Yes, of course he's doing it to get something out of it, but the way he talks about it - saying he didn't drink blood, that it's nice to inspire hope for a change sounds funny to me. Compare that to the tiefling camp celebration where he says he hates the feeling of being a hero and getting a pat on the shoulder.
I took the comment about not having drunk blood as a reference to the happy buff. He used to be happy after having drunken human blood, now he doesn't need it to be happy anymore. (That was a weird moment in his Origin, when Shart reminded him to stick to the provided beverages - as if he had ever taken a nibble of her ... ts) The tiefling camp is at the very beginning of the story, it's also not about inspiring hope. I thought the comment was more in line with what he says when Yenna gets kidnapped, that he doesn't want any more children disappear in the city.
Originally Posted by Ametris
We don't see that in Tav ending though. It's not the only way to test the relationship, but it's certainly a proper test when all you've done is travelling together. It's a lifestyle which is seen as the norm. Tav and Astarion in the spawn path are living like they are on holidays, sightseeing and relaxing with no responsibilities. Life is great when you're on holidays, but that's not a real measure of how a relationship will work in the end.
The only ending we get a bit of detail for is the Underdark one, the others are all pretty open. Filling this giant hole with the most negative interpretations possible, is a choice. But what is it now? A fun holiday or a life full of restrictions and dangers that they have to deal with without the safety of a stable home? Because the latter sounds like a lot of responsibilities even if they are not mundane ones. Especially since their old travelling dynamics doesn't hold any longer now that the group has shrunken down to two people. And they don't even get to keep Scratch! (That was such a weird choice.)
Originally Posted by Ametris
In the cut epilogue Withers said that Astarion was sleeping together with Tav during the day. Either way, completely changed cycle or not it's still not healthy to have an irregular sleeping pattern. It's still an annoyance and they'll always have to deal with restrictions, not being able to live as free as they'd prefer. My point was that it is a codependent dynamic and it is, no matter how well they can adjust.
Or it's simply a partnership of people who want to stick together and share a life - and it's all the nicer because both of them are free to leave. =)
Originally Posted by Ametris
It's more than an allergy. With an allergy you only need to avoid certain types of food, or feel inconvenience when you have hay fever during certain months. Allergies can also be treated, while his condition is permanent. He is literally restricted from going to places and interacting with the outside world in certain ways.
Since finding a cure is the one thing that is part of every none Underdark epilogue ... anyway, he has to avoid doing certain things. I don't think he would like being called disabled or being treated that way. The easiest way to "fix" the dock ending would probably to put that sunwalking cloak from one of the previous games into Jaheira's secret chamber - or make the game register if someone has Darkness on the bar or in the bag.
But I find those tiny changes also very weird and I hope they concentrate on things that actually need fixing or could benefit from more polish or depth. I am not picking companions for an alignment but for the way they behave and it's a real shame if that gets impacted.
Originally Posted by Marielle
Oh, that's a phrase I absolutely hated to say to him at the time... It really does sound kind of demeaning.
It just sits unused in my dialogue menu. But I hate both hearing and saying it.
I do really like NoneAs(c)tarion's (Better? =D ) dialogue's about equality and partnership. It's like being in a relationship with your best friend, which is ideal. Unfortunately, the player dialogue is handled badly. Just give me a chance to say thank you back to him instead of the stupid protection line, pretty please.
