Gaming and romance

Now I'm a bloke, comfortable in his heterosexuality, and fairly traditional but liberal in thought.  To each his own, and what goes on between consenting adults is no-one's business but their own.  In writing at least, there's little I wouldn't explore.  I'll just start with that caveat.

There's an oddness to how romance is portrayed in gaming now.  All bets are off, so to speak - gender/sexuality is almost never an issue to the point of not even being mentioned when the subject of love is approached.  While yes, it's good that we don't dwell on such things, that it's more 'inclusive', it makes the whole thing blank in terms of 'identity',  Rarely do the characters discuss whether they are gay, straight, or anything in between, only that they will spend their lives together.

In the Mass Effect trilogy, for example, there are the two main humans to romance: Kaiden Alenko and Ashley Williams (I'm leaving Liara out of the equation for now).  In ME1, if you play as female Shepard, you may only romance Kaiden, and vice versa if you are male Shepard.  Cut to ME3, and Alenko now swings both ways (either Shepard may initiate a romance), whereas Ashley has remained straight - but nobody mentions a thing, it's only that the options just aren't there for Ashley if you are female Shepard.  There was obviously a 'creative' reason as to why Ashley must remain straight but again, never explored in-game.

In Bethesda titles, everyone is open to everyone, without bar but again, gender/sexuality is never mentioned.

Is rejection for the reason of orientation thin ice these day?  My point?  Not sure I have one really.  As I said, it just seems odd.

Thessia VS Asari - further to

I didn't really make the point I intended in the last post.

The asari characters I've written for have generally been in a favourable light; Liara, Samara, Aethyta, Benezia, with only the OC Matriarch Methia really exhibiting any malevolence but as I said in the previous post, my view of Thessia has never been as favourable.  'Record Deleted' (Miranda journal) probably says it best (in reference to the Niket incident):

That Eclipse Sister, it makes me wonder, something I've pondered before; the asari. Living for a thousand years must make us humans seem like blips to them. Possibly even unimportant. They talk well enough of the galaxy's need to be inclusive when they wax lyrical on the Citadel but the home world Thessia is another story. Their Matriarch Council rages over whether Thessia should close borders or continue in their 'galactic social experiment'. The Matriarch bartender we met at Nos Astra said as much, that the galaxy has been a cycle of destruction even just in her lifetime, and she'd rather that Thessia just shut up shop and became independent, and keep well out. I'm certain more goes on with the asari that they let on. As one of the oldest space-faring species in the galaxy, and having the luxury of a thousand years to ponder the universe, there's got to be something that they're holding back. We would.

So my view on individual asari seems favourable but Thessia itself (and the enigmatic Matriarchs), not so much.

Thessia VS Asari

Is this thing on?

In writing, there are peaks and troughs of inspiration.  Evidently, this blog fell foul of that.  I've been tinkering somewhat recently so here I am again.

I have noticed a theme in my works regarding Thessia.  As someone who writes on the fly, it wasn't fully intentional but more as a way of allowing characters to vent.  In a nutshell, Thessia is steeped in intrigue and a place one should not feel safe from the dark work of the Matriarchs.  I've implied in the past that they wouldn't think twice about making someone disappear if they thought it of benefit to Thessia, or perhaps just their own political ends.  I suppose it stems from the hidden Beacon on Thessia, Matriarch Aethyta's comments, and Liara's reaction to the decision to keep it from the galaxy.

I say this because I've provisionally started (I try to do too many at once, I know) a Sha'li tale, once she's grown up.  I've amped the darkness of Thessia somewhat for the tale.  Here's an opening snippet:

Thessia. The alleged home world. Most memories Sha'li has of Thessia are hazy at best, more focussed on her parents than any sense of loyalty or duty. Those she learned from her mother, Ashley Williams, when the Lieutenant Commander became her adoptive parent. Sha'li did spend much time with Liara T'Soni in an effort to find some heritage but the Doctor's view of the home world is hardly glowing. Much of Sha'li's life has been spent amongst humans, turians, krogan, but few asari beyond Commander Shepard's exalted team – Doctor T'Soni and Samara the Justicar having their own reasons for resenting Thessia and the Matriarchs. It was while assisting a Matriarch's commandos to defend an outpost from raiders that Ashley, Sha'li's mother was killed.

Sha'li became much more than I'd actually anticipated in the end.  Originally written as a matter of convenience in Blue, and a catalyst for Liara and Ashley's strong friendship, she has come into her own as a character.  In The Damned, she's not quite yet an adult but she's no child, having spent most of her life running from the Reapers.

When I tried writing 'Hunters' the OC in that did nothing for me, I had no connection and she was just kind of 'there'.  Writing for Sha'li is interesting - I have investment in the character, she's grown with my writings, and she has something to say about the universe.  I'm hoping for that reason that the ideas don't just fizzle into nothing but we'll see on that front.

Edit: Curiously, it's almost exactly a year since I last posted.  Must be a phase of the planets or something... (no, I don't believe in any of that)