The previous similar thread hasn't had time to cool down and you've already created another one? Are you going to clog the forum with the same threads?
Why did Larian change Ascended Astarion's kisses from what they were? I don't want to disrespect those who like Ascended Astarion's new kisses, but I don't think Larian's original artistic intention was for Ascended Astarion to be a good ending for him. Instead, it was supposed to be an example of how he's repeating the cycle of abuse Cazador started. In the Spawn ending, Astarion treats you like an equal, but in his Ascended ending, he treats you like a subordinate. He breaks up with you if you don't want to become a spawn, which I think if he truly cared for you, he wouldn't do. He literally thinks you're degrading yourself by staying with him as an Ascendant.
All of this can have many interpretations, and yours is not the only correct one.
These are clearly signs of Ascended Astarion trying to isolate the player, which is a sign of emotional abuse.
He literally let Tav come to a party he himself didn't even want to go to and literally tell Tav to go socialize with her friends without rushing anywhere. Isolate??? What?
He's refusing to interact with any of the other party members, so that if anything worsens between Tav/Durge and the other party members, he can blame them (the party) instead of himself.
???
He's saying that if any of the other party members are unhappy with his arrangement with his consort, well, then that's their fault, and he'll be here for the player because no one else will.
????
He's not watching the player because he's worried the player's going to hurt themselves or because he prefers to see the player indulge instead of partaking himself; he's watching the player because he doesn't want them saying anything that goes against his narrative that he and the player are happy together.
These are your personal interpretations, not the truth in the last instance.
The "always be watching" is an additional threat on top of that; no matter where the player goes, Astarion is always going to be watching out for them in case they say something wrong.
Can you confirm this with some dev notes rather than personal interpretations?
Ascended Astarion's original kisses were good because it shows the player how big of a mistake they made (if they ignored the several massive red flags along the way). Ascended Astarion is not gentle, despite claiming he is on the surface level (like asking for the player's opinion if they wanted to be turned gently or roughly).
Him forcing the player onto their knees and grabbing them by the throat was an excellent choice in my opinion, because it shows how far gone he is and how trapped the player is.
Hasn't this been discussed in other threads a million times already? The rest I just can't read, it's just a jumble of biased interpretations passed off as truth.
I definitely agree that the backpedal out of the breakup is probably the best place story wise to flip the facials as well, because it's one of Ascended Astarion's most abusive scenes
Tav has no reason to be afraid, because there is not a single moment in the game, or even a hint that Tav is being physically abused or tortured, for such expressions of fear on her face to be justified. Perhaps Larian should have added such things at the time of the game's release so there wouldn't be this controversy now? But they didn't. Instead, in patch 6 they just put us to the fact that Tav is afraid of AA for no good reason. And even you all have to come up with hypotheses to justify that fear. I'm afraid all the horrors of the AA route were left in fanfic and not added to the game, except for those kisses.
(the other being the way he screams at you if you compare him to Cazador).
Tav is definitely abusive by comparing him to Cazador. I'm not sure, but I think comparing a victim to his abuser is a form of victim blaming.
