#astarion for ts

[antivanbrandy]

hey I have a Q about BG3!!! And romancing elven vampire man. How are you romancing him and how do u like it so far? I love his energy and personality he just seems so into cruelty and evil decisions I can’t bring him trips LOL…… and I didn’t know if that carries into his romance, so haven’t pursued him.

hi hun! a quick heads up for you and anyone else reading this, but there be (light) spoilers in this here reply <3

so i finished my first playthrough two days ago, and romanced Astarion with a chaotic good tiefling lore bard, Rhapsody. i took him EVERYWHERE, and only left him in camp once because i needed three of the others at the same time, and i hated every second he wasn't in my party xD

i found it surprisingly easy to get his approval up, and never had to deviate from the actions my goody two shoes 'please let me help you' tav would take. his disapporval hits were never more than 1 out of 100, so in the grand scheme of things it really didn't make too much difference. there was a section in act 1 where it felt like Rhaps was immediately losing every step of ground she made with him, but by the time i got to act 2 and got the post-Araj Oblodra scene, he was sitting at mid 70s approval, and once i hit act 3 he was at max 100. the more you get into the story and the more opportunities you're given to listen to him, learn about his past, and help him, the more he warms up to you and begins to see things from your side

i found that by as early as mid act 2, he was beginning to be charmed by how kindhearted a good-aligned tav is, and from memory there were two seperate soft conversations he had with Rhapsody where he mentioned how kind she is and how much of an anomaly she is in his experience

it's genuinely become my absolute favourite video game romance i've ever experienced, hands down. i cannot overstate just how rewarding it feels to stick by this man as he learns about himself and his new place in the world, reclaims his bodily autonomy, and learns that cruelty and power aren't the only options open to him ;u; he still has his jerk moments of course, being a bratty little shit is part of his personality after all lol, but, just, god. the way this man becomes soft and sweet and caring with a tav who's there for him.... the way he learns about non sexual intimacy and affection.... my god, i just adore every second. i highly recommend sticking with him! he's so worth it TuT

[loquaciousquark]

hello quark! i've gotten to the szarr palace again in bg3 and am now super curious about tavish and astarion's thoughts about amanita szarr and vellioth! i imagine personally that astarion had no idea amanita even existed, and that finding out about vellioth's rules might give him a knee-jerk but ultimately conflicted rejection response—something about how those rules are why cazador treated him so poorly, so he rejects them on principle, but also his life experience has been such that he actually agrees with them... it'd be a tangle for him to try to work through, i think, but what about you? what are your thoughts?

I! LOVE! THIS! QUESTION!! Thank you so much for asking!

I definitely agree that Astarion had no idea Amanita existed. That Cazador had turned a full vampire and then imprisoned her in their attic; that she was resisting her compulsions and defying Cazador's orders; that a powerful vampire hated Cazador as much as Astarion did? No way. No way does Cazador ever let Astarion or any of the other spawn even get a hint of her existence. I don't even know if she knew very much about them, actually; I think if she really thought there was someone she could help or someone she could ally with in this very lonely, isolated existence, her journal entries wouldn't have been quite so despairing.

(Sidebar: I adore the tragedy of the attic in the Cazador mansion being the only place that allows in some shafts of light. I bet he did that to her on purpose.)

After finding out about her existence, I think Astarion would be conflicted at first, then decide that if she's abandoned them all, he's not going to waste another thought on her. He didn't know her, she didn't know him, and if she fled without helping them, he's not going to worry about where she's gone. He'd have even less of an interest in her outcome than his siblings, I think, and those relationships are already contentious at best.

Now, Vellioth--I think that's another story. Finding out that Cazador, who has effectively set himself up as god-emperor to the spawn, the source of all pain and pleasure and the total sum of their universe, couldn't even come up with his own base set of rules? Finding out that Cazador is just one more link in an endless chain of suffering?

Man, I think it'd be rough for Astarion. I can easily see him going in a circle of laughing at Cazador for being a pathetic copycat -> a pathetic copycat enslaved me for 200 years -> does that make me even more pathetic than I originally thought -> is my escape therefore worth less in the grand scheme of justice -> no, what I did was great and good -> Cazador was pathetic but he was also powerful -> it is admirable that I killed him and therefore he must have had intrinsic value as an enemy -> Cazador was powerful in his own way even if he stole from Vellioth -> Cazador stole everything from Vellioth & was nothing more than a pathetic copycat, and so forth. Exhausting!

Once he got over the initial surprise, I do think he would have looked back at his time under Cazador and wonder if it needed to be reframed. The account of Cazador's impalement is horrifying. The brutal murder of Cazador's friend (Cazador had a friend!) is horrifying. And at the end of that horror, Vellioth still made Cazador a full vampire.

What does that mean for Astarion? Did Cazador really think he was being merciful by only imprisoning him for a year? Would Cazador have ever fully turned him if the ritual hadn't come into play? Probably not--probably he's just as cruel as Astarion always thought he was, and likely even more, but I think it's one last element of rug-pulling viciousness from Cazador to Astarion right at the end, one last time. Cazador dies, and Astarion can't even be unquestioningly happy about it.

As far as Astarion internalizing those rules, I think post-Cazador's death, he has a kneejerk rejection of anything like them for himself, just like you say. I do think if he's not checked by Tav/his LI, he may unconsciously lean into similar rules for them (see: the nearly identical ruleset he gives a turned Tav after Ascending), but I think a spawn Astarion with a healthy relationship could be coaxed out of that mindset given enough time & support.

An incredible question. Thank you so much for asking! :D

[seraphsfire]

them: we are going to give astarion soft curly hair and little ears that stick up and big sad eyes with doll eyelashes, and make him 5’9, he is so delicate you can blow him over. Also he can’t shut up about eating corpse blood and sucking toes

[sweet-milky-tea705]

Vere and astarion are a little similar if you think about it okay do you see my vision. i havent played bg3 yet but i have watched a lot of clips and such and i just think they are similar. dangerous sexy but also trapped and murder and hunger and angst and lust and possession. SEE MY VISION. Also they both serve immeasurable cunt

Same fucking guy but one is cherry flavor

[thanflowers]

most recently i've only received anon hate on my tav bg3 blog for *checks notes* talking about my muse's relationship with astarion.

[skullmoss]

anyway i do have my sights set on harding for dragon age the veilguard because i have been waiting 10,000+ years for a dwarf romance option in this fucking series & i love harding

but finding out davrin is being written by the guy who wrote for garrus in mass effect 3 (and the fact his VA voiced javik) has me.............knowing im going to be fighting for my life choosing which character i'll have my first rook pursue.

[giftcardashik]

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[eritvita]

And his attention snaps back to him, pert as a honeybee, that flow of golden Serendipity. Attention draws as fine as a silver'd Thread in this metallic Metaphor as Astarion disrobes and lounges and strikes a figure of perfected, marble'd Body, that white lace to drape fantastically o'er biceps and pectorals and the satisfying Shape of his peeking collarbones.

Roland swallows heavily, his tongue grown swollen and his mouth to borne dry, and what better Moment in superfluous Movement to uncork that stolen, Night-frozen mead? He saunters and sways taut hips and masculine shoulders, and rests himself heavily in that velvet-backed chair, nearby to this private circling of a table and seating arrangements.

To take that natural Thought of the Artes so incredibly serious, of colors and songs and see-saws of iridescent light, Roland hums, and stares directly for scrutiny upon his squinted brows. "Thou art red-eyed," mentions he. "Rubies of lustrous geometry, and thereby thou'rt connected aftways 'pon the Wheel of Colors: green is thine opposite, of emerald shine to that soft burn of the pine amidst a cold, dampened Wood. But, then so," continues Roland, as he pops his cork and tenders with a close, unoccupied goblet, all wreathed in carved gold and clean by the smell of the rim.

He pours his mead, and offers the goblet wordlessly as Passing: a'wondered of salivation, of consumption? 'twards that need of the Sanguine Acts. "-- thine skin is burnished pale with nary a blemish of mottled skin; a dazzling blue, a soft, powdery sky, wouldst settle marvelously upon thine form and belly. Of which wouldst thou prefer?"

And lo, that subtle seduction of the resting of his own: that long drape of Roland's shoulders and thighs, that relaxed breath to contort himself forcibly and effortlessly onto that sublime line of supine Comfort. His grin is lazy, his eyes borne low-lidded and darkly fine.

While Roland answers his question, Astarion's gaze is focused, his brows pulled closer together. Not a common actor after all, then. But still not a robber either, even if he is a thief of wine and cookies. Astarion is about to follow up when Roland asks him something entirely absurd, and he barks out a breathless laugh.

A question for a question, he supposes. Astarion's Mage Hand invisibly locks the door behind him as Astarion himself lights the fireplace in the interest of making Roland more comfortable. "Hmm... gold?" The color of the sun. Of wealth. "I'm not sure that's my color, though. You'll have to tell me what makes me look best."

He removes his waistcoat and reclines on a chaise, his eyes following Roland. He has more questions: if the strange circumstances of Roland's birth have anything to do with why he smells uncommonly delicious. What other worlds he's visited. But Astarion, too, is hungry and eager, but not so much so that he'll cut short Roland's wandering.

[silly-goofy-bg3-things]

Being a male Dragonborn at camp be like:

Durge: *thinking* I think my companions might all be neurodivergent. Only Whithers makes eye contact with me. Wyll:*Glances respectfully before looking away* Gale:*Looks respectfully* Astarion:*looks disrespectfully* Shadowheart:*looks respectfully while sober but after too much wine the respect vanishes* Lae’zell:*looks semirespectfully* Karlach:*looks respectfully trying not say “nice t!ts”

[multi-fandom-imagine]

Neil confirming Astarion wants kids

I’m gonna have to write more fics about him being a dad!

Just Astarion / Tav { Reader } and a gaggle of kids running around.

And a smutty Breeding kink fic

[beeandthescreen]

Painting an OG pookiebear. This is a revamped oldie from a year ago! I just blended the shit out of it. He’s so tortured Loki-pilled. I love him so much.

I also love the headcanon that whenever someone paints Astarion it’s from the point of view of TAV. So, rn I’m Tav gifting ts to him. Embrace delusion.

Procreate!

TikTok Post

[loquaciousquark]

The Great Counting House Docks Heist

THE RULES

face value awarded for all materials stolen: all materials must be sold post-heist by a neutral third party (Gale) to avoid CHA- or theft-based adjustments of cost

natural 20: +250gp bonus

successful pickpocket of any guard: +100gp bonus

disabling an alarm: +100gp bonus

any detection or accusation of theft: -500gp bonus each

THE SETUP

each Thief will be given a scroll of Haste, which must be cast & concentrated on by the respective Heister

each Thief will be additionally buffed with one casting of Greater Invisibility by a neutral compatriot, who will remain unmoving in a safe zone at all times

each Thief will have his or her inventory fully emptied prior to the Heist*

each Thief will have all curses, poisons, bloodlessness, divine disfavor, or any other negative status effect removed prior to the Heist

any potion, elixir, divine blessing, or other imbibement which would provide a material advantage to the Heister must be removed prior to the Heist†

no previously looted keys to any chest, lock, door, or crate may be used by either Thief

the bounds will be from easternmost docks alarm-stand to westernmost alarm-stand, with the northern border being the Counting House doors & the southern border being the Chionthar; no Thief shall leave the bounded area at any point

THE HEIST

Shadowheart & Gale are the Greater Invisibility casters for Tav & Astarion, respectively. From the perspective of the above screenshot, Tav takes the rightmost boat and Astarion takes the left. While I've robbed these docks before, it was on my last playthrough & done entirely with one character, so I have absolutely no idea which boats contain anything of value.

Immediately, I'm surprised by how little Tav's Thief-based extra bonus action helps. I was worried it'd give her extra mobility, but she's limited by the lockpick action rather than her speed, and I have to end several of her turns early with her sitting on a chest and kicking her heels.

Guard distribution is very equal between boats. The Steel Watchers move fairly quickly, and the guards have comprehensive pathing within the target area.

The locks range from DC 10 to DC 20. None pose any issue for either Astarion or Tav.

Astarion immediately rolls two natural 20s within his first few chests. Tav successfully pickpockets a patrolling guard of 23 gold, a Docks Chest key, and a torch.

Both Tav & Astarion successfully disable their alarms.

Astarion pickpockets a guard of 23 gold.

Both Tav & Astarion completely wipe their respective boats of all wares, including paintings, chest contents, and food, without detection.

On the final approach back to the Counting House (which they did at approximately the same time), there are a pair of guards on either side of the doors. Tav successfully pickpockets hers of 6 gold and re-enters the Counting House. Astarion, on the last check of the entire heist, rolls a 2 and is detected.

Chaos breaks out immediately. Astarion is accused of theft and, while able to persuade his way out of prison, is thrown from the Counting House. (He'll claim he got caught on purpose for a more expedient escape.)

The docks guards realize theft has occurred and begin accusing everyone they can reach. This includes Gale, Shadowheart, Minsc, Jaheira, and—tragically—Tav. One by one, everyone either claims innocence or Persuades their way out of trouble. I can barely take two steps in any direction without being accosted by a guard.

The chaos brings some of the internal guards up to investigate, where they discover the interior thefts from the previous ransacking of the Counting House during Minsc's quest. The rounds begin again, though Tav manages to avoid accusation this time.

Eventually, both thieves manage to escape, along with the rest of the party, clutching their ill-gotten gains.

THE RESULTS

Gale acts as intermediary with Dammon, the only merchant in the game Tav hasn't stolen from. (This is because I, Quark, was challenged in Act 1 to not ever steal from him again, and @probablylostrightnow rolled a 16 with inspiration & Guidance from @bettydice on a DC 16 Persuade check against me. This is a holy binding to which I have adhered religiously.)

ASTARION'S WARES TOTAL: 1636 GP

TAV'S WARES TOTAL: 2602 GP

ASTARION BONUS ADJUSTMENT: two natural 20s, one successful pickpocket, one disabled alarm, one unsuccessful pickpocket resulting in detection & accusation of theft:

250 + 250 + 100 + 100 - 500 - 500 = -300gp to final score

TAV BONUS ADJUSTMENT: no natural 20s, two successful pickpockets, one disabled alarm, one accusation of theft:

100 + 100 + 100 - 500 = -200gp to final score

FINAL SCORES

ASTARION: 1336 GP

TAV: 2402 GP

WINNER: TAV

*soul-bound relics, prisms, prisons, or weaponry excluded

†permanent blessings, benefits, or buffs which would disappear only on death excluded

[abysskeeper]

In trying to find music, I have discovered at least one person has broken Dan Avidan's cover of 'Everytime We Touch' out of containment for an Astarion GMV.

And you know what? Until TS comes out...I think that's the only appropriate way to use it.

[bethrnoora]

putting astarion on the ts blacklist. finally. peace and quiet

[angelicgaming1007]

The Gur

So this is my opinion, prefacing this with that. Feel free to feel differently. Just don't come at me for it.

I killed all the Gur when I found them in act 3 pre-cazador It saved me the fight post Cazador when I ascended him and it was satisfying to do. WHY I did it: The Gur are part of the reason he even is a vampire, Cazador wouldn't have been able to change him if they didn't attack him to death. I do not like the Gur. One bit. Astarion didn't have much choice in helping Cazador but they act like hes doing all of it for sh*ts and giggles for himself. I don't know what decision he made as a Magistrate (and im sure there would have been other methods besides beating him to death to do something about it. I strongly doubt it was anything utterly heinous and major like burning down a village and slaughtering everyone in it. Some sh*t like that which WOULD have deserved it) haven't seen anything on it in game. But I'm pretty sure being beat to death then 200 years of being forced to commit heinous acts while being tortured all with plans to be sacrificed for a ritual well makes up for that and beyond. I get they are pained from losing their kids but FFS they are MONSTER HUNTERS, they should know how vampire spawn and their sire works. If he declined he could just be COMPELLED and would likely also face MORE torture for defying Cazador, either way he was FORCED into it no matter how you look at it. So to be like "You have to do this for us or you die" and laying heavily all of the sins on him like hes fully responsible and is some evil monster. I hate them I really hate them. And I will kill them 1000x over every playthrough with a smile on my face EVEN if im going to make him stay a spawn on some of them. just because I know now that I CAN. And before anyone comes at me with "They are grieving" Okay? I get that, but they also need to get that it was never his choice. He didn't have one. And you know damned well anyone including the Gur would do the same things in the same situation because they would not have the choice. I'm not saying they have to forgive him, But he doesn't owe them his life and they do not have the right to continuously try to kill him and threaten his life after 200 years of pure hell and torture. I have sympathy for the children of the Gur. I do not have sympathy for the Gur themselves because of all of this.

[pociondeodio]

i was like oh i always get to go first in combat bc i'm the main character & the most specialest girl <3

but no, my pc is a gloomstalker ranger and he has insane dexterity and a +3 to initiative lmao