I haven’t visited the forums since I started Dragonflight, so I have no idea how much this topic has already been discussed, although I would assume quite a lot. I still haven’t even stepped in Thaldraszus but I’ve still noticed a… pattern of sorts.
There is a huge amount of quests representing gay couples in Dragonflight. So far I’ve noticed…
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The ecologist dragons, which I found cute.
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The crafting tutorial that gave me a Reagent Bag, which left me indifferent.
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The centaur wedding quest in Ohn’ahran plains, which particularly annoyed me because centaurs didn’t really strike me as a culture to have officialized weddings.
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The two ladies helping animals just south of… Rhonin’s shield, I think it was. Which it was nice to have women, for a change.
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The crafting orders tutorial NPC, which I found very forced and unnecessary.
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And my friend tells me there is at least one more in Valdrakken, which I haven’t yet visited.
So we’re currently standing at 6 separate occurrences, and I wouldn’t be surprised if one or two more popped up as I explore the last zone (I tend to take my time and read every quest). So now, I really hate using this as an argument. I think it doesn’t help any civilized discussion. But I’m pretty much certain that I’ll get dragged into the dirt if I don’t say it. I am a homosexual man.
With this out of the way, let’s get into the actual point I would like to make: Homosexual relationships represent 8% of the population, assuming every single bisexual just so happens to be in a same-sex relationship at the time of observation. Realistic representation, which I would assume to be the ideal goal of such an endeavor, would mean that at least the majority of romantic encounters that the player meets are heterosexual. But so far, my memorable interactions stand at 5 to 1 in favor of homosexual couples. And my favorite of them all was the heterosexual Tuskar couple with their paintings, because I didn’t feel like their romance was being shoved in my face. And they only came after all the other occurrences.
Blizzard. I implore you to realize that the way you are handling representation is doing a disservice to the LGBT community, as well as, I’m sure, annoying many people who just want a good RPG story. Please realize that what you are doing here is unrealistic and borders on the caricatural. Please realize than not all NPC couples need to have a questline, and that a subtle nod often is enough, and sometimes more respectful, than a full-on questline.
Dragonflight is wonderful so far. Please, let us wonder at the world you’ve created: Let us make use of our imagination. Let us discuss and think about wether these two people by the lake might be together, or just close friends. Or let us not think about it at all, because there is that much more value in a thought that we’ve come up with on our own, rather than one that was so bluntly thrown at us.
Three-Falls Lookout now requires my aid in restocking their supplies. Farewell, adventurers, and thank you for your time.
Edit: As Nemestrïnus pointed out, the two crafting quests actually use the same couple. I feel sorry for this oversight.
