@@glassbean I got this cutscene an evening or two after the bite scene! He tells you he is thinking about you and that delicious moment then he makes this confession 🤭 So to get it easily I think the best thing to do is to directly restart one night at camp after being bitten or twice if it doesn't trigger the first time !
The fact that they leaned HARD into the “blood drinking as a metaphor for intimacy and vulnerability” trope is just. Wow. So many people online (typically straight guys) question why people go so crazy for Astarion. I think that’s one of the big reasons why, in terms of the romance arc at least
It's just pure genius. I'm sorry but the quality of the character writing is just INSANE. And I agree with you 100%, I also think that's one of the main reasons. I mean, in my case, I know that played a role in falling in love with the character
If blood drinking is a metaphor for intimacy, then in your metaphor Astarion tries to get intimate with you BEFORE you consent and only asks after being caught. Making him a metaphorical attempted rapist.
@@muse5722 For me this comparison is wrong for one simple reason. When he tries to drink your blood he is motivated by one thing: hunger. Like an animal that needs to feed. BUT AFTER sharing this moment with you he realizes what an intimate and special moment it can be. here is my point of view
@@muse5722 i mean. I don’t really know if you understand what a metaphor is because the part that makes it a metaphor is that the two things are not directly equal, but by the writer drawing comparisons, an underlying message can be formed. Astarion trying to bite Tav is where the message starts. And then you learn his background, and how functionally, every bit of “intimacy” he has ever been made to engage in prior to the events of the game have been something he never consented to. The initial attempt to bite Tav is how the player is supposed to find out in the narrative that he is in fact a vampire. And it is written into the game that you have the choice to let him bite you or not. None of his previous encounters have included the “prey” knowing that he’s a vampire, and he has specifically been restricted from ever engaging in the intimate act of having another person *choose* to share their blood with him. Cazador intentionally chose to make sure his spawn could not achieve support from anyone in that way, so he could keep control over them. Honestly I think your take is deeply reductive. His story is a complexly written tale of regaining agency and identity after literal centuries of being forced into a role that he never wanted. And in a good playthrough, seeing that at the end Astarion can make the choice to be a genuinely good person and he finds joy and fulfillment in doing so is wonderful. And on the other hand, if he chooses to Ascend, he seems hollow and falls into the pattern of repeating the same cycle of control and violence that he was trying to escape. Just. Think about it. I have thought about it a lot. Obviously.
@@muse5722 No. Never. Because Cazador never allowed him to do it and then he was abducted by the mind flayers and so he's been with you since the beginning and doesn't drink from any human, only on animals and kobolds before drinking from you
@@tashastarling6573 It seems to me that his actor Neil Newbon is a fan so it wouldn't surprise me if there was a little bit of David Bowie and later in the game if you make certain choices he also says "Until the world falls down" and some see it as a direct reference to Bowie so he was maybe also written with Bowie in mind haha
You can watch part 1 "You let Astarion bite you and it ends VERY badly" here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-iIdmmhIrxMk.htmlsi=ijmK1C-t9aio65Tz
You can watch part 2 "Astarion bites you and it ends VERY badly - You confront him the next morning - ALL OPTIONS" right here : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3erJtiJKPgk.htmlsi=tyBj3ykQ0AXGsLuG
To be fair Astarian could get a free meal under the right circumstances and his taste. He wouldn't even have to leave camp. Without harming anyone too.
Completely, but Astarion has "fluctuating" morals... haha Astarion : "Dark Urge... restrain yourself a little, it's violent to eat people !" Also Astarion "Let's turn someone inside out" "Hungry for the slaughter" 🤣
@@nyxisplays valid point. He is like that. At least when he's ascended he doesn't need to feed, so that's a plus. Which is over weighted by many negatives.
@@shadowfieldgaming2025 Yes, by the way, I may have an unpopular point of view. For me Astarion does not have a "good ending" whether he is ascendant or not there is always something he loses
@@nyxisplays that's fair. Like for Shadowheart, I agree with Minthara. It's good for her to be free of Shar, but it would be better for us if she still had Shar.
@@shadowfieldgaming2025 That's what i really like about this game, there are no "good" solutions and it all depends on how the player perceives things or even if you want to roleplay with a character who would have a different vision of good or evil you can
Blasted RU-vid. Didn't notify me of another masterpiece. There's something about how he delivers this line. Another reason why his VA is good, really good.
Lyrics : Dance upon the stars tonight Smile and pain will fade away Words of mine will turn to ash When you call the last light down Moon reminds me of your grace All the love I can't repay Rest and know that I will pray Farewell my dear old friend Moon, sun, all remind me of your grace Faith, care, all the love I can't repay Moon, sun, all remind me of your grace Faith, care, all the love I can't repay Dance upon the stars tonight Smile and pain will fade away Words of mine will turn to ash When you call the last light down Moon reminds me of your grace All the love I can't repay Rest and know that I will pray Farewell my dear old friend Dance upon the stars tonight Smile and pain will fade away
Hey everybody ! You can watch the part 1 with all the general choices here : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vKlR5Gi5CPo.htmlsi=Nmf7Z0fkHoKJEOE4 And the part 2 "Wyll comes for Karlach in our camp, You have decided to kill Karlach" here : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ee19PV_CAEg.htmlsi=w8EFqksAzjq_J7ze Don't forget to subscribe if you want even more videos! Thanks you for watching! 💓
Hey everybody ! You can watch the part 1 with all the general choices here : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vKlR5Gi5CPo.htmlsi=AZwxMSFTeA3pDPAG And the part 3 "Wyll comes for Karlach in our camp, You decided to kill or not recruit Wyll" here : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_jzj-39sQZw.htmlsi=fFAIrfceZ9VQxqdh Don't forget to subscribe if you want even more videos! Thanks you for watching! 💓
Hey everybody! You can now watch part 2 "Wyll comes for Karlach in our camp, You have decided to kill Karlach" here : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ee19PV_CAEg.htmlsi=qY_jqC-Q9n1iBZgZ And the part 3 "Wyll comes for Karlach in our camp, You decided to kill or not recruit Wyll" here : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_jzj-39sQZw.htmlsi=fFAIrfceZ9VQxqdh Don't forget to subscribe if you want even more videos! Thanks you for watching! 💓
I will be honest, I somewhat but not fully see everyone's appeal of Astarian. It's difficult to pick my favorite companions: Mommyheart, Karlach, Gale, Minthara, and Astarian are all up there. Everyone else, eh. Wyll is cool and all, I just haven't used him enough to add him to that list.
I love Astarion for several reasons : I find that Neil Newbon is just exceptional in his way of playing the character, he can be seductive, funning, moving and vulnerable which gives a really interesting range of sides to the character His personal story has a particular resonance following people's past, because Stephen Rooney has just written in an authentic way a character who has suffered trauma and who goes through several phases And on a personal level... i'm just in love with him 🤣 He's the one i like the most but frankly i like all the character and i like their personalities, honestly there isn't one i don't like 🤩 And yeah if you play warlock, it's normal for Wyll i think haha
@@nyxisplays I love actors, and voice actors, who just really get into there character mentally. Henry Cavill is another good example. Of course it also goes to the writers as well, but it's the actors who add that flair and bring the character to life. I believe the award that Neil Newbon got was well deserved. Astarian is an amazing character, probably because of him. Minsc and Matt were also a good setup as well in my opinion.
Seems like a you problem, bro. That's actually statistically impossible. Let me guess: you thought you were straight, then met the vampire, and that upset you. It's 2024 bro.
Well, it makes sense in a way. Those who like Astarian would be happy to see him, and when he drinks your blood, he's also drinking some of the dopamine that is in your blood from seeing him.
@@nyxisplays appears so. (I don't know why but when I read that this conversation came to mind, if only it were true. Minsc: "Friend!" Astarian: "Minsc, is that Boo in your pants or are you just happy to see me?")
I think my favorite line of Wylls is when recruiting him and you tell him that you'll help him find a cure, but not Karlach. Then he says that he is oathsworn to find Karlch. But he has to admit that the parasite is rather "bothersome". I just love how he pronounces it for some reason.
We're lucky to have actors who brings so much life to the characters, there a lots of this kinds of little moments where sentences will (or Wyll, ok i'm sorry haha) be just so impactful
I'm sure you already know this, but Astarian has dialogue if you kill him, then resurrect him when first meeting him. What I find cool, is there is two different versions of this. If you kill him, and he knows it was you, he'll get mad at you for killing him then he suggests how about we do this with words instead of blades. This goes to him talking with you a little bit then to the recruiting dialogue. And if someone else kills him, or he doesn't know it was you, he yells "They killed me! But you, you brought me back." Or something along those lines. But this goes straight into his recruitment dialogue. The fact this a detail is just amazing. Esit: I HATE autocorrect.
In reality, it's in these moments that you can see how wonderfully worked this game has been, down to the smallest details, that's what makes it so exceptional
@@shadowfieldgaming2025 Yeah that's why i make my "all options" videos, to share quotes or moments that few people have seen but even like that, the game is so well done that you can't represent all the possibilities that will happen. And i think it's just great ( and yes i'm a huuuuuge fan of the game haha)
@@nyxisplays makes sense. I have gone through and watched all of your videos. Most of those choices I may or may not make at some point so it's neat. (I can tell! It is really an amazing game. I definitely place it up there with my favorites: Dragon Age series, Witcher 3, and Middle Earth: Shadow of War.)
@@nyxisplays I missed it myself on my first few runs, I've started a bunch to find the class I like. I'm a warlock, modded Hexblade class specifically. But for you to be inspired by this you have to have the noble background. The inspiration comes from collecting your first soul coin.
@@shadowfieldgaming2025 Honestly warlock is my favorite class to play, i tried several but i think it's the most pleasant, even if at the moment my character is actually bard Noble background and being inspired by something that has value don't surprise me haha
@@nyxisplays as noble you also get inspired from convincing the owl bear momma to stand down. If you don't mind modding, the hexblade subclass is fun if you melee and magic.
@@shadowfieldgaming2025 oh i didn't know for the owlbear ! I'm waiting for patch 7 before getting into mods, but i'm putting the idea aside for when i get into mods ! Thanks you for sharing this warlock mods, i think this will be a fun thing to test 😁
In his defense, he's only been really hunting for himself for a few days now after escaping, and totally doesn't realize he also has puncture scars on his neck.
