#tav gets kidnapped and tadpoled

[attackmybutt]

So we all know how all the companions have been traumatized on way or the other and throughout the story they begin to heal, learn to cope and move past of all the trauma, and that Tav comparatively speaking is the more normal one of the group.

But, if we think about it, at the end of the game if Tav survived, they came out of it traumatized and never once throughout the game was Tav ever allowed (or allowed themself) to process what they just went through.

[telumendils]

me when villains create the hero who will become their downfall:

[madforhoran]

I'm gonna go off (cuz I can) as I wanna clear this up once and for all, hopefully. This post has been inspired by couple of my mutuals who are also trauma survivors.

These takes are still circulating:

Astarion cannot consent to anything because trauma & he cannot say No.

Astarion is forcing himself to have sex and the cemetery.

To start this all off, Neil is a god-tier voice actor and he's demonstrating perfectly well when Astarion is being honest or playful.

Instances where Astarion says No directly / implies it / expresses his disagreement because his boundaries are about to be or were crossed:

-> says No to Araj

-> says No to Tav (he tells Tav in-between the lines 'let's put a pause on sex' and if Tav misreads it and crosses his boundaries, breakup follows = "I didn't know how to say no, but I do now")

-> he refuses to take the astral tadpole

-> he doesn't wanna participate in an orgy when you take him to the brothel before his personal quest resolution

-> he's ready to rip a new one when Tav says his siblings should've kidnapped him

-> he doesn't wanna kiss Tav or continue the romantic relationship if they turn full squid

It is a player’s problem where they force or intimidate him into saying yes.

Instances when Astarion is being playful and lovey because he loves Tav:

-> how can I say No? (when it's just a stupid love test at the circus that doesn't mean anything)

-> how could I say No? (when Tav asks for a kiss, he's being a tease)

There is a clear tonal difference between these No's and situations above.

At the cemetery, he gives us the big beautiful speech where he finally answers "what do you want?" with genuine "You, I want you." and goes on how Tav cared, was patient, trusted him. How safe and seen he feels.

"I love you, I love this, and I want it all."

Now the big sentence which for whatever reason gets twisted that he's forcing himself to have sex & hasn't given consent. You've heard him say all of those beautiful words previously, in Neil's honest genuine tone. Astarion is being genuine and honest when he drops the high pitch.

"If a night of passion is on offer, I could be persuaded."

The man has poured his entire heart out there and is telling Tav [ONLY SLIGHTLY HORNY, NEIL] that he's ready to have sex. He's saying "if YOU are offering, then I'm up for this, to get down and dirty right here on top of my grave". If you tell him instead that you're not ready or you won't do it, he's taken aback and disappointed.

In the spawn!ending Astarion completes the arc of "what do you want?"

"What do any of us want?"

"I'm not sure, it's been so long since I got to decide what I wanted."

"You, I want you."

Astarion has trauma but he is a character with trauma, not trauma walking on two legs. You as a player are actively guiding him through it and when he gets it and asserts his boundaries you cannot just backtrack and say, wait a second you have trauma, you're not allowed to step out of your trauma bubble ever and you're not capable of consent.

It's like saying SA victims in real life are never going to be able to consent to sex (or anything for that matter) or ever move on in their lives from what happened to them.

[spacebarbarianweird]

Hi! Can I request either a fic or headcanon of romanced Astarion and a good aligned, Human tav having a fight about him doing the Ascension ritual (Tav being against it, and trying to gently make him see reason), then Astarion gets incredibly angry and shouts something awful (maybe the 'I hope you die screaming' or the ' the problem with what cazador did is that he did it to me' when she says ascending will make him a new cazador). She's hurt and shocked and retreats from the fight. She starts leaving Astarion in camp etc. given she thinks he hates her and she also is angry at him for still thinking lives are expandable. Then one night he gets kidnapped by his siblings and when he wakes up in the kennels he is sure he lost her forever now, and never see her again cause why would she save him? Only for her to come and save him from Cazador. Sorry for the long request! Could it be from Astarion's pov as well? Thank you!

Hi! It has been a long time sice I wrote reader instead of OC Tiriel! And sorry for making you wait for so long!

It's Over

Tags: hurt/comfort, angst

Thanks @themadlu for beta-reading!

Read on AO3

Masterlist

Headcanons

It's over.

Astarion's wrists bleed and he's been staring at the pool of blood for what feels like an eternity.

The tadpole took away his instant regeneration and now his torturers can enjoy the most peculiar spectacle ever.

Opening Astarion's wounds.

His skin is flayed, his face is covered in bruises. Pain is already numbed—the tadpole doesn't like its host being killed.

Maybe he can finally die?

A kick in the stomach forces him to vomit blood. Punishment. Yes, it's his punishment for tasting freedom. For breaking the rules.

The taste of love.

His siblings are watching the execution with undisguised gloating. Astarion is getting what he deserved. He never helped with their plans to escape—but it was him who slipped from their master's hands.

It was intended to be a lesson. Instead it's the best show they've seen in years.

A silver dagger is touching Astarion's face. He can feel the heat of the cursed metal. Marks left by silver are permanent.

It seems like his master is going to take the last thing Astairon owns.

His face.

Astarion silently weeps. His appearance is the only thing he has. His body, his face, his hands. The master needs them, doesn't he? Who will seduce the victims, if not the perfect- looking elf?

The master expects Astarion to beg.

He doesn't. The pathetic whimpers are stuck in his sore throat. He won't give them this pleasure.

Two months of freedom compensated two centuries of slavery. Astarion has self-dignity. He can say 'no'. He can stand for himself.

You taught him that.

The torture continues. And Astarion breaks down.

He screams. He yells. He begs.

The answer to his tears is evil laughter. They wanted a show—he is giving them one.

It lasts for hours. For days. And the two months of freedom fade from Astarion's memory.

It wasn't real. It never happened. It all was a feverish dream.

But Astarion knows it wasn't.

Your face, Your touches. Your love. 

The way you hugged him. The way you touched him. The way you supported him.

You were everything... and he betrayed you.

I hope you die screaming.

At first, you promised to help with the ritual, and he even dared dream about you by his side as he became a vampire overlord. But then, you started backing off. 

Bad idea. No one should make deals with devils. Who knows what Cazador promised in exchange for power.

Astarion cursed you, said every toxic word he had in mind. It was easy to hurt you—you were so vulnerable to him and he even felt sadistic pleasure in doing so.

He expected you to throw him away from the camp, but you just stopped talking to him. Left him alone with his thoughts and anger.

And then, his siblings came to take him.

Astarion was back in the dungeons. Beaten and humiliated without any hope of escape.

"Leave him," the master says. "We have things to prepare"

Astarion is finally left alone. He crawls in the darkest corner and curls there in the fetus position. He couldn't care less about his naked body.

He thinks about you.

He closes his eyes and tries to remember the moments you were together. Cuddles. Yes, cuddles. The thing he expected to like the least. Just two bodies intertwined with each other. No sex, no movements, no words. He could stay like that for hours wrapping around you like a weighted blanket and enjoying your warmth.

The treasure he lost.

Astarion smiles bitterly. You must be in someone's else's arms. Probably the wizard. Yes, you've chosen him because he will never hurt you. His body is warm and he doesn't harm your neck...

He enters the reverie hoping he will see you there.

The only thing he has. The only thing his master can’t take away.

"Oh for fuck sake!" he hears your voice. "What have they done to you?!"

Warm hands hug him and then he feels a cape wrapping his bare shoulders. "Gods, Astarion? Are you alright?"

"You ... You are back..." he mutters.

"Of course, I am!" you hug him. "We are in this together, remember?" you kiss him. “Drink!”

The scent of blood pierces his nostrils as you cut your wrist. He grazes in your skin and the divine essence gushes down his throat. 

You are here.

You are back.

You are real.

He pulls away feeling how his wounds slowly heal. “I am sorry,” he mutters.

You kiss his bruised lips. “Well, it did hurt. We need to find your clothes and weapons.”

**

Astarion collapses on the stone floor and weeps. He weeps two centuries taken away from him, his memory, his mind, his soul. His beating heart. He mourns his innocence, his body and his cries echo through the chambers.

Soft hands caress his shoulders. “I am here, I am here with you. You did the right thing.”

“It is all over, isn’t it?” he sniffs.

“Yes, love,” you kiss his cheek. “It’s over.”

--

Tag list

@tugoslovenka @marcynomercy @wintersire @vixstarria @not-so-lost-after-all @ashiro20 @theearthsfinalconfession @herstxrgirl @starlight-ipomoea @micropoe10 @astarion-imagine-archive @veillsar @elora-the-slutty-songstress @fayeriess @lumienyx @tallymonster @caitlincat-95 @tragedybunny @valeprati @lynnlovesthestars @marina-and-the-memes @waking-electric @ayselluna @connorsui @asterordinary @darkarchangel96 @locallegume @brainfullofhotsauce @coffeeanddonutscafe @my-queen-rhaenyra-targaryen @queenofthespacesquids @ednaaa-04 @dajeong

[world-of-shadows-and-music]

Just One Look

Here is a Soulmate!AU for Astarion where when you meet each other you see in color for the first time. He ended up winning the poll I posted with more than 50% of the vote! I do plan on posting a soulmate!AU for the other companions in the poll as well but I don’t have a timeframe for that. Not beta'ed, we die like men.

Summary: Astarion has spent over 200 years living in this grey colorless world, he didn’t think getting a tadpole shoved into his brain would lead to him meeting his alleged soulmate.

Pairing: Astarion x GN!Tav / Astarion x GN!Reader

Warnings: Typical violence, Astarion being Astarion, no use of Y/N

Word count: 348

Over 200 years. That is how long Astarion has been living in this cold, grey, colorless world. When he was young, he had heard the stories, how the world would blossom into unimaginable colors. He had even been hopeful once about meeting this alleged soulmate but once he was captured and turned into a spawn of Cazador he could not even dare to dream of hope.

Now it also was not in his plans to be kidnapped by illithids and have a tadpole implanted inside his skull but the for the first time since he could recall, he was able to feel the warmth of the sun on his chilled skin. He would take that as a win. After the Nautiloid crashed into the ground his only goal was finding out if there were any other survivors and keep himself alive through all this.

It did not take long, hearing voices carried on the wind coming from the wreckage. As they got closer Astarion called out asking for their assistance. The fall of footsteps approaching almost made him grin until his eyes met the approaching survivor. Suddenly, the world seemed to melt away and the only thing he could hear was static filling his ears. Colors came slowly; their eyes first, second their skin glowing in the sun light, the colors of their stained and singed clothes. Soon they were a cutout of color against the world of grey. Then the color started to bleed into the world around them, turning the sky blue and the grass green. It was wonderful and terrifying and if Astarion was still a living, breathing being he swears his heart would have exploded out of his chest.

Astarion’s soulmate seemed to be just as shocked as he was, just staring at him with wide eyes and their mouth stuck open as if saying ‘o’. He couldn’t deny they were pleasing to look at, Astarion felt as if he could stare at them all day but he could not handle the silence that grew between them, so he broke it.

“Well… Hello, Pet.”

[atrueneutral]

Feel free to just ignore this if the prompt is too horny but uh...

Mephistopheles having some fiends deliver a present to the boudoir (for Raphael or Haarlep). That present is a very confused, but also very naked, Tav who is all tied up with silk and has a collar and chain on her neck. (for her part, Tav isn't opposed to being in this... ah... position, but she'd have preferred Raphael or Haarlep be the one to have brought her here via invitation rather than... whatever this is)

I hope you don't mind a little humor! ---

Of all the strange situations Tav had found herself in (including the entire tadpole debacle), it was safe to say that this was the one of the strangest.

How it happened - well, frankly she’d been kidnapped!

It all started when she’d received a message from Helsik by way of a Scroll of Sending; the message wasn’t very descriptive outside of ‘please come to the Devil’s Fee at your earliest convenience’, and, thinking it was a job to add more (needed) coin to her pocket, Tav had gone immediately.

Into the Devil’s Fee she walked without a care in the world, only to have Helsik give her an empty smile and an emptier apology. Tav had no idea what the apology was for until two fiends burst forth from nowhere. They quickly rendered her immobile with a spell (before she could even think to defend herself), and she was subsequently blindfolded and spirited away.

By the time the blindfold had come off, Tav was naked.

Naked on a bed.

A bed in a boudoir.

A boudoir in a House of Hope.

Above her, a golden horned devil head was laughing at her predicament from where it was centered at the top of the velvet tufted headboard her back rested against. A lengthy piece of red silk hung fastened around its neck, and at each end were her bound hands. Her feet were in a similar state, ankles tied together by another piece of silk, and she was annoyed to feel a leather collar against the skin of her neck. Attached to the collar was a weighty chain that messily decorated the silk bedding.

It was an added frustration to see an unattainable, sealed note at the foot of the bed. She assumed it likely wrote out an explanation on why she’d been plucked and placed in Raphael’s gaudy boudoir.

For a split second, Tav thought to call out to Haarlep; the boudoir was mostly their domain, and maybe they would come and help her. But she wisened up and remembered that Haarlep’s definition of ‘helping’ was wildly different from that of a morally inclined person; she’d be inviting the incubus to tease her, grope her, and use her.

Which would be fine on a day where she’d been told in advance and had some semblance of knowing what-the-fuck-was-going-on.

It was probably in her best interest to call for Raphael, as embarrassing as the situation was. She expected he’d be equally perplexed by why she was in his House, naked, tied up, and in his bed.

“Uh, Raphael?” she called out meekly into the ether, thinking he could somehow magically hear her from wherever he was. “You, uh, around?”

After about a minute of getting nothing in response, Tav cleared her throat.

“RAPHAEL! You bastard! I’ll loot this place dry once I figure out how to untie myself!”

It took about fifteen seconds, but there was a burst of fire and embers - signifying the arrival of-

“What have we here!” trilled a voice that sounded vaguely like Raphael but assuredly wasn’t Raphael. “I thought I heard a guest yelling in the boudoir! And yelling without me?”

They tutted, and Tav inwardly cursed the gods.

“Not you…” she bemoaned. 

“Now why do you say it like that, little thief?” Haarlep faked a frown as they sauntered over to the end of the bed. The frown didn’t last; it flipped into a fiendish smile when they devoured the wickedly risque picture she made. “Have you gifted yourself to us? It’s good to see some results after master’s constant planning…”

“Aha! So it’s his fault I’m here!” Tav shouted like she’d deduced the perpetrator for a murder, but as Haarlep’s words further registered, the perpetrator suddenly looked like Raphael and the person murdered was her. “Wait - what do you mean ‘constant planning’?”

Haarlep continued to smile with mischief dancing brightly in their infernal eyes. They scooped up the note and slid a clawed finger under the folded flap, breaking the wax seal. Their gaze shifted from Tav to the words on the parchment.

The incubus grimaced. “And here I hoped you’d already signed yourself away to us.”

“Not today, I’m afraid,” Tav said. She awkwardly readjusted in her bindings. “What does it say? Who is it from?”

To her horror, Haarlep decided to join her on the bed with the note in hand. They crawled over, mattress dipping with each knee they took, and they situated themself over her so that their legs braced either side of her thighs - giving Tav a bird’s eye view of their barely clothed erection.

Haarlep (thankfully) shoved the note in front of her face rather than their crotch.

”I can’t read it,” she said dryly.

“Poor thing.”

To help, Haarlep read it out loud.

“Haarlep,

This mortal is a much better distraction to my son’s ambitions than you.

I suggest tempting her into a contract with your persuasive talents.

Lord Mephistopheles”

Tav swallowed. “This is a joke, right?”

Haarlep folded the letter and tossed it aside on the sheets. The back of their fingers came to caress her cheek. “Mm - no, little thief. It’s very real, as are you… here, tied up… helpless…”

“While that may be true…” Tav was beginning to feel nervous, and she resisted the urge to wriggle underneath them lest it provoke them. “Unfortunately, this situation isn’t as much of a turn on as it would be if I was here of my own volition.”

“It’s a turn on for me regardless.”

“Sure…” Tav officially hated the gods. She did not know how she was going to talk herself out of this with an incubus who was hovering over her restrained body with a hard-on, a lust-filled gaze, and an order to get her to ‘sign a contract’. She lowered her voice to a throaty whisper. “But you know what really gets me wet and wild, Haarlep?”

“Do tell…”

She raised herself up an inch by pulling on her bindings and stared at them with budding (pretend) lust.

“Not signing a contract.”

Was that jingling bells she heard entering the boudoir?

“Do you not want to stay here with me?” Haarlep purred, their hand trailed down to grip her chin while the other found and her collar’s chain. “You’d get to be master’s pet - my pet…”

They tugged up on the chain and Haarlep’s head moved in for the kill - intent on giving her an intoxicating kiss that would turn her to putty in their hands.

Shit.

“Ra-” Tav attempted to shout, but the cambion’s name was cut short by Haarlep’s smiling lips pressing against hers. The chain was given a light tug to force her closer, and their hot, forked tongue slid across the seam of her locked mouth… 

She did not know how long she could hold out; her lips were tingling in a pleasant way, her blood was racing, and the promise of pleasure was right there if only she would give in…

The lust she felt was no longer the pretend kind. 

“Haarlep, pray tell, who is your wayward plaything?”

Tav mentally and woozily cheered; it was Raphael!

“Was my warning not explicit enough? I will not tolerate you inviting in stray visitors because you’re bored,” continued her maybe savior. 

Tav could not see Raphael, as she was too busy being lip locked with a younger version of himself, and she wasn’t sure if he could see her with Haarlep’s wings and body in the way.

The chain went slack as Haarlep broke away. They relinquished their hold on her leash and discreetly swapped the chain for the nearby note. Between their bodies, the piece of parchment combusted into flames - destroying the proof of Mephistophele’s intentions.

Tav hissed as the melted seal dripped hot wax onto her chest.

Haarlep winked at her, and she responded with a glare.

Meanwhile, jingling boots arrived somewhere around the foot of the bed.

“Look who is here, Master!” The incubus said suddenly, removing themself from her body and moving over enough to reveal Tav in all her naked, restrained glory. “I wrapped her up like a little present! Just for you - specifically as she instructed…”

Heat crept up her body and flared in her loins.

Raphael, a talkative fiend who often talked too much, was rendered speechless and slack jawed. His brow furrowed and his nose scrunched while his mind worked to process what and who was in his bed.

It was a reaction that almost made up for being kidnapped.

His confusion cleared when his mouth snapped closed, and the look in his orange and yellow eyes turned insanely desirous.

“Uh, hello,” Tav said, giving him a polite wave while also trying to ignore the wetness that rapidly continued to pool between her thighs.

Her lips still tingled from Haarlep’s kiss, and the scene wasn’t too far off from a fantasy she’d had more than once. 

“What are you doing here, Little Mouse?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Haarlep unhelpfully supplied. “She’s here to have fun with us!”

She was grateful that Raphael looked somewhat skeptical. “Is this true, my dear?”

“It’s kind of a long story…” Tav replied.

Raphael glanced at her silk bindings.

“Forgive me - I don’t see you going anywhere anytime soon?”

“Ah, yes. Touché,” she conceded.

“I want to hear it from you,” Raphael said, a warning threading into his tone. “Why are you here?”

She looked to Haarlep, and they seemed all-too-curious in what answer she would give. It was anyone’s guess as to why they destroyed the note from Mephistopheles, and Tav wondered if they would feel at all indebted to her for not spilling the beans.

“Korrilla told me it was your Name Day last week. I realize I’m a little late, but I wanted to do something extra special since it was your… wait, how old are you exactly?”

“Funny.” Raphael’s thin smile did not reach his eyes. “Try again.”

“I was kidnapped?”

Why did it come out as a question?

“Haarlep, do get the mouse’s lips moving, won’t you? I think I will get comfortable and watch…”

The incubus happily motioned to return to his previous position over her.

“Alright - hold on!” Tav yelled, causing an amused Haarlep to stop. “I’ll tell you the truth - under one condition.”

Raphael barked a laugh.

“Again you show up in my House uninvited, this time naked and fettered to my bed, and you think you have the right to demand conditions?” His gaze turned stormy. “You are lucky that my fondness for you extended into forgiveness the first time.”

“You’ll forgive me for this second time as well, I think.” Tav smiled mischievously and parted her legs to give both cambion and incubus a better view of her sex. “I’ll give you the truth, Raphael; what I’m asking for is that I be returned home, safe and sound after we… reacquaint ourselves - without the talk or the signing of any contract.”

“You’ve already honored your contract, and I have not yet come knocking at your door with another.”

She shrugged with a shoulder. “I’ve learned you can never play it too safe with devils.”

Raphael turned suspicious. “What are you up to?”

“Just agree, Master,” Haarlep said. They licked their lips. “I’m tired of waiting.”

Judging by Raphael’s dark expression and the stiffness in his breeches, he was also tired of waiting.

“Very well; I will return you to your home, safe and sound - albeit sore. No contract will be signed during this visit. Now, the truth.”

The words easily left her. 

“The truth is I want you to fuck me, Raphael. I’ve wanted you undiluted and raw since meeting you, and imagine my disappointment stumbling upon Haarlep on my first visit. You should know they said some very scandalous things about your… performance.”

The (undiluted and raw) darkness that overtook Raphael’s features would have frightened her… if she weren’t so turned on by it. It was a dangerous mix of desire and fury; desire for her, fury for Haarlep.

“What did you tell the mouse, Haarlep?” he asked, head canting with a piercing stare directed at the incubus. “About my performance.”

Haarlep did not immediately respond; Tav could tell they were frantically plotting how to navigate a floor covered in eggshells.

“The mouse asked if you were good in bed...”

“And you told her?”

It was Haarlep’s turn to be nervous, and Tav savored every second.

“And I said, jokingly, of course, that you… weren’t. A-ha!”

“I see,” Raphael said flatly. “Well, since I am not ‘good in bed’ your participation privileges for this bed have been revoked.” The cambion’s unblinking, penetrative stare turned to her as he stalked over to the side of the bed.

“It was nothing but a joke, Master! At least allow me the opportunity to watch you fuck and fill the mouse?”

“No.” Raphael picked up the end of the chain and wrapped it once around his hand. “She’s mine...”

Sinfully wet after such a declaration, Tav turned her head to throw a secretive wink at a pouting Haarlep before they resentfully disappeared with a burst.

There was a snap of fingers, and Raphael came to be instantly naked and was very, very aroused. A second snap followed, causing a flash of heat to singe her skin as her silk bindings went up in a puff of smoke.

The cat gave the chain a tug. 

“Come to me, my little mouse.”

Before her mind could be overrun by sex and pleasure, Tav thought of a note to (never) send back to Mephistopheles.

Lord Mephistopheles,

No need for a kidnapping; all you have to do is ask. I’ll be more than happy to return to your son’s bed, no contracts necessary.

Sincerely,

The Better Distraction

[simpcityy]

My Little Spawn Pt.2 (Dadstarion X Child!Reader)

Summary: Astarion was finally free from Cazador after being kidnapped by a mindflayer but he was stuck with one annoying task, you.

Disclaimer: I do not own Baldur's Gate 3 or any of its characters.

Word Count: 1.4k

Warnings: Use of (Y/N), Cazador, language, violence, spoilers for those who haven't gone far in the game....Uhhh...I think that is all.

You sat by the river bank, looking at the fishes as everyone was once again getting ready to go back on the road. Hearing footsteps you look seeing Astarion crotch near you. “Here, drink up before anyone sees us.” He hands you a small goblet with blood.  You grab onto the silver cup and drink it all in one gulp. Astarion looks around making sure no one was watching as he wipes your mouth with his sleeve “There now we are both less cranky.” He smirks, washing the cup right away. “I feel much better now” You look at him savoring the taste of the bitter blood. “Now I promise I won’t run off!” You grin showing your sharp fangs. “Easy on the smile now, I can see your little pathetic fangs.” He boops your nose before walking back to his tent. Walking around the camp you collected some flowers near the riverbank before looking around seeing everyone has left besides Karlach. “Hey! Where did everyone else go?” You pouted walking to her. The tall woman smiles looking down at you, “It’s just the both of us, little soldier. We think it’s best if one of us stays at the camp with you. It’s dangerous out there.” She chuckles seeing you cross your arms. “But we can take this opportunity to get to know each other.” She sits down on the ground. “Hmmm…”You look at her, was she part of the game as well? You did promise Astarion you would win this game for them. “Okay!” Sitting down next to her, you look up at her “Tell me about you! I wanna know why you have a broken horn” You pointed. “That will be a tough one…let me see if I can give you the kid friendly version.” 

“Why in the hell did you accept this charity work when our goal is to get this thing out of our heads?!” Astarion frowns after Tav was done talking to Zevlor. “Hey, Halsin can be our ticket to healing us after seeing what Nettie was going to make us do. We need to rescue him.” Tav looks at Astarion, “You are welcome to switch places with Karlach and look after (Y/N)” They crossed their arms. Astarion stops whining, “ On second thought I rather do this than babysit a child.” He mutters. “You know, you two seem to know each other.” Gale began to poke. Astarion rolls his eyes “Stay out of my business will you wizard? The child must have seen me somewhere in Baldur’s Gate and felt much safer with a familiar face. “ The elf shrugs and walks around the grove seeing what he can take. Shadowheart walks around as well. “It’s going to be harder to travel with a child, the dangers we will face.” She comments “We can’t leave them either since they also have the tadpole. Poor child” She hissed something glows on her hand hurting her. Astarion ignores her, thinking back how your life is. It’s already over since Cazador made you a spawn. “Yeah…poor kid” He mutters and walks further into the Grove. 

You lay on the ground in Astarions tent, after hearing Karlachs story, you look at the sky admiring it. You wonder why didn’t papa let you step outside the big palace. He would always warn you to stay away from the windows and never step foot out of the palace. The sky was beautiful, you want to keep admiring it after you go back home. Maybe if you convince him, he’ll let you at least see it outside of the window. “Papa…Mama…” You whisper thinking back to them. Rubbing your eyes, you were met with Astarion looking down at you. “Aww did you miss me little creature?” He smirks laying down next to you. “I miss papa” Sitting up you play with his hair. “Of course papa…hmm (Y/N) what did you mean about mad like papa?” He leans on his side looking at you. You look down “I remember papa getting mad at mama…” You whisper the memory fresh in your mind. “Mama…and do you know what Cazador was mad at?” He once again began to play with your hair, a habit he’s been getting. “I couldn’t hear…they were talking very lowly but I saw papa grab mama’s neck and then he took a bite on it. I wanted to check on mama but papa said she was going to sleep and took me home with him in the big castle.” You retold the story. Astarion only watches you retold it, he hums thinking. Must have killed her in front of her and took in the child before turning them into a spawn. “ I see, I bet you miss your mother.” He looked at the sky as it was setting down. “I do but papa says she was a terrible mother…I don’t know why but I don’t want papa to get mad at me?” You play with the dirt only for Astarion to stop you. “Careful you’ll get dirty.” He sighs before looking at you. “How are you? Blood wise little spawn.” He dugs into his bag to pull out another small vial of blood. “Gimmie!” You try to reach for it only for him to pull back. “Drink a little, this should last you till the morning.” He gently tips the vial on your mouth giving half. 

The next day, Astarion sighs sitting on the ground watching you chase a butterfly as he was replaced, Karlach taking his spot. You giggle chasing the small insect. “Astarion! When will I be able to see papa?” You walk over to the pale elf. “I don’t know.” He groans “This the 5th time you’ve asked me, don’t ask me again, got it?” He fixes your shirt before seeing a hole. “Where did you get this from?” He tuts. You look down shrugging. “Children I swear.” He mutters “ I’ll patch it up tonight.” He looks at his small kit. You grinned, “Thank you!” You wrapped your little arms around his neck. He tense up, before slowly rubbing your back, “Yeah yeah, now go back to chasing this pointless butterfly.” He gently shoves you away as you run off to chase the poor butterfly. How can a little spawn like yourself make him feel different?

   Night came rolling, You were asleep on your side of the tent. Astarion looks around and sees everyone asleep. He slowly got up and walked over to the Tav leaning in before seeing them awake. “Shit…” He mutters and backs up. (The rest is history for us Astarion Fans)

You woke up to the sound of chatter. Sitting up, you noticed everyone around Astarion. Getting up, your little legs walk over clinging on to his pant leg. “ And is (Y/N) a vampire Spawn as well?” Tav looks down at you. Astarion sighs “Yes, Cazador, my old master also made them into a spawn.” He looks down at you. Hearing the name Cazador, you grin “He’s my papa!” You bounce happily. “But she’s so young” Gale looks down at you, “Will she be needing blood as well? Right away, We don’t bite out of nowhere okay?”

Astarion frowns seeing Gale already showing you manners on being a spawn. “Yeah yeah, we bite before asking, don’t we (Y/N)?” He pulls you closer to him and away from Gale. You only nodded still clinging on to his pants. “ Has she taken blood yet?” Karlach looks over to you smiling “For a little spawn they are rather adorable.” She chuckles as you get distracted chasing once again a butterfly. “Why don’t they have red eyes? Where did Cazador bite them?” Astarion goes to speak but stops as they were right. “I…I don’t know…” He looks at you before walking over  “ Come here.” He gently stops you and looks at your (E/C) eyes before looking down at your neck seeing nothing. “(Y/N) I need you to tell me the truth, where did he bite?” He looks at you sternly. You only tilt your head “Bite…he only bit mama…” Upon hearing you, his eyes widened and stood up, backing a bit. “What is it?” Tav walks over. “They are a Daywalker. Dhampire’s….You…they…Cazador…” He whispers trying to make this all sense. “When has Cazador been…involved with a human…” He whispers looking at you. “Especially to have you…” He looks down at you as you stare back at him, only one thing crossing across his mind. 

What did he get himself into

~~~~~~~~~~

Important Author's Note: Thank you so much, it seems all of you are loving this, please do be patient. This story will start off slow but all the action and more secrets will be out in the upcoming chapters. I also have another idea, what about a fic where Astarion was married to the reader before he was killed and now that 200 years have passed he sees her again. Would you guys like that? I have another Astarion Fic as well in my blog called Hunted Past so please do check that out. Thank you everyone! Stay safe and stay hydrated!

-Axie

[red-dead-sakharine]

Tickles - Part 8

Raphael x Tav, RaphaelPOV, soft!raphael, gn!tav, fluff, hurt/comfort, body worship, conflicted!cambion, bath time Loooots of body worship both ways, bathing. This one's long. Grab a snack. (5066 words)

Part 1 | P 2 | P 3 & 4 | P 5 | P 6 | P 7 | P 8

It was truly a sight to behold. His little mouse gutting the Slayer - Bhaal's chosen. Orin had bitten off more than she could chew, when she decided to provoke the mouse. Kidnapping one of their companions was possibly the worst decision she could have made. Raphael knew his favorite mortal. Tav had a fierce protective instinct towards their friends that was not to be underestimated. While they were ultimately a kind soul, they were also uncompromising when wronged. Something that reminded Raphael of himself; he also knew no forgiveness for those who wronged him.

He smiled at the thought. Oh, how well he and his mouse fit together. It was hard to believe that his mouse could be so soft when with him, and yet so vicious on the battlefield. Perhaps, he mused, perhaps he should see it as an example. He had always tried to hide and suffocate his mortal side. The part of him that enjoyed Tav's softness. But if his mouse was anything to go by, soft and viscous could go hand in hand. He ran a clawed finger across his chin, deep in thought.

A sudden movement and swift motion pulled him out of it though. Of course, Raphael himself was safe in the House of Hope, lounging on a bench in his boudoir. With his eyes closed, he was using his patronage of Korrilla, to see through her eyes, as she watched the ongoings in the Bhaal temple. One of the cultists had found her lurking in the shadows, but she swiftly dispatched him. Raphael frowned - he didn't care to watch some useless cultist be taken out, he wanted to watch his mouse!

Thankfully, just a moment later Korrilla turned her attention back to the battle. Just in time for Raphael to watch Tav deliver the final blow to Orin's monstrous form. The beast collapsed before them; his mouse drenched in the enemy's blood. What a sight they were. Raphael contemplated calling Haarlep to tend to him, so he could get rid of his excitement, but ultimately decided against it. He didn't need the incubus' nagging and teasing comments to ruin this moment. He preferred to watch his mouse alone. It was something he enjoyed immensely, and something he refused to share. His mouse was his, and his alone.

As the battle at the temple slowly died down and the remaining cultists dispersed, Raphael watched the tadpoled adventurers claim Orin's netherstone, and free their shackled companion. He knew they would make their way back to the tavern now to rest and clean themselves up. Between the sewer stench and the gore, they surely needed it. Raphael smirked to himself. He knew just what to do...

By the time the tadpoled adventurers arrived back at the elfsong, Raphael had made himself comfortable on Tav's bed. Sitting leisurely, with his back against the wall and his legs crossed, while reading the book he had noticed on Tav's bedside table the first time he was here. Not that "The Hells Unleashed" was a particularly enlightening read for him. He was more interested in the annotations his little mouse had written all over it. The chapter about Avernus was littered with comments like "Karlach mentioned this place. Hard to get to?" and "Avoid!", "Safe?", "Sightseeing - ask R." Then there was Dis, dotted with comments like "Bring earplugs", and "Bring oven mittens". In a chapter about the Fetters, there was a notation Raphael found particularly entertaining: "Market? Find gift for R." "Never mind, AVOID!"

The fact his mouse was thinking so much about him gave Raphael no small degree of pleasure. He smirked to himself as he flipped to the next page, looking forward to seeing more of his favorite mortal's thoughts. But just in that moment, the doors opened and the merry band of mortals started filing in. Wyll was the first to notice Raphael and froze, causing the others to bump into him. "What's the hold up?" he heard the tiefling ask. "It seems we have a guest." the warlock responded.

Raphael just smirked at them, waiting for Tav to push their way in, "What? Who?" Their eyes met his and they froze. His smirk grew a bit wider. He closed the book and put it in his lap, "Hello, little mouse." It took a moment for the shock to wear off, before Tav finally managed to respond, "Raphael!" They came over to him, as if his presence were the most normal thing in the world. A sentiment their companions didn't seem to share. Some kept staring at him, as if they expected him to attack them at any moment. A few others were busy fussing over their recently kidnapped friend. "What are you doing here-- hey, is that my book?" Tav pointed at his lap. "Mh, yes." he lifted the book and regarded it, "A fascinating read." He smirked at Tav. "Oh gods!" they groaned and snatched the book from his hand, "How... how much did you read?" "Enough." his smirk grew even more. A groan and a furious blush was all he got in response, as his little mouse turned away, smacking the book into their face. "Now now, no reason to bruise that pretty face even more." Raphael cooed, enjoying their reaction immensely, "I found the read quite... entertaining." More groaning. He enjoyed the teasing. Though a small part of him wanted to also express that he felt flattered, that his mouse expended such effort on his behalf, but he wasn't sure how to do so without making it sound like he was mocking them. At best it would sound as if he was belittling their efforts. So he just said nothing on the topic. Instead, he got up, snatched the book back out of Tav's hands and put it on the table. "Little mouse," he said softly and moved closer to them, invading their space. He lowered his voice to a seductive purr, "You look ravishing covered in entrails. But I imagine you would prefer to get the sewer stench washed off." He paused to see their reaction. They looked at him - first with caution, then with curiosity and a raised brow. "You need not squabble with the other mortals over that pitiful little bathtub over there." He flicked his head in the direction of the wooden tub, then offered a hand with the slightest of bows, "Come."

A smile grew on their face, and they took his hand. His heart soared and he snapped his fingers, teleporting them both to the House of Hope.

They materialized in the entryway of his home. Raphael kept Tav's hand in his and turned to them, "I will gladly help you scrub off those guts, chosen-slayer, if you let me." He placed another kiss on Tav's hand. "Will you bathe with me?"

He could see his mouse chew their lower lip. It was an undeniable step forward in the level of intimacy between the two of them, he knew that; and the longer his mouse took to respond, the more anxious he grew. Had he gone too far? Was this too much for them. He didn't want to scare them off! He felt like he was trying to gain the trust of a shy animal that could flee at any moment. He felt incredibly insecure all of a sudden. He knew how to seduce someone, to get what he wanted, and he had put on some of that charm. But now it quickly crumpled away. Tav was different. He wanted to be honest with them. He trusted them to see who he really was, and he trusted them to understand his damned mortal feelings. But he didn't always know how to express himself. He had spent too much time pretending his mortal half was a mere footnote, unworthy of mention. He lost track of time as he waited. It could have been seconds or minutes - his thoughts were racing now, spiraling into the abyss. He was about to say something, anything to try and save the situation, when Tav responded: "If you'll respect my boundaries, I'd love nothing more." His stomach made cartwheels, and it took a great deal of effort for him not to sigh and cheer in relief. He kept his composure and instead kissed the mortal's hand again, "Always." They smiled at him, exhausted from the fighting, but with such happiness in their eyes - his heart joined his stomach in doing cartwheels, and had he been an entirely different person, he'd have bounced his way to the boudoir. He beamed back at them and kissed their knuckles a third time, before putting their hand on his arm and leading the blood-drenched mouse towards his room. They didn't leave their hand on his arm, they grabbed it elegantly but greedily with both hands and pulled closer to him as they walked. It made his heart soar. The mouse's affection was the best gift he had ever been given. It was like a drug that made his head spin.

"I know, you must be exhausted. But the water will help, I promise." he filled the silence on their way. "Haarlep isn't going to be there, is he?" Tav asked with some trepidation. "Certainly not! I would never share you." he said immediately. They gave an amused snort, "You make it sound like I'm a bottle of whiskey." "Oh if anything, only the most expensive of wines, my dear." They laughed. He smiled. He was proud and happy. He made them laugh. "I don't mind Haarlep in general," Tav added back on topic, "but I don't quite trust an incubus around me naked." He smirked at them, "And you shouldn't. I knew you were a smart one." They grinned back, "If you ask my companions, they'll tell you I'm the biggest idiot in Faerûn, for being with you." He gave an amused smile back, unsure of what to say to that. Maybe they were right. It was certainly foolish for a mortal to get this close to a devil, even if he himself knew that they could trust him. He was a rare exception to the rest of his kind. It certainly took a degree of either boldness or stupidity to be with him. He chose to believe the former of his mouse. They were far from stupid, after all.

As they entered the boudoir, Raphael raised his voice, "Out!" which was quickly followed by movement from the direction of his bed. Haarlep stalked over, all smiles and seductive walk, "I see you brought your favorite guest." they cooed on their way past them, "Is the cat finally going to eat the mouse?" "I'm going to eat your liver if you're not gone in two seconds." Raphael snarled, and Haarlep grinned impishly as they slunk out of the boudoir.

[mood music]

Tav watched them go, then looked at Raphael as he sealed the door. He looked back at them and cupped their face with one hand. He wasn't sure what to say, and they looked at him with such expectation. Expecting what? He didn't quite know, so he just leaned in and offered a kiss. Pressing his lips cautiously and gently against theirs. His mouse kissed back, and he could feel them smile. He could taste blood; though he didn't know if it was Orin's or that of his mouse. He gently ran his tongue over their lips, tasting, checking for injuries. He couldn't find any. Orin's blood. The thought was arousing. Almost a shame he would wash the gore off soon. His mouse looked so, so delicious covered in the blood of their enemies. It was a testament to their prowess in battle. He gently started tugging on the straps, holding Tav's armor together, and they didn't complain about it. On the contrary. Their arms snaked their way up his chest and began unbuttoning his doublet while never breaking the soft kiss. Only when he had to pull their chest armor over their head, did the two of them step apart for a moment, but their lips met again right after. It took longer to undress this way. Raphael had to feel for all the straps and buckles; and he thought more than once that this armor had way too many of them. Slowly but surely the armor came off, piece by piece. As did his doublet and shirt. He knelt down to take off Tav's boots and legplates. Their hands ran through his hair as he did. He almost purred.

He got back up, gently putting his hands on Tav's shirt. He looked his mouse in the eyes, they smiled at him. The shirt came off. Hands on his belt. He smiled back. His pants came off. Then Tav's pants. He kissed them again - more passionately this time. They reciprocated. Hands roamed his chest, gently ruffled the fluff of hair there. He smiled into the kiss. His hands explored the mortal's waist - up and down. Their shape was perfect. A thumb brushed his nipple. Two thumbs brushed both his nipples. He could feel the mouse smile into the kiss. Mischievous little thing. He reciprocated. They sighed. He swallowed the sound with his kiss and wrapped his arms around the mouse, pulling them close. They grunted, and he broke the kiss for a moment to look at them. They smiled apologetically and looked down, so did he. Only now did he realize how bruised his little mouse was from all the fighting they had done today. He looked back into their eyes, feeling his brows knitting together into a frown. He didn't like the thought of someone - anyone - hurting his mouse. He knelt down and gently kissed one of the larger bruises on their ribs, gently brushed his thumb along another. He looked up to them, concerned. It suddenly hit him (again) how fragile their life was. How mortal the mouse was. He got back up and took their hands to lead Tav into the pool. The water was warm, and the healing qualities would get rid of the unsightly bruises and any other injuries they might have that he hasn't discovered yet. His mouse sighed as they submerged their body in the water, undoubtedly feeling the pain diminish and their strength slowly replenish. He moved around them, his hands never leaving them. He didn't want to let go - as if they'd vanish into thin air, if he did - so he gently kept a hold of the mouse's waist as he moved behind them. He started trailing kisses along their shoulder, across their neck and onto the other shoulder. A hand reached back and found his hip. He pressed a long kiss into the nape of Tav's neck, and he heard them sigh deeply. "Feeling better?" he whispered next to their ear. They hummed a positive response. "Good. Then let me scrub those pieces of bhaalspawn off you." he added with a low voice. "Eugh," Tav chuckled, "that makes it sound more disgusting than it should be." "On the contrary, my dear," he corrected them, as he glided to the side of the pool to pick up a soft sponge, "You're covered in the blood of a god. You should revel in it." He arrived back at their side and lustfully licked their neck, "Because I surely do, chosen-slayer." he purred in their ear, and he could feel them shiver. But he stepped back, soaking the sponge in the water before bringing it up to Tav's shoulders. Gently scrubbing the grime, blood and sweat away.

"I suppose I did kill the chosen of two gods..." Tav mused, "Though honestly, I regarded both Ketheric and Orin as just one more cruel monster who chose to be in my way." Raphael moved on to scrub their back, "I'll make sure to step aside when you walk down the hallway." He joked. They laughed, "As if!" He grinned at their back, not saying more on the matter. They knew him well. Of course, he expected everyone to get out of his way, but that would've ruined the joke. He gently lifted one of Tav's arms and started scrubbing it down. He did so in silence for a bit, until the mouse spoke up again, "I'd make people get out of your way." He paused and looked at them. They stared at the water. He stared at them. The sudden silence dragged out, only interrupted by the gentle splashing of the faucets. He was still holding Tav's arm up, the sponge frozen in place. It sounded like a scenario for the future. After the netherbrain is dead. Did the mouse mean to say, they wanted to stick with him? Stay with him? Be at his side? He didn't know what to say. Though he had told himself, that of course they would stay with him, he had his doubts. He certainly had dreamt of them joining him after they dealt with the netherbrain. He did not want a future without his mouse, so he had not entertained any other scenario. But in the back of his head he knew, it wasn't set in stone. He longed for his mouse to come willingly. Willing was the important part. He could make them stay, but that would just turn them into another Hope. But for the mouse to imply... He didn't dare believe that this was what they meant. He didn't dare ask either. He didn't know what he would do, if his mouse refused to join him. Somewhere in the very far back of his mind, he heard Hope's voice refuse him over and over, even though he knew his mouse was different. After a long pause that felt as if time had lost its meaning, he just continued scrubbing Tav's arm without saying anything. Too afraid to ask for clarification.

He moved on to their other arm in silence. Gently scrubbing every inch of their beautiful limbs. As he washed off the soap, he couldn't help but to press another long kiss on Tav's knuckles. Their other hand came up around his neck, pulling him in, and kissing him lovingly on the lips. Long and gentle. They smiled at him, but there was something... a spark of uncertainty in their eyes. He smiled back with adoration, not understanding the doubt in their expression. It seemed to vanish slowly as they looked at each other. He kissed them again. Whatever was on his mouse's mind, he'd make it go away ...he hoped. When he pulled away again, he saw success. They just smiled now; happiness the only thing he could see.

His eyes wandered up to Tav's hair, sticky with blood. He looked back down into their eyes, and they seemed to know what he was thinking. Putting one hand above their collar bones and one behind their head, he gently made them lean back. They let him. They trusted him. He gently submerged their head until all the hair was in the water; making sure that their face remained above the surface. It was a slow and delicate motion, and his mouse closed their eyes and seemed to enjoy the feeling. Being in the hands of a devil. He gently ran his hand through their hair, to make sure the water could get to all of it, before he eventually pushed them back upright. Then he put the soap to it. Orin's blood - Bhaal's blood was all over the little mouse's head. They had stabbed at the larger beast, and the Slayer's blood had rained down on them like a gory shower. Raphael had relished the sight. But he also relished this. Cleaning his mouse. Touching them everywhere. Gently and softly. He began to understand soft. He liked it. The devil blood inside him screamed at the softness. Would prefer to rip and tear and torture. But when he was with his mouse, his mortal half was emboldened. Given strength by his sweetling. It strangled the fiend in him and allowed him to be soft. And enjoy it. He admitted it to himself, as he spread the soap through Tav's hair: He enjoyed it. He had suppressed his mortal desires for a long time, and he had always felt like something was missing to make him truly happy. He thought it to be power, as a fiend would. The crown would fill that hole, he had decided. But right now - as he took his mouses head gently in his hand to lean them back into the water again - right now he realized, the hole he tried to fill was mouse-shaped.

He flared his nostrils as his mind reached that conclusion, his fiend blood screaming at his weakness. Thankfully the mortal in his hands could not see the turmoil inside him. They had their eyes closed and enjoyed his touch, as he gently rinsed the soap out of their hair. It would be all to easy to drown them now. Push them under and end them. They would have no chance to react or to escape. Something in him conjured up an image of them struggling, splashing, flailing helplessly, as he held them effortlessly under water. He wrinkled his nose at the unbidden thought and pushed it aside. He'd never do that. Never! He pushed the mouse back upright and pulled them in, claiming their lips greedily. Kissing them. Drowning the fiend inside him in a wave of love and gentleness. Tav seemed to be taken by surprise but swiftly recovered and reciprocated. His father's blood quieted down, unable to oppose the intensity of his affection for this damned mortal.

When he eventually broke the kiss, three words were on the tip of his tongue. But he couldn't say them. Could not manage to spit them out, for a multitude of reasons. So he just looked at Tav and tried to say it with his eyes. They smiled back at him. He didn't think they understood.

"Now you." He blinked, startled. Ripped out of his thoughts, and his brows rose in surprise. The mouse must've noticed, for they leaned in and kissed him again, before taking the soap out of his hands. He let them, and just looked at them wordlessly. Tav picked the sponge from the water, where he had let it drift off, and wrung it a little, before they moved behind him and started soaping up his back. His surprised confusion gave way to a warm pleasant feeling, as he felt them pay special attention to the base of his wings. It felt sublime and he couldn't suppress a soft sigh. It made him realize that it was an area he had trouble to reach himself, and all he ever felt there were Haarlep's rough and greedy claws raking over his back. Until his mouse came along. Thousands of years, and only now did he find out that he liked his wings touched. Touched by his mouse, he corrected himself. How could he have found out earlier, when he had to wait all this time for his mouse to even exist!

Tav began rinsing the soap off with hands and sponge, finishing with a kiss between his wings. He sighed deeply, and he knew his mouse heard and knew. Knew exactly, what they did to him. Knew he liked it. They gently pushed him backwards into the shallower part of the pool to gain more access, but then paused suddenly.

"You have... little swirly ridges on your thighs." they commented with a delighted expression. He looked at them confused. "...yes? Don't say you didn't notice them before." he wrinkled his brow. "I actually didn't," they leaned in closer and whispered, "I guess I was too distracted by your beautiful butt." He couldn't help but crack a smile. "Which also has ridges. Right.... here," and as they said it, Tav ran a finger along the lines on his lower rear end. Raphael automatically closed his eyes. "Mhm," he hummed, "I have a lot more of those all over." he stated, as if it wasn't obvious. He could hear Tav's smile as they responded, "Yes, I've noticed. Here..." A hand trailed along the ridges on his lower back. "...here..." another hand ran over the ridges on his legs. "...here..." fingers gently ghosted towards his wings. "...here..." kisses on his sides. He hummed with every gesture, his eyes still closed. "...and here." a whisper, and the soft touch of a hand running down his arms. "Mhm." He couldn't say anything more than that, kisses on his shoulders, and hands roaming his body distracted him too much. "And scales like armor here," soft fingertips traced over the base of his tail and a soft moan escaped him. They lifted the rest of it out of the water and kissed it gently. It took effort, to not let his knees buckle under him and collapse into the water. They gently lowered his tail back down and let it go. A moment later the soapy sponge was back, trailing circles over his thighs. "I love these swirls," he heard his mouse say, as they paid them special attention. His eyes were still closed, and he lost himself in the sensation of their gentle touches. "Glad you do," he replied, "You may admire them anytime you like." After he said it, the full extent of his own words hit him, and judging by how Tav froze, it hit them too. His mind started racing. Should he clarify? Retract? Should he-- "I just might take you up on that." The mortal's voice interrupted his spinning thoughts, and he could hear the impish smirk in their voice. His mind quieted down. "Within reason," he added more sternly. "Of course."

Back to soaping. They stayed behind him, taking care of his thighs, his butt - paying that special attention, too. They soaped the base of his tail, causing him to moan again. So sensitive, and he never knew - never knew the gentle pleasure this world had to offer. The wonder of soft touches and loving caresses. It overwhelmed him. His mind was still learning to cope with being loved like this.

Tav's hands lifted his tail again, soaping and scrubbing gently along its length. Then they dunked it underwater to remove the soap, lifted it back up and gently kissed it once more before letting go for good.

A moment's pause, then he felt a gentle tug on his wing. He looked over and acquiesced, lowering it so his mouse could reach it better. They began at the outer spine, gently spreading the soap with the sponge from the tip up to the joint. Then down the next spine. They moved away, pulling his wing along to spread it out, so they could take care of the leathery membrane in between. He closed his eyes again and leaned his head back slightly. The soft touches and scrubs sent tingles down his spine, all the way to the tip of his tail. He wished he were in bed, so he could clutch at the sheets. Clutch at anything. It was good. Too good. The sponge gently scrubbed around the claw at the top joint; squeezed into the creases along the veins. He felt light-headed. His wing was pulled lower, dipped underwater. A gentle hand brushed over it to rid it of soap. His brows knit together, and he had to realize that this part of his body has been thoroughly neglected throughout his entire life. Bar the occasional scrub when he washed himself, nobody had ever touched them like this. Cared for them. Of course, nobody had ever been this gentle with him in general. Sex, he knew. But it was always wild and untamed. Rough and possessive. A means to a quick release of pent-up energy. This... this was... His wing was moved out of the water again, and his train of thought snapped. A frown snuck on his face. He wished Tav would do the entire thing again. Didn't matter if he was already clean or not. The frown dissipated as his other wing was pulled into a spread. It received the same loving care. His mouse knew no hurry, and every touch and every rub was just as good and gentle, as it had been on the other wing. He sighed deeply in contentment. Another tingle ran down his spine, as if the mortal's touch had some magical quality to it. He balled his fists. He felt like he needed to hold onto something; unable to handle these wonderful feelings. Now this wing was submerged, rinsed of soap. As Tav pulled it back out of the water, they placed a kiss on the outer spine. Raphael moaned. He couldn't help it. He'd scream in bliss, would he not feel so weak and light-headed. The mouse took note, and trailed more kisses along his wing. His entire world was reduced to a pair of hands and soft lips of a little mouse roaming over him.

He felt the disturbance and gentle burble of the water as Tav moved in front of him. Hands took his, and he was pulled forward. He opened his eyes, looked at his mouse and complied. Going back into the deeper parts again. They kissed him while their hands fished the sponge from the water again. Then they pulled back and started soaping up his chest. He watched them; watched their expression as they took such gentle care of him. The smile never leaving their face. It even grew wider as they took care of his chest hair. Tracing it with soap and sponge all the way down below his belly button. They bit their lower lip before they returned their attention to his chest, rinsing now. They watched the water trickle down the fluff of hair as if mesmerized by it, and they followed up with a hand gently running through it. He couldn't help himself and caught it, placing a gentle kiss on their knuckles.

He smiled at them and they smiled back. A sudden urge overcame him, and he pulled them into a gentle and loving kiss. His arms wrapped around their form, holding them tight, and pressing them against him. Feeling their skin against his.

He wanted never to let go again. Keep them forever in the devil's den.

[toadsbitch]

AIGHT ANOTHER ASTARION THINGY.

What if Elf!Tav and Astarion are each others Thiramin (Elven Soulmates) who were engaged when Cazador turned him? And Tav turned from a meek and sweet individual to an absolutely off their rockers terrifying Druid they would make even the most seasoned warriors quake in their boots, all while trying to find their dearly beloved Astarion.. And when they get kidnapped and tadpoled they find Astarion on the beach and long story short after a few weeks of catching up and joy they get married and Tav has been carting around their wedding outfit Astarion once made them as a reminder of WHY they were searching and to keep going.. WELP time to go draw Tavara in a wedding dress

[adarlingmess]

The Devil on Your Shoulder

Happy BG3 day! If your Tav had a backstory like an Origin character's, what would it be? Mine would start the game with an existing deal with Raphael. More under the cut.

Fortune is a Glasya tiefling, and a promising painter from Lyrabar, Impiltur, who went rogue because of a guild buying her family’s painting shop out. Using her connections, she started to steal from the nobility, specializing in stealing priceless works of art.

Her downfall came when she fell for an elf who turned out to be one of Asmodeus’ bastards, his cambion son. Young and naïve, Fortune gets tricked into signing a contract with an imp pretending to be Asmodeus to free her object of infatuation from servitude. Asmodeus discovers the deception and punishes the imp with death, and he amends Fortune’s contract. In exchange for her and the cambion’s freedom, she must kill 5 good aligned adventurers in Asmodeus’ name. However, the cambion turns on her. Disheartened, Fortune lets herself be killed.

For failing her task, Fortune is sworn to be her contract holder’s indentured servant. A loophole in her contract brought about by the imp’s death makes it unclear who she belongs to due to the blanks in the chain of command.

Raphael catches wind of her predicament and orchestrates a convoluted legal maneuver to claim her for his own benefit. Slowly, he starts to fill the role of the cambion whom Fortune was infatuated with by becoming her sugar daddy, er, art patron. Raphael allows her to operate independently as both artist and rogue again in exchange for various services and favors from her, such as paintings of him, information about her noble patrons, and being his consort.

For her excellent service, Raphael grants her his infernal powers and makes her a warlock. He gifts her a paintbrush that also serves as her spellcasting focus, and forms a semi-permanent Gaze of Two Minds link between them so that he can watch the world through her senses at any given time.

Things get tricky when she gets kidnapped by a mindflayer ship in the middle of a heist. Though their connection remains faintly, the tadpole allows Fortune a taste of freedom, and hinders Raphael from surveilling her, muddling their psychic link.

Now she must decide if she should embrace the tadpole to free herself from Raphael, or stay true to her patron. One thing’s for certain, her feelings about him are ambivalent, and I’ll write fanfics about this.

[riddlesrose]

on the chest of another

w/ astarion

cw; none but maybe mild ooc astarion

hi yeah i haven't posted in 13 months my bad enjoy

He doesn't know the last time he felt truly comfortable with another living person, he’d been turned into a blood-thirsty vampire hundreds of years ago, he slowly learnt that the people he attempts to love will wither away while he stays put, same age, same face, though he can’t see it. Astarion watches the world change and reform around him while he retains memories of those he loved before they were either taken by the cold hands of death itself or he was forced to sacrifice them to his evil lord, Cazador. 

When he’d been taken, kidnapped, vampnapped off the streets of Baldur’s Gate, he’d never been so thankful, he was free, albeit trapped in a flying ship with aliens and other kidnapees, he was free from Cazador and the horrible treatment he’d endured for years upon years. He felt unrestricted until they threw him into a pod, then forcefully inserted an alien-type creature into his eye. He writhed in pain, attempting to free his arms, hands or legs to fight back, but it proved fruitless, he was stuck, and now, he had no idea what was going to happen to him. 

Astarion doesn’t know how long he’d been out, unconscious but before he could collect his thoughts, he realized that the flying ship he was, unfortunately, still on, was on fire, being actively attacked. 

After the ship had been knocked around a few times, set more on fire, he noticed a person, they were free, walking around like nothing was happening, or maybe looking for an exit, but they were definitely too far for anything to be heard had he banged on the front of his pod. That’s it, this is his end, he’ll probably just die when this ship inevitably crashes. Oh well, it’s a better outcome than being Cazador’s slave for the rest of his miserable life. 

Astarion stirred, feeling the sun warm his body, wait, the sun? He shot up, he should be turning to ash, he lifted his hands to check he really wasn’t chipping away in the sunlight. This has to be a cruel joke, Cazador or someone of his likes toying with him, teasing him with what he misses and has missed for the past 200 years. That and maybe his own reflection. But oh dear, how he’s missed the sun. The feeling, how it makes him feel, he feels happy, momentarily, until he remembers what just happened. First, getting kidnapped, then having some kind of tadpole inserted into his brain, now, he’s in the sun. What the hell. 

Then he also remembers the lone traveller that wandered free upon the ship, they’re probably around here somewhere, he better lure them out, question them. 

Many weeks passed by, Astarion ended up joining forces with the traveller he almost attacked, whom he learned goes by Tav, a Githyanki, a wizard, a cleric, a Tiefling, a druid and a warlock. He’d fought in many battles, some great, some his companions dragged him to, earned himself a few new friends, shared many stories with the camp, and shared his secret. The camp was very accepting of his condition, as long as he didn’t feed on an unwilling target. Tav was a dear on the night he almost starved, he’d gotten so hungry he thought he’d be able to sneak a quick bite without Tav noticing, guess guards were still too high and they noticed as soon as he got too close at night. After exposing himself on accident, Tav had offered a small amount of their blood to aid him. Now, it’s almost nightly he’ll go find Tav in their tent or bedroll and sate his hunger. Rats and boars just don’t tide him over anymore now that he has his own food source, willing food source. 

“Astarion?” Tav stirred, cracking their eyes, while searching for his. 

“Yes, my dear?” He hovered over them, looking as if he was going to feed but almost backing away this time. 

“I can feel you hesitating, why?” Tav had always been able to feel when he made his way into their tent for his needs, sometimes they woke but never pushed him away or forced him to take less than he needed. 

“Why, I am not! I am simply… going to wait for you to go back to sleep.” He looked proud with his excuse. 

“Lies. There’s another reason.” 

“There is not.”

“Yes there is.”

“No-”

“I’m not going to argue this, Astarion, is there something wrong?” 

He sighed, moved himself to sit by Tav’s legs and looked away, not bashfully, he was embarrassed. Tav sat up as well, but scooted closer to Astarion so he didn’t have to speak above a whisper if he did not see it fit.

“I feel greedy.” His demeanor of wit and confidence melted away as the bugs and frogs sang their night songs in the nearby pond. The night was cold, usually lonely, but he felt a sort of comfort with Tav that he hadn’t felt in years, he vowed to himself after he was turned that all mortals were never to be loved by him. They were going to die and he wasn’t. It wasn’t fair, he wanted to grow old with someone he loved deeply, he wanted more than to be someone’s pawn, a spawn of evil intent, born to do no good. 

Tav did not say anything, only tilting their head to the side with empathy shining in their eyes. 

“Now, I’m not asking for pity, dear, don’t give me that look.” 

“I know, I was simply allowing you to continue without interrupting, but look where we are.” 

“Cheeky. Fine,” He took a breath, thinking for a moment, “I haven’t been free of Cazador in two hundred years, I am unsure how to feel, how to live, frankly. I have been his slave, I’ve done his dirty work for as long as I can remember, I had no way out, I was underfed, mistreated, beaten, used, abused, everything you can think of darling, I experienced it under Cazador’s orders.” Sometime during his small rant you had moved closer, draping a blanket around his shoulders, and rested a hand on his shoulder, showing support without interrupting him. Astarion looked over to you with pain and sadness in his glossy red eyes. 

“Why don’t you stay for a while, you can leave before the sun comes up, no one has to know the witty and confident Astarion we all know stayed the night in another’s tent.” Tav proposed. They moved back onto the bedding they had tucked into the most private part of their tent, allowing him to follow if he chose to. He was not pressured, not forced, but given complete free will of his actions, something he still could not fully capture the grasp of because of his past. He thought on the choices he was proposed, 

“Only for a few minutes.” He decided since he doesn’t really sleep anyways, he’s an elf. He crept a few inches closer, unsure of where to go, Tav lied down and patted their chest, colour rose to Astarion’s pale cheeks, he was thankful it was dark. He took a few awkward seconds of staring at Tav before snapping out of his trance and shuffling back a few inches so his head could rest on their chest, he felt out of place, inconvenient, a burden to Tav’s sleeping. He was about to get up and thank Tav for their time before they brushed their hand through his messy curls and he stopped. His heart began beating a tad bit faster, he promised, no swore, that no mortal would make him feel this comfortable, loved, cared for, he knew what was inevitable… 

After many minutes, Tav could feel his breathing slow as they continued to rake their hand through his hair, untangling pieces every so often, they watched his eyelashes flutter before his breathing fell in tempo with their own. Tav guessed it had been a while since he’d felt comfortable, given his history and all. It was true, so for the first time in many, many years, Astarion fell asleep to the sound of a heart beating in the chest of another. 

[roguishcat]

Clumsy

Summary: Tav has always been a little clumsy, but it was nothing too inconvenient until Astarion came along. Since then, whenever Tav’s blood would spill, he would be there.

Rating: Mature (nothing explicit but MDNI)

Tags: Blood drinking, dry humping, mild nudity, Astarion being terrible at hiding that he is a vampire, humour and moments of awkwardness

Pairing: Astarion x female Tav

One-shot, 3.8k words

Set in Act I, before Astarion confesses to being a vampire. An alternative take on the first time Astarion feeds on blood of a thinking creature.

It was mortifying and beyond ridiculous. Tav has always been a little clumsy, but it was nothing too inconvenient. Just the occasional uncooperative limb and misjudged step that had sometimes resulted in her falling rather gracelessly. And with healing potions readily available in the city, it was hardly an issue.

But then came the kidnapping, and the tadpole, and the journey. Suddenly, what was only a minor issue in the past became a real problem as her clumsy habits worsened. The lack of smooth surfaces that weren’t riddled with protruding roots and clutching vines, rock faces and the like, meant that Tav was constantly finding herself in a bit of a bloody situation. And taking on one quest after another whilst fighting off enemies certainly did not help one bit.

Yet, it wasn’t until they came across the abandoned blighted village that her clumsiness almost cost Tav her life.

They were ambushed by goblins, and it was during that fight that she stumbled backwards, almost impaling herself on her own sword as she landed heavily on the ground. The disgusting and pungent mass were quick to take advantage of that, one of the attackers taking a swing at her arm with a piercing shriek. She parried at the last moment, only the tip of the blade slicing into her skin. Then the goblin’s screech became a gurgle as he clutched at the arrow sticking out of his neck, the creature falling onto the ground and breathing its last. The rest of her companions made quick work of the goblins and then there was silence. A brief reprieve that allowed them to access damages and check up on each other.

Tav peeled her sleeve back with a wince to examine the long cut, hissing as it began to sting. She looked up when a shadow fell over her.

Astarion stood near her. His shoulders were tense, and his fingers were twitching, like he was restraining himself from something. There was a leaf stuck in his usually impeccable hair and his eyes seemed a slightly darker shade that normal.

Something was off.

“Can I help you with something Astarion?” she said wearily, seemingly thrown off-balance by his sudden appearance and the eerie, strange way he was looking at the cut on her arm.

For a moment, Astarion did not even glance at her face or give any indication that he heard her speak. His tongue darted out from a small opening in his mouth to wet his bottom lip. Then, just as suddenly as he appeared beside her, Astarion seemed to snap out of it, giving her a mocking smile.

“Really, darling? Is this biting tone necessary? Is this the thanks I get for saving you from that filthy goblin, hm?”

She looked away, feeling a little chastened by the comment and regretting being short with him. He did save her, and she was treating him quite abhorrently. But then Tav looked at her companion again. His eyes were borderline feral, once again trained on her wound. She fought the urge to run. Astarion’s nostrils flared as he sniffed the air, leaning over her, Tav’s heart hammering inside her chest at his proximity.

He slowly circled the injured woman, paying no heed to Lae’zel and Shadowheart as they bickered whilst the cleric got to work healing the wizard.

His eyes devouring her form, Astarion lifted her arm with almost reverent gentleness. The way his eyes traced the contours of her body and then snapped back to her wound made her breath hitch. Tav shivered slightly at the feeling of complete exposure. His eyes trickled over her face, carefully mapped the contours of her legs, slid over her waist, absorbed the fragile column of her throat and the gentle swell of her breasts beneath the cloth and finally came to caress her bloody wrist.

“Um... thank you for helping me, I guess,” Tav said sheepishly and pulled away, cradling her injured arm that was still bleeding sluggishly.

She felt his eyes fix on her face but dared not look up at him; she didn’t want to find out what those eyes could do to her.

“Be more careful next time, darling” he handed her a potion of healing, his words more gravelly than usual. And then, just as suddenly as he appeared by her side, Astarion vanished.

That had been the first bizarre encounter with Astarion but not the last. Since then, whenever Tav’s blood would spill, he would be there with the tracking precision of a beast. Her own personal blood hound. She was not sure whether to be flattered or concerned.

Each time Tav would stutter out some excuse for why she was bleeding. He would circle her slowly and inspect the damage like she was a piece of meat and then he would vanish. But not before dealing his favourite parting line, “Tsk, so clumsy.”

Tav blamed the tadpole. Because surely her senses became duller the longer their wriggly problem was left unattended? She also blamed the wilderness. Because she certainly could not remember herself kissing the ground with such frequency back in the city. And even with trying extra hard to stay upright she found herself landing awkwardly far too often. She also blamed Astarion. Because if his words and looks weren’t enough of a distraction, the constant featherlight incidental touches would definitely be the death of her.

Tav tried not to let her treacherous mind stray. She tried to focus on the matters at hand, that is getting rid of the tadpole, saving the Emerald Grove, rescuing Halsin, and last but not least, keeping her companions from murdering her or each other. Quite understandably, her smiles were becoming more strained as they continued on their journey and she could swear that she could feel her eye twitch whenever Shadowheart and Lae’zel, Astarion and Lae’zel, Astarion and Shadowheart, would open their mouths to have their daily invigorating conversations. And to top it all off, she was alarmed to realise that what she felt for Astarion was most definitely attraction.

Astarion would constantly make sure that he was near. Setting up his tent right next to hers in the evening. Brushing past her as she went foraging. Trying to engage her in conversation whenever time allowed for a short rest. And the best Tav could do for the sake of what was left of her sanity was lie to herself that she was not attracted to him in the least. She wanted to throttle him. She wanted to kiss him. And this was starting to take a toll on her.

However, it wasn’t until they reached the Risen Road that the Tav lost her composure.

Lae’zel was becoming increasingly sullen and angry, understandably worried that it has been a while since they got infected but there was little promise of a cure on the horizon. She lashed out at the slightest thing and Astarion was not helping with his taunting, catty remarks. The hostility between the two was coming to a boil and Tav was in no mood to entertain other people’s moods.

“Can I help you?” Tav demanded as Lae’zel glared at her for at least the twentieth time that day. They were sitting around the campfire basking in the last rays of the evening sunshine. It was her time to relax and unwind as much as anyone else’s.

“Chk!”

“That’s not a reply,” Tav quipped tersely.

“Fine,” Lae’zel huffed, putting herself in Tav’s space imposingly, “Your mating rituals with the elf are a hindrance and a distraction.”

“Huh?” Tav asked, a little lost and not sure how to react.

The other members of the camp winced and wondered whether taking shelter in their tents or pulling out snacks was appropriate. They chose to settle on the latter and stayed put.

“Don’t play innocent, you know what I’m talking about,” the githyanki insisted.

“Yes, I suppose I do,” Tav commented, “but you have glimpsed as much of his behaviour as I have, what in the world makes you think that I understand this any better than you do?”

“I cannot abide stupidity or feigned ignorance,” she growled, obstinately clinging to her belief that this was part of some peculiar flirtation between istiks. Undignified and uncouth as it was, it seemed to be proving effective, judging by the way Tav’s cheeks would flush, and her heartbeat would quicken whenever Astarion approached.

“Well, then you have my blessing to go converse with someone who is your intellectual equal. Seeing as you find us lacking, may I recommend a mirror?” Tav smiled sweetly.

Lae’zel scowled and stormed off, entering her tent and throwing the flap back into place roughly.

Tav winced. She really could have handled that conversation better. But she was feeling on edge and, quite frankly, a little tired from having to always act the mediator whilst everyone else bickered and fought with each other.

“I’m going to the river,” she told Karlach, pointedly ignoring the looks others were giving her. She knew that Shadowheart would be pleased by the spat between her and Lae’zel, whilst Gale and Wyll would look at her with barely concealed concern and disappointment.

“Sure, soldier! Go and cool off a little. I will take the first watch,” the tiefling nodded.

Upon arriving on the riverbank, Tav kicked off the wretched boots that were hurting her feet all day with about as much finesse as a drunken sailor after a night at a tavern. Quickly divesting herself of her clothes she prodded the surface of the water with a toe. It was cold but the night was balmy, and hopefully the cool water was enough to soothe her poor bruised and abused muscles.

Stepping into the river, she flinched as a startled bird flew from the bushes behind her. She supposed her annoyance was making her jumpy. Deciding not to think about it, Tav hastily dropped into the water and swam. For a second it seemed freezing-cold before she adjusted and relaxed, submerging herself completely and then resurfacing a moment later. Brushing her sopping wet hair away from her face, Tav started making her way back towards the shore to take her soap and shampoo. She made her way to the shallows and stood up. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her foot. Tav inhaled sharply as an unseen rock scraped against the flesh on her foot.

She dunked herself under the surface up to her chin and waited for the inevitable. Waited for him.

Astarion all but burst from the bushes that encircled the shallower part of the river. He caught a brief glimpse of Tav looking at him owlishly, her large doe eyes staring at him over the surface of the water. A moment passed, then another. And then she started to laugh. Astarion was so uncharacteristically dishevelled, with his eyes wild and curls not falling into place, that it immediately alleviated whatever annoyance she felt.

Recovering a little, Tav blinked at him, trying to suppress a giggle. “What in the world happened to you?” she asked, “I can safely assume you weren’t ambushed on your way here.”

Ignoring her last remark Astarion brushed his hair back and answered. “Well, obviously not. I was out hunting.”

“Of course,” she said, not commenting on the fact that he had no bow or weapons on him, “and you ran all the way here?”

“Yes.”

She saw the direction he took when he left earlier this evening. He should have been miles away from the river. Unless he deliberately misled them by making a show of going far away from camp, then choosing to take the scenic route instead of coming directly back, and going as far as possible from any big game to completely accidentally walk by the exact spot that she would be bathing at. She could scarcely believe that Astarion would do that. Except apparently, he did.

“What were you really doing, Astarion?”

“Trying to protect you.”

“What? Why?”

“Because you are constantly bleeding, you silly fool!” He glowered at her like it was her fault. He was desperately trying not to give into temptation with this woman, but that was becoming near impossible!

“So, what does my bleeding have to do with you?”

“Oh, nothing,” he chuckled humorously. “But let’s suppose there are predators out there, my sweet,” he took a step towards her, and then another, beginning to tread water, uncaring that he was still completely clothed. “And your blood calls to them, calls out to be feasted upon.”

He was moving with dangerous, hypnotising grace, his movements purposeful and eyes trained on her. It was unnerving and exciting to be the sole subject of his attention.

“And let’s say, one of these predators would approach you at a moment of vulnerability. When you couldn’t defend yourself, couldn’t run away. What would you do then?” he flashed a smile that she could swear was all teeth.

“You mean like a vampire?” she blurted out, her eyes widening at the realisation.

She could have smacked herself. How could she have been so stupid, so blind? Astarion, no matter what he thought about his ability to conceal it, wasn’t exactly subtle when it came to hiding his uncanny vampiric ways.

He growled and she flinched but stood her ground. She may have been the clumsiest, most accident-prone individual in all of Faerûn, but she refused to be intimidated by him! Especially in the middle of her damn well-deserved bath!

“And you have come here to what? Suck me dry?” she flinched, belatedly realising that she could not have chosen a more unfortunate way to word this but choosing to soldier on. “Take advantage of me being alone and unprotected?” she hissed, eyes narrowing as she lifted herself above water. Modesty be damned, there was no way that she would cower before anyone!

“Because if that is the case, Astarion, I’m going to blast you to hells and back before your fangs get anywhere near my neck,” she promised. She didn’t need weapons to kick his ass and he knew it.

 “No, no!” Astarion blinked, taking a step back, looking at her a little sheepishly. “This is not- I’ve never-” he breathed out and paused, seemingly trying to find the right words to deescalate the situation.

“I apologise, I didn’t mean to frighten you. But try to understand. I have never had blood from any thinking creature. And I’ve tried to control myself around you, I really have,” he said quietly, but what he lacked in volume he made up with intensity with which he confessed to the truth.

“Not once?” she asked, feeling inclined to believe Astarion in spite of the predicament she found herself in.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I- I was forbidden from doing so. Was taught control through pain and torture. But with how often you bleed… Let me tell you, my dear, being good has been quite a challenge and I found myself wanting… Wanting to have a taste.”

This was it. It was now or never. He knew that there was very little chance of Tav agreeing to let him feed off her, no matter how generous and selfless she was. But he already royally fucked up the conversation from the moment he showed up, so what was the harm in trying?

“Will you let me? Please?” he pleaded.

There was a pause as she considered her choices. She could scream. Her voice would carry far enough for the others to hear her. And she had no doubt that they would come running, whilst she could see herself fending off Astarion’s attacks long enough for Lae’zel to reach the river and run Astarion through with her sword. They all knew that she was looking for any excuse to do so. And Tav knew without a sliver of a doubt that even with their recent argument, Lae’zel would protect her.

On the other hand, Tav could choose to trust him. He did, after all, hold back all this time. Not once did he try to take advantage of her vulnerability. If he truly just wanted her for his meal, he could have let the goblins kill her and then had his fill. No. He deserved the benefit of a doubt.

“Not one drop more than needed, are we clear?” she was amazed at how calm she sounded, but disregarded the fact and focused on him.

“Really?” he looked taken aback, yet hopeful. “I promise. Not a drop more,” he assured her, taking a step back and letting Tav walk past him.

Astarion did not follow her as she walked to the shore, her feet dragging through the sand and making smaller pebbles descend into water as it lapped at her ankles. He heard the rustle of fabric next and assumed she was getting dressed.

Tav shot furtive looks over her shoulder as she quickly pulled her underwear, shirt and trousers on, but Astarion did not look at her once, giving her as much privacy as he could. Him turning his back on her like that could have been a prime opportunity for her to attack. He would have no way of preventing it. She supposed it was fitting for Astarion to show that her putting her trust in him was enough for him to return the favour.

“I- I’m ready,” she gulped. “But remember, take only what you need.”

Astarion turned, advancing on her slowly and stopping right beside her. He didn’t bother to hide the predatory smile that spread across his features when she backed away.  “Of course, darling! Besides, if I kill you, I doubt you will be quite as accommodating next time I find myself feeling peckish,” he grinned.

“So, what is going to happen?” her voice was getting more panicked as he crowded her even more and forced her to back up against a rock.

“I will feed,” he hoisted her up so she sat on the rock and moved himself to stand between her thighs “and I will try to make the experience as pleasant as I can.” His eyes briefly flashed, but she was almost certain it was the moonlight playing tricks on her frazzled mind.

“On my neck?”

“There are other places where blood pulses,” he whispered into her ear, “but I think we will save that for another time. When you are ready.”

A moan almost bubbled up and Tav had to bite her lip. It took a lot of effort on her part not to let the damn elf know how ready she was.

“This will sting at first, but it will hurt less if you try to relax,” he promised, running his fingers down her neck and laying a kiss against the spot he chose.

And then his fangs clamped down around soft skin as he bit hard. She tensed as she felt them puncture her flesh. Briefly she realised that it hurt much more than she expected and almost pushed him away, and then all sensible thought abandoned her.

There she was. In the middle of nowhere with a vampire between her thighs holding her neck in a vice-like grip as he took gulp after gulp of her blood. It was not exactly the way she thought her day would end. Fleetingly, she wondered if her clumsiness caused her to fall and bang her head so hard that she was knocked unconscious, and her mind conjured up the image. Was it a secret kink that her subconsciousness chose to thrust to the forefront of her mind? Not that she had anything against it per se.

Belatedly, her poor befuddled mind reminded her that losing herself in the moment could end very, very badly. Tav pushed against Astarion’s chest. He did not budge.

Astarion continued his onslaught, completely lost in the overwhelming sensations that almost made his knees buckle, the hand that wasn’t supporting Tav’s head kneading the flesh of her thigh as he ground against her centre with a whine.

It was pure bliss. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced and Astarion was absolutely sure that he would never experience anything even remotely close to this with anyone else. Her blood was something he could certainly become addicted to. It tasted even better than it smelled, something that he wouldn’t even think was possible. He could taste her arousal in her blood and that was enough for him to go borderline feral. And so he drank greedily and thrust into her, enjoying the quiet mewls of pleasure the act elicited.

Far too soon for his liking, Astarion noticed that Tav pushed against his chest again and realised it was time to stop. If he took anymore, she would surely not allow for this to happen again. And he would make damn sure that there would be a next time.

Very reluctantly, Astarion let her go and pulled away. Tav’s breathing was ragged and her eyes were unfocused as she put her hands on his shoulders to steady herself. He gently lifted her off the boulder, steadying her before taking a step back.

“That was amazing,” he admitted. “Thank you. This was a gift. I will never forget it.”

He sounded sincere and, to his surprise, Astarion found that he really did mean it. This was the most precious, welcome gift he has ever got from someone.

“However, as delicious as you were, I have to find something more filling. Will you be able to get to camp without my help?”

She nodded and he was glad that he did not need to accompany her. The truth of the matter was that this was a thrilling and rousing experience in more ways than one. At another time, with a different person, Astarion would go a step further and offer to relieve the tension that they were both experiencing. He could tell that she wanted him, hear her sighs and moans as she got lost in him.

But now was not the time. He had to tread very carefully and give Tav space. That, and he had a very urgent, pressing matter that he would prefer to take care of privately. He knew that self-loathing and disgust would come, but for now he had his post-feeding bliss to distract him from being a prisoner within his own body.

“Oh, and Tav?” he waited until she turned to look at him, “try not to be so clumsy next time, my sweet. You never know which monster might want to go bump in the night.”

And with that he was gone. Satisfied that he was full. Satisfied with how the day ended. And on his way to satisfy himself in a way that he had no wish for in many years.

Tag list:

@ninty900, @ayselluna, @dajeong, @ravenswritingroom,

@misscrissfemmefatale, @clazberryk

@anukulee, @preciouslittlebhaalbae,

@sh3rl0ck

[lostinforestbound]

i loved the rolan hair greying post!! poor baby 🥹 it got me thinking about more domestic life with rolan. if i may, may i request a rolan fic where he walks in on tav being insecure with their body and he makes tav feel better? no worries if you don't want to do the request 😊

I'm so glad you loved the Rolan Greying headcannons so much! I absolutely loved doing this request! Exploring domestic life with Rolan was so fun, I hope you enjoy this one! If there's tags I may have missed, please let me know!

Perfection

In their mind, their life is becoming close to perfect. Sow hy do they carry so much resentment towards themselves?

Word Count: 1.1k (AO3 TBA)

Relevant Tags: Body Insecurity, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Death of Companion character

This whole adventure was one giant mess. Battle after battle, it never stopped, and it felt like it could go on for the rest of its days. They strained their body to its limits, a tadpole constantly giving them the worst headaches they've ever experienced, and their injuries have been life-threatening more than once; they're so, so tired.

So when Cal offered that room in the tower in passing after Lorroakan's defeat, they didn't take it too seriously; there was no way they could rest now, not this easily, and they doubted Rolan would let them stay. They wouldn't believe it, they couldn't believe it. Respectfully, they thought Rolan was a prickly bastard, even if at some points they found that cute. They were surprised when the new archmage encouraged the option for them to stick around. They noticed the way Cal and Lia smirked at each other when their brother did so, as if they knew something they both didn't. They didn't pay any mind to it at the time.

But when the brain was finally defeated, that's exactly what they decided to do, their heart longing for a true home after their stressful endeavor. Being able to stay somewhere permanent sounded wonderful. Unusually, they found their home in Rolan, which was a pleasant surprise. At first, it was teasing each other and bickering across the room; at some point, it turned into flirting, stealing glances at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking. Then, after getting tired of dancing around with compliments, they pushed Rolan against the wall and devoured his mouth, which was met with enthusiasm by the pinned tiefling.

Living this domestic life with him and his siblings is incredible, and while their relationship was relatively fresh, they know in their heart they want to live like this for the rest of their days. Waking up next to the handsome tiefling every morning is like a dream, seeing genuine relaxation paint his features as he stays nuzzled in their neck. They'll do their usual routine, running their fingers through his hair to encourage him to wake up, even if he may complain about it with a grumble. They'll share coffee and breakfast with Lia and Cal before they all get to work for the day. Then after a long while, they'll usually meet up again at the tower for dinner, courtesy of Cal loving to cook for them.

In their mind, their life is becoming close to perfect.

So why do they carry so much resentment towards themselves?

Hair still wet and freshly out of the basin, they stand in front of a full-body mirror as they settle in undergarments. They had to pause for a long moment, looking at themselves with a depressing, tired look on their face.

Their body is covered in so many scars from their adventure. Not only are they ugly, but they are a reminder of their failures. Scrapes on their knuckles from their struggle in the Nautiloid, freshly kidnapped. Slices on their arms from shadow creatures and nurses after discovering Arabella's parents, Locke and Komira, dead in the House of Healing. The massive burn on their shoulder from Ketheric's Warhammer, completely shattering the bone within. Cuts where Orin tore into the flesh on their back, where they couldn't save-

They shake their head with a sharp sigh, wishing that their skin was clear of their deformities. The more they stare at themselves in the mirror, the more disfigured they look, and the more insecure they get. How does someone like Rolan, the archmage of Ramazith's tower, find this attractive?

Being so distracted, they don't see Rolan standing by the door in his adorable blue nightwear. They don't see him looking at them with light concern, eyes tracing up and down their body. They don't hear him carefully approach them, not wanting to startle them. But they do feel his hand on their bare back, looking at them through the mirror while standing beside them.

"I was wondering when you were coming to bed. You had me worried! How selfish of you, am I supposed to sleep without you?" He complains lightly in his usual dramatic way.

That does make them laugh, though it is short-lived. Their body is now extremely distracting to them.

Rolan notices their distant look, the glaze that comes over their eyes as they look at the qualities of their skin.

"You look wonderful. You do know this, right?"

"Rolan-"

He holds a hand up to gently interrupt them, eyes soft. "Please, let me finish."

Taking a deep breath, he wraps his arms around them from behind and rests his head on their shoulder before speaking again, "You're lovely. Every part of you I cherish, and I will do so for as long as you let me. You look perfect to me."

They lean back against his chest, eyes closing as they subtly blink away tears.

"And besides, your scars- well-" He coughs, looking away.

At first, they fear that is a bad sound and quickly glance at him through the mirror, but they only see the blush on his face and ears that he fails to hide away.

His nose scrunches up in a way they always found endearing, knowing full well he's embarrassed. "I find them quite attractive."

"Oh, do you now?" They tease, a smile finally returning to their face.

He rolls his eyes. "Please, if I found them unattractive I would be very vocal about it."

They raise a hand and trace an index finger along the edge of his ear. "I know just how vocal you are, Rolan."

"You are a godsdamn tease. Menace!" He exasperates, his skin only getting redder by the second as they laugh.

He's always so easy to tease, and they secretly love his little embarrassed outbursts. It's adorable to them.

With a gentle pull of their hand, they let him lead them to their bed, feeling his tail curl around their thigh as they do. As they settle down, they cuddle close together, and they notice how Rolan's hands trail all over them. His fingers trace everything they thought of as imperfect, especially the scars that they detest. It's not teasing, nor is it sensual like other nights may be.

It's worship.

He pays special attention to the scar on their shoulder, two fingers tracing the edge of it as he speaks up, "Ketheric did this to you?"

"He did."

He gently presses a kiss to it, pulling them closer to his body. "It hurt, I assume."

"It did, but the bastard's dead, so who got the last laugh?"

They both giggle as if on cue, and he starts kissing them all over their face, making them blush.

Maybe their scars can mean something heroic, instead.

[athanasius-symposium-of-writings]

I’m soo in love with your writing! Could I request a fic where vamp Tav had a cruel master too prior to being infected by the tadpole. However instead of being very guarded and practiced like Astarion, they’re just fearful of most things. And Tav starts to cling to Astarion because he’s the only one who understands what she went through. Give me all the angst lol

Crying in my cry these wounds will not heal CRRYY lol

Rated: M

Warnings: vampirism, killing, angsty, manipulation (unintentionally), degradation

Dependent.

Ten years of constant isolation, of darkness within your cell, tortured and forced to drink the blood of people. Ideally, it takes seven years to break the mind of a strong-willed person, lucky for your master it only took two years. You broke the moment he turned you, he just had to clear the rubble and start building the ideal foundation of what he wanted from you: Complete dependence on him.

When you escaped, you nearly turned back on the first night before you were kidnapped by the Mind Flayers.

You have no idea how to be a vampire, that information was kept a secret. The rules, the customs, even the basic taste of feeding on mortals was never told to you. You drank blood from bottles or cups, you ate solid foods for the most part. Your master supplied everything…

When you tried to feed on a mouse or on Astarion, all you felt was both the pain of not feeding your hunger and the guilt. You are a monster, a monster who needs help like a newborn baby.

Which makes you frustrated, angry, and goddamn weak.

Worse is such behaviors then bleed into your interactions with the kindred. This dependency on Astarion.

The blood wine of a boar, a rat, a bear; animal blood is not as sweet as humanoid blood. And though you are grateful for being able to now function, your beast demands true subsidence.

Then you killed a Gur, a monster hunter.

Rather, Astarion had his fun then you both fed on the poor hunter. Gods, the sated feeling, the beast pleased to finally consume a worthy prey.

"Need something– Oh~, how cute." The beast craved more. Greedy. Insatiable. Your mouth shared the taste of fresh blood with Astarion as if it were natural to seek out the pleasures of the flesh.

It didn't get that far though, you pulled away before you made Astarion do something he probably doesn't want with someone like you.

"I thought you didn't like me."

You asked after saving the tieflings and destroying the heads of the goblin camp (goblins included).

"Now if I didn't like you, dear, we wouldn't have our pact."

Kill his master, he kills your master. The bonus is he is willing to teach you how to be a proper vampire (which is hard for him because you insist on having some moral code when it comes to feeding on people).

There was no sex that night. You are too shy. He found you after the party by chance on the outskirts of the camp, where you played your lute as you sang a song.

A sad one from what he can tell from the tune.

The lyrics are equally painful, vague with flowery words, yet the pain is there.

"You want to join me?" You say after finishing your song, "Thought you would be in the arms of someone by now." He sits beside you with his back facing the river, attention on you.

Astarion stays with you that night, you don't know why nor does he. It is like this bond between you two, kindred in blood bound by necessity. When the tadpoles are dealt with, you want to remain with him though you are not sure if he will let you.

The thought of offering yourself to be his spawn has crossed your mind… He will be a vampire lord if he kills Cazador and drinks his blood. You have no idea about where your master could be, but Astarion is strong. Stronger than you and could kill him.

Dependent.

You wish you weren't but you are at a disadvantage with the only advantage is keeping Astarion by your side. It hurts to be like this, using someone you would like to be friends with, you swear to make it up to him during this adventure!

[spacebarbarianweird]

I wish I could do this as an ask from @astarionsbeloved but Tumblr is bein Tumblr.

I'd like to ask for a head canon! Astarion with an autistic partner? As an adult autistic afab who was very late diagnosed and is constantly struggling to balance things (including skill regression which I seriously wish they'd talk about more), I'd love to read someone else's personal head canon for this.

Ok, this one was difficult! Thanks @rachelle-on-the-run for tips!

Astarion x Autistic Tav

Masterlist

Headcanons

You have always been aware something is off with you.

It's not like you are sick or deranged, but you have had difficulties communicating with other people or understanding what this world wants from you.

You can't read social cues, often don't get the context, and are absolutely oblivious about flirting.

Your family has always blamed it on you - just take a grip! What do you mean, you can't go outside without a weird black cape that was given to you ages ago?

What do you mean you can't hold your tears? Are you a toddler?

Grow up!

The kidnapping and getting the tadpole in your brains really take a toll on you.

You can't sleep in the tent. You've lost your black cape.

There are too many people around you. You have to sleep in different places every night. You have to eat what you manage to find, not your comfort food.

You see it as a chance to get this grip. You can. You are an adult. You can make your brain work!

For a while, you manage to do so. But you can't understand why Astarion pays so much attention to you.

Until Gale tells you that it's flirting.

You are embarrassed. With little to no sexual experience, you just thought Astarion was friendly!

And you absolutely can't read the room which ends up with Gale being offended by your comments about his personal life, and Shadowheart almost puts some sort of a curse on you just because you blurted something insensitive.

And yep, you've crossed Astarion's boundaries a few times. Because you just couldn't understand why certain things hurt him.

And then, something horrible happens.

There is a battle. Not the bloodiest, not the most difficult.

But you have a meltdown.

It's just too much. Too many sounds, too many people, too much, too much.

You cry and scream, throwing objects into the wall.

The whole party is embarrassed.

But not Astarion.

He gently takes you to the camp where he tugs you in the blanket while speaking something soft in Elven.

And then he leaves you alone making sure no one from the camp disturbs you.

When you feel better you crawl outside to notice him sitting with a book.

"I am sorry", you sniff.

"Don't. It's not your fault. Besides, I should admit, you've done your best all this time."

You are shocked. There is understanding in his voice.

"It's just how your brain works, Tav. You are overwhelmed easily, it's ok."

He helps you to re-create your routine making it workable at the camp.

He even gets you a comfort cape - not like the one you used to have, but a very similar one.

Astarion also looks for food you can eat as a picky eater and scolds anyone at camp who tries to ostracize you

At the sametime , he doesn't allow anyone to infantilize you.

You are a grown adult so is he. You can make decisions and deal with consequences.

For him it's a nice change as well - he has to be very clear with you saying what he wants and why.

You have to deal with a stigma - people who know you often call Astarion a predator because he sleeps with a person who is "mentally ill."

He doesn't take any of this bs. You aren't ill. You know what you do.

Mostly.

With time, he learns how to deal with your meltdowns and even predict them. He professionally takes you away from the possible triggers and makes sure you are okay.

You shower him with your affection - sometimes unpredictable, sometimes crossing his boundaries.

You accidentally help him deal with his back scars. You just didn't realize you weren't supposed to touch them.

You started rubbing his back with your gentle fingers and before Astarion managed to get away from you, he suddenly realized it felt nice.

It is still a lot of work for you two.

But you glad to share this journey with each other.

--

Tag list

@tugoslovenka @marcynomercy @wintersire @vixstarria@not-so-lost-after-all @ashiro20 @theearthsfinalconfession @herstxrgirl @starlight-ipomoea @micropoe10 @astarion-imagine-archive @veillsar @elora-the-slutty-songstress @fayeriess @lumienyx@astarion-beloved @tallymonster @caitlincat-95@tragedybunny @valeprati @lynnlovesthestars

[jasonsilver009]

Cazador Wins

I had the absolutely worst idea that I don’t think I have the heart to write it up properly.

tw: torture, death, the worst ending possible

Astarion’s siblings succeed in kidnaping him from your camp and brining him back to Cazador. But he resists Cazador’s commands and proves that he can’t control Astarion any more. Of course this makes Cazador livid but he doesn’t have time to solve this issue he has a ritual to complete. He keeps Astarion in complete agony torturing him and taking his frustration out on him. He asks Astarion why he’s so convinced Tav would come looking for him. Astarion breaks down crying that Tav loves him. Of course Cazador laughs at this but it gets under his skin. Astarion belongs to him and as long as Tav’s around it seems his favored spawn has the means to resist him. 

“They love me. And no matter what you do you can not take that away from me. Someone in this world looked at me saw me for who I really am, all of it the good and the bad and they chose me.” 

So he sets up a trap. Tav and the team infiltrate his castle using well placed clues and have to fight off a few minor minions, just enough not to be suspicious. When they get to the ritual chamber Astarion isn’t in his position as a ritual component. He’s chained down next to Cazador in a pool of blood. Tav and friends fight hard but they rushed into this too quickly so desperate to get Astarion back. Their friends are just simply slaughtered but Tav is brought before Cazador. They’re turned into a vampire and then the ritual symbol is carved into their back. 

They see the blood mess where Cazador had flayed Astarion’s scars off. So he could keep Astarion once he’d acceded. So he’d have centuries to break his favorite toy again.  Cazador make a whole show of it, draining tav in front of Astarion, offering him a drop of their blood one last time just to laugh in his face. Immobilizing them and taking his time with the ritual symbols. Then sending them to their place and completing the ritual. 

Maybe with his new powers Cazador is able to overcome the tadpole. Maybe not. Maybe he takes the netherstone and artifact from Tav’s body and pieces it together. Maybe he works with the emperor and rids everyone of the tadpoles so he can finally have complete control over Astarion. Of course this whole time he has Astarion impaled in a coffin deep underground where he’ll keep him for at least 5 years this time to ensure his obedience.