#bg3 leon

[freezingbatart]

Bats! This is a very self indulgent post for me and it’s an excuse to draw bats lol. Close ups and some facts below 👇

So some of these are based on vibes but there are some interesting reasons I chose some of these.

So Cazador is actually based on an extinct species of bat which is basically a massive vampire bat which are about 30% larger than a common vampire bat

Astarion is of course a common vampire bat . I couldn’t find much info on the existence of albino ones but I based him off the few images I could find

To add, Dalyria is from a species that has wings that appear pinkish due to lack of pigment, which is my personal theory for why she has that pink tone in her skin, she’s really pale

Leon being a fruit bad just made sense in my head (Maybe baby bat Victoria is under his wings lol)

Petras being a Pallid bat made sense because of course Pallid=Pale=Pale Petras

I love the idea of Aurelia being a little brown bat because I feel like I HC her as having a more diminutive and reserved personality and I feel that goes with little brown bats

Yousen is a species of Microbat which of course are some of the smaller bats in the world

I feel like Violet would be very proud of her long ears

[rolyleritae]

[bg3scenarios]

Cazador: My (512M) spawn (239M, 367M, 349M, 402M, 371 F, 302 F, 363 F) have unionized

[secretlyaraven]

The Dollmaker

[fangsandfeels]

Got hit with more thoughts about spawns and Cazador...

...and naturally, I'm posting it here because I'm no longer a functional human being.

I remember the lingering question that Astarion seemingly being only one of the spawns using seduction to lure victims in. At least, there is no menition of other’s doing so, except for Petras. So, why is that? Why Astarion was the only one?

In my opinion, it stems from Cazador’s very particular choice of victims. In all these years, he acquired only seven spawns (except for the thousands of Turned nobody knew about), and almost all of them used to be accomplished or talented people:

- Violet, a beloved and talented songbird from Reithwin;

- Dalyria, a respected doctor working in the Parliament;

- Leon, a sorcerer (a spell modifiaction he came up with shows how good he is at his magic);

- Astarion, a magistrate with a promising future, centuries of life ahead of him, and a beauty worthy of a thousand paintings.

Following this tendency, we can assume that Yousen, Aurelia, and Petras also were similarly talented or good at something enough to attract Cazador’s attention and make him envious.

The bastard thinks very highly of himself. He calls himself the most intelligent and beautiful creature out there, and spends hours writing letters to other vampire lords, trying to convince them of his grandeur. He attempts to inflate his ego, making it finally big enough to overcompensate for his miserable inferiority complex, in any way he can: so, whenever he spies someone with a talent or potential, someone who might be better than him at anything, he snuffs them away, adds to his collection, and then breaks them over and over, making them believe that they’re nothing. He is the father who gives them purpose; they are his spawn who owe him everything; and everything they have belongs to him.

And maybe, aside from tortures, and humiliation, and gaslighting, and forcing “siblings” to hurt each other, he came up with one more way to break them - when he forces them to hunt, he forces them to use everything that made them special, loved, respected, and admired for the most gruesome things.

- Violet, previously a talented singer whose voice was fondly remembered up to Reithwin’s fall, using her voice to catch attention; using her image and charm to lure people into the palace to their death.

- Dalyria, picking her victims around apothecaries and temples that responded to the people's suffering by closing doors in their faces, seeking out refugees and ailing citizens low on coin, offering to help them, kindly inviting them to “her place” (if we take Karlach’s family as an example, finding a healer who would agree to help a less-than-wealthy family is quite a problem at the city).

- Leon, using his talents and magic to nab people from the street, to drag them to Cazador without a fight while knowing that he will never be able to use the same power against the bastard himself.

- Astarion, a previously sophisticated, proud, and beautiful elf, stripped of his dignity and pride, using his body to either seduce poor young and inexperienced souls (fulfilling their image of an ethereal and caring lover) or let himself be pawed at by drunkards and brothel-goers.

I don’t think any of Cazador’s choices were accidental. I don't think he had to roam the streets at night, looking for potential candidates; that he ever Turned any of them by chance.  

They all caught his eye at some point, became an object of his obsession, and then fell victim to a scenario where they were confronted by a promise of salvation - and each time, it made Cazador giddy with excitement and a sense of self-importance. He took them away from the world because he could. He will twist and shape them to his whim because he can. And then, he will take everything from them, reducing them to miserable wretches because this is who they should be, compared to him.

They will belong under his heel, scared, helpless, and obedient, worshipping him and fearing him. Forever.

[tadpole-apocalypse]

Cazador’s spawn…i just think they’re neat …

[astarions-wife]

Rumor has it that Duke Stelmane was killed next door too 🙄 Lord Gortash better be planning on better security bc….

[alpaca-clouds]

That Awkwardness Among The Vampire Spawn

Something I am thinking about way too much in regards of Cazador's main spawn and also the 7000 souls is all that trauma - and how they are gonna deal in the "vampires spawns live, Astarion remains a spawn" ending.

Because we know two things about the spawn under Cazador:

Cazador made his seven main spawn torture each other at times to play out his power over them.

Some of those 7000 souls meant for sacrifice very probably have raped whoever went to seduce them, while they due to their commands could not fight back.

And I might be too much of a sucker for good whump, but this idea and the implications live rent-free in my head. Because how are those poeple going to deal with each other?

I mean, it is pretty clear from the interactions we get, that Cazador did the good old abuser tactic of trying to get his seven main spawn to work against each other. We know that this was more successful in some regards than in others. It seems Astarion was mostly austracized from the other spawn, and it seems that the others are not necessarily friends, but there are some among them who are closer with each other than others.

And yet, that is already something they gotta deal with, if they gotta stay together for now. Especially as they will have some trauma among each toher - and possibly quite a lot of unhealthy relationships in general. Especially if you realized that they most probably have tortured each other. Sure, it was not their fault, because bloody mindcontrol, but that does not lessen the trauma, right?

And then there is the other thing.

Like, one way or another basically any sexual interaction that the spawn had with their victims was sexual assault, because they were trafficked and unable to consent or say "no". This is something I brought up a lot more in Bound by Blood. Because... While some of the victims would have definitely have had sex with those spawn thinking it was consensual, there would be some who did not give a shit. And it was not as if Cazador cared, right? Be it stuff where the spawn had been forced into some sort of kink they definitely did not want, or be it just outright rape.

Meanwhile, of course, the other way around the spawn tricked those people into a situation where they thought those people were to be killed, while Cazador turned them into vampires without their consent, of course. And this led to them being half-starved in those dungeons. (Also: Let's face it, given how sadistic Cazador was, I would not put it past him to torture some of those 7000 just for shits and giggles.)

And all of that overhead... It will lead to so much pain, won't it? When they all need to learn how to deal with each other. There is just so much hurt there.

Like, how do you deal with a person who tortured you, even though it was not their decision? How do you deal with a person who raped you, when they thought it was consensual? How to you deal with the person, who raped you, because they fucking didn't care? How do you deal with that person, while also knowing that in the end they got put through hell because of it, even though you did not know about that until recently?

So... Yes, that is a lot, right? And it makes for a lot of confused feelings.

Admittedly, in Wishing Well (which is my story about Astarion finally meeting up with the other spawn a year after the end of the game) I do focus mostly on Astarion and Sebastian in that regard, I do bring it more into Bound by Blood, where Aurelia is dealing with several of those people.

I will also admit: I find it almost a bit sad how underexplored this topic is in fanfiction. I know, I know, I am one of the few who actually obsesses about the other spawn in the first place, but... As I said, I find it kinda sad.

[coreene]

If you fail to persuade the spawn that attacked at night

Leon: Stand with the runt of the kennel? The one who always whimpered while he got beat? Save us? That lickspittle only ever wanted to save himself - the rest of us be damned. You were always weak, brother. We don't follow weak. 

See this is the reason why I don't care for the other spawn. Fuck the 7k spawn and fuck these guys, too.

Yes I know Astarion is ready to sacrifice them, too but can you really blame him? This is obviously how they talked to him when he was controlled by Cazador. They saw him as weak and unimportant.

It is incredible Astarion actually can manage to say no to revenge on all of them and he can turn down the power from the ritual. It takes a lot of strength to do that.

[beesandhoney1219]

Would yall like a fic exploring Astarion and his relationship with his siblings?

[qwainte]

How can we fix the vampire spawn dilemma?

The biggest problem with the vampire spawn dilemma presented to you in Act 3 after you stop Astarion from ascending is that there is seemingly no downside to freeing the 7000 feral spawn into the world. We get a passing mention in Sebastian's epilogue letter of the spawn feeding on everything that moves once they reach the Underdark, but that's it. Despite Astarion's concerns, the spawn never endanger the people of Baldur's Gate and one could easily assume that they stuck to the wilds of the Underdark, feeding on animals and monsters.

So, how could we fix this without launching a whole spawn invasion side plot on top of the impending doom of the Absolute's army?

The solution is Cazador's staff: Woe.

Woe has the ability to control any vampire bound to the ritual without the need for compulsion (we witness this when Caz uses the staff to move Astarion to his ritual spot). After Cazador is killed, Astarion should be presented with a new option to give the feral spawn their freedom but with a cost. His siblings could use Woe to directly control the spawn and safely lead them into the Underdark so they can build a society of their own without endangering the people of Baldur's Gate. However, this would take away the feral spawn's autonomy once again, and would rely on you to trust that the main spawn aren't going to abuse Woe's power.

Every one of these spawn were victims of Astarion or his siblings, so they have motivation to use Woe to their advantage to ensure their safety. Even after all 7000 spawn learned to control their hunger there would still be a risk that Dalyria or any of the others will refuse to break the staff. They're vampires after all. They aren't nearly as predisposed to evil as true vampires, but all vampires are driven by selfish ambition; that's a big part of their curse.

[rawrsatthetree]

Omg I know we don’t like Astarion’s siblings very much except for maybe Dal because of how they treat him. But poor fucking Leon. To work so hard to protect his daughter from Cazador and the other spawn and to make sure he always got the favored spawn room so his daughter can have a safe place to stay all while trying desperately to find a way out if only for her. Only to finally be saved from Cazador, and she’s fucking dead.

[the-phantom-otaku]

This is something I've thought about off and on for a while now.

How do y'all think Astarion's spawn siblings would react upon finding out he actually has a real, genuine lover? I know we have very little to go off of, so answers are definitely going to vary, but I wanna hear 'em regardless.

Idk why but I feel like half would go, "Wait, he actually pulled a partner?? How?" bc they just know him as that smart-mouthed asshole they share a room with. They're just surprised that the guy they know to be a real jerk somehow got someone even when not hiding his true colors.

And the other half who know him better would be like, "Oh, that's great! I'm glad Astarion found someone."

Edit: Adding some more specifics.

I think Petras and Yousen would be in the 'WTF" camp. Petras bc it's clear he and Astarion don't get along and even Astarion says he could've been better to Petras. I imagine he all but screamed, "You managed to pull that?!" while pointing at Tav. Yousen bc he's a dwarf and we know how Astarion treats Dwarves. Edit Edit: I mixed up gnomes and dwarves. I still think he treated Yousen like shit bc he still reminded him of a gnome.

Dalyria and Aurelia I feel like would be happy for him. Dal bc she does seem to care for Astarion to some extent (and likely for her other spawn siblings, too). Aurelia I have little justification for other than I like to think of her as the oldest, so seeing him find someone even after all the pain and torture gives her hope for herself. She's also glad to see him happy bc she's likely witnesses some of his worst moments (while experiencing them herself, too).

Violet and Leon are the oddballs I'm unsure of. Violet gives me mischievous younger sibling vibes, tho, so perhaps she's happy but absolutely not above exaggerating her surprise to get under his skin. Leon I feel hasn't spent a lot of time with him or the other spawn, so maybe he's just kinda like "cool idc". It sounds like he only spent maybe a year in the spawn bunks before going back to the favored room. Or perhaps him only getting a brief taste led to him having a negative opinion bc he never got to know Astarion.

Anyway, those are my thoughts and reasons.

[asidian]

Ghosts in the Halls

by: Asidian

Fandom: Baldur's Gate 3

Pairing: Gen, Astarion & Victoria, Leon & Victoria

Warnings: unreliable narrator, dramatic irony, implied/referenced torture, outsider pov

Excerpt:

Some nights, while Father is out working, Victoria hears screams through the lovely wallpaper, somewhere deeper in the building. Sometimes it's a lady, but more often it's a man; he has a higher pitched sort of a scream, quite distinct indeed, and it goes on for hours on end.

"I think Lord Szarr has a poltergeist," Victoria tells Father one day, as he slips in around sunup.

"Oh?" says Father, and he sounds tired and a touch distracted. "What makes you say that?"

"Well," says Victoria. "They're meant to be loud, aren't they?"

"Yes," says Father, and he draws the word out, slow and a touch uncertain. "That's so. Has someone been talking to you?"

"Oh, no," says Victoria. "But there's always a man screaming. He's quite loud about it."

And Father looks at her for a long moment before he reaches out to set a hand on her head. It's not a hair ruffle, not quite – he just rests it there. "A poltergeist, surely," says Father. "Best try to ignore it, if you can."

[fangsandfeels]

Don't come at me, but I am confused why whenever there is a plot about one of Astarion's siblings going full villain, this sibling is almost always Petras. I agree; he is a jerk and a bully. But he is also the guy who gobbles up Cazador's bullshit about getting freedom with ZERO suspicions. Aurelia and Leon are hopeful, but it doesn't take them long to realize it is yet another way for Cazador to break them, and of course, he never intended to let them go.

Petras is oblivious to the point he is already making plans for the future and composing his menu. He is also the guy who flirts (badly) with the first person who approaches him without even considering the risk of the said person being a vampire hunter. Like, Tav can be wearing full plate armor and have a hugeass war hammer slung over their shoulder, and Petras would still go "Yes, this is the perfect naive victim to seduce. They will totally fall for my charms" with Dalyria cringing and trying to do damage control at the back.

Petras makes Astarion look like a criminal mastermind.

And no, I'm not saying that he can't be an antagonist to Astarion at all.

He can be dangerous by deciding to go his own way, gathering the group of spawn who share his views, and making a part of the Sword Coast his hunting grounds. But don't I see him plotting complicated schemes or even trying to recreate Cazador's rituals. He may try, but in my opinion, he will fail hilariously. No intervention needed.

Now, speaking of a more dangerous and tragic potential adversary, Leon is right here. He is a sorcerer. Moreover, if the nature of the spell he used to protect Victoria is anything to go by, he is experienced with Necromancy (I may be wrong; the blood thing could have belonged to the Transmutation school, though).

He is the top performer. And, he is a desperate father who did it all to keep his daughter safe. Now, I still assume that he managed to smuggle Victoria out of the palace -- which would keep him his calm and reasonable self. But if Victoria is really dead?...It would mean that everything he did, all these victims, all that suffering, all the measures he took, all the hurt he inflicted on his siblings/inmates - it all was for nothing. He was ready to die for Victoria to live. He was willing to sacrifice an orphan to save his girl. And he failed.

He failed her.

Wouldn't that push him over the edge? The desperation, the devastation, the horror? Wouldn't that create a void in his undead heart and put him into denial and resentment for his fellow spawns (he didn't know HOW she died, but he had seen enough hungry looks from Dal and Violet)?

Wouldn't he become obsessed with "fixing" it somehow because he already went so far to protect his daughter...why not go even further to bring her back, let her live the life that was so unfairly taken from her? He doesn't care about power, about sunwalking, he doesn't give a shit about anything and anyone -- he wants his child back. And he will make it happen.

At any cost.

[lucrezianoin]