#the poses are based on the ppl dancing in the music video!

[koddlet]

don't wanna talk baby i just wanna dance

[sea-shanthis]

from a (half) south asian american who's dark skinned, i think one of the best examples of south asian representation in video games as of recent is frye from splatoon 3.

i think they did so many things great with her. even though she's not really desi considering human culture has been extinct for over 1000 years in the splatoon universe, they did a great portrayal of her as a south asian. the inclusion of her dark skin really adds to that, because as someone who's half south indian, with dark skin, colorism and racism against dark skinned ppl in south asia is a really big issue, and is rooted in the caste system. and even though i doubt the inclusion of her dark skin was meant to break that stigma and stereotyping, it really adds to her regardless!

some other great examples of south asian influence in frye that makes her great rep:

- her singing in splatoon 3 is based on indian vocal music, especially carnatic (south indian) music. there's also traditional indian instruments such as sitar/veena, dholak, and nadaswaram used in songs where she performs. her dancing performance is also reminiscent of indian dances like bharatanatyam, odissi, and kuchipudi.

- her fighting style in her boss battle is based off of snake charming, using a pungi flute to control her moray eels to fight the player, in a manner similar to snake charming

- her outfit is based off of western-south asian or indo-western fashion and clothing, wearing a dupatta over what looks like a choli, and her pants resemble patiala pants. her headpiece also resembles mango chutney or another south asian condiment

- the locker decoration received from story mode that depicts her, sunken scroll 11, is based off of traditional indian art, especially from south india. the pose she strikes and the surrounding motifs are reminiscent of south indian and sri lankan sculpture and art depicting hindu figures; an example of a work of art similar to this depiction of frye is the bronze statue Shiva Natarāja, depicting the god shiva as nataraja, the cosmic lord of dance.

- and although i don't know for sure if her big forehead is based in south asian traditional beauty traditions, i still think it adds to her greatly as south asian representation. video game characters from any underrepresented culture are often depicted under western beauty standards, and frye's appearance that defies both western beauty standards AND colorist standards of south asian beauty truly makes her a great example of south asian rep in video games.

special thanks to twitter user rosierajin, who also compiled a list of examples of south asian influence in frye's character

anyways, that's my conclusion about why frye is an amazing example of south asian rep, hope you enjoy :3