Neurodivergent And Queer People How Are We Feeling?

What better use of the Enlarge spell is there than to HUG ALL YOUR FRIENDS??? I wanted to squeeze in a last minute print for Hal-con and was torn between a beefy pinup of Karlach or a group pic, then I realised I could do both ahaha. The print version won't include my Tav tho, this one's just for me. I love all these goobers so much.

"THE GODDAMN LOOT GOBLIN DID IT AGAIN!!!" (Tom De Ville)

Congrats to Neil for getting the best performance award. Well deserved! 👏👏

That God damn vampire changed my life. He is now my official third braincell.

the way a romanced astarion unpacks everything when you get the good ending for his personal quest is lowkey funny tho

like. he basically sums up the entire point of his journey and confirms explicitly that you did, in fact, make the exact right choices to help him grow????

the writers really drive home this idea of just "that's it! you did it! you uncovered the secret to making him a good person, and it turns out the only requirements were to give a shit about him and believe he's capable of doing the right thing!! literally just those two things and nothing else!!"

first in the graveyard

side note, "you trusted me when that was an objectively stupid thing to do" is one of my favorite lines because it just sums up really the whole experience of his romance gfjdklgjdf

then later in casual conversation

[tav: you saved yourself, i just gave you a push]

it's all really sweet and lovely and emotional but also. REALLY funny to me. because there are all those people who go "astarion is an irredeemable piece of shit with no soul and everyone who likes him is in denial of how much he sucks"

meanwhile astarion's just out there like "thanks for keeping me from becoming the worst possible version of myself by exercising empathy instead of just writing me off as a hateful pile of garbage ❤ love u"

really incredible. absolute masterpiece

Astarion x GN!Bard!Tav headcanons

Content warnings: Pure angst, Tav is dead, I literally had to take breaks from writing because I didn't want to cry in public

Summary: Headcanons for Astarion after Tav's death

•Astarion, who ended up with Bard!tav and kept his promise of loving them til their dying day, even after that.

•Astarion, who sang Tav's own songs to them on their last days.

•Astarion, who was more heartbroken than he's ever been when Tav died.

•Astarion, who despite that kept his promise to keep living after Tav was gone for at least another lifetime even if he never found another SO.

•Astarion, who was finally strong enough to clean up Tav's stuff after weeks had passed and found all of their sheet music and a small journal with lyrics.

•Astarion, who made sure to carry copies of Tav's work on his travels and hand them out to random musicians or music shops to keep their memory and work alive.

•Astarion, who learned the basics to Tav's instrument of choice or an instrument they always said they would've liked to play to feel closer to them.

•Astarion, who made sure to carry around either a photo of Tav (if those exist) or a small painting of the both of them to make sure he never forgets Tav's face like he did his (bonus points if Tav made it).

•Astarion, who selfishly kept the last thing Tav ever wrote for him to himself. It was unfinished, written on a paper full of annotations and crossed out ideas for lyrics or how the melody should go. After he learned your instrument he would try to decode the sheet of paper until he understood it and learned to play it since tav didn't get to play it for him.

Edit: Tell me why a few minutes after I posted this I saw the most beautiful sunset reflecting on the bus window and lighting up the isle. IT'S NOT FAIR HE DESERVES THE SUN

Izzy + being supportive of Ed and Stede’s relationship

I used to really love the first romance scene with Astarion (and I still do) but it hits so much harder after you know why he's doing it. That he's purposefully seducing you for protection and blood, that he's forcing himself to sleep with you, and this is a mask he's wearing.

It's a sexy scene and really feeds into the vampy (pun intended) jump-your-bones version of him you get at the start of the game. The whole thing starts out with him being so confident and suave, saying that he's wanted you ever since he set eyes on you and how you want to be known and tasted. It's like everyone's perfect vampire romance novel.

He's laying out the bait that's worked thousands of times over and luring you in. And you can just get right to the kissing if you want.

But, you can also stop and ask him, "And what do you want?"

And for just a moment the mask drops. This is not the same cocky seductive face we've had up until now. This is vulnerability showing. When has anyone asked him what he wants? When has anyone cared? Does he even know the answer to that question?

So he pivots. The mask snaps back into place immediately. He turns back into the master seducer and feeds you a line about shared ecstasy to get you back on track.

And then comes what is, to me, the pivotal moment. He asks you "That's what you want, isn't it? To lose yourself in me?"

Looking at his body language he seems unsure at first, maybe questioning his previous tactics. Then he slightly cowers back, lowering himself as he asks the question. The total opposite of his confidence from earlier where he's standing with his arms out wide.

He's not sure what you want anymore. You're not playing by the rules he knows. Why haven't you taken the bait yet? Why haven't you thrown yourself at him?

And when you finally Nod in agreement, confirming you're here for sex?

This. This is the face he gives you. He just looks so damn sad. To me, it hearkens back to "Of course it'll turn me into a monster. What else did I expect?"

Whatever momentary blip made him question why you're there with him, he's just been reassured about both of your roles in this situation.

He sounds so quietly resigned when he answers: "I thought so."

And then the scene transitions into the actual act. I do like to think Astarion enjoyed himself as I'm sure the PC did, but it's hard for me to watch this scene now that I know his story and history without being uncomfortable.

Just that line "lose yourself in me" is so difficult to hear. Because on paper it's so sensual. Who wouldn't want a lover to feel that way about them? But knowing the context of what Astarion expects and believes in this moment is just... oof.

And to me, this is what makes this scene brilliant. The writing, voice acting, and the mocap/animation are all just SO GOOD. It's so delicately done and Astarion the character is so good at playing a role that you can completely gloss over the deeper stuff. But once the mask is eventually stripped away you can't help but see what was there the whole time.

And as we've established, being seen is a whole aspect of Astarion's romance arc.

I originally romanced Astarion for the same reasons I'm sure most did: he's a hot, sexy vampire elf (i.e. everything that's on the surface). But, I keep coming back to him over and over again for the person I know is waiting for me underneath the mask.

they're so soft

I'm crying I love Batstarion!!!!!

#my man was NOT subtle 🤣😉

+ bonus: message received 😅