Again, I don’t identify as a print designer, but another print collection I did for class. No idea what I want to officially call it, but it was inspired by my void cat and bleach 😂
A Vampire Tailor? (a fashion designer writes a fluffy Tailor Astarion fic)
Rating: PG
Pairing: Astarion x fem!Tav
Word Count: 1170
Warnings/Tags: blood, a tiny little bit of blood play I guess? needles/pins (nothing graphic tho, just a prick)
Summary: Astarion loves to sew, but not for other people... until he met Tav. He remembers his mother's advice.
The picture is from the very talented Hamrikaa on instagram
Astarion hated sewing for other people. Absolutely loathed it. No one ever wanted to pay you adequately for what the work actually cost, that is unless you became so famous and reknowned as a tailor that you could afford to underpay someone else to do the work for you. There was also just something so personal about it for him- he remembered so little of his life before Cazador, but he remembered his mother's hands, showing him how to do a slip stitch or guiding his own hands to find the grainline of a fabric. For two hundred years Astarion had so little control over his life, but at least he had control over his clothes and could enjoy the small amount of power that came with being able to tailor his wardrobe to fit exactly how he preferred, and while Cazador forced him to do so many awful things, he couldn't force Astarion to sew for other people.
And then Tav crash landed into his life and for the first time... he wanted to stitch for someone else.
...it helped that Tav's clothing was a fucking mess. Sure, she had the power to cast a fireball that could take out six Sharran clerics at once, but heaven forbid she wear a dress that fit properly. In their rooms at the Elfsong Tavern, Astarion happened upon Tav trying on one of the robes their merry band of misfits looted liberated from Cazador's mansion, a sumptuous garment made from a shimmering silk crepe that flowed over Tav's curves like a lover's caress. He paused in the doorway, admiring her wearing far finer a garment than he had ever seen her don before, but frowned when he noticed how it gaped around her shoulders and winced at the delicate fabric puddled around her feet on the rough wooden floor.
"My darling, this will not do," he said, walking over to his pack to retrieve his sewing kit.
Tav turned around sharply, caught off guard. "I thought you were out hunting."
Astarion sighed, "Alas, my dear, the hunting was poor. I refuse to eat another rat, but that was just about all I could find that had four legs and wasn't some Balduran's beloved pet." He fetched a small stool from their main living quarters and set it down in front of Tav's mirror. "Up you go, love, let's do something about that dress."
"What's wrong with it?" said Tav, a smidge defensive.
"Nothing much," said Astarion, "but if you continue to drag that silk across the floor you're going to ruin it, and the fit of that bodice is a sin."
Tav snorted. "Against which god?" she asked as she acquiesced to his request and stepped onto the stool.
He crept up behind her and whispered "Me" into her ear, enjoying the shiver he felt along her back in response. He reached up and removed the belt Tav used to clumsily take in the robe at her waist, allowing the fabric to hang freely from her body. This style of garment could be adjusted in length by carefully folding it at the waist and belting it in place, but there was still too much fabric at the back of her neck. "I'm going to take this off of you," he told her, "and turn it inside out so I can fit it properly." He felt her shiver once more, but she nodded her consent and raised her arms to help Astarion get the dress off and over her shoulders.
Astarion placed a gentle kiss on her bare shoulder and enjoyed the flush he saw spread across her cheeks in the mirror. He deftly flipped the dress inside out and helped Tav back into, giving the garment a few strategic tugs to get it to hang evenly on her. He paced around her in a circle, looking the dress up and down and assessing the best way to alter it to show off his darling Tav.
"I feel a bit like a piece of meat," said Tav, "being circled by a hound."
Astarion raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you, though?" He smirked, showing just a hint of fang and she rolled her eyes at him. He stopped directly in front her and reached for the fabric at the front of the dress. He gently tugged it down, pleased to see it form a cowl neck that showed off a small tease of cleavage. "Don't move", he commanded as he circled to the back again.
Yes, the center seam up the back needed to be taken in with a dart to contour to Tav's shoulders, but that was the only alteration the dress really needed to be appropriately wearable. Astarion grabbed a few pins and pinched the center seam with his long, elegant fingers, pulling it straight out and began pinning as needed so he could see where he would need to sew the dart once Tav removed the dress.
"Please don't stab me," she said nervously.
"Oh don't tempt me," said Astarion, "it wouldn't be the first time I've made you bleed." Being careful not to actually scratch her, he playfully dragged the tip of one of his pins along Tav's neck, next to the scars of his teeth from their feedings along the road to Baldur's Gate. "Don't worry, love," he whispered into her ear. "I would hate to ruin this silk with your blood and waste your blood on this silk."
He paused as a long lost memory suddenly echoed across his mind. It was his mother, imparting to him her one of her many clever sewing tips. "I know this sounds gross, but remember Astarion, if you ever prick your finger and bleed on the fabric, a little bit of spit can remove it. Saliva contains an enzyme that breaks down blood."
Astarion recalled his younger self wrinkling his nose and asking incredulously, "who found that out???"
His mother had laughed and told him, "Perhaps a vampire tailor?"
In the present, he sighed. If only she could see him now.
But the memory did make him wonder...
"Darling," he said. "...may I try something? It may sting, but please, indulge me?"
Tav turned her head to look at him, ready to protest, but she met his gaze and something she saw there stopped her. "Ok? I guess?" she said tentatively, but she trusted Astarion and was curious about what he had in mind.
He gently pressed one of his pins into the soft skin of her shoulder, just enough to draw a speck of blood. He lightly dropped it onto the shoulder of her dress and watched the scarlet seep into the white fabric. Then he put his lips to the silk, his tongue moistening the spot with the blood stain and tasting just a hint of Tav. He pulled back and while the fabric was a little dark from the dampness of his mouth, the small dark spot of blood was no longer visible.
He chuckled softly. "Mum was right."
Perhaps vampires should be tailors.
~*~
Author's Note: The bit about saliva getting blood out of fabric is true (it's a great bridal sewing tip 😂), and I couldn't resist writing this drabble. Also reflects a lot of my own opinions about sewing for other people, but also feels very in character for Astarion. And idk there are scientists in Faerun, maybe they've discovered enzymes.
Lol I was going to write smut, but introspection happened instead. I haven't written fiction in... years tbh, but this game and this silly vampire have me in a chokehold, so why not, let's give this a go.
bg3 has dragged me back into this hell site and part of me thinks i should just make an astarion trash blog but a larger part of me enjoys the chaos of interacting with mostly bg3 smut accounts while presenting as a long furby
also i haven't written fanfiction in well over a decade, but now i'm strongly considering picking up my metaphorical pen again for degenerate reasons
here is a super helpful website for this kinda thing!
the first result isn’t always the one you’re looking for but when you press enter it’ll give you a ton of words related to your query that’ll probably have what you’re wanting, or something better
I’m not really a print designer, but I had to take a print design course this semester for fashion school so I designed some Astarion trash prints and my defense was that Hot Topic would put this on a tshirt 🤷🏼♀️
titsay
gummygunk
2087
prguitarman
