[ SECRET POST #2849 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2849 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 024 secrets from Secret Submission Post #407.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I thought there were equal romance options for everyone? Two lesbians, two gay guys, and an assortment of bi and straight characters divided equally between genders? It's not equal? I thought I heard it would be.

To be honest though, I wish they would've left it like Dragon Age 2. Four options, two men and two women, all completely bisexual. I'm gay and I only like doing gay romances, and when games lock romance options for certain sexual orientations we undoubtedly get the short end of the stick - and even if it is equal, you can't guarantee the one you fancy will be on your side.

Honestly, you should just get to role-play the game how you like. Make certain characters more difficult to romance as a certain gender, fine, but cut the gender restrictions. (and fuck accusations of "Waaah it's not realistic for everyone to be bi" when it's a fantasy RPG anyway)

[(Anonymous)]

There's a lesbian, a straight woman and a bi woman. A gay guy, a bi guy, and three straight guys - two of them race-gated.

I'm personally glad they changed the system - I had four options in DAO and DA2 and now I have 8 o.O

[(Anonymous)]

Okay, yeah, I think I put the wrong emphasis in my wording when I mentioned four. As far as I'm concerned, the more the merrier! Just half men and half women would be preferable, all bisexual. Race-gating is interesting from a gameplay standpoint but frankly seems frustrating in practice. Luckily I have no desire to romance Solas, though I'd probably like to romance Cullen, he's straight-only and I'd commit a file to that. Course I'm kind of a Warden/Hawke slut, I sleep with everyone until they start getting mad about it, so I guess I'd do Cullen if he gives out before he gets too jealous.

[(Anonymous)]

sa:

The things is, we wouldn't be getting 8 characters if they were all bi. Four bi characters for humans like in DA2: 8 sets of cutscenes. Four bi characters for four races: 32 sets of cutscenes. Eight bi characters for four races would require 64 sets - it's just too much, they'd just cut the number of characters down. With the 8 options we have now, it's only 35 sets.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't really get what you mean, the "cutscenes" are the same for both genders in the previous games? You mean the sex scenes? They don't "make" those twice, your character is just popped in no matter what.

[(Anonymous)]

No, that's not true. The devs themselves talked about how each race/gender option required additional work. One dev put in extra hours just to make Iron Bull romanceable for all races. It's not just copy and paste. Every race/gender option has a different height and build.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't really think laziness was the reason not all romance options are bi... and I doubt any potential future installments would go back down to only four options after they've tried eight, even if they decide to go all bi again (and I hope they do).

[(Anonymous)]

I said nothing about laziness o.O They just don't have the time to do everything. That's their own explanation. People assume everything is quick and easy, but they have limited resources and romance is a small part of the game.

[(Anonymous)]

It seems like I might have to break less hearts here. In DAO I had Morrigan, Leliana and Zevran all in love with me, by accident (and I'm STILL not sure how I got both Leliana and Morrigan, given that they're pretty polar opposite in nature). I chose Leliana in the end because I figured Z would get over it and Morrigan…yeah. Still sucked.

Hopefully I won't accidentally be able to lead anyone on in DAI

[(Anonymous)]

Just looked it up: http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Romance_%28Inquisition%29

It's essentially equal except there are two extra men that have race specific, female only options. Cullen and Solas. Excluding them, it's "equal." But not particularly fair either. Then again, Solas looks like Voldemort, and Cullen was already "straight" in Origins - at least, he wouldn't hit on a male mage in the same way he would a female.

Disturbing lack of bisexual prettyboy elves though, which I'm not okay with. Dorian looks interesting, but I can't quite find the look attractive. A qunari romance could potentially be sexy, but Iron Bull is frankly pretty ugly in every image I've seen of him (why couldn't we have Arishok level sexiness?). Sera and Josephine as lesbian options are fine by me, but I still would've made all six of them bisexual. (not that Blackwell is particularly attractive either)

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, except for Cullen (who is boring, but pretty conventionally handsome) all male romance partners have stuff that turns me off them: Solas is bald (and not in a good way. It just looks strange), Bull has the whole Ugly Qunari Pirate schtick going, Blackwall looks... just plain dirty and creepy. The ladies? All some variation of pretty. It would be fair if you had a butch, scarred, ugly mountain of a lady as a potential LI, but there isn't one.

[(Anonymous)]

I think when you put all the possible combinations together women/female characters get the most romance options.

I also wouldn't have minded the way it was in DAII, but a lot of the fanbase complained then. Not that the complaining part has changed, but I assume that was why they returned to the usual gated decisions in this new one.

[(Anonymous)]

I have faith that David Gaider and the writers didn't actually "give in" to the fanboys who whined when Anders hit on them. I think, if anything, this was them trying to be more progressive yet, and I suppose make a more immersive world as well as give characters a bit more agency.

I just would rather everyone be bi, or at least not completely 100% either way on the Kinsey scale. I think it makes the most sense in an RPG, and I know when I play, I'd prefer the freedom to romance whoever I'd like.

ayrt

[(Anonymous)]

I would be surprised if people assumed the writers "gave" in because of the fanboys. I was thinking of the people who insisted all bi characters was unrealistic... and then complained as soon as they gave set sexualities in this one. Which is not aimed at you, haha. It's just the most common complaint I've seen in my general hangouts.

I don't mind either approach, and I respect their decisions to change what they did in the last game, but I also wouldn't have minded everyone being bi again for the freedom you mentioned.

[kallanda_lee]

I think something can be said for both approaches really.

ayrt

[(Anonymous)]

I agree! I actually don't mind either approach, which is why the change in this one is fine by me.

OP

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, that's what I thought as well. Why pull the "it's more realistic" card in a fantasy RPG? Especially when the sexuality has no influence on the game. When the characters don't actively try to flirt with your PC without you triggering the romance part, you won't "know" that everyone is potentially unrealistically bisexual.

[miarrow]

Seriously, DA2 was delightful. I was FREE TO BE ME wherever I went. The fuck do I care if the characters are romancing other genders in games I'm not playing? The bitchfest over that system was so stupid.

[(Anonymous)]

I hate the "it's realistic!" angle because at the same time, they put lore books in the game like this one:
https://38.media.tumblr.com/6df92214c0a5fe6b9afcdfdfa6afa116/tumblr_ndcksdUcF61tkllyao1_1280.png

Which not only goes against their own established lore (Followers of the Qun don't fuck for fun, Dalish are homophobes because of reproductional issues etc.) but they go "Hey, look, realism doesn't matter, everyone is fine with LGBT people in our world" and yet Solas has ~personal reasons~ for his gender/race lock - which means reasons beyond his sexuality.

Either say "fuck realism" or stay realistic in all things.

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, I don't know. I like the realistic social politics of Thedas, and ignoring same-sex romance does seem a bit jarring. At the same time, it kind of does take the game to an entirely different place if you same-sex romance a particular character and actually have to face homophobia - that's too serious. Same with real racism. The writers address issues of oppression and discrimination, but more with, for example, the elves.

I get that Qun followers wouldn't support same-sex marriage because they're so into strict "roles" - so I get that, but I'd hate to actually see homophobia from qunari. Maybe a qunari commenting that "this isn't your role in life" but no like "kill the gays" or whatever.

I think it's a very delicate balance, realism without being too real, and I don't know where to draw the line myself so I understand if the writers show some mild inconsistency.

[(Anonymous)]

The thing is: I absolutely don't want there to be a big homophobic issue, not at all. But saying "Nobody in this world is a homophobe and don't argue with realism because this is a FANTASY world" and in the next sentence they go "Yeah, but making everyone bisexual just wouldn't be ~realistic~ you know?" is annoying. Argue with the cost, argue with the time it would take, but don't use "realism" as an argument when you reject realism (and continuity) in other places.

[(Anonymous)]

Um, it explicitly specifies humans in that text. No mention of elves or Qunari.

[(Anonymous)]

True. We would have to see the rest of that codex - considering it's called "sexuality in Thedas" and not "human sexuality in Thedas", there might be more info in there.