Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Astarion romance improvements

This 100 %


This 100 % (Well said, Liriel!)

I really do like Astarions dominant animations and all his facial expressions. If they would show consensuality, Tav enjoying and loving Astarion, everything would be great.

The more I think about these scenes, the more I analyse them, the more it makes me (and others) sick, how our Tavs are portrayed in here with their bodylanguage and facial expressions: As an unhappy victim of abuse, a soulless doll, a sextoy, without their own will, just there to fullfill the man’s fantasy. (Yes, the man’s. Not Astarion‘s. He doesn’t even deserve to be mistaken with the one who was in charge of Tavs animations)

For us, especially for women, (which I guess, are the main audience of Astarion Romance), this is a HUGE slap into our faces. Disrespectful. To give us a „romance“ kiss, call the Patch „Valentine’s Patch“ and „Love is in the air in Faerûn“ and „to better reflect the connection between players and their partners (!) - love truly (!) has been in the air in the office“, BUT, where our Tavs are sad, unhappy, feeling uncomfortable, rejecting - and because of that portrayed as a sex doll and victim of abuse.

If you watch in slow motions and analyse the facial expressions and body language of Tav (especially with free camera) you will come to no other conclusion than that. The scream, the terrified, pissed-off, disgusted, unhappy, blank look (even if he smiles, it looks like a forced smile, even a bit contempt as it is more one-sided – just compare them to his regular smiles in other scenes), clenching his fists, rejecting his Partner, no touches at all, defensive posture (!).

In the Bite kiss, which could have been a great one, because Astarion biting and pulling Tav deeper in is very passionate, Tav has the most weirdest doll face I have ever seen in my life (especially the end sequence) and is really portrayed as a sex toy.

Already at the beginning Tav has an expressionless doll face, slightly concerned what will happen, not happy at all (compare it with his old kiss scene, where Tav is really happy when a kiss starts), he is just making a „I am your sex doll“ face to please a man / his abuser. I have never seen such a doll face in the entire game. My male Tav even looks like a woman himself (!) with that doll face. Maybe on a woman’s face it is not seen so clearly, I haven’t tested this out.
At the end of the kiss, when it seems Tav would „like“ to kiss his partner, you clearly see that Tav is afraid and miles away, he is uncomfortable! And suddenly he puts his big "female" sensual lips on to kiss his „partner“ (a sick fantasy of an abuser, the victim is there to please him)
After the little slap, Tav again puts his strange doll face on (my male Tav again totally has a woman’s face), just now, it is a pissed-off variant, which screams to us players: get me out of here (but I don’t dare to say a thing to my abuser)

Maybe other people find that doll face expression even cute or cannot see it like that. But I can't help myself but to sense how unhappy our Tav is, just there to fullfill, what the man demands. This and everything else in his bodylanguage and facial expressions make it very clear: Tav is portrayed as an unhappy, soulless sex doll for a sick man’s (not Astarion's) desire and pleasure. In romance KISSES, implemented 6 MONTHS after release, which were announced as „love is in the air and in our office“. Really, Guys? What kind of sick love is that, where a partner is shown as an unhappy victim of abuse?

Whoever was in charge of this has done a disrespect not only toward us players, but toward women and real victims of abuse (of course male victims included).
Not only this portray of Tav doesn’t fit into the story (as others has already mentioned before), it is a big, big slap into women’s faces.
People, who are laughing about ascended players á la „haha, now finally Astarion is portrayed as an abuser!“ – just slaps into women’s faces too. Does someone really support the player’s Tav being shown like an unhappy (female) sexdoll in an implemented kiss, that was meant to make players happy around Valentine’s day?

I myself cannot even imagine how someone is even ABLE to create such a portray of Tav and call it „love is in the air“ without an abuse boner (thank’s for that word, Ametris) or having a sadistic personal disorder by himself.

Also for people who are into SM (REAL! SM) or into other variants of dominance (which are surely a lot of ascended fans), it’s a HUGE disservice, as Tav is shown here as an unhappy, abused sex toy. People who don’t know what healthy SM is about, will get the impression, BDSM would be a very sick disorder. What it is definitely not, when consensual and both enjoy it. Also in BDSM partners love each others, they do not hate each others or are disgusted by their partner as it is portrayed in Tav.

These kisses could have beeen mindblowing and great, could have made many players happy, Astarion’s dominance, animation and facial expressions are well done. But ONLY if consensual. If Tav loves him. And that is, what we are asking for.

Let our Tavs enjoy Astarion in these kisses as we are enjoying him and his dominance. As it is now, seeing Tav sad, unhappy and rejecting, it is unbearable to watch.

Stop that damn unhappy victim of abuse and sex doll portray of our Tavs. (That is cruel SADISM PERSONALITY DISORDER, not SM!!!) Such a thing should never be implemented into a game, and not even while a lot of players are enjoying their roleplay and romance. Tav’s soulless sex doll behaviour contradicts everything in the story. It only promotes dangerous sexual abuse and disorder or that it would be okay to see women as soulless sexual objects. Just NO.
This makes a lot of player angry and stopped them from playing the game.