#asexual!tav

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

Shadowheart: We have to go!

Astarion: Afraid I can’t. Tav is sleeping on top of me.

Shadowheart: Then push them off.

Astarion: *offended* Excuse me?

[astaribun]

How I imagine Ace Tav would respond to Astarion's invite

Tav: Astarion, I know what you're trying to do, you don't need to sleep with me to get me to care about you as I already do.

Astarion: Well that's hardly the only reason. Besides it's not like I need you to make my choices for me, I'm only enjoying my freedom, darling~. So what do you say? Meet me in the woods later?

Tav: Fair point, I don't want to take away your choice.

Astarion: Wonderful, I can't wai-

Tav: But you're not the only one that has additional reasons. I uhm... I don't feel comfortable having sex.

Astarion: Oh. I see, you're one of the few people that don't find me attractive.

Tav: No! You're very attractive! I'd love go on dates with you and cuddle and maybe even kiss you. But I just don't really do sex...

Astarion: Why-

Tav: So if you still want to get closer we can meet tonight and talk and cuddle if you feel comfortable?

Astarion: I suppose we could try your 'just talk' idea, just don't expect it to lead to a fairy tale romance like Wyll would give you.

Tav: Of course, you're still you.

[meowstermindzz]

A/N: Been a while since I’ve been on here, hello! I have a new that’s up called Renascence Symphonies up on my A03!

It’s a bg3 fic dedicated to my fellow Aro/Ace people! But others are more than welcome to join in the fucking chaos that is this fic! And just to be extra- it’s REINCARNATION BABYY!!

Giving it a read would mean a lot to me, even if you only like or look at this; Thank you so much!!! <3

Synopsis:

Once, a tranquil dream. A moment in time where the songs of time were to halt, everything stopped in its place as the droplets of water made no move to continue their fall, glistening in the faded moonlight’s gaze, frozen yet it yielded its liquid form. Momentarily, it felt like they were stripped away from fabric to its mere strings in the chords of transcripts of death, a mere life in the vastness of death.

It was peaceful, calm. Unlike any emotion they had ever felt, it compelled them to slumber into its depths, welcoming them into its murky yet beautiful embrace. Yet, something tugged at the strings like a puppeteer manipulating the strands of death, the warmth suddenly turned to the sheer coldness as consciousness returned as they swam upwards from the deep within the currents.

It was death.

And that calm dream turned into the harshest of nightmares as they woke within the hells, a blazing abyss. It was all that humanity had believed it to be, it was all too real. And within its realm you were trapped to all damnation.

Surely, you don't belong here after all you have gone through? Was God truly so cruel to his people?

—

Aka Baldurs gate 3, the purely platonic, found family route.

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

It's the one year anniversary of I Want It All and I've finally stared playing the game. Please send me questions! I have thoughts!

30 Questions for Your Tav! [ Ask Meme ]

[ Send in a number for a question to be answered! What is your Tav like? Who are they as a person? ]

Your Tav as a Companion

1. What would your Tav’s greetings be (at different levels of approval)? 2. Describe their tent setup! What’s on the outside? The inside? 3. What would their character quest be titled? Why? 4. What would your Tav’s romance scenes look like? How many would they have? 5. Describe their idle animations! 6. How would the player go about meeting them in Act 1? What is their introduction? 7. Describe their arc. How would a player help resolve it? What choices can be made? Can your Tav be turned down a dark path, or pulled to a lighter one? 8. After Act 3, what does their life look like? What are they talking about at the reunion party?

Back to Basics

9. What’s the significance behind your Tav’s name? 10. Does your Tav have a last name? Is there a meaning behind it? 11. What is your Tav’s go-to comfort food? 12. Does your Tav have any tattoos or scars? Why? 13. What is your Tav’s main color palette? Why do they choose those colors? 14. Where are they from? What was home like? 15. Is your Tav more likely to fight/flight/freeze/fawn? 16. What do they do for fun, when not adventuring? What are their hobbies? 17. Do they have any enemies outside of the main plot? Any friends? 18. Where/with whom do they feel safest? 19. What is their MBTI Type?

Deep Dives

20. What is their relationship to touch? Do they shy away from it? Do they need it to feel present? 21. Describe a defining moment from their past, which makes them who they are today! 22. How is your Tav’s relationship with their family? Their parents? 23. How does your Tav act in situations of stress? In moments of peace? 24. What does your Tav consider to be their own biggest character flaw? 25. What is something they would die on a hill over? 26. Give us one of your Tav’s secrets! 27. What is the worst thing they’ve ever done/said to someone they love? 28. Describe a smell that reminds your Tav of childhood. 29. What fears keep them up at night? 30. What does your Tav want more than anything?

[leighsartworks216]

"I really love how slow this slow burn is!"

My aroace ass with no idea how to write a developing relationship, only relationships that already exist at the start of a story:

[notmygamertag]

Me (an asexual) when there's actual sex in my sex scene:

I want more of whatever the fuck this is:

Absolute nonsense

[brandthefish]

No thoughts, just Astarion with an asexual Tav.

Astarion who tries all the normal methods of seducing Tav being absolutely flabbergasted when they turn down his offer to share his bed.

Astarion who hears for what's probably the first time in 200 years, "I don't want you for your body, I like the person underneath,"

Astarion who finally gets friendly non-sexual touches like a head pat, resting their headon his shoulder, holding his hand, tousling his hair (to the best of their ability), hugging him.

Astarion who finally rather than putting on a show, gets to spend his nights just resting with someone who cares.

Astarion who knows that this person isn't in it for the physical part, and that without his efforts, this person would still risk everything to save him.

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

Evie (Ace!Tav): A mouse

Scrappy, clever, a survivor, but so small compared to a world that seems determined to step in them.

Tav Question

What animal best represents your Tav?

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

Karlach: What's it like being married to Astarion? Ace!Tav: He got wine drunk last night and tried to burn our marriage certificate. Ace!Tav: He said, "good luck returning me without the receipt!".

[sideshow-cellophane-blog]

Thanks OP! Like a comment said too, I think that he could use the ace insecurity to his advantage if he really wants to be a dick and manipulate them (making a point to spend the night with Harleep instead of Tav, letting Tav walk in on them when he wants them to feel jealous like an asshole). Maybe he himself has mixed feelings about someone not wanting his power or body, but just him. It could be a stability he isn't used to. Thanks for responding!

So we know cambions' relationship with sex, especially Raphael. I'm curious about his interest in Tav, or another s/o, who is asexual. He thinks he can seduce Tav, and kind of does through everything that leads to the deals he wants to make in the third act. Maybe Tav even made the deal right away to be saved from the tadpole.

But if he catches feelings for Tav during the game. He flirts, Tav even reciprocates, if a little nervously! Tav doesn't take the deal with Harleep, obviously, but that can be explained away. They don't take up the twins' offer in Sharesses Caress. They don't seem to be involved with their companions either. Raphael starts showing up more frequently to check on his little mouse, favoring them and advancing when he can.

Finally, he sets up his office in the House of Hope with the intention of a real date. His mouse is a little oblivious, but surely they'll notice the rose petals, good wine, his doublet already unbuttoned at the top. Surely his little mouse will finally see where he wants them: at his side.

But in the midst of flirting and wordplay, Tav finally says that they have no interest in sex, for their reasons. It isn't just Raphael. It isn't something he can blame himself for, isn't something he can make a deal to change, it's part of who his little mouse is. They offer themselves anyway, because other feelings are reciprocated. A relationship with no sexual intimacy but everything else soft that Raphael has never tasted in the hells.

He is conflicted, and maybe his feelings for his mouse disappear (Tav's own nightmare), or he embraces it because he still has Harleep for his sexual needs. Tav holding his head to their chest and playing with his hair is still intimate, and he could get used to cuddling and already loves their conversations. But does he still yearn for his mouse in selfish ways he can't have? Or does he embrace them as they are? As an asexual myself with a crush on the cambion I'm curious to see what other people have to say!

I do think that Raphael himself has a interesting relationship with sex, in my headcanon at least. I think in 99% of cases that it for him is either 1) something that is simply to sate urges and getting it over with (Haarlep) or 2) used as a way to establish control over someone or manipulate them in some way. A devil like Raphael actually isn’t supposed to participate in sex at all (Explanation in my post here).

I think asexual love might be odd for him in the beginning, because he would be trying to work out how else to manipulate someone romantically, dark as that sounds. But I think after a while he would still like getting that affection from somewhere. All he really wants is someone who is obsessed with him and who needs him, I think. Does he reciprocate those feelings and the affection though? Meeeh, eh…If he does it isn’t out of anything that we would call love, at least not according to my headcanon of him. But yes, I think the sex he can definitely do without, because as you said: he has Haarlep for that.

(Thank you for the ask <3 And I really loved to hear all the thoughts you had made about it. Very well written and an interesting concept)

[acozysoulwrites]

A safe pair of arms | Astarion x fem!Tav

Description: Astarion laying in Tav's arms where he feels safe and cared for, something he isn't used to. Cuddling, fluff, all that lovely stuff.

The moon rises high above the camp, providing a cool blue lighting to the chilly evening. Leaves rustle in the breeze, and soft snores from all over camp can be heard just above the light taps of rain. There is a soft sort of glow that emits from Astarion’s tent. It enters the night gently, peacefully. Inside, lie two souls. They are intertwined in one another, tangled too deeply to ever be unraveled without being destroyed.

Tav lays with a book in her hand and a vampire atop her. Astarion is curled up under her arm, his head on her chest, eyes closed. A sort of peace lingered over him with every slow breath he drew.

Astarion felt every one of her heartbeats, he let them sink into his body until they reached his own unmoving heart. He focused on her breathing, how her chest rose and fell with every few seconds that passed. He’d forgotten what a heartbeat sounded like before all this, he’d forgotten much over the last two centuries. Even what it felt like to be held.

Tav turns the page and sighs softly, contently, and Astarion wonders how someone could actually sit here, without any entertainment expected of him, and enjoy his company. “I’ve nearly finished this book already” Tav speaks, disappointment lacing her words.

“Oh, pity. I only just stole that one for you two nights ago” Astarion frowns.

Tav smiles, a laugh threatening to escape her. It was true. Astarion had handed it to her, a proud smirk plastered on his face. It just, reminded me of you, he had said.

Astarion shifts in her arms, and she places the book aside. He hums a little at her touch as she reaches down to run her hand up and down his back, she finds the spot with the most tension and begins massaging.

“You know, besides that time you tried to kill me after the crash, you make such swell company” Tav teases.

Astarion feels a smile draw itself onto his face, and in the dim candle light, safety tucked away from the others, he lets it. He smiles up at Tav, his eyes soft and gentle, opposite of their usual glaring demeanor.

“Well” He looks down and clears his throat. “I’m rather glad I didn’t kill you that day, you’ve proven… most useful” He says.

Tav brings her hand to his head where she begins running her fingers through his beautiful white curls. Astarion closes his eyes once more, and they stay here until the rain stops, until the candle snuffs out, and until the sun trickles through the trees.

Tav nudges him, and the two of them crawl out of the tent. The sun hits his skin and its warmth begins to seep through his body. Astarion closes his eyes and soaks it all in. Every last bit. He’ll surely miss the sun if the tadpole doesn’t kill him first. He looks over to Tav and his heart lurches as much as a heart like his possibly can. Sure he’ll miss the sun, but he hopes with all that he is that he won’t have to miss his love.

[mercury-morganite]

Does anyone else have demi/ace Tavs? May I see them? 🥺

[nethercomfies]

Okay fuck it, Astarion with a Tav who's ace...

Him just being absolutely baffled that someone would like him for who he is and not for his body. It's so hard to believe because it's the only thing he's ever known, and yet Tav undeniably means it when they say they like him as a person, because sexual attraction isn't on the table for them.

Same thing with a demi Tav because again, they don't like him in a superficial manner simply because he's hot. They like him because they've come to trust him, and they appreciate his support, and they want to see him thrive, and maybe ontop of that they also think he's hot. But that's not the main thing they see about him. They see that because they first saw all those other things about him.

Idk okay, I just think he'd find it hard to accept that someone likes him for who he is, but once he actually learns to accept that reality, he's so, so grateful and never wants to let that person go again.

[monstersandmaw]

First time romancing Astarion, and I'm all aboard the ace-spec interpretation of Astarion that I've seen floating around. As someone who's ace, I definitely resonated with him in this scene anyway. That hug reaction from Astarion. Oof.

And the fact that if you also romance Halsin, one of the dialogue options Astarion can give you is to say something like: 'it's not because... we haven't... in a while... is it?'... My heart cracked painfully at that, I'm not going to lie. I have spoken almost exactly that sentence before, worrying that just kissing and physical affection is not enough for someone who's not ace. To have that validated by Astarion was really special for me.

(aka, I really didn't get to know Astarion very well in my first playthrough because he didn't approve of my absolute doormat of a Tav (Kaerlyn the drow) and I didn't spend much time with him, but now with my sassy monk...? I get it. I totally get why you all love Astarion so much).

EDIT: additional dialogue from Raphael talking about Cazador indicates that it might be linked to vampirism (my own headcanon for vampires anyway is they can't get aroused without having fed recently, not just BG3 vamps, but in general)

[some poly-ace-astarion thoughts under the cut too]

I'm not 100% convinced that Astarion is really ok with the consensual poly situation in-game, because he famously doesn't say what he actually wants and is the king of manipulating others, especially in sexual situations (e.g. what Cazador sent him out to do, and how). I'm not sure if I'll reload a save and just have Halsin as a friend...

The dialogue when you check in with Astarion before the Halsin scene is... strained? Odd??? Maybe it's just me over-analysing it. He sounded strained though - his tone high pitched and more grandiose than he'd been in previous cut-scenes, where he was more softly-spoken. It sounded more like early-game Astarion to me...

Also, my dialogue options may have been totally randomised the next time I approached Astarion after a steamy night with Halsin, but they sounded kind of strained there too, and I got the 'I can never say no to you' one, which set my ace people-pleaser alarm bells ringing...

As someone who's poly-romantic but asexual, I can project/imagine here that Astarion has come to care for Tav a lot (more than he ever expected, for sure), and he genuinely wants Tav to be happy. He trusts Tav enough to know that Tav respects his autonomy and right to decide things for himself, and values Astarion for who he is, so Astarion is intellectually/conceptually happy for Tav to get something from Halsin that Astarion is not providing (sex), but perhaps emotionally that additional fact and dynamic is harder to deal with.

That could totally be me projecting though, because that's how I'd react if my husband (not ace) and I (ace) were in that situation (we've discussed it between us, actually XD). Feelings of guilt and inadequacy around sex itself are apparently very common with us ace folks, even in very healthy and happy relationships.

Anyway, that turned into a ramble I didn't intend on a rainy Sunday afternoon. I'm not looking to start any discourse about this though. If you don't see Astarion that way, or had a different experience and interpretation, that's all totally valid and I'm not trying to invalidate it in anyway.

[thedomesticanthropologist]

Someone sent an ask once about how a Tav could have a successful Asexual (sex repulsed) relationship with one of the companions and how they don't know how that would work when they always felt they couldn't have love without providing sex- even though its what they really wanted.

This broke my heart, and I've thought about it ever since answering. So, here's Part 2!

Romantic love without Sex, Gale and Tav

- Gale uses prestidigitation on Tavs clothes in the morning, warming them up so it's easier to transition out of the cozy blankets and into the day

-Kisses on hands, shoulders, cheeks, nose, forehead. Always soft, short, adoring. Sometimes he brushes his beard over Tavs skin teasingly, just to get a giggle out of them with the tickle of it

- Makes their favorite foods as often as possible, pays careful attention to their likes and dislikes and even keeps a notebook

- Dates on The Weave, magical illusions beyond Tavs wildest dreams. In fact, the two spend long hours laying in each other's arms talking about dreams and fantasies. Gale conjures them up, and never misses a detail.

- Shared baths. Washing each other's bodies, hair. Incredibly intimate but in a different way- he takes Tavs fingernails and gently works the dirt out from under each one. Tav scrubs his back where he can't reach and teases him about his lack of flexibility

- Polymorph: Sometimes Tav wants to cuddle, but they feel frightened or pressured (even though there is no pressure) just from their own worries and stresses and past trauma. Gale always offers to transform them or himself into an animal instead, so the two can snuggle without any worries of it being anything more than that.

- verbal reassurances: Gale will always let Tav know, as many times as they need to hear it. They are enough. They are enough. Just the way they are.

[kaxenart]

That is the plan, yes.

In this run, I am a swole sorceror who wears bright pink pants.