I'm disappointed there's so little magistrate background information about Astarion in the game. If the Upper City was not cut maybe we could have found ways to dig into his past and help him recover his memories. I hope Larian gives us a definitive edition of the game, restores cut content and expands things.
For me, Astarion is and character not only a survivor, a victim and cycles of cruelty. But also, a predator, a tormented one, who has so many ambitions and desires. They are inward, strong and tempting.
Precisely! There's so much more to him than just his survivor and victim story. The expanded magistrate background would have nicely fleshed him out. He had a life and desires before becoming a slave, but somehow some people only see him through the lense of trauma and treat him like a lost, sad little kitten cinnamon roll who needs a motherly/fatherly protector Tav and can be magically "saved" and "fixed" merely through the power of their love and that it's all he needs and wants in life.
