#I love astarion and he is in fact very sexy
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I just think the fandom’s nastier responses to the bg3 men is wildly interesting
like. you have three men who are coming out of highly unhealthy relationships.
One of them gets super sexualized and infantilized at the exact same time. literally people put him in the bdsm harness while simultaneously misinterpreting elven cultural norms to say he’s mentally no more mature than a teenager despite having been a whole-ass local judge who died because he gave out corrupt rulings and got his ass jumped because of them.
the other gets treated like he’s an incel because he catches feelings quickly, despite being wildly respectful when you turn him down. Half the issues were due to a bug, the other is that this man is so starved for validation because his goddess - whom has paid special interest to him since he was a toddler - kept him constantly feeling lesser-than because despite calling him her Chosen, she gives him none of the power we see Chosens be given by other gods. Not to mention she sends her other ex - his mentor and friend - to tell him to off himself to earn her forgiveness. For some reason his attempts to gain god-like power are received worse than the borm-sexy-yesterday-vampire despite both of them having the goal of being safe from manipulation and control. I assume because the vampire gets a sex scene when you let him destroy his soul for power and the wizard does not.
The fairytale prince route, despite typically being very popular, is being called boring and dull and while, yes, he has less drama than some of the others, is still compelling and has high stakes for that character. He’s sold his soul but he thinks the price is worth it and he’s made his peace with the personal cost because he’s helping people. The only real difference between this character and others who are willing to sell their souls for the good of their lands is that this time around, he’s Black
#bg3#baldur’s gate 3#fandom critical#I guess?#like Wyll’s shit seems to genuinely be people are racist and not realizing or caring to realize#he’s a delight! he wants to dance with you! he’s a sweetheart going by the fairytale chivalric code#meanwhile he’s literally made a deal with a devil to make the princely thing happen#it’s good! he’s the vanilla ice cream route and it’s very lovely#literally his route is so similar to Alistair in the choices to give up your life for the world#I love astarion and he is in fact very sexy#and he likes sex when he has the final say in whether it’s happening#but that damn tombstone has some people acting creepy as fuck#yes it’s sad how young he was but he was also a whole adult man when he died#and Gale… you can argue very easily he was groomed#and even if he wasn’t - this man has isolated himself for a /year/ trying not to hurt anyone#yeah he’s gonna get attached to the first people he gets to hang with#he’s hurt when you turn him down but he’s not a dick#then he becomes your ride-or-die#he’s a sweetheart#Halsin has his own shit going but he seems to a companion solely because people thirsted so hard#but he’s also worked through his shit and is decently mentally stable#not letting ppl reblog this because I don’t need people acting a fool on my post
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I really really loved the Asexual!Tav x Astarion fic. I felt so seen. I have read my good share of smut (there is no shame in a good smut fic, even as an ace) but this? This made me feel so many things. I loved it.
As for the oneshot/headcanon ideas... Maybe Asexual!Tav wanting to find something sexy to wear for themselves (because damn right, ace people can wear sexy clothes and look amazing doing so) or just Tav and Astarion being silly together.
But! Don't feel obligated to write about these! I just wanted you to know that this fic... I have never went to Ao3 so fast to read the last chapter.
Thank you so much! I can't tell you how much it warmed my heart to real this. It genuinely means a lot.
These are both great prompts which I would love to get too eventually. I don't have it in me to write a one-shot right now, but I will gladly spew some random Asexual!Tav and Astarion being silly together.
Astarion x AsexaulBard!Tav Masterlist
Okay, I feel like I need to say it, but after Ace!Tav and Astarion are officially together the flirting only gets worse
Like before there was an agenda; Astarion was testing the waters of their interest while Tav was playing along, enjoying the attentions while not wanting to give a fully false impression
Now with the air clear they're free to flirt because it's just fun
There are no expectations except to make the other laugh or possibly blush
It drives the rest of the party insane
Astarion: If you're looking for inspiration my love, you can always write me a sonnet; something about my eyes shining like diamonds in the moonlight.
Tav: Cliche and over done. Besides, how could I compare them to anything less than the brightest ruby illuminated by dragonfire.
Astarion: Oh, do go on.
Also feel the need to clarify that this Tav grew up on the streets and so has come to the conclusion that stealing from the rich is okay
They have very willingly played to a crowd of merchants, allowing for Astarion to rob them blind
Astarion: *presents them with a necklace*
Tav: Please don't tell me you spent money on this.
Astarion: Not at all. I got it at a wonderful five finger discount.
Tav: In that case, I accept.
If they ever attend a party and Ace!Tav isn't performing, you can find them near the buffet table
I've said before in previous headcanons, I don't think Astarion is one for dancing; he's become more open to it after he and Tav get together, but there is a difference between a private lesson with his love and being in public
This leads him to make the rounds gathering as much gossip as he can before reporting back to Tav
Meanwhile Tav, once starving bard/artist, will never turn down free food and will stay planted at the buffet table the entire night; plus you know the best gossip comes from the wait staff
Basically they're a couple of messy bitches who are obsessed with the tea and yes are, in fact, talking about you
That all being said, Tav is still the moral compass; help kids when you can, only steal from those who can afford it, avoid murder if possible etc, its the pettiness they indulge it
Certainly they're a theatrical couple, prone to distracting banter and petty theft, but it's plain enough to see how deeply they care about each other
#astarion#astarion x tav#astarion x reader#asexual!tav#asexual!reader#baldur's gate 3#bg3#baldur's gate iii#asexual#bard!tav#astarion x ace!tav#i want it all#astarion bg3#astarion baldur's gate#astarion x evie
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It's tough because I hate the Astarion haters on Reddit, who are just misogynistic and homophobic and dismissive of the character because they hate how gay he acts and also how many women love him.
but I also hate BookTok Astarion fangirls who feel the need to assert how superior Astarion is on every fucking Gale, Wyll, Halsin, Shadowheart, Minthara, Lae'zel, Karlach or pretty much any BG3 video at all. Like we get it. He's white.
And then I'm ambivalent on the Tumblr Astarion fans because there are the people who simply like him and make fun art and fun meta analysis about him, and then there are the people in my inbox currently telling me that Astarion's Ascended ending is morally correct and it's not a bad ending for the character, and if I disagree, then I hate women.
You're correct that I hate women, but it has nothing to do with Astarion.
Also, I once again point out, that your own husbando literally tells you outright in both endings that being Ascended ruins/ruined who he used to be and also your love for one another.
Your man literally says that your love would have been corrupted by becoming his spawn, and you still cling to the idea that your character is living happily ever after.
He's not making you a vampire queen, he's making you a vampire pet. And it's fine to like that ending. I don't care if you LIKE bad, unhappy endings. That is your prerogative. But you are simply incorrect if you say that it's the "happy" ending for the character, when it clearly is not.
No one ever said you had to use your skull for anything other than cold cut storage, I just don't see why it's even necessary to argue your point to me.
Stay in your Astarion echo chamber, and block me. I don't have time or energy to block all of you.
Anyway.
It sucks because I really like Astarion, he's my favorite love interest.
I really enjoy his storyline and his growth as a person and how sweet he is. He's also very funny. All the companions have great voice acting behind them, but Neil really knocked it out of the park, and I honestly think the character would be far less popular if they'd picked any other actor.
But the fandom around him is just...awful.
It's a mixed bag of normal, unnormal in a fun way, and unnormal in a "you need to fucking step off in this Walmart bitch" way.
It's why I'd rather interact with Dark Urge and Gortash fans.
Much smaller subset of the fandom, so I don't have to deal with the generic crazies, and we're all such freaks that we don't feel the need to go around acting like Gortash is a good person.
I also only ever see people saying these two are fucking disgusting and horrible and I'd murder them in real life and honestly, true and based.
No happy endings for those two, and that's fine for me. In fact, it's great.
See, Astarion girlies, this is called...knowing your ship doesn't deserve a happy ending after all they have done, and knowing it wouldn't be a happy ending if they got together, but being able to acknowledge that and not get bent out of shape trying to justify it.
Stop tying your irl morality to your tastes in fiction.
I never said that liking the ascended ending made you a bad person in real life.
I just said that pretending it's good and happy and great and not continuing the cycle of abuse, is factually incorrect.
And it is.
Every single bad ending for all the love interests is literally continuing the cycle of abuse. Why would Astarion's be any different?
But maybe I'm being bold in assuming you even know the other love interests exist or have stories. Maybe you don't even know the general story of baldur's gate 3, because it is, as you say, the vampire dating sim, and it's definitely not about anything other than banging the sexy vampire.
Media literacy weeps.
Anyway.
Not ruining my enjoyment of the game.
Just my general tolerance for the fandom that is not Durge and Gortash obsessed.
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Hey! Sorry if this is a bother, but I was wondering if you could do a headcannon of how Will, Gale, Astarion and Karlach would comfort you after top surgery? I’m getting mine soon, and baldurs is my comfort game, and this would be so incredible! Thank you for your time, really! Your work is incredible!!
Hi omg so like warning, I am a genderfluid afab so this writing might not be spot on for you but Im gonna try my absolute best pooks
Warnings: Not proofread! Talk of gender dysphoria, slight mentions of Transphobia
Transmasc!Tav x Bg3 chars
She doesn't really understand but that by no means she's not supportive, Whatever you wanna do you do. You look sexy as hell anyways.
Would definitely wanna see your scars and depending on your approach of them would compliment them, say they "add character" and "show how badass you are" after confiding in her of the struggles of being Trans she admires you 100 times more because she couldn't imagine feeling like that and being the sunshine you are
will hold you, talk with you, listen to you during the entire process. And if anyone ever says anything negative about them OR you? Oh hold her back or she might upper cut someone, you learned that the hard way. Smothers you in affection and reassurance before and after the surgery telling you she doesn't find you less attractive and that you'll be absolutely breathtaking no matter what you look like.
He listens to you all the time, if you go into a dark place about your identity and what you look like he will sit right at your side and tell you the sweetest things and you can tell he's 100% genuine
Like Karlach he will be there with you throughout the entire process, will help you apply creams and other remedies that'll help with scarring if you are uncomfortable with them, might even try and find a healer to try and get them completely removed.
But if you choose to just let your body heal naturally and whatever happens of the scars happens he will lay his chin on your chest while looking up at you. Just, looking at you
You are genuinely the most handsome man he's seen in his entire life and he would tell you till you lose your hearing.
Wyll is your number.1 defender in anything but especially your identity. He never even mentions youre trans to others not even his family and if they ask he just shrugs and says "Tav is Tav, and I love Him very much"
Said with a "that's that" tone to ensure the others do not engage further, unless you feel comfortable sharing your experience obviously.
He gets what it's like to feel out of place in your own body, he gets the disassociation and confusion of it— not in the way you do and he says that, telling you he wouldn't wanna compare your situation to his and that they are vastly different.
Would probably trace his fingers over your scars (with your consent ofc) whispering about how Gorgeous and Handsome you are, he tells you to not bat (ehe) them much mind they do not define you or your identity as a man.
He could go on about you and your greatness for hours if you ever felt upset before or after the surgery, grabbing your face and making you look at him while he admires the face of the love of his life.
He can understand the out of body experience you might experience and sympathize with you
Definitely the kinda guy to say "get tattoos over em" if you say you don't like the look of them, I think he finds Tattoos very attractive and if they make you feel better that's even better!
If you needed to get your mind off it he would just nudge you with a few Magic facts and see if you bite so you can listen to his very non-coherent rambles
Probably the first person to see you after it, will literally fight his way through Doctors and nurses to see you holding your favorite things.
And you'll never forget how his eyes light up at seeing you, He sees you're so much happier now and you feel more comfortable and he's so extremely proud of you.
THIS MIGHT BE SHIT??? but congrats on getting your top surgery date and I hope you recover well and feel at ease with yourself. PLEASE STAY SAFE AND LOVE YOURSELF YOURE WONDERFUL💋
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You can totally appreciate and love Unascended Astarion’s personal growth journey AND also find evil possessive Ascended Astarion sexy in a toxic, dark way. I keep seeing so many people act like enjoying or reveling in Ascended Astarion’s abusive possessiveness means you have something wrong with you, when it is very, very clearly a case of people enjoying a twisted relationship BECAUSE it is dark and edgy and tragic.
I know it’s in short supply, what with the dramatic erosion of our education system and influx of puritanism obfuscating itself as legitimate media criticism, but I have media literacy, babes. I in fact possess the ability to navigate the exploration of the dark and twisted dynamic of a Ascended!Astarion “romance” and enjoying all the little wonderful writhing worms it spawns, and the full acknowledgment and understanding of what his story arc represents for survivors and the cycle of abuse.
Please give some of us some credit. We’re not impressionable 7 year olds that will unquestioningly apply what we see in fiction to real life. Also, Astarion isn’t real. His story is not real. No one has suffered what he has suffered. His story depicts real abuse, but abuse has not actually happened in tangible reality. The game isn’t a memoir. There are no actual victims. Media literacy is your responsibility to learn and develop. Read a book on it.
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A Night of Song and Laughter (Part 5)
In which Tav goes a long way to assure everyone around there's no one but Astarion for her and the vampire has a staring contest with a dude-bro (and responds to it with a solid "Don't touch me!").
That's it, that's the chapter summary - I'm starting to get confused with the parts because there are (lemme count) EIGHT already written and at least a few more to go... You can read more already on my AO3 page!
There's no specific song for this chapter, but I'll happily share my ever-growing playlist that helps me write: Astarion: The Pale Elf
Rating: Explicit
Pairing: Astarion/Fem!Tav (You)
(Legitimate reaction of Astarion meeting Tav's former fling...)
(Wonderful gif from here!)
Astarion kept grinning at you and obviously enjoying your uneasiness – oh, you were definitely going to murder him, when this night was over.
Daegin kept babbeling towards Eodin, you quickly looked through your fingers to see that the damned man was actually approaching. With a sudden jolt you stepped close to Astarion, put both your hands on either side of his face. The vampire only had a split second of looking askingly at you before you started absolutely smothering him with his kisses.
He didn’t lose a moment to kiss you back, he never did. In fact, he loved every single bit of intimacy the two of you shared, especially since he’d been free of Cazador’s callings and had started to learn to share intimacy outside sex and the bedroom with you. Accepting love and affection for what they could be at face level was something he tried hard to become good at. So truly every touch, every look, every soft smile was deeply precious to Astarion.
Just after a second or two he got your intention and put his arms around you to pull you closer. You let your hands wander to his chest, enjoying the way your body fitted with his and almost got lost in the moment.
You two obviously were a show to watch – it surely didn’t help that Astarion had a strong inclination for hedonism despite his past. Or even more so since he was now free to indulge in it on his own accord. You’d come to enjoy this way more than you were ready to admit. So, you happily sighed into his open mouth, when he dragged a finger from your cheek, down your neck and then softly placed his long, elegant fingers on your throat in an affectionate but still possessive manner. Your pulse quickened – even after being with him for a while, you hadn’t wrapped your head around how he could be so easily seductive, elegant and sexy without it being even remotely gross or cringy.
The longer the moment kept drawing out the more you could feel the heat inside you once more. The vampire had already stirred the fire without fully setting it ablaze once before tonight. You really hoped he wouldn’t let it just die down.
While the wood and the high elf were at it, the rest of the evening party watched on. Daegin blushed and buried his whole face in his jug of beer, obviously very uncomfortable. Lira’s eyes widened, her mouth opened to a giant ‘O’ before she slapped both her hands over it. And Miyena’s mouth opened slightly, her tongue darting out to wet her lips.
And then the one called Eodin stepped up to the table. He was human, tall and broad shouldered with short auburn hair. Not un-handsome, but quite forgettable. He too seemed uneasy at the very public display of affection, so he cleared his throat and softly knocked on the table to make himself known.
You kept the kiss with Astarion going, letting your hands wandering dangerously low his front, only just stopping at the very top of his leather pants. Then you broke the kiss and turned around, cheeks all flushed and out of breath.
“Oh, Eodin! I didn’t even see you there. Sorry, I was caught up in the moment”, you said, fanning yourself with your hand and batting your eyelashes at Astarion who had now also turned to look at the new arrival. Astarion looked down at you, biting his tongue hard to not burst out laughing – you cheeky little pup. You really had learned from the master himself, Gods, was he proud of you. He quickly let his wander his hand to your behind to give you proud and thankful little pat-pat, but just so no one else would notice.
Eodin slow blinked at you, keeping his face neutral. But you’d known him long enough to recognize the line of his mouth seemed tense and he was majorly displeased by what he had just witnessed. He didn’t miss a beat though: “So good to see you, I didn’t know you were back in the city.” He let the sentence end ambivalently – not really a question, but not really a statement either. “Ah you know, I really had my hands full” – another small pat from Astarion on your back “and I had certain affairs to sort out” – pat-pat – “but I swear I had come around to say hello and catch you up one of these days.”
The man crossed his arms over his chest, his discontent now showing more clearly. The rest of the party was dead silent, they could feel the tension in the air. Eodin just kept silent and stared you down, which already started to make your blood boil. Who in the hells was he to treat you like this?
“And who might this noble gentleman be, you were so caught up in?”, he said and turned to the vampire, cold venom in his voice. “The name’s Astarion – though I am not as noble a gentleman you might’ve mistaken me for, I fear”, the elf replied, his voice icy and his stance beside you turning threatening. “No wonder, the likes of these rich, pretty know-it-all-have-it-alls never survives long in this part of city. Would take a real bastard to walk around all cocky confident and not run into trouble and get themselves killed”, Eodin spat back. “Oh, I am no stranger to trouble, but it’s usually the other party that has to fear ending up dead in a dark alleyway”, Astarion replied snidely, narrowing his red eyes at the human, not even remotely trying to hide the open threat in his words.
Your heart dropped as you watched the two men stare at each other. The moment ran on for much longer than you felt comfortable with, but the vampire didn’t seem inclined to falter under the human’s death stares anytime soon.
A few more heartbeats passed. Astarion was impossibly still beside you, completely embodying the fatal predator he could be. Then Eodin gave up, threw his head back with a laugh that didn’t sound anything close to genuine. The rest of your friends joined in, seemingly relieved that the tension was resolved.
Eodin reached over the table to slap Astarion on the back in a dude-friendly kind of manner. The elf didn’t move an inch under the tall man’s strong pats, he scrunched up his nose in disgust for a split second and you could’ve sworn you heard a hiss but it passed faster than anyone besides you could have noticed.
You looked worryingly up at Astarion who elegantly had brushed off Eodin’s hand and stepped just out of the man’s reach. But his face was now a mask that wanted to show that he had simply been kidding, kidding. You still felt the tension in his body though, the set in his shoulders and the slight passive-aggressive smirk on his lips.
As the rest around the table broke into conversation again you grabbed on of Astarion’s hands again and dragged to have him lean over to you. He turned one of his pointy ears to you so you could whisper to him: “Are you alright? Do you want us to leave?” Your whisper was so low, no one besides him could hear it. He lifted his head again, looked warmly at you with a wink. Then he leaned to whisper his quiet answer into your ear, sending a shiver down your spine: “I’ll be fine, my love, but no promises about this arsehole.” Then he placed a soft kiss on the nape just below your ear.
Then Astarion turned to face the rest of the group. “How about another round?”, he proclaimed cheerfully and was met with joyous approval.
#astarion#astarion x tav#baldurs gate#baldurs gate 3#baldur's gate 3#baldur's gate iii#astarion x reader#astarion x mc#baldurs gate astarion#astarion x oc#astarion x you#fanfic#fanfiction#astarion ancunin#bg3 spoilers#if looks could kill am I right#he really said dont touch me with this one#a night of song and laughter#poro fics
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I saw your "durge/astarion necrophilia and cannibalism" post and it made me think about a lawful evil durge. Resists Bhaal and leaves that life behind, but instead ascends astarion and becomes his dark consort
Astarion definitely at some point needs to deal with the durge equivilant of the "sexy or weird" scene from B99 where Durge is rubbing ice on his lips or having him pretend to be murdered on the ground
Lmao you’re definitely right anon. Hopefully the whole “living vampire” aspect of ascension wouldn’t ruin that for Durge. Although I bet they’re excited to not need to rub ice on their lips anymore after Astarion turns them! They can just switch who gets to be the corpse I guess!
The nice thing is I genuinely think that ascended or not, Astarion would be game. He’s super into watching Tav/Durge get whipped by a kinky priest they found in a goblin dungeon, I’m sure he would do some light murder roleplay for the love of his life! In fact I think he’d be into it. He loves how deranged Durge is from the very beginning, and there’s no reason they need to stop being freaks no matter how their love story ends😌
#this is character analysis#i do not have a murder kink!#i think? lmao#stay safe kids#this is a judgement free zone#bg3#astarion#durge#baldurs gate 3#baldur's gate 3#dark urge#bg3 dark urge#bg3 durge#durgestarion
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Did you see Neil Newbon’s take that Ascended Astarion is the real him free to act on cruelty and violence and the spawn is the one with the mask? Yeesh.
Ooooooh, THAT'S the disk horse that's happening right now!! I knew something was happening (I felt a tremor in the waters) but I had no clue what it was lmao, I don't follow cast stuff.
I will try to respond to this in good faith, but I'm not very good at fandom discourse and so I'm afraid it may not be the answer you want.
I can see why that reading might make people angry, but I dont have strong feelings about it. Obviously, it's not my take on Ascension, but from the beginning I've been very upfront that my take is serving the genre I'm writing in and the ship dynamics I find hot. My Tav is lawful good to an unhealthy extreme, and that was how she was conceived in her Early Access bullying phase. And meanwhile, I wanted to be in a Gothic horror where he's obsessed (morality chains will do that to you) and they beat the shit out of each other. I have to make the Ascendent a monster, for that to work, and for people not to feel guilty every time they enjoy watching him getting stepped on lmao.
But I do feel like there is a morality policing around Astarion's ending that I don't want to partake in. This might seem dumb for me to say, given that my Tav is a veritavle walking moral policeman, but that is bc I fucking love Villain/Heroine ships, so I am literally right there, at the Devil's Sacrament with everyone else.
While I like the good ending and prefer it for many reasons, I would agree with a reading of Newbon's words that it could be read as a mask. This might be bc I mask with the best of them, am doing it right now even as I write and edit this ask 20 times. There's masking as an outright lie, and then there's masking as 'gotta get through day to day life as a functional adult without everyone suddenly deciding they hate me'... I personally think its nice that spawn!Astarion cares about other people, and cares about being a functional member of society at all! It shows he's no longer a lonely outcast.
I could also go deeper (the autism really shining through in this reply) and say it's a mask, in the sense that this has been deemed the 'polite' and morally correct ending, that is acceptable to others and enables the player to feel good about themselves. Which is often a way we derive pleasure from media, and not wrong in and of itself! Making Astarion good makes players feel good - that's not wrong, but if we're comparing endings, we have to acknowledge it. An Ascended Ending doesn't really cater to that impulse... unless the player really likes to be dommed (more power to them).
Unfortunately anon, I can't sit here with my most popular fic being an Ascended!Astarion fic, and pretend that there isn't a bunch of fascination or interest surrounding the Ascended version of his character. People clearly want to explore the implications of his evil ending and indulge in the excess of it, but feel bad doing so. People don't ascend him in-game, but they go to my fic and other people's fic because they want to have some space to enjoy the implications - in the sexiness, in the timeline where Astarion has revenge, in a timeline where he is obsessed with Tav etc. I mean, just look at me, I can't sit through the Ascended scene, but I'm here writing a fic about it!!
The fact that it seems to happen more in fic than in playthroughs tells me, if I was to get super deep in a tumblr ask, that people feel guilt about it. Some kind of mask is being employed, by someone, somewhere, in that mix. So I'm not about to add to any of that kind of policing. It would be pretty disingenuous of me to get my most feedback from an Ascendent fic I am writing, and then judge people for liking Ascendency narratives...
So while I don't have much interest in pretending the evil ending isn't the evil ending, that doesn't sound to me (second hand, through you, with my brain seeing 7 or 8 different implications) to be what Newbon is saying. He's just saying that the Ascendent is the less palatable Astarion to other people and that spawn!Astarion still has some kind of mask or a politeness filter on. Which... yeah. Kinda. In my world, I like that Astarion decides its worthwhile to restrain himself, because he has things to care about potentially ruining. But that's still in many ways employing restraint. People don't just stop masking, they learn to care about what others think in a healthy way. They have friendships, relationships, other ties to the world, that make them want to be something other than a cruel or violent or evil version of themselves. I think that's nice, and far less lonely but um... yeah. I can see Newbon's point, even if I don't want to like, live or die by it.
#i can't do discourse don't make me do discourse I'm sorry if you just wanted me to agree and i ended up making it deep#asks#anons#wip: pieces still stuck in your teeth#i think the morality of both endings is pretty cut and dry#its the 7000 murders for me that makes that clear#but in terms of interpreting Ascended!Astarion i doctored my reading heavily to achieve the story i wanted to tell#i dont consider it canon or anything approaching canon
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Indulging in my brainrot again, heres that longer bg3 character design post i was talking about! (@dragonageshitpostingelves, i didnt forget you <3) Also, Spoiler Warning, i talk a lot about the companions backstory and quests, so don't read if you haven't finished those. Or do, I don't care.
Im gonna be honest and admit right now that I am sadly NOT a professional character designer, but instead just a nerd who likes to draw. I think the bg3 designs are amazing as they are and deserve a hell of a lot more praise then their already getting. That being said, i have many opinions about these funny little tadpole people. The first of them being that Gale, Wyll, and Astarion should not look like that. I mean, they all literally have the same body model, just give or take few scars and some hair, then swap the head. Which i think is a little shocking considering that the girls have much more diverse body types. Normally its the other way around.
First, Astarion. I love him, but i should not be able to grate cheese on his abs. Dude was a slave surviving off rats and living in the shadows for over 200 years, he's a rouge with 8 strength and no work out plan other then squatting so he can hide better. The last thing he should have is a six pack. I am a firm believer in scrawny Astarion, that man is wet noodle, he is malnourished and it should show. I should be able to see that mans ribs. Play that boy like a xylophone. This twink is not twinking right now and its driving me insane!
Im not saying he cant be sexy, in fact i think its very important that he is sexy. A big chunk of his story has to do with his relationship with sex and how he views romance as a whole. The whole point of his story is that he seems like the sexy vampier stereotype, but is actually a much more in depth character with a very complicated relationship to sex and romance. He needs to look sexy for that to work. But you don't gotta have a six pack to look sexy! Whenever i see him without a shirt all i can think of is that abs just don't look right on him. Everything else i think they've gotten perfect, he really does look like the character he's supposed to be and i can only applaud Larian for getting it so right, just.. lose the abs.
Second, Gale. I feel like I've already summed up how i feel about his design in my last post, but i like talking so i'm gonna say more! Gale should be chubby!! All he likes to do is ponder his orb, talk to his cat, and study magic. I firmly believe that he also has a side passion for food. After all, what is cooking if not potion brewing but different? Gale can appreciate a good meal and it should show! After all, eating and food is integral to his character with the whole arcane hunger thing he has going on. Give me my dad bod Gale and all wrongs in this world will be righted.
But to be a little more serious about this, i think his story becomes all the more poetic and tragic if you view him as someone who loves food. Because just imagine that you have three things you love, magic, food, and your goddess girlfriend. Now imagine that one day, to impress your goddess girlfriend, you do something kinda really stupid and end up with a magic nuke in your chest. But wait, it gets worse! Because of this failed grand gesture your goddess girlfriend breaks up with and banishes you. She leaves you to deal with this whole thing by yourself, all you have now is your cat and cooking. But wait, it gets even worse!! No matter how much you eat, yu arent ful, so you're constantly starvinng now, and thats how you find out that the bomb in your chest feeds on magic! Which means that now Gale has to ether find a way to keep it fed or he's gonna kamikaze half the swords coast. Meaning he has to eat any magical artifacts he gets his hands on while also dealing with the emotional damage of everything else. Food, one of the only things he had left, is now a stressful reminder of the fucked up situation he's in.
Now I don't think that means Gale starts to hate food, or resent it in some way, I still think he's the adorable little foodie goofball dork who insisted on being the camp cook. But i do think it makes his whole relationship with food something much more bittersweet, which is very interesting and something i feel could be reflected better in his already amazing design.
Third, Wyll. Wyll, I believe, is the most likely to be buff out of these three. Though, I don't think he'd show it as much as he does. We know he likes to dance, and that he enjoys a good sword fight more then anything! He used to fence with his father and overall is a very active guy. He is probably the character that most matches his body, there aren't many things I'd change. That being said, he is still a warlock with less strength then a hamster. He wouldn't be that muscly.
My dude is the son of a Grand Duke, he's had a relatively cushy life that didnt really get all that much harder after his dad gave him the boot (dick move btw). He's struggled, defiantly! But i don't think it'd be a reach to say that Wyll might have a little fat on him. I dont really have much to say other then i think he'd benefit from taking those abs away and putting that bulk somewhere else. When I imagine Wyll I imagine a man with some arm game and a pudgy belly. Maybe some calf muscle too, but overall nothing too defined since he doesn't really use strength in combat. I mean, why does Wyll have more defined abs then Lae'zel? Of all the origin characters she should have the most defined abs of the group. Not these three clowns(affectionate).
Wyll is a softie with a heart of gold, he should get to have a soft body to go with it. Plus it'd add more contrast between what parts are devil and what aren't. Sharp rough horns, a scarred face, and striking but intimidating eyes juxtaposed against a soft but somewhat built frame, quick whit, and a generally nice attitude make for a very interesting design! One that i think would be much more compelling then the kinda default muscly hero build he has now.
Now compare those to the secrete fourth option i didnt tell you about! Halsin! I think Halsin is designed perfectly and there is nothing i would change. He uses a unique body model from the other three and his design perfectly captures who he is as a character. He's big, appropriately buff, and looks kind. I look at that man and i think "yeah, thats a guy who occasionally turns into a bear", and he does! He looks like a natural born leader who knows how to make those tough decisions, he looks as inviting as he acts, and he looks like he gives amazing hugs. Bear hugs if you will! That man is a bear in every sense of the word, and whats more druid then that?
I only really brought him up to set him as sort of a standard for the designs of this game, because almost every single design is just as perfect and well thought out as his. I could go on for several more paragraphs about other characters and why their also perfect, or what other small little changes id make to their designs (cough cough, Lae'zel abs, cough) but this thing is getting long enough as is.
So to conclude. Fuck abs, and get them off my boys! If you've actually read this whole monstrosity, thank you. It took me over half a day to write and i still feel like i haven't touched on everything. Like, i didn't get to praise their designs nearly as much as i wanted to, but oh well. Maybe I'll make another post about the girls, maybe ill ramble about what i do like about the boys designs, i don't know. Depends on if anyone wants that, or if i still got gas left in the tank after this. Finally, please excuse any spelling errors and the inconsistent capitals. Its late, i have dyslexia, and i'll probably go back and fix it later. Thanks again for reading!
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speaking of strongmen and actors doing unhealthy shit for The Shirtless Shot, that kind of reminds me how one thing I actually love an unexpected amount is that I managed to nab a recording of Astarion's first romance scene like... literally just before they would have altered the character model to make his muscle definition softer and more realistic.
Even though I vastly prefer that softer look (could stand to be softer still. just my two cents.), it just fits so well with the story for him to look, that first time, like he's been vacuum-sealed into his skin.
At that point (in my game at least), he's only been free for like... less than a tenday. He's only fed on my girl, his first thinking creature, literally the one, singular time before then, and that was at most two days ago. I cannot overstate how everything there went extremely fast, and the "I drained a whole BEAR" scene, I believe I got either on the previous, or the next long rest.
My guy is deeply dehydrated when he first puts on his "look at me, I'm a sexy, rakish scoundrel, and I'm about to whisk you away to have my wicked way with you~😏" act. That first night, depending how early one gets it, his skin probably looks and feels like parchment, his lips are awful dry (so kissing him isn't like transcendent-great, it's probably just... okay. it's decent. kinda whatever.), maybe the mental fatigue that comes with dehydration is even part of the reason why it's that clearly noticeable that he's not "fully there".
Seeing his body's contours soften as the game progressed (like how even in the scar-reading scene, his body already looked softer) was really a great little metatextual addition for me. It's like there was an actual, physical change being reflected in the game, based simply on the fact that my guy was actually the best fed he's been in two centuries. Under those circumstances, with both beasts and thinking blood being freely accessible (whether given by a willing "victim" "in exchange" for a facsimile of intimacy, or taken by force from others), it's perfectly natural that the guy would quickly put on a bit of weight.
My guy might not be able to see himself change, but fuck if I don't love the thought of his personality and his body softening in tandem.
(also I like the thought of Iona just assuming that the cottonmouth, and oddly dry, shall we say, bits, are another "vampire-thing", and I definitely like the thought of her only finding out that she was very wrong about that later.)
#squirrel plays bg3#i originally wrote a tag novel about this whole thing AGAIN but i won't#i won't subject yall to that#i'll just. write it under a read more in a reblog or something#oc: iona raedir#astarion
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Decided to do a bit of a roll call of my BG3 fanfic ideas to give you all a bit of a teaser and also illustrate how much this game has rotted my brain.
Remember, this started with three (3) fic ideas that were supposed to happen after the game takes place...
For context, my Tav Lysander is a half drow death cleric (ty mods <3) of Kelemvor. And my DUrge eldritch knight Cyril *doesn't exist yet*.
* After Shadowheart brings up Astarion's smell, he gets self-conscious and worries about whether or not it bothers Lysander. Lysander explains to him just how much of a non-issue it is. Astarion realizes that for all he and the others have talked about their pasts before the Nautiloid, he doesn't actually know a whole lot about Lysander. Backstory ensues.
* Cute little post-graveyard scene where Astarion apologizes if having sex in a graveyard was weird for Lysander, and Lysander has a confession.
* (one of my OG fanfics) Astarion reflects on what could have been if he had Ascended, realizes some things, and falls in love with Lysander all over again.
* Astarion wakes up from a nightmare feeling touch averse. Lysander is there for him.
* (one of my OG fics) Lysander learns how to cast True Resurrection, which is one of the ways to cure vampirism. Doing so requires the vampire to die first. Astarion asks Lysander to do it. Angst with a happy ending.
* (tentative idk if I'll do this one but I like the scenario) Direct follow up to the previous fic. The boys get spotted returning home covered in blood. Jahira lectures the cub for being reckless. Shadowheart lectures her cleric bestie for not calling her first (they have sending stones for a reason! And it's not to call each other *after* the fact). Halsin is like the only one who roles up and whose first reaction is to check vitals and make sure everyone is healthy (there will be plenty of time for lecturing later and he's pretty sure Jahira and Shadowheart have covered everything he'd want to say anyway, if not as gently...).
* (one of my OG fics) A now mortal Astarion enjoys the morning routine he's established for himself of watching the sun rise, admiring himself in the mirror for a moment, and then waking Lysander up. He reflects on all of the good things that have happened and the thing that he appreciates most about not being a vampire anymore, which isn't what he expected it to be.
* (This one's a maybe) Lysander, who's a total mama's boy, brings Astarion home to Neverwinter to meet his mother. To Astarion's horror, she's about the same age as him and she finds this hilarious. Astarion sees where Lysander gets a number of his personality traits from; the woman kinda terrifies him...
BONUS ROUND: Cyril/ Ascended Astarion edition!
* Calm down Cyril nobody's trying to kill Astarion you don't exist yet.
* Calm down Astarion nobody's trying to take Cyril away from you, he doesn't exist yet.
* Okay yes you guys drinking blood together is very sexy BUT PLEASE LET ME FINISH MY LYSANDER/ SPAWN!ASTARION PLAYTHROUGH FIRST BEFORE YOU PUT THESE IMAGES IN MY HEAD! CYRIL DOESN'T EXIST YET.
help...
#bg3#baldur's gate 3#astarion#astarion ancunin#astarion x tav#astarion x oc#astarion romance#astarion x dark urge#fanfic#fanfiction#fanfiction writing#writing woes#bg3 brainrot#bg3 spoilers#baldurs gate 3 spoilers
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another thing i think abt is how different everything would be if astarion & lae’zel were gender swapped
like…… even devs have pointed out how lae’zel would have been received VERY differently if she were a male character — fierce, edgy, battle centric, etc — mfs would be frothing over them instead of this strange sense of distaste a lot of the community has
astarion is similar but in the opposite way. EVERYONE loves astarion, everyone’s tryina fuck, despite the fact that his character is genuinely manipulative and selfish. if he were a sexy female vampire elf trying to trick you into sex for food and safety then i feel like there’d be much more pushback on the character, regardless of story/character arcs
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I’m living for your million mile tag ramblings about your bg3 kids. They all sound so messy and I love them. Can I maybe get more info dumps, or the thing where you pic a gif that matches their personality? 🥺😘
Wake
Wake is just so far out of her depth and refuses to let anyone know bc she desperately wants to seem like she knows what she's doing. She met Karlach and was immediately ready to fight Wyll for her. She's very speedy (current speed with all bonuses before dashing: 80ft) and does dope monk shit. She wants to help her friends but man can they stay like... Good? For like 5 minutes? She wants to marry Karlach and adopt 5 dogs. She thinks Lae'zal and Shadowheart are secretly fucking. She thinks Astarion needs a hug and Gale needs a rebound. She and Wyll are besties. She wants Halsin teach her how to whittle. She thinks Withers is a funny little guy. Someone help her, but don't make it obvious.
Tu'an
Tu'an's name is literally trouble and she lives up to it. She's actually a DND character I've got and translated into BG3, and her backstory is pretty dark, which is fine bc she's so beyond caring. There's so much wrong with her, she has an ungodly pain tolerance bc she doesn't really feel it anymore. She can't get drunk bc repeated infusions of very high level healing magic have artificially sped up her metabolism and she processes alcohol without getting any of the good woobly feelings. She finds the fact that Shadowheart could kill her SO sexy. Would absolutely destroy anyone who disparaged Scratch or the owlbear cub.
Moss
If you mixed Parker with Nathan and then further traumatized that resulting person you'd get Moss. Moss is an angry little cutthroat bitch who would sell you for a corn chip. Except not all the time bc if she likes you she would stab the person trying to get her to sell you out. With prejudice. And never tell you about it bc it's none of your business. Her main way of expressing affection is to bitch at you to do self care while pointedly ignoring that she is also not sleeping or eating properly. She and Gale do NOT get along at first, he finds her abrasive and clinical, she finds him annoyingly positive AND he eats magic items. After the Grove he realizes she's more than she lets on and makes an effort to understand her, which throws her for a loop bc nobody has ever bothered to try before. She has no clue what to do with her feelings. Truly a mess.
Vyn
Truly a proper bard. She thinks very highly of herself and doesn't think about anyone else. She has committed plagiarism and will do so again. She wants the glory but absolutely does not want to work. She would have committed cryptocurrency scams if it existed in BG3, and she's so charming she'd have gotten away with it too. The most likely to be tricked by The Emperor, since he's flattering her and she loves to hear nice things about herself. Has never had to deal with the consequences of her actions and is now having just so many rude awakenings. This adventure is going to drag her kicking and screaming into being an alright-ish kind of person and she isn't having it. Wyll isn't even her normally type but she zeroed in oh his hero complex and wanted to exploit it so she would have a bodyguard, but she got in too deep and now she actually wants to be the person he thinks she is and she's never going to live this down.
Ocelia
Besties with Jahiera. Does not care about being nice or polite unless you give her the respect she has earned. Has a strict moral code to protect her from the Wizard Hubris, which often leads her to denying herself things she wants, or making her do things the hard way. Thinks Gale is an idiot and one step removed from a warlock. Unflinchingly honest when prompted, if you don't want her to tell you what she thinks you should not ask her. Has backup plans for her backup plans and always has her head on a swivel. Technically a Duchess although she leaves the running of her estate and lands to her younger brother, who is a much better people person. Can see that Astarion has the potential to be Better capital B and refuses to let him wiggle out of doing the right thing. In return he won't let her pretend she doesn't want something. They bring out the most ragged parts of each other and somehow it... Just works. Neither of them will address the elephant in the room aka their feelings. Shadowheart has a bet going with half the camp over whether or not they'll fuck or murder each other. Ocelia has placed a bet and won't tell Astarion what it is.
#thanks for the ask! theyre all so dumb i love my bg3 kids so much#someday i might even finish a playthrough
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I think Larian should put in some sort of tag to make it clear you're lying or being manipulative in that scene because otherwise I do think it just comes off as very muddled (and a little unfair to people who wanted to play it that way and instead were blindsided by being told they're lying and broken up with)
The reason I read it as manipulation is because that's what Mizora does, and she's using magic to manipulate your physical body so it would make sense if she'd influence your mind as well. She clearly didn't have good intentions and even if you the player have complete control Tav the character I still feel could easily have been read as being manipulated into it with minimal RPing necessary. And just in general I feel like a lot of people would want to play the scene that way
And with Astarion I just don't see the acting when you do that dialogue tree vs other ways to play that scene, like it rather seems like the act drops but that could just be Neil’s acting conflicting with what was actually written
Basically I just feel like cheating and manipulation are both ways to read that scene that make complete sense and it's a little disappointing that the game doesn't make it more obvious that it's not
(also I really hope this doesn't come across as arguing I genuinely think this is an interesting discussion even if I don't agree with your perspective)
Oh no! I am absolutely enjoying this discussion, anon. I love talking about my thoughts and hearing your different ones. I never thought of it as arguing in the slightest, I was actually looking forward to your next reply every time I answered <3 million smooches to you anon I'm having so much fun rn.
And about the dialogue tag thing, I absolutely agree. A lot of people mentioned it too in the game feedback. Even ingame I picked a lot of options that I thought were innocent or meant as a joke only to be met with the fact they meant something completely different and had to reload.
It needs to be clearer when you're lying to someone, flirting with them, being serious, or joking. Remember the hoards of people who tirggeted Gale's romance accidentally by just being nice to him?
Especially about lies, a lot of times I'm confused about the options available because I'm not sure if Tav is making shit up, or if i missed out on a major detail.
And maybe it's subjective.. Someone could argue that you genuinely did believe that Mizora manipulated you because she does leave a mark on you that you never agreed to at the end. I don't see it that way but it's up to interpretation.
I was someone who fell for Astarion's acting during Act 1. All that nice talk and coaxing? His honeyed words to get you to sleep with him? I genuinely took them to heart and believed them. I was like oh he already told me about Cazador so he trusts me and definitely isn't manipulating me ehe!
Throughout all of my first playthrough, I avoided all spoilers and discussions about bg3. I was genuinely eating up all of Astarion's flattery and dialogue. When he confessed to giving me sex in exchange for protection during act 2 i was extremely confused because when did that ever happen?
He seemed very eager in all the sex and flirting scenes?? I didn't get it at all at the time and didn't realise how good of an actor he is.
The only time when I genuinely saw Astarion for who he is ,is when he admits to the fact you would've been one of his victims in the cage in another life at Cazador's palace. Even when surrounded by his mistakes, he deflects any attempt of you to put the guilt on him.
I actually left the game for a week straight. I felt both disgusted with myself for also seeing him as a sex object, i am no better than these people in the cages. Yet also disgusted with him for manipulating both my character and irl me for so long. That's why i feel weird to write nsfw about him even now, I feel weird when I see sexy fanart of him. Astarion is genuinely one of the most complex characters I have ever seen, and I can't simply reduce him to a victim or a sexy vampire. His writing team and voice actor work is phenomenal.
I did the cheating on him with Mizora, too, just out of curiosity and reloaded myself after. I felt very assured when he said he didn't mind and didn't blame me, that sleeping with a devil is a chance you don't simply miss. I trusted his words because I didn't know better.
Only after when I finished the game, saw more posts about him that go in depth about his character and the many many ways he manipulates you in to ensure his own safety, did I actually see him fully as a whole person.
That's why I'm doubtful of even his sympathy during the manipulated Mizora option, the delivery doesn't show a hint of lying in the slighest I agree. But also for me none of his other canonly manipulative lines show any hint of lying for me.
Remember the orgy in Sharess Caress? Where he is all enthusiastic after the Cazador is dealt with, but during it he completely zones out? Doesn't the fact he tells you to "let him join next time" after the Mizora event ring any similar alarms?
I think in the most generous cases possible, he isn't aware he is manipulating you. He is just saying what he thinks would please you. It clearly would make you happy to have the drow threesome even while he himself was sex replused since act 2 and until act 3. Like how it would make you happy for him to not make a big deal out of the cheating.
But it's interesting that you can see honesty in his responses. If anything, it shows that you're piecing together the slivers of truth he lets slip out during his acts because even he himself can still make mistakes and reveal the truth amidst a lie.
There is also another theory!
Astarion doesn't care about sexual cheating, only romantic cheating.
During the Halsin poly dialogue, he gets really happy when you reassure him that he is the one you love. The one your heart lies with. Then tells you to go fuck Halsin as much as you want.
So in this scenario the fact Mizora is a devil matters a lot because Astarion says it himself, devils do not fall in love.
Maybe that's why he was all giddy and smiles, knowing fully it's just sex, something he barely puts value on anymore since he has been freed of i, and doesn't mind you sleeping with devils.
At the end of the day, yeah, like you said, cheating and manipulation are two valid ways to read into the conversation. It did feel rushed a bit, we didn't even get to actually fuck Mizora Goddammit! If i wanted freaky weird magic sex I would've fucked the local wizard instead!
Mizora's intentions are just to make your lover jealous, she admits she just wanted to stir the pot and saw you as a target.
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There was a note with directions datamined (?) from Baldur's Gate 3 for one of the VAs that was like "Slightly horny. (ONLY SLIGHTLY, NEIL)", for Neil Newbon, voicing an elf vampire who is, in fact, very horny and seductive. I like to imagine the Gbf voice director told Hosoyan the same thing when he was recording his Belial lines, like "Okay, just a tiny bit horny now" and Hosoyan laughed in his face and proceeded to seduce the entire recording studio. I can see it so clearly
ALKDJFLJDMLFKDLMFKDFLMKDFLMKFD
i don't play BG3 but as a tumblr user (and good friend with a vampire lover who played BG3) i know Astarion pretty well and yeah. yeah. That tracks.
the line direction is SO FUNNY though i love it.
I can totally imagine the granblue voice director try to say that to Hosoyan.
I also raise you, a production note from Hypnosis Mic where they mention they had to deal with Saito Soma constantly raising his hand going "is it okay if i make it sound sexy", which i also think Hosoyan would totally pull.
So yeah that fits Hosoyan very much. help.
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i'm sitting here, simpin' like all hell for one succy boi and
a Thought™ has crossed my mind
what if
later in the game our paths cross with Casador and he regains control over Astarion? and then the poor chap is ordered to destroy what he cherishes the most, i. e. to kill a romanced mc? and he is screaming "NO!" and kicking and crying out to us and Casador is just sitting back and enjoying the show. and then we get to fight him, all the while trying desperately to do something to stop the madness. maybe Astarion's pure rage and anger and pain and utter love for the mc allows him to break free of his master's control for a split second, which is enough to kill him? and then, of course, que a very fluffy moment where he is shaken up and in disbelief that he had almost killed his lover and that he is no longer anybody's slave. what a perfect moment that would be for him to grab our mc, kiss them hard and deep and finally declare his feelings towards them! what if he also manages to snatch some of Casador's own blood and become a true vampire and then for the rest of the romance he teases the mc with the proposition of biting them so they can be forever together?
anyways
i'm binging all the delicious unreleased Astarion content and my head is swarming with the what-ifs so hard i feel like i gotta write or draw something asap 🤔🤔
#im thinkin so hard i even dreamt of him tonight#yo that casador nightmare you get to see if playing as astarion? heartbreaking!!#and the fact that he bit us not to sate hunger but to figure out if he could disobey casador's orders of not drinking the blood of thinking#man oh man#astarion's whole demeanor of being a sassy sexy egotistical bastard on the surface#and a very broken paranoid and scared creature on the inside#its just strumming the strings of my poor heart#astarion is such a babey#i just wanna hug the poor chap and tell him that he is valid and loved and can trust us#:c#anyways#imma go try to sketch something#shitpost#headcanon#baldur's gate 3#bg3#astarion#larian studios
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