We're just discussing the kisses (and mostly the Tav faces, really, which is a complaint I agree with, though I have some caveats about some arguments that have popped up regarding why they shouldn't be there)
Then I am not really sure what you are arguing against because most of the discussion circles around Tav's faces/reaction and not Astarion's behaviour. Though I'm interested in your caveats.
No one is asking for changes to Astarion.
Originally Posted by jinetemoranco
I don't want the most narratively interesting arc I've played in an RPG (Ascended Astarion) to be made bland, meaningless, and stripped of its themes for the sake of fitting the dating sim or mafia boss booktok wish fulfilment mold which it was never meant to fit into. I like that his characterisation extends into his romance as well. It's consistent and coherent. That shouldn't change. (And it hasn't, so far)
Would the whole story become bland and meaningless if Tav had a more neutral face in the kisses? Because that's all that's been asked here. Tav is obviously not miserable in the epilogue (you can choose all the evil power couple choices in the dialogue and the worst that happens is Astarion feeding you some of his favourite lines again and creepily telling you that he is watching you). Why should Tav be miserable before that? It's inconsistent storytelling. TAV's reaction to the kisses do not fit into the narrative at that point in the story (they might fit in the far away future, but that's not something we'll see).
