My real question: Has Larian made these animations to show us the tragedy of being a spawn/vampire's slave? They may have thought it was necessary to show players this relationship with him is toxic and you should regret it...
Well, unless the writers tell us what they intended it's all speculation. it isn't even clear that Tav is a mere spawn or 'vampire's slave'. There is a strong possibility that she is a consort (Vorlog in DnD) but it isn't made explicit. I suspect Larian wished to leave it open for the player to decide what her status is. A lot of fans seem to have decided that Tav having no autonomy is canon which would be fine, except that some seem determined to push this head-canon onto everyone else. If other people enjoy a character in a way that you don't, the sensible thing is to have a respectful discussion and move on if you can't agree. It's not cool to suggest somebody needs therapy in real life just because they don't agree with you.
Originally Posted by Lorna
I belive the real intention was to make everyone happy, this patch was mostly fanservice so why invest time and money in doing something bad for Astarion fans? They did 3 new hot kisses but Durge can't even enjoy one...it feels really uncomfortable. I believe most people who choose AA would have a smile on their face in those kisses.
Personally this is my take. They wanted to make everyone happy and they got it wrong. It is a 'romance' option after all. Players who view A.Astarion as toxic, obnoxious, evil incarnate etc. surely won't want to romance him! So the only players who are going to see those kisses are the ones who enjoy this version of him and who want a dark romance. The idea Larian would try to punish some of their customers for their choices makes no sense to me. it's a computer game, not a course on ethics and morals.
@LiryFire I agree, with you. Making A. Astarion completely evil with no redeeming features and S.Astarion good and wholesome is a distortion that ignores a lot of the information we are given through the game. It also diminishes the character and makes him flat and one-dimensional.
It seems only Astarion is getting this treatment (correct me if I am wrong), with some people treating A.Astarion and S. Astarion as if they are completely different people with completely different personalities. To me, that is clearly not the case, the same character traits are present in both, it's just the balance that gets altered.
@Ametris I agree, and I love that last picture!
Edit: I'm having trouble accessing the forum (rural internet), so may not be able to reply in a timely manner
