"Bad boy that makes exception for you" is clearly not what he is lol. Just look at the friendship epilogue. Or really, the fact that you can make him see the ritual is not truly what he needs even if you're friends or you don't even get along.
Except you don't tell him the ritual is not what he needs but talk about the spawn who will die (sounds like guilt tripping him), you wanting him to have a certain type of life (that's Tav's need not his), or that the power might trap him (which they can't know for certain, besides Cazador is trapped by his undead condition, which he loathes, not by the ritual). If you romance him and then break up at the end he literally tells you he made the sacrifice for you only.
Originally Posted by jinetemorance
Astarion wants power, yes, but the reasons he wants it for clearly are 1. self-hatred (he thinks who he is isn't enough and is too pathetic/weak) 2. fear.
His reasons are more than just self-hatred and fear. He also wants to go through with the ritual because he wants the benefits it provides (extra powers, walking in the sun, a warm body, loss of the smell of undeath, sharper senses, etc.) has ambitions and wants to have the freedom to do what he wants. He was a noble who lived in luxury in the past too and he wants to regain what he lost.
Originally Posted by jinetemorance
I don't think it's a stretch to see that Astarion's good arc starts developing quite early on and is not sudden, as he drops his facade and barriers when he lets you read his scars, opens up to you about his consent issues in act 2, etc...
That's just him opening up to love and intimacy with another person not starting to be a morally sound person.
Originally Posted by jinetemorance
Saying he's petting bunnies is also disingenuous, I don't get the derision for a version of Astarion that's still Chaotic Neutral at best.
I was jokingly referring to his dialogue when you try to convince him he can be better than Cazador and that's how he sees Tav's suggestion.
