Yes, My Treasure?

Okay so I just read the newest interview that mentioned Astarion reasoning behind his ascension was driven by fear and I thought it made sense?

Tho I don't believe that fear was the only force behind the reason of his decision to ascend, there's a longing to be alive again to enjoy everything that the world has to offer, the need for certainty and also to protect his loved ones (when he has a love interest)

But let's talk about this fear part, there are people (even the companions) who expected that 'he should have known better' or 'shouldnt even think about ascension' and sees this fear in the recent interview as something that is so horrid but here's the thing.

"You are right to be afraid." I mean DUH obviously it makes sense. Astarion lives in a very dangerous world where countless undead risen from their graves thanks to necromancer toying with life and death, there are bandits everywhere, monsters, evil gods who never failed to make life even more miserable than ever and even the supposedly good aligned god can be so awful at times, etc etc.

The party that he traveled with and himself were infected with worms that would eat their brain and transformed them into a living husk, the absolute cult and the dead three were on their tail, angry devils, Cazador wanted him back and not to mention the Githyanki and their lich queen wanted them dead as well for what happened with the prism

Even during act 3 where they were supposedly close to victory. The victory was not set in stone yet, nothing is certain and something could have gone wrong. They could have died or even worse!

Not to mention he's a man who was tormented for 200 hundred years. He was stripped of everything that he had and even his own reflection, reduced to catched rats to sustain himself.

Can you really blame him for wanting to seek a way out from Cazador's torment, the hunger for blood and the indignity that he suffered for so long?

Also it would be harder to convince him to not ascend if Tav or Durge romanced him. Because now he's not just afraid for his own safety and his future but also his lover. The only person whom he ever love and genuinely love him back in 200 years (also not ending up as a victim for Cazador)

Most people would have killed him when they found that he's a vampire and infected with an Illithid parasite. Most people would have abandoned him

Tav/Durge was the only light in his life after years of living in darkness and torment, you can't really blame him for wanting to keep this light from being snuffed out by untimely death

And if that means sacrificed 7000 souls that he already damned anyway (undead like vampire wouldn't be accepted by good aligned gods in the after life, not sure about evil gods but most deities most won't accept them) so be it

I don't see this fear behind his decision as something that is objectively awful? I mean it is a natural respond anyone would have if they were in his shoes

Then you might ask "If Astarion loves Tav or Durge that much why he insisted on turning them into a vampire? And break up if they refused?"

Because he was overwhelmed by his beating heart/ his renewed sense, the high from his power and he's also insecure. At that point in act 3 he expected Tav and Durge to stand by his side no matter what

Because they were the only person who didn't kill the parasite infested vampire spawn at the beach, who loves him anyway despite the face he was a man with nothing to his name, who were willing to sacrifice 7000 souls and killed the Gur for him!

Ascended Astarion didn't want THAT special person to be taken by early death or a fate worse than death

He needed the reassurance that his love would be safe and no gods nor fate will take them away

If they refused to be an immortal vampire then they were as good as sealed their fate to death. Astarion didn't want to face that heartbreak

The thing that I don't agree with the interview is that the interpretation that ascension sent him to a horrible place? It was kinda vague? Like worse place when? During or after the ascension? Because this cannot apply after the ascension since I have taken so many screenshot and recording of ascendant astarion and I didn't see him feeling miserable about his fate. He was happy that the hunger gone and he could see his reflection again

I have to admit something about this guy. With a heavy heart and humility I proclaim my regret. I can't believe it that I ascended him... This poor sweet boy.

What have I done?

He grown so powerful to the point he bullied Orin so effortlessly and humiliated her in her own temple, it was ascendant astarion who finished off Sarevok and it was him who dealt the killing blow to Gortash as well. No one was spared. 10 Necrotic damage and the ascendant bite were too powerful

Now everything feels boring because the team has a Dracula who can delete the entire population of Baldur's Gate with two daggers and a bow plus a wife who buffed him with haste

Ascended Astarion is like the heat death of the universe. You can't avoid him, you can't delay him, he's inevitable and he'll come at you either way

Orin I'm so sorry that this skinny man bullied you to the point you exploded into a pile of gore and blood and then he gave your clothing to his wife

RIP murderous incest baby, you might be dead but your sexy clothes will live on. Fly high babygirl

Astarion went beserk and didn't even let others have the chance to land a hit on fake Dribbles. He killed both Dribbles and the dog in one turn

I can see him yelling "THAT'S MY WIFE! YOU DARED TO TOUCH MY WIFE! YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"

When Astaroth and Astarion went to the love test lady, he ended up looking like this

IM AN ASCENDED ASTARION LOVER 😭😭 IM SORRY

Process images below break!!!

Ascended!Astarion: The Underdark? You poor thing. I have a palace, you can sleep on one of a hundred couches until you're on your feet.

Spawn!Astarion: The Underdark? Now that's a thought. Just not to the Drow - they don't treat pretty boys too kindly. Or any boys at all, really.

Ascended!Astarion: How wonderful, but do try not to limit yourself. You've just saved the world, now is not the time to become boring.

Spawn!Astarion: Just remember who your friends are, will you? In case you start to become... well, you know, hungry.

Ascended!Astarion: I suppose we'd better honour Gale - perhaps there's a library somewhere that has a bar and a room full of virgins.

Spawn!Astarion: I suppose we'd better honour Gale, - perhaps there's a library somewhere that has a bar...

Ascended!Astarion: It's not so bad in the dark. Only about half of the Baldurian sewers are active.

Spawn!Astarion: You are braver than I could ever dream to be. I hope we will meet again, on a cloudy night.

Ascended!Astarion: Yes! We should see if the Elfsong's still standing. It's been so long since I've had a fine wine. And we have more than earned it.

Spawn!Astarion: Yes! We should se if the Elfsong's still standing. I won't imbibe, but I'll be happy to be away from here, and in your company.

Ascended!Astarion: Although I suppose there is a lot to do here - power to consolidate, a palace to claim. It will take time.

Astarion: But first, you and I are going to find the most hedonistic establishment in this city, and we are going to have a night that will go down in legend.

Astarion: After everything, I think I've earned it.

Ascended!Astarion: Walk safely into the dark. You were truly tentacular.

Spawn!Astarion: I hope the nights and shadows treat you well. You're an odd friend. But, I suppose, a friend still.

Ascended!Astarion: You're joking. After everything we've been through, you expect me to do manual labour?

Spawn!Astarion: After everything, that's your suggestion? Aren't you tired? I'm tired.

Ascended!Astarion: Why stop at Amn? There's a whole world out there - we just have to take it.

Spawn!Astarion: It would be good to travel. It's been so long, kidnappings aside.

Ascended!Astarion: True, we have served our respective purposes. We're free to go wherever we wish.

Spawn!Astarion: Oh, you can't mean that. After all this? (devnote: to suggestion of the party going its seperate ways)

The world is ours for the taking. So, what would you like?

I want to see the world, with you at my side.

There is video I have a lot of posts about it, but I'm too lazy to look for them. Therefore, in general: Absence of pain and other type of transformation

Astarion himself tells us that he turned with pain and was buried. He didn't do anything like that with us, and Astarion himself said we would experience almost "ecstasy" from the transformation. Three bites

To turn a person into a bride, a vampire must take 3 bites. That's how much Astarion does. Blood

Astarion shouldn't have given us his blood, and yet he did. Not as much as the bride's ritual requires, but he's an Ascended vampire, so he probably doesn't need to give us a lot of blood.

As for the "psychic connection", we already have it, through the worm. Don't forget that worm affects transformation, and Astarion is the world's first Ascended Vampire. There are many nuances and these are the old rules. But there are too many coincidences and differences with the usual transformation. Also drinking blood with a lover (he says that we will drink each other's blood) It is means of strengthening the bond between vampires.

It was legitimately terrible that Welch faced direct harassment for their comments. Sort of mean comments on fucking nexus are not that. "I think the comments were unprofessional / biased / lacked tact" are not that. I know you all want to believe it's just deluded horny fans because that's easier, but a lot of survivors who enjoyed the ending for "cathartic evil power fantasy" reasons were upset about their comments too.

Why is there so much pushback on the whole bride-groom thing for Ascended Astarion and Tav? I feel my head spinning with how hard people are railing against this.

It's pretty straightforward that he views it as a marriage by his dialogue alone.

Consort: A husband, wife, companion, or spouse of a monarch. Queen Elizabeth II's husband, Prince Philip, was her consort, not the king. Camilla is only Queen because she was crowned with Charles whereas Philip was not with Elizabeth. Tav would be in Philip's place for this. Dowry (Dark Urge accepts Bhaal after becoming his spawn): Money or property brought by a bride to her husband at marriage.

Considering what the game has given us so far, it's clear he does not view Tav as a "normal spawn". They're his right hand and partner. "Lovers forever until the world falls down." Yeah, why isn't Tav considered a "bride" here? Enlighten me.

Digging around, I found this which covers ways to make spawn via Van Ricten's Guide to Vampires. Someone in the comment section wrote everything out if you can't read the screen, as well as pointing out that Astarion followed the three-bite rule in the scene, wrist, shoulder, neck:

If that isn't his actions intending to make a vampire bride, I don't know what is and I'm pretty sure the writers at Larian followed this method.

Vampire brides have always been a thing in modern media. Hell, DRACULA has THREE brides AND he chases Mina Harper to try to make her a fourth. It's the plot of the whole damn movie! In Hellsing, it's the same: Three vampire brides that are set apart from normal spawn. And there are a ton more that aren't the main focus of the series/movies that they are in (mainly B movies and frankly aren't as good as the classics but I digress).

Either people are in deep denial with their fingers in their ears because they don't like Ascended Astarion (I keep seeing people commenting "AA Girlies are Delulu" which, given the evidence I've found and knowledge of vampires I have had for YEARS, it's definitely the other way around which honestly I don't get), stuck on that godawful Twilight series (they're bloodsucking Faeries, not vampires), haven't progressed far enough or unlocked certain dialogue, or they don't know much about vampires in general. Anyone who knows the bare basics about vampires knows there's a "dark kiss" involved when it comes to their significant others or those they obsess over and stalk.

This stuff is iconic in monster lore!

And, I mean, if you don't like Ascended Astarion, why do you care so much about him making Tav a bride? Would people be fighting this if Spawn Astarion had this ability or would they be celebrating it?

If you like Spawn Astarion more than Ascended Astarion, that's great! If it's the opposite, that's also great! It's not a competition. We love the same man, just different versions of him. We are on a spectrum, not a tier chart. It's like playing Smash and you choose your favorite version of Kirby or Yoshi or preferred fighter.

No one needs to be shamed for which they prefer as it's all just choices in an RPG. None of it reflects your real-life choices.

If it did, all of you would be in trouble because Astarion, as charming and as fun as he is, is toxic as hell when it comes to romantic relationships, is selfish, racist, and has no problem hurting people for his own satisfaction. This is not him "becoming that way over the course of the game". This is him right out of the box. You don't meet him in any other form. You can pretend you can fix him all you want, but that does not negate the fact you're getting involved with someone who doesn't care about you and is using you until mid-Act 2. (if you know that already, you now know the frustration of people who like his Ascended form being told why he's "bad" by finger-waggers) Do you want someone to define you by that, that you like being used or mocked? I would hope not. (Surprisingly, this is one of the few times I can say this about everyone under a character umbrella cuz it's usually toward people who "align" with the good/heroic characters. I'm usually Team Villain in other fandoms as villains and dark path temptation tend to be more interesting than the heroes.)

Calm. Ya'lls. Tits. Take a breath. It's not a big deal. We all have one thing in common and that is our love for the cunty vampire. We are ALL Astarion fans. Cazador is our enemy. Araj is our enemy. Not each other.

What is a big deal is attacking others for their gameplay choices, headcanons, fics, fanart, and DnD lore, preaching the obvious to fans who know why they like certain routes (seriously, you'll save a lot of time if you just assume that we know what we're doing and half the time, you may be getting trolled by some of us who've had enough of the virtue signaling, only harming yourself in the process), pressuring, harassing, and making the voice actors and developers uncomfortable, and just being unpleasant about the whole thing. Don't do that. You need to treat people how you want to be treated.

It's okay not to like Ascended Astarion or Spawn Astarion. That's not what this is about. You do you. No one should be calling you out on your preferences or trying to force you to like one or the other and you shouldn't be doing it in return.