I absolutely hate that you can pressure him into it, but I LOVE that he stands up for himself and prioritises his own feelings

Astarion: "this is all a game to you isnt it?" Me: 👩‍💻

i love how this feels like a callout to the player. it's saying "hey, that's not the type of game where you can get whatever you want from a character just based on your dialogue choices. these characters act like actual people and your actions will have realistic consequences". it's so meta and i love larian for that.

"if this is what you want then I shall provide." As a people pleaser, this line hurt.

Good for him for standing up for himself. It’s rare for a game to provide character development for supporting characters at the expense of the main character and as a result of the main character’s choices.

as someone who has a history of being coerced into sexual activities when i was clearly not interested, it’s so refreshing to see this sort of stuff being portrayed in popular media WITH CONSEQUENCES for those who choose to do it

This is so sad. In the first part he's so relieved and truly thinks that Tav is the only person to ever see him as a person and not just an object. And then Tav hits him icecold with the opposite, saying she just wanted him for sex afterall. His heart must have shattered, it's the most cruel option in the game I feel. I also saved the game and tried some bad dialog choices, but i could never pick this option :( Atleast he stood up for himself in the end...

The look in his eyes before the scene fades to black in the camp says it all. The animators and the voice actor did an amazing job with Astarion

Larian went so hard making a sensitive and cathartic narrative about a person healing from years of sexual/physical/psychological exploitation and healing from it. The conclusion to his personal quest may or may not have shaken me into turning off the game for a hot minute so I could regroup.

If you choose a different dialogue option, he says something about “not knowing how to say no.” And it was just the most absolutely heartbreaking thing I’ve ever heard!!!

This interaction literally makes me sick, the way he's slowly realizing that this one time Tav wouldn't be like the others turns out to be *exactly* like the others that used him. Ty for posting these dialogue options because I could never do it myself

I hate the break up scenes because it breaks my heart, knowing that he wants to feel love in a healthy way and not getting it. But it makes me proud that he is standing up for himself the moment he is free, showing that Cazador was not able to break his spirit for freedom after 200 years.

I like how Astarion walks away. He's tall, he's proud, and he don't need no drow mommy. He's a big man, and he stands on his own.

"I don't think I want you to think of me in terms of sex... I don't know if i want anyone to." That line wrecks me. He's relatable to a painful degree.

The way his voice turns so cold at 'its almost funny..' just before he dumps you. Writing and voice acting both outstanding in this game

This dialogue is heartbreaking but so important. It's unnaceptable to coerce sex from a partner in this game, let alone in real life, it's abuse.

god, i am SO glad that this scene is in the game. 😭 and that larian isn't shying away from showing players that they can't just do whatever they want and be rewarded for awful behaviour. astarion's story is about surviving 200 years of trauma and torment, it's wild to me that there are people who genuinely just see him as a sex object and that's all. that's exactly his fear. and all of this is why him ascending is the worst possible ending and not some "kinky fun" route :( astarion needs to be protected at ALL. COST.

he sounds so heartbroken like " i suppose if this is what you want then, i shall provide" THIS BROKE ME

Even my evil character could not have done this to him 😢 I can't be evil to him he's too precious ❤

love to see astarion standing up for himself. it's so nice that the game makes you think about how you treat people and isn't just like a dating sim/power fantasy

Honestly the SCUMMIEST choices you could pick after that heartfelt emotion out of Astarion. Good on him. Good on Larion for writing it this way.

I love the staging during this heartbreaking scene. This emptiness and lighting. It’s like a empty stage. Or a stage inside one’s mind. This lack of decorations puts heavy emphasis on characters Amazing choice.

Very rare to see a male character flamboyant or not to have trauma like this explored for a character with no laughs but all welps.

Astarion 😢 so good to see him take a stand but sad at the same time. He sounds so.. Betrayed? Hurt? Both.

He's such a well-written survivor, I relate to him so much. This scene makes me feel so sad. :( He didn't deserve this.

"i don't think i want you to think of me in terms of sex. i don't know if i want anyone to" this is so realistic. i love his character so much. when you're someone who has been reduced to an object of desire and little else for so long, you grow appalled of even the thought of people's eyes on you in that way, of them wanting you in that way, when at the end of the day you just want to be a person to them. someone worth love, not just sex. he sums up the words i want to scream so often, in just those two lines, and it means so much to me. he is so so so well written and will forever by my comfort character. thank you larian and neil for bringing him to life.

Sadly, there are a lot of DnD players who are creeps. While the “bard who just wants to sleep with everyone” trope can be very funny when the player is respectful of everyone’s comfort level…There are unfortunately many players who take it too far and don’t respect the other players or DMs feelings at all. Luckily I haven’t played with anyone like that in any of my games, but I’ve heard horror stories. I feel like Astarion is (whether intentionally or unintentionally) a bit of a slap in the face to people like that. And that’s a good thing. You can’t just get away with hurting people, even if they’re fictional. You can’t be a creep without consequences. If you hurt the characters in this game thinking “it’s just a game” they’ll call you out on it ( Like REALLY call you out on it. The dialogue is written to make you feel guilty about your poor choices and I think it DEFINITELY succeeds), and then sometimes they’ll even just leave, and you can’t get them back unless you reload a save file. I honestly think it’s a fantastic way of teaching those people a lesson, and more games should be like this. Simply don’t let them be gross without it costing them everything.

every relationship i've ever been in up until now - with the wonderful man who bought me this game - has been like this. A constant back and forth of performing a "duty", fulfilling a hollow desire... or being guilted and dismissed as prudish & dumb, treated like you don't know your own wants or worse, being outright shamed for them. This as a reaction really hit home for that reason. I've never seen a video game character with so much complexity and nuance and self-respect, especially around sex and romance. Astarion really is a one of a kind character. Larian's writers, designers, animators, voice actors; they should all be so proud of how many nerves they've been able to strike through him, and the game as a whole.

This game is so beautifully written. The topic of consent and sexual abuse is something that no media I've ever interacted with ever seemed to get right. Nothing but respect for the people at Larian for not being afraid to have such an empowering character as Astarion ❤ And thank you for posting this scene! I would never be able get it myself!! 😭

He dumped you because you didn't respect him, he dumped me because I turned into a squid man. We are not the same

I love Astarion so much. At first I felt "thirsty" about him, but after Act 2 I just want to love and comfort him and make him feel actual happiness

So the funny thing about 2:07 is that, on a meta level, he's not wrong. It literally is a game to us

This video in a nutshell is why I find it so hard to play evil. Murdering and beheading Karlach has got to be one of the most painful scenes. Betraying the tieflings and having one goblin in the party come up to me, saying he had pried a lute from a girl’s fingers, giving it to me… that one hurt. Instead of a girl playing music in my honor, I got the goblin who killed her giving me her lute. Don’t even get me started on how you lose out on so many companions. Christ.

Not gonna lie, those dialogue options felt very coercive to me. I don’t blame a man for putting his foot down, makes a girl wish she did the same.

I WAS curious what happens if you hit on that option, but couldn't bring myself to actually select it, so thank you for your service. I can't be THAT mean to a bunch of pixels. Played extremely tone-deaf and simplistic Durge, and even he wasn't dumb enough to insist on sex right when Astarion tells him he was sexually assaulted and exploited for centuries. So yes, devs definitely break the fourth wall with "It is all a game to you" here, calling out the player, not the character.

Adding this to the list of things not to do in my playtrough 😆

Tbh I'm proud of him.

Jesus Christ, this was so hard to watch. Poor Astarion 🥺

"I don't think i want you to think of me in terms of sex. I don't know if i want anyone to." THAT LINE FUCKING HURT THAT LINE RIGHT THERE HIT SO CLOSE TO HOME THAT I WANTED TO CRY JUST HEARING IT i love astarion, he's a character that i relate to so much, and it hurts so much to see this because it feels so so familiar :( And hearing him say "No matter what i say, it doesn't matter. Not if you get what you want," hurts even more because I've been through that to many times. Seeing him stand up for himself really made me hurt even more because he's doing what i wish i did, yet i also feel proud (i know, proud of a fictional character, you can laugh). I love him so much :(

Damm I think this good example of someone whose gone through sexual trauma.

This. This is why I was so pissed he just consented when Halsin offered the whole trio deal. Bc I went to Astarion with hopes to gossip and talk shit about halsin but he just said “okay” go have fun. I was like. YOU ABSOLUTELY DO NOT MEAN THAT, you poor abused man….

This choice hurt so much...me and friend of mine explored dialogue options just to see where it all went and afterward I was dead set on never chosing it again. This moment right here is the most HOLLOW thing this game has ever made me feel. To see a Character done so well that you can actually feel their pain and sense of betrayal as they realize you saved them just to use them is wonderfully horrid. Wonderful as to just how well it's done, horrid as to how it plays out and how tailored it is, to make you feel like the worst person in the world.

Title should be "Astarion dumps you after you cajole him into having sex while he was in a vulnerable state and clearly expressed he doesn't want to"

wow, honestly just seeing it makes me sick. this poor man deserves so much better and im happy that he can at least stand up for himself

I couldn't bring myself to pick that option, especially after the conversation just before that, but honestly I'm so glad that if you decide to go that route, he stands up for himself. In general I love the approach they took with him and his whole character arc, he's just a brilliantly written character, and especially in this context it's so nice to see that the game calls you out for your terrible choices and doesn't just brush over them/reward you for them.

the way his smile drops at 1:29 guts me. i hadn't played an astarian romance yet because i wasn't interested in 'smarmy bad boy' but this video made me reconsider my initial take on him.

everytime i see a tiny bit of a character from bg3 going through actual character development (unlike in loads of games) i have the urge to actually play it

I swear, the more I interact with Astarion the more I want to make a thousand different characters to give him ALL the love he deserves in all situations possible. He is such a well written character, the way his initial behaviour and flirty 'nature' are crackled to reveal it was all a shield to keep himself of feeling the pain of his past. It is so rewarding to have him opening his heart and telling you about what he truly feels.

Holy shit he just sounds so broken and angry. The mc gave him hope that someone in his life was for once different only to take that and stomp on it. Poor Astarion deserves better.

Ooof, I'm proud of how much he grows as a free individual

So this game also teaches about boundaries and consent? Amazing!

I told Astarion to do the drow thing because my relationship with him wasnt very strong and I figured we'd need it. I actually really loved that my character was told off, it made me realize that Astarion is so much more than meets the eye.

I couldn't even finish this video after trying to watch it 3 times. I could never hurt him like that!

Good for him. I did wonder what would've followed that one dialogue option but...I didn't expect something like that. I could never. This was really difficult to watch.

Good for him.

That's such a good scene. Ome i hope never to encounter, but very well written

DAUM! That was great character growth! You go, Astarion!

As someone who's asexual through trauma, I felt his pain. I felt sick watching this, and felt his disgust in the end. I'm very grateful for the developers for writing him to stand up for himself

Yeah this is why I make sure Astarion is always completely clothed and never make him do anything he doesn’t want to. I took the friend route the first play through and the thought of romancing him now is painful. Poor traumatized vampire needs friends, autonomy, therapy, and validation.

i understand exactly what he's saying. it really just seemed like "you knew that i was used, and now you seemingly did that one thing for me and now it seems you just wanted me purely for your benefit." situation

I swear this is literally some of the most brilliant writing I've ever seen in a game. The subtle fourth-wall break of "this is all just a game to you" actually HURTS and I didn't even do this in my run.

good on him, you basically manipulated him into sex despite being aware of his sexual trauma

OMG he's so well written... thank you for sharing this video, I don't think I will be able to watch that scene firsthand... 😢

Him stuttering when saying “I’m not sure if I should…” that broke me to pieces.

thank you for this upload, i shall never ever betray astarion's trust because oh my god that was so painful and sad to listen to!! gotta love his voice actor for giving him so much depth

2:34 is probably the most painful dialogue. You got his heart to beat again just so he could finally feel a dagger stab through it.

alternate title: Astarion rightfully dumps your ass after you took advantage of his trust and coerced him into sex directly after him confiding in you about his sexual abuse AND telling you he didn't want to have sex right now

i wasn’t prepared for how badly this hurt to watch, i’m so glad i’ll never get this interaction in any of my playthroughs

the way he just sits up in silence, staring into space breaks my heart :(

When he said “if this is what you want, then I shall provide,” I think I felt my heart shatter. Went through similar stuff so I relate and I’m so glad he stands up for himself in the end of it.

“This is all a game to you, isn’t it?” The line practically doubles as Astarion sharing his discomfort with the literal player sitting behind the monitor or television. This whole sequence is a rare contrast to the many games where the player can work for whatever makes them the most satisfied without thinking about the feelings of the other characters, like they’re just objects that solely exist to be quickly exploited for your sexual enjoyment. Here, if you rush to another sexual encounter with someone in a manipulative way and during a very serious vulnerable moment for them, which they clearly aren’t happy with and initially reject, the game doesn’t reward you with more sexual material; it instead cuts to after the sex, and then the game painfully shows you just what that mentally did to the person.

This interaction got him expressing his true feelings for me. And I didn’t pressure him into sex so now I can kiss him whenever I want ❤ but my relationship with him is exceptional

I adore Astarion so much, character growth is so cool to see

as painful as this is, i love the catharsis i feel from astarion standing up for himself and walking away. it's one of those things i wish i had the courage to do at certain points in my life, and you get to see it here. and it feels great.

This has only reinforced my need for a dialogue option saying "Can I hug you?" To party members once you reach enough approval- I NEED TO HUG EVERYONE IN THIS GAME ESPECIALLY ASTARION

Honestly good for him standing up for himself.

Watching this made me sick and i wanted to cry. I love this man so much and he deserves so much better. I'm so so glad he learns how to say no and stand up for himself 😭

Wow, the voice acting is SO amazing. You can hear the pain and vulnerability in his voice, its amazing. Especially when you first pressure him and he seems a little caught off guard, a little betrayed, but he pushes it away until after when he can process everything

Nooo, don't objectify my boy!!!

…Damn. That was powerful and not a scene I expected to see in this game, but good on Astarion for leaving a toxic situation.

"This is all a game to you, isn't it?" well, shit...

I think it's a nice meta comment on how certain types of violence we participate in or view in media can bleed into our society and become acceptable if committing it gets us gratification. But in BG3 we get slapped in the face instead. "it's all a game to you" indeed.

Astarion didn't have sex with your character here, though. With all the context given through the game and this specific scene, your character takes advantage of his vulnerability and sexually assaults him. A soft yes isnt a yes, especially with how he tells you how he's been abused and doesnt know how to say no until you do something so disgusting as this.

So apparently in certain endings if you kill Cazador without first persuading Asterion to not ascend he will also dump you....rather brutally legit hoping you die screaming...And thats if he doesn't try to kill you himself, which is heartbreaking and sad. But him dumping the player here? 100 percent deserved. Kinda nice the game actually has consequences for your actions.

That hurt to watch I had no idea of this whole cutscene!! Thanks for doing it so we dont have to ;n;

Thanks for sharing. I could never tell my sweet boy anything, but "i dont want you to do anything you dont want to" but this scene is so powerful. I even planned to ascend him but I just couldn't do it. Not when insight said his eyes were begging for help. 😢

he looks so sad sitting there when she wakes up :(

Good! I like that the game gives you consequences for ignoring the characters’ own comfort and needs

In the dev script this scene is referred to as "forcedsex" "toxicbreakup"

Astarion: “this is all a game to you, isn’t it?” Tav, who’s playing a video game: “👁️👄👁️”

Your Tav has such a cold-hearted vibe for these videos, I absolutely love it. You're a hero for uploading these just so I can get my drama fix without having to savescum constantly

"This is all a game to you" so meta but fitting

I love this so much! The game makes it so the player has to actually treat the characters with respect, instead of having them all be puppets. This scene is a masterful example of writing characters who feel real to the audience.

Thank you for showing a version of events that I would never have seen on my own. This is my favorite character, and I care about his feelings the most and would never hurt him

0:54 you can just hear it :( . That he thought the player wasnt there for just sex with him but turns out they were and its heartbreaking from the line of "I shall provide" 😭 Im so glad he dumped the player and stood up for himself

of course he dumped her, she pushed past his wants for her own

wow that was so mean and abusive to him poor guy i could never choose those choices

I am so proud of Astarion

I got the relationship result from this conversation, but afterward loaded an old save to go over the different dialogue options. Seeing this scene was heartbreaking 😭

Larian studios made the characters feel so real that I can never bring myself to ascend Astarion, I know it's just a game, but I am a bit delusional and I tend to take games more seriously than I do real life (meaby bc real life is not all that great) but I will never do that to him, I'd rather just watch people share their clips, if I am curious about the dialogue. I love Astarion too much for that, bc I relate to him to some degree. He deserves better than this! You stand up for yourself, whoever you are, fictional or real person, don't let people walk over you, it will only crush you