OP You seem to be confusing flamboyant and pretty with his sexuality in some peculiar mind game I don't understand.
To me as an older female player none of his flamboyance or his looks screams homosexual, or otherwise, to me in any way, he's just a character that I happen to like.
I grew up with an uncle - a happily married man by the time I knew him, who had been a total womaniser in his younger days (his sister, my mother, had to cover for him between all of his different female conquests and he always ensured they all used the same perfume) - who had similar personality traits and was totally flamboyant, sometimes even more so than Astarion - women adored him and he adored them. That's not to say Astarion isn't gay just that I don't think its relevant.
Its just a different personality type to what you are used to maybe, and deciding that he is 'queer coded' is doing a disservice to the game developers.
The element of unease, whatever else it may relate to in Larian's mind, has nothing at all to do with him being homosexual or otherwise.
None of the companions are anything other than Tav coded, they aren't homosexual or straight, they will happily romance tav no matter what gender or race they are.
Regarding the unease in the last big patch: It seems Larian want to remind players that Vampire Lord = evil. Which would be fine except Ascended Astarion isn't a DnD vampire lord (or any other known type of vampire), he's something new and no DnD lore covers him as yet, his path was created just for this game.
No player who ascends him (and I have played unascended and ascended) is unaware of his evil side - no one is that daft and Larian hammers it home at every opportunity, the thing Ascended Astarion romancers object to is the fear in Tav/Durge's face in the new kiss animations which are completely weird as Tav/Durge knows exactly what Astarion is, and ascended him anyway.
No way is Tav scared of him and players are objecting to a role playing game defining how a player 'should' feel.
Last edited by Bethra; 24/02/24 03:36 PM.
