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“You make me feel like I’m not gonna burn everything I touch,” Karlach whispers. “You never were,” Tessa answers. “You were just waiting for someone who didn’t flinch.”

The Fire Within The Forest on Ao3

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Thinkin' about Karlach's parents, Pluck and Carelach - and how much they loved their little mite (here about three or four.)

Some head-canons:

I think of Karlach's parents as both being tieflings.

Pluck and Caerlach adored each other as much as they loved Karlach, which is saying a lot.

Pluck's hair is sunbleached from his travel as a porter.

Caerlach keeps her claws filed to not snag on cloth at her job as a laundress.

Karlach had more red in her hair as a child, and takes a bit more after her mother, appearance-wise (she still has horrendously sharp little baby claws here).

Pluck and Caerlach changed the spelling on Karlach's name to make it seem more 'Bauldurian' and to try to eliminate some of the difficulties Caerlach had with people saying her name wrong.

Pluck and Caerlach lived in the Tumbledown area outside of Baulder's gate until just briefly after Karlach was born, when they were able to save up enough to rent a tiny place in the Brampton district near Cliffgate. (Pluck and Caerlach took on the last name of Cliffgate when moving to the city, having had both painful relationships with their own families, more below, under the cut.)

Unlike Tav’s huge, predominantly tiefling family, both Pluck and Caerlach had human parents and come from backgrounds much harder on their tiefling nature. These sorts of stories are familiar to a variety of tieflings throughout Faerûn – even if Karlach and Tav have escaped that narrative themselves through their own family’s love.

Pluck was abandoned by his family as a child, somewhere between about five and seven when it seemed nothing would ‘beat the devil out of him.’ At that time his family simply left him in Scornubel (where they were passing through), continuing on without him, no further word or explanation given. This was probably for the best in it’s own terrible way, as any much longer with his biological family and he likely would have suffered worse and possibly lethal abuse. He ended up running with a little gang of street kids who looked after each other with almost nothing to their names, taking up whatever labor they could find to earn enough to eat. Scornubel is a constantly shifting city, and fortunately the kids managed to survive there through whatever means they could. The group changed over time, with members coming and going as their fortunes changed, but they looked out for each other. Pluck was old enough when he was left to never really shake the feeling of being unwanted, but he learned to be strong, shrewd, and clever for those around him.

Caerlach was raised by her mother alone, her father having left the family at her birth, believing Carelach to not be his own child owing to her 'devilish' features (although she was, and it is from his line of the family they derive, though he could not have known this). Her mother was distant to her, poor from lack of familial support because of her daughter (she was disowned by her family for the same reasons her former husband did), moving frequently to try to improve her station, and when Carelach expressed that she was ready to make her own way in the world as a teen, eager to see her out the door. While she did not suffer as much as Pluck growing up, that was a low bar to clear, and she knew herself to be a problem that made her mother’s life difficult (though she would come to accept it as no fault of her own.) They had a strained relationship of limited contact after Caerlach left, and Karlach never met her grandmother.

Pluck and Caerlach met in Scornubel as teenagers working odd jobs and immediately hit it off. It was a bit of a whirlwind romance, but everyone that knew them would have described it as idyllic. They never stopped ‘courting’ each other, never failing to jump at the opportunity to make their affections known in whatever way they could with their limited means. They were married just at the start of their twenties, and were going to stay where they were, but Carelach’s pregnancy came as something of an… accidental surprise. It didn’t take the two of them any time at all to decide to go through with the pregnancy and keep the child – while young, they were still eager to start a family, and to try to give the best start to it they could, they left for Baulder’s Gate, to give their kid everything they possibly could. They were good people, and even though they made it to their 40s, their lives were tragically short.

They poured all of the love they were denied into their very much beloved daughter Karlach. They may have been poor, but they kept a roof over their heads and food on the table, even when it was a narrow scrape and there was nothing else to be had. Karlach never wanted for a feeling of safety or affection, and while sometimes work meant her parents had much to do, they gave her all the attention they possibly could. She was their pride and joy, and she misses them sorely.

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it is your duty to hyperfixate on your ocs and make it everyone else's problem

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Patch 8 photomode my beloved

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fanfic writers are so fucking awesome man. they write novel length fics that are sometimes even better than some published bestselling books written by professional writers. like fanfic writers are professional writers to me and they gift us their masterpieces for free. they give us something we can look forward to after a long day. something from which we can seek comfort when life is hard. something that can be our own little getaway. in a world of capitalism, despite everything, they give us all of these for free. like holy fuck. shout out to every fanfic writer. I wish all fanfic writers a very ‘I love you with all my heart and soul. I thank you from the bottom of my heart’

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Karlach - Sun🧡 tarot card for @bg3tarotdeck I also have BlueSky now!

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Ya’ll, Tessa had been brought to life!! <3 I am in love with this portrait!! Thank you @eluvisen!!! <3

Commission for @kj-renee of Tessa Thornheart!

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Mama K <3

I don't think I ever posted this so here we are

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nobody asked for this post BUT has anybody talked about the beautiful metaphor of all the call and response choreography in the Wicked movie??? how the dancing shows the influence that characters have over each other. cuz im about to.

okay okay look at this. everybody at shiz copies Galinda during "what is this feeling"

okay standard expected yeah but THEN we get to "dancing through life" (AKA everybody's horny for Jonathan Bailey) and Fiyero has to "corrupt his fellow classmates"

WATCH them follow along! watch them LEARN the dance as his influence spreads over them. BUT not just them! because for the first time in her life, Galinda is NOT the center of attention. she's nor in command of the crowd and she JOINS IT. SHE JOINS THE CROWD.

now of course she eventually finds her way to the center, she finds a place of influence in the dance because that's who she is. When Glinda isn't in control, she joins the influence to take control of it.

but you know who isn't dancing? you know who's the one person refusing that call? of course you do you watched the movie too.

and yes. I know, those of us that are familiar with musical theater probably already saw all of this. but shhhh this is fun to talk about anyways. AND we're getting to the fun part. that's right... it's the

🧊🐟✨️ozdust ballroom✨️🐠🧊

now THIS is what's special about the call and response aspect of the choreography. THIS is the part that makes all of us cry whether or not we consciously realize it.

because whereas Glinda is able to FIND her place of control in the influence, Elphaba doesn't have that ability. she's NEVER had that. she can't join a crowd because she's different and she sticks out no matter what.

Elphaba has to do her own thing. She always has to go it alone. that's why this dance is so strange and so beautiful!! because it's so uniquely her! and THATS why the call and response motif of the choreography makes this moment so sad. because it's not just Elphie not caring what anyone thinks.

it's a desperate call for anyone, ANYONE to respond to her.

And Galinda sees her. FINALLY, a response. finally, Elphaba has broken through that wall. for the first time in her life, she's reached out a hand, and someone else took it.

and i just think that's beautiful. 🥺

i definitely have more to say about this but for now I will end it here anyways thanks for coming to my OZTEDtalk.

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Chapters: 9/? Fandom: Baldur's Gate (Video Games) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Karlach/Tav (Baldur's Gate), Karlach (Baldur's Gate)/Original Female Character(s), Shadowheart & Tav (Baldur's Gate), Brief Shadowheart/Tav Characters: Tav (Baldur's Gate), Karlach (Baldur's Gate), Shadowheart (Baldur's Gate), Astarion (Baldur's Gate), Wyll (Baldur's Gate), Lae'zel (Baldur's Gate), Gale (Baldur's Gate), Halsin (Baldur's Gate), Original Characters Additional Tags: Karlach Romance Route (Baldur's Gate), Karlach Needs a Hug (Baldur's Gate), Minor Shadowheart/Tav (Baldur's Gate), Shadowheart Needs a Hug (Baldur's Gate), Touch-Starved Karlach (Baldur's Gate), Kissing, Cuddling & Snuggling, Past Sexual Assault, Sexual Content, Hurt/Comfort, Soft Karlach (Baldur's Gate), Love Triangles, Friendship/Love, Drama & Romance, Canon-Typical Violence, Brief character death, Past Abuse, Suicide Attempt, Attempted Sexual Assault, Fluff, Angst, Soft Shadowheart (Baldur's Gate), Best Friend Shadowheart (Baldur's Gate) Summary:

Determined to escape her past, Tessa Thornheart is trying move on with her life in Baldur's Gate. That is...until she's abducted by a naultiloid and infected with a mind flayer tadpole. After the ship crashes, Tessa makes some new friends, all of them sharing the same goal of getting back to the beloved city. While Tessa tries to figure out a cure for the parasite and bond with her new allies, she unexpectedly finds herself in a love triangle with two of them: a guarded and complex cleric clouded in mystery, and a sweet, gentle tiefling with a malfunctioning engine for a heart.

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Prices:

Simple Bust 70USD

Portrait Style 1 75USD

Portrait Style 2 75USD

+5USD for complex elements (such as armour, elaborate tattoos, intricate jewellery etc)

If you'd like the invoice in AUD rather than USD, let me know.

If you’re interested, send me an email at elucommission@gmail.com. Please send me reference images, what style of portrait you'd like, a 1-2 sentence summary of your character’s personality and your username! I reserve the right to turn down commissions I am uncomfortable with.

I’ll send an invoice through Paypal when you’ve approved the sketch.

You can check out my art tag for other examples of my work.

Signal boosts are greatly appreciated!

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Summary:

Determined to escape her past, Tessa Thornheart is trying move on with her life in Baldur's Gate. That is...until she's abducted by a naultiloid and infected with a mind flayer tadpole. After the ship crashes, Tessa makes some new friends, all of them sharing the same goal of getting back to the beloved city. While Tessa tries to figure out a cure for the parasite and bond with her new allies, she unexpectedly finds herself in a love triangle with two of them: a guarded and complex cleric clouded in mystery, and a sweet, gentle tiefling with a malfunctioning engine for a heart.

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It makes me happy when they listen

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“How about a really mean goat?”

🥺🥺

🐐💖

insta | twitter | inprnt | redbubble

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The slow pan to Grace 😭😭😭😭

Since I keep mentioning it here's Freddie's solo during Cast a Spell

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Me every time I play this game

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Karlach just looked at a haybail and said "hay." She failed the perception check. Her go to thing is a pun.

This woman would absolutely say "hey girl, hay" and bust a gut laughing.

God, I love her so much.