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A beautiful and slightly sad shot.


What a beautiful happy moment! <3 The next day...

"50 shades of gray" is a story about how a little white vampire had a new snow-white suit made to order (Figaro decorated it with pearls), and the little vampire decided that now it was the right time to explore the mysteries of the castle dungeon and find in its dusty silent depths unknown treasures - a one-eyed skull and a dried mummy of a huge beetle (a gift for Sceleritas).


Yeah, I got chills from that scene too! It was the first time he had ever laughed like that before! Astarion only really laughs so genuinely and triumphantly after the ritual. I've watched UA videos and not once have I seen him laugh. What's also interesting is that after the Ascension, he always keeps his posture natural, and stops moving his whole body like he used to. The appetite for the lover should also appear, for now all the senses are awakened in him. At night after the ritual one can see that he really wants it, even when he comes from behind and bites, there is a certain thirst and desire in this bite.


I was lucky enough to find a fairly close old save where we hadn't gotten to Cazador yet, so I didn't have to wait until I got there again. I was only one rest short, it turns out. It's a shame that the scene with the nasty half-naked illithid ( molestation by the Emperor) always comes first. I've had normal interactions with the Emperor, and have no personal dislike for him, but purely aesthetically that scene is just gross. Okay, head with tentacles, that's fine, but at least let him walk around decently dressed, ugh, I have to make an effort to say no to him without insulting him. It would be much better if your beloved's plot scenes were given maximum priority.

Interesting that Astarion didn't say that line to me, about "no one cared about me like you". I replayed it twice - asking what would have happened if the spawns had died, and saying that I hope Cazador can't control him (understandable, but just wanted to hear the answer). Each time, Astarion says at the end, "And thank you. No matter what happens, it's only because of you that I can stand up to him". That line really warms me up too, and it's great, but where does the line about caring hide? I helped him fool the spawns both times before this. Before that I chose the line, "Get the hell out of here!". I know that if you read Astarion a moral, he'll tell a bitter story about the boy he saved and the year of hunger.


These many people are so eager to paint him as a "terrible partner" that they explicitly insist on choosing the "right" lines for their story. Just look closely at those lines. Tav comes off in them as someone whose lack of intelligence is compensated for except by a heightened level of bitchiness. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, the roleplay can be whatever the player likes, as long as it's an option in the game. But it's hard to call Astarion's reaction to it horrible. It's adequate to the situation (except he goes to screaming because he's in pain). How many twists in the head is Tav, who agreed to a ritual that binds forever, and... not even a year later starts throwing tantrums and wanting to break up? The bride ritual can't be broken, a vampire can kill his bride, though it will hurt him badly, but not break it.

Not infrequently they also cite the example of a love confession squeezed out of the unhappy Astarion in an "incorrect form": "I love you, that's what you want to hear." To get to it, you have to talk like a heroine from a bad anecdote to Astarion. If I wanted to eat male brains, I would agree to become an illithid, for surely an illithid enjoys the process much more. And if I want to talk about love, I can always honestly say, "I love you" first, I'm disgusted with squeezing words of gratitude or recognition out of anyone. A begged or squeezed word has no value, and it will always sound "different" than the words a person says to you on their own willingly. But you remember Astarion's thanks before the kiss of the hand, and the next morning. And you don't have to squeeze anything out of him for that.

If you watch a slice of video in the style of: "Bad Astarion - unhealthy relationship" and just put yourself in Astarion's shoes, imagine it all being addressed to you, especially: "You're like Cazador" (knowing that Cazador tormented him for two hundred years and Astarion hated that creature more than anything else in the world), then you'll be able to appreciate this situation in all its colors. For me, there is something creepy and extremely vile in the way it is proposed to leave a loved one in darkness, with eternal hunger, with no colors of life, with dulled feelings, because he does not confess his love in the "proper" way. But this is just my opinion, I am not an expert or a psychologist, for me a "healthy relationship" is a relationship without pain and tragedy, and that's it. The only thing I want to do after that is to go into my game and kiss Astarion, and build my own healthy relationship with him where he never gets hurt again. And you said it very well, that it's a very deep love going into eternity. It's too deep a love to be considered "the norm". "The norm" is something average, ordinary, not outstanding. Astarion won't stop caring about that. He gets sad when you go off to talk to the others at the party in the epilogue, promises to keep an eye on you, and makes that face:
And about "soul loss," if you're interested, we've discussed that here. Starting with illeaillas-san's post #943485.


Oh, hehe, I myself would lose my temper if my child said his father's name was Gortash. An extreme form of surprise, so extreme that it cannot be expressed in any other way than by a word totally unacceptable in high society? If the child learns this word as a result, it will be a complete failure...

P.S. I was going to reply in the "Funniest thing you've found" thread, but when I wrote a reply I saw that we were already being banished from there, so I'm moving this post here (it's mostly about Astarion, after all).


That's a very interesting idea! I've never taken Scratch into combat, I was always afraid for him, but with the invisibility potion it's a different tactic... I also like the simple but perfectly working combination of Tav warrior - defense tank and Astarion - assassin. Astarion is very comfortable throwing stealthy strikes at Tav's engaged opponents. The main trick is the "gentle protective bonds" that Tav puts on Astarion, and also pump his ability to wear medium armor. Armour of Agility (Sold by Gloomy Fentonson at Stormshore Armoury in Act III) allows him to add Dexterity Modifier to his Armour Class + Balduran Helmet + Protective Cloak. AC 26 - Astarion - assassin tank + resistance to all types of damage + half of the damage goes to Tav, Astarion has not died in combat once in the entire 3rd chapter. My personal funny moment - after the fight with Ansur: Tav and Will are wishing for resurrection, Astarion is standing alone, staggering, covered in blood and bruises, stunned, Lae'zel is lying unconscious in the background. And our dearest Emperor immediately appears and begins to tell his story in a sedate way, with expression... Looking at Astarion's face in this scene, I imagined what lines he would say to him now, if he could...


Yeah, you have to ally yourself with him to do that. I wonder if it's somehow possible to combine saving Will's father and an alliance with Gortash, or are they basically mutually exclusive? Haha, I really liked his reaction! He did the right thing, because these heroes are used to the fact that no one will fight back, well done!


Astarion is very practical about flowers! The Lae'zel line is interesting too, I've had other companions with Astarion and this line, but I hadn't heard Lae'zel's answer before!