I’m Carnivaley - I write about emotionally unstable people in Baldur’s Gate 3 falling in love and somehow keep making it everybody else’s problem.
Mostly here for complicated characters, doomed devotion, and the question: what if this toxic dynamic was actually soulmates?
I write, cry over fictional war criminals, and occasionally do VP because apparently sleep is optional.
CURRENT FICS
✧ VINESSIS' CORNER✧ DURGETASH
My main disaster is Vinessis - my Dark Urge. Redhead. Former monastery girl. Professional bad decision maker. Half praying to Bhaal, half making eye contact with Enver Gortash for too long.
“It’s a Sin” - complete
In Moonrise Towers, just hours before Orin’s betrayal, the Dark Urge prays to Bhaal for forgiveness and looks back on the life that made her.
“Foundations of Decay” - complete
After Orin’s betrayal, Gortash finds the Dark Urge slipping into amnesia. Convinced her memories are the only thing keeping her alive, he tries to anchor her to herself.
“Scars of Fate” - oneshot
A fortune teller tells Gortash and his favorite assassin far more than either of them wants to hear.
✧ CLEMENTINE'S CORNER ✧ GALEMANCE
Clementine is a drow bard, professional menace, future legend, and she is absolutely convinced she is the main character. The problem is that she might be right. She also has horrifying ability to make Gale Dekarios fall in love with her in basically every universe imaginable.
“Notes for Future Legends” - WIP
A bard survives a nautiloid crash and immediately decides to turn collective trauma into career advancement. Unfortunately Gale Dekarios exists and keeps looking at her.
“Terms of Affection” - WIP
One year after losing Tav, Gale drunkenly lies about being on a date. Clementine agrees to play along. Fake dating, grief, emotional incompetence, and two people realizing pretending to love each other may be the least fake thing happening.
“The Three Husbands of Clementine Alberral” - WIP
Modern AU inspired by The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Scandal, toxic marriages, public cruelty, disastrous love affairs - and Gale lingering beneath every terrible decision like a haunting.
✧ OTHER BAD IDEAS ✧
“honey”
Before he was archduke, Gortash was only a dangerous curiosity in the right salons. The Sharrans send Shadowheart to find out what hides beneath his ambition. Unfortunately, the answer may be worse than expected.
“Call off the circus, burn the disco down”
Orin and Dribbles the Clown as doomed theatre kids. yes, it hurts exactly as much as it sounds.
A year after Tav's disappearance, Gale is still fishing the Crown of Karsus out of the Chionthar - and one drunken night, he invents a beloved. Enter Clementine Alberral: drow bard, professional menace, and surprisingly convincing girlfriend. The lying is easy. Surviving the moment she stops is not.
Chapters: 4/?
Relationships: Gale (Baldur's Gate)/Original Female Character(s),The Dark Urge/Gale (Baldur's Gate)
Chapter 4: Faster!
There were, by Gale Dekarios's count, seven days remaining before his mother's ship arrived, and Clementine Alberral had declared — with the gravity of a war minister announcing conscription — that they required rehearsal.
"Not lines," she had clarified, when he arrived at the Elfsong with a notebook and the haunted expression of a man prepared to memorize an entire fictional courtship. "Gods, put that away before someone sees you. Not lines, Sugar Pie. Proximity. Your mother will not be listening to what we say. Mothers never listen to what anyone says. She will be watching how close I stand to you, and whether you flinch, and whether your hands know where I am when you are not looking at me. That cannot be studied from a notebook."
So here they were, in Blushing Mermaid, the very first evening deep into what Clementine insisted on calling proximity training and what Gale privately called as the slow public dismantling of his composure — and tonight, for the first time since he had met her, Clementine Alberral was not enjoying herself.
Because this night Gale had learned that Clemenine had a very particular expression when music was being performed badly in her presence.
taglist! @saylofwaterdeep [it is her gift fic], @dr4gonwriter, @gortashsrighthand, @toomanyfamiliars
@carnivaley is like the MVP of VP. Like, I see her give such wonderful advice to people struggling with VP on the regular and she is so patient and is SO fucking supportive of others. It warms my heart to see such a talented person go out of their way to share their knowledge.
A year after Tav's disappearance, Gale is still fishing the Crown of Karsus out of the Chionthar - and one drunken night, he invents a beloved. Enter Clementine Alberral: drow bard, professional menace, and surprisingly convincing girlfriend. The lying is easy. Surviving the moment she stops is not.
Chapters: 4/?
Relationships: Gale (Baldur's Gate)/Original Female Character(s),The Dark Urge/Gale (Baldur's Gate)
Chapter 4: Faster!
There were, by Gale Dekarios's count, seven days remaining before his mother's ship arrived, and Clementine Alberral had declared — with the gravity of a war minister announcing conscription — that they required rehearsal.
"Not lines," she had clarified, when he arrived at the Elfsong with a notebook and the haunted expression of a man prepared to memorize an entire fictional courtship. "Gods, put that away before someone sees you. Not lines, Sugar Pie. Proximity. Your mother will not be listening to what we say. Mothers never listen to what anyone says. She will be watching how close I stand to you, and whether you flinch, and whether your hands know where I am when you are not looking at me. That cannot be studied from a notebook."
So here they were, in Blushing Mermaid, the very first evening deep into what Clementine insisted on calling proximity training and what Gale privately called as the slow public dismantling of his composure — and tonight, for the first time since he had met her, Clementine Alberral was not enjoying herself.
Because this night Gale had learned that Clemenine had a very particular expression when music was being performed badly in her presence.
taglist! @saylofwaterdeep [it is her gift fic], @dr4gonwriter, @gortashsrighthand, @toomanyfamiliars
Do you remember the Enver Gortash x Astraia comic I was working on? It is finally here and I am so so excited! I hope you like it🥹 the lyrics you see are from the song Wounds by And One. I truly feel like this song fits them perfectly! 🩷
a horror AU fic based on a yokai of Japanese folklore: Hone Onna
Fandom: Baldur's Gate
Relationships: Gale/The Dark Urge (Tavrin)
Words: 8,555 | Rating: Mature
Tags: Horror, mild sexual content, tragedy, angst, undying love, tragic romance, post-canon AU
CW: Major Character Death!!, heavily implied necrophilia, graphic depictions of dead bodies, panic attacks, doomed lovers
Summary:
Six months after the defeat of the Netherbrain, Gale is still mourning the loss of his lover who never quite made it back to Waterdeep with him. Not alive, anyway.
Then one night, she shows up at his door. Alive. In tact. As beautiful and alluring as he remembers her. He thinks that the circumstances of her return, however mysterious, are a turning point in his life he's long awaited.
But Astarion suspects there is something nefarious at play...and it's worse than either one of them imagined.
[ Read on AO3 ]
I was possessed by the writing demon after making this tumblr post so...here you go I guess lol. Please mind the tags!
Jessica Ashley Dekarios exists in multiple universes:
Jessica began as a very indulgent self insert that somehow evolved into a full fledged original character who now lives rent free in my head. This post serves as a reference for her various universes and stories.
Whether she is a freelance illustrator on Earth or a bard from Neverwinter, she remains fundamentally the same person: kind, clever, a little awkward, romantic, stubborn, and invariably destined to fall in love with Gale Dekarios.
Jessica "Jess" Dekarios
"In every universe, Jessica finds herself in possession of three things: a sharp tongue, a soft heart, and the unwavering affection of one Gale Dekarios."
✦ At A Glance ✦
• Name: Jessica Ashley Dekarios
• Age: mid 30's
• Height: 5'4"
• Eyes: Light Green
• Complexion: ghostly white with a fair amount of freckles
• Hair: Deep Brown
• Sexuality: Bisexual
• Build: short n' very curvy/plus size
• Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
• Strengths: Empathy, wit, loyalty, creativity
• Weaknesses: Self doubt, impulsive decisions, emotionally vulnerable wizards
• Signature Colors: sage green, light blue, black, silver, deep teal, light lilac
• Personality: Jessica is quick with a joke, quicker with compassion, and firmly believes that everyone deserves to feel seen. She is equal parts flirt and disaster, endlessly curious, deeply sentimental, and capable of turning almost any conversation into either a heartfelt confession or an ill advised bit.
She loves old movies, baking, terrible puns, beautiful dresses, dramatic gestures, and making people laugh. She's stubborn enough to argue with a god, soft enough to cry over a happy ending, and hopelessly prone to adopting every lonely wizard she comes across.
Jessica doesn't change much between universes, her personality and appearance stay basically the same no matter which world she's dropped into. What shifts is her profession and the pop culture references she inevitably makes.
✦ The State of Grace Cinematic Universe✦
The fic that started it all! This is the "prime" universe for Jessica and has the most fleshed out backstory so most of tag games and asks are answered with SoG in mind.
State of Grace follows Gale after he's unexpectedly transported from Faerûn to modern day Earth, where he finds himself in the living room of Jessica, a freelance artist who has romanced him four times in a video game.
You can read State of Grace on ao3 here
✦ BG3 Canon Universe ✦
This is more of a general "tav lore" section since most of my Faerûn based fics do not connect.
Basic Facts:
• Race: Human
• Class/Subclass: College of Lore Bard
• Background: Entertainer. She was a well liked traveling bard on the Sword Coast, flute in hand, playing boozy taverns before the game's events.
• Birthplace: Neverwinter
• Weapons of Choice: Phalar Aluve, Harold (heavy crossbow)
Companion Relationships:
• Gale: husband, best friend, favorite person
• Astarion: honorary siblings, wine buddies
• Karlach: best friend, closest gal pal
• Wyll: friends, shares monster smut in a book club with Shaddy
• Shadowheart: friendly, in a wine and smut reading book club with Wyll
• Lae'zel: they tolerate each other and eventually learn to respect each other
Fics that fall under the "BG3 Canon Universe" umbrella:
• Ambition & Inspiration (dark God!Gale ending)
• The Shape of Home (tiny fluffy oneshot)
I will likely edit this as her lore grows and I dive deeper into more "in game" storytelling.
✦ Jessica x Gale ✦
aka Jale in EVERY universe!
Every version of Jessica eventually falls in love with Gale. The circumstances differ— sometimes she's an artist from Earth, sometimes she's a bard from Neverwinter— but the outcome rarely does.
Their relationship is built on shared curiosity, relentless flirting, mutual admiration, and an alarming tendency to enable each other's bad ideas. They are equal parts best friends, intellectual sparring partners, and hopeless romantics.
There are universes where they meet later.
Universes where they meet sooner.
Universes where everything changes.
But somehow they always find each other.
✦ Borrowing Jessica✦
Why yes, I do indeed loan Jessica out for all your tertiary character needs. I do ask that you like...let me know haha. Just hit me up and tell me, I am very chill and don't really have any demands. Honestly, I'm mostly just delighted that other people enjoy her enough to want to write with her.
• Ships: She's bi in every universe and I'm open to most pairings as long as it makes sense for her personality. Yes to Shadowheart, yes to Karlach, yes to Rolan (my personal "if Gale didn't exist" pick). Probably not Halsin— just not a personality match.
• A note on my virtual photography: the in game models/mods I use don't accurately reflect Jessica's actual body type (I still haven't figured out that particular mod). Her written description should always take precedence over the in game model.
Questions? Comments? DM me! My inbox/ask box is always open.
I second that comment about @carnivaley! She is super talented (her angst is next level and her VP looks like art) but what I love the most is how supportive she is in the community- always quick to build someone up or lend a helping hand if she can.
I Wish They Ended Up Together Tournament - ROUND 2 MATCHUP 30
The Dark Urge & Enver Gortash vs The Dragonborn & Brynjolf
The Dark Urge & Enver Gortash (Baldur's Gate 3)
The Dragonborn & Brynjolf (Skyrim)
Remaining time: 3 days 19 hours
Propaganda:
The Dark Urge & Gortash
Okay so a lot of people believe they were romantically involved pre-canon, but this isn't actually canon or confirmed by creators - canonically they were very close and there are some Undertones for sure, but they were not together, I assume partially because some people might play as, for example, a lesbian Dark Urge, and giving a canon relationship like that would restrict roleplay. HOWEVER. THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN OPTIONALLY CANON For anyone who doesn’t know BG3: imagine your character wakes up with amnesia and eventually finds out they used to be the god of murder’s Chosen One and child, serial killer and everything, and ALSO one of the main villains was apparently your old partner in world domination and is thrilled you’re alive. That’s the Dark Urge and Gortash. The Dark Urge is a customisable main character with a forgotten past as the child of Bhaal, god of murder. Gortash is one of the main villains, a tyrant politician chosen by Bane, god of tyranny. They’re both chosen by evil gods, and before the game these two were the original brains behind the big evil plot. They worked together, planned together, stole an absurdly powerful magical crown together, and everything only fell apart because Orin betrayed Durge and took their place. Then Durge shows back up with amnesia, and the thing that gets me is how personal Gortash is about it when Durge returns. He’s surrounded by other villains, but Durge is the one he actually seems pleased to see. He talks about their shared history, wants to renew their partnership, and openly prefers them over Orin, the person who replaced them. He’s noticeably more interested in and softer with them than basically anyone else in the room. The “my nearest and dearest” line. The “I tolerated Orin, but I *liked* you” line. The way he immediately offers to help them deal with Orin and reclaim what was theirs. The way he calls them a god in their own right and rightful ruler with absolutely zero irony and is fully and immediately open to sharing his empire with you. The chosen of TYRANNY is down to share his empire. Hello???? And Durge was into him!! In writing!! “Forgive me father, for I cannot help but admire the Chosen of your sworn foe” is such a wild thing for the murder god’s child to put in a prayer when they are not supposed to have any feelings or connections to anyone because their whole thing is they're expected to be willing to murder everybody else for Bhaal if asked to Two terrible people who respected each other’s brains so much they nearly took over the world together, even though their gods are enemies.
Dragonborn & Brynjolf
Skyrim lets you marry so many random NPCs, but somehow the charming Scottish thief who personally recruits you, calls you lad/lass, trusts you with the future of the Thieves Guild, and makes you his fellow Nightingale is off limits. Absolute nonsense. Brynjolf is the first person in Riften who looks at the Dragonborn and basically goes, “you’re not as innocent as you look.” He pulls them into the Thieves Guild, teaches them how things work, vouches for them, and sticks with them when Mercer’s betrayal comes out. By the time the Dragonborn becomes Guild Master, Brynjolf isn’t just some quest giver. He’s the person who helped bring them in, watched them prove themselves, and decided they were the right person to lead the Guild. And the Nightingale angle makes it even better. The Dragonborn, Brynjolf, and Karliah swear themselves to Nocturnal together, hunt Mercer together, and rebuild the Guild together. That’s way more personal than half the actual marriage options get. Also, after the questline, Brynjolf gets stuck in that “sorry, lad/lass, I’ve got important things to do” loop instead of having proper follow-up. Bethesda. Please. Let my Guild Master kiss their second-in-command.
I was tagged in a variety of games, so allow me to just share one tiny snippet in a single post! Tagged by: @fireflyeyes, @dynamicducks, @saylofwaterdeep, and @ele-millennial-weirdo.
Hi guys!! Looks like that demon Clementine has power over me again, and we might get a new Terms of Affection update NEXT WEEK.
Sadly, that demon decided my first draft of the dance scene wasn't enough, so I am reworking it. I just spent an hour searching for the perfect inspo song for them. Since I have a lot of love for Belgium, and more importantly, for a song 't Smidje, we call the "Belgian dance" (belgijka) in Polish, we are having so much fun with it!
She turned to look at him with such profound betrayal that he briefly considered apologizing to the entire concept of music. Her fingers had begun, some minutes ago, to drum against the table in the tempo the band was failing to find, and had not stopped since.
"That is a reel. A reel, Gale. A reel is supposed to move. A reel is supposed to make old men remember being young and young men forget being shy. That - " she pointed at the floor with her wine, an accusation, " - is a procession. Those people are not dancing. They are waiting in line for a dance that is never going to arrive."
"Perhaps they are tired."
"I am frequently tired, Gale. I have performed with a broken finger, a broken heart, and once, memorably, a broken violin that I finished the set on out of pure spite. Tired is not the crime here." She set the glass down with the click of a verdict being entered into record. "The crime is that they do not want anything. Music without wanting is furniture. And these people deserve better than furniture."
Her eyes moved across the room once more - the slumped dockworkers, the men yawning into their cups, one old woman by the wall whose hands were folded in her lap as though she had given up waiting for a reason to unfold them - and then those pink eyes came back around to him, and Gale watched the anger convert itself, with alarming efficiency, into intention.
He knew that look. He had seen it exactly twice before, and both times his life had become significantly more complicated within the minute.
"No," he said, preemptively.
"You do not even know what I am going to say."
"I know that expression. That is the expression you wore before you jumped off a table."
Right now Im plotting an idea for an Orin "Redemption" Arc and Im trying to toy around with a few ideas to make it feel earned and I think I have an idea on how to do it.
For reference this arc would happen post-game and would focus on my Durge helping Orin find a life outside of Bhaal. This info is important since a big part of Orin's character, in my writing, is that she never had a chance at a life outside of Bhaal. Like she made murder art because she couldn't process having hobbies that didn't relate to Bhaal, her speech includes a lot of murderous similes/metaphors because she almost treats every sentence like a prayer, etc. By the time the "redemption" arc's start Orin would have been cast aside by Bhaal and would be barely a husk of a person since she's now abandoned by the god she based her life on.
The first phase of the arc would be Orin killing again, this time for reasons other than "Love of the Game" or because Bhaal wants death, and finding it no longer brings her any joy. To her I can imagine that would be unnerving, if not disturbing. Maybe she doesn't even see the beauty in death anymore, unbalancing her even more.
The second phase would be a bit of fluff where Orin is given the opportunities to have normal hobbies. Maybe she goes to a play and just watches for the sake of enjoyment, maybe she goes to a comedy show, maybe she goes to a tavern and talks to new people, hell maybe she does all that and more. The point here being Orin is allowed to explore herself free from Bhaal's watch.
The final phase would be more acceptance, if that makes sense. Like at the end of the day she's still deeply disturbed from her life in Bhaal and I think the last bit of her arc would be her learning to live with that trauma. This wouldn't be Orin "redeeming herself" or anything, hell I think Orin and my Durge will always feel guilty for the things they did, it's just me setting Orin up to act like a good person later.
All of this is subject to change since I'm still outlining the entire story rn and I'd love to hear some thoughts/critiques before I make any major commitments.
