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Speculating on Astarion and Elvish names, based on this fantastic post by @snailpaste.

So, we know a few things. We know that elves take new names when they reach (cultural) adulthood, at about a hundred years old - a name that's chosen by and representative of them, rather than the name given by their parents. Astarion died at 39, well short of that 100-year mark, and the name 'Astarion' is the one written on his grave. Presumably, this means it was his given/child name, and he's never changed it.

The post linked above goes into a bunch of different components (in Quenya, granted, although we don't have a full D&D Elvish lexicon so Quenya is probably one of the closest options we have), and possible combinations and meanings. One fairly 'standard' meaning for Astarion is 'loyal/faithful son', from 'astar' meaning 'loyalty/faith' and '-ion' being a suffix meaning 'son of'. Let's go with 'loyal/faithful son' as his initial name, given to him by his parents.

Switching tracks somewhat - there's an early-2000s anime series called Haibane Renmei, which does some very interesting things with names. The characters wake up from cocoons with no memories save for a dream, and are named from the content of this dream; the protagonist is named 'Rakka' after her dream of falling. Later on, characters may get the opportunity to earn their true name, which is spoken the same but has different kanji; Rakka's true name means 'connected nut', a nut that has a fused shell, to show the bonds she's made with others.

There's also a darker side. The deuteragonist, Reki, is named 'pebble' after her dream of walking down a pebbled path; she later interprets her true name as 'run over', and almost gives in to her despair and depression. It's only later that she's given her real true name, 'stepping stone', indicating that this is just another step on her way forward, and is able to start healing.

(It's an absolutely beautiful anime, and short at only 13 episodes, but fair warning, it deals heavily with depression and suicide.)

So, how does this relate back to Astarion? Well, with all these interesting meanings, what if Elvish worked a similar way? Same sound, but different meaning, based on tiny differences of pronunciation or stress, or the way it's written in Espruar, or something like that? I can see Astarion, initially named 'loyal/faithful son', being forcefully renamed by Cazador - 'Astar + -ion' becoming 'Ast[o] + ar- + -ion', the components meaning (respectively) 'dust', a prefix for a royal title, and 'son of'. Son of the King of Dust, or 'Prince of Dust', a deliberately cruel reframing to show Astarion that for all his attempts at airs and graces, he's still just nothing. Prince of Dust. His early life is gone, he's the Loyal Son no more. He's just... dust. As he forgets his early, mortal life, the name Cazador has given him defines his entire existence.

More hopefully, however, this could change again, post-Cazador. He's free now. It's a rebirth, as much as becoming an adult in elven culture is; it's a good opportunity to take an adult name. Astarion has used his name for over two hundred years, far longer than elves normally would keep their child name for, and I can see him wanting to keep something of his past while also moving on; he could reframe the name again, and find a new aspiration in it as well.

'Astar + -ion' -> 'Ast[o] + ar- + -ion' -> 'Ast(ar) + -ion'; he returns to the Loyal/Faithful Son, but this time adds in 'ar' as a noun, overlapping the 'Astar' part. (Essentially, 'Ast(ar)ion' or 'Astarion'.) Now, it can be translated as 'Loyal/Faithful Son of the Sun/Day/Warmth'; it's an adult name that he's chosen, and promise to himself - that he'll find a way to walk in the sun again.

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Blank bloodweave gifs for your imagination!! Let me know what you think they're saying here :)

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u ever think abt how xie lian said himself that other than him few can compare to jun wu the emperor of the heavens and king of the gods in terms of fighting prowess u ever think abt how xie lian can immobilize a heavenly official w.o spiritual power using solely his physical strength u ever think abt how xie lian was the one who taught the oh so great martial god of the east tai hua how to fight and given his humble and self deprecating nature said plainly that if they were to fight to death the prince of yong an would Die for sure u ever think abt how xie lian is 5 foot 10 / 180 cm of what SURELY is pure Muscle ? anyways in conclusion: Daddy Dianxia 

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Nezumi & Shion - NO.6 | Vanitas & Noé - The Case Study of Vanitas 

Dancing with No Music (Part 2/2) requested by solarshadow

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I just realized that Riku's hand visibly shakes when he tenses his fingers and wrist during his idle animation.

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Quote from James Baldwin, Giovanni's Room

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Vanitas no Carte [Volumes 1-10], Jun Mochizuki.

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daffodils

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Hey everyone! This is my lovely friend Cyrus Nemati, who many of you may know as Theseus, Dionysus and Ares from the first Hades game.

He has spent the last couple years developing his very first indie game, Vampire Therapist, which plays with the many vampire character archetypes from across media.

It's been reviewing VERY well but it's not getting very many wishlists, so if you're interested in vampires, fantastic art and clever, funny, and thoughtful writing about vampire mental health, go wishlist it on Steam!

And listen, Cyrus may be too humble to leverage his colorful career as your favourite Hades hotboys, so I'm gonna do it for him 😌 GO SUPPORT FANTASTIC INDIE DEVS LIKE THIS ONE!

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[Zosan modern life - social media AU]

IG Live gone... wrong(?)

backstory: 1. they are in their 20s something year old 2. and.. yes they dont live together yet(?) i guess? 3. sanji is a popular chef-influencer(?) on IG

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twilight au except lance is both bella and jacob

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My interests include flexible Sanji with legs for days and Zoro’s arms

(I rewatched Film Gold, read a fic half of last night and suffered a hard relapse, please deal with me ;;)

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v2 lol

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OBSESSED with how each of them is ridiculing his opponent after defeating him and it's not even some regular "I'm stronger than you" remark; instead, they both go for "you are nothing compared to my man"

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Does anyone have fic recs that are basically this tweet 🥺🙏