I apologise I didn’t mean to offend anyone or invalidate anyone in the LGBTQIA+ community.
It’s because of Shadowhearts banter with Halsin and lack of real interest in the player combined with the lustful looks and I’ve dreamed about having sex with Halsin multiple times.
comes across to me that she was intend to be straight but they made all the companions player sexual.
The only character I know for certain that was written to have sexual identity and is a camp follower / final battle playable companion is Dame.
I’m not part of the LGBTQIA+ community so I really shouldn’t say anything about the awards.
As has been already established the romanceable companions are all playersexual, this has also been confirmed by Larian that it was their decision and intention from early in the development. So none of the romanceable companions are written as straight, gay or lesbian, they are all pansexual so that it fits the playersexual mechanics (good or bad, lazy, less interesting, better or worse for inclusion are all valid opinions on this mechanic and a topic for another discussion, it is what it is).
A character that is pansexual is obviously also eligible for this award since they fall within the LGBTQ umbrella. Since it's awarded by popular vote, a character that the player can have a developed and intimate story with themselves is going to have a huge advantage. I think any of the romancable companions in Baldur's Gate 3 would have beaten any of the NPC's in a popular vote, the Baldur's Gate fanbase is a community that has latched on to the companions very strongly. Opinions on Whether you think this is a bad or good approach to selecting the winner will be divided and can be argued forever and after 25 years the fanbase of for example the Eurovision Song Contest are still strongly divided on this issue.
I personally think the writers, actors and directors went beyond simply writing a romance and then slapping a playersexual mechanic on it. I think they put a lot of effort into ensuring that the dialogue, scenes and characterisation could be enjoyed from many different player perspectives. I think a lot of players, myself included, subconciously make our own headcanons about the companion's sexualities, but I am not surprised when I learn that a companion that I romanced as a straight Tav, someone else romanced and enjoyed as a gay Tav.
Regarding the scene where Shadowheart expresses interest in Halsin there seems to be a willfully bad faith interpretation of this scene that it's all about her sexual attraction to Halsin. Completely disregarding that for this to even trigger, Shadowheart and the player have first, through the active choice of the player, confirmed that they are interested in getting intimate with two drow twins, a male and a female. And in that scene Shadowheart clearly expresses enjoing the intimacy and attention of both the male and female drow, as well as wanting the player to join them. If anything this confirms that Shadowheart is queer/pan and not straight. No matter what you think of this scene (also a topic for another discussion) there is no way to have this interaction without having Shadowheart clearly express interest in and enjoyment with at least one female character as well.