One thing I find odd, is that Ascended Astarion flat out tells Tav he wants to kiss them with his blood on their lips - that he can’t wait. It feels like such an obvious thing to have worked into the new animations. Perhaps we should have gotten Tav biting Astarion’s lip and Astarion just becoming drunk with lust.
That’s how I have always viewed the Tav/Ascendant relationship. It’s presented as decadent, hedonistic, and opportunistic rather than gentle or loving. Again, I actually love the masochist and domineering side of the Ascendent. This is the man who salivates over watching you with the priest of Loviator, so it fits.
I’m just tired of being force fed the abuse/trapped narrative. It’s a valid interpretation but this is role play, it should not be the only story I get to tell, especially when the narrator flat out says “but perhaps you wish to degrade yourself and he knows it”.
