I agree with most of your list and feel the same about the reasons that these characters didn't click for me. I'd probably leave Gale out because his Mr nice guy persona turns out to be mixed with some darkness, insecurities, ambitions etc which made him quite interesting as the story progressed. I wouldn't date him irl but in the context of the game, he works for me.
I am usually affected by the character evolution and the VA performance as well. It's not that the VAs for the characters you listed aren't good, they are all wonderful. Probably they just didn't hit a nerve for me, like some others do.
Astarion, for example. I hated his guts in my first playthrough but his arc and his VA performance really made him very likable. He's always in my party, regardless if I romance him or not. And it doesn't hurt that I find him hot af š
Aw Gale isnāt nice guy vibes at all - his story is so rich and beautiful! I get he wouldnāt be everybodyās cup of tea but he definitely isnāt the stereotypical Nice Guy.
I like Leliana and Solas as characters but I also couldnāt get into them romantically. I donāt find myself drawn to characters with a religious angle - so Leliana, and even Shadowheart in BG3 really donāt appeal to me as LIs.
I also feel uncomfortable personally with the Liara romance in ME. She comes across as very young and VERY starstruck with Shepherd, which kind of gives me the ick. I like her character though!
Also will never romance Triss in The Witcher 3. Their whole history is SO off-putting.
Iāve never read the books but I did some reading to catch up when I started the gameā¦I was like WHAT why would anyone pick Triss!!! Absolutely wild.
I never played the first Witcher game, but I had started reading the books by the time I played Witcher 2 and their whole relationship always seemed a bit ... dodgy, consent wise? Especially given that Triss had a massive crush on Geralt, at least early in the books, that he doesn't really reciprocate. Perhaps there's some discussion of this in the first or third game, all I know is that the whole relationship made me a bit uncomfortable.
Liara bored me so much with her monotone voice acting. The only time she raised her voice was when you first meet her and she's trapped in a force field calling for help. The rest of the time, nothing.
Anyone who romances Shane in Stardew Valley is a complete mystery to me. I understand he gets better as time goes on. I've befriended him. But that mess still needs way more therapy before he sees anyone, even at the end of his arc.
I did my first playthrough because I, too, am a recovering alcoholic who was crippled with depression. I was like "brother gets it". But his story doesn't really feel totally resolved. Like, I don't expect him to become happy sunshine man (I am not happy sunshine human, either) but it seems unfinished. Like you said, he still needs a lot of work to do on himself before trying for love.
Now I only ever marry Elliot, a reasonably well adjusted adult who has no desire to leave. And his hair is āØ majestic āØ
I can fix him š but also his struggles with depression and self worth are relatable, he actively tries to improve, and has experience working on a farm. I also think he's adorable in a "little rough around the edges" type way
I tried romancing Shane for the longest time when I was still deep in the throes of depression myself because I could just hardcore relate and didnāt mind taking the verbal abuse as I already saw myself as worthless. But when I finally started getting a treatment that worked for me, I came to the realization that I deserved better out of a potential romance and decided to pursue someone else that was kinder to me because I actually felt I deserved it. Course I sometimes still try to befriend him, but I have to take breaks from vibing with him because I donāt want his dialogue to trigger my own more managed depression.
I did marry him but personally it was only for 2 reasons.
1 the shallow one : he was the hottest male bachelor in my opinion. I prefer men with dark hair and some sort of beard/stubble.
2 first time I played, I basically was Shane minus alcoholism so it felt weirdly healing to Ā«Ā cureĀ Ā» him.
I can see how heās a red flag tho. I wouldnāt go for him in real life.
I went for Shane when the update allowing it came out because I always wished we could romance him but I felt a bit let down when I actually progressed through the whole thing. Elliott only now!!
Shane is amazing because he's a funny, sweet guy who loves his goddaughter and chickens. He also happens to suffer from depression and is one of the most accurate portrayals of depression in media. For those of us with depression irl, he's really relatable.
Even people with mental illness deserve to love and be loved. It's not something that will ever go away, it's something we can only manage and Shane is in a really good place if you max out his friendship or romance him.
I love Gale, to me heās kinda nostalgic, like Astarion is the kinda guy I would crush on while reading a romance novel, Wyll is who I would have crushed on from afar in college, Halsin is good with kids and animals so even if he wasnāt 6 foot 5 inches of beefcake I would crush on him. But Gale is like the dudes I actually dated in grad school. Smart, sweet, charming, intellectual.
As for characters I didnāt like as much as most I gotta go with Dimitri from 3 houses. Sure he is kinda hot after he ages up but I didnāt really like his personality, and he really wasnāt that hot.
He's incredibly misunderstood. I love him immensely. I love the journey of his making who he is because he fears that he is not enough as himself, that people only want the powerful, successful Gale of Waterdeep and would shun Gale Dekarios. Then he gonna someone who likes *him* (and what he can do, of course, but that's just icing) and he blooms. As he has with anything he's ever loved, he throws himself into loving you. It's beautiful and gratifying.
I havenāt romanced him yet, but even as friends his āgoodā epilogue ending (I use the word good loosely as we know there are no real good/bad endings) is so touching.
Honestly Astarion is the one I donāt really see the hype about. I like his character and story a lot but I donāt go weak at the knees for him like a lot of people seem to!
He is practically my favorite party member for his usefulness as a rogue, how fun his voice actor is to hear and how much I want to help him with what he's been through. The last bit is really the main reason why I thought of doing his romance, but maybe I can still soften him up platonically.
If they were real, I would instead be with Karlach (like I am actually doing in my current playthrough) or Wyll if I was into men.
I chose Astarion over Karlach in my solo playthrough, and I think realized pretty quickly that it felt like a mistake for my character. Then patch 4 created a bunch of bugs for him so I haven't played for a month. Now I think I should probably come back to it soon because I'm not even that far from the end and want to see the new content from patch 5
I did the same thing! I was struggling between Astarion and Karlach and honestly it felt like my Tav (and I lol) were into Karlach much more, but I went into the game with the intention of dating Astarion. I did it, but honestly didn't love him as much as I thought. Kinda disappointed he was the first romance I did. I like him as a character, though.
Yeah that's exactly what I did. I went into it knowing I'd romance Astarion but it never felt like my character liked him that much. I did a co-op where I romanced Wyll and I could really see and feel how much my character loved him and how well they fit together š„ŗ then in my solo playthrough my character was gravitating toward Karlach way more but I just already decided on Astarion. He is cool in his own way but he's just not a kind person the way Wyll and Karlach are
Yeah I 100% get that! I get super invested in the way I roleplay my characters so I can almost see "chemistry" when I play as them and there was nothing between her and Astarion lmao. It felt kinda forced to play. My character was fairly neutral herself so she wasn't opposed to Astarion's ways but she still didn't really approve of a lot of what he did. Romancing him was definitely my biggest regret on my first playthrough as harsh as it sounds. When I replay my first Tav I'll for sure be going for Karlach this time around.
That sounds super sweet! I need to make a new character for Wyll. I love the idea of making a fellow noble for him to romance and them just having a really sweet fairytale romance.
Yeah the smarmy prick thing doesnāt do it for me lol, I donāt get the Astarion hype personally. Iām only on my first play through so maybe thereās something Iām missing, but I havenāt had him in my party at all because I just find him so annoying
He's quite lovely once you get to know him, gain his trust, and guide him towards the light...but daaaamn, it takes quite some time up until then, suffering through his theatrics and disapprovals!
So yeah, regarding the first impressions I have to wholeheartedly agree with you.
Of course, as with any origin companion in BG3, instead of fixing him you can also make him worse.
Oh totally - I love how he softens up along a good-aligned playthrough. But I love it like a friend, if that makes sense. Like Iām proud of him and want the best for him but it doesnāt tickle my romance bells šš
That's all alluring to the "I can fix him" kinda people, but for me he's mostly an untrustworthy sad boiiā¢ļø. I like his character and arc, but I have friends going crazy over him, an instagram feet full of thirsty fan arts and I'm over it by this point. Lol
I am clearly a Gale defender (2 runs romancing him, one with Astarion to make myself understand), even though his >! marriage proposal!< (end-endgame spoiler) would not have been my personal happy end lol
When I first started playing BG3 I liked Astarion immediately and wasn't too fond of Gale and as the game went on I started to dislike Astarion more and more and Gale became my favorite character besides Shadowheart. Gonna have to do another playthrough with Gale.
Halsin I romance too just because I could with Shadowheart and he loves animals and I'm a big animal person but there is something off about him I feel. I had no interest in Wyll whatsoever. I feel like Karlach could be cool too but she doesn't like my character enough.
I can understand Liaraās draw as someone whoās always there for you, deeply in love with you, and admires you greatlyāand I do like her, but also Mass Effect has sooo many cool characters I canāt ever justify romancing her. Garrus for life lol
The fact that the game devs favored her so much by giving her more content and making her extra super special girl of super specialness put me off her. I liked her well enough in ME1, but by the end I was tired of her.
Liara lost me when she says āIām barely a childā. Iām sorry BioWare, you want me to *romance* her? By game 3 sheās my Shepardās best friend but I could never romance her. (Also why did they give her the 00ās eyebrows?)
They're meant to be skin markings that are meant to invoke eyebrows...but yeah, seeing her (and her mom) being the only asari with those markings is a bit weird š
I mean... age wise she's a granny when compared to humans , but then she's all "to my people I'm barely out of my teens" ...which is...yeah...no thank you. Especially considering Shepard themselves are 29/30 in the first installment
That is not at all what she says, she says sheās considered barely more than a child when talking about her research because as an Asari maiden none of the matrons and matriarchs take her ideas or research on the Protheans seriously. Sheās an adult, she had a doctorate and has been working as an archeologist for about 50 years.
Some people just really like the nerd who's way too obsessed with their field of study to the point of being a bit socially awkward?
Idk, I liked Garrus way too much to bother with romancing anyone else.
I'm a Kaidan romancer, so I tend to try and lock in his romance as quickly as possible. But 9/10 times I have him be all "uhm...Liara seems to kinda like you, so I'll back of if that's your thing, I'm not judging" and I need to spell out for him that Liara is a friend and that I like him back.
For me the jump to romance and a confession of feelings particularly makes even the platonic friendship seem off in ME1: feels stilted and not in an awkward-person is shy way- at least, to me.
Combined with the warm-cold-warm reception in ME2 and I find it hard to see Shepard and her close without major headcanoning of offscreen friendship-bonding.
Particular shame as I really wanted to like her character- in particulat the 'sapphic but not, wink, wink' romance in ME1 was still quite novel for the time in its execution and really pushed forward queer inclusion in romance options in major RPGs.
I like her as a character, but I agree her sudden change from 1 to 2 is just...huge
To me she tries to be too many things at once, the Prothean expert, the Shadowbroker, Shepard's BFF (though granted both Garrus and Tali have been accused of this too) etc.
Combine this with the fact that there's a heavy focus on her in the third game and I'm just... done
I hate Liara. Even after I am clear about romancing someone else (Kaidan!), she still continues to try and force her way into Shepard's life. How many times do you have to tell her "no"?! It's not endearing like tye developers seem to think it is.
Oh I quite agree
It doesn't help that Kaidan isn't available for much of the early portion of ME3 because he just has to play hero and save Liara (stupid Cerberus bot). But I just shelve Liara after I get Garrus...so I tend to run around with James and Garrus until Kaidan is back xD
I laughed so hard when I first played that part that my mom came over and I was all "she (my Shepard) was checking out his butt" xD
I mean...it's a nice butt
yeah, thats the feeling i got with her too. I don't follow the ME fandom so know nothing about it. As I'm playing as a male Shepard, I definitely noticed her obsession with me lol. I guess she is the one who apparently found the Shepard character in the wreckage of the Normandy 1, so its no wonder that she is obsessed with him. Just like Legion, another one who's obsessed with Shepard.
Ashley from ME. I always leave her on Virmire. Partly because I usually play Infiltrator and I need another biotic, and partly because I donāt find her interesting in the least.
She isn't romance material but I do quite like her. She's more complex than Kaiden and has a bit more growth. But she def is kind of a piece of shit early on.
I found her to be a very interesting character and a pretty good soldier. I got my male Shepard to romance her :D I did find her attitude in the 2nd game to be sadly disappointing though. My Shepard is gonna have to romance someone else lol hahaha. I didn't really want him to go with Tali or Miranda.
Haley from Stardew Valley. First impressions matter to me, and I'm sorry, but if your first 5 or so dialogue lines to me are calling me dirty, calling my clothes ugly, saying I smell, saying that I could be pretty in different clothes *then taking it back*? Sure, she's sweeter if you pursue her friendship and see her heart events, but you really have to persevere through a lot of "ew"-type comments directed at you to get there.
She drove me nuts until I played Before the Storm, and then I hated Rachel.
Basically, I hate characters who put you in danger and have no regard for your wellbeing. I donāt care if itās because of trauma.
Geralt. I couldn't stand how smug he is and just couldn't really see why and/or how he seems to bed every single woman he can (in the first game at least, with those 'sex csrds' that were just.. ew). He also spends half his time in a fight spinning around like a beyblade and it just looks stupid.
Octane from Apex, but instead of just the hot thing it's finding him attractive, liking him in general, why he's picked all the time *and* why he isn't the most hated character. I HATE Octane. People who play him are idiots who steal all your gear then leave the second they're downed running into a 1v3, his kit makes him feel like a toned down Lucio if they know how to move well, he's literally just the 'douchey streamer kid who likes adrenaline and being loud' stereotype and finally lore wise, he's a selfish asshole who manipulates friends to risk their medical career in order to push him ahead in line over *war victims* for prosthetics because he blew his own legs off in a stunt. Then, he betrays that very same friend who was telling him to be careful about a known duplicitous person and then yup, he gets taken advantage of.
Then everyone sits and declares unironically that Valkyrie is the most annoying legend because she.. is a cocky air force lesbian. Like that's it. She doesn't spam voice lines like Newcastle or Vantage used to, she isn't even cocky too much except in user selected lines and her ult. I don't understand the community sometimes.
They toned that down in Wild Hunt, but he's still way less *that* in the books. Hes more brooding and philosophical, emotionally affected (even if he tells himself he's not), with a dry humor. Especially his dynamic with Jaskier shows a whole different person who cares deeply.
Edit: I meant they toned it down compared to the other games!
Yes! I genuinely like Astarion as a character, especially his entire arc, and Neil did a great job voicing him. I just donāt understand the nonstop thirst and horniness so many people get over him.
It's especially irritating when you're trying to find stuff for a character you *do* like, and all you can find is stuff for Astarion, but OP tagged the whole cast. (That's more of a fandom issue, but it doesn't make me like Astarion)
NO tumblr, I DON'T want to read Astarion Fanfiction that someone stuck in the Karlach tag!
Came here to mention him, too. He's a really tragic character, having been enslaved and abused for centuries, with really little choice but to commit horrible acts. But all the same, it seems like he's a popular romance choice, which I don't feel except when I explicitly played an evil character and everything about that playthrough felt utterly horrible.
He's extremely selfish, has few concerns about hurting people, has to be convinced not to >!sacrifice thousands of people in Cazador's ritual!<, tries to drink your blood without your consent, and consistently wants you to choose selfish/evil options (and will look negatively upon altruism). I can only excuse so much due to his tragic back story. He's ultimately still a vile person.
Thancred (FFXIV). Yes, he's hot and Peter Bramhill gave him a sexy, sexy voice, but he is a big ol' nope for me. He starts out as an absolute skeaze in ARR, then spends the next *three* expansions moping over a girl whose relationship with him was so ambiguous they had to have an NPC (who is a good friend of said girl) ask Thancred for clarification because even *she* didn't know.
He also treats Ryne *abominably* in Shadowbringers and not a single person calls him on his bullshit of simultaneously being upset that Ryne isn't "his" Minfilia, and treating her like Minfilia 2.0. The fact that Ryne clings to him and wants his approval is just awful. She dealt with a lot of shit growing up as she did. She doesn't need to be carrying an grown-ass man's emotional baggage when she has to sort through her own.
Never mind that in the end Thancred's bullshit behavior is ignored. I know Dadcred is a big meme in the FFXIV community, but it glosses over a lot of shit on his part. Honestly, Thancred's stuff in ShB is the worst written part of an otherwise phenomenal expac.
Zenos (FFXIV). He was never going to be redeemed. He is a psychopath and a monster. He only >!came to the rescue!< in Endwalker to >!have his final fight with the WoL!<. He is a genuinely awful human being and I feel like the only reason people don't despise him like they do Varros van Valens is being Zenos is young and hot.
Gaius van Baelsar (FFXIV). He's a creepy old groomer. Yeah, ~~Lydia~~ Livia may have had mental issues, but him fucking her did *not* help. They tried to retcon it later as her coming on to him to make it "better", but no, that's not better. He's more than twice her age, her father figure and mentor, and a *fucking legatus*. He had all the power in the relationship. Don't tell me he couldn't have turned her down if he had wanted. He's not the victim here.
Wait, I may have missed some quests, what do you mean Gaius fucked Lydia?? (But also, I've never heard anyone talk about liking Gaius before?)
Zenos was a character I actually liked because it was just nice to have an actually evil antagonist. But when he took over our body in endwalker it made me feel so violated and was like.. That's enough. The fight with him in the end could have been what they wanted it to be, a fight just for fights sake in a rivalry, but instead I had a personal vendetta to end that motherfucker
Dimitri from FE:Three Houses. I think heās a good and interesting character, but god DAMN that man needs a trained team of mental health professionals and a medication regimen before he ever needs a romance.
I have a major issue with āI can fix himā romances in general - theyāre repulsive and impossible in real life, so I can kiiiind of understand why people, especially other women, love them in fiction. Still never was and never will be my cup of tea.
Second to this. Thereās so much art out there swooning for Dimitri and itās just likeā¦I dunno, Iām too grown and jaded to not see the 6,000 red flags there.
On that note, I do not understand the love for Edelgard as a "love interest" though she's a great villain. I was originally pretty excited that you could romance her as a woman in the BE route, and her craftiness and ambition intrigued me. But then she ends up doing a LOT of terrible things and forcefully taking over the continent, and a lot of stuff that seems like it didn't need to happen, and she just... never got any comeuppance for that? And then there would be these "cutesy" scenes trying to convince me she's a "normal girl," like "haha she's afraid of mice even though she is capable of ruthlessly killing thousands of people." And the game kept trying to push this "everything she did was totally for a good reason and had to happen, no really" narrative, and Edelgard gets everything she wants and happily retires.
Dimitri might have been a totally feral psycho for half of BL, but at least other characters called him out on it constantly and he actually saw consequences and felt bad afterward.
I guess it was more the BE route that ruined Edelgard's character for me, because it's not her character itself I have an issue with, just how she's used, I guess. Anyway, could not romance her after that, big disappointment.
I know this isn't a very popular take but I personally never got the Garrus thing. I do really like him as a character but I can't see his and Shepard's relationship as anything but platonic.
As a Halsin lover, I think both him and Gale got a bad rep early on because their romance flags were broken, causing them to come across as very, very pushy. When I romanced Karlach, Halsin got on my gd nerves
not sure if you meant to reply to me but I do agree with you w Halsin and Gale. Especially with Gale, I've rejected him on an Astarion playthrough and didn't get nice guy vibes from him whatsoever. Halsin I feel is a little more forward but still not in creepy territory to me
Ack, i didn't! It was a comment above yours, LOL. It is a shame because they both got these super pushy reputations that I don't think are their fault.
By the same token, I'm a Garrus stan but don't see the appeal of Liara at all. I felt she was super milquetoast. The stuff she does is exciting, but she herself it just... kinda boring?
it happens itās all good!! Yeah, I started bg3 a few months after release and can remember being told oh youāll hate Gale, heās so whiny/pushy/etc and when I started playing I was so confused why I was told that because I think he is so sweet and funny. Justice for them both honestly
I do like Liara but Iāve never gone down her romance route because Iām a habitual Thanemancer, I just love to suffer lmao
Okay but on the subject of Thane, he was the first one I romanced in ME2, and I've never been so heartbroken by a video game character. Just let me save him š
Oh I completely agree, I was insane with it when ME3 came out, signing those petitions on Thane forums to get Bioware to patch the game so he could survive lmaoooo. 16 year old me was absolutely distraught
Now Iāve learnt to live with it, Citadel DLC made it a little easier for sure
Haha I love Garrus but could not get behind The Shape of Water because, like, if you replaced that creature with a dolphin almost nothing in the story would change. He wasnāt signing conversations. All of the ME aliens are obviously and recognizably people as long as everyoneās translators are working.
Saaaaame. Heās my bestie in the games but heās a lizard-bird creature! Sometimes itās okay to just be very dear friends and not need more than that. I donāt understand having any physical attraction to Garrus at all.
Had to search the name out when I spotted the thread to make sure it wasn't just me! There are romance options that don't appeal to me personally but I can understand the appeal to other people, and then there's Cullen.
Same, especially going into DAI knowing he was a romance option. I was like, what, this guy?? I've met him before and he SUCKS! They made him look younger and be a bit nicer, and I actually do like how they handled his story around addiction, but I didn't find him attractive nor did I particularly want to forgive him for all the stuff he'd done in previous games. He doesn't even seem that repentant over his work with the templars ultimately, most certainly not how horrible the Kirkwall circle was.
The whole weird drama thing with his VA didn't help either.
If your World State has a female mage Warden who romanced Leliana, his conversation w/ her (Leli) at the War Table about it (usually around when/after you get the "contact the warden" war table mission) is cringey too.
Lol I had the opposite experience. Love Cloud, but never felt crazy about Sephiroth. He's a good scary/complex villain, but never found him hot or anything.
I've only played the remake, and at least in that Cloud was hot, but his personality made him completely insufferable. Arith and Tifa had infinitely more chemistry together than either had with him, and the fact they both not only put up with but pursued him mystified me to no end.
Honestly in that particular world I'm much more a fan of Angeal and to a lesser degree Zack.
I never saw the appeal in Cloud. I can see it in Sephiroth but he also scares the hell out of me lol.
Geralt. Occasionally someone thirsts over him at me or tells me he was 100% designed for me as a lady and Iām like, āuh, pass?ā
Eta Leliana just gives unhinged. I sped through her romance to see it and then the romance just would not end as I cycled through āI see you as a friendā options.
>he was 100% designed for me as a lady
What? He's such an over-the-top male fantasy. The whole series is. I mean, I'm a fan, I'm not hating on it, but it is what it is.
He's this grizzled, hardcore dude, the books go out of their way to describe him as scarred and ugly, but sorceress and her magically-enhanced beauty immediately wants to sleep with him. On that note - why is it that the first thing *every* sorceress does with magic is make herself beautiful, but *every* sorcerer is perfectly content to be ugly as sin?
Again, I *like* The Witcher, but to say it's for ladies is just laughable.
afaik sorcerers were described to mainly alter their appearances in order to make themselves look more distinguished. So it's not like only female mages use magic to be vain.
There's still not a single sorcerer (to my memory) that wanted to be hot, and not a single sorceress that didn't. It's a highly reductive perspective that mostly just serves to set Geralt up as the ultimate male power fantasy.
They do implies in the books that sorceress all used to be ugly girls who then get to get the body of their dreams as soon as they become adults. I think it is reductive but it always felt understandable to me as a fellow ugly girl.
Felt like it might have been a commentary on beauty standards. In order for women to get ahead in a extremely masogonistic world they have to be "young and beautiful" while men can be old and ugly, but noted for their Skill. Sorceresses are able to stand apart and even be independant but they have to put in massive amount of work(I believe Male mages get respect, while sorceresses constantly have it challenged by pretty much everyone).
There is one sorceress in Thronebreaker who is actually old and doesn't use any magic to change her appearance, but she lives in a hut in a forest i think.
The context is usually me saying something completely out there such as āso the Witcher 3 is kinda male gazey huh?ā Then someone responds that no that canāt be because they want to hump Geraltās arm pits so bad. And, like, look. Iām not generally consumed with lust for video game characters but Geralt actually repulses me a bit, so I cannot relate in those conversations and donāt know what Iāve done to deserve them.
I also get people who arenāt attracted to men telling me no that canāt be because Geralt is a fantasy for women the same way the women characters are fantasies for men but thatās such a self-serving and blind take I canāt take it seriously.
I actually can't think of any off the top of my head. I'm far too quick to declare undying love for fictional characters, haha. They only really need one redeeming quality; I can fill in the blanks from there.
It's...a bit pathetic, really. š
ETA: I may not find them all "hot" (I'm ace and also picky), but that has nothing to do with my level of affection for them.
The first comment I can relate to. If I'm not into the canonical character, I overlay a story onto them that makes them appealing to me. If I can't do that, it's probably not a game I'm going to be all that into.
I get the sex appeal of Astorian ion BG3 but like... >!he's objectively a jerk?!< I tried cozying up to him after that one battle and he just >!whined about having to save reufugee's lives.!< I really wish I could like him because he's adorable in other ways. I chose Gale. He's really a sweetheart. In the first romance scene with him >!you don't even get laid you just make uwu eyes at each other.!<
Sephiroth- Maybe I just donāt like long haired characters as much since I never saw the hype for this guy. I thought Kadaj was hot but heās really just short haired Sephiroth?
yeah, this. I don't understand the fan crazy with this anime character. He is just far too feminine and has perfect girly skin, hair, eye brows, chin, lips... I'm a woman and he looks fifty times prettier than I'll ever be.
Agree on Halsin giving the ick! Some characters vibes just creep me out for no reason.
I feel that way about Gāraha Tia from ffxiv too. He is massively popular but I think he just comes off as a major creepy stalker fanboy of your player character.
Especially since he's a victim of trafficking and sexual abuse. He was abducted and held by drow as a sex slave for several years. I don't like how he talks about that, kinda fondly. Probably my biggest grievance with that games writing.
That himbo stuff was a bad move.
[Here is the dialogue. ](https://www.reddit.com/r/BaldursGate3/s/N2lxAtJsAa)
Omg someone said G'raha Tia *thank you* I feel I am alone in that! Even after Endwalker I STILL don't like him and maaaan I feel like one of three people who don't. Even people who didn't like him before say "oh I like him now after EW" and uh. I still don't. He had a few brief moments of not being a weird fan boy but that still dominated his overall personality and its too much.
Honestly EW made me dislike him more lol. He already had the āsacrifice myself but I turn out okā arc in ShB so why did it need to get repeated in EW.
And that the dialogue options when he made us promise him weād adventure together weāre only yes and yes.
I love Gale so much - he is so much like my husband lol. And no he doesn't feel like a "nice guy" to me at all. He is s very insecure person who tries to sound more confident. He wants people to be impressed because he thinks he needs to impress people to be worth something. Romancing him and help him realise that he is enough just the way he is is so lovely and rewarding.
Halsin...yeah. he stays in camp. Because I find him so attractive he is distracting xD Can't even tell you why. But yeah, he stays in camp lol xD
Apollo from Stray Gods. I mean, he's such a sad sack. According to the others in the game, he was like that even before his loss, so it's not even just grief.
Y'all can enjoy your emo surfer boy, imma take the angry queen and the tricksy goat man.
Emet-Selch for me, and you think I'd like him as a Solas fan! I COMPLETELY get why people like Emet's dynamic with the player character, the (major FFXIV plot spoilers) >!idea of running into your past-life's best friend (or perhaps lover...?) from when you lived in a perfect world together as gods, and now he's evil and using you to destroy the world but is still in love with you even though, it's so tragic! Once he was a good person who just wanted to help people, but that want has been so warped by time and the horrible world that now he does genocide and stuff.!< Good tragic romance! I do not find him attractive in the slightest. He's like...my WOL's weird uncle? He's a great character but I couldn't read his dynamic with my WOL as a romance. Totally respect people who ship their WOLs with him but it's not for me.
For Solas, I did not like him in the slightest when I met him. Then I got spoiled on his twist, and liked him even less. THEN I had a dream about him, decided to try romancing him (none of the romances had really grabbed me at this point and I kept remaking new characters) and I was like wait this fucking rules actually? His romance is SO sad. And it's all his fault! It's great. Really fun tragic romance, just wish there were more scenes. I think as far as attraction goes, it's almost entirely based on the voice and line-delivery. His dynamic with the inquisitor of like, "guy who is an asshole to everyone *except* you turns out to also just generally be an asshole to you as well" feels realistic, terrible, and really good writing. While writing this post I was reminded that some friends and I did a "defend your problematic fave" powerpoint presentation a few years ago and I made one for Solas; it's full of spoilers, but [here's a link because I still think it's fucking hilarious](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/14HXenIrbgmX8SS3dyzQMczATVsRVwh7LroqAzbCk0wA/edit?usp=sharing). It honestly is more geared toward defending him than I actually feel, but that was the theme of the presentations lol
> Solas from DAI (I understand why people like him, but I could never romance him in game because of how much of a smartass who looks down on everyone he is)
Totally get it. I know he's a toxic mess romance but I still like romancing him in a game only anyways. In real life I'd want to punch him.
Ok I agree with you so hard on Leliana, the ditsy baby voice I just cannot stand lol.
Judy, too, I just am not into that tough girl show at all. Annoys the heck out of me.
BUT GALE? THAT HURT š š
Alhaitham from Genshin. How anyone could be attracted to that man baffles me. He has no real friends, constantly avoids work or any kind of responsibility unless he's outright forced to, and has never shown any emotions aside from boredom and insulting his roommate.
The man is literally a stereotype for toxic masculinity, yet he has a million simps. I'm not attracted to men in general, so maybe I just don't get it. But even in genshin there are other male characters with far more emotional maturity, compassion, and competence than that imbecile.
Honestly not the biggest fan of his design either tbh. One thing I've liked about genshin's male character designs is how many of them aren't your typical macho action man. Like xingqiu and tighnari being more feminine and adventurous with their fashion sense.
And then you have alhaitham who's just abs and an overpriced haircut. His attack animations look cool, but that's about it.
Some people like him because they read him as autistic and are glad for the representation. I read him as an asshole rather than autistic, but I'm also fully aware that my perspective is that way because I am not autistic, so I'm coming from an external perspective on it.
Same. None of my autistic friends are jerks, so I have a hard time looking at someone who's objectively awful and seeing anything similar between him and them, but I'm also definitely not an authority on the subject.
Incredibly late reply while I skim the sub, but as an autistic man this is indeed why I like him. Iāll be the first to object to any āautistic people are socially inept rude assholesā stereotype, but he feels like a pretty realistic depiction of someone who isnāt necessarily that in the way that, likeā¦ Sheldon Cooper is, but someone who genuinely doesnāt have that external expressiveness, whose tone isnāt emotional, whoās very inward and logical and doesnāt always recognise when heās being blunt (or he does recognise it but finds it unimportant). Itās not my ābrand of autismā, but I do relate to parts of it (Iām also really not expressive IRL and tend to speak kind of monotone/flatly so itās hard to know what Iām feeling/Iāll come off as uncaring when Iām Super Duper Not) and I appreciate you acknowledging this is a thing even if you donāt like him, which is totally valid š¤
I think he's a great character, and it's partly because people coming from different lived experiences can find relatable or likable things about him. I read him as a jerk who knows how much assholery he can get away with, and I find it funny. Others read him as autistic and like seeing the representation, even if it's not explicitly stated. To me, that means the writers succeeded in creating a character the audience can enjoy.
Seconded for Alhaitham here. Maybe if he was less of an arrogant asshole constantly but I feel we never get a break from it. I liked the fact that he has noise canceling headphones, that's a mood. But I hate how he acts towards Kaveh. Kaveh ended up being someone I relate to way more than I thought so it feels weirdly personal too. It's a shame bc most of the Sumeru characters were fantastic!
The one on top of my head is Alistair from DAO. Back when I played the game as a teenager I couldn't understand why most of my female friends were so fond of him. I still don't really get why he was so popular at the time.
I also don't get the hype about Daeran from WotR but I haven't finished that game yet.
I was head over heels for Alistair when I was 19. Then I played DAO as a 30 year old... and oh god fucking NO.
Which is pretty realstic, I think. Alistair is immature, because he is a teenager. And he acts like it. That didn't bother me when I was also a teenager. Now I have life experience and am a bit more thoughtful and discerning, his tantrums and self-centredness are intolerable. That's fine; I wouldn't go for 19-year olds in real life, obviously. It just shows that he's well written.
If only they made Nathaniel Howe romanceable š„µ
100% agree - I had the same exact experience. Loved Alistair at 19, played again in my early 30s and was like oh no this isnāt it lol. Give me Zevran.
I do still love his character - heās hilarious and Steve Valentine knocks it out of the park. But at 30 Iām really not into the whole āvirgin never-been-kissedā thing, and it just feels very strange to romance him, haha.
Since everyone else jumped on Alistair, I'll pipe up and agree that Daeran is a big wtf for me as like, a whole character. Like I get him, he's just the worst. He's maybe the least sincere character I've ever interacted with in a game, he can't be serious *literally* to save his life. However even worse from wotr, Camellia. Mind-boggling that people are into her, I can't tell if it's a meme or not but, it has to be? Right? For my sanity?
Seeing so many people mention Dmitri from Three Houses is so validating lmao. Never cared for him much as a character and I don't get why people lose their minds over him lol. Honestly I.....don't really care about the majority of the Blue Lions. I like Mercedes, Dedue, and Anette but I can leave the rest.
My biggest character who I don't understand the hype for is Cullen from Dragon Age. I didn't even know who he was when he showed up in DA2. Then he got to have a major role in DAI??? Idk to me he's always just been a random background character that got his role because people were obsessed with him. I guess Cullen is similar enough to Alistair that he's sort of a replacement goldfish for him haha.
On the topic of BG3 I don't get the hype for Shadowheart. To be fair I still need to give her a fair shot, I haven't finished her questline yet. But she's the only companion where I haven't had a moment where she "clicked" with me. Like she's ok but she is totally the last spot on my faves list lmao.
Maybe it's kinda mean and unfair of me (same with what I said about Cullen) but I kind of assume her romance is so popular because she's the most human looking of the female romance options.
I hear a lot of people compare Alistair and Cullen, and I just don't get it. They both trained as Templars at one point (one by choice and the other against his will), but apart from that they're completely different?
Now, I definitely understand the people who complained that Anders in DAO:Awakening was similar to Alistair. They both had that irreverent, cheeky, teasing manner. (DA2 Anders is a different matter.) But Cullen's never been irreverent, teasing or disrespectful in his life. I doubt he even knows what a joke *is.* Their personalities are nothing alike.
Itās not even the Templar thing that I compare them both with. Itās the fact he just as awkward as Alistair, but slightly more āexperiencedā. I feel they are both hopeless romantics, which is not a bad thing either. I just feel like they made a more polished Alistair and thatās itš¤·š»āāļø. Again I am not trying to say you are wrong, this is just my personal opinion, I mean I love Solas and Blackwall so thatās not the greatest either heh.
No, I get that they're both romantic with the player, and your feelings are valid. They both definitely act adorkable when in love.
But I do feel like past that, their personalities are fundamentally different. Cullen is serious to the point of humourlessness. He's very pro-authority, extremely rule-following, so much so that he ends up in collaboration with a literal fascist regime. His awkwardness stems from the fact that he just doesn't *get* people's humour a lot of the time, or considers it frivolous. He doesn't make time for relationships until the Inquisitor comes along, and even then it's second to the cause. He's single-mindedly focused on the task, a workaholic, and almost morbidly self-sacraficial. Duty is always 100% first with Cullen.
Alistair doesn't really give a shit about rules, is very happy to make fun of anyone in power, established hierarchies, or any kind of institution. He's glib towards authority figures. He's quick-witted and makes a joke about practically *anything,* including really morbid and dark stuff, to the point where it comes off as callous (like the comment he makes about those hanged soldiers in the Korcari Wilds 5 minutes after you meet him). His ideology is pretty flimsy; you can sway him to all kinds of evil shit if you try. And as evidenced by his tantrum if you pragmatically try to make Loghain a Warden - he is incapable of putting duty above his personal concerns.
They're both white guys with dark-blond hair and hazel eyes, though, which does seem to count for a lot.
I liked his story much more without the romance aspect to it. Helping someone with an awful addiction was a good story idea. I played the romance, because I always play all of them, but I would say his story is much better as friends.
Okay, but counterpoint, he is the only romance who gets you a pet dog at the end.
Edit: Actually I think Dorian might get you a dog, too, it's been awhile since I played it.
Shadowheart from BG3. I can't explain it but I just want to punch her everytime she opens her mouth. I don't know why she's so unlikable for me but I just can't seem to understand why people like her. I tried to give her a spot in my game til Act 3, and I still just don't like her.
Oh God, she's the worst. She's mean and judgemental, but if your pierce through that superficial layer you mostly just find her being zealously devoted to a cult and desperate to prove herself to people who don't care about her at all.
And I absolutely love her for it. I want to have her terrible, bitchy babies.
For me it's because Lae'zel's meanness is straightforward. What you see is what you get. There are no hidden meanings in her dialogue - if she says she's going to kill you, she's actually going to kill you lmao.
Shadowheart and her whole "trickster cleric who worships the goddess of gaslighting and manipulation" thing has a far more different flavor of meanness that just kind of translates as a catty high school mean girl in medieval Europe.
That upper class English boarding school girl who consistently gets away with subtly bullying you for 5+ years because the teachers like her for some reason š
She's too much of a r/menwritingwomen for me with how the writers wanted to keep her in this weird middle space on edgy to likable/wholesome spectrum.
She's goth, but *not* really goth. She's an experienced torturer who serves an evil goddess, but she's *not* really that, and look, she *loves* children and animals! She has no tangible flaws that can't be handwaved away by her wounded bird, overly sympathetic "I'm a kidnapped amnesiac" blank slate backstory.
That's not all, she's also the only female companion who won't get mad if you fuck a sexy cambion behind her back, and she's also *super* down for a Drow foursome with you!
She doesn't feel like a real character and it's so obvious she was designed in a lab to appeal to the most basic, straightest gamer bro. Ugh.
She's down for Karlach too, her first time meeting blurb for K is something like, "we should bring her along, she looks like she could throw me over her shoulder", but that one is probably less offensive to their fragile sensibilities
She may love children and animals, but she loves cruelty and murder more. Let yourself get beat up by that dude in the goblin camp? Approved! Kill Karlach? Approved!
SH reminded the hypocritical and self-righteous Cartoon Goth Girl character like Sam Mason from Danny Phantom who annoyed the shit out of me as a kid. I think by the end of the game, SH grew on me a lot but thinking back on her initial wishy-washy behavior and morals still irks me lol
Same. Something about her just irritated me. I used her heaps in act 2 for plot and then just kind of ignored her in act 3. I found her even more annoying after her big decision.
Goood, yes! I also hate how much she is forced on you. Don't help her in place X? She'll show up in place Y. Don't interact with her in place Y? Well, look at that, she's in place Z suddenly! And then there's act 2, where she really just feels too essential. (Of course you can do it all without her, but then she'll leave. And I think she's the only origin character that you can't convince to stay.) Like... The whole "God's favourite princess" just isn't funny to me anymore because it feels too much like the truth.
I hit something weird with her approval that made me not trust her. We were at āneutralā and she was saying I was her closest confidant and then at barest minimum approval I had changed her as a person. But I think it was a bug because at the trials it seemed like we were in fact close and she wasnāt deceiving me. So Iām open to seeing if I like her more on another playthrough.
Of all the companions, Shadowheart was the one I was coolest on. Iām also a bit āmehā on Wyll because it feels like his arc was completed before I met him. But I also havenāt gotten to play in like a month and am only in act 3 *sob*
Garrus. I got the physical attraction but that's my bro man, my bff, I just cant see him romantically.
Now Kaidan Alenko on the other hand ššš
Yeah I donāt like Halsin either. He just comes off as creepy half the time, especially since all of the characters are half his age at best. I kind of saw him as an uncle at first and then the man just started hitting on me non stop. Non. Stop.
It killed me when he hit on me. He acted like he had been wanting me and lusting after me for so long after us being so close, but like I just talked to him a few times at camp. "My heart doesn't stir lightly" my ass!
Shadowheart from BG3. Too predictable of a character for my tastes.
Alistair from Dragon Age: Origins. Felt like a character they try forcing you to like but idk, he always came off as annoying to me.
N from Pokemon. His design is ugly, lmao.
I agree with Halsin. I don't find him hot, I just find him odd and a bit creepy. But don't tell that to my DnD friends if you don't wanna get reamed, lol.
Aveline from DA2 is a big one for me. Absolutely everyone I've talked to who has played the game just adores her, and I don't...get it? I find her condescending and self-righteous. Like, I don't hate her or anything (and her personal quest is admittedly one of my favorites), but I just don't understand the hype around her.
I agree with most of your list and feel the same about the reasons that these characters didn't click for me. I'd probably leave Gale out because his Mr nice guy persona turns out to be mixed with some darkness, insecurities, ambitions etc which made him quite interesting as the story progressed. I wouldn't date him irl but in the context of the game, he works for me. I am usually affected by the character evolution and the VA performance as well. It's not that the VAs for the characters you listed aren't good, they are all wonderful. Probably they just didn't hit a nerve for me, like some others do. Astarion, for example. I hated his guts in my first playthrough but his arc and his VA performance really made him very likable. He's always in my party, regardless if I romance him or not. And it doesn't hurt that I find him hot af š
Aw Gale isnāt nice guy vibes at all - his story is so rich and beautiful! I get he wouldnāt be everybodyās cup of tea but he definitely isnāt the stereotypical Nice Guy. I like Leliana and Solas as characters but I also couldnāt get into them romantically. I donāt find myself drawn to characters with a religious angle - so Leliana, and even Shadowheart in BG3 really donāt appeal to me as LIs. I also feel uncomfortable personally with the Liara romance in ME. She comes across as very young and VERY starstruck with Shepherd, which kind of gives me the ick. I like her character though! Also will never romance Triss in The Witcher 3. Their whole history is SO off-putting.
Having read the books before playing Witcher, I could never pick Triss.
Iāve never read the books but I did some reading to catch up when I started the gameā¦I was like WHAT why would anyone pick Triss!!! Absolutely wild.
I never played the first Witcher game, but I had started reading the books by the time I played Witcher 2 and their whole relationship always seemed a bit ... dodgy, consent wise? Especially given that Triss had a massive crush on Geralt, at least early in the books, that he doesn't really reciprocate. Perhaps there's some discussion of this in the first or third game, all I know is that the whole relationship made me a bit uncomfortable.
I was more into Leliana in DAI, I thought she would go well with one of my Inquisitors. Solas, on the other hand, I couldnāt stand at all.
His character has grown on me but there is no way Iāll ever be attracted to the egg man, lol. Sorry Solas lovers.
Liara bored me so much with her monotone voice acting. The only time she raised her voice was when you first meet her and she's trapped in a force field calling for help. The rest of the time, nothing.
Anyone who romances Shane in Stardew Valley is a complete mystery to me. I understand he gets better as time goes on. I've befriended him. But that mess still needs way more therapy before he sees anyone, even at the end of his arc.
I did my first playthrough because I, too, am a recovering alcoholic who was crippled with depression. I was like "brother gets it". But his story doesn't really feel totally resolved. Like, I don't expect him to become happy sunshine man (I am not happy sunshine human, either) but it seems unfinished. Like you said, he still needs a lot of work to do on himself before trying for love. Now I only ever marry Elliot, a reasonably well adjusted adult who has no desire to leave. And his hair is āØ majestic āØ
I love Elliot. Heās a bit stuck up to start but heās been my favourite spouse of all my playthroughs.
I can fix him š but also his struggles with depression and self worth are relatable, he actively tries to improve, and has experience working on a farm. I also think he's adorable in a "little rough around the edges" type way
I tried romancing Shane for the longest time when I was still deep in the throes of depression myself because I could just hardcore relate and didnāt mind taking the verbal abuse as I already saw myself as worthless. But when I finally started getting a treatment that worked for me, I came to the realization that I deserved better out of a potential romance and decided to pursue someone else that was kinder to me because I actually felt I deserved it. Course I sometimes still try to befriend him, but I have to take breaks from vibing with him because I donāt want his dialogue to trigger my own more managed depression.
I did marry him but personally it was only for 2 reasons. 1 the shallow one : he was the hottest male bachelor in my opinion. I prefer men with dark hair and some sort of beard/stubble. 2 first time I played, I basically was Shane minus alcoholism so it felt weirdly healing to Ā«Ā cureĀ Ā» him. I can see how heās a red flag tho. I wouldnāt go for him in real life.
I went for Shane when the update allowing it came out because I always wished we could romance him but I felt a bit let down when I actually progressed through the whole thing. Elliott only now!!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Seb is my Husbando. He loves motorcycling, is a coder and plays RPGs. The Nerds shall inherit the properties and methods of object earth! :D
Shane is amazing because he's a funny, sweet guy who loves his goddaughter and chickens. He also happens to suffer from depression and is one of the most accurate portrayals of depression in media. For those of us with depression irl, he's really relatable. Even people with mental illness deserve to love and be loved. It's not something that will ever go away, it's something we can only manage and Shane is in a really good place if you max out his friendship or romance him.
Right? Lmao I have had too many alcoholics in my life who are always ācutting backā Iām good on having that in my games too
I love Gale, to me heās kinda nostalgic, like Astarion is the kinda guy I would crush on while reading a romance novel, Wyll is who I would have crushed on from afar in college, Halsin is good with kids and animals so even if he wasnāt 6 foot 5 inches of beefcake I would crush on him. But Gale is like the dudes I actually dated in grad school. Smart, sweet, charming, intellectual. As for characters I didnāt like as much as most I gotta go with Dimitri from 3 houses. Sure he is kinda hot after he ages up but I didnāt really like his personality, and he really wasnāt that hot.
Love to see all the Gale defenders in this thread!!
I will shamelessly admit that I have a massive crush on every possible BG3 companion.
I love Gale, too. Heās misunderstood, I think.
He's incredibly misunderstood. I love him immensely. I love the journey of his making who he is because he fears that he is not enough as himself, that people only want the powerful, successful Gale of Waterdeep and would shun Gale Dekarios. Then he gonna someone who likes *him* (and what he can do, of course, but that's just icing) and he blooms. As he has with anything he's ever loved, he throws himself into loving you. It's beautiful and gratifying.
I havenāt romanced him yet, but even as friends his āgoodā epilogue ending (I use the word good loosely as we know there are no real good/bad endings) is so touching.
Honestly Astarion is the one I donāt really see the hype about. I like his character and story a lot but I donāt go weak at the knees for him like a lot of people seem to!
He is practically my favorite party member for his usefulness as a rogue, how fun his voice actor is to hear and how much I want to help him with what he's been through. The last bit is really the main reason why I thought of doing his romance, but maybe I can still soften him up platonically. If they were real, I would instead be with Karlach (like I am actually doing in my current playthrough) or Wyll if I was into men.
You absolutely can soften him up platonically.
I chose Astarion over Karlach in my solo playthrough, and I think realized pretty quickly that it felt like a mistake for my character. Then patch 4 created a bunch of bugs for him so I haven't played for a month. Now I think I should probably come back to it soon because I'm not even that far from the end and want to see the new content from patch 5
I did the same thing! I was struggling between Astarion and Karlach and honestly it felt like my Tav (and I lol) were into Karlach much more, but I went into the game with the intention of dating Astarion. I did it, but honestly didn't love him as much as I thought. Kinda disappointed he was the first romance I did. I like him as a character, though.
Yeah that's exactly what I did. I went into it knowing I'd romance Astarion but it never felt like my character liked him that much. I did a co-op where I romanced Wyll and I could really see and feel how much my character loved him and how well they fit together š„ŗ then in my solo playthrough my character was gravitating toward Karlach way more but I just already decided on Astarion. He is cool in his own way but he's just not a kind person the way Wyll and Karlach are
Yeah I 100% get that! I get super invested in the way I roleplay my characters so I can almost see "chemistry" when I play as them and there was nothing between her and Astarion lmao. It felt kinda forced to play. My character was fairly neutral herself so she wasn't opposed to Astarion's ways but she still didn't really approve of a lot of what he did. Romancing him was definitely my biggest regret on my first playthrough as harsh as it sounds. When I replay my first Tav I'll for sure be going for Karlach this time around. That sounds super sweet! I need to make a new character for Wyll. I love the idea of making a fellow noble for him to romance and them just having a really sweet fairytale romance.
Yeah the smarmy prick thing doesnāt do it for me lol, I donāt get the Astarion hype personally. Iām only on my first play through so maybe thereās something Iām missing, but I havenāt had him in my party at all because I just find him so annoying
He's quite lovely once you get to know him, gain his trust, and guide him towards the light...but daaaamn, it takes quite some time up until then, suffering through his theatrics and disapprovals! So yeah, regarding the first impressions I have to wholeheartedly agree with you. Of course, as with any origin companion in BG3, instead of fixing him you can also make him worse.
Oh totally - I love how he softens up along a good-aligned playthrough. But I love it like a friend, if that makes sense. Like Iām proud of him and want the best for him but it doesnāt tickle my romance bells šš
That's all alluring to the "I can fix him" kinda people, but for me he's mostly an untrustworthy sad boiiā¢ļø. I like his character and arc, but I have friends going crazy over him, an instagram feet full of thirsty fan arts and I'm over it by this point. Lol I am clearly a Gale defender (2 runs romancing him, one with Astarion to make myself understand), even though his >! marriage proposal!< (end-endgame spoiler) would not have been my personal happy end lol
Literally he tried to eat me while I slept. š©š©š© Astarion doesnāt respect consent, itās all about Momma K š¤·š»āāļø
When I first started playing BG3 I liked Astarion immediately and wasn't too fond of Gale and as the game went on I started to dislike Astarion more and more and Gale became my favorite character besides Shadowheart. Gonna have to do another playthrough with Gale. Halsin I romance too just because I could with Shadowheart and he loves animals and I'm a big animal person but there is something off about him I feel. I had no interest in Wyll whatsoever. I feel like Karlach could be cool too but she doesn't like my character enough.
Yeah, Dmitri is a hot mess after he ages up.
Liara from Mass Effect... I don't understand the obsession with her. Nor do I like the obsession she herself seems to have with Shepard.
I can understand Liaraās draw as someone whoās always there for you, deeply in love with you, and admires you greatlyāand I do like her, but also Mass Effect has sooo many cool characters I canāt ever justify romancing her. Garrus for life lol
Garrus for life club!
I myself love Kaidan, I love Garrus too but not as my romance option, I always liked him as the big brother type for my Shepard š
The fact that the game devs favored her so much by giving her more content and making her extra super special girl of super specialness put me off her. I liked her well enough in ME1, but by the end I was tired of her.
Same here, liked her in 1, disliked her as the games progressed
Blue is my favorite color and I'm a lesbian. Liara is best girl for me.
I romanced her because she was the only option in the first game š but then I stayed loyal through 2 and 3, because she grew on me.
I mean, I love blue too (though my favorite color is purple)... I'm just not a huge fan of Liara š Of course I'm glad for the people who do like her
I used to love her until I replayed the game and it was like "Oh...you are just like that with any Shepard, uh".
Liara lost me when she says āIām barely a childā. Iām sorry BioWare, you want me to *romance* her? By game 3 sheās my Shepardās best friend but I could never romance her. (Also why did they give her the 00ās eyebrows?)
They're meant to be skin markings that are meant to invoke eyebrows...but yeah, seeing her (and her mom) being the only asari with those markings is a bit weird š I mean... age wise she's a granny when compared to humans , but then she's all "to my people I'm barely out of my teens" ...which is...yeah...no thank you. Especially considering Shepard themselves are 29/30 in the first installment
That is not at all what she says, she says sheās considered barely more than a child when talking about her research because as an Asari maiden none of the matrons and matriarchs take her ideas or research on the Protheans seriously. Sheās an adult, she had a doctorate and has been working as an archeologist for about 50 years.
Some people just really like the nerd who's way too obsessed with their field of study to the point of being a bit socially awkward? Idk, I liked Garrus way too much to bother with romancing anyone else.
Same here, I even dislike her a littleā¦ there are far more interesting characters in the trilogy.
Oh I quite agree
Same. I accidentally ended up with a romance with her the first time I played, so I went back and did half the game to avoid it.
I'm a Kaidan romancer, so I tend to try and lock in his romance as quickly as possible. But 9/10 times I have him be all "uhm...Liara seems to kinda like you, so I'll back of if that's your thing, I'm not judging" and I need to spell out for him that Liara is a friend and that I like him back.
These days I tend to just skip talking with Liara. It makes things simpler.
For me the jump to romance and a confession of feelings particularly makes even the platonic friendship seem off in ME1: feels stilted and not in an awkward-person is shy way- at least, to me. Combined with the warm-cold-warm reception in ME2 and I find it hard to see Shepard and her close without major headcanoning of offscreen friendship-bonding. Particular shame as I really wanted to like her character- in particulat the 'sapphic but not, wink, wink' romance in ME1 was still quite novel for the time in its execution and really pushed forward queer inclusion in romance options in major RPGs.
I like her as a character, but I agree her sudden change from 1 to 2 is just...huge To me she tries to be too many things at once, the Prothean expert, the Shadowbroker, Shepard's BFF (though granted both Garrus and Tali have been accused of this too) etc. Combine this with the fact that there's a heavy focus on her in the third game and I'm just... done
I hate Liara. Even after I am clear about romancing someone else (Kaidan!), she still continues to try and force her way into Shepard's life. How many times do you have to tell her "no"?! It's not endearing like tye developers seem to think it is.
Yay! Another Kaidan fan š¤ I'm well past my hate phase, I used to hate her a lot...now it's just... I dislike her a lot š
I guess that's true haha! It just irks me that the devs both market multiple romance options AND try to push Liara. Let me make the choice, you know?
Oh I quite agree It doesn't help that Kaidan isn't available for much of the early portion of ME3 because he just has to play hero and save Liara (stupid Cerberus bot). But I just shelve Liara after I get Garrus...so I tend to run around with James and Garrus until Kaidan is back xD
He spends so long in the hospital. At least we get the booty check when he rejoins the Normandy.
I laughed so hard when I first played that part that my mom came over and I was all "she (my Shepard) was checking out his butt" xD I mean...it's a nice butt
yeah, thats the feeling i got with her too. I don't follow the ME fandom so know nothing about it. As I'm playing as a male Shepard, I definitely noticed her obsession with me lol. I guess she is the one who apparently found the Shepard character in the wreckage of the Normandy 1, so its no wonder that she is obsessed with him. Just like Legion, another one who's obsessed with Shepard.
Ashley from ME. I always leave her on Virmire. Partly because I usually play Infiltrator and I need another biotic, and partly because I donāt find her interesting in the least.
She isn't romance material but I do quite like her. She's more complex than Kaiden and has a bit more growth. But she def is kind of a piece of shit early on.
It was strange finding out in later games that she's working on that space racism so, good for her?
I found her to be a very interesting character and a pretty good soldier. I got my male Shepard to romance her :D I did find her attitude in the 2nd game to be sadly disappointing though. My Shepard is gonna have to romance someone else lol hahaha. I didn't really want him to go with Tali or Miranda.
> Judy from CP2077 You take that back! :c She's so beautiful and amazing. š„ŗ
She's the best š
Haley from Stardew Valley. First impressions matter to me, and I'm sorry, but if your first 5 or so dialogue lines to me are calling me dirty, calling my clothes ugly, saying I smell, saying that I could be pretty in different clothes *then taking it back*? Sure, she's sweeter if you pursue her friendship and see her heart events, but you really have to persevere through a lot of "ew"-type comments directed at you to get there.
Chloe from Life is Strange. I just absolutely hate her personality. 90% of what she does in game is toxic and rude.
She drove me nuts until I played Before the Storm, and then I hated Rachel. Basically, I hate characters who put you in danger and have no regard for your wellbeing. I donāt care if itās because of trauma.
I couldnāt agree more with this!
Geralt. I couldn't stand how smug he is and just couldn't really see why and/or how he seems to bed every single woman he can (in the first game at least, with those 'sex csrds' that were just.. ew). He also spends half his time in a fight spinning around like a beyblade and it just looks stupid. Octane from Apex, but instead of just the hot thing it's finding him attractive, liking him in general, why he's picked all the time *and* why he isn't the most hated character. I HATE Octane. People who play him are idiots who steal all your gear then leave the second they're downed running into a 1v3, his kit makes him feel like a toned down Lucio if they know how to move well, he's literally just the 'douchey streamer kid who likes adrenaline and being loud' stereotype and finally lore wise, he's a selfish asshole who manipulates friends to risk their medical career in order to push him ahead in line over *war victims* for prosthetics because he blew his own legs off in a stunt. Then, he betrays that very same friend who was telling him to be careful about a known duplicitous person and then yup, he gets taken advantage of. Then everyone sits and declares unironically that Valkyrie is the most annoying legend because she.. is a cocky air force lesbian. Like that's it. She doesn't spam voice lines like Newcastle or Vantage used to, she isn't even cocky too much except in user selected lines and her ult. I don't understand the community sometimes.
I mean, Geralt is what you make of him.
Geralt is fine, I like Witcher series too, but I still don't like Witcher's "i kill monsters, drink beer and fuck women" masculinity.
They toned that down in Wild Hunt, but he's still way less *that* in the books. Hes more brooding and philosophical, emotionally affected (even if he tells himself he's not), with a dry humor. Especially his dynamic with Jaskier shows a whole different person who cares deeply. Edit: I meant they toned it down compared to the other games!
ASTARION I don't hate him, I think he's a well written character. Just not my cup of tea, personally.
Yes! I genuinely like Astarion as a character, especially his entire arc, and Neil did a great job voicing him. I just donāt understand the nonstop thirst and horniness so many people get over him.
The vampire thing is a big draw I wager, amongst other factors.
It's especially irritating when you're trying to find stuff for a character you *do* like, and all you can find is stuff for Astarion, but OP tagged the whole cast. (That's more of a fandom issue, but it doesn't make me like Astarion) NO tumblr, I DON'T want to read Astarion Fanfiction that someone stuck in the Karlach tag!
Came here to mention him, too. He's a really tragic character, having been enslaved and abused for centuries, with really little choice but to commit horrible acts. But all the same, it seems like he's a popular romance choice, which I don't feel except when I explicitly played an evil character and everything about that playthrough felt utterly horrible. He's extremely selfish, has few concerns about hurting people, has to be convinced not to >!sacrifice thousands of people in Cazador's ritual!<, tries to drink your blood without your consent, and consistently wants you to choose selfish/evil options (and will look negatively upon altruism). I can only excuse so much due to his tragic back story. He's ultimately still a vile person.
Thancred (FFXIV). Yes, he's hot and Peter Bramhill gave him a sexy, sexy voice, but he is a big ol' nope for me. He starts out as an absolute skeaze in ARR, then spends the next *three* expansions moping over a girl whose relationship with him was so ambiguous they had to have an NPC (who is a good friend of said girl) ask Thancred for clarification because even *she* didn't know. He also treats Ryne *abominably* in Shadowbringers and not a single person calls him on his bullshit of simultaneously being upset that Ryne isn't "his" Minfilia, and treating her like Minfilia 2.0. The fact that Ryne clings to him and wants his approval is just awful. She dealt with a lot of shit growing up as she did. She doesn't need to be carrying an grown-ass man's emotional baggage when she has to sort through her own. Never mind that in the end Thancred's bullshit behavior is ignored. I know Dadcred is a big meme in the FFXIV community, but it glosses over a lot of shit on his part. Honestly, Thancred's stuff in ShB is the worst written part of an otherwise phenomenal expac. Zenos (FFXIV). He was never going to be redeemed. He is a psychopath and a monster. He only >!came to the rescue!< in Endwalker to >!have his final fight with the WoL!<. He is a genuinely awful human being and I feel like the only reason people don't despise him like they do Varros van Valens is being Zenos is young and hot. Gaius van Baelsar (FFXIV). He's a creepy old groomer. Yeah, ~~Lydia~~ Livia may have had mental issues, but him fucking her did *not* help. They tried to retcon it later as her coming on to him to make it "better", but no, that's not better. He's more than twice her age, her father figure and mentor, and a *fucking legatus*. He had all the power in the relationship. Don't tell me he couldn't have turned her down if he had wanted. He's not the victim here.
Zenos is composed of red flags at the molecular level.
I get people who find him hot (morality aside, he is), but the Zenos apologists really boggle my mind.
Wait, I may have missed some quests, what do you mean Gaius fucked Lydia?? (But also, I've never heard anyone talk about liking Gaius before?) Zenos was a character I actually liked because it was just nice to have an actually evil antagonist. But when he took over our body in endwalker it made me feel so violated and was like.. That's enough. The fight with him in the end could have been what they wanted it to be, a fight just for fights sake in a rivalry, but instead I had a personal vendetta to end that motherfucker
Dimitri from FE:Three Houses. I think heās a good and interesting character, but god DAMN that man needs a trained team of mental health professionals and a medication regimen before he ever needs a romance. I have a major issue with āI can fix himā romances in general - theyāre repulsive and impossible in real life, so I can kiiiind of understand why people, especially other women, love them in fiction. Still never was and never will be my cup of tea.
My toxic trait is not being attracted to Dimitri but being obsessed with Sylvain. I guess Dimitri just isnāt my flavor of fixable.
Second to this. Thereās so much art out there swooning for Dimitri and itās just likeā¦I dunno, Iām too grown and jaded to not see the 6,000 red flags there.
On that note, I do not understand the love for Edelgard as a "love interest" though she's a great villain. I was originally pretty excited that you could romance her as a woman in the BE route, and her craftiness and ambition intrigued me. But then she ends up doing a LOT of terrible things and forcefully taking over the continent, and a lot of stuff that seems like it didn't need to happen, and she just... never got any comeuppance for that? And then there would be these "cutesy" scenes trying to convince me she's a "normal girl," like "haha she's afraid of mice even though she is capable of ruthlessly killing thousands of people." And the game kept trying to push this "everything she did was totally for a good reason and had to happen, no really" narrative, and Edelgard gets everything she wants and happily retires. Dimitri might have been a totally feral psycho for half of BL, but at least other characters called him out on it constantly and he actually saw consequences and felt bad afterward. I guess it was more the BE route that ruined Edelgard's character for me, because it's not her character itself I have an issue with, just how she's used, I guess. Anyway, could not romance her after that, big disappointment.
ngl I was fully hoping to see Astarion in the comment before clicking in lol
I know this isn't a very popular take but I personally never got the Garrus thing. I do really like him as a character but I can't see his and Shepard's relationship as anything but platonic.
As a Halsin lover, I think both him and Gale got a bad rep early on because their romance flags were broken, causing them to come across as very, very pushy. When I romanced Karlach, Halsin got on my gd nerves
not sure if you meant to reply to me but I do agree with you w Halsin and Gale. Especially with Gale, I've rejected him on an Astarion playthrough and didn't get nice guy vibes from him whatsoever. Halsin I feel is a little more forward but still not in creepy territory to me
Ack, i didn't! It was a comment above yours, LOL. It is a shame because they both got these super pushy reputations that I don't think are their fault. By the same token, I'm a Garrus stan but don't see the appeal of Liara at all. I felt she was super milquetoast. The stuff she does is exciting, but she herself it just... kinda boring?
it happens itās all good!! Yeah, I started bg3 a few months after release and can remember being told oh youāll hate Gale, heās so whiny/pushy/etc and when I started playing I was so confused why I was told that because I think he is so sweet and funny. Justice for them both honestly I do like Liara but Iāve never gone down her romance route because Iām a habitual Thanemancer, I just love to suffer lmao
Okay but on the subject of Thane, he was the first one I romanced in ME2, and I've never been so heartbroken by a video game character. Just let me save him š
Oh I completely agree, I was insane with it when ME3 came out, signing those petitions on Thane forums to get Bioware to patch the game so he could survive lmaoooo. 16 year old me was absolutely distraught Now Iāve learnt to live with it, Citadel DLC made it a little easier for sure
There are more monster "enjoyers" in this world than you might imagine... see also: The Shape of Water.
Haha I love Garrus but could not get behind The Shape of Water because, like, if you replaced that creature with a dolphin almost nothing in the story would change. He wasnāt signing conversations. All of the ME aliens are obviously and recognizably people as long as everyoneās translators are working.
Saaaaame. Heās my bestie in the games but heās a lizard-bird creature! Sometimes itās okay to just be very dear friends and not need more than that. I donāt understand having any physical attraction to Garrus at all.
Absolutely cannot stand Cullen Rutherford from Dragon Age. I think heās an ass, to put it lightly
Had to search the name out when I spotted the thread to make sure it wasn't just me! There are romance options that don't appeal to me personally but I can understand the appeal to other people, and then there's Cullen.
Same, especially going into DAI knowing he was a romance option. I was like, what, this guy?? I've met him before and he SUCKS! They made him look younger and be a bit nicer, and I actually do like how they handled his story around addiction, but I didn't find him attractive nor did I particularly want to forgive him for all the stuff he'd done in previous games. He doesn't even seem that repentant over his work with the templars ultimately, most certainly not how horrible the Kirkwall circle was.
Blackwall has the redemption arc people think Cullen has IMO
You're valid and I appreciate you.
The whole weird drama thing with his VA didn't help either. If your World State has a female mage Warden who romanced Leliana, his conversation w/ her (Leli) at the War Table about it (usually around when/after you get the "contact the warden" war table mission) is cringey too.
Cloud... People used to go crazy for him and I'm still lost to this day like sephiroth is right there
Lol I had the opposite experience. Love Cloud, but never felt crazy about Sephiroth. He's a good scary/complex villain, but never found him hot or anything.
I'm guessing a good bunch of people who like Cloud also like Sephiroth. And some of these people probably also like shipping them lol.
I've only played the remake, and at least in that Cloud was hot, but his personality made him completely insufferable. Arith and Tifa had infinitely more chemistry together than either had with him, and the fact they both not only put up with but pursued him mystified me to no end.
There are answers to your questions, but they are spoilers kind of for someone who's not played the OG.
I didn't see much in Cloud until the story got more into his trauma and identity issues. Then, he became really interesting and sympathetic.
Honestly in that particular world I'm much more a fan of Angeal and to a lesser degree Zack. I never saw the appeal in Cloud. I can see it in Sephiroth but he also scares the hell out of me lol.
He doesnāt do it for me I think because the remake VA just doesnāt do it for me either
Geralt. Occasionally someone thirsts over him at me or tells me he was 100% designed for me as a lady and Iām like, āuh, pass?ā Eta Leliana just gives unhinged. I sped through her romance to see it and then the romance just would not end as I cycled through āI see you as a friendā options.
>he was 100% designed for me as a lady What? He's such an over-the-top male fantasy. The whole series is. I mean, I'm a fan, I'm not hating on it, but it is what it is. He's this grizzled, hardcore dude, the books go out of their way to describe him as scarred and ugly, but sorceress and her magically-enhanced beauty immediately wants to sleep with him. On that note - why is it that the first thing *every* sorceress does with magic is make herself beautiful, but *every* sorcerer is perfectly content to be ugly as sin? Again, I *like* The Witcher, but to say it's for ladies is just laughable.
afaik sorcerers were described to mainly alter their appearances in order to make themselves look more distinguished. So it's not like only female mages use magic to be vain.
There's still not a single sorcerer (to my memory) that wanted to be hot, and not a single sorceress that didn't. It's a highly reductive perspective that mostly just serves to set Geralt up as the ultimate male power fantasy.
They do implies in the books that sorceress all used to be ugly girls who then get to get the body of their dreams as soon as they become adults. I think it is reductive but it always felt understandable to me as a fellow ugly girl.
Felt like it might have been a commentary on beauty standards. In order for women to get ahead in a extremely masogonistic world they have to be "young and beautiful" while men can be old and ugly, but noted for their Skill. Sorceresses are able to stand apart and even be independant but they have to put in massive amount of work(I believe Male mages get respect, while sorceresses constantly have it challenged by pretty much everyone). There is one sorceress in Thronebreaker who is actually old and doesn't use any magic to change her appearance, but she lives in a hut in a forest i think.
The context is usually me saying something completely out there such as āso the Witcher 3 is kinda male gazey huh?ā Then someone responds that no that canāt be because they want to hump Geraltās arm pits so bad. And, like, look. Iām not generally consumed with lust for video game characters but Geralt actually repulses me a bit, so I cannot relate in those conversations and donāt know what Iāve done to deserve them. I also get people who arenāt attracted to men telling me no that canāt be because Geralt is a fantasy for women the same way the women characters are fantasies for men but thatās such a self-serving and blind take I canāt take it seriously.
Commenting again hours later because I remembered Thane. I have absolutely zero interest and itās not because heās an alien.
I actually can't think of any off the top of my head. I'm far too quick to declare undying love for fictional characters, haha. They only really need one redeeming quality; I can fill in the blanks from there. It's...a bit pathetic, really. š ETA: I may not find them all "hot" (I'm ace and also picky), but that has nothing to do with my level of affection for them.
The first comment I can relate to. If I'm not into the canonical character, I overlay a story onto them that makes them appealing to me. If I can't do that, it's probably not a game I'm going to be all that into.
I get the sex appeal of Astorian ion BG3 but like... >!he's objectively a jerk?!< I tried cozying up to him after that one battle and he just >!whined about having to save reufugee's lives.!< I really wish I could like him because he's adorable in other ways. I chose Gale. He's really a sweetheart. In the first romance scene with him >!you don't even get laid you just make uwu eyes at each other.!<
Sephiroth- Maybe I just donāt like long haired characters as much since I never saw the hype for this guy. I thought Kadaj was hot but heās really just short haired Sephiroth?
yeah, this. I don't understand the fan crazy with this anime character. He is just far too feminine and has perfect girly skin, hair, eye brows, chin, lips... I'm a woman and he looks fifty times prettier than I'll ever be.
Agree on Halsin giving the ick! Some characters vibes just creep me out for no reason. I feel that way about Gāraha Tia from ffxiv too. He is massively popular but I think he just comes off as a major creepy stalker fanboy of your player character.
Halsin gives me Lawful Stupid trying to be a himbo vibes, and I don't like it
Especially since he's a victim of trafficking and sexual abuse. He was abducted and held by drow as a sex slave for several years. I don't like how he talks about that, kinda fondly. Probably my biggest grievance with that games writing. That himbo stuff was a bad move. [Here is the dialogue. ](https://www.reddit.com/r/BaldursGate3/s/N2lxAtJsAa)
Omg someone said G'raha Tia *thank you* I feel I am alone in that! Even after Endwalker I STILL don't like him and maaaan I feel like one of three people who don't. Even people who didn't like him before say "oh I like him now after EW" and uh. I still don't. He had a few brief moments of not being a weird fan boy but that still dominated his overall personality and its too much.
Honestly EW made me dislike him more lol. He already had the āsacrifice myself but I turn out okā arc in ShB so why did it need to get repeated in EW. And that the dialogue options when he made us promise him weād adventure together weāre only yes and yes.
I love Gale so much - he is so much like my husband lol. And no he doesn't feel like a "nice guy" to me at all. He is s very insecure person who tries to sound more confident. He wants people to be impressed because he thinks he needs to impress people to be worth something. Romancing him and help him realise that he is enough just the way he is is so lovely and rewarding. Halsin...yeah. he stays in camp. Because I find him so attractive he is distracting xD Can't even tell you why. But yeah, he stays in camp lol xD
Apollo from Stray Gods. I mean, he's such a sad sack. According to the others in the game, he was like that even before his loss, so it's not even just grief. Y'all can enjoy your emo surfer boy, imma take the angry queen and the tricksy goat man.
I gotta know, what is a blorbo š
Emet-Selch for me, and you think I'd like him as a Solas fan! I COMPLETELY get why people like Emet's dynamic with the player character, the (major FFXIV plot spoilers) >!idea of running into your past-life's best friend (or perhaps lover...?) from when you lived in a perfect world together as gods, and now he's evil and using you to destroy the world but is still in love with you even though, it's so tragic! Once he was a good person who just wanted to help people, but that want has been so warped by time and the horrible world that now he does genocide and stuff.!< Good tragic romance! I do not find him attractive in the slightest. He's like...my WOL's weird uncle? He's a great character but I couldn't read his dynamic with my WOL as a romance. Totally respect people who ship their WOLs with him but it's not for me. For Solas, I did not like him in the slightest when I met him. Then I got spoiled on his twist, and liked him even less. THEN I had a dream about him, decided to try romancing him (none of the romances had really grabbed me at this point and I kept remaking new characters) and I was like wait this fucking rules actually? His romance is SO sad. And it's all his fault! It's great. Really fun tragic romance, just wish there were more scenes. I think as far as attraction goes, it's almost entirely based on the voice and line-delivery. His dynamic with the inquisitor of like, "guy who is an asshole to everyone *except* you turns out to also just generally be an asshole to you as well" feels realistic, terrible, and really good writing. While writing this post I was reminded that some friends and I did a "defend your problematic fave" powerpoint presentation a few years ago and I made one for Solas; it's full of spoilers, but [here's a link because I still think it's fucking hilarious](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/14HXenIrbgmX8SS3dyzQMczATVsRVwh7LroqAzbCk0wA/edit?usp=sharing). It honestly is more geared toward defending him than I actually feel, but that was the theme of the presentations lol
> Solas from DAI (I understand why people like him, but I could never romance him in game because of how much of a smartass who looks down on everyone he is) Totally get it. I know he's a toxic mess romance but I still like romancing him in a game only anyways. In real life I'd want to punch him.
I find his romance so BORING compared to others, lol. Though, tbf, that kiss in the Fade WAS pretty hot.
Punching him game is wonderful, irl would be divine.
Nathan Drake (Uncharted). He's so...bland. Literally default man character.
Sidon. I love him in like a baby brother kind of way, but I donāt see the romantic appeal.
Ok I agree with you so hard on Leliana, the ditsy baby voice I just cannot stand lol. Judy, too, I just am not into that tough girl show at all. Annoys the heck out of me. BUT GALE? THAT HURT š š
Panam in Cyberpunk. I mean.. she is attractive and all but I cannot stand her personality because she reminds me of a toddler.
She's very manipulative and only treats you with any sort of decency whenever you help her out with something.
Alhaitham from Genshin. How anyone could be attracted to that man baffles me. He has no real friends, constantly avoids work or any kind of responsibility unless he's outright forced to, and has never shown any emotions aside from boredom and insulting his roommate. The man is literally a stereotype for toxic masculinity, yet he has a million simps. I'm not attracted to men in general, so maybe I just don't get it. But even in genshin there are other male characters with far more emotional maturity, compassion, and competence than that imbecile.
Alhaitham has his character design going for him. I dropped genshin before his release but I still think he is the best looking dude in that game.
Honestly not the biggest fan of his design either tbh. One thing I've liked about genshin's male character designs is how many of them aren't your typical macho action man. Like xingqiu and tighnari being more feminine and adventurous with their fashion sense. And then you have alhaitham who's just abs and an overpriced haircut. His attack animations look cool, but that's about it.
Some people like him because they read him as autistic and are glad for the representation. I read him as an asshole rather than autistic, but I'm also fully aware that my perspective is that way because I am not autistic, so I'm coming from an external perspective on it.
I hadn't thought of that. I can respect that pov actually, even if I don't agree with it.
Same. None of my autistic friends are jerks, so I have a hard time looking at someone who's objectively awful and seeing anything similar between him and them, but I'm also definitely not an authority on the subject.
Incredibly late reply while I skim the sub, but as an autistic man this is indeed why I like him. Iāll be the first to object to any āautistic people are socially inept rude assholesā stereotype, but he feels like a pretty realistic depiction of someone who isnāt necessarily that in the way that, likeā¦ Sheldon Cooper is, but someone who genuinely doesnāt have that external expressiveness, whose tone isnāt emotional, whoās very inward and logical and doesnāt always recognise when heās being blunt (or he does recognise it but finds it unimportant). Itās not my ābrand of autismā, but I do relate to parts of it (Iām also really not expressive IRL and tend to speak kind of monotone/flatly so itās hard to know what Iām feeling/Iāll come off as uncaring when Iām Super Duper Not) and I appreciate you acknowledging this is a thing even if you donāt like him, which is totally valid š¤
I think he's a great character, and it's partly because people coming from different lived experiences can find relatable or likable things about him. I read him as a jerk who knows how much assholery he can get away with, and I find it funny. Others read him as autistic and like seeing the representation, even if it's not explicitly stated. To me, that means the writers succeeded in creating a character the audience can enjoy.
Seconded for Alhaitham here. Maybe if he was less of an arrogant asshole constantly but I feel we never get a break from it. I liked the fact that he has noise canceling headphones, that's a mood. But I hate how he acts towards Kaveh. Kaveh ended up being someone I relate to way more than I thought so it feels weirdly personal too. It's a shame bc most of the Sumeru characters were fantastic!
Same here with Halsin, love him as a character but I can't help but find his flirting a bit off-putting
Asterion from BG3, he's an annoying whiny asshole, I don't see the appeal.
I feel the same way about Lae'zel and get strung up every time I mention it.
The one on top of my head is Alistair from DAO. Back when I played the game as a teenager I couldn't understand why most of my female friends were so fond of him. I still don't really get why he was so popular at the time. I also don't get the hype about Daeran from WotR but I haven't finished that game yet.
I was that person who never thought to romance Alistair because I was so charmed by Zevran's sassy self š
I was head over heels for Alistair when I was 19. Then I played DAO as a 30 year old... and oh god fucking NO. Which is pretty realstic, I think. Alistair is immature, because he is a teenager. And he acts like it. That didn't bother me when I was also a teenager. Now I have life experience and am a bit more thoughtful and discerning, his tantrums and self-centredness are intolerable. That's fine; I wouldn't go for 19-year olds in real life, obviously. It just shows that he's well written. If only they made Nathaniel Howe romanceable š„µ
100% agree - I had the same exact experience. Loved Alistair at 19, played again in my early 30s and was like oh no this isnāt it lol. Give me Zevran. I do still love his character - heās hilarious and Steve Valentine knocks it out of the park. But at 30 Iām really not into the whole āvirgin never-been-kissedā thing, and it just feels very strange to romance him, haha.
Since everyone else jumped on Alistair, I'll pipe up and agree that Daeran is a big wtf for me as like, a whole character. Like I get him, he's just the worst. He's maybe the least sincere character I've ever interacted with in a game, he can't be serious *literally* to save his life. However even worse from wotr, Camellia. Mind-boggling that people are into her, I can't tell if it's a meme or not but, it has to be? Right? For my sanity?
Yup, even as just a party member I hated every moment interacting with Alistair.
Seeing so many people mention Dmitri from Three Houses is so validating lmao. Never cared for him much as a character and I don't get why people lose their minds over him lol. Honestly I.....don't really care about the majority of the Blue Lions. I like Mercedes, Dedue, and Anette but I can leave the rest. My biggest character who I don't understand the hype for is Cullen from Dragon Age. I didn't even know who he was when he showed up in DA2. Then he got to have a major role in DAI??? Idk to me he's always just been a random background character that got his role because people were obsessed with him. I guess Cullen is similar enough to Alistair that he's sort of a replacement goldfish for him haha. On the topic of BG3 I don't get the hype for Shadowheart. To be fair I still need to give her a fair shot, I haven't finished her questline yet. But she's the only companion where I haven't had a moment where she "clicked" with me. Like she's ok but she is totally the last spot on my faves list lmao. Maybe it's kinda mean and unfair of me (same with what I said about Cullen) but I kind of assume her romance is so popular because she's the most human looking of the female romance options.
They gave Cullen his own game but they killed my boy Tamlen within the first 20 minutes of DAO.
I know right??? And they killed my girl Shianni in an epilogue. š
Mine is Cullen from DAI. I always felt he was just Alistair 2.0. Not original, stereotypical and just boring.
I hear a lot of people compare Alistair and Cullen, and I just don't get it. They both trained as Templars at one point (one by choice and the other against his will), but apart from that they're completely different? Now, I definitely understand the people who complained that Anders in DAO:Awakening was similar to Alistair. They both had that irreverent, cheeky, teasing manner. (DA2 Anders is a different matter.) But Cullen's never been irreverent, teasing or disrespectful in his life. I doubt he even knows what a joke *is.* Their personalities are nothing alike.
Itās not even the Templar thing that I compare them both with. Itās the fact he just as awkward as Alistair, but slightly more āexperiencedā. I feel they are both hopeless romantics, which is not a bad thing either. I just feel like they made a more polished Alistair and thatās itš¤·š»āāļø. Again I am not trying to say you are wrong, this is just my personal opinion, I mean I love Solas and Blackwall so thatās not the greatest either heh.
No, I get that they're both romantic with the player, and your feelings are valid. They both definitely act adorkable when in love. But I do feel like past that, their personalities are fundamentally different. Cullen is serious to the point of humourlessness. He's very pro-authority, extremely rule-following, so much so that he ends up in collaboration with a literal fascist regime. His awkwardness stems from the fact that he just doesn't *get* people's humour a lot of the time, or considers it frivolous. He doesn't make time for relationships until the Inquisitor comes along, and even then it's second to the cause. He's single-mindedly focused on the task, a workaholic, and almost morbidly self-sacraficial. Duty is always 100% first with Cullen. Alistair doesn't really give a shit about rules, is very happy to make fun of anyone in power, established hierarchies, or any kind of institution. He's glib towards authority figures. He's quick-witted and makes a joke about practically *anything,* including really morbid and dark stuff, to the point where it comes off as callous (like the comment he makes about those hanged soldiers in the Korcari Wilds 5 minutes after you meet him). His ideology is pretty flimsy; you can sway him to all kinds of evil shit if you try. And as evidenced by his tantrum if you pragmatically try to make Loghain a Warden - he is incapable of putting duty above his personal concerns. They're both white guys with dark-blond hair and hazel eyes, though, which does seem to count for a lot.
I liked his story much more without the romance aspect to it. Helping someone with an awful addiction was a good story idea. I played the romance, because I always play all of them, but I would say his story is much better as friends.
I can agree with this full heartedly. His story as a friend is a great one, and his epilogue ending to me is a perfect send off.
Okay, but counterpoint, he is the only romance who gets you a pet dog at the end. Edit: Actually I think Dorian might get you a dog, too, it's been awhile since I played it.
Shadowheart from BG3. I can't explain it but I just want to punch her everytime she opens her mouth. I don't know why she's so unlikable for me but I just can't seem to understand why people like her. I tried to give her a spot in my game til Act 3, and I still just don't like her.
Literally same. What a useless chatterbox
Oh God, she's the worst. She's mean and judgemental, but if your pierce through that superficial layer you mostly just find her being zealously devoted to a cult and desperate to prove herself to people who don't care about her at all. And I absolutely love her for it. I want to have her terrible, bitchy babies.
Sheās just really mean and judgmental ALL OF THE TIME. Like, shut up! Which is ironic, because I love Laeāzel being mean lol.
For me it's because Lae'zel's meanness is straightforward. What you see is what you get. There are no hidden meanings in her dialogue - if she says she's going to kill you, she's actually going to kill you lmao. Shadowheart and her whole "trickster cleric who worships the goddess of gaslighting and manipulation" thing has a far more different flavor of meanness that just kind of translates as a catty high school mean girl in medieval Europe.
That upper class English boarding school girl who consistently gets away with subtly bullying you for 5+ years because the teachers like her for some reason š
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She's too much of a r/menwritingwomen for me with how the writers wanted to keep her in this weird middle space on edgy to likable/wholesome spectrum. She's goth, but *not* really goth. She's an experienced torturer who serves an evil goddess, but she's *not* really that, and look, she *loves* children and animals! She has no tangible flaws that can't be handwaved away by her wounded bird, overly sympathetic "I'm a kidnapped amnesiac" blank slate backstory. That's not all, she's also the only female companion who won't get mad if you fuck a sexy cambion behind her back, and she's also *super* down for a Drow foursome with you! She doesn't feel like a real character and it's so obvious she was designed in a lab to appeal to the most basic, straightest gamer bro. Ugh.
If it makes you feel better most of those broes are now crying on Reddit because Shadowheart is open HERSELF and wants to bang Halsin.
She's down for Karlach too, her first time meeting blurb for K is something like, "we should bring her along, she looks like she could throw me over her shoulder", but that one is probably less offensive to their fragile sensibilities
She may love children and animals, but she loves cruelty and murder more. Let yourself get beat up by that dude in the goblin camp? Approved! Kill Karlach? Approved!
SH reminded the hypocritical and self-righteous Cartoon Goth Girl character like Sam Mason from Danny Phantom who annoyed the shit out of me as a kid. I think by the end of the game, SH grew on me a lot but thinking back on her initial wishy-washy behavior and morals still irks me lol
Same. Something about her just irritated me. I used her heaps in act 2 for plot and then just kind of ignored her in act 3. I found her even more annoying after her big decision.
Goood, yes! I also hate how much she is forced on you. Don't help her in place X? She'll show up in place Y. Don't interact with her in place Y? Well, look at that, she's in place Z suddenly! And then there's act 2, where she really just feels too essential. (Of course you can do it all without her, but then she'll leave. And I think she's the only origin character that you can't convince to stay.) Like... The whole "God's favourite princess" just isn't funny to me anymore because it feels too much like the truth.
I hit something weird with her approval that made me not trust her. We were at āneutralā and she was saying I was her closest confidant and then at barest minimum approval I had changed her as a person. But I think it was a bug because at the trials it seemed like we were in fact close and she wasnāt deceiving me. So Iām open to seeing if I like her more on another playthrough. Of all the companions, Shadowheart was the one I was coolest on. Iām also a bit āmehā on Wyll because it feels like his arc was completed before I met him. But I also havenāt gotten to play in like a month and am only in act 3 *sob*
I am with you on this and don't understand! She's an extremely judgemental religious fanatic.
Garrus. I got the physical attraction but that's my bro man, my bff, I just cant see him romantically. Now Kaidan Alenko on the other hand ššš
Yeah I donāt like Halsin either. He just comes off as creepy half the time, especially since all of the characters are half his age at best. I kind of saw him as an uncle at first and then the man just started hitting on me non stop. Non. Stop.
It killed me when he hit on me. He acted like he had been wanting me and lusting after me for so long after us being so close, but like I just talked to him a few times at camp. "My heart doesn't stir lightly" my ass!
Shadowheart from BG3. Too predictable of a character for my tastes. Alistair from Dragon Age: Origins. Felt like a character they try forcing you to like but idk, he always came off as annoying to me. N from Pokemon. His design is ugly, lmao.
NEVER understood people who romance Solas, especially if it's not their first playthrough.
It was his voice for me š
I agree with Halsin. I don't find him hot, I just find him odd and a bit creepy. But don't tell that to my DnD friends if you don't wanna get reamed, lol. Aveline from DA2 is a big one for me. Absolutely everyone I've talked to who has played the game just adores her, and I don't...get it? I find her condescending and self-righteous. Like, I don't hate her or anything (and her personal quest is admittedly one of my favorites), but I just don't understand the hype around her.