"Sure, it's evolved in Western cultures to include love, but that's not the dominant nature of the beast"

This reminds me of the wedding I proceeded over. The bride and groom wrote out how they wanted the whole ceremony to be read (they opened with a H.P. Lovecraft quote!) and the whole thing took maybe fifteen minutes. But one thing they avoided was any mention of "possession" "taking" or "joining". Instead it was about unity, being two parts together rather than one whole. Their vows were that from The Corpse Bride.