Fandomland Mind Palace @fandomlandmindpalace - Tumblr Blog

moodboardmenagerie

persephone-rots

the vampire lestat: aka the most dramatic bitch no matter which universe he's in

whitewolf-the-unforgiven

Yaas

illufinch

the council will now decide your fate

worldsandemanations

Hedy Yang, On the Horizon

cher-ryz

“I was cast into it” - Astarion

muddyswirls

justjensenanddean

Jensen Ackles | New Orleans, March 29, 2023 (x)

perpetualmaladaptivedaydream

The gang fights their way out of a goblin camp ⚔️

redmoonreverie

imagine if I posted a sketch of Astarion and then ran away

onemillionwordsofcrap

I just really love some of the subtlety in Astarion's approval mechanics.

Initially in act 1 he will just absolutely whine and bitch every time you try to do something even vaguely altruistic. Under the hood, they're only small dings to your approval--1 here, 5 there; he's constantly annoyed with your average do-gooder player, and it comes off like he's just a purely selfish asshole. Which he is. But there's more to it.

Pay attention to his banter throughout the game and he'll mention how he called on every God, how he wanted someone to rescue him, and no one ever did. How he used to be attracted to heroic princely types like Wyll. It's the bitterness of someone who had his worldview shattered. He's basically in the back of the group rolling his eyes every time you do something cartoonishly heroic, because he doesn't think heroism exists.

But by act 3, there's a shift. You start getting "Astarion approves" for things like rescuing slaves or being kind to children. Slowly but surely, as it becomes apparent that your intentions are sincere, your hero bullshit starts rubbing off on him. And it's rewarding as hell.

lilhumanoid

astarion asking you for help with low-stakes choices because he's still learning to trust his decision-making ability. astarion genuinely not knowing how he takes his tea. astarion getting hit on by a well-meaning stranger and freezing up because he has to remind himself that he isn't required to flirt back anymore. astarion putting off feeding because he doesn't feel like he's allowed.

astarion automatically agreeing with you about something and agonizing over it later because he actually doesn't agree but didn't know how to tell you.

or: astarion digging his heels in during what should've been a small disagreement with you because he so badly needs to have control, to exert his hard-won ability to choose.

astarion feeding excessively because it's finally sunk in that he can. astarion lashing out at a stranger who flirts with him because he's so determined not to reciprocate. astarion having an extremely complicated, precise tea order. astarion blowing off your input when he deliberates on anything because it's so important to him to make every decision independently.

astarion doing each of these things at different times and wondering if he's healing at all.