The role-playing game Baldur’s Gate 3 will set new standards in gaming in 2023, including when it comes to unhealthy relationships with game characters. CNN has now spoken to a vampire-loving student who is familiar with Victorian literature and has developed a certain passion for Astarion.
This is what CNN believes: In a CNN article, Astarion is described as a silver-haired vampire with a jawline that can cut through glass.
It is believed that Astarion is exactly the kind of guy who is so broken that today’s modern woman immediately thinks: “I can fix him!” Players of Baldur’s Gate 3 are eager to penetrate his cool shell, which is only as Defense serves to sense something “deep”.
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Doctoral student raves about bloodsuckers who are difficult to conquer
Who do you interview then? As an example of a woman who might be a little too interested in Astarion, consider Rachel Stewart, an English major from Ohio who specializes in vampire literature and earned a master’s degree in English in 2022. She is currently working on her doctorate.
Stewart started Baldur’s Gate 3 a second time just to conquer Astarion: the first time he didn’t like her “neutrally good” style of play and turned her down. According to developer Larian, Astarion was rejected by almost 100,000 people during launch weekend alone, which only made it more desirable.
On the 2nd attempt, Stewart created a chaotic dark elf sorceress to conquer Astarion:
Whether you want to marry Astarion, give him therapy, project your own problems onto him, or simply wallow in fear, Astarion has it all covered,” she explains. Plus, he’s just hot – but at the same time he’s the hardest companion to conquer.
A vampire like Lestat or Edward Cullen
This is how she explains the appeal of the vampire: The academic sees Astarion as a modern embodiment of the vampire created by the poet Lord Byron: beautiful, frivolous, but also grief-stricken and an “ass to most people.”
Lestat from the novels by Anne Rice, Edward Cullen from the Twilight saga and Damon Salvatore from the TV series “Vampire Diaries” also followed a similar pattern.
These vampires, Steward explains, struggle with being a monster but have a heart beneath all the blood.
But Astarion not only serves as an object of desire, but can also act as a representative for the player: people who have experienced abuse themselves feel represented by Astarion. Because it was never his decision to become a vampire. His life decision was beyond his own control:
The ability to choose is something that is being taken away from us more and more every day, so his issues feel particularly relevant.
Authors have repeatedly used vampirism as a metaphor for addiction and sexuality, and vampires represent society’s reservations against abnormal desires.
Stewart can also explain why Astarion is so popular right now: its popularity comes from the growing willingness to identify with a monster. It’s a “dangerous, dark fantasy” to help the vampire fight his own demons, but it’s also the reality of many people struggling with their own darkness.
Or maybe it’s the jawline that can cut through glass.
MeinMMO author Sophia has also chosen an interesting companion in Baldur’s Gate 3:
In order to date Baldur’s Gate 3’s biggest joke, I spurned two of the hottest companions