239 réponses à ce sujet

[Fiacre]

Han Shot First wrote...

To be clear, I know Merrill is an adult.

However she neither looks or acts like one. She looks and acts childlike. So for me, that makes the whole concept of romancing her a little disgusting. It would feel like taking advantage of someone with a developmental disorder.

She neither looks nor acts like a child. She's got a very specific sense of humour that is the reason for quite a few of her more "naive" comments and she's more than capable of being mature when the situation or conversation topic calls for it (like her banters with Anders).

And she still doesn't look twelve. She doesn't really look younger than me, and I'm twenty.

[StElmo]

Han Shot First wrote...

To be clear, I know Merrill is an adult.

However she neither looks or acts like one. She looks and acts childlike. So for me, that makes the whole concept of romancing her a little disgusting. It would feel like taking advantage of someone with a developmental disorder.

Of course, only pedos romance Merrill *rolls eyes* because she's childlike.

To most people who actually bothered to interact with her, there is plenty of evidence completely contradicting your shallow assessment of her character.

Sorry, but in real life, there are people like Merrill, they have their head in the clouds, they are lofty, live in their own heads, make jokes everybody takes seriously and keep to themselves - not all adults are dark, serious D-cupped women, or 6 pack dudes.

I know myself, I am frequently told I act and look younger then I am - does that make me less of an adult? Does that mean nobody could ever date me because it would be "creepy"?

I am an adult, I don't have any mental disability, but I am simply a different kind of person to your bro-dudes. Why should people that may like me be labelled creepy, because I don't meet a stereotype?

I agree, if Merrill was actually underaged, or didn't have those flairs of self aware humour or knowledge or was ACTUALLY mentally disabled, it woudl be hella creepy.

But she is none of those things, she is simply different and demonstrates quite obviously (if you pay attention) that she is actually mature underneath - just like some adults in real life.

[Hanako Ikezawa]

LDS Darth Revan wrote...

KiddDaBeauty wrote...

More than anything she just seems like she has asperger's syndrome or something. Being an aspie myself, I have no problems with her and honestly don't get why anyone would =)

I have Asperger's as well. Maybe that was why I was able to form a connection with her in a way no other character was able to achieve. Hmm...

[The Elder King]

Sleepingviking wrote...

I find Snookie Allers to be worst, followed by Isabella and then Wrex.

I disagree with your assertment, but then again i have a sweetspot for sweet girls.

Wrex is LI? I'm shocked.
The posters you're referring to said that Allers is the worst LI, and then Merrill. Not the worst character/companion.
About the topic, I don't think that Merrill resembles a child, but I wouldn't romance her. That's because she, like Tali, always seems to me like a younger (not little) sister.

Modifié par hhh89, 08 octobre 2012 - 10:06 .

[General User]

StElmo wrote...

General User wrote...

StElmo wrote...

I disagree. They are whining - you are allowed to choose your companions in DA no one is getting shoehorned into a using a character they don't like so I don't think they have any right to complain. As you said, people have different opinions on the characters and provided no character takes precedent, I honestly don't see the problem nor the need to complain.

I remember that with Isabela and Sebastian you can just never talk to them, and with Fenris you can actually tell him to get lost.  How do you get rid of Merrill?

No idea, but you don't have to use her in your squad, so get over it.

My point was rather that, no matter what, Hawke still seemingly has to have a relationship of some sort with Merrill.  You can ignore her for the entire game if you want... but she'll still be there.  To my knowledge, no matter what one does, you can't get rid of/avoid Merrill like you can Sebastian, Isabela, and/or Fenris.

[Heimdall]

Han Shot First wrote...

To be clear, I know Merrill is an adult.

However she neither looks or acts like one. She looks and acts childlike. So for me, that makes the whole concept of romancing her a little disgusting. It would feel like taking advantage of someone with a developmental disorder.

She looks like an adult, though admittedly like she's not a day over nineteen, it's an effect of the elf redesign.  I always saw her behavior as a mix of afectation, dry wit, and genuine lack of worldly experience (Since her understanding of human society is childlike, in truth).  These things don't make her a child and she knows what she's doing when the romance comes along.  Nobody is tricking or forcing her into anything.

[Hanako Ikezawa]

General User wrote...

StElmo wrote...

General User wrote...

StElmo wrote...

I disagree. They are whining - you are allowed to choose your companions in DA no one is getting shoehorned into a using a character they don't like so I don't think they have any right to complain. As you said, people have different opinions on the characters and provided no character takes precedent, I honestly don't see the problem nor the need to complain.

I remember that with Isabela and Sebastian you can just never talk to them, and with Fenris you can actually tell him to get lost.  How do you get rid of Merrill?

No idea, but you don't have to use her in your squad, so get over it.

My point was rather that, no matter what, Hawke still seemingly has to have a relationship of some sort with Merrill.  You can ignore her for the entire game if you want... but she'll still be there.  To my knowledge, no matter what one does, you can't get rid of/avoid Merrill like you can Sebastian, Isabela, and/or Fenris.

That "annoying character that never goes away" slot has been taken by Anders imo. He is the only one you have to help more than once.

Modifié par LDS Darth Revan, 08 octobre 2012 - 10:07 .

[Todd23]

  ... But, without Merrill.  Who will I share my heart shaped cup-cakes with?

http://cdn.trendhunt...ntic-cakes.jpeg

[General User]

LDS Darth Revan wrote...

General User wrote...

StElmo wrote...

General User wrote...

StElmo wrote...

I disagree. They are whining - you are allowed to choose your companions in DA no one is getting shoehorned into a using a character they don't like so I don't think they have any right to complain. As you said, people have different opinions on the characters and provided no character takes precedent, I honestly don't see the problem nor the need to complain.

I remember that with Isabela and Sebastian you can just never talk to them, and with Fenris you can actually tell him to get lost.  How do you get rid of Merrill?

No idea, but you don't have to use her in your squad, so get over it.

My point was rather that, no matter what, Hawke still seemingly has to have a relationship of some sort with Merrill.  You can ignore her for the entire game if you want... but she'll still be there.  To my knowledge, no matter what one does, you can't get rid of/avoid Merrill like you can Sebastian, Isabela, and/or Fenris.

That "annoying character that never goes away" slot has been taken by Anders imo. He is the only one you have to help more than once.

Aye.  Him too.  Even Aveline to a far lesser extent. 

DA2 would have been a much better game if Hawke had the option to tell Marethari that she was going to have to take care of her little clan's resident problem child herself (or something along those lines).   With the options to express similar sentiments for most of the other companions too, of course.

Modifié par General User, 08 octobre 2012 - 10:20 .

[LobselVith8]

Han Shot First wrote...

However, she neither looks or acts like one.

Merrill is trying to help elves across the continent by uncovering the secrets of centuries old elven technology that might be able to irrevocably change the lives of the People for the better. That seems like proactive, adult behavior to me.

[gangly369]

Merrill is awesome! Such a good character, and I almost always romance her. She's to funny not to. Extremely hopeful that she'll make some sort of appearance in DA3

[Hanako Ikezawa]

gangly369 wrote...

Merrill is awesome! Such a good character, and I almost always romance her. She's to funny not to. Extremely hopeful that she'll make some sort of appearance in DA3

If not, take comfort that she's living happily with Hawke. That's what Merill's doing in my DA universe.

Modifié par LDS Darth Revan, 08 octobre 2012 - 11:27 .

[Si-Shen]

This thread reminds me of the anti-Tali threads... how about we just remove all the fun romances and only allow you to romance a brick from the corner of some house? That way those of us that prefered Merril, will not feel left out that you get romances that meet your requirements. We all get to romance the same brick, with no differening personalities and we can all feel like we are part of the Quinari!
To be honest thats what this thread comes accross like, its not alright to have LI's you either did not get or understand, but fine to have ones that you enjoy? No you either have fair selection for everyone or you join the Quinari and do what your told.

[Blessed Silence]

StElmo wrote...

I dunno why people think Merrill is a child, its just the accent: www.youtube.com/watch

It has nothing to do with the accent (at least for me).  The way she acts to things, and good lord, I look like I could break her she's so thin.

But yes, when I saw how she was drawn ... I thought of her as a child and my warning flags when up.  Never romanced her ever ever.  Cute as a little girl role though to my female Hawke.

[Orian Tabris]

I think that people considering romancing Merrill to be a pedophiliac act, is stupid. The idea that Merrill is a little girl, is just plain wrong, as a whole.

Merrill has a child-like appearance, sure, but that is because of her hair style and the way BioWare designed elves in DA2, not because she is basically a little girl. That's like saying, "Male Hawke is a man because he has stubble". A 16 year old boy can have stubble, but that doesn't define him as an adult. I don't even consider anyone to be an adult, until they are 20 years old (because their age still has the suffix 'teen' in it). Mature? Yes. An adult? No. Just because Merrill acts less like an adult than all the other companions, doesn't mean she's a little girl, it just means she's somewhat less mature than they. She is nonetheless an adult.

People won't always follow the same stereotype (that's what makes a stereotype a stereotype). If someone is 25 and looks 18, are they really 18? No. Does the fact that some people aren't stereotypical mean that they should be persecuted for their differences? No. Even though Merrill doesn't seem like a woman, it doesn't mean she isn't one. Everyone is different, in their own way. Should we hate someone or something we disagree with? Again, no. Is a companion not well designed because they aren't the same as every other companion, or at least one other - or inversely, share lots of similarities with one or more companions? Once again: no.

You have a bias towards or against a companion like Merrill, so you must be right, because you know everything about everything, and thus you know what it means for a character to be believable or unbelievable in their own situation. All your opinions and beliefs are right, because there must be a god or gods, and what you think must be correct, because you cannot be open minded towards things that you don't agree with. That's more or less most BSN members views. Having said that, Merrill is technically a woman, and in no way a little girl, so romancing her is actually nothing like having sex with someone under age, because she's not under age, she's just a little naive and has a weaker voice, than say, Isabela.

Modifié par Orian Tabris, 09 octobre 2012 - 12:03 .

[TEWR]

Fiacre wrote...

 I think, at times, Merrill can be arrogant in her dealings with spirits, not naive, but I certainly don't think she's incompetent -- and she's neither naive nor arrogant enough to go and face Audacity on her own and instead asks for Hawke to come with her and help.

This is about the only thing I can see Merrill as, though I'd say it's overconfidence and not arrogance. Same general meaning, but arrogance has an extremely negative connotation in my mind.

And pride isn't necessarily a bad thing. Nor is greed, or other things. In excess, certainly. That said, I don't think she's wrong in her beliefs that you can play the Demon before he/she plays you, or that she could've handled Audacity, or other things. 

I don't think she could've handled any and every Demon she came across, but that's unimportant.

I will say that her pride/overconfidence/arrogance/whatever you want to call it diminished a great deal by Act 3, more so IMO on the Friendship path. So while she thinks she can handle Audacity -- and indeed, she could've had Marethari not released it, because Merrill would've left him where he was  -- she's not certain of that and asks Hawke to come with her, incase she did in fact fail.
 

[Bfler]

StElmo wrote...

The VO is about 34 years old.

Voice actors are able to adjust the voice, and therefore you can't use them to estimate the age of an ingame char. 

Jennifer Hale f.e. is VA of Shepard in ME3 but also the VA of  Leah in Diablo 3, who is almost a teen.

[Sleepingviking]

hhh89 wrote...

Sleepingviking wrote...

I find Snookie Allers to be worst, followed by Isabella and then Wrex.

I disagree with your assertment, but then again i have a sweetspot for sweet girls.

Wrex is LI? I'm shocked.
The posters you're referring to said that Allers is the worst LI, and then Merrill. Not the worst character/companion.

Thats the joke.

[Rawgrim]

I thought she looked and sounded 14. It was really off-putting. It kept me from romancing her, thats for sure.

[Fiacre]

The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

Fiacre wrote...

 I think, at times, Merrill can be arrogant in her dealings with spirits, not naive, but I certainly don't think she's incompetent -- and she's neither naive nor arrogant enough to go and face Audacity on her own and instead asks for Hawke to come with her and help.

This is about the only thing I can see Merrill as, though I'd say it's overconfidence and not arrogance. Same general meaning, but arrogance has an extremely negative connotation in my mind.

And pride isn't necessarily a bad thing. Nor is greed, or other things. In excess, certainly. That said, I don't think she's wrong in her beliefs that you can play the Demon before he/she plays you, or that she could've handled Audacity, or other things. 

I don't think she could've handled any and every Demon she came across, but that's unimportant.

I will say that her pride/overconfidence/arrogance/whatever you want to call it diminished a great deal by Act 3, more so IMO on the Friendship path. So while she thinks she can handle Audacity -- and indeed, she could've had Marethari not released it, because Merrill would've left him where he was  -- she's not certain of that and asks Hawke to come with her, incase she did in fact fail.
 

Overconfidence might actually be the better word -- arrogance is just the one that first sprang to mind.

And I agree that demons can be played (and with pretty much everything else you said); the Warden defintely can do it when he confronts the Desire Demon possessing Connor. Even if you sell Connor's soul, there are no repercussions for the Warden himself, and if you intimidate her you never hear of any consquences either. There are also the DA2 examples of Torpor and the Profane abomination that have been brought up before.

I think her growth feels particularly organic if she betrayed you during Night Terrors, since that is pretty much what her follow up conversation  is about. No idea how it is on the rival path, though, I haven't yet been able to bring myself to rival her.

[Fallstar]

Merril seemed to be in her early twenties to me, and apparently she is around that age. Whilst she's physically small and thin, and her face does look fairly young, that's nothing unusual. I probably walk past dozens of people every day who are in their early twenties but look younger.

To be honest, I don't see what the fuss is about. If it was the other way round, so you had a companion who you know is only 15 years old or so, but looks physically mature, then it would be weird. But you definitely know that Merril is older than that, and to be honest the faces in DA2 are a bit messed up anyway. Her looking a few years younger than she really is could be down to that.

[Dirgegun]

LobselVith8 wrote...

Plaintiff wrote...

Even if I was inclined to romance Merrill, I wouldn't.

It's one thing to be naive. It's another to still be that way after living in Kirkwall for seven years.

Merrill is so thoroughly detached from reality at times that I'm tempted to think she has some sort of developmental disorder. Most of Hawke's innuendos and flirtations soar clear over her head. I struggle to believe that she even knows what sex is[/b]. I could never romance her because I'd feel like a predator.

But I don't think that Bioware is going to just rehash a character they already did, so I think we're fine.

Merrill is intelligent about a plethora of issues, especially magic. She can identify if a person is possessed, and can distinguish the type of demon inhabiting the Profane Abomination. Sometimes, people think Merrill is naive because of her Dalish views, especially her views about spirits. The conversation between Anders and Merrill makes it clear that the distinction is Andrastian (religious), which is why Merrill doesn't share Anders view:

Anders: Maybe you don't really understand the difference between spirits and demons. 

Merrill: Did I ask you? 

Anders: Spirits were the first children of the Maker, but He turned his back on them to dote on His mortal creations. The ones who resented this became demons, driven to take everything mortals had and gain back the Maker's favor.

Merrill: Your "Maker" is a story you humans use to explain the world. We have our own stories. I don't need to borrow yours. 

Why would Merrill share Anders' view when it's made clear that the distinction between spirits and demons is strictly religious? The Dalish believe in the Creators, not the Maker, so they wouldn't see spirits and demons as the Children of the Maker. In fact, Merrill acknowledges that the denizens of the Fade are different, but doesn't think that means the Chantry is correct in their religious views:

Anders: Do Dalish honestly not recognize the difference between demons and beneficial spirits? 

Merrill: We've never thought of the Fade as the home of our gods. It is another realm, another people's home. No different or more foreign than, say, Orzammar. 

Varric: You can say that again. 

Anders: But have you never studied the types of demons? They break down very clearly into different sins--

Merrill: Spirits differ from each other, just as you and Hawke and Isabela are all human. More or less... 

The fact that Merrill acknowledges that the denizens of the Fade are different, but that the Dalish don't see them as spirits and demons (in Andrastian terms), is a point that many people miss. Merrill deals with culture shock when it comes to human culture, but she's a very intelligent person.


Does this seem like a woman who is ignorant about everything, who doesn't know what sex is? Come on now. I bring up these quotes because Anders also assumes that he knows better than Merrill, but he's wrong. She's clearly an informed, intelligent woman:

Merrill: Are you all right? 

Anders: I nearly killed an innocent girl. How could I be all right? 

Merrill: I'm sorry. 

Anders: You're sorry? For me? This could be you! You could be the next monster threatening helpless girls! 

Merrill: Anders... There's no such thing as a good spirit. There never was. All spirits are dangerous. I understood that. I'm sorry that you didn't.

You may think Merrill is simply ignorant, but you're wrong.

Quoting for truth!

[Overlord_Mephist]

The Merril debate seems to be going on an infinite loop with pedophile/creeper accusations and counters.

So...

Fox In The Box wrote...
Is "dirty, sex obsessed pirate" really all you see in Isabela?

Well its obviously not all there is to her

but shes still dirty and giving Zevran a run for his money in their sleeping with Thedas duel.  SPOILER****** since someone is only in act 2


SPOILER*********










] She also stole the relic before the qunari got it and caused Kirkwall to burn.

Modifié par Overlord_Mephist, 09 octobre 2012 - 01:34 .

[Terrorize69]

StElmo wrote...

Terrorize69 wrote...

garrusfan1 wrote...

 Please have another LI like Merril, if not Merril herself! And also add her twin sister.

Fixed, totally agree.

lol aw sum1 loves merrill.

But of course  how can you not love the welsh accent, intelligence, innocence, positive outlook, charm, kind and caring nature.