#at least not in the way that Daren wants - he hates the idea of secret lovers - he hates the idea of loveless marriages

[milesmentis]

pride themed ask, 2-4 for daren!

Starting off with my boy! As is right and proper!

2. What's your oc's orientation? (Romantic/sexual/platonic alterous ect) Do they have opinions about it?

Daren is a polyromantic pansexual cisman, though usually he just thinks of himself as bi. He's not exactly private or public about it, but he's very comfortable in his attraction to men and does get a kick out of people's assumption that he's only attracted to women OR men depending on the context.

3. How did your oc discover themself? Did something cause them to question, or did they always know?

To a certain degree, he always knew. His first crush was Anora Mac Tir, shortly followed by Nathaniel Howe and Squire Gilmore in that order. However, his relationship to his own sexuality shifted over time. When he was young, I feel his attraction to other boys was more ... lenient? Girls were pretty and nice and had soft hands, but they didn't compel him the way that their brothers did. And everyone nodded and said of course he wanted to spend time with other boys and looked up to the men around him, that's only natural. It's once he got a little older that the expectations for his life started to weigh on him: his breakup with Gilmore at 16 was really formative. In his late twenties, he reached more of an equilibrium about his own attraction, and if he's lucky enough to romance Zevran, gets to experience a whole new awakening re: polyamory.

4. Is your oc's environment supportive about their identity? How does this impact them?

Within his family, yes absolutely. He has a younger sister, Maeve, who is an open lesbian and I headcanon that his father was also bisexual, so he has a role model there. However, that's not to say things are perfect. In an attempt to be supportive, Bryce ends up passing on a bit of a complex to his son (not just about his romantic inclinations, but that's definitely part of it). Because all of his support comes with the underlying message that it's a relief he is still attracted to women, because it would be his duty to marry one … whether he wanted to or not. Maeve certainly isn't going to marry a man. As a result he was terrified of marriage for reasons he could never quite express: basically, the idea that he would have to cut a part of himself off as soon as he had a wife if he still wanted to be a good son. Fortunately that is not the case.