Thank you for tagging me @chaushaus !
Rating/Pairing/Completion status
Plot Summary (prompt came from @arachnomancer and it turned into a whole damn universe, oops)
When Rolim wakes up after the crash of the Nautiloid, he can hardly believe the reality he finds himself in.
The compulsions once forced upon him by Cazador are gone—and somehow, the sun no longer burns his skin.
But freedom comes with a price: an illithid tadpole now burrows through his grey matter and with it, a creeping loss of his vampiric strength and instincts.
He soon finds himself among a ragtag group of survivors, all infected, all searching for a cure. One of them stands out more than the rest: Astarion.
Handsome, sharp, and—unlike most—genuinely respectful of Rolim's boundaries. While Shadowheart hides her own secrets and Lae'zel simply doesn't care to ask, Astarion sees Rolim's need for space... and honors it.
As their journey twists deeper into uncertainty, a question begins to take shape:
What will become of them all when the fate they seek to change refuses to be rewritten?
AU where Astarion is a 239 year old mortal elf and magistrate and Tav is the one under Cazador's thumb!
Have fun!
Angst, Bit of a healing journey, as in the MC is slowly coming out of his shell and gaining self-confidence, also: slow-burn and softness
"He's up!" Karlach exclaims and rushes over, tail wagging like an excited puppy. "Gods, you're up, fangs! I was so worried!"
Gale's voice is more measured, but his kind, hazel eyes look me over carefully. "To be quite honest, all of us were."
I somehow doubt that, seeing as Lae'zel spares me only the barest glance and Wyll looks unsure whether to regard me as a friend or not.
Right now, I don't care because I feel... different.
Something in the dream I had, but whose contents I can no longer recall, changed me.
Whatever it was, I want to remember. I need to remember. And yet—
At the same time, I realize it's not going to happen if I try to force it.
So I simply hold onto Astarion as he leads me to a nearby mushroom big enough to sit on.
"Thank you", I croak, attempting a smile even as a fresh wave of weakness overcomes me and I grasp his arm a little harder.
Maybe moving so soon after waking up wasn't such a good idea.
Astarion smiles, fussing over me every step of the way, and once I'm sitting down, I take in his face.
He looks thinner, worn out. There are dark circles underneath his eyes from a lack of rest, and his usually so meticulously styled curls are in disarray as though he hasn't bothered to fix them for some days now.
I know that he's talking, can see his lips moving. But I can barely keep myself awake as it is now, and so his voice is just a distant warble in my ears.
"I'll be fine", I try to assure him. "Hug."
His face twists into a worried frown, again his lips move, and I'm assuming he asks if I'm sure since it'll hurt with the remaining burn wounds on my body.
"Hug", I repeat, and weakly paw at his arms.
His face softens into a gentle smile, and he nods, pulling me into his embrace.
And there, in the safety of it, knowing full well that I'm being cared for, I pass out again.
What other media inspired this fic?
I was inspired in regards to some of the disorientation that I wrote by @lottavilja 's fic "Fleeting Dreams". Some stylistic choices I made were inspired by Gally and magmethius
Rolim himself was inspired by Cinderella (when it comes to his backstory, anyway)
Vincent is heavily based on The Witcher (in both looks and personality lol)
What character trait did you amplify or minimise to make your version of a character work for your story?
I'm actually not sure lol. I go by instinct half the time. But I think I amplified Wyll's sense of honor? He's always extra prickly to any vampire spawn I write.
How did your understanding of the characters change while writing this?
Every time I write Halsin, he tells me a little bit more about his trauma surrounding intimacy, and more specific, his mentality of servitude and how it came to be. I'm sure he'll tell me more as the relationship with Gale develops.
I also feel like I understand Gale a lot better now that I've written him in 1st Person POV.
What’s one thing you put in—trope, character beat, scene—that was just extra shamelessly self-indulgent?
Prophecies and poetry! I love playing around with those!
What’s the structural choice you made on purpose—POV, timeline, chaptering—that most shaped the story?
Definitely the 1st Person POV, it felt right to write it like this and so far I've only had great feedback on it.
Which theme emerged accidentally, and which one did you pursue deliberately?
Accidentaly: Vincent wasn't planned, Rolim just said "I want a twin" and I had to oblige because the idea was too good.
Deliberately: Rolim's differences from canon Astarion. My goal always was to write a new character, not just switch the names and call it a day. Rolim is very much his own person, with his own reaction to the traumatic events he went through. Where Astarion is flirting with the PC to gain protection, Rolim doesn't. He doesn't believe he'll be rescued at the end of this, he's just trying to help the others before he bites the bullet. For all intents and purposes, Rolim has given up at the beginning of the story, he knows that when Cazador gets his hands on him again, he'll suffer endless torment and be killed afterward.
It's only throughout the story that he finds tidbits of defiance and the will to fight his (what he deems) inevitable fate.
What was the biggest risk you took with this fic?
I think the chapter of how one conversation changed the trajectory of Astarion's life? (it's in chapter 23 and can be read as a standalone if anyone wants to give it a read)
In a hypothetical scenario where you are forced to rewrite the whole story from scratch, what would you do differently?
Drop hints for Vincent's existence early on, I had to retcon why he never came up and while I do like the explanation I came up with, I'd give Rolim some foggy memories of missing someone dear to him now that he's away from Cazador.
Tagging @lottavilja @arachnomancer @optimisticgrey @denesmera @nw39
