2 31 36

for Astarion

8, 32 43 astarion

9, 20, 35 for asterisk

OKAY here we go at last

14, 19, 28, 34 for starman, just gonna add to this plate here

ALL THE USUAL ASTARION CONTENT TRIGGER WARNINGS GO HERE proceed at ur own risk etc:

anyway

2. What is the thing they feel the most guilty about?

MmmMMmmmmmm in canon this one's tricky because Astarion slides into sincere little bursts of sadness or sympathy at the oddest times during certain quest lines/exchanges, and I think a lot of that is centered around his sense of self-protection smacking face-first up against his manic and kind of crystallizing self after getting free

so it's hard to know if him having moments of regret are just for himself or actually for anyone else, but given the way he talks about some of his memories/especially kids dying or being killed etc, I headcanon that he actually does feel guilty about the people he lured to their deaths— just not all of them

because I think it's one thing to resent people for not helping you, but it's torture to keep seducing and luring them in and watching them die on a loop from it for centuries on end, especially when doing a good job still means guess what, your master is using it as a way to torment you for fun anyway

and a lot of the track marks for him breaking and being callous kind of run along those same lines imo, just him detaching to keep from going completely mad under pressure and, in being free, he can't quite figure out how to untangle it on his own

(he's gotten better about that in FR with help, but it's still v much there)

31. Do they have self-confidence or self-image issues?

SELF. IMAGE.

SELF IMAGE ALL THE WAY, BAYBEE

he's a companion character yes, and the other companions call him out (good job Shadowheart) for being needy/a follower, but that's pretty clearly an echo from his time with Cazador, and he bucks it pretty quickly the deeper into the game you get

and in Fade Rift he is extremely confident now (does his scheming by lamplight and tattoo light), trusting that if things go wrong he'll be both capable enough and clever enough to stay one step ahead

but this isn't a 'well now self image is all that's left' kind of thing: there's a few times where Astarion heartbrokenly or hatefully mentions that he can't remember what he looked like or what color his eyes were, and how as much as he loves the power of vampirism, he still sees it as Cazador's imprint

something he can't escape even without him near

and now that he can see himself in mirrors again thanks to being elf-ified in Thedas that goes double: staring at himself too long on a bad day is something that'll send him into a bitter fit of smashing things or tearing stuff down (or just violence, just right into violence; there's always something to fight in Thedas lbr)

on a good day, he'll sour for a min or two and move on

(he also wears his scars p proudly these days, but that doesn't mean he enjoys anyone obsessively fixating on them or being degrading about it)

basically: him using his fangs and eyes to torment or excite or frighten or awe-inspire??? HELL YEA BABY he's in for it

him being mocked or ridiculed or belittled about it— or just derisively ostracized? lorde will he snap into snarling real quick

(0 tolerance for monster jokes unless he likes or trusts someone, and a lot of his humor even in game when it comes to vampirism oscillates wildly between bright enthusiasm and just a shit ton of self depreciation)

Astarion: oooh look out I'm a blood sucking monster
someone else: oooh look out there's a monster standing behind you
Astarion:

(love this man but he has SOME ISSUES)

36. Are they in control of their emotions, or are their emotions in control of them?

DEPENDS

for a long time, Astarion had 0 choice, absolute emotional control was all that kept him alive and relevant under Cazador's thumb

so now that he's free, he prefers the opposite just about as often as he can indulge in it; it's fucking exciting to take his hands completely off the wheel and let reactionary response take over, even if it's not helpful or endearing or

you know.....smart.........

buuuuut when there's actual risk involved— if it's a mission or he's dealing with anyone/anything dangerous (to him), he deffo hard switches into hawkish perception/tactician/manipulator mode and doesn't back off until he's certain he's in the clear

(and there's a VERY clear distinction between those two modes in terms of body language and vocal intonation/pitch and attentiveness)

even then, tho, he's still not perfect at it: if someone slams their hand over any of his emotional pressure points, he's way more likely to snap or make real shitty decisions without giving a damn about the ramifications

basically he can be super in control, but he doesn't choose to unless he needs to, and the more wound up he is the more that iron self-control evaporates into the wind

circuitry para ti ;>

8. Do they have anything that triggers them?

HE SURE DOES FAM

the only time he ever snaps at Tav on a hair trigger + actively threatens to kill them in canon is when they make a joke about Cazador being Astarion's master in the bedroom and there's a lot of implied sexual assault there that he can't stomach being brushed over

especially not dismissively or playfully

but it's pretty situational tbh: he's not going to break over the mention of abuse in general, and he also doesn't like to self-identify with anyone else suffering in slavery or similar circumstances

and in that same vein he super SUPER dislikes anyone doing the same to him via pointing out similarities between him and other slaves or refugees (every time in canon that Tav tries to urge him into caring, he snarls on a sliding scale, and reiterates how much it took for him to survive on his own without ever having had help from anyone)

he's raw about never having been rescued from torture and enslavement, and that little burr beneath his skin ain't ever going away

why should anyone get to have what he didn't??

and re: everyone else, it's flawed thinking obviously, because people suffering aren't weak at all no matter how they respond to it

but for Astarion, he v much needs the distinction of not retroactively feeling weak and vulnerable

being compared to Fenris or Ellie? awesome, they're fierce they're feral they fight back

being compared to refugees huddled in the street and starving? NOPE. A VAMPIRE WILL BITE -100 approval

the same goes for elves in Thedas, where he sees it as complacency (buddy it is n o t) that there isn't more done to push back, but he's not the most fair or objective or unbiased dude in general

anyone that gives him shit for it is well within their rights

32. Do they have a bad relationship with their parents?

NO IDEA

BG3 is playtesting publicly for acts 2 and 3 (the ending) right now, but they're keeping it to their Quebec and Malaysia studios to avoid data leaks (there's a rumor going around that the playtesters are learning what color Astarion's eyes originally were but....lol rumors)

so WHO KNOWS if we're getting more details about his past or the home/life he used to have

I do have a couple AUs w Kit where he was orphaned pretty young Bruce Wayne style, and the vibe I ran with was generally affectionate before they passed, but in reality he's lost all his memories either way, so that's one mystery that might never be solved

and in FR he's made peace with that; he doesn't need answers half as much as he just wants to live these days

43. Do they wish that they could change their pasts?

in canon, yea, big time

in FR, no

he has moments where he wishes he wasn't so fundamentally broken overall since he's not actually unaware of it, but that's just self pity rearing its head like it tends to do anyway every once in a while (even in bg3 he indulges from time to time, ok, let him have his MCR hours in peace)

but he's changed a looooot in a little over a year?? who cares if he isn't stable, or if this is a reflection of who he might've been without Cazador or not: it's who he is now

(hilariously he just had a super good exchange w Fenris about this where he reiterated that he's happy as he is)

whispers sappy af snippet

all this to say the only thing that matters now is fixing the future

coughdrop01 for u!

9. What is their greatest physical weakness?

me like wait how does English work again, is this what he's bad at resisting or what he's bad at sustaining in terms of fighting but I'm gonna go w the second

i figured he was complex! Yeeesh!

hahaha SURPRISE

w i l d l y complex

and a fucking mess

anyway vampire spawn aren't inherently powerful compared to full fledged vampires, but they're still stronger than the average human/adventurer/whatever, and losing that was a bit of a bummer on his end: he's beyond pleased he isn't weak to water or sunlight anymore (still flinches from water on occasion but that's purely habitual)

and instinctively he still has the habits of a predatory fighter, and the reflexes of one, too, which means after a year of honing that for himself, he's v good at stealth/sneak attacks/biting/ clawing (ya boi's growin out his nails don't worry about it)/speed in general and agility buuuut

good god he cannot take a hit

someone teach him how to be better at it for gods' sake

it's fine when he's in a group or can rely on stealth, but he's nearly bitten it a few times now purely because he's glass cannon hours, but if the cannon was also kind of overly ambitious and prone to like a lot of bloodthirst

(he also gets wildly excited/overambitious in fights which, again, bloodlust and former vampirism, and that has a tendency to lead to real dumb decisions)

20. Do they consider themselves unloveable?

used to be yes, now after truth event is not

35. If they could change one thing about themselves, what would it be?

hmmMMMmmmmm

either 1: more inherent power a la full on vampirism
or

2: pheromones that made everyone adore him instantly so he could just have whatever he wanted for free without needing to lift a finger

both are awful, no one ever let him wish for anything

astarion

I mean at least that's honest

Astarion gets a djinn lamp
Astarion instantly:

pogonophile answers for u

14. Are they prone to outbursts (of violence, extreme emotion… exc… )?

GOOD GOD HE SURE IS for literally all of the above

if it's possible to have an outburst w it, Astarion can and probably will at some point: he's an intense person, he feels everything keenly by default, especially in freedom, and it's v easy for him to get keyed up and restless

I always compare it to owning a super smart or mega active animal, where if he doesn't get some kind of regular enrichment, you're going to be staring at a buildup of misbehavior risk that can absolutely snowball quicker than you can blink

luckily he's pretty easy to keep busy or entertain (and everyone should be thanking Fenris for taking the brunt of it these days to the point of hitting some real brutal exhaustion, sorry fam) and even just hunting down troublemakers or mercenaries tends to get his figurative zips out of the way

stalks all these answers

when it comes to emotions, though, there's no saving it and no buffer; better to just brace for it and understand he's fundamentally busted and will shake it off quickly if it's not fed into

19. Do they consider themselves ugly?

I like this distinction because compared to the self-image answer, it actually does differ: he absolutely does NOT think he's ugly by any stretch

he knows he's a very attractive creature (including his fangs/eyes/etc), he expects that to be reinforced, he intends to use it to his advantage at every opportunity, and he doesn't doubt his appearance even at his worst

is it narcissistic and arrogant? you fuckin bet

and he ain't ever gonna apologize for it

keanuleaves

28. Is there a certain type of person that disgusts them?

altruism bothers the hell out of him; he sees it as either 1: naive or, infinitely more often than that/by default 2: a lie

where if it's someone sincere, it's just something they use to make themselves feel better about making suicidal decisions without caring who it hurts, or the alternate: that it's a way to pad their own (moral) superiority and strong arm everyone else into playing along and conforming to their standards in ways that benefit no one

even just a little selfishness or grey morality is more acceptable than the paladinesque lawful addiction to making pre-approved choices

because not everything is cut and dry; he was a magistrate, he admits more than once that he knows how it feels to tip the scales

and more than once he's seen someone play the shining hero in someone's hour of need only to be an expert manipulator (hm)

other than that, though, hilariously I can't just say Cazador because a lot of the traits his former master leaned on are ones Astarion approves of: he likes power, he likes assertiveness and control and a willingness to be ruthless when there's a need for it—

BUT (and man I'm so glad they added a new line in for it too) he uses calling someone 'like Cazador' as a disgusted insult more than once, and sometimes directly at the player themselves if they make carelessly genocidal choices with glee

(when that happens he smiles cheerfully about it, too, playing along— hello traumatized instincts— while giving an Astarion disapproves in the corner, A+++)

but usually it's about someone who's mad with power and using that to outright bend everyone else around them indiscriminately rather than just power itself

in fact I think the way he likes power in allies/romantic partners skews towards ferocity, versus something a la Corypheus (who he also despises and is disgusted by) and Cazador, etc

he doesn't trust manipulators, he doesn't approve of anyone that tries to (figuratively) collar him, etc

like all things with Astarion it's a little noodly and hard to pin down, because if he likes someone, there are exceptions, but for the most part, these are the things that make him wary or less likely to associate (and why he still is lip-curl bristling about the Circle talk on both sides)

34. Have they ever self harmed?

not by choice :'>

canonically he admits Cazador would make them flay/stab/injure themselves for show on the days he didn't feel like doing it himself

these days tho, Astarion's response to crippling anguish is purely external: he lashes out rather than focusing inward, and while that can be self-destructive, it's definitely not the same

Shadowesque and there u go

old man love his shitty cat vampire friend

I still can't freaking countenance how Ellie and Astarion bonded so hard because on paper it shouldn't fucking work, but

Anyway I love chinhandsing at all of this

Astarion: 6, 10, 16, 18

sits in here to read all of this

Shadowesque shitty catpire rubbing against old man's leg, leaving behind entire swaths of white fur

unprotagonist

and yet the traumatized goofballs tear that paper into little shreds

Yeppp