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smallnico · 8 days

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Okay I know these are basic but I actually think I haven't asked them yet. A rundown of Esper's favorites: favorite flower? Food? Drink? Animal? Color? Season?

a lot of these i hadn't thought about either, so thanks for the opportunity!!

flower: i don't know if this counts, since it's not really known for its flowers, but i would probably say rosemary.

i've written a little story where esper gets a gift of a sachet of rosemary from astarion, in part to help with the whole 'lingering smell of death' situation, so it has a lot of sentimental significance to them. that said, it's also pretty appropriate -- in addition to smelling nice and tasting nice, it's also said to purify and protect against negative and corruptive spiritual energy. some meanings i've found in terms of flower language are memory, love, lust, mourning, and fidelity, all of which are also appropriate lmao. it also looks like esper, a little -- so pointy and kind of evocative of spikier pine needles, so you don't want to get too close, but when you do the needles are actually pretty tender, and the flowers are a well-kept secret -- maybe you didn't realize that rosemary Had flowers, that it was just a leafy herb for seasoning, but it has a lot of beauty to it even beyond how useful and versatile it is.

food: roasted dwarf, obviously -- just kidding, though. esper's favourite food is probably sauteed mushrooms.

(and not just because the durge c*nnibalism stuff squicks me out a little, so i choose not to incorporate it more than i have to into esper's story.) esper actually doesn't like eating meat if they can help it. it feeds That Durge In Them, but that's why they don't like it. mushrooms, on the other hand, remind them in some small way of better times. they did grow up in the underdark, so they ate a lot of mushrooms as a kid!

drink: esper will drink anything that's given to them, but they're especially fond of mint tea.

esper used to be an absinthe and dark liquor enjoyer back in the bhaalist days, but ever since their lobotomy and necromancer vivisection experience, their old drow poison/alcohol tolerance is pretty much nonexistant, so they don't drink much alcohol. tea on the other hand is good for stress management, and mint tea in particular helps to bring up your energy level without caffeine, so it doesn't make it harder to sleep -- something esper, chronic bhaalspawn nightmare haver, struggles with enough as it is.

animal: no question here. cats!

it's partially a joke, but i associate esper pretty strongly with cats -- and in-game (though this is mostly my fault) i use speak with animals to prevent ever harming them (yes, i know about steelclaw and grub. not on my watch, larian), as well as other animals. esper has a soft spot for creatures, but they do have a particular affinity for cats and their ways of life. esper too pinwheels between being god's favourite little acrobatic obligate predator and being so cuddly and sweet. also, between being cool and aloof and careful, and being an absolute fucking bastard menace with a taste for mischief. if you've ever been stared at relentlessly by a cat, you understand how it feels to be stared at by esper.

colour: you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at them, but it's somewhere between teal and purple.

these are the colours i use to depict their magic, not coincidentally! even though the main non-black colour accent i use with esper in art is this purplish red, that's the colour i use when i want to depict The Urge, or bhaal. this is why their text bubbles in my comics are pink -- it's halfway between bhaal and esper. :>

season: now this is one i'm not sure about. they'd need to have a few more years accumulated of Experiencing Seasons before they'd be able to make up their mind, but i know in my heart it's probably autumn.

i have an easier time saying for certain what seasons esper hates, lmao. they hate summer. too much sun, too hot, too much Weather, too humid. again, they grew up in the underdark and spent a lot of their forgotten adult life either underground or prowling at night. they are more than happy with shorter days and cooler weather -- the only reason winter isn't their favourite season is because snow is a pain in the ass, and because esper runs hot (body temp wise) but not hot enough to dress how they usually like to when it's Actually Cold. and spring just means summer is coming, so to esper that makes it the sunday night of seasons. autumn is nice and cool, kind of spooky, dark, and full of the smell of things rotting (but in like a good way).

THANKS FOR ASKINGGG you're a real one molly <333

#the askbox #loquor #esper #long post #beecreeper

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jinxxedmisery · 9 months

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I did a quick little sketch (by quick, I mean it took me like 2 hours lol) I still struggle with feet and shoes...

I just saw a pose on pinterest and thought omg, what if Astarion and my tav... but he's biting their thigh 🤭

Ofc, I had to name it.. thirst... and I added the "Happy" symbol to kind of cover a sketch I did on the same page... You know... it wasn't originally supposed to be just one piece, I was practicing poses and I liked this one way too much to just leave it or risk messing up when I redrew it.

This is entirely self indulgent.. and intended to be Spawn Astarion because he's so babygirl 🥰😘😍

🤣 also I don't think I posted but I got through the Cazador fight not too long ago.. and

Spoilers and dumb ramble ahead:

For most of my day, I sat there wondering how the fuck I would beat that bastard... he was one shotting Shadowheart with his fucking lightning bolt, then sending his gas minions after the survivors. Astarion being in the ritual made it 10× more difficult.. so... I cheated... and fuck... It should have been obvious...

I LITERALLY FORGOT FOR THE ENTIRE FUCKING DAY THAT VAMPIRES ARE WEAK TO SUNLIGHT.. I blame Astarion and his parasite as well as Alucard for that one honestly.. the day walker thing kind of made me forget that omfg immunity to daylight is an exception, not the rule..

So I felt stupid.. once I got that, it was so much easier.. oh and almost constantly had Astarion in stealth kill mode until Cazadick was gone.

Also side note.. the VA for Cazador is perfect.. Like they really sells the "I'm a pathetic little worm, and your worst nightmare, fear me while I bitch and cry" LOL and again that's a compliment.. Larian really succeeded in making an evil character extremely grating and hatable which again, a good thing, not a bad thing.

The heartbreak I felt though afterwards when Astarion screams and cries.. God.. the second I got to this scene, I KNEW I couldn't let him ascend, doing so would be so cruel.. and yes.. this is ascended Astarion slander, I don't like my men too domineering.. maybe a little bit, but not enough to like kill innocent children and eat their hands or some shit lmfao (Doing a durge run too.. where I'm going to ascend Astarion and be a horrible bastard that eats babies) and I don't like that he loses the genuine feelings he has for tav/durge and becomes what he sought to destroy, an abuser.

Now.. the graveyard scene... I had tears in my eyes.. Honestly, the reason I love Astarion so much is because he is quite relatable. I will not go into detail, but I was.. SAed and abused as a kid. And honestly.. Seeing the bit where he scratched out his death date, made me feel hope.. for myself... For my own healing.. it truly meant so much seeing another survivor of abuse begin anew, find themselves again... even though I have done that already myself for the most part, I've found purpose, passions, love, heartbreak, etc and I've found some level of beauty in the life. I related quite a lot to the line about sex feeling tainted.. I am at a point where it no longer feels as terrible, I feel genuine enjoyment in it... (Can't do casual sex though.. That would trigger me into a ptsd attack) And I think part of that was letting myself go at my own pace, making sure my partners knew, and having control and the ability to consent and revoke consent at any point. Emotional attachment helped a great deal too.

I've rambled on enough.. but... Let me end this off by saying, If you went through unspeakable horrors at the hands of those who you thought were supposed to protect you, You are not alone, Even if you do not see it now, there is light at the end of the tunnel, keep on living, keep trying to find joy in little things. It does get better, what was done to you was horrible and you did not deserve it. I promise, you will see better days. You will be happy again, even if you feel like the pain will never end, there is always moments of calm.... live for those... live for your pets, live for your friends, the people around you, live for that cute thing you just ordered, live for that movie or TV series you're excited about watching... even the next patch for bg3.. or more Astarion content if that's your reason right now... and take it one day at a time. You will be okay.

If you need to vent out some shit, I'll listen, I may not know what to say or be able to offer comfort, but I will always lend an ear, even to a total stranger if they need it.

That's all from me, goodbye, until my next post.. whenever that will be ❤🖤❤🖤

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leopardmuffinxo · 9 months

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Happy to see another Rugan fan! I thought there was only like 4 of us lol.

i am a simple woman. i see an attractive NPC with 4 lines, i fall in love.

fun fact: Rugan was the first NPC i fell for in EA and the first non-romanceable NPC i shipped with one of my Tavs, Ylva. also, my first “made up scene” gif set was of him and her.

beautiful bastard sparked my whole “if they won’t let me kiss them in game, i’ll do it myself” mind set. i would love for all his cut content to be added back in the definitive edition, but i won’t get my hopes up. i waited 3 years for that pint larian. how dare you!

#anon asks #answered asks #he had me at ‘clever lass’#they knew what they were doing tying him to that chair 👀

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mybg3notebook · 3 years

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Loving your analyses of Astarion's behaviour and character so far! It has really reaffirmed in my eyes just how much of a bastard he really is. (I say that fondly, of course.) Do you have any thoughts on why the general reaction on tumblr has leaned so much towards woobifying him? After looking at his actual (explicit and implicit) morals in game it seems quite odd that some people are reading him as an edgy soft boi who just needs a hug from the right person to fix him.

Hello!

Thank you very much! I really enjoy seeing chars in a deep way. It makes me change my opinion on them, sometimes. That's why I like to do these analysis, even though it's a lot of work for a person who doesn't speak English as a native.

Lol, please, I won't be offended. Astarion is a bastard in the whole sense of the word, lol.

However, I find Astarion an interesting evil (evil neutral imo) char to explore the narration of “abuser who found a greater abuser”, with all the topics I talked about in those posts. I would feel a bit disappointed if Larian suddenly changes him into a man who always had a gold heart (because for that, you need to give hints, even in EA, and none of that has been seen so far).

An example of how this is done is with Shadowheart, she is evil and she supports a lot of cruelty that Astarion does too, but we got meta-knowledge (and not so much meta when we see her heavily drunk after killing the tieflings) that gives us enough reasons to believe she has some heart in her, despite Shar and her teachings. I do not support the idea of “she is a softie”, because she is not, but she doesn't have the same level of cruelty nor revels in murder so much as Astarion does. They represent different degrees of evilness. What plays in her favour is her face, which gives the idea of more softness than she truly has; the same happens with Astarion. Lae'Zel is less cruel than Astarion in general, with more logical reasons to be so because her brainwashed culture made her to be more pragmatic than a taster of cruelty, and yet, she receives a lot of more hate in the fandom... and it is clear to me why: she is not “beautiful” in the traditional white euro-centric standard sense.

And this is my point to answer your question (remember all this is personal opinion): I think there are many reasons why people woobify Astarion (not only in tumblr, but also in Reddit or in Larian Forums, it's a big part of the EA fandom).

First and foremost, I believe it's his appearance. If he were a bugbear or a goblin, few in this fandom would give a thought about his abuse, his pain, Cazador, etc. They would focus on his “bastard” side and leave it at that (again, Lae'Zel has this treatment). I want to make clear that I'm not questioning people's taste, everyone can like whatever they want to. I'm saying that, for me, there it proof enough to sustain this idea that Astarion is woobified because he is beautiful: when you read that a lot of people in this fandom never had an interest in Larian's previous games, or isometric rpgs, or even turn-based combat games (there are some people who are giving feedback against the game being a turned-based combat one! It's the nonsense because it's basically Larian's style), but they bought bg3 because they saw Astarion, even though they knew nothing about him.... All this, clearly, shows to me that a lot of people approached this game for only one char, for only his design (a big amount of them say it explicitly), and it is not far-fetched to know that people justify more easily beautiful villains than ugly ones. We can explore a lot of examples of this in many fandoms. People can love villains because they have real complex reasons to be so (like Loghain in DAO), but they also can like whimsical villains just because they are “hot”. I feel this is Astarion's case, he is a “beautiful villain” who apparently has always been evil. His reasons for his whimsical evilness is more like “it's always been in his nature”. Unless the family part has a different role in his backstory (mirror option) and it's not a mere line for a player to play a “good aligned” Astarion when picked as Origin. I don't like to read much about it in that scene because the game still doesn't have companion Tags; those options in the mirror can be there just for the player to pick, flavoured with each origin, but not necessarily the three of them are canon. This will be seen once we have the companion tags activated as it happened in DOS2.

What we can say for sure is that Larian knew what they were doing when they picked Astarion's design; they choose a dangerous white guy with white hair and evil alignment: an archetype that catches a lot of people in many fandoms.

Part of his woobyfication process has a deep root there, in my opinion. Again, if he were a bugbear, a goblin, a githyanki, a monster-humanoid... we would not have 90% of the EA fandom collapsed with his image, or Larian focused on him to the point that after 4 patches he had new scenes, lines, corrections, and development, while Wyll is still there, sitting in the bench of “the less developed chars” (with around 2k less lines than the rest of the chars, and his personal quest bugged since the first day). Yes, I don't like the preference on one single companion when I am seeing the “future Beast” (from DOS2) in Wyll.

Second, he is a vampire. Vampires are a great element in any fantasy narrative. You know you will have a lot of fans behind a vampire char. Not by chance Vampire The Masquerade is one, if not the most important product of White Wolf, which keeps still giving them a lot of profit despite being decades old. Vampires are always a good element of personal horror, of lack of control of your own body, and also an allegory of abuse, power, and rape. This concept of “being a monster without control” that they embody helps a bit more for the woobification.

Third, people tend to mix a lot headcanon with what a character gives us as canon. We can have a long useless discussion about which is more worthy: canon or headcanon, or about why one should or should not respect canon, but putting all that discussion aside, and considering the previous two points, I see that a small part of his woobyfication comes from the fact that people love denial and self-projection instead of analysing of what they are given (and let's be honest, we know in tumblr, reddit and others social networks, people lack of reading comprehension skills, which makes analysis all about self projection without a real effort in understanding the character's perspective. It's all about the player unilateral perspective. How can you analyse a char you didn’t play with or explored in all its paths? ).

So if their beautiful character is behaving in a way they don't want to, they start considering him “random” (I read this so much that confuses me, because Astarion has clear patterns for everyone who wants to see them, like the rest of the companions. He is not random, he follows pretty well all what I listed here, that list helps you to predict what he will disapprove or approve) so they end up filling this apparent “randomness” with headcanons and self-projections. Don't get me wrong, I don't despise headcanons, I love them, I have a lot of them and create with them. But I also like honest analysis and separate what I want from what I get from a company (to correctly give them feedback, otherwise I will be giving them my headcanons).

If you don't want an aspect of a given char, and you want to deny it, it's perfectly fine. Do it, it's your entertainment, but be honest with the fandom about it, acknowledge this is a personal denial you enjoy. And mainly, don't use headcanons and self-projections to attack the rest of the chars you don't like in their own tags. We know how aggressive some people in this fandom are, and it's a bit frustrating to see aggression without the slightest effort in understanding the character they hate.

There is also something sad to say, related to self-projection, that contributes to Astarion's woobyfication too: a lot of players are survivors of abuse who connect with him from trauma, and I can understand if denying his past is a way to help them to release any kind of pain or need for vengeance against their abusers. It's a natural and totally understandable projection. The woobyfication, then, ends up in an intense self-projection where they give to the char something that they needed because their own trauma.

This is why I would like Larian to give us other survivor chars that people can project onto, whose stories are really about survivors of abuse who were not evil in the beginning. Because I feel a lot of people approached Astarion as a narration of a “victim who will become a victimiser” or as a “bad behaved victim”, instead of what I think it's shown: an abuser who found a greater abuser (and his story is about punishment of the abuser and the concept of justice in a world which has none), so trauma survivors will end up with disappointment if they think Astarion is something similar to the representation of what they experienced. Plus, vampirism is never good to use as allegories of abusers/victims because the relationship Sire/Childe is too sick and twisted. So, again, this is a mere opinion from all what I've been reading since the game came out.

I hope Larian sticks to the narration they seem to follow with Astarion: an abuser who found a greater one, and now wants to become the next Cazador, and this woobifycation doesn't change the real potential of a dark deep story that I believe they want to give us: not every char is redeemable, and sometimes evilness is capricious. We had chars like these in bg1 and bg2 after all.

#bg3 early access - answers

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drtanner · 3 years

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My complaints about XBox Live aside, the character design in Sea of Thieves is, honestly and truly, really genuinely delightful. I spent near enough an hour just generating pirates and making a shortlist before I picked one to be My Pirate, and as someone who has never been able to identify well enough with a female character to willingly pick one to represent me before in his life, it's a hell of a thing for me to say that I very nearly picked one this time.

If you haven't played Sea of Thieves, its character generator is fairly unique in that you don't get to edit your character yourself. Instead, it presents you with eight randomly-generated characters, and asks you to pick one. If you don't jive with any of them, you can tell it to make new ones, and if there's one you've got your eye on but you'd like to see what else you can get, you can "favourite" them and the game will lock them in while re-rolling the rest. This seems weird and unintuitive in the outset, but once you see some of what the character generator has to offer, you soon realise why it's like that.

Simply put, there's a great variety of character possibilities in terms of body type, ethnicity, age and everything else, but most players would never see any of it because they'd just click straight through and make a boring, triangle-shaped white dude, just like they did with Baldur's Gate 3, much to Larian's chagrin. Like this, you get to see it all, and even someone who's in a hurry and just picks the first character offered to them will get someone who looks interesting. If you take a bit of time, though, you'll absolutely find a character that you love, and they'll be virtually unique. In the hour I spent rolling characters, I did not see the same one twice. Ever.

Everyone, regardless of gender, is equally old, ugly and shitty, and equally likely to be missing teeth and/or eyes. It's not uncommon to see old men in mainstream media, but old women are exceedingly rare, and I was so happy to see a wide variety of battle grandmas in my lineup of randomly-generated bastards. In fact, I don't believe I saw anyone who looked younger than 40, which was honestly just fucking great. I was also genuinely delighted to see:

women who are rectangle-shaped fat and have a double chin rather than the more socially-acceptable pear-shaped fat with a thin face

heaps of men who looked like they could be someone's dad

or someone's uncle

numerous people that I'm pretty sure I've seen at the pub

ladies with HUGE ARMS and BROAD SHOULDERS

a guy who just looked like Knife Cat really

a massive square-jawed lady with shaved sides whom I was briefly very nearly straight for

David from DBD in a different artstyle, I think

This guy:

(I nearly picked him. It came down to a coin toss.)

Anyway, I'm going to put some screencaps of the ghosts of pirates who could have been under a cut, because I loved them all and was sad that I had to pick between them, but first:

LOOK AT THIS OLD BITCH!! SHE'S SEEN SOME SHIT!! I LOVE HER.

And this lady! She's great! I think she might have been one of the first lady characters I saw that really caught my eye because I'd been re-rolling for a while and realised that all of the body types were present for both men and women.

You can change your pirate's hair and clothes, and I can immediately imagine this lady with a big hat and a fancy coat on. She'd look good as hell in proper pirate garb.

Here's a guy I very nearly picked:

His smugness is off the charts. He's very cute!

LOOK AT HER, SHE'D BE SO GOOD AT HUGGING. AND ALSO KILLING PEOPLE WITH HER BARE HANDS.

This guy made my shortlist. I'm still kind of gutted that I left him.

Here's someone's dad:

And also his friend, someone's uncle.

Lots of scars, lots of tattoos, looks like he would play a mean prank on you. A++ pirate material, very nearly picked him.

BIG LADY. STRONG LADY. VERY POWERFUL, VERY BEAUTIFUL.

Then there's Nigel from the pub. I did not pick him.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to playing this game, lmao.

#Tanner plays #sea of thieves #character design #IT'S EQUALITY

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