Solar Totality

Sorry, but this whole thing about the dice roll to convince Astarion not to ascend—let’s break it down.

The dice roll exists because Astarion is intoxicated—by blood, by fear, by power. Power is the only thing he thinks can set him free, but only because his perspective is painfully limited. The Insight check isn’t there by accident; it’s meant to give the player context. Astarion isn’t thinking clearly—not enough to truly reason.

Do you know what real fear does? It shuts down higher cognitive processes. The sympathetic nervous system takes over, triggering fight, flight, freeze, or fawn responses. Blood rushes to the muscles, the heart, the lungs, preparing the body to react quickly in case of danger. But at the same time, other functions that aren’t immediately useful—like digestion, excretory system, sexual function, and, yes, logical reasoning—get suppressed. It’s a matter of priorities—survival over everything else.

For example, studies show that reprimanding a child too harshly—scaring them—actually inhibits learning, making it completely counterproductive.

And in that moment, Astarion is like someone standing on the edge of a rooftop, ready to jump—not because he wants to die, but because he sees no other way out of his pain. And Tav/Durge is the damn firefighter or cop trying to talk him down before he hits the pavement.

And honestly—who here hasn’t had a conversation with a parent, a friend, or a teacher, only to later think, Shit, they were right, I was about to do something really stupid?

It’s not coercion, people. It’s just pointing things out. And the dice roll is there to break through all the things clouding Astarion’s mind—blood, fear, and everything in between. Not to convince him.

At this point in the adventure, Astarion is perfectly capable of making his own choices, and if he's deprived of that choice, he gets so furious that he attacks the player. In fact, if you categorically decide for him—either by refusing to help him or by interrupting the ritual—things end badly. He is the one who has to decide what to do, not the player.

It's no coincidence that Astarion gives his approval at the moment he realizes what it truly means to ascend and abandons the ritual. There's no lie there; we don't forget that approval. Just as it's no accident that, in the cemetery scene, Astarion says he feels seen by the player. Because yes—beyond the illusory veil of a sexy, evil vampire, we've seen through it and witnessed something else. We've seen the goodness within him.

Please, let's stop saying that Astarion wants to ascend at all costs and that he's forced not to do it. Otherwise, the reading of the game's and the character's subtext is completely lost. And note that this doesn't mean he doesn't also have the potential for evil.

It's exactly these internal contradictions—this constant oscillation between good and evil—that make him such a deep, well-rounded, and wonderful character. Please, let's not simplify him; that would be a crime.

*coughs*

Leave a note that this is not official art or screenshots :D I just got a little carried away with the rendering, while making these matching phone wallpapers/avatars. There’s so much cosmic harmony art for Jayvik, so I went for moments when they were farthest apart from each other.

[ DARK RIDER/SPEED STAR ⭐ AU ]

a double secret identity speedbiker au me and my buddy have been working on where sonic is the resident speedbike celebrity and shadow is the new mechanic in town :D (more info )

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

🔵 green hills' very own local celebrity! 🔵 has been racing professionally since his teens. tails is (or was!) his main mechanic before passing the torch onto his new employee 🔵 also part of the underground drag racing circuit.. it takes the edge off! 🔵 among busting crime syndicates and shady operations, Sonic (and company) have been tasked with keeping an eye on the drag race scene that's been buzzing with the introduction of new and innovative (and highly dangerous) mods involving a resource called Chaos Fragments.

SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG

⚫ new in town ⚫ Tails' newest (and very first) employee! specializes in the repair of bikes. ⚫ he arrived in Green Hills a little after a mysterious green meteor shower ⚫ obligatory dark past...

DARK RIDER 🩸 the newest racer in the drag racing circuit

Reencounter 🫂🖤💙

Alright so link to Twitter was dead for some reason so I'm posting it here with sum stickers cuz you know 💋

Disassociation (vent)

The Main six Baldur's Gate Companions

Another One Piece crossover I wanted to try just for fun (I am a little bit addicted to doing these atm) And because I just adore Calvin and Hobbes 🐯❤️

[Original illustration credit Bill Watterson - I borrowed and mucked around with A LOT of the original image for this one!)