Axekix wrote...
LadyDamodred wrote...
Damn you! *shakes fist* Just ask. You'll save me, and yourself, a lot of irritation. It's not like we are opposed to talking about Alistair's flaws.
Alright, I'm choosing my words carefully here 
Inspired by a drama-filled week, I started thinking... The Alistair relationship seems to have a lot of instances of emotional blackmail in it. More so than any other companion relationship as far as I can tell.
Avoiding the elephant in the room (the landsmeet), Alistair's passive nature seems to result in him laying guilt on the PC for not going along with his wishes in a few other major plot points as well.
Take the Isolde/Connor death discussion for instance. He doesn't really strongly object prior to your decision,
and even suggests killing Connor, then verbally berates the PC afterwards. If you fail the persuade check in the end he lays the guilt on thick, without even considering the PC's feelings on the matter. I know my PCs wouldn't be thrilled at the idea of killing a child. But he tries to make you feel like scum for doing what you could to save
Redcliffe and takes a massive approval loss, despite your intentions. In the last line he sarcastically says something like "I'm the one being an ass, right?" playing the pity card. The entire convo has a very "how could you do this to me" overtone to it imo.
I think the problem is that while he suggested killing Connor, he doesn't want to do it, but he doesn't really know what else to do. It's not fair of him to freak out on you like that. I think it might be that he sees your PC as somehow being better than the situation allows, of being able to find someway out of a horrible situation without hurting people he cares about. And killing Connor or Isolde hurts Eamon. It sort of seems like confirmation that his solution, which you follow if you kill Connor, is the wrong one and he really shouldn't be in charge.
But yes, he is being an ass there.
Axekix wrote...
There is also his proposition at camp. He comes on very strong, and if you turn him down he pouts and takes a HUGE approval hit (I think even using the gentlest "no" I could find he still took -10). IIRC, Morrigan and Leliana lost little to no approval by comparison when turning them down for happy time. I believe you've mentioned in that convo there's a way to even drop his approval all the way down to zero, yes?
What if your PC is just not in the mood? Why would he hold that against you? It's almost like saying "have sex with me now or I'll think less of you... until you give me a new toy to play with or something."
I didn't see it as coming on very strong. Perhaps this is merely a difference between people. And I believe you can drop his approval to zero by laughing at him and the thought that you might ever like him. Which, quite honestly, is justified in my opinion.
For Alistair, asking you to bed is a huge, huge, huge thing for him. He is insanely nervous about the whole thing. He loves you, is pretty sure you love him and has worked up his courage to ask you to bed. Turning him down then is a big deal for him, because for Alistair, sex and love go hand in hand. It really is a blow to him when you turn him down. It might be more a blow to his self-confidence, but the game can only show it one way. And don't you think it would affect your relationship, at least for a little while, if you lay your heart bare and get rejected, even gently?
As far as RP goes, you can simply RP that he asks you on a night when you're in the mood.
Axekix wrote...
Of course the PC has options to blackmail him as well, the most obvious being the DR discussion. Playing the "if you loved me" card automatically gets him to crumble. Despite the fact that it's something he clearly doesn't want to do.
Indeed. I find that the biggest instance of blackmail in the game, right next to Morrigan using your PC's love for Alistair get you to agree to the DR.
Axekix wrote...
Granted a lot of this depends on how you play. If you pass the persuade checks, and go along with his thoughts in general you wouldn't ever see this side of the relationship... but it is there. Alistair invokes and is receptive to emotional blackmail more so than any other LI I've seen. I don't remember the Morri or Leli romance involving much guilt at all tbh.
This leads me to believe the Alistair relationship is probably the least mature of the four. Rather than argue for what he wants with reason, he pulls at you emotionally to get compliance, and if he doesn't get it, he tries to make you feel sorry for him instead. Do you disagree?
Edit: wtf happened to the formatting ><
I should say that I don't see those things as emotional blackmail, per se. In the case of Connor/Isolde, he seems more angry with himself that he failed his foster father. He
is angry with you, I'm not saying he isn't, but after the fact it's not really blackmail. He's taking out his anger and frustration on the person he thinks should be able to make things better. I suppose it is blackmail of a sort, but different from the kind seen in the DR. Semantics, maybe.
I think it's also important to keep in mind that Alistair, of all the LIs, is very
young. He's been very sheltered and is having a whole host of illusions shattered. He is probably the least mature of all the companions to begin with, and I don't mean it in a bad way. He grows up throughout the game, matures. He also shows a lot of maturity in talking down Jory in the Wilds, the revered mother in lothering if you threaten her, sucking it up when Eamon wants to make him king, being understanding of the nightmares and the horrors inflicted on people, etc...
I may have rambled a bit. Does this answer your question?
Ce sujet est fermé
Retour en haut
Though I am a sucker for his role as Scottie in Star Trek <3
![=]](https://lvlt.forum.bioware.com/public/style_emoticons/default/sideways.png)
