#Portrait of the pale elf

[larvasmoon]

Commission by the very talented @shiroishi-art for my ongoing story Portrait of the pale elf ❤️ It's so beautiful, I've been staring at it again and again for the past days ! It left me in shambles... The attention to details is truly insane.

[anacdoce]

I have to make this rec because this is a fantastic story that should be read.

@larvasmoon you have my heart 🖤

[evydraws]

Astarion painting process | prints

[rosieofcorona]

astarion (details)

[anerianaa]

A sketch portrait of Astarion from this scene 💜

[danyaselmar]

The pale elf - sketch

I think I'm finally getting a hang of how to draw him. It was a long and hard fight to get here. (frantically pushes the shit ton of failed drawings under the carpet)

I'm entering a new phase in my art, I can feel it🥹At least until the next crisis lol

[bittybatty]

I will be selling prints of this eventually. If you'd like to be updated on when, check out and follow my instagram, tiktok or etsy to stay up to date on my current merch!

Anyone who guessed my last post to be Astarion, you were right! I have not played the game, admittedly (my laptop can't handle a game that good), but I am in love with his character. Plus, it's a huge bonus in his favor that he's a vampire. I'm also a huge sucker for vampires getting to walk in daylight and being excited about it! I really wanted to represent the sun in this portrait, which is why I went with the shape that I did.

[dread-red-queen]

Had to draw my favourite pale elf XD had this idea in my head for a while so decided to get my butt in gear and actually draw it haha

[bhaalbust]

How about a Durge with some artistic ability filling up a sketchbook with etchings of faces they only vaguely remember in their mind's eye. Entire pages of a pale woman with milky eyes, long hair and a manic grin splattered in blood, an older elf with tired eyes and sad faraway expression...

Maybe next to portraits of past victims they're overcome by muscle memory and write down notes pertaining to vivisections and cruel experiments half remembered. They hold out a hand, reverting to what must have been habit before their loss of memory, expecting to have their pen taken and replaced with a sharpened scalpel by the clawed green hand of their butler.

When doing a hand study they realise they're drawing a specific pair, strong and scarred and adorned with a gilded gauntlet. It brings up a memory of being held tight and securely as those same hands print themselves across their body in congealing blood and black engine grease — a mess that was getting all over the workshop table, staining the schematics for his tin soldiers. A name sits heavily on the tip of their tongue and a horrible feeling of homesickness overtakes them, quickly followed by unexplained guilt and paranoia.

The need to ask forgiveness nags at the back of their mind for the rest of the day.

[larvasmoon]

Portrait of the Pale Elf (9) - Vespertine

I have been gone for quite a while but I'm back !

Here's a short little update before the monster that is next chapter.

Chapter summary :

"On the other side of the atelier, in the tall mirror that she used to keep there to practise on her reflection, something stirred. A long vaporous shadow, wrapped in dark robes. Like drops of black ink in a glass of water, swelling and stretching up, until it formed a silhouette. “You should’ve listened to me, child,” the warped reflection said, haunting yet angelic like that night in the gristmill, “I warned you not to paint him.” Selene slumped against the wall, limp and white as a sheet. No sound came out of her mouth as she helplessly watched the lady of her nightmares stepping into her reality. “I told you you’d regret it, didn’t I ?”"

Cover art is a gift from a wonderfully talented friend of mine @exclusivepat ❤️ I'm completely in awe of her skills !

Full summary under the cut

It’s been 10 years since Astarion and his companions have saved themselves and Baldur’s Gate from many great perils. The pale elf has killed his master and has resisted the temptation to ascend, but now finds himself all alone in the ruins of a life that used to be his in Baldur’s Gate, long before Cazador and the mind flayers. He is now a very famous tailor, spending most of his nights sewing elegant corsets and petticoats for nobles from all over Faerûn, but feels like his life is a series dull and colorless moments. His love for Tav has withered and died, like everything he touches, and his old friends are busy living their own lives. Consumed by solitude and struggling to find a purpose to his immortal existence, Astarion crosses path with a young painter named Selene. She has lost her artistry, he has lost his reflection. Could they find in each other what they have been looking for all along ?

[wecanbe-heroes]

Astarion x reader, gn!tav

Requested by a member of the bg3 discord I am in. Tav uses disguise self to show Astarion his reflection. 1.1k words. Short and teasingly sweet.

“Damn this blasted thing!” You hear glass shatter and lean up out of your bedroll, glancing in the direction of the sound. A pale figure stands outside his tent, a broken mirror at his feet. The other people in your camp side eye him before going back to their business, but you rise to your feet.

“What’s going on over here?” You ask gently as you approach, careful to avoid any glass on the ground.

Astarion whirls around to face you, a brief look of anger then shock. “Hello, darling.” His face is a mask of cool now, his lips poised in his signature smirk. “Silly me just dropped my mirror.” He bent to pick it up and a couple extra pieces of glass clatter to the dirt.

“I thought vampires couldn’t see their reflection?” You already know the answer, but ask anyway. This earns a sigh and Astarion looks at the mirror.

“Yes, this is true. A part of me keeps checking though.” He twirls it in his hands for a moment before placing it back on the stool by his tent. “If this wretched tadpole can make me walk in the sun again, I thought it might let me see myself again.” There is a yearning in his voice and you realize it has been over 200 years since the elf has seen his reflection.

“So you’ve never had a portrait made or anything?” You tilt your head slightly to the left.

“Ha! As if Cazador would allow that.” He scoffs and waves a hand. “No, I have no memory before being turned. All I know is what people have told me. White hair, vampire red eyes. Beauty to rival a god.” His smirk widens and he winks at you. You can’t help the faint flush that rises to your cheeks at his flirtations. While perhaps exaggerated, he is quite beautiful.

“I wish I could paint a portrait of you, Astarion. You deserve to see yourself truly.” You sigh. Artistic talent never found its way to you, your hands not built for the finer arts.

“That is quite alright my sweet.” His eyes soften for a moment. Unknownst to you, he is taken aback by your offer. No one has ever cared enough about his vanity, his desire to know how he appears to others, to offer to paint him. He jerks back as you suddenly gasp and clap your hands together.

“I can do something better than a portrait!” How could you forget? You run back to your bags, rummaging through them. You picked up a scroll a few days ago that might be just what you need. Finally, you find the scroll you are looking for. 

"What have you got there?" Astarion's voice holds a hint of wary, trust still hard for him. You give him a smirk and unfurl the scroll.

"It's been awhile since I've cast this spell so I'm studying it." You crack your knuckles and neck, studying the spell. It's not something you keep prepared and you're glad you picked this up in the abandoned house you went through earlier. Astarion steps back and you wave him forward. "Don't worry, it's not a spell for you. It's for me." You reassure him and stand to your full height. You study his features for awhile, long enough he begins to look uncomfortable under your scrutiny. You want to get this right, show him an as exact replica as you can.

"Alright here we go." You give yourself a shake and then begin casting. Magic sparks from your fingers as you wave them around your body. Tingles and light shocks spread across your skin as it changes. The spell is quick and basically painless, more of an itch as it adds an illusion over your body. Your camp clothes disappear, replaced by Astarion's leather pants and ruffled shirt. It's a bit weird, seeing the illusion take over but still feeling your normal look. Within a couple seconds, you are now standing eye to eye with the vampire. His eyes are wide, mouth slightly agape. You have never seen him flustered like this. "Well, what do you think?" You hold your arms out, pale skin gleaming the same as his. You don't feel the elongated canines in your mouth, but you know they are there when his eyes flicker to your mouth when you speak, giving him a smirk mirroring his own.

"My my, I am as handsome as I thought." His jokes armor against his own sensitivity. In truth, his hands are shaking and eyes keep jumping to different parts of you. You give him a slow turn to get the full view. Then you step forward, close enough your boots are nearly touching his. "Those eyes, my eyes. So red." He sneers at the sight. You wonder what color they were before he was turned. A shade of hazel or brown would be staggering, though he likely had a shade of blue as most high elves have. The red is piercing is he studies your face, his face. Drinking you in to burn forever in his memory. You reach up to his face, fingers ghosting the skin. Not touching him, but longing to. 

"I'm not sure if I got the laugh lines right." You say breathlessly, trying to ease the sudden tension. Astarion scoffs and rolls his eyes, you ignore the slight glisten in them to save his pride.

"I am an immortal being, I do not have laugh lines!" He moves away from you, smoothing the creases around his mouth. As you give a soft chuckle, the spell begins to fade. That itching tingle spreads across your body once more and then you are back to normal you.

"I'm sorry I couldn't give you more. Maybe we can commision a portrait once we get to the city?" You suggest, though you're not sure if your team will make it to Baldur's Gate let alone have time for such a thing. 

"No apologies, darling. You have given me enough." He gets far off look on his face before he takes your hand in his, a rare display of affection. "Thank you." He presses a kiss to the back of your hand before he retreats back into his tent. You stand there for a moment in awe before picking up the broken mirror and the glass pieces. A quick mending cantrip and it looks brand new. You place it on the stool outside his tent before going back to your bedroll. The spot on your hand that he kissed phantomly burns as you fall to sleep, dreaming of soft red eyes. 

[evydraws]

"The Pale Elf" - charcoal sketch

[quill-n]

I broke into my friend's class earlier and watercolored some shadowgast :)

[ID] Image 1: A water color portrait of Essek Thelyss from Critical Role. Essek is a handsome drow elf with lavender skin and short white hair. He is looking off to the left with a soft smile on his face. Image 2: A water color portrait of Caleb Widogast from Critical Role. Caleb is a pale human man with long reddish hair, freckles, and a beard. He is looking off to the right with a soft smile. [end ID]

Here's them looking at each other <3

[ID] The same two water color portraits from the previous images, but arranged so that Caleb and Essek are looking into each other's eyes. [end ID]

[jerirose]

Some practice paintings of BG3 Tavs and a Dream Visitor.

Twitter | Instagram

[Image Descriptions] A series of quick, rough paintings of several different OCs and a Dream Visitor from Baldur's Gate 3. Image 1: A painting of 3 portraits, a Half-Orc with olive greenskin and a neck tattoo that goes up her head, piercing orange eyes, black hair with a shaved side, wearing gold amour. Infront of her a pearl Dragonborn, with peach horns, wearing a barbarian outfit and to the right of her, a blue Drow with star freckles along his cheeks, short wavy hair looking off to the side. Image 7: A painting of a 3 characters. A half-tiefling at the back looking scared off screen, eyes black voids, with a neck tattoo like flames that move up his face, he is covered in blood and is wearing a pale blue outfit. On his left, a sea-green Gith, with pale spots from vitiligo, she has orange eyes and is looking off screen, her greenish yellow hair is in a messy bun and she has 5 lip studs, 2 double snakebites and a labret. On her right, a human rogue with one black eye and one brown, his black dreads are up in a half pony tail, he has the same neck tattoo as the half-elf above him, he wears gold jewlery, 3 lip rings, a medusa piercing and 2 earrings. He's wearing leather armour, with silver stud detailing's. Images 2 - 6: individual portraits of each of those that are descripted in image 1 and image 7.

[danyaselmar]

"Hello darling."

Raffle price for @ragingdumpsterfire 🥰

I had a lot of fun drawing our favorite vampire elf😊 Hope you like it.

[vyjuarts]

Draw me like one of your French bats, darling! 🌹

To show my deep appreciation for @larvasmoon's amazing creative work, I bring you my little crack headcanon of how bat!Astarion would act when sweet Selene does a painting of him in the captivating fic "Portrait of the Pale Elf".

For perspective, he is on a small shelf, so Selene can look at him easier to capture his devastatingly well styled locks of fur.

I highly recommend this fic! It has angst, happiness, hotness and we really dislike Tav in this household. ✨

Day 5 - Drawing, the prompt for my little piece for the ongoing @bg3-apprecimaytion's Apprecimaytion event to appreciate all the hard work and creativity of other creators in the bg3 fandom. 💙

Look at that smug face 😅

Standalone under the cut: