Ever noticed how much less a romance with non-Ascended Astarion gets? A friend of mine certainly did. How weird!
Yes, non-Ascended Astarion's my fav but at the same time I did notice how lacking in content he is after dealing with Cazador in general. And this is my personal hot take that might offend some people, but I feel like Ascended Astarion was the writers' favorite pet while also wanting the player to feel bad for giving into that whole power fantasy at the same time and even punishing players for it, fucking wild!
But yeah, I agree with your entire reply, very well thought out arguments, but this part really struck me like lightning!
