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exhausted-archivist · 6 months

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Thedas: Not a Middle Ages Fantasy But an Ahistorical, Pre-Industrial, Mega Fauna Fantasy

Part 1: Mega Fauna

The long and the short of it? Thedas is an ahistorical world with magic, two moons, giant fauna - giants, dragons, giant bears, giant arachnids, and has some "ancient" and recent technology that would reach as late as the 1800-1900s in our timeline - such as bunsen burners, smokeless coal, table saw, thresher, heliography, and theodolite. Nothing about Thedas is a 1:1 equivalent for Earth and never has been, we know from the devs that it wasn't the intention either. From a fantasy perspective it is a blend of your typical fantasy stories with adventure, dragons, magic, elves and dwarves, varying mythology, and culture ending events; mixed with a venture into a "what if" ahistorical history.

In the case of Dragon Age, Gaider mentions it was a "what if our own history had magic and elves and dwarves?" and "how might Christianity be different if, instead of Jesus, it had been founded by Joan of Ark?" and subverting tropes of fantasy while still being recognizable: elves being brought low vs aloof and immortal; dwarves bring political schemers vs stouthearted Scotsmen; mages who were feared for good reason.

These were the basic foundations going into Dragon Age, and the spirit of those things is evident through out the series. While there are clear moments of parallels, allegories, and themes of the modern world, our world; I think that, for better or worse, the series has kept to the spirit of those foundations. Keeping things recognizable while exploring the world they've crafted, that grows as the team grows.

Its the spirit of that foundation that really lends to the idea of Thedas being a mega flora and fauna world.

Disclaimer and Considerations:

Take all of this with a grain of salt, whether you take it or leave it. Aside from the actual lore mentioned (with sources next to it) all of this is estimations and based off of known art standards or "canon" as the term is called.

Size is a hard thing to nail down in Dragon Age, the scaling and modeling between the games - main and all additional third party installment - are inconsistent at best largely due to limitations and scope of the game. Such limitations we see reflected in Bull not being 8' and instead is 6'9, the fact that the nightmare demon was scaled down because of scope. Then there are the cinematic scenes, they aren't reliable as they often have models float, sunk into the ground, or given camera angles that force perspectives.

ALT Concept art is a touch more reliable in the idea of the intention but isn't any more hard fact due to the question of if the intention was carried through or not due to tech limitations or design choices.

In consideration of concept art I want to clarify a principal used in art that I will be referencing. Traditionally when drawing characters, artists will use proportional canons. Which is when one uses the height of the character’s head as a unit, to have the proportions of the body match natural ratios. A good write up of this concept is linked here and here.

Content warning for everyone, there will be mentions and/or depictions of the following:

Multi-eyed creatures

Scorpions

Spiders

This post also includes images from the following:

The Missing comic

Dragon Age Absolution

Part 1a: Does Thedas Actually Have Mega Fauna?

Yes, they do. Now the first thought might be the obvious dragons, giants, wyverns, titans, and some magical creatures. But there are some creatures of which we have actual measurable sizes for.

I have the more "concrete" fauna separated into two categories: known sizes and comparable sizes. Known is as stated in lore, if we're given fixed numbers at any point, while comparable sizes are for creatures who we either have vague descriptions or equated to something we know the sizes for.

Comparable sizes are also separated from known sizes as they either have variations, or I am unsure of the lore for them still holds; as with anything dao, game guides, and ttrpg on this blog, these are treated and considered as canon unless clear contradictions are available.

Known Sizes

Giant spiders:

Their scale isn't measured by how high they stand on the ground or by body length but from leg to leg. Or rather that is what you would expect for them to be measured by, but it is hard to say for sure. I run with the leg to leg measurement for the provided size in canon; where they are/can be 12' / 3.65m. [Codex]

Looking at extracted game models (which aren't reliable for in-game models) the giant spider stands at 3' 11.28" / 1.2m and measures 5' 4.2" / 1.63m leg to leg.

Griffons:

Their length is 12' / 3.65m or larger with even larger wingspans. Males can weigh over 1,000 lbs / 453.59kg while females are a little less. [Last Flight ch. 2 p. 31]

For context of how big both of these are length wise, on average: Javan rhinos are 12'5 / 3.8m in length, Indian rhinos are between 10.8’-12.5’ / 3.3-3.8m in length, African forest elephants are between 7.22’-12.13’ / 2.2-3.7m in length, African Bush elephants are 10’-16.5’ / 3-5m in length, thresher sharks can be 10.5’-20’ / 3.2-6.1m long, female great white sharks have an overall length of 15’-21’ / 4.57-6.4 m; males 11’-13’ / 3.35-3.96 m. Most crocodiles exceed that with an average of 13-14' / 3.96-4.26m.

If you're like me and that just is a jumble of words, below are the size comparison to a 6' / 1.83m male figure, the scuba diver is roughly the same length as well. I had to edit the horizontal figures to compare lengths but scale wise they are still 6' / 1.83m. I also spliced together multiple images so they would be easier to see (and tumblr has a 30 image limit).

ALT [Image Sources from left to right, top to bottom: Rhinos: Javan Rhino, Indian Rhino Elephants: African Bush Elephant, African Forest Elephant Crocodiles: American Crocodile, Mugger Crocodile Sharks: Thresher Shark, Great White Shark]

Comparable Sizes

Mabari:

Stated as being as tall and as wide as dwarves*; going off the dwarf heights from Inquisition game models would put them at a range of 4'9-5'3 / 144.78-160.02cm.** This is unclear if they mean from the head or shoulder, which typically you would measure quadrupeds from the shoulder. Something to note however, the mabari extracted models from Inquisition measure at 3' 4.6" / 1.03m at the shoulder but 4' 2" / 1.27m at the head.

ALT

This is also roughly echoed in the concept art, where the shoulder height lines up with the shoulder height of the extracted model from Inquisition, however is closer to the dwarf height range when measuring from the top of the head.

Either way mabari are considered giant breeds when looking at dogs. Regardless of if they are the height of a dwarf 4'9-5'3 / 144.78-160.02cm or the height shown in the extracted model or concept art of 3' 4.6" / 1.03m at the shoulder but 4' 2" / 1.27m at the head. The largest dog in the real world was a great dane at 3' 5.18" / 1.046m.***

*[Dragon Age Tabletop (da ttrpg), Blood in Ferelden] **[Source] ***[Source]

Deepstalkers:

There is a bit of a variant with their sizing scale across all entries. From being able to curl up to be the size of boulders or large rocks.* To The Calling describes them as follows

The “stalagmite” unfolded, revealing a serpentine creature with a long and wormlike neck that ended in a maw full of sharp teeth. Its mottled skin was almost perfectly camouflaged to match the stone around it.

He noticed where the creature’s limbs folded up under its carapace, where it tucked its long neck under its body. Hidden in plain sight, the disguise was almost perfect.

Meanwhile the Missing comic shows them as being much larger than Harding, a dwarf. The ttrpg also describes them as "small reptilian creatures". There also seems to be sizes difference noted between each type of deepstalker: deepstalker, leader, and matriarch.

ALT [Image Sources: BioWare Promo Material, Dragon Age Wiki, and The Missing Comic #1]

Additional measurements include the odd 2' 6.3" / .77m from the extracted model from Inquisition which doesn't line up with the in-game sizing as they're proportionally much larger when next to a dwarf. Then when looking at the concept art scaling from the red dev book shared by Mark Darrah, they stand nearly 6' / 1.83m.

ALT

So there is a stark range of size difference as well as really any consistency when it comes to the bipedal, raptor-like, predators.

*Note the range for what is a large rock and what is a boulder is pretty vague. **This is based on various screenshots as pictured above. Comparing them to Shale, a human character, dwarves, and an elf. *** [World of Thedas (WoT) vol. 1 p. 163, Origins game guide, da ttrpg, The Calling novel, and The Missing Comic]

Dragonlings:

Specifically when they are newly hatched are the size of a deer. At the shoulder they'd be 2'8 - 3' / 81 - 91cm. Their length could be from 3'1 - 7'2 / 95 - 220cm. [Dragonling Codex] *Note the ttrpg does denote that they are the size of a young deer, which would be about 1 1/2 years old. This is distinctly different from a fawn and they are the same size height wise as a mature deer. It is simply a difference in muscle mass.

Here is a helpful comparison of a white tail deer, one of the more common deer:

ALT [Image Source]

Below is concept art from Tom Rhodes that I have cropped for a much clearer view. The shoulder height of the dragonling reaches roughly the same height as deer above.

ALT [Image Source]

Part 1b Sizing from Concept art and Development

Here, I want to look at the concept art of creatures, while acknowledging that they don't always end up on the same scale in game - due to a variety of technical reasons. As we see with the fact that spiders are not 12' / 3.65m in game nor are they close to that.

But with that in mind, we can at least glean the intention if not what might be more reflective of the lore. As we know, not all of da lore is game engine/mechanic friendly and thus there is merit in seeing if we can measure through comparison of in dev work. Especially thanks to the human comparison in some of them.

One piece of such concept art that suggests mega fauna is the design guide for da4 that was teased to us by Mark Darrah in 2016 and in the BioWare: Secrets and Stories From 25 Years of Game Development (B25) p. 274.

ALT

Using this, we can tell what might have been the intended -- again if it is not reflected in game -- size for the animals in Thedas. However, I will note for the sake of clarity that this isn't perfect reference; as some of the scaling seems to be questionable/warping. This is after all, an image of a picture in a book. I would be thrilled to see if we ever get to see a flat image of this.

But what we can see when we clean it up, and line up everything while cross referencing other concept art; the scaling seems to work out something like this with the human figure in the center being the "hero" proportions/ideals that would make his height 6'2 / 1.88m.

ALT

Great Bear

Some of the concept art that we can use for comparisons are pieces such as the concept art for the Great Bear and Quillback (development name dragon bear and vulture hyena):

ALT

Going off the stock hero height for female it is 5'6 - 5'7.5 / 1.67 - 1.71m and for males it is 6' - 6'2 / 1.83 - 1.88m. That would make a great bear roughly 10'11 - 11'2 / 3.34 - 3.42m in this concept art. However in the red book, the scaling suggest it is around 14' / 4.26m. Which is an example of how the book as reference might either be unreliable or the new updated intention for the scaling/design.

Regardless of which numbers you favor, when you look at those scales in contrast to our two largest modern bears:

Kodiak Bear: 3'4 - 5' / 1.02 - 1.52m at the shoulder, 6'5 - 9' / 1.96 - 2.74m in length, and 9' - 10' / 2.75 - 3.05m standing upright

Polar Bear: 3'7 - 5'3 / 1.09 - 1.6 m (male) or 2’8 - 3’11 / .81-1.19 m (female) at the shoulder, 7’10 - 9’10 / 2.4-3 m length, and 8’ - 10’ / 2.5 - 3.05 m standing upright Note: I have edited together the sourced images for clearer scaling.

ALT [Image Sources: Bears: Kodiak Bear, Polar Bear]

Additionally when looking at the tarot cards, which also tend to echo concept art more than the final game we see this massive and dramatic height difference for great bears.

ALT

Another varying size reference we have from concept art is this piece by Tom Rhodes comparing the great bear to the normal bear/brown bear. This is in direct conflict with the scale illustrated in the dev book, though this could simply be due to the stage of development this was created in as it looks to be a draw over of a game model when looking at the great bear.

ALT [Image Source]

Nightmare Demon

The Nightmare demon, or "Blinky" as fans call it, or "Smilely" as Varric calls it. This is however a demon so it's appearance and size can change due to influences outside of its control, I want to acknowledge that. This one was something I wasn't expecting to make a comparison with, as we know that not only was the final version of this demon scaled well as it seems that part of it was cut off in the dev book. But I found this concept art from Heroes of Dragon Age (HoDA) and I believe it roughly matches up with the dev book in terms of scale. It might be scaling larger however, I cannot say with any certainty. And when comparing it to the game model in DAI, this is actually a little smaller in comparison. The extracted game model of the Nightmare demon is 93.47' / 28.49m, while in comparison this concept art implies that it is 54.5' / 16.61m when you measure the silhouette which we can estimate to be 6'2.

ALT [Image Source]

ALT You can see how much they sized down the nightmare demon for HoDA (which is understandable given the constraints of a mobile game), especially when you scale them down to show the actual difference. Which is funny considering the nightmare demon is greatly scaled down from the original concept.

Phoenix

Another piece we have, is concept art for the phoenix. Unlike with the hero figure from before, we are estimating Orisino's height based on the height of elven game models. This would put Orisinao at 5'9 - 6' / 1.75 - 1.83m for an elven male.

ALT [Image Source]

This height reference is echoed and reinforced when we look at the dev book from B25 and Mark Darrah. When you bring the phoenix over to line it up with the hero character in the center, it puts the shoulder a phoenix is roughly 6'2. Implying that, at least for this art, Oresino is within that 5'9-6' / 1.75-1.83m range as his height is lower than the shoulder.

ALT

As you can see the extracted game model is not comparable due to the fact it, like the bears are not at all the same size as their in-game models. They are being scaled up a great deal to what we see in game. The extracted model height for the phoenix is 2' 7.4" / 0.8m, which is much shorter than their in-game counter part that shows it to be around the height of the human/elf character if not a little taller.

Quillback

Shown in the concept art with the great bear, we do have scalable concept art with the quillback and we are able to see that it does line up with the scaling for the dev book. It is also roughly the same size as the extracted game model. It's shoulder height being 4' 10.6" / 1.49m. The quillback also seems to be one of the few creatures where their in game counter part matches up with their model and concept art.

ALT

Part 1 Conclusion

As we can see with all the comparable or confirmed sizing of these creatures in Thedas, most are predators and scavengers, fairly large ones at that. So much so, it would dictate a high oxygen content in the atmosphere, plenty of prey to fuel animals of this size, and plenty of land area to allow for the biodiversity that we see. Even down to the subterranean level as well.

We know that gravity also works differently in Thedas, to a degree it is requires as to allow creatures the size of dragons and griffons fly, and giants roam the surface. But also to allow dwarves ranging from 4'9-5'3 / 144.78-160.02 cm to live 2-4 miles / 3.21-6.43 km below sea level + the distance from the actual surface. To give context, the deepest cave we've explored on earth is the Veryovkia cave at 1.37 miles / 2.12 km deep and the entrance to the cave is 1.41 miles / 2.28 km above sea level. Meaning the deepest cave doesn't even go down to sea level.

But with all that said, I'm only wrapping up here as I'm running out of image allowance for this post. I'll continue this in the next part, and if you've read this far, thank you.

Wanna support this blog? You can check out my ko-fi.

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bruehl · 2 years

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Daniel Brühl as Baron Zemo The Falcon and the Winter Soldier | 1.04

#baron zemo #tfatws #zemo #helmut zemo #tfatwsedit #marveledit #daniel brühl #daniel bruhl #*#this has been in my drafts for ages i give up lol

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kris-mage-fics · 4 months

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Since I always forget what tag to look up to find my own writing, I made this pinned post. Fandoms are listed in alphabetical order, and the individual fics in chronological order of when they were published. Original work is listed last. Only if it's relevant will I note if something hasn't been beta read, any romantic pairing(s), and significant content warnings.

Edit: Now contains links to silly meme/text post compilations! Currently only for Shepherds of Haven, but who knows, some may come for other fandoms in the future!

Ebon Light

Scarlet Hollow

Shepherds of Haven

The Best Proof of Love is Trust | tumblr post | Ao3 | rated G | 939 words | spoiler for the beginning of Chapter 3 (if you've played the public demo you're good) | content advisory: vaguely referenced suicidal thoughts | After Blade asks Kyrahlise if she's had 'nightmares' like that before, she remembers something her mother told her, and how that has guided her in the years since.

Original Stories

Hic et Nunc | tumblr post | Ao3 | rated M for mild sexual content | 1,069 words | Original Female Character/Original Non-Binary Character | An argument between a swordswoman and a mage leads to them working out some feelings they'd been skirting around. (Instead of getting fancy with a Latin title I could've just called it "Kris' first real attempt at writing sexual tension" lol!)

Meme / Text Post Compilations

Shepherds of Haven

Chase, Chase take 2 MC and "adventurous" Mages Like half of the Shepherds, lol

#btw if you read “Hic et Nunc” please let me know if you think the rating is accurate #I might have gone with a higher rating that it warrants and I keep waffling on changing the rating #not for the first time has it occurred to me I write a lot of introspection #so if you prefer to read action then my writing probably won't be your favorite #ebon light #scarlet hollow #shepherds of haven #shoh #original fiction #shoh memes #my writing #this has been sitting in my drafts for ages because I forgot about it lol

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aurosoulart · 1 year

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just some snippets from this VR art piece!

#this has been sitting in my drafts for ages and i'm clearing them out today #doing a bit of social media housekeeping this morning #i finally changed the header/icon/name on my redbubble account too lol

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illicitaffvirs · 1 year

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by clicking in the source link below you will find 168 ( one hundred and sixty-eight ) regular gifs of kpop idol minatozaki sana. all of these gifs were made frim scratch by me, so please do not distribute them and edit them without my consent. please leave a reblog and/or a like if you use them and, if you can, consider buying me a coffee ( the link is on the gif page ) !

#minatozaki sana gif pack #minatozaki sana gif hunt #gif pack #rph #this pack has been sitting on my drafts for ages now lol #i want to open commissions again but i'm with a fever at the moment <3 #but yeah #illicitaffvirs

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enchanting-aesthetics · 3 months

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“The tones of gray, pale turquoise, and pink will prevail.”

– Christian Dior

#this has been sitting in my drafts for AGES #but I just couldn't find a good quote to go with it lol #turquoise moodboard #turquoise aesthetic #pink moodboard #pink aesthetic #shabby chic moodboard #shabby chic aesthetic #(not sure how else to classify this moodboard's vibe)#//my moodboards//

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mxrisacoulter · 2 years

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endless gifs of marisa coulter ~(32/?)

#mine*#egmc #marisa coulter #mrs coulter #hdm #his dark materials #ruth wilson #this has been sat in my drafts for ages cause i was gonna do giftober and then couldnt be bothered LOL #any way capitalising off of the current interest in hdm xoxo

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lelianas-songs · 1 year

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I almost lost myself...

#dragon age #leliana #gif #this has been in my drafts for like 4 years oops lol

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kazumaple · 1 year

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baby, you're a firework | yoimiya

(art not mine- credit to: @/haragaita_i on twt!)

word count | 635 words genre | best friend!yoimiya, gn!reader, oblivious yoimiya, fluff, best friends to ...?, just two bffs visiting a festival together :D

you end up going to a festival with your best friend, yoimiya, as you do every year, but this year you feel like you are there more to watch her than fireworks.

★ warnings | reader is very whipped for yoimiya (or is it just me?), yoimiya is BLIND, a lot of pining, unrequited love, reader confesses but yoimiya is too oblivious to catch on

link to masterlist. click here to make a request!

<< ☆ >>

"Come on, let's go!" Yoimiya grabs your hand as she drags you towards the hill you watch the fireworks on every year, "Quick, or we'll miss it!"

You giggle at her excitement, picking up the pace a bit, because you know the earful you're bound to get if you don't, as you give her hand a little squeeze.

The hill sits just on the edge of Inazuma City, providing a clear view of the festivities. The city is decorated from head to toe with lanterns, garlands and decorations of all assortments to commemorate the occasion. To be perfectly candid, you weren't really sure what the occasion was. You just remember Yoimiya's illuminated gaze as she rambled about it, her lips slanted upwards as she spoke.

You see children and their parents, groups of friends, and lovers all huddled together, waiting to see this festival's fireworks handcrafted by the one and only Naganohara Yoimiya.

You gazed at the woman in question, analyzing her delicate features once more. You knew everything about her. You knew every crevice in her skin, every scar and the stories behind them. But, no matter how long you'd look for, she would always entice you as if you were looking at her for the first time.

She tilts her head to the side, "You okay? You kinda spaced out there."

Coming back to your senses, you reply, "Yeah, i'm fine, i was just thinking about some things."

"About what?"

Ah, Yoimiya. Always so curious. You knew this, she was your best friend and all, but the question catches you off guard anyways. After all, explaining that you'd just got lost in her eyes wouln't be the best way to cover up your infatuation with her.

"N-nothing important. The fireworks are about to start!"

Her head snaps around, attention captured by the blast of a firework being set off.

The small parcels of light explode like shooting stars, leaving a trace of their magic as they ebb into the night sky. A rainbow is formed in the dark, with each spec of light forming a sort of painting, then dissapearing as fast as they appeared.

Yoimiya stares contently at her work, mesmerized by the art she has managed to create. The lights flash above you, but you cannot help but focus on the light that seems to beam from the firework maker herself. Her hand is placed carefully under her chin, supporting it as she gazes upwards. Her hair was placed neatly in her usual high ponytail.

You sigh in relief. There is nothing better than this. Sitting under the fireworks with your best friend and the love of your life. As you reach out to grab her hand, a sudden swelling feeling builds in your chest.

"Yoimiya-" You begin.

"Yeah?" She replies, her eyes not leaving the fireworks.

"I- I love you." You say, "You are the reason I look forward to waking up in the morning, and I wish that the rest of my days could be spent with you and you only. You make me so happy every time I see you, and I wish nothing more but to repay you with even a fraction of the happiness you have given me."

You feel her embrace you tightly, tighter than you have ever felt her embrace you before.

"Thank you," She whispers into your ear, "I'm so glad I have a friend like you."

You feel a dagger pierce through your chest as she utters that cursed word. Friend. That's all you'd ever be.

You smile at her, a bittersweet feeling lingering in your chest as you look up into her golden eyes once more. Eyes so full of hope and love, that at that moment, the only thing you can let yourself do is reply with a gentle,

"Anything for you."

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omo-robin · 1 year

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A needs to pee really bad but is too stubborn to tell B. B, however already knows since it was obvious. B waits a while because they want to see if A will admit it. a lot of time passes and A still hasn’t said anything. B notices that A’s state is looking worse despite this so they decide they need to do something about it. B tells A that they need to pee in hopes that A will say “me too” and come with them. A is too desperate to not say anything, especially when they’re going to be close to a bathroom anyway. A doesn’t outright admit it but they silently follow B with a casual “might as well go too” attitude which contradicts how they actually are inside; panicking because they’re bursting. when they get to the bathroom, B does end up peeing as well but only a small stream comes out. A notices this, and after they finish peeing (for wayyy longer than B did) they put the pieces together and realize that B announced the bathroom break not for themself, but for A. bonus if A confronts B about it or B comes clean about it

#omorashi #fictomo #omo prompt #omocute #this has been in my drafts for ages #idk why i didn’t post it lol

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lemonsrosesandlavender · 1 month

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more pet peeves from BG3 Reddit (and about a fairly common attitude from straight people in general): BG3 treating queer people as so accepted that their presence doesn’t merit any comment at all is ONE way to do representation. It is not the ONLY way, and yet straight people are queueing up to tell us that Larian has done it ‘right’ by ‘not making it a thing’. Heaven forfend straight people have to encounter queer people with actual related needs and opinions and a different experience of the world as a result of their sexuality or gender.

I am happy with the way they do queer rep in BG3, but like… it’s not the only correct or good way of doing it. Ugh.

#rant #bg3 #representation #look Reddit has good stuff sometimes I swear #I can’t resist lurking until something inevitably annoys me too much lol #this has been in the drafts for ages #resuscitating bc of the whole F Blaxland thing #idk. just don’t like being told my representation is now sufficiently palatable by people #who clearly wouldn’t respect me if I expressed any negative feelings about the way society actually is for queers #also I think there could be a lot more trans/gnc/nb characters tbh #I’m a cis bi woman and yes #I get my rep #lots of it #but that doesn’t preclude criticism

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fryandleelasbigfling · 1 year

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Amy and Leela relationship?

i think about amy and leela a lot because the show is really weird with them due to the fact they are usually two women written primarily by men, and that can be quite evident -- usually in the form of gratuitous fanservice (albeit usually self aware), but also in their catty dynamic. "butterjunk effect" is the most infamous instance of this so i like to ignore most of what it says about their relationship cuz it falls into tropes i hate.

personally i actually laugh a lot at amy's passive aggression towards leela. i know it falls into misogynistic tropes and i'm not gonna give the writers Credit for it, but as someone who struggles with femininity, some of amy's digs just resonate really hard as an exaggeration of what it feels like to deal with internalized misogyny.

it's also interesting because amy suffered misogynistic emotional abuse from her parents her whole life, so i think even though she knows their rhetoric is wrong, she internalizes a lot of beliefs about what womanhood should be and ends up projecting them onto leela. she rarely actually sounds malicious towards leela -- in fact, several times she insults leela ("a leela of her own," "anthology of interest 1") with a tone that sounds complimentary or at least like an attempt to "help." and i think she does genuinely want leela to lower her standards and have fun and find love, and she's a genuinely good wingwoman in "bender's big score."

this is falling into pure headcanon but i think amy's slightly fascinated with leela, how she can push forward and -- on the surface -- take total control of the situation, coordinate herself, (seemingly) not care about her appearance and take a more practical approach. their interactions in season one are more friendly while the writers were still figuring out their personalities, and amy even seemed to initially try to respect leela as a captain. yet in later seasons i think amy got caught in in leela's more "pathetic" attributes and found it pitiful, but a little funny too. amy does seem to understand leela's grief to some extent ("xmas story") but generally has trouble empathizing with people. (i attribute this to her upbringing -- her parents seem to dismiss any genuine emotion she has, even telling her to get over it when her husband died.)

(i also headcanon that amy had a bit of a crush on leela when they first met, which faded / was repressed over time because she started noticing more of leela's flaws. however "bender's game" and a few other homoerotic jokes suggests that there's something weird between them sometimes. idk i think amy having a crush on leela despite everything she says about her is just funny and compelling)

on the flip side i think leela genuinely does dislike amy because of her insulting nature, but also i think leela would be a little resentful that the only other girl in the company is rich and beautiful and sexually active. leela has a problem with comparing herself to social norms and trying to please people / prove she's better than they thought she was, so amy is almost like, a manifestation of her own insecurities, especially after she gets with kif since leela doesn't find true love for a while after that.

but she can put that aside and reach out to amy when the latter's having issues, because she is responsible and kind. she's literally amy's shoulder to cry on in "beast with a billion backs" which means a lot more when you remember the love of leela's life (well one version of him) offed himself about a month ago.

i think their most solid dynamic is in "murder on the planet express" because they fight over shit besides their sexual prowess and femininity, but also work together well. they have such a funny sisterly dynamic and i'd love the revival to lean more into that instead of that "all women passive aggressively hate each other" bs, especially with their more diverse writers' room which has more Women in it.

#futurama #lamy #turanga leela #amy wong #leela #amy #this has been sitting in my drafts for ages... sorry sam lol #answers

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