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goldenflowers · 2 months ago

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I made a relationship chart for Elenion! I tried to use the colors to show how his dynamics with some of the companions changed throughout the game, but then I also rambled way too much under the cut! I may have written multiple lengthy paragraphs for almost all of them lol oops. Also, tumblr somehow kept posting this damn thing out of my drafts while I was still trying to edit it even though I swear I never hit the post button, so this might not be the first time some of you are seeing it LMAO but this time I actually mean for it to post.

Astarion - Elenion is super intrigued by Astarion when they meet because he's so obviously a vampire and how many bards can say they have firsthand experience traveling with a vampire?! But as they travel together Astarion gets annoyed at Elenion for insisting on helping everyone and they get annoyed back at him for being such an asshole all the time sooo there's a lot of tension there! However Elenion does totally lean into Astarion's flirting because duh, of course he's going to flirt with a hot, charming vampire?? But they aren't willing to let him bite them, and they also pretty quickly realize his flirting isn't sincere—after which they keep sassily flirting back at him anyway to mess with him.

But, Elenion is also perceptive enough to realize eventually that somewhere deep, deep down under all of that bravado and manipulation there's a real person who's hurting and could use a friend. Even after they've stopped with the flirting (once Elenion realizes he's catching genuine feelings for Gale), Elenion and Astarion still keep snarking at each other and trading playful jabs. Their dynamic becomes a friendly rivalry where Elenion challenges Astarion, calls him out on his shit, and forces him to grow a conscience, which is just what Astarion needs. Astarion also helps encourage Elenion to live for himself instead of giving a shit about what anyone else expects of him. So yeah, they end up forming an actual close friendship and in act 3 they annoy the rest of the party to death by spending way too much time in every clothing store in the lower city.

Gale - Gale is Elenion's best friend, his partner, and the love of his life. They clicked the second Gale mentioned that he has a cat and a library and writes poetry. They also both recognize each other immediately when they meet—Elenion hears his name and realizes they've just pulled archmage Gale of Waterdeep out of a portal, and Gale recognizes them as the incredible bard he's seen perform in Waterdeep who would always slip away from the crowd before he could attempt to speak to them. And really, that scares Elenion a little because the others not knowing who he is was actually kind of a relief. But he quickly notices that Gale… doesn't treat him like a mysterious, untouchable celebrity. He treats Elenion like a friend, like someone worthy of sharing poetry, magic, academic theories, and deep secrets with. And that means everything to them… which unfortunately also scares them. Because flirting is one thing but now they're actually falling for Gale and they don't know if a serious relationship is something they want.

He figures things out before much longer, though! The two of them come to realize that they understand each other like nobody else ever has, and through their relationship they each show each other that they're good enough to be loved as they are. And they're absolutely ridiculous about it with the way they'll stay up into ungodly hours of the night just. Yapping. Talking about anything and everything, having serious debates about the most ridiculous-sounding topics and reciting sappy poems at each other while the rest of the camp is begging these nerds to shut up and go to sleep. I have a lot of post-game thoughts about them but most important is that they're married, Gale is a professor, and Elenion quit touring and converted a house he owned in Waterdeep into a museum that he now runs (and finds ways to still incorporate his love of playing music and telling stories into) and which frequently collaborates with Blackstaff Academy. Elenion also still performs in the various taverns in Waterdeep from time to time, and the patrons are about to get very tired of all their not-so-subtle song lyrics about being in love with a hot wizard.

Halsin - Elenion isn't quite sure what to expect from Halsin at first, hearing how great he is from all the people in the grove—will the party really be able to trust him, once they find him? But when they do finally meet him Elenion finds that Halsin is kind, brave, and incredibly knowledgeable. Elenion respects Halsin a lot, they just wish he would've actually joined in on the tiefling party instead of standing in the corner! But over time they come to see Halsin as a calming presence, and someone who's been through a lot and has the stories to show it. He can definitely relate to Halsin's desire to just be himself and be free from the pressures of leading the grove. And he loves seeing the wooden carvings Halsin makes!

Jaheira - Karlach when meeting Jaheira: "OH MY GOD SOLDIER THAT'S JAHEIRA, THE JAHEIRA!!"

Elenion, externally: "Ah, yes, so it is! A name I've sung more times than I can count. Truly an honor."

Elenion internally: OH MY GOD THAT'S THE JAHEIRA!! Gods I had better make sure not to say anything stupid, it'd be just like me to mess everything up and make a complete fool of myself in front of her—

Yeahhh Elenion might admire Jaheira just a little but it's no big deal! They do not blame her for being jaded and wary of the party at first. Honestly, they completely get it because they'd probably be the same way in her shoes. She does not care at all about fame and prestige, which he really appreciates. And she's a grounding presence and he puts a lot of trust in her advice, wishing she could've joined the party sooner so he'd have more time to talk to her.

Karlach - Elenion is like, very scared of fire which is a bit of a problem at first because Karlach definitely notices the way they keep trying not to flinch when she walks by… But after the two of them talk that out and he accepts that just being near her isn't going to hurt anyone, he comes to really love her. They find her brash, boisterous energy a little overwhelming sometimes, but they love how much she still loves life in spite of everything she's been through. And they love that she's so open and honest, fearless in how she cares for others, and unapologetically herself. It's refreshing to him, inspiring even, because most people aren't like that—gods know he's definitely not like that and he wishes he could be. Once Karlach is finally able to touch people again Elenion finds out that she gives great hugs. On the other hand, though, she also has a habit of affectionately slapping him on the back so hard he almost drops his lute every single time.

Elenion is utterly heartbroken over not being able to do anything to save Karlach. It makes him feel useless and frustrated. He cries for her fate more than once—how unfair it is, that someone like her could be burned up by the world when all she ever wanted to do was live in it. But ultimately she ends up going back to Avernus, and when he hears about the forge during the epilogue he offers to help her in any way he can. After Karlach comes back to Faerun she visits Gale and Elenion all the time and keeps giving Elenion weird trinkets she found that she thinks they should put in their museum.

Lae'zel - Elenion's reaction to meeting Lae'zel is essentially "holy shit a githyanki?? who wants to ally with me and not brutally murder me?? this is awesome!" but then there's not. Exactly any time to try asking her questions about her culture and language while trying to escape from the nautiloid. And when she properly joins the party she's SO arrogant and pushy and mean and SO damn annoying and he hates her so much and she seems to hate him right back, but if she says her people will cure the party of their parasites then who is he to say she's wrong? Elenion respects her, if only begrudgingly, and they take her to the creche. Where they witness firsthand the way that githyanki children are indoctrinated into a cruel, militaristic world, and they realize that that's all Lae'zel has ever known. When she's branded a traitor by Vlaakith, he worries for her. Tries to let her know that he's there if she ever wants to talk. And in turn, she eventually tells him to quit hiding his feelings behind lies like a coward and just spit it out if something is wrong. So Elenion starts coming to her if they need to clear their head. She's someone they can spar with for a distraction, or chat with about their respective cultures and upbringings, or just... quietly exist next to, journaling or working on a song while she trains.

These two seem like the weirdest pair of besties but post-game they're SO close. When Orpheus told Lae'zel to come with him all Elenion could think was that he understands she loves her people but gods, shouldn't she get to just live for herself for once? To write her own story? He doesn't want her to go. He wants to help teach her to love Faerun as much as he does. So he convinces her to stay. And when she's not busy with other duties she visits Waterdeep frequently, sometimes bringing him Githyanki slates and relics for his museum, and Elenion always drags her along to be his shopping buddy.

Shadowheart - Shadowheart frustrates Elenion immensely, not just because she's prickly and rude but also because she's so closed off. Always dodging personal questions, clearly hurting but refusing to trust anyone, and... he understands that far too well and he hates it. The fact that he worships Selûne and she's a Sharran is also an obvious issue, especially because like, when Shadowheart reveals her past to Elenion it becomes painfully clear to them that she was a Selûnite who was kidnapped and brought into a cult and they just. They don't have any idea how to deal with that, how to help her break free from it. If they even can. Early on they try to be patient with her and not push her too hard but they also can't help playfully flirting with her a little, partly to see how she reacts but also because she's hot and mysterious.

The two of them definitely become closer once she rejects Shar, and seeing her tearfully reunite with her parents after so many decades apart makes him realize he should probably work up the nerve to visit his own mother, who he hasn't seen in years after distancing himself out of guilt toward his father's death. Shadowheart gently encourages him to do so and she's one of the companions who goes with him to support him after the final battle, when he can be sure that Gortash or Orin won't hurt his mother. He and Gale visit her at her family's cottage whenever they can, they send each other frequent letters, and he delights in all of the awful puns she shares.

Wyll - These two click immediately. Elenion genuinely thinks that Wyll swooping in and shouting "provoke the blade, and suffer its sting!" before slicing through a goblin is the coolest thing ever, and also—holy shit the Blade of Frontiers?? He has so many questions. He's already looking forward to writing about traveling with the Blade if he survives all this. And the more they get to know each other, Elenion realizes that Wyll isn't just a badass hero, he's also warm and gentle, artistic and poetic, and really funny. He's a warrior with the heart of a bard. Elenion flirts with him a bit early on but their relationship ultimately stays platonic.

Elenion hides their last name from the group at first (though most of them wouldn't recognize it anyway or wouldn't even care if they did), so even though Wyll knows of Elenion and has seen him perform before, he doesn't realize who they are. And they don't recognize him as Grand Duke's son. When these secrets come out, they connect over their struggles with their fathers' grand legacies and the expectations that have been placed on them, as well as the fact that Wyll was uncomfortable with noble life and Elenion is secretly uncomfortable with fame. They kind of have a mutual admiration for one another and they hype each other up and go to each other for advice a lot. So yeah basically they're besties!! At camp they swap stories about their lives, the places they've been and the things they've learned on their travels, bond over their mutual love of good art and good wine, and treat sparring like it's stage choreography. They stay the best of friends post-game and Elenion writes multiple songs about the brave heart and kind soul of Wyll Ravengard.

#star.txt #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #bg3 tav #oc: elenion silverdew #okay so. i wrote most of this stuff forever and a day ago and never posted it #so over the last few days i've been going back through and just kind of cleaning it up #but it's still so long. i think my edits accidentally made it Longer jfc #but yeah. i love all of the origin companions so so much and elenion does too #and i hope that comes through in this post if anyone reads it 💖#tbh i feel like i could've given All the origin companions the best friend label. he's really close to all of them #but ultimately i decided to reserve that for wyll and lae'zel only #(also his initial views on lae'zel do not reflect My views. i loved her from day one <333)

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