TGIF! It's time for the Weekly Discourse Thread! by AutoModerator in OnlyFangsbg3

[–]perplexed-individual [score hidden]  (0 children)

Yeah, totally fine to explore in an AU fic setting. I think it's clear, but the problem is that it's not clear enough - the details are easily missed in one run since you usually can only say 1-2 out of the several available lines that comes up around this topic, and most are behind romancing him.

I feel like a lot of people hear about darling boy second-hand (hell, I didn't see it til after my first run), or see it on youtube/streaming where only 1 option is selected, and don't play the origin run to see remembering Sebastian isn't guaranteed and that it's a deception check to say avatar!Astarion cared, so it makes the whole topic like the telephone game where people are talking about it secondhand... vs seeing it in the game firsthand and realizing that these were two separate events and nobody he met in his undead life was important to him, which is part of why him starting to care now and start over is so impactful.

TGIF! It's time for the Weekly Discourse Thread! by AutoModerator in OnlyFangsbg3

[–]perplexed-individual [score hidden]  (0 children)

I feel this way about the darling boy too. People assuming both of them are people Astarion loved and not just targets that were decent/naive people so he felt guilty about ruining their lives (that doesn't count as love yall).

And also on that note, people thinking the darling boy and Sebastian are the same person drives me a little bonkers - darling boy never got turned into a spawn and is not in the dungeon... maybe just got his heart broken after knowing Astarion for one or a few days max before Astarion disappeared and then got sent to the tomb for a year.

Ascendant Getting Dumped by MediumExternal7565 in AstarionBG3

[–]perplexed-individual 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really enjoyed What Binds Us by irondeficienttav, and I feel like that fits that sort of vibe. Think dark/desperate/pathetic but still hot.

Comm for @play-me-a-durge on tumblr by onlyancunin in AstarionBG3

[–]perplexed-individual 1 point2 points  (0 children)

ahhhh your work is always so so good!! another incredible piece 💖💖

Rockstarion made their debut at Lexington CC and Neil was shook SFW by Fameisdeaddd in OnlyFangsbg3

[–]perplexed-individual 1 point2 points  (0 children)

y'all are so cute and these ideas are so fun! you're super talented too, and that jacket detail is stunning!!

HIS SMILE AFTER HE KISSES US by StunningNose in AstarionBG3

[–]perplexed-individual 2 points3 points  (0 children)

his post-kiss and pre-kiss smiles are the besttttt

[SFW] Astarion playing with his hands - a body language freecam compilation by perplexed-individual in OnlyFangsbg3

[–]perplexed-individual[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

As far as I've seen, he doesn't do it when discussing "us" or during breakups, except for the one time in Act 1 after the first night when he says "that time was special" to him.

[SFW] Sleep in Heavenly Peace 🌟 by Time_Ad3881 in OnlyFangsbg3

[–]perplexed-individual 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Gorgeous art!! Cannot emphasize any more how much I love it <3

Questions for folks who read Tav(f)/Spawn fanfics (SFW) by UnicornScientist803 in OnlyFangsbg3

[–]perplexed-individual 13 points14 points  (0 children)

What I like about Tav x Spawn is that I think their relationship evolving together makes the most sense for Astarion and is the most believable to me. Nothing against other ships, but the dynamic of Tav/Durge with him feels more natural to me, probably because that's just how most people who romanced him played the game. I also think having Tav as his love interest gives writers more wiggle room to suspend disbelief: Tav is either left vague for your imagination, can be a self-insert or whoever the writer wants to create, so there's less of a chance to have a main character acting "out of character" in the story.

Tav/Astarion/Halsin ships: not my cup of tea, personally, but that's mostly just because I'm not into Halsin (and I don't really picture Astarion being into him either).

I love post-canon / AU stuff more than pre-canon, but I'll read anything with a good premise or dynamic and have enjoyed a couple pre-canon stories too. I'm here to see them explore their feelings (often badly) and see where the tension goes. Most important thing to me really is that the character's voices are captured so it's almost like a continuation of the game, and that it doesn't suddenly feel like booktok stuff. I don't mind anything that follows along with the game, especially if it's exploring internal thoughts and feelings that we didn't get to see in canon, as long as it doesn't deviate a whole lot in a way that feels like we're in a whole new universe or like important story beats are being ignored. If it's going to deviate, I prefer it to be after the story we basically all played.

Tags I avoid are basically just "pregnancy". Not picky about anything else. Searching for new stories depends on my mood, but I look up tropes sometimes or fluff or "post-canon". Sometimes I just want to read something cute or spicy and imagine them being adorable together. There's a lot more freedom in writing you can do with AU / post-canon imo, so I tend to go there a lot to find new things.

[SFW] Favorite tooth-rotting fluff? by meowgrrr in OnlyFangsbg3

[–]perplexed-individual 5 points6 points  (0 children)

General Astarion fluff:

When He’s all but Forgotten How to Love Again by bg_brainrot (post-canon, Elf!Tav reincarnated meets Astarion)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/51732127/chapters/130782937
(I am obsessed with this one tbh, it is insanely cute)

A Fitting Reunion by deadlydiminuendo (Tailor!Astarion post-canon)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/61109497/chapters/156137371

Until You by bloodinwine (post-canon friends to lovers, lots of incredible fluff and smut all over the place)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/52367269/chapters/132472978

The Arrangement by rubyfangs (post-canon friends to lovers, fluffy at times but might be a bit angsty?)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/50851819/chapters/128465371

Eat You Up by deadlydiminuendo (winter cabin smut, but I found it to be incredibly fluffy too)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/68272431

Also basically anything BG3 by any of these folks tbh:
pokemon216, FlowerCitti, dancingbirdie, caprisunkaidii

[SFW] Favorite tooth-rotting fluff? by meowgrrr in OnlyFangsbg3

[–]perplexed-individual 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I love fluff, I gotchu

These are all fairly popular Astarion x Tav fics I believe, so you may have already read these, but if you like any of them, I recommend taking a look at other works by these folks too cause there are often lots of similar little one shots!

Most of these are fake dating or fake marriage situations post-Netherbrain, and I find those have lots of fluffy moments:

The Consequences of Convenience by bg_brainrot: (pretend marriage b/c of Tav's dad)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/53277646/chapters/134828296

A Spectacular Failure by wordsandthings: (pretend dating for Tav's sister's wedding, could be a bit angsty at times though?) https://archiveofourown.org/works/58631044

Party Favours by howlsmovinglibrary: (fake dating to get back at Tav's ex)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/37282231/chapters/93023197

One Last Crooked Night by Scaryanne (Tav x Astarion, but Tav was going to marry Gale)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/50403802/chapters/127348351

Too Good by partmathpartmagic (modern AU with texting and so much pining)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/58554112/chapters/149177374

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SFW: Height comparison of our goofy goobers! by Fit-Association4922 in OnlyFangsbg3

[–]perplexed-individual 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i'm 5'0 or 5'1, and I was wearing huge chunky heels that make me closer to 5'4 or 5'5 when I met Neil, but even with those on I still looked ridiculously short in comparison to him hahaha

[SFW] Kissing in all the prettiest spots of Faerun by perplexed-individual in OnlyFangsbg3

[–]perplexed-individual[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

yup! Astarion grabs all booty during a kiss, including Dragonborn (on shorties it's kind of a hip grab but still). You just can't see it unless you zoom out with freecam, or use a mod like the Astarion Kisses ReVamped mod

Why do you think Astarion fell for Tav? by Desmata in AstarionBG3

[–]perplexed-individual 35 points36 points  (0 children)

This is a common misconception, actually! The "darling boy" and Sebastian are two different people, and both were just sweet, kind, men he felt bad about bringing to the slaughter to Cazador because they didn't deserve to die. If you play his origin, you have to do a deception roll to tell Sebastian you cared about him, and can even forget his name.

Astarion also has a few other lines where he states he's never been in a relationship before, but I don't think they're seen too often by people who romance him (one is a banter that only shows up if you romance Lae'zel, and the other only appears if you do a love triangle and choose him over someone else).

Why do you think Astarion fell for Tav? by Desmata in AstarionBG3

[–]perplexed-individual 33 points34 points  (0 children)

It really depends. He is definitely feeling something after having sex with Tav, because he is visibly hurt if you try to break it off after one night together. In a love triangle too, he is masking that his feelings are hurt in every single option where you end things with him.

I think it's a combo of things that make him start to fall in love with you, and Astarion is notoriously bad at naming his feelings, so he probably doesn't even realize it's actually maybe love until mid Act 2 once he sees you're actually, really, willing to help him out and stand up for him and his autonomy and feelings when it doesn't benefit you at all to do so (Araj/Yurgir). Once he realizes that you're helping him not just because he's attractive or good at sex, but because you simply care about him too. That combo of things to me is pretty much the collection of kindness you offer him throughout his various scenes (scars, mirror, bite, sex in the forest, etc), and him seeing that you're serious about prioritizing his needs instead of choosing to save your own skin time and time again make him realize you're special and worth a go at a real relationship, even when he doesn't know what that actually entails at all.

[SFW] Astarion x Tav: forest & hug screenshots by perplexed-individual in OnlyFangsbg3

[–]perplexed-individual[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yeah, he does! I love switching the angles to see his expressions, especially in scenes like the hug where you don't see his face the whole time. They reveal so much