Fictober 2023
Day 22 - Prompt: "No, you'll never understand, ever."
Fandom: Baldur's Gate 3
The huffs and sounds of despair were just loud enough to draw attention as Falerin passed Astarion’s tent, and he paused to poke his head inside. There wasn’t much in there—full elves, he knew, didn’t sleep, and he was almost always next to the fire with him since their initial tryst. But there were a few odds and ends, including a table with a few bottles and combs and a chair currently harboring a thoroughly despondent-looking vampire, face in his hands.
“Astarion?” Falerin got a low groan in reply. He stepped fully inside, careful not to disturb anything, and went over to lightly touch Astarion’s shoulder. “Is…everything all right?”
“It’s that damn forge,” he muttered. “Why did we even go to the forge? For weapons? At what cost?” He lifted his head to look up at Falerin accusingly as he gestured to his hair. “And now I have to deal with this?”
The normally well-styled curls were unflatteringly askew, frizzing from the heat of the forge. Falerin’s mouth twitched.
“I mean…you can’t see it.”
“Yes, but I’m not stupid, Falerin. I know what a wreck they are, and even worse, I can feel it.” His head fell back into his hands. “I’d cut it all off if it wouldn’t just be back at sunset.”
Falerin gave an awkward rub to Astarion’s back, though he stopped as the vampire bristled. “I…well, look, I understand…”
“No, you won’t understand, ever,” Astarion interrupted peevishly. “You and your godsdamned stick-straight hair.”
Falerin rolled his eyes, and he looked over the table. “Well, maybe I can help. I can see what I’m doing, at least, you just need to walk me through it.”
Astarion peeked back at him, then sighed as he finally lifted his head, slouching in his seat. “Fine. You can’t make it any worse.” He picked up a couple bottles, setting them against the edge of the table, along with a wide-toothed wooden comb. “Purple bottle, comb, blue bottle. Just…tame it. It’s bad enough to look like a wreck, but when my hair gets like this, I just…it feels terrible around my neck.”
“Purple, comb, blue,” Falerin repeated, then took the purple bottle and opened it. Rosemary-scented oil greeted him, and he poured it into his palm, letting it warm a bit before he started to smooth it through Astarion’s hair. He’d never really gotten the chance to play with Astarion’s hair—for all the show he made of their relationship, he wasn’t much for a cuddle…or a hug…or…really, anything besides sex. So it felt strangely intimate as the curls wrapped around his fingers, slowly being tamed with each pass through.
Astarion stayed quiet, head tilted back. His face had shut off: eyes shut, mouth in a straight line. He wasn’t bristling like he did with so many of Falerin’s casual touches, but whether he was enjoying this or suffering through it was impossible to say.
The warlock pulled his hands back, rubbing the excess oil into his hands before he reached for the comb. Carefully, he pulled it through his hair, evenly dispensing the oil and doing his best not to tug too hard.
“Which way do you part it?” he asked quietly.
“Left.”
Falerin nodded, trying to imitate the seemingly-effortless toss of curls with careful comb-strokes. “It’s…not going to be perfect.”
Astarion let out a humorless little puff of a laugh. “Well, you’re the one who’ll have to suffer through seeing it.”
Falerin smiled. “Seeing you is never suffering for me. The opposite, actually. I’d still be just as glad to see you if you were bald.” His smile widened mischievously. “In fact, you did say you’d cut it all off if you could. I could get a knife and…”
“Don’t you fucking dare.”
Falerin laughed as he reached for the blue bottle. “I won’t, I won’t.” He poured a little of its contents into his hands, then once again smoothed it through Astarion’s hair. He lingered a bit this time, fingers combing through the curls and chancing some gentle scratches to the vampire’s scalp—this time, Astarion relaxed as he did. His eyes fluttered open, looking up at Falerin curiously.
“You really mean that, though?” he asked softly. “Being glad to just…see me?”
Falerin gave him a soft smile, and he leaned down to kiss Astarion’s forehead. “Of course. You’re more than just your looks you know.”
“Well, obviously. I’m a great lay, too.”
Falerin rolled his eyes with a smile. “You know what I mean.”
“Actually, I…” Astarion cut himself off, and he pulled his head away from Falerin’s hands, giving his hair a little shake before pushing his curls back into place. He turned around in his seat. “Well, it feels better. How does it look? Be honest, unless it looks terrible—in that case, lie profusely.”
Falerin laughed. “You look wonderful, like you always do.”
Astarion’s gaze flicked over him for a moment. His mouth quirked up. “You know, from you, I believe that.” His gaze lingered on Falerin’s face for just a moment, then he got up to his feet. “Well, now that all’s right with my hair—and, by extension, the world—I suppose we ought to rejoin society. Well, in as much as our camp counts as society. Come along, darling.”
(I have a horrible memory so here's some generic questions for you ^-^) Do any of your ocs have an interesting favorite food? Do you have a favorite fashion that you gave to an oc? What's your mostly likely oc to wear super tall heels? Who's the most likely to try to Bother their siblings and/or friend when they're bored?
HI HALLO ITS BEEN A WHILE THYTGRFEFRGTR but no worried about your memory cause a lot of my oc stuff changed especially since ive started developing them more along with my gf while making joint ocs ToT
EITHER WAY, for the food one i dont think i have an answer - i never quite think about a characters food, a shame but definitely a thought to keep in mind when making them U_U
as for favorite fashion, it would def be this vamp aesthetic gal
she isnt an ACTUAL vampire but since she can control blood it wouldve been a wasted opportunity NOT to make her vampire inspired, and her whole look + vibe just make me UGH /pos
she is from a universe me and gf are currently working on!! :D
from the same universe comes the oc that would rock highest of heels-
this baby boy. he is the most diva character there U_U
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST
from another oc universe, these two twins (not actual hamsters) are most likely to mess with their big sister and then suffer the consequences (a lecture)
a part of this paper im writing for school is like “who are you compared to who society says u are” and I’m tempted to just write ab being a fruitcake but my teacher is a pro life, homophobic piece of shit and i don’t wanna fail </3
