I also want to add my opinion to this topic, since Larian Studios should see how many people actually hold some opinions. I don't want to blame specific forum members, but it seems like there is some fake accounts, which upsets me. I saw what the victims of SA said about kissing and what kind of rp they are running. And I also have questions about why they are running rp on their trigger topic. Doesn't it add discomfort to your life and the game?
I, like probably many fans of the ascended Astarion, used to consider spawn route as something good, and the ascended one abusive, because many people said so. But when I saw the ascended Astarion in the game myself, I did not notice a hint of abuse. I've been playing since launch and I know what I'm talking about. I've been a victim of constant abuse myself, but I survived it and I know what it looks like. I haven't seen abuse in Ascended Astarion for 5 patches. I saw him as a happy vampire lord, loving and caring, but patch 6 disappointed me from the moment they posted the kneeling kiss scene om Twitter.
They created something that didn’t fit into my vision of the character in any way, although I never considered Astarion as “kind” or “not problematic” partner (neither a spawn, nor a lord). I can’t say it "ruined my RP", because some writers have long deprived me of a choice in the scene on the night after the ascension. It was not Astarion who did this, but the writer who was supposed to give me a choice. However, I closed my eyes to it, because it was a small detail in the overall romance that suited me. And now, a year after the release of the game and the beginning of my love for Astarion, I see it. I acknowledge other people's opinions and desires. We all have the right to have them and to make requests too, but I don't like it when people use manipulation to draw attention to their personal problems that doesn't concern the majority.
Why do I think it's not worth even introducing a choice of reactions, but rather leaving a happy one?
1. When the player chooses to ascend Astarion for the first time, they doesn't know what will happen next. Yes, Tav can say "you will become the next Cazador", but this doesn’t mean the soul transfer or a complete change of personality. Cazador was a powerful lord, and Astarion was going to take his place at the beginning of the game. Everyone can play with this line as they want, but my logic is supported by facts from the game. If Tav doesn't say that phrase, then being "the second Сazador" isn't a bad thing, because this phrase is aimed at preventing Astarion from coming to power and not being engulfed by it (as happens with influential people).
2. When the player has ascended Astarion, he still has a choice of lines: both positive and negative. This doesn’t apply to some moments in the night scene, which saddens me.
3. If the player agrees to become Astarion's spawn, this means that they wants to continue the romance. The player can roleplay either submission to some manipulation, or sincere love.
4. In romance, the player can speak positively towards Astarion again, playing their role, but the victim of abuse will not ask for a kiss from an unpleasant person (if Tav realized their mistake). A person in love will be happy to kiss their loved one in any case. The victim of manipulation will also be happy, because they will not understand that something is wrong.
5. This is a love story still. Of course, the romance can be both happy and not, but usually it becomes clear in the end. There are very few unhappy options for Tav in the epilogue, only 1 out of 4. The ending for Tav is mostly happy, which hints that the romance is also happy. Then there is no point in making an unhappy romance. In addition, there is no point in making unhappy gameplay for tens of hours, because most people want to enjoy the game.
6. As a result, we have a very few options to roleplay as an unhappy Tav in romance. And in some of the options Tav even can end this relationship instead of enduring it which further reduces the number of unhappy Tavs.
7. If we introduce an unhappy option for a romance with one character, then it should be the same with others. There should be different kisses and different reactions to them for everyone, if we require RP diversity. But this is a lot of work and is not beneficial for Larian. If they make a choice for Astarion, it would be unfair and selfish to take away other players' choices, but somehow I don't see people starting threads about it.
So I think those who are unhappy with Larian's decision would be better off using the mod. I think the studio knows how many people wanted kisses with happy faces and why, so they made this decision. And I want to thank them for that.

So I think that those who are unhappy with Larian's decision would be better off using a new mod for unhappy faces. I think Larian Studios knows how many people wanted kisses with happy facial expressions and why, so they made that decision. And I want to thank them for that decision.