Astarion/Gale

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Pairing
Pairing: Astarion/Gale
Alternative name(s): Bloodweave
Gender category: Slash
Fandom: Baldur's Gate III
Canonical?: yes, player determinant
Prevalence: popular
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Astarion/Gale is the canonical pairing of Astarion and Gale in Baldur's Gate III fandom. This pairing is only canonical if the player chooses to start the game using Astarion or Gale as the player character.

Canon

Gale and Astarion can meet early during gameplay, one immediately after the other, and are examples of two very different types of personalities, with Gale being kind and a good Samaritan, and Astarion being snappish and selfish. They cannot be canon during a playthrough where the character does not play as either one of them, as Gale won't sleep or start a romantic relationship with anyone but the player character even thought Astarion can sleep with some companions early on for protection.

Later in the game they both seem to have warmed up to each other, even without having a romantic relationship.

Fandom

Pairing name and representation

The portmanteau pairing name, Bloodweave, is more commonly used than its slash name, Astarion/Gale. It has its origins in Astarion's vampirism, his hunger for blood, and a way through which raw magic is used, the weave[1].

It's the most popular Tav/Dark Urge free pairing of the fandom.

Common Tropes and Themes

  • Blood Drinking/Feeding the Orb: Both characters start the game with peculiar dietary requirements. If Astarion attempts to drink Gale's blood, he soon discovers it tastes like bile due to the Orb. Gale will need to consume several magical objects during the start of the game, leading to comical depictions of his meals by fans. There are many examples of fanfiction and fanart that take inspiration from their unusual hunger, creating common ground in the development of a relationship.
  • Puppy and Kitty: Mainly in the Chinese fandom, fans like to assign animal features to Gale (puppy) and Astarion (kitty). Mostly they associate these to the characters due to their personality traits, and the features tend to include ears and/or a tail.

On. Your. Knees. post reactions

On February 14 2024, the official Larian Studios Twitter (X) account posted a video of a new Astarion/Gale kiss animation[2] that would come out during Patch 6. The Kiss shows, a likely Ascended (due to the S/M nature of the interaction), Astarion with Gale as his romantic partner. In it, Astarion refuses to kiss Gale lest he kneels for him. After Gale is in position, Astarion grabs his neck in a dominant fashion and kisses him, also biting his mouth and causing Gale to bleed. This is the only one of the three kisses shown until then (first Halstarion, then Shadowzel) that featured voice lines, namely Astarion's "You are perfect. Every time." after a laugh. This was also not the first time that Larian had used Bloodweave in their official tweets, as it was also them who quickly popularised this particular pairing name by reposting fan content.

Many fans showed good-natured false indignation due to the more mature nature of the kiss, also due to how early it was posted, with many of which Larian interacted as well.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Bloodweave fans were ecstatic, with many stating that Bloodweave was "real"[10][11][12][13][14], and Ascendarion fans as well[15], since this was suspected to be his specific kiss. The overall opinion was that Larian knew their game's fanbase very well and people were pleased with them, considering this support for the ships shown.[16]

Fanworks

  • En Prise by positivejam, It’s not often Astarion sees his own hunger reflected in another’s eyes. So yearning for a look in the mirror, he can't help but stare. (2023)
  • The Season by Linnetagain, In which Astarion is an ex-olympic figure skater and Gale is a famous musician. They get paired together as Dancing on Ice's first ever same sex couple. Shenanigans ensue. (2023)
  • Shores by baldur's-gape (connorssock), All in all, Gale is happy and trying to be a decent man. His divorce has left a fair few invisible scars but they're mostly healed over and he's moving on. Which is why he tries to help where he can, giving the benefit of the doubt even to those who have been rude to him for no reason. After all, nobody sets out to be a deliberate prick, usually there has to be some underlying cause. (2024)
  • Ambrosia (or: How Gale Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb) by mercurial_cool, Of the many side effects Gale has faced as a result of his whole “being physical host to an imminently destructive magical orb” problem, he somehow never anticipated his blood now apparently smelling irresistible to vampires (or at least, one particular vampire) to be one of them. (2023)
  • Stay Though My Arms Shake by Lunarwench, Two months after the brain falls, Baldur's Gate has picked up most of the pieces. The heroes that saved Faerûn have been there through most of it, helping the city get back on its feet. But now it's time to move on. Old lives and families to return to. Gale is going back to his tower in Waterdeep, back to the quiet, back to being alone; or at least, that was the plan. But plans change. This is a story about falling in love. (2023)
  • Seen by ayvaines, After years of dodging social interactions, Astarion decides to go out of his comfort zone and play a game of Dungeons and Dragons at the insistence of his cruel and controlling fiancé, Cazador. When he meets Gale Dekarios—the game’s charismatic, mysterious Dungeon Master—something inside him stirs. Something he didn't expect. (2023)
  • They Were Roommates (By Mystra, They Were Roommates) by sex_and_cum, Ah, Waterdeep, the City of Splendours! Gale and Astarion make roost in Gale's hometown with healing on the mind - though everything is not as it seems. The acclaimed archmage ex-Chosen of Mystra who went surreptitiously missing two years ago is back in town, and his friends and enemies in high places are eager to learn more of the circumstances of his disappearance. Loose threads left behind are eager to snare and there are some things Gale's not ready to share, leaving Astarion in the dark as Gale commits to his search for a fix to his little sunlight issue. Who would've thought being roommates would be so complicated? (2023)

Resources

References

  1. ^ One of the many definitions of the weave https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Weave
  2. ^ https://twitter.com/larianstudios/status/1757773594229191141
  3. ^ https://x.com/phaseknight_/status/1757773934760444408?s=20
  4. ^ https://x.com/GeekyFriedRice/status/1757775144129372476?s=20
  5. ^ https://x.com/dalish_rogue/status/1757774414806917379?s=20
  6. ^ https://x.com/Selendri/status/1757774052737921467?s=20
  7. ^ https://x.com/mr_aurelionsol/status/1757774888654303692?s=20
  8. ^ https://x.com/anannewithane/status/1757777867864223748?s=20
  9. ^ https://x.com/Nati_irrelevant/status/1757781154797658344?s=20
  10. ^ https://x.com/godomischief/status/1757780885158371349?s=20
  11. ^ https://x.com/AutistArtism/status/1757778394404487340?s=20
  12. ^ https://x.com/MchlleW/status/1757775145291190629?s=20
  13. ^ https://x.com/byeollumiere/status/1757773692971495591?s=20
  14. ^ https://x.com/Octavia_Tav/status/1757781295600419279?s=20
  15. ^ https://x.com/elcara0/status/1757781437405712464?s=20
  16. ^ https://x.com/deviantdreamerz/status/1757775944721281235?s=20


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