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How Sangvia sleeps with Astarion 😴

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I made this at 2am because it was an emergency

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I was playing with the camera and Halsin made this face and I fucking lost it 🤣

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Dark Gale hasn't left my brain since the last time I drew him

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EXCUSE ME, SIR. Who gave you the right to look this fine??

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I honestly thinks werebears deserve more love, cuddly and big killing machine with a soft spot for their so? Yeah sounds nice.

I've been playing a ton of Baldur's Gate 3 lately so I'm 100% thinking about Halsin when writing this.

He calls you his "Polyohonte" after the greek myth where a woman is cursed to fall in love with a bear.

He's huge, a mountain of a man even when he's not shifted into a bear. He has a tendency to come off as intimidating even when he isn't trying he's just so big.

He hibernates during the winter. He's too sleepy to get anything done, but the basic necessities to stay alive, and you best believe he'll do his best to keep you in bed with him. What do you mean you need to get up and do stuff? It's literally December- stay in and cuddle with him.

He likes using you as a pillow. He's too big to lay on you, but he likes putting his head on your chest or stomach while he sleeps. Loves it when you lay on him too. It's just nice having you close, especially when he's sleeping.

He knows a lot of random herbal remedies for things like headaches or stomach pain. He's also a great cook, although he has no gauge for how much food a normal human eats so he always ends up making too much.

You know about the honey game? You blindfold a partner and then place a drop of honey somewhere on your body and they have to find it and lick it off. Yeah, he's a big fan of that game. Although- his sense of smell is good enough he can basically tell exactly where the honey is even blindfolded, but that's his little secret.

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People are always saying Astarion must be really kinky

And sure, I mean that comes with the whole vampire thing. He's not vanilla that's for sure. But on the other hand he's also oddly...Gentle? He cradles tavs head during bite night and checks on them the morning after.

He is very soft and loving in the first romance scene, if you don't invite him to bite you, it's basically just sweet kisses and gently being set down on the ground. The "roughest" thing that happens is getting pushed against a tree. He's playful. He doesn't do anything "kinky" or rough unless invited. When partnered, his kisses are very sweet. He always takes a moment to look into tavs eyes and smile after and tells them how amazing they are or how much he enjoys being with them.

He only gets rough by default if he's ascended. In which that is a whole power dynamic that tav is consenting to (hopefully, otherwise don't ascend him). I feel like with all the things he has gone through, he cherishes being soft and gentle with his love more than anything else.

TLDR: Astarion is a big softie by nature and I think that's cool. Especially with the stereotypes of how vampires act towards their lovers in most media.

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they moved wyll to the center for good pr

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It is I, in your inbox again!

One thing I also love about Gale is how protective of you he is.

He respects your prowess in battle so much--and we all know how much he loves it, thanks to that one scene.

But when he needs to, when you're in danger, he thinks nothing of protecting you, even when he's known you all of five minutes, such as if you recruit him before Astarion.

("If you that, I will incinerate you" lives rent-free in my head)

Hello hello again 😊

He most definitely is! The whole scene with Nettie where she deceivingly attempts to poison you is also another great example.

Granted, Gale cannot help but think about the catastrophic consequences that would have been unleashed, had he been in your/Tav’s place — but still. His concern and outrage about your consent not being taken into consideration are honest and heartfelt.

Gale is so generous, whether he is in a romantic relationship with you or not. Sure, some of it may just be who Gale is (he is fundamentally a Nice Guy™️, after all), but most of it stems from his need to feel indispensable, to prove himself worthy, to be useful. Because that’s how his worth has always been measured. Everything in his life — his power, his knowledge, even the love of his partner — has always been transactional. Up until now.

This reflects in his self-appointed position as camp cook, in his willingness to teach you the moves that will help you win at lanceboard, but also in the genuine fear that you will no longer want him around the moment he opens up with you about the truth of who he is and what he has done.

He has spent the greater part of his life on a knife’s edge. Yes, he’s been in a position of extreme power and privilege. Yes, he’s known the love of a goddess. But all of that was dependent on him being the model Chosen — always obeying, never putting a toe out of line.

The moment he disobeys or does anything else than what Mystra has expressly instructed him to do, he is cast out, stripped of his privileges, left to suffer, abandoned — forgotten.

And then he finds you. And not only do you not send him away, but you actually welcome him — for who he is, not for what he brings to the party. No one has ever done that before, apart from Tara and his mother, and it’s the greatest gift he’s ever received.

You have shown him a level of trust and understanding that can only be repaid with his utmost devotion. You protected him (from Mystra’s ridiculous demands but, above all, from himself) and, in exchange for that, he will protect you fiercely for the rest of his days.

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There are two manipulators in camp, and the more successful one isn't Astarion. It's Shadowheart. I'm not saying that Shadow is a better manipulator necessarily, but that she uses more successful tactics than Astarion.

Astarion does not care about your relationship or affinity with the other companions. He only cares about your relationship and affinity with him. He may call everyone "darling" but he flirts with you. He gets in your ear and says sweet and nice things... to you. He compliments... you. He plays around... with you. He wants you to feel good about yourself which will make you feel good about him. Most of his manipulation moments happen in one on one scenarios, where it is just you and him. He is a very different man when he's with you because he's manipulating you. He acts very differently with people around you or in group settings. If anything, the person he is in group settings is closer to the real man he is cause he's not trying to manipulate everyone.

He puts on this overly flirtatious mask cause he is using you to guarantee his survival (at least at first). But, because he puts this mask on in one on one scenarios, it only takes just one second to you to see through it to fail. And if you happen to catch on to him, you can see very easily through the mask. The manipulation instantly fails and he is forced to be himself to try to maintain your approval. But if you don't see his mask early on, he could convince you to do just about anything, even the most heinous of actions. And then when he willingly lets his mask fall or feels he no longer needs it and you see the real him, it's too late. You've already fallen in love with him. Now, he can do no wrong in your eyes.

Shadow uses nearly the exact opposite approach. She does care about your relationship and affinity for others. To be precise, she wants you to have a slightly unfavorable opinion of the others so that she comes out as the favored by default. Lae'zel is a particular target of this. She avoids one on one scenarios and pushes you away every time you try to get close. Yes, it is that inner Sharran of hers in regards to keeping secrets. But also the fact that she's super easy to see through if you get close to her, so she wants to keep you away for the sole purpose that you don't see that she's manipulating you. But, even if you do, she still has the benefit of the doubt on her side.

Her manipulation mostly takes place in group scenarios. She takes advantage of things as they happen and she says very precise words to sway your opinion in the way she wants. Unfortunately, Lae'zel is a perfect example of how successful this manipulation tactic can be. Shadow doesn't not need to tell you Lae'zel is dangerous, she just reminds you that she is while Lae'zel is actively doing dangerous things. Shadow will even openly admit to this tactic and it will fly over your head that that's exactly what she's doing because she has made herself appear as someone who wouldn't do it to you. Or, admitting to it can make you doubt that she ever would as you may think, "a real manipulator wouldn't admit to manipulating me, right?" Her manipulation is all about planting just the slightest bit of doubt, and you do the rest and manipulate yourself for her. And she does it so marvelously. She makes sure that the only person you don't doubt is her.

Astarion's manipulation requires that you never see through his bullshit at any given point in time. If you do, the manipulation fails. Shadow's manipulation can survive you seeing through her bullshit because everyone, somehow, keeps proving her right anyway.

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shadowheart and lae'zel really went from enemies to "our gods lied to us about everything"

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yes

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too hot to handle.

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A relationship sheet I made for my durge, Elaerys + a blank for anyone to use c: Feel free to edit this in any way you'd like. There's also a PSD on my twitter (@sunacred) if you need it!

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that datamined karlach design…..

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“Okay – I know what this looks like.” Your Orc Boyfriend held his hand out to you, defensively. His face was stained with soot, along with one or two of his fellow cooks, both shooting glares into the back of his head. “But I promise you, it was for a good cause.”

From behind himself, he pulled out a charred and burned mound of… something. Raising your eyebrow, you looked between him and the plate. You weren’t trying to be rude, really, but… for your life, you could not recognise what was on the plate in front of you.

Your Orc looked hopefully at you, but at your confused expression, he let out a sigh. His shoulders slumped, his head hung. “I knew your birthday was coming up.” He said, “and I was able to sort your presents. But then you started going on about cake… so I tried to make one and…”

Cake, to you, was one of the best things in the world. The problem was, every time you had tried to purchase a cake from a village or town since joining the Orc camp, it was always taken from you at the last moment. Sold out at the last moment in a bakery or - when you did finally get a hold of one - was knocked from your hands by accident from a clumsy Orc.

You felt it was wrong to just invade the Orc’s supplies and cooking stations to make your own, so you resigned yourself to a cakeless existence.

Your Orc Boyfriend, who had never had anything but meat for food, was intrigued by the pastry. “So, it’s like a sweet bread?” He asked you once you finished explaining the concept to him.

“I…” you hummed in thought, “I guess so? They’re easy to make, pretty much anyone can do it.” You sighed, “I wish I could have it for my birthday.” It was only two weeks away by this point, the thought of having such a costly present made your mouth water.

“Why specifically your birthday?” Your Orc asked, curiously.

“It’s a human tradition,” you explained. “You get presents too, but cake is more of a luxury for the common folk.”

After that conversation, you found your Orc evasive.

You knew his routine like the back of your hand; Every morning, he would get up at early dawn and then go out hunting. A couple hours later, he would return with game and crash for a nap in the afternoon. Then, he would rise for dinner and then stay up late to sharpen his weapons.

But for some reason, he would forgo his nap, extending his time out of the camp. The first time he did it, you assumed he was just trying to make sure he got all the game in the area and when you asked the others, they confirmed your suspicions.

You tried not to take much notice of it after that. Although the absence of your Orc began to worry you slightly. Was there someone who was forcing him to leave the camp? If he had been given extra work, he would have told you about it… Right?

Your worries continued until the morning of your birthday. A boom shuddered through the camp ground, causing you to jump up from your bed. Rushing out, fully prepared to defend the camp in case of an attack, only to find the rest of the camp roaring with laughter, their attention directed to the food tent.

Pushing your way through the Orcs, you found yourself standing at the entrance of the tent, Orc Boyfriend covered in soot and holding a smoking, charred lump on a plate.

You knew your Orc was not the best in the kitchen. This was why he was given hunting duties over being in the kitchen with the other Orcs… But you had no idea that it was this bad.

“We don't even know how you blew up the kitchen.” One of the Chef Orcs grunted. The crowd eventually dispersed and the Orcs returned back to their duties.

And so, those were the events that led up to this moment.

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to make you happy.” Your Orc looked away from you, eyes downcast to the ground.

Your heart stung at his hurt expression. He really had tried, hadn’t he? Even if it had ended in a disaster. He really wanted to give you that cake huh?

Walking up to him, taking out a handkerchief, you wiped his face free of soot. He still didn’t look at you, as though he were ashamed by what had happened. Cupping his cheeks, you force him to look at you. “Thank you for trying.” You kissed his nose. “It’s the thought that counts.” And with that, you pecked him on the lips. “But, maybe I should be the one to do the kitchen work from now on.”

At that, a small smile overtook your Orc’s frown. “Yeah. That’s probably for the best.” And with that, the two of you made your way back to your tent and opened your gifts.