Kat's little corner of magic and wonder

Kat H., -89 // she/her // Finland Current obsessions: Baldur's Gate 3, Dragon Age, Critical Role, Disney

[katham1]

Welcome traveler!

I’m Kat or Katarina, an English teacher who also plays artist in her spare time whenever possible. My current hyperfixations include BG3 (Galemancer over here) and DnD with some Dragon Age sprinkled in there from time to time.

You can also follow me here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/by_katham

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/katham1.bsky.social

Katarina Ham (@katham1.bsky.social)

Lv.36 🇫🇮🇸🇪/ English teacher by day, fantasy and fan artist by night! Special interests include DnD, Baldur’s Gate, Dragon Age, and folklor

[katham1]

Taranlas x Gale (Wildweave or "Garry" lore 😄💜✨)

So I promised to start dropping a little bit more lore about Tarry over the next few weeks as it's about three years since she started her journey in Baldur's Gate and first off, I decided to dip into some lore about her and Gale. 💜 Enjoy!

Ship name: Wildweave (Alias: TaLe or Garry 🤣)

Tropes: Friends to Lovers, Soulmates, Academic Rivals, Slowburn (in canon, but maybe not so much in the AUs)

These two start off as polite rivals, being friendly with each other but constantly with a hint of rivalry and competition. They’re both excellent magic users, even though they have their own separate areas of expertise. Taranlas is often frustrated with the fact that Gale tries to explain the arcane arts to her and wants to prove to him that she isn’t just talented but also incredibly knowledgeable and well-read (she’s studied everything from history and religion to more specific subjects within the arcane).

Despite this rivalry, Taranlas is immediately attracted to Gale, even though she wouldn’t want to admit it. Part of the reason she finds him attractive is his personality (the confidence, which incidentally also frustrates her, his sense of comedy, the ability to find humor in the darkness, and his passion for knowledge) but also his connection to the Weave which she instantly senses because of her own raw connection to it.

Even though they have some rivalry, Taranlas also admires him and finds him inspiring, someone who can actually debate and discuss with her. Likewise Gale is impressed by the fact she doesn’t give in so easily or accepts everything he says.

They have a lot of respect for each other and see each other as equals, Gale admitting that he admires her tenacity and knowledge, which is a big thing for Taranlas as she’s always felt inferior to other magic users. She’s also felt scared and despised her magic at times, the way it alienates her from everyone and how it consumes her, but Gale shows her how to find wonder with the Weave. In a way he shows and teaches her how to connect with it but also gives her room to show him how she draws her own powers from it, so they both end up learning from each other. Gale is thus able to give her the ability to trust again (other magic users, such as wizards, but also herself) and heal that bond that she has with the Weave.

Once they both get over themselves and realise they don’t have to compete (apart from in a friendly joking manner), they become best friends and share everything together, more than what they do with the other party members - both of them feeling secure enough to share their anxieties and vulnerability with each other; Taranlas sharing how she’s never felt worthy or good enough, Gale similarly wants to prove himself and the world that he can be better, strive higher. They both inspire each other to go further, but also find comfort in that they are worthy of love, just as they are

Taranlas is ready to open up to Gale about her feelings already after Elminster shows up, but is afraid of rejection, just as in the past - the way he’s so adamant about using the Netherese Orb makes her even more insistent that she won’t give up on him, and at every opportunity tries to show him how much he means to her, as more than a best friend.

They also become a bit like camp mom and dad to the rest of the party, making sure the others behave, eat and rest appropriately

Some small quirks about them:

Gale is the one that usually cooks, whereas Tarry loves to bake (Gale is still a bit wary with her in the kitchen due to the fire hazard so they almost always cook together)

Tara the tressym is very good friends with Tarry and often tries to go through her if there’s something she thinks Gale should do (e.g. shave the beard, even though Tarry refuses to ask Gale to do this, the beard stays), Tara also often enjoys helping Tarry with her grading of school assignments.

They both become professors at Blackstaff Academy and they like surprising each other at work, sometimes in romantic ways but also with pranks… 👀

They can both sidetrack each other when they start discussing things they’re passionate about and can stay up all night discussing a book or theory that they have opinions about; Tarry actually loves the wizardsplaining and even encourages it, haha

Gale calls her Sparks, Tarry sometimes jokingly calls him "Waterdeep" or "Dekarios" when she thinks he’s being a bit snobby or pretends he’s smarter than everyone else

At their wedding, Gale gets a new earring from Tarry, one with an encircled crescent moon (to remind him what Elminster said; ”Like moons make swell and wane the nescient seas, so too the sky-strewn gods ordain the tidal fates of mortal days. And yet - a notion born in lonely hours - come ebb, come flow, come all that is beyond the breadth of our dominion: be a moon unto yourself.”)

Playlist:

This is a little excerpt of my playlist of theirs, a mix that both shows the depth and tenderness of their relationship with each other but also some of that comedic energy they have together.

Dreams - The Cranberries (this and “Just Like Heaven”* are my two main themes for them)

You and Me - The Cranberries

Stars - The Cranberries

Just Like Heaven - The Cure*

Friday I’m In Love - The Cure

Your Song - Elton John

Kiss Me - Sixpence None the Richer

Here Comes the Sun - The Beatles

There Is a Light that Never Goes out - The Smiths

She’s a Rainbow - The Rolling Stones

Don’t Go Breaking My Heart - Elton John & Kiki Dee

Do You Believe in Magic? - The Lovin’ Spoonful

September - Earth, Wind & Fire

You Make Loving Fun - Fleetwood Mac

Everywhere - Fleetwood Mac

Meet on the Ledge - Fairport Convention

Heroes - David Bowie

What Is Life - George Harrison

Happy Together - The Turtles

Love Is All Around - The Trigs

Wild Thing - The Troggs

My Girl - The Temptations

God Only Knows - The Beach Boys

I Want to Hold Your Hand - The Beatles

The Boy with a Moon and Star on His Head - Cat Stevens

You Get What You Give - The New Radicals

Shadows of the Night - Pat Benatar

Head over Heels - Tears for Fears

Lay Your Hands On Me - Bon Jovi

Lights - Journey

Magic Man - Heart

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic - The Police

How Do You Do? - Roxette

Come On Eileen - Dexys Midnight Runners

Timeless Melody - The La’s

Only When I Sleep - The Corrs

[katham1]

Did another scene redraw of The Mummy with my Wild Magic girl Taranlas (Tarry) and her romantic interest Gale. I did this as an animation but the file was a bit too big to upload here so I’m uploading it as a mini comic instead. Felt like this would be a pretty typical scenario where Tarry and Gale hang out during a long rest when all of the other companions have already fallen asleep, and maybe Tarry has just enjoyed too much of the Ithbank. 🤣💜

[ugh-my-back]

oh, and you'll be wrapped around my finger

[thepalelawyer]

Nerys (durge) memes

@adrielmancy spoiled me by making me Nerys memes for my birthday, among other gifts 🥹 I love you, freak, and I appreciate you loving her.

[chenria]

Revenge attack for rosystellar of her OC Florentina. I hope I did her justice.

And I was drawing on the wrong layer for the most part... so I had to improvise a bit in the end, but I think it turned out quite well :3

[katham1]

✨OC Infodump Tag Game✨

Thank you for the tag @adrielmancy ! Here is my main Tav and DnD girl, Taranlas (Wild Magic Sorcerer/Circle of the Moon Druid)

✨Basics✨

Name: Taranlas Levine

Alias: Tarry, Sparks, Embers

Background: Sage

Sexuality: ends up mostly falling for men but overall it’s about compatibility for her

Pronouns: she/her

Family: Tarry is the only daughter of a wealthy family of diplomats, her human father Marcellus is an Alliance Envoy hailing from Neverwinter and her elven mother Saveria is from an old noble elven family with roots in fabled Myth Drannor. Tarry also has an older brother, Lucan who is a paladin and growing up, was basically her best friend. Her parents are well-meaning but Tarry has a particularly strained relationship with her mother who, due to her fear of Wild Magic, has been very controlling and made Tarry fear herself and her magic.

Birthplace: Neverwinter

Job: before the events of BG3, Tarry was just an adventurer, traveling around the Sword Coast trying to learn how to wield her wild magic and stayed with some Circle of Moon druids for a while where she learnt some of their ways. After BG3, due to her vast knowledge and research, she becomes a professor at Blackstaff Academy in Waterdeep, focusing particularly on sorcerer students (she loves helping others and has a soft spot for children and adolescents that struggle) and researching more about wild magic. In between teaching and researching, she travels around Faerûn for her research and to find ancient tomes and artifacts.

Phobias/fears: her own wild magic, being underground or anywhere that’s dark, thunderstorms

Hobbies: reading and writing, horseback riding, hiking and being outdoors, also occasional sketching in her adventurer’s journal, baking (her husband Gale’s domain is cooking, hers is baking)

✨Morals✨

Alignment: Chaotic Good, she always tries to help and do good but has a tendency to cause problems by accident, often due to clumsiness or because of her Wild magic

Flaws: Tarry is quite impulsive and acts with her heart first and foremost, and has a bit of a hard time admitting when she’s wrong. She also puts others before herself and forgets to make sure she’s alright, sometimes leading to her burning herself out. Being a very fiery personality, she can also get upset quickly, even though thankfully she also calms down fast.

Virtues: Tarry cares immensely about people (even though she’s a bit anxious around them due to how she’s been treated growing up) and will do anything to keep others happy and safe. She also has an ability to lighten up a tense situation with her mood, she’s funny and energetic, and likes to make others laugh. She loves strongly.

✨This or that✨

Introvert/ambivert/extrovert, Organized/Disorganized (depends on the situation, organized chaos), Closed-minded/Open-minded, Calm/Anxious/Restless, Disagreeable/In-between/Agreeable, Patient/in-between/Impatient, Outspoken/in-between (remember, she’s a diplomat like her dad)/Reserved, Leader/Follower/Flexible, Empathetic/In-between/Apathetic, Optimist/Realist/Pessimist, Traditional/In-between/Modern (does her own thing both when it comes to fashion and how to act but she can navigate between social classes, styles etc.), Hardworking/In-between/Lazy

Not tagging anyone in particular so feel free to do this if you want!

Dividers by pixopix

[nesvann]

The Blade of Frontiers is being distracted from his duty 🙄

Cropped version of the Wyllstarion piece which was requested over my patreon,

>> Full artwork over there <<

[katscozycomics]

Afternoon Nap

Follow me here for more art

[nims-art]

•Menzoberranzan Vintage• 
[full res on Patreon!]

When I finished this illustration today, I thought "Wow, that was fast!" Then I checked the time spent on it and... well, it still took 40 hours! 😅
I’m really happy with this piece! I feel it perfectly captures the dynamic between El and Astarion! I play on console, so I don't have access to those amazing photomode tools! Back when BG3 had just released, I really wanted to see Elfrida and Astarion represented like this, but I couldn't. So after some months I started drawing, trying to do it myself and this illustration really made that wish come true! 
Is it perfect? ​​Absolutely not, there’s still SO MUCH room for improvement! 
But today, I’m happy!🥹💕

[katham1]

Did some scene redraws from The Mummy with Gale and my Tav Taranlas/Tarry since I’ve been rewatching the movie lately and always felt Tarry had a lot of characteristics that were similar to those of Eve in the movie (scholar gone adventurer).

In the post BG3 events in my Tarry story, she and Gale are professors at Blackstaff Academy but also adventurers who go off exploring to find relics and ancient scripts, which is a perfect way for them to pursue their academic careers while also get a chance to travel and adventure together. So I imagine they’d have a lot of moments where they get themselves into some dangerous situations. 😄

I also threw in a more cutesy sketch of a scene redraw (also from the same movie) where Gale is checking Tarry for injuries. 👀🤭💜 Hope you like them and be prepared, because I may have a few more scenes in mind. 👀

[katham1]

Background for my wild magic sorcerer Taranlas Levine (Part 2/2), events are pre-BG3

Here follows the second part of my lore for my Wild Magic sorcerer Tarry, these notes focusing more on her and her early life pre-BG3. Tried to do some proofreading of my notes so hope this is readable 😅 Enjoy!

The first few years, Taranlas grows up in Neverwinter with her brother, their life easy and without much pressure from the world around them. Every now and then, their aunt Siena visits them during her adventures, filling the Levine children’s heads with stories of bravery and magic. Saveria lets Siena have this chance to connect with the children, since apart from a few small mishaps here and there, Siena has proven a powerful sorcerer and seems to have grown with the responsibility her magic gives her.

Apart from her brotherLucan, Taranlas has a hard time making friends as many of the noble families’ children find her a bit quirky and she has very different interests from many of them (including reading massive fact books, playing outside in the woods, and having special interests such megafauna; yes, dinosaurs :D), so Marcellus gifts her daughter a foal that she names Juniper (or June; don’t mind the fact that horses age normally and half-elves don’t - June has a long lifespan…). Tarry, as her brother calls her, and the foal become best friends and she often sneaks off to the stables to read with her horse whenever she can. Horse riding becomes something that her father and she can connect over and they love going on rides together whenever they can.

Around the age of six, Tarry starts manifesting little sparks of magic, often when she’s either very excited or anxious, which instantly causes her mother to worry that this magic will turn destructive. Marcellus tries to comfort his wife and with some help from Siena, Tarry learns to connect with her magic safely, no signs yet of this being a strain of wild magic. Saveria hopes against hope that maybe the Damos family “curse”, as it’s been called, has finally ended.

A few years later, word is sent to them that Siena has died in an ambush by some orcs led by the Bhaalist general Akheron Favron (my Dark Urge Ceres’ grandfather…the plot thickens), however, it turns out that Siena actually unleashed a wild magic surge that killed not only her and the attackers but also some members of her own adventuring party. Losing Siena sends Saveria into a spiral, her then trying to ensure Tarry won’t suffer a similar fate. On the other hand, Tarry, who’s lost one of the only people who truly understood her, becomes panicked and anxious, her wild magic finally showing its real face. Marcellus wants them to treat Tarry with patience but Saveria, certain that the only way is either to suppress the magic altogether or have Tarry study to become an actual wizard. Even though Marcellus disagrees with this at first, he gives in as he doesn’t have much understanding of the arcane. Furthermore, Tarry loves learning so initially she doesn’t mind the idea of being taught in a magical academy but the more she realises she has to become someone she’s not, and her being harassed for every thing she does wrong, the harder it becomes for her to find joy in her magic and similarly to her mother and the teachers at the academy, she starts fearing it.

Around Taranlas’ teenage years, the family starts moving around the Sword Coast due to her father’s work as an Alliance Envoy, first to Baldur’s Gate, then to Waterdeep before they finally settle in Baldur’s Gate. During Tarry’s years in Baldur’s Gate, she befriends the young tiefling (Katherine) Marlowe whom she becomes great friends with as they both feel a bit like underdogs, Tarry teased for her clumsiness and wild magic whereas Marlowe is harassed due to her social background.

In Waterdeep, Tarry studies a while at Blackstaff Academy, but with time they give up on her due to her unfocused nature and tendency to cause trouble, even though it’s always by accident. As a teenager and young adult, she’s also paraded around a lot at balls and events, more due to her mother’s wishes than the father’s, but Tarry wants to become an arcane scholar first and foremost and doesn’t want to be married off as a way to cut magic out of her life. During all this time, her brother Lucan proves to be the one that always steps in to shield her from unnecessary pressure and does everything in his power to understand her, even with his limited understanding of magic. With him around, she finds safety and learns to build a quiet sort of strength in the midst of the chaos.

Unfortunately, even with all the training, she can’t get her magic under control, and instead it’s growing more powerful and unyielding. The final blow for Tarry happens when she’s sent to the House of Wonder, an old temple of Mystra that now is a learning place for young mages - the instructor she faces here is among the harshest ones she’s faced, and by this point, the belief she has in herself and her own magic is low. For weeks she studies and practices night and day but gets more and more burnt out, finally resulting in her bringing about a wild magic surge during a spell casting session that hospitalises her as well as another student. She’s expelled and decides enough is enough.

For Taranlas, being cast aside from the academies and not given a chance to prove her worth (as often the instructors try to teach her as a wizard with little patience for her wild magic) breaks her self-image, as unlike many other sorcerers who go off on their own and just rely on their own raw powers, she actually wanted to be part of the arcane academia, learning more about magic as well as learning about herself. Tarry loves magic like nothing else and can’t really see herself without it, it would be like cutting out a part of her, so she realises she needs to find her own way to harness it. Thus Tarry sets out to travel along the Sword Coast for many years, every now and then returning home to see her family - sometimes she’s traveling by herself, sometimes in a group, and she also lives for a time with a group of Druids from the Emerald Enclave. With the druids, she finds new ways to root her magic, learning a bit how their magic works and with time, even though her wild magic is still hazardous and unpredictable at times, she discovers ways how to use it to her advantage.

One day she is traveling back home to Baldur’s Gate, when all of a sudden, the shadow of a large vessel looms over here. A Nautiloid. And that’s how her story in Baldur’s Gate 3 starts.

[katham1]

The Damos-Levine family history

(Part 1/2 of Taranlas Levine’s background lore)

So I promised on IG to share the lore about my Tav and DnD Wild Magic sorcerer Tarry and thought this might be the easiest way to read it for you guys. Part 2 which focuses on just Tarry and her early years will be up soon. 👀 Enjoy!

Past history

Long ago, the family of Damos (their crest a stag, symbolising rebirth and the pursuit of wisdom) was a prosperous and powerful clan of sun elves, with a strong magical bloodline, residing in the fabled Myth Drannor. They were sun elves and were particularly skilled with magic, being among those who kept the city protected from enemy attacks, but as the city fell, the family’s magic weakened and started to grow unstable. Some of the Damos paladins with families that had survived left the ruined city in search of a new home. With time, they came to settle down on the Sword Coast, often moving from one area to the other, as if restless and not able to put down roots anywhere.

As generations came and went, the Damos’ magic as well as the family itself grew more scattered, and every few generations, children born with wild magic began to cause fear among them - many of these children were cast aside and the others in the family grew fearful and prejudiced against magic users in general, fuelled by the fact that many of the family’s wild mages proved dangerous both to themselves and to others. In order to protect the family, the arcane arts were more or less prohibited in the clan.

More recent years

Taranlas’ grandfather Cernun Damos was a stern man, in many ways shaped by the history of his family. He and his wife Elantia (a more gracious and calm person than her husband) had two daughters, Saveria and Siena Damos, the former with great academic prowess, while the latter had a strong passion for aiding those in need, she was practical and had great empathy. As a teenager, Siena starts manifesting wild magic, raw and uncontrolled. The sisters are sent to Candlekeep to study, Saveria to study the history of the arcane in Faerûn whereas Siena is meant to harness her wild magic powers and get them under control. Siena being less of a scholar and with a hot temper, storms out only weeks after being enrolled, having caused a dangerous situation with her wild magic when her tutor was pushing her beyond her limits. The blame is still laid on her, and Siena stubborn as she is will not let this slide. Cernun subsequently cuts her out from the family and only a short while after, a heartbroken Elantia dies.

Saveria being a very calm and fairly avoidant person, always having been caught in the crossfire between her father and her more fiery sister, tries to stay on good terms with both her father and Siena who is now on the road, getting caught up in adventurer’s schemes and eventually befriending Gorion’s Ward and Jaheira (see BG1).

In the meantime, Saveria starts wrapping up her studies in Candlekeep and during this time meets Marcellus Levine, a young nobleman hailing from Neverwinter. A kind and down-to-earth person, Marcellus is a student of history as well as political relations, with the aspiration to become a diplomat and Alliance Envoy. They connect over similar interests and during the weeks they study together in Candlekeep they become close friends, slowly starting to fall for each other. They move to Neverwinter and have a small wedding, one that Cernun doesn’t attend once he learns that Siena has been invited. At this point, Cernun disappears and isn’t heard from again, much to the sorrow of Saveria who despite everything still loves her father.

In the next few years, Marcellus rises through the ranks and the Levine couple have two children, first their son Lucan, and three years later, their daughter Taranlas - their sunshine child.

[kendypun]

My sweet Bae'zel, always gonna love you💚💚

Airing out the bitties on bsky

[malueris-art]

By Arrow and by North

Ep. 7 - Desperate Ground

Posted today! (Actually yesterday but then I was too sleepy to post on here).

And here is the cover illustration (a little angsty this time, whoops)

[katscozycomics]

Paint studies I did live on discord

Join my discord by subscribing to my Patreon here

[fanbitchedits1234]

Thank you peanut.buddha.art on Instagram for the reference photo and to both @thatartsyej and @strifeproxy24 for all the art advice again!! Learning so much with all your guy's help! Also shout out to everyone who convinced me to actually post this lol.