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michanvalentine · 4 months ago

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I don’t mean to offend anyone—everyone is free to appreciate what they like. But the comparison comes naturally when I talk about my preferences and what I enjoy in the vampire spawn path rather than the ascendant vampire one.

As I already mentioned in another post, by becoming a full vampire—or rather, a new and 'improved' one-of-a-kind vampire—Astarion, in my opinion, fully embraces his monstrous side and lets go of the remaining human traits in him. So, his way of loving Tav/Durge becomes that of an ascendant vampire, lacking some of the qualities we’re used to in typical relationships. And that’s precisely what I love about the vampire spawn path—the idea of reclaiming life, reconnecting with others, and seeking out all those aspects that once characterized his existence as just another elf (with the necessary exceptions, of course—he’s still a sneaky bloodsucker xD).

I’ve noticed, for example, that Ascendant Astarion has a very strong sense of protection toward Tav/Durge, his vampire spawn. He feels almost obligated to keep Tav/Durge safe—it’s his responsibility. I wonder if he does it as a creator or as a lover. After all, the player completely surrenders to him, gives him everything—even their own life. (Their life, for fuck’s sake! In the end, the ascendant vampire kills Tav/Durge—he takes their life. Sure, he gives them another one, but that doesn’t change the fact that he takes it. And that’s another thing I personally find unacceptable because I fight every day to live. I want to live. My life is everything—it’s precious. The idea of someone taking it from me, just for the sake of control, is unthinkable. Especially when you should love me unconditionally, for who I am and not for who you want me to be. Of course, in an evil playthrough, it makes sense for Tav/Durge to want to become a vampire, but it's not mandatory. And the fact that the relationship can't continue otherwise is a red flag for me—one that I don't even think has to do with Ascendant Astarion's fear of losing Tav/Durge. After all, if they refuse the transformation, he is the one who ends the relationship and "loses" them. But of course, I'm rambling).

Anyway, back to the point—there are even moments where the ascendant vampire reinforces this concept, such as during the second encounter with Araj Oblodra. There, he explicitly states that he will protect Tav/Durge if necessary. Now, I absolutely understand the appeal of this scenario. Really, it seems incredibly romantic. But…

…it’s a concept that hits close to home for me, because of my family history. The responsibility to protect someone belongs to parents. Parents have a duty to protect their children. A fully grown, well-adjusted adult doesn’t need protection, nor should they seek it from someone else—especially not from their partner. I say this resonates with me because, at one time, I expected this from my husband. But in doing so, I placed a responsibility on him that wasn’t actually his. I burdened him with a role that wasn’t his to carry. I had to work through this, understand the mechanism, trace it back to its origin, and dismantle it as best I could—restoring our relationship to the right balance. One of equality. Because automatically, the one being protected is subordinated to the protector.

Now, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t support or stand by each other when needed, of course! The point is that it should be a mutual responsibility, not a one-sided one. And that ties directly back to vampire spawn Astarion, who, the morning after the graveyard scene, explicitly talks about this—about being equal partners. Same rights, same responsibilities. And how, among the various dialogue choices, the developers inserted a little trap: “I’ll always keep you safe so you’ll never need the powers of an ascendant vampire.” Sneaky! I hate that line! Just as spawn Astarion hates it—and rightfully so! If we are equals, if we are true partners, then you should not act as my protector. You should simply stand by my side, damn it! Spawn Astarion is perfectly capable of defending himself—he’s not weak, not small, and most importantly, he’s not a child. He is an adult reclaiming all his rights as an adult. He doesn’t need a babysitter.

Just like I, as a player, don’t need one. And maybe, because of my personal experience, that’s why I don’t find it appealing or romantic that Ascendant Astarion wants to protect me. I don’t need it. I function just fine on my own. I am perfectly capable of defending myself. I worked hard to regain that right and that freedom.

By the way, I’d also love to remind Ascendant Astarion that he didn’t end up in that position by chance. I was the one who guided him there throughout the game. All the more reason he should know that I don’t need protecting—I can kick ass just fine on my own.

#astarion #astarion ancunin #baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate 3 #baldur's gate #baldurs gate astarion #bg3 #bg3 astarion #baldurs gate 3 astarion #baldur's gate astarion #astarion bg3

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marielle555 · 3 months ago

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Meltdown and hate in the Astarion fandom. Where do the haters come from?

Hello everyone! If you love Astarion as much as I do and would prefer to see the sunshine-vampire happy in your game - free from the torment of hunger, with the opportunity to enjoy the sun he loves so much, the tastes and all the joys of life, the reflection in the mirror, if you are sick of the idea of “fixing” and taunting your beloved character, if you respect his personality and want him to be himself, doing what he wants, you help him Ascend. If you want a cool and fun “evil playthrough” (Astarion is “evil and fun” as his author, Stephen Rooney, said of him), if you're used to operating with logic and facts and take the gaslighting about how remaining a spawn forever can somehow unfathomably be a “good ending” for him as obvious nonsense and lies, you're doing the same thing. And then…

Suddenly you discover that love and empathy for a character is a “fetish of power”. Turns out that's what “gooners” do (yes, I too was sure that “gooners” usually focus on something else, especially considering the fact that the most vile and twisted “arts” with Astarion - it's all done to UA. If you've been looking for arts with him, your mood has probably sometimes fallen from seeing abominations on one resource or another). For example, you can find such a characterization of players wishing for happy passing with Astarion on Tumblr:

Post a video about Ascended Astarion on your YouTube channel, made with love for the character, write the words “Ascended Astarion” and “love” in the same sentence, and you have a good chance of seeing an amazing circus of “sexualizations” in your comments, “cycles of abuse”, "media literacy" joyful demonstrations of the only Latin word (“delulu”) learned by another young simplicitium, and other “pleasures” of this fandom. Astarion is sometimes hated so fiercely (while calling themselves his fans and often having a romance with him) that they are ready to jump out of their pants just to make fewer people in their game do him a favor. Still, it's interesting to try to understand where this strange attitude of treating choosing a happy “evil path” as something to do with sex came from in the first place.

In September 2023, Discord comments from Baudelaire Welch (at that time the romance feature lead in Larian) concerning Astarion and his 'bad' ending got into the gaming media. Baldur's Gate 3 writer's explanation of Astarion's 'bad' ending is a wake-up call for players lusting over RPG characters.

Baudelaire Welch writes:

“I feel with the bad ending, it's very much exactly that one sentence he says to you when you read his mind. He will always see you as degrading yourself if you continue to be with him, but that's perhaps what you like. It's ultimately reducing your relationship with him back to being a kink/form of gratification. Which is a fine thing to enjoy as a fantasy, but it's very much admitting that you failed to think of him beyond a sex object, and care about more than that. You're so attracted to him, you'd also turn yourself into one.

I think it's perfectly nice to fantasise about that, hell, I wrote the incubus scene where you can essentially make an irreversible sex-pact, and I think that's sexy. But it isn't something that I think is a lesson for real life. And I wanted the bad ending to really make you feel I failed to see this video game character beyond my own fantasies. The game was more real than I ever expected it to be.”

“He will always see you as degrading yourself if you continue to be with him, but that's perhaps what you like.”- This is the only check in the entire game, passing which does not provide any additional line or interaction. One can interpret this in many different ways, and it could be a topic for a separate discussion. But the fact is that this is concrete rails, absolute novelization and the imposition of “authorial will” in the simplest way possible - stripping the player of agency and the ability to react to it in any way, which is a violation of the basic principles of RPG games. Combined with the inability to do anything about it (it's really the only such check in the game), we're trapped. We have to validate this self-perception of his, while simultaneously allowing the author to stigmatize ourselves and fit us to her narrative, as in the tale of the Little Mermaid who gives her voice to the Witch in order to save the prince. In doing so, the character's IP is not violated. Plus it makes it possible for inconsiderate people (or those who want to impose it on others) to take that line as if Astarion sees Tav as beneath himself. And "it's very much admitting that you failed to think of him beyond a sex object, and care about more than that." It's hard for me to understand (I'm not a screenwriter after all) how the story rails in a game can elicit this kind of recognition from the player, but what it does look a lot like, though, is the equally "rails" and poorly scripted dialogue scene after the Ascension. Where there's a line that says, “I want your body.” And the naive player can poke at it with a sigh. Because all the other lines in that scene suck. Or it's also naive to think that since the game is so “progressive”, a lot of sex content, “threesomes”, brothels, bears, illithids, etc., it's probably so fashionable and “progressive” nowadays to say “I want your body” instead of the normal “I love you”, and the author just didn't take Astarion's trauma into account in her “progressiveness”. It's hardly possible to guess, without knowing the context of the story, that it turns out she did take it into account, it's just that you're the one who's supposed to be “ew what a sexualizer”. That's where the “sexualizers” with “gooners” come from, because what “media literacy” is in the inverted minds of “progressive” agenda lovers (no, it's not the ability to navigate the media space, distinguishing common sense and facts from bullshit and propaganda, you're wrong) - it means that when there is written on the fence/magazine who are the “gooners”, that's how you should call them. I hope those who were offended to hear that about themselves felt at least a little better, after all, an NPC who managed to read the woke author's opinion in a game magazine isn't the worst thing that can happen in life, is it? And we shouldn't blame the author, she doesn't work in Larian anymore, nothing bad will happen to Astarion in BG3 anymore, and it's not a fact that she really wanted to insult someone. She did a pretty good job of labeling her fandom, too:

«So, take the bear scene from Baldur's Gate 3. Why did it make such an impact? This is what it meant to me while I was involved with pitching it.

Look, this was not in the depths of my subconscious when I was pitching it. A sort of shit-eating grin was on my face when I was pitching it. But this is what it culturally means to me. It feels like a watershed moment in gaming history, where the fanfiction community felt like we were not a subculture within a fandom, but the majority audience that the game was catering to.

Just in perhaps one scene or, you know, in a series of scenes, but still the majority audience. Players in the fan fiction communities had been joking for years post-Early Access about the different degenerate things they wanted to do with Druid Daddy Halsin, and we gave them an incredibly silly scene which takes an identity moniker from the gay community literally. The gay bear becomes the gay bear.

And we gave them something which feels like it's from the tradition of CrackFic and present it as if it's a mainstream game feature. And then you feel like all the time you spent horny queer shitposting with your friends in your Discord is validated. It is real. It is a wonderful way of engaging with the game. It's seen. And how many other games on this sort of scale have made you feel that way?»

(quote from her lecture at Nordic Game, now it's also in gaming magazines).

“Degenerate things they wanted” and “horny queer shitposting” is what Welch herself says about the “majority audience that the game was catering to” - that is, her fanbase, which is supposed to catch and spread the “author's narrative” (which they do). The saddest part of this story is that the “kissing” scenes of patch 6, which traumatized people and provoked PTSD in some players, were also apparently written with “a sort of shit-eating grin” on her face and also for the pleasure of the shitposters. The shitposters got really pleased after patch 6, stepped up, started bullying survivors and all AA fans online, demanding more insults from Larian. Great fanbase:

In patch 6, these “kisses” with the mimicry of a rape victim, almost completely duplicating similar victim mimicry in sadistic 3D porn and “Rape Day” type games, were repetitive scenes of sexual violence, which violated the ESRB game rating rules (BG3 is rated M, and such scenes can only be contained in AO rated games). In patch 7, Larian fixed this abomination, and the game now features D/s kissing scenes as romance for the Ascended Astarion. Whether the fact that the player character in the Larian game is canonically submissive is a good thing, well, it can be viewed in different ways - for those who like that dynamic it's a great gift, for those who don't - another violation of player agency and deprivation of roleplay in RPGs (not Astarion is categorically dominant, but Tav is a priori submissive. Tav can't tell Astarion she doesn't want to play the role, there are no such lines. Astarion sees Tav submissive in front of him, who really likes it and behaves accordingly). How much it's even okay for a player's character to have canonically prescribed sexual tastes is a separate issue, but there are wonderful mods that can give you your roleplay in the game. But of course, a proper approach to this topic would have to have two lines, one for D/s and one for classic romance.

Fans of rape, fans of the agenda with the “toxic white male”, who must apologize and burn in the finale, and the “strong and independent woman” can only condescend to this “comic character”, become his mentor, or she is the “wrong”, the “gooner”, obliged to “make mistakes”, “want freedom”, whine and suffer - really wanted to bring back “their roleplay”. Non-con fans had it, made their mods and settled down. The “aggressive-progressive” fans of ruining people's games - not really. And, friends, before you get upset about the insults of such “representatives of fandom”, just answer yourself a question - why do they do it? For one simple reason - because you are normal. Normal person, normal player, AA fans are a smaller (in this game) but still part of that very real majority of gamers who want a happy, comfortable and immersive gaming experience, without any attempt to “preach” to them and shove their activism into romance. In the entire industry right now, games that try to “preach” anything are failing en masse, and only a very loud minority are struggling to defend their agenda. Hence the cries of “you're rewriting the character”. Which is another lie, since all the AA fans' demands came down to THEIR characters - Tav's facial expressions appropriate to the romantic scenes, adequate lines to choose from, the addition of a kiss in the epilogue. “A slave being grabbed by the throat and forced to kiss their abuser would terrify them?” - nobody is going to pay 70 bucks to have a slave suddenly appear in their game for the sake of someone's perverted “abuser” fantasies, and also this “slave” turns out to be in the place of their cool character in non-con scenes. Please, separately, in their games for non-con, woke, abusers, gay bears, shitposters, whoever you want, but not at the expense of the normal, ordinary customer, in AAA-class RPGs.

And Astarion was not going to be rewritten by anyone but these activists. Astarion is beautiful - his lines, his looks, his smiles and movements, everything about him is wonderful. Only his haters “rewrite” him in their headcanons, making up nonsense about “loss of soul” (the ritual did nothing to his soul, all their headcanons are based on one line Karlach said to UA “He could've had it all, but he kept his soul”), “cycle of abuse” (there is no such thing anywhere in the game at all, there is only UA's line about “breaking the cycle of power and terror”, no other “cycles” were found), “desire to break up” (the problem of a particular fool Tav, who thought that “Forever” meant “until Thursday” or “until the epilogue”), cruel and insensitive lines for Tav (like “You're like Cazador”), to which Astarion reacts with anger and pain, but completely adequately. They try to use Astarion as a social propaganda tool to “indoctrinate” the audience that the “right” choice is to not love someone like Astarion at all. It is permissible to “like” him, but by no means, to love him. You can use him, get the “cute vampire boy,” sigh at the end, “oh my poor baby, how bittersweet and dramatic!”. Or better yet, realize that he's “dangerous to the world” and shouldn't get powers.

It looks like the point of all this garbage is to show how someone like Astarion needs to be kept “on a leash”. For the sake of it, they also praise the “burning ending” calling it “dramatic” and “bittersweet”. For these characters who call themselves “fans”, Astarion should exactly suffer and be “on a leash”, “forced to conform to the rules of society”. Even a real good ending, instead of what is in the game, would spoil their “agenda”. Well, and to stroke their ego, in reality a guy like Astarion would never spit in their direction, and here the game allows them to “keep him on a leash” while using him as a sexual object. And the fantasy of a certain “stalker” who “obsesses” on them (necessarily physically attractive), and they can kick him, etc., and he will suffer, this can also be characteristic of those who in reality no one needs.

Is it worth getting upset about their hatred? I don't think this category of persons deserves any emotion towards them other than irony.

#astarion #baldurs gate 3 #ascended astarion #bg3 #astarion ancunin #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 astarion #baldurs gate astarion #ascendant #ascendent

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meanbossart · 2 years ago

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do you have any thoughts on cazador as a character? personally i really loved the parallels between him and astarion & the way that the master/spawn relationship is used as an allegory for cyclical abuse. the scene with cazador’s master’s skull where you find out that he was once victimized in the exact same way that he later victimized astarion was really a lightbulb moment for me re: what vampirism represents in this game.

BOY DO I, i don't think much of it hasn't already been said, though. He's a tragic character in his own right of course, not that that takes away from the awful man he is.

Me and my boyfriend make fun of him a lot, we call him "the best BG3 character" as a little inside joke between us and come up with ridiculous scenarios of things that might have occurred throughout those 200 miserable years the spawn had under his command lol. Maybe he had a month where he was really specific about the shoes everyone wore, maybe once every other decade he had a weird week where he tried to be "nice" only to become frustrated when his efforts weren't immediately met in kind by the rightfully-terrified spawn, maybe between all the torture and horrific-ness he just did some plain weird shit like making someone crouch by in his fainting couch and wait by open-handed for grapes that he dramatically chewed on and then spat right out since he can't actually eat them lmao

And that's hysterical but I think we also started doing that because when you meet Cazador, when you first hear his voice and see his demeanor in person your immediate reaction is probably somewhere along the lines of "THIS is the clown you were so scared of, Astarion?"

And the answer is, of course, yes. This embarrassing little man stuck in a cage of his making instills fear beyond comprehension in Astarion and all his siblings. This man who undoubtedly showed all these spawn, inadvertently, the strangest, most arguably "human" aspects of himself at some point or another during these two centuries they had together is also an absolute monster. And i really like that! I think its far more effective and fitting for his story than if he was, lets say, a Ketheric type.

(this got very long so, more under the cut)

Look at Ascended Astarion in the epilogue now, for example. Everyone agrees that he's an absolute fucking dork - and I think we all also agree that he will go on to destroy the lives of many people beyond repair, especially his own, until the day he is killed.

In the topic of vampirism as an allegory for abuse, I both agree and also don't, at least not exactly - i just think it's deeper than that. I've spoken about this in another post but i find it incredibly refreshing how, to me, it seems like Baldur's Gate 3 has no interest in painting vampirism as sexy or fun past a surface level. It's a curse that nobody asks for unless put in a situation where they feel as if they have no other way out, and it shapes and haunts you for the rest of your undead existence.

Even if you enjoy its benefits at first, that has a time limit. You will see your family and loved ones die, you will see culture evolve while you stay perpetually the same. You will experience so much hurt and pain because the only thing that makes life truly sweet is knowing that it is finite, and eventually it will wear down all of your humanity. And since you can't die unless you are scorched by the sun, staked, or dismembered, you must live with the knowledge that you will never have a peaceful death - and since you won't have a peaceful death, you better not die - and if you don't want to die, you better not be weak - and if you don't want to be weak, you must seek out power at all cost and slash things like love and friendship out of your life.

And what is funny, is that in his attempt to be more like a mortal - to eat, drink, walk the sun, such incredibly simple desires - Cazador (and Astarion, if he ascends) is accidentally only drawing further away from the person he supposedly once was, because that fear of weakness has already utterly corrupted his soul.

That's quite a grim way to look at it, of course. But I genuinely think that it is the natural conclusion of something like immortality.

That's why I quite like that, even after Astarion has found happiness, even after he finds his peace, he still doesn't exactly embrace being a vampire - because It's not something he should be expected to embrace. I think it's a very unique take on the trope.

I also want to leave here this message written by his character writer, which really got me thinking about him on a deeper level since i saw it months ago. It is specifically about the sexual aspect, but I think it branches beyond it too, when you think about it.

#bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #astarion #text #ask #cazador szarr

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florawriting · 1 month ago

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This is part two of a series where I assign god titles to the Shazamily members. You can read it without reading part one, but if you want to see Billy, Mary and Freddy: Press here!

Pedro: God of Acceptance and Practicality

This one was the hardest of them all, mostly because Pedro is the only one with introverted tendencies in a group of mostly extroverts. So I had to delve into the comics in hopes of getting something. And I think I got it.

First off Acceptance: this one was easy. This one is mostly linked to his (rather unconventional) coming out. You can see that it was very hard for him as he was very unsure about it in the beginning of the movie, so hard that I like to believe that it was hard for him to accept it himself. Not only that, from what we see of him he seems like a very accepting guy. There are quite a few examples where he accepts the situation as it is and tries to be useful despise it.

This leads into practicality, which in this context is a mixture between reliability, caution and realism. This is mostly from the comics, but glimpse of these traits are seen in the movies as well. First off, Pedro is shown to be someone that rather speaks with actions then with words, using all his available abilities to complete the task. Yet he is also realistic about his abilities and speaks of caution when he believes something is not going to work. Because of this he is very effective, thus making him a prime candidate for the domain of practicality. (added note, I think this is the title that he gains out of his ascending moment)

Eugene: God of Connection and Technology

On the other side of the spectrum, this one was the easiest. Let's start with Technology, which, well, is such an important domain in the current day and age that a god was basically necessary at this point. But also, Eugene actually has technopathy in the comics. This was never explored in the movies so let's make it his ascending moment. He learned how to mix magic with technology and with it was able to safe humanity of a threat.

You might think that Connection is just an extension of technology (because haha you connect to something with Bluetooth or you connect a power cable) but that actually isn't the case. In Shazamily Matters (the tie in for FOTG) it is actually revealed why Eugene was considered a hard case, it was because before the Vasquez he was never able to connect to anyone. Hack, it is shown that his connection to Rosa is finicky at best. Eugene clung to Video Games as he felt it was the only place where he could connect to something, I believe that it would have become an addiction if it wasn't for the Vasquez who were willing to take a real chance on him. He may have a lot to learn about forming and maintaining real (human) connection, but that would only make him an even better candidate for that domain. (also go read that short story it is actually so good and one of the best characterization’s of Eugene)

Darla: Goddess of Beasts and creativity

This was one hard in another way, because there were so many domains that would fit well that it was hard to just choose two. I feel that she would do an Apollo and just dabbles in a lot of things, but eventually these two felt the most correct.

Beasts is a title for all types of animals that inhabit the different realms. From small fluffy kittens to deadly unicorns. We have seen her handle both extreme's and I think that that knack for beasts will definitely evolve as she learns more about them. This title would also come from her ascending moment, be it that she tamed some ramped beast or commanded an army of them to fight against a thread.

Creativity, on the other hand, would go in line with her personality. In both movies she likes to create stuff (the poster for Billy and the diagram of a Mongolian battle) and she is more pacifistic when it comes to fighting, which leads to more creative ways of defeating villains.

Bonus: Rosa and Victor: Gods of parental love and guidance

Look: historical scholars are not always right. It happens sometimes that one makes a conclusion based on the available evidence that later turned out to be false. I can imagine a scenario where years in the future scholars are trying to streamline the history of the new Greek pantheon and find notes that mention Rosa and Victor. Not really sure who they were historically, they try to find other accounts of these two and find records where they were asked for advice, permission or to be a shoulder to lean on. Misunderstanding the point that most gods in that period were just ascended humans they incorrectly assume that these were two minor gods that supported the main pantheon like two parental figures, so they were dubbed the gods of parental love and guidance.

Nobody that is still alive from the new pantheon is going to correct them anyway. Honestly, they find it nice that their late guardians are immortalized in such a way.

#shazam #billy batson #dc captain marvel #dc #shazamily #headcanon #shazam family #darla dudley #eugene choi #pedro peña #rosa vasquez #victor vasquez #Greek gods #billy is canonically a god #billy is a god au

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cubtales · 2 months ago

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hi hi xixi, your recent comm has been stuck in my mind ever since you've posted it!! so i really have to ask about your dynamic because i love the path you have chosen for your self insert

since memokeepers travel the worlds on their own, and so does argenti, i'm really curious about how you two have met and how it all came to be. do you end up travelling the cosmos together?

how does your knight react when you surprise him with unexpected gestures of love? does he get flustered or does he turn the tables on you?

if you could preserve one moment between you and argenti forever, which would it be?

oh, i hope this isn't too much! take care <3

WINTER !!! 🌨️ oh it truly is so so lovely to have you in my inbox ♥︎ it's never too much! infact, this is perfect imo :3c i'm sorry if i overexplain in this <3 hope you're having a amazing day, take care ! i'm happy we could interest u ⸝⸝⸝ᵒ̴̶̷̥́ ᵕ ก ̀⸝⸝⸝

truth be told, our story began before i became a memokeeper ! the night i first met my knight was during a masquerade ball, he was one of the guests of honor while my family was apart of the nobles who were in attendance. if anything, you can say fate weaved our meeting carefully ♡ i was barely allowed to leave my family's lands for any activity & led a very lonely but curious life ehe, i was taking the chance to socialize with others until i soon became very overwhelmed with the masses of people and excused myself to the ballroom's balcony. it was there i first met argenti, who was offering me a white rose embroidered handkerchief when he saw the state i was in. if i do remember correctly, he said something on the lines of, "what bothers you, kin of idrila?" .. his eyes was just as sweet and sincere as his smile, i believe that was the second thing that drawn me to him. the first being his rose colored hair of course <3 we spent the rest of the night conversing, though it was really just me asking him any questions that came to mind ! it was the first i talked to someone other than the maids in the manor, someone who wasn't trained to give me default answers either ! ! it was truly so refreshing ♡ .. though this memory will soon become a sore spot for the two of us later on . . . to answer your last question, a couple years later we meet again, and after some angst we end up falling for each other & traveling together ! for the rest of our lives ♥︎

to my surprise, he actually gets quite bashful before flipping it back on me :3c one thing about 'genti is that he loves surprises, and i love to take advantage of that anyway i can <3 from notes, gifts, to my very presence at times !!! his reactions vary as well ! he always makes me feel that my efforts are appreciated with the way he starts squishing my cheeks or scooping me up and showering me with words of praise ౨꒰ྀི´ ˘ ` ꒱ྀིৎ i'm really spoiled just from his words alone wehehe .. when it comes to my grand expressions of affection, ( for example.. our stone statue in our garden :3 ) that's when he truly gets bashful. our childhoods happen to be drastically different.. where luxury items happen to be normal to me, he was never granted that lifestyle. i love taking the chance to spoil him with material things due to the fact i can teach him and guide him through things that he isn't use to ♡

oough.. this is such a hard question dear winter WAH ! ummmm if i had to really choooseee :sulk: i guess the moment where our relationship started to define itself. we were in some ruins camping for a night since the city by it was our next stop! for context, during that time the tensions were high between the two of us.. he happened to find out that my home planet was Melustanin, the very place where Idrila ascended, and that since mirror holders were common on the planet— i firmly believed Idrila to be dead. ( whereas most of the knights of beauty believe that Idrila is only missing. ) due to this conflict in paradise, i was extremely nervous to talk to him. it was normal to me that if i argued with someone, they'd soon want nothing to do with me— so mentally i was preparing to let go of the thought of 'us'. unknown to me, argenti was not the slightest bit angry (;｡-̀﹏-́｡) if anything it kind of explained to him why i decided to follow the path of remembrance instead, but since i was pretty much avoiding conversing it was hard for him to clear up my misunderstanding.. sooo he suggested we should camp for the night using the pretense of needing our beauty sleep instead of traveling through these lost ruins at night. after a decade worth of awkward silence, rosie soon scooted towards me to close the distance between us. ( and he knew i'd usually like to cling to his arm or lay in his chest whenever i could ^^; physical touch my weakness !! ) he didn't say anything— just stared at the gleaming stars along with me.

"do you no longer wish to accompany me?" the knight's voice cut through the silence. his gaze still focused on the nightsky, a hint of emotion treading in his voice that plucked at the feathers of my heart. i remember opening my mouth to speak, to firmly reject such a thing— but he continued.

"it's strange, only a few minutes has passed since our last conversation and i feel as if i haven't heard your voice in a millennium." a smile found it's home on his lips. "i find myself missing you as if we're not sharing this moment together."

as if cupid's fingers started to strum the strings of their golden harp, the chords of affection started to swell in my heart. "... you're not mad?" i spoke, my mind craving the validation that had visited my heart.

"my lady, if anything it pains me that you believe such a thing would anger me."

"but i—"

the knight had finally turnt his head, his sincere pair of eyes had caught the stars in the sky and burnt themselves into my very own. i could feel my breath catch as his armored hands gently caressed my cheek. it was that night i felt as if fuli themselves had casted their gaze upon the two of us, capturing this portrait in my very place. "allow me to rephrase. however could i be angry with you? such a emotion could never manifest between the two of us."

stunned into silence, it seemed soon my heart spoke in place of my mouth. "then what could?"

the rose didn't respond, so how could the lily? they shared a moment for what felt like eternity, their eyes becoming aquariums of brimming feelings. before one's glass could shatter... their campfire's excitement had burned to lengths it could not handle, and soon becoming victim of the sigh of zephyr. the night had closed it's curtain on their tale once again. ♥︎

#𐚁�� ₊ ࣪ ㅤ 𝓪𝓻𝓰𝓮𝓷𝔁𝓲 ྀི #(;��-̀﹏-́｡) did not mean to end up writing so much >< i hope you can enjoy this small drabble of words ...#thank you sweet winter !! as you can see i was quite excited to yap about this haha..

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subzeroparade · 9 months ago

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*chant* New fic! New fic! New fic!

So excited you’ve posted a new ER fic, and with a teaser for more to come! 🎉🎉🎉

Since it’s been awhile, maybe I poke your brain on what your thoughts on the DLC are (game play, lord, sceneries, anything you’d like to share with us really)? Has it changed your headcanon on any of the characters, or did you find ways to incorporate the new lores into your interpretations? Most importantly, did you have fun?

*tagged for spoilers but just in case - spoilers •‿•*

Did I enjoy it? YES. Did I have qualms with some gameplay bits? YES but I’m a filthy casual on NG+2 or something and generally Not Good at Game. But I beat it.

As for lore, it’s really a mixed bag. There’s a ton of stuff I’m delighted to have new or expanded lore for - Marika’s origins, Belurat and the entirety of Hornsent culture, Godwyn’s Death Knights, BAYLE???? VILE BAYLE!!!! etc etc (sometimes I listen to Igon’s voice lines just to psych myself up for real life). There are things I need to adjust my headcanon for a little, as well - St Trina, for example, has always been a facet of Miquella himself to me, a sort of alter ego he willingly takes on, which is how I enjoyed writing her in fic. To have her elaborated here as a separate person means taking that a little further if I write him/her/them again, but I think the parallel it draws between Marika/Radagon is hugely interesting as well.

iirc there are a couple of instances in the base game where lore almost contradicts itself, but I think in some cases the DLC got a little sloppy. The timeline is also way foggier to me now than it was previously. I was a big fan of the idea that Messmer was entirely unknown to his siblings, written out of history after the Crusade (predating Marika ushering in the Golden Age of the Erdtree), but that contradicts the lore we get on Gaius and Radahn as they’re both personally acquainted with Messmer, and makes me wonder which of the other demigods might’ve been aware of him, and under what pretences might they have met. It makes for a lot of fic ideation, but I’m of the opinion that if you’re writing fic, sticking too closely to (the sometimes unhelpful) lore will stultify the work; so I’m trying to pluck little instances of new lore that interest me to bolster the story I want to tell.

Like most of the fandom I have a huge beef with Promised Consort Radahn, and I’m still struggling with how to work that into my headcanon. To me, there is simply no reason for it. There are no indications of it in the base game, and you have to tie yourself into continuity knots for it to make any sense - and that’s just bad writing. I’m not against retconning things if they serve a purpose, but this was neither useful nor necessary (nor well done), and that’s fundamentally disappointing for a Fromsoft game. The more people aggressively try and justify it, the more I feel like the potential explanations unravel. If we’re going along with the assumption that Miquella *needs* a lord to ascend, we’ve had Candidate #1 since the base game: Godwyn. Half of what we know about base-game Miquella is that he spent time and resources trying to grant Godwyn some form of peace, while his hideous fate hangs over the narrative in perpetuity. And we give Radahn closure literally in the first act of the game. I’m a firm believer in Miquella knowing 100% what he’s about, but in this singular instance blinded by love for Godwyn and an all-consuming desire to *fix this* by resurrecting some nightmarish, malformed version of him. There’s so much juicy story to be told in Miquella refusing to acknowledge the thing he brought back is not his brother, and for all that godhood and remaking the world into utter passivity can do, it can’t retrieve Godwyn’s irretrievable soul. All that to say, I’d even take Malenia as his promised consort - it would made more sense than Radahn, too.

Anyway tldr I don’t have to think about how disappointing that is now, because the fic I’m working on is around Marika’s ascension, and more specifically Messmer and Melina’s upbringing. There’s another on the backburner but I’m on the fence about it since it hasn’t reached an outline stage yet, and I don’t start anything unless I am 100% sure I know how to finish it, and finish it well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Ty for the ask! As is the case with me, the rest of my musings on the lore come through in fic writing, because those are the texts dumps I’m good at. Here’s a little (young) Melina and Messmer wip as thanks.

#ask #writing #elden ring #shadow of the erdtree #elden ring dlc #sote spoilers #shadow of the erdtree spoilers #lore #messmer the impaler #melina #BAYLE!!!! O TERROR INCARNATE!!!#I think Bayle had a beef with Placidusax but was dramatically outclassed #yet survived in the crispy chicken form we find him in #or something like that

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yoonkinii · 1 year ago

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We Were Human

Pairing(s): Ascended!AstarionxReader

Part 2:

Synopsis: Astarion died as soon as he became something the world has never seen before. No one noticed the damage before it was too late and the Astarion everyone loved was lost to the new one. No one could notice when the turn was slow and silent. He slowly lost the playful glint in his eyes. Lost the love he gaze upon me with. Lost everything that made him the man I loved. Oh, how I would give anything to get him back. I would gladly give up my damned soul for him.

Aka you are transported back to the past in order to prevent ascended Astarion from losing himself the only problem? You don’t have a lot of time.

Masterlist

Warnings: Gore, blood, cruelty, cursing, death/murder, mentions of using oneself unwillingly, abuse. Its ascended astarion, prepare for the worse.

Note(s): For the sake of the plot- Astarion will not automatically be damned from the start. In this world, Astarion becomes lost to the ascension overtime until he becomes the ascended vampire we know him to be in the game. Another note that should be highlighted is that this story will be told from the first person perspective since it benefits the story more than any other perspective.

You will also notice various things being different from the game. For example, Karlach will be able to stay in the ‘human’ world and she fixed her heart. (I love my girl, I’m not sending her back), Szaars palace has a different layout cause the one in the game was stupid. There will be more that you will notice in the future so beware.

Thank You.

The water was warm against my skin, chasing away the chill that coated my flesh like second skin. After my whole breakdown with Astarion, he had to step out to assist Gale with Wyll. If I was remembering correctly, the city was being rebuilt by everyone still left alive and Wyll had taken on the position of Duke. Everyone in my little team ended up with a high ranking position, each controlling a certain decision when it came to rebuilding the city. Karlach was paired with Damon with rebuilding homes and stores. Shadowheart and Halsin took care of the injured. Lae’zel looked over people working so they don’t fall out of line. Jaheira and Minsc left the city looking for survivors that may have found misfortune. Gale was sort of Wylls advisor, using his vast amount of intellect when Wyll need it. And Astarion was the Lord of Szaars place, an already powerful figure just by title. Even more powerful when the very first ascended vampyre owned it.

Astarion left with Gale, muttering something alone the lines of ‘mortals can’t do anything’ but agreed to help regardless. It was a little strange to be back in the position of the hero of Baldurs Gate and not confined to one room. I can’t help but find myself waiting to wake up, to open my eyes and be greeted with the same dark ceiling. I wait and wait but I never wake up. None of it felt real and I was scared it wasn’t real; that I somehow died in my sleep and was just replaying my memories.

That was an absurd notion. He would never let me die. Not when my life was controlled by him in every aspect.

The door to the bathroom opened gently, a familiar face entering. She paused in front of the now closed door, eyes trained to the floor as she bowed slightly at the waist. Her green wide eyes glanced up at me nervously, orange hair pinned back with some clips.

“Lucinda.” I greeted her with a smile, singling her to come in with a nod.

Lucinda was one of the first servants we ever hired to serve in the palace. She lost her entire family in the final battle and was lost without a loved one or home. She was also the first spawn Astarion made- minus me.

Flashes of tangled limbs, Lucinda’s hair, and his dark gaze watching me flashed in my mind. I couldn’t help but grimace at the memory. I had walked into our shared room without a second thought only to be faced with him bedded with Lucinda. Even in the darkened room, I could see the love filled gaze Lucinda gaze into him while he watched me with a raised brow as if I was the one in the wrong. I sobbed my heart out that day- or my figurative heart out.

Lucinda tried to smile back at me but it looked strained- like her skin wasn’t used to moving like that. That was how she usually was. She was quiet but efficient and half the time she felt like a ghost, silently walking around the palace and doing what was expected of her without a single complaint.

Even as she got closer to me, I didn’t feel any hatred towards her. I knew she was one of his victims, knew that she fell for the false promises and loveless lyrics that danced on his tongue. I also fell for them.

Lucinda wordlessly assisted bathing me, gentle and nimble fingers making sure every part of my body was clean before offering me a towel to dry off. We were both silent even as she fit me into my gown for the evening. She tightened the bodice, pinned my hair up in a crown of braids, and dangled silver jewlery from my ears and neck. I stood before a mirror, eyes slightly widened as I looked back at my reflection. My reflection ws another privilege I had lost from him. It was so simple for him, taking things away from me without a second thought. He could give but he could also take. My throat tightened as I recalled how I was able to stand in the sun and now I could even see my reflection.

My eyes trailed over my gown and I had to admit that Lucinda picked something splendid for today. The maroon dress was made from rich, luxurious fabric that had a subtle sheen to it, adding a touch of opulence to the overall appearance. The bodice of the dress was tailored to perfection, creating a flattering and regal appearance for my body. Intricate silver thread adorned the neckline and cuffs, depicting carefully crafted whirls of life on the fabric.

The neckline of the dress was boat shaped, covering most of my chest but still exposing my collarbones. The sleeves were long and flowy, the cuffs of my sleeves almost creating maroon waves; swishing with every movement of my hands. The skirt of the dress was full and cascaded to the floor and even though it was long, I could still move freely. Just like the neckline and cuffs, the hem of the dress was adorned with the same intricate threading.

My lips were painted with color and my eyes lined with kohl to accentuate my features. Lucinda gingerly placed black heels before me- offering her hand to help me balance as I put on the heels. Once done, I looked at my reflection once, nodding with acceptance.

“Astarion is with Wyll still, correct?”

“Yes, My Lady.” Lucinda replied so softly that if there was any other sort of noise in the room, I would’ve missed her response. “Lord Astarion has not returned from the Dukes.”

“Thank you, Lucinda. I will be heading over there now.”

She nodded her head, bowing at the waist as I turned to leave the bathroom. Exiting the bathroom, I walked down the halls I had been locked away in. I noticed that some decorations were missing- we must have not gotten them yet. The palace was made up of two stories. Upon entering, a grand foyer awaits, featuring double sweeping staircases parallel from each other. The staircases were carpeted with a dark red runner leading to the second floor before continuing down the halls of the second floor. The walls were decorated with various tapestries purchased from various merchants. The double staircases create a sort of entryway to the reception room appointed with fine furniture and gilded fixtures.

After accessing the second floor via that staircase, it branches out left and right. The halls create a sort of square shape, if someone was to walk left and follow down the hall, they would end up at the opposite of the staircase they used to get up. The whole palace had dark wooden floors in every room and dark walls that constantly casted the palace in a permanent shadow, even with the windows open. The halls are lined with a series of private chambers and living quarters. The servants quarters take up most of the left side of the second floor, various rooms provided from them- even if Lucinda is the only current servant. Towards the second floor, in the middle of the two halls, lies Astarions study. An exquisite study with towering bookshelves and the same exquisite furniture that can be found around the house. The back wall of his study, across from the entrance to it, is made out of pure glass. Differing window panes were used to create a floor to ceiling window-wall that showcased the city below.

Our shared bedroom is down the hall from his office. If someone was to exit his study, take a left and walk down the hall until they turned the corner, the first door on the left would lead to our chambers. Upon entering, the canopied bed is pressed against the middle of the wall, black lace curtains offering privacy whenever needed. To the left of the bed, there were doors that lead to a private balcony that was large enough to adorn a small table and two chairs. I usually found Astarion reading there when he had enough free time. There wasn’t much in our room, other than the usual litter of Astarions book collection and a small work desk pressed against the corner of the wall next to the balcony doors. Astarion rarely ever used it, choosing to do his work in his studies. The walls were adorned with artwork but the most notable one was the portrait of not only Astarion and I but everyone in our small little team. All of us were wearing smiles on our faces, even Lae’zel who seemed to have a permanent frown etched onto her skin. That portrait hung above the work desk and there were a few times I had caught Astarion looking at it as he sat at that desk.

I finished climbing down the staircase, heels clicking against the wooden floor that was exposed from the lack of carpet covering it. I exited the palace and was greeted with the same scene I saw the first time I stepped out but less people were out. This wasn’t surprising since the sun was already starting to set. I followed the familiar path to where I knew Astarion would be, weaving and dodging people that were too busy to notice me passing by. A few did notice me, waving and calling out to me. I could only offer a small wave and smile back as I passed down various streets. The city looked almost unrecognizable with all the decimated buildings and death clinging to the air.

Finally reaching the building I was looking for, I opened the doors and was created with a long hallway with many doors lining the walls. It was somehow even busier inside than outside. People were walking to and from between rooms, carrying various things. Some were even running, expertly dodging those that weren’t in such a hurry. Voices merged, creating a muddle of echoes bouncing off the walls. I was only able to catch glimpses of conversation as I walked down the hall to the large wooden double doors at the end of the hall.

“No, no, we can’t use that material because…”

“What are we going to do about the limited space in the cemetery…”

“...funds are not being included when it should be you imbecile…”

Pushing the doors open, the hinges made no sound as I slipped through. Immediately, I was greeted with five males crowding around a large oval shaped table placed in the middle of the room. I only recognized three of them; Gale, Wyll, and Astarion. In my, I guess, other life, I had never stepped foot into this building when Astarion was called upon. I was too busy documenting expenses and checking who needed what in order to rebuild.

Wyll glanced up from where him and everyone else in the room was looking down at the parchment on the table. He smiled, tilting his head to the side- offering me to stand next to Astarion. Taking him up on his offer, I walked to where my husband stood, his back facing me. He didn’t bother looking behind himself to see who entered the room, he probably thought it was a servant coming in with new documents.

Gale spoke up from his position beside Wyll, his hand once again rubbing along his jaw in thought. His eyes flickered to me as I stood across from him next to Astarion. He nodded in regard before continuing with that was being discussed before I walked in,

“They have to be dealt with now before they are able to turn into something worse.”

A simple glance down at the table was all I needed to know what was going on. It was a map of Faerûn, several circles drawn indicating different camps strung out along where the shadow cursed lands were. Well, former shadow cursed lands were at since the land was cured because of Halsin and some of my help.

“What do you mean?” I ask, leaning slightly over the table to catch a batter look at the map. A hand trailed down the small of my back before resting on the right side of my waist. A soft kiss was pressed to my head as Astarion pressed his body against my left side of my own body- like being away from me was hard for him to do.

“Nothing too dreary. Just some Goblin camps that keep sprouting about the shadowed lands.” Astarion replied, sounding like there was nothing to worry about. I could hear the smile he wore on his face as he spoke. Rolling my eyes, a knowing smile took over my face as I crossed my arms, “Yes. Goblins congregating. Nothing serious.”

Wyll cleared his throat, “I know we have to deal with this situation soon but we don’t have any manpower to spare. Not with everything still in shambles. I am only suggesting to hold off until we have more able hands.”

“If we wait any longer, these damn things will already be in the city, wreaking havoc!” a deep and gruff voice cried out. I looked to the owner of the voice, his bright red hair contrasting against his olive toned skin. He was lithe and a little shorter than Astarion. His brown eyes almost feline like as he glared down at the table, his lips curled in a snarl. The manner and tone of his voice did not suit someone who appeared like him but then again, many things in this world didn’t suit it.

“Then what do you suggest, Doran?” Astarion replied, his voice laced with venom as he said Dorans name. Astarion eyed the younger male, raising a brow towards him mockingly.

Doran glowared, mumbling under his breath as he looked away from Astarion, fists clenching at his sides. A deep sigh resulted from the interaction, causing me to look at the final man in the room. He appeared older than the rest of us, graying beard lining his jaw, grayed hair sitting close to his skull, wrinkles from age sagging against his skin. He was shorter than all of us, his bear bell sticking out from under his clothes and thick arms massaged his temples in annoyance. I regarded him with a tilt to my head, wondering who he was and why he was here. I wondered the same thing about Doran but I knew they were meant to be here as well.

I cleared my throat, drawing everyone’s attention towards me. Licking my bottom lip, my gaze met Wylls, “They are right. These Goblins need to be handled immediately.”

Wyll opened his lips to retort but it died in his throat as I raised my hand to continue speaking, “I understand we don’t have the resources for this currently and that is why I am going to be handling this myself.” As I spoke, my mind flashed to what I knew from the future. I can only remember small glimpses of this situation and that’s because when it happened in my true life, I took no part in it.

The goblins were a problem, we didn’t have resources to deal with them and as a solution, Astarion went by himself to handle them. When he came back, he smiled less.

If I am here back in the past with a second chance, I was going to take advantage of it. If this is the first instance where Astarion took a step toward becoming him then I would do something I didn’t do in my time. I was going to go along with him.

“What?” Astarions voice rang out in the room, the hand on my waist tensing. “What do you mean?”

I looked up at him, brows pinching together in thought, “Well, it makes sense” I continued, “We don’t have enough people to spare to send out so why not spare me? I’m sure my skills are equivalent to at least ten soldiers.” I looked over at Wyll, brow raised in question. Wyll was in thought for a few moments, a breath being released from his pursed lips,

“Well-” He drawled, “It’s not a bad idea.”

I clasped my hands together in glee, before anyone could say anything else, “Then it’s settled!”

“Hold on. You must be a lunatic for thinking I am just going to let you go alone.” Astarion argued, his hand gone from my waist and now placed on his hip as he looked at me like I really was a lunatic.

I cooed, stepping closer to him so we were chest to chest, “And you are so cute for thinking I was going to go alone to begin with.” I pinched his cheek teasingly, nose wrinkly in delight, “You’re coming with me.” I said as I walked past him to the exit. A few seconds ticked by before he exploded in curses and whining about getting dirt under his nails.

“Darling, are you sure about this?”

Astarions voice questioned from across the room as he stood in front of a mirror hanging on the wall, fusing over his hair. The room was illuminated by several candles placed on wall mounted holders, the sun had gone an hour ago and casted the world in darkness.

I huffed out a small laugh, combing through my hair as I sat on the edge of the bed, “What do you mean? Of course I am sure. I thought you would jump for joy at the chance of leaving the city.”

Astarion eyes narrowed at me as he finally stepped away from the mirror and made his way towards me. “Me?” He placed his palm against his chest, “Be excited about leaving the city and all the comforts it has to offer. Oh, Yes, I am very excited.” His tone was filled with sarcasm as he sat beside me on the bed, my body bouncing slightly from his sudden weight being applied. He wordlessly grabbed the brush from my hand, gently running it through my locks and running his fingers through it every so often.

A slight pout formed on my lips, “What’s the big problem? You don’t want to spend quality time with me?”

He snorted, something only he would ever do with me, “Love, I would be chained to you if I was able. I just don’t find the whole ‘natures delight’ very appealing after being in it for so long.” I turned to face him, beaming at him with a smile,

“That’s what makes it fun! It will be just like old times, only this time you aren’t holding a knife to my throat.”

He gasped in mock shock, “How dare you bring that up? I needed help against an admirable foe and you told me to handle it myself. I was very hurt.” His chin lowered, accentuating the pout on his lips as he looked at me through his white lashes.

“It was a boar! Not an Illithid. You flat out lied to me.”

“Yes but that is beside the point. I needed help and you didn’t give it to me. I thought you were a kind soul.”

“I am a kind soul. I was just preoccupied with a whole worm in my skull.” I reasoned, refusing to look at him. I can’t lie, I may have come off a little rude when we first met. Sometimes even Shadowheart teases me for it since she just stood by and watched. My hair was pushed behind my shoulder, revealing the skin exposed from the new nightgown I had on. It was simply, just white satin that stopped mid thigh, the straps thin like most of my nightwear.

Soft lips pressed against my bare shoulder and my heart swelled. It was things like this that I missed most of all, the little things he would do to me. How he would reach over towards whenever I was near, the random kisses pressed softly against my skin like a butterflies touch, catching my gaze from across the room only to smile at me, to just be near me.

His lips were then pressed against my cheek before breaking away and going to his side of the bed. The sheets rustled under his movement as he peeled back the bedding and slipped under it. I moved to get under the sheets as well but froze as I turned. It somehow slipped my mind about his sleeping habits and how he used to sleep in only nightwear pants that hung low on his hips. His back was turned towards me as he reached over to place his shirt on a nightstand beside the table.

Silently getting other the covers and laying down, I couldn't help but reach over and have my fingertips graze over the abused flesh. He flinched like I hurt him and I flinched back in return.

“I’m sorry.” I blurted out, keeping my hands close to my chest.

He looked over his shoulder at me, ruby eyes dimly lit against the warm light. His features seemed warmer as well, he almost seemed to be kissed by the sun and not the pale vampire people are used to. I looked away from him, ashamed by my actions as I focused on watching the ceiling. My gaze snapped back to him as his fingers brushed against my cheekbone. He was now on his back, propped up by his forearms,

“It’s okay. You can touch it.”

That was all he said before he turned and exposed his back to me once more. I stared at his back wide eyed, not believing what was happening. Even in my true life, I had never dared to touch his scars. They told a story that I believe he would rather hide and ignore cause they serve as a reminder. Only a few people know about the scars and even then, they never bring it up so I didn’t either.

Shifting closer to him, I was meer inches away from his back as the tips of my fingers gently traced the part of a ritual carved onto his delicate skin. Mysterious word that I could not read regardless of knowing the purpose it served. A few minutes of silence passed as I traced his past with such a gentle touch. I was afraid that touching too hard would break him even when his tormentor was gone, he never really left. He lurked in the shadows of the halls, taunting Astarion. There were a handful of times I could remember Astarion breaking out into a cold sweat from seeing a figure in the corner of his eye, a scent that was too familiar, a phrase being said came from the mouth of a ghost. During those times, Astarion would lock himself away from the world and it was only once that I was able to enter the room and what I had found broke me into a million pieces.

I squeezed my eyes shut, willing the memory to fade away into the recesses of my mind. I sighed through my nose, pressing my forehead to his back as my hand draped around his waist. In an instant, his hand laid atop mine, squeezing it. Perhaps he was imagining a life without the freedom he has obtained, a life where he was never captured by the absolute, a life where he never pressed a knife to my throat, a life where none of this ever happened. Perhaps he imagined all that and squeezed my hand to remember that this was all real.

Perhaps I should’ve said something to him but I didn’t. Not as sleep dug its claws into my skin and pulled me under.

Word Count: 3966

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galedekarios · 2 years ago

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idk if u posted anything about this before but im really curious what you think about an elf tav with gale.

specifically, what ive been rotation in my mind is what romanced gale says if you use speak with dead on him: that he'll be waiting for you.

but what about an elf tav who still has centuries left to live, who expresses their worry that long after gale's death, whenever that may be, they might find someone to love just as much as they love gale now? would he still wait for them? would it instead motivate him even more to ascend to godhood? would he search for a different method to become immortal/ extend his life span in his good ending so they could grow old together? or would he tell tav that they deserve to live life to the fullest and find love again? and if so would he actually mean it?

i can't really tell what would be more in character for him towards the end of the game so here i am asking you, dear gale expert :)))

thank you for your message, anon. <3

i haven't talked about it on my blog yet, no, but i have thought a lot about it since my main oc altonaufein is a drow, who could live to be several centuries old.

i think what's important to keep in mind with gale is that while he may be human - humans, who of course have a general life expectancy that's considerably less than a drow's might be - he is also a wizard and a powerful one at that. he was an archwizard.

not only are there several spells that extend life in the dnd universe (clone, for instance), but there also endings in which gale regains mystra's favour by returning the crown, either as her chosen, or as someone who carries her blessing.

that status too is something that would extend his lifespan to far longer than what a normal human's lifespan is.

i think we have a good example of that in the game itself with elminster, also a human, who the game tells us is 1300 years old at the time we meet him in the game.

so i'm happy to say that lifespan angst is something that doesn't necessarily need to be an issue with gale and a drow or elf protag, and i think it's likely something that gale would do.

(sort of related: in a conversation with elminster (act ii when he delivers mystra's instructions), there's a devnote saying that gale doesn't expect to grow quite as old as elminster, and the only reason for that is the dangerous life he leads right now. so i do think if the danger had passed, it might be a different topic.)

however, if you are asking me on the principle of the thing if gale would mean it if he said that it's alright for the protag to move on if there was an extreme lifespan disparity with no way to overcome it, my answer would always be yes.

gale never once holds it against the protag in any shape, way or form if they have turned him down respectfully and found a new love, even within the timespan of the events of the game. that is even further reiterated by the devnotes to these specific lines you get from him in this case, which are variations of "sincere/heartfelt/happy for you/etc."

the same wish is reflected in the variations of his epilogues in which he dies. gale's spectre, his letters, all tell the protag one thing: that he wants them to be happy.

also while gale is romantic, he's also pragmatic. if there truly was no way to overcome this, he wouldn't want the protag to grieve for him for centuries/never move on.

so yes. he would mean it.

but like i said, thankfully, the lifespan issue isn't really an issue in this case.

#gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #gale x tav #tav x gale #otp: a soul that steels my own #ch: gale dekarios #ch: altonaufein #vg: baldur's gate 3 #series: baldur's gate #text: asks #meta: mybg3

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quinloki · 5 months ago

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I'd love to hear more about The Dragon's Clause if you'd like to share - especially around the world building (if you wish).

🤩

OKAY, SO

you know what? No, I'm not going to put it under a cut.

I made a map!

(I drew the basic idea and then @mamaalpha made it absolutely stunningly beautiful and now I have an AWESOME MAP \o/ )

In the Dragon's Clause there are five six continents. Each continent has an Empire, kingdoms, and Wilds.

Each Empire is headed by one of the Elders from One Piece (Nusjiro in this case). The Empire offers protections to the Kingdoms that pay homage (celestial tribute) back to the Empire. This "protection" makes the other kingdoms play nice - you can't just go declaring war on a kingdom protected by the Empire, even if you are also protected by them.

The Wilds are areas of land (northern and southern borders on this continent, but it's different on each one) that are untamed/overrun areas full of magical beasts and monsters and outlaws, etc. Border kingdoms have elite guards who protect their borders and harvest the goods from the monster they slay. Alongside agriculture, metals, gems, and other trade goods, these hides, hearts, bones, etc. add to a kingdom's wealth and economic capacity.

For Example: Lulusia is a relatively small kingdom, but the lands are rich in minerals and their northern border is one of the most lucrative.

Tidbits about each Kingdom because I can:

Lulusia: The reader's kingdom of origin. Her father was the king's younger brother. He was an exceptional border guard until he passed away. The reader - a princess by the thinnest of lines - is sent off to the Goa kingdom to be married to their crown prince in place of her cousin (the king's actual daughter).

Goa: Crown Prince Sterry... >.> Sabo is the Grand Duke here.

Dawn: Ace is effectively the ruler. He's adopted (by Garp the current king), but Luffy refused to be crown prince so hard, him and Garp nearly leveled the castle fighting over it.) Having the largest northern border, Dawn is renown for its border guard. Their economy is almost entire monster trade.

Germa: Just wrapped up civil war. Sanji came out on top. \o/ The central Academy for all surrounding kingdoms exists here. Sabo, Luffy, Ace, Sanji and Vivi went to school together. Marco's the headmaster, currently.

Alabasta: Recently became a Queendom as Vivi ascended the throne.

The Queendom Kingdom: Darling you know who runs this island and you can be sure he doesn't pay tribute. But The King Queen Bon-chan does have a lot of really good treaties in place with Dawn and Alabasta.

Wano: Doesn't pay tribute. Not much is known. Rumors of internal strife.

FINALLY - how devil fruits ✨magic✨ works:

Weapon auras are a thing (Armament Haki, effectively)

Observation Haki is a thing but most people consider it like magical awareness, because the concept of haki isn't really understood that way.

Basic magic is “fairly” common, in that most soldiers can light campfires with it, don and doff armor, and protect themselves against some elements (making time in the desert easier, for example.) Some commoners will have solid enough control of it to make living a little easier, but basic magic does little more than cantrip levels worth of magic.

It makes life easier, but you can't really fight/defend with it.

Advanced magic is more destructive/useful - traveling magic, fireball, etc. This is considerably more rare and requires lots of education and practice. Natural talent doesn’t hurt either.

Commoners won't know this level of magic with a few exceptions. Most get conscripted into service if found out.

Advance magic leaves markers that can be detected by other magic users. These traces of "magic was used here" fade over time, but can linger up to weeks if you're not careful.

Specialized magic is person to person, and is either something you see in Grand Mages and Top Tier Knights or the most dangerous of magical beasts. Often times it might not even seem like magic, but the use is tailored to the person who has it so completely, that specializations are rarely duplicated.

Notable exception: Ace and Sabo are both considered to be fire specialists

Luffy has his rubber body and all it's uses - no one is really sure what to call his specialization.

Effectively devil fruit abilities have been translated as Specialized Magic in this AU.

Ask about WIPs game

#quin answers #ask game #wip game #hannahbarberra162

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hoboblaidd · 4 months ago

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follow up question playing on Pluto’s. There is a study in veterinary medicine that is called the multiples eyes hypothesis, that a group of, ie a rebellion, animals having a higher populace and more eyes on their situation as a whole are less vigilant as a species, to the extent of our multiple eyes hypothesis, do you think solas added additional sense ( perhaps magic with his mage form and eye with rat dog ) are a hold over of old magic that allows him safety or vigilance? Could the additional eyes been an addition with growth of magic? We have also seen that he’s a foil of many things, are these eyes an allegory of the many life’s and lies he’s seen and told? Is ratdog blind in that one eye? Or is it just hazy, the world must know.

“When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.”

Solas is the Dread Wolf, but he’s a poor example of what a wolf should be. A wolf's strength is the pack, and Solas is determined to be a lone wolf. A wolf should be a predator, but the way Solas acts is prey. Varric has an ambient line in Veilguard that sums up Solas' doomed perspective perfectly:

Our enemies are gods, Rook. Nobody fights those alone. That's why Solas lost, and why you'll win. He always thought his attachments were a tragic flaw he had to overcome. But they're a strength.

Solas’ enemies have always been gods. He’s convinced himself that he alone is the person who can both defeat them and “fix” the world that he broke. Yes, he’s had a “pack” throughout the years - the rebellion, the Inquisition, his agents - but he keeps them at a distance, or uses and discards them. He does everything he can to avoid attachments. And he’s destined to fail because of that.

Why does he so fervently try to avoid attachments? Because he's afraid, and because he doesn't want to get hurt.

Onto the multiple eyes hypothesis because I’m living in it right now, for a lone wolf to survive, it makes perfect sense for Solas, the eternal tinkerer, to find a way to twist a positive group behavior into something he can do solo. He doesn’t fully succeed because he can’t do this alone, but he tries anyway.

I love the idea that he shaped this form - his most powerful, tanky form - to be more perceptive of threats and to see a knife coming (unless said knife is wielded by you, Elisa). It's protection and it's driven by learned fear. He would've spent so long shaping ratdog into a heightened defense mechanism. He'd weave together magic, ingenuity, and maybe the help of spirits to turn this form into both weapon and shield. With that, comes the eyes. He needs to see more, he needs to watch every angle. He wants to be self-reliant, and thus he needs to be constantly vigilant.

Ratdog has six eyes. There were eight Evanuris. One was Mythal, so he would not watch for her. And Ghilan'nain ascended after Fen'harel became a rebel general. Idk it's just interesting to think maybe the eyes were also symbolic of his fight against each of them.

But like the hypothesis, that constant vigilance of a lone animal without a group to offset it takes away his ability to devote equal time to "gathering resources." I.e., equal time to live and flourish. He's essentially trapped himself in survival mode. There's no time to rest and recuperate, because he's made it so that he has no one to watch his back.

They are a symbol of the life and lies he's seen and told, because everyone he's hurt, and everyone he thinks he's failed, is because Solas went it alone.

Finally for ratdog, I WANT THE RATDOG EYE GONE. Solas was so thoroughly damaged in that fight with Lusacan. Nothing he’s ever fought before was that bad, and as always, he went in alone. And what happened? He was outmatched. He could only break free of the blight and kill the dragon with the help of Bellara/Neve. His scars have to linger, because they're the visual proof of his failure.

#see: Xinxin Wang et al. 'The group size effect and synchronization of vigilance in the Tibetan wild ass.' 67 Current Zoology 11-16 (2021).#i went down a rabbit hole so hopefully this is responsive #i have nat'l geographic wolf videos on in the background right now. have i ever mentioned how much i love wolves? bc it's a lot.#headcanons (some have wisdom for those willing to listen.)#Ratdog (the ragged wolf.)#extravagantliar (my decision. my sacrifice. and you don’t get to take that from me.)#wisdom #pride #wolf

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significant-narratives · 7 months ago

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is william nylander a leo rising or anything like that? I feel like he’s leo-adjacent

alas we do not have a birth time for willy (at least, not that i know of) so i can’t say for certain. i am however willing to walk with you on this path as a bit of a thought experiment! also this got really long, sorry i have chronic Can’t Shut The Fuck Up disease

now, a few disclaimers before we get started:

1) i generally don’t love trying to guess rising signs — this isn’t a judgement on anyone who does, i just find it particularly difficult to do lol. so take everything i say here with a grain of salt

2) i subscribe to the belief that a rising does influence/color the rest of an individual’s chart, so keep that in mind as we delve into this.

3) i am by no means an expert when it comes to astrology and don’t claim to be, and i do pull from various sources when needed to supplement my own knowledge. i am here to have a good time and that’s all! if you have any questions about the sources i use feel free to ask.

okay with that out of the way. willy as a leo rising is interesting! if we look at what such a placement would entail we can see a lot of ‘willy-like’ traits: there’s the courage, confidence and protectiveness associated with any leo placement. high charisma, extroversion, directness. as an ascendant the ‘fixed energy’ of leo tends to manifest in a need to achieve success and stability, and then maintain it. body awareness is another one — understanding how you look and move through space (usually linked to a strong sense of personal style).

(more of a side note, but in terms of physical characteristics, leo risings are often described as tall and broad shouldered, with expressive eyes and strong bone structure. i don’t place as much weight on this aspect of a rising sign, but it’s interesting!)

so, from all this, you could make a strong case for willy being a leo rising! however there’s one crucial thing that isn’t clicking for me: an individual’s rising sign tends to be linked with a public mask / a lens through which they see reality. and i don’t think the way willy presents himself to the public, or what glimpses we’ve seen of his worldview, is quite aligned with leo rising energy specifically.

his white knuckle grip on his ‘i am Chill and Calm and Going With The Flow’ attitude is a little out of line with how leo energy tends to manifest (imo). like one thing about a leo — what you see tends to be what you get and they’re not ashamed to show you that. they’re not (in my experience) all too concerned with persona-building or shielding themselves from being seen. they’re picky about who they give their time and energy to, sure, but like. that’s not quite the same thing. you feel me?

so if he did have a leo rising… i feel like in theory we wouldn’t see a lot of willy’s tendency to keep things very close to his chest and generally not Feel Things In Public. like, think about it. how much do we actually know about william nylander. and how much of what we know came from him. half of the off season content we get that features him comes from alex’s gf’s insta! he’s out here posting pictures of lizards and aesthetic topless photos. it took him eight years and finally securing his place in toronto for the foreseeable future for him to be willing to get even a Little vulnerable with the press and admit just how important toronto is to him, how strongly he’s put down roots here. again you could argue this protective quality is a point in favour of a leo rising placement… but he is also a taurus sun… also is this a good time to say i don’t feel like i’m picking up on that ‘leo rising energy’ trickling down into the rest of his chart? i feel like with a leo rising you’d see a very different manifestation of his gemini venus or libra moon, for example, but that’s just speculation on my part.

it’s also possible the general ‘leo adjacent’ energy you’ve mentioned picking up from him is that gemini venus / aries mars combo of his (i will hold my tongue and not say the word that i’m thinking in my head rn).

tl;dr my verdict on willy having a leo rising: it’s possible but not my favourite choice for him personally! to me i’ve always felt like he gave off water rising energy… (op are you saying this because you are a taurus sun scorpio rising you ask. to which i will say: no comment <3)

#oh my god this got so long i’m so sorry 😭 anon if you have any additional thoughts or insights i would love to hear them!#this is my first time doing this kind of ‘in depth’ reading so forgive me for any rookie mistakes i may have made!#also i feel the need to repeat: i am not an expert i am simply a bitch who knows how to read The Vibes #okay MWAH shutting up now. thank you again for this question anon #william nylander #star stuff #m speaks

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