Thankfully with patch 7, the AA kisses got fixed. However, it has definitely created a wave of people complaining about Larian not sticking to their original vision.
So what is Larians vision? Many people believe that Larians intention was to write a story about the "cycle of abuse", with Astarion being abusive towards the romanced player. However, I feel like there are so many examples in the game that suggest a happy narrative, not one of abuse.
First of all, we have the cut epilogue cards. Whilst they may have not made it in the game, they were written and voiced by Withers and can be found here.
At 52:32 in the video you get what I believe are the epilogue cards for a Durge that embraced Bhaal but destroyed the brain. The cards suggest a really horrible ending so if they wanted the AA romance to have some horrible outcome then they absolutely could have wrote cards reflecting that.
Secondly, we have this prophecy about how you will die if romanced with AA (if playing as Dark Urge).
Nothing about this supports an abusive narrative, if anything, it supports two vampires that are still in love until the end of the universe. It just feels weird to add this into the game if they wanted this path to be about abuse.
Thirdly, we have the dialogue tree of all the dialogue options in the inn post-brain and during the epilogue party. The majority of player responses are positive, with a few negative ones. If Larian intended for this to be a “bad” path to take and that it’s supposed to showcase abuse, wouldn’t it make more sense for the majority of player dialogue responses to be negative? Especially during the party. After all, the party takes place six months after the events of the game, this would be the perfect opportunity to show an abusive narrative, would it not?
Photo credit: Lesfir
Another thing about the romance dialogues is Astarion says things such as "us, we, yours and mine".
We even have this devnote on one of Astarions dialogue lines during the inn.
Stress on 'us'
Devnotes are mostly there as little notes from the writers for the voice actors as directions on how they want certain lines to be delivered. They wanted emphasis on the word "us" which I think says a lot on how the writers saw the relationship dynamic.
Last of all, we have the kisses. Although the kisses themselves are a common argument people have about Larian intending to show an abusive narrative, I feel like many people ignore the original purpose of the kisses update.
The kisses were added during a patch update for Valentines Day. The kisses were added for fanservice, not for story-telling purposes.
One of the AA kisses was used to promote the patch update on Twitter with the caption “on your knees”. If a company made those animations to show abuse, why promote it in such a way? The tweet can be found here.
If Larian really wanted to show an abusive storyline as some sort of "message", they could have done a much better job in the writing department. Personally, I don't think the game is as deep as people make it out to be. Yes, it shows a lot of heavy themes in the stories but the overall game itself is about having fun and crafting our own stories.
I hope my post was easy to understand, I'm not too familiar with writing blogs but I wanted to express some thoughts that were running in my head. Thank you for reading. <3
for @kurophina! i normally don't take requests but @emilythecosmicbat has a mysterious charm and i am but mortal
besides, look what a cutie🫀🫀 oh she's sweet but a psycho. and an excuse to try flower brushes i had downloaded several months ago but never used until now too! i had her hair more tied back originally but it ruined the vibes. but let me know if she always has it like that and i'll tie it up again.
all tavs i've drawn in this style is in here, with and without backgrounds
« One night, in thousands of years, you should watch the stars collapse in the heavens in each other’s arms… and be burned to the bones. »
I was so moved when I heard a Bhaal priestess predict the death of Ascended Astarion and Evara ! Only the end of the world will separate them and, even then, they die in an embrace ! I think it’s beautiful and terribly romantic ! 🥰❤️
I am not technically satisfied with this fanart but it seems to me that, at least, I managed to represent the love that binds them.
Regarding the Anti-AA stuff, and I'm going to be blunt:
If fans of Astarion have to admit that he's toxic, manipulative, blah, blah, blah, then anyone who pushes for people to acknowledge it must acknowledge that they are control freaks who have nothing better to do with their time.
Seriously, you claim to be an Astarion fan, but you're here arguing with people about what they are doing with fantasy and their PERSONAL interpretations? In a medium with multiple endings and dialogue and allows you some freedom in how you play your character? You can't "debunk misinformation" with your perspective or interpretation. We are already fighting misinformation in reality, don't bring that in over a damn video game.
There's absolutely nothing else you'd rather be doing with that time? Like... playing another run-through or being creative with him and your Tav? Oogling the spicy scenes with the vampire? Nothing at all comes to mind?
Agree to disagree with your interpretations and move along. It literally doesn't matter if you disagree. If you can't do that, you deserve to be blocked for wasting others' creative energy while defending themselves from this BS. (that being said, don't interact with people looking to distract you from more important things, guys. Astarion needs your full attention or he gets cranky)
Also, you can't go, "I'm all for fans liking AA/support AA fans BUUUUT," and try to invalidate them with some BS excuse. You either support them or you don't. Anything you're "tired of seeing" stems from personal interpretations and headcanons that don't include you. It isn't for you. It's for them. It's their escapism and trying to use reality to excuse your criticism of that is ridiculous. It's why I refer to anyone who "shows concern" for fans who are delving into escapism while not knowing them personally as "Helen Lovejoys." Trying to use "concern" as a keyword toward people who are trying to distract themselves from the shit going on in reality is pretty shitty.
.: Each Consort is visited by their own Lord Astarion, and the only thing they have in common is his whimsical, almost cartoonish appearance. He came to offer his congratulations. :.
Happy holiday, dear women!
