#modern day Astarion

[astarion-approves]

The Waiter

'There stood the most gorgeous man Tav had ever seen in their life. Tall with pale skin, ruby red eyes, and hair as white as snow. There was a certain air about him, it felt like being charmed into bed without so much as speaking a single word in return.'

The reader falls in love with their waiter in the Czech Republic.

Modern day 'reader' x Astarion. 1.7k words

Slightly NSFT (no actual sex or descriptive sex), excessive second hand embarrassment, reader is a moron, some Czech, third person.

Thank you to @chenziee for your help on this. I only speak English and she was an absolute saint to translate some dialogue for me.

Keep reading for the full story.

The Czech Republic was seemingly a little peaceful country compared to America, but the food was… interesting to say the least. Time after time, Tav found themselves in search of something familiar to have during their vacation. They ended up spending more time having fruit, cheese, and wine than anything else.

Finally, their friend, Eliška, put her foot down, dragging Tav to a traditional restaurant and insisting they try the food that her country has to offer.

“I warned you before you came to visit,” the friend said with a soft laugh as they were both seated at a small circular table. “I knew you wouldn’t like our food.”

Tav crossed their arms over their chest in defense. “It’s not my fault all your food looks so…” They gestured to a plate being carried out from the kitchen, something that looked like raw dough covered in a brown gravy with some form of meat and cabbage next to it. “Whatever the hell that is.”

“Vepřo knedlo zelo,” Eliška spoke quickly, the foreign language beautiful but words Tav didn’t understand. “It’s roast pork, dumplings, and sauerkraut.”

Tav shrugged. “That doesn’t sound bad. I guess I could get that.”

“Nope,” Eliška shook her head and opened the menu that was sitting on the table. “I’ll be picking for you.”

“Oh shit,” Tav grabbed their own menu, hoping to see what monstrosity their friend might order for them.

But of course it was all in Czech.

“Anything but blood sausage, please.”

Eliška snorted but continued flipping through the menu, a menu with no pictures of course.

While she browsed you stared at what you assumed was the wine menu, ‘Víno’ was one of the only words Tav managed to learn thus far and being drunk on vacation was their plan for most of the trip anyway.

“Dobrý den. Máte vybráno?”

Tav looked up from their menu, their eyes meeting with the waiter, and they felt as if they’d been kicked in the chest.

There stood the most gorgeous man Tav had ever seen in their life. Tall with pale skin, ruby red eyes, and hair as white as snow. There was a certain air about him, it felt like being charmed into bed without so much as speaking a single word in return.

Tav leaned forward in their chair, trying to figure out if those red eyes were just a pair of contact lenses. He tilted his head and raised a single brow at them.

Fuck—that was adorable.

Tav looked to their friend, who was still studying the menu. They mumbled something to the waiter, which Tav assumed was ‘just a second.’ The waiter nodded and turned to leave—

“Is he on the menu?” Tav blurted out before the waiter was outside of ear shot. “Because I want a bite of that."

“Jesus Christ, Tav.” Eliška swung the menu across the table, successfully hitting Tav on the side of their head. “Don’t just say shit like that!”

“It’s not like he speaks English anyway!” Tav defended. They’ve only been in the Czech Republic for a few days but besides their friend and other tourists they haven’t come across many non-native English speakers that could understand Tav’s version of English. Plus, only much younger people seemed to be learning English, while their waiter looked to be in his early 40s. “Anyone who speaks English here can’t understand me, we’re fine. I speak too quickly, remember?”

Eliška glared at Tav. “You only say that because I do all the talking. Please just.. try to hold your tongue. You could offend him.”

Tav held their hands up. “No promises.”

Soon the waiter returned, carrying two glasses, one in each hand. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up, exposing his strong forearms riddled with thick veins. Tav sat back in their chair and just watched as the man put a glass down in front of them. How could forearms be that sexy?

“We need a new waiter, I’m going to melt just by looking at this man.”

“Tav,” Eliška hissed. “Shut the fuck up.”

He looked between the two of you in confusion before speaking, “Vybrali jste?”

“Dvakrát tlačenku s chlebem, džbán s vodou a sedmičku rulandy červené, prosím,” Eliška replied quickly, refusing to look at Tav while they spoke.

The waiter nodded, scribbling into a notepad with what Tav assumed was Eliška’s order.

“Did you get wine? If not put him in a tall glass for me—“

Eliška kicked Tav under the table, making them gasp in pain. Those heels were vicious.

“Ask him what his name is, I want to know what name I’m going to be dreaming of tonight.”

“Tav—“

“Oh my god we should ask him to take a picture with us to celebrate my first traditional meal—“

“Tav, stop—“

“Oh yes, kind sir, in my country waiters do take their shirts off for photos, it’s perfectly normal—“

“Tav, so help me god—“

“What’s ‘please fuck me’ in Czech?”

“‘Fuck’ is pretty fucking universal word, you idiot.”

“Just ask him his name, please?” Tav put their hands together, begging their friend for this one favor. This one obnoxious, ridiculous favor.

Eliška sighed and turned to the waiter, who still stood there looking confused but seemingly entertained at their interaction. “Já se moc omlouvám, mojeho kamaráda by hrozně zajímalo... Jak se jmenujete?”

The waiter chuckled, putting his notepad away and turning to Tav. He crouched down, putting himself at eye level with Tav. “Astarion,” he spoke slowly, softly, his voice deep and calm. Those red eyes stared back at Tav with ease, glimmering with amusement.

“Oh,” Tav breathed out. “Fuck, even his name is gorgeous… Astarion.”

Astarion smiled and stood back up, then Eliška thanked him and finally let him leave the table, the waiter pausing to look back at their table once before going into the kitchen.

“Astarion,” Tav repeated the name, enjoying the way it felt on their tongue. “Astarion—“

“Mhm, and not a common name in Czech at all, Tav.”

“Sounds Czech to me.”

“It’s not—“

“Oh he’s coming back!” Tav was grinning at his return, excited to see him again so soon, and carrying a bottle of red wine.”

Astarion opened the bottle with ease, pouring some into a glass and handing it to Eliška to be tested. She lightly twirled the glass before taking a small sip. But Tav wasn’t even paying attention to what she thought of the wine. They were more interested in watching Astarion as they worked.

“He opened the bottle so easily, Eliška. It's official. I'm in love.”

Eliška hummed and took another sip of the wine. “It’s literally his job to open bottles all day, Tav.”

“Bet he’s skilled with those long fingers then.”

Eliška ignored Tav and put her glass down. She spoke to Astarion, who filled the glasses and placed the bottle down between them.

Soon Astarion was leaving again, only to return shortly and carrying two plates to their table. Tav smiled as the meal was placed in front of them—

But the smile dropped into a frown when they looked from Astarion’s handsome face to the plate he just set down.

“What in the fuck did you order us?”

Eliška snorted into her wine, breaking into a laugh as she watched Tav stare at their meal in shock. “It’s domácí tlačenka.”

“Eliška, this looks like if you took bologna and made it evil.” Tav poked at the meat with a fork, unsure of how to proceed.

“Try it,” Eliška replied. “You’ll like it.”

“Astarion,” Tav looked away from their plate and to the now grinning waiter, at least he was being entertained by the silly picky American. “My future husband, can you believe she’s trying to make me eat this?”

“No.”

“See!” Tav pushed their plate away, refusing to try the dish. “Even this handsome god of a man doesn’t like it.”

“Uhhhh… Tav—“ Eliška tried to speak before being cut off by them.

“You can eat this weird ass dish, meanwhile I’m going to drag Astarion to the nearest hotel and let him be my meal instead,” Tav said and laughed at their own joke.

Eliška just stared at Tav in horror. “Tav… you need to stop speaking now.”

“Stop worrying,” Tav said and rolled their eyes. “He doesn’t understand me. Right, Astarion?”

“Right.”

“Just like I said, Eli��ka. He doesn’t speak a single word of English.”

“Not a single word,” Astarion said with a nod.

“Tav, please... take a second and think—“ Eliška grimaced as Tav cut her off once again. This time the woman keeping her mouth shut.

“I could go on for hours with everything playing through my mind right now with this man—“

“Oh my, please do tell.“

Tav laughed and turned their focus onto the waiter, who simply smiled back at them. “I’m here for two more weeks on vacation but I don’t want to see the sun again. I want you in my hotel room, fucking me until I can’t walk, fucking me until I forget my own name, fucking me until I lose sense of time and the Czech government comes to find me because I’ve been reported missing—“

“That is an awful lot of sex, not that I’m opposed to it—“

“I’m going to drag you back home with me, just so I can wake up every morning and see the most handsome creature in the world lying next to me every day of the rest for my life.”

“How romantic.”

“Then I’ll marry you and we’ll be together forever.”

“Fine. But only if we continue living here. American healthcare is a joke.”

Tav laughed and turned back to Eliška, smirking at them in a ‘I told you so’ kind of way.

“See? He doesn’t speak any English.”

“Tav… You are an absolute fucking moron.”

“What—“

Astarion hummed, drawing Tav’s attention back to himself.. “I can’t miss work, but I do get off in two hours. Let’s try a date first, before we get married. Alright?”

Astarion turned and left, the waiter laughing to himself as he disappeared into the kitchen once more.

“Wait…” Tav looked from the kitchen and to Eliška. “Did he just speak English?”

Eliška just shook her head in disbelief.

[ladyofthecreeddraws]

Fanart from @aevallare's (whomst I ADORE TERRIBLY~*) fic "Pour One Out", a modern day "Kindred" AU, 2 fics that you should go and read right now immediately!

Bonus pose that I gave up on (cuz the legs just wouldn't. fuckin'. cooperate!!!) under the cut.

[demiesop]

This just makes me think of Patapon. If he had access to that game I feel like he'd play for hours into the night. 😂

Hello!! Thank you for the ask!!!

OOHHH I miss this game!!! Never got to own it myself, but I played when a friend lent me their PSP 😂 ⚔🛡

As for Sorn...

I think you're absolutely correct bahahaha

[bardnuts]

going as long as possible with Astarion as your only party member (and playing dark urge) is probably one of the funniest early-game experiences there is

Imagine: random chance frees you from 200 years of slavery and you team up with this random, extremely bad vibes stranger for "protection," except each of you is completely convinced the other might kill you in your sleep (one of you has horrifyingly worrying intrusive thoughts and the other has already pulled a knife at least once). You dont have 20 strength between you. You can barely protect each other but at least this random freak is SOMEONE and you need SOMEONE or Cazador will find you and grab you. So you attach yourself at the hip and try to ignore the way this strange amnesiac mutters "blood" to himself when he thinks you're not listening

and OK, you think, the other guy hasn't killed me yet and he definitely has had ample opportunity, but you're SO THIRSTY and neither of you have slept through the night yet because you're too busy keeping watch on one another, so maybe he's finally tired enough that you can just take a little bite while he's--oh shit

I spent three days like this. It was a delightful little interlude and everyone should try it

[justporo]

Here's a quick and fun thought experiment: how would you picture Astarion if he was a modern day character?

And I have thoughts about that, but I also wanna hear your ideas!

Very random modern day Astarion headcanons

He'd live in a big city - ofc, he's a city boy, so maybe LA, New York? I think London would be a great fit!

He'd love fashion, I can see him wear anything from wearing a three-piece suit to a low cut shirt and leather pants with boots when he's awfully casual (a modern day take of his camp outfit)

Also: he'd always wear the coolest sunglasses

He'd work a big corporate job - in which no one knows why he made a C-level position and is mostly just lounging in his huge office (very much "Mad Men" vibes - but surprisingly he gets the company a lot of clients??

Oh he would definitely have a skincare routine

And a soft spot for musicals

He'd drive a needlessly expensive and flamboyant car (like a sports car, I'm thinking) and blast loud music while leaving office parking (like Speed Drive by Charlie XCX) (also imagine getting picked up like this?)

Goes to Starbucks everyday, insists he only drinks black coffee, but secretly gets their super sugary cute drinks

Huge loft apartment with tall windows to let in lots of light

Does have an Instagram account on which he only posts thirsttraps

So, these are some very random ideas my idea has accumulated over the last few weeks. Do you have more and other ideas?

[eff-plays]

STOP putting Astarion in DOG COLLARS.

START putting Astarion in CAT EAR HEADBANDS.

[cinisekha]

genuinely unwell about them.

my tav Sarai Shadowgrace, (first and only daughter to Illaria Del'Armgo), a wealthy heiress to a business empire. Astarion is a down and out lawyer who owes a lot of money to his firm, Szarr & Co.

[inkwellraven]

When playing too much Baldur's Gate 3 ruins how you think when you drive by a restaurant. Enjoy my cursed image.

[littlemourningstarr]

Modern day Astarion utterly drowning in Squishmallows because they're soft and he just adores soft things.

Any partner is sleeping on the floor there simply isn't room in the bed.

[lalaboy]

did a little screenshot redraw

[nknovakwrites]

BG3 Beach Episode

A little Beach Day AU inspired by this post by @lazylittledragon and the fact that where I am living is having a heatwave. This AU takes place in modern times; the crew don't have the parasites but Astarion still has protection from the sun thanks to the sunwalker ring from Hope.

Hope started by making sure she and her boyfriend were lathered up in sunscreen. The sun may not turn him to ash but it would burn his very fair skin easily.

“There,” Hope said as she stood, “now you can go into the water.”

“I think not, darling,” Astarion replied as he stayed sitting on the towel, the beach umbrella casting a shadow on him.

“Don’t you want to go into the water?” Hope asked, lowering herself again. 

“No. I want to sit here under this umbrella. I don’t need the sand getting all over me or the water washing away my protection from the sun.”

“Then why’d you let me put all of this sunblock on you?”

“Well, I’m never going to stay no to your hands all over me,” he flashed his signature fang revealing, seductive grin.

“I should’ve seen that answer coming,” Hope stood. “I’m going into the water. Feel free to join me anytime.”

“I will keep refusing until the end of time,” Astarion called as Hope walked towards the water.

Meanwhile, Karlach was trying to coax Shadowheart into the water as well.

“I can’t swim!” Shadowheart exclaimed, pulling her wrist from Karlach's grasp.

“I can teach you,” Karlach replied.

“I don’t need to learn how to swim either!”

“Come on, don’t the others look like they are having fun?"

“Gale’s not in the water, neither is Wyll.”

Karlach looked over and saw Gale was sitting on his blanket, reading a book and Wyll had joined some people who were playing beach volleyball, at least one of the boys can jump.

“What about Scratch, Hope, and Lae’zel?”

“She’s just. . . standing there.”

Hope was playing fetch with Scratch in the shallow water where the waves wouldn't rise above her shin for Scratch's safety (although he could swim in an emergency.) 

Lae’zel, however, was just standing in knee-deep waves.

Hope walked over to her, annoying Scratch who wanted her to throw his ball.

“Hey, Lae’zel, are you having fun?” Hope asked.

“No.”

“What are you doing?”

“Watching for threats.”

It was a ‘more questions than answers’ answer.

“What kinds of threats?”

“Sharks,” Lae'zel with conviction.

Hope was surprised Lae’zel knew of sharks, being from the astral plane every time Lae’zel met an animal on Faerûn it was an adventure. 

“There are no sharks on the beach. We’re fine.”

“That’s what they said in the documentary I watched.”

“What documentary was that?” Hope asked.

“Jaws.”

“That’s not a documentary.”

“No? But it was based on a true story?”

“Who told you that?” Hope asked, although she already knew the answer. She glanced back at her boyfriend, who was watching her through sunglasses. He smiled and waved as Lae’zel said his name.

“He lied.”

“He lied about danger?”

“He did.”

“Tsk’va!”

“I know. He is a big tsk’va but now you can play fetch with Scratch and I!”

“You mean that game where you throw the ball and the dog runs back and forth.”

“How tedious,” Lae’zel said and it seemed for a minute like she was about to walk away.

Scratch, who was standing a few feet away, started to bark and jump from paw to paw in the water to remind the two women that he was there waiting for the ball to be thrown.

“I would like to partake.”

As Hope handed Lae’zel the ball, Scratch geared up to run!

They ended the day with some delicious hot dogs, courtesy of Shadowheart grilling them on Karlach’s on-fire back while she napped.

[the-good-luck-anomaly]

[rivilu]

They werent lying. Metallic thread embroidery really is Like That

[trevisos]

pussy confirmed

[umbralsong]

Addendum:

Player: Will you save the children of Ulma's tribe like you promised? Astarion: I'm not sure, I've been weighing my options. On the one hand, they're the key to my unlocking eternal power and freedom. On the other... Well. It's my fault they're here. Yes, it was Cazador's command, I had no choice. But... It seems now I do.

Devnotes say he says it with a sigh. He's resigned to taking whatever responsibility falls on his head.

Patch 7 gave Astarion a few more lines in his Act III quest, which means more racist fans are out telling people he is perfectly innocent by virtue of his enslavement. Imagine being related to genocide victims, or being someone currently suffering under genocide, and seeing the fandom of the Game of the Year gleefully declare that marginalized children should be murdered and condemned to the Hells for more power for a white man.

Let's hammer home the astounding lack of sensitivity in the writing surrounding genocide victims for the sake of the illusion of edginess:

More excellent tags by eyebagtree:

#the most bizarre choice about the game (given i don't play dnd so this may have been a bullshit “following the lore” thing)#was just how racist nearly every damn romanceable companion was#and how it's brushed off as a “haha funny casual banter” thing by not only the fandom but *the game itself*#i.e. shadowheart's constant racism towards lae'zel that a lot of the fandom turns into “tsundere lesbians” or whatever#(not to mention that there were entireties of marginalized races in there that were deemed as “having an inherently evil culture”)#(esp. the drow)#you have an entire world where there isn't queerphobia but pretty much everyone has to be wildly racist???#and the one black character having the least amount of story and personality and pretty much no backbone???#no matter how much i love the game or the characters within it it beyond pisses me off with how sloppily the racism is written in#as if it was tacked on as an afterthought and seen as a generic “conflict and tension” thing#plus the whole gnome slavery thing and how shittily that was handled#i mean jesus were there no sensitivity writers in the room whatsoever??#not to mention that while all of the other characters are given freedom from their abusers wyll has to deal with mizora just#staying in camp constantly??#AND larian thought it was a good idea “for the lols” for the player to have sex with said abuser??#just careless writing all around

1000% agreed. Racism isn't "conflict and tension," and it's disgusting to cheapen the history-altering effects to a character flaw. [Queerphobia is inherently linked to racism and settler colonialism], so that shit falls flat for me. If Larian wanted to write an Astarion in-line with what this shit really means:

The Psychology of Colonialism: Memmi splits the psychological conditions of the colonizer and the colonized into four parts. The colonizer who accepts, who I’ll call Christopher, the colonizer who refuses, who I’ll call John, the colonized who accepts, who I’ll call Candace, and the colonized who refuses, who I’ll call Nat. The Colonizer Who Accepts: Christopher When Christopher the colonizer accepts his The Colonizer Who Accepts role, he becomes a colonialist. But it means he has to accept the fact that his position of privilege is nonlegitimate. He usurped it by force. So the only way he can really enjoy his position would be to absolve himself of the guilt of the conditions under which it was attained. That’s why Christopher falsifies history, creates racist mythology, rewrites laws, and attempts to whitewash his legacy. That’s why he emphasizes his superiority while casting aspersions on the colonized. He has to do whatever it takes to justify his evils, to uplift himself to the skies while grinding those below him under ground. Deep down, Christopher knows all this is messed up, but he can’t admit that to himself, he has to keep degrading the colonized. And so, just as the colonial situation manufactures the colonized, Christopher the colonialist is also transformed. Now he cheers on torture, discrimination, and massacre. He becomes a reactionary, a conservative, and a fascist. But the condemnation that he carries in his heart can never truly be erased. It pisses him off that he relies on the colonized to maintain the colony, even though he came looking for profit and already has a homeland. But he has to direct his anger somewhere, so he becomes a racist. And not just any racism, a racism so fundamentally ingrained in his personality. His racism is built on three major components: 1) That there exists a major gulf between him and the colonized, 2) that he can exploit these differences to his benefit, and 3) that these differences are absolute and cannot be changed. Therefore, he’s able to remain separate from the community of the colonized by halting any social mobility and he’s able to continue to justify his superiority. Added bonus, he gets to feel good about himself while doing it. He becomes a “humanitarian”. Surely, the colonized needed him to bring the light of civilization. Look at them, so stupid and servile. All this is natural, and eternal, so he has nothing to worry about. If he enjoys a couple perks in his quest to civilize them, well surely it’s just justice. The colonized should be grateful. Christopher, “benevolent master of the natural order”. Don’t question it. Aimé Césaire was right to say that: “Colonization dehumanizes even the most civilized man. [It] inevitably tends to change him who undertakes it; that the colonizer, who in order to ease his conscience gets into the habit of seeing the other man as an animal, accustoms himself to treating him like an animal, and tends objectively to transform himself into an animal.”

This feels to me like when a certain white male writer wrote for Dragon Age (who wrote two Brown elves who were former sex slaves), and every game let you commit genocide against Jewish/Indigenous/Roma-coded people with little consequence, and the last one was named for a straight-up [Catholic church-approved genocide]. Someone has some deeply disturbing views, or is incredibly irresponsible.

Racism in Astarion's Writing

There is a fascist takeover happening in Europe. Again. With pogroms targeting racialized and marginalized groups. Being at all silent about how media affects our perception of reality would be irresponsible of me. I stand in solidarity with you all. I will polish this as I go along, but this is for anyone who wants to understand.

Block, report, and move on from the inevitable racist shitheads. We have work to do.

Donate to Gaza here: https://gazafunds.org/ Support good causes with a click here: https://arab.org/ Ceasefire Now: https://ceasefire-now.com/ Donate to the [Sidewalk School] [Pay your rent], settlers. [KOSA Resources]

There is a... let's be charitable for a moment and call it "knee-jerk" reaction to discussions of racism in fandom. To call it character assassination, exaggeration, slander - anything but to acknowledge the dehumanizing system of power that underlies every part of this imbalance. It's only scary if you don't understand it, and as part of another group under siege for half a millenia, I am intimately familiar with it.

There are Romani perspectives on Astarion's storyline I would encourage everyone to read before mine. I don't wish to link them in case this post gets targeted. Please lend them your kind support and sincere gratitude for their contributions.

I do not "forgive" a character for questionable biases. I wonder why the writers put it there. I question its purpose in the narrative and the effect it has on the story and audience.

Let's discuss the effect:

The racism in Astarion's storyline serves no purpose, but the effects are harmful.

I've played evil (poorly). But I also have a very fucked up sense of humor and understand the appeal of a well-written fucked up little dude. Take, for instance, this Warlock from a BG3 playthrough:

Absolutely vile, but a clearly theatrical/satirical look at a classist piece of shit, you know, that sort of character. Take it as a palate cleanser after reading, and then gather your strength.

This is not a post about liking flawed characters. Please take your strawman, dust behind you, and move along.

I often find the trouble with depicting racism is the inherent unfamiliarity with the subject in a majority-white writer's room and company. There is an idea of what it entails, but not its purpose, and not its day-to-day application.

There is a veritable treasure trove of knowledge out there that I've ended up having to take in small parts. It is not easy hearing about the ways people have hurt others, systemic and otherwise. I genuinely want us to learn from this and be better for one another.

So when I see depictions of people who are Indigenous and Romani and Sinti, I wonder... why? And why were these writers chosen for this character/storyline?

In Astarion's storyline, from what I can tell, he makes light of stealing the Gur children. I can tell this is meant to be a depiction of guilt and deflection. What sucks is the fact that he's ultimately a white man making light of the fact that's... historically what they do.

The point, I believe, of him "following Cazador's orders" is to invoke the Nuremberg Defense. The tragedy is that Astarion, by D&D logic, literally couldn't do anything but follow his command. It's implied because he's defensive as hell, but he feels exceedingly guilty regardless. For all we know, it's earned.

Is Racist Magistrate Astarion still canon? If so, his "grudge" against the Gur is motivated by racism. Is that something we are prepared to confront with more than a line? Was he just a (maybe recently?) privileged asshole exercising his newfound power? In that case, his use of systemic power over the Gur may be read as a parallel to his storyline. But then the Gur need autonomy as well.

There is something to be deconstructed here, but I would not know its intimacies from my perspective. Others would. They may restructure it altogether so that it makes sense for their experience.

Here is what I know, and it should not be on this group alone to point it out: The inappropriate misuse of these tropes has encouraged racism in the fandom at large.

Performing a script well is not the fault of the voice actor, nor is the twisted logic of fans the fault of the writers. I am pointing out that reckless inclusion of certain ideas can have very unfortunate implications:

So stealing their children, expressing little remorse, and then "sparing" them the pain of executing stolen marginalized children is a good ending? I'm adding some untagged comments here for emphasis:

I find it interesting the game recognizes the complexity of the situation regarding the spawn and doesn’t punish the players or Astarion whatever the choice as long as they aren’t doing it for selfish reasons. Some good, thoughtful writing there.

Wow, even as a dedicated Astarion romancer, I was beginning to feel like it was a little unfair how much more recognition Neil is getting over the rest of the cast, but now I’m reminded of why. I’ve finished the game 3 times and never even considered not sparing the spawn, because if he deserves a chance, why don’t they? But the conviction he has behind his words in this makes me think I’ve been making the wrong choice.

Person 1: I really dislike Ulma. She’s such a judgmental Monday morning quarterback. Person 2: same, no matter what you do she'll blame Astarion for things that were outside his control

Spawn Astarion sparing their children as spawn is better and in line with his story, but for some reason, that isn't acknowledged through commentary, dialogue, or mechanics... thus, again, unfortunate implications:

To the spawn Astarion, Greetings from the family of Ulma, hunters of monsters and keepers of peace across Faerun. We know this letter finds you well, for although we hunt you no longer, we do sometimes keep a watch. Your restraint and control over your bloodlust has been admirable. Indeed, it has been an inspiration for our children, who have struggled with their own hunger. These last months have been a difficult time for our people. We have protected and nurtured our children as best we can, and we have learned much. Herbs we once used to dull our foes' minds are now sedatives to ease hunger and pain, restraints built to hold the undead now protect them from themselves. There has been a lot of pain, but a lot of progress too. Our children learned discipline and control, while we learned compassion and patience. There was a time when we would have destroyed any undead creature, our own blood or not, and called it a mercy. But then we met you. Wer saw that redemption was possible. Difficult, yes. Painful. But possible. You saved our children first from Cazador, and then from us. For that, we thank you. We will watch you still, but with more admiration than fear. Walk in peace, Astarion.

And, according to these commenters, it's better to kill them because the marginalized Elder is never satisfied with the man who stole their children?

It sounds so casual, I think. Perhaps they don't know what stealing children from a community really means.

60s scoop/residential school/reeducation camps trigger warning:

(The Scream by Kent Monkman. Alt text in link.)

Look at this painting.

Take it in with me for a moment. It is a scene taken from many memories and one. Look at how these families fought to stay together. Look at how they fight priests, nuns, and state officials - ones who my friend assured me are very friendly - how they grasp at their children with such painful desperation on their faces. It is a way for one to bear witness to unfathomable love and heartbreak.

When genocide deniers play their games, this is what they want you to pretend never happened. Don't mind the tens of thousands of child graves, or the stolen land. Just pretend these people are criminals out to swindle you, or steal your wives.

Growing up, listening to survivor testimonies, and the sweet reverberance of the remnants of survivors of slavery, you appreciate what you have. You remember every kindness. You love what you lost, and what you gained through gritted teeth.

And, you remember the unfathomable pain. It's why you promise to stop it from ever happening again, to anyone.

It is very sad. A heart is a heavy burden. Embrace it. To love is to live again, and to live again means you understand Never Again. Because people deserve to be happy. And that's worth a fight. That's why it's worth depicting with care and love, even when the subject matter threatens to choke you.

Let's get into Cazador Szarr.

I've played the game and understand that he has a backstory and some depth. What disturbs me is that an Asian man has the bloodiest, most brutal scene in the game with a white man killing him.

I can't let this be undiscussed as sinophobia rises in a pandemic. I am no authority, but I'm not ignorant. These posts are found in discussions of racism in BG3 and I would, again, prefer not to put a target on their back. Instead, show them support.

In terms of diverse storytelling, casting, and roles, I would only ask that a historical and sensitive look be applied. Hire people from these communities to act, direct, and write for that role. Writing is never easy. There is a weight and responsibility to it, but it's worth it to touch as many souls as possible.

I respect this history. That is why it is not something I believe should be thrown in as flavor text. It's why history needs to be respected as a great backstory to everything we create. We need each other, and we need art we create together.

The debt is yet to be paid.

[aevallare]

They’re doomed in every way imaginable. There’s a vampire lord down one road and ceremorphosis down another.

Astarion's fangs pierce her skin. Auri never asks him to stop. She lets him take for as long as he likes.

a playlist for auri and astarion as featured in kindred, depicted here by the ever-gracious @ladyofthecreeddraws.

SELECTED TRACKS:

modern day cain - IDKHOW | say it right - nelly furtado | make a move - icon for hire | 27 - fall out boy | teeth - five seconds of summer | silver springs - fleetwood mac | curses - the crane wives | look at the sky - porter robinson | GODS - newjeans | it's not a fashion statement, it's a fucking deathwish - my chemical romance | vertigo - griff | give me my halo - YONAKA | lightbringer - 2WEI | darling - halsey