Maker's Breath.... (Official Cullen Rutherford discussion)

So true! I hate the whimpy little ponytail they have for the game, but that and the bun I find I like best for my fem inqisitor...the other styles just don't work for me. I wish I knew how to do that kind of thing, then my inquisitor would look a lot better!  I don't even know what goes into the cgi stuff.  

  ...awwww....  

Two ran-dumb things about me:

1. I'm coming up on Halamshiral again in my newest playthrough. Just gots to finish tying up the Commander's heart.

2. For maximum creep factor, I often find myself thinking about Dragon Age (well, fanfics to be specific, so... all Cullen and the Inquisitor all the time, basically ) to pass the time while I'm on the treadmill. As a result, I tend to come away with some very strong, but also eccentric song associations to my characters and their various relationships.

Like this one, which as of now is basically my personal soundtrack to Wicked Hearts.

(The incredible awkwardness of the dancing toward the end of the video also seems fitting.)


This is something that actually always interests me. If you guys have any other songs or what-have-you that you associate with the Cullen romance, I'd love to hear 'em!

I don't know what to say...I feel so awkward.
I just finished my Cullan-mancing playthrough and I...erm...was underwhelmed by it tbh.
This is very awkward.

My first DAI romance was Iron Bull and I loved it, it had surprising emotional depth that I didn't expect and was really meaningful and touching. But with Cullen it was just instant infatuation then not much else. It didn't capture me, not like Alistair or Fenris or Garrus. I felt like the writers had done a romance by numbers and just given ppl what they want. It was too easy, no angst or passion (to me anyway). I didn't even replay the smooch on the battlements more than twice, whereas with Bull I've done the 'butt slap' scene a million times.

Urgh I'm so disappointed. I mean it was pleasant and all...
I feel so bad about it, I wanted to like it so much. And I wanted to be part of the club. But nope. BansheeOwnage and Obliviousmiss will never speak to me again.
I'll let myself out.

TBH, the simplicity and the lack of angst was one of the things I liked most about it. It was refreshing to me to have a normal, down-to-earth, sweet romance with a happy ending after the bitterness of the Dark Ritual and then the nightmare of Anders-ocalypse. Oh well. Something for everyone!

ArcadiaGrey

My first romance was Iron Bull as well. I really enjoyed it a lot because it was surprisingly more deep than I thought it was going to be. However, I have to say that out of the two, Cullen nudges ahead as a favorite (and I totally thought he wouldn't be my favorite at all). I think it's his endearing stumbling and awkwardness that I love so much. He's so sweet and earnest that I find I can't help but enjoy him as a character (and thus as a romance).

I'm glad to hear you gave it a try though. Some people I know romance one and only one person; I always feel like they miss so much of the game when they so that.

Edit: Not sure what the moratorium period on spoilers is, but just in case, since there has been some Cullenmance first-timers about, Trespasser spoilers below!  

Awww....I was so goofy about it because I was happy to see Cullen FINALLY get the girl...and he was a real cutie.    I say we petition for ANOTHER Cullen romance, with a different protagonist... Like an Antivan crow mage...who shows him the wonders she learnt growing up in an Antivan whore house... and who carries herself like Inara Serra.     

I'm glad you can still find it within yourself to talk to me.

Awww that's sad though.  The DAI romances are so so good, it really is worth it you know.  Sit down dear and let me tell you a story...

Long ago, in the innocent times known as 2014 where the world was slightly less shit than it is now, a young *ahem* girl played DAO for the first time.  She fell for Alistair pretty bad and he was her first ever BioWare romance, and the best video game romance she'd ever experienced.  There were many big stoopid grins on her face during that time.
Meanwhile, a randy little elf named Zevran kept trying to get in her pants.  Not appreciating his charms she did the only logical thing a woman can do when a guy flirts with her and she's not into it.  She slit his throat.
Then, next time round and romancing Alistair again, she stopped herself from killing Zev and somehow managed to tolerate his presence for the whole game.  Until he turned on her just before the end and attacked, and her face was like
Naughty little elf, oh how she disliked him. 

Then the girl took an exciting journey into the realm known as 'real life'.  (It's not as good as the blurb on the back of the book says it is, sadly).
There she found a happy, polite, innocent group of ppl on a place called BSN who told her that the dirty dirty elf was in fact, wonderful, and an amazing romance to experience.  Oh how she guffawed!!  Madness!!
But finally she gave in to their pleas and grudgingly decided to ride the b...err...elf.

But how would she go about it?  Her usually helpful heroines wouldn't really go for him.  She decided, for the first time ever, to make a character that was unlike her.  A randy, confident dwarf in fact who liked lots of kinky sex, flirting, and whacking things she didn't understand with hammers.
It was a challenge for our hero to get into the mindset of such a gal, but she handled it bravely and muddled through.  Then, to her great shock, one day she realised....Zevran was AWESOME.  After all that time spent killing him it turned out, with the right kind of warden, he was a charming, funny, kinda swell guy that put a grin on her face, just as Alistair did.

And so she learnt a lesson that day.  Don't dismiss the other romances just because you don't fancy them.  With the right character they can be marvellous, and you end up seeing cutscenes and learning new info about ppl that you would never previously have known if you just stuck to one.

So go on pet, make a buff mustachioed man machine for Dorian, a hot Qunari or dwarf for Sera or 'anything with a pulse' for Bull.  You might just like it.

Of course

I can see why you'd think I'm missing out, and you're right in some ways... Ha, nice story Now, how to respond... With my own, I suppose.

♫ So listen up, here's a story, about a little guy who lives in a blue world ♫ girl who discovered a new world... (Sorry, was stuck in my head today )

Long ago, in the innocent(citation needed) times of 2012, when the world was slightly worse than it is now, a young *ahem* girl played Mass Effect for the first time. She was figuring some things out at the time, and ended up romancing Liara. It was the first video game romance she played. While it was undoubtedly helpful in some ways, thoughts lingered that something key was missing. She eventually came to realize that she didn't do it because she liked the romance option, she did it because she wanted to do a romance. I mean, what was her single, hormonal, 16-year-old, possibly immature self going to do when presented for the first time with the option to romance a woman (you know, kind of) as a woman? If it was a test of restraint, she would have failed Some time later, somewhere in the middle of that realization, she played DA:O for the first time. She had doubts about romancing Leliana, and her instincts told her not to, but did anyway (later changed in the Keep).

Then, the girl took an exciting journey through the realm of "Real Life" (definitely not as good as all the hype warrants it to be, I agree ) and talked to many people, some from BSN, about these things, and found opinions split. Her opinions of her previous romance options were adjusted by being internally honest, and she realized there was a trend of one or two deal-breaker traits associated with Bioware's options. It wasn't until then that she finally realized that no romance was better than an unfitting one. Lesson learned.

So she played through DA2 flirting with Aveline and Varric, knowing nothing would come of it, and through DA:I flirting with Cassandra and Dorian, knowing nothing would come of it (wow, parallels). After months of gradual encouragement from her girlfriend and BSN threads, for her third playthrough, she made a character to romance Cullen.

But how would she go about it? Her usual heroines wouldn't go for him. So she decided, for the first time ever, to create a character that wasn't like her. Someone who could fall for Cullen's awkwardly adorkable charms. Though, perhaps it wasn't as much of a stretch to do so as Arcadia's character was. It was a challenge to get into the mindset of such a gal, but she handled it with courage and pushed through. Then, to her surprise, she realized that it was awesome! She enjoyed it more than she expected, and sometimes felt like that silly giddy 16-year-old again

And so she learned another lesson that day: She was actually bisexual That you can expand your romance-pool past what it is in real life, and enjoy it. Took a while, but there it was.

So, what was the point of this somewhat self-contradictory story that mirrors your own? Well... I suppose it was all to say that I understand where you're coming from with your advice, and it's surely well-intentioned, but at the same time, it takes a lot to convince me to do... anything  Sometimes, it may be that I'm missing out, but other times, I do know what I'd enjoy and what I wouldn't. So while it's possible that I'd enjoy making a "mustachioed man machine for Dorian" (am I the only one imagining Dorian singing this now? ), it probably wouldn't be worth spending 100+ hours playing as someone I can't relate to very well just to experience a few hours of content, especially since I'm currently trying to finish other games. There is always youtube. But I can certainly say that I'll never romance Bull or Sera, because they're basically the exact opposites of what I enjoy, and because

Yes, you can make fun of me now. Another reason I liked Cullen's romance; the sex scene was perfect. Sensuality, fade-to-black, wake up next morning with Clever Camera-angles™. Yes, you can make fun of me again

So... yeah. There's my response. Don't think I don't appreciate the advice even if I end up not following it, please If. I mean, if I romanced Cullen, anything's possible