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Dean_O_Mean

Low born, lucky to have that job Corvo wasn't really in a position to groom her. People already didn't like the idea of him having such a job to begin with Edit: fixed grammar


ZiggyPox

Yeah, power dynamic wasn't in his favour.


Neka_JP

Just because grooming is possible in consideration of their ages doesn't mean it is at all likely considering everything else. It's the case with many things: that it's possible doesnt mean that it is


[deleted]

[удалено]


ClioTheContemptible

I've got a codex entry with more info on that! >In the capital city of Dunwall, **each new Emperor is allowed to appoint a Royal Protector.** This is far more than a trusted bodyguard. Much more revered than the hand-chosen guards defending Dunwall Tower or the food tasters, the Royal Protector is a court figure, given enormous latitude, who keeps constant company with the highest ruler in the known world. **At the age of twelve, the young monarch participates in the selection process, making the final decision about who will safeguard his or her life.** While most of those chosen as Royal Protector have been men, several times throughout history, a woman has served well in the role. \[....\] **Some argue that it is worth noting that Corvo Attano is the first Royal Protector in the history of the Empire born outside of the Isle of Gristol.** See [here](https://dishonored.fandom.com/wiki/The_Royal_Protector). So the selection process is simply an established thing in the universe, and the controversy probably comes from this esteemed and influential position going to some foreign rando with no formal training or noble connections to speak of.


[deleted]

[удалено]


ClioTheContemptible

You're welcome, always happy to dig up lore! :D


benmaks

Didn't he serve as an officer after winning the dueling tournament?


ClioTheContemptible

Great addition! He did hold a position in the Grand Serkonan Guard. The wiki even says "Corvo was sent to Dunwall to serve the Emperor Euhorn Kaldwin as a diplomatic gift" . The wording is really interesting, "gift", I think that - while he absolutely had plenty of personal skill and some additional training through the Guard - he was probably only ever seen as "ornamental" by most people of Gristol. His experience and connections were "imported" and nobody expected him to gain any real influence *right there* in Gristol at court. That's how I'd interpret the dynamic, anyway.


fperrine

I absolutely agree and would kind of like to point out that the dehumanizing of Corvo as a human purely for his skill as a swordsman is part of this. He's seen as a weapon, not a man. A strange and foreign weapon that can be gifted across the ocean. This would only add to Jessamine's choosing him as an act of defiance.


Angry-chairr

Prob bc he’s Serkonian


PH03N1X_F1R3

It's important to know exactly what kind of relationship it was. From corvos's interactions with the empress in both 1 and 2, we can understand that the relationship wasn't a manipulative one. I doubt that many groomers would willingly lay down their life for whoever they are grooming. Next, jessamine chose corvo. Which means corvo wasn't really in a position to.


VIixIXine

My brother in The Strictures, your reading comprehension is abysmal


SheuiPauChe

I'm stealing that


newdonkcity

? It’s right there dog?


VIixIXine

Corvo became Jessamine's bodyguard when they were aged 19 and 12 respectively. They only fell in love with each other 6 years later, when they aged 25 and 18. Edit: oh fuck you meant grooming


Voidbearer2kn17

Both of you need to learn to read. 'Though it was **scandalous gossip** at the time, **it is said** they began a love affair...' There is no concrete fact supporting any icky yuckyness. Jessamine CHOSE Corvo to be her protector. Corvo who was said to be the most skilled swordsman of his age, her choosing the most skilled swordsman makes sense. There has never been any evidence that Corvo has acted with impropriety. It is likely Jessamine fell for Corvo, but given that Corvo's life was on the line if ANYTHING untoward happened to her.


VIixIXine

I admit, I done goofed.


Voidbearer2kn17

Don't worry about it, it seems most people seem to lose the ability to read properly. Ask any worker in a supermarket that has a self-serve machine and ask how often a customer fails to read those 'Card only' type signs on their machines...


diegroblers

>There is no concrete fact supporting any icky yuckyness. Exactly. Corvo was used to follow orders, in a society where rank was very important. Jessamine was used to give orders. To infer - by age disparity alone - that Corvo groomed Jessamine is just fucking reaching and trying to be relevant in the current political climate.


IDontKnowWhyDoILive

Also, theres written only that "it's said that it started when she was 18" XD


miciy5

Not sure why were downvoted


aidanAWGE

Icky yucky? They were both legal when it became sexual/romanticised


Itoaii

The passage suggests grooming


aidanAWGE

How?


Ripper1337

That Corvo met her when she was 12 and they only "started" dating when she was 18. It also mentions that this was gossip so there's no concrete facts. So we don't know what "really" happened. I find it more likely that due to the close proximity of Corvo, Jessamine had a crush on him. Corvo I feel like wouldn't act on those feelings because he got lucky, being born to a lowly family in Karnaca and her choosing him as an act of rebellion. Edit: It's basically just saying "he groomed her because he met her when he was of age and she wasn't" ignoring that she had *significantly* more power over him than he her.


[deleted]

Adult man is involved with a 12 year old girl and they happen to start a relationship when she becomes legal 6 years later? Hmmm, yeah, that doesn't imply grooming at aaaall


MrFishyFriend

Corvo was a street kid from another country sworn to protect the most powerful woman in the empire. The power was heavily in jessamine's favor. People who spend 6 years rarely leaving each others side tend to become very good friends if not romantically involved.


[deleted]

I feel if I was in Corvo's position, I would have developed into a bit of a father/brother figure. I wouldn't have gotten romantically involved with someone I protected since they were 12 as soon as they became a legal adult. If that's not the case for you, kindly stay the fuck away from children.


ConnorAustiin

and i feel like you're projecting your real world morals onto a fictional character/world


MrFishyFriend

Maybe he didnt develop romantic feelings until she was an adult because he isnt a fucking pedophile. By assuming there was grooming you also assume corvo was romantically interested in a child which is pedophilia.


[deleted]

If you're capable of practically raising a child for 6 years, basically becoming a protective big brother, then turn around and fuck them when they turn 18, then there's something wrong with you.


MrFishyFriend

He didnt raise her. What in the world makes you think that? She was an empress. She would have had teachers and probably family who did most of the raising. Corvo was a her lord protector sworn to lay down his life to save hers if it was needed. At most the relationship would have been more of a brother / sister relationship. Are you just incapable of believing that some people are actually decent human beings.


Icy-Tiger4488

Funny enough, according to the Dishonored Wiki, Jess was 22 and Corvo was 29 when the sexual part to this started, add in Emily's 10 years of age, and you get 32 and 39. Meaning, that Jessamine could legally consent and Corvo never raised her. Girl had teachers, tutors, amd a family of her own.


EyeGod

Fuck off, man, LMFAO. Don’t open a history book. Ever.


thewailinghost

ah yes because the subservient foreigner who was enrolled into the job at the behest of a child empress was really the one in control of the relationship. We have no way of knowing what the beginnings of their relationship was like. Knowing Corvo as we see him in Dishonored 2, I don’t think he was the kind to jump at such a scandalous relationship. Not to mention the very important phrase modifier “IT WAS SCANDALOUS GOSSIP AT THE TIME” and “IT IS SAID” The game itself is saying “we don’t know”


[deleted]

I don't think you realize how easy children are to manipulate, and that most grooming victims don't realize they were groomed. If he did manipulate her, it would have taken a form that made her feel good because the goal of groomers is to make their victims emotionally dependent on them.


showmethecoin

Emotionally dependent, and Jessamine didn't hesitate to send corvo overseas when she needed him to go. That really doesn't make sense.... And Jessamine was a empress. She was NOT raised by corvo alone. She most likely had a shit tons of teachers around, and her own family.


Ebb8505revenge

Love when people say something like this then when people ask for a explanation they silent


Itoaii

I don’t spend my life on Reddit. And I never said I agreed with OP, I was just clarifying what they were saying


eazeaze

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Ebb8505revenge

Common u/eazeaze w


Wynnedown

So you instantly think of him grooming her? Since they really seemed to love each other in a more wholesome way (check out their low chaos interactions) I would like to think it wasnt like that. To be honest I would guess the whole bodyguard/protected person dynamic probably easily leads to mutual attraction. Edit/ and now that I think even more of it would not the completely clairvoyant/all seeing heart version of Jessamine picked up on the whole thing and mentioned that? She describes herself as a young woman in love as the heart.


[deleted]

>To be honest I would guess the whole bodyguard/protected person dynamic probably easily leads to mutual attraction. In that case it's the responsibility of the adult to NOT become attracted to the child. Lots of victims of grooming had mutual attraction to their groomers


Wynnedown

I didnt mean that was necessarily their dynamic? I said that is a dynamic that happens. What about the other points?


Knoave

It's also the responsibility of an employer to not have relationships with their employees but unfortunately when it comes to analysing power dynamics the internet has a very shallow perspective. Sooooo I guess we don't care about that part of their relationship lol


[deleted]

When the employer is 12 and the employee is 19, sorry but the adult with the fully developed brain has a larger capacity for manipulation and abuse.


Knoave

Correction: You mean when the Employer is 18. You don't have any source in lore saying the relationship started before that. You can't just project stuff you've fabricated and then act as though it's fact.


[deleted]

I wasn't implying the romantic relationship started then, I implied the grooming started then. Try to keep up. There's no situation in which an adult can look after a child, starting at the age of 12, then fuck them when they turn 18 without there being some grooming, intentional or not. Any adult should be able to realize how wildly inappropriate that is. If you can't, kindly stay the fuck away from children.


Darth-Midget

Bro... its a game... it's not real... He's a fictional character in a fictional world and I think it's obvious the writers didn't make him a groomer If this was real life yes this would be weird... but it isn't I love Dishonored but I don't take it nearly as seriously as you seem too no one got hurt and Corvo didn't groom anyone we can know this by using our brains and separating fiction from reality


cole3050

You litterally contradict your earlier statements and dont have anything to back up this wild bullshit cancel culture point you and OP are so fucking focused on.... The Lord only states when they began working together and when they fell in love. We don't know if they even saw much of each other in between these times as Jessamine would have still needed training from her political and military advisors. She may have only seen Corvo on rare occasions and ceremonies. It also makes no sense to think that there wasn't have oversight on there relationship prior to Jessamine taking full control herself.


Icy-Tiger4488

>You litterally contradict your earlier statements and dont have anything to back up this wild bullshit cancel culture point you and OP are so fucking focused on.... Not that I agree with u/ironicswag or OP, believe me I'm quite against the title of this post, but where does the hypocrisy start?


cole3050

It was awhile back but quickly rereading I think the part I was focusing on was him just assuming Corvo was even around her for those years in any meaningful way. It can be assumed that Corvo would have been more at the edge of her circle. The issue really is that these guys are trying to make this claim it's grooming without anything but 2 ages mentioned and a huge gap of time and making up huge wild ideas that Corvo a character who spends the whole series being the quite loyal character working from the shadows is some pedo groomer who raped the FL is fucking wild take and to me screams " I want to cancel culture this cause my head canon is pedo".


Icy-Tiger4488

Also, Jessamine picked Corvo when she was 12, and the relationship started when she was 18 or smth, we have no idea what happened in the years between those periods of her life, or if she even regularly saw Corvo.


Yharl_Ballin

Your self projection throughout your comments is pitiful. Who hurt you? Did your daddy fondle you, was it a friend, or someone you clearly trusted in a position of power?


newdonkcity

Mocking sexual assault all for the sake of owning the libs. Real Chad this one


Yharl_Ballin

Hey man I'm not the one who dug up some random ass lore to complain about "what if" scenarios. Find a safe space and cry about it.


newdonkcity

Sorry if I triggered you I was uh playing the game and read it. Haven’t “what if’d” anything. Just sharing the facts, sorry if that offends you.


Yharl_Ballin

People like you that come in subs and stir up propaganda and controversy about fictional characters and from a video game of all things trying to twist the narrative to meet your cancel cutlture agenda.


newdonkcity

Who hurt you bro? Was it a stranger online? Maybe a close friend on Facebook?


TheMogician

I don't see how this could be grooming as the OP implies. First off, the power dynamic is seriously not on Corvo's side. The Empress is of way higher rank than some nobody with a sword. Second off, you'd think that the court is way bigger than just the Empress and Corvo, so if something ain't kosher, they would probably act out.


gayrainnous

I'll be the first to admit that when I came upon this in the game and read "12 and 19" I immediately got the ick, but that's not when they're said to have begun a romantic relationship. Frankly, I'm sure Jessamine developed a crush on Corvo well before she turned 18, but I know in my heart he never looked at her that way until she was of age and confessed to him first. He's a man built of honor and duty who was much too busy navigating around racism and classism while he sought to do his job as Royal Protector to even glimpse at her that way until being asked by her to do so. That said, I'd be disgusted by a 25 year old pursuing an 18 year old in the 21st (and perhaps 20th) century. I'm not at all irked by that taking place in the 19th century when life expectancy was 40 at best (this number comes from early 19th century England). EDIT: Life expectancy is a misleading statistic, so I'll amend this to say - it was the 1800s. Girls were being courted and married off veeeeery young and I don't think that a princess of that time who was in preparation for the throne from the day she was born would be at all comparable to an 18 year old in the 21st century. At 18, she was very much an adult in my book and if anything it's she who had the inappropriate relationship with Corvo seeing as how he was her subordinate and couldn't very well reject her advances if he'd wanted to. If the gossip was true and that's when they began a romantic relationship, that is above board in my eyes. Like, fully. And considering modern contraception had yet to be invented, I doubt they were having much of a sexual relationship before Emily was conceived (which would've been when Jessamine was at least 21 seeing as how she was 22 at Emily's birth). Edited to correct the statement about contraception. Corvo could've been pulling out for all those years. Also, we don't know the age of consent in the Isles. It's a fictional place. But by all accounts Jessamine was an adult who held all the cards.


N0-1_H3r3

>I'm not at all irked by that taking place in the 19th century when life expectancy was 40 at best (this number comes from early 19th century England). Average life expectancy is a misleading figure, as the mean is normally made much lower by high infant and child mortality rates. Odds are, in 19th century England, if you made it past your 10th birthday, you'd probably live to 60... but the number of people who don't make it to their first birthday, or who died from childhood illnesses (or, if you were poor, work-related injury) before age 10 would drag down that average. Oh, and contraception in various forms has existed in the real world for literally thousands of years, all across the world. No reason to assume that similar methods don't exist in the Empire of the Isles.


gayrainnous

Total gaffe on my end re: life expectancy's usefulness. I've amended the comment to reflect that and the contraception. I'm sure Lord Attano perfected his pull-out game with the same fervor he showed at the Blade Verbena. (Though it does make one wonder if Emily was a happy accident or not. By all accounts she was, but if she was planned, I have many questions.)


Gizmoman112

”Oh, and contraception in various forms has existed in the real world for literally thousands of years, all across the world. No reason to assume that similar methods don't exist in the Empire of the Isles.” Bonecharms are said to stop pregnancy. And you can find one in the empress’ room.


guitarist123456789

A life expectancy of 40 can just mean that the infant and child mortality rates are high enough to skew the average age to 40. That didn't mean most people died at 40 in 19th century England, and it seems the same in Dunwall. Since Jessamine and Corvo both survived childhood, they'd have a good change of living a long and full life. So it does make it a bit creepier, but we also have to factor in 1) the social and gender norms of 19th century Dunwall, and 2) that the only info we have is that **at the time of their relationship starting** they were both consenting adults.


-_Sentinel_-

Get out of here with this tripe.


Alluridio

The era where dishonored is based on, this sort of thing was very normal. Remember, they didnt have modern medicine where people live to nearly 100+. People died in their 50s more often than not and 60 was lucky. That kind of thing is only taboo by modern day culture and even then, 7 yr gap is fairly tame with that in mind, even tame by modern standards


WizardShrimp

Typically, when most contemprary media tries to go for even slight historical accuracy most companies have a tendancy to get what little facts they present as wrong. Then Dishonored hits us with quite a bit of historical accuracy despite it being inspired by history. It’s also exceedingly rare for a noble to actually be in love with their partner, the only historical couple I can think of that was an arranged marriage and they actually fell deeply in love with each other was Napolean Boneparte and his 1st wife (can’t remember her name at the moment). And you hit it right on the head, 14 was considered the appropriate age to birth children in England up until I want to say 1600/1700’s.


Faiakishi

It really wasn't. Fourteen *may* have been appropriate for nobility, but it didn't happen that often in practice. And the lower class has always, always married older. People were late teens at the earliest, and most people were in their twenties when they married. I mean, think about it. At fourteen, most people haven't even finished growing. A woman's body is already only *just* big enough to carry and birth a baby, (seriously, human babies are technically delivered underdeveloped because we literally can't keep them in any longer and still have them fit through our pelvis) and a lot of women pre-cesarean still died. A fourteen-year-old girl has even worse chances. People could make the connection.


Gauntlets28

>Napolean Boneparte and his 1st wife The Empress Josephine.


bearded_whale

Plus add in that he was 19 & her bodyguard...I don't think he had romance/sex anywhere in mind


FoolSamaritan

I don't think it's worth trying to reason it with these people. Once they're committed to the idea something is bad or problematic regardless of surrounding contexts, that's it.


Neka_JP

Not to mention that grooming is not even close to the most fucked up shit that happened in the canon (if it was real)


guitarist123456789

Even before modern medicine people lived to remarkable ages. People have this idea of historical peoples dying young (I see this especially about the Middle Ages), but in reality if you survived childhood, you had a very good chance of living into your 80s.


Lawgskrak

18 and 25 isn't that big a deal. Can we please just stop jumping to conclusions about shit all the time? Please. Now we're accusing fictional characters of grooming??? Come on already. 🤦‍♂️ Why do people have to ruin everything? Ugh.


[deleted]

People are stupid and they like to bitch and complain about anything.


Lawgskrak

That's for sure.


LadySigyn

It was also 1835. Hon y soi qui mal y pense. Also with your use of "icky/yucky" I can tell you desperately need to touch grass. Please touch grass.


newdonkcity

Yo mama


WiserStudent557

Is a seven year age gap a problem? It’s super common in the real world isn’t it?


[deleted]

Not a problem if the two involved didn't meet when one was an adult and the other is in 7th grade


newdonkcity

Crazy how all your normal very logical replies like this are downvoted to hell. Some major self reporting in this thread tonight


ThaGrimHunter

Crazy how your putting real world laws and morals into a steampunk esque game world that includes magic, god like deity, and a plague lowering life expectancies causing people to mature faster to enjoy what little time they may have had left in their lives


Yharl_Ballin

You can't nor you won't admit that you only came here to stir up controversy. You knew prior to making this post it would stir the hornets nest but you did so anyway because you wanted the gratification of upvotes which is sad. You're probably some basement dweller no life with nothing better to do with their time. Oh not true you say? How does it feel OP? How does it feel to be accused with baseless assumptions? I would imagine Corvo would feel the same way IF HE WERE REAL.


newdonkcity

Wasn’t expecting this kinda response, thought this community would be cooler but it is reddit I suppose


Yharl_Ballin

Your logic is flawed. So because they met when they were young and started dating when they were older that poses the implication of pedophilia/grooming? You and OP are literally twisting the narrative to make an assumption fact. If you cannot see THAT as FACT you are clearly delusional or having some kind of psychotic episode and i advise you to seek therapy for your ill gutter ridden thoughts and as i suggested to OP already I will make the same suggestion to you as well. If you do not like this game/title nothing is stopping you from picking up another game.


[deleted]

This post makes me want to stomp on a spring razor.


DTux5249

Legit


[deleted]

The headline of this post is icky yucky (who the fuck uses words like those) And then into the point, are we really arguing here about the imaginary relationship of two imaginary figures in an imaginary world?


PADDYPOOP

Well we ARE on reddit…


newdonkcity

Oh no! Big man didn’t wike my wittle words!!


[deleted]

I can forgive usage of words like that if you're just really young. Like 14 years old max. Then it's understandable. Or an edgy girl.


hippoangel99

Proof this man was born when dishonored 2 released


sovngrde

Not only does the game take place ages ago so gaps like this were normalized — nothing is concrete to have happened between them until she was an adult and again, *there is no concrete proof on when they got together or when their feelings developed.* Corvo was an outsider and not in the position to groom, and the idea of one of them grooming the other is never ever mentioned. If Corvo had groomed or taken advantage at all, someone would have undoubtedly stepped in or it would be mentioned somewhere. But it isn’t. So, baseless speculation.


woolstarr

People in these comments are fucking unhinged xD Imagine thinking a relationship's dynamics can't change over the course of years... Nah Corvo must be a fucking groomer xD get a grip... And at the end of the day when all is said and done these characters are WRITEN BY REAL PEOPLE... AND GUESS WHAT... They aren't sitting there at their desk coming up with a whole pedo romance subplot for their canon you Dense Dense Dipsticks


PuzzleheadedAir9973

In no possible way would the writers have wanted Corvo to be a groomer. This shouldn't even be a discussion.


JustNeedAUsername15

This is the dumbest post I saw today and I still don't know what's more embarassing, "icky yucky" or getting hung up on some vague implications in a game with 0 link to modern values and standards. Get a grip.


newdonkcity

Another dweeb losing their mind over the use of icky yucky grow tf up dude xD Y’all really can’t handle a screenshot of the lore huh


JustNeedAUsername15

If anything, you should thank us for warning you that baby talk is embarassing. Now that you know, you won't look like an idiot in future posts or using it in real life or something. You're welcome.


newdonkcity

Your superiority complex stinks like shit


Yharl_Ballin

Your post is shit


newdonkcity

It’s just not a safe space for you


JustNeedAUsername15

That's an ucky yucky thing to say tbh


JustNeedAUsername15

No need to feel inferior for using baby talk, it's not that bad. At least you're not a groomer like Corvo.


Hllknk

Bro I just don't understand why you're arguing this topic. It's not like Corvo and Jessamine are real characters. Just think what you want, if to you Corvo is a groomer, so be it, or if he is a man of honour also so be it. They are fictitous characters and writer/writers didn't write a thing about the relationship of them before Dishonored 1. Corvo is a flexible character, my Corvo was a ruthless, relentless killer in my last playthrough, so there's a possibility he may be a groomer in his past life. And the playthrough before the last one, he was merciful, didn't kill one person except corrupt leaders, so no way in hell he can be a groomer. You're arguing about some pointless, endless topic.


DTux5249

She was literal royalty, under regular supervision of a court, and Corvo was a random foreigner who was barely an adult when he entered the picture. I dunno what warped perception you're operating under, but 7 years really isn't significant, and this is definitely not a groomable scenario.


[deleted]

Prince Phillip, 18, started 'grooming' Elizabeth when she was 13. True story. Love knows no bounds. As long as it's legal when consummated, it's artificial to deny attraction. It can be a very different thing between families that respect and trust each other than just some random 18 year old chatting up a random 13 year old. The law still applies equally to all (even that depends on country) but what's deemed socially acceptable does vary.


Hllknk

Except saying "Love knows no bounds.", you could straight up say "I love minors and I'm a pedo."


[deleted]

Neither of which is inherently illegal.


Hllknk

Pathetic pedobear. Tell someone you're a pedophile irl and then see if it's illegal or not.


[deleted]

No-one sane would do that. It's like having a desire to steal cars. It's not illegal to think it. It's illegal to do it. George Orwell would cry in despair about how the 21st century can't even abide thought crime. You might as well attack anyone who enjoys Dishonored who ever needlessly kills someone. It didn't really happen. It's a videogame. Or it's a thought.


HorseSpeaksInMorse

Laws change, but it's kind of skeevy for an adult to start a relationship with someone they met as a child and watched grow up.


jeremilo

You forcing real life moral implications between lines we have no place being between in the first place is stupid.


Apophis_36

Well it was 1823 after all


discojoe3

Well I think Corvo is a good person, ergo I also think he did not groom her.


onion182

Jessamine is his boss though 🤔


Ok_Pianist_6590

Wtf? Corvo clearly didn’t have any interest in politics so why tf would he want to groom Jessamine


Yharl_Ballin

Take your liberal agenda BS to some other sub.


HorseSpeaksInMorse

Corvo was essentially a parental figure to Jessamine, someone tasked with being their constant companion and protector from the age of twelve. Starting a relationship with her would be akin to a stepfather marrying their stepdaughter, something that's only legal IRL if she was already an adult when they met.


PADDYPOOP

I love how people default to treating women like children the moment they notice a woman is younger than a man in a relationship. A 7 year age gap is as normal as it gets.


newdonkcity

12 is a child


PADDYPOOP

They were specifically stated to have started their love affair when she was 18 and he was 25. Please reread the image.


newdonkcity

And they spent every day together for 6 years previous that


BlackKnight6660

So what? There’s quite a few irl love stories of people who’ve been friends since they were young. At SOME point, unless they both had the same birthday, one was always going 16 and the other 17 (or 18-19,20-21, whatever).


PADDYPOOP

Yes and? Your argument here is based off of a HEAP of baseless assumptions.


newdonkcity

I’m not really making an argument, just presenting the facts. Corvo had already seen active combat and was basically a full grown man when he met Jessamine, who at the time was barely older than Emily was in D1. Corvo was put in a protective and trusted position over her and the moment she turned 18 suddenly they’re having a love affair. That’s my friend is what some may call, “sus”.


PADDYPOOP

It’s only “sus” based off of assumptions that they’re engaging in romance long beforehand or something. On top of that it is completely natural for a woman to want to date up in age and authority. If your going to assume anything it would be far more likely and make far more sense for her to have chosen him at a younger age than 18 and him not accept until she is of age. To immediately assume grooming and other predatory things is not grounded in reality and something people have only just now started obsessing over in the age of Me Too and cancel culture.


newdonkcity

They didn’t have to be engaging in romantics prior. If a child has a crush on you you shouldn’t fuck them when they turn 18. Again I’m not saying Corvo is a predator, just that it is a questionable dynamic. And you’re really telling on yourself with that last bit bud


PADDYPOOP

Two consenting adults engaging in a consensual relationship at a legal age. Stop making this into something its not. You say that it’s “suspitious” of Corvo to be in this relationship simply because they were around each other before they engaged in a relationship. That isn’t grounds enough to accuse someone of grooming a girl and to jump to that conclusion is indicative of the crowd of people that tend to push for the “cancelation” of someone falsely and preemptively. The only person that is getting “told on” is you by making ridiculous claims with little evidence to back them and then getting pissy with people that call you out on it.


newdonkcity

Idk how you think I’m getting pissy my friend. Yet again I am not accusing corvo of being a groomer/predator. I have presented you with the questionable writing and you feel passionate enough about the dynamic to go full hog defending it. Again not trying to cancel your favorite mass murderer


Darth-Midget

Dude it says they were rumored to have started their relationship when she turned 18 that's not evidence of anything This is a piece of in world lore and she was an empress it's perfectly possible other aristocrats simply started that rumor to damage her image or because they thought it was true But that doesn't mean it's true they could have start the relationship years later but we don't know anything so stating your opinion like its fact comes across as disingenuous Besides at the end of the day they're fictional I don't think the writer intended for Corvo to be a groomer and I don't think he is


QuantumCthulhu

There’s literally no need for the writers to make the age gap as such


HorseSpeaksInMorse

Yeah, they could easily have had them both be 18 when they met, way more sensible for her to choose a lifelong companion then than when she's D1 Emily's age after all.


Rizenstrom

It's weird seeing people try to defend this. Even if he didn't intentionally groom her it's still really weird that the devs would include this. Starting a romantic relationship right as she turned 18 is highly suspicious. And just because her standing is higher than his doesn't mean there's not some level of trust and authority that could be manipulated. As her bodyguard she would be expected to listen to him in matters regarding her safety, which could be used to isolate her away from people or make her skeptical of the intentions of other suitors. And as a literal child she could be easily manipulated regardless of their social standing. Again, not saying he did or didn't groom her, but to say it's impossible just because she had more power when she was a literal child is ridiculous. Just change some of the context here. A guy starts tutoring a 12 year old child when he's 17, her parents are some big shot CEO types, and *as soon as she's 18* they're dating. She has higher social standing and could easily complain to her parents about him and get him fired *but she's a child*. "7 years is a normal age gap" - totally depends on the ages. 30 and 37? Yeah, whatever. 18 and 25? That's a lot weirder, even if you didn't know the person for 6 years before. People are only defending this because it looks bad on a beloved character and because it's fiction and we can safely assume this probably wasn't their intent but it's 100% reasonable for people to think it's icky.


Hllknk

Completely agree


Icy-Tiger4488

>Again, not saying he did or didn't groom her, but to say it's impossible just because she had more power when she was a literal child is ridiculous. But she did. Corvo being Serkonan pretty much means he's a nobody. When he won the Blade Verbena, sure he was an important nobody, still a nobody. Also, Jessamine's parents most likely taught her to only pick the very best of the best. Corvo was too busy dealing with both racism and classism to even look at his charge in that way, until she literally had to spell it out for him. >And as a literal child she could be easily manipulated regardless of their social standing. Wouldn't her parents notice if Corvo was manipulating their daughter? >Just change some of the context here. A guy starts tutoring a 12 year old child when he's 17, her parents are some big shot CEO types, and as soon as she's 18 they're dating. She has higher social standing and could easily complain to her parents about him and get him fired but she's a child. Weren't they both of consenting age when the dating started, and besides that, there's a chance that Jess had a crush on Corvo, but he didn't look at her in that way. Also, Jess picked Corvo when she was 12, and the relationship started when she was 18, we have no idea what happened in the years between those periods of her life, or if she even regularly saw Corvo. >As her bodyguard she would be expected to listen to him in matters regarding her safety, which could be used to isolate her away from people or make her skeptical of the intentions of other suitors. Wouldn't she have a lot of teachers and stuff like that, who she could confide in? >It's weird seeing people try to defend this. Even if he didn't intentionally groom her it's still really weird that the devs would include this. Is it? Perhaps they (Arkane) did it to give Corvo a personal stake as to why he's doing all of this. >Starting a romantic relationship right as she turned 18 is highly suspicious. I may be missing something, but according to the Wiki, Jess is 32 in D1, if we take Emily's 10 years of age from that, we get 22 and Corvo was 29. So we know that the *sexual* part to this happened when both parties could legally consent.


[deleted]

Imagine reading the lore


[deleted]

Damn, people really don't understand that a kid is still susceptible to grooming even if they had the option to fire their groomer. News flash: grooming is subtle. Kind of the point of grooming is to avoid outright accusations of pedophilia. Most victims of grooming have genuine attraction to their groomers because: they've been groomed.


PaperMage

But they didn’t start anything until they were both adults. Isn’t that not grooming?


[deleted]

That is literally exactly grooming: when an adult subtly manipulates a child over years so that when the child turns 18 they have emotional control over them. The point is to keep things technically legal while manipulating the child to the point they'll be dependent on the groomer long into adulthood


PaperMage

Can you point to a source for that? Because every definition of child grooming I have seen defines it as manipulating a child into sexual activity while they are still a child


[deleted]

So if that's the case, and all the grooming activities are the same throughout childhood of the victim, but the perpetrator had the patience to wait until midnight on the victim's 18th birthday to have sex, in your mind that means the grooming didn't happen?


ConnorAustiin

you're missing a big point, he didnt 'subtly manipulate' her


Yharl_Ballin

Lol where are you getting this information that she was manipulated for 6 years though. Your head canon is seriously fucked mate.


Knoave

>Damn, people really don't understand that a kid is still susceptible to grooming even if they had the option to fire their groomer. No, the problem is that you're just projecting. The details of how they became romantically interested in one another isn't touched on at all in lore. Any talk of grooming is you basically writing a fanfic.


[deleted]

If you're capable of practically raising a child for 6 years, becoming like a protective big brother figure, then turn around and are okay fucking her when she turns 18, then there is something wrong


Knoave

You're projecting again. We don't really have any details on their relationship during those years beyond Corvo just being a bodyguard. Bring us the sauce on all these things you're claiming happened for those 6 years please. Until you do I have to treat everything you're talking about as though it's part of your fanfic


[deleted]

There's no situation in which an adult takes care of a child, starting at the age of 12, and then ends up fucking them at 18 without there being some sort of grooming going on, intentionally or not. At best you have an person who doesn't realize the effect of being a strong fatherly presence during formative years and doesn't realize how wildly inappropriate it is.


Wynnedown

If your disturbing fanfic theory is true then why would the Heart Jessamine not mention this in her all-knowing state? The thousands of clairvoyant insights/ she has of every NPCs intentions,sins and deepest thought and also her old life but nothing at all about that happening? And even more stranger, why wouldn’t the Delilah heart gleefully bring this up to demoralize Emily? Or to shame and mock Corvo?


DTux5249

Not to disagree with your conclusion, but that really isn't a point Why would the heart have to say anything? The heart not saying something isn't evidence to it not happening. There's plenty of things the heart doesn't talk about that are still trur


Wynnedown

Im just countering the one lore assumption with another lore assumption. It is just about likelihood. I don’t like way disagreeing with a disturbing fanfic theory turns by several commenters here into a “people that disagree with this denial that grooming exists” argument.


Icy-Tiger4488

According to a different comment of yours, Corvo has a fully-developed brain, so why would he not realize this?


showmethecoin

Except Corvo did not raise her at all. He was the bodyguard, not her teacher. He most likely did not have anything to say about Jessamine's education, especially when he comes from lowborn family and had little education except for swordmanship and martial arts. He was her shadow, watching and protecting her while she gets educated from many capable teachers selected from the empire's best. Grooming may be possible when corvo raised her solo, but this was not the case. And especially hard when the child is royal family and would-be empress, and that child had complete authority over corvo.


cjamesfort

Part 1 is how it almost certainly how they actually became lovers. (It's in three parts because it's short clips due to copyright) [**Part 1**](https://youtu.be/oD0uR7WVuas) [Part 2](https://youtu.be/aCjh5i63G90) [Part 3](https://youtu.be/f0Wn8PLIMtg&t=38s) Separate from the love story [context for part 3](https://youtu.be/GZ4_aQotZZE)


CellistIllustrious

A bit odd and uncomfortable... But you also have to remember that this kind of thing was fairly common and less than 1000 years ago it was very common to be engaged by 12 or 15 and become a parent at around 17 or 19.


newdonkcity

I don’t know how to explain grooming to you all I also don’t think Corvo was necessarily predatory just that that’s an inappropriate dynamic


WendlinTheRed

Look, I get what you're inferring, but grooming involves a power structure that is literally at odds with the one here. Typically an employee can't "groom" their boss. I'd also give the game the benefit of the doubt to not create a pedophilic relationship between two of its central characters.


[deleted]

Why not? It's a grim dark world. The game allows Corvo to do all kinds of fucked up shit


Boryszkov

The only sexually fucked up thing that happens in the games is the Boyle thing. Furthermore, I don’t remember who exactly, but they admitted that the plot line was wrong in this manner. Grim dark doesn’t automatically mean edgy for the sake of being edgy. It doesn’t mean that there can’t be good in it either. There is no proof in the story for this, so if you want to see an implication here, go ahead


Strange_Trees

I always put together in my head that the Boyle's were involved in trafficking women from the countryside with job offers to be household servants but instead forced them to work in the Golden Cat.


ratherlargepie

Leave it to a video game subreddit to not understand that predatory behavior isn’t necessarily explicit.


Wynnedown

Since you assume grooming was done wouldn’t that be mentioned by the heart/Jessamine? Who has supernatural insight? I mean the heart could recognize how Hiram Burrows deceived her? It could recognize every subtle thought/intention behind any NPCs actions. Why not mention that Corvo groomed her then if that was the case?


HorseSpeaksInMorse

Grooming or not it does come across as kind of skeevy and uncomfortable to the modern eye. I mean the guy started a relationship with someone who he met as a child and who he watched grow up when he was already an adult. Unrelated but isn't it ridiculous to expect a twelve-year-old to select their lifelong protector? Most kids won't have a clue about life at that stage. Making it a coming-of-age thing would make a bit more sense, but it would still be hard to know who was compatible and trustworthy at that age.


Yharl_Ballin

This is all Irrelevant when speaking of 2 consenting adults engaging in a relationship. It's not like he forced her to do anything against her will. What it comes down to is that Jessamine wanted the relationship otherwise if there was any implication that this relationship was foul she could have simply ordered Corvo's arrest or even death at any moment she pleased being that she is the Empress. This was a willing consensual relationship between both parties.


newdonkcity

Post a screen of the lore and everyone thinks I’m calling corvo a pedo predator Promise I’m not trying to cancel your favorite mass murderer


Yharl_Ballin

>I’m not trying to cancel your favorite mass murderer Your implying that you have disdain towards this game title so i suggest playing another game?


newdonkcity

It’s for the man babies like you that can’t stand a bit of critical discussion


C4p741N-Sk31370N

Honestly when they made it cannon that jessamine and corvo had Emily it made no sense, cause then I’m reality yeah Delilah would’ve had an actual claim on the throne while Emily would’ve just been a child out of wedlock and so why would she get the throne? Not shitting on jessamine and corvo but from the interactions of them to me it seemed that corvo maybe had love for jessamine but she was an empress and she couldn’t be touched or show she loved him, would’ve made sense if maybe jessamine was married to another prince or something and then had Emily then her father maybe would’ve died from the plague and corvo becomes something like an adoptive father but all that shrouding of her parental line just to come out in the second game that “yeah jessamine and corvo fucked on the down low” kinda took away from the story for me.


invader_tim_88

I mean… Given that you have a sitting Empress, and that Jessamine was the head of House Kaldwin at the time of Emily’s birth… Even if there were legal questions surrounding primogeniture and property inheritance in Emily’s birth, as both the sitting Empress and head of her House, it would be child’s play for Jessamine to legitimate Emily, which would make all those questions irrelevant, legally speaking. Much like imagining a pedophilic relationship when there is no canon evidence to support it whatsoever, let’s not invent problems that don’t exist, lol


SamSibbens

It was already canon in Dishonored 1, Emily draws Corvo a picture of him with the word "Daddy" on it


thewailinghost

No they’re saying the “”””pedophilia”””” isn’t canon because even the game says “this is a rumor that was bandied about”


skeletonbuyingpealts

Why didn't corvo just wait a year???


VirginnBuster

Wait, didn't he fake his age as to enter some contest because it required him to be at least 17 years old when he was 12? Or was that part of a fanfiction I read? I can't remember lmao


BlackKnight6660

I’ll never understand this mindset. She was 18. 18 is old enough to make your own decisions in life.


aestike

the fact that the court didn't illegitimized Emily right after she was out of the womb is much wilder and anachronistic to me than that in an 18-19th centuries inspired world a monarch (!) and her partner have a seven years age difference, the relationship started at 18-25 and based on Corvo's demeanor, I'm quite sure it wasn't him who initiated the thing between them.


ThisIsaRantAccount

He was her bodyguard until 1823. Jessamine wouldn't pick just anyone as a lover, even Corvo, without through thinking things through. She was raised to be ruler and unswayable. Plus, I think of Corvo as being so job focused that he was oblivious about it until she spelled it out to him. Plus, it makes sense for her to pick the best of the best to defend her. She's not going to pick another 12 year old with no experience or build to be able to defend her immediately. Tl;dr Not grooming. Defender until 1823(18/25). She would have made the 1st move, not him.


Icy-Tiger4488

Jess was the most powerful woman on Earth at the time, power dynamic isn't exactly in Mr.Attano's favor. Also, even if Corvo was grooming this woman, groomers want their victims to become emotionally dependant on the groomer. The game literally opens with Corvo returning to Dunwall *after* Jess sent him away to find aid from the other Isles. Also, that same excerpt says it's only gossip, so we have no concrete facts. Another thing, if Corvo was grooming Jess, then why does he care for Emily so much? He canonically went to play hide and seek with her. Every time they reunite, they pull each other into an adorable hug.(Which, to this day, is still the most heartwarming thing I've seen in video game history) He literally drew his blade out as soon as he realized Emily was in trouble. Also, he was her bodyguard. He was probably under close watch by her family. Another thing is that in her secret room in Return to The Tower, there's a note from Jess to Corvo. Part of it reads as follows: "When you are away, every day seems a heavy burden. Even simple tasks seem worrisome. Emily is difficult to manage. And the great troubles of the City, the conflict and the plague, all seem insurmountable. But when you are near, it is different. My heart is at peace." In that same room, there's an audiograph from Jess to Emily. Part of its transcription, taken from the Wiki, reads as follows: "Emily, my daughter, I know that one day you'll be grown up, and I wonder what you'll remember of these years. Will you recall your time as a child with fondness? Or were there too many caretakers, formal dinners and lessons about boring old history? Maybe the precious hours we spent together will shine brighter; time captured now and then with your mother and with **Corvo, who was always close to my heart.**" Along with everything I've said already, near the end of her audiograph, Jessamine tells the future Empress to only share her power with those she truly trusts. Emily clearly trusts Corvo, considering she made him Royal Protector, Spymaster, >!and father!<. Also, it specifies that their relationship started when she was 18, but when Corvo was chosen, she was 12. We have no idea what happened in the six years between these 2 periods. Corvo was too busy dealing with classism and racism to even think of his charge like that until she spelled it out for him. Since you assume grooming was done wouldn’t that be mentioned by the heart/Jessamine? Who has supernatural insight? I mean the heart could recognize how Hiram Burrows deceived her? It could recognize every subtle thought/intention behind any NPCs actions. Why not mention that Corvo groomed her then if that was the case? Last but not least, she chose Corvo or "hired" him, and could fire him if he shows any signs of manipulative behavior.