Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion game gaslight on Astarion awful behavior

*Id like to have a serious discussion if possible but will see I guess* [spoilers for the entire game]

Well I’’ be clear I think this character is interesting but the tiniest of thought about he is an awful person. However it’s not just that he is awful as the game has a lot of companions that evil/ can be evil. Astarion is just written to get away with a lot of bad behavior that others are not from the reward system, to [according to the IGN of making clear punishments for killing children] And in general you can almost never call him out for his behavior.
For example- in Act after learning about everyone you can call out everyone for their shady behavior. Minus Karlack because she never lies.

*You can question Wyll on his hierocracy for making a pack with a demon.

* You can ‘violate’ Gales privacy and see why he is hiding about the orb, with detect thoughts or again yell at him for keeping It secret.

* you can ask Lae zel about her bad attitude after she starts to like you even if your approval is low from just killing some key game figures.

* Recruit Minthara the good way you can always ask her about her opinion, even if it’s a bit deranged she will at least have an answers for you. Which is well thought out

* Astarion tries to bite you in your sleep, if you reject him he will claim it was silly of him to ask. he NEVER asked though in fact even in his 'supposed 'growth' in Act 2 he will refer to never do things later in the game. When recruiting Minthara he will be 'scared of getting stabbed in his sleep. You can mention its no different then getting bitten. Which he claims he never did lol/ Their also the 'ask before you bite" line in DURGE. Again he never asked. Its one thing for a character to be a liar [fine] but again you just can never address any of his behavior 90% of the time.

The game actual never allows you to question his behavior except once or twice, in Act 3 and its really a nothing answer. The scene I refer to is if he wants to trick the spawn to siding with him when wants to sacrifice them and all you get is a h “well im better”. Only at the end of his [good] ending, or if you are smart enough to break up with Ascended Astarion immediately does he tell you he was manipulating you [which yeah its obvious] but again you cant say anything bout it tell his story is over. In fact its wild he will admit to manipulating in act 2 DEPENDING on how you get his confession if you 'romance' him, then proceed to try to manipulate your feelings all the way to act 3 by asking if you really care about him why wont you let him [kill 7 random stranger who is has been clear are also abused] and you can say nothing about except cut him off, agree or just keep worrying about his feelings.[despite the claim ive read from gamers that he has changed in act 2..he has not] Its one thing for a character to be a liar [fine] but again you just can never address any of his behavior 90% of the time.



If his arc is suppose to be about the cycle of abuse I think its a bit to caricature, I mean runaway slaves & people that commit genocide are real yet Astarion logic is "I was abused so I should be able to kill the people who were abused along side me in a demonic ritual sacrifice[ and the abuser]. Never heard that before. Lot of victims want to kill their abuser but the people who were abused along side them ? I don't recall hearing/reading that behavior. It feels more like a use of the Freudian excuse media trope. Their is a difference between having a nasty attitude from being abused and maybe violent against potential aggressors and planning to be a family annihilator [which isnt caused by abuse.]


I recall the IGN article about the developers saying, you can make bad choices but their will be consequences for that. For example if you kill children in the grove the game wont let you kill children “explicitly” also if they did their ERSB rating would be worst. Now with the vampire though you do in fact get rewarded a lot for Ascended him. Just another example of how he gets different treatment then other characters or consequence systems in the game.

I mean, yes, you haven't heard about ritual sacrifices that involve 7k people irl because they don't happen. In stories they tend to do over-the-top metaphors for things. Shadowheart's story is about having your identity eroded by an abuser/cult, not about an actual deity of Loss giving you amnesia. Same with Astarion. It's not literally about traumatized people wanting to kill those around them, it's just the way the game is conveying the idea it's trying to more effectively, whether you think it works or not is up to you of course.

On that point, I think you're wrong about abused people not being able to want to harm others other than their abuser. This is extremely common and both heard of in real life and fiction. Astarion's story is most closely trying to reflect that of familial cycles, so imagine it as the well known tried and true "dad abuses son, son grows up into a dad, new dad abuses his new son, new son becomes a dad once again, etc etc".
And even without that I think it's extremely common for some victims to try to gain power over others by hurting them because they feel powerless, and they've been hurt. Astarion's killing of the 7k also seems to stand for him trying to evade and destroy any evidence of his own abuse, so I think that also makes sense as a parallel to how real victims might try to avoid facing what's happened to them and "run" instead.

People that commit genocide in the real world do exist though. Also their are people who commit ritual sacrifice in cults. Their are plenty of stories of people killing each other or themselves for their beliefs like the Heaven's Gate Massacre. The magic element of the game does have a real world equivalent if you remove the fantasy part.
Shadow heart is full of personality, despite the years of her memory being erased. She starts to question her "religions teaching" all the way in Act 1. Everyone starts to question their world view a little in Act 1....except Astarion.

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You are ignoring what im saying, and officiating the point. Trying to convince people to commit genocide is NOT normal even in people with sever abusee.
People that commit genocide are Real- Joseph Stalin- Adolph Hilar, The Butcher of Uganda, Mussolini. None of them wanted to just commit genocide because of "abuse" their were several other factors in their behavior like racism, the state of their country and ideology. Most abuse victims don't advocate for genocide ..none that ive heard of .

Please name ONE.
Name someone who was a slave who attempted to commit mass genocide on their siblings and random people. Not their slave masters, not a civil war to become free.

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This just isn't true *most* of the time, its actual an excuse a lot of abuser claim to get less jail time. It reminds me of reading the case study of Son of Sam who claimed a dog made him commit the murder but once you actual start to question people , they will tell the truth on how they just do so because they enjoy it once they run of manipulation tactics. This game wants to use psychology [as the study of abuse is psychology] to excuse bad behavior but in reality the study of criminology or forensic psychology will show that most people who do heinous crimes have high levels of psychopathy. The field of psychology likes to argue if anti-personality disorder and psychopathy are different but here is one definition from the America Psychological Disorder. Its a personality disorder one is born with the core cause not being abuse at all.

antisocial personality disorder
Updated on 11/15/2023
the presence of a chronic and pervasive disposition to disregard and violate the rights of others. Manifestations include repeated violations of the law, exploitation of others, deceitfulness, impulsivity, aggressiveness, reckless disregard for the safety of self and others, and irresponsibility, accompanied by lack of guilt, remorse, and empathy. The disorder has been known by various names, including dyssocial personality, psychopathic personality, and sociopathic personality. It is among the most heavily researched of the personality disorders and the most difficult to treat.


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No it is not, this can be debunked by just looking at the low correlation of criminals various victims. Back to reality- living 200+ is impossible but their are plenty of high profile case of victims, usual woma,n who have been held against their will and torture by deranged men for years. Look up "Joseph Fritzl, "Girl in a Box", Ariel Castro" for a few extensive case studies. Their is a clear type of serial killer that does indeed to a 'human' version of what Cazardor does with are meager amount of years we are live. The victims don't grow up wanting to commit mass murder. Some might become activist, most are traumatized and just want a normal life. When serial killers who do seem to kill people based of their abuse they have a type. They don't just kill randoms.[That's one of keys to knowing its a serial killer, the fact that they have a victim type or specific type of person they kill]

In a way, Astarion moves on from trusting no one to reluctantly trusting the player in Act 1 (given reason: shared interest in survival). His world view isn't changing, but his patterns of behaviour are.

The ascension route affirms to him that the only way to trust is to have the power to enforce your desired results. Most people see a commentary on the cycle of abuse, but I see one on the hunger for power. This includes the reasons to want power -- avoiding victimisation, self fulfillment, even healing.

How people see the ascension route is influenced massively by how the view power. There are people who straight up refuse to believe it's the "bad" ending. There are also people who see Astarion as either a fullfilled or unfulfilled, *unrealized* egomaniac. To them, the difference between the routes is negligible. There are also people who see spawn Astarion as a good guy. It's really rather curious.

Personally, as a concept in lore, vampire spawn are automatically and inherently evil. Whatever their alignment before the change, it doesn't matter. I think Larian brought that to screen very well, though there are people who disagree with me on that Astarion or anyone is meant to have an alignment. He is like the Durge in that there is complexity between nature and nurture. His nature is, I believe, neutral evil though. You can encourage him to be good, but it will never fully go away.

How does he trust you ?
I mean he tries to eat you in your sleep, and he sticks around because strength in numbers. He also still complains about everything you do in Act 1 & Act 2 if you make 'goody goody choices" what are the changes I missed ?

I think the game makes the narrative pretty clear it's about cycle of abuse. They say it directly in the dialogue after you get the good ending in Act 3 for 'The Pale Elf" storyline. He says that he ends the cycle of abuse. [Even though he is the only one who got to Kill Cazador ....despite his siblings being abused too lol, seems to be he is selfish tell the end just not a mass murder]

By Act 3 most people are Level 12, We Killed a God's Chosen, Outsmarted a Lich Queen [if you went to the mountain pass] and many other powerful enemies. I understand if the vision of your abuser is stronger in your head from years of abuse but as I wrote above in more detail- the extreme and almost caricature level of delusion he has about is over the top & not realistic because A.) run away slaves B.) people that commit genocide c.) the psychology of abuse are all real

.[on top of the game never letting you question him, maybe id see growth if we could see his opinion on things but you aren't allowed to call him out . . ]

You can't separate the concept of abuse from power. Put another way, the concept of power is larger than the cycle of abuse, but it will always include the cycle of abuse.

Astarion does tell you who he is depending on the choices you make. He also may not. He's certainly very open about his pursuit when it would be easier to lie and make himself seem easy to protect. There is a lot of tentative honesty. Tentative trust, conditional trust, placed on the belief that he is in control. Astarion is a very certain type of person. The type that cannot trust nor feel safe when not in control. That's why he manipulates in relationships as well, and sees them as a *resource*. You are a resource to him. The growth people see in him is the return of the capacity for some other emotions, sociopathic as that may sound.

Food for thought: when people try to write an evil character, they tend to to mean selfish. Astarion making an unselfish decision by sparing the spawn is by this logic the good route. It's not redemption and it's not change. It's about even having the *capacity* to be unselfish, and therefore be good, which before this point was not clear. I'm aware this is not very satisfying. I've had my own gripes with the spawn ending.

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Yes you can- by definition they are not synonymous at all.


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You are also ignoring what I wrote and officiating the point
post some proof mate, name something in the story that proves he trust you. This is thread full of spoilers so if you had a point you would share it or is just blind abuser worshiping ? maybe I "tagged" it wrong ? but I did put the spoiler for entire game in description.....


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yeah I'm not lost on that he is a bad person, did you read the title ? Or just see ~negative opinion on vampire~? I am talking about how the game itself doesn't let you question it & it also excuse his behavior and rewards it unlike any of the other massacres in the game. It lets you question ever other evil/questionable character.

Food for thought, did you even read what I said or are you just hear to kowtow to the favorite abusive character the game doesn't let you question ? Because you haven't shared a single fact that could show a counter opinion my point about the game, didn't address anything and now your pretending words mean different things.
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If you don't care about this topic that's fine but you decided to post in the thread and just avoid any accountability or genuine discussion .

A) I did not say they are synonymous, I said one is in the sphere of the other. Example: A and B are both letters of the alphabet and cannot be "removed" from it. That does not mean the letter A is a synonym for the alphabet.

B) I gave you a precise example of trust. He chooses not to lie despite lying being the smart choice, very early on in Act 1. All he had to do was to not admit to being hunted by a powerful vampire. At the very least, he should portray him as weaker than he is, not trauma dump all over your salad.

C) Astarion is not my favourite anything. I neither like nor dislike him.

D) The "point" of my post was to voice disagreement on multiple points you raised. Yes, it's a tacky metaphor for the cycle of abuse. No, it's interesting if you look deeper than that. Also, many people see many different things in Astarion, which in turn depends on how they view power.

If you really, *really* want me to disagree with the point of being unable to lecture him (remember, you asked!): I think even attempting to lecture literal evil is profoundly stupid and I'm glad my character is never scripted to look like a fool for it.

Astarion seems just vulnerable enough that some people think it would *work*, but really, you might as well try that on a mindflayer, Raphael, or the hag. Either kill him, let Gandrel hold him accountable, or be annoyed by his egocentric ways, that much is up to the player. It's a rather harsh choice. It's also the only realistic one. Evil people rarely become less evil when criticized, impulses and needs transcend logic.

Yet, if the person in question is sufficiently fuckable or meek, people think they can fix them. I've seen it with even Gortash, people don't recognise the threat. Not really.

You're taking things extremely literally and derailing them to points the story was clearly not trying to allude to. Astarion's story isn't about genocide, even if he can commit it. It's not about the very literal example of "a slave who attempted to commit mass genocide on their siblings". I mean, while you're at it, you might as well ask to name a real person that was the son of a patriar and had to make a dangerous almost self-immolating deal to stop a murderous cult.
Just as another example, even the way more grounded show Breaking Bad wasn't about the real life possibility and precedent of a cancer patient becoming an incredible murderous drug-lord and thus painting cancer patients in a bad light implying there is somehow a real life equivalent where they will kill people because of that experience, it was about hubris and the powerless seeking and unhealthily revelling in power. Tons of stories aren't *literally* about what's going onscreen. They're exaggerated or written in a specific way to get the point of the story or character across.

Bringing up horrible real historical figures is obtuse, and honestly, maybe a bit tasteless. Evidently, trauma or abuse isn't the reason they did all that, and it's dangerous to think that's what trauma does to a person, but it's well known that some abused people will cope in unhealthy ways that will harm others.

The rest of your points are again very literal, and I find the comparison to another real serial killer in poor taste, very unrelated to what I was saying, and ignoring my points about how it's not about that at all, but as someone who has personally gone through extensive familial abuse and trauma, I really need to emphasize that abused people can lash out and be really toxic. Not all, maybe not most, but this is well known and discussed, so please don't try to shut me down and say "back to reality", or say it's an excuse to get less jail time. I'm definitely not a criminal, but I know a metaphor when I see one, and I also know when I'm seeing traits I've displayed being portrayed onscreen. There is a reason Astarion's story has resonated with a lot of people, and I've also seen them talk about how it's made them reflect on how they were harming others.

While also sometimes a cliché in fiction that doesn't always apply to reality, a perhaps clearer example of what I'm talking about I have found to be true on ocassion is that a lot of middle-school bullies have horrible lives at home, and they're finding a way to feel powerful somewhere else. That kind of trope is actually closer to what Astarion's story/characterisation is about, rather than about genocide or genocidal tendencies, even if that's a possible element in his story.

You don't need to say they are Synonymous- words can have shared meaning....ergo a "synonymy" one of two or more words or expressions of the same language that have the same or nearly the same meaning in some or all senses. If you are going to say

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then is saying they have a similar meaning. Claiming the they are related is like saying they are expressing the same thing, as per the defination.

You can in fact remove A & B from the Alphabet...like when you make words or sentences lol. This is what I mean by just ignoring the points and not answering question.

B.) No you did not. Specific the scene in which he acts you to trust you ? You still aren't being specific and just seemly just making up whatever to excuse his behavior.
Trust you to let him assault you on meeting him or when you are sleeping ? Yeah that's not trust that's assault. I am sure their are other treads to knowtow to assualt but this isn't one.

D.) You still didn't address a single thing I said, or give an example. You can disagree and not have a reason why. Which why I ask why did you even bother to post if you don't care about having a genuine discussion about what I said.

You are correct, I did ASK about some SPECIFIC. Which you have yet to answer. As per the title "the game gaslights you about his behavior". You didn't address a single point I made still, your abuse & power metaphor isn't realistic.

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No " its not stupid its called ethics and plenty of people who enjoy critical thinking skills do it all the time. Not that the real world is perfect but the discussion of what is /is not evil is why their are laws on Murder SA , theft and the like.

Its a "choices matter game" if you want to blind do the evil choices their is an option for that. If you want to make good choices their is an option for that as well, except for question Astarion. I still remember the point *I* made even if you fail to address and dance around the issue.

people address "evil" all the time, You ever read a history book ?
what a cult documentary ?
Read A case study about serial killers ?
Their are dozens of example
Like I said if you don't care about the topic [which you don't] and lack any accountability towards abusive behavior because ~negative opinions about fav vampire~.

"If you don't care about this topic that's fine but you decided to post in the thread and just avoid any accountability or genuine discussion"

The act 2 scene where he lets you know about his issues with sex and lack of autonomy is a display of trust. Him listening to you about the ritual is also a display of trust. He does also pretty clearly say he trusts you in his act 3 romance scene.

I don't even disagree with the fact you can't call him out on his bullshit throughout the game. I think you're right about that, and we should get way more opportunities to bring up that he's a douchebag. But if you want a serious discussion, you're going to have to be a lot less hostile to anyone who disagrees with you, and throw less ad hominems at them. Like Silver already said, just because someone disagrees doesn't mean they're the #1 Astarion apologist and that they haven't read your post.

"Claiming they are related is like claiming they are saying the same thing?"

If the letter A and the alphabet are synonymous in your book, let me be more concise: AaaaaaaAaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaAaAaaAAAA.

I hope that clears up our issues.

[edited because some comments got cutt off]

Its MY POST lol, you are the one who is derailing the topic. Maybe You should have read the *first sentence* where I said I wanted to have a SERIOUS DISCUSSION* JFC what do you think that means ? Just because you guys don't want to talk about or cant handle criticism of this character doesn't change what Im going on about. My post IS about that. Can ya'll not read the title.

Actual if you remove the Devil part their are Prince, or the son's of nobles who made alliances with people who would be considered "evil" to protect their inheritance, their country Your ignorance of history doesn't change that.


Breaking Bad doesn't try to Gaslight the Audience into thinking his actions are ethical or reasonable. The story constantly has character question his actions from his Wife, brother in law, and even Jesse unlikes with BG3 Astarion [that the TOPIC of this post least you forget again] . I will refer once again to the title since you lack basic reading comprehension " [the] Game Gaslights on Astarion awful behavior. In Breaking Bad. Walter White is NARRATIVELY clear that he is a bad person. The police are after him. His family disowns him. He gets to the point where he kidnaps his own child who he no longer has full custody of [if memory serves] and stops and looks at how far he has gone.
In this game Astarion can just do whatever and their is little to no repercussions. The reward system of the game rewards you for his action, the Gur are not a threat and he just goes his merry way off into the sunset, or to the Underdark depending on what you choose.
Walter White , while doing one last good thing, Dies for his behavior.
Horrible example for you to even try to use. Fits my purpose well though.

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No darling you are simply ignorant and did not expect I know more then you at the topic. If you are going to claim the story is *realistic* then Im going to use realistic examples. What you guys think you can support atrocities and no one will question on that ?


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DUHHHH. What part of " I want to have a serious discussion" did you not understand ? Also you had no problem throwing around the claim that he is realistic to how abuser act but as soon as I have real live example and Case studies for you too look up l its in 'poor taste' lol, You are a hypocrite. These are well known stories, that most people should have at least heard of on. You are fine with using abuse as a fun buzzword until you have to face the truth

You are such a hypocrite lol. Don't talk about abuse if you can't handle real world example. Abuse is REAL and has REAL WORLD consequences and has History in the real world. Do //not//claim a character is realistic if you cant handle the real world truth of the matter.
The facts of how abuse happens is derived from * read world* case studies, stories and lived experience of real people. Not the weird vampire fetish that you are all 100% okay with using real terms to condone his behavior until you are faced with //reality//

I don't know how to tell you this, but again, in bold letters: IN D&D LORE, ALL VAMPIRES ARE EVIL AND LACK THE CAPACITY TO BE TRULY GOOD. ALL OF THEM.

Now, It's alright if you do not know this and are hence unable to recognise that Astarion, the Hag and Raphael are portrayed as evil because of their species. It's even fine to be critical of that framework -- some species being inherently wicked leaves a bad taste in people's mouths. However, you need to understand that is the narrative. Bg3 can be confusing because it shows flickers of goodness in even the Emperor, known illithid. However, make no mistake, this is the same game that says illithids have no soul and aren't even truly alive. Bg3 wants you to question if this framework is complete or true, but it never says it's outright false.

Okay, it's clear then you've come here to be very unserious and refuse to even try to comprehend counter-arguments. And, again, if you've read my post, you should be very aware you don't need to tell me abuse is real.
Have fun with your thread, I'm sure there will be tons of serious discussion had. Although I recommend relaxing a bit, this video game stuff is clearly getting to you.

🥱 Yeah we covered the evil part already, doesn't change that the game doesn't let you address his behavior unlike the other evil characters. But I see you have nothing but circumventing the point tell the bitter end.

I don't really care about D&D as a whole...I am just talking about how Astarion is portrayed in the game....but I guess if you had a rebuttal or wanted a genuine discussion would would keep trying to move the goal post to a completely different topic.

laughable coming from a person who cant comprehend that killing 7,000 people is in fact genocide and wants to ignore that point because "abuse", even thought that is a key part of his final story arch. If you want to be serious, ignoring mass murder isn't the best start Honey !. Says a lot that you think mass murder is inconsequential to his story lol. just WOW.
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quote[ You're taking things extremely literally and derailing them to points the story was clearly not trying to allude to. Astarion's story isn't about genocide, even if he can commit it]
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Here is the definition by the way.

gen·o·cide
/ˈjenəˌsīd/
noun
the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.

Ways you can call out Astarion, incomplete and abridged version:
- take vengeance for his bite attack by staking him on the spot
- give him to Gandrel
- forbid him from biting anyone else (starvation)
- tell him off for trying to bite you
- punch him for trying to bite you and/or having killed you
- criticise him for hiding his vampirism from you
- kill him after ascension. Companions will question this, example response to Minthy: "he's become a monster", M: "maybe a monster is what we need right now"
--> common factor: extreme responses
- break up with him. Be questioned by Astarion at length, get to criticise him and his behaviour FINALLY in multiple scenes (easy to find on YouTube).

Ways you cannot call out Astarion:
- tell him he's a psychopath in Act 1
- explain the concept of boundaries in Act 1
- denounce multiple offhanded remarks
- have a talk about being a victim of sexual violence and how it impacts his behaviour outside romance

Conclusion: most in game handling of Astarion comes down to extreme physical violence or starvation. Until late Act 2 to Act 3, you are not meant to have deeper conversations and shows of trust. High approval is especially important to get anything out of him, as are optional encounters. Most of Astarion's depth as a character is easy to miss on accident. Like most companions, you do not get to have some heart to heart moments without them trying to get into your pants (unfortunately). Most of the opportunity to renounce him without abandoning him is romance-gated. If you want to "teach" this terrible creature, a soft touch goes further than shouting. The game nonetheless only gives you easy to miss chances to work with him.

As for the option to just shout at him in Act 1, no doubt some players would find it very satisfying. As for my own view, I've already said it: if you can't handle him without frustration, don't recruit him. Just kill him. You are not obligated to put up with NPCs bullshit. You can walk away.

Ironically, the actual Astarion lovers would agree with you more than me since, it's become a popular point that the game either:
A) portrays you of overly tolerant of his behaviour unless you show a not so mild response (earning high disapproval -- there is no respectfully disagree until Act 3).
B) if he's romanced, this impression can get flipped and the game "aggressively portrays you as a victim" (I would say you *are* a victim, but that is how people feel).

Christ on a Cracker, Killing someone is not calling some out. Looks like We need to bring the dictionary out again
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/call-out

to criticize someone or ask them to explain their actions:
call someone out on something If he did anything wrong, I'd be the first to call him out on it. [end quote]

Again, do attempt to use some reading comprehension and use terms correctly. Unless derailment & being disingenuous is your point as i clocked a while~ ago.

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The option when you break up with him that I have seen are " its been wonderful but I just want it to end or This is just my decision its final". The Dark Urge 'break' you end up staying together because you just tell him you are scared of hurting him. You can only break up with Ascended Astarion and tell him " Because I have self respect or because he is like Cazador. You cannot break up with AA after the prologue is over. ~ [I paraphrase the exact quotes mind you]
Liar Liar ~!

Do you have an actual video title or channel in mind or are you just making up junk again because you don't want to *use words correctly* and ignore my point some more ? So my point stands tall with 0 rebuttals again.

You cant address his behavior, the game rewards his bad behavior he gets away with things none of the other characters can get away with [evil or good] as I listed in the OG post.

Killing him is only one of multiple options to respond to his behaviour, and a very valid one if I may add. There is no arguing with 99/100 bloodsuckers. Again, the smart choice is to kill Astarion, just as it would have been for Astarion to be a pathological liar -- the smart choice is not always the morally good one. There are hundreds of videos that show all of the scenes I mentioned. A good start would be to search "punch Astarion" in YouTube and watch further recommendations. It's incredibly easy to do and takes perhaps one minute of your time.

I know it is factually possible to call him out because I have done so. I have also watched multiple videos on his romance paths as well. Honestly, if you struggle with this, you only have your own dialogue choices to blame. This is someone you can literally tell that he's a monster. The breakup is not mild mannered. It only irks me that this is partially romance-gated.