Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Make changed/positive facial expressions for Ascendant Astarion kisses optional

Don't do, leave the mood and kiss idea that was shown at the game's release, in August 2023.

Honestly, I realize that part of the community wants to see the Ascended Astarion as the abuse monster of Cazador 2, over all the characters. So that the "abuse cycle" would continue in this case, not over Astarion, but over Tav.
To make this torture-angst-headcanon-a-soulless-AA-abuser and his terrified victim would have to rewrite everything to be believable.
Including the "you'll drink me at night" sentence that Tav clicks on for AA, and in 6 disgusting patch face neutral here. The "I'm scared" kisses, but bite me and drink my blood all you want.
It's incredibly intrusive and not smart.

Even Angst-Tav, he literally doesn't let go because he's been given consent to an eternal bond, nothing else, that might cause fear.
Otherwise we would have been made aware of that, back at release. What we were given in patch 6 is that Larian monitors Tik Tok and Reddit, but not their script.
Somehow glue together the "torture angst" line and the fact that Tav's answers imply that Astarion is doing nothing evil to them, and the "vampire couple together" dynamic, who has the majority of the lines of play.
I don't trust until I see it, but it seems in patch 7 everything will be as it was on: release, in 1 patch, 2 patch, 3 patch, 4 patch, 5 patch.


And that's just End and Epilogue, there's no implied fear in the other AA scenes either.

I also realize that you probably just enjoy angst. That's understandable. But the writing here isn't very accurate. And it's also one-sided, with spawn we can't behave as conflicted as we do with AA, although Astarion as Lord just breathes and speaks louder about the plans he said before.

Tav is already starting to date an amoral vampire who craves carnage. That's reason enough to break up. Doesn't sound like a damsel in distress.

And that "I'm afraid of kisses" line will only be with the one man for the path of evil.
With Mintara, is someone asking for an opition to be afraid of her?
Technically there's something to be afraid of. That kind of story should be left to the imagination with the mods.

I realize that the Astarion romance is almost devoid of compelex conflict so that the emotions are more complex. But the spelled out optional point from Tav "he's the new Cazador"... He's the new Cazador since Act 1 in that case, since AA already quotes himself before the ritual. We're cuddling with him. And Cazador is incredibly unrevealed and lame. The complexity of the idea of power and evil is gone, all that's left is datamine.
The conflict with Tav, if we were to find out his past of selling criminals to a vampire clan, is much more interesting.
Than a very ridiculously written fear in kissing.

I suppose it would be enough to refuse Astarion's "be his forever and together forever", refuse to kneel or break up with him in the morning if the player doesn't like it. Not click kiss and scare every time.