Withers' party is here! And the difference between Ascended and non-ascended Astarion is once again strikingly apparent.
Spawn Astarion is simply delightful to talk to, romanced or not. You can just see it in his eyes; peace. Calm happiness. You can see how genuine his smile is when you hug him. He tells you he's taken up the life of a somewhat hero-ish adventurer, is contended with his fate despite not being able to walk in the sun, he's so glad to see you and the other companions, he wishes you the best and says it openly that they all deserve happiness. And the bliss and gratefulness of having his love by his side if you romanced him is incomparable.
And what about *Ascended*Astarion?
Of course he tries to assure you everything's going according to his masterful plan and he's living his best life. Decadent balls, opulent parties, spinning his vampiric web of connections, building his power, all that bullshit.
But if you take as much as a look into his eyes, you will see that he is unhappy. Frustrated, bored. That joyful spark is simply not there. His eyes are hollow. Just as his life and his soul is.
Draw you own conclusions. Enough has already been said on the subject.
before "look, if you change the camera angle, you'll see that he doesn't even look into his eyes, he's really disgusted!"
now "well, you can definitely see from his eyes there is no spark and he is unhappy"
girl, these endings just depict two different kinds of happiness. Are you going to look for a spark in the eye textures? God help us I love how you desperately try to prove "this is bad" when you literally don't have a single argument, and then you start making them up
I don't understand this level of obsessive outrage against him, if you don't like ascendant astarion then don't waste your time with him. Enjoy the thing that you like. Why so obsessed. ζγγγ
At the same time, outrage can be addicting, I guess?
