The actor behind Baldur’s Gate 3’s Astarion finally met the writer behind Astarion, and it was unbelievably wholesome

Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3 — (Image credit: Larian Studios)

I've just been witness to quite possibly one of the most wholesome meetings in all of gaming history. Posting a video of the momentous occasion on his X account, Neil Newbon - Baldur's Gate 3's voice of Astarion - finally got to meet his character's main writer, Stephen Rooney.

Watching the two of them join together can only be described as watching a mother take their long lost child into their arms after decades of no contact.

The X post, which showed up on Newbon's account yesterday, shows just how excited he was that he and his character's writer "finally got to hug after our online bromance."

The video shows Newbon spotting Rooney from across the room, and breaking into the widest shock smile I think I've ever seen. He holds his arms out in front of him, and welcomes Rooney, who he calls his "incredibly talented" friend, for a cuddle as if they'd known each other for aeons.

Rooney and Newbon recently streamed their playthrough of Baldur's Gate 3 with Newbon's horror writer-director friend Tom de Ville on Twitch, though the two still hadn't managed to orchestrate an in-person meeting until just now.

Newbon's cutesy ramblings on his X post come along with a whole host of thanks, to Larian Studios, Wizards of the Coast, and PitStop Productions for "allowing me to step into our world & play for four glorious years x what a gift it has been x".

I assume the 'X'es here are kisses, and yes I've been reading the whole thing in the voice of Astarion, just try and stop me.

Sure watching these two cuddle in real life after seeing their friendship flourish on stream is a totally wholesome experience, but it's still nothing compared to watching Lae'zel's voice actress make love to herself live on stream.

Here are some general Baldur's Gate 3 tips and tricks for getting the most out of the game.

Katie is a freelance writer with over 5 years experience covering everything from tabletop RPGs, to video games and tech. Besides earning a Game Art and Design degree up to Masters level, she is a designer of board games, board game workshop facilitator, and an avid TTRPG Games Master - not to mention a former Hardware Writer over at PC Gamer.