Do we get to tell Tanlorin to back off?

amig186

Now, I only know about this character's story second hand, but wasn't there a person in the story who was obsessively possessive of Tanlorin and automatically treated you as a rival for Tanlorin's affection? It's like the writers expected you to reciprocate the attraction and didn't even consider that you might not. This is even weirder than the character just being flirty.

SatanicSister

I don't think Tanlorin is flirty, I think they're obnoxious.

For some reason devs decided to make Tan a very modern character (as in real-life-modern not Tamriel-modern) and gave them a typical Tik-Tok "content creator" personality: they overshare, act like a bratty teen, don't have any shame and have no idea what "personal space" means.

Thysbe

SatanicSister wrote: »

I don't think Tanlorin is flirty, I think they're obnoxious.

For some reason devs decided to make Tan a very modern character (as in real-life-modern not Tamriel-modern) and gave them a typical Tik-Tok "content creator" personality: they overshare, act like a bratty teen, don't have any shame and have no idea what "personal space" means.

100%

to me the voice acting alone was so obnoxious that I obviously totally cut off everthing they said and was spared to realize their advances

Pixiepumpkin

Ya, I don't like NPC romancing. Its part of the reason I don't use companions.

colossalvoids

Thysbe wrote: »

SatanicSister wrote: »

I don't think Tanlorin is flirty, I think they're obnoxious.

For some reason devs decided to make Tan a very modern character (as in real-life-modern not Tamriel-modern) and gave them a typical Tik-Tok "content creator" personality: they overshare, act like a bratty teen, don't have any shame and have no idea what "personal space" means.

100%

to me the voice acting alone was so obnoxious that I obviously totally cut off everthing they said and was spared to realize their advances

Actually just voice acting was enough for me also, it's just not fitting the elder scrolls setting on a whole new level, especially when other companion from the release was actually one of their best ones if not outright best one yet. Like one is made for elder scrolls and the other is made for people who are really into modern stuff in games, let's put it like that.

old_scopie1945

Sorry, but Tanlorin just winds me up, good style. I put up with Tanlorin until I finished the quests and then I had my fill. Back in the box that one went. My other characters will play Tanlorin for the first quest, just to remove Tanlorin from Auridon.

Syldras

Malyore wrote: »

ElvenOverlord wrote: »

Really? We get in our feelings over dialogue from fictional characters in a game now? Ignore them and move on.

I role play in a role playing game. If you can't understand those implications, ignore this and move on to however you seek to enjoy videogames.

Exactly. I want to roleplay my characters the way I have them in mind, without being forced to give positive replies to obtrusively flirty npcs while I know that their actual reaction, if I had a choice, would be very different. It's immersion-breaking in a way.

tomofhyrule

SatanicSister wrote: »

I don't think Tanlorin is flirty, I think they're obnoxious.

For some reason devs decided to make Tan a very modern character (as in real-life-modern not Tamriel-modern) and gave them a typical Tik-Tok "content creator" personality: they overshare, act like a bratty teen, don't have any shame and have no idea what "personal space" means.

lol I even called them "the personification of TikTok" when I was going through.

But yeah, I did get to a point where I started to spam [E] through their quests because I just couldn't handle that personality.

ghastley

If I do not like a companion's pre-built personality, then that companion doesn't get used. In my case, I'm not using Bastian. None of them are perfect, but I do not expect that.

JemadarofCaerSalis

spartaxoxo wrote: »

TaSheen wrote: »

said no one ever wrote: »

You can roll your eyes all you want but ragging on someone who tries to be uplifting and encouraging and spread positivity is just despicable.

Oh for pity's sake. I don't know about Malyore, but y'know, I'm a nearly 80 year old woman, and I can certainly tell when convos have "something more than kindness in mind". They are the same sort of smarmy that Jakarn et al are.

Tanlorin does flirt but it's not as much as Jakarn. I also wouldn't really call them hitting on the adventurer really. They have that says flirty things to everything and everyone vibe. It's not serious.

For me the difference is that Jakarn, I can use for his quests and then just ignore.

But Tanlorin is a companion and if I want their perks, I have to put up with all the excessive cheerfulness and flirting.

I don't really care if they do it to everyone, their personality just is the exact type to rub me the wrong way and they honestly come across as incredibly shallow (not as in one dimensional), at least to me.

But, even if they are just 'flirty' that can still make people uncomfortable, and I agree that there should be some way to shut down those lines of dialogue if a player doesn't want them (not as in a toggle where they won't show, but a dialogue option to say basically 'sorry, but I am not interested in you, please stop flirting' that would basically give the same dialogue, but without the flirty bits)

Edit: Reading the second page, I agree that I think a lot of the issue with Tanlorin specifically is the personality of 'TikTok Embodyment' they have going on.

It was like the creator went down a checklist of 'how do I not only make sure that this character can be seen as nothing else but a bratty teenager that spends way too much time on social media, but also personally tick every single box on 'obnoxious personality' I can'.

I said it before I even started using them, but they basically seem tailor made to be everything I have ever disliked in a person. I basically only pull them out for writs, and I still need to level them, but then back into the box they go when I am finished.

Grizzbeorn

ElvenOverlord wrote: »

Really? We get in our feelings over dialogue from fictional characters in a game now? Ignore them and move on.

You could have done the very same thing here. There was no need to ostracize people for game dialog bothering them.

Pixiepumpkin

I simply did not allow Tanlorin into my circle of companions. Solved that problem easy mode.

Just because its "free" does not mean you have to take it.

ElvenOverlord

Grizzbeorn wrote: »

ElvenOverlord wrote: »

Really? We get in our feelings over dialogue from fictional characters in a game now? Ignore them and move on.

You could have done the very same thing here. There was no need to ostracize people for game dialog bothering them.

It’s a trivial thing to be bothered over. I have every right to point that out. There are much bigger things to be concerned about than this.

Toanis

IMO the two of them were created with a common theme in mind just opposite sides of the spectrum.

Where Tanlorin is a sterotypical caricature of how a non-binary character supposedly acts, Zerith-Var's fixation with his Tamit goes beyond you being his only confidant in this strange new world, he gives me strong platonic love vibes.

Syldras

Personally, I do think it's more annoying to come across this situation in quests, especially if unavoidable parts of the main zone quest, than it is with companions. As, yes, companions can just be skipped.

But the main part that bothers me isn't even that these characters exist. No, they should even exist (if well-written). All kinds of characters have to exist to make a fictional world seem believable.

The thing that bothers me is that while this is a roleplaying game, my character cannot truly engage with the situation. I don't want annoying characters to be changed or removed, I want to be able to let my character react to them in a way I choose. I see they can't give us 10 different options, but especially if it comes to a rather personal topic, there should at least be the choice between a positive, a negative and maybe a neutral reaction.

Grizzbeorn

ElvenOverlord wrote: »

Grizzbeorn wrote: »

ElvenOverlord wrote: »

Really? We get in our feelings over dialogue from fictional characters in a game now? Ignore them and move on.

You could have done the very same thing here. There was no need to ostracize people for game dialog bothering them.

It’s a trivial to be bothered over. I have every right to point that out. There are much bigger things to be concerned about than this.

They have the right to be bothered by it.
There are much bigger things going on that you could have chosen to comment on.

AzuraFan

Thysbe wrote: »

SatanicSister wrote: »

I don't think Tanlorin is flirty, I think they're obnoxious.

For some reason devs decided to make Tan a very modern character (as in real-life-modern not Tamriel-modern) and gave them a typical Tik-Tok "content creator" personality: they overshare, act like a bratty teen, don't have any shame and have no idea what "personal space" means.

100%

to me the voice acting alone was so obnoxious that I obviously totally cut off everthing they said and was spared to realize their advances

I don't find Tanlorin quite that bad. The oversharing part - yes. For me, the most grating part of Tanlorin is that the voice doesn't match the character well. The voice acting isn't the problem. It's that I would have expected a higher voice with a softer tone for Tanlorin, given her body build and looks, so every time she opens her mouth, it's jarring. It would be like having an orc companion that sounds like a pixie. Just a complete mismatch between the avatar and the voice.

As far as flirting and oversharing goes, there should be a dialogue option early on for the player to say, "I'm not interested," or, "I don't care how much you drink/bed everyone/whatever. Stop talking about it." I don't always mind if an NPC/companion flirts, if my character would be interested in them. If not, give me a chance to say no thanks. And I'm never into oversharing, so I'd love the chance to say, "Who cares. Talk about something interesting, or zip it."

sans-culottes

Can we get an option to tell Bastian to back off, then? He’s the worst. How about telling the incredibly annoying Ember to put a sock in it?

Regarding Tanlorin, I’m more concerned about their clay hair with clumpy streaks of purple pomade. The hairstyle is a disaster.

SkaiFaith

Syldras wrote: »

No matter if Naryu, Jakarn, Tanlorin or whatever obnoxious "flirty" npc: We really need an option to tell them to leave us alone. Or to give them a slap across their face (or hit them with a brick or whatever - I don't care as long as it's effective).

On the other hand, I remember playing through High Isle + Galen and at the end of the story you can talk with a certain female character with the option to ask about her relationship with a certain male character, just to hear her tell you very clearly it's not your business - then why the hell I had that dialogue option?! To be lectured? Felt disappointing nonsense, especially since our character had a good rapport with everyone and was the acclaimed hero.

Sorry but I had to vent this since 2022.

Credible_Joe

I agree that characters with one setting for how they perceive the player is problematic. I haven't voiced this before, but there needs to be a character setting for 'ugly,' or at least a dialogue option for "don't flirt with me." Every time Jakarn called one of my old toons 'good-looking,' all I could think was "that just gets more patronizing and insulting every time you say it."

But as a companion, Tan is one of the few NPCs that the player has some measure of control to address this. We can pick and choose with which of our characters to progress Tanlorin's companion rapport and quest. And once we fully level up rapport and get the favor achievement, we unlock their perk account wide.

I understand that not everyone has multiple characters, but this is one incentive to start working on an alt. I have a character that's so menacing and surly that romance is the last thing any typical person would consider when interacting with him-- ESPECIALLY on first impression (mentioned above). I have another character that's peak Dibella elegance and grace that's fully compatible with the game's presumed perception of her.

So, it's easy for me to assign appropriate companions to either of those characters, and I never feel the dissonance of the writing incorrectly presuming my character's allure. Except when I'm going through new content and it hits me unpredictably. Which... I just remembered that character flavor variant dialogue options are being added. I hope that can address some of the dissonance from stuff like this.

Juomuuri

I personally have no issue with the flirting NPCs, even if I'm immersed in their quests and stuff. It's just a fictional character being slightly annoying. I never have companions out and about with me after I've finished their achievements (unless I wanna take one out in a dungeon farm or I do the IA daily and such), and during the week I spent on maxing Tanlorin, I didn't hear them flirt with me once. But as it is with all companions, they get the boot once I have all I need from them, since I can't stand their constant chattering, even on the lowest frequency. I HATE questing with companions since they talk over the other dialogue, *even in their own quests* and it's drives me insane.

NotaDaedraWorshipper

I can often like some flirty characters, like there are some minor npcs that says some slightly flirty lines to the character, such as some merchants or a few guards, but that's just like a short interaction of two sentences or less.

But the latest years ZOS has increased the amount of this "flirty" dialogue with a drop in quality too, making it obnoxious and obtrusive, since we don't get dialogue options anymore and can't tell them no it gets even worse because it's done by characters which repeatedly appear. High Isle was horrible with it.

If there's no dialogue option to not be called attractice, good looking several times a quest, then it should be made more ambigious or open to interpretation. Like Zerith-var's dialogue I'm pretty sure is supposed to be platonic, but it can definitely be interpreted as something more if that's what someone wants.

TX12001rwb17_ESO

Imagine, your character is an overweight Argonian Vampire Necromancer with the decaying zombie skin and extensive burn scars...

Jarkarn needs his eyes checked because he thinks your good-looking.

Ragnarok0130

Good grief, Tanlorin is the absolutely most cringe companion so far and from what I’ve read here it gets worse. I’m waiting until all other companions are leveled to level her due to her insufferable personality and sub par voice acting.

WhiteCoatSyndrome

katanagirl1 wrote: »

Did you actually do the High Isle questline? Creepy old lecherous lady who was saying she wasn’t Inspector Vale kept making moves on my character, it was pretty obvious what she wanted.

I thought Lady Laurent’s quest was worse. 🤢

amig186 wrote: »

Now, I only know about this character's story second hand, but wasn't there a person in the story who was obsessively possessive of Tanlorin and automatically treated you as a rival for Tanlorin's affection?

Yup!

Pixiepumpkin wrote: »

I simply did not allow Tanlorin into my circle of companions. Solved that problem easy mode.

Same here. I went through her questline on PTS as a precaution and I’m so glad I did, I can safely say I never want her on live. 🤮 Even without the unwanted flirting she’s got Eveli Sharp Arrow levels of obnoxiousness and her perk is borderline useless with enough points in forcing locks.

emilyhyoyeon

One of the frustrating things about this to me is that I've been really looking forward to an altmer companion for my main character since companions as a new feature were announced.

I've always loved knights & wizards style of historical fantasy, especially things mage related, so I've loved Elder Scrolls altmer for coming on two decades now, a huge part due to their affinity for magic and its place in their culture and aesthetics.

Tanlorin, the altmer companion, seems to be in canon rogue-leaning (their default dual wield weapons, among other things) and while they have some magical abilities, they were purposefully written to have trauma with magic. They actively dislike the Mages Guild--the altmer companion...

My point with all this is that I wish, for companions, the devs would ''play it more safe.'' This includes things like not going overboard on an aspect of their personalities. If Tanlorin is a flirty person, sure, make them flirty, but do it reasonably. Companions are characters that aren't one-and-done quest characters; they're supposed to be traveled with, generally.

Yes, different companions will appeal to different characters and players, not everyone will necessarily like each one, but they should be more oriented towards ''liking vs disliking'' instead of ''loving vs hating,'' if that makes sense.
I feel like it's a better design choice to make them appeal to as many players as reasonably possible, as in, while maintaining a unique personality.

Thysbe

emilyhyoyeon wrote: »

My point with all this is that I wish, for companions, the devs would ''play it more safe.'' This includes things like not going overboard on an aspect of their personalities. If Tanlorin is a flirty person, sure, make them flirty, but do it reasonably. Companions are characters that aren't one-and-done quest characters; they're supposed to be traveled with, generally.

A very good point. I would like to add looks here. The hairstyle is just another thing why this character is totally unusable. The tinkerer altmer from their story would have been a much nicer choice. A spoiled kinlady who gets angry if she gets into muddy water, the renegade werewolf lady from the Archon´s grove quest who dumps her groom.... Or Fennorian ofc. :-)

So pretty please - can we have an altmeri Altmer compaion next time :-)

Ingenon

After unlocking Tanlorin I decided I did not like the dialogue, appearance, and many of the dislikes (Mages Guild, Artaeum, Psijiic Portals, Lorebooks, etc.). So I leveled as quickly as possible for the passive. I have all the companions unlocked and Tanlorin is the only one that never gets used.

NotaDaedraWorshipper

emilyhyoyeon wrote: »

One of the frustrating things about this to me is that I've been really looking forward to an altmer companion for my main character since companions as a new feature were announced.

I've always loved knights & wizards style of historical fantasy, especially things mage related, so I've loved Elder Scrolls altmer for coming on two decades now, a huge part due to their affinity for magic and its place in their culture and aesthetics.

Tanlorin, the altmer companion, seems to be in canon rogue-leaning (their default dual wield weapons, among other things) and while they have some magical abilities, they were purposefully written to have trauma with magic. They actively dislike the Mages Guild--the altmer companion...

My point with all this is that I wish, for companions, the devs would ''play it more safe.'' This includes things like not going overboard on an aspect of their personalities. If Tanlorin is a flirty person, sure, make them flirty, but do it reasonably. Companions are characters that aren't one-and-done quest characters; they're supposed to be traveled with, generally.

Yes, different companions will appeal to different characters and players, not everyone will necessarily like each one, but they should be more oriented towards ''liking vs disliking'' instead of ''loving vs hating,'' if that makes sense.
I feel like it's a better design choice to make them appeal to as many players as reasonably possible, as in, while maintaining a unique personality.

It feels a lot of time that they want to make companions "different" and quirky for the sake of just being different, especially from the norm of their race's common culture.

A lot of characters, not just companions, also suffer from having little depth these years. It's like they are given one or two traits maximum and they need to constantly play on these traits. Using Jakarn as an example. Yes, he hasn't had that much to his character from the start and he has been flirty, but there was more to him. He was also a greedy, slimy *** of a scoundrel who would run away as soon as it benefitted him. With his return in High Isle he pretty much was just a flirty simp with a very limited vocabulary.

spartaxoxo

I will say that I do agree that Tanlorin feels too modern. It's to the point it breaks immersion for me a bit. It's not their pronouns or their flirting. Those things remind of Jakarn or Frii. I think Tanlorin is actually less aggressive in their flirting than Jakarn or Naryu, personally.

It's their overuse of modern lingo like "taking up space," that does it. They feel like a Marvel character but Marvel movies are set in a current setting. Also I dislike that their perk's UI elements makes it feel like lock picking is no longer my own skill.