Astarion/Tav
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Astarion/Tav |
| Alternative name(s): | |
| Gender category: | Slash, Het, Non-binary |
| Fandom: | Baldur's Gate III |
| Canonical?: | player determinant |
| Prevalence: | the most popular |
| Archives: | |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Astarion/Tav is the popular canonical pairing of Astarion and the player character Tav in Baldur's Gate III fandom. Its category depends on whether the player created a female, male or non-binary Tav.
Canon
This article or section needs expansion. |
Fandom
Statistics
Astarion/Tav is currently the most popular overall Baldur's Gate pairing on the fanfiction site Archive of Our Own.[1] Writers often cross-tag Astarion/Tav fics as Astarion/OC to indicate Tav's gender.[2][3] This is because AO3 currently lacks canonical tags for the female, male, and non-binary versions of the ship. Based on cross-tagging, the het version of the ship appears more popular (2,311 OFC fics) than the slash version (1,666 OMC fics).[2][3] The ship placed 10th in centreoftheselights' 2023 end-of-year review of the most popular pairings on AO3 by new works posted.[4] It did not rank in the top 100 in an August 2023 review, the same month as Baldur's Gate III's official release.[5] Fanart of the ship is common on Twitter, Tumblr, and DeviantArt, with the het version having an apparent edge.
Larian released statistics in December 2023 showing that the most popular in-game romances in BG3 are (in order) Shadowheart, Karlach, and Lae'zel.[6] It is uncertain whether Astarion took fourth place. This revelation provoked surprise and discourse among fans who regard him as the fandom's breakout character. The statistics likely reflect a global player base composed primarily of heterosexual cis men, in contrast to the queer-friendly, woman-centered fannish communities that generally produce fanfiction. Larian also counted only players who completed a romance arc.[6] Thus, the statistics did not include players still progressing through the game at the time, nor instances of players initiating an Astarion romance but not finishing it (typically due to an in-game break up).
Examples of Fanwork
Fanfic
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fanart
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fan Vids
- Baldur's Gate 3 Animatic: Astarion | Little White Lies by jacquesfroot on Youtube
- Burn (Ascended Astarion animatic) by themoonatmingitaw on Youtube
- Can you hear the music ? | BG3 ASTARION | ANIMATIC by maat_art1115 on Youtube
- El tango de roxanne | Baldur's Gate 3 Animatic by riverwyvern on Youtube
Wikis
- Astarion Romance on the Shipping Wiki
Gallery
Art by Carmenlaurart (elf Tav)
Softies by Cha0smic (tiefling Tav)
We Belong to the Shadows by HeavenCEY (drow Tav)
Crystals by Isbjorg (elf Tav)
Moonlight Waltz by Isbjorg (elf Tav)
Night Walk by Isbjorg (elfTav)
Violet Touch by Isbjorg (elf Tav)
Blood by maXKennedy (tiefling Tav)
Astarion x Tav by MissDarien (female elf Tav) – Based on a scene from the 1994 film Interview with a Vampire.
Not Him by Poticceli – Same male elf Tav as previous. Also based on Interview with a Vampire.
Short Rest by Poticceli – Same male elf Tav as previous.
Exhausted by Sirpurrwain (human Tav)
Art by Eva Sztefka (elf Tav)
Art by Yin Yang (tiefling Tav)
External Links
- Astarion/Tav works at AO3
References
- ^ "Baldur's Gate (Video Games)" tag on Archive of Our Own
- ^ a b "Astarion (Baldur's Gate)/Original Female Character(s)" tag on Archive of Our Own
- ^ a b "Astarion (Baldur's Gate)/Original Male Character(s)" tag on Archive of Our Own
- ^ "What fanfic was the world writing in 2023? (AO3 Year In Review)" by centreoftheselights on Archive of Our Own
- ^ "AO3 Ship Stats 2023" by centreoftheselights on Archive of Our Own
- ^ a b Official statistics posted by Larian (@larianstudios) on Twitter