Originally Posted by LiryFire
A lord who values prestige and status kneels for kiss his Constort in the midst of Baldur's Gate.

I also think it's stupid at the very least. Even a really evil sadist wouldn't do that, it ruins the reputation a lot.

Originally Posted by LiryFire
A Tav who sent 7k souls to hell for one man's power. And press yes a few times. Makes a doe face.

By the way, about the doe face. I replayed the Abdirak scene for the sake of Tav's facial expressions in that scene - at first Tav looks a bit scared, but as soon as you choose Intimidation, Tav's facial expression changes - no fear anymore! I remembered my Tav looking cool in this scene - like a dangerous person who clearly shouldn't cross the road, not at all like a victim, and it stayed that way.

Originally Posted by Sereda2
You may be disappointed. Ignoring the fact that Tav's response is a huge turn off for some of us, Astarion's attitude in those animations isn't seen elsewhere in the game; it's very much out of character.

If you don't kiss him, everything is still the same, Astarion's attitude towards Tav is loving, nothing has changed.

Originally Posted by jinetemoranco
It doesn't look like sadistic porn. It looks like abuse, because that was their intent when making the animations. Not saying I agree with the Tav faces, just saying what the intent clearly was.

If something looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, what if it is a duck? If an animator decided to be inspired by such content for the purpose of insults, then that's his idea of abuse. You can make games for the purpose of insulting the player, but it has to be its own special genre.

Originally Posted by jinetemoranco
They conveyed why Astarion (or that version of Astarion, rather) is abusive or will become abusive plenty already in the game itself but that's a circular and pointless argument to have if I've ever heard one, I will say the story is still very clear to me at least, this patch has changed nothing for me.

I went through the game, in game, it's not explained. Only AA haters explain, based on their headcanons. Maybe somewhere in some interview, someone explained it, but not in the game.

Originally Posted by jinetemoranco
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) but I'm just throwing my two cents here because 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)

I understand you and you may have your own tastes, and it's good that you were able to enjoy it. But most players protest against it. Of course, if these scenes are already done, it would be worth keeping them in the game to satisfy the tastes of a different audience of players, just need to make another line as well, give the option to choose. Players who value story, plot and character personality shouldn't be disadvantaged either.

Last edited by Marielle; 21/02/24 04:33 PM.
One life, one love - until the world falls down.