Astarion | True moments that reveals his softer side | Baldurs Gate 3
There are probably more, and some of them can certainly be debated as to whether they are true or soft. But I chose them based on my feeling, so maybe my subjective opinion is also included. But I wanted to show that there is more to this character than just an evil Vampire.
#astarion #ascended #spawn #baldursgate3 #bg3 #larianstudios #compilation #neilnewbon #characterdevelopment #confession #graveyard
#darkurge #clipstwitch #wotc #vampire #unrealengine
Music by AtinPiano:
• I Want To Live - Baldu...
00:00 First meet Astarion
01:03 Bite Night
02:30 Goblin vs Tieflingparty
07:50 Confessionscene
10:38 Darling boy
11:49 Astarion and Dark Urge
13:12 Breaking up with Astarion
15:50 Astarion breaks up with Dark Urge
17:06 Sebastian
19:27 Ascended Astarion
19:58 Spawn Astarion
I love how expressive his eyes are. The puppy eyes he shows when he is emotionally vulnerable get me every time 🥹
I focused myself on that. I believe that's how you recognized when something is meant seriously.
Same. The creators knew what they were doing with him, especially his eyes. You’re able to see vulnerability, sadness, anger, happiness, and other emotions. I love it!
its subtke but you can see when that facade of the pretty boi charmer thats got shit together drops if you bother trying to get to know him
@@snonyabeeswax, agreed. Getting to know who he really is, is key. Some people just kill him off before giving themselves a chance to know him. The reasons are stupid and endless. He’s a vampire, he can’t be trusted, he has no redeeming qualities, he’s too sarcastic, blah blah blah 😒 I can’t stand those people. Know someone, real or fictional, before you judge them.
If we had a cuddle button in game I would never get anything done. I would just be cuddling Astarion all the time.
Astarion and Scratch!
At least half the characters in this game need a cuddle at least once.
saaaame
@@magdam1508 and the owlbear cub
YES
He’s a hard case to open, but when you do, he’s filled with so much beautiful emotions and feelings inside that go from ‘survival of fittest’ to ‘I need to survive to protect you.’ And Astarion *loves* the hell out of you when you romance him, there isn’t a single moment he doesn’t compliment you or want to talk to, he’s just always there, always listening and hearing you out despite never getting the chance before his whole life. The way he acts and speaks, it all was a clever scheme first but breaks down the time he realizes PC loves him for who he is than who he was made as, and the small friendship we gave him was counterpart to 200 years of misery. Tldr; Astarion best man.
I think that's why Astarion is so popular. He's "the one you can fix" but in a controlled environment with no real risks to you.
You don't really "fix him". He fixes himself, you just give him the emotional support he needs for growth.
Beautifully said.
As long as he doesn’t do an Anakin Skywalker and turns into what he was supposed to defeat.
He really speaks with his eyes, you can pin point where he's full of crap and when he's for real very easily. Larian did such a great job with subtle animations.
Patch 6 brought many of this subtle micro facial expressions, especially around the eyes 😉 You can easily notice the diffrents in „borrow” fragment with dragonborn Durge, who comes from patch 5 or even earlier one 😉
He so does.. the one thing that makes dominating the absolute as Durge worth while is the 'conversation' between him/her and Ascended Astarion the moment AA realizes that Durge is seizing control for them both. The meaning there actually makes it surprising to me that people haven't used it as part of the evidence that AA's rough actions with Tav/Durge is about ensuring their survival not because he's become an abuser.
That sad look he got when ShadowHeart called him a monster. I just wanna hug him and protect him from everything
But he is. They all are
Do you have the time stamp? I wanna see but I'm trying not to watch the whole video cause spoilers
Same 😢
@@PeskyBee13 Around 2:13, you see his face drop for a moment after Shadowheart finishes her sentence.
Oh my. That "What?! Why?!" when you tell him you'd rather be with him. Like...the shock blew right through all his shields for a second.
It was just in this scene that I really understood that it was all just a show and that there was more to him.
LOL I love how you suddenly cut away from ascended Astarion like "whoops nope NOT WHOLESOME LET'S MOVE ON"
Thats it with 'soft' :D
goblin vs tiefling party is a perfect example of how good Neil nailed his expressiveness...the lines are exactly the same, but you can tell in the goblin version he's reserved, almost a little afraid of you, whereas in the tiefling version he's relaxed and starting to let his guard down a little bit (even if he catches himself getting vulnerable and rushes you away).
The way the VA made Astarions honest and lying voices so distinct is wonderful.
I saw the scene where Astarion talks about being locked in a tomb for a year in my own save and I had to take a break for a couple hours because I couldn't move on from that. I've barely seen anyone discussing that dialogue and I don't know why. Neil's acting is so phenomenal all throughout the game but his acting in that scene specifically was just something else entirely. There's just so much emotion. Re watching it had me sobbing again.
in what act did you see that dialog?
@@MadSnusmumrik3, if u persuade him to stay spawn
@@Sad_Realm thank you
@@MadSnusmumrik It is act 3 but the scene is prior to Cazador's fight/convincing Astarion to stay a spawn. It happens after you fight his "siblings" when they try to kidnap him during a long rest shortly after talking to Petras and Dalyria in Fragyo's Flophouse in Wyrm's Crossing.
@@DM-nw5lu thank you ❤️
It's not in the video but my favorite example of his vulnerability showing on his face and betraying his words is when he says "isn't that what you want? To lose yourself in me?" During the romance scene in act 1 if you ask him what he is wants. He looks so sad, like it's a line he's said a thousand times over and he's exhausted by it. He's literally giving himself over as an object to be used and his pain shows in his eyes. It hits harder the second time around after knowing his story
Oh yes, a good one. and can only be recognize very briefly.
I need to show this to anyone who hates on Astarion and says he's just a bitchy character who wants to cause chaos and trouble. No, there's something much deeper underneath the surface.
Yes! He’s been conditioned by Cazador to act like a jerk, but he never wanted to act like that. Doing the right thing meant torture, so naturally he stopped doing good. When we meet him he was just taken away from Cazador, so naturally his soft side isn’t going to take over right away. He needs patience, kindness, and understanding on his journey to being his true self again.
My favorite thing is how Astarion straight up is a sweetie. he's a softie and a little sweetheart. you just have to get through several layers of trauma first
The whispered "don't become his" at 13:09 is so heart wrenching
Shadowheart's comments while Tav hugs Astarion gets me right here! 💝
Something that occurred to me recently is that if not for the tadpole, he'd have been the bad guy's "evil" minion who you'd kill without a second thought. His psychology is very interesting to me because it's so layered and complex. Surface level, he just seems like a cruel, sassy person, your classic token evil teammate. But the more you learn, the more you realize he's not an "uwu evil cuz he's sad" character as so many like to brush him off as. It's not just that bad things happened to him and that makes him so tortured and tragic, NO, he's someone who has been forced to partake in evil and someone whose good instincts have been brutally conditioned out of him. 10:44 this is the lynchpin of everything, as it illustrates this perfectly; doing the right thing is something to be swiftly and harshly punished. No wonder he chafes so much with heroic characters at the beginning. Imo, his apathy is as much a coping mechanism as his disassociation during intimacy is, and the closer he gets to Cazador, the more he leans on it. And yet it still wrestles with his empathy, which is not dead yet either. Faced with Sebastian and his other victims, he does almost nothing but grovel and apologize and promise to free them. With the right dialogue prompts, either Sebastian and/or the player can even inflict a STAT DEBUFF on him because they said something that made him feel THAT guilty--literal physic damage. Once Cazador is truly gone, he's allowed to let it go and actually indulge in his humanity again--which he does in his Spawn epilogues. He's such a fascinating character
Beautifully written! He has expressed time and again that he was forced to do bad things. He didn’t want to do these things, he wanted to do the right thing but doing the right thing meant torture so naturally he stopped trying. As he expressed at 10:42 he once tried to have mercy on someone and was then locked away in a tomb for a year; would you have the courage to do the right thing after that? Just like with war, after doing enough killing you get desensitized and then all you see are enemies. 200 years of doing evil things changes a person. After 200 years of being a certain person, it is going to take a LONG time for a person’s habits and philosophies to change. People need to give Astarion a break. How would we feel wif we were in his shoes? We would want people to be patient and caring with us.
@@vella8650 even beyond having the courage, he straight up couldn't leave or rebel. People really gloss over the fact that Astarion is being entirely literal when he says he's a puppet to Cazador. He could try to disobey all he liked, but the magic would override his will and force obedience anyways. We can see this in action with Aurelia and Leon during the scene where they try to kidnap him; you can convince them to help you and Cazador's orders still take over their bodies and force them to attack anyways. I don't even think Cazador has to be aware of them turning on him, his just has to issue the orders once and the sire bond or whatever it is will automatically enforce his order. Who among us would keep trying to rebel when they know they'll be physically forced to do it anyways AND THEN punished horrifically for disobeying? Who wouldn't give up in such a hopeless situation?? Being the evil minion was the only thing that made existence more bearable because anything else was an excuse for his abuser to hurt him more. That would mess with anyone's sense of morality, especially after 200 years. It's honestly a miracle he's redeemable at all.
Just wanna say I love your comment.
@@primrosettSo good to see people actually acknowledge it, I've seen others straight up saying that he's just evil for shits and giggles because he said something about murder being fun. I hate when people use their own 2024 morality in fantasy games/books and sure there are sick characters out there but in good writing there's always a reason for it and I think Astarion has an extremely good one to be the way he was when you meet him.
when he says cazador says his screams were the sweetest it makes me sob
Honestly, I'd hug him a thousand times and another thousand times more... as long as he'll feel safe no matter what.. Sex is not the only thing to show affection and care for others.. hugs and kisses can too
It’s doubly strange when Ascended Astarion seemed to forget everything and began to behave abusively towards the Tav. Like a completely different person. Cruel, toxic and destructive.
@@Usergh5374 that’s cuz the ascension is profane for a reason.. after sacrificing that much lives… and gaining much power.. it basically threw all his character development out of the window because he doesn’t need it anymore since he’s an all powerful being who doesn’t have to be afraid or humble to anyone..
He was human, sincere and vulnerable with Tav. There is nothing to indicate that this was a lie. What made his personality such was not cowardice, helplessness or obedience. Perhaps with the denouement of AA the writers wanted to emphasize that violence begets a new cycle of violence. The version where Astarion remains a spawn breaks this circle. @@solaranceshiro1643
I had no idea he got his reflection back if he ascended! My dislike of AA aside, it does make me happy that he got to see himself again, even if I will have to hunt him down in a couple hundred years when he inevitably becomes total and pure evil 🙃
Yes, that softened my heart too. However, the sentences after are how beautiful he is and now understand why so many follow him to Cazador. I think soon he won't be interested anymore. just like in the sun (he will cast fog over the world) and then what's left?
We really need a scene where you can show him how he looks for the spawn ending. We could so easily use our ilithid powers to show him or even get Oskar to paint him (it'd make that dang quest more worthwhile at least :/) and you just... can't! For no reason! They dangle easy answers in front of us and don't let us use them, it drives me crazy.
i’ve never noticed his conserned reaction on the durge killing squirrel 0_o
Seeing that first one after going all the way through, I hear the unspoken word. "What else did i expect?" ...Freedom.
I have a lot of thoughts about this game, but one of them is that you really don’t need Astarion to ascend, even if it comes down to it being about being a powerful character you can use in battle. You don’t need to become and illithid either. You don’t need to make any change to any character in order to beat the game, because everyone you fight is perfectly beatable with a decent tactic. I didn’t ascend him, I became an illithid to give my party better chances, but then I beat the game with another save where nobody ascended and I was still the same old Tav, and I beat it anyway. It was only marginally harder, but still very much doable. And I love how these choices to corrupt your characters’ morals are not forced on you. You can literally beat the game however you want, aim for the outcome you want, and that way you’ll always be satisfied by how the story goes. Now I have to say I’m sad because I think I really found the perfect game that gave me everything I could’ve possibly wanted, so that means I’ll probably never experience anything like it again. And that’s just sad. But I mean, for now I’ll just keep exploring different storylines and outcomes I guess, so the fun’s not over… like, at all. One thing I’ll never do though is let Astarion ascend. Because i love him for the character he really is, and AA ain’t it.
i love when he shows you his true self and lets out his real feelings ohhh my baby boy 😭
another great video! Neil's voice acting is so pure and raw
Thanks. Neil is phenomenal. There are scenes that I have seen many times and yet they still grab me again and again.
I cant believe you didnt include when he cried his eyes out!
I deliberately left out the entire scene in the chamber. but yes, the scene could stand on its own
Beautifully edited! Like this, it adds an amazing sense of context when overlapped. I can say with some confidence that this is the best argument for Spawn Astarion. Beneath the theatrics and chaos is a fragile heart, exposed and raw nerves, and the glimmer of a desire for change. When nurtured, it flares into hope, which will light the way to true realization and self actualization. Breaking a torturously endless cycle is the most beautiful aspect and action of Astarion's character. May we all be so lucky to find that desire and courage for change. ❤
I love how you overlapped Jaheira and Shadowhearts’ lines on some of the best skinships he ever had! It made me smile from ear to ear ❤️❤️❤️
I'm glad. I was nearly crying during this❤
I love his reaction as you later Araj meet again. 😮 he's so sweet here.
Neil not winning the BAFTA was a travesty. His acting here is leagues above anything I have seen in a video game for years. Everyone else nominated was brilliant, but he's in a class all his own. How is he not a household name? He needs to be in everything.
Words :')
I love this sweet man. I´m happy I romanced him. Long before I even got the game I saw him here and there as if it was a little subconcious calling. I dont look out for games that much. I play 2-3 games for years and then have a long break. Well, there he was, metaphorically lurking in the corners of my eye. That white hair always got me, long before him. White haired characters are just yes. An elf? Wow. Long ears?? Sign me up? I also found it somewhat healing to be able to look through him as a whole. I never distrusted my guts. Yes, its a little "too" personal, but he means a lot to me. I am on my 4th run and never had him leave my side. It makes me happi! Also your little ":O" was so unexpectedly cute!! Thank you for this video, dear stranger!
thank you for your comment. This character suddenly hit me and I haven't been able to get away from him ever since
@@OonalovesAstarionssimpleplan Same here friend. For me its an entirely different story that would sound very strange for a lot of people not familiar with companions in terms of spirituality but that´s alright. But I can effortlessly talk about Astarion for hours. I often hyperfixate on details about him with friends who just listen and have no idea who im even talking about but they enjoy it haha. Anywho- I love calling myself his comfort plushie.
That thumbnail alone is enough to kill me.
"moments that reveal his softer side" **Ascends him** .....ok 😶
I understand, I had a hard time finding something i believe its true or soft. In the end there wasn't much left.😂
1:25 This is exactly what it looks like.
All he had to do was ask. 😉
Omg this is so beautiful! Thank you! 💜 I snorted when the :/ popped up and you skipped to the next scene while he was mid sentence! 😂
Cause that's it with 'soft' :D
The squirrel REALLY caught me off guard. Then I laughed entirely too hard. I'm a terrible person.
I can relate, me too ;}
I'll never be happy because he is not a real man i can marry and protect forever
Astarion's hotness aside Neil's voice acting is amazing
Q_Q So ein genialer Zusammenschnitt... Tausend Dank dafür! Und mindestens genauso viele Lobgesänge!
Danke :')
idk if it was intentional, but it is like the graphics from the beginning of the game and the characters improve while the story occurs. The graphics are amazing after a long time. Idk if maybe it was the light.
I love Neil’s delivery of his voice.❤
This became my lullaby video. I listen to it trhought the night❤
Good night ☺
Waa für ein großartiges Edit von unserem beliebten Vampir, super! Vielen Dank für's Teilen ☺️
Danke und gern geschehen ☺
I'd never seen that bit about the Underdark at the end. It actually made me tear up. ❤ What an amazing arc his story can have.
Your thumnail is so perfect❤
I love this video so much! Love the cute emojis too lol
Thank u
Hahah. It’s funny, your Tav looks almost exactly like mine. 😂
We're beautiful sisters
Thank u for the big speach thingi
what do you mean exactly?
My sweet little star❤ please protect him 🙏
5:50 ..ah!... hello- literally hes so cute
Okay but him seeing himself in the mirror almost made me cry - AA HAS FEELINGS I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL.
oh you mean feelings like self-love, hate and the desire for more power? :D
Why are you so bothered?@@OonalovesAstarionssimpleplan
@LegallyBoopy I'm not, I'm amused
“Looking for a cuddle?” I mean, yes…
5:50 That was hilarious 😂
One of my favorit moments of him. It's as if he forgot his role as a sexy vampire for a moment.
Eine wunderschöne Geschichte. Ich mag ihn so sehr.
I have to disagree with the whole ascendant part as those are no TRUE moments. He is just playing with Tav masking again.
Yes, u're right.I had a hard time finding something I really believe it's true. In the end there wasn't much left😂
Is reminds me of Lucifer the show, he sounds just like him
Which end did you choose with him? because it seems, like you are together but seperated. Went to hell? Thx for the unknown dialouge about him helping the spawns, it's SO cute. i always end my runs with him together, looking for a healing
For the video I break up with him before the epilogue :( because as a friend he has a lot more to say than romanced. but I also prefer the ending with looking for a cure for him.❤
I've thought that Dark Urge it's when you play like i lizard. But in this video Tav looks normal. Is it made with mods or i can choose human\lizard form for Dark Urge?
yes, you can make yourself a normal character. Don't worry, I thought that too at first
I think you just have to play paladin, don't you?
@@jessicaavery1080 no, you can choose everything yourself (class, appearance, male/female) even the level of difficulty. I initially thought Dark Urge would be more difficult, but it's not. you just have extra scenes and are an important role in the story.
May I suggest doing a GMV with Astarion and Tav ( female ) to the song Desire by Meg Myers or Dark Urge and Astarion with that one? Hmmm? Don't tell me none of you thought of this? Lol😅❤❤❤
I don't know this song... but now.... so yes... Maybe
Im so attached to him, so romancing gale is hard
I kinda like the clip (not here?) where he decides to give you the push-off for talking/coercing him into sex. I kinda cheered him on, ngl. There's a shot of his expression after the act and it makes me sad and angry all over again.
Do you mean this scene at 8:40 ?
It's just a second around 8:46
The vulnerable look, the disgust that drips from his voice...whole thing is just 👩🍳💋
That finally broke my heart😢❤
🥺🥺🥺🥺
Is the scene at 8:44 an actual scene in the game? (If so I assume, Astarion origin?)
It is and is not Astarion origin. You basically have to pressure him into sex after the Araj scene.
@@emma2884 Woah 😵💫 ok that makes sense!
@@emma2884 and it was A hard time doing that. I felt so bad after that😢
It is an actual scene, not from Ast origin but after the encounter with Araj, you can coax him into having sex for pleasure with you. He is horribly shook by the encounter and gets forced into pleasuring you again, and in this scene he is just sitting staring into the distance contemplating gods know what but he breaks up with you shortly after.
No I won't kill them well maybe shadow heart
Why the difference between Tiefling and Goblin?
The goblin party means an evil game (he seems to feel uncomfortable there) the Tiefling party means you have gone to the good side (he certainly feels more comfortable)
Astarions Ascencion was the only proper ending in my playthrough. My man had to get his flowers after 200 years of 💩Our relationship was plesant so I didn't get the crazy dialogs of him saying i was degrading myself with him. Probably because he didnt want my thousand palm monk style put upon him! 🤣
Astarion has no soft side 😅
😂😂😂 30 min video
Sure he does, how you think I got this here stake through his chest, that's right one stab to the goo and (raspberries sound).
his softer side like when he acrifices thousands including children to become ascended? people are real qeird with this vampire stuff. get therapy
I'm not a fan of Ascend Astarion either, there's so little of it to be seen, but I find his reaction with the mirror touching.and isn't it significant that it's not even a minute?
Hes a fictional character, not a real person ya know. This is such a chronically online take
Gosh I love how passionately tender he is after ascending. Spawn is sweetly tender, but more hesitant and timid about it. Feels colder when directly compared to how intimate and warm he is to Tav when he ascends.
Ascended Astarion serious DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOU. Someone did a run with Karlach on what he’d do. He still insists on turning Karlach, when she lies down to accept it, he goes to bite, and fucking shocker, he gets burnt. Immediately, he starts screaming ‘how dare you’ and he begins to hurl all sorts of evil shit at her, how she’s broken, deformed, and declares he’s done. THAT’S the truth of Ascended Astarion. No one is his ‘lover’ anymore. They’re just props, and if they won’t shape how he wishes, he casts them aside.
@@Norinia My Tav is not Karlach. I don't play as her so it doesn't matter. Karlach just isn't the right person for him because she cannot accept the one way he can show his love as a vampire lord. He throws a temper tantrum which is uncalled for, but expected for Astarion overall. Here's my real question... Why do you care so much? The truth of Ascended Astarion is that he's a fictional character intended to be interpreted however you want. Don't be pressed because someone sees him differently from you. Go ruin someone's fun cause I really don't care.
If Tav breaks up with him after ascending, he will say: “I even respected you for this. If you had stayed with me, I would still have ruined our relationship and turned you into nothing.” I don’t know why the writers changed his personality after the ritual to another, cruel and destructive one.
@@Usergh5374 That's just how the ascension is supposed to work. It's not just that he is suddenly more powerful and loses the cons of being a vampire - his soul is made evil, in a very literal sense. The only reason he maintains any kind of tenderness towards Tav is because firstly, that is how he was acting before he ascended and secondly, he recognises that he is supposed to love you - and in a very evil and self-serving way, he does. He will progressively begin to see you as nothing more than a tool in his game though, and if you ever inconvenience him or go against him, that's it. You'll be done. No saving throws for this one. His lack of fear and his desire for power rule who he becomes, and he has no reason to weigh the consequences of his actions or his reactions when it comes to those closest to him. He'll turn into mega-Cazador eventually. Just because we don't see that happening immediately, it doesn't mean it isn't going to happen. And it WILL happen. We are just lucky enough to be with him while he's still got his spawn personality overlapping with his ascended soul.
@@Usergh5374maybe the wort infernal Ritual passed you by. or the conclusion that it is meant to represent the cycle of abuse. (he puts the chains on you that he just freed himself from)
Oh lord, the "I can fix him" crowd is going to love this lol. I get why Astarion appeals to a lot of people he's the definition of "This type of character is fun to romance in a game but keep the TF away from me IRL." The guy actively enjoys the pain of others and is a bit too cavalier about killing gor me.
The question is: why does he enjoy it? it is copy machanism to survive under his master. His story is about trauma and his quest is about helping 'fixing' him, but you can decide how you help him. Through the ritual or through acceptance of the trauma (vampirism) in the romance it becomes clear that he is not so evil. Do u know enything of this charakter beside campbanter? Btw, Astarion approves to be persuaded not to ascend and thanks u for that
Says the person from the “I always just kill him immediately and can’t be bothered to learn his story” crowd. Clearly you didn’t watch the video. Or pay any attention ever to his backstory. If you were brutally tortured for 200 years (by a being who could literally command your body to act against your will) every time you tried to do something good, you’d be a terrible person at the end of it. The fact that there is any amount of good left in him that can be nurtured into someone worth saving is an absolute miracle. One I can guarantee you would not posses if you went through all of that.
Don't you fixed Shadowheart or Laezel either? You can also decide to be good as the Dark Urge. what's the difference to Astarion then? Because in his romance you realize that there is a good side in him.
typical. come here, spit in the comments and f**k off. doesn't read our arguments and doesn't want to change his point of view. ignorant
I meaaan Isnt that interesting how we forgive people even when they do the unforgivable? The storytellers deliberately give the character enough nuance so that it leaves the viewers split or uncertain about his nature and if he is worth believing in, which in turn can make players reflect on their own attitudes towards relationships and thus their own. Like some of these videos and comments are rlly interesting Idk bout you but thats great, its starting a conversation and if it didnt effect you wouldnt have commented in the first place and contributed your own