#this is all spawn astarion obvs

[eff-plays]

Yyeaahh I am not of the twee Astarion lover variety I don't think the guy would be a very good father I'm sorry.

HE WOULDN'T BE BAD. But probably not great? Just sort of a deeply mediocre dad. At best.

Maybe after a couple hundred years of medieval fantasy therapy first he'd be fine. Ish. I think it would depend on when he had them tbh.

I do enjoy thinking about it though. Like trying to solve a Rubik's cube but it's a fictional guy.

[forcedhesitation]

Man.

there's just something about the love between a woman whose impending death is inevitable and a man who's an immortal undead...

[eluvisen]

6,7,9,21 :D

This got long. I’m sorry? Enjoy?

6. How would the player go about meeting them in Act 1? What is their introduction?

In the woodlands approaching the goblin camp, the party stops. If they pass a perception check, they realise a raven in a nearby tree is watching them. Rhodeia will shift back into her humanoid form to greet the party. If they fail the check, Rhodeia will follow the party for a while. The party gets a second perception check to realise it’s the same bird, but whether they pass or fail, she’ll reveal herself (with differing dialogue on the party’s observational skills).

Rhodeia has been searching for a way to eliminate the goblin camp, and will join the party if they likewise plan to take out the goblins. If questioned, she will reveal she isn’t a member of the Emerald Grove and is frustrated with how they’re handling the situation. The tieflings need help and the goblins are actively hurting the local environment, so it’s a no-brainer to stop the horde. If the player asks why she doesn’t seem to be actively searching for a cure, she states she’d rather use her last days to make a difference, and is surprised (and secretly sceptical) to learn of a potential cure.

Rhodeia can lead the party to the log crossing to sneak into the goblin camp from the south and talk to rats inside the temple to get more information on layout and defences.

7. Describe their arc. How would a player help resolve it? What choices can be made? Can your Tav be turned down a dark path, or pulled to a lighter one?

Rhodeia’s deepest fear is losing herself. Which is ironic because she wild shapes as a coping mechanism when she’s deeply stressed to get out of her own head (and obvs the tadpole situation is very frightening for her). So her arc would revolve around coping mechanisms and the inevitability of change. Once the party reaches Act 3, the player would observe a pretty sudden change in her demeanour from “mild-mannered and compassionate” to “brusque and focused only on the party’s to-kill to-do list”.

Inside the city, a series of smaller scenes trigger where the player can encourage her in one direction or another, or suggest some method of coping with the present situation: On the Elfsong rooftop Rhodeia is pacing, desperately trying to pray to Mielikki (who she hasn’t heard since she was infected). She’s never been in a city before and is in sensory overload from how overwhelming it is. She’ll talk to the player about how she’s far away from her goddess and her entire frame of reference, and ponder whether to use a sending spell to carry a message to her mentor Elenweyre or wait until after the brain is defeated.

If Shadowheart’s parents die, Rhodeia has a scene where she feels guilty for not intervening. She will also talk about the deaths of her own parents and how she returned to her family home only to find it beyond recognition. The player can try to reassure her Shadowheart made the right choice or perhaps the least bad choice out of all available options (but in the case of Shads murderknifing her parents for Shar, Rhodeia simply will not accept that was an appropriate outcome and is hostile to Shadowheart for the rest of the game).

During Astarion’s quest, Rhodeia will advocate for freeing the spawn. But if the player does free them, she’s later troubled by the decision—past the horror and adrenaline of the moment, she now views it as the wrong choice because they’ll devastate the Underdark. As a druid, she cannot accept that level of damage to life. At this point, she is deeply conflicted over the decisions the party has been making and feels she can’t think clearly in the moment when these choices arise.

In Bloomridge Park, she’ll talk about how there’s more green in the city than she expected and the life she’s seen, like the pigeons and peacocks (but is clearly giving herself a pep talk). She’ll also discuss Mielikkan doctrine that nature and civilisation can coexist, but admits this is overwhelming for her and she isn’t handling this particularly well, but it’s getting harder to imagine going back to her circle because she’s afraid she’s too different now.

Rhodeia can’t be pulled down a good/evil path because the player doesn’t have that much influence on her core values, but there would be several outcomes for her quest, mostly revolving around whether she finds a way to cope with the current situation. She can:

Accept that change is inevitable in the sense of “What if you return home and you’re different, but you’re still just you?”

Accept that she’s changed and embrace who she is now

Resist the notion of change and instead focus on the core elements of her identity

Focus on resolving the disaster at hand and leave the soul-searching for later

Ideally I’d use a points system with a funky name like Shadowheart’s Nightsong/WolfDream Points so it isn’t a 1:1 “player tells her how to think” scenario. Low approval? She’ll do the opposite of what you tell her because she doesn’t trust or like you.

9. What’s the significance behind your Tav’s name?

Rhodeia means rose (at least if you trust the baby name website I found it on lol) and I had it picked out long before I got my mitts on BG3. The nature theme is obvious, but it also influenced her colour palette (pinks and purples). Her surname, Whitebloom, is a reference to the pale vines tattooed on her face and body.

21. Describe a defining moment from their past, which makes them who they are today!

Answered here!

(30 Questions for Your Tav)

[fangswbenefits]

Ok so this isn't a question but I really wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed The Arrangement and what I enjoyed about it ❤️ you just know the characters so well - not just Astarion obvs but it was so wholesome having interactions from shadowheart and lae'zel and gale and wyll. All so in character. I flipping loved it when gale was being so supportive and wise, and how even lae'zel was like "do you want me to kill him cause I will". And I really love how Astarion is not declawed in any way and you have stayed true to the assholey parts of his personality and how many walls he has and how hard it is to try and break those down and how any form of intimacy just becomes very difficult. Hard relate, from having an SO with severe trauma and is a prickly pear. Your dialogue and characterisation is so on point! You have done such a great job!!!! I haven't really read much fanfic but will be reading yours ❤️

Oh my 🥺🩷

I love them all dearly... but I do have a soft spot for Lae'zel.... she never ever leaves my team 🥹 also Wyll...

I'm aware that this version of spawn Astarion might not be to for everyone as he can come across as too much? But we must remember this story tackles unromanced Astarion. He never really got to heal in terms of intimacy, and it's easy for people to fall back into old habits when vulnerable. After all, he's still a vampire spawn... he's still seen as a threat and can easily be a monster hunter's target should things go wrong. There is still a lot to unpack and resolve. Healing isn't linear, and it can be quite overwhelming at times with the burden of expectation that comes from others.

Thank you for taking the time to send this and putting a smile on my face 🥺🩷 and, of course, for giving my story a try!

[lotusillustration]

I need to actually flesh it out but obsessed w the idea of Astarion and Lilith meeting like 100 years ago when she was being all Bhaalist and him trying to take her as a victim for Cazador. She absolutely lets things get way too close and then goes "I know ur a vampire spawn lol gl tho". Obv she doesn't rememember this and idk. Maybe Astarion suddenly remembers while trancing at some point abt that really odd Drow girl with no self preservation who somehow got away from him.

[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.

[galaxymagick]

bg3 playthrough 🗡️

sttttttooooooppp my tav lobelia, was kissing astarion in moonlight towers, the music went all dramatic, and after they were finished someone, coughs in the back like they felt awkward witnessing all this... i almost spat my tea out laughing..so i tried it again and the person coughed AGAIN but differently lollllllllllllllllllll

its funny his approval was at 64 which is classed as very high, for what seemed ages, and then after defeating some rats, doing part of the gauntlet (i have one task left), talking with Balthazar and then going back and forth to moonrise he's like, oh hello can we talk i need to confess.... i feel awful but i like you. then after talking with sanguine araj, it's at exceptional (99) like hii 🥴 i feel these kisses could be a little more ...varied. obvs this is the same one twice but i mean the kisses as a spawn he has, are, weirdly angled and just simple... like pull him iiinn squish his faceee, pick him upppppp, or something 😩

i'm annoyed that when trying to mod with just a dye mod by TC009 it worked fine i could change the outift colours and everything looked so nice, but i wouldn't let me leave camp, talk to ppl, or use the mirror.. so i was happy to find the black and green dye at least, like let me goth them upppppppppppppppp

[astarions-little-pet]

I'll finally attempt an intro post for this blog.

Hey all, I'm Jackal (or Kal). he/they/pup, 24, UK.

This is a BG3 blog, though it's mainly Astarion brainrot. My main blog is @mr-moistman

Been obsessing over this damn elf for months, and I've only just been able to buy the game. Trying to get some screens to share, but too engrossed in everything.

Stuck on Xbox so no freecam for me. ;-; I can also only play at my partner's place, so this is gonna be a very slow run for me.

My Tav is just called Kal. (self insert OC I guess) He's an asmodeus tiefling trickster rouge. Cocky, morally dubious, just trying to have some fun in the midst of the whole tadpole issue.

Then we have my durge, who at the moment is just called Durge. Ended up restarting the game for reasons*, but didn't want to let go of my teifling. So they're basically Kal with a slightly different vibe. But a barbarian this time! And obvs a much darker personality. Chaotic neutral. I'll flesh him out a bit more at some point.

This is an 18+ blog! Minors DNI!

And general DNI if: you're homophobic, racist, abelist, transphobic, or just an asshole like that in any way.

Also cba for all the spawn vs ascended thing, here we just love our Star boy in all forms.

* totally didn't fuck up Astarion's romance and ended up having a mild breakdown over it, totally not, ahahaha

[cupcakesinfedoras]

bg3 spoilers below, from act 3

well I did it I did astarion’s personal quest and I am emotionally compromised

took about four times longer than it should have because I kept reloading to see the different dialogue options (and get even more emotionally WRECKED)

also I’m super invested in my Tav’s (her name is Trick) friendship with Astarion, like equally invested as I am her romance with Karlach. In my mind they end up being very close. Trick has some trauma in her past that kind of relates, but more than that she’s a thief who does occasionally try to do good but is always up for shenanigans and they get along well together in a chaotic sort of way. I have SO many other reasons that I don’t have the energy to type, like I said I’m super invested in their friendship.

(actually I headcanon all three of them, Karlach, Astarion, and Trick end up being very good friends. Don’t worry about what will happen to Karlach at the end of the game DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT WE CAN HEADCANON WHATEVER WE WANT)

also obvs I went the vampire spawn route and in the post-quest dialogue back at camp he just? Smiles so much??? 😭🥹 I’d seen some spoilers from that dialogue but nothing could do the animation and voice acting justice I’m so glad to have finally seen it in the game itself