@AndrasDeak--СлаваУкраїні To be fair, I have come to trust anything Paimon says far more than anyone (with an honorary exception of Nahida, who will still cover any big reveal in at least three layers of obscure metaphor)

Paimon has the power to guess things she should not known.

Like... "Lesser LORD Kunasali" obviously gives a very distinctive "cute lil girl" vibe, right?

so.... apparently in a (hypocritical ) attempt to inclusion&diversity, the new Dragon Age game character creation menu includes this.

see for yourself

now... I won't comment on the idea by itself but...

aren't we speaking of a world where Polymorph and gender changing magic exist?

Even supposing you want to change you body to be closer to what you identify as (which is totally fine)... wouldn't the lore suggest some other way? ^_^'

Why would you go for SURGERY in a world that has medieval age medical tech when no-pain magic is available?

Masochism?

@SPArcheon-onstrike with translations some subtlety could be lost though

@SPArcheon-onstrike noted

@SPArcheon-onstrike well it's clearly for out-of-universe purposes

it also makes you wonder if those details can be visible to other users (armor swimsuit?), assuming there are other users

@AndrasDeak--СлаваУкраїні that is pretty granted, but I was trying to avoid getting into that and instead focusing on the fact that it doesn't even make sense lorewise.

Well you can't focus on that alone, because this is clearly something for the person behind the screen.

It's up to trans people whether something like this is appreciated

You could consider it akin to boob plate armour. No point in-lore, only there for users.

It's definitely surprising to me, but as a cis guy I'm not meant to be able to judge this. For all I know it could be super helpful or super counter-productive.

Just make sure cis users don't run around with it for the lulz...

If it's single-player then it's probaably fine.

@AndrasDeak--СлаваУкраїні I don't agree. Even if you can't judge the impact, you can judge them choosing a never done before in a game clickbait "gets me on the news" gimmick instead of focusing on - for example - making the game better on the same inclusivity aspects.

It is ludicrous to think you are fixing the problems by uglifying character because too fanservice, blackwashing characters for the sole sake of meeting a "skin colors coverage quota " (that usually don't include Asia representation) or adding a "post operation scar" while all the other issues are still there.

I've seen far to many online games adding "pride month" special skin/outfit and then doing no moderation at all when players were getting harassed for expressing themselves wearing those clothes.

I think it is pathetic that the criticism to Genshin focused on getting a few characters censored while there would be far worse issues to address.

Want to impress me? Instead of cyring out that Jean dress was too fanservice (JEAN! I may agree on Mona but even for me Jean was pretty normal) and attack the devs... go instead attacking the CCP for not letting them have proper non-binary representation in the games.

Take Beidou and Ningguang.

The accepted view in the community is that they are a couple.

Gods only know the hops the game has to jump thru to make this clear yet be able to pretend it is not.

But yea, getting at the devs about the outfits was clear the top priority.

@SPArcheon-onstrike and I disagree right back at you :P sure, it's a gimmick, and probably done for the wrong reasons, and plenty other things could be fixed. But it's a game mechanic kind of thing that directly affects how a user literally sees their character. If someone's dysphoria is eased by this feature or they feel more represented, the gimmickness doesn't take that away. This is sonething the user can keep.

@AndrasDeak--СлаваУкраїні I am not arguing that the feature won't be useful for someone.

I am arguing that the driving force behind the feature is not at all the quality of live of said user.

that I'd expect, yes, yet inadvertently it can improve said quality

This is too of a specific change to come from someone whose intent was to make that part of the userbase feel better.

this is clearly a "how can I get on the news and look cool" move

doing good for the wrong reasons is still doing good

Don't hug and kiss the person doing it for the wrong reasons, but the good can be appreciated on its own

But I understand your stance, and I don't disagree

@AndrasDeak--СлаваУкраїні See? I don't fully agree. The issue I have is that then some will think the person is good, and then they have reached their goal.

Western Potemkin inclusivity is very real

as a result, you now have a bad actor that is poisoning the system from inside, who pretends to care but does not.

And said actor will betray you at the worse time

I guess context is key

@Peilonrayz you probably remember this.

@Peilonrayz but... did you saw this?? :P

pretty tempted to get one and use it as an hat at the next anime convention.

@SPArcheon-onstrike Uhhh, I'm racking all 3 braincells I have and can't remember such a kawaii plush :( (Pretty cool, after watching MiA I really like the characters now XD)

@SPArcheon-onstrike lol

Is the second image a blob plushy? Kinda looks like a slipper to me

@Peilonrayz aaaaaahhhh.... I see. Just the anime you know...

so you are unaware of the cuteness of the Faputa hat.

but wait... shouldn't that be in the anime too?

still not up to date?

Hang on... I think me numpty

That is the "I don't even get how she can do this" curled up sleeping Faputa

Yeah I somewhat recall Faputa turning into a blob

later seen sleeping on the head of other characters.

Usually Reg.

@SPArcheon-onstrike Usually to Nanachi's enjoyment ;)

@Peilonrayz that plush has the standard issue found in many similar plushes.

The "flat fabric" hair

no volume.

@SPArcheon-onstrike I can appreciate someone may want some cosmetic scars even if avoidable. For example if you identify as trans then the scars can be proof of your identity. Each time you look down you will see the scars and feel validated.

@Peilonrayz you are probably catching up on the topic, see my final consideration later.

Mostly what I am annoyed with is that this seems a very "get me on the news" feature, while all far more subtle issues that won't get them enough pr are still there.

Basically, it comes out as the usual "look, I am inclusive" agenda that actually doesn't care at all.

Maybe it is just me being over pessimistic...

But as I told @AndrasDeak--СлаваУкраїні before I am pretty feed up with the new "social inclusive" movement being all about making changes to ads, games and movies (and wonder what, some very specific "social diversity consultant" companies make tons of money out of this) while non binary people I know had to CHANGE COUNTRY because their everyday life is still the same horrible think it was before.

@SPArcheon-onstrike I was about to ask

see the above, worrying about (selling) inclusive skins in an online game but not doing anything about moderating harassment.

@AndrasDeak--СлаваУкраїні Faputa is clearly a cat.

@SPArcheon-onstrike nah

Direct consequence of raw capitalism. Slight increase in sales for some cheap virtue signalling.

@SPArcheon-onstrike For personal reasons I don't really agree. I will agree a cooperation's only intent is to maximize profit for shareholders. Adding scars is relatively cheep and easy to do, where moderating people is expensive and problematic (unfair treatment). However, I see the exact same effect on the site I moderate, people will always be incentivised to do the minimum work for the maximum gain.

@SPArcheon-onstrike for what it's worth this is more "corporate DEI facade" rather than "social inclusivity movement". Many people do the latter in earnest and do it right. Corporations are not those people.

@SPArcheon-onstrike Yeah looks to be using fabric I used as a child when doing arts and crafts. (I always hated the feel) but the product looks cool... Now I kinda want to do some arts and crafts again.

@Peilonrayz sensory processing issues? I'm also put off by some textures for no obvious reason.

@AndrasDeak--СлаваУкраїні Yeah. Some fabrics feel disgusting and I can't stand touching. I tend to have issues with synthetic fabrics the most.

@Peilonrayz You know the "pony viewing side issue"?

@SPArcheon-onstrike No. I don't really know anything about the pony community.

Fluttershy looking right:

Oh, yeah the 'pony symbol' (please replace with correct term) is always on the viewing side

not the symbol...

That (at least in gen 4) is canonically on both side.

PLUSH Fluttershy looking left

Ah I see XD

Plush Fluttershy looking right

Faputa plush, rear view...

now you can see the issue a little better :P

suddenly she becomes a Pacman ghost

@SPArcheon-onstrike lol

the "Flat fabric hair/clothes" is the bane of low cost mass produced plushies.

mass produced Nahida with painted clothes.

Custom made embroidered one

Thanks to the hat, the mass produced Nanachi is a little better.

Hat still fells very cheap made

Yeah I think I get what you mean the design is only intended to have one viewing angle. Anything else just doesn't look right.

@Peilonrayz basically. Some designs are already bound to have a "best angle", but the flat fabric with painted details only accentuates this due to having no real volume

@SPArcheon-onstrike Ah makes sense, thank you