#I can't draw I can't mod so I have to like pray and trust the console photo mode process 🙃

[espressoristretto-patronum]

Ops, another date for these two 🤭

[csphire]

Patch 4 Astarion Kiss... ugh.

The kiss went from "Okay sure it's short but it's still sweet" to somehow turning into "Ew, why do I feel I've turned into your grandmother?" Or "Why are you kissing me like we've been married for twenty-eight years and we barely tolerate one another?"

Sadly the new kiss isn't even working at all in my game. He just goes all quiet and gives Anna this panicked look, like he's about to start running for the hills, and the scene ends. No kiss and I'm left feeling a little more than just a touch rejected instead. It's bad enough he started making this an "Ew" face during patch three after giving out a kiss and breaking the fourth wall too. Ouch... at my wit's end here. What's left of my old, brittle, and salty heart can no longer take any more abuse, Larian.

I don't know what's causing this. I don't heavily mod my game. A few hairstyles, some extra dye options, and that basket of gear. So I'm not sure which one is the problem. Praying for a hotfix soon as I go through my mods to try and figure out which one is the culprit.

From what I've seen of him kissing others on YouTube, to be brutally honest, I never thought watching Astarion kiss would be such a turn-off. Sure he's struggling with intimacy but there are better ways to show that he needs something more gentle or restrained.

For starters slow down the whole moment when it comes to ALL of the companions' kissing animations. Trust me Larian, if we're asking for affection from our love interests we're NOT in a hurry. Slowing down the action during a kiss scene, as if they were moving through water, is a classic filming tactic to make things more intense.

For Astarion why not have him draw in slowly with a shy or small smile and soft gaze. Have him lean in perhaps embrace the player character about the waist while his forehead comes to rest against theirs. His eyes close, and his nose bumps and brushes his lover's for a few moments. Maybe our character can then caress his cheek and jaw as they wait for him to press his lips to theirs. Three soft and slow pecks minimum and then go back to nose nuzzling. Then finally, with a happy sigh and a relaxed grin, he slowly draws back.

That would be sweet and far more affectionate.

(Gaw, this sucks I can't even kiss him now. I legit just want to give him a billion nose nuzzles, brush my forehead against his, and caress his cheeks, jaw, and ears far more than kiss him.)