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[TEWR]

thats1evildude wrote...

Ilen: Ah, Merrill … you've returned. How has your time been amongst the shemlen?

Merrill: It's been nothing but roses and rainbows, Master Ilen. The Alienage is lovely in the spring. The collapsing shacks and drunken brutes are nicely offset by the knee-deep mud.

Those dark locks and lovely green eyes hide a wit as sharp as a frelling dagger. She just forgets to take it out of its sheath sometimes.

I love that moment. I always bring her with me to talk to Ilen the first time.

As for how often she displays her rapier wit and snarky side, I think it becomes more prevalent as the years progress, though is often mistaken for simple cuteness/Merrillness by people -- in-game and out. Maybe due to the accent?

Take for instance the Arishok's "We only have one weapon: the certainty of the Qun. And it cannot be used against us".

Merrill will immediately quip back with "Well of course not. Certainty's not pointy enough to be a weapon".

It seems like she's making a play at sarcasm, and that's certainly how I take it as I laugh all the time. Whether she succeeded in being funny to other people and whether it was actually appropriate for the discussion -- though given how Hawke can be sarcastic a great deal of the time, "appropriate" really doesn't mean much -- is another matter entirely.

Her sarcasm is certainly more noticeable amongst the clan, and that's probably due to her being more confident among them and thus able to give what she's saying an unmistakable tone to it.

As a closer, I remember Merrill stating this from long ago on one of my playthroughs when I approached the Qunari compound:

They're so big and grim! What do you suppose would happen if I tickled one of them?

Thinking about it again made me laugh.

[Shadowvalker]

Don't forget the moment when Merrill ask Isabela about how the qunari scratch their horns!

A lovely moment!

[esper]

The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

thats1evildude wrote...

Ilen: Ah, Merrill … you've returned. How has your time been amongst the shemlen?

Merrill: It's been nothing but roses and rainbows, Master Ilen. The Alienage is lovely in the spring. The collapsing shacks and drunken brutes are nicely offset by the knee-deep mud.

Those dark locks and lovely green eyes hide a wit as sharp as a frelling dagger. She just forgets to take it out of its sheath sometimes.

I love that moment. I always bring her with me to talk to Ilen the first time.

As for how often she displays her rapier wit and snarky side, I think it becomes more prevalent as the years progress, though is often mistaken for simple cuteness/Merrillness by people -- in-game and out. Maybe due to the accent?

Take for instance the Arishok's "We only have one weapon: the certainty of the Qun. And it cannot be used against us".

Merrill will immediately quip back with "Well of course not. Certainty's not pointy enough to be a weapon".

It seems like she's making a play at sarcasm, and that's certainly how I take it as I laugh all the time. Whether she succeeded in being funny to other people and whether it was actually appropriate for the discussion -- though given how Hawke can be sarcastic a great deal of the time, "appropriate" really doesn't mean much -- is another matter entirely.

Her sarcasm is certainly more noticeable amongst the clan, and that's probably due to her being more confident among them and thus able to give what she's saying an unmistakable tone to it.

As a closer, I remember Merrill stating this from long ago on one of my playthroughs when I approached the Qunari compound:

They're so big and grim! What do you suppose would happen if I tickled one of them?

Thinking about it again made me laugh.

Now I have to take Merill with me to the Arishok, who do I have to kick out to make sure I get that response?

I personally like Merills humor the most.
As much as I love Anders his humor is mean spirited and either meant for putting down himself or putting down those he talk with.
Fenris has this really dry humor, but he rarely uses it.
Aveline I don't like, so I can't be fair about her sense of humor.
Isabella is lewd and I have never liked that kind of humor.
Varric is extravagant and that makes me uncomfortable too. That are only one and two off his jokes that I truely laugh at.
Merill on the other hand is empathic enough to know where the lines go in her sarcasm and it is usually pointed towards a trait or two and she is generally so nice she can get away without sounding mean spirited.

[Emperor Iaius I]

So, since I was replaying the game, I decided--on a lark--to see what would happen if I didn't give her the aurulen'holm (or whatever that silly elf thing is) . . . and wow. The overtones of betrayal, compounded with the accusations of patronization and cultural intolerance were overwhelming. Perhaps her reaction was harsher, more hurt, because we were friends at the moment, but I have never felt so terrible about anything I've done in a video game. I could never rivalmance her. . . or rival her, full stop. I think it might just kill me.

edit: also hi everyone I'm back (for now).

Modifié par Emperor Iaius I, 09 août 2012 - 09:04 .

[TEWR]

Esper wrote...

Now I have to take Merill with me to the Arishok, who do I have to kick out to make sure I get that response?

The bolded? It happens at the end of Blackpowder Courtesy -- when you go to inform the Arishok of the Elven Zealot -- and when you choose the "That Elf almost beat you" response -- the 2nd one I believe.

You don't need to kick out anyone. It should be automatically said if you choose the right option.

esper wrote...

Aveline I don't like, so I can't be fair about her sense of humor.

Her humor's pretty good, if I do say so myself.

Modifié par The Ethereal Writer Redux, 09 août 2012 - 11:03 .

[SerTabris]

The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

As Lob said, it's simply culture shock. In the ensuing years after, she becomes more accustomed to life in Kirkwall -- able to pick up on more and more things -- and often cracks jokes of her own -- though it seems that people, in-game and out, see it as more of her being what they'd call a ditz.

A lot of people tend to berate her for getting lost in Kirkwall -- on the forums that is, from what I've seen -- but that's actually standard for newcomers to the city, as the Enigma of Kirkwall's author points out at one point on his own time in the city.

I'd like to mention that eventually becoming accustomed to an environment and making witty remarks doesn't mean that someone isn't on the autism spectrum.  I think it's kind of difficult to judge with fictional characters, really; it's not like you can have a psychologist conduct an interview.

[Emperor Iaius I]

Sure, but I think you'd need more if that's the whole basis for the supposition that she might be a bit autistic. The thought had never occurred to me.

[LobselVith8]

Emperor Iaius I wrote...

edit: also hi everyone I'm back (for now).

Good to have you back, Emperor! I hope all has been well for you in Tevinter.

[Emperor Iaius I]

A bit humid, sadly. I'll only be around for a few days before I'll be taking a trip to the Anderfels, and wouldn't you know it, my eluvian just won't work there.

[Todd23]

Emperor Iaius I wrote...

A bit humid, sadly. I'll only be around for a few days before I'll be taking a trip to the Anderfels, and wouldn't you know it, my eluvian just won't work there.

It's all the corruption.  My omni tool has problems there too.

[dragonflight288]

Todd23 wrote...

Emperor Iaius I wrote...

A bit humid, sadly. I'll only be around for a few days before I'll be taking a trip to the Anderfels, and wouldn't you know it, my eluvian just won't work there.

It's all the corruption.  My omni tool has problems there too.

Perhaps we can take it to Dirge and consult the Spirit Monks and maybe use the Dragon Amulet?

[LobselVith8]

Merrill can cleanse the corruption from the Eluvian.

I was thinking about how people would react to Hawke and Merrill being together, romantically. If we account for the incident at Denerim, where women were abducted in broad daylight, it seems as though people generally don't care about the elves. Hawke, on the other hand, can oppose a very powerful Magistrate Vanard and kill Kelder to spare future elven children from getting murdered at his hands; as a consequence, the elves might view Hawke in a different light than most people, who view them with disdain. Coupled with helping Feynriel with Marethari - who seems to be respected during her entry into the Alienage - it made me wonder how the elves would respond to this human dating a Dalish elf residing in the Alienage, who can eventually move in with Hawke (if we assume they were dating for a longer period than the game indicated).

There's also the issue of Hawke being a noble at this point in time, and while the codex mentions the relationship caused controversy, we never really see any ramifications in the actual storyline. If elves moving out of the Alienage is met with violence, I would assume Hawke and Merrill wouldn't exactly be sunshine and rainbows for some people. Then again, Hawke is the son of a known apostate, so he has his own baggage to consider.

[Knight of Dane]

Actually, as consequence is very rare in this game, i thought the lack of that was what i missed in the Romance. DA2 tells us a lot about what's going on, but it doesn't feel real to the player when we don't experience.
The only time we are confronted with Romance is if you as female flirt with Sebastian while having another option activated, Varric, Isabela and Anders if you romance Fenris or Merrill.

Perhaps what i would have wanted was at the very least references beyond banter and one vague mention from mother to show that people actually cared about chosen romance.

[TEWR]

LobselVith8 wrote...

I was thinking about how people would react to Hawke and Merrill being together, romantically. If we account for the incident at Denerim, where women were abducted in broad daylight, it seems as though people generally don't care about the elves. Hawke, on the other hand, can oppose a very powerful Magistrate Vanard and kill Kelder to spare future elven children from getting murdered at his hands; as a consequence, the elves might view Hawke in a different light than most people, who view them with disdain. Coupled with helping Feynriel with Marethari - who seems to be respected during her entry into the Alienage - it made me wonder how the elves would respond to this human dating a Dalish elf residing in the Alienage, who can eventually move in with Hawke (if we assume they were dating for a longer period than the game indicated).

This is exactly how I thought the whole Kelder schtick would play out if I killed him. I thought the Elves would appreciate that so much that during the Qunari uprising I could head towards the Alienage with Merrill in toe and convince them to be a part of my militia.

If they asked why they should fight with me and not just join the Qun, I could remind them that I killed Kelder, would fight to give them better rights, representation, and justice, and have Merrill speak up for me.

Without Merrill, I'd get some. With her, I'd get more.

Then, I could either have Athenril or Meeran supply these Elves with weapons and armor so as to not be going up against the Qunari with just whatever they could scrounge up.

As the fight would progress, I'd come across a ruined Vanard, cast out from his position as Magistrate and looking ragged. He'd be angry first that he lost his job and second that he lost his son -- that seemed to be the order of things he cared about, from my perspective -- and fight me along with a contingent of mercenaries that he could just barely afford using what scarce money he had left.

I'd kill him.

Kill some Qunari, work with Athenril/Meeran, fight the Arishok.
 
As a result, Elves would be better treated because they fought against the Qunari.

It'd provide me with the sense that the Kelder choice had some actual consequences -- and that's just looking at the "Kill Kelder" option for what might happen in Act 2. In addition, it'd make me feel more like I earned my spot as Champion other then just being a one-man killing machine who took on Qunari, Elves, Carta, and Looters.

There's also the issue of Hawke being a noble at this point in time, and while the codex mentions the relationship caused controversy, we never really see any ramifications in the actual storyline. If elves moving out of the Alienage is met with violence, I would assume Hawke and Merrill wouldn't exactly be sunshine and rainbows for some people. Then again, Hawke is the son of a known apostate, so he has his own baggage to consider.

True, it's not seen in-game. But I'd like to think that the Dalish lover of the Champion of Kirkwall would be heralded as a lesser heroine to the people of Kirkwall for fighting for justice, equality, and helping to depose a dictator.

Even if said Champion and his Elven lover are no longer in Kirkwall.

[thats1evildude]

The Codex for Merill in Act 3 says Hawke gets angry letters from his neighbours about moving in an elf and not making her a servant. And not a single f**k was given that day.

I think the 'flat-ears' thing is less an issue with Merrill because she was already a pariah, even amongst the other elves of the Alienage. Likely, the reaction of the other elves was "Glad she's out of our hair," though Merrill continues to troll them by returning home on occassion.

Modifié par thats1evildude, 13 août 2012 - 05:20 .

[TEWR]

thats1evildude wrote...

The Codex for Merill in Act 3 says Hawke gets angry letters from his neighbours about moving in an elf and not making her a servant.

Yup, that's what Lob and I were referring to. We're told about it, but it's not really demonstrated in-game -- which considering how Act 3 was rushed worse then the previous parts of the game into oblivion, isn't really surprising.

Given that the nobility will remark on Aveline being the Guard Captain -- albeit, very rarely and not very well done if I say so -- one would think Merrill would get a comment by passing nobles too.

[thats1evildude]

What are they supposed to say to Aveline?

[TEWR]

One noble lady remarks on how she keeps them safe and how she's so accomplished at a young age.

That's about all I've ever noticed, and really the game doesn't do a good job of truly portraying that Aveline does these things.

It tries to, but it doesn't do a good enough job.

[thats1evildude]

Well, I do recall a fellow at the Docks who asks Aveline if she's looking to pad out her "retirement fund," which she brushes off. Plus, all the guardsmen who salute her as they pass.

Honestly, I don't really care that we never see the nobles complain to Hawke about Merrill's presence. I'm not really playing Dragon Age to sit through Hawke's petty disputes with his neighbours. Unless said conversation ends with Hawke kicking some noble in the junk and ninjas leaping down from the chandeliers, I'm satisfied with a simple tip of the hat in a codex and an acknowledgement that yes, the issue of Hawke moving in one of them dirty knife-ears came up, but nobody gave two s**ts.

There are other conversations I'd much rather see in DA2, it would be the talk with Leandra about how you're moving in one of those strange elven friends of yours, and how she shouldn't be alarmed if she sees a pointy-eared girl frolicing through the garden.

Modifié par thats1evildude, 13 août 2012 - 10:57 .

[Wulfram]

Well the problem for Aveline is that any time she's doing her job sucessfully, Hawke wouldn't really get involved.

[dragonflight288]

Wulfram wrote...

Well the problem for Aveline is that any time she's doing her job sucessfully, Hawke wouldn't really get involved.

Well, over the course of seven years, Aveline really only asks Hawke for help a handful of times.

But back to Merrill.....

[Todd23]

[quote]Wulfram wrote...

Well the problem for Aveline is that any time she's doing her job sucessfully, Hawke wouldn't really get involved.[/quote]

Well, over the course of seven years, Aveline really only asks Hawke for help a handful of times.

But back to Merrill.....

[/quote] You wanna' talk about Merrill? How abo
ut how badly she needs to get high?

[thats1evildude]

Todd23 wrote...

You wanna' talk about Merrill? How about how badly she needs to get high?

Shouldn't joke about that, man. I lost my kids and wife because I got high; now I'm sleeping on the sidewalk and I know why.

[InactivePlatform]

Hey there fellow Merrill appreciators! Just thought I'd show this piece that I did a while ago:
*hopes the image works*



I've also done a portrait of Mithra from Origins and a Mass Effect piece if you want to take a peek at my page:
http://quargon.deviantart.com

Thanks for looking ^^

Modifié par InactivePlatform, 20 août 2012 - 11:57 .

[dragonflight288]

Great picture! I like it.