i don't want to be unnecessarily controversial, but on the other hand, i have been lurking around the solavellan/general da fandom for the entire time (regrettably), and i find the way people discuss solavellan specifically as very... thinly veiled misogyny a lot of the time, actually.
i'm not going to caveat it! it has as many annoying heteronormative fans as any other straight ship, and as many racists as regular da fandom. but somehow this gets treated as Uniquely Cringe, a symptom of unhealthy attachment and being delusional enough to think solas is a good partner irl, and the cause of bioware itself making writing decisions that people disliked. and clearly, solavellan enjoyers have zero interest in other parts of the game and were just playing it bc they thought he was hot.
it also gets treated as people being uniquely Entitled for expecting solas/solavellan content in da4. this is actually the only bioware ship that ended on two cliffhangers in a row, haha? obviously people would expect a satisfying resolution after all that buildup? i promise you, if da2 had ended with anders kissing hawke and dramatically telling them that he had to blow up the chantry, but didn't want to and wished there was another way... people would also expect him to be a major part of the sequel. this is not actually unfair pandering on bioware's part to include solas in stuff - you can dislike the character, but he was very clearly set up to be important.
anyway, let's compare this to the average gamer's screed, about how Women™️ are being pandered to by game companies, and ruining the hobby with their cringe interests, and their fixation on gross stuff like romance. wow, that's nearly identical!
now let's see what the writers at bioware said... hm, they first hyped up the romances in the game, including solas, and said they were going to explore themes like slavery, and unreliable historical records, and different points of view, which are all key parts of solas' plot! then, after people bought the game, they said they never had any interest or ability in writing any of those things. also solas mostly stays in Cringe Psychic Jail, you never get to actually address any questions about his plans, and then the only option is sending him to eternal solitary confinement, with lavellan as a sort of sexy lamp style prop to accompany him.
let's all consider what this could mean, together :')
romaincrisis
gummygunk
snowghoul
germansingergirl
izzy806
tangentwithtanner
pixelskylines
