The night you tried to kill me, I cared so much for you, even though I was just as scared and worried about my life. I saw how fragile you were and how something else had taken control of you and oppressed you. I didn't realize what you were after Alfira's death. Now I see how similar we are, and you are not alone.
Wherever it leads, my dear, I am with you.
This is the first part of my love letter to the romance of my Dark Urge and Ascended Astarion. (I use she/her because I'm talking about my game character.)
Most Astarion fans I'm in contact with prefer a Dark Urge in their romance with Astarion, both as UA and AA. Most of them play a "good" "redeemed" Dark Urge. Personally, I don't consider a romance with Ascended Astarion a "Dark Romance," as it was far too shallow for that, even with Patch 6. I see it as a vampire romance based on mutual, deep, obsessive love and trust. Yes, Ascended Astarion is obsessed with Durge/Tav, but Durge/Tav is equally obsessed with Astarion. Durge/Tav voluntarily sacrifices her life to share eternity with Astarion, placing her fate and their shared future in his hands. There is no betrayal or mistrust in their love; they trust each other unconditionally. Yes, critics of Lord Astarion will now say again "That's completely delulu", "Astarion suppresses Durge/Tav" and self-proclaimed specialists will try to tell me that, I have no idea about DnD, don't understand Astarion and the story.
In my opinion, the story of Ascended Astarion tells the story of a typical Brothers Grimm fairy tale. "Once upon a time, there lived a cruel magistrate who sold prisoners to the local vampire lord. Since the magistrate was very beautiful, he aroused the vampire lord's desire to possess him. So he commissioned the Gur, monster hunters who disagreed with the magistrate's laws and gladly accepted the task. This gave the vampire lord the opportunity to transform the magistrate into an undead vampire spawn that he could completely control. Two hundred years of torture, torment, and tears followed… until something strange happened… So Astarion tricked his tormentor and took his place in the ritual. Aware of the potential dangers, he was able to avoid them. Thus, he was purified and rose from rat-eater to the most powerful vampire that ever existed and will ever exist… Thus, he and his bride lived happily ever after."
Yes, in the official version the magistrate story was toned down, but it still doesn't change the message and moral of the story.
romaincrisis
