153431 réponses à ce sujet

[zambixi]

One side is going to "win" in that, he either is or isn't. The devs have said they don't like the notion of playersexuality. Of course, an individual can have a range of sexual expression throughout their lifetime, too.

Anyway, I see Solas as sexual, but if PW says he's asexual, that will be that as far as I'm concerned. And it could affect how I view the character. I could no longer see Fenris x f!Hawke in the same light when I learned Gaider wrote the romance for male Hawke. It made more sense that way so Fenris x f!Hawke no longer seemed plausible. And I probably couldn't plausibly see Solavellan as asexual, either. But that's the breaks. Characters are what they are, and I prefer that they be fleshed out even if it means it affects my PC.

 

I'm not sure why this hasn't made it over to video games, but in literature critic the author's stated purpose isn't really considered to be the Word of God like it is here. There are entire schools of thought that completely ignore what the author says in their deconstruction. Those schools go a little too far IMHO, but I think it's sometimes fine (and even necessary) to disagree with the creators of any medium if it seems that the thing they've created does not match their stated meta-narrative. So what if Gaider wrote Fenris as M!Hawke x Fenris? Is there anything in the game that makes F!Hawke incompatible? Not really. So what if PW wrote Solas as sexual? Is there anything in the game that makes an asexual interpretation impossible? No. Are there things in the narrative that could contradict either of those interpretations? Maybe, but it's nothing so concrete that it couldn't be rationalized, and Bioware has certainly retconed more definite content (I AM LOOKING AT YOU HEADLESS LELIANA).

 

Point being, what the writers say outside of the context of the game shouldn't be the be-all, end-all of an interpretation. Their word doesn't make an idea less valuable.

[KarateKats]

In the case of Solas, many are fine with no specific scene - I certainly get the devs avoiding it with some already feeling personally used (not character story, personally abused) by events, but our arguments as ever revolve as much around why a course of action is taken as what that course is. This has been your random dose of Why Lurkers Lurk. Have a nice day.

I think this is the reason right here that Solas doesn't have a sex scene. Outside of time and budget concerns, they knew from  day 1 that he was going to have to leave Lavellan to go do whatever it is he wants to do. People are already pissed at him for dumping them... And then look at the backlash that Blackwall gets for sleeping with the Inquisitor and then leaving her in a barn. Could you imagine the uproar on social media if they showed Solas x Lavellan doing the deed and then he broke up with you? You'd have Deep Space Tumblr claiming rape and all sorts of weird ****. So honestly it was a good PR move to not do one and say it's up to "player interpretation". Which makes me wonder if/when he does come back and the truth is out in the open if Solasmancers will get their bangtrain cutscene finally.

[zambixi]

Did we have a timeline for how long Inquisition took?

 

Not yet, though Gaider said one will have to be released eventually. At one point he casually threw out the "three year" period, and at another time he said that for soe players it'd seem like they spent a year in the Hinterlands alone.

 

DAI has a weird situation: if you account for travel between the areas it makes sense that it would be that long. But for character development three years seems TOO long (to me).

[Mims]

I think this is the reason right here that Solas doesn't have a sex scene. Outside of time and budget concerns, they knew from  day 1 that he was going to have to leave Lavellan to go do whatever it is he wants to do. People are already pissed at him from dumping them... And then look at the backlash that Blackwall gets for sleeping with the Inquisitor and then leaving her in a barn. Could you imagine the uproar on social media if they showed Solas x Lavellan doing the deed and then he broke up with you? You'd have Deep Space Tumblr claiming rape and all sorts of weird ****. So honestly it was a good PR move to not do one and say it's up to "player interpretation". Which makes me wonder if/when he does come back and the truth is out in the open if Solasmancers will get their bangtrain cutscene finally.

 

When it was first revealed that Solas was Fen'Harel on the forums, most people were assuming he was attempting to preform a dark ritual upon her with their relationship. This would likely be the state of affairs even to this day had they had an overt scene. 

 

That said, I doubt Weekes is unaware that some fans have preferred to read the romance as aesexual. And they have said in interviews that they are finding themselves less tied to sex scenes as far as a narrative goes for romances. Hence, why Josie's is also 'sexless'. Its not a bad way of handling it. There's plenty of other romances that got overt scenes. 

 

I just don't think either side needs to 'win'. That just seems silly. Me assuming that my Lavellan jumped Solas at the first opportunity has no bearings on another person's character. 

[Moirin]

Not yet, though Gaider said one will have to be released eventually. At one point he casually threw out the "three year" period, and at another time he said that for soe players it'd seem like they spent a year in the Hinterlands alone.

 

DAI has a weird situation: if you account for travel between the areas it makes sense that it would be that long. But for character development three years seems TOO long (to me).

 

I see. Thank you. I agree, three years seems kinda sort for the character interactions.

 

I wonder if we'll get a timeline in the new world of Thedas?

[Solas]

There's no guarantee they'll ever come out and state it one way or the other.

 

Gaider's reveal about the Fenhawke romance had zero impact on how I viewed the Femhawke/Fenris romance. And yeah what of him and Bela? FemHawkeFenris isn't implausible.

[Moirin]

There's no guarantee they'll ever come out and state it one way or the other.

 

Short of adding in a sex scene after the truth of Solas is revealed to Lavellan as Carrieli suggested I doubt that they ever will. It'll just cause a fandom explosion so I imagine they are avoiding making a statement.

[Maria13]

So what if PW wrote Solas as sexual? Is there anything in the game that makes an asexual interpretation impossible? No.

 

Yes, there is, reaction to kiss... See gif.

 

 

From Nikkitsune's tumblr https://www.tumblr.c...ey kissed solas

 

I mean you can pass on the kiss cue and you won't get the reaction. You can say that Othello wasn't a moor or Hamlet hesitant or Macbeth Scottish and, indeed there have been productions where all these things have been changed, however, you can't deny how it is presented on the page, or since this is a game, in moving images...

[Solas]

Context for this post: I'm not asexual, my Lavellan had a sexual relationship with Solas. I'm not invested in asexual!Solas being revealed as canon. As I've stated my preference is that it's left open for interpretation.

 

You're described his reaction to her kissing him at Haven as "undeniable" proof that he's not asexual. Can you explain how? Is it your interpretation of his facial expression and actions? That's interpretation, and others will interpret it differently.

 

Some asexual people are or have been sexually active, incidentally (or at least that's my understanding of it).

[nikki-tikki]

Yes, there is, reaction to kiss... See gif.

 

 

From Nikkitsune's tumblr https://www.tumblr.c...ey kissed solas

 

I mean you can pass on the kiss cue and you won't get the reaction. You can say that Othello wasn't a moor or Hamlet hesitant or Macbeth Scottish and, indeed there have been productions where all these things have been changed, however, you can't deny how it is presented on the page, or since this is a game, in moving images...

 

Or you know...this

 

[Solas]

So.. they kissed therefore he can't possibly be ace? Not all ace people avoid physical intimacy of all kinds, from what I understand.

In any event I don't understand the need to insist that he cannot possibly be ace...? Other peoples' interpretations of him don't impact on your Lavellan's relationship with him.

[zambixi]

Or you know...this

 

 

I think you're confusing asexuality with being aromantic? They're not the same thing. That aside, there are 1000's of different reasons why asexual persons engage in sexual acts.

 

I'm not asexual, my canon is that Solas is sexual. But I don't see the fuss over other people believing that he is asexual. If someone is intent on saying that Solas MUST be sexual (or asexual), then we're just going to have to agree to disagree.

[Commander of the Grey]

As an asexual for the past 12 years, I can assure you that kissing and holding someone isn't having sex.

[Addai]

I'm not sure why this hasn't made it over to video games, but in literature critic the author's stated purpose isn't really considered to be the Word of God like it is here. There are entire schools of thought that completely ignore what the author says in their deconstruction. Those schools go a little too far IMHO, but I think it's sometimes fine (and even necessary) to disagree with the creators of any medium if it seems that the thing they've created does not match their stated meta-narrative. So what if Gaider wrote Fenris as M!Hawke x Fenris? Is there anything in the game that makes F!Hawke incompatible? Not really. So what if PW wrote Solas as sexual? Is there anything in the game that makes an asexual interpretation impossible? No. Are there things in the narrative that could contradict either of those interpretations? Maybe, but it's nothing so concrete that it couldn't be rationalized, and Bioware has certainly retconed more definite content (I AM LOOKING AT YOU HEADLESS LELIANA).
 
Point being, what the writers say outside of the context of the game shouldn't be the be-all, end-all of an interpretation. Their word doesn't make an idea less valuable.

We were just talking about that yesterday. I don't hold with "death of the author." Obviously, mileage varies. But a character is what it is, just as people are what they are. Your perception of me doesn't change who I am in myself. It's the same with fictional characters. Obviously there's more flexibility in a video game in that your choices affect the NPC, but if he or she is infinitely malleable and completely subjective, then the character doesn't really exist as a character, IMO.

There's no guarantee they'll ever come out and state it one way or the other.

Gaider's reveal about the Fenhawke romance had zero impact on how I viewed the Femhawke/Fenris romance. And yeah what of him and Bela? FemHawkeFenris isn't implausible.

To me it is. The romance makes more sense with a male PC, IMO. And since that's how it was conceived, I'm not going to fight it in order to establish my own canon.

[Mims]

Context for this post: I'm not asexual, my Lavellan had a sexual relationship with Solas. I'm not invested in asexual!Solas being revealed as canon. As I've stated my preference is that it's left open for interpretation.

 

Myself as well. 

 

I agree completely with all the evidence people put forth that suggests Solas is sexual. That's how I see him too. But clearly other people read him differently. I'm not going to be someone grabbing my toys and saying: 'no, its not this way and you are wrong to think that.' 

 

It is a game. I know we like to get amped up about sexuality, but that's only a minor part of most people's character. Solas has a lot of other sticks and stones to stumble over without that particular issue needing to be clarified. If people enjoy that he can be seen as a sexually 'safe' option, why not?

 

If the answer is 'because aesexual Solas people are shaming sexual Solas people'- well, obviously they are wrong. Sometimes the best option is to be the better person though. For every aggressive person I'm sure there's someone who finally feels like they have a romance that fits their particular personality. 

[Delphine]

Usually that's directed at the people who like to take art and then post it as a new post on their Tumblr, usually without credit, rather than just reblog it from the artist's page. There are a lot of people on Tumblr who like to steal art to increase the popularity of their blog.

 

Yeah, reposting is a huge dick move. Unless the artist is not present on Tumblr, then you can repost with credits, but if the artist posted it themself on Tumblr, reposting it is just NOT cool.

 

It's not, I'm just gonna say that. Not every sexual preference needs its own sexuality.

 

When "Asssexual" becomes a sexuality that's socially accepted by Tumblrinas, then I'll humor it. Till then, I classify it as bs and everyone wanting to be a special snowflake.

And I think it's kind of silly we have to make new -isms for things that are just the normal range of human sexuality. But hey, whatever you want to call it.

 

And here I am wondering, why does such term bother you so much to begin with. I mean, it's not like you seem to understand it, but only want to dismiss it and ridicule it, based on a definition that apparently falls into an area you think should already be defined by heterosexuality.

You guys judging the existence of this term says more about you guys, than it does about the term itself.

 

I'm all for people creating labels to describe their sexuality, their gender, or whatever the fuck they want to describe it. I've seen people cry and feel accepted for the first time in their lives, while discovering a term that seemed to describe to them who they are. They'd finally stop feeling alienated and othered. They finally started to feel like they belong somewhere, like who they are is in the spectrum of possibilities, and not just something odd that has no definition, no shape, no existence whatsoever in our society.

We live in a heteronormative society, in which sex behaviors are so conditioned that the moment we feel we don't fit society's definition, we stop being "normal" and become anomalies. What's so wrong about people wanting to find a term that'll allow them to NOT feel like anomalies anymore, and try to promote that?

If you really think it's a about becoming a "special snowflake", then you are no better than society's constant stereotyping, and you probably are reinforcing it. If you don't understand, stop opening your mouth on the subject, because trust me when I say this: for many people, it is life-altering and even life-saving to find terms they finally feel like they belong to, and to find people that feel the same way as they do.

 

If you wanna blame something, blame society and its conditioning, because that's the real entity doing the harm to begin with, but don't you ever dare to ridicule and diminish people who try to fight it their own way, through whatever label making them feel accepted and humanized. That's just petty, and just make you look like assholes.

[nikki-tikki]

I think you're confusing asexuality with being aromantic? They're not the same thing. That aside, there are 1000's of different reasons why asexual persons engage in sexual acts.

 

I'm not asexual, my canon is that Solas is sexual. But I don't see the fuss over other people believing that he is asexual. If someone is intent on saying that Solas MUST be sexual (or asexual), then we're just going to have to agree to disagree.

 

There is no fuss. It's just funny. 

[Maria13]

Context for this post: I'm not asexual, my Lavellan had a sexual relationship with Solas. I'm not invested in asexual!Solas being revealed as canon. As I've stated my preference is that it's left open for interpretation.

 

You're described his reaction to her kissing him at Haven as "undeniable" proof that he's not asexual. Can you explain how? Is it your interpretation of his facial expression and actions? That's interpretation, and others will interpret it differently.

 

Some asexual people are or have been sexually active, incidentally (or at least that's my understanding of it).

 

Apologies is advance but here comes the inevitable wikipedia quote:

 

Asexuality (or nonsexuality) is the lack of sexual attraction to anyone, or low or absent interest in sexual activity. It may be considered the lack of a sexual orientation, or one of the four variations thereof, alongside heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality. A study in 2004 placed the prevalence of asexuality at 1% in the British population.

 

Asexuality is distinct from abstention from sexual activity and from celibacy, which are behavioral and generally motivated by factors such as an individual's personal or religious beliefs.

 

 

Sexual orientation, unlike sexual behavior, is believed to be "enduring." Some asexual people engage in sexual activity despite lacking a desire for sex or sexual attraction, due to a variety of reasons, such as a desire to pleasure themselves or romantic partners, or a desire to have children.

 

 

 

 

[Emphasis mine]

 

So, basically looking at the gif. above can you say this is someone who is lacking in sexual attraction to anyone or has a low or absent interest in sex? Because really, really, I can't. 

[nikki-tikki]

*ranty snip*

 

Let's not get out of hand okay. Let's all take the time to remember the Sera thread....

 

ToP Solas: 

 

[Colonelkillabee]

So.. they kissed therefore he can't possibly be ace? Not all ace people avoid physical intimacy of all kinds, from what I understand.

Maria13 said this best, but he can't be ace because in those scenes he is obviously lusting for her in the kiss... Ace of spades don't do that apparently.

[Maria13]

As an asexual for the past 12 years, I can assure you that kissing and holding someone isn't having sex.

 

But it is sexual behaviour... 

 

But I think I need to ask you how you define asexuality... and we are steering perilously close to Bill Clinton territory here...

[Solas]

I also don't see how it's funny that people have a different interpretation of a character to you. That's a bit unkind.

Apologies is advance but here comes the inevitable wikipedia quote:

 

 

[Emphasis mine]

 

So, basically looking at the gif. above can you say this is someone who is lacking in sexual attraction to anyone or has a low or absent interest in sex? Because really, really, I can't. 

The Wiki quote doesn't negate anything zam or I/others have said in recent posts about ace people and sexual activity...?

 

You see what you see, and that's fine. What I'm saying is that other people see differently, and that's also fine, and continuing to insist that they must definitely be wrong while your vision of the situation must definitely be right is not something that I understand. Maybe you're really significantly invested in the idea of a sexual!Solas...?

 

Edit: I agree that we should drop this. Sorry everyone.

[Moirin]

In any event I don't understand the need to insist that he cannot possibly be ace...? Other peoples' interpretations of him don't impact on your Lavellan's relationship with him.

 

Well as was stated I believe it's because it's a matter of Solas is or he isn't. There is no room for an in between on that front. People will headcanon what they like, I could headcanon Dorian as being asexual, it doesn't make it true however. No one is to stop me from thinking what i like however.

 

Let's not get out of hand okay. Let's all take the time to remember the Sera thread....

 

Agreed. It's probably a good time to move on from this topic.

[KarateKats]

So.. they kissed therefore he can't possibly be ace? Not all ace people avoid physical intimacy of all kinds, from what I understand.

In any event I don't understand the need to insist that he cannot possibly be ace...? Other peoples' interpretations of him don't impact on your Lavellan's relationship with him.

I think a lot of the dislike for the asexual canon probably stems from how vitriolic some in the ace!Solas crowd are on Tumblr, which is not really fair to all asexuals. Several people in this thread have gotten hate mail or been dogpiled just for mentioning something as benign as his fade tongue. They are... not so nice to people who like to headcanon that Solavellan had a sexual relationship.

 

Nikki has a point though... The Sera thread did just get locked without warning, and this is a conversation that will never have a conclusion so maybe we can all agree to disagree?

[nikki-tikki]

Perhaps it's the butt grab that's funny.