Dragon Age: The Veilguard - A woke disaster? Yep!

[BlankSpaceBaby]

Using Taylor as an example again, she can't be sexual in their eyes. She can't want to be seen as someone who is content with her body or her appearance. She has to be the love lovebroken best friend, the pretty girl next door. Granted, Taylor built that image herself, but some swifties cling to it because it doesn't threaten their confidence. Sexy Taylor inspires envy, Dorky Taylor does not.

The same can be applied here.

Absolutely. This is the contract upon which cat ladies' favorite genres - romantasy, rom-coms, and peak BioWare's romances - are built on.

It is implicitly understood that the heroine is special, beautiful, magnificent. But, she cannot acknowledge this. As long as she stumbles around in a cloud of contrived innocence, totally and absolutely confused as to why she has 16 hot men all begging for a taste of her pure virginal pussy love or why her girlfriends and totally queer BFFS keep telling her how awesome she is. Once she acknowledges that she is desirable and all that, the "I can so relate to this while projecting my innermost desires to be hot and popular onto her at the same time" is shattered and the fans revolt.

This is why Miranda isn't so hot with these cat ladies, as she knows she is perfect looks-wise and she keeps throwing that out. But Leliana, so deadly but so endearing naive and sweet and "Oh? You love me? YOU REALLY LOVE ME? awww, I can't imagine it but I am so happy!" UwU, that makes her "relatable" - she never acts like or acknowledges that she is the hot shit.

(Note that Leliana became confident and poised only in games where she is no longer a romanceable option.)

This is also where Dragon Age: The Veilguard failed. Part of the contract is also that the protagonist is an active part of the love interest's transformation.

Lucanis's issues with Spite is resolved in basically a prep talk that you basically just sit in, so his romance never had that "I CHANGED BECAUSE I STUCK MY DICK INTO YOUR MAGICALLY WHOLESOME VAGINA/BUSSY!" vibes that cat ladies love.

Harding never changed into a confident and daring woman after you fucked her, when any self-respecting romantasy pimp will make it so that your character fucked her doubts and insecurities away.

Taash never changed before and after you fucked her, although you may have an undiagnosed trauma if she is your first choice for romance after sitting through her scenes. DItto Neve.

Most significantly, Rook is never the central focus of the love interest's life. They go on picnics, have book talks, and throw parties without involving him. This downplays the importance of Rook in the love interest's life - another big no no.

David Gaider, for all the shrunken shouting man-goblin buffoon that he is, understands this contract. Ditto the people writing Baldur's Gate 3.

Of course, you don't have to do this if your game stands on other aspects like gameplay, but BioWare more than most studios need to fulfill this contract as the other aspects of their games are not the main draw for the cat ladies that make up their sizable present day audience.

 

[StacticShock]

These are the same kind of women now shrieking in offended rage because TayTay, their goddess of cat ladies, is now writing about getting dicked by a redneck and wanting to populate the world with kids that look like him. The same ones mad that Sidney Sweeney is getting roles in Hollywood because muh male gaze, ohmygawd.

Using Taylor as an example again, she can't be sexual in their eyes. She can't want to be seen as someone who is content with her body or her appearance. She has to be the love lovebroken best friend, the pretty girl next door. Granted, Taylor built that image herself, but some swifties cling to it because it doesn't threaten their confidence. Sexy Taylor inspires envy, Dorky Taylor does not.

ah so you were talking about taylor switft, when i googled TayTay i found other stuff other than the musician....
still, interesting to know she got over all of her abusive boyfriends and is lusting for redneck dick, which is kind of ironic.

 

[BlankSpaceBaby]

LOL you are assuming that this one will last longer than her past 3,864,018 relationships.

 

[Prophetic Spirit]

You know what the worst part of Inquisition?
Sure, not desire demons but anyways there's Cassandra topless if you romance her.
What's the fucking point.

 

[Mola Ram]

You know what the worst part of Inquisition?
Sure, not desire demons but anyways there's Cassandra topless if you romance her.
What's the fucking point.

There are exactly two romances for straight male Inquisitors, Josephine's is better written, and she never gets naked, because apparently she's "ace." Feh.

 

[Prophetic Spirit]

There are exactly two romances for straight male Inquisitors, Josephine's is better written, and she never gets naked, because apparently she's "ace." Feh.

Nah, i prefer soft fem warriors in this one.
I had enough of witches or blood mages.

 

[Sailor Swift]

I genuinely loved Cassandra's romance storyline. If she's made Divine, she'll break up with you but the epilogue implies you're still hooking up in secret. It's one of my favorite romances in the game, aside from Dorian.

 

[Mola Ram]

Nah, i prefer soft fem warriors in this one.
I had enough of witches or blood mages.

Josephine's just a diplomat, and a lot more civilized than any swamp witch or blood mage.

I genuinely loved Cassandra's romance storyline. If she's made Divine, she'll break up with you but the epilogue implies you're still hooking up in secret. It's one of my favorite romances in the game, aside from Dorian.

Cassandra's a great character, definitely part of the roster that makes Inquisition as palatable as it is. The PC's interactions with her are lovely. I just don't care for the romance quest itself -- it's a little too tongue in cheek, romancing the butch warrior with candles and flowers and poetry. That actually could have worked, but they play it a little too much for laughs.

 

[Sailor Swift]

Josephine's just a diplomat, and a lot more civilized than any swamp witch or blood mage.



Cassandra's a great character, definitely part of the roster that makes Inquisition as palatable as it is. The PC's interactions with her are lovely. I just don't care for the romance quest itself -- it's a little too tongue in cheek, romancing the butch warrior with candles and flowers and poetry. That actually could have worked, but they play it a little too much for laughs.

Way less tongue in cheek than, say...Bull or Cullen. I will say that Solas has a great romance, though. But perhaps I'm a masochist for doomed love storylines.

I need to get back into art. No promises but Im lowkey tempted to start drawing some kiwi characters. In-kiwi-sitors, if you will.
I'll see myself out.

 

[Mola Ram]

Way less tongue in cheek than, say...Bull or Cullen.

Bull's is atrocious, right down in the cellar with Sera's ... actually, it might be worse than Sera's; I just find Bull more tolerable as a character.

Cullen's I don't remember, but I only played it once. I liked that you could get a wedding with him.

Blackwall's is my personal favorite, pretty much the only one I'll do now if I roll a femquisitor.

 

[Sailor Swift]

Cullen's I don't remember, but I only played it once. I liked that you could get a wedding with him.

Cullen's romance is essentially "you can fix him with your love". Because that's how it works when you're in love with someone with an active, nearly debilitating addiction.

Blackwall's is my personal favorite, pretty much the only one I'll do now if I roll a femquisitor.

Blackwall's romance is one of my favorites of the whole series. Love me a tragic man that can build me a deck--and he doesn't expect the Femquisitor to fix him.

 

[LazyLizard]

I remember when the promo images for Showgirl started getting released, and there was a number of swifties complaining about Taylor "sexualizing" herself and how tacky it was. The meltdowns over the album have been fucking bonkers tbh. And mind you, these are the same people buying multiples of the album for their collections.
(For what it's worth, the promo images were stunning and practically conservative by today's standards.)

Grown ass women aren't allowed to "sexualize" themselves. They're not allowed to express desire or satisfaction. Fans have a weird way of infantilizing the characters and people they love. It's like they're threatened by them stepping outside of that box, especially if that that person or character is someone they usually relate to.

Using Taylor as an example again, she can't be sexual in their eyes. She can't want to be seen as someone who is content with her body or her appearance. She has to be the love lovebroken best friend, the pretty girl next door. Granted, Taylor built that image herself, but some swifties cling to it because it doesn't threaten their confidence. Sexy Taylor inspires envy, Dorky Taylor does not.

The same can be applied here.

Schrödinger's woman, both empowered and a victim at the same time, they want pure sexual freedom but also if you sexualize a woman you are evil and any woman who sexualizes herself must just be forced by men to do it.

 

[LazyLizard]

There are exactly two romances for straight male Inquisitors, Josephine's is better written, and she never gets naked, because apparently she's "ace." Feh.

neither romance is really that good, especially compared to earlier games romance options, there's also Harding though it's shallow and barely worth mentioning.

 

[StacticShock]

one thing i noticed with those "modern woke games" is that they always model this fugly ass bitch in it.

why? according to google she is a feminist icon that embraced her ugliness and dressed in male clothing.
it might seem random but i saw traash being mentioned and i cannot forget how ugly taash was made to a point of resembling in about 70% that fucking ugly ass mexican bitch.

 

[Mola Ram]

neither romance is really that good, especially compared to earlier games romance options, there's also Harding though it's shallow and barely worth mentioning.

All Harding managed to do was get me invested in romancing her in DA4 and then Veilguard crapped on my heart.

why? according to google she is a feminist icon that embraced her ugliness and dressed in male clothing.

She was also an unrepentant Stalinist.

 

[StacticShock]

All Harding managed to do was get me invested in romancing her in DA4 and then Veilguard crapped on my heart.

another cultured hardinger having his heart tore open because of the fags that infected veilguard.
one of the few good things in Inquisition was having to flirt with harding but since it was during their proto-retarded era they cockblocked the player, probably out of spite because she is a character that is literally the most human of them all even though she's a halfling scout.
then she gets lobotomized alongside everyone on veilguard because the writers think human interaction is fucking coffee.

 

[Sailor Swift]

Harding had so much promise--and my heart.

 

[BlankSpaceBaby]

one thing i noticed with those "modern woke games" is that they always model this fugly ass bitch in it.
View attachment 8045598
why? according to google she is a feminist icon that embraced her ugliness and dressed in male clothing.
it might seem random but i saw traash being mentioned and i cannot forget how ugly taash was made to a point of resembling in about 70% that fucking ugly ass mexican bitch.

Kahlo was also depressed, bitter, and unhappy from birth to death (she committed suicide). Also: anti-capitalist, broke-ass all her life, can't get over that man that cheated on her, a serial cheater herself (it'd no doubt be rephrased as an "open marriage" these days), and remained broke because she refused to change her art when it went out of style - not that she ever made much money being an artist even at her peak.

In other words, their perfect YAAAASSSSS KWEEN.

She does have more talent in her pinky finger than these people ever have, though.

 

[Mola Ram]

since it was during their proto-retarded era they cockblocked the player, probably out of spite because she is a character that is literally the most human of them all even though she's a halfling scout.

I'm willing to be a little more generous than that; I think Harding's role was largely to be a tease for DA4 -- even in my first run I was dead certain she'd be returning as a romanceable companion, similar to how Cassandra's presence in DA2 is a tease for her larger appearance in the next game.

But then I remember the stories about how some goofball on DA's writing staff -- Gaider, maybe -- thought romancing dwarves was pedophilia-coded, and I wonder.

 

[Prophetic Spirit]

But then I remember the stories about how some goofball on DA's writing staff -- Gaider, maybe -- thought romancing dwarves was pedophilia-coded, and I wonder.

The same one who wrote the Dalish Elf Origin (and basically plasted all that shit into the latter games), but he wrote major part of the Human Noble origin (which is the only way to get power in Ferelden).

Imagine low-key insulting Daniel Ericson for writing the mini romances in the Dwarf Noble Origin, which is lmao.