#mystery for dammon

[csphire]

The mystery that's a part of Dammon's appeal and a solution to preserve it.

From this clip posted by Frazer Blaxland, provided to me by northlandcleric I'm starting to understand where his voice actor is coming from and can even respect it.

But it's also a really brilliant idea for his romance conflict and/or character arc. The thing is, Larian could keep some to most of Dammon's history and motivations a complete mystery. By simply having him struggle, dodge, or even outright refuse to open up about his past and present.

They could drop little ominous clues. Scraps of paper are found during his missions or around his tent in camp with drawn symbols not even Gale can recognize. For his character arc missions, he needs our help to collect a few mysterious items from various sometimes dangerous and highly guarded locations. But the problem is he won't tell you what they are, he refuses to show you them or admit why he needs them. They all just go into this peculiar box of his which he works on out of view of the camera. Much like when he was preparing a fix for Karlach's heart. It could cause the device inside to glow and make some chilling sounds that make us question our decision to keep helping him.

If that wasn't bad enough, there are odd things he mumbles to himself in passing you can't quite make out. We could have a cutscene where we catch him continuing to work on this mysterious device that he quickly hides away.

He could occasionally disappear from the game. As in, he's not available as a companion for a day here and there. He warns you this could happen beforehand and not to worry. Or there is simply a note he's left behind.

I should be back in a day, possibly two. - Dammon

When he comes back, and we ask where he went, he tells us he can't say. Sometimes, he comes back shaken or injured and still won't tell us what has happened or what's wrong.

His story is filled with all kinds of little things that would pique our curiosity and cause us to wonder and yearn for answers.

Perhaps the items he collects look to be transfered into a special locked chest at camp near his tent that he says is private and to not touch. And if the player doesn't listen, picks one surprisingly low roll lock, and opens it regardless, it provides zero answers. It contains just a few mundane, possibly sentimental items. What do these items mean? It doesn't matter, at least not yet, because it was a duplicate box. A temptation. A test to determine if Dammon could trust you, and you just failed it. Upon opening his chest, and violating one of his boundaries, he leaves the party and disappears forever. Or better yet, the game suddenly ends, and the credits roll.

What the hells happened?

We'll never know but we just messed up big time.

Why do I think this idea is perfect for him?

One Frazer wants him to be a man of mystery. Okay, that's valid. Here is your mystery, another paycheck, and more acclaim Frazer.

Two, because it's already set into Dammon's character somewhat. Upon minutes of knowing us, when he speaks of his time in the hells he outright admits, "I hope to forget most of it."

Again, that could be the issue the player character has with him. He simply doesn't want to talk about his past, his trauma, and possible sins. He wants to focus on the present and future with you and/or Karlach. Dammon can be a rather private and guarded character. Why is he like that? It's another mystery.

Being with him as a friend or lover is a complete leap of faith.

Perhaps he actually did, or was made to do, something horrifying and possibly unforgivable. If he confesses, maybe he fears it would destroy our warm view of him and the better person he wishes to be now. Maybe something unspeakable has happened to him, and he doesn't want to be an object of pity. He could be a god, a devil, a Great Old One, or something else in disguise. He could be from the future or an alternate dimension. Or maybe he's entered into an infernal pact of some kind that's bound his tongue on the whole matter. The list of what his secrets are can go on and on.

Then as his love interest or just friend, do we accept that he has a few secrets and respect his boundaries? Do we keep our hands off his metaphorical Pandora's box? Or do we break things off with him for refusing to trust and open up to us? Better yet, he could choose to break it off with us eventually or even leave the party for good if we keep pressing and again, open that chest of his.

This would allow us fanfic writers to go wild with theories. The fandom as a whole will debate over which ones seem more plausible. None of which the developers at Larian will ever confirm.

Parts of his past will never be explained to us the player.

Finally, after he's collected the last thing he needs, and fiddles with it after he places it in the box, it just winks out of existence. Maybe dramatically, it hums, levitates, and glows first then poof! A real "Stand back!" like it's going to blow up moment.

After it's gone, Dammon drops to his knees, shivers, and lets out this huge sigh of relief, maybe even laughs next. Make it a touch maniacal? Sure, that would make us sweat over if we did the right thing in helping him. Make us squirm Larian, please.

The important thing is, that whatever problem Dammon had is over... or is it?

The player character can ask him if he can now explain himself. If a friend, he'll just shake his head and thank us. If we have low approval with him, he'll just shake his head and apologize that he still can't speak of it and ask us to, yet again, drop the matter.

But if he's our love, he'll ask if we are sure we want to know and if we can keep a secret. If we vow to, he will lean in and whisper something into our character's ear. We the audience won't know what he's told our character. But at least now there are no more secrets between him and the one(s) he loves.

We just get to watch on as our character's eyes go wider and bug a little in shock as he whispers away. When he pulls back, we can choose to rush and hug him. So tight with an expression of utter belated fear of all that could have gone wrong on our character's face. Or we could choose to break up with him because whatever our character heard has damaged the relationship beyond repair.

Now that the player character knows everything they can consummate the relationship. Why now? Because full disclosure is sexy, and so is a good slow burn.

Oh, and remember those sentimental items? After telling us about his completed mission to our character, he finally shows us what's in that locked chest that had been a test of trust. The one we decide to respect his wishes and leave alone. He finally opens up about his past a tiny bit and talks about why each item he kept in there was so important to him. But of course, most of his trinkets will not be related to his time in the hells or his mysterious now completed task.

Later on, we can ask, "What in the hells were you thinking, taking all that on?!"

Dammon's response? He gives a sheepish shrug and says, "I think you know why. Everything is in order now. That's all that matters, my love. Thank you for trusting, helping, and believing in me."

To just a friend player character, who tries yet again for an explanation, Dammon will only offer, "Just know everything is in order now. That's all that matters, and you have my deepest thanks."

Again, to be clear, we the players are still kept in the dark. It will be only our romanced player character that will know what happened, and there could be an option to whisper Dammon's secret to others. That temptation could always be there among the dialogue options when speaking to the other companions. But kissing and telling will come with consequences. Anywhere from earning a large chunk of disapproval with Dammon to him outright breaking up with the player's character and leaving the party. Maybe he tells all to Karlach too or maybe not, it could all depend on your and Dammon’s relationship with her.

But no matter what, Dammon keeps a majority of his mystery.

Frazer is hopefully happy. We'll be happy.

Everyone. Can. Be. Happy!

If you agree, please consider sharing this to help bring it to Larian's attention. Feel free to discuss your thoughts in the comments below too.

Let's get Dammon into a starring role as an origin character and romanceable in a DLC to help feature the Artificer class!

[swordcreature]

Also if you're looking for hcs/things to write about, may I suggest how Dammon/Rolan/Zevlor show their jealousy? Say another handsome tiefling is flirting with you.

not gonna lie this got away from me more than i expected it to lol. thank you for the suggestion!!!!

Dammon, Rolan, & Zevlor - Jealousy

So this one isn't 100% explicit like my other HCs, but there are some mentions of sex sprinkled in. So standard MDNI/18+ still applies for the most part.

How the tiefling boys handle jealousy

Dammon: 

So I think how Dammon would react depends heavily on the status of your relationship.  

When you two are something more defined, it’s pretty hard to make him jealous. Not because he doesn’t care about you, but because he’s really secure in your relationship (whatever that may be) and he trusts you.  

That being said, he’s only mortal. Seeing another person flirting with you gets him a bit pissed off. Not at you, of course, but at the person flirting with you.  

He’ll come up to you and politely insert himself into the conversation, making sure to grab your waist a little tighter, maybe make a show out of pecking you on the cheek.  

Basically anything to show this person that you and him are something.  

And when the person gets the hint, he’s happy to have you all to himself again. It just ends up making him really appreciate how safe and comfortable he feels with you.  

When he gets you to bed though, he definitely can’t help but make some quip about the whole ordeal.  

Like he’d have his face between your legs and his fingers inside of you and feel the need to comment on how wet you get just for him, or how much he loves being the only one to see you fall apart.  

He just really loves having you all to himself. 

Now if you guys weren’t in a relationship of any kind, and Dammon sees someone flirting with you? That’s different.  

Because he doesn’t know the true extent of your feelings. So, even though he has an air of confidence around him, he still has doubts. And seeing someone else flirting, especially if they’re making you smile or laugh? 

Oh it’s torture to him.  

I see all three of these guys being really big tail swishers. They’re all like annoyed cats when jealous.  

But Dammon thinking you may be into this other tiefling has his tail whipping around the forge like it has a mind of its own.  

He may burn himself on the forge once or twice from how uncontrollable it is.  

He’ll grumble to himself the entire time you’re talking to this mystery person, mumbling under his breath. 

He thinks he’s fairly inconspicuous about it. 

He isn’t though. 

Rolan: 

God. Rolan. I have so many feelings about jealous Rolan.  

I don’t think he becomes jealous super easily or anything, but he does react the most forward about it.  

Rolan has this strange mix of confidence and insecurity, which I think would translate to his romantic endeavors as well.  

Like he’s confident that he can please you, he’s a capable man, a talented wizard, why shouldn’t he be able to satisfy your needs? 

But also, he’s hard to deal with, a bit selfish, an utter weakling, definitely not as handsome as this tiefling you’re talking to, so why would you want him at all? 

I could see those kinds of thoughts running through his head. Even though you don’t see him that way at all. 

So of course he sulks when he becomes truly jealous. The insecurities take over big time. Especially if the person flirting with you excels at something he doesn’t.  

He’s not mad at you or anything, he’s more upset that he doesn’t feel good enough for you. But he would take it out on you a bit. 

A little bitter comment here or there, maybe giving you a bit of the cold shoulder treatment. Because his first defense mechanism is abrasiveness. 

He hates himself even more when he snaps at you, but he just can’t help it. He’s just so consumed by the idea that he doesn’t deserve you. 

When you get him alone and have an honest conversation about his feelings, which will take some prying, mind you, he’ll apologize for everything of course. He does want to make a better effort to do better by you. 

And his first step will be to take you to bed and tenderly show you how much he cares.  

“Makeup sex” (if you can really even consider it that) with him is extremely intimate and sweet. He’s still going to fuck you deep, rutting against you desperately, but he’ll try to show you just how much you mean to him during.  

You, of course, just have to make a joke about needing to make him jealous more often.  

Zevlor: 

Zevlor is tough because, like Dammon, he tries to hide it.  

And I think jealousy for him is something less akin to true envy and more akin to self-loathing (which is a bit similar to Rolan, but I think Rolan does have a true sense of jealousy because he internalizes it as “I'm mad that this person excels where I fail” where Zevlor is more “I am mad at myself for failing where this other excels” - the difference being where they place the hostility) 

He knows you love him and trusts you implicitly, but at the end of the day, he loves you so much that he thinks you deserve “better” than him. 

So when he sees someone flirting with you, he excuses himself to be alone for a bit. He’s always been a very “enjoys watching others have fun” type of guy, so at first you don’t really see that anything is wrong. 

But then you notice he’s not really even sitting at the sidelines anymore, he’s just off somewhere else entirely. When you find him, he’s like staring wistfully up at the moon.  

If you know him well enough you start to pick up on the other little things that tell you he’s not himself.  

The flicking of his tail, his hands clasped tight behind him, not looking you directly in the eye for too long. It all makes you really sad, because of course you have an idea of what’s the matter.  

He’ll outright deny that he’s jealous, that he’s feeling down because of that other person, I don’t think he’d be the kind of person to really admit that. 

But once you’re alone with him he’ll open up to you about his insecurities and his worries about being able to make you happy the way someone else could.  

He is insecure about a lot of things and the last thing he wants is for it to become a pity party for him. He just really wants to be honest with you. 

Despite his protests, you still get to reassure him just how much you love him. Even better, you get to show him. 

Just like Rolan, the sex is incredibly heartfelt and intimate (because of course you have to show this man just how much you want him in every way). Lots of kissing and sweet whispers, light touches and slow thrusts. He fucks you like he has no other obligations for the rest of his life except to be inside you.  

And when you get to be on top of him, you get to worship him like the king you see him as. You ride him like a devoted soul prays at an altar of their god, his body is your absolution.  

[mimsynims]

Fool For Love

part 8

~~~

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7

~~~

Author's Note: Sorry this took longer than usual, it was a stressful week at work and I didn't have time or energy to write as much as I wanted. There will be at least one more part, but I'm hoping I'll wrap things up next time (but honestly who knows with these two)

More act 2 spoilers this time!

~~~

Astarion x reader/Tav

Tags: (mildish?) angst, pining, pining while fucking, jealousy, minor Karlach/Dammon, non-explicit injuries, eventual happy ending

Summary: You thought you knew what you were doing when you let Astarion into your bed. He doesn’t have feelings for you, and vice versa. Only…now you do.

Up until now, you’ve not been handling it very well, but you make an effort to move past it. Past him.

~~~

You keep your promise to yourself fairly well in the following days. The Shadowlands, as expected, keep you busy with new mysteries and clues — and plenty of battles — and most of the time, you manage to remain focused on the task at hand.

Perhaps your heartbeat picks up a notch every time Astarion is near, but you ignore it. And maybe, just maybe, you stare at him a smidge too long when he’s not looking, but only when you know it doesn’t pull your attention away from something important.

You’ve caught him watching you too, but you keep your distance. No distractions, not even for a quick roll in the proverbial hay.

Everything is going relatively alright — until it doesn’t.

Thanks to the psionic detector, the Githyanki ambush doesn’t catch you off-guard, but you learn quickly that you have underestimated the danger they pose.

Perhaps you all got too cocky these last few days — too many easily-won battles that have boosted your confidence into thinking that this too will be readily handled.

In retrospect, you should’ve returned to stock up on scrolls and potions before taking them on. Too late now.

It’s a drawn-out battle, wearing you all out little by little, but if it’s anything you and your friends are, it’s tenacious — and after what feels like an eternity, you’re down to one foe. It’s their leader, but even with all of you severely injured, you should be able to take them out.

You grin as Karlach deals a critical hit with her halberd, finishing the Githyanki off with a savage roar.

“Gods, that was close.”

“Too close,” Astarion says as he sheaths his swords. Things aren’t exactly good between you, but it has been getting better. “Next time we contemplate doing something this stupid, how about we don’t?”

“You’re just cranky ‘cause you didn’t get to bite either of them.” Karlach nudges him with a grin. “Isn’t that right, Fangs?”

You’re still laughing when something behind the others steals your attention.

One of the other Githyanki. You saw them get felled by one of Shadowheart’s spells, but perhaps they only got knocked out.

You stop breathing when you realise that not only are they alive — but they have an arrow notched, ready to fire.

And it’s aimed at Astarion.

It’s too late to stop the arrow as they, at that moment, let it fly — so you do the only thing you can think of.

“Tav, what–”

You push him out of the way, but it’s not fast enough.

The pain of the arrow piercing you is blinding; you think you might be screaming.

“Tav!”

You sag to the ground, and the last thing you see is Astarion looking at you with a panicked expression. At least he’s okay, you think.

After that, everything fades to black.

“…Calm down, Astarion, Tav will be alright.”

“They don’t look alright! Why aren’t you doing more?”

“The only thing we can do now is wait. If you can’t behave, leave. We’ll find you when Tav wakes up.”

You’re vaguely aware of the voices, but you’re not quite capable of parsing what they’re saying.

“Hah! And leave them alone with you lot? I don’t think so.”

Why does everyone sound so upset? You can’t remember, and before your mind is clear enough to figure it out, you drift back into unconsciousness.

Your mind still feels like a blur when you come to next. You think someone might be holding your hand, but it’s difficult to be sure when you’re groggy with pain. And you’re not ready to open your eyes just yet.

“Why, oh, why, must you always play the hero? And for me, of all people?”

You recognise the low-pitched voice. Astarion. Why is he here?

“So stupid.” What feels like hair brushes against the back of your hand. “I’m not worth you losing your life.”

“Sure you are,” you press out, because it’s that simple. “I’d do anything for you.”

He inhales sharply. “Tav? Tav, darling, open your eyes for me.”

You reluctantly do as he asks, and it surprises you to find him looking uncharacteristically dishevelled.

“There you are. You had us worried, you know.”

“Astarion.”

“I’ll go and get the others.”

“Astarion.”

Before you can stop him, he leaves, and when he returns with the rest of your friends, he sticks to the background, letting the others dote on you.

You want him to come back, want him to hold your hand again. If the others weren't around, you might have asked him to. Instead, you see him sneak out of the tent when Karlach starts admonishing you for your brave yet careless stunt.

You love them all so much, but in that moment you’re this close to telling them all to leave. You would have, if you didn’t know that they probably need this to ease their own worries.

Still, you’re eternally grateful when Shadowheart ten minutes later shoo everyone out of your tent. She’s about to leave too when she turns to give you a secretive smile.

“You said his name, you know. More than once. When we carried you back to camp.”

With a bone-deep groan, you hide your face in your hands. “Please tell me he didn’t hear.”

“Oh, he most definitely did. But you know how he is, after the initial surprise, his expression turned blank. But his eyes never left you after that.” She huffs a laugh. “Not that he let you out of his sight before that. The only one allowed to carry you was Karlach.”

It sounds too good to be true. “Really?”

“I thought he was going to attack Halsin when he bent down to pick you up.”

“Why would he do that?” It truly makes no sense.

“Jealousy, of course.”

“Astarion? Jealous?”

Instead of answering, she just gives you a wink. “Seems like you two have that in common. Now make sure to rest, alright? I’ll come by with something to eat later.”

“Right.” Your head is spinning, and not only because you're recovering from an injury. “Thank you, Shadowheart.”

You want to process everything you just learned but your body is not having it; in mere minutes, you’re back under again.

No one is holding your hand when you hours later rouse from sleep. Strange that, how your mind seems to have expected it just because it happened last time. When Astarion was sitting by your side.

Astarion.

You have to find him.

It still hurts like hell, but the pain level is manageable. Perhaps a grunt or two slips out of you as you drag yourself up to standing, but no one’s there to give you grief about it so it’s fine. It’s nothing you can’t handle.

It’s dark outside, but you should’ve known better than to think that that would be enough to let you sneak away unnoticed.

“And just where do you think you’re going, soldier?”

Karlach.

“I need to see him.” She already knows, so you might as well get right to the point.

She sighs. “You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?”

“No.”

“What if I go and find him for you?”

“Karlach.”

“Fiiiine. But only because I was already heading that way, anyway.”

“Dammon?”

Her besotted smile is a fetching look on her and you would hug her if you didn’t think it would hurt too much.

“Yeaaah. And last time I saw Astarion, he was heading in that direction.”

You don’t talk much on the walk over to the inn, your mind too busy going over and over what you want to say. What you want to ask him.

“You alright there, soldier?”

“Mmm, yeah. Maybe a bit nervous.” Because it’s truly dawning on you what you’re about to do. What if you’ve got it all wrong?

“Hah, trust me, you’ve got nothing to worry about.” Her gentle squeeze on your arm feels reassuring. At least a little bit. She glances over her shoulder at the smithy where a fire is still burning. “And this is where I leave you.”

“I’m happy for you, Karlach.”

“Thank you, Tav. I’d say good luck but I don’t think you’ll need it. Now go and shake some sense into the vampire of yours.”

“Will do,” you say, even though you’re not sure you mean it. Every plan you’ve made so far involving this man has gone sideways, so who’s to say it won’t this time?

Taking a deep breath, you find yourself remaining where you are. Stalling.

“Should you really be up and about, Tav?”

“Jaheira.” You are so caught up in your own thoughts that you didn’t hear her approach. Turning around to face her, you give her a small smile. “I have something important I need to do.”

“I see.” With a slight bow of her head, she acknowledges your wish for privacy. “It’s good that you’re here, I wanted to thank you for your help the other day. I’m not sure we would still be standing if it weren’t for you and your friends.”

“Trust me, I’m just as happy as you are about that. And you made quite the dent in enemy forces yourself, taking down several of those winged horrors.”

“Their deaths wouldn’t have mattered if you hadn’t dealt with Marcus.”

“Still.” Jaheira is a force to be reckoned with, no doubt about it. “We could use someone of your calibre in our party.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I’m needed here.”

“I understand.” Something in her expression tells you that she’s tempted. “Consider it an open invitation. In case you change your mind.”

“I will, thank you.”

“You don’t happen to know if Astarion is here somewhere?” You decide you might as well save yourself some time and ask. “Karlach told me she had seen him head this way.”

“He came here a while ago, yes. I think he’s down by the water.” She nods in the direction between the inn and the barn.

“Thank you.”

~~~

[solmesia]

Sorry that you're in pain, I hope you get relief soon!! Sending good vibes your way! Have some feel-good head canons (stuff I want to write 918273 fics about):

- Dammon, Karlach, and Wyll are a power throuple.

- Astarion is the group's hair stylist. He keeps everyone looking fresh because he refuses to look at their split ends.

- Halsin's menagerie of orphans includes Yenna and some of the tiefling kids (like Mirkon, too pure for Mol's hijinks), and he affectionately refers to them as his little ducklings.

- Astarion and Tav adopt His Majesty.

- The gang gets together for a fancy party. Like maybe Duke Ravengard holds a ball for Wyll's birthday or something and it turns into a DA: Inquisition, Winter Palace-style political plot/murder mystery thing so the gang's gotta get to the bottom of it, just like old times... except in masquerade.

[weaveandwood]

Weave and Woods Chapter 10: A Wondrous Thing

Gale/Named Tav | Slow Burn | Read on AO3 | Entire Work

Summary:

Auroria is exhausted from all the perils of the Shadow Cursed Lands and Gale tries his best to get her to actually sleep. The Harpers throw a party after a successful mission rescuing prisoners from Moonrise Towers.

He jumped up from the barstool and made a beeline for the door, pushing past a group of gnomes and two tieflings. Relief washed over him. They’re back, and they were successful. He went out into the courtyard, and saw her smiling and laughing, celebrating with some Harpers who had greeted her and Lae’zel first. She was safe, unharmed. She made eye contact with him and gave a small wave, which he returned. He felt his heart swell inside his chest, unable to be contained anymore. I love her.  He was a man possessed. He strode up to her, cutting through the Harpers, bypassing Lae’zel. He saw no one else but her. Only her. Always her.

AN: I love them so much. Thank you for reading this fluffy sweet chapter <3

“You look exhausted.”

“Thanks for pointing that out.” Auroria yawned, her head resting on the bar at the back of the Last Light Inn. “I am exhausted.”

Gale pulled up a stool and sat next to her. It had been a long few days since they got to the Last Light Inn, and she had been going non-stop, sleeping only a couple hours here and there between a flurry of activity. There was finding Dammon and getting Karlach’s engine fixed, getting her ribs crushed by Karlach’s first hug (and thirty seven hugs after that in the past few days), discovering the mysterious man sleeping in the room on the first floor, delivering the news to Arabella that her parents were dead, saving Isobel from a corrupted Flaming Fist, defeating a caravan on their way to Moonrise towers which granted them a pixie’s blessing to be immune to the shadow curse, and now she was developing a plan to both infiltrate Moonrise Towers and rescue the tieflings and the gnomes from the prison. She and Lae’zel poured over maps from previous scouting missions with the Harpers for hours before nodding to each other, satisfied with what they came up with. That was when she went to the bar by herself and finally sat down for the first time all day. 

“Why don’t you go take the night off and get some sleep?”

“If I take a night off, then these innocent people are still needlessly trapped in a prison and could die. We told them to come this way - I feel responsible for them. Lae’zel and I are going to go to Moonrise tonight. We can sneak into the prisons easily under the guise of being True Souls, and we have a real chance to break them out without violence. Or much violence anyway,” she laughed softly, trying to stave off the tears that threatened to form in her eyes from her deep felt guilt about her part in the plight of the tieflings.

“I’m worried about you.” He said as he reached out, covering her hand with his. “You don’t have to take on everything - we are all capable. I’ve asked you before to let us carry more weight - a burden shared is a burden halved.” 

Her eyes softened as she turned to him and she gave him a half smile. “After being on my own for so long, it’s hard to relinquish control. Please understand me, I’m trying, but I’m used to doing everything myself. If you were talking to the Ora of six months ago, I’d already be at the towers alone, probably getting myself killed or something close to it. At least now, I have company who can talk me out of anything extremely rash when I let my feelings guide me instead of my brain.” She sat up straight, raising both arms over her head to stretch. She saw his eyes flick up and down quickly, trying to be subtle - the stretch was a calculated move on her part. “I promise I’ll sleep tonight. Full eight hours and everything, ranger’s honor.”

“I’ll hold you to it,” he smiled, his warm brown eyes crinkling at the corners.

“Thank you for worrying about me. It feels…nice. No one has worried about me in so long, I forgot what it felt like for someone to care if I live or die.” Auroria reached out this time, grabbing his hand, intertwining her fingers between his. “You’ve shown me that care since the beginning of this strange journey. And…it’s appreciated. I just want you to know that.” 

He ran his thumbs over her knuckles, a soft laugh escaping as he nodded. “Perhaps taking care of each other is what we do. You’ve done that for me since I confided in you about my condition, almost no questions asked. How could I not do the same for you? Our party would suffer greatly without you. I would suffer greatly without you.” 

“Well, I would imagine, since I’m the one who got all those magical artefacts for you,” she teased, trying to clarify for herself if he was speaking pragmatically or something else. She hoped it was something else.

“You know that’s not what I meant, Ora,” he said softly. 

Her face flushed slightly, the tips of her ears turning pink as she considered the implications of what he was saying. She leaned forward a little, closing some of the distance between them. 

“Hmm. And what did you mean then, Gale?” She smiled at him, her eyes taking in his handsome face as he looked at her like she hung the moon. Please let him love me , she pleaded to no one in particular. 

A throat cleared behind Gale. Auroria looked over his shoulder and saw Lae’zel, standing with her arms crossed. “It’s time.”

Auroria nodded, trying to mask her internal disappointment. “Alright, let me go get something I can smash things with.”

“Smash things?” Gale asked, brows furrowed in confusion, the lines between them becoming prominent. She loved those lines that showed up when he was deep in thought. 

Auroria smiled brightly at him. “We’re going to break down the back walls of the cells. The scouts said the tower hasn’t been maintained well so it should be relatively easy as long as we can get out before they realize what we have done.” She watched a smile grow on his face. “Good plan, don’t you think?”

“An excellent plan, though I’d expect nothing less from you. Take my quarterstaff, it’s been quite the asset for me, very useful in smashing, and I would love for it to be in your capable hands,” he said, motioning to the staff that had been leaning against the bar. 

“Thank you, I’ll return it in one piece when we get back, hopefully with freed prisoners and a good story to tell.” Feeling emboldened by their conversation, she kissed his cheek as she got up and picked up the staff, meeting up with Lae’zel who was already waiting on the other side of the room. 

“Well, things with you and Gale seem to be going…well,” she said. 

Auroria smiled. “I think so, too. Now, let’s go rescue some prisoners.”

******

Gale waited at the bar, watching the door for Ora’s return. After getting hugged no less than four times by Karlach, he sent her to hug Astarion, much to Astarion’s dismay. He heard the barstool next to him scraping as it slid back and found Wyll now sitting beside him. 

“I saw you and Ora talking earlier, before she left. It looks like things are blossoming between you?” he asked, having become a confidante to Gale over these past weeks regarding Ora. Gale couldn’t believe he was ever even remotely jealous of Wyll for being someone who so easily could wear his heart on his sleeve. He very clearly loved her as well, though Wyll took time to clarify after the Bibberbang incident that it was just in a friendly manner. The two had grown close ever since, finding they were similar in many aspects, namely matters of the heart. 

Gale nodded, “I must confess, I wasn’t expecting it. How could I? Cast aside from Mystra, cursed orb, locked in my tower for a year of my own volition, tadpole abduction. Who would have thought it would lead me to her?” He took a sip of wine. “Now with Moonrise Towers and Mystra’s command looming over me, I wonder if it is fair to continue on as we are. A small, hopeful part of me believes that time must not be wasted, though.”

“You know me, Gale, I am a romantic. I say go for it - don’t waste time. Love is the most powerful thing on this plane and is capable of working wonders.”

“Perhaps you’re right. I’ll think it over. Thank you, Wyll,” he nodded as Wyll got up to go get his hourly hug from Karlach, who was proving to be quite the menace now that she wasn’t dangerous to touch.

Hours passed. He tapped his fingers on his thighs as he drank wine and read from a book he had found laying around, forgotten by someone. Attempted to read, really - he had glanced over the same four pages at least ten times. He felt the tug of Mystra’s command once again and shook his head as he contemplated the moment of the Absolute’s destruction as well as his own, closing the book and downing the rest of his wine when he heard a commotion outside. They’re back.

He jumped up from the barstool and made a beeline for the door, pushing past a group of gnomes and two tieflings. Relief washed over him. They’re back, and they were successful. He went out into the courtyard, and saw her smiling and laughing, celebrating with some Harpers who had greeted her and Lae’zel first. She was safe, unharmed. She made eye contact with him and gave a small wave, which he returned. He felt his heart swell inside his chest, unable to be contained anymore.

I love her. 

He was a man possessed. He strode up to her, cutting through the Harpers, bypassing Lae’zel. He saw no one else but her. Only her. Always her. 

“Gale? Are you oka-” 

He put his hands on each side of her face and kissed her deeply, surrounded by cheering Harpers, and even a smiling Lae’zel, who he thought he heard say “ Tchk. Finally.” The feeling of her lips against his was everything he thought it would be - no, it was more. It was perfect. And when she closed her eyes and kissed him back? No magic in all the planes could even hope to compare. 

Reality came trickling back in, slowly, then all at once. He broke the kiss and stepped back, clearing his throat. “Ah, apologies, I got caught up in all the celebrations. Congratulations on a successful mission,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Ora laughed then, and handed him his quarterstaff back. “Well I suppose if that’s the reward for a successful mission, I’ll have to make sure to be successful more often.”

A Harper came up, shoving a cup of wine into their hands - everyone was in a celebratory mood, a tangible success after so much hardship and turmoil was much needed. She clinked her cup to his. “To a successful mission, a safe place to camp, and good company.” They both took a drink before she was pulled away by Karlach for a welcome back hug. They were surrounded by people and yet his eye was only drawn to her. Her bright smile and cheerful laughter were a salve in this blighted land. 

He raised his cup, “To you, Ora.”

The evening passed, the celebration finally dying down after the revelry lasted well into the night. He found Ora back where their day had started, with her head on the bar, struggling to keep her eyes open. Drink and lack of sleep were most likely taking a toll on her, though at some point in the evening she did have the foresight to remove her armor.

“Ora, I don’t think you will last another minute if we don’t get you to bed,” he said, sitting next to her again. She opened one of her eyes and smiled at him from her uncomfortable resting place. Oh, she is definitely exhausted.

“You want to take me to bed, Gale?” she giggled before sitting up and leaning over to him. “I want you to take me to bed, too,” she whispered in his ear. She is exhausted and definitely drunk.

He smiled and laughed softly. “Yes, I want to take you to your tent and put you in your bedroll so you can get that full eight hours you promised me this afternoon, remember?” He took her hand as she stood up and supported her as she walked so she didn’t lose her footing in her state. 

“Hmm, too much wine, not enough sleep,” she slurred, leaning against him. He tried not to think about how good she felt pressed to his side.  

“Yes, exactly.”

They continued walking to their campsite, nestled at the edge of Isobel’s ward to protect from the shadow curse. He led her to her tent, settling her down onto her bedroll, sitting beside her for a moment. Just until she falls asleep, he told himself.

“There we go. Now, eight hours, no less. If anyone even thinks about waking you up early in the morning, they will have to face an angry wizard armed with a fireball and a big stick.” That got a laugh out of her as she got comfortable. He would cherish that sound until the end of his days.

“My hero.”

He moved to get up, to allow her her privacy but she didn’t let go of his hand. “Stay with me tonight?” His heart dropped. He wanted to more than anything, but not with her in this state. He didn’t want to take advantage of the situation, but he also didn’t want to hurt her feelings, put any cracks in this beautiful night, this wondrous thing happening between them. He smiled and kissed the back of her hand.

“I would love nothing more, Ora, but you need to sleep, and I need to be able to guard your tent in the morning.” He moved to cover her up as she hummed in agreement, eyes already closed. He brushed a stray hair from her face and stayed beside her until her breathing deepened and she fell into a serene, restful sleep. 

Back in his tent, he thought he might explode, even with the orb stabilized. He wanted to tell her everything. His feelings, his fears, his desires. He wanted to kiss her without apologies, without excuses about being swept up in the moment. He wanted to hold her in his arms while they made love under the stars. He wanted it all with her, and hoped that she wanted the same, even considering…everything. 

Tomorrow. Tomorrow he would tell her, and he knew exactly how.

I love her.

[cartwrightandtenner]

Rise from slumber, Detective Cartwright, there is work to be done.

Case 2 has officially begun and the audience can now place their actions. Thank you for your patience.

Cartwright and Tenner is a choose your own adventure mystery horror comic in which you the audience can suggest actions for the main characters to partake as they investigate their cases. To suggest an action, all you need to do is comment (Either on patreon post, on here or on the latest panel on the website) about what they should do! Patrons do get early access to the comic and tend to be favored!

Feel free to be as detailed as you want! If you make a long post, try to provide a summary in a similar vein to something like this:

"Action: [Investigate] X"

"Action: [Talk] to X about Y"

"Action: [Pick up] X"

"Action: [Cast] X"

Feel free to comment , suggest actions and speculate!

I will be trying to keep at a steady pace whilst I prioritise working on commissions. I still want to make this comic as good as it can be, so I hope folks will understand the slower release schedule.

Credits: Glaz (@RotundFox) - Artist and Writer Simmy (@SimmyWuff) - Writer and Editor Selph (@KaboomPanda) - Editor Dee (@WtfGayLilBadger) - Editor Jack (@BigCritterJack) - Story Submmission Coordinator and Creative Consultant Jacob Gregory Dammons (@cherrydadgreg) - Creative Consultant Hiro (@HiroRwar) - Proofreader

[the-mic-drop]

Zelink gets Isekaied into BG3 Pt4: Moonhaven and Karlach

Zelda- High Elf Draconic Lineage Sorcerer

Link- Half Wood Elf Champion Fighter

So far: Zelink, Gale, and Astarion have come clean about their big secrets.

The party wakes up and Zelda is surprised to find everyone is tending to look to her for direction and instruction. Link gives her the all ready signal to move out before she can consider how she became the leader of this little group.

They run into Edowin's corpse and Zelda hears the Dream Voice for the first time. It fails to tempt her to absorb the tadpole.

After meeting Scratch and the Owlbears, the party makes their way into Moonhaven.

It turns out that being a demi-god who has lived for untold millennia being backed up by another demi-god and a handful of very capable-looking combatants makes you very persuasive to goblins. As such, they make it into the Blighted Village and rescue Barcus.

They take care of the well spiders, find a forge in a basement, and make a deal with an articulate ogre.

Another basement yields a mysterious magical mirror that lets the party in because Zelda was nice to it. In the adjoining room they find a VERY spooky book that Zelda gives to Gale for safe keeping, much to Astarion's chagrin.

They continue north, passing the love shack because Zelda is not interested in investigating at all.

Raphael appears in front of the party for the first time and Link is instantly been him and Zelda. Raphael offers his bargain and is shut down hard. He leaves in a huff and the group discuss what just happened.

Wyll is most vocal about resisting the devil at every turn, Astarion is more open to it but ultimately, Zelda voices her policy of avoiding Raphael in the future.

They cross the bridge, deal with the Gnolls, and find Karlach. Zelda talks down Wyll by appealing to his empathy and common sense. Karlach joins the party!

They make short work of the "Paladins of Tyr," and everyone clears out while Karlach lets off some steam.

When Karlach cools off (relatively speaking) Zelda is very concerned about her. She reaches out to touch the Tiefling, but Karlach leans away just in time before explaining the whole situation with her heart, her heat, and her story.

Once her concern wears off, Zelda asks as many questions about the infernal engine as she can before Karlach just firmly suggests she ask an infernal mechanic instead. That is enough to get Zelda to warp the party back to the Grove to talk to Dammon.

After getting Karlach's heart tuned up, Zelda has plenty of questions for Dammon and the two chat for a while about infernal machinery which allows the party to take a short rest.

During this rest, Karlach asks Link the question everyone else was a bit too polite to ask; what's the deal with him and Zelda?

[forgeofthenine]

Wouldn't it be cool that Larian gave us a mini adventure where your companions are some of the NPCs of the game, such as Alfira or Rolan, and that gives you the possibility to have some subtle slow romance options to interact with them?

For me it would be awesome. Not to say that I would gladly give some extra money if that meant that my Tav can have some sweet moments with the fav blacksmith.

Like, I can perfectly imagine how (since the VA of Dammon does not like the idea of a romance route, affirming that once the players can "have" him he might lose his charm and mystique) during the adventure, your character is able to have some bonding moments with the NPC you choose in order to have a more deeply connection and could aim into a beautifully strong friendship or aim into the beginning of a romantic interest. But just that.

Either friendship or the beginning of "what it could be". Getting the tension and the vibes of romance but never actually getting a kiss or a more physical option.

Just let my half-elf character have a nice "no-date" with Dammon where they spend all night long talking about their interests and at some point he tries to show her how to properly hammer or do some blacksmithing stuff by helping and correcting her posture from behind. Like in Ghost.🥲

I can totally understand why Frazer doesn't want Dammon to be a love interest, and he brings up a great point with the mystery aspect, but I would love a patch or a dlc that adds more to the NPCs.

Even if we don't get romance routes (though both Rolan and Zevlor would slot perfectly into being love interests, though I digress) I would like more options to flirt and/or chat with NPC fan favourites like the tieflings (Alfira, Cal, and Lia included) and others like Rugan. Really, I just want more content for our favourites, and having Dammon and Rolan hanging around in act 3 is nice, but I'd still like to at least be able to get my first on with them instead of just having to think it in my head lol

[butwhatisit]

Friends I have been reading BG3 fic for so very many days now and my recommendation to you is that you read the Hellion's Heart series by @mel-0n-earth. It's two sides of the same story, where Tav and Dammon have anonymous sex but uh oh what will happen when they figure out who their mystery lover is oh noooooo

It's so good! A real stand out work, and I do so love to see my boy in action (so to speak). I probably don't have to say that it's smut but it is, gang, thank god.

[rinwellisathing]

Get to know my OCs: post-adventure family life.

Most of my Tavs are parts of the same polycule in various different ways so they are mostly still a found family post game also with updated older models:

Sentry Ojeda:

Traveling with Astarion before they settle in a home in the city, sometimes they stay a few weeks with Halsin in his village. Sentry has twins with Halsin a short time after defeating The Elder Brain. He also sends a letter to the daughter he had with Gortash, hoping her adoptive parents will give her the letter when she's old enough. He writes mystery novels and copper dreadfuls and after one accidental oversleeping incident which resulting in him turning in his journal instead of his manuscript, he is the author of a wildly successful vampire romance novel.

Jaina Thalassia:

Already pregnant with hers and Wyll's first child by the time of the final battle. Unfortunately, without the tadpole suppressing it, her illness returns, a disease common to her specific subrace of sea going Tiefling which causes bad atmosphere to slowly calcify her lungs. Wyll goes to help Karlach in Avernus, meanwhile Jaina uses her free time now that her illness keeps her from working to collaborate with Rolan and Dammon on ideas to fix Karlach's heart. She and Wyll have two children and she has one with Halsin as well after time in Avernus with Karlach convinces Wyll that storybook love can still be shared.

Octavia of Creche K'liir:

Becomes Morena Dekarios' second favorite person in the world after her marriage to Gale. Takes easily and happily to learning how humans live, cook, keep house, and care for family. She adopts an abandoned Githyanki egg, which hatches into a daughter she and Gale raise together. Visits Baldur's Gate frequently to see her brother and friends.

Kroger of Creche K'liir:

Starts a free clinic in the lower city with Shadowheart's help, joins Wyll and Jaina's family as well. When Shadowheart has a daughter, he helps raise her alongside Wyll and Jaina's children. He also works tirelessly to try and cure Jaina of her chronic ailment and save her life.

[csphire]

A hint of duality in Dammon

"It's been a while since I was able to work with anything from the Hells. I won't say I miss it, but... well, maybe I do." - Dammon

He's not all sweetness and light but then none of us are. This quote above only shows up when he's speaking with Karlach in her origin playthrough. Barely into Act I, and it's already been eye-opening.

Because of their shared experience in the hells, he seems comfortable admitting he misses working on infernal machinery to her while offering up a perhaps knowing half-smile. Whereas with a Tav or Durge, he'll only comment on being awed by the power of them all wide-eyed and slightly horrified.

Keep in mind infernal machinery requires souls to power them. Again, the destruction of souls. We are left here to wonder if he feels conflicted over this fact, tries not to think about it too hard, or perhaps deep down doesn't care. Like Karlach, Dammon might be just as guilty for the destruction of some souls while in the Hells too.

This might be a part of the mystery Frazer is talking about. However in a DLC his whole character arc could be a collection of more of them.

"Should we really be helping him? Why won't he tell us what he's really up to? What is he making? Why do we need these artifacts?"

He won't or can't tell us. It's a leap of faith with Dammon that in the end, we helped him create something for the greater good. But I'd like to think the writers and Frazer could also play it all up with a hint of a villainous edge. Leave us forever wondering if we did the right thing. Thus allowing Dammon to retain most of his mystery.

More about this idea is below:

💡The mystery that's a part of Dammon's appeal and a solution to preserve it. 💡

[swordcreature]

How about HCs about how would dammon rolan and (if you write for her) alfira feel/react to about a shy but beautifully stoic tav of a few words that needs alittle time to open up to people that they cant help fall in love with ❤️

*writes a short little series of drabbles in response to this ask*

*goes back and rereads the actual ask*

*realizes it says HCs*

welp it was nice knowing you all i'm going to fling myself into the sun now!!!

these are basically more nuanced HCs if you squint right? RIGHT??

anon i am sorry i missed that part hopefully you like these as they are

also i actually had a lot more fun writing Alfira than i though i would (though i don't know how much i can write for her in the future because her and Lakrissa are actually wives and will be together 4ever hehe, how could i break that up?!?!)

anywho ty for the request ily very much *smooch*

Dammon, Rolan, & Alfira - Stoic Tav

How the tieflings fall for a Tav of very little words

Dammon: 

Dammon loves people. Despite being introverted it’s one of his favorite things about working as a smith: getting to meet others he would never get to meet any way else, working with people who he’d probably never speak to otherwise. So, at first his infatuation with Tav is an extension of that. They’re silent, but not awkwardly so. They’re easygoing but not boring.  In short, he’s perplexed by them.   They are a mystery to him and the part of him that’s a problem solver is intrigued. So Dammon tries to learn more. He asks questions when they’re around, innocuous and simple questions to break the ice, to hopefully get them to open up.  Every answer Tav gives him, no matter how small, is like a log tossed into a fire, fueling his desire to know more about them. He never presses though. He takes his time, advancing when they are willing to give and falling back when they show hesitance.   Somewhere along the way something changes, and Dammon is no longer unraveling Tav to solve their mysteries. Instead, he’s unraveling them to see what lay underneath because he likes what he’s seen so far. He likes Tav.   No. He’s falling for Tav. The quiet comfort they offer him as they sit around the forge, the sweet, shy smiles they hide when he says something stupid but funny, the way they carry themself with a silent confidence unlike anyone he has ever known before.   It’s all the little things he’s come to notice during his time figuring Tav out. But it’s also the trust they put in him, opening up little by little until Dammon could see their bigger picture. He can’t help but to fall hard.  

Rolan: 

Tav is a frustrating conundrum if you ask Rolan. Annoyingly heroic and unabashedly good, but still somehow blissfully quiet. Rolan was used to the boisterous hero type, the kind with a cringe worthy moniker, boasting about their brave adventures over the fire and a tankard of ale.   But Tav... Tav is silent. Almost to a fault. Rolan could probably count on one hand the number of words Tav has spoken to him, which somehow makes him even more vexed.  Surely it couldn’t hurt them to accept his apologies with warm regards. They never do, instead only offering a simple nod and a smile.  And even after Lorroakan is dead and Ramazith’s tower is left to Rolan’s whim, Tav hardly says a word. It’s only when he thanks them for what seems like the millionth time in just a few tendays, asking them why they’re just leaving the tower in his hands, that they speak – saying something that catches him off guard completely.   “There’s no one better fit to run this place than you.”  And suddenly Rolan is the one without words. Something in him changes like a switch being flipped. He stops talking so much and actually listens. What he hears makes him realize what he’s been missing out on all along.   It isn’t that Tav is quiet. No, Rolan just hasn’t been observant. He sees quickly that Tav doesn’t talk with their words, but with their actions; fighting for those they care for, standing up for what they believe in.  And through those actions Tav is very loud. They’ve bled for Rolan, risked themself for his family. He feels stupid, blinded by his own struggles to see what was in front of him.   After that he spends a lot of time around Tav with his mouth shut and his eyes open. And eventually Tav starts to talk with words too. 

Alfira: 

Lihala’s voice would always fill Alfira’s mind in times when words seemed to fail her. Her teacher was better with words than she, more adept at weaving together prose that would bring even the most hardened warriors to their knees. She envied that about her.  Still, compared to Tav, Alfira was a bloody lyrical genius.   Not that Alfira minded at all – in fact the opposite was true, she found Tav’s lack of verbosity to be endearing. They listened better than anyone she had ever met – something very important to a bard like Alfira – and they were extremely receptive to her work. At least from what she could read on their face.  Sometimes though, in the strangest ways, Alfira would see Lihala in Tav. The way unbridled emotions flit across their face when they were comfortable, the way they chose every word they did speak with the utmost care. For the quietest person she knew, they had a way of making a big impact.   Of course, they weren’t always so completely stoic. The more and more Alfira saw of Tav the more they’d dare to speak, slowly sharing themself. Those times were Alfira’s favorite.   They reminded her of the first time she had heard a bard play in the town square of Elturel. She was so enraptured by the thrum of the music as it filled the cobblestone streets that she barely said a word.  In those moments, she knew what it felt like to be Tav. To not need words to experience the world. To listen rather be heard. A novel concept for someone like Alfira, to be sure, but one so utterly wonderful she appreciated it all the same.   She thought about her past with Lihala often, about how loud and discordant the world was without her sweet poetry in it. But then she would think of her future, of Tav, and about how harmonious the world could sound if she just stopped and listened. 

[junowritings]

Can I request a match up for Baldur's Gate 3 please?

My preferred pronouns: she/her

My partner preferences : Male except Raphael, Emperor, Cazador, Thorm, and the Withers!

My personality : I'm shy, timid, quiet & polite to strangers. With people I'm comfortable with, I'm loud, outgoing, playful, mature, responsible, motherly(to naughty friends), childlike(to mature friends/family) and sarcastic (unintentionally).

I'm kinda tomboyish as I wear over-sized t-shirts, baggy pants, sneakers but don't play sports or video games. I'm a slow learner, not smart, not strong, and not talented.

I'm pretty dense, straightforward, oblivious, and naive too.I get confused or misunderstand what people meant easily so it's best if you tell me straight to my face so I can't be mistaken. I'm also touch starved as I love giving & receiving affection but I only can hug one person and even then, I do my best to not overdo it.

I'm a hopeless romantic, dense, sensitive, forgetful, unreliable, & overthink often. I work as hard as I can & try my best & be careful as I can to everything I do, as I'm pretty clumsy & makes mistakes more often than most people. I try to help my family and friends as they've helped me & cared for me dearly.

I try to communicate properly & ask for their consent first before doing anything because I misunderstood that I had their permission before. I do my best to give people the benefit of doubt but I do have my limits. I don't really get angry often that even my family & friends are surprised when it happens once in a blue moon.

I don't believe in compliments I get occasionally or why my family & friends care for me because I don't see good things in myself only bad things.I'm kinda perverted which contrasts my innocent & baby face. I keep it to myself though. I always need to let the cinema employees check my identity card to verify my age whenever I watch a R-rated movie.

Although a kind stranger realises I'm older than I looked when we talked about how I didn't lashed out in anger at someone who didn't do anything wrong to me because I know how it felt to be in that position

Hobbies : drawing, reading manga, listening to music, fanfics especially reader inserts, and watching anime, movies, & cartoons. My favourite genre is romance but I love comedy, mystery, action, sci-fi, fantasy, and historical too! My favourite music genre is pop, but I also love ballads, & alternative rock!

Likes : music, fanfiction, manga, anime, cartoons, books (If I find it interesting), family, friends, potato chips, chocolate, cakes, bread, anyone who is kind, patient, supportive, helpful, tries at least, trustworthy, responsible, fair in general, respectful, flexible, honest, open-minded, humble, sincere, accepting, thoughtful, encouraging, forgiving, careful, understanding, wise, mature, cooperative, caring, etc. That's more but that's all I could think of

Dislikes : anyone who's rude, disrespectful, doesn't listen to others, refuse to admit mistakes, blames others for their mistakes, ignores people yet demands attention from them, demanding, won't acknowledge what you said, hypocritical, biased, irresponsible, careless, disloyal, inconsiderate, insensitive, inflexible, petty, hostile, untrustworthy, immature, uncooperative, unforgiving, judgemental, narrow-minded, self-centred, unethical, self-righteous, etc. That's more but that's all I could think of

Please & thank you!

Of course you can hun! Hell yeah first match up for BG3! Thank you so much for the request and I do hope that you're doing well!

Now without further ado, I match you with...

Hun you deserve a whole lot of love, and no one is more willing to provide it than Dammon! 

Dammon has an affable personality - warm and easygoing to everyone he’s crossed paths with. It makes even some of the most hardened hearts melt like metal over a forge fire, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself warming up to him faster than you’d expect. 

The first few times that the pair of you meet it’s understandable to be shy and quiet. He’ll respect that you may not be the most outgoing around someone you haven’t gotten the time to know. He’s happy to be the mediator for you; he’ll fill in the gaps with idle chatter as he works, prodding with the occasional curious question about yourself or your day if your comfortable. Honestly he’s content to simply exist in your space until those short, polite responses of yours begin to ease into something more genuine - something a little more you.

He admittedly feels proud when you begin to open up around him, since it’s a sign that you’re feeling more comfortable around him. It’s exciting seeing you acting more carefree and loud! The playfulness and sarcasm is a pleasant surprise for him. Dammon can sometimes be downright wicked, so if you’re in any playful kind of mood? You guys go together like a match and oil, much to the detriment of any friends in the vicinity. Plus, even if you don’t notice you’re being sarcastic, the snort and poorly concealed chuckle from the tiefling wherever he is becomes enough of an indication - he can’t help but get a little kick out of the confused look you give him till you clock onto why he’s so easily amused.

You say you’re untalented and not smart, but Dammon will be firm in insisting otherwise! The look on his face the first time you’d said it, so casually as though it were the truth - it genuinely left him speechless. He’d stop whatever he’s doing to move over to your side, taking your hands in his and tugging you so close like his touch will somehow convince you that he means it when he tells you that couldn’t be further from the truth. There's no missing the way you view yourself with a critical eye, so he delegates himself to professional encourager to balance that out - actually called himself that once and will actively do it again if it so much as gets a smile out of you. Not to mention it’s a wonderful excuse to shower you in praise every chance he gets; which with his penchant for encouraging words and teasing means you better get used to being on the receiving end of his endless affections. 

Dammon’s a quick learner. Once he notices that you struggle with misunderstandings he tries to keep in mind to be a little more straightforward in conversation. If he notices in conversations with others that whoever’s talking has lost you with what they’re doing or saying, Dammon doesn’t think twice about subtly leaning in to fill you in on the blanks. He wants you to feel included and doesn’t want you feeling left out - he’s a considerate guy!

Say goodbye to being touch starved because this man is HERE. Dammon gets fidgety when he’s got nothing to work on; he’s so used to working with the heft of tools in his hands that they feel a little emptier without them. Before you two became a thing he’d bring some of his tinier passion projects to tinker with outside the forge, eager to tell you all about them since he doesn’t want you to mistakenly think he’s uninterested. After that though things are still the same, just that these projects have now been replaced by you. Honestly if he had his way he’d always want to be touching you in some way - and if you’re comfortable he will! His hands will always seek out yours for comfort, giving reassuring squeezes when he catches you overthinking. 

Soft touches to your arms, along your back, wherever this tiefling can reach he’s there - there’s just so much of you to love! And when his hands are occupied his tail is right there, circling around your wrist or curling round your hip to keep you in his space. Be sure to give him plenty of love too! Communication comes into play a lot here - Dammon will reassure you every time that he wants whatever affection you’re comfortable to give, but he appreciates that you check in beforehand; it’s a sweet gesture.

Let him listen to your music! He’s got a tendency to get any kind of music stuck in his head even after the first listen; Alfira’s tunes back at the Grove always had him tapping out the notes with clawed fingers along his workspace. Cutest thing is he doesn’t even know he’s doing it - please point out that he’s tapping out a tune or humming along to one of the songs you’d shown him under his breath; he goes copper up to his ears whenever you mention it.

Enjoys hearing about all of your interests, but the pair of you really hit it off over the books. On the road there wasn’t much time or luxury to expand on his reading aside from the few things Dammon brought with him; and books that could be carried on the move were hard to come by. Now that he’s settled in Baldur’s gate he’s set on spending more time doing stuff he enjoys - he’s more than earned the rest at least. And what better way to spend that time than being cuddled up into your side, content to read either alongside you or while you’re enjoying your other hobbies. Dammon’s a sucker for any kind of domestic intimacy like this, and he’ll share the books that he has with you if you’ll do the same. 

That being said, there's no way he’s giving up that one book in his room easily, at least not until you two have been together for a while. Though, that resolve lasts about as long as it takes for you to kiss the guy till he can’t think straight. 

Needless to say, Dammon’s certainly smitten with you.

[shewhowas39]

fuck it. i'm doing it. starting a tarot deck prompt tag here. i'll always include a pick of the card and what deck i'm pulling from.

***

Title: "You've Got This" Card: Queen of Crosses Deck: Favole Tarot by Victoria Frances Ship: Karlach x Shadowheart Rating: Non-explicit Warnings: Mild sexual references, swearing, and some light Juniper & Starlight spoilers.

Summary: Karlach reminds herself that she's a sexy badass before making a move on the girl she likes.

Karlach glances around, ensuring that she's not being watched, before swiping the hand mirror from Astarion's pack.

She'd seen him using it before and been absolutely baffled - until she realized he mostly just stands around with it, huffing dramatically, until June comes over to tell him he's pretty. She's seen this happen more than once now, and it's hilarious every time.

Gods, she adores that pointy faced little man.

But he doesn't need the mirror right now and she does. She quickly runs back to her tent before stopping to check her reflection. She moves the mirror around so she can look at her face and neck from every angle. Are her horns looking shiny? Has she gotten all of the blood off from the fight earlier?

Or did the blood actually make her look better? Maybe she should go out and find some Absolute cultists to kill before she does this?

Karlach takes a deep breath, shaking off the string of nervous thoughts.

"You've got this, Karlach," she tells her reflection with the same determination and enthusiasm she would use to give her companions a pep talk. "You're good looking and funny and you kill things so good. You're a catch!"

In the nights since Dammon had fixed her engine, making it so she could actually touch people for the first time in a decade, she'd kissed countless Harpers and tiefling refugees in the tap room of the Last Light Inn. And she'd never felt a moment of insecurity. She knows how hot she is - ha! literally! - and worst case scenario, they'd turn her down and she would move on to someone else eager to get ot know Mama K.

This is different, though. This isn't just some random person she'll never see again. This is her friend. Her insightful, mysterious, sexy friend. She doesn't just want to kiss her at the bar or even carry her up the stairs to share a locked room and a night they'll never forget. Though that sounds really nice, too.

No. She wants to do this the right way. The Wyll Ravenguard way.

She can hear Wyll in her head already, cheering her on. Telling her to chase her heart's desires. She isn't nearly as romantic as him - and certainly not as chaste (at least, not by choice), but he has a few good ideas in that cute head of his.

Karlach knows now might be the worst possible time. They have this fucking Shadow Curse and Ketheric Thorm to deal with. But based on the way two beautiful green eyes have been looking at her these last few nights, she thinks this might be her shot.

And by the hells, she has waited too long for this sort of opportunity to miss it because of a stupid, evil, life stealing curse and a few hundred cultists.

"This is your shot," she tells her reflection again. "You'll regret it forever if you don't take it. And you're looking great tonight. Blood or lack of blood - doesn't matter. You're a babe." She winks at herself and then giggles at the absurdity of it.

Outside, she hears voices. She quickly stashes away the hand mirror, runs her hands over her clothes, and then pokes her head out of the tent flap. Shadowheart, Astarion, and June have come back down from the inn and seem to be finishing up some conversation.

"One of the Harpers says there's a Thorm family mausoleum around here. It might be a good place to gather some information," Shadowheart is saying.

"Oh, a crypt? Finally! It's been so long since you've dragged me to some disgusting, rat-infested hole in the ground," Astarion snarks. "I was starting to miss it."

June elbows him with a snort before nodding to Shadowheart. "Sounds like a good idea to me. We can talk it over with the others in the morning."

The three part ways as June and Astarion slip off toward the river and Shadowheart begins moving around camp, apparently gathering supplies for a bath.

Nope, nope, nope. Don't think about her int he bath, Karlach! She swallows. We're doing this the right way. The wyll Ravenguard way remember? And you're confident. You are so. fucking. confident.

With one last deep breath, Karlach climbs out of her tent, puts on her biggest, best - hopefully sexiest? - smile, and strides over to Shadowheart.

"Hey, you," she says. "Got a minute to talk?"

***

author's note: so this deck is a bit different. it leaves the reader to interpret what each of the suits corresponds to in a typical RWS deck. i, personally, read crosses as similar to wands. so that's what i used as my inspiration for this story.

[bluebeetle]

posting this to help me keep track

Aboard Nautiloid

Save the brain.

Free Shadowheart (Necessary to recruit her).

Defeat Commander Zhalk and obtain his sword--didnt do, will try for my durge

Nautiloid Crash

Free Lae’zel (recruit her as a companion).

Find Astarion (recruit him as a companion).

Wake up Shadowheart (recruit her as a companion).

Free Gale from the rift (recruit him as a companion).

Unlock Speak With Dead and Talk With Animal spells. You’ll constantly use these throughout the game.

Investigate Dank Crypt (to the East of your starting point) and find Withers - This will allow you to reclass at any time at camp for 100 Gold.

Emerald Grove

Near Or In Druid’s Grove

Go to Druid’s Grove and meet Wyll, who’s training children with swords. (Recruit him as a companion).

Speak to Volo, which will make him move to the Goblin Camp. Then speak to him at the Goblin Camp, save him, and he’ll move to your camp.

Talk to Khaga and Rath. Learn about Khaga’s plan for the ritual. Rath will ask you to save Halsin.

Talk to the Strange Ox at Druid’s Grove.

Talk to Alfira and learn how to play an instrument.

Talk to Dammon (he’s needed for Karlach’s companion quest after recruiting).

Save the Tiefling from the Bugbear Assassin--he killed her ):

Rescue the child from the Harpies. Found to the Northeast of the Grove’s heart, keep going until you hear singing.

Absolute Cultists ambush you near the Grove.

Blighted Village

Find the Masterwork Weapon blueprints at the blacksmith’s home, and then finish them--still need to finish them, may look up the tree location bc i failed the nature check

Find the book Necromancy of Thay.

Climb into the well and defeat the Astral Spider Queen and its children--started this but havent fought the actual queen yet.

Rescue Barcus the Gnome from the Goblins and Windmill.

Find Scratch the Dog, who’s roaming just outside the village, and lead him to your camp.

Vanquish or recruit the trio of Ogres.

In the barn on the North side of town, there’s an “interesting” scene between a Bugbear and Ogre.

A cave outside of the village has an Owlbear and its cub you can interact with.

The Risen Road

Find and recruit Karlach. She’s at the end of the river over a log.

Help Karlach destroy the Fake Paladins that are hunting her.

Waukeen’s Rest

Save the survivors from the burning building. Just follow the Flaming Fist knights and clear the blocked door--triggered this but didnt do it so they all died except a few, oop

Find the Zhentarim survivors fighting off enemies, save them, and get the Missing Shipment quest.

In Northwest Waukeen’s Rest find the entrance to the Zhentarim hideout.

Free the artist in the Zhentarim Hideout. He’ll pop up later in Baldur’s Gate.

Goblin Camp

Find Halsin and free him from prison. Head West to find the prison when you enter the Sanctum part of the camp.

Rescue Volo.

Talk to the priest of Loviatar, found on the East side of the Sanctum.

Halsin will ask you to take out the three Goblin Leaders, or “True Souls.”

Race the Owlbear and free it from the Goblins. It’ll appear in your camp later--didnt do this ): sorry lil guy... def gonna do it in my durge or origin playthru

Putrid Bog/Riverside Teahouse

Save Mayrina and fight Auntie Ethel--started it

Confront the Monster Hunter tracking Astarion.

Underdark

In the Underdark

Find the Selunite outpost.

Retrieve Phalar Aluve, the sword stuck in the stone.

Find the Arcane Tower and explore it.

In Arcane Tower, there’s a Stool of Mysterious Strength that you can destroy for a rare Club.

Find the dog’s grave near the Arcane Tower, and leave flowers on it.

Opposite the Arcane Tower, find the Festering Cove and the fish people worshipping a false god.

In Arcane Tower, interact with the Gith Disk, then show it to Lae’zel.

Find the petrified Drow and defeat the Spectator in combat.

Find the Myconid Colony, and choose to help the Myconic or the Duergar.

Help Gut defeat the Duergar, then either befriend or betray Gut.

Find the Gnome Thulla in the Myconid Colony, and cure her with an Antidote.

Find Baelan and save him from the explosive mushrooms.

Where you saved Baelan, you can also pick a rare mushroom and give it to Baelan to restore his memory, or give it to Shadowheart to unlock a special memory for her--i fucked up, will do as durge.

Meet Omellum in the Myconid Colony. He can give you a ring to protect your mind from the tadpole.

Find Sussur Bark for the Masterwork Weapon in the Blighted Village.

Find Icy Metal, Icy Heave, and Icy Crystal, then craft the Mourning Frost Staff.

Eliminate Nere and bring his head to the Myconid.

Grymforge

Obtain the Sergeant’s boots.

Save the Grymforge Gnomes, then report back to Thulla at the Myconic Colony.

Find the Runepowder Gnome, past the hidden kitchen area.

Find the Adamantine Forge and two pieces of Mithril Ore. Then defeat Grym in battle (use one character to aggro Grym onto the hammer platform, then another character to pull the lever and drop the hammer on him.)

Help the cursed monk

Mountain Pass

Find the Githyanki Creche and investigate it. It’s a lengthy section that ties into Lae’Zel’s companion quest.

Steal a Githyanki egg for the woman in the pass.

Find the Blood of Lathander mace.

Speak with Elminster at the entrance to the Shadow-Cursed Lands (part of Gale’s quest).

ok still a lot to do, imma take a break from the auntie ethel stuff for now and see if i can do anything else. i know where lae'zels stuff is but im gonna see if i can get to some of the other stuff i havent done yet. and if i miss something or fuck it up ill use my other runs to hopefully do them?? there's just so much jeez...and i dont wanna trigger act 2 yet by going to the moonrise towers.

[lemonsrosesandlavender]

This is totally me being a conspiracy theorist, but considering the timing of the announcement, I wonder if the planned DLC did in fact involve romancing the tieflings/other undateables and it was scrapped because of the Dammon VA stuff last weekend

Hmmm, whilst I do love to imagine that there’s official kissing-Rolan content in a drawer somewhere, I think from the sounds of the announcement it’s very much to do with the layoffs as Wizards of the Coast and all the general dickery of WOTC/Hasbro and the constraints it puts on the devs. Plus, I think they’d merely axe any further Dammon development rather than put the kibosh on it entirely for that reason. But it’s not like we’ll ever get to know.

My personal conspiracy theory (that is, well, not a conspiracy theory as much any more) is that a certain VA was so vocal about Dammon not being romanceable and shipping him with Karlach, not because of the character’s ‘mystery’ or whatever, but because he didn’t want Dammon to be romanceable by men or non-binary Tavs. Not a hot take I know. Ugh. I was lucky not to have been particularly attached to Dammon but I really feel for all those that were/are, especially if the VA parasocially profited off them.

I’ve mostly kept this blog about pretty pictures of Rolan but to be clear, I am queer myself, pro-trans rights and pro-Palestine. Genocidal rhetoric and anti-trans hate has no place here. Much love to everyone affected. 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈 🇵🇸