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Astarion + Fandom (Mis)Characterization

(2/3)

What if Astarion isn’t either of the two versions fandom picked for him?

(Part 1) (Part 3)

Version One: the sexy vampire who could ruin you (and that’s hot)

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This characterization of Astarion is the most frequent reading I’ve seen. People who characterize Astarion like this tap into his manipulative side, the seductiveness and possessive charm the PC sees in him in early game or even in Ascended!Astarion:

Astarion: “Here’s my little treat with their cheeks all flushed. You will come to my bed tonight, won’t you?”

Astarion: “Hahaha! Don’t be stupid, darling. You’re mine, remember?”

In these characterizations, he often continues to sexualize himself or you, or is portrayed as constantly in control of the romantic atmosphere.

Why this is effective:

1. He has power and agency in this version, and uses them to his advantage. It plays into extremely popular romantic tropes, seen frequently in places like the “BookTok” community on TikTok - featuring dark, dominant romantic interests who take charge and overpower romantic or sexual scenarios.

2. Prior knowledge of the “sexy vampire” trope. Vampires have long been seen as creatures of allure and dangerous desire. Drinking blood is seen as sexy, sensual, and intimate. Inherently, this primes Astarion for interpretation that aligns with preexisting sexualization of vampires and fantasy power imbalance.

3. His background as someone who spent 200 years seducing people gives basis to the idea that seduction and extremely pointed flirtation is his default, even when in a genuine relationship.

4. His response to his trauma - the performative, emotionally unavailable lack of vulnerability - reads as confidence and domination (and again, recalls classic BookTok tropes). The intrigue in turn makes him appear more attractive in a heteronormative, exaggerated way than a male character who is more emotionally open (see: Wyll or Gale).

5. Perhaps most importantly: This is the exact version of himself Astarion actively tries to convince you is real in game.

Astarion becomes easy to sexualize in highly simplistic ways because he already plays into multiple pinholes of typical “dark fantasy” tropes. He presents himself as an object of desire, and it’s easy to believe him.

Even with full context of his story and arc, his presentation is so practiced and effective that many real life players fall into the trap of believing the performance over the actual person underneath.

And while this version does capture some aspects of Astarion’s character, it fails to align with what we see in game when he feels truly safe.

Character reality:

1. While Astarion does demonstrate control over the romantic narrative early on, portraying him as constantly confident and in control undermines the vulnerability we see when he realizes he truly wants a relationship with the PC (romantic or otherwise):

- Lines from his Act 2 confession after killing Yurgir:

Astarion: “You-…you’re incredible. You deserve something real. I want us to be something real.”

Astarion: “…I don’t know what to think. I don’t know what I want.”

- He tells you: “I want…something real.” Because, to him, the seduction isn’t real. It’s not his actual wants, it’s not who he is when he’s being genuine. He tells you it was all a performance either way.

2. Astarion clearly does not view vampirism as sexy, and is disgusted at the premise. This is most clearly demonstrated in the interactions with Araj Oblodra:

Araj: It’s not for sale, but it’s yours if you bite me.

Astarion (to Araj): “I will have to decline.”

Astarion (to PC): “Are you actually asking me to do this? Trading me for some potion?”

Astarion (to PC): “You could have asked me to do the same [as Cazador]. Throw myself at her, what I wanted be damned. But you didn’t. And I’m grateful.”

- His condition, to him, is a curse, not another thing to be sexualized. He emphasizes to you that it is important to him not to be used for his body again, which leads directly to the next point:

3. While Astarion spent 200 years seducing people, that was not by choice, and he clearly did not take pleasure in it. He openly tells you that he operated that way because he was only desired for his body:

Astarion: “I spent two hundred years using my body to lure pretty things back for my Master. What I wanted, how I felt about what I was doing, it never mattered.”

- It’s important to mention here that he directly tells you sex and being sexualized is not something he’s authentically comfortable with in a real relationship at the moment.

Astarion: “Even though I know things between us are different, being with someone still feels tainted. Still brings up those feelings of disgust and loathing.”

- In a relationship where Astarion is genuinely loved and valued - he would be able to drop the act because he knows he is loved for more than his body. Seduction is no longer a requirement for intimacy, because he is already aware his partner loves him for all of him.

4. Astarion’s allure as a “mysteriously intriguing trauma-ridden individual” disappears as soon as you gain his trust. While he is slow to open up, once he does, he is generally vulnerable with the PC - not bouncing back and forth between completely closed off and open book. His lines towards the end of the game when romanced, are generally sweet and heartfelt rather than gritty.

Astarion: “Nothing special of course. You’re only the first person who I truly care for.”

Astarion: “You are perfect, every time.”

Why does this matter?

While portraying Astarion as dominant and sexually aggressive plays into some of the lines he displays in game, it misses the fact that the point of his arc is that the seductive aspect is primarily a protective mask. He is naturally theatrical - but the flirtation and prominent sexuality are illusions for control, not the true self.

The whole point is that’s who Astarion wants you to think he is, and he’s good at it.

- It isn’t how he treats the PC when he’s in a genuine romantic relationship.

- It isn’t how he treats the PC when even just given genuine friendship.

- But it is how he presents himself and an extremely convincing performance if you only get to know him on a surface level. Which is common, because of the fact that Astarion tends to have a lot of fans who know him through online content without having played the game.

Ironically, the character whose backstory is based on the trauma of being oversexualized is in fact frequently oversexualized by the fan community. While the “hot manipulative vampire” version does have origins in his surface personality, it isn’t the full story of who he is.

It leaves no room for how the game shows us Astarion would genuinely love - uncertainly, awkwardly at first, stripped of performance or romantic expectations.

What are your thoughts? Have you seen any interesting interpretations of Astarion with regards to tropes?

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Stay tuned for Part 3, analysis of the opposite extreme (Astarion as a helpless victim) and its ramifications.

(2/3 based on this post from @scrimmiestbingus)

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I think using archaic terms to get around censorship should be the norm. Calling rape ‘grape’ or using the grape emoji is ridiculous, if they’re not going to let us use the correct terminology, let’s go back to saying ‘outraged’. Calling murder ‘unaliving’ or ‘m-word’ is also fucking ridiculous. Let’s start using ‘slain’ again. They can’t ban ‘slay’ and ‘slayed’ because it is such a ubiquitous slang term that going back to the other meaning of the word would be a perfect way to skirt the censors.

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Feeling her warmth, her heartbeat, her breathing... it's like a lullaby for him, that's why he love to keep an hand under her clothes.

They always sleep like this, nestled to the each other, as to be sure they won't vanish while they're asleep🤍

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modernbat: size matters

(Fun fact: originally, Batstarion was tiny — like a regular bat — but I had to make him bigger, because otherwise you just couldn’t see any expressions on his little face.

i know, that giant bats exist, but in europe (where modernbat is) all bats are sooooo small compare to our vampy)

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Yop. What he wants from the player is basic respect. Not to be his yes man. He's playful and has sharp tongue but challenging him really is no dealbreaker. That's one of the tragedies of the ascended path. You had all the chances to challenge his worldview - but you didn't take them in the name of power.

“Prove me wrong”

I was thinking about how when we meet Astarion he is all about survival – performing and hiding behind a mask to keep himself safe.

He is being flirty and friendly, often even when you disagree with him.

And I am thinking – logically, shouldn’t he also try to appear good-aligned to you?

He doesn’t know who these people in the camp are, if he can trust them, or what they’ll do if they learn he’s a vampire. One wrong move, and he could end up dead.

Meanwhile Astarion openly and proudly throws around all those cold, sometimes cruel, opinions about using, abandoning or killing others.

I suppose with evil Tav it would be fine, but if he doesn’t know how you’ll react, why risk showing that side? Wouldn’t it be safer to pretend kind?

Of course, Astarion wants to look strong, so no one would think to mess with him, and this is how he believes strong people should think like.

But in this group, he’s not the leader – he needs to win the leader over. Someone to protect him, not cast him out. So is he assuming Tav also thinks like that, since they are strong? That they’ll respect the same kind of ruthless survival he does?

And yes, there are other companions with strong opinions that they don’t hold back, like Lae’zel and Shadowheart, for example.

But in case of Lae’zel, she isn’t trying to prove anything to anyone, and she believes she’s strong enough to shut up anyone who has a problem with her. Shadowheart is also masking, but it’s not about survival, it’s about belonging – trying to be a good Sharran.

Astarion’s approach, on the other hand, can seem almost counterproductive.

Unless… When he states things like that, it almost sounds challenging. So what if he is? Challenging you.

Come on, disagree with me, try to argue. You can say all those pretty words about being kind and helping others, but we both know, that’s how this world really works, isn’t it?

And what if, deep inside, he wants to be proven wrong?

What if, by voicing the worst assumptions about the world he’s daring you to disagree? To show him a different way. Because otherwise you’ll prove what he believes – what Cazador made him believe – is true.

So maybe there’s a secret hope behind his cruel remarks and cold pragmatism – not that you’ll nod and agree, but that you’ll look him in the eyes and say: “No. It doesn’t have to be that way.”

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I JUST REALIZED: Cazador and Astarion almost never actually touch. The ONLY time they touch is when Astarion kills him 🤣

Like seriously: when Cazador appears in Astarion’s nightmare, he doesn’t touch him. And during the confrontation before the Ritual, when Astarion tries to strike at Cazador, Cazador blocks him, but not with his hands: with a spell. The man utterly refuses to lay a finger on Astarion, not even to hurt him or to defend himself.

It’s also pretty interesting that their sole form of physical contact, that we specifically know of, is through the exact same weapon: the knife, Woe, is used to carve Astarion’s scars, and it’s also used to kill Cazador. That’s so poetic. Evil unto evil, kind of thing.

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ive been illegally downloading shit like its my job since i was 10

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Forget chronology — my brain is busy raising nonexistent yet kids

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modernbat: a cure for the sun

(time to slowly move toward the main plot)

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The mutual yearning on levels of pathetic

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Little cuties☺️

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Fear in their eyes Ash raining from the blood orange sky

[some of my post-canon scenes]

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Aaaah, this brings back memories. I loved the ridiculous dialogues from early access so much. He's a callous bitch here but it's honestly funny when you have a sense of gallows humor. Not sure why Larian cut this dialogue out but if it was for the cruelty of it, I don't get it because Act 1 Astarion is an asshole alright with or without this.

I was asked about this discussion from EA: Astarion's reaction to Mayrina when you bring Connor back (whether you keep the wand or give it to her).

The last one is cruel but I must admit, it made me laugh.

(Sorry Pookie is all battered; the hag kept on telling him he had rats stuck in his teeth... It was a messy fight)

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modernbat: a cult

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I'll always share the "sweet wicked darling" line😭🩷