I HAVEN’T HAD TIME TO FINISH MY BOOK.
Sitting up, dizzy, the player says: “Oh, that’s rich, coming from you.”
The faceless being puts a bookmark in-between the pages.
I AM TRYING TO READ CAT’S CRADLE. DO NOT SPOIL THE ENDING.
“I don’t care,” the player says.
I HAD HOPED TO FINISH IT. ALAS, EVEN FOR ONE SUCH AS I—
“Shut up. You’re one to talk about time. Just—shut up. I thought it could be different this time.”
AND I’D HOPED TO FINISH MY BOOK.
“You’re a dick. You’re Death and you’re a dick and you’re going to take my face again.”
YOU KEEP OFFERING IT.
“Agh, I just—I just—it isn’t fair!” screams the player. “It isn’t fair! I knew I was almost out of time, but still, it isn’t, I hadn’t wanted…”
FAIRNESS HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH IT.
The player buries his head in his hands and sobs.
-
“Oh, nice book you’ve got there.”
THANK YOU, Death says. IT IS A BOOK ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD.
“Oh, that sounds bleak, man.”
I AM A BLEAK CREATURE.
“You could say that.”
A long silence falls between Death and the player.
NO REGRETS TO SHOUT AT ME, THEN?
“Why would I?” the player asks. “Nah. I’m good.”
WELL THEN. WE SHOULD GO.
“Can I—I want to make sure they’re okay.”
THEY ARE NOT.
“Ouch. Come on, man, way to make a guy feel like shit.”
I DO NOT LIE, Death says. THEY ARE NOT OKAY.
“Alright,” the player says. “Alright. Fine. But I—I did what I could.”
YES, Death says. THAT IS INDEED THE NATURE OF LIFE.
-
“Give me more time!” screams the player. He lunges at death with bloody claws. “I wanted—there has to be more time!”
I CANNOT IMAGINE THIS IS VERY EFFECTIVE.
“Oh, screw you,” the player says, growling and trying to bite at Death with his teeth.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BORROW MY BOOK INSTEAD?
“No! I want to live! I want more time! I was going to—I want more time!”
OH, VERY WELL. IT IS A GOOD BOOK. IT DOES NOT HAVE A HAPPY ENDING, I THINK, BUT THAT DOES NOT MAKE IT BAD.
“I don’t care about your blumin’ book now let me go back!”
Death sighs, a heavy sound, like the wind blowing over a graveyard or the falling of grains of sand.
THE PROBLEM WITH FIGHTING TIME IS THAT IT ALWAYS WINS.
The player shouts incoherently and tries once more to bite Death. It does not do much of anything.
NO MATTER HOW YOU FIGHT IT, IT ALWAYS IS, AND ONE DAY YOU ARE NOT.
“No!”
YES, Death says. BUT I SUPPOSE THE FIGHTING ITSELF CAN BE CATHARTIC. I HAVE NO REASON TO STOP YOU.
“God, it’s like you don’t even care!”
Another long silence.
NO, Death says. NO, THAT’S ONE THING I CAN NEVER BE ACCUSED OF.
The figure with a borrowed face waits for the player’s energy to wear out before sweeping away again. Perhaps it will have time to finish its book before it must work again, but it doubts it. That is how time works, after all—there’s never enough.
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Baldur's Gate 3 Fic- Feelings, or something.
“I heard you found a new lover.”
Dirk can only assume she looks like she's been caught in the middle of nabbing a wallet when he says that.
“What?”
~~~~~~~~
Baldur's Gate 3 Made me kiss Wyll, and my poor Druid had some feelings about his feelings. Enough that I've caved and Started writing Fanfic.
So, have an alternate version of that bit where Astarion asks you to pick someone. Which Dirk did not get, because she just went straight to break up with Wyll the next morning, how dare he attempt emotional sincerity.
“I heard you found a new lover.”
Dirk can only assume she looks like she's been caught in the middle of nabbing a wallet when he says that.
“What?”
“Don't be be coy darling, camp's really not that big, I know all about you and Wyll's little get together last night, I'm sure it was charming. Probably very sweet.”
Astarion makes those last two things sound extraordinarily insulting.
“Well- sort of.” She admits, watching Astarion make a great show of not being interested.
She's not sure she views charming and sweet with the same open derision, but, honestly she's not especially comfortable with either.
“He started talking about fairytale romances and courting me,” She continues, her Brows furrowing as she does, she expects she looks a bit queasy, standing there chewing on her lower lip till it bleeds.
Of course Astarion looks delighted by her discomfort. He's trying to his credit to hide it. She thinks she might see something else there. Behind the laugh he's trying to hold back. A flicker of concern that's being quickly washed away
“Wait, were you jealous?”
“What, no!” He denies it like it's An absurd notion, pauses a moment and then continues. A little reluctantly.
“Maybe a little worried this would mean an end to our late night trysts, but not jealous.”
No, no, he was definitely jealous, and he's Embarrassed about it, which is making it very hard for Dirk not to laugh. But it's also not actually important, so she doesn't press the issue.
“Oh, well. It doesn't. We can keep doing that.” She says, with the same awkwardness that always sneaks in when she's thinking about what passes for their relationship.
Even if they haven't actually had a late night tryst in a while.
The last two times he's asked she's ended up dragging him into help preparing more healing potions.
“I told him I'm not interested in- uh, anything like that.”
Somehow thinking about Wyll, and his painfully earnest affection is worse, Astarion's flirtations feel insincere and baffling most of the time, but Wyll, thinking about being swept off her feet to ride off into the sunset, she thinks she's going to be sick.
“Really?” He seems a bit stunned.
“Yeah, I don't want to be courted-” Dirk blurts, it's out like a crossbow bolt. And now she can't stop talking.
“I don't even- he just started having all these feelings at me! And talking about how I was the sun in the sky and the church and the stars when I asked him about it this morning, and we’ve only known each other for a tenday and change! And all I did was let him kiss me and, and I don't know where any of that was coming from!”
She's pacing back and forth as she talks, scratching a hole in the back of her hand as she does. Glancing nervously at Astarion for some sign of agreement or encouragement, mostly he looks a little concerned.
“Well, I can hardly blame him for being a bit smitten, you are charming.”
Apparently this wasn't what Dirk wanted to hear.
“No I'm not!”
He's laughing now, which does nothing to make her feel better. But at least it distracts her enough that she's not clawing at herself anymore.
“Well,” he says, considering how to respond to that. Dirk's inability to take a compliment at face value is equal parts insufferable and endearing. If he just insists she is, she'll find a list of reasons to disagree.
“Maybe not at first, but you uh- grow on people.”
He doesn't sound quite as flippant in that admission as he would like.
She just stares for a moment.
“Is it the tadpole?” She asks
“Do you think it makes me more likable, or is it just making all of you horny,” she gestured vaguely at Astarion, who is back to trying not to laugh at how distressed she is by the concept of people liking her.
“Because I've never had anyone do this before and now it's like, once every two days, it's going to be Karlach next isn't it! She can touch people now and she's going to ask me to fuck!”
And he's laughing again.
She'd love to be mad about that, but this is an objectively stupid thing to be stressed by.
“Darling you're being ridiculous, if Karlach was going to make a move she would have by now, she's not exactly subtle.”
“Fair point.” Dirk says, and it is a little reassuring to hear, Karlach is so nice, but also she's intimidatingly tall.
Dirk takes a deep breath, blowing some stringy hair out of her face as she does.
“Thanks,” she says, pauses, realizes she isn't quite sure what she's thanking him for. Which means he definitely doesn't know, so she should explain. “For being normal. About the sex I mean.”
She thinks from his face he's still not following. It's probably a bad compliment.
“Wyll and me locked lips for all of two seconds and he's acting like we're engaged is all, and I really appreciate you not doing that. And not being any different at all about it now that we fucked and you know, not feeling a way or being weird about it. So, uh, thank you for not doing that. I think feelings are gross.”
She's not quite sure she got the point across and the prickly undertone when Astarion speaks again makes her sure she hasn't.
“Oh yes, pesky things, glad neither of us are burdened with them.” He's trying very hard to be dismissive and is suddenly quite preoccupied with examining his nails.
She curses in her head, picking at the frayed edges of her coat sleeves. “Yeah, okay.” She's definitely done something wrong.
“I'm gonna help with breakfast.”
She'll figure out what her latest social blunder is later. She's gonna run away for now.
She just turns and high tales it back towards her tent before things can get worse.
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