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About my Tav falling for him, tbh I can't say when it happened because I don't know when I fell for him. It was all just slowly liking him more and more with each moment. I had to replay all of Act 2 because his romance had bugged so it makes it even more confusing to create an RP timeline for her. Also his evil tendencies in Act 2 were concerning to her so I would say I can see her falling for him around that time- if powerhunger didn't scare her off, nothing could.
His timeline is easier to pinpoint I think. I feel like after that first night together, he started feeling things and wondering wtf was up, especially in that line where he says it's hard not to have fun with her, he sounds like he's concerned about how much fun he's having. In the dev notes it says in Act 2 if you are in a love triangle, he's pushing down his own feelings by letting Tav go. These confessions are before his so he's caught feelings way before his confession. During the actual confession, I think he's ready to admit he wants a commited relationship even if he's not ready for one, because his feelings for Tav are deep and because there is trust established as well. By act 3 he feels safe and cherished so he's more confident to say things out loud and start trying things again.
My durge sorcerer fell in love with him at first sight, or something like love? I described it to my wife as imprinting, like Durge is an evil duckling. In her blind panic at realizing she has no memories and no reference on how to perform socially, I think she attached herself to the first person she recognizes as being *like her* in some fundamental way. He gives her a vantage point to view the world through, and she doesn't have to explain herself to him; he just knows.
I like to think she comforted him in the same way on a psychological level, but given his fear and distrust, I don't think that translated into love for him. It's more like they're both subconsciously relieved the other is there if that makes sense? The need for comfort and shared experience drive them toward one another.
I think trying to kill him in Act 2 was probably the turning point for both of them, in terms of how they viewed each other, bc neither of them realiy know what love feels like. I would imagine that's the moment Astarion realized that he was going to stick it out with this person, for better or worse. For Durge, it was the first time she was confronted with the possibility of killing someone she actually cares about, and realizing the depth of what caring for someone actually means. The scene means a lot to my canon, bc it finally motivates Durge to break through the cycle of generational violence, and pushes her to help him break the cycle he's in as well.
Omg..evil duckling sounds so accurate. That is exactly how my lil Durge feels. Confused and lost and then someone who gets her shows up and she swoons. And it helps that he's stunning.
I literally cannot play as a Tav anymore because of that scene. Ugh. So good.
You get it! For my Durge, personally, it was less swooning and more "oh thank God there's someone who feels the way I do" followed by a big sigh of relief.
I also hc that she's quite jealous and possessive of him almost immediately for that reason, even when it's inappropriate and before they've even formed a proper relationship. It takes a loooong time, building bonds with the other companions, and almost killing him to realize that not only is that behavior hurting him, but she herself is also a major threat to him. She was basically RUNNING to get away from Bhaal after that.
I think my Durge is possessive and clingy and jealous early on too. She means it when she says he is hurt when he is looking at other necks! And she would go just go off on araj if I didn't plan to do it later instead. This bitch looking at her boy like a bit of meat? Not cool Drow lady,.not cool.
My Durge bard probably caught feelings pretty early on, when Astarion noticed how hard she was struggling with her urges. But she was such a mess emotionally that she didn't start to realize properly until act 2. She spent act 1 essentially using all the companions for whatever comfort she could get, physical intimacy for preference. Especially after the death of Alfira, which broke her heart. It wasn't until act 2 when Lae'zel confessed her feelings, quickly followed by Wyll, that she realized just how manipulative she'd been and started trying to make amends. And realized that of all her companions there was only one she felt a genuine connection to. From there they became an adorable pair of damaged dum dums trying to sort everything out! It's my favourite run to date.
For Astarion I agree with the other comments here that it takes him a long time to be able to put words around his emotions. My HC for my Durge was he starts to realize his feelings might be love the night she tries to kill him. "You've got this, and I've got you". š„°
Both Astarion and my criminal wood elf Tav fell hard for each other after the fight with Grym. All my other party members were dead, Astarion was seconds from it, and suddenly Tav is there, leaping over his prone body to get Grym's attention, teeth bared. Their tent had to be pitched a long way from the others that night!
Ok ācriminal wood elf Tavā had my instant love and then falling in love after Grym? Ugh youāre after my own heart. If you have any fic postings Iād love to dote on them. š„¹
You made my day with such a kind comment, thank you ā¤ļø. So far their story only exists in my head/in game and not written down! But I love her a lot, maybe I should try to write something. She's an assassin for hire from Baldur's Gate, but to begin with she doesn't trust anyone so just pretends to be an ordinary ranger (multicasting head canon lol). Obviously our boy sees right through her and shenanigans ensue š
Ahh yasss! I see an incredible lack of believable stories with Tav being another elf/with a readable thief or rogue background. Iām a huge fan of anything Tav related being another rogue or something similar to Astarion. I mean literally you gain his approval in acts one and two by being a cutthroat like him. Iāve always had a hard time believing any ātheyāre just so good he canāt help itā stories.
Like I wanna see a Tav and an act one and two Astarion dealing with *brutal* mental shit (because they relate) but by end of Cazador theyāre both on the babygirl healing path thanks to each other.
MUTUAL TRAUMA HEALING PLZ
My favourite Tav is a half-drow cleric of Eilistraee who spent her most of her pre-tadpole life protecting, healing and serving the members of her commune, so when she finds herself in the tadpole situation, her first priority is getting back home.
She quickly becomes the camp mom, making sure everyone is settled and reasonably safe. She is somewhat guarded with Astarion, being repulsed by his bitterness and violent tendencies (and heās not her type at all, she actually prefers men like Gale). And yet she takes care of him, just as she does with all the companions, treating him after battles and sharing with him newfound gear, since ensuring her groupās survival is all sheās ever known in life.
Astarion takes that as a sign of weakness and chooses her as his āvictimā, biting her (which she allows, because the key tenet of Eilistraee is that nobody should ever go hungry) and then planning to seduce her for protection. But when he shows up in camp drunk on bear blood and confides to her the awful things he suffered under Cazador, she suddenly realises that he is not meaninglessly cruel - just very, very hurt.
She develops a crush on him, still keeping him at a distance, prioritising her responsibilities as a cleric and being wary of handsome men like him who break hearts so easily. But when he suddenly propositions at the tiefling party, she thinks āhells, who knows how long weāve got left in this worldā and gives in.
In the next couple of weeks, when neither death nor transformation occurs, sheās unsure how to handle the situation, since she never had casual sex before, so she tries to proceed with her duties as usual. But now he looks at her strangely when she takes care of his wounds, and seems to gradually open up to her about his tragic history. Being the saviour that she is, she caves in, and when he eventually says āwe need to talkā, she assures him that her feelings are genuine and vows to help him overcome his past in every way possible. Thus begins their relationship, where she teaches him trust and affection, provides space for his healing, and uplifts him in the times of sadness.
for my durge and astarion, I think my girl catches feelings pretty quickly. like heās the only one described as a āprettyā corpse (so romantic lol) and she appreciates the brutal side of him with him being a vampire. sheās resist urge and a goody two shoes to overcompensate the guilt she feels, but when he gets all bloody she thinks itās hot. she also just thinks heās really funny and can sense a more sensitive side to him, so sheās not really discouraged when he gets prickly. and her brain damage makes her a little oblivious to the manipulations. she falls fast and hard and thinks it was reciprocated with the same intensity from the very beginning
meanwhile with astarion, I think the first time he no longer dislikes her to just liking her is when he feeds on her (and the way to a manās heart is his stomach lol). but still, heās guarded and at that point sheās likable to him. I also think thatās around when his plan forms, as he could not only feel the way she enjoyed his bite, but the fact that he enjoyed it as well. next step is the first time they sleep together, which is before the goblin party for me. itās different this time. heās not fully present the entire time, but thereās moments where he actually enjoyed it, and not because he forced himself to. she was the first person he chose for himself and she trusted him enough to let him feed on him. she was also the first person to still be there the morning after. he doesnāt know why yet but sheās different. then itās a bit of song and dance of being in denial, but every time she does something for him, like being his mirror or drawing his scars, sheās just weirder and weirder to him. what are these feelings and why is she like that??
by the time they reach the shadow cursed lands, my durge is kinda losing it mentally - itās a slow build up as the urges are getting harder and harder to resist, until it snaps the night she tries to kill him. but astarion notices it and heās *worried*, and yet sheās *still* helping him learn about his scars. when she frees the prisoners from moonrise, it makes him question once again what couldāve happened if theyād met before the tadpole, and would she be his savior then like she is for so many (which makes it all the sweeter when he realizes it wasnāt the mindflayers that saved him from cazador. in some weird, fucked up way it was *her* and it has *always* been her). but after she sends the origin back to the hells with just her words he realizes he canāt deny it any longer. he doesnāt just like her, heās fallen for her, and he fell *hard*. and now heās terrified to tell her how his nice simple plan fell apart because sheās just so wonderful and heās just.. him. so it takes him a couple days to work up the courage as heās terrified of losing her. but he does tell her, because he loves her, and because she deserves better
I love his response to finding out what durge's role was in the whole thing. Oddly sweet.
I also think he falls hard too. It may take him a minute, but once he does, he is literally ride or die forever.
oh yeah he is definitely head over heels in love. and once I saw the conversation of astarion *thanking* durge for inadvertently freeing him, I can definitely see him romanticizing it lol (cause who wants to be rescued by mindflayers, *ugh*)
you have to have astarion with you when you meet gortash, and right after that conversation your companions will react to finding out that itās basically your fault. everybody except astarion (and shadowheart I think?) is PISSED at you. like I really wish there couldāve been an argument between the companions or something cause theyāre all basically disgusted by you
my durge definitely spirals for a moment there. coming back to baldurs gate is not fun for her š so she throws herself into helping everybody she can
yeah, I've always had him there lol. I remember everyone getting pissed. (Shadowheart, too, she just says something about I'm lucky she has a soft spot for amnesiacs.) But Astarion just replayed some generic line he'd said before? I can't remember what specifically, but along the same lines as when he finds out Durge is bhaalspawn.
damn thought shart was relatively cool but even my bestie hated me in that moment š astarion sets it up like heās mad at you but then says āthank you, for being that evil bastard.ā cause heās the only one who truly acknowledges how being tadpoled actually improved his situation. I like talking to him last there cause itās like all her friends just keep denouncing her and itās getting worse and worse and now astarion too oh wait no he still cares. the relief she feels lmao
also love jaheiras reaction there, she truly is my durges adopted mom
I think I remember hearing that there was a bug or something where everyone reacted like they had low approval or you'd been hiding being bhaalspawn from them, so maybe it was that, but I've never heard that line from him. I also haven't played in a while so maybe things were fixed. I don't know. Looks like I'm starting another playthrough lol.
I also loved Jaheira. She was the only one that didn't drag Durge after that. I also wish there would've been some argumenet or something with everyone else though, because after vague threats from everyone, they were back to normal the next time I talked to them. Karlach especially, with the whole I'm going to need \*a lot\* of time thing. I know she has the attention span of a poodle, but I was expecting more than 30 seconds lol.
Thank you for the info. I'll have to see if I can get that line to trigger
idk if itās a bug cause I get those reactions each time on both my ps5 and my PC. I think itās just another example of act3 being a little undercooked at times. but more fanfic inspo I guess. I need to write one of them being all pissed and astarion going off on them lol
I honestly don't know about a bug or whatever. Just something I've heard.
I managed to dig that scene up on Youtube, and everyone's reaction was the same except for Astarion. Three playthroughs, and I've never gotten that particular line. It was always the one about Durge being BS, not acknlowledging them as part of the Asbolute. So maybe not a bug per se, but for whatever reason, my game has never triggered Astarion's dialogue here.
Agreed that Act 3 can be weird and lacking. Denying Bhaal, for instance. That scene definitely needs something more. I'd definitely read an aftermath fic for e3ither of these
My Tav got interested in him the moment he took out the dagger. But she was still cautious with him.
On the bite night she realized he is considered the same ,,monsterā by society as she is, that is why she had no problem letting him bite her. And its the moment Astarion starts to believe her and they begin special kind of friendship. My Tav sees similarities they share and becomes protective over him because she is party projecting herself in him and she slowly falls for him the more time they spend together and when Astarion starts to open slowly.
For Astarion, its all the small things she does for him. Their first time in forest my Tav wanted him to have a good time too and it was first time someone cared about his pleasure (even when he still disassociated). She is very compassionate with him whole time which results in love on both ends.
I think that first night is super pivotal for him too! It is the first sex in probably centuries that he truly consents to, even if his reasons are dodgy, he still has his reasons but isn't being compelled to threatened if he doesn't. He gets to have blood while getting it on? Talk about a bonding moment, for both of them I think. And then he gets to chill with tav/Durge while they wake up and they ask him questions about his well being and how he got his scars.
Like, when was the last time this boy had fully consensual sex and woke up next to his partner?
In my smutty fic, that is like, a huge turning point in his relationship with my lil Durge.
I feel like my durge was just confused as all hell about what the feeling in her chest was whenever astarion was around, even if she did have her memories it's not like she had any experience with that sort of thing and she's uh. A bit of a dumbass. So she probably legitimately couldn't pinpoint her feelings until the araj debacle and subsequent confession from him.
Astarion i feel like is a little trickier to pinpoint, i think it's still probably something of a progression, and he probably starts to actually fully fall around late act 1. Maybe around the creche?
Literally right off rip when he had a dagger to my throat, my Tav (and I) were in love. Another obnoxiously violent and flamboyant elf with fantastic hair? Obvious soulmates.
IDK when Astarion falls for you, tho. Not sure he knows for sure, either.
Well. Mine is based on the path I take.
I turn him down the first time he approaches Tav. I feel like he isn't used to that. And then the chase is on.
Then of course at the party, Tav makes him say please. Another challenge.
Then the 60pt silly banter. Calling him on his shit. And all the while **being his friend**. Tav isn't avoiding him, they just aren't falling for the seduction.
My HC has them up late just talking during long rests. And he'd do most of it because he has a memory. So he's had someone really listening to him all those nights through the Wilderness and the Underdark before the party.
So unfortunately, I cannot say when he starts to develop feelings because it would be off-camera on one of those nights.
He thinks he might be in love after the Act 2 Durge scene.
But I think he knows he's in love after the Cazador fight, and can't wait to tell them.
Ooh! Super fun prompt, thanks!
My Tav is a young Tiefling orphan named Spark who was a street urchin in Baldur's Gate until she was adopted and trained by a local order of Oath of Ancients Paladins. She was out on her very first solo mission when she was kidnapped by the mindflayers. She fell for Astarion almost immediately, he's the first person she ever slept with and her first real love.
Obviously, Astarion marked her as easy prey right away and seduced her within days of meeting her. Much to his surprise he actually enjoyed the experience, she was very sweet and reminded him a lot of Sebastian. When he saw her flirting with some of the other companions during the Druid party, he decided to double-down and sleep with her again just to be sure she wouldn't get more attached to someone else. After that, though, he was very confused and conflicted. He realized that he was actually starting to care about her and felt guilty for leading her on but didn't want to lose her protection either. He became moody and distant because he didnāt want to care about her, but couldnāt quite help himself.
Hurt that Astarion was pulling away, Spark agreed to an affair when Laezel propositioned her, hoping this would make Astarion jealous. For a while he ignored it, and was even slightly relieved that she might have moved on so he didn't have to feel guilty about her anymore. At the start of Act 2, Laezel tried to make her relationship with Spark more serious. Astarion fully expected Spark to ditch him for Laezel and was shocked that she wanted to be with him instead. He was so caught off guard that he hesitantly agreed that they could "try" but still felt very conflicted about the whole thing. A few days later, Wyll swept in and tried to steal Spark away with a dance and although she was tempted, she was madly in love with Astarion at that point and turned Wyll down.
Astarion was really confused, but secretly pleased that she kept choosing him. However, it made him feel even more guilty about having lied to her at first. When she further proved her devotion to him by helping him kill Yurgir, he finally broke down and confessed everything to her. He fully expected her to get angry and leave him, but when she patiently stayed and told him it was ok and that they didn't need to sleep together again if he didn't want to, he was completely smitten from that point on.
Astarion was still really worried because of Cazador, I think some part of him was afraid that he would be forced to give Spark to him the way he had to give up Sebastian. But she was so confident and brave and had proven herself to be ferocious in battle, so he let himself hope. Once Cazador was finally out of the picture, Astarion finally felt free to let himself fall just as deeply in love as Spark had. He confessed his love while they sat in front of his grave together and they have been blissfully happy together ever since, grossing out all the other companions by constantly making out with each other. š„°
Lol, sorry for the novel! Guess I've been thinking about this more than I realized. š Hope you enjoyed reading it!
I could talk about this for agggggessssss...
SO..in my first run, I had my rogue who had a bit of traumatic past so her relationship with Astarion was a bit slow as both resisted their feelings. What tipped her over was an epic in-game battle with yugir where she fucked up, ended up stuck in full sight of everyone and Astarion had to misty step to her side to help protect her. Wyll and Shads were down and then Astarion got critted and she was alone. She worked out she can dimension door with a scroll, herself and the (fully) dead body of her lover. They manage to hide, she revives him and they proceed to decimate yugir and 8 merregors between them, giving each other advantage for sneak attacks. She knew then she loved him.
For him, I think he starts to get the feels a little at the bushes scene as it felt different, maybe it was having a considerate lover? Maybe because he was doing it out of his choice for a chance? Maybe cos he has their blood now? I think he pushes the feelings away and I think, for my rogue, he realised he loved her one morning, maybe in Rivington, waking up in the morning sunshine wrapped around each other and she nuzzled into his chest. Her scent and touch on his skin made him crave more of this intimacy and he realised he never wanted to be apart from her.
While my tiefling bard durge is pretty sentimental, I don't think they'd be naive enough to think sleeping with Astarion the night of the tiefling party meant anything. They might have started catching feelings for him then, though, but only fully come to terms with them at some point in Act 2, especially when the rest of the bois started coming onto them as well and they realized they just wanted Astarion and no one else.
I like to think Astarion kept trying to tell himself he was just using my durge for his own benefit, denying his own feelings until much later, after they reached the city.
https://preview.redd.it/eiysy87qlx1d1.jpeg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=09b73d7f2f093e059e0696da0824896fb7888cab
Durge fell for him when he was still in his manipulation era. She held on to him like a lifeline, his attention and too good to be true words allowed her to hold on to the little sense of self she had left. He was her mirror, or so she hoped. When she started building more of an identity, she loved him because she was used to it, and when he confessed, she loved him truly because she knew it was real. The acceptance for how wretched she was when she wasnāt in control also helped.
My current Tav (honour run) still hasnāt fallen. She is struggling to choose between him and Laeāzel, but his support through the Creche for Laeāzel is certainly doing things to her heart. The unexpected kindness and care in his words for someone else in their group, someone she also cares about, is developing some strong butterflies in her stomach.
Laeāzel still doesnāt seem to mistrust her Queen, and this is pissing my Tav (and me) off, so I donāt see that relationship taking off. Choices, choicesā¦
I think Astarion starts feeling something after the first night, but i'd not necessarily call it "love" just yet. I think he realized he enjoyed T/D's company at the very least.
For Tav, i can't really say when he'd realize, for Durge, imo after they tried to kill him, he admits after that night that they give him something to care for and it's worth the peril (obviously that works only if that come before his confession) he also admits later that he's rarely been more afraid that on that night, so that seems like the right moment for him to realize.
As for my HC for my Durge, i think she was quite attracted to him quite early on, not just physically, she was pretty lost, having no memories and these disgusting intrusive thoughts. I think she was trying to connect to someone in any way possible and he was the one who understood her the best and no matter what he never judged her, even when she was doing weird things, like killing someone while asleep in the middle of their camp, plus he was just fun to be around, which was nice too. Not entirely sure when exactly she realized she was in love though, maybe the night she nearly killed him and she realized just how deeply she actually cared about him and didn't want to kill him.
Astarion falls in love slowly I feel like. Like he starts to love Tav when she shows him consideration as a lover imo but it takes a while to build up. Itās a slow burn š„
For my main Durge, I think Astarion realizes he is in love with her on the night he spent with her tied up post Isobel. He realizes she is broken and damaged and that he could actually maybe even lose her and he does not like that idea. And I imagine the whole time she is wriggling in the bedroll saying she wants to eat his liver or whatever, he has a mild crisis. Like, wtf. What is love? How do I know is love? What if love dies?! Omg what if love leaves me! And then she wakes up and they talk and he tries to play it cool.
I think he starts to feel something for her right after their first night together, as he realizes he isn't being forced to be with her and that she is actually quite fun. He enjoys her company so much he wants a round two at the party, and who knows the last time he slept with someone more than once? And certainly more than once by choice? A big step for our trauma riddled boy.
The feels get confusing and more intense when she selflessly helps with his scars in the Underdark, wanting nothing in return but to help. And then they get to the shadow lands and the inn and Isobel and then bam he realizes he has been in love for a while.
But he is awkward about it and doesn't know how to express it very well and doesn't feel safe doing so until Cazador is dead. Because he refuses to fully relax until Cazador is dead, right? He can't plan for the future when there is still this potential hurdle to his freedom in the way.
For my Durge herself, I think she falls hard and fast. Almost love at first sight. or first blade to the neck..but it really cements in when she confides in him about her urges and he doesn't freak out but just sort of encourages her to be herself? He is also the first to notice. I also HC that she finds it sweet that he would try to bite her out of all the group. Lol
I think she falls super hard the same night he does. When she almost kills him and he just...takes care of her and promises to be with her and help her through it all just as she is helping him.
Ugh. Durge and Astarion make my heart happy.
I'm currently on my first playthrough and my HC is that after bite night, Astarion starts to realize how much trust my Tav Esmeray must have in him to let him feed on her and starts to make some sort of connection. As for Esmeray, she's demisexual so she's not exactly into Star quite yet but probably second guessing her feelings about him since she allowed him to feed on her without any other doubts.
My HC also thinks that by the time the two have their first night together that's when both start to develop feelings towards each other.
It always depends on my Tav, Iāve done 3 playthroughs where Iāve romanced him and theyāre all a little different in the rp and what the relationship feels like to me
My first Taāav was a neutral war cleric whoād been a soldier for a lot of her older teen years and was very familiar with violence and wanted to protect everyone around her, she slowly fell in love with him and even turned down his advances once. Taav is asexual and in this run astarion felt like heād realize he was too after they had a long talk after his act 2 scene. And their relationship is much more calm and I see it with lots of sleeping tangled together and leaning on each other with more forehead bumps than kisses. (Sheās a teifling and always looks concerned for him when sheās talking to him in game)
My dark urge run Dirgeās relationship with him felt very different- she liked him right away and has snippets of memories of her youth before the bhaal temple like being out on the streets and going hungry and so is adamant about no one ever starving so feeds him without hesitation. And although she doesnāt really remember it- being the dark urge she was all about making sure she was useful to everyone and having the most upper hand so letting him (and laezāel in that run) sleep with her felt like power moves- they like her they canāt leave her type thing. They fall in love while she resists her urges and they both see the real under the masks they both wear, itās very sweet. Theyāre much more passionate and Dirge is a squishy sorcerer/cleric/rogue so he ends up picking her up off the ground a lot. (She smiles a lot at him in game when she doesnāt look like she has a thousand mile stare)
And then my most recent is a not loth drow paladin who is focused on trying to get people to not see her as awful upon laying eyes on her. Iām playing co-op on honor mode and weāve only slept a few nights- hadnāt even gotten to the grove yet when astarion bit her but she knows all about being looked down on for things she canāt control so she lets him feed (plus sheās a paladin she can just lay on hands to get rid of the bloodlessness). I wasnāt trying to get his scenes right away but we got a bunch right off the bat and it feels like he started falling in love with her way faster than the others and sheās falling in love slowly in what feels like a friends to lovers he fell first she fell harder type way
Iām having so much fun reading everyoneās RP for this silly vampire man. I wrote a whole ass longfic because I had so much going into my RP š
I hope everyone writes their stories too. Itās a lot of fun. Even if you never end up posting it or sharing it. Itās nice to go back and read for your own personal enjoyment āŗļø
This silly vampire man made me write non fiction for the first time in twenty years. And at the ripe old age of 34, I started writing fan fiction for the first time ever. And this sub encouraged me! And then encouraged me to publish it.
I really hope others write their thoughts down too! Who knows what hidden gems might be hiding away in someone's brain or a half forgotten google doc!
When the player starts showing an interest in *him* I think he realizes he's catching feelings. Probably when the player tries to help translate his scars or when they describe him in the mirror. But I don't think he realizes it's love until *after* Cazador is dealt with. I think he can recognize, during the confession scenes, that what he feels for the player goes beyond manipulation or a "tactical alliance" but he still doesn't have the words for it, hence why he's okay with becoming friends during the scene.
For my characters, it depends on who I'm playing of course. My first character (resist Durge rogue), realized she loved him pretty quickly when she wouldn't let Gandrel take Astarion.
My Paladin of Eilistraee was a bit more hesitant because he recognized Astarion's habits were a defense mechanism born from centuries of trauma and didn't want to take more than Astarion was truly willing to give. He realized he loved Astarion during the mirror scene and I headcanon that he stayed up that night drawing Astarion.
My tiefling bard fell hard and fast and was pretty much instantly smitten. They knew Astarion didn't feel the same as them but they were fine with unrequited love. Haven't finished this run yet but as Astarion weirdly decided that he would literally never bite Lex (probably because its a 4-Tav modded run so lots of night events) I think they fell in love when Astarion was starting to be more honest about his vampirism and trauma.
The pseudo-resisting Durge from my two-Tav run didn't believe she was capable of love and thought her feelings were born of mutual lust and bloodlust rather than true affection. When she was asked to kill her darling, she realized that she cared about Astarion more than she cared about herself. Still mad that save file got corrupted, she and the monk Tav in that game were my favourite characters.
I play Durge exclusively. When I romance Astarion, I HC that my durge starts to take interest in him when he says "You have a manner of irresistible desperation about you. I like it.". Since the moment she woke up on the nautaloid she's been desperate to remember her past, desperate to understand why she's having these dark and morbid urges. Everyone else can remember their past, no one else seems to be having dark urges or even understand what she's going through. She feels alone. But then Astarion notices this desperation in her. She doesn't know why he's able to pick up on it but because he does, it suggests that he may have his own feelings of desperation. She may not be alone with these feelings.
Then later on, after you kill Alfira and Gale is asking you if you killed Alfira, Astarion backs up your claim that it was a wild boar. (It seems to me that he knows that you did in fact kill her because of how he responded and also because in Act 2 he mentions keeping camp murders to a minimum). But after that, my durge starts to fall for him.
As for Astarion, I HC that he starts falling for you after you kill Gandrel. You have multiple options on how to deal with Gandrel but you choose the most extreme option: killing Gandrel not for yourself, not for the safety of your party, but for Astarion. Of course, he doesn't recognize what these feelings are. He can't. But he does enjoy being around you, he feels safe around you, he can joke with you and, at least for my durge, they're all about acquiring power. He doesn't yet know what to do with these new found feelings, but he does know that he doesn't want to lose it. So he resorts to what he does best, manipulation.
I also HC that when Astarion is giving you all his pick up lines and you keep shitting on them, he uses the "I love you" mostly as a joke, but also as a way to test the waters, so to speak. He doesn't love you yet, but it seems like he's trying to gage your reaction to an expression of affection.
Anyway, that's my head cannon š
That last bit. I also think he maybe says that I love you line at the party to like...test your reaction? And of course he basically just goes 'lol jk....unless?'. Especially if you go with the less dismissive lines!
It depends on the Tav/Durge for me. For his Tav, who's a super trusting himbo, he started feeling back something seeing that Tav always protected the others, but seeing how with him it was different. He's a barbarian, and he would absolutely lose his shit when an enemy hurt Astarion, as opposed to just being "normal" angry for another companion. As for the Durge, it was a bit earlier, when his joking actually HURT the Durge's feelings. It was seeing how that Durge was emotionally defenseless to him because he was absolutely hooked on him that made him see it that time around. And that his murderous crush was putty in his hands. Like at first he was just grateful for the fool, but he softened pretty quickly and fell into his feelings.
My Tav fell for him fast and early, she was into him from the get go, propositioned him like first night, every time he was cute or vulnerable she fell harder. By act 2 she was ride or die. He I don't think gave himself permission to truly love her back all the way until Cazador was dead.
My durge realized he cared in act 2 after the blood merchant, and that he was in love after Kethric when he had his... episode. I see the two of them on a lot closer of a timeline with eachother.
It's different for each run I've done, but I have a more clear answer for my recent Durge playthrough.
She most likely recognized that she was falling for him when Astarion propositioned her the 2nd time. He went through his cheesy one-liners, but then dropped the "I love you". This scared my Durge and got her really thinking about how she actually feels.
For Astarion, it's kind of dumb, but I felt convinced he started catching feelings when Durge helped the hyena in Act 2. It was a random encounter that I'd never had before since it was my first time entering from the Mountain Pass. I didn't expect Astarion to approve of it, but he did. So I've headcannoned that this was the first moment he noticed a softer side to her (Act 1 had very cold, calculating decisions). I like to think seeing Durge have compassion for a traditionally violent creature brought thoughts of "Maybe she could show love to me as well".
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My best Tav, Melora, is a half-Drow spore-circle Druid. She was intrigued from the first day they met. Getting wrestled to the ground and held at knifepoint makes for a hell of a first impression, and she appreciates audacity. So she definitely developed a crush hard and early. But because she was trying to be diplomatic about things, and because she wasn't born yesterday, she remained cautious. Until the biting thing happened. That was the true start of serious feelings for both of them. For him, obviously because he was caught off guard by her placing so much trust in him. But also because it was the first time he could recall someone doing something selfless to help him, with no expectation of reward in return. Not to mention it was his first truly intimate experience in living memory. He tries to play it off for a while, and not admit it, but eventually he just can't deny it.
For her, though, that first bite was a unique experience, and she was able to appreciate the intimacy of it as well. But more than that, once his true nature was revealed to her (which she appreciated his trust in her for sharing also) she was eager to see him become his best self. He like, blossomed, and to her, a person living fully according to their true nature is a big turn-on. Not to mention, the first time fighting along side him after feeding, he was so very effective. She also really appreciates those who are extremely capable. For the small price of a little blood every other night or so, she can have a loyal (and world-endingly beautiful) friend who will destroy her foes with the deadly efficiency of a natural predator. Symbiosis, baby. She's into it. Plus, he's got a sarcastic sense of humor.
I think it's a very slow development for him. At first he thinks my Tav is a snotty, insufferable bleeding heart--I mean, he had a dagger to her throat and all she did is mouth off! The *nerve!* But over time, he begins to notice a real cleverness to her that he kind of admires. She's observant, silver-tongued, a little chaotic... he kind of appreciates her not immediately falling for his lines and calling him out at first. When they finally have sex, he's shocked that she's such an attentive lover who is actually trying to make him feel good, and even more shocked that she noticed his distance. He starts realizing things are a little different this time after the first night, but won't realize he's falling in love until much later.
My high (sun) elf Bard/Druid (I see her as having been a street dancer/singer/fiddler) Tav was someone orphaned young and often sought "love" and companionship through sex because she lacked a strong family unit or friend circle, and sex was easier to find than people who genuinely care, and if you squint you can pretend it feels the same too. She's had a long series of failed romances, culminating in a very shit "marriage" (this goes deeeeeep into hc because of course I'm insane and writer-brained enough to create a backstory just as edgy and elaborate as the companions', so I'm not going to explain the whole of it, but suffice to say it was a very bad and abnormal marriage, closer to a pact almost, that she was trapped in before her abduction). By now, she's a bit jaded about love, despite still wanting it.
She was resistant to Astarion's advances at first, finding him incorrigible due to vastly differing morals. She lets him bite her though, because she empathizes with being poor and hungry, and they start warming up after that. When her "husband" never came looking for her (thankfully), she starts actually flirting back and eventually agrees to sleep with him at the teifling party. There's a shaky sort of understanding between them that they're just "having fun". Sex starts to be a bit of a competition; he's trying to please her for protection, she's trying to please him because she's lonely and a lil bit spiteful toward her husband (who she's realizing was awful in bed). I figure she starts really catching feelings in early act 2, and then gets a bit sad about it because she thinks it's one-sided and that there's no way he'd ever actually commit to her.
I think when he tells her she's incredible, it almost makes her cry, because she's quite used to being put down or dropped by her past lovers. She wants to try being together without sex for a while too, because she's never done that either. They spend the night after his confession snuggling and quietly discussing their pasts and their boundaries, until they fall asleep. I like to think they're very affectionate after this; always holding hands, spooning in bed, cuddling around the campfire. The other companions are *sickened.*
She is his rock when finally confronting Cazador. I think the moment he realized he loved her was when she pointed out that she'd be in those cages with the rest of the spawn if they'd met just a little sooner than they had, and the mere thought made him sick. I think she realizes she loves him is when she finally comes face-to-face with her lover's tormentor and realizes she hates this complete stranger more than anything, just because he hurt Astarion so much. They decide not to ascend him and release the spawn, then later sit at his grave for his final closure and he finally admits that he loves her. And of course, in a move that would make Mary Shelley weep with gothic romantic envy, they have sex again for the first time since their break in intimacy, atop his own empty grave š„°
(i wrote a damn novel good lord)
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My Zhent-loyal/exiled noble Wood Elf needed to believe Astarion actually did something for *her* before she decided to love him. She was a very transactional love believer in the beginning (just like our boy), having endured a lot of abuse in the world before finding refuge in the Zhentarim. She also manipulated Astarion *way* harder than he did to her, out of fear and survival. Way higher persuasion and deception rolls š He was massively unprepared for it. I love flipping that storyline and making Astarion just as much of a manipulative asshole in Act one as the person falling in love with him. It brings about a whole host of scenes where he understands and admits how her mirrored actions made him see himself. It takes a special kind of mutual brokenness for an abused woman like my Tav to accept any man, much less one with his own considerable trauma. Gender roles in bg3 are real. Particularly when said woman has already started to heal, and said vampire spawn is a hot mess with 200 years of prejudice who still manipulates. Thereās also the need to understand their own lifespans and how much time they have left together. Itās such a fun and cathartic way to explore my own emotions and my own healing journey with my husband. ā¤ļøāš©¹ The fun part is that once sheās convinced heās Good(tm), literally nothing can change her mind. She believes in him even when he thinks heās shit and he ādisapprovesā of her for it. https://preview.redd.it/0ecp52seuw1d1.jpeg?width=3636&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=61f4c0fd0b688ca37e67a89bf7f7021b3f21b668
About my Tav falling for him, tbh I can't say when it happened because I don't know when I fell for him. It was all just slowly liking him more and more with each moment. I had to replay all of Act 2 because his romance had bugged so it makes it even more confusing to create an RP timeline for her. Also his evil tendencies in Act 2 were concerning to her so I would say I can see her falling for him around that time- if powerhunger didn't scare her off, nothing could. His timeline is easier to pinpoint I think. I feel like after that first night together, he started feeling things and wondering wtf was up, especially in that line where he says it's hard not to have fun with her, he sounds like he's concerned about how much fun he's having. In the dev notes it says in Act 2 if you are in a love triangle, he's pushing down his own feelings by letting Tav go. These confessions are before his so he's caught feelings way before his confession. During the actual confession, I think he's ready to admit he wants a commited relationship even if he's not ready for one, because his feelings for Tav are deep and because there is trust established as well. By act 3 he feels safe and cherished so he's more confident to say things out loud and start trying things again.
My durge sorcerer fell in love with him at first sight, or something like love? I described it to my wife as imprinting, like Durge is an evil duckling. In her blind panic at realizing she has no memories and no reference on how to perform socially, I think she attached herself to the first person she recognizes as being *like her* in some fundamental way. He gives her a vantage point to view the world through, and she doesn't have to explain herself to him; he just knows. I like to think she comforted him in the same way on a psychological level, but given his fear and distrust, I don't think that translated into love for him. It's more like they're both subconsciously relieved the other is there if that makes sense? The need for comfort and shared experience drive them toward one another. I think trying to kill him in Act 2 was probably the turning point for both of them, in terms of how they viewed each other, bc neither of them realiy know what love feels like. I would imagine that's the moment Astarion realized that he was going to stick it out with this person, for better or worse. For Durge, it was the first time she was confronted with the possibility of killing someone she actually cares about, and realizing the depth of what caring for someone actually means. The scene means a lot to my canon, bc it finally motivates Durge to break through the cycle of generational violence, and pushes her to help him break the cycle he's in as well.
Omg..evil duckling sounds so accurate. That is exactly how my lil Durge feels. Confused and lost and then someone who gets her shows up and she swoons. And it helps that he's stunning. I literally cannot play as a Tav anymore because of that scene. Ugh. So good.
You get it! For my Durge, personally, it was less swooning and more "oh thank God there's someone who feels the way I do" followed by a big sigh of relief. I also hc that she's quite jealous and possessive of him almost immediately for that reason, even when it's inappropriate and before they've even formed a proper relationship. It takes a loooong time, building bonds with the other companions, and almost killing him to realize that not only is that behavior hurting him, but she herself is also a major threat to him. She was basically RUNNING to get away from Bhaal after that.
I think my Durge is possessive and clingy and jealous early on too. She means it when she says he is hurt when he is looking at other necks! And she would go just go off on araj if I didn't plan to do it later instead. This bitch looking at her boy like a bit of meat? Not cool Drow lady,.not cool.
My Durge bard probably caught feelings pretty early on, when Astarion noticed how hard she was struggling with her urges. But she was such a mess emotionally that she didn't start to realize properly until act 2. She spent act 1 essentially using all the companions for whatever comfort she could get, physical intimacy for preference. Especially after the death of Alfira, which broke her heart. It wasn't until act 2 when Lae'zel confessed her feelings, quickly followed by Wyll, that she realized just how manipulative she'd been and started trying to make amends. And realized that of all her companions there was only one she felt a genuine connection to. From there they became an adorable pair of damaged dum dums trying to sort everything out! It's my favourite run to date. For Astarion I agree with the other comments here that it takes him a long time to be able to put words around his emotions. My HC for my Durge was he starts to realize his feelings might be love the night she tries to kill him. "You've got this, and I've got you". š„° Both Astarion and my criminal wood elf Tav fell hard for each other after the fight with Grym. All my other party members were dead, Astarion was seconds from it, and suddenly Tav is there, leaping over his prone body to get Grym's attention, teeth bared. Their tent had to be pitched a long way from the others that night!
Ok ācriminal wood elf Tavā had my instant love and then falling in love after Grym? Ugh youāre after my own heart. If you have any fic postings Iād love to dote on them. š„¹
You made my day with such a kind comment, thank you ā¤ļø. So far their story only exists in my head/in game and not written down! But I love her a lot, maybe I should try to write something. She's an assassin for hire from Baldur's Gate, but to begin with she doesn't trust anyone so just pretends to be an ordinary ranger (multicasting head canon lol). Obviously our boy sees right through her and shenanigans ensue š
Ahh yasss! I see an incredible lack of believable stories with Tav being another elf/with a readable thief or rogue background. Iām a huge fan of anything Tav related being another rogue or something similar to Astarion. I mean literally you gain his approval in acts one and two by being a cutthroat like him. Iāve always had a hard time believing any ātheyāre just so good he canāt help itā stories. Like I wanna see a Tav and an act one and two Astarion dealing with *brutal* mental shit (because they relate) but by end of Cazador theyāre both on the babygirl healing path thanks to each other. MUTUAL TRAUMA HEALING PLZ
My favourite Tav is a half-drow cleric of Eilistraee who spent her most of her pre-tadpole life protecting, healing and serving the members of her commune, so when she finds herself in the tadpole situation, her first priority is getting back home. She quickly becomes the camp mom, making sure everyone is settled and reasonably safe. She is somewhat guarded with Astarion, being repulsed by his bitterness and violent tendencies (and heās not her type at all, she actually prefers men like Gale). And yet she takes care of him, just as she does with all the companions, treating him after battles and sharing with him newfound gear, since ensuring her groupās survival is all sheās ever known in life. Astarion takes that as a sign of weakness and chooses her as his āvictimā, biting her (which she allows, because the key tenet of Eilistraee is that nobody should ever go hungry) and then planning to seduce her for protection. But when he shows up in camp drunk on bear blood and confides to her the awful things he suffered under Cazador, she suddenly realises that he is not meaninglessly cruel - just very, very hurt. She develops a crush on him, still keeping him at a distance, prioritising her responsibilities as a cleric and being wary of handsome men like him who break hearts so easily. But when he suddenly propositions at the tiefling party, she thinks āhells, who knows how long weāve got left in this worldā and gives in. In the next couple of weeks, when neither death nor transformation occurs, sheās unsure how to handle the situation, since she never had casual sex before, so she tries to proceed with her duties as usual. But now he looks at her strangely when she takes care of his wounds, and seems to gradually open up to her about his tragic history. Being the saviour that she is, she caves in, and when he eventually says āwe need to talkā, she assures him that her feelings are genuine and vows to help him overcome his past in every way possible. Thus begins their relationship, where she teaches him trust and affection, provides space for his healing, and uplifts him in the times of sadness.
for my durge and astarion, I think my girl catches feelings pretty quickly. like heās the only one described as a āprettyā corpse (so romantic lol) and she appreciates the brutal side of him with him being a vampire. sheās resist urge and a goody two shoes to overcompensate the guilt she feels, but when he gets all bloody she thinks itās hot. she also just thinks heās really funny and can sense a more sensitive side to him, so sheās not really discouraged when he gets prickly. and her brain damage makes her a little oblivious to the manipulations. she falls fast and hard and thinks it was reciprocated with the same intensity from the very beginning meanwhile with astarion, I think the first time he no longer dislikes her to just liking her is when he feeds on her (and the way to a manās heart is his stomach lol). but still, heās guarded and at that point sheās likable to him. I also think thatās around when his plan forms, as he could not only feel the way she enjoyed his bite, but the fact that he enjoyed it as well. next step is the first time they sleep together, which is before the goblin party for me. itās different this time. heās not fully present the entire time, but thereās moments where he actually enjoyed it, and not because he forced himself to. she was the first person he chose for himself and she trusted him enough to let him feed on him. she was also the first person to still be there the morning after. he doesnāt know why yet but sheās different. then itās a bit of song and dance of being in denial, but every time she does something for him, like being his mirror or drawing his scars, sheās just weirder and weirder to him. what are these feelings and why is she like that?? by the time they reach the shadow cursed lands, my durge is kinda losing it mentally - itās a slow build up as the urges are getting harder and harder to resist, until it snaps the night she tries to kill him. but astarion notices it and heās *worried*, and yet sheās *still* helping him learn about his scars. when she frees the prisoners from moonrise, it makes him question once again what couldāve happened if theyād met before the tadpole, and would she be his savior then like she is for so many (which makes it all the sweeter when he realizes it wasnāt the mindflayers that saved him from cazador. in some weird, fucked up way it was *her* and it has *always* been her). but after she sends the origin back to the hells with just her words he realizes he canāt deny it any longer. he doesnāt just like her, heās fallen for her, and he fell *hard*. and now heās terrified to tell her how his nice simple plan fell apart because sheās just so wonderful and heās just.. him. so it takes him a couple days to work up the courage as heās terrified of losing her. but he does tell her, because he loves her, and because she deserves better
I love his response to finding out what durge's role was in the whole thing. Oddly sweet. I also think he falls hard too. It may take him a minute, but once he does, he is literally ride or die forever.
oh yeah he is definitely head over heels in love. and once I saw the conversation of astarion *thanking* durge for inadvertently freeing him, I can definitely see him romanticizing it lol (cause who wants to be rescued by mindflayers, *ugh*)
Astarion thanks Durge??? Where does this happen? I've got 600 hours in this game and never saw this
you have to have astarion with you when you meet gortash, and right after that conversation your companions will react to finding out that itās basically your fault. everybody except astarion (and shadowheart I think?) is PISSED at you. like I really wish there couldāve been an argument between the companions or something cause theyāre all basically disgusted by you my durge definitely spirals for a moment there. coming back to baldurs gate is not fun for her š so she throws herself into helping everybody she can
yeah, I've always had him there lol. I remember everyone getting pissed. (Shadowheart, too, she just says something about I'm lucky she has a soft spot for amnesiacs.) But Astarion just replayed some generic line he'd said before? I can't remember what specifically, but along the same lines as when he finds out Durge is bhaalspawn.
damn thought shart was relatively cool but even my bestie hated me in that moment š astarion sets it up like heās mad at you but then says āthank you, for being that evil bastard.ā cause heās the only one who truly acknowledges how being tadpoled actually improved his situation. I like talking to him last there cause itās like all her friends just keep denouncing her and itās getting worse and worse and now astarion too oh wait no he still cares. the relief she feels lmao also love jaheiras reaction there, she truly is my durges adopted mom
I think I remember hearing that there was a bug or something where everyone reacted like they had low approval or you'd been hiding being bhaalspawn from them, so maybe it was that, but I've never heard that line from him. I also haven't played in a while so maybe things were fixed. I don't know. Looks like I'm starting another playthrough lol. I also loved Jaheira. She was the only one that didn't drag Durge after that. I also wish there would've been some argumenet or something with everyone else though, because after vague threats from everyone, they were back to normal the next time I talked to them. Karlach especially, with the whole I'm going to need \*a lot\* of time thing. I know she has the attention span of a poodle, but I was expecting more than 30 seconds lol. Thank you for the info. I'll have to see if I can get that line to trigger
idk if itās a bug cause I get those reactions each time on both my ps5 and my PC. I think itās just another example of act3 being a little undercooked at times. but more fanfic inspo I guess. I need to write one of them being all pissed and astarion going off on them lol
I honestly don't know about a bug or whatever. Just something I've heard. I managed to dig that scene up on Youtube, and everyone's reaction was the same except for Astarion. Three playthroughs, and I've never gotten that particular line. It was always the one about Durge being BS, not acknlowledging them as part of the Asbolute. So maybe not a bug per se, but for whatever reason, my game has never triggered Astarion's dialogue here. Agreed that Act 3 can be weird and lacking. Denying Bhaal, for instance. That scene definitely needs something more. I'd definitely read an aftermath fic for e3ither of these
My Tav got interested in him the moment he took out the dagger. But she was still cautious with him. On the bite night she realized he is considered the same ,,monsterā by society as she is, that is why she had no problem letting him bite her. And its the moment Astarion starts to believe her and they begin special kind of friendship. My Tav sees similarities they share and becomes protective over him because she is party projecting herself in him and she slowly falls for him the more time they spend together and when Astarion starts to open slowly. For Astarion, its all the small things she does for him. Their first time in forest my Tav wanted him to have a good time too and it was first time someone cared about his pleasure (even when he still disassociated). She is very compassionate with him whole time which results in love on both ends.
I think that first night is super pivotal for him too! It is the first sex in probably centuries that he truly consents to, even if his reasons are dodgy, he still has his reasons but isn't being compelled to threatened if he doesn't. He gets to have blood while getting it on? Talk about a bonding moment, for both of them I think. And then he gets to chill with tav/Durge while they wake up and they ask him questions about his well being and how he got his scars. Like, when was the last time this boy had fully consensual sex and woke up next to his partner? In my smutty fic, that is like, a huge turning point in his relationship with my lil Durge.
I feel like my durge was just confused as all hell about what the feeling in her chest was whenever astarion was around, even if she did have her memories it's not like she had any experience with that sort of thing and she's uh. A bit of a dumbass. So she probably legitimately couldn't pinpoint her feelings until the araj debacle and subsequent confession from him. Astarion i feel like is a little trickier to pinpoint, i think it's still probably something of a progression, and he probably starts to actually fully fall around late act 1. Maybe around the creche?
Literally right off rip when he had a dagger to my throat, my Tav (and I) were in love. Another obnoxiously violent and flamboyant elf with fantastic hair? Obvious soulmates. IDK when Astarion falls for you, tho. Not sure he knows for sure, either.
Well. Mine is based on the path I take. I turn him down the first time he approaches Tav. I feel like he isn't used to that. And then the chase is on. Then of course at the party, Tav makes him say please. Another challenge. Then the 60pt silly banter. Calling him on his shit. And all the while **being his friend**. Tav isn't avoiding him, they just aren't falling for the seduction. My HC has them up late just talking during long rests. And he'd do most of it because he has a memory. So he's had someone really listening to him all those nights through the Wilderness and the Underdark before the party. So unfortunately, I cannot say when he starts to develop feelings because it would be off-camera on one of those nights. He thinks he might be in love after the Act 2 Durge scene. But I think he knows he's in love after the Cazador fight, and can't wait to tell them.
Ooh! Super fun prompt, thanks! My Tav is a young Tiefling orphan named Spark who was a street urchin in Baldur's Gate until she was adopted and trained by a local order of Oath of Ancients Paladins. She was out on her very first solo mission when she was kidnapped by the mindflayers. She fell for Astarion almost immediately, he's the first person she ever slept with and her first real love. Obviously, Astarion marked her as easy prey right away and seduced her within days of meeting her. Much to his surprise he actually enjoyed the experience, she was very sweet and reminded him a lot of Sebastian. When he saw her flirting with some of the other companions during the Druid party, he decided to double-down and sleep with her again just to be sure she wouldn't get more attached to someone else. After that, though, he was very confused and conflicted. He realized that he was actually starting to care about her and felt guilty for leading her on but didn't want to lose her protection either. He became moody and distant because he didnāt want to care about her, but couldnāt quite help himself. Hurt that Astarion was pulling away, Spark agreed to an affair when Laezel propositioned her, hoping this would make Astarion jealous. For a while he ignored it, and was even slightly relieved that she might have moved on so he didn't have to feel guilty about her anymore. At the start of Act 2, Laezel tried to make her relationship with Spark more serious. Astarion fully expected Spark to ditch him for Laezel and was shocked that she wanted to be with him instead. He was so caught off guard that he hesitantly agreed that they could "try" but still felt very conflicted about the whole thing. A few days later, Wyll swept in and tried to steal Spark away with a dance and although she was tempted, she was madly in love with Astarion at that point and turned Wyll down. Astarion was really confused, but secretly pleased that she kept choosing him. However, it made him feel even more guilty about having lied to her at first. When she further proved her devotion to him by helping him kill Yurgir, he finally broke down and confessed everything to her. He fully expected her to get angry and leave him, but when she patiently stayed and told him it was ok and that they didn't need to sleep together again if he didn't want to, he was completely smitten from that point on. Astarion was still really worried because of Cazador, I think some part of him was afraid that he would be forced to give Spark to him the way he had to give up Sebastian. But she was so confident and brave and had proven herself to be ferocious in battle, so he let himself hope. Once Cazador was finally out of the picture, Astarion finally felt free to let himself fall just as deeply in love as Spark had. He confessed his love while they sat in front of his grave together and they have been blissfully happy together ever since, grossing out all the other companions by constantly making out with each other. š„° Lol, sorry for the novel! Guess I've been thinking about this more than I realized. š Hope you enjoyed reading it!
I could talk about this for agggggessssss... SO..in my first run, I had my rogue who had a bit of traumatic past so her relationship with Astarion was a bit slow as both resisted their feelings. What tipped her over was an epic in-game battle with yugir where she fucked up, ended up stuck in full sight of everyone and Astarion had to misty step to her side to help protect her. Wyll and Shads were down and then Astarion got critted and she was alone. She worked out she can dimension door with a scroll, herself and the (fully) dead body of her lover. They manage to hide, she revives him and they proceed to decimate yugir and 8 merregors between them, giving each other advantage for sneak attacks. She knew then she loved him. For him, I think he starts to get the feels a little at the bushes scene as it felt different, maybe it was having a considerate lover? Maybe because he was doing it out of his choice for a chance? Maybe cos he has their blood now? I think he pushes the feelings away and I think, for my rogue, he realised he loved her one morning, maybe in Rivington, waking up in the morning sunshine wrapped around each other and she nuzzled into his chest. Her scent and touch on his skin made him crave more of this intimacy and he realised he never wanted to be apart from her.
While my tiefling bard durge is pretty sentimental, I don't think they'd be naive enough to think sleeping with Astarion the night of the tiefling party meant anything. They might have started catching feelings for him then, though, but only fully come to terms with them at some point in Act 2, especially when the rest of the bois started coming onto them as well and they realized they just wanted Astarion and no one else. I like to think Astarion kept trying to tell himself he was just using my durge for his own benefit, denying his own feelings until much later, after they reached the city. https://preview.redd.it/eiysy87qlx1d1.jpeg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=09b73d7f2f093e059e0696da0824896fb7888cab
Durge fell for him when he was still in his manipulation era. She held on to him like a lifeline, his attention and too good to be true words allowed her to hold on to the little sense of self she had left. He was her mirror, or so she hoped. When she started building more of an identity, she loved him because she was used to it, and when he confessed, she loved him truly because she knew it was real. The acceptance for how wretched she was when she wasnāt in control also helped. My current Tav (honour run) still hasnāt fallen. She is struggling to choose between him and Laeāzel, but his support through the Creche for Laeāzel is certainly doing things to her heart. The unexpected kindness and care in his words for someone else in their group, someone she also cares about, is developing some strong butterflies in her stomach. Laeāzel still doesnāt seem to mistrust her Queen, and this is pissing my Tav (and me) off, so I donāt see that relationship taking off. Choices, choicesā¦
I think Astarion starts feeling something after the first night, but i'd not necessarily call it "love" just yet. I think he realized he enjoyed T/D's company at the very least. For Tav, i can't really say when he'd realize, for Durge, imo after they tried to kill him, he admits after that night that they give him something to care for and it's worth the peril (obviously that works only if that come before his confession) he also admits later that he's rarely been more afraid that on that night, so that seems like the right moment for him to realize. As for my HC for my Durge, i think she was quite attracted to him quite early on, not just physically, she was pretty lost, having no memories and these disgusting intrusive thoughts. I think she was trying to connect to someone in any way possible and he was the one who understood her the best and no matter what he never judged her, even when she was doing weird things, like killing someone while asleep in the middle of their camp, plus he was just fun to be around, which was nice too. Not entirely sure when exactly she realized she was in love though, maybe the night she nearly killed him and she realized just how deeply she actually cared about him and didn't want to kill him.
Astarion falls in love slowly I feel like. Like he starts to love Tav when she shows him consideration as a lover imo but it takes a while to build up. Itās a slow burn š„
For my main Durge, I think Astarion realizes he is in love with her on the night he spent with her tied up post Isobel. He realizes she is broken and damaged and that he could actually maybe even lose her and he does not like that idea. And I imagine the whole time she is wriggling in the bedroll saying she wants to eat his liver or whatever, he has a mild crisis. Like, wtf. What is love? How do I know is love? What if love dies?! Omg what if love leaves me! And then she wakes up and they talk and he tries to play it cool. I think he starts to feel something for her right after their first night together, as he realizes he isn't being forced to be with her and that she is actually quite fun. He enjoys her company so much he wants a round two at the party, and who knows the last time he slept with someone more than once? And certainly more than once by choice? A big step for our trauma riddled boy. The feels get confusing and more intense when she selflessly helps with his scars in the Underdark, wanting nothing in return but to help. And then they get to the shadow lands and the inn and Isobel and then bam he realizes he has been in love for a while. But he is awkward about it and doesn't know how to express it very well and doesn't feel safe doing so until Cazador is dead. Because he refuses to fully relax until Cazador is dead, right? He can't plan for the future when there is still this potential hurdle to his freedom in the way. For my Durge herself, I think she falls hard and fast. Almost love at first sight. or first blade to the neck..but it really cements in when she confides in him about her urges and he doesn't freak out but just sort of encourages her to be herself? He is also the first to notice. I also HC that she finds it sweet that he would try to bite her out of all the group. Lol I think she falls super hard the same night he does. When she almost kills him and he just...takes care of her and promises to be with her and help her through it all just as she is helping him. Ugh. Durge and Astarion make my heart happy.
I'm currently on my first playthrough and my HC is that after bite night, Astarion starts to realize how much trust my Tav Esmeray must have in him to let him feed on her and starts to make some sort of connection. As for Esmeray, she's demisexual so she's not exactly into Star quite yet but probably second guessing her feelings about him since she allowed him to feed on her without any other doubts. My HC also thinks that by the time the two have their first night together that's when both start to develop feelings towards each other.
It always depends on my Tav, Iāve done 3 playthroughs where Iāve romanced him and theyāre all a little different in the rp and what the relationship feels like to me My first Taāav was a neutral war cleric whoād been a soldier for a lot of her older teen years and was very familiar with violence and wanted to protect everyone around her, she slowly fell in love with him and even turned down his advances once. Taav is asexual and in this run astarion felt like heād realize he was too after they had a long talk after his act 2 scene. And their relationship is much more calm and I see it with lots of sleeping tangled together and leaning on each other with more forehead bumps than kisses. (Sheās a teifling and always looks concerned for him when sheās talking to him in game) My dark urge run Dirgeās relationship with him felt very different- she liked him right away and has snippets of memories of her youth before the bhaal temple like being out on the streets and going hungry and so is adamant about no one ever starving so feeds him without hesitation. And although she doesnāt really remember it- being the dark urge she was all about making sure she was useful to everyone and having the most upper hand so letting him (and laezāel in that run) sleep with her felt like power moves- they like her they canāt leave her type thing. They fall in love while she resists her urges and they both see the real under the masks they both wear, itās very sweet. Theyāre much more passionate and Dirge is a squishy sorcerer/cleric/rogue so he ends up picking her up off the ground a lot. (She smiles a lot at him in game when she doesnāt look like she has a thousand mile stare) And then my most recent is a not loth drow paladin who is focused on trying to get people to not see her as awful upon laying eyes on her. Iām playing co-op on honor mode and weāve only slept a few nights- hadnāt even gotten to the grove yet when astarion bit her but she knows all about being looked down on for things she canāt control so she lets him feed (plus sheās a paladin she can just lay on hands to get rid of the bloodlessness). I wasnāt trying to get his scenes right away but we got a bunch right off the bat and it feels like he started falling in love with her way faster than the others and sheās falling in love slowly in what feels like a friends to lovers he fell first she fell harder type way
Iām having so much fun reading everyoneās RP for this silly vampire man. I wrote a whole ass longfic because I had so much going into my RP š I hope everyone writes their stories too. Itās a lot of fun. Even if you never end up posting it or sharing it. Itās nice to go back and read for your own personal enjoyment āŗļø
This silly vampire man made me write non fiction for the first time in twenty years. And at the ripe old age of 34, I started writing fan fiction for the first time ever. And this sub encouraged me! And then encouraged me to publish it. I really hope others write their thoughts down too! Who knows what hidden gems might be hiding away in someone's brain or a half forgotten google doc!
So glad you started writing (donāt worry about age Iām 38 and a mom and here I am acting like my 16 year old fangirl self again)
Ah yes...fan girling like a teenager is so fun.
When the player starts showing an interest in *him* I think he realizes he's catching feelings. Probably when the player tries to help translate his scars or when they describe him in the mirror. But I don't think he realizes it's love until *after* Cazador is dealt with. I think he can recognize, during the confession scenes, that what he feels for the player goes beyond manipulation or a "tactical alliance" but he still doesn't have the words for it, hence why he's okay with becoming friends during the scene. For my characters, it depends on who I'm playing of course. My first character (resist Durge rogue), realized she loved him pretty quickly when she wouldn't let Gandrel take Astarion. My Paladin of Eilistraee was a bit more hesitant because he recognized Astarion's habits were a defense mechanism born from centuries of trauma and didn't want to take more than Astarion was truly willing to give. He realized he loved Astarion during the mirror scene and I headcanon that he stayed up that night drawing Astarion. My tiefling bard fell hard and fast and was pretty much instantly smitten. They knew Astarion didn't feel the same as them but they were fine with unrequited love. Haven't finished this run yet but as Astarion weirdly decided that he would literally never bite Lex (probably because its a 4-Tav modded run so lots of night events) I think they fell in love when Astarion was starting to be more honest about his vampirism and trauma. The pseudo-resisting Durge from my two-Tav run didn't believe she was capable of love and thought her feelings were born of mutual lust and bloodlust rather than true affection. When she was asked to kill her darling, she realized that she cared about Astarion more than she cared about herself. Still mad that save file got corrupted, she and the monk Tav in that game were my favourite characters.
I play Durge exclusively. When I romance Astarion, I HC that my durge starts to take interest in him when he says "You have a manner of irresistible desperation about you. I like it.". Since the moment she woke up on the nautaloid she's been desperate to remember her past, desperate to understand why she's having these dark and morbid urges. Everyone else can remember their past, no one else seems to be having dark urges or even understand what she's going through. She feels alone. But then Astarion notices this desperation in her. She doesn't know why he's able to pick up on it but because he does, it suggests that he may have his own feelings of desperation. She may not be alone with these feelings. Then later on, after you kill Alfira and Gale is asking you if you killed Alfira, Astarion backs up your claim that it was a wild boar. (It seems to me that he knows that you did in fact kill her because of how he responded and also because in Act 2 he mentions keeping camp murders to a minimum). But after that, my durge starts to fall for him. As for Astarion, I HC that he starts falling for you after you kill Gandrel. You have multiple options on how to deal with Gandrel but you choose the most extreme option: killing Gandrel not for yourself, not for the safety of your party, but for Astarion. Of course, he doesn't recognize what these feelings are. He can't. But he does enjoy being around you, he feels safe around you, he can joke with you and, at least for my durge, they're all about acquiring power. He doesn't yet know what to do with these new found feelings, but he does know that he doesn't want to lose it. So he resorts to what he does best, manipulation. I also HC that when Astarion is giving you all his pick up lines and you keep shitting on them, he uses the "I love you" mostly as a joke, but also as a way to test the waters, so to speak. He doesn't love you yet, but it seems like he's trying to gage your reaction to an expression of affection. Anyway, that's my head cannon š
That last bit. I also think he maybe says that I love you line at the party to like...test your reaction? And of course he basically just goes 'lol jk....unless?'. Especially if you go with the less dismissive lines!
It depends on the Tav/Durge for me. For his Tav, who's a super trusting himbo, he started feeling back something seeing that Tav always protected the others, but seeing how with him it was different. He's a barbarian, and he would absolutely lose his shit when an enemy hurt Astarion, as opposed to just being "normal" angry for another companion. As for the Durge, it was a bit earlier, when his joking actually HURT the Durge's feelings. It was seeing how that Durge was emotionally defenseless to him because he was absolutely hooked on him that made him see it that time around. And that his murderous crush was putty in his hands. Like at first he was just grateful for the fool, but he softened pretty quickly and fell into his feelings.
My Tav fell for him fast and early, she was into him from the get go, propositioned him like first night, every time he was cute or vulnerable she fell harder. By act 2 she was ride or die. He I don't think gave himself permission to truly love her back all the way until Cazador was dead. My durge realized he cared in act 2 after the blood merchant, and that he was in love after Kethric when he had his... episode. I see the two of them on a lot closer of a timeline with eachother.
It's different for each run I've done, but I have a more clear answer for my recent Durge playthrough. She most likely recognized that she was falling for him when Astarion propositioned her the 2nd time. He went through his cheesy one-liners, but then dropped the "I love you". This scared my Durge and got her really thinking about how she actually feels. For Astarion, it's kind of dumb, but I felt convinced he started catching feelings when Durge helped the hyena in Act 2. It was a random encounter that I'd never had before since it was my first time entering from the Mountain Pass. I didn't expect Astarion to approve of it, but he did. So I've headcannoned that this was the first moment he noticed a softer side to her (Act 1 had very cold, calculating decisions). I like to think seeing Durge have compassion for a traditionally violent creature brought thoughts of "Maybe she could show love to me as well".
https://preview.redd.it/408n9wha732d1.png?width=3840&format=png&auto=webp&s=6b41e79c94fa52b249616bbbb825d01084d87ed9 My best Tav, Melora, is a half-Drow spore-circle Druid. She was intrigued from the first day they met. Getting wrestled to the ground and held at knifepoint makes for a hell of a first impression, and she appreciates audacity. So she definitely developed a crush hard and early. But because she was trying to be diplomatic about things, and because she wasn't born yesterday, she remained cautious. Until the biting thing happened. That was the true start of serious feelings for both of them. For him, obviously because he was caught off guard by her placing so much trust in him. But also because it was the first time he could recall someone doing something selfless to help him, with no expectation of reward in return. Not to mention it was his first truly intimate experience in living memory. He tries to play it off for a while, and not admit it, but eventually he just can't deny it. For her, though, that first bite was a unique experience, and she was able to appreciate the intimacy of it as well. But more than that, once his true nature was revealed to her (which she appreciated his trust in her for sharing also) she was eager to see him become his best self. He like, blossomed, and to her, a person living fully according to their true nature is a big turn-on. Not to mention, the first time fighting along side him after feeding, he was so very effective. She also really appreciates those who are extremely capable. For the small price of a little blood every other night or so, she can have a loyal (and world-endingly beautiful) friend who will destroy her foes with the deadly efficiency of a natural predator. Symbiosis, baby. She's into it. Plus, he's got a sarcastic sense of humor.
I think it's a very slow development for him. At first he thinks my Tav is a snotty, insufferable bleeding heart--I mean, he had a dagger to her throat and all she did is mouth off! The *nerve!* But over time, he begins to notice a real cleverness to her that he kind of admires. She's observant, silver-tongued, a little chaotic... he kind of appreciates her not immediately falling for his lines and calling him out at first. When they finally have sex, he's shocked that she's such an attentive lover who is actually trying to make him feel good, and even more shocked that she noticed his distance. He starts realizing things are a little different this time after the first night, but won't realize he's falling in love until much later. My high (sun) elf Bard/Druid (I see her as having been a street dancer/singer/fiddler) Tav was someone orphaned young and often sought "love" and companionship through sex because she lacked a strong family unit or friend circle, and sex was easier to find than people who genuinely care, and if you squint you can pretend it feels the same too. She's had a long series of failed romances, culminating in a very shit "marriage" (this goes deeeeeep into hc because of course I'm insane and writer-brained enough to create a backstory just as edgy and elaborate as the companions', so I'm not going to explain the whole of it, but suffice to say it was a very bad and abnormal marriage, closer to a pact almost, that she was trapped in before her abduction). By now, she's a bit jaded about love, despite still wanting it. She was resistant to Astarion's advances at first, finding him incorrigible due to vastly differing morals. She lets him bite her though, because she empathizes with being poor and hungry, and they start warming up after that. When her "husband" never came looking for her (thankfully), she starts actually flirting back and eventually agrees to sleep with him at the teifling party. There's a shaky sort of understanding between them that they're just "having fun". Sex starts to be a bit of a competition; he's trying to please her for protection, she's trying to please him because she's lonely and a lil bit spiteful toward her husband (who she's realizing was awful in bed). I figure she starts really catching feelings in early act 2, and then gets a bit sad about it because she thinks it's one-sided and that there's no way he'd ever actually commit to her. I think when he tells her she's incredible, it almost makes her cry, because she's quite used to being put down or dropped by her past lovers. She wants to try being together without sex for a while too, because she's never done that either. They spend the night after his confession snuggling and quietly discussing their pasts and their boundaries, until they fall asleep. I like to think they're very affectionate after this; always holding hands, spooning in bed, cuddling around the campfire. The other companions are *sickened.* She is his rock when finally confronting Cazador. I think the moment he realized he loved her was when she pointed out that she'd be in those cages with the rest of the spawn if they'd met just a little sooner than they had, and the mere thought made him sick. I think she realizes she loves him is when she finally comes face-to-face with her lover's tormentor and realizes she hates this complete stranger more than anything, just because he hurt Astarion so much. They decide not to ascend him and release the spawn, then later sit at his grave for his final closure and he finally admits that he loves her. And of course, in a move that would make Mary Shelley weep with gothic romantic envy, they have sex again for the first time since their break in intimacy, atop his own empty grave š„° (i wrote a damn novel good lord)