HideTheDecay

I promised I would post these when I finished them, I just never imagined that it would take ten years. I finished the 'young Dwalin' drawing ten years ago, started the 'young Bofur' drawing and then just stopped... and never got around to it.

Literally ten years in the making the the most hilarious part is they look like they totally look like they were made at the same time, haha. A somewhat intentional choice, but the reality is I haven't actually improved much in all that time, lmao.

What the HELL was the point of Varric?!?

(Spoilers for end of game)

I am literally in the middle of the cut scene where you meet Isabela as I type this, but I was so flabbergasted that I had to tab out and google it. I was shocked that I couldn't find anyone even mentioning it... It's been 10 years since DA:I. Varric has aged a bunch in that time. Dorian has aged a bunch in that time. They both look visibly older - grey hair, wrinkles, the works. It may or may not be significantly more flattering on one of them. ...Sorry Dorian.

Whatever, not the point. Isabela? Isabela looks like she's in her mid-twenties. Not a fleck of grey in her hair. Not a single wrinkle on her face.

Let's think about this... So Isabela was married at 18. Shortly after, her husband dies and she takes over as the captain of his ship for 10 years, per DA:O. DA:II takes place the same time, so she's likely around 28 at the beginning of the game. Add 7 years and by the end she's 35ish. There's a 4 year gap between DA:II and DA:I, so she's now about 39. DA:I takes 1 year, Trespasser takes 2, so we're up to 42 give or take. 8 years pass and we're finally at DA:V with a final age of 50.

You expect me to believe that this is a 50 year old woman?!

It's so egregious, you guys. How is no one talking about it? All I see is complaints about the character model in comparison to the DA:2 model, but 1. she looks fine and 2. that's really the least of my concern.

Long time, no see.

I’ve never been super active, but I do lurk around. Thank you so much! It makes me happy that other people still read and agree with what I’ve put out there. You’re right he gets a lot of hate and that turns into hate for anyone that likes him. It’s silly, but it kind of means that we of have to stick together. I have more that I want to write in that regard, I just haven’t gotten angry enough to do so lately.

I started this ages ago. Like right after I finished Varric... procrastination ahoy. I’m glad it’s finally done - there’s not enough rogue Hawke love. 

I had to, naturally.

Based on an actual hoodie I own. Now if only my hair didn’t completely hide his face.

So some people like to argue that Anders is sexist because of a slight change in dialogue between male and female Hawke. Specifically, the scene where we first meet him. Hawke bursts into the clinic, demands maps, and is all around rude. 

If you’re male Hawke, he says, “Don’t threaten me, boy.”

If you’re female Hawke, he says, “Don’t threaten me, little girl.”

To a lot of people, the fact that he adds ‘little’ to the latter statement means that he’s sexist towards women. He’s looking down on female Hawke for being a woman and infantilizing her. Sexist, right?

You guys... It’s not Anders. It’s the writer. Specifically, it was the writer unintentionally bringing real world societal norms into Thedas.

Don’t believe me? 

Think about it. How often are women called girls? Like it or not, agree with it or not, fully mature adult women are called girls all the time. How often are men called boys? Sure, it happens - “Oh, he’s out with the boys tonight” - but it’s not nearly as prevalent.

Men are called generally ‘guys’ and since the equivalent ‘gals’ didn’t stick, ‘girls’ has basically taken its place. As such, it’s pretty standard to call a woman a girl. 

So what does that mean in the context of my argument? It means that for the insult of calling male Hawke ‘boy’ to have the same punch for female Hawke, the writer felt it necessary to add ‘little’. It wasn’t to make Anders sexist, it was to make the statement have the same impact. 

Sure, Anders could have called Hawke ‘little boy’ and he should have, really. The thing is, in our society, ‘boy’ gets the job done. You call a fully grown man a ‘boy’, you’re going to have one emasculated man on your hands. You call a fully grown woman a ‘girl’... Sure, with enough stank on the word, it could certainly have an impact, but it’s not the same. 

To make it the same, you kind of have to add the word ‘little’. It’s the only way to ensure that it is interpreted the way it was meant to be interpreted when the words boy and girl do not have equal meanings in our society.