Astarion needs blood. Envy provides.
Title: "Flew Like A Moth", Chapter 3
Rating: M (for now)
Story Summary: Astarion encounters another tadpoled adventurer in the aftermath of the nautiloid crash. But... he knows this adventurer. He knows them quite well.
Years prior, a vampire spawn meets a tiefling bard in Baldur's Gate. A delicate romance begins, one that is threatened to shatter at every turn. Falling in love is a dangerous thing for a slave.
wounds given & wounds sustained
can I spare a moment to talk a little bit about the slight unevenness of Astarion's top lip, because I just noticed it, and I feel like I want to bite something in two
like it's not super easy to spot because all faces are generally shown at an angle, but the left point of his Cupid's bow is definitely a tiny bit lower than the right. (it's also less obvious in movement, so it's a bit harder to see in-game than it is on screenshots.)
I just.
I love tiny details like this (be it smile lines, dark circles, crow's feet, stray eyebrow hairs, flecked off makeup, etc.), and I love them on every character model, but ever since I noticed this particular visual quirk, I just.... I can't seem to take my eyes off his damn mouth every time he opens it.
Other visual details I love more than it would be reasonable:
I love his grey hairs and lines as much as the next person, but other things that give me joy are the little freckle on Gale's right temple, and the dip in the middle of his lower lip (and of course the faint "tendrils" of the orb that sneak up his cheek to his eye that I just fully did not see for the first 20 or so hours of my first playthrough lol)
The way Karlach has four nicely healed facial scars (eyebrow slit, nose bridge, right cheek, right side of top lip) that are all at roughly the same angle, like she once got caught in a shrapnel blast or something
I love Lae'zel's MANY baby hairs and flyaways (and the honestly really cool detail of the decorative beads in her braids- I like that she cares more about her appearance than she'd ever admit out loud)
Wyll's light stubble???? It's so natural/coincidental that I'd fully believe he's the type of guy who wakes up at 5 am, shaves perfectly clean every morning before anyone would wake up, and yet by lunch, his chin is already a little raspy. Like he could have an INCREDIBLE full beard if he wanted to (and I guess if the scars allowed). (Also the eyebags, and the deep sea creature/classic statue eye with the loosely heart-shaped pupil, that's such a cute detail)
I just noticed that Shadowheart also has a tiny scar on her chin!!! Not just the big one across her nose, but there's a little nick on her chin! That's so cute. (And of course the flecked-off mascara under her eyes, that's my favorite part.) (Also that her eyes aren't purely green, but there's some hazel/brown flecks near her pupil too. She's just super cute, period.)
And one thing I don't believe I've seen mentioned before- Halsin's eyes are not really green or brown or even hazel, but kind of a blue-grey almost, with a brown ring in a starburst pattern around the pupils that kind of makes them appear colder or warmer, depending on the light. It's honestly a really nice effect, but since there aren't many times the camera does an extreme closeup on his face, it's not that easy to see.
(Honorable mention to the little grey hairs I could give my PC that are more- or less obvious depending on the light, all the times you can see pores on their cheeks, and all the scars, lines, hairs, and light skin texture that they were all given. I really love that even though the game doesn't strive for a kind of hyperrealism that'd make it appear super dated in only a year or two, they still made sure to include all those little elements of realism that make the characters appear human [at the lack of a better word lol].)
reblogging this with a video example, because the description doesn't do it justice.
absolutely fucking hysterical get vaporized idiot
so i have a cat now
little lady Socks is 7 years old today!!!!!
I may have to abandon my Tactician run. Owlbearto hasn’t appeared at camp for a while now even though I got him pretty early on. I’ve switched camp locations several times and he’s just not there anymore. This is absolutely unacceptable. I must have my hungry birb boy!
“I love all of you. Just perhaps we should say it more.”-Laudna
Bells Hells talk about FCG after their death. Campaign 3 Episode 92: Broken Roads
My husband got me the most thoughtful gift of a big mini (maxi?) that's meant to be of my BG3 character, Envy. But, being blind, he didn't know that the artist who printed and painted it (his step-brother) got the coloring all wrong. Hubs sent my brother-in-law reference pictures, and BIL is sighted so I don't know how he might've gotten it wrong. 🤷🏻♀️
At any rate, I love it regardless. Look at the details! The shading! The horns and tail! I had been talking about how I wanted to commission art of Envy a couple months ago, and my husband listened. And he really tried his best to get it right, and to personalize it for me. He is genuinely the best. 💙
Honestly, I could actually work the color change into Envy’s eventual story. I was already thinking that Envy would eventually be reincarnated as another tiefling, this time a violin-playing Divine-Soul Sorcerer of Oghma. This new incarnation’s name is Taryn Fell. I originally imagined him as blue like Envy, but having a whole new color scheme works too!
Anyway, I’m very happy with my belated birthday present. I got some spherical dice from my husband too, so I’m a nicely spoiled nerd. 😁
Reblog with your score
HOW?
It's hard for me to fathom why you think that whatever comes next isn't bad.
+bonus:
See if I can send a message to Keyleth. We're back. We're at the surface of the Malleus Key. Just trying to find a way to get back to you.
Another AO3 thing I’m curious about, how do yall decide if something is good enough to read? Usually I follow a rule of 1 kudos for every 10 hits. One because it’s easy math and two it’s yet to fail me. Thoughts? Do you just go for it and pray it’s good?
I don’t know which author needs to hear this right now but even if you never update your wip i would never regret reading it a time of joy is never wasted
