I read your post. But, let's real talk for a moment. One, Helayna and Alexia do not know each other from before the war. Hel is the duke's niece. Alexia did not go off to war. Rowan and Hel do not even necessarily have a close relationship before the events of the game. You make a whole bunch of assumptions about the nature of Rowan's relationship with Helayna, and Alexia's relationship with her that come from an incorrect reading.
Hm.. To a point, I concede I might be inserting more of my own perspective into the narrative than what is presently there. There are a few areas where I still think some of my argument still holds though. Even though Alexia & Helyana may not have met, from the in game dialogue, it is clear that she was aware of whom Helyana was & what role she & Rowan played in each other's lives. Now to be clear, I am addressing this from the perspective that the Teacher / Student option was selected specifically. With the other 2 backstory options, I'm in full agreement. However with that specific kind of dynamic, I don't believe I am reading too much into it because the relationship dynamic I laid out is exactly the kind of dynamic that would be natural & logical. I'm not sure what part of the world you hail from nor if you've been in the armed service, so I don't know if this will make sense to you, but I myself grew up in the military. & I have seen this same dynamic countless times so that is where I draw my perspective of the dynamic of Rowan & Helyana from. Even in popular media, whenever there is a mentor / student dynamic, the way I laid it out holds consistent. Even within her pre-seige dialogue it is very clear she holds him in the highest of regard. So I personally think that my perspective of the dynamic between Rowan & Helyana is accurate within the scope of if the teacher / student backstory option was selected, because that is the most logical based on my own experience with such dynamics. We may have to agree to disagree on that however.
Two, I really don't understand understand why you'd think that being close in the army would just make it okay for someone's wife if they were sleeping together. Rowan had a choice in the matter. He didn't have to fuck her. The same way she didn't have to fuck Andras.
Well this is where context is key. I think if there was an option to take Helyana under his care without fucking her, that would be a different story. If that option was there, then yes I would agree, he wouldn't have to fuck her. Hell, having a game path where he & Alexia try to rehabilitate Helyana instead of fucking her might even add some additional content & interesting route paths to the game. However the only 2 options he is given are A, fuck her & take her under his care or B, don't & leave her to be gang raped. Now my own personal perspectives on the dynamics of their relationship aside, What is clear from the in game content is that they do have a pre-existing friendly bond, that he was her teacher & he feels a certain degree of responsibility for her & he also already feels notable guilt & shame for betraying her in aiding with the siege on the keep, & there is a significant degree of pride & dignity Helyana takes in her role as a captain & a knight. These we do know from the content of the game. & from this, we can reasonably presume he has a vested interest in her fate. With that in mind, the key thing to remember is "WHY is he doing it & What is the cost of the alternative?" This is why Rowan w Helyana vs Alexia with Andreas is a bit of an apple to oranges comparison, assuming you mean when she sleeps with him after the Helyana bit.
So for perspective, Let's observe first the Rowan & Helyana situation. The cost of not fucking her & taking her for his own is she would be left to be gang raped by a bunch of orcs, then left for who knows what afterwards. A fate that for a Noble woman & a knight would inarguably make death preferable. Clearly the cost of not taking her is considerably high & dire, hence leaving fucking her as the lesser of 2 evils. If we look at it from the protagonist's perspective, as distasteful as the first option may be, the alternative is worse, hence why I say he really doesn't have the option. Sure the player does, but again, if we are thinking from the protag's shoes, no he doesn't because the other option is less palatable. Again, if there was an option to protect her without fucking her, hint hint, then it would be a different story.
Now let's compare 2 of the Alexia & Andreas scenes. In the first one, she fucks him because she believes if she does, it will help keep Rowan safe. Again we have a situation where she makes the choice, not to pursue her own desires, but rather something that she did not want to do, because she felt she had to to protect her husband. The obvious cost in her mind if she didn't would be the death of her husband. Compare that against the scene where she fucks Andreas after the Helyna incident, she did so out of a mix of drunkeness, anger & lust. There were no more noble intent behind it & the cost of not fucking him? Well there was no cost. No one was going to suffer or die if she didn't fuck him.
That is the key that can't be hand waved away with "he had a choice", because it completely ignores the cost of choice. If he chooses not to, then Helyana is gang raped then left to an uncertain fate. If he does, then at least he can keep her safe. With Alexia, there is no ultimatim that she is subjected to.
More to the point, I think it has more to do with the psychology of the characters. She's mad, as stated previously, because she has a mental image of herself, of Rowan, and of their relationship that is running into the hard facts of reality.
EXACTLY. But you can't be selective with it. That is why I'm approaching it from the psychology of all parties involved.
Also, while we do appreciate detailed feedback, please understand that we do work. I have to make the game. If you do reply to this, do not be surprised if it takes me awhile to respond, and that it will only take longer if your reply is longer.
Fair enough, I was just giving you a hard time because you said you'd get to it yesterday. XD
In conclusion, if you are saying her characterization is inconsistent with other scenes of the charachter, there is more legs to that argument. But, if it is inconsistent with how you imagine their backstory or psychology to work where we haven't specified it, the thing taking you out of it is not the content itself.
Well I will agree that degree of the bond between Rowan & Helyana does largely come from my own interpretation & not from cononical material. However, it is a logical conclusion I drew based on how such a dynamic inevitably works out. Additionally the interactions between Rowan & Helyana do strongly support my premise as well. Additionally others have stated the same even before I put my 2 cents in, I think I just fleshed my reasoning out more. What can't be dismissed though is the central components of my argument still stand even based on strictly in game content. Which is why I think if additional options were added to that part of the game, it would make it flow a bit better. That of course is just my opinion though.