Astarion - Blog Posts

Baldur's Gate fanartists will draw Astarion like a renaissance painting and Wyll like the cover of an adventure novel and Gale like a Leyendecker drawing and Karlach like the cover of a trashy romance novel (where she is the beefy hunk and her love interest is the swooning maiden) and Lae'zel like a knight in a manuscript and Shadowheart and Minthara like the cover of a lesbian pulp novel and Halsin coming out of a lake like the bear equivalent of the Birth of Venus and they're all so right

I'm proud to reveal that the Baldur's Gate stickers are for sale on my shop (please don't laugh at it, I'm still new at Big Cartel). I have about 20 stickers for each companion at the moment!

You can buy yours here

Companion stickers coming soon!

And then while I'm stuttering and panicking, Astarion just waltzes up, stands next to them with his arms also crossed, and with the biggest smarmiest grin says "Yes, darling, tell us. Who is Astarion?"

All I can think about is Fenris and Solas glaring at me, arms crossed, demanding that I explain exactly who this "Astarion" is that they've heard so much about

All I can think about is Fenris and Solas glaring at me, arms crossed, demanding that I explain exactly who this "Astarion" is that they've heard so much about

Seducing Astarion as a Rogue is fun!

the family planning is going great 👍

just thinking like….

astarion: this is my partner Durge, and that’s their girlfriend Shadowheart, and that’s Shadowheart’s girlfriend Karlach, and that’s Karlach’s girlfriend Minthara, and thats Minthara’s boyfriend Wyll, and thats Wyll’s girlfriend Lae’zel, and thats Lae’zel’s boyfriend Gale, and that’s Gale’s boyfriend Halsin

and they’re all just some big polycule that has no actual label but they all kiss sometimes

anyway i think all the companions and tav/durge in bg3 should kiss one another

I think ascended astarion is very Phantom of the Opera coded imo

Can people stop making Astarion' hair brown. I get it, fluffy brown hair Is like a shared weakness but Elves canonically can have silver-white hair. Not from aging, just that it's a hair color

i love my tavs but also i think they should kiss

Thinking about how spawn Astarion seems into cradling his SO's cheek/head (in the graveyard scene, and in the new patch 6 kiss).

Maybe this is an affectionate instinct borne out of this being the first person he really cares for and he just wants to hold them like that, like they're something precious, something he wants so close. The same way someone's hand might twitch to hold their lover's, Astarion feels this itch in his fingertips to let their cheek rest in his palm, so, so gently.

And he hasn't really had that itch like that before. A performative instinct, sure, he could pull those sorts of moves in his sleep, he knows them so well. But this is different. This is what he wants. And this is one of the first real affectionate moves he tends to initiate as he eases into being able to explore that freely.

When he pulls away in the new patch 6 kiss, his hand lingers in front of him, like it's still holding onto something, still holding onto that touch/warmth like he doesn't really want to let it go, but he also seems sort of struck/tickled by the not-wanting-to-let-go of it all. How novel. How sweet.

But also, maybe it's a grounding thing for him, as well, to keep himself tethered to that sweet moment with the one he loves, and not awash in so many memories he'd rather forget.

Idk I love how much effort and thought went into all these interactions and how much it speaks to the characters 🥰😭🥹

give him a break

based off one of my favorite text message screenshots

“My blood thirsty friend.”

🔥 commission by poof on twitter 🔥

Hello I love your bg3 content and your Dorian is so lovely! Can we get like an alternative reality with Dorian and Ascended Astarion? What would your headcannon be for them? 🙇

something like this, probably

okay i know astarion can potentially drain the mc to the point of death if they allow him to drink from them... BUT the persuasion check they have to pass to convince astarion to stop is only 5.

yeah it's higher than say a 2 but i still think this number is CRAZY LOW for a vampiric spawn who has been starved for centuries and has subsisted solely on the blood of vermin ever since he was turned. like this was his FIRST drink of PEOPLE blood, and all mc has to do basically is ask him nicely to stop. sorry to the people who failed the check OBVIOUSLY and this isn't saying it's not fucked up that he killed some of y'all (or that i wouldn't be annoyed if i ever fail and he kills my mc lmao). i'm just saying.. it's a REALLY low number for someone who's been starved and abused for so long, and is driven out of their mind w/ painful cravings every second of the day.

honestly i feel like it speaks to the little crack in astarion's emotional armor, and the tiny kernel of goodness beneath it that cazador couldn't crush.

I’m a fierce believer and defender of Smooth Brain Astarion (affectionate).

I love that, if left to his own devices, he ends up dead in a ditch. I love that this pasty menace of an elf is a walking disaster. I love that his brain produces one coherent thought per day, only to have it backfire on him later on. I love that his first choice in freedom is to unapologetically be the worst version of himself. Because it makes sense. 

That’s what abuse and trauma do to your brain—they fuck with it. 

And in Astarion’s defence, the man didn’t have to use his brain for nearly 200 years—it’s probably the very thing that kept him as alive as he can be; to survive 200 years of pure shit. 

And what use is his brain when his days and nights are dictated by someone else for as long as he can remember? When he has no say in what clothes he wears. When he doesn’t get to choose what or when to eat. When his body and mind aren’t his own, distorted by torture and hunger and self-loathing, forced to obey his vampiric master. Why use his brain when his survival depends exclusively on his abuser’s whims? 

Astarion could’ve come up with the most brilliant plan possible to escape Cazador or save a mark from their doom, but he never stood a chance of succeeding—which doesn’t mean that he didn’t get punished for trying (or even thinking about it) anyway.

Existing under Cazador was a game he couldn’t win, so why bother playing? 

And it’s only by chance that Astarion’s autonomy is returned to him literally overnight. It’s only natural that he’s overwhelmed by his newfound freedom. How is he expected to make sound decisions when he can’t even recall a time when he could do and say as he pleased? 

Of course Astarion is a walking disaster when he finds himself on that beach after the Nautiloid crash—and he’s fully aware of that! That’s why it’s so crucial for him to get on the player’s/other companion’s good side.

He’s self-aware enough to be so insecure about himself that he would rather trust a stranger’s capabilities than his own. 

Being a catastrophe of a person is part of Astarion’s character journey. Not only does he have to reclaim his personhood, he has to learn how to depend on his own brain again and I think that's such a painfully beautiful, important message Baldur’s Gate 3 sends. 

Because healing isn’t pretty. Nor is it easy.

You’re not alright the moment you’re free of whatever horrors you had to live through—and that’s ok! There’s time and room for you to adjust. 

And the moment Astarion feels more or less safe within his new environment, when he’s fed and treated like a person worthy of respect and consideration, his insights, skills and perception are crucial assets to the group.

Astarion knows his art and literature, and although his little remarks are unhinged at times, he's genuinely witty. Even his objections are, considering the circumstances, absolutely legitimate.

Personally, I love seeing Smooth Brain Astarion become more and more secure in his judgement the more Tav/other companions trust and support him.

Astarion is smart, his brain’s just been stewed for nearly 200 years.

Thinking about this line from Cazador and what implies:

I keep thinking about how strange and new must have been for Astarion to finally be surrounded by people who actually listen to him and no one there to punish him for speaking up. 

How it must have felt for him to be able to freely joke around and find that Tav actually laughs at his jokes and even joins in the fun. How new it must have been to be able to express himself and have people who actually listen to him and don't treat him like he is a nuisance, but truly listen to what he has to say. 

I imagine a Tav who just listens, even when he is complaining and whining on purpose, they listen and maybe smile a bit between themselves because they've seen through him, and they never tell him to shut up, they let him vent, they listen to his stories about Cazador, they laugh with him at his jokes. 

No wonder he falls so hard for Tav or becomes very fond of them in a friendship route.

After 200 years where even the Gods didn't care to listen, he has found someone who sits down with him and hears him out.

Astarion sees you're almost falling asleep and will drag you to bed now!

I would need this on like a daily basis. And I guess so do many of you - so let the vampire drag you to bed and GO! GET! SOME! SLEEP!

It was so late it could have been called early. Outside you could already hear the birds chirping, cheerfully greeting a new day. Which meant that it was more than high time to crawl into bed. And doubly so because you lived with a vampire who fared even worse with sunlight than you.

But you were still crouched over your desk and the papers there.

Your eyes were tired. You barely saw what you were working on anymore. And you knew you could get this done when you were fully rested and it would only take a matter of minutes. But you were so desperate to finish this.

Unfortunately, you had a tendency to be very determined (someone else usually called it stubborn but you always pretended you had gone deaf all of a sudden when that happened). But this tendency had brought you this far and probably saved your life more than once. And you wouldn't be bested by this piece of work!

But your head was slowly falling, your eyelids growing as heavy as lead.

And you only jumped back up when you heard that certain someone enter the room, being purposefully noisy to make you aware of it. You were grateful for that because if the vampire had snuck up on you, like he was fully capable of, it might have not ended well with you being this exhausted.

“Slacking off on the job, are we?” you heard his familiar teasing voice as he came closer. You felt his presence as he leaned on the table around you - basically caging you with his arms, sleeves rolled up to his elbows as usual. His lips were awfully close to your ear and the hairs on your neck stood on end as you didn't dare rip your eyes from your work.

“Don't you think this can wait, love?” he whispered now directly into your ear causing a hot and cold shiver to run down your spine.

But with this he had pushed the wrong button. Almost involuntarily you felt one of your eyebrows rise up and your lips forming a pout: “No, Astarion, I don't think it can wait.”

You turned your head around to face him and saw him smirk, making you even more annoyed at him. He leaned in closer, causing his chest to brush against your head now, his hands moved to cover yours.

“Do you really think a stack of papers can't wait more than your caring lover craving your calming touch?” he murmured with a pout that mirrored yours while his deft fingers freed your writing quill out of your angrily clenching fingers. You couldn't resist him long. His hands were used to open up more difficult things than your desperate grip on your writing utensils. Also his absolutely instrumentalized big red eyes he looked at you with were absolutely working their usual enchanting magic on you.

Not enough though for you to not make a snide remark about what was happening.

“Well, for starters the stack of papers doesn't talk back.”

“You think I'm funny, my love.”

“It also isn't as full of itself.”

A mockingly offended gasp while Astarion’s hands moved the papers out of your reach.

“My heart, you hurt me.”

“Ah see, it also doesn't guilt trip me.”

The vampire's hands wandered up over your arms to your shoulders. “I can't do right by you tonight, can I?”

“You could just let me keep working on my thing.”

A dramatic sigh and Astarion let his head fall forward and onto your shoulder. Then he let go of you and took a step back.

“Do you really want to keep working, dear?” he sounded sincere now and you suddenly felt true guilt as you looked at him. He stood there, arms crossed over his chest, eyes still awfully wide and shining.

But the urge to not keep business unfinished still had you in its claws.

After a few heartbeats you opened your lips to answer, but-

“Too bad, you're coming with me now, my love.” Astarion exclaimed and with rogue quickness grabbed your chair by the armrests to drag it away from the desk and turn it around to him. “You need your beauty sleep, I can't be seen walking around with a walking corpse!”

You squealed when you felt your body get yanked around so quickly while your tired brain was almost incapable of catching up. Thus you were almost confused when you had ended up on Astarion’s shoulder a moment later.

There was no energy left in your body to resist this infuriating man any longer so you just played the part of dead weight draped over his shoulder - since he had already coined you as such - and couldn't stop yourself from giggling.

“See, darling, I told you: you think I’m funny.”

“It's just sleep deprivation talking.”

“Ah, so you agree with that too.”

You resisted to answer him with something he would only twist around again to fit his agenda. Instead you just slapped his butt you had quite the delectable view of at the moment.

Astarion hissed and just slapped your behind in return. You only giggled more.

“I should have left you at your godsdamned desk, let you fall asleep right there to drool on the papers,” he murmured under his breath and ended it with something about how ungrateful you were while he threw open the bedroom door; your favourite drama queen.

Then he made quick work to get you off his shoulders with an exaggerated groan which you were sure wasn't fully acted.

As soon as your body hit your soft bed the last of your energy decided to evaporate into the aether. You were almost falling over if not for the vampire's quick reflexes catching your wrists.

With quick fingers and more snarky remarks you had no power to reply to anymore he undressed you to your underwear.

And with more overly dramatic groaning and a roll of his eyes since you provided absolutely no help did he turn you to lay down. He carefully placed your head on the pillows which you thanked him for with a dreamy sigh. Your eyes closed on your own. The blanket was thrown over you and more rustling told you that Astarion was quickly undressing as well.

When the mattress shifted under the vampire's weight as he got into bed next to you you barely even noticed it anymore.

With final efforts Astarion dragged you onto his chest. Your arms slung around him and your legs tangled with his automatically - you had done so hundreds if not thousands of times already.

“All this work just to get you where you belong,” Astarion whispered to you and clicked his tongue disapprovingly as he began rubbing lazy circles on your back. You only hummed contentedly as you felt your body relax fully into him and his touch.

Your last half-coherent thought as you drifted off to sleep was that, indeed, you had to agree with him on this one: you were right where you were supposed to be.

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When I say that "no one cares about/likes Astarion," you need to pay attention to storytelling and character development. It's part of Astarion's entire arc and EXTREMELY hard to miss.

He tells you several times that no one cares about him throughout the game, and because of his arc, he is right. He even has a rant about it after his siblings try to kidnap him in Act 3. No one is like Tav. No one gives a damn. Tav is the only one who remains at his side, going above and beyond for him, and is the only one making a change in his life. It could be why he's such a ride-or-die for them, no matter their decisions. This means that none of the other companions are all that interested in doing that for him. They are just there because Tav is there, not for him. Astarion only got as far as he did because Tav is the only one who cares. Without Tav, Astarion will die in a ditch, or worse.

Hell, the WHOLE REASON he's the way he is is because no one cares for him. He's spicy in the same way a feral cat is and will only warm up to people who actively make an effort to help him or he feels safe around. He doesn't like seeing Tav helping others because he didn't get help when he needed it. He hates hero types because of this. If someone cared about what happened to him, he most likely wouldn't be in the situation he's in now. Even if you like someone, you don't want bad things to happen to them. You can try to make an argument that the companions do care about him, but it's nowhere near enough for Astarion to take notice.

I would say not to hinge on gameplay to prove this, considering a lot of it is mechanics and how your companions will side with Tav no matter what they do minus a few situations, but there are hints of it here and there. No one gets angry if something happens to him or leaves to "go help him". It's "he was bound to be trouble," "he was useful, oh well," or "We have bigger things to worry about." Even then, there may be a "he will be missed" comment thrown in but nothing else. I'm not even sure if there's dialogue from the companions from his Act 3 kidnapping because even Astarion himself doesn't comment when you save him.

Warming up to him is not the same as caring about him. It just makes one more tolerable to be around and the only reason he's around them is they have a common goal. Gale was blunt about that after being told to blow up due to Mystra if you don't romance him (though that may have been softened due to one of the patches). These are just a random gaggle of people thrown together for a single purpose and if you don't make an effort to help them, they stay that way.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE seeing art of everyone in the camp chasing after Astarion to try to protect him from the sun, but it only reminds me that no one moved a muscle to go see if he was okay and just commented on it instead.

[durgestarion] kissing the murder puppy 🐶

Still can’t get over how beautiful Astarion is. Like goddamn

This can be any iteration of Geralt, but I'm picturing TW3

writing dialogue for Astarion in like a normal text editor is very difficult actually because it feels like all his dialogue should be created with WordArt

~ A slave to sanguine hunger. ~

I know, the quality of this pic is horrendous (I have to find out how to screenshot on my pc instead of taking a picture of it with my phone) but I just wanted to photograph this because I was so surprised to see that I have 100 approval with the lovely vampire. Especially when you look at the fact that I’m playing as a good character (can’t ever bring myself to do an evil playthrough, sorry) and I did NOT think he’d approve of me this much. For reference, this was taken in Act 2.

It's always a pleasure to see you sauntering over.

this is fucking hilarious lmao

i saw said posts, and they are gold

I‘m sooo normal (feral) about them

The thing that Baldur's Gate got right is that each companion is both extremely cool, tempered with an appropriate dose of cringe.

Gale is a powerful wizard. He uses the phrase 'pish posh' unironically.

Lae'zel is a badass. She asks you to fight her and then gets emotional because you're fighting even though that was her idea.

Karlach. Badass. But we've all seen her idle dance moves.

Wyll is this swashbuckling vigilante and he has a pose he does whenever he says his own superhero name.

Shadowheart. Dark backstory, still striving so hard for the light. Makes a joke about poisonous flowers that falls incredibly flat.

Astarion. Capable rogue and a dangerous vampire. He practises his one-liners ahead of time. Within earshot of the people he wants to use them on.

a MUCH better love story than twilight

Astarion’s simple plan