#fake lied | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

gibbearish · 3 months

Text

so this post has been made unrebloggable now (shocker) but ive been feeling the need to address it since i saw it on my dash multiple times, so let's explore how lying on the internet works. more specifically, how blending truth, lies, and omissions to whip uninvolved people into anger works, because i think this is an excellent example and that pointing out the misinformation and the tactics used to spread it here is important, both in correcting the specific falsities but also in helping recognize similar tactics in the future.

so here we have several things that are technically true: staff has been very openly shitty to trans women for a long time and them banning predstrogen is clearly part of that, there is currently a movement regarding discussing transmisandry/transandrophobia, transmisogyny and transphobes sending transphobic asks is by far nothing new, and baeddel is/was a slur. however, among all of this are half-truths, unprovable speculation, or outright lies made to make you believe these events are originating specifically from transmascs.

firstly, the transandrophobia movement has been drastically misrepresented here in the same way it has been for the whole argument, "they're just trans MRAs" has been repeated so many times now that i'm gonna be hearing it in my dreams when i'm 80. i can understand not being willing to address the nuance of that whole discourse in one post that isn't directly focused on that, i'm certainly not, but in this example it's not unwillingness to address a complicated topic, it's a deliberate misrepresentation to frame one side of the discussion as The Evil Bad Ones That Can't Be Trusted. additionally, this post IS about that discourse and is just pretending it isn't to mislead a wider audience, so refusing to address it at all beyond this brief mention is deliberately misleading people about the goals of the group because They're The Other Side Of The Discourse. "transmisogynists" is used as a buzzword here, it doesn't actually refer to Anyone Who Hates Transfemmes, it refers to Transmascs Who Discuss Transmasc-Specific Oppression Using A Word They Coined To Point Out That Queer Spaces Have A Big Problem With Masculinity and just. doesn't tell you that's what it means, relying on the structure and framing of the post to create the Transmisogynist = Transmasc association in the audience's head so op doesn't have to say it outright (and of course the implied Transmasc = Transmisogynist association that follows because creating THAT association is the Actual Point of this post). the mentions of transmascs in this post are designed to look like afterthoughts, op says "typically those who espouse transandrophobia" to make it look like they're saying there's other people they're referring to here too, but almost everything in this post draws from the transandrophobia discourse. some random cis transphobe in texas has never heard the term baeddel in their entire life much less used it in a debate about transphobia, this is an intercommunity argument through and through, but op is trying to mask the fact that they're just referring to "transmascs who disagree with me specifically" and make it look like it's part of a wider trend. and again, i'm not going to go into the nuances of transandrophobia here, but i highly recommend reading some of the theory on it by @nothorses (x) and @genderkoolaid (x) because the "theyre just trans MRAs" argument kinda just collapses under its own weight as soon as you look into it even a smidgen. i've linked a couple broad overviews there but they both discuss it frequently and in-depth, specifically nothorses has a pinned post linking to many different discussion threads that i would recommend checking out if you do want to learn more about what the actual conversation surrounding these words is.

so, after framing the movement this way, they go on to say that the reason predstrogen was banned wasn't /just/ because staff has a long and established hate boner for trans women, but because the transandrophobia movement was teaming up with TERFs to mass-report her and other transfemmes, and implies that this is part of a deliberate conspiracy between Transandrophobia Truthers™, TERFs, and staff. you'll notice that there are no, say, screenshots of transmascs saying theyre deliberately reporting her or of that they're working with TERFs, behind-the-scenes lists of people who reported a certain account, or any evidence for this beyond "she was a trans woman, they're trans men who hate trans women, she got banned, so these must be related". which i find especially funny now given that photomatt has continued melting down about this since it happened and made it pretty clear it yknow. was just part of staffs ongoing hate campaign against trans women that has been going on much longer than the transandrophobia debate? and that maybe the fact that The Literal CEO is having a personal meltdown about this might explain where that could be coming from or at least why it's been allowed to continue for so long, moreso than any individual users reporting someone could? but i digress.

who reported what account is completely unprovable as a casual user unless people directly admit they did it, so to bring it up like this begs the question of what actual reasoning they have for saying it beyond trying to tie a current display of bigotry into an unrelated discourse. that's not to say it's impossible people who discuss transandrophobia were wrongfully reporting her, because again, thats something we have no way of knowing, and the internet is a shit place so i wouldn't be surprised. but given the circumstances and the rest of the lies here, i have my doubts about this being an actual yknow. Thing That Happened rather than just another lie to make people mad at transmascs. now one could make the argument that op wasn't saying transmascs are /deliberately/ teaming up with TERFs/staff, that "teaming up" was just a poor choice of words to refer to multiple groups who happen to have the same goals in mind at the same time but aren't actually coordinating with one another, but given the deliberate misinformative slant of the rest of the post and the overall phrasing in this section, i have trouble extending that grace. regardless, however, that doesn't change that who is reporting who isn't something verifiable, so stating it here as a confirmed fact is disingenuous at the absolute best, and a lie chosen specifically because it's unprovable at worst. if op /does/ have proof that transmascs have been teaming up with TERFs to get trans women banned, not including that with this post is just uhhhhh dumb, and if op /doesn't/ have proof then Why Would You Go Around Telling People That's What Happened Unless You Were Lying To Them On Purpose With Ulterior Motives.

next, op goes on to discuss the rise of the term baeddel. now as i said before, the truth here is that it certainly was a slur and certainly can still be used as one, again the internet is a shit place so i would be a fool if i tried to say "no one is using this as a slur". however, this is once again a drastic misrepresentation of the situation. baeddel's rising use is due to certain trans women reclaiming it and aligning themselves with the original group's politics, namely that femininity is good and masculinity is bad (aka terfism 101), with the added caveat that by abandoning femininity for masculinity, transmascs are evil and betraying devine womanhood and their community by putting more Evil Manhood into the world. of course that in turn is a drastic oversimplification of their politics and i highly recommend checking out this post with an actual in-depth exploration of the history (and without my added flavor), but the important part to note here is that this is not a term transmascs just Started Using one day because they hate transfems so very much as is implied here, its use is directly tied to a group of people saying "hello, here is what i am, and here is what this word means about what i believe," so others went "ok, these specific beliefs are called this." bringing up the fact that it historically was a slur is misdirection here, when you look closer this is almost a 1 to 1 translation of TERFs crying that TERF and radfem are slurs because People Don't Like Their Politics And Therefore Them, so the name for their politics is used negatively, so therefore it's a slur. that argument just has a little more oomph behind it this time because It Was A Slur Originally. and again, that isnt to say no one is now using it as a slur, the rate of decay for online discourse is ridiculous so it being boiled down to and used as "evil transfemme" has certainly already happened, but to act like /every/ use of it is a slur is literally just a lie, when you self-identify with a term based on your shared politics with the original group then you do not get to claim everyone using that term to describe those politics is doing so exclusively to attack you. also this part is entirely speculation but given that op's url is basically just. baeddel switched around to dae bel, i would hazard a guess that they perhaps are indeed aware of the origins of its re-use? but again, that's entirely unprovable and based just on wordplay, but like. given the Everything here i wouldn't be surprised. now, there's definitely an argument to be made about calling users baeddels based just off of their politics when they don't personally self-identify with it, if that constitutes calling someone a slur and if TIRF should be used instead, but crucially, that is not the argument being made here. the argument being made is "ANY AND ALL use of this term is calling someone a slur," and that literally just Isn't The Case.

finally, to tie the whole post off, op reminds us 1) if you hear anything bad about any trans woman ever, it's probably a lie to make her look bad, and 2) if you hear anyone say anything about transandrophobia, disregard everything else they have to say because they hate trans women. not "be critical of the things you see or get sent" or "be on the lookout for things following a certain pattern," a unilateral "anything bad is probably fake and anyone who uses the bad words is probably evil." that is not something someone does if they are genuinely trying to raise awareness of an ongoing trend, that is what someone does when they want you to turn your brain off and be mad at a group no matter what they say.

so yeah, in summary, do be critical of the things you see and be on the lookout for certain patterns, because sometimes people will just Lie to you. or, sometimes people will tell you portions of the truth while leaving out crucial bits so that you'll come to the conclusion they want without anyone being able to say they lied to you without typing up a thirty paragraph long hell post. transmisogyny is absolutely a problem on this site and there are 100% valuable conversations to be had about it and its presence within the trans community, but this post is not that. this post uses real transmisogyny and the wrongful termination of a trans woman's account as set dressing to say that it was all because of evil transmascs who run the trans community behind the scenes conspiring to take out transfemmes, so you should ignore anything they have to say because All of it is secretly motivated by transmisogyny. they're never discussing transandrophobia because it's something that actually effects them, they're doing it to hurt trans women by saying they have it worse. they're never telling you about shitty things a trans woman did to spread awareness, they're lying to make her look bad, or even if it's true they're only talking about it as part of a hate campaign because she's trans, they wouldn't care otherwise. they're never using a specific term because People Use That Term For Themselves, they're calling someone a slur because they hate trans women. there's always an explanation you can think up that ties it back to transmisogyny, and op says that instead of assessing all of what someone says and the context behind it to determine if that's what's happening, you should assume transmisogyny is the answer and refuse to engage any further as soon as you see a word you've been told is bad.

this post is discourse recruitment masquerading as a public service announcement that doesn't offer you any routes to actually learn more about what's going on, it just tells you Here's What's Happening, Here's Who's Evil And Should Be Ignored, And If You Disagree You're Also Evil And Should Be Ignored. content of the actual post aside, i think anything framed that way should be taken with a MASSIVE grain of salt and this would have raised my alarm bells even if i wasn't already pretty familiar with the arguments, people who genuinely want you to know something just because it's good to know will give you options to learn more or encourage you to actually use your critical thinking to assess things, not tell you to sit down and shut up and ignore anyone who disagrees with them.

anyways i guess tldr

#trans #transandrophobia #transmisogyny #now the question is do i leave anon on after posting this #origibberish #and its interesting too how the lies here cast doubt on other parts too #like i didnt click through the link op posted but just based on everything else theres a part of me thats like #everything else you said here was a lie to make transmascs look bad and transfemmes look good. why exactly should i believe you #when you say some rumor about your friend is fake. like your friend could be entirely innocent but because /you/ are the one saying it #its like. is it actually fake or is that another lie and your friends are just shitty people?#but again i didnt click through the link and know nothing abt that aspect its just. something to note about how lying about some things #makes it very difficult to believe others #long post

593 notes · View notes

rejectingrepublicans · 4 months

Text

F—king Republican lies! From the South African draft dodger who fled to Canada and then to the US.

#republican assholes #elongated muskrat #oligarch assholes #election lies #fake news #conspiracy theories #election denial #misinformation #disinformation #the big lie

520 notes · View notes

cynical-canidae · 6 months

Text

Compelled by her old man rizz.

#idk what came over me #yes i do i lied #his nonbinary swagger #doctor who #the doctor #fourteenth doctor #14th doctor #david tennant #art #cynical-art #mine #girl how did i proper draw 14 before 12 I'm a fake 12 stan #cynical-canidae

592 notes · View notes

kaetor · 1 year

Text

one for your lies, one for your hate

#persona 5 #goro akechi #p5 #akechi goro #p5r #persona 5 royal #cleb art #i spent way too long on the colors hope the vibe came across #tried to like. make the colors on the left look Bad and Off and Fake and the right to look nice #nice and realer looking in contrast with the actual subject matter #its about. ugly truth and pretty lies

1K notes · View notes

reality-detective · 15 days

Text

Man on the Moon 🤔

247 notes · View notes

genvincorrectquotes · 6 months

Text

#jordan after ep 8 #gen v #gen v meme #limoreau #mariejordan #jordan li #marie moreau #derek luh #london thor #jaz sinclair #fake tweets

475 notes · View notes

ggardengirl · 6 months

Text

#gen v fake tweets #gen v #marie moreau #jordan li #emma meyer #marie and emma #jordan x marie #jordan li x marie moreau #marie x jordan #mariejordan #limoreau #fake tweets

470 notes · View notes

wrathyforest · 9 months

Text

soooooooooooooooo t-shirts with quotes 👀

#my art #link click #shiguang dailiren #shiguang #lu guang #cheng xiaoshi #qiao ling #li tianchen #is it TAKE your time or FAKE your time #who knows....

760 notes · View notes

difeisheng · 30 days

Text

A Jianghu Mystery of the Middle Xi: The Tomb of Li Xiangyi

By Qiling, University of □□ (2024)

Left: A photograph of the inscribed text at Li Xiangyi's tomb, reading, "The grave of the Sigu Sect's departed Sect Leader, Li Xiangyi". Right: Artist's sketch renditions from eye-level frontal and aerial side views, recreating how the tomb may have appeared during the Xi dynasty.

Among the numerous important archaeological finds from the Xi Dynasty, the tomb of Li Xiangyi is not the most well-known, nor has it yielded any artifacts of particular intrigue, yet it has raised questions about certain points in history since its discovery. The tomb constitutes a small site, near a mountainous overlook which should have received little common traffic at the time of construction. Its structure is in line with some other aristocratic burials of the Middle Xi period: aboveground, with a chamber at the center of a raised rectangular dais several meters wide, large enough to bear only a single individual. A stone marker, which has survived in legible condition until today, declares it the tomb of Li Xiangyi, leader of the Sigu jianghu sect.

Records about Li Xiangyi are found at other archaeological sites contemporary with this tomb, and so his name is not an obscure one. The Sigu Sect complex has already undergone excavation for nearly two decades, with evidence that Li Xiangyi spent several years there as its first sect leader and founder. His tomb is within two hours' walking distance of the Sigu site, though isolated in its location, compared to the Sigu Sect's grand mountain entrance. (The complex itself was inhabited well after his death; bamboo slips cite Qiao Wanmian as the Sigu Sect's next major leader some years after, who oversaw it for several more decades into the later Xi). In addition, the Baichuan-Pudu site, closer to the eastern coast and historically the headquarters for the Baichuan Court, is affiliated with Li Xiangyi. Its origins apparently lay in an offshoot of the Sigu Sect, which grew into its own independent legal organization after his death.

Legends surrounding Li Xiangyi's life have been well-documented, both at Sigu and Baichuan-Pudu, but also in books and transcriptions of oral stories at sites around the country. These are dated to both the Middle and Late Xi periods, as well as a few scattered mentions in writings from the following dynasty. As a jianghu sect leader and swordsman, Li Xiangyi's reputation truly preceded him. Some tales speak of his early accomplishments, ridding towns of villainous tyrants and defeating criminals. Others talk about the founding of the Sigu Sect when Li Xiangyi was seventeen, and his subsequent missions leading his fellow swordsmen to protect the borders of the country. Not all of these narratives can be verified with surviving historical proof, and given Li Xiangyi's status in the shifting canon of folklore, the percentage that are hyperbole or fiction is likely significant. However, one that should be true, and is the most frequently told story throughout these sources, is that of Li Xiangyi's death.

All texts place Li Xiangyi as having died relatively young, with some providing a specified age, generally around twenty. He perished in a duel with Di Feisheng, leader of the Jinyuan Alliance, a rival jianghu organization and presumed threat to the Sigu Sect. As the sources say, the Jinyuan Alliance killed Li Xiangyi's sect brother, Shan Gudao, and in retaliation he used the Sigu Sect to launch a war against the Jinyuan Alliance. His final battle was the last in this war, dying in the East Sea on Di Feisheng's ship. The Jinyuan Alliance in return was badly defeated by the Sigu Sect; excavations at its first compound in the last five years have shown evidence of siege, with fire having destroyed large parts of the buildings. Afterward, the Sigu Sect disbanded without Li Xiangyi, with only the Baichuan Court continuing to function, before being resurrected one decade later.

Given this knowledge we have about Li Xiangyi, the matter of his burial should be straightforward. He had a tremendous impact on the jianghu in the few short years that he stood at its peak. He died heroically, if tragically, to obtain justice for a brother. He was honoured with a tomb, standing guard over the sect he dedicated his youth to. Why, then, is said tomb regarded as somewhat of a mystery?

This tomb was first stumbled upon during extended surveys of the Sigu site territory, with excavation taking place within the last two years. Parts of the stone chamber and foundation of the dais have withstood time, as have most things left inside. The tomb bears no signs of looting. However, there are some details which, alongside discoveries from other archaeological sites, contribute to a shadow of uncertainty on the existing narrative of Li Xiangyi's life.

Firstly, is that the austerity of the tomb does not line up with what we know of Li Xiangyi. Although overall sufficient enough for someone of his great reputation, the tomb is rather plainly embellished. There are an unexpectedly small number of burial objects inside, with those present being neither rare nor expensive. For all his contributions to the jianghu, less money and resources were poured into remembrance of Li Xiangyi than seems proper for his time.

Secondly, and far more significantly, is that the tomb holds no human remains. Whether the fact of Li Xiangyi having no recovered body to bury was made public is unknown; if it was, we do not have record of it. Certainly those who arranged for the tomb to be built and sealed would have carried this with them the rest of their lives, but no one else may be accounted for. Granted, it is not impossible for a disappeared body to have been common knowledge or presumption, as Li Xiangyi was killed at sea with no guarantee of being found. Yet this, combined with the ordinary appearance of the tomb, causes the entire site to appear... a nominal thing. Constructed to maintain acknowledgement of Li Xiangyi's absence, though his death was only marked by words, rather than a physical state.

He was given a tomb, but was Li Xiangyi truly dead before it was built?

In terms of the aforementioned other archaeological site findings, there is one that potentially implicates Li Xiangyi's death at an interesting political junction, within the context of the dynasty. The Xi Dynasty was unstable and relatively short-lived, established after taking back the Central Plains and adjacent territories from the southern conquering state of Nanyin. It endured for just under two centuries, the first of which was fraught with pockets of conflict, with many jianghu skirmishes such as that between the Sigu Sect and the Jinyuan Alliance. The greatest threat to the Xi Dynasty (until its fall) came one hundred years after its founding. Recovered archival records from the Xi capital excavation report that remaining Nanyin loyalists attempted a coup, supported by jianghu organizations, including a restored Jinyuan Alliance (although whether Di Feisheng was still its leader at this time is unclear). This attack was ultimately unsuccessful, but important to note is that the leader of this renewed Nanyin force is described as being Shan Gudao, Li Xiangyi's former sect brother.

Although Li Xiangyi brought the Sigu Sect into a war upon news of Shan Gudao's death, that demise seems to have been faked, with Shan Gudao disappearing underground only to reappear as part of a later rebellion. Could Li Xiangyi have been aware of this? Was his reaction to Shan Gudao's apparent death genuine? Or part of a coordinated plan, using him as a reason to destroy the Jinyuan Alliance, to eradicate any future resistance? Did Li Xiangyi, too, fake his death alongside Shan Gudao, in service of a shared cause? Were remnants of the Sigu Sect instructed to build an empty tomb, cementing Li Xiangyi as a dead hero so he could work in the shadows of the jianghu instead?

This is merely speculation, contradicted by the fact that if Li Xiangyi had indeed done as such, unlike Shan Gudao, after his duel with Di Feisheng he has no reappearance in any surviving records or at any archaeological site. As well, Li Xiangyi should have had no motivation for committing to such a scheme, with even loyalty to Shan Gudao a stretch for putting all the lives of the Sigu Sect on the line. That being said, history has a way of surprising the present, and this theory may not be entirely ruled out. At any rate, Shan Gudao's survival is a baffling accompaniment to Li Xiangyi's (lack of a) burial, one which will hopefully receive clarifying answers in future archaeological developments.

Perhaps the strangest piece of the puzzle concerning the end of Li Xiangyi's life, however, is Di Feisheng. After the Jinyuan Alliance was scattered by the Sigu Sect, stories regarding Li Xiangyi declared him dead and disappeared. Yet not unlike Shan Gudao, he became known in the jianghu once more about ten years later, witnessing the Nanyin's attempted coup and living long after. His tomb remained untouched, and was excavated eight years ago as part of the greater Tianji Mountain site project. The location of Di Feisheng's tomb is surprising, not only because it directly links him to the powerful and wealthy He clan of Tianji Manor, but also because he was buried next to their sole young master during the Xi Dynasty, Fang Duobing.

The son of financial minister Fang Zeshi and engineering master He Xiaohui, Fang Duobing became a notable youxia travelling the jianghu in the emperor's name, assigned in the wake of the attempted Nanyin coup. According to palace records, he was also betrothed to Princess Zhaoling, although the marriage agreement was eventually formally dissolved. What is otherwise known of Fang Duobing was his admiration of Li Xiangyi, having styled himself as a follower and disciple of him during his youth. As well, one eye-catching artifact among Fang Duobing's burial goods was a preserved wooden replica of a blade, with Li Xiangyi's name carved near the hilt. Likely a children's toy, prized and kept safe throughout Fang Duobing's life.

The exact nature of the relationship between Di Feisheng and Fang Duobing is not entirely certain, but it must have been a very close one, for Di Feisheng to have the privilege of burial on the Tianji estate. This topic justifies future study for our understanding of the Tianji He clan, already known in prior generations for its socially subversive relationships, but pertinent to Li Xiangyi is that the man whose most infamous act was to kill him, was laid to rest beside one who revered him. Why was there such a bond between these two figures, if the stories of Li Xiangyi's death have any truth to them? Did Li Xiangyi really die by Di Feisheng's blade? Did Li Xiangyi's empty tomb, plausibly signifying Di Feisheng's innocence, alter his relationship with Fang Duobing? Or indeed, did Li Xiangyi, the man himself, have a part to play in this?

No traces of him from this time remain in the archaeological record, true. But this should not be taken to mean without doubt that he was not alive then at all.

The discovery of Li Xiangyi's tomb has been an exciting development for studying this era of the Xi Dynasty, but it has also outlined doubt in areas of one man's life that were previously taken as likely facts. Li Xiangyi's tomb is scarcely fitting for his name as a founding sect leader, built more for the sake of its existence than anything else, and there was no body sealed inside to begin with. In addition, Shan Gudao— someone dear to Li Xiangyi— established a precedent of faking his death. Di Feisheng, known across the jianghu for killing the man, held a close bond with someone later in life who had personally looked up to Li Xiangyi, and so he may not have been fully responsible for Li Xiangyi's death to begin with.

What truly happened to Li Xiangyi, resulting in a tomb such as this? The past holds the answer, knowing things that we do not. Hopefully the future of archaeology will continue leading to new discoveries, and allow us to more completely understand the legend that was Li Xiangyi.

#this is probably a better archaeological research paper than the one i wrote on sanxingdui a few days ago #anyways hi yes. i just impulse wrote a fake archaeological paper for fun. enrichment. whatever #also i tried not to sound too pop culture archaeology in this #to any other anthropology or archaeology majors. if it comes off that way i am sorry </3 it's past 4am rn #mysterious lotus casebook #li xiangyi #di feisheng #fang duobing #ashton writes fic #difang #<- to any difang shippers just sit with me for a bit and think about these two being buried together

149 notes · View notes

teaboot · 3 months

Note

You're so genuine, how do you stay so true to you?

I think I just never considered the possibility of an alternative

#This is so kind of you to say #But like #I feel kinda dumb #But being dishonest seems exhausting #And I'm not really sure how I'd manage to fake an entire identity even if I wanted to #If that's what you mean #Like #I really dont think I'm smart enough to plan out solid lies

308 notes · View notes

justporo · 9 months

Text

A Night of Fake Smiles and Hidden Lies (Prologue: A knock on the door)

Author's note: So, here we are, the prologue to the next longer story I already teased quite a bit. Enjoy! I'll start posting on October 5th - giving me some time to get ahead on writing hopefully. Please let me know if you want to get tagged. Spoilers ahead!

Summary: Astarion and you had settled down in Baldur’s Gate. For almost half a year now had you been living in your small, but cozy and quite luxurious townhouse in the Upper City – causing rampant rumours around the nobles in the city.

One night, Tav and Astarion receive an invitation to attend a ball that’s promising to be the city’s biggest event in quite some time. Astarion feels his time has come to finally show Tav some of his world: ballroom politics, waltzing, sipping on the finest champagne, gossiping while laughing and showing off your own prosperity, unthinkable debauchery going on behind closed doors – an excessive night to remember.

And the night might hold more surprises than either Astarion or Tav would have expected…

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Astarion / Fem!Tav (You)

CHAPTER LIST | NEXT CHAPTER

Astarion and you were sitting in the big window alcove of your living room – the one you had equipped with some pillows and a blanket so the two of you could always sit there comfortably and watch out through the tall window onto the Upper City of Baldur’s Gate. The lights in the city were twinkling, while you both had snuggled up at one of your favourite places in your house.

Astarion was reading one of his many books he had started to collect and scatter all over the place. His brows were deeply furrowed as he was silently mumbling to himself while reading, one of his fingers absent mindedly moved over his bottom lip – and only ever stopped when he grabbed the chalice of wine beside him.

You were sitting there as well, facing him and trying to capture him and his thoughtfulness in a drawing while also admiring how effortlessly beautiful he just was at any given moment. This wasn’t the first time you’d drawn him and it wouldn’t be the last. Before, you hadn’t drawn in quite some time but were eager to brush up your skills again to fulfil a promise you’d given your vampire quite some time ago, when you had been on the road, adventuring.

“You know”, you teasingly broke the comfortable and companionable silence “if you would stop frowning so much it would take fifty years off of that face of yours immediately.” You chuckled and looked up from your drawing with only your eyes to catch the elf’s reaction. You were massively proud with the joke that had only taken you like the past half hour to come up with.

Astarion looked up from his book, eyes wide, finger still on his lip, and raised his eyebrows askingly at you – seemingly still miles away in his head. But then the meaning of your words clicked into place for him: his eyes narrowed, one of his eyebrows gave an annoyed twitch and he pursed his lips.

“Did no one ever teach you to respect your elders, my dear?” You simply giggled in response. “You’re awfully rude, my love, who could have possibly taught you to be this brutal?”, he asked in a playfully shocked manner and snapped his book shut in a swift movement. You kept looking at him a while longer and raised your eyebrows before you let your gaze roll back slowly to your current drawing project – no further comment needed.

“You’ve spent too much time in my company, my love”, you heard Astarion say and then a pleased chuckle afterwards. A soft clink indicated that he was taking another sip of wine.

“I think I haven’t spent enough in it – like ever”, you replied, a warm smile creeping onto your face while you started to work on your drawn lines again. You heard another very pleased chuckle and then sensed that Astarion was leaning to you. When you lifted your head to meet his gaze your faces were so close that your noses were almost touching. The vampire’s ruby eyes were glinting in the soft light of the candles all over the room. A smirk had found its way on his face, bringing out his laugh lines and soft crinkles around his eyes.

Your mouth opened slightly. It was like you knew his face better than any other and better than your own and still seemed to spot a new beautiful minor detail in it every time you looked at him. A dreamy sigh left your lips, you couldn’t help yourself – you desperately meant it when you’d said that you couldn’t ever spend enough time with him.

A sparkle entered Astarion’s eyes. Knowing full well the effect he had on you – that magnificent bastard. So he cocked his head slightly and acted coyly: “Care to show me your newest piece?” “Hm, I don’t know, do I?”, you replied puckering your lips and acting hard to get. The pale elf drew his brows together once more and looked pensively at you. “Hm… Yes. Yes, I think you do!“, he then said.

You weren’t quite ready to give in yet. “Maybe I do need some convincing”, you offered and started to grin. “Convincing? Love, next thing I know, you’ll be asking me to pay you.” “Wouldn’t it be worth it?”

Astarion huffed. “Of course, it would be, but I was thus far convinced you were doing this out of the goodness of your heart and not greed”, he dramatically responded. “Well, then maybe a kiss will suffice for now.” “Now this is the kind of payment I can get behind”, the vampire cheerfully replied and cupped your face softly in one of his hands and closed the distance between you.

The kiss he gave you was long and sweet and made you carefully cover his hand with your own. When he broke the kiss again you felt warm and fuzzy. “What generous payment”, you whispered breathlessly. At that the vampire smirked: “Oh don’t start to think there was a tip in there, that was a down-payment for your next masterpiece.”

You stuck your tongue out at him for his commentary but still offered up your sketchbook with your newest piece of him. This one had really turned out well, you were proud of yourself.

Astarion carefully took the small book from you. As always it seemed like an incredibly honourable moment for him. The way he always spent several long moments taking in your work before he even started to say anything made your heart swell and break simultaneously.

“I look so scholarly here – more than Gale even, wouldn’t you agree, my heart?”, he said after several heartbeats while still looking at the drawing. He wasn’t wrong: the way he was holding the book and leaning into it with his whole body, brows drawn together in concentration, finger wandering over his lip while lost in thought.

“You look beautiful, Astarion”, you said. At that, Astarion’s head moved up to look at you – an open and sincere smile on his face. “Only because you are such a wonderful artist, Tav”, he replied while his smile grew broader even. “But for all I know you could massively exaggerate and I could just be painfully ugly and that’s why you and other people keep staring at me”, he answered and theatrically placed the back of his hand that wasn’t holding your sketchbook on his forehead.

“Suuuure”, you reacted dryly and crossed your arms over your chest. “I’m only kidding, my love. I thought I’d try being humble for once”, the vampire grinned back. “Yeah, it doesn’t suit you, better stay with the arrogance, dearest.”

Astarion was just about to reply when there was a knock on your front door.

Which was more than just a little weird since you near never received any visitors (and were mostly glad for it) – in fact, you weren’t sure, if someone had ever used the knocker on the door since the two of you had moved into the place.

“Was that-“, you started with furrowed brows. “A knock on the door? I think so”, Astarion finished your sentence, seemingly just as confused as you. He turned to look over his shoulder in an attempt to maybe spot whoever had been so brave out of the living room window – but it was impossible. The only thing you could see was that the small wrought-iron gate, that fenced off the street from the few steps up to the front door, had been opened.

“We weren’t expecting any company, were we?”, the vampire asked while getting up from his comfortable seat. Worry was now clearly showing on his face. It was probably nothing, but after all the two of you – and especially Astarion – had been through, it couldn’t hurt to stay cautious.

So, the vampire threw you another careful glance and then made his way to the front door. You followed closely behind.

When Astarion opened the door, you could see that it was an older, balding man in a head-to-toe black servant uniform at the door. He was standing as straight as an arrow, one arm at his back, the other holding a small envelope in front of him in a gloved hand. His head was lifted in an arrogant pose and you immediately felt stared down despite the man not being very tall.

“Ugh finally”, you hear the servant say under his breath in a tone you could only describe as “posh” and “Upper”. Astarion narrowed his eyes at him and coughed conspicuously, assuring the man that he had heard that.

“With whom do I have the pleasure?”, Astarion said then, immediately mirroring the tone of the visitor in front of him. You had definitely heard him use that kind of voice before – thousands of times – but he laid it on thick effortlessly.

The servant now seemingly reminded of his manners – or rather his duty to have manners – gave a curt bow and then spoke while offering Astarion the envelope he held: “I am here to relay an invitation by his gracious Lordship Lord De Grodt to his upcoming ball to Lord Ancunín” – his voice made clear he didn’t even remotely think he was dealing with a lord – “and, uhm…” The servant started to stutter his eyes wandering from Astarion to you standing close behind him with a raised eyebrow. “Tav?”, the messenger finished in a question rather than a statement.

The vampire took the offered envelope and clearly wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the situation. The servant now had placed his other hand on his back as well and had resumed holding his head up in arrogance.

“Please present your invitation if you attend”, he said abruptly, then turned on his heels and walked off without another glance or word – and left the gate to the street open. “What a prick”, you whispered while Astarion flipped the envelope other and started to open it. You walked past him and down the few steps to close the gate, when you heard a voice speak to you.

“Ah, did you receive an invitation too, my two dear neighbours? The messenger was awfully rude, wasn’t he?”, a well clothed older lady was walking down the street on the other side. She waved slowly and came over to you. You didn’t even know her name, but she was your neighbour living in an enormous mansion on the other side of the street. Over the last few months since you had moved into your new home, she had been the only one of the people living around that had deemed you two worthy of being talked to. And she was actually a really nice lady even though you hadn’t figured out why she had taken a liking to the both of you – or why she was surprisingly often out after the sun had gone down.

You had asked her once about it to which she had slapped your wrist playfully with a fan she’d been holding: “Nah, my dear girl, that is such a rude question to ask, don’t you think? I’m not asking you why the both of you seem to be up all night, basically every night, do I?” She had pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows and you had blushed a deep red at what she had implied. “But if you are so keen to know: I have no husband anymore but a mostly empty mansion – so I like to take long walks to not feel so lonely and keep myself in form to stay alone in an empty house for longer.” She had laughed about it, but you had felt empathy for the woman. So, you had offered to her to come by for a cup of tea if she ever felt too lonely. The sincere offer had taken her off guard obviously. Maybe she hadn’t expected much of a genuine response to her rambling. She had thanked you but never taken you up on your offer. But you chatted for a few minutes whenever you saw each other. Even Astarion had talked to her a few times and taken a liking to the lady. And she seemed positively infatuated with him, telling him once how he reminded her of her late husband and winking at him – which would have surely made even Astarion blush if that had been possible.

“Yes, awfully”, you agreed to her now. “Well, at least I know two of the people that will be attending, hm, my dear?”, the older woman replied and grinned at you but then already turned around to leave. “Greet your beau from me, will you?”, she said while she was already on her way but still shortly waved at Astarion at the top of the stairs, staring at the invitation and not noticing the short exchange.

You closed up the gate and went back to your vampire. “So?”, you simply asked and leaned over to see the invitation. “Lord Ancunín – has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”, Astarion chimed happily and grinned at you. You looked at the invitation in his slender hands. Two golden lines framed the card and under a decorative print stood in elegant cursive writing: “His Lordship Lord De Grodt requests the pleasure of the Company of Lord Astarion Ancunín & Tav to a Ball at Herrenfordt Castle on October 5th, 1493 DR after dusk.”

“They really only just wrote ‘Tav’? Should I be insulted?” “You don’t have a last name?”, Astarion asked while looking up from the card. “No, Astarion, I grew up on the streets, because my parents abandoned me – I’m only Tav, always have been”, you answered, only a tad of bitterness in your voice. “Well, my love, you could always just take mine”, the vampire replied smugly and grinned at you. “Weird way to propose”, you muttered under your breath but then immediately said before Astarion could react: “So what do you make of this?”

“I do know the palace where this is taking place, but I’ve never heard of this lord”, he answered lost in thought and drew his brows together once more. Then he seemed to remember your question, lifted up one finger and looked at you expectantly: “Do you know how to tell from an invitation how big and expensive of an event it is going to be?” “Astarion, I’ve never been to a ball in my life.” “Indulge me, sweetheart.” You rolled your eyes at him and cursed him under your breath. “Fine, how do you tell?” “So nice of you to ask, my love”, the elf replied and smiled at you as if you hadn’t just called him a name for being pretentious.

“Let’s take a look, shall we?”, he started and flicked the card with a finger. “First off: paper quality. This is very thick and finely grained paper, so already much better than what you’ll find in most books. Bonus point one. Secondly: writing. All spelled correctly, good ink, incredible cursive writing the likes of which isn’t cheap to get by – especially if you have probably hundreds of invitations to hand out. Bonus point two.” He kept twirling the card around while excitedly telling you about its properties – you were rather keen to get back inside…

“And lastly: décor! Not only has this card some printing on it for which a custom stamp must’ve been made but it is embossed with gold, twice. Bonus point three. Thus, my dearest Tav, this will be one of the biggest and probably most unforgettable events Baldur’s Gate has seen in quite some time. I can’t wait to go”, Astarion finished and grinned self-assuredly at you. You slowly blinked at him: “Do I get to have any say in this, or…”

Astarion pouted at you and made puppy eyes at you: “You can’t be saying this after dragging me to this hellhole of a tavern and making me put up with your horrible ex-lover.” Well, he had you there. After all, you had put him through quite the chaotic night when you had proposed to go to one of your favourite places in the city. But still…

When he saw that you were still hesitant, he wrapped his arms around you and kissed you – deeply, this time. A kiss that took all your breath away and left you longing for more when he lifted his lips from yours again. He knew exactly what he was doing. “Pretty please, my sweet sweet darling love?”, he pouted and his ruby puppy eyes seemed to grow bigger.

You sighed in defeat but still poked a finger at him: “I am not doing anything that involves wearing a corset.” At that Astarion simply smirked at you. “You can’t possibly propose to go like this, my love” – he gave you an once-over – “as much as I love your butt in these leather pants, anyway. But we’ll have to get you a dress, dearest.”

Just the thought made you uncomfortable. You didn’t reply and simply made your way back inside after untangling from him. Astarion followed you, putting a hand on your back after closing the front door. “Don’t worry, my heart, just leave it to me to get you something adequate. I’ll even make sure to avoid it having a corset”, he promised you with a smile when he grabbed your shoulder and softly made you face him.

That was indeed very nice of him and you were more than sure that Astarion would find you the perfect thing to wear, but the thought of attending such an event still made you uncomfortable. “What’s on your mind, my love? Worried about stepping on my toes when we’ll dance?”, he asked and pulled you close in a dancing position – the hand with the envelope and invitation still in it pressing flush to the small of your back pulling you close and the other grabbing your hand and lifting it up. He softly started humming and twirled you around in a lazy waltz. “Don’t worry, I’ll practice with you. All the dances. The silly ones, Wyll showed you once. The fast ones. The intimate ones.” Of course, he knew all of these. You’d put your other hand on his shoulder and let yourself get swirled around. The two of you had danced together before – in fact it had become one of your favourite pastimes.

“That’s not it, Astarion, it’s rather… I don’t think I’ll blend in very well. I mean, look at the invitation”, you explained and couldn’t help some sadness creeping into your voice. Astarion’s cheerful mood faltered a little, but he kept dancing with you around your living room: “My love, neither do I, really. It doesn't matter. We’ll be going there for us: get all dolled up, drink our body weight in excessively expensive wine and champagne, dance all other guests into the ground, spread some rumours and maybe pickpocket some diamond cuff links - how does that sound?”

A smile had crept back onto your lips. “Now that sounds like a happening, I can get myself behind.”

And to that Astarion threw his head back and laughed while he started to turn faster with you in his arms. “It’ll be a marvellous night, my heart, marvellous!”

Author's note: I hope you enjoyed! I am so excited to get into writing this!

Tags: @aurasyn @margoteve @usuallyunlikelyfox @hollowmasque

#astarion #astarion x tav #baldurs gate #baldurs gate 3 #baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate iii #astarion x reader #astarion x mc #baldurs gate astarion #astarion x oc #astarion x you #fanfic #fanfiction #astarion ancunin #bg3 spoilers #a night of fake smiles and hidden lies

432 notes · View notes