There is already a mod that allows this and if the expressions were to become such, they would be more in favor of those who prefer to play imagining a tragic story or in any case a TAV who is not happy with the relationship with AA.
See, this is exactly what i was saying. there is a solution that could make everyone happy, and still people are trying to push their own narratives. like i said, the argument that there is a mod for it does not make this better. there was also a mod to smiling tav, so keep using it, why do you need the new kisses anyway?? see, this does not work. no matter if the mods become available or not. if both expressions are in the game, how would this favor only one side, i dont understand.
also what do you mean by "more neutral"? none of the added expressions are neutral, neither in patch 6 nor in patch 7. the expressions are very clear in both patches. if you have been using the smiling mod, the new expression does seem tamer than the mod, but it is not neutral by a long shot.
this is not a discussion about Shad or anyone else. none of the other companions have such strong reactions from tav. ONLY AA. solving this with a mod does not help. this is exactly what i was saying, one side is happy now and does not care what the other thinks. in my personal opinion, both reactions from patch 6 AND 7 are too over the top, but i can live with them. just like you didnt like patch 6 being canon, and how much it sucked to have to mod a face on tav that gave you joy and enjoyment in the game, this is exactly what the others are asking. making one canon and having to mod the other is not the solution here. i understand that it was not ideal how patch 6 was implemented because it did force you into a narrative that made it seem that tav was not enjoying the kisses. but this is exactly what is happening now again. just because you are not affected does not mean everyone else has to stop playing, or start modding to get what they want. if both reactions are in the game, it can be triggered. maybe not in the way that i suggested, like i said, it was only a suggestion how it COULD work. there can be other triggers, even explicit ones to make sure people get what they want. please just try to see the other side here. i admit, i was fully onboard the patch 6 kisses, and still after talking to people, i can see how his character can be interpreted in different ways and tav can be interpreted in different ways here as well. and if you think patch 6 removed agency, patch 7 does the exact same.
also, the mechanic would be the same as a relationship flag. i am no dev but i dont think its much different. just like hugging him set the relationship flag, a different flag could set either the type of relationship (only choosing it once) or trigger tavs reaction (two different dialogue options).
also, i dont think there is a reason to soften his animations. the animations are great, they show a different side of him which is totally different from UA, this is why we play with AA instead of UA. the difference is what makes this better. would i want to have more kisses and different animations for all companions? sure, but like i said, this is not a dating sim and we are talking about astarion here.
