Humans, dwarves and Qunari don't have the heart icon/flirts with Solas either, even females. IIRC male characters can't flirt with Blackwall, either. I could be wrong, since I've only played as elven females, but that is what I read elsewhere.
No, this is right. I've got six Inquisitors and only the lady Lavellans can flirt with him.
My only take on that entire datamine dialogue topic is this:
We know that recording lines is relatively cheap once you already have the VAs in, and they often do all kinds of things to cover bases just in case. It indicates nothing. If even I, doodling around on my own original stuff and fanfiction, can get five chapters into a story and completely redo the timeline, the climax, cut and rethink entire characters, then I'm pretty sure that happens even more so in a work the size of DA:I. Cut content is not canon. It was a concept that for whatever reason did not pan out. Canon is what the actual work ended up as, and any 'Word of God' tier comments. Not cut content, datamined scenes.
People going all rabid at Gaider et al over things that have been cut out, claiming it is now canon, and making disingenious assertions about the reasons behind it being axed just makes them look bad.
I think this is pretty much all that needs to be said on the topic. Maybe with the addition that although Mr. Gaider is the lead writer, that doesn't mean the entire story and all the decisions about what to include and cut are his sole responsibility. In fact he actually wrote a pretty interesting series of blogs explaining the process of crafting a game story and pointing out that there are tons of people involved aside from those credited as "writers".
When I was questioning about Solas' romance restriction a few pages back I wasn't criticising the fact that he was straight so much as the fact that certain dialogue, such as the revelation about Vallaslin, only seem to be available if you are in a romance with him. Now I love the Vallaslin scene and think it is a very tender touching moment the way it is done as part of the romance but why is there not a non romance dialogue for a male Lavellan? It seems poor male Lavellan gets the short straw in everything. Not only is it impossible for him to have a culturally appropriate elf romance but he is kept in ignorance about something that could have just as much significance for him. Also Solas tells female Lavellan what a wonderful person she is but a male Lavellan gets no indication that Solas approves of them (apart from the screen flags that the character is not party to).
I think the vallaslin information is a big deal. The Dalish believe that when they remember enough of their old culture, their gods may return to them (despite the fact that they also believe they have been locked away - I never quite understood how they don't see that contradiction). Anyway, the proud boast "we are the last of the elvhenan and we shall never submit" is backed up by their insistence that true elves wear vallaslin. I think it would be an act of friendship to tell a male Lavellan of the mistake and give him the same offer to remove them, just in a more practical sort of way.
It is interesting to note that you are able to flirt with everyone as a male character, even those who are not of the right sexual orientation, except for Solas. Which would suggest they had to deliberately remove the heart icon in his case.
The vallaslin thing does seem like a pretty big reveal, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's revealed "for real" in a subsequent DLC/sequel - since there seem to be a whole bunch more mysteries still in the works about ancient elves, anyway. As for the flirt options, I don't know if the lack of them in Solas' dialogue necessarily means that they were there and then removed; there doesn't seem any reason for them to do that if the lines and appropriate responses were fully written, recorded and animated for a male character. More likely since Solas' romance was something of a "bonus", that's one of the ways it's not quite as large in scope as the original romances.
My only take on that entire datamine dialogue topic is this:
We know that recording lines is relatively cheap once you already have the VAs in, and they often do all kinds of things to cover bases just in case. It indicates nothing. If even I, doodling around on my own original stuff and fanfiction, can get five chapters into a story and completely redo the timeline, the climax, cut and rethink entire characters, then I'm pretty sure that happens even more so in a work the size of DA:I. Cut content is not canon. It was a concept that for whatever reason did not pan out. Canon is what the actual work ended up as, and any 'Word of God' tier comments. Not cut content, datamined scenes.
People going all rabid at Gaider et al over things that have been cut out, claiming it is now canon, and making disingenious assertions about the reasons behind it being axed just makes them look bad.
Seriously, the people who are up in arms about it are cutting off their noses to spite their faces. Sheesh, if I wanted to experience a gay romance with Solas and somebody found these files, I'd shout Hallelujah (sorry, had to) and wait for the modders to do their thing.
This is why I usually find one spot on the internet where smart and kind people congregate (hi y'all!) and ignore the rest.
I do find it a bit 'off' for lack of a better word that a male Lavellen remains in the dark about what is a pretty big reveal about his culture. Given how keen Solas seems to be on wanting to educate what remains of his people, one would think that if he respected m!Lavellan enough he'd want to let him know the truth. I'd second the opinion that it will probably come up in a DLC at some point. My boyfriend plays a male Lavellan, and I did realize a few days ago that he's going to miss that entire reveal. I'll have to be the one that springs it on him, and that seems like an oversight to me, somehow, in the storytelling.
Humans, dwarves and Qunari don't have the heart icon/flirts with Solas either, even females. IIRC male characters can't flirt with Blackwall, either. I could be wrong, since I've only played as elven females, but that is what I read elsewhere.
This would indicate (to me, anyway) that despite dialogue for male characters existing for Solas, he was probably never actually intended to be anything but straight--just as I'm pretty sure Blackwall was always intended to be straight (he was going to be THE straight option for women, in fact, with Iron Bull being the pansexual option everyone could pursue).
Now, beyond "it's just because he's only into women," which makes sense from a real-human standpoint... Solas is a character. There were "super story reasons" for him being so heavily gated, and I continue to wonder if those "super story reasons" haven't all come up yet. I get why he is elf-only, with what little we know of his backstory and with the vallaslin thing. But what if he had to be straight for story reasons, too, and we just don't know it yet? I mean the obvious alternative is "he's just straight," which is... a perfectly valid reason, and perfectly okay. Again I don't need justification for his being straight (and yet part of me feels I should be more aggressive on that point for the LGBT community's sake, but yet it just feels wrong to be that way, since I don't ask for justification for Dorian being gay?)... but he's a character, and characters are written certain ways for reasons, usually.
I continue to wonder if there's an optional god-baby in the future, which is something that wouldn't be possible for a male Lavellan. I would totally be okay with that even though I normally dislike pregnancy plots, as long as it's optional and declining doesn't hurt one's relationship with Solas... I just think it'd be a neat little wrap-up to the romance, perhaps available in the final DLC so we don't get to see the pregnancy/baby/etc. until next game, when we are no longer the Inquisitor.
To me, Inquisition felt a bit incomplete, main story wise (It has lots of side story to fill the gaps, to be sure, but its main story is very small). I can't help but feel that we're going to get a whole lot of DLC, and that we may see a longer-than-normal gap between this game and the next one.
Also, remembering that originally our choices would have been Blackwall or Iron Bull, I kind of wish I had twitter to thank the devs again for giving us Solas and Cullen.
Edited for clarification: I kind of feel like I'm in the wrong for not needing specific reasons for Solas to be straight (I'm curious if there are extra reasons, but I don't NEED any reason other than "he's straight"), even though I know I'm not wrong to be okay with it... it's a confusing thing to feel. It's just that I feel bad for other people who don't happen to be straight women, or like playing straight women in games, and I wonder if I should feel worse/fight harder for them?
The vallaslin thing does seem like a pretty big reveal, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's revealed "for real" in a subsequent DLC/sequel - since there seem to be a whole bunch more mysteries still in the works about ancient elves, anyway. As for the flirt options, I don't know if the lack of them in Solas' dialogue necessarily means that they were there and then removed; there doesn't seem any reason for them to do that if the lines and appropriate responses were fully written, recorded and animated for a male character. More likely since Solas' romance was something of a "bonus", that's one of the ways it's not quite as large in scope as the original romances.
Yeah, I also think that male Lavellan is going to get the Vallaslin-removal chance later on. It does seem odd for the poor guy to find out from Corypheus just what they are and end up
I feel bad saying this, but I don't think I'd enjoy the game as much if Solas hadn't been a romance option. There's just something really special there that I can't truly describe.
I feel bad saying this, but I don't think I'd enjoy the game as much if Solas hadn't been a romance option. There's just something really special there that I can't truly describe.
I wouldn't have either, to be fair. See, I hadn't really followed DA:I's development after the massive disappointment that ME3 was for me. I was convinced it was all downhill and trying to get invested again would just end in more disappointment. There was also the original early info that you could only play a human, which just added to the 'Pass' category for me. Then the year delay happened, and as I understand it, Solas' romance was something that came with that. Had I had to play DA:I only as a human, with only Iron Bull and Blackwall as LIs, the game would have lost a lot of appeal. I don't generally enjoy playing humans in fantasy 'verses, and while I find Iron Bull hilarious and awesome, and like Blackwall well enough, neither is romance material for the types of characters I generally play.
Cullen is closer, and I intend to get around to him at some point, but Solas', with its ties to the plot and more dramatic outcome is more up my alley as far as types of storytelling.
This would indicate (to me, anyway) that despite dialogue for male characters existing for Solas, he was probably never actually intended to be anything but straight--just as I'm pretty sure Blackwall was always intended to be straight (he was going to be THE straight option for women, in fact, with Iron Bull being the pansexual option everyone could pursue).
Now, beyond "it's just because he's only into women," which makes sense from a real-human standpoint... Solas is a character. There were "super story reasons" for him being so heavily gated, and I continue to wonder if those "super story reasons" haven't all come up yet. I get why he is elf-only, with what little we know of his backstory and with the vallaslin thing. But what if he had to be straight for story reasons, too, and we just don't know it yet? I mean the obvious alternative is "he's just straight," which is... a perfectly valid reason, and perfectly okay. Again I don't need justification for his being straight (and yet part of me feels I should be more aggressive on that point for the LGBT community's sake, but yet it just feels wrong to be that way, since I don't ask for justification for Dorian being gay?)... but he's a character, and characters are written certain ways for reasons, usually.
I continue to wonder if there's an optional god-baby in the future, which is something that wouldn't be possible for a male Lavellan. I would totally be okay with that even though I normally dislike pregnancy plots, as long as it's optional and declining doesn't hurt one's relationship with Solas... I just think it'd be a neat little wrap-up to the romance, perhaps available in the final DLC so we don't get to see the pregnancy/baby/etc. until next game, when we are no longer the Inquisitor.
To me, Inquisition felt a bit incomplete, main story wise (It has lots of side story to fill the gaps, to be sure, but its main story is very small). I can't help but feel that we're going to get a whole lot of DLC, and that we may see a longer-than-normal gap between this game and the next one.
Also, remembering that originally our choices would have been Blackwall or Iron Bull, I kind of wish I had twitter to thank the devs again for giving us Solas and Cullen.
Edited for clarification: I kind of feel like I'm in the wrong for not needing specific reasons for Solas to be straight (I'm curious if there are extra reasons, but I don't NEED any reason other than "he's straight"), even though I know I'm not... it's a confusing thing to feel. It's just that I feel bad for other people who don't happen to be straight women, or like playing straight women in games, and I wonder if I should feel worse/fight harder for them?
I don't know if the lack of heart icons indicates anything. You have flirt options with Dorian and Sera no matter what and they were clearly always meant to be gay. Same with Cassandra and I'm pretty sure she was always going to be straight.
I think it makes sense if Solas was originally going to be bi, just because of that final reveal. It would have been better if it was open to every Lavellan, and that's only possible if he's a bi romance since the scene only appears in his romance. Plus, it helps to even out the LIs more if Cullen and Solas were meant for everyone (not race-wise, of course).
I'm not sure we'll really ever know the truth about it but I guess it doesn't really matter. They are what they are in the end and I wish people wouldn't harass the devs about it. I'm sure, if this is all true, they just didn't have time to properly animate the scenes in.
Solas is very elfy.
Sera is not elfy at all.
Solas is very serious.
Sera is not serious at all.
Solas dates women his age and younger , potentially classifying as a DILF.
Sera dates women her age or older, potentially hooking up with a MILF.
I'm sorry I'm so sorry but I have so much to read for my intersession class and I am very bored.
When I was questioning about Solas' romance restriction a few pages back I wasn't criticising the fact that he was straight so much as the fact that certain dialogue, such as the revelation about Vallaslin, only seem to be available if you are in a romance with him. Now I love the Vallaslin scene and think it is a very tender touching moment the way it is done as part of the romance but why is there not a non romance dialogue for a male Lavellan? It seems poor male Lavellan gets the short straw in everything. Not only is it impossible for him to have a culturally appropriate elf romance but he is kept in ignorance about something that could have just as much significance for him. Also Solas tells female Lavellan what a wonderful person she is but a male Lavellan gets no indication that Solas approves of them (apart from the screen flags that the character is not party to).
I think the vallaslin information is a big deal. The Dalish believe that when they remember enough of their old culture, their gods may return to them (despite the fact that they also believe they have been locked away - I never quite understood how they don't see that contradiction). Anyway, the proud boast "we are the last of the elvhenan and we shall never submit" is backed up by their insistence that true elves wear vallaslin. I think it would be an act of friendship to tell a male Lavellan of the mistake and give him the same offer to remove them, just in a more practical sort of way.
It is interesting to note that you are able to flirt with everyone as a male character, even those who are not of the right sexual orientation, except for Solas. Which would suggest they had to deliberately remove the heart icon in his case.
I recently completed the game on F!Trevelyan, and Solas makes a point of telling you he respects you. He's quite explicit about it. In fact I'm pretty sure his exact words are "I respect you". 
While I agree that it sucks M!Lavellan doesn't find out about his vallaslin, I think people are really going overboard with their "disappointment", for lack of a better word.
The forums have been through every iteration of the playersexual/defined sexualities debate a dozen times already - and this conversation is just that same old argument dressed up in different clothes. The devs have no more responsibility to justify Cullen or Solas' sexuality than they do Dorian or Sera's.
Also, remembering that originally our choices would have been Blackwall or Iron Bull, I kind of wish I had twitter to thank the devs again for giving us Solas and Cullen.
Amen.
Yeah, I am pretty sure both my male elves would appreciate knowing about the tattoos (and then promptly say "this is our culture now and means something now so no, I don't want it removed). But the option would be nice.
I have noticed that both of my male Lavellans have a very, I want to say, nuanced relationship with him. Even if Solas doesn't respect them as equally as they respect him (they are just kids to him, afterall, right?), there still feels like a much more mutual exchange between them that I don't feel with any of the other companions or advisors. Both my elves are for Dorian, one is a mage and the other is an archer, but they still don't have the same "feel" of rightness when talking to him as they do with Solas.
Perhaps I'm just imagining it, though. I love my elves having another elf to be elfy with. My Warden was a male Dalish rogue/male elf mage and both ended up with Zevran. They just don't like being with non-elves, even if they aren't anti-human (my Dalish rogue hated humans, but I headcanon he had a massive, unrequited love with Alistair, who became his best friend and showed him not all humans are assholes). My Hawkes always ended up with Fenris, and if I'd had the option, they would have been elves, too. I want my male elf to have a male elf love interest who is either Dalish, or proud of his elf heritage. Zevran was just an elf, it wasn't really much more than that. Fenris was anti-Dalish. Now we have another elf who's happy with his elfiness, but he only likes women. My Dalish really wants another elf- and not one that hates elves (assuming I would ever play a female and romance Sera, which chances of that are in the negatives).
Solas would have been a fascinating, and probably favored, romance if he was available to males. Sad.
Yeah, I also think that male Lavellan is going to get the Vallaslin-removal chance later on. It does seem odd for the poor guy to find out from Corypheus just what they are and end up
I think he'll get the opportunity to have them removed, but I also think it makes sense from the perspective of the story that he didn't have that chance in DA:I. Solas is much more intimate with a romanced Lavellan than he is with a non-romanced Lavellan, male or female. I think removing the vallaslin is a gift, and something he only feels like he can share with someone that he can trust. He might respect M!Lavellan or non-romance F!Lavellan, but they are still kept at arm's length, so to speak.
Later, I think we'll see a scene where any Lavellan, with sufficient knowledge and/or respect from Solas, will be able to have them removed.
I feel bad saying this, but I don't think I'd enjoy the game as much if Solas hadn't been a romance option. There's just something really special there that I can't truly describe.
I can tell you I wouldn't be on the forums, drawing fanart, or writing (bad) fanfiction. I'm 110% more invested because of the Solas romance. I think it's because it doesn't seem tangential; The other romances are great, but they come off as self-contained. Cullen's lyrium troubles aren't really related to the overarching plot of demons/elves/rifts/etc. You can go through the game and avoid the companion quests of all the characters, but a lot of Solas' development/activities are unavoidable. So romancing Solas makes me feel more involved in the entire story, not just more involved with him.
I seem to have missed drama.
As far as the dialogues go- this isn't anything new. Didn't Alistair also have male romance dialogue content? I know for certain Kaidan in ME1 had it. The reasoning is usually because the game likes for files to be equal. IE; when you choose a dialogue option, the game asks itself: if female then a, if male then b. [Although in DA1 its actually 'if female british then a, if female amercian then b, ect.]
Computers as a rule don't like null. They don't like to see 'if female then X' and then nothing. It doesn't mean it can't compensate or anything, just that you don't want to get the programming angry. Keeping the dialogue the same for both genders of player characters is just making it easier for the programming to 'think' for itself.
This is not to say that there isn't an argument to be made for the ability to romance [insert character here] as [insert gender here.] But no one should be attacked over it.
I don't doubt that modding will eventually make it so that Solas/Cullen/ect can be romanced by male Inquisitors someday. I think everyone here is mature enough to be respectful. Even if it doesn't fit the author's vision [should such a vision even exist], that doesn't make a player's vision less valid. That's fandom. But I really don't think a development team as supportive as bioware has been had some sort of nefarious purpose behind witholding X character from X gender.
I think he'll get the opportunity to have them removed, but I also think it makes sense from the perspective of the story that he didn't have that chance in DA:I. Solas is much more intimate with a romanced Lavellan than he is with a non-romanced Lavellan, male or female. I think removing the vallaslin is a gift, and something he only feels like he can share with someone that he can trust. He might respect M!Lavellan or non-romance F!Lavellan, but they are still kept at arm's length, so to speak.
Later, I think we'll see a scene where any Lavellan, with sufficient knowledge and/or respect from Solas, will be able to have them removed.
I can tell you I wouldn't be on the forums, drawing fanart, or writing (bad) fanfiction. I'm 110% more invested because of the Solas romance. I think it's because it doesn't seem tangential; The other romances are great, but they come off as self-contained. Cullen's lyrium troubles aren't really related to the overarching plot of demons/elves/rifts/etc. You can go through the game and avoid the companion quests of all the characters, but a lot of Solas' development/activities are unavoidable. So romancing Solas makes me feel more involved in the entire story, not just more involved with him.
Yes, I too believe the vallaslin removal is something special for Solas, not just for the Inquisitor. And it almost seems like a religious moment, to me. I think it's his way of telling a romanced Lavellan the truth, without telling her anything at all: giving her his blessing, as he would have in the days when he was worshiped as a god. Unfortunately, it also means he's hit the end of what he can do romance-wise. He has to leave.
... it was so sad for me, playing after that scene...
I seem to have missed drama.
As far as the dialogues go- this isn't anything new. Didn't Alistair also have male romance dialogue content? I know for certain Kaidan in ME1 had it. The reasoning is usually because the game likes for files to be equal. IE; when you choose a dialogue option, the game asks itself: if female then a, if male than b. [Although in DA1 its actually 'if female british then a, if female amercian then b, ect.]
Computers as a rule don't like null. They don't like to see 'if female then X' and then nothing. It doesn't mean it can't compensate or anything, just that as a rule, you don't want to get the programming angry. Keeping the dialogue the same for both genders of player characters is just making it easier for the programming to 'think' for itself.
This is not to say that there isn't an argument to be made for the ability to romance [insert character here] as [insert gender here.] But no one should be attacked over it.
I don't doubt that modding will eventually make it so that Solas/Cullen/ect can be romanced by male Inquisitors someday. I think everyone here is mature enough to be respectful. Even if it doesn't fit the author's vision [should such a vision even exist], that doesn't make a player's vision less valid. That's fandom. But I really don't think a development team as supportive as bioware has been had some sort of nefarious purpose behind witholding X character from X gender.
Well, I do think that it was disingenuous for BioWare to continually ride that "but some characters are just straight (gay/bi/butterbrickle)" horse instead of telling the truth about development time limitations.
I guess I must have missed this datamine of information? I suppose it had male Solas romance dialog in it or something?
Like others said, a lot of times the write extra dialog "for cover" when they go to the recording studios, in case they ever want to ever use it, they don't have to bring the actor back. There is also usually a lot of cut dialog in games, that may have been cut before it could have been recorded, but is still in the game files so it's still around in case they ever decide to add it later. Those are pretty standard practices.
So, maybe at one point, they thought to make Solas bi. And then at some point they had a come to Jesus about what they actually had time to put in the game, and decided to cut the male half of the romance. I'm actually willing to bet that they realized they didn't have time/resources to do a Solas romance at all, but had already gotten so excited out breaking our hearts that they had to push to keep him female-only - which would fit with why he has so little content compared to the other romances.
So, maybe at one point, they thought to make Solas bi. And then at some point they had a come to Jesus about what they actually had time to put in the game, and decided to cut the male half of the romance. I'm actually willing to bet that they realized they didn't have time/resources to do a Solas romance at all, but had already gotten so excited out breaking our hearts that they had to push to keep him female-only - which would fit with why he has so little content compared to the other romances.
So you're saying that our misery is the only thing that inspires them. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. 
Re: lack of a romance option for male elven Inquisitors who players characterize as not being interested in other races: I've noted that myself before, and I would have been happy for such an option to be there if I'd ended up making my Inquisitor male instead of female, which I nearly did.
But, I don't think that level of specificity is something we as players could expect the devs to cater to. What about female dwarves who are only interested in other female dwarves? Human male Inquisitors who want to date a qunari mage with red hair? There's just no way that romance preferences that detailed can be given equal representation across the board without making all the characters into ciphers.
Also, I think it used to be a bit of a running joke back in the day that Bioware made most of their love interests straight female elves (Aerie/Viconia/Jaheira in Baldur's Gate, Aribeth/Nathyrra in Neverwinter Nights), so it might feel a bit stale for them to do another?
Now, beyond "it's just because he's only into women," which makes sense from a real-human standpoint... Solas is a character. There were "super story reasons" for him being so heavily gated, and I continue to wonder if those "super story reasons" haven't all come up yet. I get why he is elf-only, with what little we know of his backstory and with the vallaslin thing. But what if he had to be straight for story reasons, too, and we just don't know it yet? I mean the obvious alternative is "he's just straight," which is... a perfectly valid reason, and perfectly okay. Again I don't need justification for his being straight (and yet part of me feels I should be more aggressive on that point for the LGBT community's sake, but yet it just feels wrong to be that way, since I don't ask for justification for Dorian being gay?)... but he's a character, and characters are written certain ways for reasons, usually.
Yeah, I'm really, really convinced that we'll get more explanation (if not necessarily more romance) in future DLC/sequels, since so many of the mysteries you're left with at the end of Inquisition seem to relate in some way to Solas and whatever he's up to.
Also the reveal about the vallaslin and what that implies about ancient elves/the Dalish/gods/etc. would probably be pretty interesting to Inquisitors of other races as well - so I think there will eventually be some way for them to learn about it too.
Well, I do think that it was disingenuous for BioWare to continually ride that "but some characters are just straight (gay/bi/butterbrickle)" horse instead of telling the truth about development time limitations.
I actually remember a pretty long post that Allan made explaining how putting those limitations were made partly for development time limitations. It just also happens to be that from a writing/design perspective, they also wanted to do that.
Hm. On another topic, I remember madrar going on a meta-tangent about how Solas might be sensing the Player controlling the Inqjuisitor's actions.
On a certain level, would that then mean that it's us, the players, romancing Solas, and not our Inquisitors, for story purposes? That he's in love with the player, not Lavellan?
At that point it gets kind of weird, doesn't it? Much as I adore the romances, I play them for my characters, not for me...
Still I thought that theory was very interesting, and quite possibly true, at least on some level.
Yeah, I am pretty sure both my male elves would appreciate knowing about the tattoos (and then promptly say "this is our culture now and means something now so no, I don't want it removed). But the option would be nice.
I have noticed that both of my male Lavellans have a very, I want to say, nuanced relationship with him. Even if Solas doesn't respect them as equally as they respect him (they are just kids to him, afterall, right?), there still feels like a much more mutual exchange between them that I don't feel with any of the other companions or advisors. Both my elves are for Dorian, one is a mage and the other is an archer, but they still don't have the same "feel" of rightness when talking to him as they do with Solas.
Perhaps I'm just imagining it, though. I love my elves having another elf to be elfy with. My Warden was a male Dalish rogue/male elf mage and both ended up with Zevran. They just don't like being with non-elves, even if they aren't anti-human (my Dalish rogue hated humans, but I headcanon he had a massive, unrequited love with Alistair, who became his best friend and showed him not all humans are assholes). My Hawkes always ended up with Fenris, and if I'd had the option, they would have been elves, too. I want my male elf to have a male elf love interest who is either Dalish, or proud of his elf heritage. Zevran was just an elf, it wasn't really much more than that. Fenris was anti-Dalish. Now we have another elf who's happy with his elfiness, but he only likes women. My Dalish really wants another elf- and not one that hates elves (assuming I would ever play a female and romance Sera, which chances of that are in the negatives).
Solas would have been a fascinating, and probably favored, romance if he was available to males. Sad.
There is actually a mod over at Nexus that turns all your Hawkes into city elves but not very canon compliant since there is no backstory to explain how they became Amells without being part human or how an elven family would come into that kind of wealth and power in a country where elves are still sold into slavery in the Imperium and which was a former slave depot.
So you're saying that our misery is the only thing that inspires them. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
Well, not the only thing. But a pretty big thing.
Yes, I too believe the vallaslin removal is something special for Solas, not just for the Inquisitor. And it almost seems like a religious moment, to me. I think it's his way of telling a romanced Lavellan the truth, without telling her anything at all: giving her his blessing, as he would have in the days when he was worshiped as a god. Unfortunately, it also means he's hit the end of what he can do romance-wise. He has to leave.
... it was so sad for me, playing after that scene...
Bittersweet. On the one hand, I loved how my Lavellan's face looked without the Vallaslin, on the other hand it was a horrible reminder of what had just happened. I finished the game right away. Then I ugly cried.
Hope we get a DLC announcement in January and hope it's not something like "Travel to a brand new area and go on a quest that is completely unrelated to anything you've done so far!"
Well, I do think that it was disingenuous for BioWare to continually ride that "but some characters are just straight (gay/bi/butterbrickle)" horse instead of telling the truth about development time limitations.
Did they say it was because of development time? I don't remember there being anything Official about why the characters were or were not gay/straight/bisexual/asexual/etc. It could be one thing or a combination of things. It's a no-win situation for them though. If they say "we didn't have time" people well say "you had time to do X thing I don't like, why not Y thing that is very important to me!" If they say they just didn't see it for the character, people ask "why not?"
So, maybe at one point, they thought to make Solas bi. And then at some point they had a come to Jesus about what they actually had time to put in the game, and decided to cut the male half of the romance. I'm actually willing to bet that they realized they didn't have time/resources to do a Solas romance at all, but had already gotten so excited out breaking our hearts that they had to push to keep him female-only - which would fit with why he has so little content compared to the other romances.
This seems a little unlikely since Solas has very little content in general, and most of his romance content is very similar to his regular content (scene + kiss). I think his lack of content is deliberate, not so much a result of time limitations.
I guess I must have missed this datamine of information? I suppose it had male Solas romance dialog in it or something?
You didn't miss much. Danaduchy found sound files of Cullen in a romance with male!Quiz, including one with jealous dialogue with Dorian involved and Cassandra commenting on male!Quiz and Cullen. There was also a sound file of Solas with a male Inquisitor talking about the Fade kiss, though the actual sound clip for that hasn't been uploaded.
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