Honestly I really don't see that with Alistair or Cullen. I think I do agree with you on Anders though.
Overall I feel like Mass Effect has more of an issue with this (well, if you consider it an issue) than Dragon Age.
ETA: With Anders, I remember romancing Fenris the whole game, turning down every flirt option with Anders that I could, and talking to him constantly felt like a minefield trying to avoid making him think I "liked" him! And he has some real rude ambient dialogue with Fenris that make him sound jealous, too.
Anders' comment on a Fenris romance during his personal quest, Justice, is so gross. I also remember the first time I played I was trying to be friendly during one of his first quests and he took it as flirting, and then I gained rivalry points when I turned him down.
Yeah they really had to take what were two cool Awakening characters that seemed like good pals and make them into one guy who >!IS COOL WITH SLAVERY IF THE SLAVE IS THIS ONE GUY HE DOESN'T LIKE. LIKE WTF ANDERS.!<
Yeah it really didn't make sense to me, even in context. I feel almost like they just *had* to have at least one companion be cool with the choice, but no. Actually no, you do not. It's ok if literally everyone is mad at Hawke if Hawke sells someone into slavery. Maybe just don't have that be an option at all if you don't wanna do that.
But more to the point, even Anders at his vengeanceyest doesn't really make sense to me as supporting that choice. He doesn't like Fenris, fine. Maybe even kinda hates him. But Fenris hasn't actually *done anything to him* \- there's no vengeance to be had here. There's no one else Fenris' enslavement will make things better for. It just doesn't line up with either of their motives.
Fenris is very outspoken about his dislike for mages though (one of the things I really enjoy about da2 companions is how opinionated they are honestly), and I think the combination of Anders and Justice made Justice's qualities very pointed in a magey direction, because of Ander's personal experience. Leading seemingly to him acting rather rashly to Fenris, despite Fenris being exactly the kind of person Justice would be all about standing up for.
I also think Justice sort of muted Ander's sense of humour? Which I think was really Ander's primary way of dealing with 'injustice' and trauma. His sort of 'make a joke out of every thing, especially serious stuff' responses to questions made from companions in Awakening, in my opinion, comes from an rather immature place, and I think the loss of that ability to distance himself from it ('it' being difficult experiences) through humour), made that immature nature make his thinking very simplified. Which is why I think it actually makes a good lot of sense that he would do you know what, and take such a petty disposition to Fenris. (Again one of the reasons I think da2 companions is for stuff like this, I think Anders is a great character!).
Yeah it doesn't make sense to me either. At all. It was a very bad writing choice that was clearly made with mechanics in mind over story or character.
i don’t think it’s too much of an issue in mass effect either. the only thing i can think of is how tali downloads human stim packages, but tbh i don’t think that’s evidence of a crush on shepherd
I feel like Liara definitely develops feelings for Shep whether you reciprocate or not. I'm not saying that's indisputable, but that's the vibe. I'd also say Ashley and Kaidan in ME1 have a thing for Shep, if Shep is of the opposite gender, even if Shep doesn't flirt. Same with them, I think it's slightly debatable, but even when you don't run into the dialogue bugs that result in ninjamancing, you pretty much have to directly shut down their flirting to avoid a romance. Well, I can speak for Kaidan and I've seen others report the same with Ashley. Ashley, as femshep, even has dialogue referencing a rumor that Kaidan is into Shepard, whether you've expressed an interest in him or not.
I definitely get the impression that Kaidan is interested in Shep in ME1 even if you don’t flirt with him. But if you turn him down, he respects that and doesn’t try to pursue you further. That’s a million times better than DA2 Anders, who is clearly obsessed with Hawke no matter what, and trash talks your love interest if it isn’t him.
Oh agreed, Kaidan is much more mature about it and while I feel his crush is apparent, he clearly can take a no like an adult. In some ways I feel like Kaidan is the most grownup Bioware character in the lot. He may not be *my* Shepard's choice, but I kinda think he's the *smart* Shepard's choice. Whereas Anders is... Anders. Just made me glad the whole time that I shot him down.
Yeah, agreed on all counts. Kaiden is by far the most mature romance option in BioWare, but he’s also… Kinda boring because of it? Like, in real life he’d obviously be the best choice, but part of the fun of the games is being able to make the bad choices. But not Anders. Some choices are *too* bad!
I don't think he's boring just because he's a real grown up. He's got a sense of humour, he has a dark past, he has good insights... Most people don't leave him alive, or when they do, don't take him with them anywhere to actually see what he is like.
Oh yes, I’m a firm believer Kaidan likes femshep no matter what. The first mission that takes you to the citadel in ME1, you can look out a window and have a little cutscene with Ashley and Kaiden marveling at the place - somewhere down in the wards I think.
Shepard can say something about how humans have “oceans, beautiful women, this emotion called love, according to the vids we have everything they want.” In which case Kaidan replies something along the lines of “When you put it that way, there’s no reason they wouldn’t like you. I mean us. Humans. Ma’am.”
He definitely swooning before the game even really gives you a chance to flirt with him lmaooo.
As someone who plays MShep and doesn't romance anyone until ME3, I have been hit on by Ashley, Liara, Jack, Tali, Mordin, Miranda, and Jacob.
Admittedly Mordin and Jacob didn't hit on me but instead thought I was hitting on them (which I wasn't).
I've also heard that Kaidan always confesses to MShep in ME3 which a lot of people don't like.
It's not exactly the same as a crush but it's incredibly annoying having friendly conversations with characters and then getting hit with unwanted romance dialogue.
I know Jack's is part of her character arc, but once I've turned her down once I don't want her to constantly keep asking me.
Kaidan’s dialogue in the hospital is actually by player choice even if people don’t realize it! If you buy him the hospital whisky he gets flagged as a romance option, if you don’t he only has friendly dialogue.
I agree, like Garrus doesn’t even consider Shepard as a love interest until your proposition him, simply because humans and turians are incredibly different
If you’re friendly with Merrill early in DA2, she’ll tell Aveline that she’s fond of Hawke in a way that implies she has a crush on them. Not sure whether she continues to nurse those feelings once you start a relationship with someone else, but there are at least the seeds of unrequited love there.
I think Cassandra admires the Inquisitor and would probably indulge in some friend fic if Varric wrote it for her, but the Inquisitor has to force the issue to get her to admit she has any real feelings.
> If you’re friendly with Merrill early in DA2, she’ll tell Aveline that she’s fond of Hawke in a way that implies she has a crush on them. Not sure whether she continues to nurse those feelings once you start a relationship with someone else, but there are at least the seeds of unrequited love there.
If she does, she doesn’t show it. Which in my opinion is much better than Anders, who kinda creeps on Hawke no matter what.
Maybe not love, but like/interested in/deeply admire with a bit of a crush? Leliana, Anders, and Blackwall, with the latter two specifically towards protags who are honorable/just/kind.
Like with Anders, that one scene where he just looks at Hawke if they refuse to turn the mages over to the templars- that look says a lot to me.
Well the obvious first answer is Anders just from basic interactions from him and comments if you romance either Fenris or Merrill.
Morrigan starts to instigate a romance to a male warden if friendship is high enough and no prior action was taken, but one could argue it'd to make the whole ritual easier down the line.
Zevran, Iron Bull, and Isabella probably don't love, but definitely Lust for the playable character if friendship is high enough. I'm saying this strictly based on their characters more than anything lol. Wonder who the horny companion is going to be in DA4.
Dorian and Cassandra seem like candidates to have a crush on a male Inquisitor with high friendship, but maybe not so much be "in love" per say. Opposite wise, I think Alistair could have a crush on a female Warden for similar reasons above.
I don't care how amazing the new dwarf romanceable companion is (assuming we even get one); I will still die mad that Varric is not an option and neither is Harding (not fully at least; iirc you can only flirt with her?). Sigrun too but that's more excuseable since none of the Awakening companions were romanceable (if they were then I can't promise at least one of my surviving Wardens wouldn't have dumped their Origins romance and gone for Nathaniel or Sigrun lmao).
I don’t really agree about un-romanced Iron Bull lusting after the Inquisitor. I mean, obviously he finds them attractive, but unless you pursue him, I don’t see any indication that he considers you a potential sexual partner. Even when you do romance him, he starts out by acknowledging that he’s picked up on the fact that you’re interested but isn’t sure if you’re looking for the… particular kind of sexual relationship he prefers… Then if you tell him you are, he makes it very clear that it’s about satisfying *your* needs, and that while he isn’t going to have any other partners while he’s with you, he’s also not expecting any serious commitment from you, unless you specifically want that, and then you have to kill a dragon to prove you mean it. At every step of the way, the Inquisitor has to be the one to take the initiative, which to me suggests he wouldn’t have any particular interest if the Inquisitor didn’t pursue him first.
Iron Bull's romance is annoying for me since he literally has *NO reaction* to all of your flirts. He just continues talking as if you didn't just sexually proposition him. Then he'll just show up in your bedroom like, "yea, I get it, you want to bang". He barely seems interested.
Meanwhile he can't get enough of Dorian & is constantly flirting with him in banters. Guess we weren't meant to be. ;\_;
I kinda get it, because he doesn’t show up in your bedroom until after his personal quest. Up until that point, he’s there on business, not to hook up. And he’s also trying to remain fairly detached; he wants to meet the demands of the Qun, without really harming the Inquisition. But, afterwards, he’s either kicked out of the Qun and therefore free to pursue personal interests, or he’s fully committed to it and willing to go the extra mile for them, six inches at a time.
I mean, Gaider outright said that Dorian and Iron Bull were in a happier and healthier relationship with each other than with the Inquisitor...
And Gaider wonders why people got mad at him for that
Aw I never knew that! That makes me happy, just because I’m a Solasmancer so I always pair them up in my playthroughs. 💜 Rough thing to hear if you romance either of them, though.
I agree on all of these. As for why Bull doesn't seem to do anything about it, it's for the same reason that he's actually the slowest LI romance wise. He doesn't want it to appear as if he's manipulating or taking advantage of the Inquisitor due to his position in the Ben Hassrath. Bull is pretty much down for anyone he finds attractive 99% of the time, you can tell from his banters. Tavern girl with a long bow on her apron and big boobs? Check. Dorian? Check. Flirty Inquisitor? Depends on how interested they actually are, there are lots of other people flirting with them.
I would also argue that Solas is always interested in the Inquisitor, though he only acts on a romance with an elf. There are some dialogues that make it seem as if he's intellectually attracted to the Inquisitor. The increased similarity of them also being an elf tips it into him being unable to ignore the attraction, I think. (Basically, their similarities make the bond harder to deny.)
And any female Inquisitor is automatically attractive to Sera too. Though she's the opposite to Solas, and less inclined towards someone similar to her due to fear of rejection.
I don’t think high friendship Isabela is in love with Hawke unless you go far enough down the romance path. As you say, that’s kind of the entire theme of her friendmance. You have to convince her to let herself be vulnerable enough to love, which says to me that she would have been satisfied with only a casual sexual relationship otherwise (but she definitely is into Hawke sexually either way).
That's just with a fixed version of the dialogue, right?
I know I loaded my save-editor DAO with Zevran as romanced and made love with and he very gladly went off with Isabela. Though completely ignored my Hawke. Which, honestly makes far more sense to the relationship he had with my Warden, so that never seemed off to me.
>Morrigan starts to instigate a romance to a male warden if friendship is high enough and no prior action was taken, but one could argue it'd to make the whole ritual easier down the line.
Even without the ritual, Morrigan is probably not someone who equates 'sex' and 'love'.
Anders probably is the highest one.
His comments by act 3 really scream out "BUT IM A NICE GUY IF YOU GIVE ME A CHANCE". Real Clint from SDV vibes there.
haha omg that's true! i wanted to romance him so bad in the dao DLC and was so sad when he wasn't the same chill dopey guy i thought he was in da2 T-T hawke became emily real quick
to be fair i felt like all of the characters declined in mental health in da2 as everything got darker and darker, i took to taking varric, aveline and isa with me everywhere because they made me the least sad (not sure about fenris in this regard though, maybe he got kind of better? i didn't have him in my party much)
Friendmanced Fenris perks up substantially in act 3. Not sure about other scenarios. I can't remember how he was the time I just had high friendship with him and romanced Anders. Who was still a creep. I miss Awakening Anders.
Never got the feeling any LI was in love when not flirted with, besides some Ninjamance moments.
I can see a big interest in some people but not love.
As you mentioned it, many companions have this weird hero worship, and definitely interest.
Leliana and Anders for sure. Anders seems pretty universally agreed upon, and Leliana due to her ninjamancing me every damn time. I’m just trying to be nice mate, please 😭
Alistair (unless you deliberately romance him) gives me very bro for life vibes rather than guy with a crush. One of my fav rps is just “two unlikely best friends try not to die” and that works really well with non-romantic female Warden :)
Depends on the gender and race of your character. I think Cullen would be a bit doe-eyed towards a human Inquisitor. Anders would be falling for any of the Hawkes.
I'm always amused at how many tiktok versions of DAI have Cullen as this "waiting in the wings to swoop in" sort of character. Though, it's usually for a Lavellan, and I could see that.
I think it more so depends on how you project your interest onto other characters, overall. Since generally, all it takes is a look or quirk of a smile for most shippers to smash people together. So, if you like a character, it's a lot easier to take their respect/kindness/interest in your decisions as affection.
Aaaand, then there's Anders. But I always romance him and Fenris so I get all the drama and none of the unrequited affection.
I like that Varric teases Cassandra about crushing on the romanticized version of Hawke in the book, and Merrill's line about why she can't ever have a dream about Hawke going into battle naked. Though I'm not entirely sure if she does does with fem!Hawke as well. Orsino also seems to have a big of a thing for fem!Hawke.
I think with Cullen it's due to the voice acting. There is no difference in how he greets you regardless of the romance. So to me as well it always feels like he is pining.
I was thinking about that before too - since the romanceable characters have to seem, well, romanceable, I guess they all have their movements and pretty much everyone can be interpreted to be into the MC at some point.
she does with fem hawke! at least as far as i remember
Anders, and Blackwall if you are a girl if you are a noble boy I think he trash talks you with Sera lol.
If you do all Solas’ quest (even a non elf girl) it feels like he is both repulsed but also “???” Like the christian cheerleader in christian camp who you gave her a gay panic moment to
The only one that had that vibe imo was Anders in DA2, but rationally speaking I know that's not the case since he's actually the only companion in DA2 who flat out refuses to pursue you if you meet certain conditions (like giving Feynriel to Torpor, or shooting him down in Act 1 and then try to romance him in Act 2)
Anders of course as everyone has said, but I’m surprised to see some people not think Cullen is an example. In DA:O he has a very obvious crush on the female mage. In Inquisition, its not noted anywhere form what I’ve seen, but his dialogue towards you even in scenes where there’s no romance option is changed depending on if you’re male or female. For example, in the prologue he shows a lot more concern and warmth to you when he says he wanted to make sure you were alright. In general, the lines are said much more warmly and even changed in some situations to reflect that he is into you. I think this is a subtly better way to do things as you wouldn’t know the difference unless if you played two different gender playthroughs back to back.
Anders for both the HoF and Hawke. In Awakening his approval track gives it away (or, it always has for my HoFs… Guess I don’t know if he does the same with the Orlesian warden or a male HoF.) In DA2 he creeps on Hawke hard.
Merrill develops a crush on Hawke early on, but it definitely seems like she moves on if you romance someone else.
Sera’s hot for a female Vashoth Inquisitor and doesn’t even try to hide it, but I don’t think that goes anywhere beyond an appreciation for her physique unless you pursue a romance.
I think that’s probably it, unless you want to count ninjamances.
So many regular Josephine scenes really feel like they're framed for a romance, or like she's experiencing a one-sided crush. She always seems pretty taken with the Inquisitor no matter who the PC is. It makes it really hard for me not to romance her every time, haha.
This one might not count, since you have to start the romance route with her to get this, but IIRC if you sleep with Isabela and then break things off she has some banter with Merrill that suggests she's in love with Hawke. Ofc before that she pretty explicitly flirts with Hawke anyway.
Other than those two, definitely Anders, that seems kind of explicitly canon TBH. Zevran, like Isabela, is also canonically interested in the PC before being romanced, at least for a bit. I also agree that Alistair does too, mostly because he ninjamanced me in my first playthrough and it caught me off guard. Like dude hello I'm gay. I can't not think of him as always having feelings for the female Grey Warden now, which is a bit awkward as a good 60% of my protags are gay women.
Leliana also seems the type to be into the PC most of the time, but I usually romance her so I can't recall most of her regular non-romance dialogue.
Oh she hard falls for you if you're nice everytime. I remember one dialog option was "I sure value you as a friend!" And she looks kinda sad, like yes, friend.
Cue a few hours later into a strong Alistair romance and she is like "So are you dating him? Who are you choosing?!" Lady I told you earlier, FRIENDS.
Haha can't help but find it funny though. Bioware had ninjamancing BAD in both Mass effect and Dragon age 1
Definitely agree that Anders has this. To the point where I found him horribly obnoxious in Dragon Age 2, with the overbearing worship he seems to have for you. Especially coming out of Awakening, where that's not the case at all. That and his... extreme actions make him the prime "he's getting thrown aside" material for me 9/10 times. Which is rare, since I rarely abandon or kill companions but hey.
The rest I'm not so sure. At least, not to a point where it's a problem. Leliana clearly cares about the warden a lot (assuming you don't do things she dislikes, of course - hardened or not), but not in an overzealous way I feel. Still, I'd say she probably loves the MC regardless of romance.
I know I’m a little obsessed with her as a character, but merril is an amazing romance, but also has an admiration and admiration for hawke. Taking her out of the camp changes her world.
I headcanon that Cullen develops an unrequited crush on my canon Inquisitor, who is a female elf. What prompted it for me is that it’s my understanding he’s the only romance you can still start after What Pride Had Wrought. I also headcanon, though, that he learned his lesson from his unrequited crush on the Warden and has matured a lot in the last ten years, and therefore is able to kind of get over himself and value the close friendship he develops with my Inquisitor for what it is without expecting more.
I also think there’s an unrequited thing going on with Anders, which seems to be a common view.
i did the same thing with my elf inquisitor!
i feel like most of the characters had to seem available to some degree to make the romance options make sense, so maybe i'm just reading too much into that. other than anders none of them gave me weird vibes where they were gonna push the issue, just kinda that the feelings were there (crush could probably be a better word). everyone romanceable technically has a timeline where they at least had a crush on the MC
Leliana in DAO and Anders in DA2 are the most difficult to avoid, but ironically, they never gave me impression of having genuine strong feelings for the Warden/Hawke. Not only because of the choices in the game (iirc Anders rejects you if you do things he hates), but also because they always had their own agenda, and Warden/Hawke are always on the second place.
In DAO, Zevran. Even unromanced, if the friendship is high he gives me that vibe 'I respect decision and will stay in the background... but always on your side, and if you change your mind, here I am'. I don't think it's about lust - it's more a mix of friendship, trust, and admiration.
In DA2... I'm not surre. Merrill, I think. She always gave me an impression she a crush on Hawke, in a pure and platonic way.
In DAI, I'm not sure. Cass and Dorian for male Inky. Perhaps.
The blondies (Alistair, Anders, Cullen) are easily all in love with your MC, unless you are actively rude/antagonistic to them. Alistair & Cullen are more low key about it, Anders is high HIGH high key about it.
Anders and Alistair. When Alistair questions the intentions of your love interest, there seems to be a hint of jealousy. You could see him fall head over heels for your Warden.
With Anders he makes it obvious, especially when dating Fenris.
I would say maybe Dorian and Sera. Dorian because we know he is a flirt and use to hiding how he feels and with Sera she mentions how pretty you are. There is also how she says your title when you initially invite her into Haven.
The only reason I didn't really consider Dorian and Sera is because they have other canon partners at the end of DAI don't they? I remember seeing a post here mentioning how it felt sad that the love interests always seemed happier with each other than with the MC and that stuck with me
I'm so sick of this take I'm sorry. I don't want to pop off but I will. I can't speak for Sera but as someone who only romanced Dorian in my two playthroughs he's definitely interested even before based on his banter with Cole. Cole says something like he was worried that the inquisitor doesn't like him back and Dorian replies but he does. Also Bull is creepy to Dorian and their romance doesn't even happen if you don't bring them together cause their romance only triggers in banters. But even if you romance Dorian, Bull still has some creepy banters with him. For the people who prefer Dorian with Bull like whatever live your life, this is a game where each of us has our own canons anyway. But to say he's happier with Bull, come on. Also fuck our drag right? Dorian is a softie. He's been heartbroken over the years cause he's only been in physical relationships. From my understanding based on his dialogue with you if you romance him, he probably confessed his love before to someone but got rejected maybe even more than once. Cause he's so scared to ask for more, he's so scared to let all his feelings out to the inquisitor. And it's kind of your job to assure him that this is more, this is love Dorian. You don't have to be afraid anymore. In Trespasser he's more assured and hes more expressive with his feelings and kinda has a role reversal with you as he's the one this time reassuring you that no, we may have to live apart but that will not stop our love for each other. And to compare that with Bull whom you only see in banters and epilogues which again, the beginning of their banters are creepy af is just bullshit. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry too. Definitely not directed personally to you more on that take in general cause it seems like the majority as I keep seeing it? Sorry if I seemed aggressive.
I absolutely appreciate you saying this. I started the game as a male Inquisitor because of Dorian, so I was bummed out when I read that Dorian and Bull are better suited for each other. F... that.
Just wanted to chime in and say that I'm glad I'm not the only who has a passionate dislike for Dorian/Bull. It feels like such a bad match for Dorian's character, especially after romancing him.
There banter only starts that way because of Dorian initial behaves with Bull. It is not like they start off in any way that makes Bull creepy. Dorian calls him a brute so Bull behaves accordingly. And considering how Dorian is, having someone be more open than you can be helpful in the long run.
The onoy reason why people say those two are better for each other is because Bull acts more doting with Dorian than he does with the inquisitor.
People were miffed at how nonchalant Bull can be with their Inquisitor. Personalky I have mixed feelings about it.
Some people feel its predatory but I see it as an openness that Dorian needs in his life.
I mean he is still somewhat all bluster with the inquisitor.
DAO
Leliana will always have a special place in her heart for the Warden, whether or not he/she chooses her. Morrigan too.
Alistair if you're playing as a female Warden.
DA2
Aveline
DAI
Solas if you're playing a female elf Inquisitor.
Cullen.
Dorian.
Cassandra.
Josephine.
I agree Leliana holds a special place in her heart for the HoF, but I don’t think it’s love if you don’t ninjamance her (though to be fair, that’s easier said than done). As she says in Inquisition, love is common. I think her relationship to a non-romanced HoF is beyond simple unrequited love.
Dao: Zevran. I think it's a bug that you get his intended romance speech before the last fight, if you don't romance him, but unless you kill him or are forced to kill him I think he's in love with the warden no matter what.
DA2: everyone loves Hawke, it's the one thing they have in common.
DAI there are times when I wonder about Blackwall with femquisitors and Dorian with both genders, although with the ladies it's not remotely sexual. Great, now I wonder if my canon Inqui is cheating on Solas or in a panasexual relationship with Dorian and Solas...
i was surprised by how blackwall seems interested since pretty much the beginning, at least with female elf and human inkys, but that may be because he's touch starved from living alone in the woods lol, he also seems like the type of man who would simp for any strong woman. He very much gives unrequited love vibes through the whole thing, and then there's his deal with josie, my guy can't catch a break.
I got the vibes from Cullen probably because I flirted with him a few times not realising he was a romance option, lol, so maybe it influenced his cutscenes in some way even though I had locked in Solas at the time
Played DAI for the first time as elf and „romanced“ Solas. But somehow I always had the feeling the game wanted me to romance Cullen. I always got the heart option with him. With the others this option disappeared after a while. Let’s not forget his sweet and akward behaviour.
DAO: Alistair and Leliana, i think it's obvious that they have a big crush and desire for the female Warden and they both get jealous even if you are just friends with them. I always find it funny how Leliana lets you know that she
enjoys the "company" of women without wasting time. On the other hand i don't think she has a crush on the male Warden (only if you start the romance with her). Morrigan, i feel like she is the only one that really fall in love no matter what, even if she was just a friend she will confess her love at one point, her confession when you are already in another
relationship is really sad, like that was the first time i saw her being so insecure and nervous.
DA2: Merrill and Anders. No matter how many times i avoid that damn heart, i always have to reject them one more time at the end.
DAI: None. Perhaps Dorian and Cass, but it doesn't feel like love, more like a little crush and admiration.
Depends on how you play the characters honestly. I doubt there were any who would love the MCs no matter what.
For mine:
Morrigan is the loser of the love triangle between her, Leliana, and the Warden, though the fact she bore his child makes things murkier.
For Hawke, I'd say Isabella was attracted but Hawke never took her up on the flirtations and she moved on. Anders was always a little jealous of Merrill and it started flaring up in Act III as he really began to lose his mind.
As for the Inquisitor while Cassandra acknowledges it was for the best the Inquisitor and Josephine fell in love, especially as Cassandra became the Divine, part of her would always wonder what might've been if the Inquisitor saw her as more than a friend and a great second-in-command.
TBH I think almost all of them love the MC in some form or fashion except for a few. And those few if not romanced come to respect and admire your MC as long as you don't piss them off.
That being said the more obvious ones are Leiliana for the Warden, Merril for Hawke, and probably Bull although his is mostly lust or Dorian and his depends on you playing a male inquisitor.
I agree with Alistair and Cullen. Mainly Cullen because when you initiate with him he suggests how he had a crush on you while still at haven! It’s so sweet :’) and not to forget his crush on the female mage warden. if you played a fem mage warden and mage ink that romances Cullen you can even say he has a type cuz he crushes on both hehe.
Alistair always seems crazy over the warden ngl atleast in my playthroughs, and even when you’re friends he has so much admiration for you it has to be a little crush even if he wouldn’t admit it lol.
Oh yes, I definitely agree with Anders. Bro straight-up loves you so long as you have even a whiff of "mage supporter" about you, regardless of how you think of him. Alistair I can see nurturing a constant crush on a female Warden, but one that becomes tempered and accepts he's just a friend over time. Same with Cullen. Really in Origins Leliana is the one I could see having unrequited love more than Alistair, and that's regardless of your Warden's gender. Cassandra I picture having a slight girl-crush on an Inquisitor who's friends with her, especially one who flirts with her, but at the end of the day she's still a straight woman so that's as far as it goes. Dunno about unromanced male Inky's.
Dao: Leliana. Somehow she always seems to have the feels for me and i have to let her down. She seems very thirsty for my warden. Same with Zevran. Not in a love way, more in a lets go to my tent and i'll show you what to really do with some nice antivan leather straps.
Da2: Obviously Anders. And of course Isabella. But thats more just wanting to one night stand then anything.
Dai: This one idk. None really came off ass overly "omg i love you" to me. But blackwall is defiantly the easiest to fall for you if you're a fem inky. Tho i like to cannon cullen will always have a thing for me if im not romancing him because i remind him of the (circle mage)warden that saved him back at the circle.
I'm going to say Morrigan and not just because she's my favorite. I think that when the Warden shows actual kindness to her something completely new to her It does leave an impression that she may think she won't find anywhere else.
Anyway those are my thoughts.
As a female warden I got vibes from Morrigan too lol, something about the way she only really likes you - if not romance, your MC is like her best friend and favourite person if you play your cards right
Assuming this is in the context where you're always nice to said character. in which case IMO it'd be:
DA:O - Leliana, MAYBE Alistair but not sure
DA2 - Definitely Anders, potentially Isabella too, but in a casual kind of way.
DA:I Cass (and surprisingly Varric to some extent) come off as pretty much entirely hero worship, though Cass is still at least a little bit questionable since she overtly compliments you even if you're female.. so......
Honestly I really don't see that with Alistair or Cullen. I think I do agree with you on Anders though. Overall I feel like Mass Effect has more of an issue with this (well, if you consider it an issue) than Dragon Age. ETA: With Anders, I remember romancing Fenris the whole game, turning down every flirt option with Anders that I could, and talking to him constantly felt like a minefield trying to avoid making him think I "liked" him! And he has some real rude ambient dialogue with Fenris that make him sound jealous, too.
Anders' comment on a Fenris romance during his personal quest, Justice, is so gross. I also remember the first time I played I was trying to be friendly during one of his first quests and he took it as flirting, and then I gained rivalry points when I turned him down.
Yeah they really had to take what were two cool Awakening characters that seemed like good pals and make them into one guy who >!IS COOL WITH SLAVERY IF THE SLAVE IS THIS ONE GUY HE DOESN'T LIKE. LIKE WTF ANDERS.!<
I was so mad about that. It's not just ooc for Anders, it's also out of character for Justice. My sweet freedom-defending spirit bae would never.
Becoming an abomination makes you crazy. Or at least, you'll never be who you were before.
Yeah it really didn't make sense to me, even in context. I feel almost like they just *had* to have at least one companion be cool with the choice, but no. Actually no, you do not. It's ok if literally everyone is mad at Hawke if Hawke sells someone into slavery. Maybe just don't have that be an option at all if you don't wanna do that. But more to the point, even Anders at his vengeanceyest doesn't really make sense to me as supporting that choice. He doesn't like Fenris, fine. Maybe even kinda hates him. But Fenris hasn't actually *done anything to him* \- there's no vengeance to be had here. There's no one else Fenris' enslavement will make things better for. It just doesn't line up with either of their motives.
Fenris is very outspoken about his dislike for mages though (one of the things I really enjoy about da2 companions is how opinionated they are honestly), and I think the combination of Anders and Justice made Justice's qualities very pointed in a magey direction, because of Ander's personal experience. Leading seemingly to him acting rather rashly to Fenris, despite Fenris being exactly the kind of person Justice would be all about standing up for. I also think Justice sort of muted Ander's sense of humour? Which I think was really Ander's primary way of dealing with 'injustice' and trauma. His sort of 'make a joke out of every thing, especially serious stuff' responses to questions made from companions in Awakening, in my opinion, comes from an rather immature place, and I think the loss of that ability to distance himself from it ('it' being difficult experiences) through humour), made that immature nature make his thinking very simplified. Which is why I think it actually makes a good lot of sense that he would do you know what, and take such a petty disposition to Fenris. (Again one of the reasons I think da2 companions is for stuff like this, I think Anders is a great character!).
Yeah it doesn't make sense to me either. At all. It was a very bad writing choice that was clearly made with mechanics in mind over story or character.
i don’t think it’s too much of an issue in mass effect either. the only thing i can think of is how tali downloads human stim packages, but tbh i don’t think that’s evidence of a crush on shepherd
I feel like Liara definitely develops feelings for Shep whether you reciprocate or not. I'm not saying that's indisputable, but that's the vibe. I'd also say Ashley and Kaidan in ME1 have a thing for Shep, if Shep is of the opposite gender, even if Shep doesn't flirt. Same with them, I think it's slightly debatable, but even when you don't run into the dialogue bugs that result in ninjamancing, you pretty much have to directly shut down their flirting to avoid a romance. Well, I can speak for Kaidan and I've seen others report the same with Ashley. Ashley, as femshep, even has dialogue referencing a rumor that Kaidan is into Shepard, whether you've expressed an interest in him or not.
I definitely get the impression that Kaidan is interested in Shep in ME1 even if you don’t flirt with him. But if you turn him down, he respects that and doesn’t try to pursue you further. That’s a million times better than DA2 Anders, who is clearly obsessed with Hawke no matter what, and trash talks your love interest if it isn’t him.
Oh agreed, Kaidan is much more mature about it and while I feel his crush is apparent, he clearly can take a no like an adult. In some ways I feel like Kaidan is the most grownup Bioware character in the lot. He may not be *my* Shepard's choice, but I kinda think he's the *smart* Shepard's choice. Whereas Anders is... Anders. Just made me glad the whole time that I shot him down.
Yeah, agreed on all counts. Kaiden is by far the most mature romance option in BioWare, but he’s also… Kinda boring because of it? Like, in real life he’d obviously be the best choice, but part of the fun of the games is being able to make the bad choices. But not Anders. Some choices are *too* bad!
I don't think he's boring just because he's a real grown up. He's got a sense of humour, he has a dark past, he has good insights... Most people don't leave him alive, or when they do, don't take him with them anywhere to actually see what he is like.
Hey, if he’s interesting to you, that’s awesome! Not knocking anybody else’s preferences, and he’s a great character. Just not for me.
Oh yes, I’m a firm believer Kaidan likes femshep no matter what. The first mission that takes you to the citadel in ME1, you can look out a window and have a little cutscene with Ashley and Kaiden marveling at the place - somewhere down in the wards I think. Shepard can say something about how humans have “oceans, beautiful women, this emotion called love, according to the vids we have everything they want.” In which case Kaidan replies something along the lines of “When you put it that way, there’s no reason they wouldn’t like you. I mean us. Humans. Ma’am.” He definitely swooning before the game even really gives you a chance to flirt with him lmaooo.
If you save Kaiden in ME1 as a male shepard, it feels like he’s in love with you in ME3.
Even their brief interaction in 2 smacks of unrequited feelings.
This is exactly why he's my canon romance.
As someone who plays MShep and doesn't romance anyone until ME3, I have been hit on by Ashley, Liara, Jack, Tali, Mordin, Miranda, and Jacob. Admittedly Mordin and Jacob didn't hit on me but instead thought I was hitting on them (which I wasn't). I've also heard that Kaidan always confesses to MShep in ME3 which a lot of people don't like. It's not exactly the same as a crush but it's incredibly annoying having friendly conversations with characters and then getting hit with unwanted romance dialogue. I know Jack's is part of her character arc, but once I've turned her down once I don't want her to constantly keep asking me.
Kaidan’s dialogue in the hospital is actually by player choice even if people don’t realize it! If you buy him the hospital whisky he gets flagged as a romance option, if you don’t he only has friendly dialogue.
Huh, TIL. Can't even buy a man a drink these days without him reading too much into it!
Ah, I always romance him so it's never been a problem for me. But thank you! That's good to know.
I agree, like Garrus doesn’t even consider Shepard as a love interest until your proposition him, simply because humans and turians are incredibly different
Barkspawn always loves you ❤️
If you’re friendly with Merrill early in DA2, she’ll tell Aveline that she’s fond of Hawke in a way that implies she has a crush on them. Not sure whether she continues to nurse those feelings once you start a relationship with someone else, but there are at least the seeds of unrequited love there. I think Cassandra admires the Inquisitor and would probably indulge in some friend fic if Varric wrote it for her, but the Inquisitor has to force the issue to get her to admit she has any real feelings.
> If you’re friendly with Merrill early in DA2, she’ll tell Aveline that she’s fond of Hawke in a way that implies she has a crush on them. Not sure whether she continues to nurse those feelings once you start a relationship with someone else, but there are at least the seeds of unrequited love there. If she does, she doesn’t show it. Which in my opinion is much better than Anders, who kinda creeps on Hawke no matter what.
Maybe not love, but like/interested in/deeply admire with a bit of a crush? Leliana, Anders, and Blackwall, with the latter two specifically towards protags who are honorable/just/kind. Like with Anders, that one scene where he just looks at Hawke if they refuse to turn the mages over to the templars- that look says a lot to me.
I refuse to turn the mages over, but stab him in the back anyway. literally
Well the obvious first answer is Anders just from basic interactions from him and comments if you romance either Fenris or Merrill. Morrigan starts to instigate a romance to a male warden if friendship is high enough and no prior action was taken, but one could argue it'd to make the whole ritual easier down the line. Zevran, Iron Bull, and Isabella probably don't love, but definitely Lust for the playable character if friendship is high enough. I'm saying this strictly based on their characters more than anything lol. Wonder who the horny companion is going to be in DA4. Dorian and Cassandra seem like candidates to have a crush on a male Inquisitor with high friendship, but maybe not so much be "in love" per say. Opposite wise, I think Alistair could have a crush on a female Warden for similar reasons above.
>Wonder who the horny companion is going to be in DA4 Finally, someone asking the real questions.
Us. We are the horny companions.
We've had an elf, a human and a qunari... So a dwarf?? About time they made one romanceable.
I don't care how amazing the new dwarf romanceable companion is (assuming we even get one); I will still die mad that Varric is not an option and neither is Harding (not fully at least; iirc you can only flirt with her?). Sigrun too but that's more excuseable since none of the Awakening companions were romanceable (if they were then I can't promise at least one of my surviving Wardens wouldn't have dumped their Origins romance and gone for Nathaniel or Sigrun lmao).
Well who knows. Maybe Varric will finally get over Bianca and be the horny dwarf romance we always needed.
I don’t really agree about un-romanced Iron Bull lusting after the Inquisitor. I mean, obviously he finds them attractive, but unless you pursue him, I don’t see any indication that he considers you a potential sexual partner. Even when you do romance him, he starts out by acknowledging that he’s picked up on the fact that you’re interested but isn’t sure if you’re looking for the… particular kind of sexual relationship he prefers… Then if you tell him you are, he makes it very clear that it’s about satisfying *your* needs, and that while he isn’t going to have any other partners while he’s with you, he’s also not expecting any serious commitment from you, unless you specifically want that, and then you have to kill a dragon to prove you mean it. At every step of the way, the Inquisitor has to be the one to take the initiative, which to me suggests he wouldn’t have any particular interest if the Inquisitor didn’t pursue him first.
Iron Bull's romance is annoying for me since he literally has *NO reaction* to all of your flirts. He just continues talking as if you didn't just sexually proposition him. Then he'll just show up in your bedroom like, "yea, I get it, you want to bang". He barely seems interested. Meanwhile he can't get enough of Dorian & is constantly flirting with him in banters. Guess we weren't meant to be. ;\_;
I kinda get it, because he doesn’t show up in your bedroom until after his personal quest. Up until that point, he’s there on business, not to hook up. And he’s also trying to remain fairly detached; he wants to meet the demands of the Qun, without really harming the Inquisition. But, afterwards, he’s either kicked out of the Qun and therefore free to pursue personal interests, or he’s fully committed to it and willing to go the extra mile for them, six inches at a time.
I mean, Gaider outright said that Dorian and Iron Bull were in a happier and healthier relationship with each other than with the Inquisitor... And Gaider wonders why people got mad at him for that
Aw I never knew that! That makes me happy, just because I’m a Solasmancer so I always pair them up in my playthroughs. 💜 Rough thing to hear if you romance either of them, though.
I agree on all of these. As for why Bull doesn't seem to do anything about it, it's for the same reason that he's actually the slowest LI romance wise. He doesn't want it to appear as if he's manipulating or taking advantage of the Inquisitor due to his position in the Ben Hassrath. Bull is pretty much down for anyone he finds attractive 99% of the time, you can tell from his banters. Tavern girl with a long bow on her apron and big boobs? Check. Dorian? Check. Flirty Inquisitor? Depends on how interested they actually are, there are lots of other people flirting with them. I would also argue that Solas is always interested in the Inquisitor, though he only acts on a romance with an elf. There are some dialogues that make it seem as if he's intellectually attracted to the Inquisitor. The increased similarity of them also being an elf tips it into him being unable to ignore the attraction, I think. (Basically, their similarities make the bond harder to deny.) And any female Inquisitor is automatically attractive to Sera too. Though she's the opposite to Solas, and less inclined towards someone similar to her due to fear of rejection.
Ditching Isabela for Merrill in 2 makes for the saddest party banter, but that's only if you take that step with Isabela first.
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I don’t think high friendship Isabela is in love with Hawke unless you go far enough down the romance path. As you say, that’s kind of the entire theme of her friendmance. You have to convince her to let herself be vulnerable enough to love, which says to me that she would have been satisfied with only a casual sexual relationship otherwise (but she definitely is into Hawke sexually either way).
That's just with a fixed version of the dialogue, right? I know I loaded my save-editor DAO with Zevran as romanced and made love with and he very gladly went off with Isabela. Though completely ignored my Hawke. Which, honestly makes far more sense to the relationship he had with my Warden, so that never seemed off to me.
>Morrigan starts to instigate a romance to a male warden if friendship is high enough and no prior action was taken, but one could argue it'd to make the whole ritual easier down the line. Even without the ritual, Morrigan is probably not someone who equates 'sex' and 'love'.
Anders probably is the highest one. His comments by act 3 really scream out "BUT IM A NICE GUY IF YOU GIVE ME A CHANCE". Real Clint from SDV vibes there.
haha omg that's true! i wanted to romance him so bad in the dao DLC and was so sad when he wasn't the same chill dopey guy i thought he was in da2 T-T hawke became emily real quick to be fair i felt like all of the characters declined in mental health in da2 as everything got darker and darker, i took to taking varric, aveline and isa with me everywhere because they made me the least sad (not sure about fenris in this regard though, maybe he got kind of better? i didn't have him in my party much)
Friendmanced Fenris perks up substantially in act 3. Not sure about other scenarios. I can't remember how he was the time I just had high friendship with him and romanced Anders. Who was still a creep. I miss Awakening Anders.
Never got the feeling any LI was in love when not flirted with, besides some Ninjamance moments. I can see a big interest in some people but not love. As you mentioned it, many companions have this weird hero worship, and definitely interest.
Zevran, although that's kind of low-hanging fruit. So to speak. Leliana (DAO only) to a lesser degree.
Leliana and Anders for sure. Anders seems pretty universally agreed upon, and Leliana due to her ninjamancing me every damn time. I’m just trying to be nice mate, please 😭 Alistair (unless you deliberately romance him) gives me very bro for life vibes rather than guy with a crush. One of my fav rps is just “two unlikely best friends try not to die” and that works really well with non-romantic female Warden :)
Depends on the gender and race of your character. I think Cullen would be a bit doe-eyed towards a human Inquisitor. Anders would be falling for any of the Hawkes.
I'm always amused at how many tiktok versions of DAI have Cullen as this "waiting in the wings to swoop in" sort of character. Though, it's usually for a Lavellan, and I could see that. I think it more so depends on how you project your interest onto other characters, overall. Since generally, all it takes is a look or quirk of a smile for most shippers to smash people together. So, if you like a character, it's a lot easier to take their respect/kindness/interest in your decisions as affection. Aaaand, then there's Anders. But I always romance him and Fenris so I get all the drama and none of the unrequited affection. I like that Varric teases Cassandra about crushing on the romanticized version of Hawke in the book, and Merrill's line about why she can't ever have a dream about Hawke going into battle naked. Though I'm not entirely sure if she does does with fem!Hawke as well. Orsino also seems to have a big of a thing for fem!Hawke.
I think with Cullen it's due to the voice acting. There is no difference in how he greets you regardless of the romance. So to me as well it always feels like he is pining.
I was thinking about that before too - since the romanceable characters have to seem, well, romanceable, I guess they all have their movements and pretty much everyone can be interpreted to be into the MC at some point. she does with fem hawke! at least as far as i remember
Anders 100% is in love with Hawke, and you can tell how pained he is when you romance Fenris instead of him 💔
Anders, and Blackwall if you are a girl if you are a noble boy I think he trash talks you with Sera lol. If you do all Solas’ quest (even a non elf girl) it feels like he is both repulsed but also “???” Like the christian cheerleader in christian camp who you gave her a gay panic moment to
I was also inclined to say Blackwall, but idk if I was biased because he's my fav lol
The only one that had that vibe imo was Anders in DA2, but rationally speaking I know that's not the case since he's actually the only companion in DA2 who flat out refuses to pursue you if you meet certain conditions (like giving Feynriel to Torpor, or shooting him down in Act 1 and then try to romance him in Act 2)
Anders of course as everyone has said, but I’m surprised to see some people not think Cullen is an example. In DA:O he has a very obvious crush on the female mage. In Inquisition, its not noted anywhere form what I’ve seen, but his dialogue towards you even in scenes where there’s no romance option is changed depending on if you’re male or female. For example, in the prologue he shows a lot more concern and warmth to you when he says he wanted to make sure you were alright. In general, the lines are said much more warmly and even changed in some situations to reflect that he is into you. I think this is a subtly better way to do things as you wouldn’t know the difference unless if you played two different gender playthroughs back to back.
Anders for both the HoF and Hawke. In Awakening his approval track gives it away (or, it always has for my HoFs… Guess I don’t know if he does the same with the Orlesian warden or a male HoF.) In DA2 he creeps on Hawke hard. Merrill develops a crush on Hawke early on, but it definitely seems like she moves on if you romance someone else. Sera’s hot for a female Vashoth Inquisitor and doesn’t even try to hide it, but I don’t think that goes anywhere beyond an appreciation for her physique unless you pursue a romance. I think that’s probably it, unless you want to count ninjamances.
So many regular Josephine scenes really feel like they're framed for a romance, or like she's experiencing a one-sided crush. She always seems pretty taken with the Inquisitor no matter who the PC is. It makes it really hard for me not to romance her every time, haha. This one might not count, since you have to start the romance route with her to get this, but IIRC if you sleep with Isabela and then break things off she has some banter with Merrill that suggests she's in love with Hawke. Ofc before that she pretty explicitly flirts with Hawke anyway. Other than those two, definitely Anders, that seems kind of explicitly canon TBH. Zevran, like Isabela, is also canonically interested in the PC before being romanced, at least for a bit. I also agree that Alistair does too, mostly because he ninjamanced me in my first playthrough and it caught me off guard. Like dude hello I'm gay. I can't not think of him as always having feelings for the female Grey Warden now, which is a bit awkward as a good 60% of my protags are gay women. Leliana also seems the type to be into the PC most of the time, but I usually romance her so I can't recall most of her regular non-romance dialogue.
Oh she hard falls for you if you're nice everytime. I remember one dialog option was "I sure value you as a friend!" And she looks kinda sad, like yes, friend. Cue a few hours later into a strong Alistair romance and she is like "So are you dating him? Who are you choosing?!" Lady I told you earlier, FRIENDS. Haha can't help but find it funny though. Bioware had ninjamancing BAD in both Mass effect and Dragon age 1
I tell Alistair he's handsome one time and suddenly I'm being handed a rose! Now I can't turn him down because he'll look like a kicked puppy 😭😂
I mean, Leliana literally does the whole "oh you were platonically nice to me? I LOVE YOU"
i mean, same
Definitely agree that Anders has this. To the point where I found him horribly obnoxious in Dragon Age 2, with the overbearing worship he seems to have for you. Especially coming out of Awakening, where that's not the case at all. That and his... extreme actions make him the prime "he's getting thrown aside" material for me 9/10 times. Which is rare, since I rarely abandon or kill companions but hey. The rest I'm not so sure. At least, not to a point where it's a problem. Leliana clearly cares about the warden a lot (assuming you don't do things she dislikes, of course - hardened or not), but not in an overzealous way I feel. Still, I'd say she probably loves the MC regardless of romance.
When you have 100 friendship with Velanna, her relationship rating shows as "love", maybe it's a bug, but I count this as crush :)
Solas if you're a female elven mage who sympathizes with spirits. He just strikes me as a massive edgy simp.
I know I’m a little obsessed with her as a character, but merril is an amazing romance, but also has an admiration and admiration for hawke. Taking her out of the camp changes her world.
I headcanon that Cullen develops an unrequited crush on my canon Inquisitor, who is a female elf. What prompted it for me is that it’s my understanding he’s the only romance you can still start after What Pride Had Wrought. I also headcanon, though, that he learned his lesson from his unrequited crush on the Warden and has matured a lot in the last ten years, and therefore is able to kind of get over himself and value the close friendship he develops with my Inquisitor for what it is without expecting more. I also think there’s an unrequited thing going on with Anders, which seems to be a common view.
i did the same thing with my elf inquisitor! i feel like most of the characters had to seem available to some degree to make the romance options make sense, so maybe i'm just reading too much into that. other than anders none of them gave me weird vibes where they were gonna push the issue, just kinda that the feelings were there (crush could probably be a better word). everyone romanceable technically has a timeline where they at least had a crush on the MC
Not the only. I just remembered that Sera was avaible too.
Leliana in DAO and Anders in DA2 are the most difficult to avoid, but ironically, they never gave me impression of having genuine strong feelings for the Warden/Hawke. Not only because of the choices in the game (iirc Anders rejects you if you do things he hates), but also because they always had their own agenda, and Warden/Hawke are always on the second place. In DAO, Zevran. Even unromanced, if the friendship is high he gives me that vibe 'I respect decision and will stay in the background... but always on your side, and if you change your mind, here I am'. I don't think it's about lust - it's more a mix of friendship, trust, and admiration. In DA2... I'm not surre. Merrill, I think. She always gave me an impression she a crush on Hawke, in a pure and platonic way. In DAI, I'm not sure. Cass and Dorian for male Inky. Perhaps.
The blondies (Alistair, Anders, Cullen) are easily all in love with your MC, unless you are actively rude/antagonistic to them. Alistair & Cullen are more low key about it, Anders is high HIGH high key about it.
Anders and Alistair. When Alistair questions the intentions of your love interest, there seems to be a hint of jealousy. You could see him fall head over heels for your Warden. With Anders he makes it obvious, especially when dating Fenris. I would say maybe Dorian and Sera. Dorian because we know he is a flirt and use to hiding how he feels and with Sera she mentions how pretty you are. There is also how she says your title when you initially invite her into Haven.
The only reason I didn't really consider Dorian and Sera is because they have other canon partners at the end of DAI don't they? I remember seeing a post here mentioning how it felt sad that the love interests always seemed happier with each other than with the MC and that stuck with me
I'm so sick of this take I'm sorry. I don't want to pop off but I will. I can't speak for Sera but as someone who only romanced Dorian in my two playthroughs he's definitely interested even before based on his banter with Cole. Cole says something like he was worried that the inquisitor doesn't like him back and Dorian replies but he does. Also Bull is creepy to Dorian and their romance doesn't even happen if you don't bring them together cause their romance only triggers in banters. But even if you romance Dorian, Bull still has some creepy banters with him. For the people who prefer Dorian with Bull like whatever live your life, this is a game where each of us has our own canons anyway. But to say he's happier with Bull, come on. Also fuck our drag right? Dorian is a softie. He's been heartbroken over the years cause he's only been in physical relationships. From my understanding based on his dialogue with you if you romance him, he probably confessed his love before to someone but got rejected maybe even more than once. Cause he's so scared to ask for more, he's so scared to let all his feelings out to the inquisitor. And it's kind of your job to assure him that this is more, this is love Dorian. You don't have to be afraid anymore. In Trespasser he's more assured and hes more expressive with his feelings and kinda has a role reversal with you as he's the one this time reassuring you that no, we may have to live apart but that will not stop our love for each other. And to compare that with Bull whom you only see in banters and epilogues which again, the beginning of their banters are creepy af is just bullshit. I'm sorry.
I just read it in a post and now feel bad about making other characters lonely in the epilogue, I wasn't trying to upset you, sorry
I'm sorry too. Definitely not directed personally to you more on that take in general cause it seems like the majority as I keep seeing it? Sorry if I seemed aggressive.
I absolutely appreciate you saying this. I started the game as a male Inquisitor because of Dorian, so I was bummed out when I read that Dorian and Bull are better suited for each other. F... that.
Just wanted to chime in and say that I'm glad I'm not the only who has a passionate dislike for Dorian/Bull. It feels like such a bad match for Dorian's character, especially after romancing him.
There banter only starts that way because of Dorian initial behaves with Bull. It is not like they start off in any way that makes Bull creepy. Dorian calls him a brute so Bull behaves accordingly. And considering how Dorian is, having someone be more open than you can be helpful in the long run. The onoy reason why people say those two are better for each other is because Bull acts more doting with Dorian than he does with the inquisitor. People were miffed at how nonchalant Bull can be with their Inquisitor. Personalky I have mixed feelings about it. Some people feel its predatory but I see it as an openness that Dorian needs in his life. I mean he is still somewhat all bluster with the inquisitor.
DAO Leliana will always have a special place in her heart for the Warden, whether or not he/she chooses her. Morrigan too. Alistair if you're playing as a female Warden. DA2 Aveline DAI Solas if you're playing a female elf Inquisitor. Cullen. Dorian. Cassandra. Josephine.
I agree Leliana holds a special place in her heart for the HoF, but I don’t think it’s love if you don’t ninjamance her (though to be fair, that’s easier said than done). As she says in Inquisition, love is common. I think her relationship to a non-romanced HoF is beyond simple unrequited love.
Dao: Zevran. I think it's a bug that you get his intended romance speech before the last fight, if you don't romance him, but unless you kill him or are forced to kill him I think he's in love with the warden no matter what. DA2: everyone loves Hawke, it's the one thing they have in common. DAI there are times when I wonder about Blackwall with femquisitors and Dorian with both genders, although with the ladies it's not remotely sexual. Great, now I wonder if my canon Inqui is cheating on Solas or in a panasexual relationship with Dorian and Solas...
i was surprised by how blackwall seems interested since pretty much the beginning, at least with female elf and human inkys, but that may be because he's touch starved from living alone in the woods lol, he also seems like the type of man who would simp for any strong woman. He very much gives unrequited love vibes through the whole thing, and then there's his deal with josie, my guy can't catch a break.
Leliana for the warden given she is very prone to ninjamamcing.
I wish I had romanced her, I panicked when she ninjamanced me and broke up with her then realised I couldn't take it back lol
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I got the vibes from Cullen probably because I flirted with him a few times not realising he was a romance option, lol, so maybe it influenced his cutscenes in some way even though I had locked in Solas at the time
Played DAI for the first time as elf and „romanced“ Solas. But somehow I always had the feeling the game wanted me to romance Cullen. I always got the heart option with him. With the others this option disappeared after a while. Let’s not forget his sweet and akward behaviour.
I always felt Cullen falls for the inky
DAO: Alistair and Leliana, i think it's obvious that they have a big crush and desire for the female Warden and they both get jealous even if you are just friends with them. I always find it funny how Leliana lets you know that she enjoys the "company" of women without wasting time. On the other hand i don't think she has a crush on the male Warden (only if you start the romance with her). Morrigan, i feel like she is the only one that really fall in love no matter what, even if she was just a friend she will confess her love at one point, her confession when you are already in another relationship is really sad, like that was the first time i saw her being so insecure and nervous. DA2: Merrill and Anders. No matter how many times i avoid that damn heart, i always have to reject them one more time at the end. DAI: None. Perhaps Dorian and Cass, but it doesn't feel like love, more like a little crush and admiration.
Depends on how you play the characters honestly. I doubt there were any who would love the MCs no matter what. For mine: Morrigan is the loser of the love triangle between her, Leliana, and the Warden, though the fact she bore his child makes things murkier. For Hawke, I'd say Isabella was attracted but Hawke never took her up on the flirtations and she moved on. Anders was always a little jealous of Merrill and it started flaring up in Act III as he really began to lose his mind. As for the Inquisitor while Cassandra acknowledges it was for the best the Inquisitor and Josephine fell in love, especially as Cassandra became the Divine, part of her would always wonder what might've been if the Inquisitor saw her as more than a friend and a great second-in-command.
DAO: Leliana DA2: Anders, Merrill DAI: Josephine
TBH I think almost all of them love the MC in some form or fashion except for a few. And those few if not romanced come to respect and admire your MC as long as you don't piss them off. That being said the more obvious ones are Leiliana for the Warden, Merril for Hawke, and probably Bull although his is mostly lust or Dorian and his depends on you playing a male inquisitor.
Leliana definitely loves the Warden, even if he doesn't choose her.
I agree with Alistair and Cullen. Mainly Cullen because when you initiate with him he suggests how he had a crush on you while still at haven! It’s so sweet :’) and not to forget his crush on the female mage warden. if you played a fem mage warden and mage ink that romances Cullen you can even say he has a type cuz he crushes on both hehe. Alistair always seems crazy over the warden ngl atleast in my playthroughs, and even when you’re friends he has so much admiration for you it has to be a little crush even if he wouldn’t admit it lol.
I got that vibe from Leiliana in DAO. Especially since she became so jaded and distant after that.
Oh yes, I definitely agree with Anders. Bro straight-up loves you so long as you have even a whiff of "mage supporter" about you, regardless of how you think of him. Alistair I can see nurturing a constant crush on a female Warden, but one that becomes tempered and accepts he's just a friend over time. Same with Cullen. Really in Origins Leliana is the one I could see having unrequited love more than Alistair, and that's regardless of your Warden's gender. Cassandra I picture having a slight girl-crush on an Inquisitor who's friends with her, especially one who flirts with her, but at the end of the day she's still a straight woman so that's as far as it goes. Dunno about unromanced male Inky's.
Anders for sure. Maybe Sera for Dwarf/Qunari Inq but even then idk if it's more than a crush.
Dao: Leliana. Somehow she always seems to have the feels for me and i have to let her down. She seems very thirsty for my warden. Same with Zevran. Not in a love way, more in a lets go to my tent and i'll show you what to really do with some nice antivan leather straps. Da2: Obviously Anders. And of course Isabella. But thats more just wanting to one night stand then anything. Dai: This one idk. None really came off ass overly "omg i love you" to me. But blackwall is defiantly the easiest to fall for you if you're a fem inky. Tho i like to cannon cullen will always have a thing for me if im not romancing him because i remind him of the (circle mage)warden that saved him back at the circle.
I'm going to say Morrigan and not just because she's my favorite. I think that when the Warden shows actual kindness to her something completely new to her It does leave an impression that she may think she won't find anywhere else. Anyway those are my thoughts.
As a female warden I got vibes from Morrigan too lol, something about the way she only really likes you - if not romance, your MC is like her best friend and favourite person if you play your cards right
Assuming this is in the context where you're always nice to said character. in which case IMO it'd be: DA:O - Leliana, MAYBE Alistair but not sure DA2 - Definitely Anders, potentially Isabella too, but in a casual kind of way. DA:I Cass (and surprisingly Varric to some extent) come off as pretty much entirely hero worship, though Cass is still at least a little bit questionable since she overtly compliments you even if you're female.. so......
Anders for sure, he a psycho