Baldur's Gate Shipping Braindump (WIP)

Astarion/Dammon/Karlach:

So, this ship definitely steps from my love of both Astarion/Karlach and Dammon/Karlach. But I think Dammon and Astarion would have a very sweet dynamic as well - I could see Astarion being uncomfortable and bristling at Dammon's sweetness at first, before being inevitably won over by Dammon's calm, steady demeanor. Maybe between the two of them, they can convince Karlach to return to Avernus with them, and find a way to finally fix her heart?

Astarion/Halsin/Karlach:

I straight-up hate how poly is canonically portrayed in the game, and would like a re-do for these three please! If the player character romances either Astarion or Karlach, each of them technically consents to the player character dating Halsin as well, but it's clear from their dialogue that they're not particularly enthusiastic about it. Which I find to be bullshit. I would love to see a portrayal of Astarion and Karlach with Halsin in a much more poly-affirming manner, where the three of them are actually in fact very enthusiastic about being together! (And if it matters, I think both Astarion and Karlach would be very pro-bears.)

I would also love to read about anything that compares how Halsin the Druid and Karlach the Wildheart Barbarian each interact with animals and nature! Or anything that features Astarion complaining about being in the woods. Poor, long-suffering Astarion, forced to go camping!

Astarion/Karlach:

I initially shipped these two for the subversive "big buff butch/twinky gay elf" gender dynamics, but then I read the ship-specific dev notes for these two when you romance Astarion as Karlach, and how can I possibly say no to that slow-burn mutual pining? Ahhhh! What does it mean for Asterion, who has so much trauma around utilizing sex as a tool, to NOT immediately sleep with Karlach? How does that impact the development of their relationship and how he feels about her?

"Karlach is pining for touch. Astarion would satiate her needs to ensure his safety. And by the time he can finally fulfill her need, he realizes it's not her protection he is after. Not any longer. His feelings have changed. It is her heart he yearns for. And it horrifies him more than Cazador ever could." ([source]

That paragraph sums up so much of the allure of that ship for me. I would love to read about them getting to know each other, where Astarion initially seeks her out as a way to protect himself. I think it could be fascinating to delve into the tension between Astarion "exploiting" Karlach's lonely, touch-starved nature, and Karlach "exploiting" Astarion's sexual trauma early on in their relationship. How do they deal with the fall-out of that?

I'm always a sucker for any sort of post-canon fic, and this goes double for Karlach, who definitely gets the short end of the endgame stick! Please tell me about Karlach & Astarion's adventures in Avernus! His enthusiasm for going to Avernus with Karlach at the end of a Karlach origin run is also fucking adorable. (He straight up says, "don't threaten me with a good time"!)

If you're interested in writing fic that's 100% straight-up id, I'd love to see anything with Alpha!Karlach taking care of omega!Astarion. Nesting here would be a plus!

I would also be interested in a scenario where Astarion is able to reclaim his sexual agency through his relationship with Karlach, especially if kink is involved in some way - Karlach is so eager to please that I could absolutely see her as a submissive service top, and I'm really curious as to how Astarion would react to being a dominant bottom. How would he take to ordering Karlach around, and getting to center his own pleasure?

Astarion/Karlach/Lae'zel:

Okay, I just love that despite how Karlach & Lae'zel have entirely opposing demeaors, Lae'zel has SO MUCH respect for Karlach that it can and absolutely will outweigh any sort of negativity or contempt Lae'zel might otherwise feel. Astarion/Lae'zel is not a ship I had given much thought to at first, but this post absolutely has me convinced. I think adding Karlach to that dynamic can help smooth some of the jagged edges between them - and I love the dynamic of Karlach having to wrangle these two chaos gremlins!

Astarion/Karlach/Wyll:

They're just so cute together Yes, I am one of the many suckers for Astarion's "Wyll's the sort of prince-type I would have once dreamed of marrying. When I was about thirteen." line. The note of honesty under Astarion's scorn is so telling! I love the dynamic of Wyll trying to wrangle Astarion, with Karlach as the completely bonkers wild card! Most of the time she'll help Wyll keep Astarion's gremlin mode in check, but every once in a while, she and Astarion will team up, and that's when Wyll knows he's in trouble.

Dammon/Karlach:

Dammon canonically has a crush on her, and in that sense, is Dammon not all of us? (The tinge of desperation in his letter to her in the epilogue, not knowing whether she was alive or not? Ahh, Larian, please tell me Dammon & Karlach get to reunion in a future DLC!) And Karlach's initial long rest monologue makes it clear that she wouldn't mind getting a piece of that. Dammon is so gentle and steady that he can be easy to forget that he was also drafted by Zariel's commanders into a war he didn't want to be a part of. ("When our city fell into Avernus, Zariel's commanders put me to work in their forges. Vicious bastards, the lot of them, but it helped that they thought I had some utility.") But sweet isn't the same as soft, and it's clear that he's experienced his share of horrors as well (even if not to the degree Karlach has). I think their shared experiences could allow Karlach to open up about and process her trauma in a way she can't with most. It's clear that Dammon refuses to give up on her, and I'd love to read anything about Dammon going to Avernus with her, or finding a way to fix her heart for good.

Karlach/Minthara:

So, first I shipped them because they are my favorite characters, so naturally I smush them together. And also because of all that gorgeous visual ice&fire contrast! And then, I began shipping these two out of spite, because I was salty that Karlach (my favorite companion) is the only Origins character who can't romance Minthara (my second favorite companion) due to her specific quest line. But then I watched the tragedy that is the Karlach/Minthara end scene where Karlach accepts her death but Minthara does not, and GOD LARIAN JUST BREAK MY HEART WHY DON'T YOU? There are hundreds of tragic moments in this game, so please understand that I am not fucking around when I say that nothing in this game punch me in the heart as painfully as Minthara breaking down mid-sob as she says,, "All of your strength, all of your passion...all of your fire, extinguished. Such a waste." God. Minthara's voice actor does NOT pull punches. I am unhealthily hyperfixated with this ship due to that line alone. Please give me a happy ending for these two! One where Minthara finds a way to fix Karlach's heart, and they live happily ever after as the INTENSE ZERO CHILL QUEENS that they are.

Karlach/Mizora:

I was a goner for these two the moment I got my grubby little paws on the dev notes for Mizora's sex scene, and saw all the delicious ship-specific content there is for these two. Transcript of Mizora's sex scene, with Karlach-specific lines denoted with * (Screencap of the scene here.):

Mizora: The Nine Hells of Baator. The ultimate torment, some souls would say. Tsk. Those souls lack imagination.
*Player: Show me more.
*Mizora: With pleasure. As long as you're willing to give in.
Mizora: A banquet lies before you. Why should you not gorge?
Player: What exactly will this entail?
Mizora: I'm going to show you the true wages of your sin.
Narrator: *Pure lust courses through your veins and plucks at your flesh. You don't know what you want, only that you want it.*
Mizora: You feel it, don't you? Primal hunger, irrepressible decadence. Forget the heavens - this is paradise.
Mizora: Let me show you.
*Player: I can take it.
*Mizora: I know you can, sister. You know just how much the Hells can hurt.
Narrator: *An inferno engulfs you. Your lust blazes hot.
Mizora: Do you feel it? Avernus. Where Hells' legions march, screaming their rage. Where the Styx collects the blood of the fallen.
*Mizora: Where your rightful mistress shoulders the burdens of perpetual war.
Mizora: Reach out. Have a taste.
*Player: Give it to me.

Ship-specific post-sex dialogue:

Mizora: It was good for me. Was it good for you?
Player (Karlach): I take my pleasures wherever I please. Zariel would hate that, wouldn't she?
Mizora: Now, now, let's not bring Mummy into this. This is between us girls, isn't it?
Mizora: All that anger in you, Karlach - that pent-up fury and desire. It felt good to unleash them on the one person who could possible understand, didn't it?

I am not typically into sister-cest or mommy kink, but Zariel, Mizora, and Karlach as a fucked up familial dynamic does so much more for me than expected.

Karlach/Mizora/Wyll:

aka Avernus' HORNIEST couple (ba DUM tss!)

But seriously, how pretty are the three of them together, with all those gorgeous horns? I'm a major fan of Wyll/Karlach and Karlach/Mizora, so the three of them together was the logical next step, because Wyll has definitely had badbaddirtywrong sex with Mizora at least once, come on. I would love to read about any of their post-finale adventures in Avernus together! Are they able to make a home for themselves, alway from Zariel? How do they go about fixing Karlach's engine? What if Mizora & Karlach team up to trick Zariel into getting Karlach's engine fixed?

Karlach/Wyll:

I was immediately drawn to Wyll/Karlach for their shared history - they're literally an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers ship! Honestly, these two are so self-evident I'm not sure what there is to say about them. Other than that this gifset of Karlach pegging Wyll made my brain LEAK OUT MY EARS.

Wyll and Karlach both canonically love dancing (just look at Karlach's idle animation!), so would love to read anything about their shared hobby! Sharing their different moves? Bantering about chereograph versus freestyle? (I don't know much about dance as a medium beside that it's pretty to look at, so don't worry about any sort of accuracy here.)