Mercia

coming out of my lil trash can to say

SPOILERS

Archdemons have changed over the summer

and this is the hardest battle with three tempura shrimp i’ve ever fought

ghilan’nain really said 🍤🍤🍤

DRAGON AGE: THE VEILGUARD (2024) Official Launch Trailer

Spite, on Lucanis mind when they are bored and want attention

My one speculation about Emmrich (even though I'm ill-equipped for theorizing, this has been knocking about in my brain since the start) is that there had to be something extraordinary, something beyond the normal lines, that he did for Manfred's existence.

i love this theory sm and no one can take that away from meeee

you know. going into things i thought for sure that statistically speaking neve and bellara together would pull most of the wider playerbase romance-wise (considering they're an attractive human and elf woman respectively, and considering that shadowheart swept 52% of romance pts in bg3 despite fandom spaces like tumblr & ao3 being saturated in astarion and gale)

BUT genuinely bellara seems to be getting such a negative response with people citing the quirky descriptor, unfavorably comparing her to peebee/liara/sera/merrill (depending on who they dislike most) based on snippets. even on TUMBLR where there's vocal interest in ancient elves and magic and the dalish, a lot of people seem eager to write her off as annoying or at least don't have much of an interest in her

can't tell if that's just internet echo chamber stuff based on not knowing much about her at this point (we have descriptions and screenshots but that's different from really talking with and interacting with a character, and this perception of her may change after people actually play the game and she wins them over - or doesn't) or if it'll reflect in player statistics down the line because i was SURE people would eat her up (in a good way)! and have been a little surprised by this (admittedly very early) response

💯💯lemme put on my professor internet glasses.

☝🏻this is why i started making memes about bellara. she’s an incredible character and someone who i relate to a lot. and other people just… don’t seem into her.

women and femmes of color who are neurodivergent get treated like this a lot. as disposable, annoying- or worse- altogether ignorable.

i think part of what’s happening has to do with algorithmic bias and the virality of whiteness (check out Safiya Noble’s incredible Algorithms of Oppression). preferences within the fandom reflect dominant societal patterns even as they’re shaped by algorithmic content ranking. since a huge swath of the fan base is white and straight, this has also meant a chunk of the marketing went into the two characters most likely to appeal to them.

does this mean you’re wrong for going feral for lucanis or emmrich? no- they’re cool characters and i like em too. but you gotta acknowledge that the fan response to these characters vs. bellara has been different. its almost like they’re the only characters who get to be Weird Little Guys™️ and be beloved by fans for it- and that continues to be a problem in media.

more importantly, now that you know, you gotta do something about it.

what can we do:

-remember that games have always been a terrain of struggle when it comes to ableism, sexism and racism- the new frontier of DEI backlash has always been here with us.

-be aware that games companies are currently collapsing, laying off staff and consolidating rn. this means some companies will decide to “cut costs” by decreasing diversity in our games

-the fans can and do have the power to stop this

-playthru percentages DO MATTER. so seriously yall- romance all the characters, not just your faves.

-amplify and/or make content about characters. memes, playthrus and screenshots can have a big impact on who is seen, when and how.

Taash - have mercy! 😍

[source JorRaptor]

his smile will cure me of everything i believe

HIDE ALL EXCEPT MY SON LOOK HIS BEAUTIFUL SPARKLY EYES

This got me smiling, he's doing such a good job!!

MARY KIRBY TALKING ABOUT LUCANIS ON BLUESKY!!!!!

Ooooh, this character is going to drive me INSANE. He loves paella and coffee and has so much trauma.... I need him biblically.

Also what does redacted stand for Mary???? WHAT IS REDACTED??????!!!

BOOK CLUB. Y’ALL BETTER CIRCLE UP.