Having seen the new full AA kisses now, I have to say, I think Larian has gone too far in the opposite direction now. I think it's particularly bad with the kneeling kiss, the other two are okay (except for the smile after AA pushes Tav away when they try to kiss him again, that was a bit unnerving).
I understand there has been a lot of backlash, and the OG expressions were also this level of goofy, but I truly think a neutral expression (or, at least, neutral-er than this) was the solution for people's different RP. I think because Astarion's animations haven't been changed at all but now Tav reacts to some of his more questionable (not really very negotiated, if BDSM) gestures so gladly it's kind of somehow creepier than the previous version, and I like horror but I'm not sure that was the intention with this fix.
Yay!!! Thank you, Larian! <3 Really looking forward to seeing this! I can only imagine it so far, in your words, thank you so much for this post! It's clear that the animations have stayed the same, yes, I had some issues with accepting some of Astarion's actions, but if the Happy Faces mod was able to alleviate that, I'm sure Larian made Tav's facial expressions even better. The way you described it is beautiful, it's perfect for me, now I will be able to see that Astarion likes to dabble and dominate and my Tav loves him, expresses her love and lets Astarion express himself and have as much fun as he wants! It's true love and total acceptance. It fits my game perfectly, hopefully the Nightingale mod will also work with the new kisses so that the mod's kisses will randomize with the kisses in the original game - and it will be an awesome romance! Perfect!
