Who is this character for?

[Adam__86]

Controversial but let me first Disclaimer that I personally am indifferent to this character and am neither offended or happy. I am also not anti-trans and am LGBT.

Sirona Ryan

I honestly do not know what the motive was, support or mockery. Why? Well the depiction feels more like a caricature akin to the Ugly Step Sister in Shrek. If it was a genuine attempt at a tasteful inclusion it fell short. A prime example of getting it right is Krem from Dragon Age. I personally know some trans that find Sirona patronizing and slightly offensive.

That said its still a non-issue on the global scale and people losing their ♥♥♥♥ over need to remember it's just an NPC but I do think elements of the character seem...off

[Adam__86]

Originally posted by scarymike:

I'm going to try super hard not to be mean.

Sirona Ryan is probably voiced by Rebecca Root and looks a lot like Rebecca Root. One of the reasons people advocate Transitioning early is because the older you are the harder it is to look convincingly and appealingly like the opposite sex. Root transitioned around thirty and is currently in her fifties.

Sirona Ryan looks and talks like a fifty year old woman who spent thirty years full of male hormones. I think the focus on finding an authentically transgender voice actor outstripped their interest in making an appealing or engaging character.

I can understand that to a point but in reference to HP lore I feel a trans wizard would be more like the very successful transitioned

[VHS NEON]

Originally posted by scarymike:

Originally posted by Peaky Blinders:

This 100%. They say it's "unrealistic" while playing a character that flies on a broomstick and shoots magic out of a stick.

It's a magical world that's not an excuse for being illogical or inconsistent. Magic is an explanation for why you can fly on a broom, it is not an explanation for why so many people in 1800s Scotland are from Asia, India, and Africa.

The explanation is that this is a video game and not a history book. They never even claimed that they were going for time period accuracy.

[Adam__86]

Originally posted by scarymike:

Originally posted by Peaky Blinders:

This 100%. They say it's "unrealistic" while playing a character that flies on a broomstick and shoots magic out of a stick.

It's a magical world that's not an excuse for being illogical or inconsistent. Magic is an explanation for why you can fly on a broom, it is not an explanation for why so many people in 1800s Scotland are from Asia, India, and Africa.

History answers that The British Empire. Also people overexagurate the ethnic ration

[Urban Shaman]

Originally posted by Peaky Blinders:

Originally posted by Shaamaan:

I assume you're equally fine with something like Anne Boleyn being played by Jodie Turner-Smith in a TV show because it's a TV show where things aren't real? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

No beacause Anne Boleyn was a real historic character and that would be historic revisionism.

Including a trans character in a fantasy, made up world is not the same at all.

If the Boleyn show was clearly stated to be an alternative reality or not based on history, then yeh go ahead.

I think the showrunners in question used the "it's our interpretation" argument (or something along those lines), much like you're currently using, really.

And, of course, anyone pointing out the absurdity was, predictably, immediately labelled an -ist or a -phobe.

[Revanov]

They are pandering to people that doesn't even buy their game.

[VHS NEON]

Originally posted by Shaamaan:

Originally posted by Peaky Blinders:

No beacause Anne Boleyn was a real historic character and that would be historic revisionism.

Including a trans character in a fantasy, made up world is not the same at all.

If the Boleyn show was clearly stated to be an alternative reality or not based on history, then yeh go ahead.

I think the showrunners in question used the "it's our interpretation" argument (or something along those lines), much like you're currently using, really.

And, of course, anyone pointing out the absurdity was, predictably, immediately labelled an -ist or a -phobe.

I see zero problem with that show as long as they clearly state that they are not trying to be historically accurate.
Movies are and shows are enternainment. If its not trying to represent history I see no reason why script writers or directors shouldn't be filminjg their "interpretations" of these people.

[scarymike]

Originally posted by Peaky Blinders:

The explanation is that this is a video game and not a history book. They never even claimed that they were going for time period accuracy.

And they shoehorned in extra diversity. Yes it is a video game, no they are not bound to historical accuracy, but this isn't a coincidence diversity was actively forced into the game even though it didn't make sense and it doesn't make sense that you're unwilling to acknowledge this. "Whatever it's just a game you can fly" Sure, but you do know why this happened and it's weird you're pretending you dont.

[aseinsha]

You know very well who is the character for and the reason is simply $$$. It also helped put a stop to people calling the game transphobic etc...

[VHS NEON]

Originally posted by scarymike:

Originally posted by Peaky Blinders:

The explanation is that this is a video game and not a history book. They never even claimed that they were going for time period accuracy.

And they shoehorned in extra diversity. Yes it is a video game, no they are not bound to historical accuracy, but this isn't a coincidence diversity was actively forced into the game even though it didn't make sense and it doesn't make sense that you're unwilling to acknowledge this. "Whatever it's just a game you can fly" Sure, but you do know why this happened and it's weird you're pretending you dont.

No it's clearly there because this is an internationall release and they wan't to sell this game to everyone. Including diversity does exactly that.
And the books were very diverse just like the movies so this really is nothing new.

[scarymike]

Originally posted by Aseinsha:

You know very well who is the character for and the reason is simply $$$. It also helped put a stop to people calling the game transphobic etc...

No it didn't, not even kind of. The people who were freaking put are people who were never going to be happy and it doesn't make sense to keep trying to placate them.

[VHS NEON]

Originally posted by scarymike:

Originally posted by Peaky Blinders:

The explanation is that this is a video game and not a history book. They never even claimed that they were going for time period accuracy.

And they shoehorned in extra diversity. Yes it is a video game, no they are not bound to historical accuracy, but this isn't a coincidence diversity was actively forced into the game even though it didn't make sense and it doesn't make sense that you're unwilling to acknowledge this. "Whatever it's just a game you can fly" Sure, but you do know why this happened and it's weird you're pretending you dont.

Who tf cares why it happend? It literally has no impact on the game or you as a consumer.
Unless you are butthurt by seing characters of other nationalities, in that case you are just showing your r***** colors.

[Technokrat[GER]]

I do not want politics in my gaem

[Urban Shaman]

Originally posted by Peaky Blinders:

I see zero problem with that show as long as they clearly state that they are not trying to be historically accurate.
Movies are and shows are enternainment. If its not trying to represent history I see no reason why script writers or directors shouldn't be filminjg their "interpretations" of these people.

Part of the problem was (at least with that show) that there was no indication that this was anything other than bad revisionism, and the showrunners only started this weird "free interpretation" defence on Twitter.

But let me take a step back - I assume you're equally fine with, say, Rings of Power suddenly having black elves with short hair? On one hand - this being a fantasy show means you can do anything. On the other hand it's not only based on established lore but one that had quite a few prominent films to boot. Does it make it revisionism? If not, what would?

Anyway, I'm pretty much fixed in the camp that this is pure pandering, nothing else. Perhaps I read the books wrong, but I really don't recall any mention of such characters anywhere, and I equally don't recall these things from the films. And, in the end, does the fact the character is trans add anything, at all, to the story? Does it make the character more interesting or is it just going to be jarring to 99% of the people when the voice doesn't match the face (at least in English and German as other dubs, suprisingly, don't seem to have this issue). As you wrote in the original post - no, it adds nothing. Therefore it's pandering and insulting the intellect of the average player.

[Profazy]

sirona is literally a token character just pushed into the game to try and move the controversy and the complainers away from the game and that's it, sirona is there just to pander basically

[scarymike]

Originally posted by Peaky Blinders:

Who tf cares why it happend? It literally has no impact on the game or you as a consumer.
Unless you are butthurt by seing characters of other nationalities, in that case you are just showing your r***** colors.

You care. Because when this exact same conversation happens around something else like why a character is half naked nobody has an issue saying "Well it's a fictional story but obviously this is supposed to be fan service." You're defensive because you know this was shoehorned in and you're afraid to stand by that as a worthwhile decision.