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#rolan x ember
catsharky · 6 months
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My Tav wasn't raised by Tieflings and hasn't really lived as one until the events of the game. As a result she has no concept of tail body language and broadcasts shit she doesn't mean to.
Part 2
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underdark-dreams · 5 months
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A gift fic for @catsharky featuring their beautiful bard Tav, Ember! Fueled by catsharky's mind and by the amazing art of Ember & blushy Rolan trapped in a closet 😳
Pent Up
"How long has it been?" As the new Master of Ramazith's Tower, Rolan finds himself short on personal time. Then he finds himself trapped up against the bard.
Tags: Trapped in a Closet, Tails, Touch-Starved, Explicit Sexual Content
Word Count: 4,383 [Read on AO3]
For all its wonders, Ramazith’s Tower offered a staggering lack of privacy. 
Perhaps few wizards had families; Rolan couldn’t think of another good reason why such a palace would have only one decent bedroom within its walls.
It hadn’t seemed like a hindrance the first days Cal and Lia moved in. They’d managed to find their alone time on the road from Elturel where privacy was nonexistent, hadn’t they?
After four weeks of Cal’s snoring and Lia’s constant tossing and turning in their beds beside his, Rolan felt like a bowstring ready to snap. Between the shared quarters and all of the newly inherited duties of managing Sorcerous Sundries, let alone cataloging the Tower itself, Rolan found himself…well. Out of time for his own needs. 
More bluntly, if Rolan didn’t get himself off in the next tenday, he feared he might actually burn down a wing of his brand new library from sheer sexual frustration. The thought didn’t even embarrass him at this point—that’s how absolutely desperate he’d grown.
And of course the dreams weren’t helping.
That made Rolan’s focus falter for a moment, and the books he was levitating to the floor above slammed into their shelf with far too much force. He cursed under his breath and concentrated fresh on the next stack of tomes beside him.
Of all the people for his subconscious to latch onto, why, why did it have to be Ember? He respected her and valued her friendship more than just about anyone’s. He looked forward to every moment he got to spend in her company, in fact. 
Yet lately, Rolan’s sleeping mind conjured up scenarios where he took her in every position on every surface imaginable.
Pressed into silky sheets—bent in half over his desk—on her hands and knees on the carpet, the wood floor, his own bed, Ember’s fists gripping the bedding beneath her as he—
“Hope you’ve got a good spot to hide up here!”
Rolan heard the jingle of bells behind him before he’d even turned from his work. Her voice sent a pang of mortification through him, as if she too might have glimpsed those images flashing through his mind’s eye.
Ember was dashing toward him from the Tower portal, still dressed in one of her stage costumes. She was barefoot save for a ring of little bells around each ankle, and her tail swung wildly behind her for balance as she ran into the room.
“What in the hells—” Rolan began, this time failing the final gesture of his spell. The tomes that he was carefully guiding upward lurched and crashed against the polished wood, toppling back down several floors. Rolan ducked aside just in time as they landed with a sharp thump at his feet.
“Explain,” he demanded curtly, knowing whatever story the bard had would be outlandish.
“That Aradin, remember?” Ember pulled up in front of him, clutching a stitch in her side. “Stupid bounty hunter? His crew’s downstairs. They seem very put out that he’s dead,” she added, letting out a breathless laugh. 
Rolan failed to see the humor. “You mean you led them here? From wherever you were doing your—” 
He tried and failed to find the right word, instead waving a hand around her figure. Ember’s attire revealed a strip of bare skin from her neck to her navel, and that sight had scattered Rolan’s thoughts around his skull like marbles.
“The Elfsong,” Ember supplied, not acknowledging his sudden fluster. “They didn’t recognize my stage disguise, but I overheard them planning to come here and shake you down for what’s owed them. You’re welcome for the head start,” she added, propping a fist on her hip.
Rolan tried to ignore the attitude as he bent to pick up his damaged books in a huff. “They do know Lorroakan’s dead too, correct? Whatever contract they had with him was never any of my business.”
Ember spread her arms wide in impatience. “I know that, Rolan, but they’re fucking idiots!”
“Let’s just call Aylin to stomp them to death,” Rolan muttered savagely, not altogether joking. 
Rolan had fended off Aradin’s rude threats for his entire apprenticeship, and now that he was Master of the Tower himself, he was in no mood for more of that lot barging in and demanding things. After watching the aasimar dispatch Lorroakan, Rolan suspected that Dame Aylin would share the feeling.
“Nice idea,” Ember allowed, “but unless you’d like blood on your new carpets, I suggest we make ourselves scarce. Like now. You know you’ve still got a portal down there practically labeled ‘Real Nightsong Hunters This Way’?” 
This brought Rolan up short with a curse; Ember had a terribly good point there. He could kick himself for not having the sense to fix that glaring security risk before now. 
Considering the slew of Gazette articles speculating wildly about how Ramazith’s Tower had fallen into his hands, perhaps it was wise not to add any other deaths to his first month as Master.
When he straightened, Ember was already casting around the cavernous interior for a suitable hiding spot. “There,” she pointed up suddenly. 
Apparently done trying to urge him on with words, Ember’s fingers clasped over his, and the next thing Rolan knew she was dragging him bodily up the staircase. The books under his arm tumbled again to the floor. 
Through his surprise, Rolan felt something wet between their palms. He glanced to find that her hand was spattered with blood.
“Did they hurt you?” Suddenly furious, Rolan nearly stumbled on a stair behind her. A handful of defensive spells sprang white-hot into his mind.
“Oh, no—” Ember dismissed the idea. “It’s not mine.”
That only raised more questions, but there was no chance to form them as she yanked him onto the open landing. When Ember made a beeline toward the narrow door between two ornate shelves, Rolan tried to object. “That’s only a—”
Ember threw the door open and practically shoved him inside. 
“—closet,” Rolan finished deadpan, even as the bard jostled in behind him, swinging the door to its latch behind her. The space was comically small with two people.
Or it would have been comical with someone else.
Instead, Rolan found himself suddenly pressed up far closer to Ember than he ever had been outside his own mind. Standing chest-to-chest, he was painfully aware of every spot where their limbs brushed together—especially when her hand accidentally swung against the robes at his thigh.
It finally made her pick up on the tension radiating around him. Ember cleared her throat, although her eyes were sparkling with amusement. “Unless you’ve got a better idea?” 
“No,” was all Rolan had time to say before the whirling sound of the portal below traveled up to their ears. The two of them froze still. Ember's eyes on his face went wide, as if it might help her hear behind her better.
Over Ember’s shoulder, Rolan could only see a thin vertical sliver of the lower dais through the crack in the closet door, but it was just enough. 
Into the room shuffled two men, one dark and one fair. Rolan indeed thought he recognized them from Aradin’s crew back at the Grove. They moved warily across the central floor with hands near their weapons, as if expecting an ambush. When the blonde-haired man turned slightly, Rolan glimpsed two fresh streaks of blood running from his nostrils. 
Almost as if someone with quick reflexes had jammed the heel of their hand against his nose in a defensive move, bloodying their palm in the process.
“I see,” Rolan whispered, partly to himself. “Any chance you instigated this whole thing?”
“He deserved it,” Ember whispered back with vehemence. “He called you a—” 
Their eyes met for a second, and just as Rolan’s heart began to pound at how close her face was, she glanced away.
“Let’s just say he had Aradin’s vocabulary,” Ember finished.
So she had bloodied a man’s nose to defend his honor? He should find it absurd, but at this moment, all Rolan could think was how pretty Ember looked with her jaw set in righteous indignation like that.
“I’m flattered,” Rolan told her, only half-joking. He glanced back through the crack in the door, partly to distract himself from her again. 
The two thugs had quickly given up any pretense of stealth in favor of searching the premises. Their unguarded footsteps were enough to track them, and after a short verbal exchange those heavy treads spread out to explore the floor below—far from Rolan and Ember’s hiding place.
“What if they steal something?” Ember whispered suddenly.
Of all Rolan’s concerns right now, that was by far the least pressing. “The stuff they’re looking for is all down in the vault. But I’d love to see them try, this place has enough defensive enchantments to flatten a troll, some my own magic. They’ll get knocked out if they so much as crack open a book. Though I doubt they can read,” Rolan added.
That made Ember laugh, a breathy and quiet sound—Rolan felt it against his cheek and hoped she wouldn’t notice the way he swallowed hard at the sensation. 
With the two intruders blundering about so loudly, it suddenly seemed like an unnecessary risk to keep the door cracked open to watch them. In one move Rolan reached around Ember’s arm for the doorknob, pulled it shut, and muttered a quick incantation. The lock glowed blue-white with a series of clicks, now magically secured from the inside.
It was a slight change, but it somehow made the cramped space feel far more intimate. The light streaming under the door was just enough for him to make out Ember’s face a mere foot from his own. 
Shelves packed with broken baubles of unidentified usefulness lined the walls around them, muffling the sound in the small space, everything but their breathing. Ember was close enough that Rolan felt her every exhale tickle his cheek.
“Now I guess we wait,” she said. 
Rolan nodded, then remembered she might not be able to see. “I suppose. Hopefully those idiots lose interest fast.”
“What about Cal and Lia?”
“They’re both at Alfira’s,” Rolan answered. Worry ran through him for a moment, but they wouldn’t be back for at least an hour. By any luck Aradin’s old crew would be long gone by then. Good gods, please. Rolan didn’t think he’d survive an hour in a confined space with Ember’s body brushing up against him without doing something immensely embarrassing.
There was another muffled pause as they both shifted on their feet. One of Ember’s bells gave a tiny jingle.
“So…what’s new with you?” Ember’s quiet voice shook with mirth. This whole situation was apparently all good fun for her.
Rolan found himself enjoying it for his own reasons, but not any he remotely wanted to admit. The slashing neckline in Ember’s shirt offered a very generous view of her chest from this angle, and it took most of his concentration not to stare. He shifted again in an effort to put more space between them—with little success.
“Nothing but the usual,” he told her, grasping at the distraction. “Organizing Lorroakan’s hoard of magical artifacts, putting the library in proper order. Preparing the Tower’s defenses for the army marching down on the city any day now.”
“Sounds stressful.” Ember frowned at him a bit. “Don’t you take any time for yourself? Have a little fun?”
“When exactly would I have a chance to do that,” Rolan laughed mirthlessly.
And that was precisely the problem, wasn’t it? 
As though Rolan’s subconscious hadn’t taken over after enough inaction on his part. As though exactly four nights ago he hadn’t experienced a dream shockingly similar to their current scenario, one where dream-Ember had instead dropped to her knees with lovely lips parted to take him.
As though Rolan hadn’t jolted awake at midnight, sweaty and tangled in his bedsheets, hard cock in his own grip—
That alarming line of thought was interrupted when one of Aradin’s men called to the other. This time, the voice came from just a few meters outside the door. 
Both of them froze at the sound. Rolan’s mind was actually distracted by the threat of a confrontation, though only for a moment.
Whether from nerves or something else, Ember’s frame shifted in closer against his. He thought he could almost feel the heavy beat of her heart through the muffled and dim space.
The motion notched their bodies together in a new way. With his next smallest of movements, Rolan felt one of her thighs nudging in between his legs.
No—no no no, not now—
Yet blood was already rushing south of his waist in a primal reaction to the contact. Rolan clamped down with all his mental training, willing his body not to do anything so humiliating while she was trapped up against him like this with potential danger just outside. He conjured up thoughts of death, and pain, and anything that might distract his touch-starved body from the destination it was already barrelling towards headlong. His tail tip flicked eagerly behind him, and he coiled it around his calf to hide his tell.
But she was so firm and warm against his groin, and despite his best efforts, Rolan felt himself stiffening against her under his robes. 
Ember’s eyebrows rose silently. Rolan felt the hottest blush blooming all over his face in response.
“Ignore that,” Rolan whispered curtly. Looking at any part of her only made his face burn even more, but it was hard to find anywhere else to look in their close quarters.
Ember bit and released her lower lip. “That’s going to be hard,” she whispered back. 
Her choice of words made him wish the floorboards would open up and swallow him. Gods, this was humiliating. 
“Do you always get this excited from the thrill of danger?” Ember continued in a teasing whisper.
“Now’s not the time,” Rolan hissed at her, trying to ignore the way she had angled herself slightly against his side. 
“Or maybe it’s the close quarters—”
“Hush—” Rolan was genuinely trying to listen, unsure whether the intruder had moved away or was close enough to hear their whispered exchange. He was in no state to concentrate on spellcasting at the moment.
As he strained his ears, one of his arms nervously bumped against Ember and actually grazed the soft curve of her breast. Her breath hitched against his ear.
Fucking hells. Rolan thought every bit of him could melt on the spot—all but the length between his legs, which was now hard as a rock against the side of Ember’s hip. Rolan tried to shrink back further against the shelving behind him, but there was nowhere left to go. 
Ember certainly made no move to give him space. “Didn’t know you had it in you,” she whispered coyly. “Honestly, I’m flattered.”
“This isn’t because—” Of you, Rolan wanted to tell her. But that seemed rather insulting, not to mention a bald-faced lie. He let out a shaky breath. “I’ve…not had much time to myself lately, that’s all.”
“Oh,” she replied. Rolan could practically feel Ember’s eyes on the side of his face. “Oh.”
A pause followed in which Rolan stared up at the dark closet ceiling and wished to disappear. Outside, there was a more distant crash and a yelp—one of the idiots triggering an arcane trap, no doubt. He felt a twinge of satisfaction. They were the whole reason he was stuck in this predicament.
“How long has it been?”
Rolan glanced down at Ember, whose face was tilted toward him sincerely.
“A few weeks,” he mumbled, then looked away again. “Almost four.”
“Damn,” Ember whispered.
“Yes,” Rolan said stiffly, continuing to avoid her gaze as prickling heat climbed up his neck. “So if we could just—wait here quietly.” 
Ember let out a low, thoughtful hum. Something about the sound made Rolan’s palms sweat where they hung at his sides. 
“How quiet can you be?” She asked him.
It took Rolan several moments to catch her meaning. He blinked at her in shock, certain she must be trying to tease him again. “What do you—”
“Because we’re alone right now,” she interrupted. She spread her palms to each side, as far as the cramped walls allowed. “And you've got nowhere else to be at the moment, right?”
She was so close Rolan’s eyes had to flick back and forth between hers. “That’s insane,” Rolan said hoarsely.
“Is it?” Ember sounded quite serious, though she kept her tone to a whisper. “Listen, Rolan, you’re not subtle. I’ve noticed, everyone who cares about you has. You’ve been impatient, and snippy, and Lia said you keep forgetting projects in the middle to start new ones.”
“When did you talk to—”
She didn’t slow for his question, and Rolan felt her hand actually curl up over his shoulder. His skin glowed with heat under her touch.
“For your own sanity, you need to get off,” Ember finished.
“I’m not going to—while you’re standing right here,” Rolan choked out. His mouth refused to repeat the phrase.
Ember was so close that he actually saw the color travel up her cheeks. “Rolan, seriously…you’ve been staring down my shirt every ten seconds. And you’re practically impaling me with that thing in your pants.”
All Rolan could do was squeeze his eyes shut with a small groan of humiliation. “I’m sorry.”
“You don't need to be sorry,” she told him, and with his eyes closed, he heard a new note in her voice. “I’m telling you I can help.” 
As she spoke, a soft hand closed across Rolan’s mouth. 
His eyes flew open in shock to find hers. Ember’s luminous blue-gold gaze looked at him from under her lashes, sending a wave of heat rippling and licking across the skin under his robes.
With heart pounding in his chest, Rolan connected the dots. She could help. She could keep him quiet.
As his breath panted faster under her hand, Ember tilted her body slightly against his. Before he could think, she moved her free arm as if to reach between his legs.
Rolan shook his head frantically. If she touched him there, this would all be over. Not to mention…some small part of his mind admitted…he wanted to feel Ember’s hands there for the first time under different circumstances. Some night when he could take his time with her on even footing.
She had withdrawn her hand immediately at his indication, resting it gently around on his back instead. It was almost a sweet gesture—until she used the leverage of her pressed palm to roll her hips very slightly over his trapped thigh.
The small motion slid his hardness against her side through layers of clothing, and the simple friction made him throb. Rolan moaned at the back of his throat and felt the vibration stopped up by her hand. His tail had uncurled from his leg to shudder and flick in excitement again, nearly knocking something glass off the shelf behind him. Desperate to keep quiet, Rolan wound his tail up Ember’s leg with the tip brushing against her thigh. 
She bit one side of her lip in response. At that sight, had her fingers not been clasped firmly over his mouth, Rolan would have closed the distance to kiss her.
While he panted and wished, Ember’s hand trailed down the back of his robes with no particular goal in mind. But when her fingers met with bare skin at the base of his tail, Rolan jerked involuntarily as a strangled groan rose from his chest. 
The fingers of her other hand clenched tighter over his mouth. Ember stared at him, eyes wide with surprise and something like delight. 
The last working bit of Rolan’s brain recalled her upbringing among non-Tieflings. Was it possible—could she not realize what a very sensitive area that was?
She appeared to be getting the picture either way. Without moving her hand from his lips, she curled four fingers ever so lightly to cup around the base of his tail.
“Wait,” Rolan managed to gasp out against Ember’s hand, and she slid it down to his chin. His length throbbed painfully against his trousers, pressing obscenely into her thigh, yet she made no move to adjust positions.
But Ember did hesitate as she watched him. “Does that hurt?”
“No, hells—” Rolan shook his head in a daze. “Far…far from it.”
Ember looked over his face with almost curiosity, and then her lovely fingers squeezed slightly around him.
“Wait!” Rolan repeated, and his tone shot up to a quiet whine. He was past trying to control his reactions, trembling and heated with weeks of pent-up desperation, but it felt vital to salvage what shreds of his dignity remained before she tipped him over the edge. And she had him very, very close.
“This isn't how I wanted—with you—but it’s been a gods damned month between everything, and Cal and Lia—and I’m master of the Tower now, and there’s the Absolute—”
Whether or not Rolan’s whispered and disjointed rambling made any sense, Ember had the grace to watch him from under her lashes until he sputtered out. In the next moment, she uttered the sultriest thing he’d ever heard. 
“Honestly, Rolan, I just want to watch you come all over your robes.” 
With that, her grip tugged firmly at the spot where his tail met his ass. 
If not for her other hand clamping over his mouth again in the same motion, Rolan would have let out the most humiliating whimper of pure relief. Instead the noise was a muffled strangle of sound as his body gave her exactly what she wanted.
With a full-body shudder, Rolan twitched and spilled inside his trousers. His fingers clutched and dug at Ember’s hips with a mind of their own, pulling her forward shamelessly, allowing him to finally grind against her thigh in earnest as he came.
The wave of long-awaited release shot all the way up his spine with an intensity that made his knees buckle. Ember pressed his hips back against the shelves with her own just enough to catch him, sending the precarious tinkle of metal and glass around the small space—but her hand pumped a few more times over his tail to tease every last wave of pleasure from between his legs.
Rolan’s limbs trembled and shook from the force of the most satisfying climax he’d had in years. As white stars behind his eyelids popped and cleared, hot, sticky spend pooled in the fabric between his legs…then rapidly turned cold and mortifying. All Rolan could do was hang his head over Ember’s shoulder and pant against her hand.
At this moment, he’d give half his tower to know a good Banishment hex.
But if Ember was put off by his loss of control, she certainly didn't show it. Instead she let out a sound like a satisfied purr; she finally released his twitching, oversensitive tail to wrap both arms around his neck.
Rolan felt drunk in his afterglow, too spent to do anything but loop his arms around Ember’s waist and bury his flushed face into her shoulder. He realized through the haze that he'd heard the portal activate a while ago, though it hadn't registered then. They'd been alone in the tower for some time.
“Feel better?” Ember asked, her cheek resting against his shoulder.
It was difficult to answer. On the one hand, he could sob from the relief. On the other, Rolan had just done the most unimpressive thing against the leg of the very woman he wanted to impress most.
But Ember hadn't pushed him away in disgust. She was even closer than before, the length of her body pressed up comfortably against his as she hugged him. If not for the cold wet stain soaking from his clothes into hers, the position would be quite nice.
Rolan cast a simple spell as his energy returned, and the fabric between them was instantly warm and dry again.
“I've felt worse,” Rolan admitted as he reluctantly drew her away. Ember had begun to feel a little too nice pressed up against him; he wasn't taking any chances on a repeat.
“Good.” Ember looked down to brush herself off a little, and Rolan wondered whether he was imagining the darker color in her cheeks.
Without another word, Ember wheeled to open the door and accidentally thumped up against the unyielding wood. “Ouch—”
“Sorry,” Rolan said hastily, releasing the arcane lock with another quick spell and a flash of light. The door swung open.
They both stumbled slightly on the way out, blinded by the daylight streaming through the highly arched windows after so long in a dark enclosed space.
Ember walked ahead first with a hand shielding her eyes. “Well, looks all right out here…they didn’t try to trash the place, at least.” 
Rolan glanced at her to respond, then stopped short.
He gaped open-mouthed at the back of her. From between the seams of her costume, Ember’s tail looped up in a perky and exaggerated S-curve. The sight was utterly adorable and incredibly tantalizing all at once. It also offered a very nice view of the curves of her hips, and Rolan could only blink and swallow hard as his mind whirred through several possibilities to land on the obvious one.
Had she enjoyed that?
Apparently unaware that her tail was curling and swaying at him in a come-hither motion, Ember turned back to him with a bright, unsuspecting smile. Rolan rushed to compose his face.
“You should come to my show this week,” she told him. “It’ll be fun. Bring Cal and Lia, relax a little. You’ve gotten all pent up in here,” Ember added, waving an arm around the cavernous tower.
He would say she had no idea, but in fact, Ember now knew intimately well. 
Thanks to the electrifying realization that she had some feelings of her own about the matter, Rolan was able to manage a shaky laugh. 
“I might just chance it.”
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bg3ficreviews · 1 month
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Thunder reforged: Rolan x Dammon - #BG3 FanFic Review
Review by Aivu (@aivuthedragon)
Happy timezone, dear readers! Today I'm happy to bring you this incredible series of works by velocitross on AO3. What's hotter than a tiefling wizard with a knack for a well-timed thunderwave? Said tiefling wizard having a rendezvous with his tiefling blacksmith paramour, of course.
A note from the BG3FicReviews team: The entire BG3 community was been rocked by the recent controversy surrounding Dammon's VA, including the various fanwork creators who've fallen in love with Dammon, included him in their work, and are part of the LGBTQAI+ community themselves. We want to express our support and love to Dammon fans, Dammon fan work creators, the LGBTQAI+ community generally and all those adversely affected by what's happened. As such, we have decided to feature such works in our reviews this week. Make your love louder than the hate. 💜
As always, mind the tags! Our review is continued below the fold due to the NSFW nature of the content in these works.
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This incredible artwork by @arczism was inspired by velocitross's Rolan x Dammon fic Working Steel, which is included in today's review.
Working Steel, the first of velocitross’ three works that include this rare pair, is a masterwork in character portrayal. The author adeptly captures the at-a-glance somewhat incompatible personalities of the two tiefling refugees who fled Elturel together and now reside in Baldur’s Gate. In this work, the relationship between Rolan, the ever-surly wizard and the newly ‘appointed’ master of Ramazith Tower, and Dammon, the gentle yet infernally talented blacksmith of the Forge of the Nine, has grown far beyond mere friendship.
Rolan, frustrated by his attempts to catalogue the mindless chaos remaining after the untimely death of the tower’s former owner, approaches Dammon to ask for his help and visits him at his forge. But what could a blacksmith possibly offer a wizard? Well, a good fuck, for one thing. Rolan is pent-up, impatient, and needs a good lay. And, it turns out, so does Dammon. The smut that ensues is not only blazingly hot but also beautifully captures the tender affection between the two tieflings through not only their words, but small, unique gestures of love and care. (Mind the tails. I mean, tags. No, tails.)
In Up in the Tower, it’s Dammon’s turn to visit the wizard’s domain. But the blacksmith receives a less-than-warm welcome, as the ever-grumpy Rolan becomes highly annoyed at having his work interrupted. But considering Rolan is dressed in little more than his underwear and an open robe, I’m more than willing to forgive him for his surliness. Dammon, however, being the sweet, gentle soul that he is, insists on taking care of Rolan beyond his carnal needs alone. In this work, the relationship between the pair deepens, and the author has wonderfully captured the intimacy of the pair. Lastly, we have Within the Storm. This work takes us back to the Shadow-Cursed Lands as the tiefling refugees attempt to cross its desolate lands on their way to Baldur’s Gate. When the Absolute’s forces ambush the group, Rolan expertly wields his magic to stave them off. But when something happens to Zevlor, the battle takes a turn for the worse. In the chaos, Rolan’s siblings, Cal and Lia, are kidnapped and several of his friends and co-travellers are brutally murdered.
Once at Last Light Inn, Rolan is a fucking mess, devastated by his siblings’ capture. Lost in the depths of his despair and way too much drink, the tiefling wizard finds comfort in the arms of a fellow refugee he’d known since childhood - Dammon. And thus the gentlest embers of affection between the pair begin to spark to life. This lovely one-shot serves as a prelude to the author’s much-anticipated long fic about the pair, their growing affection for one another and what looks to be a truly beautiful love story. If you would like to follow velocitross’ incredible work about the love between a tiefling wizard and blacksmith, please be sure to subscribe to the author on AO3 and follow their work and the pending long fic. We have included a snippet of Working Steel below for your enjoyment. As always, please support the writers of our incredible fandom by leaving kudos and comments on their work. 🫶
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Working Steel
By velocitross on AO3
The ring of his hammer fills Dammon’s ears and his attention as he works. A soft frown of focus curves his lips. It’s a simple enough repair—restoring a blade for the halfling woman standing outside the forge watching him work. Still, there’s a satisfaction to it: the rhythm of his strikes, the heat of the day in Baldur’s Gate warming him beneath his layers of apron and clothing. The ordinary busy noise of the city goes on just outside his focus, a subtle, stabilizing comfort even months after the Netherbrain’s defeat.
When he glances up from his work, a distinct figure catches his eye amongst the passersby. Rolan, with his proud bearing and his regal blue and red robes, coming toward the smithy with a tense, bothered scowl and his tail lashing behind him. A smile touches Dammon’s lips. He knows that look.
“I’ll be with you in a moment,” he says as Rolan comes to a stop an awkward few feet from the halfling waiting on her sword.
“Well, don’t take too long,” Rolan snaps, and then reddens further when Dammon raises an eyebrow at him. “Sorry. I’ll just—I’ll wait.”
Dammon lifts the blade off his anvil to study it. He smiles at the halfling as he passes her the sword.
“Give that a try. Come back if you need anything else.”
She moves off to the side to examine the blade, allowing Rolan to step up to the forge. He stands, arms crossed, his face flushed as he fixes Dammon with his bright yellow stare.
“Anything I can help you with, Rolan?” the blacksmith prompts.
Rolan sighs. He places his hands carefully on the edge of the anvil, glances again toward the halfling woman, and leans in toward Dammon.
“I need . . . Steel.”
Dammon breathes a good-natured chuckle.
“Come on,” he says, nodding over his shoulder toward the building. “I could use a break, anyway.”
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rosieofcorona · 1 month
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It's WIP Wednesday
help help i've fallen into the rolan trap and i can't get out (jk it's far too late to help me)!!! sharing a little snippet of my rolan x tav fic bc why not:
Once their breathing has evened, she runs her hand from the base of his tail up the long, ridged line of his spine. It's a lovely, shivery feeling, light compared to the crushing, coursing pleasure of being inside her, and Rolan can't help but arch his back a little, pulling his head from her shoulder to look at her. With both hands, he pushes the sweat-stuck hair out of her face, away from her cheeks, away from her eyes, her pretty mouth. He studies her features in the blue gloom of morning, wanting to etch every detail of her delicious, delirious expression in his memory, on his eyelids, wanting to be able to call it to mind again and again once she leaves. 
Rolan traces the sharp point of her ear down to her jaw, her throat, her shoulder, to the space above her collarbone where his mouth had been. He can see it even in the lowlight– a fresh bruise darkening in the place he’d pressed his eyeteeth to the flesh, and bit down hard.
He knew she’d liked it, in the moment– her little sounds still in his ear– but the rush of their passion is wearing off and now he worries he's gone too far.
“Does this hurt?” he asks her quietly, his touch whispering over the skin. 
She gives a curious little hum, then covers his fingers with her own. She presses them down, into the bruise, gasping softly again. It makes his own breath catch in his throat, stokes the cooling embers of his arousal. 
“Only a little,” she smiles softly, releasing the pressure but not his hand. “Your teeth are sharper than I thought.”
This draws a low laugh from his throat. “You’re not accustomed to tieflings, I take it.” She shakes her head. “As lovers? No.”  Would you like to be? He almost says, but she catches him lightly by the jaw, taking his chin between her fingers before he can speak. 
She starts to trace his lower lip and Rolan opens his mouth out of instinct, his tongue flicking once over the soft pad of her thumb. He knows she’s studying him, like an oddity– no, like a rarity, he can hear her protesting– but it doesn’t annoy him the way he thinks it should, and he does nothing to push her away. 
“Quite sharp,” she breathes, looking into his eyes. It almost feels like an invitation.
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worst-t4t-couple · 9 months
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ALL Pairings are out! Long post, so look under the cut!
Round 1 1/4
Sweep, cap’n, k_k VS Jay Walker, Nya
Vee, Marsha VS Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle
Cherry Blossom Joe VS Doofinsmerch, His Ex-Wife
Percy jackson, Annabeth Chase VS Jack O Valentine, Sol Badguy
Josuke Higashikata, Yasuho Hirose VS Lug, Anode
leorio, kurapika VS Nepeta Leijon, Equius Zahhak
Luz Noceda, Marcy Wu VS Varian, Hugo
Swap, Neo VS Queen Roger and Fly Minetti
Daffy, Bugs VS Vash, Wolfwood
Ren Amamiya and Goro Akechi VS Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson
Sam, Max VS Hunter, Willow
Stepan trofimovich, Varvara Petrovnad VS Rex Salazar, Noah Nixon
nellie lovett, sweeney todd VS Tim Drake, Bernard Dowd
bubby, dr coomer VS Neku, Beat
Dave Miller, Jack Kennedy VS Kermit, Mrs. Piggy
Cleo, Etho VS Zelda, Link (Rip)
Chip, Gillion VS X, Zero
kagayama shigeo, hanazawa teruki VS Kris, Berdly 
Caranthir, Haleth VS Jonathan Sims, Martin Blackwood
Marc Anciel, Nathaniel Kurtzberg VS Miyamoto Uran, Sapphire
Texas, Church VS Solid Snake, Otacon
Gundham Tanaka, Sonia Nevermind VS Phillip Carlyle,Anne Wheeler
Soos, Melody VS Red, Blue
Jungleberry Cookie, Royal Berry Cookie VS Blaze, Sonic
LDshadowlady, Smallishbeans VS Mr. Neighbor, Wegg
clark kent, lois lane VS Popeye, Olive Oyl
Round 1 2/4
Brandon Quark,  Doctor Robotnik VS Elrond, Celebrian
Yoo Joonghyuk, Kim Dokja VS stanford pines, fiddleford mcgucket
Pepa & Félix Madrigal VS Duskie & Hibiscus
Emu Otori, Rui Kamishiro VS momoe and kaoru
C!fundy and c!hbomb VS Anne Boonchuy, Sasha Waybright and Marcy Wu
Agent 3 and Agent 8 VS c!schlatt & c!connor
Zoro Roronoa and Sanji Vinsmoke (Black leg Sanji) VS Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy
Herbert West & Daniel Cain VS Snorkmaiden & Mymble Jr 
charles "trip" tucker and t'pol VS Mytho & Princess Tutu (NOT duck; just her princess form)
Gregory House and James Wilson VS luz and amity
Paintbrush and Lightbulb VS Vriska Serket & June Egbert
geordi and data VS peter sqloint and rumi sqloint
Q!ElMariana and Q!Slimecicle VS Poor Boy and Love Interest
Scar and Grian VS Jolyne/Anasui
Kian Stone, Rolan Deep and Timothy Rand VS Dr. Boris Habit and Kamal Bora
red guy and duck VS MK & Red Son
jonathan harker and mina murray harker VS Zagreus/Thanatos/Megaera
Crowley and Aziraphale VS Denki Kaminari and Kyoka Jiro
Tuor and Idril Celebrindal VS Snorpy and Chadlo
jack harkness x the tardis VS Mizuki akiyama and mafuyu
Jackieboyman and Marvin the Magnificent VS Arashi Narukami and Mika Kagehara
Barbie, Ken VS ron and desiree delite
Steven Universe & Connie Maheswaran VS Magnus Burnsides and Julia Burnsides
Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla VS castiel and dean winchester 
Eda and Luz’s mom VS Jadzia Dax & Kira Nerys
c!Tubbo and c!Ranboo VS Rex Salazar & Circe 
Round 1 3/4
Pixal + Zane VS Apollo Justice + Klavier Gavin 
The Monarch and Dr. Ms Monarch VS Juno Steel and Peter Nureyev
Kaito and Meiko VS Kamille Bidan & Fa Yuiry
Sun Wukong and Six-Eared Macaque VS Skwydd & Cricket
Sasha Nein and Milla Vodello VS Wade Ripple & Ember
Byakuren Hiijri and Toyosatomimi no Miko VS Cosmo, Wanda
Roboky and Venom VS Cellbit and Roier
Numerous BFDI ships VS Hiccup, Astrid
Beatrix and Casey VS anakin skywalker and captain rex
Raven and Beast Boy VS Neo and Trinity
Mario, Princess Peach VS Rashmi Jamil and Amelie Maçon
Denji, Asa Mitaka VS Vivi Yukino and Lewis Pepper
Benrey and Gordon VS Lace and Hornet
Beren and Luthien VS neku sakuraba, joshua kiryu
Shin and Noi VS Morticia and Gomez Addams
Paul Matthews and Emma Perkins VS Moomin, Snufkin
james t kirk + s'chnn t'gai spock VS  Nico Robin and Franky
Dave Strider and John/June Egbert VS Moominmamma & Moominpappa
Edward Nygma and Oswald Cobblepot VS shaun riley and liz
louis and lestat VS Spamton, Jevil
fox mulder and dana scully VS will t riker + deanna troi [+ worf rozhenko]
Amy Rose, Metal Sonic VS Quackity and Slimecicle
Diego Brando & Hot Pants VS Elrond and Celebrian and Gil-Galad
mia fey & diego armando/godot VS Luigi and Prince Peasly
C!Quackity, C!Karl, and C!Sapnap VS Sonic, Shadow
Drey Ferin and Finn Tidestrider VS Edward Elric and Winry Rockbell
Round 1 4/4
Shaggy and velma VS Surge the Tenrec and Amy Rose
Yamato/Portgas D. Ace VS audrey & seymour
Randy Jade and Oliver Swift VS Tsukishima Kei and Yamaguchi Tadashi
Lup and Barry Bluejeans VS Reimu and Marissa
Mizuki Akiyama & Rui Kamishiro VS Jimmy The Robot and Mc Bat Commander
C!Quackity and C!wilbur VS Espresso cookie and Eclair cookie
Junpei, Akane Kurashiki VS Obi-Wan Kenobi & Satine Kryze
Raine Whispers and Eda Clawthorne VS Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsen
Maxwell 'William' Carter and Charlie W. VS Mothwing and Leafpool
Naruto Uzumaki & Sasuke VS Baxter Stockman and The Alien Computer 
Keith Kogane and Lance McClain VS Wood Man and Robbie Rotten
Scott and Barda Free (Mister Miracle and Big Barda) VS John Notwoodman + Nick Lushwood
Caranthir and Haleth VS Susie and Noelle
orpheus and eurydice VS The doctor, Rose
luke skywalker and mara jade VS Princess Daisy and Luigi 
time and malon VS Simon (Scissor) and Spoon
Dave strider, Karkat Vantas VS Miles “moles,” Edgar, and Madeline
Mary Anta and Reginald Tetra VS Koichi Haimawari and Kazuho Haneyama
Yoshi and Birdo VS lazlo & nadia
Celebrimbor and Annatar VS Rendog and DocM77
Jesse + Jane VS Adira Tal and Gray Tal
Matt Murdock, Foggy Nelson VS Dazai Osamu and Nakahara
Jessie and James VS jeff and britta
Anji Mito and Baiken VS Shiver and Frye
ALL of MLP* VS ALL of TF2*
*Minus any familial relationships
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catsharky · 4 months
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Yeah I was right and there was no way I was getting the rest of this done without making you all wait another month or two, so I just went to the next good break point. We're officially past the halfway point with Astarion though, so not too much longer before you actually get to see Rolan again!
Part 1 • Previous Part • Next Part
Full page format under the cut:
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catsharky · 5 months
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Well I was going to do the next part all in one go (why the format's a little weird, I did pages) but then I went and got sick, so for the sake of not keeping you all waiting for another week or two, here's the first bit of part 3 of the Rolan comic
I'm hoping to post the rest of this part in one go (there's another 11 pages so we'll see if that actually happens) and then we'll finally be back to Rolan again
Part 1 • Previous Part • Next Part
Here's the pages in their original format as well. Realized they might not be super great to read on mobile, so maybe chopping them up was for the best.
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catsharky · 6 months
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"It's just one bonus comic!" I say, "how many panels could it be, 4?"
I gotta stop lying to myself and pretending I'm capable of doing short follow up comics lmao. There'll be a part 3 to this eventually, it just won't be quite as quick as this one was
Part 1 • Next Part
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catsharky · 6 months
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I just like coming up with excuses to make Rolan blush >:3
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catsharky · 1 month
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Well this took ages. I wanted to get one more page done for this but the next page has uh... 14 characters across the panels and I'm going to be away for 4 days. So a smaller update, but the next one shouldn't take almost 2 months.
Part 1 • Previous Part
Full page format under the cut as always:
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catsharky · 2 months
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Another kiss for Valentine's Day! ❤
Astarion got one too
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catsharky · 3 months
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It's done!! Well, this 'chapter' is at least. God, this took forever. Gonna take a break and do one of the shorter one-off ideas I've been dying to do before I start on the next part of this, cause it's going to be even more complicated than this chapter was.
Part 1 • Previous Part • Next Part
Bonus Panel: (the bread didn't help and Astarion is a liar)
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And as always, full page format under the cut:
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catsharky · 4 months
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Happy New Year everyone! Next part is going to be the last bit of this 'chapter' (I guess you could call it?) and after that Rolan gets to play center stage again!
Also, I mentioned it a bit in the tags on the previous part, but in case anyone needs the clarification: the timeline of this comic is what would happen if Astarion had come to the decision that he wasn't ready for a physical/romantic relationship after all. They're still platonic soulmates and all but joined at the hip, but they don't consider themselves in a relationship by this point.
Part 1 • Previous Part • Next Part
Full page format once again under the cut:
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catsharky · 7 months
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I got impatient and started on Rolan before finishing Astarion's colours, woops
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underdark-dreams · 7 months
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BG3 Masterlist
Rolan x f!Tav (she/her)
In Amber - [Pining - Slow Burn | Explicit] - AO3
In Corpore Sano - [Hurt/Comfort] - AO3
Life, Death, Resurrection - [Injury - Angst] - AO3
Good Night For Company [ch1] [ch2] - [Fluff - Feelings Realization | Explicit [ch2] ] - AO3
Blades and Spells - [First Meeting - Fluff - Siblings] - AO3
Master - [Obedience - Praise Kink | Explicit] - AO3
More - [Romantic Fluff - Mild Angst - Marriage Proposals] - AO3
Starlight - [Slow Dance - Mutual Pining] - AO3
A Strand to Climb [ch1] [ch2] [ch3] [ch4] [ch5] - [Angst - Pining - Established Relationship] - AO3
Birds and Bees - [ch1] [ch2] - [Tiefling Ruts - Sexual Tension | Explicit] - AO3
Rolan x Ember (OC by catsharky)
Pent Up - [Trapped in Closet - Tails - Touch Starved | Explicit] - AO3
Dammon x Karlach
Touchable - [Explicit] - AO3
Harper Geraldus x afab!OC
Wet Behind the Ears - [Size Kink - Face Sitting - Explicit] - AO3
Headcanons
Rolan x Dammon [sfw / nsfw]
Dammon x Rolan x gn!Tav pt. 1 [sfw / nsfw]
Dammon x Rolan x gn!Tav pt. 2 [sfw / nsfw]
Dammon x Rolan x gn!Tav at the Grove party
Tav finding Dammon's banned smut stash
Rolan / Dammon as new dads
Misc. for Rolan and Dammon [sfw]
Dammon x m!Tav
Dammon, Rolan, & Zevlor - cooking
Rolan, Dammon, Zevlor - Tails [pining / relationship]
Rolan x top/dom m!Reader [nsfw]
Rolan, Dammon, & Zevlor - borrowing their clothes [nsfw]
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catsharky · 4 months
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I've just discovered your Rolan x Tav comic.
It's SO neat and accurate, in matter of deign and details!
In case you don't mind, of course, I have some questions you maybe have answered before:
What software do you work with? What kind of pencils do you use? How do you manage to set so neat and clean results? Do you need many references for that or is just a gift you have? How many years have you been drawing to achieve those results?
I don't mind at all! And I don't believe I've answered any of these questions before, at least not since I started doing my comics.
For software I mainly use Clip Studio, though I do also use PaintTool Sai (v2) for certain things that I feel it does better. All of my Mass Effect comics are lined in Sai, for example because things like armour have a lot more inorganic shapes and require long, sweeping, unbroken lines, and I like the pen stabilization in Sai far better than CSP's for that sort of thing.
For how long I've been doing art, I've been at it basically nonstop since I was 9 (so 20 years now, jeez). I was in an art program throughout highschool, went to college for art/animation for 4 years, and I'll have been working professionally as an animator for 8 years in May! So there's a lot of practice there for sure.
And yeah, I use a ton of references. Usually a good chunk of the time I'll spend on something is just collecting or making the reference material I need for it.
I'm putting the rest under a read more because it's pretty long:
(Tumblr keeps eating my formatting so sorry if this is a little scuffed)
Because I'm normally working full time and doing this stuff in my free time after hours and on weekends, if I know I'm going to be drawing something a *lot*, I'll usually put together some kind of reference for myself in 3D so I can take some of the brainwork out of it and get more out of my evenings even when I'm feeling fried. It also means I put as little extra strain on my wrist as possible because I injured it a number of years back and it gets angry at me if I go for too many hours in a day.
But to give you an example, for Ember I have a Sculpt of her head that I can use to reference any angle I want, or to draw directly over top of for tricky angles. How I draw her isn't quite 1:1 to the model, but it gives me a base structure and landmarks I can build on top of.
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My basic workflow is to take the angle I want, draw over it using the model as a guide (while picking and choosing where to stay true to it and where to say fuck it and do what I want), then I get rid of the 3D and do another pass, tweaking and redrawing anything I'm not totally happy until I'm satisfied with how it looks. I draw Ember with a slightly softer, more rounded face than the model has, for instance. Just because something looks right in 3D doesn't always mean it looks right once translated to 2D and I don't care if something is technically "correct" if it doesn't feel right or isn't conveying what I want it to properly.
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I'm also always checking reference screenshots to make sure I'm in the right ballpark of how something should look. I actually have a wall of photos next to my desk and while I didn't put them up for that purpose, it has come in surprisingly handy for quickly checking face or hair details when needed. I also just have a big folder of screenshots and other saved reference material.
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I don't have a problem noooo~ 😅
Additionally, if my art has a background these days, there is a 100% chance that's a 3D set I built in Blender because I hate drawing backgrounds, but I do like building them in 3D.
Here's two examples: the area around Astarion's bed, which I built out of some of the in-game assets like a lego set (this was a pain in the ass, it probably would have been faster to just build it from scratch based on screenshots 😩) and a closet I modelled for something that's still a WIP.
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I'll get the angle I want, have Blender generate some linework from it and then grab a basic render of it to slap into CSP so I can draw the characters over top of it.
And as for brushes: the main brush I use in CSP is just the default 'Real G-Pen', with opacity effects turned off and these pressure settings: (I like to keep it simple, and I have a bit of a heavy hand so the altered pen pressure just helps me get a smoother taper). I change up the stabilizer settings depending on what I'm doing. Lower for things that need short, quick lines like hair and higher for most other things.
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For Sai, I use a 9B pencil I found a number of years ago on Deviantart (I think?) and I wish I could link you to the original post I got the settings from, but Deviantart's search is... bad and I'm unable to find it again.
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I hope that answered all your questions! If not, feel free to ask more!
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