#but I'm literally just asking this for a character design

[xjulixred45x]

I need to ask from morbid curiosity mostly. I have heard of diabolic lovers mostly from top 10 unfortunately not good ones. What are your unadulterated thoughts on the brothers?

I have talked individually of Subaru and Reiji, and there is a post where i Say which Diaboy i HATE the most, but i Guess is therapeutic talk shit about them all :)

in order from oldest to youngest, not in order from worst to """best"""

Carla to me is practically a P3d0, and it's worse if we consider that canonically she likes Yui to call her "Onichan"🤮 and he's such a son of a bitch, he tortured her SO MUCH (along with Shin) that it made her think about COMMITTING SUICIDE. a scourge

Shin is the definition of Carla's lapdog, and since he has the power he feels comfortable mistreating everyone (but if they were stronger? He comes out with his tail between his legs) GOD THE SCENE WHERE HE MAKES YUI LICK HIS OWN BOOTS. just as bad as his brother. Only he's not a fetishist.

Shu just seems boring and bland to me, I'm sorry I can't say much about a character who literally does NOTHING. Her background is fine, but I think she was very wasted on a character in a bad story.

Reiji IS A SON OF A BITCH, he not only decided to kill his brother's friend BUT THE ENTIRE VILLAGE, OUT OF JEALOUSY, and on top of that kill his mother who wasn't even abusive (compared to the other two, she was quite loving). honestly an idiot.

Ayato is unbearable, I just can't stand him, he acts like a little child. apart from the fact that he is the one who objectifies Yui the most and who insults her the most along with Kou. without forgetting that he is considered the "hero" of the franchise😑

Kanato is all of the above combined in an amorphous and delusional mass in believing that he is the victim and that he is right in everything, being also a necrophiliac and cannibal, there is no need for me to say more.

Laito is, sadly, one of the best written in the entire franchise but at the same time he is a FIRST DAMN, he was the first to cause Yui's suicidal ideas, apart from the fact that HE IS a sex offender who should stay away from people .

Subaru is a hothead who gives me certain Incel vibes, he believes that all women are equal and that gives him the right to treat everyone like shit and be physically violent. Even if he has the most "justified" trauma next to Laito, it doesn't make him any less of a horrible person.

Ruki is simply a control freak who, since he is now a vampire, believes he is above everyone else and is honestly a second Reiji but with a cheap background. but he has my eternal hatred for the cat.

Yuma just doesn't catch my attention beyond his design and being just as aggressive as Subaru, he has literally beaten Yui to death in almost all of her endings. I don't like.

Kou is INSUFFERABLE and eager, not only for being so materialistic but for the way he messes with Yui's self-esteem makes my heart bleed.

Azusa is a MANIPULATOR, no matter who it hurts, he literally Guilt Trips Yui to make her hurt him! and then he cuts her! He might be the "Best" but he is still trash.

Kino is similar to Kanato in that he is spoiled and a horrible being at the same time, he has no consideration for those other than him and that makes him DESPICABLE ON HIS ROUTE, he literally killed a child in front of Yui so that he would not try to escape . it's bullshit.

Overall, I think that would be it. They're all trash, but different trash.

____

en orden de mayor a menor, no en orden de peor a """mejor"""

Carla para mi es prácticamente un P3d0, y es peor si consideramos que canónicamente le gusta que Yui le llame "Onichan"🤮 y es tan hijo de puta, la torturo TANTO(junto a Shin) que le hizo pensar en SUICIDARSE. una lacra.

Shin es la definición de perro faldero de Carla, y como tiene el poder se siente comodo con maltratar a todos(pero si fueran mas fuertes? el sale con la cola entre las patas)DIOS LA ESCENA EN LA QUE HACE QUE YUI LE LAMA LAS BOTAS. igual de malo que su hermano. solo que no es un fetichista.

Shu simplemente se me hace aburrido y soso, lo siento no puedo decir mucho de un personaje que literal no hace NADA. su trasfondo esta bien, pero creo que fue muy desaprovechada en un personaje en una mala historia.

Reiji ES UN HIJO DE PERRA, no solo decidio matar al amigo de su hermano SINO A TODA LA VILLA, Por CELOS, y encima de eso matar a su madre que nisiquiera era abusiva(en comparación a las otras dos, era bastante amorosa). sinceramente un imbécil.

Ayato es insoportable, simplemente no me lo puedo aguantar, actua como un niño pequeño. aparte de que es quien mas cosifica a Yui y de los que mas la insulta junto a Kou. sin olvidar que es considerado el "héroe" de la franquisia😑

Kanato es todos los anteriores combinados en una masa amorfa y delirante en creer que es la víctima y que tiene la razon en todo, siendo también un necrofilico y canibal, no hace falta que diga mas.

Laito es, tristemente, uno de los mejor escritos de toda la franquicia pero que al musmo tiempo es un MALDITO DE PRIMERA, fue el primero en causar las ideas suicidas de Yui, aparte de que ES un delincuente sexual que deberia manterse lejos de las personas.

Subaru es un hiracundo que me da ciertas vibras de Incel, cree que todas las mujeres son iguales y que eso le da el derecho a tratar como la mierda a todos y ser físicamente violento. aun si tiene el trauma mas "justificado" junto a Laito, no le hace menos de una persona horrible.

Ruki simplemente es un maniático del control que como ahora es un vampiro cree estar por arriba de los demas y sinceramente es un segundo Reiji pero con trasfondo barato. pero tiene mi odio eterno por lo del gato.

Yuma simplemente no me llama la atención mas alla de su diseño y ser igual de agresivo que Subaru, literalmente ha matado a Yui en casi todos sus finales a golpes. no me gusta.

Kou es INSUFRIBLE y con ganas, no solo por ser tan materialista sino por la forma ej la que se mete con el autoestima de Yui hace que me sangre el corazón.

Azusa es un MANIPULADOR, le duela a quien le duela, el literalmente le hace Guilt Triping a Yui para que lo lastime! y encima después la corta el!

Kino es similar a Kanato con lo de ser un mimado y un horrible ser al mismo tiempo, no tiene consideración por quienes no sean el y eso lo hace alguien DESPRECIABLE EN SU RUTA, literalmente mato a un niño enfrente de Yui para que no intentara escapar. es una mierda.

en general, creo que eso sería todo. Todos son basura, pero diferente basura.

#diabolik lovers

[mokutone]

hi what do you think abt t4t kakayama (it's canon to me tbh)

:) hi ty for the question. i will do two sweet pictures of them being intimate and then under the cut there's going to be a longer very unsweet and more technical response

so i'm usually not a very shippy person! but that said i am also on the record as an occasional kakayama + kakayamagai enjoyer

i do hc them both as trans and in different ways w/ different experiences of transition and identity! i have no interest in proving my view as canon, but i do regard my reading of the text (text here including the anime) as a valid interpretation of yamato's experience of identity

yamato, for example, imo, doesnt have any real lived experience of being raised as a child of any gender. he was an experimental subject, and then he was Danzō's weapon/vessel for the mokuton, and then he was in anbu.

in a fun little word game which should not be taken seriously: it'd almost be more fitting to describe him as "adgender" rather than "transgender" since the prefix "trans" implies moving across where the prefix "cis" means to stand still, but the prefix "ad" means "to move towards" and i headcanon him as somebody who was degendered as a child, not in a cool nonbinary way, but instead in a dehumanizing, objectifying way, so his experience of creating his identity and his gender along with it is one of moving toward the concept of gender this word doesn't and wont exist, but bc of the way english works it would probably be simplified to be spelled precisely the same as "agender" in the same way that "aggression" came from latin "aggredi" which came from "ad" (meaning to/toward) and and latin "gradus" (meaning step) (essentially the combination means "to step to" [in a threatening manner]) the only diferences is where agender (meaning no gender) is pronounced ay-gender, the agender that comes from adgender would be prounounced more like "uhgender" in the same way that agressive isnt pronounced like "ay-gressive" but instead like "uhgressive"

and then...as for kakashi? i just decided on vibes. i didn't think hard about it.

i guess i should also say that, while i draw kakayama very infrequently, when i do draw it i usually try to be very apparent about the transness in the artwork if i can? especially if i'm drawing anything more intimate than a peck on the cheek. it's no secret that shipping is often times the most energized part of fandom, and i kind of don't want to produce romantic or sexual artwork which will be enjoyed by people who don't think trans people can be attractive? or who find that trans headcanons make a character uninteresting to them? or worse, "ruin" a depiction of a character to them?

often i think about in terms of. IF there are people that follow me that love my work (usually) and think that kakashi or yamato are hot (usually) and love kakayama (usually) but get frustrated or even uncomfortable out when i draw them as explicitly trans? then i'm drawing all intimate artwork of them as explicitly trans.

it's a little like...nobody gets to love my work if transgender characters are a turnoff for them. that's the bar for entry, is the way i think of it, but really its more like putting onions in a dish. if you want to eat the dish you have to eat the onions. if you don't want to eat the onions, don't eat the dish. all the meals i make contain onions. i'll never compromise on my intention to put onions in every dish i make. that's my ninja way, as the kids say.

especially in the climate we're in right now.

i don't know. i have a lot of feelings about how most fandoms tend to view trans men, especially in terms of romantic and sexual relationships. I'm doing a bad job of expressing the depth of how much seeing how fandom treats trans male identity and transmasculine bodies impacts the way that i draw + write kakayama, but genuinely it's something i think about every single time i create content about them.

#yamswers #danova #often even when there r trans characters/trans hcs of characters the m/m pairings are usually trans + cis #+ i wanna emphasize: there's nothing wrong with that. trans+cis relationships are as beautiful and valid as t4t #but...in fiction...there's like. expectations. of how a trans guy will act in a relationship with a cis guy #literally every transmasc person knows exactly what im fucking talking about lol #i'm trying to keep this conversation PG bc naruto is not an adult show—so. anyway #the presence of t4t depictions is basically essential in offering an alternative image of relationships + intimacy for trans individuals #a view of trans bodies which is not designed for the pleasure of cis consumption+assumption #a view of trans bodies not couched in an artist statement saying ''this is a trans body. this is how you interact with a body like it.'' #sometimes even stuff made by trans people will cater to explaining transness to cis people + thats fine and okay and— #—can be cathartic to create. esp as a trans person since so many of us are Surrounded by cis people irl #but. as a singular consumer. i get tired of that. i don't want it—at least not in the way that fandom frequently produces #i'm sorry this was probably an ask that expected a reply full of trans love and just got a bunch of technical stuff back #but to be fair this IS how i feel about t4t kakayama

[phuuca]

There's a criminal lack of FFX mermaid AUs, so I did it myself!!

BEHOLD!! Mershark Tidus (whom I have en entire AU centered around because I have no impulse control)!!

I pulled inspiration from an old story of mine when designing his merform. This means he has: no nose, gills on his ribs, and no hair/fur. His "hair" is just a very, finely thin fin that sits on the head.

Scrapped designs below the cut off.

I tried basing him off of Thresher Sharks, but there are so many different kinds I couldn't pick one. Originally, I wanted him to be super colorful to represent all the colors of Zanarkand, and his personality, but it just wasn't working. So I went with the more sandy colors of the Big-Eye Thresher.

I've always seen it as weird that merfolk had hair, despite it being the most common interpretation. Mermaids are more anatomically closer to fish, but swim like mammals. If they were proper, aquatic mammals, they wouldn't have scales at all: they'd be smooth like dolphins. So are they fish? But they have hair, so they're not reptiles.

IDK man, mermaids confuse me.

#ask me questions about my AU. I'm brain rotting #I love Tidus so much #he's literally just a guy #he didn't sign up for any of this shit #someone save him #phuuca's art #FFX mermaid AU #tidus #ffx tidus #ffx #ff10 #ffx fanart #digital art #digital artwork #fanart #art #firealpaca #firealpaca art #character design

[thoughtpeek]

Thoughts on mermaid Geno?

ooo never seen this concept before but this is neat!!

#asks #clai speaks #neat art!! #after seeing mermaid peach revealed for showtime i've definitely had mermaids on the mind lately #literally one of the best things you can just slap on a character i love mermaid designs #i'm imagining star hill but its underwater... starfish everywhere lots of bioluminescent creatures......

[keeps-ache]

today! on the agenda we have [tears paper away to reveal the single word 'do'] ...

#just me hi #today on the agenda i've added the words 'draw' and 'make valiant efforts' so >:3👍 #//vv has sent me an ask and the sketching. oo it's sketching alright hfhs #am i going to make full character designs for these? probably i have no control in that aspect Hbfhvsfjs #if there is ONE thing i can consistently go all the way with it's character design. i literally could not tell you why that is lmao :3 #there are nights where i design whole casts of characters and then Forget About Them ?????? like dude. why did we do all that hbfvh #really i made a cast of like 10 characters one night they all had their signature colours clothes jobs hobbies dislikes and personal #relationships and then i......... never thought about them again hhhfhsh #[holds them up like a wet cat] does anybody want a strange half-baked story with a cast of about 12 people who are all clones of one guy #who's trying to kill them. cuz man hfhsh #//anyway all the sidings from that i think i'm coming out of the Saute Mode #what's Saute Mode? well you see it's when i've already taken out the ready-made good stuff in my brain and now i need to put in new #ingredients and let them get hot and ready again. Saute Mode :3 #sure it might just be artblock but i think i need an artbreak sometimes so loll #plus Saute Mode means i get to play viddy games without feeling guilty so YAY :33 #but Saute Mode does Also mean i sort of don't. talk to anybody out of my own volition HH #it's the side of the coinage. you understand hfbvhs #//annnnnnywhoodle back to my sketching :>> #posing my wretched beloved.. you are strange and impossible to understand hbvhfs #/:3 toodles !

[evostrashbin]

Do you allow people to use your art as PFPs and such if they credit? I'm new to the blog and couldn't see anything. Thank you for answering!

I'm totally fine with it when it's fanart of official characters!

however I would ask to please not use my summoner or any of my own alt designs for her or Grima that I created, at least not without getting my okay or consent first due to some very unpleasant past experiences. 🙏

#Ask #doesn't just apply to PFPs but for everything #My summoner and designs are not free real estate for others to use however they want #Used to be more leisurely with it but due to >>events<< just please ask me first if you want to use them #I'm okay if it's for gifts/fanart and the likes but not with people commissioning my designs on their character(s) without my consent #I hope that's understandable #Literally all the duo alts I designed for them are based on personal headcanons/preferences/their very personal backstories and dynamic

[illdothehotvoice]

Can my likes literally not right now I'm trying to feel like garbage about having to defend my entire art practice in critique today lmfao

#my professor literally called the way i dress “creepy” and told me it “develeopmentally stunts people who can't let go of childish things” #hi i dress very kid core and love lolita fashion and also i literally don't remember a lot of critique #i was really anxious the whole time and literally had to defend like. my entire art practice #we are a VERY fine arts and gallery oriented school #so any time i do things i actually WANT to do it's treated as lesser #and i get dug into SO much during critique meanwhile people who have more “conventional” art just get praised and can get away with going #“i don't know” and “Maybe!” when asked questions while in the same critique i have to defend character design choices and literally #WHY I LIKE VIDEO GAMES fjfbcbdbsbfbbsf. (has nothing to do with my piece btw( #anyways that was a fun critique dnfjdjdjsjff i'm gonna eat a rice bowl and feel like garbage then go to asl fjfbcbxnsf #i would. draw to feel better but i don't. know if i want to even look at csp right now lmfao fjdhxbsbdbsf #on a lighter note the Megalovania did kind of take me out of a spiral i'm doing good now i think #just GOD that was rough lmfao

[tianhai03]

Tbh!!! I don't understand the inherent strong hatred for DMC2!!! Everyone who worked on it did the best they could after they kicked Kamiya off and Itsuno did his best to fix everything up as well as he could! Especially considering the game was made by people who never created a console game before, and had only made arcade games. With all of the stuff that went on in the background, and having the previous director who HATED Dante's character try to change so much, they honestly did the best they could to make an enjoyable game that still resembled Dante. For everything that went on, it's not NEARLY as bad as it could have been. Is it the best? No. But I definitely wouldn't call it the worst. Considering everything, I think it turned out okay.

Yeah exactly!! I'm not trying to say it's a great game, I'm just saying it's still a pretty enjoyable game and it's not as bad as people say it is.

Everyone only says that bc they only went through the combat with just their guns. The combat IS clunky, yes, but it's playable. I actually uncovered some cool combat mechanics yesterday that wasn't documented in the game as far as I know, it's clear that the people who did work on the game wanted to make something cool, but they just weren't given enough time and leadership (?) to make it good.

It's fine if people think dmc2 is boring and uninteresting, not everyone has the same patience as i do to sit through an unpolished game just because they like the main character, I get that, but I just wish people actually gave it a chance or even just respected the game for what it is.

#if I'm being honest i think the only big issue that dmc2 has is just some lf the boss and enemy designs #combat wise not. yknow. the character models? #bc some enemies and bosses can only be beaten with your guns you literally cant melee them or it takes a long time to do that #*coughcough the eagles; infected tanks and helicopters and that one three faced boss coughcough* #and every boss has something unbalanced about them that makes them frustrating to fight #but thats literally the only thing that made me go 'man this is not fun at all' i had a pretty good time other than that #yeah you can argue that bosses are one of the most important things in a dmc game but. once again. #im not saying dmc2 is a great game. im just saying is an okay game that can be fun if you let it be. #ask #allyanswers #anonymous #anyway capcom since you guys are on a roll with the remakes lately #could you. mayhaps. yknow. remake dmc2 and give it a chance at being good???? please?????? 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 #the re franchise is doing well rn you can yknow. direct some of the money you put in them to dmc and make smth new outside of merch right?? #capcom?????? please???????? im begging on my knees dmc2 needs a proper remake so bad

[robotsprinkles]

once again wasting time looking for a show I watched once years ago on my grandparents’ tv in china that I’ll probably never find

#it's some low-quality 3d animated mecha show #I think it's one of the many knockoffs of transformers I used to watch when we went to china for new years and whatnot #though it might not be #I remember exactly one scene (and by that I mean one exchange between two characters) #(and by that I mean three seconds where one of the humans talks to one of the mechs where I remember none of the dialogue) #the only things I really remember are that #a. I'm like 95% certain the mech was a girl #and she looked sorta like tfp arcee (she was blue and some of her design shared similar elements) if her altmode was a plane #and her face was literally just two eyes inset to a featureless black plate #kinda like vos without his mask #and b. I'm pretty sure the human was asking her to help him get his friends back or something #but that might be inaccurate #because it's been at least five — likely closer to ten — years since I saw this #mostly just want to find it to see if any of the mech designs are any good #and also because I'm sure it'd be a good addition to the list of ''bad movies and shows to watch with friends during movie night''

[welcometogrouchland]

Oh my god. The way that you draw toh characters is exactly how they should look and people should be taking notes when they see your art. My soul is going to leave my body and I will only imagine them as the way you have drawn them. Your art is amazing and I'm going to go internally (metaphorically) explode now (/gen) (positive connotations)

I had to wait a good while to answer this BC I've been busy out of town but now I have a moment's rest I can say:

[ID: four reaction images- one is an MSPaint doodle of a figure with big eyes looking up at you smiling, the second is a photograph of a dressed up monkey with its hand on its cheek, the third is a little girl crying with motion blur and heart emojis edited over, and the last an MSPaint doodle of a figure hunched over crying as heart emojis are edited over their tears. End ID]

#ramblings of a lunatic #asks #THANK YOU I really appreciate the kind words! I love drawing the little owl blorbos #and tho it's definitely not to the same extent as the last thing I made fanart for (a podcast #so literally the maximum amount of freedom #-when it came to designs lol) it's fun to think abt how to put my own spin on things. #I love pretty much all interpretations of toh characters in fanart that I see? #I personally make myself keep them as close to canon as I can (bc I just dislike the experience of getting lost in fanon/- #-disconnected from the source material) so I try to make all my decisions justified to myself. #so like #amitys hooked nose is based on her dad's #willows skin tone is something between both her dad's #(even tho I don't necessarily subscribe to the theory that they're both her bio dads?- #-but that's a whole can of worms that I don't actually have a strong opinion on.- #-i only subscribe to it in fanart bc I think it's fun is what I'm getting at - #-but it's not my actual interpretation of canon #if that makes sense) #and I give Luz curly hair cause in some of the pictures in reaching out- #-it looks like she had hair like that when she was younger? And so did Camilla? #I know hair texture can change w/ time but for now I HC her and Camilla just straighten it. But that doesn't mean I have to <3 #and then all of them get acne because they r teens and if i see another series that features teen characters and gives them no acne #i will scream! #(you can see this in my own ocs design. hits you with the cystic and hormonal acne beams) #all of this to say #thanks for appreciating and loving the personal touches i add to the toh characters! #i love canon but im not owned by disney and im allowed to flex my creative design muscles a bit more >:]

[dailydoobles]

today’s warm-up! <3

#katarzyna #oc #character designed by ozawells originally :0 #but anyways i got more adderall so ummm i'm neurotypical now? /j #but no seriously like sldfkjnhgsdkjfn its amazing how much like #having a Sound Mind affects my art?? #the dynamite and mercer and eddy minecraft art are all from an adderall day #so are my references for soup and wally #but i've been without it for a couple months so i've been really stagnating #i have a big enough amount now that i should be good for a while!! #its really nice to be able to do stuff without my brain imploding #it really makes it so that i can just. draw and listen to music and i don't need MORE stimuli #and i really appreciate that bc it means i can look at references without wanting to explode #anyways this outfit is literally from a niche meme about being a theater kid obsessed with the 80's? #i just like sweaters and high-waisted clothing but i don't draw skirts enough!! so here's a skirt!! #also bc i've been wearing my hair in a side pony recently so it doesn't hurt and my parents were laughing asking if it was the 80's again #doobl

[skekheck]

Rek'yr

#rek'yr #literally what a waste of a character #you just have him in for a couple of scenes and then gets incapacitated #without knowing ANYTHING about him aside from leaving breadcrumbs #he's just used as a plot device to get the main trio from point a to point b and it suuuucks #like I'm begging for more shit on this guy cause don't waste that great character design on shit like that #plus if rek'yr and brea are gonna be endgame flesh him out PLEASE #also the 'why was this character in the work' is more towards #a really weird focus in the books and not periss who's an established character #asks for skekheck

[bonnievoyage]

ok now that i think i finally nailed the two primary mechanics of my game i just gotta do... everything else

#well i kinda wanna start with figuring out character designs so i can start commissioning the person i want #and background design as much as i fucking suck ass at it #and figuring out how to show the inventory without it breaking would be nice #ik the mechs would be the hardest part but this is literally just the beginning #which feels nice honestly i'm still very much hoping to get a presentable demo if not vslice by the end of the year #barring art i think i'm on a pretty good path towards that #bonnie logs #well barring art and being able to afford commissionsgkskfks #i wish i could beg for money now but ik the visual style still needs to be clear when presenting vslices to publishers #ugh i'm actually kinda considering asking my dad i feel like making it clear it's a business expense he might do it

[mondglocke]

i'm not a gamer, i am a waifu collector

#Literally #all the games i love are Gacha Games #Ppl are asking me what i like to do and i'm like :“Playing games” “what games?”.... Listen. so. hear me out. #started with FGO #Genshin #Honkai #HSR #i now started reverse 1999 #AND I AM JUST SO GOD DAMN IN LOVE WITH IT #Story telling #great character art #MUSIC #..... also the urge to write a pnp campaign based on the concept of R1999 is way too strong #i will defend gacha games for my life #also: already making cosplay wishes for R1999 uygbyhagahaga #it will be so niche #But THE DESIGNS #gacha games

[heretical-final-boss]

I'm getting real fuckin' tired of jrpgs pretending I can shape my protagonist's personality over the course of the game. "Hey, here are these cool psychology tests to boost some as of yet pointless stats. Wow, you're really fucking selfish! Have fun only being nice or lukewarm "joke" interactions while you save the world!" To be fair, saving the world comes at the risk of some individuals, but they spend so much time basically telling you the silent protagonist is altruistic while hinting that you don't actually have to sacrifice anyone! But due to plot, you don't have the dialogue options to investigate into that. So you're just stupidly trundling along until someone else spells it out for you while swinging wildly between being lawful stupid and edgy stupid.

#also you have a sister but you barely interact with her but suddenly she's your driving force for progressing #which is never hinted at up to this point #just randomly thrown in there via an interaction with a whole other character who asks why and you can literally only choose the one option #why even make dialogue options a game mechanic then?????? #you clearly designed the game with the protagonist designed a certain way #why let me think i can play a selfish prick when he was just gonna be an uwu milque toast soft bitch????? #and i hate how some of the supporting cast essentially force you to care for the sister! #she came all the way here for you so you should thank her BITCH I DON'T EVEN KNOW HER #SHE LITERALLY STAYS IN THE SAME FUCKING ROOM #I LEARNED MORE ABOUT HER FROM NOTES AND OTHER PEOPLE THAN FROM THE ACTUAL PERSON #i'm trying to pretend this is some meta commentary on free will or some shit to justify the money i spent DISCOUNTED BTW #but it really ain't that deep #just stupid design choices #i'm playing monark

[eff-plays]

There's one convo with Astarion that's one of my favorites that I haven't seen mentioned or discussed yet happens (I assume) if you have high approval with him but play a good-aligned character. (This is at 60+ approval, start of Act 2.) It's probably because it's not a romantic cutscene so it doesn't get mentioned as much as the others (or because he's racist in it and some of y'all don't like to acknowledge that he has character flaws), but I think it's vital to his character and to explain his early relationship with a good-aligned Tav.

I would like to break it down a little, step by step. Because we are all cringe here.

First, he claims to feel a connection between Tav and himself, and the reason for this is because he believes he's identified "ambition" in Tav (and I'll explain why he's wrong later, but that's mostly headcanon territory, so we'll ignore it for now).

But, there's also clearly something holding Tav back from realizing their full potential, which is their naivete.

"Just that you ... have a big heart. You like doing what's right."

(The animations and voice acting here make him look and sound so fucking condescending, 10/10.)

However, Astarion doesn't tell them this is wrong, or that he disagrees. He implies it's a flaw, but doesn't state it outright. That's dangerous territory, see, and might predispose them to get defensive and reject what he has to say next.

No, he tries (and fails in my case, but it's cute that he tries, bless him) to manipulate Tav by appealing to that big heart of theirs.

"So I was thinking, what would be the right thing to do when we get to Moonrise Towers? When we come face-to-face with whoever is controlling the parasites in our heads."

"I'm just saying there's an opportunity here. If we can control the tadpoles, we can keep ourselves safe and liberate the world from this evil."

See what he's doing? You like doing what's right, so what would be the right thing to do? We can keep ourselves safe. Liberate the world from evil.

It's very blatant, but he's trying to appeal to Tav's good nature by framing his questionable ideas as something that will benefit the greater good, something that's morally righteous that they would agree with.

And of course, it's incredibly funny when you ask how he thinks you'll do that, and he fumbles and admits he's not a "details person," but it's also revealing.

He thinks he's found in Tav ambition, when all he's actually found is ability. Tav exercises power proficiently, while Astarion does not. If he had the authority they have, he'd let ambition drive his actions, which is why he assumes that's what drives Tav when they exercise their power. A good-aligned Tav has very little ambition, I'd argue, but they have plenty of opportunity to exercise their power, which they do when their hand is forced.

So what Astarion is saying is, in effect, hey, you have power, I have ambition. Will you please use your authority/ability to do what I want? Here's how it'll totally be for the greater good, I prommy.

This is brilliant writing, and I really applaud Larian for managing to walk that fine line of making Astarion so sympathetic while he's literally trying to manipulate the player character. Because when I first got this convo, my thought was both "wow, I adore how blatant and terrible his manipulation attempts are, it's kind of endearing" and "he's so terrified, it's genuinely quite tragic."

If we control the tadpoles, we can keep ourselves safe. This works only somewhat as an appeal to good-aligned Tav, because it could also potentially sound very selfish, especially if Tav is the self-sacrificing sort. So notice how, when he says "liberate the world from evil", it sounds kinda tacked-on, an afterthought designed to bury his main goal, which is keep "ourselves" (i.e. himself) safe. Like, yes, this will keep us/me safe, but if you're not into that, then it'll totally help the world, too! It doesn't quite work, because he still sounds ironic and like he doesn't believe they'd be liberating anything from any evil (work that 10 Charisma, boy), but that's the intent, I think.

Does he want power for power's sake? Yes. Is he gleefully powerhungry? Absolutely. But he's also fucking terrified, and that slips through just a little bit, even behind the smug and confident facade.

He's trying to get Tav, whom he's seen exercise their power over others, to lend some of it to him, so that he may never fear anything ever again.

All of this from a short, smug convo where he admits he's too stupid to figure out how to fulfill his dreams of world domination.

God tier characterization, 10/10.

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #astarion #bg3 spoilers #bg3 meta #video #worsties to lovers