I'm pretty sure that I won't replace Shadowheart with Astarion for the Larissa run, even though it would make for a much more well-rounded party (and he has many cool abilities, alas). It's just, a) I like Shadowheart a lot more than Astarion, b) I do like the cleric of Mystra-cleric of Shar dynamic between Larissa and Shadowheart, but mostly c) I'm massively entertained by Shadowheart/Lae'zel playing out in the background of the Gale/Larissa/Mystra drama.

I probably like Shadowheart/Karlach best of the non-Tav Shadowheart ships, but Shadowzel is very fun, and a scenario where it's the more functional and less dramatically disastrous relationship is just kind of delightful to me.

Since this game is providing the structure for the f!Gale/Gaila fic, I'm thinking that I'll pick up Shadowheart -> Gale -> Astarion, let Astarion stick around long enough for Gale to give him the very funny cold shoulder, then switch him out for Lae'zel for that A+ Shadowzel content. (I also love that this party make-up allows Larissa [14 INT] and Gaila [17 INT] to feel like they're holding the party's brain cells and just these normal, smart, stabilizing influences on everyone before they get consumed in their dubious life choices.)

I didn't really see the appeal of Shadowheart/Lae'zel at first, and I still wouldn't actually play that specific romance, but the more time goes by, the more I see where people are coming from.

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