her body, and lifts herself onto her elbows and scoots backwards. She’s too close. Xaph can’t speak. She can form words but no sound comes out. “I saved you before.”

Before Xaph can even try to ask when, she’s falling. Falling from the nautiloid, but the wind doesn’t roar, her clothes don’t sting when they whip against her skin. She can’t smell anything. A scream builds in her throat again as she tumbles towards the beach…but she stops. Suspended upside down a few feet above the sand, the sky reverting back to that strange cool-toned void. The woman walks towards her, upright, and draws level with Xaph.

“And I’m here to save you again.”

Hadn’t Xaph wondered why the fall didn’t kill her? Hadn’t she been surprised by her lack of injuries? Can this be true, or something conjured by her mind to explain the phenomenon? Surely it can’t be divine interference - the gods wouldn’t touch her but to smite her - and it’s unlikely a devil would interfere with another’s investment or put on so pretty a show. The image of the beach recedes, the world turned until Xaph is the right way up. She sees a stone bench, wooden latticework with trailing ivy and unknown purple flowers.

“You will not become a mind flayer. Not while I’m around. I’ll protect you,” the woman stands. Offers Xaph a hand. It’s just a dream, there’s no reason not to accept it. Her grip is strong, the metal of her gauntlet should bite into Xaph’s skin but it doesn’t, “We haven’t much time, so listen closely,” she strolls casually towards the edge of the rock they stand on, indigo tail swaying. Xaph twists to look behind her and finds her environment has changed from a peaceful garden to something more like a temple. When she follows the mystery tiefling she sees little more than the same lavender colour, interspersed with bright spots, as far as the eye can strain, “There is great potential within you. It comes from that parasite. Your instinct is to resist the power it gives, but you must accept it. Nurture it. I will keep it from consuming you but for the sake of both of us, you must learn to wield it.” With a wide sweep of her arm, the rocks obscuring Xaph’s view clear. She has very few words to describe what she is shown. Another mass of rock, huge, that takes a bit of imagination to see the skull shape it forms. It is broken into shards, the empty gaps covered by turquoise and yellow energy. Shields. Flaming projections of people fly around it as the panes of energy pulse. “A fight for the fate of Faerun. A fight we are losing. For now. You can change that, but only if you embrace your potential.” There’s a moment’s pause. “I have to go. The enemy is closing in. I will be back.

Xaph wakes, really wakes, in camp. She’s lying on her stomach, her nose tucked into the crook of her elbow. She can smell the soil, her sweat, the leftover smoke of the fire. There’s a blanket over her shoulders. Thick, dark grey with crimson stitching around the edge. Wyll’s. He’s lying down. Lae’zel is curled in a ball next to him. Xaph crawls to them more than walks, leaving the blanket behind, needing to make sure they are asleep and not dead. No one is on watch. She grips Wyll’s shoulder and shakes him.

“Wyll. Wyll.” She didn’t know she’d miss her own voice so much. The warlock rolls over with a deep frown and hunched shoulders, but he wakes easily enough.

“Xaph? What happened?” his voice carries none of the signs of sleep. He hadn’t been out long, “We were…then…We were just talking, and then I was…dreaming.”

“Dreaming? Wyll, what did you dream?”

“I haven’t dreamed since our little cruise,” Wyll tells her. His frown remains, though out of confusion rather than irritation at being woken up, “I saw a man. A tiefling. He said he saved me, from the nautiloid.”

“That’s what mine said too.”

“What?”

“I had a dream. About a tiefling. Who said she’d saved my life before-”

“-and he would save me again. If we…”

“If we…” “If we open ourselves to further ghaik infection,” Lae’zel’s voice startles them both, Xaph’s tail whipping to the side. The githyanki is a light sleeper, it seems. That tracks, “It is a projection put forth by the tadpole. I have never heard of such a thing…but it must be. It must be.”

#rae's writing #baldur's gate 3 fanfiction #bg3 fic #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #bg3 oc #baldur's gate 3 oc #xaph [tav]#greensleeves #wyll ravengard #lae'zel #astarion #astarion ancunin #gale of waterdeep #gale dekarios #shadowheart

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much-obliged-timothy · 7 months

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Whumptober #13

Day 13 - Baldur's Gate 3 - "I don't feel so good"

I apologize for this being a day late, but I was away for a few days! This prompt is based on a note I found in game!

They stumbled back into camp, exhausted and ready to just eat and sleep. They’d gotten into a final fight on their way back to camp, draining the last of their energy.

“Astarion?” Tav asked as the man beside him staggered and nearly lost his balance. Tav caught his arm, holding on until he was certain Astarion was steady.

“Just need to rest, darling,” Astarion said.

Tav’s frown deepened. “I can smell food. Someone must already be cooking for us.”

Astarion waved his hand in dismissal. “I’m not hungry. I’m just going to…” He turned away, letting out an alarming cough into the crook of his elbow. He pushed his hair back, trying to shake the coughing attack off. “I’m just going to get some rest. Go eat, my love. I’m too tired to put myself on the menu for you tonight.”

Tav didn’t even dignify that with an eyeroll, because it sounded forced and strained. “Are you alright, Astarion?”

“Fine,” he said, a little impatiently. “I’m going to get some sleep.”

With that, he promptly turned and headed for his tent. That sent another spark of concern through Tav, because Astarion always slept out by the fire with the rest of them. He liked to be next to Tav, especially as their list of enemies grew.

Tav started after him, but Karlach caught his arm. “Leave him for a bit, soldier. You need to eat and I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“But Astarion is-” Tav started.

Karlach dragged him towards the fire, where the scent of a meal was growing stronger. “You’re checking on him after, obviously. Fangs is off tonight. But you haven’t eaten since this morning since you insisted on running errands while we got lunch. The more you complain, the longer it’ll take you to go check on him.”

That got Tav to reluctantly snap his mouth shut. He let Karlach guide him to the fire, where, sure enough, Wyll was making stew for them. Thankfully, it was done within minutes, and Tav sat around the fire with the others as he ate, his mind drifting to Astarion.

When he’d finished, he grabbed an extra helping to bring Astarion and headed for his tent, Karlach nodding in approval as he went. He approached the tent quietly in case Astarion was asleep, but heard that same alarming cough from inside.

He knelt in the entrance and peeked in. Astarion was on his bedroll, curled up with his arms wrapped around his stomach and his body shaking.

“Astarion,” Tav said in concern, reaching out.

Astarion slapped his hand away. “Leave me alone.”

Tav set his shoulders, refusing to back down. “No. Something is wrong. Let me help. I thought we were past this, love.”

That seemed to take some of the fight out of Astarion. He’d been working to be more open with Tav since they’d defeated Cazador, but it was a slow process.

“That…” He had to stop to cough more, groaning a little and holding his stomach again. “Dammit. I don’t feel so good. That’s all.”

Tav didn’t know enough about vampires to know if they got sick. “How can I help?”

“You can’t,” Astarion said, a little bitterly. “It’s my own fault. That man whose blood I drank during the battle…” He grimaced.

“His blood made you ill?” Tav asked, crawling into the tent and sitting next to Astarion. He guided Astarion’s head onto his lap, running his fingers through Astarion’s curls to try and soothe him.

“Stop that. I’m not a child,” Astarion said, but either didn’t have the strength to pull away or didn’t actually want to. “He must’ve had a blood disease. They make vampires ill, and while it’s miserable, it’s not for long. I’ll be fine by the morning.”

“Well, you’re not fine right now. Let me stay with you tonight,” Tav said. “I mean, if you’d like me to.”

“And have you see me like this all night?” Astarion scoffed.

Tav ran his hand through Astarion’s curls again, but this time stopped to cup the back of his head gently. He bent down and pressed a kiss to Astarion’s temple. “You’ve seen me in much worse shape, love. Even if I can’t help, at least you don’t have to suffer alone.”

Astarion closed his eyes for a long moment before tilting his head a little. Tav resumed running his fingers through his hair, relieved that Astarion wasn’t going to fight him on this.

He looked absolutely miserable as he suffered through his sickness, but there was nothing to be done for it. All Tav could do was stay with him and offer him what comfort he could until the episode passed. He knew he couldn’t physically help Astarion, but he hoped his presence was enough to make the whole awful ordeal just a little more tolerable.

#whumptober2023 #no.13 #i don't feel so good #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #fic writing #astarion #bg3 tav #astarion x tav #jtdoeswhumptober

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astarionsbeloved · 3 months

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Ny'fein Durs'rend'aen as a companion (aka: what if you could recruit redemption durge?)

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?

Ny'fein would be met on the Nautiloid, and then probably again immediately between Astarion and Gale. If for some reason you miss him there, you'll find him held captive by Kressa at moonrise.

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

Astarion: A Drow Bard? How novel. Though I wonder....Do you think he might know Drizzt?

Lae'zel: If we must.

Karlach: Do you think he knows Drizzt? Is it...would it be weird if I asked?

Wyll: He looks familiar but I don't know why. I'm sure he'll be a fine addition to our party.

Gale: I find bards quite fascinating, you know. Do you think he'd be okay answering some questions? Wait, why are Karlach and Astarion crowding around him?

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

Persuasion roll of 80 to keep him on the team if you recruit Minthara. As a male drow, he wants nothing to do with her.

What sort of general actions raise or lower their approval?

Ny'fein is a redemption durge, so while I'm reasonably certain his alignment pre-tadpole is true evil, post tad-pole he's chaotic neutral. He likes when you help people, he likes a good joke, and he's not going to enjoy it if you're cruel for no reason.

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

Recruiting Minthara, regardless of circumstance. Endangering children.

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

Ny'fein is made of secrets, since he's a bhaalspawn with a memory disorder. The first hints of something will happen at the goblin camp, when the three chosen look familiar even in silhouette.

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?

"Healing wounds": origin durge questlines about putting things to rights and regaining memories, and taking down the chosen.

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?

When asked to stay in camp, he would pull out his violin and simply start playing a dirge. When asked to go adventuring, he'd say "ever by your side" if romanced or "as you wish" if good approval. If approval is low, he'd literally just say "fine."

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

He's truly suspicious of Shadowheart, and while he doesn't dislike her, she puts him ill at ease.

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

Quill Grootslang, a dragonborn bard who comes to camp after you meet Alfira. Sceleritas Fel. Sarevok.

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)

He keeps most of those as inside thoughts, but once you've made it to moonrise his memory starts to come back and he talks a lot more. If you recruit him at moonrise, once you get to the city, he talks a LOT. There will be a special cut scene with Gortash and a separate one with Orin.

Story Specific

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

Ny'fein doesn't trust them but since they offered help with his memory issues, he's intrigued.

How do they advise the player character on Raphael?

"He looked at me like I was food, it made me uncomfortable" "I think we should avoid him" "My claws are sharper" "I feel like I've met him before"

How do they react to Astarion biting the Player Character?

"....how did you NOT realize he was a vampire. Wait, did NONE of you know? Seriously??". No approval loss or gain, but he's def a little jealous. Of both of you.

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

If he, Shadowheart, and Astarion are with you during the Abdirak scene, expect the banter to be sexually charged and absolutely inappropriate. He's _way_ too into it.

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

Very, very suspicious. No approval loss or gain, but they won't join Tav in consumption. Roll of 100 needed to convince them to consume tadpoles.

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?

if Tav sides with the goblins, they leave. If this happens, you'll find them dead in Orin's chambers just like you would find durge if they hadn't joined the party at all.

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

Ny'fein is a bard, so he'll be playing music at least a little bit. Other than that if he isn't romanced, he's flirting his head off with Rolan and Halsin, maybe even Zevlor.

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

only in so far as "Who are you going for so I don't go for them as well" and "I want to hear about it tomorrow" before sauntering off to his own conquest.

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

Seething anger. You will lose approval. He will pout.

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

He would sigh, heavily, and say "I'm putting that in the song, you know".

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

"I cannot express how much I detest you at this moment." "This isn't my scene" "Can't Astarion do it?"

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?

Since they're Durge, I'm inclined to think Orin would vastly prefer to kidnap them over the other companions. I think the deception would be revealed by "Ny'fein" trying to kill whomever they have the most party banter with, and the companions thinking they've given into the urge. When Tav gets to the temple, they have to use "Help" to free Ny'fein after the fight with Orin starts. From there, Ny'fein becomes the only playable combat character, forcing Tav from the fight and into the "sanctuary" area.

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

Ny'fein gets it either way, but since he's fighting so hard against his Urge, he'd be disappointed his friends succumbed to their desire for power.

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?

Ny'fein cannot offer to become the mindflayer, and if the player asks them to, their approval drops and Ny'fein will explain he only just got his soul, he doesn't want to lose it. Ny'fein will support Tav's choice but will not stay with them, romantically, if they become a mindflayer.

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

not answering since this would actually be Tav reacting to them.

How do they react to the Dark Urge killing Alfira?

skipping this one as well since they are the durge.

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

see above.

Romance

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

Ny'fein is romanceable. Tav would have to be supportive of them about their memory loss and trying to fight their dark urge.

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

They'd approach Tav if the approval is high enough, and they'd be very forward about it. If recruited at moonrise, their romance moves really fast and they're basically seducing Tav outright.

Are they a polyamorous or a monogamous option?

Poly! Theyr'e okay mono, but Ny'fein would really enjoy having multiple lovers, and they would support Tav exploring their emotions and sexuality with others as well.

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

Ny'fein's tent is bigger on the inside and Tav discovers this during the Tiefling party. They also discover Ny'fein is handy with a silence spell. Goofy, explicit scene.

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

The romance can develop in different ways depending on how the player interacts with Ny'fein, and I feel like there's a happy romance ending and a sad one.

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

A little spiteful and they certainly carry a grudge about it. Ny'fein immediately starts sleeping around, loudly, just to irritate Tav.

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

What does he desire most? What does he wish to destroy, more than anything? When do they feel most themselves?

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

Raised eyebrow, digging through their pouch, handing over a healing potion, a bottle of silver swirling oil that glitters, and a bottle that feels cold. "Trust me, you'll...you'll need these". They would want to participate after Tav x Halsin settle into their relationship.

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

Utter indifference. Their body, their choice. Though, they do worry a little about Tav after Haarlep.

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

They absolutely would, enthusiastically.

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

A nice quiet life, somewhere nice that's a city without a bhaalist presence. They'd settle down with their polycule or Tav, or just go off on their own. Ny'fein would likely open a small bardic school.

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

-Ny'fein is OLD. like, really old. But since he's bhaalspawn, he doesn't age properly on top of being notoriously slow-to-age-drow. -If Tav is evil, Ny'fein really struggles to stay in the party and if Tav wants to keep them it's constant persuasion rolls. -In act 2, if Kressa has Ny'fein, when you find him, he's is in the middle of being experimented on and uses the tadpole to call out to you. He compels you to rescue him and apologizes for it after. -I very much believe that if they're recruited at moonrise, they have an accelerated romance path with Tav, and are particularly inclined to romance Tav if Tav is with Astarion/Astarion and Halsin -I think that the moment he sees Gortash, there's an oddly intimate cut scene between Gortash and Ny'fein, with everyone kinda...lookin' on awkwardly. I think Karlach would be LIVID and need convincing to stay in the party after Ny'fein's past is revealed, especially because I HC Ny'fein and Gortash as former lovers. -I don't think Ny'fein ever met or knew Karlach, but I think Karlach wouldn't care too much about that. -Tav can kick Ny'fein out after learning who they are, and Ny'fein will still show up as a support character at the elder brain as long as Orin has already been handled. -As for fighting Orin, I feel like having Ny'fein in party means Orin has to be handled shortly after taking the rooms at the elfsong. It would be a timed thing and if it isn't handled, Ny'fein dies. -Sarevok would give Tav additional information and a map to save Ny'fein/take down Orin. -Orin will have definitely tortured Ny'fein. When you arrive at the temple, Ny'fein is very battered and bloodied.

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #liliana speaks #astarion's beloved fic #astarion's beloved blogs about bg3 #oc tav: ny'fein #durge tav: ny'fein #tav: ny'fein #durge #tav posting #tav questions #tw: torture mention #orin typical torture #kressa bonedaughter #canon typical violence

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