he was my friend, too
the type of scene i wish we had between these two after gojo was unsealed :')
especially after this part in the manga:
todays bird

pixel skylines
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
trying on a metaphor
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noise dept.

祝日 / Permanent Vacation

Discoholic 🪩
Keni
we're not kids anymore.

Kaledo Art
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
One Nice Bug Per Day
Cosmic Funnies
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
tumblr dot com

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JBB: An Artblog!

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blake kathryn
seen from Germany

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@lanxyuu
he was my friend, too
the type of scene i wish we had between these two after gojo was unsealed :')
especially after this part in the manga:
nurse geto and double mask gojo… save me
Gallery of violence
2024 art series representing acts of violence of Kenjaku, Gojo, Sukuna, Yuji and Mahito
_
there's also a reblog with my explanations of meanings I intended to depict!!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Warm Enough to Rot
T | 1/1 chapters, 3.3k words | satosugu | non-con kissing, angst, grief
“You’re not Suguru.” “I have his memories. I feel his feelings. I know him in a way nobody else does. Not even you.” Some white-hot retort sparks then fizzles out on Satoru’s tongue, leaving it parched. There’s nothing he can say. He can reject the being in front of him as Suguru Geto all he wants, but there’s no defense against the hard fact of its existence. How it has it all. Every memory, every feeling, every sacred, untouched piece of Suguru plundered and defiled.
i’ve touched on it briefly, but i’d like to delve further into kenjaku’s purpose as a literary device because it’s genuinely really fucking interesting. what gege did with kenjaku was actually genius, because kenjaku is a physical manifestation of gojo's love for geto in the form of geto himself.
the love between gojo and geto is both explicitly and implicitly demonstrated throughout the series. we see it in open declarations (he was my best friend, the only one i had) and in subtler ways (how they never fight each other directly, how geto is careful not to kill gojo’s students in combat). these, however, are from gojo and geto’s perspectives. we only see what they want us to see; much of the beauty of their relationship is in how so much of it is meant for the two of them alone.
as an outsider, kenjaku overrides them and drags their intimacy into the limelight, providing unobjectionable evidence of the love between them. he supersedes their carefully curated impressions to point at the undeniable truth in the most violent, grotesque way imaginable, making their love clear for all to see through hijacking geto’s body— which he could only do because gojo loved him.
not only does kenjaku’s plan require geto’s body to work (because gojo couldn’t throw him away) kenjaku literally only exists in geto’s body for the same reason (because gojo couldn’t throw him away). gojo’s sentiment and his weakness come back to haunt him; shibuya happens because kenjaku knew the only surefire way to disarm gojo was through the body of geto himself.
from a literary perspective, gojo’s love for geto is not implicit— it literally arises from the dead to serve as walking, talking proof that gojo loved geto too much to let him go. kenjaku functions to mechanize gojo’s love through the body of the person he loved so dearly and in doing so creates a living representation of the explicit, blatant and undeniable love between them. it’s not subtext; it’s just text.
as a literary device, kenjaku exists as material evidence that they loved each other. it’s not speculative, it’s not conjecture, it’s not reaching— it is right there. we’re not meant to trust gojo’s word; he is not a reliable narrator of his own nature. gojo never had to say he loved geto because kenjaku says it for him. it’s analogous to vehemently denying your guilt in court only for someone to turn up with the body and your handprint around its neck.
and kenjaku delivers a guilty verdict, sentencing gojo to the prison realm and dooming everyone else because being the strongest wasn’t enough to save gojo from love himself.
The Universe: *Torments Lauren* Me: *Also torments Lauren...but like, in a silly way*
ashes to ashes, dust to dust
„Astarion ending as the Vampire Ascendant is the correct ending for him, because it is what he wants.”
That is a claim I’ve been seeing pop up more and more often these days. And I think it’s both a very bold and a very odd claim to make.
But first things first: Hello, I’m a licensed social worker! So far, I’ve worked with children, refugees and youths with behavioural issues stemming from bullying and or abuse.
Please be aware that I will be mentioning different kinds of abuse, coping mechanisms, and victim/abuser relationships. If any of this is difficult for you, don’t force yourself through it. My jabbering about a traumatised vampire is not worth your wellbeing, not ever.
I will, however try to stick to Astarion and not use other examples. If, in any case, I do use a non-Astarion example, I’ll add a warning beforehand so that you can skip the part. And I’ll make it clear what will be discussed in the next bit, so that you have a chance to skip it entirely.
This is an effort to make this as accessible as possible for everyone that wants to indulge on a mad woman’s rambling – and I know there’s a few people that like this sort of stuff!
And, uh, there's obviously spoilers for all three acts. Serious spoilers, even.
This says so much about me and idk if any of it is good 😅
Tagging @elizaviento @aveimperator40k @callivich @thewayofthetrashcompactor @flowerslut
Blank board below cut!
Yay, how fun! Thank you for tagging me!
So, the squares with stars need more explanation. lmfao.
Keeps an outline for writing: Usually, no. I tend to write off the top of my head and just see where the characters take me. If I ever outline, it's a few bullet points I want to touch on, just so I don't forget. And that's only if I know it's gonna be a longer story, or if I'm RPing with a friend.
Has that one fic that deserves more attention: Meh, I don't like thinking any of my fics deserves attention, but one of my favorite fics I've written has the least amount of attention than any of my others. There's a plethora of reasons—not a popular niche of the fandom, no shipping aspect, very dark and full of gore, contains characters that most people don't care much about, etc. It is what it is, but damn, I love that fic.
Wants to be a professional writer someday: That's the goal, right? But realistically, I'm probably not cut out for it bc my motivation to write is heavily tied to hyper-fixations and self-indulgence. It's fun to dream about tho.
No pressure tags! Can't wait to see what you mark off. 💜 (blank board under the OP's cut!) @maylilithreign @silcobrainrot @robinainthood @queenmuzz @languidangel @carrieing0n
Hello friend, thank you for tagging me!! ^^
Obligatory nuance time...
A sucker for fluff fics: I like fluff, don't get me wrong, but I LOVE angst. I tend to prefer my fluff with a good dose of angst to balance it out. Pure fluff isn't something I normally seek out.
Has written while drunk at least once: Don't drink, but I've written while high plenty. I'm a useless fuck when inebriated, though, so I don't make a habit of it, lmao.
No pressure tags: @fabdante @booksandpaperss @lanxyuu + anyone else who wants to participate!
This is so cool, thanks for tagging me!!
Disclaimer/explanation section
Wants to be a professional writer someday: not as a career but if I am ever able to publish anything either self or traditional, I would be very happy and proud and count it as a win in my books :')
Has that one fix that deserves more attention: maybe not *deserves* more attention but moreso in the sense that sometimes how much I love a work ends up not being proportionate to the attention it gets (in both ways)
Multifandom: technically but I tend to fixate on a single one until another one grabs me so I have a lot of fandoms overall but it's basically usually one at any given moment 🫣
Also editing and formatting is lowkey my favourite part of the process LOL it's so satisfying and exciting or is it just me
No pressure tags: @iridescentcrisco @moonlitceleste @perpetuallyuneloquent @graysongraysoff + anybody interested <3
i'm surprised i haven't seen any text posts yet about the Unsubtle Differences between astarion’s tiefling party/high approval forest scene and the one you get after the goblin party.
there’s something so terribly interesting about how the conversation afterward plays out depending on which variation you pursue.
like, most people have seen the tiefling party version by now. astarion basking in the sunlight the morning after, playing off most of what tav says with relative ease, even when they ask about his scars and he tells them about cazador. his cadence is smooth and composed, his smile almost friendly, even though you know, as the viewer, he’s playing a game of manipulation at this point. the only real crack in his demeanor is if tav notices that cazador’s “poem” was written in infernal, which, understandably, startles him.
but recently i watched the goblin party version of this same scene, and everything reads so differently. unlike at the tiefling party, it’s still the middle of the night when astarion tries to leave, thinking tav is asleep—almost immediately after the act, in fact. when tav does speak to him, he’s visibly nervous, halting and stammering in the middle of lines delivered unflinchingly in the other version of the scene. he gestures broadly and fidgets more while talking, his smile comes and goes. there’s even some of his distinctive high pitched, fake laughter sprinkled throughout the exchange, almost identical to later scenes where he's very, very obviously uncomfortable (like if raphael mocks him and magics off astarion's shirt to show the party his scars in act 2, or when confronting the gur children in their cell in act 3, etc etc).
siding with the goblins represents something deeply familiar to astarion, a level of cruelty he's more than familiar with and embraces likely because cruelty and duplicity, to him, go hand-in-hand with the power and freedom he craves so badly—but he won't stay the night with this tav, even if he approves of their actions. no, in this case, he'll keep to what's familiar and attempt to leave them in the forest under the cover of the very same darkness he resents having been cast into by cazador. when he gets caught, it sets him on edge, and everything he says becomes such a blatant lie to save face that tav would have to be completely oblivious not to see through him, or maybe just not care enough to.
but if tav saves the refugees? challenges his worldview and comes out victorious? oh, he'll complain of the poor rewards for his trouble at the party and whine about it being boring, but he decides to stay with tav through the night while they're asleep and on past dawn. he takes a moment to enjoy the morning sunlight, returned to his life after two centuries without. the same is true if you have high enough approval that he asks before the party, in which case, you've almost certainly hit his biggest approval gains: trusting him and supporting his safety. maybe he doesn't trip over his words when he speaks because, well, maybe this is someone he doesn't have to worry about. someone who's already more than proven themselves a foolish, heroic sort with a bleeding heart or otherwise demonstrated that they're already in his corner. in other words, not a threat—at least not to him.
does any of this make sense. i wanna study this guy under a microscope.
putting bg3 point and click voicelines together to sound like a conversation has brought me great joy, so. here's gale, karlach, shadowheart, and astarion doing a terrible job of sneaking around
This is fantastic and I so hope there are more! 😂
I'm sorry, but this had me rolling. This is one of the most accurate memes I've seen yet. 🤣
Ok the Jewel Joker ch 6 English translation came out and HELP ME ITS RIMAHIKO HEAVEN
This is such a classic Rimahiko, straight from the fanfics. 😭 Rima threatening Tsukasa, i knew it was gonna happen.
THIS IS EVERYTHING TO ME 😭😭😭😭 (although I’m a little unsure if it’s accurate?? My translation was that the boys dorm was full) EDIT: This is a mistranslation. Nadeshiko is here because the boys dorm was full. (Even if this text isn’t canon, it’s nice to think about haha)
She’s just…. so cute
Rima making Niya a servant too…. Girlboss. And him just going along with it…. Love it
OKAY CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS??? Rima bragging about her wife/husband!!! Literally shaking and crying it’s so beautiful.
OKAY this is SERIOUSLY from fanfics I swear to god!!!! I could have never dreamed of this development!!
Think you based Peach-Pit chapter 6 was all I could have dreamed of. It will live on in my heart forever more. Roommates rimahiko you are the love of my life.
Kenjaku saw Geto's memories with Gojo and made a bet that Gojo would be so emotionally disarmed if faced with his best friend again that it'd be for as long as he needed to get the prison realm to latch onto him- and he was RIGHT
In other words Kenjaku said this Gojo boy is so down bad all I gotta do is appear and I got this shit in the bag and it fucking WORKED
GOJO STAND UPPPPP OH MY GODDDDDDD
Astarion isn't as power hungry as he wants us to think. I mean, he wants power but he doesn't want power for the sake of it, unlike any lawful evil vampire would. He just wants to be free. He wants to live. And the only way he can do that is by overpowering his slaver. that's really the only reason he wants power.
This happens when you're discussing how someone becomes a vampire and this is what he thinks. His priority isn't being all powerful and ruling over others; the only reason he wants power is to defeat Cazador. He is so bad at being consistant with his lies lmao. He says he wants to "bend others to (his) will" but really he only wants to bend Cazador to his will.
"Exactly! I can be better than him. Stronger. More powerful. More - oh, you meant 'be kinder'? Pet bunnies, that sort of thing? I've no objection to being nice, of course. Once I have the power to bend others to my will."
Imagine the fantasies the man has in his head about controlling the man who controlled him for centuries. He says, "bend others to my will," when he is talking about being stronger than Cazador and it leads me to believe he only wants to control Cazador. Astarion's facade is made out of cheap printing paper and it crumples everytime he speaks. He's so cute. Can't believe I used to be scared of him when I first started playing BG3. That lasted a day and now I want to squish him and draw chibi versions of him.
Edit: ofc he is power hungry and ofc he wants power since he's been powerless for so long. But having power and abusing it are very different. He has no problem being nice as long as he has power. If one is interested they can read my stupidly long analysis for more of my opinion on his personality.
What I stated is going to be just one of the many paths you can go down with him. Larian said that your decisions will influence your party members and there are many ways the story can end.
So if he sees that you can be nice and not misuse your power, he's going to think twice before misusing his own power beyond what needs to be done. If he sees you misusing your power, he's going to misuse it.
Just saw a clip of unromanced Astarion's dialogue post camp attack by his siblings and the difference is small but significant when you try to dissuade him from ascending.
After his usual dialogues justifying his inclinations towards ascension,
unromanced Astarion says this:
and, romanced Astarion says this:
Before reaching Baldur's Gate, there's a missable dialogue where if you tell him you're worried and want him to be safe, he will say:
"It matters to me as well. I want to be able to protect you, too."
This goes in tandem with the other times you can dissuade romanced Astarion from the ritual and he'll say that when he gains power, you'll gain power and that you're both a team (I am not sure if he says this without romance as well, but I doubt he does).
It's interesting that he's so quick to agree with you against ascension as a friend, but as a romanced Tav I was surprised by how stubborn he was with wanting to ascend. He seemed hell bent on ascending no matter what I said and I was worried by the time the choice comes I'd have stacked enough 'you failed to dissuade him,' points like The Witcher 3 or something. I had thought at first that romanced Astarion would be less enclined to be evil but it makes sense that he'd be more willing to turn to the darker, easier path to because it's quick power and power can protect those you love.
If romanced, he'll say that he's doing this so he and I are safe for good. Other instances where you tell him he shouldn't ascend he says something similar along the lines of "We'll both be powerful. We'll both be safe. This is for us both. We're a team." It's almost like this is his way of ensuring you both stay together. He doesn't know any better. Having a lover makes him even more motivated to ascend because he has someone to protect now. He needs to ascend not only to take revenge on Cazador, not only for his freedom, not only to walk in the sun but also because if he is all powerful nothing will ever harm you nor him. If you become his spawn, he'll never have to worry about one day living without you once your mortal life span is over. He only wants safety and security after having none of it for so very long, and having you to protect makes his resolve even stronger.
So in the end his ascension or non-ascension really does come down to Tav alone, romanced or unromanced.
I used to really love the first romance scene with Astarion (and I still do) but it hits so much harder after you know why he's doing it. That he's purposefully seducing you for protection and blood, that he's forcing himself to sleep with you, and this is a mask he's wearing.
It's a sexy scene and really feeds into the vampy (pun intended) jump-your-bones version of him you get at the start of the game. The whole thing starts out with him being so confident and suave, saying that he's wanted you ever since he set eyes on you and how you want to be known and tasted. It's like everyone's perfect vampire romance novel.
He's laying out the bait that's worked thousands of times over and luring you in. And you can just get right to the kissing if you want.
But, you can also stop and ask him, "And what do you want?"
And for just a moment the mask drops. This is not the same cocky seductive face we've had up until now. This is vulnerability showing. When has anyone asked him what he wants? When has anyone cared? Does he even know the answer to that question?
So he pivots. The mask snaps back into place immediately. He turns back into the master seducer and feeds you a line about shared ecstasy to get you back on track.
And then comes what is, to me, the pivotal moment. He asks you "That's what you want, isn't it? To lose yourself in me?"