Halsin's sexiest feature isn't his kind eyes or his toothy, goofy smiles. It isn't his big, muscular body. It isn't that he's pretty well endowed or that he actually knows what the fuck he's doing in the bedroom. Instead, It's that quiet self confidence that makes him so sure of himself and what he wants. He knows who he is, what his kinks and boundaries are, and what he likes. He is unafraid to make his move.
I love that Halsin doesn't play head games, nor does he say anything to try and manipulate the player into saying yes. He's just Halsin, and what you see from him, or ask of him, is exactly what you get.
He is unabashedly real with his partners, and that's wonderful.
Thoughts on Astarion I haven't seen around fandom yet and I'm wondering if I'm the only one with this interpretation?
His blood lust is very addict coded. He's always on some level thinking about blood, and the game does a fair job at showing addict behavior from the hoarding of blood bottles in his tent, the messy behavior, the cravings, being distracted thinking sbout it, etc. Now of course his is actual FOOD , but INTERESTINGLY since he can't starve 'to death' (only to the point of near death) the parallels to addiction remain incredibly strong.
Everyone agrees that even Astarion sees himself as a prostitute, but I haven't seen anyone look at the blood/drug connection yet.
The way Cazador fed him bugs and putrid rats made me think of how pimps withhold drugs to make prostitutes incapacitated. Its also why they get them hooked to begin with (ensures loyalty, you control their access). He steals Astarion, turns him, controls him, uses his body to bring back victims.
A prostitute gets kidnapped, hooked on drugs, and their bodies are used to bring back money.
When we first meet Astarion he's an addict that is starved of his product. Suddenly SURROUNDED by it and with no Cazador (no pimp) to restrict or deny access. Blood lust (cravings) distract him in conversation. He frequently zones out fixating on it.
In case anyone was interested, here’s the funniest and bizarrest thing I encountered in my Druid playthrough of BG3 in the Shadow Cursed Lands and how Astarion killed Shadowheart with a Potion of Greater Healing.
A brief dramatization.
I wish it was a joke.
*Currently in battle with shadow cursed tree creatures*
Shadowheart: Help! I need healing!
Tav: Astarion has all the healing potions! Throw something!