#having a DOWN BAD comment over fucking HALSIN

[lunalikestowriteanddraw]

Okay, so I managed to ACTUALLY get Halsin this playthrough (thank GOD), and like, all I knew about him was that he turns into a bear and is INSATIABLY horny (also that he loves nature but like…my guys a Druid, of course he does)

But what I DIDNT know was how PRECIOUS this man is. He became a Druid because his childhood friend was the human (or whatever the fuck Thaniel is) embodiment of nature. He has a sweet tooth (which, same). HE WITTLES DUCKS. I literally verbally Aw’ed when talking to him after becoming my companion. He is absolutely adorable, even if he’s constantly dtf

#baldurs gate 3 #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #halsin #bg3 halsin #baldur’s gate 3 halsin #I am so mad at myself for rushing through act 2 during my first playthrough #I could’ve had this beast of a man #but NO #I had to be STUPID #also I love Wyll’s little comment if you talk to him after getting Halsin #like of ALL PEOPLE #I was NOT expecting WYLL to have a down-bad comment regarding Halsin #like I get it #it just caught me off guard when I heard Wyll #the ONE CHARACTER that exudes Straight Vibes #having a DOWN BAD comment over fucking HALSIN #maybe I misjudged the Warlock 🤔

[kingthunder]

I saw a few of those "bg3 characters driving a car" headcanons and decided to do one myself for fun.

Lae'zel: She learned how to drive on the opposite side of the road from everyone else and her instincts are all wrong for her current location, but back home she's an excellent driver with a spotless driving record. She actually follows the service schedule in the car manual. She gets incensed at people who don't maintain their vehicle properly or who disobey road rules. Her car is immaculately clean. She would love to speed a motorcycle down one of those desert highways with no speed limit, but she's never gotten the opportunity and knows it's too reckless besides. But she wants to.

Karlach: She's had a motorcycle for ages and is a skilled if aggressive driver. However, she only recently learned how to drive a car. She is very enthusiastic about it and always volunteers to drive even though she's not very good yet. She's one of those people that do driving "pranks" like swerving back and forth to make people shriek/laugh, or doing "3, 2, 1 BLASTOFF" and gunning it. Could easily be provoked into an impromptu street race. Drives way too far on empty or with the check engine light on.

Shadowheart: Drives stick so that no one else can drive her car. It's a beat up old station wagon with a busted tail light and looks like shit on the outside, but inside she turned it into a goth mobile with like black velvet seat covers and stuff. She named the car but she won't tell you what. She has an air freshener hanging from the rear view mirror that smells like night orchids. She's a perfectly good boring driver with nothing to note about it UNTIL one day a cop tries to pull her over for her busted tail light and she hits the gas and pulls out all these street racing moves that you had no idea she was capable of and shakes the cop. She'll let you pick the music but if she doesn't like it her silent disapproval is so withering that you voluntarily change it to something she does like.

Astarion: Never got a driver's license and isn't about to get one now. Passenger princess who likes to control the radio but his taste in music sucks. He makes funny mean comments about other drivers and pedestrians. He'll complain if you ask him to fill the gas tank but he'll do it; you're paying for it, though. Actually pretty fun to go on a road trip with because he doesn't care about stuff like "making good time" and he's up for stopping anywhere that looks like it might be entertaining.

Gale: Never got a driver's license because he was always too busy with his studies to care and his mom drove him around and/or did all his errands for him anyway. He's real good at maps though and likes to be helpful by being the navigator. He's the smartest man in the world but he's completely stymied by a gas pump; you're better off pumping the gas yourself and sending him into the gas station for snacks. He always manages to conjure a full meal out of convenience food, somehow, and he's really good at feeding you while you drive.

Wyll: He saved up and bought his own fixer-upper car after getting kicked out of the house as a teenager. Good driver in general. People always think he would make a good designated driver, but actually he likes drinking socially and will politely decline requests to be the DD unless there's no one else available. Sometimes when he's having a bad day he blasts music really loud and finds a deserted area to just fuckin tear ass down as fast as he can go (he'll only do this alone and doesn't tell anyone about it). Never lets you pay for gas even if you offer. Will pick up hitchhikers.

Halsin: Has been driving the same car since 1973. Drives that specific car really well. If you gave him a modern car he would have no idea what anything on the dashboard does. Honestly, he prefers to walk or bike anyway.

Jaheira: Has a fuck-off huge SUV full of empty cans and wrappers from her kids. Absolute maniac of a driver who tailgates and speeds with no regard for road signs or lane markings. She is going to GET where she is GOING and gods help you if you get in the way.

Minsc: Failed the driving test three times and just gets rides from Jaheira. This does not bother him in the slightest. He tells you that Boo can drive vehicles you've never even heard of.

Minthara: Has run someone over on purpose.

#bg3 #bg3 headcanons #bg3 party #do i need to tag all these idiots #lae'zel #karlach #shadowheart #astarion #gale #gale dekarios #wyll #wyll ravengard #halsin #jaheira #minsc and boo #minthara #does this count as #bg3 meta #lol #raphael doesn't drive he has a chauffeur #the chauffeur is haarlep who was paid by mephistopheles to drive his dumb shit kid around and pretend like he's not getting paid

[pagesfromthevoid]

Imagine this because I am and it’s just. It’s cute and I just REALLY WANT TO PLATONICALLY HUG ASTARION IN THAT FUCKING DUNGEON

Cuddle Puddle:

The party returns back from killing Cazador and Astarion has essentially disappeared. Tav is worried sick, because even if they’re with Gale, Astarion is her friend and she’s scared. Gale tries to reassure her obviously because he doesn’t want her worried but she just can’t help it.

Astarion finally comes back, still covered in blood and battered from the fight, and Tav immediately approaches to check on him. He tries to wave her off but she scolds him, reminding him that they’re friends and she was scared.

“Can I just…can I hug you? Is that okay?” She asks, because she’s never actually touched Astarion, let alone hugged him.

He hesitates but nods slowly, because he also hasn’t been hugged in centuries and honestly he has no idea what to expect. But Tav throwing her arms around him to hold him like this is almost too much to bear. And he just starts sobbing into her neck.

So when he’s finally done sobbing and being a mess (Tav doesn’t mind. She reminds him over and over it’s okay to cry! She cries all the time! So does Gale!), he pulls away and apologizes. But she waves him off with a reassuring smile.

“Why don’t you lay with me a while? Just so you’re not alone.”

And Astarion immediately thinks —no, she’s not trying to proposition me. Not now, not after everything. But looking at her, he realizes she’s *not*. She’s just…being nice. Offering solace and comfort in her arms like a mother would her child.

“I’m sure your wizard would be less than thrilled,” he counters, though he wants to. So bad.

“Gale doesn’t mind —do you?” She turns to Gale now, those puppy dog eyes working wonders on the resident know it all. “Just a cuddle. Nothing more than that.”

Gale stammers a bit and blushes, but shakes his head. “I- no, of course not. A comforting embrace is an important cure for overwhelming feelings. And I’d know —Tav has spent many a night comforting me.”

“Gale —,”

“I mean with cuddling!”

Astarion hesitates again, but nods slowly as Tav takes his hand gently. Gale pushes two of the beds in the Elfsong room together, making it a little more comfortable for the three of them to lay down. Astarion is surprised Gale agreed, given how uppity he had gotten when Halsin approached Tav, but he’s secretly thankful the Wizard didn’t mind as he sat on the edge of the beds.

Tav practically throws herself into the middle, sighing as she pulls all the pillows around her like she’s making a nest. Astarion watches for a moment then kicks his shoes off and joins her, allowing her to take him in her arms and rest his head against her chest. Her arms snake around him tight, hugging him close to her. Gale makes room for himself on her other side, where she rests her head on his shoulder as he wraps his arm around her.

“What’s this, then? A cuddle party and I wasn’t invited?” Karlach all but yells, throwing her hands in the air. “Finally get my engine tuned and I can’t even have a cuddle.”

“No one said you couldn’t,” Astarion counters, peaking up from where he lay against Tav. “It *is* rather nice.”

“Softy,” Tav teases, running her nails through his hair. Then she extends her free arm out to Karlach. “C’mon then.”

Karlach all but squeals in delight, pushing another bed closer to connect the three. Then she throws herself into the mix, laying half on top of Gale and Tav.

“Fuck, this is great. I love this. I love you guys.”

Tav glances up at Gale, who’s trying not to move too much or risk pushing Karlach off him. But he leans down and kisses Tav’s hair and Astarion all but gags.

“No way,” Karlach warns, swatting Gale’s face away from Tav. “Absolutely no lovey dovey shit in the cuddle puddle.”

Halsin joins next, though he takes up far more space than anyone else. And then Shadowheart comments about missing out on all the fun, so Tav finds her way out to pull her in too. Wyll joins, laying closer to Astarion with a soft smile and his arm around the vampire (who totally doesn’t move away from Tav to lay a little closer to the Blade of Frontiers. No way). Lae’Zel side eyes everyone, but caves and sits on the floor beside the bed.

Eventually, they throw all the pillows and blankets in the sitting space by the fire to make more room for everyone.

This begins the party cuddle puddle.

#bg3 #baldur’s gate 3 #baldur’s gate iii #karlach #shadowheart #wyll ravengard #gale of waterdeep #bg3 astarion

[maegalkarven]

The innocence of youth.

A oneshot featuring Noah, Gurgetash child, because I am ridiculously attached to this wonderful little boy.

Noah meets the team, hugs Halsin and proposes to make flower crowns.

“You have a child,” Gale, the brave soul he is, is the first to break off the awkward silence.

Levi pushes the stupid fucking grin down.

“Yep.”

“And it’s...Gortash’s child,” the wizard insists.

“Mhm.”

“A child of a tyrant Enver Gortash.”

“Yep.”

“His child.”

“Gale, I don’t think something will change if you keep repeating it like that,” Shadowheart comments, her eyes trained on the said child currently trying to sneak on Withers with a stick. Considering the very likely fact what Withers is actually one of the old gods, Noah’s bravery and idiocy is unparalleled. Withers pretends he doesn’t see very obviously sneaking on him five years old boy.

Jaheira watches over the boy from the safe distance, a deep frown laid between her eyebrows.

Levi knows what she’s thinking about; a bhaalspawn, another child with unholy blood in his veins. But this is the river they’ll cross when they'll cross it. Like hells Father dearest takes this child into his suffocating hold.

“I can’t believe you forgot you have a child,” the cleric continues. Levi snorts.

“Well, you forgot you had parents, so-“

“It’s not the same,” she argues and the fact what they can discuss such topic as simple as that shows how much they’ve overcome. How much they’ve changed and grown. “I was stripped of my memories by a goddess.”

“My sister put a dagger into my skull and rummaged inside until I had no memories left,” he parries. “And anyway, I don’t think I was a father to Noah before all that-” he gestures around. “You know. He hasn’t even met me prior, well, two days ago.”

“I can’t believe Gortash just let him go here like that,” Wyll comments. “He seems to be a little bit...paranoid.”

“He is a lot paranoid,” Levi responds. “And I reckon he has a good reasons for that, he is a tyrant of Baldur’s Gate, after all. Wait, where’s Halsin?”

Gale looks around and chuckles.

“Your son has him,” he comments fondly. “I’m pretty sure it’s Noah’s druid now.”

And indeed Halsin is very content in being carried around in a wild shape of a cat. Noah’s stick is forgotten, as well as his quest to poke Withers with it. Everyone seems to be relieved by that.

“It doesn’t look like he minds,” Levi comments absentmindedly, watching as Karlach raises her axe. “Enver’s paranoia is about to raise to dangerous heights in three, two, one-“

The first of the scrying eyes falls to the ground, broken. Noah turns around.

“I don’t mind if you do that to the remaining two,” he offers and Karlach grins.

“You got it, kid.”

The other spying devices suffer the same fate.

“Good thinking,” Wyll murmurs. “Let’s upset the tyrant sitting on the throne of Baldur’s Gate. Nothing bad will come out of it.”

“Oh, come on,” Levi smirks. “This is my child too, he is safe with me. And if Enver doesn’t think so, well, that looks like Enver’s problem.”

They watch as Noah puts cat Halsin around his shoulders like a cloak and tugs at Karlach’s pants.

“Do you want to make a flower crown?” he asks shyly. “I have never made flower crowns.”

Karlach looks around.

“Me?”

“Yep.”

“I...I’m not sure I’m the best one for that task, kid.”

“It’s alright, we can learn together!”

The earnestness and innocence seem to win against the boy’s relation to Gortash, and Karlach reluctantly smiles.

“Alright then. But we’ll need Halsin to show us the plants we shouldn’t touch. I think your dad will bite my head off if I accidentally give you poison burn.”

Noah looks hopeful.

“He will?”

“I’m sure of it.”

“But he just met me!”

“And I know he already cares about you a lot,” a glance back to Levi, who nods. “Come on, kid, let’s make everyone flower crowns.”

“You realize whose will be the ugliest flower crowns in the world,” Astarion chimes in.

“Well, then you’re not getting any.”

“Hey, I never said I don’t want an ugly fucking flower crown-“

“It will have bugs in it. You hate bugs.”

“I’ll just make Noah pick them up and throw them somewhere into the grass.”

“You will make five years old collect bugs?!”

“Oh, come on, he lived his entire life in a tower, he would be delighted to gather some bugs.”

“How long do you think I’ll take Gortash to show up here and murder us in our sleep for destroying his precious scrying eyes?” Gale contemplates.

“I give it an hour or two, and then we’re for a feat.”

Levi walks away, leaving his friends bickering, his posture at ease, muscles relaxed. It doesn’t take long for magic to overcome his body, bending bones and changing shape.

A small black cat throttles into the forest after the woman on fire and a little boy excitedly telling her about some extremely interesting story he just read. Well, not like read-read, more like looked at the pictures and read a little, but he will learn! Father says he is a fast learner.

“Mrpm,” the cat speaks as it hits the boy’s knees gently. Noah gasps.

“A cat!” and really, where did Enver raise him, in a box? How a mere sign of a cat can be so exciting?

Karlach looks behind.

“Oh, it’s your dad,” she comments. “He does that sometimes.”

“My dad is a cat?!”

“Sort of? He’s a druid like Halsin and Jaheira.”

Noah lets Halsin off his shoulders and kneels to reach for the black fur. The cat purrs and leans into the touch.

“Wow,” the boy whispers. “This is so cool. Do you think he can teach me how to do that? I want to be a cat too.”

“You can be a great many things, little one,” Halsin responds, already in his elf form. “Cat is one of the many wild shapes a druid can take. I am sure your parent will be happy to teach you.”

Levi mews, agreeing, and allows himself to be grasped into two small clammy hands.

“Is it alright if I carry you?” the boy asks. “Halsin doesn’t mind, but he said I need to ask first.”

Levi simply licks the boy’s fingers.

“I think it’s a yes,” Halsin smiles. “Now, about these flower crowns of yours...”

#dark urge: levi #durgetash #oc: noah gortash #family matters #dark urge x gortash #gale: lord gortash's child. a child of gortash. enver gortash's son- #everyone: we get it gale! #meanwhile Karlach is taking revenge in small doses and also goes to make flower crowns with a child what should have no relation to gortash #bc it's a sweetest child ever #how??? #jaheira is having war flashbacks and contemplates how safe it is for another bhaalspawn to exist #levi is like: MY CHILD NOW

[wurdulac]

last year i wrote a list of media that touched me. bcs i have shit for memory i was noting down things i watched, played etc. this year. so here's the list.

the city and the city by china miéville - loved it...

the longing - idle game that felt quite promising in the beginning. you play as a lonely shade that has to wait 400 days for his king to wake up. it can get kinda weird and idk how i feel about this anymore.

rain dogs - extremely bleak life circumstances, intense toxic friendship. 'fast food isn't good for you. but i fucking love it'

deadwood - very intriguing way of plotting a story of a settlement but some things abt were fucking stupid and i'm still frustrated when i think abt it. haven't finished the final season and i don't really feel like it.

vanished birds <- read this or else

dungeon meshi - most beautiful art with dynamically drawn creatures and beasts that then get shown being cooked into delicious (and nutricious!) meals in great detail. setting is a spoof of a stereotypical party adventure world but it tries to make sense of its rules and creates in turn something quite unique. great characters too.

wuthering heights - extremely good narrative device. never knew that we learn this story through a tale being told by a servant to some cringey guy. surprisingly well depicted psychology of the characters. reading abt child abuse upset me so bad. society will fuck you up. some ways to better your lot are closed to you based on your gender and race. fucking up people over generations. also moors. they're important.

ghost in the shell

barry - the fact that the show never lets him forget. the satire on show biz, loving the veterans. it's like a more clownish version of breaking bad in a way (both being concerned with morality). characters are caritaturish but everything they do is taken extremely seriously. also it's quite inventive with filmography. solid. loved it.

sangfielle - weird fiction arc of FaTT podcast.. extremely good setting

andor - they didn't lie when they said star wars can be good. abt opression and imperialism.. and droids done well.

repo man - plotted in a very fun way... unforgettable ending.

hellraiser - it was so promising. shouldn't have turned into tense rubic cube solving under most dire circumstances ever imo.

bg3 - the themes have made me insane. it managed to be cohesive. it's the. carousel of violence. cycle of abuse. relationship with power. trusting the other not to use violence against (even though they could). male manipulators. the dark urge. it's not without its faults and it should have been tighter (durge should be the main protag and no tav, chop down act 1, erase halsin)

the terror - such a mixed bag. a very good and tense thriller about imperialistic hubris but. they put a beast there. and the villain was??? idk man.

iasip (well technically i've been trying to watch it for years, but this year alone i watched like 4 seasons or maybe more) - i simply love iasip. its style of comedy that is irreverent. the mad schemes. awful dynamics. touching real darkness.

blowback (podcast) - about american imperialism. first season abt iraq war tone-wise feels like if behind the bastards and citations needed had a baby. recommended.

roadwarden - loved it. loved the setting!

anyway... i kinda stopped reading books after i quit my job (no longer commuting somewhere regularly so i stopped using my kindle). had plans to watch more movies but it's always a struggle to sit down and start watching. went to more than 0 galleries but not that many tbh. i sometimes don't know what to say and most of my comments are still pretty general and feel trite.

#uhm. if you somehow know of something i forgot to mention let me know

[chaos-is-neutral]

Baldur's Gate 3 Tav/Karlach/Halsin Modern AU

Fire Heart has taken the wrestling world by storm. No one expected Karlach to become famous overnight. Though when you put a big, buff, tall tiefling into black wrestling leather the crowd grows wild. She is an overnight success. Everyone in Baldur's Gate is obsessed with her. It is rumored that the famous Southern Gothic singer Lyria (my Tav) is down bad.

Rumors start speculating that they two are dating when Karlach begins flirting back to some of Lyria's flirtatious comments. They just say it is playful fun and that they have been close friends ever since they met at a movie premiere a while back. These rumors don't stop though as Karlach is seen in the VIP section of Lyria's concerts a few times. The rumors really get going though when Lyria is seen at a wrestling match for the first time ever! Their fans are going crazy. They even have a ship name for them called SouthernHeart.

It stays this way for a few months when Lyria drops a bomb on their Instagram. A new song was coming called Fire Burning Heart that night. Everyone in Baldur's Gate was listening and it was clear to anyone with two ears that this was about Karlach. It is driving people wild, but the two won't say anything. The only thing that Lyria announces is that there will be a special guest in their music video coming in the next few months.

The flirting though continues in the comments of their insta posts. Karlach one day posts this:

And Lyria comments: "Gods if she used that position on me I'd be seeing Kelemvor 🔥🥴" Karlach then responded with "Don't want to kill you yet. I quite enjoy you 💋" This drives the fans wild for weeks. Everyone is looking at their accounts just waiting for them to confirm it. The edits made about them are clear. Lyria watching Karlach wrestle with this heat in their eyes, wanting her on every level. Then Karlach watching them perform with love and longing.

Everyone is waiting for the anticipated music video. There would be a special guest on it and everyone who had been watching knew it would be Karlach. Finally, the video for Fire Burning Heart drops. Everyone in Baldur's Gate is watching. And in the first scene, there is Karlach. The music video follows their love story from the awkward hello at the movie premier to a private date where Lyria proposes. Fans are going fucking insane over this. Both Karlach and Lyria's team has to put out a post saying that they have been in a relationship for over a year now and that they got married last month in a secret wedding off the coast.

SouthernHeart is trending for DAYS. Now they are seen everywhere with each other. Paparazzi taking pictures of the couple and you can see them wearing small gold bands. They post each other on their socials, bragging about their love. Karlach even posts a picture of Lyria after their top surgery saying, "I've never been more in love with them ❤️‍🔥"

Karlach wears an orange bandana around her wrist to remind her of her flaming redhead. Lyria wears Karlach's denim jacket at all their shows. Life is crazy and busy for them, but they never fall out of love. It is clear to everyone they will be one of the few celebrities to last.

A big announcement comes when Lyria will be cast in a rom-com with Baldur's Gate heartthrob and animal lover Halsin. Halsin was the it man. Every woman and man wanted him. No one could resist him, especially in these romance movies. Karlach is so excited for their husband and is posting all about it. It is an amazing time and a big growth for the singer. It doesn't take long though for cheating rumors to surface. Many stories are coming out saying the chemistry between the two actors goes off-set. They are pictured leaving together a lot. Some stories say Karlach is in shambles over this and has flown out to see Lyria to confront them.

Both teams again post that this is not the case and that they are both still madly in love. The rumors become worse when Lyria drops a new song right after the filming finished up called Hazel Sunrise. It is clearly about someone else who has stolen the young singer's heart. Many put it together quick that it is about their co-actor Halsin. Everyone is up in arms in honor of Karlach. Lyria has to turn off comments on their post and Karlach has to beg people to stop being mean to their husband.

Lyria is radio silent. The only thing they post is that there will be a new music video releasing and this song was for the movie they were in. The cheating rumors only amped up when the music video dropped. The chemistry between Halsin and Lyria was undeniable. These two were madly in love and getting hot and heavy. The fans were demanding why Lyria would throw Karlach away like this. They also began turning on Halsin. It was a blood bath for weeks and thankfully none of them ran their social medias anymore.

Karlach kept wrestling, but now there was also a green bandana she wore. Lyria also wore one around their neck when performing. Then Halsin was wearing a necklace with a small gold band on it along with red and orange ribbons in his braids. Fans did not notice these changes though. They were too angry!

Then the bombshell of all bombshells dropped. The week before the movie premiered paparazzi posted photos they had taken during filming of the three on a private beach. In the first one Halsin, Lyria, and Karlach were sitting and laughing. The next one Halsin and Lyria were kissing, looking a little heated. In the next, Lyria had grabbed Karlach by the base of her hair and was kissing her with a fever. Then finally the last one was of Karlach and Halsin kissing while Lyria had a big shit eating "fuck-yeah-these-two-are-mine" grin.

The two hottest people in Baldur's gate had added the third hottest to their relationship. The internet EXPLODED. SouthernHeartThrob was trending. People demanded answers, but again the three were radio silent. That was until the movie premier when they all three showed up together. Halsin in a sage green suit, Lyria in a matching one, and Karlach in a slick black dress with a slit up to her hip and the heart shape made little horns. It was stunning how beautiful they all were.

Halsin was pulled toward an interview where he finally answered everyone's burning questions.

He had met the couple back during his last movie premier where Lyria had a song in it. It was love at first sight for them. They were all constantly talking. There was no denying what was there, especially after Lyria got casted in the movie with him. The three had set down and had a long conversation where they all agreed they wanted each other and loved each other so deeply it hurt.

During all of this he is looking at his partners with so much love. Karlach has her tail wrapped around Lyria's thigh as people snapped their photo. Only to him and Lyria would they understand that meant she was nervous. Lyria though was looking at Karlach like she was the goddess only they could worship. Halsin quickly looks at the interviewers dropping one last bombshell, "Now if you excuse me, I'd like to steal my husband and wife and keep them to myself."

#bg3 #bg3 modern au #bg3 tav #halsin #karlach #tav x karlach x halsin #tav x halsin #tav x karlach #karlach x halsin #nonbinary tav #afab tav

[ryttu3k]

I have *checks* 206 screencaps for the next parts and Tumblr has a limit of, uh, 30, so this will have to be a rather abridged version. Act 2, well into the Shadow-Cursed Lands (having just encountered Kar'niss).

Going waaay back to Grymforge about a million years ago (two days ago) and taking the elevator up. We meet Elminster, who has some rather disturbing things to say.

...no, the other kind of disturbing.

Yeah. I do love how genuinely supportive of Gale everyone is, though, and how appalled Mystra even has the audacity. I think I like Karlach's line best - she's no god worth worshipping, in that case!

The save file I made after all that.

We venture into the Shadow-Cursed Lands. Interestingly, Shadowheart has some slight immunity to it! The others... do not. Thankfully, both she and Tae have daylight spells, which Tae casts to hold it off until we can get to the Last Light in, where Karlach... promptly flips the fuck out over Jaheira.

Into the inn! Karlach meets a fan of her own:

The tiefling kids are so cute. Menaces! But so cute. It's not all good news - a lot have been taken to Moonrise Towers, and we get confirmation that Wyll's father has been taken as well. There's also a dude in a weird sort of catatonic state, which Halsin takes especial interest in - that'll be something to deal with, too, if we're to actually help restore these lands.

Concerningly: Baldur's Gate is currently in the hands of one Enver Gortash. Wyll has heard of him, and is a bit surprised - last he heard, Gortash was a minor player.

Karlach has heard of him too.

(Tae immediately starts trying to work out if killing this guy will cause a political crisis.)

Met a celebrity. I love him.

Less welcomingly, met another familiar face (engaged in a chess game with Mol). With a bit of assistance, she wins the game and scarpers, leaving the group with... Raphael, who proceeds to make some very disturbing comments.

Absolutely please do.

Astarion has a request of his own (one which results in him being stripped half-naked in the middle of the inn). A deal with the devil - this will in no means come back to bite us!

Larian please let me give him a hug as a friend. Please.

We meet Dammon again! He has good news and bad news. The good news is, with a bit of Infernal Iron, he can help cool Karlach down!

She's pretty pleased.

She's less pleased by the news that her Infernal Engine is just... too hot to exist in the material plane. Either she returns to Avernus, or she dies. It's... not a great choice, with Karlach determined not to ever return, even if it does cost her her life. Tae promises to find a solution.

The companions are generally sympathetic, in... their own ways.

(STR 8 vs STR 18. I'm just sayin' XD;; )

No time to rest and relax, though. Speak of the devil and she will come.

Tae telepathically reassures Wyll that they'll deal with it, and makes a deal of their own - they carry out Mizora's task, and she frees Wyll from his pact. Worth a try!

Meanwhile on the other side of camp, Tae finds Astarion trying to work out what his scars say via touch. They offer to have a look at them.

Tae recognises it as Infernal, but doesn't know the language, and draws it out instead. They suggest asking the others, which Astarion swiftly decides against. Okay, we can do that.

That night, Tae meets the Dream Visitor again.

They very much appreciate a hug. Tae feels sad but relieved they were able to help their guardian; I feel weird about it because I know exactly who they are XD;;

Back to the inn to meet Isobel. Shadowheart is less than impressed with Selûnite magic; Tae, who follows the fellow moon-associated chaotic good goddess Eilistraee, is pretty pleased with it.

The battle afterwards - less so. (Full disclosure - I tried this earlier on, before even talking to Dammon or Halsin, and failed. Reloaded, did other stuff, then tried again. Sorry but no, I am not losing my tiefling friends!) It's mostly a success, although the cultists do manage to get away with a hostage:

With the inn and Isobel safe for now, it's back into the dark. We ambush a party of cultists, and find their moon lantern, used to find their way through the shadow curse. Tae briefly debates on what to do, but...

You know a decision is ethically correct when [Astarion disapproves] appears <3

Lae'zel talks about enjoying battles, and adds, "And the sort made more thrilling with a hot-hearted tiefling at my side." Sorry, Lae'zel, the hot-hearted tiefling is dating the soft and squishy pastel druid. I'll set you guys up in another playthrough ^_^;;

Have a Concerning Conversation with Astarion. Amazing how he's actually able to say "you have a big heart" with "(derogatory)" at the end XD;; No bestie we're not taking over the cult, okay <3

Story of their lives.

Meanwhile, with Karlach...

And they have a very nice night indeed!

tfw you break a ten-year dry spell and promptly get the zoomies.

Only awkwardness to spoil the morning - Gale, with some... misinterpretations.

He's really sweet! Tae adores him as a friend! But they've also turned down all his advances so the whole thing is just... weird.

You know what no one is romancing Astarion in this run, go show him some love and patience and acceptance. It'll be good for both of you, I think!

Next stop - the House of Healing, to see what we can do about Art's condition and the curse, then onwards to Moonrise Towers. Current approvals: Karlach, Gale, and Wyll are all maxed out on 100, Shadowheart is on 69 nice, Lae'zel on 57, Astarion languishing on 42. Determined to get to 50 by the end of act 2, dangit!

#ry plays bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 spoilers