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bhaalsdeepbat · 3 months

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Hellspawn idea that hit me like a religious vision

Astarion can't stop thinking of the color of this flower Karlach found during one of the more idyllic moments of traveling to Baldur's Gate, and it should have been such an inconsequential moment. It was just a flower. But the delight burning in the embers of her mirthful eyes just sticks with him. And it's mostly annoying how happy she is about everything, but he also can't hold it against her when she, too, is adjusting to sudden, newfound freedom, and hers is much more limited than his.

And it isn't even a romantic moment or anything, right? Karlach just sees it on the edge of where the last bit of life was able to grow between the Shadow Curse and the land beyond it. She's STOKED. Bellowing in that way she does about this flower. She just takes a moment to enjoy it, then moves on. Doesn't pick it. Doesn't touch it. Just moves on with her day.

but this moment sticks with him and he thinks about it when they're curled together under the stars that night, his body fitting against the curve of hers, his cold weight soaking up every bit of warmth her overheated body will give him, and her arms are SO strong, but so gentle in the way she holds him.

The immortal forced to reckon with mortality bc this woman, who truly believe deserves a much better lot in life, only has a finite amount of time to appreciate the flowers and the sunrise and just. everything.

He'll still be able to live his life from the shadows and find beauty in the darkness, but Karlach?

He can see her death coming on the horizon and there's so much he actually wants to do, now that they're trying to make things real. and he just. is feeling the pressure bc he did waste time trying to get Karlach into a position to protect him and he'll forever feel bad about it (but not say anything bc that's his burden to carry).

So the immortal keeps thinking about this flower and what Karlach would look like adorned in beautifully crafted items accented in blue: gilded chains and cuffs adorning her hair and horns, sturdy leather dyed and stamped, fine silk embroidered with expensive floss, of all the nice things he wishes she could experience - because he promised her new experiences once they returned - and just.

When everyone's sleeping, he just spends that time sneakily embroidering this doublet he stole from a vendor the moment they entered the city. He's working against time, too, cus this is a gift he HAS to give her before her time is up. So, his skilled fingers move quickly, embroidering this black doublet with the most beautiful embroidery done mostly in blue, but accented with red, orange, and yellow.

He's almost done when Karlach tells him one night that she thinks she doesn't have much longer. Her heart is in overdrive and she can feel her body beginning to give out, to fail her when freedom was so close she could taste it. and it isn't fair. Astarion is SO angry at the world and at the Gods because he FINALLY has someone and. Time is running out. he feels even more powerless here because it really is just up to Karlach and whether she wants to keep going or not. He tries to talk to her about it, but usually they just end up fighting because they're both stubborn.

So, he avoids the conversation, mostly. Just tries to pretend the end isn't peeking over the horizon.

He doesn't give her the doublet right away. He doesn't want that finality, to give it to her and to know this may very well be the last time he gets to give her something he put his time into for her like this. and he has other gifts for her. a new owlbear to go with clive (even if he thinks that's juvenile, but he's not going to judge....well. he will, but not as much as if it were Gale who still had his stuffies). but he just. cannot bring himself give her this doublet bc he knows it's the first and last time she'll be adorned in something that he put together for her. the embroidered doublet is his labor of love, and the man does NOT like to labor.

embroidering isn't even necessarily his favorite thing to do, it's just one of his skills he actually has. he lacks self-confidence when it comes to what qualities he thinks he has that make him worthy of a relationship, but he can make sure his partners' clothes are mended and presentable.

When he finally gives it to her, it's after they take down Gortash. Karlach spends that very night alone, and Astarion cannot take it. He hasn't spent a single night away from Karlach since before they arrived at the Shadow-Cursed Lands, and now they're literally counting the days until they're taken from one another. He's big mad, seething, but very respectful to her bc he understands. he's not mat at HER, he's mad at everyone that took everything they could from her.

That's the first night he actually sits down and starts coming up with a plan. And it's a genuinely good one, but it's the first good one he's had in almost two-centuries. This is when he comes up with how he wants to convince Karlach to let him go to Avernus with her. He's not ready to let go and he is willing to murder his way through the Hells with her if he gets to see her smile about inconsequential things again.

He gives her the doublet the night before they plan to head for the Morphic Pool. They know it may be their last night together, so after a group meal, when everyone is winding down to turn in for the night, they make their way up to the roof of the tavern. They sit beneath the stars, side by side, but they're just sitting and refusing to look at one another.

Karlach is unusually still and silent. She's exhausted. Astarion swears she had his undead heart beating again, but seeing her like that had it stop cold in his chest. He tries to break the silence, to cut off his own thoughts so he doesn't spiral into despair thinking of the unknown, but just ends up reaching out to take her hand.

She's hot to the touch. He can feel that her temperature IS increasing and just. imagining what she's feeling and how she's been pent up this entire trip. like no fucking release from the pressure of this shitty heart that only does its job in the right environment.

She's the one who breaks it first. to thank him for his company. to tell him that he was a little fucking SHIT when she first met him, but she always could see something good behind the veneer of mischief hiding the fear in his piercing eyes. but she loves him and she's so, so happy to have been given a chance to love someone, to touch them freely, to feel loved in return. it was something she was missing in the last 10 years of the loneliness of being simple cannon fodder in an endless war.

and she doesn't want to talk abt this. she had been avoiding it, took him on their date to pretend like he wasn't doomed to be left alone in his eternity. And neither of them even MENTION the elephant in the room. like they're both talking circles around what's going to happen, but they're being honest about the feelings they have for one another. like the only thing they even voice concern for is not being able to take out the Absolute.

Under the stars, accompanied by declarations of love spilling from their lips, Astarion produces the doublet. Karlach is just ecstatic that she received a gift, but when she realizes HE embroidered it, she's just kinda like.

This is. the most beautiful gift i've ever received, fangs.

and her calloused fingers, fingers that had seen more war and death than anyone her age should have to, gently touch the floss, follow the design, and she realizes the particular shades of orange, red, and yellow are in her eyes, in her body, in her chest, all complimented by the blue thread he used as the main color of the design.

It's a design made of the sun, moon, and stars, trailing up the front, across the broad shoulders, and down the back yoke.

she's his sun. She's the gentle warmth of the sun's rays comforting him when he would rather recede to the shadows and fall back on old habits. she's his moon and his stars, his guiding light when everything seems like it may crash down and suffocate him. She's everything good in this world if you look for it. She's proof that you can be put through shit and still come out a decent person.

Karlach does cry, but it's nothing dramatic. It's a few tears, her own stomach and chest twisting with an overwhelming sense of loss and yearning; the loss of time when her light inevitably extinguishes and a deep yearning to stay. it's in direct opposition to her desire to die in the place she loves simply so she can keep living this life with the man she loves.

She puts the doublet on, wearing it that night while he cuddled against her side. They held each other beneath the stars, until it was time for Karlach to get some rest for the upcoming battle. Astarion spends that entire night just watching her, playing with her hair, getting every last touch he can, then makes a vow that he WILL save Karlach, just as she saved him.

#bat rambles #hellspawn #karlach #astarion #bg3 #i'm dying on the hill that astarion's preferred way of showing love #would be gift giving (making sure his partner is taken care of) and touch #but like the former he would NOT draw any attention to that's between him and his partner #like generally gift giving with him is someone just finds it wrapped up on their bed like he's a cat #or in some cases #he'll just casually give it to them during an unrelated convo and. not mention the gift once #for example i imagine when he and mercy are going through loot #to decide what to keep and what to sell #astarion will sometimes pick a ring from the bunch #or maybe he had one he had found while actively looting and tucked it away specifically to give #but he'd just reach over to put the ring on one of their fingers #then go back to what he's doing #just gestures like that #he's dramatic but i think he'd be awkward with gift giving #bc part of it is just how long he went without y'know #once he loves someone he just needs all their needs to be met and then some #one day i'll actually write this out but #here's a quick play by play of what i keep envisioning lmao #long post #bat writes #fic idea

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forgetme-eternally-blissfully · 1 year

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The White Star learns that Cale Henituse transmigrated from a body that he stole. He learns that the person inside Cale Henituse lived with the same curse that the White Star has to.

“Cale Henituse,” the White Star sneers, “or should I address the person inside of Cale Henituse?” Cale stiffens. What is this crazy bastard saying now?

“Yes, the man inside of Cale Henituse. How did my curse feel?” He shouldn’t know this information, but he does, Cale realizes. He has an informant on a god’s level. Raon flinches at these words, and Choi Han levels a deadly stare at the White Star. Oddly, Cale thinks, the blood draining from his face, it feels like he’s glaring at him. Cale doesn’t know why but it feels like he made a mistake somewhere down the line.

“You know the one. I’m sure all of your friends do too at this point as well. Was it fun? You must’ve lost your parents, or even been abandoned? Abused? Did everyone you care about die in a horrible accident?” Cale struggles against the sparking Records, trying to keep his mind on the White Star. In a way, Cale has experienced it all.

The past is the past.

“Raon, he’s stalling.” Cale whispers as quietly as he can, and Raon silently sends out the message to everyone. They need to be prepared. The White Star wouldn’t reveal this knowledge for no reason.

“Cale Henituse, you lived terribly, didn’t you? Yes, you must’ve been pathetic. No wonder you’re like this… You cling onto everyone you know but keep them at arms length, never daring to let the little bug within you know what counts as love, and what counts as use.” The White Star drifts closer, threateningly, and everyone flinches into position. Their eyes are shaking.

“You whiny bitch.” The White Star flinches, pausing in the air. “Do you think that’s how I lived? Is that how you see my actions?” Cale scoffs in disgust.

He’s wrong.

I took everything I could until everyone was gone.

I was selfish.

“We are nothing alike. We are not the same. You may be a disgusting liar, but at least I’m honest trash.”

I barely care about anything because it was always taken away. I don’t care about things because I don’t remember how.

“White Star, do you know what the difference between us is?”

Two similar existences stare at each other.

“Cale Henituse, stop rambling,” the White Star frowns.

Cale rushes at the White Star suddenly, grabbing onto his arm. Before he can shake him off, Cale whispers.

“I’ll tell it to you as a secret.”

Confident as ever, the White Star humors him. Cale whispers even quieter.

“You knew how to care before you chose to lose everything…”

“… While I never had the chance.”

An explosion erupts from their location.

Cale coughs up blood, smiling at the dour expression of his enemy.

“You throw everything away, but I hold everything as close as I’m allowed. As close as I’ve ever able to hold anything.”

Cale drops his expression, glaring up at the disgusting person in front of him.

“Just out of arms reach.”

The White Star launches an attack, and the fight begins again.

#does anyone feel like a bit of angst?#I just thought of what a confrontation between the two would be like #maybe I’ll think of his companions’ horrified reactions later #anyway I was just pondering on how Cale really does try to act similarly to how he thinks on the inside #sometimes he’ll put on an act but mostly he doesn’t hide his expressionless face or lie too often about his current state of mind #ofc that could also be bc he has next to no emotional intelligence. but he really does try #it’s just that everyone assumes that there’s a lot more going on behind his guarded mind (and there is COUGH COUGH it’s just different #and less normal than they would expect)#this was really quick so don’t mind any awkwardness I’m not good at action scenes and I wasn’t thinking abt the setting #not a reblog #tcf #trash of the counts family #lcf #lout of the counts family #cale henituse #Kim Rok Soo #white star #tcf spoilers #trash of the count’s family spoilers #lcf spoilers #lout of the count’s family spoilers

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