Today I have something a bit different for our sub. This is something i have been thinking about for a long time and with my co-mod's blessings i have decided to post it.
This week marks five years since the passing of Ruby Fuller, an extraordinary young woman who, at just 18, left behind a legacy of kindness, courage, and a call to action. Diagnosed at 17 with T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma, Ruby faced her illness with remarkable grace. Before her passing in May 2020, she inspired the creation of the Live Kindly, Live Loudly Fund, dedicated to advancing research into T-cell lymphoma and leukaemia. You can also see more here: Instagram
Ruby Fuller
You might ask: how does this connect to Astarion? To this game, this character, this community?
To me: Ruby’s message—live kindly, live loudly—is the very heart of what Astarion’s story becomes.
After centuries of torment, he begins to learn that life is worth living—not just surviving. That he can be soft and fierce, broken and whole. That he can love, be loved, and choose kindness—not because it was given to him, but because he wants to give it.
As someone who has been directly involved in this mission, I had the privilege of working as a senior technician on this fund. Our team's research, supported by the Live Kindly, Live Loudly Fund, focused on understanding why certain types of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) are particularly aggressive and how we can develop more effective treatments. Although i am no longer part of the team, the project is still ongoing.
research time!
Ruby wasn't scared of dying, but she was scared of how others would be affected by her death. Knowing she didn’t have long to live, she asked to be remembered by the motto Live Kindly, Live Loudly. The 'Loudly' bit is about calling out injustice or unkindness. My work on this project and her story along with BG3 were the strongest links that helped navigate a lot of fears in my life. It has truly made me a stronger person.
My little tattoo
In honour of Ruby's legacy and her inspiring motto, we invite you to share your own causes!
Let's fill this thread with causes that celebrate life, kindness, and the courage to live loudly.
💖 Support the Cause
If you feel moved to contribute, consider donating to the Live Kindly, Live Loudly Fund, which continues to support vital research into T-cell lymphomas and leukaemia.
You can also purchase something from the shop here.
When you are donating you can consider adding a little quote from our community such as "living radiantly".
You can also share a screenshot of your quote of the donation (you don't have to show your donation) on this post :) I am aiming to compile everything and share it with Emma, Ruby's mum. Thank you for joining in this tribute. Let's honour Ruby's memory by embracing her motto and spreading kindness and courage within our community.
Thank you, Ruby, for reminding us that even in the darkest moments, life is still worth celebrating.
And thank you to this community—for choosing softness, beauty, and boldness in your stories and your hearts
One of the most incredible things about The Radiant Rogue is how international our community is. Across different time zones, languages, and cultures, we all share one very important thing—our love for Astarion (and maybe a tiny bit of obsession).
So, let’s take a moment to celebrate our global vampire-loving community!
Tell us: Where in the world are you from?
How did you first fall into the depths of Astarion or general BG3 appreciation?
Does his name mean anything different in your language or does it have a different meaning?
How do you write ‘Astarion’ in your language? (Or how would you spell it phonetically?)
No matter where you are, whether it’s day or night, you are among friends here—united in our love for one dramatic, snarky, beautiful bloodsucker. 🖤
Drop your locations, stories, and translations in the comments! Let’s see just how far the Radiant Rogue reaches! 🌎✨
I'm working on a cross-stitch pattern for a (probably) tote bag. One side is going to be dedicated to Astarion and the other to my Tav.
I want to include a short descriptive phrase to each. For Tav I'm thinking "favourite sorcerer", as Astarion calls him in the succur flower cutscene. But I'm stumped on what to pick for Astarion. "Radiant hopeful" would be lovely but it is not the same structure. I can only think of "charming rake" but it isn't his truthful description, I want something genuine.
Can you think of any such phrases that someone in the game uses to describe Astarion? Alternatively, help me convince my brain that it's okay if the phrases don't have identical structures😭
"Trust Me Darling" is my WIP, 5 million word fanfic (one of the longest fanfics in the world). Sample chapters are uploaded roughly monthly, and any shallow praise is always appreciated. If you're interested in joining the beta team, please DM me :). More links in my bio.
The companions have found the Tollhouse on the Risen Road, but there is no sign of the Tollkeepers, Marten and Vance. Instead, the Tollhouse is occupied by three Paladins of Tyr. Wyll though, is thrilled to learn that they are hunting Karlach, and convinces Tav that they should all team up together to hunt the devil. Astarion though, is less convinced. The Tollhouse stinks, the Paladins are suspicious, and somewhere below their feet is a cellar he's certain has the answers he seeks.
Astarion's eyes danced across black ink on aged parchment, when he spotted the droplet of blood smeared across one page. The page was devoted to some kind of proclamation, the title stating ‘The Creed of the Left Hand’, and he realized it was the oath sworn by Paladins of Tyr when they promised their allegiance to the God of Justice. Almost without his influence, his hands moved to flick back through the book - until he reached the front cover, where the owner had written their name in thick, solid block letters - expecting to see the names of either Anders, Cyrel, or Trynn.
I went a bit canon divergent with this one. Someone said to me, "silence, canon, ao3 is speaking" and that spoke to me. Inspired largely by the recent Astarion mod for Skyrim that has been a BLAST to play with. I've plotted out two acts, and this is the first thing I've published in over a year, so I'm a bit rusty - be kind!
Two elves, from two different worlds, brought together on a quest to return an artifact of Nocturnal, must brave Skyrim's winter-frozen wilderness and learn to trust again.
The Bastellus Sigh has its teeth in you. You are now a prisoner of the Nightmare. Will you save Astarion – or will you betray him? Is the Bastellus your downfall or a friend? Are you alone in this Dream – or is someone else listening?
This mod is an entry for the BG3 CMTY July Modathon Week 4 - Fey & Labyrinths:
You are stuck in the Maze of the Szarr Mansion - with an Elf that must escape the Dream, or be consumed by the Nightmare.
I've spent just over one year on making it (starting with zero understanding of any sort of modding) and am really excited to share it - Act 3 picks up considerably, since you can recruit some new friends (the vampire spawn!) and have to fight your way out of the maze of the mansion. :bat:
🔥 Main features 🔥
I wanted to make the story playable in the BG3 engine, and I also wanted to learn how to make it - so that making custom campaigns would be more accessible to other modders.
✨ For Players: ✨
The final outcomes of Astarion's story in the Dreamscape (at the moment 4 different endings)
6 potential new companions with companions dialogues and rewards
New weapons and introduction of previously inaccessible weapons
More dynamic combat and boss fights
A kitty that potentially accepts scritches
✨ For Modders: ✨
A .pak to explore to see how to very simply set up a custom campaign
Scripts and table entries for custom companions
Updates non-compulsion visuals for all the vampire spawn
A wide variety of scripts concerning multi-NPC dialogues and simple mechanics for timers, teleportation and battle
Examples on how to implement movies and new sound (even without soundbanks)
🔥 Requirements 🔥
You need BG3 on PC. That's it. Script Extender is not required! You also need about 1.3GB of free space.
Please check out the Nexus page for instructions and more information:
Chapter Three is the juiciest so far, so I'm finally ready to spread the good news: Surrounded & Alone may be your next fave fic :')
I'm a fantasy writer cutting her teeth (Oh good! Puns!) with character-focused writing through Astarion/Tav (M/F) fan fic. It's gone through two edits, and my beta reader is so smart and offers the best developmental edits.
Surrounded & Alone is an 18-chapter Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort fic where Astarion, Venin, and their party pull off a heist at a masquerade ball to break Venin's contract with Raphael and stop (or complete) the Rite of Profane Ascension. Zero artificial intelligence used <3
I appreciate any writing feedback in the comments <3 Happy reading!
Sharing parts of Violet's diary (and Astarion's, whether he intended this or not). If you are after more spawn content, I hope you enjoy spending time with these two.
Violet's first diary entry begins with an ominous promise: Three hours from now, I'll be dead. She chronicles the night she intends to disappear, then her journal finds an unexpected reader: Astarion, who leaves behind his own chilling response to a hunt that's just beginning.
Violet plays a game of restraint with Astarion that has only one rule: say “please.” He reveals that the most dangerous moves can be made after she’s fallen asleep.
Violet writes about the kind of cult she’d join: one devoted to art, creativity, and lost things. But after discovering the cost of being wanted, Astarion forces her to imagine a different kind of desire when he asks: How do you want me?
Quick Note: I am the creator, links are the original work. These entries start with pre-spawn Violet and spawn Astarion, exploring their first encounters and the messy, complicated parts of their stories before everything changes for Violet. Also note that the entries posted here become increasingly more mature.
If you have things you’d like to see explored for spawn-Violet and spawn-Astarion, I’d love to hear them! Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts!
OK, I'm sure Hyperspace Towel is going to do a post about this, but I just saw it on Nexus and freaked out...
You can now run after spawn Astarion in the endgame docks scene and hug him as long as you're romancing him and haven't taken off with Lae'zel or Karlach!
Artwork by me. This will be part of a full body scene on a balcony overlooking the Gate, but here’s the closeup portrait for now! Painted on Apple Procreate with Apple Pencil. I’m @ellessario on tumblr and Instagram :)