I definitely agree with most of you and your sentiments about the changes that happened after the Valentine's kiss patch. It kind of felt like a slap to the face. It hurt. I thought maybe Larian caved to pressure from the loud minority (those who are are vocally anti-AA) or maybe someone on the team wanted to take it in this extreme direction, but I felt like those of us who love AA were being shamed.
My thoughts exactly.
Originally Posted by Celesti4
Another thing I'd love to see is an epilogue kiss / the option to kiss Ascended Astarion during the epilogue. As far as I know, most of the other romantic partners can be kissed (?) but he can't. That is something I requested be added, though it's not as dire as the changes to the kisses. I also think the Netherbrain kiss (at the Morphic Pool) should be changed to something new... Right now, it's just one of the 3 kisses, the one where he bites you.
Both U.Astarion and A.Astarion seem to have come off badly from the kisses. A.Astarion got kisses that quite a few of us are absolutely unable to enjoy. While poor U.Astarion seems to have been neglected.
Originally Posted by Celesti4
On a more positive note... I did want to say that I was very pleasantly surprised to see the new ending animation
(where Ascended Astarion lies in bed next to your character, and then offers his hand to you before you walk off together hand-in-hand).
I got emotional seeing that, because to me, this was proof that he IS still the same person he always was, and he does love our Tav/Durge very deeply still.
I haven't seen that and I'm really looking forward to it now.
It is the inconsistency with the A.Astarion patch 6 kisses that bothers me the most. A.Astarion is not abusive in anyway towards the player character except in those kisses. They conflict with his dialogue and I think that is one of the reasons they are so shocking, there is nothing at all that would lead the player to expect to see their character frozen in terror and with an expression of fear after their romance partner is asked for a kiss.
What I think would have been better way would have been to let the player have those kisses as they are as an option for an origin playthrough, with dialogue choices to match. That way the option to role play a warped and twisted version of Astarion who has been corrupted by the ritual would have been available and fully fleshed out. Obviously, I wouldn't want that to be the only option. Alas, too late now.
At the very least I think Larian should change Tav's expressions and body language on the kisses. I'd argue that they'd benefit from changing some of the camera angles too. I have seen those kisses on Youtube where the creator has used freecam so Tav's expression cannot be seen as much and they are actually hot, with a frightend Tav they're ruined for me. I really like the fact that ascension changes Astarion, making him more possessive and darker, I'd just want the option to RP as a Tav who enjoys this dynamic.
The mind-reading just before Tav is turned is also a sticking point for me, as I think the player should be given the option to rebutt Astarion's notion that: a) Tav is degrading themselves and b) Being degraded is something they enjoy.
We desperately need some dialogue options here or just remove it, because if the player cannot respond to this information, it is completely pointless.
And welcome to the forum Celesti4! I joined here specifically to make my feelings known after Patch 6 and I have to say, this is probably the best platform for discussing the romance with A.Astarion. The arguments may get circular at times, but they've been civil and I've personally enjoyed exchanging views with other users. With such vocal support for the 'cycle of abuse' narrative on places like X and Reddit, it's nice to be able to express a dissenting view and have an adult conversation about it.
