We can definitely agree to disagree on this and any other point. I don't know what you're looking for in terms of a good faith discussion, but hopefully this falls in that category.
Oh, don't worry, you're definitely engaging in good faith! This is completely on me. I think on my end I just find the debate about whether or not AA is happy/a good ending/etc to be tiring for me by now, even if all participants are constructively engaging. I've come to realise that we're all just going to maintain our points of view so these conversations end up being circular. I mean, I know on my end I'm very convinced of my views and consider them quite watertight, and I expect most people on this forum to feel the same about theirs, different as they may be, so I don't think trying to debate what the "real" narrative is is productive in the end. I don't think that's what you were doing here, but I hope I got my point across about why it stresses me out a bit. I just much prefer doing observations/analysis since that's where I'm at my most passionate and nerding out about how much I enjoy chewing on certain narratives, defending why my viewpoints are I suppose "right" doesn't spark that same joy hahah.
Yes, the conversation can get quite circular, but I still enjoy it. This is an open forum, but obviously this thread in particular is covering a specific topic in a different way. I can say I'm not here to have my views changed, but rather to further my knowledge of the topic and read further analysis of it. It's helped me understand WHY I feel the way I do about this path, why it's stuck with me so much and means so much to me at this juncture in my life.
I enjoy analyzing media. Being able to show examples from the game of why I believe what I believe about Astarion and BG3 taps into a nerdy love for me I haven't really gotten to do since grad school. I hope it brings you the same joy. I definitely am not here to not have fun; I don't have the luxury of near-unlimited free time anymore, and I don't intend to spend what little I have being unhappy on the internet.
