lmaoooo, I was going to use my usual photo of Astarion and my OC, Eris kissing but for some reason I can't so I picked the next best thing.
The avatar requires a certain image format, I too agonized over my first avatar for a long time when I first registered here. I really liked using Imgur (https://imgur.com/) to store pictures and avatars for the forum. It magically made it easy for me to change avatars in one click, maybe it helps to set the right format, I don't know the exact reason, but it works for me (maybe it will help you too?).
Originally Posted by jessiemeows
In my personal headcannon and what I've written in my fanfic is that Astarion is actually a very jealous person. He probably never knew that about himself until he met my OC/Durge Eris. Basically he got extremely jealous every time one of the companions flirted with her. It wasn't until Eris & Astarion got together at the tiefling party was when everyone sort of stopped trying to bang Eris lmao except for Gale. He would keep flirting with her, mainly because he never really got the hint that Eris and Astarion were basically together. Mainly because they would hide their kisses from everyone and although Astarion pretty much ends up living in her tent after the tiefling party he would leave her tent early in the morning bc Eris didn't want to upset Gale and his explosive in his chest lmfao. But that's basically why I can see my Astarion hating on Gale every chance he gets.
I actually always wanted Astarion to express his jealousy more openly. I think it would suit him just fine. I was very careful in BG3 the first time through. Much more cautious than usual. An acquaintance of mine who also played BG3, had more time to play, and went further than me, even warned me to be careful! He managed to offer Wyll a dance at a party to cheer him up, and Wyll treated him like a “wife” afterward (can't remember which patch this was in, maybe he got into it before patch 1, then they seemed to fix it). The romance with Shadowheart went down the drain, there was no way to explain anything to Wyll, all in all, trouble... I was downright wary of this incident. Gale had offered to “show magic” at the party and the conversation was cut short by the fact that he will come at night. I immediately ran to Astarion after that to “activate” his offer, and replayed the dialog three more times at the end of the party to guarantee it. Then Gale, in Act 2, offered his “magic” again. I immediately suspected him, my thoughts were, “Yeah, you've got ‘magic’ in your pants, found a fool...” Now I know, Gale does show magic, and Tav themselves should take the initiative on their part, but... I suspected each and every one of them. I didn't hug Karlach, even though I still treated her well at the time, just to be on the safe side so there was no hint of romance. I didn't ask Halsin about his former lovers, just in case, but Halsin was sure I had asked him... And somehow in my head I thought that Astarion might get jealous and react badly if God forbid I got into something with these companions, that the relationships were hidden because he was sort of watching, distrusting and checking. Got my own imaginary “‘achievement’” by avoiding anything that just looks like cheating. And Astarion doesn't actually react to such endeavors in any way, acting like he doesn't care at all, lol. I think if Astarion was more jealous and reacted not only to the actual cheating, but to the very fact that someone is trying to court Tav, that would be really great! Sometimes I fantasize that Astarion is the first to pull out his weapon and brutally massacre Haarlep, right after saying, “ Take off your clothes” and Tav doesn't even have time to fully join the fight, that he would want to protect her and wash away the insult he wanted to inflict on Astarion's favorite woman with the blood of the scoundrel incubus.
Originally Posted by Ametris
Astarion is definitely the most savage when talking about romanced Gale, the utter contempt in his voice when he pronounces Gale's name and calls him a limp passion is particularly memorable. When he's involved in a love triangle with every other companion he's somewhat understanding and can see then appeal, but with Gale there is nothing but pure disdain.
Yes, it's really telling! I've been watching videos of the other companions, and Astarion speaks more softly of the others. “Limp passion” is a brilliant characterization.
Originally Posted by Ametris
I agree that he's in fact a very jealous person. I don't think it's a coincidence that there are multiple options in the game to question him about that. He just loves the attention and doesn't like being someone's second best, there's also the matter of his insecurity and being new to experiencing love himself. In the dialogue where you ask him about Halsin and say you're surprised about Halsin's proposition, Astarion admits to have seen the druid being horny for Tav since the grove itself, and therefore low-key having agonised over the fact that the offer was bound to be brought up eventually.
Too bad there is no way to reject Halsin immediately and still talk to Astarion about it to find out. The dialog, with slight modifications, also needed to be made available to those Tavs who do not wish to see anyone but Astarion near them. After all, Astarion's thoughts were the same, he had also worried about Halsin before. But, if you reject all companions at once and without talking, it would look like Astarion doesn't care.
Originally Posted by Ametris
I also really like him being so proud and triumphant during the epilogue party when he says that it's good the others (including potential previous lovers) are seeing him and Tav together side by side.
Yeah, me too! <3 He seems proud of me, and of us being together. And he'd like everyone to see us together.
Originally Posted by Ametris
It's a real shame they removed the option where Gale tries to steal Tav. This and Larian moving Gale's romance scene to act 2 makes him pretty blind to the affair, while everyone else can clearly see there's something going on. In my playthrough during the grove party, Lae'zel was salty my Tav's bedroll was already occupied, and Karlach wanted to gossip about her and Astarion. SH can also have lines where she clearly notices the romance. Then Gale pronounced his love in act 2, completely ignoring the fact my Tav was with Astarion. Then at the dock, he also invited her to the heavens to be with him (ignoring her vampiric marriage), and in the epilogue told her she could still ascend and perhaps wield the new type of magic of his eventually. He also acknowledged Tav's immortality, saying they have an eternity to chat (and making Astarion even more jealous).
Wyll also ignores the fact that Tav is with Astarion and tries to ask Tav to dance. Though, this was before the confession scene in Act 2, so was Gale's second offer of “magic”. The night before the “danger of explosion” I stayed with Gale to support and discourage exploding, and he behaved decently, mentioning that he wished someone else was there with him right now in my place. Perhaps Gale's behavior in this scene depends on whether or not you agreed to “watch the magic”.
Originally Posted by Ametris
I also think Astarion is not hiding the romance from the others, after all he gloats over the fact the rest must have heard them the morning after the first night together and never shows any hint of embarrassment when flirting with Tav in public. They also finally debugged these banters:
I HC'd Gale knowing about Tav and Astarion, but naively thinking he could ignore it and downplay it as something not serious and that Tav would still choose him. Then he got a bit more confident at the end of the game and wouldn't mind annoying Astarion from time to time, especially if Tav decided to pray to him. Heck, he could even make Tav his Chosen if they were particularly close.
If Tav got killed one day, I believe he'd want to snatch their soul before any devil could (because I'm sure after seeing Astarion's hellish interests, he and Tav would get an offer from one of them). All in all, God Gale gives a lot of interesting prospects for the future.
The first act doesn't have enough roleplay in the romance, there is no way to emphasize Tav's connection to Astarion. I think it would have been worth adding lines to reject the other companions, in which Tav says their heart is busy and they are in love with/meeting Astarion, to avoid ambiguity. Because of this inability to show feelings, it creates a false confidence on first playthrough that Astarion wants to hide the relationship and is unwilling to openly announce it. I had a hard time initially finding another explanation for the fact that everyone around me is eager for Tav, only the attentive Shadowheart notices our relationship, and my character has no words for it.
Thanks for the video, it's very interesting ( also nice that Wyll got what he deserved in the final part of the video). I'm glad they added new lines to the game, can't wait to hear them in my playthrough! Lae'zel's line makes me want to turn around and show her the tip of a blade or fire spell in hand with the words, “Because...” But still only show her... Wyll in my playthrough also definitely will get what he deserves. Harsher than in the video. What he said to Astarion... Maybe our “moral hero” should learn to fly off a cliff? Or can someone offer me more fun evil ideas? Wyll is making me more and more disgusted...
Originally Posted by Sini
Astarion is already jealous, but my Durgie actually isn't very interested in romances, she also turns Astarion down until the Tiefling party and rejects Mizora, Halsin and Haarlep.
But this way your Durgie misses out on a whole night with Astarion (yes, there's no more video at the party if there's already an romance, just a black screen, but still...) And a lovely separate dialog with Astarion at the party. Though any of my characters a priori don't see the dialog that would be there if you procrastinate starting the romance before the party... So either way, something is missing. Is it different in different playthroughs? (though no, I cannot possibly force myself to say no to Astarion before the party even once, it's too hard, you need a steady nervous system! :)).
Originally Posted by Sini
Darlings, I put together our little “Prissy” in Photoshop from various AI-generated images. Unfortunately, I'm bad at drawing (and singing^^). Hope you like her as much as I do.
Oh what a cutie! <3 Thanks, I'll keep this cutie as a memento...
I was very careful in BG3 the first time through. Much more cautious than usual. An acquaintance of mine who also played BG3, had more time to play, and went further than me, even warned me to be careful! He managed to offer Wyll a dance at a party to cheer him up, and Wyll treated him like a “wife” afterward (can't remember which patch this was in, maybe he got into it before patch 1, then they seemed to fix it). The romance with Shadowheart went down the drain, there was no way to explain anything to Wyll, all in all, trouble... I was downright wary of this incident. Gale had offered to “show magic” at the party and the conversation was cut short by the fact that he will come at night. I immediately ran to Astarion after that to “activate” his offer, and replayed the dialog three more times at the end of the party to guarantee it. Then Gale, in Act 2, offered his “magic” again. I immediately suspected him, my thoughts were, “Yeah, you've got ‘magic’ in your pants, found a fool...” Now I know, Gale does show magic, and Tav themselves should take the initiative on their part, but... I suspected each and every one of them. I didn't hug Karlach, even though I still treated her well at the time, just to be on the safe side so there was no hint of romance. I didn't ask Halsin about his former lovers, just in case, but Halsin was sure I had asked him... And somehow in my head I thought that Astarion might get jealous and react badly if God forbid I got into something with these companions, that the relationships were hidden because he was sort of watching, distrusting and checking. Got my own imaginary “‘achievement’” by avoiding anything that just looks like cheating. 
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/ZB5GLnzF/Prissy-Kopie.png)
