#shadowheart gives me the vibes of a woman who has been living off of like

[fandomtrxsh19]

WHAT I, AS A THEATRE MAJOR, THINK THE BG3 COMPANIONS FAVORITE MUSICALS ARE

Lae'zel: Addams Family

What seems like a serious and dark exterior hide a funny and charming center is the perfect show for Lae'zel. At first glance, she's like Wednesday. When we meet her, she's prickly, judgmental and focused. But, the more we get to know her, we see that she's loyal and sarcastic. I could totally see her singing Pulled after meeting Shadowheart.

Astarion: Chicago. 100& Chicago

A show about a vaudeville star who commits murder and, along with her prison bestie, tries to get into the spotlight of the newspapers that's a satire on the criminal justice system and the media is right up our favorite vampire's alley. Not only is Cell Block Tango his anthem, but I could definitely see him singing "Roxie". Shout out to Caberet though, since I think Astarion's true anthem is that of "Mein Herr"

Gale: A mix of Avenue Q and Company

Instead of a B.A in English, I could totally imagine Gale singing about a B.A in Magic.

"What do you do with a B.A. in Magic, What is my life going to be?"

Behind all the laughs, he would appreciate the story of a fresh college grad trying to go through life after graduation.

Gale has a sense of humor. We all know that, but that's not all to our favorite wizard. I could totally imagine Gale singing "Being Alive". Out of the companions, I feel like he's the Bobbie of the group. Idk why though. Ig Vibes?

Karlach: RENT, Spring Awakening and/or Shucked

Rock and rebellious in nature, shows like RENT and Spring Awakening are about people who are in the shadows of society and the troubles they face from those in the spotlight. Songs like Totally Fucked, The Bitch of Living, La Vie Boheme, and One Song Glory show off the classic barbarian rage and rebelliousness that Karlach has due to her past. But, she isnt all angst. Nope. Songs like La Vie Boheme, Today 4 U, Independently Owned, and Woman of the World show off her positive and in the now attitude. Also, Shucked is hillarious and I feel like all those corny jokes are right up Mama K's alley.

Wyll: Classics (My Fairy Lady, Carousel, etc)

From what I know about the Blade of Frontiers, he's a kind hearted and helpful soul. But underneath, is hiding a dark secret. Like these classic Rodgers and Hammerstein Shows, a lot of people focus on what he gives out into the world. But, underneath the spectacle often lies a dark story. (i.e Oklahoma)

Shadowheart: Hadestown

In a lot of ways, Shadowheart is a lot like Eurydice. They're independent, headstrong, and somewhat reserved. A lyric that I think describes Shadowheart is "All I've ever known is how to hold my own". Ever since she lost her memories, she's been very determined to complete her mission. I feel like the song "Flowers" is sort of an anthem for her. If you think of another show that might fit God's favorite princess better, feel free to add on!

"Is anybody listening? I open my mouth and nothing comes out Nothing, nothing gonna wake me now"

Minthara: Sweeney Todd

Well, the only way to get Minthara to your party is through murder and this is THE show that comes to mind when you think about murder sooooooooooooooo

I don't know enough about Jaheira and Minsc, and I cant think of anything for Halsin, so if anyone wants to add on, feel free to.

[mermaidsirennikita]

Share some stalking heroes 👀

HAPPY TO.

Historical:

Obviously, Valentine Napier from Elizabeth Hoyt's Duke of Sin, He Who Lives in Walls.

Mick Trewlove does a bit of stalking when he's staking out how to steal Aslyn (in order to ruin his half-brother's life) in Beyond Scandal and Desire by Lorraine Heath.

Magnus literally hunts Melissa down like a dog in S.M. LaViolette's Melissa and The Vicar (after she leaves him).

Shadowheart by Laura Kinsale has an EXTREMELY stalkery, villainous hero and I love the degree to which he's just a creep lol. Like, the heroine is all "... how does he know these things" and the answer is "baby girl, he's been watching you sleep probably". TW: the first encounter is noncon (forced marriage consummation). Kinsale is very true to 14th century approaches to consent, but Elena does very much take the reins in the rest of it.

In a different way, the preceding novel (set 10 years before) For My Lady's Heart is also a stalkery hero book. The hero is a knight whose wife left him to join a convent (lmao) and when he's dropping her off there he sees this beautiful (married) princess who notices that he's attracted to her and calls him out... but when he unexpectedly has to give up ALL his money in order to commit his wife to the order--a thing he doesn't want to do!--the princess does him a solid and gives him some cash to get on his feet. And as a result, he becomes obsessed with her, pledges himself to her, and serves from afar in her name for like. 13 years. Then they finally meet again and it turns out she's kind of a bitch! (In the best way.)

Pippa and the Prince of Secrets by Grace Callaway, of course, has Cull, who watches Pippa while she's out doing her vigilante shit and is like, ready to run interference and who knows maybe smell her hair.

Duke of Midnight by Elizabeth Hoyt of course has the truly insane and stalkery Maximus. Like Valentine, he refuses to call his heroine by her actual name lmao.

The Wolf and The Widlflower by Stacy Reid. Wolf Duke Duke of Wolverton is obviously a duke who lived with wolves for years, and after he realizes that his new shrink, a young man, is actually a woman in disguise (a fact he realizes when he SMELLS. HER. WOMANLY. SCENT. IYKWIM.) he's determined to catch her out lol.

Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller has a hero who's admittedly a literal spy, but he does start lowkey stalking the heroine because he feels CRIME MAY BE AFOOT. And then he walks in on her... doing things alone.... and he goes "don't stop" and I lost my mind.

Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas gives me this vibe because McKenna is so focused on revenge against Aline that it basically turns into this obsession with everything about her and what it takes to break her down. Like, McKenna gives strong murder vibes and I do find it hot.

The Dragon and The Pearl by Jeannie Lin gives me this vibe because he's like... keeping her captive for political reasons but you can literally see on the page when it starts to shift from politics to obsession lol.

Contemporary-ish:

Mafia Madman by Mila Finelli. I mean, Enzo watches Gia through security cameras while keeping her in a cage after setting up a faked death by bombing a bar after he buys in an Aperol spritz. Peak stalking.

Mafia Target--the book after Mafia Madman, m/m assassin/target... Alessio is literally stalking Giulio for months before they actually meet and he's obsessed with him and it's AMAZING.

All of Kresley Cole's Gamemaker books involve stalking but The Player is maybe the most intensely stalkery book of all time. I can't even tell you how. That would give it away. Trust and believe. This is a STALKER.

Sierra Simone writes some very possessive heroes. Mark from her Lyonesse series, though (starting with Salt in the Wound) gives strong stalker vibes. Partly because he clearly knows way more about Tristan and Isolde than either of them realize and has known it for a while lol. Also, he literally skulks around ruining people's lives, so. That's just WHO HE IS. And I do love it.

Paranormal:

Just shouting out the fact that every single IAD hero is a stalker, but special notes for Lothaire of Lothaire (on EVERY LEVEL, follows Ellie around for years before the book even begins, turns invisible to follow her around in his apartment, watches her from the shadows, has to carry her lingerie around in his pocket so he can deeply inhale it to cope); Cade from Dark Desires after Dusk (followed Holly around for years before the book began... again lmao); Trehan from Shadow's Claim (the MISTS!!!!).

Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison has a heroine who steals a penny from a dragon shifter's lair, and he literally hunts her down like a dog lmao.

[solasan]

15, 16, 22, 24, 27, 49 for Zinnia!

15. are they good at cooking? do they enjoy it? what do others think of their cooking?

yea she’s a good cook. liked to experiment a lot with it when she was younger, but she does that less now. lots of spices, she loves spices. also lots of seafood, bcos it’s what she’s used to; she knows how to make seafood good, whereas other stuff (like, say, venison) she’s less experienced with. 

she enjoys cooking quite a lot !!! even her bone broths (which would be what she’d usually be subsiding on by the time they’d reached a month / six weeks into a voyage) are like...... still very unpleasant, but usually have some spices in them to make them at least somewhat palatable

one of the best cooks on the white thorn 100%. used to barter meals she’d cooked for rum and whiskey from time to time shdhjsjdk. and her companions appreciate her cooking too, even if she hasn’t got access to as many fresh supplies / as much seasoning as she’d like. which is probs for the best bcos shadowheart would probably die from her proper dishes HSJDJSKDK

16. do they collect anything? what do they do with it? where do they keep it?

ok zinnia is a very practical person as a rule (whatever her personality might suggest) but she’s..... also a pirate, bro. she likes shiny stuff. specifically, she likes rings; she’ll collect rings till the day she dies. she’s always wearing at least one on every finger, sometimes two. they’re always on her person (less chance of them getting stolen that way, surprisingly) and those she isn’t wearing will be strung around a chain on her neck.

look when ur a rogue and a thief u kinda lose faith in locks and chests, ok

22. what are their favourite insults to use? what do they insult people for? or do they prefer to bitch behind someone’s back?

uhhh she’s especially fond of using ‘wanker’ as an insult. any form of it. if someone’s pissed her off she might go off abt them being a ‘small cocked wanker’ for example shdhsjdks. also just generally going around making it pretty clear she thinks ur an idiot is a sure bet; i do foresee her asking astarion if the tadpole ate up his whole brain, or only half of it, bcos really ur pretty dumb mate. and like, we know, but hey

anyway she might have a habit of stabbing people in the back when it comes to combat, but zinnia is absolutely willing to tell u to ur face if she dislikes u. esp if u’ve done something that breaks her ‘code’; she lies, she cheats, she steals, she even kills, but she doesn’t fuck with slavers and she doesn’t hurt kids, not ever. hurting the innocent (but especially kids) is a surefire way to get her boot up ur ass

on a less severe scale, she’ll insult u if ur boring or a stick in the mud shdjsjdk. even scholars aren’t especially safe from her (soz gale love u) just bcos she doesn’t see the point in learning from books when u could learn from the world

24. what is their sleeping pattern like? do they snore? what do they like to sleep on? a soft or hard mattress?

eh. better sleeping pattern than she had when she was younger ig tho i do think she finds it harder to fall asleep since the whole tadpole thing shshjjsd. worries she’s never gonna wake up again. but when she does sleep, she sleeps very deeply; snores a bit, drools sometimes, splays out in the most contorted positions. but once she’s in a position she’ll stay in it, basically; won’t move the whole night, sleeps like a log.

she can sleep anywhere and on anything (comes from years of sleeping in a rocking hammock on a moving ship, surrounded by her loud crew) but she prefers a soft mattress. not that she’s gotten to sleep on many

27. what makes them sad? do they cry regularly? do they cry openly or hide it? what are they like they are sad?

she’s not much of a crier tbh ??? comes from the emotional constipation shdhsjdjk. what happened to arabella made her very sad, but that quickly turned to anger; she’s gotten good at that, turning her sadness into anger. she knows what to do with anger ig ??? not so much sadness.

but yea seeing suffering kids, suffering animals, that makes her sad. also thinking on yarrow for too long; she starts wondering if yarrow’s alive, how her life is, if she misses her, etc. thinking of her crew does it a little bit too, but less so; it’s more that she feels extra motivated to get back to them

when she does cry, which is rarely, she hides it very well. tears are weakness to her ??? so she’s not comfy being seen like that. but usually she manages to turn sadness into anger before that can happen, which is definitely not healthy, but hey

49. what is their most valued object? are they sentimental? is there something they have to take everywhere with them?

oof. she’s not particularly sentimental, but she has a stack of yarrow’s old letters tied up with a piece of string back on the ship that she feels a little bit naked without. she’ll be super pissed if she gets back and finds they’re gone shdjsjdkl. i wouldn’t say those are her most valued possession tho; they’re sorta like a bruise she likes to push sometimes, but less and less as the years go on ??? they make her chest ache, and as we’ve already discussed, she’s.......... bad at being sad SHDJSJDK

im not sure what would be most valued to her tbh ???? her blades ig ??? bcos she’s so attuned to their specific weight, and they’ve kept her alive for years, and they’ve been her only consistent possession for like..... over a decade ???