They probably don't want to make another romance where the guy happen to be good looking White Knight In Shining Armour type, with a mature, fulfilling and beautiful relationship that is both sincere and honest. You know, the relationship many people actually wish for IRL. Idk.
I think you made a really good point.
BioWare has gotten some flak for reusing character archetypes, especially for DA romances. For example, how human male love interests had been golden-haired charmers (Alistair and Anders), and elven male love interests had been commitment-phobic former slaves who became loyal for life after they overcame their issues (Zevran and Fenris).
They probably wanted to try something different this time, but... with Cullen's and Solas' unprecidented popularity (despite being the most gender and race-gated), it seems like some of these formulas are tried and true for a reason.
I think that they are really afraid of putting that kind of story and think that a BDSM & a huge treachery story (BW's) to be more interesting. That's why they didn't put Cullen in the first choice until the 1 year extension and then it's more or less like "heyhooo sex scene between Qunari & Dwarf will be a challenge in animation POV and LET'S DO IT FOR CHALLENGE SAKE" mentality I kinda feeling from the dev's side. Like, why did they choose BW romance over Cullen's since the beginning? Why?
I think you make a really good point. I can see where these would look good on paper or early storyboards, but I think some of these ideas or intentions got lost in production.
For Iron Bull, I feel like one of the problems is he was marketed and introduced as a fun, joking, boisterous, good-natured, likable, charismatic ladies' (and gentlemen's) man. Unfortunately, little of this shows up in the actual romance. At least not initially. He treats the beginning of your relationship with all the bored indifference of a business transaction (not romantic, fun, or sexy for many), and of course sets strict sexual guidelines that force you to accept BDSM terms (with him always in the dominant/master position and you always in the bottom/submissive position) or get the boot, and there's very little love/fondness/tenderness until much later in the relationship. Kind of like Sera's personality flaws, a lot of people were turned off long before they could reach that point.
Blackwall... I see that so much effort and passion was put into his story, character arc, and romance. And it's a good story... problem is I've heard a lot of people describe Blackwall as boring and underwhelming. I've seen a lot of people say, "This would be such a passionate, evocative role-play experience if I cared about the character." I think his story would be more popular if he was a more popular character; but somewhere between the character's inception and the final stage of development, whatever it was that was supposed to grab a large audience was lost. My best guess is they focused so much on his character arc that they forgot to make him the kind of character we like spending time with. A journey is only fun if you enjoy the company of the person you're traveling with; if you find the person annoying, boring, or forgettable, the journey can seem like a long slog or a forgettable experience.
It's hard to know what characters will appeal to people and which ones will get passed over (otherwise all stories and characters would be equally excellent), but that's my best guess.
Although talking about story, in term of treachery Solas isn't better but for some reason I truly like Solas when with BW it's rather... Well... IdK his romance kinda...
EDIT: To each their own.
Gosh I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!! And yes I can see the parallel. Brendan definitely has a rebel's streak on him, as what he does to find the berries. Kinda see Cullen in that situation by quitting the templar order
Although Cullen is still more Lawful Good though, Brendan is a bit more... less lawful IMO. But that's an interesting chemistry anyway. Aisling is a character who sees beauty no one had seen for long time since the villagers are burdened by their fear of the Vikings in the movie, and Aisling is not concerned and she does sees colours & beauty where the villagers only see stark grey wall. How is the dynamic of your Inquisitor (Revassan?) with Cullenmance?
PS: oooh our quizzies nearly have the same name! Mine's Revas
but that's a Solavellan Lavellan.
Lol Glad you like the movie, and that you got the reference.
Yeah, I know Cullen is more straight-laced and rule-abiding, but then again he does have a bit of a chaotic streak. He kept the good-luck charm his brother gave him for years (even though Templars aren't supposed to carry such trinkets), stood up to Meredith when he realized she went too far in Kirkwall, and left the Templar Order for the Inquisition when he realized they lost their way. He might not have have his head in the clouds like Brendan, but he has it in him to break away from tradition when he feels another way can do more. (Much like how Brendan defied his uncle and helped Aidan with the book when he realized the book could do more to bring people hope than the wall.)
Anyway, the Lavellan I have to romance Cullen is Adahlen (the elven word for "forest"), a pale, white-haired, emerald-eyed, green Mythal-vallaslined Dalish mage who most often chooses the "funny" dialogue options. I headcanon that she met and befriended a Chantry boy when she was a kid (hence the reason she would be open to romancing a human ex-Templar as an adult), and they spent nearly a whole summer seeing each other and playing in the forest, until his villagers learned her people were there and drove them out. Throughout her adolescence her clan visited and traded with many villages, and she saw that sometimes the Dalish and human got along well enough, until someone who stirred up old fears, prejudices, and grudges ruined the harmony and forced her people to move on. While she believes in tradition and cultural preservation as much as any Dalish, she also wants a world where humans and elves can live in peace rather than attacking and fleeing from each other in mistrust. Her relationship with Cullen reflects that idealistic philosophy. (I had Cullen save her Clan and had them wind up in Wycombe. Then they had a Chantry wedding with her Dalish vows. It was great!)
Revassan is the newest Lavellan I made, who also romanced Solas. (Kind of like the Dalish mottos Vir Assan, "way of the arrow," Vir Bor'assan, "way of the bow," and Vir Adahlen, "way of the forest," her name means "way to freedom," and that's what she wants for her people above all else.)
Retour en haut
), so he essentially doesn't see you any differently.
), the devs could have written special lines for the dwarf and Qunari where Cullen explains how out-of-his-depth he feels, but how he still likes you and wants to be with you. (Kind of like how they added extra lines for Sera, where she expresses her extra attraction to a Qunari but extra contempt for a Dalish). But, time and budget constraints (for both writing and animating) being what they were, they just had him turn you down flat to avoid dealing with it altogether.
man I was really disappointed they decided to not go with the mohawke ponytail look. And c'mon he did look very Nosferatu-ish on that one Skyhold concept art piece lol 
) Blackwall. Problem is, Solas did something he believed was right for a noble reason; Cole hinted that he had tried to help others in the past, and Solas revealed in the end credits "the People... they need me." Whatever he's doing, it's for noble reasons. Not to mention Mythal revealed that he gave the Orb to Corypheus, but Solas makes it clear that he never intended Corypheus to use it to hurt people the way he did, and he immediately joined the Inquisition to help clean up his own mess and protect people from his mistakes. He screwed up, but he immediately rolled up his sleeves and went to fix it.
