Another Teclis comment... Which is ironic, because Teclis isn't exactly a paragon of masculinity, is he? FYI, High Elves are literally a race of largely "pansies", with higher pitched voices, slender bodies like teenagers, and mostly just prancing about and preaching their own superiority to everybody else. I'm just saying, if one is into manly man stereotypes then the High Elves of WFB really isn't the place to look.
But getting back on topic, I personally find Astarion's behavior suitable of some pampered city elf with delusions of class, which is what Astarion used to be, once upon a time. Think of Tim Roth's Cunningham in Rob Roy. Grandiose body language, excessive gesturing, and very much differentiated from the plainness and bluntness of the lessers in society.
What bothers me about him is that he's a total dick with not an ounce of morality anywhere. He strikes me as a severe case of a manipulative psychopath that enjoys getting his way and hurting people and who will say and do anything to keep up the charade that he's on your side. I have a very hard time thinking of him as anything but chaotic evil and those types just aren't good company, IMO. He admits as much himself, saying that he wants to use the power of the tadpole to break the rules and do whatever he wants. How is that anything but CE, particularly when coming from a vampire that really enjoys human blood?
