I romanced everyone in DA:O once. (It's probably my most replayed game of all time.) I think I force myself to forget that a hardened Alistair goes along with it too. I was a little disgusted tbh lol. I never cared for pirate hoe even in her first appearance. Was disappointed she was a main character in DA2 but DA2 was my least favorite overall. Partially because I didn't care for the romance options. Anders was retconned into oblivion from Awakening and all the characters were kind of... awful. Hopefully this game doesn't go that route. I personally loved DA:I but I usually find the complaints against it valid. But the characters were such a huge step up from 2. I only ever played BG1 so I didn't get to experience the BG2 romances. (Really wish I had. Not sure why I never played it given how much I loved the first and DA:O) ANYWAY. I romanced Alistair 99% of the time and wound up with a husband with a very similar sense of humor. (no regrets)
The thing about Astarion is that I KNOW he's lying to me and he knows I know he's lying to me. He's good at persuasion and I think he enjoys the dance of seduction. Saying you're just in it for fun takes some of the fun out it for him, I think. Ofc, I definitely hope it means more. But yeah, having approval tied dialogue would be awesome. I just want more opportunities to develop the pc's relationship with him. I feel like there also needs to be more options to flirt with him. Also, why don't we get approval gains from him when we choose the flirt options? He seems like the kind of person who would get an approval boost if you flirt with him. As it is, it seems pretty easy to get his approval up playing a neutral or chaotic good character.
The moments of vulnerability give me the most hope. When he drops the facade of being all charm and shows that he's terrified and wounded. Especially when he gets the Cazador dream. You get an approval boost from him when you try to connect but he throws up those barriers so fast--he's afraid to let anyone close but the approval makes me think that he wants to. I feel like gaining his trust could be very rewarding. Just, pleeeeease Larian... don't make him a one note slut.
