Always Let Astarion Vandalize The Vlaakith Portrait, As A Treat. He Deserves It.

Radiant Hopeful

BG3 roleplay nonsense

I love doing silly little inconsequential things in this game to give me serotonin, including:

Collecting all the rocks and minerals I find and keeping them in a pouch. 

Giving all the random teddy bears we find to Karlach to hold in her inventory

Giving Astarion a piece of malachite for his inventory because the flavor text says there’s superstition about it helping bad dreams

Giving Astarion one of the blood bank bottles to keep in his inventory so he always has a snack on hand

Giving Shadowheart ALL the night orchids

Giving Shadowheart the little statue of Selune in act 3

Letting Lae’zel carry the Githyanki egg the whole time 

Making act 1 Karlach pet Scratch and the owlbear cub because she can touch them without them bursting into flames, and she needs the comfort

Picking up the bodies of any innocent people who die and laying them somewhere nice for a little funeral

Throwing the Gortash propaganda posters on the ground

Having Astarion bite my character at the beginning of the day so he’s happy (it's worth the spell slot to fix bloodless idc)

Leaving the personal effects on corpses (letters from loved ones, keepsake items, etc.)

Talking to every animal in the game

Dying everyone’s armor to match their color scheme (that i made up)

Talking to everyone in camp/ petting the critters every. Single. Long rest. 

Making sure everyone has at least some time in the party, not just my faves… 

Letting Astarion pickpocket often, for morale

My character is constantly getting encumbered but I refuse to make the squishy characters carry more than thirty pounds. (Especially Astarion. Wouldn't want him to break a nail.)

Absolutely. As much as I love dramatic romance, I think there's a beautiful subtlety to Astarion's romance storyline. This slow-burn relationship where he only really, truly confesses his love with confidence after defeating Cazador would feel cheapened if he just suddenly flipped a switch into calling us his soulmate or something. Although I believe that he probably feels more strongly than he's willing to admit, as is typical of him. He's not exactly the best at putting his vulnerable feelings into words. I also *love* that, like you said, the playfulness in this comment of his shows a comfort and equality in the relationship. He's not a lovestruck puppy who worships the ground we walk on; he's an equal partner. That's important for any romance story, but especially his, I think.

I swear, this is why I love this game (and Astarion in particular) so much. We can sit here and talk about a single line of dialogue and pick apart all the layers. It's beautiful.

“What are we to you?”

“Nothing special, of course. You're only the first person who I truly care for.”

While this is not that perfectly quotable bon mot you can slap on a t-shirt, so far it's my personal favourite when it comes to spawn Astarion dialogues. (Still a few quests away from finishing the game, but slowly getting there!)

If the player hoped that after hours of hearing I don't know. But isn't it nice not to know? (which I also adore) they'll get something more definite and old-school romantic, they were wrong. (Well, maybe not wrong; the cemetery scene is still there, both touching and heartwrenching.)

What do we get instead? Astarion’s trademark sarcasm. A dramatic sigh followed by an annoyed Nothing special, of course. As in: Tav, do you really need to ask such stupid questions? Do you really need me to spell it out for you?

And I mean, casually calling your loved one ‘nothing special’ right into their face? If you can allow yourself a joke like this and you both laugh, you know you're in a place of comfort.

You're only the first person who I truly care for – yet, a confession follows, and again, I appreciate the just right mixture of quip, candour and informality. No lofty professions of undying love, thank the gods. Astarion’s body language is delicious, too. That motion as if he’s playfully tapping Tav on the arm? But I especially love the cheeky smile as he glances to the side. He’s such an adorable rascal during this dialogue.

The whole line is punctuated by Astarion clearing his throat. I’ve seen someone write it’s a telltale sign of him being genuine. Perhaps there's a tiny hint of self-consciousness, too, because he’s so much more used to all those fake, turgid pick-up lines.

No worries, Astarion, you're doing great. Please don't ever lose that smart mouth of yours.

Have I just written a small wall of text about a single line of dialogue? Quite possibly, yes.

Love it when you have to suspend your disbelief over the fact that a character is able to function on any level given what they've been through. My boy is impossibly well-adjusted.

What does it say about me that I feel like having a brain that works the way Harry Du Bois' does would be cool and efficient?

Whichever Copotype you get the first time you play Disco Elysium should be some sort of diagnostic criteria. Why yes, I did get Sorry Cop.

larian writers, with hands placed on astarions shoulders like a proud parent: this is a thoughtful and touching narrative about male victims of abuse

fans: hey, thats fuckin sweet! do you have any more of these stories in your game?

larian writers, grimacing as they turn their heads towards wyll and gale: okay so, in our defense, it gets kinda murky when its a hot white woman doing it

gale stans: wasnt he groomed?

larian writers: but he liked it? his ultimate goal is to get back with her :)

wyll stans: isnt it kinda gross that the devil who owns his soul keeps blatantly sexually harassing him in front of everyone as a form of humiliation-based punishment?

larian writers and also whoever the fuck wrote that christmas animation (you motherfucker, when i fucking get you i stg): i know canon says otherwise, but he secretly wants her. dont you want her? you can fuck her if youd like

halsin stans: hey, so, uh-

larian writers, sprinting out of the room:

It's Astarion time.

After a lot of testing and a healthy dose of stress, the party are readying for one last adventure to mark the end of an era. But something feels different…

More artists should really draw their favorite ships in the Disco Elysium jackets. It's character analysis to say which character would wear which jacket.

It will never not be funny to me that Withers, who barely goes out of his way to say anything the entire game, takes time out of his day to say "I know you think this is a dating sim, but please, we do in fact have to save the world"