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 |
| Archives: | |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
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
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Resources
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
References
- ^ One of the many definitions of the weave https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Weave
- ^ https://twitter.com/larianstudios/status/1757773594229191141
- ^ https://x.com/phaseknight_/status/1757773934760444408?s=20
- ^ https://x.com/GeekyFriedRice/status/1757775144129372476?s=20
- ^ https://x.com/dalish_rogue/status/1757774414806917379?s=20
- ^ https://x.com/Selendri/status/1757774052737921467?s=20
- ^ https://x.com/mr_aurelionsol/status/1757774888654303692?s=20
- ^ https://x.com/anannewithane/status/1757777867864223748?s=20
- ^ https://x.com/Nati_irrelevant/status/1757781154797658344?s=20
- ^ https://x.com/godomischief/status/1757780885158371349?s=20
- ^ https://x.com/AutistArtism/status/1757778394404487340?s=20
- ^ https://x.com/MchlleW/status/1757775145291190629?s=20
- ^ https://x.com/byeollumiere/status/1757773692971495591?s=20
- ^ https://x.com/Octavia_Tav/status/1757781295600419279?s=20
- ^ https://x.com/elcara0/status/1757781437405712464?s=20
- ^ https://x.com/deviantdreamerz/status/1757775944721281235?s=20