Before I forget and because I said I would once I typed these up:
Essay's Theories Regarding Gale's Unusually Heightened Clairvoyant Empathy With Astarion
- Theory 1: Weave-Susceptibility of the Vampire Lord. Cazador had magic, Gale is a prodigy. You yourself noted how vampire lordship and spellcasting can combine with devastating effectiveness.
Problems: This would be exclusively a lord-end factor and ignore the simple fact that Astarion is the consistent factor, not the lords, being unusual to two vampire lords now.
- Theory 2: Affinity Of Spawn. A theory I remember reading in another fandom, and which I personally enjoy and subscribe to, is the idea that vampire nutrition isn't solely symbolic parasitism via bloodsucking but also the affinity between the vampire and the foodstuff. Thus, the more distant a foodstuff is from the vampire's own species, the less effective a foodstuff it is for them. Thus, animals are less nutritious, so to speak, for a vampire, than thinking beings, especially thinking beings of the same kind as they were pre-transformation - and further, mortals of a close genetic make-up to the vampire might stand out as especially tasty. Following on from this, and the fact that Astarion has been of note to two vampire lords, there's clearly a spawn-end factor in this.
Problems: this would really only work for Astarion and Cazador, and not for Gale.
- Theory 3: Emotional Scale Variance. Simply, some people just feel things differently. Some feel things more intensely than others, some feel things more complexly, some feel things in ways that others can parse and understand and others feel things in more opaque ways, where the throughline logic of how the feelings evolve isn't as easily understood. I suspect Violet may fall into such an Opaque category.
Problems: None I can currently see; this seems played out by the additional data granted and your own statements.
- Theory 4: Vulnerability & Favouritism. Or rather... Astarion was Cazador's favourite to torment, quite possibly because of this heightened connection. Perhaps Cazador wanted to quiet Astarion, perhaps he revelled in Astarion's suffering, most likely (I imagine) the answer is both at different times). I do not think a spawn can survive such persistent interest from their vampire lord without it leaving some kind of mark, like a plant forced to grow into a shape or a bone healed wrong. I wonder if due to Cazador's attention, Astarion's emotional landscape is more... viewable, to a new vampire lord just because Cazador in effect... ripped the viewing window open. That, though, is the worst case scenario. I also think it's quite probable that Cazador's fixed attention on Astarion simply meant that while Astarion has learned ways to turn emotions into other things and disassemble them, he was never given a chance to learn how to be "quiet" the way Yousen, Leon and Petras learned to be.
Problems: We don't see favouritism having the same impact with Amanita and Aurelia.
- Theory 5: Gender. It just occurred to me, with your correction re: Petras and Dalyria, that all of the spawn able to slip beneath notice are male. Cazador's attention was fixed on the only other male spawn. Possibility he mentally categorised as "Female: Different. Male: Irrelevant. Astarion: Focus". This doesn't explain Gale's own unique view on Astarion, but it may have been a factor within Cazador's household. As you said when I brought up the presence of Astarion as a factor, That's an important sentence.
Problems: As mentioned, this doesn't wholly explain Gale's own unique view on Astarion as he has only the one spawn. Plus, we don't see Amanita being especially exposed to the emotions of her spawn regardless of gender. So this seems unlikely, but it is an interesting thread of connection.
- Theory 6: Depression & Emotional Replacement. Gale is notably depressed and even notes that his own emotions are "novel" in Ch4. Later when Gale is mid-depressive slump, you make a comment about how borrowed serotonin from one's spawn is an option. I wonder if to some degree vampire lords with … less consuming? Emotions might find especially "loud" spawn (such as Astarion) to stand out notably, especially in the way their emotions might "fill the void" of their own lack. This lack may be depression or a naturally more muted tendency or both - and for those who claw their way out of depression, they may find the... hm. Pressure? Of spawns' emotions to feel oppressive or impinging, an unjust influence on their own emotional sphere, which they then retaliate against. Cazador, I suspect, would fall into such a category, though I imagine after turning Astarion and finding out the clarity of his emotions, Cazador was having a Time remembering what Vellioth put him through compared to the knowledge of what Vellioth might have gleaned from him through clairvoyant empathy - the clarity of Astarion's emotions + the revelation of Vellioth's insight and knowledge may also have been an influence to his cruelty, a mixture of trying to get Astarion to "shut up", displacing his anger at Vellioth onto Astarion, and a dislike of his own emotions being obscured, overridden, or affected by the clarity of Astarion's. Yes, Cazzy, I'm sure it's a COMPLETELY sane response to brutalise your spawn because you don't like how their emotional landscape impacts yours and it's DEFINITELY not a sign of that emotional impact they're having. Yes, you're completely sane and not at all reacting to them. Definitely. 100%. Gods, Cazador deserved to be kicked down several flights of stairs.
Problems: None that I can see? This is a dual-factor theory, accounting for both spawn "volume" and lord susceptibility.
- Theory 7: Combination. I highly doubt the real answer is any one of these things individually but rather some combination of these and other things. A Weave-Susceptible Lord might gain a greater sense of their spawn's emotional landscape, especially if there is some kind of affinity, the spawn being higher strung, or other factor. So far the only recurring factor seems to be Astarion himself, so unless we meet any other Lords with uncommonly attuned spawn I think we're due to be left in the dark a while yet.
This is amazing and I am not allowed to say anything else because Yousen has threatened to stop participating in the cipher ARG if I do and I am categorically weak to people threatening to go on strike.
Comment on Will_and_Testament_CS_final_real_3_USE-THIS-ONE
EssayOfThoughts on Chapter 4 Mon 01 Sep 2025 12:51AM UTC
Last Edited Mon 01 Sep 2025 12:53AM UTC
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AbigailMoment on Chapter 4 Mon 01 Sep 2025 06:29PM UTC
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