I had never felt so seen before I saw this show, but even better was that someone who loves me saw it and said "I think you would like this show. I think it would help you feel less alone."
one of the many reasons Fleabag is so heartbreaking and relatable is because no one ever chose her. Not her family. Not her lovers. Not her supposed “soulmate”. The one person that picked her died. She was no one’s choice or option, not even to herself. The way we can feel her loneliness through the screen is enough to make me collapse into a mess of tears on the ground and shake uncontrollably
I didn't get it either (I literally restarted the game so I could play a Wyllstarion run) but if you play as Origin Astarion, you can play him less shitty to Gale, and Gale being the Rizzard he is, will chat you up still because he's Player-sexual like all the companions. Also, the longer I let Gale be in my party the more fucking unhinged he comes off. Honestly I don't get how they aren't friends in the normal play through, they are both ambitious, morally grey, and constantly cracking extremely dark jokes. It reminds me more of my friends whom I constantly tease or butt heads with but only because we are extremely alike. In this Bloodweave Ted Talk I will....
The popularity of “Bloodweave” continues to astound me when, if you’re not playing them as an Origin character, they seem to only situationally tolerate each other. Honestly, I’d go as far as saying they don’t particularly like each other. Meanwhile if you’re playing as Tav or Durge I swear Wyll takes every opportunity he can to mention how charming and good-looking Astarion is, while Astarion also litters the game with positive (for him) comments about Wyll and the kind of person he is.
I’m going to use a scenario where the Player Character staked and killed Astarion as an example. Wyll immediately opens up with:
Wyll: “Elegant bearing, saucy voice… I should have seen it from the start!”
Shadowheart: “He wasn’t the worst company, bloodlust aside. Part of me will miss him.”
Gale: “Need I remind you that he tried to open one of our necks like a Thayan Red?”
Wyll: “Easy, the danger’s passed. Let’s just be more careful about which strays we bring home, all right?”
Tav/Durge: “We needed allies. It was a risk worth taking.”
Gale: “It was a risk that nearly cost you your neck.”
Obviously there are other scenarios and outcomes and perhaps other people have encountered them being more positive towards one another, but in my various playthroughs I’ve never really seen it—I’ve really only seen the Wyllstarion banter, which doesn’t change depending on who I romance. If anything, romancing one of them seems to give me even more comments from both of them indicating they find the other attractive, etc. I believe Astarion even says he used to dream of marrying a man like Wyll.
I'm using Gale alot with my Origin Astarion for BIG FIGHTS in the Shar Temple area and I think I'm shipping them as friends? Like they both try so hard to carry themselves as very important people while clearly suffering imposter syndrome, so there's that. But also they both have this really fucked up dark sense of humor and I think they are totally those members of the friend group that keep popping each other with the most batshit takes and end up being besties.
I do love that Stede Bonnet is unhinged. Like, legitimately an absolute freak, a danger to himself and others (mostly others). Wildly off-kilter man menacing the entire structure of both English and pirate society.
Who will talk someone into lighting themselves on fire for being mean to his boyfriend.
Who will not be content with just pushing a man off the plank, but will CHUCK A FIDDLE AT HIS HEAD.
Who will put on an all white suit, walk into a deeply dangerous dive bar, declare his presence in a fucking pun, and tell the man who tried to kill him not a day ago that he doesn't care what his name is.
Who will return to the same dive bar again and again, ask for a job there, and then rob the owner.
Who will stand in the middle of a violent raid and tell his clerk to take notes properly.
Who will run across a beach in the middle of a major battle to make out with his boyfriend.
Who looked at Blackbeard and went "that's him, that's the love of my life."
I am generally an Astarion gurlie because I have A TYPE
But I also find Gale fascinating because while I get dunking on him for being kind of a dork, that man had an affair with a goddess, his dick game has to be off the charts, let's be honest.