#i also hate reducing or removing aspects of a character in order to cram them into a found family or a ship bc. if were just ignoring stuff

[smokeys-house]

To me, a character's physical body is an essential part of who they are and informs the way they behave in their world. I see it that way because that's how it is for most folks irl I'm sure. So for that reason I consider removing that aspect of a character and replacing it with, say, a white man with blue eyes and light colored hair with a slim to average build, to be reductive of the interpretation of the character. There's no harm in it, but if for whatever reason be it romance or just for fun you feel the need to remove parts of what makes the character their own character and not add or iterate upon it to put them in a coffee shop, it may be time to just start doing your own thing. That's my opinion anyway. But I'm biased because I've always disliked taking the inhuman especially if allegorical and making it human for the sake of making something palatable or digestible (I'm an autistic trans woman for what it's worth.) It seems more often than not it's because the person doing so is unable to reconcile with or fundamentally misunderstands the essentials of the character. If you can accept the concept of a sapient non human creature having ordinary thoughts and feelings but not accept that their choice in partner in this fantastical world is a standard humanoid, i think you might be missing the point of the character being non human in the first place. Also yes boo I hate fun and I hate everything you love im sure feel free to throw eggs at me about it