#and obviously having him romance astarion

[nikatyler]

If I had a nickel for every time I murdered my favourite vampire accidentally, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it has happened twice

#ok the ross thing is basically half my internet personality right #well. the other half will now be that i accidentally shoved astarion off the boat and he died #i wanted to help him and i clicked the wrong thing 💀💀 #also i already decided that for my second playthrough i'll be making ross #and obviously having him romance astarion #it's gonna be chaos. pure chaos. i will giggle 75 % of time and play only 25 % of time #but i'm nowhere near starting over haha #nika plays bg3 #i reloaded btw astarion is safe and sound. it's like it never even happened 😌

[wavebiders]

Feeling very insane about the fact that, in a way, being a bad Sharran is what saves Shadowheart in the end

Because like. She's not supposed to be bad at keeping secrets. She's not supposed to be vulnerable, kind, or hopeful. She's not supposed to get attached to anything or anyone

Yet, it's these things that allow her to get close to the pc and the group as a whole. The more she fails to keep Shar's secrets the more she opens up to you, and the more she opens up to you the more you have the chance to build a relationship with her, and it's through having that relationship that she finds the courage to defy Shar

If she had been a better Sharran she never would have built that bond at all, she wouldn't have felt safe to make the decision she did, and probably no one would have trusted her enough to let her decide to begin with

Shadowheart is saved because she is loved, and Shadowheart is loved because she cannot stop being herself no matter how hard she tries

#shadowheart #bg3 #feeling very queer about Shadowheart in this chilli's tonight #anyway obviously this is very geared towards a specific version of her quest but I think it's the most common one and the one I like best #so shhhh #I think she's the only companion where having a good relationship with her directly affects her story in that way #Lae'zel will turn against Vlaakith mostly through getting the facts #Astarion needs you to persuade him and/or get in his head #but Shadowheart needs to feel loved #that's all she ever wanted from Shar anyway #it's so rewarding when she instead finds it with people that don't ask her to be something she's not #(also why her romance so much to her plot even without locking too much content behind it but that's another post)

[jahiera]

some of the astarion HCs that cross my gaze are trying to make him sexier + classic romance novel lead than he is Im afraid…… before he will be your sexy protector dominate boyfriend he’ll probably be like “babe do you think you can help me with this” “but that sounds like soooooooo much woooork… fine 🙄🙄🙄🙄” love him at his whiny twink self come on now

#every time I see a hc that reads directly out of Every Bridgerton-esque Novel Ever attributed to astarion my eyes glaze over a bit #obviously I’m also caricaturing him here but come now. come now #even when he’s protective he does it in a specifically bitchy way…. #’THAT BETTER NOT BE GOING DOWN YOUR GULLET 👉👉👉’ #anyways I am just having a laugh & such I just like that the game never tries to pretend he’s not whiny or petty or annoying. as a person. #he stomps his foot like an actual toddler sometimes! I love him ❤️ #so the ultra beefy romance lead vibe… is so dissonant for him in my head…. #HEADCANON AND THRIVE to your hearts headcanon content by the way I don’t care #just giggling imagining him trying to do anything like that but with sincerity rather than … like #for the bit. I can see him do it for the bit perhaps

[mxgoldenwood]

I CAN NOT stop thinking about Astarion with cleric-of-Ilmater Tav, so a few thoughts that have crossed my mind….

First… what could possibly be a more powerful religious experience for a follower of Ilmater than giving up your own blood, so that a friend in need won’t go hungry? The way Astarion’s first bite is narrated, it would almost certainly be a transcendent, divine experience.

Following on from this, though… the more Tav and Astarion spend time around each other, the more I think they would both gain from their relationship.

Yes, Astarion is annoyed by his companions playing the hero and he doesn’t like it when Tav promises to help people just because they’re sworn to relieve suffering wherever they can. He’s selfish and jaded and nobody ever did that for him (before now) so why are these strangers so special?

But on the flip side, there comes a point when Astarion has a point!! Tav doesn’t need to open their veins for every stranger in need. Maybe they shouldn’t sell their soul to help someone who would as soon kill them as look at them. You can’t fill up anyone else’s glass when your own is empty, and all that. I can easily imagine Astarion’s annoyance with Tav’s heroics shifting gradually from “ugh, what makes these people so special that they deserve help for nothing?” to “darling, you’re killing yourself slowly— and for what?” as he finds himself becoming more genuinely attached to Tav.

When you have people who care about you, your suffering becomes theirs. Cleric-of-Ilmater Tav may not see this at first, but they could come to understand it. By all means, help where you can. But don’t make your loved ones watch as you bind yourself onto the rack for someone whose gratitude can never cancel out the vicarious suffering of your (found) family watching you suffer. If anyone would speak up and talk some sense into Tav about this, it would be Astarion.

Just as Tav can set a good example for Astarion, reminding him that he has some goodness and maybe a little heroics of his own, buried under all the bitterness and trauma…. I believe Astarion would have a thing or two to teach cleric-of-Ilmater Tav about when it’s fine to help, and when they’re hurting themself for no good reason.

#text post #baldur’s gate 3 #bg3 #bg3 spoilers #astarion #i’m so normal about him #ilmater #astarion romance #just some thoughts I’m having on this lovely Monday #about my favorite vampiric elf babygirl #obviously this isn’t even getting into the potential d/s or s/m dynamics they could have between them given time to negotiate it #but rest assured I will have thoughts about that as well #I’m just always feral for romance dynamics where both parties can learn from each other and grow #especially when there’s an element of healing trauma #and when one person’s trauma so perfectly complements the other’s that they are polar opposites and can learn to find balance in each other #i’m not normal about them at all #this is 100% about my first playthru with Erann as Tav #but I absolutely think it could apply for anyone romancing Astarion with a follower of Ilmater

[collegeoflore]

no one look at me i’m being sappy abt xarrastarion. anyway i can’t stop thinking abt astarion embroidering little fragments of xarrai’s poetry or songs on his clothes post-game like the one that larian patched out of the description for his camp clothes. smth abt keeping them close to his skin always… the way he starts to learn who they are when they start showing him the things they’ve never shown anyone else and the comfort he finds in their words (despite giving them so much shit every time they wax poetic at him). i’m ill. xarrai calls him a hopeless romantic and he tells them they have no room to talk bc they’re a fucking bard. he stitches their words into the cuff of his sleeve in thread just barely a different color from his shirt so he can ghost his fingers over them like a talisman against the dark and the weight of his memory. years later there’s a love song xarrai won’t outright say is about him embroidered in it’s entirety on the inside of his winter coat where it lays against his chest.

#the prerequisite for this tho is that xarrai dumps a box of loose paper in his lap and hands him a book of keys for the incredibly #convoluted cyphers they wrote everything in because they are extremely paranoid #and just tell him ‘okay have fun :)’ #‘no i’m not going to help. hope ur ready to learn infernal btw :)’ #they r so annoying. #they stop writing everything in code post game. eventually. but there are 15 years of backlog to get thru first lol #obvs astarion does keep embroidering their poetry and songs on his clothes after they die. btw. obviously. #does a bard ever really die as long as someone remembers their stories? #bard/astarion romance goes so hard forever. poetry lover married a poet. #r. hold me like a knife #漫言

[raven]

astarion really exemplifies every issue with modern fandom. in the game, he is an interesting character with a complicated relationship with sex that is deeply tied to his backstory and not often seen in video game romance options, imo. and then on a metatextual level, because of the way he's a white twink, he is given a million times more content than everyone else in the game, which is frustrating at best. and of course because he's a white twink the fandom is absolutely insane and oversexualizing, when a major point of his romance arc is not wanting to have sex with you even though he's attracted to you because of how he's been treated in the past-- and fans are doing the exact same thing, treating him like an object-- so thats literally how people who don't know the game see him-- UGH.

#like hes kind of an object hes a video game character not to take things too seriously whatever but likeeeeeee #i take video games too seriously and i say stop it and fuck off and die maybe #on one hand i like him a lot as a character but its also hard when it clearly comes at the cost of characters like wyll who obviously have #the shorter stick. and like look wyll is very sweet. i dont love romancing him. i love toxic yaoi. buut none of the romances are that toxic #icluding astarion and like its just hard to fully immerse myself in astarion when you know that wyll is shafted because of him #and whatnot. ughhhhh #and also if platonic interactions were given like. the same weight as romantic ones in rpgs like this... which if IM sayong that ... #(number one person to say they should fuck nasty and never be friends) u know its serious.... like its all just racism when it comes down #to it. at the end of the day.

[hamartia-grander]

Going back into my cave after this but Wyllstarion x The Princess Diaries au. Wyll as Mia, Astarion as Nicholas, Tav as Andrew. You understand.

#wyllstarion #My sister made me watch this with her on her bday and I could only think “omg like wyllstarion” the entire time #Wyll having to find himself a spouse in order to rule bc of some dumb old baldur's gate tradition #His father had to marry his mother to rule but she died in childbirth and his father ruled the rest of the time alone #Wyll was cast out for the same reasons as in Bg3 but instead of him returning to save his father his father realises his mistakes first #Cause Wyll deserves it #Lady Tav is the most eligible royal for Wyll to wed because she's the duchess of Waterdeep or something #And they were friends #But Wyll loves Astarion #Obviously I'm spinning this like within the Bg3 universe not a modern au or anything so some things are different #Holy shit what if ulder ravengard had a boyfriend a man he was in love with but couldn't ever be with. For fun. Like queen clarisse #Idk who it would be but wouldn't that be funny #WAIT what if instead of a dumb baldur's gate tradition demanding that Wyll marries it's actually because #His pact with Mizora requires that he have a “level headed” spouse to “protect him from the devil's influence” #Guys I'm a genius #And no one wants Astarion to be Wyll's lover bc Astarion is a vampire spawn and they especially don't trust him #Astarion romances Wyll on the order of Cazador bc Cazador wants control of baldur's gate & astarion is the perfect candidate to seduce Wyll #But then Astarion falls in love with Wyll #I just want a scene with Lady Tav and Wyll discussing their marriage after Wyll is caught with Astarion #Where Tav tells Wyll he'll make an amazing king and she's a lady who never backs out of her word #They're friends so they're both understanding that love between them isn't happening #When Wyll returns the ring during the ceremony Tav is like oh thank fuck because Karlach is looking real gorgeous tonight #Etc etc #Bg3 #Wyll Ravengard #astarion ancunin #Bloodpact #I fucking love that ship name BTW it's genius

[blujayonthewing]

so I actually am normal about astarion but I cannot stop thinking about looking up the thing with the drow in moonrise towers just out of curiosity about some minor thing about the followup conversation at camp and finding out that 'help, I'm romancing astarion but I made him bite that drow way back in act 2 and now he's breaking up with me 😰' is apparently a really common problem and I JUST-- YOU DID WH-- I AM TAKING HIM AWAY FROM YOU

#bg3 #sorry this is so vague lmao but HELLO... #even without yet having the context for why he was so OBVIOUSLY *SO* viscerally offput and uncomfortable and vehement about not doing it #you're ROMANCING HIM and told him to just suck it up and do it?? #AFTER the drow was talking about him like he's your slave with no free will??? #have you EVEN BEEN PAYING ANY ATTENTION TO HIS WHOLE DEAL I'M-- #romancing astarion just because you like that he's sexy and funny and violent without engaging with him on any more meaningful level #and then getting mad when he has feelings and wants agency #is SO on the nose I'm gonna scream #anyway I'm taking him away from you bye!!!

[rackartyg]

“on my second playthrough of astarion’s romance his act 1 scenes made me feel so icky” good! they’re supposed to!

#this is whiny and petty and not meant to harsh anyone’s vibe im just complaining #i understand why people do it and they’re obviously allowed to etc etc #but it peeves me when i see so many people headcanoning #their tav spotting that something’s up with astarion and not sleeping with him #like. i get it. but also there’s a reason his romance is the way it is y’know?? #unless you’re playing as karlach there’s no way to romance him without having sex with him and. it is that way on purpose #(and astarion is *so fucking mean* to karlach because he can’t have sex with her because it makes his brain short circuit! #but this is never included in the sexless tavstarion headcanons) #i understand not being into that type of story but if that’s the case why romance astarion at all #urgh #she speaks #arctic plays bg3

[calenhads]

the desire to make my curse of strahd character in bg3 to play as a dark urge and romance astarion vs the fact that none of the face presets feel like him. staring dismally at the ground i am going to have to figure out how to make my own face for him aren't i

#meaghan talks #meaghan plays bg3 #listen i need to hold rhys in my hands more than once a week #ever since recent events happened in my campaign i have been brainrotting him nonstop #particularly him and arrigal #so obviously i need to make him in bg3 as a dark urge since he's a dhampir in campaign #and to romance astarion because he has a complex about freeing his boyfriends from their vampire overlords

[maddisandy]

honestly i think the fact that laezel is soleils closest bestie and they're partners with astarion is very fitting given they both have the exact sane approvals most of the time. also the laezel lovemailing is very much coming from the fact that while streaming with our friend tonight we were complaining about the awful takes people have on laezel because she acts mean and now im thinking about how much i love her again

#plum charas #if we were not incredibly gay i would love to do her romance route #i wish there was an option to do romance routes platonically to still get characters epilogues #they dont see each other often since laezel is off in space starting a revolution and so often very busy but they try to talk using the #rary ring whenever they can #i like to think in one of their adventures soleil and astarion found a way to visit laezel rather than the otger way around at least once #sane thing for wyll and karlach i imagine they came to avernus at least once if not more to visit them #i like to think out of the party laezel was the voice of logic for soleil who he'd go to for reasoning advice and held utmost trust in #shadowheart was his closest confidant for emotional topics and he often shared things with her first than he did anyone else #and astarion is obviously his partner and equal who he feels he can go to for anything #and they deserves it so much because their whole life (pretty much all of the origin characters really) never really had a solid support #group so its like. now they can be that for each other #you could argue wyll had his father but really until they reconciled he was still fighting battles and blazing the front lines #gale probably is the closest to having a solid pre existing support group but mystra fucking groomed him and in his origin it's revealed he #has a complicated relationship with his mom and doesn't talk to her so. he literally just has his cat really #all of them get the found family trope all of them

[lelianaslefthand]

the more i think about That post from the durge writer the more mad i get. i’m not gonna go into everything like kekeing about crunch it’s all already been said but how can you admit to giving MONTHS of attention to one character and not any of the others and just be like “teehee 🤭” as a writer working on a game you shouldn’t be that biased bc the game isn’t for you specifically and larian shouldn’t have even allowed that in the first place especially with how unpolished so many other companion interactions are

#like use your brain #and i know they said they got to write FOR astarion which is why it happened #but ideally they could have written more for durge in relation to the other characters #like i love astarion obviously and am gonna romance him with durge #but it’s objectively not fair to the others especially bc every character could have such a good dynamic with durge #‘bad route’ or not their arcs are all so interesting it’s sucks that there’s not more exploration of that #i haven’t seen a lot of things about durge with anyone else really and i don’t know if that’s bc there isn’t a lot of content or what #but it sucks #.txt

[ap-trash-compactor]

there are four bhaalpir babies.

first: a set of triples. horrifying! everyone is extremely concerned! *one* bhaalspawn dhampir baby would be enough, ye gods, but three????? horrifying! a disaster! this is going to be terrible for everyo -- oh. it's... fine? it's fine. it seems fine. aside from the fact that two not-too-terribly bright, slightly disorganized parents have three newborns to care for suddenly, it's fine.

and the babies seem to be growing up fine, too. they're three energetic and rambunctious boys, and like their parents before them they have at most one brain cell to spare, ever,* but they don't seem to be infected with bhaalist murder compulsions, so a few years later when baby number four comes along, no one thinks anything of it. and why should they? nothing went wrong the first time, thank the gods.

apparently, the pertinent god wanted an even number.

but it's not the babies that start acting like bhaalspawn.

it's tavia.

nightmares first. (this worries her husband, but he is a fussy nursemaid of a man who is prone to worrying and she writes it all off.)

then not wanting to see the new baby. (this worries her husband more; tavia, being staunchly opposed to any practice of self-examination, refuses to admit this is even a problem. she didn't really like the first three babies either she says so what is he fussing about. [slightly untrue -- she did like them but only when they were being cute little accessories. her husband was and is the primary parent in that house.] in any case, despite many efforts by her husband to try and foster some sort of bond between mother and child, she more or less refuses to acknowledge for several months that the baby even exists.)

then, suddenly: wanting to see the baby. and trying to feed the baby blood. (this convinces astarion that in fact she should not be permitted to see the baby after all. unfortunately, she's evolved from not wanting to see it, to not wanting to be separated from it.)

then she tries to kill it.

and then she tries to kill its father.

and that's when their friends decide it's time to kill a(nother) god.

#they have five kids but only because astarion adopts yenna #he is an excellent girldad it is his secret calling #he obviously cares about his sons but he is just. fundamentally a girldad. #*sidenote: pre-brain-damage tavia was actually extremely smart. #but she didn't like what she learned about herself as her memories came back #and she solved the dilemma by largely choosing -- as an active choice that requires effort to maintain -- to live with her brain turned off #which is maybe a little sad. but... idk man. she's allowed her coping mechanisms and her choices. she's happy. leave her alone. #anyway luckily for everyone the bhaalpir babies experience the hunger inherited from their lineage as a craving for raw fresh bloody meat #easily satisfied without breaking any laws of gods or men! #one thing goes right for the family at least lmao #their mom was already a great lover of raw organ meats #an early aspect of her romance with their dad was him bringing her fresh liver from newly killed prey #at least her kids don't have her penchant for cannibalism lol

[vagueiish]

thinking about my boy oli and how i still think he'd be a terrible companion, but maybe not?

at the very least, i think i've kind of figured out what the... end choice? the actual major split in the road would be for his personal quest/arc. which, major spoilers for the ending of bg3, so...

but i think the real Big Choice in his companion quest would be during the 'who should become an ilithid' conundrum. majorly irrelevant if you trust the emperor, so maybe i'm not quite on the right track? because i'm not quite sure where else his story should lead other than 'has he come to value himself enough that he doesn't sacrifice himself at the end just because he thinks that's all he's good for?' and whether he offers to become a mindflayer or has to be persuaded or refuses.

because his arc/story, though the major themes kinda vibe with the rest of the group, is much more lowkey. he has no ties to baldur's gate -- that he's aware of, anyway, having spent his whole life thinking his mother was dead. not knowing she's alive and thriving in baldur's gate -- and no skin in any of the god/devil related shenanigans.

i suppose his patron could enter the arena and remind him of his own pact, but his pact involves him having to have a child before a certain age.... and, honestly, that whole angle does not sound appealing to me right now, lmao. i suppose it would tie into autonomy or whatever, but that feels like a whole ugly can of worms and i already have a plot bunny for that for later on, post-game. it's quite fucky!

but his whole thing is that, his whole life, he's been told that he's ruined lives simply by being born. he feels he has to make up for it by doing whatever he can for others. which makes him perfect as a completionist pc, lmao, it makes character sense he'd do All The Things. as a companion... eh, not so much? maybe throughout the game he offers to do some of the more dangerous things to keep the pc from getting hurt - 'hey, I can read the spooky book if you'd like. that way nobody important gets cursed, should it actually be evil!' 'hey, maybe you should let the bard try his dangerous procedure out on me! that way nobody important gets hurt!''hey, lae'zel, maybe you should let me use the ominous looking chair first. as a test.'(which, I wish that was a fuckin dialogue option, lmao) etc. but i'm...not sure how to make that into a questline

but the major themes of the others involve subjugation to others in some sense. breaking free from that -- or not it's a choice. oliver... his arc, as i'm conceiving of it doesn't really have that breaking free moment? or maybe i'm just looking at it wrong. because all the others' shit kind of boils down to 'do you see worth in yourself? are you worth the effort of healing/recovery? is reclaiming yourself worth the fear and possible danger that comes with eschewing all you've ever known?' or something around there. right?

oli... i don't know. he doesn't really have anything to break away from, at least not in the immediate area. he's already far from home. again he has no immediate connections to the plot or the city, other than his mother, who would definitely factor into his questline.

maybe he starts to realize that what's happening back home actually has been shitty for him this whole time, and he actually hasn't deserved it? he doesn't actually ruin lives simply by existing? maybe if he's not the leader, no longer the one who has to figure everything out for everyone else and so can distract himself from his own issues...he's forced to deal with his own issues.

maybe it's he's finally realizing he's never really been his own person? since his parents died when he was like... 5. the vast majority of what he's done has been for others. p much everything. he doesn't even join the party for himself but to help the others with their tadpoles. the same fuckin issue he has.

i don't know. kinda feels like i'm on the cusp of something, but my brain is fucky. i really do like the idea of the culmination of his personal arc being the mindflayer choice, getting to a place where he cares enough about himself to say no, actually, he doesn't want to do it. maybe to a place he cares enough about himself that you don't even get the option to persuade/intimidate him. he's more than what he can do for others. more than running himself ragged and making sacrifices. he gets to be selfish.

#obviously i could retool his story to make sense for a companion #but i like him more lowkey than the others #relatively anyway. his backstory has some soap opera level drama surrounding him #but it's largely irrelevant to the happenings of bg3. so far #i want so badly to ramble more and more about my boy #and this is my tumlr so fuck it i will #even if i'm rambling into the void lmao #other random companiom!oli facts: #he'd only be romaceable by dudes. and it'd take a long while anyway. it'd almost be like a secret romance #kind of a 'wait. youre bangable?' #player!astarion would have a bit of an advantage in romancing him for Reasons that arent actually all that great #i think it'd be fun if astarion weren't the pc and wasnt being pursued at all #and was refused by the pc when asking for a bite #if there were a chance he and oli could start something #which would be nice if companions could romance each other anyway #but idk. i feel like there's some nice oliver story arc shit in the romance with astarion but i cant articulate it right now #astarion seeks initially only to use oli #oli can see nothing in himself other than what he can give to others #or something idk man #oc: could it be this misery will suffice? (oliver) #bg3 #bideo gaems #to the void with love

[mossy-rock-in-a-field]

Several weeks ago, my retirement-age mother requested that I play Baldur’s Gate 3 for her because she has trouble with controllers/keyboards and wanted “to see what all the fuss is about with that cute wizard boy.” For context, my mother and I have done this sort of thing in the past with certain RPGs (dragon age, mass effect, etc.), but it’s been a few years since she’s personally requested a game like this. Basically, I control her Tav but let her make all the choices so she can determine how the story plays out without worrying about mechanics. She treats it like a choose-your-own-adventure book.

Anyway, here is a list of some of the things my mother has said and/or chosen to do throughout the course of BG3 in no particular order:

She is (obviously) romancing Gale. She is quite smitten with him and his passion for books and learning; she also thinks he’s polite and qualifies as “relationship material.” She also REALLY likes the things he’s said about his cat so far (my mom is a cat lady), so I know she’s gonna flip shit when we meet Tara in Act III.

She’s playing a normal druid Tav with a generally good alignment. Her favorite spell is Spike Growth because she thinks it’s hilarious whenever enemies walk into the AOE and die. I usually end up having to cast it at least once per battle per her request. Sometimes twice.

Contrary to her alignment, my mother tasks me with robbing every single chest, crate, barrel, and burlap sack we come across; this also includes people and their pockets. The party is always at max carrying capacity. ALWAYS. She doesn’t like selling things because “what if I need them.” The camp stash is in literal shambles. There is no hope of organizing it. She’s got like fifty seven sets of rags and a billion pieces of random silverware.

She MUST talk to every animal and corpse in the game. I think five hours of her total playtime so far (47ish) has been spent speaking to animals as many times as humanly possible. Like, I was thorough in my own playthroughs, but this is on a whole other level.

She did NOT get Volo’s lobotomy, but she did let Auntie Ethel take her eye in hopes of a cure for the tadpole. I did not understand the logic then. I still do not understand it now.

She is far more interested in fashion than equipment stats. Do you have any idea how much gold I’ve had to spend on dyes just to make things match? SO much. Same vibe as that “please someone help me balance my finances my family is starving” tweet but instead of candles it’s thirty thousand fucking bottles of black and furnace red dye.

We broke the prisoners out of Moonrise, but they got on the boat too early and bugged the fight by leaving Astarion and Karlach behind. Wulbren Bongle somehow got stuck in combat mode even after engaging the cutscene on the docks below Last Light; he he kept trying to run ALL THE WAY BACK TO MOONRISE nine fucking meters at a time while I frantically tried to finish the fight with the Warden, otherwise Wulbren would have run straight into the shadow curse. (I would’ve let him go; fuck Wulbren Bongle, all my homies hate Wulbren Bongle. But my mom didn’t know that, and she wanted to keep him safe. So.)

She had me reload a save like eighteen times to save the giant eagles on top of Rosymorn Monastery. Wouldn’t even let me do non-lethal damage just to get past things. I think getting that warhammer for the dawnmaster puzzle took us like an hour and a half alone. (Yes, I know you can use any warhammer, but SHE didn’t.)

She’s started keeping an irl notebook to keep track of her quests between play sessions. She writes down ideas and strategies when she thinks of them during the week, then brings them to her next game session at my house. I think she wrote about three pages on possible approaches to the goblin fortress alone.

She insists that I pet Scratch and the owlbear cub before every single long rest, no exceptions. Sometimes I have to do it multiple times until she is absolutely sure that the animals know exactly how much she loves and cherishes them. She has also commissioned a crocheted owlbear plush from a friend of hers and is very excited.

I’m sure there’s a bunch of stuff I’m forgetting, but those are some fun things I thought of. She’s enjoying the game and is telling all of her retired friends to get it and play it for themselves. She asked me “what is Discord” yesterday and I think my life flashed before my eyes.

anyway shout out to my mom for being neat

Part 2 — Part 3 — Part 4 — Part 5

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #gale #gale of waterdeep #astarion #gale dekarios #laq talks #I talk #she stares at me real hard after she makes a choice too #like squinting to see if my expression gives anything away #if it was a good or bad call #I keep my face blank as shit it’s hilarious #I have not told her I’m writing fanfic for this game #nor will I ever #jesus christ

[graveyardcuddles]

The early stages of Astarion's romance as he's just beginning to fall for the player are so precious to me. There are so many lovely scenes/moments with Astarion's romance throughout the game that it's really hard to pick a favorite. Obviously, the final romance scene in the graveyard is incredibly beautiful and makes me weep, and the conversation you have with him after defending him from Araj is brilliant.

But honestly, the one scene I keep rotating in my head, even months post game release, is the scene where he propositions you for the second time. I love how it's both incredibly angsty and also painfully sweet to me? I love the silly flirting he does, I love the fake-ass manipulative "I love you," he give you (that might have made me a lil mad first time I played). And I especially love how much you can read between the lines in those moments. Personally, I'm a big believer that Astarion definitely has at least a bit of crush on the player at this point, if not already actively falling for them. The "I love you" might not have been 100% real in the moment, but his responses for when you both accept and reject his offer are very telling.

A lot has been said about how he seems to be genuinely disappointed when you turn him down the second time. And I think he is a bit disappointed, has a bit of a hurt ego probably. But mostly he seems very self-reflective. He mentions how he got on his back so many times for so many people and none of it was memorable or enjoyable, unlike with you. That's such a vulnerable thing to admit, something that he doesn't necessarily need to confess to Tav in order to manipulate them. It's like he's trying to grapple with the feelings himself. That subtle pause and look in his eyes right after he wishes us goodnight? He wants to connect with us in a non-sexual way SO BADLY but just can't feel safe enough to at this point.

When you accept his offer, he plays it off cool at first. But I love how right before the fade to black he says: "There you are. Now you're all mine and I'm all yours...At least until morning." He's literally thinking about how long you two can have this time alone together. And his cute little "Let’s see where the night takes us~" with this little happy sway and smile he does it's like...he's so eager to just have this time with us. He might still be trying to "seduce" and manipulate our feelings at this point, but he's so obviously just happy to be spending time with his favorite person.

The feelings were complex and obviously may have felt tainted by his plan, but I feel like it's all a part of him learning to enjoy intimacy again. Which eventually leads to him learning to enjoy non-sexual intimacy with his partner in Act II and III. Idk I just think watching all the stages of him falling in love and learning to be worthy of love is so neat.

#bg3 #astarion #astarion romance #astarion ancunin