Originally Posted by Darth_Trethon
Originally Posted by Silver/
I'm not sure if you've seen it, but there were people disappointed that Durge has to be a serial killer.

I personally am not a fan of the "what if the intrusive thoughts won" simulator. I say that unironically because I have them. I am tired of them, though they're of course not nearly as bad nor omnipresent. It's a red flag for when my mental health is sneakily spiraling. Encountering my "get it together" Pavlovian Bell in a video game sure is something.

Oh, it's funny. Yet, if it was the only game mode, I probably wouldn't have bought the game. Nor been able to play it whenever I want.
That's the thing though, you don't have to let the intrusive thoughts win pretty much ever. You can limit the damage of the intrusive thoughts to one minor NPC...and can extend to two total if you want all Dark Urge exclusive rewards.
Whether they win or not makes no difference to me. It's that they're present at all. (Perhaps unsurprising because rl intrusive thoughts are not compelling by definition.)

Think of Pavlov's dog. It doesn't matter if he rings the bell and serves it steak or kibble. It's that the bell was rung at all. The sum has become greater than the parts of the action. Call it a trigger.