tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post6419272591038308905..comments2024-03-27T02:13:02.575-07:00Comments on SciFiMagpie: Luv in Space! Part 2: Mass Effect RomancesMichelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-26394386736443527342014-07-29T19:42:43.437-07:002014-07-29T19:42:43.437-07:00My mistake there, but she still seemed very closed...My mistake there, but she still seemed very closed off. The whole virgin/whore thing is kind of overused in Mass Effect--for the female characters, at least. And Miranda isn't a virgin, but she mentions having been close to few people, and additional easter egg content reveals that she has tried online dating (unsuccessfully) and is also infertile. In a way, she's a foil for Jack, which is fine, but it's still vaguely discomfiting that they confirm to that virgin/whore thing. <br /><br />(Incidentally, the dichotomy doesn't *actually* mean sex trade worker vs. actual young virgin; it refers to the behavior--chastity vs. promiscuity, and the way both of those tend to be framed in society.)Michelle Brownehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-65220048859749149182014-07-29T19:37:02.236-07:002014-07-29T19:37:02.236-07:00I get what you're saying, but specifically for...I get what you're saying, but specifically for Jack, if she's just opening herself up to be safe with Shepard, she should still be able to initiate a romance with FemShep. <br /><br />Regarding Kaiden--he *was* written as bisexual; they had to cut the lines. I looked into it. I don't understand why making a male character bisexual is "caving into fan demands" and that's a bad thing, when literally every female character is romanceable. <br /><br />My biggest issue is that sex-locking characters prevents players from participating in their romance storylines for absolutely no reason. A renegade FemShep would probably romance someone like Jack. The "binary structure" of software doesn't hold up when there are many, many conversations with more than two options. Michelle Brownehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-66660187300605751812014-07-29T09:22:24.043-07:002014-07-29T09:22:24.043-07:00I have to disagree on making every character bisex...I have to disagree on making every character bisexual just to give romance option for Shepard. I feel that when it comes to sexuality, it is a trait of the character, not the player's expectations. There is a difference between what the player wants, in this case to define their character, and the defining traits of other characters. If they are going to have characters encompassing the full spectrum of sexual identity these characters should exist on their own, not simply to meet the players needs, but because it reflects a part of who they are. Hero of their own story and all of that.<br /><br />As for Jack, she is someone who has suffered an inordinate amount of sexual trauma, so much so that I feel that the writer's exploited the Rape as Drama trope to the breaking point. That doesn't mean that she has to be straight, bisexual, asexual or lesbian. My take is that she is just trying to figure out herself, including her sexual identity and Shepard provides as safe space for that. <br /><br />Kaidan is a troubling example. It seems to me that the writer's lacked the courage to make him bisexual from the start or else they caved in to fan demand and made him so. Either one is troubling. One shows a lack of courage, the other smacks of what I call "James Bonding," (as do other examples in-game), where characters exist to prostrate themselves romantically/sexually to the hero, regardless of their own character development and serve only to fulfill the reader's sexual fantasies. <br /><br />As for writing romances, I think it has to do more with the underlining binary structure of software, where YES/NO statements dominate the structure. Writing a third option is much harder to sustain throughout a single title, let alone several. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-90278983663589020202014-07-29T08:51:27.778-07:002014-07-29T08:51:27.778-07:00I know that this is an older post, but Miranda is ...I know that this is an older post, but Miranda is not a virgin, Liara and Tali are but not Miranda, if the banter with Jacob and her attitudes about sex are anything to go by.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com