#astarion evil side

[lesfir]

Astarion's ambitions and desires. Power, Evil and Good

Astarion discuss a possibility of controlling the tadpole. Astarion_InParty2_Nested_ControllingTadpole

Tiny scene, but interesting. ⟡Devnote⟡

I opened the dialog if Tav playing as a "good", but if Tav is chaotic, discards to lines that go in the "evil" branch. I am chaotic Tav. If playing as Dark Urge the "goodness" branch is unavailable even if the grove saved. After killing the bard, for sure. I almost restrained myself from posting the entire script of that scene here. Just a script. At the end a bit of my personal thoughts and preferences. though poor English :| The order of the line has been followed.

Astarion: You might be a little naive in the ways of the world, but I see promise in you. Ambition.

Astarion: So I was thinking, what would be the right thing to do when we get to Moonrise Towers? When we come face-to-face with whoever is controlling the parasites in our heads. Player: Seize control of the cult ourselves? Astarion: Yes, exactly! NodeContext: Surprised and hyped that the player got it in one. He didn't think you'd be on board with the idea.

Player: Evil power. I won't do it. Astarion: Power is just a tool, it's people that are good or evil. Astarion: And even they can be a little bit... CinematicNodeContext: Can't quite find the words to convey "even evil people can be a little bit good" so just mimes weighing scales with his hands. NodeContext: And even good or evil people can be a little bit complicated.

Astarion: I'm just saying there's an opportunity here. If we can control the tadpoles, we can keep ourselves safe and liberate the world from this evil. NodeContext: pause be 'liberate' as he considers what would sound good to a goody-two-shoes player. Astarion was thinking less liberate, more dominate.

1Player: No. Absolutely not. Astarion: So much for thinking you had ambition. 2Player: Or we could just enjoy having all that power.

\Jump in the thread where Tav would kill the Tieflings and\or Dark urge, who interested in safe and a little of world domination. As in the screen, In the "good" branch, Astarion doesn't mention his plan, but in the "evil" branch, he says it explicitly.

Astarion: I knew I was right about you. It's so good to find a kindred spirit. Astarion: Of course, this all assumes we live long enough to find this 'Moonrise'. But I'm feeling optimistic. END

*** Another branchs as a bonus. "Good hero" branch

Player: To destroy the cult and end its evil forever. Astarion: Gods... No, try to think outside the box. Just a little.

NodeContext: With a sigh, maybe pinching the bridge of his nose because the player is so fucking dense. But Astarion is trying to get the player on board with stealing a whole lot of power, so he has to lead them down the path and can't just call them an idiot.

"Astarion's plan"

Player: And how would we do that, exactly? Astarion: I mean - I assume there's some device controlling these things, so we find that, murder some people, and... NodeContext: Trying to sound like he knows what he's talking about, though he doesn't actually have a plan beyond "stealing power good" Astarion: Look, I'm not a 'details' person, all right? But turning up and causing chaos has worked for us so far. NodeContext: giving up trying to sound authoratitive

He has two reactions to rejection.

~"Goody-two-shoes" branch

Player: No. Absolutely not. Astarion: So much for thinking you had ambition. ~Not that Goody branch

Player: I'm getting this thing out of my head. End of story. or Player: I still want to get rid of the parasite. Astarion: A pity, I thought you had more ambition than that. Astarion: Still, we're not there yet. Maybe you'll see the light yet.

\In the "good" branch, he decides Tav has no ambition when Tav rejects his idea. In the "evil" branch, he thought Tav had more ambition and hopes for "light" in thought. Such a reaction cannot be obtained in the "good" branch. ***

My thoughts.

Ambition — I really love that word.

I love how the proud Prince, wants to take power and dominate the world. The plan: find, murder and... get what I want. He's smart, but his wild-fireworks nature is something. And it just melts me.

I love this conversation about good and evil. The theme of scales.

CinematicNodeContext: Can't quite find the words to convey "even evil people can be a little bit good" so just mimes weighing scales with his hands. NodeContext: And even good or evil people can be a little bit complicated.

\I love that devnote so much. I am so greedy for this topic.

NodeContext: pause be 'liberate' as he considers what would sound good to a goody-two-shoes player. Astarion was thinking less liberate, more dominate. \AUGH

I like to play chaotic Tav so Astarion can tempt me better to own the world and generally not understand what's hells in my Tav-head sometimes. (งᐖ)ว \But I've already been tempted into everything on the beach, and he doesn't know that :D\ I'm looking forward to 2055 when we can talk to characters like they're real. >:D I'll make cute Chaos.

[the-pale-3lf]

as much as I love Durge/Astarion and all of the content we get specific to the two of them, I wish Larian had leaned more into Durge/Shadowheart because their stories work so well in parallel: they both have amnesia, work for/with a dark power, and can choose to either accept that darkness or resist it

I feel like Larian could’ve pushed their relationship, even if not romantic, way more simply because of their shared similarities, but afaik, there isn’t even a mention between Durge and Shart about their respective amnesias, despite that being such a unifying and bonding feature between them, not to mention the pull they both feel towards a darkness that’s hidden by that very same memory loss

I was never interested in Shadowheart until I started a Durge run and found out exactly how similar the two of them are, and it makes for such a compelling story, especially if they either enable each other towards darkness or encourage each other towards lightness

[gatitoguao]

how people to choose to play a game is not indicative of their morals and beliefs

how people to choose to play a game is not indicative of their morals and beliefs.

how people to choose to play a game is not indicative of their morals and beliefs.

how people to choose to play a game is not indicative of their morals and beliefs.

"but even the writers/va's are telling you xyz is bad!!!"

okay lol but its still a game and i paid for it and if i want to hc that so and so is not actually an asshole™ then i will bc thats just the way hcs and fandoms work

i also find it funny how some people are like "if you like this, its okay, but also let me tell you why you shouldn't like it" and give people a 12 point times new roman double spaced essay with an apa format references page like babe i didn't ask

[in-fair-verona-we-set-our-scene]

I think a key thing to remember when judging all those "Astarion/Minthara/Lae'zel disapproves" reactions to like... helping orphans is that in context they're often rather realistic and practical considering what's being asked of them. If anything it's the more good-aligned companions willingness to drop everything and risk their lives to help randos in need of help that is unreasonable to expect.

Remember, from their perspective things like save-scumming are not real. They cannot metagame and prepare for what specific enemy or attack they might face. In-universe, death has consequence and you can die. Plus we're on an unknown time limit here to potential squid-ifying, not to mention their own personal baggage.

It's like... they're playing blind and on Honour Mode, and the consequences of failure isn't just a story going the way you might not like or your fave character dying. It's actual life and death. There are real stakes here for them.

So while yes they can approve of just... petty asshole stuff or even genuinely evil stuff, it's not unreasonable for them to have a problem with risking their lives for random strangers. Because if they're in your party, that's what you're doing. Making the choice to put their lives on the line for strangers. If anything they're all oddly brave and ride-or-die for whatever bullshit decisions you make from the start--I mean it takes a lot of reckless altruism while also being an asshole to them specifically (it's not hard to balance their approval by being nice to them directly on a good playthrough) to get them to hate you, let alone ditch the group.

[bhaalsdeepbat]

the way i just gasped at the implication that minthara would be ANYTHING but hopelessly devoted to whoever she's romantically involved with.

[alexa-nowak]

Thoughts about Astarion's endings

In terms of romance,I personally prefer spawn ending, because,well,it's wholesome and it has it's bittersweet flavour that I usually adore in romance.

However...

I absolutely prefer Ascended Astarion from storytelling perspective and I think it looks more natural and logical as character development for him. I don't think that game gave us convincing "path to light" and redemption arc for Astarion. And it's a shame, really, because I see in his story great potential for interesting redemption arc and nice critique towards the judicial system, "abuser gets his punishment from a greater abuser" and all this intriguing dark stuff.

But his EA backstory got wiped, screenwriters added enormous amount of sugar and tears to his story and it ended up making it look so bleak in comparison with what we could get out of his arc. And in the end, for me his way towards becoming more evil than he was in Act 1 and getting lost in his hunger for power seems to be more true to his character than "change his mind with one dice roll" trick.

My heart definitely falls for spawn ending,yet my mind will always prefer "let's make this vicious man even more evil and powerful than he already was" over "cured by love" classical fairytale

[lipstickghoulie]

You don’t know how long you’ve had him like this but his cheeks are pink and flushed, you don’t think you’ve seen him shut his mouth in over an hour as it hangs slightly agape and his eyes are wet with desperation and unshed tears. Astarion blinks blearily at you but doesn’t dare move, overstimulated beyond description as his half-hard dick remains trapped within your cunt, cushioned and sodden with a mixture of both of your emissions.

“Please, no more,” he whimpers out, hands tightening on your hips as if seeking a lifeline as you purposefully clench around him. You can’t help the way that a cloying, saccharine smirk takes over your features at how you’ve debauched this so-called powerful vampire.

You say so innocently and sweetly, “But, my love, I thought you wanted to keep me naked and in your lap on your throne? Isn’t this what you asked for?”

[eff-plays]

Just finished Astarion's quest+romance.

I'M GONNA FUCKING BREAK SOMETHING AUGH

NEIL I AM IN YOUR WALLS

[a-small-writer-in-a-big-world]

My personal hot take for BG3 is that I see the appeal that Astarion has but personally he’s far too mean for me to get into him and the fan base surrounding him makes turns me off from him so much.

[lesfir]

I'm every time someone calls Lord Astarion a “cardboard villain” (+ parodying Cazador), briefly - in this nasty way:

Fr since when has he not been an evil trickster who says evil trickster shit.

Uh, no, back off.

It's an FreakStarion. When Astarion does the cringe, pompous it's pleasurable and sexy because in slavery he wasn't allowed to do it, he had to be an invisible shadow, small worm - now he's free. In both cases and it's sad for those who don't see it in Lord Astarion aka Astarion with power.

The man is talking about gold goblets and virgins.

In Act 3, sunshine.

A bed of dead bodies (he says totally chillin, almost laughing at that) I mean Stephen Rooney loved ‘What We Do in the Shadows.’ Vlad dusted the floor with a corpse.

brilliant

I'm sure he has the same attitude towards children as Lae or Minthara. They can be fun, interesting like Arabella. But if someone dies, he won't care long because someone was weak.

A child has lost his mum and is asking for help

The man is grieve about his father's death. Astarion: Well, it's a sacrifice, especially since you're going to be a Duke - cool.

You know, he likes drow armour, armies. So he likes something dark and cool. Flowers are bright, he doesn't mind, because he says he likes the luxury, brightness and the colours - but most importantly they don't have much practical use. Poison can't be made :<

Everything can be turned in the direction of nastiness. You know who else liked to watch people fight to the death? Cazador. Monsieur Calvin J. Candie.

If you look at the approvals you will see an even paler Astarioniс wtf :D

+2 +5 - it's rare. Usually everyone's +1.

[grey-wardens]

had karlach become a mind flayer this run since wyll is grand duke and man squidlach makes me so fucking sad 😭

[theautistichalflinghole]

Listen, am I happy that you now get to rule the world with your SO and be evil together? Of course, evil couple takeover for astarion and minthy romancers, especially when they egged you on to do so, makes much more sense. However do I miss the tragedy of a characters who thought they were finally free and powerful being ultimately betrayed by the one they loved? Having thier love become corrupted and warped into something cruel as thier lover perpetuates thier own cycle of violence and abuse? Yes absolutely

Also yes I know this change is old but I've been busy ok

[amatres]

can shadowheart and laezel not disapprove of recruiting each other at every turn im just trying to survive out here

[kamisatoayato]

.

[lelianaslefthand]

less than a month until baldurs gate 3 full release

[lady-valtieri]

Astarion in Early Access: "Hahaha yes I'm very charming and deceptive and evil and sex is so much fun and I really don't care about anyone."

Astarion in the Full Game: "I haven't had bodily autonomy in 200 years and I've forgotten how to be intimate with someone beyond using it to lure people to their deaths and I have so much trauma regarding sex and I seduced you because it's what I've had to do to survive for literal centuries and I needed you to be on my side but I wasn't supposed to fall in love with you but you're so kind and amazing that I fell anyway and I'm terrified of real emotions but I want *us* to be real because you deserve it and I really care about you but I need you to help me because this is all so new and I'm so scared but I want this to work and I-"