#the cage bg3 fanfic

[chronoxtreme]

Be careful of the curse that falls on young lovers Starts so soft and sweet and turns them to hunters - Howl, Florence + the Machine

"I just want you to be safe, love."

[emmg]

What's Good in the Fanfic Hood: DA Edition

(i also have a bg3 version coming up)

For no particular reason, and in no particular order, here's some good soup I need to share with the universe (aka tumblr). Very, very good fanfics right here

the interlude by @thessaralka >>GOOD SMUTTY SOLAVELLAN SMUT with a side of angst. Fade tongue, elf dick as an anxiety cure (her words not mine), just beautifully written shameless smut for the egg aficionados. And I'm not just saying this because I strong-armed her into writing this lol

A Breach of Decorum & Spill the Tea by kdriegantir >>> The sweetest Emmrook lil one shots. I was kicking my legs, twirling my hair, giggling like a school girl. Sooooooo cute

Flower in a Cage by @teamdilf >>> If you like some plot with your angst, this is it. I had soooo much fun reading this leading up to Veilguard. This is for my Elgar'nan girlies, even if technically he's not shipped with anyone here. But damn what a charming villain. I mean, we know now he's a massive bitch with an anger issue (and the bedroom-iest voice I've ever heard, like hot shit, ask me to sit on your lap daddy) but, eh, who cares, the fic is great lol

Rook, No. also by @teamdilf >>> I just caught up on this and it's soooo fun. Just Rook being a menace to society (in this case Solas is society.) The roommate scenario Solas never asked for while he cries internally about his wife

The whole Countdown to Veilguard series of drabbles by whoframedjessicarabbit >>> Just lovely, smutty, or not, Emmrook drabbles. Soooo fun to read

Suture by @heylittleriotact >>> ok so I JUST finished reading this, like maybe 10 minutes ago, and I have THOUGHTS. Because CUTE, so CUTE, how CUTE. Emmrook a la two awkward nerds. I'm waiting for my headache to pass to write a more coherant comment but in the meantime, big reccomend

I couldn't find some folks on tumblr, so just let me know and I'll tag you if you have an account

Thanks for tuning in, ta-ta

[chaos-is-neutral]

Lyria, The Quiet Songbird 🕊️

Class: Bard

Race: Half-Elf

Chaotic Neutral/Neutral Good

Pronouns: They/Them

Sexuality: Bisexual

In a relationship with Karlach and Halsin. They are the only two who truly know Lyria, yet they will not sing for them.

Astarion is surprisingly their best friend despite their arguing all the time.

They play their flute out of necessity for the camp to heal them, but they will not play any more than that

Backstory: They were abandoned by their parents at a circus that frequents Baldur's Gate. They were only three and have no real memory of them, so Lyria never missed their parents and instead found a family among the people they performed with. Growing up Lyria developed a love for music and art. They taught themselves to play the lute, flute, and harp. When they were sixteen the ring mistress took notice of them. She moved them to her tent where she helped Lyria hone their skills. When they sing the crowd goes quiet and all will listen. It is a voice that is a once in a generation. People will come all over to hear them perform. Lyria's musical abilities even had magical healing. The ring mistress called them her songbirds. For a while, everything was okay until Lyria wanted to move out of the tent and into their own. The ring mistress grew angry at Lyria and said that they were hers and they did not belong to anyone else. That is when the abuse began. Lyria was caged by her. If they even looked at someone else in a different way things went bad. One night Lyria attempted to escape with a man they had fallen for. They were sadly caught though. Someone had reported it to the ring mistress. In a fit of rage, she carved the symbol onto Lyria's forehead, chin, and neck. It was to show who they belonged to. After that, the bard became a hallow of who they once were. They stopped singing, stopped performing. Lyria vowed to never play again. The abuse didn't stop though. Instead, it got worse. Years had passed before they had the courage to escape again. It took a lot of planning, but the night had come. They took only their flute with them as they escaped. Sadly they had only made a half-day travel before the mindflayer abuducted them.

Post BG3 Ending: When Karlach was dying they sang for the first time with tears in their eyes. Thankfully at the last minute, Wyll took Karlach back to hell. Lyria fell into a deep depression but Halsin figured out how to bring her back and Wyll. Once they had Karlach back the three of them went back to the Shadowlands and created a grove there. The three adopted Thaniel and Oliver. Lyria keeps to themselves mostly. They can be found in their meadow painting or writing music. They help Halsin from time to time with council duties. Slowly and bit by bit Lyria becomes truly happy again.

(I won't continue their post bg3 ending, because I am going to be writing a fanfic where Lyria gets it a little rough lol and we get possessive and distraught Karlach and Halsin)

[neosunbrella]

✴️ Gilded Cages is on hiatus (RE4 Leon/Ashley)

✴️ Creatures of Night is being actively updated (BG3 Tav/Astarion)

Howdy, I'm Nova! I am from the olden days of tumblr, but it looks like folks these day make these little pinned posts with info about themselves/their blog so here's mine!

About this blog

The purpose of this blog is largely to provide progress updates on my fanfics

I'll probably mostly be reblogging Resident Evil stuff and Baldur's Gate 3

My favorite Resident Evil pairs are (but I am too old for shipping wars so pls don't @ me if you hate these) Ashley x Leon, Claire x Leon, Claire x Jill, and Jill x Carlos

About the blogger

I am 27 and have been on & off tumblr since 2012

I'm bi & use she/her pronouns

I love video games and currently am playing Baldur's Gate 3 Resident Evil 4 (and the rest of the series) over and over again until my brain chemistry changes

Other games I enjoy are Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, The Nancy Drew Series, Death's Door, and Until Dawn / The Quarry (I haven't actually played these yet, but I did enjoy the playthroughs I watched and they're on my list!)

I'm always looking for new puzzle, adventure, or cozy games to play especially if they have a spooky vibe or horror themes

I'm currently a grad student working on a MA — I like to call it artistic literary coding (because that's really what I'm exploring in my thesis) I graduated y'all! 😭

I have ADHD, which is why I tend to ramble and sometimes abandon projects, but I'm desperately trying to get better about that (pray for me)

I love music too — some of my fav artists are boygenius, rosie tucker, annie dirusso, flipturn, paramore, Noah Kahan and taylor swift

That's the gist! Feel free to chat me up anytime about these things! Thanks for reading! Oki, bye! 👋

[lesfir]

I'm not an English-speaking person, but I tried my best with an translator DeepL.

Thank you for your post, you are right and I feel similar feelings.

It feels like there's a kind of boiling point right now. And a weird witch hunt. There's even a need for a safe space. I see a lot of comments and I myself 5 days ago got involved in an argument where I didn't want to be heard and that of course upset me and spoiled my fun. But such thoughts are unnecessary, it's a new experience, realized something - yep, got it. And that's it. It shouldn't penetrate in feelings and affect internally. It's too much of an honor for strangers. Enjoy it no matter what!

I adore dark fantasy and Ascended Astarion with his love-obsession as befits vampires.

The problem is that reasoning about it not from a "you corrupted his soul", "he lost himself", "Cazador 2", "circle of abjuse" perspective and doing it not as fanfic and headcanon, but theory and discussion about canon seems taboo.

The vampire spawn has no soul, and neither does the lord. (if you think like that, then why would a spawn have a soul? There is no information in the canon about the souls of Vampire/spawn) He has always hungered for power. Cazador - it's a pity he's such a bad-cartoon villain. Then all Vampire Lords are Cazador's, but they're not, they have their own personalities, some like torture, some like art, some like both. They are lawfully evil, (love sins), vampire spawns are neutral-evil. Circle of Abuse - This is dark fantasy set in the dangerous Middle Ages, and we're looking at a vampire spawn and a vampire lord. Psychological terms applied to humans are a bit redundant here, in my opinion. To take a funny example: it's not like we're considering Lucifer and that he rebelled against his father as a troubled adolescent. I prefer philosophical terms.

This is where the fire starts.

The desire for power and its influence is a philosophical topic. So there's probably no definitive answer.

Someone wants to be Caesar.

Some are good at it.

I don't think Astarion would refuse the free, gratifying (with no sacrifice and no evil, or let's say the only sacrifices are frogs) power of owning everything, in any of the acts, in the epilogue and ever-ever.

Astarion understands it very well, even with his new powers he's going to do everything from the shadows. He's not limited to anything now though. In his POV ending he understands the beating heart of Baldur's Gate, its political powers.

As a mortal elf he chose a career of power, a magistrate.

I think he was trying really hard to bang Baldur's Gate. Too bad, fortune has hit him in the nose. But now…

Speaking of Yandere-Astarion, which doesn't let go Tav - for me it was one of the urges to download the game. That's what everyone is so afraid of, even though this thing is many years old in art.

I love for example the aria PAPAGENO, by Mozart, especially the part:

"As the birdcatcher I am known

by old and young throughout the land.

I wish I had a trap for girls -

I'd catch them by the dozen then.

I'd keep them in a cage at home,

and all the girls would be mine alone.

1791 Savage.

And it's true that quite a lot of people just shame others and can't stand the topic when you don't even say a about spawn. And if we talk about the character as a whole, Astarion is immoral (as Neil said in the article), traditionally evil and selfish vampire spawn (which is innately described in DnD 3.5) and was twisted even as a mortal elf (BG3 Digital Deluxe Artbook). Many like to blame this on trauma and that he has a great personality.

Point: Astarion is an onion. (and this onion is very rogue) Layered. It's a character of gray or even dark gray morality.

If you're annoyed by ambitious theories and differing, loving views based on quotes from the game's canon in relation to Ascended Astarion, and you want to write moralizing about how bad and loveless Ascended Astarion is - Dark Fantasy isn't your cup of tea, it seems, don't try to drink it.

I don't think the Ascension is the loss of his self. I see it as the apotheosis of his desires and really want to lay the dangerous world of goddamn Faerun at his feet.

The book with information about the bride: Van Richten's Guide to Vampires, it's DnD 2e

BG3 has DnD 5e rules and even from there not everything is taken. I think DnD editions are sort of receivers of each other in terms of lore, there gameplay rules change, but the basic monster descriptions remain. Meanwhile, the writers are inspired by something and it's even one huge lore.

The theory about the Spawn Bride is magnificent. It's a brilliant. That opens up a ton of possibilities. We can quarrel with Astarion and he'll try to catch us all over Faerun (that would be fun) or we can enjoy his predatory love, dancing in the sky above Baldur's Gate while he makes on a dress made of mist. Or both, when we're reconciled. Vampire love is passionate chaos. I want Larian to confirm the bride theory incredibly badly. Please, pretty please.

We need to talk about the war of Spawn/Ascended ending fans & the nature of what is "correct" in BG3.

I have been researching and thinking it though and reached a little epiphany after watching this little clip from SteelySam where he makes a very good point that I think a lot of people need to keep in mind when they engage in active wars for "what ending is better" (Spawn or Ascended Astarion debate, especially) or just generally being toxic towards people selecting a route/ending they think is "wrong".

The point is - DND may have its rules, but a DM is the one that enforces these rules, and it is up to them how the events will play out: they can follow the rules (like saying all vampires have to be evil-aligned because "rules are rules") or they can bend these rules or ignore them, if they wish to (this is something that even Larian did, because according to rules of DND vampires should theoretically have no souls, so using Cazador as another sacrifice to Mephistopheles would not have worked).

In BG3 - Larian acts as our DM master. They created a story, with its own limitations, its own rules - essentially a huge DND campaign - but still allowing you - a player - to make different choices that will affect the plot and the future of characters.

But here is the thing - after the events of BG3 YOU are the "DM" now and you can roleplay and create whatever rules and future you want to. You don't HAVE to have one, limited view on how the events will play out because after BG3 ended it is all YOUR story and you are not bound to anyone to tell you what will happen next. This, I believe, is also the reason why Larian cut off the epilogue with "what happened next" segments because that way things remain more open-ended, allowing you to decide what will happen with characters in the future.

For instance, take the argument that is so close to my heart - Astarion's endings.

Those that pick a "good ending" for him obviously have their own vision of things, and think that "the ritual corrupts him", "he no longer has a soul or loves us", "he will continue the cycle of abuse" and can cherry pick some scenes or lore pieces from the game (if there are any) and will try to convince you that you can never have any future with Ascended Astarion etc but all this is a single, limited worldview that does not have to be YOUR canon or the "only truth".

Those that want to point out the devnotes about "Ascended Astarion no longer loves you, he manipulates you etc" I again repeat the same points as I did above - this is how Larian may see things, their rules, but you don't have to follow these rules if you want to change something for your story and how things will play out in the future - you are the "DM" after BG3 and you can shape the world as much as you want.

If you want to "embrace the devnotes" and believe that Ascended Astarion no longer loves you - you can.

But you also can ignore these devnotes and accept that you will have a happy end with Ascended.

Same thing with Spawn - some may accept the reality of their Mayfly-December romance and decide to roleplay that their MC will die and Astarion will keep living, others can indeed find a way to cure him and you will live as mortals. Maybe you even find a way for him to walk in the sun and for you to become ageless/immortal (there are many options to extend your lifespan in DND, starting with Wish and Clone spell to something like immortality ring or some potions) - you can make all this a canon because it's your story now - there is no one and nothing that tells you you can't change some of these rules to fit your story.

So what I want to say - no need for the endless preachings and bullying from either sides of the Astarion issue (Spawnstarians will bully you and shower you with moral preachings about how you corrupt and reduce him to a sex object if you pick this route, or those that select Ascendant and act like this is the only way for him to ever be free and for your romance to be eternal).

At the end of the day - the entire nature and great thing about DND is in the flexibility - you are free to play and shape this world however you please. There are some rules, sure and most of them do need to be followed for the sake of logic and canon (like creature's lifespans, the alignment of gods, like saying Bhaal or Shar always have to be evil-aligned or Selune has to be good-aligned etc) but you can still bend some of the less strict rules.

Examples:

All Mindflayers are evil-aligned rule - Yes, we see that almost all mindflayers in BG3 are evil-aligned, but what about Omeluum? Would you classify him as evil? Is he this cruel, manipulative creature with no remorse? What about if you turn someone like Karlach into a mindflayer - would you say that she is pure evil now? It's clear that Larian worked around this rule about mindflayers for the sake of the story.

Vampires don't have souls rule - If we stick with that rule than a) the Cazador ritual makes no sense because Spawns are also vampires and should theoretically have no soul (Astarion included) b) using Cazador in the ritual wouldn't have worked because he is not merely a Spawn but a true vampire. Another rule Larian ignored for the sake of the story.

Vampires can't feel love rule - this is something that Spawnstarians like to throw in the face of those who chose Ascendant ending. "He no longer loves Tav, he now manipulates you and uses you the way Cazador did and your love is dead because true vampires feel no love." Well, then, check out the Van Richten's Guide to Vampires book - it's also DND canon and it has this little piece where a true vampire does admit that he loved his partner:

So if you want to argue that AAstarion feels no love, what about this little piece then? Doesn't it directly go against that claim? That's what I'm trying to say - this world is not set in stone, it is more like a clay: you have a piece of clay with its structure, and you then can use it to shape the story however you want. Some rules can be overlooked for the sake of story, and what Larian writers have added in the devnotes can also be dropped if you want it for your future story.

Please consider applying this logic the next time you want to preach to someone or fight about which Astarion ending (or anything else, really) is better, because:

1) everyone has their own vision of what is better for a character;

2) once the game is done everyone can roleplay however they want, so you thinking that "Astarion no longer cares for your MC if you let him Ascend" is only a one vision. If I, or someone else, wants to ignore the devnotes about AAstarion, they easily can.

It's toxic and unpleasant having to fight each other over "which choice is right" because there is NO right choice: you can roleplay that your Spawn ending would be tragic and Astarion really WILL regret not getting the power, or you can canon that you lived happily for eternity.

You can make it a canon that AAstarion will be abusive and Cazador 2.0 or that he will actually go against the nature of true vampires after he gets used to his new powers and with a positive influence from friends and his lover. He could become anti-Strahd or anti-Cazador, who's to say it's not possible?

The possibilities are endless, which makes BG3 a heaven for writers.

So if you've chosen a controversial route - like I did with AAstarion - don't be discouraged or peer pressured into thinking that you "made a bad choice, your romance is dead now" (which for a time discouraged me from romancing Astarion ever again, because I just didn't know what to do with his ending as both of them seemed tragic and hopeless) - and realize that with some fantasy you can easily make this romance work, or anything else, really. If you want for AAstarion to truly love your MC - you can make it a canon regardless of how others look at it or even if "the devnotes hint otherwise". If you want to imagine that Karlach returned to Avernus and you can then find a way to fix her heart so you can return to Faerun - it can be a canon. If you want Gale to actually succeed at fixing a crown and becoming a new god - you can make it a canon in your continuation of the story.

No one is stopping you from creating your perfect world, and everyone CAN have a happy ending regardless of the route they choose. That is the beauty of the DND and BG3 as a game.

[chronoxtreme]

It was love that had him slip his knee under their good leg, hooking it up over his hips so he could sink down fully into their arms.

I live! And this mod is giving me life!

For anyone who's here reading The Cage, I promise that I'm still working on it. Unfortunately a lot of crazy stuff in my personal life happened all at once (as it does), and I'm working through burnout, etc. But as I adjust to my new reality, I'm finding a lot of solace in writing their story, especially through Astarion's POV. Anyway have a spoiler of how this is gonna go (don't worry, how we get there is still gonna be fun)

[chronoxtreme]

The movements were jerky, a bit awkward, a bit unsure. But they understood. The first time was always the hardest.  Astarion’s nose brushed their neck, and they felt just as much as heard him inhale. An exhale, then another breath taken and released.  Together, they stood and breathed.

Didja want more hug feels? I did. (Link to the chapter here)

Neither of them have been hugged in such a long time but they're trying.

[chronoxtreme]

“Can I kiss you?” they asked, voice still hoarse, but level. “Darling, there’s nothing I’d like more,” he breathed, leaning in, eyes closed— Only for their lips to brush his cheek instead. For a moment, it brought back a pleasant memory: Nanne doing the exact same thing that disastrous final night of meaningless sex, a token of true affection after his failure of a performance. It had meant far more to him than he’d ever like to admit. But they were past that, weren’t they? He wasn’t someone who needed to be coddled. He wanted more. “A real kiss, my dear,” he murmured, before clutching their face in his hands and pulling them back flush against him.

One of my favorite moments of Chapter 17, so I had to make a gif for it (sorry Gale, I stole your kiss).

[chronoxtreme]

The Cage: Chapter 23 Author's Notes

First off, link to chapter here! This one is going to be a DOOZY, so please feel free to skip to the relevant sections that interest you.

Chessa and the Gur Children

Normally in game, you trigger the cutscene with Sebastian first, then you can interact with the Gur kids. I wanted to switch this around for two reasons. First, Sebastian's section hits harder when Astarion starts to catch on to the true details of the ritual, and second, it's a little weird for him to come extremely close to an emotional breakdown, then be flippant and sassy around a bunch of kids.

Sebastian

Originally, the flashbacks to Astarion's night with Sebastian weren't a thing, but I'm glad they are, because it's exactly what Cazador would This whole section is heavily inspired by this gorgeous animatic set to El Tango de Roxanne. It's lived in my head rent free ever since I saw it, and it honestly illustrates just how terrible Astarion's life as Cazador's spawn was.

Sebastian has always been a foil to Nanne, in the sense that what he endured was exactly what Astarion spared Nanne from. I wanted their meeting to be memorable - while Astarion says he remembers every person in the cell he finds Sebastian in, he also mentions multiple times in the game and demonstrates that he has a very hazy memory under Cazador's abuse and torture. While Sebastian was indeed one of his first victims, and he was sweet, shy, and handsome, I wondered why Astarion would bring up dining with Cazador in game as an example of how horrible a master he is, instead of mentioning being tortured in the Kennels for a tenday straight. So, this scene materialized.

Astarion's reasoning for picking flaying over eating a rat is both from spite and guilt over luring Sebastian back.

The Cage

Like I mentioned in the end notes for the chapter itself, this whole scene inspired the idea of Nanne being a potential victim for Cazador that Astarion spared. Again, it's not a novel idea, but I loved it, so I went with it in my own way.

If Nanne hadn't already known that Astarion was the pale elf who'd dumped them in Fraygo's ten years ago, they would have figured it out right now - but now they understand just what Astarion spared them from. Seeing Sebastian both scares them and fills them with grief for Astarion for that reason.

And then Astarion says that he's going through with the ritual anyway and Nanne loses it.

Nanne at this point hasn't really openly protested Astarion ascending because, well, in earlier acts, Astarion always would talk a big game about how bad and evil he is, but never follow through. He may bitch about Nanne doing kind things, like saving gnomes, etc. but that's pretty much it. Even his plan of taking over the Cult of the Absolute is literally "Find device, kill people, profit!" So, they both assumed that their own transformation into being half illithid would dissuade Astarion from making a grab for more power, and that naturally over time he'd chill out and not be so hellbent to murder people. Astarion is also stressed the entire time they're in Baldur's Gate. They don't want to risk straining their relationship over a fight like this.

However, this is the moment where they realize that Astarion will never give up the ritual on his own. He's literally seen every person he's seduced for Cazador turned into spawn, including children, knows he'll have to sacrifice them all, and that's not enough to stop him. They're horrified, scared, and sad for Astarion because he's desperate. They realize that they can't just stand idly by and wait for Astarion to make the right decision.

There's also anger at themself. Why did Astarion pick them? Why were they the lucky one, when previously they've been so unlucky? Why didn't they realize sooner that they really, genuinely needed to talk to Astarion about this before the palace?

In the end, they hope that when the chips fall, Astarion will have that same burst of conscience that he had when he spared them ten years ago - but now they know they can't count on that, and that unsettles them, deeply.

Cazador

We all joke about how Cazador's kind of sad and pathetic when we meet him in game, but I honestly think that makes him even more terrifying as a villain. This is a small man with a reedy voice, and Astarion is still scared shitless of him, even with a small army at his heels. He's put Astarion through hell, and even with three months of adventuring and freedom, Astarion fears him more than anything.

However, the bastard really loves monologuing, and Nanne ain't about that, so they try to intervene - and fail. Chatterteeth casts Eyebite: Fear on them, so they're overwhelmed with terror and can't move while Astarion is trapped in the ritual.

The way that Cazador's boss fight is set up is perfect for a video game, but has a lot of, erm, oversights. However, I got to give the guy credit: he knows how to put on one hell of a ritual, and that staircase is a good chokepoint. As long as he can hold it, then he can pull off the ritual without a hitch.

Thanks for reading!

[chronoxtreme]

The Cage: Chapters 2-5 Author's Notes

So, I'll be honest - one of the biggest weaknesses of this fic for me, personally, is that these 3 chapters don't really need to be here, but they do at the same time. They're important to Astarion actually getting to know Nanne, but at the same time they don't really move the story along in terms of the main thesis, i.e. "they met 10 years ago and now they're back together oopsies."

I've also been trying to break the habit of relying on canon dialogue/scenes to convey relationships. It's something that I notice I do a lot in my other fics that aren't AUs, so this fic is trying to get out of that niche.

As well, Nanne giving the tent to Astarion is something I kind of stumbled into and ended up loving. I think it's a nice way to establish Nanne's personality in context. That sort of generosity mixed with envy because you really want it for yourself but you know that it's the right thing to do to give it to this poor nobleman who's clearly never had a day of hardship in his life. The selflessness that isn't quite selfless because it's been engrained into you from a young age and is it really a choice? (Don't worry, we'll get into more of that later)

Some funny headcanons/canon events that I shoved into this fic:

Literally all of Astarion's camp gear is stolen from the crypt/the tiefling refugees/the druids at the grove. I refuse to believe that he obtained all of those trinkets by gainful means when it's repeatedly emphasized that this dude owned literally nothing under Cazador.

Astarion's burial shroud (inspired by the rags you can see in his various camp sites, especially in Last Light Inn). This is something that was almost 100% pulled out of my ass. I don't think the vampiric resting place rule applies to spawn, but I do like the thought of Astarion's sole possession being a reminder of his trauma. We'll do stuff with that later, don't worry.

Astarion thinks Wyll is hot because he's exactly his type of "innocent charming younger man who is selfless and slightly awkward but good at heart." Also Wyll is just hot.

Astarion making fun of Shadowheart's goth name is a thing that happens in game if you happen to recruit Astarion first before her and it's VERY funny

The sheer, utter frustration Astarion has watching everyone in camp target his seduction mark and try and pull the moves on them

I do also believe that Astarion's compatible with every single party member (except for Minsc and Jaheira for obv reasons), so while he does tick them off the list of "seduce for protection" candidates for various reasons, it's mainly because this is a Tav x Astarion story. Likewise, I love all the party members, no matter how much Astarion may shit on them lol

So, let's talk a little about Chapter 5 and what's going on here. A lot of the events are based on my second-first playthrough as Nanne (my first playthrough was on my old PC that died and the saves got corrupted, so I had to start over). Looking back, I do think it's pretty self indulgent to have everyone hit on my OC, but considering it happened in game just by playing a nice character who naturally wanted to get to know everyone and was a compulsive peacemaker, I can't say it's, like, over the top outrageous. (They literally ALL cockblocked Astarion's romance scene except for Wyll. Literally all of them)

If I were to go back and rewrite this section, though, I'd probably stretch out the timeline a lot more, moving Shadowheart's date later back, Gale's magic lessons, etc. One of the issues that I have with writing is the timeline, and nowhere has it been more obvious than with this fic, where I'll describe a week's worth of events happening in literally four days, then skip ahead two months and go "Hey guys, take my word for it that x time has passed." It's something I definitely need to work on lol. At the same time, this is very much a self indulgent fic for funsies.

Now SPOILERS FOR NANNE'S CHARACTER ARC: In case anyone's curious, no, Nanne had no clue that Shadowheart's little date was supposed to be a date. This is a person who has never been approached for anything romantic except from their sketchy employer. Astarion is exasperated that they didn't see the signs, but Nanne has no experience with "hooking up", dating, whatever you wanna call it.

They do feel bad about accidentally leading Shadowheart on, but honestly, they're torn because on the one hand, someone did find them attractive! Wowee! On the other hand, this is moving awfully fast and they're scared about being exposed. They have had it repeatedly bashed into their head that their body is disgusting, unnatural, a deviation that must be fixed, and so relationships are this thing that they can't ever have, but desperately crave. It is a deeply painful position to be in. They do a good job of hiding it and not coming across as clingy, but Nanne is a very lonely person who craves connection and intimacy (physical, sexual, emotional, any of it). At the same time, they can't risk being rejected again.

END SPOILERS

The boar scene is one of my favorite early on scenes because this is the moment when Nanne clocks that Astarion is actually a vampire. A lot of people make fun of the game for waiting like, five in game days before exposing the elephant in the room, but considering that everyone knows vampires can't stand in sunlight, it's reasonable to assume that Astarion's just an incredibly pampered noble who's got delicate skin and maybe some drow ancestry.

But then he starts acting VERY suspicious and guilty and, well, the boar is literally right there.

Nanne's comment of "You're protecting us from the vampire, aren't you?" is meant to be a very subtle way of thanking Astarion from not eating anyone yet, which considering what happens in the next chapter is, uh, lol. Lmao, even.

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The Cage Author's Notes Masterlist

In case you actually wanna read my insane, crazy ramblings about this fic, here's all the Author's Notes in one place!

Prologue Chapters 2-5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20

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The Cage: Chapter 20 Author's Notes

So you know how last time I said Astarion would really go through it? Lmao

One of the most fascinating parts of Astarion's character is that he has a... shocking lack of empathy sometimes. When I replayed the conversation you get in the Act 3 interlude before reaching the city, I was kinda stunned when Nanne went "You sound like you're jealous of Cazador" and he goes "Oh yes, absolutely! The only problem with what he did was that he did it to me!" Which is like... it would be hilarious if not for the fact that this is what his abuse has taught him. I won't really go into it now, because that'll be for the next chapter, but it was definitely a moment I wanted to capture, and I'm glad I replayed that convo instead of just winging it.

Astarion's nightmare in this chapter is the very first I ever wrote for him. Don't worry, if you're sick of his nightmares, he only gets one more, so you're almost done! But this one I really wanted to emphasize just how wonky dream logic can be. The instant teleportation to places, the weird sensory things you experience, how Nanne in real life wouldn't behave nearly as innocent and childlike as they do here. But this is how Astarion perceives them: as a wholly pure figure that needs to be shielded and protected from monsters. He puts them up on a pedestal.

The feelings are also complicated, because Astarion's role is complicated. He's clearly a victim of Cazador's machinations, but he's also the one who lures these people to their deaths. How do you resolve that cognitive dissonance in your head? The fact that technically, you don't have a choice in killing someone, but you get to pick who gets to live and who gets to die? The fact that you're being used by these people, consumed as an object, but at the same time leading them to be consumed by someone else and ultimately killed? No wonder this man actively avoids any attempt to empathize with anyone. It's easier that way.

Nanne's involvement only makes it worse. They are living proof that people like Sebastian had futures, and Astarion "sold them out" (read: was abused and forced into an insanely difficult position where he is both victim and perpetrator) for breadcrumbs. The fact that he's pressed and coerced into using himself for so little is mind shatteringly awful. His reward for using his body and leading someone to their death is a rat. That's it. That's all. A rat. That's all Nanne's life is worth to people like Cazador. That's all it was worth to him, and realizing just how far he's come horrifies him immensely. Is it another reason why he clings to the ritual as his chance to "make it all go away?" Absolutely.

And then Nanne eats the Astral Tadpole.

So, this was something else I decided on from the beginning. First, because it's a choice that I feel a lot of players make for the gameplay advantages and not for RP, and second because more drama and angst lmao. More seriously speaking, I find becoming half-illithid absolutely fascinating in the context of romancing Astarion and persuading him to remain a spawn because on the surface, it's VERY hypocritical (which is part of the reason why Astarion is so furious about it). No, Astarion, you're not allowed to make a deal with the devil, but I'm allowed to eat this weird worm the Emperor gave me that gives me super powers!

Nanne realizes this, and that's why they're so ashamed. They've done the very thing they don't want Astarion to do, and it wasn't even solely to save him, it was as an emergency stopgap solution to being wounded. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and while we know that eventually the Astral Tadpole will die and Nanne will go back to "normal", they don't. This could be a permanent physical change, but they're so desperate they don't care. That's the main difference between Astarion's mindset when it comes to the ritual and Nanne's mindset eating the tadpole: Astarion is so desperate to be powerful and untouchable that he completely ignores all of the bright neon warning signs telling him that this ritual is bad news. But Nanne is so desperate that they're willing to live with the consequences if it means they get a solution now.

And don't worry, there will be consequences.

However, with that grim note, don't worry - Astarion will not seethe about Nanne's choice for long, and the next chapter has some comedy moments because Astarion's fave sibling (/s) is about to show up.

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The Cage: Chapter 19 Author's Notes

Chapter Link CW: Discussions of Astarion's backstory, sexual abuse

So, honestly, this chapter was both difficult and easy to write. Easy to write in terms of "this is what the characters were always going to do" and difficult to write in terms of subject matter.

While the game is never explicit about what Astarion went through and a particular EA scene that really makes it obvious got cut, there is still the strong implication that Cazador personally assaulted Astarion. I'm not going to go into detail about what he did, but to make the situation clear as to what was going on in this fic's interpretation: every single spawn suffered sexual abuse from Cazador by proxy (being forced to be entertainment at balls, honey trapping to lure victims back to the palace), but Astarion was the only one who Cazador sexually abused directly. This, naturally, put a wedge between him and his siblings, who otherwise shared a mostly similar experience. I very briefly explore Cazador's reasons for this in future chapters, but suffice it to say that there's no sudden shocking twist or sympathetic reveal. Cazador is an abuser, and he does what he does to control, humiliate, degrade, and terrorize his spawn so that he can feel powerful. That's it. His insistence that Astarion and his siblings are "family" is both another way to feel in charge as their "patriarch" and a means to control them. As you can see with Astarion's thought process, it did work to an extent.

Astarion's relationship with his siblings also fascinates me. The conversation he has with Nanne includes lines from an actual conversation you can have with him in game (I don't know how to trigger it yet, but I'll figure that out). All indications are there that this is a very fucked up family, with extremely fucked up dynamics. It's not the core of this fic, and if you want an excellent portrayal of just how hellish being Cazador's spawn would be, I always encourage people to read Perfect Slaughter (please do heed the content warnings, though, it gets very dark). But needless to say, while Astarion does pity them, there's enough bad blood and hatred that compared to Nanne, his siblings are immediately expendable.

Which brings us to the final part of the chapter: Astarion deciding to go through with the ritual immediately.

In game, the first time Astarion really talks about hijacking Cazador is at the start of act 3. However, I've changed around events, so that changes Astarion's thought process significantly. Usually Astarion finds out about the ritual before he has his "true love" confession (what I call the not Araj Act 2 romance scene), so he's also trying to process what's going on with his SO while unpacking that he's a ritual implement. But in this case, the relationship with Nanne has been established. Astarion knows the stakes now, and in his mind, the ritual promises a solution to every problem he's ever had. No more sex hangups, no more fear of Cazador, the ability to walk in the sunlight, AND if Nanne finds out the truth of what he did, he's going to be one of the richest men in Baldur's Gate who can give them everything they want. There's no reason, in Astarion's mind, for them to leave him, because he will be the perfect partner. He just has to murder his siblings. Which is... yikes lmao. Again, this was easy to write because the second I asked "Why, in this context, is Astarion going to be hellbent on taking over the ritual" the dots connected and I was like "Well shit, this hurts but it's logical." At the same time, I am rattling the bars of my enclosure going "THIS IS A BAD IDEA, ASTARION, YOU'RE FINE THE WAY YOU ARE LOVE IS A GIFT FREELY GIVEN AND NOT EARNED." I fully believe that characters are allowed to make stupid ass decisions if it fits with their characterization, and well... Astarion has started his character development, but it certainly ain't over yet.

While Astarion's made great strides in terms of being more positive about himself, his hangups are still there. This is why I say that even if he knew that Nanne knows about the past, he'd still make the same decision to immediately go all in with the ritual. In a way, I think it would make it even worse - now he has to prove to Nanne that he's worth it. The ritual is both his chance to prove that he's stronger better than what he was, AND his chance to cover it all up and wipe the slate clean.

Also, the normal reasons for him wanting to take over the ritual still apply. He wants revenge on Cazador. He wants to be safe. He wants power. The main difference here is that Nanne gives him stronger motivation to go all in. The stakes are higher. Astarion now has someone he can lose and he did almost lose them. Not only does he have reason to be terrified for himself, Nanne scares him, and he can't go through that again.

Which means that next chapter is going to be hell for Astarion lmao.

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The Cage - Chapter 18 Author's Notes

First of all, here's a link to the chapter in question! CW: Discussions of a relationship with power imbalance, discrimination based on sexual anatomy So, fun fact - everything with Yurgir was not in the original, second or even 4th draft of this fic (and when I mean draft, I basically mean "attempt to think this monster's details out," not an actual draft). Chapters 17 and 18 were supposed to be one chapter, but migraine + insane wordcount + me getting a new position at work basically nuked that idea. So I split it in two, and honestly, I believe it's for the better in terms of pacing.

Nanne's whole "I don't like to use charm-like magic" comes from seeing Da use it on other people. Friends was that guy's favorite cantrip, and while it can get you what you want, it can also burn you. Nanne's much less risk adverse than Da, so they avoid it. Enhance Ability though is fair game because it just makes you better at certain things.

The "homicidal hat trick" line by Gale is a shout-out to Mistborn, one of my favorite book trilogies.

And then we get to the second "twist" of Nanne's backstory: Maria. This is a part that wasn't in my first stab at writing Nanne. Originally, they had no experience with sex or romance at all. However, I realized that them having some romantic history gave them a lot better motivation for their behavior around Astarion pre-seduction. At the same time (and this was unintentional) their experience with Maria became a foil for Astarion's sexual encounters with patriars.

I also put a lot of myself into that story. I'm transmasc nonbinary, and when I wrote that scene, I wasn't out to anyone, including my husband. Thankfully, he's been extremely supportive of me and my identity, but it took a lot of courage to talk about it with him. It's extremely difficult to come out to people who have a certain expectation of who you are. Writing about Maria's rejection was a weird sort of catharsis.

It was also a story where I wanted it to be messy, especially from Nanne's POV and how they describe it. Nanne had zero intentions of having a relationship with their employer, it kind of just... happened. And while it was doomed to failure from the start, Maria was attracted to them. There was a "chance" of it working out. That's what makes it really sting, in my mind. It was problematic at best, coercive at worst, and Nanne wasn't in the wrong - but for so long, they've lived with an emotionally immature parent constantly talking about how difficult it was to raise them, the sacrifices, the burdens, etc. and that gets to you. So naturally, if something goes wrong, it is their fault. Finally, the song! This section ended up being a lot shorter than I expected it to be, but honestly, that's another thing that I've been working on in the "this is for me first" category: not being afraid to release chapters with wildly differing lengths. Yes, it will happen again, that is a promise lmao.

Like the Dawn is one of my favorite songs on the planet, and when I listened to it after playing BG3, I realized that it perfectly described Nanne's thoughts about Astarion in the sunlight, and the rest was history. This is a moment that I could rewrite a thousand different ways and still never be satisfied because how in the world do you write about a person SINGING without it coming off awkward as hell? In the end, I think it worked out okay. I'm not satisfied, but I'm content.

Nanne's using Faerie Fire here, because if bards can use singing to do magic, why not do magic to enhance the singing performance? I've always loved fic/media that's used the world's magic system for stuff like special effects in performances and plays - it makes the world feel alive and Nanne is a bard first and foremost. The bigger the spectacle, the more coin they get. Is there a bit of illusion magic thrown in? Maybe. Hey those Weave lessons with Gale paid off!

Astarion running off was also not in the script but it turned out that way. I don't think it's a bad thing for him to keep feeling guilt. I do worry that it comes off as repetitive and cyclical, but in my experience that's how guilt works in real life. You feel good, you forget about it, and then someone says or does something, and it all comes crashing down. It's tough... and next chapter's gonna be even worse lmao.