Astarion | True moments that reveals his softer side | Baldurs Gate 3 

I love how expressive his eyes are. The puppy eyes he shows when he is emotionally vulnerable get me every time 🥹

If we had a cuddle button in game I would never get anything done. I would just be cuddling Astarion all the time.

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.

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.

That sad look he got when ShadowHeart called him a monster. I just wanna hug him and protect him from everything

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.

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.

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

Shadowheart's comments while Tav hugs Astarion gets me right here! 💝

LOL I love how you suddenly cut away from ascended Astarion like "whoops nope NOT WHOLESOME LET'S MOVE ON"

The whispered "don't become his" at 13:09 is so heart wrenching

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.

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

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

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

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 🙃

Seeing that first one after going all the way through, I hear the unspoken word. "What else did i expect?" ...Freedom.

i love when he shows you his true self and lets out his real feelings ohhh my baby boy 😭

i’ve never noticed his conserned reaction on the durge killing squirrel 0_o

another great video! Neil's voice acting is so pure and raw

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 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.

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.

I cant believe you didnt include when he cried his eyes out!

Astarion's hotness aside Neil's voice acting is amazing

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 love his reaction as you later Araj meet again. 😮 he's so sweet here.

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!

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! 😂

I'll never be happy because he is not a real man i can marry and protect forever

16:10 the moment he realises that the only person that really loved and understands him will be consumed by darkness. :'(

"moments that reveal his softer side" **Ascends him** .....ok 😶

That thumbnail alone is enough to kill me.

1:25 This is exactly what it looks like.

The squirrel REALLY caught me off guard. Then I laughed entirely too hard. I'm a terrible person.

Q_Q So ein genialer Zusammenschnitt... Tausend Dank dafür! Und mindestens genauso viele Lobgesänge!

I love how he said "I won't kill them... Maybe Shadowheart." 5:30

16:10 Watch this Lis, you can actually pinpoint the SECOND his heart rips in half

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.

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.

This became my lullaby video. I listen to it trhought the night❤

Waa für ein großartiges Edit von unserem beliebten Vampir, super! Vielen Dank für's Teilen ☺️

I love Neil’s delivery of his voice.❤

Your thumnail is so perfect❤

Hahah. It’s funny, your Tav looks almost exactly like mine. 😂

My sweet little star❤ please protect him 🙏

I love this video so much! Love the cute emojis too lol

Thank u for the big speach thingi

Okay but him seeing himself in the mirror almost made me cry - AA HAS FEELINGS I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL.

Is reminds me of Lucifer the show, he sounds just like him

11:09 😢well done Astarion well done mate🫡

5:50 ..ah!... hello- literally hes so cute

Eine wunderschöne Geschichte. Ich mag ihn so sehr.

“Looking for a cuddle?” I mean, yes…

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

5:50 That was hilarious 😂

I have to disagree with the whole ascendant part as those are no TRUE moments. He is just playing with Tav masking again.

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?

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😅❤❤❤

Im so attached to him, so romancing gale is hard

Is the scene at 8:44 an actual scene in the game? (If so I assume, Astarion origin?)

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.

🥺🥺🥺🥺

Why the difference between Tiefling and Goblin?

No I won't kill them well maybe shadow heart

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! 🤣

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.

Astarion has no soft side 😅

his softer side like when he acrifices thousands including children to become ascended? people are real qeird with this vampire stuff. get therapy

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.