#Well its not just fluff this time

[darcydarlingdabbles]

Helpless in Her Hold

//The Drow twins' proposition of Tav surfaces some insecurities for Astaron. Hurt/Comfort, angst but happy ending. CW: Unhealthy relationship to sex/sexuality, identity issues. Not edited... Song Rec: Supposed to Be (Acoustic) By Icon for Hire//

Astarion x f!Tav, Canonish, Act 3

2.1k

Astarion watched, helpless, with his dead heart in his throat as the drow twins propositioned Tav. His Tav. He want to growl it and glower until no one else in this pleasure den deigned to offer their services.

Why did she have to be such a lure for elven whores?

Astarion leaned back against the wall, hardly resisting the urge to fold his arms and sulk in plain view of the whole party. He wasn’t a child whose toy was being played with—and yet, the brightness of her eyes and the laugh on her lips had him wanting to pout and whinge like a toddler.

“I appreciate the offer, I do, but I must decline.” Tav shook her head. Though personally the vampire thought she could be a little more rude in her rejection.

Because the damn twins were were still giving her looks that were far too inviting. Not that Tav saw, because her eyes had landed back on him, and Astarion was just thanking his lucky stars he’d perfected the mask he wore.

“Is that your partner?” The female drow asked, her smile making disgust creep up his spine—it was easy to see where this was going. “We’d be happy to have you both.”

“My dear, I’m afraid you’d be the one parting with your gold.” A high laugh slipped from Astarion’s lips. “And, I do doubt you could afford me.”

He saw the twins’ mirrored expressions of bewilderment turn to glee for only a flash before Tav was excusing herself from them. Swiftly stepping over to him with—that damnable look on her face.

Oh he knew those eyes, so drawn with her concern and on the verge of pity. Tav looked like that when she was about to do something so dreadfully kind it might make him wretch.

And he could not be the broken toy when she was being offered two shiny new ones.

“Astarion—” Tav began in that tone, and he had to preempt her.

“I know pet, tempting as it is, I simply must decline.”

“Yeah?” Tav utterly confounded him with that lifted smile. “That’s good.”

“Good..?” Astarion asked, his mind trying to race ahead. Find the traps and disarm them before they sprung.

She’d preached to him over and over again about his choice, and what he wanted and how that mattered to her for some reason.

Only for him to make a decision about the drow for her.

Shit.

It was a test. It had to be. She respected his choices, now he was expected to reciprocate.

“Ah I see.” Astarion inclined his head to her, a salacious smile on his lips. “You haven’t had much attention lately…it has been a while for us.”

Tav blinked, and then those bright eyes were on his, searching him out. The pale elf would cling to the façade by the skin of his fangs, if it meant he could keep her.

She turned, and Astarion prepared for the feeling of a stake through his heart.

“Well, if my partner isn’t interested, neither am I.” Tav brushed off the twins’ advances with as much grace as one could muster. Until they finally had the tact to move to other potential patrons.

She was already leading the way out of Sharess’ Caress before Astarion had recovered from his shock.

The cold night air near Baulder’s Gate finally woke him.

“You could have gone with them, you know.” He blurted, wondering why in the Hells she hadn’t. It wasn’t like he was satiating her hungers.

Astarion felt Tav shrug her shoulder through their linked hands. “I’m not interested in any little tryst if it’s at your expense.”

She said it so simple, so easy, as if it were hardly worth a second thought.

Astarion’s mind was still reeling, but he put on a smirk. “Stop being so kind to me; it almost makes me want to return the favor.” 

As if it were a debt he could ever repay her.

…

Hours later, Tav lay in her darkened room, sleep evading her. The soft click of a lock being picked made her tense, hand instinctively grasping the dagger beneath her pillow. But the familiar silhouette slipping through the door made her relax.

"Hello, my darling," Astarion purred as he approached, her darkvision letting her see how his ruby eyes glinted. “Haven’t you gotten accustom to me creeping into your bed?”

"It has been a moment since you came looking for a cuddle?" Tav teased softly, tilting her head. His appearance at this hour had her wondering. The dark of night and hushed voices already strummed tension in the air between them.

“I do seek…something akin to that.”

Astarion perched on the edge of the bed, long fingers skimming up her bare arm and leaving goosebumps in their wake. Despite all her thoughts trying to tame her reaction, for now.

"I merely wished to express my gratitude, my sweet. For standing by me, even knowing what I am. What I've done. And what I haven’t."

“What you…haven’t?” Her half-awake mind might be jumping to conclusions, surely. Twining their fingers together, Tav brought his hand to her lips, pressing a soft kiss to his knuckles. "You never have to thank me for that."

Astarion's eyes shimmered suspiciously in the darkness before he blinked it away, his trademark smirk back in place. "I want to thank you," he purred, “Won’t you, let me?”

He moved then, pressing her back into the soft pillow she’d been having trouble sleeping on after so many nights spent in the dirt.

Though the familiar weight of him was already making the bed more appealing. Now, just like every time he fed from her, he cradled her skull and tilted her head back so tenderly. It was comforting, it was an intimate moment she was happy to share with him.

His eyes didn’t meet hers as he ducked his head. Usually he lingered, to make sure Tav was alright before his fangs pierced her flesh. So why did she feel lips caressing her neck?

Her fingers slid into his hair, trying to get a grip on herself as much as she was on his curls.

“Star, what’s going on?”

The chuckle he gave was at the base of her neck, lips and tongue teasing at her collarbones in a way that made her skin tingle.

“Returning the favor.” He purred. “You deserve it.”

Tav swallowed under his clever mouth, trying to hear what her mind was screaming at her before it could be drowned out by the sweet words and sweeter lips.

Suddenly his face was swimming before hers, still not letting her catch his eye as he cupped her cheek. “So very few people get what they deserve—you, as always, should be the exception.”

Astation, with his ethereal beauty and perfect words, had her stunned. It wasn’t until he lowered his mouth to hers that her mind caught up.

“I don’t deserve anything you don’t wish to give.” Tav managed against his mouth, giving a gentle tug to his hair to get him to pull back.

“My sweet…I very much wish to give.”

That silver tongue slipped right past her protesting lips.

…

The elf was certain he had her when those hands slipped from his hair to cup his face in her palms. Her thumbs stroked over his high cheekbones.

“Astarion, wait.” Tav breathed.

He stilled, pulling back, fear flickering over his features as he was sure he’d somehow hurt her—when he saw it.

That damnable look in her eyes.

“Wait—we’ve done nothing but the waiting.” He snapped.

And Tav, damn her, gave a softer look still. “I’m willing to wait longer, as long as it takes.”

Astarion's posture stiffened, his back becoming an iron rod as he sat upright. "Is that how you see me then?" He couldn't keep the defensive edge from seeping into his voice. Drawing it like a blade when he felt his throat was bared.

"All shattered on the inside? Some broken doll you no longer play with? Am I to be put on a shelf and never touched again?"

“Astarion, you aren’t—” She moved to touch him, but he rose abruptly, evading her reach.

He didn’t even know why he did it. But the way her hand fell back to the bed, dejected, hurt him just as the pain he saw on her face.

"I know you aren’t fragile," Tav said with conviction, eyes pleading for him to understand.

“Then what? Am I some charity case to you? Is that what you get off on?”

Astarion hated it the moment he said it. But, the fangs showed whenever vulnerability crept up on him.

She stayed silent, and he had to fill that void before it consumed him.

“I’m not some delicate boy with a broken heart. I have wants. And I can see that you have them too. So, why not?”

“Is that what you want?” Tav smothered his outrage like a blanket over a campfire.

His shoulders sagged under the weight of his uncertainty.

“I don’t know.” The words barely escaped his lips before they broke apart into whispers of self-doubt. “Gods, I don’t know how to do any of this.” A frustrated hand raked through his white curls.

He wanted her. He wanted to see her looks of want and he wanted to be the one to fulfill her desires.

He wanted to keep her.

She sat up, legs hanging off the bed. And his eyes were drawn to the bare skin of her thighs exposed by her loose sleep clothes.

“Astarion, what do you want?”

He stared down at her, red eyes probing for a hint of the right answer. What did she want him to say? He would say it.

But Tav held without giving an inch.

“Why do you always ask the most difficult things?”

"I’m sorry." she whispered back.

"Don’t. I want—no, I need to know that I am still wanted by you." The confession fell from his lips like a plea. "You who’ve given me so much and seen broken I am. You who’ve made me wonder if I do indeed have any pieces left of my own soul…” The words were on his tongue, but his throat constricted around baring his neck one last time. “Do you still want me?”

“I will always want you.” Tav’s reply came without hesitation or doubt.

Either he had gotten to sloppy to see it—or there was simply no guile in her.

Tav reached out, her hand finding his where he stood frozen. He could feel the tension coursing through him—an all too familiar vulnerability that he constantly tried to suppress.

“Then let me give you something in return.” He dropped to his knees before her, desperation etched into every feature. .“Please, Tav.”

She lifted the hand she held, cupping it in both of hers, before she pressed his touch against her chest. And he had a moment to hope, that maybe, she would just let him give a fraction of what she’d given him.

“You’ve given me everything already, my heart.”

A scornful snort burst from him, everything in him prepared to banish her romanticized drivel with a dose of reality.

“This,” Her fingers tightened around the fabric of his shirt over his chest. “Past the petty armor you wear. Beneath the pretty face and clever tongue,” She yanked him close before he could quip back.“That is what you give me; parts of you that you’ve given to no one else.”

When he looked at her then, he had no idea what she might see, even if he could use a mirror.

“Your kindness, your hurt, your wants. The truth of you. That’s what I want.”

“I can’t give—“ Astarion couldn’t get this damn silver tongue of his around a his words. “I don’t know what that is…who I am.”

“Then we can both find out. That’s all I ask of you.”

He swallowed hard as her words left him parched and speechless. The notion that he might still have something to offer, a piece of himself that was untouched.

Astarion found himself staring at her, wonder and disbelief battling for dominance in his gaze.

A gentleness tugged at Tav's lips. And for a fleeting moment, Astarion dared to believe that perhaps he could have this.

He moved up, but only to wrap his arms around her. To engulf her in his embrace. Just as that night when she wrapped her arms around him, and first showed him that there was affection, there was closeness, without the expectation of more.

Astarion would be just fine if he was helpless in her arms.

[p1x1x]

[autism-corner]

It's been a long day for you. The exhaustions caused by RAD and the brothers' regular ruckus were starting to add up again. Still, falling asleep at night was just as much as a struggle as staying awake during the day. Usually when you couldn't sleep, you would toss and turn the whole night. You'd keep cycling between already seen youtube video's with hopes that this next one will finally be the one to turn of your mind. All in vain.

Belphie had began to notice your restlessness earlier than the others. He always subconsciously held an eye on the health of the people he cared about. So, on the third day of your ever increasing energy deficit, before any of his brothers even suspected a thing, he pulled you into his room, and onto his bed.

'We are sleeping. Right now.' Determination was a strange look on him, who so often lacked any expression at all. But it for sure wasn't a bad one.

Before you could even get a word in (not that you were in opposition of his idea, you were more surprised by his insistence if anything), he had already wrapped his arms around your waist and forced the two of you on your sides.

Belphegor was already struggling to keep his eyes open. The vertical positioning on his warm, cozy & familiar bed, now with the added warmth of his favorite person next to him, weren't helping. Still, he didn't want to fare of to dreamland before he was sure you would aswell.

Not wanting to use his sleep magic on you, fearing his small & fragile human wouldn't ever wake up again, he employed his one other sleepy-time tactic. (He of course knew you were neither small nor fragile, and that using the magic would be entirely fine. But magic could never beat good ol' quality time & touch)

He had learned it from his sister. Small little touches, lightly tracing the same path on your partners back, could work just as well as magic. Something about the connection it made would calm the person you're caressing and send them softly to sleep. So, without saying a word, both of his hands reached for your upper back.

You didn't say anything either. You wouldn't dare. You know you deserved this, and felt its effects coming into action already. Although you wouldn't mind Belphie doing this to you for hours, maybe there'd be a better time for that. You wanted sleep, and apparently someone lovingly tracing the little hearts on your back, over and over and over and over again, was all you needed. You weren't even awake enough anymore to register Belphie's soft whispers of adoration. You'd have to ask him to say them again some other day. Now was time to give in.

[emberunderscore]

i promised myself that id give icarus a break for a few chapters but holy fuck i cannot write fluff for some reason

"they hugged each other and they were not going through the horrors at that current moment" like what????

[bonestrouslingbones]

btw one of the things i want to do when i really rap up atbb for real is spontaneously get the energy at will to do actual updated fullbodies of the main 4 since now i actually have the ability to draw them the way they look in my head & have the skills to put some more variety in their shapes. basically i wanna

[splintergirl13]

"I don't have spare fire protection." Herobrine mumbled out in a sort of daze. Steve knew it was working.

"Then don't burn me, Brine~"

[monmuses]

I hope this doesn't come off as clingy or annoying or offensive, but out of curiosity, how do you manage to get so active? It seems you always have tons of threads with hundreds of partners, and even though you rely on queuing your threads, and have your queue set to 10 a day, it still takes a week to cycle through to your other partners. (This is not a bad thing, I'm commenting on the amount of threads you have queued.) I've been running a few different rp blogs over the years and am constantly struggling to find people to write with, so even if I reblog memes, post starter calls, inbox calls, or post open starters, I have almost no engagement. I don't want to send in meme after meme after meme because after a certain point, I fear I'm annoying the other person.

Again, I hope this doesn't come off as annoying or offensive, I just want to be able to write, and you seemed like the person to ask. I love your work 💜💚

unprompted asks - always accepting!

hello hello!! i love these questions, they're never annoying or offensive for me when you just wanna know more. it's totally okay! i don't mind them.

but with being active, it's really just knowing time management and knowing when i can write and if i have enough writing juices to do so. activity is weird for me because i have days where i'll answer EVERYTHING and days where i can barely write one or two words, and it happens. some people are higher activity while others are more in the middle or very low activity. my other partners also run on a queue and a lot of them treat their blogs as a fun hobby, and there's no harm in waiting for stuff.

finding partners is not hard, it's really just "oh you like this? i like this too, let's write!" most people here are SUPER chill and do this for fun. i would look for any promo posts of blogs that are posted by your mutuals or you - those are huge in finding people, same with those roleplay masterlists for various fandoms. some look like these examples here: overwatch, the witcher, cobra kai, scream, ouran highschool hostclub. these are some of the easiest ways to find people because it networks you to other partners of similar interests!

for me, when it came to writing, it really takes a lot of getting out of your comfort zone with talking to people and interacting. as easy as it is to reblog or post inbox calls & starter calls, a lot of it is also reliant on you reaching out for stuff. that requires interacting with their inbox calls & starter calls, sending asks, etc. start small, too, don't try pushing yourself to interact with EVERYBODY, sometimes you can work on just writing with one or two partners, which isn't bad! it takes time to work up that courage and be confident in your writing, because that will help you be more comfortable and getting more interactions that way.

and i promise you are not being annoying to your partners if you're trying to get yourself out there. sending asks is the EASIEST way to start threads and interactions, so NEVER be afraid to send stuff. unless the other partner has said that they prefer plotting & starters over asks or have their askbox closed. you're not causing any harm when you send stuff, because most of the time, people love getting asks.

but yeah, tl;dr work on coming out of your comfort zone and opening up to approaching people, because sometimes you have to. everybody here has some form of anxiety and it takes one person to take that step forward to get stuff going. always know that this is a hobby, so don't treat it like it's a full-time job, it's just something fun! but it takes work to know what you can write, who you write with, etc. you're gonna deal with problems and issues with finding partners, but don't let it push you away!

i do appreciate your kind words though, you seem like a really sweet person! i hope you find decent partners soon for your blog and i hope this stuff helps! ♡

[seedlessmuffins]

.

[elisedonut]

I keep getting bathtub mermaid by Mili on shuffle while listening to music and every single time i end up thinking about a Mer! denperce au

I really don't like need another Mermaid au involving a Percy ship but i just i keep thinking about it anyway

though more in that "a music video in my head" vibe that isn't very easy to translate into a fic to me but looks oh so pretty in my mind

I also know that in the song the Mermaid is not like actually a mermaid and it's like a metaphor for mutilating yourself to be what someone else wants/needs

but like you know? still fits I know I've said before that I'm intrigued by how codependent they could become but I haven't really explored that much in an actual fic

but that's what this song embodies to me

Like I thinking about this being on both sides like depending on which part of the song so its not like a one sided thing

i want them to need each other to the point where it kinda throws off the people around them

I want people who care about them to be very worried about what will happen when this ends

or you know they can just be happy and healthy that's um that's fine to

[strangerhands]

ohmygodddddd i am a fucking genius...👁️ the fic idea i just came up with. the Specific Line i thought up. its such a random idea but its so so cute and sweet and ugh its gonna plague me forever. kinda proud of myself to be honest so lets just hope i can Actually write it soon🧎

[bittwitchy]

see the reality is i post on my rps usually when nobodys been there a bit and nobody is probably online, but the mental illness in me keeps saying its bc everyone secretly hates me and i dont deserve love, and when i tell a gov doctor that, they basically just say ‘take your antidepressant’s and shut up’ which is also funny when said gov doctor wont refill my fucking antidepressants in the first place

[person-official]

Alternative universes are such a cool concept to me.

Like, imagine there's a universe where Colombus never sailed across the world, or even one where he was just not a shitty person. I wonder how different my life would be sometimes. Or maybe something a lot less impacting.

Maybe one where Ranboo Live or Wilbur Soot never got popular. I probably would have gotten over my DSMP faze a lot quicker than the almost three years it took me. They definitely helped shape my humor, no way I would be the same person.

Or a universe where I was actually born a boy. I think about that one a lot as well. I don't doubt my life would be easier, I don't doubt I would also be a LOT happier.

Maybe in a universe where the Library of Alexandria wasn't burned down, how much more literature would we have? How many more things would we know?

Do you think there's a Universe where there's a place that holds all the universe's secrets? I've thought of that a lot too. I've always pictured it as a ginormous library with bookshelves touching the ceiling to the floor, golden engravings etched along the side, and one of those moving ladders from Beauty and the Beast. There would be an area in the middle of the bookshelves with tables and tables seated next to each other in an infinite amount of rows. Of course, there would be two floors, maybe even a third! I think one of the floors would have a couple of restaurants. I'm picturing a Panera and a Tim Hortons, placed along the sides. The books would contain anything you could ever want to know, from the Meaning of Life to a Do it Yourself Book: Origamii Edition, to your favorite fan fiction in physical form!

[sparklingpax]

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh anyway writing more masterforce fic--

[nerosdayinanime]

5 song SabiGiyuu playlist GO.

Gladly~

Welcome Home (radical face)

Soul Meets Body (death cab for a cutie)

Eyes (rogue wave)

Stand My Ground (bob bradley) <yt link

Mountains (message to bears)

[arcaneprism]

Night In - Julie & Bobby

Fourth domestic fluff prompt~

I cannot seem to get Bobby to be quite how I imagined him and this turned out very different from the scene I envisioned in my head but I’ve been changing this for days and I refuse to sit on it for longer so it’s done now.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

The house was empty. Julie had stayed behind whilst most of her housemates had decided to go out to go to a trampoline park and probably absolutely embarrass themselves — she was looking forward to seeing the Snaps and Instagram Stories and giggle over how hopeless some of them were. Julie was meant to join but she had twisted her ankle a couple of days ago and she had been given a compression garment and strict orders to rest before her next orthopaedic appointment so she had to cancel last minute. Most of her housemates had offered to stay back with her but she had insisted that they go. She could find ways to entertain herself for a couple of hours.

At least, she thought she could.

She had been sitting on her bed, skipping songs on Spotify for the past 30 minutes just to try and fill the silence and find something that she could possibly draw to but she had nothing. Her inspiration had run dry and all her songs were either annoyingly loud or just not a Vibe™. She considered trying to draw without music, but the silence of an empty home was just too deafening, it just made her anxious instead.

Then the front door opened and Julie tilted her head in confusion, mind running through possibilities for who it could have been. No one was supposed to be home. Bobby had a late shift, Carrie was at dance practice and would be joining everyone else at the trampoline park afterwards, and everyone else was well, at the trampoline park, and their heavy creaky door opened too smoothly and quietly for it to have been anyone but one of her housemates who were intimately familiar with how to make the door squeak less. Had one of them decided not to go to the park after all?

She heard soft footsteps from the corridor outside, then a gentle knock on her door before it quietly swung open partway. Bobby peeked in warily, almost as if he was worried she might have been asleep. He perked up a bit seeing her awake then let the door open all the way.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” The words spilled out of Julie’s lips before she could think of something else to say.

From his place at the door, Bobby pouted, crossing his arms over his chest, “Really? No ‘hi’ or anything?”

“Hi,” Julie greeted, “You’re supposed to be at work.”

Bobby rolled his eyes, crossing the room to sit on Julie’s bed with her. He didn’t even ask. Rude. If she weren’t so grateful for the company, she’d yell at him about boundaries. Really, she loved her boys but how is it that no one in the band understood the concept of personal space?

“They sent me off early so I thought I’d keep you company.” He smiled then, a small infuriating quirk of his lips which made it clear how proud he was of his answer and oh how was she supposed to find any sort of anger in her when he said shit like that? “What are you drawing?” He prodded, leaning over to look at the (very unfortunately) empty sketchbook on Julie’s lap.

“Well, I was trying to find something I wanted to draw,” Julie snarked, taking her book away from him, “until someone came along and started distracting me.”

Bobby snorted, “You weren’t going to get anything done even if I didn’t come here.”

Well, yes, that was true. But he didn’t have to say it.

Julie wasn’t quite sure what expression her face made, but it did make Bobby laugh as he leaned over her lap to pause the song playing on her laptop.

“Come on,” He grinned, standing up from her bed, pulling her hands along.

“Excuse me?” Bobby tugged at her hands again, smile not leaving his face. Julie pointedly looked at her ankle. Really now? Julie did not feel like waddling over to wherever it was that Bobby wanted her to go.

The good news was that Bobby understood what she was going for with the ankle staring. The bad news is that there is not a single member of Julie and the Phantoms who wasn’t stupidly stubborn, and Bobby’s solution to her not wanting to walk was simply to carry her, leaving Julie yelping as she tried to keep her art supplies from falling to the ground.

“BOBBY WHAT THE FUCK-”

Her protests were met by laughter as Bobby unceremoniously carried her to his room to pick up a book, and then deposited her on the living room couch. Julie complained the whole way through, but she supposed they knew each other well enough now to know she wouldn’t be so dramatic about it if she was truly opposed to his treatment. Bobby settled on the couch in front of her, turning on the TV for background noise before he buried himself into his book. It wasn’t long before he was immersed enough that Julie knew she’d have to yell to get his attention.

She almost rolled her eyes. He made such a big deal of spending their night in together only to pick an activity where he’d spend the whole time ignoring her. She’d have to admit that she probably wasn’t that much better though, considering that she tended to lose track of time when she drew.

Well, at least she had something to draw now.

The house was empty. Bobby had a book. Julie had her drawing supplies. It was silent, save for the low murmurs of the television. As far as Julie was concerned, the rest of her night was looking to be kind of perfect.

[bottom-lexa]

okay so there might not be an update for tarnished this weekend. between coursework deadlines, being sick, and nearing burn out coz its end-ish of semester, i haven't been doing much writing.