madisonhartmann-blog

[atlas-affogato]

Playing a male elf cleric just means the two twinks stay back and hurl spells from the bushes while muscle mommies Lae'zel and Karlach do all the heavy lifting

[feyascorner]

at the end of the day

summary. you and astarion have your first genuine fight and the other companions try to patch things between the two of you.

warnings. comfort/fluff

pairing. Astarion x GN!Reader

a/n. have not written an actual one-shot in a while omg,...

Breakfast is eaten in silence. One that's been extending far past its welcome date now.

Shadowheart grips her fork, feeling the flitting glances exchanged amongst the others around the table while she maintains focus on the two individuals sitting on opposite sides of the table. Your eyes remain trained on the bread sitting on your plate and Astarion swirls his chalice aimlessly in his hand, neither of you even acknowledging the presence of the other. The cleric grimaces as you stand suddenly, your chair scraping against the floor as you do so.

"Thanks for the food, Gale," is all you mutter before leaving the room with your plate in hand. Astarion rises from his own chair in an instant, huffing.

"I must take my leave as well."

When both parties have left the room, all five other companions stare at one another in a knowing silence. Lae'zel is the only one who doesn't seem the slightest bothered. Wyll is the one to break the uncomfortable tension in the air, clearing his throat after Lae'zel nearly bites her fork off. "I see they're still amidst their lovers' quarrel."

"What are they even fighting about?" Karlach groans, slumping into her chair with an exasperated groan.

"It was nice the first few days to have a good night's sleep without their incessant noises," Shadowheart grumbles, shoving an egg into her mouth. "But now, this is arguable worse."

"Should we...aid them somehow?" Gale blinks.

Lae'zel snorts. "They're adults, we don't need to coddle them, wizard."

Despite her words, they do find themselves a few hours later in unanimous agreement to do something to ease the unfamiliar dryness of the camp dynamic. It comes in multiple attempts. And to say few---if not all--were unsuccessful, is an understatement.

First, when out in the woods, Gale makes an effort to spark a conversation that would prompt both you and Astarion to join in. You nod occasionally, though lost in thought, while Astarion promptly ignores whatever he's talking about. It's a pathetic attempt that has nobody but himself babbling away, which earns a grunt from Shadowheart. It's enough to shut him up, thankfully.

Second, Karlach uses her uncanny ability to lift someone's spirits. Jokes, dancing, all that jazz. Even booze. She urges you to let loose, but all you do in response is smile at her apologetically while Astarion just glares off into space. Another failed attempt. Lae'zel pats Karlach on the shoulder.

Wyll tells stories of his monster hunting days which you usually take an interest in. Astarion naturally listens to what a monster hunter does when he's not hunting monsters, but that's all it is. You and Astarion only listen. There are quips and lingering questions, but neither of you ever direct it at one another, or bother to add into the conversation either. The sheer amount of teasing questions has Wyll's head spinning by the end of it. Lae'zel rolls her eyes.

Just when things couldn't possibly get any worse, you're ambushed. It's a small horde of goblins---nothing beyond your capabilities, but your companions do take some small scratches here and there. Somehow, though he rarely does, as he prefers staying behind you or Karlach, Astarion does too. And despite his efforts to hide it behind his back, you also didn't miss the cut lining Astarion's arm to his elbow. It's not deep by any means, and if it were your own injury, you'd likely just brush it off.

But it's on his skin, and he'd gotten it when taking a hit from an arrow that should've cut your arm.

Blasted hells, you think, as he shrugs it off. Even when you can clearly see him clenching his jaw to bite away the pain.

If battle won't be the end of you, you're sure your idiot of a boyfriend might be instead.

"Come here, you fool," you mutter, holding out your hand. He doesn't even consider the fact that you're mad at one another and immediately extends his arm to you. Habits, you suppose.

You mumble out a weak scolding as he watches you wrap the wound through his lashes. He shivers as you lather a cool ointment on the cut, hoping it's enough to soothe the pain before Shadowheart's recovered enough to properly heal him. He lifts a pale hand to your face, and for a moment, you think he might pinch you. Instead, he runs a thumb across your cheek, spreading the ointment on a scratch you hadn't even realized was there in the first place.

You meet his eyes, your own softening as he cups his fingertips around your cheek. The way he looks at you is overwhelming sometimes---like you're the only thing he gives a damn about in this world---but it's a welcome feeling when he hasn't even looked you in the eye this way in days now. For a moment, you realize you don't even remember why the two of you were mad at one another in the first place.

A laugh threatens to escape your throat. How childish, truly.

And then he flicks your forehead, unable to help the grin etching onto his lips when you blink in surprise.

"That was for making me sleep by myself for three nights."

You swat at his arm while he dodges each of your lazy attempts to get back at him. And though the two of you continue bickering, unbeknownst to you, you have an audience a good bit away, watching you return to your old ways after making them worry for so long.

"What a sight it is--to see young people in love again," Wyll smiles.

Shadowheart deadpans. "Isn't Astarion nearing 240?"

"Who cares?" Karlach shrugs, slinging her arms on either side of her companions with a toothy beam. "What matters is that they made up...and we didn't even have to help them."

[jellymellydraws]

Masterlist ~ << Previous Chapter ~ Next Chapter >>

Astarion x Dark Urge Chapter 22 -- All Fun and Games, Until It's Not Rating: E Tags: Angst, Fluff, hurt/comfort, slow burn

Chapter Summary:

Rose innocently teases Astarion while they finish cleaning up the worg pits. The elf, however, wasn't in the mood to play..

The tension which hung in the pits had finally released. Even Rose's held breath was free with the druid's agreement to trust in her plans. The group gathered around Halsin asking questions of their own; many of which took their leader by surprise. With respect for the time they already spent, the only request she made of her team was to keep questions short and direct. They needed the druid to disappear, and they had to return to Minthara before she became suspicious of their lengthy absence.

"I don't suppose you know anything about The Absolute's plans for a Duke of the Gate?" Wyll asked with hesitant hope on his tongue.

Again, The Blade was worried about The Kidnapped Duke. She expected the subject to remain on his mind, but asking the imprisoned Druid? The goblins wouldn't be stupid enough to spill their full plans in front of him right?

"If I were to guess, quite possibly to implant a tadpole within him," Halsin answered plainly, "for what reason, I can't answer concretely."

That was expected. But for Wyll, he sighed with disappointment. She quietly pulled out her journal and flipped to its backpages. Earlier, she had noted Wyll's focus on the Duke, but seeing as he brought the subject up at the next chance he got-- she'd make sure to talk to The Blade about it later. A small star was scribbled next to the note regarding the Duke, along with a curved arrow pointing to Wyll's name.

"When we freed Liam, he told me you joined to find the Night Song," Shadowheart asked, "I was wondering if you made any progress on that?"

Night Song? That wasn't a note she recalled jotting down. Yet, it was on the cleric's mind. Hm... Reviewing the page in front of her, nothing mentioning the night or a song to be seen. Beneath what she wrote for Wyll, she added another one.

Shadowheart -- Night Song???

"Their stout companion had a map-- or rather, I think it was a poem? Something upon his person that was to aid in finding a path to the Night Song," Halsin explained, "their contract only directed them as far as this temple, however. Without a description of what the Night Song is, I cannot say what they would be searching for. More unfortunate, he was one of those overcome by the goblins when we arrived. I cannot say what became of his notes after that."

"A shame..."

"Thank you for entertaining us, Halsin," Rose said. "If you're going to stay, we should at least send word back to The Emerald Grove that you are safe."

"Ah, yes of course." Halsin opened the flap from his pouch, which appeared comically small in his oversized hand. A scroll case was procured from it and gingerly placed into Rose's hand, "if you can get further from the temple walls-- maybe your camp, if it's far enough-- use this to send a message back to Rath."

Upon opening the scroll case, arcane sigils were penned onto rolled parchment. Some of the symbols resembled those she saw around the Grove, but nothing she could understand. Gale was close to her shoulder, trying to get a glance of the magical paper within. His silence signaled that even he couldn't immediately read the spell.

"Animal Messenger," Halsin explained, seeing the furrowed brows of both Assassin and Wizard, "the spell will recruit a small bird or squirrel to relay a message, in your words. This is a basic druidic spell, however, which means you should keep your concise-- or your message will be delivered incomplete. I will find your camp later. For now, I leave the Drow to you."

Rose handed Gale the scroll case for safekeeping before giving a firm nod to Halsin, "we've got it covered."

With one final look to his saviors, Halsin wished them well, and once again was engulfed in his warm golden magic. A massive form shrunk into that of a tiny furry rat, before skittering into one of the goblin burrows and disappearing from sight.

"If he could have done that the whole time-- why didn't he?!" Astarion groaned, "ugh, honestly," an accusatory finger pointed at Rose, "you need to start charging for the inconvenience."

"If that were to happen, how much do you think you'd owe her just for today?" Shadowheart smirked.

"Oh ha-ha." The elf sarcastically laughed.

Blood red were the threads which weaved together as her ideas budded, colored with half truths which dyed the fabric of her tale. 

'It was like that when they got there,' she would swear. 'The bear was long gone, not before spilling the blood of his captors.' 'The freshness of the corpses implied this escape was recent.' 'In fact, their diminished forces provided the opportunity he needed to make his escape!'

Yes...believable. They never met the druid-- never saw the druid. They got here, saw the corpses, and investigated before reporting back.

That could work...

However, there were fraying threads which threatened to undo the whole tapestry before it left the loom. Where did the grease come from, which covered the paws of the worgs? One of the ceiling braziers mysteriously plummeted to the ground, while its twin remained untouched; why? The giant spider --misshapen thanks to blunt force and oozing out of its slashed wounds-- could not have been killed by the bear, so who else would have done it?

Commander Minthara was sharp. Too sharp to miss these details, and certainly too sharp to allow Rose and her team to leave alive at the slightest whiff of a lie. 

If she was going to create a story, it needed to be believable. If there were any flaws to her story, she needed to explain them away.

And if the only flaw were to be found by investigating the worg pits, then maybe she should give no reason to investigate further.

It was coming together...

Step One: cover their tracks.

The pits were a mess of guts and rubble, courtesy of a wild bear charging through the whole place. Whatever body parts remained intact were slashed with Halsin's fury. Very little remained of her own group's influence. But what little did, needed to be dealt with to the best of their capabilities.

"Collect all your arrows and blades. Leave the corpses untouched. Any possible trace of our interference, I want it removed," Rose commanded from the stone railing, overseeing the lower pits as the natural acoustics carried her voice. "An experienced Commander such as Minthara would know the signs of disturbed bodies, I'm not taking any risks here."

Lae'zel pursed her lips, staring at the table she tossed aside when Astarion found the dead dwarf. But orders were orders. Without a second thought, the gith effortlessly lifted the table and slowly placed it back atop the butchered corpse. 

"I was looting that!" Astarion complained, holding the hand which narrowly escaped being crushed.

"We were given direct orders," Lae'zel said.

Astarion tutted to himself before rising to his feet and closing his bag. His glare lingered upon the warrior, but nothing was said further.

Gale leaned against his staff for support while casting mage hand around the place to pick up and carry bits and pieces of broken potion bottles. A cloth draped over his open palm, where the small shards were escorted and carefully covered. Stowing them in his pack, the cleverness of the idea struck Rose. By wrapping the glass in cloth, he would not mistakenly pierce himself when digging in his pouch. Simultaneously, it meant that the mess left from thrown grease jars and discarded potions, acids, and brews would not be found.

"You've done this before, I take it?" Rose smirked to the wizard.

"Ah, well you don't get to be of my academic level without a few broken vials," he chuckled, "although alchemists are more experienced in this realm, I'd imagine. I've had my fair share of destroyed potions-- or even shattered windows, depending on the study."

Another chuckle, but this time she saw a wince in Gale's eye. A guilty smile flashed up towards her, realizing he had been caught.

"I don't suppose...well, in my condition I was moreso hoping--"

"Do you need to go back to camp, Gale?" Rose asked, outright.

"That would be preferred, yes. Though, I suppose it'd be rather obvious if I were seen limping when I was the image of perfect athleticism a moment ago-- save for my knees...but that isn't new."

"Heh, give me a moment to think up a plan. I'm sure I can-- oh that cheeky little shit."

"What--"

"Eyes on me. Don't look away."

Gale stopped himself from his head turning. Rose maintained her position facing towards the wizard. From the corner of her eye, however, caught an interesting sight.

There, slinking towards the deceased heaps of worg corpses: silvery curls and pointed ears, Astarion. No one else around, and no doubt taking advantage of Gale distracting her-- leave it to a former Magistrate to prod at the potential loopholes in her commands.

"What is he doing...?" She whispered to herself.

No, it was way too obvious! Of course he knew she could see him-- hells, he was probably toying with her. Probably bored, now that she thought about it.

"Give me a second, I need to entertain the restless Artiste," She smirked, turning on her heel and quietly descending the steps towards their sneaky elf. 

"I said leave the corpses alone, Art-starion," she playfully chided, with her arms crossing casually over her chest, "that includes the hounds--"

"ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!" 

His shriek ricocheted off the stonework, striking her silent as the hiss of his last word pierced her ears. Widened amber eyes locked onto equally widened rubies once he realized that the echo originated from him. 

Whatever color remained in his face, drained. 

Lips fluttered as he scrambled to recover.

"I-I mean--" his forced chuckle accompanied the slow, practiced, straightening of his posture, "an honest mistake, darling. You know, Wyll hasn't found anything to hunt around camp-- not for lack of trying, of course. The wilderness has been rather barren, hasn't it? I had thought I was doing our ever hard-working camp a favor. Unless," he extended an arm to Wyll, gesturally dragging him into his performance, "you think tonight would be different; why shouldn't we take these back to camp? Maybe it'll taste like wolf meat!"

Wyll's brow raised in skepticism, as his good eye glanced over to Rose. 

"Well?" She pushed for his response.

"Well..." the Blade began.

She shifted her weight onto one of her legs, raising her own brow, "you're not going to buy this--"

"He's not wrong..." he admitted, sheepishly smiling as a guilty hand rubbed the back of his neck. The apologetic strain in his voice did little to sooth the pain caused by her head whipping around with incredulity. "I mentioned the lack of animals earlier today...especially in these last few days."

"Seeeeeeeee!" Astarion cheered, appearing beside the Blade, arm draped over his newfound ally's shoulders, "if Wyll agrees with me, then I'm not being dramatic! We do have a lack of food reserves, and --while we're being honest-- I'm not sure how much longer we'll be lucky with fishing." He flashed another smile to her, before his gaze trailed above her head. 

As she followed his line of sight, she caught what he had settled on. Above her, Alfira and Gale were watching from the destroyed railing, and a sparkle of opportunity glinted in the elf's red eyes. 

"And here," he continued, pulling his arm off Wyll and briskly returning to the worg corpses, "we have perfectly good, and fresh food!" Quick fingers swiped over his tongue, pinching out a tiny flame at the end of one of the beast's ears. "I'll admit, it's ratheeeerrrrr, exotic, but it's nothing our magnificent Chef Gale of Waterdeep couldn't handle with his magical cooking capabilities. Isn't that right Gale? I know we've had a rough morning, you and I, but maybe we can break bread and put that behind us? Hm?"

"You know..." Gale began to stroke his beard, intrigued by the challenge.

Rose pinched the bridge of her nose, "no, don't--"

"I once read a cookbook of classic Faerunian recipes which challenged ambitious chefs to use non-traditional protein substitutes." 

"You're supposed to be smarter than this..." she whispered to herself in defeat, rubbing circles in her temples as a headache formed. 

"All settled then!" Astarion clapped his hands together. "We take one dead mutt back to camp, Gale cooks it into something delicious-- a reward for a job well done today-- and everybody's happy!"

He emphasized each point with a step towards Rose, smiling proudly as he closed the proposal with a low bow.

She had to admit: it was his best performance yet. An impromptu act, left on the stage before her, and joined by the best co-stars he could have asked for!

How could she say no?

"No." 

Easily, and with a smirk.

Astarion's expression dropped like a porcelain vase falling off a shelf; shattered. That glint in his eye-- the hope, pride, and excitement-- gone, "Fine," he grumbled, dejected, "I'll leave the damned thing to rot..." He shrunk into a small, slouched, broken man. With a downward gaze and furrowed brow, he turned on his heel and slunk up the small stairway.

Watching him, her eyes softened and chest twisted painfully. The immediacy which he shifted from playfulness to melancholy...the Worg wasn't that serious of a matter to him-- was it...?

From the corner of her eye, she saw Wyll staring after the elf pensively. There was some sort of understanding within his gaze. One she couldn't place, nor could reason the source of. When his eye fell upon her, the disappointment pierced her like a true flying arrow.

Gods damn it all. She wasn't in the wrong, here! If they weren't undercover, she'd let him take both those worgs! Hell, if it weren't for that, she'd let Astarion take every corpse his little heart desired back to camp in a rolling cart! 

Didn't they understand that?! How important it was that they didn't fuck this up?!

Rose's feet moved her up the steps after him, before reason could find her in the growing mountain of her frustrations, "Astarion--!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," he whipped around, bowing sarcastically, "I forgot to ask: may I be dismissed? Or do you need anything, dear leader?"

This little shit, how could he be so fucking--

Her chest twisted again, now staring into his exhausted eyes. Dark circles pooled beneath them, made darker by how sunken they were. From within, she sensed a hint of pain. It was this same look, she realized, he had given her at camp earlier-- when she assured him that he'd be taken care of without owing her a silver piece.

“I was captured," echoed his voice from the previous night, "and kept as a slave," bearing a weight only the river could carry. "For the last two hundred years, that’s all I’ve been.”

...How could she be so thoughtless? 

Guilt snapped its jaws around her, overriding the mounting urge to retaliate against his insolence.

"...No," against all instincts, her face softened, "we'll finish up here. Take Gale back to camp with you and we'll meet you there."

"Tsk..." Astarion rolled his eyes, then pretended to examine his nails (which, again, were properly covered in leather gloves), "what makes you think I'm returning to camp?" 

"Fine, then don't-- I'm not going to stop you. But it would be a favor to me, if you snuck him out and dropped him off at camp."

"I'm right here," Gale chimed in, "and I'm not sure if I appreciate being spoken of like smuggled goods."

"Shut up, wizard!" Astarion snapped. "Ugh-- a favor, you said?"

"Add it to my tab," Rose said.

"Oh, I will." The Agitated Artiste glared at Gale, who looked more like he was trying to disappear than to be caught in his sights. "Come on, Gale. But if you pass out on the road, I'm leaving you there."

"Don't do that," she half-heartedly pleaded.

"Then I'm adding every inconvenience as an extra favor you owe me."

"How does that-- are you--" she shook her head at every possible rebuttal, "--okay fine, that's fine. Whatever it takes to get him there safe and alive."

"Pleasure doing business with you, I'll see to it the wizard makes it to camp in one piece-- one living piece."

Trepidation took over the wizard's face as he hobbled towards his irritated escort.

"I'm not going to carry you though," Astarion said as they walked up the stairs.

"That, I think we're agreed on," Gale responded.

Rose watched on as their back and forth quieted while their forms disappeared from the top of the staircase. There were probably better ways she could have handled that...

It also wasn't a very well-thought plan...

"Um, Rose..." Alfira's quiet voice approached her. When she looked over, the tiefling had an arm extended towards the bear-sized crater, "I'm not sure how we'll hide that." 

Ah, yeah that...might be a challenge. Pulling herself from her frozen stance, she sighed heavily staring at the massive hole.

On one hand, it would support her story that Halsin escaped after fighting viciously-- no sense in claiming there was a battle without signs that the goblins fought back. On the other hand, would this raise more questions? If the goblins could throw a bear with the power of the Absolute, why couldn't he be subdued?

Laying in a broken heap was Birka's corpse, the branded one. Her injuries would align with the story of a bear rampage. Perhaps this crater is merely evidence that she fought back?

Gods...there wasn't much else she could pull together with the scene.

They'll have to make due...

Next Chapter >> (to be posted)

[annakie]

So, some thoughts and screenshots on the first few hours of BG3 --

Indyara is my Half-Elf Bard. She's a character I have played in several D&D games, wanting to find a game where her backstory mattered and we actually finished the game. I'm actually in that game right now, playing every other Saturday morning, though there was one other game it... almost worked out for her.

Bard is my favorite D&D class, going back to when I played one in a 3/3.5e game for several years in the early 2000's, and I played BG1 & 2 with one.

Decently high CHA (16) but not sacrificing INT, DEX, and CON (14) while having a bad WIS (9) and STR (8). Let's see how that works out for her.

High Half-elf for that sweet CHA bonus and getting Firebolt, so I have an actual useful damaging cantrip. (Do not ask me for my diatribe about why everyone is wrong about Vicious Mockery being a good spell unless you want an earful.)

Absolutely fuming that they still are leaving the version number up and it's visible in screenshots. Cannot believe that oversight. Also that they leave menu buttons visible in cutscenes, what the fuck Larian? Found out last night that apparently hitting f10 should stop that, but that removes the entire UI and obviously you need to turn it back on. But for now my entire first day's of screenshots and videos look like ass and I'm mad about it.

Lots of screenshots and commentary below the cut. I didn't make it too far in-game and honestly I don't talk about the plot much.

Hey, look lady, we're both stuck here. Indy is very patient and diplomatic, whatever it takes to make it through every day as unscathed as possible, but this one might try that patience. At least she's useful. Let's see if we can make a friend.

Indy did save Shadowheart from her pod, but the way she and Lae'zel bicker is already giving her a headache.

Well this certainly is a development, and I'm sure whoever these two are will be completely unimportant in the hours to come.

I told myself I wasn't going to savescum when I failed a roll, but look, I'm not about to let Indyara Nat 1 on a CHARISMA check about magic when she very first meets the future love of her life. I reloaded this one.

Indy's initial impression on meeting Gale: a few seconds of "Wait, THIS is the one I'm going to fall in love with?" met with "Oh. I get it." a few seconds later. Very smart, polite, charming and funny? Sign me up, please.

Plus, we look great in screenshots together.

(Indy's hair is definitely lighter in sunlight than I intended, her hair was supposed to be brown with pink streaks (for bardic flair) but it comes out looking dark honey in direct sun. Ah well.)

A few minutes later though "Wait, this one is as charming and me, and extremely heroic? Are you SURE we made the right choice? They're both great. Can't we have them both?"

(Sorry Indy, we don't need two high-CHA characters in the main party. He's saved for another playthrough.)

Oh come ON. This isn't fair. Another one?

Poly mod... when? Or at least a list of who is officially OK with poly in-game? Shadowheart is growing on me, too, after a bit of a rough introduction.

I'm sorry, Astarion. I already took a level dip in rogue to be the party trap/lock skill monkey since we're bringing along the Wizard, Cleric and, for now at least, the fighter. (We'll see how long that lasts. This game needs more tank companions. Though I don't mind companions that are challenging, generally.)

I love having a camp again. Need better camp clothes, though, for all of us. I did do the Twitch Stream unlock thing, but haven't found those rewards in-game yet. Anyone?

Literally already started unlocking the Gale romance by the time I was just wandering around the Emerald Grove area. He loves almost every decision I make and I'm glad of it.

...of course there's a catch.

Hahahaha holy shit, Volo! I love being a bard in this game and loved bullshitting Volo, and he loved knowing he was getting bullshitted.

See, wasn't this a nice time, ladies, listening to this other bard sing? Let's have less bickering, more listening to Bards. <3

Astarion... I'm just not into Vampires. At least not with this character. Still, I like you. I wish I could have offered to help him find food here instead of just sending him away, but I let him down easy.

Indy found a cute hat at camp and is wearing the FUCK out of it. I mean look at her! And it helps with song of rest! (though it does considerably shorten her hair, but hey, it's a MAGIC hat so that's just part of the magic.)

I've played a Larian game or two before so I picked up Speak with Animals as one of my first level spells and do not regret it. However, I feel like I didn't help this Owlbear enough, though I let her and her cub be. Probably missed out on something cool here. Again, I'll pick it up in another playthrough. I'm trying to not google for answers to every puzzle this time and just play through blind.

OH HOLY SHIT WHAT DID I WALK IN ON. I'M SO SORRY FOR YOU AND FOR ME.

Oh no, Gale is into some other woman... oh wait that's Mystra. I get it, you're a wizard. And I'm a smart Lore bard who's also very into magic so uh, let's make some magic happen? Also, sorry we got this cutscene when Gale was at like 2hp so he's all bruised up. I love that it shows on the character models though.

Ohhh wait you DO want to make magic together? I'm down with that, and got to put bardic flourishes on all my responses to Gale's instructions. I LOVE this game, I LOVED this scene. Though I hate what the magic VFX did to Indy's face here.

Oh my God, is this the first flirt scene!?! Tell me it's the first flirt scene!!

I imagined slipping my hand into his hand on a romantic walk and... he liked it. This was very, very sweet. And getting to flirt over a shared love of magic was... *chef's kiss*

I'm also making great progress with Shadowheart. Okay, we can be BFFs. <3

Things to come indeed, Gale.

----

In Early Access I didn't get very far and honestly I think last night I made it about as far as I ever made then, or close to it. I basically went "Whelp I love this game, I don't want to spend my time playing through this now when I can go through it fresh later in like a year." (and then it was THREE, but that's fine.)

I'm fighting Phase Spiders but fuck that, I might come back when we all hit level 4. That fight sucked. I am trying to make "good" choices but have probably really screwed some stuff up. i feel bad that Astarion and Wyll get left at camp but they don't fit into my party makeup (I think I'll do a Paladin next and bring both of them along instead of Gale and Lae.)

Absolutely love all of the chances to shortcut quests and fights by Barding / persuading / lying my way out of it. So few things I don't love so far, though I definitely feel like I'm stumbling my way through the dark, not knowing if I'm doing the right things.

Can't wait to do almost nothing this weekend but play BG3. A full day of work, first, though. :(