They're going to kill anyway, for food. What fraction of the 7,000 will agree to go to the Underdark? Obviously less, the rest will just scatter. In that case you doom those ordinary people who will be their victims, as well as those who will weep for those killed. It's a moral dilemma.
The fact is that you don't know what they would do. Some people decide to not ascend Astarion and kill all the spawns for the reasons you say. They won't condemn the souls but they would definitely kill them. Others decide that they are in the same position as Astarion when you meet them and to give them the chance. To assume that they would easily go on killing other citizens when they used to be citizens too (not martial training) and are weak after centuries of confinement, well, is to give them too much credit. It is more likely that the ones who chose to go to the surface are killed by the gur (who actively hunt them) and the guards, who are tough. So sure, it is a moral dilemma about free will and about giving chances and opportunities to people. But at the point you find them, they are innocent because they haven't been feeding at all. They haven't killed or done anything but fall for handsome spawns like Astarions (much like our characters XD). Our character could have been one of them.
Quote
But for those Tavs for whom Astarion is not one of the 7000 spawn, but the most important person in their lives, the situation is clearly seen differently. And why is power always presented as the main motivator? It doesn't look like Gortash and Karlach at all, Tav is helping the man he loves to heal from spawn disability, hunger, problems with sunlight and to become truly free, if it was only about some "power", the issue would be quite different.
Sure, our characters care about Astarion. That is why you help him kill Cazador. But once Cazador is dead, Astarion is already free, spawn or ascended. Ascension gives him power but he is already free as in having free will and the ability to choose his own future/path. The ascension is "an extra". And I've played both paths, so no judgment on wanting him to be happy. But yes, when Astarion sacrifices 6999 souls (I won't count Cazador's souls since I think he is the one who clearly deserves it XD), he is doing what Gortash did. You do it to make Astarion happy and not for power? Ok, but that doesn't change that those souls weren't yours and that you are selling them to get something you want. You are selling others. Like Gortash. Can compassionate people do evil things and still be compassionate? Maybe, but their intentions won't make what they have done less evil. That is why we have the saying "The path to hell is paved with good intentions". In this case literally. Plus, a 7000 pages contract with Mephistopheles might have lots of clauses that your character and Astarion might not be aware of. Learn from Wyll: signing a contract with a devil without knowing the details is a bad idea.
Quote
Well, ok, Tav is selfish, Tav is amoral, Tav only loves Astarion and themselves, Tav can balance this somewhat later by saving Baldur. Tav doesn't care about these spawns, Astarion comes first, Astarion's happiness is the main quest. Tav won't save Baldur if Astarion is unhappy, for Tav this Baldur might as well burn itself all down if Astarion has to suffer and be "redeemed". But what does that have to do with the domestic violence these kissing scenes show us?
I don't know where this comes from. I've already said in other posts that I also dislike the kisses animations and that even if DS is not my kink, I'm all for people being able to enjoy it. Also, it should be the player who chooses how to react to the domination (for me that includes saying that you are not into it as much as saying that you like it). Having said that, to downplay the choice about the ritual by saying that not ascending Astarion makes no sense or that non ascended Astarion is going to be unhappy for ever or that it is cruel to not ascend him, also cheapens the choice to do it. And if you pick the "non ascended", sure, it is true that he won't be able to see the sun (you could try to search for a way in an open ending that is meant to give some hope). Or maybe that he needs to "reclaim the night", which is a way to say that he is going to make his own choices from now on and try to enjoy his freedom and unlife. That Astarion is also free and doesn't carry the burden of guilt or strings attached to Mephistopheles.
Quote
Why is their relationship turning into a nightmare? The world doesn't punish Tav in any way, everyone around them adores Tav, almost worships them, calls them a hero, and Astarion suddenly becomes a sadist. It's already like a delusion, it's completely unrealistic. Payback should come from where the damage was done, not the other way around.
I honestly don't know why they have done the kiss scenes in a way that shows Astarion as a sadist with Tav in an abusive relationship. If I have to make a guess, I think it might be like that Marvel comic artist that used porn actresses to draw the female characters so female characters that were supposedly fighting, were in literally fucking positions. My guess is that they used as a model sadist porn (someone else showed the comparison in this thread or another and made sense), without realizing that the people that get excited about the fear and pain in the face of the woman are usually abusive people. They probably bought in the lie that "deep down" women enjoy that. I hope that once they realize the error, they correct it. But for me it was a bad call and very wrong.
