But overall, I am so happy to see some things in this scene, which were what my own headcanons had been, more or less (along with a lot of Stockholm Syndrome). This man has been so stressed out by his Archdruidic duties that thinking of his days of slavery became a fantasy, not because he actually enjoyed any of it, but because the idea of not being responsible for anything was comforting. It sounds repulsive, but it is known to happen in real with people who have lost their freedom and agency, such as prisoners. So that explanation worked well enough for me.
Thanks for stopping by to discuss! Full disclosure I'm a bit sleep deprived so my thoughts might not be as coherent as I'd like. There's something still bothering me about the scene beyond the points you've mentioned, but I'm having difficulty verbalizing the feeling. In general, I agree with the points you made about your current concerns, especially concerning him breaking up if you choose the evil option.
I think I'm not reading the same things into the scene as you are, however, specifically in the passage I highlighted above. The part about feeling a sense of reverie towards his enslavement because he was not responsible for anything and that comforted him- that wasn't what I got from the conversation. I'm not even sure what he said to give that impression. I worry that perhaps some inference and headcanon are cushioning what the base text is on its own. As it currently stands I see some improvement but it still gives me pause.
The timing of the scene is still... pretty terrible if I'm honest. I hate that the conversation comes after the sexual encounter. The dialogue feels clumsy, too. The whole thing just feels narratively bizarre and off-putting. Honestly, I wish there were an option to tell Halsin to leave at the end of Act II. I apologize. Your username implies that you're pretty attached to the character so I don't want to speak too ill about this whole thing.
