Because it's still bothering me
Dec. 3rd, 2019 04:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccaelizabeththe Pathfinder description if half elves that can't (or rarely) put on weight no matter what they eat
aside from conflating weight with attractiveness in a very narrow culture and time specific way
reminds me of people I know
who for many years could not gain weight
or keep it on
and were zooming around very busy
and very unwell
until they got their thyroid and celiac diagnosed and under control
at which point they could once again turn food into body
and were not
you know
starving.
So now I want to combine this description with the rules that have
different basic rations for different fantasy races
and have it be simply
food intolerances or nutritional shortages
from eating too much food from one side of the family or the wrong sort from the other.
Also
Elves adapt to their location
in the Pathfinder rulebook
wood elves look different than coast elves
"most noticeably taking on coloration reflecting the local environment"
but not by birth
is an adaptation to environment
(I guess this is their excuse for dark elves being dark, but logically a lot of elves should be green and gold and brown, and next to none of them pink)
(though human skin tones from human ancestry in an otherwise 'pure' elf would be Story)
so now I'm wondering
do half elves get stuck?
or do their human halves have to try and keep up with highly adaptive biology?
(book says adaptation can take a hundred years, so what does aging look like when you're turning into a different sort of elf entirely?)
The book says their skin color is dictated by their human side
but being a sea elf isn't just a skin color thing.
APG has a half elf Water Child option but it is unclear if that's biological or social.
It also says they have human eyes (with whites) in elf colors (go wild with gemstones) so that's a Look.
... elf ears in Pathfinder are six to nine inches long.
... *looks at a ruler and boggles*
... I thought the elf ears dress up on the LARP sites was just being silly, but no, it is being canon. TV and movies doesn't do that. You'd be stuck with actors trying to draw attention back from their ears.
This is a whole race meant to be preternaturally attractive. With nine inch ears.
ANYway. Have sidetracked myself.
I think there's more and more interesting story in 'elves and half elves need specialised diets and are relatively fragile because food' rather than 'skinny because pretty'.
also elf trail bread in Pathfinder is made of oats. pure oats are probably gluten free. evidence.
... it's not an RPG shaped story because few people want to fuss about food, but it's a story.
aside from conflating weight with attractiveness in a very narrow culture and time specific way
reminds me of people I know
who for many years could not gain weight
or keep it on
and were zooming around very busy
and very unwell
until they got their thyroid and celiac diagnosed and under control
at which point they could once again turn food into body
and were not
you know
starving.
So now I want to combine this description with the rules that have
different basic rations for different fantasy races
and have it be simply
food intolerances or nutritional shortages
from eating too much food from one side of the family or the wrong sort from the other.
Also
Elves adapt to their location
in the Pathfinder rulebook
wood elves look different than coast elves
"most noticeably taking on coloration reflecting the local environment"
but not by birth
is an adaptation to environment
(I guess this is their excuse for dark elves being dark, but logically a lot of elves should be green and gold and brown, and next to none of them pink)
(though human skin tones from human ancestry in an otherwise 'pure' elf would be Story)
so now I'm wondering
do half elves get stuck?
or do their human halves have to try and keep up with highly adaptive biology?
(book says adaptation can take a hundred years, so what does aging look like when you're turning into a different sort of elf entirely?)
The book says their skin color is dictated by their human side
but being a sea elf isn't just a skin color thing.
APG has a half elf Water Child option but it is unclear if that's biological or social.
It also says they have human eyes (with whites) in elf colors (go wild with gemstones) so that's a Look.
... elf ears in Pathfinder are six to nine inches long.
... *looks at a ruler and boggles*
... I thought the elf ears dress up on the LARP sites was just being silly, but no, it is being canon. TV and movies doesn't do that. You'd be stuck with actors trying to draw attention back from their ears.
This is a whole race meant to be preternaturally attractive. With nine inch ears.
ANYway. Have sidetracked myself.
I think there's more and more interesting story in 'elves and half elves need specialised diets and are relatively fragile because food' rather than 'skinny because pretty'.
also elf trail bread in Pathfinder is made of oats. pure oats are probably gluten free. evidence.
... it's not an RPG shaped story because few people want to fuss about food, but it's a story.
no subject
Date: 2019-12-04 03:42 pm (UTC)Excellent logical way to explain the othering.