Saddleseatollie - Ollie - Tumblr Blog

LOVE LOVE LOVE

i need an artist to draw astarion with neil newbon's tattoos. i just think it would be neat.

i need an artist to draw astarion with neil newbon's tattoos. i just think it would be neat.

WHY ARE THERE NO HORSES IN BG3 THERE SHOULD BE HORSES ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU MAKE IT TO THE CITY

- sincerely, a horse lover

I'm rereading fourth wing and iron flame again so here are my thoughts on what each character's signet says about them as a person (spoilers for both books ahead):

Violet (lightning wielding): she is exactly as xaden calls her, violence. she's insanely stubborn and has quite a temper. she has a deep seeded need to defend the people and places that she cares about.

Xaden (shadow wielding): this one's easy because it's spelled out plainly by violet herself. xaden has secrets he needs to protect.

Xaden (intinnsic): signets often manifest based on need, and xaden's position as a revolutionary leader means that he needs to be able to make snap judgments about people and their intentions. he needs to know who he can trust.

Dain (memory reading): this one is also spelled out by violet. he's fucking nosy as shit.

Bodhi (signet countering): bodhi is often described as a more reasonable version of xaden. he's an incredibly neutral guy in most cases, and he's often the voice of reason during conflict.

Mira (ward building): she's a big sister, a protector. she can literally shield the people that she loves.

Brennan (mending): brennan is described as being an incredible tactician. he's a problem-solver. he fixes things. being a mender means he can not only heal people but literally fix objects.

Rhiannon (retrieving): i actually don't know if anyone has any ideas i'd love to hear them.

Ridoc (ice wielding): ridoc's signet is super interesting because it seems to directly oppose his fiery personality. my best guess is that it's because he's the comic relief who can cool people off during emotional moments.

Liam (farsight): he's super perceptive. there are multiple moments when he's able to gain unique insight on people and situations.

garrick (unknown): please rebecca give us more garrick moments we don't even know what his signet is i'm begging you.

hey can we stop with the whole "astarion walking into the sunlight after tav dies" thing? did you miss the whole "astarion wants to be independent and self-sufficient" thing? the whole point of his storyline is him learning to live as a free man, to not tie his identity or life to that of another. yes astarion would grieve tav after they've passed, and if you want to write/draw that wonderful angst go for it. but for the love of god, please consider that astarion is not only a vampire but an elf. outliving the people he loves was a given from the very beginning. he would not kill himself because tav died.

xaden: after my dad died, i forgot about what it was like to be loved

garrick, bodhi, liam: ???????

I need someone to do a video essay-length deep dive into how 75% of the BG3 fandom fell so hard for Astarion's manipulative seductor act that they believe that's his actual personality. This man has to practice his lines and still fumbles them constantly. He flat-out says it's all a front because he believes his sex appeal is the only reason anyone would keep him around, which is tragic. When he drops the act, he becomes this kind of silly man rediscovering what it means to be himself, and what it means to both love and be loved. He says "I'm all pointy ears, love." while turning his head to show off those pointy ears. Let him be silly, let him be awkward! It's so much more authentic then him being a walking innuendo.

He has a mid charisma stat with a bonus for deception and rolled a nat 20 on all y'all.

I've seen a lot of people point out that while Astarion's whole "thing" in act 1 is that he's this sexy sweet talking savant, he only has 10 charisma and actually isn't all that good at it.

He practices cheesy pickup lines within earshot of the person he's going to say them to, and every single time he flirts with tav it's extremely heavy-handed and almost cringeworthy. It's pretty obvious that he's trying to manipulate tav, even if the reason doesn't become clear until his act 2 confession.

But here's the thing: Astarion never actually needed to be all that good at flirting.

He says himself that the vast majority of his "targets" were drunks and brothel-goers. People who never actually saw him as anything other than an object for their pleasure. They were going to go home with him no matter what he said. A few pretty words and his physical beauty would do the rest.

But Tav is the first person to actually view him as a real person, which is why it becomes so glaringly obvious that he's not nearly as charming as he thinks he is. Astarion tells them at the tiefling party that "every part of their body screams temptation" and their response is that he's "sweet" and "silly". They're not buying it for second, because they don't need to be told pretty lies to like him. They like him because of who he really is as a person. They fall in love with him not because he's good in bed or has pretty eyes or a sexy body. They fall in love with him because he's sweet and secretly very kind. Because there is so much pain and sadness and fear in him, and he truly cannot see how amazing he really is. That his goodness never really went away, it just got hidden for a while.

I think it's interesting how Astarion only calls tav/durge "dear" or "dearest" when he's upset with them. If you kill Isobel as the dark urge, he gets annoyed and says "sometimes we need to think with our heads before our knives, dear." There are other examples, I just can't think of them right now.

It may or may not mean anything, I just think it's an interesting bit of characterization and I fully imagine this tendency continuing.

"You were supposed to wash the dishes last night, dear."

I know Larian has said that there won't be a bg4, but imagine a game with a grown up Arabella, now fully able to use her powers, and a grown up Mol, the leader of the Thieves Guild. Maybe even a grown up Fig who's become a fearsome fighter.

posting this part of the doodle page as standalone also

Romancing Astarion means having your Tav constantly reassure him that you actually do want to be with him, and that you wouldn’t choose any of the other companions over him, and that you want him for more than just sex, and Astarion constantly being like:

when do we think astarion realized his "nice simple plan" was starting to fall apart? personally i think it was when tav draws/translates his scars. his face when you tell him you want to help and as he's turning around is just so confused and wary because he's so unused to kindness.

okay but imagine if you will: durge still struggles with chronic migraines even after being cleansed of the urge because of all the, yknow, head trauma and post-game is finally able to take care of themself a little bit so when they get a migraine/headache the big scary bhaalspawn needs to go lie down for a bit and close their eyes. and their romanced partner (could be any of them) makes them some tea or strokes their back or something.

imagine how sick casting call lighting must look like just raising your hand and calling forth lightning from the sky to annihilate your enemies