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ok look i love astarion with my whole soul and this might be an unpopular opinion but post-brain, i don’t think he’s fashionable. i think he knows how to dress well and likes wearing nice clothes but i really feel like 90% of the time when he’s at home he would just want to be comfortable. i think this man wears dad slippers and owns an ungodly amount of sweaters and comfy loungewear. furthermore i would like to put forward that the person who DOES put together a fucking Look every single day of his life is wyll fucking ravengard. in this essay i will

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You couldn't take Astarion to see Nosferatu in the theater. Not because it'd be triggering for him or anything. But because every five minutes, he'd turn to you with the saddest eyes imaginable and hysterically ask, "I don't look like that, right?! Most vampires don't look like that!" And you'd have to reassure him through the whole 132 minutes run time.

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Adventures with Astarion: I just think he's neat - Githyanki Creche

Pt 1/?

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I feel like the fandom really mischaracterizes Cardan sometimes, and it’s honestly frustrating. People love to paint him as weak, dumb, or completely reliant on Jude, and it’s just… not true.

First of all, Cardan isn’t weak. The man survived an absolutely hellish upbringing—abuse from his family, neglect, and being treated like he was nothing—and still came out on top. He may not be a sword-swinging warrior like Jude, but he’s got his own kind of strength. He’s clever, manipulative when he needs to be, and knows how to play the long game. Jude might be the strategist, but Cardan is the one who can pull people to his side with words alone.

And let’s talk about this ridiculous idea that “Cardan probably wouldn’t be able to pick up Jude.” I saw someone saying that under a fanart of Cardan carrying Jude. Like, have you read the books? He’s described as tall, lean, and fit. Just because he’s not a muscle-bound tank doesn’t mean he’s not strong. The man is Faerie, which means his physical abilities are likely leagues above a mortal anyway. Not to mention, we’ve seen him hold his own in fights when it comes down to it (he killed half an army)

Here are some paragraphs where he does in fact pick up Jude.

What bothers me the most is how some people ignore the layers to his character. He’s not dumb or helpless—he’s strategic and emotionally intelligent in ways that complement Jude’s tactical mind. He might not plan ambushes or train for battle, but he reads people better than almost anyone.

Honestly, the whole “Cardan is weak and silly” take feels like such a disservice to his character. He’s a survivor and a very complex character, a king who learned to wield his power in his own way, and yes, I fully believe he could (and would) sweep Jude off her feet—literally and metaphorically.

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This is Harrow

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people who only use conventional social media are so funny bc they’ll casually be like “can I see your tumblr??” are you Insane. this is no instagram or twitter. this is my vault of secrets

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Here's the full clip from the Critmas backstage live.

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hey. i heard you in the shower practicing your skeleton voice

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astarion’s character development is incredible to me because of the sheer amount of detail and accuracy. he doesn’t change entirely as a person after he kills cazador— he mentions himself that he keeps thinking about it, even though it’s all over. which makes sense, since 200+ years of trauma isn’t going to go away after a night.

but after killing cazador, and giving up ascension, he’s so much lighter. the usual harshness he has in his tone of voice is dulled, if not entirely absent in certain dialogues. he still has a long way to go in terms of healing, but he’s finally secure enough to start that process. he’s still him, but a weight has been taken off his shoulders, so he’s finally able to live without constant hyper-vigilance, looking over his shoulder for danger.

even the way that he refers to cazador changes: in almost every instance prior to completing his personal quest, he speaks cazador’s name with hatred. viciously. afterwards, he says his name like it’s just that. a name. someone that’s gone, and inconsequential, who can’t hurt him anymore.

i think my favorite callback is that, in the conversation you have with him after long resting, whether you romanced him or not, he thanks you for talking him out of it. now that he’s out of that hell, he’s able to see just how much continuing down that pattern of abuse would have changed and ruined him. specifically, the last line he says is “this is a gift, you know. thank you - i won’t forget it.” which is the exact same line he says after you allow him to drink your blood way back in act one.

as someone with ptsd and some pretty specific trauma, astarion means quite a lot to me as a character, so i’ll always admire just how much love was put into the way he grows over the course of the game. and, of course, this is a huge reason i can never bring myself to ascend him. he’s easily earned a spot amongst my favorite fictional characters ever and i cannot stress enough how glad i am that a story like his exists.

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“oh fuck, the megatheorem” is such an underrated funny as fuck line tbh

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Poor girl broke her favorite sitting basket.