BG3

Bloodweave

Astarion/Gale

The party's two most dramatic disasters — a vampire spawn hiding his scars behind vanity and a wizard hiding a Netherese bomb behind erudition — orbit each other with theatrical disdain in camp banter. Bloodweave pairs Astarion's sharp tongue with Gale's relentless need to lecture, and fans noticed how often the bickering sounds like flirting. Both men were shaped by exploitative former masters, giving writers rich parallel wounds to explore.

3,000 works

What is Bloodweave?

Bloodweave is the fan-given name for the romantic pairing of Astarion and Gale from Baldur's Gate 3. With over 3,000 works on Archive of Our Own, it's one of the most popular ships in the fandom.

Why fans love Bloodweave

Pretentious wizard meets catty vampire: the insults are lace-trimmed, the trauma is matching, and the chemistry writes itself.

Most Popular Bloodweave Fanfics

The highest-rated Bloodweave stories on AO3, ranked by kudos.

1

Feel the Breeze and Deeply Breathe

by seagull_soda

Quick even on the wet stone shelf, Astarion skittered over and planted a hand on that fragile chest, shoving him into the wall. In lieu of speaking his disdain he hissed, baring twin rows of needle-sharp teeth.Stay, stupid.Oh.His human's eyes went so wide when Astarion did that, so wet, and somehow

204 kudos 28,901 words ~116 min read Explicit
Monster Astarion Mer Astarion in the sense that he's a sexy half-fish but he's a little freaky
2

A Blazing Star

by Moonmaiden86

This work will alternate POV between Astarion, Gale, and Halsin, and focus on character exploration, and expanding on a lot of sub-plots from the game regarding the three of them. The canon events will still occur, but a little out of order, and sometimes for different reasons. The main plot will re

1,148 kudos 419,276 words ~1678 min read Explicit
Blood Drinking Trauma Heavy Angst
3

Of Gods and Graves

by judasno

This is a slow-paced, heavily altered adaptation of Baldur’s Gate 3 with Astarion as the imperfect, dramatic, and exceptionally vigilant narrator. It is gory, action-packed, and slow to build, with the main story taking a backseat to a character-driven and character-focused narrative set in the vast

61 kudos 591,995 words ~2368 min read Mature
Hurt/Comfort Fluff and Angst Heavy Angst
4

I Don't Care Who's Around

by purplemilk27

Gale miscalculates on his surprise birthday gift for Astarion. This one probably didn't need to be in the Mature collection, but honestly I just wanted to get it started lol.

12 kudos 636 words ~3 min read Mature
31 Gays of Summer Day 5 Oversight birthday surprise
5

Woven Blood

by LlamaSlama

A post-canon modern coffee shop/university AU Franken-Fic. Part One: Chapters 1-68Hundreds of years after the defeat of the Absolute, Astarion is the owner of Cafe, a small coffee shop in the city of Waterdeep. Gale is a professor at Waterdeep University (previously Blackstaff Academy). He is a Chos

151 kudos 422,390 words ~1690 min read Explicit
Coffee Shops Alternate Universe - College/University Baldur's Gate 3
6

Flirting, Fighting and Other Things

by thatllwakeupyouraunt

Tav teaches Rolan to fight, and they grow close. Begins at the meeting in Act 1 and ends in Act 3 with Rolan taking over Ramazith's Tower, though most of the story occurs in Act 2. Mostly canon compliant, with necessary changes for the romance to occur.

20 kudos 17,280 words ~70 min read Mature
Slow Burn Canon-Typical Violence Canonical Character Death
7

Maybe, Perhaps, and Other Noncommittal Nonsense

by A_Gay_Ghast

Astarion decides fairly early in their journey to defeat that absolute, that he absolutely hates Gale. Gale doesn't seem to notice.

13 kudos 3,528 words ~15 min read General Audiences
idk where this is going yet Hurt/Comfort Astarion Needs a Hug (Baldur's Gate)
8

The Things We Were Made For

by LiebeNemesis

Astarion has always known exactly who he is. Cazador's perfect weapon. Then he meets the man he's supposed to kill...

2 kudos 3,009 words ~13 min read Explicit
Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence Human Astarion (Baldur's Gate) No vampires
9

Stray Cat

by BeepBeepBoop333

It wasn’t a stirge or a deathfang, Gale choking down a gasp at the humanoid figure madly lapping and guzzling the bowl of blood. It was a vampire. When Gale becomes aware of a creature targeting the infestation of necrotic rats plaguing his store, his eager brain fixates on the question of what bein

434 kudos 91,813 words ~368 min read Mature
Alternate Universe Post-Canon Light Angst
10

The Bite that Binds

by xBigRedPandax

'Say say my playmate, won't you lay hands on me / Mirror my malady, transfer my tragedy?'     Werewolves were sent by Cazador to bring Astarion back, but in fending them off, Gale gets bit by one and hides it from everyone. How long will this secret remain until it's revealed? And how long until he

166 kudos 128,075 words ~513 min read Explicit
Werewolves Alternate Universe - Werewolf Canon-Typical Violence
11

Any Time, Any Place

by purplemilk27

This is my General Audiences collection for Bloodweave Brainrot's 31 Gays of Summer event. I'll update the tags as I go. Keep an eye out for my more *mature* series as well.

23 kudos 1,205 words ~5 min read Teen And Up Audiences
31 Gays of Summer Ambush Character Study
12

Rising of a Wave

by thisis_V

It was foolish. Undignified. He was a wizard, a scholar, a survivor of cataclysmic fate. He had touched the Weave itself. And yet here he lay, reduced to this - undone by memory, by the ghost of a mouth brushing his skin in the dark, by words never spoken, by letters left unwritten, by the immense a

373 kudos 137,650 words ~551 min read Explicit
Getting Back Together Romance Humor
13

Red is the color of Seduction

by tickedtabbyflower

Cazador is dead, the ritual is complete, and Astarion is no longer merely free. Leon wakes with fangs and a choice. Power hums. Hunger answers. And something in the palace is listening.

11 kudos 82,479 words ~330 min read Mature
Alpha/Omega Omega Verse Omega Gale (Baldur's Gate)
14

What are we good for (maybe each other)

by p3relka

The story follows the adventures of two men with unusual diets, self-esteem issues and tadpoles in their heads.Astarion and Gale will discover the power of friendship and love, with some healing on the way.

12 kudos 13,977 words ~56 min read Mature
Canon Compliant POV Alternating Canon-Typical Violence
15

How do I?

by 0PikaPi0

"Sometimes, you just have to accept the things life tends to give you." "But why?" He asked. "Because I knew that side once. The side of pain and anger. And someone helped me change my mind. And sometimes, you just have to keep walking, even if death won't let you stop goin'." Came a quiet reply. Li

7 kudos 7,371 words ~30 min read Explicit
Slow Burn Fluff Warning: Orin the Red (Baldur's Gate)
16

Now We're Cookin'

Complete

by Elemental_Queen

Gale is sick with a cold, and Astarion wants to do something for him. Surely making him chicken soup wouldn’t be that hard, right? Right? Thank goodness Tara knows what she's doing.

23 kudos 4,110 words ~17 min read Teen And Up Audiences
Sickfic Gale is sick Soft Astarion
17

My type (if you were emo in 2009)

by sabace_maniac

"Actually, I have a different punishment in mind," he looked up. This was new. "You are aware that Balduran High School is holding a charitable bake sale tomorrow, yes?" He wasn't aware at all, that sounds like the shit that Head Mystra would tell prospective students and parents about and would nev

57 kudos 65,400 words ~262 min read Explicit
Rape/Non-con Elements Underage Rape/Non-con Alternate Universe - High School
18

Once More

by LadyGerbilLuna

Jaheira has a great idea: an adventure series with romance! Everyone absolutely loves those cheesy romance shorts on social media and those silly romances with the girl going home blah blah!The only problem is her star player, Astarion and his soulless acting with any romantic prospect...Until she s

63 kudos 70,293 words ~282 min read Explicit
Sweet Astarion (Baldur's Gate) Astarion Being Astarion (Baldur's Gate) Soft Gale (Baldur's Gate)
19

To Err Is Divine (to forgive is human)

by Lame Wizard (Chocofake)

“Tara. What in the Nine Hells happened to my beard?” Gale had gone on a great adventure with a band of tadpoles misfits to save the world from the Absolute. That much, he was certain of. So why and how did he find himself back in Waterdeep, a year before that whole venture, and just days away from c

366 kudos 310,798 words ~1244 min read Mature
Pre-Canon Post-Canon somehow both at the same time
20

Magic is complicated but nothing is more complicated than romance.

by Foxprinc14

Ummmm I’m starting another fic. Bloodweave for life tho guys. Anyway Astarion is trying to learn magic and who can help him Gale ofc!!and soon there friendship grows, but with it comes the difficulty of well talking.

10 kudos 6,856 words ~28 min read General Audiences
Emotions or whatever no beta read we die like Carrazan lol Fluff

Bloodweave Fanfics by Length

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Characters

Astarion
Gale

Common Bloodweave Tropes

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does Bloodweave mean?

Bloodweave is the ship name (portmanteau or nickname) for the pairing of Astarion and Gale. It's used by fans to tag and search for fanfiction featuring this relationship.

How many Bloodweave fics are on AO3?

There are over 3,000 Bloodweave fanfiction works on Archive of Our Own.

How can I read Bloodweave fanfiction on my phone?

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