No offence meant, but can we keep the "why ascension is good actually" discussion to the by now I think two or three threads dedicated to swooning over Ascended Astarion, please. All of which are incredibly toxic to any other interpretation besides the "dark romance" one.
Apart from that the epilogue addresses "hunger" in more general terms and I can't help but finding the "his friends will eventually leave him alone" argument extremely odd. Because that is just what happens. Don't you make friends with people unless you know they will outlive you or will never move away? Don't you form or cherish the bonds with your parents, grandparents or older colleagues because they will eventually leave you behind? Things aren't eternal but we can always cherish the memories made together.
I don't think the kisses are that important for the romance. They can be the cherry on top, but there are things I consider more important - the improved dialouge of the dock scene for example. If they reverted the old kiss back to its former glory (because I feel it has more close-ups now, but haven't compared it closely) and took the new one out completely, I wouldn't even mind because I am so incredibly sick of reading about Astarion's kisses by now.
