#obsessed with this fic like Astarion is with Gale | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

littlejuicebox · 8 months

Text

The wish spell worked.

Pairing: Astarion x F!Reader/Tav

Summary/Setting: 10 years post BG3. Follows my HC for spawn Astarion arc. See my other fics for more information, but otherwise the title speaks for itself. :)

Rating/Warnings: PG / allusions to sexual behaviors / fluff / in-game spoilers / lightest bit of angst if you squint but not really / this is self-indulgent af and idc / so sweet it will rot your teeth

Word Count: 2.2 K

A/N: HAPPY 400 FOLLOWERS POST! Thank you to everyone who likes my stories and provides encouragement. I love you all! I originally wanted to post this as a New Years Eve/Day special, but I couldn't get it quite right by then. After several reiterations, this is what we finally have! Hope it was worth the wait and multiple edits for you guys! :)

-----

If anyone had told Astarion Ancunin a decade ago that he would one day hold Gale Dekarios on a pedestal nearly as high as the one on which he held his darling Tav, the immortal elf might have actually died from laughter. The strange irony and wicked life lessons of fate were not lost on the retired rogue. Unbelievably and annoyingly, Astarion eventually found himself indebted to the wizard in a way he could never repay.

The wish spell worked.

It had taken years for Gale to feel absolutely ready to cast the spell. Astarion waited — exasperated, impatient, and impetuous — for what felt like the longest ten years of his ageless lifetime to be given the gift of mortality.

More than once, in the pale elf’s tearful fits of frustration, he accused the wizard of intentionally stringing him along or simply not having the skills to perform such a spell and not wanting to admit it. More than once, you had to calmly remind your husband of the great lengths Gale had gone to find information regarding the act and the even greater risk to both the vampire and the wizard if the spell was not cast perfectly and mindfully.

It had been a long decade, waiting for that impossible possibility, but the wait had been more than worth it.

Just over ten years after you met that silver-haired rake on the beach, Astarion was miraculously returned to his living, breathing, heart beating, mortal elven form. Surprisingly, not much changed about his appearance. Most notably, his eyes turned a gold-flecked green, and his complexion took on a constant soft pink undertone, permanently tinged by the circulation of his own blood by his own heart. That beautiful undertone caused a delightful blush to creep across his cheeks and ears whenever you teased or aroused him, and you took an even more significant liking to both these behaviors, just to watch that gorgeous rosiness creep across his skin.

And while you dearly loved that blush, your favorite part of the change had certainly been the steady beating of his heart. You would rest your head on your lover’s chest for hours to savor the sound if he let you, wrapped tightly in the new found warmth of his long limbs.

While you became obsessed with Astarion’s steadily thrumming heart, he’d become obsessed with his reflection. As soon as he’d been able to see himself, your husband had taken to having you sit on his lap while you primped and preened. He would stare into the looking glass with you for long lengths of time, his limbs coiled around your waist and chin often resting on your shoulder as he studied the mirror with a besotted, hazy smile on his face.

After a few weeks of this, you finally asked your silver-haired husband why he seemed positively obsessed with this new behavior. Astarion’s response had floored you.

“Darling, in my over 200 years, I never imagined I would have a love of my own, nor did I ever imagine what we would look like together. I couldn’t have envisioned such a thing even if I thought it a possibility or wanted to. I simply couldn’t envision myself at all. But now seeing it? I want to commit everything to memory exactly as it is… because it’s the most precious vision in the world to me.”

And really how else could you respond to that apart from kissing your sappy, bleeding heart of a husband and allowing him to continue the practice?

Of course, the two of you behaving as innocent love birds hadn’t been the only thing Astarion wanted to see in the mirror. On more than one occasion, he’d easily charmed you into the throes of passion in perfect view of a reflective surface. Your husband’s darker, more carnal half had become obsessed with watching you two in the act and it certainly thrilled you to know he was trying to commit those sensual sights to memory. You were quite happy to oblige.

As such, you’d soon found yourself carrying the byproduct of one of your many erotic couplings.

“That was a big one.” Astarion murmurs, and you see a smile creeping across the reflection of his face in the mirror as he glances down and runs his long fingers across the swell of your abdomen. His arms are looped around you as you sit front of the vanity mirror, placing the final touches on your appearance.

You agree with a gentle hum, moving a hand to your pregnant belly and rubbing circles on the stretch of skin, hoping to calm the young life stirring within. You coo softly to the rolling babe as you finish your primping, “Surely you aren’t thinking about breaking out of there yet, my little love. You have a few more months to go.”

Astarion’s now-warm hands cover yours as the little one seems to do somersaults in response to your voice, causing you to wince slightly as they jolt against your ribs. He presses a tender kiss into your shoulder and chuckles, “This one is strong like their mother and impatient like their father… we may be in for a spot of trouble in a few years, my love.”

You laugh in response as you stand with a pitiable amount of effort and quite a bit of assistance from the supportive arm of your husband. “I believe you’re right… but surely we’ve taken on scarier and more difficult things than a stubborn babe.”

Astarion hums in agreement before pressing a kiss to your swollen stomach, which is hovering just in front of him now, “Surely, darling. Now let us all go say hi to Uncle and Auntie Ravengard. I’m positively famished.”

-----

You are almost out of breath as you walk the final steps toward the entry of the Duke’s home. Astarion had practically begged you to take the carriage all the way through Wyll’s estate, but you waved him off, adamant that a bit light exercise would be good for the baby. The walkway was fully paved, how hard could it be?

As it turned out, you’d severely overestimated your abilities. Though it was just under a quarter mile to the front doors of the manor when you’d decided to exit the carriage, you were no longer the young, lithe woman that traversed the wilds with a petulant vampire a decade ago. The weight of your belly slowed you down more than you would admit. Astarion implored you, more than once and with growing concern and exasperation, to return to carriage. You refused each time, forcing the driver to follow behind at a snail’s pace.

“Gods, I hope this child does not take on your stubborn streak. I will be constantly overrun in my own home.” Astarion huffs, dabbing at the few beads of sweat on your brow with a silken handkerchief as he helps you climb the small flight of stairs at the entryway of Wyll’s home. He rolls his eyes as you laugh, breathlessly, and lean into him for support as he presses a kiss at the meeting point between your cheek and ear. “But, my sweet, as much as I would have preferred we stayed in the coach, you know I adore the way you look with your cheeks all flushed after a bit of… exertion.”

It’s your turn to roll your eyes at your husband as he traces his hand over your flushed cheek, his expression practically brimming with desire. The flush on the tips of his ears is a telltale sign of his salacious thoughts. If he had it his way, he’d be dragging you into the carriage right there for a quickie. But, he knew you two were nearly running late for dinner with the Duke and forced himself to push all desires aside. For now.

Wyll and his beautiful wife, Euphemia, greet you with a flurry of excitement and hugs. Their two twin toddlers run around in the entryway, a nursemaid trailing behind them.

Wyll wears a kind, soft smile as he addresses the both of you, “Dinner should be just about ready… shall we make our way there? I hope you two don’t mind. We are having work done in the dining room — my beautiful flower insisted upon remodeling — so dinner will have to be served in the Great Hall.”

As the four of you head towards the larger of the two dining areas in the Duke’s estate, Astarion wraps his arm around your waist and runs his hand along the side of your nearly bursting belly once again. There is a subtle pause at the doors of the Great Hall, and your husband’s eyebrows crinkle in a silent question before you gently press a kiss into his cheek and whisper, “Happy Rebirth Day, my love.”

Today marked one year since Gale successfully cast the Wish Spell.

The oak doors burst open to reveal the faces of everyone you hold dear, all of them shouting, “Surprise!” in unison. Wyll and Euphemia are laughing with delight as the four of you enter the room. Astarion is obviously shocked and overwhelmed as he takes the scene in, but a toothy smile is plastered across his face nonetheless. The elf could not believe that the significance of the date had slipped his mind, nor could he believe that you all went through such great lengths to plan a spectacle on his behalf.

Everyone showered your husband with a plethora of well-wishes and congratulations. The food was heavenly, and the silver-haired elf dined to his heart’s content. Just as Astarion loved to watch you both in the mirror, you adored seeing him eat and savor real food. You’d pursued cooking as a new hobby in the past few months, just to watch the delight on his face as he tasted any number of delectable things you placed in front of him.

“Have you thought of any names for the baby?” Karlach asks through a mouthful of food as she continues to tear into the lamb shank in front of her.

You smile knowingly. This topic has piqued everyone’s interest and they all turn their gazes in your direction, “Yes, actually… Astarion picked it out. It works well for a boy or a girl, and I think it’s an excellent choice.”

The elf smiles shyly, that subtle flush of his cheeks and ears crawling across his face as you turn your gaze to him and urge him on, “Go on, my love, and tell them the gorgeous name you picked.”

“I… I decided we should name the baby Gale.” Astarion reveals, his hand immediately moving to graze against your swollen stomach as he meets the flabbergasted expression of the wizard sitting across the table with a round-eyed, nervous gaze, “If… that’s okay by you.”

Gale coughs in surprise, nearly choking on the wine he’d just sipped from a goblet. For a moment, you watch as he blinks away tears. You are beginning to truly believe he might leap across the table and tackle your husband in a hug when he rapidly nods instead.

The wizard’s voice cracks with emotion as he speaks, “Y-yes. Thank you, Astarion. That is such an honor.”

Ten years of friendship between two men that once seemed entirely at odds with one another, honored by a namesake given to a precious babe. Fate was a truly remarkable thing.

“It’s an honor you are quite deserving of, Gale.” You respond, reaching your hand across the table to give the wizard’s hand an affectionate squeeze. “May our child have just as much heart, wit, and skill as their namesake. We will be truly blessed.”

A cake with candles is brought about at the end of the meal and placed in front of Astarion as everyone sings an off-key birthday tune. While your husband always seemed to thrive on being held at the center of attention, you noticed with a bit of amusement that his ears and cheeks were flushed pink as everyone focused their eyes upon him.

While the others continue to sing, you lean closer to your husband and whisper, “I know we will never surpass the wish you made last time, my Star. But go on and make one anyway.”

Astarion’s gaze roams around the room, taking in all the friends he collected this past decade. Then he turns to you and grins, pausing to etch every bit of this moment into his memory before closing his eyes and blowing the candles out to a cacophony of inebriated cheers and whoops.

The elf wished for the only thing he could: a healthy child and a long life with his little love. Fate had already gifted him with more than he could have imagined for himself back in those dark, dank dungeons he once called home. Astarion found himself in want of nothing but the health and happiness of the woman beside him and the safety of their offspring.

Though he knew it was another selfish ask, and he’d been blessed far more than he had ever expected, Astarion prayed to the gods that he once never thought would answer to grant him this last wish. And just in case they did not hear him the first time, he would be sure to make the same wish every year, until his very last.

740 notes · View notes

hexed-padlock · 1 year

Text

Still super obsessed with the idea of Tav being part of the og party that killed Strahd and they just… dont mention it. At all.

Like, you’ve got:

Gale: Archmage of Waterdeep, wizarding prodigy, Chosen of Mystra herself

Karlach: frontliner of the Blood War and escapee from Avernus

Wyll: The Blade of Frontiers and son of Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard

Astarion: Vampire spawn of Cazador Szarr, and former magistrate

Shadowheart: Priestess of Shar, Lady of Loss

Lae’zel: Githyanki warrior and proud servant of Vlaakith

And my Tav’s canon: Slayer of the Dread Lord Strahd von Zarovich, currently trying to find a way to bring it up to the party and is 100% awkward about it because they died *after* killing Strahd and only because they tripped off a cliff and their old party thought it’d be funny to cast Reincarnate instead of Revivify.

The story everyone knows is that (Tav) died in the fight against Strahd as a “final heroic sacrifice for the greater good.” When in reality, they’re too embarrassed to correct anyone so they’ve picked a new name and literally made a deal with Neferon or Exethanter for completely different magic to what they used to wield and now they’re committed to the disguise/new life/fake backstory of being tricked into a Warlock pact. At this point, they’re neckdeep in this awkward situation where everyone believes they died a hero’s death, their old party is kinda just laughing about everything, and their BG3 party is completely oblivious.

Astarion: “It’s near impossible to kill a true vampire lord. Cazador is almost unbeatable.”

Tav the Strahd Slayer: “…I see.”

—————————————

Upon request, I’ve decided to start a short fic series of reveals—all just drabbles and oneshots since I’m not used to writing anymore.

Below will be a masterlist of the different posts once I begin with them.

“Do the Cattle not know you?” - Facing Cazador (Serious, Sassy Tav)

“A New Type of Vampire” - Raphael discusses the Ascension ritual and Tav remembers a similar story (Flashbacks, Traumatized Tav)

773 notes · View notes

psalacanthea · 6 months

Text

I'm doing that thing again where a random scenario is showing up in my modern AU fic and I have to think of everyone's preferences so: BG3 companions, ice cream edition.

Wyll: The only man alive who gets an ice cream cone and somehow never drips. He loves a good quality vanilla, but likes it with additions, like a handmade fudge ripple or butter pecan. Will eat an ice cream cone with a spoon, confusing everyone.

Karlach: She wants to go to the place where they mix in shit in front of you. Gummy bears and pretzels. Red hots candy and caramel corn. She's inventing flavor combos you've never heard of. Also likes the blue bubblegum ice cream.

Gale: Ooh! Well, since you're asking, he knows a wonderful place a scant thirty minute drive away that makes their own handmade ice cream. He's been known to indulge in a pint or two...perhaps with a nice glass of wine! Toppings? Well, that would ruin the experience.

Shadowheart: She goes to the same place as Gale, but she hoards her pints in her freezer and you're not allowed to touch them. They have a dark chocolate raspberry she's obsessed with. It's hers, though. You can have a bite. Just one. Fine, you can have another bite.

Lae'zel: She goes to the fast food drive through, orders a chocolate sundae, and leaves. If their ice cream machine is broken again, they will pay the price. Will climb through a drive-through window to fight your manager.

Astarion: Goes to the trendy, insanely expensive restaurant, orders the thousand dollar gold leaf covered, smoked white truffle and whisky ice cream dessert, takes a picture of it for his instagram, and leaves without paying by climbing out the bathroom window.

Minthara: She will take two scoops of chocolate ice cream. Nothing more, nothing less. If you fail to deliver exactly what was ordered, she will have your business destroyed on Yelp. Her prowess on Yelp is legendary. Sometimes Astarion helps her make video reviews of restaurants. She has millions of views, adoring fans, and has no idea.

Halsin: He'd prefer something else for dessert, but he's already here, so...maybe a scoop of pistachio on a cone? Will get distracted and end up with it dripping all over his arm. Whoops! Now everyone's staring at him while he licks his own hand.

Jaheira: She prefers a pastry, but fine. She'll let you know once she's tried every sample at least once. Hmm. Not bad. And...you know what? Never mind. She's full now. Thanks for the samples.

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #companion headcanons #Gale of Waterdeep #Wyll Ravengard #Shadowheart #Astarion #Minthara #Halsin #Jaheira #Karlach #Lae'zel #Lae'zel will fight you in the parking lot of a taco bell #Astarion will be filming it

204 notes · View notes

charmandabear · 3 months

Text

Fic writers, especially if you write popular pairings like Astarion/Tav, BloodWeave, etc.

This might be common knowledge, but I didn't realize, so I'm sure there are others who don't know.

When posting on AO3, only tag the main pairing(s) in your fic. If your main pairing is Astarion or Gale x f!Tav, but there's Lae'zel/Shadowheart in the background, only tag it M/F and not F/F. There's a space in additional tags that you can put "minor Lae'zel/Shadowheart."

The Astarion/Tav, Gale/Tav, BloodWeave, Halstarion fics absolutely dominate the tags. AO3 is overflowing with them. It can be really frustrating for someone looking for literally any other pairings, but especially sapphic pairings, since they get completely drowned out. (Source: folks in my sapphic BG3 discord server were understandably voicing their frustration with this issue.)

I personally have also stopped using generic BG3 tags here on Tumblr to post my Astarion stuff. I love him, y'all know this, but for folks who aren't obsessed the way we are, it's a lot, dude. Give the tags room to breathe and maybe let some other pairings float to the top.

Love you all, happy tagging 😘✌️

#astarion #astarion ancunin #astarion fanfiction #gale #gale of waterdeep #gale dekarios #gale fanfiction #bloodweave #bloodweave fanfiction #halstarion #bloodoak #bloodbear #tav x astarion #tav x gale #astarion x tav #gale x tav #astarion x gale

110 notes · View notes

thechaoticdruid · 9 months

Text

[The Spawn Vs The Ascendant]

Astarion(s) x Tav

Plot: I made a post a while back about Ascended Astarion meeting Spawn Astarion via multiversal timeline shenanigans and legit maybe one person shared a fic with a similar premise.

So basically I was like *puts on infinity gauntlet* “Fine, I'll do it myself.”

Content Warning// 18+ for Sexual humor and suggestive themes. I legit have not been in the fanfiction business in years so go easy on me.

Characters might be ooc. Spelling/Grammar mistakes may be present. A wee bit of blood and violence. Gale is made fun of. Tav is based heavily off my human druid Tav, Winnie and uses She/Her pronouns.//

Possible Triggers: Ascended Astarion, kidnapping, mentioned character death, possessiveness, obsession, AA touches Tav without her consent (not sexually tho), Galeshaming.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Ah, the Elfsong. There was really no better place to unwind after a long day of adventuring. And there was really nothing better to help one unwind than a favorite snack, a cold drink and lovely company. Unfortunately for Tav she'd have to wait up on the company as her beloved was currently preoccupied with his nightly grooming. Gods only know how long that man will take doing his hair. The human female rolled her eyes and brought her wine bottle to her lips taking a few swigs before biting into some cheese she'd been nibbling on prior. Tav lounged about on their shared bed wearing nothing but a black tank and red boxers. Despite the peace and relaxation she was getting pretty bored without her love to snuggle and gossip with. Tav finished off the last few bites of cheese before she pulled out the private journal she'd been keeping since this whole adventure began. Little doodles of her partner decorated the pages along with her chicken scratch handwriting.

She had documented details of their adventure whenever she had the chance and also took the time to add various doodles of her companions and any monsters they encountered. (Some of her favorite drawings included herself opening a bottle and releasing a spectator. And of course a lovely little drawing of her and Astarion kicking the shit out of Cazador.)

As she waited Tav began to entertain herself by writing down a to-do list.

“Ah lets see…Yep definitely gonna have to have a chat with that pompous prick who was threatening a kid the other day. Maybe I can invite him back to the tavern later? I'm sure Star wouldn't mind having a snack.” Tav hummed, scribbling down everything she had planned out as of late.

Shit I need to do:

‘Feed rich tit to boyfriend.’

‘Teach Shadowheart to swim.’

‘Buy Clive a best friend.’

‘Murder baddies.’

‘Wildshape into a pigeon and shit on Gortash's head.’

‘Buy boyfriend cute clothes.’

‘Take Gale shopping for wizardy stuff.’

‘Look into real estate in the Underdark.’

‘Take Scratch for a walk.’

‘Kill more bad people.’

‘Contemplate licking dead spider.’

‘Be screamed at by Gale for licking dead spider.’

‘Buy flowers for Karlach and Shadowheart.’

‘Buy boyfriend more cute clothes.’

‘Study wizard stuff.’

‘Help Moon Lesbians plan wedding.’

‘Research ring of the sunwalker.’

‘Piss off the Gods……Again…’

‘Remember to take Astarion on romantic beach date before fighting the Elder Brain.’

‘Unalive people of not goodness.’

‘Shave Gale’s beard while he sleeps.’

‘Continue writing smutty novel series so I can keep buying boyfriend cute clothes.’

“Tav, a word please.” Gale appeared from around the corner. Tav groaned, annoyed by the prospect of having to get up. Especially since Gale looked like he was going to scold her for something. Begrudgingly she hopped off the bed, leaving the comfort of her room to see what in the hells that damn wizard wanted.

“What do you need, Gale? I'm kinda in the middle of writing down my to-do list.”

“Am I inclined to believe that you've been writing erotic novels that feature Astarion and I?” The wizard inquired.

“Pfft! What in the hells gave you that idea!” Tav laughed, her eyes staring off to the side nervously as she twiddled her thumbs. Gale pulled out a red leather bound book titled ‘Blood-Mage’. It was a ridiculously smutty novel about a young handsome sorcerer named Garrett Delarous who is reluctantly forced to team up with a dastardly, but world endingly beautiful Vampire Lord in order to save the world or some shit. (The book mostly focused more on smut than plot.) Amazingly the novel had made a killing after Tav had peddled it at Sharess's Caress. It seemed nearly everyone wanted a copy. (Tav was also pretty sure she noticed Halsin was reading the book as well.)

“My series is about a renowned sorcerer and a Vampire Lord. There's a difference, Gale.” Tav crossed her arms with a huff.

“You can't just profit off of other people's likenesses Tav! You at least need to pay them royalties!”

“I always give half the money I earn to Astarion.”

“I’m talking about me!”

“I think my beloved ‘gloves of power’ were more than enough payment for you.” Tav huffed before looking off to the side with a sad look.

I miss those gloves so much.

Gale sighed in annoyance, pinching the bride of his nose. He was used to Tav’s shenanigans at this point but this was just ridiculous. Not to mention while skimming through Tav's scandalous work he noticed the sorcerer was always on the bottom during intimate scenes. The audacity!

“Besides I use the money I make from this for not only myself and Astarion, but the rest of the camp as well. Adventuring ain't cheap ya know?”

“You can at least give me a small percentage of the profits. Say thirty percent?”

“Ten percent.” Tav said flatly.

“Twenty percent?”

“Ten percent.” Tav repeated.

“Fine.” Gale gives in, causing the shorter of the two to smirk triumphantly. Tav watched smugly as the wizard slumped off in defeat before quickly adding another note to her to-do list.

‘Give 10% of book money to the stinky wizard.’

Tav finished off her list as she felt a pair of cool arms wrap around her form from behind, her cheeks tinting light pink. “Do you really need to take five hours in the bath?” She hummed, turning her head to meet her partner’s crimson gaze. His hair was dry and looked rather soft and silky and he was dressed in this eccentric red silk robe with fluffy black trim.

“You can't rush art, darling.” Astarion purred before nuzzling his cheek against hers. “You know if you were getting impatient you could have joined me in the tub. I would have loved the company.” He murmured huskily.

“In these tiny ass bathtubs? I'd have to sit on your lap and even then I doubt we'd have enough room to really do anything.” Tav replied, nuzzling back against him.

“We could still try.~” The vampire cooed.

“Tempting, but the others have whined enough about our night time activities. Apparently we're noisy.”

“Then perhaps next time I shall have to gag you won't I?”

“Alright! I'm ending this conversation here!” Tav said quickly, face burning up at his teasing.

“Besides, I’ll need some sleep for tomorrow. Gortash won't kill himself, unfortunately.” Tav said with a yawn.

“Really? Now? I was hoping you'd at least cuddle with me before bed.” Astarion pouted.

“Oh you poor thing. Fine, we can cuddle till I fall asleep. Cutie.” The human female smiled sweetly before planting a kiss on her lover's cheek, receiving a content hum in response. Tav turned to pull away from the elf's embrace before suddenly feeling herself be scooped up and tossed over his shoulder.

“Hey! What did I say about picking me up!?” She whined, squirming a bit as she hung over his shoulder. “I don't like being manhandled!”

“But you're so adorable like this.~” Astarion teased, his hand gripping her ass as he carried over to the bed. Despite Tav’s complaints she did little else in protest besides pout and blush as she was whisked away. The two of them soon settled on the bed, Tav immediately nuzzling into Astarion's chest and relaxing. Astarion’s clawed fingernails found their way into her messy locks, caressing and running through them as the two snuggled together. His skin was cold to the touch, but honestly Tav actually liked it. It kinda reminded her of the cool side of her pillow. Even though there was the constant threat of death around every corner the two of them were still able to cherish their time together, and hopefully now that Astarion had been freed of his master they would continue to do so.

There was still the tiny issue of an evil alien brain thing that could turn them into soulless squid monsters, but they'd be able to take care of that sooner or later. A part of Tav wanted to put it off as selfish and dangerous as it could be. Because as soon as they destroyed the brain, they'd destroy the only protection Astarion had against the sun. Tav wasn't about to give up on finding a way for her love to enjoy the sun, but for now she'd at least make the time he has left in it special.

“Star….” Tav murmured aloud, her head tilting upwards to meet her partner's eyes.

“Yes dear?” He hummed.

“You know there's actually something I've been meaning to talk to you about. We've been together for a while now and well…we haven't actually had a real date….I mean I guess it's understandable considering we have to save the world and shit, but I was thinking maybe if there's time we could do something together....” Tav bit down on her lip as she sat up on the bed. She felt nervous all of a sudden, not used to asking for stuff like this. Astarion had always been the one to initiate most of their romantic activities. The best Tav could do was a kiss on the cheek or a hug and even that had taken a while for her to get comfortable with.

“What about all our little late night trysts? Do those not count as dates?” Astarion raised an eyebrow though his tone was playful.

“Ehh…well…rolling around in the dirt in the middle of nowhere isn't exactly what I'd call a date.” Tav said awkwardly, earning a chuckle from her vampire.

“I suppose you're right. We've never really had any bonding time without you being pinned underneath me.” He joked before quickly clearing his throat and finally trying to be serious. “What do you have in mind, darling?”

“I just want to take you out somewhere…We could go out to eat or just walk in the park….” The human female twiddled her thumbs as she trailed off, feeling butterflies in her stomach. “I'd be up for anything really as long as I'm with you.”

“I…would like that very much, my love.” Astarion cupped her cheek, his eyes soft and full of affection. He pulled her into a sweet chaste kiss, allowing her to return it before she pulled back and rested his forehead against hers.

Thudd!

Tav quickly pulled back from Astarion's embrace as she heard a noise. She looked around frantically for the sound.

“Tav? Is something wrong?” Astarion asked.

“I just heard something…” She said before suddenly her eyes landed at the window near their bed. On the opposite side of the window seat a small white bat could be seen looking through the glass. Its little red eyes stared at the human with an intense gaze. “It's a bat.” Tav pointed towards the window. Astarion looked over at the little creature before internally groaning.

No. She better not even think about it!

The bat blinked, looking at Tav a few times before curling its left wing against its body.

“I think its wing is injured!” Tav exclaimed with concern.

“Ugh leave it! We've taken in enough stray beasts!” Astarion scoffed, but Tav immediately ignored him, rushing over to the window.

“Tav! Don't! It probably has some horrible disease or something!”

Tav quickly opened the window, her eyes going soft as she looked down at the small animal. She moved to scoop it up into her arms but before she could the bat simply fell back.

“Shit!” She shouted.

“Thank the gods, it's dead. Now come back to bed, darling.” Astarion said, patting the spot besides him. Tav just glared at him silently before suddenly she wildshaped into a raven and flew out the window.

~•~•~•~•~

While Tav didn't preach about nature 24/7 like Halsin did she was still just as much of a druid as he was and couldn't bear to stay by while an injured animal was in need. (Much to her lover's dismay.) She'd flown out the window of their room and circled around looking for the little bat.

There was no sign of the winged beast anywhere near the elfsong, but at least that was a sign it likely hadn't fallen to its death. Tav kept searching, eventually straying further from the tavern until she was forced to land and give her wings a breather, returning back to her human form.

“Dammit it's so dark I can't tell where I am. Everything looks different at night.” Her eyes strained as she struggled to make out any familiarity. Despite having lived in Baldur's Gate for about ten years Tav had always made it a point not to roam about at night. Her lack of dark vision made night time prowling even more dangerous, especially in this city.

She decided to reserve her strength instead of wild-shaping again. From what she could make out in the dark she'd found herself in one of the back alleys. Tav kept stumbling around in the dark for a while until at last she began to consider heading back. The bat likely wasn't dead since she had seen no hair or hide of it and she really wasn't in the mood to find herself in trouble. It constantly seemed to follow Tav these days it seemed. Last time she wandered around the city by herself she got into a fist fight with some stuck up noble lady who had referred to her as ‘a fat ugly little boy’. (The others were not happy about sneaking her out of prison that day.)

Just as Tav was about to assume the form of a beast fit for the night she noticed some light up ahead. The graveyard had been illuminated by a couple of lanterns. Tav approached hoping it would help her map out her way back if she just remembered how to get to the Elfsong from there. However as soon as she got close to the light someone was waiting for her.

“Astarion?” Tav called out as her silver haired lover stepped out of the darkness. She expected nagging, and complaining about having to come out here looking for her, but instead Astarion just stared at her intensely as if studying every detail of her face. “Are you okay?” She asked with concern. Something was very strange about this. Astarion being quiet for long was never a good sign. Tav scanned him over, almost immediately noting his elegant attire. A black and red suit with silver bats embroidered on it. Odd. Tav had never seen him wear this outfit before. And he was always quick to show off any new clothes to her, seeking her praise. Astarion moved towards her quickly and out of nowhere pulled her into a crushing hug.

“Yes of course. I was just worried about you, my sweet.” His grip on her was almost uncomfortably tight, as if he was holding onto her for dear life.

“I haven't been gone that long….” Tav stiffened. There was an abnormal warmth to his body. Sure he was able to raise his temperature after feeding, but there was hardly a decent supply of beasties for him to nibble on in this city, not to mention he would have had to have found one pretty damn fast before seeking her out.

“You’ve always been such a brave little thing, haven't you?” He let out a chuckle, his grip on her didn’t falter. His tone didn't seem threatening, but one thing for sure set off an alarm in her.

Thump-thump.

Tav immediately ripped herself away from him and took a few steps back, her eyes glaring daggers. “Who the hells are you?” She snapped.

“Whatever, ever do you mean, pet?” His voice was full of false innocence, it reminded her a lot of how Astarion would often speak whenever accusations were hurled at him, but this person was definitely not her lover.

Tav’s first instinct was to assume he'd probably been one of the shape-changers they'd been attacked by in the past, but there was this gnawing gut feeling that this time was different.

“Drop the act. I've already met enough shit heads running around wearing someone else's face. Who are you really?”

“I’m Astarion. Really dear, I'm disappointed you have so little faith in me that you'd think I'd allow some lowly shape-changers near you.” He took a few steps forward.

“Stay away from me…” Tav growled out through gritted teeth. Damnit. She didn't have any weapons and was literally in her sleepwear.

“You seem tired, love. Perhaps we should head back so you can get some rest?” He extended his hand towards her. Tav was about to say something else before suddenly an arrow came out of nowhere, nearly hitting the Astarion look alike in the shoulder. He was able to dodge just in the nick of time. Tav gasped in surprise before quickly turning back to see another…. Astarion?

The two looked identical aside from their clothing. The imposter was wearing his elegant suit and the other one (whom Tav hoped to the gods was actually him) was wearing a familiar red and black doublet.

“Hells teeth.” Astarion spoke up as he looked over at the two. Tav immediately sniffed air around the second Astarion. The tiniest whiff of death hit her senses and immediately she ran over to him.

“Star!” Tav was by his side in an instant. His arm quickly looped around her hip protectively before he scanned over her face.

“Are you alright?” He asked, receiving a nod in response. Astarion then looked over towards his look alike. “My, aren't you just beautiful? I must admit I'm quite flattered you chose to imitate me.”

“Is that what you think of me? I'm hurt.” The other vampire laughed. “I am no mere imitation. I am you…..well a better you.”

“You're not making any sense!” Tav hissed, her jaw clenching as she suppressed the urge to let out an animal-like growl.

“Allow me to shed some light on it then. I come from a reality where instead of choosing to remain weak and pathetic we became who we always wanted to be.” Tav's eyes widened at the revelation, though she was still debating whether or not to believe all this madness. Of course she'd been to hells, the shadowfell and even fought a god so maybe this wasn't too far fetched.

“The Vampire Ascendant.”

“If you're telling the truth then why are you here? You have everything you want don't you?” The vampire spawn quirked an eyebrow. Meanwhile the Ascendant’s face suddenly turned cold. He almost looked sad.

“I did. Wealth, power, pleasure, everything I could ever dream of. I was on the cusp of dominating the entirety of the sword coast. Everything was mine. But none of it mattered without the one thing I cherished most. My beloved consort. My Tav.” His eyes suddenly locked into the human female. She felt small, cornered, like a rat caught between a cat’s paws. “He was taken from me…”

Tav stiffened, taking a step back. She really did not like where this was going. Her lover kept a gentle hold on her, staying between her and the other vampire.

“And now you're here to take my Tav I presume?” Astarion scoffed, “you obviously didn't care very much about yours then if you're already looking for a replacement.”

“HE WAS EVERYTHING TO ME!” Before Tav could think her lover was knocked off his feet. A punch had come at him faster than he could react. The Ascendant stood over him, shaking with anger. Tav moved over towards the vampire spawn as quickly as she could, checking him out. He seemed alright, albeit a little winded, possibly bruised. Astarion huffed, getting back to his feet. Tav was quick to cast cure wounds on him to help perk him back up.

The Ascendant took in a breath, regaining his composure. While the spawn swiftly tossed Tav a spare dagger from his pack. A fight was likely inevitable now.

“I’ve searched across thousands of timelines. None of these pathetic excuses for adventurers came even close to my beloved. That is…until I found you of course…” The vampire lord pointed a clawed finger at the druid. “You're the only one who resembles him in the slightest, albeit you are a bit more…voluptuous than he was.” He chuckled a bit.

“Okay hold on a minute! You can't just come here and take someone else’s Tav because you lost yours!” Tav pointed her dagger shakily towards him.

“My dear, I don't think you understand. I am the Vampire Ascendant. I can take whatever I want!”

“I don't care if you're the fucking god of gnomes I'm not going anywhere with you. I have my own Astarion.” Tav gripped the blade tightly while her free hand prepared to cast a spell.

“I had hoped you'd come quietly, but it seems we'll have to do this the hard way.” With a flash of pink light Tav was hit with a sleeping spell and fell to the ground unconscious. Her dagger dropped to the ground with a clatter. The spawn was quick to move in front of Tav taking out his rapier and aiming a swipe at the other vampire.

The Ascendant stepped back just as the thin slender blade nicked a cut across his attire, just barely missing his flesh. The spawn took another swing at him, nicking his side and gaining a kick to the ribs in return. The spawn huffed, quickly recovering before moving in for another attack.

However the Ascendant’s clawed hand struck first, slashing through the armor surrounding the Astarion's shoulder and slicing his flesh. The spawn cried out and gripped his arm as his counterpart smirked smugly, bringing his finger up to his lips and basically tasting his own blood.

“Mmm…Delicious.~” He purred. The Ascendant’s crimson eyes trailed over towards Tav before beginning to glow red. “To me, now.” He said as if issuing a command to unseen soldiers.

Within seconds two oddly familiar figures appeared out of mist. A sickly pale looking Halsin and Shadowheart, both with glowing red orbs for eyes.

“Gods below. You've turned your own friends into spawn!?” Astarion gasped, his face full of disgust.

“Eh…I wouldn't exactly call them friends…. Though they are much more compliant this way.” The vampire lord replied with a toothy grin. The spawn felt sick to his stomach. To think he could have ended up this way.

“Take care of my inferior self, would you darlings? I have places to be…” The Ascendant gave a small wave before quickly scooping the unconscious Tav up in his arms.

“Yes master.” The undead Shadowheart and Halsin replied, a bright red light shone around their bodies as they were compelled to attack.

“Farewell beautiful.” The vampire lord gave his spawn self a wink before quickly vanishing into mist, taking Tav along with him.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

“Astarion….” Tav muttered tossing and turning in her sleep as she slowly began to come to. She shot up in a cold sweat, her heart pounding.

“Ugh…That was a terrible dream. Star you wouldn't believe…” Tav went silent as her eyes scanned her surroundings. It in fact was not a dream.

“Oh gods damnit.” She huffed.

Tav was in a large elegant looking bedroom, lying upon a purple queen size bed adorned with fine silk sheets. Maroon red walls surrounded her and were decorated nicely by paintings and other fine wall decor. The first thing the druid noticed after taking in her surroundings was the pressure around her neck. Her hands quickly reached for her throat feeling what seemed like a tight choker of some kind. She quickly hopped off the bed and looked into the mirror of a nearby vanity that sat west of the bed. “Fucking hells.” She breathed out as her eyes laid upon a black and red collar adorning her neck. There was this unnerving glow surrounding the collar. Most likely some kind of magic was placed on it. Quickly she curled her fingers preparing to use a spell in order to tear this damn thing off of her, but nothing happened.

This thing must be silencing my casting somehow.

Tav for a moment before forming an idea. She could probably wildshape into something small and squeeze out. Maybe. The druid sighed before getting on all fours preparing to transform into a rat. She let out a grunt, but nothing happened.

“Oh fuck you!” She shouted before rolling and desperately trying to yank the collar off.

Tav growled and pulled on the neck piece, yanking as hard as she could, resorting to gnawing on it.

Knock knock.

The druid immediately ceased her actions at the sound of the door. A shiver went down her spine at the thought of it being that so-called ‘Vampire Ascendant’ again. Her eyes flickered around the room before she took hold of a candle stick and stood next to the door, back pressed against the wall.

The door creaked open and a small figure walked inside. Tav prepared herself to strike down whoever had entered, but froze upon seeing the person. It was a small blonde haired half-elf woman, dressed in a house keeper's attire.

Tav quickly looked into her eyes, letting out a sigh of relief as she noticed they were blue. She set the candlestick down on the vanity and looked at the half-elf curiously. “Who are you?” She asked.

“My name is Abigail, milady. The master sent me to help you get dressed and make sure you come see him.” The small woman piped up in a small soft voice. Abigail was petite and quite short, probably about an inch or two shorter than Tav was, though the druid estimated the half elf was probably around the same age as she was…well physically anyway. With elves you could really never tell.

“And exactly where am I?” Tav crossed her arms.

“The Crimson palace milady. My lord has taken up residence here while he stays in your realm.” Abigail replied before scurrying across the room, towards a closet. “It'd be best not to keep him waiting, my lady.” The half-elf rummaged around through the closet before taking a couple of different outfits to choose from and spreading them out over the bed. “My apologies if you'd prefer a dress, but this is all we could bring with us from our world.”

Tav blushed a bit in embarrassment as she realized she was still only wearing a tank and boxers. She looked over at the bed and took note of the three suits that laid out in front of her.

“These belonged to Master Tav. Master Astarion said they'd likely fit you, my lady.”

“Now hold on, I have questions! How did you all get here, and what is this thing!?” Tav demanded as she tugged on her collar once again.

“I'm sorry I can say no more. Please miss, just get dressed.” Abigail pleaded,a hint of fear was in her tone. Tav was hesitant, but begrudgingly she slipped off her tank before sliding into one of the suits, a red one that felt a little snug on her, but actually not by much. The only issue being that she couldn't get the top three buttons of the white undershirt that went with it to button. It left her cleavage slightly exposed. Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

“Okay, I'm ready.” She said, Abigail nodded and began to lead the druid out of the room.

Perhaps this was her chance? She could make a break for it on their way out! Tav braced herself to bolt only to be met with a shockingly familiar face as she exited the room. Lae'zel. Or well a vampire spawn that looked completely identical to her githyanki companion aside from a pair of glowing red.

“Dear gods, Lae'zel, what happened to you? Did Astarion do this?” Tav gasped in shock.

“She's not your Lae'zel, milady.” Abigail spoke up.

“I was told to make sure the master’s new pet came quietly, not to answer questions.” Lae’zel simply replied.

“Come on, let's go.” Abigail took hold of Tav’s arm, giving her a gentle smile before tugging her along. Lae'zel quietly followed, a seemingly permanent scowl on her face as she watched Tav's every move, almost daring her to run for it.

The three walked down a long corridor for what seemed like hours. The sound of footsteps along with her own heartbeat seemed to be the only thing Tav could process as a gnawing anxiety set in. Her chest tightened, her throat felt dry and she could feel this nervous pain dancing across her spine. She wasn't sure why but something about this other Astarion scared her. This Vampire Ascendant. She had never been afraid of her beloved spawn, hells she wasn't even afraid of Cazador or any other vampire she had come across on their journey, but something about her lover's counterpart made her skin crawl.

“Well aren't you just precious?” A seductive pur tore Tav from her thoughts, forcing her to look up and realize she'd been dragged out into the ballroom. It definitely was a lot cleaner than the past time she'd been here. All the blood and wolf corpses had been dealt with. Just how long has this other Astarion been here? He couldn't have just started squatting here, found and kidnapped Tav, and had time to clean everything up on the same day! The Vampire Ascendant sat upon Cazador’s old throne, looking down at Tav. His eyes trailing over her.

Tav took a deep breath before clearing her throat and trying to appear confident.

“Where is Astarion? And I mean my Astarion.”

“You needn’t concern yourself with him any longer. You're mine now and I will give you so much more than he ever could.~” The Vampire Lord stood up and stepped towards Tav slowly.

“I’m not your Tav. I can never be him.” The druid backed up a little, however with Lae’zel’s presence behind her she didn't have much room to retreat. She wasn't sure if reasoning with this alternate version of her lover was possible, but it was worth a shot if nothing else. However instead of listening he swiftly took her hands in his.

“No need to be modest, my pet, you're practically like him in every way. You have his eyes, his face, the same little quirks and ticks. Granted, you're built a little different anatomically, but that's not something that ever deterred me.” Astarion moved in closer, briefly pressing his lips against her knuckles. “And now that I've found you, nothing will ever part us. Not again.” Before Tav could speak she was pulled in for another tight hug. She squirmed a bit, conflicted feelings of pity and fear were arguing back and forth in her mind as she felt him nuzzling his face into her neck. He was clearly dangerous, but he also seemed heartbroken. He wanted anyway to have his lover back so badly he crossed time itself to see them again. Or at least someone who resembled them.

But Tav knew deep down she wouldn't be enough to fill the void left by her counterpart. Gods, she hoped there would be a happy ending to all of this.

~•~•~•~•~•~

A little note from ChaoticDruid: I really hope it didn't suck! I haven't published a fanfic in so long >~< This idea had just been swimming around in my brain forever I just had to get it out! I got the idea from the PS5 launch party animation and seeing Launch Astarion and EA Astarion flirting just made me go okay but what if it was Ascended Astarion and Spawn Astarion?

I don't know if I will continue it. I have other things I wanna write and my ADD makes this stuff so freaking hard. But maybe maybe not 🤞🤞

Part 2: LETS GOOOOOOO

311 notes · View notes

chaoticbardlady99 · 11 months

Note

Could you please do some comforting fic? Like, Tav is crying because of stress (or maybe a painful memory) and Astarion has to console her being an absolute emotional support vampire?

Dying Star (Astarion x GN! Reader)

Your wish is my command!

Synopsis: While exploring the Shadowlands, you run into Arabella and she asks you to find her parents. Unfortunately, you don’t have good news to deliver and Astarion tries to navigate your feelings with tips from Karlach.

Character Class- Cleric of Lliira

(I’m really obsessed with this concept because I’m a Social Worker and I refer to myself as the “positivity police” so this is a character type I have grown fond of)

TW: Grief, Trauma, Parental loss, PTSD, Panic Attacks, mentions of violence and gore.

*I really like the nickname Little Love (I know it’s for Ascended only but…..) so I will be using it as a pet name that Astarion uses for the reader.

Companion song: Dying Star by Ashnikko (feat. Ethel Cain)

It was supposed to be easy. You had an extra skip to your step as you headed in the direction Arabella told you her parents went.

Finally, you had thought, I can do something good for someone. I can reunite a family. No morally gray bullshit to navigate.

You were grinning the whole way there despite your argument with Astarion before sending him with Arabella.

“We don’t have time to go parent hunting.”

“There is always time to go parent hunting.”

He had expressed his disdain about finding Arabella’s parents. He told you it’s a waste of time- they were probably dead anyway. Arabella had whimpered and teared up. That was enough for you to lose your patience and you ripped into him for saying "something so awful and in front of a CHILD, nonetheless!"

You sent him back with Arabella and Wyll, telling him that if he had no desire to search and rescue, he didn’t have to. He had looked hurt and insisted he go, that he needed to be there, but you were fed up and a little girl was crying.

Dejected, Astarion had gone back to camp. The guilt sat heavily at the bottom of your stomach, but you had a personal mission to complete and nothing was going to stop you.

You were orphaned as a young child. The nightmares had gone away (for the most part), but you still remember your father dragging you away from your mother’s cold body as Loth Drows ambushed Silverymoon. They had had a whole army and their druids had control over giant creatures from the Underdark. You remember losing your father in the haze, an arrow to your back, running and slipping into a river. Then nothing. Until a nearby Cleric of Lliira (Leer-uh) had saved you, taking you to Selgaunt (SELL-GAUNT) on the coast of the Sea of Stars. Lliira had healed your heart and saved you- you hoped to pay that debt forward and help Arabella have a better outcome than you did.

No one in your party knew your past and you hadn’t brought it up to Astarion. It feels so long ago and it was a topic you preferred to bring up in a more hospitable place than the Shadowlands and after you help Astarion kill Cazador. You wanted to prioritize his joy and help him finally be free, so why would you burden him with your past while he is suffering far more from his?

It didn’t take you and your party long to locate Arabella’s parents. You found them in the House of Healing- dead. Along with your hope and joy.

You had erupted in a tearful rage and you stabbed the Sister who killed them over and over.

You didn’t care what the Joybringer would do if she saw how senselessly you mutilated the sisters and Malus. You had made them suffer as you saw fit. Mutilating them, using more painful methods of killing (stabbing in painful, but not lethal spots), and your crying came out as painful, angry screams.

Gale, Karlach, and Shadowheart eyed you with concern as you walked back to the camp. Usually you were singing or whistling a tune, cracking jokes to relieve the tension.

Instead, you were focusing on how you would break the news to Arabella that her parents are dead and she is all alone.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Astarion paces around his tent, trying to distract himself from the pit of fear in his stomach. You had never snapped at him that way- usually you just roll your eyes at him and give him a chaste kiss with a soft, “I understand if you don’t want to go, but I would appreciate it if you would come along.”

He wasn’t sure why Arabella and her parents had been a sensitive subject or why you had insisted on looking for them when they were likely already dead. No one survives the Shadow Cursed Lands without a light source and mediocre tactical skills.

That didn’t stop him from rooting for you though- he hopes he is wrong and that you come back victorious. He wants you to be happy. Astarion enjoys seeing you succeed because that’s when you flash that brilliant grin that he has (silently) adored since the moment he met you. The reason he protested in the first place is because he knows how destroyed you would be if Arabella’s parents are dead. He doesn’t want you to hurt- for your heart to lose it’s optimism.

He hears you, Karlach, Shadowheart, and Gale come into camp. He steps out of the tent- hoping that you were able to achieve the outcome you wanted, that you would come parading into camp victorious.

He sees you talking to Arabella in a quiet whisper and he watches as your face contorts to hold back your own feelings as Arabella screams at you. He watches you take it- as she punches you in the stomach over and over. You just let her before she runs off. Withers says something to you quietly before you walk into your tent, closing yourself off from everyone.

Astarion feels stuck in the entryway of his tent. He doesn’t know what to do.

“Hey fangs,” Karlach says, offering a sad smile as she walks up to him, “you should probably know- they went over the rails after seeing Arabella’s parents.”

A look of confusion spreads across his face. What does that even mean? You were barely capable of hurting a fly!

“Like they became upset?”

Karlach nods with weary eyes,“They became upset and… well very, very, very violent.”

The tadpole behind his eyes begins to squirm as he allows Karlach to show him the scene.

He didn’t think you were capable of that much destruction. He saw angry tears slide down your face as you destroyed everything in your path. His gentle, joyful Cleric had broken in the House of Healing.

How ironic, he thinks bitterly.

He feels his own tears begin to prick his eyes as he watches you suffer through the battle- screaming and crying. He should have been there for you. He should have gone and let you be mad at him for disobeying. He hangs his head and pinches the bridge of his nose.

“She really needs you Fangs,” Karlach says to him, interrupting his train of thought.

Of course Karlach would say that as if it was the easiest thing in the world- like he hadn't been tortured and unloved for the past two centuries.

“I don’t know how to be what she needs right now,” he says in a soft voice.

It was true. He had only just expressed his feelings for you and he barely felt confident doing that to begin with. He spent two centuries seducing and manipulating whoever he could to survive. How could he be what you need right now? When he is just as much of a monster as the individuals that killed Arabella’s parents?

Karlach contemplates this, searching Astarion’s face as if the answer to all his problems would be there.

“You don’t need to do anything other than being there- tell them you are sorry. Tell them you were rooting for them because I saw it in your head. Tell them that they aren't alone,” Karlach pauses before saying, “And remind them that they are a good person- that Lliira wouldn’t abandon her in her suffering.”

Despite his fear and reluctance, he thanks Karlach for the advice and walks towards your tent.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Your body is shaking violently as your chest tightens and painful, silent sobs come out of your mouth. You are trying (and failing) to use your hand as a sound barrier.

It’s not about you, it’s about Arabella, you remind yourself, stop being so selfish.

Except the images are back, you are small again, helpless again, alone, and afraid. Despite your effort, Arabella has been given the same fate and in the same breath, you turned away from your Goddess. You lost yourself in the fight, you were aware of this while it was happening. You just didn’t have it in you to care anymore.

You hear footsteps approach your tent- you do the best to rub away the tears and snot.

It’s not about you.

You hear Astarion’s voice on the other side of the tent flap.

“Little love,” he says softly, “can I please come in?”

You laugh, your voice hoarse, “Come to tell me ‘I told you so?’ To gloat and laugh? If that is your intention, then no. You will need to wait one to five business days before you can do that.”

You don’t hear him laugh at your humorous response as he usually does. He enters the tent and you feel him sit down behind you, his legs on either side of yours. He’s tense as he puts his arms around you from behind, pulling you in between his legs. He slowly relaxes against your body, putting his face in the crook of your neck.

��I’m sorry Little Love. I wanted to be wrong. I just knew how much it would… hurt you if the outcome wasn’t… well.”

You sniff, choking back a sob as he begins drawing shapes on the back of your shaking hands.

“It’s okay my love. You can let it out. I’m here for you. You aren’t alone.”

Despite how clumsy and awkward it was said, that sentence alone broke whatever composure you still had. You cry and scream into your hand as Astarion holds onto you as if you are about to fly away and he is your anchor. Your breath is shallow and it’s hard to breathe as you suffocate on your grief and panic. You feel him ask for access to your mind, wanting to know how to help. So, you show him and you let all your grief pour into your cries. You feel his own tear mix with yours as he cries into your neck as he endures how you feel with you- as he watches your whole life fall apart because of one ambush over and over again.

He continues to trace patterns on your hands, asking you to focus on him and what he is doing, reminding you to breathe as you do for him when he is distressed.

You begin to calm as you focus on his voice, focus on his delicate fingers tracing your skin, and for once, you don’t feel so alone. You scoot forward, gently removing his arms , and turn around to face him, your tearful eyes meeting his.

He grabs your face gently and kisses your forehead as silent tears roll down both of your faces. You look down at your hands before speaking.

“I thought… I thought I could help Arabella be reunited with her family,” you say in a gravely whisper, “I had hoped she wouldn’t be alone like I was, but now…”

You suck in a harsh breath and look at your hands, “Gods, I am naive and stupid.”

“No- you do not get to talk about my favorite person that way,” Astarion says sharply.

You look up in surprise at the intensity of his words. He matches your eyes with a look of adoration, guilt, and a ferocity you have never seen before.

“Little Love, you are not naive and you are not stupid,” He pauses, to kiss one of your hands and intertwines your fingers together, “you are so good without trying because that is who you are. You experienced hardship and you didn’t let it destroy you. You didn’t become a monster.”

He looks at your face to gauge your reaction. You sit quietly, letting him continue to speak if he chooses so he does.

“You… you are amazing and a bright light in the darkness. You are my moon, my compass, and you have shown me parts of myself I didn’t know existed,” he clears his throat before continuing.

“ I hate to see you hurt, but I promise I will be here to help you through your suffering,” He stares into your eyes intensely, “for as long as you will have me.”

You pause, taking in everything he has just said to you. You felt like a star dying, exploding in the cosmos. You feel evil and wrong for the violence you inflicted on the Sisters and Malus in your need for revenge. Your actions were not of Lliira's will.

“I don’t know if that’s who I am anymore, Star. I engaged in senseless violence… I don’t think Lliira will forgive me- and if she does, it won’t be easy to obtain her forgiveness,” you say glumly.

He grabs your other hand in his and offers a soft smile.

“Then we will work together to get you back into favor with your Goddess and I will remind you everyday who you are until you believe in yourself again,” he says before leaving a chaste kiss on your lips.

You smile despite yourself, your chest glowing with warmth as you stare into his eyes. You know Astarion detests the Gods, but the fact that he was willing to help you made your eyes tear up again. You are horribly desperately in love with him and as much as you want to tell him that, you practice restraint. There is a time and place- that time is not now, not when the relationship just began.

“And what if I need it everyday for the rest of your Immortal life?” You say half-joking and half-afraid of his answer.

A wide, genuine grin spreads across Astarion’s face as your words register in his mind.

They want me to stay. They want me to be by their side-even when this is all done.

Astarion pulls you into his lap, your legs straddling his hips as he pulls you into him and presses a soft kiss against your neck before laying his head on your shoulder.

“Then I will stay by your side. Forever.”

#astarion x reader #astarion #baldurs gate 3 #baldurs gate astarion #astarion x you #astarion x gender neutral reader #bg3 #bg3 spoilers #bg3 astarion #bg3 tav #karlach

299 notes · View notes

amorgansgal · 3 months

Text

Not What, Who

Decided to write a little fic based on my post on being an oblivious fuck and how funny it would be for Tav to entirely miss what Halsin was getting at during Moonrise Towers. I've done this with a gender neutral tav and used they/them for pronouns, so hopefully anyone and everyone can enjoy their tav being clueless!

Hope you enjoy!

Halsin x G/N Tav

“Oh!” Tav said, looking utterly delighted and Halsin smiled at them. It felt like they had all risked so much to get to this point, to have Ketheric killed and the shadow curse lifted, he almost daren’t even admit to Tav how much he cared for them, how much he had been won over because they cared for him and everyone else. Halsin had asked a lot of them, he knew that, especially given they had their own worries and concerns. Yet here they were, still talking with everyone who had gathered at Moonrise towers, still making sure everyone was alright, making Jaheira laugh and undoubtedly making half the harpers and flaming fist soldiers want to either marry them or offer Tav a place within their ranks! But it felt like a good time to at least hint to Tav-

“You have a crush!” Tav said, beaming.

Halsin laughed a little nervously. Perhaps it was just the turn of phrase, he hadn’t expected them to respond like that but then-

“Who is it?” Tav asked enthusiastically. “Go on, tell me! Please! I promise I won’t tell a soul, your secret is safe with me!”

Oh gods, they’d not picked up on the hint at all. Tav thought he liked someone else and before Halsin could even say anything else, Tav was already scanning the room presumably for potential candidates. They leaned their head closer to Halsin. “Is it Gale? I think he’s pretty handsome and he likes magic of course, so you’ve got something in common there. Though I would’ve thought he was a bit too obsessed with books. Not that there’s anything wrong with that or that you don’t like books, but you know, you like being out and about and Gale’s happy with his tower and books everywhere. Hmm, Karlach? I can see you getting on with her and you did say you were good with the larger ladies!”

He couldn’t seem to conjure any words, either to convey to Tav that it had been them he was talking about or to deny it was anyone else. “I… uh…”

But Tav’s attention was suddenly distracted by the return of Dame Aylin and the reuniting of Isobel with Aylin. Tav smiled, “I’m just going to make sure Aylin is alright after that fight, I’ll be back in just a minute.”

As Tav left he caught Astarion’s eye who had apparently been watching and listening in to the entire conversation. The man was outright snickering and strolled over to Halsin. Halsin finally cleared his throat. “I think Tav might not have quite caught what I meant,” Halsin said.

“No, in fact I think it went soaring over their head! You might want to be a little more direct next time!” and with that the vampire spawn went off to talk to Shadowheart, leaving Halsin to gaze at Tav and trying to figure out how he could tell them what exactly he had meant and when it would be best to do so.

#halsin #halsin silverbough #bg3 halsin #halsin x tav #halsin x g/n tav #halsin x g!n tav #halsin x gender neutral tav #astarion

146 notes · View notes

anacdoce · 3 months

Text

I Wish

Chapter 1 - Under the moonlight

Pairing: Astarion x you (f!reader, implied sorcerer)

Rating: T

Word count: 2k

Warnings: some angst; hurt; after the events of the game

Summary: Astarion fills his heart with guilt, thinking he is unworthy of your love and is trying to push you away from him.

a/n: This is my first fanfic writing and I'm a bit nervous about it. So please let me hear your thoughts about it.

This chapter functions like a prologue for the rest of the story, because initially it was supposed to be a one shot thing. But then my brain couldn't stop there and I have already some more material written after this.

At last let me make some mentions here: first of all let me thank to @bloodlessdarling who kindly let me use her beautiful photo of Astarion, which inspired me to write all of this chapter. Second, I want to thank to @wilteddreamsofbaldursgate for her kind words, encouraging me to share my writing. And to finish let me thank my husband, who patiently has been dealing with my Astarion obsession for the past few months and for his reading and helping with this fic (english is not my native language and I was never confortable on writing in it).

Read on ao3

Next chapter

Astarion sat by the fire, reading, a routine he had maintained for the last few months of your life together. But something is off. You can tell.

For a few days he has been avoiding you. He doesn't seem interested in talking or sharing moments of intimacy with you. Sometimes you catch him glaring at you, but as soon as you exchange eyes with him he just pretends that he is doing something very important that has nothing to do with you. And you started to get worried.

This isn't the first time, though.

Since you have dealt with the absolute and got free from the tadpoles, you have been on a hunt for a cure for him, to make him able to walk in the sun again.

Gale is helping, researching every tome that he can put his hands on, and you have followed every lead, no matter how small it was. You know that you would do anything for that man. But until now you haven't discovered nothing, and sometimes Astarion gave in to the frustration. And you understood that. You understood when he was not in the mood for joking or talking. You understood when he looked at you with sad eyes and a fragile smile, saying "Don't worry Sweetheart, I will be alright. This will pass..." But in the middle of everything, you were, always, his safe place. Astarion always looked for your lap to recover and regain strength to restart. Never before did he avoid you. So, you are worried.

As you wander through your thoughts you catch him staring at you, with a sad guilty face, and just like the last few times you caught him doing that he just looks away from you.

Enough.

You want to know what is happening, what is he thinking, why is he acting like this. You can't stand feeling apart from him any longer. Unless... unless that is his wish, to be parted from you.

"Astarion?"

"Yes?" he responded, not lifting his eyes from the book.

"What's wrong, Love?"

He shifts in his chair, uncomfortable. You can feel his tension across the room. His breathing is heavy. "Wrong? Why would you say that?" His voice is low, cold, controlled.

"Are you avoiding me? You don't talk to me, don't look at me. You haven't touched me for days by now." You tremble. Your heart paces. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

He closes his book. You see him shutting his eyes, his hand gripping his book tightly. His stern face, half illuminated by the fire, and you feel, in that moment, he is preparing to shatter your heart in a million pieces. "Yes. There is something, I should have told you sooner. I think..." A pause. He finally looks at you. His ruby eyes piercing yours strongly. "I think this is not working."

Silence.

You feel numb.

All of your world is collapsing. Your head is spinning. If you were not sitting down you would have fallen. "Why are you saying that? I don't understand." You manage to say.

"You will thank me in the future."

Furious, you lift from the chair "Thank you? Why are you doing this to me? Why are you hurting me like this? I love you so much..." And I thought you loved me too.

He lifts his head meeting your broken gaze. “I… Just… Don’t argue, please.” You sense a little tremor in his voice. He clears his throat and continues his sentence. “Accept my decision and that there is nothing you can do about it. You don’t believe in it now, but you will be grateful for this.”

As you hear this words dragging from his mouth, you feel your legs starting to betray you. You lose your strength and fall on your knees, already sobbing. In that moment Astarion, instinctively, gets up from the chair and stretches out his arms, as if to catch you while you fall. But he stops himself half way, leading his hands to the head, grabbing his hair instead, seemingly desperate to maintain control. You can feel him struggling with himself. What is he struggling with? What is he doing?

That’s when you see, just briefly, the pain in his eyes, that pain you are so familiar with.

"Astarion, do you love me?" Your lips trembling.

"That doesn't matter." He replies, breaking eyes with you, staring at the floor.

"Astarion, look at me." He takes a moment, like he is gaining courage to do it, and when he finally meets your gaze again you can see how destroyed he is. "Do you love me?"

"I…”

“Please, don’t lie to me.”

“I do, deeply... more than anything." He finally answers.

You feel your heart racing, pain in your chest. All you want to do is to embrace him. Feel him in your arms. He loves you still. That's all you need to know. "Why are you pushing me away?"

"You deserve someone better. Someone that can give you a real life."

"Please don't say that. You are everything to me, I would do anything for you!"

"I know! That is the reason! That is the problem!” He shouts in anguish. “That is why I'm doing this. I don't want you to pass the rest of your life pursuing something that doesn’t exist! Carrying a burden that is not yours to bear!”

“What are you talking about? What burden? I’m so happy with you, our life together is perfect! I couldn’t ask for more.”

“Is it? Perfect? How can you say that? I am a bloody vampire and we live in the darkness, hoping that one day I may find my cure! I lost count of the trips we took to look for some vague clues, founded in ancient tomes or whispered by dubious people, just to find nothing!”

“Yet.” You interrupt.

“Yes. Yet! But I fear that day may never come… and I can’t stand to look at your disappointed face every time we reach another dead end. It breaks my heart… it’s unbearable.” He sighs deeply. “I see the hope fading in your eyes every time, the hope of living in the light again, seeing the sun! All because of me. ”

“Oh my sweetheart, is that really what you think?” His suffering was real. Here he is, again, thinking of him undeserving of your love, of your caring. If only you could give him your heart for him to guard it, for him to understand that none of that matters.

“I don’t think, I know. Who would want to live in the darkness forever? I wouldn’t! But I have to. You don’t. This is my burden! I don’t have an option. But you have. I can’t drag you to this life any longer. You deserve better.”

He was an empty soul after this. This must have been consuming him for days, keeping his mind full of doubts, making him feel selfish and unfair.

But he couldn’t be more wrong…

You get up from the ground and walk to him, resting your hand on his face, making him close his eyes at your touch. Your warm hand, in his cold skin.

You wait until he is ready to look at you again. You give him a soft smile, full of tenderness and understanding.

“I’m so sorry, my love, if I made you feel that way, but I think you misunderstood my feelings deeply. I know that you are a master of perception, but I think you failed that check, though. Miserably.” you giggled.

“Oh stop it… I’m serious.” Astarion said, rolling his eyes.

“I know, I’m sorry. Now, seriously, If I ever seemed disappointed it was not for me. It was for you, because I know how deeply you want to see the sun again, to live in the daylight! I just want you to be happy! Fulfilled! And if I am the one who can help you achieve that, I will gladly do anything, for the rest of my life, to give you that gift… as long as you want to pursue this, I want it too.” You pause. Looking for his hands, you hold them, caressing them softly with your fingers, feeling his hands holding yours firmly. “And I don’t want better. I don’t need better. There is no better! I want you! I want you, Astarion.” You kiss his hands, gently, taking your time. “As for the rest… I don’t care if we live our lives in the darkness of the night. I like it that way to be honest. As long as I can be by your side it doesn’t matter, really.”

“You are too kind my dear…”

“It’s not kindness, it’s the truth. Let me show you something. Come!” Still holding one of his hands you lead him outside, to the open field in front of your cottage, illuminated by the full moon light. As you reach outside you present him the sky, lifting your arms to it.

Astarion frowned his eyebrows looking at you suspiciously. “So, you wanted to show me the moon, my darling?”

“Yes. The stars, and the moon, yes.”

“Just perfect, Love… thematic, if nothing else.” He grumps in a bad mood. You want to laugh, but you control yourself. He looks so adorable when he gets mad at you.

“I’m going to tell you something that I never told you before. Do you know that I love how your hair glows with the moonlight?” As you say this you intertwine your fingers in his soft hair, brushing his silver curls. “And your skin? You don’t seem to realize how beautiful you are under the night lights, you are like a star yourself.” You gently stroke his long, pointy ear with your fingers, admiring him in all his fragility and beauty. “So please don’t tell me this is a burden. I choose you. And if not seeing the sun again is the price to be paid, be it. I will live with you in the dark of the night, forever, because I don’t need any other light than yours… you are my light, Astarion.”

His forehead meets yours, and his eyes are wet with small tears. His hands on your small back, closing your body to his. You feel him breathing deeply, absorbing you. There is no safer place than in his arms. You have everything you need, right there. “You silly girl. Why didn’t you say none of that before?”

“Oh… I don’t know, I never thought you would like to hear it, really, knowing that you want to see the sun so badly again. I only wish you could see yourself like I see you, how perfect you are with your imperfections.”

“But you see, I’m starting to get there. To know myself through your eyes. Some days are harder than others, with all of the memories of my past pursuing me… Sometimes it is difficult for me to leave all of my bitterness and resentment behind. But some days, some days I know I am much more than that. And you helped me achieve that. I am forever grateful to you. For everything that you have given me, and still do.” He lifts your chin to reach your lips with his, giving you a softness and tender kiss. “I am sorry… forgive me.” He whispered, still touching your lips.

You cup his face with your hands, feeling nothing more than love for this man. You never loved anyone like you love him. And you never will.

“There is nothing to forgive. Just promise me that you will talk to me if you are ever haunted by those kinds of thoughts again.”

“I will do my best, my dear.” He embraces you again placing his face in the crook of your neck, as you rest yours in his chest. “I never wanted to lose you, you know? Just the thought of it makes me sick… Thank you for always being by my side. I love you so much!”

“And I love you too, more than anything!” You feel his embrace tightens around you.

“Will you stay with me? Will you be mine even if that means never seeing the sun again?”

“I will. And I am yours until the day that my heart stops beating.”

#astarion #astarion ancunin #astarion bg3 #bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 fanfiction #astarion x you #astarion x tav #astarion x female reader #astarion x f!tav #astarion x f!reader #astarion x female tav #astarion fanfic #ana writes bg3 fanfic #astarion romance #fic: i wish #spawn astarion

70 notes · View notes

itsybitsylemonsqueezy · 7 months

Text

You know what, fuck it: Baldur's Gate 3 Thoughts.

(The world is so so bad right now, can't even name all the bad things, so fuck it, no more bad feels, just some nice garbage right now)

I really love that the big 3 pairings all kinda arrive together:

Lae'zel and Shadowheart are already trapped on the ship together, like they are both trapped by their beliefs. They both know more about what's happening than anyone else and are also perhaps the most frightened.

Astarion and Gale show up stuck and as potential bait. They're both concealing some pretty big problems. The only way to succeed with them is to trust them despite this. And they both badly need to bond with others so they can survive their ordeals.

Karlach and Wyll actually already have a relationship, just one founded on misunderstanding. They can each empathize with each other in ways the others can't and adjust quickly to thinking of a previous adversary as a friend. They both have so much going on that when they arrive on the Sword Coast, they just resettle into business as usual. They've both been misused by those with control over them and seek to break that control, even if that doesn't fix everything, even if it means more loss.

They're all good ships, I love them. And all the other combos are good too, there are no bad options here, but I'm a bit of a sucker for these. Honestly, really appreciate having an entire party of bisexuals. I love that so much <3

Gale and I are the same person ha ha ha FUCK

I do have fic ideas, potentially for Gale & Astarion and Lae'zel & Shadowheart (spoilers below)

Like, I actually have a lot of feelings about Shadowheart being a complete dick to Lae'zel while she goes through a crisis of faith, only to eat pigeon pie later when she gets a crisis of her own.

And I'm obsessed with the idea of Lae'zel learning how to be comforting as she watches Shadowheart crumble apart, as she loses all sense of identity. Because at least Lae'zel has that. Lae'zel lost a lot in parting from Vlaakith, but she didn't lose who she was. Indeed, she left in defense of who she was, in defense of what she knew to be right. Shadowheart doesn't even have that. And it's a wild thing that comes over you, to feel like you've fucked up and lost and to find someone you can actually help. I think it would be a really cool and beautiful thing to see, Lae'zel helping Shadowheart find the pieces of herself. That would just be really, really good.

And then there's Problematic Old Man Yaoi over here

Maybe what I love best about Gale and Astarion is how much fucking WOULD NOT solve it

Like, some people just need to fuck it out and then it's all good, you fixed the issue

And 100% fucking would not solve their shit. Like, it would help, or it certainly wouldn't not help. But it'd only help like... max 20% The rest has to be solved by Talking, Using Your Words, Talking To Other People No Not The Imaginary Conversations, and Admitting When You're Wrong.

I also love that this is true no matter where you think they get together.

Like, let's take Act I: I cannot IMAGINE how Astarion could talk Gale into bed that early. Gale "Never Nude" Dekarios who's never had a crush on anyone who wasn't Mystra. He'd be shaking and fumbling just trying to ask Astarion on a date. And Mr. Emotionally Available over here, who is not ready to be vulnerable in any sense, who uses sex as a crutch because it's so familiar and so easy to dissociate from... yikes, what a combo. Poor Gale would be sent reeling by the hot-cold of it, he'd act insane those first few days after sex as he tries to make sense of how Astarion said yes to everything, but didn't mean it, but also he did? So should he pursue that or leave it be? Is the best choice to let Astarion thaw in his own good time or obsessively work on cracking this because Astarion clearly needs help and just doesn't want to ask for it? Stupid question, OBVIOUSLY the second! I... instant explosion. God, it would go so bad. Honestly, the good version is Gale resists the invitations and instead Astarion sulks for a few days over his blue balls or just fucks someone else, thus giving Gale a new case of mixed signals to obsess over. Jesus, we're just never going to escape that are we? Wizards gotta fixate.

Act II: In which Astarion chooses to ignore his own problems by instead arguing with Gale about his. Not because he's invested, merely because Gale is clearly being an idiot. Gale at first demurs, refusing to be argued out of his guilt, but then when Astarion becomes more insistent, counters with why Astarion cares so much? This would inevitably erupt in some kind of sexual encounter, but the fighting wouldn't stop because despite getting laid, Gale is still sure he's right and Astarion is still sure he's right. Dick actually can't solve this today. The camp mournful of ever finding a solution, they would like to sleep peacefully again someday.

Act III: Make or break time. Both Gale and Astarion escalate as the threat of death or destruction looms ever nearer. Gale now just as dead set on stopping Astarion from destroying himself as Astarion is on stopping Gale from destroying himself. Same threat, very different outcomes. Gale keeps looking at him with those damn puppy eyes and whining about "he'll regret it instantly" and "hate who he becomes" and "I can't stand to see that happen to you" or whatever. Obnoxious. And Astarion keeps trying to convince him that Mystra was wrong, that she "manipulated and groomed" him and "didn't even give an explanation" which he's owed, or some such nonsense. As if an inhuman, all-powerful goddess was out of line for being afraid of mortal actions... wait, was that a logical inconsistency? Damn. I think Gale would convince Astarion first. I think deep down Astarion would hate to be a full vampire too much, I think they both know it, and when Gale promises to stand by him, to take care of him, to always protect him... As much as Astarion doesn't want to trust, knows he's a fool for trusting, he agrees. He won't do it. He won't take the power. Because, damn him, he believes Gale. And what would suck is Gale would go "Cool! I'mma become a god, I can protect you way better then!" like entirely missing the point. And Astarion would be galled, deservedly so, by the hypocrisy. But Gale's so caught up in how sure he's right and how sure he's wrong, he's not even listening. I think it'd piss Astarion off so much, he'd convince the whole camp to kidnap Gale so he can't go sacrifice himself, full "He won't get the chance to kill himself because I'll do it first!" Until we finally get to the Nether Brain and... Astarion lets him go. Because that's the point. Trust isn't real if there isn't a choice. And as much as he hates the fact that Gale might choose what he doesn't want, he has to let him do it on his own. And I think that'd finally break through. That simple act of trust and sacrifice and playing willing to lose would finally make Gale go "Oh... oh god, what was I thinking? This isn't right." The fact that Astarion loves him more for the flawed and fallible person he is than for the heartless god he could become... That would finally make Gale see, Mystra was wrong all along and she never loved you because she can't really love. Not like that. Yeah. That's a personal favorite of mine.

But there's also a lot to be said for post-end, Astarion with nowhere to go and Gale going "You know... I've heard of spells that allow creatures form the Underdark to safely experience sunlight. We could try some of those, I don't see why they shouldn't work on you." and Astarion being floored and not even having the words for everything he feels at that offer. And then the raw sexual tension of living in his tower together as "friends" as Astarion mercilessly pines and Gale blissfully carries on, unaware until Tara finally goes "That's it! I can't take it any more! I'm going to live with your mother until you two sort this out!" and flies off. Leaving Gale to go "Huh... wonder what she meant by that?" Meanwhile, Astarion can hardly stand to be in the same room with Gale because he ends up basically drooling and yet, he can hardly stay away, staring obsessively from the shadows, creeping around wherever he is, looking exactly like the jealous lover he longs to be. Also, Astarion and Gale's mother! Oh, I can't wait! Too funny!

Oh, tower days with Astarion would be so good as he tries to adjust to having a life again. A slow, painful process, but very deserved. He'd need an occupation, he can't have nothing to do. Maybe he can look into magistrating again?

Anyway, there's some thoughts. I haven't finished Act III yet, but I'm close so I guess careful with those Act III spoilers.

Also, for anyone still reading, if you want to do me a solid: There exists somewhere a Bloodweave fic where Astarion walks in on Gale with a construct of himself only there's a twist... and the author is Very Correct about this twist. if you know, you know. But I can't find this fic anywhere! Please help a girl out if you've read the one I'm thinking of.

#bg3 #Baldur's Gate 3 #Bloodweave #some thoughts for y'all

117 notes · View notes

reulagach · 4 months

Text

So for the past month or so I have been completely obsessed with The Season by Linnetagain on AO3. The music choices in it are so clever and really add to the storytelling, so I decided to compile a couple of playlists of the included music.

The Complete Playlist is every song specifically mentioned in the story:

The Highlights Playlist is a narrower selection of key songs, such as ones they skate / perform or where the song's lyrics are specifically written in to the prose:

I will keep them updated as the fic updates.

If you haven't read the fic yet, but you like Bloodweave (or just BG3 fics in general), I can't recommend it enough. "Bloodweave but where Gale is a celebrity musician and Astarion is a Russian ex-Olympic figure skater who are paired together as the first same-sex couple on ITV's Dancing On Ice" is such a mad genius concept and it works SO WELL. Read the fic on AO3.

I don't think Linnetagain is on Tumblr otherwise I would tag you, but if you see this, @linnetagain IS on Tumblr! Thank you SO much for sharing your art with us. I think you're amazing, massive kudos to you and your beta readers and helpers ❤️

#bloodweave #bloodweave fanfic #bloodweave fic #astarion #gale dekarios #astarion x gale #gale x astarion #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #bg3 fanfiction #fanfic playlist #fanfic rec #the season #linnetagain #Spotify #goldenboys #let the boys kiss

40 notes · View notes

punderdome · 3 months

Text

The Fine Print

Ok, so this is the first of many things for me: this is my first fic, this is my first time writing romance (no I do not count whatever weird smut I tried to write at 13) , and I've literally never posted on Tumblr, so you're going to have to just help smooth the edges a little. I would love any amount of help, but here is my first chapter and it's a good thing it's SFW

Major edit: The exposition (Chapter 1) should read a little bit differently now and a lot clearer. Huge thanks to @bitethedevil, @a-true-neutral, and @mslanna for help with tons of different things like writing structure, POV, and tumblr in general. I was able to start many of their corrections for Chapter 2, but I went back and gave another round of polish for Chapter 1.

Read on AO3: [Chapter 1]

Synopsis:

Rapidly running out of options, Tav signing Raphael’s contract was the only way to free herself from the tadpole and defeat the Elder Brain and save her love from his eventual ruin. She should have paid closer attention to the wording of the contract before she signed it. Now, Tav gets more than she bargained for, and the devil has come to collect.

Chapter 1: The Devil's Den

The Devil’s Den. She had met with Raphael many times before but was never filled with this much dread. He was some sort of evil cambion bard, verbose but not foreboding, versed in iambic pentameter not ill-omen. He was rhymes and lullabies, cherries and sulfur. He seemed like he should be a character in a play whispering out his dastardly plans to the audience while standing on stage right.

The desperation of the Illithid voice in her mind raged and howled as she walked across the balcony to the ornate door carved with the likeness of a devil. The rage shivered down every vertebra one after the other, demanding to be heard. She refused it.

“What are we doing here?” Gale demanded. “You can’t honestly want to make a deal with the devil.”

Tav eased him gently, running her hand down the Karsite scar on his chest. “He helped Astarion understand the Rite, he might have other information at a price we’re willing to pay.” She knew what he wanted the last time they visited: the Crown of Karsus. Gale’s latest obsession.

“You know what he wants,” Gale pounced. “He wants the Crown.”

“And my Prince requires rescue.” Lae’zel reminded him firmly. “The perfumed trickster inside will provide us the means to rescue him for only a small price.”

Gale’s jaw clenched firmly. Ascension. She knew Gale thought that would solve all their problems. In his mind they would be together for eternity, wanting for nothing, infinite in power. Gale had dreamed of what Goddess that Tav would become. At night, when they lay together, he told her of his imaginings of her as the Goddess of Regrowth. The Goddess of Winter. The Goddess of Snow. She was all of these goddesses, currently residing in flesh in his mind, and he wanted her to pick one. He would trace the path of her white scales on her human form and regale her with stories of how much they would shine when she was with him in Elysium.

“This deal will only spell trouble for all of us,” Gale countered. “You will save your people from the Grand Design only to doom them further.” Tav could feel the pinpricks of the Emperor’s eager agreement to her paramour, but she did not care to remind him mentally that he never gave a shit about Lae’zel’s people or any of them at all.

Raphael’s prior deal had been tempting. They would gain the tools needed to defeat an Elder Brain and would finally be free from the looming dread. The Grand Design would be over. Raphael even promised to throw in a lavish dinner at the House of Hope at the conclusion of their adventure, allowing her band of mighty heroes to celebrate their victory in style.

Gale couldn’t ascend. Gale couldn’t have that power.

Gale couldn’t leave her.

She took a quick look behind her and saw the panic on his face. He was trying to hide it behind a mild scowl and his glorious beard. Tav knew Tara hated that beard, but she melted every time the lips within went to her neck and the bristles tickled. He quickly shook his head in warning not to knock at the door.

Tav didn’t want to lie to Gale, but she knew the terrible row they would have if she told him the truth. She had come to read Raphael’s deal, and likely, sign. Their terrible predicament would have a path to resolution. A path to redemption , Raphael had called it. Forceful eviction of their other tenant. She had purposely left Wyll and Karlach back at camp, knowing how disapproving they would be of what was about to occur. She wanted to have left Gale back as well, but he forcefully demanded that wherever his beloved went, so he too would go. So, she reluctantly agreed to drag him along to a meeting that would break his heart and destroy his dreams. The dread pooled deeply in her abdomen. This was the only way to be free of the tadpole - or it was the only way that relieved the guilt at her lack of faith.

Lae’zel stood proud, eager for her to knock on the door and grant her the path to Prince Orpheus’s freedom. When Tav hesitated, she urged her on. Enter. Go.

Tav could feel the sweat on her palms. She took a deep breath and whispered silently to herself. You know Infernal. He won’t be able to trick you with hidden loopholes. She researched Cania and Hellfire magic at the university, though sorceresses were often not accepted in academic circles. Her research was about to be put into practical use, though she wished the stakes weren't so high.

Gale’s face had drifted from furious into stony. His rage had hidden but not extinguished behind his eyes. He knew they were there about the Crown, despite whatever story she tried to tell him.

Tav ignored his gaze and placed three firm knocks on the door.

She had to do it. Gale would just have to deal with the consequences.

“Come in,” the deep voice purred from behind the door. Tav opened it and entered.

“Ah, my most cherished client.” Raphael’s face was smug. He was wearing his human guise and gave a grand gesture of welcoming with a smile. “Please, please, come partake of the Devil’s Den where we have no shortage of sins to enjoy.”

Raphael strode to his desk, crossing his legs as he lounged in an ornate chair behind it. He gestured again to three ornate chairs opposite him. Tav seated herself in the center, but both Gale and Lae’zel elected to stand.

“Now tell me,” he purred. “What can I do for my most favored client?” He cocked a brow and leaned back, relaxing into the silence.

Tav wasn’t going to be put on the back foot so early into a negotiation. She leaned forward and rested her head in her hands. “I thought you always claimed to be a good host.” Raphael’s eyes narrowed before widening again with a smirk. He snapped and a bottle of wine appeared with four goblets. He waved and a mage hand poured and served each glass. Tav took hers but the the mage hand had to leave the other two in front of Gale and Lae'zel. Tav and Raphael each took sips from their own goblets, but the ones before the other two were left deliberately untouched.

“I imagine you are not just the famished coming to feast, but there is a reason you have come knocking at my door.” Raphael countered, now that his abilities as host could not be challenged.

“We have come to deal,” Lae’zel finished for her. “We have come to negotiate for the Orphic Hammer.” Raphael’s brow lifted quickly and his smug smirk brightened. Tav stiffened, and she thought she could audibly hear Gale turn to her in betrayal and anger. What she had wanted to hide from him was now completely out in the open. She was going to accept the devil's deal. Tav tilted her head slightly to Gale and saw his face completely red and his hands shaking. His eyes were forced closed. Tav winced at how much this must be hurting him.

“Aha!” Raphael exclaimed triumphantly. “Are you now?” His voice held a cocky musicality. He always knew they would come knocking at his door, and as much as it hurt to admit it, he was always right.

“Yes, Devil. We have come to negotiate for the Orphic Hammer," Lae'zel repeated, becoming more annoyed and impatient at Raphael's lazy interactions.

Raphael turned to Tav directly, still holding her goblet and asked again. “You are the only one with whom I wish to make a deal. Are you here to make a deal with me?” Smugness radiated off of him. Tav paused, and Lae’zel gave her a look that was surely going to result in Gith expletives if Tav wasn’t forthcoming.

She swallowed and refused to look back at Gale who was likely trying to summon multiple Scorching Rays into the back of her skull.

“Yes, Raphael, I am here to make a deal for the Orphic Hammer.” Tav spoke plainly, knowing that any attempts at subterfuge would result in a much more complicated contract to read when the actual signing came.

Gale immediately stiffened, and she knew she there was no way to deny that she had lied to him on several occasions. She knew him well enough to understand that his fears were contorting and consolidating into a verbose rage that probably would require a dictionary the morning hence. He stormed out of the Devil’s Den to return to camp without another word spoken between them. Tav hadn’t wanted him to be here for this, and she felt a heavy pang of sadness that he had decided to join.

“My Little Mouse,” Raphael started, the excitement in his voice palpable. “Then I believe we should get started with the contract I prepared.” He snapped his fingers and a pitch black piece of parchment appeared in his hands. Even in his human guise, his grin widened and his eyes glowed. Tav felt like she could feel flickers of his cambion gaze break through his glamor. He handed her a document aglow with the fiery runes of an Infernal contract.

“I had this prepared for you, in hopes you would return.” Raphael rolled up the scroll and passed it to her. She unfurled it, starting to read the runes within. The infernal script danced in front of her as she tried to parse its meaning, but this wasn’t her first time reading and translating Infernal language. She rolled it out fully over the desk to get a better scope of what legalese awaited her. Raphael leaned over, amused at her reading. Her fingers traced firmly over the runes, reviewing the translations.

“Do you require assistance?” Raphael taunted. He leaned back in his chair again, waiting for a reply.

“No.” She didn’t need his help. He would have demanded additional clauses if she agreed to any additional services. Raphael would never do anything for free. The devil always received what was owed to him.

Lae’zel was waiting eagerly but impatiently. Her armored boot tapped against the wood floors of the Devil’s Den. Tap. Tap. Tap. Orpheus. Tap. That energy seemed to radiate from her impatience.

Tav blinked and took a deep breath, hoping Raphael wouldn’t notice the momentary lapse of focus. His brow raised slightly, before he relaxed again, appearing disinterested. The language was intentionally complex, written to confuse rather than educate. She took her time and traced each rune. She occasionally sipped at her goblet while ruminating on the meaning held within the runes. They were sharp and jagged and angular - nothing like her Common language writing which was looping and gentle. As with all Infernal text, the true meaning was held deeply within.

Raphael’s smile widened as she persisted. His Mouse was a clever one.

“Shall I translate?” Raphael taunted. They both knew that he had to be honest in their dealings, but every moment of weakness would set her back some sort of irrational and irritating demand of his.

“Raphael, I am only taking my time.” Tav breathed in and out deeply, internally trying to regain some sense of control over the accursed document while remaining calm in front of the accursed devil. The distracting foot taps from her Githyanki colleague were not helping.

“Of course, my dearest Mouse, we have all the time of the Hells.” Raphael sat back and continued to drink his wine. He studied her with uncomfortable concentration as she continued to read.

“Crown for Hammer… Unable to invade mortal realms…” Tav started to roughly translate aloud as she read her contract. Raphael raised an eyebrow but didn’t say another word as her monologue continued. “Soul collateral… Tavara Aureum.” Tav looked him straight in the eye, though she was numb from so much horrible legal writing. “Why just my soul?”

Raphael checked his nails uninterested in her question. “Why would I want the others?”

“Are they safe from you if I fail?” Tav responded nervously. The Little Mouse was fatigued and nervous, and Raphael found this state delightful.

“Would you like them to be collateral, my darling?” he responded again, still uninterested in her concerns.

“No,” Tav responded firmly. Lae’zel gave an affectionate and approving noise, though it seemed more like a tut than a hum.

“Very well.” Raphael finished falsely examining his nails and continued to watch his favorite client read. She paused at the bottom of a page on some sort of footnote referencing an appendix. Oh Gods, how many appendices did he include?

“Something wrong?” Raphael challenged. The Mouse bit.

“No,” Tav fought back. She thought back to all of her wizard colleagues who disregarded her because of her innate sorceress gifts of winter and storms. Ignorant sorceresses could not study Hellfire. Dragon Children were too spoiled to be able to truly understand Hellfire. Raphael clearly believed in the same fashion that Little Mousies could not understand his writing.

There was one clause that caused a multitude of rereadings. She had a hard time deciphering it and didn’t know its meaning. “Pater….” she almost tried to sound it out, the rest of the word huddled in her chest, locked in ice. “Pater…” she repeated again. It was part of a line, a subclause for Raphael’s duties to her. He had agreed to protect her something something pater something.

Tav could do this by herself, and she definitely didn't want his help. He was not going to translate, and he was not going to read it to her like she was a child.

Raphael watched her intently. Lae’zel’s foot tapped impatiently.

“Give me the quill, I’m ready to sign,” she declared triumphantly.

Wordlessly and with an unreadable expression, Raphael handed her a quill and ink. Lae’zel’s eyes burned through her as she signed the contract. The resident devil clasped his hands in joy before snapping and handing Lae’zel the Orphic Hammer.

“Thank you,” Tav deadpanned, fatigued and still frightened of Gale’s reaction.

“Thank you, Devil.” Lae’zel didn’t bother waiting for a response before heading back to camp. She was out of earshot before Raphael responded to her. Delight was a new look on his face that she had never seen before.

“You are most welcome, my Lady.”

*****

When she returned to Gale at camp, he was hiding: fuming in his tent. Tav approached him, hoping she could lure him forth so they could speak.

“Gale, please come out. I want to talk,” she pleaded quietly, so the entire camp couldn’t hear her.

“You didn’t want to talk before, and I certainly don’t want to talk now,” He bit back angrily. She paused, sadness biting at her and a horrible feeling of tension lay beneath her sternum.

“Please, Gale. Please talk to me.” Her voice became lower, and before she realized it, she was softly begging him to leave his tent or welcome her inside.

The reply became short and stiff. “There is nothing for us to talk about.”

“Gale…” she took a sharp breath. “I did it for you.”

Incensed, he sharply stood up and ripped the tent flap open to stare at her in the face. Fat tears were rolling down her cheeks and her look pleading. Mocking, he raised his voice so everyone could hear him. “For me? You threw away everything that I wanted and dreamed of. You discarded all of my gifts and all of my ambitions for what ?” His voice was now a shout, emphasizing his final question. All of her companions in the camp turned to stare at the two of them.

“Prince Orpheus!” Tav could hear Lae’zel call from behind her. Gale’s face became red and angry. He was obviously not expecting a third party to intrude.

“My love,” Tav pleaded, her voice missing the any confidence she might have had at her negotiations with the devil. The confident, competent front she wore meeting with Raphael had eroded, leaving behind only a weak vulnerability. Tears continued to fall, freezing on her cheekbones when they hit patches of scales.

“Do not call me your love. I gave, and I promised. You took, and you keep taking. You stole godhood from us, Tav. We could have been together for eternity.”

“Gale, Mystra would have ended you. I couldn’t let her hurt you.”

“Why will I never be good enough for you?” Gale challenged. He prodded his finger at her, which lightly struck the sensitive patch of scales on her chest that mirrored his own scar from the Orb of Karsus.

“You were always more than enough…” Tav continued to cry, but her pleas went unheard. Gale’s face became red again and he turned away quickly.

“I will help you defeat the Elder Brain, but then I never want to see you again, Tavara Aureum.” He threw his hands up in a grand gesture of exasperation. “I’ve wasted too much of my energies on you. We will get rid of these tadpoles, and then that’s the end of us.”

“Gale… Waterdeep…” Tav started to wail. Some sort of dam inside her broke, her magic swirled angry and chaotic. Her fingers crusted with ice that she could no longer control.

“When all of this is over, I am going back to Waterdeep. You are not coming with me.”

Gale retreated back into his tent, closing the flap with an unmistakable huff. Tav slowly retreated back into her tent, gingerly closed the flap, and lay motionless on her side for some time. Long after the darkness was heavy in the sky, she continued to cry hail on her pillow.

#raphael x tav #bg3 raphael #raphael bg3 #raphael the cambion #bg3 the fine print

29 notes · View notes

oflights · 2 months

Note

I just found Glory today and I love it so so much I’m obsessed!!!! I’ve always found that the authors I love the most also have excellent taste so do you have any bloodweave recs for me to devour while I pine away for a new chapter?

hi! ahh i'm so happy to hear this! thank you so much, i'm incredibly pleased you're enjoying Glory. 💕

recs!!! i definitely have recs *cracks knuckles*

disclaimer: a lot of these are bookmarked from when i was still shy and just reading and getting into this pairing on my own and very New (though i am still very New, to be fair) and basically i need to get better about commenting lol. but i rec these wholeheartedly! and also obviously these are just my opinions, i am still reading lots but haven't read everything.

these are all complete; i might do a separate post with wips i'm following if there's any interest!

in absolutely no order, and below the read more for length:

The Fourth Ring by Vamillepudding; this is the first fic i immediately sent to all of my friends and forced them to read because i loved it so much. inspirational, hilarious, beautiful. no tadpoles AU, my beloved

We're Here and It's Now by houseofthestars; one of my favorite bloodweave authors, i recommend basically all of houseofthestars' fics but this one is a fave. mind the tags/kinks but ahhhh. this is also my absolute favorite descriptions of a beautiful post-game underdark life for them, it's so perfect. one of my favorite gale voices, too, he is everything to me

Might Just Make It by lavvyan; another favorite author of mine!! this is an absolutely adorable and heart-wrenching little AU that was one of my major "oh" moments for these two. love it

Corner of Sail Street and Sea Lion by lavvyan; again, lavvyan, truly a fave!! this is such a fun, frantic post-game fic where astarion races to waterdeep to rescue gale from a calamity. i simply love when astarion is forced to confront the fact that he cares UGH like he's kicking and screaming and stamping his feet about it but he cares, damn it! it's so good

Weakness Coming On by bloodweaving; one of my fave in-game fics; it's just so incredibly plausible and hilarious. astarion absolutely tortures gale in this because he just cannot deal with how much he likes him and that is just. yes exactly perfect, no notes

you might love me to death by tuffgreg; this in-game dynamic is incredible and complex and delicious. amazing use of the act 2 backdrop, aka my favorite act.

Dysfunction by nematode; god i could read 100k more words of this version of them! the exploration of these sex dynamics is sooo good. they are just perfect here, i adore this fic.

embracing the sun by vannral; reccing all of vannral's bw fics but this one has my heart. it's gorgeous and funny and so sweet. also shadowheart is my secret second fave companion and the use of her in vannral's fics is always wonderful.

if my heart stops beating, we'll bleed the same way by AgentBuzzkill; angsty hurt gale is an obvious fave of mine but the astarion in this fic is who really kills me; i have so many feelings about him immediately post-cazador and the weight of what he has to deal with, and this makes it so much heavier

Bliss and Ignorance by ultranerdyandiknowit; i'm still drafting a comment for this fic because i love it so much. heed the warnings and tags but please give this one a read. it's gorgeous and heartbreaking and the miscommunication just makes so much sense. again, act 2 is my favorite part of the game and this leans into act 2 gale so well and i love it so much

wow okay i will be shutting up now 🙈

#bloodweave #bloodweave fic #bloodweave fic recs #fic recs #reccing is so fun and also so nerve-wracking because it's like 'here these have all awoken something in me and now you know how and what'#while also hoping they awaken something in all of you!!#here are my tastes; perceive them

32 notes · View notes

whaledenwtf · 10 months

Text

Astarion x Reader - In the Candle Light

I'm OBSESSED with Baldur's Gate 3. Between Astarion and Halsin I can't choose, so I'm writing both and then will write a threesome fanfic soon!! All my Baldur's Gate 3 fanfics will be uploaded on Tumblr and AO3 so you guys can download them! Thanks for all the love on the Halsin fic <3 Here's the links for the Halsin Fanfic: Tumblr || AO3 The AO3 upload for the Astarion Fanfic: AO3 LINK

Warnings: afab!reader and Male Smut, Oral (Male Receiving), Praise Kink, Biting, Blood, Body Worship (Male Receiving), Angst and Fluff (Astarion deserves the world and I will give it to him)

I was pretty good at writing Astarion in the Halsin fic, so I tried to keep that energy here, but he is significantly softer. I don't normally write angst but I felt it fit with Astarion. His personality is fractured between a mask and his pain, and I felt that the complexity of his character (and his trauma) deserved to be explored. What was supposed to be a smutfest became something so soft and gentle that I couldn't help but tear up while writing it. I hope you guys enjoy this!!

WORD COUNT: 5624

Despite the tadpole in your brain, that was the least of your concerns. Your ragtag group has been bringing their problems to you. Since you became the leader in this journey to deciphering your illithid problem, everyone has come to you to solve their own problems. You love your companions, but holy shit, you're one person.

Well, maybe two if you counted the little bastard wriggling in your brain.

"As I was saying, there is not enough of anything for me to feed off." Astarion tells you, annoyed at your lack of attention. You roll your eyes.

"Alright, alright. You can have my blood tonight. Will that shut you up?" You can't help but be rude to the vampire. He was the fourth person today to ask you for something. You already accidentally gave Gale a valuable artifact to absorb, the wrong artifact; Karlach had accidentally burned your arm when her flames went out of control and then Shadowheart and you had gotten in a fight over her Shar worship. You didn't expect to be travelling with a group of overgrown toddlers, but here you are.

"Easy there tiger, don't need to get mad at me." Astarion tells you, wide eyed. You sigh, rubbing your temples. You feel guilty, you do. Today has just been testing your very limited patience.

"I'm sorry Astarion. I'm just exhausted, and everyone keeps coming to me for their problems." You move your hands to cover your eyes, rubbing them with the palms of your hands. He is silent next to you. He... does feel bad for you. He's been watching you struggle with everyone's burdens, especially since you had been also helping them alongside the tadpole issue.

"Darling, you gotta tell them to leave you alone." You whimper at his words, shaking your head.

"These people need me Astarion, how can I tell them off?" He scoffs.

"Like this: Hello, kindly fuck off." You take your hands off of your eyes and look at him with a smile on your face.

"It isn't that easy." Astarion shrugs.

"It can be." You giggle.

"Yeah?" He looks at you with a smirk.

"Of course, it would never work on me. I know I'm your favourite." You smile, looking down.

"What if Halsin is my favourite?" You both glance over the tall elf. He is playing with Scratch, petting him as he sits in his corner of the camp. Astarion scoffs.

"The tree hugger? Darling, come on. Look at me-" He stands up and gives you a twirl, before bowing in front of you. "I'm marvelous!" You blush, chuckling.

"Maybe I like big beefy elves who carry me out of danger!" That was a lie. Halsin was certainly attractive, but your attentions have always been held by the sarcastic vampire next to you.

"I can carry you out of danger sweetheart, just ask." He tells you huskily. You blush again.

"Would you now?" You ask him coyly, looking up at him. He smirks before holding your chin.

"Of course. You're my partner in crime, darling." You smile at his words. He's not wrong. You've spent the most time with Astarion. He has enthralled you since his dagger was held against your pulse point. Your conversation is cut off when Wyll walks up to you sheepishly. You can feel dread crawl up your spine.

"Sorry to bother you (Y/N), but I'm having a problem-" Astarion cuts him off with an eyeroll.

"I'm sure a big boy like you can deal with it." Wyll's jaw drops open.

"I-" Astarion cuts him off again, frustrating the human turned fiend.

"Look at her, Wyll. She's dealing with all of your guys' shit. Give her a break." Wyll scrutinizes him.

"And not yours?" Astarion scoffs.

"What shit? I'm perfect." Wyll rolls his eye.

"Right. Well, I'm sorry for bothering you (Y/N)." He does sound apologetic, turning to glare at Astarion before turning away. You look up at Astarion.

"Thank you." You whisper to him, before giving him a big hug. His body goes rigid. You let go of him and walk off towards Halsin, needing some very needed puppy cuddles from Scratch. Astarion stays in place, the shock rooting him in place.

He can't remember a time in his undead life that people showed real love to the vampire. The last two hundred years of his life have been riddled with suffering and torment. But you! You have not stopped showering him in love and respect. He craves it now, craves your love and attention. He can't help but want to always be near you. He can't help but feel jealous of Halsin. He watches you laughing with the gargantuan elf as you pet Scratch, and bristles. He turns and walks towards his tent, upset. How could he compete with someone who could walk in the sun? Someone who can love freely, and so openly? He was tired. 200 years of living in the shadows, only to find freedom and then once again not feel good enough. His feelings are brewing up a storm of conflict in his head. You were useful to him, his ticket to eternal freedom, but furthermore you were important to him. You made him feel things he hasn't felt in a long time; if he was honest with himself, he doesn't remember the last time he felt such adoration for someone else. He hides in his tent for the majority of the night, brooding.

Your conversation with Halsin was extensive, talking about nature and his worship of Silvanus. It was refreshing to speak to someone about something other than their problems.

Halsin hugs you tightly. "Have a good night, little one." He kisses your forehead before heading to his tent.

By the time you ended your conversation, it was late in the night and most of your companions were sleeping. You decide to go check in on your resident vampire. You walk to his tent, where the flap is closed.

"Astarion." You whisper from the entrance. Not a moment later, he opens up the tent.

"Oh, so you're done with the tree hugger?" He asks annoyed. You giggle into your hand, trying to muffle the sound as to not wake the others. He smirks at that. He may not be as tall or buff as the druid, but he can always make you laugh. Astarion: 1 Halsin: 0, he thinks to himself.

"Yes I am. May I come in?" You ask him sweetly. He nods, lifting the flap of his tent so you can get in.

"You know darling, you're not a vampire. You can come into my tent anytime." He tells you charmingly. You blush softly at the tone of his voice. Always the charmer.

"I know that. I just don't want to intrude on your alone time." You always said these things, such caring things. You cared about his privacy and autonomy, and his undead heart sung your praises.

"You can never intrude." He says quietly. Truthfully. You smile at him, and he basks in its radiance. If he had the opportunity to continue Cazador's ritual, he's not sure he would. Despite his want to walk in the sun again, he wouldn't need sunlight if he had you by his side. Your brightness rivals the sun and all the stars in the sky.

"I appreciate you saying that, little star." That was his favourite nickname you gave him. Little star. You made him feel special; worth it. He chuckles.

"I'm not that little." He tells you huskily. You blush at his words. If he could have the image of you blushing at his words embedded in his brain, he would. At least it would be better than the bastard parasite that's currently taken his body captive. Always the captive.

He gets this far away look, which worries you. You are the only one who notices these looks, and it always upsets you. Despite not knowing much about Astarion's past, you know it was dark and painful. You put a hand on his arm and he flinches. You back away concerned. He clears his throat before speaking.

"Sorry darling." He sounded so vulnerable, your heart ached. Every beat of your heart was hammering in your chest, yearning for him; yearning to protect him. From Cazador, from his past.

"You don't need to apologize to me, Astarion. I shouldn't have touched you like that without your permission." His chest hurts. He'll never be normal.

"You did nothing wrong, sweetheart." He wishes you could understand how perfect you truly are. His eyebrows furrow. You step closer, cautiously.

"May... May I hug you?" Your voice is hardly above a whisper. His eyes get misty, and he nods. You rush forward, gripping him tightly. Slowly, his arms going around you. Your head leans on his chest, feeling sadness as you do not hear his heart beat. As the hug continues, he leans his head onto yours, just... holding you. As he inhales, he can smell Halsin on you. His heart breaks again.

"I may not know your past, but I'm here for you little star." You tell him quietly. If his heart could beat, it would have sped up. He felt your care for him, but he couldn't help his mind from racing. What if you did learn his past? You would not regard him as highly as you do. A single tear falls from his eyes, and then a couple more. You felt the dampness on your hair, and you hugged him tighter.

"You're too good to me." He whispers, his voice cracking. Your heart shatters again. You are filled with such hurt, such anger, that he is broken. You can't wait to crush Cazador's skull with your boots. You pull away, and see the heartbroken look in his eyes. His hands go back to his sides, clenching tightly, as if he was trying to hold himself together. His tears continue to fall, even though he tries to will them away. He doesn't want you to think of him as weak. You gently put your hand on his cheek, and he savours the feel of your soft palms against his skin. Your thumb goes to wipe his tears.

"Oh Astarion. You deserve so much better." Your eyes well with unfallen tears, his pain becoming yours. He shakes his head.

"If you knew what I have done, the people I have hurt, you would never think of me the same." You continue to wipe his tears with your thumb, looking at him with love.

"Little star... I don't care for your past actions. Who you are today, in front of me is what matters. You deserve the world, and have been forsaken by it. I can never think of you poorly. I- I care about you too much." The confession slips from your lips, and you accept the repercussions. You know that if he doesn't return or want your affections, you would still help him find himself; his purpose. You loved him enough to sacrifice your happiness for his, possibly your entire being.

"Oh darling." He whispers, his hands moving to cup your face. You lean into his touch, eyes closing. Without thinking, he rests his forehead against yours, basking in your presence.

"If you don't feel the same way, I am okay with that. I will still be by your side- if you want me to be. I just want to take your burdens on my shoulders. I want to help you find your purpose; find yourself." Your eyes open to look at his ruby eyes. The shined so beautifully in the candlelight. You try to commit him to memory. You don't know if your mind's eye can fully capture his beauty or his being, but you know you would spend the rest of your life trying.

"What more could I want than what's in front of me?" He whispers softly, before pushing his lips to yours. It wasn't just a regular kiss. Despite its innocent nature, it was a lover's embrace, a connection between two souls. Your love for each other was boundless; but for just a moment, a sweet and tender moment, you felt it and its overwhelming power. You both pull away, breathless. You look into his eyes with such adoration, he can't believe how he had never noticed before. Despite being a rogue, it was you that stole his heart and took it as your own.

"I love you, little star." His eyes widen at your confession.

"I-darling-" He is stunned, your words locking him in place as if you had casted Hold Person and Silence at the same time.

"You do not need to say it now, nor ever. I just wanted you to know I will always-always care for you. In the darkest corners of Faerûn my heart will sing for you. I cannot fathom a world where we didn't meet, and my heart shatters when I see your pain. Let me carry your burdens, Astarion." You tell him passionately. He kisses you again, teeth clashing against each other. You hold him to you, with promise of never letting go. When you pull away, you can see the softness in his eyes.

"Even in the darkest corners of Faerûn? That's where I'll be, darling." You giggle. He smiles widely. You brush a curl behind his ear, before smiling brightly once more.

"You're so beautiful like this; when you are happy." He looks away from you, blushing.

"Now you're just flirting, darling." You bite your lip, looking at the blush on his cheeks.

"So what if I am? Can't I tell the man I love that I find him beautiful?" His heart sings again. Hearing you say that you loved him brought him such comfort, such relief that he felt as though he had sprouted wings and flew into the heavens.

"If you continue my ego will grow." He says, turning back to look at you. You roll your eyes.

"Can't have that happen, can we?" He chuckles at your sarcasm. You pull away from him, before taking a seat on his bedroll and patting the spot next to you. He sits, stretching his legs out in front of him.

"So... now what?" He asks you. Astarion never felt so unsure of what to do. He was always 10 steps ahead, and this uncertainty made him uncomfortable and concerned. You lean your head on his shoulder. He leans his head against yours, closing his eyes.

"Let us enjoy each others' presence. We don't need to speak. I just... want to relish this moment with you." You tell him softly. He's never had someone in his bedroll without ulterior motive. This felt like a new chapter in his life. A chapter where you are the main object of his affections, and one where he can put the past behind him- or at least try. He felt rejuvenated, and he smiles, eyes still closed.

"Enjoy each others' presence? I like the sound of that, darling." The rest of the night is silent, occasionally broken by soft conversation with tender words. At one point, you fall asleep on his shoulder. He has never felt so safe. He tucks you into his bedroll, before moving to sit in the corner of his tent. Before he could, your hand grips his.

"Please, stay." You ask softly, eyes open lightly. He nods, before tucking himself into the bedroll. You don't change your position, holding his hand. He curls his fingers to link with yours, and you spend the night innocently holding his hand, fingers linked.

He closes his eyes and lets himself fall into his meditative state, feeling safe and loved.

The next day was not as stressful as the day before. Karlach had already apologized the day before, but she came to you with Clive and told you that you could hug him and pretend it was her hugging you. You were so touched, that you shook your head and told her "when we fix your engine, I will give you a hug that rivals Clive's." And she cried happily nodding. Shadowheart apologized for her outburst, and spoke about her past, and how Shar was all she knew. You nodded, rubbing her arm and telling her you forgive her. And Gale! Gale felt so awful absorbing the wrong artifact that he gave you some of his most prized spell scrolls as an apology.

You decided that everyone deserved a rest day, and they were all grateful for the reprieve. Everyone moved around camp, hanging out with another or doing their hobbies. You spend the morning playing with Scratch and looking at the map, deciding where to venture for the next day. Halsin walks up to you, smiling.

"Hello little one." You smile at him.

"Hi Halsin." You tell him. Astarion hides from behind a bush, eavesdropping on your conversation.

"I wanted to speak to you about something of a more... private matter." He tells you, biting his lip. You turn your head left and right, before leaning in.

"Is everything okay?" He chuckles, nodding.

"Excuse my forwardness, but I can't go on another day without telling you this. Your beauty and radiance rivals that of nature, and I was wondering if you would spend the night with me underneath the stars?" You blush, eyes bulging and mouth wide open. Astarion shakes with fury. For once, for once, he had someone who cared about him. Now she'll be taken away by some-some bear! The poetic tone of his words was beautiful, Astarion admits. Astarion: 1 Halsin: 1, he thinks sulkily. He leans further into the bush, trying to listen to your answer.

"Halsin! I never expected you to feel such a way about me. I'm shocked." Astarion bites his lip, frowning. His anxiety skyrockets. What will he do?

"Of course, little one. Your beauty is captivating. Not just your body, but your soul and mind. I'm truly enamoured." Fuck him and his Parnassian speech. Astarion: 1 Halsin: 2... Asshole, he thinks to himself.

"Oh Halsin. I'm honoured you think of me so. As much as I enjoy you and your presence, my heart is with another. I'm afraid I can't pursue anything knowing my love lies elsewhere. I'm sorry." Astarion's eyes widen. Of course, you told him you loved him last night, but what if you were just trying to be nice? What if you loved another? Before he could spiral, he hears Halsin hum.

"Nature's love is all encompassing, but I understand if you would not want to pursue multiple relationships. Is the one who holds your heart Astarion?" Astarion shuffles even further into the bush, almost falling out into the open. He sees Scratch come close to sniff the bush. He shoos him away, trying to focus on the conversation.

"Yes, he is. I love him more than I love myself, if I am honest. I cannot imagine a world where I would not chase him to the ends of the realms." Astarion's eyes widen. It was him! He was the one who made you feel such a way. Of course, he knew your words last night were honest, but he was never sure someone could be so certain in their affections; especially when they involved him. His heart soared, and he smiled so wide that his cheeks hurt.

"Ah. I can understand how I can not fit in the equation. Your heart is bound to him and his nature. I can't help but feel jealous that he is the object of your affections. However, I am glad you found joy in another. Thank you for telling me the truth. May the Oakfather protect you both and your love." You smile at the gentle giant, before hugging him.

"Thank you Halsin. For what it's worth, I know for certainty you will succeed with expelling the Shadow Curse and find love- or multiple loves." You both laugh at your words, and he walks away, waving at you before going back to his tent. You hear shuffling and a bark before Astarion appears in your view. You smile at him softly.

"Hi little star." He walks up to you and hugs you tightly. You stand for a moment, shocked, before hugging him back.

"Is everything okay?" You ask him quietly. He hums.

"I... overheard your conversation with Halsin." You giggle quietly.

"Overheard? I knew you were eavesdropping Astarion." He backs away, acting shocked.

"Eavesdropping? Darling I would never!" Lae'zel cuts him off from her tent, sharpening her weapons.

"He was hiding in the bush." Astarion gives her an icy glare, and she smirks at the sour look on his face. He turns to look back at you, pouting. You put your hands on your hips and grin at him.

"Innocent until proven guilty, sweetheart." You chuckle. Before he could speak you cut him off, wide eyed.

"I forgot I said you could feed on me yesterday-" You slap your palm on your forehead. "I'm so stupid! You'll feed on me tonight, right?" Astarion hums, smiling.

"An offer I certainly cannot refuse. Can't wait, sweetheart." You blush at his words, looking down. His hand rubs up and down your arm before he walks back to his tent. Lae'zel chuckles at your blush, so you turn to stick your tongue out at her.

The sun had set, bellies have been filled and Gale's telling a wonderous tale about his time in Waterdeep. While everyone is distracted, you walk to Astarion's tent, a path you are intimately familiar with.

"May I come in?" You whisper at the tent flap, waiting for him. He walks out, grabbing your hand. You blush at the contact, you can't help it.

"Once again darling, you are always welcome." He pulls you in gently. Once in the privacy of his tent, he kisses you softly, like a lover. When you pull apart, you look at him starry eyed.

"Wow." He chuckles at your dumbfoundness.

"You're not the first to say so. Continue the flattery~" You slap him in his chest gently, before laying your hand on him.

"Little star, that sarcastic lilt will get you in trouble one day." He smirks.

"Hopefully you'll be the one punishing me, darling." You blush. Your skin feels hot, and you can't help the images he's putting in your mind. When you are quiet for a moment too long, he chuckles.

"Are you thinking about it darling? You punishing me?" You smirk up at him, blush subsiding.

"I'm only imagining you under me, begging for more, little star." His eyes widen, and he swallows. You grin at his reaction.

"I-well. Didn't know this kitty had claws..." Astarion says, nervous. He'd never heard you reply in such a way, and it was affecting him. He couldn't help it, the idea of you and your love enveloping him in a lovers embrace... he has been hurting for so long, but to have another care for him is enticing. Imagining the amalgamation of that love with you, under him... or on top, as you said; it fills him with excitement and desire.

"I just want to show you how much I care, sweet one. Take your burdens from you, to hold you.... Astarion I love you. I always will." His eyes get misty, but he successfully wills his tears away. He wants you, so much. More than anything in his life... possibly more than eradicating Cazador from Faerûn.

"What is stopping you?" He asks quietly. His hands find themselves on the sides of your head, holding you. His thumbs caress your cheeks. Your eyes close gently, lashes fluttering.

"I want you to feel my love and feel safe. I want to explore us... you... at your pace little star." You tell him truthfully. He couldn't imagine himself loving you more, but you have done it. It must be unnatural how light his soul feels hearing those words.

"Please explore what you'd like." He whispers into your ear sensually. You open your eyes, gazes locked. You look into his red orbs, noticing the small specks of burgundy in his eyes.

"Astarion, are you sure? I do not want you feeling pressured for the sake of my pleasure. I could wait a thousand years and would not regret a single moment." He kisses you, pulling you down so you are both kneeling on his bedroll.

"You make everything so easy. The most impossible tasks seem possible. I want to love you, hold you. (Y/N), I want you. Body and Soul." You seat yourself on his lap, and his arms wrap around your waist. You kiss him on the lips, tongue asking for entrance. He allows you, and your tongues softly roll against each other. You take and give, and he does the same. Like the tide, you push and pull. You draw your kisses away from his lips, before kissing down his cheek, then reaching his neck, giving it extra attention. He moans quietly at your ministrations. You begin to grind on him softly, your body touching his like a whisper. He whimpers when you kiss him on his bite.

"My sweet Astarion." You say against his skin, and he shivers. You pull away, smiling.

"May I undress you?" His tongue feels like lead, so he nods. You hum, pulling off his nightshirt. Your hands caress his muscles and the sinew that ties them together, grazing his chest, his abs and then his arms.

"You're more radiant than the stars in the sky. Do you know why I call you little star, Astarion?" He looks at you adoringly, as you show him and his body love and respect.

"Because of my name?" He asks quietly. Astarion meant little star... For elves, you would only get your adult name when you hit adulthood; his name, much like him, was forever petrified in youth.

"That is an aspect of it, yes." You giggle. "I call you little star because you are exactly like a young star. Full of energy, strength, power. Most would look over you, because you are not the largest star in the sky; but I see you as someone who can grow. You have a long life ahead of you, and that path will be bountiful. I know it." You hum, kissing his chest. You have somehow made his disdain for his youth simmer away. He feels unstoppable, knowing that the one he loves holds such a high regard for him, and sees a bright future for him.

"You're incredible." He tells you honestly. You smile at him, running a hand through his perfect curls. You tug gently, and his head tilts back. He is looking at the ceiling of his tent.

"I pale in comparison to you, my love." You kiss his neck again, starting at his bite. Your kisses trail down to his chest, spending an ample amount of time worshipping his nipples. He groans and pants, thighs quivering and his hips rocking back and forth. His member, hardening under you, catches your clit and you moan. You continue your descent, kissing his stomach and showing him love.

"May I?" You whisper.

"Please..." You undress him carefully, kissing his skin as it gets exposed. Once he is fully undressed you smile at him.

"Would you still like to continue?" His mind has forgotten his past, all his suffering. You in all your beauty and care have taken precedence in his mind.

"We can only continue if you're undressed, darling." You nod, undressing for him. You're both nude, and admiring eachother.

"You're stunning." He whispers. You go back to sit in his lap, grinding down on him.

"That's my line." You jest, and he smiles at you. Your efforts to keep him comfortable have made him warm; and needy. He bucks into you, and you moan, head tilted back. He begins to kiss your neck, mirroring your actions from before.

"May I?" He whispers against the column of your neck, and you whimper.

"Please do." He bites into you, and its euphoric. The first time he bit you all those nights ago was painful; but tonight, in the lowlight of his tent, you only feel warmth and love. He moans into your neck, your blood tasting like the finest wine. He pulls off of you, licking up the blood from your neck.

"You taste... delectable." Despite him talking about your blood, it was arousing you. You bite your lip and his eyes track the movement.

"Have another taste." You take a bit of blood from your wound and rub it onto your nipples, before rubbing it on your chest. You put your bloodied fingertip in his mouth. He takes the finger in his mouth, licking and nipping at you. He moans at the action, enjoying how you are feeding him. You pull your finger out of his mouth with a pop and push your chest into his face. He spares not a moment to descend on you, licking and savouring your taste. His tongue laps at your nipples, one at a time. You whimper at the act, gripping his curls tightly. He takes one nipple at a time between his teeth, tugging lightly. The mix of pain and pleasure was enthralling, and you continued to moan, saying his name like a prayer. Once he has cleaned you, he pulls away, licking his lips.

"You're perfect." He tells you earnestly. You blush, before pulling yourself off him. You kneel between his knees, crouching down so you are face to face with his cock.

"I will show you how perfect you are." You whisper, before taking him into your hand. He is large, and your fist can barely close around his girth. He bucks into your hand, keening. You trail kisses up and down his length, eyes never straying from his beautiful face. You take the tip between your lips, licking at the pearl of precum. You begin to take him into your mouth, taking care to be gentle and slow. You wanted to make sure if he ever wanted to stop he could; his comfort and enjoyment taking priority over your own. One of his hands go to the back of your head, and holds your hair. You slowly go up and down his length, tongue swirling around and tasting him. His musk fills your nostrils, and the smell of bergamot and cloves envelop you. You moan around him, beginning to speed up. The hand in your hair tightens, and pulls you deeper until your nose is pressed against the tuft of white-blonde hair at his base.

"O-oh fuck, sweetheart." You begin to deepthroat him, going up and down. He pants, and pushes himself all the way at the back of your throat, and you gag. He chuckles breathlessly, before pulling you off him. Your spittle has covered your chin and the tops of your breasts.

"If we continue like that, we'll be finished too soon." You smile at him, before getting in position above him.

"You're such a good boy, little star. Can't wait to feel you." He never expected to enjoy praise, but the words coming from your lips make him whimper out. You take him in your hand, pumping him once, twice, before descending and taking him. Once you bottom out, you both moan out.

"O-oh Astarion." You whimper. His eyes are wide, trying to commit to memory the look in your face as he fills you deliciously. You begin to move slowly. He already feels so close, the safeness and love he feels for you keeping him on the precipice of satisfaction.

"D-Darling, oh gods, you're tight. Might not last much longer." One arm locks around your waist, while the other trails to where you are joined and rubs you. You wince, moaning loudly. You begin to bounce in his lap and soon he begins to thrust up, hitting you in your cervix and that sweet spot. You were close too, but you wanted to finish together. The rhythm you set is sweet but brutal, the sounds of your coupling loud, but not as loud as the expletives and moans leaving your lips.

He smashes your lips together, and your bodies are touching; almost melding together. Your pace falters but he continues to thrust, his hand rubbing your clit every time he thrusts deep into you. You whimper into his lips, and his tongue finds its way into your mouth, tongues battling and teeth clashing. His lips trail down to your neck to take a bite. As he tastes you, he continues to thrust. You are lightheaded, between his thrusts and blood loss. The room spins, so you close your eyes and focus on how Astarion makes you feel.

He thrusts up once, twice, then stops. His thumb rubs you and you finish together. Your cunt is squeezing him, and milking him of his seed. He finishes inside you, and separates from your neck to moan out and pant. Still sensitive, you move your hips and he groans out, the hand on your waist tightening enough to leave bruises. You chuckle at his reaction, before he does something unexpected. He takes the hand that was rubbing you to his mouth, and keens at the taste.

"Just as savoury as the rest of you. I cannot wait to devour you again sweetheart." You whimper at his words, and clench around him.

"I love you." You tell him, laying your head on his chest. His hand rubs up and down your spine, caressing you.

"I love you too darling." For the first time in his life, he has said words he knew were truthful, without being sarcastic. He knew that for as long as he was unalive, he would love you with all his heart.

END

#fanfic #fanfiction #baldur's gate 3 #astarion x reader #astarion x reader smut #astarion #baldurs gate #astarion my sweet angel #astarion ancunin #angst with a happy ending #smut #this is my love letter to Astarion #soft smut #he deserves better #i'd die for this vampire #anyways if you liked this let me know teehee

96 notes · View notes