#and listen I love Astarion pre and post ascension

[noctvrnal9999]

Thinking about how Astarion constantly blames Cazador for taking things away (the eye color he forgot, the reflection he doesn't have, for turning him into a vampire) but it's like... it was his own choice to become a spawn. He makes it out to be as if he was given no choice - not true. Vampire lore is known in Baldur's Gate and I will assume here (and build on this) that it was known 200 years ago as well. With that logic - Astarion knew perfectly well what becoming a vampire will entail if not what will being a spawn to a vampire lord will.

So no, Cazador didn't take things from Astarion, he gave them up willingly for immortality and then didn't like that Cazador didn't pamper him like a spoiled brat. Vampires are evil aligned in dnd, it's a fact, Astarion must've known that it's not going to be wine and roses if he signs up and yet he still did. What that says about who he was before becoming a spawn? Quite a bit but that's not what I'm talking about here.

Point is - Astarion rarely takes any accountability for being a vampire, for choosing to be a vampire and blames everyone and everything for his own choices. Cazador didn't take away things, Astarion surrendered them. How Astarion is presented to Tav is through a very human lens and that's why he succeeds making people hate Cazador. But I have been fan of vampires since I was a little kid, my perspective is simply this - he is pathetic as a spawn, he rebels after he doesn't like what he himself signed up for and when he gets punished for it he again blames Cazador for doing what a vampire lord just... simply does - manages his spawn to keep them in toe. Yes, Cazador is awful even by vampiric standards but it just shows that he's not a great leader of his coven lol. Maybe he's only this much sadistic because he has no other way to control the spawn. But I digress.

My point is - whole sob story Astarion presents and that so many fans eat right out of his palm is him refusing to take accountability for his own choices. And that's why ascension is something he desires and will achieve if not talked out of by Tav (with a dice roll when helping him right away requires none of that iirc). He wants power and he wants freedom and again, by vampire standards he's just getting what every vampire desires, there's no amorality involved because morals are already shady at best for vampires as a whole. The whole discourse about Astarion ascending or not literally only comes from human houlier-than-thou attitudes and ignoring that yes, Astarion is an awful person from the very beginning. I mean who attacks you with a fucking knife when you have your back turned? Even Lae'zel faces you upfront. Who attacks you in the night for blood instead of talking? His excuse is lame too "oh you would've staked me" and finding him bent over tav's sleeping form with horrible intentions would not lead to that? You even have an option to stake him several times during the whole scene. He's deceptive, manipulative and he will weasel and lie in every interaction to protect himself. He's not your little meow meow or whatever, he's a vampire. And Astarion himself says that he would trust a devil over a vampire any day.

So all the girlies who think Astarion is this cuddly prince that suddenly becomes a monster the moment he's allowed to become who he always was meant to be just get a reality check. He isn't changed, he's just showing his true colors and finally coming into power that he craved for so long (not ascension per se, just power in general and ascension gives him ultimate power). Does he deserve it - that's another matter. But he craves it and needs it. To quote Astarion himself: "Because those with power can do whatever the Hells they want."

And he's right.