#it took me a lot longer to finish this because Weird Al's 'Albuquerque' came on as I was writing

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When replies are a bit borked but the response is interesting, aka:

So, do you imagine Alistair still tries to keep up his relationship with Eamon after the Blight?  I could see Aeron being encouraging because it's something Alistair wants to do, and he'll cut things off if Eamon keeps being *bad* about it, but not wanting to be part of those reunions unless... I dunno, Eamon's on his deathbed.

Courtesy of @celeritassagittae​, concerning my post from last night about Arl Eamon and Aeron’s relationship (or lack thereof).

To that I say, yes. I think it would take some effort, though. I don’t know if you remember the end of “Deciding on the Crown”, but Alistair is pretty pissed off at Eamon by the end of it, since that starts with Eamon doing this:

“So it is decided!” Arl Eamon declares. “Alistair will take his father’s throne.”

The phrase stops Aeron cold. What? Impossible! No! What is Eamon doing? This isn’t the plan. This is not the way things were supposed to be. They were going to back Anora, weren’t they? That’s what they decided, what Alistair assured her would happen—

Then their last exchange is this right here:

“Alistair!” Arl Eamon’s voice makes Aeron go tense. “Alistair, a word—”

“Not now.” Alistair’s voice is firm, almost cold. “You’ve said plenty.”

(...oh hey. Past!Me actually ensured that, even though I haven’t written it (yet?), Alistair actually did tell her, and it was almost definitely after they woke up after the end of “A Matter Between Men”. You go, Past!Me!)

Anyway, yeah. That kind of punch to Alistair’s trust would definitely take a long time to heal, but Aeron would encourage it with a completely straight face. She wouldn’t push him to do it, but if he brought it up or asked her opinion, she would say yes. And like, if Alistair asks her to come with him to Redcliffe or if they can visit Vigil’s Keep, she would do her very damn best to keep it civil for his sake. Family is one of those things that matters greatly to her, after all, and even though Eamon has never quite been the best at it, he is also one of the first and few remaining father figures that Alistair has.

(That said, he also has Bann Teagan, who I must add has a much better relationship with Aeron than Eamon does. Everybody breathes easier when Teagan is there during those visits to Redcliffe.)

And I think, whether Aeron knows it or not (and whether Eamon comes to realize it or not [and what I am dead certain Alistair knows better than both of them]), a lot of Arl Eamon’s actions are motivated by the misguided belief that he is doing what is right by/for Alistair. Eamon believes his actions are going to ensure that Alistair lives up to his full potential; as a man, as a Theirin, as a templar, and then as a king. And like, Eamon just couldn’t let that go, even after seeing how Alistair found his own potential and path.

(I also have this half-finished thing that I’m still not sure about; a conversation between Eamon and Aeron where he tries to get her to encourage Alistair to take the throne and she kindly tells him to fuck off. XD I haven’t kept working on it because I had no idea where it would fit with the rest of the timeline, but...)

There is one other reason Aeron might be keen to have them reconcile, and it makes her realize just how much being a Warden-Commander has changed her.