#how many canonically gay characters are there in video games that are 1. not offensive 2. good/interesting characters 3. main characters

[curiouschaosstarlight]

I think, for me, the most offensive time someone tried to claim a character is "x-coded" is when someone who claimed to be my friend kept claiming the main character in my last fandom was "aroace-coded", "SO aroace", "HYPER aroace", and insisted that it was 100% intentional and if the creators knew what being aroace was back in the 80's-90's, they would have declared her aroace outright.

...Ignoring the fact that I identified as aroace. (That person was asexual, but in a "ew sexuality is so gross u-u" kind of way, which also leads me to not trusting them on ANYTHING regarding sexuality. They also couldn't interpret anything for shit either, despite claiming that "writing is objective" and to have perfect objectivity on everything, no matter what.)

Ignoring the fact that the series's entire plot hinged on this character being constantly flirted with and proposed to. So, if the character DID finally agree, the series would end.

Ignoring the fact that every single side material in existence during that portion of the series would pair that character up with people, or confirm a multitude of crushes they had on members of the opposite sex.

Ignoring that the only LGBTIA+/queer rep in the games were the ever-popular mixing up of gay/trans people and thoroughly mocking them, making them into really offensive stereotypes, and so on. So, if the character WAS intended to be aroace, there'd probably be lots of jokes about "fixing her", or otherwise it would be used to further the fact that her main love interest was truly "the one" for her (it was reaaaallly heavily shipped, to the series's detriment at some points).

Also that overall feels way less real when someone else is able to talk about how much they view that character as a lesbian and how much they ship her with other girl characters, and THAT gets encouraged, and "oh I love your writing so much!!!"'s, but when I talked about my ship (the canonically teased one that was m/f) it's "I just think she's aroace u-u" "She's aroace-coded though u-u"

(Fun fact! Same person that insisted the 1 canonically bi character later on is actually gay because it's "uncomfortable" for him to show attraction to a female character!)

Also, I think the most damning, is that Coding is really specific to America and things that were showed in America during a specific time period. It's based on the Hay's Code, where, if you wanted your movie on the big screen, being queer was seen as something that either needed "fixed" by the end of the movie, or the character in question had to be killed if not fixed. That's why so many villains are queer-coded; villains weren't allowed to live either, and so, you might as well just make your villains queer if you wanted to have a queer character at all. Then you wouldn't have to get emotionally attached to a whole 'nother character just to kill them. (There wound up being something similar for comics, too.)

The Hay's Code ONLY affected things that were shown in America.

It WOULD NOT affect a Japan-only video game that was never localized into America, and was never planned to be. Plus, Japan just...doesn't really "code" characters? In my experience, Japanese media's pretty fucking free when they want to add gay characters or characters whose "only love" is [not a person]. They're not always the greatest at representation (perfectly capable of being as vile as depictions in other places...obviously), but I can only think of a few sparse examples of them just...hiding a character's orientation behind vague hints.

The person who insisted that Coding is an actual thing that can be applied to any piece of media for any reason (their reason in this case being that they just FELT it, they felt it VERY STRONGLY, so clearly it must be true and intended!!!) was not American, had not ever experienced anything to do with the Hay's Code, and only had their own word to go on.

Anyways, this is a really long-winded way of saying I hate "coding", I hate that fandom as a whole got its grubby little mitts on the fucking term, I hate the fact that people can't just admit they have a headcanon anymore, and they can't allow anyone else to have differing headcanons. (Not that THAT part is anything new. God forbid.)

Also sick to death of the double-standard. This is not the first time I've shipped something that's genuinely canonically teased or outright canonical (I'm a bit of a basic bitch when it comes to my starting ships) and someone INSISTED the character couldn't POSSIBLY like the other character, but a different ship was completely and totally fine. (Also insisting that this character's aroace, that character's gay, and that character's also gay, but I say my favorite character is pan and I don't think there's any real contradiction to that? "They can't be pan! That's weird. That's weird of you to say that :(")

[thecoolertails]

ohh so kim is like gay for real

[awed-frog]

You said in your s13 meta that the narrative suffers from keeping Destiel in the subtext. Can you elaborate a bit on that? For example, would you have them enter a romantic relationship now (or in earlier seasons) or would you be okay with it only happening towards the end of the show as long as it gets shoved more into 'text' level along the way - however that would look? How would you personally go about it in a way that fits into the narrative of the show?

Well - I think there are a bunch of reasons why keeping Destiel in the subtext is hurting the show (narratively). Off the top of my head -

1) This kind of subtext - ie, scattered clues that can be as obscure as beer labels or paintings on the walls - is usually reserved for Big, Shocking Revelations - for instance, the identity of the murderer in a thriller. I can’t think of one single example in which the subtextual clues led to a ‘Guess what - she actually luuuuurves him!’, and there’s good reason for that - a romantic attraction is not interesting enough to leave the audience to guess it and half perceive it out of the corner of their eyes. A hidden subtext should be the kind of thing where you gasp and stare when it’s revealed and then you go back and rewatch the whole thing in disbelief (also annoyance, because part of you is not surprised by this at all, but you never listened to that part ‘cause your a gullible fool). For younger readers, the revelations about Snape in HP fit this model well; for older viewers, a good example is the ending of The Others or Fight Club. Romantically speaking, the only close equivalent to what Supernatural is doing goes something along the lines of sexual awakening - a beautiful example is Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, in which it’s very clear for an adult reader that Griet is attracted to Vermeer from the very first moment she sees him, and yet the UST builds and builds because Griet herself is too young and inexperienced to see it - and when she finally realizes it, holy shit. Even in that case, though, the romance wasn’t exactly subtextual - every single adult around Griet wondered at it - her mother warned her to stay away from Vermeer, Vermeer’s wife was openly jealous from the second Griet started working for their household, the other servants were also suspicious of why Griet was spending so much time alone with Vermeer and so on and so forth. The tension came from the fact Griet herself didn’t understand what was going on - not from the thing being completely subtextual. So, to me, the fact Supernatural thinks a (gay) love story needs to be put in the subtext - it’s more than offensive - it’s just not effective.

2) Destiel is destroying Sam’s characterization, because they increasingly use him to contrast Dean’s feelings, which means Sam is mostly forced not to care about Cas at all. And so, while the two of them had some stolen moments where they were allowed to be themselves (ie, people who like each other and feel a deep affection for each other), Sam is often shown to be cold and unconcerned whenever Cas is mentioned. When Dean was fretting about Cas being possessed by Lucifer, for instance, Sam always acted like he couldn’t care less - which was annoying, not only on Cas’ behalf, but also because Sam knows what Lucifer is like, and he would never be so indifferent about Lucifer possessing anyone. Or when Cas was suffering from PTSD and would spend his days watching dog videos, again we had Dean (rightly, rationally) worried about him, while Sam brushed it off completely. Also the ‘it-gate’, remember that? And now, now Cas is actually dead, and this is still going on - Dean is very nearly broken, and Sam - Sam is fine with it. Doesn’t give a damn. And the thing is, if Dean’s love was out in the open, then they could let Sam care about Cas, because it would be textual that there’s still a difference there (Dean = lover, Sam = friend); but since that is not textual, this is what we’re left with - a join the dots game where they want us to wonder why Dean cares so much when Sam, the rational one, doesn’t care at all.

Moreover, the fact there are these huge subtextual secrets about Dean (that he’s bi, that he loves Cas) only makes him more interesting to write, while leaving nothing for Sam to do. It could even be argued that this is the true reversal of the Supernatual narrative - the first five seasons were about Sam and how he felt like a freak because of his Big Secret (which was textual: his psychic powers, and, later, his addiction to demon blood), while the next five seasons were about Dean and his Big Secret (and that only half worked, because everything is still subtextual, which means Dean’s narrative has not resolved in any neat, elegant way - nothing comparable to Swan Song - which also means the story is still about Dean, that it will be about Dean until the narrative knot is gone, and they seem adamant never to go there, so where does this leave us?).

3) Ironically enough, Destiel is also hurting Dean and Cas as characters. Cas, in particular, had an arc that was all about destroying his identity in earlier seasons (the break with Heaven and so on), and lately that’s shifted to building himself a new identity - his increasingly human feelings have been a big part of that, and to be fair, they did allow him to explore them - a journey that probably started with his rejection of Hannah and culminated in that infamous I love you - but this could have been done much better, and in a more coherent way, if Cas had been allowed to find Dean attractive as a potential romantic partner. And in a way, the same goes for Dean - we teetered on the edge of why things are different with Cas so many times, and they came closest, perhaps, in S8, but as long as they refuse to take that final step, it’s not clear, exactly, why Dean should care so much about Cas - about someone who’s far from perfect, and has betrayed them or let them down or hurt them many times in the past. And something else that only made sense if you squinted, of course, was Dean’s peculiar, sometimes volatile relationship with Crowley, and how his attitude to Crowley differed from Sam’s. I’ve seen people confused about that, but if you fill in the subtextual blanks - ie, Crowley loved Dean (as much as demons can love, that is), and they were actually together when Dean was a demon, and then had an awkward break-up when Crowley realized Dean could not love anyone as a demon, and would never love Crowley as a human - well - that’s suddenly a coherent narrative, isn’t it?

4) And finally, Supernatural is often built on parallels and mirrors, and the problem is, you need an equilibrium for that. If half your metaphor is out in the open, and the other half is subtextual, it just doesn’t work. That was one of the big problems with both S10 and S11 - remember the whole Colette story, which went nowhere? And how Amara represented the wrong way to love, contrasted with the right way, which was…what? And, sure, for some viewers that may work just fine, and others may even enjoy to be left guessing, but me - I like my symmetry, and I like honesty, and I found it profoundly frustrating that both those stories were left unfinished.

As to what I would do differently - I don’t particularly like fluff, and I don’t think either Cas or Dean are ready for a relationship right now, so I guess - what I would change is that I would make this thing between them textual but not to each other? There are many ways to do that - romantic movies basically live off them - character A talks to her friends or parents, has a revealing dream, thinks out loud, writes in a journal, does something incredibly stupid which makes it clear they’re madly in love - we’re spoiled for choice. The how and what, of course, depends on the world around your characters, and the specific challenges they face, which is why my way of bringing Dean and Cas together varies with the story I’m telling. In one fic, it’s Dean who comes forward and downright invites Cas to stay the night; in another, it’s Cas who demands that Dean comes clean about his feelings; in yet another one, Dean acknowledges those feelings, but says he can’t act on them because of Imminent Death and whatever else; and in the one I’m writing right now, my AU!S13, well - you’ll have to wait and see. For the show itself, I like a suggestion that’s been surfing through tumblr for a while - an episode featuring some ex of Dean’s (a man) so that Sam will be forced to put the pieces together, and next, some kind of conversation about Cas, and how Dean doesn’t feel worthy or ready or something. Sam shouldn’t play matchmaker (I know we like that in fanfiction, but I doubt that canon!Sam has either the skill or the inclination to do that), but knowing this very private thing about his brother - well - that can only be healthy, for both of them. And when it finally comes out (with Cas), I think it should be in anger, because that’s who Dean is - someone who blurts out things he never meant to say when he’s terrified and furious and worried out of his mind - and next, I’d have them separated, of course, because UST is a good thing and yay and keep it up. 

(Oh, and as for what I would be okay with - every single romantic relationship on Supernatural has been about falling into bed together, and Dean is a deeply sexual person, and we know Cas is not against that - at all, so no - I wouldn’t be happy with a five minute handshake at the very end, but I also wouldn’t be happy with the show changing everything it is jut to fit a romance in - and, most of all, I wouldn’t be happy with an ambiguous, ‘you’re the viewer, you decide’ Sherlock ending - nope. What I want is enough time for both characters to come to terms with how they’re feeling, followed by a clear, textual scene of them getting together, followed by their relationship being never brought up again as a central element of the show. Everything stays exactly the same, except sometimes Dean and Cas get a room just for the two of them, and Dean fixes Cas’ tie (which he does anyway), and Sam teases him about something or other because he’s a little shit, and Cas stares at Dean - a lot (which he does anyway), and maybe more hugs? and that’s it. They hunt, they do stuff, they face tragic choices - Supernatural shouldn’t be about a love story - it just shouldn’t hide it, because there’s nothing wrong with your main character being queer and it’s 2017 so maybe deal with it, show?)

[mwokozi369]

I want to make sure you guys can be involved in my content and so I’m planning on starting up discord and am curious if anyone would be interested.

This can also be just for discussions about the fandoms I’m making content for, my original stories which you can learn more about and the story I’ve been working on the universe my stories take place on and have been working on the story since 4th grade so it’s come a long way and you again can learn about the stories and how they evolved as I matured and learned how to better plot out and develop the stories. However that universe is not my only universe, that one has take 6 years and I am still in the beginning being that it has so much lore and elements with huge plot points and has been reworked countless times. This is my passion project and I am going to be very slow with it. It does some off a little Furry like with some anthro animals however and it’s sci-fi, honestly it kinda sounds really stupid without going into all this explaining and lore but do know it’s not Furry material. Yes it has mature themes and important lessons aimed at an older audience so it will not be hosted on Tumblr but instead on other platforms I just need to get set up on. I am planning on getting set up of Tapas. Yes I am stretching myself thine being an honors and AP student bowing to be a infectious disease doctor (my dream since I was 8 after watching Monsters Inside Me) however other fall back jobs are other medical fields like working with cancer since my brother had an extremely rare type of brain cancer or being a dentist as I always had a great relationship and was close to the people who work at the dentist office, befriending they family who owns it and they had helped us like helped my brother when his tooth was broken on an off day and one of the owners opened the office just to treat him. This was awhile ago and I came to play with one of her sons and we raised their fridge as we were two little brats who didn’t know better since I was like 7 or 8 and he was even younger than me. The wife who married into the family that owned the office is an amazing lady, great mother and such a great dentist. She was the only one who could give me a shot and I would just suck up and deal with the pain even as a 5 year old not moving when she had that big needle and she pretty much showed me how there are kind dentist who care about kids. She was the first dentist I saw there and honestly she is great and swings by even why she can’t do the appointment to say hello as she’s busy with a bunch of young sons. I really look up to her and how great she is and have always wanted to be like her. The other fall back jobs are cyber security, being a zoologist, veteran or working in the animation and entertainment business.

Fair warning I will take a long time, I just take on so much more than I can chew with so many passion projects and all my different stories and AUs, I play on 1-2 soccer teams depending on the times, play two musical instruments, lots of school and also I like to take some time to play video games. This summer I am going to be a CIT and in two summers will be spending a month living out in the wilderness. I’m so sorry about how slow I can be however I am planning on dropping band next year though it will be replaced with an other honors science class ontop of my AP science class though the AP class is on some of the easier topics.

Trigger warnings for stories:

Almost all have adult themes (nothing explicit romance, hints of it but there will be no how do you say... showing or details of the passionate beginnings and the wonders of two (or in some cases more) making love) however there will be racism, sexism, genocide, torture, abuse, slavery and a lot of other serious themes

There will be graphic details of violence and there will be gore, even excessive gore in certain stories that I’ll go into. Some are about war and heavy themes so there will be lots of violence and gore.

Cussing and fowl language- Yes there will be bad language, stere clear of the stories I will inform you will have cussing if that bothers you. If you have a limit but it’s not zero tolerance I will tell you which ones I will use with a scale later on in this post.

Spreading awareness- With the themes this is spreading awareness on problems such as racism, sexism, corruption, abuse, slavery, mental illnesses, self harm, environmental issues and so much more.

Somethings that this will involve- Couples of different sexualities such as lesbian couples or gay couples, will include other forms of LGBQ representation like trans and non binary people and some will be in couples, the different forms of abuse (this will be seen in all types of couples even LGBQ couples but is not to say they are bad but to just show that they are like any other couple and can be toxic, previously stated trigger warnings, anthro animals, aliens, galactic and inter dimensional war, substance abuse which is one of the many adult themes and again so much more I can’t just type of out more but if you are curious you can private message me.

Now for each ranking:

Language

1- no bad language to 10- swearing like a sailor

My original stories in my main universe- Pretty much all the trigger warnings include this. Language, depends on which story and at certain spots but it can reach level 10 for some of the very vulgar characters

My smaller universe- It’s practice so I might not even post those works

Steven Universe AUs

DiamondBound- Gore, abuse, violence, lauguage is a 3 meaning offensive words are not common but will be there every so often. These words aren’t overly offensive. This will be during more Diamond Kids and not just plain old DiamondBound which will be a 2 on it’s own. They won’t be offensive words to any racial group as human racism isn’t covered in this AU. However racism against types of gems, yes. This will be covering racism, genocide and just going deeper into the horrors the Diamonds committed that weren’t really explored in the canon series.

Homeworldwashed- It’s DiamondBound but even worse, if you can’t handle DiamondBound this ones even worse.

Two Rebel Leaders- It’s the least bad of the Steven Universe AUs. This one covers abuse and toxic relationships like the previous two but isn’t as graphic. This won’t have that much gore and is relatively tame. The language warning is a 1-2 as language can sometimes have some cuss words. It does tackle racism and elitism, classism, the same themes as the other two AUs but just not as graphic. This one I would still stay clear of if you are easily triggered by abuse and the darker themes of canon Steven Universe however it will fo into more detail. This will primarily focus on the discrimination themes though which I know some people will not take too well to which is fine.

Have any questions again don’t be afraid to ask I have anons on if you feel embarrassed to ask it publicly.