Rules: You flip through your work (published or WIP, doesn't matter) and share whatever little section you're genuinely proud of. Something that makes you smile or swoon or that tugs at your heartstrings just the way you want it to. Let's give ourselves a little pat on the back and normalize being proud of our work ❤
Thanks for the tag @chaushaus
Tagging some friends whom I admire : @amoremagnificentbastard @badbloodwitch @crypticina @inkymoonbunny
This is an excerpt from No Saints Here, a story about a tortured Tav who tries to understand her worth.
Chapter 4, Unbidden and Ill-Begot
Read it here on AO3
Art by Madbalalaika -on tumblr
"I was wondering when you might be joining me." He looks up, eyes bright and surrounded by deep wrinkles that only serve to emphasize his smile. "I'm Gale. Gale Dekarios. I'd greet you more properly, but I'm quite engaged right now, you see."
I had a plan a moment ago. Words prepared. They are gone now, replaced by a sudden urge to tell this man my real name. I shake it off. I'm not some simpering teenager, I remind myself, acting an idiot for a handsome face.
"I can see that. Quite a display of concentration you have going on, Gale Dekarios." I smile, settling down on the other sofa.
"Ah, another student of the Weave?"
"You're hardly a student. If I had to guess, I'd think you an archmage." I pull off my boots, putting my aching, stockinged feet up to rest.
His grin stretches from amusement to excitement. "And if I had to guess, I'd think you are doing a fairly reasonable job at pretending to be Waterdhavian."
I take it in stride, stretching out. "My apologies, Saer Dekarios. I'll work on being more convincing in the future. I'd hate to disappoint a man reading," my eyes sharpened, taking in the title on the spine. "I'm sorry, why did you come here to learn about the fine dining cuisine of Athkatla?"
He looks at me over the book, tilting his head as his thumb and forefinger twitch. "Friend, and I must call you friend because you have failed, and I assume purposefully so, to introduce yourself yet, tell me, if I offered you a slice of blood pudding, what would you expect it to contain?"
I sit back up, knowing that an archmage wouldn't bother with a question like that unless it led somewhere.
I just wanted to tell you how much I have enjoyed reading No saints here.
It was interesting to see how much the story changed with each chapter.
You characterise everyone really well and I liked how you learnt more about Tav's backstory as the story continued
Oh <3 You have no idea how much this warms my heart. This story has taken off, and I never expected it. Thank you for reading. Wouldn't be anywhere if no one read it
Tav is me, so hearing that her story touched you has made life brighter :)))
Chapter 34 of No Saints Here
ALSO, now that it's been a month since the last one, check out this AMAZING art @crypticina made for one of the last chapters :)))))
Snippet below:
Tav blinked until her vision came back. Corvan was sitting on the edge of the bed, wearing a loose blouse and simple brown pants. His brown hair was tousled, slightly wet from a previous bathing. He smelled of pine and dark berries. The soap he always washed with. His expression softened as he reached for her, brushing her cheek. “You lost a lot of blood,” he murmured. “You frightened me.”
He produced a large potion bottle, something Tav and her friends could never afford. He pressed it to her lips, and the flavor rushed down her throat. It felt intoxicating. Her muscles stopped aching, and her heart rate began to slow.
He didn’t let her swallow all of it.
“You took my blood,” she hissed, the memory of the pain almost nauseating.
Corvan sighed. “A little. I needed to see if that was all I needed.”
“Raphael said you were going to torture me—and you did.”
Corvan shook his head lightly. “I only needed to check your blood. I didn’t intend for it to be so painful. We thought you wouldn’t be able to feel it.”
Her mind screamed liar liar liar, but she swallowed it down. There was a reason he was being so calm now. Manipulation. He meant to trick her, to get her to understand him. Because if she fought, he would use force again. She forced her hands to stop shaking. “What do you want from me?”
Corvan laughed lightly. “My love, I want you. I’ve been terribly distant, and I can never apologize enough for leaving you. I was a fool, but I looked for you after I realized what I had done. I searched the coast, the nearby hamlets. I couldn’t find you, but I looked every single day, hoping to be reunited.”
“You said breeding,” she whispered tightly.
Corvan’s eyes flashed dangerously before he wiped the emotion from his face. “No, Tavrella. There is something unstable in your blood. It makes you hallucinate. You said all sorts of things when you were in the chair. We only had you there for a few minutes. These restraints are to keep you from hurting yourself.”
LIES.
Don’t fight. Not yet. Not yet. Not yet.
Tav nodded faintly, letting her lashes flutter, letting weakness be the truth he wanted to see. Her stomach churned with every second of it.
“That’s it,” Corvan said gently. “You’re safe now. I’ve taken care of everything.” He took her hand, thumb smoothing over her knuckles.
It was strange. It was a touch she used to beg for. She prayed in the quiet of the night, when his arm was rough across her stomach. She had waited for that kindness and done anything she could to get it. Now here it was.
But her knees had grown tired years ago.
Tav looked at his hand on hers and felt nothing but the weight of how late it had come. “How long have I been sleeping?” she asked quietly.
“About a day, almost two.” He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her temple. Internally, she recoiled so hard it felt like her spine was breaking. On the outside, she did nothing. “We’re going to start over. Wouldn’t you like that?”
Tav would like nothing more than to snap his neck. But she gave a faint smile and nodded.
Handwrite. (If you already are, write in a different coloured pen.)
Write outside or at a different location.
Read.
Look up some writing prompts.
Take a break. Do something different. Comeback to it later.
Write something else. (A different WIP, a poem, a quick short story, etc.)
Find inspiring writing music playlists on YouTube. (Themed music, POV playlists, ambient music, etc.)
Do some character or story prompts/questions to get a better idea of who or what you’re writing.
Word sprints. Set a timer and write as much as you can. Not a lot of time to overthink things.
Set your own goals and deadlines.
Write another scene from your WIP. (You don’t have to write in order.) Write a scene you want to write, or the ending. (You can change it or scrap it if it doesn’t fit into your story later.)
Write a scene for your WIP that you will never post/add to your story. A prologue, a different P.O.V., how your characters would react in a situation that’s not in your story, a flashback, etc.
Write down a bunch of ideas. Things that could happen, thing that will never happen, good things, bad things.
@njuta came up with some brilliant questions that dive into the heart of a fic! I can't thank you enough for letting me indulge in answering ❤️
The fic: Branded Blood
Rating/Pairing/Word count/Completion status: Explicit, Astarion x OC, 67,798 words, Complete
Plot Summary: Tiefling Astarion rescues a young woman whose blood holds the gift of walking in the sun. Flare, under an infernal curse which forces her nightly to pleasure another or sacrifice her blood, slowly learns to trust Astarion even though his appearance is similar to her past tormentors.
The ✨viibees✨: Suffering and Yearning
Short snippet: When Flare told him it was the best kiss she ever had, Astarion wanted to give her a thousand more. He would kiss over each eyelid, across her cheeks and nose over her scattered freckles, devour her lips and drink in her sighs. He would make sure every touch was better than the last, each one a promise of the gentleness she was owed.
What character trait did you amplify or minimise to make your version of a character work for your story? Instead of being inspired by a feral cat, Astarion just is a cat, tail and all.
What’s one thing you put in—trope, character beat, scene—that was just extra shamelessly self-indulgent? Astarion getting the little rabbit doll for Flare. I had recently gone on a trip and my husband did the same for me. It was so sweet and reflecting on Flare it made sense she would latch onto missing pieces of childhood so I went ahead and added it.
What’s the structural choice you made on purpose—POV, timeline, chaptering—that most shaped the story? The alternating POV allowed me to show the audience how each of the characters were interpreting the same events/actions. I mostly used this to highlight the yearning they have for each other.
Which theme emerged accidentally, and which one did you pursue deliberately? I set out to write some tiefstarion smut, then as I got into it, decided I wanted to play around more with the fluctuations of trauma and non-linear healing.
What was the biggest risk you took with this fic? Writing and including Flare's history of sexual abuse. She was 13 when she received her curse. It was a gut punch to write, but it felt necessary to contextualize Flare's own understanding of herself.
In a hypothetical scenario where you are forced to rewrite the whole story from scratch, what would you do differently? I would add more details in the first half (when I wrote the first couple of chapters I was thinking it would be a 10k fic max). I would also change the timeline from a year after the fall of the elderbrain to a few years considering Astarion has a decent grasp of his issues and it seems more fitting that he would have had a longer time to process.
You can find all the questions here (I skipped a few) and create a new post with your answers ❤️ @justabiteofspite @larvatuss @obsessedwhyyes @elinorbard @badbloodwitch @preciouslittlebhaalbae @xxnashiraxx @roguishcat @bloodinwine @verbenaa @honeybummer @pinkberrytea @karinamay
questions this random connoisseur of hot women has about the details i'm always questioning when i draw—especially if a bg3 screenshot is my only reference.
picture or general description please!
what’s their body type? (muscular, pear-shaped, etc.)
any particular facial features? (wide-set eyes, small mouth, etc.)
how tall are they?
what’s the general “vibe” of them? (default expression, essentially)
how do they present themselves? (clothes, hair and makeup)
skin colour? (skin colour is so fucking hard to judge from bg3 screenshots.)
tattoos/piercings/scars? (would love to know how many piercings are on each side and how far down their bodies their tattoos go.)
pls tag more people i am still looking for more tavs/durges to draw! but i have commitment issues and thus im only tagging the ones i have drawn before 😶🌫️
Eliiin you gem 💖 - you’ve drawn Jaz better than i have multiple times at this point. You have free rein. But you’ve started this awesome trend so I will join in ♥️
Ramble incoming
1.picture or general description please!
a recent doodle!
2. what's their body type? (muscular, pear-shaped, etc.)
muscular but petite - (hard bodied?) strong curves and slightly more pear shaped than hourglass 🤷♀️
3.any particular facial features? (wide-set eyes, small mouth, etc.)
hmm - her eye colour pops against her skin tone, they catch the light quite easily.
She has a more masculine jawline but softer eyes, nose and lips. unruly fringe
curly hair that has a life of its own - can be super big curls one day than looking tired and flat the next.
4. how tall are they?
5’4
5. what's the general "vibe" of them? (default expression, essentially)
lost in thought - eyes that stare a million miles away and she easily trails off in her head. But when she does focus on someone it feels intense.
holds herself inward unless confronting someone then she stands like she doesn’t remember how short she is.
very stubborn pout. Tenses her jaw a lot when frustrated.
confused look most of the time when she is paying attention.
very expressive eyebrows (emilia clarke inspired)
6. how do they present themselves? (clothes, hair and makeup)
loose clothes - she doesn’t like wearing anything that restricts movement. she does bind her body quite tight in wraps underneath it tho.
she doesn’t think about makeup much but if she did i think she’d enjoy more festival style decorative make up
7. skin colour? (skin colour is so fucking hard to judge from bg3 screenshots.)
caramel/tan with a rosey flush that shows up quite easily. (Rihanna’s skin colour but lighter/more flushed )
8. tattoos/piercings/scars? (would love to know how many piercings are on each side and how far down their bodies their tattoos go.)
she has a chunky silver helix earring (one side - don’t ask which) and at least two lobe piercings on both ears
a beauty mark under her eye (again don’t ask which side 🥲)
a scar that trails from the centre of her ribcage to above her naval.
i think she has a faint eyebrow scar too but i haven’t thought this out 😅
I’m going to tag @honeybummer @brain-rot-central @again-please and @ghostfire
Thank you @olivedrop for tagging me :)))) I'd love to share my Tav from No Saints
picture or general description please!
Long, very auburn hair, like my tumblr icon. Freckled skin and honey-hazel eyes. ART by the lovely @crypticina
what’s their body type?
Toned, but curvy. Pear-shaped.
any particular facial features?
She has full lips and a tiny ridge in her nose. Very expressive eyes.
how tall are they?
A tad shorter than Astarion.
what’s the general “vibe” of them?
Tavrella is very closed off, always in her head thinking. She can be found chewing on the inside of her cheek as she's thinking. She's been lost and found and everything in between.
I see her as a tortured soul who is still desperate for love and connection.
how do they present themselves?
Hair is mostly in a braid or in a messy bun. Clothes are practical. Sometimes wears a cinnamon stick behind her ear.
She is strong in battle but quiet when it comes to her heart. Astarion is the only one to bring out her honest nature.
skin colour?
Olive-toned skin, warmed by being on the road to Baldur's Gate.
gummygunk
stormborns
pixelskylines
turnnoffyourmind
