- Tali's combat drone is referred to as Chiktikka vas Paus. Chiktikka Fastpaws s the raccoon companion of Baervan Wildwanderer, a deity worshiped by Aerie.
- One of the many Tali responses to commands is: "Nobody's faster than Chiktikka vas Paus!". One of the many Aerie responses to commands is: "Faster than Chiktikka Fastpaws!"
- Both fulfil 'support' roles: Tali with her tech abilities, Aerie with her healing powers
- Both are inexperienced non-human female characters
- Both have soft voices
- Both are romance options for the main character
(source: Mass Effect Wiki)
Now this is an interesting theory because, if anything, the Bioware fans have reacted in two different ways to these characters. Lots of people love Tali but, conversely, lot's of people hate Aerie. The Mass Effect fans (or at least the ones I've spoken too) think Tali's awkwardness is adorable but there are many Baldur's Gate players who dismiss Aerie as whinny and annoying.
It's funny how two characters with similar characteristics can inspire such contrasting opinions. Makes you wonder what Bioware did that worked the second time when it failed the first time...
Most people seem to like Aerie, even if the ones who hate her seem to be quite loud on forums.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason why you don't see such hate directed at Tali is that it's easier to label Aerie as 'the blonde', and associate with her all the negative aspects of that stereotype, regardless of whether she actually has those traits or not... whereas Tali, well it's just not so easy to judge her based on how she looks.