another cliché "bad boy romance who makes an exception for you" to fulfill the player's fantasy.
That's how I see Spawn ending scenario, tbh.
A vampire lives with an elf they seek a cure for his sun, in different, maybe not the most moral ways. They say he tries to kill questionable individuals, but if anyone touches an loved elf who is with him, he will kill anyone.
But really I don't see anything wrong with it. The Evil Lord rules this city, pet bunnies, talks to ambassadors, weaves a web of power and loves his elf. Lord is more possessive. If someone hurts his loved one, he'll hang their bodies on the castle wall.
Originally Posted by jinetemoranco
honestly maybe it'd be cooler if they went even further, the epilogue was too soft.
I think yes people here haven't given up on romance like Minthara, we don't have another evil man. If they had gone further this novel would have lost complexity and become black and white moralizing. I'm really glad they didn't. A romance with Lord Atarion that shows soft\care but possessive traits, quite a deep theme for those who choose it. Angst potential Lord Astarion - I prefer it to remain fanfic and headcanon, I'm glad he's a soft chill in the epilogue, it's more in his character.
Of course, Tav positive responses will show that there's a strong true bond between them, playing a love-obsessed power couple is more fun for me.
Originally Posted by jinetemoranco
what the ritual means for him psychologically
What the ritual means to him everyone understands it differently. I look at his story more philosophically power games, evil and good. Since Larian is delicately silent, I headcanon his past before Cazdor as a corrupt magistrate who passed sentences and more for personal gain in his search for power. And he simply rolled back to his start, even more confident in his original principles. Hence the ritual gave him what he wanted all his life.
Astarion isn't called Decadence in DnD card for nothing. He'll do what he wants regardless of morals and what, right or wrong, especially when Astarion is Lord. Especially when this mess fell in love. Control his love - quite, watch through crystal spheres like Jareth, Goblin King - yes, never let go – well, yes. His love is decadence, too. For clarity: I'm not asking to change that. It's a Dark Romance with a vampire, the genre speaks for itself. I don't think Ametris wants to either. The other thing is that I don't want to play Tav only as a damsel in distress when I myself agreed to give him everything. Otherwise, Tav didn't agree to "be his forever". Since my Tav agrees, she's decadence too and her love, which I show through positive responses.
