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thechaoticdruid · 6 months ago

Text

[This Bites] 7

Astarion x F! Chubby MC

Plot: Winnie and Astarion attend the carnival in hopes to get information on a certain mysterious modder.

Content/Warnings: Violence, touching without consent, clowns, a special guest, death threats, near death experience, choking.

Chapter 6: Here

Chapter 8: NEXT

The screams of people riding the roller coaster filled the air. Winnie held Astarion’s hand as the group walked across the carnival grounds. Astarion who'd been rather enthusiastic about going, now seemed rather unsure. Winnie assumed he was more excited about going on a date than the date itself. Astarion’s hand tightened around Winnie’s as they passed a rather eerily looking clown who was putting on a show for some children, juggling sparklers. His eyes looked over to them for a split second. Winnie shook her head and decided to ignore the strange person and focus on what she came for.

“So erm…. Anthony I was really wondering if you could maybe help me. Becca said you're a modder and you might know the person who made this BG3 cheat engine.” Winnie took out her phone and showed him a screenshot of the cheat engine file she took with her laptop.

“Hm ... .Oh yeah I chatted with him before over discord.” Anthony replied, not looking back at the short female, too distracted by all the sights and sounds.

“Babe, look! A haunted house, let's go!” Becca exclaimed as she took hold of her boyfriend’s arm.

“Oh alright I'll come with so you don't get scared” Anthony winked at Becca before taking her arm.

“I don't know what you're talking about, you're the one always getting scared.” Becca teased back before looking at Winnie. “Come on Wyn! Let's go!”

“Yeah okay.” Winnie replied.

“So we're going to hunt for spirits?”Astarion hummed.

“No. It's not real. Just people in costumes jumping out from behind the corner to scare people.” Winnie explained.

“Oh? Well that's considerably more boring.” Astarion huffed.

“Hey, don't hate on our fun! We don't have magic and dragons like you do back home.” Winnie playfully punched him in the shoulder.

“Very well let's go then.” Astarion smirked and followed Winnie towards the ‘haunted house’ ride. The attraction was set up to where you'd get and ride through a fake haunted house. Winnie and Astarion sat behind Anthony and Becca as the car slowly moved along. For the most part the vampire was unimpressed. Being much too perceptive he could always tell when someone was about to jump out.

“Hmm…That's a poor hiding spot.” Astarion mused as he noticed a man in a bloody pig costume hiding in the shadows. The man jumped up causing Anthony and Becca to scream. Astarion stared boredly, an arm wrapped around Winnie’s waist as she tensed up, startled. The vampire caressed his beloved's back comfortingly. He honestly relished the thought of taking a protective role. It made him feel strong, valued, like he had a purpose.

“Oh now he's just lying on the floor, tut tut tut. You can do better than that.” Astarion tsked before a man in bloody clothes leapt up and screamed at the cart. The vampire rolled his eyes before looking back at Winnie. She didn't scream at the attempts to scare them like Becca and Anthony did, but she would tense up or flinch. Astarion leaned in and whispered in Winnie’s ear, “There’s another idiot hiding behind that door over there.”

Suddenly a man in caked in white costume makeup with fangs and fake blood all over his face jumped out from behind the door hissing and getting way too close to Winnie’s face for the pale elf's liking. Astarion’s eyes narrowed a bit before he punched the ‘vampire’ in the jaw.

“Why the hell did you do that for?” Winnie asked, looking at Astarion in confusion.

“He was getting on my nerves and he got far too close for my liking.” Astarion huffed.

“You can't just punch people because you want to! You're going to get us in trouble.” Winnie said with a look of worry.

“Don’t fret love, I’ll handle any ire that comes our way.” Astarion replied.

“That's what worries me.” Winnie rolled her eyes.

“Sweetheart, everything worries you.” Astarion sassed. Winnie pouted as the carts came to a stop outside the haunted house. They got out and Winnie silently thanked God that somehow miraculously Becca and Anthony missed Astarion's little outburst.

The group walked away from the attraction as Astarion glanced over to see that creepy clown from before. He began clinging on to Winnie as he glared at painted face fool.

“It's just a guy in make-up Star.” Winnie said, running a hand over his back comfortingly. Astarion huffed a bit as they kept walking, the clown disappearing amongst the crowd of people.

“It's hideous.” Astarion murmured quietly.

“So Winnie I have a question, how did you and Star meet?” Becca turned to Winnie with a curious look.

“Oh you know…We��um…” Winnie tried to think up something quickly.

“My darling and I met at the beach. I needed some assistance fending off this disgusting beast.”

“It…was a really big crab.” Winnie added, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.

“It was monstrous, but Winnie smashed the little wretch with a boulder, my sweet little hero.” Astarion hummed before looking at Winnie fondly.

“It was a very small boulder.”

“Well that's…..interesting.” Anthony hummed as he and Becca stared at them awkwardly, clearly thinking their story was ridiculous.

“AH LOOK BUMPER CARS!!!” Winnie said, trying to change the subject as she pointed at the ride.

“Ooh that actually looks fun.” Astarion said as his red eyes trailed over the scene of people smashing into each other.

“How about we have a little playful competition against the ladies?” Anthony suggested as he looked over at Astarion.

“Oh, you two are on!” Becca exclaimed and grabbed Winnie’s arm, “come on Wyn let's go kick some ass!” Becca dragged Winnie off before she could comment and Astarion rolled his eyes and followed after Anthony.

Eventually the two pairs got separated in the line with at least ten people between them. Winnie looked back, worried about Astarion doing something chaotic while she wasn't within range to intervene.

Astarion glanced back in her direction, he wasn't exactly torn up about their separation, but he would have much preferred trying this activity with Winnie instead of Anthony whom he knew nothing about. Anthony looked Astarion over for a moment before he spoke.

“So…Winnie seems nice.” He hummed aloud.

“She is absolutely wonderful, my Winnie.” Astarion hummed with a content smile.

“Okay…I mean she's not around bro. You don't have to go all out.” Anthony chuckled.

“All out? I mean every word.” Astarion huffed, “don’t you feel the same about your Becca? She seems very taken with you.”

“She's aight. Pretty hot and good in bed.” Anthony said nonchalantly.

“Oh, well lucky you then.” Astarion rolled his eyes. Meanwhile Winnie was standing with Becca, looking back at the others with a nervous gaze.

“Maybe we should see if we can squeeze into line with the boys…So we don't get separated?”

“Nah it's fine, there should be enough bumper cars for them to join us.” Becca stated, her eyes looking over Winnie curiously observing her gaze.

“You're staring at him.~” The redhead said in a sing-songy tone.

“He has a tendency to get into trouble.” Winnie said honestly.

“You sure you're not just disappointed he's not glued to your side like normal?” She teased.

“You act like he's hanging on me 24/7.” Winnie chuckled.

“Isn't he? Whenever I've seen you two he follows you around like a lost puppy.”

“You've seen us together like twice before today.”

“And I have amazing intuition. So…Have you two….you know…?” Becca smirked.

“I'm not having this conversation.” Winnie rolled her eyes.

“Whaaat? I was just gonna ask if you two had kissed! Don't be weird about it!” The redhead teased making Winnie turn bright red.

After a few minutes they climbed into the cars. The bumper cars were brightly colored and had both a driver and passenger seat in each of them.

Becca and Winnie got into one, Becca in the driver's side and Winnie in the passenger seat. However before they could even get buckled up, they were slammed into by Anthony and Astarion. Astarion smirked mischievously as his fingers curled around the steering wheel.

“Star!? What the hell?” Winnie hissed.

“Sorry darling, I've never controlled one of these things before aha!” Astarion giggled with a mischievous grin.

“Oh it's on! Let's get him back!” Becca exclaimed, steering the bumper right into the guys. The group giggled and teased each other as their cars would collide. Despite the fun eventually Winnie had to usher their little group away when her vampiric partner began to slam the car into some obnoxious children. (One whom so rudely exclaimed “out of the way old lady!”)

Once the four had left the ride Astarion slipped back beside Winnie. Anthony seemed to follow after Astarion however.

“So…Make a new friend?” Winnie asked glancing over at Astarion and Anthony.

Astarion wrapped an arm around Winnie and pulled her off away from Anthony until the two of them were out of earshot.

“Friend isn't quite the right word I believe, but nevermind that while I was alone with him in line he mentioned that the creator of your modification lived nearby in some city called Varamont.”

“Varamont? That's like a five hour drive from here.” Winnie rubbed her temples. “I'm not sure I could stand riding for that long on my bike.” Winnie said with a sigh.

“Come on Winnie we're going into the mirror maze!” Becca called as she and Anthony caught up with the two.

“I think I'll sit this one out actually.” Astarion spoke up.

“Ah yeah…He gets a bit claustrophobic!” Winnie added.

“You ladies go on in then. I wanted to get some food anyway.” Anthony piped up.

“Okay….” Winnie said as Becca dragged her off into the mirror maze. Winnie followed after her reluctantly as her friend continued to talk her ears off about mundane things. They had a lead on where ShadowMommy69 was. Things were going well. So why did Winnie have this gnawing feeling something bad was going to happen?

She sighed as her and Becca walked through the maze occasionally bumping into a mirror once and a while. “Becca…Is everything okay with Anthony? I mean he is your boyfriend but it seems…like he's avoiding you.”

“Anthony can be a bit reserved, but he's really a sweetheart.” Becca replied. Winnie frowned, Anthony didn't seem to have any problem hanging out with Astarion. She wasn't quite sure he was a good match for Becca. As much as she admired her friend, Becca had a bad track record when it came to dating. Winnie could recall that the redhead's last girlfriend apparently maxed her credit card and her parents had to help her with the debt. She really didn't have the best judge of character when it came to romantic partners. Not that Winnie could really talk considering her first boyfriend was a bloodthirsty undead creature of the night, but at least Astarion payed attention to her. A little too much sometimes. That wasn't his fault though. The man barely had anything to do while he was cooped up all day to avoid the sun's rays.

As Winnie and Becca continued walking through the mirror maze the two ended up taking different paths. Winnie being distracted by her thoughts and Becca distracted by chattering about her own boyfriend. Eventually the girls were separated in two totally different parts of the maze. Winnie was even pulled out of her head by her nose bumping against the cold glass of a mirror.

“Shit…Where'd she go? Becca!?” She called, looking around as she got no answer. The lights that illuminated the maze from above flickered a bit. And Winnie felt a chill go down her spine.

It's okay. Everything is alright. We’ll just find our way out.

Winnie could feel her heart speeding up as she carefully maneuvered through the maze. However each turn and path seemed to go on forever. Winnie couldn't even tell how long she'd been in here! She quickly took out her phone as she began to get nervous only to find that the battery was dead.

Okay…Maybe this isn't so great…

Suddenly she noticed a shadow move across one of the mirrors. Winnie nearly jumped at the sight of it, backing up fearfully. Then suddenly there was a voice.

“Ah, we finally meet in the flesh.” A familiar looking brunette haired man suddenly appeared in front of one of the mirrors, his reflection appearing in all the surrounding ones. It took a moment for Winnie to process who this was.

“Raphael?! What the hell are you doing here!? I'm pretty sure I killed you!” Winnie gasped in complete and utter shock.

“And yet here we are face to face.” The devil chuckled as Winnie began to back up. “I should actually thank you, you know. If you hadn't pulled Astarion out of our dreadfully repetitive world I would never have been able to find a way out.”

“Shit. I knew something bad was going to happen. You…You better not s-start any trouble!” Winnie said, trying to act intimidating though deep down inside she was terrified.

“What trouble? I'm simply here to explore this new realm much like your toothsome companion. Besides, you have other things to worry about.”

“What do you mean?” Winnie asked with worry.

“Astarion and I are not the only ones who've found a way to enter your domain. The person who caused this opened far more doors into your world than he intended.” Raphael spoke in a calm tone. A smile etching its way onto his face.

“Why are you telling me this?” Winnie raised an eyebrow with suspicion.

“Because you are of interest to me and without this knowledge you'll likely meet a very early demise.”

“If you're planning to use me to do your dirty work you must be desperate. You realize I'm no fighter. Hell I'm not even an advent-” Before Winnie could finish her sentence the devil disappeared without a trance. “Oh you Asshat! I was talking to you!” Winnie huffed, looking around for the devil, but he was gone. Raphael showing up was bad enough but the thought of others coming into this world was horrifying. Dragons, mind Flayers and God knows what else could appear and there was nothing Winnie could do about it. She was literally just a retail employee!

“I need to find Astarion.” Winnie murmured to herself.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Astarion had been waiting outside, trying to keep to himself as best as he could. The carnival goers were all looking more delectable by the minute. He could feel the ravenous maw inside begging, no, demanding to be sated.

“Hey Star.” Anthony called as he returned from getting some food. “Damn, the girls sure are taking their time aren't they?” The dark haired male hummed. Astarion looked up, red eyes immediately noticing the pulsing vein on the human man’s neck. He gulped nervously, doing his damnedest to ignore the urge to tear into Anthony's throat.

“Oh…I-I'm sure they'll be back soon.” Astarion said with a huff, his eyes looking away from the other male.

“Hey, you alright?” Anthony asked.

“I'm fine. Just a bit cold.” Astarion lied and looked back towards the mirror maze. The vampire tried to keep his mind focused on Winnie, knowing well that she'd allow him to feed once they arrived home. But then he suddenly felt an arm wrap around his waist. He looked back and noticed the other male was getting far too close for comfort.

“Hey why don't we ditch the girls? I think the two of us have more in common anyway.~” Anthony said with a smirk before suddenly Astarion shoved him off.

“Touch me again and I'll choke you with your own innards.” He hissed.

“Whoa hey! Calm down! There's no need to pretend here. I know you're just pity-dating that girl, it's kind of obvious.” Anthony exclaimed, causing the vampire to narrow his eyes at him.

“Pity-dating? Ha! Darling, if I was going to court anyone out of pity it'd be you. Now stay the hells away from me before I rip out your throat.” Astarion snarled, his eyes were beginning to glow red, as he bared his fangs. This set off alarm bells in the human man’s head.

“J-Jesus Christ!” He cursed and backed away. The vampire pushed back the urge to drain the male dry as he stepped away, beginning to retreat to a less populated space. His eyes then suddenly perked up at the sight of caged pigs off inside some tent.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

After stumbling through the mirror maze Winnie bumped into Becca once again.

“There you are, Wyn! God, I thought You left for a moment!” Becca exclaimed.

“Becca! I need to get out of here and talk to Star! It's important!” Winnie said.

“Shit. Did something happen? Are you okay?” Becca asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“I'm fine…I just need to talk to him about something personal, okay.” Winnie stated. Becca nodded in understanding.

“Okay. Let's go, I think I found the way out.” Becca grabbed hold of Winnie’s hand so the two of them wouldn't get separated again before she led her he down another path. Winnie could spot scratches and smudges on the mirrors, as if someone had already left a trial to help guide them out. Eventually they reached the end of the maze and stepped out. Not a moment sooner chaos broke loose as pigs began to charge across the fields in front of them.

“Fuck sake!” One of the carnival workers yelled.

“Someone let loose the pigs!” Winnie and Becca looked at one another in complete and utter bewilderment. As the carnival workers rushed to wrangle their swine, one began to slowly approach the two girls. It was the clown Winnie had seen earlier.

“Ladies, may I speak with you for a moment?”

“Uhh…We're a bit busy at the moment! S-Sorry.” Winnie blurted out before suddenly the make-up caked stranger began to move in.

“What's the hurry!? There's a show starting soon. Come and see!” The clown chuckled.

“She said we're busy.” Becca spoke louder and stood in front of Winnie. The clown cracked his neck before suddenly grabbing a hold of both their arms.

“Hey get the fuck off us!” Becca shouted as both her and Winnie began to flail and attempt to pull away, but the clown was surprisingly strong.

‘Let us go!” Winnie shouted, eyes scanning the area for passerbys but it seemed the whole pig fiasco had distracted anyone who could have helped.

Winnie suddenly kicked the clown in the shin, making him release them. The two of them bolted as the stranger began his pursuit.

Fucking hell this is like something out of a horror movie!

Winnie panted and huffed as Becca moved ahead of her. The slender female was able to keep more distance between herself and the creep chasing them. Winnie could feel her ribs and legs burning. She didn't think she had enough stamina to keep going. The clown chased them back into an empty tent when suddenly Winnie tripped, falling onto her hands and knees. She winced, feeling blood dripping down a cut on her knee. Winnie scrambled to get back up as the clown lunged at her grabbing hold of her by the throat. Winnie gasped for air, gripping onto the clown's large hands

“Winnie! Get off her you creep!” Becca shouted and ran back towards the clown. The red head leapt into his back and grabbed hold of his hair, yanking it hard and even tearing a chunk out, causing him to shout and let go of Winnie before moving to throw Becca off of him. Winnie fell to the ground holding her neck as the clown moved to strike at Becca. The redhead looked up with wide eyes before suddenly something sharp pierced through the clown's chest from behind, causing blood to pour down onto the ground as the carnie fell to the floor. Astarion stood there clawed fingers dripping with blood as he quickly turned his attention to Winnie who was still rubbing her throat.

“Winnie! Winnie my sweet, are you alright?” Astarion looked down at the human woman with fearful eyes as she rubbed her throat. She gave a small weak nod.

“Y-You just shoved your fingers through that man h-how!?” Becca began to stutter out. Astarion ignored the redhead, his attention was on the marks on Winnie's throat.

“Arghhhhh!” A loud snarl suddenly filled their ears. The clown corpse began to stand back and change, growing bigger and bigger. Suddenly a large blue skinned humanoid beast with long tusks and glowing eyes.

Shit. The devil was right.

Winnie mentally cursed as Astarion stood in front of her protectively. Blood was still dripping from the wound in the creature’s chest. The creature growled down at the trio. The silver haired vampire bared his fangs at the beast. He was unarmed but he'd be damned if he let some filthy creature hurt his beloved and get away with it. While the beast was slowed by its injury he took the opportunity to attack.

“Ignis!” He launched a firebolt straight into the monster’s face. The beast roared in pain as its eyes were blazing. The stench of burning flesh filled the air. The beast quickly turned tail and darted out the back of the tent, disappearing into the night. Winnie got back to her feet, taking a few deep breaths. Astarion peeked out through the back of the tent to make sure it was go before returning to Winnie’s side.

“Magic…He just did magic!?” Becca sputtered out. Winnie sighed and rubbed her temples before looking over at Astarion.

“I'm going to assume that's not normal here.” Astarion spoke up.

“No, definitely not. I was actually looking to warn you about this kind of thing earlier.” Winnie replied, her voice sounding a bit croaky from nearly getting choked out. “I ran into Raphael in the mirror maze…”

“The devil is here!?” Astarion asked aloud.

“Devil?!” Becca exclaimed.

“Yes. He said when you came here others did too, himself included. I imagine that monster was one of them.” Winnie said.

“Would someone please tell me what's going on here!?” Becca demanded.

“Ah….Right…This is all probably going to sound insane.” Winnie sighed.

“Everything that's happened today has been insane. We just got attacked by a god-damned clown monster-thing and your boyfriend chucked a fireball at it!”

“Yes ... .Um…How do I put this…..Hm…Becca this is Astarion…I uh…pulled him out of my computer about a month ago after downloading this messed up cheat mod.”

“Ah…Hello.” Astarion gave her an awkward little wave. Becca just stayed silent for a moment, eye twitching at the insanity of it all.

“This is a dream. I fell asleep while getting ready for the carnival and Anthony is going to wake me up any moment now.” Becca spoke to herself as she tried to rationalize the situation.

“Oh I doubt he'd stay long enough to realize you were asleep.” Astarion muttered under his breath.

“I thought it was a dream at first too, but after a couple of weeks I didn't wake up.” Winnie said softly.

“How is this possible?” Becca asked.

“Honestly I have no clue. I've actually been trying to the bottom of this. This is why I need to find out who made that mod. I'm certain it's behind everything.”

“I need to take some time to process this. I'm going out to my car…” Becca said before walking off, looking rather shaken up.

Winnie stepped out of the tent with Astarion slowly following behind her.

“It looks like the number of people who know our secret seem to be growing.”

“I wouldn't worry too much about Becca. She knows how crazy this all sounds, she's not going to go tell someone. Shame all hell broke loose tonight.”

“Gods I'm glad I was able catch a whiff of your blood before it was too late. I….I should have been with you…. I'm sorry…” Astarion pulled Winnie into his embrace.

“It's alright Astarion, there's no way you could have known we were going to get attacked. I had no idea there was any danger until I met with Raphael.”

“What did the devil want?” Astarion asked.

“I'm not sure. He kind of just showed up to warn me. That in itself seems very suspicious.”

“He wants likely wants something from you, no doubt.” Astarion furrowed his brows.

“I can't imagine what. I'm not a fighter, I can't go and kill anyone for him. Could it be my soul he’s after?”

“Maybe…But I have a feeling it's not as simple as that.” The pale elf huffed before looking at her neck once again, gently cupping her cheek.The marks were turning into bruises.

“You sure you're alright?”

“I am, just…sore…Are you alright? You still need to feed?” Winnie asked before moving up the sleeve of her jacket to expose her arm. Astarion gently pushed it away declining.

“No. I took care of that, besides you've been hurt enough today.”

“Astarion, I wish I could protect you instead, but I'm not an adventurer or a hero. Suppose I'm just going to end up being a burden.” Winnie sighed.

“Darling, you do enough for me already. You practically feed, clothe and put a roof over my head. Keeping you safe would never burden me my love.” Astarion slowly wrapped his arms around Winnie, pulling her into a hug. Winnie returned it nuzzling her face into his neck.

“We should return home. Get something for your bruises.” Astarion pulled back.

“Okay…..and thank you…For saving me Astarion…” Winnie wasn't exactly sure what came over her. She definitely wasn't one to initiate affection very often being as shy and timid as she was, but in that moment nothing else seemed to matter. Winnie leaned up on her tiptoes and pressed a soft, chaste kiss upon his lips. Astarion was slightly taken back for moment but almost immediately returned the gesture leaning into it.

Winnie quickly pulled back as she realized what she'd done, her face flustered and full of embarrassment. What was she thinking!? She didn't even ask for fucks sake!

“I'm sorry! I should have asked if it was-” Astarion grabbed hold of her hips and pulled her back into a kiss. This one was more passionate, full of longing and need. It seemed Astarion wasn't satisfied with Winnie’s sweet little peck. The brunette was a little at a loss of what to do. She'd never been kissed before. Not in romantic sense anyway. She did her best to try to mirror his movements before he eventually pulled back and rested his forehead against hers.

“Took you long enough.~”

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Apologies for the wait! I've been rather distracted since the last chapter, but here it is! The monster in the chapter was an oni btw. It's a shapeshifting monster in DnD.

~Druid

@seradyn , @plimsim , @astarioffsimpmain , @marcynomercy , @iamsexytrash , @gaymistakeboi , @divineknightmare , @tinyfreakgirl , @misscrissfemmefatal, @gianchan-de @jaksfanficsaver , @the-disaster-in-waiting , @hp-art-studio , @im-just-a-simp-le-whore , @dajeong , @iamnotokei , @the-pale-elfs-love , @geminipridekitty

#bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #astarion bg3 #astarion #astarion romance #astarion ancunin #Astarion x oc #Astarion x chubby oc #astarion x mc #astarion x female oc #Astarion x Female mc #astarion x chubby reader #Astarion x chubby mc #isekaied into the real world fic #fictional characters in the real world fic #astarion x modern oc #astarion x modern mc #bg3 raphael

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saucywendeee · 6 months ago

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Monster hunting is tiring business

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jarebear20 · 3 months ago

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Dark Urges Prefer Gentlemen, Chapter Two

Fandom: Baldur's Gate 3

Featured Pairings: OC/Astarion, OC/Wyll/Halsin

Tumblr Link: 1

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55492618/chapters/149607676

Summary: Longtime friends Kalli and Jare find themselves in Faerûn under strange circumstances. Aside from the usual perils of being dropped in the middle of a fantasy setting, Jare must now contend with the dark urges threatening to take control of her new body. The mindflayer tadpole is just added insult to injury.

A companion to @thebearmuse's Gentlemen Prefer Tavs

Somehow they make out alright. Jare doesn’t consider herself to be a particularly lucky person, but she can’t deny that Lady Luck is on their side when they make it out of what seems to be an underground temple no worse for wear. The halfling calling herself Shalamora gives her pause, but they don’t have time to be picky about help when it offers itself.

“Do you know the way out of here?” she asks, peering down at the stranger. Kalli had changed her voice, so Jare does her best impression of a standard British accent. It seems the safest option, given the voice actors in the game proper.

Shalamora nods and beckons the pair to follow. “Stay close to me.”

Exhaustion covers her like a thick blanket; they must find a way out soon before she becomes dead weight. She won’t leave Kalli to fend for herself in this unfamiliar world. They move swiftly and silently through the ruins. Each time Jare feared they’d be spotted by a guard, she felt something give her a little nudge in the right direction. A touch, achingly familiar, preventing their discovery by those who would cause them harm.

And just like that, they are out. Jare’s relief is palpable. A knot in her chest slackens as whatever tied her to the place is cut off. She hears Kalli let out a small breath beside her and glances down to watch her friend. Any conversation, however, must be stowed away for later as Shalamora leads them from the ruins into the catacombs that make up what appears to be a sewer system.

“You two are new to Baldur’s Gate, yes?” Shalamora cuts them off before they can make their excuses. “No need to deny it, my darlings. Those accents - valiantly attempted though they may be - mark you as outlanders.”

“Even more than our regular accents?” Jare asks, her voice returning to its thick southern drawl.

“Oh! I like that one! Certainly unique! And pretty too.”

Jare blushes a little at that. She’s lost count at the number of times people have called her accent cute, but it gets her every time.

“Why did you help us?” she asks now.

“I know an honest face when I see one. And you two certainly have those." The halfing’s teeth flash white in the dim light of the sewer. "Besides, you must be something special, since you landed yourselves in some serious trouble immediately upon your arrival.”

“Thank you for that, by the way.” Kalli looks like she wants to add something, but chooses not to. Jare watches her a moment, then focuses back on the matter at hand.

"It was my pleasure, dear." Shalamora pats Kalli's arm. "I have a soft spot for adventurers who have a knack for getting in over their heads." She playfully elbows Jare's leg. "Quite the feat, in your case!"

Right. Jare still doesn’t know how to feel about her sudden growth spurt. As a human, she didn’t mind being the shorter of her friends and family. To find herself several inches taller felt…strange.

“To that end,” Shalamora continues, “I believe you ladies would work well with an acquaintance of mine. It will give you a chance to know the city and further hone your skills.”

Jare stops herself from asking what sort of skills those might be, fearing she might not like the answer very much. Instead she asks, “What sort of work does she do?”

“A little of this, a little of that.” The halfling shrugs when Jare stares at her. “Okay, so its not exactly what you’d call ‘above board,’” she admits, punctuating her words with air quotes. “But it is an opportunity that one does not come by often. Is it not worth taking a chance?”

That depends, Jare thought. Is it really chance if you have no other choice?

“What’s the plan?” she asks.

Shalamora grins.

———

Much, much later, Jare flops onto a bed in their private rooms at the Blade and Stars. Everything had gone according to Shalamora’s—Tymora’s, she silently corrects—carefully crafted plan. After returning a wayward package to Nine-Fingers Keene, Jare and Kalli found themselves now employed by the Guild, the premiere criminal organization in Baldur’s Gate. Nine-Fingers even forked over a strong health potion to take the bite out of Jare’s injuries, something Jare finds herself grateful for now hours later.

Now the worst has passed, she’s able to take proper stock of herself. Once all of the blood and muck from the sewers is scrubbed away, she’s able to see what Kalli sees: a half-elf with bright red hair and mismatched eyes. The black is a little disconcerting, but it was what she chose for her character initially. It’s not the only thing vaguely familiar, either. Jare can see the faded scar she got when her sister threw a soda can at her head in their youth. The sight of it comforts more than she expects.

She thumbs one of the horns of the red rubber duck that had been sitting on the nightstand when they arrived.The trinket is familiar—she won it in an arcade game while on a family vacation a few years ago. It’d been sitting next to her monitor when Faerûn had been nothing more than a fantasy setting. Is it meant to be a talisman? Something to remind her of what she left behind?

There are too many questions with few answers to satisfy them. Kalli has finally fallen asleep; Jare can hear her quiet snuffling in the bed across from her. At least one of them will be rested in the morning. Sleep is hard to succumb to when her head feels like it has been put in a vice. Should she go to the doctor? No…an herbalist would be better here. She’ll ask Kalli if they can stop by one tomorrow.

From there her thoughts drift to the scars she found scattered all over her body. Who was the person who once inhabited this body? They weren’t who Jare envisioned when she started building an avatar in the character creation screen. There were plenty of scar options, but they’d been restricted to the face. This body is…different.

“Hmm?” Jare shifts in her bed. “Did you say something, Kal?” But her friend’s steady breathing is all that greets her. She’s just about to chalk it up to exhaustion when she hears it again.

Closer now. Jare’s body goes rigid as she feels a dip in the wool-stuffed mattress. Breath quickening, she looks down along her body and finds nothing but empty air. Yet the feel of a hand caressing her cheek is unmistakable.

She shudders. “Who—?” Her words die at the pressure on her lips.

#misc: jare's writing tag #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #dark urges prefer gentlemen #gentlemen prefer tavs #astarion #wyll ravengard #halsin #wyll #astarion x oc #wyll x oc #halsin x oc #wyll x oc x halsin #modern character in baldur's gate #modern character in faerun #modern girl in baldur's gate #modern girl in faerun

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cheesy-cryptid · 3 months ago

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Heres all my bg3 filipino coded college au so far 😁 been planning to do more soon so stay tuned!

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m-u-n-c-h-y · 8 months ago

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Date night with the boys~

Penance belongs to @cosmic-darikano

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #abdirak #oc #original characters #tav #bg3 tav #tiefling #suggestive #modern au #my art #comic #fan art #got the munchy's?#penance #outis #outis the risky #friend's oc

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dots-in-my-head · 4 months ago

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(They;re trying to pull bedroom faces) (both burst out laughing after)

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imperator-titus · 2 months ago

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Chapters: 4/? Words: 8,468 Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Astarion/Tav (Female/NB) Characters: Astarion Ancunin, Female/NB Tav, (Gale is Important to the story but not the romance) Additional Tags: Modern AU with Some Twists, Slow Burn, they were roommates, Vampires Summary: Sometimes you have to sell your blood to a vampire to keep your head above water.

I was going to stop posting fic updates here, but this is getting really good feedback over on Ao3 so why not?

Fuller Summary: Rowan Vignaud (basically of A Non-Hero’s Guide fame but different for the narrative) signs up to be a live-in blood donor for a vampire in order to keep living in the city post-economic crash. That vampire, of course, happens to be Astarion. Both slowly come out of their shells (and respective emotional slumps) to learn how to live with one another.

Text so far for those who don’t use Ao3:

Ch 1

Insert finger. Get poked. Try not to curse in front of the sweet little old lady behind the machine.

Blood tested. Machine beeps. It spits out the results like a GreenWalls receipt.

The kindly old lady holds a cotton swab to your injured finger. She raises the cotton to her nose and, before she even reads your results, tells you your blood is top-grade, minus a little iron deficiency.

You chuckle nervously and say you can’t afford red meat, much like the rest of the city. She chortles and says that will all change, if you’re lucky. And you smell lucky.

A young man sits you down and walks you through how to use the next machine as he draws your blood. It’s not like the last time you donated blood. It’s sleek and sophisticated and barely hurts. You are unable to look away as the needle pierces your skin and your blood floods out.

He laughs and asks if you’re an ingénue. You know it as a literary term, but he is using it as a slang term for women who want to be bitten by a vampire. Plenty of those come through the Black Cross’s doors.

The kindly old lady gives you a cookie to eat while the young man explains how to clean the machine. If you’re picked, it’ll be your job to maintain it.

After he’s done explaining all the other stuff like how to store the blood and read the test results, a being of unknown sex or species enters the room. It is just a dark shape, a shade. It explains the rules to you.

Your blood is being divided up into samples. Those samples will be sent to vampires currently in need of a “donor.” Donors come in two forms: on-site and off-site. You need a place to live, so you preferred on-site, but it still feels weird to imagine living with someone again, mortal or not.

Those vampires will submit their impression of your blood and an offer for you to consider.

You laugh, because the shade told you “this isn’t an escort service,” but here it is, telling you that you’re being bid on like a cow at auction.

On-site donors are mostly like roommates, except they are giving up their blood and, in the case of vampires lacking a daytime servant, fulfilling reasonable requests. Donors are compensated for additional duties.

They must respect their host’s space and privacy.

Basically, get along and leave the place how you left it.

Expect your offers in 1-2 weeks.

Thank you for your donation. You are saving unlives.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rowan Vignaud looked back in trepidation at the empty expanse of what used to be her home.

Like most in New Babylon, she couldn’t afford to live on her own in this part of the city. Maybe that would change, eventually. Cryptomancy had fallen out of fashion about 100 years ago in a push to elevate the more arcane arts. It was used to maintain systems that kept the world running and, despite its clear importance, was treated like kobold-work.

Rowan never understood that term. Kobolds did all the important stuff, like make sure the sewers worked and the garbage gets collected.

But then the world was briefly plunged into darkness and it became clear that the world still needed cryptomancers. One overworked, underpaid, underappreciated number-jockey in some dank basement somewhere caused the Great Crash, all because the world’s riches were protected by some other overworked, underpaid, underappreciated number-jockey sitting in a dank basement that no one ever listened to when they said this could happen.

Rowan was once one of those cryptomancers. Now she was hoping to work her way into a position where she didn’t need to give up her blood every day to live in the city.

Her things already sold or sent ahead to her new home, Rowan left with just a bag slung over her shoulder.

The residence was a “Brownstone,” as historians called it, a very rare sight in the cities these days. Out front, a kobold in a smart little suit sat on the first step, a binder almost as big as him clutched in his little arms.

“Ah! Yes! Human!” he called out cheerily as she approached. He made a few feeble attempts to put down the binder gently in order to greet her properly before he asked nervously, “Coulds you take this? It's yours anyway.”

Full of paper, it was a little heavy, especially for such a small creature. He was happy to be free of it, offering her a dramatic bow in thanks.

“Welcomes to your new home, Miss Vignauds!” The kobold hopped up the steps one at a time, taking them by leaps instead of clambering over them.

A week after her visit, Rowan received a packet from the Black Cross, delivered by a shuffling zombie who unknowingly left behind a finger on her doorstep. Zombies needed jobs too. Just not very complicated ones.

Inside were 3 offers as well as a form for stating her intention to take an offer or decline in the hopes of receiving more.

The first offer was from a vampire further out from the city. She had many flowery words to describe the blood she sampled and provided many pictures of her estate. While Rowan was more inclined to live amongst nature, the permanent work she hoped to secure was contained to the city.

The next offer was rather similar, with intense feelings associated with her blood sample. The compensation was generous and their home was closer to the city.

The third was brief. “Adequate.” The offer didn't reflect that sentiment.

In the end, Rowan chose the third offer.

Inside the binder was a code to the door, but Rowan only got so far as the first digit before it whirred and beeped, indicating it was unlocked.

She kind of expected a vampire to be stuck in their time period and, while most of the house was still in its original Victorian style, it had obviously gone through some changes as its owner debated keeping up with the times.

“Master Ancuníns hasn’t had a live-in donor in a very long times,” her little guide informed her as they removed their shoes in the foyer, “so we don’ts really have much to says about his behavior.”

Well, he clearly knew she’d arrived, but was choosing not to show himself. It was daytime, she expected him to be sleeping somewhere. Maybe he heard an alarm, rolled over in his coffin, saw it was them at the door, pressed the button, and went back to sleep. Or whatever vampires did. The binder had a lot of information about general vampire knowledge and cleared up a lot of misconceptions that still lived in modern society.

Could vampires be… shy? The binder didn’t really say.

“Master Ancuníns doesn’t have servants, but there is a very nice magical cleanings service.” To demonstrate, he indicated for her to pluck a petal off of a flower in a fresh bouquet brightening up the hallway and drop it on the ground. After a moment, like a mouse snatching a piece of fallen cheese, a mage hand darted out from another room and took the petal away. “So, you shouldn’t haves to do much.”

There was the kitchen, which was probably the most modern part of the home, despite the fact that it was the most useless to its owner. Here she would test her blood after dinner and, if her levels were good, have it drawn. There was a special storage unit just for the bags, separate from the spacious refrigerator where she found the last of her food from her apartment.

Then there was the bedroom. It was a little cramped, but there was a room next to it that would be her office. None of the furniture was hers, it would have clashed, but at least her mattress fit the bed frame. It was already made with her sheets, waiting for her to fall into it later tonight.

Rowan bid the kobold goodbye and sat down at the kitchen island to read through her binder for things he failed to mention. She was free to have guests as long as they didn’t spend the night or make a mess of things, a general “respect the place” rule. That was fine, there was no one she would invite over anyway. Anything she needed could be requested through a terminal to be delivered. How swank.

She was in the middle of making dinner when she thought she heard something. But when she turned around, there was nothing there. Vampires could move silently if they wanted, so if he wanted to sneak up on her, why make noise? Returning to her preparations, Rowan shrugged it off as her mind playing tricks. It was a very old house.

As she ate, the house’s “cleaning service” tidied up after her. She watched the translucent hands erase any indication that the kitchen had been used with a sense of… sadness? It wasn’t like she liked cleaning. It just made her feel lazy, in a way, not picking up after herself. Even when she was done eating, a set of hands was there to whisk away the dishes and wipe down the counter.

The blood-drawing machine was much the same as the one at the Black Cross center, but the tester was different. This one allowed her to prick any part of her body, not just the finger. A bead of blood welled up on her arm where she gave herself a little stab and the machine hummed as it worked.

The light turned green and it spit out the results. Some slight mineral alterations. At the end, it made some suggestions for additions to her diet. Rowan ripped off the results and placed them next to the terminal by the refrigerator so she would remember it later when ordering groceries.

Unlike the machine at the Black Cross, magic guided its needle into her arm for a perfect draw. Little pinching, no bruising, one slip of the needle into a vein. When it was done, she took the label it printed out, slapped it on the blood bag, and put it away.

Pressing a cotton ball to the crook of her arm, Rowan flicked through what was available from the grocery service. Rich people really could get their hands on pretty much anything. Only a few years ago, she could have afforded some of this, at least a decent steak once every other month. That was before the Great Crash, of course.

Groceries ordered, clothes unpacked and put away, computer set up in her new office, Rowan crawled into bed. It was the kind with the curtains, like she’d seen in period dramas. When she was little, she wanted one, associating them with fairy tales. Curious, she undid the ties and let the curtains close, creating a little room inside the room, only as big as the borders of her bed.

Vampires had to ask for permission to enter, but this was his own house. There was a more-or-less unspoken agreement that hosts would respect the places they provided for their donors, but the thought still crossed her mind.

The blood-drawing machine was there for many reasons. It controlled the amount donors gave, reducing the risks of complications. It allowed both parties to give and take at times convenient to them. And most important of all, not everyone was into the whole biting thing. But if they mutually agreed to it, they could go that route.

For now, Rowan was fine with the needle in her arm every day. She hadn’t even met her host yet.

But still. The thought of him sneaking in while she was asleep, crawling into bed with her, and sinking his fangs into her neck wasn’t far from her mind.

The two wouldn’t exchange words for some time. From Rowan’s perspective, it would be the first time they were in the same room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Astarion Ancunín made it a habit to be awake at least some of the day. Some people and places only operated when the sun was up, unfortunately. He only needed so much rest, after all.

The windows were shuttered, of course, so he had to watch for his guests from a security camera. Chin in hand, elbow propped on the desk, he watched with total enthralling boredom as the little kobold representing the Black Cross waddled up with his big book and crawled onto the stairs. Centuries ago, he would've bled such a creature dry and called it a snack. Sometimes he requested some of their blood, for special occasions. They could only give so little, it was like humans doing shots at a bar.

Then there she was, his live-in donor.

It had been a long time since he had one. Back then, it wasn't so official. It didn't end well. But when that sample found its way into his shipment of blood and it washed over his tongue, he knew he had to give it a chance.

Her looks left much to be desired, but he wasn’t planning on parading her around like some vainglorious trophy. Only his most special friends were allowed in his private sanctum and they required no impressing.

No, they would lead separate lives, one extravagant, the other plain.

As much as vampires were cool and calculating, they could be quite fickle creatures. There were clear logical reasons for picking this particular donor: clean blood, clean record, stable life patterns, suitable for sharing a home.

Then there were the less logical reasons. She was intelligent; he was old enough to remember when cryptomancers practically ran the world. Something about her told him that she wasn’t a romantic, which pleased him, because he spent all night playing the romantic lead and didn’t want to come home to entertain some ingénue’s fantasies.

But chief amongst all the reasons was the way her blood tingled as it spread throughout his undead cells. It was indescribable, rare, and horrifying. Of all the blood bags delivered to his doorstep, of all the necks pierced by his fangs, he’d never felt that spark of life.

Like a dirty secret, it was whispered about in dark alcoves by his fellows. Astarion had even lied about feeling it once, believing it to be some mark of status, as something to be envied.

Now he knew the truth. It was a curse. A delicious call to insanity. It was something he wanted to possess forever, but it had an expiration date. Why must human lives be so short?

In the old days, there was little to keep Astarion from doing what he wanted: to lock her up in his little castle and never let her go. Back then, you could drain people dry or charm them into your service.

Of course, you ran the risk of being hunted. He didn’t miss that part.

Astarion stood in the doorway separating the kitchen from the hallway. Gliding on supernaturally silent feet, his donor wouldn’t have heard him. He watched as she made sense of her new surroundings and started to make her own meal. It would have tasted like ashes to him, but the thought of it nourishing her body, and in turn his, made his mouth salivate.

The floorboards creaked as he shifted his weight forward just slightly. Her head turned to see what made the noise, but his quick reflexes ensured that she didn’t catch even a hint of his form.

Hiding in his own home. What a miserable creature he’d become.

Ch 2

Wake up early. Eat breakfast. Take a shower. Sit down to work.

Stop around noon to have lunch and rest the wrists. Then back to work.

Stop at 4 and sit in the garden for 30 minutes before going inside to start dinner. Eat dinner, wait 10 minutes.

Test blood. Light turns green. Blood gets drawn, bag gets labeled, another vampire meal provided.

It took Rowan a month to realize there was a screen in the sitting room, hidden by a retracting wall. Flicking through channels and services on such a fancy setup felt… wrong. So the sitting room was reserved for reading books and, when the weather eventually turned cold, enjoying a nice cup of tea.

Her host seemed to wait until she wasn't looking before slipping out. It got to the point that Rowan felt like she was somehow trapping him with her presence.

So, in order to be a good guest, she would hole up in her rooms as soon as the sun set. For a while, she only knew he left because her phone would buzz, notifying her that the front door was unlocked. Then she would feel comfortable wandering the house once more until she crawled into bed at 10.

By the time she woke up for the next day, her host was home and already hidden away on the top floor. The cycle would repeat once more.

Maybe he was just… really professional? Or he didn’t want to know where his food came from.

Rowan was lounging in the sitting room, reading a book, when she spotted through the windows someone coming up the stairs. Before he could even ring the doorbell, she was opening the door.

He was handsome, with long wavy brown hair streaked with gray pulled back in a loose bun to keep it off his neck in the summer’s-end heat. A neatly trimmed beard highlighted his half-cocked easy smile that followed a brief moment of surprise. He was dressed nicely but comfortably for the weather.

“Why, hello there!” His voice was pleasing and confident, but not too confident. He placed a finger to his lips, mimicking being in thought, before pointing at her, tilting his head, and cocking his smile even more. “You must be the new guest I’ve heard so much about. Miss Rowan Vignaud?”

The intercom next to the door crackled, indicating that the speaker had been engaged, but no voice came out before it disconnected.

“I didn’t know I was being talked about,” Rowan answered after acknowledging the intercom with a quick glance.

“Ah! Where are my manners?” the man said in playful self-chastisement. He did a little bow. “I am Gale. An old friend of Astarion’s. I’ve been away this summer and have come to pay my respects, so to speak.”

Rowan stepped aside to let him in and stop letting the cool air out. Gale gave the foyer a quick appraising look as she shut the door behind them. He’d seen it before, of course, but only with one occupant.

“As in, Professor Gale Dekarios?” she asked, clasping her hands in front of her because she had no idea what she was supposed to do. Was she supposed to greet her host’s visitors with such familiarity? Was she entertaining him until the lord of the castle decided to grace them with his presence?

“Oh! You know of me?” He looked genuinely surprised, despite being quite famous. Maybe donors tended to be from a class of people who wouldn’t know who Gale Dekarios was.

“I watched some of your lectures back in my school days. You didn’t have the beard or hair then.”

“Yes, much to the chagrin of some of my esteemed colleagues,” he said after chuckling, a deep resonant sound that had no business being so inviting. “What did you study?”

“Cryptomancy.”

“Impressive! I never had a mind for algorithms. And as dexterous as my fingers may be, I am afraid to admit that I am not very adroit with a keyboard. Now, a piano-” Gale gave her a sly little look as he waved a finger in the air.

As he spoke, Rowan was ever-so-slowly inching her way towards the first-floor powder room.

A slightly hurt expression crossed his face. “Have I done something to offend you, Miss Vignaud?”

“No!” she answered hastily, eyes going wide with momentary panic. More calmly she continued, “No, not at all, it’s just that- Well. He won’t come down if I’m here.”

Gale hummed. His eyes wandered down to the book in her hand and his face lit up with a cheeky smile. “Ah! I see you enjoy the classics! Back when magic was ‘fantasy’ and not reality.”

It took Rowan a moment to figure out what he was talking about. She'd almost forgotten what she was doing before his interruption. “Oh, yeah. It's a nice little escape from what I do all day.”

“You know, back in the day, Astarion and I were in a book club together. I remember-”

All of a sudden, a black figure materialized between them in the hallway.

Rowan startled. Her heart jumped into her throat as she took a quick step back, raising her book in defense.

Robed in black, hood up, and some sort of black veil covering his face, Rowan still didn't know what Astarion looked like.

Gale wasn't surprised. In fact, he was a little peeved. “Astarion, must you be so dramatic? Look what you've done to the poor woman.”

Astarion didn't look back, instead selecting a black parasol from the umbrella stand. In a commanding voice, he said to his friend, “Come. We’ll be late.”

“I must apologize on behalf of my colleague. Age doesn't always make the wine sweeter, so they say.” Gale gave her a little bow before following after Astarion at a frustratingly languid pace.

Eventually, Rowan managed to close the front door and, despite the heat, went to make herself a nice cup of tea.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Astarion wasn't expecting Gale to visit. If he was, he would have slipped out at the first opportunity and met the blasted wizard somewhere else.

He also wasn't expecting Rowan to be so close to the door. But no, she had to be right there and Gale just had to start a conversation with her. Him and his big mouth…

Astarion’s mind raced with the possibilities of what the two could talk about while he got dressed to go out into the sun. He stood at the top of the stairs, listening to their conversation, frozen by something he would not admit to.

His ears twitched as she put words to their months-long dance. It made him sound foolish. He was however-many-centuries old, he couldn’t be playing the fool at his age.

Of course, Gale had to be annoying and drag out their conversation, forcing Astarion’s position. He could tell by the tone in his voice that Gale knew what he was doing.

The pounding of Rowan’s heart excited him. The rush of her blood so close to the surface…

It also made him a little sad. It wasn’t his intention to frighten her with the little vampiric trick; he just wanted to separate the two as quickly as possible before Gale could reveal more embarrassing tidbits from their shared past.

Gale wasted no time, needling him as soon as their feet touched the pavement.

“That was just plain rude,” Gale remarked with a haughty huff. “You nearly scared her to death.”

“It's your own fault. You just had to keep talking.”

“The great vampire, Astarion Ancunín, afraid of a little human?”

“I'm not afraid of her.”

“Hmm, yes, how else do you explain- How did she put it?” Gale faked having to rifle through his memory. “Ah! Right. ‘He won't come down if I'm here.’”

“That's not true.”

“So you've mixed in some spying.” He gave Astarion a suspicious side-glance. “You're not watching her sleep, are you?”

“No!” Astarion refuted indignantly, baring his fangs under his veil reflexively. “I'm not a monster in some story. She has her privacy.”

“I don't really understand the subterfuge.”

“I suppose I never considered what it would be like to have someone staying with me long-term. I figured she'd… go out more. She doesn't really go out much at all. Except to sit in the garden or take a walk around the park.”

“Is that concern I hear?” Astarion hissed. “If it's such a problem, don't you have some property you could put her in?”

“How do you think I'm paying her?”

They stopped talking as they came upon their destination, a seemingly normal bar. But instead of going in and joining the lively bustle, they ducked into the adjacent alley. There they took some stairs down and wound their way through the dark “sun gap” hallway.

Such places used to be secret and taboo. Once upon a time, creatures like Astarion were akin to certain subcultures of humans, needing to lead a life away from prying eyes.

Unlike the dank underground dungeons of history, now that everyone lived in more-or-less harmony, the night-creature bar was actually quite bright and vibrant. For some, this was the only place they could experience the full spectrum of color, illuminated by sunlight-mimicking bulbs that would not burn. It had its dark recesses, sure, and every now and then one could hear the distinctive poofs of a shade’s form as it went from cloaking darkness to brilliant light.

Here, Astarion could close his parasol and remove the clothes he so quickly threw on to cover himself, revealing the outfit he’d been lounging around in before Gale decided to show up unannounced. By his standards, it was plain, but most people didn’t walk around in a doublet and layered sleeves.

It was too much to hope that Gale would let this all go and talk about his trip. They got so far as having their drinks delivered by a humorless duergar before Gale laid back into him.

“Does she even know what to call you?” he asked with a mix of amusement and genuine concern.

“She knows my name, it was on the forms,” Astarion answered indignantly, taking a swig of his steaming drink before it had time to cool.

It tasted like hard labor and despair. It was too much to ask for a place like this to source high-quality blood, but he wasn’t going to be rude and sit here with nothing.

“Yes, but, how would she refer to you? Mister Ancunín? Master?” Gale teased, wiggling a finger in Astarion’s direction. Astarion humphed in annoyance before burying his feelings on the matter in his drink. “What if she needs you? Surely she has your number.”

Astarion’s looked away at a point somewhere far behind Gale’s left shoulder.

Gale let out a little sound that indicated his mood shifted from ‘amused’ to ‘serious.’

“Astarion.”

“What?” he snapped in irritation. “So what if she doesn’t have my number?”

“What if she was, I don’t know, bleeding out on your kitchen floor? Does she have to drag herself to your front door and ring her own bloody door bell? Or crawl up the stairs and bang on your door, hoping you’re not locked up in your coffin?”

Astarion rolled his eyes and scoffed. “What an imagination you have, Gale, but wouldn’t she just call the hospital? What does she need me for?”

“Fine, maybe that one was a little contrived, I admit. But… Nights are getting long. Are you telling me that the thought of your little ‘investment’ taking those lonely walks around the park doesn’t bother you, knowing she can’t call for you?”

A muscle in Astarion’s cheek twitched. Gale smirked, knowing he won.

“I hate you,” Astarion ground out between his teeth.

“Show me your phone. I want to make sure you do it,” Gale demanded cheekily, beckoning with one hand.

Astarion unlocked the device and fought back the urge to put all of his strength into crushing the wizard’s hand. Fully aware of this fact and not the least bit put off by it, Gale started going through his friend’s phone with keen interest.

“You know, a lot of these people are dead.”

“To you, maybe,” Astarion shot back haughtily, crossing his arms and leaning his chair back on the rear two legs. Actually, he knew they were dead, he just couldn’t be bothered.

Gale’s face became laser-focused as his fingers started tapping away. Astarion made a half-hearted attempt to get the phone back.

“What are you doing, writing an epic poem?”

“I was considering writing it in your voice, but that seemed strange. Now I am apologizing on your behalf for your lapse in judgment, giving her my number with a humble invitation to attend one of my lectures, and-”

Before Astarion could argue, Gale turned around in his seat, held out the phone, and gave the camera a thumbs-up. The picture captured a grinning Gale and a shrieking Astarion.

Turning back around in his seat and ignoring Astarion’s withering glare, he continued, “now I am inviting her to join us.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Why not? You can treat her to a nice dinner, I can be a nice buffer for the awkwardness.”

“Gale, you’re a source of awkwardness.”

Gale’s face lit up as his own phone buzzed. It fell when he read the message.

“She’s not coming, is she?” Astarion clicked his tongue and with a little wiggle of his head, said, “Too bad.”

“Perhaps she’s shy.”

“Perhaps she thinks you’re a creep.”

“If anyone is a creep, it’s the person watching her without her knowledge.”

Astarion narrowed his eyes.

Then he sighed in defeat.

“Tell me about what you’ve been doing for the past six months.”

“Ah! Now that is a most fascinating tale-”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In the light of the moon, Astarion walked home. When the sun finally fell behind the horizon, Gale dragged him to a much nicer venue where they both proceeded to have way too much wine.

At some point, when he was alone, Astarion opened his phone and flicked past all the messages he would have to filter through later to one in particular.

Miss Vignaud! This is Gale Dekarios. Well, actually, this number belongs to your host and my esteemed colleague, Astarion. I apologize for his behavior earlier and this egregious oversight in being your host. I am hoping to set him right, but I assure you, he is not really as scary and mysterious as he lets on.

I would be honored if you would attend one of my lectures at Blackstaff this coming semester and, in the more immediate future, come join us for dinner!

Attached was the selfie Gale took as well as the wizard’s number.

There was no reply.

He looked up at his home to see a light on in the front room.

Astarion wasn’t going to suffer the indignity of sneaking into his own home.

A few steps from the front door, he resolved to at least say good night to her. That was an amicable thing to do.

Damn Gale for making him confront the fact that he’d made this more awkward than it needed to be.

He found Rowan asleep on the settee, the book she’d been reading lying on her chest.

Astarion debated just grabbing a bag of blood from the kitchen and going upstairs.

Instead, he carefully removed the book and saved her spot.

Then, he lifted her up into his arms, his supernatural strength making her weight no more than a child’s.

Her head lolled onto his shoulder as he took her up to her bed.

Ch 3

Despite Gale’s attempts to break the proverbial ice, host and donor continued to not communicate.

For Rowan, she didn’t consider the ice broken, because Gale was the one who spoke to her.

For Astarion, he wasn’t going to say anything until she spoke first.

They both chose to ignore the fact that Astarion had picked up Rowan’s sleeping body and placed it in her bed.

Gale wasn’t persistent, per se, but Rowan felt it wise to take him up on his offer at least once. How could she be imposing if he offered?

Besides, right now, it was the only real connection she had other than the people dead-set on annoying her to death at work, or the people she had to check in with at the Black Cross, or the harpy running the corner shop. She was meaning to check out the myconid-run noodle stand that opened in the park.

Would they have really good mushrooms? Or was that rude to ask? Or did she not want to know where they came from…

Her host literally drank her blood, it was probably time to be a little less squeamish about cannibalism. Or near-cannibalism.

It was… intimidating, being back in an academic setting. Especially one as prestigious as Blackstaff.

Rowan sat in the back and watched politely, taking no notes. Those attending came in various forms, representing several species and ages.

But at the end, after he answered some questions, it was her that he landed on.

“So?” Gale asked a little cockily, spreading his arms to either side before placing them on his hips, “What are your thoughts?”

“I think it was hard enough for me to get into cryptomancy,” Rowan answered with a soft laugh.

“I'm sure you could manage your way around some evocations if you put your mind to it. You have that sort of energy about you.” Rowan did not take Gale for an empty flatterer.

“I'll take your word for it. I appreciate you letting me sit in, it was a nice change of pace.”

“Let me take you out for lunch before you head back. You know, there is a lovely dim sum place around the corner that my mother insists we visit when she's in town.”

Rowan opened her mouth, then closed it. Her eyes drifted to look past him, at some people giving them strange looks behind Gale’s back. Their attitude, of course, changed, as he turned to regard them.

“Can I ask you a really blunt question?” she said as the lookie-loos moved on.

“Oh, feel free. The best way to learn is to-”

“You’re not hitting on me, right?”

“Oh!” Gale chuckled. “This misunderstanding is usually the other way around. How funny.”

“So that’s a no?”

“I assure you, this is purely platonic. My interest lies in making sure my friend’s house stays harmonious in nature. That includes making sure you’re happy in your position.”

Rowan nodded.

“Okay. Sure. Dim sum.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Maybe Astarion felt a little less trapped.

Maybe they still didn't talk, or meet each other’s eyes, but at least he could walk out his front door with dignity while she wasn't hidden away.

Maybe Gale told him that she was neither afraid nor expecting something from him.

Everyone looked at him with either fear or hunger.

Maybe Gale told him that she didn't want to take up space, or be a burden. Maybe Gale figured out, through his own cleverness and a little bit of magic, that she was lonely and bad at keeping friends.

Maybe Gale was saving his own hide. Astarion got a little fangy when he heard about dim sum.

Rowan forgot to eat dinner. ‘Guess I’ll finally try that noodle cart,’ she thinks to herself. A treat, for dealing with bullshit all day.

But if she left now, Astarion would leave before she got back, and she’d feel better putting the next bag of vampire chow in the fridge first.

Machine light turns green. Bag gets filled, labeled, and stored.

Rowan stepped away, thinking about noodles.

Astarion stared at himself in the magic mirror, thinking nothing and everything.

Why not a quiet night in?

He never really knew how to do that. Just… be alone.

Before, when he was only a spawn, he had to go out. He had no choice. It was his master’s will.

Then the world learned that monsters were real and, after a period of violent upheaval, they decided that they could live in harmony if they just followed some rules.

The one that interested Astarion the most back then: all current spawns were to be made true vampires by their masters.

Astarion’s master, well, he didn’t take kindly to it.

So he killed all his spawn.

All save for Astarion.

“For you, my most wretched and ungrateful of children, I curse you with an eternal life of ineptitude and despair.”

Then, he went out for… survival, really. It took forever for his master’s wealth to become his to do with what he will. And he had to learn how to leverage it.

So he was a… prop, so to speak. The sophisticated, domesticated vampire lord Astarion. A thing to project people’s gothic desires upon.

Back then, Gale Dekarios became his friend. Reminded him that he could be more. As a wizard, he understood the difficulties of a long life.

Even if he lost his sense of purpose from time to time, at least he wasn’t getting on his back-

Eyeliner in hand, poised to start the fierce facade for the night’s activities, Astarion sat like a statue, completely unmoving. His ears strained to hear the slightest thing in the silence that surrounded him.

His hand reached for his phone, but stopped.

‘No,’ he thought to himself, putting the eyeliner brush back in its bottle, ‘if I ask what’s wrong and nothing is wrong-’

Astarion glided past her rooms and stood at the top of the stairs for the briefest of moments, hand resting on the banister.

One noise and he’s in the kitchen, staring down at Rowan, who is lying on the tile, grunting softly in discomfort.

He can smell her blood, but weakly.

A piece of cotton, slightly stained red. Just a trickle from the crook of her left arm.

“Did you hit your head?”

Gods, his first words to her.

“No,” she answered, face contorting as she tried to think while the world spins around her.

Astarion helped her sit up, gently cradling her head until it could rest against the cabinets.

Her skin was pale and cold.

Somewhere around here was a health monitor. Where did they put it…?

“What happened?” he asked a little more coldly than he intended.

“I forgot to eat dinner first.”

Astarion’s temper flared.

“What a foolish thing to do. Do you know what could have happened? You could have hit your head. What if I hadn’t heard?”

“Stop yelling at me, Edwin,” Rowan complained, fighting his fussing. Astarion stared at her hand on his arm, attempting to push away the health monitor he finally found.

Rowan also stared, for the first time appearing clear-headed.

“I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that,” she tried to explain, letting him go, looking ashamed and a little afraid.

As he strapped the health monitor around her arm, he asked quietly, “Who’s Edwin?”

Rowan winced as the monitor inflated, pinching her arm as it took her blood pressure. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she answered, “No one.”

Astarion watched the health monitor spit out information.

“You just need to eat,” he told her, muttered really, removing the monitor.

Rowan rubbed the discomfort out of her arm. “Don't worry about me.”

“You passed out in my kitchen.”

“Fainted.”

“Up. Come on,” Astarion insisted, placing a hand under one of her armpits. Rowan stood and leaned against the counter for a moment.

Astarion opened the refrigerator and stared at its contents.

“Do you even know how to cook?”

Astarion scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“No.”

“I’ll just go to the noodle place.”

Rowan gathered up her phone and wallet, switched out her slippers for shoes, and then considered taking a jacket. It was getting cold at night…

Her hand on the doorknob, she turned her head, only to find Astarion practically looming over her.

“Are we okay…?” she asked uncertainly.

“Go on, before I have to pick you off the street next,” he told her petulantly, flicking his fingers at her to just go already.

Astarion followed along slightly behind her, like some sort of broody shadow, as they crossed the park.

On the other side, glowing softly orange and blue from the large mushrooms sprouting from its roof, like some beacon of hope, was the noodle cart.

Rowan ducked under the curtain, offered a polite greeting, and sat down. After ordering, she was surprised to have Astarion sit beside her.

“Who’s Edwin?”

Rowan took a deep breath. “This is the first time we've talked and you want to talk about this?”

“Do you have something else you'd rather talk about?”

Rowan thanked the myconid for the bowl of noodles placed before her and attempted several times to start eating the piping-hot ingredients before realizing she couldn't eat her way out of this.

“I was married. He died. Aneurysm. Almost two years ago.”

Astarion said nothing. He was probably supposed to say that he was sorry, but that didn’t occur to him.

“You look nice, by the way,” Rowan remarked a few moments later before taking her first bite.

The comment caught him off-guard. He hadn’t even put on his ‘face’, his cosmetic armor, and was wearing nothing more than the first coat he found that wouldn’t bunch up the poet sleeves of his shirt. This level of plainness was reserved for friends and the safety of home.

In the relative quiet and reassuring glow of the noodle cart, Rowan ate her dinner while Astarion waited, tapping little patterns out on his arm with his fingertips.

“Thank you,” Rowan told him as they walked back through the park, passing from sodium-orange lights into darkness and back again. “For checking on me. And coming.”

Astarion did not answer.

Back home, Rowan made a cup of tea and settled into the front room, fireplace flickering, music softly playing from the speaker she finally felt confident setting up there.

Astarion had gone up to his rooms, considered himself in the mirror once more, and looked at his phone. So many messages, so many invitations, so many people clamoring for his attention.

Realizing he brought up his coat, he went back downstairs.

“Going out?” Rowan asked from her perch. So comfortable, under her blanket, a little red from the fire.

After a moment of contemplation, Astarion answered, “No.”

If Rowan was surprised to see him, wine glass in hand, pick out a book and sit down in the overstuffed armchair, she didn’t let on.

Ch 4

So, maybe they still didn’t really talk.

But, there was now a message chain in Rowan’s phone that went:

>🍑?

I'm sorry?<

>DINNER?

Did I eat dinner?<

>🟢

Yes. Why?<

>🩸

Okay, thanks for asking?<

Next day:

>🍌?

🟢<

And the next:

>🍆?

🟢<

You need to ask Gale what that means<

🍆🧙‍♂️?<

A few minutes later:

>I’M SORRY

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rowan came in from one of her increasingly more common trips around the blocks and caught Astarion messing with the new floral arrangement in the hallway.

It wasn’t really “catching” if the person was purposefully standing around.

“What’s that?” he asked, pointing at the thing in her hand.

“A plant?” she answered. Its leaves bobbed as she gave it a little shake.

Astarion clicked his tongue. “Of course it's a plant, you nit, I mean why do you have it?”

“A dryad gave it to me.”

“Why?”

“I dunno,” Rowan answered a little too defensively, trying to use her body language to indicate that she wanted to move past him.

Astarion looked down at her with one eyebrow raised. Then he scoffed and stopped taking up the whole hallway. He followed as she went into the kitchen and watched as she made space for the plant in the little window above the sink.

‘A pretty plant for a pretty lady,’ the dryad said, offering the cup of dirt to Rowan, who had stopped to admire the display. ‘Take good care of either, and they flower.’

Clearly flustered. Rowan took the plant and managed to thank the dryad

‘What gorgeous plant would she have offered him?’ Rowan thought as she tried to get it to sit just right so the leaves didn't press against the window.

Astarion clicked his tongue again and sashayed his head back and forth as he said, “Aww. I don't think just one flower could capture my beauty. But I appreciate the sentiment.”

Rowan rounded on him so quickly that he was actually taken aback. Her eyes narrowed in anger. He could hear her heart speed up.

“Stay out of my head,” she told him firmly.

Astarion laughed nervously under his breath. “Don't be like that, all of my guests like that little parlor trick.”

“I don't like it!” Rowan raised her voice, snapping like a cornered dog.

“You do not speak to me in that tone!” Astarion yelled back, fangs out.

The cabinets and the things in them rattled as Rowan backed away.

Astarion lowered his eyes.

When he looked back up, she was gone, the back door left open.

He was supposed to go out. He was all ready to go out, war paint on, immaculate outfit all zipped and buttoned up, complimentary jewelry glittering in the lights.

There were necks out there begging for his fangs. Ears desperate for his words.

Yet he was glued to the hallway of his home, waiting.

Every time his phone buzzed, he checked it immediately. So many disappointments. So many people he didn't care about in the least.

And then one cut through the noise.

>Do you think I should send Rowan her own invitation to the party? Should I give her a +1? Do you want a +1 or should I assume you're coming together? Maybe I should send her an invitation anyway, to make her feel specifically wanted. She might feel like I’m inviting her as your donor and not as a friend if I don't send her an invitation. What do you think?

Gale. Overthinking, well-meaning Gale.

I fucked up<

>How so?

I don’t know where she went<

>What did you do?

Astarion looked at his phone and then at the front door.

>Astarion, did you hurt her?

What a stupid question.

Given his answer, maybe not so stupid.

Cazador came out<

>Just stay there. Do you understand?

🟢<

Rowan made it through the garden and to the park before the adrenaline dumped out of her body. In a more or less controlled manner, she collapsed onto a bench and started to sob.

She tried to understand what happened.

That morning she woke up, not feeling all that great about herself. It wasn't a common occurrence, and the solution was usually just a nice meal and some sleep.

In her mind, they were getting along. Maybe they didn't talk about their day or hang out aside from the rare moment of being in the same room. Astarion didn't demand to know where she was going or what she was doing. His only controlling feature was asking her each day if she ate dinner before her blood draws.

She wasn't afraid of him because she had no cause to be. She got everything she needed even before they spoke with one another. Maybe he was so much more beautiful, intimidatingly beautiful, and surrounded himself with handsome and gorgeous people, and he seemed like he could do whatever he wanted, but she didn't feel beneath him.

But she did that day. Just feel like mud in the treads of a boot.

And then that dryad gave her that plant.

Her home used to be filled with plants. Her husband loved watching her care for them. It brought her joy.

Then he died and all the joy bled out of her.

It took a while to give herself permission to be happy. Receiving that plant felt like a sign, like it was time to find that joy again.

Did Astarion feel dismissed? Intruded upon? If she'd been able to school her emotions, would he have just gone on with his day?

It had been a long time since someone called her pretty. It was such a superficial thing but it had her torn up in knots.

Rowan gasped, surprised by her phone buzzing.

She thought about declining Gale’s call.

“Hello?” she answered shakily.

“Are you okay?” Gale’s voice answered, firm but reassuring. He had that kind of voice. She’d started listening to his readings of his books before bed. She had no idea what he was talking about, but it was calming.

“Yeah.” Rowan sniffled and wiped her nose on the back of her sleeve. A disgusting thing to do, but she didn’t have many options. “I feel stupid.”

“I assure you, you are not. Take a deep breath-” Rowan did as he said, loud enough that he could hear over the phone, “-and tell me what happened.”

Rowan laid it out for him. The oppressive weight that settled over her that day. All the feelings that the gifted plant brought up. How she didn’t understand the way Astarion reacted to it. How she pushed for one boundary instead of capitulating and got yelled at for it.

“It sounds like this brought up a lot of feelings,” Gale said thoughtfully once she was finished.

Rowan made a pathetic noise, somewhere between a hiccup and a sob. “Yeah.”

“If you want, I can find you a hotel-”

“No,” she interrupted, wiping away her tears, resolve bolstering her voice. “I mean, thank you, obviously, but that’s not what I want to do right now.”

“If it’s any consolation, I can almost guarantee he is sincerely apologetic.”

When Rowan returned home, she found Astarion waiting for her.

On his knees, forehead pressed to the floor, hands flat before him; Astarion, in all of his resplendent beauty, expensive dress, and careful preening, was prostrate before her. She’d maybe seen something like it before in an old movie, where a samurai begged for his superior’s forgiveness.

“Please don’t leave,” he begged, voice muffled by his position. “I apologize for my behavior.”

Rowan didn’t want to be a doormat. Part of her worried that she was weak, that she was letting this go because he was beautiful and fulfilled her needs.

“Please get up,” she said, kneeling before him. When he didn’t budge, she took hold of his shoulders and shook them. “It’s okay, I forgive you.”

Slowly, Astarion picked up his head. Rowan wasn’t one for fashion or accessorizing, she assumed that his makeup was supposed to be intimidating and mysterious, but all it did was highlight how big and wet his eyes were.

“It’s okay,” she repeated quietly, more to herself than him. Her chest hurt. “It’s okay.”

“Do you want to go to Gale’s Halloween party?” Astarion asked, begging with his eyes.

“It’s September,” Rowan said in shock.

“He’s a planner.”

“Of course he is.” Rowan laughed nervously. “Don’t you want to go with someone else?”

“No. I always go alone.”

After a moment of consideration, Rowan nodded and smiled. “Sure. I’ll go.”

With both of his bejeweled hands, Astarion took hold of her left hand and reverently, as if worshiping it, he pressed the back of her hand to his cold forehead.

17 notes · View notes

thechaoticdruid · 8 months ago

Text

This Bites (6)

Pairing: Astarion x Fem! Chubby!MC

Plot: Astarion gets to know Winnie's little step sister Vanessa as the trip to the carnival date grows near.

Content/Warnings: Fluff, mean vampire threatens smol human, smol human is annoying and asks too many questions, smol human's dad is a bigot, Batstarion abuse.

Chapter 5: Long ass chapter

Chapter 6: We here.

Chapter 7: To the carnival!!

“Shit.” Astarion breathed out, staring at the little girl with shock. This was not good. Winnie had busted her ass to make sure no one in the house found out about Astarion. Winnie shot up from the ground, eyes widened with horror as she saw her stepsister in her room.

“Vanessa! What are you doing in MY room?” Winnie snapped, arms crossed.

“I couldn't sleep!” Vanessa complained before her eyes stared at Astarion, taking in his features.

“He looks like the vampire from that game all my favorite YouTubers are playing!”

“Ah…Well, he's just a big fan!” Winnie said nervously before elbowing Astarion in the shoulder.

“Oh! Yes! I am just absolutely captivated by him! He's so beautiful and dreamy.~ It's as if he was carved from stone by the gods themselves!~” Astarion put his hand over his heart, lacing every word with some dramatic flair.

“Okay, I think she gets the point.” Winnie rolled her eyes, as she huffed at Astarion's ridiculous and frankly egocentric theatrics.

“You sound just like him too!” Vanessa said, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “And are those fangs in your mouth?”

“He's a cosplayer and he just so happens to be very good at impressions! Seriously Nessa, don't tell me you think he could actually be a vampire. You know they aren't real, silly.” Winnie said, laughing nervously as her anxiety began to spike.

“He literally has no reflection.” Vanessa said, pointing to the mirror in Winnie’s room. Just to add to their shit luck, the two of them had been standing at the perfect angle for her to notice.

“Fuck.” Winnie cursed, stomping her foot and covering her face in her hands.

“Well…Looks like we'll have to kill the child.” Astarion said with an annoyed sigh, clenching his clawed fingers. Vanessa tensed up and backed up against the wall as the vampire took a step forward. Winnie quickly moved in front of him and blocked the way to Nessa.

“No no no! We are not murdering my stepsister!” Winnie put her hand on his chest.

“I can't believe there's a real vampire in our house!” Vanessa exclaimed, sounding way too excited about a blood sucking undead being hiding in her home.

“You are not having the appropriate reaction to finding out a bloodsucking monster-” Winnie was cut off by Astarion clearing his throat,” right sorry LIFE CHALLENGED INDIVIDUAL is in your house.”

“Well, you obviously don't seem afraid of him.” Nessa exclaimed, “and if he was dangerous why would you bring him into the house?”

“I am very dangerous, thank you.” Astarion scoffed, crossing his arms with a slight pout.

“He is my friend and I'm taking care of him…” Winnie began to say.

“Dad has no idea he's here does he?” Vanessa raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

“No and I want to keep it that way.” Winnie said sternly.

“I can't believe there's actually a video game character in front of me!” Nessa squealed in excitement. “Wait, how is this possible?”

“I've been trying to get to the bottom of that.”Winnie rubbed her temples, “look the bottom line is you can't tell anyone about him being here, understand?” Vanessa ignored Winnie and immediately went over to inspect Astarion.

“So what's your name?” She asked curiously.

“It's Astarion. ~” The vampire replied with a dramatic little bow.

“Astairen?” Vanessa repeated, pronouncing the vampire’s name incorrectly. The elf sighed and rolled his eyes.

“A-star-rion.” He corrected her.

“Ha! You sound like a Pokemon!” Vanessa giggled.

“A what?” The vampire was completely confused.

“Vanessa.” Winnie huffed, “listen to me.” Vanessa eventually turned back to look at Winnie. “You cannot tell anyone about him, understand? Especially not your father.”

“I won't tell anyone! I promise! I've just always wanted a vampire friend!” Nessa exclaimed with a twinkle in her eyes.

“Let's not get carried away…There are very few people in this world I consider ‘friends’ and you are certainly not one of them.” Astarion said in a sassy tone, face scrunched in disgust. Winnie quickly elbowed him.

“Be nice.” She scolded him.

“Ugh….If I must…” Astarion groaned and looked over at the young girl. “…I may consider becoming friends…” The vampire said the last word as if it would make him vomit.

“Don't take what he says too personally, Ness. He's basically a cat on the inside.” Winnie said calmly, causing Vanessa to giggle.

“This is going to be so cool! I have so many questions!” Vanessa said with excitement.

“Ah yes well, it might be best if you hold off your questions for tonight. I'm really tired.” Winnie said with a yawn, stretching out her arms.

“But come on! Just a few minutes! Pleaaassse!” Vanessa whined. Winnie groaned in annoyance before sitting on the bed and kicking off her shoes.

“Alright. You got ten minutes.” She said with a sigh.

“Okay okay! Can you fly?”

“No.” Astarion replied.

“Can you hypnotize people?”

“No.”

“Can you see the future?”

“No.”

“Read minds?”

“No.”

“Do you….sparkle in the sun?”

“Not sure…Usually I'm too busy burning to death to check.”

“Well, you're a boring vampire!” Nessa huffed.

Astarion rolled his eyes,”I can rip your heart out and eat it. Is that exciting enough for you?”

“Kinda gross, but okay.”

“Alright you've asked enough questions. Now go to bed.” Winnie sighed.

“Fiiiine.” Vanessa finally gave in before leaving to go back to her room.

Winnie let out a groan of annoyance once her step sister left her room. She rubbed her temples in frustration as Astarion sat down on the bed beside her.

“God, I hope she doesn't tell anyone…” Winnie muttered before suddenly feeling clawed hands on her shoulders. Astarion began to rub her gently.

“Since you won't let me kill them I dearly hope you have a plan brewing in that pretty head of yours? In case our little secret gets out.” The pale elf said as he continued to massage her shoulders, thumbs moving down to rub circles around her shoulder blades.

“We'd have to move out I guess…..Which is just a problem in itself. There's no way I can afford my own house and an apartment is too crowded. You'd never be able to sneak out and hunt without the possibility of being seen.” Winnie hummed, unable to help but let out a slight groan at the vampire’s touch.

“Our own home does sound wonderful though. Just you and me living together. It'd almost be as if we were married.” Astarion hummed. The subject of marriage made Winnie go pale. She hoped he wasn't trying to drop some kind of hint? They'd only actually been dating a few weeks. They haven't even kissed yet for pete sake!

“Ah…Let's not get carried away now. I'm still a bit too young to be thinking of marriage.” Winnie huffed before pulling away and laying down on the bed.

“Ah..Yes of course. I only meant that it would be similar.” Astarion replied with a sad smile as he noticed Winnie facing away from him. He didn't want to make her feel pressured into anything, but he couldn't help but long to be closer to her. It was hard for him to understand that what seemed like years of companionship to him were only days, weeks at most to her. Winnie was completely infatuated with him. But love, real genuine romantic love was still such a foreign concept to the young woman. It was something she never thought she'd ever receive. She had to be smart about it and not rush into anything.

“Are you upset with me?” His saddened voice immediately made her look back.

“No, no! I'm just really worn out. Today has been tiring.” Winnie explained looking up at him. She let out a deep sigh before patting the space beside her. “You can ... .lay here if you want..” she murmured shyly. Almost as if on command Astarion immediately slotted himself beside her, arms pulling her against him. Astarion smiled, nuzzling his face between her neck and shoulder.

“Goodnight my love.” Astarion whispered in her ear. Winnie blushed a bit, returning his embrace as she closed her eyes.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

“So you can turn into a bat, but you can't fly?” The twelve year old girl looked up at the vampire who stood in her room. Ollie the dog was curled up by her feet, sleeping.

“Technically I shouldn't be able to turn into one at all, but yes flying doesn't appear to come instinctively.” He rubbed his chin, glancing around the child’s slightly messy bedroom in discomfort. Vanessa sat down on a bean bag chair, dressed in a yellow Sonic the Hedgehog hoodie and blue jeans.

“Then it's probably a good idea to practice! My dad won't be home until four so we have the whole house for you to fly around in! I can get you a little tiny bat helmet if you'd like?” Vanessa exclaimed as she hopped up.

“Are you always left home alone this long?” Astarion asked, curiously.

“My dad says I'm old enough to be here by myself.” Nessa exclaimed. “And Winnie said I need to keep an eye on you while she's at work so come on!” Nessa got up and quickly grabbed something from her drawer before leading Astarion out of her room and into the kitchen by his hand. Astarion rolled his eyes but complied with the girl’s wishes, not wanting to hear her whine. Astarion followed Nessa into the kitchen before taking his bat form, disappearing into a cloud of red before reappearing on the group as a little white vampire bat.

“Aww you're so cute!” She cooed before putting a tiny pink doll helmet on his head. “Okay now I'll get you started, and you remember to flap your wings!” The girl said before picking up the tiny bat who let out a few squeaks of annoyance. The sandy haired girl held him over her head before suddenly launching him into the air. The poor little bat let out a terrified squeak as he was slung through the air wings flapping frantically. Ollie shot out of Nessa’s room, hearing the bat’s squeaks. He immediately began to bark and snarl at the little creature.

“Ollie no! Leave him alone!” Vanessa scolded, but the untrained pup just ignored her and snapped at the little bat, hopping up to try and bite him.

Astarion hovered above the dog, just safely out of reach as he flapped his wings in desperation.

The dog continued to lunge at him until Maddie poked her head out of Winnie's bedroom. Almost immediately she charged at the dog, a nasty growl left the feline's mouth as she came close, ears straight back and fur puffed up.

“Merrrrooow…” Maddie's vicious yowl caused the dog to turn tail between his legs before he ran off into Brian's bedroom. Astarion huffed, gradually slowing his flaps before dropping down onto Maddie’s back.

Astarion let out a sigh of relief before hopping off Maddie's back and transforming back to his elven form. The little helmet falling off his head as he did so.

“Alright, I think I've had enough of flying for one day.” Astarion dusted himself off before noticing Maddie rub against his legs.

“Awe come on! You were doing so good!” Vanessa pouted.

“Darling, you're completely impossible. If it wasn't for your sweet sister I would have drained you dry already.” Astarion scoffed.

“Darling,” Nessa mocked, “you sound like a girl hehe.”

“Oh such a cruel clever insult! However, will I possibly recover?” Astarion's words were dripping with sarcasm as he held a hand over his heart dramatically. Vanessa looked at him curiously and blinked.

“Are you gay? My dad said guys who act like you are gay.” The twelve year old asked bluntly. The vampire looked back at her, not quite understanding what the rude child was asking.

“Not at present. I'm rather annoyed actually.”

“No I don't mean happy gay. I mean do you like boys?” The young girl asked.

“Gods, you're a nosy child.” Astarion rubbed his temples.

“I just wanna know. Dad said I shouldn't talk to gay people. Not sure why though.” The child shrugged. “So do you like boys or girls?”

“Hmm…I much prefer adults rather than boys and girls….” Astarion finally answered with a grimace.

“Ah! That's what I meant! But what gender do you like?”

“Must I choose?” Astarion chuckled before his pointed ears twitched and he heard someone pull into the driveway. He peeked his head through the door to the livingroom and spotted Winnie through the window. She had gotten off her motorcycle and was walking back to the house. Astarion grinned before entering the living room.

“Hey!” Vanessa whined and followed him.

Winnie walked inside, she looked exhausted, hair messy and her uniform had a bit of dirt on it.

“Winnie.” Astarion smiled at her sweetly,“welcome back my sweet.” He quickly pulled her in for a hug, nuzzling his face in her neck. Winnie nearly fell over, but the vampire held her up.

“Darling? Are you alright?” He asked with concern.

“I'm exhausted. Work was hell today.” Winnie huffed, leaning against him.

“Oh my God. You guys are dating aren't you?” Vanessa piped up.

“Ugh ...Not now Nessa. I don't have the energy for this.” Winnie said and pulled back from Astarion’s arms. Astarion smirked a bit.

“Winnie and I are partners, yes.” He said, smugly.

“Astarion.” Winnie glared at Astarion slightly.

“What? I'm simply being honest with the kid.” Astarion said with an innocent look. Winnie rolled her eyes before walking into her room. The messy haired female laid on her bed and took a deep breath. She laid there for a while, staring at the ceiling in silence. Eventually Astarion came into her room and sat on the bed next to her.

“Love, I brought you something to eat.” Astarion hummed, setting down a plate with a sandwich on it. He looked down at her tired face and gently caressed her hair.

“Some crazy lady screamed at me today.” Winnie began suddenly. “She was pitching a fit because we didn't have any of the dog food she wanted. Becca wasn't working today so I had to handle it by myself.”

“A pity I couldn't join you there during the day. I'd be happy to dispose of anyone who gives you trouble.” Astarion said with a smirk, clenching his free hand into a fist and cracking his knuckles.

“You'd get arrested in a heartbeat.” Winnie chuckled, finally grabbing the sandwich and taking a bite. It was just bologna between two pieces of bread. No cheese or condiments. So incredibly bland. Well, she had to give the vampire some credit for trying. Winnie ate the sandwich before tossing the plate in the trash and laying her head on Astarion’s lap.

“It pains me how little faith you have in my skills, my love.” Astarion said as he continued to stroke Winnie’s hair.

“Honey, I've told you already. It's not like how it is in Faerûn where you can just dump the body in a ditch somewhere and no one will ask questions. People keep track of everyone who goes missing here. You will get caught.” Winnie mumbled, snuggling her head against his thigh.

“Well, actually they do begin asking questions in Baldur's Gate. Of course I still managed to get away without being caught.” Astarion said smugly.

“Makes me wonder if I should be involved with such a dangerous, dangerous man.” Winnie teased.

“Oh don’t worry, pet. I'd never hurt you. Not unless you wanted me to.~” Astarion tapped Winnie on the nose with a flirtatious wink. Winnie rolled her eyes and just relaxed with her head on his lap.

“Anyway, we have a lot to look forward to. We're going to meet up with your friend for a date in a few weeks, aren't we?” Astarion reminded her. Winnie’s eyes widened as she remembered they were supposed to meet Becca and her boyfriend at the carnival for a double date.

Shit.

Winnie turned and buried her face into Astarion’s thigh as she thought of all the things that could go wrong.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

The carnival came to town much sooner than Winnie expected. It didn't take long before Nessa was begging Brian to let her go before she had to go back to her mother's house. Winnie had called up Becca a couple nights back to make sure they'd meet up after sundown. She told her friend that her boyfriend couldn't get off of work until then. Everything was in place for the evening. Winnie wore a black T-shirt and ripped skinny jeans along with a pair of black converse. She brushed her hair out as best as she could while she stood in front of her bathroom mirror. Once she finished she put her glasses on and left the room, grabbing an old leather jacket from her closet that she barely wore as she let out a sigh.

Red eyes looked her over as their owner sat on the armchair, brushing his snow white locks. He was dressed in a sleeveless dark purple turtleneck which covered the bite scar on his neck. With it he wore black skinny jeans and tennis shoes.

“You're going to get cold wearing that, you know.” Winnie hummed.

“Well then, perhaps you'd be so kind as to lend me one of your coats if you're so worried about little old me.~” Astarion hummed, hopping up and moving a stray hair out of his face as he followed his lover into the bathroom.

“I already told you, Star. My jackets won't fit you right. You're too tall and skinny to fit in my clothes.” Winnie said with a sigh as she began to brush her teeth. “Besides I already bought you your own jackets.”

“But yours are so much softer and more comfortable.” The vampire replied, fiddling with a bag on the sink counter. He took out a small purple tube of mascara before applying it to his lashes. Astarion put the mascara back before grabbing a black eyeliner pencil.

“You're ridiculous but I-.......Where did you get that make up?” Winnie said as she looked back at him and blinked.

“Oh this? I found it in your mother's closet the other day. Looked like it hadn't been touched in a while so I thought it best not to let it go to waste.” Astarion replied as applied the eyeliner under his eyes.

“Don't steal from my mom. You know you can ask me if you want something right?” Winnie let out a sigh and kept brushing her teeth. She spat out into the sink before rinsing the sink and her toothbrush off. Then she walked back into her room, picking her backpack up off the floor.

Astarion came out and swiftly grabbed Winnie’s purple hoodie from the closet. He pulled it over his arms and let it hang off his shoulders before following his love out the door.

Theys snuck out of the house quietly, making sure to lock all the doors behind them before leaving. Winnie hopped onto her motorcycle with Astarion getting on behind her as the two set off. It was 8pm by the time they reached the carnival. The rides were all illuminated up with bright colorful lights. The sound of screams of excitement filled the air as did the delicious smell of fried foods.

Astarion glanced up at the strange contraptions with curiosity and a slight wariness. This wasn't like the circus as he predicted it would be like.

Winnie smiled a bit, memories from past trips to the carnival flooded her mind, filling her with joy and sudden enthusiasm. Perhaps this would actually be fun? She quickly shook her head, she needed to focus! There was another reason they were going here!

Winnie got off the bike and led her vampire up to the entrance. He kept an arm locked with hers as they purchased their tickets, heading inside. Winnie checked her cellphone to see if there were any messages from Becca.

“Okay, Becca's here. She’s with her boyfriend waiting for us by the snack stand.” Winnie hummed before looking over at Astarion. His eyes scanned around the crowd. There were so many people and a sweet alluring scent hit him like a brick.

“Hon? You alright?” Winnie asked curiously before noticing some random guy had fallen on the sidewalk and skinned his knee, drawing blood. Winnie placed a hand on Astarion’s face.

“Star…Look at me.” She said softly, causing his blood red orbs to snap back to her. “You haven't fed for a while have you?”

“I tried going out and hunting but the last few nights prey had become rather scarce…” Astarion admittedly.

“I told you, you were going to eat the whole forest. Look, hold on until we get back home and I'll let you feed from me.” Winnie said with a sweet smile.

“Thank you my sweet.” Astarion returned the smile before Winnie tugged him along.

“Now, let's go! Becca and Anthony are waiting!” Winnie exclaimed. They wandered through the carnival, marveling at the sights and sounds. The more they saw, the more Winnie began to grin, mind constantly slipping away from her main objective.

“Yo! Winnie!” Becca's voice snapped Winnie out of her thrill fueled trance. “Over here! Come meet my babe!” The redhead called. Sitting next to Becca was a tall lanky man with messy black hair and green eyes. He had to be about mid twenties and was dressed in a sleeveless blue hoodie and shorts.

Winnie walked over and smiled shyly, Astarion still holding on to her arm.

“Hey…I'm Winnie and this is Star…” Winnie introduced them.

“Star? So that's his name, huh? You know I can't quite put my finger on it but your boyfriend seems really familiar.” Becca scratched her head.

“The vampire from BG3! He looks kinda like him!” Anthony spoke up.

“Oh shit, you're right!” Becca exclaimed, “dude's even got elf ears on! Wicked!”

“Yeah, he really loves cosplaying!” Winnie said nervously. Astarion just stared at her in confusion.

“Cos-what?” He murmured.

“It's an amazing costume. You look pretty hot in it too!” Anthony grinned. Astarion smirked with a smug look.

“You flirt.” The elf rolled his eyes.

“He really is. It's part of his charm.” Becca giggled.

Winnie looked at the two with a slight discomfort, but shook it off. It was all harmless banter. “Anyway! Let's get this show on the road!” Becca hopped up with a grin.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Druid here! I hope I didn't make Vanessa too annoying, honestly I'm really just trying to portray her as a mischievous naive child though I can understand if she isn't well received. I'm going to New Orleans soon so it might be a while before the next chapter is dropped and I've also got some Winnifred The Druid oneshots to do.

Hope you guys liked the chapter! Next time we'll have some drama at the carnival!

~Druid

Taglist:

@seradyn , @plimsim, @astarioffsimpmain , @marcynomercy , @iamsexytrash , @gaymistakeboi , @divineknightmare , @tinyfreakgirl , @misscrissfemmefatal, @gianchan-de @jaksfanficsaver , @the-disaster-in-waiting , @hp-art-studio , @im-just-a-simp-le-whore , @dajeong , @iamnotokei

#bg3 #astarion ancunin #baldurs gate 3 #astarion bg3 #astarion my beloved #astarion #astarion romance #astarion x reader #astarion x chubby reader #Astarion x chubby oc #Astarion x oc #astarion x female oc #bg3 x chubby reader #isekaied into the real world fic #fictional characters in the real world fic #modern au?#i dunno

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