some thoughts about astarion because i'm tired of the internet reducing him to one thing
when bg3 came out in early access, astarion was always seen as the extremely flirty, confident guy who enjoyed sex (or so we thought) and spoke about it like it was his favourite thing. he was also kinda marketed as the “sexy vampire”, so you can understand why many people saw him that way based on the little amount of content we had. even while playing act 1 and act 2, many players still might think of him like that because he does have a very charismatic personality and he asks to sleep with you very early on, so it just automatically makes you think he’s genuinely happy doing that and being totally serious.
BUT!!!!!!! we end up finding out later on that’s NOT the case and it was all part of a plan to seduce us in order for him to gain protection. he opens up about his past and his trauma and how he was forced to use his body to lure people back to cazador. he struggles with intimacy and relationships in general because of this. that’s why i really hope that people stop reducing him to “hot sexy vampire that loves flirting and having sex with everyone” when that is not who he is, he’s literally traumatised because of sex due to being forced into it and he’s slowly trying to heal. he’s also so much more than just “the hot vampire”, ya know? if you actually put in the effort to get to know him, you will see who he truly is underneath and he has many loveable traits to appreciate.
you may not see the “soft” side of him very often because he hides it, but it’s there!! one thing i noticed that really stood out to me was that when i gave food to an orphan in act 3 and he approved. back when you first met him, he probably would’ve done the opposite or had no reaction at all. i also saw a clip of someone trying to romance karlach and astarion and he literally told tav to choose karlach over him because he can see that karlach loves her. he said normally an arrangement would work for him but after everything karlach has been through, he doesn’t want to get in the way or see her hurt. letting tav go is also hard for him as well but he still thought about someone else. he could’ve whined or been possessive or jealous but he didn’t do that at all. where are all those people who reduce astarion to “the guy that flirts and sleeps with everyone” now? seriously. that’s not what he does, and when he was forced into it by cazador, he was trying to survive, he didn’t do it for his own pleasure. it’s not a “hot” personality trait of his, it’s literally trauma. and because he did it so much, he got used to it, and that resulted in him disassociating and feeling empty.
apparently if you ask him to join you and sleep with the drows at the brothel (something i will never make him do in my playthroughs), he only says yes because he struggles to say no. but he disassociates. and if you’re in a high approval relationship with him and he loves you, he will feel safe enough to express his feelings and say he’s not comfortable. this happens before you fight cazador. i’m not sure if he gives the same response after, but either way, if he joins in, he will always disassociate and it’s not something he wants to do despite what he may say.
that being said, it’s obviously still okay to appreciate his beauty and attractiveness, because he is very beautiful. he appreciates it and even likes being called beautiful. calling him “hot” and “sexy” isn’t a bad thing either, we know he can be and i'm sure he knows it too! it’s just annoying when people act like that’s ALL he is and they don’t even mention anything else about his character. the love scenes are beautifully done too (i personally prefer the second one after you’ve stopped him from doing the ritual, because that’s the one where he decided he truly wanted it and felt safe and comfortable because he genuinely loves you), and i actually would’ve been fine if they didn’t have any scenes like that at all because it’s totally understandable and valid if he didn’t feel comfortable, but i just hope that people don’t take things too far and over-sexualise him just because of how he appeared to be in the first half of the game and the way he’s often marketed on social media. and yes i know he’s fictional and nothing on the internet is going to hurt his feelings!!!! it’s more about the fact that he canonically has sexual trauma and many people still say really disturbing stuff even AFTER they find out about that, and it just makes me uncomfortable to think that people are okay with treating someone like a sexual object especially when they've said they're traumatised and it makes them uncomfortable. idk if this makes sense 😭
but yeah he doesn't want to flirt and sleep with everyone as i've seen people claim. and if in an alternate universe he did, and he did it on his OWN terms, and the other people he had relationships with enjoyed it too, then good for them! absolutely nothing wrong with that if there's consent, respect and honesty. however, that's not the case with what happened with astarion, because 1. he was forced into using his body WHEN HE DID NOT WANT TO and 2. he misled people and lured them to a miserable fate. it's so horrible and devastating for everyone involved. sex was never something fun for him, and it certainly isn't a "personality trait" of his. it was a survival tactic. he was forced to. he didn’t want to.
obviously when he becomes more comfortable, then it's totally understandable to get excited when he flirts and shows physical affection. he can be so charming, funny, sweet and romantic and i love that. it’s so beautiful to see him heal, genuinely find comfort in someone for the first time and experience intimacy that he feels ready and comfortable for. he deserves to love and be loved on his own terms instead of being forced. but again, he is so much more than the guy we were introduced to at the beginning. the internet just sees one thing and sticks with it but i really hope people start to actually appreciate him for who he is and the complexity of his character.
aaaaand i just had to leave this here <3
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That’s also how I always saw Shanks reaction, but imo it does makes sense? In his eyes Buggy just made a decision they talked about before. He doesn’t want to follow Shanks. That’s his decision and Shanks respects that.
But I wonder what he would think if he knew the real reason why Buggy left him?
Also maybe I’m just crazy but I think we never saw Shanks face in that moment. The focus is solely on Buggy reaction
(context)
yeah, this is a part of why i think shanks takes the separation (relatively) well—he thinks to himself, okay, i was wrong about what buggy wanted, or maybe he changed his mind again. either way, i don’t have to like it, but i do have to respect it. and that’s what he does, he respects buggy’s choice and moves on with his life. maybe on certain anniversaries lets himself wonder what he’s up to, hopes he’s doing well.
& you’re not crazy, we don’t really get to see shanks’ reaction. the only panel in that flashback showing his whole face is the one where he tells buggy he changed his mind about going to laugh tale. we see his face in partially shadowed profile (no eyes visible) when buggy reminds him of his old promise and when he asks buggy to come with him. the other panels either don’t feature him at all, or just show him in silhouette.
now, that might not mean anything—the manga art can get a little cramped sometimes, with all the story oda’s trying to fit into fifteen pages a week—but it’s possible oda is intentionally hiding shanks’ face from us. that could be because shanks is trying to hide what he’s feeling, or it could be because what he’s feeling is unusual or unexpected, and seeing that expression would distract us from the story we’re meant to be focusing on at the moment. (there are plenty of visual stories out there that take an age to reveal a character’s face in a particular moment for such reasons; the elric family photo in fma is probably my favorite example.) i think when 1082 gets animated, we’ll have a better sense of whether this was a matter of not having space on the page to show shanks’ face vs intentionally hiding his face from us.
as to your other question, what if shanks knew that buggy left because he’d changed his mind about laugh tale… oof. i don’t know. i think that depends on why shanks changed his mind. and unfortunately for me as a theorist, that’s one of those lingering mysteries i don’t expect to get an answer any time soon! if his reason is serious, and needs to be kept secret, i think shanks might resign himself to buggy leaving. that’s the cost of having unexplained, unspoken goals. if you can’t offer complete trust, you won’t receive it in return.
but if the reason isn’t that important, or doesn’t need to be a secret, i wonder if shanks might have tried explaining himself? though buggy’s stubborn enough i don’t know that an explanation would have made any difference, once he’d declared that he wouldn’t come with shanks.
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I already brought this up, but for quicker reference:
Order of Attack: Mahiru nightmare sequence about Kotoko's attacks. Gotta round out the guilty trio.
Feel free to not prioritize this. :D
LISTEN, I CAN'T BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE ANGST THAT YOU REQUEST (<- made myself sad over Mappi and worries I may be in trouble for this one). Obligatory "I don't hate Kotoko and think she's very complex but from these character's pov I had to make her solely scary I'm sorry." And of course I was prioritizing this 👀👀👀 I really loved your nightmare sequences, I tried to make one that completed the set but was still unique!! Thank you for the request >:3
TW for referencing her bf's suicide, and descriptions of the attack injuries
“Aw, come on, you can tell me~” Yuno turned her attention away from where she’d been helping Mahiru with dinner. “Both Fuuta and Amane have had nightmares about her. Hell, I’ve had a nightmare or two about her. I won’t think you’re a mean person for admitting it.”
“I’m not lying,” Mahiru insisted. Her lips rounded into a little pout.
Yuno studied her expression. The girl had a way of really looking at someone when she wanted to. Sometimes it was a wonderful feeling – her gaze could be full of understanding, warmth. You were seen. You were heard. She saw you for all that you were.
But in times like these, Mahiru found herself shifting under the pressure of it. Yuno was truly seeing her. She could see how Mahiru’s smile was frozen in its forced shape these past few weeks. She could see the way she flinched at loud noises, or how all the blood drained from her face when Kotoko’s voice echoed from the room next door. In waking, there was no doubt Mahiru was afraid of her. In sleep, though…
Yuno took her hands in both of hers.
“Then… what do you dream about?”
—
Mahiru was in the woods. She was running, her feet bare, her breath hitching.
At first, she thought she was fleeing something. Danger and death loomed around her. The trees closed in. The canopy plunged her into darkness. The branches reached out to tear at her flowered dress, or snag on her hair. The trees pressed close to suffocate her. She grabbed at her throat.
At some point, it became clear she was running towards something. A figure came into her view, just ahead. Though he didn’t appear to be running, she couldn’t catch up to him. She had to. He was in danger. She had to get to him. She had to stop him.
He entered a clearing up ahead. Mahiru could just barely see into it. She tried to scream out, begging him to stop, but no words came out of her wheezing mouth. She could stop everything, she could stop all of this, if only –
She burst through the clearing. The figure, now a young woman, stood in the center. She faced away.
Mahiru tried again to tell Kotoko to stop, but it didn’t matter whether or not she could speak, now; it was too late.
On the ground below, between tree roots and scattered leaves, lay two small bodies.
Mahiru’s hands flew to cover her mouth. Her legs grew weak with horror. There was blood everywhere, and bones bent at wrong angles. Fuuta’s limbs were twisted and limp. Amane had curled herself to cover her face, blood streaming from between her fingers.
Kotoko, too, had red-stained hands. She surveyed her work with pride.
“What… have you done…?”
Slowly, Kotoko turned. Mahiru wanted to turn around and run before those bloodthirsty eyes could land on her. Her legs stayed frozen in place even as her heart raced in her chest.
Kotoko met her gaze. Then, she gave a gentle smile.
“Thank you.”
Mahiru stumbled back a few steps.
“You let this happen.”
“No…”
“You did. You could have stopped this, but you didn’t. Thank you.”
“I-I didn’t –! This isn’t – ! I thought –”
“You knew this was going to happen.” She spoke a familiar name, and Mahiru shook her head violently. “You knew what he was planning. You had plenty of chances to stop him. You didn't. You knew what I was planning. You know how to calm people down, how to bring groups together. But you didn’t speak to me once about it. You wanted this to happen.”
“I didn’t!” She said it frantically, unsure if she was trying to convince Kotoko, the two beaten prisoners, herself, or someone else. “I didn’t.” The statement was true, but it didn’t change anything that Kotoko had said.
The forest closed in. Kotoko reached a hand out, beckoning to her.
“We make a good team, don’t we?”
“No…”
Mahiru was struck with the thought that she didn’t want to take hold of such a disgusting hand, only to glance down at her own. They were just as slick with blood. She let out a shriek.
It was Amane’s. It was Fuuta’s. It was his.
Mahiru’s legs finally gave out on her. When she looked up, Kotoko was still smiling.
“So… who will be next?”
—
Mahiru slipped away from Yuno’s grasp.
“Oh, don’t you worry about little old me!” She turned back to their work. She brushed her hands off on her apron, giving them an extra swipe for good measure. “I promise, Kotoko isn’t the villain in my dreams.”
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rise raph dying first in the apocalypse and likely not making it past 25 is actually my roman empire.. especially because of the odds that he gave himself up for his brothers all the way through to his very end out of nothing but whole hearted love for his family... I COULD SCREAM ABOUT THIS FOR HOURS BRO I HEART HIM TOO MUCH
EXACTLY!!! EXACTLY ARHRKFIKEIDIOWIDD AGHHDHDHDHHHAAAAAHHHH!!!
he was destined to die young in the bad future because he is a protector! i just KNOW he fought to the very end for them. and then, after he had given enough, he could finally rest knowing the three of them had each other after he was gone. he loved his brothers and he died first—for them!! I KNOW THIS I KNOW THIS!!!
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