Originally Posted by Elly
I know there is a choice in the scene where he turns Tav, but that's a different situation than asking for a kiss, before Tav is his spawn, and not a repeatable action.
I'd think that asking him for a kiss every time, and having the overly exaggerated frightened faces every time, would be very illogical, precisely if it's a repeatable action that you continue to ask for. Or? The option to just not ask for any kisses at all is there if your character is not happy(?). Why would a Tav/Durge keep asking for kisses over and over again and then keep making the over-the-top horror faces. I'd think that to really make that work, you'd have to use your imagination and add your own roleplay. It also shouldn't make a difference if Tav/Durge is a "spawn" because they still have the tadpole in their head and AA can't control them. I think Larian took these things into consideration and that's why they've now made the decision to change things. There's no compelling evidence in the game for me that AA can forcibly mind control Tav/Durge, or take control of their words/actions. Maybe that could be a more impactful addition for your roleplay than facial expressions on a kiss that was added for Valentine's Day?
Also, if Larian adds a toggle for this then I want a different option for kisses between AA and Dark Urge. Let Durge bite Astarion back, mix their blood, etc. The kisses with the exaggerated cartoonishly frightened faces are not fitting at all for a Dark Urge, imo. In fact I never thought that they're fitting for a character who is always portrayed as the strong leader of the group.

Originally Posted by Elly
(...)presented as a kink... Which is what a switch to the new expressions for everyone would do. / It feels a little uncomfortable that this is the assumption repeatedly being made here about everyone who didn't see the romance path as BDSM.
No. It would not overtly turn it into a 'kink' for me. And I don't see it that way with the adjusted facial expressions. Sometimes one partner in a relationship is more dominant than the other but that doesn't mean it's automatically kinky. I think it's going too far to say that it would reduce it down to a kink for *everyone.* But it's nice for those who do. And I think it would be fair game for Larian to add fanservice kisses in a "love is in the air" Valentine's kissing patch. How would you describe Minthara's kisses, do you think they're kinky? Or do they show someone as dominant, passionate, etc.?

Originally Posted by Marielle
I'm not against “adding a toggle”, though from my perspective it's illogical and inappropriate in Astarion's story, and it would be much better to make a separate, more appropriate romantic interest for players who are fans of the respective genre. Raphael, for example, I think would be great for this role, given that, it turns out, his entire House of Hope sort of hints at it. I just think content like this should be rated accordingly and have all the necessary warnings. Tav's positive reaction is in no way disturbing because, once Tav's facial expressions were changed to positive, these scenes came to represent normal consensual D/s acceptable in an adult game without any additional warnings.
I agree with all of this. 100%
I'm one of the people who didn't like all of the elements of the Patch 6 kiss animations, but it seems that Larian is keeping those animations the way that they are. I'd have liked to have at least one vanilla/classic romantic kiss in the rotation but it seems they're not changing that despite feedback, so if I want that then I'll have to use a mod, too.

Originally Posted by Elly
My point is that not everyone will start seeing something they considered abusive before as romantic because their character suddenly has to react to it with smiles.
My guess is that Larian doesn't want to show
DV/SA/abuse
in the sensitive/intimate elements of the romantic relationships in the game now, which is why they're making efforts to change things with the facial expressions currently.