Astarion - Poison | NSFW *Flashing Lights*

Warning: There's a flashing light effect from 00:12 to 00:15.
This is a music video of my character and Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3 with the song "Poison" from Hazbin Hotel. However, I'm not the one who made this. My husband made this for me and I wanted to share it because I think it fits really well since Angel and Astarion have a lot in common.
I edited the closed captions so they're 100% accurate to what's being sung/said and shouldn't take up much of the video.
NSFW only due to the romance scene in the beginning.

[@MarinaCorbi]

Here is what my husband had to say on the meaning of the video: Astarion's scenes have a deeper hidden meaning in my opinion. What's hidden behind his words is what I think sometimes needs to be showcased. Some of the imagery I used should be self-explanatory, but I'm all about symbolism so here's what my intention was with this. The song begins by stating what we already know - He's not above a love to cash in, because his body isn't his own anymore, so selling it for something in return comes naturally to him. However, there's more to it, isn't there? It's after he's had a nightmare involving his creator that the romance really starts to pick up, so you're not just protecting him from the visible threats, but the ones in his mind as well. Though off-screen, you can assume your character might be spending a night with him, letting him bite you, and staying up late for comfort if he needs it, so he starts to feel safe. Still, at this point, he really wants to think of you as just another "lover," because the alternative is new and scary. Astarion's thoughts have likely been the lyrics of this song at least once, thinking how he should have realized it was foolish to let Cazador rescue him. He's been raised for around 200 years to believe he's imperfect like things are his fault. His own screams and winces while having something carved into his back were punished as if he was the one doing wrong, so it's natural to blame himself. It's a profound portion of the song in general because having someone else to blame for our suffering makes it easier on us psychologically. If you think you're the only one to blame for it, that makes things worse. Astarion thinks it's his fault when all he wants to do is live. The Poison being referenced is also not what is visible front and center on the screen - meaning no, blood drinking isn't poison. The freedom he now possesses is what he's truly getting high off of because the poison he's been fed is the pain and malice Cazador used to control him and make him what he is. The choice, however, is to give in to that poison or to fight it and set the sacrifices free. This is almost explicitly said by the narrator in one clip where she says, "All he can see is the power of the ritual, and the freedom that power brings." When it says, "I'll be yours," in the lyrics, the shot I used was of Astarion basking in the sun. It almost looks like he's professing those words to the sky like he's making an oath to be yours (Tav's). There's one problem, however, and the literal symbol for that problem is what we are getting a full view of. It's poetic that the symbol is on his back, indicating it's part of his past - it's behind him, but his past is still part of him. Just like how it's all we can see on him at the time, that is all he can see as an obstacle in truly being yours. "I suppose you want to hear about Cazador." - This is meant to have major significance to the song. Immediately after this, the lyrics are all "I" statements. It isn't any coincidence that this was at about the halfway point of the video. Around mid-way through the game, things change. Astarion is in love, has tasted freedom, and started realizing for sure that the traits he hates about himself are not about him, they're about Cazador. So, I put it in there to depict that he realizes he got so good at being untrue because of his master and the abuse. Although I admit some of the imagery I used at that point was more for filler, it's because the lyrics are about talking that the video shows Astarion talking so much, and being "untrue" has that line where he says, "I love you," because that wasn't true when he said it. At the point where it says, "I disassociate - disappear," he's writing the wrongs committed while he disassociated. This is a contrast to the previous half. No longer are we seeing what's behind him as he looks forward. Now we're seeing him, looking right into his eyes, and he can finally look back and put it all behind him for his own sake. I also thought the scene looks really fitting for the idea that, in the moment, he appears as if he's waking up out of the disassociation for the first time in centuries, and it's fitting that, in doing so, he looks back at his support system. That said, it's still difficult to resist another gulp because it's all he's known for so long. He can think back on how hard it was to resist biting you before. Remember, the real poison is the fear and hatred he feels for the world, instilled in his mind by Cazador. Now he realizes the source of that fear, and he's sick of the poison. He's choking from it, but he can't help but swallow it up one more time. He indulges that bloodlust - the rage - only now he's taking it out on the person who's been forcing it down his throat. If that's the way you want him, Cazador, then that's the way you've got him... While finally taking out his anger, he thinks about his decisions, the past few weeks, and the future he might have lost out on with Tav, his lover and the breaker of his chains. I applied a slight dream-like filter to those two flashes in his mind to show that's where it's taking place. He's not just doing this for himself anymore. Now it's for you. He was worried he didn't have the strength to protect you from this monster, but here it is on full display while the bright future ahead of him is on his mind. In the final lines of the song, I wanted to capture the reason he's crying. He's filling up his cup (heart) but it's always hollow, much like that hollow place in his heart where hatred once lived rent-free thanks to his maker. Maybe he can replace it with love instead. It's okay buddy, let it out... And somebody tell Larian to add an option for Tav to fucking be there for this man with a hug or some shit my gods.

[@amistiel]

Poison is his perfect song indeed ❤