#reasons why Sebastian is the fav companion....

[sapphira-mydnyte]

Sebastian: Anybody disrespects you or tries to hurt you, I'm kicking their ass.

Mydnyte: That's why you're my boyfriend.

Sebastian: Damn right it is!

(Yes, that's my screenshot, but it's from last year.)

[bhaalble]

just want to say yr astarion meta is goated! the head writer being explicit abt it being a narrative decision from above re: good end/evil end for companions explains a lil abt why the conclusion feels two-dimensional and limited. but the fetishisation interp feels so lacking. esp given what could be his place in the meta narrative of the game - the poor little meow meow effect!! fandom fav whose behaviour is boiled down to a good/bad end rather than the journey. which is a lil disconcerting when he is arguably one of the most opportunistically fantasy racist of the partyz disclaimer: i’ve enjoyed astarion and wanted to enjoy him more, but some of discussions around him. BONKERS. cheers for putting yr thoughts out there

Thank youuu I’m glad its resonating. I really was genuinely so baffled when the fetishization read hit because. Beyond just being an incredibly simplistic read of his character and the various poor coping mechanisms he has I also felt it was completely disconnected from the actual experience of playing the game. The idea that you’re doing this only to sate some horny vampire dom fantasy is honestly, slightly batshit (no pun intended) unless you presume the reader is going in already knowing what the endings will be and the specific relationship dynamics that will inspire. The average player going in completely blind doesn’t have a lot of reason to assume “this will probably make him my sexy vampire master”. Particularly when you can ascend him without romancing him! Which in fairness to the writer: is why we don’t go off discord screenshots for literary analysis most of the time.

Genuinely I don’t have an issue with the Ascended ending being considered the “bad” ending! It’s not a good person choice to make. You’re killing 7000+ people. Even beyond that logistic concern it's very clear from the entire journey there how much Astarion’s own fear and trauma are weighing on him making this decision. You can see it most clearly when you find Sebastian. He’s suppressing a lot of horror and a lot of his empathy to focus entirely on getting back at Cazador in the most intimate way he knows how. Even if I think there’s more good that comes with it than people give it credit for its not a problem for me that this ending is canonically “the bad one” and also that most people would prefer to avoid it. Not everyone is going to be in for the toxic yaoi bullshit I have a bottomless appetite for.

My problem primarily is. Ok so I don’t particularly subscribe to the “power fantasy” view of gaming. I think its far, far more useful to understand rpg gaming as an exercise in collaborative storytelling. Players may go for outcomes they would want irl, but they are just as likely to go for what sounds interesting or makes them feel good or sound fun to play. But pretending for a moment that I do believe that worldview: Literally every choice you make in a game can be argued to sate some kind of fantasy. GOOD ending Astarion, at least from how a lot of people who are really attached to it talk about it, seems to definitely appeal to a lot of player fantasies about Fixing Someone, about taking a partner who’s devastatingly attractive and making yourself invaluable to them by virtue of being their emotional support. And there’s nothing wrong with that fantasy! There’s a reason it has its appeal. But my question then becomes: why is only one group of players being put under scrutiny then? Why do players who prefer to explore a version of Astarion who is firmly attached to his ideas of power and security have to reflect on how they view him, but players who fixate on making him a better version of himself “just doing what’s best for him”? The kind of relationship Ascended Astarion has to the player would be deeply unhealthy in real life. In real life, though, people who are deeply fixated on therapizing their partner and finding someone to “fix” can also be their own brand of toxic.

To be clear: that’s intentionally a bad faith reading. I don’t sincerely believe people who like Astarion’s good end are all secretly control freaks who want to make their partners emotionally dependent on them. I don’t even believe that’s necessarily what they want for Astarion! No matter how many “I can fix him” jokes there are I don’t actually believe trying to talk him out of Ascending is in some way taking away his agency (largely because. He doesn’t have agency. He’s lines). But why pick and choose. Why problematize one fantasy over the other, particularly when problematizing that fantasy can lead you to make some pretty severe assumptions that may not be entirely accurate.

Returning to your other point, that really is the crux of it. People understand Astarion as a flawed character, they understand him as closed off and mean and rude and selfish. But because those traits are trauma informed, they tend to push the responsibility for dealing with that onto the player character. Its our job to fix him, its our job to make him feel safe and know there’s a better way and model kindness so he knows how to show it to others. And none of those are WRONG things to do. They’re just also not necessarily things every player signed up for, and certainly not every player character. Interacting with a traumatized person doesn’t come with a binary choice of “be their full time mommy/therapist and be actively invested in solving their every problem” and “don’t give a shit about them as a person and hope they explode”. Wanting Cazador out of Astarion’s life doesn’t have to come part and parcel with wanting to wrap Astarion in a blanket. Calling him a jackass when he’s racist to gnomes or Gur or kobalds or goblins doesn’t exclude also enjoying his commentary on other matters. When I build a PC I’m building a relationship between two people with independent wants, needs, flaws, and biases. My gith sorcerer is vocal in pointing out when Astarion is being an asshole as a defense mechanism; they also will secure him pretty much any power he wants because to them that’s part of their internal directive to protect him. By contrast my human wizard tends to align more with his self-interested choices. The worm’s in our heads, there’s no time to help strays if we can’t help ourselves. But its also why they’ll eventually be the one to talk him out of ascending. Don’t we deserve some peace after all this? Don’t we deserve a chance to retire and not trade one war for another? Aren’t you sick of this place, and of him?

Anyways. You. Probably were not looking for a full-tilt essay only broadly related to your points. I just have a lot of thoughts on this guy. He’s a character I’ve been looking for in media for a very long time and its actually pretty frustrating to watch a lot of the meta in fanon be so simplistic and also, generally pretty condescending to both the character and people who want to engage with him in a way more complex than “do you want him to be a good healthy boy or a bad unhealthy boy?"

[platoniccereal]

So Iron Bull is your favorite romance, who’s your least favorite and why?

there are some that just aren't interesting to me enough. for instance, it's sebastian. sorry sebastian nation, but if i started watching a video about his romance route, i would found myself playing subway surfers in five minutes. i don't have subway surfers installed.

another instance, i don't understand rivalry romance routes in da2. any of them. there's nothing new about this point of view, but whenever i watch it, i despise the dynamic. this coming from a person whose fav dynamics are inherently destructive for all parties or include mutual hate relationships. there's just something off about these routes, and by that i mean they have the same vibe as aveline's slut shaming of isabela. i.e. it's just mean. so. i'm sure people have fun with that, but that's a yuck from me.

another least favourite is sera, now for the reason of writing. this romance should've been fixed and by a queer person attracted to women. for instance, the sequence where the quiz tries to figure out what to give her as a gift? it could've been used for most of the companions to talk positively about sera, but from different angles instead of just finding fifty different ways to insult sera. maybe, there could've been a few gifts depending on what the quiz went with! there's even no need for models, just let the quiz have a present box and focus on different comments from sera that would reveal different parts of her personality! like the tree of comments the quiz has with bull when talking about watch words. long story short, i have beef with sera's writing in general.

and cullen. that's obvious, so i use it as an opportunity to i advise everyone to check out templar tryst from dalishious because it's a great and insightful analysis of his romance.

thank you for your questions as always. :) 💓

[the-masked-ram]

A/N: Ok so Ashe is like... the closest I get to self shipping (and yes I do pair her with multiple favs from other things). She is me in OC form if like... I could pull off her hair and I could actually have piercings (god I wish my metal allergy wasn't as bad as it is) ANYWAY I made a companion piece --- Breathe Easy--- Sebastian x Personal OC

Sebastian loved the rain. With the cool drips, the way it chased others into their home, the way it whipped away sound and dampened every possible living thing except the croaking of frogs; it was the perfect weather for him. Gloomy, dark, sometimes with the unpredictable crack of lightning or boom of thunder. It was perfection, or so he had always thought. He had thought it would be impossible for it to get better.

Until he met her. Her with the black and purple hair, those amethyst eyes, and skin almost as pale as his own. The one who looked almost as dark as he fel,t except unlike her, his outward appearance reflected his emotions too. Shadowy abysses that were filled with pitfalls of despair, no Ashe was nothing like that. She had her moments, moments where she could be so sad, so full of emotional agony it blew his out of the water. But with him it was always a steady thrum, a pulse of consistency that was easy to fight through.

While he was all monochromatic shades, she was that and more. She was neons, pastels, blacks too dark to see the bottom of, and whites too bright to look at. Sometimes the emotional waves she felt were too much for him, sometimes he felt overstimulated by just breathing her air, but that was something he found worth struggling with.

Because when she smiled at him, her nose crinkled, when she laughed she squeaked in the cutest way, when she plucked the cigarette from his lips just so she could lean in close she could make his heart almost vibrate. Sebastian could struggle with Ashe’s brilliance because it was her and he had no hope of wanting or needing anything different. She was the only one who could make his skin burn like this, as if his heart was on fire and that fire was consuming him from the inside out.

She filled up every crack in him until parts of him had colors too, until smiling at everything, even the things that would normally cause him anxiety or send him into a rage, came easily. She made everything right. Which was why, when he was standing in the rain next to her, Sebastian’s fingers slotted between hers naturally. Ashe was why the rainy days were better, she was why every day was better. She gave him a reason to breathe easy.

This is the prettiest thing ever. I was lucky enough to commission a piece from @/rougeless (twt acct) of my OC Ashe and my boy Seb

[grelleswife]

⭐️for "shadow puppets" i love hearing writers talk about their fav part of a story / how they came up with the idea

Gosh; sorry this is so late, Stale! I'm pretty sure this was for a "director's cut" meme. I have a few sections from this oneshot that I particularly like.

The opening paragraph:

At least once in their life, most children are scared of monsters—in the closet, behind the curtains, or, most commonly of all, in the fearsome darkness under the bed. Ciel Phantomhive was an exception to that rule. He never quaked in terror at the thought of a monster lurking beneath his four-poster, for the simple reason that a demon already lived there."

When I was little, I was one of those kids that was terrified of monsters. Weird shadow in the closet? That was a monster for sure. And I didn't dare stick my hand out from the bed! I drew on those memories here, but then pivoted by saying that Ciel suffers from no such fears--why should he, when he has a demon for a companion? This hints at one of the main themes of "Shadow Puppets": That darkness is not necessarily malevolent, but can be protective and sheltering, just as Sebastian uses his devilish powers to play with Ciel instead of frighten him.

Sebastian's backstory:

“Did you eat Grandmama’s soul?” Ciel asked anxiously. Father had once told him the story of a Dr. Faustus who’d sold his soul to a devil in exchange for power and riches. Had Grandmama made that fatal mistake?

Sebastian shook his head. “Mistress Claudia countered with a unique proposition. Instead of sacrificing her soul, she’d give me something of infinitely more value, on the condition that I served your family for as long as the Phantomhive bloodline endured.”

Ciel leaned forward, eyes glued to the shadow play. What could it be? A speech bubble appeared by the woman’s head, containing pictures of dozens of…cats?

“Cats,” Sebastian confirmed in rapture. “The most wondrous creatures to ever grace this blighted world of yours. She swore to me that I would always have cats of my very own if I agreed to her conditions.”

Ciel giggled. Imagine a terrifying demon playing with kitties!

In this AU, Sebastian has served the Phantomhive family since Claudia's day. Although I wanted the world to retain a touch of the canon darkness, having him devour a soul in each generation struck me as too grim; it would ruin the tone I hoped to establish. What other incentive could Claudia give Bassy? The answer came to me almost at once: Cats! Sebas adores them, so it didn't seem too much of a stretch to assume that he'd contract with someone in exchange for feline friends.

And Sebastian's justification for staying with the Phantomhives...his fondness for the babey.

Ciel scrunched up his forehead. “What’s so interesting about me, though? I just get sick too often.”

“Your imagination, young master,” Sebastian answered at once. “I’m fascinated by the stories you create to keep yourself occupied. If you weren’t slated to be the Queen’s Watchdog, I’d assume you were destined to be a writer. In spite of being trapped in a frail body, your soul shines like a star. That heart holds the Phantomhive darkness, but there’s a kindness that the other generations lacked.” He gently took Ciel by the chin and looked in his eyes. The boy could see himself reflected in those slit pupils, face alight with wonder. “No other master of mine has found joy in shadow puppets.”

Even though evil runs in Ciel's blood, he has an innate sweetness that counterbalances it. In this AU, where he never suffers from the soul-killing trauma of canon, he doesn't actively work to suppress his better tendencies. That spark of imagination and childlike joy mingled with the cunning and ruthlessness he inherited from Vincent and Claudia intrigues Sebastian because it makes the boy's soul unique. And, in spite of himself, the demon gets attached.

Thanks so much for the ask!

Link to the fic here for anyone who’s interested!

[maripr]

So. Your favourite Dragon Age character(s) and ships! And why you like them (if you want). :D

Thank you! /o/This may be long… or not. Depending on my language skills at the moment (it’s 1AM here tho I don’t really wanna go to bed)Let me preface this by saying: I love everyone. There’s probably no companion I truly dislike, even if I have some problems with a few of them (like Alistair. Sorry, Alistair)Anyway, in no particular order:The entire cast of Dragon Age 2. I’m serious. This game grew immensely on me and, though I may still not call it my favorite of the saga (I would say Origins is), it certainly has my favorite story and characters. I don’t know wheter to include Hawke or not, cause they can be characterized however the player wants, but as an archetipe? I fucking love Hawke. Because they embody the tragic Hero of ancient Greece. They’re destined to fail, no matter what they do, because Fate it’s a force not even Gods can’t oppose.Ahem, sorry, my inner classicist geek is getting over me. But, all in all, DA2 has the plot of a greek tragedy.Anyway, back on characters, I would say I love Fenris the most, not only out of DA2 but out of the whole franchise. Something about his story resonated deeply with me and I love his possible recovery, it’s a powerful tale of a man, who was broken in all the ways possible, finding a new place in life and also people to connect with (my personal fav character development for him is him fighting alongside Hawke to defend mages, but I’m biased because the mage ending is my favorite).I repeat I really love everyone in this game, but I should also name Merrill and Anders. Merrill because I find her to be extremely strong despite what everyone (even the fandom, sometimes, thinks of her) and honestly, the fact that she keeps wanting the best for the people who actively antagonize her (Fenris, Anders, I’m looking at you guys) is the kind of ideal I aspire to, in terms of spirituality but also practical life (because grudges only make me feel like shit, lol).And, after some details about blood magic (which I’m an apologist of, because that thing saved my party numerous times in DAO, lmao) and Eluvians in Inquisition, I love the irony that… well, it’s actually debatable on who you ask, but I really think Merrill was right about everything, lol.So I wanna see her back in DA4, so she can see that Eluvians actually work and maybe flip off everyone who ever thought of her like an irresponsible child (she would never flip someone off, because she’s too much of a cutie for that).Now, Anders. Effing Anders. I actually despides him in Awakening, thinking he was only a watered down clone of Alistair, and I was neutral on him in DA2. But then he made the Chantry explode. An action I actually condemn.But that action and his whole reasoning behind it made me fall in love with him because… damn, what a fucking masterpiece of tragic (and he too may be considered tragic as Greek tragedy Tragic now that I think of it) character he is.I’m not keen on the “Anders did nothing wrong” interpretation a big part of the fandom has of him, and I even reblogs some critical meta on him from time to time. But I truly find him grandiose as a character, in a “God, what a beautiful failure of a human being he is” kind on way (no offense to his fans).I just wish his rival romance was better written, orz.Moving on the other games.From Origins, I love Zevran the most. Second fav in the saga. What resonated with him is similar to what made me fall for Fenris, I guess I’m big on Former Slave Discovers Freedom (you’ll also see this with my third fave).Zevran also has this thing of hiding his feelings under a smiley façade that... uugh i really love.From Origins, I also Love Leliana, but I actually think I love her more in Inquisition, because I adore her as the scarred spymaster.Loghain is also a big fav of mine. Guess I love assholes who really believe, in their own fucked up way, they’re doing the right thing (for the record, I dont’ condemn him on his decision of leaving the battle at Ostagar. I am, however, really not ok with him selling elves as slaves).And then there’s Sten, the original husbando. I was so disappotinted when I learned I could not romance him, lmao.From Inquisition, the two that get me the most are Iron Bull and Solas.Iron Bull, I would say, is the third out of my absolute favorites, but Solas at this point may come right after him.Iron Bull was actually the first thing I knew about Dragon Age, so I’ve always been fond of him, lol. Then playing and romancing him made me fall hard. You know, Former Slave, and also a big softie and very inteligent and with hidden depths. I’m so interested in his background as a spy. You usually imagine spies as being small people that don’t realy look interestin, and here’s a giant, bombastic man with a huge pair of horns and an eyepatch. I love it.Solas. Here’s another Tragic character, and another asshole who actually thinks he’s doing the right thing. Bonus points for fixing a huge mistake by making an even bigger mistake. You go, Solas.And also, I’m in love with the fact he’s basically Loki. Love the trickster archetype. Super interesting.Now, this actually got super long. And tumblr is being an idiot and won’t let me do a read more. Apologies to you guys’ dashes. I’ll try to be brief with the ships.So, before Dragon Age, I wasn’t big on OC/Canon characters ships, but DA being a fantasy dating sim, they are a big part of what I ship now. For each OC/Canon Character, I have headcanons that may not fit with the vision some other fan has of that particulas ship, and that’s super interesting to me, I love reading different interpretations. But my headcanons are for another post. Maybe.Anyway, my favorite ships with OCs areZevran/Warden, Leliana/Warden, Loghain/Warden (unromanceable characters never bothered me anyway), Anders/rival!Hawke (I actually found the actual rivalmance a bit underwhelming in terms of writing, so my headcanons about are different), Fenris/friend!Hawke (bonus if Hawke’s a mage, because, again, I’m biased), Merrill/Hawke, Isabela/Hawke, Sebastian/Male!Hawke (also completely based on headcanons), Iron Bull/Inquisitor (bonus if Adaar but also Cadash), Solas/Lavellan (because I’m cliché) and Dorian/Inquisitor.

For NPC/NPC ships my favorite at the moment is Merrill/Fenris and I’m so alone in this, lmao. Everyone out there shipping fenders, which I can’t see at all (no offense) and here I am in my small boat, thinking that Fenris and Merrill are actually somewhat similar and if the huge, HUGE, wall of bloodmagic being the highest on Fenris’ list of triggers for very obious and very reasonable reasons, somehow becomes less evident, Merrill is the one mage outside of mage!Hawke who Fenris could actually trust (y’know, Merrill never once called him a beast - like Anders did). I want to write all the tings but nobody to tell *sob*.Also, Fenris/Isabela. Also, Merrill/Isabela. Also Fenris/Isabela/Merrill. Also, the three of them are my actual “canon” polyship with my main Hawke.Sebastian/Anders I like because of the twisted, and badwrong potential. So is Meredith/Orsino.Cassandra/Varric is another favorite, because I adore how their relationship develops and they would be absolutely the cutest.Then there’s Morrigan/Alistais as sitcom enemies.And last but not least, Krem/Cole. With potential OT3 with Maryden. Phew, I think it’s all of them. Thanks again for asking.