An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 10/12
Fandom: Baldur's Gate
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: (Please see warnings on AO3)
Relationships: Astarion (Baldur's Gate)/Original Female Character(s), Astarion/Tav (Baldur's Gate), Astarion/Charname (Baldur's Gate)
Characters: Astarion (Baldur's Gate), Cazador (Baldur's Gate), Original Characters, Original Female Character, Volothamp Geddarm
Additional Tags: fairytale, Romance, Tangled AU, Abuse, Early Access Baldur's Gate 3, Adventure, Torture, Implied Non-Con, Implied Sexual Abuse, Sexual Themes, Smut, Baldur's Gate 3, Baldur's Gate III - Freeform, POV Third Person Omniscient
Summary:
For centuries, Cazador Szarr coveted the secrets of disabling his most debilitating weakness: the sun. The answer lied in a magical flower dubbed the Corona Lily. Cazador discovered that the flower's magic had passed onto a newborn girl, so he burned the baby's home, killed her parents, and assumed the title of her father. After two decades, his flower managed to escape, so he is forced to send his spawn, Astarion, to bring her back. As the two journey back to Baldur's Gate, the secrets of the flower unravel and weave about a new fate for them both. Tangled-Inspired AU
**Note: This was written during Early Access of Baldur's Gate 3, and as such, a lot of canon lore may be missing. This story will likely be revamped once the full game is out, but please enjoy this version in the meantime.
Hi Tumblr, last night I stayed up until 2 am doing the Cazador quest and before you ask
Man it's surreal finally seeing the initial setting of your fanfic. I was thinking to myself, mapping the details in my head for later. In another universe, this was their home. These were the stuffy halls that she ran up and down. She never knew about the false walls. Never knew about Godey. Lilith probably had pet bats that she sang to and thought nothing strange. That ballroom is where she had her sixteenth birthday celebration. Yes, the place always smelled of blood, but when you grow up there, why would the scent bother you?
And now of course, outside of Hunting the Sun, Lilith walks those halls a stranger. It is a prison in both universes, but under different circumstances.
Needless to say I also have an overwhelming amount of thoughts about the revelations and outcome of this quest but that will come in the fanfic later.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/?
Fandom: Baldur's Gate (Video Games)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: Astarion (Baldur's Gate)/Original Female Character(s), Astarion/Tav (Baldur's Gate)
Characters: Astarion (Baldur's Gate), Wyll (Baldur's Gate), Gale (Baldur's Gate), Lae'zel (Baldur's Gate), Shadowheart (Baldur's Gate), Karlach (Baldur's Gate), Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s), Original Characters
Additional Tags: Canon Expansion, Astarion Personal Quest/Backstory Expansion, Noble Background Tav (Baldur's Gate), Tav Personal Quest/Backstory Expansion, Romance Expansion, Astarion Romance, slower burn, Abuse, Parental Abuse, Shared Trauma, Torture, Aftermath of Torture, Manipulation,Corruption Arc, Lilith fell first Astarion fell harder, Trauma Recovery, The Horrors of the Patriarchy and Misogyny, Cazador is somehow Worse, (more on AO3)
Summary:
High-born, impressionable, and the descendant of infamous necromancers — she is the perfect target for Astarion. They grow close, but between the manipulations, long battles, and literal haunting of their campgrounds, they discover that their pasts intertwine and their lifelong tormentors are close allies. A vampire lord and a master necromancer make for a terrible combination. Now, it is up to Astarion and Lilith to uncover the secrets obscured by their abusers and put an end to whatever diabolic scheme they hatched... whatever that could be.
An expansion on the Astarion romance and story line combined with an original story line for Noble Tav.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 2/23
Fandom: Baldur's Gate (Video Games)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: Astarion/Tav (Baldur's Gate), Astarion (Baldur's Gate)/Original Female Character(s)
Characters: Astarion (Baldur's Gate), Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s)
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Vampire Ascendant Astarion (Baldur's Gate), Grieving Astarion (Baldur's Gate), Unhealthy Relationships, Toxic Co-Dependence, Forced Proximity, Power Dynamics, Eventual Smut, court intrigue, Political Intrigue, Lessons in Etiquette, Graphic Description, Graphic Violence, Torture, Graphic Depictions of Torture, He may be the most powerful vampire but he's also a toxic pathetic mess, Mentions of Dark Urge, Spoilers for Quest: The Urge | The Dark Urge Storyline (Baldur's Gate), Spoilers for Astarion Romance Route (Baldur's Gate), Beauty and the Beast Elements, Horror, Mystery
Summary:
After escaping the tyrannical household of her father, runaway Lilith and her mother Taisia settle in the remote arcadia that is the barony of Rosefair, far from Baldur's Gate. Peace is disrupted when the once-abandoned Castle Rosefair suddenly is occupied by a new, mysterious lord: Astarion Ancunin. After she discovers his terrifying secret, Astarion extorts the runaway to assist him in his lordly duties and perhaps even help him rise to the power he always coveted. Meanwhile, Lilith vows to uncover the secrets of the Ascended Vampire and possibly even find a way to defeat him. That is, if he doesn't devour her body and soul first.
With Hunting the Sun over, I can focus on my next fic woo.
I want to complete about three chapters first and make sure my beginning is solid before I start posting it. If you're curious about what it entails, here are some bullet points!
Expansion on Astarion's Personal Quest. More lore and encounters!
Completely new Personal Quest for Lilith with a full backstory
Backstory expansion on Astarion
Connected backstories/quests for Astarion and Lilith
More emphasis on party personal relationships with each other and NPCs
Expansion of Astarion romance. Let's call it a "Slower" burn than the canon one
This is not a novelization of Baldur's Gate 3, by the way! There are some scenes that I have to write as-is (with extra details) to make sense in the story, but I'm hoping that as soon as we get the ball rolling, the scenes will be different enough that it doesn't feel like a rewrite.
Hope to see you guys there! Thank you so much for the continued support <3
After giving Astarion the cursed book of necromancy, Lilith notices something... amiss
This is going to end badly, I just know it...
"...can you-- ugh! Can you shut up and let me read?" Lilith had approached him when she saw that he had opened the book, but she was stunned into silence from his remark. Her eyes glanced down, seeing the text on the pages glow a sinister purple. Closing her slacking jaw, she sucked in her bottom lip to wait for him. Then, rising from the pages, she could see tendrils forming and lurching towards him, an ominous humming ringing in her ears. "No, I won't do it! I won't kill them! Well--" He smirked, "--maybe Shadowheart... no!" The book was overpowering Astarion. "Stop that! Stop it! Let! Me! Go!" And he slammed it shut, catching his breath. It was only then that he noticed her standing there. "Oh." He held up a hand. "Hello."
Lilith could only gawk, shock coloring her eyes as her jaw dropped again, an expression unbecoming of a proper lady.
"Okay, that's it." She held out her hand. "Give me the book."
"No!" He pulled it away, but that did not stop her from lunging forward in a feeble attempt to swipe it. "Lilith--" he warned as she tried it again, chasing him.
"Give--me-- that--Astarion!" For a few moments, they carried on this circus of keep away, him holding it out of reach and her doing the most she could. "Aha!" Her hands found purchase and she yanked it towards herself. "Thank you--mmgh!" Astarion seized her in a deep kiss, his tongue rolling against her bottom lip. "Mmm..." It was all too easy to let her guard drop and as her grip on the book slackened, he swiped it right back and broke off the kiss.
"Thank you, my dear." He took a few steps back, holding it behind him.
"Th-that's cheating!" she said, clearly flustered.
"Darling, you should know by now that I am not above cheating to get what I want." He smirked. "Besides, I'm saving you from the torture that is this book."
"Yes, I saw, why do you think I'm trying to get it away from you?" She crossed her arms under her chest. "What is so important that you're risking... all of that?" His fingers gripped its bindings.
"This is a book of necromancy, of the dead. There has to be something in here that will give me an edge over Cazador." Right, that's what this was about. Lilith inhaled to calm herself, exhaling and dropping her arms to her side. "But the spirits invade my mind every time I open it."
"So they're speaking to you telepathically?" she asked, taking a step forward.
"Yes, I suppose."
"Mm. There are spells and artifacts that can block that, you know." She pointed to her temple. "Not that our tadpoles make anything easier. But I'm willing to bet something like a Ring of Mind Shielding will shut them up. Then you can read it without intrusive thoughts." A soft chuckle escaped him as he rested his palm on her cheek.
"Ever such a sweetheart. And a clever one at that." He ran his thumb over her soft skin before dropping his hand to his side. "And, I suppose if it doesn't work, I could always beat Cazador to death with it."
"There's some poetic irony in there, beating a vampire lord to death with a book of necromancy," she said, punctuating her words with a brief laugh. "Ooh, even better. We'll cast Daylight on it first, then let the beating commence." Even Astarion got a chuckle out of that one, the image of beating the bastard to a bloody pulp with a shining beacon of necromancy that burned his face with every swing.
"You're right, that is much better." Lilith took a step away from him.
"Then it's a plan." She took another, pointing to him. "But no more reading! Not until we find protection."
"Fine." Not that he really minded taking orders from her anyway. "As you wish, darling."
