r/AstarionBG3

Currently on my first run as Astarion (good aligned) and I can't decide who to romance. These are the ones I'm considering:

- Gale: I generally love this character but I never romanced him and I probably never will while not playing as Astarion. they have great chemistry.

- Halsin: because I'm a Halsin stan and I think they'd be sweet together. but I regularly romance him as Tav so I probably won't see anything new in their dialoges.

- Minthara: probably a better choice for an evil run. have romanced her before as Tav and Durge. I'm not even sure if I want to save her this time. doesn't seem very Astarion-like to not kill a person when they're already fighting.

- Karlach: similar to Gale. I love her but never romanced her before. though I'm not sure if you can save her if you don't ascend.

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EDIT: BI /PAN CAN HAVE PREFERENCES! I know this! I should’ve worded my question in a less inflammatory way but I can’t edit it now. This is not a question about what his sexuality really is or headcannons but about the writer’s deliberate choice to have some very visible connections of his to be male while also not explicitly specifying he has a preference. If anything I thought the choice led to bi erasure from a media standpoint and feeds a lot of the “Astarion is gay arguments *even though they’re wrong.*

- Sebastian
- The darling boy story
- In the ascended origin epilogue, he reaches out to a male npc
- The upcoming prequel

I guess you could argue coincidence, but if you’re just looking at M/F there was a 6% chance he would randomly be with male each time. And this *isn’t* random—each of these instances was a choice by the creator of that content. So where the heck are all the ladies?

Back when BG3 was newer I remember hearing people argue that Astarion is gay, and others would correct them, often citing bi erasure. But is it any wonder some came to that conclusion when the most flamboyant character is only shown with men? Call me ridiculous but it actually made me feel like I was doing something wrong romancing him when I exclusively play female Tavs (edit: I don’t feel that way now knowing he’s canonically pan)

So what gives?

EDIT: I should clarify my question. Why was the choice made by the creators to consistently pair him with men if he’s canonically pan? This is a question about media portrayal, not about if bi/pan characters can have preferences

I've been hit with a horrible cold. It's gotten me weak and I still have to look after an elderly parent. I have not touched BG3 for days and I miss Astarion.

Would greatly appreciate it if you cool peeps would share Astarion pics. I miss him so terribly 😔

Please and thank you 😊

Update: Still feeling icky, but you all gave so kindly. My heart is bursting with gratitude. Thank you, everyone. I will turn in for the night. You are all such a terrific group.