I'll just point out that "Handsome" doesn't incline that it's necessarily a man he's talking about. This term has become something we see as very masculine even though it really isn't.
Minthara even makes this point in the game when you click a certain mirror and she goes something along the lines of "This would have been a beautiful mirror once, and I would have struck a handsome reflection"
There's also banter where Astarion tells Wyll he'll only come to his wedding if he can sit next to Mizora, and he says this in a very flirty sort of manner.
Stephen Rooney ( the writer of Astarion ) did say in an interview that Astarion did manifest himself as "a man of all the appetites" very naturally, and I can see this, personally.
He's here to live life to the fullest, all things considered.
I don't know, I can see where you're coming from but I think there's plenty of indications in the game that he's leaning both ways, as he was intended.
You will never hear anything from Minthara or about her, unless you go full evil run. So, majority of people wouldn't know it.
However, I do agree that the word handsome used to describe both males and females features, but not anymore, thou
I'm not putting my feelings in to the argument, I'm just going by what the game is clearly showing us. And what I see is what I wrote in the original message, is that Astarion is half-baked for a female romance. People put a lot of variables in to the argument here, if do this someone will say that or do this... Well, it could be true, but one doesn't have to matagame to confirm any point of view. All those examples in my op (except the handsome guy) will play out for every PC romancing him, so that is what EVERYONE will see, you can't miss it in his romance, unless you try
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