#dustdeepsea fic: aqua vitae

[dustdeepsea]

“I could wash your hair for you,” he offers, with a rakish smile. “Tuck you into bed after. If that’s all that you wanted?”

You meet the Zhentarim agent that promised you a drink at the Elfsong. The night doesn't go as planned.

Folks - I have absolutely no excuse for any of this. Rugan's voice did something to my poor brain. This Tav is angry, horny, and extremely bad at feelings.

This is, by far, the most explicit thing I've ever written. Enjoy the 2.5k of smut, with a veneer of plot for the rest.

Thank you to @my-favourite-zhent for the inspiration.

aqua vitae

Fandom: Baldur's Gate 3

Rating: Explicit

Relationships: Rugan/Tav (Baldur's Gate)

Characters: Rugan (Baldur's Gate), Tav (Baldur's Gate), Original Female Character(s)

Additional Tags: Drinking, One Night Stands, Hair Washing, Enthusiastic Consent, Drunk Sex, Oral Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Penis In Vagina Sex, Female Ejaculation, Tav is Bad at Feelings (Baldur's Gate), POV Second Person

Read on AO3 (5,758 words)

[tellmeallaboutit]

CRASH COURSE IN RUGANISM

It's my third day since infiltrating the Rugan collective, and this sub-fandom is something else. While Raphael's mice live in harmony with their various Raphaels, each Raphael sub-group in a different corner, the Rugan collective is a clandestine and united criminal operation. They have their communication channels, workshops and joint projects. It's literally the Zhent underground.

My favourite works so far (read them even if you have no idea who Rugan is. I didn't either. It doesn't matter. The collective has created a complex, funny, amazing character out of scraps and pieces and deleted lines and hivemind headcanons), all Rugan / F!Tav.

aqua vitae by @dustdeepsea Vibe: drunk, realistic, passionate, psychologic, smutty.

lucky fox by @littleplasticrat Rugan / Dammon/Tav threesome. Vibe: friendly, with a hint of debauchery, Rugan being lewd, Rugan / Damon bisexual vibes, perfect chemistry between all three.

worthwhile reward by @my-favourite-zhent Vibe: darker Rugan but still soft!dom Rugan, Tav is happy to submit.

new tricks by @my-favourite-zhent: the only ongoing longfic inn the list. Vibe: a sleazy criminal meets a less sleazy criminal. Chemistry ensues.

Please forgive the authors and fics I have not listed, I am still exploring. I will follow up with Part 2.

[my-favourite-zhent]

2024 Writing Roundup (Late)

Wasn't sure whether to put this on @unmoderatedzhentarim or here but all my other writing is here so what the hey.

I really enjoyed reading everyone's writing roundups and wrap ups have been wanting to do one, bit late as I've not had the time or energy for tag games the last few months (hopefully will soon).

Words posted (not including group works): 69, 682

Additional words written over various projects:

NT: 14, 198

F&F: 8,827

F&F Sequel: 1466

Untitled One-Shot A: 468

Untitled One-Shot B: 1513

Total: 26, 475

Grand total: 96, 156

I feel a little bit better about my output seeing it as a total number.

Fandoms: Baldur's Gate 3 (pretty much just the Zhentarim)

Highest Kudos: New Tricks at 77, a Rugan x OC long fic that I hope to finish this year. Set before and during the events of the game.

Highest Hit One shot: I don't have one posted from *this* year but Worthwhile Reward from last December comes in at 101. This one is Rugan x Tav where Tav gets the drink she was promised at the Elf Song.

New Trickshings I tried:

A long fic, which I have a love-hate relationship now as it's my darling but seriously can it just write itself?

Lore research, have not written in 20ish year but I don't recall investigating anything back then.

Getting involved in Fandom, previously I've watched a lot from the sidelines so it was nice to actually talk to other creatives and fans this time around, big shout out to @littleplasticrat for pulling me into it.

Fic I spent the most time on:

New Tricks by a landslide, it's consumed me pretty much every single day of 2024, even if my output has slowed down considerably.

Fic I spent the least time on:

Untitled One-Shot A, have only spent a few hours on it. This was going to be a character study of one of the Zhents but the other projects are consuming me so much that I don't know if or when it will get done.

Favourite thing I wrote:

New Tricks! Again! As much as I had fun getting Fortune and Favour started NT is still my first love and will probably continue to be so until it's finished.

Favourite thing(s) I read:

Quite a few and I'm bound to forget some but I'll break it up by category and hopefully I do not over tag and anger tumblr:

Comedy:

A Honeypot; A Thirst Trap by @threerattsinatrenchcoat

The start of the Bandit Queen saga. Rugan and the Waukeen's rest gang have met their match in the Bandit Queen. Time and again they come up against her schemes and vice-versa. Will the gang ever come out on top? Will Rugan ever get laid? Read to find out!

Drama:

Aqua Vitae by @dustdeepsea

Amazingly grounded and poignant work that takes place in the Rugan cut-content AU. Octavia (Tav) runs into Rugan at Elfsong only to find him a lot more troubled than when last they met.

One For the Road by @thisaccountisagainstmywill

The first in a series of character defining dalliances for Rugan. The exploration of his first romance and how it would shape him.

Fluff:

Isn't it a Marvel by @fistfuloftarenths

A post BG3 ending where bard Tav enjoys a day out with her favourite (former) Zhents, and a little bit of mischief.

Somewhere I have never travelled also by dust

An encounter with sweet Zhent Olly from the POV of a young woman named Nora in Berdusk.

I was and forever will be so touched Dust decided to set this in the NT universe, and I hope I'll be able to do Olly some justice!

On-going series aka Long fic:

de diversis artibus also by fistful

A fantastic Salazon centered story, the narrative is shared between him and the POV of a very sheltered Partriar's daughter by the name of Rosafieri. Rosa is both infuriating and endearing in her naivety and the perfect compliment to Sal.

God and Monsters also by dust

The threequel to Aqua Vitae. Set post-game, Octavia (Tav) and a broken Rugan embark on an investigation for the guild while studiously avoiding talking about their feelings.

The Red Right Hand by @pentuppen

Yvie St. John is a firey medical assistant that, thanks to the reckless and selfish behaviour of her mother, finds herself the target of some various dangerous loan sharks. A chance run in with our favourite Zhent simultaneously ruins her life and offers her an opportunity to get everything she's ever wanted.

Smut:

The Inkskin Pact by @littleplasticrat

A Rugan o' Clearlight story, a little exploration on one of his various tattoos and how it is very beneficial for a Zhent Tav.

A Snake in the Garden also by pentuppen

Rugan collects on a debt anyway that he can, only the token he's taken isn't traded for coin but for a night with an extremely talented tiefling courtesan.

The Perfect Mark by @luvwich

What if instead of encountering a heroic Tav, Rugan ran into a rather unscrupulous Dark Urge? One who doesn't fight her violent tendencies but instead finds a perfect opportunity for them in an unknowing Zhent.

Writing Goals for 2025:

Actually finish New Tricks (is this realistic? I couldn't tell you).

New Works:

Untitled One-Shot B! B is a bit different in character and trajectory but it's fun to write and its a bit of a collaboration so I hope to wrap it up soon.

Thanks for reading this far! And if you haven't done your own roundup yet give it a try~

[dustdeepsea]

scene from aqua vitae (Rugan/Tav) pencil on paper

view full image on AO3 (18+ only)

Remember when I used to draw shoujo manga? Yeah. It's been a while. 🙃 I'm terrible at digital artwork, but I did quite a bit of live act drawing with graphite and charcoal last year.

This is for everyone who voted for Rugan/Tav in the poll! I hope this tides you over for a while, while I work on the other writing requests. I love your enthusiasm, never change :)

[dustdeepsea]

One half of my brain: - so aqua vitae refers to a strong alcoholic spirit and there is indeed drinking in this, yes, but also! water (aqua) has a symbolic meaning to it, because she ritually undresses herself before he helps her to bathe and it's the most intimate gesture in this story - do you think the readers will appreciate this? do you think it sounds too pretentious - "the water of life"?

Other half: you've written the word "cock" 6 times in this story. please stop overthinking this.