being naked is not sexy. wearing a white 18th century shirt with poofy sleeves tucked into a pair of black high waisted trousers is sexy. there are no exceptions
new reaction meme just dropped
Eulogy for the love I never knew
Bloodweave shortfic
"Gale stop this is ridiculous!"
Astarion eyebrows are furrowed and his hands gesticulating.
He's standing in place but his feet feel restless.
"Ridiculous as it may be I can't help but feel like this is apart of you that needs soothing."
Gale reached twords Astarion to grab his hand but chose not to at the last second. Thinking better of physical contact when Astarion is already this perturbed.
"Soothing? Dont be an ass Wizard I'm not a damsel in need of consoling and wooing. In the form of whatever blathering platitudes you've conjured up in that enormous head of yours.
"Astarions body stiffened, his eyes narrowed at Gales halted hand.
He's not used to getting this worked up with Gale. Gale has deferred to most of his whims in the past,and he usually doesn't emotionally coddle him.
"If you can't handle me trying to comfort you then just ignore me. Ether way I'm doing this."
Gale declared stubbornly, taking the insult in stride.
Gale gave Astarion one final glace keeping his eyes on him as his head turned to face the monument he's come to visit. With his back turned he takes out a peice of parchment from his bag and unfurled it.
"Hello my Love it's Gale.
I've come to look over where a part of you rests agian. I couldn't properly do this last time as the world was in a bit of a pickle, but that's all sorted now."
Gale says congenially.
"Gale you don't need to do this."
Astarion says hallowly and his body slightly relaxing.
Gale looked over his shoulder staring at him for a moment with slight annoyance then, with a familiar patients he only has for a certain pale elf. Turning his whole body.
"I know this might be corny but I've already written it. Please allow me to speak it, Hmm?"
Golden brown eyes look pleading into Red garnet ones.
Astarion sighs.
Moving towards Gale.
"Alright but it had better be good."
Astarion grabbed Gales empty hand. Giving it a squeeze just because he can.
He turned to look at the thing that had caused all this fuss to begin with. His chest stirred with emotion. He sighed one more time.
Gale squeezed his hand back and restarted his eulogy.
"Hello my Love it's Gale. I've missed you. I think of you constantly and not a day goes by that I'm not reminded of how much your absence fills me with loss but also love. You were brilliant in the life I wasn't there to see. But I know you were how could you not be when you're so resplendent in your unlife.
Astarions made an unenthused face then gently elbowed him. Gale giggled.
"Ahem... as I was saying. The holes in your past need not be a mystery. I'm confident that even two hundred years ago you would have stolen my heart with your easy wit and contagious laugh. Things that are different between the past you and current you are not so hard to guess. You've gotten wiser and stronger more Poignant than I could ever hope to be. You were tested and tried more so then many ever are. My respect for you is immense on coming out the other side of such egregious hardships with so much love still in you. The light you bring may be hard for you to see sometimes. However the boon your presence has brought to all the people we've saved and me is more precious than you know. Knowing you now has ensured me that whoever you were in the past was someone worth being. For without him and the choices he made good or bad you couldn't be the man you are now. I hope you rest with less worry of the unknown for you aren't facing it alone. I can't keep you company much longer my Love for the Love beside me needs much attention. I love you rest well.
Astarion is now squeezing Gales hand even harder. Gale raises both their hands turning Astarions upwards and giving it a Kiss.
"I know I didn't know you in the past. But I think you being here now, stronger and more beautiful because of him is worth remembering. I'm grateful he existed. That's why I wanted to come pay my respects."
Gale is looking at Astarion his face calm and happy. Astarion is slightly damp from sweating though multitudes of emotions. Not sure wich one he wants to voice.
"Gale."
Choosing not to voice his feelings right now he grabs all of gale and just holds him. Standing there for a time with Gale holding him back.
"Gale you didn't need to say or prepare anything for a rock with nothing underneath it but I'm glad you did and I'm glad I got to hear it."
Astarion pulled their body's slightly apart to look a him.
"You're truly one of a kind thank you for such a lovely moment. I won't forget this."
Gales cheeks reden he's kinda shy when Astarion turns serious. Astarion smirks seeing an in to tease his shy lover.
"Now how's about we get out of this smelly grave yard and I give you a lovely moment to remember in return?"
Astarion leans back in almost talking directly on Gales lips. Gale grabs his shoulders chuckling and raising his brow.
"Ah yes that sounds like something I would be most amenable to!"
Gale leans all the way in to seal the end of this moment and the promise of another with a kiss.
Astarion deepens it with a soft groan.
Gale turns his head so Astarion has better access. Ensaired in eachother until gale needed air. He pants and pushes back slowly. Astarion looks at him with bloodthirsty eyes.
"Uhh.. I have something to give you and then let's get out of here."
Gale scratches the back of his neck and clears his throat. Putting a bit of distance between them.
Astarion's still looking at him like prey but raises his eyebrow curiously.
"Here you are, a star flower!"
Gale tucks it behind Astarions ear.
Astarion's ears turn down he's a little stunned to be receiving such an odd gift. He's never really cared for flowers but he's happy to have it if it's from Gale.
"Um thank you Darling, to go with my name I assume?"
He flourished his hand along with his words.
"As a matter of fact yes! I know pretty cliche but I couldn't resist.
I love flowers and this one just got more beautiful with such a lovely ear to sit behind."
Gale said in his most flirty voice.
"All right lets get out of here you absolute weirdo."
Astarion links their arms together and starts walking them the way they came.
"Weirdo is that the best you can come up with? If you're gonna insult me I know you could do better than that. Somthing like book brained badger or snot nosed pickle prick?"
Gale is actually quite proud of the insults he just made up. They really do sound like something Astarion would say. He laughed inwardly trying to keep a straight face.
"God's Gale you're so dramatic!"
Astarion jested. He'll have to steal those quips for later though.
"As are you my love."
Gale mimicked Astarions affectation.
They continued on to the inn they're staying at, companionabley but with a slightly sexually charged tension between them.
The night is young and they're all to happy to spend it together.
Notes:
Resplendent is a bit of an inside joke for them.
When Astarion stopped being as emotionally constipated he tried to compliment Gale and told him how beautiful and resplendent he is. But the moment was so charged before the sudden confession that they both started laughing hysterically . Now, every now and then they tease eachother by calling the other resplendent.
Also I know the eulogy goes in and out of how Gale addresses Astarion but I kinda like how messy it is. It adds a layer of the confusing feeling it is to morn.
I feel like this could keep going but I'm kinda overwhelmed by how much I wrote and don't know when I'll write more so for now it's a one shot.
I probably could write more for before this scean aswell but same problem lol
Didn't intend for this writing to go with this art but I like Astarion with a flower behind his ear sooooo.
WIP Sunday
thank you, @carnivaley, @litsenn and @gortashsrighthand!
What are our thoughts on antagonistic Morena who is not too happy that her son, after being a stranger for over a year, returned with a barefoot woman with no memory of her life by his side?
It was in those weeks that I met Morena, Gale’s mother, and a surprising number of aunts who seemed altogether too eager to have their prodigal son returned to them. They were delighted to see someone at his side, though I could feel the hesitation just beneath their smiles. A sorceress, with no proper schooling as a bard, no pedigree, no shoes on her feet — hardly the worthy match Morena had envisioned for her only son. She was too polite to say it outright, but I heard it all the same, the lingering cold that crept into her voice whenever she spoke to me.
Gale, of course, remained oblivious. Or rather, he brushed my unease aside when I confessed it to him, assuring me it was nothing more than my own uncertainty, the fretfulness of a mother who had nearly lost her only child. Perhaps he even believed it. But I knew better.
One afternoon—Morena and Tara visiting for dinner, cooked by Gale, of course—she asked me to join her outside when the noise of too many sizzling pans and bubbling pots grew overwhelming.
I followed her into the garden, acutely aware of Tara’s gaze lingering on us as we left the room. She had noticed as well.
“I admire your resolve in acquiring the adjacent building,” Morena began as she settled into one of the chairs on the small terrace. The garden barely deserved the name: a patch of grass large enough for a blanket, hemmed in by stone on three sides. A cherry tree clung stubbornly to life, its branches obscuring what little view there might have been of the open sea.
I did not mind.
I had chosen this deliberately. Not because we lacked means, nor because the former owners had been difficult to reach. The exchange of gold had been clean, almost ceremonial. The house itself was not in disrepair, merely neglected. Left waiting.
And I loved it.
But it had been the cherry tree that to spoke to me. Trapped between walls that denied it light, yet still reaching, still refusing to give in. I wanted to save it. Looking back now, the thought makes me smile.
Halsin would have approved.
“Thank you,” I said, settling into the chair opposite her. I knew it was not praise, only politeness. An opening gesture, nothing more. "The cherry tree is worth saving. Or at least the attempt."
“Gale was rarely interested in plants in his youth,” she continued, lifting her cup with deliberate care. “Though he has developed a certain enthusiasm over the years. Still, I did not expect him to acknowledge your wishes so readily. Or to act on them.”
Her gaze held mine. There was so much of Gale in her eyes—the sharpness, the intelligence, even a glimmer of provocation, carefully restrained.
I returned her smile. “We didn’t touch the family funds, if that is something you’re—”
“I was not,” she interrupted, smoothing her skirt with precise, economical movements. “But I do wonder how a woman of your standing and reputation came to settle in my son's tower in Waterdeep of all places. An archwizard of considerable renown who was all to eager to marry you without ceremony.”
Her tone was measured, polite. But the tension beneath it was unmistakable.
I doubted there would be any record of me here. For all I knew, I had never walked these streets before. And the thought that Morena might know more about my past than I did unsettled me more than I cared to show.
“It was Gale’s wish to return,” I said carefully. “The odds of our survival were slim. He wanted to come home. To his tower. To Tara. To you.”
“Yes,” she replied, her smile thinning. “His tower.” Her eyes flicked briefly toward the house. “And that is why you insisted on purchasing the adjacent building? So you might have something of your own?”
I did not flinch. Gale had not shared my reasons with her—of that I was certain. There should have been no way for her to know.
When had my intentions become so transparent?
“To expand into,” I answered evenly. “There are few limits to Gale’s magic now—”
“There never have been,” she cut in lightly. The story of what happened exactly was his to share.
I chose not to engage. “—but I didn’t want rooms held together by spellwork alone. I wanted brick and mortar.”
“I made inquiries,” she casually mentioned after a pause, smiling faintly. “With the Lords. And with certain acquaintances of mine.” Another pause. “As a long-standing member of Waterdhavian society.”
She watched me closely, waiting.
I sipped my wine and smiled.
“There is no record of you ever having been to this city,” she added. “No Celeste matching your description appears in any registry. What was the surname you gave again?”
“I didn’t,” I replied calmly. “With the fulfillment of our marriage, I took Gale’s name. I am addressed as Celeste Dekarios now.”
The corners of her mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. I admired her restraint, it was more than obvious to me what simmered beneath.
“But there was a Celestia,” she continued, after a moment. “Many, many years ago. A half-elf woman with dark hair and two different eyes.” Her gaze sharpened. “She was a member of the Guild of Apothecaries & Physicians for quiet some time, even after her return to Baldur’s Gate.”
She studied me closely, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly.
“You wouldn’t know anything about her?”
“I wouldn’t,” I smiled, even as my stomach turned. Had there been a life for me here? In this very city? Something so close—so important to Gale—woven into a past I could no longer reach?
“As I am sure Gale mentioned in private,” I continued evenly, “my memory was impaired by what happened to us. I cannot claim ever to have carried the name Celestia.”
It was the story we had agreed upon. The tadpole. Our so-called adventure. A convenient wound to explain the absence of a life. Gale had not loved the secrecy, but he had understood, and respected my wish.
“Yes,” Morena said thoughtfully. “How convenient.”
I opened my mouth, another careful answer already forming.
Before I could speak, Tara joined us.
“The entrée is ready,” she announced lightly, her eyes glowing as they met mine. “Would you care to rejoin us in the kitchen?”
I recognized that look immediately.
I smirked, inclined my head, and rose from my chair.
"I can't use Gale, he's so worthless in combat"
Lemme stop you there. Skill issue.
Bladeweave memes thanks to @carryoncastiel ‘s screenshots
never forget when saruman literally told gandalf "you've been smoking too much weed bro"
"You're smoking too much weed," says the guy who got addicted to manosphere podcasts on his orb and started a fascist militia with a side hobby of deliberate environmental destruction. Started cutting down trees to own the woke elves.
people have this tendency to believe that fandom discourse exists because people in fandoms are Stupid Nerdy Losers, but in fact fandom discourse exists because anytime you get a group of more than 100 people together, they will start creating interpersonal bullshit. fandom is not special in this regard
Shelter in Place: Ch 1/8 Neighbors in the Storm
Work Summary: Gale is a survivalist romance author who writes about love after the end of the world. He's a divorcee who has plans B through G for power failure, but no Plan A for getting laid. Astarion is a former artist who decided to winter in the northern Michigan lake house he got in his divorce. He's not exactly rural-winter ready. When a massive blizzard knocks out power across the community, Gale—seeing Astarion's dark McMansion—trudges through the blizzard to prevent his idiot neighbor from freezing to death, but they'll both keep each other warm in the end.
This low-stakes, cozy, modern, the-Ant-and-the-Grasshopper AU softens both Astarion's and Gale's traumatic pasts to gaslighting, controlling exes who leave them lonely until they discover their strange neighbor is a better fit than they had imagined.
Work Content Tags: AU, Modern Setting, Neighbors, POV Alternating (Gale and Astarion), In Character, Soft Human Astarion, Soft Human Chubby Writer "Good Boy" Gale, Gale & Astarion's Past Abuse (softened), Found Family, Domestic Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Humor, Crack Treated Seriously, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, Mutual Pining (resolved), Emotional Intimacy, Mystra Bashing, Explicit Sexual Content, Porn with Plot/Feelings, Explicit & Enthusiastic Consent, Top/Bottom Versatile Gale & Astarion, Touch-starved, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Creampie, Aftercare, Post-Coital Cuddling, Rimming, Blow Jobs, Praise Kink, Dirty Talk, Competence Kink, Cuddling & Snuggling for Warmth, Snowed In, Sharing a Bed/There was only one bed, Forced Proximity, Mutual Healing, Gale writes spicy m/m post-apocalyptic romance and Astarion is into it, ~30k words
Read this chapter below the break or on AO3!
My contribution to a Discord server bloodweave winter exchange! Astarion has had it with Prof. Dekarios and his late nights at the office. He intends to be bred, even if he has to corner Gale in his office to do so.
Uncropped version on BlueSky.
