okay, i think i figured out how i triggered this, since the starting dialogue is apparently different depending on your encounters: i didn't talk to araj the blood merchant at moonrise (didn't even know she was there tbh) and i got this scene only after making an enemy out of everyone at the towers, which is why astarion doesn't mention the kindness. the hug is exclusive to his romance path, but will happen regardless of how the scene is triggered - again, it just has different starting dialogue. also, i'm quite sure you *have* to interact with araj if you want to trigger the platonic version of this scene (as in you didn’t entertain any of his previous advances) here's the clip, for anyone curious: ua-cam.com/video/zKt4tVNWeMk/v-deo.html also! i wrote an analysis of astarion’s trauma and survivalhood on my twitter, if anyone is interested in reading that: x.com/pwrynz/status/1699185774241915201?s=46&t=xwJVzJ_Qqv-aFdObJunY5g
Oh thank you so much for this detail! In my playthrough I got the platonic start and was curious how to get this one, I'll definitely go back and try to get this one.
@@oliviabees oh sorry i just realized how my wording might not have been clear enough! both scenes are romantic as long as you started a romance with him in act 1. i meant to say that if you didn’t get close to him at all in act 1, you won’t get the option to hug him (as far as i know) - in fact the whole conversation plays out differently.
@@cwear9909 interesting! I was in a relationship with him (or at least the “he calls me darling and we’ve slept together twice) with high approval and only got the version where you hold hands! I really can’t wait until we know all the scene triggers haha
I can also add to this a little regarding a rather unfortunate bug with this scene: For me the "confession" scene (as opposed to the "thank you" variant) triggered before we even reached Moonrise Towers. If you get this confession scene (like in your video) and then talk with Araj, there naturally won't be a separate "thank you" scene (since it's the confession scene that gets altered, if it didn't play for the player before Araj), but Astarion also WON'T change his greetings with you in this case (which is most unfortunate because the confession scene is to me just so much more powerful than the thank you scene). However, if you do the thank you scene after speaking with Araj instead, then his greetings to Tav WILL change! Instead of the normal high/v.high ratings ones you will get "gods, you're beautiful" and "what do you want to talk about, my dear?" or thereabouts. It's very frustrating that going with he original confession scene doesn't seem to trigger this change. Now I'm already in act 3 (having picked to stay with the original confession scene) and, sadly, his greetings are still the standard ones, so it might very well be that going with the thank you scene is the ONLY way to trigger them.
I very rarely see that type of trauma be respresented in the media, very often with sa it’s just represented in the same way every time so this is very refreshing
@@caoimhedoesstuff9293 it really is! Especially with how relatable it is to people with that trauma too. Hypersexuality is just as common as sex avoidance
Yup. I was in a therapy group for CSA when I was younger and someone there was aggressively hypersexual and it made a few other members uncomfortable and one of them asked her why she was like that, and she laughed and said "'cause you can't rape a whore" and that stuck with me because I didn't realize it until she said it but that was 100% where my head was at the time, and yeah it's pretty common, it's just not talked about as much because it tends to go hand in hand with victim blaming :-/ Astarion... yeah. That. Though tbf he's only hypersexual for like 10 minutes after he leaves Cazador, then he realizes he's still doing it and he takes a break from sex for a while, then seems to come back to it with a much healthier relationship. Not that I'm being dismissive of any part of his story, I love him and I love what they represent through him, but I feel like it's easy to forget that with each long rest being a day, he may only be free of Cazador for a week when we get to this point in his story. He actually makes pretty incredible progress when you think of it like that.
There's one other scene where he mentions his SA trauma. If you take him into Moonrise Towers and talk to Araj (the drow blood alchemist), she will be VERY creepy towards him and ask him to bite her. When he says no, she literally asks Tav to order him to do it. At camp he'll talk with Tav and worry he was being 'too precious' and how he's been fetishized as a vampire. If you ask him if he's ever enjoyed sex, he will talk a bit about SA. It's one of the most vulnerable moments I've seen from him in a non-romance playthrough.
God that "I didnt know how to say no" is so heartbreaking. Its a whole wonder that he doesnt leave your party after this but good on him for standing up for himself and not forgiving.
No because this scene just really helps enforce the fact that men can get SA'd too. There's many people out there that downplay men getting assaulted, but this scene, and many more, show a very real and very gritty part of life that sometimes happens, like to me as well. And I just...love Larian so much for including these heavy scenes in a massive game. Makes it feel like DnD. Makes it feel real.
I am a man who has been sexually assaulted. Nowhere near as bad as most, it was a stranger and only for a moment, but it happened. It was brief, it was confusing, and it had someone I didn't know grabbing and holding me in a way I *definitely* didn't like. Even mild examples like mine aren't fun. I can't imagine how bad it must be for Astarion.
Yes! I love that it's included without even beating you over the head with it like so many movies/games do. It's a fact of his life that deeply impacts him in ways he's not even entirely aware of all the time. It feels...so...REAL. The writing is jaw dropping, honestly. I never expected this kind of emotional depth to a game and absolutely applaud them for including it and HOW it was portrayed.
“this is all a game to you. no matter what i say, you get what you want.” something about this line being said within an actual game, where you could very well change the outcome to your liking, is very gut wrenching. even as someone who’s only watched playthoughs, it’s something that really highlights the weight choice has in this game and how well it’s thought out.
Holy hell, astarion face is really showing a lot of emotion. Even the game is mostly silence it makes me tear a bit. The writing, voice acting, and the animation is so sublime
Right? The expressions are top. 0:50 That little unsure lip-bite is my favourite. So subtle, but says so much about how daunting this is and vulnerable he must feel...
"Being with someone still feels... Tainted. Still brings up those feelings of disgust and loathing. I don't know how else to be with someone, as much as I'd like to" DAMN, this took me almost 10 years to figure out within myself and this guy comes in and sums it up. God I love media
4:54 The moment you can see Astarion realizing he has been out-vampired... he bared his heart like a love-struck fool, only to be used for his body the way a vampire would use a mortal. And now he realizes he can either stay in yet another relationship where he is being used, simply to be protected, or he can leave and bury the hope he had for something... normal. Good god, his face. That hurts to look at.
"I didn't know how to say no". i felt that pit in my chest. I sort of wish there was a way to also tell Astarion, I feel you, I understand, and you will never have to fear saying no again. 😭
Damn As another SA victim, this hits hard in the feels. Though I have grown out of my edgy murder phase by now, looking at my past self... Astarion is quite fitting. With some help, and give it a few years, I could see him warming up more and more to being good after all.
ahh same here! i think that’s why i’m so attached to his character too lol. he reminds me so, so much of my younger self (albeit, yknow, less literally murderous like you said, but still prone to anger and [self] destructiveness). in terms of character development/healing he still has a long way to go, but i’d say he’s doing fairly well for having dealt with 200 years of abuse. hopefully larian decides to bless us with some dlc in the future, even if just to see how all the companions fare after the end game :p
I do hope so too. I want to give him another hug. Tell him I'm proud about how far he's come. And the same goes to you, feel yourself hugged, if you're comfortable with that :3 @@cwear9909
Accurate: I didn't even really put that part together, but when you said it, I really do see an aspect of my younger self. And yeah I feel like that's why I feel attached to him as well. I really hope he gets that chance to heal more.
So rare that video games deal with SA respectfully, but this is the first time I’ve seen a realistic potential at what it looks like when you start trying to heal. Both the outcomes. The first he’s trusting the PC enough to communicate his trauma, and the things he struggles with because of it, ie learning to relearn where intimacy sits in his mind and body into something that can be enjoyed. In the other, the fact he’s still learning to listen to his own boundaries is taken advantage of, but this time it ends with him standing up for himself, and hopefully causes him to continue to learn to value his own consent. It’s chilling honestly, how much it reminds me of how I used to be. (Yes, SA survivor here, won’t be looking at replies so don’t take it personally if I don’t respond. Just feel like a landmark of great writing that I had thoughts about.)
It's HEARTBREAKING. As someone who has been SAd and coerced into sex, his "I didn't know how to say 'no'" was triggering the first time I saw it. Now I wanna romance him to ONLY get the very best ending. Because he deserves nothing but the very best. My poor "little star" 🥺 😭😭😭😭
The Insane detail of the animation of his face.. That little jaw clench/blink at 4:58 before he turns to confront you. Heartbreak, resignation and resolve. You can SEE the decision he makes. This game goes so far beyond.
He's such a well designed character with so much depth. I love how they didn't shy away from the harsh reality of his life nor the way he copes with it.
This scene is simply outstanding. Just think: it's the first scene since meeting him where he genuinely lets all his guard down & takes the risk of being honest & vulnerable. All his carefully maintained, flirtatious, suave persona is gone. Just his pure emotions, shame, confusion, fear, insecurity. For YOUR sake. For the sake of being caring, true and simply honest with Tav, because that's how much he already fell for you, how much he values you and how those pure feelings pushed him to go past his trauma (which up to this point, kept him in defense mode of "as long as i can seduce and manipulate them into not turning their back on me, i'm safe") and just... open up. It's simply... Beautiful. That's all.
That's so sad but, given the subtle hints if you're familiar with trauma/PTSD victims, I'm not surprised. I knew from the start Astarion is an abuse survivor. It all made sense. His overcompensation with narcissism/egocentrism and self-esteem, his defense mechanisms... Would you mind showing the outcomes of the remaining dialogue options as well? I'm especially interested what happens if player character is the one rejecting Astarion after finding out they were manipulated and played.
oh yeah, spot on! he absolutely suffers from C-PTSD - the dots are fairly easy to connect like you mentioned, and watching his story unfold when you’ve gone through similar is a trip. to be honest, i’m glad astarion isn’t a perfect/moral character. his reaction and instincts are completely understandable (not necessarily justifiable, though) because when you go through such awful events, it can become habit to seek out similar violence considering it’s all you know. reactions to trauma can be far uglier than what most media portrays and larian did an excellent job breaking that norm. and ahh unfortunately i won’t be able to record anymore until next week since i’m away from home but i’ll definitely keep that in mind!
I didn't try completely rejecting him, but if you tell him that he needs a friend, not a lover, he is pleased with that. He says that he had many lovers through the years, but no friends and he would like having one
I went through decades of abuse. Imagine 200 YEARS. God. He’s actually VERY put together for someone who was traumatized for such a massive expanse of time. I love him 😭
I had taken the first response, he was pleasantly surprised and overwhelmed afterwards. Had the same result as the first choice with him. Unfortunately without a hug. 🥲
I feel so sorry for Astarion I hope all players are growing a healthy relationship with him helping him heal his trauma, nobody deserves to suffer like that
i've never seen the bad ending (for obvious reasons) and holy I'm surprised he doesn't leave your party altogether. I'm so glad he ends things with Tav, and the line about it being a game? Wow.
"i didnt know how to say no" really hits me like a ton of bricks and i wouldnt have it any other way. it really makes him feel even more relatable as a character, that his trauma feels more than just skin deep for the sake of giving a character a flaw/sad backstory. it feels real, especially when youve been in that sort of place yourself before.
I went into this game when Astarion was first announced in early access, adoring another silver haired vampire; he quite vaguely reminded me of the titular vampire from Legacy of Kain, a character I latched onto when I endured some horrific trauma in my adolescence. As much as I wanted to pursue Astarion as a romance, however, learning more about his trauma has made me more focused on helping him defeat and break free from his abuser. The trauma that's haunted me for over a decade is its own story, but helping even fictional characters overcome their tormentors, manipulators and abusers helps ease the pain when I was never able to find justice for what happened to me and my kin. Haters can say what they want, but Astarion's under my protection and we're gonna slay Cazador together. It goes beyond trying to romance him; I see enough of myself in Astarion that I want to save him when nobody else could save me.
This is an all too common thing unfortunately. Where someone experienced trauma, and now they don't want to do certain things sexually, but their partner is like "Yeah but I'm *safe* and if you do it with me, it'll be like, taking the power back." Instead of just accepting that person's boundaries and trauma as a "no-go zone" they keep trying to insist. And, the other person eventually agrees / feels coerced into it, and their partner is ""safe"" after all, right? (Wrong...) Glad the game covered such an issue. Someone may have certain boundaries or things that aren't mentally safe to them to be able to do after a trauma, in that case it's their partner's job but do nothing but say, "I completely respect that." Not pushing them, not hiding coercion with therapy speak. ("How could I help get you to a place where you would feel comfortable with this" NOOO!! THEY SAID NO)
Nooooo, the last part.... thank you for your sacrifice, that hurt to watch, can't imagine having to record that. Just... the thought of him genuinely pouring his heart out, finally being honest and seeming hopeful again and then Tav just crushing that like it's nothing. That's something.
God imagine the people who didn't understand (or care about) the weight of what Astarion was saying in that conversation and cluelessly chose the bad dialogue options not realizing where that would lead to... the fact that this game allows you to be that evil and let you deal with the consequences is on a whole other level 😭
@@DeziCh I had a similar moment with Araj (the drow lady at Moonrise) where I picked the option of 'it's up to you, but that potion could be useful', thinking it'd just be a trivial annoyance to him and I thought he'd say no if it really bothered him. Had to re-do half the zone after the break-up scene and in hindsight it really was fucked up to ask that of him, but I feel like it makes sense that you wouldn't necessarily know that he struggled with saying no to that. My evil durge is by no means a good man, but he genuinely cares about Astarion and would not want to knowingly hurt him like that. Would be so neat if you could make mistakes like that... and then learn from them and grow as a couple, instead of forcing you into either being the perfect human(oid) being ever or not romancing them. Though I do think certain things like what was in the video are kinda... obviously bad. Like he's literally telling you his issues and you just used him again for sex. It makes sense that that's a point of no return.
hug was way too short but i LOVE LOVE LOVE that Larian explore the incredibly traumatic effects of what Cazador did to him not just physically but also psychologically, sexually, and emotionally. He has so much trauma and I really appreciate that when you romance him and he realises he wants to try really caring for you there's no way to be intimate with him for a while because he's figuring it out slowly and trying to deal with the ramifications of that trauma. It's really beautifully done.
'if thats what you want then.. i shall.. provide' neil's voice acting is so intensely sad here you can hear how astarion is trying to force himself to be ok wtih it..
Very interesting. The dialogue was different for my character; it was triggered after refusing the drow woman in Moonrise. Not sure how you received this one, but it's a lot sweeter and goes into more detail about his feelings than the prior. I tip my hat to the developers. Yet another reason to replay the game. Though I must confess, I'm not looking forward to farming his approval again. I tend to play characters that are very kind, and it's an absolute pain in the tocks trying to navigate the social sphere and please him at the same time.
I think you get this scene semi-randomly once you have reached high approval with him (for me it was 71). You just need to make sure to NOT speak to Araj until then. If you get the alternate less romantic confession, try re-loading a safe before speaking to Araj and take a long rest to trigger it. That worked for me at least
the bad dialogue options omg i could never.. 😭😭😭 however it's good to see how in-depth Larian went with his story and character development, it's remarkable 💔
"I didn't know how to say no" By God the writing for this game is just gutting my soul at times. It's so raw. And that's the point. You're not supposed to feel like you did something good. You just plunged a traumatised man into more trauma and shattered what little hope he had to ever find something true. On top of that, every line, subtle or not, about what years of SA has done to him, it feels real and I just want to weep. This is out there. People see this. They see this and maybe, just maybe, they can understand us survivors a little more. That we don't push people away bc it's fun. We just don't want to be used, get hurt and see hope die anymore.
My heart fucking sank omg 😭 the depth in this game is unreal. I couldnt bring myself to consider hurting him like that. "I didnt know how to say no." Jesuuuus
This is the insane thing about this game is the way the characters move. It's...alive. Look at Astarion's body language when he says "It was easy--instinctive." he's fiddle-nervous gesturing with his right hand. To an untrained eye, it could probably look like a weird animation by the character model but this is distinctive to the way his hand gestures out nonchalantly before falling in dejection. I love this game because these characters feel alive.
probably should have worded it better but the ‘ending’ is just the outcome of the scene if you pick the wrong dialogue option, not actually the end of his route. it’s the same scene, same prerequisites, but a very different impact. just don’t pick the coercive sex/r*pe option - he’s literally confiding in tav about his abuse, it should go without saying that’s *really* fucked up - and you won’t get the bad outcome. talking about it further: i had a feeling that's the kind of abuse he endured and the ‘seduction’ was a masking/coping mechanism but to see it front and center stings as a survivor myself. not upset that it was included though - that's a *very* important topic to touch on and i'm glad larian acknowledged just how detrimental SA is to one's psyche. his character resonates very deeply with me and i’m glad it does with others too! yes he’s still murderous and mercurial but it’s still fascinating to see his genuine trust, vulnerability, and general character develop from the purebred bastard in act 1. which … is somewhat understandable, imo. the effects of trauma manifest differently for everyone, and aggressive/power seeking/self destructive/hypersexual/etc instincts are much more common than you might think. obviously doesn’t justify murder, but his actions until now start to make more sense and i hope there’s an opportunity to help him heal and break the cycle of abuse.
Apolgise if I say something strange here, just some rambling; I am pleased (?) with how Astarions (obvious) SA was handled, right here in these scenes (and sadly, especially the bad one) it becomes obvious and I’m glad they did that, I’m ‘happy’ with how outright Astarion was with all this, if that makes any sense ❤😢
"like yeah he’s murderous and chaotic but" Imo, there should be no buts here. Past trauma is not extenuating, but rather aggravating сircumstances. If after suffering at someone's hands you started to act like that person, if you decide to follow in the footsteps of your tormentors, if the only lesson you learn from your pain is "I wanna be like this guy", you're a hopeless case of extremely stupid, inherently evil, irredeemable person. A good, reasonable person would do their best to become the complete opposite of someone who caused them pain.
@@Leonion6 ah sorry that might have came across wrong, i meant to say that it’s interesting to see him grow from being so violent. but then again, this is a fantasy game, and he endured literally 200 years of abuse. it doesn’t excuse his actions but you can understand the reasoning, and i dislike the narrative that all trauma survivors are just broken souls destined to be heroes because quite frankly trauma is a life changing thing and before you’re able to properly heal from it (which takes a really, *really* long time, and may not even be complete), there will be a lot of “unsavory” reactions. particularly when you’ve been exposed to nothing but violence - emotional instability and aggression is, unfortunately, a commonly seen symptom in CPTSD. not that continuing the cycle is ideal, it never is, but it takes a *lot* of help and time to be able to break free from it, and as it is in act 2 i don’t think astarion is quite at that point yet lol. but we’ll have to see in act 3.
Ya know, I’ve felt things for game characters and their plights, their feelings… Anders, Fenris, heck, even Skyrim lovers. But this character (and all of them) are so complex, I didn’t think I cared all that much but seeing the ‘sad/bad’ options makes me feel really down 😂 talk about feeling guilt for choosing the bad dialogues, this game takes it to a whole new level. Thanks for sharing this!! Appreciate the work you uploaders a do!!
exactly! not that dragon age companions weren’t compelling, i definitely fell in love with the casts (especially cassandra and zevran), but the companions of bg3 have so many layers to them and the level of choice really adds to just how much you can influence them (or even how they influence you). it’s incredible how much love the writers at larian put into this game. also, no need for thanks but i appreciate it! it’s actually not too much work, just recording with obs and merging all the relevant clips together in openshot :p
The first time I got to Moonrise I made him drink from the drow by choosing the 'it's up to you' option and he broke up several long rests later. I was kind of confused and annoyed cause I basically had to re-do the whole zone for him, but after getting to know him better, it makes perfect sense for him and it's sth I've seen in several scenes now, that he just doesn't know how to say know and his instincts kick in and then he hates himself for it and aaaa.... It's just so well done. I do feel awful for putting him through in hindsight. I do wish that was sth you could recover from, if you are genuinely sorry and promise to learn from it. My Dark Urge is by no means a good person, but he does care about Astarion and doesn't want to hurt him in that way. It was an honest mistake and it's good that he brings it up and tells you that it bothered him, but I just wish that that was a learning point instead of a full cut off. Kind of makes it so you are either the perfect, all-knowing partner or not a partner, instead of a human(oid) being who makes mistakes but has their partner's best interest in heart. Sorry for the ramble.
I’m not a victim of SA, but my partner has gone through it. They don’t talk about it a lot but when they do, they talk about how much the abuse has damaged their past relationships. How it pulls them back from wanting to show love and brings them so much shame, no matter how hard they try. When astarion said, “Even though things between us are different, being with someone still feels tainted” and “I don’t know how to be with someone, as much as I’d like to” it just reminded me of them. Characters like astarion remind me a lot about people like my partner, n how precious they are and how worthy they are of feeling safe and loved.
Thank you for show us a bit I will never be able to make myself play through. But I'm very proud of Astarion, he stood up for himself and he deserves it!
The first part is sweet and awkward, Mr. Flirts-a-lot tries to handle... feelings :D The second part, oh boy, that was rough. In both, he's so out his comfort zone and emotionally constipated it's not even funny.
i love this simply because he shows a HUGE moment of vulnerability in this scene, risking his ego (which we already established that he has a huge one) and pouring his heart out despite the centuries of traumas he had to go through, he risked it all to confess to you despite understanding that if you DO reject him, it'll most likely be the biggest hit he's ever taken emotionally. I adore him and his character, I can't imagine this game without this snarky lovable vampire in it to spice things up and be the grounding romance that we need To be fair, same could be said about all the other companions, which is honestly what makes the romance is this game a 10/10
I looked at the screen blankly after the video was done.. it was too sad. Thank you for uploading this option too bc I'm pretty sure I could never choose the bad ending option even if I forced myself
I've seen a lot of other comments here about victims of SA and it makes me feel so welcome as one myself. When I see people disliking his character purely because he comes off as so selfish and self protective and an asshole, it hurts so deeply because I feel that's how I present myself because of my abuse. Not to get too into my own experiences, but I've been in relationships where sex was held on the table as a bargaining chip where it was the only thing keeping them with me, only thing keeping me worthwhile for a relationship despite the fact that I was a sex indifferent asexual. Seeing a character like Astarion become so warm and unthinkably worried about intimacy because he's worried it'll be latched onto something more and only a means for the more hits so deeply. His writing is so incredible and he's more than just the sassy vampire. I appreciate his scenes like this so much for making us, as he mentions in a scene, "feel seen".
It's a little funny how he goes in for a kiss and then takes two steps back to his original spot because that's how conversations work in this game lol.
OOF. Thanks for posting this and for the warning. I might've chosen that dialogue option (in my head it meant something entirely different, like a sex positive "let's figure out what YOU like", not...that...). If I hadn't seen this video I might've been blindsided by a scene I would notttttt have been prepared for. Dammit BG3 how dare you make me feel all the things!!!
I felt like that one was a bad option, but holy hell... I think I picked up on his past from the other dialogues I've had with him, and through speaking with real life abuse survivors, but that scene cut pretty damn deep. Glad I didn't pick it.
Many people, myself included, use fantasy to deal with very real trauma. I’m glad that this game doesn’t hold back. Everything that makes Dungeons and Dragons wonderful is in this game. Those who created it capture the laughter as well as the tears so beautifully. DnD for me has always been an opportunity for my friends and I to not only come together to make each other laugh, but also to share our emotions with each other, to put our hearts and souls into our characters and the stories we tell. And through them, we heal.
this scene is so much more genuine than the one i got defending him against the drow in Moonrise. Im assume that no matter what version of the confession you get it does not change how he speaks to you later on, he's still his snarky self. Im so mad i didn't get this version, in the second version he confesses so nonchalantly, like its a second thought. Because of that all this time i've felt like he's still being manipulative like he truly does not care for my character. If only i got this scene it would have changed the way i see him completely.
Oof love seeing myself / my old self in another character. Another _male_ character at that. Male SA victims are rare in media; I’m usually forced to relate with girls. Alas, he, Fenris, and a few others are ones I resonate with.
It hurts to see at 2:11 when you finally hug him, it almost looks like he thinks you’re going in for a kiss. He’s clearly bracing for that. But then you hug him, and he realizes he doesn’t have to pretend right now. He can just melt into the hug. I’m gonna cry.
As much as the outcome sucks I'm glad to see it ahead of time, because I initially read the line about learning to enjoy it for himself at face value, not the player forcing him to do it with them *_at that moment._* But upon rereading it and seeing the "You should enjoy it with me" I see how it's kinda manipulative and red flag-y, especially considering Astarion's immediate reaction after choosing that option
You can clearly see in his face he really doesn't want to do it as you walk over after "i shall provide," not to mention how sad he sounds when he said it as he's clearly trying to keep up his usual witty persona, but you can literally see his heart breaking after having laid himself bare to the PC and they respond with wanting sex, proving that they are just as bad as everyone else he's come across since turning I don't even have the game myself, nor do i own any of the consoles you can play it on unfortunately as i definitely would have bought it already if i had, but damn if that bad ending didn't break my own heart, especially at that look at 4:58
I had a different dialogue 😮 Astarion thanked me for not making him bite the Drow (the one who dreams of being bitten by a vampire). He said that it would be easy to step over himself and do it, and that he probably still thinks like a slave. And then there was an option to hug him and I immediately rushed. I did not have such a sensual recognition. I am now obsessed with going around the second circle to get this scene 🙃🙃
Astarion’s character originally hooked me in with his looks but his story and how much I related to him because of it made me adore him. His trauma definitely effects who he is as a person and yeah not really in a good way. He’s snarky, aggressive, self centred, and manipulative but once you get past that shell you begin to understand why. It’s him just trying to protect himself from getting hurt again. I get it. It must feel so much more satisfying to finally not be the one being used. I also love that he’s a male. Male victims are extremely underrepresented and when they are represented it’s usually a feminine, weak, shy, and insecure victim. Astarion isn’t really that. He’s decently strong, pretty vocal, vain(for a lack of better word.) man. Definitely almost cried a few times while talking to him especially when I started to see through the cracks.
Tbh, I've never seen a romance route this beautifully written in a video game and I've been playing so many dating sims, rpgs for a long time. Astarion's romance truly takes the cake.
Putting my comment here for in case I ever find this video again. But this was the first video I found on UA-cam of Baldur's Gate. Thank for for helping me find this by posting.
I didn't even know you could do this to him until today and this just absolutely makes my heart hurt. Even the good and sweet interactions with him so often make me want to cry my eyes out. The bad ones make me want to curl up and scream.
I’m glad people like you are making those videos, recording worse possible dialogue choices! Especially for a person who’s language is not English and sometimes I don’t understand fully what some of those lines mean?? I though Tav just giving advice, I didn’t expect him to just go and push Astarion to have sex. Sheeh!! 😨 If this would have happened during my playtrough I would delete the game and bury my PC in the woods 😂 I’ll be extra careful not to pick that one!!
the way he talks reminds me of lucifer from the netflix show, but its neil newbon who voiced heisenberg from re8 AND ITS JUST THROWING ME OFF SO MUCH MAN
Oooh I really like your Tav's design~ so lovely! I had a different intro to this conversation because I was at high approval but still one of my favorite scenes so far for his romance story T_T
Ok, I already suffered for Astarion and now that I see all this dialog I didn't see when I was playing, I'm going to cry under a blanket if you excuse me
I wouldn't have thought the "funny sarcastic vampire guy" would have such a heavy backstory. I've never played the game (but I am considering it if it's on a console I can play) all I've seen are clips of different characters (mostly Astarion) but I find myself wanting him to be happy and I have no idea why
Bg3 is on Series X, not sure about ps5 though I don’t have one. If you get it on series X, beware it crashes a lot. The game is incredible but it seems they don’t really know how to make it run fine on console.
Oh my ggooooddd the aftermath of the second scene. I wasn't ready for it. Gods i love Astarion so much. I'm glad that even if Tav isn't supportive of him, he still finds his voice enough to end things and set boundaries to protect himself.
I wish the friends ending did more, it seems like the best way to approach things, but it's like he forgets it ever happened The drow "entertainers" will even ask him to join in, and he'll enthusiastically agree saying that youve never slept with him
I had to stop the video at 4:30. My heart can't take his pathetic face looking upset. I can't do it.😭 Edit: OMFG that was just awful. I hated every bit of that! I couldn't imagine doing that to someone. Dear God!!!!
Watching past, Yo, it gave me goosebumps of disgust holy shit. Like, my legit body went cold for a second. It's so awful and perfectly done in how bad it is jesus. Bravo Larian. I am, never watching that again wowza
Astarion is my favorite character simply because I can empathize with him. Especially with his distrust in all people just from the get go. I’ve dealt with years of other people using me and mistreating me,and it’s forever changed the way I see other people. Sure,I can fake it. I can make polite conversation,but it ultimately means nothing. There’s a disconnect between who you really are,and what you have to be to survive. I have to protect myself,because the second I let my guard down and someone gets in,it’s only a matter of time before they deceive or use me.
okay, i think i figured out how i triggered this, since the starting dialogue is apparently different depending on your encounters:
i didn't talk to araj the blood merchant at moonrise (didn't even know she was there tbh) and i got this scene only after making an enemy out of everyone at the towers, which is why astarion doesn't mention the kindness.
the hug is exclusive to his romance path, but will happen regardless of how the scene is triggered - again, it just has different starting dialogue. also, i'm quite sure you *have* to interact with araj if you want to trigger the platonic version of this scene (as in you didn’t entertain any of his previous advances)
here's the clip, for anyone curious: ua-cam.com/video/zKt4tVNWeMk/v-deo.html
also! i wrote an analysis of astarion’s trauma and survivalhood on my twitter, if anyone is interested in reading that:
x.com/pwrynz/status/1699185774241915201?s=46&t=xwJVzJ_Qqv-aFdObJunY5g
Oh thank you so much for this detail! In my playthrough I got the platonic start and was curious how to get this one, I'll definitely go back and try to get this one.
@@oliviabees oh sorry i just realized how my wording might not have been clear enough! both scenes are romantic as long as you started a romance with him in act 1. i meant to say that if you didn’t get close to him at all in act 1, you won’t get the option to hug him (as far as i know) - in fact the whole conversation plays out differently.
@@cwear9909 interesting! I was in a relationship with him (or at least the “he calls me darling and we’ve slept together twice) with high approval and only got the version where you hold hands! I really can’t wait until we know all the scene triggers haha
I can also add to this a little regarding a rather unfortunate bug with this scene:
For me the "confession" scene (as opposed to the "thank you" variant) triggered before we even reached Moonrise Towers. If you get this confession scene (like in your video) and then talk with Araj, there naturally won't be a separate "thank you" scene (since it's the confession scene that gets altered, if it didn't play for the player before Araj), but Astarion also WON'T change his greetings with you in this case (which is most unfortunate because the confession scene is to me just so much more powerful than the thank you scene).
However, if you do the thank you scene after speaking with Araj instead, then his greetings to Tav WILL change! Instead of the normal high/v.high ratings ones you will get "gods, you're beautiful" and "what do you want to talk about, my dear?" or thereabouts. It's very frustrating that going with he original confession scene doesn't seem to trigger this change.
Now I'm already in act 3 (having picked to stay with the original confession scene) and, sadly, his greetings are still the standard ones, so it might very well be that going with the thank you scene is the ONLY way to trigger them.
ive been searching everywhere and catn find it but, is opening your midn equal to the hug ?
Astarion is literally the definition of "Am i hypersexual because if i say yes they can't assault me?"
I very rarely see that type of trauma be respresented in the media, very often with sa it’s just represented in the same way every time so this is very refreshing
@@caoimhedoesstuff9293 it really is! Especially with how relatable it is to people with that trauma too. Hypersexuality is just as common as sex avoidance
It is and it is hell
Yeah 😢
Yup. I was in a therapy group for CSA when I was younger and someone there was aggressively hypersexual and it made a few other members uncomfortable and one of them asked her why she was like that, and she laughed and said "'cause you can't rape a whore" and that stuck with me because I didn't realize it until she said it but that was 100% where my head was at the time, and yeah it's pretty common, it's just not talked about as much because it tends to go hand in hand with victim blaming :-/
Astarion... yeah. That. Though tbf he's only hypersexual for like 10 minutes after he leaves Cazador, then he realizes he's still doing it and he takes a break from sex for a while, then seems to come back to it with a much healthier relationship. Not that I'm being dismissive of any part of his story, I love him and I love what they represent through him, but I feel like it's easy to forget that with each long rest being a day, he may only be free of Cazador for a week when we get to this point in his story. He actually makes pretty incredible progress when you think of it like that.
I like how he’s pouring his heart out to you and your character literally looks like the most demonic evil entity
lol yeah, i like to make my tieflings look a little freaky :p
@@cwear9909well I for one think the teifling looks badass
@@cwear9909I absolutely love your tiefling design tbh! They’re so cute.
Maybe he figures that you should never judge a book by its cover, especially since he’s a vampire?
@@riakun true and honestly in this world this character is pretty normal looking compared to some of the characters I’ve seen LMAO
Astarion has very real SA trauma, and although it's never really mentioned outright apart from here, it's such a driving force behind his character
There's one other scene where he mentions his SA trauma. If you take him into Moonrise Towers and talk to Araj (the drow blood alchemist), she will be VERY creepy towards him and ask him to bite her. When he says no, she literally asks Tav to order him to do it. At camp he'll talk with Tav and worry he was being 'too precious' and how he's been fetishized as a vampire. If you ask him if he's ever enjoyed sex, he will talk a bit about SA. It's one of the most vulnerable moments I've seen from him in a non-romance playthrough.
@@AverageSparrowstupid Gale decided to use that night for his platonic star gazing, so I never got the scene 🫠
There is a brothel in act three and he won’t participate in anything in there saying “he’s not ready for that again”
@@squeeleelou2994 i feel pity for him for the very first time 😢
Please, give this man a hug. @@squeeleelou2994
God that "I didnt know how to say no" is so heartbreaking. Its a whole wonder that he doesnt leave your party after this but good on him for standing up for himself and not forgiving.
I can't bring myself to break his little dark heart. He is way too precious.
I’m not used to being so open, it feels wrong, but thank you.
No because this scene just really helps enforce the fact that men can get SA'd too. There's many people out there that downplay men getting assaulted, but this scene, and many more, show a very real and very gritty part of life that sometimes happens, like to me as well. And I just...love Larian so much for including these heavy scenes in a massive game. Makes it feel like DnD. Makes it feel real.
I am a man who has been sexually assaulted. Nowhere near as bad as most, it was a stranger and only for a moment, but it happened. It was brief, it was confusing, and it had someone I didn't know grabbing and holding me in a way I *definitely* didn't like.
Even mild examples like mine aren't fun. I can't imagine how bad it must be for Astarion.
Glad you wrote 'people' instead of blaming one gender only.
PEOPLE are the problem, can be anyone.
I speak against it, and so does others.
@@TheAussieBlue that sucks man. i hope youre doing okay
Yes! I love that it's included without even beating you over the head with it like so many movies/games do. It's a fact of his life that deeply impacts him in ways he's not even entirely aware of all the time. It feels...so...REAL. The writing is jaw dropping, honestly. I never expected this kind of emotional depth to a game and absolutely applaud them for including it and HOW it was portrayed.
@@TheAussieBlueI’m so sorry that happened to you. I hope you are doing okay
“this is all a game to you. no matter what i say, you get what you want.”
something about this line being said within an actual game, where you could very well change the outcome to your liking, is very gut wrenching. even as someone who’s only watched playthoughs, it’s something that really highlights the weight choice has in this game and how well it’s thought out.
always be kind to the npcs. their lives are a hell on repeat for our fun. the least we can do is be good to them.
Holy hell, astarion face is really showing a lot of emotion. Even the game is mostly silence it makes me tear a bit. The writing, voice acting, and the animation is so sublime
Right? The expressions are top.
0:50 That little unsure lip-bite is my favourite. So subtle, but says so much about how daunting this is and vulnerable he must feel...
"i didn't know how to say no" that broke me dude wtf
"Being with someone still feels... Tainted. Still brings up those feelings of disgust and loathing. I don't know how else to be with someone, as much as I'd like to"
DAMN, this took me almost 10 years to figure out within myself and this guy comes in and sums it up. God I love media
man I relate so much being aroace
That's what happens when a team of writers imagines what sex abuse is like. Sometimes it's out in left field, other times it's a home run.
4:54 The moment you can see Astarion realizing he has been out-vampired... he bared his heart like a love-struck fool, only to be used for his body the way a vampire would use a mortal. And now he realizes he can either stay in yet another relationship where he is being used, simply to be protected, or he can leave and bury the hope he had for something... normal. Good god, his face. That hurts to look at.
"I didn't know how to say no".
i felt that pit in my chest. I sort of wish there was a way to also tell Astarion, I feel you, I understand, and you will never have to fear saying no again. 😭
Damn
As another SA victim, this hits hard in the feels.
Though I have grown out of my edgy murder phase by now, looking at my past self... Astarion is quite fitting.
With some help, and give it a few years, I could see him warming up more and more to being good after all.
ahh same here! i think that’s why i’m so attached to his character too lol. he reminds me so, so much of my younger self (albeit, yknow, less literally murderous like you said, but still prone to anger and [self] destructiveness). in terms of character development/healing he still has a long way to go, but i’d say he’s doing fairly well for having dealt with 200 years of abuse. hopefully larian decides to bless us with some dlc in the future, even if just to see how all the companions fare after the end game :p
I do hope so too.
I want to give him another hug. Tell him I'm proud about how far he's come.
And the same goes to you, feel yourself hugged, if you're comfortable with that :3 @@cwear9909
@@cwear9909yes indeed mines too :
Same here :')
Accurate: I didn't even really put that part together, but when you said it, I really do see an aspect of my younger self. And yeah I feel like that's why I feel attached to him as well.
I really hope he gets that chance to heal more.
So rare that video games deal with SA respectfully, but this is the first time I’ve seen a realistic potential at what it looks like when you start trying to heal. Both the outcomes. The first he’s trusting the PC enough to communicate his trauma, and the things he struggles with because of it, ie learning to relearn where intimacy sits in his mind and body into something that can be enjoyed. In the other, the fact he’s still learning to listen to his own boundaries is taken advantage of, but this time it ends with him standing up for himself, and hopefully causes him to continue to learn to value his own consent. It’s chilling honestly, how much it reminds me of how I used to be.
(Yes, SA survivor here, won’t be looking at replies so don’t take it personally if I don’t respond. Just feel like a landmark of great writing that I had thoughts about.)
I stopped at the bad ending. I will not let it taint this good fuzzy feeling.
Lol. That’s EXACTLY what I did. Can’t do it. Won’t do it.
It's HEARTBREAKING. As someone who has been SAd and coerced into sex, his "I didn't know how to say 'no'" was triggering the first time I saw it. Now I wanna romance him to ONLY get the very best ending. Because he deserves nothing but the very best. My poor "little star" 🥺 😭😭😭😭
Same
The Insane detail of the animation of his face.. That little jaw clench/blink at 4:58 before he turns to confront you. Heartbreak, resignation and resolve. You can SEE the decision he makes. This game goes so far beyond.
He's such a well designed character with so much depth. I love how they didn't shy away from the harsh reality of his life nor the way he copes with it.
This scene is simply outstanding. Just think: it's the first scene since meeting him where he genuinely lets all his guard down & takes the risk of being honest & vulnerable. All his carefully maintained, flirtatious, suave persona is gone. Just his pure emotions, shame, confusion, fear, insecurity. For YOUR sake. For the sake of being caring, true and simply honest with Tav, because that's how much he already fell for you, how much he values you and how those pure feelings pushed him to go past his trauma (which up to this point, kept him in defense mode of "as long as i can seduce and manipulate them into not turning their back on me, i'm safe") and just... open up.
It's simply... Beautiful. That's all.
That's so sad but, given the subtle hints if you're familiar with trauma/PTSD victims, I'm not surprised. I knew from the start Astarion is an abuse survivor. It all made sense. His overcompensation with narcissism/egocentrism and self-esteem, his defense mechanisms...
Would you mind showing the outcomes of the remaining dialogue options as well?
I'm especially interested what happens if player character is the one rejecting Astarion after finding out they were manipulated and played.
oh yeah, spot on! he absolutely suffers from C-PTSD - the dots are fairly easy to connect like you mentioned, and watching his story unfold when you’ve gone through similar is a trip.
to be honest, i’m glad astarion isn’t a perfect/moral character. his reaction and instincts are completely understandable (not necessarily justifiable, though) because when you go through such awful events, it can become habit to seek out similar violence considering it’s all you know. reactions to trauma can be far uglier than what most media portrays and larian did an excellent job breaking that norm.
and ahh unfortunately i won’t be able to record anymore until next week since i’m away from home but i’ll definitely keep that in mind!
@@cwear9909
Take your time. But I would greatly appreciate you recording more, since I can't play the game just yet (I'm broke *sniff)
I didn't try completely rejecting him, but if you tell him that he needs a friend, not a lover, he is pleased with that. He says that he had many lovers through the years, but no friends and he would like having one
I went through decades of abuse. Imagine 200 YEARS. God. He’s actually VERY put together for someone who was traumatized for such a massive expanse of time. I love him 😭
I had taken the first response, he was pleasantly surprised and overwhelmed afterwards. Had the same result as the first choice with him. Unfortunately without a hug. 🥲
I feel so sorry for Astarion I hope all players are growing a healthy relationship with him helping him heal his trauma, nobody deserves to suffer like that
i've never seen the bad ending (for obvious reasons) and holy I'm surprised he doesn't leave your party altogether. I'm so glad he ends things with Tav, and the line about it being a game? Wow.
"i didnt know how to say no" really hits me like a ton of bricks and i wouldnt have it any other way. it really makes him feel even more relatable as a character, that his trauma feels more than just skin deep for the sake of giving a character a flaw/sad backstory. it feels real, especially when youve been in that sort of place yourself before.
I went into this game when Astarion was first announced in early access, adoring another silver haired vampire; he quite vaguely reminded me of the titular vampire from Legacy of Kain, a character I latched onto when I endured some horrific trauma in my adolescence.
As much as I wanted to pursue Astarion as a romance, however, learning more about his trauma has made me more focused on helping him defeat and break free from his abuser. The trauma that's haunted me for over a decade is its own story, but helping even fictional characters overcome their tormentors, manipulators and abusers helps ease the pain when I was never able to find justice for what happened to me and my kin.
Haters can say what they want, but Astarion's under my protection and we're gonna slay Cazador together. It goes beyond trying to romance him; I see enough of myself in Astarion that I want to save him when nobody else could save me.
that is so sweet and i wish you the very best
I too love Legacy of Kain/Soul Reaver, and see Astarion's story as therapeutic.
Thank you for your sacrifice, OP. I could literally never bring myself to pick the second option, it's too awful :(
This is an all too common thing unfortunately. Where someone experienced trauma, and now they don't want to do certain things sexually, but their partner is like "Yeah but I'm *safe* and if you do it with me, it'll be like, taking the power back." Instead of just accepting that person's boundaries and trauma as a "no-go zone" they keep trying to insist.
And, the other person eventually agrees / feels coerced into it, and their partner is ""safe"" after all, right? (Wrong...)
Glad the game covered such an issue. Someone may have certain boundaries or things that aren't mentally safe to them to be able to do after a trauma, in that case it's their partner's job but do nothing but say, "I completely respect that."
Not pushing them, not hiding coercion with therapy speak. ("How could I help get you to a place where you would feel comfortable with this" NOOO!! THEY SAID NO)
THIS THANK YOU!
You can be so evil in this game, holy shit. I don't know if there's is any other game out there that let's you straight up SA someone.
How tf is that sexual assault?
@@vilxxblack2472 PC pressured/coerced him into sex. He didn't want to do it, but he didn't know how to say no.
@@Louves192 I never got the whole "Idk how to say no thing". If you don't want to do something just flat-out say it.
@@vilxxblack2472it doesn't always work like that in real life
@@sunnyseas6 Oh I know, you hear about shit like this all the time irl. I still don't get it cause I never had issues saying no.
Nooooo, the last part.... thank you for your sacrifice, that hurt to watch, can't imagine having to record that.
Just... the thought of him genuinely pouring his heart out, finally being honest and seeming hopeful again and then Tav just crushing that like it's nothing. That's something.
God imagine the people who didn't understand (or care about) the weight of what Astarion was saying in that conversation and cluelessly chose the bad dialogue options not realizing where that would lead to... the fact that this game allows you to be that evil and let you deal with the consequences is on a whole other level 😭
@@DeziCh I had a similar moment with Araj (the drow lady at Moonrise) where I picked the option of 'it's up to you, but that potion could be useful', thinking it'd just be a trivial annoyance to him and I thought he'd say no if it really bothered him.
Had to re-do half the zone after the break-up scene and in hindsight it really was fucked up to ask that of him, but I feel like it makes sense that you wouldn't necessarily know that he struggled with saying no to that.
My evil durge is by no means a good man, but he genuinely cares about Astarion and would not want to knowingly hurt him like that.
Would be so neat if you could make mistakes like that... and then learn from them and grow as a couple, instead of forcing you into either being the perfect human(oid) being ever or not romancing them.
Though I do think certain things like what was in the video are kinda... obviously bad. Like he's literally telling you his issues and you just used him again for sex. It makes sense that that's a point of no return.
hug was way too short but i LOVE LOVE LOVE that Larian explore the incredibly traumatic effects of what Cazador did to him not just physically but also psychologically, sexually, and emotionally. He has so much trauma and I really appreciate that when you romance him and he realises he wants to try really caring for you there's no way to be intimate with him for a while because he's figuring it out slowly and trying to deal with the ramifications of that trauma. It's really beautifully done.
'if thats what you want then.. i shall.. provide' neil's voice acting is so intensely sad here you can hear how astarion is trying to force himself to be ok wtih it..
Very interesting. The dialogue was different for my character; it was triggered after refusing the drow woman in Moonrise. Not sure how you received this one, but it's a lot sweeter and goes into more detail about his feelings than the prior. I tip my hat to the developers. Yet another reason to replay the game. Though I must confess, I'm not looking forward to farming his approval again. I tend to play characters that are very kind, and it's an absolute pain in the tocks trying to navigate the social sphere and please him at the same time.
I got this one after killing that rival devil for Raphael in Shar's Gauntlet
I got the scene on my way to the Temple of Shar, before killing Raphael's friend x)
And I still don't know how 😂
Very same. It triggers random. And when I'm trying to go back to my savings and repeating this scene, it's not trigger. So this scene is very random.
Oh not for me... Weird... I have this scene save and I reload it a lot x)
I think you get this scene semi-randomly once you have reached high approval with him (for me it was 71). You just need to make sure to NOT speak to Araj until then. If you get the alternate less romantic confession, try re-loading a safe before speaking to Araj and take a long rest to trigger it. That worked for me at least
I must protect Astarion at all cost
the bad dialogue options omg i could never.. 😭😭😭 however it's good to see how in-depth Larian went with his story and character development, it's remarkable 💔
"I didn't know how to say no"
By God the writing for this game is just gutting my soul at times. It's so raw. And that's the point. You're not supposed to feel like you did something good. You just plunged a traumatised man into more trauma and shattered what little hope he had to ever find something true.
On top of that, every line, subtle or not, about what years of SA has done to him, it feels real and I just want to weep.
This is out there. People see this. They see this and maybe, just maybe, they can understand us survivors a little more. That we don't push people away bc it's fun. We just don't want to be used, get hurt and see hope die anymore.
My heart fucking sank omg 😭 the depth in this game is unreal. I couldnt bring myself to consider hurting him like that. "I didnt know how to say no." Jesuuuus
This is the insane thing about this game is the way the characters move. It's...alive. Look at Astarion's body language when he says "It was easy--instinctive." he's fiddle-nervous gesturing with his right hand. To an untrained eye, it could probably look like a weird animation by the character model but this is distinctive to the way his hand gestures out nonchalantly before falling in dejection.
I love this game because these characters feel alive.
Astarion being genuinely surprised by the hug and hesitating before falling into it just made me teary 🥲🩵
probably should have worded it better but the ‘ending’ is just the outcome of the scene if you pick the wrong dialogue option, not actually the end of his route. it’s the same scene, same prerequisites, but a very different impact. just don’t pick the coercive sex/r*pe option - he’s literally confiding in tav about his abuse, it should go without saying that’s *really* fucked up - and you won’t get the bad outcome.
talking about it further: i had a feeling that's the kind of abuse he endured and the ‘seduction’ was a masking/coping mechanism but to see it front and center stings as a survivor myself. not upset that it was included though - that's a *very* important topic to touch on and i'm glad larian acknowledged just how detrimental SA is to one's psyche. his character resonates very deeply with me and i’m glad it does with others too! yes he’s still murderous and mercurial but it’s still fascinating to see his genuine trust, vulnerability, and general character develop from the purebred bastard in act 1. which … is somewhat understandable, imo. the effects of trauma manifest differently for everyone, and aggressive/power seeking/self destructive/hypersexual/etc instincts are much more common than you might think. obviously doesn’t justify murder, but his actions until now start to make more sense and i hope there’s an opportunity to help him heal and break the cycle of abuse.
Apolgise if I say something strange here, just some rambling;
I am pleased (?) with how Astarions (obvious) SA was handled, right here in these scenes (and sadly, especially the bad one) it becomes obvious and I’m glad they did that, I’m ‘happy’ with how outright Astarion was with all this, if that makes any sense ❤😢
"like yeah he’s murderous and chaotic but"
Imo, there should be no buts here.
Past trauma is not extenuating, but rather aggravating сircumstances. If after suffering at someone's hands you started to act like that person, if you decide to follow in the footsteps of your tormentors, if the only lesson you learn from your pain is "I wanna be like this guy", you're a hopeless case of extremely stupid, inherently evil, irredeemable person.
A good, reasonable person would do their best to become the complete opposite of someone who caused them pain.
@@Leonion6 ah sorry that might have came across wrong, i meant to say that it’s interesting to see him grow from being so violent. but then again, this is a fantasy game, and he endured literally 200 years of abuse. it doesn’t excuse his actions but you can understand the reasoning, and i dislike the narrative that all trauma survivors are just broken souls destined to be heroes because quite frankly trauma is a life changing thing and before you’re able to properly heal from it (which takes a really, *really* long time, and may not even be complete), there will be a lot of “unsavory” reactions. particularly when you’ve been exposed to nothing but violence - emotional instability and aggression is, unfortunately, a commonly seen symptom in CPTSD. not that continuing the cycle is ideal, it never is, but it takes a *lot* of help and time to be able to break free from it, and as it is in act 2 i don’t think astarion is quite at that point yet lol. but we’ll have to see in act 3.
you realize hes a fictional vampire yes? like he cant hurt anyone because he doesnt exist? @@Leonion6
@@fireflower12 , wat
Had to go back to the happy ending again to cleanse myself of the gut wrenching pain from the bad ending.
Astarion's voice actor is a huge W.
when you realize that's probably the first hug he's had in 200 years that was genuine and not full of lust
Ya know, I’ve felt things for game characters and their plights, their feelings… Anders, Fenris, heck, even Skyrim lovers. But this character (and all of them) are so complex, I didn’t think I cared all that much but seeing the ‘sad/bad’ options makes me feel really down 😂 talk about feeling guilt for choosing the bad dialogues, this game takes it to a whole new level. Thanks for sharing this!! Appreciate the work you uploaders a do!!
exactly! not that dragon age companions weren’t compelling, i definitely fell in love with the casts (especially cassandra and zevran), but the companions of bg3 have so many layers to them and the level of choice really adds to just how much you can influence them (or even how they influence you). it’s incredible how much love the writers at larian put into this game.
also, no need for thanks but i appreciate it! it’s actually not too much work, just recording with obs and merging all the relevant clips together in openshot :p
The first time I got to Moonrise I made him drink from the drow by choosing the 'it's up to you' option and he broke up several long rests later. I was kind of confused and annoyed cause I basically had to re-do the whole zone for him, but after getting to know him better, it makes perfect sense for him and it's sth I've seen in several scenes now, that he just doesn't know how to say know and his instincts kick in and then he hates himself for it and aaaa.... It's just so well done. I do feel awful for putting him through in hindsight.
I do wish that was sth you could recover from, if you are genuinely sorry and promise to learn from it.
My Dark Urge is by no means a good person, but he does care about Astarion and doesn't want to hurt him in that way.
It was an honest mistake and it's good that he brings it up and tells you that it bothered him, but I just wish that that was a learning point instead of a full cut off. Kind of makes it so you are either the perfect, all-knowing partner or not a partner, instead of a human(oid) being who makes mistakes but has their partner's best interest in heart.
Sorry for the ramble.
I’m not a victim of SA, but my partner has gone through it. They don’t talk about it a lot but when they do, they talk about how much the abuse has damaged their past relationships. How it pulls them back from wanting to show love and brings them so much shame, no matter how hard they try. When astarion said, “Even though things between us are different, being with someone still feels tainted” and “I don’t know how to be with someone, as much as I’d like to” it just reminded me of them. Characters like astarion remind me a lot about people like my partner, n how precious they are and how worthy they are of feeling safe and loved.
Thank you for show us a bit I will never be able to make myself play through. But I'm very proud of Astarion, he stood up for himself and he deserves it!
Seeing the bad ending made me so sick I actually almost threw up and there were tears in my eyes
weep
The first part is sweet and awkward, Mr. Flirts-a-lot tries to handle... feelings :D The second part, oh boy, that was rough. In both, he's so out his comfort zone and emotionally constipated it's not even funny.
I couldn't watch it. You're a stronger person than me.
i love this simply because he shows a HUGE moment of vulnerability in this scene, risking his ego (which we already established that he has a huge one) and pouring his heart out despite the centuries of traumas he had to go through, he risked it all to confess to you despite understanding that if you DO reject him, it'll most likely be the biggest hit he's ever taken emotionally. I adore him and his character, I can't imagine this game without this snarky lovable vampire in it to spice things up and be the grounding romance that we need
To be fair, same could be said about all the other companions, which is honestly what makes the romance is this game a 10/10
I looked at the screen blankly after the video was done.. it was too sad. Thank you for uploading this option too bc I'm pretty sure I could never choose the bad ending option even if I forced myself
I've seen a lot of other comments here about victims of SA and it makes me feel so welcome as one myself. When I see people disliking his character purely because he comes off as so selfish and self protective and an asshole, it hurts so deeply because I feel that's how I present myself because of my abuse. Not to get too into my own experiences, but I've been in relationships where sex was held on the table as a bargaining chip where it was the only thing keeping them with me, only thing keeping me worthwhile for a relationship despite the fact that I was a sex indifferent asexual. Seeing a character like Astarion become so warm and unthinkably worried about intimacy because he's worried it'll be latched onto something more and only a means for the more hits so deeply. His writing is so incredible and he's more than just the sassy vampire. I appreciate his scenes like this so much for making us, as he mentions in a scene, "feel seen".
It's a little funny how he goes in for a kiss and then takes two steps back to his original spot because that's how conversations work in this game lol.
Watching him get to that point hurts, but I'm proud of him for putting his foot down in the bad end
OOF. Thanks for posting this and for the warning. I might've chosen that dialogue option (in my head it meant something entirely different, like a sex positive "let's figure out what YOU like", not...that...). If I hadn't seen this video I might've been blindsided by a scene I would notttttt have been prepared for.
Dammit BG3 how dare you make me feel all the things!!!
I’m so happy he was able to put his foot down, but so disgusted he was put through it in the first place
*We must protect this man at all costs.*
I felt like that one was a bad option, but holy hell... I think I picked up on his past from the other dialogues I've had with him, and through speaking with real life abuse survivors, but that scene cut pretty damn deep. Glad I didn't pick it.
as someone with cptsd, i just connect so much with this character... gods. it's like looking at myself. truly such a well written character.
Many people, myself included, use fantasy to deal with very real trauma. I’m glad that this game doesn’t hold back. Everything that makes Dungeons and Dragons wonderful is in this game. Those who created it capture the laughter as well as the tears so beautifully. DnD for me has always been an opportunity for my friends and I to not only come together to make each other laugh, but also to share our emotions with each other, to put our hearts and souls into our characters and the stories we tell. And through them, we heal.
this scene is so much more genuine than the one i got defending him against the drow in Moonrise. Im assume that no matter what version of the confession you get it does not change how he speaks to you later on, he's still his snarky self.
Im so mad i didn't get this version, in the second version he confesses so nonchalantly, like its a second thought. Because of that all this time i've felt like he's still being manipulative like he truly does not care for my character. If only i got this scene it would have changed the way i see him completely.
Didn’t know I wanted another human to tell me, breathlessly, that I’m incredible until now
omg the bad ending... I actually want to cry.
Oof love seeing myself / my old self in another character. Another _male_ character at that. Male SA victims are rare in media; I’m usually forced to relate with girls. Alas, he, Fenris, and a few others are ones I resonate with.
It hurts to see at 2:11 when you finally hug him, it almost looks like he thinks you’re going in for a kiss. He’s clearly bracing for that. But then you hug him, and he realizes he doesn’t have to pretend right now. He can just melt into the hug. I’m gonna cry.
As much as the outcome sucks I'm glad to see it ahead of time, because I initially read the line about learning to enjoy it for himself at face value, not the player forcing him to do it with them *_at that moment._* But upon rereading it and seeing the "You should enjoy it with me" I see how it's kinda manipulative and red flag-y, especially considering Astarion's immediate reaction after choosing that option
You can clearly see in his face he really doesn't want to do it as you walk over after "i shall provide," not to mention how sad he sounds when he said it as he's clearly trying to keep up his usual witty persona, but you can literally see his heart breaking after having laid himself bare to the PC and they respond with wanting sex, proving that they are just as bad as everyone else he's come across since turning
I don't even have the game myself, nor do i own any of the consoles you can play it on unfortunately as i definitely would have bought it already if i had, but damn if that bad ending didn't break my own heart, especially at that look at 4:58
it's so cute that you can ask for kisses.
Man what a character. Kudos to larian for hos writing
I had a different dialogue 😮 Astarion thanked me for not making him bite the Drow (the one who dreams of being bitten by a vampire). He said that it would be easy to step over himself and do it, and that he probably still thinks like a slave. And then there was an option to hug him and I immediately rushed. I did not have such a sensual recognition. I am now obsessed with going around the second circle to get this scene 🙃🙃
I inhaled when I saw him sitting after the fade to black during the bad end OH MY GOD NOOOOOOOO
4:47 the change in his expression...
The "You-... you're incredible" always makes me cry UGH
this was so touching... also your character is so BEAUTIFUL i love the design
God I love this character. He is so different depending on what you do - but every time very true to his nature
Astarion’s character originally hooked me in with his looks but his story and how much I related to him because of it made me adore him. His trauma definitely effects who he is as a person and yeah not really in a good way. He’s snarky, aggressive, self centred, and manipulative but once you get past that shell you begin to understand why. It’s him just trying to protect himself from getting hurt again. I get it. It must feel so much more satisfying to finally not be the one being used. I also love that he’s a male. Male victims are extremely underrepresented and when they are represented it’s usually a feminine, weak, shy, and insecure victim. Astarion isn’t really that. He’s decently strong, pretty vocal, vain(for a lack of better word.) man. Definitely almost cried a few times while talking to him especially when I started to see through the cracks.
Tbh, I've never seen a romance route this beautifully written in a video game and I've been playing so many dating sims, rpgs for a long time. Astarion's romance truly takes the cake.
Putting my comment here for in case I ever find this video again.
But this was the first video I found on UA-cam of Baldur's Gate. Thank for for helping me find this by posting.
I didn't even know you could do this to him until today and this just absolutely makes my heart hurt. Even the good and sweet interactions with him so often make me want to cry my eyes out. The bad ones make me want to curl up and scream.
I’m glad people like you are making those videos, recording worse possible dialogue choices!
Especially for a person who’s language is not English and sometimes I don’t understand fully what some of those lines mean?? I though Tav just giving advice, I didn’t expect him to just go and push Astarion to have sex. Sheeh!! 😨 If this would have happened during my playtrough I would delete the game and bury my PC in the woods 😂
I’ll be extra careful not to pick that one!!
the way he talks reminds me of lucifer from the netflix show, but its neil newbon who voiced heisenberg from re8 AND ITS JUST THROWING ME OFF SO MUCH MAN
Aw nah this was too painful, I'll destroy the whole world before I hurt him.
Oooh I really like your Tav's design~ so lovely! I had a different intro to this conversation because I was at high approval but still one of my favorite scenes so far for his romance story T_T
Honestly, seeing Astarion breaking up like that is fucking gut wrenching. I don't want him to hurt like this, this just breaks me in half
Ok, I already suffered for Astarion and now that I see all this dialog I didn't see when I was playing, I'm going to cry under a blanket if you excuse me
I wouldn't have thought the "funny sarcastic vampire guy" would have such a heavy backstory. I've never played the game (but I am considering it if it's on a console I can play) all I've seen are clips of different characters (mostly Astarion) but I find myself wanting him to be happy and I have no idea why
Bg3 is on Series X, not sure about ps5 though I don’t have one. If you get it on series X, beware it crashes a lot. The game is incredible but it seems they don’t really know how to make it run fine on console.
This character has a lot of personality, it's incredible how this game has such depth and emotions. I hope I'll be able to play this at some point.
Thank you so much for this!!!!! Got choked up about it
The hug is the cutest thing ❤❤❤❤❤
Oh my ggooooddd the aftermath of the second scene. I wasn't ready for it. Gods i love Astarion so much. I'm glad that even if Tav isn't supportive of him, he still finds his voice enough to end things and set boundaries to protect himself.
for me the leadup to the hug was him thanking me for not making him bite this drow in moonrise towers, not the sweet stuff from the video :(
I tried making a new character and pick all the bad choices but I CANT break Astarions heart It hurts me physically to see him sad 😭
I wish the friends ending did more, it seems like the best way to approach things, but it's like he forgets it ever happened
The drow "entertainers" will even ask him to join in, and he'll enthusiastically agree saying that youve never slept with him
Lmao. Not me reading that “I care about you. Deeply.” And first thought it said “I care about you Daddy.”
Ok, your character is ✨️👌✨️
I had to stop the video at 4:30. My heart can't take his pathetic face looking upset. I can't do it.😭
Edit: OMFG that was just awful. I hated every bit of that! I couldn't imagine doing that to someone. Dear God!!!!
Watching past, Yo, it gave me goosebumps of disgust holy shit. Like, my legit body went cold for a second. It's so awful and perfectly done in how bad it is jesus. Bravo Larian. I am, never watching that again wowza
Oh my god the bad ending is horrible Holy shit
Omg, I had this scene yesterday ! I was so happy x)
"I didn't know how to say no" im sobbing. felt that a lil too much
Everytime Astarion says simple plan, the song "I'm Just A Kid" starts playing in my head.
His face on 2:15. I'm crying 😭
Astarion is my favorite character simply because I can empathize with him. Especially with his distrust in all people just from the get go. I’ve dealt with years of other people using me and mistreating me,and it’s forever changed the way I see other people. Sure,I can fake it. I can make polite conversation,but it ultimately means nothing. There’s a disconnect between who you really are,and what you have to be to survive. I have to protect myself,because the second I let my guard down and someone gets in,it’s only a matter of time before they deceive or use me.
jesus christ, this made me cry.