343 réponses à ce sujet

[alex90c]

Filament wrote...

"I think the problem is that she looks like a velociraptor."
"no, I think it's an uncanny valley thing, it's nothing about her looking like a velociraptor."
"oh, so it's about the way she looks but at the same time it's not? INTERESTING."

taking my post seriously

INTERESTING

i'm not as dense as you think, I interpreted your post wrongly on purpose 

[jlb524]

Alyka wrote...
She's not used to being in constant contact with humans, nor does she live amongst them.So her naivety is understandable.But I just don't buy the whole cute and innocent act.She uses blood magic and made a deal with a demon.She knows the dangers of this.So she is no longer naive; she's reckless.She only cares about getting her clans history back and damn the consequences.

What 'act'?

Alyka wrote...
And then she doesn't understand why the Keeper took the demon into herself.She blames the Keeper for being stupid.The Keeper was not stupid, she understood risks more than Merrill and she wanted to keep her and the clan safe.Again this just shows how irresponsible Merrill is.You can't just make a decision and not expect a chain reaction that involves other people.

The Keeper was stupid..and hypocritical. 

So, it's okay for the Keeper to take risks for her people's benefit but not Merrill?

Alyka wrote...
And she is so stubborn that she won't listen to Hawke when he/she doesn't let Merrill have the arulin'holm.It's just like taking a lollipop away from a child.She goes into a fit of "GO AWAY! Leave me alone!" Of course she's angry, but it comes off as being immature.She can't even go talk to the Keeper by herself, you gotta hold her hand.Plus I don't find her specialization all that helpful.She stays at home about 90% of the time during my playthrough's.

She's probably upset b/c Hawke stole the arulin'holm from her and stabbed her in the back.   Maaaaaaaaaaaybe....

[Cutlass Jack]

Merril? Well visually I can't stand her. While she doesn't give me the underage vibe that ME1's Liara did, she does look malnourished and awkward in the way most DA2 elves do. Her lack of shoes would bother me less if she didn't constantly comment on regretting that footware choice. Also I'm not a fan of green.

Admittedly most of my issues with her look aren't her fault so much as my personal tastes. Every time I see her, I don't want to romance her. I just want to feed her cookies.

Ability-wise I barely use her. She's undeniably powerful, but not being a healer severely limits her use with the characters I enjoy playing.

Personality-wise I still find her unromancable, but I've grown to like her on a friendship level quite a bit. And I enjoy watching her relationship grow with some of the other companions, particulary Isabela and Varric. The blood magic thing is a negative, but as far as blood mages go, she's pretty tolerable. Since she never uses the blood of other or Mind control.

The Thing I do love her for is that she gave the one line in the game that best described my main Hawke so perfectly. "How do you do that? Make everything better with a smile? Its like a kind of magic that doesn't get you into trouble."

The only other character to do that so perfectly was Shianni in DAO when describing my firey tempered City Elf Bride.

[SinnSly]

kyles3 wrote...

The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

It's really just default Hawke's facial expression when he says the charming line "I don't mind. You're adorable when you're flustered."

That comes off as a bit.... rapey.

But it only applies to default Hawke saying the purple lines. Otherwise, there's nothing pervy or creepy about it.

Agreed. Mostly I prefer the female voice actor, but Boulton did a superb job of voicing the rivalmance scene. 

Marians's vocie was amazing, which is why I am so hooked on her

[SinnSly]

Vegos wrote...

Who could hate those big, adorable, innocent green eyes...

I know, I love her eyes compeltely, she looks so cute and innocent, the way she looks at Hawke with those eyes~ <3
*Fangirl moment*
She is cute normally but imagine total puppy eyes...

[SinnSly]

Cutlass Jack wrote...

Merril? Well visually I can't stand her. While she doesn't give me the underage vibe that ME1's Liara did, she does look malnourished and awkward in the way most DA2 elves do. Her lack of shoes would bother me less if she didn't constantly comment on regretting that footware choice. Also I'm not a fan of green.

Admittedly most of my issues with her look aren't her fault so much as my personal tastes. Every time I see her, I don't want to romance her. I just want to feed her cookies.

I found the cookie part so adorable!
I think her green outfit suits her but her romance armor should have moregreen or forest like colours to it, since it suits her more as a Dalish

But I do like the way they re done elves in DAII, because the Dalish look more like refuse to go to humans etc (bad way of explaining it) plus the eyes... Oh my lord the eyes are amazing, Merrill's eyes are so beautiful and I love the detail in them, the green is gorgeous!!!! <3

[LobselVith8]

SinnSly wrote...

I've noticed over here and DeviantART Merrill is hated alot...

I'm wondering what are your opinions on her?

My opinions are that, I find her super cute and she is always my Marian Hawke's other half, I find blood magic rather intersting as I am going to make a blood mage to go with Merrill

Plus I have no idea why you'd be mean to her, she is adorable!!

I thought Merrill was a great character. She was a mage who proficiently used her magical ability, she handled blood magic responsibly, and she is studying two thousand year old technology that she believes may be able to irrevocably change the lives of the People for the better.

People seem to dismiss her as naive because she's dealing with "culture shock," but it makes sense because she's Dalish and is in a completely alien enviornment. Also, I respect the character for being proactive. I wish Hawke was as proactive as Merrill was.

[jlb524]

SinnSly wrote...

Marians's vocie was amazing, which is why I am so hooked on her

Technically it's Jo Wyatt's voice XD

*yes, yes, I don't play as Marian*

But I agree she did a fantastic job, especially with the Merrill romance dialog.

[SinnSly]

jlb524 wrote...

SinnSly wrote...

Marians's vocie was amazing, which is why I am so hooked on her

Technically it's Jo Wyatt's voice XD

*yes, yes, I don't play as Marian*

But I agree she did a fantastic job, especially with the Merrill romance dialog.

Deffinately, Jo Wyatt as Marian was just a perfect match!!!
Garrett's voice is okay but I just don't like it, FemHawke wins in the voice acting I say

[Fox In The Box]

I adore Merrill :3 I'll admit, it's somewhat due to narcissism on my part, because she reminds me of me in a lot of instances, especially when I was younger. It's just nice to have someone in the party who is still able to notice all the flowers and the kittens even when everything around them is going to the nugs.

[Eudaemonium]

SinnSly wrote...

jlb524 wrote...

SinnSly wrote...

Marians's vocie was amazing, which is why I am so hooked on her

Technically it's Jo Wyatt's voice XD

*yes, yes, I don't play as Marian*

But I agree she did a fantastic job, especially with the Merrill romance dialog.

Deffinately, Jo Wyatt as Marian was just a perfect match!!!
Garrett's voice is okay but I just don't like it, FemHawke wins in the voice acting I say

I find Jo Wyatt's delivery allows one to more-easily switch between tones without sounding radically different, something Nick Boulton's delivery often doesn't allow for. I thus find femHawkes easier to RP with, since I can adapt to the situation rather than feeling confined to a particular tone. That's just my personal opinion, though.

@OP: I like Merrill, but I do not love her, and I have never been able to romance her. I can't romance Tali in ME2 either. I find Merrill's slow maturation over the course of the game interesting to see, as she becomes less and less naive. I also confess that I prefer the rivalry path, which is one reason I find it impossible to romance her - romancing Merrill on the rivalry path just comes across as bit too much like an abusive relationship for me.

[Apathy1989]

SinnSly wrote...

Deffinately, Jo Wyatt as Marian was just a perfect match!!!
Garrett's voice is okay but I just don't like it, FemHawke wins in the voice acting I say

Indeed. Marian can swap between dialogue styles and still sound like a consistent character. Garretts voice actor doesn't pull this off, either each dialogue option sounding like a different person. And he isn't nearly as good at pulling off the sarcastic lines, which is odd considering sarcastic women usually come across as ****y.


On topic of Merrill, she was my first romance in DA2. Cute, lovable, and in need of help are all attractive things. However now she just annoys me, simply because of the arrogance and racism that she occasionally displays. Now my Marian just goes with Isabela every time.

[FaeQueenCory]

She is dumber than dumb.

Not that that's a bad thing. Many of my friends' are dumber than dumb. (One is even EXACTLY like Merrill!)
But when you turn to Blood Magic and say "what? It's just magic, it's not like anything bad will happen..."
Then you are dumber than dumb. For in TheDAS, NOTHING good comes from using blood magic!

Deny that all you want... but just look at the history, and every time blood magic has been used, bad stuff has gone down right after. (Namely that whole blight thing is the direct result of super blood magic) If you just don't do it... then there will be no problem.

But she is adorable too. (Ignore the fact that I am like a kitty and find dumb people adorable...)

[Killjoy Cutter]

TeenZombie wrote...
I didn't remember that, but I did remember that she forgot it in MotA.  It appears that the writers want her to be forgetful and innocent and silly forever.  

That's how Mass Market writing works.  Characters are The Smart One, The Naive One, The Tough One, The Mean One, or whatever, especially if they're not the primary protagonist.  They aren't characters, they're just filling in archetypes and roles.

[Killjoy Cutter]

I've seen a lot of people who want to blame Merrill for her clan's troubles and for Merethari dying, when all of that is actually about 100% Merethari's fault.

[LobselVith8]

FaeQueenCory wrote...

She is dumber than dumb.

Like that time she studied lore about a two thousand year old piece of elven technology that baffled even the Tevinter Magisters? Or when she proficiently used magic to investigate if Kerran was possessed by a demon?

FaeQueenCory wrote...

Not that that's a bad thing. Many of my friends' are dumber than dumb. (One is even EXACTLY like Merrill!)
But when you turn to Blood Magic and say "what? It's just magic, it's not like anything bad will happen..."
Then you are dumber than dumb. For in TheDAS, NOTHING good comes from using blood magic!

Considering that abusing demonology (i.e. summoning more demons than you can realistically control) is what risks a mage becoming possessed and not blood magic per say, she isn't wrong to address that blood magic isn't inherently evil. In fact, lore states that some mages turn to blood magic because it's the only form of magic that's free of deals with spirits or demons:

"The effects can be vile, but this specialization isn’t limited to madmen and monsters. Many see it as the only form of magic that is truly free, because it’s tied to the physical, not favors to spirits or demons."

FaeQueenCory wrote...

Deny that all you want... but just look at the history, and every time blood magic has been used, bad stuff has gone down right after. (Namely that whole blight thing is the direct result of super blood magic) If you just don't do it... then there will be no problem.

You mean like the blood magic that is responsible for the creation of the Grey Wardens (i.e. The Joining)? The Grey Warden mages who use blood magic to combat and defeat the darkspawn? The blood magic ritual used by Finn to locate Morrigan? The fact is - without blood magic, Thedas wouldn't have Grey Wardens, and the world would have become overrun with the darkspawn.

FaeQueenCory wrote...

But she is adorable too. (Ignore the fact that I am like a kitty and find dumb people adorable...)

I guess it must be dumb to address that all the denizens of the Fade are dangerous and to strive for technology that might have been able to fundamentally change the lives of the People for the better.

[Killjoy Cutter]

DA2 did a lot, deliberately perhaps, to confuse and conflate blood magic with demonology.

in DA:O, there was a clear seperation, linked only by the facts that both are forbidden magics and that users of one often at least dabble in the other.

[CrimsonZephyr]

Killjoy Cutter wrote...

I've seen a lot of people who want to blame Merrill for her clan's troubles and for Merethari dying, when all of that is actually about 100% Merethari's fault.

Eh, if she hadn't done any of the blood magic, none of the people she alienated in the process would have died in the manner they did. One's actions aren't only limited to themselves.

[FaWa]

Merill is the best trainwreck-style LI Bioware has ever done.

[DKJaigen]

CrimsonZephyr wrote...

Killjoy Cutter wrote...

I've seen a lot of people who want to blame Merrill for her clan's troubles and for Merethari dying, when all of that is actually about 100% Merethari's fault.

Eh, if she hadn't done any of the blood magic, none of the people she alienated in the process would have died in the manner they did. One's actions aren't only limited to themselves.

This to vague a link. its like blaming a skimpy dressed woman that she caused a car accident because one of the male drivers was paying attention to her and not on the road.

[LobselVith8]

CrimsonZephyr wrote...

Killjoy Cutter wrote...

I've seen a lot of people who want to blame Merrill for her clan's troubles and for Merethari dying, when all of that is actually about 100% Merethari's fault.

Eh, if she hadn't done any of the blood magic, none of the people she alienated in the process would have died in the manner they did. One's actions aren't only limited to themselves.

You think it's Merrill's fault that other people try to commit cold-blooded murder?

Adults are responsible for their own actions; let's not pretend that the Dalish clan members who tried to murder Merrill and Hawke lacked agency over their own actions.

[syllogi]

Killjoy Cutter wrote...

TeenZombie wrote...
I didn't remember that, but I did remember that she forgot it in MotA.  It appears that the writers want her to be forgetful and innocent and silly forever.  

That's how Mass Market writing works.  Characters are The Smart One, The Naive One, The Tough One, The Mean One, or whatever, especially if they're not the primary protagonist.  They aren't characters, they're just filling in archetypes and roles.

I know, and I will freely admit that I hold female fictional characters to a higher standard than male characters, which is why I'm more disappointed with what I feel to be a undesirable trope (the cute, silly, absent minded female) being tacked onto a female love interest, as opposed to Oghren being the typical Drunken Dwarf, for instance.  And while Isabela, as another example, doesn't bother me as much with her "yay sex" trope, I see her as created to catch the attention of male players, much like Merrill (just in a very different way), and it colors my perception of both of their roles in the game.

[craigdolphin]

I liked Merril as a companion: I thought the VA was really good.

What I hated though was the new aesthetic (DAO Merril was vastly more attractive IMO), and the weird outcome to her story line. It made no sense to me at the time.

The 'new' Merril looked like an adolescent and even the thought of 'romancing' her makes me feel like a pedophile. Gross. Nasty. DO NOT WANT!

[Killjoy Cutter]

LobselVith8 wrote...

CrimsonZephyr wrote...

Killjoy Cutter wrote...

I've seen a lot of people who want to blame Merrill for her clan's troubles and for Merethari dying, when all of that is actually about 100% Merethari's fault.

Eh, if she hadn't done any of the blood magic, none of the people she alienated in the process would have died in the manner they did. One's actions aren't only limited to themselves.

You think it's Merrill's fault that other people try to commit cold-blooded murder?

Adults are responsible for their own actions; let's not pretend that the Dalish clan members who tried to murder Merrill and Hawke lacked agency over their own actions.

Indeed. 

At what point did Merrill's blood magic or just talking to the demon actual represent any kind of actual threat to the clan, other than through the fear and hate stirred up by Merethari? 

Before anyone answers that, think long and hard about it.  "Blood magic = automatic threat" is not a sufficient answer.

[jlb524]

Merrill did the right thing for her clan when she decided to leave after having the disagreement with Marethari. I doubt Keeper/First in-fighting would be good for a clan.

Marethari should have moved on from Kirkwall after a few years but made them stay (against their wishes) just so she could keep an eye on Merrill.