I am obsessed with the visual contrast (and inherent significance) of Astarion and Karlach’s skin. Pearly smooth and pale, dusky red and covered in scar tissue.
It’s such a drastically different representation of their captivity, torture and pain, but so rich in meaning…
I imagine Astarion tracing fingertips over her rough skin as she sleeps beside him. Softly touching her deep scars and burns, finding the few spots left of her that are unblemished, seeing how scars over scars hardened her flesh and thinking… of her pain, and his.
AGH!
No. Hold on. Listen.
Their physical appearance and bodies just complement each other in such beautiful ways. Now this may be my brainrot talking, but…
The cold pale walking corpse of an elf, past self dead in the dirt for centuries that’s fighting to reclaim his life against the hot fiery red tiefling with a passion for life fighting her death.
And their scars! Both literal and internal!
Astarion, with this perfect body, offset with this terrible scar on his back that is representative of his captivity and enslavement to Cazador. Puts on a mask that hides the more unsavory parts of his personality and history. Yet he’s more open about telling you bits and pieces of his past as you grow closer. Afraid inside and always waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Then there’s Karlach who looks like she wears her scars loud and proud. A heart on her sleeve type person. Wants to live in the moment. Yet refrains from talking about what happen to her in Avernus. She rather not bring it up and changes the subject when you try to get to know that part of her life because it’s a mood killer. Though from some of the out-of-pocket comments she makes it clearly wasn’t great. (I mean she was stuck in Hell I’m sure it was nothing but awful) Distracting herself with the positive and not facing how much pain and fear she has building inside herself.
Both had their bodies violated for some else’s deal with a devil: Astarion’s being forced to sleep with people to bring back to Cazador for his eventual deal with Mephistopheles and Karlach having her heart ripped out and her body modified to put infernal machinery in its place for Gortash and Zariel’s deal.
Both had unwanted transformations: Astarion’s vampirism and Karlach’s weaponization.
BOTH BRANDED IN INFERNAL!! HELLO?!: Astarion’s piece of Cazador's contract on his back and Karlach’s tattoos on her body and even etched into her horns that basically say she’s Zariel’s favorite lapdog.
Having those two bodies come together togive instead of take. To give a genuine warm loving touch for once in years’ time instead of death and violence. Able to touch someone, to reach out in emotional or physical intimacy without it leading to that person’s demise. Clumsily trying to figure out what it means to slow down, to be out of survival mode and in the moment appreciating life and making their own choices with each other. They’re just two normal people again finding their own sense of freedom and who they are even with the sins of their past, instead of the monsters built by their masters.
So, these two characters specifically, seeking such things in each other?! Their relationship is just so…poetic? Oh, I’ll never be normal again. Their relationship is going to drive me insane.
There’s more but I feel like I’m rambling sorry, this post just activated my brainrot
Cause I think about these little things between them SO much!
