#bg3 named tav | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

drudragonrose · 10 months ago

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Neon Lights And War Forged Flowers

Tags: Asended!Astarion, Named Tav, AU, Mentions of God!Gale, Cyberpunk, Shadowrun, fingering, PiV.

Triggers: Abuse, blood drinking, guns, death, manipulation

18+ Minors DNI

Summery: Astarion is woken up after being sealed in the very coffin that belonged to his tormentor. He finds the world around him has changed but the first face he sees he remembers. This is my first published smut so take that how you will and I hope you enjoy. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A team of Runners made their way into a set of ruins that lay at the edge of The Gate. While most of the team of five didn’t really need light because they had darkvision they had one human with them so every few yards Alegria, their resident cleric and team mom, dropped a phosphorus tube on the ground after breaking it bathing their surroundings in a soft yellow glow. It was about as much illumination that they allowed themselves because while the Crimson Palace had been abandoned for centuries there were still creatures here that would be attracted to the warmth of torches. It was this that made it so that everyone was wearing thermal suits that hid their body warmth much like they were breaking into a bank or an office building.

“Take the job Eddy said. It will be easy Eddy said. It’s an old-fashioned dungeon in some ruins, not even in the Toxic Flats. Didn’t mention the blood-sucking bats everywhere or the ghouls that have been starved for thousands of years. Poor Quin is going to be having night terrors for a week.” Complained Lamdor. Quin nodded, he was still pale from the encounter that they had before. “Thank the Sovereign of Silence that we made though that but I think Alegria is running low on her magic.” They said, that grave voice making everybody even more on edge. Poppy ran her fingers over her lips in a zipping motion. “Ironheart Karlach sent us here for a job and she’s paying well shut it and keep your eye peeled.” She hissed and led the way deeper into the crumbled halls.

Poppy could almost see what this place would have looked like when it was still the Crimson Plaice, ran by Astarion Ancunín. The grandeur that must have taken place here. It made her wonder just what had appended to make the vampire lord step back all that time ago. He had everything that he could have ever wanted, power, wealth, status. They found a room that smelled of rusty copper and rotting paper and Poppy wrinkled her nose. Past the dust was what looked like an office. A quick look around told them that there wasn’t anything there worth taking. Even the stand which had a plaque with what looked like a name on it now had nothing but dust, the skull on it long since having disintegrated.

A bit more searching and they found an elevator behind a curtain. “Can you make it work?” Poppy asked Erin. The Rigger looked at the device and pinched the bridge of his nose. “This thing is older than Asmodaus’ ballsack but I can make it work,” he said as he slid his backpack off his shoulders. Some oil and a hammer to the mechanism later and the five were making their way down to the underground temple. “This place hasn’t seen life in thousands of years. Why would the boss send us here?” Asked Quin who was shifting from foot to foot as if waiting for something to pop off.

“I don’t know but she sent blood packs with us so it has to be someone that’s been down here for a while,” Poppy answered and kept walking. She looked at the open doors, even finding a room that looked like someone would have slept in a long time ago. The group found a door with a large etching on it. “It’s written in infernal,” Poppy said as her eyes slid over the markings. “May the souls of those sacrificed on this soil find rest at last.” She continued. Alegria made the sign of Sehanine to add to the prayer before letting Poppy open the doors.

They pointedly ignored the gore that was imprinted inside the cages, like a scream for help that was never answered, and moved to the other set of doors this one had “May the man that suffered within these walls find happiness.” The group was growing a bit nervous now but Poppy, who was sure everything would go as planned still opened it.

The stench of decay clung to every molecule in the chamber, the chains had rusted and fallen away while the staircases that remained seemed to lead somewhere but all of the islands had broken off at some point. All but one in the very center where a coffin rested. “We are really going open that and feed whatever’s in there?” Lamdor asked now missing the ghouls that they had fought to get in here. “Either that or we kill it. Boss Karlach said that it may end up that way either way, ready up the radiant shells. Quin you might want to shield up because it’s going to get bright in here if things go 404 on us.” She said and made her way down the long sweeping steps.

The letters etched on the coffin were the same as those carved onto the door. Crude and seemingly done with blasts from something with a lot of force. “Here the monster was made, here may the monster lay forever more.” and under it was the shape of a stone that was meant to go into it, a feature Erin noticed that wasn’t part of the original plan. It was lucky though that Karlach had thought of this. Erin took a star-shaped stone from his pack and placed it in the hole. “Get ready, whatever comes out of there might aggro as soon as it’s let go.” Poppy said as she stood back. Alegria and her stood back while Quin, Lamdor, and Erin took the lid off the coffin. They found the vampire alright, with a long sword through his heart.

“Looks like someone beat us to it, damn it!” Alegria as she ran her hands through the long part of her hair, the other side was shaved close to the skull. “I don’t think so.” Poppy said as she moved closer. “The lid said here may the monster lay forever more. I think that’s what’s holding our choom in place.” She said pointing at the sword. Quin tried to take the weapon out of Astarion’s heart then Lamdor, and finally as a last-ditch effort Alegria “Fuck that thing is stuck fast.” Said Erin trying his luck but knowing that while he could help with the lid he didn’t have the strength to pull the sword. “Come on pop a squat. We have to decide what we’re going to do from here.” Alegria said as she broke a few more phosphorus tubes and put them in the middle of their makeshift circle to simulate a campfire.

Poppy started to look in her bag for the instant meal that she had left and started to fill the packet with water. “The boss did say she only wanted to know what happened to the choom. We tell her the truth and say that he was ghosted when we got here. Her partner is going to have to do some heavy mood lifting but nothing she hasn’t done before.” Poppy said as she poked at what she was sure was a rubber tire that was meant to be the rehydrated meat in her taco. “Yeah I know but I wanted to give her good news you know. After she went to Shadowheart’s funeral she seemed to want to find someone anyone from the old days, anyone, that wasn’t that blasted exiled god of greed.” Quin replied. Their nose was wrinkled at their own mystery of a meal but it was what they had.

Quin was an elven physical adept who changed what they wanted to present as so often that everybody just stopped questioning at this point. They were fun to be around when they were not worried that something was going to come after their neck in the darkness again. The group was one of the most diverse in the Gate but then the War Machine didn’t discriminate. Not with Iron Heart Karlach at the helm of their gang. They were a family for those who were cast out by everyone else. Lamor was a deep gnome but anyone who thought that they could push him around because of his size was going to get an adamantine fist to the gut. The man had more metal on him than he had organic parts and everyone suspected that he was one step away from becoming a cyber zombie. He was keeping himself together though. Alegria was an asamar though being the child of a god wasn’t all that people thought that it would be, she along with Quin was the most low-tech of the group. Poppy was a purple-skinned teifling and while Lamor wore his implants on the outside Poppy had them all on the inside, more accurately in her head. She needed them there if she was going to travel the Net with any kind of speed. They were all chattering and coming up with how they were going to make their boss feel better.

All except Poppy who was looking at the sword with interest. It seemed to be calling to her somehow. The engraving on it was differant that those on the doors on the coffins. As if the finest sword smith made it with a caring hand. “Iris, braker of chains, destroyer of slavers.” glittered in infernal under the cool light. The decker got up and twoards the weapon. “What do ya think yar gonna do?” Asked Lamor as she walked past him. Poppy ingnored him and rached out. She wrapped her fingers around the hilt and pulled. A sinister red glow ran up the sword and up Poppy’s arm before she was able to pull it away. The next second she was on the ground with red eyes looking down at her.

“Did you really think you could live without me, my flower? That you could leave me to rot down here while you moved on?” The vampire asendant hissed as he nuzzled into her neck. A punch from Quin sent him flying before Astarion could regain himself. He floated up before he could fall into the abyss below He was caught and pinned down around the middle by Lamor. “What in the fuck is that you asshole?!” Poppy shouted before taking a blood bag from her bag and holding it out. “The Boss wants you alive gonk and we’re not aboutr to make her sad but if you think she’s gonna choose you over her kids you’ve got another thing coming.” She said as her eyes narrowed. The gnome holding him let him go and Astarion grabbed the blood bag then tossed it aside, preferring the young teifling in front of him. “Now why would I choose to drink something dead and cold when I have nice warm morsle right here?” He asked as he tilte her head. “You look like her, smell like her. Are you really not my Iris come back to me?” Astarion asked as he pressed her back flush to his chest.

Erin had riffle trained on Astarion while the two brawlers made a move to try and Poppy out of his grasp. Poppy wasn’t going to be the damsel in this story it seemed because she put both hands on the vampire ascendant’s arm and activated the metal on her fingertips. A pulse of lightning was sent through him. It was more surprise than any actual pain that made him let her go but Poppy took the chance to slip out of his grasp. She took her pistol from her hip and pointed it at the newly resurrected vampire. “Karlach may have wanted to see you but if you have to go back in pieces she will understand.” Poppy hissed as she brought her gun up ready to shoot if he tried to rush her again. Astarion did stop then and narrowed his eyes. “Karlach wants to see me? Last I heard she was chasing devils down in Avernus.” He said in wonder.

There was a collective short laugh before Alegria chimed in. “That was a long, long time ago. Like before the war of the gods and Providence Gate was still Baldur’s Gate. The way her partner Sestri tells it, it was a whole ass task to get access to the forge to fix the engine in her chest. Since then she’s been up here.” the mage explained as he came out from her hiding spot. She also had a riffle in her hands. Astarion realized that in his weakened state he couldn’t take all of then. Especially if he wanted to get his hands on the teifling who looked a lot like his lost beloved. There were questions as well. The first one that came past his lips was “What year is it?”

“5494 DR. So like a few thousand years since you’ve last been awake,” Alegria said. She had her phone out and had started searching for several things. Signal would have been a problem if they didn’t have their walking tower with them. Poppy wouldn’t be caught anywhere without a direct line to the Net. “DR?” Lamor asked and Alegria started to explain the different times and years. “Sorry about that we’re used to AE ourselves. Years since the veil between worlds fell and brought all the magical creatures back into the prim material. Awakened Earth.” Poppy said as she shrugged her shoulders. She kicked the backpack on the ground over to Astarion, the other blood packs were in there and she hoped that he was ready to cooperate. “Get some blood in your system and we can head out. There is shit ton of catching up you’ll need to do.” Poppy said as she met his gaze.

Astarion noticed that the pupils were red instead of black with a turquoise outer ring around them. The outer ring shrank and widened in odd intervals revealing that her eyes were not natural. “Yes, I believe so too.” He conceded and took one of the bags out of the pack that was offered to him. Everyone but Erin lowered their weapons, lowered but not put away. After attacking Poppy twice no one trusted him not to go off again. It was bit as rank as the rats and bugs that he had been forced to eat but there was no soul left in the blood. Still, he would have to play nice for now. That and he would get to see an old friend. He took another blood pack from the backpack and got up. “So should we get going? And for gods sake put your weapon down good man.” He said to Erin. The rigger knew better than to do so.

Poppy nodded towards the stares and led the group out. “What the fuck is this?” Astarion asked when they got to where they had stopped their vehicles. “Our bikes. I mean we would have come with one of the cars but there’s no paths out here. We would have busted our rides up something awful.” Poppy explained while the others got ready to ride The brightly dressed woman got onto her own motorcycle and revved it up, causing the vampire to cover his ears. “Pick one to ride bitch on until we can get you a ride of your own!” Poppy called over the noise. She then seemed to remember from where he was and called out again “It’s a lot like riding second on a horse!” She then tossed him a helmet to secure over his head.

That much Astarion was able to figure out and got on the back of Poppy’s vehicle. He didn’t trust the others enough to ride on what seemed like a death trap on two wheels. He wasn’t entirely sure he trusted Poppy but she at least was showing more kindness than the rest of the team. He was sure that the human with all the tools would throw him off on purpose. Then again he did notice how he was looking at Poppy when he thought she wouldn’t notice. He had to remind himself that however much she looked like his Iris this was not her. “Hold on tight!” and they were off. It was a warning that Astarion should have listened to because he almost slipped off the end of the bike but it was fortunate that he caught himself. He was also able to feel just how frail Poppy was under her clothes as if food wasn’t in good supply for her. He would fix that when he got the chance. His musing was cut short by the whooping and hollering of the team and he had to admit, once he had gotten his bearings the sheer speed they were going at was exhilarating. It felt like flying without expending as much energy on it. Still, he clung to the slight woman’s frame.

Bog and refuse became city and he noticed that the sign said “Providence Gate”. Had his home changed so much in the years he had been trapped in that coffin? Astarion had to look forward the deeper they got into the city because the neon was bright enough to almost turn night into day. The more he saw, the more horrified he was. Baldur’s Gate hadn’t been a heaven by any stretch of the imagination but it had been better than this, especially when he had been pulling the strings of government. When he dared to look away from Poppy’s back he saw people crumbling in alleyways, what he could tell already were women and men selling themselves for scraps, those that held those scraps like meat before dogs in front of them. It seemed like something did not change at all and it broke the heart Astarion didn’t know he still had. He shook that thought out of his head. He was still the vampire ascended and he still had power. The runners didn’t have any trouble until they got to the front of a building that seemed to be on a floating island above the ocean.

He noticed that most of the city was built above the ocean with the roads working as connecting bridges but still, there were gaps where he could see the black water, menacing underneath. “The more the land itself rebelled against us, the more out to sea we needed to go. The Gate is now mostly above water. Well, the newer parts. The older parts are all under the waves.” Poppy whispered as she made sure to lock her bike and then there was whirring noise. Poppy drew her pistol and the others drew weapons as well, all except Quin who got into a fighting stance. “Who the fuck told you you could be in War Machine territory?” Lamor asked, sounding like a creature at least three times his size. The metal gnome had what could only called a canon coming out of his arm.

Astarion really couldn’t tell the race of some of the people they were talking to they were so modified. “We’re claiming this turf for the Golden Jackels.” Rasped one that was clearly the leader. “When the Gods come back from their deep slumber maybe.” Alegria called back. She made a gesture with her hand and threw a ball of pure sunlight in their direction while Quin rushed at them and caught one by the neck with a hooked arm. They dropped to thier hands and kicked out with both legs into the side of another one of the invaders and cracked through the metal shell and exposing the wires inside him. On instinct, he stepped in front of Poppy but that really didn’t matter because it seemed that she was busy with something. There was a distant look on her face.

All of a sudden one man dropped seemingly from nothing. “They have a tech witch with them. Get her!” One of the goons yelled but it was too late. There was a pop and another man crumbled like someone cut his puppet strings. “Voodoo bitch!” Screeched a woman dressed in nothing but a bra and short shorts. She lunged only to have a knife enter her. It seemed like time had not dulled his instincts because not only did he find a weapon that he was skilled in using but was also able to find a vital part. While her face and arms seemed to have been modified the woman’s torso was pretty much organic. Which meant a stab to the kidneys, another slash across the throat, and one to the heart and she was dead. “Damn well look at the old suit.” Lamor said with a smirk. “Yah can keep the blade, ya gonna need it.” He said as they watched the others run now that three of their number were down. “Thanks.” was all Astarion said as he looked down at the blade he had used. It was serrated and he was sure that with enough force he would put a hole in even Lamor’s hull. He put it away on the loop of his belt.

“Does this happen often?” He asked while they entered the building. “Yeah, but it’s either defend your turf or get absorbed into another gang and no one that’s part of War Machine would ever want to be a part of any other gang.” Alegria explained and the others agreed. “We look after each other, no one else will ya know.” Chimed in Quin. They didn’t look like they had a scratch on them even though they had just punched through solid metal. Was Quin a monk? They didn’t dress like one that was for sure. “Yeah, no one would ever leave ol Iron Heart. She’s too good to us.” Poppy chimed in. They made their way to the top floor and through a pair of doors that led to what looked like a workshop. “We found him, We almost had to put him down but he learned to behave in the end!” Cried Alegria almost too loud to be allowed but then she was one of Karlach and Sestri’s daughters and they were nothing if not a loud family.

He didn’t expect what he saw. Astarion had been under the impression that Karlach hated the infernal engine that became her heart and wouldn’t add more metal and iron onto her body but here she was almost entirely metal. “Fangs, it seems like that contract really did make you immortal.” She said as she rushed him and hugged him tight. Astarion froze in place before settling a little after realizing that she was going to squeeze the life out of him. “She’s learned how to control her strength over the centuries right?” Came a voice that Astarion could have gone another four thousand years without hearing. “Sestri, I would have thought the years claimed you.” He drowned looking up to see the rigger woman come down from a set of cords. She was in overalls but proudly displayed prosthetic arms and legs. A contrast when he had met her briefly over the years after the Neatherbrain incident where she was doing her best to hide her metal legs under trousers and leggings.

“Well gods like to keep their smiths alive, same goes for their soldiers.” She said as she placed a hand on Karlach’s shoulder. Karlach placed her hand over her partner’s and smiled wide. “You kept me alive love, they only granted me immortality because you would have let yourself go without me.” She said as she looked up adoringly at the blonde teifling. “I couldn’t every well serve in the god’s war without my best girl at my back could I?” She said but there was a blush on her cheeks. Astarion gave a groan and crossed his arms. “Someone put me back in the box.” Laugher came from around him and Karlach seemed to let the comment go. “So what happened to the rest if you two got immortality?” He asked when everything settled.

“We’re the last of the old guard. Wyll married a bard by the name of Opal after we made our way out of Avernus. You know how time gets fucky in the different realms? Well it so happens that what we thought was months down there turned out to be several hundred years. Wyll’s father had died of old age and our lot had become legend. Reithwin flourished of course under Halsin and his partner alongside Shadowheart and her partner but when we came back they were all older. Jahira went to meet whatever afterlife was waiting for her, the same as Minsc. Still, Wyll, Opal, Sestri, and I traveled around for a bit, seeing what monsters we could free people from and generally having a good time but then Wyll and Opal decided that it was time to settle down and have their own children. Fuck if we knew what was around the corner.” Karlach got a small tear in the corner of her eye and Sestri gave a sigh. “Gale went from being the God of Ambition to being the God of Greed and slayed Mammon for the title. It sent a ripple effect and he divided the cosmos. So much that the war in the Astral leaked into the material. It only ended when they undid the very fabric of reality and well magic did for a while. And like what happened with the spell plague but really died. There were no creatures like us here for well over a thousand years. We here suck in the Astral for a while, picking up the pieces of what Ao and the so-called gods left behind. When we were finally allowed to come back well there was this, the earlier parts of it anyway.” Sestri finished. Karlach was getting control of her sorrow and rage.

After taking a few more breaths Karlach was able to talk again. “We started small but we built what you see here. This is where Sestri and I do business and build things, taking care of each other's cyberware. The rest of the building is where the kids stay until they’re old enough to either Run for us or get honest work out in the city. We always hope they get honest work but there are always these brats that wanna help.” She said pushing on Poppy’s shoulder. “Aw Ma’ it’s the least we can do for the pair that pulled us off the streets and it’s not like someone that looks like me is going to get honest work anywhere.” She said looking up. “Don say that poppet, there are plenty of places that would hire ya for yar talent and not what yar heritage tells ya you aut ta be.” Karlach said as she patted Poppy’s head. The purple teifling beamed and for a moment Astarion forgot how to breathe.

“No word of what happened to Iris?” Astarion asked, remembering part of why he agreed to come here. Though he had his sights set on the sweet little treat that was Poppy, he still wanted to know what happened to his beloved and maybe pay her one last visit before having his fun with the adorable tech witch as the vagabonds had called her. “We was hoping you’d tell us Pointy. We came back and asked around. Those who knew said that the Crimson Palace had been empty for years. We visited to find it locked, broke in and couldn’t find y’all so we thought y’all had lost yas taste for Baldur’s Gate.” Karlach said looking at him. Astarion ran his hands through his hair and screamed in frustration. “What did you do to her?” Karlach asked now sounding very much like the mom that the eclectic group of people called her. “We had a disagreement.” He hissed at her.

Karlach slapped her knee and laughed at that. “Disagreements end in blokes sleeping on the couch or spare bedroom. Disagreements end in silent breakfasts and cold shoulders. Disagreements don’t end in one of ya with a cursed sword through the heart and the other vanishing from the face of the earth. I ask again Astarion what did ya do to her?” She asked, her eyes narrowed at him. Astarion looked away and took a deep breath. The bagged blood had restored some of his abilities but he was still around where he had been when he had first ascended. He wouldn’t be able to fight her. He couldn’t tell her the truth either. If he did she might regret bringing him back from the dead. Part of him wished that she had left him in that coffin already. “That is between me and Iris if I find out that she’s still alive somewhere.” He snapped then backed up. Karlach scratched at the back of her head and growled. “I guess you’re right on that part. Though something tells me it’s better if ya don’t find her.” She responded after letting the flames inside the metal cage settle down. “Now the question becomes where ya stayen while ya get to know where ya are.” She said. Astarion had thought about the same thing.

He was sure that the Szarr family name didn’t mean what it once did and he couldn’t go back to the place. There was no saving the manor house now. “He can stay with me until he finds out what he wants to do with himself.” Poppy said brightly. “I mean my roommate just moved out so I have the room for it.” She added as she looked at everyone. Erin was the one to answer. “Poppy are ya gone gonk? He got stabbed by his girlfriend, left for dead and he ain’t telling what caused her to do it. Ya really gonna trust someone like that?” He asked with a worried expression on his face. “What’s he gonna do? Kill me? I ain’t helpless. Tell ya what, if ya see the SOS avi on your phone then ya know things have gone all nines.” She said. Karlach gave a groan and shook her head. “Alright, take care of the bloodsucker for us and take care of yourself too k charjockey?” She said with a knowing look. Poppy rolled her eyes and laughed. “One last question before we all go to our respective corners of the world. When did the name Baldur’s Gate change?” Astarion asked. “Was that with the third or fourth that gave it the new name?” Sestri asked. Karlach looked up in thought. “I believe it was Duke Wylliam the III that declared Baldur’s Gate Providence Gate after the uproar over Baldurien and some of the things he did while he was alive came to light. All the squiggy Emperor stuff came out after some journals became public.” She said after her memory cleared. Years upon years and details started to run together.

Astarion closed his eyes, trying to sort out his feelings on that. Poppy pulled on his sleeve and nodded towards the door. The others had already filtered out. The ride to her apartment was slower than the one into the city which allowed Astarion more of a view of The Gate. The city was lit in things that he didn’t have names for and there was a clear difference between the places that the wealthy frequented. A shiny coating on a rotten core. The building came into view, as bleak and lifeless as the rest of the city. They parked and Poppy got off and walked past a small red car. She patted the car “Alright there Cherry?” She asked as if the item would answer her. “A special connection with that thing I take darling?” He asked as they walked by. “Of course, it’s the first car I’ve owned that I actually bought. Lagit too, from a dealer not from some punk that just got it hot off a street corner and hacked the tracker.” She said brightly, proud of herself.

As confusing as some things were in this time period Astarion could respect being proud of small victories. He had plenty of them when the crew that had been infected was still together. He pushed those memories out of his mind along with the image of her face. Poppy let him into what Astarion could only classify as a water closet. It wasn’t really there was a small kitchen, two doors aside from the one that they had come in from, a couch, and some contraption hanging from the ceiling. “You can use that to catch up on what’s happening if you’d like.” She said as she pointed her finger at the mass of metal and from it came a screen made of light. The images moved like something from a wizard’s illusion spell and he could do nothing but stare. Poppy raised a brow as she took in the awe on his face. “Come on I can show you you’re room.” She said giggling.

The room was nothing like the sweeping tapestries and foreposter beds he was used to, even for guest bedrooms but at least there was a spot for him to rest in even though his elven nature meant that he didn’t really need to sleep. The door meant that he could be with his thoughts for a while. Poppy as if sensing he needed that moment she bumped her shoulder into his and gestured to the other room with her head. “I’ll be next door if you need anything.” She said softly before stepping away. The scent of spices undertoned with citrus lingered as she walked away and once more his lover was thrown into front of his mind. Astarion flopped onto the narrow bed after taking off the elaborate tunic he had been found with. He would have to get rid of it anyway it smelled of the ages he had been down in the crypt. He looked at the ceiling which he could tell was white but gray in the light leaking from the window beside the bed. Iris had been as immortal as he was, he had made sure to make it so. The hex blade had been smart, resourceful, beautiful, and determined to the point where she would stretch herself too thin.

He went back over the last moments they had spent together. The argument that had happened between the two of them. “I kill you now in the name of the man I once loved.” She had told him. Astarion had not found it in him to tell her that he had been there, buried under the veneer of power and control. He supposed that he was much like this new Providence Gate. A beautiful face made to manipulate everyone around him to his will. It had been what he had been conditioned to do after all. Cazador would have been proud of the way he broke Iris before the event. He had reduced the breaker of chains to nothing but his perfect doll. It had started with a nudge in the direction he wanted her to go with his powers, nothing overt like Cazador liked to do to him. No, Astarion had been far more sinister. He had convinced Iris that she wanted to submit to him in every way. It wasn’t until Iris wouldn’t move unless told to do so that Astarion realized that he had gone too far.

Even then he had told himself that it was for her own good. She was safe at his side, he could protect her from everything that would want to hurt her, including her father. No one could stand against him, even the patron who had given her a contract gave that contract to him for fear of a fight. Maybe it hadn’t been fear. If there was anything that a devil loved more than their rules it was watching others go up in flames and that was precisely what had happened to him. Through a loophole in the contract he had taken Iris was free, the moment she realized it she summoned her sword for the last time. She was still his spawn, his consort but Astarion had realized that the magic of her pact weapon was overriding his control. Any love that she had held for him died the moment she realized that he had been compelling her the entire time.

“I kill you now in the name of the man I had once loved.” That man had been a coward. Unable to trust the one person who had cared for him in his entirety. Afraid that she would grow bored of him and leave the moment he granted her the ability to do so. In his fear, he destroyed everything that had made Iris the object of his obsession in the first place, thinking that he could be happy with the shell of her.

Astarion found that no matter how drained he was from so long in captivity he couldn’t lay still. With his trance alluding him Astarion slipped into the other room, bare-chested and his trousers hanging loose around his hips. Her room looked more lived in than his but then she had been in it for much longer. The walls were covered in artwork and pictures with names like Mercury’s Revenge and Brightside In Shar which he found particularly funny while he thought the fit Shadowheart would have. He found Poppy lying on a chair with her fingers dancing over a keyboard that circled halfway around her. He noticed that there were letters in several alphabets, some infernal, others elvish and some from languages he didn’t understand. She clearly did because she wasn’t even looking where she was typing. In fact her eyes were on the ceiling as unfocused as they had been when she had caused those men to drop with just her mind.

He moved around the chair and found a desk with several screens running numbers in was that gave Astarion a headache just looking at them. He also noticed a small foil pouch with something half-eaten and starting to rot. He wrinkled his nose at that but realized that that was the only piece of filth aside from a cup of coffee that had long since gone cold. From one of the large towers, he noticed a thick cord going from it to the back of Poppy’s head. He wondered if she had not been captured while he had been brooding and he had been too far in his own head to notice. He followed the cord and was about to wrap his hand around the end to pull when a voice called out behind him. “Don’t touch that, you’ll kill me!”

The ages-old vampire looked back and saw Poppy on the screen. Who he assumed was her anyway. Her skin was a deep brown and had glasses. Gone were the short horns interlaced with gold and the small fangs that he had already become a fan of. “Poppy?” He asked looking at the screen. “Live and online. Need something? I can pull myself out of cyberspace.” She said brightly. Astarion crossed his arms and leaned against the chair. “I wouldn’t want to disrupt you from your work.” He muttered as he looked away. Poppy rolled her eyes. “I was diving to research something for you anyway. You kept asking about Iris so I thought I could find out what happened to her.” She said as she moved back. The digital version of Poppy fell away and was replaced with several texts on the screen.

“Some records from before the Awakening survived as well as some from before the war of the gods. The names of those that brought down the Neatherbrain are listed but curiously enough not Iris. If she was as big a part of the final battle you would think she would be there. I found Wyll as well as Ma and Mam and yours but not Iris. I found some mentions of Lady Ancunín but not of Iris by name.” Her voice explained. Astarion was shocked, to say the least, that Poppy would care at any point to even look that far back. He let her go on though he was sure what he found was going to hurt. “I found something curious in one of the public libraries. They have scans of a cleric and alchemist who found a cure for vampirism as you know it.” He had to interrupt then. “As I know it?” He asked stepping towards the screen that had been flickering to get his attention. “Oh right, you don’t know about HMHVV. That’s a discussion for another day. What we know as vampires and what you know as vampires are totally different and it’s going to blow your mind when you find out.” She said excitedly.

“Back on subject!” She cried, the speakers making her, if possible, even louder. “I read the scans and found someone that looked well like me a little bit This is Iris right?” She asked as a charcoal drawing replaced the picture of handwritten text. There she was, high cheekbones and an angled nose, her hair was pressed and neatly curled to frame her face. Her eyes were sharp and almond but what gave her away was her eyes which had been almost slitted like a predator even before she became a vampire spawn. “Yes, that’s her.” He answered, his voice much more dry than he would have liked as if something were stuck in his throat. “Does it say where she went after she cured herself?” Astarion asked before he could stop himself. “No, after that the journal says that she stayed a few days to get used to being mortal again and then left. Found no mention of her after this. Maybe she vanished so completely because even though she left her sword with you she was still afraid of you.” Poppy said but her voice was gentile.

She didn’t need to be, by the gods he deserved every bit of her ire. “Search Van Zarovich.” He said as he placed his hands on the table. He needed to know. One last thing that he needed to know. “As in Strahd? Who or what were you fucking with choom?” She asked but searched anyway. Second later everything she could find on the last name Zarovich popped up which wasn’t much really but he found all he needed to find. A marriage certificate with her true name on it and a matching record of death about seventy years after she left him. Good, she managed to live a long life. It was more than he should know really. “Come out of wherever you are darling. We’re done here.” He said with his head down. “Right.” She said then a moan came from behind him. He turned to see Poppy reached back to unhook herself from the machine and Astarion reached out to help. “Just give a turn to the left. That’s it.” She sighed and rolled her shoulders, working out some stiffness.

She went over to the coffee cup first, taking a drink from it before reaching for the half-eaten food and moving to the kitchen. Astarion followed her silently She tossed the offending item and put the coffee cup in a microwave to heat back up. “I can make some fresh for you. That synth coffee is from this morning so it’s still good. This is clearly not.” She said with a giggle and pointing at the bin. “I don’t know what else I have here that you could eat, I usually don’t have my meals here whenever I’m in meat space.” She said as she shook out her curls. “Don’t worry about it love I’m not hungry.” He responded as he flopped on the couch. “How often are you in meat space as you call it?” He asked. Astarion had noticed how slight she was when he grabbed her at first but didn’t really take note of it until he had ridden with her. ‘It depends on what my siblings are doing and what I’m needed for. I’m a great Decker and I take all the jobs I can to help support the children of War Machine. The most I’ve been gone is two days. Erin came to unplug me and took me out to lunch.” She said with a giggle.

“Ah yes, the overzealous gunner. He did seem to have a sweet spot for you.” The vampire droned to which Poppy gave a short laugh. “Leftover from our time together. We tried to be a thing once. It didn’t work. We still care for each other as friends though.” She said while she took the now heated cup from the microwave. She walked over to her new guest and put her legs out on the couch. “Are you sure there are no feelings left between you?” He asked with an eyebrow raised. “I can’t speak for him but not on my side. He’s a good guy but a little too… straight-laced for me.” She said looking up. “Erin had more of a chance than any of us to get a corpo job, work his way up to the top. For a while, it seemed like he would then he ended up with us again.” She said with a shug. “Maybe he didn’t want to leave you behind. I personally couldn’t imagine letting go of all this.” He said as his hand strayed up her bare leg.

Now that they were alone, Poppy was in a pair of bright orange shorts and a loose red top. The teifling giggled, letting him get closer to her. “I can. He can do better than me, even now. A nice human partner that doesn’t have to use cyberware to hide their horns.” She said as she gestured up at her black and purple protrusions. “His loss if he thinks so.” Astarion said softly then suddenly pulled her onto his lap by the leg he had been stroking. Poppy yelped and put her hands on his chest. “What are you doing?” She asked, those cybernetic eyes expanding then closing slightly again. “Showing you just how beautiful you are.” He said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “What about the woman Iris you were so horny to find?” She asked. He placed a hand on Poppy’s waist and brought her closer. “She moved on a long time ago. I think I should do the same.” He answered. Poppy giggled and ran a hand through his hair.

“A look-alike rebound to start your new life here at the Gate. There are worse ways to do things.” She said with a bright smile. A smile Astarion knew was hiding pain. “At first maybe. You look so much like her. What more you smell like her, your very blood sings to me the way her’s did. Yet you are not her.” Astarion whispered as he slid his hand from her waist and up her shirt, finding that she wasn’t wearing a bra underneath. She moaned as he explored her breast underneath. “Might I have a taste of you?” He asked while laying her down. “Will I turn into a spawn if you do?” She asked though her leg was hooked onto his hip. She explored him the way he did her, relishing the feeling of his cool skin after the dive left her so spacy and hot. A heat that Astarion wanted to bath in.”I’d have to drink you down to just before your heart stopped. I just want a sample darling,” He all but purred while scraping his fangs down her neck. Poppy shivered, her heart hammering. “Yes.” She whispered.

Astarion cupped the back of her head to keep her still and sank his fangs into her throat. As soon her blood coated his tongue it cemented who he was with. Poppy was sweeter, pure decadence given form. He layed ther down, a knee between hers. She clung to him, her nails sinking into his back as she felt the ice running through her. Poppy could see how easy it was for his last lover to give everything when his bite felt this good. Astarion kept his word though and released her after a few swallows. “Still alright?” He asked as he looked down at her. Poppy looked up, desire written across her face. “Never better. You're like… coolant seeping through my veins.” She said softly. She leaned up and kissed him, the copper on his lips just driving her further. Astarion helped her out of the bright top and started kissing down. Though she said she felt cool there was still heat coming from her.

Poppy rutted up against his knee in a silent plea. Astarion gave a small smirk against her skin and kept going downwards, her shorts sliding down along her long legs as he kissed the flesh revealed to him. He placed a hand under her thigh and had her reveal herself to him. Poppy caught her bottom lip with her lips and squirmed. What if he changed his mind? “Perfect.” He rasped before licking a stripe over her soaking folds, circling her eager clit. She instantly sank her fingers in his silver curls and rocked against his mouth, pleasure rocketing through her. She braced herself against the arm of the couch, her foot pressed on the rough carpet. She was grateful that he was holding her down because she didn’t think she could keep still with his tongue taking in her arousal. Astarion had wondered how much of her had been artificial but it seemed like it was only her eyes and some mechanisms in her hands. The rest of her was soft, sugary, and so indulgent that he couldn’t help but fest on the tiefling. He sank a finger into her, a groan escaped from him. “You feel so tight.” He whispered before continuing to feast on her.

She clenched around him and shivered as pleasure flooded through her she was floating but in a way that made her feel more connected with her body, every nerve ending seeing out his touch and his alone. She felt another finger slip in, drawing a slow groan from her. Her slick made it easy for him and she was sure she could take him with how turned on she was but it was as if he was determined to devour every part of her. “Astarion.” She whimpered while his fingers pumped inside her, drawing her even closer to the edge of oblivion. “That right, cry out for me pet.” He said softly. His voice seemed to do the trick because she felt the internal coil snap and she almost drowned in the waves of bliss that overtook her.

Astarion didn’t relent even though he could taste her release. She rode out her orgasm but pulled gently, guiding back up to her lips. She needed more than his fingers, showed him as much with the all-consuming kiss she gave him. She trailed her fingers down his sides and over the edge of his pants. Astarion allowed her to strip him but stopped her when he felt her wrap her hand around his length. “I won’t last under your touch love.” He murmured against her lips. Poppy nodded and adjusted herself to match his hips. He entered her and a sigh escaped his lips. She was tight around him, familiar yet brand new. Her nails dragged down his back, bumping over the ridges of his scars as if she could erase them with her claws and part of him wished that she could. He pressed a knee against her chest and started to thrust, slow and methodical. The new angel let him hit just the right spot, one that had her whining every time he bottomed out inside her.

Slowly she could feel her arousal build up again, his cock stretching her perfectly. Poppy too felt a sense of familiarity. As if her body remembered something from before she was even alive. Her thoughts shattered into incoherence with a snap of his hips. She arched into him and screamed making a banging come from the other side of the wall that didn’t register at all. Astarion seemed to notice though because he started getting rougher with her. He had her legs over his shoulders and pistoned faster as he kissed and nipped across her chest and neck. He left small bruises as he sucked in places. Astarion drank in her noises like a man who just came back from the desert. He could feel her getting close by how her thighs trembled around him and he slowed again, dragging her back to dragging her back from the breaking point. She whined desperately, “Please Astaron.” She gasped while trying to grind up against him. He gave a dark chuckle and continued to edge her close, relishing the feeling of her walls closing around him, welcoming him back where he belonged. She tossed her head back and cried out his name.

This was all that was needed to break the last thread of his control. Astarion drove deep inside her making her cling to him while she felt the world around her shatter. He came with her this time, his breath hot across her skin both from what they had done and from the lingering effects of her blood. She brought her legs down and tucked herself against him, her tail winding around his waist. Astarion held her close, knowing that this was a second chance to do things right. He vowed to not squander it.

#bg3 #bg3 astarion #bg3 tav #bg3 named tav #OC: Poppy #OC: Iris #bg3 karlach #OC: Sestri #fanfiction #writers on tumblr #astarion smut

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