#im not anti ship and i think it'd be rly disrespectful to put this on the dashes of ppl who are just trying to have fun

[vangbelsing]

Feeling a bit frustrated so I'm gonna vent a bit below the cut. I'm not trying to be negative or rain on any parades, so I'll preface this by saying I'm gonna vent about my grievances regarding companion romance in DATV and if you don't want to see that I'll add a cut so you don't have to read anything that'll be a party pooper for you.

I don't anticipate anyone to read through what is essentially me bellyaching, but in case you do, just please be aware that it's really just a vent about something most people seem excited for and I don't want to spoil the fun for anybody.

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I've had this thought for awhile, and if I can be honest? I don't mean any negativity when I say this, and I hope the people that are enjoying this can have fun with it, but tbh I feel almost like I'm the only person in the fandom who just... does not care about all the shipping and companions getting together.

Like I'm aware it has been a thing since DA2 (I know Oghren gets with Felsi and a lot of companions flirt, especially in DA:A but idk if I'd count that as the same thing) and it's never bothered me overmuch, but it's just... Not what I care about. I think it can be cute in certain instances, like Sera and Dagna, (I don't see it much bc I'm usually the one romancing Sera but I think it's SOOOOO cute when it happens) and I think that the banter with Cole and Blackwall about his little crush on Josie is super fun, but those have never really made a big difference on character development imo.

And to be very honest, I hope it's like the last games where it's certain characters under certain circumstances. I know they said they've never had this many pairings, but I just... I'm not sure if I want it to be EVERY companion being able to get with every OTHER companion and that your game is always going to be chalk full of romance no matter what you do. Like I want it to be like with Dorian and Bull, where it can happen, but it's situational and depends on their exposure to each other out in the world.

I truly do not want to sound negative, because I don't hate romance. I understand that characters are a HUGE part of games and these games especially, and having some romance in there that's independent of the player has never bothered me. It can give another level of making characters feel more believable. But when it's every character getting with every character, and romance is implemented into every aspect, it sort of feels... Forced? It feels disingenuous, to me personally. I think it's just as unbelievable that every character is romantically compatible with absolutely everyone else as it is for the companions to only be attracted to the protagonist.

And while I wouldn't necessarily call myself aromantic, it is something that generally either disinterests me or can even make me feel uncomfortable when it's overtly pushed. Obviously, games are welcome to have content that is not intended for me, and I don't even dislike the fact that romance plays a part. In fact, when I romance characters, it's usually because I want to see how their story can develop and the way it can impact them as a character, or because I genuinely just enjoy them as a character. But I don't want that to be all that there is.

And I know that could read as hypocritical since I'm something of a selfshipper, but I think what bugs me isn't the romance being there, but the idea that it's going to be so??? Idk. It feels like it's almost a defining quality that they assume you're going to be actively engaging with, whether it's you romancing your Rook with a companion or you shipping the other characters together. And I do want to reiterate that I think the shipping and characters getting together is fine, it doesn't inherently bother me. But I don't like that it seems pretty deeply woven into most aspects of the game.

Like? What I specifically don't want is for the characters to be relatively bland if you strip away the romance, and that goes for their romance with Rook as well. I think that's my biggest fear, really. I just want the characters to be able to exist without those relationships, because I want to be able to exist without those relationships without feeling like I'm a black sheep for not engaging with them.

I just think games in general have gotten to the point where they basically don't think of aro or ace people at all. And while romance and aro and ace people can exist simultaneously, I just wish more spaces actively attempted to keep in mind that they will be there and that not everyone wants to be surrounded by those sorts of relationships.

It's easy enough to say "if you don't like romance, don't romance the characters", but when it's literally everywhere, it can feel a little alienating. I do wish there was some aro or ace rep in these games, because it gets to a point where it feels like that's the focal point of the game and you just have to deal with it.

Anyway, that's it. Sorry for the rant, and I mean it when I say I hope that people who are excited for this aspect of the game enjoy it. I just wish that, as someone who is exploring aromanticism, I wish that there were spaces that felt more accommodating for people like me that don't always want to interact too heavily with this kind of thing.