After Story talk, don't click until finished.

[Arndell]

I have been thinking about the games story and characters for a while after completing the story (I skipped combat hence 17 hours played if anyone notices :P)

I'm curious about one specific aspect with Aline.

She painted a version of her family, including Verso so she could live in denial at the loss of her son and pretend everything was fine.

If Aline was doing that, why did she paint Alicia with all her scars and pain? She tweaked the personality of Painted Renoit, she made a Verso for her fantasy of him being alive.

What do you think her reasons were for painting a version of her daughter who is living such a tortured life? surely the scars, one eye and no voice would be a constant reminder of the event that killed the real Verso that she is trying to escape from?

So far on my own I have 2 possible lines of thought on this.

1. Aline actually does blame Alicia for Verso dying in that fire and painting her like that is some form of punishment in Aline's mind, that she doesn't want to see Alicia happy and carefree after "what she did" (whatever that may be, we don't know the details of the fire)

2. Aline truly does love her daughter, painting her with the post fire mutilations was simply because she accepts her daughter for everything she is, painting her before her life altering scars could be seen as telling Alicia that her scars and damage is something to be ashamed of and that an ideal version of herself is still undamaged.
So it could be Aline still trying to show Alicia that there is an ideal version of herself that still has this damage, a kind of "life goes on" message.



Obviously the second possibility is ideal, but perhaps people saw some more concrete clues in the game itself or remembered some lines I might have forgot that gives better insight into Aline's mind and why she made Painted Alicia with post fire damage.

[Kapika96]

I think it's #1.

Seems like if she really loved Alicia she would've been there for her and actually acted like a mum and have gotten over her grief for Verso alongside her real family rather than needing a fake painted one. Definitely seems like Verso was not only her favourite child, but she does indeed blame Alicia and resent her for what happened.

[Crimsomrider]

It's #1.

Unfortunately every member of the family blamed Alicia, but Aline is the one who took it to the extreme. Her unflattering portrayals of her entire family represent how she truly felt about them after what happened (with the exception of Verso who she painted as humanely as possible).

In Alicia's case she despised her and painted her as she was, a disfigured monstrosity that took away her son, so she could continue to suffer within the Canvas as well. It is also why Aline instinctively burns Maelle's face at the Monolith after seeing her unscarred, despite it being 67 years later from her perspective, and only stopped when she saw Verso burning too.

[Arndell]

Originally posted by Crimsomrider:

It's #1.

Unfortunately every member of the family blamed Alicia, but Aline is the one who took it to the extreme. Her unflattering portrayals of her entire family represent how she truly felt about them after what happened (with the exception of Verso who she painted as humanely as possible).

In Alicia's case she despised her and painted her as she was so she could continue to suffer within the Canvas as well (and she unfortunately very much does, constantly tormented). It is also why Aline instinctively burns Maelle's face at the Monolith after seeing her unscarred, despite it being 67 years later from her perspective, and only stopped when she saw Verso being burning too.

Damn, Unless Alicia intentionally started the fire with the intention of killing Verso out of sibling rivalry due to jealousy that he was mothers favourite Aline has no excuse for that.

I know she's lost in grief and is behaving so extremely with the suicide by canvas due to it, but that's not justification at all to revel in the torture of one of her remaining kids.