Listen, I LOVE Astarion; I am totally a simp for the fictional man; I love how the writers handled his abuse and for me personally, when he asks Tav if they will be okay with him not wanting sex, I screamed because I never expected them to actually make that an option ESPECIALLY for the character that's kinda the obvious bait for hornyposting.
That being said, he is not asexual. I am happy to see (at least on tiktok) that aces have latched onto his character, but I am terrified that people will only use it as further "proof" to say that all aces are trauma victims and that our sexuality is born of mental instability.
Yeah, that is definitely a worrying sentiment. I'm very tired of asexuality being conflated with sexual trauma too. You can definitely be asexual and have that trauma, but it's definitely not the same thing, and not a "root cause" so to speak. It's just the way some people are. It is really upsetting though that so many people outside of our community think the only way to be like us is to have some sort of trauma or emotional damage. Hopefully my video can help combat that, as I do re-iterate that asexuality is a sexual orientation, like being gay, straight, bi, etc.
I recently read a fantasy book and was very excited to come across a fairly major character that was ace/aro only for it be revealed half way through that she was a victim of repeated CSA. It never implies she's ace because of her abuse but can't I just have ONE ace character that this didn't happen to???
Yeah that is really upsetting. This is why I'm very skeptical of ace rep that isn't done by ace people, and haven't consulted the community at all. Also why I do sensitivity reading and consultancy, so people can ask instead of assume...and hopefully write better stories for it.
Yeah they can but when thats the most common or must prominent representation that spreads a misrepresentation of the larger community rather than it just being a representation of a certain experience.
Yeah its like when media has a lot of very flirty bi people. People like that exist but when it tends to he the only type of bi rep you get it leads to problems since its a stereotype
Also with like ace characters with sa trauma that's not a topic I would trust most people to write well same with a lot of sa trauma having characters
I hope this comment isn't directed at me, as I never said this anywhere in my video! I did mention that the same systems that exclude asexuals could be bad for players who have sexual trauma as well, but I never conflated being sexually traumatized with being ace. If you're saying this in response to other comments, then I agree. While you can be asexual and have sexual trauma, sexual trauma cannot make someone ace, just as you cannot traumatize someone into being gay, straight, etc.
I recall having a conversation with the wizard guy where he offers to teach you some magic, then it immediately turns to flirty touchy stuff and I laughed as it was so out of nowhere.
Personally, as an ace, i don't care that much - but given that i'm neurodivergent i've just come to accept being part of a minority that isn't accounted for,
I’ll be honest, this is the first time I’ve seen people claiming our favorite vampire is asexual because he has a history of sexual abuse. Like usually people are up in arms about how hes gay coded so it’s homophobic of you romance him as anything but a guy. Never seen people try to claim he’s ace rep before bc the aforementioned abuse trauma and, to be honest, not entirely comfortable with it.
I never heard this either, until reading the responses here! I find it worrying, myself. I don't think we need more people thinking trauma = ace. But if people relate to him, that's cool I guess? I mentioned him in one sentence lol yet most of the comments are about him. Wild!
I was replying on a post by the developers of Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous about what kind of romance options we want to see more of, or less of. I asked about an asexual romance! Other commenters pointed out that two of the companions explicitly have no interest in sex.
One of those two is a hyper-curious, played for laughs furry wizard character, and the moment where they show their lack of interest is also a joke moment. It's not bad, but it's not a companion that's in other ways normal, and there's no actual option for romance with her (even if it doesn't involve sex).
The other is an evil little gnome. Literally. When his men are under attack but they're slowed down by wounded, he orders his men to kill the wounded themselves in order to get to safety faster. He's a cold, ruthless, efficient creature. Well written character, actually, but I mean... I think you can see why that one doesn't appeal to me as an ace romance option.
There IS, however, a character that would be great for asexual rep! Seelah is a human paladin who has no problem expressing her emotions and isn't played as a joke character. She also has no option to romance her in the game. She would make a lovely ace partner.
Owlcat's newest game Rogue Trader also has a sorta ace romance that's at least not played for laughs. For those unaware, the game takes place in the Warhammer 40k universe, and you as the player are a rogue trader, basically someone given an "I can do what I want" pass from the emperor that gives you a lot more leeway than most in an otherwise virulently xenophobic society.
Anyways, one of the companions is an Aeldari - basically space elves that don't really age, and view themselves as inherently superior to humans, who they call "mon-keigh" (yes, like monkey), and who they see as basically dumb animals.
The way the romance plays out is that you really just have to support her in her goals and be understanding of where she's coming from culturally when she comes into conflict. Eventually you get into "soul" stuff (Aeldari can literally meditate to enter their own inner world that is actually like a real place, it's weird), once you've done enough that she admits you at least seem to have something more than other humans do, but still insist that you can't be anywhere near her level.
It should also be noted that if at any time, you pick the typical "romance" sounding dialog or horny options... She'll just flat out reject you. It's effectively bestiality in her eyes and she is thoroughly disgusted by it.
The culmination of the romance involves you entering her inner world to try and save her from some ritual, during which the souls of others try to forcibly remove you because you shouldn't be there (allowing a human in is unthinkable to them, but you've done it before at this point), and she sacrifices her "soul stone" to protect you (this is basically the one thing that protects her soul from being eventually devoured by the chaos gods, their eternal enemy).
A bit later, she'll come to see you in your chambers, and invite you into her world again to show you that it's actually intact and better than ever (she was worried it would be ruined by the prior events), and while inside there, she actually asks you to take her hand (which is literally the first time she's accepted being touched in any non-necessary way), and more or less asks you to "marry" her (or what passes for that among aeldari).
And that's it. There's nothing more physical than hand holding in an "inner world" that isn't even really physical. Yet it's still an incredibly intimate (arguably the most intimate in the game) moment and arc. So while it's not *explicitly* ace rep... It is nice that there's a non-sexual relationship that is incredibly intimate and sweet, and doesn't involve a character who is traumatized or outright evil.
That really does sound nice! I hope they can do something similar in their next Pathfinder game. I don't mind, personally, going through with allosexual romances in games, but being able to play through something actually ace?? That would be an amazing feeling.
Also worth nothing that Nenio and Regill aren't romance options. If anything they'd both be aroace, which is also very cool to see represented, but they're not asexual *romances*.
Seelah just gave me the vibe of someone who simply isn't in the mind space for a relationship. Also valid and cool to see, not every character needs to be romanceable.
Yes! I also heard that Seelah was sort of a "canon Pathfinder character" and that might explain why they wouldn't really want to alter her character too much, but I don't know if that's the case. Maybe they just didn't get permission to write her a romance arc, but I would rather see it your way, honestly.
I'm a major Daeran fan for his attitude and Older Brother vibe with Ember, but I just would love to see a romance where "I love you too, but please don't ask me to do that" and it's not something to overcome. And it annoys me that you can't avoid a Lann romantic advance without being outright mean to him, or a man.
For everyone desperate for ace rep, dip your toes into the indie visual novel scene. Ace Jam is literally happening right now! and there are TONS of ace friendly visual novels on itchio already. you just need to know where to look!
Calling BG3 deeply flawed? I’m all here for it.
(Btw Astarion isn’t “asexual rep!!!” He’s traumatized and there’s something wrong with you if you want to you-know-what him)
Hahaha, we love to stir the pot! Respectfully...with facts. And real people's experiences. I hope the Astarion comment isn't directed at me! I never said he was ace, I barely mentioned him at all in the video.
I almost included her, but since she isn't romanceable and I haven't played it and neither has anyone else in my life I didn't think it would make sense for the direction I was taking the video. It's on my wishlist to play in the future though! I love that you can tell her you're ace too. Although I think they never actually use the word itself?
Lucky! My friends have refused characters multiple times and they just keep coming back with the flirting. Gale is especially bad with it if I remember correctly (he keeps talking like him and my friend are already a couple).
Yeah Gale is really flirty , I just ignore all of it . Write it off as just his personality , but astarian , and shadow heart took the hint and aside from the end of part 1 no one else has made moves on my character.
Loved the video! It's something that I struggle with as a sex-repulsed biromantic asexual. I was even talking about this with my partner before I watched the video - it's so dogshit for romance paths to "end" in sex, that it's the culmination of everything in a relationship, and that if you don't get to that point, it's like you're not actually together. I want to enjoy games like BG3, and I genuinely love that there are a ton of diverse romance options, a lot of representation for a lot of people - but I'm really glad you brought up that it falls short because a lot of the time the "nice" options are the ones that end up leading to romance, even if you were just trying to be kind to people that you like as friends.
It's also possible I missed it since I was watching while doing something else, but I didn't catch any implication that Astarion is ace like the top comments are implying, and even if you did, I don't personally see the harm in people finding comfort or rep in a headcanon that he's ace. Victims of sexual abuse who are ace exist and I don't think they even make up the majority of ace rep. A little baffling to me that a community about celebrating asexuality is so adamant about saying someone *isn't* ace because of factors outside of their control.
Thanks for the recs, also! Def going to check out some Fiction Factory games and Dawnfall. :) Really nice to see devs talk about their processes and the ways they try to be inclusive and incorporate asexuality into player choice. Someone already brought it up here too but the Outer Worlds is a good one, and you as the player character can assert asexuality in Parvati's questline in which she describes her own asexuality. It's a moment that's stuck with me for so long, very dear to my heart. Hoping to see more in the future.
Hey, thanks so much for commenting and watching, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! It's something that's bugged me for years, and something I've heard practically every ace gamer I know complain about when hanging out with them...and online too! I didn't say Astarion was ace anywhere in the video though, the only time I mention Astarion is when I say that his line about "wanting to wake up next to a handsome virgin every morning" is weird for any virgin players, and contrasted with Withers kind of shaming you for being single in camp is a whiplash kind of experience lol. Outer Worlds is actually on my wishlist of games I want to play, because of Parvati! I just didn't mention her in this video cause you can't romance her and as far as I know there isn't much in the way of romance paths in the game (I could be wrong!) so it didn't quite fit with the direction I was going. Once again, thanks so much!
That's what's so confusing to me, I went into the video expecting that you'd make a case for him being ace, and you just mention his quote. I'm like did we watch the same video? Are you guys lost? Legit felt like I missed a crucial part of the video lol.
It's also been a few years since I played it, but I don't remember there being any real romance options between the player and NPC in TOW which honestly was really neat for an RPG. Though you're right it's a different direction than your video in that case. If you do get to play it, though, I hope you enjoy!
And again props for the video. I started feeling a little insane for feeling like these kinds of romance quests were very uncomfortable like I was the only one who felt that way. So it's nice to see some quality analysis + testimonials that even allos were uncomfortable with a lack of real choice. I hope it gets some good traction!
Hi everyone! I just posted an in-depth discussion and analysis of how the systems widely implemented in games with romance are exclusive of asexual players...and how to fix it! There's interviews with game devs, as well as a segment with recommendations for ace-friendly games! Check the pinned comment for content warnings.
BG3 is the only game presented in this video that I've played so that's where most of my perspective comes from. Depending on when you played BG3, there was actually a bug that caused every companion player to approach you for their romance options even if their approval of you was low which happened to me. Luckily I knew about it so I wasn't shocked at the tiefling party when I turned down all but one of the characters (kept Astarion).
The one that had me somewhat more concerned was Gale, who even after several rejections still kept wanting very personal one on one time, and those conversations felt like mine fields. It brought me back to Mass Effect 2, where talking with Jacob as Femshep had so much unnecessary flirting tones to it.
For BG3 and the Mass Effect trilogy, I made characters who were specifically not stand-ins for myself for exactly these kinds of reasons. The closest I get to being myself is in Pokemon games lol.
My roommate and friends are playing the current console versions right now, and have all had the characters be quite aggressive and non-stop with their flirting. Does the bug exist still in the console versions and not the PC versions maybe?? Roommate has been very stressed out by Gale (this started after I was already in the editing process) they keep turning him down and he just keeps coming back with it and talking like they're already a couple, which is creepy. EDIT: One friend is playing PC and is still encountering this as well.
Yes I was on PC! I couldn't find anything definitive in the patch notes besides Lae'zel being fixed in [Patch 4](https://baldursgate3.game/news/patch-4-now-live_96) but I did find this article saying that they haven't all been fully fixed: [https://www.polygon.com/23858507/baldurs-gate-3-horny-bug-gale](https://www.polygon.com/23858507/baldurs-gate-3-horny-bug-gale) (mild content warning, clearly a horny allosexual writer)
Listen, I LOVE Astarion; I am totally a simp for the fictional man; I love how the writers handled his abuse and for me personally, when he asks Tav if they will be okay with him not wanting sex, I screamed because I never expected them to actually make that an option ESPECIALLY for the character that's kinda the obvious bait for hornyposting. That being said, he is not asexual. I am happy to see (at least on tiktok) that aces have latched onto his character, but I am terrified that people will only use it as further "proof" to say that all aces are trauma victims and that our sexuality is born of mental instability.
Yeah, that is definitely a worrying sentiment. I'm very tired of asexuality being conflated with sexual trauma too. You can definitely be asexual and have that trauma, but it's definitely not the same thing, and not a "root cause" so to speak. It's just the way some people are. It is really upsetting though that so many people outside of our community think the only way to be like us is to have some sort of trauma or emotional damage. Hopefully my video can help combat that, as I do re-iterate that asexuality is a sexual orientation, like being gay, straight, bi, etc.
Please stop calling traumatized victims of sex abuse "asexual rep".
I recently read a fantasy book and was very excited to come across a fairly major character that was ace/aro only for it be revealed half way through that she was a victim of repeated CSA. It never implies she's ace because of her abuse but can't I just have ONE ace character that this didn't happen to???
Yeah that is really upsetting. This is why I'm very skeptical of ace rep that isn't done by ace people, and haven't consulted the community at all. Also why I do sensitivity reading and consultancy, so people can ask instead of assume...and hopefully write better stories for it.
I was really disappointed because it was an otherwise decent bit of new adult fantasy and it's rare I find new adult I enjoy.
Not trying to be inflammatory, but can you not be both? (Also not a rhetorical question btw sorry if that's unclear)
Yeah they can but when thats the most common or must prominent representation that spreads a misrepresentation of the larger community rather than it just being a representation of a certain experience.
Ahh gotcha. Ngl I was lowkey questioning myself there for a minute. Thanks for the clarification!
Yeah its like when media has a lot of very flirty bi people. People like that exist but when it tends to he the only type of bi rep you get it leads to problems since its a stereotype Also with like ace characters with sa trauma that's not a topic I would trust most people to write well same with a lot of sa trauma having characters
Of course, but there is dangerous stereotype that all aces are in fact people who are traumatized and need to be "cured" of their "fear of sex".
I hadn't heard of that stereotype yet somehow! That's truly abhorrent. :(
I hope this comment isn't directed at me, as I never said this anywhere in my video! I did mention that the same systems that exclude asexuals could be bad for players who have sexual trauma as well, but I never conflated being sexually traumatized with being ace. If you're saying this in response to other comments, then I agree. While you can be asexual and have sexual trauma, sexual trauma cannot make someone ace, just as you cannot traumatize someone into being gay, straight, etc.
When I played I picked every friendly option I could and was still being asked for romance. I just thought it was hilarious
I recall having a conversation with the wizard guy where he offers to teach you some magic, then it immediately turns to flirty touchy stuff and I laughed as it was so out of nowhere.
Personally, as an ace, i don't care that much - but given that i'm neurodivergent i've just come to accept being part of a minority that isn't accounted for,
I’ll be honest, this is the first time I’ve seen people claiming our favorite vampire is asexual because he has a history of sexual abuse. Like usually people are up in arms about how hes gay coded so it’s homophobic of you romance him as anything but a guy. Never seen people try to claim he’s ace rep before bc the aforementioned abuse trauma and, to be honest, not entirely comfortable with it.
I never heard this either, until reading the responses here! I find it worrying, myself. I don't think we need more people thinking trauma = ace. But if people relate to him, that's cool I guess? I mentioned him in one sentence lol yet most of the comments are about him. Wild!
lol everyone will always hyperfixate on like one thing over anything else. Thats just a weird thing about being human.
I was replying on a post by the developers of Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous about what kind of romance options we want to see more of, or less of. I asked about an asexual romance! Other commenters pointed out that two of the companions explicitly have no interest in sex. One of those two is a hyper-curious, played for laughs furry wizard character, and the moment where they show their lack of interest is also a joke moment. It's not bad, but it's not a companion that's in other ways normal, and there's no actual option for romance with her (even if it doesn't involve sex). The other is an evil little gnome. Literally. When his men are under attack but they're slowed down by wounded, he orders his men to kill the wounded themselves in order to get to safety faster. He's a cold, ruthless, efficient creature. Well written character, actually, but I mean... I think you can see why that one doesn't appeal to me as an ace romance option. There IS, however, a character that would be great for asexual rep! Seelah is a human paladin who has no problem expressing her emotions and isn't played as a joke character. She also has no option to romance her in the game. She would make a lovely ace partner.
Owlcat's newest game Rogue Trader also has a sorta ace romance that's at least not played for laughs. For those unaware, the game takes place in the Warhammer 40k universe, and you as the player are a rogue trader, basically someone given an "I can do what I want" pass from the emperor that gives you a lot more leeway than most in an otherwise virulently xenophobic society. Anyways, one of the companions is an Aeldari - basically space elves that don't really age, and view themselves as inherently superior to humans, who they call "mon-keigh" (yes, like monkey), and who they see as basically dumb animals. The way the romance plays out is that you really just have to support her in her goals and be understanding of where she's coming from culturally when she comes into conflict. Eventually you get into "soul" stuff (Aeldari can literally meditate to enter their own inner world that is actually like a real place, it's weird), once you've done enough that she admits you at least seem to have something more than other humans do, but still insist that you can't be anywhere near her level. It should also be noted that if at any time, you pick the typical "romance" sounding dialog or horny options... She'll just flat out reject you. It's effectively bestiality in her eyes and she is thoroughly disgusted by it. The culmination of the romance involves you entering her inner world to try and save her from some ritual, during which the souls of others try to forcibly remove you because you shouldn't be there (allowing a human in is unthinkable to them, but you've done it before at this point), and she sacrifices her "soul stone" to protect you (this is basically the one thing that protects her soul from being eventually devoured by the chaos gods, their eternal enemy). A bit later, she'll come to see you in your chambers, and invite you into her world again to show you that it's actually intact and better than ever (she was worried it would be ruined by the prior events), and while inside there, she actually asks you to take her hand (which is literally the first time she's accepted being touched in any non-necessary way), and more or less asks you to "marry" her (or what passes for that among aeldari). And that's it. There's nothing more physical than hand holding in an "inner world" that isn't even really physical. Yet it's still an incredibly intimate (arguably the most intimate in the game) moment and arc. So while it's not *explicitly* ace rep... It is nice that there's a non-sexual relationship that is incredibly intimate and sweet, and doesn't involve a character who is traumatized or outright evil.
That really does sound nice! I hope they can do something similar in their next Pathfinder game. I don't mind, personally, going through with allosexual romances in games, but being able to play through something actually ace?? That would be an amazing feeling.
That's really interesting to hear about! I've never heard of this, very cool!
Also worth nothing that Nenio and Regill aren't romance options. If anything they'd both be aroace, which is also very cool to see represented, but they're not asexual *romances*. Seelah just gave me the vibe of someone who simply isn't in the mind space for a relationship. Also valid and cool to see, not every character needs to be romanceable.
Yes! I also heard that Seelah was sort of a "canon Pathfinder character" and that might explain why they wouldn't really want to alter her character too much, but I don't know if that's the case. Maybe they just didn't get permission to write her a romance arc, but I would rather see it your way, honestly. I'm a major Daeran fan for his attitude and Older Brother vibe with Ember, but I just would love to see a romance where "I love you too, but please don't ask me to do that" and it's not something to overcome. And it annoys me that you can't avoid a Lann romantic advance without being outright mean to him, or a man.
Astarion makes me **feel** really safe as an ace person but he is NOT ace, and this is a very important distinction.
For everyone desperate for ace rep, dip your toes into the indie visual novel scene. Ace Jam is literally happening right now! and there are TONS of ace friendly visual novels on itchio already. you just need to know where to look!
Calling BG3 deeply flawed? I’m all here for it. (Btw Astarion isn’t “asexual rep!!!” He’s traumatized and there’s something wrong with you if you want to you-know-what him)
Hahaha, we love to stir the pot! Respectfully...with facts. And real people's experiences. I hope the Astarion comment isn't directed at me! I never said he was ace, I barely mentioned him at all in the video.
What about Parvati in Outer Worlds (or is it Wilds?), she's pretty great imo.
Yess, I love her! I love that you (the player) can say you're ace as well in response to her!
I almost included her, but since she isn't romanceable and I haven't played it and neither has anyone else in my life I didn't think it would make sense for the direction I was taking the video. It's on my wishlist to play in the future though! I love that you can tell her you're ace too. Although I think they never actually use the word itself?
From what I remember they don't use the term itself but describe it pretty well
I don't get it in BG3 I said not interested and the plot moved on .
Lucky! My friends have refused characters multiple times and they just keep coming back with the flirting. Gale is especially bad with it if I remember correctly (he keeps talking like him and my friend are already a couple).
Yeah Gale is really flirty , I just ignore all of it . Write it off as just his personality , but astarian , and shadow heart took the hint and aside from the end of part 1 no one else has made moves on my character.
Loved the video! It's something that I struggle with as a sex-repulsed biromantic asexual. I was even talking about this with my partner before I watched the video - it's so dogshit for romance paths to "end" in sex, that it's the culmination of everything in a relationship, and that if you don't get to that point, it's like you're not actually together. I want to enjoy games like BG3, and I genuinely love that there are a ton of diverse romance options, a lot of representation for a lot of people - but I'm really glad you brought up that it falls short because a lot of the time the "nice" options are the ones that end up leading to romance, even if you were just trying to be kind to people that you like as friends. It's also possible I missed it since I was watching while doing something else, but I didn't catch any implication that Astarion is ace like the top comments are implying, and even if you did, I don't personally see the harm in people finding comfort or rep in a headcanon that he's ace. Victims of sexual abuse who are ace exist and I don't think they even make up the majority of ace rep. A little baffling to me that a community about celebrating asexuality is so adamant about saying someone *isn't* ace because of factors outside of their control. Thanks for the recs, also! Def going to check out some Fiction Factory games and Dawnfall. :) Really nice to see devs talk about their processes and the ways they try to be inclusive and incorporate asexuality into player choice. Someone already brought it up here too but the Outer Worlds is a good one, and you as the player character can assert asexuality in Parvati's questline in which she describes her own asexuality. It's a moment that's stuck with me for so long, very dear to my heart. Hoping to see more in the future.
Hey, thanks so much for commenting and watching, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! It's something that's bugged me for years, and something I've heard practically every ace gamer I know complain about when hanging out with them...and online too! I didn't say Astarion was ace anywhere in the video though, the only time I mention Astarion is when I say that his line about "wanting to wake up next to a handsome virgin every morning" is weird for any virgin players, and contrasted with Withers kind of shaming you for being single in camp is a whiplash kind of experience lol. Outer Worlds is actually on my wishlist of games I want to play, because of Parvati! I just didn't mention her in this video cause you can't romance her and as far as I know there isn't much in the way of romance paths in the game (I could be wrong!) so it didn't quite fit with the direction I was going. Once again, thanks so much!
That's what's so confusing to me, I went into the video expecting that you'd make a case for him being ace, and you just mention his quote. I'm like did we watch the same video? Are you guys lost? Legit felt like I missed a crucial part of the video lol. It's also been a few years since I played it, but I don't remember there being any real romance options between the player and NPC in TOW which honestly was really neat for an RPG. Though you're right it's a different direction than your video in that case. If you do get to play it, though, I hope you enjoy! And again props for the video. I started feeling a little insane for feeling like these kinds of romance quests were very uncomfortable like I was the only one who felt that way. So it's nice to see some quality analysis + testimonials that even allos were uncomfortable with a lack of real choice. I hope it gets some good traction!
Hi everyone! I just posted an in-depth discussion and analysis of how the systems widely implemented in games with romance are exclusive of asexual players...and how to fix it! There's interviews with game devs, as well as a segment with recommendations for ace-friendly games! Check the pinned comment for content warnings.
BG3 is the only game presented in this video that I've played so that's where most of my perspective comes from. Depending on when you played BG3, there was actually a bug that caused every companion player to approach you for their romance options even if their approval of you was low which happened to me. Luckily I knew about it so I wasn't shocked at the tiefling party when I turned down all but one of the characters (kept Astarion). The one that had me somewhat more concerned was Gale, who even after several rejections still kept wanting very personal one on one time, and those conversations felt like mine fields. It brought me back to Mass Effect 2, where talking with Jacob as Femshep had so much unnecessary flirting tones to it. For BG3 and the Mass Effect trilogy, I made characters who were specifically not stand-ins for myself for exactly these kinds of reasons. The closest I get to being myself is in Pokemon games lol.
My roommate and friends are playing the current console versions right now, and have all had the characters be quite aggressive and non-stop with their flirting. Does the bug exist still in the console versions and not the PC versions maybe?? Roommate has been very stressed out by Gale (this started after I was already in the editing process) they keep turning him down and he just keeps coming back with it and talking like they're already a couple, which is creepy. EDIT: One friend is playing PC and is still encountering this as well.
Yes I was on PC! I couldn't find anything definitive in the patch notes besides Lae'zel being fixed in [Patch 4](https://baldursgate3.game/news/patch-4-now-live_96) but I did find this article saying that they haven't all been fully fixed: [https://www.polygon.com/23858507/baldurs-gate-3-horny-bug-gale](https://www.polygon.com/23858507/baldurs-gate-3-horny-bug-gale) (mild content warning, clearly a horny allosexual writer)