Great Couple Commission For @Brabblesblog

Great couple commission for @Brabblesblog <3

*ME ASCENDING HIM EVEN HARDER* I want astarion to be safe and sound 🤧

it really hits home how much about ascension is about protecting those you care about if you're doing an astarion origin run. if he remains a spawn, he doesn't even get to say goodbye to karlach or fulfill her last wish not to die alone, she literally burns because he doesn't get to be there to convince her to return to avernus and come along, she dies alone because he doesn't ascend. and of course he cannot know the particulars in advance, but this is the scenario that must feel like a certainty to him- that you'll die if he doesn't ascend- when he tries to get you to help him ascend. it's not even about the sun first

the fear and anxiety have this effect where they replace you in your mind, and everything you are boils down to avoiding this one threat. that's also how astarion spent 200 years before meeting you. it's nigh impossible to give a fuck about anything else in this state, there's literally no place in your head for that, and so the cost of killing 7000 people or how it would change him is not something he has the space to consider before killing cazador. talking astarion out of ascension is about pulling him out of his own head as well, you get to show him that fear doesn't have to be the only drive, that it doesn't encompass his whole world

and i just can't imagine the circumstances for ascended astarion where he'd let this idea truly sink in. it's not even a matter of how it would affect his relationship with you, there are many vastly different takes that i find plausible, but this astarion would always know that he only got where he is now- powerful, safe, rich, happy, etc- because he suffered and sacrificied and was terrified. he survived and got you to stay with him and stay safe because he trusted his fear. and he has not survived two centuries of torment to be naive enough not to learn from his experiences, so the conclusion is to rely on this feeling of fear regardless of the cost. it knows better than him how to keep him safe

Thaniel’s first night at camp 🏕️

Pick me up, love!

Snack time

So I have a Durge/Spawn and Durge/Ascendant playthrough... and... I must say that I'm enjoying Durge/Ascendant Astarion very much.

Ascendant Astarion is growing on me. Nyv finds the whole situation amusing, Astarion being drunk with power reminds him of himself, so he doesn't mind to look after his adorable vampire master (making sure he doesn't kll himself in the process, or anybody else trying to kll him). I trust Nyv's ego and self-esteem so much, I can watch them without being worried. Nyv is a manipulative, I mean, uh very persuasive person, so he'll manage to convince Astarion to share his blood in no time too. Oh they're going to have a lot of fun.

One of my favorite parts about the ritual scene is when it cuts to Tav while they're mentally linked to Astarion and staring at his scars. It's a split second moment, but it's an important one imo.

The level of concentration, the heavy breathing, the focus and hard stare, the fixation to make sure he gets a good view, the level of commitment. At least for my Tav, this is the look of someone doing all she can to help the man she loves achieve his goal, at all and any cost. She's not sure what's going to happen to him, to her, to their relationship. She isn't sure what the ritual will be like. But one thing's for sure in her mind, Astarion is going to get what he wants... simply because he wants it and she wants it for him.

The trust and confidence in him and their connection here is just 👌🏽😩

That satisfied and content look on his face the moment their minds connect always gets me. I like to hc that this is the moment he knows that this level of connection is what he wants always with his Love (which, for my roleplay, ties in nicely with the bride theory and the two way mental/emotional/psychological connection between Lord and Consort). This is the first time they have had this sort of connection through the tadpole. They've connected before of course, but that was memories (the first meeting on the beach) and emotions (if Tav choses the tadpole option to show him they care about him, which my Tav does in her canon). This is an entirely different level of connection, where their full minds are joined as one and one is seeing through the other's eyes completely. I bet this also came with feeling what they felt. So he can probably feel Tav's anxiety, curiosity, perhaps fear, and anticipation. For Efenity this would also include feelings of her excitement and love and adoration.

In fact, the first time I ascended him last September, this was the moment they felt truly ride or die for me.