I created an account because I've just seen the new animations and I really felt the need to say my opinion. (I'll use feminine pronouns because that's what my characters are, I don't mean to exclude anyone)

So, first, AAstarion's new animations are really interesting, and they would be absolutely mindblowing, IF MY TAV/DURGE WAS INTO IT.

Now I see my strong, powerful TAV suddenly cowering before her boyfriend? Why, all of a sudden, would this relationship become nonconsensual?

Let's see how we reached this point:

You meet this morally questionable vampire, who makes it known that he's bloodthirsty and power hungry. You decide you want to romance him, and not someone like honorable, super sweet Wyll. Romance starts, with a lot of moments where you could have said, nope, I don't like where this is going. Yet you stay.
Finally, the ascension. You know, the part where you thought that 7000 souls were a fair price for your love interest to feel better. Ok, here the darker part comes. Astarion asks you to be his spawn, and you can say no. Then there's the kneeling part, and there's another clear way out if you don't feel good about the vibe. Then, the insight roll, and let's be honest, we all saw what it says. With THAT in mind, you still thing that proceeding is a good idea, possibly even wanting to make the bite hurt. Morning after, again we all know what gets said. And the chance of breaking up is still there, for you to choose if you're having buyer's regrets. A good moment would be when he tells you you're going to be wonderfully obedient. If your reaction is "ew, no!" instead of "aw, yes!" you can break up.

Present condition, from both a gameplay and roleplay pow:
You're a lev 12 powerful being. Possibly even a Chosen of Bhaal. There's a lot of allies around, who really like you. You've just killed a powerful vampire, so the idea that a spawn can kill their own creator is fresh in your mind. The option to break up is always there. (You can even go back a save and let Cazador sacrifice Astarion, if you feel especially spiteful). Nobody is asking you to do anything. YOU decide to ask Astarion for a kiss. Not the other way around. He doesn't chase you to pressure you into doing things you don't want to.

You'd think, at this point, that whatever happens is fully consensual and exactly what you wanted, regardless of it not being an indication of a sane relationship in real life. We're not in real life. The amount of killings that are even during a "good" run (hello, goblin children, does that ring a bell?) should make it clear that it's a fantasy. And, good chances are you've gotten there leaving a trail of blood from the Emerald Grove to Baldur's Gate.

So HERE is were we draw the line? At some kinky smooch? NOW is where my Tav or DARK URGE has a(nother) severe case of amnesia and acts like she's some delicate flower, freshly kidnapped by a vampire and forced into servitude? Why doesn't she look happy and eager? Is she, now a vampire spawn, repulsed by a kiss with fangs? If anything, she should smile and bite back. Even if we want to think that, after the brain gets defeated or subjugated, the relationship will change, it's all hypothetical and in the future. And it's the kind of ending that I'd expect in a angsty fanfiction, not as an official fact.

And while we're at it. Astarion, freshly ascended, obviously adoring you in his own twisted way, is totally fine with everything. He can't read body language anymore. He's suddenly overwhelmed by the need to mistreat his spawn. He's the same guy who, before the patch (I haven't noticed if it still happens) said "Ask me anything, and it will be yours". The guy who, if you break up, doesn't lay a hand on you, and actually sounds heartbroken. That guy. Do I see him being a bit domineering? Sure. Doing the stuff he does in the new animations? Yes. Doing them to a Tav/Durge that looks THAT uncomfortable? No. Please change those facial expression and make the player charachter actually enjoy what's happening.